Six Books on the Priesthood, St. John Chrysostom.doc

8/11/2019 Six Books on the Priesthood, St. John Chrysostom.doc

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Holy Trinity Orthodox Mission

Saint John Chrysostom

Six Books on the Priesthood

English Translation by Graham Neville

Edited by Veronika Riml, von Altrosenburg

Content:

Introduction. 1. Johns Deceit. 2. Basils Reproaches. 3. Johns Reply. 4. The

Difficulties of Pastoral Care. . !o"e # The Chief Thin$. %. John Continues his

&polo$ia. '. The (lory of the Priesthood. ). The Difficulty of the Priesthood. *. TheCharacter and Te+ptations of a Bishop. 1,. Particular Duties and Pro-le+s. 11. The

Penalty for ailure. 12. The /inistry of the 0ord. 13. Te+ptations of the Teacher. 14.

The eed for Purity. 1. The Contrast Beteen Bishop and /on. 1%. The Conclusion

of Johns &polo$ia.

Introduction.

(raham Nevilles version of St John Chrysostoms Six Books on the Priesthood to Englishreaders of the twentieth century was u!lished in "#$% !y S&P&C&'& in (reat Britain andsu!se)uently rerinted in "#*% !y St +ladimirs Seminary Press, New -ork& .he originaltranslation !y .&/& 0oxon was u!lished !y S&P&C&'& in (reat Britain in "#12& 3t was felt !y

some 4rthodox Church leaders that the British Pu!lication was highly aroriate for a

scholastic audience and erhas not sensitive enough to the needs of English seaking 4rthodoxreaders& .his is the reason !ehind the few simlifications that 3 have attemted to make& .hough

3 do not consider these changes to !e erfect, 3 can only hoe that 3 will !e forgiven for any

serious errors&

3n 5#" St& John Chrysostom sat down in /ntioch to write his six !ooks on 6Priesthood 75#18#"

CE9& e was highly influenced !y (regory, and he !uilt uon his ideas a!out the function of theriest as teacher and sheherd, descri!ing in more detail the difficulties, erils and temtations

he encounters in his service& But he also added new themes that were not touched in (regorys

treatise& 3n discussing the resonsi!ility of the riest for the souls of his flock and his liturgical

and sacramental functions, Chrysostom found in them a reason to ascri!e to him an awesomedignity, a high honor, and even a character which is different from human:

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6;hen one is re)uired to reside over the Church, and to !e entrusted with the care of so

many souls, the whole female sex must retire !efore the magnitude of the task, and the

maor in this case let me not take the

height of shoulders as the standard of in)uiry= !ut let the distinction !etween the astorand his charge !e as great as that !etween rational man and irrational creatures, not to say

even greater, in as much as the risk is concerned with things of far greater imortance&

7Book ?:?97$96>or the riestly office is indeed discharged on earth, !ut it ranks amongst

heavenly ordinances= and very naturally so: for neither man, nor angel, nor archangel, nor

any other created ower, !ut the Paraclete imself, instituted this vocation, and

ersuaded men while still a!iding in the flesh to reresent the ministry of angels&;herefore the consecrated riest ought to !e as ure as if he were standing in the heavens

themselves in the midst of those owers& 7Book5: %9

Chrysostom sees that the role of riests in the sacraments of reconciliation, !atism andEucharist makes our salvation deendent uon them:

6>or if any one will consider how great a thing it is for one, !eing a man, and

comassed with flesh and !lood, to !e ena!led to draw near to that !lessed and ure

nature, he will then clearly see what great honor the grace of the Sirit has vouchsafed toriests= since !y their agency these rites are cele!rated, and others nowise inferior to

these !oth in resect of our dignity and our salvation& >or they who inha!it the earth and

make their a!ode there are entrusted with the administration of things which are in

eaven, and have received an authority that (od has not given to angels or archangels&>or it has not !een said to them, @;hatsoever ye shall !ind on earth shall !e !ound in

eaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall !e loosed in eaven&A&&&& this

!inding lays hold of the soul and enetrates the heavens= and what riests do here !elow(od ratifies a!ove, and the 0aster confirms the sentence of his servants& >or indeed what

is it !ut all manner of heavenly authority which e has given them when e says,

@;hose sins you remit they are remitted, and whose sins you retain they are retainedA;hat authority could !e greater than this @.he >ather has committed all or they have !een

conducted to this dignity as if they were already translated to eaven, and had

transcended human nature, and were released from the assions to which we arelia!le&7Book 5:9

6>or transarent madness it is to desise so great a dignity, without which it is not

ossi!le to o!tain either our own salvation, or the good things which have !een romisedto us& >or if no one can enter into the kingdom of eaven excet he !e regenerate through

water and the Sirit, and he who does not eat the flesh of the Dord and drink is !lood is

excluded from eternal life, and if all these things are accomlished only !y means ofthose holy hands, 3 mean the hands of the riest, how will any one, without these, !e a!le

to escae the fire of hell, or to win those crowns which are reserved for the

victorious7Book 5:9

?


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John Chrysostom reaches the conclusion that the authority of the riests over the Sacraments of

Batism, econciliation, and /nointing is a reason for them to !e more feared and honored than

kings and Jewish riests and to !e more loved than arents:

6.hese verily are they who are entrusted with the angs of siritual travail and the !irth

which comes through !atism: !y their means we ut on Christ, and are !uried with theSon of (od, and !ecome mem!ers of that !lessed ead& ;herefore they might not only

!e more or our natural arents generate us unto

this life only, !ut the others unto that which is to come& /nd the former would not !e a!leto avert death from their offsring, or to reel the assaults of disease= !ut these others

have often saved a sick soul, or one which was on the oint of erishing, >or not only at

the time of regeneration, !ut afterwards also, they have authority to forgive sins& @3s anysick among youA it is said, @let him call for the elders of the Church and let them ray

over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Dord& /nd the rayer of faith shall

save the sick, and the Dord will raise him u: and if he have committed sins they shall !e

forgiven him&A /gain: our natural arents, should their children come into conflict withany men of high rank and great ower in the world, are una!le to rofit them: !ut riests

have reconciled, not rulers and kings, !ut (od imself when is wrath has often !een

rovoked against them&7Book 5: $9

istorical Bac$round.

4nly three decades searate the two earliest atristic treatises on riesthood= yet theyseak in two different languages, exress two different attitudes, and even use two different

theologies& ;e can exlain this only in art !y the enthusiasm of Chrysostom early in his career

as a riest in the great city of /ntioch& / casual look at the Christian literature of the time shows

that some of his descrition of the glamor, dignity and authority of the clerical office wascommonlace&

3n his farewell address to his congregation at Constantinole in 5*", St& (regory

NaHianHen says,

@ Perhas we may !e reroached, as we have !een !efore, with the ex)uisite character of

our ta!le, the slendor of our aarel, the officers who recede us, our haughtiness tothose who meet us& 3 was not aware that we ought to rival the consuls, the governors, the

most illustrious generals, who have no oortunity of lavishing their incomes= or that our

!elly ought to hunger for the en


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!ehalf of those under enance, the rayers are made in common !oth !y the riest and !y them=

and all say one rayer& 7"?9&&& /gain when we exclude from the holy recincts those who are

una!le to artake of the holy ta!le, it !ehoveth that another rayer !e offered, and we all alikefall uon the ground, and all alike rise u& 7"59 /gain, in the most awful mysteries themselves,

the riest rays for the eole and the eole also ray for the riest= for the words, @with thy

sirit,A are nothing else than this& .he offering of thanksgiving 7"%9 again is common: for neitherdoth he give thanks alone, !ut also all the eole& >or aving first taken their voices, next when

they assent that it is @meet and right so to do,A then he !egins the thanksgiving 7"9& &&&.he

/ostles fre)uently admitted the laity to share in their decisions& >or when they ordained theseven, and 0atthias they first communicated with the eole, !oth men and women& 7/cts ": "

K /cts$: ?, 5&9& ere is no ride of rulers nor slavishness in the ruled= !ut a siritual rule &&& >or

so ought the Church to dwell as one house= as one !ody so to !e all disosed= ather&;hy then are we divided, when so great 7$9 things unite us= why are we torn asunder &&&&

>or in this way will he that is greater !e a!le to gain even from him that is less& >or if 0oses

learnt from his fatherFinFlaw somewhat exedient which himself had not erceived 7Exod& "*:

"%F ?29, much more in the Church may this haen&A7"$9

otes7"9 ;inslow:.he Gynamics of Salvation:/ Study of (regory of NaHianHus, "#2#: 2,*&7?9 Luasten: Patrology, volume 5= "#$1: ?%5, ?%%&

759 (regory NaHianHen: 4ration ?, 3n Gefense of is >light to Pontus& Slightly adated from the translation

of the Nicene and PostFNicene >athers, second series, volume 2, ages ?1%F??$&

7%9 Phili Schaaff:: istory of the Christian Church, vol& 5, "#"1: #"#79 'elly JNG: (olden 0outh: .he Story of John Chrysostom& N-: Cornell Mniversity Press, "##:*5&

7$9 John Chrysostom: .reatise on the Priesthood, Books "F$& /dated from the translation of the NPN>,

first series, volume #, ages 55F*5& 3talics and !old tye are added for emhasis&

729 (regory NaHianHen: 4ration %?, .he Dast >arewell= adated from the translation of the Nicene andPostFNicene >athers, second series, volume 2, age 5#5&&

7*9 (regory of Nyssa: 4n the Batism of Christ, )uoted in Goors to the Sacred, !y Joseh 0artos, New-ork, Gou!leday,

"#$$:%2#,%*1&7#9 Edward (i!!on: Gecline and >all of the oman Emire, Chater ?2, a!ridged edition, New -ork,

"#$1:5##,%11& Chadwik : .he Early Church, "#$2:"$2F$*&

7"19 3!id& (i!!on, chater ?*, & %"F"*= Chadwick, & "$*&

7""9 ;ace K Piercy ;C: / Gictionary of Christian Biograhy& Pea!ody, 0/: endrickson, "##%: %&7"?9 Prayer of a!solution after u!lic enance in the early Church

7"59 .he rite of excommunication in the early Church&

7"%9 i&e&Eucharist

7"9 .he Givine Diturgy&7"$9 Chrysostom: omilies on Second Corinthians: "* 7on ? Cor& *: ?%9= NPN>, first series, volume "?:

5F$$&

1. Johns Deceit.

Ihad many genuine and true friends, men who understood the laws of friendshi and faithfullyo!served them& But out of this large num!er, there was one in this grou who excelled all the restin his friendshi for me, striving on leaving as far !ehind him as ossi!le those who regarded me


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with indifference& e was one of those who were constantly at my side as we were engaged in

the same studies and emloyed the same teachers& ;e had e)ual eagerness and enthusiasm for

our studies and shared the same high ideals as a result of our common interests& Not only whenwe were attending school, !ut also even after we had left it, we found ourselves of the same mind

when we had to decide what course of life would !e !est to choose& 3n addition to this, there

were other !onds which held this accord un!roken and secure& egarding the greatness of ourfatherland, neither of us could !oast more than the other, nor was 3 !urdened with riches while he

lived in overty, !ut on the contrary, our means corresonded as closely as our tastes& 4ur

families were also of the same class and everything was in keeing with our disosition&But when the time came to ursue the !lessed life of monks and the true hilosohy, our

!alance no longer remained even& is scale rose uwards, while 3, still entangled in the lusts of

this world, dragged mine down, weighting it with youthful vanities, there!y forcing it to stay on

a lower level& >rom that time on, our friendshi remained as firm as ever !ut our intimacy was!roken as our interests had changed and we no longer sent the same time together&

/s soon as 3 !egan to emerge a little from the flood of worldliness, he received me with

oen arms& -et we could not maintain our former e)uality, for he had got the start of me, and

having dislayed his great eagerness, he rose again a!ove my level and soared to great heights&Being a good man, however, and lacing a high value on my friendshi, he withdrew from all the

rest of his friends and sent all of his time with me&e had desired to do this !efore, !ut had !een revented, as 3 had exlained, !ecause of

my frivolous conduct& >or it was imossi!le for a man who attended the lawFcourts, and was

thrilled !y the leasures of the stage, to often !e in the comany of someone who was glued tohis !ooks and never even set foot in the marketFlace& ;hen these hindrances were removed and

he had !rought me into the same condition of life as himself, he gave free vent to the desire that

he had conceived long !efore& e would not leave me alone for one moment, and ersistently

urged that each of us should a!andon our homes and share a lace together& e succeeded inersuading me and the arrangements were in hand&

But the continual lamentations of my mother hindered me from granting him the favor, or

rather from acceting it from him& >or when she erceived that 3 was meditating this ste, she ledme to her rivate room and sat me on the !ed where she had given !irth to me& She !urst into

tears and then soke words more touching that her tears: @0y child,A she said, @it was not the

will of eaven that 3 should long enor no words are ade)uate to descri!e the stormy condition which a young woman

faces who, having or, as 3 know too well, she has to

correct the laHiness of servants and !e on the watch for their misconduct, to reel the schemes of

relatives, and to !ear with dignity the threats of u!lic officials and their rudeness over the harshimosition of tax rates& /nd if the dearted one should have left a child, even when that child is a

girl, she will cause great anxiety to her mother, although free from much exense and fear& But a

son fills her each day with ten thousand alarms and many anxieties, to say nothing a!out theexense she must incur if she wishes to !ring him u as a gentleman& Still, none of these

thoughts ersuaded me to enter into a second marriage or introduce another hus!and into your

fathers house& No, 3 remained atient in the midst of the storm and uroar, and 3 did not shun the

iron furnace of widowhood& 0y foremost hel was the grace from a!ove, and 3 found great

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consolation in those terri!le trials !y gaHing continually at your face and treasuring in you a

living image of my dead hus!and& So while you were still a !a!y and had not yet learned to

seak, at a time when children give the greatest delight to their arents, you afforded me muchcomfort& Nor can you reroach me that, although 3 !ore my widowhood !ravely, 3 reduced your

atrimony which 3 know has !een the fate of many orhans& Besides keeing the whole of it

intact, 3 did not omit any exense needed to give you an honora!le osition, even sending forthis urose some of my own fortune and from my marriage dowry&

@-et, do not think that 3 am saying these things as a reroach to you& But in return for all

these !enefits, 3 ask for


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7meaning me9, had su!mitted to the decision of the >athers, whereas he, who was considered a

much more reasona!le and su!missive man, had shown himself hotFheaded and conceited,

unruly, restive and contradictory&aving yielded to these remonstrances, and afterwards having learned that 3 had escaed

cature, he came to me in dee de


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3 am constantly assailed !y ersons who say such things and worse, and 3 am at a loss as

to how to rely to them& 3 ray that you tell me, as 3 do not suose that you took flight and

incurred such hatred from such distinguished men without cause or consideration& -ou must havereached your decision after careful reasoning and circumsection, so 3 infer that you have some

argument ready for your defense& .ell me, then, whether there is any good excuse which 3 can

make to those who accuse you& 3 do not demand any satisfaction for the wrongs you have done tome, nor for your deceit and your treachery, nor for the advantage which you have derived from

me in the ast& 3 laced my very life in your hands, yet you have treated me with as much guile

as if your concern was to guide against an enemy& /nd if you knew that this decision of ours wasrofita!le, you should not have avoided the gain& 3f, on the contrary, you thought it harmful, you

should have saved me also from the loss, as you always said that you esteemed me over others&

But you have done everything to make me fall into the snare, even though you had no need of

guile and hyocrisy in dealing with one who, in word and action, was always oen and sinceretowards you&

Nevertheless, as 3 said !efore, 3 do not accuse you of these things, nor do 3 reroach you

for the lonely osition in which you have laced me !y !ringing to an end those times together

from which we derived no small leasure and rofit& /ll these things, 3 !ear in silence andmeekness, not that you have acted meekly in your transgression against me, !ut !ecause, from

the day that 3 cherished your friendshi, 3 made a rule for myself that whatever sorrow you mightcause me, 3 would never force you to aologiHe& -ou know yourself that you have afflicted no

small loss on me, if at least you remem!er what was said a!out us reeatedly !y strangers and !y

ourselves, that it was a great advantage for us to !e of one mind and secure in our mutualfriendshi& Everyone said that our concord would !e of great !enefit to ourselves and to others&

owever, 3 never erceived how it could !e of advantage to others, !ut 3 did say that we should

at least derive this !enefit from it, and that those who wished to contend with us would find us

difficult to master& 3 never ceased to remind you of these things !y saying that the time we live inare dangerous and that our enemies are many& (enuine love no longer exists and the deadly

disease of envy has cret in its lace& ;e 6go a!out in the midst of snares and walk uon

!attlements of cities&".here are many in our midst who stand ready to re


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hus!and out of her fathers hands excet !y deceiving him& /nd when her !rother wanted to save

from danger the very man she had rescued, he made use of the same weaons as she did&

Basil: None of this alies to me& 3 am not an enemy nor am 3 striving to hurt you, !ut


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But this is not the case away with such an audacious thought ;e not only ac)uit them

of !lame, !ut we also admire them !ecause of these things, since (od commended them for the

same& e alone can


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and the greatness of this office& 4!serve at any rate how great the reward is: @e will set him

over all that he hath&A5

;ill you, then, still contend that you were not rightly deceived when you are a!out tosuerintend the things which !elong to (od, and are doing what the Dord said to Peter so that he

would surass the rest of (ods aostles >or he said, @Dovest thou me, Peter, more than these

.end my shee&A e might have said to him, @3f thou lovest me, ractice fasting, sleeing on the!are ground, and rolonged vigils= chamion the wronged, !e as a father to the fatherless and as

a hus!and to their mother&A% 3n fact, setting aside all these things, what does e say @.end my

shee&A0any women or men under authority might easily erform the other things 3 have

mentioned& But when someone is re)uired to reside over the Church and is entrusted with the

care of so many souls, then let womankind give way !efore the magnitude of the task, and

indeed most men also& Bring !efore us those who far excel all others and who surass the rest insiritual stature, as Saul was in !odily stature a!ove the e!rew nation, or rather far more Det

us not look only @from the shoulder and uwardA !e the standard of in)uiry, !ut let the

distinction !etween sheherd and his shee !e as great as that !etween rational man and

irrational creatures, not to say even greater, since matters of much greater imortance are atstake&

e who loses shee, either through the ravages of wolves or the attacks of ro!!ers, orthrough murrain or some other accident, might erhas o!tain some indulgence from the owner

of the flock& Even if he were called uon to ay comensation from the owner of the flock, the

enalty would !e only a matter of money& owever, he who has human !eings entrusted to him,the rational flock of Christ, incurs a enalty for the loss of the shee which goes !eyond material

things, and risks not money !ut of his own soul& 0oreover, he has a far greater and difficult

struggle& is fight is neither with wolves, nor his fear with ro!!ers, nor to consider how he may

rotect the flock from estilence& ;ith whom then has he to fight ;ith whom has he to wrestleDisten to the words of St& Paul, @4ur wrestling is not against flesh and !lood, !ut against the

rincialities, against owers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, and against the

siritual hosts of wickedness in high laces&A$ Go you see the terri!le multitude of enemies andtheir fierce legions, not armed with steel, !ut endued with a nature which is e)uivalent to a suit

of armor

;ould you like to !e shown another cruel and savage army lying in wait for his flock.his also you can !ehold from the same ost of o!servation& >or he who has discoursed to us

concerning the others also oints out these enemies to us seaking in such a manner as this:

@.hese are the works of the flesh which are manifest: fornication, adultery, uncleanness,

lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulation, wrath, strife, !ackF!iting,whisering, swellings, tumults,A2and more !esides these& >or he did not list them all, !ut left us

to understand the rest from these examles&

0oreover, in the case of the sheherds of irrational creatures, those who want to destroythe flock when they see the guardian take flight, cease making war with him and are content to

seiHe his animals& Even in this case, if they should cature the whole flock, they do not leave the

sheherd unmolested !ut attack him all the more and with more daring, until they have eitheroverthrown him or are !eaten themselves& /gain, the afflictions of the shee are manifest, either

!y famine or estilence, wounds or anything else that might distress them& .his might !e a great

hel towards the relief of those who are oressed in these ways&

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/nd there is yet another fact greater than this which facilitates release from this kind of

infirmity& ;hat is it .hose sheherds with great authority comel the shee to accet the

remedy even if they do not willingly su!mit to it& 3t is easy to !ind them when cautery or cuttingis re)uired, and to kee them inside the fold for a long time whenever it is exedient, and to

!ring them one kind of food instead of another, and to cut them off from their suly of water&

.he sheherds may decide with erfect ease other remedies conducive to the health of theirshee&

3n the case of human infirmities, it is not easy in the first lace for a man to discern them,

for no man @knoweth the things of a man, save the sirit of man which is in him&A* ow, then,can anyone aly the remedy for the disease if he does not know its character and often is una!le

to understand it, even if he should haen to !e sick with it himself ;hen it !ecomes aarent,

it causes him yet more trou!le, for it is not ossi!le to treat all men with the same authority with

which the sheherd treats his shee& ere too, it is ossi!le to !ind and to restrain from food andto use cautery or the knife, !ut the decision to receive treatment deends on the will of the

atient, and does no lie with the man who administers the medicine& .his was also erceived !y

that wonderful man, St& Paul, when he said to the Corinthians, @Not that we have dominion over

your faith, !ut are helers of your or Christians a!ove all men are not ermitted forci!lyto correct the failings of those who sin& ;hen secular or this reason, much tact is needed so that our atients may !e induced to su!mit willingly to

the treatment rescri!ed !y the riests, and also that they !e grateful to them for the cure& 3f a

man !ecomes restive when he is !ound, as it is in his ower to do so, he makes his sufferings

worse& 3f he should ay no heed to the words which cut like steel, he inflicts another wound !yhis contemt, and the intention to heal !ecomes the occasion of a more serious disease& >or it is

not ossi!le for anyone to cure a man !y comulsion against his will&

;hat, then, should one do 3f you deal too leniently with one who needs dee surgery,and do not make a dee incision in the one who re)uires it, you remove one dart of the sore !ut

leave the other& 3f, on the other hand, you make the re)uired incision unsaringly, often the

atient, in desair at his sufferings, will throw aside !oth remedy and !andage at once, andromtly throw himself down headlong, @!reaking the yoke and !ursting the !ond&A "1 3 could tell

you of many who have run into extreme evils !ecause the due enalty of their sins was exacted&

3n alying unishment, it is not right to exact a enalty !y roortioning it to the scale

of the offence& 3t is !etter to kee in mind the disosition of the sinner, for fear that !y wishing tomend what is torn, you make the tear worse, and in your eagerness to restore what is fallen, you

could cause a worse fall& .hose who are weak and careless and generally addicted to the

leasures of the world, and who take ride on their !irth and rank, may, if gently and gradually!rought to reent their errors, !e at least artially delivered from the evils that ossess them& >or

if anyone where to inflict the disciline all at once, he would derive them of this slight chance

of amendment& 4nce the soul has !een forced to disel shame, it !ecomes callous and neitheryields to kindly words nor !ends to threats& No longer susceti!le to gratitude, it !ecomes far

worse than that the city which the rohet reroached saying, @.hou hadst the face of a harlot=

thou refusedst to !e ashamed !efore all&""

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understand and realiHe more fully the extent of the evils into which you have led me& 3f you

withdrew yourself from this ministry !ecause you were conscious that your sirit was not e)ual

to the !urden of the task, you should have rescued me from it first, even if 3 had !een full ofeagerness for it, to say nothing of having confided to you the entire decision of these matters& /s

it is, you have looked solely to your own interest and neglected mine& 3f you had indeed entirely

neglected them, then 3 should have !een content, !ut you lotted to facilitate my cature !y thosewho wished to seiHe me&

-ou cannot even take shelter in the argument that u!lic oinion deceived you and

induced you to imagine great and wonderful things concerning me& >or 3 am not one of yourfamous and distinguished men, and even if this had !een the case, you ought not to have

referred u!lic oinion to the truth& 3f 3 had never ermitted you to enor when !lessed Paul said, @0oreover he must have good testimony from them that arewithout,A"he does not assign recedence to such testimony over the scrutiny re)uired in such

cases& >or after much revious discourse, he mentioned this additional testimony to rove that

one must not !e content with this alone for elections of this kind, !ut must take it intoconsideration along with the rest& >or it often haens that u!lic reort is false, !ut when careful

investigation roceeds, no further danger need !e anticiated from it& >or he did not simly say,

@he must have a good reort,A !ut added the words, @from them which are without,A there!ywishing to show that !efore the reort of those without, he must carefully examine the man

himself& Since then, as 3 myself knew your affairs !etter than your arents, as you yourself also

acknowledged, 3 might deserve to !e released from all !lame&

Basil: .hat is the very reason why you should not escae unishment if any one decidesto indite you& Go you not remem!er hearing from me, and often learning from my conduct, the

weakness of my character ;ere you not eretually taunting me for my faint heartedness

!ecause 3 was so easily de


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from uttering a single word on the su!or what would eole not have said @.hey have committed affairs

of such vast interest and imortance to thoughtless youths& .hey have defiled the flock of (od

and Christian affairs have !ecome a


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me even !y name& Even my refusal of the office will not !e manifest to all !ut only to a few& 3 am

not even sure that all of these know it for certain, !ut ro!a!ly many of them either imagine that

3 was not elected at all, or that 3 was rerom whom then can 3 exect raise >rom the many But they do not know the

actual fact& ;ell then, from the few ere again, the matter is misconstrued to my disadvantage&

>or the only reason you have come here now is to learn what answer you should give them& ;hatshall 3 now say on account of these things ;ait a moment, and you will clearly erceive that

even if all know the truth, they need not have convicted me of ride and love of glory& 3n

addition to this, there is another consideration that there is great danger involved, not only for

those who dare to take this attitude, !ut also in susecting it in others&

"& Ps& "12&%?&

+. "he ,lory o# the Priesthood.

.he riestly office is discharged on earth, !ut it is ranked amongst the heavenly ordinances& /nd

naturally so, for neither man, nor angel, nor archangel, nor any other created ower !ut the

Paraclete imself instituted this vocation, and ersuaded men, while still a!iding in the flesh, toreresent the ministry of angels& .he consecrated riest, therefore, must !e as ure as if he were

standing in heaven itself, in the midst of those owers&

.he sym!ols which existed !efore the ministry of grace were fearful and of greatconse)uence such as the !ells, the omegranates, the stones on the !reastlate and on the ehod,

the girdle, the miter, the long ro!e, the late of gold, the oly or olies, and the dee silencewithin& But if anyone should examine the sym!ols that !elong to the disensation of grace, he

will find that, as small as they are, they are fearful and aweFinsiring& .he statement concerningthe Daw is true here also: @.he slendor that once was is now no slendor at all= it is outshone !y

a slendor greater still&A">or when you see the Dord sacrificed, and laid uon the altar, and the

riest, standing and raying over the sacrifice, and all the worshiers !eing tinged with thatrecious !lood, can you then think that you are still amongst men and standing uon the earth

4n the contrary, are you not at once transorted to eaven, and casting out every carnal thought

from your soul, are you not then, in sirit and with ure reason, a!le to contemlate the thingswhich are in eaven 4h, the wonder of it 4h, the lovingFkindness of (od to men e who sits

on high with the >ather is, at that hour, held in the hands of all, and gives imself to those who

are willing to em!race and gras im& /ll this is done with the eyes of faith Go you think thesethings could !e desised, or do they make it ossi!le for anyone to !e suerior to them

;ould you like to !e shown the exceeding sanctity of this office Picture Eli


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the oly Sirit& e makes rolonged sulication, not that some flame from on high may

consume the offerings, !ut that grace descending on the sacrifice may there!y enlighten the souls

of all, and render them more refulgent than silver urified !y fire& ;ho can desise this most aweinsiring mystery unless he is mad and senseless Go you not know that no human soul could

ever have endured that fire in the sacrifice, !ut all would have !een utterly consumed excet for

the owerful hel of (ods graceCan anyone consider how great a thing it is for a man of flesh and !lood to !e a!le to

aroach that !lessed and ure nature& e will then clearly see what great honor the grace of the

Sirit !estows to riests& 3t is through them that these rites are cele!rated and other rites no lessinferior to these, !oth in resect to our dignity and our salvation&

>or those who inha!it the earth and make their a!ode, they are entrusted with the

administration of heavenly things and have received an authority which (od has not given to

angels or archangels& >or has it not !een said to them, @;hat things soever ye shall !ind on earthshall !e !ound also in heaven= and what things soever ye shall loose, shall !e loosedA ? .hey who

rule on earth have authority to !ind only the !ody, whereas this !inding lays hold of the soul and

enetrates the heavens& ;hat riests do on earth (od ratifies a!ove and the 0aster confirms the

sentence of his servants& (od has given them all manner of authority for e says, @;hose soeversins ye forgive, they are forgiven, and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained&A 5;hat

authority could !e greater than this @.he >ather hath given all


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which they ursued it& But the eole we are considering have done or there is not an e)ualamount of contemt involved in coveting an honor which does not ertain to one, and making

light of it, !ut the latter exceeds the former as much as scorn differs from admiration& ;hat soul

then is so sordid as to desise such great advantages No one, 3 should say, excet the victim ofsome demonic imulse&

.o return to the toic from which 3 digressed, (od has !estowed a ower on riests

greater than that of our natural arents& .he difference !etween the two differs as much as theresent and the future life& 4ur natural arents !ring us into this life only, !ut riests into the life

to come& Natural arents cannot avert death from their offsring, or reel disease& But riests

have often saved a sick soul, or one which was on the oint of erishing, !y making the

unishment milder for some, and reventing others from ever incurring it, not only !y instructionand admonition !ut also through heling them !y rayer& .hey have the authority to remit sins,

not only at the time of regeneration, !ut afterwards too& @3s any among you sick Det him call for

the elders of the Church, and let them ray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the

Dord& /nd the rayer of faith shall save him that is sick, and the Dord shall raise him u, and if hehave committed sins, they shall !e forgiven him&A 2/gain, our natural arents are una!le to hel

their children if they come into conflict with the rominent and owerful in the world, !ut riestshave often reconciled, not rulers and kings, !ut (od imself when is wrath has often !een

rovoked against them&

;ill anyone after this still dare to condemn me for arrogance 3 think that after what 3have said, such reverence will fill the souls of the hearers that they will no longer condemn those

who avoid the office of arrogance and fear, !ut only those who seek it of their own accord and

are determined to o!tain this dignity for themselves&

"& ?Cor& 5&"1 7N&E&B&9 ?& Cf& 0att& "*&"*& 5& John ?1&?5& %& John &??& & John 5&& $& Cf& John $&5& 2 Jas& :"%F"

-. "he Di##iculty o# the Priesthood.

If it is true that those who are entrusted with civic government have sometimes destroyed cities,and also ruined themselves through lack of discretion and vigilance, then how much strength andower from a!ove must a man need to avoid sin, whose task is to adorn the Bride of Christ

No man loved Christ more than Paul= no man exhi!ited greater Heal than he= and no man

was endowed with more grace& Nevertheless, after all these great advantages, it is with fear andtrem!ling for his authority that he governs those entrusted to him& e says, @3 fear, lest as the

serent !eguiled Eve, so your thoughts should !e corruted from the simlicity which is towards

Christ&A"/nd again, @3 was with you in fear and in much trem!ling&?-et he was a man who had

!een @caught u to the third eavenA5and made @artaker of the unseaka!le mysteries of(od,%and endured as many @deathsAas he had lived days after he !ecame a !eliever& e was a

man who did not want to use the authority given him !y Christ in case any of his converts should

!e offended&$

3f, then, he who went !eyond the ordinances of (od, and nowhere sought advantage for

himself !ut only for those under him, and was always so full of fear when he considered the

magnitude of his resonsi!ility, what will !ecome of those who seek their own advantage, and

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fail to go !eyond the commandments of Christ and for the most art, transgress them @;ho is

weak,A he says, @and 3 am not weak ;ho is offended and 3 !urn notA 2.hat is what a riest

ought to !e like, or rather, not or all these wise !easts and more are !red uon that rock of

which 3 have soken& /nd those eole whom they have once catured are inevita!ly dragged

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looking in every direction, for he lives not for himself alone !ut for a great multitude& But 3 am

sluggish and slack, and scarcely a!le to !ring a!out my own salvation, as even you should admit,

who, out of love for me, are eager to conceal my faults&Go not seak to me now of fasting and vigils or sleeing on the ground and other hard

!odily disciline& -ou know how defective 3 am in these matters& But even if 3 had carefully

racticed them, they could not, with my resent sluggishness have !een of any service to mewith a view to this ost of authority& Such things might !e of great service to a man shut u in a

cell and concerned only a!out his own soul& But when a man is divided among so great a

multitude, and enters searately into the rivate cares of those who are under his direction, whatarecia!le hel can !e given to their imrovement unless he ossesses a ro!ust and vigorous

character

Go not !e surrised if, in addition to such endurance, 3 seek another test of fortitude in

the soul& .o !e indifferent to food and drink and a soft !ed is not a hard task to many, eseciallyto those who have !een !rought u in this way from early youth, and to many others as well& >or

!odily disciline and custom softens the severity of these la!orious ractices& owever, there are

not many, only a few here and there, who can !ear insult, and a!use, and coarse language and

gi!es from inferiors, soken wantonly or deli!erately, and re!ukes made at random, !oth !yrulers and the ruled& -ou can see men who are valiant in ascetic ractices !ecome so comletely

uset !y these things as to !ecome more furious than the most savage !easts& ;e shouldesecially exclude such men from the recincts of the riesthood& No harm would !e done to the

common interests of the Church if a relate did not loathe food, or go !arefoot, !ut a furious

temer causes great disasters !oth to him who ossesses it, and to his neigh!ors&.here is no divine threat against those who fail to do the things referred to, !ut those who

are angry without a cause are threatened with hell and hell fire& 5/s, then, the lover of vainglory

adds fresh fuel to the fire when he assumes direction of a whole multitude like some wild !east

(oaded 4n all sides !y countless tormentors& e would never !e a!le to live in eace, and wouldcause incalcula!le evil to those eole committed to his charge&

Nothing clouds the urity of the mind and the ersicuity of the mental vision as much as

undiscilined wrath that fluctuates violently& Scriture says, @.his destroys even the rudent&A %

>or the souls eye is darkened as in a nocturnal !attle and cannot distinguish friend from foe, nor

the honora!le from the unworthy& 3t handles them all in turn the same way, even if some harm

must !e suffered, readily enduring everything in order to satisfy the leasure of the soul& >or afire of wrath is a kind of leasure and tyranniHes over the soul more harshly than leasure,

comletely usetting its healthy condition& 3t easily imels men to arrogance, to unseasona!le

enmities and unreasona!le hatred, and it continually makes them ready to commit wanton and

vain offences, and forces them to say and do many other things of that kind& .he soul is swetalong with the rush of assion, and has no !ase on which to fasten its strength and resist so

strong an imulse&

Basil: 3 will not endure this irony of yours any longer& ;ho knows !etter than 3 how farremoved you are from this infirmity

John: ;hy then, my good friend, do you want to drag me near the yre and rovoke the

sleeing !east Go you not know that 3 have achieved this condition, not !y any innate virtue,!ut !y my love of retirement ;hen one who is so constituted remains contented !y himself, or

only associates with one or two friends, he is a!le to escae the fire which arises from his

assion& owever, if he has lunged into the a!yss of all these cares, he drags not only himself,

!ut also many others with him to the !rink of destruction, and renders them more indifferent to

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all consideration for gentleness& >or the mass of eole under government are generally inclined

to regard the character of their rulers as a model tye, and to assimilate themselves to it& ow

then could any one ut a sto to their out!ursts, if he is himself swelling with rage ;hoamongst the multitude would naturally desire to learn selfFcontrol when he sees that his ruler is

hotFtemered

.he riests shortcomings simly cannot !e concealed& 4n the contrary, even the mosttrivial ones soon !ecome known& .he weakest athlete can conceal his weakness as long as he

remains at home and contends with no one= !ut when he stris for the contest, he is easily

detected& >or some who live this rivate and inactive life, their isolation serves as a veil to hidetheir defects= !ut when they are !rought into u!lic life, they are comelled to divest themselves

of this mantle of seclusion, and to lay !are their souls to all through their visi!le movements& /s,

then, their right deeds rofit many !y challenging them to e)ual Heal, so their shortcomings make

men more indifferent to the ractice of virtue, and encourage them to indolence for the thingsthat matter& .herefore, his soul ought to gleam with !eauty on every side so that it may !e a!le to

gladden and to enlighten the souls of those who !ehold it&

.he faults of ordinary men, !eing committed as it were in the dark, ruin only those who

commit them& But the errors of a man in a consicuous osition, and known to many, inflict acommon inor all who surround him are ready to smite and

overthrow him, not only his enemies and foes, !ut many of those who retend to love him&.herefore, the souls of men elected to the riesthood ought to !e endued with ower as

hardy as (ods grace once !estowed on the !odies of those saints cast in the Ba!ylonian

furnace& BrushFwood and itch and tow are not the fuel of this fire, !ut something far moredreadful& 3t is no material fire to which they are su!or as long as the life of the riest is well regulated in every articular oint, theirintrigues cannot hurt him& But if he haens to overlook some trifle, as is natural in a human

!eing traversing the treacherous ocean of this life, none of his other good deeds are of any avail

in ena!ling him to escae the words of his accusers& .hat small offence casts a shadow over allthe rest of his life& Everyone is ready to ass


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as they have found some little handle, not only as a tyrant, !ut something far more dreadful than

that& /s the tyrant fears his !odyguards, also does the riest dread most of his neigh!ors and

fellowFministers& >or no others covet his dignity so much or know his affairs as well as thesemen& Being close to him, they learn !efore others of any faults that may occur& 3f they slander

him, they easily command !elief, and !y magnifying trifles, they take their victim cative& >or

the aostolic saying is reversed: @/nd if one mem!er suffereth, all the mem!ers reor it is no onlymalice, !ut something far worse the lust after this office that is wont to arm many against

the one who ossesses it& Just as avaricious sons !egrudge their fathers a long life, so when someof these men see the riestly office held !y anyone for a rolonged eriod, they hasten to deose

him as it would !e wicked to murder him& Being desirous to take his lace, everyone exects that

the office will fall to him&

"& ".im& 5&"& ?& 0att& &""F"?& 5& Cf& 0att& &??& %& Prov& "&" 7DOO9&

& Gan& 5&?2& $& Contrast "Cor& "?&?$& 2& Cf& "Cor& ?&""&

1/. Particular Duties and Pro0lems.

Promotions.

;ould you like me to show you yet another hase of this strife which is full of

innumera!le dangers Come, then, and take a ee at the u!lic festivals when it is generally the

custom for elections to !e made to ecclesiastical dignities& -ou will then see the riest assailedwith accusations as numerous as the eole whom he rules& >or all who are )ualified to !estow

the honor are then slit into many arties, and one can never find the council of elders of one

mind with each other, nor with the one who has received the Eiscoal office& Each man stands

alone, one referring this man and another that& .he reason is that they do not all concentrate onone thing siritual worth which ought to !e the only o!or instance, one man says, @Det thisman !e chosen !ecause he !elongs to a distinguished familyA= another says, @Because heossesses a large fortune and would not need suorting out of the Churchs revenuesA= another,

@Because he is a convert from the other side&A 4ne man is anxious to give reference to a friend,

another to a relative, a third to a flatterer, !ut no one will look for the !estF)ualified man or makea test of his character&

3 myself am so far from thinking these things trustworthy criteria of a mans fitness for

the riesthood& Even if anyone manifested great iety, which is no small hel in the discharge of

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that office, 3 should not venture to arove him on that account alone, unless he com!ined

considera!le intelligence with his iety& >or 3 know many men who have exercised eretual

restraint uon themselves, and exhausted themselves with fasting, and who, as long as they wereallowed to live alone and attend to their own needs, were acceta!le to (od, and every day made

great rogress in this kind of learning& -et, when they entered u!lic life, and were comelled to

correct the ignorance of the multitudes, some of them roved at the outset that they wereincometent for so great a task, and others, when forced to ersevere in it, a!andoned their

former strict standards, and inflicted great inormerly, 3 used to deride secular rulers !ecause they distri!uted honors not on grounds

of moral excellence, !ut on wealth, and seniority, and worldly distinction& ;hen 3 heard that this

kind of folly had forced its way into our affairs also, 3 no longer regarded their conduct as soatrocious& >or why should we !e surrised that worldly men, who love the raise of the

multitude, and do everything for the sake of gain, should commit these sins, when those who

claim to !e free from all these influences are no !etter /lthough they are in a contest for

heavenly rewards, they act as if the )uestion su!mitted for decision was one which concernsacres of land, or something else of the kind& .hey simly take commonlace men, and ut them

in charge of those things for which the onlyF!egotten Son of (od did not disdain to emty

imself of is glory, and to !ecome man, and to take the form of a servant, and to !e sat uon,and !uffeted, and to die a death of reroach in the flesh&

Nor do they sto even here, !ut they add to these offences others still more monstrous&

Not only to they elect unworthy men, !ut they actually exel those who are well )ualified& /s ifit were necessary to undermine the safety of the Church in !oth ways, or as if the former

rovocation were not enough to kindle the wrath of (od, they have contrived another reason no

less serious& >or 3 consider it as !ad to kee out the useful as to !ring in the useless& .his in fact

takes lace so that the flock of Christ is una!le to find consolation in any direction or draw its

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!reath freely& Goes this not deserve to !e unished !y a hail of thunder!olts and hellFfire hotter

than that with which we are threatened -et these monstrous evils are !orne atiently !y im

who does not desire the death of a sinner, !ut rather that he should !e converted and live& owcan we marvel at is loving kindness for man, or !e amaHed at is mercy Christians destroy the

roerty of Christ more than enemies and adversaries, yet the good Dord still deals gently with

them and calls them to reentance&(lory !e to .hee, 4 Dord (lory to .hee ow vast is the deth of .hy loving kindness

ow great the riches of .hy for!earance 0en, who through .hy name have risen from

insignificance and o!scurity to ositions of honor and distinction, use the honor they en


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this walk of life needs to investigate thoroughly !eforehand all matters !efore he sets undertakes

this ministry& /nd why Because one who knows all difficulties !eforehand will have the

advantage of not !eing taken !y surrise when they cro u&

idos and the Sick;ould you like me then to aroach the )uestion of the suerintendence of widows, or of

the care of virgins, or of the difficulty of the or in each of these cases, there is

a different kind of anxiety and the fear is greater than the anxiety&

3n the first lace, even though this ministry aears to !e easier than the rest, the chargeof widows seems to cause anxiety to those who take care of them so far as the exenditure of

money is concerned& But this is not so& 4n the contrary, here also close scrutiny is needed when

they are enrolled& Entering their names carelessly has led to untold trou!les& >or they have ruinedhouseholds, and severed marriages, and have often !een detected stealing and ilfering and

committing other disgraceful offences like these& .o suort women like that from the Churchs

funds rovokes unishment from (od, and extreme condemnation from men, and discourages

those who want to do good& >or who could ever choose to send the money which he wascommanded to give to Christ uon those who defame the name of Christ >or these reasons a

long and recise scrutiny ought to !e made to revent those whom 3 have descri!ed, as well as

those who can rovide for themselves, from lundering the ta!le of those who cannot&/fter this scrutiny, there follows another !it anxiety to see that the means for their

suort should our in a!undantly, like water from a sring, and never fail& >or comulsory

overty is an insatia!le kind of evil, )uerulous and unthankful& (reat discretion and great Heal isre)uired to take away all occasions for comlaint and sto their tongues from wagging& ;hen

eole see anyone suerior to avarice, they at once oint him out as suita!le for this stewardshi&

But 3 do not think that honesty !y itself is sufficient& /lthough it ought to !e ossessed rior toall other )ualities, since without this a man will !e a destroyer rather than a rotector, a wolf

instead of a sheherd& But you must look for the ossession of another )uality as well, and that isfor!earance, the source of all human !lessings, which guides the soul into a serene heaven&

>or widows are a class who, !oth on account of their overty, their age and natural

disosition, indulge in unlimited freedom of seech to call it no worse .hey make

unseasona!le clamor and idle comlaints and lamentations a!out matters for which they ought to

!e grateful, and !ring accusations concerning things which they ought contentedly to accet&Now the suerintendent should endure all these things in a generous sirit, and not !e rovoked

either !y their inoortune annoyance or their unreasona!le comlaints& >or ersons of this kind

deserve to !e itied, not insulted for their misfortunes& 3t would !e a mark of utter cruelty to takeadvantage of their misfortunes, and add to the ain of overty the ain of insult&

.hat is why a very wise man, o!serving the avarice and ride of human nature, realiHed

the nature of overty and its terri!le ower to deress even the no!lest character, and oftenteaches it to lose all shame on such matters& .o revent anyone !eing irritated when accused or

rovoked !y continual imortunity to !ecome an enemy when he ought to !ring aid, he instructs

him to !e gentle and accessi!le to the needy saying: @3ncline thine ear to a oor man without

grieving and answer him with eacea!le words in meekness&A"3n the case of one who rovokes aman in distress for what can you say to someone who is overcome he addresses the man

who is a!le to !ear the others infirmity, urging him, !efore he !estows his gift, to correct the

suliant !y the gentleness of his countenance and the mildness of his words& 3f anyone, without

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having taken the roerty of these widows, loads them with innumera!le reroaches and insults

them and is exaserated against them, he not only fails through his gift to alleviate the

desondency of overty, !ut aggravates the distress !y his a!use& Even if they are comelled !ysheer hunger to act shamelessly, they are still hurt !y this comulsion& ;hen they are forced to

!eg !ecause of the dread of famine, they are constrained to ut off shame and are insulted

!ecause of their !raHenness, and the ower of desondency, which attacks them, casts a deegloom over their soul&

;hoever is in charge of these ersons should !e so longFsuffering so that far from

increasing their desondency !y his fits of anger, he actually removes the greater art of it !y hissymathy& >or


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of angels, and while in the flesh, rooses to do deeds which !elong to the incororeal owers&

0oreover, she must not make numerous or unnecessary or

the enemy of holiness is always surrising them and lying in wait for them, ready to devour any

one of them if they should sli and fall& 0any men also lay snares for them, and !esides all thesethings there is their own assionate natures& .he virgin must e)ui herself for a twofold war, one

launched from the outside and the other from within& >or these reasons, he who has the

guardianshi of virgins suffers great alarm and distress should any of the things occur which,(od for!id, are contrary to his wishes&

>or if a daughter is @a secret cause of wakefulness to her father,A 5and his care for her

makes him loose slee through his great anxiety that she may !e childless, or ass her rime

unmarried, or !e hated !y her hus!and, what more will a man feel whose anxiety is over none ofthese dangers, !ut over others far greater than these >or in this case, it is not a man who is

reor a

mother and a nurse and many handmaids share in heling to kee the girl safe& She is not

allowed to !e eretually dashing into the marketFlace, and when she does go there, she is notallowed to show herself to assersF!y since the dusk of the evening conceals her no less than the

walls of the house& /nd aart from this, she is relieved from every

cause which might otherwise comel her to meet the gaHe of men& She has no anxiety a!out the

necessities of life, nor the insults of wrongdoers, nor anything of that kind which reduces her tothis unfortunate necessity since her father reresents her in all matters& But she herself has one

care only, which is to avoid doing or saying anything unworthy of the modest conduct which

!ecomes her&But in the case of a virgin, there are many circumstances which make it difficult, or rather

imossi!le for her siritual father to rotect her& e cannot have her in his house since it would

not !e seemly or safe to live together& >or even if they themselves should suffer no harm, !utcontinue to reserve their innocence unsullied, they would have to answer for the souls they have

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Should anyone say that it is not the !ishos or

when they have to !e enrolled on the list, they cause no small trou!le to the man who is entrusted

with this administration&

*r0itration43isitin(45xcommunication.

/gain, the


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accused may easily tolerate the accuser& >or since there is no accuser more !itter than our own

conscience, we have no difficulty in !earing the milder accusations of others& But he who has no

evil thing uon his conscience, is seedily excited to wrath when he is su!or whatever sins he may commit after such a method of treatment, the

hysician who so unskillfully alies his knife to the wound shares the wrath caused !y each ofthem&

;hat severe unishment, then, must a man exect, when he not only has to render

account for his own offences, !ut also stands in the utmost eril for the sins of others >or if we

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John: 3n answer to this 3 shook my head and smiled a little, admiring the simlicity of the man

and relied:

3 could only wish it were as you say, my !est of friends, !ut not in order to ena!le me toaccet the office which 3 have or even if there were no unishment stored u for

me for taking charge of the flock of Christ without consideration and exerience, it would !e

worse than any unishment to !e entrusted with so great a charge and seem so !ase towards imwho had entrusted me with it&

>or what reason, then, did 3 wish that your oinion were not mistaken 3 do so for the

sake of those wretched, misera!le men 7for that is what 3 call those who have not found out howto discharge the duties of this office, however often you tell me that they were forced into it, and

made their mistakes in ignorance9& 3 wish they could escae the un)uencha!le fire and the outer

darkness and this worm that never dies and the unishment of !eing cut asunder and erishing

together with the hyocrites But what can 3 do 3t cannot !e so&3f you like, 3 will give you roof of what 3 say, !eginning with an argument from kingshi

which is not so highly esteemed !y (od as the riesthood& ;hen Saul, the son of 'ish, was made

king, he was not eager for the work& No, he set out to look for his asses and came to ask the

rohet a!out them= !ut Samuel soke to him a!out the kingshi& 3nstead, he hesitated andexcused himself saying, @;ho am 3, and what is my fathers houseA "/nd what haened

;hen he had made a !ad use of the honor !estowed on him !y (od, did this lea suffice to savehim from the wrath of im who had made him king /nd yet he might have answered Samuels

accusation !y saying, @Gid 3 greedily run and rush after the kingshi and sovereign ower 3

wished to live the undistur!ed and eaceful life of ordinary men, !ut you forced me into this ostof honor& 3f 3 had remained in my lowly life, 3 should easily have avoided these stum!ling !locks&

Surely, if 3 had !een one of the crowd, without secial distinction, 3 should never have !een sent

forth for this work, nor would (od have ut me in charge of the war against the /malekites& /nd

if 3 had not !een ut in charge of it, 3 should never have committed this sin&ABut all these excuses are fee!le, and not only fee!le !ut erilous inasmuch as they rouse

(ods anger even more& >or he who has !een romoted to great honor !y (od must not advance

the greatness of his honor as an excuse for his errors& e should make (ods secial favortowards him the motive for further imrovement& But he who thinks himself at li!erty to sin

!ecause he has !een so highly honored, is determined to rove that the cause of his sins is the

kindness of (od& .his is always the argument of those who lead godless and careless lives& ;emust not !e on any account likeFminded or fall into the insane folly of such eole& ather, we

should at all times, !e determined to lay our art to the !est of our a!ility, and to !e reverent

!oth in seech and thought&

/gain, to leave the kingshi and come now to the riesthood, which is our real su!or he was of the tri!e of Devi and was!ound to accet that high office which descended to him from his forefathers& But even so, he

aid dearly for the drunken !ehavior of his sons&

.hen again, did not the first igh Priest of the Jews, a!out whom (od soke so manywords to 0oses, all !ut erish when he was una!le to withstand alone the frenHy of so great a

multitude excet that the intercession of his !rother averted the wrath of (od /nd since 3 have

mentioned 0oses, it will !e well to show the truth of my argument from what haened to him

too& >or this same saintly 0oses was so far from grasing at the leadershi of the Jews as to

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derecate the offer, and declined it when (od commanded him to take it, rovoking the wrath of

(od who aointed him& Not only then, !ut also afterwards, when he held the office, he would

gladly have died to have !een set free from it& @'ill me,A he said, @if .hou wilt thus deal withme&A?;hat followed ;hen he sinned at the waters of 0eri!ah, were his reeated refusals

enough to excuse him and to ersuade (od to ardon him >or what else, then, was he derived

of the Promised Dand >or no other reason, as we all know, excet this sin, for which thatwondrous man was de!arred from en


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John: 3 !eseech and imlore you to not !e so downcast& >or while there is safety for us

who are weak, namely in not undertaking this office at all, there is safety for you too who are

strong& .his consists in making your hoes of salvation deend on (ods grace, and avoidingevery act unworthy of this gift and of (od who gave it&

0en who, after getting this dignity !y their own am!ition, should then through sloth, or

wickedness, or even inexerience, a!use the office deserve the greatest unishment& ;e are togather from this that there is ardon in store for those who have not !een so am!itious for office&

4n the contrary, they too are derived of all excuse& 3 think that if vast num!ers of men entreat

and urge you, a man should ay no attention to them& >irst of all, a man should search his ownheart and examine the whole matter carefully !efore yielding to their imortunities&

>or, after all, no one would venture to undertake the !uilding of a house if he were not an

architect, nor will anyone attemt to cure the sick if he is not a skilled hysician& Even though

many will urge him, he will !eg off and will not !e ashamed of his ignorance& Shall he then, whois going to have the care of so many souls entrusted to him, not examine himself !eforehand

;ill he accet this ministry desite his utter lack of exerience !ecause this man commends him,

or that man constrains him, or for fear of offending yet another ow can he fail to involve

himself, along with them into manifest misery Deft alone, he might save his own soul, !ut thisway he involved others in his own destruction& ow can he o!tain ardon ;ho will then

successfully intercede for us .hey who now erhas urge us and comel us !y force But whowill save them at that hour .ruly, they themselves need the hel of others if they are to escae

the fire&

3 do not say these things to frighten you, !ut as the truth of the matter& Disten to what St&Paul says to his discile .imothy, his true and !eloved child: @Day hands hastily on no man,

neither !e artaker of other mens sins&A%Go you not see from what great !lame and unishment

3 have rescued, as far as 3 could, those who would have !rought me to this 3t is not sufficient

excuse for those who are chosen to say, @3 did not come forward of my own accord= 3 accetedthe office with my eyes shut&A E)ually, it will not hel those who aoint a man to say that they

did not know the man they aointed& .he fault is all the greater !ecause they !rought someone

forward they did not know& ;hat seems to !e an excuse actually increases their guilt& 3s it nota!surd that when eole want to !uy a slave, they show him to hysicians, and demand

guarantors for the urchase, and make in)uiries of neigh!ors, and after all this they still lack

confidence and demand a long trial eriod& -et, when they are going to admit a man to so greatan office as this, they make a careless and random choice, without further investigation, if

someone sees fit to vouch for him or to avoid the disleasure of someone else

;ho shall then successfully intercede for us at the hour when they stand themselves in

need of defenders e who is going to ordain should make a diligent in)uiry, and much more hewho is going to !e ordained& >or though they who ordain him share his unishment for any sins

which he may commit in his office, still he is not himself exemt from vengeance, !ut will ay

even more dearly unless those who chose him acted from some worldly motive against their!etter or if they should !e detected doing so, and knowingly chose him on some

unworthy retext or other, their unishment shall !e e)uivalent to his and erhas even greater&

>or if anyone gives authority to a man who wants to destroy the Church, he would !e certainly to!lame for the outrages which that erson commits& But if he is innocent of all of this and leads

that he has !een misled !y the oinions of others, he shall not altogether remain ununished, !ut

!e will !e given a lighter enalty than the one who has !een ordained& /nd why Because it is

ossi!le that those who made the choice may have !een deceived !y a false reort& .hey can say

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that they did not know him, !ut the man who is elected cannot say he did not know himself&

Since, then, he is lia!le to a severer unishment than those who romoted him, he should make a

more careful scrutiny of his character than that which they made of him& 3f they !ring himforward in ignorance, he ought to come forward and carefully exlain the reasons why he is

unworthy of the resonsi!ility of such a high office&

;hy is it that when a decision has to do with war, commerce, farming and other worldly!usiness, a farmer will not undertake to navigate the shi, nor the soldier to lough, nor a skier

to lead an army even if he were under the ain of death& 3s not lainly !ecause each foresees the

danger of inexerience Shall we exercise such foresight and refuse to yield to the ressure ofcomulsion, !ut where the unishment is eternal, as it is for those who know not how to handle

the Priesthood, shall we lightly and casually run into so great a danger Shall we then advance as

our excuse the ressing entreaties of others But e, who one day will or we ought to show far more caution in siritual matters than in earthlymatters& 3n fact, however, we are discovered exercising even less&

.ell me, if we suosed that a man was a good craftsman when he is not so, and asked

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12. "he 7inistry o# the ord.

6ur resent in)uiry is not the management of wheat and !arley, or oxen and shee, or any suchlike matters& 3t is the very Body of Jesus& >or the Church of Christ is Christs own Body,

according to St& Paul,"and the man who is entrusted with it must train it to erfect health and

unseaka!le !eauty, and look everywhere lest any sot or wrinkle or other !lemishes of that sortmar its vigor and comeliness& 3n short, he must make it worthy, as far as lies within human

ower, or that incorruti!le and ever !lessed ead to which it is su!or it is not for one

kind of !attle only that we have to !e reared& .his warfare is manifold and is engaged with a

great variety of enemies& .hey do not all use the same weaons nor do they ractice the same

method of attack& e who has to


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distinction and says that the >ather in one, the Son another, and the oly sirit a third, u gets

/rius twisting the distinction of Persons into a difference of Su!stance& ;e must shun and avoid

the imious confounding of the Persons !y the one arty and the senseless division of thesu!stance !y the other !y confessing that the (odhead of the >ather, and of the Son, and of the

oly Sirit is one, then adding thereunto a .rinity of Persons& >or then, we shall !e a!le to

fortify ourselves against the attacks of !oth heretics&3 could tell you of many other adversaries which would leave the field covered with

wounds unless you fight with courage and with care& ;hy should any one descri!e the idle

seculations of our own eole .hese are not less than the attacks uon us from outside andthey cause the teacher even more trou!le& Some eole, out of idle curiosity, are rashly !ent uon

!usying themselves a!out matters which are neither ossi!le for them to know, nor of any

advantage to them even if they understand them& 4thers demand from (od an account for is

or thePsalmist says: @.hy or while they failed to fathom the deths of the /ostles mind, or to

understand the meaning of his words, they have assed all their time slum!ering and yawning,and aying resect not to that ignorance which St& Paul acknowledged, !ut a form from which no

man under heaven was ever as free&

But let the statement stand for the moment& 3n the meantime, granting that St& Paul was in

this resect as unskilled as they would have him to !e, what has that to do with the resentargument e had a greater ower than seech, a ower which was a!le to effect greater results&

By his mere resence, and without a word, he terrified the devils& 3f the men of today were all to

or if we ass over

the miracles and turn to the life of this !lessed saint, and examine his angelic conversation, it is

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in this, rather than in his miracles, that we will find this Christian athlete a con)ueror& ow can

one descri!e his Heal and for!earance, his constant erils, his continual cares and incessant

anxiety for the Churches, his symathy with the weak, his many tri!ulations, his unexamledersecutions, and his daily deaths ;hat lace in the world, which continent or sea remained

ignorant of the struggles of this righteous man Even the desert knew him and often sheltered

him in time of danger& e endured every form of attack, and achieved every kind of victory, andthere was never any end to his contests and his triumhs&

But 3 do not know how 3 let myself insult him& >or his achievements surass all

descrition, and !eyond mine in articular,


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were exceedingly admired !y all who heard them ;hy did the Dycaonians !elieve him to !e

ermes .he idea that he and Barna!as were gods was due to their miracles= !ut the idea that he

was ermes was due not to his miracles !ut to his elo)uence&3n what did St& Paul surass the rest of the /ostles /nd how does it come a!out that

throughout the whole world he is on everyones lis ow is it that not merely among ourselves,

!ut also among Jews and (reeks too, he is the wonder of wonders 3s it not !ecause of the owerof his Eistles /s long as the human race remains, he will never sto heling the faithful as he

has always heled, not only from his own time !ut also to the end of times, those who shall

!elieve until the second coming of Christ& is writings fortify the Churches all over the worldlike a wall of steel& Even now he stands amongst us as a most no!le chamion, !ringing into

cativity every thought to the o!edience of Christ, casting down imaginations and every high

thing that is exalted against the knowledge of (od& /ll this he does !y those Eistles, full of

wonder and divine wisdom, which he has left for us&is writings are not only useful to us for the refutation of false doctrine and the

confirmation of the truth, !ut they hel us greatly towards living a good life& >or !y the use of

them, the !ishos of today educate and train the chaste virgin whom St& Paul himself esoused to

Christ and led her to the state of siritual !eauty& By them, they also ward off the diseases which!eset her and reserve the good health she has o!tained& Such are the medicines and their

efficacy left to us !y this soFcalled unskilled man& .hose who constantly use them know theirower&

>rom all this, it is evident that St& Paul had taken great diligence and Heal to the study of

which we have !een seaking& But hear also what he says to his discile in a letter: @(ive heed toreading, to exhortation, to teaching&A*/nd he shows the usefulness of this !y adding: @>or in

doing this, thou shalt save !oth thyself and them that hear thee&A /gain he says: @.he Dords

servant must not strive, !ut !e gentle towards all, at to teach, for!earing&A #e roceeds to say:

@But a!ide thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast !een assured of, knowing ofwhom thou has learned them, and that from a !a!e thou hast known the sacred writings which

are a!le to make thee wise&A"1/nd again, @Every Scriture is insired of (od and is also

rofita!le for teaching, for reroof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness, thatthe man of (od may !e comlete&A""ear what he adds to his further to his directions to .itus

a!out the aointment of !ishos: @>or the !isho must !e holding to the faithful word which is

according to the teaching, that he may !e a!le to convict even the gainsayers&A "? But how shallanyone who is as unskillful as these men retend, !e a!le to convict the gainsayers and to sto

their mouths /nd what need is there to give attention to reading and to the oly Scritures if

such a lack of skill is to !e welcome among us Such arguments are mere retence and excuse,

the marks of idleness and sloth&Basil: But this charge is given to the riests&

John: ;ell, our argument


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the elders that rule well !e counted worthy of dou!le honor, esecially those who la!or in the

word and in teaching&A.he ultimate aim of their teaching is to !ring their disciles, !y what

they do and say, to that !lessed state of life which Christ commanded& Examle alone is notenough to instruct others& .his statement is not mine !ut our Saviors own word& >or he says,

@;hosoever shall do and teach, he shall !e called great&A$Now if doing were the same as

teaching, the second word would !e suerfluous& 3t would have !een enough to say, @whosoevershall do&A But in fact, !y distinguishing the two, he shows that ractice is one thing and doctrine

another and that each re)uires the other to comlete edification&

Go you recall what the chosen vessel2 of Christ said to the elders of Ehesus@;herefore, watch ye, remem!ering that !y the sace of three years, 3 ceased not to admonish

everyone of you, night and day, with tears&A*;hat need was there for tears or for admonition

when the /ostles life shone so !right is holy life might !e a great inducement to men to

kee the commandments, yet 3 dare not say that this alone could achieve everything& But whenconflict arises on matters of doctrine and all com!atants rely on the same scritures, what weight

will anyones life carry then ;hat then will !e the good of his many la!ors when after all his

exertions he falls into heresy through sheer inexerience and is cut off from the !ody of the

Church, as 3 know many have done& 4f what rofit then will his atience !e to him None at all,no more, in fact, than a sound faith couled with a corrut life& .hat is the chief reason why

anyone who has the resonsi!ility of teaching others must !e exerienced in these doctrinalconflicts& >or though he himself stands secure and is not in


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1. "emptations o# the "eacher.

Ihave given sufficient roof of the exerience needed !y the teacher in contending for the truth&3 have to mention however, one more matter which is a cause of untold dangers& .hough, for my

own art, 3 should rather say that the thing itself is not the cause so much as those who do not

know how to use it roerly& 4f itself, it is a hel to salvation and has many !enefits wheneveryou find earnest and good men who know how to correctly handle it& /nd what then do 3 mean

!y this 3t is the exenditure of great la!or uon the rearation of sermons delivered to the

congregation&.o !egin with, the ma


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the authority he desires !oth unish or ardon all those in his charge& But without this it will not

!e easy to do&

But this no!ility of soul must not only dislay indifference to raise, !ut should gofurther in order that the !enefit is not in turn fruitless& ;hat else then must he !e indifferent to

Slander and envy& .he right course is neither to show excessive fear and anxiety over illFdirected

a!use, as the !isho undergoes some groundless censure, nor should he simly ignore it&;e should try to extinguish criticisms at once even if they are false and are leveled at us

!y the common eole& >or nothing will magnify a good or evil reort as much as an

undiscilined mo!& Being accustomed to hear and seak without stoing to make in)uiry, theyreeat at random everything which comes in their way without any regard for the truth&

.herefore, the Bisho must not disregard the multitude, !ut rather ni their evil susicions in the

!ud !y convincing his accusers, however unreasona!le they may !e& ;e must admit nothing

which is a!le to disel an illFfavored reort& But if, when we have done all this, they who !lameus will not !e ersuaded, we must then resort to contemt& >or anyone who goes halfway to meet

humiliation !y things like this will never !e a!le to achieve anything fine or admira!le& >or

desondency and constant cares have a mighty ower to num! the soul and reduce it to utter

imotence&.he riest should treat those whom he rules as a father treats very young children& .heir

insults, or !lows, or tears do not distur! us, nor do we think much of their laughter and aroval&/nd so with these eole, we should not !e uffed u !y their raise nor cast down !y their

censure, when it comes form them out of season& .his is not easy, my friend, and 3 think it may

!e even imossi!le& >or 3 dont know whether any man ever succeeded in not enor though the reacher may have great

a!ility, which is rarely found, not even in this case is he released form eretual toil& >or the artof seaking does not come !y nature, !ut !y study, and even if a man reaches a high standard in

it, still it may forsake him unless he cultivates his ower !y constant alication and exercise& So

there is greater la!or for the gifted than for the unlearned& .here is not the same degree of loss

for !oth, !ut it varies in roortion to their attainments& No one would !lame the unskillful forturning out nothing remarka!le& But gifted seakers are ursued !y fre)uent comlaints from all

unless they continually surass the exectations which everyone has of them& Besides this, the

unskillful meet with great raise for small erformances, while the efforts of the others, unlessthey are wonderful and startling, not only fail to win alause !ut meet with many faultFfinders&

>or the congregation set themselves to !e critics, not so much in or this man is not allowed to avail

himself of the usual human lea that one cannot succeed in everything& 4n the contrary, if his

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