To Sistelius, On Leprosy 15–18

Translated by Claude from N. Bonwetsch's German translation (1917) of the Old Church Slavonic; neither is shown

Come now, so that we may not pass it by, let us behold the glory of God, having uncovered "the veil" of our eyes. For Scripture contains nothing useless. In giving us commandments about the sin of the understanding and of the flesh, he speaks in turn of the skin and of the warp (and of the woof). For whoever keeps his garment of cloth and linen clean, that is, faith and deed … For the Lord's garment is the church; he has gathered us from many regions and woven us together, so that we the weaker may be held by the greater, like the woof. So the prophet too says: "He clothes himself as with the adornment of a bride," speaking to show the union of Christ and the uniting of love. By the warp he means the stronger order of the church, that is, the bishops and teachers; by the woof, those under them and the people who are shepherded; by the skin, the catechumens, as those who have not yet put off the garments of skin through baptism. So Paul too said: "I have betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ." As he also says in Leviticus: "He shall take as wife a virgin of his own tribe; a widow and a harlot he shall not take, but a virgin of his own race," and so on. For when each of us is "renewed day by day" (having put off the leprosy, that is, the sexual immorality that was to blame for our expulsion), he becomes a virgin again and attains the first beauty through the wisdom of God, adorned as with golden chains, that is, with love, faith, purity, and patience; and so, purified, he is united to Christ. "Therefore the virgins love (you)," and he loves the virgins, as he writes in the Song of Songs: the young souls, pure through the Spirit. Or is this not so, Sistelius? And I said: It is altogether wise.

Translated by Claude from N. Bonwetsch's German translation (1917) of the Old Church Slavonic; neither is shown

And she said: So, as we said at first, if we purify all our members, we become the garment of Christ. As he says in the prophet Isaiah: "Let my soul rejoice in the Lord, for he has clothed me in a garment of salvation," and so on. But who will purify these better? Zechariah the prophet, who says: "And God showed me Jesus the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. And the devil stood at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to the devil: The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you, devil. Is not (see) this one like a brand plucked from the fire? (And) Jesus was clothed in filthy garments." And shortly after: "And he said to the angels who stood before his face: Take the filthy garments off him." And shortly after: "And they clothed him in a clean garment." Understand that the filthy garments are humanity before faith; and stripping humanity of the old man, he made it shine like the sun with his flesh. Search out how in this way God also rebuked Tyre, saying: Why is your bed unclean? For it was made of "fine linen" and Egyptian "purple," not of the "manifold wisdom of God" but of "Egyptian" wisdom; as that rich man who "clothed himself in purple" was displeasing to God. He is displeasing to God because he adorns himself with these temporal things, not with spiritual and shining deeds. So too that "Lazarus" cared nothing for outward things but rather took pains for those of the soul; so he went to rest "in Abraham's bosom." And we shall find Job too renowned through suffering and torment. For this reason "that Pharisee went away" from prayer without being made perfect (or "justified"), for he had exalted himself over such a man. For one ought to have a manner of life according to the teaching of Christ, who was neither angry nor proud. For we often find such people living in luxury and clothing themselves in fine garments. So Christ too, speaking of the rich, said: "It is easier for a rope to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." One must rather honor strangers and the poor, by whose name Christ called himself. But passing over to those with much gold, they honor this much more, some for the sake of rank, others for other reasons. So we have not been merciful, shutting up our compassion toward our brotherhood; so we are ashamed of poverty, the companion of the prophets, the maker of self-control. Alas! In what do we surpass other men, when we are commanded to have "a righteousness greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees," according to the command to learn from these things to disregard the temporal? Even if the ocean flowed with silver and the whole earth were gold, we would not be satisfied.

Translated by Claude from N. Bonwetsch's German translation (1917) of the Old Church Slavonic; neither is shown

Who among us, then, loves his brother in truth? Who does not think evil against his neighbor? Who does not envy another? For where the bishops live on usury, there our warp too is leprous; where the laity do, there the woof. These the Holy Spirit also rebukes: "Should the shepherds feed themselves, and not the sheep? For see, you eat the milk and clothe yourselves with the wool." And shortly after: "And you have scattered my sheep, and they became food for all the beasts." Again, the Lord likened wealth to "thorns"; the Lord commanded the one who asked which "commandment is the greater" to distribute his property; the apostle calls wealth a "snare" of death. The Lord said: "Love your enemies," but we quarrel with our friends. For it is the part of a good man not only to love those who love us, but to love those who hate us as well. The Lord said: "Give to everyone who asks," but we, seeing our brothers naked, do not even think of it. All of us ought to despise temporal things, but the bishops much more. For what use is gold or silver or pearls? If only they could stop hunger or hold back the death of a child! This is nothing but deception, for in itself it is useless. For since no one can "add a single hair" to himself, he boasts of those things in vain. And if "the birds, which neither sow nor reap," are fed, and "the flowers," though no one weaves them a garment, still come forth so because God wills it, "how much more we; for the heavenly Father knows that we need all these things." For Solomon too, who was wiser (and) richer than all kings, sinned through great luxury.

Translated by Claude from N. Bonwetsch's German translation (1917) of the Old Church Slavonic; neither is shown

"So let us watch, lest our hearts be weighed down with gluttony and drunkenness." For now we are drunk with the cares of the world and all wickedness, and very fond of sleep. So we live in luxury, we are jealous, we slander, more than the unbaptized. We have all these vices. For now the Holy Spirit speaks of us through Micah the prophet, who said: "Woe, O soul, for the one who abstains has vanished from the earth, and there is no one among men who sets things right; all quarrel to the point of blood, each afflicts his brother; all make ready their hands for evil," and so on. Now this is fulfilled: our "belly" has become our "God," for we take pains for it alone; bent down to the earth like cattle, we cannot look up to the Father and Creator of all. Truly it is now hard to find one formed by the Son of God in patience and humility and love and the other (virtues), thirsting for the departure from (or "end of") this world, teaching and reproving with gentleness, seen on earth in the body but with the spirit in heaven and feeding on holy knowledge. For such must the true shepherd and teacher be. For "why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not notice the beam in your own eye?" The first thing must be to govern (or "correct") oneself, and after that one's neighbor. For what use is the word if no deeds follow? For he says: "Physician, heal yourself." And since he wishes us to reprove, he said elsewhere: "If your brother sins, rebuke him." He commands us to receive those who repent and hold them as brothers. But the one who reproves must be blameless in everything. So, O man, when you have first examined yourself and come to know your own state, go on to reproving others …