Epistula ad abbatem

A letter of our father among the saints John Chrysostom to a certain abbot who asked him to send a rule of spiritual teaching for the benefit of both himself and the brothers with him. Since you have written to me, my most beloved brother, asking me to deliver to you an ascetic rule, I do not know what to write to you. The Lord of glory, Christ Jesus, is able to be your guide, if you genuinely offer yourself together with the brothers to your Lord God, if you wish to strip away fatherland, family, possessions, and the whole world together in an athletic manner—for he who does not renounce all his belongings and die to the whole world cannot become a disciple of the Lord—, if you love your Lord God with your whole soul and your neighbor as yourself, if you keep your virginity blamelessly in body and soul until the end, if each of you acquires mercy and compassion in the vessels of the heart and prepares himself with bright lamps to meet the heavenly bridegroom, so that at that hour the lamp of each may not be extinguished for lack of oil. For what benefit will a person have if he keeps the body pure, but the inside of the dish, that is the heart, is full of wickedness, hatred, rancor, anger, jealousy, envy, pride? For he who is angry with his brother still walks in darkness and is a murderer, for Scripture says so. And if anyone thinks I write inopportunely, let him look to the parable of the ten virgins. The divine Scripture named five wise and five foolish, not prostitutes, but their external virginity did not benefit them at all.

For instead of mercy and brotherly love, their hearts were filled with venom and wickedness, and because of this they were cast out from that heavenly and ineffable bridal chamber, crying out, "Lord, Lord, open to us." And they were no longer helped at all by the Lord of glory, but only heard, "I do not know you"; for after death there is no confession of repentance, but inexorable punishment. For here there is prayer, here there is release from evils; and whatever burden each one binds, that he will also bear. I therefore exhort you, my children and brothers, submit yourselves to the Lord and to one another in the fear of Christ. And let each of you prefer his brother; for he who glorifies his brother glorifies Jesus, but he who dishonors his brother rejects the Lord who said, "Inasmuch as you have not done this for one of the least of these, you have not done it for me." I therefore exhort you, children, submit yourselves to the abbot as to Christ himself, and to one another, so that none of you may be found like Judas, but like the apostles submitting to the Lord; for those who resist will receive judgment for themselves. I do not say these things to condemn, but I exhort as a warning. I therefore exhort you, children, let none of you be contentious or insolent or babbling or idle-talking or slanderous or a grumbler. For all these things and those like them are fruits of the devil, and the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. For neither did the virginity of the sister of Moses and Aaron benefit her, but she became leprous, because she sinned against her elder brother, as the Scripture of Moses teaches. I therefore exhort you, children, acquire obedience without contradiction.

Obedience is the mother of eternal life, while disobedience is the mother of destruction. I therefore exhort you, children, to love one another for the sake of the Lord who said: "If you love me, keep my commandments," and in this, he says, all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. For where love is, there Christ dwells; for Christ is love. But where there is hatred and such things as we have previously mentioned, there Christ is not, but an evil serpent makes its lair there. It is good, then, to take precautions so that strife or conflict does not arise among you. But if one of you is overcome, let him immediately fall with tears before the brother whom he has grieved, and be reconciled to him with his whole heart, as the Lord sees; for man looks to the face, but God looks to the heart. For if you do not forgive people their transgressions, the Lord said, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your transgressions; and forgive, and you will be forgiven; and let the sun not set upon your anger; for we do not know what the coming day will bring, and we do not know at what hour the thief comes. For it is impossible for a soul that bears a grudge to enter the door of life. Even if it performs every righteousness, it is an abomination before the Lord, and all the labor of such a person is vain. And henceforth, each person, whether he is justly or unjustly reproached or insulted or abused, should hold himself responsible and not his brother. And he who does not endure now will then be distressed, because he did not endure, but utterly lost his reward. For what grace is there, says the Lord, if you love those who love you?

But love your enemies and pray for those who abuse you, bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. And from the one who takes your possessions, do not demand them back. And if someone strikes you on the right cheek, offer him also the other. And you are blessed when they revile you and persecute you and speak every evil word against you, lying for my sake. Rejoice and exult because your reward is great in the heavens. He did not say that you should be angry, but that you should rejoice. Therefore it is necessary to attend to the commandment of the Lord and to submit to it with force and great patience. For if there is no force and patience, what reward is there? For those who wrong you and slander you procure for you a heavenly reward and benefit your souls. For a good intention cooperates with the hearing of good things, not an evil one; for as much as the devil strives through the more negligent brothers or other methods to kill the soul, so much does he prepare the zealous one to run to and cling to God. And then, step by step, being helped and strengthened by the Lord, she becomes superior to the passions and thus receives the reward from the Lord, and the devil is found, against his will, becoming her benefactor until death, as the heart contends against him. Therefore, let him who has ears to hear, hear.

I exhort you, therefore, my child and brother, since again my speech is to you: if your brother sins against you or against your neighbor, or some other fault is found, and you wish to correct him, first secure your inner man, that is, your heart, and keep it undisturbed with the memory of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that in wishing to correct another you do not destroy your own soul in anger—for evil does not cast out evil, but conquer evil with good—and apply correction to the fault, not through insults or blows, but through fasting, if need be, as you discern with the Lord, knowing this, that without Him you can do nothing. Therefore exhort him at every opportunity, that he may become an eye for you and grant you understanding of good and evil. If he falls down repenting, receive him thus; for condescension is good. And thus, I think, the Lord does not know how to be indignant at compassion, but is angered at harshness. This we also find in the case of the debtor of the ten thousand talents: forgiveness of such great evils, and he himself, when entreated by his fellow servant, did not remit the debt of the one hundred denarii, and for this reason he was condemned to the outer darkness. If he persists in the same

r, and concerning this I neither dare nor am able to give an opinion. Finally, whatever you approve in the Lord, do that; for it is good to gain a soul; for he who turns a sinner from the path of his error will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of his own sins. I exhort you, therefore, my children, through the Lord, to love humility, which Christ especially spoke of, He who humbled Himself for us unto death, and death on the Cross, so that we too may become imitators of Him and thus conquer the pride of the devil through humility; and the Lord, on account of humility, said that he who wishes to be great among you, let him be the last of all and the servant of all and the minister of all; for he who exalts himself will be humbled, but the humble man, lying beneath all, can fall from nowhere, while he who exalts himself is borne down into the abyss of fire. I exhort you, therefore, my children, have mercy on yourselves. I exhort you, weep, while you have time, so that we may not weep there, where there is gnashing of teeth, where the sleepless worm never dies, where the unquenchable fire flows like a river, where there are merciless and pitiless angels. They have no authority to pity anyone, or to respect an elder, or to spare anyone, or to honor a king, but to punish each one unsparingly according to his deeds. I exhort you, therefore, force your back until death.

This work requires much force, because the path that leads to the door of life is narrow and constrained, and those who force their way enter it; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who force their way, says the Lord. Flee from the spirit of vainglory and the demon of people-pleasing, which especially separates from God; for God has scattered the bones of people-pleasers, and they were put to shame because God brought them to nothing. Either we are glorified here and pay the debt there in the gehenna of fire for unending ages, or we are dishonored here and receive the reward there for an age of ages. I therefore exhort you: let none of you be a babbler, or an idle talker, or a slanderer, or a fabricator, or a grumbler—for these passions do not allow the soul to see the beam in its own eye, but only the splinter in the brother's eye—pleasing yourselves, not God, whose end is destruction along with the Pharisee and his very mindset. Love rather the affliction according to God more than the joy of this world, and weeping more than laughter; for blessed are those who mourn, said the Lord, for they will be comforted. And woe to you who laugh, for you will weep. Flee from those who wish to distract you, devising some useless things from many readings for the perversion of hearers. And do not suck the venom of an asp through hearing, and do not wish to read many things, but few and well, so that it may give grace to hearers. Learn rather to pray much and to weep much.

For this stabilizes the mind and nourishes the soul, whereas reading many things distracts the mind. Hate many encounters and your fleshly relatives, and do not turn back to the affection of parents or children or any others, but regard them as spiritual beings, as you do the rest. And never wish to reveal a mystery of the monastery to a fleshly relative, lest you be condemned on the day of judgment; for you have died to the world and have no business with the world. For the Lord says through the Gospel, when his mother and his brothers came to see him: and stretching out his hand over his disciples he said, "These are my mother and my brothers, those who do the will of my Father in heaven." And again: "Depart from your land and from your kindred and come to a land which I will show you," and the rest that the Lord says. These things were written for our admonition, and he who wishes to please God and to do the will of the Lord does not serve two masters nor love anyone more than the Lord. Therefore I exhort you, prefer nothing to the Lord nor to your soul. For what will a man profit if he loses his soul, says the Lord, or what will he give as an exchange for his soul? For we brought nothing into the world, clearly we can take nothing out, but we must arise naked, clothed only with our deeds and works, whether good or bad, as with a garment. And not only of deeds, but also of words and thoughts, and thus we shall stand before that fearful tribunal.

And each one will then enjoy the fruits of his own labors according to the Lord’s just judgment, whether for rest or for punishment for eternity. Blessed are those who weep with painful tears from the heart, for they will rejoice then; blessed are those who love the Lord and their neighbor, for they will be pitied. For he who loves his brother loves himself, and he who hates his brother hates himself; for in the brother lie the eternal goods to be inherited. Let us therefore become imitators of the saints. Just as they passed through hunger and thirst, through cold and nakedness, and through fire and sword, and passed eagerly through every affliction, so let us imitate them even unto death. But if you wish to live shamelessly, this is not the will of God. Pray unceasingly without anger and distractions; for every thought that separates the mind from God, even if it seems good, is entirely the devil, not to say of the devil. It is only to lead the mind astray from God, and it dictates commandments and good works within the heart and other rational and irrational fantasies, to which one should not pay any attention at all. For the whole struggle of the devil is to separate and lead astray the mind from God and to drag it into worldly pleasures. And the whole struggle of the soul is not to separate the mind from God, nor to couple and agree with impure thoughts, nor to heed what the all-imitating and ancient painter the devil depicts in the heart, sometimes forms, sometimes ways, sometimes faces and shapes.

After all these things, the devil is transformed, and the wretched man, standing in one place, thinks he is somewhere else, being deceived, and seems to see certain persons, to speak to faces, and to order things, all of which are of diabolical deception. Therefore, one must secure oneself and rein in the mind, and bridle it, and chastise every thought and every action through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who takes away the sin of the world. Where the body stands, there let the mind also be, so that between God and the heart nothing else may be found, neither a partition wall nor a fence darkening the heart, unless it speaks only to the Lord. But if ever the mind is carried away, one must not linger over the thoughts, lest the assent to the thoughts be reckoned to him as an action before the Lord on the day of judgment, when God will judge the hidden things of men and when the thought of a man will be confessed to you. For it is impossible to attain the kingdom unless one first denies his own will and does what is commanded by the superior without murmuring, with fear of God, as the Lord says: I did not come to do my own will, but the will of the father who sent me. Therefore, if someone suffers and endures what he does not wish, it is reckoned to him as a crucifixion, and he becomes a child of the resurrection and of eternal life. Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for having been tested, he will receive the unfading crown and will become a temple of the great king Christ. And the Lord says, I will dwell and walk about, and make my abode with him.

we shall do. Therefore, having such promises, be at leisure continually and remain with our Lord God until He has mercy on you, and seek nothing else except only mercy from the Lord of glory, and it suffices for you. And when you seek mercy, seek it with a humble and pitiable heart. Henceforth cry out from morning until evening, if possible, and all night long, saying unceasingly: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy; Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy; Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. Amen. I therefore exhort you, force yourselves, again I say force yourselves with your mind until death. For this work has great need of force, because the way that leads to the door of life is narrow and constrained, and those who force themselves enter into it; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who force themselves. I therefore exhort you not to separate yourselves from God, nor from your heart, but to remain and guard it with the memory of the Lord Jesus Christ; this and this always, until the name of the Lord is implanted within the heart, and nothing else, until Christ is magnified in you. I therefore exhort you never to cease this rule of prayer. For I once heard the holy fathers saying that whatever monk, if he ceases the rule, yet ought whether he eats or drinks or travels or serves, to cry out unceasingly: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us, so that this memory of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ may provoke to war against the enemy.

For through the memory of the Lord, the struggling soul can find everything, both evil and good; first, it must see the evils within the heart, and then the goods. For memory can rouse the serpent, and memory can humble it. Memory can convict the sin dwelling in you, and memory can consume it. Memory can stir up all the power of the devil in the heart, and memory can conquer it and uproot it piece by piece, so that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, descending into the depth of the heart, may humble the serpent that holds the pastures, and save and give life to the soul, as the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is ceaselessly cried out, so that the heart may swallow the Lord and the Lord the heart, and the two become one. But this work is not of one day or two, but of much time and many seasons; for there is need of much struggle and time, until the enemy is cast out and Christ dwells within; for our wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the spiritual forces of evil, as the apostle says. Therefore, those who renounce the world and strive to please the Lord ought to humble and afflict themselves in everything, so that they may attain only the future goods and the endless rest. So I exhort you: pay attention to how you partake of food. For the prophet says: Serve the Lord with fear—this he said at the time of prayer. And rejoice in Him with trembling—and this he said at the time of eating. He did not say with laughter and indifference, but with fear and trembling.

For who would ever dare to laugh in the presence of a king and bring upon himself indignation and punishment? And when you chant, chant soberly with awareness of heart, so that the heart may taste and know the words being spoken with discernment for the glory of Christ, not carelessly but fervently, so that the mind may be roused and the body for the vigil, so that the soul may be nourished and advance from every side. And never wish to sing elaborate troparia, so that you do not undergo deception, delighting in the voice. And concerning the service to the brothers, pay attention to what sort of cellarer you appoint: one able to preserve conscience for God and the community, lest he fall into judgment and a snare of the devil, either a secret eater or one who embezzles something and destroys his own soul. Likewise, entrust the services to each according to conscience; for those who have served well will receive their reward from the Lord. Do all these things with the memory of the Lord, and entreat the Lord God that He Himself become your guide in whatever you do; for where Christ is called and where Christ dwells, all things there are holy, all things blessed. There Christ rejoices, and blessed are those who hunger for Him, those who thirst for Him, those who eat Him, those who drink Him, and those who love Him. For who will separate us from the love of Christ? Affliction, or distress, or persecution, or danger, or sword, or death? For the sweetness of Christ and His divine love prevail over all together with the memory of Christ.

Just as the holy martyrs despised death because of the love and sweetness of Christ, in order to gain only him, just as the holy Paul proclaims: if anyone does not love the Lord Jesus, let him be anathema, maranatha—and maranatha is in Hebrew: I have seen the Lord. And immediately the Lord appeared to him and says to him: since you love me, Paul, see where I am. So from joy Paul says maranatha, I have seen the Lord, behold the Lord has come, behold where he is. I therefore exhort you: hate the adornment of garments and love humility and poverty and every affliction instead of joy, so that Christ may love you. Flee from encounters with women, whether secular or canonical; for it is difficult even for nuns to meet with one another. The Lord of glory will deliver us from such love. I therefore exhort you, my children, in this my last and final chapter, that each of you keep before your eyes the departure of your soul every day and night and hour; for this part knows how to discipline the soul for security and to guide it toward salvation, so that it may not worry about and imagine the things of tomorrow—for the day’s own evil is sufficient—so that, when the Lord comes for our soul at an hour we do not know, he may find us ready for that eternal and boundless journey. I have written these things, my child and brother, with much pain of my heart, not from reflection or study—Christ bears me witness. But whatever he himself dictated through my wretched heart, that I have written; I have nothing else.

For it is he who also, in irrational animals, at an opportune time, bestowed a human voice, as also in Rome with the dog at the time of the apostle Peter, not because of the holiness of the dog, but because of the faith of those who heard. The Lord of glory, who teaches man knowledge, will lead you into his own will. The Lord of glory will strengthen your souls in his faith until the end. The Lord of glory will grant you his own peace and his own love forever. The Lord of glory will guard your souls. The Lord of glory will be with you. He who reigns before the ages, and now, and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.