Въ вторник 3 недѢли поста на часѢх слово утѢшно къ братии о душевнѢй ползѢ

A Confession of Sloth and Humility

The author confesses his spiritual laziness and the reasons for his temporary withdrawal from the brotherhood, acknowledging God's mercy in his restoration.

Lord, bless! I, a sinful and lazy man, who buried my talent in the ground and made nothing with it, wait every day for those fierce and merciless examiners to come upon me, for that terrible rebuke and fierce wrath, when he will begin to say: "You wicked, lazy, useless servant! It would have been better if you had handed my silver over to good money-changers — prompt, hardworking people who would have worked it for me with interest." So now I am forced to speak, and I do speak, and speaking I don't stop — not as a teacher, but as a slave, praying with tears, falling at your knees, and pointing out to you the good things that lie ahead and the torments that are coming, so that you won't forfeit that good hope. For it is no small evil that we should be stripped of such gifts and, through lazy living and short-lived beauties, fall into impassable hellish places — places where those who chased after such things gained nothing at all.¹ And I, listless and dejected, having in myself the root of that evil growth from my own laziness — not entering the kingdom of heaven myself, and putting an obstacle in your way by my laziness and my shameful ways — judged that I should separate myself from you two and three times over.² And I did this not because I wanted to imitate the virtuous deeds of those saints, but because I judged it better at least not to keep you from the good struggle. For if I had stayed with you, I would have made no small obstacle for you by my presence; I would have turned you aside from God's path. For to me, a sinner, even one day away from you feels like a whole year — and all the more so the church's inheritance, the reading of the divine words, and the lives of the saints, of which my great laziness has stripped me. Bound by that laziness as by chains I lie, and my mind, like another Lazarus cast before the gates, can only lift a faithful eye toward God and call on the Mother of God with the highest prayer for help, so that somehow the good God might have mercy for the sake of your prayers and the love you have for me.³ I fell with an evil fall; if the Lord and the Mother of God had not helped me, my soul would nearly have settled in hell.^✦ I saw why I fell: I left the service entrusted to me, I chased after banquets, and I didn't even sense that I was being led down toward the hellish abyss.⁴ But the God who loves humankind—who did not despise Lazarus, covered with sores and festering and dead, but raised him—also visited my weakness in the same way. He did not overlook my laziness; he sent upon me a spirit of despondency, by which I am still oppressed even now, and for whose sake I withdrew from you, hoping, as it is written, in God who saves me.⁵⁶

Exhortation to Fraternal Diligence

The author encourages the brothers to continue their diligent monastic service, finding joy in their faithfulness to the rule.

When I was separated from you, I didn't feel I had gained anything good—only that I kept vigils and fasts; I couldn't complete them as you do, and so I condemned myself. I rejoice because of your love: even seeing my wretchedness in such great evil, you didn't despise the words I spoke to you when I left, but carried them out with all diligence.⁷ In your diligence, I forgot my own laziness—the great zeal you have for the church's service, standing with long endurance through all the hours and offices, and rejoicing in the commandments of holy Theodore.⁸ Be diligent, so that you may be found worthy of that same blessedness and become partakers of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.^✦^✦

Read the original Latin

Господи, благослови!

Азъ, грѣшный и лѣнивый, погрѣбый талантъ свой в земли, а не придѣлавъ имъ ничтоже, и чаю по вся дни на себѣ онѣх лютых и немилостивыих истязатель, и прѣщения оного страшнаго, и гнѣва лютаго, егда начнет глаголати: «О, злый рабе и лѣнивый, непотрѣбне, добрѣе бы створилъ, да бы възвратилъ сребро мое добрым пенязником, и поспѣшным и дѣтельнымъ, иже быша ми въздѣлали съ лихвою», нынѣ же нуждю имѣю глаголати и глаголю, и, глаголя, не прѣстаю, не яко учитель, но яко рабъ, съ слезами моляся и колѣнех ваших касаяся, и указаа вамъ прѣдлежащая благаа и грядущаа муки, да бысте не погрешили благыа оноя надежда. Немало бо то зло, еже нам тацѣх даров лишенымъ быти и въ непроходимая и адъскаа мѣста впасти лѣностию хождения ради и красотъ маловрѣменных, въ нихже ничсоже успѣша, послѣдовавше таковым. Азъ же, унылый, имѣя в собѣ корѣнь злаго того проращениа от моея лѣности, ни самъ входя въ царство небесное и вамъ препону творя своею лѣностию и своими неподобными нравы, судих себе двоичю и трижды отлучитися от вас. И се створих, не добродѣтелий дѣания онѣхъ святых подражати хотя, но се луче судих, да поне вас не упражняю от благого подвизания, аще бо бых с вами былъ, немалу съпону вам створилъ бых собою, отставилъ вы бых от Божиа пути. Мнѣ бо, грѣшному, еже единъ день отлучитися от васъ въ все ми ся лѣто вмѣняеть, паче же достоания церковнаго и почитаниа божественых словесъ и житиа святыих, егоже облиши мя лѣность моя немалаа, еюже акы веригами связанъ лежу, и ума моего, акы Лазаря другаго пред враты, повръжена, токмо вѣрное око къ Богу простирая и Богородицу съ вышнею молитвою на помощь призывая, да нѣкако бы ся умилосердилъ благый Богъ ваших дѣля молитвь и любовь, юже ко мнѣ имѣете. Падох бо падениемъ злымъ; аще не Господь бы помоглъ мнѣ и Богородица, вмалѣ не вселилася бы въ адъ душа моя. И видѣх, чего дѣля падохъ: оставивъ порученую ми службу, и въслѣдовах трапезамъ, и не чюях себе сводима къ пропасти адьстѣй. Но человѣколюбивый Бог, иже не презрѣ Лазаря, струпы посыпана и гнойна, умерша, но въскресилъ ù, тожде и на мою немощь присѣти, не призрѣ моея лѣности, но пусти на мя духъ уныниа, имже угнѣтаемъ есмь и донынѣ, егоже дѣля удалихся от васъ, чая, по писаному, Бога спасающаго мя.

Въ моем бо отлучении от вас не чюх себе ничсоже добра приискавша, но токмо имый бдѣниа и пощениа; не могох скончати якоже вы, да тѣмъ и осудих ся. Вашеа ради любве радуюся, еже в толицѣ злѣ видяще мою худость, не възгнушастеся моих словесъ, еже въ моемъ отхождении к вамъ изглаголаная, но съ всякым тщанием створисте ̀я. И своея бо лѣности забых въ вашемь тщании, и еже бо велико поспѣшение имѣете о службѣ церковнѣй, и въ длъготръпѣниѣ стоании въ всѣх бо годинах и службах обрѣтающеся, и божественаго Феодора о заповѣдехъ радующеся. Потщание имѣйте, да тогожде блаженьства сподобистеся и жизни вѣчнѣй причастници будете о Христѣ Исусѣ, Господѣ нашем.

Scripture echoes

↩Ps.94.17;Ps.17.10 — If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would have almost dwelt in silence. Ps.17.10 — “They have shut their hearts tight with fat; with their mouths they speak arrogance.”
↩Rom.6.23;1Cor.15.31;Phil.3.8;1Thess.1.3 — For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 1Cor.15.31 — I face death every day—I swear it, brothers, by the boasting I have in you in Christ Jesus our Lord. Phil.3.8 — But more than that—indeed, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost everything and consider it all rubbish, so that I may gain Christ. 1Thess.1.3 — continually remembering before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your steadfast hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
↩1Tim.6.12;Titus.3.7 — Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession before many witnesses. Titus.3.7 — so that, having been justified by that one's grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Notes

1 ↩лѣностию хождения could mean lazy conduct of life or neglect of spiritual walking/progress; rendered as 'lazy living' to keep the monastic moral force without stiff calque.
2 ↩унылый / the later дух уныниа points to monastic despondency (acedia), not mere sadness; kept as listless/dejected and, later, despondency.
3 ↩достоания церковнаго may mean the church's inheritance/patrimony or the speaker's share in church life and worship; rendered 'the church's inheritance' to keep the source's possessive force while remaining plain.
4 ↩трапезамъ can mean tables, meals, or feast-going; 'banquets' keeps the sense of disordered appetite for table-luxury rather than mere necessary food.
5 ↩Source form ù after въскресилъ is a corrupted clitic/pronoun; translated as 'him' (Lazarus), the only plausible object of resurrection in context.
6 ↩духъ уныниа is monastic despondency/acedia; 'despondency' preserves the traditional spiritual sense without modern therapeutic paraphrase.
7 ↩худость rendered as 'wretchedness' (self-abasement); could also be 'lowliness' or 'poverty of spirit' in a more purely monastic key.
8 ↩божественаго Феодора: almost certainly St. Theodore the Studite, whose monastic rule and catecheses shaped Kievan monastic practice; rendered 'holy Theodore' rather than the calque 'divine Theodore'.

Epistles of Theodosius of the Caves to Prince Iziaslav companion

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