Works of John of the Ladder. The writings of the Monk John of the Ladder. Saint John of the Ladder

Life and Works of St. John of the Ladder

Reverend John of the Ladder was born in Constantinople. The exact date of his birth is unknown, but presumably it was in 570. In his youth, John received a good education. At the age of 16, he came to Egypt on Mount Sinai and chose a mentor for himself - the elder Martyria. After a while he was tonsured a monk. One of those present at the tonsure, the elder Stratigius, predicted that John would become a great lamp of the Church of Christ. For 19 years monk John labored in obedience to his spiritual father. After the death of Martyrios, John chose a hermit life, having retired to the deserted place of Fola, where he spent 40 years in complete silence, fasting, prayer and tears of repentance.

The Monk John had a disciple, the monk Moses. One day, John told Moses to bring soil into the garden for the beds. Fulfilling this obedience, because of the intense summer heat, the monk Moses lay down to rest under the shade of a large cliff. John was at that time in his cell and rested after a long prayer. Suddenly, a handsome man appeared to him and, waking up the ascetic, said: “Why are you, John, calmly resting here, while Moses is in danger?” John immediately woke up and began to pray for Moses. When he returned, John asked if anything bad had happened to him. The monk replied that he was almost crushed by a large piece of stone that had come off the cliff under which he had fallen asleep. But in a dream it seemed to him that John was calling him, and he jumped up and rushed to run, and at that time a stone fell on the place where he was sleeping.

John had a high penetrating mind, was wise with deep spiritual experience, he lovingly taught all who came to him, leading them to salvation. But envious people appeared in his entourage, reproaching him for verbosity, which they explained by vanity. John took upon himself the feat of silence, so as not to give rise to condemnation, and remained silent for a year. The envious realized their delusion and themselves turned to the ascetic with a request not to deprive them of the spiritual benefit of the interview. Hiding his deeds from people, John sometimes retired in a cave, but the fame of his pious life spread far beyond the place of exploits, and visitors of all ranks and states constantly came to him, who were eager to hear the word of edification and salvation.

After forty years of asceticism in seclusion, John was elected abbot of the Sinai monastery. For about four years he managed the monastery of Sinai. The Lord endowed John by the end of his life with the grace-filled gifts of clairvoyance and miracles. John reposed in 649 at the age of 80. The whereabouts of John's relics is unknown. The life of John was compiled a few years after his death. monk of the Raifa monastery Daniel, his friend and contemporary. Fragmentary information about the life of John was left by his anonymous disciple, his story complements the narrative of Daniel, in which John is called "the new Moses."

"Ladder"

During the administration of the monastery, John wrote the famous " ladder» - guidance for the ascent to spiritual perfection. The work was written at the request John, Abbot of the Raifa Monastery. Knowing about the wisdom and spiritual gifts of John of the Ladder, the Raifa abbot, on behalf of all the monks of his monastery, asked to write for them “ the true guide for those who follow is steadily, and, as it were, a ladder is established, which raises those who wish to the gates of heaven ...» John called his creation “The Ladder”, explaining the name in this way:

I built a ladder of ascent... from the earthly to the holy... in the image of the Lord's thirty years of coming of age.

Vanity is expressed in every virtue. When, for example, I keep a fast, I become conceited, and when, hiding the fast from others, I allow food, I again become conceited - with prudence. Having dressed in light clothes, I am overcome by piety, and, having changed into thin clothes, I am conceited. If I begin to speak, I fall into the power of vanity. If I want to be silent, I again surrender to him. Wherever you turn this thorn, it will all become knitting needles up. The vainglorious one… in his eyes honors God, but in fact he tries more to please people than God… People of a high spirit take offense complacently and willingly, and only saints and blameless can listen to praise and not feel any pleasantness… When you hear that your neighbor or friend is in slanders you with your eyes or behind your eyes, praise and love him ... It’s not the one who shows humility who scolds himself: how can you be unbearable to yourself? But who, dishonored by another, does not reduce his love for him ... Whoever is extolled by natural gifts - a happy mind, high education, reading, pleasant pronunciation and other similar qualities that are easily acquired, he never acquires supernatural gifts. For whoever is unfaithful in a little, he will be unfaithful and conceited in many ways. It often happens that God Himself humbles the vain, sending unexpected dishonor... If prayer does not destroy the vain thought, let us think of the exit of the soul from this life. If this does not help, let us frighten him with the shame of the Last Judgment. "Ascend to humble yourself" even here, before the next age. When praisers, or better, flatterers, begin to praise us, let us immediately recall all our iniquities and find that we are not at all worth what they attribute to us.

Handwritten book "Ladder"

The first Slavic translation of The Ladder was probably made in Bulgaria in the 10th century; extracts from this translation, together with extracts from the Skete and Egyptian Patericons, were included in the collection to which the Izbornik of 1076 dates back. From the Slavic translations of the Ladder that were in circulation in Russia, the most famous list was made in 1387 by Metropolitan Cyprian of Kyiv and All Russia in the Studion Monastery and in 1390 brought by him to Russia. The handwritten collection of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra contains 10 copies of the "Ladder" of the 15th-17th centuries. In general, they are built according to the same plan: after the Life of John of the Ladder, written by Daniel of Raifa, and preliminary messages, a preface is offered, sometimes a drawing of a colorful ladder is given, the main text, after which “the news of the holy fathers who were called John” was placed, and a number of additional materials. Since according to the charter it was supposed to read the "Ladder" during Great Lent, some manuscripts contain a breakdown into conceptions. In 1647, by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and with the blessing of Patriarch Joseph, the first edition of the Slavic translation of the sensible Ladder was published in Moscow in a few months, which had all-Russian significance. This edition was made according to the manuscript of the Solovki monk Sergius (Shelonin), who took part in the work of the Printing House.

Book "Ladder", manuscript with miniatures. 18th century

The writings of St. John of the Ladder

• « Ladder of Divine Ascension". The composition is also known under the title "The Ladder of Paradise". Written at the end of the 6th century at the request of John, hegumen of the Raifa monastery: “Teach us the ignorant what you saw in divine vision, like the ancient Moses, and on the same mountain; and state it in a book, as on divinely written tablets, for the edification of the new Israelites.” It is a guide to improvement. The image of the "Ladder" is borrowed from the Bible, which describes the vision of Jacob's Ladder, on which angels ascend (Genesis 28:12). The work belongs to the category of ascetic literature.
• « Shepherd, or a special word to the shepherd". The text is addressed to Abbot John of Raifa. The word is dedicated to the role of the spiritual father in the life of a monk.
• « Response letter to St. John of Raifa". The abbot of the Raifa monastery asks John of the Ladder to send a "precious issue" for the edification of his students; in response, John of the Ladder promises to send his work, fearing "death due to disobedience."

Troparion and kontakion to the Monk John of the Ladder

Troparion, tone 8

With your tears, the source, the barren desert watered thou, and from the depths of the air, thou didst bear fruit a hundred labors. And be a lamp to the universe, shining miracles to John our Father. Pray to Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion, tone 4

As if you have found the Divine ladder, reverend John, your Divine writings, we are erected by them to Heaven: and the virtue was the imagination. Pray to Christ God that our soul will save.

Kontakion, tone 4

On high is the Lord of abstinence, truly set thee, like an unflattering star enlightening the ends, mentor John our father.

Saint John of the Ladder. Icons

Icon-painting images associated with St. John of the Ladder are divided into two groups: individual images of the saint and images on the theme of "Ladder". The Monk John is depicted as thin, with an ascetic face, a high forehead, sometimes marked with deep folds-wrinkles and small bald patches.

Saint John, Great Martyr George and Saint Blaise. Novgorod, second half. XIII century. St. Petersburg, State Russian Museum Icon of St. John of the Ladder. Greece
Reverend John. Fresco. Cyprus, Neophyte monastery. 1197

The Monk John of the Ladder is depicted in monastic attire, which consists of a chiton, a mantle, and a schema. John of the Ladder usually holds a cross, a scroll or a book in his hands, as the author of The Ladder.

Saint John of the Ladder. Monastery of St. Catherine at Sinai, late 14th - early 15th century.

Russian consolidated icon-painting originals (XVIII century) report on the appearance of the monk in connection with the description of the Ladder composition:

... like a gray-haired, brad Vlasiev's share, in a schema, a monastic robe (Filimonov. Icon-painting original. S. 306; See the same: Bolshakov. Icon-painting original. S. 84).

The iconography of the Monk John developed quite early, but according to the surviving monuments, it can be traced no earlier than the 10th century. In the mosaic and fresco decorations of temples, the image of John of the Ladder was often placed among the famous saints and ascetics.

Reverend John. Tzortzi (Zorzis) Fuka. Fresco. Athos (Dionysiat). 1547
Saints John of the Ladder, John of Damascus, Arseniy. Icon (tablet). Novgorod. End of the 15th century

On the icon “Saints John of the Ladder and Savva Stratilat, coming to the Savior” from the Solvychegodsky Cathedral of the Annunciation, John of the Ladder is depicted with short hair, an elongated, slightly forked beard; with an open scroll in his hand (text on the scroll: " Rise, rise, hear, brethren... is a passage from Word 30 of The Ladder.

John of the Ladder and Savva Stratilat, coming to the Savior. From the Solvychegodsk Cathedral of the Annunciation. Solvychegodsk, SIHM. Early 17th century

Until now, many illustrated copies of the work of John of the Ladder have survived, in which 1-2 miniatures with the image of a ladder and / or a saint on the frontispiece or in compositions illustrating the text were usually placed. The most common type of illustration was a composition with a ladder leading to heaven and monks ascending it, many of whom fell down, tempted by demons; traditionally, this miniature depicted John of the Ladder - at the bottom of the ladder or on one of the upper steps.

Icon of the Vision of St. John of the Ladder. Mid 16th - early 17th centuries
Icon of the Vision of St. John of the Ladder. 18th century

The Byzantine icon “Heavenly Ladder of St. John of the Ladder” (end of the 12th century) from the monastery of the Great Martyr Catherine in Sinai has been preserved for the plot of the “Ladder”. The icon shows a staircase of 30 steps leading to heaven, along which the monks rush up, but many of them, caught by demons, fall down without reaching the goal. At the very top of the stairs is John of the Ladder, who is blessed by Christ, depicted in the heavenly segment, John is followed by Archbishop Anthony of Sinai, on whose initiative the icon was made. At the bottom is a group of monks, at the top - angels.

Heavenly ladder of St. John of the Ladder. Comes from the monastery of the Great Martyr Catherine in Sinai. End of the 12th century Paradise ladder. Icon, St. Catherine's Monastery

Illuminated manuscripts of the Ladder, clearly representing the ideals of monastic asceticism, appear in the second half of the 11th century. Some contain an extensive series of illustrations of the various stages of penance and asceticism, but originally in Greek manuscripts there was only an image of a staircase with thirty steps, topped with a cross, made in ink.

Vision of St. John of the Ladder. Old Russian miniature of the beginning of the 16th century

In the 17th century, printed books with engravings on the theme of “Ladder” appeared: “Lenten Triod” and “Ladder” (Kiev-Pechersky Monastery, 1627), “Ladder” (with an engraving by F. I. Popov based on a drawing by T. Averkiev, M ., 1647), “Lenten Triod” (with an engraving by V. L. Ushakevich, Lvov, printing house of the Stavropegian Brotherhood, 1664).

The composition "Ladder" was often reproduced on the walls of Russian churches. So, on the southern wall of the gallery of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin (1547-1551), bright figures of hermits in repentant poses, personifying the 5th step of the ladder (repentance), are presented in hallmarks in the form of cells.

The plot of the "Ladder" received special significance in the Old Believer tradition. So, on the icon “The Vision of St. John of the Ladder” (late 18th - early 19th century, Russian Museum), each of the 30 steps is numbered and accompanied by an inscription in accordance with the title of the chapters of the book. John of the Ladder is depicted on the left with an unrolled scroll. In the upper part of the icon, Jesus Christ is represented with angels, meeting the monks who have reached heaven; to their right is a wide panorama of a white-stone city with a garden - Heavenly Jerusalem, behind the walls of which are the saints who have been rewarded with heavenly bliss.

Vision of St. John of the Ladder. Con. XVIII - beginning. 19th century, Russian Museum
Icon of the Vision of St. John of the Ladder. Guslitsa, 19th century

Temples in the name of John of the Ladder in Russia

In the name of St. John of the Ladder, a church was consecrated on the Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin and is known to us as Ivan the Great belltower. At the base of the bell tower is the church of St. John of the Ladder. After the superstructure to a height of 81 m in 1600 (under Boris Godunov), the bell tower was the tallest building in Russia until the beginning of the 18th century. In 1329, a church was built on this site in the name of St. John of the Ladder of the type "like under the bells." In 1505, the old church was demolished, and a new church was built to the east of it by the Italian master Bon Fryazin in memory of Ivan III (1440-1505), who died that year. Construction was completed in 1508. In 1532-1543, the architect Petrok Maly added a rectangular belfry with the Church of the Ascension of the Lord on the north side of the church, which was completely rebuilt and acquired a look close to modern in the third quarter of the 17th century. In 1600, during the reign of Tsar Boris Godunov (1552-1605), presumably the "sovereign master" Fyodor Savelyevich Kon (about 1540 - after 1606), another one was added to the two tiers of the Ivan the Great bell tower, after which the bell tower acquired a modern look .

Belfry of Ivan the Great (Church of John of the Ladder). Moscow

In the name of St. John of the Ladder, the gate church of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery was consecrated. The church was built in 1572 at the expense of the sons of Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584), princes Ivan (1554-1581) and Fyodor (1557-1598). Therefore, its main altar and chapel were consecrated in the name of the namesake princes, Saints John of the Ladder and Theodore Stratilates (d. 319).

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. Holy gates with gate church of John of the Ladder

In the name of John of the Ladder, a church was consecrated in the St. John the Theologian Savva-Krypetsky Monastery in the Pskov Region. The temple was built in 1540-1550. Consecrated in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos and St. John of the Ladder.

John the Theologian Savvo-Krypetsky Monastery

In the name of St. John of the Ladder, a church of the same faith was consecrated in the town of Kurovskoe, Orekhovo-Zuevsky District, Moscow Region.

Edinoverie church in the name of John of the Ladder in Kurovskoye

Soulful teaching on the week of John of the Ladder

Each week of Great Lent sequentially, as if by steps, takes us from when we recalled Adam's crime and expulsion from Paradise, to the Light of Christ, which again opened the entrance to the previously lost Kingdom of Heaven to us. Fourth week of Lent dedicated to the memory of the Reverend John of the Ladder, compiler of the book ladder". It shows the true and wise path for those who wish to achieve inner impartiality and perfection. For many centuries, The Ladder was one of the most widely read patristic writings. Even today, everyone who is interested in the highest and immutable science reads it with attention: how to save your priceless and immortal soul, how “ cast off the old man with passions and lusts" and become " new Adam”, immaculate and virtuous, in order to follow the risen Christ to enter into the eternal heavenly Paschal joy, prepared for worthily and righteously lived on earth.

To all who hasten to write their names in the book of life in heaven, this book shows the most excellent way. Walking this path, we will see that she infallibly guides her subsequent instructions, keeps them unharmed from any stumbling and presents us with an approved ladder, raising from the earthly to the Holy of Holies, on top of which the God of Love is affirmed (From the preface to the “Ladder”).

When we internally relax, lose vigilance and self-control, then little by little we deviate from the path of virtues and go in the opposite direction. It is hard and burdensome to go uphill, but to go down is always both fast and easy. However, later on, those who want to return to their former and better state will need a lot of work.

Our mind constantly needs to be trained and guided by holy books, because it cannot remain idle. For if he does not do good, then he inclines towards evil (“The Flower Garden” of the holy monk Dorotheus).

While we live in this body, none of us can be sure that we have really reached any heights and righteousness in life, because there have been many cases when even the most strict ascetic ascetics were suddenly subjected to a crushing fall. Someone found the strength to rise up and rise again, but there were also those who were smashed to death, i.e. were corrupted by the mind and deviated into heresy or mired in filthy carnal vices. Therefore, the holy fathers always remind of attention and frequent book teaching in order to recognize the intrigues of the mental adversary and go without stumbling to saving self-perfection. Truly, the "Ladder" can be the most experienced and wise guide, guiding and protecting us on this difficult and long-term path. Its summary, revealing the essence and meaning of spiritual ascent, is also described in “ flower garden» priest Dorotheus, which can rightly be called the "pearl" of patristic literature in ancient Russia.

Spiritual ladder leading to heaven

Reality

I saw the spiritual ladder of virtues leading up to heaven, calculated according to the years of the incarnated Christ. The beginning of this spiritual ladder leading to heaven is based on the rejection of the world and everything earthly in all thoughts, deeds and desires. And its end is confirmed in the Holy of Holies. The steps of this spiritual ladder, which leads to heaven, are built differently, according to their origin. And, constantly stepping on this spiritual ladder, let each of us reliably watch his foot, on which of the steps he stands, and not slip while climbing it. And he climbs this ladder both in deed and in thought. And, having reached its top, everyone who loves God will stand on it.

Interpretation

Living the commandments and doing good deeds is like climbing stairs. Therefore, they are called the spiritual ladder, raising to heaven, the commandments of the Lord and fatherly virtues. And we, as if climbing a ladder, go up step by step. And if someone starts stepping over in two or three, he will slip, fall to the ground and break. The same applies to commandments and virtues. To the one who begins to circumvent the first commandments and virtues, the latter will not submit, but will begin to resist. Therefore, one should assimilate one after another, as if ascending the steps of a ladder.

Reality

I will also call this ladder the path of saving, true and reliable, along which many are walking. And everyone follows this path, because they are invited to the big city. But few reach it, only the chosen ones. The rest are delayed, who is where. Those - barely starting this path, these - reaching halfway and straying onto other paths. Some, who have already reached the great city by this route, are overtaken by the night at the gates, and they do not have time to enter inside. Others, diligently following this path, having inflamed the legs of their hearts, immediately, like a swift deer, reach the great city before dawn, and joyfully enter inside. And some do not want to walk this ladder and this difficult path at all, neither more nor less.

Interpretation

But how many are called and how many are chosen, walking this saving path? For the Lord God says in the Holy Gospel: “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Luke 14:24). Indeed, the Lord God calls in the Holy Gospel and in other holy books to the salvation of the whole world. But few are the elect who have heard His call. Therefore, the Lord Himself calls them a small flock. As if comforting His chosen flock with both His hand and His word, delivering from every need and protecting. And he says: “Do not be afraid, little flock! For your Father has pleased to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32). ("Flower garden" of the priestly monk Dorotheus).

The beginning of the path of salvation is a firm determination and courage to live according to faith and the commandments of God in the unrelenting patience of all the sorrows that find here. So, in order to decide to fearlessly follow Christ and not turn back to their former passions and sinful habits and not be like Lot's wife, who escaped from the burning city, but died at the same time on the very road, becoming a pillar of salt. For “No one who puts his hand on the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Every passing day, in which we overcame our will and voluptuousness in some way in order to preserve and fulfill the holy commandment, is like a new step for climbing up.

As the sky is far from the earth, so the human soul at the beginning of its feat is still far from perfection. But gradually a hard-working ascetic, with much diligence and zeal, with constant self-denial, rises to the incorruptible world, overcoming such sorrows and obstacles that only those who themselves have passed this path can know about. " spiritual warfare”- a narrow and thorny road uphill, from earth to heaven, where we must “crucify ourselves” with Christ in order to become worthy of heavenly abodes and eternal life.

In the "Ladder" of St. John of Sinai there is an amazing story about the feat of one hermit, Abba Isidore, on the example of which one can clearly see how the inner world of a person who wants to lag behind the sinful habit and live according to the Lord's Gospel word is gradually transformed.

About Isidore

A certain man named Isidore, from the princes of the city of Alexandria, retired to this monastery. The all-monastic shepherd, having accepted him, noticed that he was very cunning, stern, angry and proud. Therefore, this most wise father attempts to overcome demonic deceit by human fiction and says to Isidore:

If you have truly decided to take on the yoke of Christ, then I want you to learn obedience first of all.

Isidore answered him:

Like iron to a blacksmith, I hand over myself to you, most holy father, in obedience.

Then the great father immediately assigns an educational feat to this iron Isidore and says:

I want you, true brother, to stand at the gates of the monastery and bow to the ground to every incoming and outgoing person, saying: “Pray for me, father, for I am possessed by an evil spirit.”

Isidore obeyed his father like an angel of the Lord. When he spent seven years in this feat and came to the deepest humility and tenderness, then the ever-memorable father, after seven years of legal trial and Isidore's unparalleled patience, wished him, as the most worthy, to be numbered among the brethren and worthy of ordination. But he begged the shepherd a lot to be allowed to finish the feat there and in the same way, vaguely hinting with these words that his death was approaching and that the Lord was calling him to himself, which came true ...

I asked this great Isidore, when he was still alive: what was the activity of his mind while he was at the gate? This memorable one, desiring to be useful to me, did not hide this from me.

At first, - he said, - I thought that I had sold myself into slavery for my sins, and therefore, with all sorrow, self-violence and bloody compulsion, I bowed. After a year, my heart no longer felt grief, expecting from the Lord Himself a reward for patience. When another year had passed, already in a feeling of heart I began to consider myself unworthy of being in the monastery, and seeing the fathers, and seeing their faces, and partaking of the Holy Mysteries, and, lowering my eyes down, and thinking even lower, I sincerely asked those who entered and those who go out to pray for me (“Ladder”, word 4, 23-24).

Humility and uncomplaining patience of finding sorrows are like two handrails that firmly support us on the path of ascent to the virtues. Just as a chrysalis, imperceptibly to prying eyes, turns from an unsightly caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly, so the soul of an ascetic is adorned and illuminated in the secret work of ascetic self-perfection. From everyday examples, we see how slowly, year after year, the former first-grader consistently approaches the lessons of higher mathematics, which he could not have mastered at the beginning of his studies, even if he had extraordinary abilities for this.

The spiritual school is rightly called " science of sciences”, because it opens up to man an unknown, better world, and through prayer makes him an interlocutor with God and the saints of God. But even more so, this science requires special attention to itself and long-term training, gradually raising a person to his wonderful and secret knowledge. When a high school student graduates from school, where he, gradually growing in body and mind, from a child becomes already a fully grown person, he awaits the final exam with trepidation, as a result and assessment of the past years before starting a new, unfamiliar life.

But how terrible and trembling will be that last, final examination for all our deeds, when we see ourselves in a true, impartial light, and when the Lord evaluates us and speaks His Word, according to which an unknown and endless eternity will be revealed to each according to his merits.

This is a wise deed, truly wise, and there is no wiser thing in the world than if someone saves his soul. Since all earthly tricks will remain on earth, this wisdom alone will go with the soul and lead it into the Kingdom of Heaven. The sky is high from the earth, and there is neither a material ladder nor a visible ascent to it. And only those who endure sufferings and sorrows, and the humble of mind, rise to it. Walking on this ladder - along the path of virtue and salvation, and keeping the commandments of the Lord and fatherly virtues.

Ascend, ascend this ladder unceasingly and along this saving path, O brothers! If we want to ascend to heaven, here is a ladder for us, raising to heaven and the path of salvation.

"Flower Garden" of the Holy Monk Dorotheus.

“Oh, if only I could / Although in part, / I would write eight lines / About the properties of passion. / About iniquities, about sins, / Running, chasing, / Accidents in a hurry, / Elbows, palms, ”Pasternak wrote, realizing that an accurate, well-aimed word about passions is hard to come by and such words cannot be many. The exact word about passions slips out of your hands like a wet and lively fish, and the passions themselves are intertwined, merging with each other, forming a disgusting unity. Of course, the word "passions" in this case is used as a synonym for the expression "disease of the soul", and not as a romantic longing or a noble fire in the blood.

That, in which Pasternak admitted himself powerless, was done long ago by hegumen John, nicknamed Ladder. This servant of God did not write eight lines, but a whole book about passions and struggle with them. This book was born as a result of the experience of struggle and victory, since in the usual state a person is in hard labor for sin and - oh, woe! - does not notice his troubles. Only when a person is liberated or begins to be liberated, he is given a look at himself from the outside, which means the opportunity to describe the process of internal healing.

This book is really “about iniquity, about sins, about running, chasing,” and it begins with a chapter on flight from the world. This is the first of the 30 steps leading to the King Christ, and therefore the "Ladder" should be read by the monks in the first place. People who remain in the world and are not capable of a full-fledged and irrevocable flight, this book is also needed, but not as a desktop one. It is needed as an example of heavenly thinking that lives in a fragile bodily shell. Perhaps, in Great Lent, when conjugal beds cool down and are consecrated by abstinence, when the food on the table of monks and laity does not differ significantly, a person who does not wear black robes can read something from monastic books. To engage in such reading constantly and at any time for a layman can be dangerous. The danger lies in the fact that the way of life must correspond to the chosen reading. And if books and life are different, the soul splits into two, suffering itself and inflicting suffering on those who are nearby.

So, without leaving the world with the body, we must be to some extent free from the worldly spirit. Simeon the New Theologian tells us that “the world is neither silver nor gold, nor horses, nor mules, nor food, nor wine, nor bread. He does not eat houses, fields, vineyards, country dwellings. But what? Sin, addiction to things and passions. If this is “a world that lies in evil,” then you can run away from it, remaining in place.

And the words of the wise, better than anything else, expose the sin that lives in a person. The words of the wise put many things in their place and give an exact price to those brilliant fakes that we ourselves are inclined to call virtues.

Lestvichnik, for example, writes that zealous asceticism in the world is most often nourished by vanity, as if by some kind of dirty and secret drains. Nothing can be known about the spirit of a person as long as a person lives in front of many. The mundane analogue of such words can be considered a song advising: "Take the guy with you to the mountains." Any situation that carries danger or unusual severity, requiring sacrifice and fraternal soldering and not promising flowers and medals as a reward, shows who is who. “There you will understand who you are,” the song says. And here are the words of the saint: “I saw many and various plants of virtues, planted by worldly people and, as if from an underground drain of sewage, soldered with vanity, dug in with self-praise and fattened with manure of praises. But they soon dried up when they were transplanted to an empty land, inaccessible to worldly people and not having the stinking moisture of vanity.

These are thorny words, such as words of true wisdom should be. “The words of the wise are like needles and like driven nails, and their compilers are from one shepherd” (Eccl. 12:11). The horror of the last and just Judgment may be not so much in the fact that we have sinned, and sinned a lot, but in the fact that even our best impulses and efforts were deeply poisoned by sin and unworthy of blessed eternity. This is where the real trouble lies, and I don't know where the healing can come from, if not from the wisdom-salted words of spiritual experience. One of those who had love in themselves said that the books of the saints deserve the same reverence as the relics of the saints, and maybe even more.

Or another example.

It is difficult to find a person who does not suffer, at least from time to time, from prodigal lust. The apostle Peter called “corruption by lust” “the rulers of the world,” and we do not need to read much to confirm the validity of these words. But how to fight? There is fasting and prayer, but either we do not know the power of both, or sin is so strong that we do not feel free. You can run away from the world by plugging your ears and closing your eyes. But the temptation will follow you everywhere, because it made its way into the memory and settled in the heart with poisonous sweetness. And here the Ladder gives unexpected advice: “Drink diligently the reproach, like the water of life, from every person who wants to give you this medicine to drink, cleansing from prodigal lust, for then deep purity will shine in your soul and the light of God will not fail in your heart.”

Here it is. You were tormented in the secret of your heart by an adulterous thorn for a day, and two, and more. And then the boss unexpectedly called you to his place and mixed you with dirt, blaming you for all the real and invented shortcomings. Now fornication will depart from the soul for a long time, giving way to bitter resentment, and thus God will lead you away from the abyss, on the edge of which you have already stood. And insults will pass, insults are not so dangerous.

Salvation requires the so-called "intelligence of salvation", without which all labors run the risk of being sowing on the asphalt and plowing in the swamp. The praying fool from the proverb with earthly bows really breaks his forehead and, apart from this unnecessary injury, no longer achieves any fruit. The crystallized experience of the Church, therefore, must be claimed by us, and we must find both time and perseverance for a careful acquaintance with it. This is so as not to run in a false direction and not beat the air (see: 1 Cor. 9: 26).

The "Ladder" is not a Typicon, and its value is different. Prayer rules are not described there, the number of prostrations or the measure of eating food is not determined. Much more important things are revealed there, the action of which is not revealed to a superficial glance. In fact, reading such books is a cure for blindness. And we ourselves, no matter how many years of life the Lord would measure us, would never understand our inner life with the degree of depth and clarity with which Abbot of Mount Sinai John did.

Books like "The Ladder" are read all one's life and are assimilated slowly, with practical efforts. That wisdom breathes in them, which, “firstly, is pure, then peaceful, modest, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and not hypocritical” (James 3: 17).

The Monk John of the Ladder is revered by the Holy Church as a great ascetic and the author of a wonderful spiritual work called "The Ladder", which is why the monk received the nickname of the Ladder.
Almost no information has been preserved about the origin of St. John. There is a tradition that he was born around the year 570 and was the son of Saints Xenophon and Mary, whose memory is celebrated by the Church on January 26th. At the age of sixteen, the lad John came to the Sinai monastery. Abba Martyrius became the mentor and leader of the monk. After four years in Sinai, Saint John of the Ladder was tonsured into monasticism. One of those present at the tonsure, Abba Stratigius, predicted that he would become a great lamp of the Church of Christ. For 19 years Saint John labored in obedience to his spiritual father. After the death of Abba Martyrios, the Monk John chose a hermit life, retreating to a deserted place called Fola, where he spent 40 years in the feat of silence, fasting, prayer, and tears of repentance. It is no coincidence that in the "Ladder" St. John speaks of tears of repentance: "As fire burns and destroys brushwood, so a pure tear washes all impurities, external and internal." Strong and effective was his holy prayer, this is evidenced by an example from the life of a saint of God.
The Monk John had a disciple, the monk Moses. One day, the master ordered his student to put soil into the garden for beds. Fulfilling his obedience, due to the intense summer heat, monk Moses lay down to rest under the shade of a large cliff. The Monk John of the Ladder was at that time in his cell and rested after prayer work. Suddenly a venerable-looking man appeared to him and, waking up the holy ascetic, reproachfully said: "Why are you, John, resting quietly here while Moses is in danger?" The Monk John immediately woke up and began to pray for his disciple. When his disciple returned in the evening, the monk asked if anything bad had happened to him. Inok replied: "No, but I was in great danger. I was almost crushed by a large piece of stone that came off the cliff, under which I fell asleep at noon. Fortunately, it seemed to me in a dream that you were calling me, I jumped up and rushed to run, and in this time, a huge stone fell with a noise on the very place from which I ran away ... "
It is known about the way of life of the Monk John that he ate what was not forbidden by the charter of the fasting life, but in moderation. He did not spend nights without sleep, although he slept no more than was necessary to maintain strength, so as not to destroy the mind by unceasing wakefulness. "I have not fasted excessively, he says about himself, and did not indulge in an intense night vigil, did not lie on the ground, but humbled himself .., and the Lord soon saved me. The following example of the humility of St. John of the Ladder is noteworthy. Gifted with a lofty penetrating mind, wise with deep spiritual experience, he lovingly instructed all who came to him, leading them to salvation. But when some appeared, out of envy, reproaching him for verbosity, which they explained as vanity, the Monk John imposed silence on himself so as not to give rise to condemnation, and remained silent for a year. The envious realized their delusion and themselves turned to the ascetic with a request not to deprive them of the spiritual benefit of the interview.
Hiding his exploits from people, the Monk John sometimes retired to a cave, but the fame of his holiness spread far beyond the boundaries of the place of exploits, and visitors of all ranks and states constantly came to him, thirsting to hear the word of edification and salvation. At the age of 75, after forty years of asceticism in seclusion, the monk was elected abbot of the Sinai monastery. For about four years, the Monk John of the Ladder ruled over the holy monastery of Sinai. The Lord endowed the monk at the end of his life with the grace-filled gifts of clairvoyance and miracles.
During the management of the monastery, at the request of St. John, Abbot of the Raifa Monastery (commemorated on Cheese Saturday), the famous "Ladder" was written by the monks - a guide for ascent to spiritual perfection. Knowing about the wisdom and spiritual gifts of the monk, the Raifa abbot, on behalf of all the monks of his monastery, asked to write for them "the true guide for those who follow is steadily, and, as it were, a ladder is established, which raises those who wish to the gates of heaven ..." The Monk John, who had a modest opinion of himself, was at first embarrassed, but then, out of obedience, he set about fulfilling the request of the Raifa monks. The monk called his creation “Ladder”, explaining the name as follows:

"I built a ladder of ascent... from the earthly to the holy... in the image of the Lord's thirty years of coming of age, I significantly built a ladder of 30 degrees, according to which, having reached the Lord's age, we will be righteous and safe from falling." The purpose of this creation is to teach that the achievement of salvation requires from a person difficult self-sacrifice and enhanced feats. The "Ladder" presupposes, firstly, the cleansing of sinful impurity, the eradication of vices and passions in the old man; secondly, the restoration in man of the image of God. Although the book was written for monks, any Christian living in the world receives in it a reliable guide for ascending to God, and the pillars of spiritual life - St. Theodore the Studite, Sergius of Radonezh, Joseph Volokolamsky and others - referred to the "Ladder" in their instructions as for the best book for saving guidance.
The content of one of the degrees of the "Ladder" (22nd) reveals the feat of the extermination of vanity. Saint John writes:
“Vanity is expressed with every virtue. When, for example, I keep a fast, I become conceited, and when, hiding the fast from others, I allow food, I again become conceited - with prudence. "If I become, I fall into the power of vanity. If I want to remain silent, I again indulge in it. Wherever you turn this thorn, it will all become knitted up. The vainglorious one... in appearance honors God, but in reality he tries more to please people than God... People of a lofty spirit they endure insults complacently and willingly, and only saints and blameless can listen to praise and not feel any pleasantness ... When you hear that your neighbor or friend slanders you in your eyes or behind your eyes, praise and love him ... humility, who scolds himself: how to be unbearable to himself?But who, dishonored by others, does not reduce his love for him ... Who is exalted by natural gifts - a happy mind, high education, reading, pleasant and other similar qualities that are easily acquired, he never acquires supernatural gifts. For whoever is unfaithful in a little, he will be unfaithful and conceited in many ways. It often happens that God Himself humbles the vain, sending unexpected dishonor... If prayer does not destroy the vainglorious thought, let us think of the exit of the soul from this life. If this does not help, let us frighten him with the shame of the Last Judgment. "Ascend to humble yourself" even here, before the next age. When praisers, or better, flatterers, begin to praise us, let us immediately bring to our memory all our iniquities and find that we are not at all worth what they attribute to us.
This and other examples found in the "Ladder" serve as an example of that holy zeal for one's salvation, which is necessary for every person who wants to live piously, and the written presentation of his thoughts, which are the fruit of many and refined observations of his soul and deep spiritual experience, is a guide and a great guide on the path to truth and goodness.
The degrees of the "Ladder" are the transition from strength to strength on the path of a person's striving for perfection, which can not be achieved suddenly, but only gradually, for, according to the Savior, "The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force admire him"(Mt. 11.12).

Troparion of St. John of the Ladder

Like the Divine ladder, found, reverend John,
your divine virtues,
raising us to Heaven:
virtues for you were the imagination.
So pray to Christ God, may our souls be saved.

Published according to the publication of the Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Pustyn, 1908

Preface of this book, which is called the spiritual tablets

To all who hasten to write their names in the book of life in heaven, this book shows the most excellent way. Walking this path, we will see that she infallibly guides her subsequent instructions, keeps them unharmed from any stumbling, and presents us with an approved ladder, raising from the earthly to the holy of holies, on the top of which the God of love is affirmed. This ladder, I think, was also seen by Jacob, the stirrer of passions, when he rested on the ascetic bed. But let us ascend, I beseech you, with diligence and faith, to this mental and heavenly sunrise, the beginning of which is the renunciation of the earthly, and the end is the God of love.

The reverend father judged wisely, having arranged for us an ascent equal to the age of the Lord according to the flesh; for at the age of thirty years of the Lord's coming of age, he divinely depicted a ladder consisting of thirty degrees of spiritual perfection, along which, having reached the fullness of the age of the Lord, we will appear truly righteous and unbending to fall. And whoever has not reached this measure of age, he is still a baby and, according to the exact testimony of the heart, will turn out to be imperfect. We recognized it as necessary first of all to place in this book the life of the (reverend) wise father, so that readers, looking at his exploits, would more conveniently believe his teaching.

A brief description of the life of Abba John, hegumen of the holy Mount Sinai, nicknamed a scholastic, a truly holy father, compiled by the monk Daniel of Raifa, an honest and virtuous husband

I cannot say with certainty in what memorable city this great man was born and raised before his feat of battle, and what city now rests and feeds this marvelous with imperishable food - I know that. He now dwells in that city of which the eloquent Paul speaks, crying out: our life is in heaven(Phil. 3, 20); with an immaterial feeling, he is saturated with blessings that cannot be satiated, and enjoys invisible kindness, spiritually consoles himself spiritually, having received rewards worthy of feats, and honored for labors that are not difficultly endured - the heritage there, and forever united with those whom leg ... a hundred on the right(Ps. 25:12). But how this material one reached the Immaterial Forces and united with them, I will try to explain this as far as possible.

Being sixteen years of bodily age, and the perfection of the mind is a thousand years, this blessed one offered himself, as a kind of pure and spontaneous sacrifice, to the Great Bishop and ascended the Mount of Sinai in body, and in soul to the heavenly mountain - with the intention, I think, that from this visible place to have benefit and the best instruction to achieve the invisible. So, having cut off the dishonest audacity of hermitage, this owner of our mental maidens, having taken on the magnificent humility of wisdom, at the very entry into the feat, he very prudently drove away seductive self-indulgence and self-confidence from himself, for he bowed his neck and entrusted himself to the most skilful teacher, so that with his trustworthy guidance, infallibly swim across the stormy sea of ​​passions. Mortifying himself in this way, he had in himself a soul, as it were, without reason and without will, completely free from natural properties; and still more amazing, that, having external wisdom, he was trained in heavenly simplicity. Glorious thing! For the arrogance of philosophy is not compatible with humility. Then, after nineteen years, having sent his teacher to the Heavenly King as a prayer book and intercessor, he himself proceeds to the field of silence, carrying strong weapons to destroy strongholds - great prayers (of his father); and, having chosen a place convenient for feats of solitude, five stages from the temple of the Lord (this place is called Fola), he spent forty years there in unremitting ascetics, always burning with burning zeal and Divine fire. But who can express in words and praise with a legend his labors carried out there? And how can one clearly represent all his work, which was a secret sowing? However, although through some of the main virtues we will be made aware of the spiritual wealth of this blessed man.

He used all kinds of food, without prejudice allowed to the monastic rank, but he ate very little, wisely crushing and through this, as I think, the horn of arrogance. So, with a lack of food, he oppressed her mistress, that is, the flesh, lustfully desiring much, crying out to her with hunger: “Silence, stop”; by the same thing that he ate a little of everything, he enslaved the torment of love of glory, and by living in the wilderness and moving away from people he quenched the flame of this (that is, bodily) furnace, so that it was completely incinerated and completely extinguished. By almsgiving and poverty in everything necessary, this courageous ascetic courageously avoided idolatry, that is, the love of money (see Col. 3, 5); from the hourly death of the soul, that is, from despondency and relaxation, he resurrected the soul, arousing it with the memory of bodily death, as if it were the core, and he resolved the interweaving of addictions and all kinds of sensual thoughts with the immaterial bonds of holy sorrow. Even earlier, the torment of anger had been mortified in him by the sword of obedience, but by inexhaustible solitude and eternal silence he slew the leech of cobweb vanity. What can I say about the victory that this good mystery man won over the eighth maiden? What can I say about the extreme cleansing, which this Bezalel of obedience began, and the Lord of the heavenly Jerusalem, having come, performed with His presence, for without this the devil cannot be defeated with an army corresponding to him? Where will I place in our present weaving of the crown the source of his tears (a talent not found in many), whose secret worker remains to this day - this is a small cave located at the foot of a certain mountain; she was as far away from his cell and from any human dwelling as was necessary in order to block the ear from vanity; but she was close to heaven with sobs and cries, similar to those that are usually emitted by those who are pierced by swords and pierced by kindled iron, or deprived of their eyes?

He took as much sleep as was necessary so that the mind would not be damaged by vigil; and before sleep he prayed much and composed books; this exercise was his only remedy for despondency. However, throughout his life there was unceasing prayer and fiery love for God, for, day and night, imagining Him in the lordship of purity, as in a mirror, he did not want or, more precisely, could not get enough.

One of the monastics, named Moses, jealous of the life of John, convincingly asked him to accept him as his disciple and instruct him in true wisdom; having moved the elders to intercession, Moses, through their requests, convinced the great man to accept himself. Once the abba commanded this Moses to transfer from one place to another the land, which required fertilizer ridges for potions; having reached the indicated place, Moses fulfilled the command without laziness; but as an extreme heat came at noon (and then it was the last summer month), he ducked under a large stone, lay down and fell asleep. The Lord, who does not want to grieve His servants in any way, according to His custom, warns the calamity that threatens him. For the great old man, sitting in his cell and meditating about himself and about God, bowed down in the most subtle sleep and sees a holy man who aroused him and, laughing at his sleep, said: “John, how do you sleep carelessly when Moses is in danger?” Jumping up immediately, John armed himself with a prayer for his disciple, and when he returned in the evening, he asked him if any misfortune or accident had happened to him? The student replied: “A huge stone almost crushed me when I slept under it at noon; but it seemed to me as if you were calling me, and I suddenly jumped out of that place. The father, truly humble-wise, did not reveal anything from the vision to the disciple, but with secret cries and sighs of love he praised the good God.

This reverend was both a model of virtues and a doctor who healed hidden ulcers. Someone named Isaac, being very much oppressed by the demon of carnal lust and already exhausted in spirit, hastened to resort to this great one and declared his abuse to him with words dissolved by sobbing. The wondrous husband, marveling at his faith, said: “Come, friend, let us both stand in prayer.” And meanwhile, as their prayer ended, and the afflicted one was still lying, bowed down on his face, God fulfilled the will of His servant (see Ps. 144, 19), in order to justify the word of David; and the serpent, tormented by the beating of true prayer, fled. And the sick, seeing that he had got rid of the disease, with great surprise sent thanks to the glorified and glorified.

Others, on the contrary, instigated by envy, called him (St. John) an excessively talkative and idle talker. But he enlightened them by the very deed and showed everyone that all maybe about strengthening all Christ(see Philp. 4, 13), for he was silent for a whole year, so that his critics turned into petitioners and said: “We have blocked the source of ever-flowing benefit to the detriment of the common salvation of all.” John, a stranger to contradiction, obeyed and again began to adhere to the first way of life.

Then everyone, marveling at his success in all the virtues, as if the newly-appeared Moses, involuntarily elevated him to the abbotship of the brethren and, raising this lamp to the priest of the authorities, the good electors did not sin, for John approached the mysterious mountain, having entered into darkness, where the uninitiated do not enter. ; and, having been raised in spiritual degrees, he accepted the divinely ordained statute and vision. He opened his mouth to the word of God, attracted the Spirit, vomited up the word, and from the good treasure of his heart spoke good words. He reached the end of his visible living in teaching the new Israelites, i.e. monks, differing from Moses in that he entered the heavenly Jerusalem, and Moses, I don’t know how, did not reach the earthly.

The Holy Spirit spoke through his mouth; many of those who were saved and are still being saved through him are witnesses to this. The new David was an excellent witness to the wisdom of this wise man and the salvation he provided. Good John, our reverend pastor (Raifa abbot) was a witness of the same. It was he who persuaded this new God-seer by his strong requests for the benefit of the brethren to descend with the thought from Mount Sinai and show us his divinely written tablets, which outwardly contain active guidance, and inwardly contemplative. With such a description, I attempted to conclude a lot in a few words, for the brevity of the word has beauty in the art of ornation (a).

About the same Abba John, the hegumen of Mount Sinai, that is, the Ladder (A Sinai monk narrates, who, like Daniel of Raifa, was a contemporary of the Monk John.)

Once, Abba Martyrius came with Abba John to Anastasius the Great; and this one, looking at them, says to Abba Martyrius: “Tell me, Abba Martyrius, where does this lad come from and who tonsured him?” He answered: "He is your servant, father, and I tonsured him." Anastassy says to him: “Oh, Abba Martyrius, who would have thought that you had tonsured the hegumen of Sinai?” And the holy man did not sin: after forty years, John was made our abbot.

At another time, Abba Martyrios, also taking John with him, went to the great John Savvait, who was then in the desert of Guddia. Seeing them, the elder got up, poured water, washed the feet of Abba John and kissed his hand; Abba Martyria did not wash his feet, and later, when his disciple Stefan asked why he did this, he answered him: “Believe me, child, I don’t know who this lad is, but I received the hegumen of Sinai and washed the feet of the hegumen.”

On the day of the tonsure of Abba John (and he took the tonsure in the twentieth year of his life), Abba Stratigius predicted about him that he would once be a great star.

On the very day that John was installed as our abbot, and when about six hundred visitors came to us and they were all sitting eating food, John saw a man with short hair, dressed in a Jewish shroud, who, like a kind of steward, went around and distributed orders to cooks, housekeepers, cellars and other servants. When those people dispersed and the ministers sat down to eat, they looked for this one, who went everywhere and gave out orders, but they were not found anywhere. Then the servant of God, our reverend father John, says to us: "Leave him, Mr. Moses did nothing strange, serving in his place."

There was once a lack of rain in the Palestinian countries; Abba John, at the request of the local inhabitants, prayed, and heavy rain came down.

And there is nothing incredible here; for He will do the will of those who fear Him Lord and hear their prayer(Ps. 144:19).

It is necessary to know that John of the Ladder had a brother, the wonderful abbot George, whom he appointed hegumen in Sinai during his lifetime, himself loving the silence, which this wise man at first dismayed himself. When this Moses, our reverend hegumen John, departed to the Lord, then Abba George, his brother, stood before him and said with tears: “So, you leave me and go away; I prayed that you would accompany me, for I would not be able to lead this squad without you, my lord; but now I have to see you off.” Abba John told him to this: “Do not grieve and do not worry: if I have boldness in the Lord, then I will not leave you to spend here even one year after me.” Which happened, because in the tenth month, then this one also departed to the Lord (b).

Epistle of St. John, Abbot of Raifa, to the Venerable John, Abbot of Mount Sinai

The sinful abbot of Raifa wishes to rejoice in the Lord to the superior and angelic father of fathers and the most excellent teacher.

Knowing first of all your unquestioning obedience in the Lord, adorned, however, with all the virtues, and especially where it is necessary to multiply the talent given to you from God, we, the poor, use a truly miserable and insufficient word, recalling what is said in Scripture: ask your father, and your elders will tell you, and they will tell you(Deut. 32:7). And therefore, falling to you, as to the common father of all and the eldest in asceticism, the strongest in quickness of mind and the most excellent teacher, with this scripture we implore you, O head of the virtues, teach us, the ignorant, what you saw in the vision of God, as an ancient Moses, and on the same mountain, and state it in a book, as on divinely written tablets, for the edification of the new Israelites, i.e. people newly emerged from the mental Egypt and from the sea of ​​life. And as you, in this sea, instead of a rod, with your divine-speaking tongue, with the assistance of God, worked miracles, then now, not despising our petition, deign in the Lord for our salvation, judiciously and without laziness, inscribe the laws that are characteristic and decent for monastic life, being truly a great mentor to all who began such a thing. angelic residence. Do not think that our words come from flattery or flattery: you, O sacred head, know that we are alien to such actions, but what everyone is sure of, that beyond any doubt, is visible to everyone and to which everyone testifies, then we repeat. So, we hope in the Lord to soon receive and kiss the precious inscriptions on the tablets that we expect, which can serve as an infallible instruction for the true followers of Christ, and, as ladder, approved even to the heavenly gates (see Gen. 28, 12), elevates those who choose, so that they harmlessly, safely and unhindered pass through the hordes of evil spirits, the rulers of the world of darkness and the princes of the air. For if Jacob, the shepherd of the dumb sheep, saw such a terrible vision on the ladder, then all the more so the leader of the verbal lambs, not only by vision, but also by deed and truth, can show everyone an infallible ascent to God. Hail in the Lord, most honest father!

Answer
John wants to rejoice

I have truly received what is worthy of your lofty and passionless life and your pure and humble heart, sent by you to us, the poor and miserable in virtues, your honest writing, or, rather, commandment and commandment, surpassing our strength. So, it is true for you and your sacred soul to ask for an instructive word and guidance from us, untrained and ignorant in deed and word, for it is used to always showing us in itself a model of humility. However, I will also say now that if we were not afraid to fall into great trouble by rejecting the holy yoke of obedience, the mother of all virtues, then we would not recklessly venture into an enterprise that surpasses our strength.

You, wondrous father, should, in asking about such subjects, learn from men who know this well, for we are still in the category of students. But as our God-bearing fathers and secret teachers of true knowledge determine that obedience is undoubted obedience to those who command and in those deeds that exceed our strength, then we, piously despising our weakness, humbly encroached on labor that exceeds our measure; although we do not think to bring you any benefit or to explain something that you, the sacred head, know no less than we do. For not only I am sure, but everyone, I think, of those who are sane knows that the eye of your mind is pure from all earthly and gloomy indignation of gloomy passions and unhinderedly looks at the Divine light and is illuminated by it.

But, fearing death, which is born from disobedience, and as if driven by this fear of obedience, I set about fulfilling your all-honorable command with fear and love, as a sincere novice and indecent slave of the most excellent painter, and with my meager knowledge and insufficient expression, only Having monotonously outlined the living words in ink, I leave it to you, the chief of teachers and the clerk, to decorate all this, to clarify, and how to fulfill the lack of fulfillment for the executor of the tablets and the spiritual law. And I am not sending this work to you - no, that would be a sign of extreme foolishness, for you are strong in the Lord not only to establish others, but also ourselves in divine morals and teachings, but to the God-called squad of brethren who, together with us, learn from you Oh, chosen teacher! To them, through you, I begin this word of theirs and with your prayers, as if being lifted by some waters of hope, with all the weight of ignorance, I stretch out the sail of the cane and with all prayer I commit the feeding of our words into the hands of our good companion. Moreover, I ask all readers: if anyone here sees something useful, then the fruit of everything as prudent, let it ascribe to our great mentor, and let us ask God for retribution for this weak work, not on the poverty of the composition (truly any inexperience performed), considering, but accepting the intention of the offerer as a widow's offering, for God rewards not a multitude of gifts and labors, but a multitude of diligence.

Ascetic words of Abba John, hegumen of the monks of Mount Sinai, sent by him to Abba John, hegumen of Raifa, who prompted him to this composition

Word 1
On the renunciation of worldly life

1. Of all, created by the good and most good and all-good our God and the King (for the word to the servants of God is fitting and to begin from God) reasonable and worthy of autonomy of respectable beings, some are His friends, others are true slaves, others are indecent slaves, others are completely alien Him, and finally, though they are weak, they resist Him. And His friends, O Holy Father, as we foolish ones believe, are properly intelligent and incorporeal beings surrounding Him; His true servants are all those who do His will unsluggishly and unremittingly, and the indecent ones are those who, although they were worthy of baptism, did not keep the vows given at it as they should. Under the name of God's aliens and His enemies, one should understand the infidels or evil-believers (heretics); but the opponents of God are those who not only did not accept and reject the commandments of the Lord, but also strongly arm themselves against those who fulfill it.

2. Each of the said states requires a special and decent word; but for us ignoramuses it is not useful in the present case to expound it at length. So, let us hasten now to fulfill the commandment of the true servants of God, who piously compelled us and convinced us by their faith; in undoubted obedience, let us stretch out our unworthy hand and, having received the reed of the word from their own mind, let us dip in dark-looking, but luminous humility of wisdom; and on their smooth and pure hearts, as on some kind of paper, or, rather, on spiritual tablets, let us begin to paint the divine words, or, rather, the divine seeds, and we will begin like this:

3. Of all those endowed with free will, God is both the life and the salvation of all, faithful and unfaithful, righteous and unrighteous, pious and wicked, impassive and passionate, monks and worldly, wise and simple, healthy and infirm, young and old; for all, without exception, enjoy the outpouring of light, the radiance of the sun, and the changes of the air; carry more favoritism God(Rom. 2:11).

4. The wicked is a rational and mortal creature, arbitrarily moving away from this life (God) and thinking about its Creator, who is everlasting, as if it were non-existent. A transgressor is one who upholds the law of God in his own wickedness and thinks to combine faith in God with an opposing heresy. A Christian is one who, as far as a man can, imitates Christ in words, deeds, and thoughts, rightly and without blemish believing in the Holy Trinity. A God-lover is one who makes use of everything natural and sinless and, according to his strength, tries to do good. The abstinent is the one who, in the midst of temptations, networks and rumors, is jealous with all his might to imitate the mores of the free from all such. A monk is one who, being clothed in a material and mortal body, imitates the life and state of the incorporeal. A monk is one who keeps only God's words and commandments in every time and place and deed. The monk is the constant compulsion of nature and the unrelenting guardianship of the senses. A monk is one who has a purified body, pure lips and an enlightened mind. A monk is one who, grieving and sick in soul, always remembers and reflects on death, both in sleep and in vigil. The renunciation of the world is an arbitrary hatred of the substance praised by the worldly, and the rejection of nature, in order to obtain those blessings that are higher than nature.

5. All those who diligently left the things of life, no doubt, did this either for the sake of the future kingdom, or because of the multitude of their sins, or out of love for God. If they did not have any of these intentions, then removing them from the world was reckless. However, our good Ascetic expects what will be the end of their course.

6. He who came out of the world in order to get rid of the burden of his sins, let him imitate those who sit over the tombs outside the city, and let him not stop pouring out warm and hot tears, and let him not interrupt the silent sobs of his heart until he also sees Jesus, who came and rolled away the stone of hardness from the heart, and our mind, like Lazarus, loosed the bonds of sin, and commanded His servants, the angels: allow it from passions and leave his iti(John 11:44) to blessed dispassion. If not, then (from the removal from the world) will not be of any use to him.

7. When we want to leave Egypt and flee from Pharaoh, then we also have a necessary need for a certain Moses, i.e. an intercessor to God and according to God, who, standing in the midst of action and vision, would raise his hands to God for us, so that those who he instructs would cross the sea of ​​sins and defeat Amalek of passions. Therefore, those who, having put their trust in themselves, were deceived, considered that they did not need any guide, for those who came out of Egypt had Moses as their guide, and those who escaped from Sodom had an angel. And one of them, i.e. those who came out of Egypt are like those who, with the help of doctors, heal spiritual passions, while others are like those who want to cast off the impurities of the accursed body, therefore they require an assistant - an angel, i.e. an equally angelic husband, for, due to the rottenness of wounds, we also need a very skillful doctor.

8. Those who attempt to ascend to heaven with the body truly need extreme compulsion and unceasing sorrows, especially at the very beginning of renunciation, until our voluptuous disposition and insensible heart are transformed by true weeping into love of God and purity. For work, truly work and great innermost sorrow are inevitable in this feat, especially for the negligent, until our mind, this furious and voluptuous dog, through simplicity, deep lack of anger and diligence becomes chaste and inquisitive. However, let us be complacent, passionate and exhausted; our infirmity and spiritual impotence with undoubted faith, as with the right hand, presenting and confessing to Christ, we will certainly receive His help, even beyond our dignity, if only we always bring ourselves down into the depths of humility.

9. All who embark on this good deed, cruel and narrow, but also easy, should know that they have come to plunge into the fire, if they only want immaterial fire to dwell in them. Therefore, let each one tempt himself, and then from the bread of the monastic life, which is with bitter potion, let him eat, and from this cup, which with tears, let him drink: let him not fight against his own judgment. If not everyone who was baptized will be saved, then ... I will keep silent about what follows.

10. Those who come to this feat must renounce everything, despise everything, laugh at everything, reject everything, in order to lay a solid foundation for them. A good foundation, three-fold or three-pillared, is gentleness, fasting and chastity. Let all babes in Christ begin with these virtues, taking as an example sensual infants, in whom there is never anything malicious, nothing flattering; they have neither insatiable greed, nor an insatiable stomach, nor bodily kindling: it appears later, with age, and may be after the multiplication of food.

11. It is truly deserving of hatred and disastrous when the fighter weakens at the very entry into the struggle, thus showing a sure sign of his near victory. From a firm beginning, no doubt, it will be useful to us, if we subsequently weakened, for the soul, which was previously courageous and weakened, is excited by the memory of former jealousy, as with a sharp tool, therefore, many times some raised themselves in this way (from relaxation).

12. When the soul, betraying itself, destroys the blessed and longed-for warmth, then let it diligently investigate why it lost it, and let all its labor and all diligence turn to this reason, for the former warmth cannot be returned otherwise than by the same doors, which she came out.

13. He who renounces the world out of fear is like incense, which at first is fragrant, and then ends in smoke. The one who left the world for the sake of retribution is like a millstone, which always moves in the same way. And he who comes out of the world out of love for God at the very beginning acquires the fire, which, being cast into matter, will soon kindle a great fire.

14. Some put bricks on top of the stone in the building, others established the pillars on the ground, and others, having traveled a small part of the path and warmed up the veins and members, then walked faster. He who understands, let him understand what this divinatory word (a) means.

15. As those called by God and the King, let us diligently set out on the path, so that we, short-lived on earth, on the day of death will not be barren and perish from hunger. Let us please the Lord, as soldiers please the King, for, having entered into this rank, we are subject to a strict answer about service. Let us fear the Lord, though, as we fear beasts: for I saw people going to steal, who were not afraid of God, and when they heard the barking of dogs there, they immediately turned back, and what the fear of God did not do, the fear of beasts managed to do. Let us love the Lord, even as we love and honor our friends: for many times I saw people who angered God and did not care at all about it, but the same ones, having upset their friends with some little thing, used all art, invented all sorts of methods, expressed in every possible way to them their grief and their repentance, both personally and through others, friends and relatives, apologized and sent gifts to the offended, in order only to return their former love.

16. At the very beginning of renunciation, without a doubt, with difficulty, compulsion and sorrow, we fulfill virtues; but, having succeeded, we cease to feel sorrow in them, or we feel, but little; and when our carnal wisdom is conquered and captivated by zeal, then we do them already with all joy and zeal, with lust and divine flame.

17. How laudable are those who, from the very beginning, fulfill the commandments with all joy and zeal, how much worthy of pity are those who, having long been in monastic training, still with difficulty accomplish, although they accomplish, the feats of virtues.

18. Let us not despise or condemn such renunciations, which happen according to circumstances; for I saw those who were in flight, who, by chance meeting with the king, against their will, went after him and, having entered the chamber with him, sat down with him at the table. I saw that the seed that accidentally fell on the ground brought forth abundant and beautiful fruit, just as the opposite happens. Again I saw a man who came to the doctor's clinic not to be treated, but for some other need, but, attracted and held by the doctor's affectionate reception, he freed himself from the darkness that lay on his eyes. Thus, even the involuntary in some was firmer and more reliable than the voluntary in others.

19. No one should, exposing the weight and multitude of his sins, call himself unworthy of the monastic vow and, for the sake of his voluptuousness, pretend to humiliate himself, inventing excuses for his sins (see Ps. 140, 4); for where there is a lot of rottenness, strong healing is also needed, which would cleanse the filth, and the healthy do not go to the hospital.

20. If an earthly king called us and wished to put us in service before his face, we would not hesitate, we would not apologize, but leaving everything, we would zealously hasten to him. Let us take heed to ourselves, so that when the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, and the God of gods calls us to this heavenly rank, we will not refuse out of laziness and cowardice, and at His great Judgment we will not appear unanswered. The one who is bound by the ties of worldly affairs and cares can also walk, but it is inconvenient, because often those who have iron fetters on their feet walk, but they stumble a lot and get ulcers from this. A man who is unmarried, but only bound by business in the world, is like one who has shackles on his hands alone, and therefore, whenever he wishes, he can freely resort to a monastic life; a married man is like one who has shackles on both his hands and his feet.

See the notes indicated by the letters in brackets at the end of the book, after the Word to the Shepherd (from p. 484).

That is, not only the representation of the figurative ladder thereof in a vision, but also the virtues themselves, depicted by their degrees, by an experienced and true description.

Saint John of the Ladder.

Published according to the publication of the Kozelskaya Vvedenskaya Optina Pustyn, 1908

Preface of this book, which is called the spiritual tablets

To all who hasten to write their names in the book of life in heaven, this book shows the most excellent way. Walking this path, we will see that she infallibly guides her subsequent instructions, keeps them unharmed from any stumbling, and presents us with an approved ladder, raising from the earthly to the holy of holies, on the top of which the God of love is affirmed. This ladder, I think, was also seen by Jacob, the stirrer of passions, when he rested on the ascetic bed. But let us ascend, I beseech you, with diligence and faith, to this mental and heavenly sunrise, the beginning of which is the renunciation of the earthly, and the end is the God of love.

The reverend father judged wisely, having arranged for us an ascent equal to the age of the Lord according to the flesh; for at the age of thirty years of the Lord's coming of age, he divinely depicted a ladder consisting of thirty degrees of spiritual perfection, along which, having reached the fullness of the age of the Lord, we will appear truly righteous and unbending to fall. And whoever has not reached this measure of age, he is still a baby and, according to the exact testimony of the heart, will turn out to be imperfect. We recognized it as necessary first of all to place in this book the life of the (reverend) wise father, so that readers, looking at his exploits, would more conveniently believe his teaching.

A brief description of the life of Abba John, hegumen of the holy Mount Sinai, nicknamed a scholastic, a truly holy father, compiled by the monk Daniel of Raifa, an honest and virtuous husband

I cannot say with certainty in what memorable city this great man was born and raised before his feat of battle, and what city now rests and feeds this marvelous with imperishable food - I know that. He now dwells in that city of which the eloquent Paul speaks, crying out: our life is in heaven(Phil. 3, 20); with an immaterial feeling, he is saturated with blessings that cannot be satiated, and enjoys invisible kindness, spiritually consoles himself spiritually, having received rewards worthy of feats, and honored for labors that are not difficultly endured - the heritage there, and forever united with those whom leg ... a hundred on the right(Ps. 25:12). But how this material one reached the Immaterial Forces and united with them, I will try to explain this as far as possible.

Being sixteen years of bodily age, and the perfection of the mind is a thousand years, this blessed one offered himself, as a kind of pure and spontaneous sacrifice, to the Great Bishop and ascended the Mount of Sinai in body, and in soul to the heavenly mountain - with the intention, I think, that from this visible place to have benefit and the best instruction to achieve the invisible. So, having cut off the dishonest audacity of hermitage, this owner of our mental maidens, having taken on the magnificent humility of wisdom, at the very entry into the feat, he very prudently drove away seductive self-indulgence and self-confidence from himself, for he bowed his neck and entrusted himself to the most skilful teacher, so that with his trustworthy guidance, infallibly swim across the stormy sea of ​​passions. Mortifying himself in this way, he had in himself a soul, as it were, without reason and without will, completely free from natural properties; and still more amazing, that, having external wisdom, he was trained in heavenly simplicity. Glorious thing! For the arrogance of philosophy is not compatible with humility. Then, after nineteen years, having sent his teacher to the Heavenly King as a prayer book and intercessor, he himself proceeds to the field of silence, carrying strong weapons to destroy strongholds - great prayers (of his father); and, having chosen a place convenient for feats of solitude, five stages from the temple of the Lord (this place is called Fola), he spent forty years there in unremitting ascetics, always burning with burning zeal and Divine fire. But who can express in words and praise with a legend his labors carried out there? And how can one clearly represent all his work, which was a secret sowing? However, although through some of the main virtues we will be made aware of the spiritual wealth of this blessed man.

He used all kinds of food, without prejudice allowed to the monastic rank, but he ate very little, wisely crushing and through this, as I think, the horn of arrogance. So, with a lack of food, he oppressed her mistress, that is, the flesh, lustfully desiring much, crying out to her with hunger: “Silence, stop”; by the same thing that he ate a little of everything, he enslaved the torment of love of glory, and by living in the wilderness and moving away from people he quenched the flame of this (that is, bodily) furnace, so that it was completely incinerated and completely extinguished. By almsgiving and poverty in everything necessary, this courageous ascetic courageously avoided idolatry, that is, the love of money (see Col. 3, 5); from the hourly death of the soul, that is, from despondency and relaxation, he resurrected the soul, arousing it with the memory of bodily death, as if it were the core, and he resolved the interweaving of addictions and all kinds of sensual thoughts with the immaterial bonds of holy sorrow. Even earlier, the torment of anger had been mortified in him by the sword of obedience, but by inexhaustible solitude and eternal silence he slew the leech of cobweb vanity. What can I say about the victory that this good mystery man won over the eighth maiden? What can I say about the extreme cleansing, which this Bezalel of obedience began, and the Lord of the heavenly Jerusalem, having come, performed with His presence, for without this the devil cannot be defeated with an army corresponding to him? Where will I place in our present weaving of the crown the source of his tears (a talent not found in many), whose secret worker remains to this day - this is a small cave located at the foot of a certain mountain; she was as far away from his cell and from any human dwelling as was necessary in order to block the ear from vanity; but she was close to heaven with sobs and cries, similar to those that are usually emitted by those who are pierced by swords and pierced by kindled iron, or deprived of their eyes?

He took as much sleep as was necessary so that the mind would not be damaged by vigil; and before sleep he prayed much and composed books; this exercise was his only remedy for despondency. However, throughout his life there was unceasing prayer and fiery love for God, for, day and night, imagining Him in the lordship of purity, as in a mirror, he did not want or, more precisely, could not get enough.

One of the monastics, named Moses, jealous of the life of John, convincingly asked him to accept him as his disciple and instruct him in true wisdom; having moved the elders to intercession, Moses, through their requests, convinced the great man to accept himself. Once the abba commanded this Moses to transfer from one place to another the land, which required fertilizer ridges for potions; having reached the indicated place, Moses fulfilled the command without laziness; but as an extreme heat came at noon (and then it was the last summer month), he ducked under a large stone, lay down and fell asleep. The Lord, who does not want to grieve His servants in any way, according to His custom, warns the calamity that threatens him. For the great old man, sitting in his cell and meditating about himself and about God, bowed down in the most subtle sleep and sees a holy man who aroused him and, laughing at his sleep, said: “John, how do you sleep carelessly when Moses is in danger?” Jumping up immediately, John armed himself with a prayer for his disciple, and when he returned in the evening, he asked him if any misfortune or accident had happened to him? The student replied: “A huge stone almost crushed me when I slept under it at noon; but it seemed to me as if you were calling me, and I suddenly jumped out of that place. The father, truly humble-wise, did not reveal anything from the vision to the disciple, but with secret cries and sighs of love he praised the good God.