Let us now enter into the heart of the matter with faith, love, and trembling, because when talking about the Trinity, angels tremble at its horror.
1- “I believe in one God”
Ignorance in the past The world was immersed in pagan worship. In ancient times, the human mind came to believe in the existence of a Creator. But sin wronged him and he was not guided to the true God. God guided us first in the person of our father Abraham. Thus, God planted in the earth the seed of worship of the one immaterial and invisible God. The plant grew in the midst of violent storms, because the darkness of sin corrupted minds and hearts. Faith is not belief but communion. Abraham was God's friend, his friend.
Abraham's descendants - Rather, before the appearance of our Lord Jesus, there were people who believed in a God who is spirit and not matter, who is invisible, incomprehensible, capable of everything, who is one, and who is unlimited in time, space, and power: they are the people of the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament, humans learned that God is one and has no equal in creation. The Old Testament is a staunch enemy of polytheism and idolatry. The concept of God has transcended everything that is material, created, and limited.
هذه الخطوة هي قفزة نوعية في تاريخ العالم، إن استعرنا هذا التعبير من علماء البيولوجيا: تحرّر العقل البشري من مفهوم الإله بالإعتماد على حواسّه وفكره الأرضي. قامت عملية تجريد ذهني تحرَّر فيها الفكر من تصوّر “الإله” كما يتصوّر المرء المخلوقات (29).
Jesus - It is a qualitative leap in the development of human beings towards a more complete knowledge than that, that is - one day - our knowledge of God through God Himself, through our Lord Jesus. So what did the Lord Jesus come to us with?
God's unity - He did not deviate from the teaching of the Old Testament in stating the unity of God. God is one. He cannot have a partner to compete with or share power with. He cannot be a created being, otherwise his being a single Creator would be null and void, and there is no Creator other than Him.
Its unit is not numerical. Two is more than one, and three is more than two. The number of million is more important than the number of thousand, and so on.
أحدِيّةُ الله – God's oneness is a qualitative oneness: he is unparalleled. It is of a special quality, in fact it is above all classification. It is higher than unity, oneness, and everything that human geniuses can imagine.
Humility before Him - It is beyond our understanding. With our mind, we reach the conviction that there is one Creator. If we dare to do more than that, we will fall prey to our pride and the arrogance of our powerful minds. The closest path to God is complete humility before Him, like a drowning man’s eagerness to escape from the storms of a raging sea. Then God takes pity on our humility and eagerness, so He sends a gentle ray into our minds and hearts to guide us to Him. Satan once said to Saint Macarius of Egypt: You did not defeat me by fasting and staying up late, but by humility.
We cannot know God without God. He is the subject of knowledge and its mediator. He reveals himself to us, but in humility, not in arrogance, philosophizing, arrogance of science and philosophy, and divinity. (30) Empty or false..
Pride is the enemy of faith - Without humility, cross out everything: peace be upon the world. Disbelief, atheism, and heresy are linked to pride in a certain way that differs among people. The arrogant Pharisee fell from God’s mercy, even though he was a religious scholar, but he was hollow, hypocritical, and hypocritical. As for the tax collector (31) The sinner was filled with God's mercy because he humbled himself. How far the Pharisees of all times were from the Jesus of the Gospel.
2- God is Triune Persons
Jesus Christ came to us with a more complete teaching than the Old Testament. He taught us that one God is three: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
This teaching angered the Jews, and still does. This teaching destroyed the structure of Judaism, and after it, a religion of isolation returned, while Christ swept through Palestine and the world. Christ is for the whole world, while Judaism is an ethnic religion linked to a region of the earth.
God is 1=3
Jesus crucifies our minds with this teaching. However, we accepted the cross and do not accept it as an alternative, because we accepted Jesus himself, so we accepted his teaching according to his person.
Our acceptance of the person of Jesus made us accept his message, despite all the crosses of the mind, desires, and lusts it contains. They are all crosses, they are all heroics for conquering the world. It is very easy for a person to feel in the presence of Jesus that he is entering a furnace that turns him away from himself: 1- Mentally, Jesus delivers to me teachings that do not stand up to the arrogance of my ruthless, dissecting, critical mind. 2- Administratively, I am asked to go against my desires and will. 3- Emotionally, he is asking me to crucify myself, to carry my cross and walk with him all day and night, as long as I am on earth. 4- In life, he asks me to sacrifice myself for him and for humanity. It glorifies - primarily - the death of martyrdom. His most perfect servants - after his virgin mother and his apostles - are the martyrs. His golden age is the age of martyrs. He prefers the cold ones over the lukewarm, neglectful, and negligent ones (Revelation 3:15-22). How did people accept him, and how did his religion spread? How did people agree to become madmen and martyrs for his sake and blame cowards, negligent people, and fugitives?
This is the secret of his divine person. This is the secret of his mighty right hand. His loyal followers would rather have people put them in hell than put them in bliss (32). His fire is sweeter than this false bliss. Hell - if we allow ourselves this expression - is better than any other heaven.
The success of Jesus' call is linked to his person. Without it, the Christian religion remains devoid of any practical flavor, because it is a religion of hanging oneself in this world, in order to live in the afterlife.
إذن: قبلنا يسوع، فقبلنا منه كل ما شاء أن يقول لنا. وهل من السهل أن يرفض إنسانٌ يسوع؟ فالكون بدونه فراغ وقوقعة. ما قيمة الإيمان بوجود إله إن لم نقبل يسوع؟ ومن هو الله إن لم نشاهده في وجه يسوع؟ فلنقل له مع بطرس: “يا رب، إلى من نذهب؟ إن كلام الحياة الأبدية عندك” (يوحنا68:6. الترجمة الأرثوذكسية منقَّحة).
We accepted Jesus, so we accepted to believe that God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to whom every atom of the contrite and humble entity can prostrate, forever.
Who is this Triune God who cannot be comprehended by the mind?
The early church believed that God is one and three, and baptized people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And it continues to do so to this day and forever (Matthew 28:19).
But church scholars tried to bring this teaching closer to understanding. The task was arduous, because the things of God are beyond human understanding.
Asceticism is not only staying up late, fasting, cleaving, sleeping on the ground, and fighting against desires, against oneself, against desires, inclinations, and whims. It is a general ritual that includes the entire human being.
The mind also needs asceticism. He must abandon earthly notions, humble himself before God, purify himself from every worldly thought, and pray to God a righteous, pure, humble prayer that takes up his entire being, in order to draw closer to God. We can only know Him to the extent that He Himself reveals Himself to us. We owe it to him, so the credit should be to God, not to us.
The Greek language - the language of science and philosophy at that time - was not suitable for helping men of Christian thought. This is with the knowledge that European languages still today borrow from them the structure of theological, philosophical and scientific terms.
Theological terminology – Inspiring parents have created new terms. Explain it to us. Thus, they imitated us in a loose, luminous theological garb. Our faith is divine light. To explain the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Fathers used the following terms: essence, nature, hypostasis, person, equal in essence.
قالوا: إن الله جوهراً واحداً. واستعملوا “طبيعة” بمعنى “جوهر”.
They said: God is one. It is the essence of God.
They said: The unity of God is the unity of essence, the unity of divinity.
They said: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have one essence and one divinity.
They said: Since the essence is one, then God is one.
They said: If the essence of the Father was other than the essence of the Son, and the essence of the Holy Spirit were other than the essence of the Father and other than the essence of the Son, they would have 3 essences.
They said: If they had 3 jewels, they would be 3 independent gods. The multiplicity of essences means the multiplicity of gods. This is polytheism and idolatry.
So: Christianity remained true to Jewish monotheism, which says that God is one and has no partner.
Unity of essence - So what is unity? What is its importance? How do we understand it? It is the unity of essence. As long as the essence of the Trinity is one, then God is one and the divinity is one. The Trinity does not change anything in unity because the essence is one without division. But how is God three?
Hypostasis and person - آباء الكنيسة استعملوا لفظة “أقنوم” ولفظة “شخص”. ثم جعلوا اللفظتين مترادفتين. فكل إنسان شخص. ولكن هل في العالم خمسة مليار طبيعة بشرية على عدد أفراد الجنس البشري؟ كلنا من نسل آدم. وفوارقنا الشخصية لا تبلغ حدّاً يسمح بأن نقول أن طبيعة أحدنا هي غير طبيعة باقي أفراد البشر.
But human persons are separate. Each of them possesses human nature specifically. He owns it all in his person, separate from other people. They are not heads of one body. What is relied upon is personal. Nature exists in the person. The person is a document of nature. Nature resides in the person, not outside of him. But what is it like for God?
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are 3 persons (i.e. 3 hypostases) who together possess all the divine essence, i.e. the divine nature, i.e. the divinity is present together in its entirety in each one of them.
The Father owns it all. The son owns it all. The Holy Spirit owns it all. It is not owned by one person individually, as is the case with humans. The divine essence is entirely that of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, without separation, division, or division (33).
Humans are people. But also individuals.
There is no individuality in God. There is no divine essence specific to the Son, for example. The essence is one. It is entirely the Father's, entirely the Son's, and entirely the Holy Spirit's.
Among humans, I am privileged due to my human nature. And you are privileged in your human nature. In the Holy Trinity, this is missing. No one of the hypostases is unique in relation to essence, just as I am unique in my human nature.
Equal in essence - ولذلك استعمل الآباء لفظة “المساوي في الجوهر”. في اللغة اليونانية تعني اللفظة أن للأقانيم جوهراً واحداً بعينه. فإن قلنا أن الابن أو الروح القدس مساوٍ في الجوهر للآب عنينا أن لهم الجوهر الواحد بعينه.
God is one, essence is one, divinity is one, Father is one, so why three? Or what distinguishes one from the other?
Birth and emergence - The Father begot the Son. The Son proceeds from the Father by birth. The Holy Spirit by emanation, the Son and the Holy Spirit emanate from the hypostasis of the Father.
Birth and emanation are matters related to the hypostasis of the Father, not to the essence of the Father. If the Son were born of the essence of the Father, he would also be born of himself, and would be his own son. If the Holy Spirit emanated from the essence of the Father, it would emanate from Himself, that is, the Holy Spirit would emanate from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In other words: If the Son were born of the essence of the Father, he would have been born of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and likewise the Holy Spirit would have emanated from the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Father is the cause of the Trinity. From Him proceeds the Son by birth, the Holy Spirit by emanation. It is the title of the unit and its source.
There is no distinction between the three except by these three characteristics: 1- Fatherhood is the property of the father. 2- Filiation is the property of the son. 3- Emanation is a characteristic of the Holy Spirit (34).
Other than that, everything is shared by the Holy Trinity without division. Equality between persons is complete. If the Son or the Holy Spirit were less than the Father, they would have been created, and would be less than the Father. There is no difference between the three at all. The Father alone is the cause, and from Him proceeded the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Each of them contains both without mixing or mixing. There is no separation or division between them. Each of them is capable of everything and present everywhere. We cannot worship the Father without the Son, nor the Son without the Holy Spirit.
عندما يقول المسيحي: “اللّهم، يا رب ارحمني”. يقول: “أيها الآب والإبن والروح القدس إرحمني”. لا إله إلا الثالوث القدوس.
God is not one thing, but the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are another. God does not consist of all three. God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Every one of them is a god. But they are not gods. They are one God.
They are not one closed God. The God of Christians differs from the image of God among Greek philosophers and among Jews. God is not an abstract philosophical concept and is not one single God residing on high and isolated.
An open God - The Christian God is a Trinity, one God in 3 persons. He is an open God. His world is the world of open people. It is not an abstract theoretical essence like Greek philosophy. It is 3 people who contain each other in loving company.
والشخص عالم منفتح على الغير. عالمه هو عالم “أنت ونحن”.
God is love. The Orthodox distinguish in God between the incomprehensible essence and the divine powers. Basically, all the divine names are considered powers. So: righteousness, love, light, life, wisdom, righteousness, justice, and grace are essential divine forces emanating from the essence of God without being the essence. We are united with God by grace. We become gods by grace, not by substance (Palamas, Defense of the Hesychasts).
God of love - The Father loves the Son. The Son loves the Father. The Father loves the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit loves the Father and the Son. The Son loves the Holy Spirit.
يوحنا الإنجيلي قال: “الله محبة” (رسالة يوحنا الأولى 8:4 و16).
With absolute love, each of the three hypostases embraces the other two.
It is also through love that I, the human person, can open up to divine persons, enter into their personal world, and belong to it.
The difference between me and God is unlimited. He is God and I am a dweeb. Except that I am a person. He is also a person. The world of people is the world of openness, the world of company, the world of osmosis. In other words, the person permeates the person (35). The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit dialogue and say: Let us make man in our image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). Jesus saved the Father.
بولس الرسول علّمنا أن الروح القدس الساكن فينا ينادي فينا الآب السماوي: “أبَّاً” أي يقول الروح القدس فينا للآب: “أبّاً” (رو 15:8 وغلا 6:4).
عالم “نحن” – عندما يكون ارتباطي بالإخوة في أي مسألة نقول عنها: “نحن”. مثلاً نحن صلّينا معاً، نحن اعترفنا معاً بالله…
عالم ال”نحن” هو عالم الأشخاص الإلهيين. وهو أيضاً – بنسبة أضعف جدّاً – عالم الأشخاص البشريين. الحميمية تقوم بين الأرواح لا بين الأجساد والحجارة.
Personalist theology - This personal theology is beyond human understanding, but fills a huge void in human lives. It makes God closer to man than to himself. It is not surprising if we read from Chrysostom and Nicholas Kabasilas these two immortal sayings related to Jesus:
إنه “أقرب إلينا من قرب الجسم من الرأس” (الذهبي، العظة، 3:19 على يوحنا). إنه “أقرب إلينا من نفسنا ذاتها” (من اليوناني 712:150 كاباسيلاس).
prayers - O our Trinity, O Trinity of love, overwhelm us with your tenderness and bring us into the depth of our communion. Take us out of our limitations imposed on us for two reasons: 1- Because we were created. 2- Because we are sinful, dark, lost, confused, and lost. After the sin of Adam and Eve, we lost maturity and guidance.
أخرجنا من محدوديتنا وضمّ اشخاصنا الى أنوار أشخاصك الالهين. حطّمْ أنانياتنا، حطّمْ أثرتنا، لننطلق الى رحابة عالمك الشخصي المشرق بالضياء والبهجة. اجعلنا شفّافين لنعمتك، فتتراءى فينا من كل جانب ، لتظهر فينا من كل جانب.
3- The Controller and Creator
In the Church, in the Bible, and in teaching, we sometimes attribute some characteristics to the Father and others to the Son. And the Holy Spirit in the third part. But it is not limited. The same qualities return elsewhere to appear, especially in the Son or the Holy Spirit.
عادة، نقول: “نعمة الروح القدس”. ولكن في العهد الجديد ترد أيضا “نعمة ربنا يسوع المسيح”، “نعمة اﷲ مخلصنا”. ونقول في يسوع أكثر من سواه “مخلصنا”، بينما نرى بولس يقول هنا: “نعمة اﷲ مخلصنا”. واستعمل العهد الجديد لفظة “رب” ليسوع عادة. ﺇلا أنه أطلقلها أيضاً على الآب والروح القدس.
الدستور قال : “الآب الضابط الكل خالق السماء والأرض….”
قدرة واحدة – The Father is not the only Almighty, that is, the All-Powerful (36). The Son and the Holy Spirit are his full partners in this ability. Potency is one among them as is substance. Everything that is the Father's is the Son's, as Jesus said.
Creators together - They are creators together. Creation is their one act. It comes from them as one action for them.
Creation did not arise from their essence, but from their will. Therefore, creation was capable of being an event in time, not eternal, without beginning or end.
لا يطرأ… اي شيء أو تبدّل على جوهر الثالوث. لو صدر الخلق عن الجوهر لكان الخلق ازلياً سرمدياً مثل الجوهر.
Creation is an event that occurred in time by divine will.
God does not need a mediator. He created everything visible and invisible according to His divine will. No mediator mediated.
من العدم – He created it out of nothing. There was no previously existing matter from which God created the world. Greek philosophy said that the world is eternal. The Bible said that the world happened in time. God created time and space. Time and space define the world of creation, but God's world is the world of eternity, which has no beginning and no end. The world has a beginning and an end. God is without beginning and without end.
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit created angels, the material world, animals, and man out of absolute nothingness. A group of angels fell and became devils (37).
middle creature - أما اﻹنسان “فمخلوقٌ – وسطٌ” بين الملائكة (الأرواح غير الهيولية) وبين العالم الحيواني والمادي. فيه روح (38)And angels are spirits. It has a body similar to that of animals. With death, his body returns to its earthy origin, it returns to dust, it returns to matter that has lost life and has been separated from the spirit.
Perspective and non-perspective هناك – اذن – عالم غير منظور هو الأرواح، وعالم منظور هو كوننا المرئي. واﻹنسان شبيه بالأول بروحه وشبيه بالثاني بجسده. في شخصه الواحد يحوي العالمين: الروح والمادة، العالم الروحي والعالم المادي.
Every creation is God's creation, whether angels, humans, or other substances. Nothing happened except by His divine will.
Image of God – وخلق اﻹنسان على صورته، ليحذو حذوه ويصير على مثاله. قلنا ﺇن الله ثلاثة اشخاص واﻹنسان شخص. شخصنا هو على صورة الثالوث القدوس. شخصنا برمته – روحاً وجسداً – هو على صورة الثالوث. ولذلك نستطيع ان نناجي الله مثل اصدقاء وأبناء بتدلل واسع. نعلّم أطفالنا ان ينادوا آباءهم “ابَّا” (39). بولس قال إنَّ الروح القدس ينادي الآب فينا: “أبَّا”.
What is this sound? Saint Gregory of Nyssa, brother of Basil, said that it is unknown, just as its origin, that is, God, is unknown, or rather, unknowable. The same applies to her: we do not know her. No matter how much we analyze a person, our knowledge of him remains very limited. This knowledge is very incomplete because sin has weakened our spiritual powers.
4- Human surroundings
God placed man in a paradise planted with trees, so that he could grow spiritually to the full stature of God. Make him free and his nature tends toward good. However, freedom gives him room for choice. With his freedom he reaches the heights of holiness, and with his freedom he descends to the seat of impurity. Satan envied him and tempted him to deify him, so God portrayed him as envious and jealous. Adam sought deification without God, so he fell from God's mercy.
the fall - The Bible’s account of creation and the fall is brief, but wonderful in its conception of man: He was in the image of God and fell: 1- He desired deification without God’s help, so he relied on himself and became arrogant. 2- He craved a forbidden fruit with his eyes, tasted it, and his senses became corrupted. 3- Disobedience entered his heart, and he died spiritually before he died physically. Physical death was the result of spiritual death. 4- He was separated from God, so God threw him into his own destiny of corruption, evil, and destruction until the time for mercy came. 5- His powers became dark, and he sank into paganism and moral decadence. 6- It was torn internally into conflicts and divisions. This deserves a special title and technical treatment with reasonable and simplified brevity (40).
5- Internal division and rupture
The confusion of tongues in Babel is an image of the confusion of man within himself and the confusion of individuals and peoples among each other.
The Apostle Paul depicted the matter in Romans (7) and in Galatians (5) as a conflict between two wills or between what the soul desires and what the body desires. John Chrysostom explained Romans (7) in a way that makes it clear that sin resides in our members, but it is not our organs. This is consistent with the tradition of the Fathers who say: Misuse is what turns our organs and powers into instruments of evil. This is why Maximus the Confessor and Gregory Palamas argued that the misuse of the passions is what makes them tools for evil. That is, passion is not corrupt in and of itself, but rather by misuse of my will for it. This is a new meaning of passion after its meaning prevailed (and still prevails) as a corrupt passion.
إيفاغريوس اهتمَّ في كتابه “الراهب” (41) بمداواة النفس البشرية. فالنسك ضروري لشفاء القسم الاهوائي من النفس، بتطبيق وصايا الانجيل للخلاص من الاهواء الفاسدة. وقد سمّاها أحياناً “أرواحا”. وسمّاها أيضاً “أفكاراً” مستعيراً من يسوع في الانجيل (42). However, victory over it and reaching a state of lack of passion (43)They will not bear fruit if one does not enjoy divine visions (44).
في مقدمتي “لقانون يسوع” لم أفرّق بين الفضائل والصلاة. هما توأمان ملتصقان، لا يفترقان. منسكٌ بدون صلاة عناء ومشقة. وصلاة بدون نسك طائر ذو جناح لا جناحين تامين.
يوحنا فم الذهب، من بعد باسيليوس، تعرّض للموضوع باسهاب ما. ذهب الى ان حالة آدم وحواء في الفردوس كانت حالة بتولين. ولكن سقوطهما طوَّح بالبتولية. وهكذا انتقلت البتولية من الجنة ومن الأرض. إلا أن يسوع المسيح أعاد البتولية الى الارض (45). Adam and Eve were in heaven like angels (46)Man was the master of his actions, and the parts of the body were subject to the will of the soul (47).
But after the fall, the situation changed.
الحرب الداخلية – Human nature became divided against itself, and a war arose within man that could not be calmed (48)His passions began to declare war on him. It is much more dangerous than ferocious, raging brutality. He faces a revolution against him that is so enormous that he finds himself unable to control it within himself (49). Before the coming of Christ, the body was easily subject to sin. When human nature was subjected to corruption and death, a nest of many passions infiltrated it. That is why man is no longer so agile to run in the race of virtue. Before Christ, the Holy Spirit had not yet come to help him, as it did on the day of Pentecost, and baptism had not yet occurred to kill the sting of sin in him. He was like a wild horse, running, without a doubt, but often falling and falling. Although the law was illuminating the path, it was unable to help except as advice to the warriors (50)The horse was weighed down and became a sun (51). If it were not for Jesus, there would be no hope of salvation.
And so this eternal rock, Al-Dhahabi, made us hear:
“ولو بذلنا الف جهد، فلن نستطيع أبداً ان ننجز أي شيء صالح، اذا لم نكن نتمتع ايضاً بالقوة التي من العلى” (52). Al-Dhahabi goes on to talk at length about the interdependence of the hand of God and the hand of man, and about God’s respect for our freedom. He does not take it by force, but rather supports our good intentions and our choice for good, to support us on the path of virtue. (53). Al-Dhahabi is a Chalcedonian before the Council of Chalcedon (the year 451), and Theodoleti (who believed in two wills) before Maximus the Confessor (662) and the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680-681).
الصراع الروحي – وهكذا وجد الذهبي الفم نفسه مسوقاً الى الكلام عن الصراع الروحي بعبارات خاصة. فاعتبر هجمات الاهواء أعنف من هجمات في الحروب. ولذا اعتبر الذين يحاربون الاهواء مناضلين في صفوف الشهداء، يحملون “سمات” المسيح (غلاطية 6:17)، واعتبر الرهبان خلفاء الشهداء والمقتدين بالمسيحيين الاولين (54).
ذياذخوس قال ان “حمام” عدم الفساد (أي المعمودية) يطرد الحية المتعددة الأشكال من كنوز النفس. ولكن تبقى ثنائية ارادتنا، ويبقى الشياطين يحاربوننا بواسطة الجسد (55). We will return to Diachus's opinion in solving the dilemma.
Maximus the Confessor approaches the subject. I mentioned its text in our introduction to the Law of Jesus (56).
Harmony: بولس الرسول قال ان الاعتراف بكون يسوع رباً يصدر عن الروح القدس (كورنتوس الأولى3:12). مكسيموس ذكر الحالة المثالية في التناغم. ويتم التناغم بزوال الفرقة بين قوى النفس. فكيف يزول الانشقاق بين قوى النفس الثلاث العاقلة والشهوانية والغضبية؟ يزول عن طريق: أ- القراءات والتأمّل والترتيل والصلاة بالنسبة للقوة العاقلة. ب- السيطرة على النفس والاصوام والاسهار وو… بالنسبة للقوة الشهوانية. ج- المحبة والوداعة والتواضع وطول البال وو… بالنسبة لقوة الفضيلة. د- الصبر ضد الكسل الروحي الذي يخلخل هذه القوى الثلاث (57).
brutality of people - فالخطيئة شقَّقت الناس. قال مكسيموس: “نحن الذين نؤلف طبيعة واحدة، يلتهم بعضنا بعضاً بالمقابلة، مثْلَ الحيات” (58). “انما المحبة وحدها تعلو انشطار الطبيعة البشرية” (59). Many fathers spoke about the corruption of man. One of the last ancients, Theodore Abu Qara, Bishop of Harran (died 825 AD), said: Nine out of ten people are evil, and that nations were lions that swallowed people, crushed their bones, and ate their flesh without mercy or pity. (60). This is old. In the era of atomic weapons, we are incapable of description.
Distraction - “خاتم الخطيئة هو عليَّ”. إن عادة التفكير بالاشياء الارضية هي سبب تشتتي. أبقى بدون قوى لان الروح (القدس) لا يأتي إليَّ، مساعداً أياي. (أي الروح القدس الذي يعيد وحدة الذهن والقلب والجسد المفترقين بسقطة الانسان الرهيبة. بدون مساعدة الروح (القدس) القادرة على كل شيء الخلاَّقة، قواي وحدها تبقى فارغة (61). وأيضاً: “انه لامر طبيعي ان تطلع جمهرة من الافكار والصور من الكائن الساقط…” (62). “الاغراء والعيوب تكاثرت إلى اللانهاية. فالحب الاجرامي ذو الاشكال المتعددة يسود المجتمع البشري مثل طاغية قادرة على كل شيء” (63). وأيضاً: “حالتنا الاعتيادية، حالة كل البشرية هي حالة سقوط ووهم وضياع” (64). وقال أيضاً القديس ثيؤذوروس :”ان الطبيعة الساقطة تولِّد الخطيئة في أشكال شتّى بالافعال والافكار وعواطف القلب واحساسات الجسم (65)“.
Existentialists and personalists have statements that run on the fringes of this patristic thinking without much success. Martin Heidegger came up with the idea of the state of abandonment. She has: Man exists like this, abandoned. This is a negative, non-spiritual philosophical position, far from the spiritual concept of the fathers. The fathers talked about God neglecting them after abundant blessings, to increase their humility, training, grief, lamentation, longing, heroism, experience, sophistication, skill, and wisdom. (66).
I don't want to go into the research until the end. Parents are advised not to bring up matters before they are mature enough to do so (67). المحللون يقولون ان التفسيرات المعطاة للمرضى قبل صعود الافكار المكبوتة من اللاشعور إلى “ما قبل الشعور” تبقى بلا نتيجة لان المريض لا يقبلها عن فهم على الاقل. الرب يسوع علمنا ان لا نعطي القدس للكلاب وان لا نرمي الدرر امام الخنازير.
Effect, contrast - مكسيموس المعترف جعل “الأثرة” أم الخطايا جميعاً التحليل النفسي قال بوجود غريزتين (جنسية وعدوانية). وقد أولى التضادَّ (68) Ambivalence: In the subconscious, love and hate coexist. The conflicts that take place in people's souls are enormous. People's desire for gain and their preparations for aggression in billions and billions of colors and for malicious, moderate and simple reasons make every mind and understanding unable to analyze and comprehend them.
Instability - The Fathers spoke at length about the speed with which the soul changes, about its instability. The contradiction causes the decreasing fluctuations in the lives of the individual and the group that electronic brains cannot count. The hadith is problematic.
Preoccupation with God - What is the solution? Diadochus: The ways of the duality of the soul and how it is attracted by conflicting, opposing desires (69)، وأتى على ذكر الذهن. فالذهن لا يتوقف عن العمل. فلا بد من تشغيله بعمل ما. فإذا حاربنا الافكار الشريرة وسددنا منافذنا الى الذهن، فماذا يبقى من عمل له ان لم نشغله ببديل أصيل يُبقي الافكار الشريرة والشياطينَ حلفاءَها مطرودين؟ باسكال قال: “الانسان هو قصبة، وانما قصبة مفكرة”. وديكارت قال: “أنا افكّر إذن، انا موجود” (70). The solution according to Diadochus is to bring the name of the Lord Jesus to mind (71). God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24). Jesus Christ fills the void, burns sins, cauterizes demons, inflames the soul’s warmth and love for God, and raises it one degree by another to His height. John the Ladder, Callistus, Ignatius Xanthapule, and Seraphim of Sarov advised us to flog demons with prayer. (72). In the end, where to?
If I wanted to analyze people and societies and were able to write, I would create dozens of huge volumes, containing details about the subtleties of human souls that turn minds into confusion.
But all of this does not amount to anything significant in my view on the path to heaven. It's a waste of time. Prayer is more important than these empty concerns.
Transmission of longing - اللاهوت كله محصور في انسان نجح في نقل أشواق عقله وقلبه وحواسه وجسده نقلاً تاماً في اتجاه الله. هذا الانسان – كما قال آباء – قد مات وقام قبل ان تدركه الوفاة. هذا شهيد حيّ. قد يكون هذا الانسان أمَّياً لا يفقه إلا الهتاف في اليقظة والحلم والنوم: “ربي يسوع المسيح ابن الله ارحمني أنا الخاطىء”. وقد يكون أكبر العلماء: يسوع يقود الاثنين في التواضع والمحبة والصلاة. علم اللاهوت ليس اطروحات دكتوراه. كل انسان يستطيع ان يضع نفسه في مدرسة الصلاة، مدرسة استدعاء الرب يسوع، من أكثر الناس سذاجة إلى أوسع الناس فكراً وعلماً.
jesus prayer – لا تحتاج صلاة يسوع الى فلسفة وكيمياء وفيزياء وعلم فلك ورياضيات و… و… من أتقنها صار أكبر لاهوتي، لانه يكون قد احتضن في قلبه الاب والابن والروح القدس الاله الواحد أي مصدر كل علم ومعرفة وقدرة ووجود.
Many fathers - منذ باسيليوس حتى بالاماس – أسفوا على الوقت الذي اضاعوه في علوم الدنيا. فانّها لا تُدنينا من الله.
All knowledge is false except the knowledge of the perfect Jesus prayer, the leader of the choir of virtues. If my missionary educational template has prompted me to write books and defend the faith, then all my supplication to God is to cut off my mind from the world and confine it completely to the name of Jesus. This is the bliss of man on earth.
وما تبقّى باطل الاباطيل. ما النفع ان ربحت العالم وخسرت يسوع …؟ فليستجب الله هذه الرغبة التي ينخر عظامي عجزي عن تحقيقها، لان اهوائي ديكتاتور يجلدني بسبب التراخي والتقاعس والتشتُّت. ما العمل؟ مكسيموس قال ان الطبيعة تمزقت الف قطعة – انها مرآة سقطت ارضاً فتهشمت. يسوع انتهر مرتا المشتتة، وامتدح مريم التي اختارت النصيب الصالح الذي لا يُنْتَزعُ منها.
Detachment from the world - A radical process of abandonment is necessary in order for a person to adhere completely to Jesus. There must be an absolute detachment from this world in order to attach ourselves to the afterlife. It is necessary to eliminate the disarray of thoughts, desires, desires, tastes, interests, hopes, dreams, purposes, goals, aspirations, and every kind of wandering in thought, emotions, and inclinations. We must close all the outlets of our attachment to ourselves and the world, in order to collect all the power of our love, to transfer it in its entirety to Jesus.
Then I lose interest even in my health. The martyrs lost feeling the pain of torture. They endured beyond human strength: with great joy.
Desire for martyrdom- As long as the perfect Christian is the martyr, if the circumstances of martyrdom actually did not exist, I had to bear witness with my thoughts, my intention, my words, my desire for the death of martyrs, a sincere and fervent martyrdom. I must at every moment be a martyr with intention and martyrdom.
الضمير الحيّ – فهناك ما أسماه الآباء “استشهاد الضمير”. الضمير الحي مكواة حامية مثل قرص الشمس: يكوي شري وخطاياي.
This living conscience is the dwelling place of the fire of the Holy Spirit. From Him, the Holy Spirit guides my thoughts, emotions, inclinations, and actions and restrains my desires. My conscience is my authority placed in the fire of the Holy Spirit.
When the Holy Spirit molded my entire being from the position of His strong tower in my conscience, God’s will became my will. God became everything in my life. I lost control of myself. I lost my sense of myself. My feelings and senses were disrupted and the Holy Spirit took control of them. (73).
الزهد الكامل – As a result: I will no longer be so-and-so, the son of so-and-so. Therefore, the Lord Jesus taught that we should not be attached to money, family, friends, or self. He taught us to be ascetic even in ourselves, and to heroically advance to the holocausts of martyrdom.
اقول ولا افعل – But there is a huge gap between these words and my bitter reality. I am eloquent in speech, but I am criminal in my actions, thoughts, forgetfulness, and desires. If the Holy Spirit revealed to me all my evenings, I would faint to death. I protect myself by escaping from seeing myself as I really am. As soon as my conscience begins to dig up my crimes, I hide them so that I do not faint from the intensity of my feelings of inferiority, disgrace, hideous disgrace, and scandal.
قبل ان أصل مع القديسين إلى القناعة التامة باني شرّ (أي “أشرّ”) الناس قاطبة أبقى معلقا بالشياطين. علي الاقتناع باني منحلٌّ فاسد: فيا يسوع، يا ابن الله! لماذا اتيت الى الأرض ان لم تنقذني من هذا الغلاف المتحالف مع اهوائي الشريرة؟ كلامي اثم. صلواتي اثم. أنا الإثم، أنا الشر بعينه، أنا قعر الخطيئة النهائي.
But I say this with tongue and pen, and my heart remains a solid rock, devoid of feeling for it. My Lord, make me forget the eloquence of speech and pen, and teach me the eloquence of strong feelings. My Lord, sharpen my tongue and my pen and move to my inner being. Save me from the outside, and settle in the inside. My appearance is directed towards people hypocritically. My Lord, flay him, even burn him, so that you alone remain standing alone inside me. Expose my evils before My eyes, in all their dimensions of filth and impurity.
There are no solutions in this world. There is only one solution: Either Jesus absorbs me completely until my bones are pure, or I become a child of hell.
Our saintly fathers, who from ancient times bequeathed to us the protection of the name of the Lord Jesus, are among our guardian angels and guides.
Prayer is more important than studying - هذا التراث العظيم الذي يمثّله رهبان جبل آثوس منذ قرون هو جدير بان يعمّ كل العالم المسيحي. ظروف الكاثوليك والبروتستانت التاريخية والثقافية أولت المعرفة أهمية شبه مطلقة على حساب الصلاة. تأثير ديونيسيوس السوري على الروحانية الغربية كان عقلانياً، بينما عدّلت الروحانية الارثوذكسية تأثيره بصوفية مكاريوس السوري المنحول. ان مدرسة صلاة يسوع هي وحدها مدرسة. وكل مدرسة اخرى سراب خدَّاع. حنية رأس عند قدمي يسوع تبلّل الارض بدموع من دم. بعرق من دم – كالمسيح في الجسمانية – أقوى بمليارات المرات من كل مكتبات الدنيا.
prayers - O Jesus, Son of God! Give me torrents of blood to wash away the filth of my dirty soul, which claims to love You, while it is the devil’s toy. Grant that I may become mute and deaf, so that my conversation with you may be in the heart only, where I do not hear or communicate with anyone but you. My Lord, my Lord, my Lord, I am eloquent, eloquent in speech, and eloquent in deeds. Make my deeds upright, lest my words become a hot sword of judgment to equip me on the Day of Judgment. Actions are the basis, otherwise words are empty and a deception of oneself and others. Embodied in my actions so that my words come from Her grace.
In the end, a person must empty himself of himself in order to fill it with Christ. This is the whole religion. The person decreases little by little until he becomes a transparent white garment from which nothing is visible but Jesus, until he becomes a crystal from which Jesus is visible from every direction.
Europeans and Americans wrote thousands of books on Christianity. What is the use of it if I memorize it in its entirety if Christ is not a shining sun residing in me and I am only a transparent garment that does not block any ray of His light, no matter how small?
John Al-Salami and others warned of the danger of expanding studies on the spiritual life. Some of them demanded that we always interrupt it with periods of prayer.
Religion is not science (74) – ليس الدين علماً، بل صلاة بارّة ترتفع سهاماً ناريّة قدسيّة من نفس لا تحيا هي … بل يحيا فيها يسوع.
A devout shepherd - ما يعتري المسيحيين من ضعف ناتج عن انحراف عن هذا الطريق الملوكي. فراعٍ أميٍّ في أعالي الجبال جعل حياته مزماراً يسبّح الثالوث القدوس خير من مليارٍ من حملة شهادات اللاهوت لا ينسجون الحياة من تمجيد الثالوث القدوس، ولو كانوا ذروة المجتمع المسيحي وسادته. والباقي قشور.
O Jesus! Transform the cells of all our beings into fires of prayer. Let prayer emerge even from the hair of our heads, the tips of our nails, the eyelids of our eyes, the depths of our chests, and the movements of our breathing. Let us breathe your name more than we breathe the air. Be the fresh air of our lungs and the only one of our lives.
Devoted to Jesus - If Jesus did not pierce us like arrows pierce the body, we would be worthless. If we had an ounce of ourselves left, we would be fake, not authentic. I am unable to depict the truth. God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24). The Christian is thrown into this fire to extract the metal. It is a dark mass in which the sun entered and turned into light.
Delete self - The Christian is a being who deleted himself and installed Jesus in its place.
Asceticism in money - This is impossible without asceticism, asceticism and humility. Those who flock to the tables of food and drink, those who swim in the hell of pleasures, and those who are drowning in the sea of gold and possessions revolve outside the orbit of Jesus. Jesus did not allow us to be concerned with daily food and clothing, so that our minds would be occupied with other things. So how do we put our hope in money and food? How can we fear death, when death for Jesus alone gives life? Our Lord! We ask for your kindness towards us.
6- هل تبدل معدن آدم …؟
But Adam's nature did not change. But his strength weakened, and darkness enveloped him. His strength darkened. The image of God was distorted in him. Maximus said it was broken into a thousand pieces.
While he was under God's protection in Paradise, Adam failed to remain with God. When his powers were intact to connect with God, he lost their ability, and was no longer able to connect himself with God.
What to do? There is no solution other than for God to make up for the deficiency.
This is what will happen when the Son of God is incarnated.
Adam's misery - God expelled Adam from Paradise, so that he and Eve could live in misery. They were in heaven, saved from pain, corruption, and decadence, and immortal by God’s grace. They were two innocent virgins. Outside of paradise, they became miserable and miserable. They got to know each other and gave birth to offspring who inherited death and calamity from them, drowning in darkness, pagan worship, evil, and barbarism. What are the guarantees in humans? He is a traitor, a treacherous murderer, unless Jesus changes him.
(29) لما مرّ بولس الرسول عى أثينا، رآها مملوءة أصناماً (أعمال الرسل 16:17).. فلا فلسفة سقراط وأفلاطون وزينون وابيكور ولا سواها رقَّتم دينياً، فكثرت أصنامهم. وأخلاقيّاً: ذكرت في كتاب “المرأة في نظر الكنيسة” نبذة عن الإنحلال الأخلاقي في الفكر اليوناني القديم. قبل الإنجيل – كما نرى في الكتاب المذكور – المرأة أدنى من الحيوانات. مع المسيح تسامت النساء والأخلاق. فلا الفلسفة ولا سواها رقيا البشر بل الإنجيل.
(30) Theology is the claim to speak theology without originality or authentic theological justification. It is as if the matter is ordinary, while it is heavenly.
(31) هو في أيامنا “جابي المالية” جمعها “جباة”.
(32) The great Greek, Latin and French (and soon Arab) synagogues are full of martyrs who preferred fire to false bliss.
(33) اللغة الحقوقية واضحة في الكلام عن المالك والمملوك والملكية المشتركة، إنما هنا نجد قابلية للانفصال، للفرز والقسمة والإنقسام. باسيليوس استعمل أيضاً مصطلحي العام “للجوهر” والخاص “للأقنوم” (راجع سر التدبير).
(34) We draw attention to the fact that the distinction between the hypostases is based on relationship, not on opposition, isolation, and isolation. The Father is the source of the Son by birth, and the Holy Spirit by emanation. The Son is the Son of the Father, begotten. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. Gregory the Theologian, Damascus, and others taught us that we do not know the difference between birth and emanation into the Trinity. The whole issue is beyond our understanding. If we say that the Father begot the Son, we understand that the essence of the Son is the essence of the Father. But God's truth is higher than our perceptions. Christian inspiration descended to a level with which we understand some understanding, as the Son wanted to reveal to us: in so far (Matthew 11:27).
(35) ابراهيم هو خليل الله. في “المزيفون” شرحنا معنى “المخاللة”. يتداخل الخليلان أحدهما في الآخر. وفي لاهوت الثالوث القدوس نقول ان الأقانيم يتساكنون أحدهم في الآخرين. هذا هو العمق المطلق للمخاللة التي لا تُحدُّ ولا توصف ولا تُدرك. ولذلك فالثالوث القدوس اله انفناح كلّ من الأقنومين على الثالوث انفتاحاً مطلقاً. اله اليهود اله مخيف لا يدنى منه. الهنا هو الآب الذي أرسل الروح القدس ليصنع من أحشاء مريم ناسوتاً لابنه المسيح. المسيح الهنا المتجسد هو اله وانسان معاً في أقنوم واحد. اله اليهود إله قابع في العزلة والانفراد والتعالي عن البشر. الهنا شخص يحتكّ باشخاصنا.
(36) In Revelation 1:8 Jesus is the Pandocrator (Greek).
(37) The Bible says that demons exist. Satan tempted Jesus himself. Jesus told Peter that Satan would sift them. He said he was the president of this world. It is an evil force that misleads people and tempts them to do evil. He envies a person and harms him.
(38) قال يسوع: “لا تخافوا ممن يقتل الجسد ولا يستطيع أن يقتل النفس” (متى28:102). فأين تخرّصات نظرية التطوّر؟ هوذا النفس في كلام يسوع عنصر غير مادي أي لم تصدر عن الجسد. وقال أيضاً: الروح هو الذي يحيي، أما الجسد فلا يفيد شيئاً” (يوحنا 64:6). وقال يعقوب الرسول: “الجسد بغير الروح ميت” (26:2). وسواه كثير.
(39) Abba is a Syriac word that we teach young children to call their fathers. We pronounce it with emphasis, appa, but Paul mentioned it in Greek, abba.
(40) في العربية راجع: 1- الدكتور عدنان الطرابلسي: آ- الرؤية الارثوذكسية للانسان. ب- وسقط آدم. 2- آ- اسبيرو جبور: سر التدبير الإلهي وسواه. مكسيموس المعترف وأَمسية جبل آنوس: “تقطع الإنسان ألف قطعة. مرآة سقطت فتهشَّمت. في النظرة الأرثوذكسية، تصارع الروح والجسد (رو7 وغلا5) ، وانما يبقى المرء شخصاً في روح وجسد. لم تنفرط وحدة الاقنوم اي الشخص. ديكارت الفرنسي فصل الروح عن الجسد وعمي عن مفهوم الشخص فكان – وهو مؤمن – ابا سقوط الفكر الغربي في المادية والالحاد. والانسان واحد لا إثنان”. الروح هي المحرك لا الجسد. القوة تكمن في الروح. ليس الجسد المادة، والنفس الصورة كما لدى اتباع ارسطو ومنهم فلاسفة وعلماء الغرب بما فيه النهاية حتى كارل ماركس. ليس الانسان حيواناً إلا بجسده. قيمته في شخصه الروحاني الخالد.
(41) Practicos, Sources chrétiennes, p666…, Centuries II.19 (in Clément, Sources, p123).
(42) Matthew 19:15 and Mark 21:7.
(43) عدم الهوى (باليونانية apatheia ) . استعمل الرواقيون هذه اللفظة بمعنى انفعالي – سلبي- غريغوريوس النيصصي أعطاها معنى الانتصار على الأهواء، فساد معناه هذا.
(44) قال ايفاغريوس: “جسد المسيح، انما هو الفضائل المكتسبة. ومن يأكلها يجد الحرية الداخلية. ودم المسيح، انما هو معاينة الكائنات، ومن يشربه يستنر به (أي ينيره يسوع). وصدر المسيح، انما هو معرفة الله، ومن يسترحْ عليه يصرْ لاهوتياً” (مرآة الرهبان، 118-120 عن كليمان ص 120).
(45) Golden, Greek Min 350:51. Ali bin Abi Talib said about the virginity of Adam and Eve in Paradise (p. 23 of Nahj al-Balagha and its explanations by Muhammad Abdo).
(46) الذهبي، المواعظ على التكوين 5:15 ، مين 123:53 و 247:43 ب.
(47) Al-Dhahabi, Sermons on Genesis 5:12, Min 104:53a.
(48) Al-Dhahabi on Virginity 83, Greek Min 594:48.
(49) Golden Sermons on Psalm 148:3, Greek Min 460:55a.
(50) Golden Sermons on Romans 3:11, Greek Min 487:60-8.
(51) Golden Sermons on Romans 3:12, Greek Min 498:60.
وكرّر شيئاً من ذلك في موضع آخر: “لما خطى آدم صار جسده مائتاً وخاضعاً للألم، أصاب في طبيعته ألواناً عديدة من النقص (القصور)، فوُجد الحصان مثقلاً وعسير الانقياد” (المواعظ على رومية 3:12 في مين اليوناني 490:60 ) .
(52) Al-Dhahabi, Sermons on Genesis 5:58, Greek Min 513:54. See the sermons on Matthew 4:82, Greek Min 742:58.
(53) Also his sermons on Hebrews 3:12, Greek Min 99:63.
(54) Greek min 677:50, 124:60, 478:63, 52, 267:49.
(55) The 78th and 79th centenaries in the translation of Deir al-Harf and Christian Springs.
(56) The Law of Jesus, Orthodox Publications 1984. Accordingly, Niketas Stethatos has three cents: 14:1 and 52.
(57) Maximus Centenaries 52:2, 54, 57:4, 58. Also 70:2 and 20:3. And also 79:1, 80 and 47:2, The Ascetic Book, 19-27.
(58) Maximus, Min Greek 260:90. Yes: Humans are snakes in their hatred and harm.
(59) Maximus, Min Greek 396:91.
(60) حران مدينة سورية اغتصبها الأتراك. تقع شمالي محافظة الجزيرة. راجع كتابه “ميمر في وجود الخالق والدين القويم”، المكتبة البولسية جونية 1982، ص 188 و 252–253 و 256 و 265-267.
(61) Emile Simonod, The Priest of Jesus, edition of Presence, p. 137.
(62) Idem. P130.
(63) Idem. P126.
(64) Idem. P100
(65) Ignace Briantchaninov. Introduction to the traditional English language. And now. Paris 1978. p.137.
(66) Diodochus, Centenaries: 77, 87, 90, 94, 95 and Maximus, Centenaries in Love 96:4.
(67) عن برينتشانينوف، صلاة يسوع ص109 : “ليس صحيحاً بالنسبة اليك ان تعرف ما سيجيء قبل ان تقتني معرفة تجريبية عما سبق. فضول كهذا هو علامة بلادة وعقل معجب بنفسه”.
(68) I previously addressed the topic of antithesis in French in a joint book.
Jacques Berque and Divers, Live in the Arab culture. Ed Anthropos, Paris 1967.
(69) 24th and 25th percentile.
(70) ديكارت وباسكال عقلانيان. الوجودي الارثوذكسي بردياييف عكس قول ديكارت فقال: “انا موجود، اذن، انا أفكر” .
(71) Centenary 69. Ishaq Al-Syriac has something similar to this, Al-Nasakiat, p. 161 of the Arabic translation.
(72) قال السلمي: “أبسط يديك واجلد محاربيك باسم يسوع، فانه ليس من سلاح أقوى في السماء وعلى الارض (منه) (7:21 ص161 ) وأيصاً: هؤلاء الانجاس سيهربون من صلاتك لانها تجلدهم كما بنار (السلم إلى الله ، 63:28، ص265 ). “اضرب خصومك (بواسطة) اسم يسوع”. فما من سلاح في السماء وعلى الأرض أقوى منه. ولا تزد أي شيء آخر (كاليستوس واغناطيوس، المئوية 49 ). وروى برينتشنينوف عن سيرافيم ساروف: “كان يشهد بان صلاة يسوع هي مقرعة ضد الجسد والرغبات الجسدية”. (سيمونود، ص115 ). من الواضح ان الاخرين جميعا متأثرين بالسلّمي العظيم.
(73) في كتابنا “الإعتراف والتحليل النفسي” تحليل للأثرة واستشهاد الضمير واستشهاد النساك. الاثرة عدو المحبة الصافية. شكا ناصيف اليازجي من ندرة الخلّ (الصديق) الوفيّ. الأثرة هي ام عدم الوفاء للأصدقاء وسواهم. الطفل أثر. انقاذه من الاثرة يحتاج الى تربية روحية خاصة. الشهيد وحده طاهر من الاثرة (أي الأنانية البغيضة). ما عدا الوان واجناس. الأثرة عدو اللمعان الروحي البارز في إيمان الشهداء ومحبتهم ورجائهم. أنه سرطان كل مولود حتى يشفيه الله.
(74) Of course, I do not call for illiteracy, ignorance, and stupidity, but rather I fight those who made Christian theology studies in the manner of analyzing literary, philosophical, and historical texts, thereby stifling the spirit of the Christian religion. Hearts tremble at the remembrance of Jesus. In studies, hearts are not shaken. We leave prayer for the sake of research and investigations. It must be inoculated with prayer, prostration, and monasticism.