Since ancient times, Abba in the Christian East has been called a spiritual mentor. Believers know St. Dorotheos in this capacity. His works are read and re-read. Wise thoughts that so accurately reflect the ailments of the soul are quoted. And practically nothing is known about him himself.
St. Dorotheus of Palestine
About humility
One of the elders said: “First of all, we need humility in order to be ready to say: forgive me for every word we hear. ”
, for with humility all the arrows of the enemy and opponent are crushed.” <…>
There are two humility, as well as two pride. The first pride is when someone reproaches his brother, when he condemns and dishonors him as if he were worth nothing, and considers himself superior to him; such a person, if he does not come to his senses soon and does not try to correct himself, then little by little he comes into a second pride, so that he becomes proud against God himself, and attributes his deeds and virtues to himself, and not to God, as if he had accomplished them by himself, by his own reason and diligence, and not the help of God. In truth, my brothers, I know one who once came to this pitiful state. At first, if any of the brethren said anything to him, he humiliated everyone and objected; “What does so-and-so mean? there is no one (worthy) except Zosima and others like him.” Then he began to condemn these people and say: “there is no one (worthy) except Macarius.” After a little, he began to say: what is Macarius? there is no one (worthy) except Vasily and Gregory.” But soon he began to condemn these too, saying: “What is Vasily? and what is Gregory? there is no one (worthy) except Peter and Paul.” I told him: “In truth, brother, you will soon begin to humiliate them too.” And believe me, after a while he began to say: “What is Peter? and what is Paul? Nobody means anything except the Holy Trinity.” Finally, he became proud against God himself, and thus lost his mind. Therefore, we, my brothers, must strive with all our strength against the first pride, so that, little by little, we do not fall into the second, i.e. into complete pride.
Pride can be worldly and monastic: worldly pride is that when someone is proud before his brother that he is richer or more beautiful than him, or that he wears better clothes than him, or that he is nobler than him. And so, when we see that we are vainglorious about these (advantages), or the fact that our monastery is larger, or richer (than others), or that there are many brethren in it, then we should know that we are still in worldly pride. It also happens that people are vain about some kind of natural talent: someone, for example, is vain about the fact that he has a good voice and that he sings well, or that he is modest, works hard and is conscientious in service. These advantages are better than the first, however, and this is worldly pride. Monastic pride is that when someone is vain that he practices vigil, fasting, that he is reverent, lives well and is thorough. It also happens that others humble themselves for glory. All this relates to monastic pride. We don’t have to be proud at all: if someone cannot completely avoid this, then at least they should be proud of the advantage of monastic deeds, and not of anything worldly. <…>
I remember once we had a conversation about humility, and one of the noble (citizens) of the city of Gaza, hearing our words that the more one approaches God, the more he sees himself as a sinner, was surprised and said: how can this be? and, not understanding, wanted to know what these words mean? I told him: “Eminent gentleman, tell me who you consider yourself to be in your city”? He answered: I consider myself great and the first in the city.” I tell him: “If you go to Caesarea, who will you consider yourself to be there?” He was responsible “for the last of the nobles there.” “If, I tell him again, you go to Antioch, who will you consider yourself to be there?” “There,” he answered, “I will consider myself one of the common people.” “If, I say, you go to Constantinople and approach the king, who will you consider yourself to be?” And he answered: “almost for a beggar.” Then I told him: “That’s how the saints are, the closer they come to God, the more they see themselves as sinners. <…> [1, pp.38-44].
About not judging your neighbor
It is another thing to slander or reproach, another to condemn, and another to humiliate. To censure means to say about someone: such and such lied, or became angry, or fell into fornication, or (did) something similar. This is how he slandered (his brother), i.e. spoke biasedly about his sin. And to condemn means to say: such and such is a liar, angry, fornicator. This one condemned the very disposition of his soul, pronounced a sentence on his entire life, saying that he was like this, and condemned him as such; and this is a grave sin. <…>
Sometimes we not only condemn, but also humiliate (our neighbor); for one thing, as I said, is to condemn and another to humiliate. Humiliation is when a person not only condemns (another), but despises him, i.e. abhors his neighbors and turns away from him as if from some kind of abomination: this is worse than condemnation and much more harmful. Those who want to be saved do not pay attention to the shortcomings of their neighbors, but always look at their own and succeed. Such was the one who, seeing that his brother had sinned, sighed and said: “Woe is me!” just as he sinned today, so I will sin tomorrow.” Do you see the hardness? Do you see the mood of the soul? How he immediately found a way to avoid his brother’s condemnation. For by saying: “So will I tomorrow,” he instilled in himself fear and concern that he too might soon sin, and thus avoided the condemnation of his neighbor. Moreover, I was not satisfied with this, but I also threw myself under his feet, saying that he (at least) will repent of his sin, but I will not repent as I should, I will not achieve repentance, I will not be able to repent.” Do you see the enlightenment of the Divine soul? He not only managed to avoid the condemnation of his neighbor, but also threw himself under his feet. We, the accursed, indiscriminately condemn, abhor, and humiliate if we see, or hear, or only suspect something; and what’s even worse is that we don’t stop at our own harm, but when we meet another brother, we immediately tell him: this and that happened, and we harm him by introducing sin into his heart. And we are not afraid of him who said: woe to him who solders his girlfriend with muddy corruption
(Habbaak. 2:15), but we commit a demonic work, and are careless about it.
For what else can a demon do but confuse and harm? And we turn out to be the helpers of demons to the destruction of ourselves and our neighbor: for whoever harms the soul assists and helps the demons, and whoever benefits it helps the holy angels. Why do we fall into this, if not because there is no love in us? For if we had love, we would look with sympathy and compassion at the shortcomings of our neighbor, as it is said: love covers a multitude of sins
(1 Peter 4:8).
Lyuba thinks no evil;
covers everything and so on. (1 Cor. 13:5).
And so, if, as I said, we had love, then this love would cover every sin, just as the saints do when they see human shortcomings. For are the saints blind and do not see sins? And who hates sin as much as the saints? However, they do not hate the sinner and do not condemn him, do not turn away from him; but they sympathize with him, grieve for him, admonish him, console him, heal him like a sick member, and do everything in order to save him. Like fishermen, when they throw a line into the sea and, having caught a large fish, feel that it is rushing and fighting, they do not suddenly pull it strongly, for otherwise the rope will break and they will completely lose the fish; but they let the rope go freely and let it go as it wants; when they see that the fish is tired and has stopped fighting, then little by little they attract it, just as the saints, with long-suffering and love, attract their brother, and do not turn away from him and do not disdain him. Like a mother who has an ugly son, not only does not disdain him and does not turn away from him, but she also adorns him with love, and everything she does, she does to console him; So the saints always cover, decorate, help, so that over time they can correct the sinner, and no one else receives harm from him, and they themselves can succeed more in the love of Christ. <…>. [1, pp.80-86].
About reproaching yourself and not your neighbor
Let us examine, brethren, why it happens that sometimes someone, having heard an offensive word, does not pay attention to it, and endures it without embarrassment, as if he had not heard it at all; sometimes, as soon as he hears, he immediately becomes embarrassed. What is the reason for this difference? And is there one reason for this difference, or many? I find that this has many causes, but there is one, so to speak, that gives rise to all the other causes. And I’ll tell you how (it happens). Firstly, it happens that after prayer or good exercise, someone is, so to speak, in a good mood, and therefore condescends to his brother and is not embarrassed (by his words). It also happens that someone has an addiction to someone and therefore endures everything inflicted by him without grief. It also happens that someone despises someone who wants to insult him, and therefore does not pay attention to his insults, does not consider him a person, and therefore does not impute anything that he says or does. And I’ll tell you something that will surprise you. <…>
One day two brothers came to me, grieving one another, and the older one said about the younger one: “When I order him to do something, he grieves, and I also grieve, thinking that if he had trust and love for me, then would accept my words with confidence.” The younger one said: “Forgive me, Abba, he does not tell me everything with the fear of God, but commands like a ruler, and I think that is why my heart is not disposed to trust, as the fathers say.” Notice how they both reproach each other, and neither of them reproached themselves. Likewise, the other two grieved against each other, and, having bowed to each other, did not receive peace. And one said: “He did not bow to me from the heart, and therefore I did not calm down.” Another said: “since he was not prepared with love for me when I asked him for forgiveness, therefore I did not calm down.” You see, sir, (what a) funny judgment! Do you see what a transformation of concepts! God knows how horrified I am that we use the very sayings of our fathers in accordance with our evil will and to the destruction of our souls. Each of them had to lay the blame on himself, and one had to say: since I did not bow to my brother from the heart, therefore God did not favor him towards me; and the other had to say: since I was not prepared by love for my brother before he asked for forgiveness, therefore God did not favor him towards me. The two mentioned above should have done the same; one had to say: I speak in an authoritative manner and therefore God does not place my brother in confidence in me; and the other had to think: my brother orders me with humility and love, but I am disobedient and do not have the fear of God. And not one of them found a way to self-reproach; on the contrary, each laid the blame on his neighbor. That’s why we don’t succeed, that’s why we don’t get any benefit from anything, but we spend all our time opposing each other and tormenting ourselves. Since everyone justifies himself, everyone, as I said before, leaves himself without observing anything, and we demand from our neighbors the fulfillment of the commandment, therefore we cannot come to the knowledge of good; for if we learn even a little something, we immediately demand the same from our neighbor, reproaching him and saying: he should have done this; why didn't he do that? Why is it better that we do not demand from ourselves the fulfillment of the commandments, and do not reproach ourselves for non-observance of them? [1, pp.89-96].
Abba Dorotheos's prayer against anger
Merciful and humane God! By Your ineffable goodness, You created us from nothing, to enjoy Your blessings, and through the blood of Your Only Begotten Son, our Savior, Who called us, who had departed from Your commandments! Come now, help our weakness, and as You once rebuked the troubled sea, so now rebuke the disturbance of our hearts, so that You do not lose both of us, Your children, killed by sin, in one hour, and so that You do not say to us: “What good is it?” My blood, ever descend into decay,” and: “Amen I say to you, we do not know you,” because our lamps went out from the lack of oil. Amen.
Among the holy fathers, it is Dorotheus who is unique in his kindness, which shines even through the centuries in the words of his teachings and instructions. Therefore, the reader wants not only to revere this person, but also to be like him. We usually do poorly. But we are trying.
Natalya Sazonova.
About what you shouldn't lie
There are three different types of lies: one lies with a thought, another lies with a word, and another lies with one’s very life. The one who lies in thought is the one who accepts his assumptions as truth, i.e. empty suspicions about one's neighbor; such, when he sees that someone is talking with his brother, he makes his guesses and says: he is talking about me. If they stop the conversation, he again assumes that they stopped the conversation for his sake. If someone says a word, he suspects that it was said to insult him. In general, in every case, he constantly notices his neighbor in this way, saying: he did this for me, he said this for me, he did this for this reason. Such a person lies in thought, for he does not say anything true, but everything is based on suspicion, and from this come: curiosity, slander, eavesdropping, enmity, condemnation. It happens that someone else assumes something, and it accidentally turns out to be true; and after that, wanting, as he says, to correct himself, he constantly notices (everyone), thinking: if someone talks about me, then I need to know what my sin is, for which he condemns me, and I will get better. Firstly, the beginning of this is already from the evil one, for he began with a lie: without truly knowing, he came up with something that he did not know; But how can an evil tree produce good fruits?
(Matthew 7:18). If he really wants to correct himself, then when he says: don’t do this or why did you do this, he should not be embarrassed, but bow and thank him, and then he will correct himself. For if God sees that this is his will, then He will never leave him in error, but will send someone who can correct him. And to say: I believe my guesses in order to correct myself and for the purpose of eavesdropping and curiosity - this is self-justification inspired by the devil, who wants to plot us. <…>
But the one who lies in words is the one who, for example, being too lazy to get up for vigil out of despondency, does not say: “Forgive me for being too lazy to get up,” but says: “I had a fever, I was extremely tired from work, I was not able to get up, was unwell,” and says ten false words in order not to make one bow and reconcile. And if in (such a case) he does not reproach himself, then he constantly changes his words and argues so as not to incur reproach. Also, when he happens to have some kind of dispute with his brother, he does not stop making excuses and saying: “but you said, but you did, but I didn’t say, but so-and-so said,” and this and that, so that only don't come to terms with it. Again, if he desires something, he does not want to say: “I desire this,” but he constantly distorts his words, saying: “I have such and such a disease, and I need this; this is what I was ordered to do,” and lies until he satisfies his desire. And just as every sin comes either from lust, or from the love of money, or from the love of glory, so lies come from these three reasons. A person lies either in order not to reproach himself and not to reconcile himself, or in order to fulfill his desire, or for the sake of gain, and does not stop making twists and tricks in his words until he fulfills his desire. Such a person is never believed, but although he tells the truth, no one can give him faith, and his very truth turns out to be incredible. Sometimes such a thing happens that it is extreme to hide little, and if someone does not hide little, then the matter brings great confusion and sorrow. When such an extreme is encountered and someone sees himself in such need; then he can therefore change the word so that, as I said, greater confusion and sorrow, or misfortune does not result. But when such a great need arises to deviate from the word of truth, then even then a person should not remain careless, but repent and cry before God, and consider such an occasion as a time of temptation. And such evasion is not often decided upon, but only once out of many cases. For as happens with teriyaki and laxatives, if someone takes them often, they cause harm; if someone takes it once a year out of great need, then they benefit him; This is what should be done in this matter: whoever, out of necessity, wants to change a word should not do it often, but only in exceptional cases, once in many years, when he sees, as I said, a great need, and this is the very thing allowed very rarely, let him do it with fear and trembling, showing God both his will and necessity, and then he will be forgiven, but he still receives harm. So we said what it means to lie with a thought and what it means to lie with a word. Now we want to tell you what it means to lie with your very life.
He who, being a fornicator, pretends to be abstinent, lies with his life; or, being selfish, talks about alms and praises mercy; or, being arrogant, marvels at humility. And he is not surprised by virtue because he wants to praise it, for if he had spoken with this thought, he would first have humbly admitted his weakness, saying: “Woe to me, the accursed one, I have become alien to all good,” and then, after consciousness of his weakness, he would begin to praise virtue and be amazed at it. And again, he praises virtue for the wrong purpose, so as not to tempt another, for he should (in this case) think like this: “In truth, I am wretched and passionate, but why should I tempt others? Why harm the soul of another and impose a burden on yourself and another?” And then, even if he sinned in that (mentioned above), he would, however, also touch upon the good; for to condemn oneself is a matter of humility, and to spare one’s neighbor is a matter of mercy. But the liar is not, as I said, surprised at virtue for any of the reasons mentioned; but either he steals the name of virtue in order to cover up his shame, and speaks about it as if he himself were completely like that, or often in order to harm someone and seduce him. For not a single malice, not a single heresy, not the devil himself can deceive anyone (otherwise) than under the guise of virtue. The Apostle says that the devil himself is transformed into an angel of light, therefore it is not surprising that his servants are transformed into servants of righteousness (2 Cor. 11, 14, 15). So a deceitful person, either fearing shame, so as not to humble himself, or, as we said, wanting to seduce someone and harm him, speaks about virtues and praises them, and is surprised at them, as if he himself had done so and knows them from experience : such a one lies with his very life; This is not a simple person, but a dual one, for he is one on the inside and another on the outside, and his life is dual and deceitful. <…> [1, pp.106-114].
Images on icons
St. Dorotheus of Palestine
The saint is depicted in traditional monastic clothing. The icons convey to us his lifetime appearance as a gray-haired old man with a thick beard, and, of course, amazing kindness in his eyes.
The invariable accessory of icons is a scroll in the hands. After all, spiritual instructions are the memory that the monk left about himself. Sometimes the scroll is written unfolded, in which case the words of the monk are inscribed on it. There is also a variant of the icon, when a closed Gospel is written in the hands of the saint. The reverend's hand is raised in a characteristic oratorical gesture, meaning "I speak."
Instructions for every day of the week
Some excerpts from the teachings are contained in the often reprinted book of St. Dorotheus, “How to Grow Spiritually,” containing 7 instructions, one for each day of the week.
Each short conversation consists of small sayings. The saint’s words are dedicated to the fight against passions, with special attention paid to those from which many other sins arise. This:
- anger;
- condemnation;
- love of money.
These passions are destructive, but the saint’s advice breathes meekness, participation, and the kindness and sympathy for people sick with sin that were so characteristic of him during earthly life.
