With your friend, the path of exile is easy ...

Nothing in the world deserves as much love as man and every man we owe him, once "Christ loves every man with the same love he loves the whole world." Nothing in the world deserves as much love as man and every human being They owe it once "Christ loves every man with the same love that he loves the whole world."

One of the main coordinates of Chrysostom humanism revealed in the contents of his works is friendship and love. Rarely in the literature we meet so beautiful about them.

Not many Fathers or church writers exalt such emotional love and friendship as Saint John has exalted them in all the works and circumstances of his life.

For him, the love of God and of men is not an empty word, but the most vivid and wonderful reality, the only one for which life deserves to be lived, as it itself says: "What can be likened to love? Nothing! It is the root, spring, and mother of goodness, a virtue that does not cause suffering, a pleasure virtue, and brings much joy to those who exercise it "(Letter 222, P.G.III, Col. 733-734).

The real friend is another ego

In St. John's conception, friendship, in order to be strong and lasting, must have Christ, who gave His life for His friends (John 15, 13), a motive, a pattern and a model. The great aristocrat points out that friendship is a union so close between the one who loves and the one loved that they are not two special people, but one man, reinforcing the idea that the friend is an alter ego, another eu: "if you are twenty Friends, see with twenty eyes, work with twenty more hands, go with twenty more feet. An ins may be due to friends in several places at once. "(Omilia LXXVIII, 4 to John, P.G. LIX, Col. 425). Indeed, in the conception of the Holy One, if one has an enemy, then that enemy is not attacked by only one person, but by the twenty, and then the enemy has to give up, because he is not rejected by one person , But twenty. If one is lacking, he is not in danger; He is rich in the great part through the other twenty; And the falling part is thus sustained, the weakest through the strongest. He no longer walks by his own feet, but by those of others; He does not only work through his hands but also through the others. Each of them has ten souls; Because he only has one care of his things, but the others have the same. And if it were such a hundred or a thousand united together, it will be the same, and the power will be added in proportion to the number. Thus, "nothing can happen to him who is surrounded by so much; Even the guards who watch the emperor's safety have no such vigilance or attention. They keep their king in need, they keep their friend in love and affection. Love has more power and strength than fear. The King is in fear of his guards, the friend trusts his friend more than himself, and with this help he is not afraid of anyone's racing. " (Ibid)

The sincere friend is much more desirable than the light

Throughout his life, St. John met people who wanted to compromise or suppress his life, but also true and devoted friends who offered him help in troubled times and fought for him with much courage and abnegation. The great preacher, through the following words, convinces himself that "the sincere friend is far more desirable than the light. And do not be surprised to say that, because it would be better if the sun were turned off, than being free of true friends; It would be better to live in the dark than to be without friends. And as this is, I will tell you. Many seeing the sun are in the dark, and if they are surrounded by friends, they will not suffer any abhorrence. I am speaking of spiritual friendship and spiritual friends who do not prefer anything before friendship. "(Commentary or Explanation of Epistle I to Thessalonians, Homilies II, vol., Comments or Explanation of the Epistle to the Colossians, I and II Thessalonians, p.179)

Writing about friendship, the Golden Mouth looks happy and pleasure has true friendship in itself. "Even to tell thousands of hoards, nothing would be more valuable than a true friend ... You are enjoying seeing your friend, cheer up, and your soul with an unconditional gratitude is merging with him, and even by You only remember him, your consciousness grows up and goes wrong. I am talking about real friends, friends of a soul and a conscience, about friends who prefer to die, about friends who love warmly, and we do not understand simple friends, those who take part in our tables and they We think of friends after the praise they bring us, do not believe, I say, that I am talking about them. If anyone has a friend like I say, he will of course understand my words. Even though he would see him every day, he was not content; It wants it for itself and for that one. I knew someone who was praying for the saints for his friend and told them to pray first to God for him (his friend - nn) and then for himself. This is the true friend that neither time nor place can prevent him from loving and being loved. " (The Commentary or Explanation of Epistle I to Thessalonians, Homilies II, in Vol. Comments or Explanation of the Epistle to the Colossians, I and II Thessalonians, p. 178)

The ways of friendship and the causes on which it is based

Referring to the ways of friendship and the causes on which it is founded, St. John expressed his dissatisfaction and sorrow for the fact that "we do not strengthen ourselves with the love of God, but seek other friendship: some gentiles, others habitual, others comrades Work, other neighbors; Any other cause other than faith in God; And only faith in God should bind friends. Things, however, are quite the opposite; We are friends with the Jews and the heathen, and we are not friends with the sons of the Church. " (Homilies at Matthew, LIX, V, V, COL, PSB, vol. 23, p. 692).

The bad friends are presented in the work of the great Christ more terrible than the enemies. "Do not keep friends near you who are the teachers of your damnation! Do not keep near you friends who love your table more than your friendship! That all of them end up with friendship once they have finished their meal and party; But the others, friends for the sake of virtue, remain forever with you, endure with you all your sorrows and all your troubles. Mass friends and drunkards, paramilitaries, often take revenge on you and make your name bad. " (Homilies to Matthew, XLVIII Homilies, VII, in PSB, Vol. 23, p. 565) .In general, we are labeled by others and according to our friends. In this regard, the Holy Archbishop emphasizes the following: "I know many worthy men who have gained a bad fame, made by their friends of idleness and drunkenness; They said about them that they are some charlatans, some idiots who ruin the houses of others, corrupters of children. And the world gives them credit, thinks they live with their children once they do nothing and waste their lives unnecessarily. " (Homilies at Matthew, XLVIII Homilies, VII, cf. PSB, vol. 23, p. 565).

Love is broken because it does not have spiritual roots

Master of the word and master of shades, Saint John presents in encomiastical terms the spiritual friendship that does not pursue personal benevolence, but serves disinterestedly to sublime ideals: "because men unite with one another on account of these passing causes, that is why neither the friendships between them They are neither hot nor enduring. They break the love of insults, damages of money, envy, love of glory, and so on. Love is broken, it has no spiritual root. If he had such a root, no worldly affection would have ruined his spiritual love. The love of the neighbor founded on the love of Christ is firm, uninterrupted, unbridled, unshaken. I can not crush her slander, nor the dangers, nor death, nor anything like that. Whatever it is that a man who so loves his neighbor will never cease to love him, because he looks at the cause of his love for Christ. But he who loves because he is loved and he in turn quickly ends with love if his friend upsets him with something; On the contrary, the one linked to his fellowman with the chain of love of Christ will never end his friendship "(Omilia LX, III to Matthew). In another place, the same patristic author states: "True friends overwhelm their parents and sons, speak to their friends after Christ" (Commentary or Explanation of Epistle I to Thessalonians, Homilion II). In St. John's view, "the branches of friendship are loaded not by pearl, but by the perfume of virtue, more pleasing than those. Any pleasure, ordinary or noble, sweeter than honey, friendship surpasses it. Honey produces satium, never friend, when he is a true friend, for desire grows longer and satytha can not curtail pleasure. Our friend is more expensive than our present life. Many people, after the deaths of their friends, no longer wanted to live. With your friend, the path of exile is easy; Without him at home you do not feel well. With a friend and poverty is bearable; Without him, and health and wealth are unbearable. A friend is another me. I'm sorry I can not put the true face of friendship into words. I realize that my words are far below what is to be said "(Omilia II, 3-4, I Thessalonians, PG LXII, Col. 403-406).

St. John advises us to cultivate close and true friendships with peaceful men, spiritual brethren, and holy parents, for, as friendship with the wicked usually hurts those who come together with them, as St. Paul says: "Evil comrades Destroys the good habits "(1 Corinthians 15: 33), so also the companionship with the good ones makes great use of those who approach them. "This is the reason that our Lover of Lover has allowed the good to mingle with the wicked, to win the wicked from this intercession, and not always to be in their wickedness, but always having the parable of them, to Gather something from this intercession. " (Homilies at Face, Homilies V, II, in PSB, vol. 21, p. 70). In this sense, the great aristocracy gives us all the innumerable exhortations in seeking to bind our friends together with those who can always set our souls in good order, give us salvific soul counsel, rebuke us when we sin, show us when We are wrong, to rise up when we fall, to turn to God, helping us with counsel and prayers. This is in fact the duty of a true friend and the ultimate goal of any friendship: mutual assistance and support for the salvation of the soul and the fullest union with God. In this way, a friend of a flatter is distinguished: first he shows us - with love and goodwill - and our deeds or words of descent, desiring our straightening and perfection in Christ, while the flatter brings us to light and reveals us, In an exaggerated way most of the time, only the good works, hiding the mistakes, to pursue certain material benefits from ours. "That I too love the one who loves me, and when he repels me and blasphews me for correcting a mistake, then it seems to me that he loves me, that the one who praises his friend would do evil or good, He is a true friend, but a deceiver and a hypocrite; When someone praises the one who does good things, or rebukes the one who does the evil ones, and rebukes it in secret, that is to say they are both alone, then it is a faithful and beloved friend; And when one of my enemies praises me, I do not receive, and my friend when he quarrels, I love him and my dear ones are his wounds, as he says the philosophical word. More faithful are the wounds of the friend, than the willing kissing of the enemy, for the enemy, or with righteousness, or with wickedness, reproaches and rebukes man not for his own sake, but for shame. " (From the Book of St. John Chrysostom, p. 62). Indeed, when he or she criticizes friendship, rightly or wrongly, they do not make it ridiculous or reproachful, but rather correct. However, our enemies, even when they rebuke and criticize us rightly, do not criticize us for changing and transfiguring us, but trying to make us mock. Friends when they praise us, seek to make us better; Enemies, but when they praise us, they strive to break us down.

St. John Chrysostom - a friend model in Christ, our friend

When speaking of friendship, Saint John Chrysostom brought to light the example of Moses, Abraham, James, Joseph, and David, who took no account of their benefit, but only of the interests of friends, thus gaining glory When the egoists suffered damage, as happened with Lot and even Jonah, in a moment of weakness. In this regard, St. John gave us as an example to follow the high and beautiful friendship cultivated by the Apostle Paul who prayed to fall from the glory of the future life for the salvation of others; He did this for some whose responsibility he did not have, being sent not to the Jews, but to the heathen. So if a greater love than this can not be found (cf. Eph 15: 13), then St. Paul has come to its end, and by what he has done he has ascended to its peaks.

St. John Chrysostom constantly labored and helped no one else who was in any form advised to the mercy, help and comfort of the Church. From his epistles we see how, though penetrated by the sufferings of exile, his human and hierarchal heart pours love in the waves over all his friends or those who show openness for it, and from them, the same love goes to him, even if Physically, they were at great distances, for "friendship can not prevent the length of the roads, neither heaven, nor earth, nor death, nor anything else, but it is stronger and stronger than all; Even if she is born of one soul, she can embrace many souls "(Omilia 9, 3 at Ephesians, P.G. LXII, Col. 73).

St. John's concept of man is a hot love for him. Nothing in the world deserves as much love as man and every man we owe him, once "Christ loves every man with the same love he loves the whole world" (Omilia II, 8 in Epistle to Galatians, PG LXI, col. 647). On this pure and sacrificial love and from this high Christian conception of man, both his pure and true friendships, as well as all the good deeds of this good archer of souls, have arisen.

By pr. Liviu Petcu