#repentance

Patristic literature from the 4th–5th centuries offers a wide-ranging interpretation of the resurrection of Lazarus as a symbol of post-baptismal penance, illustrated by the testimonies of Pope Damasus, Saints Gregory of Nazianzus, Ambrose and Jerome, who identify spiritually with Lazarus, and continued by the ecclesiastical exegesis of Chromatius of Aquileia and Peter Chrysologus, who link the miracle at Bethany to repentance, forgiveness and the joy of the general resurrection.

St John Chrysostom’s Homily on the Publican and the Pharisee, translated from the original Greek in PG 59, analyses the parable in Luke 18 by contrasting the Pharisee’s pride with the tax collector’s repentance, showing that sincere humility before God brings righteousness, whilst pride squanders hard-won virtues.

Fulgențiu of Ruspe, an African bishop of the 5th and 6th centuries and an apologist against Arianism and Semi-Pelagianism, is presented through his biography, works and an analysis of his treatise De remissione peccatorum, in which he argues that the forgiveness of sins requires genuine repentance, a change of heart and man’s cooperation with God in this life.

The hierodeacon Synesios of Dochiaru, an exceptional Athonite protopsalt of the nineteenth century, prayed to Saint Paraskevi to take away the gift that might endanger his salvation, and he lost his voice. Drawing on this account, the article reflects on the spiritual danger posed by personal virtues and achievements, calling for repentance not only for sins, but also for the gifts in which we take pride.

The text, taken from the book Do You Know Yourself? Spiritual Life and Psychological Problems, analyses the consequences of the gulf between one’s ideal image and one’s true self: the projection of one’s own faults onto others, psychological emptiness, self-contempt and dependence on the approval of others, proposing humility, repentance and divine grace as the only path to genuine healing.

The monk Gherasim Prodromitul records an interview with Elder Gabriel of Mount Athos, conducted at the request of His Eminence Varsanufie, Archbishop of Râmnic. The Elder speaks of the spiritual decline of Athos, of the Venerable Paisios the Athonite, and offers exhortations to prayer, confession, fasting, almsgiving and repentance as the path to salvation in these times.