John was called to the priesthood and ordained by Flavian, bishop of Antioch, early in the year 386.  So this is the date of his first discourse: he had not yet descended into the lists, as he himself puts it.  In this essay, his modesty shines no less than his eloquence: he frequently calls himself a little boy; although, as his birth dated back at least to the year 347, he was then about forty years old. This shows that the terms, childhood, old age, and the like, so often used by the speaker, provide no data when it comes to working out the dates of his life. This point we have already made and solidly proven in the famous discourse on his mother.

HOMILY.

St. John Chrysostom speaks of himself, the bishop and the people.

1.  Is what has happened to us true?  Is what strikes us reality? Are we not in  the grip of an illusion? Are these hallucinations of the night and of dreams, or the clear sight of day, and are we all awake at this hour? Who can persuade himself that in broad daylight, when men have all their intelligence and all their activity, a poor child, without any merit, is vested with such power and such an honor?

That this might happen in a dream is not a wonder: awkward people, men so poor they do not have even necessary food, they sometimes dream that they take on strength and beauty, that they are seated at a royal table, but this alas! is just an effect of sleep, a trick of the imagination; we know that dream is a skilled craftsman of errors and wonders; it likes to trick us, it delights in a world of strange phantoms. Daytime is another matter, and nothing similar takes place in the world of realities. It is impossible, nevertheless, to doubt  it: this is all too certain, everything is done, done, done before your eyes; the wonders of the dream are overwhelmed by the simple truth, and I see here now this great city, so many people, this astonishing multitude, who direct their eager eyes to my littleness, as if something remarkable and beautiful must come out of my mouth.

Well! even if my words could flow with the fullness and majesty of the great rivers, and I had in me the waves of eloquence, the sight of the crowd gathered to listen would stop them suddenly in there course and make them flow back to their source. And when we are so far from such an abundance, where our words can not even compare with the slightest rain, how could they not be withered by fear to some degree?

How is it that the same phenomenon does not happen in the soul as in the body? What can I say? Does it not often happen that we seem to be afraid of the things that we have before us and that we have a firm grasp of, as if our nerves were paralyzed and our powers destroyed. This is what I fear at the moment: the thoughts that I have gathered with much trouble, although they are basically irrelevant and worthless, I tremble to see them escape my memory, fade and vanish, leaving my soul in a vacuum. I beseech you all, you who command, and you whom I must obey, the agony in which you have thrown me by your willingness to come and hear me: change it, by your fervent prayers, into a holy boldness; inspire me with the strength by your representations to He who fills intrepid pioneers of truth with his word (Psalm., 67:12), to put His discourses on my lips. Ephes., vi, 19.

This will not be difficult for you, numerous as you are, and having so many merits to present to God, to strengthen a soul which is lacking experience and frozen with fear. In fact you will satisfy a duty of justice by fulfilling our wishes: for you and your charity, we will face up to the chances of a most violent and most tyrannical game, in addressing, despite our inability, the Ministry of the word, in coming to tread the burning arena of intellect, we who have never attempted this noble exercise, and always kept silent in the ranks of listeners.

What sort of man would be so cold, so insensitive as to remain silent in the face of such a meeting, even if he was not speaking to brothers whose sympathy is equal to their pious impatience, and if he was the most incompetent of men to speak in public? I promised myself, opening my mouth for the first time in church, to devote to God the first fruits of my word, this gift that comes to us from him. It must be so: if the first-fruits of the crops and the wine-press are owed to him, still more are those of the word: to him, thus, our first flowers! The more the fruits are blessed for us, the more they are acceptable to Him.

The grape and the ear of corn grow from of the bosom of the earth, nourished by the waters of heaven and the labors of man: the sacred hymn of devotion born of the soul is nourished by a pure conscience, and God receives it into the heavenly granaries. As the soul is superior to the earth, so the latter result outweighs the first. As one of the prophets, a man eminent and sublime, Hosea, speaking to sinners who wanted to appease the wrath of God, advised them to make an offering, not whole herds of cattle, nor abundant measures of wheat, nor a turtle-dove, or pigeon, or anything similar, finally, and what then? what does he say?

“Bring words with you.” Hos. xiv, 3.

— What kind of sacrifice is that? you may ask. — The greatest of all, O my beloved! the most beautiful, most perfect. Who says so? A man deeply versed in the science of religion, the famous, the magnanimous David. Rendering thanks to God one day for a victory he had won, he said:

“I will praise the name of my God through a song, and I will honour him by my praises.” Psalm., 68:31.

And to show the excellence of this sacrifice, he immediately adds:

“And this tribute will be more pleasing to God than the sacrifice of a young bull whose horns and nails have begun to grow.” Ibid., 32.

And I too wanted to sacrifice some victims on this day, to water the spiritual altar  with streams of mystical blood. But, alas! a wise man closes my mouth and stops me with these words:

“Praise loses its beauty on the lips of a sinner.” Eccli., xv, 9.

Although a garland may be priceless, it is not enough that the flowers are pure, pure also must be the hand that has woven it.  Likewise, although an anthem may be worthy of God, the devotion of the words must be united to the piety of the soul who offers them. And mine has no purity, no confidence, it is full of sins. Under these provisions, silence is not only commanded by this law, there is a still more ancient law that the prophet who spoke to us earlier of sacrifices gives:

“Praise the Lord in the heavens, praise him on the highest peaks;”

and further on:

“Praise the Lord upon the earth.” Psalm., 148:1 and 7.

In calling for the same purpose the two types of creatures, those of the upper world and those of the underworld, things visible and invisible, those who fall within our senses and those that are perceived by the intelligence, in forming a single choir of heaven and earth to celebrate the King of the universe, David does not accept the sinner, he obviously excludes him from this divine harmony.

2.  So that the truth is put in its true light, let us return to the main features of this psalm. Having said:

“Praise the Lord in the heavens, praise him on the highest peaks,”

the Psalmist continues:

“All you angels of the Lord, all ye Virtues of God, set forth his praises.”

You see the angels who praise the Creator, you see the archangels, you see the cherubim and seraphim, the supreme virtues. In this last word, all the people in heaven are included. Do you see the sinner? And let no one say: How could we see a sinner in heaven?  —Well, descend to earth, pass to another part of the choir, the sinner is no more visible:

“Praise the Lord, inhabitants of the earth, sea-monsters, and all who people the depths, beasts of the field, and cattle, reptiles, and birds that go through the air on your wings.”

It was not without reason that I stopped once more, in repeating these words: confusion reigned in my thoughts, I could not restrain my tears, and I was about to burst into tears. What could be conceived more appalling, tell me? The scorpions, reptiles and dragons are called by the Prophet to praise him who gave them life: the sinner alone is excluded from the sacred choir. And nothing is more just.  It is a perverse and cruel beast, sin; it works its malice, not on the body, its slave, but even on the glory of God,

“Because of you, says the Lord, my name is blasphemed among the nations.” Isa., 52:5.

That is why the Prophet banishes the sinner from the concert of creatures, like a bad citizen is exiled from his homeland. A skilled musician removes from his lute a string that makes inharmonic sounds, so that it does not destroy the effect of the instrument; a doctor versed in his art does not hesitate to cut off a gangrenous limb, lest the evil is communicated to the healthy part of the body:  the Prophet does the same, and makes dissent and decay disappear from the universe.

What conduct should we adopt? Expelled, cut off as we are, we should, it seems, condemn ourselves to silence. So we should not mention ourselves, I ask? Is it not permissible to celebrate the Lord by our hymns? Have we have in vain solicited the help of your prayers, called for the protection of your charity? I think not: I perceive, I have adopted another way to glorify God. Your prayers illuminate my perplexity like lightning in the darkness: I will praise those who serve the same God as myself. Yes, I can praise them, and these praises, directed to servants, turn to the honor of our common Master. It is impossible to doubt it, because the Saviour said:

“Let your light shine before men, so that they shall see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matt., 5:16.

See then another kind of glorification which the sinner himself can use without violating the law.

3. But which of the servants of our God may we praise? And who else but our spiritual father, the minister of the Gospel charged with instructing the our land, and through our land the world? From him you have learned how to remain faithful to the truth unto death, and under his inspiration, you have taught the rest of mankind to give up life rather than piety. Would you like us to braid a garland for him, after that?

This also was my desire, but I have before me a vast ocean of merits, and I fear that my feeble voice, once engaged in these depths, would no longer be able to return to the surface. It is necessary here to talk of brilliant deeds that are already long ago, of perilous journeys and long vigils, of dedicated care and judgments full of wisdom, of noble battles, victories added to victories, trophies to trophies: all things which are beyond the power not only of my tongue, but of human language, and which, to be celebrated with dignity, demand the voice and zeal of an apostle able to say and teach everything. But we will leave this difficult subject to deal with another that presents fewer dangers, a sea in which a small boat can venture.

Let us talk simply of the austerity of his manners, his rigid temperance, his utter contempt for material well-being, the admirable simplicity of his table, and do not forget the grandeur and luxury that surrounded him in childhood. It is no wonder, indeed, that a man brought up in poverty as a practical way of life, is resigned to such harsh deprivation.  Poverty itself, the constant companion of his pilgrimage, makes every day the burden lighter. But anyone who has been master of much wealth does not readily disengage himself from it, such is the swarm of many passions that have enveloped his soul.  On the eyes of his intelligence weighs a cloud so thick of disordered appetite, that he can no longer see the heavens, that constantly he has his head and heart inclined towards the earth. Nothing blocks our rise towards heaven like riches and the evils of which they are the source.

It is not I who say this. Christ himself pronounced this sentence:

“A camel will pass more easily through the eye of a needle than a rich man will enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Matt., 19:24.

However a thing so difficult, or rather, impossible, offers only more difficulty. What Peter doubted in the presence of his Master, the problem that demanded a solution, we have now amply witnessed by experience. Not only do the rich go into heaven, but he has also led in an entire people.  And that, despite his wealth and other obstacles that are not inferior to that one: youth, a premature independence as a result the death of his parents, things are so full of charms and so fruitful in poisons. Our father has triumphed over all, he has somehow taken possession of heaven, embracing the heavenly philosophy.

No, he did not allow himself to be seduced by the splendor of this life, he has not turned his eyes to the glory of his ancestors. I am wrong, however; the glory of his ancestors, he has always had present to his mind. Not those to whom nature had united him by ties beyond his control, but those he himself chose in religion, and it is these that he has followed in his life.

He considered the patriarch Abraham, and the great Moses who, although high in the royal palace, accustomed from childhood to lavish meals, having lived among the parties of the Egyptians —  and you know what were the manners of those barbarians, to what degree they heaped up pomp and pride —  repulsed all these benefits to go knead clay, aspiring to become a slave, himself the son of his king and already sharing in the honors of the throne. Soon he reappeared, invested with a higher power than that of which he had deprived. After the exile, the servitude with his stepfather, the weariness of distance, he was on his return made the master, or rather the god of the king himself.

“I have made you the god of Pharaoh.” Exod., vii, 1.

Without wearing the diadem, without wearing purple, or driving in a chariot of gold, trampling all this regal pomp underfoot, he eclipsed the splendors of royalty,

“All the glory of the daughter of the king came from within.” Psalm. 45:14.

We saw him scepter in hand, for he commanded, not only men, but also heaven, earth, sea, the very essence of air and water, lakes, springs, and rivers. The elements were transformed at Moses’ command, nature obeyed his will, and it seemed a docile servant, eager, who, seeing the friend of its master, shows him its submission and renders him the duty that would be obtained by the master himself. This is the model on which he whom we are praising formed himself.

He imitated it from his youth, if ever he was young. Myself, I do not think so, since the maturity of his intellect dates even from the cradle. Still young in the number of years, he embraced all the teachings of the divine philosophy.  Scarcely had he understood that human nature is like a wild and uncultivated soil than he set vigorously to work, he cut short all the diseases of the soul.  The word of piety for him was like a sickle to cut off all weeds, and his soul was just like pure earth ready to receive the divine seed; this seed, he buried deeply, so that it was neither withered by the rays of the sun, nor suffocated by the thorns.

This is how he has treated his soul. As for the flesh, he has checked its leanings by the remedies of temperance; seeing it as an impetuous horse, he pull on the reins by fasting, not afraid to bloody the mouth of the passions in order to master them and lead them to his goal. All the same he did so with a wise moderation, and was careful not to exhaust the body, lest, after having ruined the powers of the horse, he rendered it unserviceable.  But he kept it no less from getting overweight and exuberant, so that it would not rise against reason, when responsible for his conduct; he did not want it either weak or recalcitrant.

As he was in youth, so he showed himself later; and now that his age protects him against the storms of life, his vigilance is still the same.

Youth, indeed, is like a sea of angry waves, constantly agitated by the winds, while old age is a quiet haven in which happy sailors whose courage has merited this noble repose enjoy profound security. Although, as I said, quietly sitting in the harbor, he watches with equal care. And this holy terror he received from Paul, who was transported into heaven, and on touching the earth again, exclaimed:

“I fear that after having preached the Gospel to others, I myself may be reproved.”  I Cor. 9:27.

Thus he keeps himself in perpetual fear, so as to be in perpetual security. He is always there at the helm, constantly observing, not the movement of the stars nor the rocks hidden beneath the waves, nor the dangers that threaten the ship, but the attacks of demons and the wiles of the devil, the struggles of the spirit and the tempests of the heart, looking out at all his army in order to make it invincible. It is not enough for him that the ship does not sink. He has left nothing undone so sedition or pirates cannot seize any of his traveling companions. Thanks to his care, thanks to his prudence, we pursue in peace the course of our voyage, setting out all our sails in the wind.

4. Certainly when we had lost the father that we had before, and who had formed himself for us, our state seemed deplorable to us, and we gave out inconsolable wailing, hoping that this throne would be occupied by a man like him, but as soon as his successor appeared among us, all this sadness vanished, our troubles vanished like clouds under the sun, and that not in a slow and gradual way, but with as much rapidity as if the blessed pontiff, rousing in the tomb, was back on his throne. What am I doing, though, what imprudence is mine? In my love for our father, in my admiration for his virtues, I have let myself be dragged beyond the limits, not of my subject, but those limits imposed on me by my youth; because I do not think that I have spoken an eulogy when I consider the merits which need celebration.

No matter; let us bring our boat back into the port and confine ourselves to a respectful silence. It is not without regret, however, that my speech will stop. I long to take it further, and I feel a bitter pain to leave it incomplete. Children, it is impossible to appease our hunger.  Let us cease to pursue what we never reach, and let us content ourselves with what we have said. When we have in our hands a rare and precious perfume, it is not just pouring it in the bowl, it’s by dipping your fingertips in it that you change the air around you and anoint those present. This is what is happening to us right now, not by the powers of our eloquence, but the living emanations of his virtues.

Enough. Let us turn to prayer. Let us ask God that our common mother remains unshaken and unsullied, and that we shall long have this father, this pastor, this master, this pilot. I dare not speak to you about myself.  I can hardly count myself among the priests, an abortion should not be counted among the children on whom nature has lavished all his gifts. But if you deign to remember me, as we remembers a miserable and wretched being, pray that a superabundant power comes on me from on high. I needed protection while I was living for myself, free from all other cares, and now I am obliged to appear in the church — is it by the favor of man, is it by the will of God?

I have not said it to him, I should not discuss this matter before you, lest I be accused of hiding my thoughts — now that I belong to the people, and I submit, never more to shake off this heavy yoke, the more I need you all to extend a helping hand to me, that all pray for me so that I may restore intact to the Divine Master the deposit that he gave me. On that day each custodian will appear before the Supreme Court and give an account of his administration.

Yes, pray that I do not experience the fate of those who were loaded with chains and plunged into the outer darkness, that I am counted with those to whom will be shown mercy by the grace and love of Jesus Christ Our Lord, to whom glory, empire, and adoration belongs, for the ages of ages.  Amen.

Source

© 2011, Fr. John A. Peck. All rights reserved.

John was called to the priesthood and ordained by Flavian, bishop of Antioch, early in the year 386.  So this is the date of his first discourse: he had not yet descended into the lists, as he himself puts it.  In this essay, his modesty shines no less than his eloquence: he frequently calls himself a little boy; although, as his birth dated back at least to the year 347, he was then about forty years old. This shows that the terms, childhood, old age, and the like, so often used by the speaker, provide no data when it comes to working out the dates of his life.

HOMILY

St. John Chrysostom speaks of himself, the bishop and the people.

1.  Is what has happened to us true?  Is what strikes us reality? Are we not in  the grip of an illusion? Are these hallucinations of the night and of dreams, or the clear sight of day, and are we all awake at this hour? Who can persuade himself that in broad daylight, when men have all their intelligence and all their activity, a poor child, without any merit, is vested with such power and such an honor?

That this might happen in a dream is not a wonder: awkward people, men so poor they do not have even necessary food, they sometimes dream that they take on strength and beauty, that they are seated at a royal table, but this alas! is just an effect of sleep, a trick of the imagination; we know that dream is a skilled craftsman of errors and wonders; it likes to trick us, it delights in a world of strange phantoms. Daytime is another matter, and nothing similar takes place in the world of realities. It is impossible, nevertheless, to doubt  it: this is all too certain, everything is done, done, done before your eyes; the wonders of the dream are overwhelmed by the simple truth, and I see here now this great city, so many people, this astonishing multitude, who direct their eager eyes to my littleness, as if something remarkable and beautiful must come out of my mouth.

Well! even if my words could flow with the fullness and majesty of the great rivers, and I had in me the waves of eloquence, the sight of the crowd gathered to listen would stop them suddenly in there course and make them flow back to their source. And when we are so far from such an abundance, where our words can not even compare with the slightest rain, how could they not be withered by fear to some degree?

How is it that the same phenomenon does not happen in the soul as in the body? What can I say? Does it not often happen that we seem to be afraid of the things that we have before us and that we have a firm grasp of, as if our nerves were paralyzed and our powers destroyed. This is what I fear at the moment: the thoughts that I have gathered with much trouble, although they are basically irrelevant and worthless, I tremble to see them escape my memory, fade and vanish, leaving my soul in a vacuum. I beseech you all, you who command, and you whom I must obey, the agony in which you have thrown me by your willingness to come and hear me: change it, by your fervent prayers, into a holy boldness; inspire me with the strength by your representations to He who fills intrepid pioneers of truth with his word (Psalm., 67:12), to put His discourses on my lips. Ephes., vi, 19.

This will not be difficult for you, numerous as you are, and having so many merits to present to God, to strengthen a soul which is lacking experience and frozen with fear. In fact you will satisfy a duty of justice by fulfilling our wishes: for you and your charity, we will face up to the chances of a most violent and most tyrannical game, in addressing, despite our inability, the Ministry of the word, in coming to tread the burning arena of intellect, we who have never attempted this noble exercise, and always kept silent in the ranks of listeners.

What sort of man would be so cold, so insensitive as to remain silent in the face of such a meeting, even if he was not speaking to brothers whose sympathy is equal to their pious impatience, and if he was the most incompetent of men to speak in public? I promised myself, opening my mouth for the first time in church, to devote to God the first fruits of my word, this gift that comes to us from him. It must be so: if the first-fruits of the crops and the wine-press are owed to him, still more are those of the word: to him, thus, our first flowers! The more the fruits are blessed for us, the more they are acceptable to Him.

The grape and the ear of corn grow from of the bosom of the earth, nourished by the waters of heaven and the labors of man: the sacred hymn of devotion born of the soul is nourished by a pure conscience, and God receives it into the heavenly granaries. As the soul is superior to the earth, so the latter result outweighs the first. As one of the prophets, a man eminent and sublime, Hosea, speaking to sinners who wanted to appease the wrath of God, advised them to make an offering, not whole herds of cattle, nor abundant measures of wheat, nor a turtle-dove, or pigeon, or anything similar, finally, and what then? what does he say?

“Bring words with you.” Hos. xiv, 3.

— What kind of sacrifice is that? you may ask. — The greatest of all, O my beloved! the most beautiful, most perfect. Who says so? A man deeply versed in the science of religion, the famous, the magnanimous David. Rendering thanks to God one day for a victory he had won, he said:

“I will praise the name of my God through a song, and I will honour him by my praises.” Psalm., 68:31.

And to show the excellence of this sacrifice, he immediately adds:

“And this tribute will be more pleasing to God than the sacrifice of a young bull whose horns and nails have begun to grow.” Ibid., 32.

And I too wanted to sacrifice some victims on this day, to water the spiritual altar  with streams of mystical blood. But, alas! a wise man closes my mouth and stops me with these words:

“Praise loses its beauty on the lips of a sinner.” Eccli., xv, 9.

Although a garland may be priceless, it is not enough that the flowers are pure, pure also must be the hand that has woven it.  Likewise, although an anthem may be worthy of God, the devotion of the words must be united to the piety of the soul who offers them. And mine has no purity, no confidence, it is full of sins. Under these provisions, silence is not only commanded by this law, there is a still more ancient law that the prophet who spoke to us earlier of sacrifices gives:

“Praise the Lord in the heavens, praise him on the highest peaks;”

and further on:

“Praise the Lord upon the earth.” Psalm., 148:1 and 7.

In calling for the same purpose the two types of creatures, those of the upper world and those of the underworld, things visible and invisible, those who fall within our senses and those that are perceived by the intelligence, in forming a single choir of heaven and earth to celebrate the King of the universe, David does not accept the sinner, he obviously excludes him from this divine harmony.

2.  So that the truth is put in its true light, let us return to the main features of this psalm. Having said:

“Praise the Lord in the heavens, praise him on the highest peaks,”

the Psalmist continues:

“All you angels of the Lord, all ye Virtues of God, set forth his praises.”

You see the angels who praise the Creator, you see the archangels, you see the cherubim and seraphim, the supreme virtues. In this last word, all the people in heaven are included. Do you see the sinner? And let no one say: How could we see a sinner in heaven?  —Well, descend to earth, pass to another part of the choir, the sinner is no more visible:

“Praise the Lord, inhabitants of the earth, sea-monsters, and all who people the depths, beasts of the field, and cattle, reptiles, and birds that go through the air on your wings.”

It was not without reason that I stopped once more, in repeating these words: confusion reigned in my thoughts, I could not restrain my tears, and I was about to burst into tears. What could be conceived more appalling, tell me? The scorpions, reptiles and dragons are called by the Prophet to praise him who gave them life: the sinner alone is excluded from the sacred choir. And nothing is more just.  It is a perverse and cruel beast, sin; it works its malice, not on the body, its slave, but even on the glory of God,

“Because of you, says the Lord, my name is blasphemed among the nations.” Isa., 52:5.

That is why the Prophet banishes the sinner from the concert of creatures, like a bad citizen is exiled from his homeland. A skilled musician removes from his lute a string that makes inharmonic sounds, so that it does not destroy the effect of the instrument; a doctor versed in his art does not hesitate to cut off a gangrenous limb, lest the evil is communicated to the healthy part of the body:  the Prophet does the same, and makes dissent and decay disappear from the universe.

What conduct should we adopt? Expelled, cut off as we are, we should, it seems, condemn ourselves to silence. So we should not mention ourselves, I ask? Is it not permissible to celebrate the Lord by our hymns? Have we have in vain solicited the help of your prayers, called for the protection of your charity? I think not: I perceive, I have adopted another way to glorify God. Your prayers illuminate my perplexity like lightning in the darkness: I will praise those who serve the same God as myself. Yes, I can praise them, and these praises, directed to servants, turn to the honor of our common Master. It is impossible to doubt it, because the Saviour said:

“Let your light shine before men, so that they shall see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matt., 5:16.

See then another kind of glorification which the sinner himself can use without violating the law.

3. But which of the servants of our God may we praise? And who else but our spiritual father, the minister of the Gospel charged with instructing the our land, and through our land the world? From him you have learned how to remain faithful to the truth unto death, and under his inspiration, you have taught the rest of mankind to give up life rather than piety. Would you like us to braid a garland for him, after that?

This also was my desire, but I have before me a vast ocean of merits, and I fear that my feeble voice, once engaged in these depths, would no longer be able to return to the surface. It is necessary here to talk of brilliant deeds that are already long ago, of perilous journeys and long vigils, of dedicated care and judgments full of wisdom, of noble battles, victories added to victories, trophies to trophies: all things which are beyond the power not only of my tongue, but of human language, and which, to be celebrated with dignity, demand the voice and zeal of an apostle able to say and teach everything. But we will leave this difficult subject to deal with another that presents fewer dangers, a sea in which a small boat can venture.

Let us talk simply of the austerity of his manners, his rigid temperance, his utter contempt for material well-being, the admirable simplicity of his table, and do not forget the grandeur and luxury that surrounded him in childhood. It is no wonder, indeed, that a man brought up in poverty as a practical way of life, is resigned to such harsh deprivation.  Poverty itself, the constant companion of his pilgrimage, makes every day the burden lighter. But anyone who has been master of much wealth does not readily disengage himself from it, such is the swarm of many passions that have enveloped his soul.  On the eyes of his intelligence weighs a cloud so thick of disordered appetite, that he can no longer see the heavens, that constantly he has his head and heart inclined towards the earth. Nothing blocks our rise towards heaven like riches and the evils of which they are the source.

It is not I who say this. Christ himself pronounced this sentence:

“A camel will pass more easily through the eye of a needle than a rich man will enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Matt., 19:24.

However a thing so difficult, or rather, impossible, offers only more difficulty. What Peter doubted in the presence of his Master, the problem that demanded a solution, we have now amply witnessed by experience. Not only do the rich go into heaven, but he has also led in an entire people.  And that, despite his wealth and other obstacles that are not inferior to that one: youth, a premature independence as a result the death of his parents, things are so full of charms and so fruitful in poisons. Our father has triumphed over all, he has somehow taken possession of heaven, embracing the heavenly philosophy.

No, he did not allow himself to be seduced by the splendor of this life, he has not turned his eyes to the glory of his ancestors. I am wrong, however; the glory of his ancestors, he has always had present to his mind. Not those to whom nature had united him by ties beyond his control, but those he himself chose in religion, and it is these that he has followed in his life.

He considered the patriarch Abraham, and the great Moses who, although high in the royal palace, accustomed from childhood to lavish meals, having lived among the parties of the Egyptians —  and you know what were the manners of those barbarians, to what degree they heaped up pomp and pride —  repulsed all these benefits to go knead clay, aspiring to become a slave, himself the son of his king and already sharing in the honors of the throne. Soon he reappeared, invested with a higher power than that of which he had deprived. After the exile, the servitude with his stepfather, the weariness of distance, he was on his return made the master, or rather the god of the king himself.

“I have made you the god of Pharaoh.” Exod., vii, 1.

Without wearing the diadem, without wearing purple, or driving in a chariot of gold, trampling all this regal pomp underfoot, he eclipsed the splendors of royalty,

“All the glory of the daughter of the king came from within.” Psalm. 45:14.

We saw him scepter in hand, for he commanded, not only men, but also heaven, earth, sea, the very essence of air and water, lakes, springs, and rivers. The elements were transformed at Moses’ command, nature obeyed his will, and it seemed a docile servant, eager, who, seeing the friend of its master, shows him its submission and renders him the duty that would be obtained by the master himself. This is the model on which he whom we are praising formed himself.

He imitated it from his youth, if ever he was young. Myself, I do not think so, since the maturity of his intellect dates even from the cradle. Still young in the number of years, he embraced all the teachings of the divine philosophy.  Scarcely had he understood that human nature is like a wild and uncultivated soil than he set vigorously to work, he cut short all the diseases of the soul.  The word of piety for him was like a sickle to cut off all weeds, and his soul was just like pure earth ready to receive the divine seed; this seed, he buried deeply, so that it was neither withered by the rays of the sun, nor suffocated by the thorns.

This is how he has treated his soul. As for the flesh, he has checked its leanings by the remedies of temperance; seeing it as an impetuous horse, he pull on the reins by fasting, not afraid to bloody the mouth of the passions in order to master them and lead them to his goal. All the same he did so with a wise moderation, and was careful not to exhaust the body, lest, after having ruined the powers of the horse, he rendered it unserviceable.  But he kept it no less from getting overweight and exuberant, so that it would not rise against reason, when responsible for his conduct; he did not want it either weak or recalcitrant.

As he was in youth, so he showed himself later; and now that his age protects him against the storms of life, his vigilance is still the same.

Youth, indeed, is like a sea of angry waves, constantly agitated by the winds, while old age is a quiet haven in which happy sailors whose courage has merited this noble repose enjoy profound security. Although, as I said, quietly sitting in the harbor, he watches with equal care. And this holy terror he received from Paul, who was transported into heaven, and on touching the earth again, exclaimed:

“I fear that after having preached the Gospel to others, I myself may be reproved.”  I Cor. 9:27.

Thus he keeps himself in perpetual fear, so as to be in perpetual security. He is always there at the helm, constantly observing, not the movement of the stars nor the rocks hidden beneath the waves, nor the dangers that threaten the ship, but the attacks of demons and the wiles of the devil, the struggles of the spirit and the tempests of the heart, looking out at all his army in order to make it invincible. It is not enough for him that the ship does not sink. He has left nothing undone so sedition or pirates cannot seize any of his traveling companions. Thanks to his care, thanks to his prudence, we pursue in peace the course of our voyage, setting out all our sails in the wind.

4. Certainly when we had lost the father that we had before, and who had formed himself for us, our state seemed deplorable to us, and we gave out inconsolable wailing, hoping that this throne would be occupied by a man like him, but as soon as his successor appeared among us, all this sadness vanished, our troubles vanished like clouds under the sun, and that not in a slow and gradual way, but with as much rapidity as if the blessed pontiff, rousing in the tomb, was back on his throne. What am I doing, though, what imprudence is mine? In my love for our father, in my admiration for his virtues, I have let myself be dragged beyond the limits, not of my subject, but those limits imposed on me by my youth; because I do not think that I have spoken an eulogy when I consider the merits which need celebration.

No matter; let us bring our boat back into the port and confine ourselves to a respectful silence. It is not without regret, however, that my speech will stop. I long to take it further, and I feel a bitter pain to leave it incomplete. Children, it is impossible to appease our hunger.  Let us cease to pursue what we never reach, and let us content ourselves with what we have said. When we have in our hands a rare and precious perfume, it is not just pouring it in the bowl, it’s by dipping your fingertips in it that you change the air around you and anoint those present. This is what is happening to us right now, not by the powers of our eloquence, but the living emanations of his virtues.

Enough. Let us turn to prayer. Let us ask God that our common mother remains unshaken and unsullied, and that we shall long have this father, this pastor, this master, this pilot. I dare not speak to you about myself.  I can hardly count myself among the priests, an abortion should not be counted among the children on whom nature has lavished all his gifts. But if you deign to remember me, as we remembers a miserable and wretched being, pray that a superabundant power comes on me from on high. I needed protection while I was living for myself, free from all other cares, and now I am obliged to appear in the church — is it by the favor of man, is it by the will of God?

I have not said it to him, I should not discuss this matter before you, lest I be accused of hiding my thoughts — now that I belong to the people, and I submit, never more to shake off this heavy yoke, the more I need you all to extend a helping hand to me, that all pray for me so that I may restore intact to the Divine Master the deposit that he gave me. On that day each custodian will appear before the Supreme Court and give an account of his administration.

Yes, pray that I do not experience the fate of those who were loaded with chains and plunged into the outer darkness, that I am counted with those to whom will be shown mercy by the grace and love of Jesus Christ Our Lord, to whom glory, empire, and adoration belongs, for the ages of ages.  Amen.

Source

© 2010, admin. All rights reserved.

Our righteous father John of Kronstadt was an archpriest of the Russian Orthodox Church. Born in 1829, from 1855, he served as a priest in St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Kronstadt. Here, he greatly committed himself to charity, especially for those who were remote from the church, and traveled extensively  throughout the Russian empire. He was already greatly venerated at the time he died. His feast days are commemorated on December 20 and October 19.

“Dear brethren, priests and co-pastors of Christ’s flock!

The greatest of callings has been entrusted to us from God. We are clothed with the grace of priesthood, we are empowered by the grace of God’s ever-acting and all-sanctifying Spirit to perform God’s greatest Mysteries in the Church — the rebirth and sanctification of sinful humanity, the renewing reconciliation of ourselves and humanity with God, we stand before the Throne of the Almighty face to Face, we converse with Him, we beseech and thank Him, we constantly refer to Him as His closest Ministers and Stewards of His mysteries (I Corinthians 4:1).

What faith is required of us — what reverence, what never-ending attention to ourselves, what purity of heart, what passionlessness, what trust in God, what love toward God and neighbor, what audacity, what wisdom and simplicity, what revocation from every evil, what mercy and compassion toward people, sinking in a mire of sins!

“A priest, while living on earth, should be of heaven, setting his affection on things above, not on things on earth (Colossians 3:2) and completely devoted to God and to the salvation of men! Where are we to obtain all this, from where are we to draw upon such abundant grace? God has given us every grace. We must constantly test ourselves, to awaken ourselves from sleepiness, with which the enemy is constantly trying to rob us: we must stir up the gift of God (II Timothy 1:6) granted during the laying on of hands — clothed in the grace of the priesthood, with the grace to intercede for the people and for the whole world, with the grace to perform the great Christian Mysteries, which can greatly assist in our salvation as well, in making us wise, in strengthening the spirit and body, and in the salvation of our neighbors. The saints were people akin to us in their passions, but they found their salvation and that of many, many people obedient to them. We will also find our own salvation and that of others if we shall be zealous: But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26).”

Later still, in 1901, upon the initiative of His Grace, Bishop Nazary of Nizhny Novgorod, St. John’s meeting with the city’s priests was held. St. John said, approximately, the following:

“Highly honored fathers and brothers, co-pastors! You yourselves, I see, are people decorated with gray hairs, which means you are yourselves rich with life’s experiences. I have no thing to teach you. But since you are asking me how I happen to attain a beneficial effect upon the hearts of people, then I will tell you. I try to be a sincere pastor, not only in words, but also in deeds — in life. Consequently, I watch myself closely, after my spiritual world, over my inner workings. I even keep a diary, where I put down my deviations from God’s Law, test myself and try to reform. I am busy the whole day, from morning until late night. I perform my pastoral calling not only in Kronstadt; it often requires me to travel to different parts of Russia. Each day I am beset with pleas, so that at times it becomes painful to me and I do not wish to do it, but I do, I try to satisfy all petitioners.

No matter where I might be, and especially in Kronstadt, I myself daily perform the Liturgy and that sincerely, with all my heart — earnestly and devoutly offer the holy, bloodless sacrifice to God. for my sins and those of all Orthodox Christians. Worshippers see and feel my earnest, devout serving and themselves become imbued with holy emotions and pray earnestly.

At every Sunday Liturgy I preach the living Word of God. My inner life, my soul, is represented in my sermons; I mercilessly chastise human sins, vices and passions, reveal the errors of sectarians and schismatics. Thanks be to God — I myself can see the fruits of my pastoral labors. In St. Andrew’s Cathedral (and it is large) there are at times up to five thousand people, and all this multitude listens to me, as one man; there is no noise, no jostling: all eyes are directed at me. As I leave the church, the people surround me with love, all with shining faces; all may be seen to be in a blessed joyful mood. All this — the fruits of my prayer and preaching. Forgive me, most reverend pastors, for speaking thus about myself. God forbid that I should say this for the sake of self-praise, God forbid. No, it isn’t I who am doing all this, but the grace of God, reposing upon me — a priest…”

Another similar conversation took place somewhat later, in Sarapul, initiated by Bishop Micah in 1904. This is what St. John said:

“All know that I was born in the district of Archangelsk, and completed the Petersburg Theological Academy. Immediately upon graduating from the Academy I occupied my present position in the city of Kronstadt— as a priest of St. Andrew’s Cathedral. This city is a military one: here at every step one meets military men, sailors, bay workers, etc. The sailors, who spend most of their time at sea on board their ships, upon coming ashore try to spend their free time in the grandest way possible, to get as much enjoyment as possible. For this reason one can always meet drunkards in the streets here and hear of many foul deeds. From the very first days of my ministry my heart began to bleed at the sight of such a wicked and sinful life and naturally a firm determination appeared to straighten out somehow these drunken but good-hearted people. It was especially painful to see drunks on my way home after the Liturgy. Consequently I began to address them with words of accusation, admonitions and explanation as often as possible, persuading them to fight their weakness and so to attend God’s Church as often as possible, so as to spend the morning at least sober. At first, of course, I had to undergo a great deal of sorrow and unpleasantness, but this did not cause my spirit to flag. On the contrary, it strengthened it even more and hardened it for new battle with evil. At this time I fought against evil with the usual methods used in pastorship, and not only did I not step out as a general intercessor and petitioner before God, but did not even have such a wish and intention in the bottom of my heart. The Lord chose to place me on another path. This happened as follows. There lived in Kronstadt a pious woman with a most beautiful soul, called Paraskeva Kovrigina, a Kostromite by birth, who had devoted herself to the service of others. She began to press me earnestly to pray for one or another sufferer, assuring me that the prayer on their behalf would be effective and beneficial to them. But I continually refused, considering myself to be unworthy to be a special mediator between people in need of God’s aid, and God. However, the constant requests and assurances of Paraskeva of God’s help finally convinced me, and, with firm expectation and hope, I began to appeal to God to heal the sick and debilitated of soul and body. The Lord heard my prayers, though unworthy, and answered them: the sick and infirm were healed. This encouraged and strengthened me. I began, more and more frequently, to appeal to God upon the pleas of various people, and the Lord has worked, and does work to the present, many wondrous deeds upon our common prayers. Many obvious miracles have occurred and even now occur. In this I see God’s instructions to me, a special assignment from God to pray for all who ask for God’s mercy. For this reason I do not refuse anyone my prayers, and, to visit the sick, travel at their request all over Russia. There were times when I was asked to cast out evil spirits, and the evil spirits have submitted and gone out of people by my prayer. But there were also those occasions when my attempts were not crowned with success — the evil spirits would not leave. It is true, these evil spirits would proclaim themselves to be the most cruel, the most tenacious… And my efforts in these cases were not crowned with success because I myself was not sufficiently prepared, did not maintain a strict fast, for in the words of Jesus Christ Himself, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting,’ or else I did not devote sufficient time to that particular person. With all my varied and numerous tasks it wasn’t possible for me to devote much time to one person, as there were always many waiting for my prayer and blessing. And as in my present life I had to be constantly in the outside world, visiting the homes of people of every rank and fortune, where food was offered, which I often had to accept, so as not to offend those who offered it with love, so, naturally, I found it impossible to keep a strict fast. On the whole, in my life I did not take upon myself any special fasts, not, of course, because I do not consider them necessary, but because conditions in my life did not permit me to do so, and I have never shown myself to be a faster, nor an ascetic, etc., although I eat and drink in moderation and live temperately.

“As regards to how my present popularity came about, I must say that for this, I, on my part, did not take any measures nor efforts: everything just came about by itself, without me. From the time that cases of cures through me came to multiply, the witnesses and observers of them, or else those persons who had themselves experienced God’s grace upon themselves, not wishing to remain ungrateful before God, would announce what had happened in the daily press, through which cases of cures became known to the reading public and attracted new masses of people, thirsting for Christ’s comfort and God’s grace.

“Needless to say, all cases of miraculous cures have been publicized not by myself, but by those affected, and not only do I not consider myself to be in any way better than other priests, but justly reckon myself to be the worst, the last among you and all the priests of the Russian Orthodox Church in general, because all that is imperfect and bad is all mine, and if the wealth of God’s grace, given to me by God, was with someone else, worthier than I, then he would perform more good than I.”

© 2010, admin. All rights reserved.

A convert to Orthodoxy from being an Episcopalian priestess, Ms. Linsley renounced her priestly order in March 2004. She left the Episcopal ministry on the Sunday that Gene Robinson was consecrated and has not entered an Episcopal church since. After years of studying the question of women priests she is persuaded that this innovation is the root cause of the schism within Anglicanism. She is also the author of the excellent blog: Just Genesis.

One of the most important functions of preaching is teaching, and Linsley’s article is an excellent source of how to teach about the priesthood.

The Messianic priesthood of Jesus Christ is the true and single Form[1] of the Priesthood. Every priest, either living before Christ or after Christ’s appearing, stands as a sign to this one priesthood. The priesthood is unique (not to be confused with the office of shaman) and it is impossible to change it in any essential way.

All attempts to change the priesthood, such as developed out of Protestant theology or the ordination of women, corrupt the sign so that it no longer points to Messiah. The Church itself has no authority to change the ontological pattern since the Priesthood existed before the Church and was not established by the Apostles.

The first priest mentioned in the Bible is Melchizedek who lived during the time of Abraham. The author of Hebrews tells us that Melchizedek is a type pointing to Jesus as the true Form/Priest:

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

(Hebrews 6:13-20)

Melchizedek represents the Messianic priesthood, but he doesn’t represent the beginning of the priesthood. Cain and Abel acted as priests when they offered sacrifices in Genesis 4. This means that the priesthood was not established by the Apostles, it existed long before them. According to Saint John Chrysostom, a Church Father, the priesthood “is ranked among heavenly ordinances. And this is only right, for no man, no angel, no archangel, no other created power, but the Paraclete himself ordained this succession…”.[2]

If the Apostles are not the source of the Christian priesthood, what is the source? It can only be the eternal Christ, who is the eternal Form/Priest. Through Jesus Christ the eternal truth signified by the Priesthood comes into focus. He alone is Priest, fulfilling atonement through His own shed blood. The Priesthood therefore, is necessarily tied to the Blood of Jesus Christ. Where people deny the saving nature of Jesus’ Blood there can be no true Priesthood. A priest who denies the necessity of repentance and trust in Jesus’ Blood as the means of forgiveness, is a false priest.

What can we say about the Priesthood?

First, we can say that the priesthood is verifiably one of the oldest religious offices in the world, traced back to at least 7000 B.C. It emerges out of the Afro-Asiatic civilization which, at its peak, extended from the Atlantic coast of modern Nigeria to the Indus River Valley. The Brahmanas (Hindu Priest Manuals) [3] express the richness of this institution. The  “priest” offered sacrifice at fire altars which they constructed according to geometry and at the proper seasons which they determined through astronomy. The Vedas also reveal the danger of a priestly order that becomes too powerful and self-serving, as happened also with the priests of Jesus’ time. When the True Priest appeared among them, they were unable to recognize Him because their understanding of the office of the Priest had become corrupted.

The priest emerges out of primeval perceptions of blood as the substance of life, purity and righteousness. We are able to verify that this conception is very old because it has a wide linguistic dispersion.[4] The Hebrew root “thr” = to be pure, corresponds to the Hausa/Hahm (West Africa) “toro” = clean, and to the Tamil (India) “tiru” = holy. All are related to the proto-Dravidian (Pakistan) “tor” = blood. These cognates point to an ancient priesthood for which purity, holiness and blood are related concepts.

From the dawn of time humans recognized that life is in the blood. They saw offspring born of water and the blood. They knew that the loss of blood could bring death. Killing animals in the hunt also meant life for the community. They sought ways to ensure that their dead entered life beyond the grave, especially their rulers who could intercede for them before the Deity.

This is why peoples around the world covered their dead rulers in red ochre dust as early as 80,000 years ago.[5] This red dust is a sign pointing to the Pleromic Blood of Jesus.[6]

God planted eternity in our hearts so we innately know that Christ’s Blood is not only redemptive, but also the source of our life. This is what St. Paul calls “the mystery of Christ”. As his second missionary journey, Paul preached that,

“in Him [Jesus Christ] we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

He also wrote:

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth.” (Ephesians 1:7-10)

These words follow Paul’s explanation of the saving work of Jesus Christ in Ephesians:

But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far apart from us have been brought very close, by the blood of Christ. For He is peace between us, and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in His own person the hostility caused by the rules and decrees of the Law. This was to create one single man in Himself out of the two of them and by restoring peace through the Cross, to unite them both in a single body and reconcile them with God. In His own person He killed the hostility… Through Him, both of us have in one Spirit our way to come to the Father. (Eph. 2:13-14)

Second, we know that the priest functions to mitigate blood guilt. Anthropologists have noted that there is considerable anxiety about shed blood among primitive peoples.[7] Among the Afro-Asiatics, the priesthood served to relieve blood guilt and anxiety and to perform rites of purity. The priest addresses impurities by seeking purification through blood sacrifice. He also addresses anxiety about shed blood through blood sacrifice.

Third, we know that no woman served as a priest in any official capacity. Women didn’t enter the area of the altar where blood was offered in animal sacrifice. We know this because the Afro-Asiatics, from whom we received the priestly office, believed that the blood shed by men and women were never to mix or even be in the same place. Sacred law prohibited the blood shed in killing (male) and the blood shed in giving life (female) to share the same space.

This binary worldview supports clear distinction between life and death.

The same distinction of life-taking and life-giving is behind the law that forbids boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk (Deut. 14:21).

The only Christian denomination to have women priests is the Episcopal Church. Not surprisingly, the Episcopal Church also has a Seminary President, Katharine Ragsdale, who recently stated in a sermon:

Let me hear you say it:

Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done.

Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done.

Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done.[8]

Women Leaders in the Church are Never Priests

In this essay we have discussed the origins and nature of the priesthood. Holy Tradition and Scripture reveal numerous women in positions of leadership; Deborah and Huldah among them. Daughters of priests are remembered as great women also, Asenath and Zipporah among them. However not a single women can be identified as a priest in Holy Tradition or the Bible. It is clear then that women have never been priests and that the nature of the priesthood from the beginning has been such that it pertains only to men.

So called “priestesses” of ancient Greece were not priests at all. They were seers who pronounced oracles in a trace state, like shamans. Likewise, Shinto “priests” are also shamans as they deal with the spirits. Use of the term “priest” in both cases reveals ignorance about the different worldviews of priests and shamans [8], an ignorance (or bias?) that pervades 20th century academia.

God has not changed the office of the priesthood. It survives in Christian communities that preserve catholic Holy Tradition. [9] When the priesthood is held high and priests live above contamination, the world is drawn to Jesus Christ. This happens because there is only one Priesthood: the Messianic Priesthood. There is only one Priest: Jesus Christ, and there is only one Blood, Christ’s pleromic blood which is the life of the world. St. Paul expresses it this way:

“There is one Body, one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. There is one Lord, one Faith, one baptism, and one God and father of all, over all, through all and within all.” (Eph. 4:4-5)

As C.S. Lewis has written:

“With the Church, we are farther in: for there we are dealing with male and female not merely as facts of nature but as the live and awful shadows of realities utterly beyond our control and largely beyond our direct knowledge. Or rather, we are not dealing with them but (as we shall soon learn if we meddle) they are dealing with us.” (From C.S. Lewis’ “Priestesses in the Church?”)

NOTES

1. Plato taught that there is but one true Form of all observable entities and this Form exists in eternity (outside of time and space). Species of natural objects observed in the world are merely reflections of their true Forms. We know what trees are because one Form/Tree exists, which our souls intuitively recognize.

2. St. John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood, St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press (1977), p. 70.

3. The Brahamas are Vedic texts that provide instruction for Hindu priests. These texts give detailed instructions about sacrifices offered at altars of fire. They also make it evident that the Priest is a close associate of the King and the King relies heavily upon the Priests’ services. This is evident in the Priest-King relationship that we find n the Old Testament. For more on this, see Bujor Avari’s book India: The Ancient Past, pp. 77-79.

4. Anthropologists have discovered that the wider the dispersion of a culture trait the older the trait.

5. Sophisticated mining operations in the Lebombo Mountains of southern Africa reveal that thousands of workers were extracting red ochre which was ground into powder and used in the burial of nobles in places as distant as Wales, Czechoslovakia and Australia. Anthropologists agree that this red powder symbolized blood and its use in burial represented hope for the renewal of life.

6. “Pleroma” means the fullness or totality of all things. Blood symbolizes life. Since the Blood of Jesus works to bring life both in time and in eternity, the Blood of Jesus is perceived to be the original source of life and the means of eternal life.

7. This has been discussed in many of the great monographs: Benedict’s Patterns of Culture, Lévi-Strauss’ The Raw and the Cooked, and Turnbull’s The Forest People.

8. Read the full report on President Ragsdale here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=10231

9. To read about the difference between the worldview of the Priest and the Shaman, go here: http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2007/08/shamanic-practice-and-priesthood.html

10. To read more about Holy Tradition surrounding the Messianic Priesthood, go .

© 2010, Fr. John A. Peck. All rights reserved.

© 2009, Fr. John A. Peck. All rights reserved.