On Meekness and Freedom from Anger. Priest Daniel Sysoev by mission shop

Approved for distribution by the Publishing Board of the Russian Orthodox Church PB 13-314-2075 32 pp. Priest Daniel Sysoev. On Meekness and Freedom from Anger. Daniel Sysoev Inc, New Jersey, 2018. ISBN: 978-5-4279-0077-8

In researching the nature of anger, freedom from anger, and meekness, the author draws on the works of Saint John of the Ladder—an ingenious expert on the activity of the human soul. Anger as such is placed in us by God, and its purpose is to serve as our soul’s immune function, that by this means we might be able to resist evil and learn the virtues. The passions are rooted in natural properties of the soul, off which they feed like parasites. Anger, like any other passion, has an opposite virtue—two, in fact, which are like two steps on a ladder. These are freedom from anger and meekness.

Booklet 5 of 12 from a series of talks given by Priest Daniel Sysoev entitled “How to Inherit Eternal Life.”

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CONTENT

ON MEEKNESS AND FREEDOM FROM ANGER Anger �� 4 Quieting Anger �� 5 On Freedom From Anger �� 6 On Meekness �� 7 The Two Forms of Anger �� 9 Righteous Anger �� 10 On Irritability and Humility �� 11 Outer Meekness and Inner Resentment �� 17 Temptations When Struggling Against Anger and Resentment �� 19 The Causes of Anger ��28

ON MEEKNESS AND FREEDOM FROM ANGER

Anger

It is important to understand that all the passions

are rooted in our nature. Anger, as such, was placed in us by God, and its task is to be our soul’s protective force, so that it can fight against evil and be confirmed in the virtues. There is another aspect to anger, called zeal — zeal in glorifying God. In its usual form, anger should reject evil; it should be directed against everything that wants to distance us from God, and, conversely, should compel us towards good works. The only passion that goes against human nature is avarice; it has never been inherent in people. Love of money is a foolish thing, a form of idolatry that constitutes a kind of insanity. As for the rest of the passions, they feed off certain of the soul’s attributes. Anger, like any other passion, finds its opposite in a virtue — two virtues even — that differ like one step from another. These are meekness and freedom from anger. From now on in our study we will be drawing on John Climacus’s The Ladder

of Divine Ascent.* The struggle with anger is located on the eighth step leading to Heaven. Quieting Anger

“As the gradual pouring of water on a fire completely extinguishes the flame, so the tears of true mourning are able to quench every flame of anger and irritability.”** The passion of anger is gradually extinguished specifically because a person is mourning over his sins. Tears bring a person inner stillness; thus, in order to acquire stillness one needs to combat anger, which disturbs true mourning. Virtue precedes vice, beauty precedes ugliness, and health precedes sickness. This is why Saint John starts by identifying the virtues towards which we must strive. “Freedom from anger is an insatiable appetite for dishonour, just as in the vainglorious there is an unbounded desire for praise.” This * All quotes from The Ladder of Divine Ascent are taken from the edition published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline, MA. All rights reserved.—Trans. ** Citations are frequently missing in the original Russian. Unless otherwise specified, quoted material is from The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus.—Trans.

immediately provokes the question usually asked by readers and listeners: “Why should a person desire dishonor?” Naturally, no person desires dishonor as such, of his own accord; he should desire it in return for righteousness, about which the Lord said: Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake (Matt. 5:10—11). This is the desire for dishonor of which Saint John is speaking here. On Freedom From Anger

Freedom from anger results in a person’s insatiable desire for dishonor for the sake of Christ’s name and for the sake of righteousness, because he knows that through this he will receive a great reward in Heaven. He is not only aware of this reward, but sees it; it is already accessible to his heart. Therefore, a person who has been subjected to dishonor on earth will receive honor in Heaven. In the lives of the martyrs there are wonderful accounts of how some of them had an unquenchable desire and 6

longing for sufferings, since they knew that in exchange for a little suffering they would receive a great reward. Freedom from anger is victory over one’s human nature, imperviousness to the irritations that arise during spiritual struggle. In other words, freedom from anger constitutes a victory over our very nature; it overcomes man’s nature. God requires us to rise above ourselves: a person must rise above his nature; he must rise above time and enter eternity, which reigns outside the limits of time, like the Ark of the Covenant that halted the Jordan’s streams so that the Israelites could pass through to the Promised Land. For a Christian, the highest virtues by this world’s standards constitute common decency that goes without saying. Freedom from anger never comes on its own: one must work at it in order to attain it. If a person conquers the passion of anger that is in him, he inevitably conquers the rest of the passions as well. On Meekness

Next, Saint John passes on to something high-

er: meekness. The Lord says: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5). 7

And it is this same meekness of which the Lord is speaking through the mouth of Saint John: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Meekness is an immovable state of soul which remains unaffected, whether in evil report or in good report, in dishonour or in praise.â&#x20AC;? One novice asked his elder how to attain peace. The elder suggested he go to the cemetery and first berate, then praise the departed. After he returned, the elder asked him how the departed had answered him. On hearing that they had said nothing, he told his disciple to behave just as the departed had done. A person must remain in the same state of peace regardless of whether he is being berated or praised. When a person is absolutely indifferent both to praise and to abuse, then he is following the right path. In Greek mythology there is a story beloved by the Christians about Cupid and Psyche. Psyche was supposed to bring a goddess a box from the land of the dead, and on the way she was not to be distracted either by praise or by abuse, but was to walk straight on, without talking to anybody. This parable symbolizes how a person must proceed in order to bring his treasure from the land of the dead to the land of eternal life. 8

The Two Forms of Anger

Saint John describes the next steps: “The beginning of freedom from anger is silence of the lips when the heart is agitated.” When you are agitated inside, you should simply keep silent. As long as your heart is agitating you, hold your peace. This is the beginning of freedom from anger; this is where it starts. “The middle is silence of the thoughts when there is a mere disturbance of soul; and the end is an imperturbable calm under the breath of unclean winds.” Regardless of how many times the winds of the unclean evil spirits whirl through, an absolutely imperturbable calm reigns within. This is the very pinnacle of freedom from anger. But remember that the pinnacle of freedom from anger is not yet the pinnacle of meekness. Anger is the recollection of concealed hatred, that is, resentment; anger is wishing harm to someone who has offended you. Anger is caused by a person’s recalling hatred that is hidden inside him; it stems from resentment, as it were. Very frequently anger is evidence of hidden resentment nesting within. Why does Saint John mention this here? To show that the passion of anger does not appear out of thin air. There are 9

two forms of anger: anger as evidence of hidden resentment and anger as a desire to harm someone who has wronged you. These are the two forms of anger, so to speak, but they are one because it often happens that wishing harm to someone who has wronged you changes to resentment that hides itself in the bottom of the heart and then splashes up to the surface. Irascibility is when the heart becomes inflamed in an untimely fashion. The heart should constantly burn with love, but there is also inflammation of the heart that is untimely and useless. Righteous Anger

Is there such a thing as righteous anger? Yes, of

course! Did Christ get angry with people? Yes, He drove the merchants out of the Temple; this was an example of righteous anger. And the Jewsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: and when He had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; money, and overthrew 10

the tables; and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not My Father’s house an house of merchandise. And His disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up (John 2:13—17). Saint Nicholas displayed righteous anger when he struck the heretic Arius on the cheek at the First Ecumenical Council, asserting the truth of Christ’s divine nature. When Abba Pimen was asked where the borderline between righteous and unrighteous anger lies, he answered: “The borderline is as follows: if you become angry with the person who has chopped off your hand, you have behaved wrongly; but if you become angry when someone tries to involve you in a wicked act, then you have behaved righteously.” If a person is facing attempts from others to turn him onto drugs, pull him into depravity, or involve him in a theft, then anger is in this case warranted and just; it was made for this very purpose. On Irritability and Humility

“Bitterness is a movement of displeasure seated in the soul. Anger is an easily changeable movement of one’s disposition and disfigura11

tion of soul.” Our temperament is such that it is very easy for us to slip into anger. As Saint John says here, the soul loses the image of God and is left disfigured and ugly. Saint John Chrysostom said: “Again, the man in the grip of anger is drunk. In the same way as other drunkards, his face becomes swollen, his voice grows rough, his eyes are bloodshot, his mind is darkened, his reason is submerged, his tongue trembles, his eyes are out of focus, and he does not hear what is really said. His anger affects his brain worse than strong wine; it stirs up a storm and causes a distress that cannot be calmed.”* John Climacus writes: “As with the appearance of light, darkness retreats; so at the fragrance of humility, all anger and bitterness vanishes.” What is essential, first and foremost, is humility before God, the understanding that we are worthless servants who have nothing of our own: all that we have is a gift from God. We do not have any sort of self-worth, and we would not want it even if it were offered. The more humility a person has, the more effectively are aggravation and irritability stamped out * St. John Chrysostom, Eight Homilies Against the Jews, Homily 8.—Trans.

and destroyed. “Some who are prone to anger are neglectful of the healing and cure of this passion. But these unhappy people do not give a thought to him who said: The moment of his anger is his fall (Sir. 1:22).” If a person does not struggle against irritability, he will fall into sin. The very outburst of anger already constitutes a fall. “There is a quick movement of a millstone which, in one moment, grinds and does away with more spiritual grain and fruit than another crushes in a whole day. And so we must pay attention with understanding. It is possible to have such a blaze of flame, suddenly fanned by a strong wind, as will ruin the field of the heart more than a lingering flame.” When angry, the anger’s duration makes no difference, because there are times when a short outburst of rage does more damage than a long period of irritability can do. The length of a nuclear explosion is minuscule, but the result is colossal. “And we ought not to forget, my friends, that the wicked demons sometimes suddenly leave us, so that we may neglect our strong passions as of little importance, and then become incurably sick.” Sometimes people say, “It’s not a big deal. I may be hot-tempered, but I’m quick to forgive 13

and forget, so it’s okay.” Actually, this thought is implanted by the demons; we must be well aware of this. And their goal is very simple: to keep people from fighting against anger and from seeing themselves as sick. A person flares up, then recovers; then he flares up again and recovers; and this happens more and more frequently until the disease becomes incurable. Modern psychology distinguishes various personality types, and in and of itself this categorization is neither good nor bad. However, there is an interesting description of an epileptoid personality, which is when a person is obsessed with a lust for power, when his motto in life is: “I want power over everyone!” And it is interesting to note that, according to the description given by secular psychologists, the following trait is very widespread among people with epileptoid personalities: very often a person will be overtaken by an attack of ferocity and anger that increases until he “explodes”; then he will apologize in due form, saying that everything is okay, everything is just fine. And the people around him think that it does not matter; things like that happen, he just lost his temper. But the irritation starts to mount up again, and soon there is an14

other outburst. In the end, these people with epileptoid personalities turn out to be some of the worst criminals. Secular psychologists say that if you discover someone with this disorder, it is best to keep as far away from him as possible. It is best to dismiss him from his job if the chance arises; and if your boss has an epileptoid personality, it is best to quit on your own. If you have a fiance e or fiance  who is like this, it is best to part ways in advance so as not to suffer the consequences afterwards. This is the condition of which John Climacus is speaking—outbursts of rage and anger that a person does not consider sinful, that he does not struggle against, and that become incurable. Next, Saint John says: “But the angry person, like a wolf, often disturbs the whole flock, and wounds many humble souls.” And so, “as a hard stone with sharp corners has all its sharpness and hard formation dulled by knocking and rubbing against other stones, and is made round, so in the same way, a sharp and curt soul, by living in community and mixing with hard, hot-tempered men, undergoes one of two things: either it cures its wound by its patience, or by retir15

ing it will certainly discover its weakness, its cowardly flight making this clear to it as in a mirror.” Why is it that the Lord often puts angry people with other angry people? So that people will either rub each other smooth or run away in different directions. This is a unique medicine that God sends for curing anger and rage. “An angry person is a willing epileptic, who due to an involuntary tendency keeps convulsing and falling down.” At first a person flies into rages of his own accord, but over time he completely loses control of himself. “Nothing is so inappropriate to those repenting as a spirit agitated by anger, because conversion requires great humility, and anger is a sign of every kind of presumption.” Repentance is not compatible with anger. If you are truly repenting, but are irritated at the same time, you are lying to God during confession. If a person repents, but nonetheless gets angry, irritated, and offended, his repentance is insincere. When you are sorrowing over yourself, when you realize that when you are judged you will be paid in full for your evil deeds, then there is no room for resentment towards others. “If it is a mark of extreme 16

Except where otherwise noted, scriptural quotes are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Quotes from the book of Psalms are taken fromÂ The Psalter According to the Seventy,Â published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline MA; all rights reserved. Quotes from The Ladder are taken from The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus, published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline MA. All rights reserved.

Priest Daniel Sysoev

ON MEEKNESS AND FREEDOM FROM ANGER Translator Deacon Anthony Williams Editor in Chief Priest Nathan Williams Layout and design Kyrill Zubchenko Daniel Sysoev Inc was founded as a USA-based subsidiary of the Rev. Daniel Sysoev Missionary Center Benevolent Fund in 2014. The company offers a wide assortment of Orthodox literature in Russian and English, liturgical items, and jewelry. We distribute our products throughout the USA and Canada, on attractive terms and with significant discounts for wholesalers, Orthodox church bookstores, and monasteries. Detailed descriptions of our products may be found at mission-shop.com, with e-book editions of our titles available at danielsysoev.com mission-shop.com danielsysoev.com mission379@gmail.com +1(609)605-70-76