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AFTER evening service we sat down together on the mats as usual ready
for the promised narration: and when we had kept silence for some little
time out of reverence for the Elder, he anticipated the silence of our
respect by such words as these. The previous order of our discourse had
brought us to the exposition of the system of spiritual gifts, which we
have learnt from the tradition of the Elders is a threefold one. The first
indeed is for the sake of healing, when the grace of signs accompanies
certain elect and righteous men on account of the merits of their holiness,
as it is clear that the apostles and many of the saints wrought signs and
wonders in accordance with the authority of the Lord Who says: "Heal the
sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils: freely ye have
received, freely give." The second when for the edification of the
church or on account of the faith of those who bring their sick, or of
those who
are to be cured, the virtue of health proceeds even from sinners and men
unworthy of it. Of whom the Saviour says in the gospel: "Many shall say to
Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy
name cast out devils, and in Thy name done many mighty works? And then I
will confess to them, I never knew you: Depart from Me, ye workers of
iniquity." And on the other hand, if the faith of those who bring them
or of the sick is wanting, it prevents those on whom the gifts of healing
are conferred from exercising their powers of healing. On which subject
Luke the Evangelist says: "And Jesus could not there do any mighty work
because of their unbelief." Whence also the Lord Himself says: "Many
lepers were in Israel in the days of Elisha the prophet, and none of them
was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian." The third method of healing is
copied by the deceit and contrivance of devils, that, when a man who is
enslaved to evident sins is out of admiration for his miracles regarded as
a saint and a servant of God, men may be persuaded to copy his sins and
thus an opening being made for cavilling, the sanctity of religion may be
brought into disgrace, or else that he, who believes that he possesses the
gift of healing, may be puffed up by pride of heart and so fall more
grievously. Hence it is that invoking the names of those, who, as they
know, have no merits of holiness or any spiritual fruits, they pretend that
by their merits they are disturbed and made to flee from the bodies they
have possessed. Of which it says in Deuteronomy: "If there rise up in the
midst of thee a prophet, or one who says that he has seen a dream, and
declare a sign and a wonder, and that which he hath spoken cometh to pass,
and he say to thee: Let us go and follow after other gods whom thou knowest
not, and let us serve them: thou shalt not hear the words of that prophet
or of that dreamer, for the Lord thy God is tempting thee that it may
appear whether thou lovest Him or not, with all thy heart and with all thy
soul." And in the gospel it says: "There shall arise false Christs and
false prophets, and shall give great signs and wonders, so that, if it were
possible, even the elect should be led astray."
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