AI translation of all letters to and from Pope Hormidas

 I made an AI translation of Pope Hormisdas' letters he made or received found in PL 63! However, there are so many letters, it would be a burden to post here. I will look for options on how to post.

The Papal letters are overwhelming about concerned with the Acacian schism where Constantinople fell into heresy, denying Chalcedon. Many of the correspondences are with the Emperor Justin, and the future emperor Justinian who was still on good terms with the papacy!

Gregory Palamas PG 151:885-900

 This post serves no apologetics purposes, I was looking for something else completely and found nothing, so here is the accidental product of my futile labor, I did an AI translation of PG 151:885-900 on the EO theology Gregory Palamas, the beginning and ends are missing, maybe someday I will do the rest, though that is unlikely. Some of his discourse is overtly antiCatholic but he is debating a contemporary of his. I also have the OCR Greek text I can post possibly in the future.

"To the Third and Fourth Discourse of the Same Gregory Concerning Divine Participation, Energy, and Grace, a Sixth Refutative Discourse."

.....Then, leaving aside, as it were, the entire sequence and connection of the sacred words, he attacks the theology of the Holy Spirit as taught by the Church’s sacred teacher, Anastasius, I say, the wise, and through him, the sacred synodal tome, slandering both him and it, and doing so far worse and more absurdly than he had already done against the great Cyril. For the synodal tome, presenting the divine Anastasius along with the sacred theology of the Spirit, states as follows: It agrees with what the divine Paul said about the Spirit; for he called those who have believed temples of God, having received the indwelling grace of the Spirit: “For do you not know that you are a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?” And again, “Do you not know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?” These words clearly teach that the all-holy Spirit is of the divine nature; for if those who have believed are called temples of God because they have received the grace of the Spirit, then the Holy Spirit is from God. For having the grace of the Spirit dwelling within them, they are called temples of God. Thus, with the teacher having spoken these things about the divine Spirit, this philosopher, puffed up with propositions, middle terms, conclusions, and the vanity of human reasoning and syllogisms, all but sacrificing to the refuted wisdom of the outsiders, frequently reproaching the simplicity and ignorance of those who converse with the wisdom of the Gospel and the true and primary wisdom, shows himself to be ignorant, unwise, and uneducated in both divine and human wisdom, as if his brain were shaken and he neither knows what he says nor what he affirms. For having completely misunderstood the teacher’s aim, which above all else should be considered according to the theologians, especially by one who reads the divine Scriptures and their interpreters and theologians, or rather, having concealed that sacred teacher of the Church, whether willingly through great malice and perversity, or through excessive ignorance of the sacred words, he, being contentious, utterly ignorant, and uninitiated in divine matters, seizes the teacher’s theology, stripping away the apostolic saying, as we just noted above, and as the teacher himself had used it, but distorted and incomplete. Attributing it to the synod and the tome with great shamelessness, as if it were poorly stated by them, he then takes the subsequent interpretation and construction of the argument, and the conclusion from the teacher, as if it were a sharpened sword, as if it were ours and of our reasoning, as he thought, using it against us. Through his shameless slander against us, he clearly speaks and writes against the sacred theology of the teacher, things of which only he who speaks and writes is worthy. Perhaps only the devil, along with him, would dare to speak against the Church of Christ. What, then, does he say? For it is just to mention some of these things as an example, since it is not possible to cover them all.

The hearer Agathangelos reports a few of the holy sayings, obviously from those stated in the tome; then, connecting the Apostle’s words very faultily, as if they were spoken by the synod, as I already mentioned, he adds those things. These, he says, having brought the divine sayings, the champion of piety, the divine Gregory, I say, left the rest uninterpreted, but for the latter saying of the Apostle, he provided a brief interpretation, yet proceeded again to other things in the same way. And this is: For if those who have believed are called temples of God because they have received the grace of the Spirit, then the Holy Spirit is from God; for having the grace of the Spirit dwelling within them, they are called temples of God. Having presented these as if they were ours through his own Agathangelos, listen now to how he flows sharply and groundlessly against us, as if driving the theology of the saints as a common calamity of the Church through us, doing so most shamefully with long-winded slander and calumny, as is fitting for him. For what, he says, do you see, O friend, how he is always caught circling around the same things, publicly displaying his ignorance without much shame? For with a malicious soul, neither can virtue ever be taught, nor can it ever be captured by will. And learning and shame are parts of virtue. These have neither entered his malicious soul nor ever will. And in between, prattling and insulting with things far worse and more absurd than these, he adds: Thus, it often occurred to me to say that if there were only ten heresiarchs from the beginning of time, I would not consider him one of the ten, but nine of the ten. Now, with so many and countless ones, I do not consider him one of them, nor even among the many, but rather surpassing all of them, or rather, not surpassing one, but surpassing all entirely. For having gathered the impiety of all, he has not only surpassed all in ignorance and shamelessness but also those he blasphemes.

These things, I think, no one among all people, O Gregoras, would have so easily devised or, having devised, would not have hesitated to immediately put into words and writings with such zeal, as you have done against yourself and your own head, as if celebrating. For if you say and write all these things against us, as if we misinterpret the divine Scriptures and openly blaspheme against God and His theologians, it has been shown that what we say is not our own misinterpretation and blasphemy, as you wrongly supposed, but the divinely fitting interpretation and theology of the Church’s divine teachers. How is it not clear, as they say, even to a blind man, that the revered tome and the synod that issued it strongly agree with the theology of the saints, nobly contending against heresies with them, and indeed are glorified with them, who worthily theologize and glorify God? For, as He says, “Those who glorify Me, I will glorify.” But you, aligning with those who fight against them and God, have made yourself one with their condemnation and lot, or rather, you alone have drawn upon your own head the condemnation of all heresiarchs together. For your own votes and decisions say this, and in addition, what you just said against us, that with a malicious soul, neither can virtue ever be taught nor captured by will, and that learning and shame, being parts of virtue, have not entered your malicious soul. For these things are yours and fittingly belong to your catalog of praises and crown of insult, which you have justly woven for yourself and your own head, not for those you wrongly spoke against. For you yourself, not another, have driven away all practice and knowledge of sacred words from the threshold of your soul, as I already mentioned, casting aside the shame proper to Christians. With such shamelessness, you have attacked the great and primary theology, the sacred and divinely inspired Scriptures, and indeed the sacred words of the teachers, as if by this alone you have declared yourself a Cynic, or rather, far worse than them in shamelessness. For it is not about the same things, but we must return the discourse to those matters again.

The divine Anastasius, considering the theology of the divinity of the Spirit and intending to show the Paraclete as one God, consubstantial and coessential with the Father and the Son, naturally uses many other arguments to support his discourse, including those previously said to the Corinthians by the wise Paul: “For do you not know,” he says, “that you are a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?” And again: “Do you not know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?” From this, the teacher, as if receiving a given premise, not humanly like Gregoras or some other vain sophist of his kind, but theologically and divinely fitting, reasons and excellently concludes his aim and the truth. For these things, he says, clearly teach that the all-holy Spirit is of the divine nature. For if those who have believed are called temples of God because they have received the grace of the Spirit, then the Holy Spirit is from God; for having the grace of the Spirit dwelling within them, they are called temples of God. For the teacher, taking both premises from the oracles, concludes that the Holy Spirit is God, which was his aim to show. The great Basil says the same about these matters, proving that the Spirit is God because the divine Paul taught that those who have it dwelling within them are temples of God. Our sacred synod of the Fathers, since its aim was to show that what the deified partake of is not the divine essence—for how could it be, unless we are to proclaim all as sons of God by nature and Christs?—but His natural grace and deifying energy, cited this theologian among others, saying that the faithful are called temples of God by the Apostle because they have received the grace of the Spirit. And again, he says, temples of God they are called, having the grace of the Spirit dwelling within. Why, then, O philosopher, do you say that the Fathers spoke in these matters without reasoning, artlessly, and ignorantly, you who wrongly worship syllogisms instead of the Gospel, not even using these with the proper reason? For they, taking the premises, the middle and common term, about which you proudly teach as if it were some great and lofty thing, the conclusion, and simply all together, from that teacher of the Church, have nothing of their own added to those sacred sayings, but bring the teacher’s theology bare as a witness to the truth of piety. For I say these things because of you and your prattling and vain speech, presuming to think you say great things to your companions and associates; for such things are far from the divine court, the apostolic, and the patristic assembly, which the sixth ecumenical synod, having presided, immediately expelled from the divine assembly as soon as they appeared, saying they have nothing in common with Aristotelian, evangelical, and apostolic words. And rightly so, for, as it says, there is no fellowship between light and darkness, nor agreement between Christ and Belial. But what do you say to these things? To whom do you attach your slander, long-winded insult, blasphemous calumny, and untimely and insatiable attack? To Anastasius, that is, the teacher of the Church, and the oracles he uses to theologize about the divine Spirit, or to the revered tome and the Fathers who issued it? Or to both him and them together? Rather, using them as a mask, as if on some stage or drama, you dare to attach blasphemy and insult to all of them; for their words are all theirs, not these, as has been shown. But in truth, your blasphemy is neither against these nor those. For it is easier to shoot down and strike the sky or the sun of this day than to make the heralds of truth, both these and those, accountable for your blasphemies, even if you burst saying and writing such things, even if you multiply tenfold your decalogue from the evil one, twice, thrice, and many times. For hear what the philosopher writes and blasphemes against the saints and, I say, the God of the saints Himself. For, he says, claiming to show an uncreated energy, partaken and divided among creatures, and not at all the divine essence as the only uncreated, he clearly declared the Holy Spirit without any concealment. But this is entirely the opposite of what he intended to abolish.

In three absurdities, Gregory falls in these brief steps, openly opposing apostolic and patristic theology. For he denies the divine energy, and because of this, he claims that the divine essence is merely uncreated, so that he might drag the natural power of God down to the level of creatures and assert that the divine essence is participable. This is something that only Barlaam and Akindynos, his mystagogues, first and alone dared to say, having been initiated by Satan. For almost none of the ancient heretics, despite the many and varied heresies that have arisen, has ever been found to have explicitly stated this. And thirdly, in addition to these, he denies that divine participation occurs through the Holy Spirit—that is, through His natural gift and grace—rejecting all holy Scripture and divine theology that clearly proclaim this, and teaching that the Fathers who follow them go in the opposite direction. It is as if someone, he says, intending to travel to Susa or Ecbatana, instead heads toward the laws of the Britons.

But more on this later, O philosopher. For now, speak and add to it, and set forth the subsequent blasphemies and distortions of theological words, so that all those who have spoken evil may themselves bring about their own downfall and resolution. For, he says, to make the last point the starting point, both because this is more striking to the ear than what was previously stated, and because while the other points pass by unexplained, this one, though brief, provides some interpretation. For he cites the divine Apostle saying, “Do you not know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). And in interpreting this, he employs a kind of hypothetical syllogism—or rather, he does not employ it, but wishes to do so, yet fails. For he neither hits the mark nor knows what a syllogism is, nor what a term, a premise, or a conclusion is, nor how these must relate to one another according to the rules of logic. It goes like this: If those who have believed are a temple of God because they have received the grace of the Spirit, then the Holy Spirit is from God. For, having the grace of the Spirit dwelling within them, they are called temples of God.

But these things, as if they were ours, he takes from the saints against us, slandering us in the most shameful and audacious way, and brazenly and boldly insulting the theology of the saints. Not only does he do this with the points mentioned, but also with things far more absurd and worse, as I have already said, which the discourse has passed over to avoid the filth and frequent disgust of his words. Let us now turn the discussion to his theology—or rather, to his audacious blasphemy against the divine—and so that the novelties of his heresy may be more clearly exposed once again.

I do not know, he says, whether I should say his ignorance is the cause of his impiety, or his impiety the cause of his ignorance, or both of both. For, passing over the rest, he himself, from his own initiative, moved by I know not what, has made it clear and evident from the scriptural testimonies he brought forth in his defense—so clear that even the most foolish could perceive it without any proof—that the very essence of the divine Spirit is what is said to dwell ineffably in those worthy among men, and for this reason, they are called temples of God. Yet he seems insensible even to what he himself appears to propose.

For before this, as you yourself know better, having brought these things to us, he cites the great Athanasius saying that the Spirit is within us, and the Word who grants this is within us, and the Father is in the Word. And thus it is said, “We will come, I and the Father, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). From this, it becomes even clearer that the very essence of the Trinity dwells in those who are worthy and makes its abode among men. And at the same time, the accursed words of this man, claiming that there are energies distinct from the divine essence—not only of the Holy Spirit but also of the Father and the Son—are refuted.

For do you not see that the testimony of the saint declares that the essence of the holy Trinity dwells in those who are worthy, while he, not understanding, falls back into his habitual malice, dragging the saint’s meaning into his own insubstantial and non-existent energies? And this utterly shameless man is not restrained but, taking the plural form of the saint’s words as referring to the three hypostases, he seeks to distort it into a declaration of infinite, insubstantial, and non-existent energies and divinities. In his perverse mind and tongue, he openly slanders the great Dionysius, bringing him forward as a witness to his own madness, as you have heard briefly above. For Dionysius, he says, speaking of the illuminations in the plural, showed that they are not the essence of God. For the essence is never expressed in the plural. Calling them illuminations, he says, and describing them as unoriginate and unending, he showed them to be divine and uncreated energies.

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Has anyone, after the incarnate presence of Christ, even among the many who have blasphemed in various ways and at different times against the majesty of the divinity and its ineffable economy, as has been said, ever so audaciously and without any pretense uttered such blasphemy as this wretched and utterly reckless man? Not only does he think this, but he also proclaims it in writings and words, and so persistently? I think not—unless one refers again to Barlaam and Akindynos, the originators of this new heresy and, indeed, the fathers of this man. Tell us, O philosopher, from what sources and principles have you philosophized this empty theology—or rather, blasphemy? For the interpreters and teachers of sacred theology, upon whom the Fathers of the synod relied when they issued their decree, universally declare: “It is not permitted to say or think anything about the superessential and hidden divinity beyond what has been divinely revealed to us through the sacred oracles.” For the superessential knowledge of this divinity, which transcends reason, mind, and essence, must be entrusted to its own superessential ignorance. And again: “Concerning this superessential and hidden divinity, as has been said, it is not permitted to say or think anything beyond what has been divinely revealed to us through the sacred oracles.” For, as it has graciously delivered concerning itself in the oracles, its knowledge and contemplation, whatever it may be, are inaccessible to all beings, as it is superessentially exalted above all.

These are their teachings, and others like them—for now is not the time to list them all in sequence. But where did you take your ideas from? For they, knowing God as both expressible and inexpressible, known and unknown, participable and imparticipable, distinguish some things as belonging to Him in Himself and others as pertaining to what is around Him. As they say, they now explicitly teach that the worthy become partakers of God through the natural grace and gift of the Spirit, as you have heard the holy Athanasius, explaining the apostolic saying, state once and twice shortly before: just as they also say that all things exist within God, according to His creative and providential principles. For there is nothing at all outside His creative and providential energy and power, whether in heaven or on earth. And when they say that all things—whether the living and lifeless things created by Him or those worthy of His adoption and deifying indwelling—simply partake of God, they teach us to understand what they themselves explain elsewhere, as has been said: that those who partake of His natural gift and grace become, according to them, divinely radiant by grace, which is what they mean when they say that they are called gods and holy ones by their nearness and likeness to the only Holy One and God by nature. But all things partake of God’s voluntary and creative power as its works and products, according to what the theological Fathers have already stated, and, moreover, they are sustained in existence by His providence according to the principles by which they were created.

But how, then, do you say that the very essence of the holy Trinity dwells in the worthy? And what is this participation in God, and of what kind? For it is neither creative nor providential. First, because you do not accept that there is a natural and divinely fitting energy of God; and if, according to you, this does not exist, then God neither acts nor creates. For, as the wise Maximus says, “Just as there can be no existence without being, so there can be no action without energy.” Secondly, because not only the worthy of God partake of His creative and providential power and energy, nor even only the unworthy, but simply all beings. For “He spoke, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created” (Psalm 33:9). And all things partake of providence, as the holy Dionysius says, proceeding from the all-causing divinity. But neither is participation in His essence itself ever possible, he says. For the essence is itself, even if it is contemplated as what it is—namely, that we call one thing essence and another hypostasis—but it does not exist apart from its hypostases. For, as the theological Fathers say, the hypostasis is nothing other than essence with its hypostatic properties. Therefore, it remains that, according to you, the essence of the Trinity dwells in the worthy only in terms of its hypostatic properties. For it is in this sense that the Trinity is the Trinity. If, then, the three divine hypostases, as you say, dwell in each of the worthy of God, then each of those deified would, according to you, have more than the divine temple—namely, the one in whom the Only-Begotten Son of God dwelt beyond reason for our sake—since the Son had only one of the Trinity united in Himself by hypostasis. For, as the holy Dionysius says, neither the Father nor the Spirit communed with Him in any way, except perhaps in His benevolent and philanthropic will and in all His transcendent and divine activity. Yet each of the God-bearing ones, according to you, bears not only the Son of God but also the Father and the Spirit essentially united within themselves. What could equal this mythology and monstrosity—or rather, this new and absurd fight against God?

For the temple assumed from the all-holy Virgin, united hypostatically to the Only-Begotten Son of God, is both the Son of God and Christ. For the Only-Begotten Son of God, even after the incarnation, is the same perfect God and perfect man, anointed not by energy, as the other anointed ones, as the Theologian Gregory says, but by the presence of the Anointer in His entirety. And He adopts the faithful by grace through the Spirit to Himself, to the Father, and to the Spirit, making them other anointed ones in Himself, according to the divine Apostle. For this is the essence of the economy for our sake. But if this is not so according to sacred theology and mystagogy, but the tri-hypostatic divinity dwells in each of the worthy either by essence or by hypostases, as you say, then none of them is naturally a son of God. For the temple, united hypostatically only to the Son of God, did not have only the hypostasis of the Son in itself, but, according to you, all three hypostases together. And how, or whose Son, would he be? Moreover, since there is one natural Son, the Only-Begotten, neither could he become a son by grace. For to whom would he be adopted, being, according to you, united to the Trinity by its hypostases? Nor would such a one be Christ. For the assumed temple, even if by the presence of the entire Anointer, is not anointed by energy like the other holy anointed ones, nor does he possess all the powers and energies of the Spirit in himself, but he is not united hypostatically to the Spirit. For otherwise, Christ would also be the Holy Spirit by hypostatic union with it, just as He is truly the Son through such a union. But He is not. For there is one Holy Spirit, just as there is one Only-Begotten Son of God, even after the incarnation—unless someone looks to the Sabellian confusion, and how could one take pleasure in saying so? But one who, according to you, has the Trinity dwelling essentially in their body would be united hypostatically to the Spirit, were it not that, according to you, they are also united to the paternal and filial hypostases. Since, as you say, they are similarly united to these, they would no more be the Spirit than the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Nor, according to you, would such a one be Christ by grace, not only because you deny such a divinely fitting grace, which is the cause of all this controversy, but also because one united hypostatically to the Spirit, according to you, cannot partake of the Spirit’s grace.

But this absurd heresy—or rather, these heresies—cannot be purely traced to any of the ancient heresies, so far does it surpass them all in its evil. Perhaps one might compare it to the Massalians, for it somewhat resembles them. For they, too, proposed these same things as you, saying that the essence of God dwells in those purified among them and distorting that dominical saying in the Gospels, “I and the Father will come and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). The holy synod of the orthodox, convened against them, declared: “There is a visitation of the Paraclete, and God dwells in the worthy, but not as the divinity has by nature.” I am at a loss as to how this natural indwelling of the three divine hypostases in the worthy, according to Gregory’s monstrosity, could occur, or how those who partake would partake of the very essence of God. For to partake is to take a part of the whole, as the very term “participation” indicates. Thus, the divine Luke, in recounting the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles in the Acts, says, “And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed” (Acts 2:3). The divine Chrysostom, interpreting this, says: “He rightly said ‘distributed.’ For they were from one root, so that you may know it is an energy sent from the Paraclete.” And the great Paul, enumerating the various gifts of the divine Spirit, says: “But all these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11). But the essence and its divine hypostases are indivisible. Therefore, there can never be participation in them, except through their natural energies. Hence, the divine Chrysostom, explaining that evangelical saying, “For God does not give the Spirit by measure” (John 3:34), says: “We all,” speaking of the apostles, “have received the energy of the Spirit by measure (for here ‘Spirit’ means the energy; for this is what is distributed). But He has the entire energy without measure.” If His energy is without measure, how much more His essence? Nor does the union of hypostases occur in such a way that one hypostasis, joined to another, results in a single hypostasis from both. For this union does not belong to the Church of Christ but rather to Nestorius, as I have already said, who wickedly introduced a duality of sons. Indeed, Nestorius, raving about such unions and saying that the hypostases are united by relation, did not say that a single hypostasis results from both, divine and human, but spoke of two hypostases, introducing a duality of sons and wickedly dividing the one and Only-Begotten Son of God, even after the incarnation, into two. But this Gregory, attributing the indwelling of the divine Trinity to each of the worthy, alone would say what follows from this and how far he surpasses even Nestorius’ nonsense in this evil. Hence, the Church of Christ, teaching that the union of Christ’s two natures occurred hypostatically without confusion, does not say that the divine hypostasis of the Only-Begotten dwells in the human hypostasis—for then there would necessarily be two hypostases and two sons. Let the Nestorian error perish, they say, along with those who think like him. Rather, the Only-Begotten Son of God, having assumed a perfect human nature in His own hypostasis, has shown one hypostasis of both His natures, divine and human, and thus, even after the ineffable union, the one Only-Begotten Son of God is known and worshipped rightly and believed in two perfect natures, divine and human.

But Gregory, as if asleep and snoring in response to all this, or drunk without wine, passes over the divine Scripture’s numerous and varied statements about divine participation and the energies of the saints, which lie before his very eyes, as if they were silent or nonexistent. Instead, he maliciously tears out parts of their theology and then distorts and misapplies them, misinterpreting that dominical saying in the Gospels, “I and the Father will come and make our abode with him” (John 14:23), in the manner of the Massalians. From this, he thinks he deduces that the essence of God is participable, showing no reverence for the decision of the holy synod against them, which stands between the synodal decree and the theological statements.

But it would be good for us to bring forth again the words of the holy Fathers concerning divine participation and the theology from the synodal decree, which Gregory wickedly concealed. And first of all, let the great Athanasius be introduced into the discussion to teach about these matters, since it is shown that Gregory, more than others, has torn apart and plundered his words from the synodal decree. But before setting forth those sayings of the Theologian as they stand, let us first bring into the open Gregory’s sacrilege against his words, so that it may become clear to all how far he has strayed from the truth. He says to his listener Agathangelos, as you yourself know better, having brought these things to us: “The great Athanasius says that the Spirit is in us, and the Word who grants this is in us, and the Father is in the Word, and thus it is said, ‘We will come, I and the Father, and make our abode with him.’” And this the philosopher says unphilosophically and most shamefully, virtually eliminating the teacher’s entire sacred theology concerning the divine Spirit, bringing it forth against us as if we were misusing it contrary to the Theologian’s intent. He cuts out a tiny portion of the whole discourse for himself, namely that which was stolen by the Massalians from the divine oracles, which sufficed at the time for the synod’s condemnation of them: “God dwells in the worthy,” as all the Fathers say, “but not as the divinity has by nature.” But let the decree again speak and expound its own contents—or rather, those of the theological Fathers, securely and without adulteration.

The great Athanasius, in his letter to Serapion, says: “All that belongs to the Father belongs to the Son. Therefore, the gifts given by the Son in the Spirit are the Father’s gifts, and when the Spirit is in us, the Word who grants this is in us, and the Father is in the Word. And thus it is said, ‘We will come, I and the Father, and make our abode with him,’ as has been stated. For where the light is, there is the radiance, and where the radiance is, there is its energy and essential grace.”

And teaching this again, Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians, saying: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14). For the grace and gift given are given in the Trinity, from the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. For just as the grace given is from the Father through the Son, so the fellowship of the gift cannot occur in us except in the Holy Spirit. For by partaking of this, we have the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the fellowship of the Spirit itself. Thus, a single energy of the Trinity is shown from these.

What do you say to this, O Gregory? Who is it that cuts and distorts the divine Scriptures? For you constantly call the writings of the theologians divine Scriptures, not even knowing the term correctly, nor understanding what the divine Scriptures are—those of the Old and New Testaments—and what are the words, explanations, and interpretations of the teachers and theologians, which are not divine Scriptures. Who is it that distorts and erases these, and not simply, but when you attempt to oppose and contradict the Church of Christ through them? Who is the absurd and reckless blasphemer and sacrilegious one, whom you have often falsely accused us of being? Is it the decree, the synod, and its holy protector Gregory, or you? It is clear that it is you, and you cannot escape or deny it, with the refutations coming so brilliantly against you from your own words. And I am astonished besides, wondering what reasoning Gregory used to so wickedly misuse this novelty against the teacher’s words. For since he planned to oppose all those main points, taking them for himself from the synodal decree, he should have addressed them all equally, resolving each one thoroughly with the supports they rely on, rather than passing over most in silence, cutting out certain parts of the whole, making them his own work, and thus falsely labeling his words as refutations of the decree. For one who holds to the intent and argument of the matters at hand in such disputes, resolving objections for the interlocutor and defending soundly and according to divine laws against the scriptural and theological testimonies brought forth by the other, even if they pass over most of the opponent’s points, still preserves the intent and premise, as I said, and does no harm to the whole. For it is as if they extend their defense to all those points, and through what is said, they no less effectively address what was omitted due to length. This is customary among the theological Fathers in their refutations from ancient times, and we have followed the same teachers in the same way, for it is not permitted otherwise. But one who speaks neither to the intent nor the argument directly, saying nothing sound, nor resolving objections in any way, and—worse and most absurd of all—passing over the common axioms of the faith and their interpreters and theologians, so many and so great, some in silence, others by slander, and boldly washing them away with insults, as if it were the decree and us, giving most to oblivion’s waves, stealing small parts of the whole and thinking through them to wickedly attack the whole—these are the things Gregory frequently dares in his words. What could one say of such a man that would be worthy of his folly and audacity? I mean both the other things and the fact that he hoped to escape notice while so openly committing outrages against divine things.

Come then, Gregory, teach us your intent and your arguments yourself. For we cannot accurately discern them on our own. Did you think those words were spoken for your sake and your glory, or against us and the synodal decree, or against none of us theologians, but simply and randomly cast out by us? If the first, it would be novel and fall into a riddle, if you, stirring everything up, as is said, composing so many books against us, stirring up all Greek words, myths, and proverbs, misinterpreting nearly all sacred sayings, fabricating things against us that do not exist, and passing over the many and great words of the theologians that are against us, as if deliberately contradicting yourself and ensuring your own defeat. But if you thought they were against us and the truth, then deemed it necessary to hide them out of shame, giving your argument to silence and darkness, how were you not more ashamed, attempting the impossible? For “the light shines in the darkness,” as divine oracles say, and “the word of God is not bound” (2 Timothy 2:9). Rather, you should have done one of two things: either approach the Church and subscribe to its decree, having learned the truth as you ought, and thus you would have done the work of a pious and philosophical man—for the words are for God and His truth—or at least remain silent, withdraw, and sink away, not grumbling. Thus, you would at least be consistent with yourself. But if the third, you still should not have torn apart or completely hidden the words of the teachers. You should have brought them forth against us and proclaimed them, preserving their honor and what is due to them, and shaming those who use them randomly and contrary to their intent, thus no less securing victory for yourself from this. But now, your words are nonsense and a great laughingstock, all openly vain, as they say, and nothing sound.

But let us consider, if it seems good, the aforementioned words of the great Athanasius concerning the divine Spirit and divine participation, and comparing what we and the philosopher have set forth, let us examine both the difference and the similarity. Since God is partaken of, and the Spirit dwells in the worthy according to the sacred Scriptures and the explanations and theologies of the teachers—and even Gregory himself, though not rightly, seems to somehow confess this—we say that this participation in God and this ineffable indwelling occur not by essence but by natural energy and grace. For this is what all Scripture and inspired teaching intend and proclaim, and the other is not permitted at all. But Gregory says it is not by energy or grace at all. For, according to him, there is no natural and uncreated thing around God—neither power, nor energy, nor grace—but all these are names spoken of the divine essence, and there is only the essence. Therefore, he says that the very essence of the divine Trinity dwells in the worthy, and this is what they partake of, not something else. Let us, then, bring forth the great Athanasius, as I have already said, and examine our position in him; for he will judge well for both sides. And first, let us consider the intent and purpose of his discourse. For his purpose in the letter to Serapion, concerning the divine Spirit, is to show that it is consubstantial, co-powerful, and, if I may say, co-divine with the Father and the Son. He demonstrates this, reasoning sacredly from both the sacred experience of divine realities granted to him and the apostolic theology, that the divine gifts given to the worthy in the holy Trinity are given from the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. Those who give the same things from themselves have the same power and energy. Therefore, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, giving the same divine gifts, have one and the same energy. From this, the consubstantiality and co-divinity of the divine Trinity are immediately demonstrated, based on the natural and theological axiom that those who share the same energy and power are of the same essence, just as, conversely, those not of the same energy are not of the same essence. This is most beautifully philosophized by him and the other theological Fathers, and also by the wise Basil. Where, then, O philosopher, does the great Athanasius say that the very essence of the divine Spirit, the very essence of the holy Trinity, dwells in the worthy, as you claim? For the gift, the grace, and the love—which we speak of above, below, and simply everywhere in the discourse—he mentions, but where the essence? Surely nowhere. Show it yourself, and we will be silent. Not only did the teacher completely pass over this, as it is not even to be considered, but he also interprets that divine oracle, “I and the Father will come and make our abode with him,” to show how it must be understood, lest anyone suppose, as you do, that God is partaken of by essence, but rather by grace and gift, as he himself indicated. And so, that theological passage, from the very beginning, says: “All that belongs to the Father belongs to the Son. Therefore, the gifts given by the Son in the Spirit are the Father’s gifts; and when the Spirit is in us, the Word who grants this is in us. And thus it is said, ‘We will come, I and the Father, and make our abode with him,’ as has been stated.”

What do you say these are, O philosopher? That the gifts of the Father, given by the Son in the Spirit, are the gifts of the Spirit; and when the Spirit is in us, the Word who grants this is in us. And thus it is said, “We will come, I and the Father, and make our abode with him,” as has been stated. These are not creatures, for how could they be? For when these occur in us, this theologian says the Holy Spirit is in us, and in the Spirit, the Son with the Father. Likewise, the divine Cyril, responding to Hermias, who asked how the indwelling of the Father and the Son in us should be understood and accomplished, being one and not different, says: “There is nothing difficult or unattainable in this. For how else could it be, except through the Holy Spirit filling us with divine gifts through itself and making us partakers of the ineffable nature?” And in his Thesaurus, the same Cyril says: “But if the Holy Spirit were truly a creature, according to the madness of the heretics, how could it possess the entire energy of God? For no one, I think, would so far cry out against right thinking as to dare even to say that the divine essence is ministered through some external instruments brought into being for the energy that naturally passes from it to those suitable to receive it.”....

Orthodox Saint Joseph Volotsky on the Treatment of heretics

Please note this article is specifically addressing Fr Ambrose M, an online hieromonk for the ROC who claimed St Thomas Aquinas was in Hell for advocating the secular authorities have the right to execute heretics. Below will show a Russian Orthodox saint arguing the same. This is still a draft with a lot of clean up and editing required, hopefully SOME day I will get to it.

Below, I will show a Russian Orthodox saint advocating and praising rulers who use capital punishment against heretics.

The following is an excerpt from "Letter of Joseph Volotsky to Archimandrite Mitrofan of Andronnikovo" with the translation done by AI.

Да лучило ми ся, господине, у великого князя хлеба ести, и он мя призвал, да почал спрашивати: «Како писано, нет ли греха еретиков казнити?». И яз почял говорити, что апостол Павел к евреем писал: «Аще кто отвержется закона Моисеева при двою или при трех свидетелех, умирает; колми паче, иже Сына Божиа поправ... и Дух благодати укорив» (Евр.10:28). Да по та места, господине, мне князь велики велел престати говорити.  

"It happened to me, lord, that I was eating bread with the Grand Prince, and he summoned me and began to ask: ‘Is it written anywhere that there is no sin in executing heretics?’ And I began to say that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Hebrews: ‘Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses; how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he deserve who has trampled the Son of God underfoot… and insulted the Spirit of grace’ (Hebrews 10:28-29). But at that point, lord, the Grand Prince ordered me to stop speaking. 

И мне, господине, мнится, кое государь наш князь великий блюдется греха казнити еретиков. Ино, господине, тобе пригоже государю поминати, каково имели подщание и ревность первии благочестивии царие о непорочней христианстей вере и како еретиков по проклятии в заточение посылали, а иных казньми казнили. Вси благочестивии царие, кои были на седмих соборех, еретиков по проклятии в заточение посылали и казньми казнили, а иные цари и на соборех не были, а еретиков казнили. Православный царь Ираклие повеление изложи по всему своему царству: аще жидовин не крестится, да убиен будет. Тако же и Омиритский царь Аврамие повеле убивати не хотевших креститися жидов. По тех же Устин и Тивирие благочестивии царие повелеша главу отсещи епарху Аддусу и Елеферию Самчию, поборником ереси. Феодора же царица и сын ея Михаил благочестивый, Анния еретика, патриарха Константина града, в заточение повеле послати и дати ему двесте ран ремением. Потом же вавилонскый царь Моавия, в светем крещении нареченый Иоан, его же крести святый Феодор, епископ Едесский, посла в Едес повелением святаго Феодора и повеле несториан и иных еретиков из града изгнати, а манихеяном повеле языки из резывати; и много такова обрящеши в божественом писании. Божественая же правила повелевают, в еже о градских законех, сице: иже сподобившеися святаго крещениа, и отступлеше православныя веры, и еретици бывше, или творящеи еллиньскиа жертвы, конечней повинни суть муце; аще жидовин дерзнет развратити христианскую веру, главней повинен есть казни; манихеи же или инии еретици христиане бывше и потом начнут еретическая творити или мудрствовати, иже таковыя сведающе, не предающе их князем, конечней муце повинни суть; аще ли же кто, воевода или воин, или сонмища началник, должни суть о сем пещися, егда хто будет еретическая мудрствуя или творя, и аще увидевше не предадять его, аще и правоверии сами суть, конечную муку подоимут. И святый Иоан Златауст глаголет: «Иже еретиком приобщаяся в совете или в дружбе и в ядении и в питии, и с ними осужение да приимет». Сице убо творяху благочестивии царие и святии отцы не от себе умысливше, но от апостольских писаний сие приимше. Глаголет бо великий апостол Иоан богослов: «Аще кто не исповедует Иисуса Христа бога, сей есть лестец и антихрист – таковаго в дом не приемлете. Приемля же таковаго в дом причящается делех его злых» (1Ин.4:3). И великий апостол Павел глаголеть: «Еретика человека... отовращайся – зело бо совратися таковый" (Тит.3:10–11). 

And it seems to me, lord, that our sovereign, the Grand Prince, fears the sin of executing heretics. Therefore, lord, it is fitting for you to remind the sovereign of the care and zeal that the first pious emperors had for the unblemished Christian faith, and how they sent heretics into exile after cursing them, and executed others with punishments. All the pious emperors who were at the seven councils sent heretics into exile after cursing them and executed them with punishments, and other emperors, though not present at the councils, still executed (казнили) heretics. The orthodox Emperor Heraclius issued a decree throughout his empire: if a Jew does not accept baptism, let him be killed. Likewise, the Himyarite Emperor Abraham ordered the killing of Jews who refused to be baptized. After them, the pious emperors Justin and Tiberius ordered the beheading of the eparch Addus and Eleutherius Samcius, champions of heresy. Empress Theodora and her pious son Michael ordered the heretic Annius, Patriarch of Constantinople, to be sent into exile and given two hundred lashes with a strap. Later, the Babylonian emperor Moavia, who was named John in holy baptism and baptized by Saint Theodore, Bishop of Edessa, sent a decree to Edessa at the command of Saint Theodore and ordered the Nestorians and other heretics to be expelled from the city, and the tongues of Manichaeans to be cut out; and you will find many such things in divine scripture. The divine canons command, concerning civil laws, thus: those who, having received holy baptism, abandon the orthodox faith and become heretics, or perform pagan sacrifices, are subject to the ultimate punishment; if a Jew dares to corrupt the Christian faith, he is subject to capital punishment; Manichaeans or other heretics who were Christians and later begin to engage in heretical acts or teachings—those who know of such people and do not hand them over to the princes are subject to the ultimate punishment; and if anyone, whether a commander, soldier, or leader of an assembly, is obliged to take care of this matter when someone is found teaching or acting heretically, and seeing this does not hand him over—even if they themselves are orthodox—they will undergo the ultimate punishment. And Saint John Chrysostom says: ‘Whoever associates with heretics in counsel, friendship, eating, or drinking shall receive the same condemnation as they.’ Thus, the pious emperors and holy fathers did not devise this on their own but received it from the apostolic writings. For the great Apostle John the Theologian says: ‘If anyone does not confess Jesus Christ as God, he is a deceiver and an antichrist—do not receive such a one into your house. For whoever receives such a one into his house shares in his evil deeds’ (1 John 4:3; 2 John 1:10-11). And the great Apostle Paul says: ‘A heretic, after a first and second admonition, reject—knowing that such a person is perverted’ (Titus 3:10-11)."--Letter of Joseph Volotsky to Archimandrite Mitrofan of Andronnikovo

Another letter by St Joseph Volotsky.

The top text is the Russia original of Joseph Volotsky, the bottom is an AI translation. The text is available here.

Послание Василию III о еретиках

The Epistle of Elder Joseph to Grand Prince Vasily Concerning Heretics

Послание старца Иосифа к великому князю Василью на еретики Господарю великому князю Василью Ивановичу всея Руси грешный чернец Иосиф, нищей твой, со священники и з братиею вси соборне со слезами челом бием.

To the Sovereign Grand Prince Vasily Ivanovich of All Russia, your sinful monk Joseph, your poor servant, together with the priests and all the brethren of the assembly, with tears we bow before you.

Бога ради, господарь, и Пречистыа Богородицы, пожалуй, и попецыся, и промысли о Божественых церквах и о православной вере хрестьянстей и о нас, нищих своих и убогих, занежа, государь, от вышнея Божия десница поставлен еси самодержец и государь всея Руси. Глаголет бо Господь Бог пророкам: аз воздвигох тя с правдою царя, и приях тя за руку и укрепих тя. Сего ради слышите, царие и князи, и разумейте, яко от Бога дана бысть держава вам. Вас бо Бог в себе место избра на земли и на свой престол вознес, посади, милость и живот положи у вас. Вам же подобает, приемши от вы повеления правленья человеческаго рода, православным государем, царем и князем, не токмо о своих пещися и своего точью жития правити, но и все обладаемое от треволнения спасти и соблюдати стадо его от волков невредимо, и боятися серпа небесного, и не давати воля злотворящим человеком, иже душу с телом погубляющим: скверныя, глаголю, и злочестивыя еретики. Нам же лепо по царскому твоему остроумию и богопреданней мудрости воспоминати ти яко государю и яко владыце. Ты же, о боговенчанный владыка, яко же преже поревновал еси благочестивому и равноапостольному великому царю Константину, яко же он христианский род в своем царствии из рова преисподнего возведе, темнаго оного и богопротивнаго и втораго Июду, Ария, глаголю, до конца низложи, подобно же тому и ты сотворил еси з боговенчанным самодержцем и государем всея Руси с своим отцем с великим князем Иваном Васильевичем всея Руси. Темных онех и скверных новогородцких еретиков и отступников и жидовская мудрствующих до конца низложил еси с богохульными их предании, православную же и истинную и непорочную христианскую веру поколебавшююся и изнемогшюю от еретических и жидовских учений паки утвердил еси и всех верующих в Святую и Животворящую Троицу сердца возвеселил еси. И якож исперва чистая и непорочная християнская вера по апостольских и Богоутверженых преданиих во всех наших церквах боголепно и благообразно цветет и проповедуетца.

For the sake of God, Sovereign, and the Most Pure Mother of God, have mercy, take heed, and consider the divine churches, the orthodox Christian faith, and us, your poor and wretched servants, for, Sovereign, by the supreme right hand of God you have been appointed autocrat and sovereign of all Russia. For the Lord God says through the prophets: 'I have raised you up as a king with righteousness, and I have taken you by the hand and strengthened you.' Therefore, hear, O kings and princes, and understand that power has been given to you by God. For God has chosen you in His stead upon the earth, raised you to His throne, and placed mercy and life in your hands. It is fitting for you, having received from Him the authority to govern the human race, as an orthodox sovereign, king, and prince, not only to care for your own and guide your own life alone, but also to save all those under your dominion from turmoil, to preserve His flock unharmed from wolves, to fear the heavenly sickle, and to restrain the evildoers who destroy both soul and body: I speak of the vile and impious heretics. And it is proper for us, according to your royal sharpness of mind and God-given wisdom, to remind you as our sovereign and lord. And you, O divinely crowned ruler, just as you previously emulated the pious and equal-to-the-apostles great Emperor Constantine—who raised the Christian people in his realm from the pit of the abyss and utterly cast down that dark, God-opposing second Judas, Arius—so too have you done, together with your divinely crowned autocrat and sovereign of all Russia, your father, Grand Prince Ivan Vasilyevich of All Russia. You utterly cast down those dark and vile Novgorodian heretics, apostates, and those adhering to Jewish teachings, along with their blasphemous traditions, and you reaffirmed the orthodox, true, and unblemished Christian faith, which had been shaken and weakened by heretical and Jewish doctrines, gladdening the hearts of all who believe in the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity. And thus, from the beginning, the pure and unblemished Christian faith, according to the apostolic and divinely established traditions, flourishes and is preached in all our churches with reverence and beauty.

Да ныне аще ты, государь, не подщишися и не подвигнешися о сих, не утолиши скверных еретик, темное их еретическое учение, ино, государь, погибнути всему православному християнству от еретических учений, яко ж и прежа много царства погибоша сим образом: Ефиопское великое царство, и Армейское, и Римское, иже много лета пребыша в православной вере християнстей, тако погибоша. Прихожаху бо преже немнози еретицы втай царствия и прелыцаху преже нищая человеки и убогия, потом же и благородныя, потом же прияша учение их и великия власти. Во многа жа лета вся царства отступиша от соборныя и апостольския церкви и от провославныя християнския веры.

But now, if you, Sovereign, do not take care and do not act concerning these matters, if you do not suppress the vile heretics and their dark heretical teachings, then, Sovereign, all orthodox Christianity will perish from these heretical doctrines, just as many kingdoms perished in this manner before: the great Ethiopian kingdom, the Armenian kingdom, and the Roman kingdom, which for many years remained in the orthodox Christian faith, yet perished. For at first, a few heretics secretly entered those kingdoms and deceived the poor and lowly, then the nobles, and later their teachings were accepted even by those in great authority. Over many years, entire kingdoms fell away from the catholic and apostolic church and from the orthodox Christian faith.

Тако же и Руская великая земля, иже пятьсот лет пребысть в православной вере християнстей, егда ж враг человеческаго спасения диявол приведе скверныа еврея в Великий Новгород отселе за четыредесят лет, преже убо малых в жидовство отведоша, потом жа множество несведомо по всей Рустей земли. И аще бы не ты, государь, показал ревность о православной вере християнстей и любовь Господу Богу и Пречистой Богородици и ненависть к еретиком и казнь на иже жидовская мудроствующих, было бы уже безчисленое множество православных християн в жидовской вере. Аще ли же и ныне, государь, не потщишись, Бога ради и Пречистыя Богородица, как, государь, в первом обыску все ты, государь, обыскал и управил, тако и ныне тебе, государю, подобает о сем попещись, глава бо еси всем. Покажи ревность благочестия твоего, да видят вси царие славу православного царствия твоего. Придет бо ти от сего свет вечный и невечерний в тебе восияет, аще подобно сотвориши первым православным и благочестивым царем. Оне убо на всех соборех не точию епископы и священики еретики бывшая, но и потриярси и митрополиты по проклятии в темницы метаху, и сии никого от православных не прельстиша. А их же вероваху покоянию и даяху им свобожение, сии многа зла сотвориша и многия в ереси отведоша. Занеже, государь, инем нечим тое беды утолити.

So too with the great Russian land, which for five hundred years remained in the orthodox Christian faith. But forty years ago, the enemy of human salvation, the devil, brought a vile Jew to Great Novgorod. At first, they led a few into Judaism, but then an untold number spread throughout all the Russian land. And if you, Sovereign, had not shown zeal for the orthodox Christian faith, love for the Lord God and the Most Pure Mother of God, hatred for heretics, and punishment for those adhering to Jewish teachings, an innumerable multitude of orthodox Christians would already have been lost to the Jewish faith. And if now, Sovereign, you do not take pains for the sake of God and the Most Pure Mother of God—as you, Sovereign, in your first investigation searched out and ordered all things—so too now it is fitting for you, Sovereign, to take care of this matter, for you are the head of all. Show the zeal of your piety, so that all kings may see the glory of your orthodox kingdom. For from this will come eternal and unfading light to shine upon you, if you act like the first orthodox and pious kings. For at all the councils, not only bishops and priests who were heretics, but even patriarchs and metropolitans, after being cursed, were cast into dungeons, and they deceived none of the orthodox. But those whom they believed would repent and to whom they granted freedom—these caused much evil and led many into heresy. For, Sovereign, there is no other way to quell this calamity.

Подобно ж тому бысть и в нашей земли Русстей. Самодержец и государь всея Русскыя земля князь великий Иван Васильевич, отец твой, по проклятии еретиков Захара черньца и Дениса попа повеле в темницу воврещи. И сии зле живот свой скончаша, и никого же от православных не прельстиша. А которые, государь, почали каятись, и отец твой, государь, их покаянию поверил и дал им ослабу, и те много неизреченна зла сотвориша и многих православных христьян в жидовство отведоша. Ино, государь, никому невозможно тое беды утолити, разве тобя, государя и самодержца всея Руския земля. И того ради непоколебимо и непревратно соблюдет и сохранит вышняго десница Богом поставленое твое царство, самодержавный царю и владыка и с твоею благочестивою и великою княгинею. И мирна да будет и многодетна твоя держава и победительна со всеми повинующимись тебе христолюбивыми воинствы и с прочими людьми, да пребывает во веки и во век века во вся дни живота твоего и пропустит в род небесному царствию сподобит.--Joseph Volotsky, Letter to Prince Ivan

Likewise, it happened in our Russian land. The autocrat and sovereign of all the Russian land, Grand Prince Ivan Vasilyevich, your father, after cursing the heretics—the monk Zakhar and the priest Denis—ordered them cast into a dungeon. And these ended their lives in wickedness, deceiving none of the orthodox. But those, Sovereign, who began to repent, and whom your father, Sovereign, believed in their repentance and granted leniency—these committed much unspeakable evil and led many orthodox Christians into Judaism. Thus, Sovereign, no one can quell this calamity except you, the sovereign and autocrat of all the Russian land. And for this reason, the supreme right hand of God will unwaveringly and unfailingly preserve and protect your divinely appointed kingdom, O autocratic king and lord, along with your pious and great princess. May your dominion be peaceful, fruitful, and victorious, together with all the Christ-loving armies obedient to you and all your people, enduring forever and ever, throughout all the days of your life, and may it lead you to the heavenly kingdom."

https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Iosif_Volotskij/poslanija-iosifa-volotskogo/

https://library.by/portalus/modules/rushistory/referat_readme.php?subaction=showfull&id=1162195105&archive=&start_from=&ucat=11&category=11

Here Joseph states the authorization to "destroy" the heretics came from the Patriarch of Constantinople, some translations and interpretations of the word says 'burn' the heretics, others leave it more ambiguous. I am still locating the Old Russian.

Так, был некий человек, исполненный гнусных и скверных дел, по имени Карп, по ремеслу стригольник, живший во Пскове. Он, окаянный, стал родоначальником скверной и мерзкой ереси. Как известно, многие из православных христиан, слабые и неразумные, были последователями этой ереси, пока архиепископ Дионисий Суздальский не отправился по поводу ее в Константинополь и не принес послание от Вселенского патриарха Антония во Псков, к посадникам, чтобы они позаботились о православии и уничтожили еретиков. Посадники проявили большое усердие в уничтожении ереси и просили благочестивых князей, святителей и воевод помочь в уничтожении еретиков. Ересь удалось уничтожить лишь тогда, когда посадники, по совету благочестивых князей и святителей и иных именитых христиан, велели схватить стригольников и не оставили ни одного, но всех заточили в темницу, до самой смерти их. Таким образом удалось искоренить и уничтожить эту соблазнительную ересь.

Точно так же поступил и державный великий князь Иван Васильевич, повелев святителям проклинать нынешних еретиков и по проклятии сажать их в темницы, где они и умирали в муках, не прельстив никого из православных.

Но другие стали каяться, и державный, поверив их покаянию, даровал им прощение. И тогда они сотворили множество неописуемых злодеяний, многих из православных христиан привели к жидовству и хотят сделать то же, что и древние еретики, которые не раз губили страны и царства великие.

There was a certain man, full of vile and filthy deeds, named Karp, a stonemason by trade, living in Pskov. This wretch became the founder of a vile and abominable heresy. As is known, many weak and foolish orthodox Christians followed this heresy until Archbishop Dionysius of Suzdal traveled to Constantinople concerning it and brought back a letter from the Ecumenical Patriarch Anthony to Pskov, to the mayors (Посадники, posadniks), urging them to care for orthodoxy and destroy (уничтожили, unichtozhili) the heretics. The mayors showed great zeal in eradicating the heresy and requested help from pious princes, hierarchs, and commanders (воевод, voivod/vaivot) to destroy the heretics. The heresy was only eradicated when the mayors, on the advice of pious princes, hierarchs, and other eminent Christians, ordered the seizure of the Strigolniks, leaving none, and imprisoned them all in dungeons until their death. Thus, this seductive heresy was uprooted and destroyed. 

In the same way, the sovereign Grand Prince Ivan Vasilyevich ordered the hierarchs to curse the current heretics and, after cursing them, to imprison them in dungeons, where they died in torment, without seducing any of the orthodox. 

But others began to repent, and the sovereign, believing their repentance, granted them forgiveness. And then they committed countless unspeakable atrocities, led many orthodox Christians to Judaism, and seek to do the same as the ancient heretics who repeatedly destroyed great countries and kingdoms. (AI translation)

Perhaps most explicitly he advocates harsh penalties for here--execution or life imprisonment in his work “A Discourse Against the Heresy of the Novgorod Heretics":

Понеже убо нынѣ новоявльшиися новогородцкие еретицы, Алексѣй протопоп, и Денис поп, и Феодоръ Курицынъ, и инии мнози, иже таяже мудръствующеи, много зла содѣаша, яко язык не может изърещи, ниже слово сказати, ниже ум вмѣстити, елико хуление изрекоша на святую и животворящую Троицу, и на пречистую Богородицу, и на великаго Иоанна Предтечю, и на вся святыя, и колико сквернения содѣлаша на святыя Божия церкви, и на честныя и животворящия кресты, и на всячестныя иконы, и толика и такова зла сотворше, убояшася и православъных еже о благочестии ревности, яко да не увидѣвше толикая их зла, соборне осудят ихъ по божественнымъ правилом в конечьную погибель в нынешнем вѣце и в будущемъ, сего ради вседушьно подщашася, еже утаитися от православных и сими глаголы хотяще устрашити правовѣръныя, глаголаху, яко не подобает осужати не еретика,[1] ниже отступника, на свидѣтелъство же приносяще Господня глаголы, еже рече: «Не осужайте, да не осужени будете»,[2] — и святаго Иоана Златаустаго,[3] еже глаголетъ, яко не достоит никогоже ненавидѣти, или осужати, ниже невѣрнаго, ниже еретика, и не убо достоит убивати еретика, — аще ли же и судити подобаетъ еретика или отступника, от царьских и градских закон судитися, а не от инокъ, ниже от миръских человекъ, иже не присѣдящимъ судищным двором.

 ....

Якоже повелеваетъ сам той священный Златаустъ, глаголя сице: «Понеже о хулении намъ слово бысть, иже на единороднаго Сына Божия, нынѣ же единаго от вас хощу просити дара, да хулящая вся иже во граде накажете. Аще услышиши нѣкоего на распутии или на торгу среди народа, Владыку Христа хуляща, приступив, воспрети. Аще и язвы ему наложити подобает, не отмещися, зауши, сокруши его уста, освяти си руку язвою. Аще и поемлют нѣцыи, и аще судъ влекутъ, въслѣдуй. Аще и на судѣ воспросят, сирѣч судии истяжет, глаголи с дерзновениемъ, якоже царя аггельскаго похулилъ есть: аще бо хулящаго земнаго царя мучити подобаетъ, велми паче, иже хулящихъ небеснаго царя. Объщий есть грѣхъ, всѣх есть бесправдие. Подобаетъ же комуждо от хотящихъ оглаголавати, да увѣдятъ н жидове и поругании еретицы, яко спасители суть граду християне, и строители, и заступъници, и учители. Да увѣдятъ се не утомлении и развращении жидове и еретицы, яко божиих рабъ боятися тѣмъ подобаетъ, да, аще изволятъ когда извещати нѣчто таково, друг на друга взирают всюду, и стѣней трепещут, страхующеся, егда гдѣ християн услышатъ. Не слышали, что Иоан сотвори? Мучителя видѣ человека, брачныя законы отметающа, з дерзновениемъ посреди торъжища рече: “Неподобно ти есть имѣти жену Филипа брата своего”. Аз же не о человѣцехъ приведох слово, ни о судии, ни о брацѣх безаконнующих, но о Владычьней досаде. Аще убо и умрети подобаетъ, наказовати брата своего не обленися: мучительство убо и то есть за Христа. Понежь Иоан мученикъ есть, аще и пожрети не повелѣнъ бысть, ни поклонитись идоломъ, но егда видѣ божественныя законы попираеми, и того ради душу свою положи»  

И паки той же глаголетъ: «Возлюбленнии, многажды вам глаголаху о безбожных еретицѣхъ, и нынѣ молю, не совокуплятися с ними ни въ ядении, ни в питии, ни въ дружбе, ни в любъви: творя бо сия, чюжа себе творят Христовы Церкви. Аще кто и бесплотных житие поживетъ, еретиком же приобъщаяся в дружбе или въ любви, таковый чюж есть владыки Христа. Якоже убо сытости не имамы владыку Христа любити, такоже не имамы сытости враги его ненавидети. Глаголетъ бо самъ: “Иже нѣсть со мною, на мя есть”». Сия убо глаголетъ и повелеваетъ священный Златаустъ, от святыхъ апостолъ вину прием. 

Тако бо и святии апостоли творяху. Пишет бо ся в «Деаниих святыхъ апостолъ», яко, егда прииде в Самарию святый апостолъ Петръ, Иоан, тогда Симон волхвъ принесе имъ сребро, глаголя: «Дадите ми власть сию, да, на негоже аще положю руцѣ, приимет Духъ святъ»; тогда убо святии апостоли не осудиша его на смерть. Но егда прииде в конечное нечестие, еже развратити благочестивыя и прельстити вѣрующая, тогда смертию осужается. 

Тако же и святый Иоан Богословъ сотвори. Егда убо Кунопъ в своем мѣсте живяше и никогоже от вѣрныхъ не прелщаше, не осужен бысть. Егда же прииде во град, иский развратити вѣрующая, тогда осуженъ бысть на смерть. 

Тако же и святый апостолъ Филипъ: не прииде ко аръхиерѣю, ниже осуди его; но егда видѣ архиерѣа, пришедша не иного чего ради, но токмо благочестивыя развратити, тогда смерътию осужен бысть. 

Подобно же тому святый апостолъ Павел сотвори: не поискавъ Еллима волхва и не осуди, и ниже уничижи. Но егда видѣ его ищуща развратити анъфипата от вѣры, тогда осуди его, иже слѣпу быти и не видети солнца. 

Подобно жь тому святии и преподобнии и богоноснии отцы наши, священноначалницы и пастырие творяху. 

Святый убо Иоан Златоустый, егда видѣ арианы, живуща в Костянтинеграде и никомуже от православных пакости не творяше, тогда Иоан ничтоже зла сотвори имъ. Егда же видѣ ихъ, творящих прелыцения, и нѣкоторая пѣния же и пѣсни створиша, яко да единосущныя смутятъ, тогда умоли царя, яко да ижденетъ их изъ града. 

Тако же и святый Поръфирие, епископъ газский, видѣ в Газе еретики же живуща, манихейская мудръствующе и никогоже от православных прельщающе, тогда и он не осуди ихъ. Егда же видѣ их сего ради пришедша к нему, яко да крестияны прельстят, тогда и онъ осужаетъ ихъ преже онемлениемъ, потом же смертию. 

Тако же святый Лев, епископъ катаньский, Лиодора еретика преже не осуди на смерть. Но егда видѣ его пришедша къ церкви, нѣкоторыя мечтания творяше, яко да благочествующая прельститъ, онъ же изыде изъ церъкви и сотвори Лиодора огънемъ сожжена быти, и паки вниде въ церковь и соверши божественную служьбу. 

Тако же и святый Феодоръ, едесскый епископъ, егда видѣ множество еретик во Едесе, православнымъ не творяща многа зла, тогда и онъ не сотвори имъ ничтоже зла. Егда же видѣ ихъ на толико зло пришедших, яко да православныя прельстят и церковная имѣния разграбят, тогда и въ Вавилонь отиде, и царя умоли, яко да еретики погребит. 

И многа суть такова въ божественном писании, яко егда еретицы суще в себѣ ереси имущая, православнымъ пакости не твориша, тогда и святии преподобнии отцы наши сих не осужаху. Егда узрятъ невѣръныя жь и еретики, хотящихъ прельстити православныя, тогда осужаху ихъ. Тако убо подобаетъ и намъ творити. И сиа убо о сихъ. 

Прочее же речемъ и о семь, еже той же великий церковный учитель святый Иоан Златаустый глаголетъ, еже не достоит убивати еретики: «Аще быхомъ убивали еретики, рать несмирна была бы во вселенней». Сия глаголетъ о епископѣх, и о священницѣх, и о иноцѣх, и о всѣх церковныхъ причетницѣхъ, а не о царѣхъ, ниже о князех, ниже о судиѣхъ земных. Аще бы глаголалъ о царѣхъ, и о князех, и о судияхъ, реклъ бы, яко не подобаетъ царемъ, и княземъ, и судиямъ убивати еретики. Нынѣ же глаголетъ: «Аще быхом убивали еретики», се явъствено показуетъ, яко о епископѣх, и о священницѣх, и о иноцѣхъ, и о причетницѣх церковъныхъ глаголетъ; самъ бо той бяше преже причетникъ церковный и инок, потомже священникъ, таже и епископъ. Того ради, всѣх сих лице на себе восприимъ, глаголетъ: «Аще быхомъ убивали еретики мы, рать несмирна бы была», а не о царѣх, ни о князѣх, ни о судиях земъских сиа глаголеть. --СЛОВО ОБ ОСУЖДЕНИИ ЕРЕТИКОВ ИОСИФА ВОЛОЦКОГО

“Since now the newly arisen Novgorod heretics—Protopope Alexei, Priest Denis, Fyodor Kuritsyn, and many others who think likewise—have wrought great evil, which no tongue can express, no word describe, nor mind comprehend, such blasphemy have they uttered against the holy and life-giving Trinity, against the most pure Mother of God, against the great John the Forerunner, and against all the saints, and such defilement have they brought upon the holy churches of God, upon the honorable and life-giving crosses, and upon all venerable icons, and having committed such great and manifold evils, they feared the zeal of the orthodox for piety, lest, seeing their great evils, they should collectively condemn them according to divine rules to utter destruction in this age and the next. For this reason, they strove with all their souls to conceal themselves from the orthodox and, with these words, sought to intimidate the true believers, saying that it is not fitting to condemn either a heretic or an apostate, citing as testimony the words of the Lord, who said: ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged,’ and of Saint John Chrysostom, who says that it is not fitting to hate or condemn anyone, neither an infidel nor a heretic, and it is not fitting to kill a heretic—but if it is necessary to judge a heretic or apostate, let them be judged by tsarist and civic laws, and not by monks, nor by laypeople who do not sit in judicial courts.

.... [proceeds the refute his opponents]...

“As the same sacred [John] Chrysostom commands, saying thus: ‘Since we have spoken of blasphemy against the only-begotten Son of God, now I ask one gift from each of you: that you punish all those in the city who blaspheme. If you hear someone on a crossroad or in the marketplace among the people blaspheming the Lord Christ, approach and forbid him. If it is necessary to strike him, do not hold back—strike him on the face, shatter his mouth, sanctify your hand with the wound. And if some seize you, and if they drag you to court, follow. And if they question you in court, that is, if the judge demands an answer, speak boldly that he blasphemed the angelic king: for if it is fitting to punish those who blaspheme an earthly king, how much more those who blaspheme the heavenly king. It is a common sin, a wrong shared by all. It is fitting for each who wishes to speak out to make known to the Jews and reviled heretics that Christians are the saviors of the city, its builders, defenders, and teachers. Let the unbridled and depraved Jews and heretics know that they must fear the servants of God, so that if they ever wish to speak such things, they look at each other everywhere, trembling even at the walls, fearing lest Christians hear them. Have you not heard what John did? He saw a tyrant, a tormentor of men, casting aside the laws of marriage, and with boldness in the midst of the marketplace said: “It is not lawful for you to have your brother Philip’s wife.” But I have not spoken of men, nor of judges, nor of lawless marriages, but of offense against the Lord. Even if it is necessary to die, do not shrink from correcting your brother: for this suffering is martyrdom for Christ. For John is a martyr, though he was not commanded to sacrifice or worship idols, but when he saw divine laws trampled, for this he laid down his soul.’

And again, the same [Chrysostom] says: ‘Beloved, many times I have spoken to you about godless heretics, and now I beseech you not to join with them in eating, drinking, friendship, or love: for those who do this make themselves strangers to Christ’s Church. Even if someone lives an angelic life but associates with heretics in friendship or love, such a one is a stranger to the Lord Christ. Just as we find no satisfaction in loving the Lord Christ, so we find no satisfaction in hating His enemies. For He Himself says: “He who is not with Me is against Me.”’ These things the sacred Chrysostom says and commands, inspired by the holy apostles.

For so the holy apostles acted. It is written in the Acts of the Holy Apostles that when the holy apostles Peter and John came to Samaria, Simon the Sorcerer brought them silver, saying: ‘Give me this power, that whomever I lay hands on may receive the Holy Spirit’; and the holy apostles did not then condemn him to death. But when he fell into utter impiety, seeking to corrupt the pious and seduce believers, then he was condemned to death.

So too did the holy John the Theologian act. As long as Cerinthus lived in his place and seduced none of the faithful, he was not condemned. But when he came to the city, seeking to corrupt believers, then he was condemned to death.

Likewise, the holy apostle Philip: he did not go to the high priest, nor condemn him; but when he saw the high priest come for no other reason than to corrupt the pious, then he was condemned to death.

Similarly, the holy apostle Paul acted: he did not seek out Elymas the Sorcerer, nor condemn, nor destroy him. But when he saw him seeking to turn the proconsul from the faith, then he condemned him to blindness, so that he could not see the sun.

In like manner, our holy, venerable, and God-bearing fathers, the hierarchs and shepherds, acted.

For the holy John Chrysostom, when he saw Arians living in Constantinople and causing no harm to the orthodox, did no evil to them. But when he saw them practicing seduction, composing certain songs and hymns to confuse the consubstantial [Trinity], then he entreated the emperor to expel them from the city.

So too the holy Porphyry, bishop of Gaza, saw heretics in Gaza, holding Manichaean beliefs and seducing none of the orthodox, and he did not condemn them. But when he saw them come to him for the purpose of seducing Christians, he condemned them first to muteness, then to death.

Likewise, the holy Leo, bishop of Catania, did not at first condemn the heretic Heliodorus to death. But when he saw him come to the church, performing certain illusions to seduce the pious, he went out from the church, caused Heliodorus to be burned with fire, and returned to the church to complete the divine service.

So too the holy Theodore, bishop of Edessa, when he saw many heretics in Edessa causing little harm to the orthodox, did no evil to them. But when he saw them turn to such evil as to seduce the orthodox and plunder church property, he went to Babylon and entreated the king to destroy the heretics.

And there are many such things in divine scripture: when heretics, holding their heresies to themselves, caused no harm to the orthodox, our holy and venerable fathers did not condemn them. But when they saw infidels and heretics seeking to seduce the orthodox, then they condemned them. So too must we act. And enough of this.

Further, we shall speak of this, that the same great church teacher, the holy John Chrysostom, says it is not fitting to kill heretics: ‘If we were to kill heretics, there would be endless strife in the world.’ This he says of bishops, priests, monks, and all church clerics, and not of tsars, nor of princes, nor of earthly judges. If he spoke of tsars, princes, and judges, he would have said that it is not fitting for tsars, princes, and judges to kill heretics. But now he says: ‘If we were to kill heretics,’ clearly showing that he speaks of bishops, priests, monks, and church clerics; for he himself was first a church cleric and monk, then a priest, and later a bishop. Therefore, taking upon himself the person of all these, he says: ‘If we were to kill heretics, there would be endless strife,’ and he does not speak this of tsars, nor of princes, nor of earthly judges.” --“A Discourse Against the Heresy of the Novgorod Heretics" from The Enlightener by Joseph Volotsky (Sanin)

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Joseph 

An evil man named Karp, and by profession a heretic, lives here in our city of Novgorod. He brought a dangerous heresy into the lives of many orthodox. He brought a dangerous heresy into the lives of many orthodox believers, who, because of their weakness and ignorance, accept it, thinking that by doing this they do the right thing. But the day is at hand for them (the eretiki); for our Archbishop Dionisil, coming back from Constantinople, brought a letter from the ecumenical Patriarch Anthony, addressed to the elders of the city and instructing them to burn the eretiki so as to destroy heresy forever.

///emd

By 1504 when the next heresy trial was conducted, Iosif Volotskii (1462-1515; founder of the Volokolamsk Monastery) had advanced to the fore in the fight against heresy. This time the most prominent among the heretics were executed by burning—the first instance of formal execution of heretics in Rus'.28 Ivan III had previously protected those involved with the heresy in Moscow, at least until the spring of 1502, when he agreed to their prosecution

An excerpt of his letter to the Prince:

Послание Иосифово к великому князю Ивану Васильевичю на еретика Кленова 

A letter of Joseph to the Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich about the heretic Klenov.

Государю великому князю Ивану Васильевичю всея Русии нищий твой, господине, грешный чернец Иосиф з братьею челом бью.

 To the Sovereign Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich of all Russia, Sovereign!, your beggar, the sinful monk Joseph and his brothers bow down.  

What if, the Sovereign, delivered to us at the Most Pure monastery the heretic Semyon Klenov, and his speeches were heretically written, that he was wise, but ordered him to fight him in the monastery, not the sovereign, for that I was pleased with all that he showed jealousy about the pity and the Orthodox of the Christ.The hard hand, told us that the heretics were the foremen of the shelter, ienteast, the sovereign, the king, the present sorrow is the first, more unjust, the laity crawled, and the hiccupal of the crater. And in the scripture, the prince, there is no one, some heretics by the monastery to send: on all, the sovereign, the council, according to the curse of the heretics, they were sent in prison, and they were sent to the monasteries. And whoever descends to repent, it is possible for me to repent, it is possible to repent in prison: in sorrows and misfortunes and in evil, God will hear in the heart of the broken and humble.

That you, lord, sent the heretic Semyon Klenov to the monastery of the Most Pure One, and his heretical speeches were written down, that he philosophized, and you ordered him to remain in the monastery, otherwise lord, we were all glad about that, that you showed zeal for the pious and Orthodox Christian faith, like the former holy Orthodox Christian tsars, and now, lord, they told us that you are slaughtering heretics in monasteries, otherwise, lord, our current sorrow is much worse than the first, because, lord, you are causing the laity to crawl, and the monks to perish. But in the scriptures, sir, there is nothing that says to send heretics to monasteries: at all councils, sir, after cursing heretics were sent to confinement, and put in prisons, and not sent to monasteries. And whoever wishes to repent, it is possible for me to repent even in prison: for in sorrows and misfortunes and in hardships God will hear more those who repent with a contrite and humble heart. 

      

Что еси, государь, прислал в монастырь Пречистые к нам еретика Семена Кленова, да и его речи еретическиа написаны, что он мудръствовал, а велел еси его дръжать в монастыре, ино государь, о том есмя обрадовалися были вси, что еси показал ревность о благочестивей и православней християнстей вере, как прежний святии православнии христианстии царие, а ныне, государь, сказали нам, что еретиков по манастырем шлеш, ино, государь, нам нынешняя скорбь много горши первые, занеже, государь, миряном ползу твориш, а иноком погибель. А в писании, государь, того нет, кое еретиков по монастырем посылать: на всех, государь, соборех по проклятии еретиков посылали в заточение, да сажали по темницам, а не в монастыри посылали их. И который въсхощет покаятися, моему возможно и в темници каятися: в скорбех бо и бедах и во юзах паче услышит бог кающихся сердцем сокрушенным и смиренным.

Мнози, государь, и православнии християне впадали в согрешения, да как почели каитися о своих гресех, и они на себя клали сами - иной вериги железны, а иной чепь на себе положил, а иной, государь, велел себя в погребе приковать чепью. И коли, государь, захотели каятися истинно от сердца, и оне себе не пощедели, а и согрешение их было не толь тяжко, да сами на муки себе предовати произвели. А нынешний, государь, еретики сами не производили каятися, - как ты, государь, почел их казнити смертными казнями, да и торговыми, и они, государь, почели каятися мук деля, а не Бога ради, и как еси потщался очистить святую Божию церковь от еретических скверн, так бы еси, государь, и о монастырех милость покозал, чтобы не погибли от еретическаго зла.

А яз тебе, государю моему, нищий твой з братьею, челом бью, и должни есмя Бога молити о твоем здравии и спасении.