Andrew Louth - Syriac Christian Church

compassionate towards him, you will wipe the passion completely
from your soul. If somebody regards you with resentment, be
pleasant to him, be humble and agreeable in his company, and
you will deliver him from his passion.
(CC III.90)
Similarly on envy we find Maximus saying:
MAXIMUS’ SPIRITUAL THEOLOGY 39
As for your own envy, you will be able to check it if you rejoice
with the man whom you envy whenever he rejoices, and grieve
whenever he grieves, thus fulfilling St Paul’s words, ‘Rejoice with
those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep’ (Rom. 12:15).
(CC III.91) 13
It is not surprising then to discover that for Maximus, love of the
brothers (Philadelphia) is an important sign that we are beginning to
free ourselves from self-love, 14 and that the acid test of the purity of
our love is love of our enemies:
‘But I say to you,’ says the Lord, ‘love your enemies…do good to
those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you’ (Matt.
5:44). Why did he command this? To free you from hatred, grief,
anger and resentment, and to make you worthy of the supreme
gift of perfect love. And you cannot attain such love if you do not
imitate God and love all men equally. For God loves all men
equally and wishes them ‘to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth’ (1 Tim. 2:4).
(CC I.61)
But such love is only possible if we free ourselves from the passions:
without detachment we are not truly free.
‘THE BLESSED PASSION OF HOLY LOVE’
The way in which Maximus’ conception of the Christian life is ruled by
his overriding concern with the quality of our love comes out in other
ways. Ascetical theology can very easily seem negative: it is about
cutting off the passions, separation from the world. Maximus does not
play down this negative side, but he supplements it with a positive
emphasis on the importance of deeper and purer love. ‘A pure soul is
one freed from the passions’—there is the negative emphasis, but
there follows—‘and constantly delighted by divine love’ (CC I.34). He
goes further and frequently emphasizes the danger of not only a
purely negative detachment, but also of a purely intellectual