Is fear the first step towards heaven?

St. Philoxenus of Mabbug believes that our early Fathers who followed the path of Christ’s teachings set down for us “sign-posts and milestones which are set by the side of a natural road so that no man may venture to stray to the right hand or to the left.” This royal road is the road of the divine commandment.³⁸⁸ This same path is the ladder that Jacob saw extending from earth to heaven, and angels ascending and descending on it (Gen. 28:12). It is the ladder on which humans who are ascending encounter the angels descending. The faithful climb it as heavenly soldiers, changing their names from “humans” to “angels,” just as soldiers used to change their names when they joined the army in the past — we also join the army of the spiritual. On this ladder, believers meet angels in the circle of love, and those who are spiritual meet those who are carnal, since both parties must strive, by the grace of God, to keep the divine commandment. On this ladder, God’s will is fulfilled. Through the

386 See St. Philoxenus of Mabbug, The Discourses of Philoxenus of Mabbug: A New Translation and Introduction, trans., Robert A. Kitchen (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2013) 6.27 (178–179): pp. 141–142.

387 St. Philoxenus of Mabbug, The Discourses of Philoxenus of Mabbug: A New Translation and Introduction, trans., Robert A. Kitchen (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2013) 6:30–31 (181–183): pp. 143– 145.

388 St. Philoxenus of Mabbug, The Discourses of Philoxenus of Mabbug: A New Translation and Introduction, trans., Robert A. Kitchen (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2013) 7.1 (191): pp. 151–152.

divine commandment, humans ascend by God’s grace, on the steps of the ladder to live in the spirit of love with the heavenly beings. And through the divine commandment, angels come down to serve humans (Heb. 1:14).

St. Philoxenus of Mabbug says, “As for those who are lower and physical in their nature, the performance of the commandments has made them higher and spiritual. And as for those who are higher and spiritual in their creation, the Maker’s commandment urges them to descend to the place of those lower and be continually with those physical. Just as a single church is gathered from races different from one another in a concord of love that sings the [thrice] holy of the will of God and is moved completely by a single living and spiritual movement, [in the same way] the natural body is moved entirely by the life of the soul.”³⁸⁹