Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord: what does this event symbolize?translated

With the blessing of Metropolitan John of Belgorod and Stary Oskol Every year on August 19, millions of people bring baskets of fruit to churches, making the sign of the cross over them. However, behind this beautiful ritual there is an event that radically changes the understanding of the nature of Christ and gives hope for transformation to every person. What is the essence of the holiday and why is it so important for Christianity? In the last year of his public ministry, when only a few weeks remained before the tragic and great events in Jerusalem, Jesus Christ took with him three of his closest disciples - Peter, James and John - and climbed Mount Tabor to pray. According to the Gospel narrative, it was there that something happened that the witnesses remembered for the rest of their lives. “And His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light,” writes the Evangelist Matthew. Historians and theologians call this phenomenon the “Tabor Light” - uncreated Divine energy, which the apostles were able to see with their physical eyes.

At this moment, the two greatest prophets of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah, materialized next to Christ, who talked with Him about the upcoming suffering and death in Jerusalem. The meaning of this dialogue is important:...