Слово на Успение Пресвятой Богородицы. Преподобного Иоанна Дамаскина

People who have a love for some subject are in the habit of always talking and thinking about it in their minds, day and night. Therefore, let no one reproach me for the fact that after the two previous words, I now offer a third in praise of the Mother of my God, as if some gift to Her Dormition; and I propose not to teach what She needs, but to teach myself and you, who are coming here, the divine and sacred council, soul-saving and saving food, befitting this sacred night and will bring spiritual joy. We have no food, as you can see for yourself, and therefore I hastily prepared a feast, which, although not abundant and unworthy of the One who called us here, can, if necessary, satisfy hunger. The Mother of God does not need our praise; but we have need of Her glory. Indeed, how can one glorify something that has already been glorified? How to make a light source even brighter? In truth, by celebrating this celebration, we ourselves are weaving a crown for ourselves: as I live, says the Lord, I will glorify those who glorify Me (1 Samuel 2:30). Sweet indeed, sweet is the wine and nourishing is the bread that we eat; the former makes one happy, and the latter strengthens the human heart. But what is sweeter than the Mother of my God? She captivated my mind, captivated my tongue; I think about Her day and night. She is the Mother of the Word, and gives the word; She is the fruit of the barren, making barren souls fruitful. Now we celebrate Her sacred and Divine repose. Come, let us ascend to the mysterious mountain, above worldly and material thoughts, and, having entered into the Divine and impenetrable darkness in the light of God, let us sing of boundless power: how He who from a sublime, spiritual and unattainable height, without leaving the bosom of the Father, descended into the womb of the Virgin, was conceived by Her, became incarnate, voluntarily subjected Himself to suffering and death and again ascended to the Father with flesh created from the earth, having acquired incorruption through corruption, He brought His Mother according to the flesh to His Father, and He transferred She who was the earthly heaven to the heavenly earth. Now the mental, animated ladder, along which the Most High, having descended, appeared on earth and lived with people, has ascended from earth to heaven through death, like some kind of ladder. Now the earthly table, which unartifically bore the heavenly bread of life, the coal of the Divine, was taken from earth to heaven, and the gates of God, looking toward the east (Ezek. 43:2), became the gates of heaven. Now the animated city of God is being transformed from earthly Jerusalem into heavenly Jerusalem; having given birth from Himself to the firstborn and only begotten of Him, Who is the firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15) and the only begotten of the Father, is installed in the church of the firstborn; the animated and mental ark of the Lord is brought into the rest of the Son. The door of heaven opens and receives the God-bearing field, on which the tree of eternal life has grown, that is, Christ, the author of the lives of all, who resolved the disobedience of Eve and trampled upon the death of Adam; the hewn den receives the uncut Mountain, from Which the Stone, cut off without hands, filled the whole earth (Dan. 2:34, 35). The bed of the Divine Incarnation of the Word rested in the glorious tomb, as if in a palace, and from it moved to the heavenly bridal chamber to reign gloriously with the Son and God, leaving the tomb as a bed for those who live on earth. So, is the coffin a bed? It is truly a bed, and moreover, brighter than any other bed: it shines not with the brilliance of gold, not with the purity of silver, not with the lightness of stones, and is decorated not with silk fabrics, not with gold-woven clothing and scarlet, but with the God-radiant light of the All-Holy Spirit. It does not serve for the reclining of those who love the earth, but provides for those who are captivated by the Spirit the life of righteous souls, standing before God, which is better and more desirable than any good. This tomb is more beautiful than Eden. I will not talk about the flattery used (by the enemy in Eden), - about specious, so to speak, advice, envy, deception, - about Eve’s weakness, her gullibility, sweet and at the same time bitter food, through which she herself lost her mind and deprived him of her husband - about disobedience, exile, death; I will not talk about this, so as not to make the holiday a reason for sadness; but I will only say that this coffin lifted a mortal body from earth to heaven, and (Edem) brought down our ancestor from heaven to earth. For where, if not there, created in the image of God, was condemned: you are earth, and you go to earth (Gen. 3:19)? This tomb is more important than the ancient tabernacle, because it received into itself an intelligent, animated, God-bright lamp and a life-giving meal, on which not the showbread was stored, but the bread of heaven - not material fire, but the immaterial fire of the Divine. This tomb is more sacred than the ark of Moses, because it contained not shadows and images, but the truth itself. He contained within himself a pure and golden-shaped container, which contained heavenly manna, - he contained an animated tablet, in which the incarnate Word, the Hypostatic Word, was enclosed by the finger of God, that is, the All-Holy Spirit, - he contained a golden censer, which produced the coal of the Divinity and fragrant the whole creation. Let the demons flee, let the most damned Nestorians and their leader, this new pharaoh, a cruel destroyer and tormentor, weep like the ancient Egyptians: because they are mired in the abyss of blasphemy. And we, who have been saved and have passed through the dirty sea of ​​wickedness with silent groans, will sing the original song of the Mother of God. Let the church - this Mariam - take the tympanum in its hands and begin a festive song. Let the young virgins of spiritual Israel come out with their organs and sing in their choirs; Let the kings of the earth and judges with princes, young men and maidens, and elders with young men glorify the Mother of God; Let all classes, all tribes and peoples, in different languages ​​and dialects, sing a new song. Let the air resound with spiritual pipes and trumpets, and let the day of salvation be illuminated with fiery brilliance. Rejoice, heavens, and clouds, rain joy! Leap, rams of God's chosen flock - the divine Apostles, who, like great and inaccessible mountains, rise with lofty contemplations; Leap also, you lambs of God, holy people, sheep of the Church, who, like hills, reach high mountains with desire. Oh miracle! The source of life, the Mother of my Lord, dies. It is necessary that what is made up of earth returns to the earth, and then ascends to heaven, taking on the purest life in the earth, through the deposition of flesh in it. It is necessary that the body, through death, as if through fire in a crucible, like gold, having been cleansed of the earthly and gloomy weight of corruption, rises from the grave incorruptible, pure and illuminated by the light of immortality. Now having given the beginning of another being, that is, bodily, to the One Who did not have a temporary beginning to His first and eternal existence (although he had a beginning in the Father, as the author of His Divine being), receives the beginning of another life from the same One who gave Her the beginning of the first life. Rejoice, Zion - the Divine and holy mountain, on which the mountain of God dwelt, animated! (rejoice) new Bethel, in which the pillar was anointed - human nature, sealed by the Divine! From you, as if from the Mount of Olives, Her Son ascended to the heights of heaven. May the all-round and most extensive cloud and windy wings be prepared, and may they bring the Apostles to Zion from the ends of the earth! Who are these, like clouds and eagles, flocking to the body - the source of the general resurrection, to serve the Mother of God? Who is this ascendant, whitened, all good, shining like the sun? Let the spiritual harp sound—the mouth of the Apostles; let the cymbals sound - the supreme theologians! Let the Hierotheus, the chosen vessel, sanctified by the Divine Spirit, having experienced and learned Divine subjects by Divine inspiration, depart entirely from the body, be inflamed with desire and exclaim songs of praise. Let all nations clasp their hands and praise the Mother of God; Let the angels minister to (Her) dead body. Daughters of Jerusalem, follow the Queen, and, like Her neighbor virgins, being youthful in spirit, go with Her to the Bridegroom and stand at the right hand of the Lord. Come down, come down, Master, and give Your Mother worthy rewards for Your upbringing! Stretch out your Divine hands and receive your mother’s soul, - You, who on the cross gave up your spirit into the Father’s hands! Call to Her with a sweet voice: “Come, my beautiful neighbor, shining with the beauty of virginity, brighter than the sun itself; You have given Me (flesh) from Yourself: participate with Me in all My things. Come, Mother, to the Son, come and reign with Him who came from You and endured poverty with You. Come, Lady, come, not like Moses, who ascended and died: no, first die, and then ascend. Lay your soul in the hands of Your Son; return the dust to the dust, so that this one too may ascend with You. People of God! Lift up your eyes, lift up. Behold, in Zion - the ark of the Lord God of hosts: the Apostles appeared bodily before him and buried the life-giving and God-receiving flesh; Angels surround him insubstantially and invisibly, standing before the Mother of their Lord with fear, like slaves. The Lord Himself is present here, everywhere and fulfilling everything, containing everything and not being contained by any place, because in Him, as in the Creator and Provider, all things take place (Col. 1:17). Behold, the Virgin, the daughter of Adam, the Mother of God, returns flesh to the earth through Adam, and sends the soul to the heavenly abodes through the Son. May the holy city be hallowed and may it receive eternal blessings! May the Angels precede the ascension of the Divine Tabernacle, and may they adorn the tomb! May he be illuminated with the radiance of the Spirit! Let the myrrh be prepared, and the most honorable and most fragrant flesh be anointed! Let a pure stream flow and let blessings be drawn from the purest source of blessing! Let the earth rejoice in taking flesh; Let the air move joyfully from the ascension of the spirit: let the winds blow, dew-bearing and filled with grace. Let all creation praise the ascension of the Mother of God! Let the faces of the young men exclaim; let the mouths of rhetoricians flow with hymns; let the souls of the wise think about this miracle; let the elders, adorned with gray hair, contemplate him with reverence. Let every creation bring its own tribute to the triumph. But even after this the height of such greatness will not yet be comprehended. Come, let’s mentally leave everything with the departing one. Come, let us bring down with our heartfelt love everything that descends into the grave. Let us stand around the most sacred bed; Let us shout sacred songs, chanting like this: Rejoice, O Blessed One! The Lord is with you (Luke 1:28). Rejoice, foreshadowed Mother of God! Rejoice, chosen before the ages by the counsel of God, the most Divine summer plant of the earth, the dwelling place of the Divine Fire, the most sacred pillar of the Holy Spirit, the source of living water, the garden of the tree of life, the vine of the Divine Vertograd, the river filled with the good pleasures of the Spirit, the field that produced the Divine vine, the rose that blooms with virginity and emits the aroma of grace, the lily that adorns the royal robe, the lamb that gave birth to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the chamber of our salvation, the highest of the angelic powers of the servant and Mother! Come, let us stand around the cleanest tomb and draw from it Divine grace. Come, let us carry the eternal flesh on the shoulders of our souls; we will enter the tomb and die together with Her; Let us die to carnal passions, but let us live with Her a passionless and immaculate life. Let us apply our ears to the Divine chants emanating from the immaterial angelic lips. Let us enter and worship, and recognize the glorious miracle of how the Mother of God was taken and lifted up from the earth; as transported to heaven; as the Son stands above all ranks of angels, because there is no barrier between Matter and the Son. Mother of God! So I brought, after the previous two, the third word to Your Dormition; (brought) with reverence and love to the Trinity, which You served, by the good will of the Father and the power of the Spirit, having conceived the beginningless Word, the omnipotent wisdom and power of God. Accept zeal that exceeds (my) strength and grant (me) salvation, deliver me from spiritual passions, heal me from bodily illnesses, save me from troubles, give me peace of life, enlightenment of the spirit. Kindle love for Your Son, arrange our life pleasing to Him, so that, having become participants in His bliss and seeing You illuminated by the glory of Your Son, we will sing, eternally rejoicing in the Church of those who celebrate worthy of the Spirit, sacred songs to the One who through You accomplished our salvation - Christ, the Son of God and our God. To Him be glory and power, with the beginningless Father and the all-holy and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and throughout the endless ages of ages. Amen 178. Sprout, annual shoot of a tree. Dictionary of Russian synonyms. Note electronic edition. Curs. Compl. Patrolog. Migne, Tom. XCVI, col. 753–762, cf. “Selected words of St. fathers in honor and glory of the Most Holy Theotokos" Moscow, 1886, countries. 113–120; Christian Read 1836, III part, 133–146 countries. You might be interested in: