Похвальное слово на Рождество Пресвятой Богородицы. Святителя Илии Минятия Кефалонитского

Who is this piercing one like the morning? ( Song 6:9 ). Now is the virgin celebration: maidens, rejoice! Glory to the Mother of God - mothers, glorify! Godly joy - parents, have fun! Worldwide joy - let everyone in the world rejoice! You, the fiery ranks of the heavenly hierarchy, you, the sweet-voiced nightingales of paradise, sing today with ceaseless songs the Nativity of the Virgin! Rejoice now, you too, most holy duo, Godfathers Joachim and Anna. The appearance of the sky is not always the same: first it covers its clear brow with dark clouds, then again it appears golden and light. Great in truth was your sadness, great and deep was your shame before people. But, after all, the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are at their prayer (Ps. 33:16). Your prayer has been heard: this is the joy and honor you have received today! Joy - for to you a Daughter has been born, who is about to become the abode of the Divine and, like the sun, the pure throne of the King of glory; honor - for you have been honored to enter into kinship with God Himself. And whereas before you were reviled as barren and childless, now everyone honors and respects you as the parents of the Mother of God and the all-pure virgin Daughter. And You, newborn Daughter, God-wise Mary, Who is to give birth to the Divine Word of the beginningless Father, now give birth to a word in my mouth so that I can duly praise You. As once Seraphim took coal from the altar with tongs and, touching the lips of Isaiah, cleansed his unclean tongue - and he was sent to me alone from the Seraphim, and in his hand the burning coal was taken from the altar with tongs, and I touched my lips (Is. 6:6). - So You, mystical mite, bearing the mysterious coal of the Savior of the world, Who is the Hypostatic Wisdom of the Father, having touched my unclean and foul lips, make them wise, so that today they can weave from various praises a crown worthy of Your most pure head. You, with blessed brevity in one single word, have included all the beauties of oration, with Your miraculous omnipotence give strength to my voice and voice to my undeveloped tongue, so that I can unhinderedly glorify Your honest and holy Nativity. Small-minded by education and weak by nature, despite all this I dare to glorify You, hoping for Your warm intercession. Numerous and varied are the names with which the venerable assembly of church preachers tries to praise the ever-virgin Lady, wanting to express Her great glory. One proclaims Her to be the Sun, because, crowned with the rays of Divine grace, She shines brighter than all the heavenly bodies. Another calls Her the moon, because due to Her great and wonderful radiance, She, like a Queen, receives worship from the entire face of the mysterious eves. They call Her the source, for She infuses the Church with a stream of heavenly gifts. They call it cypress, because due to Her natural fragrance, She is far from any corruption. They call it Krin because She has not lost Her pure beauty, although She has grown in the midst of the thorns of universal sorrow. They call it heaven, because the Sun of righteousness has risen; they call it a prisoner garden, where the satanic serpent did not dare to spill deadly poison; - paradise, because the tree of life blossomed; - a high mountain of holiness, which was never covered by the flow of sins. But none of these names is as befitting of the Virgin as what the Holy Spirit calls Her in the Song of Songs: morning, dawn; Who is this, the penetrating one, like the morning? And indeed, how many similarities there are between the Virgin and the dawn! Dawn gives birth to the radiant sun, and at its birth the stars fade, birds sing sweetly, darkness runs away, the pale moon hides in shame and a bright day begins. All-pure Mariam gives birth to the mysterious Sun, enlightening every person coming into the world, and at His birth the polytheism of false idols ceases, the lips of the holy forefathers do not cease theologically singing endless praises, the hidden images of the old law completely disappear, and the discordant face of the infidels hides with shame under the cover of silence, and thus the dark night of ignorance turns into a bright day knowledge, the day of restoration and salvation. Who is this, penetrating one, like the morning? Oh, holy, luminous dawn! You are the fiery forerunner of the Sun of glory, a cool breeze before the Divine light, the sweetest herald of the happiest day! Who is this, penetrating one, like the morning? But I am greatly surprised and perplexed how the Holy Spirit, who leads everything - past, present and future, who tests hearts and wombs, the Spirit, before whose light everything, the most hidden secrets become clear, how He now asks, as if not knowing, Who is this, who penetrates like the morning? Who is this one who rises like the dawn? He doesn’t recognize the One Who, out of all women, he chose as His bride? - The one about whom in the Song of Songs he says: Behold, my neighbor, you are good, behold, you are good (Song. 4:1)? I'll explain it to you. The Holy Scriptures tell us that King Saul, that animated hell of vengeance, out of intense love for David, once clothed him in royal robes, crowned him with a golden band and placed purple on him. David left the palace, dressed like a king, and the people, seeing him and not recognizing him, began to be surprised and ask each other: who is this? Who is this man decorated with purple? - You will understand now. The King of kings and Lord, the Eternal Father, loved the ever-virgin Lady and wanted to give Her the greatest honor of clothing Her in His own robes. What is (this) the garment of God? - David says this: dress yourself in light like a robe (Ps. 103:2); and Matthew: His face was illuminated like the sun, and His robe was white like light (Matthew 17:2). This means that the virgin, like the Queen, is adorned with light, so that she is the animate sky. The Queen appears at Your right hand, in golden robes (Ps. 44:10). John, that high-flying eagle of theology, also testifies to this: and a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman was clothed with the sun, and the moon was under Her feet, and on Her head was a crown of twelve stars (Rev. 12:1). The radiant Queen comes forth, so brightly clothed, and the Holy Spirit, seeing Her, wonderful and beautiful, seems to be surprised and asks: who is this, the penetrating one? Who is it that rises, endowed with all the gifts, adorned with all the beauty, shining with all the splendor of the world? Who is this unshakable in her thoughts, like the earth, - in virginity, pure, like water, - in the heart, quiet, like air, - in immaculate flesh, light, like fire? Who is Sia, the penetrating one? Who is this, who has the reverence of the angels, the greatness of the Archangels, the honor of the Principalities, the devotion of the Thrones, as a commanding Authority, as a dominating Dominion, possessing the power of the Forces, the knowledge of the Cherubim, the love of the Seraphim, honored by all the gifts of the Holy Trinity? Finally, who is this, a combination of diverse virtues, a wonderful unification of all grace-filled gifts? Who is this, penetrating one, like the morning? O majesty of the Virgin, which amazes every being; labyrinths in which every mind is lost; the depths in which human thought drowns! If even the Holy Spirit, seeing Your greatness, O Virgin, seems to be surprised and amazed, what can I, unlearned and untalented, do? “We see many-promised oracles, like dumb fish, about You, Mother of God.” We see that the most eloquent rhetoricians close their lips and remain, like fish, silent, when they should praise You. What will my humble self do? Mother's Virgin Daughter! You know well, as I said, that due to the weakness of my nature I did not train him for long in such speeches. And this little word, which I have now composed in Your praise, serves as a sign of submissive reverence for You. But if with miraculous power, which always heals the weak, You enlighten my mind, immersed in darkness, with some ray of teaching, then in truth, stick my tongue to my throat, lest I remember You (Ps. 137:6). The Egyptians had an ancient custom of bowing to him in silence at sunrise, not being able to praise him in words. So I will do today, when You are born, chosen as the sun, and since You blind my mental eyes with the bright light of Your gifts, I pass by Your wonderful virtues in silence; I know that nothing disturbs Your soul more than the sounds of songs of praise in Your honor. Falling at Your holy feet, I pray to You only for invincible intercession... Most Holy Virgin! See how the fear of Your Son is rejected, simplicity is destroyed, modesty is desecrated, piety is lost, the world is upset; people are deprived of reason, reason - (enlightenment from) God. Bringing the Light of the world into the world, Mother of God Mary, grant light to Christians, so that Your holy name may always be glorified with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen 210. Sermons of St. Elijah Minyaty of Cephalonite, Ed. St. Trinity. Serg. Laurel. 1902, countries. 401–406. You might be interested in: