Слово в День Пасхи. Из древле-отеческого сборника

The all-joyful and all-solemn day of the Resurrection of Christ has dawned upon us, blessed children of the Church of God! The Conqueror of Death rose from the dead: the faiths of hell were broken, and the doors of heaven were opened. The power of the tormentors was trampled upon, and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ was opened. The darkness disappeared and the Sun of righteousness shone. Our bonds are loosened, and the captive is going free, coming from Egypt to the land of promise, coming from Babylon to the most desired fatherland. The wrath of God was exchanged for mercy, His justice was satisfied: for God was pleased to be reconciled with us by the death of His Son, He opened His fatherly bosom to us, and we were accepted into His adoption. Bear now a slave, but a son (Gal. 4:7). Abraham's blessing has reached us; The state in which we were created has been returned - today we put on the first beauty in paradise, which was destroyed. The fiery opium gives way, and Eating sweets opens up. Heaven itself has bowed down to us, or, more importantly, we have been lifted up into heaven: for where there is God’s favor towards man, there is the true source of all good things. Oh, joy unspeakable! Oh, a truly Christian celebration! Oh, God's condescension and goodness towards us! Yesterday the sting of death stung the Righteous Intercessor for us: but now it has become dull. Yesterday the insatiable hell seemed to triumph, having devoured Him: now it groans and weeps, seeing all the captivity stolen from its hands. Yesterday the sun darkened and the creature suffered: now an immaterial ray of spiritual joy shines everywhere! Yesterday we were crucified to Christ: today we are glorified! Yesterday we were being mortified: today we are being brought to life! Yesterday we were buried: today we will resurrect again!.. Come and celebrate our triumph, all generations and nations, all the redeemed of the Lord! Arise, you who have died since the days of the age: let us glorify the Author of the resurrection of all! Blessed Forefathers! Behold, the blessed seed foretold to you in Paradise! - It grew and covered the universe with its branches: it fell to the ground and bore much fruit: from this seed came the Great Leader, who erased the head of the serpent who cut off our heel, that is, who prevented us from walking blamelessly in the ways of the Lord. Divine Prophets! Behold, the Joy of Israel has come, Behold, the Deliverer you foretold rises from the grave, like a bridegroom from His palace! You, by faith only looking at Him, rejoiced in Him and kissed Him: may your spirit rejoice today at the event of your prophecies! Holy Apostles! Collect yourself from distraction! The storm that came from Mount Golgotha ​​has passed. Hasten to meet the Shepherd, who seeks to gather the scattered sheep! Remember these comforting words of your Teacher, which, approaching His mortal feat, He spoke to you: you have sorrow now: but I will see you, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you (John 16:22). You see the fulfillment of that promise. Blessed Mother of the Risen Jesus! The weapon with which the death of Thy Son pierced Thy heart, take away this day from Thy soul; With His motherly embrace, sweeten the sorrow of Your sorrow! Blessed are You among women, and blessed is the fruit of Your womb: behold, from now on you will give birth to all of You (Luke 1:42, 48)! Courageous martyrs! Receive today victorious branches: behold, the Crowner of your victory! Behold, your hero! The enemy is running out of weapons to the end (Ps. 9:7): show off and rejoice, wearing imperishable crowns before your eyes; and rejoice as you rest on your beds! Illustrious saints of virtue! Wipe away the tears of repentance from your eyes. The grace of remission of sins has been revealed: fill your body, exhausted by fasting and abstinence, with the fat and ointment of heavenly sweets. Lords who work for the peace of their subjects! Take joy today for your labors: hear the Good Shepherd, laying down His life for His sheep; Hear this comforting voice of His to you: good and faithful servant! enter into the joy of your Lord (Matthew 25:23). Subordinates of every kind and condition, diligently fulfilling the positions assigned to you by Providence! - rejoice with each other; Behold, the Righteous Judge has arisen, and His reward is with Him; He has no partiality: for the servant called by the Gospel is free before the Lord. Rich! A valuable and inestimable treasure was revealed from the tomb: use it according to the good will of your heart and buy them heaven! Poor! Don't cry about misery! - abundant streams of grace flowed from Spasov’s tomb: taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps. 33:9). Righteous! Continue your blessed work in the heliport of the Lord, receive a righteous reward; unite the inner pleasure acquired by virtue with the Divine joy that shone with the resurrection of your Leader and Finisher! Sinners! Wake up from your sleep! Behold, a ray of grace has shone upon you, the mercy of the Lord has preceded you, the voice of the Gospel is proclaiming to you, proclaiming to you the remission of sins! Behold, the most desirable Guest stands at the door of your heart! Celebrate your resurrection, and in true joy sing before Him: The Lord bring back our captivity, like the floods of the south (Ps. 125:4). The stream has passed over our soul: for our soul has passed over the fickle waters (Ps. 123:4, 5)! Come, all you redeemed by the Lord, let us triumph among one another - a great Feast, and an abundant feast of faith! The spiritual meal is filled with all sorts of good things, for the marriage of the Lamb and God’s reconciliation with the human race are celebrated! - There is neither Jew nor Greek: there is neither slave nor free: there is neither male nor female: for we are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28): there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and we are all justified without His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:22–24). What will we, blessed Christians, bring in gratitude to the Author of so much of our bliss? We know that He does not require our good things; but a grateful heart is pleasant to Him, like a fragrant incense, pleasant: for it, feeling the benefits received, disposes itself to accept greater ones. To him who has it will be given, and he will have abundance (Matthew 25:29). The Lord is curious: by natural goodness He is always inclined towards generosity and beneficence. Let us be afraid to hinder ourselves in this: for an unrepentant soul, a soul filled with passions, cannot feel the joy of salvation. What communication is there between light and darkness? or some agreement between Christ and Belial (2 Cor. 6:14, 15)? But can anyone be so hardened that it is not the stern cry of the law, but the sweetest voice of the Gospel that he is moved to tenderness? Let anyone, fearing the wrath of God and the curse proclaimed to all criminals, come into a certain kind of stupor and insensibility. But, hearing the Heavenly Father accepting us as sons. - The Son of God, who intercedes for us, - the Holy Spirit, who graciously descends on us, the angels who say, do not be afraid! – Is it possible that we would not sacrifice ourselves to our Savior, and deny that we deserve His favor? He descended to earth for us, leaving the heavenly throne above; Shall we not use condescension and generosity towards those like us, towards our neighbors? He, going through the struggle of life, endured all kinds of needs patiently; Will we be afraid to overcome certain difficulties in the practice of virtue and in correcting our positions? Out of His love for us, He drank the bitterest cup of death; Will we refuse to endure some loss of property or our health, where our salvation and common good require it? He rose from the dead; will we remain in our fall so that we never think about our uprising? He gave us all the means leading us to true bliss; Will we be so bold, or even more so insensitive, that we do not want to use this favor of God to our advantage? For, moreover, we must fear lest these broadcasts of the Holy Spirit burden us with their burden: there is no joy in the wicked. And according to the Psalm, where is the voice of joy and gladness? - in their villages only the righteous (Ps. 118:16). But you, great and most sacred Easter, Christ! Fulfill our shortcomings! - roll away the heavy stone from the doors of our hearts, so that we may see and enjoy the joyful light of Your Resurrection! - create, so that at the coming of Your Grace, we will achieve eternal joy, and we will be worthy to become among the sons of the resurrection! Amen 225. Teachings, ed. Holy Synod in 1775, gloriously; Wed "The Joy of a Christian" 1900 III, 280–285 pp. You might be interested in: