Беседа на слова: В начале бе Слово (Ин. 1:1). Святого Василия Великого, архиепископа Кесарии Каппадокийской 1

Every Gospel saying is more sublime than other instructions of the (Holy) Spirit, since in the latter he spoke to us through the servant-prophets, and in the Gospels - personally, the Master spoke with us. The most vocal in the Gospel sermon itself, who spoke what is beyond all hearing and beyond all understanding, is John, the son of thunder. We heard the beginning of his Gospel book read: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was to God, and God was the Word. Many of those who are not involved in the word of truth and boast of worldly wisdom marveled at these words. And if carnal wisdom marveled so much at the power of these words, what will we do, disciples of the (Holy) Spirit? Shall we listen in passing and only conclude that there is some small power in them? But who suffers so much from insensibility so as not to be amazed by such beauty of thought, such incomprehensible depth of dogmas, and not desire a true understanding of them? However, it is not difficult to be surprised by beauty; to acquire an exact concept of what leads to surprise is difficult and inaccessible. Indeed, there is no person who would not extol this sensual sun with praise, looking with delight at its size, beauty, proportionality of its rays and bright shine; however, if he persists with great effort in directing his gaze to the solar circle, he will not only not see what he wants, but will ultimately damage the fidelity of his vision. The thought will undergo something similar if it tries to conduct a detailed study of these sayings: In the beginning was the Word. Who will formulate a concept of beginning corresponding to the subject? What power of speech will be capable of equivalently expressing what is imagined in the mind? He who intended to convey to us the theology of the Son of God laid out for his word no other beginning than the beginning of all kinds. The Holy Spirit knew those who would rise up to the glory of the Only Begotten, and foresaw those who would offer us false ideas that they would invent for the destruction of the listeners, namely: “if the Son was begotten, he was not, and before he was begotten, He was not”; and: “from non-existence came to independence.” Such things are uttered by tongues that are more cunning than any two-edged sword. Therefore, so that no one could say anything similar to this, the Holy Spirit, prefacing the Gospel, said: In the beginning was the Word. If you keep this saying, you will not tolerate anything dangerous from evil people. For if anyone says: “If the Son was begotten, he was not,” you answer: in the beginning he was. But, he will say, “how was he before he was born”? Don't give up on this: be; do not leave this: in the beginning. At the beginning it is not possible to imagine any extreme limit; there is nothing that would be outside the beginning... So, in the beginning was the Word. Oh, miracle! How all the sayings are equally related to each other! The word: be, is equivalent to the word: at the beginning. Where is the detractor? Where is the anti-Christ language, saying: “there was a time when He was not”? – Listen to what the Gospel says: in the beginning there was nothing. And if it was in the beginning, then when was it not? Is it wicked for me to mourn them, or to look with disgust at their ignorance? But “before He was born, He was not”? - Do you know when (He) was born, so that this “before” can be attributed to time? Before is a saying of time, presupposing the duration of one thing in comparison with another; But is it reasonable for the Creator of time to have a birth that is subject to the names used about time? So: in the beginning there was no . If you do not deviate from this: be, then you will not give any access to the evil blasphemy. Those who are at sea, swinging on two anchors, despise the storm: so you, if your soul is sheltered under the protection of these sayings, will laugh at this crafty confusion that the spirits of evil create in the world, causing the faith of many to waver. But our thought is searching: who was at the beginning? It is said: Word. What Word? Is it a human word? or an angelic word?.. Not a human word was in the beginning, but not an angelic one either, because every creature, later than centuries, received the beginning of being from the Creator... On the contrary, understand the Word divinely. For he who speaks with you about the Only Begotten called Him the Word, as a little later he calls Him light, and life, and resurrection. And you, hearing the saying: light, do not turn to this sensory and visible light, - and, hearing the saying: life, you do not understand this common life that the dumb live: - so, hearing the saying: Word, beware, lest, due to the weakness of your thoughts, you be carried away into thoughts that creep on the earth and low, but explore the meaning of the saying. Why the Word? To show that (the Son) came from Mind. Why the Word? Because he was born dispassionately. Why the Word? Because the Son is the image of the One who was born, completely showing the One who gave birth to Himself, not separating anything from Him, and being perfect in Himself. So, (the Evangelist) called (the Son of God) the Word in order to depict to you the passionless birth of the Father, to expound the theological teaching about the perfect existence of the Son, and through this to show the pre-temporal unity of the Son with the Father. And the Word be to God. Again - be, for the sake of those who speak blasphemously that the Son did not exist. Where was the Word? Not in place, because the infinite is not encompassed by place. Where was it? At God's. The Father is not in a place, and the Son is not contained in any volume or in a certain outline; but just as the Father is infinite, so is the Son. Whatever you imagine with your mind, wherever you go with your spirit: you will find that everything is filled with God - you will find that the Hypostasis of the Son is spread out everywhere. And God had the Word. Marvel at the accuracy of each statement. (The Evangelist) did not say: “in God” was the Word, but with God, in order to depict the distinctive property of the Hypostasis, he did not say: “in God,” so as not to give rise to the merging of the Hypostasis. For this blasphemy is also evil when they try to confuse everything - when they say that one subject is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, but one subject is given different names. This wickedness is deceitful: no one should avoid it, just like those who blasphemously claim that the Son of God is not essentially like God and the Father. This has been with God since time immemorial. The Evangelist again, in a few utterances, briefly sets out all his theology that he conveyed to us about the Only Begotten. Who is Sey? This Word is God. For when he brought the concept of Him to the correctness in you, through teaching, as it were, imprinted the unknown in your soul, and instilled the Word of Christ in your heart, then he says: This. Which Sey? Do not turn your gaze outward, losing sight of the One who is shown to you by this indicative saying; but enter into the secret place of your soul, and about Whom it was taught that He is God who exists in the beginning, who came into being as the Word and who exists with God - having known Him, having marveled at Him, and having worshiped your Master, established in you through the teaching, know that He was not from time immemorial, that is, always with God His Father. Keep these few sayings as a seal in your memory. They will be an unbreakable wall against the aspirations of those who slander; they are a saving barrier for souls from attackers. Will someone come to you and say: “He who is not was born, for if he was, then how was he born”? - You, like a demonic voice, run away from this blasphemy against the glory of the Only Begotten, and return yourself and resort to the Gospel sayings: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was to God, and God was the Word. This has been with God since time immemorial. Say four times: you were not and you will reflect it to them: you were not... May these foundations of faith be unshakable! Amen. 2 In Abbreviation. See Curs. Compl. Patrolog. edit. Migne, volume XXXI, col. 471–482; cf.: Works of St. Basil the Great, ed. Moscow Spirit. Academician 1892, part IV, pp. 245–253; Church Led. 1890, no. 14–15. You might be interested in: