Слово на Святую Пасху. (Что есть таинство воскресения Христова? Как в нас бывает воскресение Христово, и как вместе с сим бывает воскресение души?) Преподобного Симеона Нового Богослова 63

My beloved brothers! The joyful day of the Resurrection of Christ has come, Easter has come, visiting us once a year, and for those who understand the mystery of the resurrection, which happens every day and even continuously, it has come and filled our hearts with all sorts of joy and inexplicable consolation, not only because it stopped the work of all-honorable fasting, but more so because it showed our souls perfected through that work and called all the faithful to rest and thanksgiving, as you can see. So, let us give thanks to Christ the Lord, who made us worthy to cross the sea of ​​fasting and led us with joy into the harbor of the Resurrection: let us give thanks to everyone - both those who completed the course of fasting in exploits of virtues, with zeal and a warm disposition, and those who were not so courageous and were cowardly in their exploits, due to spiritual corruption. For He also gives crowns and rewards to zealous ascetics, even much more than they should, - again, He, as merciful and humane, shows condescension to the weakest, since He looks more at the disposition and will of our souls than at the bodily labors with which we exercise and strive in virtue (and thus, according to the zeal of each, He distributes the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or makes someone for zealous deeds to the famous and glorious, or leaves him still in humiliation, as one who needs even more deeds for complete purification). But let us think and explore more precisely what is the mystery of the resurrection of Christ our God, which mystery also happens in us if we desire it, and how Christ is buried within us (as in a tomb), how He is united with our souls, how He is resurrected in us and, together with Him, resurrects us. Christ our God, after being hanged on the cross and nailing the sin of the whole world to it, died, descended into the depths of hell, - then, rising from hell, again entered His immaculate body, and immediately rose from the dead - and, finally, ascended to heaven with much power and glory. In the same way, now, when we, leaving worldly vanity, upon confessing the passion of Christ the Lord, enter into the tomb of repentance and humility, He Himself descends from heaven, enters our body (as into a tomb), unites with our souls and resurrects them, dead in sins, and having resurrected gives us the grace to see the glory of this mysterious resurrection. Thus, the resurrection of Christ is also the resurrection of us who have fallen into sin and are dead. The Resurrection and glory of Christ is (as we said) our own resurrection, which happens, is manifested and seen in us through His resurrection, performed by Him in us. The resurrection of the soul is its unity with Life: for just as a dead body, if it does not accept a living soul inside itself and does not unmerge with it, cannot live alone by itself, so the soul cannot live true and eternal Life by itself, unless in an inexpressible way it unites unmerged with God. The soul, despite the fact that it is immaterial and immortal by nature, is dead and insensible before it is united with Christ - before it sees that it has united with Him and has risen - before it knows and feels: for there is no knowledge without vision, nor vision without feeling (i.e., before someone sees a thing, and, seeing it, knows, and then he feels). In relation to the physical, feeling can occur without vision (as, for example, a blind man, having tripped his foot on a stone, feels pain); in the spiritual, if the mind does not come to a state of contemplation in order to contemplate what is beyond understanding, then it cannot feel the mysterious influence from that influence. So, the one who says that he feels the spiritual before he comes into a state of contemplation of what is above the mind, words and thoughts is like a blind man who feels the good and evil that he experiences, but does not know what is under his hands and feet, and what can live or kill him, because he does not have eyes to see and know it. Therefore, how many times does it happen that he raises the rod to hit the enemy, but hits his friend, despite the fact that the enemy is standing in front of him and mocking him. Many, many believe in the Resurrection of Christ, but there are few who see it purely; those who do not see the resurrection of Christ in this way cannot worship Jesus Christ as Lord. The sacred song, which we often have in our mouths, says: Having seen the Resurrection of Christ (not “believing”, but what? - The Resurrection of Christ), let us worship the Holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless one. How does the Holy Spirit move us to sing: Having seen the Resurrection of Christ, that is, that we saw the resurrection of Christ - when we did not see it, since Christ was resurrected more than a thousand years ago, and even then no one saw how He was resurrected? With these words, the church hymn commanded us to proclaim the perfect truth, recalling the resurrection of Christ, which happens in each of us, the faithful, and is luminous, shining with the radiance of His incorruptible Divinity. The luminous presence of the Spirit indicates the resurrection of the Lord that has taken place in us, and even more, it gives us the grace to see the Risen Christ the Lord Himself. That is why we sing: God is the Lord and has appeared to us, and, wanting to show His second coming, we add after that: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. So, in those in whom the risen Christ appeared, He is, of course, both spiritually visible and seen with spiritual eyes: for when Christ comes into us thanks to the Holy Spirit, He raises us from the dead, as we were before, and gives us life, and makes us see Himself alive in ourselves, the Immortal and Incorruptible. And not only this, but He gives us such grace that we clearly recognize how He resurrects us and glorifies us with Himself (as all Divine Scripture attests). Such is the hidden power of our faith, which non-believers, people of little faith, or, better said, half-faiths who have half faith, do not see and cannot see. Unbelievers, people of little faith and half-faith are those who do not show their faith by deeds. Without works, even demons believe and confess Christ that He is God. We know that demons often cried out: for You are the Son of God (Mark 3:11); at other times they shouted about the Apostles: these men are the servants of the Most High God (Acts 16:17). But such faith does not help either demons or people, and there is no benefit from such faith, because, as the Apostle says, it is dead: faith without works is dead (James 2:20), just as faith, on the contrary, advances works (James 2:22). Why is such faith dead? - Because it does not have within itself the Life-giving God, - that it does not acquire within itself Christ, who said: if anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and I and the Father will come to him and make an abode with him (John 14:23), so that by His presence we can raise from the dead the one who acquires such an active faith, revive him and let him see Christ Himself, risen in him and his resurrected. This is why faith without works is dead, or better said, those who have faith without works are dead. True faith in God is always alive and life-giving to those who approach it and accept it with good will. She, before the actual fulfillment of the commandments of Christ, brought many from death to the stomach and showed them Christ and God - and if after that they had remained in His commandments and kept them even to death, they would have been preserved by these commandments the same as in the beginning they became one faith. But as they changed in their dispositions and fell again into their former sins, they lost their faith and righteously lost the true spiritual wealth that is Christ. May we not suffer from this either. Let us, I pray, keep the commandments of Christ as much as we have, in order to be worthy of both present and future blessings, that is, the sight of Christ the Lord Himself, which may be granted to all of us by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Him be glory forever. Amen 64. See the words of Rev. Simeon the New Theologian, translated. into Russian language from modern Greek. Bishop Feofan. Vol. I. Moscow. 1882, pp. 315–320. Word forty-two. You might be interested in: