Слово на Святую Пасху. Святого Григория, епископа Нисского 6

If any blessing given to the (ancient) patriarchs by the Spirit of God was confirmed, if any prototype of the truth in historical fortune-telling was believed by the righteous, if any prophetic voice preached about the supernatural: then all this refers to real grace. From each of the Divinely inspired instructions one can borrow something befitting a real celebration. Here is the blessed Saturday of the first Universe (Genesis 2:3): on that Saturday, know this Saturday, this day of rest, which God blessed above all other days. On this day, the Only Begotten God truly rested from all His works, resting a saving death in the flesh and through the resurrection returning to where he was - becoming life, resurrection, east and day for those sitting in darkness and the hay of death (Is. 9:2). (Sacred) history is full of examples of such blessings. The father of Isaac, who did not spare this beloved son, and the only begotten son, who became an offering and a sacrifice, and the lamb slain in his place (Gen. 22:1-13) - in this story one can see the whole mystery of piety (1 Tim. 3:16). The Lamb hung on the tree, held by its horns, and the only begotten carried the wood for the burnt offering: do you see here how He Himself bears all things with the verb of His power (Heb. 1:3) and carries the burden of our wood (i.e., sins) and ascends onto the tree, bearing like God and ascending like the Lamb? Thus, the Holy Spirit prophetically distributed the great mystery between both, between the beloved son and the lamb indicated with him, in order to show in the lamb the mystery of death, and in the only begotten life indestructible by death. If you take as an example Moses, who with outstretched arms depicts a cross and with this very image puts Amalek to flight (Ex. 17:11-13), then now you can see the implementation of this prototype - see Amalek struck by the cross... We receive the most obvious and clear indication (of the grace of the present day) from the Prophet, through whom the great mystery is clearly represented: namely, from Jonah, who was harmlessly swallowed up by the whale and painlessly came out of it, and who, by remaining in the belly of the whale, for three days and the same number of nights, prescribed the stay of the Lord in hell ( Jonah 2:1-11) In the present triumph, all the law and the prophets hang (i.e., are confirmed), as the Gospel is expressed nowhere (Matthew 22:40), - and every God-inspired word and law, according to the word (Apostle) Paul, are led (summarized) in this grace (2 Tim. 3:16): for here is the end of evils and the beginning of good. Just as from the time of Adam death reigned, and its evil power continued until Moses (Rom. 5:14), since the law could not refute its destructive power: so (now) the kingdom of life has come and the power of death has been destroyed, another birth has come - not from blood, nor from carnal lust, but from God (John 1:13). The great Zechariah foresaw this beginning of a change for the better and was perplexed as to what to call it: for, listing other miracles related to suffering, he also says about this time that it is neither day nor night (Zech. 14:7). This time (which, according to the saying of the Prophet, is neither a day like other days, nor a night like other nights) is the day the Lord created (Ps. 117:24), - a different day, different from the days created in the beginning (Gen. 1:5): for on this day the Lord makes a new heaven and a new earth (Is. 65:17). In this creation, true man is created, in the image and likeness of God. Today mortal diseases have been resolved, and the Firstborn has risen from the dead, the iron gates of death have been destroyed, the copper locks of hell have been broken; now the prison of death is opened, now release is preached to the captives, now sight is given to the blind (Isa. 61:1), now the East from above visits those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death (Luke 1:78, 79). Do you want to know anything about the three-day period (the resurrection of Christ)? For the Almighty Wisdom, which was in the heart of the earth, such a short period of time was enough for the Lord for the great mind dwelling in the earth to become foolish: for that is what the Prophet calls him - a great mind and a prince of Assyria (Is. 10:12). Since the heart is a kind of dwelling of the mind, then the Lord enters into the heart of the earth, which is a kind of dwelling of the mind, in order to fool its advice (Is. 19:11), to catch the wise one in his wisdom and destroy his cunning tricks (Job 5:13). It was impossible for the Prince of Darkness to touch the pure light without seeing some part of the flesh in it. But, having seen the God-bearing flesh and the miracles it produced, characteristic of the Divine, he had the hope that if he conquered the flesh by death, he would also conquer all the power that was in it. So, he grabbed the bait of the flesh, but was caught by the hook of the Deity and, thus, this serpent was pulled out by the hook (Job 40:20). For this reason, true Wisdom visits the eloquent heart of the earth in order to destroy in it the great mind in evil and enlighten the darkness - so that the mortal will be swallowed up by life, and evil will turn into insignificance, after the destruction of the last enemy, which is death (1 Cor. 15:26). This is what has been accomplished for you in three days. Do you want to know the might of the force that has accomplished (so much) in such a short time? Count all the past generations of people, starting from the first appearance of evil in the world: how many thousands of people are in each generation and in all in total? It is not possible to determine by number the multitudes of whom evil spread successively, and, moreover, in such a way that the evil wealth of corruption, falling to the share of each (person), was increased by each and, multiplied in this way, passed on to constantly emerging generations, developing through the multitude of people ad infinitum, until, having reached the most extreme limit, it took possession of all human nature (as the Prophet directly said about everyone in general: all who have deviated, together without the keys Ps. 13:3), and there is nothing left in existence that is not an instrument of evil. So, what little proof of His superior power has He presented to you, Who in three days destroyed such an accumulation of evil, which had accumulated from the creation of the world until the accomplishment of our salvation through the death of the Lord? Isn't this stronger than all the miracles mentioned in history? Just as Sampson’s miracle is especially great in that he not only defeated the lion, but also easily killed it with his naked hands: so the fact that the Lord destroyed such great evil without any difficulty is the strongest proof of His excellent power. It was not the streams of immeasurable waters that poured onto the earth from the heavenly abysses, not the abysses that protruded from their limits and covered the earth with seas, not the fiery rains that cleansed the corrupt with flames (in the likeness of Sodom), and not anything else similar to this, but one simple, incomprehensible phenomenon of life and the presence of Light between those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death produced the perfect extermination and destruction of darkness and death. Evil was born in the earth (John 8:44), then the woman was deceived by the cunning of the serpent (2 Cor. 11:3), and after this the husband was defeated from the wife; and since evil has filled three - the devilish nature, the nature of women and the entire race of husbands, then, as if in accordance with this, evil is destroyed within three days. (Do not be surprised that the creation of good is distributed over certain distances of time: for even at the first creation of the world, although the power of God could instantly complete everything that exists, however, for the creation of what exists, temporary distances were assigned, and God completed all creation on certain days). If you want to know exactly the specific duration of the days of suffering (since the number will not be small if you begin to count the time from the ninth hour of Friday, at which the Lord gave the spirit into the hands of the Father): then heed the saying of the Lord: no one will take My soul from Me, but I lay it down for myself: the area the Imam will lay down, and the area the Imam will again receive (John 10:17-18). The ruler of everything with the Sovereign autocracy does not expect the need to (die) from betrayal, from the attack of the Jews and from the lawless court of Pilate, so that their malice would be the beginning and cause of the universal salvation of people; but by His order, in an ineffable and invisible way for people, the sacrifice prevents the attack and sacrifices Himself for us, as a priest, and together, as the Lamb of God, takes away the debts of the world (John 1:29). When is this? When, offering His poisoned body for food, He clearly showed that the sacrifice of the Lamb had already been completed: for the sacrificial body would not have been suitable for eating if it had still been animated. So, when the Lord gave the disciples a body to eat and blood to drink, then at that time His body, by the will and power of the Master of the Sacrament, was already ineffably and invisibly sacrificed, and the soul was where the power of the Secret Accomplisher had determined it to be, that is, it occupied a place in the heart of the earth, being together in union with the Divine power. Therefore, whoever begins to count the time of three days from the hour when the sacrifice was made to God by the great Bishop, who inexpressibly and invisibly sacrificed Himself as a Lamb for common sin, will not sin against the truth. When this sacred and holy body was consumed, it was evening, and this evening was followed by the night before Friday. Further, the day of Friday, cut by the induced night, is divided into one night and two days [for if God called the darkness night (Gen. 1:5): and for three hours there was darkness throughout the entire universe (Mk. 15:33): then this darkness, which occurred in the middle of the day, was night, dividing the day into two parts, one from the morning until the sixth hour, and the other from the ninth hour until the evening], so that until this time there were two nights and two days; then - the night before Saturday and, after it, the day of Saturday. Here's to you - three days and three nights! Finally, find the hour of resurrection, and you will see the truth of what was said. Saturday evening (Matthew 28:1) - this is the hour of resurrection according to the voice of the angel; This is the limit of the Lord’s presence in the heart of the earth. In fact, when deep evening had already arrived, which began the night that was followed by one of the Sabbaths, then an earthquake occurred, and an angel in shining robes rolled away the stone from the tomb, and the women, who rose shortly before the morning, when some of the radiance of the rising sun appeared, announced the resurrection that had already taken place. They learned about the miracle (of the resurrection of the Myrrh-Bearer), but the hour was not revealed to them: because the angel told them that the Lord had risen, and when he did not add in his word; but the great Matthew, one of all the evangelists, accurately indicated the time, saying that Saturday evening was the hour of resurrection. So, we have determined the time of three days and three nights, if we count the time from the evening of Heels to the evening of Saturday, so that an incomplete night, as it is said, divides the heels into two days and one night [for He who had the power to lay down His life upon Himself and to receive it again had the power, as the Creator of ages (Heb. 1:2), and not to be enslaved to time through works, but to order the time in accordance with the works]. It is natural for the more inquisitive to ask: “how could the Lord at the same time be in the heart of the earth, in paradise with the thief and in the hands of the Father”? And truly, He (the Lord) says to the Pharisees: just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days (Matthew 12:40), - to the thief: today you will be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:43), - and to the Father: in Your hand I commend My spirit (Luke 23:43). 23:46). But there is neither heaven in hell, nor hell in heaven, so that therefore, at the same time, one could be in both or call them the hands of the Father. How was it that the Lord was in both hell and heaven at the same time? – One answer to this question is that there is nothing inaccessible to God, in Him all things are found (Col. 1:17), and the other is that even during the time of saving suffering God was not separated from any of the parts (neither body nor soul) with which he was once united: unrepentant for the gift of God (Rom. 11:29). Although the Divine voluntarily separated the soul from the body, it nevertheless revealed His presence in both: for with the body, which did not accept the corruption of death, it abolished the one who had the power of death (Heb. 2:14), but with the soul it opened the entrance to paradise for the thief, and both of these deeds were accomplished at the same time. So, since the human composition is dual, and the Divine nature is simple and united: then even during the separation of body and soul, the inseparable was not divided with the combined, but, on the contrary, remains one and the same (for by the unity of the Divine nature, equally inherent in both body and soul, the disparate was again united together, and thus, from the separation of the united, death came, and from the union of the divided, resurrection). If you ask: “how, being in paradise, the Lord gives Himself into the hands of the Father,” then the great Isaiah (the prophet) will explain to you what you are looking for. About the heavenly Jerusalem, which (as we believe) is nothing other than paradise, Isaiah speaks on behalf of God like this: Your walls are written in My hands (Isaiah 49:16). If Jerusalem, which is paradise, is written in the hands of the Father, then it is obvious that whoever is in paradise is certainly in the hands of the Father, on which this Divine city is written. Let us briefly talk about what we hear from the Jews who strongly attack our teaching. They say that in the Passover ordinance the Jews were commanded by Moses not only to observe the fourteenth day of the first month, but also to eat unleavened bread for seven days and to season this unleavened bread with bitter herbs (Ex. 12:8–18). “So,” say the Jews, “since the legislator is one and the same, then, of course, one cannot be considered just and beneficial for the soul, and the other unhelpful and unnecessary, and it is necessary - either to fulfill everything commanded for us about Easter, or not to adhere to anything.” What do we say to this? Let us remember that the Lord taught us not to be afraid of reproach from people and not to be embarrassed by their slander (Matthew 5:11). We know the spiritual benefits of keeping unleavened bread, the benefits of bitter herbs and the fourteenth day - and in what sense, let's consider. The law, the son of future blessings (Heb. 10:1), has in mind primarily one goal, as if through various decrees to cleanse a person from the evil mixed with him. This is the purpose of circumcision, the purpose of the Sabbath, the purpose of keeping food, - various sacrifices, - keeping everything commanded in the law. Therefore, just as through circumcision (performed spiritually) our nature puts aside passions, being truncated in the life of the flesh - just as through sabbath keeping it learns not to do evil - just as through the slaughter of animals it learns to temper passions (and the legalized separation of unclean things in relation to food encourages you to shun the filthy and unclean life): so this very holiday points you to the holiday for which the soul is preparing through unleavened bread for seven days abstaining from eating leaven. The fortune-telling meaning of these days is this: the septenary number of days indicates to you this transitory time, returning weekly, during which you must carefully take care that by the coming day nothing is left of yesterday’s evil, so that the remnant of yesterday’s evil does not produce any kvass or acid in today’s mixture. Let not the sun go down on your anger (Eph. 4:26), says the Apostle, who commands the celebration not in the leaven of alcohol, nor in the leaven of malice and wickedness, but in the unleavened purity and truth. (1 Cor. 5:8); and what we have learned about one type of evil, then, as we know, applies to other types of it (evil). As for the use of bitter herbs, bitterness drives out laziness and relaxation in life, and introduces a life of abstinence, strict and unpleasant for the senses: therefore, any punishment at the present time does not seem to be a joy to be, but sorrow (Heb. 12:11). So, whoever, throughout the entire week of this life, always spends the present day without the admixture and leaven of old malice, making abstinence the seasoning of life, he removes from himself every admixture of darkness. The fourteenth day of the lunar course indicates this: what happens to sensory light when the admixture of darkness is not allowed all night and all day, the spiritual law wants to make it a symbol for spiritually celebrating - so that they make the entire week of life - the entire time of their lives - one Easter, bright and not associated with darkness. This is the meaning of the resolution regarding Easter for Christians. We look at the fourteenth day in such a way that by this sensory and material light we mean immaterial and mental light, and while we apparently pay attention to the full moon, illuminating us with continuous light throughout the night, in fact we see here a law for ourselves: so that all time, measured by night and day, we should have continuous light and not be involved in the works of darkness. And who can sufficiently explain the mystery of the cross, which served as the instrument of the Savior’s suffering? Indeed, how many other ways were there by which He could have fulfilled His counsel regarding suffering for us! And yet, of all (the methods), He desired and chose this one, as He Himself predicted, speaking of Himself: befitting the Son of Man. .. Notice how He says here: He does not simply and in general terms predict His sufferings, as someone else would do, but, out of some mysterious necessity, He designates and, as it were, legitimizes for Himself one kind of death: it is fitting for the Son of Man to suffer many things... and to be drunk, and to rise on the third day (Luke 9:22; 24:7). Delve into the meaning of this befitting, and you will see that it contains, precisely, something that does not allow any other kind of death other than the cross. What is the reason for this? One (Apostle) Paul, caught up in the portals of paradise and hearing inexpressible verbs in them, can explain it - can interpret this mystery of the cross, as he did in part in the letter to the Ephesians, saying: that you may be able to understand with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height: understand the love of Christ that surpasses understanding, so that you may be filled to all fulfilment God (Eph. 3:18,19). It is not arbitrary, of course, that the Divine gaze of the Apostle contemplates and draws here the image of the cross. Miraculously purified from the darkness of ignorance, this gaze clearly saw into the very truth of the thing: because in the outline consisting of four protrusions connected in the middle, he (the Apostle) sees the all-encompassing power and wondrous providence of the One who deigns to appear in him to the world. That is why the Apostle assigns a special name to each of the parts of this outline, and it is the one that descends from the middle that he calls depth, and the one going upward - height, and both stretched across - latitude and longitude; By this he clearly wants to express that everything that is in the universe, whether above the heavens, in the underworld, or on earth from one end to the other, all of this lives and abides by the mania of the Divine, under the shadow of the cross. Let the proof of what has been said be what happens in your soul when you think about God: for look at the sky and embrace the “underworld” with your mind, and also stretch your mental gaze from one end of the earth to the other, and at the same time think about that mighty focus by which all this is connected and contained - and then in your soul the outline of a cross will naturally be imagined, extending its ends from top to bottom and from one end of the earth to another. The great David also sang this image (of the cross) in the following conversation with himself: Where shall I go from Thy Spirit? and will I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to heaven (this is height), there You are; if I descend into hell (this is depth), there You are: if I take my wings early, that is, at dawn, from the east of the sun (this is latitude), and dwell in the last seas - and the Jews called the sea the west (this is longitude), and there Your hand will guide me (Ps. 138:7–10). Do you see how David depicts the mark of the cross here? “You are,” he says to God, “the One who exists everywhere, who connects everything with you and contains everything within you; You are above and You are below, Your hand is on the right hand and Your hand is on the left.” For the same reason, the Divine Apostle says that at the time when everything is full of faith and knowledge, He who is above every name will be called upon and worshiped in the name of Jesus Christ from those in heaven, on earth and under the earth (Eph. 1:21; Phil. 2:10). For these reasons, the Lord not only said: it is fitting for the Son of Man to die, but: to be drunk, - that is, in order to show the most contemplative of theologians that in the image of the cross is hidden the omnipotent power of the One who rested on him and was pleased, and the cross appears in every possible way in everything. Let us not keep silent, brothers, about the noble adviser, Joseph of Arimathea, who, having received the gift - the most pure and holy Body of the Lord, wrapped it in a clean shroud and laid it in a new tomb. Let the act of this noble adviser be a law for us, so that we, in the same way, when we accept the gift of the Body (of Christ), do not accept it in the defiled shroud of conscience and do not place it in the stinking tomb of the heart, from dead bones and all uncleanness. But, as the Apostle commands, let everyone examine himself, so that grace is not unworthy of condemnation for the one who receives it (1 Cor. 11:28–29). We will not be left behind the wives (Myrrh-Bearers). Let there be in our hands the aromas of faith and (good) conscience (1 Tim. 1:19), because they are the fragrance of Christ. Let us no longer seek the living with the dead: for the one who seeks in this way is rejected by the Lord, saying: Do not touch Me (John 20:17), but when I ascend to the Father, then you can touch. Let us heed what the wife also says, who warned her husband by faith (and did this well, so that by foreshadowing in good, she would be justified in causing evil). What is the wife's gospel? Truly, neither of man nor by man, but Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:1): for she (the Myrrh-Bearer) says: “Listen to what the Lord commanded us to say to you, whom He calls His brethren: I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (John 20:17). Oh, pleasant and good news! He who became like us for us (so that, having become homogeneous with us, He would make us His brethren), brings His humanity to the true Father, so that those who follow the Son through adoption would not be rejected and deprived of the paternal inheritance. He who through the incarnation made Himself the firstborn of many brethren (Rom. 8:29) attracted all creation, which He partook of in the flesh that He took upon Himself.... - But whereas the unleavened bread before Passover was seasoned with bitterness, we see that after the resurrection the bread is seasoned with some sweet food. Do you see, when Peter caught fish, bread and honeycombs were in the hands of the Lord (Luke 24:42)? Think about what the bitterness of life will change for you... So, we too, having risen from the fishing of words, will now approach the bread, sweetened with the honeycomb of good hope in Christ Jesus the Lord, to whom be glory and dominion with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen 7. Abbreviated as Curs. Compl. Patrolog. edit. Migne, Tom. XLVI, col. 599–628: cf. Creations of St. Gregory of Nyssa in Russian. transl., ed. 1871, part VIII, pp. 26–55; Christian Read 1841, part II, pp. 3–39. You might be interested in: