Поучение на преславный день Рождества Христова. Из древнего сборника (XVII в.) „Статир»

This day, beloved, is a day of light and joy, a day of joy and bright triumph, a day of grace and ineffable gifts. Now "glory in the highest" Angels sing, "and on earth peace" the shepherds play on flutes. Bethlehem receives glory, and the den is filled with inaccessible light; a manger is set up for the throne of the King. The Virgin is likened to the Cherubim and the earthly one becomes the Mother of the incomprehensible God. The star shows the way to the Magi and brings kings from Persis. Now Christ has been born - and the whole world has been enlightened, heaven has been united with earth, the mediastinum of the fence has been destroyed, and God has been reconciled with men. Now the Wonderful One is wrapped in swaddling clothes and the Eternal One is infancy in the flesh. Truly, this is a terrible vision and a terrible hearing! Archangels, now reclining in a thin manger, and before Him are an ox and a donkey. Oh, the ineffable mystery! Oh, the wondrous dispensation! The terrible God has now descended to earth so that the inhabitants of the earth may ascend to heaven. The Lord of Angels takes the form of a slave in order to free humanity from bitter work and unite it with the angelic world in the light of unceasing joy. The Son of God becomes the son of the Virgin in order to bestow on people the sonship of God: the Most Rich One became poor, so that we might become rich in His Divinity; The Most High humbled His majesty so that we might ascend in His glory. And therefore, come, lovers of Christ, let us rejoice with glorious joy: for our salvation is at hand, the gift of eternal life, incorruptibility renewal, through the coming and birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us sing with joy the song of Damascus: “Come, let us rejoice in the Lord, telling the real mystery,” - the great mystery of God’s Providence, now revealed, foretold for many centuries, hidden in God alone. His face with wings (Isaiah 6:2), now uncontrollably seen, the Angels, with amazement, see His Lord appearing in the flesh, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger and feeding on milk. This is the One who rained down manna in the desert, brought water out of the stone, flooded the seas and rivers, brought forth springs from the abysses of the earth, brought down rivers in the midst of the mountains. gives water to the beasts of the field. Truly, a wonderful and wondrous mystery: how the Lord of heaven and earth put on corruptible flesh; the invisible has become visible to all; Unapproachable for the highest ranks of Angels, mortal men stand with great courage: tax collectors and sinners talk with Him, harlots touch His most holy feet. This is because He hid the glory of His Divinity, which He received from the Father in a timeless, original and incomprehensible manner not only for people, but also for the heavenly Powers themselves. He appeared in our weak flesh, which he received from the Most Pure Virgin Mary. He is a perfect God and a perfect man; born from the Father invisibly and eternally, from the Mother visible and tangible; from the Father He received the glory of the Divine, from the Mother humble poverty, mortal flesh. And thus, the Son of God appeared on earth and lived with men (Baruch 3:38). And the word became flesh and dwelt in us, and we saw His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father (John 1:14). “He is the radiance of the glory of the Father, the mark of His Hypostasis, the image of goodness,” says St. Gregory the Theologian, for our salvation, exhausted Himself, became incarnate and was born of a Virgin without a father, as he was born of a Father without a mother, bowed down to the manger, but was glorified by the Angels, announced by the Star, and honored with worship by the Magi. May the heavens now rejoice for the sake of the Heavenly, and the earth for the sake of the Earthly. Christ became incarnate: rejoice with trembling and love - with trembling for sins, with love for hope. Christ is from the Virgin: mothers, be virgins, that you may be mothers of Christ. Christ is in heaven: people, sing! Christ on earth: Angels, praise. Christ is in the manger: the shepherds praise; Christ is in swaddling clothes: the Magi worship, and the human race is clothed in its former incorruptible clothing, clothed in the robe of immortality.” Now an angel brings us good news of great joy: for a Savior has been born to us (Luke 2:4). The prophets command: all the nations clasp their hands, shout with a voice of joy: for the Great God and the King of glory of all the earth (Psalm 47:1, 3) now, as a Child has been born to us, a Son has been given to us (Isaiah 9:6). The Baptist John calls: prepare the way of the Lord (John 1:23). Now the darkness has been dispelled, and the light has shone; Now the eternal mystery has been revealed: people sitting in darkness have seen a great light (Is. 9:2). Oh, who will not worship Jehovah from the beginning! Who will not glorify Him? O glorious mystery! Oh, inscrutable depth! How does the Ethereal One incarnate! The word becomes white, the invisible is seen, the intangible is touched, the flightless begins. The Son of God is the Son of the Virgin, Jesus Christ is today, the same and forever (Heb. 13:8). Let Herod rage, the Jews are tempted, the Greeks laugh, the heretics are sick with their tongues; and we rejoice and triumph brightly: for the Son of God became man in order to make the sons of men sons of God, not through a change in nature, but through the assimilation of His grace. Rejoice, human race! For after your expulsion from the paradise of sweetness, you wandered for many centuries in the darkness of this age, and were cast into dust and ashes; and now I have received freedom through the Nativity of the Savior. Return now from the land of bitter exile to the fatherland of glory, to the paradise of sweetness, to the merciful Father. He was previously angry with the Judge; and now he accepts you as a Father, and not only frees you from fear, but also makes you His son, and brings you into the rest of His kingdom, and gives you all the gifts of heaven. Therefore, I beseech you, beloved, and give you my advice: let us put off the oldness of sin and put on the new robe of righteousness. Just as in Adam we all died and fell into corruption: so in Christ we will come to life, be freed from death and receive incorruptible life. Our forefathers received sadness instead of bliss, and fell from a better state into a worse one; and we will receive joy instead of sadness, we will move from bitter to sweet. For for you, man, the very Word of the Father is eternal, invisible, incomprehensible, incorporeal, from the Beginning - the beginning, from the Light light, the source of life and immortality, the image of the beginning-like goodness, the immovable seal, the unchanging image of the Father, fits into your image, accepts flesh for my flesh, and unites with the rational soul for my soul, like like heals and cleanses. He takes on our image to restore the decayed image of Adam. From Adam came Eve, the author of oaths and crimes; from the Virgin Mary is born Christ, the intercessor of blessing and salvation. There is a serpent on a tree: here is Christ on the cross. There is food that produces death: here there is food that exudes life. The forefathers despised faith and reason, and saw that they were naked: but now we look reverently and see that they are clothed. There is nakedness and shame: here is clothing and enlightenment. There, leather garments cover our shame; here the garment of glory covers our weakness; here is the body of the King and Lord Himself, the royal garment. Eliza, says Scripture, was baptized into Christ, put on Christ (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). It says: you are earth and you will go back to earth (Gen. 3:19); and here the Creator, having renewed the earth, creates a new man, and promises him not the earth, but the kingdom of heaven. There, a flaming weapon blocked Adam’s entrance to paradise: here “The Cherub retreats from the tree of life, the flaming weapon gives splashes.” O man, I tell you again: understand how great this day is, and how much has been given to you by the birth of Christ. The great God, the mighty King, the terrible Ruler, descended into extreme poverty, from greatness into humiliation, from heaven to earth, and with His flesh destroyed the mediastinum, made the earth heaven, and men angels. And thus, the earth received God from heaven, and heaven from earth - man, - and both united into one: heaven with earth, Divinity with humanity; The Divinity did not change into flesh, but put on humanity. O man, know your worth. For you, God, the Wonderful One, has taken on flesh. Whom no one had seen or could see before, You now see Him and are filled with His grace. Now He is covered with a human vision, whose presence Mount Sinai once could not endure, but flared up with fire, smoked with smoke, and was all shaking from thunder and the voice of God. Then the Israelites said that they did not want to hear the words of the Lord, so as not to die of fear. Now He humbled himself to the form of a servant and became “like the Young Child.” For the Savior came to renew His creation and crown it with all goodness. He came and stood between God and people, as an intercessor and mediator, as equal to the Father in Divinity. Through this He did not lose His glory, but still received greater glory. Before His appearance He was glorified by the Angels; and now he is glorified by angels, and by men, and by every creature. So the Church now sings: “Rejoice, righteous ones, rejoice in the heavens, leap up the mountains, Christ was born. The Virgin sits like the Cherubim, bearing in the depths of God the Word incarnate.” However, this mystery does not endure testing. By faith we accept the birth of Christ, let us worship, and glorify, and cry out: "Christ is born: glorify! Christ comes from heaven: come out to meet Him. Let us celebrate not in a worldly way, but in a worldly way." The Great Gregory, a high theologian, a heavenly spectator, an eloquent fortress, a loud trumpet, says this: "We will not crown the thresholds of houses, we will not only compose the faces, But we will not decorate the streets, we will not satisfy the sight, but we will delight the ear, we will not refine the fragrance, we will not indulge the taste, we will not satisfy the sense of touch, we will not adorn ourselves with gold, we will not smear ourselves with rubbish, lying to nature and to the true image, we will not spend our time in feasts and drunkenness, we will not prepare high gifts, we will not worry about the pleasure of the belly: for all this happens among the pagans. But we will glorify Christ. with the Angels, with the shepherds we will sing, with the wise men we will take pity on the poor, we will feed the hungry, we will give drink to the thirsty, we will clothe the naked, we will bring the strange into our homes. Let us accept Him in the form of a beggar now wandering among us on earth. Then He will clothe us with the robe of incorruptibility, the robe of immortality, and will lead us into the palace of glory, where He Himself reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen 83. “Russian preacher of the seventeenth century and several articles from his work: “Statir”. – Edition archpriest. I. Yakhontova. St. Petersburg. 1883, countries. 33–39. You might be interested in: