Слово на Богоявление Господне. Святого Григория Богослова, архиепископа Константинопольского

The Holy Day of Lights, which we have achieved and which we are now worthy to celebrate, began with the baptism of Christ, the true light, which enlightens every person coming into the world (John 1:9), - it cleanses me and revives that light that we once received from above, but then darkened and weakened by sin. So, listen to the Divine voice, which is heard very loudly for me, the seer (of Divine things) and the secret guide: I am the light of the world (John 8:12); Therefore, approach it and be enlightened, and your faces, marked by the highest light, will not be ashamed (Psalm 33:6). Now is the time of revival: let us be born again! Now is the time of restoration: let us put on the first Adam again! Let us not remain in the state in which we are, but let us become what we were before. The light shines in darkness, in the darkness of real life and the flesh: darkness pursues it, but does not embrace it (John 1:5), that is, a hostile force relentlessly pursues the visible Adam, but meets with God - and is overcome by Him, so that we, having left the darkness, approach the light, then become perfect light, sons of the unevening light. Look, then, at the grace of this day and at the power of this sacrament. Are you not lifted up from the earth? have you not been raised to heights by our word and guidance? But you will ascend even higher when real speech is facilitated by the Divine Word. Was this a legal and transformative cleansing, the whole benefit of which consisted in temporary sprinkling and cleansing of the youth defiled by the ashes? Were these the sacraments of the pagans? Pagan rites and sacraments are absurdities, a dark invention of demons, an invention of a depraved mind, created by time and covered with fabulous stories. And let the pagans and demons, who drove the former to such madness, amuse themselves with these absurdities. And since we have been given the opportunity to avoid superstitious delusion, enjoy the truth, serve the living and true God, and rise above creation and everything temporary and changing, then we must reason and reflect on God and the Divine. So, let us begin to reflect, starting with the most decent subject. It is best to start with what Solomon commanded us, saying: the beginning of wisdom is to acquire wisdom (Proverbs 4:7) - and calling the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). Therefore, we should not begin with contemplation and end with fear (for unbridled contemplation can soon cast us down from the heights), but should only ascend to the heights when, through fear, we have accepted the initial knowledge, purified ourselves and, so to speak, refined ourselves. For where there is fear, there is the preservation of the commandments, and where there is the preservation of the commandments, there is the cleansing of the flesh, which, like a cloud, darkens the soul and prevents it from clearly contemplating the Divine light; where there is purification, there is enlightenment, and enlightenment is the fulfillment of desires for those who strive for the most sublime objects, and better yet, for the One Highest, surpassing all greatness. Therefore, we must first purify ourselves and then communicate with the pure, lest we turn out to be like the Israelites, who could not bear the glory of the face of Moses, or Manoah, who said to his wife: We will die the death that we have seen God (Judges 13:22), lest we, as unworthy of the presence of Jesus, remove Him from the ship, like Peter who walked on the waves, and lest we be struck with blindness, like Paul when he was still a persecutor and talked with Him whom he persecuted. But, like the centurion, we must seek healing for ourselves and, out of fear worthy of praise, should not yet decide to receive a Physician in our home. Each of us, while not yet pure, while he remains a centurion, superior in sins to many, and fights for the prince of this world, let him say: Lord, I am not worthy, let me come under my roof (Matthew 8:8). When someone sees Jesus and, being of small spiritual stature, like Zacchaeus, climbs the fig tree, having mortified his earthly members and risen above the body of humility, then let him take the Word to himself and hear: today salvation has come to this house (Luke. 19:9), - let him receive salvation and bear the most perfect fruit, using well and squandering what, like the tax collector, he acquired in a vicious way. And when we, having guarded our souls with all care, having placed ascension in our hearts, renewing the field within ourselves and sowing the seeds of truth (as Solomon, David, Jeremiah say), enlighten ourselves with the light of knowledge: then we will begin to proclaim the wisdom of God in the hidden mystery and will begin to serve as a light for others. In the meantime, let us begin to be purified and first perfected by the Word, so that by doing what is godlike, receiving the Coming Word, preserving It with ourselves and revealing it to others, we can do ourselves the greatest benefit. Since the basis of this holiday is the remembrance of God, let us first of all glorify God with this remembrance. For even where there is a home for all those who rejoice, the triumph of those celebrating consists, I believe, in nothing other than the glorification and praise of God from the lips of those who have been worthy of heavenly life. And every time I talk about God, I experience trembling in my voice, in my mind, and in my thoughts; I wish that this praiseworthy and blissful feeling will be shared with you. With the word “God" you should be illuminated by a single and at the same time triple light: triple - according to special properties, or hypostases, i.e. persons; single - according to the property of the essence, that is, Divinity. For us there is one God the Father, from whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and one Holy Spirit, in whom are all things. But the Father is the Father and, moreover, without beginning, for he is not from anyone. The Son is the Son, since He is from the Father; if we understand the beginning in relation to time, then He is also without beginning, for He is the Creator of times and does not depend on time. The Holy Spirit is truly the Spirit, proceeding from the Father, but not in the manner of sonship or birth, but in the manner of procession. So, there is one God in Three and these Three are one. since it was necessary that the worship of God should not be limited only to higher beings, but should also belong to lower worshipers, so that everything would be filled with the glory of God (for everything is God): then for this purpose man was created by the hand of God and in the image of God. When, through the envy of the devil and the disastrous suggestion of sin, he unhappily departed from his Creator, and God did not want to despise him, what then happens, and what great sacrament is performed over us? – Nature is renewed, and God becomes man; He who ascended to the heavens of heaven, to the east (Ps. 67:34) of His glory and greatness, is glorified in the west of our poverty and humiliation. The Son of God deigns to become and be called the son of man, not putting aside what he was (for He is immutable), but taking on what he was not (for He is a lover of mankind). The essentially incomprehensible has become comprehensible to us, dealing with us through the flesh, like some kind of veil, for it is impossible for a born and corruptible nature to bear His pure Divinity. Therefore, the incompatible is united - not only the Divine with birth in time, the mind with the flesh, the eternal with the temporal, the immeasurable with the limited, but also birth is united with virginity, dishonor with that which is above all honor, the impassive with suffering, the immortal with the corruptible. And the crafty author of evil, who deceived us with the hope of deification, is himself deceived by the garment of flesh, although he considered himself invincible, and, having attacked Adam, meets with God; Thus, the new Adam saved the ancient one and destroyed the condemnation of the flesh, putting to death death through the flesh. But we have already celebrated the Nativity of Christ with due honor. We flowed with the star, we worshiped with the wise men, we were illuminated with the shepherds, we praised with the angels, we embraced Simeon. Now there is another act of Christ and another sacrament. I cannot contain my joy: I am in a holy frenzy. Like John, I preach the gospel; although I am not a forerunner, I am from the desert; Christ is enlightened: let us also be enlightened with Him! Christ is baptized: let us also go down with Him, in order to rise with Him to the heights. Christ is baptized; but we need to pay attention not only to this, but also to who exactly is baptized, from whom, and when. The Pure One was baptized by John even when he had already begun to perform signs. What should we learn from this? - To the fact that, first of all, one must purify oneself and practice humility, and then, having achieved spiritual and physical perfection, begin to teach others. First, I speak in relation to those who carelessly approach baptism, do not prepare for it and, not having the habit of good, do not firmly keep the gifts of atonement: for grace, although it brings about the remission of previous sins, but afterward requires even greater caution so that we do not turn to the same uncleanness. The second applies to those who are proud before the builders of the sacrament if they surpass them in any dignity; and the third - to those who, carried away by youth, consider any time convenient for teaching or leadership. Jesus is being cleansed and you are neglecting cleansing? Jesus is baptized by John, and you rebel against your preacher? Jesus is baptized at the age of thirty, and you, not yet reaching manhood, teach or hope to teach elders, without respect either in age or, perhaps, in life? John performs baptism; Jesus comes to him, no doubt, in order to bury all of ancient Adam in water and, perhaps, in order to sanctify the Baptist himself, and before these and for these - to sanctify the Jordan with spirit and water, since He Himself was spirit and flesh. The Baptist does not agree; Jesus insists. I demand to be baptized by You (Matthew 3:14), says the lamp to the Sun, the voice of the Word, the friend of the Bridegroom, greater than all those born of women (Matthew 11:11) to the Firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15), who leaped in the womb of the Glorified One in the womb, the Forerunner of Him who appeared. I demand to be baptized by You and (one might add) for You: for the Baptist knew that he would be baptized by martyrdom and, like Peter, would have more than just his feet washed. And are You coming to Me (Matthew 3:14)? And this word is prophetic, for the Baptist knew that after Herod Pilate would rage, and Christ would follow him (through torment). What about Jesus? Leave now (Matthew 3:15), he answers, “because this is the economy: for Christ knew that after a little time He Himself would baptize the Baptist. What does the shovel mean that John speaks of (Matthew 3:12)? – Cleansing. What is fire? – The destruction of the chaff of the soul and the burning of the spirit. What - an ax? – Visitation of a soul left without care along with its uncleanness. What is a sword? – Dissection by word, through which the worst is separated from the best, the faithful from the unfaithful, the son, daughter and daughter-in-law are restored to father, mother and mother-in-law, the new and recently spoken is separated from the old and transformative. What does the thong of the boot mean (Mark 1:7), which you cannot untie, the Baptist of Jesus, the desert dweller and faster, the new Elijah, surpassing all the prophets, since you have seen the One about whom they only predicted, the mediator between the New and Old Testaments - what is it? Perhaps this points to the appearance and incarnation of the Word, the ultimate meaning of which is impossible not only for carnal people and infants in Christ, but also for those like John in spirit. But then Jesus comes out of the water: together with Him He lifts up the mountain of peace and sees the opening heavens that Adam concluded for himself and his offspring along with the paradise concluded with flaming weapons. The Spirit bears witness to the Divinity, for He descends upon those like Himself; a voice is also heard from heaven, from where comes the One about whom the testimony was given. The spirit appears bodily, like a dove, because it gives honor to the flesh, which has been worthy of deification, and because the dove was previously the herald of the end of the flood. And if you, having little knowledge of the greatest, judge the Divinity by measure and weight and therefore consider the Spirit small, since he appeared in the form of a dove: then you should regard the kingdom of heaven as nothing, since it is likened to a mustard seed, and you should prefer the greatness of Jesus to his opponent, since he is called the great mountain (Zechariah 4:7), Leviathan (Job. 3:8), and king over all who live in the waters (Job 41:25), and Christ is called a lamb (1 Peter 1:19), beads (Matthew 13:46), a drop (Micah 2:11) and similar names... Since the real celebration is the feast of Baptism, and we must suffer at least a little with Him who for our sake took human form, was baptized and was crucified, let us also think about the various types of baptism in order to come out of here purified. Moses baptized, but in water - in the cloud and the sea (1 Cor. 10:2). This baptism, as the Apostle Paul says, was transformative. The sea was a symbol of water, the cloud - the Spirit, manna - animal bread, drink - Divine drink. John also baptized, but not in the Jewish way, since he baptized not only in water, but also for repentance (Matthew 3:11), and not entirely spiritually, for he did not combine the Spirit with baptism. Jesus also baptizes, but with the Spirit, and this baptism is perfect. I also know the fourth baptism - by martyrdom and blood, with which Christ Himself was baptized, and which is much higher than the others and is not defiled by any uncleanness. I also know the fifth baptism - tearful, but very rare: with this, the one who washes his bed and bed with tears every night is forgiven (Ps. 6:7), to whom the wounds of sin are disgusting (Ps. 37:6), who walks with contrition and sadness (Ps. 34:14), who imitates the conversion of Manasseh and the humility of the Ninevites, which caused pardon, who pronounces the words of the tax collector in the church and is justified by the prouder Pharisee, who humiliates himself, like the Canaanite woman, seeks humanity and asks for grains - food for a hungry dog. Being a man, a changeable and mortal being by nature, I myself readily accept this last baptism, sending thanks to the One who bestowed it, and I teach it to others, returning mercy for mercy. For I know that I myself am overcome with weakness (Heb. 5:2) and as I measure myself, so it will be measured to me. And let none of you reach such confidence in his dignity that he decides to say: “Do not touch me, for I am pure (Isa. 65:5) like no one else.” Oh, you pure ones, give us some of your radiance! But we don’t believe you and we will shed tears for you. If it pleases them, let them follow our path and Christ’s, and if not, let them follow their own path. Perhaps there they will be baptized by fire - the final, most severe and lasting baptism, which devours matter like hay and destroys the tares of all evil. We will now honor the baptism of Christ and begin to celebrate it well, not by delighting the flesh, but by rejoicing spiritually. How can we have fun? Wash yourself and be clean (Isa. 1:16). If you are scarlet in sins, or, what is worse, bloody, you will be white as snow; if you are scarlet and perfect men of blood, then achieve the whiteness of at least a wave. In general, cleanse yourself and be pure. For God rejoices in nothing so much as in the correction and salvation of man, for whom every word and every sacrament exists. Like the lights in the world (Phil. 2:15), be a life-giving force for other people; Having presented yourself before the Great Light as perfect luminaries, learn heavenly light-guiding, gradually receiving purer and brighter light from the Most Holy Trinity, from Which you have now modestly received only one ray emanating from the One Divinity, in Christ Jesus our Lord. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen 91. In short. See Migne. Patrologiae cursus completus, series graeca, vol. XXXVI. Comp. handwritten Moscow. Synod. librarian (57–LVIII) l.l. 113 about –121; Creations of St. Gregory Bogoslov in Russian. translation Moscow. 1889, part III, countries. 208–223; "Christ. Read" 1899, part XXXIII, pp. 36 et seq. You might be interested in: