195. Слово в день Пасхи

(Printed in the Works of St. Ot. 1845 and in the collection of 1848) We have already spent several 660 solemn and significant hours of the greatest of holidays. It comes to mind to ask: do we sufficiently understand the very first minutes of this celebration? Let us return from this bright day to the past, first dark, and then no less than a bright night, and reflect on what happened. At midnight the Church hastened to gather us to begin the celebration. Why is this so? - Because it was desirable, as much as possible, to bring the initial time of celebration closer to the time of the celebration, that is, the resurrection of Christ. This time is not completely open to us. When the Myrrh-Bearers, at the rising of the sun, came to the Holy Sepulcher: it was already open, and the Angels announced the resurrection of Christ, which had already taken place. Much earlier, the earth shook near the tomb of the Lord, an angel rolled away the stone from the tomb, and with the light of his appearance terrified and thereby removed the guards in order to open free access to the tomb for the Myrrhbearers and Apostles. The resurrection took place even earlier, since it took place while the tomb was sealed, as the custodian of Christ’s Mysteries, the Holy Church, testifies; but not before midnight, because, according to the Lord’s prophecy, it was supposed to be a three-day period, and therefore it should have entered at least in the first hours after midnight of the day after the Sabbath. In these hours, we wanted to capture the hidden, unparalleled high and wonderful minute of the resurrection as the beginning of our celebration, so that the holiday, if possible, would be one with the event being celebrated, since those celebrating are called to be one with the Creator of the holiday. Immediately before entering into the celebration of Christ's resurrection, we sang the song of the three-day burial of Christ. What is this for? – Firstly, here too the order of memories followed the order of remembered events: since the resurrection of Christ appeared from the state of the three-day burial of Christ. Secondly, before the joy itself, the excited pious sadness should have prepared for a more correct and clear consciousness and a living feeling of the Divine joy that followed it. We began the celebration with a song in which we confessed that the Angels are singing the resurrection of Christ in Heaven; then they asked themselves for the grace to glorify it with a pure heart; and this song was first proclaimed in the closed altar, when the church was still silent. What does this rank mean? – And here you can see the follow-up to the event. The angels recognized and glorified the resurrection of Christ before men: for men first learned it from the Angels. Heaven did not open visibly to the earth when Christ opened it invisibly, by the power of His cross, and, together with His resurrection, brought into it the Patriarchs, Prophets and Saints of the Old Testament, with the doxology of the Angels. By faith, and not by vision, we know this solemn procession of the cross of the Heavenly Church: and so that our knowledge about it is not too dark, and the educational imitation of it in the earthly Church is not too dead, for this we need to ask from Christ God for grace and a pure heart; because “the pure in heart will see God” (Matthew 5:8). Having asked for help from the risen Christ Himself in order to glorify Him worthily, we began to glorify Him with a very unusual rite. Leaving the altar and the church, we stopped in the night, in the west, before the closed gates of the church; and there they proclaimed the first praise to the Most Holy Trinity and the Risen Christ. The censer and the cross opened the gates of the church for us; and then from the outer darkness we entered into its inner light, and uncontrollably surrendered to the delights of the holiday. Here one can see such extraordinary things that they would have to be recognized as incongruities if one did not assume a hidden and deep sign in them. What kind of omen is this? – The same thing that we have already partly indicated. In the visible actions of the earthly Church, as far as possible, the image of the invisible triumph of the heavenly Church is depicted. This is an ancient and high law of church worship, so that images of heavenly things are presented in it. Thus, the holy Apostle Paul writes about the Old Testament priests that they “serve the image and wall of those who are in heaven” (Heb. 8:5). The Christian Church is closer to heaven than the Old Testament Church. The Old Testament presented for the most part images of the descent of heaven to earth - the incarnation of the Son of God: Christian, after His descent to earth, should especially represent how, in the words of the Prophet, he “ascended on high, took captivity captive”, or, more clearly, he caught captives and slaves of hell and brought them into freedom and bliss, “received gifts among men” ( Ps.67:19), that is, by His merit on the cross, He acquired for people the right to the gracious gifts of the Holy Spirit. The resurrection and ascension of Christ began not only from the tomb, but also from hell: for, after His death on the cross, He was, as the Church confesses, “in the grave carnally, but in hell with soul, like God” 661. “He even descended to hell,” and “there he destroyed the darkness” 662. Until now, although the Patriarchs, Prophets and Righteous Men of the Old Testament were not immersed in the deep darkness in which the unbelievers and the wicked are mired, they did not, however, emerge from the shadow of death and did not enjoy the full light. They had the seed of light, that is, faith in the coming Christ: but only His actual coming to them and the touch of His Divine light could illuminate their lamps with the light of true heavenly life. Their souls, like wise virgins, were near the doors of the heavenly palace: but only the key of David could unlock these doors; only the heavenly bridegroom, who came out of these doors, could enter back into them and bring the sons of the bride after Him. So the Savior of the world, after he was crucified and died in the visible world, in the invisible world he even descended to hell, 663 and illuminated the souls of the faithful, and brought them out from the shadow of death, and opened the doors of heaven and heaven to them; and, again in the visible world, “the light of the resurrection showed.” Don’t you notice now how the Church has united this invisible with this visible and depicted one in the other? As if, together with the inhabitants of the invisible world, in the west, in the darkness of the night, as if in the shadow of death, we stood before the closed gates of the church, as if before the closed gates of heaven. Through this the Church wanted to tell us: this was how it was before the resurrection of Christ, and this would be how it would be forever without the resurrection of Christ. Then the doxology of the Most Holy Trinity and the Risen Christ, the cross and censer opened the gates of the church for us, as if the gates of heaven and heaven. Through these signs the Church told us: thus the grace of the Most Holy Trinity and the name and power of the risen Christ, faith and prayer open the gates of heaven and heaven. The burning candles in our hands not only signified the light of the resurrection, but at the same time reminded us of the wise virgins, and aroused us to readiness, with the light of faith, with the oil of peace, love and mercy, to meet the second, glorious coming of the heavenly Bridegroom at midnight of time and to find His royal doors open for ourselves. These are some of the features of the current church secrecy! Let us be attentive, brothers, and let us be faithful to the mysterious leadership of the Mother Church. While we celebrate Christ, who rose for us, let us at the same time look with a tender heart at Christ, who was crucified, suffered, died and buried for us, so that joy is not forgotten and does not become meaningless. Only he has the complete and inalienable joy of the resurrection of Christ who, together with Christ, has himself risen internally, and has the hope of being resurrected solemnly: and only he who accepts participation in the cross, suffering and death of Christ has this hope, as the Apostle teaches: “If we are conformed to the likeness of His death, we will also be resurrected” (Rom. 6:5). “Let us suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him” (Rom. 8:17). Festive joy, which forgets the cross and death of Christ, calling us to crucify the flesh with passions and lusts, is in danger - what was begun by the spirit will be finished off by the flesh, and those who celebrate the resurrection of Christ will be turned into those who crucify Him a second time. Following the Angels, we entered into the triumph of Christ's resurrection: we were figuratively united with the Patriarchs, Prophets and Righteous Ones in it; both into paradise and heaven, brought into the church for celebration. Think about what our celebration should be like! It must be close to the Angelic; must be worthy of communion with the heavenly Church of Patriarchs, Prophets and other Saints; must be worthy of heaven and heaven. Do not think that this demand is too great and impossible to fulfill for our weakness. He who celebrates with a pure heart celebrates with the Angels. Whoever celebrates with love for God and the risen Christ, and in the spirit of brotherly love for others, celebrates in communion with the heavenly Church; because Heaven is nothing other than the kingdom of Divine love; and if, as the seer assures, “he who abides in love abides in God” (1 John 4:16), then he abides, of course, no lower than heaven and heaven. But if it is not very difficult to rise up in order to celebrate in communion with the Angels and the heavenly Church, then, unfortunately, it is not very difficult to fall away and move away from their communion. He who immerses spiritual joy and buries it in carnal joy no longer celebrates with the disembodied Angels. He who is so occupied with earthly things that he forgets heavenly things is no longer close to the heavenly Church. He who does not try to protect his celebration from sinful deeds does not celebrate in communion with the Saints. He who does not preserve and nourish his inner light, and neglectfully allows it to go out, has little hope of seeing the open royal doors of the heavenly palace, although he sees the open royal doors of the sanctuary on earth. Christ the Savior, glorified in heaven by the Angels and the blessed spirits of holy men! “And grant us on earth with a pure heart to glorify You!” 664 Amen. In the author's manuscript: “the most.” Troparion of the Sunday canon 4 voices (canticle 1), also sung at the hours of Easter Sunday service 5th tone, 1st eastern stichera on Lord, I have cried. In the author's manuscript: “and destroyed the darkness there.” Sunday service 6th tone, 1st stichera on the stichera. It is also sung at the beginning of Easter Matins. You might be interested in: