Word on the Ascension of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ

“The Word on the Ascension of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ” (7 chapters) is written correctly. Nicholas Kavasila, presumably after the famous treatise “On Life in Christ”. The essay is divided into a prologue (chapter 1), the main part (chapters 2-6) and a conclusion (chapter 7). The author draws primarily on Acts 1:9-11, as well as other scriptures relating to the Ascension. Right at the very beginning of the word. Nicholas notes that if previously grace descended from Heaven to earth, now the earth “sends the Lord to the angels,” decorating the heavenly world with the Man-God. The Ascension is not only the triumph of Christ, but also the victory and glorification of all humanity, which has become “the fatherland and city of God.” The author emphasizes that Christ “ascended slowly and gradually,” not instantly, in order to comfort the disciples, honor the earth and demonstrate His love for mankind, leaving as “an envoy to the Father for the human race,” an Advocate and Mediator. The slow ascent was also intended to sanctify the air, freeing it from the power of demons. Particular significance is attached to the cloud on which the Savior ascends. It is a symbol of the new creation (composed of spirit and water) and, more importantly, as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, who, through the cloud, “fulfills the Trinity” in the Ascension of the Son. The Lord, being God, ascends in human flesh, bearing on it the traces of His suffering. This act becomes a revelation of Divine wisdom for the angelic ranks, which previously did not know the fullness of the Economy of salvation. The gates of heaven, which had never before allowed man to pass through, are now opening for the deified flesh of Christ. The angels question the Savior: “Why are Your garments scarlet?” (Is.63:2) the author explains that these traces of suffering are not a sign of weakness, but evidence of the voluntary sacrifice and invincible power of Christ, Who through the ignominy of the Cross achieved the greatest glory. These wounds are proof of His love and humanity. In the final part of the rights. Nicholas describes the path of Christ (from Heaven to earth, to hell, from hell to earth, and from earth to heaven) as a comprehensive economy of salvation. *The title of the work in Greek is ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ. St. Nicholas Kavasila (c. 1320 - c. 1391) 1 - disciple and maternal nephew of St. Nilus Cabasilas (1300–1363), Archbishop of Thessalonica. During the civil war and later, he supported John VI Cantacuzenus. Nicholas Cabasilas accompanied St. Gregory Palamas on the way to Thessalonica and, after the Zealots prevented St. Gregory to take his chair, ended up with him on the Holy Mountain. He spent the remaining time of his life in silence, away from political clashes 2. In addition to his two most famous works: “On Life in Christ” (Περὶ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ ζωῆς) in 7 words and “Interpretation of the Divine Liturgy” (Ἑρμηνεία τῆς θείας λειτουργίας) - Nicholas Kavasila was the author of a number of words, which are currently published thanks to the efforts of M. Zhuzhi, P. Nellas (Homilies of the Mother of God), V. Psevtongas and others. Psevtongas published a total of 8 words: 3 exegetical, dedicated to the vision the prophet Ezekiel, 3 Lord's (“Word on the saving and life-giving suffering of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ”, “Homily on saving suffering” and “Word on the Ascension”) and 2 hagiological (“On the likeness of our great hierarch the myrrh-streaming hierarch and wonderworker Nicholas” and “Praise to the All-Holy Demetrius and his miracles”, the last homilial - in hexameters). Unlike the words of the Mother of God, twice translated into Russian (by Archimandrite Ambrose (Pogodin) and Archpriest Maxim Kozlov), the words first published by V. Psevtongas in 1976 and 1983 remain without a Russian translation. We have chosen to translate the “Word for the Ascension”. S. Lambros, based on the content of the word, defined it as another word “For saving suffering.” As V. Psevtongas noted, indeed, there is much in common between the “Word on Saving Suffering” and the “Word on the Ascension.” These two words were written, apparently, after the essay “On Life in Christ”; It is impossible to determine more precisely the time of their compilation. Compositionally, the “Word on the Ascension” is divided into 3 parts: prologue (§ 1), main part (§ 2–6) and conclusion (§ 7). In recounting the events of the Ascension, Cabasilah bases his account primarily on Acts 1:9–11. He also uses all the passages of Scripture relating to the Ascension, and among them Psalm 23:7-19, quoted in most of the homily for this holiday. In style, the homily belongs to typical examples of late Byzantine eloquence, stylistically sophisticated and florid, which sometimes makes understanding the text (in places very complex) extremely difficult. The handwritten tradition of the Lay is as follows. The work is preserved at Iber. 388 (Athos 4508), ff. 907–909 (922–924) (XVI century) without indicating the name of the author, as well as in: Coislianus Graecus 315 (XVII century), ff. 64–72; Pantel. 630 (XV century), ff. 113–119v; Parisinus graecus 1213 (XIV–XV centuries), ff. 32–36; Vaticanus graecus 632 (XV century), ff. 136v–143v; Vindob. theol. gr. 210 (XV century), ff. 98–104. The Russian translation was made according to the second critical edition of V. Psevtongas 3 (with the use of the first edition in one dubious place), prepared taking into account the above manuscripts. The discrepancies between the manuscripts were left untranslated as minor; We introduced three conjectures into the Greek text (see notes 26, 49 and 80). The translation of quotations and allusions from the Holy Scriptures was carried out taking into account the Synodal and Church Slavonic texts, as well as translations by P.A. Yungerova. Footnotes (or parts thereof) marked with an asterisk * or “Ed.” belong to the editor of the translation, others belong to the Greek publisher. 1. In former times, grace was [taught] from Heaven, and from time immemorial, every good thing went along this path, descending from the high places to the low world; Now this rite has changed, bringing bliss to those on high from those below, and we, people, sending the Lord to the angels from earth, adorn this face with the most beautiful decoration of all. Therefore, the present turns out to be the reason for our amazing pleasure, because we honor the One who honored us so much more and [His] departure from us makes the sky more beautiful in comparison with the previous one, when with its [benefits] it made the earth better, as [great] is the distance between the slaves and the Master. For if it [heaven], by sending angels, made the earth venerable, now the earth has sent instead of every crown and adornment [to heaven] Him Whom the Cherubim serve. After all, although [the apostle] says that the Savior came down from heaven to earth, 4 it was impossible for one who was still deprived of flesh and had not assumed a human [image] to descend or move or change one place to another, since there is no place where He was not present (for “I fill heaven and earth,” says the Lord”) 5 - when it happened that He descended and came down to descend to humiliated, then, of course, according to the word [of the apostle], He descended rather not from Heaven to earth, but from the earth itself [to the underworld] 6. When He put on man and was able to move and move, changing place to place, then He truly rushed from the earth, and from there hurried to other creatures, and henceforth laid the foundation for all progress, in the flesh, deeds and words, and the earth, having become the fatherland and city of God (if it is necessary to consider anything that exists to be the fatherland and city of God), won [over heaven] victory. What's more amazing than this? From the prisoners is the King, from the place of the condemned is the Lord who delivers from punishment, from those sitting in darkness 7 the true light has poured out onto all creation 8 . And the sky receives from the earth the same morning and evening rain, and the Angels and Cherubim contemplate the radiance they worship, the ineffable glory and the lightning that amazes them, rising from the earth. Here is a common miracle for angels and people, for some are amazed at the ascending God, and others at the ascending Man 9 . Those, looking at [Man] “in the image of God” 10, consider the ascension amazing, but these, recognizing Him as a man, admire a fellow tribesman: will He really take over the sky? They are divided in hymns regarding the natures of the Twofold, and a single choir agrees together, [glorifying] the One of both [natures] Bridegroom: the angels sing of [His] love for mankind, and people – of strength. 2. He Himself ascends slowly and gradually and does not immediately appear in the highest places, for [the Evangelist] does not say “was taken up,” but “was taken up into Heaven,” 11 although nothing prevented Him (“suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye,” 12, according to Paul) from sitting on His throne, where He Himself on the last day 13 will take the saints from the earth and body 14. Without spending a little time, He Himself, however, moves away slowly and gradually ascends, giving time to the audience, and does not quickly disappear from the eyes of those watching from the earth, in order to rejoice the disciples 15, to honor the earth and show love for mankind, does not act as one running away from the world or leaving people, but for their sake sets off on the road and departs as an envoy to the Father for the [human] race, an intercessor 16, a mediator 17 and etc. And He does not neglect time all the more because He Himself seemed to be under the power of time, since the womb is carried in time, and abolishes the power of death, and on the third day recreates the destroyed church of the body 18: initially, for a certain time and number of days, He endured all this. But also for the purpose [He delayed to ascend], so that, just as He illuminated the whole earth and hell with His presence, so the air, which took Him for a while, would be sanctified, so that no place of His own would be captured by the robbers in the air, the rulers of darkness 19. When the sun has already become visible to everyone (πάντων ἤδη δεξαμένων τòν ἥλιον), He is like the One Who (καὶ ὡς οὗτος ἐκεĩνος) 20 “believes clouds rise, walks on the wings of the winds” 21, ascends on a cloud so that the body appears lighter than air. The cloud enveloped the One who changed his appearance and on the last day 22 will deliver the One who descends to earth 23 , and the cloud will gather His chosen ones from everywhere 24 . And in general, He needed cloud 25 for all [reasons]. Firstly, because the new creation 26, of which He alone came as the Organizer (ἧς μόνος αὐτòς ἀφῖκτο τεχνίτης), for the sake of which He did everything and revealed everything, makes up for Him spirit and water 27, and of them (ἐκ τούτων δέ) [consists of] cloud 28. Then and because [the cloud] was simply a symbol of the equal and always present Comforter, Who is called both water 29 and spirit 30 , by Whom the equally divine flesh was communicated to the Savior 31 , and through Whom He appeared as the Author of supernatural acts, and Who, having appeared, testified the Divinity to the Baptized 32 , and Который, быв рядом с Преображающимся, явился [в виде] облака 33 и, соисполняя Троицу, присовокупил Себя Самого Третьим к Свидетельствующему и Свидетельствуемому. For in justice it was necessary that, while the Son ascended, and the Father was pointed by the desire of the Child, to the place where the Son was returning, through the cloud the Comforter appeared to those hurrying on the other side, raising the Equal One into heaven, as before into the desert (for [the Evangelist] says: “he was led up by the Spirit into the desert” 34). 3. To the one who ascends, the gates are opened. What should these gates be considered if not the limits of each of the [angelic] dignities and ranks that deified flesh has surpassed? Since the Savior, because of the body, needed a certain place and there was no suitable [place] for Him anywhere among the created ones - and if there was some place for the Angels, Archangels and those even higher, the Cherubim themselves, [then it was] less than would befit an equally divine [body] - for this reason, for the Ascendant, the entire order of the incorporeal was inferior and each of the higher ones gave Him a place: after second are the first, and after them those who are even higher, until He ascended “above all Principality, and Authority, and Power,” 35, according to Paul’s voice. Therefore, the greatest recognize the Highest from the lesser and from the highest from those who are subject to him, since the latter were taken by Him first, as if a miracle was directed from the lowest to the highest, because “through the Church,” which is lower than all ranks, “the manifold wisdom of God,” says Paul, “has become known to the principalities and powers.”36 For this reason, the second angelic [ranks] preach before the Unknown, and the leaders of the ranks, who occupied the last limit of honor of each rank and the highest place, raise the gates 37. For when the lesser ones yielded, it was not yet clear that the Worshiped One was above every rank, but when the rulers, who have all the glory of the choir, did so, then it became clear that the Worshiped One was above the entire circle [of the heavenly powers]. The eternal gates 38, established from time immemorial and allowing absolutely no one to pass on that day, “now rise up” 39, says [the Psalmist], for He is passing through, to whom “every knee of heaven will bow” 40. For no one was allowed to pass this way, no one ascended from earth to heaven, 41 but the Savior, the first and only, paved this [path]. For “no one has ascended to heaven,” says [the evangelist], “as soon as he who came down from heaven” 42. 4. What [to say] about the fact that the gates should be raised? “For the King of glory is both mighty and mighty in battle” 43 for [He] ascended full of wounds. Both the weakness of the flesh and the disgrace that He suffered were evident to Him. And it was clear that He bore the cross. And He was marvelous in such unspeakable power and glory, bearing traces of dishonor and weakness, which the proclaiming angels contrasted: to the cross - the glory there, to weakness - through it the victory [won] and the fact that the Triumphant not only achieved brilliant glory, but also the glory itself, He is the King 44. He did not use anything that usually brings glory, but through the opposite he achieved [it] and because he was inglorious, then with his own glory, according to David, he filled the whole earth 45. After all, this could belong to the one who followed the laws of glory, and this could belong to the One who, as it seems, brought glory itself. It is impossible to contain fire with the help of a flammable and flammable substance, because in this way it spreads on its own; and the horses cannot follow the road they want, since the horses are directed by the charioteer, if only he knows how to pull the bridle when necessary and drive [the horses] along the opposite road; and the Lord of glory could not receive glory and good praise from [people] who seemed to be the best. But the Savior, as before, having shown a flame in the water and kindled the fire by means of something that could extinguish it, 46 showed Himself as the Lord of fire, so in dishonor and disgrace, appearing to everyone brilliant and glorified, revealed Himself as the King of glory. Therefore, says 47, one should not be surprised if the Bearer of a scarred body passes the limits of the incorporeal and those who admit these signs of weakness do not consider that the Most High disagrees with Himself because of humility, but, on the contrary, receiving from there a clear proof of supernatural power, they agree that He is the Ruler of all creation. 5. And the angels learn about this not only from each other, but also from the Savior Himself. And to those who ask: “Why are Your garments scarlet? 48 Let You put on (περιέθου) a body 49, but why were You subjected to blows? - He says: “I trampled the grindstone 50. By My own will I was struck. For it was not without [My] will that My blood was poured out, and it was not because of weakness that I ascended the Cross, but I myself trampled the winepress,” - about which even before the passion he spoke to the apostles, revealing His invincible power: “No one takes My soul from Me, but I myself give it.” I have the power to give it away, and I have the power to receive it again” 51. “So,” he says, “lift up the gates” 52. And this [the angels asked] more than once, revealing what they reminded those who did not know, but taught the ignorant. For [otherwise] they would not need: some asking, and others answering, repeated words. After all, those ruling over the gates [the angels], it seems, very clearly knew the Lord of powers, but the King of glory, who He was, did not know 53 (since that [the name “Lord”] was with Him eternally the name of the Divine and therefore known to all the angelic choirs, but this [the name “King”] subsequently 54 He hid from them, later heard from the Cross 55 and from the shameful [names] He received it 56), as they probably did not know that their Lord was called Jesus, and the Nazarene, and the Crucified 57 - this was known only to those angels who served the One Carried in the Womb, and the One Who was Born, and the Dying One, and the One Who Revived. Therefore, some [angels] stop at this voice and ask in bewilderment: “Who is this King of glory?” 58, - others teach about Him, as if citing the most famous name: “Lord of hosts” 59. And they fall silent, again recognizing Him Whom they seek from those who recognized [Him]. The Father Himself introduces the one going forward with these words. And the prophet Zechariah, presenting Him as the questioner, and Him as the answerer, points out that then the Powers themselves, who are directly with God, learn, and previously did not know the meaning of 60 economy (τòν τῆς οἰκονομíας λόγον). The first of the entities standing around the throne itself seem to be initiated into its sacrament, [which] the Father 61 reveals through the Only Begotten. It also hints at the reason for the slaughter, and at what He endured (τί παθών), going to the Cross 62 when he says that love for mankind bowed Him down. For when in [such] words the Father asks where the wounds on His hands come from: “What are these wounds on Your hands?” 63, - He [the Son] puts forward the house of his beloved as a pretext. That, he says, brought Him wounds, that He went down to His beloved and dwelt with [them]: “I was wounded,” He says, “in the house of My beloved,” 64, “for He took pity on those who lay [down], and, having compassion, came down, and, having descended, I found [them] again, wounded in the calling hands. 6. Thus, the Lord of the House, who possesses heaven and earth, delivered the denarius - the word about His flesh and death - to all the slaves, “beginning from the last to the first” 65. He came down from heaven to earth in order to make the heavenly Father known to those on earth; he descended from earth to hell in order to proclaim to those in hell a dispensation on earth; from hell he again united with those on earth, so that they would know the reason for the descent; and from earth he ascends to heaven in order to preach to the angels, on the one hand, the salvation of people (for, being philanthropic, they rejoice at our re-creation 66), and on the other, their [the angels’] advancement to the better, for they knew both God and the rest better than before; and first of all, for this [ascends to heaven], so that the body, beyond all creation, would become above all creation and take its rightful place: that is why, probably, living on earth, He did not have [a place] where to lay his head 67. And Man ascends “in the image of God,” God – in human flesh. Because of the fight against death - Fighter; thanks to the trophy - Winner; for the sake of slaughter - Sacrifice (ἱερεῖον); but because he freely accepted the slaughter, he is a Priest (ἱερεύς), who left nothing of what is due to God and did not throw away anything from the properties of man, but completely preserved each of the two natures and did not deceive either of the two names with a single word, delivered from only human evils: both initially from sin 68, so now from all corruption 69 - of which neither one nor the other refers to [human] nature, but we brought one [sin], while the other [corruption] followed either as a just punishment for those who sinned, or as a medicine for the sick; One, that is, sin, the Savior initially did not know, but the other, that is, corruption, He accepted 70, thinking about the [salvation] of people, in order to become able to sacrifice Himself for them, and in return for the sacrifice to receive incorruption for the [human] race, and through corruption to acquire that which is capable of destroying corruption. So, he who was sacrificed and partook of the mortal body, in what was appropriate, immediately fell away from corruption, but did not abandon what made Him a sacrifice: and with wounds he preaches the slaughter, and the iron that carried out the sacrifice 71 is undoubtedly for those who see that body. Thus, on a single day, the one sacrificed became a constant sacrifice. And since “he offered himself once” 72 [as a sacrifice], according to Paul, he forever retains the [dignity] of a priest, for [the apostle] says: “You are a priest forever” 73. Thus, He who once offered Himself is an eternal sacrifice, since He would not have been an eternal priest if He had not been a sacrifice and had abandoned what brought Him the priesthood. This is what the earth gave to all creation - the universal Lord. And people send an Intercessor from themselves, while the angels receive the most impeccable (καθαρώτερον) God, the Father of the One Throne, ascending to them, delivering to Him the crown of glory from the trophies of the Son. (7) . Let us, for whose sake this war was fought, greet the Victor! Oh, the world that conquered 74, and bound the mighty 75, and stole the spoil 76, and freed the bound! Oh, with a single desire, you create and change everything, and for the sake of people you rose up for competition and battle! Oh, who created with a wave from nothingness, and raised the fallen again with care and labor! Oh, who competed in mortal feats for the sake of the dishonored and slain, in order to revive and crown them! Oh, who delivered you from punishment by being slandered, who glorified you by being crucified, who revived man by death! Oh, God, who died for men, the Lord - for slaves, the sinless - for the most wicked! Because of them 77 You were sold, because of them you were beaten, because, having suffered, You prepared for us freedom, incorruptibility, pure joy! O, who ransomed the enemies at the price of their souls, at the price of the blood of the wicked! Oh, and loved the man who hates! You are our Savior and Redemption! O Path, and Leader, and Refuge! Oh, who has become for slaves everything that leads to Heaven! Oh, wonderful and strange migration from the earth, relocating the homeland! O, leaving no distance between heaven and earth, God and man! O, who by his descent to earth bowed the sky, and by his ascension to heaven lifted up the earth! You are also our God, and later the Heir 78, and having created [man], you acquired [him], and received the reward for your labors, and having redeemed those, you subjugated them to yourself, whom you have been Lord from eternity. And again, those whom You were the complete Master, You created as [Your] brothers, and You used them as [Your] ouds, and You had every kind of affinity, and community, and connection with us, so that, having adapted to Yourself in every possible way and through everything united, You could create Your wealth as ours and so that You, the Son of God, would be spoken of as a slave of sin, and the bound one would be crowned! Oh, how great a debtor You have made man to Yourself! Oh, debts from which no one could ever free themselves! For what could You find among us that You would not [You Yourself] bring and put in? If we offer a speech of gratitude to You for what You have given us, it will not be as recompense for what has already been given, but as an addition to our debts, for both the thought of this and the ability to speak are from You. After all, You established this new 79 law for Yourself, that every time for what You deliver, You recognize Yourself as a debtor to those who have received other people’s benefits. Therefore, if something of what is sung in relation to Your much-sung mercy belongs to us, do not despise, on the contrary, turn out to be a benefactor not of ours for the sake of feeble-mindedness, but by showing Your generous hand 80, and now deliver us from all debt punishment, being the Lord, grant a pure feeling of Your meekness, convince us to be ashamed of this unspeakable love for mankind! When you ascend from here, lift up those who rejoice, and with good hopes add [Your] friends to the choir, and place them together with those who know Your things, whom You Yourself have known, 81 so that there, with the voice of those celebrating and from us added exclamation, we will eternally sing of You, the Savior, with Your Beginning Father and the Most Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit. Amen. For bibliography, see: IAB. 6. No. 1638–1799. About the theological views of St. Nicholas Cabasilas during the Palamite disputes, see: Congourdeau M.-H. Nicolas Cabasilas et le Palamisme // Gregorio Palamas e oltre: Studi e documenti sulle controversie teologiche del XIV secolo bizantino / A cura di A. Rigo. Firenze, 2004 (Orientalia Venetiana 16). P. 191–210. Νικολáου Καβáσιλα. (Εἰσαγωγή – Κεíμενον – Σχόλια) / Β.Σ. Ψευτογκᾶς. Θεσσαλονίκη, 1 1976. Σ. 113–123. Reissue of the book (with the inclusion of “A Word for Saving Suffering,” published in 1983): Νικολάου Καβάσιλα. Λόγοι / Ἐκδίδει Β.Σ. Ψευτογκᾶς. Θεσσαλονίκη, 2 2006. Σ. 124–134. Compare, for example: Rom.10:6–7; Eph.4:9. *Compare: John 6:39–40, 44, 54, 11:24. Another understanding is possible: “And He, as [the psalmist] [says]...” (Ed.). See: Acts 1:9. Compare: Ex.16:10, 19:9, 24:15, 34:5; Zechariah 2:13; Luke 21:27, etc. The Greek publisher suggests comparing this passage with 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal.6:15, as if the text read “τὴν καινὴν κτíσιν” instead of “τὴν κοινὴν κτíσιν” printed in the second edition. Based on the indicated parallels, as well as the first edition (p. 115, line 64), we consider the reading κοινήν to be a typo. In this case, the context of the phrase suggests a reference to Baptism (for the sake of the “new creation” the entire Economy, including the Ascension, took place). However, when reading κοινήν, a completely different interpretation is possible, supported by the publisher and indicated below in the notes. 28 (Ed.). That is, Baptism (cf. John 3:5; Mark 1:8, 10, etc.) (Ed.). An alternative translation (preserving the reading κοινήν): “First, because the whole (lit. general) creation, of which He alone was the Organizer, for whose sake He made everything and revealed everything, constitutes to Him a breath [in Greek “spirit” and “wind” are designated by one word πνεῦμα] and water [cf. Gen. 1:2 ], and of these [is] the cloud.” With this translation (where the words κοινήν and ἀφῖκτο cause particular difficulties), the cloud at the Ascension points to Christ as the Creator of the world. This is exactly the interpretation offered by V.S. Pseutongas in the preface to the second edition, which sets out in detail the contents of the sermon: “Through the cloud in Scripture, as Cabasilas notes, the Holy Spirit is symbolically depicted, who, just as he was present at the beginning of the creation of the world (here the mystery symbolism of the Spirit is proposed, represented by the spirit and water of which the cloud consisted), and at the reconstruction of the world was present at all supernatural stages and in all matters of the Divine economy.” (Σ. 51) (Ed.). See, for example: John 7:37–39. See, for example: John 15:26. In the footnote to this place V.S. Pseutongas points out as a parallel homily to the Ascension of Theophanes Keramey (more precisely, Philagatas Keramey, mid-12th century) with reference to the note. 27 in PG 132, 749D–752A, where numerous patristic testimonies are given about the cloud as a type and symbol of the Holy Spirit. The Homilary of Kerameya was very common in Byzantium (for example, Theophylact of Bulgaria readily used it), so Nicholas Cabasilas’s acquaintance with it is not excluded (Ed.). *Compare: Ps. 56:6 (Ed.); 71:19. *Compare: 1 Kings 18:34–38; Prem.19:20 . According to the publisher, a reference to the immediate context (Ed.). Further in the text there is a verb φησί (“says”), which we consider to be a random and meaningless insertion (Ed.). Or (hereinafter): “last (name)” (Ed.). We prefer, unlike the publisher, a lowercase letter, not referring λόγον to Christ (Ed.). Another translation is possible: “Into the sacrament [which] the Father Himself reveals...” (or: “... the Father reveals through the Only Begotten Himself...”) (Ed.). Or (understanding τί παθών not literally, but idiomatically): “... for the sake of which He went to the Cross” (Ed.). See: Luke 15:7. The theme of the love of angels for mankind is revealed in the sermon of St. John Chrysostom on the Ascension, 4 (PG 50, 448–449). *Ср.: 1Пет.2:22 ; 1 John 3:5; Hebrews 4:15, 9:28. *Compare: Acts 2:27 (Ps.15:10); 2:31, 13:35, 37. From this phrase it is clear that St. Nicholas Cabasilas admitted the possibility of decay of the Savior's body before the resurrection, apparently interpreting Acts 2:27, 31 similarly to St. John of Damascus, who distinguished φθορά (as a process) from διαφθορά (as an end result) (Exp. fid. 3, 28 (72:23–27) / Hrsg. v. P.B. Kotter. Berlin, 1973 (PTS 12). TLG 2934/4) (Ed.). That is, marks from nails (Ed.). See: John 16:33; 1 John 5:4–5. See: Matthew 12:29; Mark 3:27. Or: “by the fact that... (by means of the fact that...)” (Ed.). Или: «удивительный, странный» (καινόν) (Ред.). Instead of ἀπειδών we read (according to itacism) ἀπιδών (Ed.). *Compare, for example: John 10:14.