Речь в день Богоявления Господня, сказанная в Предтеченской церкви архиерейского дома 6-го генваря 1858 года.

Today we brightly celebrate the baptism of our Lord. But is it not more fitting, brethren, for us now to mourn and mourn? Baptism of St. John had a “baptism of repentance” (Mark 1:4), and “the whole Jewish country” came to him at the Jordan to “confess their sins” at baptism (Mark 1:5). This means that when Christ the Savior appeared to John along with others, He appeared as a sinner, and was apparently “imputed with the lawless” (Is. 53:12) - He, the most holy of holies in Divinity and completely uninvolved in sin in humanity! And from whom does He receive baptism - the King of kings and Lord of lords? From one of his slaves. “I demand to be baptized by You,” the amazed John told Him, “and are You coming to me” (Matthew 3:14). In such and such humiliation does His baptism present our Lord to us! For that, on the other hand, look how glorious it was for the Lord, and how saving for us. As soon as Christ received baptism from John and began to emerge from the water, the heavens suddenly opened above Him, and the Holy Spirit in a bodily form, “like a dove,” descended on Him, and a voice was heard from heaven: “This is My beloved Son, in Him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17; Luke 3:22). None of those baptized by John were worthy of this; it showed clearly to everyone who the baptized Jesus was. About thirty years have passed since He was born; but hitherto He remained almost completely unknown, both to the Jews among whom he lived, and even to John, to whom he came to be baptized. Now He suddenly “appears to Israel” (John 1:31). And how is it? Solemnly before the face of heaven and earth, in the presence of all who were witnesses of His baptism. How is it? In all the glory of His Divinity, so that, having recognized Him, John from that time began to preach about Him to the Jews: “This is the Son of God, behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29–35). How is it? In a wonderful, never before experienced, sensory revelation or theophany of the entire Holy Trinity. In order to testify about Him to the whole world as the true Son of God, who appeared on earth in the sensual form of a man, the Father now appeared on the Jordan in a sensual voice that was addressed to Him - the Son, and the Holy Spirit also appeared in the sensual form of a dove, which descended on the baptized Jesus. There is no doubt that not only the earthly world, but the entire heavenly world witnessed this glorious, extraordinary theophany and the appearance to the world of the incarnate Son of God. However, no matter how glorious the baptism of our Lord was for Himself, He was not actually baptized for Himself, but for us. Not for Himself: because He had no need for baptism, as He was completely sinless in Divinity and humanity. For us: because from his very birth, as our Redeemer, He took upon Himself the sins of all mankind and everything that He did on earth, He did solely in order to save us from sins. With these alien sins, but voluntarily accepted by Him, He now came to John for baptism. Consequently, in the person of Jesus all humanity was, as it were, baptized by John; in the person of Jesus, the Holy Spirit foretellingly descended on all humanity; in the person of Jesus and to the entire human race, the voice of the heavenly Father prophesied: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” For by his baptism from John, Christ, in the words of St. Chrysostom, “having fulfilled the baptism of the Jews, opened the doors to the baptism of the New Testament Church” (Conversations on Matt. XII, 3), - that baptism in which we are truly cleansed from all sin, that baptism in which the Holy Spirit truly descends on every person and all people are truly made sons of the Heavenly Father, children of God. Is it possible after this, brethren, for us not to celebrate the day when our Savior appeared to the world with such glory and when in His face we were all baptized in the Jordan and received the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of sonhood, in whom we cry” to God: “Abba Father” (Rom. 8:15)? May our joy now be conscious and reasonable. May she be together - pure and holy, as befits those who have just been baptized and are worthy to receive the Holy Spirit. Amen. You might be interested in: