On the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and against the wicked Arius

On the previous Sunday, the heavenly round dance called this Orthodox Church the expounder of the mystery of the uncreated Trinity, the great Basil, the God-enlightened teacher, the preacher of truth, the noble denouncer of lies, who, as befits, brought down the frantic Arian madness, who taught with his life before the word and with his word cried out along with life, the most glorious adornment of this city, the luminary of the Church, against the enemies of piety, like wolves, who took up arms as a valiant warrior, and with his tongue, like a sling, striking the wicked, a vigilant guardian of this flock and a wise builder of this holy fence. Just as in the days of Noah a dove, keeping a flowering olive branch in its mouth, brought it to people as a gift, so this one last Sunday gave his tongue at the disposal of the Spirit and with His Divine words defeated Arius and his blasphemous devilish teaching. He pointed out a wolf among the sheep, hiding like a lamb in Christian sheep's clothing; tearing off the robe with which he hypocritically covered himself, exposed him as a predatory wolf, and, like stones, beat with apostolic and prophetic words the one who pretended to be a sheep. And just as David, having overthrown Goliath, used his own sword to cut off his enemy’s head, so the new David from our camp struck Arius with his own, Ariev’s, weapon. He depicted in his word how God and the Father was timelessly the Father of the Word, how the Son is co-eternal with the Father, how He is consubstantial with the Father, and not of another essence, how He assists the Father, but does not serve Him, how He is the Creator, and not a creature, how He is the Master, and not a slave, how He is the radiance of the glory of the Father and the image of His Hypostasis, how “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” ( John 1:1), how the Word became flesh, without undergoing any deviation, change, or alteration, and dwelt in us, preparing for Himself in our nature an incontainable abode for His Divinity. This is how this preacher preached, because Christ himself, blasphemed by the Arians, spoke through his mouth. That is why the angels invisibly approved of him from heaven, hearing how beautifully he sang on earth and taught him to glorify the consubstantial Trinity they worship, but here on earth you justly rewarded him with applause and called him an imitator of the apostles worthy of the apostles because his lips exuded the confession of Peter, which was the reason for his gratification, because his tongue was flaming Pavlova's jealousy; and then you rightly called the Church blessed, having such a treasure, and indeed she is blessed, possessing this treasure. So all this happened on that day. And today I want to open before you the threshold of the incarnation of the only begotten Son of God, so that you can see how God the Word, being the only begotten of the Father, taking our nature, wished to be consubstantial with us, His servants; how the Most High bowed Himself down from heaven to humiliation on a par with us; how the rich man became the heir of our poverty; how the all-satisfied One accepted His creation without needing it; how the Creator united Himself with His creation; how a lover of mankind, while remaining God, became a man; how the sun of truth, having lit the lamp of the body within itself, went around everywhere, looking for the missing drachma; like a good shepherd, covering His Divinity with the skin of a sheep, he walked around, calling the lost sheep to Himself and saying to each of them: “I am the good Shepherd” (John 10:11). But here, first of all, it is necessary for us to reproduce the words of the holy gospel, proclaimed in the churches today: “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a husband named Joseph, of the house of David; The name of the Virgin is: Mary. The angel, coming to Her, said: Rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with You; Blessed are You among women" (Luke I:26-28). In the sixth month after Zechariah was condemned to silence for unbelief, after Elizabeth, beyond expectation, turned out to bear fruit, after the imprisonment of John the Baptist in the prison of the womb had already completed six months, after the forerunner had already appeared in the desert of barrenness, after the lamp shone in the darkness of the womb, the angel Gabriel was sent by the Sun of Truth. Go, he was told, to the Galilean city of Nazareth, to the Virgin Mary, betrothed to the carpenter Joseph: I, the Builder of all creation, betrothed this Virgin to myself for the salvation of people. Tell Her about My mysterious coming to Her, so that the Virgin would not be embarrassed, having conceived Me unknown to Herself; tell Her My love for mankind, by virtue of which I want Her to appear in the world as a man, so that She will not be amazed at what is happening, knowing in advance what I am preparing; Reveal to her the secret of salvation, so that She will not be alarmed when she suddenly feels an increasing heaviness in her womb. Hurry to fulfill this order: you will find Me already where I am sending you now; staying here, I will be there before you. I will go to Her before you and with you: you bring her the news of My arrival to Her, and I, having arrived invisibly, will seal your words with my deeds. I want to revive the human race in a virgin’s womb; By my condescension I want to renew the image that I created; I want to correct My previous work with a new creation. From virgin soil I created the primordial man, but the devil, having captured him as an enemy, robbed and damaged him, desecrating My image. And now I want to appear from the virgin land myself as a new Adam, so that human nature plausibly stands up for itself and can rightfully triumph over its rapist, and so that the enemy is properly put to shame. Oh, the immeasurable depth of condescension! Oh, the unattainable height of Divine love for mankind! The King did not send many messengers or many ambassadors ahead of Him, nor did the Creator move a regiment of incorporeal forces, but he ordered only one angel to be the herald of His appearance, so that through his lips alone he could prepare the One who was to be His Mother. And then an angel appeared to the Virgin Mary and, entering Her, said: “... Rejoice, full of grace!” He calls a slave similar to himself as the Mistress, as having already become the Mother of the Master. "Rejoice, full of grace"! Your ancestor Eve, having broken the law, brought upon herself the condemnation of giving birth to children in illness, but this greeting is appropriate in relation to You: Rejoice! She gave birth to Cain and with him gave birth to envy and murder, and You will give birth to a Son, Who will bring life and incorruption to everyone. So, rejoice and rejoice; rejoice and trample on the head of the serpent! "Rejoice, full of grace"! The curse is resolved, corruption is abolished, sadness ceases, joy triumphs, and the good predicted by the prophets from ancient times is realized. The Holy Spirit foreshadowed you, speaking through the mouth of Isaiah: “Behold, a virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son” (Isa. 7:14). You are that maiden. Rejoice, full of grace! You are pleasing to the Lord, You are pleasing to the Creator, You are pleasing to the Creator, You are pleasing to the Connoisseur of the beauty of souls. You have found yourself a Groom who does not violate, but observes Your virginity; you have found a Groom who, out of great love for mankind, desires to be Your Son. The Lord is with You: Omnipresent and in You, and with You, and from You; in heaven - the Lord, in the underworld - the Most High, in all creation - the Almighty, the Creator, resting on the cherubim, the Charioteer, carried on the seraphim, the Son in the bosom of the Father, the Only Begotten in Your bosom, the Lord, as He Himself knows, is all everywhere, all in You. Blessed are You among wives, because You are now given preference over all the virgins together, You have been honored to become the abode of such a great Lord, You have contained within Yourself what is incontainable by His will, You have received into Yourself the One who fills everything, You have become the purest instrument of Divine economy; You have become a worthy door to enter into the life of our King, You will serve as a treasury of spiritual pearls. “Blessed are you among women”! Hearing these words, seeing the angel’s face and voice, the all-holy Virgin reflected within herself and said: what kind of greeting is this? What is I hear? What do his words mean? The angel greets me first - in what sense and in view of what My dignity? Am I blessed? Why and for what? Is the Lord with Me? But with whom of those who fear Him does the Lord not go? Am I “blessed in wives”? For what and for what and how? What grace do his words promise Me? What miracle does he proclaim? Seeing how embarrassed She is by this, the angel continues: “Do not be afraid, Mary”! Do not let my greeting confuse You: I speak to You respectfully in order to please You. Do not have fear in your soul, You who have contained the peace of the whole world within Yourself. “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:30). You show off among all creation; You are exalted above the heavens; You shone brighter than the sun; You have exalted yourself above the angels; You did not ascend to heaven, but while on earth, you took into Yourself the heavenly Lord and King of all. “And behold, you will conceive in the womb.” My word is already preceded by deed; the mysterious conception took place faster than my greeting. You have in Your womb the Lord Himself, the Creator of all things, from Your holy and most pure flesh, without labor creating the church of His holy body; You carry within You the very Artist of nature, graciously renewing His own dilapidated image. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). “He will be great,” - He is great in Divinity, He will be great in humanity, “and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David” (Luke 1:32). “The Lord swore to David in truth, and will not deny it” (Psalm 132:11). And what was this oath given to them? “Of the fruit of your womb I will place on your throne” (Ps. 131:11). This oath is now being implemented. “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:33). There is no one higher than this King, there is no one more blessed than You, who gives birth to Him. “Mary said to the Angel: How will this be when I don’t know my husband?” (Luke 1:34). Joseph is My betrothed, not my groom; a marriage contract usually precedes the betrothal. How can I conceive without marriage? How can I bear fruit without a planter? Will the order of nature change for Me first? Will I be the first to break the law of conception? Will a new path of childbearing be paved for me alone? For Me alone, will the ancient method of birth be replaced by a new one? Reveal to Me more clearly, angel, the secret of your words, explain to Me the meaning of your speeches, explain the meaning of your beautiful gospel, enlighten Me regarding this extraordinary birth, so that I can at least a little understand the mystery that I am called to serve, learn how the impossible will become possible, how the impossible will come true, how the incredible will turn out to be feasible, so that I can hear how grace gives new strength to nature or how nature serves grace. “The angel answered and said to her: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). Now you have recognized the Perfecter, do not be curious about the method of accomplishment; recognized the Creator, do not inquire about creation; heard about the Holy Spirit, leave the rest to the Spirit itself. “The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You.” I am entrusted to tell You only that You will give birth to a Son, and how You give birth, He Himself who is born of You will teach You. I, as a servant, brought this news to You, and the Master himself will do the work, leading and the way of doing it; I am a servant of royal commands, but not an interpreter of Divine decisions; I do not dare to teach You what I myself have not learned, I do not dare to interpret what I myself do not comprehend, I do not undertake to announce the details of the sacrament, I am powerless to understand the gospel. I proclaim a miracle, but I don’t know how it will happen; I do not explore what is beyond all research, I do not seek the incomprehensible, I do not inquire about what is inaccessible to me, I do not inquire about grace that surpasses reason, I do not make fuss about the inexplicable birth. Spiritual conception is truly incomprehensible to the mind, extraordinary pregnancy is incomprehensible to the mind, and saving birth cannot be described. “The Holy Spirit will come upon You” The Holy Spirit knows what He is doing; The Son knows how to prepare a spiritual dwelling for Himself. The Creator of nature is not a slave to the laws of nature; He himself manages everything; He himself, as he wishes, puts on the image of a slave. The Father knows the incarnation of His only begotten Son, because where the Holy Spirit is, there is the Son, and where the Son is, there is the Father. The Trinity is indivisible and inseparable. Just as at the beginning, at the creation of man, the Father invited the Son and the Spirit to work, saying: “... let us make man in our image and likeness” (Gen. 1:26), so now – in his re-creation – the Holy Trinity again ineffably participates. Creation belonged to Her, and re-creation was Her common work. “Therefore the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Here is a truly holy birth, here is a shoot without a seed, here is the fruit of the all-holy! He is the Son of God in Divinity, He is Your Son in humanity; He is consubstantial with the Father in conceivable nature, consubstantial with You in visible nature; He is both heavenly and earthly, visible and invisible, impassive in Divinity and doomed to suffering in humanity. And just as God is perfect, so He is perfect man. But just as He, having become a man, invariably remains God, so you, being a virgin, will also be an incorruptible Mother: neither virginity will prevent birth, nor birth will violate virginity. So, glorify what has happened and do not be curious about the gift; marvel at the greatness of the work and do not doubt the grace; bow before Your mysterious lot and do not worry about the improbability of the miracle. If you believe sincerely, He Himself, through your faith, will enlighten Your soul; but if you want too much, in no case will you get what you are asking for. Would you like to know? Here is a visible sign for You of the truth of the miracle that happened to You. Do you want to see the image of that wonderful birth that You will serve? Look at Your neighbor and relative Elizabeth. “Behold your relative Elizabeth, who is called barren, and she conceived a son in her old age, and she is already in her sixth month, for with God no word will fail” (Luke 1:36-37). Beyond all expectation, Elizabeth's infertility was resolved, so that in comparison with this resolution, Your virginity, which remains inviolable, would be clearer. The barren and elderly woman conceived the Forerunner of the King, who would be born of You, so that You would believe that You have the Lord in Your womb. Go and look at Elizabeth - and if you don’t find what I said, don’t believe my words. What does this mean to Saint Mary, Virgin both in body and soul, pious, reverent and submissive, the beauty of human nature, the gate of our life, the author of our salvation? Receiving the angel’s words with reverence, She says to him: “...behold, the Servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word!” (Luke 1:38) As a servant, I obey the command of the Master; Like clay, I am given into the hands of the potter; as the Creator wishes according to His power, let Him do His will on Me; as His love for mankind pleases, let Him perform in Me the miracle of extraordinary conception. Let it be done to Me according to your word: let what you say be fulfilled on Me, let your word be followed by a true and undoubted deed.” And the angel departed from Her: he announced, prepared the Virgin, taught Her as much as he could; He himself heard from Her what he needed to know - and again ascended to where he had descended, leaving the One who sent him below and again finding Him above in heaven, worshiped by the entire angelic army. What do you say to this, Arius? Tell me, unfortunate one, how did the uncontainable fit into the virgin womb? How, being a virgin, She conceived and after birth remained a virgin, and served the birth of the Savior, and enriched Herself with grace? But of course you won't say anything. After all, if the Mother of Mystery herself did not comprehend the mystery of Her birth, then how could you understand her? If Gabriel is an archangel, to the question of the Mother of the Lord: “How will this be when I don’t know my husband?” (Luke 1:34) could not say anything clearer than to refer to the Holy Spirit, without further explanation, then where can you explain what Gabriel could not interpret? But if no one can adequately explain the birth of Christ according to the flesh, which happened almost in the last days, then how dare you make that birth an object of your curiosity - heavenly, childless, incorporeal, invisible, passionless, completely inexplicable and incomprehensible? What is the basis for this insolence of yours? The angels worship the Holy Trinity, constantly calling out: “...holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the heavens and earth are full of His glory!” (Isa.6:3) They do not say like you: The Father is holier because He is older; They do not say in humble voices: Holy is the Son as the youngest, Holy is the Spirit as closest to us, but they sing the same song equally to the entire Holy Trinity. Where did you, Arius, alone learn to sharpen your tongue against the Creator? But do you reject the testimony of heaven and angels? What do you trust, who do you rely on, tell me? Whom do you recognize as a connoisseur of this teaching? Who should we choose as an impartial judge? Whose judgment do you accept in matters of piety? Do you not trust the Father, who knows His Son best? Let us listen to what He says: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; Listen to him” (Matthew 17:5). If He says: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), listen to Him; if He says: “I am in the Father and the Father in Me” (John 14:10), listen to Him; if He says: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), listen to Him, because the truth does not deceive. And if He says: “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), attribute this humiliation of Yourself not to the Divinity of the speaker, but to His humanity. Have you heard, Arius, the judgment of the Father? Listen to the confirmation of these His words from the lips of His only begotten Son: “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). (He will not perish) who believes (in the Son), and not the one who says: there was a time when He was not - he who believes, and not the one who doubts. Why do you, having abandoned the faith, come out with insults against the Judge himself? However, Arius, stupid and unreasonable, believe as you please; If you yourself, unfortunate one, don’t want to learn something useful to you, engage in chatter to your own destruction. You will not humiliate your son, but you are heaping the fire of hell on your own head. I, faithful to the guidance of the Divine Scripture, glorify the Father, who is always the Father, I glorify the Son, who shone timelessly from the bosom of the Father, I glorify the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and rests in the Son, I confess Christ, perfect God, and perfect Man, I preach the greatness of His Divinity and am not ashamed of His humiliation according to humanity, but together with the great and blessed by the Apostle Peter I cry to Him: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matthew 16:16), and glory and honor and worship are due to You, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Creations attributed to St. John Chrysostom and classified in the Minya edition as Spuria. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith”