On the sacrifice of Cain, the gifts of Abel, about giants, about the flood, about the stars about fate

Consistency is the mother of order; it gives the proper appearance and clarity to thoughts, and ensures clarity and separation for the attention of the listeners. Therefore, let us not shy away from consistency; but although the readings follow their own order, we will still maintain the continuity of the story. In previous speeches it was conveyed from the teaching of the Holy Spirit what was the composition of man, what was the honor, position and power given to him over things. This was followed by seduction in paradise, a tormenting trial and a sentence pronounced with mercy. Then came the story of Cain and Abel, who began to honor God outwardly in the same way, but performed the service with different dispositions. Both made offerings, but for one the offering had only the appearance of a gift, while for the other it contained a corresponding mood and respect. Then envy followed, because piety is always followed by envy on the part of evil people and a crown from the Dispenser of rewards. Abel - the first herald of righteousness, the first to love piety and follow it, the first to honor the truth and truly love God and worship Him, and in many ways became an imitator of Christ - was killed. I find that St. Abel took upon himself many types of Christ. Just as the Savior is the chief and first righteous man for all those renewed after the times of the law, so also for all ancient people the chief of righteousness is Abel. Neither in the renewal of humanity, which the Lord of all renewed, will you find anything more primary than the body of the Lord, nor in the old generation of people will you find the righteousness that shone forth before Abel. That one is the leader of the old righteous, and this one is the leader of the new righteous and truly renewed saints. That is why the Savior cemented the memory of Abel as the beginning of all righteousness. He said to the Jews: “Let all the righteous blood shed on earth come upon you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the church and the altar” (Matthew 23:35). He made Abel, persecuted by men, but crowned by God, the beginning of righteousness. And notice something amazing. Since Abel was the first to be a companion of righteousness, he was the first to suffer for piety. He became a prototype of Christ, who suffered for the truth, and the blood of Abel became close to the blood of the Master, having close proximity in faith. Namely, the saving blood is a school for the entire universe; nothing instructs us so much in piety as the blood of the Master, who speaks the truth as if with a tongue. The blood of Abel cried out, and the blood of Christ also cries out. But she cries out, begging, and this one, bringing propitiation to the world. Since the blood of the Master, like a trumpet, thundered to all ends of the world and the blood of Abel spoke to God, the apostle, recalling both bloods, when compared to a great height, raised the truly highest blood; he said: “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem and to thousands of angels, to the triumphant council and church of the firstborn who are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkled Blood, which speaks better than Abel” (Heb. 12:22-24). He speaks, praying for sinners and bringing propitiation to the world, because the blood of Christ is the sprinkling of the universe, the blood of Christ is the deliverance of people. “Better,” says (the apostle), “the one who speaks than the one who speaks,” since one begs, and the other defends. Then the blood of Abel also has another likeness to the blood of the Master, and this is how. Adam, having sinned, fell under the curse of death: “for dust you are, and to dust you will return” (Gen. 3:19), he accepted the sentence. Abel, having become righteous and not having fallen into sin, but marked by God's election, acted piously in life. After this, having defiled himself with murder, Cain, opening the gates of death, gave the opportunity for its bad, or more precisely, good, invasion. Look, in fact, at God’s love for mankind. The condemned have not yet died, neither Adam nor Eve. Abel, who did not sin, first of all... (further omission). 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”