Слово 45

1. “He stood on my watch,” says the wonderful Habakkuk (Hab. 2:1). I will stand with him now, according to the power and contemplation given to me by the Spirit; I will “look” and find out what will be shown to me and what will be “said.” I stood and looked: and behold a man ascended on the clouds, a very tall man, and “his image was like the appearance of an angel” (Judges 13:6), and his clothing was like the brilliance of flying lightning. He raised his hand to the east, exclaimed with a loud voice (and his voice was like the voice of a trumpet, and around him was like “the host of heaven”) and said: “Now is salvation for the world, the visible world and the invisible world! Christ from the dead - rise with Him you too; Christ in His glory, you also ascend; Christ from the grave - free yourself from the bonds of sin; the gates of hell are opened, death is destroyed, the old Adam is put aside, a new one is created: “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17); be renewed." So he spoke, and others sang the same as before, when Christ appeared to us through his birth: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). 2. With them, I (oh if only I had a voice worthy of an angel’s song and announcing the ends of the world!) tell you this: Easter! The Lord's Easter! I will also say in honor of the Trinity: Easter! She is our holiday celebration and celebration of celebrations; so far surpasses all celebrations, not only human and earthly, but even those of Christ and for Christ, as much as the sun surpasses the stars. It was wonderful for us yesterday that everything shone and shone with the light with which we filled both private houses and public places, when people, of almost every kind and every rank, illuminated the night with generous lights, in the image of a great light, the light with which the sky shines from above, illuminating the whole world with its beauties, the premium light that flows from the angels, the first bright nature after the First Nature, - and Light in The Trinity, by which all light is composed, divided and adorned from the indivisible Light. But the current luminosity is more beautiful and brilliant, because yesterday’s light was the forerunner of the great and resurrected Light, and, as it were, pre-holiday joy; and now we celebrate the resurrection itself, not yet expected, but already accomplished and reconciling the whole world. 3. Therefore, let others bear whatever other fruits they may have, and let each one offer his own gift to the time - a festive gift, large or small, but spiritual and pleasing to God, as much as each has the strength to do so. For even the angels, the first beings, spiritual and pure, spectators and witnesses of the heavenly glory, are unlikely to bring a gift commensurate with their dignity, although they are capable of the most perfect hymn. And I will bring the word as a gift, as the best and most precious of all that I have, especially when I sing the Word for its benefit to the rational nature. I'll start with this. For, sacrificing the word about the great Sacrifice and about the greatest of days, I cannot help but flow towards God and make a beginning for myself in Him. And you, who delight in such objects, so that you can come out from here, having enjoyed what is truly inconceivable, since my word is about God and divine, purify your mind, your hearing, and your thought. The word will be the most complete and at the same time the shortest, just as it will not upset you with a lack, so it will not bore you with excess. 4. God always was, is and will be, or, better said, always is, for the words was and will mean the divisions of our time and are characteristic of a transitory nature, and “He who is” is always. And He calls Himself by this name when talking with Moses on the mountain (Ex. 3:14); because it concentrates in Himself the entire existence, which did not begin and will not cease. Like a certain sea of essence, indefinite and infinite, stretching beyond any concept of time and nature, with one mind (and this is very unclear and insufficient - not in reasoning what is in Himself, but in reasoning what is around Him), through sketching out some outlines, He is shaded into one kind of image of reality, escaping before it is caught, and escaping before it is imagined, just as embracing with radiance what is sovereign in us, if it is purified, as quickly as the speed of flying lightning illuminates the gaze. And this, it seems to me, is in order to attract those who are comprehensible to Himself (for the completely incomprehensible is hopeless and inaccessible), and lead to surprise in those who are incomprehensible, and through surprise to arouse a greater desire and through the desire to purify, and through purification to make God-like; and when we become such, we can already converse as with the eternal (the word dares to say something bold) - conversing with God, who has entered into unity with the gods and is known by them, perhaps as much as He knows those known by him (1 Cor. 13:12). 5. So, the Divinity is limitless and inconceivable. This one thing is completely comprehensible in Him - His infinity, although others consider it to be an attribute of simple nature - to be either completely incomprehensible or completely comprehensible. But let us examine what constitutes the essence of simple nature, because simplicity does not yet constitute its nature, just as in complex beings complexity alone does not constitute nature. Reason, considering the infinite in two respects - in relation to the beginning and in relation to the end (for the infinite extends beyond the beginning and the end and does not lie between them), when it fixes its gaze on the mountain abyss and does not find where to stop, or where to put a limit to its ideas about God, then the infinite and unsearchable is called beginningless, and when, rushing into the deep abyss, it experiences the same as before, then it calls it immortal and incorruptible; when it brings both into unity, then it calls it eternal; for eternity is neither time nor a part of time, because it is immeasurable. But what is time for us, measured by the movement of the sun, is for the eternal, eternity, something associated with eternal beings and, as it were, some temporary movement and distance. 6. Let our wisdom about God be limited to this now, because there is no time to expand, and the subject of my word is not theology, but God’s economy. When I name God, I mean the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, both without dividing the Divinity beyond this number of Persons, so as not to introduce a plurality of gods, so as not limiting us to a smaller number, so as not to condemn us in the poverty of the Divinity when we fall either into Judaism, defending unity of command, or into paganism, defending plurality. In both cases the evil is equal, although from opposite causes. Such is the Holy of Holies, hidden from the Seraphim themselves and glorified by the three Holy Things, which converge into a single Dominion and Divinity, about which someone else spoke beautifully and very highly before us. 7. But since for Goodness it was not enough to exercise only in contemplation of Itself, but it was necessary that the good spread, go further and further, so that the number of those benefited was as large as possible (for this is characteristic of the highest Goodness), then God invents, firstly, angelic and heavenly powers. And the thought became a deed, which was filled with the Word and accomplished by the Spirit. This is how the second lordships arose, the servants of the first lordship, whether by them we mean intelligent spirits, or a kind of immaterial and incorporeal fire, or some other nature closest to what has been said. I would like to say that they do not move towards evil and have only movement towards good, as existing around God and directly illuminated by God (for earthly things use secondary illumination), but to recognize and call them not motionless, but unmovable, the angel convinces me - by lordship, but because of exaltation he became and is called darkness, with the god-apostate forces subordinate to him, which through their removal from good became the culprits evil, and we are being drawn into it. So, for such reasons, God created the intelligent world, as far as I can philosophize about it, weighing the great with a small mind. 8. Since the first creatures were pleasing to God, he invents another world - material and visible; and this is the harmonious composition of heaven, earth and what is between them, amazing for the beautiful qualities of each thing, and even more worthy of surprise for the harmony and harmony of the whole, in which one thing to another, and everything to everything is in a wonderful relationship, serving to the completeness of a single world. And by this, God showed that He is able to create not only a kindred nature, but also a completely alien nature to Himself. Akin to the Divine are natures that are intelligent and comprehended by one mind, but creatures that are subject to feelings are completely alien, and of these, creatures that are completely inanimate and immovable are even further removed from the Divine nature. 9. So, the mind and feeling, so different from each other, became within their limits and expressed the greatness of the Creative Word, as silent praisers and clear-speaking preachers of splendor. But there has not yet been a mixture of mind and feeling, a combination of opposites - this experience of the highest Wisdom, this generosity in the formation of natures, and not all the wealth of Goodness has yet been discovered. Having wanted to show this too, the artist’s Word creates a living being, in which both are brought into unity, that is, invisible and visible nature, creates, I say, man; and from the already created substance, taking the body, and putting life from Himself (which in the word of God is known under the name of the soul and image of God), creates, as it were, a kind of second world, great in small things, leaves on earth another angel, a worshiper made up of different natures, a spectator of the visible creation, a witness of the secrets of the intelligible creation, a king over what is on earth, subordinate to the heavenly kingdom, earthly and heavenly, temporary and immortal, visible and intelligible, an angel who occupies the middle between greatness and baseness, one and the same is spirit and flesh - spirit for grace, flesh for exaltation, spirit to abide and glorify the Benefactor, flesh to suffer, and while suffering, remember and learn how generously endowed he is with greatness; creates a living being, here prepared and transferred to another world and (which is the end of the mystery) through the desire for God achieving deification. For the light of truth moderated here serves for me to see and bear the lightness of God, worthy of Him who binds and looses, and unites again in the most excellent way. 10. Having honored this man with freedom, so that the good belonged no less to the one who chooses than to the one who invested its seeds, God left him in paradise (whatever this paradise means) as a worker of immortal plants - perhaps of divine thoughts, both simple and more perfect, and placed him naked in simplicity and unartificial life, without any cover or fencing, for such was the primordial one to be. It also gives a law for the exercise of freedom. The law was a commandment: what plants should he use and what plants should he not touch. And the last was the tree of knowledge, and it was not planted at first with malicious intent, and it was not forbidden out of envy (let not those who fight God open their mouths, and let them not imitate the serpent!); on the contrary, it was good for those who consume it in good time (because this tree, in my opinion, was contemplation, which only those with experience can safely approach), but not good for the simple and also for those who are immoderate in their desire, just as perfect food is not good for the weak and in need of milk. 11. When, because of the envy of the devil and the seduction of the wife, to which she herself was subjected as the weakest and which she produced as skillful in persuasion (oh my weakness! For the weakness of the ancestor is also my own), the man forgot the commandment given to him and was overcome by bitter taste; then, through sin, he becomes an exile, removed at the same time from the tree of life, and from paradise, and from God, puts on leather garments (perhaps in the coarsest, mortal and opposing flesh), for the first time knows his own shame and hides from God. However, even here something is gained, namely death - in the suppression of sin, so that evil does not become immortal. Thus, the punishment itself is done by philanthropy, for this, as I am sure, is how God punishes. 12. But in order to block many sins, which were the root of damage from different causes and at different times, man had previously been admonished in many different ways: in words, by the Law, by the Prophets, by blessings, threats, punishments, floods, fires, wars, victories, defeats, signs from heaven, signs in the air, on land, at sea, unexpected turns in the fate of people, cities, nations (all this smoothed out the damage); Finally, the strongest remedy became necessary due to the most severe illnesses: murder, adultery, perjury, masculinity, and this last and first of all evils - idolatry and worship of the creature instead of the Creator. Since all this required the strongest means, the strongest was given. And it was the following. 13. The Word of God itself, eternal, invisible, incomprehensible, incorporeal. The Beginning from the Beginning, Light from Light, the source of life and immortality, the Imprint of the Prototype, the Imprint unbearable, the Immutable Image, the definition and word of the Father, comes to His image, bears flesh for the sake of flesh, unites with a rational soul for the sake of my soul, purifying like with like, becomes a man in everything except sin. Although the Virgin, in whom the soul and body were purified by the Spirit, is pregnant (for it was necessary to honor both birth and chastity), yet the One who came into being is God and with what was received 278 from Him, one of two opposites - flesh and Spirit, of which One deified, the other deified. 14. O new mixture! O wonderful dissolution! The Existent begins to be, the Uncreated is created, the Incomprehensible is embraced through the rational soul, mediating between the Divine and the gross flesh; He who is rich becomes poor - he becomes poor even in my flesh, so that I may become rich in His Divinity; He who is fulfilled is exhausted - exhausted for a short time in His glory, so that I may be a partaker of His fullness. What a wealth of goodness! What is this mystery about me? I received the image of God and did not keep it; He perceives my flesh in order to save both the image and the flesh to immortalize. He enters into a second communication with us, which is much more wonderful than the first, since then he gave us the best, but now he will accept the worst; but this is more divine than the first, this is higher for those who have intelligence. 15. “But what do we care about that? - perhaps some overly zealous holiday lover will say. “Drive your horse to the goal, and think wisely about what relates to the holiday and why we have gathered today.” I will do so, although I began somewhat distantly, to which I was forced by diligence and words. 16. For lovers of learning and grace, it might be a good idea to briefly examine the name of Easter itself, for such a digression would not be unworthy of hearing. The great and venerable Passover is called Passover by the Jews in their language (where the word means “passing”) - historically, due to the flight and migration from Egypt to Canaanite, and spiritually, due to the passage and ascent from the earthly to the heavenly and to the Promised Land. But in many places of Scripture we find that some names are changed from unclear to clear, or from rude to most decent; we see the same thing here. For some, taking this word as the name of saving suffering, then adapting it to the Hellenic language, after changing F to P, and K to X, called this day Easter 279. And the habit of the changed word made it the most common, because it pleased the ears of the people as a more pious expression. 17. The Divine Apostle before us also said that the whole Law is a “shadow of things to come” (Col. 2:17) and of things imagined. And God, who spoke to Moses when he gave laws about this, said: “See, do everything according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain” (Ex. 25:40), making it clear that the visible is a certain shade and design of the invisible. And I am sure that nothing was established in vain, without reason, for a low purpose and unworthy of God's legislation and Mosaic service, although it is difficult for each shadow to invent a special speculation that explains all the details of what was legalized regarding the tabernacle itself, the measures, the substance, the Levites who wore it and served with it, and regarding the sacrifices, purifications and offerings. This is understandable only for those who are like Moses in virtue and come closest to him in learning. For even on the mountain itself God appears to people, partly Himself descending from His heights, and partly raising us up from the lowness below, so that the Unattainable One can be comprehended by mortal nature, although in a small measure and as far as it is safe for it. And it is impossible for the heaviness of a mortal body and a prisoner mind to comprehend God except with God’s help. Therefore, even then, not everyone, as we know, is awarded the same rank and place, but one is awarded one, and another another, each, as I think, according to the degree of his purification. And others were completely removed, and received permission to hear one voice from above; These are those who were likened to beasts in morals and were unworthy of divine sacraments. However, we, having chosen the middle between them, who are completely coarse in mind, and those who are too indulged in speculation and soaring of the mind, so as not to remain completely inactive and motionless, and also not to become inquisitive beyond measure, not to evade and not move away from the proposed subject (one would be something Jewish and base, the other would be like the interpretation of dreams, and both are equally reprehensible), we will talk about this to the best of our ability, without going into extreme absurdities worthy of ridicule. 18. I reason like this. Since we, who at first fell through sin and lust, were involved even in idolatry and lawless bloodshed, had to be raised again and brought to the primitive state, according to the great mercy of God our Father, who did not suffer so that such a work of His hand - man - would remain damaged, how is he restored? And what happens? Strong healing is not approved, as it is incorrect and capable of producing new wounds, due to the tumor hardening over time; A meek and humane method of healing was found for correction, because even a crooked branch cannot withstand sudden bending and the force of a straightening hand and is more likely to break than straighten. A hot and old horse does not tolerate a painful rein without some kind of flattery and affection. Therefore, the Law is given to us to help us, like a wall placed between God and idols, to lead us away from idols and lead us to God. And at first he allows other unimportant things in order to acquire the most important things. He allows sacrifices for now in order to restore in us the knowledge of God. Then, when the time has come, he cancels the sacrifices, wisely changing us through gradual deprivations, and leading us, already accustomed to obedience, to the Gospel. So, for this occasion, a written Law appeared, gathering us to Christ, and this, in my opinion, is the reason for the sacrifices! 19. But in order for you to know the depth of wisdom and the richness of the unsearchable judgments of God, God did not leave the sacrifices themselves completely unsanctified, imperfect and limited to the shedding of blood, but to the subordinate sacrifices is added a great and relatively to the first Nature, so to speak, unslaughtered Sacrifice - the cleansing not of a small part of the Universe and not for a short time, but of the whole world and eternal. For this purpose, a “lamb” is taken (Ex. 12:5) out of kindness and as a garment of ancient nakedness, for such is the Sacrifice offered for us, which is and is called the garment of incorruptibility. “Perfect” not only in the Divinity, in comparison with Whom there is nothing more perfect, but also in the received nature, which is anointed by the Divinity, and has become the same with the Anointed One and, I dare say, together with God. “Male” because it is offered for Adam, or better yet, because it is stronger than the strong one, the first to fall in sin, especially because it does not have anything feminine in itself that is not characteristic of a husband, but on the contrary, by great power, by force breaks the virginal and maternal bonds and is born from the prophetess of the male sex, as Isaiah preaches (Isaiah 8:3). “One-year-old”, as “the sun of righteousness” (Mal. 4:2), or emerging from 280, or described as visible and returning to Himself, and as a “blessed crown of goodness” (Ps. 64:12), everywhere equal and similar to Himself, and beyond this, and as that by which the circle of virtues is enlivened, imperceptibly merging and dissolving among themselves according to the law of reciprocity and order. “Immaculate” and undefiled, because it heals from shame and from shortcomings and defilements caused by damage, for although He took upon Himself our sins and suffered illnesses, He Himself was not subjected to anything that required healing. “Tempted” was “in all things like us, except sin” (Heb. 4:15), because the persecutor of the “Light”, Who “shines in the darkness, did not comprehend Him” (John 1:5). What else? The first month is mentioned, or better said, “the beginning of months” (Ex. 12:2), either because it was like that among the Jews for a long time, or because it became like that later, from that very time, and from the sacrament received the name of the first. “On the tenth day of the month” (Ex. 12:3) is the most complete of numbers, the first of units, the perfect unit and the parent of perfection. It is observed until the fifth day (Exodus 12:6), perhaps because my sacrifice is a cleansing one for the feelings from which I fall and in which I struggle, since they accept the sting of sin. It is chosen not only “from the sheep”, but also from the worst nature, from those standing on the left hand, “from the goats” (Ex. 12:5), because it is slaughtered not only for the righteous, but also for sinners, and for the latter, perhaps all the more so because we need greater love for mankind. It is not at all surprising that there is a special need for a “lamb” for each home, and if not, then due to poverty through a contribution “from home to home.” For it is best for everyone to be sufficient on his own to acquire perfection, and to bring a living, holy sacrifice to the calling God, always and in everything sanctified. If not, then he must attract helpers who are akin to him in virtue and similar in disposition. This, I think, means, in case of need, to include neighbors in the sacrifice. Then the sacred night, the opponent of this night - real indivisible life, the night in which the original darkness is destroyed, everything comes into the light, in order and in its form, the former ugliness accepts beauty. Then we flee from Egypt, the dark persecutor - sin, we flee from Pharaoh, the invisible tormentor and from the merciless caretakers, moving to the heavenly world, we free ourselves from “working with clay” and “bricks”, from the composition of this corruptible and creeping flesh, most often uncontrollable by anything except mortal thoughts. Then the lamb is slaughtered, and with honest blood deeds and mind, or strength and activity are sealed - these doorposts (Ex. 12:7) of our doors, I mean movements of thought and opinion, beautifully opened and concluded by speculation, because there is a certain measure for concepts. Then the last and most severe execution for the persecutors, truly worthy of the night: Egypt weeps over the firstborn of its own thoughts and deeds, which is called in Scripture the tribe of the Chaldeans taken away (Is. 48:14) and the Babylonian babies, broken and crushed against the stone (Ps. 137:9). Everywhere the Egyptians are crying and crying, and then their destroyer will retreat from us, honoring the anointing and fearing it. Then the rejection of leaven for seven days (the most mysterious number and closely related to this world), removing a long-standing and outdated error (and not the leaven of bread and life), so as not to have with you on the way the Egyptian dough and the remnants of the Pharisees and godless teachings. The Egyptians will weep, and let the lamb be eaten by us “in the evening” (Ex. 12:6), because at the end of the ages the suffering of Christ. And Christ, destroying sinful darkness, in the evening introduces his disciples to the sacrament. Not “boiled”, but “baked” (Ex. 12:8-9), so that in our word there is nothing rash and watery, and conveniently blooming, but so that it is solid and dense, tempted by purifying fire, free from everything rough and superfluous, so that with good coals, igniting and purifying our mental ability, the One who has come will help us to “bring down fire to the earth” ( Luke 12:49), by which bad habits are destroyed, and He hastens to kindle it. And what is carnal and nutritious in the word, let it be eaten and consumed with the entrails and secrets of the mind, and subjected to spiritual digestion - everything from head to toe, that is, to the first speculations about the Divinity and to the last speculations about the Incarnation. But we will not endure anything, we will not leave anything “until the morning” (Ex. 12:10), because many of our sacraments should not be divulged to outsiders, because after this night there is no purification, because it is not commendable to postpone until another time for those who have received the word. Just as it is good and godly that anger should not last the whole day, but should cease before sunset (whether this is understood in real time, or mysteriously, for it is not safe for us who are angry to see the Sun of Truth set), so this dish should not be left for the whole night and put off until the next day. And let the “bones” and inedible things, that is, incomprehensible to us, not be “broken” (Exodus 12:10), through bad division and understanding (let me say for a moment that the bones of Jesus were not broken in the historical sense, although the crucifiers wanted to hasten death because of the Sabbath), and let them not be cast out and plundered, so that “the holy thing is not given to the dogs” - the evil tormenters of the word, and not to throw to the swine that which is in the word as bright as beads, but let it be “burnt” by the fire with which they are burned, and let all the burnt offerings be refined and observed by the testing and guiding Spirit, and not perish and be scattered on the waters, as Moses did with the head of the calf cast by the Israelites, as a reproach for their hardness of heart. 20. The image of eating should not be ignored, because the Law did not keep silent about this, but also hid speculation about this in the letter. Let us consume the sacrifice with “thoroughness,” eating it “with unleavened bread and bitter herbs” (Ex. 12:8), girding our loins and putting on “shoes,” and like the elders, leaning on “staffs” (Ex. 12:11). “With care,” so as not to do what the commandment forbids Lot, let us not “look around and stop anywhere in the surroundings of this mountain, let us save ourselves, lest we perish from Sodom and the extraordinary fire” (Gen. 19:17), and let us not harden into a pillar of salt from returning to the worst, which is produced by delay. “With bitter herbs,” because life according to God is bitter and difficult, especially for beginners, and it despises pleasure. For although the new “yoke is easy and the burden is light,” as you hear (Matthew 11:30), it is such because of hope and reward, which is incomparably more generous than what the suffering here would deserve. And without this, who does not recognize that the Gospel is much more difficult and burdensome than legal decrees? The law prohibits the commission of sins, and we are turned to guilt and reasons, almost like actions. The law says: “You shall not commit adultery” (Matthew 5:27). And don’t have lust, don’t kindle passions with curious and attentive views. The Law says: “You shall not kill” (Matthew 5:21). And you not only do not take revenge for the blow, but even give yourself up to the will of the striker. The latter is so much more wise than the former! The law says: “Thou shalt not break an oath” (Matthew 5:33). And don’t swear at all, no less, no more, because an oath gives rise to perjury. The law says: “You shall not add house to house, or field to field” (Is. 5:8), “oppressing the poor” (Ezek. 22:29). And you willingly give back what you have acquired with truth, expose yourself to the poor, so that you can easily take the cross and be rich in the invisible. Let the dumb have untied and ungirdled loins, because they do not have reason that rules over voluptuousness (I am not saying yet that they also know the limit of natural movement). And you, with a belt and chastity, tame lust and this “neighing” in yourself, as the Divine Scripture says (Jer. 5:8), decrying the vileness of passion, so that you can taste the Passover pure, “mortifying the members of the earth” (Col. 3:5) and imitating the belt of John, the hermit, Forerunner and great preacher of the truth. I also know another belt, namely a military one and signifying courage, for which some are called “good belts” 281. Actually, “dobropoyasnik” means “heavily armed,” and “unipoyasnik” means lightly armed. (Joshua 4:13) and “the Syrians of the same belt” (2 Kings 24:2). God speaks about him when talking with Job: “You will gird up your waist like a man” (Job 40:2), and give a courageous answer. And the divine David boasts that God “girds him with strength” (Ps. 17:33), and he represents God himself “clothed with power and girded” (Ps. 93:1), obviously against the wicked, if anyone does not want to understand by this abundance and at the same time, as it were, a limitation of power, in which sense God is “clothed with light as with a robe” (Ps. 103:2). For who can resist His unlimited power and light? I ask, what do loins and truth have in common? What does St. Paul mean when he says, “Stand with your loins girded with truth” (Eph. 6:14)? Is it not that contemplation curbs the power of lust in us and does not allow it to strive to another place? For love for anything alone does not allow one to strive with the same force for other pleasures. 21. Whoever intends to enter a holy land that bears the footprints of God, let him “take off his shoes,” like Moses on the mountain (Ex. 3:5), so as not to bring in anything dead that constitutes an environment between God and people. Also, if any disciple is sent to preach the gospel, he, as a wise man and a stranger to any excess, must not only not have with him copper, a rod and more than one robe, but also be unshod, so that “beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of peace” (Is. 52:7) and all other blessings. But whoever flees from Egypt and from everything Egyptian must wear boots, for safety both from anything else and from scorpions and snakes, of which there are many in Egypt, so as not to suffer harm from those who watch the heel on whom we are commanded to tread (Luke 10:19). I think this way about the rod and its hidden sign. I know the rod used for support, as well as the pastoral and teaching rod, with which the verbal sheep are turned to the path. But now the law commands you to take a rod for support, so that you do not stumble when you hear about the blood, suffering and death of God, and thinking about becoming God’s defender, do not fall into atheism. On the contrary, boldly and without hesitation eat the Body and drink the Blood if you desire life. Without unbelief, listen to the teaching about the Flesh and without being tempted, listen to the teaching about suffering, stand, leaning firmly, unshakably, not wavering in the least before your opponents, not in the least carried away by the teachings of probability, place yourself on high, place “your feet in the gates of Jerusalem” (Ps. 122:2), establish them on the rock, “let not your feet falter” (Ps. 16:5), walking according to God. What do you say? It was so pleasing to “God” that you should come “out of Egypt, from the iron furnace” (Deut. 4:20), leave the polytheism there, and be led by Moses, the legislator and military leader. 22. I will offer you advice that is inappropriate for me, or better yet, completely decent if you look at it spiritually. Borrow gold and silver vessels from the Egyptians and go with them, stocking up for the journey with strangers, or better yet, with your own. You must receive wages for slavery and making bricks; manage to somehow demand it, take it from them by deception. Yes! You lived in poverty here, fought with clay - with this burdensome and unclean body, built strange and fragile cities, the “memory” of which “perishes with them” (Ps. 9:7). So what? Are you really going to leave with nothing, without reward? Will you really leave to the Egyptians and alien powers what they have acquired badly and are squandering even worse? This is not their property, they forcibly appropriated it for themselves, stole it from the One who said: “The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine” (Hag. 2:8), I will give it to whomever I want. Yesterday it belonged to them - it was allowed, but now the Lord brings it and gives it to you, who will use it well and savingly. Let us gain for ourselves “friends through unrighteous wealth, when we become poor” - during the judgment, let us take back what we have (Luke 16:9). If you are Rachel or Leah, a patriarchal and great soul, steal the idols that you find from your father, not in order to save them, but in order to destroy them. If you are a wise Israeli, take them to the promised land. Let the persecutor grieve over this too, and the outwitted will know that he tortured and enslaved those better than him in vain. 23. If you do this, you will come out of Egypt; I know without a doubt that a pillar of fire and cloud will show you the way day and night, the desert will no longer be wild, the sea will be divided, Pharaoh will be mired, the rain will pour down bread, the stone will pour out water, Amalek will be overthrown not only with weapons, but also with the battle-bearing hands of the righteous, depicting both prayer and the invincible sign of the Cross, the river will stop flowing, the sun will become, the moon will slow down on its way, the walls will fall without battering guns will be preceded by “hornets” (Deut. 7:20), paving the way for Israel and repelling foreigners; and without continuing the words I will say that everything that is narrated behind this and along with this will be given to you from God. 24. This is the holiday that you celebrate today! Such is the feast that is offered to you on your birthday for the sake of you who was born and on the day of burial for your sake who suffered! This is the mystery of Easter for you! This was prescribed by the Law, this was accomplished by Christ - the destroyer of the letter, the perfecter of the spirit, Who, by teaching us to suffer with His sufferings, grants with His glorification the opportunity to be glorified with Him. 25. It remains to investigate a question and a dogma that is ignored by many, but for me it very much requires research. To whom and for what purpose was this blood shed for us shed - the great and glorious blood of God and the Bishop and the Sacrifice? We were in the power of the evil one, sold into sin and bought damage for ourselves through voluptuousness. And if the price of redemption is given to no one other than the one in power; I ask: to whom and for what reason was such a price brought? If the evil one, then how offensive it is! The robber receives the price of redemption, receives not only from God, but from God himself; for his torment he takes such an immense payment that it would have been fair to spare us for it! And if to the Father, then, firstly, how? It was not to Him that we were held captive. And secondly, for what reason is the blood of the Only Begotten pleasing to the Father, who did not accept Isaac offered by his father, but replaced the sacrifice by giving a ram instead of the promised sacrifice? Or is it clear from this that the Father accepts, not because he demanded or had a need, but according to the economy and because man needed to be sanctified by the humanity of God, so that He Himself would deliver us, overcoming the tormentor by force, and raise us to Himself through the Son who mediates and arranges everything in honor of the Father, to whom He appears to be submissive in everything? These are the works of Christ, and let anything else be honored with silence. 26. Although the copper serpent is hung against the biting serpents, it is not as an image of Him who suffered for us, but as representing the opposite, and it saves those who look at it not through the confidence that it is alive, but because the one who was deposed (which he deserved) was himself killed and kills with him the forces that were subject to him. And what kind of tombstone is suitable for him from us? "Death! where is your sting? Hell! where is your victory? (1 Cor. 15:55) You are deposed by the Cross, slain by the Life-Giver, lifeless, dead, motionless, inactive, and although you retain the image of a serpent, you are consigned to shame on high! 27. But let us partake of Easter, now in a representative way, although more openly than in the Old Testament. For the legal Passover (I dare say and say it) was an even more obscure formation of transformation. And later and soon we will partake more perfectly and purer, when the Word drinks with us this “new thing in the kingdom of the Father” (Matthew 26:29), revealing and teaching what has now been revealed to them to some extent, for what is now known is always new. What does this drinking and this eating consist of? - For you it is to learn, and for Him to teach and communicate the word to His disciples, for teaching is food for the one who feeds. 28. But gradually we too will become familiar with the law, according to the Gospel, and not according to letters, completely, and not imperfectly, eternally, and not temporarily. Let us make our head not the Jerusalem below, but the metropolis of the mountains - a city not now trampled by armies, but glorified by angels. Let us not sacrifice “calves” and lambs with “horns and hooves” (Ps. 69:32), in which there is much that is dead and senseless. But “let us offer praise to God” (Ps. 49:14) on the altar on high with the images on high. Let us pass through the first veil, proceed to the second veil, and enter into the Holy of Holies. I will say even more: let us sacrifice ourselves to God, or better yet, let us offer every movement every day. Let us accept everything for the sake of the Word, in suffering we will imitate Passion, we will honor the Blood with our blood, we will willingly ascend to the cross. Nails are coveted, although very painful. For to suffer with Christ and for Christ is more desirable than to enjoy with others. 29. If you are Simon of Cyrene, then take up the cross and follow. If you have been crucified with Christ as a thief, then as one who is grateful, know God. If He is “counted among the evildoers” (Mark 15:28) for you and for your sin, then be you for His sake a doer of the law. And the crucified one, bow to the Crucified One for you, benefit even from your vicious life, buy salvation by death, enter with Jesus into paradise to find out from where you fell, contemplate the beauties there, and leave the complainer with his blasphemies to die outside. If you are Joseph of Arimathea, ask the crucifier for the body; Let the cleansing of the world be your cleansing. If you are Nicodemus, the night reader of God, place Him in a coffin with incense. If you are one or the other of Mary, or Salome, or John, cry early, try to be the first to see the taken away stone, and maybe the angels, and Jesus himself; say something, listen to voices; and if you hear: “Do not touch Me” (John 20:17), stand far away, almost the Word, but do not be offended. He knows who will appear before others. Renew the resurrection; Help Eve, who fell first, to be the first to greet Christ and proclaim to the disciples. Be Peter and John, hurry to the tomb, go sometimes “quickly”, sometimes “together” (John 20:4), competing with good competition. If they surpassed you with speed, then surpass you with diligence, not only by pressing into the coffin, but by going inside. If, like Thomas, you are not together with the gathered disciples, who is Christ, do not be unfaithful after you see. And if you don’t believe it, believe those who say it. If you don’t believe them, then believe the wounds from the nails. If he descends into hell, you too descend with Him, and learn the mysteries of Christ there: what is the economy and what is the reason for the double condescension? Does He save everyone without exception by appearing there, or only believers? If he ascends to heaven, then ascend with Him and you, be among the angels accompanying or meeting Him, commanded “the gates to rise” (Ps. 23:7), to become higher in order to receive the Exalted One through suffering; perplexed because of the body and the signs of suffering, without which he descended and with which he ascends, and therefore asking: “Who is this King of glory?” - answer: “The Lord is strong and strong - strong” both in everything that he has always created and is creating, and in the current battle and victory for humanity; and to a double question give a double answer. If they wonder, saying, as in the dramatization of Isaiah: “Who is this that comes from Edom” and from the earthly? And why does the bloodless and incorporeal one have “scarlet robes”, like a winemaker who has worn out a full winepress (Isa. 63:1–3)? - you point out the beauty of the clothing of the suffering body, adorned by suffering and enlightened by the Divine, who is most kind and beautiful. 30. What will slanderers tell us about this, evil connoisseurs of the Divine, detractors of what is praiseworthy, enveloped in darkness in the very Light, the ignorant in the very Wisdom, those for whom Christ died in vain, ungrateful creatures, creatures of the evil one? Are you blaming God for His good deed? Is it because He is small that He humbled Himself for you? That the “Good Shepherd” came to the lost one, laying down his life for the sheep (John 10:11); came to those mountains and hills on which you made sacrifices, and found the lost one, and took the found one onto the same shoulders on which you bore the cross, and again brought the accepted one to the heavenly life. And did he number the one who was brought among those who remained in his rank? That he “lit a candle” - His flesh, and “swept the room”, cleansing the world from sin, and “found a drachma” - a royal image littered with passions; after receiving the drachma, He convenes His powers that are in love, and makes those whom He has made witnesses of the mystery of His economy (Luke 15:8–9) participants in the joy? That the most radiant Light follows the lamp that preceded it, the Word follows the voice, the Bridegroom follows the bridegroom, preparing for the Lord “a special people” (Titus 2:14) and purifying with water for the Spirit? Are you blaming God for this? Why do you consider Him low because He “girds Himself with a towel” and washes the feet of His disciples (John 13:4.5), and points out the most perfect path to exaltation - humility? What humbles himself for the sake of a soul that has bowed down to the ground, in order to lift up with Himself that which has been brought down by sin? How can you not blame the fact that He eats with tax collectors and from tax collectors, that He has tax collectors as disciples, and that He Himself will acquire something? What will he gain? - Salvation of sinners. Would anyone blame a doctor for bending down to wounds and enduring the stench just to restore health to the sick? Should we also blame the one who, out of compassion, bent down to the pit in order, according to the law (Ex. 23:5; Luke 14:5), to save the cattle that had fallen into it? 31. It is true that He was sent, but as a man (because He has two natures; so, He was tired, and hungry, and thirsty, and was in struggle, and wept - according to the law of bodily nature), and if He was sent also as God, what of this? By embassy, ​​understand the favor of the Father, to Whom He refers His deeds, in order to honor the flightless beginning and not seem to be an enemy to God. It is said of Him that He was betrayed (Rom. 11:25), but it is also written that He betrayed Himself (Eph. 5:2, 25). It is said that He was resurrected by the Father and ascended (Acts 3:15, 1:11), but it is also written that He resurrected Himself and ascended again into heaven (1 Thess. 4:14; Eph. 4:10) - the first by good will, the second by authority. But you expose what is derogatory and pass over in silence what is elevating. You argue that He suffered, but do not add that He suffered voluntarily. How much the Word suffers even now! Some honor him as God and unite him; others dishonor Him like flesh - and separate Him. With whom will He be more angry, or, better said, with whom He will forgive their sin? Is it those who unite, or those who dissect wickedly? For the first were to be divided, and the last to be united, the first in relation to number, and the last in relation to the Divinity. Are you tempted by the flesh? And the Jews were also tempted. Wouldn't you also call Him a Samaritan? I won’t say anything about what comes next. Don't you believe in His Divinity? But the demons also believed in Him, O you, who are more unfaithful than the demons and more ignorant than the Jews! Some recognized the name of the Son as meaning equality, while others recognized God in the expeller, for this was confirmed by what He suffered from Him. But you neither accept equality nor confess the Divinity in Him. It would be better to be circumcised and become possessed (I’ll say something funny), than to be uncircumcised and in a healthy state to have evil and ungodly thoughts. 32. But we will either stop fighting with them if they wish, although it is too late, to become more chaste, or we will postpone it until time, if they do not want this, but will remain the same as they are now. We will not be afraid of anything, struggling for the Trinity and with the Trinity. Now we need to briefly present the content of the word. We received being in order to prosper, and we prospered after we received being. We were entrusted with paradise to enjoy, we were given a commandment so that, by preserving it, we would earn glory - given not because God did not know the future, but because He decreed the law of freedom. We are deceived because we aroused envy; we are fallen because we transgressed the law; They fasted because they did not keep the fast, being defeated by the tree of knowledge, for this commandment was ancient and contemporary to us, serving as a kind of nurturer for the soul and a curb in pleasure, and we are rightly subordinated to it, so that by observing it we can regain for ourselves what we have lost through non-observance. We needed God incarnate and killed, so that we could come to life. We died with Him in order to be cleansed, we were resurrected with Him, because we died with Him; They were glorified with Him because they were raised with Him. There were many miracles at that time: God being crucified, the sun darkening and rekindling again (for it was necessary for creatures to have compassion for the Creator), a curtain being split, blood and water pouring out of a rib (one because He was a man, the other because He was higher than a man), the earth shaking, the stones being torn apart for the sake of the Stone; the dead who have risen in assurance that there will be a final and general resurrection, miracles during burial, which will anyone sing worthily? But none of them compares to the miracle of my salvation. A few drops of blood recreate the whole world, and for all people they become the same as leaven for milk, gathering and connecting us together. But a great and holy Easter, and the cleansing of the whole world! – I will talk to you as if you were something animate. The Word of God, and light, and life, and wisdom, and power! - All your names make me happy. The generation, origin and imprint of the great Mind! The intelligible Word and the intelligible Man, who “upholds all things by the word of his power” (Heb. 1:3)! Accept now this word, not the first, but perhaps my last fruit bearing; a word of gratitude and prayer at the same time, so that I would not endure other sorrows than the necessary and sacred ones in which my life passed. Stop either the tormenting power of the body over me (for you see, Lord, how great and burdensome it is), or Your sentence, if we are deposed from You. If I am resolved as I wish, and will be accepted under the heavenly roof, then perhaps there too I will lay what is pleasing on Thy holy altar, Father, and Word, and Holy Soul. For all glory, honor and power are due to you forever, amen. You might be interested in: