Глава 10 О воскресении мертвых

1. About the resurrection of the dead according to the belief of St. saints of God. I believe in the resurrection of the dead by St. the saints testified clearly and undoubtedly. St. Anthony confessed: I believe in the Lord that in the resurrection of the dead this body will rise incorruptible. “I am not afraid of death,” says St. Jacob the Persian to the king who threatened him with torture. Temporary death is not death, but sleep; “As if from a dream, all people will rise from their graves at the terrible coming of my Christ.” When this St. They cut off the martyr’s big finger, and the royal officer began to admonish him, saying: Spare yourself, Jacob, obey the command of the king, bow to the gods, and you will live, then he said: “When they cut off its branches from a vine, then in each cut place it vegetates again and bears fruit, so is a person planted in the vineyard of the Most High God and attached to the true Vine - the Son of God, now cut off by temporary death, in the next century he will rise whole, green with the vegetation of imperishable glory and bearing the fruit of eternal reward.” In the country of Bethaid, in one monastery, someone named Hierax taught that there would be no resurrection of the present bodies, and that the Lord would give everyone another, new body. St. happened to be there. Epiphanius of Cyprus. This saint came to the monastery at the very time when Hieras was preaching his false teaching. Hearing him, the saint turned to him and said: Let your lips be stopped... Immediately Hierax became dumb and could not move from his place. Then St. Epiphanius himself began to teach the people and, on the basis of the word of God, argued that everyone will rise in the body in which he lives in this world and dies. And Ieraksu said: “You hear the right faith and now say the word of truth yourself. Hierax’s mouth was opened, he repented of his error and confessed the word of truth.” Confirming and proclaiming the truth of the resurrection of the dead, St. The saints also gave reasons for this resurrection, pointing to the incarnation and atonement accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ, and his three-day resurrection from the dead. The Lord, in confirming this truth and in convicting those who doubt it, through the prayers of St. saints, raised the dead in this life. “Christ,” confessed St. Martyr Dula, - out of love for the human race, he became a man so that, just as by one first-created man, death would enter the world, so by one man. By our Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of people has come.” “What are you saying,” the hegemon objected to him, “will the dead rise again?” “Yes, they will rise,” answered the martyr, “if the dead do not rise, then how will God judge the world?” Our Savior, instructed St. Aquilina, his peers, resurrected on the third day, thereby establishing the truth that at his second coming there will be a general resurrection of the dead. 2. Thoughts about the resurrection of the dead. “Death is nothing more than a long-term sleep” (St. John Chrysostom). “Just as one who has fallen asleep in the evening awakens in the morning with renewed strength of life, so one who has fallen asleep through bodily death will awaken into a new, immortal life on the day of general resurrection!” (Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow). “What are our graves? God's field. where bodies are thrown like seeds, from which, in a way unknown to us, a new, immortal body will once grow, just as a beautiful ear of grain miraculously arises from a small decayed seed” (1 Cor. 15:35–38). “The worm prepares a coffin for itself, lies in it and dies; but with the advent of a blessed spring, a light, shiny butterfly is reborn from this coffin - and the creation, reptiled in the dust, flutters among the fragrant flowers; a grain thrown into the bowels of the earth opens up, appears and flaunts in the form of a golden ear. Everything transforms and is reborn on earth, everything gradually rises to perfection. Will man, the noblest creation, the likeness of the Almighty, be more miserable than a reptile worm, poorer than a grain of barley! No! Beyond the boundaries of earthly existence stretches the staircase to eternity.” “No particles of our bodies, no matter how scattered they may be, no matter how much our bodies decay, no matter how much they are burned, perish for God. They pass into those elements from which they were taken by the hand of the Almighty” (Blessed Augustine). “It is easier, more convenient for God to collect the ashes of a human body, scattered across the face of the earth, than for us to collect our clothes, scattered around the room” (James, Archbishop of Nizhny Novgorod). 3. Examples of resurrection from the dead. 1. In Joppa, which is now Jaffa, there lived a Christian woman named Tabitha, known for her hard work and charity. During the stay of ap. Petra in Lydda it happened that she fell ill and died. they washed her and laid her in the upper room, and since Lydda was not far from Joppa, the believers, having heard that Peter was there, sent two people to him to ask him not to delay in coming to them. Peter immediately went with them, and when he arrived, he was led into the upper room. All the widows came up to him with tears and showed him the shirts and dresses that Tabitha sewed while living with them. Peter sent everyone out and, kneeling down, prayed, then, turning to the body, said: “Tabitha, stand up!” and she opened her eyes and, seeing Peter, sat down. He gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then, calling the widows and other believers, he presented her to them alive. The miracle had a great impact on the people of Joppa, and many believed in Christ (Acts 9:36–42). 2. One heretic tried to shake the truth of the Orthodox faith and had already deceived many people. At the request of the Orthodox, who were deeply grieving over such a disaster, Blessed Macarius came to protect the purity of faith throughout Egypt from the wave of unbelief. When the heretic approached him and wanted to deceive his ignorance with witticisms from Aristotle, blessed Macarius, limiting his verbosity to apostolic brevity, said: “The kingdom of God is not in words, but in power” (1 Cor. 4:20); Let us go to the tombs and call on the name of the Lord on the first dead man we find, and, as it is written, let us show our faith by works (James 2:18) so that by his testimony we may most clearly confirm the truth of the right faith and prove its certainty, not by vain argument, but by the power of signs and unmistakable testimony.” Hearing this, the heretic, out of shame before the people surrounding them, feignedly agreed to the proposed condition and promised to come the next day; but when the people, wanting to see a miracle, gathered the next day at the appointed place and expected the heretic, he, frightened by the consciousness of his unbelief, disappeared and then completely fled from Egypt. Blessed Macarius, who was waiting for him with the people until the ninth hour, when he saw that he left out of shame, took with him the people he had led astray, and came to the mentioned tombs. When the Nile floods, all of Egypt is usually covered with water for a considerable time and is then likened to an immeasurable sea, so that it is completely impossible to bury human bodies in the ground, unless after the end of the flood. Therefore, it became a custom among the Egyptians, after embalming the bodies of the dead with fragrant oils, to hide them in caves in elevated places. So, blessed Macarius, stopping in front of one very ancient corpse, said: “Man! If that heretic, the son of perdition, came here with me, and in his presence I called upon the name of Christ my God, tell me, would you stand before these people who are corrupted by his false teaching? Then the dead man, standing up, answered in the affirmative. Abba Macarius asked him: who was he, when he lived in the world, at what time did he live, and did he know the name of Christ then? He answered that he lived under the most ancient kings and had never heard of the name of Christ in those days. Then Abba Macarius said to him: “Rest in peace with others in your rank, until Christ awakens you at the end of time!” Abba Macarius was prompted to perform this miracle by the need of an entire region that was in danger, complete reverence for Christ and sincere love for him (from the tales of Cassian the Roman about the ascetics, Chapter 15). 3. In the church of St., being built with the royal permission. Parthenius, Bishop of Lampsaki (who lived in the 4th century), intended to build a throne from a stone that was located in one of the ruined pagan temples, for which purpose he instructed skilled craftsmen to make this stone. At the end of the work, the stone was taken to the church, but on the road the harnessed oxen went berserk; The driver, named Eutychian, could not restrain the angry animals, fell under the wheels, and the cart with a heavy stone ran over Eutychian, who died immediately. Having learned about the misfortune, Parthenius and several citizens arrived at the scene and, seeing the crushed driver, knelt down and began to pray with tears for the return of Eutychian’s life. With the last word of the prayer, the dead man, in front of the whole people, suddenly exclaimed: “Glory to you, Christ God, who restores life to the dead,” and stood up, healed, as if nothing had happened, and brought the stone safely to the church. From that time on, doctors in Lampsacus had nothing to do: as soon as anyone fell ill with anything, they immediately turned to the bishop, and he healed ailments and illnesses in the name of God (“Read. – Min., February). 4. In the 3rd century, during the days of the wicked king Decius, a fierce persecutor of Christians, seven young men lived in the city of Ephesus, warriors by rank, children of city elders, good Christians in life. They were reported to the idolater king that they did not offer sacrifices to idols. Decius was angry and deprived them of their military rank, but, pitying their nobility and beauty, he gave them time to think. The young warriors, taking advantage of this time, retired from the city to one deep cave, near Mount Khlan, in order to prepare through prayer for the upcoming suffering, taking several pieces of silver for needs. From time to time the youngest of them secretly made his way into the city to buy food. Once he heard that, by order of the king, they were being sought for judgment and suffering. Due to the danger, the young men retreated into the depths of the cave, so that the messengers could not find them. Then the king ordered the very entrance to the cave to be blocked with stones in order to completely strangle the young Christians. There were secret Christians at this work; They wrote down the names and sufferings of the young men on two tin tablets and placed them in a copper box between the stones. After Decius, 200 years have passed, Theodosius the Younger, the patron emperor of Christians, ascended the Greek throne. Due to the appearance of heretics who rejected the resurrection of the dead, he grieved, grieved and prayed to God for the admonition of those who were mistaken. The Lord heard the prayer of the pious king - and revealed the secret of the expected resurrection of the dead. The workers of the owner of Mount Ohlan, dismantling stones for the fence being built, made an opening into the cave. At this time, the Lord revived seven young men who had been sleeping for about 200 years: they were resurrected, as if awakening from sleep, their clothes were intact, their bodies had not changed, and they themselves had not aged. Thinking that morning had come, the young men, according to custom, sent their younger brother to the city to buy food. Taking the piece of silver, he walked with fear, as with Decius, but when he approached the city gates and saw honest crosses on them, when he heard loudly and openly professing the name of Christ, he was involuntarily surprised and asked: “What is this city called?” “Ephesus,” they answered him. The young man approached the bread merchant and gave him a piece of silver as payment for the bread. Seeing a coin with the image of Decius that had gone out of use, the merchants introduced the stranger to the city authorities. Before the mayor of the city, the young man revealed who he was, where and with whom he lived. The bishop immediately happened, he said to the boss: “Let’s go with the young man to see the miracle!” The bishop, the leaders and the people came to the cave, found a copper box, read what was written and found other young men, handsome, cheerful, and, bowing at their feet, listened from them to the story of their stay in the cave. The Emperor of Theodosius himself, according to the bishop's letter, having arrived in Ephesus, bowed and kissed the resurrected. The young men, having talked with the pious king and bowed their heads, fell asleep in the sleep of death, according to the command of the Lord, until his second coming. (“Thu – Min.” Aug 4). 5. During the bishopric of St. Donata, a certain wife lost her husband. New grief was added to her widowhood: one dishonest creditor, having received a debt from the deceased, did not give him a receipt for the debt and began to demand the debt from his widow, without allowing the body of the deceased to be buried. The widow turned to the bishop for help. “Do you know correctly,” asked the bishop, “that the debt has been paid?” “I know for sure, the debt was paid a few days before his death, but no receipt was received.” Then the saint convinced the lender not to bother the deceased. The lender stubbornly demanded his debt and even reviled the saint. Then the bishop, approaching the bed of the deceased, touched him with his hand and called out: “Hear: man!” The dead man came to life, opened his eyes and said: What, sir? - “Get up and see what to do with your creditor: he does not allow you to be buried: he demands the debt and has your receipt for it.” The living dead man, looking menacingly at the lender, exposed his lies and untruths, further indicating when and at what place he paid him the debt. The lender stood as if dumb. The dead man demanded a receipt, and when he gave it, he tore it up. After this, he turned to the saint and said: “You have done well, sir, in arousing me to expose this sinner; tell me to go to sleep." - Come, child, to peace! - and the revived dead again fell asleep like a mortal (“Thu – Min.” April 30th). 6. One wife, having come to St. Macarius of Egypt, with tears expressed to him her grief that her deceased husband had forgotten to tell her where he had placed what he had taken as collateral. The monk ordered his coffin to be dug up and asked the deceased: where did he put the pawn? The dead man from the coffin indicated this place. Then the monk said to him: “Go to sleep again until the day of resurrection” (“Thu – Min.” January 19). You might be interested in: