Омилия XI 19 .

About the honest and life-giving Cross Since ancient times, the Cross of Christ has been foreshadowed and represented in the form of images; and if it were not for the power of the Cross, no one would ever be able to be reconciled with God. Because after the ancestral crime in God’s paradise through the tree, sin came to life, but we died, and before the death of the body, we suffered the death of the soul, which consists in the removal of the soul from God. The life we ​​lived after the crime was a life of sin and a life of the flesh; sin does not submit to the law of God, and cannot; so those who live according to the flesh cannot please God. And since, as the Apostle says: “The flesh lusts for the spirit, and the spirit for the flesh” (Gal. 5:17) 20, - God is the Spirit and Goodness and Virtue itself, and our spirit was created in His image and likeness, but as a result and because of sin it became unusable - then until sin is abolished and life according to the flesh is brought to naught, how could anyone be renewed in everything and become pleasing to God? – The Cross of Christ is precisely the abolition of sin. Therefore, one of our God-bearing Fathers, being asked by one of the infidels: does he really believe in the Crucified One? - answered: “Yes, - sin in the Crucified One.” Many even before the appearance of the Cross of Christ, which happened before the Law and after the Law 21, were attested by God Himself as a friend of God, and the King and Prophet David, as, of course, he himself was then among the friends of God, says: “I was greatly honored by Your friends, O God” (Ps. 139:17). But how is it that even before the Cross they were proclaimed “Friends of God”? - I will explain this to you if you listen to me obediently and attentively (to my words). Just as, for example, even before the coming of “the man of sin, the son of destruction” (I’m talking about the Antichrist - 2 Thess. 2:3), the Theologian beloved of Christ says: “And now there were many Antichrists: from this we understand that the last hour is” (1 John 2:18), so the Cross was with the forefathers even before the time when it came to fulfillment. And the great Paul taught us even more clearly that even before the time he comes, the Antichrist is already among us, saying that “his mystery is working among us” (2 Thess. 2:7). So the Cross of Christ, even though it had not yet appeared, was already among the forefathers: for its mystery was accomplished among them. Now I will not talk about Abel, Seth, Enos, Enoch, Noah and those who pleased God before Noah, and who, in general, belong to that period, so that we begin from Abraham, who was called “Father of many nations”: the Jews - according to the flesh, but us - according to faith. So, I will begin with this in the spirit of our Father and from the very beginning of his characteristic valor, and from his first calling by God. What were the first words God spoke to him? - “Get out from your land, and from your kindred, and go to the land that I will show you” (Gen. 12:1). Thus, in these very words lay the mystery of the Cross, for this is directly revealed by Paul, who, boasting of the Cross, says: “Peace has been crucified to me” (Gal. 6:14). For for one who flees without looking back from the fatherland or from the world, the earthly fatherland and the world have died and are left without attention, and this is the Cross. But even before he fled from cohabitation with the wicked, God says to Abraham: “Get out of your land... and go to the land” - not “which I will give you,” but “which I will show you” (Gen. 12:1), with these words as if pointing to another, spiritual land. What were God's first words to Moses after he fled Egypt and climbed the mountain? – “Take the boots from your feet” (Exodus 3:5). Here another mystery of the Cross is revealed, naturally flowing from the first. For although you, he says, fled from Egypt and rejected serving Pharaoh and despised bearing the title of “son of Pharaoh’s daughter” and, as far as it depended on you, abolished and put an end to the world of evil slavery, you must add yourself to this. What does this mean: “Take the boots off your feet”? - This means: release the 22 skins in which you are dressed and in which sin has an effect and removes you from the holy land. So, “Tear the boots from your feet” is the same as saying: no longer live according to the flesh and in sin, but let the life that is contrary to God and the reasoning of the flesh and the law in the members, which resists the law of the spirit and takes captive by the law of sin, be abolished and put to death; let him no longer gain the upper hand and have no action, being killed by the power of God's vision. Isn't this the Cross? – For the Cross, again according to the divine Paul, means: “Crucify the flesh with its passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). So, “cut the boots from your feet: for the place where you are standing is holy ground” (Ex. 3:5). These same words showed him the future sanctification that was about to occur on earth thanks to the Cross, after the appearance of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. For then, looking at the greatness of the spectacle: a bush watered by fire, he foresaw the coming of Christ, which would one day come: because contemplation in God 23 is the mystery of the Cross, and it stems from the second mystery (i.e., from the crucifixion of oneself to the world), which is greater than the first (i.e., the very removal from the world). That both are inextricably linked with each other was revealed by the great Paul and our divine Fathers: the first, saying not only that “the world has been crucified to me,” but also adding: “and I to the world”; and they - instructing us not to rush to ascend to the cross before the cross; for, of course, both are expressions and secrets of the Cross. So, the first mystery of the Cross lies in fleeing from the world and moving away from those close to us in the flesh if they interfere with piety and a corresponding way of life, and in bodily asceticism, which in itself is of little use, as Paul says (1 Tim. 4:8). Thus, according to this first mystery of the Cross, peace and sin are crucified to us when we flee from this. The second mystery of the Cross lies in the crucifixion of oneself for the world and passions when they flee from us. But, of course, they cannot escape from us, nor will we be able to act rationally unless we are in contemplation of God: for when through the exercise of virtue we ascend to contemplation and when we adorn and purify our inner man, seeking out the divine treasure hidden within ourselves and again considering the Kingdom of God within us, then we crucify ourselves to the world and passions. For a certain warmth comes to the heart from such thoughts, which, like flies, drives out evil thoughts and produces spiritual peace and consolation in the soul and gives sanctification to the body, as the Psalmist says: “My heart warms within me, and a fire burns in my teaching” (Ps. 39:4). And this is exactly what one of our God-bearing Fathers taught us, saying: “Make every effort so that your inner activity is in God, and then you will overcome external passions.” The great Paul also draws our attention to this: “Walk in the Spirit,” he says, “and do not commit carnal lust” (Gal. 5:16). Therefore, in another place he writes to us as an admonition: “Gird up your loins with truth” (Eph. 6:14): for contemplation strengthens and nurtures good aspirations, and suppresses carnal lusts. And the great Peter showed us even more clearly what the loins are and what the truth is. “Having girded up your loins,” he says, “with sober mindedness, trust in the grace brought to you by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:13). So, since evil passions and the world of sin cannot be completely far from us, nor can rational action be carried out in our souls, unless we are in contemplation of God, then this contemplation, which crucifies the world of those worthy of it, is also the mystery of the Cross. So during the time of Moses, this contemplation of the burning bush revealed the mystery of the Cross, greater and more perfect than that which was in the calling of Abraham. Does this mean that Moses was more completely initiated into the mystery of the Cross than Abraham? And what kind of argument could anyone support such a statement? – For (one must know) that when Abraham was called, in the very fact of the calling he was not yet initiated into this third mystery of the Cross, i.e. - contemplation, but this took place later, after this calling, and not once or twice, but often, although we do not have enough time to tell about everything. Let me remind you (only) of this, more wonderful than others, contemplation, when he clearly saw the One Trihypostatic God, Who had not yet been announced in the Trinity. For it is said: “God appeared to him at the oak of Mamre and looked, and behold, three men, and he came to meet them” (Gen. 18:1). Behold, he saw the One God appearing in Three Persons.” Therefore it is said: “God appeared to him, and behold Three Men,” and then, running towards Them, he conversed as if with One, saying: “Lord, if I have found grace before You, do not minimize Your servant” (Gen. 18:3). And they, behold, Three, existing as One, talk with him. For it is said: “Speech to him: Where is Sarah your wife?.. When I return, I will come to you at this hour, and your wife Sarah will bear a son” (Gen. 18:9-10). When Sarah heard it, she laughed - “the Lord said...: Why did your wife Sarah laugh?” (Gen.18:13) - Behold, there is One God - and Three Hypostases, and Three Hypostases - and One God; for it is said: “The Lord has spoken.” And thus the mystery of the Cross was accomplished on Abraham. Isaac himself was the image of the Nailed One, being obedient to his father even to death, just like Christ (God the Father); and the ram given in its place foreshadowed the Lamb of God given for our sake to the slaughter; and the thicket in which the ram was entangled with its horns was the secret of the image of the Cross, which is why it is called the “Thicket of Savek” (Gen. 22:13), i.e. “the thicket of abandonment,” just as the Cross is called the “saving Tree.” And on Jacob the son of Isaac the mystery and image of the Cross was fulfilled: for through wood and water his flock was multiplied. For that tree prefigured the Tree of the Cross, and that water symbolized divine Baptism, which contains the mystery of the Cross: “We were baptized into the death of Christ” (Rom. 6:3), says the Apostle. And Christ by Wood and Water, i.e. Through the Cross and Baptism He multiplied His verbal flock on earth. But Jacob showed the image of the Cross even more clearly: when he bowed to the edge of the staff and when he blessed his grandchildren, placing his hands cross-on-cross. Moreover, being obedient to his parents from beginning to end and therefore beloved and blessed, and as a result hated by Esau, he thus valiantly endured every temptation, and during his life he had the mystery of the cross accomplished. Therefore, God said: “I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau” (Mal. 1:2). Something similar is happening among us, brethren. For he who submits himself to his spiritual fathers, according to the spoken apostolic commandment: “Children listen to your parents” (Eph. 6:1), is like the beloved Son of God in his obedience, and he himself becomes loved by God; he who is disobedient, as one who is alien to the likeness of the Beloved Son, is hated by God. And as something that comes true not only in relation to Jacob and Esau, but always and among everyone, the Wise Solomon, revealing this, says: “An obedient son will lead to life, but a disobedient son will lead to destruction” 24 .. But wasn’t Jacob, the son of obedience, also initiated into the greater mystery of the Cross, namely, into contemplation, thanks to which a person is more completely crucified and dies to sin and lives for virtue? - Yes! For he himself testifies about himself regarding contemplation of God and salvation: “I saw God,” he says, “face to face, and my soul was saved” (Gen. 32:30). Where are those who, being in our midst, reveal an empty and unorthodox way of thinking? Let them hear that Jacob saw the face of God, and not only did not lose his life as a result of this, but, as he himself says, he was also “saved,” although God Himself says: “No one will see My face and live” (Ex. 33:20). So, perhaps, there are two Gods: One, who has a face that is subject to the vision of the Saints; The other one - having a face that surpasses any possibility of vision? - Go away, such absurdity! – But (this must be understood in the sense that) the visible face of God is nothing other than divine grace and action manifested on the worthy. And that face, which cannot at all be subject to sight, must be understood in that concept when the nature of God, which surpasses all description and vision, is meant: because no one, as it is written, has seen or proclaimed God in person and in nature. So, contemplation in God and the divine mystery of the Cross not only drives away bad passions and the demons that produce them from the soul, but also refutes false opinions and their leaders and expels them from the walls of the Holy Church of Christ, in the depths of which we are located, it is gratifying for us to now celebrate and explain the divine grace and action of the Cross, performed on the Forefathers even before the appearance of the Cross in the world. So, just as the mystery of the Cross was accomplished on Abraham, his son himself became a prototype of the One who was subsequently crucified; so, again, the mystery of the Cross was accomplished throughout the entire life of Jacob. Joseph, the son of Jacob, himself was the prototype and mystery of the God-man Word who was later to be crucified: for he (Joseph), as a result of envy, was led to the slaughter, and that - from his relatives in the flesh, for whose sake he was sent to them by his father, just like Christ later. If Joseph was not killed, but was sold, then there is nothing surprising, for Isaac was not slain either: for they did not themselves represent reality, but were only images of future reality. But, perhaps, we should also see in them the deep mystery of the two natures of Jesus: the fact that they were led to murder, by this they prefigured the Passion in the flesh of the God-Man; and the fact that they did not suffer at all - this prefigured the dispassion of the Divine. The same can be found in relation to Jacob and Abraham: because even if they endured temptation, they nevertheless won, which was clearly written in relation to Christ. So, of those four who were glorified in virtue and piety before the Law, two, namely Abraham and Jacob, learned the mystery of the Cross in deeds related to their lives; and the other two, namely Isaac and Joseph, miraculously prefigured the mystery of the Cross. What then is it that Moses, who was the first to receive the Law from God and pass it on to others, was it not through wood and water, even before the Law, that he himself was saved when, being put in a box, he was given to the streams of the Nile, and then he himself saved the people of Israel with wood and water: prefiguring the Cross with wood, and divine Baptism with water? Like Paul, the knower of the mysteries, he proclaims even more clearly that “all were baptized into Moses in the cloud” (1 Cor. 10:2). And before the sea and that rod (which cut the sea), he testifies to him that he voluntarily accepted the Cross of Christ: “For greater wealth,” he says, “counting the Egyptian treasures for the reproach of Christ” (Heb. 11:26). The reproach of Christ on the part of the foolish is the Cross, as, again, Paul himself says about Christ that He “endured the Cross, being careless about the shame” (Heb. 12:2). Preceding Christ, Moses himself very clearly prefigured Him and the image of the Cross and salvation thanks to this image: for having placed the rod straight, he stretched out his hands on it, and so, in the image of the Cross, presenting himself on the rod, he completely put Amalek to flight. Also, placing a copper snake obliquely on the banner and in this way publicly erecting the image of the Cross, he ordered those who were bitten among the Jews to look at him, as if at the Savior Himself, and thus healed the snake bites. I won’t have time to tell about Jesus (Joshua) and those who came after him: Judges and Prophets, about David and those who came after him 25 who, through the action of the mystery of the Cross, held back rivers, stopped the sun, ravaged wicked cities, won victories in war, drove out foreign armies, escaped the mouth of the sword, extinguished the power of fire, stopped the mouths of lions, defeated kings, burned them to ashes. fifty leaders, raised the dead, closed the heavens with a word and opened them again, made the clouds in the sky non-bearing of rain and then fruitful; for even if Paul says that all this was accomplished by faith, yet it is the power of faith that brings salvation: why all things are possible to him who believes. This, of course, is the Cross of Christ for believers. “The word of the cross,” again through the mouth of Paul, “is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved the power of God is” (1 Cor. 1:18). But in order for us to allow the inclusion in the number of those saved by the power of the cross of all those who were in the Old Testament times before the Law and under the Law, didn’t Christ Himself, through Whom and in Whom are all things, say before the onset of the Cross: “Whoever does not accept his cross and comes after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38)? You see, just like before; How was the Cross destined to be erected? Was the Cross already saving? Also, when the Lord openly predicted to the Disciples His suffering and death through the cross, Peter, listening, could not restrain himself, but, knowing that it was in His power, he prayed, saying: “You are merciful, Lord: you should not have this” (Matthew 16:22), then the Lord forbade him, as thinking about Him “who is human, and not God” 26.; Having called the people together with His Disciples, He said to them: “Whoever wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and come after Me. If anyone wants to save his soul, he will destroy it; and if anyone destroys his soul for the sake of Me and the Gospel, he will save it” (Mark 8:34-35). Therefore, He calls the people together with the Disciples, and then testifies and proclaims these great and transcendent nature and truly not human, but Divine thoughts, in order to reveal; that this is required not only from His chosen Disciples, but also from everyone who believes in Him. Following Christ means living according to His Gospel, demonstrating all virtue and piety; whoever wants to follow Him must deny himself and take up his cross and no longer spare himself if time calls, but be ready for a shameful death for the sake of virtue and the truth of divine dogmas. But if you deny yourself and betray yourself to extreme dishonor and death, this is great and above nature, but this is not unfair: because do not earthly kings deign to follow them, and especially when they go to war, only those who are ready to die for them? - So what is surprising if the King of Heaven, according to the promise of 27, having lived on earth for the sake of fighting against the common enemy of the human race, is looking for precisely this kind of people to follow Him. But earthly kings cannot restore the lives of those killed in war, nor even approximately reward those who laid down their lives for them. For what will someone who is no longer in life get from them? But even if they happen to lay down their lives for the Pious (Kings), they also have hope in the Lord. To those who, in following Him, put their lives in danger, the Lord gives eternal life. And, behold, the kings of the earth are looking for those around them to be ready to die for them, and the Lord gave Himself up to death for us; He exhorts us, not for His own sake, but for our own sake, to be ready to die; and showing that this is precisely for our own sake, He adds: “Whoever wants to save his soul will destroy it, and whoever destroys his soul for the sake of Me and the Gospel will save it.” What do these words mean: “Whoever wants to save... will destroy, and whoever destroys... will save”? – Man is special: the outer man, I mean the body, and our inner man, namely the soul. Therefore, when our outer 28 man gives himself up to death, by this he destroys his soul that dwells within him; when, for Christ and for the Gospel, he thus destroys her, then, truly, he will save and gain her, giving her heavenly and eternal life, and in the general resurrection having her as such, thanks to her, he himself, I mean, in the flesh, will become just as heavenly and eternal. He who loves his soul, but, because of his love for this temporal age and for those things that belong to this age, is not ready in this way (i.e. - for Christ and the Gospel) to destroy her, will cause damage to his soul, depriving her of true life, and he himself will be subject to punishment along with her: betraying her, alas, to eternal torment. And as if mourning such a person and showing the horror of the situation, the all-merciful Lord says: “What good is it for a person if he gains the whole world but loses his soul? or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26). For his glory 29 will not go down with him (to the grave), nor any other of the honors and pleasures revered in this age, which he preferred to the saving (for his soul) death (for Christ and the Gospel). What thing would he find among the things of this age that would be a ransom for a reasonable soul, for which the whole world is not of equal importance? So, if someone could gain the whole world, brothers, then it would not benefit him at all if in doing so he caused damage to his soul; how much more terrible is it when someone who can acquire only some insignificant small part of this world, if, due to addiction to this smallest thing, causes damage to his soul, instead of giving preference to taking up the cross both in image and in concept and following the Giver of life?! For the Cross itself is venerable and the concept (meaning) of this Image. But there was already talk about the concept and mystery of this Image, and we explained this to your love, or better yet, Paul explained this before us, who, boasting of the Cross, decided to know nothing except the Lord Jesus, and, moreover, the crucified one. What is he saying? – “The cross is the crucifixion of the flesh with its passions and lusts” (Cf. Gal.5:24). Do you think that he says this only regarding pleasures and unclean carnal passions? - But why, then, does he write to the Corinthians: “Because there are divisions among you, you are still carnal” (1 Cor. 3:3)? Thus, someone who loves glory or simply wants to insist on his own will and thereby gain the upper hand in rivalry is carnal and walks in the flesh: for for this reason there are strife, just as James the Brother of God says: “Where does the strife and strife come from among you? Is it not from everywhere, from your delights that fight in your battles? You desire and do not have it; you kill and envy, but cannot gain it; you quarrel and fight” (James 4:1-2). So, crucifying the flesh with passions and lusts means the following: so that a person becomes inactive towards everything that is not pleasing to God: if the body pulls down and insists on its own, then everyone should try to raise it to the height of the cross. What do I mean? – While on earth, the Lord lived the life of a poor man, and not only lived like this, but also preached it, saying: “Whoever does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33). But let no one complain, brethren, I pray, hearing us, without mincing words, proclaiming the good and pleasant and perfect will of God, and let no one be troubled, believing that these commandments are impossible to fulfill, but let him first of all realize that the Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force and it is those who use force that take possession of it, and let him listen to Peter Corypheus of the Apostles of Christ, who says, that “Christ suffered for us; leave us an image, so that we may follow His footsteps” (1 Peter 2:21). Then, let him fairly weigh that, although the student truly remains in debt to the teacher until he repays everything, however, if he modestly offers what is within his power and allocates it, and regarding what remains unpaid, he humbles himself before him, then, due to such humility, attracting his compassion to himself, with this he will make up for what is missing. Therefore, if anyone sees that his way of thinking is aimed at striving for wealth and much possession, then let him know that his way of thinking is carnal, and let this be a reason for awakening: for the one who is nailed to the cross cannot have motives for such something. So, it is necessary for him to ascend to the height of the cross, so that he, having cast himself down, does not happen to be separated from Christ crucified on him. But how can he begin to ascend to the height of the cross? – Having hope in Christ, the Provider and Provider of everyone, let him renounce all income that comes unrighteously; and as for those means that are obtained in a righteous way, even if he is not too committed to this, let him use it in a noble way: according to his strength, making those in need participate in this. For although the commandment prescribes to renounce the body and take up one’s cross, however, those who are God’s and live according to God have property in their possession: without clinging too closely to it, they use it according to need, as if it were a collaborator, ready, if the time calls, to reject it. So, the one who acts in this way in relation to material acquisitions and needs, when he is unable to do anything more, still possesses it piously and pleasing to God. Then, if anyone sees within himself a fiercely fighting lustful thought, let him know that he has not yet crucified himself. How can he be crucified? – Let him avoid curious glances at women and inappropriate intimacy with them, as well as inappropriate conversations; let him reduce the material that feeds lust; let him not allow excessive consumption of wine, intoxication, gluttony, and excessive sleeping; and with this removal from evil, let him add humility, in contrition of heart calling on God for help against passions, and then he himself will say: “I saw the wicked exalted and towering like the cedars of Lebanon: and he passed by, and behold, he was not, and sought him” - in prayer and humility - “and no place was found in me him" (Ps. 36:36) 30. Then, is vanity a concern? – And you, alone and before the judgment of your conscience, bring to mind the Lord’s advice about this in the Gospel, which says: do not seek to show yourself superior to others; Perform as many virtues as you have in secret, having only God in mind and being visible only to Him alone, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly. If, even after you have dealt a decisive blow to the triggers of each of the passions, you are again disturbed by an inner thought, do not be afraid; let it be a reason for you to receive crowns; for he no longer inclines and does not have an effect, but is only a powerless movement, like one defeated in your struggle for God. Here, this is it: “The Word of the Cross”; being of this kind, it is not only among the Prophets before its completion, but also now after its completion, it is truly a great and divine secret. How? – For outwardly it seems that the one who does not place himself highly and humbles himself in everything brings dishonor to himself; and he who flees from carnal pleasures causes himself hardship and pain; and the one who gives his property becomes the cause of poverty for himself; - but by the power of God this poverty and pain and dishonor produce eternal glory and unspeakable pleasure and inexhaustible wealth both during the present age and the next. And those who do not believe this and do not demonstrate faith by works, Paul ranks among the lost and even among the Greeks 31, saying: “We... preach Christ crucified, for the Jews were a stumbling block, - because of their unbelief in the Saving Passion, - for the Greeks, madness, - as not placing anything above temporal things, because of complete unbelief in the divine promises - but we are called ... - Christ of God power and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. 1:23-24). So, this reveals God’s wisdom and power: to conquer through weakness, to rise through humility, to become rich through poverty. But not only the concept (“word”) of the Cross and the mystery, but also its very sign is divine and venerable, being a sacred and honorable Seal, sanctifying and fulfilling the supernatural and ineffable blessings given from God to the human race, taking away curse and condemnation, destroying corruption and death, delivering eternal life and blessing, the Saving Tree, the Royal Scepter, the Divine A trophy over enemies visible and invisible - even if the foolish heretics in their madness did not like (such veneration of the Cross of the Lord), for they did not comprehend the meaning of the Apostolic Prayer (Eph. 3:14), so as to be able to comprehend with all the Saints what the breadth and length, and depth and height are: since the Cross of the Lord is proclaiming the entire economy of His Coming in the flesh and - concluding in to yourself all the mystery regarding this, and - extending to all ends, and - embracing everything: what is above, what is below, what is around, what is between. By presenting a certain pretext - for the reason of which, on the contrary, they should, if they had the intelligence, venerate the Cross with us - they turn away from the Symbol of the King of Glory, which the Lord Himself, having to ascend to it, clearly calls His exaltation and His glory. When the time of His future Coming and Manifestation comes, He will be heralded with much power and glory by this Sign of the Son of Man. But on it, they say (these heretics), Christ, being nailed, died, and therefore we do not even tolerate the form and the Tree on which He was killed. But the handwriting about us, which happened to us because of disobedience regarding the tree, when the hand of the Forefather stretched out to it, what was it nailed to? And thanks to what it was blotted out from the environment and thus we again entered into the blessing of God? What is the basis and power of the spirits of wickedness, which, on the basis of the tree of disobedience, gained power over our nature, Christ overthrew and completely drove away and triumphed, put to shame, and thus we received freedom? On what basis was the mediastinum of the barrier destroyed, and our enmity towards God was abolished and brought to naught? And how did we become reconciled with God and receive the gospel for peace with Him? – Isn’t it on the Cross and not through the Cross? - Let them listen to the words of the Apostle writing to the Ephesians: “Christ is our peace, having destroyed the middle wall of the fence, so that by Himself He may build both into one new man, creating peace: and he will reconcile both in one body of God by the Cross, having killed the enmity therein” (Eph. 2:14-16). To the Colossians he writes the following: “And you, who were dead in sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him, giving us all your sins: having destroyed the handwriting of the teachings against us, which was not against us, and that was taken from the environment, nailing it to the Cross; He brought to shame principalities and powers, and brought them to shame through boldness 32., exposing them to Himself” (Col. 2:13–15). So, how can we not honor and use this Divine Victorious Sign of the general liberation of the human race, the very sight of which only puts the incipiently evil serpent to flight and defeats and puts to shame, announces his defeat and contrition, while glorifying and magnifying Christ, proclaiming and revealing His victory to the world?! And if, indeed, the Cross should not be respected for the reason that Christ accepted death on it, and admit that this death was not sacred and saving, then why, as the Apostle says, were we baptized into His death? How will we be participants in His Resurrection if we did not become akin to Him and in the likeness of His death? In addition, if someone worshiped the sign of the cross, which did not have the inscription of the name of Christ, then such a person, perhaps, would rightly be condemned as doing something beyond what was due, but when before the name of Jesus Christ every knee bows, in heaven, on earth and under the earth - and this worshiped name bears the Cross on itself - then what madness is it not to bend the knee before the Cross of Christ?! - But we, bowing our knees and our hearts, come and worship together with the Psalmist and Prophet David - the place “where His Nose stood” (Ps. 132:7) and where the all-encompassing Hands were stretched out, and where for our sake the life-giving Body was painfully stretched out - and having bowed in faith and kissed, let us draw and preserve abundant sanctification from there, so that in the glorious the future Coming of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, seeing him (the Cross - the Sign of the Son of Man) preceding in glory, we will rejoice and be glad with unceasing joy, having received standing at the right hand and having heard the words and received the blessing of the promised beatitude, to glory, the Son of God crucified in the flesh for us. For glory befits Him with His Beginning Father and the Most Holy and Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. PG.151:124–145. Homilia XI. In gloriosam ac vivificam crucem Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Having cited these words of Ap. Paul, prev. Theodore the Studite gives the following interpretation: “Strengthening the flesh weakens the spirit, and strengthening the spirit weakens the flesh. Let us be careful and, in the consumption of food, drink, sleep and everything else, let us keep a strict measure, so that otherwise the body does not gain the upper hand over the soul, but on the contrary, so that the soul gains victory over the body” (Instruction of monks 224. Philokalia. Volume 4). Those. before and after the Mosaic Law. untie – Editorial “ABC of Faith” “Contemplation,” which we sometimes translate in much less powerful terms like “contemplation” or “meditation,” is in its primary meaning the result of a high degree of asceticism. For us, who are in the world and the bustle of life, it is almost inaccessible. St. Macarius the Great conveys this state in this way: “Everyone should know that there are eyes, which are the inner parts of these eyes, and there is hearing, which is the inner part of this hearing. And just as these eyes sensually see and recognize the face of a friend or loved one: so the eyes of a worthy and faithful soul, enlightened by the divine light, spiritually see and recognize the true Friend, the sweetest and much-desired Bridegroom-Lord, as soon as the soul is illuminated by the venerable Spirit. And thus, the soul, mentally contemplating the coveted and one ineffable beauty, is wounded by divine love, attuned to all spiritual virtues, and as a result of this acquires boundless and inexhaustible love for the Lord longed for by it” (“Philokalia”, vol. I. Instructions of St. Macarius Vel. ch. 277). Regarding “contemplation” in Rev. Theodore the Studite we read: “A monk is one who looks to God alone, desires one God, is devoted to God alone, tries to please God alone, has peace towards God, and is the culprit of peace among others... Then the soul remains at peace from destructive passions: which is peace to have towards God through our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom, having established itself, the soul rejoices with great joy and delights in insatiable sweetness, loving to enter into thoughts about God and delve deeper into the contemplation of His ineffable greatness, to the point of forgetting oneself” (“Philokalia”, vol. 4. Instructions. 258, 266). Proverbs 13:1: A wise son is obedient to his father, but a disobedient son is destroyed. This phrase: "Judges ... him" is borrowed from the Latin translation. Mark 8:33: “For you do not think what is (the essence) of God, but what is human”_ Lat. translation - “through the Incarnation.” Lat. translation – “inner man,” which is probably a mistake. This phrase, which undoubtedly was in the original, was omitted from the Greek. text and we took it from the Latin translation. Those. – the passions rose and were powerful, like the cedars of Lebanon. But behold, God destroyed them, and not a trace remained; in prayer, in humble contrition of spirit, I examined my soul, and did not find in it a single trace of former passions. Slavs the text of the Bible has this interlinear interpretation: “having defeated them on it”_ You might be interested in: