Омилия XXXV 162 .

For the same Transfiguration of the Lord; it proves that although the divine Light that was at the Transfiguration was not created, it is not the being of God The prophet Isaiah predicted about the Gospel, saying that “The Lord will make the Word abridged throughout the whole world” (Is. 10:23). Abbreviated, this word covers a great meaning in a few words. So, let’s look again at the Gospel words previously discussed today, and add the rest to them, so that we can be saturated with the pure meaning contained in them and fully become partakers of divine inspiration. “At that time Jesus gave drink to Peter and James and John, and brought them up to a high mountain alone. And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun” (Matthew 17:1). - Now is the time favorable; Behold, now is the day of salvation, brethren: a divine and new and eternal day, not divided into periods of time, neither increasing nor decreasing, nor cut short by night. For this is the day of the Sun of Truth, with whom there is no change or shadow of change, who from that day, by the favor of the Father and the assistance of the Holy Spirit, lovingly shining upon us, led us out of darkness into His wonderful Light and continues to shine all the time above our heads, being the unsetting Sun. Being the Sun of Truth and Truth, He does not cease to shine and make Him known also to those who love lies and untruths to the heights, or who reveal themselves to be such by their (evil) deeds; but He reveals Himself to workers of Truth and admirers of Truth and entrusts Himself to them and pleases them with His insights. And this is what Scripture says: “Light has risen to the righteous, and joy is his companion” (Ps. 96:11) 163. Therefore, the Psalmist Prophet sings to God: “Tavor and Hermon will rejoice in Your name” (Ps. 89:13), prescribing this joy for those who saw it, which later came true on the mountain. Isaiah says: “Loose every bond of unrighteousness, destroy the debts of the violent scriptures, tear apart every unrighteous scripture” (Is. 58:6). What follows? - “Then your light will open early, and your healing will quickly shine: and your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of God will embrace you” (Is. 58:8). And again: “If you take away from yourself the bow, and the beating of hands, and the word of murmuring, and give bread from your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the humble soul, then your light will shine in the darkness, and your darkness will be like the noonday” (Is. 58:9-10); for those whom this Sun clearly illuminates, It makes them themselves into other “suns”: because “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43). So, brethren, let us put aside the dark works and begin to do the works of light, so that we not only walk honestly in this day, but also become “sons of the day”; and come and let us ascend the mountain where Christ shone, so that we may see what is happening there; It’s better to say that we, who exist as such and have become worthy of such a day, will be raised up by the Word of God Himself in due time. And now strain and raise your soul’s eyes to the light of the Gospel preaching, so that in the meantime you will be transformed by the renewal of your mind, and thus attracting divine illumination from above, you will become conformed to the likeness of the glory of the Lord, whose face on the mountain was illuminated today like the sun. How: “like the sun”? – There was once a time when this sunlight was not, as it were, enclosed in some kind of vessel, in the shape of a disk, because the light was before the form; He who produces everything produced the solar disk on the fourth day, combining light with it, and thus established the luminary that makes the day 164 and is visible during the day. So, behold, the Light of the Divine was once not, as it were, enclosed in a vessel, in the body of Christ: because the Light is pre-eternal, and the body is a perception that the Son of God received from us, then created for our sake, containing the fullness of the Divinity; and thus it appeared as a deified and divinely radiant light. This is how the face of Christ illuminated like the sun, “and His garments were white like light.” Mark says: “His robe was shining, as white as snow, but no whitewash could make the earth white” (Mark 9:3). So, therefore, with that Light, the worshiped (divine) body of Christ and the clothes shone, but not in equal strength of light: because His face was illuminated like the sun, the clothes became bright, as if adjacent to His body, and through them He showed: what is the robe of glory, in which in the next century those close to God will be clothed, and what are the robes of sinlessness, which, as a result of the crime, Adam, having put off, saw himself naked and ashamed. The Divine Luke says: “His face was seen to be different, and His robe shone white” (Luke 9:29); Thus, he does not compare everything that happens there with anything. Mark resorts to an image regarding clothes, saying that they “were shining, as white as snow”; but he also showed that images and similarities regarding the appearance of these clothes are inferior and not sufficient: because snow, although white, does not shine, because it always has an uneven surface, being all made up as if from some small bubbles, due to mixing with the air contained inside: because it is by no means a cloud and is not able to squeeze out the air contained inside, and is compacted by the force of frost, and thus Sometimes we carry it in the air and it looks like foam in its whiteness and at the same time in its unevenness. Consequently, since the whiteness of the snow is not sufficient to convey the pleasantness of this vision (the shining clothes of Christ during the Transfiguration), the concept of brilliance is added to this concept; in addition, and by this the Evangelist shows that this Light, by the power of which the clothes of Christ became shining and white, was more natural: because it is not the property of sensory light to make white and shining what it falls on, but it shows the color that it really is; and this Light seems to have covered, or better to say, changed them, which is not a property of sensory light. And what is even more surprising is that, having changed them, he kept them unchanged, as soon became clear. Is something like this a property of the light we know? Therefore, the Evangelist, presenting not only the radiance and surpassing beauty of the Lord’s face, but also the supernatural beauty of His clothes, by combining the concept of radiance with the whiteness of snow, led away from the idea that this beauty was natural. Since art, as is known, brings a certain beauty to nature, and since he places this beauty above the decorations made by masters, he says: “But a whitewasher cannot whiten the earth.” Since the eternal Word, incarnate for our sake, the hypostatic Wisdom of the Father, of course, carries in Himself the word of the Gospel preaching, and as if His garments are the letter (the enveloping word), white, truly and clear, and at the same time shining and illuminating and, as it were, like a pearl, it is better to say - befitting God and God-inspired for those who see in the spirit what belongs to the Spirit, and those who interpret the texts of Scripture in a godly manner, therefore the Evangelist defined the words of the Gospel sermon as such, “what a whitewash,” - i.e. the sage of this age cannot explain. And what am I saying: explain? - When he can’t even understand, when someone else can explain it; because, as the Apostle says: “A natural man does not receive the Spirit of God, and cannot understand” (1 Cor. 2:14); therefore, bringing this divine and spiritual radiance, which exceeds the mind, to the level of sensory phenomena, he is mistaken, recklessly puffed up with his carnal mind, entering the realm of what he has no idea about. But Peter, his soul illuminated by this most blessed vision and drawn to even greater love and desire, no longer wanting to be separated from this Light, “it is good for us to be here,” he said to the Lord, “if you want, let us create three canopies here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Matthew 17:4), since the time for restoration (of all) is not yet has come, and when this time comes, then we will not need tabernacles made with hands. But by distributing equal booths to them, he should not have equated the Master with slaves; because Christ, as the real Son of God, is in the bosom of the Father; The prophets, properly, as true sons of Abraham, dwell in the bosom of Abraham. So, when Peter, not knowing (what he was saying), spoke like this, “behold the cloud of the light of their autumn” (Matthew 17:5), interrupting Petrov’s words and showing what kind of tabernacle answers Christ. But what is this cloud itself and how, being light, did it overshadow them? Wasn’t that cloud the unapproachable Light in which God dwells, and the Light in which He dresses as in clothes; for it is said: “Cast the clouds for Your ascension” (Ps. 103:3); and: – “Put darkness for Your shelter, His village is around Him” (Ps. 17:12)? Although, as the Apostle says: “Having only immortality, the living one is unapproachable in the light” (1 Tim. 5:16); so that here light and darkness are the same, due to the unapproachable brilliance of this radiance. But regarding that Light itself, which was first visible to the eyes of the Apostles, the sacred Theologians testify that it is unapproachable. – “For today,” as one of them says, “is an abyss of impregnable Light; Today, on Mount Tabor, the Apostles visibly experience an unlimited outpouring of divine radiance.” And the great Dionysius, saying that this unapproachable Light is the darkness in which, they say, God dwells, asserts that “everyone who is worthy to know and see God is in it.” So, this was the same Light that the Apostles first saw as shining from the face of the Lord, and after that as an overshadowing bright cloud; but then, behold, he presented to the gaze a weaker illumination, and then appearing in a much more complete degree, he, due to the excessiveness of the light, became unapproachable for their vision, and thus he overshadowed the Source of the divine and ever-flowing Light - the Sun of the Truth of Christ. And in the sensual sun, the same light makes itself visible to the eye when it is shed in the form of rays, and again is inaccessible to the gaze when someone fixes his gaze (directly) on the sun: because its light exceeds the measure of the capabilities of our eyes. But the sensual sun does not shine according to its own desire, but according to nature, and it does not shine only for those whom it wishes; The Sun of Truth and Righteousness, Christ, possessing not only nature and natural radiance and glory, but, equally, will, providentially and salutarily illuminates those only whom He would like, and then to the extent that it would please Him. Therefore, having willed like the sun, He illuminated and was visible to the eyes of the Apostles, and then - not for a long time, and then, having shone even more strongly, as He pleased, He, due to the superior radiance, became inaccessible to the eyes of the Apostles, as if entering a bright cloud. But a voice also came from the cloud: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: listen to him” (Matthew 17:5). On the Jordan, when the Lord was baptized, the heavens opened, and there was the same voice emanating from this, of course, glory, which Stephen then, when the heavens opened for him, being filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze and saw, now coming from that cloud that overshadowed Jesus. So, this cloud is identical with the super-heavenly glory of God. Will the sensory light really be super-celestial? - The voice of the Father from the cloud showed that everything that happened before the coming of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, such as sacrifices, laws, adoptions, were imperfect, and were not and were not accomplished on the basis of the primary will of God, but were (only) allowed in view of this coming and appearance of the Lord. And He is the One in Whom, as the Beloved Son, He is well pleased and completely pleased, and in Whom the Father rests; therefore he commands us to listen to Him and obey Him. And even if He said: “Enter through the narrow gate; as you lead through the wide gate and the broad way into destruction; bring the narrow gate and the strait path into the belly” (Matthew 7.13-14), - listen to Him; and if He said that this Light is the kingdom of God, listen to Him and believe Him, and make yourself worthy of this Light. But when the bright cloud shone, and the Fatherly voice thundered from the cloud, “fall,” says (the Evangelist), “the disciple’s prostrate; they fell on their faces not because of the voice, since on other occasions it happened more than once: not only in the Jordan, but also in Jerusalem, at the approach of the saving Passion, when the Lord says: “Father, glorify Your name,” then “a voice came from heaven: I have also glorified, and again I will glorify” (John 12:28); and all the people heard it, and yet none of them fell. Here not only the voice, but together with the voice an unbearable Light shone around them. Therefore, the God-bearing Fathers rightly recognize that the Disciples fell on their faces, not because of the voice, but because of the superior and more natural Light; because even before the voice sounded, they “were in fear,” as Mark says (9:5), of course, as a result of this Epiphany. But when, on the basis of all this, it is obvious that this Light is divine and supernatural and uncreated, what do these again want, those who have over-absorbed secular and non-spiritual sciences, and cannot know what is of the Spirit?! But they also fall into another abyss: because they do not recognize that this Light is the divine glory, nor the kingdom of God, nor beauty, nor grace, nor radiance, as we, taught by the Lord and theology, affirm, but at the same time they resolutely assert that that Light, which they previously called sensory and created, is the essence of God. The Lord in the Gospel calls this Light not only the common glory for Himself and the Father, but also for the holy Angels, as the divine Luke writes: “If anyone is ashamed,” he says, “the Son of Man will be ashamed of Me and My words, when He comes in His glory among the Father and the holy Angels” (Luke 9:26). So, those who claim that this glory is a being, thereby admit that it is identical with God and with the Angels, and this is the height of wickedness! 165. Not only Angels, but also holy men are partakers of this glory and kingdom, but the Father and the Son with the Divine Spirit by their nature possess this glory and kingdom, while the Holy Angels and men by grace are participants in it, from there they received illumination. And Moses and Elijah confirmed this to us, being seen in this glory with Him (Luke 9:31). Moses shone not only on Tabor, being a sharer of divine glory, but also his face was once so glorified that the sons of Israel could not look at him. And this was confirmed by the speaker that “Moses perceived the immortal glory of the Father on his mortal face”; and answering Eunomius, who denied that the Son is a participant in the glory of the Almighty, writes: “And even if the word were about Moses, I would not allow such an opinion.” So, God and His Saints have a common and united glory and kingdom and that Light; therefore, the Psalmist Prophet sings: “The Lordship of the Lord our God is upon us” (Ps. 89:17); but no one has yet dared to say that God and the Saints have a common and united being. And to assert that now on the mountain for the first time the common divine radiance of the Divinity of Word and flesh was revealed would mean speaking in the spirit of Eutychus and Dioscorus, and not those who claim to preserve Orthodoxy. And everyone will see this glory and radiance when the Lord appears, shining from east to west; His Disciples who came with Jesus today also saw it; but no one dwelt in the very life and being of God, and no one saw or proclaimed the nature of God. And this divine Light is given in measure and is capable of increasing and decreasing, according to the dignity of those who receive it, indivisible; and here is confirmation of what was said: the face of the Lord shone more than the sun, and His clothes became light and white like snow. Both Moses and Elijah were seen in the same glory, but neither of them then shone like the sun; and the Disciples themselves either contemplated this Light, or were not able to look at it. So, this Light is measured in this way and is indivisibly divided and is capable of increasing and decreasing, and is partially known now, and partially later; Therefore, the divine Paul says: “In part we understand, and in part we prophesy” (1 Cor. 13:9). The Being of God is completely indivisible and inaccessible, and no creature is capable of increasing or decreasing; however, it is common for the damned Messalians 166 to believe that for those who are worthy, according to their concept, it is possible to see the being of God. We, turning away from both the ancient and the new heretics, believing, as we were taught: that the Saints contemplate and as partakers share the kingdom and glory and radiance and ineffable light and divine grace, but not the being of God, we go to the radiance of the gracious Light in order to know and worship the Triscendent Deity, shining in Unity, the ineffable Radiance from the one trinitarian nature; and let us fix the eyes of our thoughts on the Word, Who with flesh now sits above the vaults of heaven, Who, as befits God, sitting at the right hand of the Majesty, as if from afar, addresses us thus: “If anyone desires to join this glory, let him, as far as possible, imitate Me and walk in the way that I walked on earth and presented as an example as a way of life.” So, let us contemplate with our inner eyes this great spectacle: our nature, forever united in its life with the immaterial fire of the Divine; and taking off the skins in which we were dressed as a result of the crime 167 - i.e. having rejected earthly and carnal concerns, let us stand on holy ground: each having created our own personal holy land, achieving this through virtue and attraction to God, so that we may have boldness when God comes in the light and, having flowed to Him, shine and abide with Him forever, illuminated in the glory of the Trisolar and unique Radiance, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. PG.151:436–444. Homilia XXXV. In eamdem venerandam Domini Transformationem; in qua probatur, quanquam increatum est illius Divinissimum Lumen, haud tamen Dei essentiam esse. “Light comes to the righteous, and joy to the upright in heart”_ Or: “pacifies”, “puts in order.” The Messalians, a most harmful sect, reaching in its extreme to outright Satanism, appeared in the 4th century, although its origins are more ancient. See Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique, vol. 5, pp. 1454–1465; vol. 10, pp. 792–5. That is ancestral sin. You might be interested in: