Беседа о том, что совершается в чинопоследовании Таинства Крещения

It also talks about repentance and the words about this subject spoken by John the Baptist. It was pronounced on the eve of the feast of Epiphany 549 1. Repentance is the beginning and the middle and the end of the Christian way of life: therefore, it is sought and must be before holy baptism and in holy baptism and after holy baptism. At divine baptism, an account is required of us: because it is a solemn promise on our part to have a good conscience before God and a covenant and commitment to lead a godly life and to have a way of life pleasing to God. Because, having believed, we unite with the good and all-good Christ, renouncing the evil and all-evil enemy, and we promise to adhere with all our might to the beneficial commandments of God, while refraining from every evil intention and deed; So, when asked, we answer either directly ourselves or through our recipients 550, as happens during the baptism of infants, that what we believed in, we lovingly accepted into our souls, and mentally made a vow (or: entered into an agreement). And since, according to the Apostle: “He believes in the truth in the heart, but confesses with the lips for salvation” (Rom. 10:10), then having made a good confession with the lips, we receive salvation in the Bath of Regeneration 551. 2. Since this divine font and everything that is connected with it, the majority, receiving it in infancy, are not aware of the meaning of the Sacrament being performed, then let us, now, when the upcoming Feast requires this, we will briefly reveal to the ears of all of us: what this meaning is. Because I think that there will be no small benefit, especially for those who listen with attention, from remembering and studying everything that is sacredly accomplished in divine (holy) baptism. Because by bringing this to memory, having realized that we later despised (violated) some of the obligations accepted under it, or did not even begin to put something into action, we will correct it through repentance. - So, the hierarch, having taught the one approaching, seeking baptism, first having himself internally tuned in to goodness, as an imitator of the good-loving Master, spiritually sends thanks to God, the One Desirer and Providential Giver of all good. Then he convenes the Church existing at his disposal: i.e. co-celebrating and contributing to the salvation of those who come to holy baptism - and standing together with the priests at the Holy Meal, in order to make explicit thanksgiving with them 552, after this, going out, publicly asking the person who came: what did he want, did he come to the Church? - When he answered, either on his own or, if this is a young child, that he wants, through his mediation and assistance, to be God and receive the divine (sacrament); to this the hierarch says to him: “Since you are about to approach the true, perfect and sinless God, it is imperative that your approach be consistent with this, as well as the acceptance of obligations and your further life, i.e. it is fitting that it should be true, whole and impeccable”; and thus showing him what the way of life according to the Gospel of Christ consists of, he again asks him: is he really ready to live in this way? When he confirms this, the saint marks him (makes the sign of the cross) and instructs the priests to honor him by including his name in the list (of Orthodox Christians), thus including him among those who are being saved, as a person who has loved a life-giving way of life. Then, having prayed again to God, the hierarch commands him to take off all his clothes and, placing his face to the west, as if by the very gesture, reject and blow and renounce Satan; and this renunciation, by means of a question (on the part of the bishop to the baptized person) is performed three times. This stripping of clothing signifies the rejection of ancient man and his wicked life; and the fact that he looks to the west means by his very gesture that he rejects deviation into dark sin; with a breath he shows this: exhaling and rejecting and, as it were, throwing away to the devil, as his property, adherence to him; the threefold confession of renunciation signifies a firm and complete flow from the adversary to God. At the end of this, the saint orders the one who is to be baptized to turn to the east and, stretching out his hands, unite with Christ, doing this by asking three times (from the bishop to the baptized person). Looking to the east represents looking towards the divine Light of a person fleeing from evil; the raising of hands signifies a prayer that has acquired boldness (“peparrisiasmenin prosevkhin”); the fact that the baptized person confesses three times his determination to be numbered with Christ represents the inviolability of his covenant with God. Thus, the saint signifies him three times (anointing him in the form of a cross on the forehead) with holy anointing oil and leaves it to the priests to anoint the rest of the body. This anointing signifies the preparation of the baptized person for sacred deeds, on the basis of which, following in the footsteps of the First Witness under Pontius Pilate - Christ, he mysteriously dies with Him, becoming dead to sin. Divine baptism is a symbol (sign) of His death. After the sacred anointing, he is immediately brought to the sacred font in order to be presanctified (“prokatagiastisi”) with manifold and all-sacred actions and prayerful invocations; then the hierarch baptizes the newcomer, immersing him in water three times, with each immersion calling on each individual of the Three Worshiped (Divine) Hypostases. 3. Water has a cleansing property, but not for souls; and for those immersed in it, it has the property of washing away impurities, but not the defilements that have occurred on the basis of sin; therefore, in order to give it such properties 553, for our sake, the baptized Physician and soul and Father of spirits, Christ, who takes away the sin of the world, is immersed in it, whose Baptism we pre-celebrate today. Because, together with Himself, He introduced into the water the grace of the Most Holy Spirit, which He attracted from above, so that for those who were then baptized into Him and immersed in the water, He Himself and His Spirit would be in it, communicating Himself to them ineffably and assimilated by them and filling them with cleansing and enlightening grace to rational beings; and this is what the divine Paul says: “As many as you have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). Three immersions in water take place in the name of the saving invocation of the Life-Giving Trinity, but also depict the three-day burial of the Lord. The immersions are followed by equal ascensions from the water: because otherwise three immersions could not have been performed; they equally mean the resurrection (or: rising) from sin of the tripartite soul, and the elevation into incorruption of these three: mind, soul, and also body: so that in divine baptism one can see both death and life, burial and resurrection, in the image of the Lord, who “who died alone; and the one who lives, God lives” (Rom. 6:10); that He Himself says: “For the prince of this world is coming, and in Me he will find nothing 554” (John 14:30); so it should be in relation to us who were baptized into His death; because, through divine baptism, having died to sin, we must live to God, in the way of virtue, so that the prince of darkness, coming and looking, would not find in us anything pleasing to him. And just as, after Christ rose from the dead, “death does not possess him” (Rom. 6:9), so we, after rising, through divine baptism, from the fall of sin, must strive to no longer be possessed by sin. “As we were baptized into Christ Jesus, we were baptized into His death. We were therefore buried in Him through baptism 555, so that just as Christ has risen from the dead in the glory of the Father, so we too may begin to walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3). 4. Therefore, the hierarch, having clothed the baptized person in light clothes and anointed him with divine myrrh and made him a partaker of Christ’s Body and Blood, releases him, revealing him to be a child of Light, on the basis of this he has become one body with Christ and a partaker of the Divine Spirit; because we are reborn and become sons of God, heavenly - instead of earthly: and eternal - instead of temporal ones, after God mysteriously planted heavenly grace and the seal of adoption into our hearts, marking us with the anointing of the divine of this world and sealing us with the All-Holy Spirit on the day of Redemption, if only we keep this confession unshakable to the end and fulfill the promises with deeds, and if we didn’t do anything, we’ll make up for it repentance. Therefore, even after divine baptism, works of repentance are required; if it is absent, then our words of promise to God not only do not help us, but also condemn us. – “It is better for you not to promise something to eat, than not to give back what was promised to you” (Eccl. 5:4); and as the coryphaeus of the Apostles, the Apostle Peter, says: “It would be better for them not to know the path of righteousness, than for those who have known it to turn back from the holy commandment handed down to them. Then a true parable happened to them: a dog returned to his vomit, and a pig washed himself in the pot” (2 Pet. 2:21; Prov. 26:11); another of the Apostles says: “Show me your faith by your works” (James 2:18); and: “Who is faithful? “Let him show his faith by living a good life” (James 3:13). The Lord Himself says: “Why do you call Me: Lord, Lord! - and do not do as I say? (Luke 6:46). Because God, being alive and true, demands from us true promises, and living faith, and not dead; but faith without works is dead (James 2:26). 5. But since repentance is the beginning and end of the Christian way of life, therefore the Lord's Forerunner and Baptist, laying the beginning of the way of life according to Christ, preached saying: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven will draw near” (Matthew 3:3). And the Lord Himself, the Perfection of all that is beautiful, when preaching, said the same thing (Matthew 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32; 1 Timothy 1:15). Repentance consists in hating sin and loving virtue, and turning away from evil and doing good; this is preceded by self-reproach for one’s sins and repentance before God and striving towards Him with a contrite heart and plunging oneself into the abyss of His bounty, recognizing oneself as unworthy to be considered among the sons of God, just as the Prodigal Son, repenting, said: “Lord, I am not worthy to be called Thy son: make me as one of Thy hired servants” ( Luke 15:19). Therefore, the Lord's Forerunner and Baptist, presenting the kingdom of heaven to all people, testifies that it has approached, so that, behold, because of the greatness of the divine and heavenly kingdom, people consider themselves unworthy of it and blame themselves, which is the beginning of salvation for everyone and the starting point of turning to God. But he also threatens with an ax and resolutely asserts that it lies at the root of the tree, threatening to cut it off; beating is God’s judgment on those who justify themselves and sin without any repentance, according to which (the verdict), torn out both from this life and from the future life, they are sent to the dark and undying Gehenna. Therefore, the Baptist threatens with unquenchable burning those who are about to embrace those after the beating, revealing through this the whole horror of God’s wrath and that eternal torment, in order to thereby convert those insensitive people, as well as later people like them, to their senses. 6. The Forerunner of the Lord encouraged not only the beginning of repentance, which is expressed in detachment from evil and useful contrition of the heart, but also demands fruits worthy of repentance. What kind of fruits are these? – First of all, this is a confession; which is what those who came to John the Baptist at that time did. Because it is said: “I went out and was baptized in the Jordan, confessing my sins” (Matthew 3:5-6). Then: righteousness, almsgiving, moderation, love, truth; as he tells them: “Do nothing more than that which is commanded to you”; and: “offend or slander anyone”; and: “If you have two garments, let him give to those who do not have; and if you have food, let him do likewise” (Luke 3:11–14). “Every wilderness will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be humbled” (Luke 3:5) 556 .. What does he mean by the expression: “the valleys will be filled, and the hills will be humbled”? – The same thing that the Lord clearly proclaims: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14). “And they will be,” says John the Baptist, “the right one is stubborn, and the sharp edges are smooth in the way, and all flesh will see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:5–6) 557 .. “The obstinate path” (curvature) is: – lies, deception, slander; “The uneven path” is: – anger, hatred, envy, rancor; - that everything is corrected and smoothed over by works of repentance. And thus: “all flesh,” i.e. - every person from every nation and clan, who has corrected and straightened himself through repentance, “will see the salvation of God.” 7. As I say this to you, brethren, I grieve no little in my soul, comparing how we, who have been rewarded with much through baptism into Christ, have not even fulfilled what John demanded of those who came to his baptism, although from the baptism given by John then, the baptism given by the Lord, which we have been rewarded with, is as different as the grace of God's Spirit surpasses water; and showing this, the Lord said to the Disciples: “John baptized with water, but you must be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5): and John baptized for the purpose that people would believe in the Coming One (Christ). The Lord rebuilt John’s baptism on His own behalf, mysteriously introducing from Himself into this baptism an ever-flowing source of grace. Because, while John was teaching these things to those who came to him, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. He does not come after the twelfth day from the day of His Birth, as we now celebrate a holiday, with the wonderful goal of commemorating throughout the year everything that was accomplished for us according to the God-human economy 558, but He comes when he was thirty years of age, as Luke narrates (Luke 3:23), revealing Himself as one of the people and not revealing Himself to be in any way different (from other people), (coming) in simplicity and extreme humility and obscurity. 8. However, John, having recognized Him with a perspicacious spirit, announced Him to the people: “In the midst of you stands, whom you do not know, He who comes after Me” - by birth in the flesh and by appearance (to His people) - “Who was before me” - as God and the Word of God and the Son of God, born of the Father before the ages, and now in Himself bodily the fullness of the Divinity; “I am not worthy of a man, but I will loosen the thong of His shoe” (John 1:26–27). The sandal of God the Word is nothing other than, of course, the flesh in which He put on shoes for our sake? “The thong of sandals” is a way of combining the Divinity and the flesh, which, since it is ineffable, neither - higher than which there is no one born of women - is sufficient to resolve (the mystery) and explore. “He,” he says, “you baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16), i.e. - enlightening or punishing fire, according to the merits of each person who receives what corresponds to his state of mind. We are all His verbal field; He has, corresponding to this field, “a winnowing fan in his hands,” i.e. – ministering forces and Angels serving the future judgment, separating the tares from the wheat; in the expression: “hand”, understand: “power”. “And he will clear away,” he says, “His threshing floor,” i.e. – the whole world, “and wheat”, i.e. – those who are fruitful in righteousness, “he will gather into His granary,” i.e. - to the heavenly abodes; “the tares”, i.e. - those who are not included in the deeds of virtue, “will be burned with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12). If this fire is unquenchable and does not exhaust the material for burning, then by this it represents the eternity of punishment. 9. This, behold, it was John who spoke to the people both before the coming of the Lord to the Jordan and in His presence. Seeing Him bow down (to receive baptism), he himself bowed down, “rebuking Him, saying: I demand to be baptized by You”: because being the offspring of the old seed and the heir of the Fall and the defilement that occurred on the basis of this, I myself have the need to receive cleansing from You, and are You, Incarnate without seed from the Holy One? Virgins, and as God, the only existing sinless one, do you come, Master, to me? - The Lord, commanding the slave, “Leave it now,” says to him. He added “now” because after the Baptism of the Lord, equally the whole place became a spiritual font; and together with John, it embraces all the others, as from a source from the Divine Body, God’s grace pouring out on everyone, embracing all the worthy and divinely enlightening and redeeming from the forefather’s curse. And this is what John himself proclaimed after this: “He who is the One who comes for me was before me, as if he were before me; and from His fulfillment we have all received” (John 1:30, 1:16). – “Leave it now,” Jesus tells him, “as it behooves us,” i.e. To me; This is also the Master’s command to John; “For it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15), i.e. - not to leave any of the divine commandments unfulfilled by Me; human nature is thus completely justified and filled in an even more obvious way with divine and everlasting grace; therefore, having clearly received baptism from you, I will attract the Spirit of adoption from above onto human nature. 10. John, having heard the Lord’s command: “leave,” no longer having anything to object to, allowed the Lord to be baptized (by him); We will talk about the rest of the present topic later, because this is a subject belonging to the main day (the feast of the Epiphany). Since this Spirit comes and goes according to His will, as having equal power with the Father and the Son, and remains in those who live in repentance, not abandoning those who have sinned, as we learned from the experience of David, but departs from those who sin and do not feel repentance, as was the case with that Saul, then may it be for all of us, by deeds and words and thoughts throughout our entire lives, holding on to repentance, to have Him always dwelling in us, admonishing us and cherishing us and giving us the highest salvation now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. According to ed. 1861 is listed as No. 59, pp. 235–246: “A conversation about the things that happen during divine baptism and about the words spoken about this by John the Baptist. Pronounced at the Eve of Lights.” Those. baptismal font, sacrament of baptism. “Mata to faneran pisas eucharistian” – it is possible to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. We added the phrase for clarity. Orig. quote: "have nothing." Orig. quote: “We are therefore buried in Him through baptism into death...”. Rus. Translation: “Let every valley be filled, and every mountain and hill be made low”: Rus. translation: “Curves will be straightened and uneven paths will become smooth”: That is all events and all deeds that are directly related to the salvation of man accomplished by the Lord. You might be interested in: