Аарон

Aaron, the first high priest of the Old Testament. The son of Amram and Jochebed, from the tribe of Levi, he was born in Egypt, during the reign of Pharaoh, who began the persecution of the Jews (Ex. 1: 8–11,22), and was three years older than his brother Moses (cf. Ex. 7: 7). He was an active collaborator and even a “prophet,” that is, a transmitter of the speeches of Moses (Ex. 4:16,7:7) during the intercession of the great brothers for the liberation of their people from the Egyptian yoke. Together with him, he took an active part in all preparations for the exodus of the Israelites, as well as in the events of the subsequent wandering through the desert. By divine command, he and his sons were set apart for a special priestly service, and were consecrated to this service by Moses (Lev. 8), and the election of Aaron to the rank of high priest was subsequently miraculously confirmed by the fact that of the twelve rods placed by the heads of the tribes in the Holy of Holies, only his rod blossomed. Aaron held the office of high priest for almost forty years, and then it passed to his third son Eleazar, since his eldest sons Nadab and Abihu were punished with death for their self-will in the matter of worship (Lev. 10: 1, 2). He was a most worthy man, although he suffered from some weakness of character. He constantly obeyed the mood of those around him and never acted independently. Thus, he yielded to the demand of the people at Sinai during the absence of Moses and made a golden calf for him (Ex. 22:4). Then he sided with his sister Miriam when she began to grumble against Moses, and subsequently grumbled along with Moses himself when the latter, not fulfilling the command of God in Meribah, struck the rock twice in irritation (Num. 20:10); for this last sin, he was deprived, together with Moses, of the happiness of entering the promised land (Num. 20:24). He died on Mount Or, 123 years old, in front of the entire people, who bitterly mourned his death. The poor tomb at the top of this mountain is recognized by local Arabs as the tomb of Aaron, although there are signs of its later origin (from the times of the Crusaders). The establishment of the Aaronic priesthood was one of the most important institutions that the Lord ever gave to His chosen people. It was the greatest and surest means of preserving true religion in the world, since in the very midst of the chosen people it singled out the most chosen representatives and bearers of the covenant with God, as the only condition for the spiritual salvation of mankind. Although the priesthood existed in its essence before, and according to patriarchal customs, the duties of the priest were performed by the eldest in the family, but now it was taken out of this uncertain and unstable state and transformed into a special institution, endowed with certain rights and responsibilities and distinguished from the entire mass of the people even by special attire. This innovation in the establishment of the priesthood did not go without protest from some representatives of the people who did not want to part with the old patriarchal order (the indignation of Korah - Num. 16), so that an extraordinary divine miracle was required to finally imprint in the minds of the people the truth of this institution (see below. High Priest, Priesthood). Aaron as a prototype of Jesus Christ. Being the founder and first representative of such a saving institution as the priesthood, Aaron is therefore a prototype of the divine Author of our salvation - Jesus Christ in His high priestly ministry. This relationship between Aaron and Christ, as representatives of the two covenants, suggests itself. But the apostle directly teaches about it. Paul, and behind him the fathers and teachers of the church. Ap. Paul, drawing a comparison between them, points out a close relationship between the high priesthood of Aaron and the high priesthood of Jesus Christ - first of all in the calling itself. No one has the right to personally assume the honors of the priesthood; in order to bear this dignity, one must have a special calling from God, which is what Aaron had. That is why Christ did not himself assume the dignity of high priest; God glorified Him and made Him an eternal High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:4–6). But although both high priests received a call to their priesthood from above, the Aaronic priesthood in its very essence was lower than the high priesthood of Jesus Christ: Aaron only prepared and typographically accomplished that salvation and justification that was finally accomplished by the divine High Priest of the New Testament (Heb. 7:11-12); Wed Chrysostom on Posl. to Hebrews, conversation XIII). Thought ap. Paul is also developed by the church fathers. Yes, St. Cyril of Alexandria (see in Min, Patr. Greek vol. 68, art. 725–732), recalling the divine calling of Aaron and referring to the apostle. Paul, notes that Aaron was a type of Jesus Christ and His high priesthood, which is the high priesthood in spirit and truth. When God commanded Moses to take Aaron to his aid, He thereby showed a prototype of the weakness and imperfection of the Old Testament, if taken separately from Jesus Christ. Let the Jews, who still love the shadow and the letter of the Mosaic decrees, learn that their worship and their religion will be vain and useless if they do not join the High Priest Jesus Christ. Aaron, as an eloquent man, given by God to Moses to help him in the liberation of Israel, is again a prototype of Jesus Christ, as the almighty Accomplisher of our spiritual deliverance. Israel could not have been liberated if Christ, typified by Aaron, had not come to the aid of Moses, as tongue-tied and weak in speech. The law itself is too weak to save and sanctify people; therefore Christ appeared, who through the priesthood accomplishes the salvation and sanctification of the world. Finally, God gave Aaron various high priestly distinctions, which constitute a type of the glory of the Savior. The Bishop of Alexandria then elaborates on the mysterious meaning of Aaron's high priestly vestments. St. argues the same way. Cyril of Jerusalem (M. 33, art. 676). Jesus Christ, he says, bears two names: He is called Jesus because He is the Savior, and Christ because He performed the high priestly ministry. According to the same thing, in order to represent the two powers - royal and priestly, united in the person of Jesus Christ, Moses gave the son of Joshua, his successor, the name of Jesus, and his brother, Aaron, the name of Christ (anointed). Christ, in reality, is, as it were, Aaron in his high priestly dignity. Further St. Kirill compares the virgin motherhood of St. Virgin Mary with the blossoming rod of Aaron, reasoning like this: “He who, by virtue of the representative high priesthood, caused the withered and pruned branch to bear flowers and fruits, could not, by virtue of the true high priesthood, give the opportunity to give birth to the Virgin?” In this representative sense, the miracle of the blossoming rod was especially considered, which among the church fathers and subsequent theological writers, as well as in church hymns, is considered precisely as a prototype of the seedless birth of Jesus Christ from the Virgin. Eg. in the akathist for the Dormition of St. Theotokos (5th Ikos) we read: Rejoice, rod of Aaron, who has vegetated incorruption, etc. Aaron is remembered by St. Orthodox church on the Sunday of the Forefathers (December 11–17), in the Roman Martyrology on July 1.