Похвальное слово Петру, Павлу, Андрею, Фоме, Луке и Иоанну, и на чтение из Евангелия от Иоанна

Rejoice, kings of Christ, holy apostles, for to you, through thick and thin, Christ has entrusted the Kingdom; I have entrusted to you the scepter to administer and rule on both thrones, so that the inheritance of the kingdom below will be distributed, and glory will shine, beauty will increase, light will be revealed, the sacraments will be known, the power of the kingdom above will be preached. Rejoice, you are the salt of the earth, which can never become corrupted (lose strength, spoil). Rejoice, you are the light of the world, residing in the east and shining everywhere, enlightening the darkened, burning without burning matter. The lamp is Christ, the candlestick is Peter, and the oil is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. Rejoice, you are the light of the world to which every night gives way; which is not obscured by a cloud, in which a storm does not find, a whirlwind does not break out; and which, on the contrary, enlightens what is darkened in us, makes the hidden visible, reveals the secret, cleanses the conscience. Rejoice, you sealers of the priests, educators of teachers, catchers of tongues, preachers of the nations, teachers of the righteous, whiteners of sinners, destroyers of sin, educators of the infidels, invincible guardians, merchants selling jewelry. Rejoice, you who have sought a voice for me, you are the providers of my sinful tongue, the reinforcers of my weakness, the nurturers of both my weakness and my boldness, the builders of my words. Rejoice, you who do not have a scrip, and who have filled the whole universe with wealth. You did not have an extra rod, and you drove out wolves from everywhere. You did not have another tunic, but kings sought clothing from you. You did not have double shoes, but you shook the earth with your processions; clouds spread under your feet; Angels appeared to prepare the way; the sea of ​​pedestrians carried you on itself, like ships sailing on full sails. You had no silver in your belt, and your bag did not contain gold, but you lent much of your money to the lame, and the blind man, touching your belt, began to number the days and measure the sun with his eyes, and point out the stars with his finger, which he did not know about before. Rejoice, you who have surrounded the devil with bonds, who have troubled demons, who have destroyed delusion, who have cleansed our souls from deception. Your “Ubrists” (Acts 19:12) are likened to the “raise of the robe” of the Lord (Matthew 9:20). Your shadow has bestowed many and varied healings in cities and towns. Rejoice, you who found hidden treasure in the village (Matthew 13:44), who showed your wife the drachma she had lost (Luke 15:8), who brought to Christ the talents of preaching entrusted to you, who spread the net into the depths of the universe, gathering from every kind (Matthew 13:47), who caught the fish with which the King enjoys himself to this day at his supper. heaven, who taught a wise woman to carefully knead three measures of flour and prepare a single kvass (Matthew 13:33), who removed obstacles, paved the way, explored the desert, and filled the number of those called to the Bridegrooms with prodigal wives. Rejoice, you who have erected so many royal bridal chambers on the cornerstone, who have created so many heaven-like churches on earth, who have erected so many altars for the life-giving Sacrifice. Rejoice, you: Paul, and Peter, Andrew and Thomas, Luke and John - and with you the rest of the council of the apostles, for in you we have others, in those who are now celebrated we gain everyone. Rejoice, the six-winged power of the invisible Seraphim, the six-day establishment of the visible creation, the sixfold number of stones on each side of the high priest's amice, the six loaves of bread at the table that God indicated, Moses described, and Bezalel set up; six water pots, such as Cana of Galilee had and in which the water became wine; This wine was more pleasant than milk, sweeter than honey, because it was not produced by a corruptible vine, but by the word of the Creator, by the command of the Creator. Rejoice, Peter (for it is a wonderful thing to greet these sacred chosen ones with care and everyone in general, and again each one separately). Rejoice, Peter - the door of sinners, the boldness of those who repent, the encouragement of those who convert, the calling of those who deny, the consolation of those who fall. Rejoice, Peter - the mouth of the disciples, the voice of the preachers, the eye of the apostles, the guardian of heaven, the firstborn of those who received the keys of power. Rejoice, Peter, who outwitted the devil in the struggle, who delighted in victory after his defeat, who tripped up the strongest, from whom he himself suffered the hesitation, who was wounded and won a reward for himself, who after his fall erected a victorious monument, who stole the crown from his opponent’s head. Rejoice, Paul; We owe you a lengthy word; an entire city is dedicated to your glory; the whole earth bears your seeds, shows your hilts; your incense was pleasing to kings, appeased princes, the smell of infidels, distracted from the mire. Rejoice, Paul, who convicted Attica of ignorance, who overthrew the arrogance of the Athenians, who convinced Vitius to patiently listen to the ignorant in words, who attracted the sophists to incline their ears to those unskilled in words, who astounded the Areopagus with heavenly teachings. Rejoice, Paul, I don’t know how you were taken to heaven (for I don’t know whether you ascended there on wings or feet), caught up into paradise and until the time of hiding those who took you there; who heard verbs that surpass all hearing; who wrote messages that barbarians obey along with the law; with his reed he made the pagans wise, with a charter he converted the world and with ink he corrected the earth. Rejoice, Luke, physician and narrator, who has gathered for us treasures of wisdom, who has reaped the chosen flowers in the paradise of sweetness, who has dissolved the great cup for the feast, who has offered food, with which the one who invited boasts and is magnified at the supper, and those who are invited are amused. Rejoice, Luke, in whose praises all the Churches exercise themselves. Everyone expects from you to learn something more than others, to perfect himself in the complete grace of the Gospel. You did not pass over the silence of the first, and you did not keep silent about the second; wrote two books, one of which is attested to the other. Rejoice, Luke, because you have interpreted for us the descent of Gabriel; adorned the blessed Virgin, crowned her as a bride, and then royally displeased the Spirit; described to us Elizabeth’s leap; He did not keep silent about the circumcision of Christ’s flesh, wanting to show that He who was pleased to become flesh for our sake endured everything that is characteristic of us in the flesh. Rejoice, Andrew, first of the first, chosen from the chosen sheep of the verbal flock; the first bread, who received bread from the Bread, the first who drank from the earth, from which the rivers of life are divided back and forth into the whole universe. Rejoice, Andrew, who moved from the lake to heaven, who rented out his net to grace, and who yielded to the Spirit, who brought Simon instead of fish to Christ, who began his fishery by catching fishermen, apostles, preachers, kings, military leaders, key-keepers, because Peter was all this, and even more. Rejoice, Andrew, who knew the Word by the voice, who learned to know the Sun by the lamp, who, with the help of the Forerunner, came to the King who was hiding Himself. You heard the Lamb and understood God. Where do you live? (John 1:38) - asked the One who is nowhere and everywhere - nowhere, because no place can contain Him who is above every place - and everywhere, because He fills everything. Rejoice, John the Baptist and singer, singer and trumpeter, end of the old and beginning of the new, in your mother’s womb you revealed what was hidden from old age, in childhood you prophesied about what was hidden for the elders. Rejoice, John, who saw the invisible dove, who saw the dove whose legs are not tied and whose wings are free, who saw the dove that cannot be touched by a knife, who saw the dove - an uncreated being. Rejoice, John (some words are missing here in the original)... Christ, with His own plagues, disgraced death, and made the warrior’s spear both blessed and terrible. Blessed for the Perforated One, for they are shown that He is the good Shepherd. The shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep. For, as soon as he saw that His flock was thirsty, He opened His side and gave water from them. But the blessed thing for the Perforated One was scary for the Perforated One - both scary and impudent. He discovered the treasure - and did not receive the wealth. He opened the source and could not taste the drink. He gave everyone a drink, but he didn’t give himself a drink. He opened the gates to the light and closed his eyes. But that’s not what Thomas did. How? Listen to what he sings with David: “With my voice I cried to the Lord, with my voice to God, and I was heard” (Ps. 77:2). What did you listen to? What he sought with disbelief and, without exhaustion, achieved. “On the day of my sorrow” (obviously, on the day of hesitation in thoughts) “I sought God,” wanting to know whether it was true: just as the loaves were multiplied, the water was broken, and the fish were voluntarily given to the fish, so death clearly shows and testifies that You are God even after the death that You nailed to the flesh; “...my soul refuses to be comforted. We remembered God and rejoiced” (Ps. 77:3-4). You see what heights are contained in the words of the prophets and in the dogmas of apostolic theology. “With my voice I cried to the Lord, with my voice to God, and I heard.” I didn’t just say it to God. When did Thomas cry out to Him with his voice? When the apostles said: “I have seen the Lord,” and he answered in bewilderment: “I have not yet seen the mark of the nails in His hand, but I will put ... my hand into His side, I have not faith” (John 20:25); and then a few days later Christ appeared to him and said: “Bring your finger to this and see my hands... and do not be unfaithful, but faithful” (John 20:27); He answered loudly in amazement... “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28); and Christ did not reject this word, but joyfully accepted it, which is why the prophetic reed added: “and heed me.” How did He listen? Get started and learn. The Lord heard that the disciple hesitated, the preacher was perplexed, and the apostle doubted. Listen to the reproach. Which one? Wanting to make the disciple feel it and illuminate us with light, the Lord added: “... because you saw Me, you believed: you have not seen blessedness and yet believed” (John 20:29). But Thomas does not stop talking; What justification did he bring for the reproach made to him? John himself does not say this, it is true, but David did not want to hide it, but, on the contrary, proclaims it with a clear voice, because the prophetic spirit is “subject to the prophet” (1 Cor. 14:32). What kind of excuse is this? “In the day of my tribulation I sought God with my hand, I lay before Him, and I was not deceived” (Ps. 77:3). “Do not show indignation,” he says, “Tsar; do not be angry, Savior; do not be irritated, Lord.” “In the day of my sorrow I sought God.” My heart sank, my mind became weak, my reason became impoverished, the speeches of the Pharisees confused me, the words of the scribes confused me, the betrayal of Pilate overshadowed my faith, the speeches of soldiers bribed with money confused my courage. What kind of speeches? “His disciples came overnight and slayed Him while we slept” (Matthew 28:13). At this, my reason became weaker, my heart sank; but the day of sorrow became a day of joy. Therefore, he says “in the day of my tribulation,” not just tribulation, but “my tribulation.” For the women rejoiced when the peace was brought; Peter and John, seeing the vestments, rejoiced; and the rest of the assembly of the apostles, having been worthy of Thy sight, not only rejoiced, but also leaped and jumped with diligence; leaped mysteriously, leaped spiritually. And I was in sorrow, because I was not worthy of anything like what was said. However, even with all this, I did not completely surrender to error, but “in the day of my tribulation I sought You, my God.” And when the disciples said: “I saw the Lord,” I was ashamed to say to them: you saw Him about whom the Pharisees say, “as if His disciples came at night and stole Him while we were sleeping”; I did not tell them this, but I “sought” You, my God. He did not say to them: what about me and the Crucified One? I do not call the one who has been pierced the Deliverer, the one who has suffered in the flesh God, but I have “sought” You with “my hands,” saying: “Unless I put my hand into His side, I have no faith.” So, You, my God, “I sought with my hand” night before God and “I was not deceived,” because Whom I sought, He found even greater; Whom he desired, He felt even more luminous. Found the lesion unaffected; I saw the plague, and there was no corruption in it; I felt the traces of the ulcers, and it turned out to be incorruptible. “My soul refuses to be comforted.” When is this? When I heard the reproach of the Jews. But “I remembered God and rejoiced.” As soon as he put his fingers into the life-giving sores, he remembered that God incarnate was God, he remembered - and, rejoicing, began to purely theologize; He did not say only “Lord,” or only “God,” but “My Lord and my God.” To Him, he says, I wish to build theology, about whom Moses said: “This Lord is your God,” “God of gods and Lord of lords” (Deut. 10:17). To Him I wish to build theology, to Whom Hosea pointed us with the prophetic reed: “Turn, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for thou hast fainted in thy iniquities. Take your words with you and turn to the Lord your God” (Hos. 14:2-3). I want to bring theology to Him, about whom Amos preached the following in prophecies: “... this says the Lord God Almighty: on all roads... weep, on all roads it is said: alas, ye are fierce, alas, ye are fierce!” ( Amos 5:16 ). I want to raise theology to Him, to whom the excellent prophet and theologian Joel sounded the trumpet: “...turn to the Lord your God: for He is merciful and generous, long-suffering and abounding in mercy, and repent of your wickedness” (Joel 2:13). I want to raise theology to Him, to whom Jonah sang in the belly of the whale: “I cried out in my affliction to the Lord my God” (Jonah 2:3). I want to bring to him the theology of Whom Obadiah made clear, saying: “This says the Lord God of Edom: I have heard a rumor from the Lord, a message in the tongues of an ambassador” (Ob.1:1). I want to bring theology to Him, like the greatest prophet Habakkuk, and for many generations he himself, like theologizing about Christ, proclaimed: “Have You carried it from time immemorial, O Lord God, my Holy One; and we will not die” (Hab. 1:12). And after him and with him at the beginning John depicts: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was to God, and God was the Word” (John 1:1). Lord God - and we will not die. Why? Because he repaid us with death. I want to bring theology to Him, about whom Zephaniah spoke like this: “Fear ye from the presence of the Lord our God, for the day of the Lord is near, for the Lord God has prepared His sacrifice” (Zeph. 1:7). I want to bring theology to Him, Whom the prophet Malachi did not know, says this: “...do not forsake the wife of your youth: but if you hate, you let her go, says the Lord God of Israel; To Him I wish to raise theology, about whom the prophet Haggai similarly expressed himself: “And hearing Zerubbabel Shealtiel of the tribe of Judah, and Joshua the great priest, and all” that remained on the earth, “the voice of the Lord our God” (Hag. 1:12). I want to bring theology to Him, about whom Zechariah spoke, and preached His suffering, and showed His dignity: “and the Lord God will come... and all His saints” with Him. “And in that day there will be no light... neither day nor night,” but “at evening there will be light” (Zechariah 14:5–6); for the course of the day continued (during the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross), but it was not a day; the night that came covered the day, and in the evening the light appeared, the day again received its characteristic light. I want to build up theology to Him, about whom the great Isaiah sounded the trumpet: “The Lord God of hosts will come out and destroy the army,” and “will stir up zeal” (Is. 42:13). Where will he come from and not be absent; He comes out in flesh, but remains in Divinity; and “will crush the army” by the power of the Cross, because He brought into inaction the painful sting of sin and enmity: and “will stir up the zeal” to which the Jews were subjected because of signs and wonders. On whom will it be erected? On those who envy, and therefore blaspheme; because the Blasphemed One did not suffer any damage to His own glory. The council of the apostles testifies to this, the glory of the fishermen testifies, the word of the unlearned testifies, and those who have everywhere overcome the dogmas of those unskilled in speech testify. They flowed around the universe, bearing the appearance of poverty, and bestowed wealth upon the kings. The desire of the Church testifies, the good goal of the priest testifies, because he overcomes the weakness of the flesh, does not think about suffering, just to imitate the plagues and acquire victorious rewards. For whoever suffers is rightly glorified; whoever endures receives the Kingdom by lot. Let no one deceive with empty words. It is impossible to receive a crown by remaining at rest; to receive a royal reward while living luxuriously. “Through much tribulation we must enter into the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). But, without a doubt, you will say: “Now is not the time of danger: the kings do not persecute, but, on the contrary, crown the Church, glorify the priests, encourage the people, and themselves flock to the fishermen; the peoples are at one with us as faithful, and wish to partake of our blessings.” What kind of sorrow do we have? - you ask. “Everyone is living in luxury, and we are fasting.” You are drenched in sweat and do not want to give room to my word; you have worked hard while standing, but do not call Vitiia an idle talker; but on the contrary, let desire intensify, let love increase, let it deepen, and even abound many times over, so that the poor vessel may be strengthened, so that the perishable may be cleansed, and the weak tongue may be recreated by the Spirit, to Whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. You might be interested in: