Песнопения на Рождество Христово

This day brings joy to kings, high priests and prophets, because on this day everything they said was accomplished and came to fulfillment. Now the Virgin gave birth to Immanuel in Bethlehem, now the word spoken by Isaiah has come to fulfillment. There was born the One who is “a story in the writing of men” (Ps. 86:6). Now the song sung by David has been fulfilled. Now the word spoken by Micah has been fulfilled: the Shepherd came out from Ephrath (Bethlehem) and shepherded souls with His rod (Micah 5:1–4). Behold, a star shone from Jacob, and a prince arose from Israel (Numbers 24:17); Now the prophecy spoken by Balaam has become clear. The hidden Light descended, His beauty shone from His flesh. The East, which is spoken of in Zechariah, now shines in Bethlehem. The royal light appeared in the royal city of Ephrath. Today Jacob's blessing has been fulfilled. The tree of life appeared, giving hope to mortals. Now the hidden word of Solomon is explained. Now the Son has been born, and His name is called “Wonderful” (Is. 9:6), for it is truly wonderful that God is a child. The Spirit likened Him to a worm (Ps. 21:7), because He is born without a man. Now the image destined by the Holy Spirit is becoming clear: it rises up like a root... “before it... like a root in a thirsty land” (Is. 53:2). What was said in secret has now become clear. The king who hid in the loins of Judah and was kidnapped by Tamar now revealed in all his splendor the beauty that His hiddenness loved. Ruth fell into Boaz to see the healing of life hidden in him; now her desire was fulfilled, because from her seed came He who gives life to all. Adam was the cause of the illnesses of the wife who descended from him; Now her illness is taken away, because the Virgin gave birth to her Savior. If Eve's mother was given birth to an unborn husband, is it not much more likely that Eve's daughter could have given birth to a Son without a husband? The virgin land gave birth to Adam, the ruler of the earth; Now the Virgin has given birth to Adam, the Lord of heaven. Aaron's rod became cold, and the dry tree bore fruit; this mystery is now explained, because the virgin womb gives birth. May the people now be put to shame, who recognize the prophets as true, but despise the Savior’s coming. If our Savior has not come, then the prophecies of the prophets are false. Blessed is the True One, Who came from the Father of truth, fulfilled the messages of the true, confirmed their truth! From Thy treasury, O Lord, from the treasures of Thy Scriptures, bring forth the names of the ancient righteous who longed to see Thy coming! Instead of Abel, the born Seth in the slain son of Adam saw the image of the One who, by His death, would stupefy the envy introduced into the world by Cain. Noah saw that the holy sons of God suddenly became lovers of voluptuousness, and he looked for the holy Son, who would sanctify those who commit fornication. The two brothers who covered Noah foresaw the Only Begotten of God, who would come and cover the nakedness of Adam, intoxicated with pride. Shem and Japheth, as merciful ones, waited for the Son of the Merciful, who would come and free Canaan from sinful slavery. Melchizedek looked forward to Him; keeping his ministry, he fixed his gaze, wanting to see that High Priest, who with His hyssop will make all creation white. Lot, seeing that the Sodomites had perverted the order of nature, foresees the Lord of natures, who will give holiness above nature. Aaron looked for Him, foreseeing that if the rod devoured the serpents, then the Cross would devour the serpent that devoured Adam and Eve. Moses, looking at the erected serpent, who healed the sting of the serpents, hoped to see the One who would heal the ulcer inflicted by the ancient serpent. The same Moses, seeing that he alone received the Divine glory, waited for the One who would come and, by His teaching, increase the number of those who were godlike. The spy Caleb, carrying a bunch of grapes on a pole (Num. 13:24), hoped to see that Grape, which with His wine would rejoice all creation. Joshua the son of Nun longed for Him, imagining the power of His name; imagining that if he is so exalted by bearing His name, how much more will he be exalted by His birth? The same Jesus, when he cut and carried the fruit with him, hoped to taste the all-life-giving fruit from the tree of life. Rahab foresaw it when the sign delivered her from her anger - “the scarlet rope” (Joshua 2:18); in this sign she had a foretaste of the truth. Elijah lusted after him, and since he did not see the Son on earth, he increased his faith and purity in order to ascend and see Him in heaven. Moses and Elijah contemplated him; the meek came from the depths, the terrible zealot came down from the heights, and they saw the Son in their midst. They depicted the mystery of His last coming: Moses was the image of the dead, Elijah was the image of the living, who will be caught up to meet Him when He comes. Those who have died, because they have tasted death, He will make first, and those who have not experienced burial will be caught up last when He meets. But who can number for me the righteous who waited for the Son? Their number cannot be determined by our weak lips. Pray for me, my beloved, so that I may be strengthened in my strength and at another time, if possible, offer you a word about what they anticipated. Who is able to praise the Son of truth who has appeared to us? The righteous longed to see Him in their generation. Adam was waiting for Him, because He is the Lord of the Cherubim, and can bring him in and dwell under the shadow of the tree of life. Abel longed for His coming in his days, so that instead of the lamb he had sacrificed, he would see the Lamb of God. Eve, seeing the great shame of the women, turned her gaze to the One who, instead of leaves, could clothe them with the glory that they had lost. The pillar, built by many, made it possible to see the mystery of the One, Who will descend and build a pillar on earth, leading to heaven. The Ark, which preserved living creatures, prefigured our Lord, who created the Holy Church, in which souls find refuge. Peleg, in whose days the earth was divided (Gen. 10:25) into seventy languages, looked forward to the One who would divide the earth among His apostles according to the number of languages. The earth, mired in the flood, with its silence proclaims the Lord, who descends, opens the font of Baptism and through it ascends to heaven. Seth, Enos and Cainan were called the sons of God and looked forward to the Son of God, so that by grace they could become His brothers. Methuselah, who lived for almost a thousand years, was waiting for the Son, who gives as an inheritance life that never ends. Grace itself secretly prayed for them, so that their Lord would come to their generation and fill their poverty. The Holy Spirit who dwelt in them prayed for them in their spirit, and lifted them up, and they saw the Redeemer, Whom they longed to see. The souls of the righteous felt that the medicine of life was in the Son, and they longed for Him to come in their days and for them to taste this sweetness of Him. Enoch longed for Him, and since he did not see the Son on earth, he increased his faith and righteousness in order to ascend and see Him in heaven. Who dares to deny goodness when a gift, which the ancients did not accept after great labor, is not bestowed upon the new? Lamech expected that the Merciful would come and give him rest from labor, from the work of his hands and “from the cursed land,” the Just One (Gen. 5:29). When Lamech saw that in his son Noah the mystery of the Son of God was destined, instead of the distant Lord he consoled himself with the close mystery. And Noah longed to see Him, having experienced His help, reasoning that if His image preserved living creatures, then how much more would He Himself save souls? Noah was expecting him when he learned that the ark was being built by Him, reasoning that if His image is so saving, then how much more will He Himself in His person bring salvation? Abraham felt in his spirit that the birth of the Son was still far off, and instead of the Son he desired to see His day (John 8:56). Isaac longed to see Him when through Him he received deliverance for himself, reasoning that if His image is so saving, then isn’t He Himself even more saving? Those who are awake now rejoice, because the “Warm One” has come (Dan.4:10) to raise us up from sleep. Will anyone sleep on this night in which all creation is awake? Since Adam introduced the sleep of death into the world through sin, the “Warm One” descended to awaken us from deep sinful sleep. Let us stay awake, but not like the covetous, who think about the silver they have lent for interest, and stay awake most of the night to count what they have lent and interest. The thief (thief) is also awake, as if he had buried and hidden his sleep in the ground; but his vigilance is aimed at preparing many sleepless nights for those sleeping. He is also awake and intemperate, because he is burdened and tormented by overeating. For him, the vigil serves as a punishment for eating in moderation. The merchant also stays awake, wearying his hands at night over counting the money and over whether its number has doubled or tripled. The rich man is also awake, because his wealth drives him away from sleep; His dogs sleep, and he guards his treasures from thieves. He is awake and busy, his sleep is absorbed in much care. And although his death is already at his leadership, he is still awake: he has worries about many years ahead. Instead of one vigilance, brethren, Satan teaches us another, so that we sleep for good deeds, but be vigilant and awake for vile deeds. So Judas Iscariot stayed awake the whole night and sold his innocent blood, which redeemed the whole world. The son of darkness clothed himself in darkness, because he put off the light and rejected it. And by Whom silver was created, He was sold by the thief for pieces of silver. And the Pharisees, these children of darkness, stayed awake the whole night; in darkness they were awake to hide the boundless Light. But you, as enlightened ones, stay awake on this luminous night, although it is dark in appearance, but luminous in strength. He who watches as one who is enlightened and prays in darkness is also clothed in invisible light in the midst of visible darkness. He is vile who, on the contrary, while living in daylight, is a child of darkness in life. Outwardly he is all in light, but inwardly he is covered in darkness. Therefore, beloved, let us not delude ourselves that we are awake. Whoever does not stay awake as he should, his wakefulness is not wakefulness. He who does not stay awake willingly, his wakefulness is sleep. And whoever does not stay awake in purity, wakefulness is even harmful for him. The vigil of the envious is completely harmful, his vigilance is the most shameful and inglorious acquisition. If an angry person is awake, then his vigil is outraged by anger, his vigil is filled with rage and curses. If a talkative person is awake, then his mouth is a bridge over which everything passes, because he is quick to sin and lazy to pray. A prudently awake person chooses one of two things: either sleep pleasantly, or stay awake as he should. Pure is the real night, on which the Pure One appeared, coming to cleanse us. During our vigil we will not allow anything that could make it unclean. Let the path of our hearing be pure, and the gaze of our eyes chaste, and the feeling of our hearts holy, and the word of our lips sincere. In us today Mary hides the leaven from the house of Abraham. Let us love the poor as Abraham loved the needy! The leaven is now pouring into us from the house of the merciful David; let everyone be merciful to his persecutor, as the son of Jesse was to Saul. The delicious salt of the prophets is now scattered among the nations, and may it impart to us a new taste, because it has seized the ancient people. On this day of salvation we will utter (speak) only reasonable words and will not say anything superfluous, so that we ourselves do not turn out to be superfluous. This night is a night of reconciliation, so let no one be angry or cause sorrow. On this night, which has given peace to the whole world, let no one threaten or indulge in fury. The real night is the night of the Meekest, but on this night there will be no one who grieves and is cruel. On this night of the Humble, let no one be proud or arrogant. On this day of remission of sins, we will not take revenge for insults. On this day of joy, let us not cause grief to each other. In this day of favor, let us not be hard-hearted. On this day of silence, let us not be overwhelmed by anger. On this day on which God came to sinners, let not the righteous exalt himself over the sinner. On this day, on which the Lord of all came to the slaves, and may the masters condescend with love to their slaves. On this day, on which the Rich One became poor for our sake, let the rich one make the poor a participant in his meal. On this day we have received a gift that we did not ask for; let us give alms to those who call upon us and ask. This day has opened the heavenly door to our prayers, and we will also open our door to those who ask, who have offended us and are begging for forgiveness. The Lord of nature has now united with that which is alien to His nature, so let us not take the trouble to change our evil will. The flesh is bound by its very nature and cannot add or subtract anything to itself; but the will has the ability to ascend to any measure. Now the Divinity has placed upon Himself the seal of humanity, so that humanity may also be adorned with the seal of the Divinity. Blessed is the Child who has now brought joy to Bethlehem! Blessed be the Child, who has now given youth to humanity! Blessed is the Fruit that now bends towards the hungry! Blessed is the Rich One, who suddenly enriches our poverty and makes up for our shortcomings! Blessed is He who is moved by generosity to visit us, the weak! Thanks be to the Source that poured out for our purification! Thanks be to Him who ruined the Sabbath by fulfilling it! Thanks be to Him who forbids leprosy, and dare not remain! When the firebird sees whom it sees, it runs away! Thanks be to the Merciful One, Who bore our hard-heartedness! Praise be to Your coming, which gave life to people! Praise be to Him Who condescended to us in His Only Begotten! Praise be to the Silence Who spoke to us with His Word! Praise be to the Almighty, Who has revealed Himself in His East! Praise be to the Spiritual One, Who willed that He who is from Him should become flesh, and His power should become tangible, and in the flesh those who were related to Him in the flesh would find mercy. Praise be to the Invisible One, Whose Son was made visible! Praise be to the Ever-Living One, Whose Son tasted death! Praise be to the Great One, Whose Son descended and humbled Himself! Praise be to that Power, Which expressed His greatness in an image and showed the hiddenness of His being in a visible outline. And we see Him with our eyes and spirit! Praise be to that Hidden One, Whom no mind, even if it would like, is able to comprehend, and Who, through goodness, made Himself tangible in human nature! Whose being is unsearchable (cannot be explored), His hands are bound and entangled, His feet are pierced, and He is crucified, because He voluntarily gave Himself in His body to those who captured (grabbed) Him. Blessed is He who was crucified by His own will, because He allowed this! Blessed is He Whom the tree lifted up on itself, because He allowed it to do so! Blessed is He Whom His own will brought to the Mother’s womb and womb, to birth and growth! Blessed is He who, having become changeable, gave life to our humanity! Blessed is He who imprinted our soul, adorned it, and became engaged to it! Blessed is He who has made our flesh the dwelling place of His hidden being! Blessed is He Who has revealed His secrets with our tongue! Let us glorify the Word, whose glory our tambourine (tambourine) proclaims and whose power our tambourine proclaims! The peoples flocked and gathered to listen to His songs. Praise be to the Son of the All-Good, Whom the sons of the evil one rejected! Praise be to the Son of the Righteous One, whom the sons of iniquity crucified! Praise be to Him who freed us from bonds and was Himself bound for us! Praise be to Him who stood surety for us and paid our debt! Praise be to the Most Beautiful One, who created us in His image! Praise be to the Purest One, who did not look upon our defilements! Praise be to Him who cast light into the darkness and exposed its secrets, but covered His hiddenness, and stripped and took off the clothes of filth from us! Praise be to the Most High, Who mixed His salt with our spirit, and His leaven with our souls, and made His body bread to revive our deadness! Glory to the Rich One, Who paid for us everything that He did not borrow, and Himself signed up as a debtor for us! With the yoke He took upon Himself, He broke the bonds of Him who took us captive for us. Praise be to the Judge, who was judged for us, and appointed twelve disciples as judges of the twelve tribes, and with a word of ignorant people convicted the scribes of the people! Praise be to Him Who will never be measured by us! Our heart is small for Him, our mind is weak, our insignificance is lost in the wealth of His judgments. Praise be to the Omniscient One, Who humbled himself and asked in order to hear and find out what He already knew, in order to reveal with His questions the treasures of His saving means! Let us worship the One who enlightened our minds with His teaching and paved the way for His word in our hearing. Let us give thanks to the One who grafted His fruit into our tree. Let us give thanks to Him who sent His Heir, in order through Him to draw us to Himself and together with Him to give us an inheritance. Let us give thanks to the Good One - the wine of all blessings. Blessed is He who does not reprove, because He is good! Blessed is He who does not indulge, because He is just! Blessed is He who is silent and denounces in order to grant salvation to both. His silence is strict and accusatory. And when he denounces, his severity is lenient. He severely rebuked the hypocrites and kissed the robber. Praise be to Him Who invisibly cultivates our spirit! His seed fell on our land and enriched our spirit, bringing a hundredfold fruit into the granary of our souls. Let us bow to the One who sat, and rested, and traveled, and for us who travel, became the path, for us who come, the door leading into the Kingdom. Blessed is the Shepherd, who became the Lamb to make us clean! Blessed is the Vine, which has become the Cup of our salvation! Blessed is the Grape (bunch) - the source of life-giving medicine! Blessed is the Worker, sown as wheat, reaped as a hilt (sheaf)! Blessed is the Creator, who has become a pillar for our defense! Blessed is the One who has tuned the feelings of our spirit so that we can sing on our harp what the larynx of a bird cannot sing in its sweet songs! Praise be to Him Who, seeing how, with our cruelty and intemperance, we were ready to become like beasts, condescended and became, as it were, one of us, so that we might become heavenly! Praise be to Him Who has no need of our praises, but finds them necessary out of love for us; thirsts for them because he loves us; demands that we repay Him, because He is waiting for an opportunity to reward us! His fruit was most closely united with our humanity, so that through this we would draw closer to Him. He sent Him down to us in order to graft us into His tree with the Fruit from His root. Let us give thanks to the One who was wounded and healed us with His wounds! Let us give thanks to the One who removed the curse from us with His crown of thorns! Let us give thanks to the One who put death to death by His death! Let us give thanks to the One who was silent and justified us! Let us give thanks to the One who cried out menacingly against the death that was devouring us! Blessed is He Whose saving means have diminished the number of those standing on the left! Let us praise the One who was awake and put to sleep the one who captivated us! Let us praise the One who rested in sleep and drove away our mortal sleep! Praise be to God, who healed humanity! Praise be to Him who was baptized, and drowned our wickedness in the depths of the waters, and put to death the one who killed us! From all lips praise the Lord, who saves in every possible way! Blessed is the Physician, Who descended and circumcised the scabs without pain and healed the scabs with emollient medicine! Birth became a medicine for the One who is merciful to sinners. Blessed is the One who dwells in the Mother's womb, in which he built for himself a church to dwell there, and an abode to dwell in, and clothes to adorn himself with, and weapons to conquer with! Blessed is He Whom our lips are not able to glorify as they should, because His gift is higher than any flowery word! And our feelings are not able to thank His goodness as it should. No matter how much we glorify, it will not be enough. But it would be unhelpful, even harmful, to remain silent; That is why our weakness brought this song of praise. O Good One, who does not demand from us beyond our strength! What kind of judgment awaits Your servant for the talent entrusted to him and for what was acquired with the talent, because he did not repay what he could, did not pay what he owed? However, You are a sea of ​​glory that has no need for our glorification. Accept, by Thy goodness, this drop of praise, because by Thy grace Thou hast moved my tongue to praise Thee. Blessed is that first day of Thy, O Lord, which marks the present day of Thy feast! Your day is like You; he loves a person, passes and comes again with every birth. This day ends with the old and returns to begin with the babies. This day is being renewed because of its love for us, so that by its power it may renew our decay. Your day visited us, then passed and left us, but, out of His mercy, He returns again and visits us. He knows (day) that humanity needs him; completely like You and seeks humanity. The creature needs its Source; For Your day, Lord, just as for You, all creation thirsts. This day reigns over times; The dominion of Your day is like Your dominion: it extends to centuries past and present. Your day is like You; he alone, in order to become like You, emerges again (is born) and repeats himself many times. On this present, close to us, Thy day, Lord, we contemplate Thy birth, distant from us. May Your day be for us, like You, Lord, a mediator and guarantor of peace! Your day has pacified heaven and earth, because on this day the One above has descended to those below. And this day of Thy can appease the Righteous One, Who is angry with us for our sins. Thy day forgave us the darkness of our sins, on which the bounty of the guilty shone forth. Great is your day, O Lord, may it not diminish your usual mercy towards us foolish ones. If every day, Lord, Thy forgiveness abundantly pours out upon us, then how much more should it be aggravated on this day? From the treasury of this glorious day of Yours and all days they borrow their blessings. With the treasures of a real holiday, all holidays are decorated and clothed in splendor. On this Thy day, O Lord, pour out Thy bounty upon us abundantly; this Thy day is known to us more than all days. Since there are many treasures in Your birthday, let them be used to pay for the debtors. Greater than all days is this day, because on this day the Merciful One descended to sinners. Your great day is a treasury of medicines, because on this day the medicine of life appeared for those covered with sores. Your day is a repository of saving means, because on this day the light of our blindness has shone. He came and brought us a hilt (a sheaf of wheat), from which we who were hungry were satisfied. This day is a new grape; in it is hidden the cup of salvation. This day is the first of the holidays, it surpasses all holidays. During winter, which deprives the branches of fruit, Fruit came to us from the barren vine. During the cold season, which exposed all the trees, a stem grew for us from the house of Jesse. In the month of Konun (December), which conceals seeds in the ground, the Class of Life froze from the womb. In the month of Nissan (March), in which the seeds vegetate upward, this handle is sown in the ground. Death squeezed and swallowed her up in Sheol, but the medicine of life hidden in her dissolved Sheol. In the month of Nisan, when the lambs fill the desert, the Passover Lamb is conceived in the womb. From the river from which the fishers came, having been baptized, comes the All-Catcher. From the river in which Simon was catching fish, a Fisher of Men came out and caught him. By the Cross, which caught all the robbers, He caught the robber into life. He who ever lived through His death devastated and crushed Sheol and drove out entire hosts from it. The publicans and harlots, who served the evil one to be caught in unclean nets, are caught by the Holy One. The sinner, who was a snare for husbands, He makes a mirror for those who repent. The dead barren fig tree brought Zacchaeus into fruit. She did not give the fruit characteristic of her nature, but she brought a different reasonable fruit. Our Lord, thirsty, came to the well and caught the thirsty woman with the waters that she asked for. At the source he caught one soul and through it he later caught the whole city. The Saint caught twelve catchers and through them he later caught the whole universe. Iscariot was torn out of His nets, and a noose fell around his neck. The net of the All-Giving One catches life; whoever is pulled out of it is torn away from life. Who is able to enumerate for me the various means of salvation hidden in You, Lord? Who will help thirsty lips taste even a drop from the Source of Divinity? Accept now the voice of our prayer. And what we pray for in word, do it in deed. Grant us that, as soon as we see Your holiday, Teacher, the rumors we hear will pass us by. Our spirit is scattered among the audible voices; calm these voices, You, Father's Voice. May the restless universe be pacified by You, just as, at Your voice, the sea ceased its agitation. The demons rejoice when they hear the voice of blasphemy; Let the Guardian Angels rejoice over us, as is their custom. From the midst of Your flock a voice of sorrow is heard; make Thy flock glad, O Giver of joy. May our sorrow not crush us; Our lips cry out to You, Teacher, even though they are sinners. May Your day bring us all the joys, O Lord, with the branches of the world may we celebrate Your Passover. May we also be exalted on the day of Your ascension, and may its remembrance be accomplished by the offering of new bread. May peace grow among us, our Lord, may we celebrate three Divine holidays. Great, O Lord, is Your day; May he not turn to us as a reproach. Everyone celebrates Your Nativity Day. Preserve the honor of the day of Your Nativity, O Righteous One, for Herod also honored his birthday. The nasty dancing delighted the tormentor; May the voices of the chaste delight you, O Lord. May the voices of the chaste bless You, O Lord. And may you keep their bodies holy. Herod's day was like Herod's, and Your day is like You. The day of the troubled one was outraged by an atrocity, but Your day, like You, is imperturbable. The feast of torment killed the preacher, but on Your feast everyone proclaims praise. On the day of the murderer the voice is silent, but on Your day the voices of celebration are heard. The defiled Herod extinguished the lamp on his holiday so that darkness would cover the adulterers. The Feast of the Saint prepared lamps to disperse the darkness and its secrets. The day of Herod the fox was stinking, like him, but the feast of the true Lamb is holy. The day of a mortal, like him, had an end, but Your day, like You, endures forever. The day of the tormentor, like him, is fierce; the voice of the righteous is silenced by his violence. The Feast of the Meek, like Him, is merciful, His sun shines even on those who rebel against him. The tormentor knew that he was not a king, so he gave in to the King of kings. All-perfect, O Lord, is this day; It is not for me to compare Your glory with the ignominy of the tormentor. May Thy Day, O Merciful One, forgive my folly for comparing an unclean day with Thy day. Your day is beyond comparison and incomparable with our days. Man's day, like himself, is earthly, but God's day, like God Himself, is divine. Your day, O Lord, is higher than the days of the prophets, but I began to compare it with the day of the murderer. But You, Lord, as the Omniscient One, know why my tongue utters these comparisons. May Thy day grant us the life we ​​desire, because Herod's day also gave Herod the death he desired. The poor king swore on his holiday that half of his kingdom would be the reward of the dancer. May Your holiday, O All-Enriching One, in His mercy, give us at least a grain of food. From the thirsty land a fountain bubbled up, which is sufficient to quench the thirst of all peoples. In the womb of the Virgin, as if on a stone, the Seed vegetated and bore abundant fruit. Joseph once filled countless granaries with bread, but they were empty during the famine years. The only true Clas gave the bread of heaven, and it does not run out. The bread that the Only Begotten broke in the desert, although it multiplied, nevertheless became exhausted and was no more. Then He broke new bread, and neither generations nor generations will exhaust it. The seven loaves that He broke were exhausted; The five loaves He multiplied were no more. The one bread He broke surpassed all creation: the more it is distributed, the more it multiplies. He filled the waterpots with good wine; They drew it up, and although there was a lot of it, it ran out. The cup that He gave to the disciples did not contain much drink, but its power was very great, and it did not dry out. This is the Cup that contains all the drink. This is the Sacrament in which He Himself is. The one bread broken by Him is not exhausted, the one Cup dissolved by Him is not exhausted. The grain of wheat sown in the ground sprouted on the third day and filled the granary of life. This bread is spiritual, as is its Giver; He gives spiritual life to the spiritual. Whoever accepts it only physically accepts it recklessly and without benefit. Therefore, let the spirit with reason accept this bread of the Merciful, as a medicine for life. And the dead sacrifices in honor of the demons were slaughtered and consumed mysteriously and solemnly. Moreover, we must celebrate the Sacrament of the All-Holy Holy One. Whoever eats a sacrifice made in honor of a demon unquestioningly becomes the property of demons. Whoever eats the bread of heaven, without a doubt, becomes heavenly. Wine also shows us this, which makes the one who drinks it like himself. It greatly hates those who love it, because it makes them intoxicated, crazy and funny. This is also shown to us by the light that makes the eye, like itself, bright. In the light the eye sees nakedness and makes the abstinent one chaste. Wine has produced nakedness because it does not know how to spare even the chaste. The Only Begotten put on the weapon of the evil one, so that with the same weapon with which he killed, he could restore life. We were killed by the tree, and we were saved by the tree; Wine makes us crazy, but wine makes us wise. With the bone taken from Adam, the evil one captivated Adam's heart. From the same bone came a hidden power that crushed Satan like Dagon. For hidden in the ark was a book that proclaimed and proclaimed the winner. The obvious secret is that Dagon was overthrown in his own home. The mystery was followed by fulfillment: the evil one was cast down in the house of his hope. Blessed is He who passed through, and in Him the mysteries of the soul and the right hand were fulfilled! He fulfilled the Sacrament foreshadowed in the lamb, and the image foreshadowed in Dagon. Blessed is He who saved us with the true Lamb, and cast down the one who overthrew us like Dagon. In the month of Konun, when the nights are the longest, an endless day dawned on us. In winter, which makes the whole universe sad, beauty appeared, making the whole creation joyful. In winter, which makes the earth barren, the Virgin knew birth. In the month of Konun, when the earth stops giving birth, Virgo gives birth. The shepherd sees the newborn lamb first, and the true Lamb at the time of His birth deigned to reveal Himself to the shepherds. The old wolf saw the Lamb feeding on milk and was afraid of his pretense. The wolf put on sheep's clothing, and the one Shepherd of all became one of the lambs in the flock. When the greedy rebelled against the meek with impudence, the strong crushed the insatiable. The Holy One dwelt bodily in the womb; He dwells spiritually in the soul. Mary, who conceived Him, abhorred marriage; Let not the soul in which He dwells commit fornication. Since Mary felt Him in Herself, she did not touch the marriage bed; Thus He dwells in the chaste, if they feel Him within themselves. The deaf do not feel strong thunder, but the shameless do not feel the voice of the commandment. The deaf are not embarrassed by thunder, and the shameless are not embarrassed by the voice of conviction. If a deaf person is shaken by strong thunder, then the defiled one will be awakened by terrible anger. A deaf person is not guilty of not hearing, and breaking a commandment is obvious shamelessness. Thunderclaps come from time to time, but the voice of the law thunders daily. Let's not block the ears; We are convicted by the fact that the holes of our ears are always open and not closed. Nature itself always opens the door of hearing, so that, if necessary, our shamelessness is amazed. The door of the voice and the door of the mouth can still be opened and closed by our will. Let us turn our attention to what the Good One gives us; Let us be attentive to the great voice of God and not block the doors of our hearing. Praise be to the Voice that became flesh, and to the Word of the Most High that became flesh! Ears hear Him, eyes see Him, hands touch Him, lips taste Him. All members and feelings, give thanks to Him who came and gave life to the whole body. Mary bore the silent Child when all kinds of tongues were hidden in Him. Joseph also carried Him, but in Him was hidden a nature that is older than anything that has aged. The Most High became a Child, and in Him hid a treasure of wisdom sufficient for everyone. The Most High fed on Mary’s milk, and by His goodness all creatures are fed. He is the breasts and breath of life; from his life the dead suck (receive) life and come to life. It is impossible for a person to live if he does not breathe air; It is impossible for him to rise unless he rises to the power of the Son. Every breath through thick and thin depends on His living and all-giving breath. When He fed on Mary’s milk, He exuded life to everything. When He reclined in the bosom of His Mother, then all creatures were in His bosom. He was silent, like a Child, but He spoke all His commandments to all creation. Without the Only Begotten, man cannot approach the Eternal, with whom He alone is equal. Those thirty years that He was on earth, who ruled over all creation? Who accepted all the sacrifices and praises from those above and below? He was all in those below and all in those on high, all in all, and all in each. When His body was formed in the Mother's womb, then His power created the members of all flesh. When He was conceived in the womb, then He created babies in their mother's wombs. His strength did not fail in Him, as His flesh was weak in the womb. His power was not exhausted on the tree, just as His flesh was exhausted on the tree. When He gave life to the dead on the Cross, was it His flesh or His will that gave them life? So then, when He entirely dwelt in the womb, His will invisibly accomplished everything. Look, when He ascended to the Cross, the whole world was awed by His power. The sun darkened, the earth shook, the coffins opened, and the dead came out of them. Look, He was all on the Cross, and at the same time He was all everywhere. So He was all in His Mother’s womb, and at the same time He was all in everything. Just as he lived the dead on the Cross, so he also created infants, being a Child. Having been put to death, He opened the coffin and, being in the Mother’s womb, opened the wombs of mothers. Hear, my friends, about the Hidden Son; His flesh was visible, but His power was invisible. The power of the Son is unstoppable; she was not contained within the Mother’s womb, as the flesh was contained. When His power abided in the mother's womb, then He created babies in the wombs of mothers. His power embraced those who held Him in His arms. And if He took away His power, everything would collapse. The power that contains all creatures, even when He was in the womb, did not leave everything. He formed Himself in His Mother’s womb, and from Him all who were in their mother’s wombs received the formation of their form. When He ate with the poor, He filled everything from His treasury. When the anointing woman anointed Him, He anointed everything with rain and dew. The Magi brought Him myrrh and gold, but He contained the most precious treasure. They brought myrrh and incense, which were created by Him; The Magi offered His property as a gift to Him. Only by the Power could Mary carry Him in the depths of Her Bearer of all things. From the great treasury for all creation, Mary gave to Him what she was able to give. She gave Him milk, which He Himself formed; gave food that He Himself created. Like God, He gave Mary milk, and like a man, He fed on Her milk. Her hands carried Him, because He moderated His power. His bosom held Her, because He humbled Himself. Who can measure His boundless greatness? And yet He reduced its measure to the capacity of clothing. The garment covered and clothed Him, because He laid aside His glory; measured and covered Him, because He shortened Himself. The sea fell silent and calmed when it carried Him on itself. How could Joseph's hands carry Him? Sheol received Him into itself, and His womb burst. How could Mary’s womb carry Him within itself? Because of His power, the tombstones were split. How could Mary’s womb carry Him? You came to humiliation in order to give life to everyone. Praise be to You from all those revived by Your hand! Who can speak about the Hidden Son, Who descended and became flesh in the Mother’s womb? He came from the womb as a baby, fed on milk, and grew up among children as the Son of the Lord of all. They saw Him as a youth on the streets, when love for everyone dwelt in Him. Apparently children surrounded him on the streets, invisibly Angels stood before him with fear. Among the children He was a smiling baby, and He terrified the Angels like a ruler. John did not dare to loosen (untie) the strap on His boot, but He was merciful to the sinners who kissed His feet. The angels looked at Him like Angels; every man saw Him according to his knowledge. Everyone saw in Him the Supreme One, but each according to his own understanding. Only the Father and He Himself fully have knowledge of Him, know Him as He is. All other beings, both above and below, cognize Him to varying degrees. He is the Lord of all, He gives us everything and, enriching everyone, borrows from everyone. As one who needs nothing, He gives to everyone and, as one who has no need, He borrows from everyone. As the Creator, He gives oxen and sheep and, as if He Himself needed them, demands them as sacrifices. As the Creator, He transformed water into wine, and He Himself tasted it, as if He needed it. By His power He dissolved the wine at the wedding and, as one invited to the wedding, drank the wine dissolved by Him. His love exalted Elder Simeon, and he, a mortal, bore the Savior of all. Simeon carried Him by force, and the one who carried Him was himself carried by Him. He ordained Moses on the mountain, and He Himself received ordination from John in the river. By the power of grace John was able to do so, and the earthly one baptized the heavenly one. The earth bore Him by His strength. And if His strength did not support her, she would crumble into dust. Martha fed Him with his property and offered Him food that He Himself had created. Whoever brought anything to Him brought His property; a meal was offered to Him from His treasury. This month brings all the joys (that is, the month in which the Lord was pleased to be born from the Blessed Virgin Mary): freedom for slaves, exaltation for free people, crowning for doors, pleasure for bodies; out of His love He clothed us in scarlet, like kings. This month brings all victories: the spirit is liberated, the flesh is enslaved, life is born among mortals, the Divine, out of His love, descends to humanity. On this day our Lord exchanged (gave away) His glory for humiliation, like one humble. Since Adam, having been seduced, exchanged (exchanged) the truth for a lie, the Good One, having mercy, justified and restored those who had seduced. Let everyone now leave his laziness, because the Divine Majesty was not burdened for our sake to remain nine months in the womb and thirty years in Sodom among the frantic. The good one saw the impoverishment and misery of the human race; therefore, like treasuries, he instituted a holiday and opened them for the lazy, so that the holiday would motivate the lazy one to rise up and become rich. Here the Only Begotten, like a treasury, opens His feast to us. This is the only day of the year that opens a treasury to us. Come, let us gather up wealth with all our zeal until the treasury is closed. Blessed are the vigilant, for from here they catch the spoils of life. Great shame is there for him who sees how another carries out treasures, while he himself sits and dozes in the treasury and comes out of it with nothing. On this festive day, let everyone crown the doors of his heart. The Holy Spirit waits at the door of the heart to enter, inhabit and sanctify it. Look, He goes around all the doors, looking for His entrance. On this holiday, every door rejoices one after the other, the sanctuary in the holy church rejoices, a joyful voice is heard from the mouths of babies, and Christ, as a leader, rejoices in the midst of His holiday. At the birth of the Son, the king took a census of the entire universe in order to make everyone his tributaries, and the King came to us, who destroys our manuscripts and in His name writes another manuscript, by which He makes Himself our debtor. The light prevailed and, rising gradually, proclaimed the mystery. It has already been twelve days (this probably indicates that in the time of Ephraim the feast of the Nativity of Christ fell on the thirteenth day after the winter solstice) since he rose, and this thirteenth day is the complete mystery of the birth of the Son and His twelve apostles. On the tenth day of Nissan, Moses separated the Passover lamb (Ex. 12:3). This is the image of the Son, who on the same tenth day entered the womb of the Virgin and was imprisoned in her; He came from his mother’s womb in the month in which the light prevails. The darkness has been overcome, which means that Satan has also been defeated. The Light has conquered and loudly proclaims that the Only Begotten has overcome. The leader of darkness is defeated by Him along with darkness. Our lamp triumphed along with daylight. Joseph kissed the Son as a baby and served Him as God. He rejoiced over Him as the All-Good One and stood in great awe before Him, as before the Just One: “Who gave me the Son of the Most High as a Son? In fear, I thought of letting Your Mother go from me, but I did not know that a great treasure lay in Her womb and would suddenly make my poverty rich. My forefather, King David, wore a diadem, and I fell into deep humiliation and instead of a king I became a woodworker (carpenter). But now the royal diadem is returning to me, because in my arms I carry the Lord of all diadems.” Mary was filled with delight and sang a sweet song to Him: “Who granted Me, a stranger to childbearing, that I conceived and gave birth to the One and the Many, the Small and the Great, Who is all in Me and all in all? This day, on which Gabriel came to My misery, suddenly made Me a mistress from a slave. I am the servant of Your Divinity, but also the Mother of Your humanity, My Lord and My Son. Through You, Son of Kings, I, a slave, suddenly became a royal daughter. For Your sake, Son of David, I, poor in the house of David, am exalted, I, daughter of the earth, through You, the Heavenly, ascended to heaven. What amazement surrounds Me! Here before Me is the Child of the Ancient of Days. His eye is directed to heaven, the babbling of His lips does not cease, which represents to Me that His silence converses with God. Who has seen the Child, Who penetrates everything with his gaze? In His gaze it is clear that He is the ruler of all creation, both above and below. This is the gaze of the Lord, Who commands everything. How will I open the fountains of milk to You, O Source? How will I feed You, Who feeds everyone from Your table? How shall I approach Thy swaddling clothes, Clothed with light? My mouth does not know what to call You, Son of the Ever-Living One. Do I dare to call You Son of Joseph? But I am horrified, because You are not his seed, but I am also afraid to deny his name, because he is betrothed to Me. Shall I call You, Son of One, Son of many? And a thousand names are not enough for You: You are both the Son of God and the Son of Man, together the Son of David and the Son of Mary. Who made the Lord of all lips silent? Evil people turned your most pure conception into a reproach to me. You, O Saint, be the intercessor of Your Mother, show Your power, so that they will understand how I conceived you. For the sake of You, Who loves everyone, I became hated; They persecute Me because I conceived and gave birth to the only refuge for the sons of men. Let Adam rejoice, for You are the key to heaven. Behold, the sea is fierce against the one who gave birth to You, as it was against Jonah. Here Herod, like a restless wave, seeks to drown the Lord of the seas. Where should I run? Teach Me, Lord of Your Mother! With You I will run away, because through You life is acquired everywhere. And a prison with You is not a prison, because through You man ascends to heaven. And the grave with You is not a grave, because You are the resurrection.” Suddenly, a bright star shone, not according to natural laws, outside the order of nature. It is smaller and yet more sunshine. Less - in visible light, more - in hidden power, in its mysterious meaning. The star of the east illuminated the country of the darkened with its rays, guiding them as if they were blind. They came and saw the great Light, brought Him gifts and accepted eternal life, gave worship and returned to their path. The Son then had two heralds: one - woe, the other - down. The bright star proclaimed His grief, John preached about Him down; therefore there were two heralds: one here, earthly, the other there, heavenly. The one above pointed to that nature of the Son, which is from God's majesty, and the one below - to that which is from humanity. Great miracle! They were the heralds of both His Divinity and His humanity. If someone considered Him to be the son of earth, then the bright star would show that He was heavenly. And if someone recognized Him as only spiritual, then John showed that He also has flesh. In the holy church, Simeon took Him into his arms and sang to Him: “You have come, O Most Merciful One, having had mercy on my old age, and in peace you are laying my bones in the grave. Through you I will rise from the grave and enter paradise.” Anna embraced Him in her arms and put her mouth to His lips. And the Spirit moved into her mouth, just as the once silent Isaiah opened the lips of a coal that touched them. Burning with the Spirit poured out into her mouth, Anna sang: “Son of the Kingdom and Son of Humiliation! You, Who are heard and silent, and see and are invisible, omniscient and hidden, God and Son of Man, praise be to Your name! The barren also heard about Him and hastened with their gifts. The wise men came with their treasures, the barren came with gifts, and in the dwelling of the poor there suddenly became a lot of gifts and treasures. As if after a long separation, the barren (Elizabeth) exclaimed: “Who gave me, Blessed One, to see Your Child, filling heaven and earth with Himself? Blessed is Thy Fruit, Which brings forth grapes from the barren vine!” Zechariah also came, opened his holy lips and exclaimed: “Where is that King, whom my voice was born to proclaim? I salute You, Son of Kings, Our priesthood is entrusted to You.” John also came up with his parents and bowed to the Son. And the Son shed the light of His Divinity on his face, but John did not leap as in his mother’s womb. What a miracle! Here he worships, there he plays for joy. And the despised fox - Herod, who was proud of himself like a lion and was resting in his lair, suddenly cried out as soon as he heard the voice of the Lion. Who, according to Scripture, came to sit on His royal throne. However, this fox hears that the Lion is still young and feeds on milk, and the fox sharpens his teeth while He is in infancy. The fox wants to lay a net for the Lion and kill Him before He becomes stronger and destroys her (the fox) with the breath of His mouth. All creation has become, as it were, one mouth and proclaims Him. The wise men proclaim, bringing gifts, and the barren, bringing their children. A bright star proclaims in the air: “Behold the Son of Kings!” The heavens open, the waters rejoice, the dove proclaims a song of praise, the voice of the Father speaks louder than thunder: “This is My beloved.” The angels proclaim and the children sing: “Hosanna!” These voices cried out to mountain and valley, and proclaimed, and preached about the Son; but even at the sound of thunder, sleep did not leave Zion; Zion was indignant, indignant, rebelled and killed the Son for waking him up. There was a great celebration in Bethlehem at the birth of the Son; The Angels came down from heaven and glorified there, and their voice rang out like thunder. Even the dumb gathered to their songs of praise and glorified the Son. Blessed is this Child, who renews the youth of Adam and Eve! The shepherds also came and brought the best gifts from their flocks - sweet milk, clean meat and splendid praise. To Joseph - meat, to Mary - milk, to the Son - praise. And they brought the milk-fed lamb as a gift to the Paschal Lamb, the firstborn to the Firstborn, the sacrificial lamb to the Sacrifice, the temporary lamb to the true Lamb. What a delightful sight: a lamb being offered as a gift to the Lamb! The voice of the lamb brought as a gift to the Firstborn was joyful. He praised that Lamb who came and freed the rams and oxen from the sacrificial slaughter; brought the Passover Lamb, and the Passover of the Son was instituted. The shepherds came to him to worship with their staffs and prophetically greeted him like this: “Peace be with you, Lord of the shepherds! Let the rod of Moses praise Your rod, O Shepherd of all! May Moses praise You, whose lambs became wolves, whose sheep became serpents and wild beasts, and the whole flock in the terrible desert rushed with rage towards him. May all shepherds praise You, because You pacify wolves and lambs and unite them into one flock, O Child, Who is both older and younger than Noah, who all peacefully fell into the ark during the flood. Your father, David, sometimes killed a lion for a lamb. You, Son of David, killed that invisible wolf that killed Adam, that pure lamb grazing in paradise.” Excited by this laudatory voice, the brides vowed to maintain chastity, the virgins - to maintain chastity, the young women - to the purity of innocence. And they all flowed together and worshiped the Son. And the elders of the city of David came with blessings to David’s daughter and said: “Blessed is our city, because its hundred squares have been illuminated by the rays of Jesse. Through you now, Son of David, the throne of David is restored.” And the elders cried out: “Blessed is the Child, who renewed Adam’s youth, who grieved that Adam grew old and weak, and that the serpent who killed him took off his skin and was fleeing! Blessed is the Child, who renewed the youthful strength of Adam and Mother Eve!” The chaste wives begged: “O blessed Fruit, bless our fruits too, and, like the firstborn, may they be offered as a gift to You!” So, filled with the Spirit, they prophesied about their children that they would be killed and gathered like the first fruits of a tree. And the barren, with maternal tenderness, took their Baby into their arms and said: “Blessed Fruit, unartfully born, send down a marriage blessing on our wombs and have mercy on our barrenness, wonderful Son of the Virgin!” Blessed be the Messenger who came and brought great peace! The bounties of His Father have inclined Him to us; He did not lift up our debts to Him, but satisfied His Majesty with His own wealth. Blessed is the Wise One, Who related and united Divinity and humanity, one nature from the highest, the other from the lower, dissolved as medicine, and there became one person - the God-man! Seeing that Adam had become dust and that the fierce serpent had swallowed him up, this Zealot poured good into what had possessed him and salted it in order to blind the cursed serpent. Blessed is the Merciful One, Who, seeing that the sword at Paradise was blocking the path to the tree of life, came and took on flesh in order to suffer and by piercing His side to open the way to Paradise! Blessed is the Merciful One, Who did not use cruelty and violence, but triumphed with wisdom in order to set an example for people how to win wisely with firmness and wisdom! Blessed is Your flock, because You are their door, You are their rod, You are their pasture, You are their drink, You are their salt, You are their Visitor, the only fruitful one and abundant in all saving means! The farmers came and bowed to the Worker of eternal salvation. And, rejoicing, they said prophetically: “Blessed is the Worker who cultivates the field of the heart and gathers the fruits gathered from it into the granary of life!” The heli-graders came and gave praise to the heli-grad, which from Jesse's root and stem brought forth the Virgin - this bunch of pure vines. Let us also become vessels for Your new, all-renewing wine. By you may the Beloved’s heliport, which bore only sour berries, be reconciled. Fill its vines with the juice of Your plantings, so that all of them from Your blessings will bear fruits pleasing to the Lord of the grapes, who is angry with them. For the sake of Joseph, the woodworkers came to the Son of Joseph and said: “Blessed is your Son, the ruler of the woodworkers, because by Him the ark was ordained, and by Him the temporary tabernacle was built, which was given for a time. Let our deeds glorify Your name, You be our glory; make the yoke light and pleasant for those who bear it; make sure that the measure is without deception and full of truth, so that the measure is based on truth, the wicked is condemned, and the perfect triumphs. You, righteous Judge, balance our sins with Your mercies.” The grooms and their brides exclaimed joyfully: “Blessed is the Child, whose Mother became the bride of the Holy One! Blessed is the marriage in which You were present, because when the wine ran out, You suddenly gave it in abundance.” The children cried out: “Blessed is he who has become our brother and comrade on the hills! Blessed is the day on which the branches will glorify the tree of life, which bowed in its majesty to our childhood!” The wives heard that the Virgin would one day conceive in her womb and give birth. And the nobles thought that You would appear from them; The beautiful ones thought that You would shine from them. Blessed is Thy greatness, which bowed down to the poor and shone forth from the poor! The young women came to Him, and each one prophetically cried out: “Whether I be vile, or beautiful, or despicable, I will become Your chosen one, O Lord, and I will exchange an easily dissolved marriage for You.” To Isaac, as to a servant who bore the image of the King of his Lord, Sarah quietly spoke: “On His shoulders is the sign of His Cross, on His hands are shackles and diseases - the secret of the nail wounds.” Rachel cried loudly to her husband: Give me children (Gen. 30:1). Blessed is the unasking Mary, in whose womb You holyly dwelt, O Gift sent from above to those who receive You! They asked for a child - with bitter tears Anna, with vows and entreaties of Sarah and Rebekah, with intense prayer Elizabeth. And only after prolonged sorrow were they consoled. Blessed Mary, without vows or prayer, in Her virginity She conceived and gave birth to the Lord of all who were and will be born of women - the Lord of all chaste and righteous, priests and kings. What mother could say to the one carried in her womb the same as Mary? What mother dared to call her son the Son of the Creator, the Son of the Creator, the Son of the Most High? What mother dared to say to her son prayerfully: “You, as God, are the hope of Your Mother, as a man, Her beloved and Son, Your Mother must stand before You with fear and love.” So that the unfaithful would be convinced of Your resurrection from the tomb, a seal was attached to the tomb and guards were assigned. For You, Son of the Ever-Living One, this was done: they sealed Your tomb and assigned guards. If, after You were given up for burial, they did not pay attention, abandoned the matter and dispersed, then there would be room for deception. One could say that You, the Giver of life to everything, were stolen by the Tati. When they cunningly sealed Your tomb, then they increased Your glory. You were represented by Daniel and Lazarus, the one in a ditch sealed by the Gentiles, the other in a tomb opened by the Jews. Their own signs and seals brought them down. Their lips would remain unblocked if they left Your tomb open and left. But since they closed Your tomb, put a seal and signs on it, they stopped their mouths. All the slanderers did not feel that by closing Your tomb they were covering their eyes with shame. By Your Resurrection You assure those who do not believe in Your birth, because Your Mother’s womb remained sealed, just as the tomb was sealed. You remained clean in the womb and alive in the tomb. Both the closed Mother’s womb and the sealed coffin testify to You. Your mother's womb and tomb speak of Your birth and resurrection. In a closed womb You were conceived, a sealed tomb gave birth to You. Prenaturally (wonderfully) and Mother's womb gave birth to You and returned the coffin. The coffin in which they laid and guarded the Dead was sealed; the womb was virgin, having not known a husband. The virgin womb and the sealed tomb, like trumpets, deafen the ears of the deaf Jews. The imprisoned womb of the Mother and the sealed stone of the coffin expose the slanderers who conceive from a husband and see in the resurrection the theft of the body. The seal of virginity and the seal of the tomb assure that You came from heaven. The lips of the Jews are stopped both by Your birth and by Your resurrection. When they slander Your birth, Your death condemns them. When they deny Thy resurrection, Thy birth is cast down. Both birth and resurrection, like two fighters, silence slanderous lips. And they went and looked for Elijah among the mountains, but the more they looked for him on earth, the more they were convinced that he had been ascended to heaven. Their search testified that he was not on earth and that he had been ascended to heaven. If the prophets, who could foretell the ascension of Elijah, doubted his ascension into heaven, then how much would the defiled slander the Son? But He, through the testimony of their own guards, took away the opportunity to doubt His resurrection. No one knows what to call Your Mother, Our Lord. Does anyone call her Virgo? But before the eyes of the One born by Her. Will she call it the one who had a husband? But She did not know him. If Your Mother is incomprehensible, who is able to comprehend You. She alone is Your Mother, and together with everyone else, She is Your sister. She is Your Mother, and Your sister, and Your bride, like all chaste ones. You adorned Her with everything, the Grace of Your Mother! Before Your coming, She was Your bride by nature. After Your coming, O Holy One, She conceived You prenaturally and, having given birth to You, holyly remained a Virgin. From You Mary acquired all the ornaments of those bound by marriage; She conceived You in her womb without a husband, Her breasts were filled with milk unnaturally; You suddenly made the thirsty land a source of milk. When She carried You, Your all-preserving gaze lightened Her burden. She fed You because You were hungry; gave you something to drink because it pleased you and you were thirsty. She carried You in Her arms, a flaming Coal, because Your bounties protected Her bosom. Your Mother is filled with miracles: the Lord descended into Her and became a slave; The Great Voice descended and became voiceless in Her; The Shepherd descended, became in Her and was born a lamb. In the womb of the One who gave birth to You, who arranges everything, the order of nature is perverted. You descended to the rich, You came down to the poor, You descended to the high, You came out humble, and, having hidden Your glory, You came out without glory. The Giant descended and in his womb he was clothed with infirmities; The Nourisher of all descended and became hungry; He who gave everyone drink came down and became thirsty. Naked and deprived of everything, He who clothes everyone came out of her. The Jewish daughters, who once sang the lamentable songs of Jeremiah, instead of these sorrowful hymns contained in their writings, now began to sing songs of joy from the same sacred books. The power hidden in their words prophesied thus: “Lift up your eyes from Sheol, O Eve, and rejoice in this day, because the Son of your Daughter, as the medicine of life, came down from heaven to resurrect the mother of His Mother. The Blessed Child now tramples the head of the serpent that bit her.” Your image was once seen by Sarah in the blossoming youth of Isaac. And for Your sake (because I saw Your secrets hidden in the youth) I sang to him: “In you, son of my vows, the Lord of vows Himself is hidden.” And the Nazirite Samson was the image of Your strength. He tore the lion to pieces in order that You will crush death and from its bitterness You will bring to people a life filled with sweetness. For Your sake, Anna loved Samuel so passionately, because Your truth was hidden in him when he killed Agag as the devil. And he was a transformation of Your goodness when he mourned Saul. How lenient You are and how adamant You are, Child! Terrible is Your judgment, tender is Your love, who will resist You? Your Father is in heaven, Your Mother is on earth, who will tell us about You? If a person explores Your hidden nature, then it is in heaven, in the great bosom of the Divine. If Your visible body begins to be examined, then it is contained and becomes visible in Mary’s small bowels. The mind is lost at the thought of Your various processes, O Most Rich One! Impenetrable veils hide Your Divinity. Who will measure You, the boundless sea, enclosed in small limits? We come to contemplate You as God, and now You are a man. We come to see You as a person, and behold, the light of Your Divinity shines. Who would believe that You are the heir to the throne of David? From his beds you inherited a manger, from his palaces you preserved a den, from his chariots only a poor donkey was not lost. How childishly friendly You are, Baby! You give yourself into everyone's arms. Whoever comes up to You, you smile at him; whoever looks at You, you turn your gaze to him; Your love hungers for people. You do not distinguish strangers from Your parents, and every virgin from Your Mother, even the unclean from the One who feeds You with milk. Is it just childish friendliness that is the reason for this or Your love, O Lover? What prompts You to give yourself to everyone who sees You, rich or poor? You hurry to them, even if they didn’t call You. Where does this hunger of people come from in You? How fiery is Your love! If someone grumbles at You, you are not angry; if someone threatens, you are not embarrassed; if someone mocks You, you are not offended. You are above the law - to take revenge for an insult with an insult. Moses was meek, but his jealousy was severe, he crushed and punished with death. And Elisha, who raised one youth, gave a crowd of youths to be torn to pieces by bears (2 Kings 2:24). Who are you, Baby? Your love is greater than the love of the prophets. The son of Agarin, this divy (wild) donkey, laughed at Isaac, and he endured it in silence, while his mother was inflamed with jealousy. Are you his prototype? Is he Your pre-image? Have you become like Isaac? Or does he become like You? Rest in silence in the bosom of Your Mother, O Son of the Exalted! Childish joy is indecent for the Sons of Tsars. O Son of David, You are honored! You, Son of Mary, maintain decency in the hidden chamber. Who are you like, joyful and amiable Child? Your Mother is a chaste Virgin, Your Father is invisible, even the Seraphim cannot see Him. Who are you like? Tell us this, O Son of the Merciful. You reconciled those inflamed with anger when they came to see You. They came together again with a joyful smile. And, saddened, they were filled with joyful sensations from You, O Blessed One. Blessed are You, Infant, who fills the sorrowful with sweet feelings! Who has seen a baby who would shake hands with those close to him, and throw himself from his mother’s womb into the arms of those who are distant? What a beautiful sight: the Child willingly stretching out his arms to everyone so that everyone can see Him! Does anyone come burdened with worries? He will see You, and all worries will flee from Him. Is anyone overwhelmed by grief? With You, he forgets his sorrow. And the one tormented by hunger forgets about food in Your presence, and the traveler, captivated by You, forgets his path. Rest in peace, let people go, let them go about their business. You Yourself are the son of poor parents and you know how poor everyone is who left their work and came. Your friendliness, Friend of people, has gathered everyone to You. On the holiday, the glorious King David, with branches in his hands, jumped among the children and gave praise. Is it not the love of Your father David that burns within You? The demon who was in Saul spoke through the mouth of his daughter and humiliated the glorious one, who set an example for the elders of his people, so that they, together with the children, would receive the Holy One on the day of Your glorification. Who will not be afraid to suggest something indecent about You, when the womb of Saul’s daughter, who spewed out wickedness, is deprived of childbearing for this? Her lips mocked, and the reward for this was barrenness. Let the lips tremble and stop blasphemy. Guard your lips, daughter of Zion, do not dare to reproach the Son of David, who is so joyful before you. Don't be like Saul's daughter in this. God saw that the people, wicked, fornicating and jealous, were ready for accusations, and had mercy on the wives. And among the people, ready for accusations, he gave many laws in favor of wives. If a husband hated his wife, then he should have given her a divorce and then let her go (Deut. 24:1). If they suspected her of being unfaithful, they would convict her with the water of reproof (Num. 5:18). If he accused in vain, then they presented “signs of the virginity of a young woman,” that is, “maiden” (Deut. 22:15). Before Mary, any accusation is silent, because She was a most immaculate Virgin. “The water of reproof” and “signs of virginity” had previously admonished the Jews, so that when the Lord of all womb-bearing comes and they slander the womb in which He will dwell, virginity itself, preserved at birth, would assure them of the coming of the Lord. If a husband’s wife was saved from death by her “virginity,” then you, sage, carefully guard and guard the weapon of virginity. If it is crushed, then you can no longer fight with the Lord. Since Elijah had curbed his carnal lust, he forbade the sky to rain on the adulterous people. Just as he subjected his own flesh to deprivation, so he deprived the fornicators of dew, who crushed and wasted their treasures. Since the secret fire of carnal lust did not possess him, he listened to the heavenly fire. Since he conquered carnal lust on earth, he entered where holiness dwells and rests. And Elisha, since he had killed his flesh, raised the dead man. Life was natural when it was returned to the deceased, but higher than nature was holiness, according to which he resurrected the youth, because he became pure in soul, like a strict ascetic. Moses, separated from his wife, parted the sea before the adulterous people. The daughter of the priest Zipporah remained pure, but the daughter of Abraham committed adultery and bowed to the calf. “By your power, Lord of all creation, may I begin to speak 2. I will open My mouth, and You fill it. I am the earth, You are the doer. You, who sowed Yourself in the womb of Your Mother, sow Your word in Me! All the chaste daughters of the Jews are amazed at Me, all the virgins are the daughters of princes. You have caused the daughter of the poor to inspire envy, and the daughter of the base to arouse jealousy. Who gave you to me? Who prompted You, Son of the All-Good, to reject the bosom of the rich? Who drew You to the poor, because Joseph lives in need, and I am poor? Your traders brought gold to the house of the poor.” She saw the wise men bringing gifts, and continued Her song: “Behold, Your worshipers surround Me and shower Me with gifts. Brought to you. Blessed is the Child, who made His Mother the storehouse of His words! Just as a horse waits for someone to jump on it, so my mouth waits for You. Let Your will move the tongue of Your Mother. Through you I learned new rules of birth. By You, Born according to these statutes, may My lips be taught new praise. If the difficult was not difficult for you and the inconvenient became convenient for you - you were conceived without a man in your mother’s womb, born from the womb without a seed - then it is convenient for you to make your high praise germinate in weak lips. Behold, they blame and despise Me, but I rejoice; My ears are filled with reproach and reproach, but everything that I endure is of little importance to Me, because Your consolation alone can drive away the darkness of sorrows. Since You did not despise Me, My Son, I accept accusations from people with a cheerful face. Since I conceived and gave birth to the Truth, She justifies Me. If Tamar was justified by Judah, then how much more will I be justified by You. Before Your coming, Your Father David sang to You a song that Arabian gold would be brought to You (Ps. 71:15). And the song sung by them is fulfilled even during Your infancy: behold, myrrh and gold have really been laid before You! And all the one hundred and fifty psalms sung by him were dissolved by You, because every prophetic saying needs Your sweetness, and without Your salt, all wisdom turns out to be overwhelmed (lost strength).” “It does not arouse jealousy in Me, My Son, that You are with Me and with every person. May you be the God of those who confess You, the Lord of those who serve You, the brother of those who love You. And may you gain everyone for yourself. When You dwelt in Me, You also dwelt outside of Me. When I gave birth to You, apparently, Your hidden power did not leave Me. Both in Me and outside of Me You abided, before Whom the mind of Your Mother is perplexed. When I look at Your external image, which is before My eyes, and when I imagine with my mind Your hidden image, then in Your external image, O Holy One, I see Adam, and in the hidden I see Your Father, Who is one with You. You only showed me Your beauty in two forms. Let both the bread and the Spirit represent You. Abide both in the bread and in those who eat it. May Your Church, like Your Mother, contemplate You both in the hidden and in the visible. To abhor Your bread is the same as to abhor Your flesh. And the one who is far away, who has loved Your bread, and the one who is close, who has loved Your visible image - both of them see You in the bread and in the flesh. Your visible bread is, as it were, more precious than Your flesh. And the unbelievers have seen Your flesh, but they do not see Your life-giving bread. Those who are far away rejoice; their lot is higher than the lot of those close to them. Behold, Your image is inscribed on bread with the blood of grapes, and on the heart it is inscribed with the finger of love, with the anointings of faith. Blessed is He Who, in His true image, has abolished the carved images! You are not such, Son of Man, that one can simply sing praises to You. And Your conception is extraordinary, and Your birth is wonderful. Who will sing to You without the help of the Spirit? A new desire to prophesy is kindled in Me. What should I call you? Do I call You alien to us, Who has become one from us? Shall I call You son or brother? Shall I call him the bridegroom or the Lord, who gave birth to His Mother by new birth in the waters? I am Your sister, because I am also from the house of David, who is the father of Us both. I am Your Mother because I gave birth to You. I am Your bride, because I am dedicated to You. I am a servant and a daughter, because You bought Me with blood and baptized Me in the waters. The Son of the Most High came and dwelt in Me, and made Me His Mother. And just as I gave birth to Him by a new birth, so He gave birth to Me by a second birth. The garment borrowed (taken) from the Mother, in which He clothed Himself, clothed Her flesh with His glory. Tamar was mocked by Amnon in the house of David, and the virginity of both was lost. But My pearl is not destroyed, it is hidden in Your treasury, You are adorned with it. Tamar took into herself the stench of her father-in-law, from whom she stole the incense; Joseph's betrothed and Her clothes were not touched by Joseph's breath, because She conceived a fragrant tree. Your conception, Son of the Most High, has become a wall of fire for Me!” The color did not give any fragrance, because the fragrance of the glorious lily was strong. The Treasury of Incense has no need for the color and its fragrances. The flesh fled away, seeing him conceived in the womb of the Spirit. The wife serves her husband because he is her head. Joseph stands and serves the Lord, who is in the bosom of Mary, and serves as a priest before Your ark for the sake of Your shrine that dwells in it. Moses brought the stone tablets inscribed by the Lord. On Wednesday Joseph brought out the purest tablet in which the Son of the Creator dwelt. The tablets of Moses were no more, because You filled the universe with Your teaching. “The Child whom I carried carried Me,” said Mary. - He bowed down His wings and lifted Me up on His wings, soared into the air and said to Me: “Both the height and the depth belong to Your Son.” I saw Gabriel, and he called Him Lord and Bishop; I saw the old man’s servant, and he accepted and carried Him; I saw the Magi - they bowed to Him, and Herod was embarrassed by the coming of the King.” Satan, who threw children into water to destroy Moses, beat up infants to kill the Ever-living One. He who came to Judea fled to Egypt, was in poverty, wandered, because He wanted to catch His persecutors. In her virginity, Eve covered herself with the leaves of dishonor; Your Mother, the Virgin, has clothed herself with the robe of glory that covers everyone. She gave a small covering of flesh to the One who covers everything. Blessed is She in whose heart and mind You dwell! Through You, Son of Kings, She is the Chamber of the King; through You, Bishop, She is the Holy of Holies. She has no worries or worries about her home or her husband. Eve served as a hole and cave for the cursed serpent, because his evil advice entered and took possession of her, and then, becoming dust, she became his food. You are our bread, You are our nobility, Our robe of glory. Whoever guards his integrity and fears losing it, you protect him. Whoever has fallen into sin, you forgive him; whoever is possessed by a demon, you expel him from him and heal those suffering from illnesses from ulcers. “Whoever has a son, let him come and be a brother to My Beloved. Whoever has a daughter or relative, let her come and be the bride of My Priceless One. Whoever has a slave, let him give him freedom to come and serve his Lord. The free one, accepting Your yoke, My Son, has one reward for himself, but the slave who bears two yokes from the masters - both above and below - is purely blessed; and for a double burden he will receive two rewards. The daughter of the free is Your slave if she serves You, My Son, and the slave becomes free through You and receives consolation from You, because she has been freed by You. She carries the spiritual apple (Song.2:5) in Her bosom if She loves You. Desire, immaculate souls, that My Beloved may dwell in you; Desire also, you who have become defiled, that He would sanctify you; desire, Church, that He, the Son of the Creator, who has come to restore all creation, will adorn you.” He renews the foolish, who bowed and served all the luminaries, He renews the earth, brought to decay by the sin of the old Adam. A new form was given to the creature by its Renewer, Who is omnipotent and restores both body and soul. Come, blind people, and accept the light of the eyes without price! Come, you lame, embrace the strength of your feet! Come, tongue-tied and dumb, accept the gift of the word! Come, dispossessed of your hands, accept the power in your hands! The Creator Son has His treasury full of all kinds of medicine. Is anyone blind? Let him come to Him, He will create clay, turn it into flesh and give light to the eyes. By this clay He proves that His hand formed Adam from the dust. And the soul returned to the deceased testifies that He also breathed the breath of life into the person. These latter witnesses assure that He is the Son of the First. Flock together, you lepers, and receive cleansing without difficulty! He does not cleanse like Elisha, who commanded to wash in the river seven times. He does not tire with sprinklings, like the priests. And you, strangers and strangers, resort to the great Physician! The Son of Kings is not alienated from anyone, just as every master is not alienated from his servants, and He is the Lord of all. If the Just One struck the flesh with leprosy and You cleansed it, it means that You, Who loved the flesh, formed and hated it. If she had not been Your creation, O Just One, You would not have healed her. If she had not been created healthy, You would not have struck her with diseases. The punishments You impose and the diseases You heal loudly proclaim that You are the Son of the Creator. In the year of the king, whose name was Radiance, our Lord appeared among the Jews. And the Light and the East began to reign - the king on earth, the Son in heaven. Blessed be His dominion! In the days of the king who wrote people in the book of the dead, our Savior came down and wrote people in the book of the living. He inscribed just as He was inscribed: He inscribed us in heaven, but He was inscribed on earth. Praise be to His name! In the days of King (Caesar) Augustus, mystery and Truth, king and King, Radiance and the East met. He wore His cross on his shoulder as a sign of the Kingdom. For thirty years He walked the earth in poverty. Let us weave, brethren, various songs of praise to the years of our Lord—let us weave thirty crowns for thirty years. Blessed is His birth! In the first summer, rich in treasures and filled with blessings, let the Cherubim praise with us, bearing the Son with songs of praise. He abandoned His glory, wept and found the lost sheep. Thanks be to Him! In the second summer, may the Seraphim worship and glorify with us, crying out to the Son: Holy! They see how the infidels slander Him. He endured reproach and taught us songs of praise. Praise be to Him! In the third summer, may Michael’s armies, who serve Him in heaven, praise with us, and see how He serves on earth, washing feet, cleansing souls. Blessed is His humiliation! In the fourth summer, let the whole earth praise us; she is small for the Son and with amazement sees that on her wretched bed rests the One who, reclining on her bed, fills the sky with Himself. Praise to His greatness! In the fifth summer, the sun, warming the earth with its breath, glorify our Sun, Who has shortened His breadth and diminished His power, so that even the weak spiritual eye can look at Him. Blessed is His radiance! In the sixth summer, let all the air, with its splendor imparting beauty to everything, praise its great Lord with us, seeing Him as a baby in a small bosom. Blessed be His glory! In the seventh summer, let the winds and clouds, sprinkling dew on the flowers, exclaim with us, seeing how the Son humbled His greatness, accepted reproach and unclean spitting. Blessed is the work of His redemption! In the eighth year let the creation give praise, feeding its offspring from its sources. May she bow down, seeing the Son at the Mother's breast and the pure Child feeding on pure milk. Blessed be His good counsel! In the ninth summer, let the earth glorify the power of its Creator, Who first put a seed into it to destroy all the plants. Seeing that Mary, the thirsty earth, has brought forth fruit from herself - a wondrous and wondrous Son, may she especially praise Him who is the great sea of ​​all good things. Glory to him! In the tenth year, may Mount Sinai, which once melted before its Lord, give praise, seeing that they lift up stones against its Lord and throw stones at Him who builds His Church on the rock. Blessed is His building! In the eleventh summer, let the great sea praise the Son, who measured it by the handful, and let it be amazed to see how He descends and receives Baptism in small waters to cleanse the creature. Blessed be His valor! In the twelfth year, let the holy church glorify, seeing the Youth among the elders. The priests fell silent when, on His feast day, the celebratory Lamb Himself uttered a voice. Blessed is His condescension! In the thirteenth summer, the royal crowns together with us glorify the Victorious King, who died, was crowned with a crown of thorns, and prepared for Adam a great crown - standing at the right hand. Blessed is He who sent Him! In the fourteenth summer of Egypt, let the Passover glorify the Passover, which came and constituted a holiday above all holidays. Instead of the pharaoh, she plunged a legion into the waters, instead of horsemen, she drowned demons. Blessed is His deliverance! In the fifteenth summer, let him praise the lamb slain by Moses, because our Lord did not slay a lamb, like Moses, but He Himself slain and redeemed the people with His blood. He is the Shepherd of all and died for all. Blessed be His Parent! In the sixteenth summer, let the wheat praise, mysteriously representing the Worker, Who sowed His flesh in the barren land. And she grew above all and gave new bread. Blessed be the Pure One! In the seventeenth summer, let the hilltop praise the Lord who planted it. He planted a garden and His plantings were souls. He reclaimed (purified) one heliport, and destroyed the other, like one that bore sour grapes. Blessed be the Eradicator! In the eighteenth summer, by that vineyard that devoured the wild boar (Ps. 79:14), that is, devastated the forest boar, may the true vineyard be glorified, cultivated by the Vertogradar Himself, preserving and bearing its fruits to Him. Blessed is His work! In the nineteenth summer, let our leaven praise the true Kvass, Who influenced (poured) into Himself, and attracted all the lost, and with a single teaching made everyone like-minded. Blessed is His teaching! In the twentieth year, let salt praise Your life-giving body, with which both the body and soul of every believer are salted. Faith is the salt for a person that keeps him unharmed. Blessed is Your protection! In the twenty-first summer, let the waters of the desert praise, sweet to those far away and bitter to those near, because they did not serve Him. The people and nations became bitter in the wilderness, and He destroyed them. They became sweet through the Cross, which saved them. Blessed be Thy mercy! In the twenty-second summer, let weapons and the sword be praised. They could not have killed our enemy, but You killed him, and You healed the ear cut off by Simon’s knife. Blessed is Your healing! In the twenty-third year, let the donkey praise, who gave of herself the young stallion on which He sat, who looses the bonds, who opens the mouth of the dumb, who also opened the mouth of the donkey, so that the son of Hagar may give praise. Blessed is he who praises You! In the twenty-fourth summer let them praise the Son of the treasury. The treasuries marveled at the Lord of treasures, who increased among the poor: He became poor in order to make everyone rich. Blessed is Thy dominion! In the twenty-fifth year, let Isaac praise the Son, who on the mountain, in His goodness, saved him from slaughter. Instead, a lamb was sacrificed - His image. Mortals are delivered from death, and He who gives life to all has died. Blessed is His sacrifice! In the twenty-sixth year, let Moses praise with us, who was afraid and fled from the murderers; let him glorify the Lord, who was pierced by a spear, who took nails into His hands and feet, who descended into hell, who plundered it and came out of hell. Blessed is Your resurrection! In the twenty-seventh year, let the eloquent intercessors, who were unable to justify us at the trial, glorify the Son. The son remained silent during the trial and acquitted us. Praise be to Him! In the same summer, let Moses and Jesus be praised, these just men who put the wicked to death; Let them glorify the Son because He, the Good One, died for the wicked, and because He, the Son of the Righteous, enriched them with all good things. Blessed are His bounties! In the twenty-eighth year, let all the mighty, who could not deliver us from the captive, praise the Son. One Venerable One, Who was killed, restored us to life. Blessed is Thy deliverance! In the twenty-ninth year, may Job praise us. He suffered for himself, and our Lord for us endured spitting, a spear, a crown of thorns, scourging, reproach, reproach, and ridicule. Blessed be His mercy! In the thirtieth year, let the dead who have been resurrected and the living who have turned to repentance praise with us; let the height and depth, pacified by the Son, praise. Blessed be He and His Father! Chants on behalf of the Mother of God are highlighted in a different font You might be interested in: