Часть 2

Book 7. About love for brothers Kirill. With extraordinary and very high praise, Palladius crowns the law with the first and highest commandment, that is: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:5; sn. Mark 12:30), and also adds: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18); moreover, Christ Himself clearly says that “on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40); and the divine Paul calls love the fulfillment of the law, because it does no harm to one’s neighbor (Rom. 13:10). It seems to me that our conversation has sufficiently examined the first of these commandments, examining it as much as possible from different angles, as if going around it and showing, not in a bad way, what an image of perfect and completely impeccable love for God can be for us. Now let us take up the adjacent and related commandment and make an accurate consideration of love for one's neighbor, diligently examining how someone can achieve the beauty of virtue and, having acquired a good reputation for art in this matter, be in favor with God and people, like the divine Samuel (1 Sam. 2, 26). I affirm that along with the love of God, one must properly exercise oneself in love for the brethren: because the lack of one of them is the absence of both, according to John, who wrote: “Whoever says: ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, is a liar: for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And we have this commandment from Him, that whoever loves God should also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21). So, each of them, together with the other, disappears and rises brightly. For these virtues are, as it were, adjacent to each other and, as if an indissoluble pair of horses, bring the one who has tried to rule them well to the one distinct and most perfect beauty of piety before God. Palladium. You said it well. And since our purpose is to work on this, then go ahead and, collecting evidence for each point from the Holy Scriptures, try to tell me how the proper execution of love towards one's neighbor is possible. K. The path leading us to it is very extensive. For it is written: “Your commandment is immensely extensive” (Ps. 119:96); and skill in everything done, I think, could not be acquired by anyone except through the law: since it was given to us to help, as the prophetic word spoke (Is. 8:20). Therefore, rousing us to constant remembrance of what has been legalized, the Lawgiver says: “Put these words of Mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and let them be a blindfold over your eyes; and teach them to your sons, speaking of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk on the road, and when you lie down, and when you get up; And write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be as many in the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers, as many days are the heavens above the earth” (Deut. 11:18-21). And what does it mean: “bind I on your hands,” he clearly showed this in the book of Numbers. For thus it is written: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and command them, that they should make themselves tassels on the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and in the tassels which are on the borders they should put threads of blue wool; and they will be in your hands so that, looking at them, you will remember all the commandments of the Lord and fulfill them, and not follow your heart and your eyes, which lead you to fornication, so that you will remember and fulfill all My commandments and be holy before your God. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God” (Num. 15:37-41). So, having prudently commanded in advance that we write the law in our hearts, then, knowing the serious illness of forgetfulness, he commands us to inscribe the commandments, as if on a table, on the thresholds; also to impose on the right hand records that carry the law and have revelation inscribed; in addition, he considers it not useless for tassels and threads of yellowish color to hang on the clothes themselves. P. But how can brushes and yacht threads remind us of the Divine laws? K. Don’t you admit that the law was spoken by the ancients mysteriously and written as if in the shadows? K. So, the fact that the yachon threads were hung from the hands and to the arm itself, isn’t it a hint that one should think and do heavenly things and remember the laws from above? If I'm not mistaken, Indian stone (I'm talking about yacht) is attributed to a body that is as if ethereal, mixed from light and darkness and in the depths having something like water, representing the appearance of something trembling and flowing. So, the law prudently established that the yakhon threads hung both on clothes and on the hand, as if proclaiming: may the message from heaven be the garment of your mind and the vestment of your understanding and the decider of just affairs - the law! For the hand is a symbol of action; What we do legally, without a doubt, is not subject to reproach and does not belong to the left side, that is, to depravity. Therefore, the Pharisees increased “their shouts and enlarged their storehouses” (Matthew 23:5), that is, the records tied to their right hand. However, they were subjected to ridicule by Christ, as doing this because of the love of fame, and not to remind them of the law. Thus, it is undoubtedly possible, while fulfilling the law, to be lawless if someone uses the law incorrectly. And this is what I think Solomon said: “Do not pretend to be too wise; why would you destroy yourself? (Eccl. 7:16). So, it is necessary to write the Divine commandment in the mind and heart; The benefit of this is clearly shown by the divine David, speaking of every righteous person: “the law of his God is in his heart, and his feet will not falter” (Ps. 36:31). For, I think, it is very clear that whoever has the Divine law in his mind will undoubtedly be both well established and stable in virtue. K. So, prolonged and constant care for the law leads to the right path, or, what is the same, to what is pleasing to God, driving away from the human soul a certain darkness and fog - oblivion. And the Legislator does not limit himself to this, but, inventing something even better besides, he offers, as it were, some kind of bait to excite the desire for work - the hope of everything worth wanting. He said: “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and do them, then I will give you the rains in their season, and the earth will produce its growth, and the trees of the field will yield their fruit; and the threshing of grain will reach your harvest of grapes, and the harvest of grapes will reach your sowing, and you will eat your bread to the full, and you will live in [your] land in safety; I will send peace to [your] land; lie down, and no one will bother you; I will drive out fierce beasts from [your] land, and the sword will not pass through your land” (Lev. 26:3-6). Do you understand what care and mercy He bestows on those who are honest and hardworking and guided by respect for the law? He promises to grant the former and latter rain, constant prosperity and abundance of bread, abundant use of food, and, in addition, peace. For the true keeper of the law and the unflagging lover of what is pleasing to God is rightly given the delight of the abundance of heavenly blessings. Spiritual and heaven-sent consolation, watering, like rain, the soul of the righteous, like a rich and fertile land, greatly delights it, because it makes it capable of producing inexhaustible and varied fruit of piety before God; and the world crowns it, delivering constancy of well-being. So Paul writes: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds” (Phil. 4:7). So, he who has received such bounties from God will lead a life free from war and peaceful, because the enemy will give in - everyone who resists will fall and reach insignificance, the devil’s attack will be ineffective and all fear will be easily removed. We will find the same legalization written in Deuteronomy: for, changing the speech a little, (the Teacher of the Law) said: “If you listen to My commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give rain to your land in its season, the early and the late; and thou shalt gather in thy bread, and thy wine, and thy oil; And I will give grass in your field for your livestock, and you will eat and be satisfied” (Deut. 11:13-15). So, care for the law will establish in our souls art and harmony in fulfilling what God wants, and the desire for the promised makes work combined with virtues bearable. P. Truth; I honestly agree with this. But, my friend, it’s time to talk about how you can fulfill the law of love for your neighbor. K: Indeed, we need to start doing this. We say, following the Holy Scriptures, that the Lord of all God commanded Moses to call the people and gather them clean and sanctified under the mountain called Sinai. He ordered to wash clothes and abstain from pleasure with wives for three days, denoting mental ones through sensory and visible objects. For it is fitting for us to go, so to speak, before the face of God, shining, as it were, with bright clothes, praises of virtues, adorned with a bright mood of spirit and being free from all carnal love and earthly defilements, to go with the help of the law that guides us in children, just as the ancients, undoubtedly, were guided by Moses: since what was then was the image of a more true and child-keeping through the wise Moses prefigured ancient education through the law, leading to Christ. In addition, it is worthy of note, I think, that the work and person of the one who should be a schoolmaster is excellently outlined in the person of Moses: because he did not represent the people to himself, but to God as the Lawgiver, Teacher and Advisor of what should be done. So the law, which guided us through the letter, did not bring us to itself, but to God the Word who came down from heaven for us. Does it seem to you that our word follows in the footsteps of true thoughts? K. So, it is written: “And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was all smoking because the Lord had descended on it in fire; and smoke rose from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook greatly; and the sound of the trumpet became stronger and stronger. Moses spoke, and God answered him with a voice” (Exodus 19:17–19). That God descended onto the mountain is a very clear sign that He does not come to those with low minds and settle down not among those who have earthly and downward thoughts, but among those whose mind soars to heights and, as if holding his head high, despises human things and contemplates only what is with God. This can also mean something else, namely, that the knowledge of God is high and exceeds our strength and that it is accessible, perhaps, at least in part, only to those who try to fly in height, as it is written: “the chicks of the kite soar high” (Job 5, 7). At the same time, understand that God, establishing the old law for the ancients, did not descend to where the people were, but to a height and far from them. For he stood still “far away,” according to the voice of the Psalmist (Ps. 9:22), until the Only Begotten was still with us in the flesh and did not condescend to exhaustion: because the sacrament was kept not for the ancients, but for us. As for the glory that appears to the eyes, He was with us, leaving the height of the Godhead, and treated us as one of us. – God descended in the form of fire, for it was necessary that those who had to be childbearing by force and law knew correctly that if they wanted to be frivolous, they would have to deal with fire; because it was not out of voluntary love and the free decision of the mind that the ancients performed the God-loving thing, but as if out of compulsion and fear: the spirit that was in them was not the spirit of freedom and “sonhood, but the spirit of slavery into fear” (Rom. 8:15). - The mountain smokes as a result of the Lord descending on it in fire. This, I think, is sung in the Psalms: “And he made darkness His covering” ( Ps.17:12) On the other hand, smoke can also mean for us tears that will certainly be shed for contempt (of the law): for when touched by smoke, moisture comes out of the eyes. If anyone would like to understand differently what is to be considered, let him consider fire to be illumination that occurs through the law, although not without darkness, because the law is dark and unclear and the shadow of the letter is thick and can cloud the eye of the mind. – The sounds coming from the trumpet became stronger and stronger, because at first the voice of the law was weak and barely sounded; when the Word came to us and Emmanuel shone forth to teach the gospel, the sounds became stronger: Christ proclaimed loudly and clearly, with a voice passing throughout the entire universe. He Himself speaks in the voice of David: “Hear this, all you nations; take heed to this, all you who live in the universe” (Ps. 48:2). Meanwhile, at that time, the voice of the law did not go to other places and did not secretly guide all nations, but only announced the country of the Jews and educated only the people of Israel. - Further it says: “Moses spoke, but God answered him with a voice.” For Moses sought the law as a minister, as a mediator and accomplice of Divine revelations; and God answered with his voice, that is, through the Son, because the voice and Word of the Father is the Son. The law is from Him, although it is said that it is through Angels (Gal. 3:19; Acts 7:53). If anyone wants, he can hear Him clearly speaking: “Who said: ‘Here am I!’” (Is. 52:6), and: “Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law, until all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17–18, 24:35). Thus He calls the law His words: for the voice of God spoke it, as I just said, that is, the Son. Then it is said that “And the Lord came down to Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain, and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses: Go down and tell the people, so that they do not rush to the Lord to see Him, and so that many of them do not fall; the priests who approach the Lord... must sanctify themselves so that the Lord does not strike them” (Ex. 19:20-22). God, who is above everything, descends onto the mountain; then Moses, who was called, ascends. For there is no way for anyone to be able to ascend to the heights of true contemplation of God unless God Himself descends and makes Himself accessible to our understanding. When He calls us, then only with difficulty do we ascend to the highest peak, which seems to stand out above everything, that is, to the true knowledge of Him, which Christ gives, revealing to us the Father and God. And the mountain is inaccessible to the crowd (because the grace of very sublime knowledge is incomprehensible to many), but it is accessible only to those who know how to walk along it and, more importantly, to those called to this by God, as, undoubtedly, Moses was. So, if anyone is a faithful and true servant in the house of God (Num. 12:7), then he, like Moses, will be chosen and capable of being close to God in relation to sanctification and knowledge. Thus we will be with Him, saying: “And you stay here with Me” (Deut. 5:31). He inspires those who are crowned with the dignity of the priesthood to purify themselves, saying: “Let the Lord not destroy them” (Ex. 19:22). For the work of the priesthood is very slippery and is not far from dangers, even very close, if it is not the integrity inherent in life: because it is fitting for those who serve the all-pure God to be saints. Then it says: “And the Lord said to him: Go, come down, then come up, and Aaron with you; but let not the priests and the people rush to ascend to the Lord, lest... he smite them” (Ex. 19:24). Moses ascends, and not without Aaron, who was the image of Christ: for the law is honorable in Christ, and as holy through Him, he is near God and with God, since he himself preaches about the Bishop and Apostle of our confession, according to the Scriptures (Heb. 3:1). So, let the law be connected with Christ by spiritual contemplation: for Moses heard: “Arise you and Aaron.” - “what God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Mark 10:9), separating the law from contemplation in Christ, clinging to the shadow alone and not taking the truth as the prototype of the types. It is forbidden for the sacred family to ascend the mountain together with the people. For it is not given by God to those who are teachers of the law and serve in the shadows to approach the sublime and highest dogmas about Him, but this is reserved for those who are justified in faith and in Christ called to obedience and knowledge that is much superior to that of ancient times. The divine Paul was also amazed at the superiority of the knowledge of Christ (Phil. 3:8); and the Savior Himself will testify to this, clearly speaking about us and those who are of the blood of Israel, “because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given” (Matthew 13:11); and about the Jews: “leave them: they are blind leaders of the blind” (Matthew 15:14). He proclaimed to those who still knew Him: “Blessed are your eyes for seeing, and your ears for hearing” (Matthew 13:16). When the God of all has finished speaking about this, then He begins to legislate and make decrees about everything that is most excellent. He says this: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; let you have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:2-3). He made a beginning befitting the laws, saying that He is the performer of signs in Egypt, who opposed the madness of those who ruled, in a word, all creation, who armed rains and hail, who revealed changes in the elements, who sent miserable death to the firstborn, who poured three days of darkness on them (the Egyptians), granting whoever He wants to walk among the waves and easily crushing those who oppose. For it was necessary, it was necessary that those who lift the yoke of the Divine commandment should know how great the power of the Lawgiver is and how dangerous it is for them to offend Him who can easily accomplish everything. P. How good and godly the Legislator saw everything for us. For fear always compels one to be obedient and, like a young horse, makes the stubborn and rebellious obedient. K. What you said was very correct. So, having forbidden the worship of other gods and the making of any idol, likeness or pictorial image, and having decreed the greatest punishment for insolence - to give the name of a deity to the works of statue makers, for he says: “Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave without punishment the one who takes His name in vain” (Ex. 20:7), then he puts human affairs in order and, as it were, a ruler for straightness, lays down the law for the life of all, and distracts us from all sin, pointing, first of all, to the time of righteousness in Christ, when there will be the most perfect redemption and destruction of depravity, and transformation into the original state, and the renewal of life in holiness and love of God. Therefore he says: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy; six days thou shalt work and do... all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: on it thou shalt not do any work, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor... your livestock, nor the stranger who is in your gates; For in six days the Lord created heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them, and rested on the seventh day; Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it” (Ex. 20:8-11). P. But what is it? I don't understand this clearly. How can we keep the Sabbath day holy? K. Do you want us to say a little about the Sabbath and the idleness observed on it? For in this way what God has declared to us will be very clear. K. Saturday, Palladium, as the last day of the week, can mean, I think, the time of the coming of our Savior Who appeared at the end and almost at the very end of the present age; for us it became the beginning, the door and the path to washing from sin, to freedom and forgiveness, to incorruption and life, and to the hope of the future. In a variety of ways, the testimony of the Holy Scriptures hints to us about the Sabbath-keeping conceivable in Christ, either by describing the cessation of sins under Him and defining the most severe and severe punishment for the criminal, or figuratively denoting redemption in Him and release to freedom, as well as preparation for the age to come. P. So tell me how it is: for I would be very pleased to know. K. Through faith, Palladius, conceived in Christ, we spiritually observe the Sabbath, when, ceasing from worldly cares, resting from vain hesitation, moving away from depravity and casting off the yoke of sin, we finally calm down in the freedom of holiness. So the divine Paul speaks of those who have not yet believed: “With whom was He indignant for forty years? Is it not on those who sinned, whose bones fell in the wilderness? Therefore let us beware lest, while the promise of entering His rest remains, any of you will be found to be late” (Heb. 3:17, 4:1). And after a few: “Therefore the Sabbath still remains for the people of God” (Heb. 4:9). But isn’t it true, if keeping the Sabbath is only not working on the Sabbath, then how did Israel not enter into rest, even though they kept not working on the Sabbath? In fact, it was an image of peace in Christ and the fact that he who is justified by faith will cease from sin. Therefore, God commanded that anyone who gathered wood on the Sabbath should be stoned (Num. 15:32-35). This reward was an image of a mental and necessary object. Isn’t a tree torn from its root, withered and withered already, an image of deadness? Is it not also the food of fire? K. Such is the all-unfortunate sin, like deadness and an unholy feeder of an indomitable flame for those who love it. Therefore, when, during the cessation, I mean - from sins, some will not refrain from dead and fruitless deeds and, having rejected virtue, begin to love that for which they will face eternal punishment and the flame will be kindled, then they will rightly be condemned to death, because, although they could not live dissolutely, they voluntarily go to the deserved punishment. So, “we enter... into the rest of the believer,” according to the words of blessed Paul (Heb. 4:3). Thus, in the voice of Jeremiah, God accuses those who, by sin against the image, distorted the beauty of the truth; he says: “Go and stand at the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and at all the gates of Jerusalem, and say to them: Hear the word of the Lord, kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter by this gate. Thus says the Lord: Take care of your souls and do not carry burdens on the Sabbath day, and do not bring them in through the gates of Jerusalem, and do not carry burdens out of your houses on the Sabbath day, and do not do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers, who, however, did not listen and did not incline their ear, but became stiff-necked, so as not to listen or receive instruction" (Jer. 17, 19–23 ). So, on Saturday he commanded not only to stop doing everything, but also not to endure heavy loads and not to go beyond the gates of Jerusalem. P. What sense does this make? K: Of course, speculative and spiritual, superior to images and better than the former shadow. He commands those who are Sabbathkeepers in Christ to cease from work that is turned and tended towards wickedness, and not to lay any burden on their shoulders. For is it not completely senseless if those who once through faith cast off the truly unbearable burden of sin again take it upon themselves and decide to fall again into the yoke of depravity? And what should sit in Jerusalem, by this He depicts the fact that we should not move away from the holy city, and forbids us to wander outside it and slip away from it, deviating to something else. By the holy city you will understand the Church: for some, already enlightened by faith in Christ, having taken off the burden of sinful uncleanness and standing inside the holy gates of the house of God, went over to apostasy, although perhaps not to an obvious one. But still they came out of the holy gates, honoring idolatrous customs. So, God spoke that those who are mentally Sabbatarians should sit inside the gate; this image means steadfastness and constancy and the fact that one must never fall away from loyalty to Him. And that the city of God is the Church, David will cry out loudly about this, saying: “Glorious things are proclaimed about you, city of God!” (Ps.86:3); The Savior Himself will confirm it, saying about him: “I will dwell here, for I desired him” (Ps. 131:14). P. So, there is no doubt that, according to the will of the Lawgiver, on the Sabbath we must cease from all work. K. Not from everyone without exception, Palladium; because it would be disgraceful to stop thinking and doing what is pleasing to God and which brings considerable benefit. For it is not in vain, as it seems to me, that the Holy Scripture added that the Sabbath day should be kept holy for us: “Remember,” it says, “the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8). But we will do this very decently if, mentally keeping the Sabbath, we appear to be concerned about holy things; a clear image of this can be that on the Sabbath the priests in the church violated the Sabbath, immaculately engaged in sacred matters, performed sacrifices, slaughtered sheep and did everything without hindrance that served for the glory of God. And was it not for this very reason that Christ was reproached by the Jews when they accused Him, having healed the paralytic on the Sabbath, of breaking the law (John 5:16)? K. On the Sabbath, a person receives circumcision, according to the word of the Savior (John 7:22–23), without any reproach from the law. This image inspires and almost clearly testifies that those who keep the Sabbath in Christ, that is, those who cease from sin and are sanctified through faith, are very rightly entitled to circumcision in the spirit, performed on the eighth day, that is, Sunday; for thus Christ was raised. When he came to life, having destroyed the power of death, he immediately sealed those he knew with the Holy Spirit: this is circumcision in the spirit. He “breathed, saying: Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). Isn’t Paul also talking about this kind of mental circumcision? For he argued that those who believe must be circumcised with “circumcision made without hands,” that is, with the Spirit (Col. 2:11). I would also add to this that, while mentally keeping the Sabbath, we, in justice, should not cease from things related to the spiritual courage, and from crushing enemies and in Christ defeating those who oppose them: in this image again I will present to you the ancient Jesus, who together with the Israelites took Jericho on the seventh day, that is, on Saturday. P. So, the Sabbath brings us with it, as it seems, idleness only from the vicious and sinful, if it comes to the truth, which for the ancients was depicted in images, as if only in shadows. K. I affirm so. But understood in a different way, it can show very clearly the mystery of Christ. P. What method are you talking about? K. The law said: “If your brother, a Jew or a Jewish woman, sells himself to you, then he must be your slave for six years, and in the seventh year let him go free from you; When you set him free from you, do not send him away empty-handed, but provide him from your flocks, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress: give him what the Lord your God has blessed you with” (Deut. 15:12-14). This means that all the time before the coming of our Savior, Israel was kept in the spirit of slavery, subject to the punishing law; when, in the last times of the age, of which the Sabbath serves as an image for us, Emmanuel shone, then the spirit of slavery was taken away from them; Having brought absolutely nothing to the Master as a ransom, they are called by humane grace to freedom and to the glory of sonhood: for those who believed were justified, not by the works of the law, according to the Scriptures, but by faith (Rom. 3:28). This, I say, is what it is: let him be freed for nothing. But “when,” it is said, “you set him free from you, do not send him away empty-handed, but provide him from your flocks, from your threshing floor, and from your wine press.” Do you clearly see the power of Christ’s sacrament shining through in this? We are redeemed and set free by the Savior of us all, freely. For “not by the works of righteousness which we have done, but by His abundance of mercy,” as it is written (Titus 3:5), we have become partakers of such extraordinary favor. Having released us free, that is, having freed us from sins and adorned us with the grace of sonship, He added Himself to us as a beautiful “partner” as an immaculate sacrifice, “like a sheep, He was led to the slaughter” (Isa. 53:7; sn. Acts 8:32), led for us and giving us the sacrament of life-giving blessing, that is, His holy Flesh and Blood. This, I think, is indicated by the fact that those called to freedom by the mercy of the Lady at the seventh time, that is, on the mental Saturday, must receive parting words from the sheep, from wheat and wine. This is what the law determined. When the Jews, having fallen into frivolity, did not really like to observe these regulations; then God began to accuse those who decided to do this. For it is written: “And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and said: “At the end of the seventh year, let each one of you let go his brother, the Hebrew, who sold himself to you; let him work for you for six years, and then set him free from you; but your fathers did not listen to Me, neither did they incline their ear. Now you have turned and done what is right in My sight, declaring every man liberty to his neighbor, and have made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name; but then they changed their minds and dishonored My name, and brought back to themselves every man his manservant and every man his female servant, whom they had set free wherever their hearts pleased, and you are forcing them to be your male and female servants” (Jer. 34:12-16). Do you see how He does not tolerate images being rejected, or, better to say, the truth itself being insulted, as if still in the shadows? “For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable,” as it is written (Rom. 11:29). The Jews, having once brought back those who had been released and again subjected them to the yoke of slavery, did not observe this impenitence and thereby offended the power of the sacrament, rejecting and not honoring it, although it was still in images. P. You said it very correctly. K. And that we are freely justified by grace in Christ, having not brought anything in exchange for our lives and not having redeemed the glory of freedom, but acquiring it by the mercy and love of the Lord, He foreshadowed this in Deuteronomy, saying: “In the seventh year do forgiveness. Forgiveness consists in this: that every creditor who has lent to his neighbor forgives the debt and does not collect it from his neighbor or his brother, for forgiveness has been proclaimed for the sake of the Lord... collect from the foreigner, and what is yours from your brother, forgive. Unless you have a beggar: for the Lord will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that you may take it as an inheritance” (Deut. 15:1-4). Do you see the truth shining through the shadows? For this too can most clearly demonstrate the economy of our Savior about us: since to those who became close to Him through faith and already turned out to be family and brothers through the communion of the Holy Spirit and communion with the Divine nature, He forgave their debts, although they did not pay Him anything; He did not punish them for their crime, although they owed Him an account of how they spent their lives; and those who are still alien, even almost foreign due to their disastrous unbelief and very far from kinship with Him, He made them liable to debts and, as having still unwashed sin, He justly made them subject to judgment and punishment. Therefore, to those who believed, He proclaimed: “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32), and to those who do not respect the true and gospel teaching: truly, truly, I say to you, “if you do not believe that it is I, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). So, do you understand that He promises to release those who are at home to him by faith, and about those who are still alien and alien and deadened in the fall, He said that they will give an account to the Judge of their sins? J. Not working on the Sabbath also beautifully depicts the enjoyment befitting saints in the age to come and the participation in heavenly blessings. P. Tell me how; I want to understand this. K. Very willingly. The divine David sings somewhere, speaking about the sons of Israel and almighty God: “he gave them the bread of heaven: man ate the bread of the angels” (Ps. 77: 24-25). He calls manna heavenly and angelic food, so that we, directing our minds above the sensory and visible, may contemplate the spiritual and Divine nutrition that God sends to the souls of the saints, establishing in those who have accepted the faith the Word of God who nourishes Angels and gives life to people. For Christ has taken up residence in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, and we feed on living and heavenly bread for health and spiritual strength: and manna is a clear and undoubted image of this. The law commanded the children of Israel to gather it, not exceeding an amount sufficient for everyone. For it is written like this: “In the morning there was dew around the camp; the dew rose, and behold, on the surface of the desert there was something small, grainy, fine, like frost on the ground. And the children of Israel saw and said to one another, “What is this?” Because they didn’t know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat; This is what the Lord commanded: everyone gather as much of it as he can eat; Gather an omer for each person, according to the number of souls in each tent” (Ex. 16:13-16). Then, after a few words, he says again: “On the sixth day they gathered twice as much grain, two omers for each person. And all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses. And [he] said to them: This is what the Lord said: tomorrow is rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; whatever needs to be baked, bake, and whatever needs to be boiled, cook today, and whatever remains, put aside and save until the morning” (Ex. 16:22-23). Then this priestly teacher Moses explained to them the Divine Law, immediately saying: “Eat it today, for today is the Sabbath of the Lord; you will not find him in the field today; six days you shall gather it, and on the seventh day it will be the Sabbath: it will not be found on that day" (Ex. 16:25–26). Is it really not clear to you, Palladius, even after this, that this doing nothing on the Sabbath and storing up what had already been delivered (the amount of manna), as well as the fact that the manna (on the Sabbath) was not given from heaven and it was necessary to use what had already been collected for eating and food - all this constitutes, as it were, a pre-preparation and prefiguration, and, moreover, a very clear one, of the life that is about to come in the coming century? For, being a Sabbathkeeper in Christ and completely ceasing from sin, we will enjoy the highest blessings, when labor will be completely removed, and we will effortlessly find in abundance everything that serves our benefit. P. This is true: they will live holier then, as if with good things ready and set before everyone; Let it be said to everyone: “You will eat from the labor of your hands” (Ps. 127:2). K. So, returning to what was said at first and, as it were, abstracting the word back, we affirm that the law acted very consistently when, having led us to the one by nature and truly God, it did not allow us to not also know from Him and in Him the Word that is born, existing with Him, and co-eternal with Him. For, having commanded in advance and said: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength” (Deut. 6:5), and: “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3), he immediately added the sacrament of Christ, saying in addition: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20, 3). 8). For this is a beautiful and necessary path and a path of the most magnificent art, bringing the most perfect benefit to those who study what needs to be known. So the Savior said to Heavenly Father and God: “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent” (John 17:3). For the word about the Father is necessarily accompanied by the word about the Son, and the knowledge about both is very close to one another. Therefore, He rebuked the Jews, who strayed from the truth by not accepting the Son, and yet thought that they knew God, saying: “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would also know My Father” (John 8:19). For knowledge about each of Them applies to Both. So, of necessity, having laid in advance, as if a foundation, the accuracy of the knowledge of God and having previously rooted in them the knowledge of the Lawgiver, He descends to the human and immediately places next to and in connection with reverence for God reverence for the father and mother, through whom we, with the permission of God, are brought to being and existence and who occupy, as it were, second place after the Creator: for by Divine decrees and self-taught art nature is in itself forms what is born and, as it were, imitates the glory of the Creator, and just as God is the beginning and birth of everything, because He is the Creator and Creator, so each of those who become parents for the child born from him is, as it were, the root of birth and the source of the outcome to being. So, the contribution of the father and mother to the existence of all who are on earth is the image of the Creator of everything. Therefore, the law commanded that they be given honor that is superior to others, without depriving those who decided to honor them of the reward and without freeing those who do not want to do this from punishment: it crowns the noble and holy will with honors, but burdens the less inclined with extreme disasters. For “Honor,” it is said, “your father and your mother... so that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). So, having established, as if a reward and a chosen honorable gift, life and duration of stay for those who wish to honor and, on the contrary, death for the insolent and insulting, the law sets fear, as if a guardian, directing to the right path. For he said also: “Whoever strikes his father or his mother must be put to death. He who curses his father or his mother must be put to death” (Ex. 21:15, 17). For just as against God the transgression of the tongue (slander) is punished by death and extreme wrath, so also against parents. He who rejects the Divine commandment and decides to anger the Schoolmaster with crimes dies without mercy: in the same way, he who despises the suggestions of his father or mother dies stoned, as the Divine law decreed about this. He said this in Deuteronomy: “If anyone has a turbulent and rebellious son, who does not obey the voice of his father and the voice of his mother, and they discipline him, but he does not listen to them, then let his father and his mother take him and bring him to the elders of his city and to the gate of his residence and say to the elders of his city: “This son of ours is turbulent and rebellious, he does not listen to our words, he is a spendthrift.” and a drunkard`; then let all the inhabitants of his city stone him to death; and so destroy evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and fear” (Deut. 21:18-21). Can you even after this doubt that reverence for God immediately follows reverence for father and mother? P. No way. For the fact that we should honor them is prompted by what someone wisely said: “Remember that you were born of them” (Sir. 7:30), and the patriarch Jacob, who very modestly says: “If not ... the fear of my father Isaac had been mine” (Gen. 31:42). K. So, tell me: when it is said that we are born of them, does not this clearly show that they are the image of the Creator and the one who calls into being what was not once? And the fact that it is fitting for us to honor them with fear, has not placed them almost in the very dignity of the Master? P. And very much. That is why the tributary curses some, saying: “The eye that mocks the father and neglects obedience to the mother will be pecked out by the ravens” (Proverbs 30:17). But explain how anyone could consider the saying of the Savior of all, Christ, to be wisely spoken: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). Let me remind you of something else: to the disciple, begging for the burial of his father and for the care of the elder, He says: “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead” (Matthew 8:22). K: What is inappropriate about this? There is nothing difficult, it seems to me; on the contrary, the understanding of the sayings in question is very simple and convenient for mastering those who want to think correctly. P. However, what has been said is not entirely free from suspicion: because it, apparently, in some way deviates us from respect for our parents. K. Get away from suspicion and such perverse thoughts, Palladium! The Savior’s word does not discourage us from respecting our parents, but teaches us to consider respect for God to be the oldest and most excellent. And our speech led to the same thing, constantly calling respect for parents who are close and in second place after the respect due to God; Christ Himself observed this, since He did not assign guilt to those who want to love their parents, and did not assign any vice or crime to the desire to honor them, but very decently legitimized that human things should be placed after God. Therefore, he does not simply say: “Who loves father or mother more; but he added: “more than Me.” Don’t you consider it proper for the love of God to be placed above the love for people? K. So, He did not allow the student to come to the idea that it is necessary to place respect for man above respect for God, even if he were a father, whom the very laws of nature inspire to honor. Thus, although He places what concerns Him above what concerns us, since God surpasses everything and is above everything; However, He does not at all allow anyone to impute respect for parents to anything on the basis that what relates to God should be thought of and called the oldest and most excellent. For this very thing Christ blamed the Jewish teachers, saying: “For God commanded: Honor your father and mother; and: He who curses his father or mother shall die by death. And you say: if someone says to his father or mother: “Whatever you would use from me is a gift to God,” he may not honor his father or his mother; Thus you have made void the commandment of God by your tradition” (Matthew 15:4-6). P. However, it is not very easy to understand the passage cited. Therefore, explain what the Pharisees’ sin was in this? K. In the book of Leviticus it is written: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Proclaim to the children of Israel and say to them: if anyone makes a vow to consecrate his soul to the Lord according to your assessment, then your assessment for a man from twenty to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary” (Lev. 27: 1-3). Having then said a little about women and children, he adds: “If he is poor and cannot give according to your estimate, then let him be presented to the priest, and let the priest evaluate him” (Lev. 27:8). This speech is mysterious and full of deep meaning and will be carefully examined by us in due time, but now we will say the following: some of the Israelites came, having the zeal to devote their souls to God, although still in image and shadow, however, according to the law, and announced prices for themselves to those who had received the lot of the priesthood and were sitting at the Divine altar. But there were some who desired the same glory (for they strove to be called sanctified and sacred and a gift of the Divine and all such), meanwhile, due to lack of money, they suppressed this desire and had poverty as an inevitable obstacle to its fulfillment. When the scribes and Pharisees zealously encouraged them to do this (since these people were very greedy for money and subject to a passion for shameful acquisitions), they showed respect for their parents and rightly said that they, perhaps, were barely able to obtain for themselves and them sufficient means to live, and to prepare clothing. And they dared to convince them - to consider this matter as nothing for the sake of God; and if parents came, demanding from them the usual allowance, then it was necessary, they taught, to say to father and mother: “a gift that you would have used from me.” That is: if you received something from me, know that by doing so you would damage the gift of God and lay hands on sacred property, for I dedicated myself and promised it as a gift to God. And those, fearing harm from sacrilege and very much afraid of the laws about this, endured their position with lamentation and put piety before God as the reason for their hunger, blaming, perhaps, the Divine commandment itself, as offending them in the most necessary things. That is why it is said: “destroy the commandment of God for your tradition.” For one should, one should, honor one’s parents and, for the sake of piety before God, not break the law concerning them. So, one should neither be careless about what is due to God for the sake of human affairs, nor completely neglect human affairs for the sake of God; but it is necessary, giving the best part of love to the beginning of everything, that is, to God, and then immediately, as if in the second and neighboring row, to bring especially befitting honors to those who were responsible for our birth, taking into account, in addition to what has been said, one more thing. P. What do you mean? K. Our Lord Jesus Christ, showing that respect for parents is a very necessary matter for us, honored His Mother with the care and attention. Already hanging on an honorable cross and nailed to a tree, He entrusted the Holy Virgin to his close disciple and, appointing his beloved as her feeder in old age, says: “Wife! Behold, Your son." ; and he said to the disciple: “Behold, your Mother! And from that time on, this disciple took Her to himself” (John 19:26-27). P. How excellently, it seems, we have spoken about this! K. So, having very well instilled affection for the parents of those born from them and having imposed on them a legal and necessary yoke, it immediately legitimizes what parents should be like in relation to those born from them, if they do not reject what is pleasing to God. Thus, the wise Paul, having briefly and intelligibly instilled in the children that they should obey their fathers, nevertheless said to them: “You, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the teaching and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4); that is, having become for them teachers of the most excellent teachings, guide them to a God-loving and most lawful life. And the law, as if taking a roundabout route (for this is almost always customary for him), most of all, and quite correctly, requires fathers to take care of the honesty of their children. For he says: “Do not defile your daughter by allowing her to commit fornication, so that the land does not commit fornication and the land is not filled with depravity” (Lev. 19:29). For above all else and, as it were, some firstfruits of a holy life, the Creator demands from us purity of the body, because the bodily, avoiding stain, shame and dishonor, serves as an introduction to spiritual lordship. So, it is fitting for fathers to guide us to the best; If the schoolmasters are careless and frivolous, and even more so, if, beyond expectation, they are exposed in the fact that they have become leaders and teachers of shameful things for their children, then they will be subject to extreme punishment, as those who corrupt those they themselves have produced and plunge into the ditches of destruction those for whom it would truly be better for them to even die: for this is what nature prescribes to fathers. And whoever gave his maiden to open shame to those who wished it, he, in fairness, will not only be accused for her alone and subject to punishment from the Judge of all, but also for everyone who has fallen into shame. For, having laid, as it were, some kind of snare and net of death, he keeps everyone in a round-up, although not everyone is caught; but what is assessed, of course, is not what happened, but what the enterprise could lead to. The wise Solomon writes about such a woman: a woman is “a net, and her heart is a snare, her hands are fetters” (Eccl. 7:27). It is therefore necessary that the Lawgiver says: “Let not your daughter defile her by committing fornication, and let not the earth commit adultery”: because if there were no such woman with whom one could fall into the guilt of fornication, then it would not be at all difficult to avoid this misfortune, even if someone’s mind was very inclined to voluptuousness and suffered from complete impotence. Having thus commanded fathers to protect the decency of their children in relation to the body, he punishes with death those who reach such a state of mind that they plunge their own children into apostasy from God. In the book of Leviticus it is written thus: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak this unto the children of Israel: Whosoever of the children of Israel, and of the strangers that sojourn among the Israelites, giveth of his children to Molech, shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him; and I will set My face against that man and will destroy him from among his people, because he gave of his children to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and to dishonor My holy name” (Lev. 20:1-3). P. Temen this law; It's not very clear what he wants to say. So explain and you will do well. K. The Moabites and Midianites, the Gergesites and the Hagarites and some other barbarian peoples who lived in the land of Judea lived according to Hellenic customs, and each of them had such worship of God as he liked, worship and service of what came to his mind. The Israelites, having a mind that was not yet strengthened and not confirmed in love for God, were very willing to apostatize and were so ready to move away from God that they considered it nothing even if they happened to worship the very gods of the neighboring peoples and, together with their neighbors, decided to suffer from the old Egyptian error. So, they were inflamed with passion for the maidens of Midian and, captivated by female beauty, they called upon Beelphegor with them. Therefore, the Lawgiver, very well providing for the instability and complaisance of the mind inherent in them, completely forbade them to mix with foreigners, saying very clearly: “Do not give your daughter for his son, and do not take his daughter for your son; for they will turn your sons away from Me to serve other gods” (Deut. 7:3-4). So, since, of course, it happened, and it is very likely that some of the Israelites decided to hand over their daughters to the noblest of the pagans, carried away in the net of wealth, and consider apostasy as nothing, then He defines punishment and death for such insolence and subjects this crime to the strictest sentence: for it was inevitable for someone given in marriage to a foreigner to become a foreigner and serve the demons: therefore He subjected him as the destroyer of his own fruit according to the punishment. So the Holy and New Scripture inspires parents to try to raise their children “in... the teaching of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4), and the slow-tongued law indirectly takes the same path. For, having very well decreed in advance that the fathers should not allow anything to be done that relates to shame and debauchery, after this he also says that they must guard in them steadfastness in the knowledge of God and not allow them to be captivated by nasty idolatry, even if they were destined to have a large fortune, if they are coupled according to the law of marriage with a husband, although of a foreign tribe, but rich. Isn’t this the very thing about which it is said: “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? or what ransom will a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26.) K: Anyone can see very easily that no small distance exists between those who are justified in Christ and those who bear children by the law. For mixing with any foreigners, meeting with foreigners was not harmless for the ancients; Paul advises us to live better and more boldly, saying: “If a brother has an unbelieving wife, and she agrees to live with him, then he should not leave her; and a wife who has an unbelieving husband, and he agrees to live with her, should not leave him. For an unbelieving husband is sanctified by a believing wife, and an unbelieving wife is sanctified by a believing husband.” (1 Cor. 7:12–14). What is the method of house-building in this? Why in ancient times was the law afraid of mixing with other-minded people, but now it is no longer? Because those who are called in Christ are made stable and have unshakable love for God by the Spirit who dwells in them, “By whom we cry: ‘Abba, Father!’” (Rom. 8:15); and they did not yet possess this gift; for, as the divine John says: “The Holy Spirit was not yet on them, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39). So, all perfection is in Christ, but the law did not lead to perfection at all, according to what is written (Heb. 7:19). P. So tell me, please, how can the imperfection of the law become clear? K. Willingly. But our word will go to the handy and explore the types of love for one's neighbor, since the writings of Moses, given to the ancients, speak about this somewhat more rudely than they should. P. So get to it, and as soon as possible. K. The Law says: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18); and our Lord Jesus Christ, with countless arguments, instills in us the law of mutual love and, placing as a defender of this law the innate knowledge and desire that exists in everyone, he says: “in everything that you want people to do to you, do so to them” (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31). For the one who, wanting to receive something, decides to do the same to others will not move away from the goal; on the contrary, he will follow the straight path of love and be adorned with the crown of mutual love. K: So, love is the fulfillment of the law and is superior to faith and hope. For this is what the divine Paul writes to us (1 Cor. 13:13). Therefore, as if weaving a multi-colored wreath of spring flowers to her, he also says: “If I give away all my property and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it will be of no benefit to me. Love is long-suffering, merciful, love does not envy, love is not arrogant, is not proud, is not rude, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (1 Cor. 13:3-8). But this is obvious to everyone, as I think, and it would be a very long discussion about this if anyone decided to collect in detail what is related here in the New Testament Scripture. We will now turn to the shadows of the law and to what was spoken by the ancients, as if in images. P. You are an excellent reasoner. K. The law was an exercise of justice and, as it were, an introduction to the valiant deeds of the gospel. For it is written: “The beginning of the way of good is to do righteousness” (Prov. 16:6): because the law leads to children to Christ (Gal.3:24) and can have the true glory of life, conceivable in Him, if it is understood spiritually. And he brings us to justice, and the gospel teaching leads us to what is higher than this. Types of justice, the first is reverence and love for the one and by nature God; and, as it were, next to him and immediately next to him - love for brothers and fellow tribesmen, with respect for parents placed above all else. So, the word of God moves before us in due order, instilling in us that after reverence for God and respect for our parents, we should also show honesty in our relationships with other people. For the law everywhere cares about equality and commands an accurate examination of what is just. In Deuteronomy it is written: “There shall not be two weights in your pussy, the greater and the lesser. You must have a precise and correct weight, and you must have a precise and correct ephah, so that your days may be prolonged in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.... for everyone who does iniquity is an abomination to the Lord your God” (Deut. 25:13, 15-16); and also in the book of Leviticus: “Do not commit unrighteousness in judgment, in measure, in weight and in measurement: let you have faithful scales, faithful weights” (Lev. 19, 35-36). The Legislator diligently tried to equate the types of justice with measures and weights and standards, and very correctly; for a straight mind and a lover of justice in some way weighs and measures the nature of things and examines equality in more detail and more accurately than they think of those who try a coin on a weighing pan and scales: it, as it were, measures out to each of the objects it considers what is most appropriate for it, without violating the beauty of exact equality by excess, and not allowing the fullness of equality to be counterfeited by diminution. So, “measure... and righteous scales and righteous measure be done,” it says. These, I think, are like images and illustrative examples, showing us the ways in which we can explore exact equality, and the knowledge of justice is revealed to us. Understand, then, that what is stated in the law is proportionate and has a limit of justice, but what is revealed through Christ is more abundant than that and is washed away much further: because what is right above is what is good, that is, the glory of life in Christ. P. You speak well. I will also remind you that Christ clearly said to those justified in faith: Amen, amen, “I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20). K. But let it be so for us. We now examine, if you will, the measure of Moses' integrity and the glory of justice under the law. Whoever correctly tries to grasp the knowledge of what is just and considers it important to be distinguished by love for his brothers, it is fitting for him to appear unshakable and steadfast and as he really is, not shaky and frivolous, not possessing counterfeit honesty and wanting, as it were, with the skin of a sheep to cover the image of a wolf; on the contrary, he should try to maintain the pure and impeccable freedom of his character. Therefore, the law says: “Do not act as a bearer among your people, and do not be hostile to your brother in your heart” (Lev. 19:16-17). He also instills the same thing in another way: “Do not wear clothes made of different kinds of threads, wool or linen,” he says (Lev. 19:19). And again: “Do not wear clothes made of different substances, wool and linen together” (Deut. 22:11): because truly this is a very terrible thing and exceeds all reproach - deception and deceit under the guise of honesty; God is extremely abhorred by this, and this is related to double-mindedness and, as it were, duality and fickleness of thought, which is what angers the Divine and unalloyed Mind more than anything else. He said in one place about some: “Their tongue is a deadly arrow, it speaks deceitfully; With their lips they speak kindly to their neighbor, but in their hearts they build feats for him. Am I not going to punish them for this? says the Lord; Shall not My soul take vengeance on such a people as this?” (Jer.9, 8-9.) And David also says that “he will ascend to the mountain of the Lord... innocent in hands, and pure in heart... who will not deceive with his tongue, nor do evil to his sincere” (Ps. 23:3-4, 14:3). So, the law prohibits, as a very shameful and disgusting thing, to walk in deceit, that is, to decide to spend life craftily and imitating the image of justice, to harm the brethren, despising the laws of love. He also does not allow us to have clothes woven from two substances, mysteriously indicating by this that we should beware of having something double on our minds: I’m talking about double internal and mental, about damned man-pleasing, which seems to be intertwined from two aspirations that have a significant difference between them. For what is or what is the life of hypocrites? Doesn't it consist in being good only in the eyes of people and being so in appearance, and not in truth? K: So, this is a double character, woven from unequal desires. But the divine David approves of a person of like-mindedness and says about him that he is awarded protection from above: The Lord, he says, “dwells like-minded people into a house” (Ps. 67:7). “God scatters,” it is also said, “the bones of people-pleasers” (Ps. 52:6): Paul also abhors this, saying: “Do I now seek favor from people, or from God? Do I try to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). P. But who doesn’t understand that double-mindedness and hypocrisy are truly absurd and very far from accurate correctness? K. So, it is truly the fruit of love, impeccably disposed and befitting a just and good husband, to shun deceit. And the law says that someone who truly cares about justice and is an adherent of love for brothers should consider the glory of this deed to be deserved only if he not only himself refuses to violate justice, but also becomes the teacher of his relatives or in some other way who have become close to him and acquired their name for him. Paul also inspires those who intend to take care of the church to have children in subordination and makes this a proof of his suitability or unsuitability, saying: “for whoever does not know how to manage his own house, will he care for the Church of God?” (1 Tim. 3:5.) Therefore, the law, as if in the form of an example and a visual image, says: “If an ox gores a man or woman to death, then the ox is to be stoned and its meat is not to be eaten; but the owner of the ox is not to blame; but if the ox was gore yesterday and the day after, and its owner, having been notified of this, did not guard it, and he killed a man or woman, then stone the ox and put his owner to death; If a ransom is imposed on him, he shall give the ransom for his soul that is imposed on him. Whether a son is gored, or a daughter is gored, it is the same law to deal with him. If an ox gores a male or female slave, then pay their master thirty shekels of silver, and stone the ox” (Ex. 21:28-32). Is what was said clear to you? K. So listen to what I am going to say, and first of all, bring to mind the most sacred Paul, who wrote: “Does God care for oxen? Or, of course, is it said for us?” (1 Cor. 9:9-10.) So, He likens an ox to an offender, one that is insolent and capable of committing violence. For the ox is an animal that is always almost unbridled and very terrible in its strength and difficult to repel when attacked. If such a person, it is said, is domestic and, as it were, associated with someone who has chosen a righteous life, and causes someone a serious illness, or, moreover, kills someone, having attacked him with his attacks, he ordered that he be subjected to vengeance by death: he said that he must die, stoned. But the owner is protected from anger if he did not know his impudent disposition and is not exposed as an accomplice of his depravity: for the guilt of others does not concern us if they were committed secretly from us. He also does not allow eating the meat of an ox, covertly signifying, under the image of a kind of consumption and some kind of communion, that which should not be participants in the uncleanness of others. Isn’t this what the saying obviously means: “Do not become a participant in the sins of others. Keep yourself clean" (1 Tim. 5:22)? K. He found it fair to condemn the master along with the ox if he knew about the harm he caused and did not turn out to be ignorant of his vigilance: for when someone can restrain a person of bad character from injustice and very easily prevent the commission of an offense, but does not want to do this, and moreover intentionally, then he is almost an accomplice in the matter and, by his own will and complicity, a collaborator with those who want to act unjustly. So, let him die, it is said, unless the judges impose on him payment and compensation for the loss made. The law pays attention to whether there was a good disposition, whether there was a desire to sin or just simple consent: it punishes more moderately if the judges decide, it is said. Understand the truth in this image: for the most serious crimes, the Judge condemns everyone to death, but He releases those who have sinned if they bring a ransom for sin - tears of repentance, the work of changing their spiritual disposition, - manifestations of mercy: for “mercy is praised in judgment,” according to the Scriptures (James 2:13). The law also makes careful distinctions between victims; because if “a son or a daughter,” it is said, “is killed” by an ox, let him be killed without mercy; if “a slave or a slave,” then let money be collected for them. Isn’t it worthy of consideration what the basis for this is? After all, freedom and slavery are not a natural vice for us, as, of course, illness is, but comes from violence. For there is one God who created us and one Father for all, according to the voice of the prophet ( Mal. 2:10) Does the Creator make slavery a crime for anyone? Is it possible that slavery is less valued before Him, and freedom is far from being superior to glory? For in Christ Jesus “there is neither slave nor free” (Gal. 3:28). located. And it is not the same thing to sin against saints and against sinners. Sin is not punished to the same extent against both: for although, as is clear to everyone, both are brothers by nature, the race of saints has spiritual advantage and the height of virtue and is in such honor with God that it even becomes in the position of sons and daughters and exceeds the measure of humanity and servility. The law instructs us to act righteously and adhere to love for our brothers in other ways, which we will offer further and about each of them we will say what comes to our mind. He said: “If anyone opens a hole, or if someone digs a hole and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, then the owner of the hole must pay, give the money to their owner, and the carcass will be his” (Ex. 21:33-34). This mysteriously means: “not to give a brother any opportunity for stumbling or temptation” (Rom. 14:13) and not to allow what is naturally beneficial to become useless to anyone and what is necessary for us and others to live turns out to be the path to death. For does not anyone who opens or digs a well accomplish something useful and necessary for himself and others? But let it not, it is said, be yours as a reason for danger for another: because “love...,” as the divine Paul says, “... does not seek its own” (1 Cor. 13:5), but even cares about someone else’s. P. But who is it that opens or digs the well and what kind of well it is, I would like to know clearly. K. In a historical sense, this is not incomprehensible: it is said that a well must be covered so that no harm occurs to anyone; otherwise, let him know, it is said, who has not done this, that if anything falls there, he will give the silver “to his lord: what is dead shall be his.” But, rising above the evidence of historical meaning and raising the subject to spiritual contemplation, let us say the following: by the well, it seems, in these words the law refers to the knowledge of the inspired Scripture and the doctrine of the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity and the knowledge of the sacrament of Christ: for this as if it lies in the depths and has life-giving power; the Savior Himself testifies to this, saying: “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). seeks life-giving water, a source of joy and a stream of pleasure. And whoever has already achieved such understanding that he can expound the word of the sacrament in his own composition, he digs a well, for he, as it were, produces something new, not building on the works of Other people, but benefiting himself and others through his own labors. “Broken reservoirs,” according to the voice of the prophet (Jer. 2:13), are also being dug by lovers of false knowledge. So, if anyone has dug a well, beware, it is said, so that what seems to be beautifully done does not turn out to be a way of destruction for anyone: for we must correctly and very carefully compose the word about God, so as not to give anyone a reason for temptation. This, I think, is what is meant by putting a cover on a well, that is, that the word is not without due precaution. For if “a calf or a donkey falls in...,” it is said, “the one who dug the well will give [the price].” He also mentions the calf and the donkey not simply, but as if in a deep sense: he says about the calf so that you bring to mind the sacred and pure race, and about the donkey so that you understand the unholy and unclean, for, according to the law, unclean things are not sacrificed to God. We call those who are sanctified through faith a sacred and pure race; and the unholy and unclean have not yet been cleansed by holy baptism, but have within themselves the filth of sin. So, it is the same as if he said: if any harm happens either to someone who has already been baptized and sealed with grace as if for kinship with God, or to someone who is not one of these, then the one who caused the temptation will be guilty of judgment and the deceased will be left to him, that is, his will be the death of the victim. And the Savior Himself warns us, saying: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). K. You could easily see that the law, in other mysterious expressions, reveals to us how dangerous it is to sin against the brethren, because by beating their weak conscience, we sin against Christ (1 Cor. 8:12). Therefore, he said: “If a fire appears and engulfs the thorns and burns up the heaps, or the harvest, or the field, then whoever caused this fire must pay” (Ex. 22:6). For it is not necessary for what is useful to perish along with what is naturally harmful, and for what is cultivated to be destroyed along with what grows wild. K. Is it not possible, in fairness, to compare the writings of wicked heretics and the idle talk of Hellenic teachings to the thorns of the mountain and the field? For what good can they do for human souls? Or better to say: what harm will there be for those who want to perceive them in their minds? So, thorns are only the feeder of fire and the food of flame: in the same way, the empty teachings of the erring and the old women’s fables of idolaters kindle eternal flame for us. Ears of corn and bread, on the contrary, are the most tender food, edible for people and necessary for use: for what supports us in life can be an image of the dogmas of truth, through which we who believe, as if we feed on the living and true bread - Christ. Further, like a certain field that is smooth and not lumpy, for those who know how to walk correctly on it, there is God-inspired Scripture. For “all rights are fair to those who understand,” according to what is written, “and are fair to those who have acquired knowledge” (Proverbs 8:9). So, the most vile and unclean unbridled language of depraved people is the thorn, the soulful and most nourishing word of truth is the bread and the ear of corn, and the divinely inspired Scripture is the clean field. Thus, when the speeches of the holy secret leaders, like a flame or fire, attack the fabrications of other-minded people and Hellenes, defending the dogmas of truth, then they must pass over only thorns, as it is said, and burn their writings as a useless and wild substance, but at the same time not damage the bread or ear of grain, that is, the secret leaders must be careful not to damage anything in dogmas of truth. Otherwise, let him know, it is said, who does not try to do this with caution, that if something necessary for use is burned along with the bad, he will give an account of his carelessness. So, do you understand what caution the Lawmaker commanded us to observe, everywhere preserving the unsullied purity of love for the brethren? Book 8. More about love for brothers and about stealing a calf or a sheep So, you can see from everywhere, Palladius, how correct and precise the occult teaching is instilled by the ancient law. Not leaving this matter unpunished for those who are accustomed to deceiving ordinary people, he also said: “If someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, then he will pay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. If someone catches a thief digging in and hits him so that he dies, then the blood will not be imputed to him; but if the sun has risen on him, then his blood will be imputed to him. The one who stole must pay; and if there is nothing, then let him be sold to pay for what he stole; if... the stolen property is found alive in his hands, whether it be an ox, or a donkey, or a sheep, let him pay... double” (Ex. 22:1-4). Palladium. What has been said is not very clear: but you try to explain to me what was once announced as if in a riddle. Kirill. The law usefully determines punishment for those who want to acquire excess and in some way restrains the irresistible in wanting what either a neighbor or brother has; so if it happened, he says, to die during the theft itself, the one noticed in him, then those who killed would not be subject to any accusation. The law also exposes him to dishonor, saying that he must be sold if he is unable to pay retribution, and thus encourages him through fear to lead a good life. The hidden meaning of what is stated is completely different, and we must express it, if possible, well. Although the calf and the sheep are both animals, as it were, pure and sacred and offered to God in the stench of fragrance, the calf differs in height and size of the body; but the other animal is not like that: the calf is larger than the sheep. So, the holy assembly of those justified by faith are, as it were, bulls and sheep, pure and holy animals, which have cloven hoofs and regurgitate the cud, as the law says, and producers of edible fruits, because the bull tills the earth and the sheep also brings benefit. and although the flock of those called is confined in the courts of God, that is, in the churches, there are very many predators around it, who dig in and enter secretly, with various deceptions captivate the souls of ordinary people and, so to speak, sell them to the destroyer Satan. Whoever does something like this will give, it is said, five bulls for one and four sheep for a sheep: thus, the one who stole must pay five times for a bull, and four times for a sheep, says the law, imposing punishment according to the measure, I think, of the spiritual magnitude of virtue in those who died. The image and shadow of the magnitude of virtue was bodily magnitude. After all, it is not difficult to notice that there is more or less virtue in those who believe; since not everyone has equally: “but everyone has his own gift from God, one this way, another another” (1 Cor. 7:7). If anyone else steals and digs and commits robberies and is captured at night and in darkness, then let him, it is said, die here; and this is not murder and is not blamed on the perpetrator: because the fallen was a predator and rapist and was killed according to the law of war. When the sun has risen and the time of robbery has already passed, then the law restrains the hand of the one who strikes - and the one who dares to do so is found guilty of murder. For when a spiritual predator takes possession of the soul of a believer in Christ and distracts it from the love of God, then if he is captured during a crime, he will not unjustly suffer death; because he killed the soul, which is better than the body; but when the sun has risen in his mind and true knowledge shines, like light and day, then the law does not allow him to be exposed to danger: for the deeds of night and darkness are punished, but what is already in the light is not punished. And God decided to let go of the previous guilt and what was done in ignorance and darkness. Therefore, to those who have come from sin to mental light, let it be said: “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Eph. 5:8). Thus the Lord justified the divine Paul, “who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an offender” (1 Tim. 1:13), because he persecuted the Church of God in great numbers and devastated it (Gal. 1:13). P. You said it very well. K. If he cannot, he says, give five bulls for one and four sheep for one, then let him be sold for theft. Do you see how clearly the law assigns the dishonor characteristic of slaves to those who sin constantly and unrepentantly, who cannot, so to speak, be freed from their crimes by ransom, and, due to weakness of spirit, do not have the patience to work in repentance and with these labors to appease God? Such, in all fairness, he orders to be sold; he does not allow people so defiled to be numbered among those who are liberated by Divine goodness; being deprived of the honor due to the free, they will hear: “you are sold for your sins” (Is. 50: 1). If, it is said, when he is caught, he turns out to have only stolen, but not yet killed what was stolen, that is, if one of the dissidents turns out to have begun to seduce and deceive others, but has not yet won and has not carried away his listeners to destruction; then he will pay double. For the master of the flock will receive back what is his, and the blasphemer will also be punished (this means that he will pay double) and will suffer the death penalty; because it is quite fair that he himself should suffer what he wanted to do to others. P. Truly destructive and terrible is the work of seducers; I think that it was Christ Himself who foretold about them: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). K: So, the law rightly condemns such people to death like wild animals; Therefore, in the book of Exodus it is written: “Whoever steals a man... and... sells him, or is found in his hands, he must be put to death” (Exod. 21:16), and in Deuteronomy: “If anyone is found to have stolen one of his brothers, from the children of Israel, and enslaved him, and sold him, then such a thief must be put to death” (Deut. 24:7). For it is inadmissible that a race sacred in Christ should be given over to theft and that it should be carried away into slavery, which is unusual for it, by those who are in the habit of doing this: because, as those who deceive children, they take them out of the city and from their homes and, depriving them of the dignity characteristic of the free, subject them to the yoke of forced slavery; In the same way, I think, those who, by the cunning seductions of their inventions, attract people who have decided to think correctly and lead a decent free life to their most unreasonable opinions, are rightly subject to the charge of stealing human souls; and their punishment is death. “Do not receive such into your home or welcome them” (2 John 1:10), says the Savior’s disciple, teaching us not the rudeness of morals, but that it is not typical for a sheep to be disposed towards a wolf, since those who have different opinions do not seem to agree with each other; for “what complicity does the faithful have with the unfaithful?” (2 Cor. 6:15). Moreover, the divine Paul writes that one should not associate with the fornicators of this age (1 Cor. 5:9-10). So, so that some would not be kidnapped, as it were, from their father’s house - from the Church of God - and taken away to the churches of bad people, as if selling their minds through turning to depravity, “bad associations corrupt good morals” - (1 Cor. 15:33), - the law determines the death penalty for those people who are so wicked that they are ready to do this. You will see that the law shows us the same thing indirectly and in another ruling. He brings worldly affairs into right order through teaching that is clear and accessible to those who want to understand it. For we do not reject historical meaning in very useful things, as if it were not important; since even a letter sometimes brings benefit to listeners. But it seems to contain the spiritual in its depths and, as if in light shadows, contains thoughts that are more refined. The book of Exodus says: “If someone seduces an unbetrothed maiden and sleeps with her, let him give her wine [and take her] as his wife; and if the father does not agree... to marry her off to him, let him pay... as much silver as the maidens are entitled to for money” (Ex. 22:16–17). And as if expanding this commandment of God, the divine Moses says in Deuteronomy: “If anyone is found lying with a married woman, then both must be put to death: both the man who lay with the woman and the woman; and so destroy evil from Israel. If a young girl is betrothed to her husband, and someone meets her in the city and lies with her, then bring them both to the gates of that city and stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he defamed his neighbor’s wife; and so destroy evil from among you. If someone in the field meets a betrothed girl and, grabbing her, lies with her, then only the man who was lying with her should be put to death, and do nothing to the girl; There is no mortal crime on the damsel: for this is the same as if someone rebelled against his neighbor and killed him; for he met her in the field, and although the betrothed girl screamed, there was no one to save her” (Deut. 22:22-27). As for the historical meaning, I think it does not need any explanation in order to be understandable to everyone; because it is very clear and obvious. But we must, as it seems, leave it aside for the present and follow the inner and hidden path. K. So, I affirm that as of the crimes relating to a woman, the most serious of all is adultery, which violates the marriage of another person and separates those already united; in exactly the same way, in my opinion, of all the crimes concerning human souls, the most wicked and intolerable is the attempt to corrupt a soul, not just any one, but in some way already married and united with Christ - the heavenly and heavenly Bridegroom. We are united with Him through faith and, moreover, through the communion of the Holy Spirit. For “he who is united with the Lord is one spirit with the Lord” (1 Cor. 6:17), according to the Scriptures. Therefore, the law rightly punishes with death along with the adulterer and the fornicator - the first because he planted the seeds of his wickedness, the second because, having despised the law of fidelity, she gave herself to another and, leaving her mind to him for corruption, accepted defilement from human inventions. K: So, a wife who was united with her husband according to the law can very well be likened to a soul who was united and united with Christ through faith and the Spirit. And by the image of the betrothed virgin we will understand a soul called to the beginnings of true knowledge, but not yet finally united with Christ, still awaiting both marriage and the true way of union - union through the grace of holy baptism and the communion of the Holy Spirit, and having accepted, as it were, a pledge and the beginning of communication - the word of announcement. Thus, our Divine secret guide, that is, Paul, brought the church of the pagans to Christ. He writes: “I betrothed you to one husband, to present you to Christ as a pure virgin” (2 Cor. 11:2). And the Bridegroom himself says somewhere in the voice of the prophet: “And I will betroth you to Me forever, and I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and judgment, in kindness and mercy. And I will betroth you to Me in fidelity, and you will know the Lord” (Hosea 2:19-20). So, if, he says, the guilt of corruption happens to any soul of this kind, then let it be recognized as adultery: for the betrothed is already obliged and is under the authority of the one who will soon become her husband. But if, he says, the crime is committed in the city, that is, in the Church of Christ and in the city of the living God, in which angels and holy men-mentors and teachers live who can help those who are in danger of being deceived: then the injured virgin must die along with the seducer. For, while corruption could have been conveniently avoided if she had declared to teachers who knew how to save, she was voluntarily subjected to violence, and was not necessarily drawn to evil. If, he says, this happens not in the Church, not in the city of the living God, but as if in a field and a country place, where there was no secret guide who would give help, where there was a complete absence of people who know how to direct thoughts to the better, and the seduction occurred with a lack of leaders: then in this case only the one who committed the violence should be accused, because what was done (on the part of the seduced one) was forced and she suffered it, remaining helpless; and inevitable necessity frees her from the charge. Don't we agree that it would be too harsh to blame for what was done by force as if it was done voluntarily? P. Without a doubt so: for the law is righteous. K. You speak fairly. He makes the most exact examination of what has been done, and proportions the punishments to the crimes; so he does not leave unimportant offenses completely unpunished, and does not equate them with those that exceed them, but, as it were, brings the punishment to an equal value with the crime. For he said further: “If someone meets an unengaged maiden, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are caught, then the one who lay with her must give the maiden’s father fifty [shekels] of silver, and let her be his wife, because he has defamed her; for the rest of his life he cannot divorce her” (Deut. 22:28–29). The law found the one who was betrothed guilty of adultery in various circumstances, which we have already mentioned; but even in that case, he says, if the soul, understood by the image of a virgin, turns out to be not yet obliged and not betrothed to Christ through faith, and if then someone is convicted of having desecrated it with words of wickedness and transferred it from error to error, as, for example, heretics do when they kidnap one of the pagans and Jews and convince them to follow them: then he will not be left without for his cause punishments. He will give satisfaction to the Father of spirits, that is, God, which is very well depicted under the guise of paying money. And the injunction: “let him have a wife” has historical benefits. P. I understand what you are saying. The law is twofold: carnal and spiritual. K. Note also that even the teaching of the ancient commandment was not unaware of what Christ said regarding husband and wife: “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Mark 10:9): because it is said: “Let her be his wife, because he defamed her; for the rest of his life he cannot divorce her.” And besides, think about all-pure virginity, how high its honor is: because the word of inspired Scripture recognizes and considers it proper to call deprivation of virginity humiliation and, as it were, a loss of honor. K. So, the law rejected, as God-hating and truly wicked, the falsehood of those who think differently, and the seduction to evil, which is done by people who are accustomed to corrupt those who walk the straight path, and the enticement of others to what they should not do. But he came up with something else, which the divine Paul himself recognized as the best of instructions, saying: “Remind this... not to enter into disputes over words, which in no way serves to benefit, but rather to upset, those who listen” (2 Tim. 2:14). For excessive ranting and a great desire to argue about unnecessary issues produce quarrels and amaze the minds of the listeners: because some of them, out of frivolity, rashly and unreasonably accept and zealously praise what is wrong in itself and badly expressed; others, making a low judgment about the excellent, turn out to suffer from the same ignorance as the first, and only very few know how to judge and prefer what is useful to what is harmful. And even these people have difficulty keeping their minds intact during the verbal arguments of other people. And that this matter (dispute of words) is not harmless for those who want to commit it, the law again instills in us in secret, saying: “When people fight and they hit a pregnant woman and she has a miscarriage, but there is no other harm, then take from the guilty the penalty that the husband of that woman imposes on him, and he must pay it through intermediaries; and if there is harm, then give soul for soul” (Ex. 21, 22–23). They say that the fetus in the mother’s womb becomes humanoid and takes on the appearance of our body no sooner than when it reaches forty days. That is why, they say, an excellent man, Moses, when he seemed to be reviving and transforming Israel from Egyptian error into life according to the law, abstained from food and drink: “for forty days and forty nights,” he says, “he did not eat bread or drink water” (Deut. 9:18). And for us, as we must think, Christ did and suffered the same. For in Him, through abstinence, our nature was recreated for holiness, which at first, in the person of the primordial, as a result of incontinent desire, fell ill with the filth of sin and crime. It is not without probability that we can think so. However, we will now leave the question of what the historical meaning is here; Let us consider how we should understand the fact that people accustomed to verbal disputes amaze a wife with child, because it is not unpleasant to engage in a refined study of such subjects. The fruit conceived in the mind is faith in Christ, which by perfect knowledge transforms us into the likeness of Christ and gives us the Divine image. This, I think, was expressed by those who believed in the voice of Isaiah, when they cried out with all their might: “For the sake of Thy fear, O Lord, in the womb, and in sickness, and in labor: I have made the spirit of Thy salvation upon the earth” (Is. 26:18). So, the fruit conceived in the mind, spiritual and saving, is faith in Christ, which imprints Divine traits in us. That is why the divine Paul appeals to those who foolishly came from knowledge of the more perfect to the lesser and imperfect (these were the Galatians), saying: “My children, for whom I am again in the throes of birth, until Christ is formed in you!” (Gal.4:19). For they, having begun in the spirit, then began to care about perfection according to the flesh, when they moved on to serving according to the law. For this reason, they left the image of Christ unfinished in them, as if throwing away the good that lay in them, as in the womb. So, perfection in knowledge and integrity in faith places the image of the Savior in the souls of all of us, and this is, as it were, some Divine sowing in us. Therefore, if someone is tempted by someone’s contention of words, and if then the soul, having suffered this, throws out faith with knowledge, which lies in it, as if in the womb, and is preserved inside the mind, then, he says, if it has not received an image, that is, if it is not yet perfect and beautiful, the culprit of the temptation will certainly be subject to punishment, which, he says, her husband, that is, Christ, will impose, and will give it back with approval, that is, he must testify to gratitude for the fact that he was not punished with complete destruction. If, he says, what is mentally conceived in the soul has received an image, that is, if knowledge and faith bear the likeness of Christ, then the culprit of the temptation will be subject to extreme punishment, already like a murderer; because the loss of immaculate faith and the loss of perfect knowledge is the death of the soul. Therefore, the law calls the acceptance of wicked suggestions and speeches uttered by a person who has become the devil’s food and, as it were, the food of a demonic crowd, an abomination and prohibits it, saying, as if in a riddle: “Do not eat meat torn to pieces by a beast in the field, throw it to the dogs” (Ex. 22:31). The Divine Scripture usually calls a shameless and unclean person a dog. Such a person, I think, is characterized by every word that is foul and fetid and composed by Beelzebub himself, as if by a wild beast that devours the soul that has fallen under his power and serves him in this matter, for “no one ... will utter anathema against Jesus” (1 Cor. 12:3), except from Beelzebub. And it is completely unusual for saints to take part in such shameful and deceptive thoughts and speeches: because there is no communication between light and darkness (2 Cor. 6:14). K. The Law also proclaimed that those who have received leadership and shepherds of flocks must watch; and what kind of diligence should be on our part in this matter, he makes it clear by saying in the book of Leviticus: “Do not mix your livestock with another breed; “Thou shalt not sow thy field with two kinds of seed" (Lev. 19:19). A truly governed people is quite fittingly likened to flocks of goats and sheep or to a vineyard. Therefore, the divine Peter was told: “Simon of Jonah, do you love Me...feed My lambs...feed My sheep” (John 21:15, 16). And about the children of Israel, the prophet Isaiah said: “The vines... of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah is a new garden beloved” (Is. 5:7). So, the virtue of a shepherd is not to allow an animal of any other kind to the sheep, for fear that they will have mating with him and that they will not give birth to something foreign, deviating from their natural good breed. Likewise, the winegrower, if he is prudent and tries to cultivate the land as best as possible, will never allow foreign seeds to vegetate under the very vines, for fear that there may be a lack of moisture for his plant due to the fact that it was wasted on a foreign plant. Now move from this image to the spiritual meaning: we will not agree that verbal sheep should be wickedly subjected, as it were, to the sowing of alien teachers, sowing, of course, spiritual, verbal instructions. For the fruit of dissimilar ways of thinking is very unsightly, and the speeches of those who are not of the same faith are the cause of bad embryos for those who accept them. And since we constitute a vineyard - a series of vines, we must, so to speak, be crowned with a homogeneous fruit and avoid a dual character. For there is no natural resemblance between wheat and grapes. So, truly, none of us should be a receptacle for alien seeds. K. The law shows in another way that heterogeneous things are not united, do not converge with each other and are removed from mutual communication: it presents as an image of this the very absurd and monstrous intercourse of a rational animal with an unreasonable one, with diverse and heterogeneous ones. Namely, in the book of Exodus he says: “Every cattle-breaker shall be put to death” (Ex. 22:19); It is even clearer in the book of Leviticus: “Whoever mixes with livestock must be put to death, and you must kill the livestock. If a woman goes to any cattle to have intercourse with it, then kill the woman and the cattle: they shall be put to death” (Lev. 20:15-16). For associations and, as it were, spiritual mixing and rapprochement with those with whom one should not and whose mind has weakened to the point of extreme foolishness, bring death both to those who corrupt themselves and to those who voluntarily undergo corruption. P. The law speaks very correctly and fairly. K. Another thing worthy of surprise is this. It could happen that some were seduced from right-mindedness to a perverse way of thinking as a result of unbearable violence, perhaps against their will, and succumbed to error as if out of necessity, perhaps not without tears. Therefore, the law declared it fair not to leave this kind of people neglected without help. P. What genus is this that you speak of? K. A race suppressed by the yoke of slavery and kept in the power of those who bought them. P. So in what way did the law provide help in this way? K. He frees from bonds and bondage if harm to the soul occurs, and clearly recognizes that the one subjected to violence can escape without any obstacle if he wants. In the book of Exodus, he indirectly expressed it this way: “If a man strikes his servant in the eye, or his maidservant in the eye, and hurts it, he shall let them go free for the eye; and if he knocks out a tooth of his manservant or his maidservant, let him set them free for the tooth” (Ex. 21:26-27). As for the external meaning and direct meaning of these words, the law by them puts an obstacle to insolence, brings the anger of the owners to the proper extent and does not allow it to reach such actions from which the subject could suffer the loss of their well-being. He by no means allows anger to flow unbridled and for its action to extend to nature itself, the ruler of which must be recognized only by the Creator. For slavery and the suffering associated with it is not a natural disadvantage, but was established out of greed. Therefore, in Christ, God and the Father transforms all nature into its original state: “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17), and completely destroys the shame of slavery; because Paul writes that in Christ Jesus “there is not ... a slave who is free” (Col. 3:11). But even before this, the law, leading to perfection, eliminates the unbridled power and excess of the proper measure, imposing punishment on those who despise the law - the release of those offended. But this refers to the letter and the shadow, if anyone wants to think about this too. If the purpose of the law is explained spiritually, then in another way you, Palladium, you will reach the speculations contained in it. This light, which is in the world, we perceive with our bodily eyes and marvel at it; and the Divine and intelligent light rises in our hearts. The food of the body is crushed with the teeth, and this is necessary for life; and in the Divine teachings, the solid and difficult to digest, so to speak, is crushed by the power of the mind, as if with the teeth, and therefore nourishes the soul, offering us wisdom. Divine and spiritual meal, says: “Come, eat my bread” (Proverbs 9:5). So, if harm happens to a slave regarding something of this kind, when, that is, his master goes crazy and forces him to fall from the truth of dogmas to an absurd error; then, he says, let the bonds be resolved and the forced yoke not be recognized as legitimate; let fear of power be cast aside, and the enslaved go to where he can remain unharmed. For there is nothing better than the soul; and in order to save her, let him, he says, free himself from slavery. You can see that this word is true and that it is still being fulfilled in our time; because slaves do not tolerate masters who lead them into error, valiantly refusing in this regard to obey the power that weighs on them. Although they have bowed their bodily neck under the burden of slavery, they keep their mind pure; They are convinced that a clear and unmistakable teaching about the true faith is worth a lot, or better yet, everything, and they make this teaching their spiritual food, and what they perceive with their ears, they grind with their minds, as if with their teeth, and chew the meaning of Divine thoughts. P. How clear and correct our explanation is! K. The law also accustoms us to mutual love in other ways, when it convinces us to honor harmony with our neighbors and when it abhors forms of injustice and punishes them. K. Listen. He also writes: “If someone’s ox gores his neighbor’s ox to death, let him sell the live ox and divide its price in half; also let the murdered one be divided in half; and if it was known that the ox was gore yesterday and the day before, but its owner... did not guard it, then he must pay ox for ox, and the one killed will be his” (Ex. 21:35-36). Do you see what a mystery and how the words of the law, through a very clear example, lead us to justice? If he says that it happens that someone’s ox falls, being killed by another ox, then let its owners divide the living ox among themselves, and let both of them get the killed ox; that is, if someone is inflicted any kind of violence and insult from a person who did not want to do it, then, he says, the offended person should enjoy the good of the offender and have pleasures in common with him; for this, I think, signifies the dividing of a living ox. Let, he says, the one who did not voluntarily offend, accept communication in the misfortune of the victim; this, in my opinion, is expressed in the fact that the dead ox must be divided. So, do you see how the law, still mysteriously and covertly, convinces us to live in mutual love? Truly, doesn’t this mean “Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep”? (Rom. 12:15.) K. If, he says, the offender knew well that his neighbor would suffer something serious if the offensive course of action was not stopped, then let him himself suffer the same damage as the one who suffered from him, and alone bear his misfortune. For this is mysteriously signified by the words: “let him give ox for ox; let him be dead." The matter does not end with the fact that those who offended will be deprived of their goods, but they will be subjected to the same misfortune and the suffering that happened to their neighbor will happen to them. P. How well our speech goes! K. And the divine Paul gave us a wise law regarding love for each other, saying this: “Let each one not only take care of himself, but each one also of others” (Phil. 2:4). For love “does not seek his own” (1 Cor. 13:5), but also has in mind others, and that the affairs of the brothers are in a good state. This is exactly what the ancient Scripture again hints to us in the following way: “If anyone destroys a field or vineyard, having let his cattle go to eat someone else's field, ... let him reward him with the best of his field and the best of his vineyard” (Ex. 22:5). one’s own goal, without in the least sinning or disturbing the neighbor’s complacency. It is clear that this means seeking what also concerns others. Otherwise, he says, let the one who wants to carelessly insult his brothers and is not prudent in relation to his neighbor, but has only his own benefit in mind, let him know that he will suffer corresponding damage and that the search for imaginary benefit will cause him the loss of what is most dear to him. This, I think, is what he will give “the best of his field and the best of his vineyard.” The meaning of the proposed words is applicable, as it seems to me, to the inventors of heresies, whose disciples, unclean and senseless, like dumb cattle, devastate the Lord's fields and vineyards, in condemnation and punishment of the inventors of heresies; because they will suffer the loss of the best, that is, the destruction of the soul itself. After all, the soul is immeasurably better than the vineyard, the field, and everything that only we can consider ours. P. So, we will call the fruit of love the search for what concerns others, and not just one’s own. K. Absolutely so, Palladium; and although the fulfillment of love for the brethren is very pleasing to God; but He prudently does not allow it to be burdened with unnecessary and excessive abuse of it on our part; because even if someone’s mind was well established, even if it was adorned with all kinds of virtues, it can easily be damaged when they rush at it not moderately, but with an irresistible impulse. P. What are you talking about? I don't understand this clearly. K: Don't you call meekness and patience virtues? K. However, if it happens that someone inflicts grief and insults and what anger is aroused on a person who is trying to be meek and patient, then, of course, if this is done in moderation, he will sometimes endure and courageously endure the insults and use them to practice meekness and gentleness; but if the offender goes beyond the limit and goes beyond the limits of patience, then there is nothing strange that virtue, as if overpowered, will weaken somewhat. P. You speak well, because the good in people is, as it were, in a state of intoxication and barely stands even when no one shakes it. K. Now, if you wish, move on to love itself, since it is a superior virtue and superior to all others. However, it cannot withstand strong abuse; The law again teaches us this, as if in the form of a parable and a clear example, when it says: “When you enter into your neighbor’s vineyard, you can eat the berries to your fill, as much as your soul desires, but do not put them in your vessel. When you come to your neighbor’s harvest, pluck the ears of corn with your hands, but do not bring a sickle into your neighbor’s harvest” (Deut. 23:24-25). For there is no harm in collecting a few ears of grain with your hands or picking grapes for delicacy or food. The law of love, I think, will accept this complacently, and what happened, it seems, does not exceed the limit. But to expose your neighbor’s crops to the action of a reaping iron means going over and overstepping the limits of mutual love and entering into the boundaries of covetousness. So, this example clearly shows that one should not abuse the goodwill of the brethren, but honor mutual love with moderation. By the way, I think it would be possible to apply what has been said about this to some others who, reaping, as it were, spiritual food, the speeches of those teaching in the church, pronounced under random circumstances and without preparation, do not want to stop there, but, exceeding the limit, enter them into notebooks, as if putting them into a vessel. Although they are very inquisitive, they in some way act unfairly towards the good reputation of their brothers, because what was compiled hastily, they transmit letters as if they were something very processed. But the law, most respected ones, I would tell them, clearly commanded not to put anything into the vessel. P. So, it is dangerous to use excessive use to shake the virtue of the soul and dare, so to speak, to shake a well-established mind. K: That's right. The God of all has clearly decreed that we should not plot against virtue; but only used, if it happened, the benefits that came from it. He offers a vague riddle regarding this and in the smallest objects depicts what is incomparably more excellent. Namely, in Deuteronomy it is written: “If you come across a bird’s nest on the road on any tree or on the ground, with chicks or eggs, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or on the eggs, then do not take the mother with the children: let the mother go, but take the children for yourself, so that it will be good for you and so that your days will be lengthened” (Deut. 22:6-7). P. What does this mean? The mystery is unclear to me. K: Don't you understand this clearly? That is, if someone finds a bird that is still making a nest or incubating eggs, then he can use it for his own benefit and appropriate what it produces, and he must let it go without causing any harm to it. P. Yes, exactly, because that is the idea of ​​the law. K. Now look at the hidden and, as if removing the cover of the shadow, consider the truth with your mind. Each virtue is, as it were, a mother and a source of benefits arising from it, whether it be, for example, good nature, love of poverty, meekness, long-suffering. For someone is good-natured not so much towards himself as towards others; those who need it also participate in love of poverty, likewise in meekness and long-suffering. And so each virtue can be thought of as a mother and in some way the beginning of those benefits that come from it and in it. And as it were, the nests of virtues are the souls that give birth to them and contain them within themselves. So, the law says that when meeting people in whom virtues are collected, as in a nest, one must, while gaining benefit from them, not harm virtue, the mother of the most beautiful deeds. But virtues cause harm when they are shaken in those ways that we have already spoken about. P. How deep is this mystery! K: Yes, you are correct; and we can say, like blessed Paul: “Does God care about oxen? Or, of course, is it said for us?” (1 Cor. 9:9-10.) For the words of the commandment of Moses show us images of things, and do not clearly show the things themselves. You can also see how the law little by little leads us to the disposition of the highest mutual love. He tries to convince us to love those who have offended us and to be overcoming grief at our enemies, not being overcome by evil, but rather conquering evil with good. For again in the book of Exodus he said: “If you find your enemy’s ox or his donkey lost, bring it to him; If you see your enemy’s donkey fallen under his burden, do not leave him; unload with him" (Exod. 23, 4–5); and in Deuteronomy: “When you see your brother’s ox or his sheep go astray, do not forsake them, but return them to your brother; if your brother is not close to you, or you do not know him, then take them into your house, and let them be with you until your brother looks for them, and then return them to him; So do you with his donkey, so do with his clothes, so do with every lost thing of your brother, which is lost by him and which you find; You can’t shy away from this. When you see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen on the way, do not leave them, but raise them up with him” (Deut. 22:1-4). So, you understand how excellently the law leads us to high and perfect virtue when it commands us, as it were, to exercise in forgetfulness of malice by caring for the animals of the one who has offended; He often calls him by the name of his brother, preventing this, as I think, from ardor in anger and excess in resentment and citing the law of nature, as if a judge, deciding in favor of love. If you find, he says, lost cattle or lost clothes, then save them for your brother; and if it happened that the beast of burden fell to the ground and was overwhelmed by the burden, help and lift it up. And this means nothing more than to benefit the owner, to practice mercy, to be brought up in love for one’s neighbors, to try to drive away resentment and avoid discord, so as not to violate love and the law of brotherly love. But it seems that this saying also hints at something else. For if the Lawgiver was so concerned that we should provide help even in the event that some dumb animal suffered, then wouldn’t it be much more pleasing to Him to take care of people and the mutual love that should exist between creatures of the same kind? Therefore, if it happened that even the enemy got lost, then let him learn the straight path from us and be directed by us to where he needs to go. So Christ, despite the fact that the Israelites threw stones at Him, told them: “Walk while there is light, walk in the light, lest darkness overtake you” (Jn. 12, 35). And if one of those who have offended us is oppressed by difficulties and trials and, as if thrown to the ground, is suppressed by an insurmountable need, then let, says (the law), he receive help from us and let the one who is in hostility with him rise above the insult. Isn't this the same as what is expressed in the words: “do good to those who hate you and pray for those who abuse you”? (Matthew 5:44.) K: So, it is fitting for saints to have compassion for those who suffer and not to make something that would be better to regret a reason for insult, not to attack and not direct their anger at those who are already offended. And even though someone could easily secretly carry out an act of evil, the law says very well that one must refrain from such evil deeds; he said again: “Do not curse the deaf and do not place anything before the blind to stumble him” (Lev. 19:14). Isn’t it best and most fitting for very honest people to have a bridle on their tongues, as it were, and to avoid slander regarding anything, and especially about each person: “Do not slander one another, brethren,” says the disciple of the Savior (James 4:11). But the law says: “do not slander the deaf,” with the goal, as I think, to show conjecturally that people of truly honest character must necessarily avoid inflicting offense, even if someone could easily suffer it. Thus, the deaf and blind are not free from impotence, because they suffer from physical defects and are deprived of feelings, namely sight and hearing; and the deaf man would not have heard the one who wanted to scold him, nor would the blind man have seen the one who put a stumbling block in front of him. Therefore, it is not at all difficult for someone who would like to plot against them to hide. But those who do this turn out to offend those who should rather be pitied, as already by nature subject to misfortune, when by stumbling they put a blind man in an unpleasant position, who does not know about it, and by reproaching a deaf person, as if speaking kind words to him, sometimes even makes him smile, and often harms him in the most important things. So, if someone did this, then although his treachery in relation to both would remain hidden, he would not escape the accusation of cruelty and extreme inhumanity. K. And that the ancient Revelation wants to make us friendly and compassionate, you can easily find out by hearing how it says in one place: “opening and opening” your heart to your brother who needs you (Deut. 15: 7-8), and in another like this: “Do not oppress the stranger and do not oppress him, for you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt. Do not oppress the widow or the orphan; If you oppress them, then when they cry out to Me, I will hear their cry, and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children orphans. If you lend money to the poor of My people, do not oppress him or impose an increase on him. If you take your neighbor’s clothing as a pledge, return it before the sun sets, for it is his only covering, it is the clothing of his body: what will he sleep in? So, when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am merciful” (Ex. 22:21-27). Do you hear how He, having offered a meek teaching about mutual love, also threatened with anger? He even almost justifies Himself favorably before those who will fall under His wrath if they do not try to show favor to the brethren. “For I am merciful,” he says, that is: being good by nature and merciful like God, I will certainly accept the cry of the victim and will immediately be moved to compassion by the tears of those oppressed by poverty. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the poor man from complaining. That one should be sociable and recognize the love of poverty as worthy of priority care, He again exhorts this in Deuteronomy, saying: “Thou shalt not wrong the hired hand, the poor and the needy, one of thy brethren, or one of thy strangers who are in thy land, in thy gates; give him his wages that same day, so that the sun does not set first, for he is poor, and his soul is waiting for her; so that he does not cry out against you to the Lord, and there is no sin on you” (Deut. 24:14-15). Do you understand that He urges you to fear the cry of the poor, encouraging you to love each other? And the new Scripture given by Christ, introducing perfect virtue, says: “Sell your possessions and give alms,” and then everything will be prosperous for you (Luke 12:33, 31). This is what some of those who believed did: they brought the price of lands and houses, “and laid them at the feet of the Apostles; and to each one was given whatever he needed” (Acts 4:34–35). But since the law is a teacher of simple teachings and leads only to the rudiments of the words of God, it prescribes, as it were, some preliminary exercise on the way to this - non-envy in small things; therefore he says: “When you reap in your field and forget the sheaf in the field, do not return to take it; let it remain for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you pluck your olive tree, do not leave behind the branches: let it remain for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow.... When you harvest the fruits of your vineyard, do not gather the remains for yourself: let it remain for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow; and remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt: therefore I command you to do this” (Deut. 24:19-22). For it is good in joy to remember past sorrows and sufferings: this encourages love of poverty and does not allow, with an excess of prosperity, to forget about the disasters associated with poverty. K. Look also how skillfully and subtly the law weans us from evil and convinces us not to allow heartlessness, but leads to the best and directs us to the disposition of mutual love. On the one hand, he encourages them to lend to their brothers if they need anything, and on the other hand, he forbids taking interest and commands them to avoid excessive acquisitions. Having commanded, in addition, not to be picky and persistent towards debtors, he commands that debts be forgiven. And he writes like this: “Do not give your brother silver, bread, or anything else that can be given at interest; Give to a foreigner at interest, but do not give to your brother at interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything that is done with your hands in the land where you are going to take possession of it” (Deut. 23:19-20). As for the will of the Lawgiver, His purpose was that those who have an abundance, without stinginess, should show favor and good deeds to both strangers and brothers. “Give to everyone who asks you,” says Christ, “and do not demand back from the one who took what you have” (Luke 6:30). since the mind of the ancients was not very strong in justice, so that it could impeccably do good, then the law, guiding towards this, moves forward little by little and sets the measure of a fair course of action in relation to brothers and relatives, and the perfection of mercy, generosity towards strangers, sociability with everyone is observed for the most perfect education; for “until the time of correction” (Heb. 9:10) the shadows continued, and this time was the time of Christ’s coming. K. Having thus commanded to lend, limiting excessive acquisition and promising blessing to those who decide to do this, the law commands to forgive debts after seven years and thereby honor the time of general forgiveness, that is, the coming of Christ, in which we are all justified by faith, having received the forgiveness of previous sins; since He nailed to His cross the handwriting that was against us and removed the accusation against us before the Judge (Col. 2:14). He (the law) says this in Deuteronomy: “In the seventh year you shall make forgiveness. Forgiveness consists in this: that every creditor who has lent to his neighbor forgives the debt and does not collect it from his neighbor or from his brother, for forgiveness is proclaimed for the sake of the Lord...; Collect it from the foreigner, and forgive what is yours from your brother. Unless you have a beggar: for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that you can take it as an inheritance, if you only listen to the voice of the Lord your God and try to keep all these commandments that I am commanding you today.” And a little later he says again: “If there is a beggar among you, one of your brothers, in one of your dwellings, in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you, then do not harden your heart and do not close your hand against your poor brother, but open your hand to him and lend him, depending on his need, what he needs; Beware lest the lawless thought enter into your heart: “The seventh year is approaching, the year of forgiveness,” and lest therefore your eye become unkind to your poor brother, and you refuse him; for he will cry out against you to the Lord, and sin will be upon you; give to him [loan...] and when you give to him, your heart should not grieve, for for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in everything that will be done with your hands" (Deut. 15: 1-5, 7-10). “Each one should give according to the determination of his heart, not grudgingly...,” he says, “for God loves a cheerful giver,” according to the words of Blessed Paul (2 Cor. 9:7). P. But how does this seventh year signify the coming of our Savior, in which the time was announced or the type of redemption was accomplished for all people? K: Don’t you remember what we said above, namely, that Divine Scripture usually compares the entire continuation of the present age to a week, due to the circular return of days to the beginning? The end of the week is Saturday, and the eighth day immediately following it brings us with the Resurrection of Christ, as it were, a new beginning of the century. K. So, Christ came, according to the Scriptures, at the end of the present age and, as it were, on the Sabbath, when He absolved all who were bound by the bonds of their sins and who owed Him an account of the crime. Therefore, in the Gospels, He likens us to debtors, saying: “A certain creditor had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty, but since they had nothing to pay, he forgave them both” (Luke 7:41-42). And besides, outlining for us an image of prayer, he says: “Pray like this: ... Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:9-12). So, indirectly and fortune-telling, the law revealed to us the Divine secret, commanding us to make atonement after seven years; and He introduces us to the path of goodness, teaching love for brothers to be considered better than wealth and convincing us to “be generous and sociable” (1 Tim. 6:18), setting love for one’s brother and neighbor as a kind of exercise in a higher sense of compassion for everyone. P. Yes. I agree with you because what you say is excellent. K. But if you find out even more, Palladium, you will be surprised. K. The law wants us to achieve such goodness and love for each other that we do not consider anything equivalent to love for our brethren; - so we yielded to them and so courageously endured their reluctance in order to overcome anger, even though in relation to us they were not what they should be and seem to be, and decided to upset us with the lack of tender love. And you have this image in the book of Numbers. “And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the King of Edom [to say], “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardships that befell us; our fathers went over to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt for a long time, and the Egyptians did evil to us and to our fathers; and we cried to the Lord, and He heard our voice, and sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt; and behold, we are in Kadesh, the city at your very border; let us pass through your land: we will not go through the fields and through the vineyards, and we will not drink water from [your] wells; But Edom said to him, “Do not pass through me, otherwise I will come out against you with the sword.” And the children of Israel said to him: We will go by the high road, and if we drink of your water, I and my cattle, then I will pay for it; I can only walk with my feet, which costs nothing. But he said: don't go through. And Edom came out against him with a great people and a strong hand. So Edom did not agree to allow Israel to pass through its borders, and Israel went away from it” (Num. 20, 14-21). You hear how those who came from the tribe of Israel, having very opportunely counted the disasters suffered in Egypt and mentioned in detail the types of this proud dominion, modestly asked for nothing unprofitable mercy that did not contain any kind of mercy, almost trying to make a kindred people their ally (for he came from Esau, the brother of Jacob). But those who should have been merciful and allowed them to do what they recognized as useful and profitable for themselves, were exposed in the deeds themselves as cruel, insensitive and ignorant of compassion: for they blocked their path, although the people (Israel) clearly said that they would not only not harm the vineyards or the fruitfulness of their fields, but would not draw water for free; and he (i.e. Edom), if the Israelites did not want to give up their demand, not only threatened to attack, but had already armed themselves and stood in line with the entire army. But what does Israel have to do with this? He was above cowardice. For “avoid,” it is said, “from him,” avoiding quarrels with brothers and honoring the law of close kinship with extreme patience. Or do you think that this is not so? K: So, we must think that suppressing indignation, and curbing anger, and proportioning punishment to the sins of each, and, moreover, giving correct and completely impeccable judgments about each is the fruit and work of love for brothers. K. So, you have an opportunity, if you want, to listen again to the speaker in one place: “Have no malice against the sons of your people” (Lev. 19:18); in another place again: “If there is litigation between people, then let them bring them to court and judge them, let them acquit the right one, and condemn the guilty one; and if the guilty person is worthy of beating, then let the judge order to put him down and beat him with him, depending on his fault, according to the count; You can give him forty blows, and no more, so that from many blows your brother will not be disfigured before your eyes” (Deut. 25: 1-3). P. But what reason do we have for giving the condemned only forty strokes? And how, explain to me, does a greater number put some to shame? K. In many ways, through the ancient commandment, the sacrament of Christ is beautifully depicted before us and, as it were, a saving passion is depicted for us, in which and through which we are freed from everything that had the power to cause evil and plunged us into incurable disasters. And, as I said recently, the forgiveness of debtors that occurs after seven years mysteriously points to the time of forgiveness of all, for we are justified in Christ and taught to say in prayers to the Father and God in heaven: “forgive us our debts”; - so here, too, the achievement of forty blows in punishment with scourges for those who beat or are beaten indicates the most desired time for us of the dispensation of the Only Begotten with the flesh, at which time “by His stripes we were healed” (Is. 53:5; cf. 1 Pet. 2, 24) “He was wounded for our sins and tormented for our iniquities” (Is. 53: 5), when the Israelis boldly reviled Him and Pilate struck His back, but we were exempt from punishment and punishment, for in ancient times there were “many wounds to the sinner,” according to what is written (Ps. 31: 10); but Christ was the scourge for us: because just as He died for all, so He was the scourge for all, being alone equal to all. Having divided the forty-day number into five eight, you will find the number both five and eight useful for designating this time, for the Only Begotten came in the fifth part of the time, according to the Gospel parable (Matthew 20:1-16): someone hired laborers in a vineyard, going out about the first, third and sixth, ninth and eleventh hours; He rose again on the 8th day, destroying the power of death and destroying with it the mother of corruption brought from outside, that is, sin, with the destruction of which scourging is necessarily abolished, as well as punishments for it. Therefore, the law does not allow the blows to go beyond the number forty, thereby establishing, as it were, a measure of punishment until the coming of Christ, and indicating the time of remission: for the images contain the beauty of truth. You should also know that Israel, having offended God, wandered in the desert for forty years: because God swore with an oath not to lead them into the land of promise. And this was the limit of their wrath; when this time passed, the anger ceased, and their descendants crossed the Jordan and entered the land, and the indignation did not pass beyond the fortieth year. So this event is clearly illustrated by the infliction of up to forty blows on some, because the time that followed was a time of absolution, bringing us the mysterious crossing of the Jordan and stone knives, that is, circumcision in the spirit and the leadership of Jesus: for Christ became our leader, after Moses and the law. K. So, in order for judicial cases to be resolved correctly and incorruptibly and types of greed to be destroyed, “judges and overseers...,” it is said, “so that they judge the people with righteous judgment; do not pervert the law, do not look at faces and do not take gifts, for gifts blind the eyes of the wise and distort the work of the righteous” (Deut. 16:18-19): for the law considered it necessary, and quite rightly, that those appointed to judge should be above the passions of greed and, out of love for anyone, would not allow a violation of the duty to act correctly and impeccably; but so that, rejecting deviation in another direction as an impious thing, and weighing each case in accordance with the law, they imitate the Judge of all, that is, Christ, about whom the law itself clearly foretold, recognizing Him as God and Judge. He also said in this way: “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and take possession of it, and settle in it, and say: “I will set a king over me, like the rest of the nations that are around me,” then set over you a king whom the Lord your God will choose; Set a king over you from among your brothers; You cannot place a foreigner over you [king] who is not your brother” (Deut. 17:14-15): for we must flee as far as possible from the service of creatures other than the Creator God, bow to the words of truth and call, as it were, to the holy land, that is, to the promise of God through faith in Christ; and thus set over ourselves the prince and judge of the Son born of God, although He appears in the flesh, He says about us: “I have anointed My King over Zion, My holy mountain; I will proclaim the decree” (Ps. 2:6-7). We, of course, will not accept anyone else but Him, and we will not substitute the yoke of foreigners on our necks: “You have only one Teacher, Christ” (Matthew 23:8). The unfortunate Jews remain outside because of unbelief and did not at all accept Christ as the prince and judge, although He came from heaven by the will and good pleasure of God the Father, but moreover, they even chose as their ruler a foreign man, the son of perdition, that is, the Antichrist, a foreigner and foreigner and not descended from the blood of Israel, although the law clearly stated: “You cannot place over yourself [king] of a foreigner who is not your brother” (Deut. 17:15). They also heard Christ Himself saying: “I came in the name of My Father, and you do not receive Me; but if another comes in his own name, you will receive him” (John 5:43): for Christ came to the glory of God the Father. But in due time the son of iniquity will come, not to the glory of God the Father, for this, I think, is what it means: “in the name of the Father,” but having placed the name of the Divine on his head, the unfortunate one: for he will sit in the house of God, “showing himself to be God” (2 Thess. 2:4). But the Jews would never have worshiped him and would not have accepted him as Christ if they had kept the law, for it clearly foretold that Christ would come from the race of Israel. They, having rejected this as something dilapidated, will accept a person who is alien and foreign. P. So, “they will eat the fruits of their ways” (Proverbs 1:31) and will suffer the punishment worthy of their shameful recklessness. K. You said it right; For God, who judges righteously, will reward everyone according to his work. And we have said enough about this. To those appointed to judge others and placed in the seat proper for judges, the law still calls: “Do not listen to empty rumors..., do not follow the majority to evil, and do not decide litigation by departing from the truth for the majority” (Ex. 23, 1-2). And after a few words, then again: “Do not misjudge the suit of your poor. Depart from unrighteousness” (Ex. 23:6-7): for it is most fitting for those who have the power to judge to be impeccable in speech, and it is necessary for the one who must pass judgment on each of the subjects of accusation, according to the definition of the Lawgiver, to speak the truth. This is also usefully added: “And do not condone the needy’s troubles” (Exod. 23:3): for when the person being judged is not rich, then it is convenient and easy for those judging to lean on two sides; because, on the one hand, it is easy to offend a person oppressed by poverty, and on the other hand, sometimes poverty is not enough to incline him to violate the requirements of justice, arousing the milder of the judges to mercy. So, the law prohibits both oppression and showing compassion to those in poverty and misfortune, preserving intact the beauty of righteous judgment and placing the judge everywhere as the guardian of justice: for “seek righteousness, righteousness,” he says (Deut. 16:20), because to offend the law, even if it seems that there is something good in it, in justice does not seem sinless. So, genuine goodness needs art, and untimely mercy will not escape the charge of offending the law. Therefore, he corrects those caught in lighter offenses with the shame of scourging. Look how servile this work is and unworthy of a free man; but do not be surprised, for there was a spirit of slavery in them (Rom. 8:15). Because of this, punishment by blows is no longer connected with the commandments given through Christ, as in ancient times - with the law, but is offered more appropriate to the free: brilliant and worthy of acceptance gifts, firstfruits and promises of spiritual blessings, and blessings due for good deeds, and no longer a threat, but rather exhortations to virtue. For Moses spoke to the ancients as to slaves, as a servant and fellow servant; Christ is with his sons, as the Son, and as with brothers by adoption, being truly and undoubtedly the Son who came from God the Father. K. The law punishes a murderer with death, and restrains unbridled insolence with retribution of an equal, and punishes unbearable rage with intolerable punishment and extreme disasters, having carefully tested the intention of the actor in advance; and if the crime was committed voluntarily, then mercy will be taken away. He also does not allow love for one another to be put to shame, weakened by untimeliness and its application to that for which it is least needed, reduced, as it were, to effeminacy: for he said this: “If anyone intends to kill his neighbor treacherously... then take him from My altar to die” (Ex. 21:14). If the harm suffered by the victim of violence from the beating only reaches the point of exhaustion, then he moderates the punishment and commands that the harm be paid for with money, for he also said this: “When they quarrel... and one person hits the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die, but goes to bed, then if he gets up and leaves the house with the help of a stick, the one who hit will not be guilty of death; just let him pay for stopping his work and give him for his treatment” (Ex. 21, 18-19). The law commands this; The Savior, proposing the law of the most perfect Virtue, says: “whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matthew 5:39, cf. Luke 6:29). Regarding slaves, the law stipulates the following: “if someone hits his slave or his maidservant with a stick, and they die under his hand, then he must be punished; but if they survive a day or two, then he should not be punished, for this is his silver” (Ex. 21:20-21). So, he punishes excessive anger with death: for God did not allow those in our power and under our yoke to be deprived of their very lives simply because we, due to dominance, became their masters. But he urges to combine mercy with anger, defining the highest punishment for the murderer: “if they survive a day or two days,” he says, “then they should not punish him, for this is his silver: for he almost says this: what happened to the victim, after he has somehow recovered from the injury, is no longer a matter of the anger of the one who beat him; because no one would want to lose his own slave, whom he bought with silver and acquired by giving money for him. But if someone were an involuntary murderer, then the law determines to punish him with eternal exile, dissolving punishment with moderate love for humanity and very prudently not placing the involuntary crime on the same level as voluntary crimes. He ordered the separation of three cities, which he called refuges (Deut. 4:41ff); This is where he exiles those escaping from unwitting crimes. And he again determines the time of release, even for these who are in such an unfortunate situation, namely, the death of the highest and main priest. He writes in this way in the book of Numbers: “If he pushes him accidentally, without enmity, or throws something at him without intent, or some stone from which one could die without seeing it drops on him so that he dies, but he was not his enemy and did not wish him harm, then the community must judge between the murderer and the avenger of blood according to these regulations; and the community must save the murderer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the community must return his community to the city of his refuge, where he fled, so that he may live there until the death of the great priest, who is anointed with the sacred oil” (Num. 35, 22-25). And then a few words later: “and after the death of the great priest the murderer was to return to the land of his possession” (Num. 35:28). P. So, the end of exile for them is the death of the priest we just named. K: This is the outer covering for the images; and within the shadows is contained the mystery of Christ. K. Perhaps it is not unreasonable, Palladius, to think about those bound by the bonds of sin that they are, as it were, murderers of their own souls and that they fell to such an unhappy state not voluntarily, but as if they were forced to commit a crime and insult God, “because the thought of the heart of man is evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21) and by virtue of the law that prevails in the life of the flesh (Rom. 7:23–25 ) uncontrollable lust. Therefore, the unfortunate soul of man was punished by expulsion from the world and from the body and, having settled, as it were, in some city of refuge, in the inner regions of death, it remained there for long times and was barely released when Christ died, the Great Priest, who, having suffered death for all, descended into hell, opened the doors to those in the underworld and freed them from their bonds, saying to the prisoners: “Come out,” and to those in darkness: “Show yourself”” (Is. 49:9). K. Encouraging the ancients to gain glory for themselves not in just one kind of virtue, but to be adorned with all types of it and to act as best as possible, “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17), the law and marriage unions agree with the requirements of honesty and clearly determine how they must be performed in order to be blameless before God and people. Therefore, he completely casts out fornication and uncleanness, and eliminates sodomy and adultery as far as possible, saying in the book of Leviticus: “And you shall not lie with your neighbor’s wife, so as to shed seed and become defiled with her. Do not lie with a man as with a woman: this is an abomination” (Lev. 18, 20, 22). That such shameful deeds, he says, carry their own condemnation in themselves and that there is a lot of evil in them, this can be seen without difficulty, and it does not take many words to convict people who have reached such abomination that they have such a shameful and absurd reputation from themselves and from their very nature - an accusation. Therefore, omitting this, he examines what is done legally and not contrary to reason, saying in Deuteronomy: “If a man takes a wife and becomes her husband, and she does not find favor in his eyes, because he finds something nasty in her, and writes her a letter of divorce, and gives it into her hands, and sends her out of his house, and she leaves his house and goes and marries another husband, but this last husband also hates her and writes to her. a bill of divorce, and will give her in her hands, and let her leave his house, or this last husband of hers, who took her as his wife, will die, then her first husband, who sent her away, cannot take her again as his wife, after she has been defiled, for this is an abomination to the Lord... and do not defame the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance” (Deut. 24:1-4): because she has separated from her husband by It is unsafe to make a person who has suffered dishonor from another a lawful concubine, and even moreover, it is completely insane; for “hold...,” it is said, “the adulterer is foolish and wicked” (Proverbs 18:23). And just as he forbids taking pleasure in what is clearly shameful and indisputably condemned, so, on the other hand, he does not allow slandering the honest as dishonorable: because it is equally sinful to honor with tender love that which it would be better to avoid, and to deprive one of one’s favor of that which is shameful to avoid: for “woe,” it is said, “to those who call evil good, and good evil, who regard darkness as light, and light - darkness, bitter is considered sweet, and sweet is considered bitter! (Isa.5, 20). So, he does not allow the person who has been released to be taken back to him, but, on the other hand, he does not allow harm to be caused by word and to someone who has not yet been exposed. He also said this: “If someone takes a wife and goes in to her and hates her, and brings evil deeds against her, and spreads a bad rumor about her, and says: “I took this wife and went in to her, and did not find virginity in her,” then let the father of the girl and her mother take and bring the signs of the virginity of the girl to the elders of the city, to the gate; and the father of the maiden will say to the elders: I gave my daughter as a wife to this man, and [now] he hated her, and behold, he is inciting [her] vicious deeds, saying: “I have not found virginity in your daughter.” but here are the signs of my daughter’s virginity. And they will spread out the clothes before the elders of the city. Then let the elders of that city take the man and punish him, and impose a hundred shekels of silver as a fine on him and give him to the father of the damsel, because he spread a bad rumor about the maiden of Israel; Let her remain his wife, and he cannot divorce her for the rest of his life” (Deut. 22:13-19). So, you understand that he ordered the release from the court, not completely unpunished, of those who had unjustly despised the one who had not yet been convicted: because, I think, one should most of all respect what is good and not, in satiety, pursue what one likes, deciding to slander the honest as dishonorable; but on the contrary, try with all your might to embrace everything that is beautiful and to love cohabitation with the most excellent in good fame. For he who does not allow his actions to be neglected perfectly achieves the goal of his actions. And that we should be like that, the law showed this too, proclaiming: “If you are going to build a new house, then make a railing near your roof, so that you don’t bring blood to your house when someone falls from it” (Deut. 22:8): because just as an ugly house is devoid of a cornice and roof railings placed on it, in the same way, I think, every good deed of ours is completely wrong if it is not brought to fruition. an end befitting him; and not only this, but danger also threatens those who are negligent. This means, I think, the fall of someone from home: for woe, it is said, to those who do “the work of the Lord with negligence” (Jer. 48:10). So, in how countless ways does the law lead us to something useful! And yet he does not offer food suitable for men and more solid, but with milk he feeds the ancients, as if they were infants, little by little leading them to the mystery of Christ: for that the law is spiritual and from the side of shadow and images is, as it were, not edible and not useful for spiritual food, but it will be so if it is applied to the contemplation of the Gospel and to the mystery of Christ, you will clearly understand this from what was written about this by the wise Moses. He said in the book of Leviticus: “When you come into the land [that the Lord God will give you], and plant any fruit tree, then consider its fruit uncircumcised: for three years you must consider it uncircumcised; you must not eat it; and in the fourth year all its fruits should be dedicated to the feasts of the Lord; in the fifth year you may eat its fruit and gather for yourselves all its produce. I am the Lord your God" (Lev. 19:23-25): for the writings of Moses seem to us to be like the most fruitful gardens, containing within themselves a variety of growths of commandments and being adorned, like trees, with laws for every occasion. But on each tree, “cleanse,” it is said, “its uncleanness,” that is, cut off the uselessness of history and remove, as it were, the wood of the letter and go to the very core of the plant, that is, carefully examine the inner fruit of the commanded thing, and eat it. But “its fruit,” it is said, “for three years they must be considered uncircumcised; they must not be eaten.” A year is put here instead of a long period, because there were three first times in which the law was still unclean, burdened with the thickness of history and, as if with useless bark, covered with shade. There were, I say, three times: the time of Moses, Joshua (Joshua) and the Judges; the time after them was the fourth, in which the bright face of the holy prophets arose. Then the fruit of the law became “holy and praiseworthy”: for with the holy prophets began the abolition of what was contained in the law and even the name of what was contained, as it were, in the canopy, but the obvious preaching of the truth and the praise of the mystery of the coming of Christ. Following them, the Forerunner appeared, crying out and saying: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). So, in the fourth time, the beginning was made of the purification of what was contained in the law, and the fruit was already, as it were, holy. However, he became fit to eat only at the fifth time - the time of the coming of Christ, attested by the law and the prophets. Therefore it is said: the fruit thereof shall be your gain; for in addition to gospel sermons, teaching in the law, leading to spiritual contemplation, is very useful for inquisitive people; so the Savior said: “a scribe who is taught in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a master who brings out of his treasury new and old” (Matthew 13:52), calling the Gospel new, and old that which is contained in the law and which abundantly supplies us with knowledge in Christ. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Book 9. About the holy tabernacle, that it was an image of the Church of Christ So, the praise of love for the brethren is very obvious, and through both the law is accomplished. And everyone who has achieved such glory will be bright and worthy of wonder and will stand among those closest to God when Christ calls and says: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful in small things, I will put you over many things; enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21): for he will truly ascend, and very easily, into heavenly Jerusalem and will live in heavenly abodes, enjoying blessings that surpass mind and word. The prophet Isaiah says the same thing: “Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful dwelling, an unshakable tabernacle; its pillars will never be torn out, and not one of its cords will be broken” (Is. 33:20): “the image of this world passes away,” according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 7:31). The hope for the future is very firm and completely unshakable. But “for all who are destroyed,” as the Savior’s disciple also confirmed, “how it behooves us” to turn out to be holy and blameless before Him, giving honor to Him with spiritual sacrifices, as the Savior and Redeemer, and leading a holy and excellent life and in accordance with the gospel laws? Without a doubt, this life, so honest and worthy of wonder, was outlined by the ancient law, commanding the slaughter of small livestock, bloody offerings, dedicating tithes and firstfruits to God, and also thanksgiving sacrifices. But he only decreed that all this should not be done outside the holy tabernacle. The chosen race of Levites was dedicated to God, presenting to us in this an image of ourselves: for we too are called in the Divine Scriptures: “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people taken for an inheritance” (1 Pet. 2:9). Let us also enter into the true tabernacle, “which the Lord pitched, and not man” (Heb. 8:2), that is, into the Church, not propitiating the Creator of all with bulls and goats, but adorning ourselves with a right and undefiled faith and mentally incense spiritual fruit offerings into the aroma of fragrance: “for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Heb. 13:16), and: “and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth,” according to the word of the Savior (John 4:24). Palladium. You said it right. That we must gain glory for ourselves through sacrifices superior to those of the law, this I also affirm, for I agree with you. Just tell me, wasn’t the ancient tabernacle erected in the desert as a prototype of the Church of the pagans, revealing, as it were, the hitherto unclear beauty of the truest tabernacle? Kirill. Absolutely so. I also recently said that in the correct election of those descended from the blood of Levi for the priesthood, there was again an image of those called in faith to a holy and blameless life, that is, life in Christ. P. So, would you like us to say something a little about the holy tabernacle and about the legal priesthood, so that our word will explore what is holyly decreed on both subjects? K. This matter is not easy: because, I think, we will need long work and feat in order to be able to understand this and present it. But if you like, let’s get started, with God’s help; for you heard Him say clearly: “Who gave man a mouth? who makes one dumb, or deaf, or sighted, or blind? Am I not the Lord? therefore go, and I will be at your mouth” (Exodus 4:11–12). P. So proceed, having in this case also the Giver of wisdom as your assistant. K. I truly begin and will speak, carefully summing up the evidence of the Holy Scriptures: for God, the Creator of all, descended in the form of fire on Mount Sinai and gave laws according to which it became possible to direct each of the actions so that it was correct and pure. Then, leading them (the Jews) away from their previous error and placing them as far as possible from the false Egyptian service, He said to Moses, then the mediator: “Thus say...,” He said, “to the children of Israel: you have seen how I spoke to you from heaven; Do not make silver gods or gold gods before Me” (Ex. 20:22-23): for He did not allow false gods to serve; commands us to be committed to the One, who comes from above and from heaven and who rules over everything in essence, having glory not in material splendor, but in what heaven has shown to belong to Him. It was in some way necessary that those who received the command to move away from ancient wickedness and bad service should directly switch to another custom and, as it were, take on some kind of yoke - service to Him who is by nature God: for the unbridled mind is uncontrollable and is very capable of deviating into everything most inappropriate; when fear and anxiety threaten, then without any difficulty he switches to the straight path and inclines toward what is useful. since through the Son we come to the Father, for “no one comes to the Father,” He says, “except through Me” (John 14:6), it was necessary that He should define the very access through the Son and the types of fruit bearing in Him by law, saying: “Make Me an altar of earth and offer on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I place a memorial of My name, I will come to you and bless you; But if you make an altar for Me from stones, then do not build it from hewn stones, for as soon as you lay your adze on them, you will defile them” (Ex. 20:24-25). He calls Emmanuel an earthen altar; for “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14). The earth from the earth is the nature of the flesh (cf. Gen. 2:7, 3:19). Thus, in Christ, every fruit-bearing and every bringing to God is accomplished: for He Himself says: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5): for just as “through Him we have access to both” (Eph. 2:18), so every sacrifice of those who have accepted faith through Him is acceptable (Phil. 4:18). He promises those who have built an altar from the earth His coming and blessing, saying: “I will come to you and bless you”: because to us, who through the wise Moses received images of truth, in time the Truth itself shone forth, that is, Christ, through Whom and in Whom we were enriched with blessing from above and from the Father, sealed for sonship in the Holy Spirit; but this too is accomplished again in Christ (Eph. 1:5). “If you make me an altar of stones,” he says, “then do not build it of hewn stones.” He does not allow stones dedicated to God to be cut with iron, because Christ was the chosen stone, the chief cornerstone, the honorable one (1 Pet. 2:4, 6), not wounded by sins, unable to suffer blows from the devil, not divided between God and the world; and although he became flesh, he was completely holy, inseparable, after an ineffable union or communion with the flesh, into God especially and man especially, but one and the same God and man remained, for He was by no means “divided,” as the wise Paul writes (1 Cor. 1:13). P. So, an altar made of earth, as well as unhewn stones, mean, in the sense you indicated, Christ? K. That’s right: for “the law is spiritual,” according to the Scriptures (Rom. 7:14). When God divinely foreshadowed the mystery of Christ and access through Him (to the Father), then, and only then, did He intend to foretell the image of the Church. He called Moses and Jesus with him to Mount Sinai. And understand from this that the Father is accessible to the holy prophets themselves through the Son; because Moses and Jesus go up together: for it is written: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they shall make me an offering; From every person who has zeal, accept offerings to Me. These are the offerings that you must accept from them: gold, and silver, and copper, and blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and fine linen, and goats..., and red rams' skins, and blue skins, and shittim wood... onyx stones, and set stones for the ephod and for the breastplate. And they will build a sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell in the midst of them; everything... as I show you, both the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its vessels; do so” (Ex. 25, 1–5, 7–9). Do you see how He encourages the people to willingly, according to their strength and disposition, bring useful and very necessary things for the organization of the Church? For He did not only demand gold or that which, perhaps, is difficult for many to obtain, but also goats’ hair and the skins of rams, showing that even small and cheap things, if the one who decides to make an offering does not have anything more expensive, is not rejected by God, but is either valued on an equal basis with the most precious, or even receives greater praise; As you know, Christ did not ignore the widow in Jerusalem, who contributed to the treasury something small and easily obtained, but perhaps great for those in extreme poverty, for whom, of course, donating a very cheap thing is a burden. After receiving the first fruits, “they will build a sanctuary for Me,” he says, “and I will dwell among them,” because Christ appears in the Church and shines on those who dwell in it, according to what is written in the Psalms: “God is the Lord, and He has appeared to us” (Ps. 117:27). Pay attention to how He, having descended onto the mountain in the form of fire and appearing to all the people - for so it is written - says, however, as one who has not yet appeared: “I will dwell in the midst of them” when the sanctuary is erected: because, it seems, he almost cries out clearly that these visions were the sepia of the true vision of God. The true testimony is Christ, in whom we have seen the Father Himself. Likewise, He denounced the Jews, who thought that they had truly seen the God of all on Mount Sinai, insanely convinced of this, saying: “You have never heard His voice, nor seen His face; and you do not have His word abiding in you, because you do not believe Him whom He sent” (John 5:37-38). So, “I will dwell,” he says, “in the midst of them,” when the sanctuary is erected. And it was the image of the Church, which came into being in the likeness of the one above, for He says: “all...as I show you, both the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its vessels; do so" (Exod. 25:9): because the blessed Moses was shown the image, as I said, of the holy churches and He Himself, in many different ways, as if depicted in the canopy, having become man for our sake. And about each of the images there could be a great and lengthy speech and full of subtlety. since some things are characteristic and appropriate to the structure of what was, and others tend to the use of intuition, then we will talk about what is useful for this, omitting the other. P. I don’t understand what you’re saying. K. So pay attention to what I will say: for you will understand and, I think, very easily. He commanded that the ark should be made of rotting wood, and covered inside and outside with pure gold and contain the so-called “testimonies (revelation)” (Ex. 25:16), that is, the law (written) on boards (tablets). And this does not end with its structure; because He commands that the ark should again be made of rotting wood, equally gilded, gold and rings and outlines all around. And He determined the length, and the width, and the height of this work of art. But if anyone would like to very carefully examine the mysterious meaning of such things, he may perhaps find what the ark means and the “testimonies” contained in it, and what was the need for the rotting trees. contours, rings and wore, then he will find this matter difficult. Not being able to apply a mysterious meaning to these things, he may begin to say unnecessary things and burden the ears of the most inquisitive with many thoughtless words. What we have said is true not only in relation to the ark, but, I would add, also in relation to other things that He commanded to be done. P. It seems to me that you are reasoning and speaking beyond doubt. Therefore, having omitted what you say relates to the proportionality, use or decoration of what was done, hasten to move on to what is necessary for contemplation, that is, explain without delay how Christ Himself is signified for us through what is shown or arranged. K: So, as far as possible, I will try to understand and explain; If I deviate from the truth and reach the height of the conceivable less than I should, then be lenient: for looking in the mirror and fortune-telling (1 Cor. 13:12) sometimes leads even a careful and wise mind astray. K. The ark for us, Palladius, is the image and likeness of Christ, because, considering the image of the incarnation of the Only Begotten, we will see the Word born from the Father dwelling, as it were, in an ark, in a church received from the Virgin: for “in Him dwells all the fulfillment of the Divinity bodily,” according to the Scriptures (Col. 2:9). The Word of God was represented by the “testimonies” contained in the ark. The wood of the ark was rotten, but it was decorated with pure and tested gold inside and out: because the Body of Christ is incorruptible, by the power and lightness of the Word dwelling in it and by the life-giving nature and action of the Holy Spirit, as if by some kind of gold, held in incorruption. Therefore, it is said about Christ that He gives life (John 5:21), for the Word born of God the Father, being by nature life (John 1:4, 5:26), by the power of His spirit Himself gave life to His church, placing it above corruption: for His flesh “saw no corruption,” according to the word of St. Paul (Acts 13:7, 2:31). He Himself also cried out to the Jews about His Body: “Destroy this church, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Peter also says that He “was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit” (1 Pet. 3:18). So, gold is a symbol of the most luminous Divinity, as if anointing the holy body and inexpressibly putting His own lordship and incorruptibility into it, so that the majestic and mind-surpassing nature is recognized as one and in itself: for if the righteous in time “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43), then what will be the glory of Christ Himself? Will this radiance be beyond all reason and words? Those who supported the ark were of gold, and wore gold and rings and everything in it: for everyone around Him (that is, Christ) participated in this glory and, as it were, attached to Him in love and sanctification and served for His benefit. Such were the blessed disciples who received from Him divine power and through participation in it were enriched by the light of the highest superiority, and therefore performed Divine signs. K. And besides the ark, “Make,” he says, “also a lid of pure gold: its length is two cubits and a half, and its width is one and a half cubits; and make two cherubs of gold: with hammered work, make them on both ends of the lid; make one cherub on one edge, and the other cherub on the other edge; protruding from the lid, make cherubs on both and there will be cherubim with their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces will be towards each other: the faces of the cherubim will be towards the mercy seat. And put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and put in the ark the testimony that I will give you; I will command the children of Israel through you” (Ex. 25:17–22). P. Then, what do you think purification means? K. As for the letter and the canopy, it was made of pure gold and placed on the ark that lay under it: for that is why it is called a cover. Those who turned to him and looked at him, adorned with the glory of the priesthood, seemed to turn to God and look at Him. If we understand spiritually, then we will say that purification (ίλαστήριον) is Him who became man for our sake, “whom God offered as a sacrifice of propitiation in His blood through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness” (Rom. 3:25): for so says Paul. John, the wisest disciple, also writes to us in his Epistle: “My children! I write this to you so that you will not sin; and if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; He is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1-2): for through Him there is cleansing and all prayer and asking for good things: because "Until now,” He says, “you have asked nothing in My name” (John 16:24); “ask and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7). So, He Himself is the purgatory: for through Him the Father is merciful to us and in Him every limit of prayer ceases, and through Him we come (to the Father), being accepted in no other way. That is why he says: “I am the way” (John 14:6) and: “I am the door” (John 10:9) and: “no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). However, although the only-begotten Word of God became like us, having reduced Himself to humanity and exhaustion, yet it is by nature characteristic of Him to be conceived in divine glory, and to dwell in the highest superiority of creation, as was undoubtedly the case before the Incarnation. Therefore, the Cherubim stand around the purgatory, covering it with wings and facing it and always fixing their face on it: their standing on the right and left is clear evidence of the carrying of spears, and the constant gaze of the Cherubim on the purgatory seems to indicate the tension and insatiability of the highest forces in the contemplation of God. And the prophet Isaiah describes the Son in a special way, saying: “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the whole church. The Seraphim stood around Him; each of them had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew” (Isa. 6:1-2). And if anyone thought that the Seraphim covered the face and feet of God, then there is nothing unreasonable in thinking so: for, translating into Greek the meaning of the word “Seraphim,” we will find it indicating the fullness of knowledge or the abundance of wisdom. Therefore, the wise and highest powers by their position very clearly show that it is impossible for anyone to see the faces of God: because the nature is completely invisible, surpassing all minds and “dwells in unapproachable light,” according to the word of Blessed Paul (1 Tim. 6:16); and no one “will... see... the face of God and live” (Ex. 33:20), as He Himself rightly said to the most sacred Moses. Also, no one can recognize His traces and ways, for it is written: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His destinies and unsearchable His ways!” (Rom. 11:33). Blessed David also sings and sings a wise song: “Your way is in the sea, and Your path is in the great waters, and Your footprints are unknown” (Ps. 76:20): for just as no one can see in the waters the traces of a person, or a ship, or those floating in them, so no one can see the Divine and ineffable ways, the image of which is the feet. If anyone were to suggest that the holy Seraphim covered their faces and feet with wings, then we would understand here that it is impossible to see the beginning or end of the teaching or knowledge about God, for it is incomprehensible and above the human mind. The beginning of every body is the head, and the end is the legs. So, purification is Christ, who, having appeared in the flesh, is nevertheless by nature and truly God and Lord, having even the highest powers servilely standing around Him. The Holy Word has nowhere testified to us that after Satan retreated, having stopped the temptations of Christ, when He fasted for us, “Angels came and served Him” (Matthew 4:11): for “they are ministering spirits, sent to serve those who are to inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14). “From the top of purgatory I will be known to you...,” he says, “and I will speak to you,” meaning through this, as I think, something twofold: either that Christ, being a man, will speak, however, that which is above the nature of man and will not remain solely at the level of exhaustion, since He is God and from God by nature, for: “I,” He said, “and the Father are one” (John. 10:30) and: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (Jn. 14, 9); or, perhaps, that He is recognized from the top of the purgatory and the Cherubim, that is, in the excellence and glory of the highest man and everything produced, in which the highest and most excellent are the Seraphim: for the most glorious and most beautiful nature is God, and what is produced is like Him in communion; to those around and near Him, He adds to this participation in His own and natural radiance, like light reflected from any nearby object and illuminating with its brilliance what is encountered. P. Our speech is correct and processed for the truth. J. After the establishment of the purification and in another way, He writes to us the sacrament of Christ, saying: “And make a table” of pure gold (Ex. 25:23). Having commanded that rings be attached to it and gold garlands placed in them, and having very clearly indicated the dimensions and methods of its arrangement, with the help of which it could obtain an extremely excellent appearance, He says: “And you shall place the showbread on the table before Me continually” (Ex. 25:30). He also commanded that her vessels should also be gold: dishes and censers, mugs and bowls (Ex. 25, 29). Isn’t it obvious that we are here indicating “bread... from heaven, which was offered in time at the holy meals of the churches and gives life to the world”? (John 6:33.) K. And dishes and censers, mugs and bowls and everything by means of which the mysterious and most sacred purpose of the holy meal was fulfilled, aren’t they images of Divine treasures, my friend? K: But it's in the book of Exodus. The Lawgiver proclaimed the meal, as well as the showbread, in the book of Leviticus. Here He seems to expand this commandment and clearly teaches how the offer should be made, saying this: “And take wheat flour and bake twelve loaves of it; in every loaf there shall be two tenths of an ephah; and place them in two rows, six in a row, on a clean table before the Lord; and put on [each] row pure frankincense... and it will be with the bread, as a memorial, as a sacrifice to the Lord; on every Sabbath day the children of Israel must continually set them before the Lord: this is an everlasting covenant; they will belong to Aaron and his sons, who will eat them in the holy place, for this is a great holiness to them from the sacrifices of the Lord: this is an everlasting decree” (Lev. 24:5-9). In the book of Numbers He again pointed out to us, as it were, one bread from heaven and from us, for the Word, being by nature God, became like us “and dwelt among us” (John. 1:14), - indicated, saying to the sacred keeper Moses: “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: when you enter the land where I am leading you, and eat the bread of that land, then offer an offering to the Lord; Of the first-fruits of your dough you shall offer a cake as a wave offering; lift it up like the offering from a threshing floor; of the firstfruits of your dough you shall give as an offering to the Lord throughout your generations" (Num. 15:18-21). From these words, everyone can easily discern the mystery of truth. But in due time we will speak about this subtly and thoroughly, and we will transfer the discussion about this to another work of scripture. However, I think, Palladius, everyone can be amazed at this in the present case. P. What do you mean? K. By making Emmanuel visible to us in many different ways, He depicts His features in other words, for He says to Moses: “And make a lampstand of pure gold; This lamp must be chased; the stem thereof, the branches thereof, the cups thereof, the apples thereof, and the flowers thereof shall come out of it; six branches should come out of its sides: three branches of a lamp from one side of it, and three branches of a lamp from the other side of it” (Ex. 25:31-32). And then, having added to this everything related to the decoration and use of this work of art, I mean crins (otherwise: lilies), cruzi (that is, round, apples) and cups, he also adds: “the whole thing must be hammered, solid, from pure gold. And make seven lamps for it and put its lamps on it so that they shine on the front side of it; and tongs for it and trays for it... from pure gold; let them make it from the talent of pure gold, with all these utensils. See that you make them according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain” (Ex. 25:36-40). So, the golden lampstand represents the image of Christ; for the Son is God by nature and truth; Meanwhile, gold should be likened, as we explained above, to Divine lordship and superiority. Immanuel is carved (the lamp) because he is beautiful and beyond every word, as far as mental beauty is concerned: for it is written that He is “more beautiful than the sons of men” (Ps. 44:3). So, that the lamp was sculptured, this very well indicated the excellent, that is, divine, appearance of Immanuel. On the right and left, the branches, growing as if from a tree, ascend together with the middle stem, it is said, and rise to an equal height with it: for the Only Begotten, being one by nature and simple in essence, like God, by the difference of actions appears to be multiple: but there is nothing alien or alien in Him, although in His magnificent virtues He is thought of as not simple; because it is thought of as light, and life, and strength, and incorruptibility. Desiring, I think, to teach that there is nothing in Him acquired from the outside, He added the following: “from pure gold... its stem, its branches,” that is, the whole and in everything God is not equally sanctified with what is produced and not like, for example, Angels, conceived in their nature, illuminated by His grace and glory and, as if with pure gold, anointed with the gift of the Spirit, but by nature there is this very thing, that is, God, the purest and highest nature. “Seven lamps”: for the illumination from Christ is varied: and “To one is given the word of wisdom by the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit” and so on (1 Cor. 12:8). Again, the number seven is a sign of perfection: Emmanuel is all-perfect in His nature, like God, and in the division of the gifts emanating from Him, He is completely invited to those worthy to accept them: for “not in measure... He gives the Spirit,” according to the word of John (John 3:34), but from His fulfillment “we have all received” (John 1:16). Then he says: “make seven lamps for him and place his lamps on him” (Ex. 25:37). But what this arrangement should be, He clearly revealed in the book of Numbers, thus saying: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and say to him: when you light the lamps, then seven lamps must burn on the front side of the lamp. Aaron did just that: he lit its lamps on the front side of the lamp, as the Lord commanded Moses” (Num. 8:1-3). So, understand that the seven lamps (luminaries) placed in front of the lamp cast light on those looking, for the Divine and mental light does not shine on those who are behind and, as it were, turned away from God, but on those brought to contemplation of Him through sanctification and those who have already turned their faces to Him through boldness in faith and through excellent honesty in the right life; because everything that is vicious and disobedient is vile and hateful, but what is respectable and cherished by God is that which is submissive and easy to curb. Therefore, to the Jews, who irresistibly decided to insult Him, He says through the mouth of Isaiah: “And when you stretch out your hands, I close My eyes from you” (Is. 1:15); “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,” as it is sung in the Psalms (Ps. 33:16). K. The divine Zechariah also clearly mentioned this holy lamp, for he said: “And that Angel who spoke to me returned and awakened me, as one awakens a man from his sleep. And he said to me: what do you see? And I answered: I see, behold, a lamp all made of gold, and a cup of oil on top of it, and seven lamps on it, and seven tubes for the lamps that are on top of it; and two olive trees thereon, one on the right side of the cup, the other on the left side thereof. And I answered and said to the angel who spoke to me: What is this, my lord? And the Angel who spoke to me answered and said to me: Do you not know what this is? And I said, “I don’t know, my lord” (Zech. 4:1-5). So, the blessed prophet asked, saying, “What is this, Lord?” The Divine Angel, having inserted a short narrative (Zech. 4, 6-10), interprets the vision and refers the structure of the lamp to Christ, speaking about the seven lamps located on it: “these are the eyes of the Lord, which sweep the whole earth with their gaze” (Zech. 4, 10): for, if we use a sensual image of expression, God looks at us with countless eyes and contemplates human affairs, “knows that in darkness, - according to what is written, - and there is light with Him" (Dan. 2:22): because if God sends light to us who are in the world, then much more and before all others He abounds in it in His nature; or, if some suspect that this is not so, then perhaps it’s time to appeal to those who decide to think like this: “Be smart, you senseless people! When will you be smart, ignoramuses? Will he who plugs the ear not hear? and the eye that formed will not see? (Ps. 93:8-9.) “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword: it pierces to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from Him, but everything is naked and open before His eyes” (Heb. 4:12-13). So, Christ truly illuminates and oversees everything, which is why he said through one of the prophets: “Am I God only near, says the Lord, and not God far away?” . Is it possible to “hide” anything from Me (Jer. 23:23–24)? For nothing can be hidden from the omniscient mind. Don't you think I've looked at this quite well? K. Seeing something unusual in the lamp (for there were olive branches in it), the prophet asked again, saying: “Then I answered and said to him: what do those two olive trees mean on the right side of the lamp and on the left side of it? “Secondly,” he says, “I began to speak and said to him: what do the two olive branches mean, which pour out gold through two golden tubes? And he said to me: you don’t know what this is? I answered: I don’t know, my lord. And he said, “These are the two anointed with oil who stand before the Lord of all the earth” (Zech. 4:11-14). P. What need did the blessed prophet have to ask again? For “A second time,” he says, “I began to speak.” K. Don’t you think, Palladius, that it is wise and decent for those who have decided to think quite correctly to make precise and thoughtful questions about anything necessary? K. So, looking at the olive branches, flaunting a tender and barely blossomed sprout, the prophet called them olives, and not olive branches. After this, the divine Angel remained silent, waiting for a more prudent and true question; when the awakened prophet had already named two olive branches and persistently asked to be taught what this symbolized, he was immediately taught by the words of the Angel: “these are the two fat sons who stand before the Lord of all the earth.” He called the people who came from Israel and from the pagans two sons of fatness, about whom he also says that they “stand before the Lord of all the earth,” clearly and obviously providing an image of Christ for the construction of a lamp in which olive branches, placed to the right and left and as if all around, are fattened with oil, and this oil is an image of the Holy Spirit, watering the mind of believers, according to what is written: “he anointed my head with oil.” (Ps.23:5). P. But why did he call them not olives, but olive branches? K. Because, my friend, the believers, like thin shoots and barely blossoming branches from olive trees, are taken off and, as it were, replanted through faith in piety, some being taken from the synagogue of the Jews, others from the crowd of the pagans: for not all who were from Israel believed, and not all the multitude of the pagans entered the Church. So, the olive branches are those that, as if from trees, are separated from the Jewish multitude, as well as the Hellenic, and are brought to the Divine light and are already in some way abundant with the most abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit: for this, I think, means that, as if in the nostrils (tongs) of the lamps, there are olive branches, which the blessed Psalmist mentioned nowhere, singing the song of all to the Savior Christ and speaking about the bride betrothed to Him, that is, the Church, and about her children in the faith: “Your wife is like a fruitful vine in your house; Your sons are like olive branches around your table” (Ps. 127:3-4): because we are quickened by the communion of the Spirit and the holy table of Christ, having accepted faith in Him. P. Yes, you say correctly: for “I am,” He says, “the living bread that came down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:51,33). K. But about the lamp and what is on it, this time what has been said will be enough for us. Let our word now turn to the brass altar, which is very common in serving according to the law; for it is written: “And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, the length of five cubits, and the breadth of five cubits, so that it shall be four corners, and the height of three cubits. And make horns on the four corners of it, so that the horns come out of it; and overlay it with brass. Make pots for it to pour ashes into, and shovels, and bowls, and forks, and coals; make all utensils of copper” (Ex. 27:1-3). So, the altar was five cubits in width and length: for it was very necessary for it to have dimensions, and very extensive: because on it it was supposed to cut into pieces and offer the severed parts of oxen and burnt offerings and offerings of sheep and goats dedicated to God. Therefore, the grate, and the brazier (censer), and the forks, and the bowls (vials) and all its vessels are copper, so that, while bringing their benefit to the lawful sacrifices, they could not decay from the attack of the all-consuming fire. We attribute the crown and horns on the corners to the beauty of the view: for there is nothing unattractive in the all-wise God. However, directing diligent attention to what was commanded about each object, let us also say that He ordered the altar to be made appropriate and fitting for the lawful sacrifices, but there was nothing gold in it, as, for example, it was visible in the ark, the lamp and the table and its accessories. K: Didn’t we say, Palladius, that gold very well signifies the superiority over everything and the incomparable lordship, I mean mental, of the Divine and immortal nature? K. So, look, in the fact that the altar of service according to the law was completely devoid of gold, God speculatively, but very clearly shows us that the law could least of all communicate to us the Holy Spirit and that the power of the transformative ministry was not honored by such grace, for Israel had the spirit of slavery; This gift was communicated to us through Christ after His Resurrection from the dead: for He “breathed, saying, Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). Therefore, Paul proclaimed to those who believed: “You did not receive the spirit of slavery to live in fear again, but you received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry: 'Abba, Father!'" (Rom. 8:15). that the power of service according to the law did not possess the communion of the Holy Spirit, but He is given to those justified by faith, this is affirmed by the wise John, saying: “For the Holy Spirit was not yet upon them, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39); the altar was without gold. But omitting the explanation of the copper from which it was made, as it seems, is not harmless for the inquisitive: for research may perhaps produce something useful, in accordance with someone’s wise saying: “in everything that brings trouble there is benefit.” P. So what else do you have to say about this? K. Listen: Holy Scripture says that by a divine decision, Aaron was chosen to be a priest and leader. But Korah and Dathan and a wild crowd of like-minded people, very brazenly resisting the decision from above and rebelling against the Divine laws, brought censers, uninvited and arbitrarily going to this and delighting in an honor not intended for them, opposing, and very ardently, their madness and insolence to the supreme priest and chosen from all others (Num. 16). Through this, the future madness of the Jews against Christ was described: for He is our Bishop, introduced to this title by the decision of the Father. But they were punished for such shameful enterprises; After them, the Jews will also suffer, having become guilty of the same crimes. God then said to Saint Moses, and also to Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest: “Let him gather... the censers of those who are burned and the fire will be thrown out; for the censers of these sinners were sanctified by their death, and let them beat them into sheets to cover the altar, for they offered them before the Lord, and they became sanctified; and they will be a sign for the children of Israel” (Num. 16:37–38). God said this then. In the book of Exodus, it is written about Bezaleel, who was from the father of Uriah, from the tribe of Dan and the leader of all improvements: “This thou shalt build an altar of the Medes from copper censers, even as he was a man who arose with the host of Kore” (Ex. 38:1). K. This will bring great benefit if we pay attention to the fact that the ark, which was a prototype of Christ, as well as other things, I mean the lamp and the purification and the golden meal, all this was made from what the people brought and each one dedicated to God from what was in their hands: for those who bear fruit for Christ and bring spiritual gifts, of which they were images and hay, are very pleasing to the glory of God and the Father. The altar of service according to the law mysteriously and discreetly means, as it were, a reminder and, contained in its very structure, a foreshadowing of irritation and controversy and, so to speak, a conspiracy that was against the great priest. Is the image clear to you? For Aaron is the image of Christ. The Jews also disputed the glory of Christ, and the cause of their dispute is the legal altar: for the service has ceased, as it were, in the canopy, and in Christ we burn a mental fragrance to the Father. And He again represented this to us, as it were in the vestibule, saying: “And thou shalt make an altar for the offering of incense; it must be quadrangular; and the height of it is two cubits; its horns shall come out of it; overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, the sides thereof, and the horns thereof; and make a golden crown around it” (Ex. 30:1-3). Having attached to it the poles, the rings and the rack and the like, he says: “And put it before the veil that is before the ark of the testimony, opposite the mercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, where I will reveal myself to you. On it Aaron will burn sweet incense; every morning, when he prepares the lamps, he will smoke with them; and when Aaron lights the lamps in the evening, he will incense with them: this is the everlasting incense before the Lord throughout your generations. You shall not offer any other incense on it, nor burnt offerings, nor grain offerings, nor pour out any drink offerings on it. And Aaron shall make atonement for its horns once a year; with the blood of the sin offering he will make atonement for it once a year throughout your generations. This is a great sanctuary to the Lord” (Exodus 30:6-10). P. So will we accept this in the image of Christ? K. Absolutely so, Palladium; that this is true, His glorious and deep mystery can very easily show this to those who decide to accurately and wittily study such subjects; namely, the incense altar was made of rotting wood and was entirely covered with gold: for the Body of Christ is incorruptible and in itself abounds in Divine nature, because “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Our firstfruits and the root of our race, restored to incorruption through union with God, is Christ, although in Him this is thought primarily. The horns at the altar, outstretched like arms, prefigure the appearance of an honorable cross. If someone says that there were four horns, then this does not in the least prevent the inquisitive from understanding the matter correctly: for the altar is quadrangular and equilateral everywhere, and the appearance of the horns is equal from everywhere. What's the point of this? – The one who knows Christ in every place, and Him crucified: and this is a bright praise for those who believe in Him. So the divine Paul says: “I do not want to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal. 6:14). A twisted crown is added to the work of art, which relates to decoration: for Immanuel is truly “more beautiful than the sons of men” (Ps. 44: 3). It was also added that served for his benefit: she also carried the rest: for the Divine altar had to be properly worn at the time of departure on the journey. The Divine disciples also did this, presenting Christ gracefully and in order through preaching, as “servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor. 4:1). “And place it,” it says, “before the veil that is before the ark of the testimony, opposite the mercy seat that is on the ark of the testimony, where I will reveal myself to you” (Ex. 30:6). P. But what kind of necessity was it, I think, that its very place was determined? K. How deep and very unclear the meaning of this! However, I will say as much as possible, trusting in God, who makes wise even the blind. The ark was made, it is said, of rotten wood and pure gold (Exodus 25:10-11), and in it was the law, that is, the Divine word, or “testimonies” (Exodus 25:16): for this was the image of the Word born from God, who dwelt in us and was “in the likeness of flesh,” according to the Scriptures (John 1:14 and Rom. 8:3). Then He commanded that the ark be hung with a curtain spread over four pillars (Ex. 26:31-34). The name of the veil is purification. And this means Christ: “for He is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2) and “cleansing through faith”: that’s what Paul called him (Rom. 3:25). The Cherubim were depicted, as it were, around the purification, and by their proximity, and in their service, very well signifying the slavish subordination of the highest powers to God, “and the Word was God” - (John 1:1). Then God said to Moses: “there I will reveal myself to you and speak to you above the mercy seat, in the midst of the two cherubim that are above the ark of the testimony” (Ex. 25:22). The ark was, as I said, Christ, as if in an incorruptible body, God the Word; but only the ark was placed on the ground: the Only Begotten was in humility and humiliation like us, for He took upon Himself a servile image and exhausted Himself (Phil. 2:7). He is again also a purification, lying on high and carried by a spear (guarded) by the powers above: for the Son is known to us not only from the types of exhaustion, but also from the fact that He is God and Lord of all: because, although He “humbled Himself” through humanity, carefully descending to our condition, nevertheless “God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:8-9 ). And this image was the placement of a purgatory on top with Cherubim depicted to the right and left: for where the service befitting the one God appears, there, of course, is the glory of the Divine and the excellence of the virtues that exceed the word. “From the top of the Cherubim I will be known to you,” says the Lord of all (Exod. 25, 22), commanding us to look for the ineffable nature not where creation is, but much higher than what is called to be: for the most appropriate relationship and place for the nature of God is to be further and higher than everything produced. So, the place above the Cherubim in the holy tabernacle almost shows us the Divine nature sensually. That is why he ordered the golden altar, which was the image of Christ, to be placed opposite the One who, above the Cherubim, gave revelation and thought, indicating by this our bringing in Christ to the sight of God and the eyes of the Father: for Christ, who was at a distance (disgust) and offended God through the crime and many sins of man, in Himself and the first, again placed before the face of the Father: because He “where as a forerunner for us entered... into the very heaven, to appear now for us in the presence of God,” as the wise Paul writes to us (Heb. 6:20, 9:24); for, always being with His Father, “now,” it is said, appears, as if in Himself and first, placing humanity before the eyes of the Father and eliminating the ancient aversion: “For He is our peace,” according to the Scriptures (Eph. 2:14). P. So, it is confirmed that the golden altar is an image of Christ. K. Moreover, in fairness, He is also understood by “incense folded and fragrant” (Ex. 30:7): for He Himself is a Bishop; because it is said: “Let Aaron burn fragrant incense over him” (ibid.). And incense “folded”: for the Word, being God, was made flesh, and with us Immanuel is, as it were, composed of the Divine nature and humanity into a unity that exceeds the mind, ineffably composed. It is “fragrant” because it does not have the harshness of service according to the law, for it is said: “You did not desire sacrifices and offerings; You have opened my ears; You did not require burnt offerings or sin sacrifices. Then I said: here I come; in the scroll of the book it is written about me: I desire to do Your will” (Ps. 39: 7-9; sn. Heb. 10: 5-7). And what is the will of the Father, regarding this He Himself secretly guided us in the Gospels, saying: “For I came down from heaven not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me. Now this is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of what He has given Me I should lose nothing, but raise it all up at the last day” (Jn. 6:38–39): for He offered Himself for us “for a sweet aroma” (Eph. 5:2) and for this he was proclaimed a Bishop. So, He Himself is a Bishop, Himself and incense “folded and fragrant”; Paul will also testify to this, saying: “But thanks be to God, who always makes us triumph in Christ and spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Himself to us in every place. For we are a aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: to some a savor of death unto death, but to others a savor of life unto life” (2 Cor. 2:14-16). He also calls to us: “Therefore, imitate God, as beloved children, and live in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us as an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet aroma” (Eph. 5:1-2). He also clearly establishes the time of incense, stipulating that everything should be done in order and in good decoration and so that the power of inner contemplation is maintained, for he says: “early and in the evening,” when the lamps are lit and prepared (Exod. 30, 7–8), since the words “from evening to early” indicate continuity and constancy, while smoking while lighting lamps may very well mean that only when illuminated by the Divine light we are richly filled with the fragrance of Christ and thus begin to perceive (feel) the benefits of the inner tabernacle or the division of Divine gifts that Christ gives to the worthy, so that if anyone is not yet in the light through faith, he, of course, is not involved in the mental fragrance, having not yet experienced the sacrament of Christ: “If you do not believe, it is because you are not certified,” it is said (Is. 7:9): because faith is, as it were, an entrance leading to understanding and opening the mind to the perception of the light of the Divine. He calls incense everlasting because there is no time in which Christ does not smell fragrant in the holy tabernacle, that is, in the Church. He completely forbids making a drink offering on it, that is, on the altar of Christ (Ex. 30:9), for in Christ what was in the law was abolished, and the shadows come to an end: this, I think, is a drink offering and an offering. And the prophet testifies, saying: “The grain offering and drink offering have ceased in the house of the Lord” (Joel 1:9): for when worship and service in spirit and truth have already been declared, then in some way the shadows are superfluous, the images are vain and completely useless: because “in Christ there is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17; fn. Gal. 6:15); and after the revelation of the truth, those justified by the law fell from grace. “Do not bring,” he says, “on the altar other incense” (Ex. 30:9): for we will not accept anyone else in Christ (as Christ) and we will not say to anyone else: “Teacher! ... you have one Teacher-Christ” (Matthew 23: 7-8, 10), and to Him alone we will be committed, saying: “Because of the fragrance of your ointments, your name is like spilled ointment; that's why girls love you. Draw me, we will run after you” (Song. 1, 2-3). Or is this not what the saying means: “Do not bring... other smoking”? - for Christ alone is an incense sufficient in the Church for the truly intelligent, who do not seek any other stench than the unfortunate Jews, who, in their madness, violated the “incense folded and fragrant,” that is, Christ, and remained unparticipated in this sacred and truly Divine fragrance; but they will accept someone else in His place, the son of iniquity, “who opposes and exalts himself above everything that is called God or that is holy, so that he sits in the church of God as God, showing himself to be God” (2 Thess. 2:4), who defiles the Divine tabernacle, being an alien smoke and, so to speak, a devilish stench: for “whose coming, - it is said, “according to the action of Satan” (2 Thess. 2:9). P. I understand what you are saying; for your speech is clear. K. God commands Aaron to perform cleansing over the altar of incense once a year, so that he anoints the edges of the horns with the blood of the cleansing of sins; for “the holy of holies is,” He says (Ex. 30:10). And the divine Paul makes this clear to you, saying: “But Christ, the High Priest of the good things to come, having come with a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of such a construction, and not with the blood of goats and bulls, but with His own blood, entered once into the sanctuary and obtained eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:11-12): for, as he again says, having died once, “Having risen from the dead, Christ no longer dies: death no longer has power over Him. For if He died, He died once to sin; and whatever he lives, he lives for God” (Rom. 6:9-10). So, the divine Aaron entered the Holy of Holies once a year through the blood of cleansing of sins. And in this again see Christ with His Blood, as if sprinkling His cross for the sake of life and the salvation of all: for the image of the cross is the horns, like hands extending straight on both sides. So, understand Christ, who died once, but was the Holy of Holies by nature, as God; for John is true when he says that “And of His fullness we have all received” (John 1:16): because all visible and invisible creation participates in Christ - Angels and Archangels and even higher beings, the Cherubim themselves, who are not holy except through Christ alone, in the Holy Spirit. So, truly He is the altar, He is the incense and the Bishop; in the same way, He is also the blood of the cleansing of sins. P. Yes, you are correct. Just what the blood of the remission of sins is, I cannot clearly understand. K. Typifying cleansing by the blood and the sacred sacrifice, I mean Christ, through whom we are saved, avoiding the defilement that has come to us as a result of sin, the law says this in the book of Leviticus: “If all the congregation of Israel sins by mistake and the matter is hidden from the eyes of the congregation, and does something against the commandments of the Lord, which should not have been done, and is guilty, then when the sin of which they sinned, let them from the whole congregation present a bull from the herd as a sin offering and bring it before the tabernacle of meeting; and the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the Lord, and shall slaughter the bull before the Lord. And the priest, anointed with the blood, shall bring the bull into the tabernacle of meeting, and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood... and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, before the veil [of the sanctuary]; and he will put the blood on the horns of the altar... which is before the Lord in the tabernacle of meeting, and the rest of the blood he will pour out at the foot of the altar of burnt offerings, which is at the entrance of the tabernacle of meeting” (Lev. 4:13-18). We will say more about this in due course. Contemplate again, as if in a calf, Immanuel, slain for us, delivering us from sin, taking us away from judgment and opening us from punishment, entering “by the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not with bulls and goats, but with His blood” (Heb. 9:11-12) and having tasted death once: for, high on the tree pierced in the ribs by a spear, He bled out blood and water. The image of the cross can be, as we said above, the ends of the horns. K. But the law of purification was not divinely established by blood alone, but also by holy water; for this is the most perfect way to purification, in the understanding of the sacrament in Christ. P. How did he show this, or in what way? K. It is written: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Make a brass laver for washing, and a brass base thereof, and set it between the tabernacle of the congregation, and between the altar, and pour water into it; and Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it; when they must enter into the tabernacle of meeting, they shall be washed with water, lest they die; or when they must approach the altar to serve, to offer sacrifice to the Lord, let them wash their hands and their feet in water, so that they do not die; and this will be an everlasting statute for them, for him and for his descendants throughout their generations” (Ex. 30:17-21). That the grace of holy baptism was, as it were, predestined in this, is clear: for we, by being baptized, do not acquire the deposition of uncleanness of the flesh, but are delivered from the abominations of the mind and heart and are washed from the defilements of sin by the grace and love of Him who calls us to salvation: because we are justified “not by the works of the law, according to the Scriptures, but by the faith of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 2:16). See how Aaron, although holy according to the law, and those appointed with him to serve wash their hands and feet with water and then begin sacred labors, and also enter the Holy of Holies free from fear, which the law clearly and obviously, I think, shows, and the fact itself almost cries out that he is unclean with God and appears to be holy by the law if he has not been washed with water, and that the power of legal service is insufficient for cleansing. So, even those who were sanctified by the law washed themselves beforehand; but what is cleansed, of course, is not what is pure, but what is defiled and unclean. Christ Himself said the same thing: “He who has been washed needs only to wash his feet, because he is all clean” (John 13:10). The wise Paul also writes that “for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4). So, the law was not perfect for sanctification, if saving baptism had not come to the aid of those who longed for affinity with God. Therefore, the divine John, although he was crowned with the highest praises and reached the highest degree of virtue, nevertheless asked the Savior for baptism, saying: “I need to be baptized by You” (Matthew 3:14). K. Washed hands and feet mean purity and sincerity of the matter and, as it were, an approach to each of the actions. When we achieve perfection in this through exercise, we are allowed to ascend into the inner tabernacle, offer spiritual sacrifices to God and dedicate them in the form of incense to Him as the aroma of the gospel life. With benefit, he commands those who want to enter the Holy of Holies and those who care about sacred matters to wash themselves, “lest they die”: for it is truly a dangerous and subject to punishment to approach God uncleaned. Therefore, the wise Paul urgently requires us to test ourselves if we wanted to partake of the mysterious blessing, and then proceed to it (1 Cor. 11:28). And that negligence in this is full of danger, he reveals this, saying: “That is why many of you are weak and sick, and many die. For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. Having been judged, we are punished by the Lord, so as not to be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:30-32). P. So, it is confirmed that the sacred laver foreshadowed to us the grace of holy baptism. K. That’s right: you shouldn’t doubt it at all. And if you pay attention to the way the laver was constructed, you will be, I think, even more amazed: for this is what is written about Bezaleel, who skillfully arranged what was in the tabernacle: “And he set the laver between the tabernacle of the meeting and the altar, and filled it with water for washing, and Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet from it: when they entered into the tabernacle of the meeting and came to the altar..., then they washed... as the Lord commanded Moses” (Ex. 40, 30-32). P. But what was the need for mirrors? And who were the fasting women? K. Much of what happened does not have a clear interpretation in the Divine Scripture, but is indicated as if in passing, as, undoubtedly, in the present case: where or who was fasting at the time when the tabernacle was erected, Moses did not say; but what it was, no one can doubt, for it is said, although not clear. But, having omitted this, let us proceed to it, if you wish. K. What was the image of the fasting women? And what does it mean that the copper washbasin was made of mirrors? P. Of course, it’s up to you to talk about this too. K. Listen. The Israelites, enduring the yoke of slavery to the Egyptians and living according to their laws for a long time, served idols. Meanwhile, it was especially the custom of Egyptian wives to enter churches dressed in linen clothing and sacredly decorated with a mirror in their left hand and a rattle in their right hand. And such honor, or better yet, dishonor, was barely awarded to the most chosen of the others and the sacred ones. So, the women from the tribe of Israel, having found in their household utensils the remains of the Egyptian service, namely mirrors, brought them as an offering, which mirrors were converted into a laver. When the holy tabernacle was erected, they fasted, sitting at its doors and leading a pure life in everything, which circumstance meant, I think, that when the truest tabernacle appeared, that is, the Church, “which the Lord raised up, and not man,” as the divine Paul writes (Heb. 8:2), then the time had come to transform the vessels once dedicated to the glory of the crowds of demons into sacred and convenient ones. to receive holy baptism, so that they could be distinguished by a glory higher than the law: for this, I think, means making a copper laver from Hellenic mirrors or treasures of the devil, in which there was water that cleanses Moses himself and is useful for the washing, obviously mental, of the legal priesthood: because don’t you yourself, Palladius, consider those who were led astray and served demons to be vessels of the devil? K. The women fasted at the doors of the holy tabernacle. And this was a wonderful and wise indication that those justified in Christ do not enter the Church through blood, but, on the contrary, distinguished by spiritual sacrifices and, as if carrying a spear, offering to God abstinence, as if mortification of the flesh: for “present,” it is said, “your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, for your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1). And again: “glorify God in your bodies” (1 Cor 6:20). So, those who fasted during the erection of the holy tabernacle serve as an image of souls who were no longer procreative by the Mosaic commandments, but, on the contrary, who demonstrated a spiritual and evangelical life and, not without heroism, trampled upon earthly pleasures and so as not to suffer restraint from the vile and unclean sins of the love of the flesh, which are very well transformed into incorruptible beauty. Or is this not the way of life for us, who are called in Christ to sanctification and spiritual thinness? K: But for now this will suffice to say about the sacred vessels. Now, if you wish, let us consider the tabernacle itself, how it was erected and constructed. And although this subject is deep and beyond the measure of our understanding, however, I think there will be no harm at all if we collect from everywhere what is useful, proceeding, as far as possible, to the very sublime. K: So, if someone decided to speak subtly, then the speech on each subject would be lengthy and very detailed. But it should be known that some of the vessels are worthy of contemplation and mystical words, while others are constructed for the decoration and benefit of the tabernacle. By cutting off the length of the word as much as possible, I will speak briefly and shorten the story. So, He said: “Then make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen, and blue, purple and scarlet wool, and make cherubim on them with cunning work; the length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain was four cubits: the measure was one for all curtains. Let the five curtains be connected to one another, and the other five curtains connected to one another” (Ex. 26:1-3). So, ten veils and, moreover, tightly knit together: for the Father has many mansions (John 14:2) and all who live in them have one holy purpose, and the same knowledge about God: “The Lord has called us to peace,” according to what is written” (1 Cor. 7:15). You can, if you wish, take ten veils and count them as the completeness of the churches in the world, not scattered by differences of opinion or disagreement in opinion, but united in spirit and, as it were, united together in unity in Christ through faith: for everywhere and in all of them “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5). The width of each curtain was four cubits, and the length was twenty-eight cubits. The hint is artfully composed and subtle; however, I think he secretly and unclearly indicates that instruction through the law is accepted in some way in the churches, being very limited due to the obscurity of the letter; but as time moves forward in length, it will end with the mystery of Christ, that is, the eighth day or the resurrection that took place on the eighth day: “Christ is the end of the law and the prophets” (Rom. 10:4; cf. Matt. 5:17), to which the divine David cried out: “Your commandment is immensely extensive” (Ps. 118:96). The divine Paul also writes to those who preferred service in the law to faith in Christ: “Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians, our heart is enlarged. You are not cramped in us, but in your hearts we are cramped. In equal retribution, I say, as to children, you too will spread. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with iniquity?” (2 Cor. 6:11–14). Do you see that the desire to be committed by faith to the disobedient Jews who still say what is in the law produces oppression? K. The linen of the coverings was of fine woven linen and of blue, purple and scarlet wool: for the adornment of the Church is exceedingly rich. This is what the divine David sings, speaking nowhere about her: “The daughters of kings are among Your honorable ones; the queen stood at Your right hand in the gold of Ophir” (Ps. 44:10). The decoration and varied beauty in it is Christ, one by nature, but conceivable in many and different images, as, for example, so as not to walk far, in woven linen: for, being thin and incorporeal by nature, the Word born of God the Father is in some way twisted through interlacing, as if with flesh. So He is also fine woven linen; but there is also, as it were, “sinesha” (hyacinth, blue color), because it is not from the earth, but from above and from the sky: for the hyacinth is likened to the ethereal body at the heights and above, reaching to the very firmament. So, He is like a hyacinth because He is from heaven, but He is purple because He is not a slave, as if created, but the King and Lord of all from God. The scarlet is twisted because, being mentally represented in intertwining, as I said, with the flesh and being truly the Word of God, He gave His Blood for us, since the scarlet is a sign of blood. And that there was an image of Cherubim on the skins, this circumstance very well indicates, perhaps, the union of the lower with the higher and the unity of the earthly Church with the powers of heaven. You should know that the wisest Solomon also carved Cherubim on the walls of the church. The image of the church indicated by the words of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 40:47) was made in exactly the same way. Covers for (linen) bedspreads are leather, tied with loops and hooks (Ex. 26, 7 ff.; sn. Ex. 36, 14 ff.); and in addition, covers made of blue (hyacinth) skins and red lamb skins, indicating the Patron of the Church of Christ, through hyacinth again because He is from heaven and above, through the red color because He appeared in the flesh: for such is in some way the color of the flesh. P. I think that this was not considered without reason. K. The pillars for the veils were one and a half cubits wide and ten cubits long, overlaid on the tops and body with gold and supported on double silver sockets (Ex. 26:15 ff.; sn. Ex. 36:20 ff.). Again, in each pillar there is of course Christ, the support of the Church, “the confirmation of the truth,” according to the word of Paul (1 Tim. 3:15). He supplies and maintains everything. Through one and a half cubits He is indirectly designated as perfect by the nature of the Divine and then as diminished by the measure of humanity. It would not be unreasonable to say that Christ is all-perfect, as if in the whole cubit, since he is God by nature, but in half a cubit he is, as it were, lowered due to human nature: for nothing is perfect in what is produced. “Being rich,” the Only Begotten became poor in us and brought Himself down to exhaustion (2 Cor. 8:9; cf. Phil. 2:7). K: So, cannot equal the advantages of the human Divinity; and he lacks much for this. That is why He (Christ) said, as having become and thought like us: “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), although by the nature of Divinity he is equal to Him and not inferior to the superiority of the Parent. The length of the pillar is ten cubits: for Christ is all-perfect, as if according to the height of the Divinity; and the number reaching ten is accepted in Divine Scripture as a sign of perfection. The pillar has a golden top, as well as a golden body: so the church received from the Virgin is abundantly inhabited by the highest nature; and gold is a symbol of the Divine, having an advantage in everything compared to substances of this kind. A stool made of silver and double: in the same way, Christ is bright and glorious on earth, according to what is written: “God the Lord has appeared to us” (Ps. 117:27) - and, as it were, requires a double understanding, for God and man are conceived in Him: because this, I think, means a double and silver stool. P. You compare correctly. K. But pay attention to this, my friend. K. Having commanded that the entire tabernacle be covered with ten curtains, he adds among other things: “And make curtains of goat's hair to cover the tabernacle; Make eleven curtains like these; The length of one curtain is thirty cubits, and the width is four cubits; this is one curtain: for eleven curtains there is one measure. And unite five curtains separately and six curtains separately; The sixth curtain you shall make double on the front side of the tabernacle. Make fifty loops on the edge of the outermost blanket, to connect it with the other, and fifty loops... on the edge of the other blanket, to connect it with it” (Ex. 26:7-10). What does this mean, Palladium? If He hangs ten (linen) bedspreads, then why are not the hair (leather) covers equal to them, but one is placed extra, that is, the eleventh? For “connect,” he says, “five curtains separately and six curtains separately” (Exodus 26:9). K. But their situation itself will clarify what is sought. K. He says that there should be five veils, united together, and also other five of the same kind and in the same way opposed. Therefore, while they were erected on both sides and one against the other, as if from the north and south or from the east and west, the eleventh side, which was in the middle, remained neglected, dividing into parts those ten, cut in two, along which side the eleventh leather cover was stretched, holding both sides with hooks and loops. The pillars of this side were also similar to the others, only smaller in number: for the ten curtains, as I said before, extended in length to twenty-eight cubits, but the eleventh and the middle one among the others, being five cubits wide (and those curtains were four cubits each), extended only to a twenty-cubit measure. That’s why he says: “Make the sixth veil double on the front side of the tabernacle,” so that if it is spread out too much, it will not damage the beauty of the tabernacle. So, in this, located between the others and, as it were, the eleventh side, the sacred and Divine vessels were placed, in themselves variously prefiguring Emmanuel. But perhaps this number also means that in the last times of the age and, as it were, at the tenth hour, Christ appeared and the tabernacle containing Christ, that is, the Church. P. There is nothing unreasonable, as it seems, and this meaning is considered applicable. K. After speaking about the tabernacle and its images, he says: “Make the courtyard of the tabernacle: on the noon side to the south the hangings for the courtyard should be of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long on one side; their pillars were twenty, and their sockets twenty were of brass; the hooks on the pillars and the ties on them are made of silver. Also along the northern side there are curtains a hundred cubits long; their pillars were twenty, and their sockets twenty were of brass; the hooks on the pillars and the ties on them... are made of silver. The width of the courtyard on the west side is curtains of fifty cubits; their pillars are ten, and their sockets ten” (Ex. 27:9-12). So, pay attention to the fact that the first curtains were narrow and reached (only) to the third ten cubits, for their width was four, and their length was twenty-eight; those following them are so wide and long: for they were a hundred by a hundred and fifty by fifty, extending to the east and west and south. P. But what is the meaning of this hidden speech? K. Isn’t this what was clearly promised in ancient times by the mouth of Isaiah to the Church that appeared in recent times: “Expand the place of your tent, expand the coverings of your dwellings; do not be shy, make your ropes longer and strengthen your stakes; for you will spread to the right and to the left” (Is. 54: 2 – 3): for the Church of Christ, constrained at first, then expands to the east and west, north and south and reaches every place. K. Notice that he ordered all the other pillars of the ten veils and the middle veil to be covered with gold and placed on double bases trimmed with silver. And what is the meaning of this, it is said, as I think; The pillars of long and wide covers are decorated in a different way. He commands them from head to toe (from top to foot) to be decorated with silver as best as possible, but to be set on bases of copper and silver plated. And this is the image of Christ, for He shone like light, shining with mental rays, like God, as indicated by silver. And that His word, that is, the gospel sermon, is bright and euphonious on earth, this is indirectly indicated to us by the silver-plated copper: for, while copper is euphonious, the substance of silver is very light and clear, this is also characteristic of gospel sermons, and everyone can see that the word of the Savior has the clarity and purity of the highest piety and, as it were, announces the whole universe. If anyone would like to see the holy Apostles and Evangelists represented in such pillars, he will argue fairly: for they too are truly, as it were, silvered, as a result of communion with the luminous Christ. Therefore it is said: “And the lordship of the Lord our God will be upon us” (Ps. 89:17). They are also called “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), as if they were (lamps) set in silvered brass: for the affirmation for them is that they use a word that is bright and most harmonious, since “The Lord,” it is said, “will give the word to those who bring good news with much power” (Ps. 67:12). “How beautiful are the feet of the evangelist on the mountains,” it is written (Is. 52, 7). P. It’s a deep word, but close to the truth. K. So, with the end of the commandments and about veils, he turns to the composition of oil and ointment, as well as incense, thus saying: “And command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil, beaten from olive trees, for illumination, so that the lamp may burn at all times; in the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil, which is before the ark of the testimony, Aaron and his sons will light it from evening until morning, before the Lord. This is an everlasting statute for their generations from the children of Israel” (Ex. 27:20-21). K. I think that this hidden speech is wise and has an urgent need for explanation: for the seven lamps, constantly burning and shining in the holy tabernacle, can very easily be likened to the illumination of Christ, which has sufficient power to illuminate and kindle and fill the mind of believers: because the number seven everywhere indicates the meaning of perfection, as, for example, in the saying: “a barren woman gives birth seven times” ( 1 Samuel 2:5), that is, very much and as much as was needed for satisfaction. Aaron and the rest of the priests who followed him light the lamps: for the illumination emanating from Christ is preserved, as it were, unquenchable in the churches through the honest life of those destined for the priesthood, who illuminate the minds of the believers with right arcane wisdom: because this, I think, means lighting the lamps from evening to morning. I consider darkness to be the delusion emanating from the devil and, as if in some kind of mental night, overtaking the minds of people - the lightless and unclear fables of wicked heretics. So, the light of the Savior would be constantly and unceasingly visible in the churches, if their teachers correctly interpreted the Divine and Gospel sermons. Oil is pure: for free from yeast and all uncleanness is the right and true word, without any admixture of evil, about the Divine dogmas, which always supports the illumination of the Savior, not on its own adding anything to the brightness of Christ (because it would be completely crazy to think that He needs a person), but because Christ, being the true light and radiance of the Father (cf. Heb. 1:3), in the right teaching of teachers is to the minds of believers that He truly is. P. But why does he say: “pure oil, beaten from olives”? Probably the most precise indication contains some of the necessary intuitions. K. You reason excellently, and I will tell you what came to my mind. It is not only from olive trees that we, Palladius, have a custom for skilled people to extract oil from, but also from many other inauthentic and coarser (earthy) seeds. And the genuine one, truly extracted from olive trees, will be the best (the most tested), but the counterfeit one, as if obtained by violence and art and as if not true, is the one, I say, which is extracted from the coarser seeds. So, oil from olives can very easily be likened to the pure and true word and given by the highest wisdom to the worthy. What is invented by human thoughts and demonic obsession is similar to the oil that is acquired as a result of the art of some and profiteering and has illegal use. Such a word is useless and rejected and is not at all suitable for enlightenment with the knowledge of Christ. Therefore, it is not accepted in churches, having neither the fragrance of the Holy Spirit (for no one says the Lord Jesus, “only by the Holy Spirit” - (1 Cor. 12:3), nor the authenticity and purity of truth and suitability for useful use. Note, then, that the law commands the children of Israel to bring olive oil: for, as I said earlier, the fruit from us and a spiritual gift to God will be the true word, which does not allow illumination from Christ to fall into weakness among those who are secretly taught. Outside the veil is both the position of the lamps and the burning, for, being by nature light, Christ does not need light, but to us, existing outside the Divinity, as produced, He sends His light. Inside, behind the curtain (Heb. 6:19) there was an ark, which served as a foreshadowing and image of Christ. K. Then it is said: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Take for yourself the best fragrant substances: five hundred shekels of pure myrrh, half as much of fragrant cinnamon, two hundred and fifty, two hundred and fifty of sweet cane, five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil; and make of this myrrh for sacred anointing, a compound ointment, by the art of making the ointment: this will be myrrh for sacred anointing; and anoint with it the tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and all its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its socket; and sanctify them, and they will be greatly holy: everything that touches them will be sanctified; anoint both Aaron and his sons and consecrate them to be priests to me. And say to the children of Israel: This will be my holy anointing ointment throughout your generations; You should not anoint the bodies of other people with it, and do not use it according to its composition... like him; it is a shrine: it must be a shrine to you; whoever makes something similar to him, or whoever anoints a stranger with it, will be cut off from among his people” (Ex. 30:22-33). So, about the quality, and also about the composition and then about the inequality in weight of the named types of aromas, I have nothing to say: for the truth is dear to those who are accustomed to think well. Oil, mixed with aromas, can mean, as I think, sanctification in Christ through the Holy Spirit, given to those who have found mercy, according to what is written: “he anointed my head with oil” (Ps. 23:5). The tabernacle and everything in it will be anointed, for the place also becomes involved in sanctification through the one who dwells in it. Vessels are also consecrated in a manner appropriate to them, because they are useful for serving God; and “touch it and it will be sanctified.” So, the holy and sacred is inviolable for the unclean: for “What does light have in common with darkness,” according to what is written (2 Cor. 6:14)? He completely forbids himself from making a similar composition of oil for himself: for it is only God who can sanctify, and this work belongs to Him as truly noble; How is it possible for a produced and created nature to ever sanctify others? For it hardly receives sanctification from being received from above. It would be fitting to appeal to him in the voice of the saints: “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7) And John says about the Only Begotten that “And of His fullness we have all received” (John 1:16) – and: “God does not give the Spirit by measure” (John 3:34); but Himself, being the source of sanctification, He imparts the Spirit to the Worthy and sanctifies the rational creature. “But the flesh of man,” he says, “should not be anointed with it,” although he commanded that Aaron and his co-priests be anointed with it. So, the sacred race is higher than the human race, as participating in Christ, Who is higher than creation. Therefore, raising us to the highest dignity of nature and, as it were, separating us from the earthly, He joins us to the highest; for he says: “And do not call anyone on earth your father: for you have one Teacher, Christ, yet you are brothers” (Matthew 23:9,8). Those who give from it (oil) to a foreigner are punished by consumption, for it is said: “Do not give what is holy to dogs and do not cast your pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6): because carelessly transferring to the infidels what is still hidden and befits only the saints is a matter full of danger, for what is not yet consecrated and excessively ill with uncleanness, but has already been purified by the saints, is not sanctified baptism. K. In the same way and on the same basis, he commanded to make the composition and incense, saying: “Take for yourself fragrant substances: stakti, onycha, fragrant halvana and pure frankincense, half in all, and make of them, by the art of making the ointment, an incense composition, erased, pure, holy, and grind it finely, and place it before the ark of the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will be revealed.” to you: this will be a great shrine for you; Do not make incense made according to this composition for yourself: let it be holy to you for the Lord; whoever does such a thing to smoke it... will be cut off from among his people” (Exodus 30:34–38). And about this, the speech again shows us that what is noble and characteristic of the highest nature of all does not essentially belong to anything created and, as for the dignity and superiority of honors, the creature has absolutely nothing in common with the Creator and Master. Let us remember what we said that both the golden altar and the most “folded and fragrant” incense are Christ, and that Emmanuel Himself is signified to us by both. So, referring incense (for it is extremely fragrant) to Christ, let us not make ourselves incense similar to him: we will not accept anyone else besides Him, like the unfortunate Jews - the sons of iniquity: for they will be exposed as having made incense for themselves in the likeness of that fragrant and truly chosen incense, which is from God the Father, who showed us the stench of His mind in the Son, through Whom and we are fragrant, not having made our own fragrant incense, but being partakers of that incense, anointed with the grace of the Spirit and trying to gain glory for ourselves by life in Christ. P. So, in everything that seems to have happened in the holy tabernacle, the mystery of the Savior is represented for us. K. And besides, you would be even more surprised if you knew that the skilful builders of the holy tabernacle themselves seem to depict Christ in themselves. P. How, tell me: for I cannot understand. K. It is also written: “And the Lord spake to Moses, saying, Behold, I appoint Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and I filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, understanding, knowledge and all skill, to work in gold, silver and brass..., to cut stones for setting and to cut wood for every work; and behold, I have given him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, as an assistant, and I will put wisdom in the heart of every wise man, that they may do everything that I have commanded you” (Ex. 31:1-6). So, notice that Bezaleel directs artistic affairs, while Eliab produces the work. K. So find out: Judah and Dan are both from Jacob, but one is from the free Leah, the other from the maidservant Vala (See Gen. 29:35, 30:5–6). So, Bezaleel is a clear image of Christ who appeared to us from the tribe of Judah according to the flesh and from the truly free nature, that is, the Divine and highest. But Eliab very well represents the Apostles and Evangelists who came as if from a slave, Jerusalem, as co-workers with Christ: for they were co-workers with God, as if he were working and applying skill in building churches. They brought from their zeal and goodwill to the works of the tabernacle and everything meaningful in their hearts, serving as images of teachers who had to be in time, who have zeal and care for doing the works of God and everything that tends to benefit the Church of Christ. Book 10. More about the same thing and about what happened in the holy tabernacle Is it clear to you, Palladius, and is the word we have spoken about the holy tabernacle and what was in it complete enough? Palladium. It’s clear – very clear, but not at all complete. Kirill. So, would you like us to very willingly move on again to what seems insufficient in our discussions about it? For you, in all likelihood, consider it necessary that a word should be added to explain how it was erected, and when, and how the things contained in it were located, and what justifications and laws, renewal and sanctification and judgments are. P. Yes, say more about each of these subjects: for you reason correctly. K. So, I will speak, you, in turn, be lenient, taking into account the complete difficulty of what is being considered, and if, perhaps, I say something that is far from thorough and deviates from the proper meaning, you change and correct: for I will make you an associate and assistant of my speech. P. Proceed, with God's help. K. So, when the works of the holy tabernacle were properly completed, and likewise each of its accessories was wisely and skillfully made, according to the example of beauty shown on the mountain, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall pitch the tabernacle of meeting” (Exodus 40:2). And after a few more words: “In the first month,” it says, “of the second year, on the first day of the month the tabernacle was erected. And Moses set up the tabernacle, laid up its stools, set up its beams, laid up its poles, and set up its pillars” (Ex. 40: 17-18). And so, by the will of God, the ancient tabernacle was erected, which very well revealed in itself the images of the Church conceived in Christ. Let us explore, if you like, the reasons why it was erected by Moses, and this time Joshua is silent about Joshua, although he always stood before the most powerful Moses, ascended Mount Sinai with him and, at the voice of Moses, fought and led the regiments into battle with Amalek: for once he (Moses) said to him: “Choose us husbands, and go and fight with the Amalekites; tomorrow" (Exodus 17:9). And he took up arms and won (Ex.40, 10, 13). Isn't the reason for this worthy of investigation? K. So, if anyone decides to carefully examine as much as possible the meaning of the sacrament in each of what is done, he will be amazed and say: “Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and understanding of God” (Rom. 11:33)! For look how deep and necessary the meaning is in each: with the divine Moses ascending the mountain, Jesus ascends together; for the Father is accessible in no other way than through the Son. And what He says is true: “no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Therefore, access to the saints themselves is possible only in Christ, and no one can ascend, as if on a mountain, to some high and exalted contemplation, but even, I think, to be close to God, that is, in the way of the union of life in the Spirit and sanctification, if Emmanuel is not with him, Who makes even the unattainable for men accessible and easily achieved. About this, I think, it was said through the mouth of Isaiah: “Let every valley be filled, and every mountain and hill be made low, the crooked paths will be straightened, and the rough paths will be made smooth” (Is. 40:4): for in Christ for us the steep is made smooth, and the rough - passable, and the rough - smooth and low; for, as the same prophet elsewhere says, “The path of the righteous is straight; You make the paths of the righteous smooth” (Is.26:7). So, Jesus necessarily descends with the divine Moses: for the Father is accessible, as I said, through the Son, and He is the Mediator, through Himself uniting us (with the Father) and raising us to a supernatural height. Joshua took up arms with the chosen men and defeated Amalek: for Christ, having chosen the saints, whose firstfruits were the Divine disciples, defeated the beginning of the leader of this age. But Moses was the one who commanded: for the Son was under the law (cf. Gal. 4:4), although he was also the Lawgiver as God. And the time of the militia was not on the very day on which the command of Moses was given, but in the morning, that is, it was postponed to another time: for the law foretold the future and contains a clear narrative about the deeds of the Savior, if we mean spiritually. For this reason, I think, Moses erected the holy tabernacle: for instruction through the law is not useless for the structure of the Church, because it leads children to Christ, who is the Head of the Church and every structure, “the pillar and foundation of the truth,” as it is written (1 Tim. 3:15). So Christ cried out to the Jews: “For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me, because he wrote about Me” (John 5:46). Therefore, Moses also creates, that is, instruction through the law, the Church of Christ, revealing its mystery, as if still in the shadows. The face of Moses sometimes represents the law given through him, as it is correctly said in the Gospel parables: “They have Moses and the prophets” (Luke 16:29). J. What is signified by the fact that the holy tabernacle had to be erected on one day and, moreover, on the new moons of the first month and in the second year (Ex. 40: 2, 17-18), we will say about this now, examining what is true and what seems best for readers: for one day indicates that longed for us and saving time, in which the Only Begotten, having become man, by His death Flesh acquired by the God and Father of those who exist on earth. This time was one of all: “he who died... died once... dies no more: death no longer has power over Him,” according to the Scriptures (Rom. 6, 7, 10, 9): for we will no longer expect that the Son will die for us and for the spirits who are in hell, and that there will be a second “firstfruits of those who have died” (1 Cor. 15, 20): because if there is no death, then how will there be a resurrection? So, we can, without telling a lie, say that there is one time for this, as I said recently, and one day, which the prophet mentioned, speaking as if on behalf of God: “In an acceptable time I heard You, and on the day of salvation I helped You” (Is. 49:8). The divine Paul also writes: “Now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2), in which Christ rose from the dead, destroying the terrible power of death, when he installed the holy Apostles, as if some kind of builders and spiritual artists of the Church from among the pagans, saying: “Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20): for is this not what you consider to be the structure of the Church? K. The faith betrayed by the holy secret guides and the life they preached, I mean in Christ and unity with God, accomplished through holy baptism and the communion of the Holy Spirit; for this is how Paul appeals to us, saying: “the cornerstone on which ... grows into the holy church in the Lord, ... into the habitation of God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:20-22; 1 Pet. 2:5), because in ancient times Christ was represented as in various vessels in the holy tabernacle, as a golden censer, as an ark, as a lamp, and also as a table and what was on her. At the present time, I think, each of those who believe is called the house and church of God, having Christ dwelling in him: for He “dwells ... by faith in our hearts,” as it is written (Eph. 3:17), being one and the same by nature, although thought of in the flesh, for “one God the Father, from whom are all things, ... one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him” (1 Cor. 8:6), in the various properties of the Divinity, having in Himself, as it were, diversity and variously conceived: because He exists in us as the Word of God, and Wisdom, and Light, and Life, and the Bread of Animals, and He Who Descends from Heaven (John 1, 14; 1 Cor. 1, 24, 30; John 8:12, 12:46, 14:6, 6:51). P. I understand what you are saying. K. So, the time of the incarnation and the most longed-for day of the resurrection from the dead was foreshadowed for us in ancient times by the words of God: “in the first month... set up a tabernacle” (Ex. 40:2). The words: “on the first day of the month” (ibid.) - can be considered, Palladius, as usefully and necessarily added: for just as the beginning of the month is the first of the days in it, that is, the new moon, so, as it were, some beginning of a new century and the onset of news of the times is the time of advent; because “in Christ he is a new creation; the ancient things have passed away” (2 Cor. 5:17; cf. Gal.6:15). It is as if a future age after the present is shining upon us, now, as it were, still visible in hope, but then truly destined to come, when Christ will again shine upon us with the holy Angels in the glory of the Father, having to take with Him and lead into the long-awaited glory and Kingdom those who have decided to walk in the news of life and have been enriched in patience by the most excellent beauty of the Gospel life. And that there is a “new creation” and, as it were, a new generation of times and things in “Christ,” this is very clearly indicated by the fortune-telling meaning of the “first month,” in which soft and fresh grass appears on the earth, plants bloom and the diverse beauty of meadow flowers is seen, with a joyful spring fragrance; for as if at the same time, Christ called out to the Church from the pagans, saying: “Arise, my beloved, my beautiful, come out!” Behold, winter has already passed; the rain has passed, stopped; flowers appeared on the ground;" (Song.2, 10-12): for the nature of man blossomed again, like a plant, having been dried up by death due to the crime of Adam and the sin that ruled over us all. I hear Christ speaking through one of the holy prophets: “I am the same who said: “Here I am!””, like spring time “on the mountains” (Is. 52: 6-7): for what spring produces in the mountains and forests, crowning the plants with a new branch, the coming of our Savior accomplished the same in us, which, according to the order of times, was as if in the second summer, and not in the first a time in which there was the law and the face of the prophets and in which death reigned: “for death reigned from Adam even to Moses” (Rom. 5:14). So, as if in the second year, that is, as if in the time following the first, in which there was a law, the Church of the Gentiles arose, having Christ dwelling in itself - the death of the prophets and the law (cf. Rom. 10:4 and Matt. 5:17). Don't you think that our word is directed towards a direct and true decision? K. I think that the true tabernacle was foreshadowed to us by the mouth of Isaiah, who speaks, as it were, to each of those called in faith to righteousness: “Your eyes will see Jerusalem, rich cities, tabernacles that will not be shaken; for the Church is the city of God, which the divine David remembered, saying: “Glorious things are proclaimed about you, city of God!” (Ps.86:3): she is richly adorned with the highest and heavenly gifts and has an unshakable standing, erection and abiding in firmness, for “the gates of hell will not prevail against her,” according to the word of the Savior (Matthew 16:18). P. You reason very correctly and plausibly. K. And that, when the tabernacle was erected, it should have been arranged in the order of what was in it, and not scattered and carelessly, this is what the Sovereign God teaches everyone, saying: “And thou shalt place in it the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the veil; and bring in the table and place all its things on it, and bring in the lamp and place its lamps on it; and thou shalt set up the golden altar of incense before the ark of the testimony, and hang the veil at the entrance of the tabernacle.... and thou shalt set up the altar of burnt offering before the entrance of the tabernacle of the congregation; and set up the courtyard around and hang a curtain at the gate of the courtyard” (Ex. 40: 3–6, 8). But in this one can see that sacred vessels were brought into the holy tabernacle; the proper and separate place for each cannot yet be clearly seen. So would you like us to gather subtle and precise information about these kinds of tabernacle-related commands? K. So God said to the holy Moses: “And you shall make a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet wool and fine woven linen; Cherubim must be made on it with skillful work; and hang it on four pillars of shittim, overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four sockets of silver; and hang the veil on hooks, and bring in there the ark of the testimony within the veil; and a veil will separate you from the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. And put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Holy of Holies. And thou shalt place the table without the veil, and the lamp against the table on the south side of the tabernacle; set the table on the north side... And you shall make the curtain for the entrance to the tabernacle of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and fine woven linen; And thou shalt make five pillars of shittim for the curtain, and overlay them with gold; the hooks for them are gold; and pour out for them five sockets of brass” (Ex. 26:31–37). But this is what is said about this; about the laver as follows: “Make a brass laver for washing and a brass base, and place it between the tabernacle of the congregation and between the altar” (Ex. 30:18) Is what was said about each item clear to you? P. Not so clear: I am in difficulty, I assure you, and. I can’t say what this means. K. So, for each of the proposed instructions, taking what is useful for their consideration, I will make, as best I can, a clear and understandable interpretation. The holy tabernacle was erected, Palladius, in the desert, as if in a dual position and form: one part of it was internal, and its name was the Holy of Holies; the vestibule, as it were, for some to it and the first part near it was that which was called the Holy. And in the inner tabernacle there was placed an ark, having on four golden pillars a veil, skillfully made of blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and fine woven linen. But having already said and, as I think, enough about fine linen, about purple, scarlet and blue wool, let’s remove the identical word, and this time we will only say the following: the veil on four golden pillars, the foundations of which were silver, then manifested the mystery of Christ: for did not the wise Paul also call the Body of Christ a veil for us, so saying: “which” (that is, the entrance to the holy) “having boldness to enter... by a new and living way, the veil... that is, His flesh" (Heb. 10, 20, 19.) K. So see, as if in shadow and fortune-telling, that the Word, being God and from God the Father by nature, was, as it were, in a golden and imperishable ark, in the church received from the Virgin: for the Body of Christ is incorruptible and honest; He hardly hid himself, as if behind a veil, having taken on flesh. We say that the Word born of God is not hidden in such a way that It is limited to a small body: the Son exists everywhere and in everything, but it hides carefully and waits for the time of manifestation. The time of the revelation to everyone is the resurrection from the dead: for before the honorable cross He commanded the holy disciples, “forbade them to announce Him,” as it is written (Matthew 12:16). After He had suffered death and was resurrected, He said: “Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). So, the curtain was hung on the pillars, hiding the ark inside, and was the image of Christ, raised to heights by the preaching of the holy Evangelists and in the glory of the Divine visible to those in the holy tabernacle, that is, in the Church. There are four pillars, golden and silvered: equal in number are the Evangelists, bright and honest. So, the ark was laid, and a curtain of fine linen, purple and other wool reaching from top to bottom made it invisible. From the top of the curtain and the Cherubim located to the right and left, God gave revelations, showing that He is above all creation and that even all the highest of rational beings, that is, the Seraphim, are lower than the Divine and ineffable glory and bear a spear even to the Son, although He became flesh and was, as it were, in diminished equality before the Father, since He became a man. That is why He Himself said: “My Father is greater than Me” (John 14:28). Being equal to the One who gave birth by nature, he says that he became less than Him only in humanity. Therefore, in the holy tabernacle around the veil there are Cherubim, and they bear spears to the Son as to God. Also, above the curtain itself, which was the image of Christ, God is thought: for it is said: “And I will be known to you from there, and I will speak to you” (Ex. 25:22): because the Father is above all creation and Immanuel Himself, not insofar as He is thought and is God, - for He is equal to God in everything - but in relation to the image of a servant and the measure of humanity. P. How subtle and deep the word is. K. However, it does not move away from the target. K. After establishing the ark, “and set up a golden altar,” he says, “for incense before the ark” (Ex. 40:5). And that the “golden altar” is Christ, it seems to me that we have said enough about this. He is placed in front of the ark, over which there was a veil, and around - the Seraphim and above all - God, as if receiving the incomparable fragrance of Immanuel: for “he committed no sin, and there was no lie in his mouth,” as it is written (Is. 53:9); That’s why He Himself said: “The Father loves the Son” (John 3:35). We are also pleasing to God, fragrant with the peace of Christ, as Paul also assures us when he writes: “But thanks be to God, who always makes us triumph in Christ and spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Himself to us in every place. For we are Christ’s aroma to God” (2 Cor. 2:14–15). K. Penetrating with our gaze what is written, we will understand for sure that the ark was placed on the side of the holy tabernacle, which is to the west; in front of him is a golden altar in the eastern place: for the east and west, north and south are filled with Christ. Likewise, the place for the lamp is the southern side of the tabernacle, and the place for the meal is the northern side. And that Christ is signified by both of these objects, we have already shown in a long speech: for that Christ is light, the lamp indicates this; and that He is life and living bread, this is indicated by the table and what was on it. Just think about this and look at this mystery: the southernmost is the country of the Jews, and the northernmost is the country of the pagans. So, from the position of both, that is, the lamp and the table, those who wish can very easily understand that Christ shone as a light to the Jews and preached among them: “I am the light” (John 8:12): for He “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). And their “promises”, according to the Scriptures (Rom. 9:4). since they did not accept the light of truth, He became life and bread from heaven for the Gentiles. And the pagans are not without light: you can learn this from the fact that the light of the lamp reached the northern parts of the tabernacle. Since the holy tabernacle was cramped, it is not unreasonable to think that the lamp was placed almost next to the table, although there was a place to the south. This image also shows us in another way that when the Divine light shines, those worthy can partake of Christ as animal and true bread. The divine Paul also writes that the pagans became “fellow partners and partakers” of Christ (Eph. 3:6). The pagans became fellow-bodies and partakers, filled with light, that is, mental, when “the day illuminates and the morning star shines” in the mind, as one of the Savior’s disciples said (2 Pet. 1:19). When everything in the Holy of Holies was thus arranged and arranged, He commanded that a curtain or veil be made of blue, purple, and scarlet cloth and fine woven linen (Ex. 26:36). And he said that it should certainly be spread over the entrances to the tabernacle, hanging it on five gilded pillars, the bases of which were copper. And what is stretched over the doors is called a curtain because, I think, it was pulled back with the help of small rings, revealing the entrance; but, being then closed and extending its full width over the doors, it hid the Holy. The five pillars, gilded and with copper stools, represent the teachers and church leaders who appeared as if in the fifth time, in which the coming of Christ took place; who, rightly teaching the word of truth, are honest as gold and euphonious as brass, because “Their sound goes throughout the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world” (Ps. 18:5; cf. Rom. 10:18), and who, through skillful and divinely inspired secrecy, open, as it were, the entrance to those who wish to enter the Holy of Holies. So, the Holy of Holies, that is, the inner tabernacle, was closed with a veil. Directly adjacent to and built upon the second was the first tabernacle, which had an altar for offerings, on which every blood offering, grain offering, and frankincense, and every sacrifice and drink offering were made; and besides the altar there is also a copper laver. The place for the altar was in front of the doors of the tabernacle, obviously external, and the laver was in the very middle of the tabernacle. P. What is the meaning of this new remark of yours? K. Everything in Holy Scripture, Palladius, is accurate, and absolutely nothing in it is in vain: for look how this mysterious injunction shows us that the law leads children to Christ. The altar of service according to the law is placed at the very entrance to the Holy of Holies: for the law leads us only to the beginnings of the sacraments of Christ and, as it were, to the first entrances into the exact knowledge of Him, but in no way introduces us into the Holy of Holies, that is, into the inner tabernacle, in which Christ exists in many forms - as the Word of God, as light, as living bread, as the aroma of fragrance to God and the Father. Do you not think that these preparatory acts of service under the law were the elements and principles of the words of God? K. And that “the law brought nothing to perfection, ... for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 7:19, 10:4), you will recognize this immediately and without much difficulty, as soon as you think about the use of the laver. It was placed in the middle of the first tabernacle, bright and visible from all sides, serving as a preliminary washing with its water for those entering the Holy of Holies: for this was the law for the priests regarding this. So, even the apparent perfection in the law is imperfect, foreshadowing the purification through holy baptism, which washes out the sacred race, I mean those justified in the faith, by whom the divine disciple also proclaimed, saying: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2, 9). You should also know that if there was a veil spread over the door of the outer tabernacle, so that the Holy One, that is, the first tabernacle in which the legal altar (censer) was located, was not exposed and visible to those from outside, then this image, I think, again means that even the law itself was not clear to those who read it: for the letter of the law has a veil on itself and is covered and clothed with some obscurity, as if by some kind of shadow. K. So, in the first tabernacle there was a laver and an altar, in the second and inner one there was an ark and a lamp, as well as a golden censer, on which fine incense was burned, then the meal and the loaves. The divine Paul also mentions the “golden vessel of manna” (Heb. 9:4). He also tells us the rod of Aaron, about which he says that it was placed in the Holy of Holies, speaking as one who is versed in the Holy Scriptures, and knowing very well what was spoken by God at certain times and what He commanded to blessed Moses. He also knew the table and the lamp that were in the first tabernacle. And he writes in this way about the two covenants: “By saying ‘new’, he showed the dilapidation of the first; and the decaying and aging is close to destruction. And the first covenant had a decree concerning worship and an earthly sanctuary: for the first tabernacle was built, in which was a lamp, and a table, and an offering of bread, and which is called the Holy Place. Behind the second veil was a tabernacle called the Holy of Holies, which had a golden censer and an ark of the covenant lined on all sides with gold, where there was a golden vessel with manna, Aaron's rod that blossomed and the tablets of the covenant, and above it the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the atonement; about which there is no need now to speak in detail” (Heb. 8:13, 9:1–5). P. But if someone wanted to be curious and said that he should express the reasons for this whole structure, then what kind of conversation would we have about it? K. The speech is this, Palladius, that one thing was commanded by God before the construction of the holy tabernacle, and another after this: for in the book of Exodus and even before the images of the holy tabernacle were shown and commands were given regarding it, He, knowing the future, spoke a word about the golden frame (Ex. 16:33). After the erection of the whole tabernacle, in the book of Numbers we find Aaron’s rod brought into the Holy of Holies (Num. 17:10). And in the book of Leviticus, God also adds the law about the lamp, as well as about the meal that was in the first tabernacle (Lev. 24:2ff). Being well versed in the law, the wise Paul omits absolutely nothing from the past, but mentions the first, middle and last. P. You said it perfectly. So explain each subject in particular clearly and separately: because, of course, what is said about it has a deep meaning. K. Yes, you say correctly: for this is truly the case. And I will begin my interpretation with the stamna. Like rain, God sent down manna to the children of Israel in the desert: it was food and bread for them from above and from heaven. But what was happening did not only extend to the sensory: for, as if through an image and a canopy, it raised the mind to the idea that in time the Word would come to us from above and from the Father, like bread from heaven, as the divine David shows us, saying: “He gave them the bread of heaven.” Man ate the bread of angels” (Ps. 77:24-25). And we do not say that sensory manna is bread from heaven and angelic: for the spirit is nourished spiritually, but the body is fed in accordance with its own nature, that is, bodily. The food of angels and the bread befitting heaven and the highest spirits is the Word born from God the Father. So manna meant Christ. But the image would not bring any benefit if the truth were not shown in it, it was the shadow of it, not for its own sake, but so that something better could be depicted in it. Therefore, Christ wisely reproached the Jewish people for the fact that they were no longer amazed at Him as at the truth, but at Moses, the servant of images. He said this: “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven... For the bread of God is the one that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world... I am the bread of life” (John 6:32–33, 35). So, having made the manna an image of the Word that came down from above and from heaven, God also spoke about the stone. It is written like this: “And Moses said, This is what the Lord commanded: fill Omer [with manna] for storage throughout your generations, so that you may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt. And Moses said to Aaron: Take one vessel... and put in it an omer full of manna, and set it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations. And Aaron set it before the ark of the testimony for safekeeping” (Ex. 16:32–34). As we said that the ark, which contained the word of the Divine, meant Immanuel, for the Word of God was, as it were, in a holy church, in a church received from the Virgin: so in the same way the golden stamna, which contained sensual manna, shows us the Word that has descended from above and gives life, that is, from the Father, as if in a sacred and undefiled body. The container was full of manna, because “in Him dwells all the fullness of the Divinity bodily,” according to the words of Blessed Paul (Col. 2:9). And “without measure... he gives the Spirit” (John 3:34): for Christ is all-perfect. The stamna was laid down for observance throughout the generations of the children of Israel: for Christ is incorruptible and always abides, and we know it very well always and at all times. And he is before the Lord, that is, before the eyes of the Father: for when the Only Begotten was made like us, then he “went into the Holy Place” of Saints, “into the greater and more perfect tabernacle... into heaven itself, to appear now for us in the presence of God,” as it is written (Heb. 9:11-12, 24). And He does not place Himself before the face of the Father, but us, as it were, in Himself, although we were removed from His face and, as it were, from His eyes because of the transgression in Adam and the sin that ruled over all. Therefore, in Christ we had “bringing and boldness to enter into the Holy Place,” as the wise Paul told us (Eph. 2:18 and Heb. 10:19): for just as we stood together and sat down “in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 2:6), so again in Him we appeared before the face of the Father. Of the sacred stone, let this be said; and now let us say, if you like, that the very rod of Aaron means Christ. K. So, Korah, as well as Abiron and also Dathan, came from the tribe and blood of Levi; and while they were entrusted with the “service in the holy tabernacle” established by a definition from above, as it is said (Num. 16:9), they thirsted for the glory of Moses and Aaron, delighting themselves with honor, but not being called to this by God (cf. Heb. 5:4); and, puffed up with indomitable audacity, very proud, they make an intolerable and even completely intolerable slander against both; like oxen leaving the herd, they move away and, shaking off the service of God, convince other wicked people to retreat with them. But they were punished for their insolence: for the earth, opening its mouth, brought down the arrogant people to hell, along with their relatives, tents and their property (Num. 16, 31-33). Wanting to make it clear to everyone that by a decree from above, and not by the desires of Moses, the rank superior to the priesthood was assigned to Aaron, the Lawmaker said to the most excellent Moses: “Speak to the children of Israel and take from them a rod from each tribe, from all their leaders by tribe, twelve rods, and write each name on his rod; write the name of Aaron on the rod of Levi, for one rod is from the chief of their tribe [they shall give]; and you shall put them in the tabernacle of meeting, before the ark of the testimony, where I appear to you; and whomever I choose, the rod will blossom; and so will I calm the murmuring of the children of Israel, wherewith they murmur against you. And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and all their rulers gave him a rod from each ruler, and according to their tribes twelve rods, and Aaron's rod was among their rods. And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of testimony. The next day Moses entered... into the tabernacle of testimony, and behold, the rod of Aaron, from the house of Levi, blossomed, sprouted buds, gave blossom and brought forth almonds. And Moses brought out all the rods from the presence of the Lord to all the children of Israel. And they saw this and each took his staff. And the Lord said to Moses: Place again the rod of Aaron before the ark of the testimony for safekeeping, as a sign for the disobedient, so that their murmuring against Me will cease, and they will not die” (Num. 17: 2-10). So, the fact that the rod blossomed is a clear sign that the divine Aaron was brightly and especially chosen from the clan of Levi for sacred rites. But if we move from this rod, as a still crude image, to spiritual contemplation, then the mystery of Christ will shine again. K. Emmanuel was chosen by God and the Father to be the Lawgiver and at the same time the Bishop for us, having to offer Himself as a sacrifice for us (cf. Heb. 4:14, 9, etc.), for so blessed Paul said: “the law appoints as high priests those who have infirmities; and the word of the oath, after the law, established the Son, perfect forever” (Heb. 7:28). So, the Word came down from heaven and became like us, becoming “a priest of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man” (Heb. 8:2). But those who came from the family of Israel did not want to think right: as if bringing their own desire to battle with Him, they threw arrows of envy at Him in various ways, sparing neither tongue, nor insolence, nor extraordinary efforts, destroying themselves, unfortunate ones, and finally crucified. But the rod from the root of Jesse blossomed, Christ rose and came to life, “breaking the bonds of death,” as it is written (Acts 2:24): for how was it possible to “hold” by death (ibid.), and is it not more characteristic of Him who, as God, by nature is life, to overcome corruption? And just as the growth of the rod and the unexpected vegetation of the now colorless tree for the ancients served as a sufficient sign that Aaron had been chosen as high priest by a decree from above, so the trampling of death and the divine resurrection serves, in our opinion, as a bright and clear and very sufficient proof that Immanuel is by nature God. So Christ Himself, although without difficulty and easily could have accomplished everything that was beyond probability and reason, nevertheless said to those who demanded a sign from Him: “This generation is evil, it seeks a sign, and a sign will not be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah; ... for just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” (Luke 11:29; Matthew 12:40). So, a truly glorious and visible sign for the truly prudent, sufficient for faith that the Son is by nature God and born of God the Father, is the abolition of death and corruption and prosperity to life, for “He is the firstfruits, the firstborn from the dead and the firstborn of those who sleep” (Col. 1:18; 1Cor. 15:20). And this sign was given to the sons of the disobedient, so that they would know that by definition of God and the Father Christ became for us “High Priest: holy, free from evil, blameless, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens,” as it is written (Heb. 7:26). P. But for us, not only did Aaron’s rod bloom (for this was recently shown to us by the sacred word), but also “nuts grew.” I cannot understand what this mysterious saying means. K: First of all, Palladium, there is nothing incredible in the assumption that the rod was made of walnut wood. And it was the custom of the ancients to use such rods. If we must apply the meaning proper to contemplation, then I would say again what has already been revealed and seems worthy of belief to some, namely, that a walnut rod has not enough power to produce insomnia if it is placed in the head of someone, producing that effect by natural forces by the will of God. The All-Knowing One and the Creator of all things will assure us of this, saying to Jeremiah: “What do you see, Jeremiah? I said: I see the almond tree rod. The Lord said to me: you see correctly; for I am watching over My word, that it may speedily be fulfilled” (Jer. 1:11-12). So, the nut staff can rightly be recognized as a symbol of wakefulness. The resurrection of Christ from the dead was like an awakening from a dream. Therefore, through the lyre of the Psalmist he says: “I lie down, sleep and get up, for the Lord protects me” (Ps. 3:6). K. About the lamp and the table that was in the first tabernacle, it is also written like this: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Command the children of Israel, so that they bring you pure oil, beaten, for illumination, so that the lamp will continually burn; outside the veil of the ark of the testimony in the tabernacle of meeting, Aaron [and his sons] shall set it up before the Lord from evening to morning always: this is an everlasting statute throughout your generations; They must always set up their lamp on a clean candlestick before the Lord. And take some wheat flour and bake twelve loaves of it; in every loaf there shall be two tenths of an ephah; and place them in two rows, six in a row, on a clean table before the Lord; and put on [each] row pure frankincense... and it will be with the bread, as a memorial, as a sacrifice to the Lord; on every Sabbath day the children of Israel must continually set them before the Lord: this is an everlasting covenant; they will belong to Aaron and his sons, who will eat them in the holy place, for this is a great sanctuary for them from the sacrifices of the Lord: this is an everlasting decree” (Lev. 24: 1-9). So, what is required is pure oil and, moreover, olive oil, that is, from olives, and not from foreign and earthen seeds, from which the oil is squeezed out as if it were not real and counterfeit: for the light in the churches is always pure and truly unadulterated, that is, through Christ given by the Spirit, although it is taught through the mouth of the saints, to whom Christ said: “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). And there is nothing surprising: for those whom He called brethren and made Himself partakers, to those He naturally gives the glory of His own merits. So, a lamp is lit, and in the first tabernacle, and this can have a double meaning. In the inner tabernacle there are seven lamps, kindled in the morning and emitting abundant light on those who enter into it. The lamp is again, as it were, in the form of Christ, shining with abundant light on many who wish to enter the Holy of Holies: for “come,” it says, “to Him and be enlightened” (Ps. 33:6). Also, the lighting of lamps in the morning can signify the time of His incarnation: for then He shone like any day, and the mental light shone, driving away the darkness of our ancient ignorance and dispelling the darkness that hung like night over the hearts of all. This is how the prophet called us the time of the coming of the Savior, saying: “early hear my voice, early I will appear before You, and I will wait” (Ps. 5:4): for when the prayers of all became acceptable and we, who of old wandered, seemed to appear to God through affinity, obviously spiritual, and through the obedience of faith, if not when the light from heaven shone for us, that is, Christ? So, in the inner tabernacle there was abundant and pure light of seven lamps, in the first tabernacle there was a lamp shining and showing, as I think, that those who gave birth to children in the law themselves were not without the light of the Divine: for the law given through Moses called from polytheism to the knowledge of Him who is by nature and truly God, distracted the ancients from serving creatures besides the Creator and convinced them to worship the Creator of all; and this happened in the souls of those who had children, not without mental light. So, I will say again, abundantly and great is the illumination sent down from Christ to those who enter the Holy of Holies, but to those who are less in the law. And the word is true: for in no way can the legal canopy be equal in spiritual light to the sayings of the Gospel: because they illuminate the entire universe, and that was known only to those who came from Israel. K. It seems that Palladius also signifies something else: the table and the lamp that were in the first tabernacle. K. The lamp perhaps represents to us the divine John the Baptist, while the twelve loaves represent the face of the holy Apostles. K. Or don’t you know that the divine Baptist would have been a certain lamp who preceded Christ in the law and lived in Judea, and God the Father foretold about Him: “I will set up a lamp for My anointed” (Ps. 131:17). The Savior Himself testified to this, speaking about him to the teachers of the Jews: “He was a lamp, burning and shining; but you wanted to rejoice in its light for a little while” (John 5:35). See how blessed Paul, well versed in the law, almost brings up the reminder of the lamp that was in the first tabernacle: because the Lawmaker commanded that it be kept unquenchable, saying: “so that the lamp may burn continually; ...in the tabernacle of meeting Aaron [and his sons] shall set it before the Lord from evening to morning always” (Lev. 24:2-3). But the Jews, having rejoiced over him for a very short time, since they resorted to baptism through him and were much amazed at him, put him to death, as if extinguishing an always shining lamp: for although this audacity is attributed to Herod, he was also from the family of Israel. Therefore, Christ, accusing the Jewish people of insolence against every saint, says: “It does not happen that a prophet perishes outside of Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33). P. Thus, the divine Baptist was for those who were in the law and living in Judea a light and a lamp in the likeness and communion of Christ. K. That's what I say. Likewise, by bread, we think, are meant the holy Apostles: for although one is by nature and truly the Bread from heaven and life-giving; but by imitation and by communion of Him Who is Bread by nature, the divine secret guides are the bread that nourishes us in piety, bringing into us the words of life and removing the hunger of ignorance from the souls of believers. The breads are equal in number to the disciples: for there are twelve of them and they are placed in two positions, six on one side, as it is said, and six on the other, almost encircling the meal and having in the middle place placed one Bread and the heavenly one, that is, Christ. And “two tithes” each, that is, from two perfect measures: for on both sides the Divine disciples were perfect, having perfection in everything that was good, excellent in deed and word. In addition, frankincense and salt are sprinkled on the loaves, and frankincense indicates the aroma in the sanctification and incense of Christ, and salt indicates prudence: for the word of the saints is not foolish or foolish, it is new “mixed with grace and salt,” as it is written (Col. 4:6), and “giving grace to those who hear” (Eph.4:29). It was said to them and by Christ: “you are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). The bread is offered on the Sabbath day: for the day of the election of the holy Apostles is the time of the mental Sabbath, that is, the coming of Christ, which those who came from Israel did not know, which is why Paul says about them: “Therefore for the people of God there still remains a Sabbath” (Heb. 4:9): for they did not enter into His rest without receiving faith in Him. So, the time of the coming of our Savior is a mental and true Sabbath. The offering of the loaves was in the eyes of God, and in the eyes of Israel: for it is said that you will offer “every Sabbath day you must continually lay them before the Lord from the children of Israel” (Lev. 24:8), - in the eyes of God because God contemplates and continually deigns His gaze to the saints; for it is said: “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous” (Ps. 33:16); in the eyes of Israel because he must listen to them and, as it were, fix the eye of reason on them, the image of which can be the (eye) of the body. But “they will,” it is said, “belong to Aaron and his sons, who will eat them” (Lev. 24:9): for the writings of the holy Apostles are offered for writing to us, justified in the faith, to a holy and sacred race, people of renewal, chosen and anointed by the grace of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Pet. 2:9 and 1 John 2:20, 27). P. You said it well, and I agree with you. But why are the images of the Holy Baptist and the Holy Apostles placed not in the Holy of Holies, but in the first tabernacle? J. First of all, because the distance is great, so that where Christ is, there cannot be anything pertaining to the saints, but, as it were, outside and in a lower place: for the Divine is taken away and beyond measure, and a great difference separates the human from it, making the peculiarity of natures and the difference of glory incomparable. Then because they were from the Jews and from serving under the law. Therefore, the place that seems appropriate for them is the first tabernacle, in which stood the representative altar of offerings. Or don’t you think that the title of holy disciples was from the line of Israel and from the tabernacle, as it were, first? K. So, since we have said very much about this, we will cite, if you wish, the word of the divine Paul, which perfectly explains the testimony about the first and second tabernacles. He writes like this: “With such a structure, the priests always enter the first tabernacle to perform Divine services; and in the second, once a year the high priest alone, not without blood, which he brings for himself and for the sins of ignorance of the people. By this the Holy Spirit shows that the way into the sanctuary has not yet been opened as long as the former tabernacle stands. She is an image of the present time, in which gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make the offerer perfect in conscience, and which, with food and drink, and various washings and rituals pertaining to the flesh, were established only until the time of correction. But Christ, the High Priest of future good things, having come with a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of such a construction, and not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, once entered into the sanctuary and obtained eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:6-12). So, you understand that in the first tabernacle the priests performed services, not having the right to enter the Holy of Holies: for this is, as it were, ministry under the law, abiding in the shadows. But this is in vain for the cleansing and washing away of sin: for you recently heard Paul crying that all this does not have enough power “in the conscience of him who is perfect” (Heb. 9:9); it was observed more “until the time of correction,” that is, the incarnation of the Only Begotten, when the ugliness of the images turned into truth. “By one summer_) and one bishop” entered the Holy of Holies. And “not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of ignorance of the people” (Heb. 9: 7). And the wise Paul will make this clear to us, speaking about Christ: “Having said before that “neither sacrifices, nor offerings, nor burnt offerings, nor sacrifices for sin, which are offered according to the law, you did not want and did not deigned,” then added: “Behold, I come to fulfill Your will, O God.” He cancels the first in order to establish the second. By this will we are sanctified by the one-time offering of the body of Jesus Christ. And every priest stands in ministry every day, and repeatedly makes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. He, having made one sacrifice for sins, sat down forever at the right hand of God, then waiting until His enemies were made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Heb. 10:8-14): for having died “once,” He “dies no more,” as it is written (Rom. 6:9-10). “Having offered Himself as a sacrifice,” He entered the Holy of Holies, “but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us” (Heb. 9:24). P. The speech is clear, therefore don’t bother talking about it; But explain to me, I ask you, what kind of blood it was, which it was the custom of the leader of the priests to offer for himself and for the sins of ignorance of the people. K. Paul, being knowledgeable in the law and very much diligent in the commandment of Moses, says this to the Jewish people, as wise in this matter and having read the law about such honest and ineffable things, he does not speak in the breadth of the narrative, but, on the contrary, in passing and as a reminder only of what was already known to them. I will cite, if you wish, the law about this for those who want to be inquisitive and who greatly desire precision and finishing in the explanation of the objects they contemplate. So, in the book of Leviticus it is written: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Tell the children of Israel: if any soul sins by mistake against any of the commandments of the Lord and does anything that he ought not to do; If the anointed priest sins and makes the people guilty, then for the sin that he has committed, let him present a bullock from the herd, without blemish, to the Lord as a sin offering, and bring the bullock to the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord, and lay his hands on the head of the bullock, and kill the bullock before the Lord; and the anointed priest shall take the blood of the bull and bring it into the tabernacle of meeting, and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle the blood seven times before the Lord, before the veil of the sanctuary; And the priest shall put the blood [of the bull] before the Lord on the horns of the altar of incense, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and the rest of the blood of the bull shall pour out at the foot of the altar of burnt offerings, which is at the entrance of the tabernacle of the congregation; And he will take out of the calf for sin all the fat thereof, the fat that covers the entrails, and all the fat that is on the entrails, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is on the thighs, and the seal on the liver; he will separate it from the kidneys, just as he separates it from the body of a peace offering; and the priest shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering; and let him take the skin of the calf and all its meat with its head and its legs, and its entrails and its uncleanness, the whole calf outside the camp to a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn it with fire on wood; where the ashes fall, there let them be burned" (Lev. 4, 1–12). The law commanded this to happen in the event that a person superior in the priesthood is accused of any of the sins of ignorance. There must be, he says, a sacrifice made for the sins of ignorance of the people, and a calf was brought and in the same way slain at the door of the tabernacle of testimony before the Lord, the elders of the host laid hands on it, and its blood was brought into the Holy of Holies, in a word, everything was done over it in the likeness of the sacrifice for Aaron. But that the cleansing of both the priests and the people is Christ (for in Him we are justified, cleansed from the filth of sin), this can already be clear to anyone from this. We will speak about each part of what is written separately: because in this way our word will move forward separately, revealing as much as possible what is hidden. K. So, the calf is taken, blameless and without injury, into the image of Christ, truly blameless and not allowing Himself to suffer the wounds of sin: “For the prince of this world comes,” He says, “and has nothing in Me” (John 14:30). For He “has not committed sin,” according to the Scriptures (1 Pet. 2:22). He is brought to the very doors of the saint. tabernacles before the Lord, as if not refusing to suffer for the holy tabernacle, that is, for the Church, and offered for it as a fragrant aroma to God and the Father. Therefore, he said: “for them I dedicate myself” (John 17:19), saying “I dedicate” instead of: “I bring and consecrate myself as an undefiled offering to God and the Father”; that which is dedicated to God is called sanctified, as it is written nowhere: “It is a snare for a man to hastily make a vow, and after the vow to consider” (Prov. 20:25). And that the offering is pleasant and acceptable, this is indicated by the words: “before the Lord,” because we understand what is written about a pair of brothers, - I’m talking about Cain and Abel: for “the Lord looked upon, - it is said, - Abel and Abel. his gift, but Cain and his gift he did not respect” (Gen. 4:4-5). That He looks at what is pleasing to Him and turns away with hatred from what is not is clear. By laying the hands of the sinner on the calf, the slaughter is performed, and, moreover, before the Lord: for “He took upon Himself our infirmities and bore our illnesses” (Is. 53:4), slaughtered, since the hand serves as an image of deeds and deeds. And before the Lord it is tempered because the Father almost condescends to have the Son die for us, for he does not turn away when he looks at the person being sacrificed, not praising, of course, the suffering, but not unaware that Emmanuel’s suffering for us brings salvation to the world. So, He Himself lifted up “our infirmities and bore our illnesses,” undergoing slaughter for our sake on an honorable cross. Then the “priest,” taking the blood with his finger, “sprinkles... seven times” on the holy curtain that was above the ark. Its name is purgatory. He will also anoint the horns of the altar of incense, for Christ became a “cleansing” for us and a purification (1 John 2:2 and Rom. 3:25). Then in the blood of the eternal covenant He gives us the most perfect cleansing: for this, I think, means to sprinkle the blood of the purification seven times, since the number seven is a symbol; perfection. Even His death is fragrant with the salvation of the world, life and bringing in faith: “if one died for all, then all died... so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again,” according to the Scriptures (2 Cor. 5:14-15). So, anointing with the blood of the golden censer means the fragrance of death (Christ). - The rest of the blood is poured out at the foot of the altar of offerings in the first tabernacle; and blood serves as an image of the soul. Emmanuel laid down his life not only for the church of the pagans, but also for those under the law, that is, Israel; for we have been redeemed by the Blood of Christ all together, Greeks and Jews, and Paul testifies to this, saying: “Is God really the God of the Jews only, and not of the Gentiles? Of course, also the Gentiles, because there is one God, who will justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcised through faith” (Rom. 3:29-30). After the very entrails of the calf are removed and offered up on the altar, the rest of the body is burned outside the camp: for He (Christ) Himself is a sacred sacrifice, fragrant with virtues, the image of which the entrails can serve, since the virtues are, as it were, hidden in us and contained within the soul; He Himself is also the one who suffers outside the gates, and through the death of His Flesh he cleanses the defiled: “for... the ashes of a heifer, when sprinkled, sanctify those who are defiled, so that the body may be clean” (Heb. 9:13). So, remaining one and the same, Emmanuel also smells fragrant in the holy tabernacles, that is, in the churches, and suffered “outside the gates,” where we must also include “the reproach of those who bear him,” said the divine Paul (Heb. 13:12-13). The calf is brought for the sins of ignorance of the people in the same way and without change, and the method of sacrifice was the same in everything: for in the same way Emmanuel offered himself for the small and the great, and the people and the priests. Or is what I say not true? K: So don't you want us, as if turning the word back, to turn to the stories about the tabernacle? K. So, when all the work was completed and the sacred vessels were very well located in the most appropriate place for each of them, then God commanded to consecrate them and the tabernacle, thus speaking to the divine Moses: “And take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and everything that is in it, and consecrate it and all its utensils, and it will be holy; anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and sanctify the altar, and the altar will be greatly holy” (Ex. 40:9-10). So, you see anointed with holy oil and the ark, and the table, and the lamp with it, and the golden censer; and that by all this Immanuel is typified, this has already been explained to us by a lengthy word. K. So, understand what is sung, as it were, to Him (God) in the voice of David: “Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore, O God, Thy God has anointed Thee with the oil of joy more than Thy companions” (Ps. 44:8); Paul also writes: “For both he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of One” (Heb. 2:11). But one must know that, according to the irreproachable teaching, He Himself, being as God, together with God and the Father, the giver and co-dispenser of sanctification for all others, is nevertheless sanctified together with us according to His humanity. And this is the so-called “humiliated” (Phil. 2:7); for, being holy by nature, like God, He is recognized as having need of a sanctifying God. And this is what blessed Peter says: “Jesus, who was of Nazareth, because God anointed him with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 10:38). So, the anointing and sanctification of the flesh refers to humanity, holy not by nature, but as if by communion from God: for sanctification comes to creatures from without, and after receiving from God they abound in grace. Along with other objects, the altar of service according to the law is also anointed: for holy is the law, which calls for the anointing of Him who is God by nature, and puts into the souls of the hearers the knowledge of righteousness and leads those who give birth to the firstfruits of goodness: “the beginning,” it is said, “of the way of goodness, to do righteousness” (Proverbs 16:6). The divine Paul also writes nowhere: “the same... the law holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom. 12). The Law is the Holy of Holies, not because it is, but because, if we turn to spiritual contemplation, its images proclaim to us Christ Himself, truly the Holy of Holies, for as God He sanctifies, anointing with His Spirit those who have become partakers of Him through faith, after speaking about the exaltation and anointing with holy oil. we will tell the tabernacle, if you please, and what followed. K. It is written thus: “And he set up the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the curtain at the gate of the court. And so Moses finished the job. And the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle; and Moses could not enter into the tabernacle of meeting, because a cloud overshadowed it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. When the cloud lifted from the tabernacle, then the children of Israel set out on their entire journey; if the cloud did not rise, then they did not set off until it was lifted, for the cloud of the Lord stood over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night in the presence of all the house of Israel throughout their journey” (Exodus 40:33-38). When the holy and true tabernacle appeared in the world, that is, the Church formed from pagans, then the light of Christ shone and, as it were, some spiritual cloud, abundantly watering us with dew from above, fills the Divine Temple. However, “Moses could not enter,” it is said: for Israel did not enter, unable to bear the rays of the Divine light, and did not comprehend the mystery of Christ, nor did he achieve spiritual enlightenment and did not see with the eyes of the mind the glory of the Lord, together with Whom, rising as if in the form of a cloud from the world and marching to the heights, and we rise in the footsteps of the rulers: because He has renewed a new and living way ( Hebrews 10:19-20), I mean, to the heights and to the sky; with Him, as if calming and stopping, we also will calm down and stop together. With the rise of the cloud, the people rose and stopped: for “the cloud,” it is said, “was standing over the tabernacle by day, and the fire was by night”; because Christ gives spiritual gifts to those who are, as it were, in day and light, because they have received a subtle and thorough knowledge of Him and have an enlightened mind; illuminates those who are in ignorance. And there is absolutely no darkness of worldly flattery in the churches, since Christ surrounds them with brilliance and illuminates everything with mental light: for “you are all sons of light and sons of the day: we are not the sons of night nor of darkness,” according to what is written (1 Thessalonians 5:5). K. Having added to this, and not in the length of words, the laws about the tabernacle and gifts of the people, we will also explain its raising from its place and stopping: for in this way our speech will go the right way. K. So, the Legislator and Judge decreed that in the holy tabernacle alone those who wished to make sacrifices should make sacrifices, turning them away, as I think, from the former false teaching, I mean that which was in Egypt, where there was a great mockery of idols, an absurd multitude of false gods, which even those who decided to worship them could not know, it was allowed to make sacrifices as anyone wanted, in accordance with what has been said recklessly by one of the Hellenic sages, and one made a sacrifice to one god, another to another. So, rejecting such an absurd and wicked course of action and the most senseless custom, He said in the book of Leviticus: “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the children of Israel and say to them: this is what the Lord commands: if anyone from the house of Israel slaughters a bull or a sheep or a goat in the camp, or if anyone slaughters it outside the camp and does not bring it to the entrance of the tabernacle of meeting to present it as a sacrifice to the Lord before the tabernacle. Lord, then the blood will be imputed to that person: “he shed blood, and that man will be cut off from his people” (Lev. 17:4). So, the one who sacrifices outside the tabernacle sheds blood and will be guilty of exposure to filthiness; for he, as it were, killed himself and destroyed his own soul by turning it away from Him who is by nature God, giving it to stones and trees and sacrificing it to the inventions of demons. And that God did not order every sacrifice to be brought to the doors of the tabernacle, but only that which someone would want to dedicate as a sacrifice to God, He clearly showed this, immediately adding: “so that they would not henceforth offer their sacrifices to idols, after which they follow fornication. This shall be for them an everlasting statute throughout their generations” (Lev.17:7). So, he completely forbids making sacrifices no matter who anyone wants, but he says very clearly that services should be performed to the one God by nature. P. How beautiful is our speech. K. But I think a lot of benefit will come to us from another way of understanding how useful and even necessary it is for the slaughter to be carried out and the sacred sacrifices to be offered in the holy tabernacle alone. K. Didn’t we say that the image and destiny of Emmanuel was the calf that was sacrificed at the holy tabernacle for the priest and for the sins of ignorance of the people? K. For this reason, we say, the Mystery of Christ should be celebrated as in holy tabernacles, in the churches of God. He also typified this for us in some other place: for, having first legitimized how the children of Israel, rising from the land of Egypt, were to slaughter a lamb in the image of Christ, he says: “In one house you must eat it..., do not take the meat out of the house” (Ex. 12:46). So, dissident heretics violate the will of God, in addition to the truly holy tabernacle, erecting another for themselves and slaying the lamb outside, placing it very far from the one house and dividing the indivisible: for Christ is one and perfect in all things. But that sage and sacred keeper Moses commands us in Deuteronomy: “Beware of offering your burnt offerings in every place that you see; but in the place that the Lord chooses... in one of your tribes, you shall offer your burnt offerings and do everything that I command you... However, whenever your soul desires, you can slaughter and eat, with the blessing of the Lord your God, the meat that He has given you in all your dwellings: the unclean and the clean can eat this, like chamois and like deer; Just don’t eat blood: pour it out on the ground like water” (Deut. 12:13-16). So, the guilt and condemnation of the most wicked soul is the boldness to offer sacrifice in every place, and not to perform the sacrament of Christ in the house of God. P. You speak well; just explain this to me: the law prohibited the eating of blood, and quite rightly so; but what is the meaning of the letter of this injunction? K. If it pleases you, then we will also say what was decreed about this in the book of Leviticus; for it contains this: “If any of the house of Israel and of the strangers who dwell among you eat any blood, I will set my face against the life of him who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from among his people, for the life of the body is in the blood, and I have appointed it for you on the altar to atone for your souls, for this blood makes atonement for the soul; Therefore I said to the children of Israel, “Not one soul among you shall eat blood, nor shall the stranger who dwells among you eat blood.” If any of the children of Israel or of the strangers living among you catches an animal or a bird that can be eaten while fishing, then he must let its blood flow out and cover it with earth, for the soul of every body is its blood, it is its soul; Therefore I said to the children of Israel: “You shall not eat blood from any body, for the life of every body is its blood: whoever eats it will be cut off” (Lev. 17:10-14). See how clearly and obviously the blood is taken into the image of the soul. J. Thus, the law alienates and separates blood from the bodies of those being slain, teaching that true dogma, accepted by us by faith and revered in the churches, that the rational soul of a person should be considered and represented as immortal, which death does not lead to incorruption along with earthly bodies, but on the contrary, the Creator absolves, and releases, and frees from suffering, making it a participant in life: for in the beginning man was created “into the soul.” I live,” since God introduced into him the “breath of life,” as it is written (Gen. 2:7). We will accuse, as I think, the life that animates everything of impotence if we assert that what it produces for life perishes along with the temporary bodies. Conversely, we crown ourselves with a beautiful crown of wisdom, believing that the soul is immortal, since the creator of all, by whom “we ... live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), wills it to be so. This, in my opinion, is the meaning of the law on this. Let us move on to other decrees regarding the tabernacle. This is what God said in the book of Exodus, “Do not pour out the blood of My sacrifice on leaven” (Exodus 34:25). Let the blood that is shed be unleavened, he says, that is, leaven or leavened wheat flour should not be added to what is sacrificed to God: for we must, being purified and as if remaining unleavened, that is, having in our souls, so to speak, no admixture of depravity and wickedness, dedicate our souls to God, of which the blood serves as an image. And the divine Paul called “new dough, since you are unleavened” (1 Cor. 5:7) who keep their souls pure and undefiled and not mixed with depravity, obviously through? faith in Christ and through all-perfect love. But “the fat from My festive sacrifice,” it is said, “must not remain until the morning” (Ex. 23:18), that is, do not bring up yesterday’s fat to the stench of the fragrance. In the book of Leviticus, the Lawgiver makes a clearer statement of this law and makes this matter obvious, speaking about the sacrificer: “If someone makes a sacrifice out of a vow, or out of zeal, then his sacrifice must be eaten on the day of the offering, and on the next day what is left of it can be eaten, and what remains of the sacrificial meat on the third day must be burned in the fire; if they eat the meat of the peace offering on the third day, it will not be favorable; whoever brings it will not be charged with anything: “this is desecration, and whoever eats it will bear sin” (Lev. 7:16-18). So, he rejects the three-day sacrifice, and he also rejects yesterday’s, he explained this, saying: “If you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, then offer it in such a way that it will gain you favor; You should eat it the same day; do not leave it until the morning. I am the Lord” (Lev. 22:29–30). P. What is the meaning of these instructions? K. In what was said before, the law often foreshadowed to us that Divine Scripture usually divides all time into two periods: the time in which the law was, and the time in which Christ shone; and sometimes by three more, putting between one and the other and putting in the middle the time in which the face of the holy prophets shone, although, however, both in the time of Moses and in the time of the holy prophets the image of service was the same, namely in the shadows of the law. When the morning came, or at last another third time appeared, and the mental light, that is, Christ, shone throughout the sunflower, and the ancient darkness was finally resolved, the image of the then service became unpleasant, but either yesterday, or the fat of three days, or a sacrifice no longer pleasant, but vile and rejected before God and imputed as desecration to those who decided to offer it at the wrong time. Don’t you consider it true that when Christ illuminates the souls of the saints with the Gospel teaching and very wisely secretly leads them into spiritual service, then in some way it is already unnecessary and useless to observe the law? P. I believe, for I remember the divine Paul, calling him vanity and methods of praise in relation to the law, “because of the surpassing understanding of Christ” (Phil. 3:8). I also hear what he wrote to some: “I tell you, if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing” (Gal. 5:2). K. You said it right. So, when Christ has already appeared and the time in which there was the law and the prophets has passed, holding on to hay service and attempting to offer a sheep, or fat, or frankincense to God is sin and desecration, since the Son clearly says to God and the Father: “You did not desire sacrifices and offerings; You have opened my ears; You did not require burnt offerings or sin sacrifices. Then I said: here I come; in the scroll of the book it is written about me: “I desire to do Your will” (Ps. 39: 7-9; cf. Heb. 10: 5-7): for, having offered Himself for us, as if an immaculate sacrifice, the Son stopped what was being done according to the law, as not being able to “take away sins” ( Heb. 10: 11); “The end of the law and the prophets is Christ” (Rom. 10:4; cf. Matt. 5:17). K: Thus, the Father is no longer accessible through legal service after being perfected in Christ, but is accessible through the Son alone. That is why He said: “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). And what is unsuitable for sacrifice and imperfect is everything that is not in Christ, but what is pleasant and very sacred is that through Him and in Him, this can be made clear through what the law says in the book of Exodus: “You shall not boil a kid in his mother’s milk” (Ex. 34:26), and also in the book of Leviticus: “And the Lord spake to Moses, saying: When a calf, or a lamb, or a kid is born, then he must stay with his mother for seven days, and from the eighth day onwards he will be acceptable to sacrifice to the Lord; but you shall not slaughter a cow or a sheep in one day” (Lev. 22:26–28). So, a lamb that has just been born and is still feeding on its breasts is not allowed to be slaughtered, showing that what is imperfect and, as it were, weak in mind and infirm, is not yet sacred, and therefore unpleasant to God. Such were some unwise and unwise people, to whom the divine Paul writes: “For, judging by the times, you were destined to be teachers; but you must again be taught the first principles of the word of God, and for you it is necessary to have milk, and not solid food. Anyone fed on milk is ignorant of the word of righteousness, because he is a child; but solid food belongs to those who are perfect” (Heb. 5:12-14). So, what is still imperfectly nourished milk and breasts, I speak in relation to the mind and spiritual strength. Let our word about this again move from sensory and visual things, as from an image, to supersensible and mental objects: and you will understand very well that in Christ everything has become perfect and pleasant, for animals brought and dedicated to God must be under the mother for seven days, and on the eighth day and further - to be a gift and offering to God. P. This speech is not very clear. K. Or do you not recognize the eighth day as the day of the Resurrection of the Savior and the beginning of a new age, as it were, since the age under the law passed away, as it were, in the first seven days? K. So, that which lives, as it were, in a time under the law, is unholy and should no longer be offered, that is, in carnal service; and vice versa, everything that exists in Christ on the eighth day and beyond serves as a gift and favorable to God; for the calling in Christ is endless, having its beginning in the resurrection. And knowing this, the Son Himself said in one case: “I will be lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Me” (John 12:32), and in another: “Truly, truly, I say to you: unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, then only one remains; and if he dies, he will bear much fruit” (John 12:24). P. You said it right; but what does it mean that a mother should not die along with her children on the same day? K. Having properly laid down the law that pertained to Christ, and wisely foreshadowed the perfection given through Him, He, as God, of course, knew the disobedience of the Jews and the unbridledness of Jerusalem and that for this reason the Israelites would be destroyed, as the murderers of the Lord and those who were fiercely enraged against the Son of God. However, not all of Jerusalem will perish to the ground, but it will remain, as it were, without children, awaiting the final and last time, in which it itself will be saved, following the pagans (cf. Rom. 11:25-26); for he is laid in the backbone, that is, behind, according to the word of the Psalmist: “as if I laid a backbone” (Ps. 20:13); because all Israel will be saved after the flock of the Gentiles is placed in the Divine stalls. Why does the law not allow corruption to reach the point of extreme destruction, foreshadowing the wrath dissolved with mercy on the disobedient, but at the same time, as I think, setting this subject as an example of that immutable truth, that it will not turn into absolutely nothing that exists, being overcome by complete corruption, but what is preserved will remain, as it were, in succession - one in the other, according to affinity or sameness of species, since God removes from His creatures complete destruction, “created everything for being, and everything in the world is saving,” according to what is written (Wis. 1:14). It was fitting that the foreshadowing, as well as the revelation, of such speeches about Christ, through Whom and in Whom that which has decayed is preserved and that which is captured by death blossoms again into life: for the root of the human race has ended, like any mother, as in Adam, but those who have grown from Him, that is, we, blossom in Christ and exist and are saved, having Him Himself with life and, as it were, the second root of our race. P. How good and highly processed this speech is. K. But the following also deserves to be added to what has been said: “Do not plant for yourself groves of any trees at the altar of the Lord your God, which you will make for yourself, and do not build yourself a pillar, which the Lord your God hates” (Deut. 16:21-22). See how the admirer of truth is completely removed from idolatrous flattery, least of all allowing him to use the laws of the Hellenes, but commanding, on the contrary, to reject their customs, even though they may not have brought any harm, even if they were observed. P. What are you saying? C. The Greeks, having noticed somewhere well-growing trees and some densely overgrown forest, set up altars here and made sacrifices to demons: for it was very necessary that with the altars of demons there should be associated, as it were, delusion of the mind and worldly delights, because a lie within itself suffers from impotence, but is often adorned with counterfeit beauty, just as, as we know, dishonest women do. But to the Divine altar, shining with the beauty of truth, what need is there for external appendages or vain decorations? For it is not through worldly delights that the Divine becomes accessible to a mind that seems to be dissolute and attached to carnal pleasures, but to a sober mind that turns its gaze to heights and heaven. And if by chance, as if by itself, the Divine altar turned out to be somewhere under the trees, then this would not in the least harm the unshakable and true admirer of the Savior; but since in general this is a Hellenic institution, it must avoid imitation and similarity in customs, as, for example, undoubtedly for the faithful and who has reached with his mind true knowledge, “an idol is nothing in the world,” and likewise there is no one sacrificed to idols (1 Cor. 8:4); however, according to the command of the same (sacred writer), it is not allowed to eat from it for the sake of the conscience of those who are weaker: “for why should my freedom be judged by someone else’s conscience? If I take food with thanksgiving, then why blame me for what I give thanks for? (1 Cor. 10:29-30.) Therefore, this work is praiseworthy before God; I am talking about abandoning works that are the same as the Hellenic ones, such as, for example, in the establishment of altars, in customs and rites of service. K. And what one should make offerings for the glory of God and not come empty-handed to the holy tabernacle, this is again explained to us by the Holy Scripture, which says so in the book; Numbers: “When Moses pitched the tabernacle, and anointed it, and consecrated it and all its utensils, and the altar and all its utensils, and anointed them and consecrated them, then came ... the leaders of Israel, the heads of their families, the leaders of the tribes who were in charge of the numbering, and presented their offering before the Lord, six covered wagons and twelve oxen, one wagon from the two captains and one ox from each, and They presented this before the tabernacle. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take it from them; this will be for the administration of the work of the tabernacle of meeting; and give it to the Levites, according to the nature of their service. And Moses took the carts and the oxen and gave them to the Levites” (Num. 7:1-6). And not only did the offerings of the princes of the tribes extend to this, but others were added to this; for it is written: “And the rulers offered the sacrifice of the consecration of the altar on the day of its anointing, and the rulers presented their offering before the altar. And the Lord said to Moses, Let one chief a day bring his offering to dedicate the altar. On the first day Nahshon the son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah, brought his offering; His offering was: one silver dish weighing one hundred and thirty shekels, one silver cup weighing seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering, one golden censer weighing ten shekels filled with incense, one bull, one ram, one lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, one goat for a sin offering, and as a peace offering, two oxen, five rams, five goats, five one-year-old lambs; This is the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab” (Num. 7:10-17). The other princes brought their gifts in order until the twelfth in the same way and with the same magnificence, and each was given a day set for him; for God has commanded it. P. What is the meaning of such a varied offering? K: Of course, Palladium, this is an offering; but connected with it, I think, is the mysterious meaning by which this allegory refers to Emmanuel and to ourselves. I'll explain it as best I can. When the holy and true tabernacle appeared in this world, that is, the Church, Christ, shining in it in many ways, was almost offered by ourselves and for us as a sacred sacrifice to God and the Father, as a ransom and replacement for the lives of all, being One equal to all. For when the Only Begotten became man, like one of us, He offered Himself to God and the Father, as it were, some firstfruits and firstfruits of human nature, fragrant in sanctification, naturally and essentially abiding in Him, since He is conceived and is God, but coming into Him according to His humanity. But, being one and the same, He was depicted in many different ways in this offering of the princes: just as now Christ is sacrificed by the leaders who appear in the order of times, imaginable in many ways and honored by different names. The offering was daily: this circumstance indicates, as it were, the continuity and incessancy of Christ’s sacrifice every day and the fruitfulness of those justified by faith; for the worshipers will not cease and there will be no shortage of gifts; but Christ will be offered by us and for us, sacramentally celebrated in the holy tabernacles. Himself is also our first and fair offering; for He offered Himself as a sacrifice to the Father, not for Himself, according to impeccable teaching, but for us, who were under the yoke and guilt of sin. By being like Him, we too are sacred sacrifices, dying to the world, since sin is put to death in us, and living a life of sanctification and righteousness for God. This is what the offering of the princes seems to indicate to us, which, would you like, we will examine in parts with proper reasoning, how it will be better for us and explain as much as possible? K. A calf was brought from each (prince) and chariots were separated for the sacred works of the holy tabernacle, number six. Then from each - one silver dish and one cup, “filled,” it is said, “with wheat flour mixed with oil”: “incense” one, filled with incense; one ram, one lamb of the first year for a burnt offering; a goat from goats for sin: and these were burnt offerings. But they also sacrificed, - it is said, - two oxen, five rams, five goats, five one-year-old lambs. P. So, first of all, tell me what the difference is here - what difference can be indicated between the sacrifice of salvation and the burnt offering? K. Listen. The burnt offerings of animals were completely burned with sacred and unquenchable fire, and nothing was excluded at all, but as if every particle and member ascended to God in the stench of fragrance. On the contrary, the animals sacrificed for salvation were dedicated only in part, such as their right shoulder, head and legs, kidneys and liver, and some other internal and hidden parts. Thus, it becomes Christ to be sacrificed as a burnt offering, for He is all truly holy, all full of fragrance and sacred; It is our nature to be a sacrifice that is not completely holy and not entirely sacred, as if we have something in us of uncleanness due to the sin that exists in us: for, according to what is written, no one is “pure... from filth” (Job 14:4) and “who understands the Fall?” (Ps. 18:13.) Therefore, the law very correctly decreed that the sacrifice for salvation should not be a burnt offering, but, on the contrary, dedicated only in part. So, Palladius, is my speech clear to you and sufficient for understanding? K: Well, then let’s move on to saying something about each of the things brought and understanding what is necessary for the benefit. K. So, here is what was brought from each of the leaders of the tribes: one silver dish and one cup, both filled with wheat flour mixed with oil. The dish serves as edible food and is used when eating boiled food, just as the Savior Himself said to John, a trusted disciple who was curious who was about to betray Him: “He who dipped his hand into the dish with Me” (Matthew 26:23; cf. John 13:23–26). Why should I even talk about the use of the cup, when the matter itself clearly testifies to this? Then wheat flour signifies bread, because bread is made from it; and the bread of life is Christ. Thus, both by the dish and the cup, and by the bread that was in both of these vessels (for they were full of wheat flour), so then by food and drink, life and the life-giving one are signified - Christ; for He says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you” (John 6:53). The flour, it is said, was moistened with oil, since this is almost figuratively sung in the Psalms: “Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore, O God, Thy God has anointed Thee with the oil of gladness more than Thy companions” (Ps. 44:8). The incense burner, further, having the image and appearance of a censer made like a chalice, was itself full of incense, for Christ is a fragrance and a censer, not having a fragrance from the outside, as we, of course, have it, who, through the communion of virtue and sanctification through piety, acquire such a state, but within Himself, like God, and in His own nature, abounding in that for which they marvel at Him, and all fills the universe with a premium and supernatural fragrance; because He is clearly recognized as being by nature and truly God and as having received the stench of the knowledge of the Father: thus the incense burner is filled with incense. Then the bull and the ram are brought in, as well as the lamb and the goat of the goats, and whatever else was offered. And through all this He (Christ) Himself is depicted; in a calf, because of its great strength and because the one that prevails between tame and clean animals is a calf, which is superior in body size; so everything related to Christ has a mental superiority and He Himself surpasses and surpasses everything with incomparable difference; in Aries - because of his perfection; in the lamb - because of his gentleness: “But I,” He says, “are like a meek lamb, led to the slaughter, and did not know” (Jer. 11:19); and in the goat - because of its slaughter for those who sinned, since the goat, according to the law, is a sacrifice for sin (cf. Lev. 16:10 ff.) and Emmanuel suffered death for our sake, and we redeemed from previous sins because of the slaughter that He suffered for us. Or do you not consider this to be true? K. Pay attention also to the fact that the calves were brought and given to the work of the tabernacle, so that during the campaign, carrying heavy loads on chariots, they would free the priests from labor and anxiety: because the Church also rests on Christ; He Himself bears us, not allowing a sacred and honest family and people knowledgeable in holy matters to fall under labor beyond their strength. In this way everything mentioned relates to Christ. As for the sacrifice of salvation, the leaders offered it again, as if in their place, dedicating it in some way to the holy tabernacle and offering it up in the stench of fragrance to God. There were two heifers, five rams, five goats, and five lambs. And the calf is Christ, and the young women (heifers) are us. And the basis for both is not distant, but, on the contrary, true and obvious: for the male sex is always, as it were, the leader and in honor and glory is most excellent with God; and nature itself serves as a witness, confirming this. The female sex is lower and subordinate to him and, as it were, comes behind the power and glory of men. So, in the calf, the male animal, of course our leader is Christ; we are, as it were, in subordination, possessing, in comparison with Him, much less power and glory and are separated from Him by an incomparable distance; for although He became like us (just as a heifer is like a calf in appearance), His properties are much more excellent: for “who... will be like God in the sons of God?” (Ps. 88:7.) Christ is together and similar to us and above us in the superiority of the Divinity, although he became flesh (John 1:14). Two heifers, I think, are the image of two peoples who have come together into one, consisting of two, since He who appeared for us and among us binds them through faith in spiritual unity. Further, rams and lambs equivalent to them, as well as goats no less in number, indicate a multitude of believers, I mean gathered as if at the fifth time, in which there was the coming of the Speaker: “And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Me” (John 12:32). In addition, by means of rams the perfection of understanding and the fullness of the spiritual age of believers, obviously achieved in Christ, are signified; and through lambs - simplicity and gentleness; for it is said: “Brothers! Do not be children in your mind: be infants in evil, but be mature in your mind” (1 Cor. 14:20). Then, through the goats sacrificed for sin, our constant need for cleansing and remission of sins is signified. Therefore, we are taught to say in prayers: “leave us” the fall (Matthew 6:12); for there is no time when those who are truly prudent and aware of human nature’s weakness would not need to cry out: “Who understands the Fall? and: cleanse me from my secrets” (Ps. 18:13). This is a spiritual and fragrant sacrifice before God for the salvation of our souls. K. So, Christ, I said, is signified in the bull and rams, the lamb and goats and other animals - and I would not consider my word about this to deviate from what is proper. If someone decided to transfer the power of these thoughts to us ourselves, then there is nothing preventing us from adding some kind of contemplation to what is presented. K. According to the law, sacred sacrifices were made from all of Israel, and the blood of slaughtered animals was shed on the Divine Altar, which action almost depicted as if in the canopy and indirectly indicated to us that we should devote our souls to the Holy God. K. And so, instead of us and for us, sacrifices are made and we perform transformative sacred acts in them. K: Well, let us examine more carefully what was brought, as if on behalf of all by the hand of the leaders, and we will see the beauty of spiritual contemplation. What was brought in silver vessels, that is, in a dish and a bowl, was wheat flour moistened with oil. But silver is a symbol of lordship, and flour is a symbol of life, as producing bread that sustains life; oil means joy. Let us bring from ourselves to the highest God above all, as if in the brightness of life, joy, hope in Christ; for it is said: “rejoicing in hope” (Rom. 12:12) and how could the keepers of the commandments of our Savior, who achieved great feats of glory in life and behavior, not be filled with the highest joy? Be that as it may, and in any case, God has prepared for them a participation in His glory “For you are dead,” it is said, “and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:3-4). So, the flour of wheat is moistened with oil: for the life of the saints is also characterized by joy, as if in the hope of glory, together with lightness, obviously, in holiness and truth. Is it a golden incense bottle full of incense? depicts the beauty of the saints and, as it were, in selected vessels a fragrance in consecration and then, as it were, some gift to God that is truly fragrant. Or do we, Palladius, not recognize the saints as bright and chosen vessels? P. We admit it without any doubt. K: A calf was brought from each one, and they were all twelve. They carry the holy tabernacle, being yoked two by two to one chariot and under one yoke, and they are separated to serve the Levites. This can serve as an image of two peoples, not yet separated by the dissimilarity of teaching and life, but as if united and patiently and courageously walking together under one yoke of the Savior; for it is said: “Take courage and let your heart be strong and be patient with the Lord” (Ps. 26:14). But the calf is a patient and very strong animal: such, in any case, are those who have chosen to worship God, as if bearing the yoke of Christ, typified in the holy tabernacle. The Church and the divine Paul called Him Body (cf. Col. 1:24, 18); It was also said to Ananias about him, that is, Paul: “Go, for he is My chosen vessel, to proclaim My name before the nations” (Acts 9:15). In addition, the offering of a ram, as well as a lamb, indicates an approach to God and, as it were, a dedication, obviously spiritual, both of the oldest people brought to Him, and of the new people: for just as patience and courage are signified through the bulls, so, I think, in the sheep is clearly indicated, as it were, fruitfulness in the meekness of those justified by faith in Christ; because this animal is meek and fertile. And such are all the diligent workers of the gospel life, to whom Christ Himself appealed: “Give to everyone who asks you, and do not demand anything back from him who has taken what is yours. Offer the other to the one who slaps you on the cheek” (Luke 6:30, 29; cf. Matt. 5:39). Paul also writes: “The servant of the Lord should not quarrel, but be friendly to everyone, teachable, and gentle” (2 Tim. 2:24). And that the offering of a goat should have followed the above, this indicated, I think, nothing other than what I recently said, that is, that everyone, at least some possessing good properties, has a need for cleansing through repentance and forgetting their sins. And, knowing, the divine David said: “If You, Lord, notice iniquities, - Lord! who can stand?" (Ps. 129, 3.) Thus, the goat was a scapegoat according to the ancient law; repentance and petition for oblivion (of sins) is now a sacrifice offered by us who come to God in spirit and truth; for it is said: “Let us go to court; speak thou in order to be justified” (Is. 43:26). David also sings nowhere: “he said, ‘I will confess my crimes to the Lord,’ and You have taken away from me the guilt of my sin” (Ps. 31:5). Is the speech about the gift of princes finally clear to you? K. It should also, I think, be said that when the sacrifice had already been made from each and for all, then the beginning of Divine revelations was laid in the holy tabernacle to the sacred monk Moses. It is also written in the book of Numbers: “These are the offerings for the consecration of the altar after its anointing. When Moses entered the tabernacle of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard a voice speaking to him from the mercy seat, which was above the ark of the testimony between the two cherubim, and he spoke to him” (Num. 7:88-89): for only after the holy tabernacle was completed and the true shrine, that is, the Church, was revealed to the world, the voice of God and the Father came to us; and He “spoke to us in the Son” (Heb. 1:2), whom we call “the purification” for our sins, according to the Scriptures (Rom. 3:24; sn. 1 John 2:2). There was a voice from above the cherubs; because God is above and beyond creation, having an essential and inherent superiority to everything created. Conveying to us these voices coming from above and from the Father, the Son, the true purifier, said: “The words that I speak to you are not mine, but those of him who sent me” (John 14:10, 12:49, 6:38–40, 63). So, there was a voice from above the purgatory. You would also be quite surprised if you paid attention to the order in which the leaders of the tribes came: having assigned each a separate day on which he was to fulfill the order and bring a gift, they came in order, according to the will of the Lawgiver: but not by birth order or age, and also not mixed and without any order, but on the contrary, they were located, as if in a mysterious order. P. What are you saying, I cannot understand; state this to me more clearly. K. Do you want us to say in order and consistently those who descended from Jacob? Then the very deviation from order in the coming of princes would become very clear to us. K. So, the firstborn is Reuben, and after him Simeon, Levi and Judah from one mother Leah; Vala then the maid gives birth to Dan and Naphtali; and also Zilpah, the slave of Leah, Gad and Asher, and Leah to the former four - Isachar and Zebulun. Joseph and Benjamin were also born from Rachel. Thus the first four are from Leah, from the free one: Reuben and Simeon, Levi and Judah; then from the two maidservants Bala and Zilpah four: Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher; there are four others besides these: two from Leah - Isachar and Zebulun, and two from Rachel - Joseph and Benjamin. It is also necessary to remember that Joseph’s legacy was divided into two generations: Ephraim and Manasseh, who descended from him (Gen. 49ff.). P. I understand the order of names very well; and what is sought in these names is your business to clarify. K. Those who came with gifts, Palladius, did not do so according to age, but the first was Judah, although fourth in time, then the ninth after him Isachar and with him the tenth Zebulun. The second, as it were, after these ranks: the firstborn Reuben and the second Simeon who followed him, and Dan, from a slave, joined them. Then came the third row of those descended from the three free men: Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin. And finally, the fourth category, descended from the maids. There were also three of them: Dan, Asher and Naphtali, although they were superior in time of birth to those placed in order before them, I mean Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin. Don't you think research about this is necessary? P. Most of all I think; so what is the meaning of this, try to explain it to me. K. This matter, as I think, again serves as a covert indication that what was established through Christ takes first place with God compared to what is given in the law, and that “the last become first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16): for, as it were, the oldest in time and therefore the firstborn, that is, Israel, come behind the Gentiles. And those who have a slave spirit and the sons of enslaving Jerusalem will yield priority in glory to the sons of the free, who is the mother of us all, justified in Christ and called to a free state through the freedom of the spirit (fn. Rom. 8:15 and Gal.4:25-26); for see, if you like, the accuracy of the speculation: the first to bring the gift is the tribe of Judah, from which Christ came in the flesh; and after him immediately Isachar and Zebulun, both free and from the free; then Reuben the firstborn, Simeon, and Gad, who was of the maidservant: and through them Israel is signified. Now let's talk about each, collecting sayings from Jacob's prophecy about them. Thus said the divine Jacob: “Reuben, my firstborn! You are my strength and the beginning of my strength, the height of dignity and the height of power” (Gen. 49:3). And again: “Simeon and Levi are brothers, their swords are instruments of cruelty; Let not my soul enter into their council, and let not my glory join their assembly, for in their anger they killed the husband and, at their whim, cut the veins of the calf; cursed is their anger, for it is cruel, and their wrath, for it is fierce” (Gen.49:5-7); about Gad he said the following: “the crowd will press him, but he will push them back on their heels” (Gen. 49:19). So, by Reuben, Israel is rightly designated, the firstborn in time, but cruel, stubborn and insulting; and through Simeon, to whom Levi is attached, he is also designated as ready to commit filth murder and kill the saints; for “Who,” it is said, “of the prophets did not your fathers persecute?” (Acts 7:52), and, as it were, cutting off the veins of the youth who is Christ: because not only the tribe of Judea is convicted of insolence against the saints and Christ, but the Levis, that is, the sacred race, the scribes and Pharisees who sit at the altar, also came together with him. Therefore, in the prophecies of the forefather Jacob, Levi is also associated with Simeon. Also in Gad, who is a “temptation” from a slave, of course, the same people are of low mind and tempting Jesus and laying snares to do evil to Him; for some came to Him, saying: “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:17.) So, I will again take my speech to the beginning: the firstborn of time, Israel, cruel, stubborn and offensive, prone to filthy murder and having a cursed wrath, having beaten people and cut the veins of the youth, base and cruel in deceit, a setter of snares and a tempter, has been placed behind those who are in Christ and are free, although he too will be free after us, as only he comes to the face of God (cf. Rom. 11:25–26). K. You will know what I say when you turn your mind to what follows. Three, united together, brought a gift later, descended from the free Rachel: Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin. Then after them there are also three, united together, descended from the maidservants, I mean Dan, Asher and Naphtali. Note that those born of a free woman precede and are very honorable, and those born of maidservants follow them. Isn’t this obviously the same thing that the divine Paul writes to us? For he says that when “the full number of the Gentiles has come in, even so all Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:25-26). P. You said it correctly: your remark is very subtle. K: And that this is not false, you will immediately find out, and very easily; for the word of God confirms us in this and other thoughts: God commanded that the erection of the regiments and the stopping or stay of the children of Israel in camps should be carried out in the proper order, very wisely he decided to go around the tabernacle, according to what, I think, is excellently sung by blessed David: “I will ... go around Your altar, O Lord, so that I can proclaim with the voice of praise and tell all Your wonders” (Ps. 25, 6–7); or: “And I would offer sacrifices of praise in His tabernacle” (Ps. 26:6). Something else is indicated, which, as if in a type, was commanded to do: we must not move away from God, but appear as if standing near and around Him, so that sin is not in the middle and worldly pleasure does not separate us from Him, but so that the presence of a right mind and readiness for everything worthy of praise gathers us into spiritual unity: for those who have decided to act so commendably, it is most fitting to make offerings, as it is written: “all who around Him, let them bring gifts” (Ps. 75:12). So, He commanded them to go up on the road together with the tabernacle and to march around it, and, moreover, in an order appropriate not to the ages and not going mixedly from the first to the last, but so that they were united and distributed in parts in the same way as in the offering of gifts. It is written like this in the book of Numbers: “And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: The children of Israel must every man pitch his camp with his standard, with the signs of his families; before the tabernacle of the congregation they must pitch their camp around” (Num. 2:1-2) Then the place assigned to each is indicated - where and how and who should encamp, for he adds the following: “On the front side to the east they set up a camp: the standard of the camp of Judah according to the armies..., after it the tribe of Issachar sets up a camp, ... [then the tribe of Zebulun sets up a camp" (Num. 2, 2, 3, 5, 7). Then he mentions the second category and says: “The standard of the camp of Reuben to the south, according to their armies, and the commander of the sons of Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur, and his armies that were numbered thereof, were forty-six thousand five hundred; the tribe of Simeon camps next to him..., then the tribe of Gad” (Num. 2: 10–12, 14). And the third category immediately adds, saying: “The standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies to the west.... then the tribe of Benjamin, and the chief of the sons of Benjamin” (Num. 2, 18, 22). Soon he also mentions the fourth category, saying: “The banner of the camp of Dan towards the north, according to their armies,... next to it the tribe of Asher encamps... further... the tribe of Naphtali,... all those who were numbered to the camp of Dan are one hundred fifty-seven thousand six hundred; they must go last with their banners” (Num. 2, 25, 27, 29, 31). Do you see that Judas and those with him are placed in the first row and have a chosen place to the east and south? For those who are in Christ remain in the light and are on fire in spirit. The second Reuben and those with him. And the third are also born of a free woman. Then after them three others - descended from the maidservants - those about whom it is said: “Let the last one be exalted.” Is it not obvious and beyond all doubt that the second is preferred to the firstborn and is called before him, that is, those who are in Christ, and those who came from a state of slavery - united by faith? These lead for the sake of Christ, who came from Judas, while those are barely behind and seem to be placed in second place. P. What you said was very correct, and I praise you for such subtle wit. Book 11. About the priesthood and that the priesthood under the law was an image of the priesthood in Christ We had a very sufficient speech about the tabernacle and the commandments regarding it and skillfully processed in relation to spiritual subtlety. But it would be appropriate, as it seems to me, and you yourself, I know, will agree with me, to touch upon the differences of the priesthood, and namely: how through the transformative and sub-legal priesthood the true priesthood is designated, that is, that which in Christ and through Him sanctifies the sacred race, I mean again enlightened by faith and having acquired affinity with God through the communion of the Holy Spirit. Palladium. It would be decent and very fair. Kirill. So, when the holy tabernacle was completed in befitting beauty and brought to the image shown on the mountain to the divine Moses, God appointed priests and said: “And take unto you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may be a priest to Me, Aaron and Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron” (Ex. 28:1). Thus, those chosen for the sacred rite are named by name, for “no one accepts this honor of his own accord, but he who is called by God,” as it is written (Heb. 5:4). Thus, let no one voluntarily go to worship God, but let him wait for the calling, otherwise he who attempts to delight in something for which he has no decision from above will fall under the judgment of Dathan and Aviron. And do not be surprised if self-will is recognized by us as inappropriate and absurd, when Paul writes about Christ Himself that “So Christ did not appropriate to Himself the glory of being a high priest, but He who said to Him:... You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 5:5-6). So, the image of the title referred to in relation to Christ can be served by what was wisely said to Moses: “And you, too, bring to you Aaron your brother and his sons”; for “bring” what else does it mean, how do you call for this? Christ was called, as it were, into high priest by the will of the Father. And together with Him, in some way, His divine disciples were called and appointed as companions in the sacred rite. That is why they said very clearly: “we are fellow workers with God” (1 Cor. 3:9, cf. Rom. 16:3). And they went around all the sunflowers, preaching the Gospel of Christ among the pagans: for they were called to the Apostleship through Christ and about this the word is true; but this matter was completely pleasing to the Father, because they have one decision for everything they do, since the advice, wisdom, and will of the Father is the Son. Thus, Aaron was the image of Christ and, as it were, a foreshadowing in the shadows of the still unclear priesthood, conceived in spirit and truth. Note also that Moses is commanded to bring Aaron to himself, for the law is weak and imperfect if he renounces Christ: “for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4). Christ made “one thing” for sinners, “having offered one sacrifice for sins, he sat down forever at the right hand of God” (Heb. 10:12, 14). So, let those who love the canopy and writing and those who hold fast to the commandments of Moses know that if they do not bring to themselves “the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ” (Heb. 3:1), then the thoroughness of the transformative ministry will end in nothing for them; for What praise can there be before a virtuous God? Therefore, the all-wise Paul says that he “counts all things worldly as loss for the sake of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus,” but preferred spiritual things to him (Phil. 3:8). P. I understand what you are saying; for the speech is clear. K. So, “bring your brother Aaron to you”; He said so, knowing that in another way, as I think, this matter cannot but serve for benefit in the spiritual sense; understand what I'm talking about. Moses was sent to free Israel from oppression in Egypt. Then, too exaggerating the strength of man and drawing attention to the fact that the commission given to him was beyond the measure of his inherent strength and eloquence, he persistently begged God, saying: “I am not a man of speech, and so I was yesterday and the day before, and when You began to speak to Your servant: I speak hard and am tongue-tied” (Ex. 4:10). When God said to this: “Who gave man a mouth? who makes one dumb, or deaf, or sighted, or blind? Am I not the Lord...? So go, and I will be at your mouth and teach you what to say” (Exodus 4:11-12), then Moses, overwhelmed by the greatness of his responsibilities, again began to be afraid and said: “[Moses] said: Lord! send another whom you can send” (Ex. 4:13). Then the Lord immediately chooses Aaron as the image of Christ, who can do everything easily. And Israel would not have been redeemed otherwise if Christ had not been given as an accomplice to the weakness and weakness of Moses, as if in the form of Aaron. This is how you should understand this passage of Scripture: for having perfected the weakness of the law in Christ, God brought Aaron to the priesthood and profitably added him to the blessed Moses, because the law would not have been sufficient either for redemption, or for making the redeemed perfect for sanctification. And redemption and sanctification is Christ, with the assistance of holy men, as, undoubtedly, Moses assisted Aaron then in Egypt, and after the same Aaron - his sons. The bishop of all and the leader of Christ were mentally assisted by the Divine disciples, accompanying him who was able to do everything and him as one who was exhausted, but as those called to serve and chosen over the top and from Him acquiring well-being in everything. The divine Paul will also testify to this, saying: “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). P. So, Aaron and the others were chosen and called by name to the priesthood. K. In addition, God also decreed that he should make bright and sacred garments for them, saying: “And make sacred garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and splendor. And tell all the wise of heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom... that they make for Aaron... garments for his consecration, that he may be a priest to Me" (Ex. 28:2-3). Thus, the wise Paul advises those justified by faith to put on truly holy and heavenly clothing when he writes: “Put on our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 13:14). The prophet Isaiah also foretold this, speaking as if on behalf of the Church: “I will rejoice in the Lord with joy, my soul will rejoice in my God; for He has clothed me with the robe of salvation, He has clothed me with the robe of righteousness” (Is. 61:10). So, the garment of honor and glory for a truly sacred and holy race is Christ - the bright and worldly adornment of the souls of the saints: “all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ,” it is said (Gal. 3:27), and the word is true. The law, further, as if in the shadows, adorns Aaron, raising to Christ the glory of his multi-colored robe, for almost woven together with their artificial structure turns out to be a mysterious and precise meaning, mysteriously showing the glory of the Savior. Look how skillfully the makers of the garments were filled, it is said, a plague from God, leading to the creation of a beautiful and multi-colored one, and in the garments depicting the glory of Christ. A breastplate and an amice, a podir and a tunic, a turban and a belt - all this is skillfully constructed, and besides, there are other things that we will talk about as much as possible and in detail. About the same thing that should have been taken on these matters. He said: “Let them take gold, blue and purple and scarlet wool and fine linen” (Ex. 28:5). And again, having directed all the sharpness of your mind to what is proposed, first of all pay attention to this. K. Was not everything in the tabernacle made of gold and fine linen, as well as of purple and scarlet thread, and was not this an image of Christ? K. Note that the clothing of the leader in the priesthood was made from the same material, again containing, as it were, in the image and design, the glory of Christ: for the same words and no other reason signify the beauty of Christ. In gold He is known as God; in purple - as having royal dignity; in fine linen - like the Word, subtle and incorporeal; in scarlet - as if it appeared in the flesh; in matter of blue color, air-like - for such is the color of this matter - as if it appeared from above and from heaven, because isn’t the Word born from God the Father at the same time both God and King? K. And is it not, being the Word of the Father subtle and incorporeal, that He appeared in the flesh and is not from above? K. So, for refined contemplation, the materials of the garments are the same and identical with those from which the covers were made for the holy tabernacle. But enough about that; It’s time to talk about multi-colored woven fabrics in honor and glory of Aaron. “And they shall make,” it is said, “the ephod of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and of finely woven linen, of fine workmanship. It shall have at both ends of it two binding bands, that it may be bound. And the girdle of the ephod that is on top of it shall be of the same workmanship, of... gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet wool, and of woven fine linen" (Ex. 28:6-8). Having assigned the previously mentioned material for the fabrics, he immediately adds: “And take two onyx stones and carve on them the names of the children of Israel: six of their names on one stone and six names of the rest on another stone, according to the order of their birth; by a stone carver who carves seals, engrave the names of the children of Israel on two stones; And thou shalt set them in sockets of gold, and put the two stones on the sidepieces of the ephod: these are stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; and Aaron will bear their names before the Lord on both his shoulders for a memorial” (Exodus 28:9-12). P. There seems to be a deep meaning in these instructions, but first try to say what kind of thing this is called an amice (upper chasuble) or what type of device it had? K. God decreed that there should be something woven like a tunic and reach to the chest; being worn over the lowest garments, adjacent to the body and extending to the feet, shining with a shine of gold and purple, it presented a majestic and sacred marvel to the eyes of the spectators. He called it an amice because, I think, it was a short garment and barely extended over both sides. On this amice He clearly ordered two stones to be fastened - they were emeralds - very well tied with thin threads, and on them the names of the tribes of Israel were to be very skillfully carved so that six tribes were written on each stone. And what is the meaning of this, He Himself explained to us, saying: “And Aaron will bear their names before the Lord on both his shoulder for a memorial” (Exodus 28:12). P. But what are we to understand by the stones and by what was carved on them? K. Listen. The emerald stone is pale in color, but in its depths something ray-like is immersed and light seems to be mixed with darkness, and both of them strive to retain victory. So, Palladius, and our bodily eye, looking upward and to the heights and extending to the depths of the ether and sky, does not it encounter some of the same spectacle? For the highest ether is pale in color and in its depths is, as it were, gloomy and mixed with moderate light. K: So, the Holy Scripture makes this stone an image of heaven. But do not be surprised if it also likens it to sapphire: for sapphire is also pale in color and in appearance is not far from emerald. It is written like this in the book of Exodus: “Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw... the God of Israel; and under His feet there is something like work made of pure sapphire and as clear as the sky itself” (Ex. 24:9-10). Since the Israelites who were in Egypt served the creature and called the sky god, the God of all appeared to them with benefit, and, moreover, walking through the very firmament, so that they would know that He has everything under His feet and that He is the Lord of the very heavens as the Creator. Do you understand now that the Holy Scripture makes a stone pale with moderate light as if in some way a reflection of the sky, since it is light blue in nature? P. Excellently said. K. So, the emerald serves as a sign of heaven, having Israel written on it by tribe, and having received a place on the amice, through which one can understand that those written in heaven, in any case, will completely rest in Christ, who almost has on his shoulder and counts the good instead of children. The divine Moses also said something similar, adorning Israel with the protection of God: “like an eagle calls its nest, flies over its chicks, spreads its wings, takes them and carries them on its feathers” (Deut. 32:11). But David nowhere sings to everyone who is holy and lives in the help of the Most High: “He will overshadow you with His feathers,” he says (Ps. 90:4). “Feathers,” as I think, means the under-neck parts and ramen, and not the entire back. Thus, according to the word of the prophet, they will be raised on shoulder straps and taken on the arm, like ancient Ephraim (Hos. 11:3), written in heaven in a record that, with its glorious, wonderful and exceeding beauty, all the Divine gifts the Savior Himself revealed to His holy disciples, thus saying: “However, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits obey you, but rejoice in this, that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). And let this inscription on the stones be, it is said, “in remembrance... of the sons of Israel... before the Lord,” as if looking at them in the face of Aaron: and we are received by God and the Father in remembrance in the face of Christ, and in Him we have become known to God, worthy of His sight and as if written in the book of God. K. He commands to add another decoration to this, saying: “And make nests out of... gold; and... two chains of pure gold, make them twisted with woven work, and attach the twisted chains to the sockets... Make the breastplate of judgment with skillful work; make it of the same workmanship as the ephod: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine woven linen, make it. it must be quadrangular, double, a span long and a span wide; and insert the set stones into it in four rows; next to each other: ruby, topaz, emerald - this is one row” (Ex. 28, 13–17). Then, having arranged the names of the stones themselves in order, he adds: “These stones must be twelve, according to the number ... of the sons of Israel, according to their names ...; on each, as on a seal, one name from among the twelve tribes should be engraved” (Ex. 28, 21). And a little later: “And Aaron,” it is said, “will wear the names of the children of Israel on the breastplate of judgment in his heart when he enters the sanctuary, for a constant memorial before the Lord” (Ex. 28, 29). P. How dark is this object - the word (of judgment); The image of its structure also seems completely incomprehensible to me. K. Therefore, we must begin to explain this and get as close to the truth as possible, although the difficulty of the subject may not allow us to fully achieve it: to see something very unclear, even as in a mirror, I believe, is better than the opposite, I mean not to understand it at all. So, I'll say it as best I can and make sense. He ordered two shields to be made of pure gold, wider than the circumference of the coin, but of the same appearance, since the coin has a round shape. Then “two chains of pure gold”: there were chains that looked like they were speckled with colors. These were: fine linen, purple, gold thread, blue and scarlet twist. And, in addition, what is woven, he says, should be quadrangular, like a cube, one span and with equal sides on all sides. It was prudently said that twelve stones should have been sewn onto it, arranged three in a row, so that in all four rows on them (the stones) all the tribes (Israel) were carved by name. So, hanging from the amice on golden multi-colored chains, the shields were slightly raised, so that it seemed that they were located somewhat higher - on the very ramens; but they touched the breasts and hung down to the very nipples; and from the shields the word of judgment, very well attached with other chains, hung on the chests, and the chains hung down. And this thing was marvelous for the spectators, shining with stones and gold and perfectly decorated with beautiful colors of other materials. And this, it is said, shall be “in remembrance... of the sons of Israel... before the Lord” when Aaron enters the Holy Place. Isn’t the image of these skillful products finally as clear to you as possible? P. Even very much. But why is this product given the name: the word of judgment? K. Didn’t we say earlier, based on word production, that the amice was so named because it was placed on both ramens? P. Yes. So what of this? K. The fact that the word judgment is so named according to word production and in accordance with what is contained in the heart and womb; because the heart and womb serve, as it were, as the dwelling of our rational ability, and in our rational ability, the right and impeccable judgment for each of the actions is, as it were, established and naturally established, that is, justice and what is due to everyone. Doesn’t our rational faculty weigh the nature of actions and separate the unpleasant and useless from the most excellent? K. And the inspired Scripture is in the habit of calling justice and justice judgment. Thus the divine David sings: “Blessed are they who keep judgment and do righteousness at all times!” (Ps.105:3). And he also said: “The power of a king loves judgment” (Ps. 98:4): for wonderful is the honor and glory of a king if he loves righteousness. So, the word of judgment that was placed on the heart and chest was so named because it lay in the place of the rational ability, in which justice with righteousness lies. In it itself were twelve stones set in gold, which had the inscription of tribes: they can serve as an image of holy men who are glorious and honest, and as if some chosen stones are almost contained in the mind and heart of Christ. And they are truly worthy of memory because of glory in virtue and dignity in sanctification. There were also golden chains hanging from the word of judgment, which circumstance, I think, indicates that a long and innumerable string of valiant deeds seems to be hanging from the host of saints. Likewise, blessed David says that the decoration of the Church also lies in chains (Ps. 44:14). K. From the word of judgment, a multi-colored and beautiful chain, threaded through golden rings, stretched upward, as we said, and, passing through both shields, reached the very top of the amice, on which there were stones with inscriptions. And what does this mean, isn’t it worthy of consideration? It seems to me that this riddle again means something like this: those who are honest, like stones, and abiding in the mind and remembrance of Christ, rising to the writing in heaven, acquire this “with the weapon of righteousness in the right and left hand,” as the divine Paul clearly writes (2 Cor. 6:7). Likewise, in another place he says: “Put on the whole armor of God” (Eph. 6:11). Golden weapons of the king; The shields are also golden, and covertly they indicate the whole armor of God. So, we will be in the memory and record of God in no other way than by taking hold of the weapons of truth and actively marching with them. And that the word of judgment touched the frame, this, I think, may indicate that earthly things come into contact with heavenly things through the mediation of Christ; “He is our peace, who has made both one,” according to the Scriptures (Eph. 2:14), and has united the human with the host of holy Angels through a union of love. You should also know that blessed Ezekiel says that the prince of Tire put on himself all kinds of precious stones, and then lists the very ones that, according to the divine Moses, were placed in the word of judgment. These were: ruby ​​(sardium), topaz, emerald (smaragd), carbuncle (anfrax), sapphire, jasper, yakhont (ligirium), agate, amethyst, chrysolite, diamond (virillium), onyx (fn. Ex. 28, 17–20 and Ezek. 28, 13). There are three of them in as many as four rows, which arrangement depicts to us the firmness in the faith of those who abide in the heart and memory of Christ: a symbol of faith is their arrangement in threes and, as it were, in the Trinity, and firmness - in a quadrangular and equilateral figure. Thus the word of judgment was made, on which were those twelve stones. K. In addition, he commands that something else be added to the twelve stones, saying: “Put the Urim and Thummim on the breastplate of judgment, and they will be in Aaron’s heart when he enters [the sanctuary] before the face of the Lord; and Aaron will always bear the judgment of the children of Israel in his heart before the Lord” (Ex. 28:30). So he calls this phenomenon and truth, but did not clearly indicate whether these were stones or whether He ordered such writing to be made on a small tablet. I will also remember the prophet who said: “For a long time the children of Israel will remain without a king and without a prince and without a sacrifice, without an altar, without an ephod and a teraphim” (Hosea 3:4). But whether these were stones or whether the names were written on a golden tablet, our word will not be very clear about this; we will only know that all this was placed in the image of Christ, co-present with the saints; for He says: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The truth and manifestation is Christ, because in Him we have come to know the Father and He has revealed to us His “good, acceptable and perfect” will, according to the Scriptures (Rom. 12, 2); for he said nowhere: “I no longer call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I told you everything that I heard from My Father,” I told you (John 15:14-15). And in another sense, Immanuel is the truth, because He alone is the Son by nature, God from God, the only Holy One, the only Lord; the creature, by participation and imitation, is what He is thought to be. So, Christ is co-present with the saints, implied in appearance and truth, and He brings our needs before the face of the Father, “always living to make intercession” for us (Heb. 7:25). This, I think, means the words: “And Aaron will always bear the judgment of the children of Israel in his heart before the face of the Lord” (Ex. 28:30). K. And he also commands to prepare some sacred and wonderful garment, saying: “And make the outer robe for the ephod all blue; there should be a hole for the head among it; there should be a woven covering around the hole around it, like the hole in armor, so that it doesn’t fight; along its hem make apples from threads of blue, yellow, purple and scarlet... around it along its hem...; golden vertebrae between them all around: a golden vertebra and an apple, a golden vertebra and an apple, along the hem of the upper robe all around; it will be upon Aaron in service, so that a sound may be heard from him when he enters the sanctuary before the Lord and when he goes out, so that he does not die” (Ex. 28:31-35). So, he clearly calls the inner robe and undershirt a long tunic, very comfortable for clothing and reaching from the very neck to the ends of the legs; blue because it serves as an image of the incorruptibility of heaven, that is, Christ. The divine David also foretold this, speaking as if on behalf of God about those officiating in the churches: “I will clothe his priests with salvation” (Ps. 131:16); “Put on our Lord Jesus Christ,” the wise Paul writes to us in his Epistle (Rom. 13:14). And this, I think, is our heavenly dwelling, with which we wish to be clothed: “a robe of gladness, a robe of salvation,” according to the word of the prophet (Is. 61:10). The blue color is an image of the sky, as has been clearly stated. This word is true also in relation to us, for we are endowed with incorruptibility from above. If we understand Christ Himself as having an inner robe in the image of Aaron, nevertheless this word is true; for the Only Begotten, being God by nature, makes his body incorruptible and, having clothed it with the highest life, placed it above all predominance of death. And that in Christ incorruptibility and life abides by nature and together by communion, you will understand this from the following. He said, being and by nature God: “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn. 11, 25); quickened by human nature, He says: “For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave also to the Son to have life in Himself” (John 5:26). So, if we also understand Christ Himself, of whom it is said that He is clothed with incorruptibility from above, then in this case our speech would not deviate from the proper meaning. Next to the lower parts were attached apples and bells alternately: the apples were woven, and the bells were golden, so that they were actually bells, and also so that when Aaron entered the Holy of Holies, they would make his entry very noticeable. And this serves as an image of the saving and wise economy, that is, the Divine and evangelical preaching, which, one might say, has proclaimed every city since for our sake “he once entered into the sanctuary and obtained eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12); “by one offering he made perfect forever those who were being sanctified” (Heb. 10:14). At the same time, bells made of gold and apples of cities serve as a clear indication of the saving sermon. K. How a city is surrounded from the outside by one wall, but inside itself contains countless dwellings; In exactly the same way, I think, the substance of a pomegranate apple is surrounded from the outside by one shell, and inside the grains are separated from each other as if by walls, thin tissues and are almost collected in houses. Isn't that right? K. The bell rang at every apple: in every city there is a teacher who, with a loud and euphonious proclamation of Divine dogmas, makes clear to everyone the entry of our Savior into the Holy of Holies. Even the fear of death threatened those appointed to officiate in the holy tabernacle, at least Aaron, if the noise of the bells had not been heard quite loudly around: silence is a dangerous thing for teachers; and Paul said this clearly: “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor. 9:16). P. It seems so; for you indicate very correctly. K. In addition, “And thou shalt make,” it is said, “a polished tablet of pure gold, and engrave on it, as they engrave on a seal: “Holiness to the Lord,” and fasten it with a blue cord to the mitre, so that it is on the front side of the mitre; and it shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear upon himself the defects of the offerings dedicated from the children of Israel, and all gifts brought by them; and it will be on his forehead continually, for the favor of the Lord towards them” (Ex. 28, 36-38). So, the headband is made of blue material, and the inscription carved on it is the mystery of Christ and a clear foreshadowing of His sending to this world. Emmanuel about Himself, that He is sanctified by God the Father? P. Yes, because I remember His words to the Jews: “If He called those to whom the word of God came gods, and the Scripture cannot be broken, do you say to him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world: you are blaspheming, because I said: I am the Son of God?” (John 10:35–36). K. When the Son says about Himself that He is sanctified by God and the Father, this indicates that He is, as it were, pre-elected and sent. “The holiness of the Lord,” it is said, that is, the purpose and sending into this world; but only for the kingdom and glory. For this is how God does Aaron, placing a golden shield on his forehead. Christ is the Lord of all and the King by nature and at the same time by communion; for, being God by nature, He “made Himself of no reputation,” descending to “the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:7). And he accepts the kingdom, as befits the human image, although from the beginning he was a neighbor of God and the Father in heaven, a co-ruler over everything and a co-ruler. Understand how his (Aaron's) headband was made of blue material, having a brilliant sign of the kingdom, that is, a golden tablet. The color blue represents the sky; and remember the words of Christ: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36); for Christ is not an earthly king, but a heavenly one, having all creation under His feet. Having added the words: “And Aaron will take away the sins of the saints, they will sanctify the tree... from every giving of his saints,” Scripture clearly indicates that every “bringing” (Eph. 2:18) and completion is in Christ and that all justification is in Him and through Him and the putting aside of former sins; for He Himself takes away our sins, and through Him we are made acceptable, bringing spiritual gifts to God and the Father. K. Very clearly indicating that the Kingdom of our Savior is inalienable and permanent and extends to endless ages, Scripture speaks of the tablet on the headband: “and let it be on Aaron’s forehead always.” Where, after this, should the impudent and insane speech of the wicked heretics find refuge, talking idlely that the once power of Christ will cease and that Emmanuel will betray the Kingdom to God and the Father (1 Cor. 15:24), having removed himself from the throne of the Divine? And people boast of such terrible and at the same time empty teachings, to whom one can rightly say: “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures” (Matthew 22:29). And so, when God and the Father clearly and obviously adorns Aaron with unceasing glory and honor and signs of royal dignity, they debunk and almost forcibly steal the sacred head adornment befitting his forehead. K. “And make,” it is said, “a tunic of fine linen and a turban” (Ex. 28, 39). Aaron was given a military appearance by a belt and a helmet; for this was the appearance of the turban. And Christ fought for us “with a secret hand,” according to Scripture (Exod. 17, 16), and “his bow was drawn and ready, and ... he made his arrows burnt” ( Ps.7:13 and 14) and cast down the principles, triumphed over the powers, shook the dominions and freed the captives on the earth. And that His battle was not visible and not sensual, and not with blood and flesh, this seems to be secretly indicated by the fact that the military armor - the turban (hood) and the belt - was made of one very thin linen. Thus, through the sacred decoration, God reveals Aaron to be glorious and. admirable. He adds another command to this, saying: “Make also tunics for the sons of Aaron, make them belts, and make them headbands for glory and splendor, and clothe Aaron your brother and his sons with him in them, and anoint them, and fill their hands, and consecrate them, and they will be priests to Me. And thou shalt make for them a linen undergarment to cover their nakedness from the loins to the shins, and let them wear them upon Aaron and his sons when they enter into the tabernacle of meeting, or approach the altar to serve in the sanctuary, lest they bring on sin and die. This is an everlasting statute... for him and for his descendants according to him” (Ex. 28:40-43). You see that it is fitting for the descendants of Aaron to appear as if in military form; for the entire sacred race is militant, and must not fight and compete with blood and flesh, but put up barriers to unclean sin, quite openly and verbally advocating for the true teachings, we take into captivity “every thought into the obedience of Christ,” as it is written (2 Cor. 10:5). Further, they had linen underwear (nadragi), which very well covered the ugliness and shame of the thigh parts: for everything with the saints is honest and there is nothing shameful in them; linen, placed on the hip parts of the body, seems to mean that it is most appropriate for saints to cool the pleasures of the flesh, because linen is cool; and ardor in the foulest lusts is alien to every saint. And for another reason, those who have received the lot of the priesthood have vestments and undergarments made of linen: they need to distance themselves from dead works; the image of deadness is taken as if from carrion, that is, from a sheep. So, the putting aside of dead works, again, as if in a prototype, is indicated by dressing in linen, and not in woolen clothes: and this is the eternal holy law. And that, in any case, death will certainly follow for neglecting the proper and most befitting decoration for them (the priests), He clearly indicated this in the words that they must perform sacred acts wearing these clothes: “Let them not bring sin upon themselves,” it is said, “let them not die.” P. The law is provident, showing very well what is useful to everyone and making it clear to everyone what by means of which he can become the best. K. Yes. Decorating the sacred and chosen race with such vestments, God sanctifies it in another way, as if in the canopy, but in Christ; for it is written: “This is what you must do to them, to consecrate them as priests to Me: take one bullock, and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread, and unleavened bread mixed with oil, and unleavened cakes anointed with oil: make them of wheat flour, and put them in one basket, and bring them in the basket, and together a bullock and two Aries Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and wash them with water. And take... the garments, and clothe Aaron with the tunic and the robe, the ephod and the breastplate, and gird him with the ephod; and place a miter on his head, and fasten the diadem of the holy thing on the miter; and take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. And bring his sons also and clothe them in tunics; And you will gird them with a belt, Aaron and his sons, and put bandages on them, and the priesthood will belong to them according to the statute forever; and fill the hands of Aaron and his sons” (Ex. 29:1-9). So, he commanded to sacrifice a bull and two rams, unleavened bread and bread in a basket (kosha); but he also cleanses them in another way, doing this, as I think, in a way of true sanctification: for, having washed Aaron with water, he clothes him in holy clothes. And we, only having been washed by holy baptism and riddled of every kind of uncleanness, are enriched with grace from above and from heaven, receiving the garment of joy, according to what is said: “Put on our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 13:14). The previous discussion showed us that Christ was represented in various ways in Aaron’s decoration. Now he anoints Aaron’s head with holy oil, just as David sings in one place: “He anointed my head with oil” (Ps. 22:5); where oil signifies joy in hope, proclaimed by the voice of the saints, or a joyful visitation from above: for we who have believed have been shown mercy and are blessed by the Lord, fattening the mind with the gift of the Spirit; the image of the mind is the head. In the same way, the priests were sanctified, washed with water and anointed with oil, being clothed in sacred vestments, having perfect hands, so as to appear capable of pure and immaculate performance of sacrifices. So we too are presanctified and adorned with grace from above and anointed for spiritual perfection, so that with boldness and, so to speak, with pure and all-holy hands we offer gifts to God, obviously spiritual. And this, I think, means what blessed David sang about everyone who ascends the mountain of the Lord: “the hands are innocent and the heart is pure” (Ps. 23:4). K. And in what manner the sacrifices were to be made for the priests, He determined this by law, saying: “And thou shalt bring the bullock before the tabernacle of the congregation, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bullock... and slay the bullock before the Lord at the entrance into the tabernacle of the congregation; take the blood of the bull and put it with your finger on the horns of the altar, and pour all... the blood at the base of the altar; Take all the fat that covers the entrails, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. and you shall burn the flesh of the bull and his skin and his excrement in the fire outside the camp: this is a sin offering. And take one ram, and Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on the head of the ram; and kill the ram, and take his blood, and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar; cut the ram into pieces, wash... his entrails and his legs, and put them on his cut parts and on his head; and burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord, a sweet savor, a sacrifice to the Lord. Take another ram also, and Aaron and his sons will lay their hands on the ram’s head; And you shall kill the ram, and take its blood, and put it on the edge of Aaron's right ear, and on the edge of the right ear of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. and sprinkle the blood on all sides of the altar; And take the blood that is on the altar, and the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron, and on his clothes, and on his sons, and on the clothes of his sons with him, and he and his clothes, and his sons, and their clothes with him, will be sanctified. And take from the ram the fat, and the fat tail, and the fat that covers the entrails, and the caul from the liver, and both kidneys and the fat that is on them, the right shoulder..., and one round loaf of bread, one cake of oil, and one unleavened bread from the basket that is before the Lord, and put it all in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and bring it, shaking it before the Lord; and take it from their hands, and burn it on the altar with the burnt offering, for a savor unto the Lord: it is an offering unto the Lord. And take the breast of the ram, which is for Aaron, and offer it, shaking it before the Lord, and this will be your portion; And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the offering, which was shaken, and the shoulder of the offering, which was offered, from the ram of offering, which is for Aaron and for his sons, and it shall be unto Aaron and his sons for an everlasting portion from the children of Israel, for this is the offering; The offering shall be from the children of Israel with peace offerings... their offering shall be to the Lord” (Ex. 29:10-28). And after a few words then: “Take the ram of delivery and cook its meat in the holy place; and let Aaron and his sons eat the flesh of this ram from the basket at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for through this the purification was made for conferring on them the priesthood and for their consecration; a stranger should not eat this, for it is holy; If there is any left over from the meat of the delivery and from the bread until the morning, then burn the remainder on the fire: you must not eat it, for it is holy” (Ex. 29: 31-34). P. How deep is the content of these commandments of the law! K. Yes, very deeply: you said it right. However, it is not completely dark if the Holy Spirit illuminates us with Divine light. Let us explain again, as far as possible, each separately. In countless ways our Lord Jesus Christ sanctifies us and makes us sacred and acceptable (to God): “for through Him we have access to both” (Eph. 2:18) And we are desired by God and the Father. His death, as well as life, is very useful and necessary for salvation for us, who have been subjected to corruption and sin, and, moreover, perfection through His Body and Blood: for in Christ, and not in the law, is perfection (cf. Heb. 10:1, 14). K. See then, as it were, in types, by which we are successfully saved and sanctified, and made sacred and holy in Christ. A bullock was brought from the oxen for sacrifice and was slain before the very doors of the holy tabernacle with the laying of hands on it; his blood was poured out at the altar with anointing on its horns, and his entrails were smoked instead of the most fragrant incense. The rest of the body is burned outside the camp. And the calf is Christ, as being both outside the yoke and under the yoke; for, being by nature God, He was under the law by humanity; because a small calf, unaccustomed to the yoke, by its nature is not capable of being under the yoke? J. Thus, Christ was carefully called a calf, so that in one and the same we would understand both the extraordinary nature of slavery for the Divinity of the Word, and the manifestation of humanity in the nature that was under the yoke. He is sacrificed, as it were, for the holy tabernacle and for those who laid hands on Him (these were Levites and priests): for He died for the Church and for those dedicated to Him through faith. And that Emmanuel’s death is sacred and, as if in the form of a sacrifice, favorable to God and the Father, you can understand this from the shedding of blood at the holy altar and anointing it, from the incense of the entrails, which can serve both as an image of the virtues located within and in the mind, which are characterized by spiritual incense, and not in just one form, since there are many entrails: “fat, kidney and omentum (limb) of the liver. The remaining parts of the body are then burned outside the camp, for Christ suffered outside the gates: this is what Paul writes (Heb. 13, 12, 11). The destruction of the body by fire subtly indicates that His suffering and death will not serve Him to disgrace, but will end in bright and obvious glory to all; for under the guise of fire is meant the Divinity: thus It descended on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:18). Intending to destroy the power of death, Christ carefully suffered death in order to be glorified before us as to God. Thus, death passes into divine glory, ending with a bright resurrection; and humiliation in suffering, overcome by the highest glorification, turns into nothing. This, I think, is, in a hidden sense, the destruction of a dead body by fire. Having added that there is sin, God pointed out that the suffering of Christ served to cleanse sin: the matter is clear. K. Then the first ram is taken and slaughtered in the same way as the calf: the blood is poured out again at the altar and it is lifted up, cut into pieces, after the entrails have been washed with water, along with the head and feet, because “there is a sacrifice.” And through this Christ is again depicted to us, Who in the perfect ram is perfect, having a holy life: this, I think, is indicated by the outpouring of blood at the altar, for blood is a way of life; and in the stench of fragrance He ascends to God and the Father, both for all together and for each. The image is also served by the fact that the ram ascends to the altar, both whole and member by member. Likewise, we are members of Christ individually and all represented by one body. Then, that He is holy and sacred throughout and has no stain of uncleanness, this is very clearly indicated by the washing of the entrails. Both head and feet rise together, revealing a fragrance in the sanctification of the Savior’s life from beginning to end; for in every animal the head is the beginning, and the end, as it were, is the end of the whole body - the legs. But perhaps it is better to think of the head as the mind, and the legs as walking, carried out in activity. In Christ, all thoughts and deeds are fragrant and reach the highest degree of purity, for He “created no sin” (1 Pet. 2:22). That is why he calls the consecration of the ram a burnt offering and a sacrifice, since He is not only partly holy or sacred. And it is not for Him, but rather for us, that it becomes both to be weak sometimes and to be subject to the fall; for no one is clean from sins (Job 14:4) and “we all sin greatly,” according to what is written (James 3:2). P. But how can one think that Christ’s very life was for us? K. You will recognize this, and very easily, by understanding that in Adam we became partners in his crime and almost suffered punishment for his sins, since the curse passed on everyone, and anger in some way devoured his race. So, the Only Begotten descended to become man “and dwelt in us” (John 1:14) and subjected Himself to God and the Father, since “being obedient even to death” (Phil. 2:8), destroying the guilt of Adam’s disobedience, and brought to God and the Father the fragrance of obedience for all together and for each: and by Him we are saved. A witness to this is Paul, who wrote: “Therefore, just as through one transgression there was condemnation for all men, so through one righteousness there was justification for life for all men. For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:18-19) So, do you understand that we are saved when Christ died for us, as it were, in the form of a calf, and that it is fragrant to God and the Father through His submission and life in sanctification? For the blood of the calf was poured out at the holy altar. P. I understand what you are saying. K. Presenting Him to us in various ways, as if in the shadows, God says: “and stir up the second ram”; - and the slaughter is performed over him like the first. Aaron is also anointed, and the host of priests subordinate to him is sanctified, with the blood placed on the edges of the right hand and right ear, as well as the right foot. The clothes of the priests, sprinkled with blood, are also sanctified, and then, after the remainder of it is poured out at the base of the altar, according to the will of God, the entrails are taken, as well as unleavened bread and one unleavened bread - both anointed with oil - and Aaron and those who are with him bring all this, placing it on their hands, and Moses accepts the sacrifice. In addition, the shoulder and sternum, it is said, must be separated for the priest and lie among the parts to be separated. The name of this sacrifice is “the ram of perfection.” After the entrails are burned, the rest of the body is consumed with the loaves, and what remains is then burned with fire until the morning: this is what the Holy Scripture says. P. How deep this word is! K. You said correctly: very deep, and contains the mystery of Christ; for He became for us “a ram of perfection,” showing us perfect in everything that is best, and most excellent in virtues through sanctification in the Spirit, and first of all, putting in us an ear full of blessing, that is, obedient and well-obedient and capable of accepting the teachings about Him, but not tolerating empty speeches and the vile unbridled language that some belligerents exhibit the truth and those who rise to the right skill. This is the fruit of holy hearing. And the divine John tells us this: “Beloved! Believe not every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Know the Spirit of God (and the spirit of error) this way: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (1 John 4:1-2). The testing of speech is naturally carried out in no other way than through the ear. So, those who care about the accuracy and correctness of teaching should have a holy ear. But this is the gift of Christ, a gift from heaven, and the accomplishment of the holy blood: for we have acquired all that is most excellent is accomplished in Him and through Him. Therefore, the hand was sanctified as capable of active work, and also the foot is a clear image of rightness in walking, since we should be glorified by holy deeds and correctly walk the path leading to everything that is pleasing to God, according to what is sung in Psalm: “And I turned my steps to Thy testimonies” (Ps. 118:59), or in the book of Proverbs: “Make the right streams with your feet, and straighten your ways” (Prov. 4:26; cf. Heb.12:13). So, let the sacred and chosen race acquire holy hearing and hands, as well as feet in the way just said. All the members of the right side are anointed, as if in their last part, that is, at the edges: “edge”, it is said, “ear”, as well as “legs” and “hands”: because every good deed, I think, is noble and right, has nothing as if left in depravity and reaches to the edges, that is, to the whole or to the end: for those dedicated to God must be right in sanctification and to the end in patience: “he who began,” it is said, “will complete it in you” (Phil. 1:6), and it is very unreasonable to go back, as if not daring to complete the good. Since Moses was the image of God, then Aaron and those who are with him make a sacrifice, and he accepts, by which God seems to indicate that He will accept the sacrifices in Christ thus sanctified almost from hand to hand and will not reject the gift, because it has a fragrance in itself. And this, I think, means the offering of the innards, which are incinerated to Him. The sternum and the shoulder are separated from the ram of perfection. The shoulder is a symbol of strength, and the sternum is a symbol of the heart and mind. So the holy and sacred race is given Christ, strength and wisdom. Are we not both wise and very strong in Him? P. How could it be otherwise? For it is written that Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, was made for us by this from God (1 Cor. 1:24). K. Further, the sacred food for those chosen for priestly service was meat; and they are given along with unleavened bread, and none of the foreigners should participate, or if anyone did this, he should die: for it is fitting for sacred souls to partake of holy food, that is, the Body of Christ; and blessing is not available to foreigners. By foreigners we can understand both a race that is not yet a believer and has not been baptized, and also one that has been seduced into a different mind and is dissimilar in opinions with the saints and, as it were, separated (from them) by the wickedness of their teachings. Further, every remnant of the sacrifice is destroyed by fire, since the law does not allow it to be eaten even the next day: for for us, I think, there will be some other way of sanctification in the future century, accomplished spiritually, and no longer physically, as the re-creating God knows, transforming everything into whatever he wants. In this case, the above words will not have an incomprehensible meaning: when corruption ceases in us, after the resurrection from the dead, then there will be no need for what previously made it possible to avoid it. Therefore, another kind of sanctification must be assumed, befitting the state of the time when Christ will be with us. However, having said what came to our minds, we will give way to those who understand this better than us. And perhaps the divine Paul points to something like this when he says: “When that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will cease” (1 Cor. 13:10), that is, it will have an end and will cease. K: So this, God said, should be done at the consecration of priests. When the priests of Israel were assembled and called into assembly, He ordered an announcement to be made in the hearing of all, saying: “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil, and the bullock for the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread, and gather the whole congregation to the entrance of the tabernacle of meeting. ... And Moses said to the congregation: This is what the Lord commanded to do.” And Moses clothed Aaron and the priests with ornaments, sprinkled the anointing oil “on the altar seven times and on all its utensils, and on the laver,” it is said, “and the tabernacle, and all that is in it, and to sanctify them” (Lev. 8:2-11): the tabernacle is holy, but the altar abounds in the most perfect measure with sanctification through the Spirit, although not as a communicant the rank of rational beings, for it is not as holy as, for example, the nature of an angel or the soul of a person, but, so to speak, due to the touch of the sacrifice placed on him; because the place where Christ is is also holy. So, having anointed the altar seven times, that is, abundantly, Moses sanctifies Aaron: he poured anointing oil on him and, in addition, made sacrifices for him and for his sons - in the way we recently explained. When this was brought to an end, he added another command to this, saying: and from “Seven days you shall not depart from the door of the tabernacle of meeting until the days of your consecration are fulfilled, for in seven days your consecration must be completed; as it was done today, so the Lord commanded to be done for the purification of you; “Be at the entrance of the tabernacle of meeting day and night for seven days, and be on the watch of the Lord, lest you die, for so I was commanded [from the Lord God]” (Lev. 8:33-35). What rite was performed over each of the victims, this was quite sufficiently shown to us by the previous speech. Therefore, omitting the subtlety of reasoning about this, let's move on to the next one. The law does not allow those who have received the sacred and chosen lot and have already been consecrated to the work of the priesthood to remain anywhere outside the holy tabernacle, but commands them to sit inside it until the seventh day and; almost nails it to the door, so that they do not even cross its threshold, placing this sitting in holy places, as I think, a sign of firmness and persistence in sanctification; for it is necessary for us, who are destined to be close to God, to be firm and unwavering in virtue, not walking outside the proper way of life and not leaving the sacred way of thinking, but always staying as if close and living with God, according to what was said through the mouth of the prophet: “If you urgently ask, then turn and come” (Is. 21:12). Moses commanded to do this until seven days; seven means that one should try to be near God at all times; he says, as it were: completely and always. Those inside the tabernacle are commanded to observe the guards of the Lord and this indicates the fruit of being close to God - obedience and the desire to do whatever He wants to decree. This is exactly how one should remain near the Lord of all, because negligence about good deeds always ends in extreme evil. That is why, I think, Moses added: “Let you not die.” K. So, Aaron, already ordained to the priesthood, begins to fulfill what was legalized. And how, let’s talk about this now. In the book of Leviticus it is written again: “On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel and said to Aaron, “Take yourself from the oxen a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and present them before the Lord; And say unto the children of Israel, Take a goat for a sin offering, and a bullock, and a lamb, a year old without blemish, for a burnt offering, and an ox and a ram for a peace offering, to offer an offering before the Lord, and a grain offering mingled with oil: for today the Lord will appear to you. And they brought what Moses had commanded before the tabernacle of meeting, and the whole congregation came and stood before the Lord. And Moses said, This is what the Lord commanded to be done, and the glory of the Lord will appear to you. And Moses said to Aaron: Come to the altar and make your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and the people, and make an offering for the people, and make atonement for them, as the Lord commanded” (Lev. 9:1-7). By directing your keen attention to the Holy Scriptures, you, Palladius, will very clearly see the shining mystery of Christ here too. K. On the eighth day Moses ceases to serve as a priest; Aaron begins; however, Moses did not stop talking, although Aaron had already begun the affairs of the priesthood. The time of the priesthood of Christ is rightly thought of as post-law, that is, the eighth day, on which there was a resurrection and, as it were, some beginning of a new age: for “in Christ there is a new creation,” according to what is written (2 Cor. 5:17). But when Christ appeared on the eighth day, what was established by Moses ceases: we no longer serve God in images and shadows. However, the instruction in the law did not cease, since the law is spiritual for the spiritual and always preaches the sacrament of Christ. Moses promised that on the eighth day the glory of the Lord would appear; for the law foretold the time of the coming of our Savior. To this is added the command that Aaron should make sacrifices first for himself, and after that for the whole people, setting this, as I think, as a type of what concerns us, and showing very well and clearly that those chosen for the priesthood and those who receive sanctification in faith in justice become holy and sacred. Let us also explain, as far as possible, what the manner of the offering was. The calf was slain for sins and for the purification of the priests. After the blood was poured out on the holy altar and the entrails were incense, the rest of the body was burned with fire. Then another ram was burnt offering according to the ordinary law of burnt offerings. The goat was a sacrifice to cleanse the sin of the people; a calf and a lamb for a burnt offering, and a ram and an ox for a sacrifice of salvation, and wheat flour was also laid on the altar, if not all at once, but handfulwise and in parts. Then he says: “And Aaron raised his hands to the people, and blessed them, and went down, having made the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and went out, and blessed the people. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people: and fire went out from the Lord and burned the burnt offering and the fat on the altar; and all the people saw it, and shouted for joy, and fell on their faces” (Lev. 9:22–24). P. So what do you say about this? K. Truly on the eighth day the glory of the Lord appeared, that is, the Son became manifest, the glory of God and the Father: this is what God called Him, saying to the most sacred Moses: “As I live,” says the Lord, “the whole earth will truly be filled with the glory of the Lord (Num. 14:21). And He reveals us as sacred, Himself for us, as if in the form of a calf, being slain and freeing us from sin, relieving us of all guilt and cleansing the filth that comes from condemnation, in a similar way He Himself is offered, like a ram, into the stench of the fragrance of the mind, Himself being the sacrifice of salvation, sanctifying us with His own blood, He Himself is also semidal (wheat flour), anointed with oil, revealing Himself in the joy of a holy life Himself for us to God and the Father. P. I understand what you are saying. K. I also think that this sacrifice for Aaron and for the people perfectly signifies the dedication of the saints to God. When Immanuel, through whom we are called to sanctification, has already been shown and made himself manifest, then at last we become pleasant and sacred and are consecrated into the aroma of the Father; note that although the consecration of the priests, as was recently said, was accomplished in accordance with the law, yet through Him (Emmanuel) they were again sanctified in various ways: for He was burned like a bull outside the camp for sin; He was burned in incense like a ram, burnt in the proper manner, all of him, member by member, for each and for all; He sanctified them, anointing them with blood, like the ram of salvation. When the eighth day finally arrived, that is, the day on which the glory of Christ became more evident, with the abolition of death and the trampling of corruption, then both the priests and the people make offerings to God, not honoring Him with any alien gifts and not externally pleasing the Lord of all, like Israel in the flesh, but showing ourselves as a fragrant sacrifice: for in these sacrifices we are, as if in an image, We perform sacred acts over our own souls and offer them to God, dying to the world and to the wisdom of the flesh, and undergoing the mortification of passions, and almost being crucified with Christ, so that, moving on to a holy and immaculate life, we live in accordance with His will. The divine Paul also writes something similar: “We always bear in our body the death of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Cor. 4:10). And again: “if we endure, we will also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:12); “if we are united in His death and suffering, according to what is written, then we will be fellow members of His resurrection and His glory (Rom. 6:5; cf. Phil. 3:10, 21). So, “Jesus, in order to sanctify people with His blood, suffered outside the gates,” according to the word of blessed Paul (Heb. 13, 12); “Let us therefore go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach,” outside the gates (Heb. 13:13); like the calf that is slain, and like the ram that is burnt, we are fragrant to God by living in Christ. And these are sacrifices for Aaron and for those who served him and those descended from him; and the sacrifice for the people is a goat offered for sin. What reason is there for this, when a calf was offered for the purification of the priests? Everything concerning the priests has superiority: both the offering of sacrifices and that which related to purification and sanctification. So, for example, a Taurus is larger than a goat in terms of body size, thus representing a clear indication of spiritual superiority in objects. The bullock and the lamb as a burnt offering mysteriously indicate the infancy in Christ of those sanctified by faith. The ox and the ram, then, very clearly designate patience and courage, as well as bearing fruit in meekness: the image of the first is the ox, and the second - the ram. Wheat flour moistened with oil very clearly indicates the bright hope of life in Christ: for it becomes us not to be sad and weeping, but to be complacent and joyful, to cleave to the life of Christ. This, I think, means the saying: “Come, let us rejoice in the Lord” (Ps. 94:1): because the glory of Christ will shine just as purely and clearly, very joyfully accepting the fruits of the saints, just as then clearly God descended in the form of fire and consumed the sacrifices. It is as if He considers the glorification of those sanctified by faith to be food and pleasure for Himself. But the above words also indicate something mysterious: then God sent down the power of fire onto the dissected parts, as if touching what was present, for the Divinity is always depicted in the form of a fiery nature; now, when a mental sacrifice is offered to Him, He, no longer in the form of fire, but in the Holy Spirit, mentally touching what is offered, reveals it as life-giving for those who wish to partake of it. And we accepted this by faith as true. K. Aaron raised his hands and blessed the people. Pay attention again to this first, as it were, laying on of hands of Aaron on the people: the true Aaron blesses everyone - the priests and the people, “the small with the great,” according to the word of Scripture (Ps. 113:21), almost laying on his hands; and the laying on of hands can serve as a clear sign of the sending down of the All-Holy Spirit upon us. And before the sacrament of Aaron there was no laying on of hands; “The Holy Spirit was not yet on them,” according to the word of John, “because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39). P. What has been said is convincing. K. And He arranges the image of the prayer of the priests, very clearly setting out, as if some foreshadowings of Christ’s suffering, the words contained in it, for He said: “Say to Aaron and his sons: thus bless the children of Israel, saying to them: May the Lord bless you and keep you! May the Lord look upon you with His bright face and have mercy on you! May the Lord turn His face towards you and give you peace! So let them call on My name on the children of Israel, and I... will bless them” (Numbers 6:23–27). So, he commands those crowned with the dignity of the priesthood to bless the people, but with benefit he turns away from vanity of thoughts, showing not the hand of man blessing, but Himself, as not the Lord: “Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights,” according to another (James 1:17). Christ is the way of blessing, and He Himself is the dispenser of heavenly blessings to us; in Him and through Him all things are from the Father. So the divine Paul says: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:7). So we are blessed in the name of God. What should be the very image of prayer, clearly indicating this, God said that the praying priest should say: “may the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord illuminate His face on you and have mercy on you, may the Lord lift up His face on you and give you peace.” Thus the blessing is preserved by resolving the oath and transforming the sinner so that he deserves praise in Christ. And Paul serves as a witness to this, who wrote this: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly things in Christ: having chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love; having first named us as sons of Christ into Him” (Eph. 1:3-5). You see that he who was rejected for sin became a man worthy to receive adoption as sons, blessed in Christ through the communion of the Spirit, which He poured out on us abundantly, not partly bestowing It on the saints, but as if from His own fullness pouring It into them. Further, the enlightenment of the face of God immediately delivers as pardon, if it is true that in the knowledge of God the communion of eternal life will come; for this is what the Savior said to the Heavenly Father and God: “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent” (John 17:3). And that the face of God and the Father is the Son, who appeared to us, I think no one can doubt this; for He is the image and likeness and image of Him (Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:15; 2 Cor. 4:4); through Him and with Him we know the Father, and with such knowledge it is necessary to unite mercy: because we are justified by faith, and “not by the works of righteousness that we have done, but by His mercy” (Titus 3:5); and delivered from corruption and transformed into newness of life in Christ, by the mercy of God. And in another respect, precisely if we turn the power of the word on the Jews, they will truly receive mercy when the Only Begotten shines upon them. On them lay, as it were, some unbearable burden that had to be overthrown, a law that condemns and punishes those who sin without mercy. They were pardoned, having acquired at a later time, just through Christ, justifying grace, whose coming they strongly desired to see, they cried out to the God of all: “God of hosts! restore us; may Your face shine, and we will be saved!” (Ps.79:8). So, we all received mercy at the appearance of Christ. Likewise, the exaltation of the face of God gives peace, the giver and awarder of which is Christ, who offered and gives it to those who believe in Him as if His own good: for “My peace,” He says, “I give to you, My peace I leave with you” (John 14:27). When the Father, as if on high, placed the Son on high, “he gave Him the name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:9) and saying: “Sit at My right hand.” (Ps. 109, 1), then only, having dissolved the enmity that divided us, we were united in peace, through the determination - to have Him (the Son) in our thoughts and to walk in the Spirit, in Whom and through Whom we will appear as partakers of the “Divine... nature” (2 Pet. 1, 4), since Christ binds us into unity: for He said to the Father: “Let them all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, so may they also be one in Us” (John 17:21); because we are all one “body” in Christ (1 Cor. 10, 17), and: “he who is united with the Lord is one spirit,” according to Scripture (1 Cor. 6, 17). And that, after God and the Father, as it were, lifted up His face, that is, glorified the Son, we acquired peace with Him, He Himself declares, saying: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Me” (John 12:32). P. You reason correctly: “For He is our peace... because through Him we both have access to the Father” (Eph. 2:14, 18). K. So, our law regarding priests and their appointment is as follows; but in addition, it is clearly stated that the Levitical family must be sanctified and that only those who have been properly purified should begin the priestly service assigned to them. It is said about this in the book of Numbers: “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and purify them; and to cleanse them, do this to them: sprinkle them with cleansing water, and let them shave their whole body with a razor and wash their clothes, and they will be clean; And let them take the bullock and a grain offering for it, flour mixed with oil, and the other bullock you shall take for a sin offering. and bring the Levites before the tabernacle of meeting; And gather together all the congregation of the children of Israel, and bring their Levites before the Lord, and let the children of Israel lay their hands on the Levites; Let Aaron dedicate the Levites to the Lord from the children of Israel, so that they may serve the Lord; And the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and offer one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord, for the atonement of the Levites. and set the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and make over them their consecration to the Lord; and so separate the Levites from the children of Israel, that the Levites may be mine. After this the Levites will come in to serve the tabernacle of meeting, when you have cleansed them and dedicated them to them” (Num. 8:6-15). P. Explain properly what kind of method of purification established for the Levites should be considered here? K. Mysterious, Palladius, and again in Christ: for He is our cleansing and washing of all uncleanness and the giver of sanctification. “Sprinkle,” it is said, “on them the water of purification.” The wise Paul also pointed this out, writing this: “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, through sprinkling, sanctifies the defiled, so that the body may be clean, how much more is the Blood of Christ” (Heb. 9:13-14). And the word is true: if in images there is benefit and a shade of salvation, then is it not even more so the truth itself, that is, the Blood of Christ? So, the water of cleansing, mixed with the ashes of the heifer, was a clear image of the so-called “deadness” of Christ (2 Cor. 4:10), as in holy baptism and we ourselves confess the fulfillment of this through faith, in accordance with what the same divine Paul said again: “we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead, by the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4); and he also said: “We always bear in the body the death of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed... in our mortal flesh” (2 Cor. 4:10-11). P. But what does the so-called death of Christ mean here? K. This means dying to the world and sins and leading a life that is sacred, holy and most pleasing to God, of which Paul again greatly boasted, saying: “By the law I died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:19-20). This, I think, means: to die in the world and bear the death of Christ, and at the same time to spend life in Him. So, the ashes of a heifer mixed with water can indicate the death of Christ, performed in holy baptism, of which, it is said, those who are considered to be in the Levitical rank and, as if in the shadow, should be freed from all types of carnal uncleanness. This, I think, is indicated, and very clearly, by the removal of body hair with a razor: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12), as if some kind of uncleanness of hair and nails that cuts off the mind, the uncleanness of our innate carnal movements, which the Holy Scripture in one place also calls the law of sin, living in the members of the flesh and warring against the law of the mind and attracting what is unlawful (Rom. 7:23). But by the power and action of the Holy Spirit, cut off as if by a razor, it (the law of sin) is weak, and if somehow it began to strengthen in us again, it is cut off with even greater power: “Walk in the Spirit,” it is said, “and do not commit carnal lusts” (Gal. 5:16). Just as a razor, however, does not completely tear out our hair from the very root, but cuts off only what has recently grown: so in us, the word of God does not pluck out the innate desire of lust to the very root (for perfect holiness is preserved for the age to come), but rather mortifies what is growing and strengthening in us and tames the law that is raging in the members of the flesh. So, the removal of hair mysteriously indicates the cleansing of the mind, which the Divine and most acute word of God accomplishes in us. Washing our clothes shows us a bright and impeccable life, externally manifested: “providentially good not only before the Lord, according to what is written, but also before man” (Rom. 12:17 and Proverbs 3:4). And the Lord Himself says: “So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). So, the truly holy and sacred must be pure from within and without, bearing the death of Jesus in their body and being in some way buried by Him through holy baptism. K. It is also said that for them (the Levites) a sacrifice should be made, consisting of two calves, one year old, that is, tender and young; the perfect one is offered as a burnt offering, and with it wheat flour moistened with oil is burnt; and the other, which was offered as a sin offering, was burned outside the camp: for thus were the sin offerings made. In both calves, Christ is again indicated: in the calf offered as a burnt offering as completely holy and offered for us in the aroma of fragrance to God and the Father, giving the saints joy and gladness of life in hope (since wheat flour moistened with oil was offered along with the calf); and this joy and gladness in any case accompanies those who choose life in Christ. The calf also points to Him for sin, which is destroyed by fire; for “by His stripes we were healed,” according to the Scriptures (Is. 53:5). Notice that a perfect calf is burnt as an offering, and a one-year-old is slain for sin, so that in two you understand One, as if in the perfection of virtues, the most fragrant mentally and as if in the simplicity and gentleness of the slaughtered: “I,” he says, “are like a meek lamb led to the slaughter, and I did not know” (Jer. 11, 19). And what is together and for all and from all as a gift to God the priestly family is cited, this is indicated by the laying on of the hands of the sons of Israel; for it is said: “Let the children of Israel lay their hands on the Levites” (Num. 8:10). As the Levites laid their hands on the heads of the sacrificial animals that were sacrificed for them in the image of Christ (they did this not to bless them, far from it, but in order by the laying on of hands, as if to point to God who bears our sins and acts sacredly for us, to nail to His cross “the handwriting that is written upon us” (Col. 2:14): this is how you will understand the laying on of the hands of the people on the Levites; But then there was the laying on of hands; Now, with a change in affairs for an incomparably better one, the people, by their decision, approve of those called through Christ to the priesthood, very clearly adding their voice: “They are worthy!” And this is done in churches, as, undoubtedly, the ancients also performed the laying on of hands on the Levites at the sacred and Divine tabernacle. So, it is obvious that if the ordination is performed neither in the church nor in front of the people, then this will be contrary to the will of God and inconsistent with the sacred laws. – The consecrated Levites concern everything related to the sacred rites. Therefore, whoever is not holy in Christ and has not been properly purified, let him retreat far: for he cannot touch the Divine altars with impunity. The sacred vestments, as well as the sacrifices which God has authorized to be performed at the ordination of priests, are clearly stated. But since many other things have been said about them in relation to the priesthood and to purifications and to careful care to live completely lawfully and excellently from the side of spiritual superiority, then, I think, first of all else, this should be said about this. Kirill. The tribe of Levi was dedicated to God and chosen from all tribes, and the law gave this tribe the right to perform sacred functions, since God gave it this excellent honor; however, he did not leave the host of priests completely untested and did not allow anyone into this matter, without exception, just because he came from the tribe of Levi; but he commanded that a thorough and very accurate study be carried out, so that anyone who happens to be afflicted with some bodily defect would not be displeasing to God and would not approach Him reprehensibly and, as if entering the tabernacle of meeting with unwashed feet, would not offend God, even if it were involuntarily. It is written again in the book of Leviticus: “Say to Aaron, “No one from your seed throughout all their generations, who has any deficiency in his body, shall come to offer bread to his God; no one who has a defect in his body should approach, neither the blind, nor the lame, nor the deformed, nor one who has a broken leg or a broken arm, nor a hunchback, nor with a dry member, nor with an eyesore, nor scabby, nor lousy, nor with damaged yatras; no man of the seed of Aaron the priest, who has any blemish in his body, shall come to offer sacrifices to the Lord; there is a shortage on him, therefore he should not approach to bring bread to his God; he may eat the bread of his God from the great holy things and from the holy things; but he must not come to the veil and must not approach the altar, because there is a defect in him: he must not dishonor My sanctuary, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them” (Lev. 21:17-23). P. Really, tell me, can a physical defect be blamed for anyone? Is it possible that the Creator accuses nature, even if it is unwittingly corrupted? K: Okay, Palladium; you are thinking correctly. - Guilt and blame can only be on those. who voluntarily turn their thoughts to the vicious and prefer an inclination towards everything that is absurd. To blame the shortcomings of the body, which occur naturally and involuntarily, I think, is both cruel and merciless, and not free from rudeness. From this we can understand that the Creator of all things did not accuse human nature for involuntary faults and did not remove the physically ill person from the service intended for him as unclean; but, as if again from the image of bodily objects, it raises our thoughts to a more subtle understanding and points to the diversity of spiritual passions, and also makes it clear that it is hateful to God. Didn’t the divine Paul also say that those chosen to the priesthood should be glorious in all that is admirable? “Let him be complete,” he says, “a man of God, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17). Likewise, a bishop, he very clearly stated, must be blameless (1 Tim. 3:2-8); and he cares a lot about this. P. I agree, but know that I would like to understand the meaning of each of the recently calculated shortcomings. K. Well, dividing them into parts into types, we’ll say what comes to our mind. “No one,” it is said, “from your seed throughout all their generations, who has a deficiency in his body, shall come to offer bread to his God” (Lev. 21:17). An unshakable word and a stern saying; for this law is not laid down only against those who then descended from Aaron, but extends to the entire race, to the entire priestly tribe and extends to all times: this means, I think, the saying: “from your generation to your descendants.” It is always unpleasant for God that is not blameless; no one can indicate the time in which it would be reprehensible to Him, as, for example, in illnesses, especially spiritual ones. On the contrary, He values the vicious, not in any way affected by corruption, perfect in virtue and strong in sanctification, always caring to gain glory for itself in patience, zealously with the eternal. prudence. That is why he gives a law about this, extending to the whole race, preparing for himself an immaculate, sacred and chosen race, then in the tribe of Levi and in the tribe of Aaron, and now in those sanctified in Christ, the great and true Hierarch, with whom we have become related through the Spirit, being fellow members and partakers of His own nature (2 Pet. 1:4). Therefore, having called those justified by faith into a fraternal union, he boasts of them as fellow members, saying: “Here I am and the children whom the Lord has given me” (Is. 8:18). Did not the divine Paul also recognize that these words concern the face of Christ (Heb. 2:13)? K. So, he bars access to the priestly office to anyone who has any of the named vices, as weak and despicable. “Neither the blind nor the lame should begin,” it is said. These shortcomings, even if we understand them physically, in themselves have a lot of ugliness: for whoever has lost his eyes or who is not steady on his feet and cannot walk straight, is it not better for him to remain alone, as if he does not recognize where the priest should go, than to go accompanied by laughter and using other people's legs and eyes? But that wouldn't be very important. Let us now talk about what is necessary for us to understand and contemplate the spiritual, bypassing the crudeness of the literal meaning. It seems that He calls a very simple and senseless person blind; for as the eye is in the earthly body, in the soul, one might say, there is a mind, enlightened by the Divine light and contemplating the purest beauty, with seemingly light and rapid movements of thoughts very quickly ascending to the accuracy of opinion and being able not to err in the correctness of the teaching. This, I think, means what is said: “Let your eyes look straight” (Prov. 4, 25); It is also said to the mother of the Jews, who does not see rightly: “But your eyes and your heart are turned only to your self-interest and to the shedding of innocent blood, to doing oppression and violence” (Jer. 22, 17). So, he is unfit for priesthood but blind, that is, completely unreasonable and damaged in mind and thought. A lame person is also unfit for this, that is, a man who does not know how to walk right and is not strong enough to walk perfectly: for blindness, as I said recently, is an image of extreme foolishness, and lameness is a kind of relaxed and sluggish movement and disposition, which is manifested in the performance of any task. Shouldn’t we cry out to people who are damaged: “Strengthen the weak hands and strengthen the trembling knees” (Is. 35:3)? Christ Himself also accused the Jewish people as not wanting to establish right paths on Him, but, on the contrary, turning to lameness and deviating from right thoughts; for it is said: foreigners flatter me; “The foreigners turn pale and tremble in their fortifications” (Ps. 17:46). So, spiritual lameness and blindness are equal to each other and very close, as if in the likeness of vices: the first is the dignity of reason, the other changes strength in good deeds into inability. In addition to these, the law commanded that the law also count as outcasts the one with the snub nose, and with him the man with his ears cut off. The following interpretation can be applied to them: the sense of smell recognizes what is fetid and fragrant from what is of this nature, that is, has an odor; this feeling is very capable of distinguishing between what can amuse us and what is not, but different and, as it were, in a worse lot. And the human mind, if it is perfect in its powers, then powerfully moves towards discerning the quality of things and will make an accurate study about each, and as the best exchanger, testing everything and retaining good things, “Abstain from every kind of evil,” according to what is written (1 Thessalonians 5:22), will become very famous; for he recognizes as unfit what is shameful, so to speak, and counterfeit in actions, but willingly admits what is useful and better. So, dullness means that the feeling with which we, recognizing all the best objects and giving the best judgment about the best, and the worst judgment about the most shameful ones, is not very healthy and perfect, and we are called wise and insightful and similar names: because, like a smell, the quality of the actions understood by it is carried into the mind. Cutting the ear, it seems to me, indicates disobedience; for the vice of a truncated ear, I think, is only partly obedience, and not a complete readiness for obedience, or an inability to immaculately listen to the sacred, especially the Scripture, which is what some do, recklessly turning the obedience of their soul to what it should not. Such, according to the Word of the wise Paul, “turn away their ears from the truth,” those who turn away, but who are attached to “deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (2 Tim. 4:3-4; 1 Tim. 4:1, 6:20; 2 Tim. 2:16). So, a person with a cut ear means mutilation of the inner and mental hearing and a perversion from rightness to the worse. But if it is noticed that “breaking of a leg or breaking of a hand” is inherent in someone, let him retreat, it is said, and let him be placed in the same row with others. At the same time, a person with a broken leg or arm, but not completely relaxed, makes us understand that he is not able to proceed completely blamelessly to business and does not have a completely blameless walk or action, I mean, in living and living a completely legal life. And such again are the essence of either “he who does the work of the Lord carelessly”, by whom “woe” is proclaimed through the mouth of the prophet (Jer. 48:10), or “the righteous” who persecute not the “righteous”, according to what is written (Deut. 16:20; cf. Wis. 6:10). Please note that on a par with spiritual and complete lameness, moderate mutilation of the lower leg is also considered and considered at the same time; for on the same account as complete powerlessness to do anything good, doing something wrong must also be considered. And rightly, lameness represents complete powerlessness, and contrition represents injustice in doing good deeds. K. He also ranks the hunchbacked one with spots on his face and pus in his eyes as one of the most unfit. And we consider a hunchback to be someone bowed down and looking down with his mind, and inclined to the passions of the flesh, and fixing his gaze, obviously mental, on earthly things, and, finally, coming to the point of hating correction, that is, directing the mind to think about things above. The crimes of the Jews can be placed on this account, about which it is written: “Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and let their loins relax forever” (Ps. 68:24). We consider one to have spots on his face if he has spots on his forehead. This disease tends to darken the appearance of the upper skin. Those who happen to suffer from this disease are deprived of even the opportunity to at least hide it, since it originates in the eyebrows and spreads throughout the face. Such is the spot-faced one in body; mentally, he points to a person who is brazenly and openly shameless and who, as it were, does not have a clean face, but makes the ugliness in life obvious to everyone, so much so that he does not even know what one of the wise said correctly: the wise “hide an insult” (Proverbs 12:16). K: Don’t we, Palladium, have countless passions hidden within us? K. The fact that each of us, I tell you, most respected one, is ill with something, but often, overcome by shame before the brethren, he uses a lot of effort and intelligence to appear healthy and to hide his illness. K: And if someone reached such a degree of shamelessness as to consider even openly sinning and completely despising the adornment of honor as nothing, would it not seem to anyone that he had strayed far from the sacred and holy race? K. So, the law calls such a person “spotted” because he does not know how and does not try to hide the illness and vice that happens to him. He calls one who has pus in his eyes, although he is by no means deprived of sight, but is unable to use it sensibly, as are some who have prudence, but do not see the determination to think what is right: for some, even seeing, as it is said, what is good, nevertheless turn the desire of their desires to what is improper (Rom. 7:19, 21); and others, although they could be involved in the right teaching, nevertheless they themselves damage their minds, directing it to the most obscene pursuit of opinions and not accepting any sound concept of God, which are some, especially the offspring of heretics and, besides them, Jews, although they believe that there is God the Father, but the Son who came from Him by nature is the most insanely rejecting. Therefore, what is truly sung about them by the voice of the prophet: “those who have eyes ... do not see” (Jer. 5:21); for there is no benefit in seeing if there is no effort to see correctly, just as we rightly recognized that lameness and broken legs should be considered in the same position; because it will be absolutely no different from the complete impossibility of walking to walk incorrectly, obviously, along the path of deeds and through actions. K. Also, a person who would have a wild scab on him, or lichen, or a person of the same age, or anyone who has a vice, should not begin the sacred rite. The wild scab should be likened to the most vile of passions, pouring into the soul in swift streams and passing all measure, originating from pleasure, but reaching a bitter end. Or don’t you think that in each of the sins there is a certain moderation and immoderation of evil? K: Doesn’t he who is overcome by bodily pleasure suffer from it both moderately and excessively? Some are only conquered and suffer in moderation, while others reach the pinnacle of evil, suffering from uncontrollably raging lust, so that they even go beyond the limits of passions consistent with nature. K: So, in each of the evils, inappropriate action beyond the limits of reason and the usual measure for many can be called a wild scab; In addition, we are deprived of any passion, whatever it may be, which always spreads in breadth and has a constant increase for the worse. But Divine law wants us to moderate and reduce the passions that arise in us. This is how you should understand when you hear the words: “If the boss’s anger flares up against you, then do not leave your place; because meekness covers even greater offenses” (Eccl. 10:4); for unpunished passions always strive for the most shameful, engulfing the heart and mind and leading to complete destruction. Thus, we must curb depravity, so that our sobriety tames it by ascending to the better, and destroys it little by little. In addition, he calls, as I think, a half-man, from whom what is due to a perfect husband is cut off; for it is said: “Do not be deceived: neither fornicators nor fools will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). He calls them effeminate because they, having received the nature of a man, distort what is proper for a man, being effeminate in mind and body, and voluntarily breaking themselves into powerlessness and effeminacy. But, probably, one-yatr means something else. A man is usually called a strong, tightly built person who has enough strength to accomplish anything he decides to do. And by half-man one can rightly understand one who is not entirely strong and not entirely zealous in achieving what is appropriate: for it is not becoming for one who is dedicated to God to bring to Him a curtailed courage and a damaged strength and, as it were, to be partially weak; but “to take courage and ... be strong,” according to what is written (Ps. 26:14), having impeccable and impeccable zeal. So, undoubtedly, a priest guilty of vice cannot be a priest; however, he is not excluded from partaking of holy food; for it is said: “He may eat from holy things; but he must not come to the veil, and he must not approach the altar” (Lev. 21:22-23). Those who are possessed by infirmities hidden within the soul can still partake of the blessings of Christ, although not in the same way as the saints, that is, as a gift of sanctification, in strengthening the mind and in motionless constancy in all that is best; but as it is fitting for those who are ill, that is, in the putting aside of evil, in the cessation of sin, in the mortification of lusts and in the perception of spiritual health. since Christ is a “new creation,” according to the Scriptures (2 Cor. 5:17; cf. Gal. 6:15): therefore, we also receive Him into ourselves through His holy Flesh and Blood, so that through Him and in Him, being transformed into “newness of life, we may put aside our former way of life, the old man, which is corrupted by the deceitful lusts,” according to what is written ( Rom.6, 4; Eph.4, 22). K. So, God forbids the infirm from engaging in sacred works, so to speak, due to deep-rooted and inevitable spiritual illness; for one who is constantly ill with innate passions cannot be holy. But if any of those who do not have any vice in themselves and are impeccable in their priestly service happens to fall ill with one of the common and ineradicable ailments, then he commands not to leave him unpunished, saying: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Tell Aaron and his sons that they should deal with the holy things of the children of Israel with caution and not dishonor My holy name in that they dedicate to Me. I am the Lord. Tell them: If anyone from all your descendants throughout your generations, having uncleanness on him, approaches the holy things that the children of Israel dedicate to the Lord, then that soul will be cut off from before Me. I am the Lord.... He who is a leper from Aaron's seed, or has a discharge, must not eat holy things until he is cleansed; and whoever touches anything unclean from a dead person, or who has an outpouring of semen, or who touches any reptile that makes him unclean, or a person that makes him unclean by any kind of uncleanness, the one who touched it will be unclean until the evening and must not eat holy things before he washes his body with water; but when the sun sets and he is cleansed, then he can eat holy things, for this is his food. He should not eat carrion and beast-eaters, so as not to become defiled by it. I am the Lord. Let them keep My commandments, so as not to bear sin and die in it when they break these things. I am the Lord... who sanctifies them” (Lev. 22:1–9). Those who offer sacrifices, it is said, or sanctified from the children of Israel, that they offer as a sacrifice to God, let them not profane His name by offering unpurified and having not yet washed away the uncleanness that they happen to fall into; otherwise, let them know, it is said that they will immediately be subjected to extreme punishment: “I am the Lord,” that is, not a false god, against whom even if someone sinned, nothing would be criminal; for in relation to stone or wood, what can we do that we should give an account of? So, directing us to caution with strong intimidations, he usefully enumerates the types of uncleanness that can happen to us, so that the clergy may know the path of the most appropriate honesty, as well as how they could be pleasing to God and pure, leading a life most pleasing to the Lawgiver. J. Thus, a leper and a person suffering from seminal disease is removed from priestly service and commands him to be not involved in the shrine until he has eliminated the illness that has befallen him and is no longer able to avoid it. To this he adds as one who suffers from a homogeneous uncleanness, and who touches any uncleanness of the soul, or one whose semen flows out on the bed, as well as one who touches a reptile, and equally a person subject to any accusation of defilement; through which, as I think, the law does not condemn bodily states, if you pay attention to its true and pure goal, but, as it were, in images in the sensual and bodily, it reveals spiritual vices. Thus, leprosy serves as an image of death, because it destroys and devours the flesh, leads to an unnatural state and changes the appearance of the body. And semen is the elimination of fertility, since in this case the natural flows out in vain, which is also seen as the human mind, subjected to corruption and almost weakened to the point of sterility, since it cannot understand anything necessary for salvation. Such, for example, were Hymenaeus and Alexander, who thought and said that the resurrection had already happened (2 Tim. 2:18; cf.: 1 Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim. 4:14). To this can be added those who unbridledly deviate towards everything vile and plunge the fruit of their mind straight into empty and immoderate pleasures. So, let him who is a leper and suffers from seminal discharge, that is, possessed by the works of deadness - and the works of deadness are carnal passions - and having uncorrupted fruit, obviously mental and hidden, depart, it is said, “from the saints... until he is cleansed”: because, as the divine Paul said: “Whoever eats this bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the Body and Blood Lord's. “Let a man test himself,” he says, “and thus let him eat of this bread and drink from this cup” (1 Cor. 11:27-29). P. You said it perfectly. K. But pay attention, Palladius, to the accuracy of the law: it eliminates not only the leper and the one suffering from seminal disease, but, as if together with them, condemns the one who would even accidentally touch these patients, I mean the leper and the one suffering from seminal discharge. “And touch,” it is said, “all uncleanness of the soul, or... if seed comes out of his bed,... he will be unclean” (Lev. 22: 4, 6). P. What harm could this do to those who touch it? K. Of course, none, if we keep in mind the immediate meaning of the law: for touching the body will not defile a person’s soul. But the law is spiritual and secretly teaches us again that those possessed by spiritual passions are unclean and guilty of defilement. And along with them, those who touch or cleave to them are also defiled, obviously by the identity of intentions and actions, since “bad associations corrupt good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33) and there is no “complicity of the faithful with the unfaithful” (2 Cor. 6:15); light is hostile to darkness and unlike it (2 Cor. 6:14) and truly, “You deal mercifully with the merciful, sincerely with the sincere man,” (Ps. 17:26) “with the pure, pure, but with the evil one according to his wickedness” (Ps. 17, 27). And that the illness of the most vile vices is very painful not only for those who are sick, but that those who agree with them and are of the same mind will be defiled no less than them, the law indicated this, immediately adding: “or whoever touches any reptile, from which he becomes unclean, or a person, from whom he becomes unclean by any kind of uncleanness, he whoever touches this will be unclean until the evening” (Lev. 22:5-6). We think that those to whom it would be appropriate to apply the saying: “they think evil in their hearts” (Ps. 139:3), “their mouths are full of slander and bitterness” (Rom. 3:14; fn. Ps.9:28) are called and are called fierce and poisonous reptiles. Such, and above all others, are those who pervert what is right and put disastrous teachings into the ears of ordinary people, who lead them to evil thoughts and to a false opinion about God, or perhaps those who say: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die” (1 Cor. 15:32; Isa. 22:13), and who lead the minds of uneducated people to worldly delights. Those who are also unclean and can defile those who touch or come close to them - I speak in relation to the law of disposition - are those about whom the wise Paul said in one place: “with the one who, while called a brother, remains a fornicator, or a covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a predator; “You shouldn’t even eat with someone like that” (1 Cor. 5:11): for don’t you consider it most fitting for a sacred and chosen race not to be in such vices and not to mingle with people who are afflicted by them? K. So, “he who touches this,” it is said, “will be unclean until the evening and should not eat holy things before he washes his body with water; but when the sun has set and he has been cleansed, then he can eat holy things, for this is his food” (Lev. 22:6-7). In addition, it also prohibits eating carrion and animal meat. as something that can defile. But pay attention, Palladius, to the fact that the putting aside of all filth and liberation from guilt in us can only be through Christ alone and at the time of His coming K. That everything still remained unpurified and in defilement and that what was before the coming of the Only Begotten was not part of life, He showed this by saying: “He will be unclean until the evening and should not eat holy things.” Was it not in the last times of the age that Immanuel came? K. We are revived by eating the truly holy and heavenly bread, that is, Christ, when time has come to an end and the sun, as it were, has set and in the evening has concluded the measure of time. K. That is why the defiled is unclean until the evening, and also does not partake of holy and life-giving food, awaiting the time of cleansing; but having washed himself with water, after the setting of the sun he becomes clean and has his heavenly bread: for those who were sanctified as if by water, I mean in holy baptism, were given a blessing through Christ; and He is “animal bread”, He is again also He who came down from heaven “and gives life to the world” (John 6:33). And that the setting of the sun signifies the time of the coming of our Savior, you will clearly see from what God says about the Lamb to the sacred keeper Moses: tell the children of Israel, and let them take for themselves “one lamb for families,” he says, “... and let it be kept with you until the fourteenth day of this month: then let the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel slaughter it in the evening” (Ex. 12, 3, 6 ). The tenth hour is called the hour at which Emmanuel appeared to us, already towards the evening, that is, towards the end of the present century. Carrion, then, and carrion, no less than leprosy in the spiritual sense, brings defilement to those who touch it: and carrion obviously means a person completely dead and extinguished, as it were, in the works of the flesh; a beast-eater is a soul that has fallen under the power of the devil. And what, further, is a saving thing - to avoid a person who is accustomed to thinking about the dead and has lost his mind and, as it were, feeding Satan (for he devours those souls that he captures), how can this not be clear to those who are truly sane and who are trying very hard to move as far as possible from everything that has the property of desecrating? K. But since our explanations have already reached such precision, and the purpose of the law is that not the defiled, but the immaculate should be partakers of the holy and life-giving dishes, then he immediately very clearly distinguishes between the genera and determines who is worthy of blessing and is able to proceed to this: he also explained who should be excluded from the holy dishes, saying: “No stranger should eat holy things; he who lodges with a priest and a hired servant must not eat holy things; if the priest buys himself a man for silver, then he may eat it; also the members of his household may eat his bread” (Lev. 22:10-11). Excludes as a defiled and not yet washed foreigner and foreigner, that is, one who has not yet believed and has not known the true God; for how can those who are not connected by spiritual and mental kinship with Christ, the great and true Priest, be partakers of His bread? We will not cast “the holy dog, and no one will cast mental pearls... before swine,” according to the words of the Savior Himself (Matthew 7:6). So, the foreigner is not involved at all. He is also joined by a minion and a mercenary. Again, as it seems to me, the pilgrims are those who live for the world and live in it and, as it were, have made the earth their fatherland due to the fact that they think only about carnal things, and in the love of Christ they are, as it were, pilgrims only by cold faith. And as one can judge from their words, they are useful and honest, but in deeds and morals they are very far from true reverence. Mercenaries, on the other hand, are those who accept the very belief not out of respect for the truth, but seeking the favor of some, as if a reward for seeming to be Christians, and with affection they resort to the care of people who can be useful to them, and thus turn piety into profit (cf. 1 Tim. 6:5) and a cover for covetousness, covering themselves with well-intentioned speeches, as if disguise. So, as far as the force of the law is concerned, the pilgrims and mercenaries should be considered as foreigners and together with them should be as far as possible from the saints. Almost related to the disease's vices, they should rightly be subjected to the same punishment. The law commanded that households should be allowed to participate in the shrine, for “let them be eaten,” it is said, “by the household” of the priests and the one whom they buy, and the law calls acquired, bought with silver and a household member of one related in faith and household in spirit, and bought with a price, according to the word of blessed Paul (1 Cor. 7:23, 6:20); “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us,” according to what is written (Gal. 3:13). K. Also adds the decree that “If the daughter of a priest marries a stranger, then she should not eat the holy things offered” (Lev. 22:12). He clearly honored the family member by allowing him to partake of holy things as a relative. But that those who are related to a priest should in every possible way beware of clinging to her as if they were related in faith and way of life and as if they had not acquired an affinity in virtue, this can be clear to those who want to carefully examine the faith of the Holy Scriptures: for as in what was already read, the law considered the leper unclean and with him still suffering from semen, and also considered the one who was close to them to be a partaker of their defilement and uncleanness and, as it were, associated with them due to touch: so here he says that the priest’s daughter, although she has a holy relationship, will not receive any benefit from this, having entered into an alliance with another, that is, with a foreigner, who is not at all related to her and who does not come from the blood of Israel. So, this is the historical meaning of these words. If we transfer the law to spiritual contemplation, then we will have to say that he calls the priest’s daughter a soul regenerated from water and the Spirit by the power of Christ and called through faith to sanctification. But even such a soul, he says, may not be associated with the saints if it encroaches on a foreigner, that is, if it enters into an alliance with some who are not truly saints and do not have a spiritual disposition towards God: thus bodies have a physical form of contact, and spirits have a spiritual one. P. Who should we consider falling into this state? K. Those who were warned by the honest word of wisdom, saying: “My son! if sinners persuade you, do not agree; if they say: 'Come with us, let's set up an ambush for murder...'" (Proverbs 1:10-11). We will also add to them those who, ignorantly straying from the right faith, follow the flesh, not accepting the words of the Holy Spirit, but “giving heed to deceiving spirits... through the hypocrisy of false talkers, having their minds burned up” (1 Tim. 4:1-2). Such, rejecting kinship with Christ, truly encroached on the behalf of foreign people and took into themselves the seeds of the devil and, being in error, bear fruit in deeds of error and destruction. So, although once sacred, a pious soul has been rejected, having fallen into such a shameful desecration: for everything that becomes unclean and defiled as a result of an alliance with bad and wicked people is not at all sacred. Along with this, God immediately pronounced another law, which is stated as follows: “When the priest’s daughter is a widow, or divorced, and has no children, and returns to her father’s house, as she was in her youth” (Lev. 22:13). The historical meaning, I think, is clear; therefore, one must move on to internal and secret thoughts. If, he says, the soul, as condemned, is rejected and finds itself deprived of a husband, that is, a mental Bridegroom, not having any fruit of virtue, then let it flee to the original path and quickly return to its father’s house, obviously through repentance seeking kinship with God, and then let it eat of His bread. However, nothing prevents us from applying the force of what was said to what we recently talked about. If it happens, it is said that a sacred and holy soul, having given itself over to wicked men, falls into error and accepts the filth of alien teachings and therefore becomes, as it were, a widow and abandoned by God, and having become sober, it seems to recognize what it has fallen into: then let it return to the Father, for He accepts the lost if they turn out to be clean from the wicked seeds that have infested them and if not They will bring with them no remnant of the abomination of those who have led them astray, and numbers them among the flock of holy worshipers, so that He offers Himself as bread from heaven, life-giving food for them. However, I think that through these laws the Legislator points us to something else. He foreshadows, as it were, the falling away of the Jewish synagogue and its condemnation for this, as well as the goodness that will descend upon it in time, calling it by the grace of God to conversion and raising it to its original state: for “If the daughter,” it is said, “of a priest marries a stranger, then she should not eat the holy things offered.” As for teaching and instruction, then, as it were, by some father of the synagogue Jewish was the divine Moses. Thus, she was the daughter of a priest, because Moses was a priest, since he was descended from the blood and tribe of Levi. But his “daughter” encroached on a “stranger” (foreigner): for, considering what was determined by God to be completely unimportant and in some way neglecting the seeds sent down from above, she cared about the teachings and commandments of men and bore fruit in opinions. strangers. For this reason God accused her, speaking to her through the mouth of Jeremiah: “Lift up your eyes to the heights and see where they have not committed fornication with you? You sat by the roadside for them, like an Arabian in the desert, and you desecrated the land with your fornication and your wickedness” (Jer. 3:2-3). But these are the ancient crimes of the Jewish synagogue; They are also related to the new ones, done against Christ Himself: for by no means accepting from above and from God the Father the Bridegroom who came, she listened to the words of the scribes and Pharisees. Thus, she encroached on the marriage of a foreigner and therefore remained unrelated to the saints, since she did not eat the bread of heaven, that is, Christ. You see the crimes and the punishment immediately imposed by Christ on the people who disrespected them. Look now at how they were pardoned and restored to their original state. “When the daughter of the priest,” it is said, “becomes a widow, or divorced, and has no children, she returns to her father’s house” (Lev. 22:13). The Jewish synagogue appeared as a widow and released for wickedness against Christ and remained in sins and lacking any of the spiritual blessings, and spent a long time in this (situation). But she will return to her father’s house, for she too will be called through faith to God; recognizes for herself, together with us, as the Father of the Creator of all things and will become partaker of the blessing of Christ. The word of the prophet will make this secret clear to you; for he said thus: “For for a long time the children of Israel will remain without a king and without a prince and without a sacrifice, without an altar, without an ephod and without a teraphim. After this the children of Israel will turn and seek the Lord their God and David their king, and they will revere the Lord and His goodness in the last days” (Hosea 3:4-5). K. So, the sacred, that is, the holy, can be tasted in a decent manner for perception only by people who are intact in themselves; but it cannot yet be offered to those who are not healthy or who have been defiled through society with strangers; for it is written: “You have become corrupt with the obstinate” (Ps. 17:27). And that it is not harmless for truly sacred people to turn a shrine into common use and think that it is no different from other dishes, he explained this, immediately saying: “Whoever eats something from a shrine by mistake must give the shrine to the priest and add a fifth of it to it. The priests themselves must not defame the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, and they must not incur the guilt of crime when they eat their holy things, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them” (Lev. 22:14-16). P. I don’t really understand what you said means. K: You will understand this, and very clearly, for there is nothing difficult here. The aromas raised into the stench, whether calves or sheep, were only partially lifted up to the altar, and the entrails, legs and head, fat, and sometimes kidneys were separated; The priests ate the leftovers, for “those who eat sacrifices are not partakers of the altar,” as the divine Paul said (1 Cor. 10:18). So, it was necessary that something from what was offered be dedicated to God, according to the rite appropriate to each sacrifice, and the rest of the body of the sacrifice should be rewarded for its performers. If someone were to take away the entire gift and use it for his own needs without burning anything, he would be guilty before the law as having consumed holy food. This is what the sons of the priest Eli did, stealing and desecrating what was dedicated to God before sacrificing it and very wickedly saying to those who came for the sacrifice: “Give meat for roast to the priest” (1 Samuel 2:15). But these iniquities, as free and containing a clear insult, received appropriate punishment. If it happens to anyone, it is said, either out of oblivion, or out of inaccurate knowledge of what is decreed by the laws, to do something like that, let him be punished and immediately pay equal retribution; “and let him add to this another fifth... part,” that is, a fifth share of the value; and thus will resolve the guilt and eliminate the harm that occurred “through ignorance” (Lev. 22, 14–16). So, when what is done out of ignorance is not free from guilt, then what should we think about what is done with intent and insolence? Therefore, those who care about the sacred should beware of looking for an opportunity to appropriate something before the sacrifice; otherwise, let them know that, having sinned horribly, they will be guilty of punishment and subject to Divine wrath. Don't you think this is true, my friend? K. And that the priests should be holy and washed and courageously shake off the dead, so to speak, and chilled thoughts that do not breathe virtue, God explained this, saying: “And the Lord said to Moses: declare to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and tell them: let them not defile themselves by touching the dead of their people; only his closest relative, his mother and his father, his son and his daughter, his brother and his sister, a girl who lives with him and has not been married, can he touch without desecrating himself; and by touching anyone among his people he must not defile himself, lest he become unclean. They shall not shave their heads or trim the ends of their beards or make cuts on their bodies. They must be holy to their God and must not dishonor the name of their God, for they offer sacrifices to the Lord, bread to their God, and therefore must be holy” (Lev. 21:1-6). If someone carefully examines a subject in its truth, then for a person there can be absolutely no defilement for the death of another. But bodily mortality is an image of internal and spiritual mortality, by which one who approaches it is necessarily defiled either by wanting or doing the same thing: therefore, it is fitting for saints to move away and stay as far away from dead things as possible, and it is excellent not to come into contact with those that are ill with such things; for it is written: “Whoever touches the resin will be blackened” (Sir.13:1). One can be involved, and very easily, in the depravity of another without being careful to cleave to him. But the law allows the sanctified to innocently defile themselves in relation to father and mother, children and brothers, as well as close relatives, by approaching even their soulless bodies, out of respect for nature, and does not pay attention to these former sins, so long as those known to God do not seem cruel, arrogant and uncompassionate. The law clearly says: “Honor your father and your mother... so that your days may be long on earth” (Ex. 20:12). And in another respect and sense, we say, it is forbidden for the sanctified to grieve: how can those who are priests of life and offer sacrifices to God as a solution from death be burdened with grief over death (for the death of Christ, typified by sheep and calves, is a solution from death)? Likewise, the divine Paul clearly writes to those baptized into Christ in the hope of life and resurrection: “I do not want you, brethren, to be ignorant about those who are dead, so that you do not grieve like others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring those who have fallen asleep in Jesus with Him and will raise them up with us (1 Thessalonians 4:13–14, 17). So, the law allowed the sanctified to approach the dead who were very close to them in kinship; but he moderates this and does not allow them to violate what is most appropriate for them by using this right in excess and beyond need, so that the honorable gift of the priesthood is not insulted. So, for example, it prohibits cutting heads in the likeness of others and, to disfigure the face, shaving the beard; He also commands that other wicked acts of Hellenic madness, I mean cuts on the body, should not even come to mind: for it is not at all unreasonable to sympathize with close relatives in grief, but to completely disgrace oneself would be completely absurd and insane; because it is said: “everything must be decent and orderly” (1 Cor. 14:40). The Savior Himself commanded us to prefer responsibilities in relation to God to responsibilities even in relation to the parents themselves, in accordance with the ancient law, saying: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). K: So, he by no means commands the priests to become defiled by touching the dead. And what is holy is not similar and does not agree with the unclean, He shows us this in other ways, establishing laws for us on marriages and immediately after the above, speaking about every priest: “They must not take for themselves a harlot and a defamed woman, and they must not take a wife rejected by her husband, for they are holy... to their God. Holy it, for it brings bread...to your God: let it be holy to you, for holy am I the Lord, who sanctify you” (Lev. 21:7-8). The wife is truly not a harlot and defiled, she suffers from a vice that is openly shameful and undoubtedly deserves condemnation; but in no way innocent and expelled (by her husband): for it was not in vain that she suffered expulsion from the hearth of her partner. Therefore, those elevated to such a venerable degree of service must refrain not only from vices, which have in themselves obvious and open condemnation, but also from any deed with which the thought of vice and an unkind assumption and dishonor are connected due to the suspicion of so many. It seems that these words mysteriously point to the misfortune of the Jewish synagogue, which, because “it committed fornication with many lovers,” according to what is written (Jer. 3:1), was not accepted into spiritual communion by Christ, the all-pure Priest, who exalted Himself for us to the Father, as if some chosen gift, is holy with us by human nature, although He Himself sanctifies all creation, as from God originated and God. Then he makes the meaning of the sacrament more clear by saying that “If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by fornication, she dishonors her father; It must be burned with fire” (Lev. 21:9). The Jewish synagogue, which followed the opinions of the scribes and Pharisees and betrayed all its mind to the commandments of men, was also consigned to the flames, as wicked and defiled. Therefore, she very rightly heard the prophet saying: “How the faithful capital, full of justice, has become a harlot!” (Isa. 1:21.) So, having committed fornication and having fully gazed upon the high and spiritual Bridegroom, she became the food of fire. That is why, shedding bitter tears over her, the prophet Jeremiah says: “The Lord called you a green olive tree, boasting pleasant fruits. And now, at the sound of great confusion, He kindled a fire around her, and her branches were broken. The Lord of hosts, who planted you, has spoken against you evil for evil” (Jer. 11:16-17). Thus, a type of mental wandering is a deviation from right-thinking and an attempt to adhere to shameful and wicked teachers. K. However, the images of what was said are not clear and are not quite clearly visible on other priests, but they seem to shine in Aaron, who bears the image of Christ; for it is also said: “But the great priest of his brethren, on whose head the anointing oil is poured, and who is sanctified to put on the sacred garments, must not bare his head or rend his clothes; and he should not approach any dead person: even by touching his dead father and mother, he should not defile himself. And he must not depart from the sanctuary and dishonor the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is upon him. I am the Lord. He must take a maiden as a wife...: he must not take a widow, or an outcast, or a defamed woman, [or] a harlot, but he must take a maiden from his people as a wife; he must not defame his seed among his people, for I am the Lord... who sanctifies him” (Lev. 21:10-15). You see clearly, as if in images, Immanuel and Christ, named as if in Aaron: for He is anointed with the Spirit, according to the Scriptures (Is. 11: 2, 42, etc.), Himself being an all-perfect Priest. Therefore, he has the inalienable glory of the priesthood: “let him not open,” it is said, “the head,” that is, let him not take off his sacred vestments; for the Savior of all and the Redeemer is said: “Thou art a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 109:4). “Moreover, there were many of those priests, because death did not allow one to remain alone; but this one, as one who abides forever, has the priesthood. imperishable, therefore he can always save those who come to God through Him,” as the divine Paul wrote (Heb. 7:23-25). So, the prohibition to remove the turban from the head indicates the inalienability of the priesthood. If you say this: let him not remove the miter (withered) from the head, then you will very easily understand here the constancy and steadfastness of his kingdom: for the miter is at the very top. the forehead of the golden tablet is the image of the authorities and the kingdom. But “let him not tear apart”, it is said. Some people have the custom of doing this over the dead; but this work is completely alien to Christ: for life cannot endure any torment from death. For it, the dead means nothing at all; but it itself is the solution of death and the destruction of corruption. Likewise, the Savior once forbade those who wanted to mourn the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, saying: “Go away and do not cry: for the maiden does not die, but sleeps” (Matthew 9:24). It was truly unreasonable to shed tears over a maiden as if she were dead, when the life of all was present, that is, Christ. And if He Himself shed tears over Lazarus (John 11:35), then this, as we believe, it was a consequence of love, and compassion for us came from Divine goodness: for the nature oppressed by death was prompted to compassion and the solution to suffering for Him was tears. K. And that in Christ there is nothing bad at all, this is indirectly indicated by the words that the bishop must move away from carrion, not approaching anything dead, not caring about respect for his father, or mother, or brothers. Look how prudent the law is and how much importance it attaches to the decoration befitting intelligible objects: in relation to other priests, it showed attention to nature, and allowed the sanctified to innocently perform generally accepted actions in relation to very close and blood dead; and did not really care about sin in the shadows: for our guilt was depicted, and the image related to people to whom, even if defilement had happened, there would be nothing unnatural about it: “We all sin greatly” (James 3:2), and our very nature is weakened by the tendency to sin. But in the great Bishop, that is, Christ, honor is kept pure in even the very prototype and impeccable in the very shadows, so that the beauty of the truth is not damaged, as if violated in them; because Christ is undefiled and does not know sin and is above all defilement, on the contrary, he is involved in lightness and mental purity, is in complete sanctification, and the manifestation of this is enduring to him, due to the confirmation of this on natural laws and always being in the same position and in the same way. And this, I think, means the saying: “And he must not depart from the sanctuary and dishonor the holy things of his God” (Lev. 21:12). Then he very clearly says that the wife for marital communion must be a virgin, and excludes the outcast from marital communion. This was the image of the Jewish synagogue, for she was cast out from fellowship with Him and He speaks about her through the mouth of the prophet, “for she is not My wife, neither am I her husband” (Hos. 2:2). And Paul “betrothed the church of the Gentiles to Christ, as “a pure virgin, ... not having spot, or wrinkle, or anything like that, but that she might be holy and blameless” (fn. 2 Cor. 11:2 with Eph.5:27). And thus this reference to the church of the pagans and the mother of the Jews (synagogue) is correct, and the image is beautiful. If anyone would like to properly direct the power of these thoughts to each of the people, then we say that Christ does not come into contact with bad and wicked souls; but with the all-holy and pure, as if with virgins, he spiritually unites, and makes them fruitful, and calls them his own race: “for whoever does the will of My Father in Heaven,” He says, “he is My brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:50). K. So, what kind of people should be those chosen for sacred rites, and what they should try to do correctly, and what it is proper for them to be free from, this has been clearly stated; but in addition, it was prudent to speak clearly about how they should perform sacred acts, and to enumerate in the laws the types of sacrifices and everything sacred, so that through this their work would be blameless and so that in this way they would perform the most pleasant service to God. Therefore, and above all else, “and do not go up,” it is said, “by the steps to My altar, lest your nakedness be revealed therein” (Ex. 20:26). But how can this happen, someone will immediately say, when He gave the priests “a linen robe to cover the nakedness of his body”? (Exodus 28:42.) And so, even if it were necessary to ascend high, there would be nothing offensive in that when their shame was hidden. What, then, we say, was the purpose of the law? It seemed praiseworthy and necessary to the worshipers of idols to erect altars high in the oak groves; and at the same time they would have little concern about being in honest attire. So, the law prudently directs God’s priests to the best from what usually happens to them, and, as it were, leads them from a physical image to spiritual contemplation; for “and do not go up,” it says, “by the steps to My altar, lest your nakedness be revealed there.” That is, God’s priest, dedicated to serving Me, must strive for humility and not ascend to heights; must beware of arrogance, so as not to turn out to be shameless and ugly: for an arrogant thought is ugly and completely shameless and is a very serious illness of the mind. “As great as you are,” it is said, “humble yourself, and you will find grace from the Lord” (Sir. 3:18). The Savior’s disciple also writes: “Let the humble brother glory in his exaltation, and the rich man in his humiliation” (James 1:9-10); for he will pass away like grass and will in no way be distinguished from the flowers of the field (cf. Ps. 102:15). K: So, it is said that the celebrant must be free from arrogance and pride. You will learn quite clearly how he could make the sacred rite the most legal and impeccable; for in the book of Leviticus it is written: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command Aaron and his sons: This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall remain in the place of burning on the altar all night until the morning, and let the fire of the altar burn upon it, and let the priest put on his linen robe, and put on his body a linen undergarment, and take away the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire burnt on the altar, and he will lay it beside the altar; and let him take off his clothes, and put on other clothes, and take the ashes outside the camp to a clean place; and let the fire burn on the altar... not go out; and the priest shall light wood upon it every morning, and lay out the burnt offering upon it, and burn upon it the fat of the peace offering; let the fire burn continually on the altar and not go out” (Lev. 6:8-13). So, the fire of the altar is continuous and completely unceasing, and not alien or external, but received from the altar itself, that is, from above and from heaven. And what does this mean? - That our holy altar is filled with the glory of God. In the form of fire the Divine and ineffable nature appears. But it seems that these words very clearly indicate something mysterious. P. What is this that you are talking about? K. Didn’t we say that the Divine altar, as if in an image, is Emmanuel, through whom we come to God and the Father, serving wisely and almost incense the virtues and the sanctification of the gospel life? For it is said: “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1). K: So look, he does not allow the fire that came down from heaven to be stopped or to be rekindled when it has died out, but commands that it be on it constantly and remain uninterrupted. John the Baptist also testified about Christ: “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and remaining on Him. “I,” he says, “didn’t know Him; but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me: On whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:32-33). So, the Holy Spirit descending on Christ and always abiding on Him was prefigured, as if still in the shadows, in the form of fire: for the fire of the altar is unceasing and completely unceasing. And that the Spirit is likened to the nature of fire, the blessed Baptist assures you of this, saying to the Jewish people: “I baptize in water; but there is Someone standing among you whom you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, but who stands in front of me. I am not worthy to untie the thong of His sandals” (John 1:26-27). And he said: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11; fn. John. 1, 33); because we were baptized not with sensual fire, but with the Holy Spirit, which, like fire, destroys filth in souls. That is why it is written about Christ: “He is like a refiner of fire and like refiner’s lye, and he will sit as a refiner and purify silver...like gold” (Mal. 3:2-3). So, the fire of the altar is unquenchable: because the Holy Spirit abides in Christ, although by nature it is present in Him, since He is conceived and is God. But the law also said that the fire of the altar is its own: for if the Only Begotten became man and, as befits humanity, is called exiled and partaker of the Spirit; however, the Spirit is truly His Spirit, both in Him and His own. And if someone wanted to apply the meaning of this to each of those sanctified by faith in Christ, so that each of them was represented as a Divine altar, then such an interpretation would be useful; because it is fitting for sacred men who have dedicated their lives to Christ to appear hot and seething in the Spirit - and this is constant - not carried away by worldly pleasures to cooling, but, on the contrary, igniting the mind in sanctification to Divine love and the desire for virtue. This is a way of verbal service. This is the meaning of the altar. He adds some useful command from the literal sense; namely, he says that the ashes should not be taken out by someone else from foreigners or from another tribe, but through those who have been sanctified. And notice how the law does not allow anything related to Divine service to be considered unimportant or unworthy of priestly activity in order to give it to another non-sacred person: because the holy is inaccessible to the unclean. And the Divine altar itself is inviolable. And so that those chosen for the sacred rite know the superiority of the Divine altar in consecration, he accords honor to the sacred vestments themselves: he prudently does not allow anyone to appear outside the tabernacle clothed in sacred vestments, so that the consecrated, rotating among the unclean and accepting desecration from without, would not offend the honor of the holy tabernacle. Therefore, although he allows the ashes to be carried in sacred clothing, when they take them outside the tabernacle and move away from the holy places, he commands them to change their clothes. He spoke something akin to this through the mouth of Ezekiel; and this one writes like this: “And he said to me: “This room, which faces south, and which faces north, located at certain distances, are the barriers of the sanctuary, in which the sons of Zadok eat, who ... draw near to the Lord” in the Holy of Holies, and there they will put the Holy of Holies, and “from the sin offering and the trespass offering”: because the place is holy. “Let no one except the priests enter there.” And let them not “go forth” from the courtyard of the sanctuary “into the outer court,” so that those who offer sacrifice may always be holy, and let them not touch their “robes”, “they serve in them,” because they are holy, and let them “put on other garments” when they come into contact with the people (Ezek. 40:45–46, 44:19, 29). So, the very vestments of the priests are holy and inviolable for the people. Night and day the burnt offering burns: for the fragrance of Christ never ceases. And the very life of the saints, if we understand it under the image of a burnt offering, has an unceasing fragrance: because they are fragrant with the fragrance of Christ, sacrificing praise to God from the deeds of the gospel life. K: So, what is the way of making a burnt offering, this is clear from what has been said. And what should be the most correct way of making a sacrifice (grain offering), he commands about this, saying: “This is the law about the grain offering: ... the sons of Aaron are to bring it before the Lord to the altar; and the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering, the flour and the oil, and all the frankincense that is on the sacrifice, and burn it on the altar: it is a sweet aroma, as a memorial before the Lord; and Aaron and his sons shall eat the rest of it; They shall eat it unleavened in the holy place; they shall eat it in the courtyard of the tabernacle of meeting; it should not be baked with leaven. This I give them as a portion of My sacrifices. This is a great holy thing, like a sin offering and a trespass offering. All male descendants of Aaron may eat it. This is an eternal portion throughout your generations from the sacrifices of the Lord. Everything that touches them will be sanctified” (Lev. 6:14–18). So, the burnt offering signifies, as it were, the all-perfect and complete consecration of the chosen saints; the sacrifice is a life that is, as it were, partly holy and subordinate to God, the exact indication of which is the wheat flour offered by a handful of the priest with oil and Lebanon: for a life dedicated to God, even if only in part, must be entirely fragrant and fattened with the most brilliant hopes. Do you not consider every good deed of ours most fragrant? K. What then? Are we not doing these things with good hopes? P. Without a doubt: for in every case the promise of God will follow them. K. So, Lebanon and wheat flour soaked in oil point us to a fragrant and most brilliant life. P. You said it well; but what kind of life can we have that is, as it were, partly holy? K. Neither reaching the pinnacle of holy living, nor walking along a very exalted path, such as was the life of John or the holy Apostles; nor deprived of honor due to the fact that she is overcome by the lower life. Wouldn’t the lives of those who are in the world and produce children, if they decided to lead a commendable life, be “divided” between God and the world, according to the word of blessed Paul (1 Cor. 7:33)? P. Divided: how could it be otherwise? K. So, the way of life, not completely dedicated to God, but as if average and turned in both directions, was the partial dedication of wheat flour, which has fragrance and joy, about which the law says that it will be in memory of the one who brought it through the priestly service. And we will truly gain remembrance of ourselves from God by the fact that we are fragrant when making offerings, since Christ mediates and brings to God both wholly holy, like a burnt offering, and not quite so due to the division between the world (and God), as if some kind of sacrifice partly dedicated to God. Then the sacrifice is unleavened: for it would be fitting that all our deeds should be done purely, for the glory of God. So the Savior commanded to beware of praying while standing in the middle of the square, and to have a gloomy appearance during fasting, and to blow an ugly trumpet when giving alms to the brethren (Matthew 6: 1, 5, 16); for this is leaven that defiles the sacred (sacrifice). What is done for the glory of God befits to be free from the accusation of man-pleasing; because in this way it will be truly an unleavened and sacred sacrifice. The remainder of the sacrifice serves as portion and food for the priests. Every male victim is eaten in a holy place. By the fact that the sacrifices are consumed by the priests in a holy place, respect for our most mystical words is observed, and by the fact that every male sex is consumed, it is perfectly indicated how ugly and truly wicked a thing is effeminacy in the elect of God: for it makes a person defiled, deprives him of spiritual blessings and reveals to those who are not partakers of the blessings allocated from God to the saints. Judas also turned out to be pampered, deviating towards filthiness; and this came from a thought that was not at all courageous and not noble, which is why he remained not having tasted God’s blessings and was completely uninvolved in the benefits bestowed on the saints. K. This is the law of the sacrifice offered by any of the host of Israel; in another way he established the sacrifice of the holy generation, saying: “This is the offering of Aaron and his sons, which they will bring to the Lord on the day of his anointing: a tenth of an ephah of wheat flour for a constant sacrifice, half of it for the morning and half for the evening; it must be cooked in a frying pan in oil; soaked in oil, offer it in pieces, just as a grain offering is broken into pieces; offer it as a pleasing aroma to the Lord; and the priest anointed in his place from among his sons shall do this: this is the everlasting statute of the Lord. All of it must be burned; and every grain offering from the priest must be burned and not eaten” (Lev. 6:20-23). See, Palladius, the precision of the law and the great subtlety in its sacred steadfastness: while he did not command the burnt sacrifices offered from the host to be burnt offerings, since he did not have a completely holy life, but divided, as it were, between God and the world, having justly singled out and placed in the highest place those chosen for the sacred rite, he commanded the sacrifice for them to be a burnt offering, a wheat sacrifice. burn flour to God morning and evening, that is, all day and at all times: for holy in a certain way always and has an unceasing aroma, obviously spiritual, chosen, not divided between God and the world, as some are, but diligently and undistractedly and wholly devoted to his Master, and as if exclaiming: “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2, 19–20 ). A tenth of an ephah of fine flour is a sign of life that is fragrant to God at all times. But “in a frying pan,” it is said, and also “bring it soaked in oil in pieces”; the frying pan, as I think, mysteriously indicates to us illness, the mixing with oil indicates abundance in joy, and the fact that it is “in pieces” seems to indicate the tenderness and crushability of the hearts of the saints: because in any case, a completely and completely holy life is accompanied by enduring labor, abundance in the hope of God and complete crushability. Least of all is indestructibility befitting her, for it is written: “God will not despise a broken and humble heart” (Ps. 50:19). But “the heart of the devil is as hard as a stone... and like an anvil is immovable”: this is what the Holy Scripture says (Job 41, 15). And this law extends forever, fulfilled by the succession of the celebrants: for we must follow the praiseworthy deeds of our ancestors and imitate the glory of our fathers, following in the footsteps of their service and bringing to God the most pleasant aroma, not separately, but entirely. This, I think, means the saying: “every sacrifice of the priestly offering shall be a burnt offering.” P. So, we must offer ourselves and dedicate ourselves to God in the stench of fragrance, following the lives of the saints and imitating their sacred rites, obviously spiritual. K. Absolutely so, Palladium. But that it would be possible for anyone to be cleansed from defilement and to avoid sin in no other way than through Christ, in Whom and through Whom is all cleansing, since He endured the saving sacrifice for us, everyone will learn about this, and, moreover, immediately, from the law adjacent to it and associated with it. It is as follows: “And the Lord spake to Moses, saying, Tell Aaron and his sons, This is the law of the sin offering: The sin offering shall be slain before the Lord in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered; this is a great shrine; the priest who makes the sin offering must eat it; it must be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the tabernacle of meeting; everything that touches its meat will be sanctified; and if her blood is spattered on clothing, then wash it in a holy place; the clay vessel in which it was boiled must be broken; if it was boiled in a copper vessel, then it should be cleaned and washed with water; the whole male sex of the priestly family can eat it: it is a great shrine...” (Lev. 6:24-29). So, the sacrifice for sin is none other than Immanuel, who is the true “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He is slain in the place of the burnt offering: for Christ is not holy in part and not as we are, because He “has committed no sin” (1 Pet. 2:22), but is entirely fragrant and holy and is the giver of sanctification to all. others: for although He was “counted with the transgressors” (Is. 53:12) and was carefully numbered among the condemned, the Father knew that the death of the Son was holy and sacred. Therefore He says: “in the place where the burnt offering is sacrificed, this is a great shrine...” (Lev. 6:25). the creature by His Spirit, since he was born of the Father and is truly God. “He must eat” the sacrifice, it is further said, “the priest who makes the sacrifice” (Lev. 6:26): for each, I think, of those elevated to sacred service will gather the fruits of his labors and will reap the reward for his service, and the remainder of the sacrifice is eaten in the holy places, in the porch of the holy tabernacle (Lev. 6:16): because in. The sacraments are performed in churches and in them the chosen race is honored with a holy meal. And the place where the lawful priest officiates must be holy. Then the sacrifice sanctifies the one who touches it and the sprinkling of blood (Lev. 6:27): for we approach the holy mysteries not for the sake of anything other than to partake of the holy Christ through an ineffable and spiritual sacrifice. In addition, the vessels used for sacrifices are cleansed so that they do not serve anything else and do not use for human needs what was used for the shrine. And this law is observed and preserved in the churches. And that it is fitting for those who are courageous to be blessed, and this the law again makes clear, saying: “all the male sex of the priestly family may eat it” (Lev. 6:29). K. He lays down the law, in addition, about how a sacrifice can be correctly performed, I mean for sin, and which parts of it can be consumed by the servants, and which, on the contrary, are chosen for the stench of fragrance; for it is written thus: “But every sin offering,” it is said, “from which the blood is brought into the tabernacle of meeting for cleansing in the sanctuary, must not be eaten; it must be burned in the fire. This is the law about the trespass offering: this is a great holy thing; the trespass offering must be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood must be sprinkled on the altar on all sides; the one who offers it must present the whole the fat, the fat tail, and the fat that covers the entrails, and the fat that is on them, that is on the buttocks, and the fat that is on the liver; and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an offering to the Lord: the whole male sex of the priestly family may eat it in the holy place: it is a great sanctuary. Both the sin offering and the trespass offering have the same law: it belongs to the priest, who makes atonement through it” (Lev. 6:30, 7:1–7). Prohibits eating the entrails (womb) of victims. It is said that they must be dedicated to God alone and offered to Him; for this, I think, means the saying: “let them be burned with fire,” that is, they must be separated for dedication to the one Divine and all-transcending nature, whose image is fire. When the ram of crime is sacrificed, the blood is shed at the foot of the altar: for the death of Christ is holy and sacred, as well as fragrant. The entrails, fat (fat), kidneys and lobes (obstruction) of the liver are ascended. This, I think, as I said before, serves as an image of virtue not as one, but as if in the form of many: for there are very many types of virtue. So, we are justified in Christ, who suffered death for us and offered Himself “to God as a sweet savour” and to the Father (Eph. 5:2). And that we will not serve God freely, this is made clear by immediately and in succession saying: “And when the priest offers someone else’s burnt offering, the skin of the burnt offering that he offers belongs to the priest; and every grain offering that is baked in the oven, and whatever is cooked in a pot or pan, belongs to the priest who offers it; and every grain offering, mixed with oil and dry, belongs to all the sons of Aaron, both one and the other” (Lev. 7:8-10). This law is also preserved in the churches, and prescribes equality between the celebrants, dividing to each without distinction the gifts of a bloodless sacrifice. And knowing this, Paul writes: “Do you not know that those who officiate are fed from the sanctuary?” , to live from the altar (1 Cor. 9:13–14). And those who offer sacrifices “are not partakers of the altar,” as he again says in another place (1 Cor. 10:18). K. He also arranges the sacrifice of praise and gives a commandment on how it should be performed, saying: “This is the law about the sacrifice of peace that is offered to the Lord: if anyone offers it in gratitude, then with the sacrifice of gratitude he must bring unleavened bread mixed with oil, and unleavened cakes anointed with oil, and wheat flour soaked in oil, bread mixed with oil; in addition to cakes, let him bring leavened bread as his offering, with a peace offering of thanksgiving; let him bring one thing from his entire offering as an offering to the Lord: this belongs to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offering; The meat of the peace offering of gratitude must be eaten on the day of its offering, and must not be left until the morning” (Lev. 7:11-15). He commanded that the sacrifice of praise be made on leavened bread, although he clearly and obviously stated in another place: “You shall not make any grain offering that you bring to the Lord that is leavened, for you shall not burn either leaven or honey as a sacrifice to the Lord; as an offering of firstfruits you shall offer them to the Lord, but you must not offer them on the altar for a pleasant aroma” (Lev. 2:11-12). Don't you think it would be useful, Palladium, to inquire about this? K: So, let's say, carefully exploring as much as possible and walking along the hidden path, what type of economy will be contained in this. And the divine David, rattling the spiritual lyre, completely in accordance with the law, says: “I will take the cup of salvation, and I will call on the name of the Lord” (Ps. 115:4), obviously calling the sacrifice of praise the cup of salvation. We also bring praise, gathering in large numbers in churches, in unity of spirit and, as it were, in one body and one soul, by faith; for it is written: “The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul” (Acts 4:32). We also perform doxologies often and in solitude, each in the house, day and night; and this matter is usually for honest people. Am I not telling the truth? K. But whether in churches we make the sacrifice publicly, or in other places it is performed, individually or between two, three or more persons, it makes no difference to the presence of those who are accustomed to sing songs and who have come together for this purpose: for together with those who have already been cleansed through holy baptism, he also offers this sacrifice; but, having offered praise to the perfect, he still withdraws from the more mysterious and withdraws from the sacrifice of Christ. Therefore, the law beautifully foreshadowed the dispensation and commanded that the sacrifice of praise be made on leavened bread and unleavened biscuits (unleavened bread). Each of those named, as I think, means a type of life: leavened bread will serve as a way of life and life, not yet cleansed by holy baptism and not completely freed from worldly impurity; unleavened biscuits - already purified in Christ through faith - a life, I say, perfect, to which the divine Paul proclaimed, saying: “Let us therefore keep the feast, not with old leaven, not with the leaven of vice and wickedness, but with unleavened bread of purity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:8). And again: “Purge therefore the old leaven, that it may be new lump for you, since you are unleavened” (1 Cor. 5:7). K. And then the wheat flour, not yet brought to unity, as, for example, with bread or cookies, but as if still remaining in grains, indicates the praise of those who bring it, as if each time separately and one by one: for we are pleasing to God, making praises, and in particular each one, and all in multitude, as one. Oil is poured onto the sacrifice of praise, signifying the joy of what is being done and the fact that for those who are accustomed to offer it, in any case and in every possible way, mercy from God will follow. “Offer,” it is said, “a sacrifice of praise to God, and render your vows to the Most High, and call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me” (Ps. 49:14-15). A disciple of Christ also writes somewhere: “If anyone among you suffers, let him pray. If anyone is happy, let him sing psalms” (James 5:13). So, he clearly commanded that the sacrifice of praise be performed on leavened bread and unleavened biscuits, and also in grains of wheat flour; when all this was brought one by one from each and wheat flour, as much as there could be in one handful, and when the sheep was slaughtered, and the entrails were incense according to the law, and the rest was given as food to those appointed for the sacred rite, which the law showed that the priesthood was not profitless, then he adds another command to this, saying: “one must eat it on the day of its offering, one must not leave it from it until the morning” (Lev. 7:15). Through this, one can easily understand the following: when this time has passed and the present age is clear as day, then we will have invented another method of praise besides those that we know. How those liberated from the dominion of Pharaoh in the time of law, rejoicing, said: “I sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; he cast his horse and rider into the sea" (Exod. 15:1,21), and some of the saints, contemplating in advance in spirit the incomparably brighter and more excellent deeds of the coming of our Savior, exclaimed: “Sing to the Lord a new song” (Ps. 97:1); and this song was: “God rose up with shouts” (Ps. 46:6), captivating hell and “saying to the prisoners: “Come out,” and to those in darkness: “Show yourself”” (Is. 49:9): in the same way, I think, when death is abolished and sin is completely resolved, there will be a proper time and way of praise: for we will sing for more and, having been enriched with blessings that surpass mind and word, we will crown with the brightest praises together with God and the Father the Giver of all blessings to us, Christ. “Although prophecies,” it is said, “will cease... and knowledge will be abolished, and now for we know in part... when that which is perfect comes, then that which is in part will cease” (1 Cor. 13:8-10). Likewise, Christ Himself said nowhere: “Hello I have spoken to you in parables; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in parables, but will tell you directly about the Father” (John 16:25). So, since in time we will have the most perfect knowledge, we will sing more exaltedly than now. J. Having thus established for each sacrifice the boundaries appropriate to it and having very clearly stated how to perform it, he immediately makes the celebrant a communion of the altar; for it is written thus: “And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou, and thy sons, and thy father’s house with thee, shall bear the sin of negligence in the sanctuary; and you and your sons with you will bear the sin of your priesthood” (Num. 18:1). Having added to this that they should take up sacred pursuits with an excited and sober mind, he says: “And the Lord said to Aaron: Behold, I charge you to oversee the offerings to Me; of all that was consecrated by the children of Israel I have given to you and to your sons, for the sake of your priesthood, as an everlasting statute; This is what is yours from the great holy things that are burned: every grain offering they make, and every sin offering they make, and every trespass offering they bring to Me. this is a great shrine to you and your sons. Eat this in the most holy place; all males can eat... Let this be holy for you. And this is what you have of their heave gifts: all the heave offerings of the children of Israel have I given to you, and to your sons and your daughters with you, for an everlasting statute; everyone who is clean in your house may eat of it. All the best of the oil, and all the best of the grapes and bread, the first fruits thereof, which they give to the Lord, I have given to you; all the first produce of their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours; everyone who is clean in your house may eat of it. Everything that is cursed in the land of Israel shall be yours. Everything that opens the lie of all flesh that is offered to the Lord, both human and livestock, shall be yours; only the firstborn of men must be redeemed, and the firstborn of unclean cattle must be redeemed; and the ransom for them: starting from one month, according to your estimate, take the ransom of five shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gers; But for the firstlings of oxen, and for the firstlings of sheep, and for the firstlings of goats, thou shalt not take ransom: they are holy; sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as a sacrifice for a pleasing aroma to the Lord; their flesh belongs to you, just as the breast of the heave-hoist and the right shoulder belong to you. All the holy things that are lifted up, which the children of Israel offer up to the Lord, I give to you and to your sons and your daughters with you, as an everlasting statute; This is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord, given for you and your descendants with you” (Num. 18:8-19). So, from here you understand, I think, and it is very clear that every type of sacrifice and offering was clearly separated from the sacred and chosen race: from every crime, and from all sins, that is, sacrifices for every crime and sin: for the name of the sacrifices for sin is sin. That is why our wise Paul applies this saying of the law to Christ, saying: “We ask in the name of Christ: be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be a sacrifice for sin for us" (2 Cor. 5:20-21): because the Son was slain for our sins, but to the Scriptures, “like a gentle lamb” (Jer. 11:19; sn. Is. 53:7; Acts 8:32; Apoc. 5:6-12, etc.). And that the name “sin” is attached from the side of the law to the sacrifices for our sins, God makes this clear, speaking through the prophet about the priests: “They feed on the sins of My people” (Hosea 4:8), that is, the sacrifices for the sins of My people will be food for the priests. So, He separates for them the remainder of every sacrifice and commands them to eat it as food, but only, He says, “in a holy place” and to every male sex (Numbers 18:10). What is the meaning of this, we have already said about it in the previous one; and the firstfruits of oil, wheat and wine, and the redemption of the firstborn, and the offerings are no longer designated as food for one male sex and not in the holy vestibule, but in the priest’s house and are offered for eating even to daughters and to everyone familiar and at home. And such a distinction must be noted: for the remains of the sacrifices are suitable for the use of only one consecrated person and should not be, as it were, common food; and their proper place is a holy place. As for the other things that were brought as a gift, this, he says, takes second place and can belong to the entire house of priests, provided only that the one who partakes is pure, that is, not defiled: according to the law, so long as he is not uncircumcised, not a foreigner, not a leper, not suffering from seminal symptoms, but according to the purpose of the New Testament Scripture and church belief, so long as he is not unsacred and unfaithful, but is pious and God-loving: for it is most fitting for those elevated to Divine sacred service to cleave to those who are good in morals and have a soul full of Divine love. Having added to this that “the covenant of eternal salt is before the Lord, for you and your seed according to you” (Num. 18:19), he commanded to observe in every possible way what he said in another place: there will be no shortage of “the salt of the covenant of the Lord from your sacrifices; in every gift you may offer salt to the Lord your God” (Lev. 2:13). And the fact that the sacrifice was sprinkled with salt, this image meant that we should wisely devote ourselves to God and, as it were, make access to Him most pleasant: for “Do they eat tasteless things without salt,” according to what is written (Job 6:6). “You are the salt of the earth,” Christ proclaimed to the holy Apostles (Matthew 5:13). K. These are the laws according to which it is fitting for those who are sanctified to hold the priesthood. And that the elect, who have received the best judgment about themselves, need to move away from both bad society and worldly care, in which even a well-established mind can become intoxicated and almost deviate towards unreasonable pleasures, this is made clear by saying in the book of Leviticus: “You and your sons with you shall not drink wine or strong drink when you enter into the tabernacle of meeting... lest you die. This is an everlasting decree throughout your generations, so that you may be able to distinguish between the sacred and the unholy and the unclean from the pure, and to teach the children of Israel all the statutes that the Lord spoke to them through Moses” (Lev. 10:9-11). See therefore how necessary it is for them to keep watch; and the cause of death can be the case when they begin sacred service with a darkened mind and a troubled heart and obsessed with worldly intoxication (as some are drunk and without wine): for sometimes the mind reaches ugliness, not adhering to the right path, and then the sacred declines, and things are no longer done in order, but seem to go astray from the right path. Those in such a state necessarily offend God and will suffer bitter punishment for their frivolity. So, it is necessary to stay awake, shaking off the intoxication that comes from worldly cares. The Savior Himself encourages us to do this, saying: “Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with gluttony and drunkenness and the cares of this life” (Luke 21:34). And what kind of sobriety can we have, or how can we remain undefiled and pure, and free from punishment, this was immediately indicated: “so that you can,” he says, “distinguish between the sacred and the unholy and the unclean from the pure, and teach the children of Israel all the statutes that the Lord spoke to them through Moses” (Lev. 10:10-11). Obviously, it should be said that priests should, shaking off intoxication, move away from unholy, nasty and unclean men. And this, I think, anyone can do, and very easily, while remaining undefiled and pure: for “every animal,” it is said, “loves what is like itself,” and a husband will cleave to what is like himself (Sir. 13:19). Moreover, priests must be wise and teachers: because he who is placed over the verbal flock must be sober and teachers. And it is very well said: “to arrange,” that is, to explain, so that those who listen can know that “the law was our teacher” (Gal. 3:24) and expresses the mystery of Christ: for it is not in the least inaccessible and does not require explanation unless it is understood spiritually, since the literal meaning is completely simple and free from the shadow of obscurity. You might be interested in: