Explanation of the Divine Liturgy

Essay rights. Nicholas Kavasila's "Explanation of the Divine Liturgy" (53 chapters) is not just a commentary on the rites of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, but a theological explanation of its Christocentric meaning, meaning and saving power. The author consistently comments on each element of the Divine Liturgy, starting with the priest’s entrance prayers and ending with the dismissal. For him, the Liturgy is not just a memory of the life of Christ, but its living recreation and continuation in the present tense. He shows how every action, every word, every gesture of the priest and participating laity relates to the key moments of the Savior’s earthly life: His incarnation, ministry, suffering, death, Resurrection and Ascension. Right Nicholas Kavasila insists that the performer of the Liturgy is Christ Himself, and the priest acts only as His instrument and image. All worship is considered as a single saving action performed by the Head of the Church. Particular attention is paid to the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The author explains the real transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ through the invocation of the Holy Spirit. He emphasizes that Communion is the true, personal union of the believer with Christ, the source of deification. The liturgy is presented as a manifestation and implementation of the unity of the Church - the Body of Christ. In it, the heavenly and earthly Church, the living and the departed, unite, becoming involved in the Divine life. Although the Liturgy is celebrated by a priest, Saint Nicholas emphasizes that all believers are called to active, meaningful and prayerful participation. Their faith, attention and reverence are a necessary condition for receiving the grace of the Sacraments. The author shows that the Liturgy is the pinnacle of Christian worship, the main source of grace, forgiveness of sins, spiritual cleansing and transformation of man. It prepares a person for the Kingdom of Heaven and already here on earth gives him the experience of this Kingdom. In chapters 29-30 rights. Nicholas Cabasilas argues with the Latins about the meaning of establishing words and epiclesis. The Latins reproached the Orthodox for the prayer of invoking the Holy Spirit after the words of Christ (“Take, eat...”), considering it unnecessary, since these words, in their opinion, already sanctify the gifts. Right Nicholas proves that although the establishing words are a necessary basis, the very transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is accomplished precisely through the action of the Holy Spirit through the prayer of the priest. Thus, the establishing words and epiclesis complement each other, and the guarantor of the Sacrament is God Himself, who promised to hear the prayer and give what was asked. In Chapter 31 rights. Nicholas Kavasila expresses the idea that the prayer itself for sanctification, that is, for the acceptance of gifts, is also an imitation of Christ. At the Last Supper, Christ, bringing gifts to God the Father, “looked up to heaven.” The author interprets this action as prayer, and with this example of Christ he proves the need for epiclesis. *The title of the essay in Greek is ῾Ερμηνεία τῆς θείας λειτουργίας. Contents 1. Preparation for the Liturgy 2. Why honorable gifts are not placed on the throne from the very beginning 3. About the fact that gifts are offered to God as the firstfruits of human life 4. Why it was necessary for the gifts to serve as the firstfruits of human life 5. Why not all the bread is placed, but a special part is cut out 6. Why the priest depicts the suffering of Christ over the bread 7. What is the remembrance of the Lord 8. About what is done over the bread 9. Why did the Lord command to do this in remembrance of Him? 10. About what is said when offering gifts after the remembrance (of the Lord); also that this offering is both grateful and supplicative 11. Why gifts are covered and what is said at the same time 12. About the initial doxology 13. What does constant prayer for mercy mean 14. About surrender (to God) 15. About antiphons and prayers pronounced in continuation of them 16. The commemoration of the sacred rite in general outline 17. Explanation of the first antiphon 18. What do the prophetic sayings sung at the beginning of the rite mean? 19. Explanation of the third antiphon 20. About the revelation of the Gospel and the Trisagion hymn 21. About the prayer read during the singing of this song, and about the sacred proclamations 22. About the reading of the Scriptures, their order and signs 23. About the petitions that follow the Gospel 24. About the bringing of honorable gifts into the altar 25. About what is done after the bringing of gifts, about the prayers and instructions of the priest to the people 26. About the confession of faith and what the priest exhorts after it the faithful and what he prays for, and what they answer to him 27. About the consecration of gifts and the thanksgiving that precedes it 28. On what basis do we undoubtedly believe in the sacrament 29. About what the Latins reproach us about regarding this, and the answer to their reproaches 30. About the fact that in the Latin Church the sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated in the same way 31. Why the priest calls for the consecration of the gifts not of the Son, but of the Father 32. About the sacrifice itself and about what the sacrifice is being made over 33. About prayers after the sacrifice and why the saints are remembered here, especially the Most Holy (Mother of God) 34. About how the priest prays for the Holy Gifts to himself and what he commands the faithful to pray for 35. About God-given prayer, and about bowing the heads, and about the subsequent thanksgiving and petition to God, and doxology 36. About what the priest shouts to the people, offering the holy gifts, and about what the people shout in response to him 37. What does the warm water poured into the Mysteries mean 38. About how the Mysteries mean the Church 39. About the invitation of the faithful to Communion and what the faithful proclaim when the gifts are revealed 40. About the prayer that the priest proclaims for the faithful after their Communion 41. About the subsequent thanksgiving and doxology 42. About the dead, namely whether they are sanctified from the gifts of the meal, like the living 43. About the fact that sanctification is mainly communicated to the soul of the communicant 44. About the intercession of Christ 45. About the fact that the sanctification of the dead is complete 46. About how these gifts are always acceptable by God 47. About the extent to which they are accepted 48. About the sense in which we honor the saints with these gifts 49. Against those who say that the remembrance of the saints that occurs at the liturgy is a priestly prayer to God for them 50. About how many times during the sacred rite the saints are remembered, and about the difference between these commemorations 51. About why the priest calls the sacrifice a verbal service 52. About why this sacrament is called only the Eucharist (thanksgiving) 53. About general thanksgiving for the Communion of the Mysteries and about the final prayers of the sacred rite 1. Preparation for the Liturgy In the sacred rite of the Holy Mysteries, (honest) gifts are transferred into the Divine Body and Blood; its goal is the sanctification of the faithful, who receive through (communion of) the holy gifts the remission of sins, the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the like. Prayers, psalmody, readings from sacred books, in a word, everything that is sacredly performed and proclaimed both before the consecration and after the consecration of the gifts, serves as aid and preparation both in relation to the task itself (transmitting the holy gifts) and in relation to achieving the goal (sacred rites). For, although God gives us every holy thing freely, and we cannot bring anything to Him, and (His gifts) are in the strictest sense gifts, yet He urgently demands from us that we be able to both accept the holy thing and preserve it; He would not have given sanctification to people who were not prepared for this. Under this condition He bestows (the grace of) Baptism and Confirmation; Under this condition, He allows and teaches terrible food to His supper, as He expressed this in the parable of the seed, when He said: “The sower went out not to till the earth, but to sow” (Matthew 13:3; Mark 4:2) so that processing and all preparation in general must already precede this. So, since it is so necessary that we begin to receive the Mysteries with such a good mood and preparation, then it (proper preparation), as it is, should have been included in the sacred rite. Prayers, psalms, like everything that is sacredly performed and proclaimed in the liturgy, have this power in relation to us. For they sanctify us and prepare us, either for the proper acceptance of the shrine, or for the preservation and further observance of it in ourselves. They sanctify us in two ways. The first way is that we benefit from the prayers, psalms and readings themselves. Prayers turn us to God, asking us for forgiveness of sins, just as psalmody placates God to us and attracts help from above. For “devour,” it is said, “a sacrifice of praise to God, and... I will deliver you, and glorify me” (Ps. 49:14-15). And reading the Holy Scriptures proclaims the goodness and love of God, and at the same time truth and judgment, instills the fear of God into our souls and ignites love for God, and thus instills in us a decisive readiness to fulfill His commandments. And all this, both in the priest and in the people, makes the soul better, more God-loving, makes both him and the people capable of accepting and observing honest gifts, which is the goal of the sacred rite. In particular, this prepares the priest so that he can worthily begin to perform the sacrifice, which, as stated above, constitutes the subject of the mysterious sacred rite. This is what is contained in prayers - in many places; the priest prays not to appear to him unworthy of the upcoming (sacrament), but so that with clean hands, soul and tongue he can serve the sacrament, and thus the very words that are read and sung themselves help us in performing (the sacrament). And on the other hand, through this, and together through everything that is performed in the sacred rite, we receive sanctification in another way - by the fact that in all this we contemplate here the image of Christ, His deeds in relation to us and His suffering. For in the psalms, and in the readings, and in everything that is performed by the priest during the entire continuation of the sacred service, the economy of the Savior is depicted, so that what constitutes the first in this economy is explained in the first actions of this sacred service, the second in the second, the next then in the last sacred rites; so that for those who look at it, all those (circumstances) are, as it were, before their eyes. Thus, for example, the consecration of gifts or the sacrifice itself announces His death. Resurrection and Ascension, because these honest gifts are transformed into the very Body of the Lord - the very one that took upon itself all this. Who was crucified, resurrected and ascended into heaven. And what precedes this sacrifice depicts what happened before the death (of the Savior) - His coming, His appearance, His final entry (into the work of serving the salvation of the human race); and what follows after the sacrifice is the promise of the Father, about which He Himself spoke, the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, turning through them to God and introducing the pagans into communion with God. In general, the entire sacred rite is, as it were, one image of the single Body of the Savior’s Kingdom - an image that represents all its parts from beginning to end in mutual order and agreement. Thus, the psalms that are sung at the very beginning, everything that precedes them, what is done and said in the offering of gifts - all this means the initial time of Christ's economy. And what follows the psalms - the reading of Holy Scripture and so on - depicts what follows. Although another benefit from readings and psalmody is shown above, for they were introduced, obviously, in order to encourage us to virtue and to propitiate God, however, nothing prevents them from having such a purpose; one and the same thing, of course, can both lead the faithful to virtue and depict the economy of Christ. For just as clothing fulfills, on the one hand, the simple purpose of a dress - to cover the body, and, on the other hand, depending on what it is, it signifies a craft, a way of life, and the dignity of the one who wears it, so it is exactly here. That the Holy Scripture contains both inspired sayings and songs for the glory of God and encourages virtue, through this it sanctifies those who read it and sing; and that precisely such readings were chosen and arranged in precisely this order, therefore it has another meaning, depicting to us quite clearly the sojourn of Christ (on earth) and His Kingdom. And besides, not only what is sung or read has such a meaning, but also what is done. Every thing is done here out of urgent need: it means either something from the deeds of Christ, from His deeds or sufferings. Such, for example, is entering the sanctuary with the Gospel or entering with honest gifts; both are done as needed: the first - so that the Gospel can then be read, the last - for making a sacrifice, and both mean the appearance and open entry of Christ (into the work of serving the salvation of the human race); one is an unclear, incomplete phenomenon, when He had just begun to reveal Himself, the other is a most perfect, final phenomenon. Among the things that happen here, of course, there is something that is not done to satisfy any need, but is done only to express a certain thought, for example, the perforation of bread and the image of a cross on it, or the fact that the knife for perforation is arranged in the form of a spear, or, finally, pouring warm water into the holy gifts. Much of this can be found in other sacraments, for example, in Baptism: those who are baptized must take off their shoes and clothes and, turning to the west, stretch out their hands and blow; there, through this, it is instilled what kind of hatred we should have for the evil spirit and to what extent the aversion to it should extend in someone who wants to be a true Christian; something else of the same kind has some other meaning when performing the sacraments. And what happens during the celebration of the holy gifts, everything has a direct relation to the economy of the Savior, and this is with the purpose that the contemplation of this economy, which is, as it were, before our eyes, sanctifies our souls and thus we become capable of receiving the Holy Mysteries. Just as then this economy resurrected the universe, so now, if we constantly contemplate it, it makes the soul of the contemplator better and more God-loving. And to be more precise, even then it would not have brought any benefit if it had not been contemplated, if it had not been believed in. That is why it was preached about, and that is why God used countless means to make people believe in it, for otherwise it could not have produced its effect - to save people, if its existence was hidden from those who had to be saved. But then this (economy) was just being preached, and it aroused reverence for Christ, faith and love for Him in the souls of ignorant people - it aroused, therefore, feelings that did not exist, and now, when it is contemplated with pious zeal by people who have already believed, it does not arouse in them these pious feelings because they already exist in them, but only preserves, renews, strengthens; it gives them greater firmness in faith, greater fervor in piety and love. If it was already able to give existence to something that did not exist, then it is even easier, of course, to maintain, preserve and renew it. Meanwhile, piety, faith, love for God, full of fervor - these are all the feelings that we must certainly have when approaching the Saints (Mysteries), without which it is extremely wicked to even look at them. Therefore, the rite of the sacred rite, naturally, should serve as an expression of that contemplation that could arouse in us such feelings that we would not only reflect with the mind, but in some way see the deep poverty of the Rich One, the wandering life of the One who embraces every place, the enduring of insults by the Blessed One, the suffering of the Impassive One, we saw to what extent He was hated, and yet how He loved Himself, Who He was and how He humbled Himself, what He endured, what He did and what a meal he prepared for us after that, and thus, struck with surprise at the sight of an unexpected salvation, amazed at the multitude of His bounties, we would honor the One who showed us such mercy, Who gave us such salvation, entrusted our souls to Him, betrayed our lives to Him, and inflamed our hearts with the fire of love for Him; then, having reached such a state, they fearlessly, like their own, approached the flame of the Holy Mysteries. For in order for us to achieve such a state, it is not enough for us to study everything concerning Christ at a certain time and know it; no, for this it is necessary that the eye of our mind be constantly turned to these objects, that we contemplate them, making every effort to remove all other thoughts, since we must at the same time have in mind to make our soul, as I have already said, capable of sanctification. For if we only have the concept of piety in such a way that when we are asked about it, we could answer sensibly, and when we need to begin the sacraments, we do not contemplate everything properly, but, on the contrary, our attention is drawn to other objects, then this knowledge will not be of any use to us because at the same time none of those feelings that have been said can awaken in us - we will have a mood corresponding to those thoughts that will occupy us at this time, such feelings will prevail in us as they are able to awaken. That is why the sacred rite is given such a form in which one thing is not only expressed in words, but is also presented in detail to the eye; the other is expressed in all sacred rites in order to more conveniently act on our souls through this, so that a feeling is aroused in us, and not just simple contemplation, since the imagination, with the assistance of the eyes, presents us with images of objects much more clearly; through another, do not give room for oblivion, do not allow thoughts to turn to other objects until it comes to the meal itself, so that in this way, being filled with such thoughts and having consciousness in full strength, we partake of the Holy Mysteries, adding sanctification to sanctification, to sanctification in contemplation - sanctification by the very deed and being transformed from glory to glory, from lesser to one that is greater than all. This is the meaning of the whole sacred rite, generally speaking. Next, it will be necessary, if possible, to consider it from the very beginning in parts: first, preliminary prayers, sacred words, sacred songs and readings; then - the sacred rite itself, the sacrifice itself; then - sanctification, by which, with the help of this sacrifice, the souls of Christians, both living and dead, are sanctified; then - the following songs and prayers (raised on behalf of) the people and the priest to God, which here will need to be considered and explained; in the most important way and constantly (we will have to keep in mind) the economy of our Savior, depicted in all sacred rites, (explaining) such objects related to this economy are signified by one or another action in the sacred service. 2. Why are honest gifts not placed on the throne from the very beginning? First of all, let us consider what is done and said in the offering (of the holy gifts), and the very bringing and offering of the gifts. Why are they not suddenly brought as a sacred sacrifice to the throne, but first offered to God as gifts? This is because the ancients brought sacrifices to God that consisted of slaughtering animals - bloody sacrifices, but they also brought gifts, such as gold or silver things. And the Body of Christ represents both: it was also a sacrifice - this is in the end, when it was given up to the slaughter for the glory of the Father; but at first it was offered to God, served as an honest gift to Him and, as it were, was accepted (by Him), on the one hand, as the firstfruits of our race, on the other, according to the law: because He was the firstborn. For this reason, what is offered now and by which this body is signified is not immediately placed as a sacred sacrifice on the throne - this happens at the end, but first it is offered, it serves and is called honest gifts to God. This is what Christ did when, taking bread and wine in his hands, he showed them to God and the Father, bringing them to Him as gifts, when he offered them, he presented them (to Him). Where can you see this? From the fact that the Church does this and calls it gifts. For she would not have done this if she had not known that Christ did so; she heard His command: “Do this,” and if in this (action) there were no similarities (with how Christ acted), then there would be no imitation of Him on her part. 3. That gifts are offered to God as the firstfruits of human life What type of gifts? The ancients brought firstfruits from fruits, from herds, from livestock or from other creatures. And we, as the firstfruits of our life, dedicate to God these gifts, which serve man as food, through which bodily life is supported; Moreover, life is not only supported by food, food serves as a sign of life. We ate and drank with Him after the Resurrection, the apostles spoke about Christ, wanting to show that they saw Him alive. And the Lord, when he raised one dead man, ordered him to be given something to eat, so that through food he could confirm everyone in his life. Whoever begins to eat food, without the slightest inconsistency, we can conclude that he begins to live. But maybe someone will say that almost everything that the ancients brought to God can also serve as food for man? These were the fruits that farmers worked on and the animals used for food. So what? Did all this serve as the beginnings of human life? No. Among these objects, there is not a single one that constitutes human food: they serve as food for other animals: some for birds and herbivores, others for carnivores. We call human food that which serves as the distinctive accessory of one person, and yet the need to prepare bread for food and to make wine for food is characteristic only of man. It is under this very guise that the holy gifts are offered. 4. Why it was necessary for gifts to serve as the firstfruits of human life What is the reason, what is the basis for why we should offer these gifts to God as the firstfruits of life? This is because God gives us life for these gifts. And justice requires that the gift should not be completely different from the reward, but that it should have some similarity with it, and if the latter is life, then the former must also be life, in any sense, especially since the author of the gift and the giver of the reward is one and the same righteous Judge, who assigns weight and measure to everything. He commanded to bring bread and wine; He will reward for this with animal bread and the cup of eternal life. Just as He rewarded the apostles for their fishing: for catching fish by catching people, and to the rich man who proposed to Him the question of the kingdom, instead of earthly wealth, he promised heavenly wealth, so it is exactly here, only in reverse: by means of which He had to give us eternal life (I’m talking about His life-giving Body and Blood), the same thing He commanded us to bring under the guise of what supports temporary life, so that we would receive life for eternal life. life - for a temporary one, so that grace has the form of reward, so that immeasurable mercy contains its own measure of truth - so that the saying is fulfilled: I will put My mercy on the scales. And this happens not only in this sacrament, but also in the sacrament of baptism: we receive life in exchange for life, we give one, and receive another in its place. But giving up life represents, represents death, and returning to life is, in the proper sense, life. Since the Savior, having tasted death and resurrected, deigned to make us partakers of His new life, He commanded us to bring Him something of this great gift. What exactly? Imitation of His death. How? Hiding your body in water, as if in a coffin, and doing this three times. After this, He accepts us as participants in His death and burial and honors us with His new life. And it's the same here. 5. Why not all the bread is served, but a special part is cut out It is necessary to make a few comments regarding why the priest gives it freely, offers it to God and, placing it on the throne, sanctifies not just the very bread that will be brought, but the bread that he himself takes from them. This is also a characteristic belonging to the offering of Christ. Their owners separated other gifts from similar objects, brought them to the church and gave them into the hands of the priests, and the priests accepted and offered them, or sacrificed them, or did as they should with one or another of the things brought. But the Body of Christ is separated from objects of the same kind, brought, accepted, offered to God and, finally, sacrificed by the priest himself: because the Son of God Himself chose it for Himself, separating it from our composition, He Himself brought it as a gift to God, placing it in the bosom of the Father, since He Himself never separated from this bosom, but remained there even after He created this body and put on it, so that it was already dedicated God from the very time he received his education, and finally, He Himself lifted him up to the cross and sacrificed him. That is why the priest himself separates the bread that is about to be translated into the Body (of Christ) from similar breads, offers it to God, placing it on a sacred dish, and then, transferring it to the throne, sacrifices it. 6. Why does the priest depict the suffering of Christ over the bread? The cut out bread, while it lies on the altar, is simple bread. He was only offered to God and became a gift. This signifies the period of time when Christ was a gift; and He was one, as stated above, from His very birth, since He was a gift and by His very birth, according to the law, because He was the firstborn. But since what happened to this Body in subsequent times - suffering for the sake of our salvation, the cross and death - was foreshadowed much earlier, even by the ancients, for this reason, here too the priest, before transferring the bread to the throne and sacrificing it, first tries to present these images on it. How? When, having separated it from the whole bread, he makes a gift out of it, depicts on it, as on a board, the suffering and death of the Lord and, whatever he does, he does either out of necessity or with intention, combining (with his actions) precisely this very meaning: these actions constitute the narratives of the very matter of the suffering of Christ and His death. And this is an ancient custom: there was a time when they narrated, persuaded, and prophesied through actions. For example, the prophet, wanting to show the captivity of the Jews, imposed bonds on himself; finally, Agabus did exactly the same thing, signifying through this the bonds of Paul; They also say that one of the God-bearing fathers, when asked what a monk was, did not answer a word, but took off the clothes he was wearing and began to trample on them with his feet. The very death of the Lord, and all of His economy, the ancients themselves expressed and learned from God not only through words alone, but also through actions; such, for example, was the sea split by a rod, a bush burning in fire, Isaac led by his father to the slaughter, and other (actions) through which the mystery (of redemption) was signified from the very beginning. And the priest is a person who acts in exactly the same way: what he knows about this sacrifice, he expresses in words, and shows the same through actions, as far as it is possible to show such a substance. He seems to say this: this is how the Lord went to suffer, this is how He died, this is how His rib was pierced, this is how this blood and water then poured out from the pierced rib - and he does this, firstly, in order, as I have already said, to show that this truth, this reality was first preceded by images and well-known scriptures, serving as omens for people, just as he himself did before transferring bread to the throne and offering his sacrifice depicts the circumstances of the sacrifice (Christ's). And then through this he also expresses the idea that this bread will soon be transformed into that true Bread that was crucified and sacrificed. And above all this, since it is necessary to proclaim the death of the Lord, in order not to ignore any of the ways of proclaiming and narrating - for which we would need to have a thousand mouths - he narrates both verbally and through actions. 7. What is the remembrance of the Lord? First, taking the prosphora from which the sacred bread should be removed, he says: “In remembrance of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, according to His commandment, for do this,” He says, “in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). And the priest says this not only about this bread, but about the entire service, as if beginning the sacred rite with the conclusion, since the Lord, after the completion of the entire sacrament, added these words: do this in My remembrance. But what does this memory consist of? How do we remember the Lord during sacred services? What are His actions and what is His state? I want to say: what are we thinking about, what are we talking about during this memory? Perhaps the fact that He raised the dead, restored sight to the blind, stopped the winds with His word, fed thousands to the full with a few loaves - what showed God and the Almighty in him? No. On the contrary, we remember what, apparently, serves as a sign of weakness - the cross, suffering, death - this is what He commanded us to dwell on when remembering Him. Where can this be seen? So thought Paul, who knew this well. When he writes to the Corinthians about the sacrament (Communion), then, having told them that the Lord said: “Do this in remembrance of Me,” he added: “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim His death” (1 Cor. 11:24, 26). And the Lord Himself expressed this same thought when He taught the sacrament, for He said: “This is My Body, ... this is My Blood” (Matthew 26:26, 28; Mark 14:22, 24); He did not add miracles to them, saying: they raised the dead, they cleansed lepers. And what? One suffering and death: “what is broken for you” (1 Cor. 11:24), “even what is poured out for you.” What is the basis for the fact that He reminds us not of miracles, but of suffering? The fact that the latter are more necessary than the former, judging by the fact that some constitute the reason for our salvation and without them it would be impossible for a person to resurrect - I mean suffering - and those serve only as proof, for miracles were performed so that everyone would believe in the Lord, that He is truly the Savior. 8. About what is done with bread Since in this way the remembrance of the Lord should be accomplished, then for this the priest, saying: “in remembrance of the Lord...” adds what expresses the thought of the Cross and death. For, taking the bread, he cites an ancient prophecy about the saving passion: “like a sheep being led to the slaughter” (and further) (Is. 53:7), telling about this as much as possible in both word and deed. While breaking the bread, on the one hand, out of necessity - in order to remove the gifts, he also does this to depict what is said above, meaning by this the Lord’s departure from the world and His return to the Father by death, as He Himself said: “I leave the world and go to the Father” (John 16:28); therefore, the priest repeatedly thrusts the spear, then cuts the bread and divides the prophetic word into the same number of parts, adapting each part of the word to one or another part (of the bread) in order to show that the matter here serves as an expression of the word, that just as this bread, in order to be offered to God and consecrated, was separated from a substance homogeneous with it, so the Lord came from among people with whom, out of love for mankind, he had the same nature, and like a sheep to be slaughtered carried on, and thus His belly was taken from the earth. Then, having added what follows further in the prophecy, and placing the bread on the sacred (platter), he does and says what the sacrifice itself is depicted - the death of the Lord. He eats, he says, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world - with these words and actions he expresses the very form of death, since he depicts a cross on the bread and thereby expresses how the sacrifice is made - that it is through the cross. After that, he pierces the bread, and moreover from the side that appears to be right, expressing by piercing the bread the perforation of the rib; For the same reason, the piercing tool is called a spear and is made in the form of a spear so that it resembles that spear. Depicting this in this way with actions, he at the same time conveys the event itself in words: and one of the warriors, he says, pierced His rib with a copy. Likewise, the fact that blood and water poured out from there, he narrates both in words and depicts with actions, pouring wine and water into the sacred cup (and this is the remembrance of the Lord!) and adding the words: “and blood and water came forth” (John 19:34). 9. Why did the Lord command to do this in remembrance of Him? But why did He give us such a command? What did He mean when He demanded such remembrance from us? So that we do not remain ungrateful. It is known that for benefactors it is in some way a reward on the part of those who benefited them when the latter remember them: they remember those deeds to which the benefit was shown to them. For this remembrance, people have come up with different means: monuments, statues, pillars, festivals, celebrations, competitions. The purpose of all this is one: so that the good deeds of people do not fall into oblivion. The Savior has the same goal; but only others, as He says so, seek other aids against oblivion in order to remember those who have shown them a benefit, and you do this in My remembrance. And just as on the pillars (erected in memory) of the valiant men of the city those victories are depicted through which they were saved and brought into a better position, so in the same way we depict on these gifts the death of the Lord, through which a complete victory was won over the evil one. Only cities, with the help of images, have only a bodily image from their benefactors, and through this offering we have not a bodily image, but the Hero of the Hero himself - His own Body. And in the Old Testament it was commanded to do in images the very thing that He now commanded us to do in reality, by deed itself: this is what Passover meant - the slaughter of the lamb and the remembrance of this slaughter and the blood by which the firstborn of the Jews were saved in Egypt. This is the meaning of this memory! 10. About what is said when offering gifts after the remembrance (of the Lord); also that this offering is both a thanksgiving and a petitionary offering Meanwhile, the priest is still making the offering: separating a portion from each bread brought, he turns it into a sacred gift, but he says and does something different from what he did at first, which marked the death of the Lord; although it is said only once, it applies to the entire sacred rite, for all the offering of gifts in general is performed in remembrance of the Lord and in it the death of the Lord is constantly announced. So what does it say next? For the glory of the Most Holy Mother of God, in honor of this or that saint, for the remission of sins of the souls of the living or the dead. What does this mean? That the motive for bringing gifts is gratitude to God and petition. For such is the order of things that no gift is given without a purpose: whether it is to please God (with gifts) or to honor one of the people with gifts, but always for the sake of some good, either received or still expected. We bring gifts either in gratitude to a benefactor for what we have received, or through them we seek mercy from someone who can do something for us in order to receive something that has not yet happened. And these gifts seem to be gifts brought for one reason or another: both for what we have received and in order to receive; we thank God and ask Him: we thank him for what has been done for us, we ask in order to receive benefits, so that the same gifts are both grateful and propitiatory. What are these benefits that have already been given to us and what else are we looking for? Both are exactly the same thing: forgiveness of sins and inheritance of the Kingdom. This is what we must first of all ask for ourselves and according to His commandment, which is what the Church has already received and what she is asking for. How should we now understand that the Church has received these benefits, and how should we understand that she has not yet received them and, in order to receive them, prays to God for this? She received them, firstly, in the sense that she was given the right to these benefits, for she accepted that region so that we could be children of God, and this is a common gift for all Christians, given to us through the death of the Savior: this is the power of divine Baptism, as well as other sacraments, through which we become close to God and become heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven; but then she also inherited this very Kingdom and inherited it by deed itself - in the person of her countless members, whom she sent to heaven as to a new place of residence, whom Blessed Paul calls the Church of the firstborn, written in heaven. In this sense, the Church has already received great benefits. But she has not yet received this Kingdom in the person of those of her children who are still in disgrace, or, more simply, who are still in this life and whose end is unknown, as well as those who have departed (from this life) not with completely joyful and undoubted hopes. For this reason, she remembers the death of the Lord and remembers the saints who have departed (from this life); but she also remembers those who have not yet achieved perfection: for those she gives thanks, and for these she intercedes. Thus, the first part of the offering, as well as the second, is grateful, and the next part is petitionary: the remembrance of the Lord, for the glory of His blessed Mother, in honor of the saints; We thank You, says the priest, that by Your death You opened the gates of life for us, that You chose Your Mother from among us, that man received such glory, that we have intercessors for ourselves of the same nature as us, that You gave such boldness to our only begotten. For the words: “for glory, in honor” mean: for the sake of glory and honor, just like the words: “for the remission of sins” are the same as the words: for the sake of remission and have a double meaning: that is, for the sake of the remission of sins, already received or still expected. Meanwhile, who does not know that the glory of the Blessed Virgin, the intercession and boldness of the saints are among the benefits already received? And bringing gifts for benefits received is obviously nothing more than gratitude. After what was said, these words also became clear: in remembrance of the Lord - this means, as it were, in retribution to Him for His death, in gratitude to Him; These words are spoken when offering gifts, first of all, because the death of the Lord was for us the cause of all good things. Finally, after everything, the priest makes a prayer, asking for forgiveness of sins, repose of souls, and the like. And this is the rule of prudence, so that when we turn to God, we do not immediately express our needs to Him and demand what we lack, but rather first bring to mind what we have already received and have, and offer thanks and praise to God for that, thus placing the glory of God higher than our needs. 11. Why are gifts covered and what is said about it? But since what was said and done over the bread and which marked the death of the Lord served only as an image and likeness, and the bread still remains bread, became only a gift to God and therefore represents the Body of the Lord in the first time of His life, because it was also at first a gift, as stated above, for this reason the priest attaches to the bread and represents on it those miracles that were performed on that (the Body of the Lord) at the time when He was a newborn and was still in the manger. Having placed the so-called star over it, he says: “and the star came ... a hundred above where the Child was” (Matthew 2:9); He also repeats the words spoken about Him by the prophets long before that time and befitting God alone, so that people, because of His flesh and appearance, would not form humiliating concepts about Him, unworthy of His Divinity: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were established” (Ps. 32:6); “The Lord reigns, clothed with beauty” (Ps. 92:1); “The heavens have covered His virtue, and the earth is full of His understanding” (Hab. 3:3). By saying this, he covers the gifts, i.e. bread and cup, with honest coverings and cense from all sides, for the power of the incarnate God for a certain time, until the time of miracles and testimony from heaven, was covered; but those who were so wise that they could say about Him: “The Lord reigns, clothed in beauty,” and apply to Him all the other sayings befitting of God, they recognized Him, honored Him as God, and discerned the covering that was on Him. Depicting this very thing, the priest says when covering the gifts: “Cover us with the shelter of Your wing,” and burns incense everywhere. After these words and actions, the priest prays to God that in this sacred rite everything reaches Him as intended; then he goes to the throne and, standing before the sacred meal, begins the sacred rite. 12. About the initial doxology The first place in the series of sacred words is occupied by the initial doxology: “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Prayer to God usually consists of thanksgiving, doxology, confession, and petition. But the first place between them belongs to doxology, especially because this is the rule of prudent people approaching the Lord - first of all, to show not what concerns themselves, but what seems to only relate to the Lord. And this is exactly what doxology is, for whoever asks is driven by the desire to improve his circumstances; whoever makes a confession, trying to free himself from evil, also exposes himself to the public; and whoever gives thanks obviously acts under the influence of pleasure at the sight of his benefits; and whoever brings praise leaves himself and everything that is his aside, and praises the Lord for the sake of the Lord Himself, for the sake of His power and glory. Then the very order of things, the very conformity with the essence of the matter, requires that doxology be in the first place here. As soon as we approach God, we first of all recognize His unapproachable glory, power and greatness; the consequence of this is surprise, amazement, and the like - and this is already glorification; if we go further, we recognize His goodness and love for mankind, the result of which is thanksgiving; after that we begin to contemplate all the greatness of His goodness, all the riches of His love for mankind; The first and completely sufficient proof of this greatness, this wealth for us is that we ourselves are so thin and that, despite this, He does not cease to benefit us; this proof convinces us, as God loves mankind, and convinces us better than others, because it is closer to us, it is in us, it is before our eyes; meanwhile, if we remember our bad deeds before God, this will be what is called confession. Petition takes fourth place; after such reflections, through which we recognize the goodness and love of God in relation to us, it naturally follows that we must boldly be confident in what we need, we will certainly receive if we ask. If He was already so good to bad people, then what will He be like for those who change (for the better), who are already justified for having confessed their sins, according to the word of the prophet: “You said before your iniquity, that you might be justified” (Is. 43:26)? Thus, doxology takes first place in the ranks of prayer; for this reason, before any prayer, before all sacred words, the priest praises God. But why does he proclaim the trinity in God, and not the unity of God? Doesn’t say: blessed is God or blessed is the Kingdom (of God), but distinguishes Persons: “blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit”? Because through the incarnation of the Lord, people learned for the first time that there are three Persons in God; and yet what happens here serves as a mysterious image of this very incarnation of the Lord; Therefore, it is necessary that at the very beginning of this sacred rite the Trinity should shine forth and be proclaimed. After the doxology, he offers a petition, saying: “Let us pray to the Lord in peace.” For what we will pray for, as we should, do not know; so that we do not talk idle talk, he gives us the necessary instructions regarding prayer and, first of all, teaches us how to pray - that we need to pray in peace. But why, after the doxology, does he immediately order the petition to be sent, while there has not yet been any confession or thanksgiving to God? Because in this word peace already lies the thought of those (types of prayer), if only someone wants to really think about it, for whoever is dissatisfied with the circumstances encountered in life cannot have peace in himself; only a prudent person has it, who gives thanks for everything, according to the rule of blessed Paul; Neither can anyone who has a bad conscience, but a clear conscience without confession is impossible. Thus, whoever prays in peace already has both thanksgiving and confession in his soul. And besides, the petition that they bring to God represents them both thanking and confessing. What are they asking for? About pardon. And this is the request of the condemned: when these latter no longer have any means of defense, when they no longer have anything to say in their justification, they turn to the judge with this last word in the hope of getting what they ask for, if not by right, then by his love for humanity. And whoever does this, thereby testifies, on the one hand, to the special good nature of the Judge, on the other, to his bad qualities: here one is the property of confession, and the other is the property of thanksgiving. The priest, as a person appointed to do so, encourages the people to pray. For this, in fact, he was placed at the head of the people as an intercessor for them and a mediator, so that his prayer would be valid and have more power, as the Apostle James said: “The prayer of a righteous man can do much” (James 5:16), when all those for whom prayer is sent add to it everything that is necessary on their part: good morals, prayer, obedience and other good qualities that they know about, that they are pleasing to God. What is the first petition that immediately follows? "About heavenly peace and the salvation of our souls." Having first given instructions about what kind of spirit one should have during prayer, he now teaches what one must first ask for, namely: first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, since the salvation of souls means the Kingdom, and the world on high means the righteousness of God. The Apostle Paul said about this world: “The peace of God surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7). The Lord left it to the apostles, departing to the Father, when he said: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). Just as there the word truth means not only the distribution of everything equally, but expresses virtue in any kind, so here the word peace means something general, because He is the fruit of all good qualities in the aggregate, the fruit of all wisdom in general, for it is impossible for someone who lacks even one virtue to acquire perfect peace; on the contrary, it is necessary for one who wants to enjoy the world to pass through all the degrees of virtue. Thus, we must first accustom ourselves to having the peace with people that is possible for us, and then ask God for His peace. This order also exists in relation to any virtue: there is chastity, which is achieved through achievement, and there is chastity, which is given to the soul from God; and love, and prayer, and wisdom, exactly the same in relation to everything else. Therefore, the priest first tells us about the peace that is in our power, which is achieved by ourselves, and with such peace he commands us to offer our petitions to God; and then - about the peace that is given from God, and for which he makes us pray to God when he says: “Let us pray for peace from above.” He speaks here not only about peace in relation to each other, when we are not vindictive towards each other, but also about peace with ourselves, when our hearts do not deceive us. And there is great benefit from such a world; one can even say that we need it at every step and because for a soul agitated by confusion, it is completely impossible to achieve unity with God due to the very nature of confusion: just as the world produces that many are one person, so confusion divides one person into many. How can such a person be in harmony with God, the One and Simple Being? And also because whoever prays without peace can neither pray well nor receive anything good from his prayer. Whether a person is worried about anger, and rancor has driven the world out of his soul, he will not find through his prayer the forgiveness of sins, much less receive any other mercy; or, as a result of some other sins, a person is tormented by his conscience and carries reproaches in his heart and is worried about such confusion, and in this case he has lost all boldness before God, according to the well-known saying; and when he prays, he prays without boldness, that is, without faith; and whoever prays without faith prays in vain, without any benefit. That is why we are commanded that we pray to God in peace, and first of all ask ourselves for peace from above, and after that send with good intentions petitions to God about other subjects: not only about the Church and the state, about the rulers in both, about those who are in danger, in misfortunes and in misfortunes, but, in a word, about all people, about the whole universe, for about the world, he goes on to say, the whole world. And this is especially because we honor our Lord as the common Lord of them all and believe that He cares for them all, as the Creator does for His creations, that whoever cares for them pleases Him even better than the one who makes a sacrifice to Him; and, on the other hand, according to the words of Blessed Paul, we too will live their quiet and silent life in all piety and purity in the world; and we pray not only for the blessings related to the soul, but also for the physical blessings that are necessary for us - for the goodness of the air and the abundance of earthly fruits, so that we would honor God as the author and giver of all these blessings and turn our eyes to Him alone, for Christ Himself commanded us to ask Him, among other things, for our daily bread. 13. What does constant prayer for mercy mean? Let us also examine why, while the priest calls for prayer about many and varied (things), the coming faithful pray for only one pardon and, on every occasion, turn to God with this one and only petition. First, this is because, as stated above, this prayer of petition involves both thanksgiving and confession. Moreover, to ask God for mercy means to seek His Kingdom, which Christ promised to give to those who seek it, and not only it, but also with it everything else that we need; That’s why this one prayer is enough, as it has the power (to intercede) all together. Where, it may be asked, is it clear that God’s mercy means His Kingdom? From the fact that Christ, speaking about the reward prepared for the merciful, about the reward that they will receive from His goodness, in one place says that they will receive mercy, and in another - that they will receive the Kingdom, so it turns out the same thing: to receive mercy from Him, to accept the inheritance of the Kingdom. “Blessed,” He says, “are merciful, for there will be mercy” (Matthew 5:7)); and in another place, as if explaining Himself and showing what it means to be pardoned, he says: “Speaks the King to those on His right hand, meaning the merciful: Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). On the other hand, if anyone, based on the actions performed by merciful people, wants to infer the works of God’s mercy, he will find that it consists in nothing other than the granting of the Kingdom. What do the merciful do? “You are hungry,” He says, “and give me food; you are thirsty, and give me something to drink” (Matthew 25:35). This means that Christ, whoever has mercy, will offer His meal to him. What kind of meal is this? “Yes, eat,” He says, “and drink at My table in My kingdom” (Luke 22:30). And so that you know how luminous this meal will be, that this is not the meal of slaves, but the meal of kings, pay attention to who will serve here: He Himself, the Lord of all. He will gird himself, says the Scripture, and make them sit down, and come and minister to them. But He will also clothe the person who has received mercy if he is naked. That is, will he give him royal clothes? Yes, He will clothe him with His own garments; and He, the true King, has nothing servile, just as we, His servants, have nothing royal of our own. This is the wedding garment, those who are clothed with it must certainly be in the Kingdom, because the King will have no reason to expel them from the palace with reproach. What else? He will open His dwelling place for them, lead them there and give them rest, for “he was strange,” He says, “and He knew me” (Matthew 25:35). But whoever receives such mercy is no longer a slave, but a son, for a servant, says Scripture, does not remain in a house forever; sons are heirs not only of the Kingdom, but also of Himself who possesses the Kingdom, for heirs, says Scripture, of God are joint heirs with Christ. Thus, asking Christ for mercy means asking Him to gain the Kingdom. 14. About surrendering (oneself to God) After praying about everything, (the priest) calls on us to surrender ourselves to God with the following words: “Having remembered our Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and each other and our entire life to Christ our God.” Not for everyone, devotion to God constitutes a true virtue: for this it is not enough just to say (that you are betraying yourself completely), but you also need to have God’s permission; this certainly requires boldness, and boldness comes from a clear conscience, when our heart does not overlook us, when we care about what concerns Him, and with this care we despise what actually concerns us. It is then that we are truly freed from concern for ourselves and completely entrust the provision for us to God with the firm confidence that He will accept what we have entrusted to Him and preserve it. Since this requires so much wisdom and effort, we either first call for help the All-Holy Mother of God and the entire host of saints, and then we surrender ourselves to God, since the word remembering means: having called, or we first ask ourselves for the union of faith and the communion of the Holy Spirit, and then we surrender ourselves and each other and our entire life to God. What is this unity of faith? “A man is double-minded, unsettled in all his ways” (James 1:8), says Scripture, calling double-minded a man who is indecisive, who does not settle firmly on anything, who leans on both sides and is not directed towards either one or the other with determination. The unity of faith means the opposite of that - firmness, determination, constancy, because whoever firmly believes knows one thing about a subject: either that it exists, or that it does not exist; while the fickle one inclines now to one thing or another, as the name itself shows. So this is what unity of faith means: it is steadfastness, alien to any double-mindedness. And the communion of the Holy Spirit means His grace; it is called communion because after Christ destroyed with His Cross the mediastinum of the fence between God and us, it was still appropriate to unite and bring into communion those who were distant from each other and had nothing in common with each other, to come closer and have communion; and this was accomplished by the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles. Hence Holy Baptism, and the abundant source of all the gifts of Divine grace was revealed, and we, according to the word of Blessed Peter, became partakers of the Divine nature. So, anyone who wants to surrender himself to God as he should needs firm faith and help from the Holy Spirit. And we each betray to God not only ourselves, but also each other, since, according to the law of love, we must seek not only our own, but also what is needed for others. 15. About antiphons and prayers said in continuation of them At the time when the deacon proclaims petitions and the pious people pray, the priest inside the altar prays quietly, silently, for those present and for the holy house, so that rich mercy and grace will be poured out on them from God, and adds the reason why he himself asks for it, and God can give this in his truth - not because, that is, that those praying are worthy of it and that we have the right to accept it, but because it is fitting for Him all glory, honor and worship. For the sake of Your glory, he says, I pray to You about this, for to show such love for mankind towards us, unworthy, is Your glory. This glory is due to You according to this word of blessed David: Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory. Therefore, having completed the prayer, he pronounces this reason, as the conclusion of the doxology, out loud to everyone, so that this doxology reaches each of those participating in the singing of praise and so that the whole Church praises God. And in fact, those who listen become his companions in praise, for when the priest pronounces the doxology, all the faithful say: Amen, and, proclaiming this word, they assimilate all the words of the priest. Then the priest begins the sacred psalmody, and those present perform it to the end, chanting the inspired sayings of the holy prophets. “It is good to confess to the Lord and sing to your name, O Most High” (Ps. 91:2). This is precisely the word befitting the beginning, since it says about the singing itself that it is good, and this, of course, must be known before any singing; It is good, he says, to confess, that is, to thank, to praise. When this and all the verses in order have been sung, the deacon calls the faithful to prayer, commanding them, as before, to send out petitions. And meanwhile, as the faithful pray at the end of the psalmody, the priest silently pronounces a prayer to God and in general for the whole Church, and in particular for those who decorate the holy house of God and try to make it resplendent in all respects, so that they themselves will be glorified for its sake, and at the same time indicates the most decent reason: “for Your power is Yours and Yours is the Kingdom.” Glory, he says, also belongs to kings, who, when they want, can surround themselves with splendor; but You are the eternal King, Yours (is) the Power and Yours is the Kingdom. Having proclaimed this reason as a doxology in the hearing of all the faithful and having taken from them (in response Amen) participation in praising God, as before, he again begins psalmody, and the faithful again complete it and then, as was said before, in the voice of the deacon they offer petitions to God. The priest, again praying for the faithful praying with him, so that each of them receives from God for his benefit what he asks for himself, and, in addition to this, eternal life beyond the grave, adds His grace and love for mankind as the reason and, pronouncing this conclusion aloud to everyone, begins the third psalmody, during which the Gospel is uttered, preceded by the official rites, lamps and incense and accompanied by everyone coming to the throne. It can be worn by a deacon, but if there is no deacon, by a priest. At the entrance to the altar, the priest stops not far from the gate and, while the psalmody is being sung, prays to God that, along with his entry into the altar, the holy angels will enter the altar and, joining the sacred rite, take part in his praise to God, and adds the reason: because glory and worship from men and angels is due to Him, for this precisely means “all glory, honor and worship” - from all beings, who know how to glorify God and worship Him. Praying for this, he enters the altar and places the Gospel at the holy table. 16. Commemoration of the sacred rite in general outline It is necessary, however, to first go through the words of the psalmody in parts, making a preliminary remark that the mystery of the economy of Christ is signified by the sacrifice itself, and is signified by those actions and words that precede the sacrifice and follow it. For the sacrifice heralds the death, Resurrection and ascension of the Lord, since honorable gifts are transferred into His resurrected and ascended body; what precedes the sacrifice indicates events before death: the coming, appearance and entry of the Savior into open service for the salvation of the human race; and what follows the sacrifice recalls the promise of the Father, as He Himself called it, that is, the descent of the Spirit on the apostles, the conversion through them and the introduction of the peoples into communion with God. And all secret science is, as it were, one kind of body of history, preserving harmony and integrity from beginning to end, so that each section of actions or words imparts a special aspect of completeness to the whole. The psalms, since they are sung at the beginning of the mystery, signify the former time of Christ’s economy, and what follows them, that is, the reading of the Holy Scriptures and so on, indicates the future. But although it is said that the reason for psalmody is different, that is, pre-purification for the sacrament and preparation, and another is the reading of the Scriptures, nothing prevents the latter from having the power of the former, and from both sanctifying the faithful and signifying the economy. So a dress, on the one hand, satisfies the need for clothing and covers the body, and, on the other hand, it signifies the occupation, life, and dignity of the persons dressing. So it is in this: since what is sung and read is generally Holy Scripture and the word of God, it sanctifies those who read and sing; and since this was chosen and established so, it also has another force, having the purpose of marking the coming and order of the works of Christ. For not only what is sung and read, but also what is done retains such a property that, taken in itself, it satisfies a real need, and at the same time signifies something of the deeds or deeds and passions of Christ. Thus, the bringing of the Gospel into the altar and the entry of honest gifts - both - happen according to need: the first, that is, to read the Gospel, and the last, to make a sacrifice; but both of these actions also mean the revelation or appearance of the Lord: some indicate only an initial, or dark and imperfect, phenomenon, and others indicate a most perfect and final one. There are, however, among the actions of the ongoing arcane teaching, those that are not meant to satisfy the need, but are performed only for a sign, such as the copy, planting it in the bread, marking the sign of the cross on the bread, and finally pouring water into the holy gifts. You would find a lot of this in other sacraments: for example, in Baptism, those who have to wash themselves must take off their clothes and shoes and, turning to the west, stretch out their hands and blow. This and other similar things do not introduce into the sacrament anything essential for the sacrament, but it instills in the one who receives it the hatred and enmity that must be had towards the evil one, and teaches that he who wants to be a true Christian must in every possible way turn away from the devil. Understanding this in this way, let us consider the entire sacred rite in parts, since it bears the image of the Savior’s economy, and first of all, psalmody. 17. Explanation of the first antiphon The first exhortation to doxology is appropriate for beginners; it says: “It is good to confess to the Lord” (Ps. 91:2). This is a song to God and the Father, and at the same time a song about the Only Begotten. “It is good to confess to the Lord and sing to Your name, O Most High.” She calls the Father the Most High, and the Only Begotten the Lord. It is good to glorify the Son and You, the Father. What does it mean? This is a start to the next word. This song is intended to bring praise to Him in common. How? To proclaim the works of the Son through which the Father is glorified. For what is the reason for boasting? The exhaustion of the Son and poverty, works done in the flesh and suffering. Here is mercy and truth. Mercy, since He did not despise us, most pitifully struck by the enemy and His opponents, in His great goodness and love for mankind and not only showed compassion for our misfortune, but also became a participant in our misfortunes, our death; and not only restored us from that disastrous fall, but also awarded us the Kingdom and the greatest blessings. Therefore Paul also says: “When the grace and love of God our Savior appeared” (Tit. 3, 4), then it was revealed for the first time how large it was. And the Lord said: “God so loved the world” (John 3:16) explained that this love is immeasurable. That is why the psalm calls stewardship mercy. And the truth is because he looks at everything ancient in relation to him as a shadow and an image. Therefore, the prophet, mentioning himself, truly says: “The Lord swears to David in truth” (Ps. 131:11). What is the subject of the oath here? The coming and life of the Lord in the flesh. “From the fruit of your womb,” he says, “I will set you on your throne” (Ps. 131:11), which indicates the Savior Himself. Where can you see this? This is what Gabriel teaches when he announces to the Virgin about the unspeakable birth, and instills in him what kind of person He who will be born will be: the Lord God will give him, he says, the throne of his father David, and he will reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end (Luke 1:32,33). By truth itself we mean judgment and righteousness. Why? Because the Savior, having cast out sin with it and killed the devil, did this not with an excess of strength and the power of victory, but with judgment and righteousness, as it is said: “righteousness and fate are the preparation of Your throne” (Ps. 88:15). So you, in your courts, defeat your opponents by the verdict of the judges. That is why the Savior says: now is judgment for this world: “today the prince of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). Knowing this, blessed Dionysius says that the unsearchable love for mankind of God-originating Goodness destroyed the power of the apostate horde, that is, demons, that was weighing over us, not by overwhelming force, but through words secretly delivered to us - by judgment and truth. Since what is praised is not only mercy and truth, but also truth and judgment, the hymnist adds: “For the Lord our God is righteous, and there is no unrighteousness in Him” (Ps. 91:16). “It is good,” he says, “to proclaim Your mercy in the morning and Your truth every night” (Ps. 91:2, 3). Day and night it is necessary, he says, to praise God, for this is precisely what the words mean: morning and every night. In another place the same thing is expressed by the words: for all time. This is the meaning of the first antiphon. 18. What do the prophetic sayings sung at the beginning of the ceremony mean? The second psalm praises the very Kingdom of God the Son, His splendor, to which He ascended through exhaustion and poverty. But what is the need for these prophetic sayings? And what sign do they have in relation to the economy of the Savior? They mark the initial times of His coming, when He had already come, but had not yet appeared to people: when He was in the world, but the world had not yet known Him; They mean the time before John, before the lamp was lit. Then He still needed prophetic words. When after this He Himself, the One predicted by the prophets, appeared, He no longer needed prophecies; John already pointed out who had appeared, and before John the Father. Therefore, “all the prophets... prophesied until John” (Matthew 11:13). So this time before John is signified by the singing of prophecies, for the honorable gifts by which Christ is signified are not yet carried into the middle at this time, but remain hidden in a special compartment of the altar. Now consider the saying of the psalm: “The Lord reigns, clothed in beauty” (Ps. 93:1). The psalm called the kingdom the knowledge that people received about the Lord, for the sake of which they submitted to Him, for they recognized His splendor, beauty and power, as they should have known. This is exactly what this word of the Savior means: “All power has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18), for after the sons of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth knew the true Lord. Consider further sayings - you will find the same thing. So, defining the image of kingship and power, the prophet says: for establish the universe, which does not move. The psalm calls faith affirmation: the Lord affirmed those bowed down by flattery and united them with Himself. Such is the one who is carried away by delusion: he cannot stop at anything. But the Lord says: “Go and teach all languages, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). And this is the teaching of faith. However, this faith is not enough for the Kingdom; It would be impossible to conquer peoples only in this way. To this should be added the keeping of the commandments. The Prophet continues: “Your testimony was greatly assured” (Ps. 92:5); and the Lord adds to the word of baptism a word about the commandments, saying: “Keep them all as often as you have commandments” (Matthew 28:20). For what the Savior calls commandments, the prophet calls testimonies, and you will find this everywhere in Scripture: everywhere it calls the laws of God testimonies. Then: “Holiness is fitting for Your house, O Lord,” says the prophet (Ps. 93:5), and by holiness he means sacrifice, that is, gifts, all service appropriate to God; with the words: “It is fitting for Your house,” he shows that this house is not empty and not alien to God, but that the Master of the House Himself dwells in it, because if God were not in it, it would not be appropriate for it to do what is appropriate for God alone. The Lord also confirmed these words, making a promise to always be with the Church; Yes, and Paul calls the Church the house of the living God, for he says: “Let him know how to live in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God” (1 Tim. 3:15). “Behold I am with you”; and what he said: “for the length of the days” is what the Lord says: “all the days until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). So this psalmody is an exact prophecy of what the Savior accomplished by His Cross and death. 19. Explanation of the third antiphon The next one seems to be like a meeting of the Lord who has already come and appeared, which is why it is placed and sung at the presentation and manifestation of the Gospel, by which Christ is signified. And that the prophet sang this song, having the appearance of Christ before the eyes of his soul, is evident especially from his joy in Him and joy, with which he himself is seen to be filled and to the fellowship in which he calls all others: “Come, let us rejoice in the Lord” (Ps. 95:1). Before the coming of the Lord, man could not rejoice, because Christ alone brought us joy, and if anyone on earth rejoiced before He came, then he rejoiced, having been initiated into His mysteries. So he rejoiced, he says, “Abraham... would have rejoiced, that he might have seen my day, and seen it, and rejoiced” (John 8:56), and David himself: “reward unto me the joy of Thy salvation” (Ps. 50:14), for what joy in Christ he had before sin, he prayed to God to enjoy it when he lost it through sin. Therefore, just as, by saying: “Come and let us be enlightened,” he announced the coming of the Light, so by saying: “Come, let us rejoice in the Lord,” he shows that He appeared and brought joy. Then he calls Him Savior and Lord. And Scripture calls Christ Savior and salvation because of the Divine Hypostases, one Son was the Self-Accomplisher of our salvation and that everything was done through Him. So Paul also said: “Having made cleansing of our sins with Himself” (Heb. 1:3), which He Himself expressed in the image of the Good Shepherd, Who did not send others to look for the lost sheep, but sought it Himself and found it, and took it, and brought it on His shoulder (to the Father); Therefore, he accepted the name corresponding to His ministry - called Jesus. Let us anticipate His face in confession. He says: face, meaning the appearance of the Lord. Let us not wait to see Him when He has already entered the house, but let us go out to meet Him in confession, that is, in doxology, and in psalms we will exclaim to Him—we will give Him the honor due to God. He wanted to appear in the form of a slave; but let us not forget the Master in Him, let us not be tempted by the flesh, judging by what is revealed, let us not be carried away about the High to entertain low thoughts, for in this flesh the great God, the Lord and the great King of all the earth, hid. To this the prophet further adds everything that is proper to God. These are the prophetic sayings, and this is how they are appropriately sung. 20. About the appearance of the Gospel and the Trisagion Song Then, as they sing, the priest, standing in the middle before the throne, lifts up the Gospel and shows it, thereby signifying the appearance of the Lord when He began to reveal Himself, for the Gospel signifies Christ, just as the books of the prophets are called prophets. Thus, Abraham says to the rich man: “They have Moses and the prophets” (Luke 16:29), that is, their books. When the One about whom the prophets proclaimed appeared Himself and revealed Himself, then no one considers it an exceptional duty to listen to the words of the prophets. Therefore, with the revelation of the Gospel, prophecies cease. From this moment we sing what belongs to the New Testament: we either sing the praises of the All-Holy Mother of God, or we praise other saints, or we sing songs of Christ Himself, either for His coming to us, or for His suffering after His coming, or for His deeds, which the Church celebrates every time. Then we praise God Himself in the Trinity, as the appearance of the Savior taught us to confess Him. This song was accepted from the angels, borrowed from the psalm book of the prophet, accepted by the Church of Christ and dedicated to the Trinity, for the word: holy, invoked three times, is the word of the angels; and words; God, mighty and immortal, are the words of blessed David when he says: “My soul thirsts for God, the mighty, the living” (Ps. 41:3); the acceptance and union of the latter with the former and the addition of prayer, that is, have mercy on us, is the work of the Church, which knows and confesses the One God in the Trinity, in order to show in part the agreement of the Old Testament with the New, and in part that through the appearance of Christ, most heavenly and at the same time earthly, angels and men constitute one Church, one choir. Therefore, after the appearance of the Gospel and the entrance (to the altar), we sing this song, as if calling: This one who came to us, placed us with the angels and joined them to their choir. That's true. 21. About the prayer read while singing this song and about the sacred exclamations Before this singing, the priest prays to God to accept this song and send grace to those singing. What grace? The corresponding song, that is, sanctifying their souls and bodies, granting forgiveness of sins, so that they serve God in holiness every day. And he adds the reason: “For you are holy and rest in the saints, for it is characteristic of a truly Holy One to rejoice over the saints and to bestow sanctification upon them.” Having proclaimed this and added a doxology, the priest gives a sign to the sacred assembly to chant the Trisagion; and, according to custom, having finished the doxology with the word: Amen, it begins the song. After the song, the priest commands everyone to stand not frivolously and carelessly, but to be attentive to what they are doing and singing, for this means the word: “let us listen.” Then he asks for peace for everyone and remembers the wisdom with which one should listen to the sacrament. What is wisdom? Thoughts appropriate for sacred rites, with which those filled with faith should look and listen to what is being done and said, without having anything human. This is Christian wisdom, and this is the meaning of this word, which the priest repeatedly pronounces to the faithful during the ceremony; it reminds of these thoughts, for so often with one speech we remind each other of a whole thought and renew it in the souls of our listeners. Why do you need a reminder? The power of forgetfulness is great, and none of the human passions overcomes a person as often and easily as this one. When it is necessary to stand with the proper thoughts and take part in the sacred service, in listening and contemplating sacred songs and actions, so as not to be fruitless and not waste time in vain - which is not easy - then we need to stimulate ourselves and become sober ourselves; Yes, we also need an external reminder so that we can restore our mind, constantly caught in oblivion and carried away to vain hopes. This is also what the song sung during the presentation of the Honest Gifts to the altar wants, for all worldly things, it says, let us put aside care, and this is exactly what this expression means. And the exclamation: forgive is also an exhortation. What kind of exhortation? It wants us to be before God and the sacraments in asceticism, not lazily, but with diligence and with all reverence to hold ourselves, whether we see, speak, or listen to anything from the sacred prayers, and the first sign of this zeal and this reverence would be shown in an upright position of the body, that is, we would do this not sitting, but standing, for such is the image of those who pray, such is the image of the servants... But we pray to God for Most importantly, we are servants in all kinds of service. This is the meaning of these words. 22. About the reading of the Scriptures, their order and signs After the Trisagion Song, the Apostolic Book is read, and then, when the Church sings a hymn of praise to God, the Gospel itself is read. But why do we praise God before reading the Scriptures? Because this must be done in all cases in which He always sends us His gifts, especially when we receive some great benefit, for example, hearing Divine words. However, with the Apostle we sing a song of petition, for it is added: “have mercy”; and during the Gospel we do a doxology without asking, so that we know that through the Gospel Christ is signified, Whom those who have found have everything, for the Bridegroom is within, and those who have everything do not need to ask Him for anything, so that it is indecent for the sons of the bride to fast, since the Bridegroom is with them, but should only honor and praise Him. Such is the song of the angels, as the prophets convey it; and for the same reason it is only a song and is excluded from all petition. But what does scripture reading mean here? If you want to know the purpose, then, as it is said, reading prepares us and purifies us before the great sanctification through the sacrament. And if you are looking for the meaning, then it marks the revelation of the Lord, which He revealed shortly after His appearance. For the Gospel is first shown closed, signifying the appearance of the Lord, when He appeared by the will of the Father in silence and, preaching nothing Himself, had with Him the voice of one crying. And this (i.e., reading the Gospel) is already a sign of His perfect revelation, during which He openly talked with everyone and revealed in Himself not only what He said about Himself, but also what He taught the apostles to say, sending them “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6). This is why the apostolic writings are read, and the Gospel itself is read. Why not the Gospel first? Because the signs of revelation revealed by the Lord Himself are more perfect than those spoken by the apostles. And since the Lord did not suddenly reveal to people what He is like in His power and what He is like in His goodness (for this refers to His second coming), but walked, making the path from less clear to more clear, then it is natural for those who want to show His gradual appearance to read the apostolic writings before the Gospel. For this reason, the signs of His most perfect appearance are observed towards the end, as will be seen from what follows. 23. About petitions following the Gospel After reading the Gospel, the deacon commands the people to pray. The priest himself prays quietly, silently, inside the altar, so that God will accept the prayers of the people, and then, loudly praising God, he accepts the people into the communion of praise. But which prayer of all is especially appropriate after the Gospel? Prayer for those who keep the Gospel, prayer for those who imitate the love of Christ, signified by the Gospel. Who are these (guardians of the Gospel)? The leaders of the Church, the shepherds of the people, the founders of order, for they, if they keep the vow, faithfully observe and teach what is written there (in the Gospel) and, according to the Apostle (Col. 1:24), fulfill the deprivation of the sorrows of Christ after Him, feeding His flock as it pleases Him. They are also the builders and trustees of sacred houses and teachers of virtue; and, if someone is in any way useful to the common cause of the Church and sacred persons and things, then, of course, they stand in this host and are worthy of common prayers. Intending, finally, to move on to the sacrifice, at which the uninitiated should not be present, whom we also call catechumens, because they accepted Christianity only by hearing, as much as possible through instruction, the priest, having first prayed for them, expels them from the host of faithful Christians. And his prayer is that they will achieve perfection, worthy of baptism in time. The purpose of prayer is the glory of God: “and these too,” he says, “with us glorify Your most honorable and magnificent name.” Having proclaimed this as a doxology and in the communion of doxology having received the entire host of the faithful, he makes another prayer, in which he first thanks God that he was worthy to stand before Him and raise his hands to Him for himself and for others; then asks him to deign to do this always with a clear conscience. And the goal of this prayer is the glory of God: “as befits You,” he says, “all glory.” Having thus, according to custom, performed the doxology together with the people, the priest again prays silently both for himself and for the people, so that he may stand at the holy table without condemnation: he will stand clean from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, and the faithful who pray will be rewarded with communion of the Mysteries without guilt or condemnation and, in addition to this, will receive the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven. The reason for prayer again is the glory of God, for which Paul commanded to do everything, saying: “Do everything for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). “Let it be,” he says, “our constant goal is to glorify God.” Farmers, as the purpose of their labors, honor the collection of fruits for which they willingly work; merchants - profit; other - something else; and in everything you do, seek the glory of God, for we are servants, called to this very service of the Master; For this service we were first created by Him, and then redeemed. That is why you will find that the Church always cares about the glory of God and constantly proclaims this word; She praises this glory in everything, sees it everywhere and does everything for it: prayers, petitions, sacraments, and exhortations - everything sacred. That's true. 24. About bringing honest gifts to the altar Then the priest, having loudly praised God, goes to the gifts and, reverently raising them on his head, leaves. Carrying them in this way, he enters the altar and deliberately walks through the church calmly and slowly. The faithful themselves sing and bow down before him with all humility and reverence, asking him to remember them when offering gifts. And he goes ahead of the lamps and incense and in this order enters the altar. This happens out of necessity, for it is necessary to bring and place on the altar the gifts that are to be sacrificed, and, moreover, to do this, as much as possible, reverently and decently. Likewise, kings, when they want to bring a gift to God, do not entrust this task to others, but carry and bring them themselves, having a crown on their head. This may mean the last appearance of Christ, by which the hatred of the Jews was especially inflamed, and His procession from the fatherland to Jerusalem, in which He had to sacrifice Himself, and His entry into the city preceded and amid exclamations of praise from the people. At this time, we must fall at the feet of the priest, asking him to remember us in those prayers, for there is no other way of petition that would have such great power and give us such strong hopes as the method represented by this terrible sacrifice, which has not cleansed wickedness and iniquity. And whoever of those who fall at the feet of the priest, when he enters with gifts, bows and turns to the borne gifts as if to the very Body and Blood of Christ, acts unfairly, confusing this entrance with the entrance of the presanctified Gifts due to ignorance of the difference between this and that sacred rite. During this entrance, the gifts are not yet sacred and imperfect; and in that sacred rite they are perfect and sanctified: they are the Body and Blood of Christ. That's true. 25. About what happens after the presentation of gifts, about the prayers and instructions of the priest to the people The priest places the gifts on the throne, and he himself, since he is already beginning the secret rites and intends to touch the terrible sacrifice, prepares himself well, cleanses himself with prayers and prepares for the sacred rite. And he not only prepares himself, but also prepares the people ahead for this grace through prayer, love for each other and confession of faith. And this is all the preparation that the Lord commanded, saying: “Be ready” (Matthew 24:44), for here is both faith and works; faith is revealed through confession, and works through love, which is the end of every good deed and the crown of every virtue. But that's a little later. And first, he commands the upcoming faithful to pray for what they should pray for at that time: “for the gifts offered,” he says, “let us pray to the Lord.” Let us pray to God for what is presented, so that the gifts will be sanctified and the proposal made at the beginning will be brought to an end. Then he offers other things that we should pray to God for, and, finally, he commands us to surrender ourselves, each other, and our whole lives to God; and at the end of the prayer that he offered to God silently, he proclaims, according to custom, in the hearing of all and glorifies God and, having accepted the people into the communion of praise, prays for mutual peace between all and exhorts to this. For, having said: “peace to all,” he adds: “let us love one another.” And since praying for one another is an apostolic commandment, the people pray for the granting of the same peace to him, saying: “and to your spirit.” Since our love for each other is followed by love for God, and love for God is accompanied by perfect and living faith in God, then, having spoken about love and made an exhortation to love each other, he immediately speaks of the confession of faith: “let us confess with one mind,” he says; and the faithful invoke the Holy Trinity, who must be confessed as God. 26. About the confession of faith and what after it the priest exhorts the faithful and what he prays for, and what they answer him Then the priest commands everyone to proclaim what they know about God and what they believe - to proclaim true wisdom, about which the Apostle speaks: “And we speak wisdom among the perfect” (1 Cor. 2:6), which the world has not known, that is, the wise of the world, who knew nothing more and higher than sensory knowledge and did not at all believe in the existence of better knowledge. For this wisdom he commands to open all the doors - both our mouths and our ears. For this wisdom, he says, open; pronounce it incessantly, and listen, and do this not lazily, but with zeal and listening to yourself, - and they proclaim the entire confession - the Creed. Then the priest says: “let’s become kind, let’s become fearful.” Let us stand in this confession, not embarrassed by the rantings of heretics; Let us stand with fear, since great danger threatens those who harbor any doubt in their souls regarding this faith. Thus, standing firm in the faith, he says, let us offer our gifts to God wisely. What does reasonable mean? In the world: “let us,” he says, “bring holy offerings to the world.” Remember, he says, the words of the Lord: “if you bring your gift to the altar and remember that ... someone ... has ... on you, ... first humble yourself, ... and then come and bring your gift” (Matthew 5, 23, 24). The faithful answer: we offer not only peace, but also peace itself instead of a gift and other sacrifice; We offer, they say, mercy to the One who said: “I want mercy, not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13). And mercy is the product of a solid and pure world, for when the soul is not disturbed by any passion, then nothing prevents it from being filled with mercy. And not only mercy, but also a sacrifice of praise. When they say this, the priest asks for what is most divine and important: “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.” And the faithful, asking the same priest according to the commandment commanding us to pray for one another, answer him: “and with your spirit.” This prayer is taken from the writings of blessed Paul (2 Cor. 13:13). She asks us from the Most Holy Trinity for “good,... every gift is perfect” (James. 1, 17); and the good from each of the blessed Hypostases is called by a special name: from the Son - grace, from the Father - love, from the Spirit - communion. For, while we did not bring anything of our own, and were also subject to condemnation, the Son Himself became our Savior, “as yet a sinner,” it is said, “He died for us” (Rom. 5:8), and therefore His looking after us is grace. Since the Father, through the suffering of the Son, was reconciled with the human race, and loved his enemies, then His good deeds towards us are called love. And since enemies who became friends should have become participants in the blessings of the Rich One, then this is done by the Holy Spirit who descended on the apostles, and therefore His grace to people is called communion. But perhaps someone will say that the Savior who came has already given all these blessings to people, and therefore what is the need now for prayer for what has already been given to us - namely, so that, having received these blessings, we do not lose? them, but to constantly use them to the end. That is why he did not say: let it be given to you all, for it has already been given, but: be with you all. Let this grace not depart from you, he says. Having vouchsafed them such prayer and thus raised their souls from the earth, the priest exalts their thoughts and says: woe is our hearts; Yes, “I eat wisdom... above,... and not earthly” (Col. 3, 2); and the faithful, agreeing with this, answer that their hearts are where our treasure is, “where Christ sits at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1), “imams to the Lord.” 27. About the consecration of gifts and about the thanksgiving that precedes it Who is so well disposed and holy, what remains but to turn to thanksgiving to the Giver of all good things, God? Thus, imitating the first Priest, who, before communicating the sacrament of communion, brought thanks to God and the Father, and the priest, before the final prayer through which the holy gifts are administered, brings thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: “we give thanks to the Lord”; and when everyone agrees with this and sings: “worthy and righteous,” he himself gives thanks to God; and, having given Him praise, praising Him with the angels, confessing gratitude to Him for all the blessings that He has given us from the ages, and, finally, having made a remembrance of the Savior’s ineffable and constant consideration of us, he then sacraments the honorable gifts and makes the entire sacrifice. How? Having announced that terrible supper, how the Savior, before His suffering, taught it to His holy disciples, how he took the cup, how he accepted the bread and, having given thanks, consecrated it, and how he spoke those words with which he showed that this was a sacrament. Having uttered these very words, the priest then bows to the ground, prays and asks, applying to the gifts presented the Divine sayings of the Only Begotten Son of God, our Savior, so that the All-Holy and Almighty Spirit of God, resting on them, would transfer the bread into the most honest and holy Body of Christ, and the wine into His most honest and holy Blood. After these words, all the sacred rites are over and completed; the gifts are sanctified, the sacrifice is prepared, the great and holy Lamb, slain for the sins of the world, is seen lying on the sacred throne. For the bread of the Body of the Lord is no longer an image, not a gift, representing only the appearance of a true gift, no longer carries within itself an image of some saving suffering, as if in a picture, but is the truest gift, the most all-holy Sovereign Body, which has truly received all these reproaches, reproaches, wounds, crucified, pierced, “bearing witness to the good confession of the neck under Pontius Pilate” (1 Tim. 6, 13), endured strangulation, beating, spitting, and tasted bile. In the same way, wine is the very Blood that flows from the perforated body. This is that Flesh and that Blood that are united by the Holy Spirit into one Body, born of the Holy Virgin, buried, resurrected on the third day, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. 28. On what basis do we undoubtedly believe in the sacrament? What guarantee is there for the fidelity of this? The Savior Himself said: “this is My Body”,... “this is My Blood”; (Matthew 26, 26, 28). He Himself commanded the apostles, and through them the entire Church, to do this. “Do this,” He said, “in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). But He would not have commanded to do this if He did not want to give us strength so that we could do it. What is this force? The Holy Spirit is the power that armed the apostles from above in accordance with what the Lord said to them: “But you sit in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from above” (Luke 24:49). This is the work of That descent, for, having once descended, He did not leave us, but remains with us and will always be. That is why the Savior sent Him, so that He may be with you forever, “The Spirit of truth, which the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him, but knows Him; but you know Him, because He abides in you and will be in you” (John 14:17). It is he who performs the sacraments with the hands and tongue of the priests. And not only did the Lord send us the Holy Spirit to remain with us, but the Lord Himself promised to be with us until the end of the age. But the Comforter is with us invisibly, because he does not wear a body; and the Lord is seen and allows Himself to be touched in the terrible and sacred Mysteries, because He has accepted and bears our nature forever. Such is the sanctifying power, such is the Priest: having once offered Himself and being sacrificed, He did not cease from sanctification, but continually performs this service for us and therefore is our eternal Intercessor before God, for which reason it was said to Him: “You are a Priest forever” (Ps. 109:4). Therefore, regarding the consecration of gifts and other sacraments, the faithful have no doubt, although they are performed at the suggestion and prayers of the priests. Enough about this. 29. About what the Latins reproach us regarding this, and the answer to their reproaches Regarding this, some Latins blame us. They say that after the words of the Lord: “Take, eat” (Matthew 26:26) and so on, no prayer is needed to consecrate the gifts, since they have already been accomplished by the word of the Lord. Therefore, whoever, after pronouncing these words, calls the gifts bread and wine and continues to pray for their consecration, as if they had not yet been consecrated, they say, besides suffering from unbelief, he is doing a vain and unnecessary thing. And that gifts are sanctified precisely by these words, they say that Blessed Chrysostom testifies to this, saying: just as that creative word: “grow and multiply” (Gen. 1:28) was spoken by God once, but always acts, so this word, spoken by the Savior once, acts at all times. So, those who rely more on their prayer than on the word of the Lord, firstly, condemn Him in weakness: secondly, they seem to trust themselves more; and, thirdly, such a thing as a sacrament is made dependent on a questionable matter, on human prayer, and, while one must undoubtedly believe in it, they question it. In this case, the one praying does not need to listen, even if in his virtue he was like Paul. But all this is not difficult to resolve. And, firstly, we must begin with those words of the divine John on which the Latins are based. Let us assume that this word has the power of the Creative word, but let us delve into it. God says: “Grow and multiply.” So what? After this word, do we no longer need anything else? And we don’t need anything else for reproduction? Or is marriage, matrimony and other concerns also required, without which the human race cannot exist and spread? Consequently, just as there we consider marriage necessary for the birth of children, and then again we pray for the marriage itself and by this we do not think of disparaging the Creative Word, knowing that it, of course, is the cause of birth, but through marriage, through food and through much else, so here we believe that the word of the Lord itself performs the sacrament, but precisely through the priest, through his intercession and prayer, for it acts not just through everything and not somehow, but much is required, without which it will have no effect. Who does not know that the death of Christ is the only means that brought remission of sins to the world? But we also know that after His death faith, repentance, confession, and prayers of priests are needed; and a person cannot be freed from sins unless all these actions precede it. So what? Do we disparage that death and recognize it as weak when we think that what it has accomplished will not be enough if we do not bring in what is needed on our part? No. Therefore, it is unfair to condemn those who pray for gifts. Moreover, those who rely on prayer do not rely on themselves, but on God, who has promised to bestow through prayer; the very meaning of prayer points to this. For when praying, those praying express that they do not hope to receive what they ask for on their own, but believe that they will receive it only from God. Such is the cry of a person praying when, having abandoned himself, he resorts to God, because, not recognizing the strength in himself, he entrusts everything to Him alone. It is not mine, he says, this is not my business, not my power: You are the only one who can, I entrust everything to You, especially when we pray for a supernatural subject and something that exceeds everything, such as the Mysteries. Then it is absolutely necessary for those who pray to rely on God alone, because a person not instructed by God is not able to even think about this, without His inspiration he cannot even wish for it, without hope for the truthfulness of the Promised One, he cannot hope to receive it; so that no one would dare to pray for such objects if He Himself had not undoubtedly shown that He wants them to pray for this, and that He is ready to grant it to those who ask. Therefore, the prayer here is undoubted and its purpose is obvious, since the giving Lord Himself has shown in every possible way what He wants to give. This is why we believe in the consecration of the Mysteries through the prayer of a priest, relying on it not as some human prayer, but as the power of God, and not because a person prays, but because God listens; not because they beg Him, but because the Truth promised to give through prayer. And that Christ showed that He is always ready to bestow this grace, there is nothing to say about that. For this reason He came to earth, sacrificed Himself and died, for this purpose there were altars and priests, and all cleansing, and all the commandments, and instructions, and admonitions, to offer us this meal; because He said that He desired that Easter (Luke 22:15), because He then intended to teach His disciples the true Easter; therefore He commanded us to do this in remembrance of Him, because He wanted us to always perform it sacredly. What other doubt can those who pray have regarding what they ask for, if, on the one hand, they hope to receive what they ask for, and if, on the other hand, the One who can give wants to give? So, those who believe that gifts are sanctified by prayer, just as they do not despise the words of the Savior and do not rely on themselves, so they do not make the sacrament dependent on a dubious matter, such as human prayer, as the Latins in vain accuse us of. For the all-holy myrrh, which, according to the words of Blessed Dionysius, is one with Divine communion, is accomplished and sanctified by prayer; and the pious have no doubt at all that it has perfecting and sanctifying power. In the same way, the ordination of a priest and bishop is celebrated through prayer, for it is said: let us pray for him, that the grace of the All-Holy Spirit may come upon him, as the one who ordains the clergy calls upon the laying on of hands. And in the Latin Church, the ordination of a priest is performed in such a way that after pouring a libation of peace on the head of the person being ordained, the celebrant of the sacrament prays for the descent of the abundant grace of the Holy Spirit upon him. In the same way, remission of sins is granted to those who repent through priestly prayer. Finally, in a similar way, through the prayer of the priests, the sacrament of oil is performed, which grants to those who receive it both healing from bodily illness and remission of sins, as the apostolic tradition says: “Is any of you sick, let him call the elders of the church and pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick one, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him” (James 5:14–15). What will those who do not approve of prayer in the sacraments say to this? If, as they say, it is not visible that prayers are performed, then in the same way it is not visible whether the one who is called by this name is a priest, it is not visible whether he can consecrate the ointment: and in this way the sacrament of holy communion cannot be performed, because in fact then there is neither a priest nor an altar, since they themselves will not say that the word of the Lord, regardless of the person and without the altar, has perfecting power. But the altar on which the bread should be placed is consecrated with myrrh, and the myrrh is sacred through prayers. In the same way: who undoubtedly gives us remission of sins, if both the priests and their prayers are doubtful? After this, the followers of their innovations have no choice but to destroy all of Christianity. It is obvious that the actions of those who think so are doubtful, and their work is dangerous if they invent something alien to the fatherly traditions, which have in themselves the guarantee of certainty. That God listens when people pray to Him, that He gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him and makes everything possible for those who turn to Him with faith, God Himself said about this, and this cannot in any way be untrue; but it is not said anywhere that anything like this should happen to those who retell only some words. Moreover, the celebration of the Mysteries by prayer was betrayed by the fathers, who received from the apostles and their disciples and everything else, as I said, and the Holy Eucharist; betrayed after many others by both Basil the Great and John Chrysostom - the great teachers of the Church; Those who contradict them should not be given an answer by those who want to be true believers. As for the fact that for the consecration of gifts the word of the Lord about the mysteries, pronounced in the form of a narrative, is sufficient, it is not clear that any of the apostles or teachers spoke about this. That once spoken by the Lord - precisely because it was spoken by Him - it, like a Creative word, always acts, this is what Blessed John also says; but that, being now pronounced by the priest, it has power because it was spoken by him, this cannot be seen from anywhere, for that Creative word acts not because in certain cases it is pronounced by some person, but because it was once spoken by the Lord. 30. That in the Latin Church the sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated in the same way What completely stops their mouths is that the Latin Church, to which they apparently refer, does not refuse to offer prayer for gifts after the word of the Lord. They forget this because they do not pray immediately after the words of the Lord and that they ask for sanctification and transfusion into the Body of the Lord in a vague manner, and use other names related to this, although they have the same power. What kind of prayer is this? “Command these gifts to ascend by the hand of an Angel to Your heavenly altar.” Let them say, what does it mean to “exalt these gifts”? They pray either for their local transfer from the earth and from the lower region to heaven, or for some special transfer: from a lowly state to a high one. But if the first thing is meant here, then what is the use for us to pray for the taking of a shrine from us, when we pray and believe that it remains with us and remains with us, and when this means that Christ remains with us until the end of the age? How they do not believe that if we recognize this as the Body of Christ, then it is with us - and heavenly, and sits at the right hand of the Father (and in what way - only He knows). How could it be most heavenly if it were not the most heavenly Body of Christ? How can he be lifted up by the hand of an Angel, when he is above every principle and authority and power and every name that is named under heaven? If they pray for a special transformation into something better, then I don’t know how great a burden of wickedness they lift when, recognizing that this is the very Body of the Lord Christ, they think that it will come to a better and holier state. From this it is clearly seen that they do not recognize bread and wine as having yet received consecration, and therefore they pray for them, because they still require prayer - they pray to ascend to them, since they still lie below, not consecrated on the heavenly altar, so that, having been placed on it, they become a sacrifice, for they need the hand of an Angel, since the lower human hierarchy, according to the words of the great Dionysius, will be helped the highest hierarchy of the Angels. So, this prayer, in relation to gifts, produces nothing more than that which transmutes them into the Body and Blood of the Lord, for by the name of that altar we must understand not some separate place in heaven where a sacrifice must be made, otherwise we would not differ much from those who say that in Jerusalem or on Mount Samaria there is a place where God must be worshiped. Since, as Blessed Paul says, “there is one... God, and one Mediator for God and men,... Jesus Christ” (1 Tim. 2:5), then everything that has the power of intercession and grants us sanctification flows from only one Savior. But how is intercession learned to us and what has the power to sanctify? The priest, the sanctified, the altar, for, according to the word of the Lord, the altar sanctifies what is sacrificed: “the altar,” He says, “is a holy gift” (Matthew 23:19). So, if He is the one who sanctifies, then the priest, the thing being sanctified, and the altar are one. That both the priest and the thing that is sanctified are one, He Himself said about this: “For them,” He says, “I sanctify Myself” (Jn. 17, 19); and as for the altar, His Holiness Dionysius testifies to this in the chapter on peace, saying: “If our most Divine altar is Jesus, the Divine sanctification of holy minds, about Him, as it is said, being sanctified and mysteriously burnt, the bringing of imams (Eph. 2:18), then we will contemplate with the most peaceful eyes that Divine altar.” It is into this heavenly altar that the priest prays to offer the gifts, that is, he prays to consecrate them, to transpose them into the most heavenly Body of the Lord, and not to give them another place, or to transfer them from earth to heaven, because even after prayer, we nevertheless see them before us. For if the altar sanctifies the gifts placed on it, then it is one and the same thing - whether to pray for the consecration of the gifts, or to place them on the altar. What kind of consecration is this by which the altar consecrates the gifts placed on it? This is the sanctification with which the One Priest Himself sanctified Himself, offering Himself to God and sacrificing itself, and since He Himself is both a Priest, and an altar, and a sacrifice, then all the expressions mean the same thing: to be sanctified by that Hiere, or to be consecrated into that sanctified, or to be placed on that heavenly altar. Therefore, if you begin to ask for any one of these three, you will ask for everything; and you have what you ask, you have made the sacrifice. Thus, your priests, contemplating Christ as something sanctified, pray for the bestowing of gifts on Him - they pray for the same thing, only in different expressions and words. Therefore, our priests, having prayed for the transfusion of gifts into the Divine Body and Blood and remembered the heavenly altar, no longer pray for the offering of gifts to it, but, since they have been raised there and received, they pray for the sending down to us of grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Let us pray, they say, for the sanctified gifts, so that they may be sanctified? No, they are already sanctified; but so that we may be sanctified by them, so that God, who sanctified them, will sanctify us through them. So, it is clear that the Latin Church does not neglect prayer for gifts after the words of the Lord, but only a few, a few and later ones, do this, who in other respects have harmed it, striving only to speak and hear something new. This is about prayer. 31. Why does the priest call to consecrate the gifts not of the Son, but of the Father But why does the priest call not the Son for the consecration of gifts, whereas He, as it is said, is both a Priest and sanctifies, but the Father? So that you know that the Savior sanctifies not as a man, but as God, according to His Divine power, which He has one with the Father. Wanting to show this, the Lord Himself, when performing the sacrament, looked up to heaven and showed the bread to the Father. For this reason, He revealed Himself in a similar way when performing some miracles - He took the form of one praying to God, in order to show that this was not a matter of human nature, for which He had a Mother on earth, but of His Divinity, for which He had God as a Father. And when He intended to ascend to the cross, then, wanting to show His two wills - Divine and human, He betrayed the will of His Divinity to the Father, and called the will of His human nature His will: “not as I will,” He said, “but as You will” (Matthew 26:39), and “not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22, 42). That He Himself wanted by the will with which He fulfilled the will of the Father is clear from these very words, where He distinguishes His will from the will of the Father, for the expression: not My will, but Thine be done, is characteristic of one who agrees and desires the same thing. He showed this when he reproached Peter, who begged Him not to go to the cross and death (Matthew 18:23); also, when he said: “I have longed to eat this Passover with you, but first I will not even accept torment” (Luke 22:15). He desired, he says, Easter before torment; as it were, I put it this way: with desire I desired to see the preparation for My suffering. Enough about this. 32. About the sacrifice itself and about what the sacrifice is made over Regarding the victim itself, we need to consider the following. Since sacrifice is not a type of sacrifice and not an image of blood, but truly slaughter and sacrifice, we examine what is sacrificed - is it bread or the Body of the Lord, that is, when the gifts become a sacrifice: is it before consecration or after consecration? If bread is sacrificed, then, firstly, how can bread be a sacrifice? And, secondly, the sacrament consists not in seeing the bread being killed, but in seeing the Lamb, who by His slaughter takes away the sin of the world. If we say that the holy Body of the Lord is being sacrificed, then this is all the more impossible, because, as already indestructible and immortal, it cannot be stabbed or wounded. Even if it were possible for something like this to happen, then in this case there would have to be crucifiers and everything else should join together to make that sacrifice, since it is assumed that this is not a type of slaughter, but a true slaughter. Further, how did Christ once die and, having risen, no longer die, once suffer at the fulfillment of the ages and, as it is said, “being offered in one to bear the sins of many” (Heb. 9:28), when He is sacrificed every time during the performance of the sacraments and every time He dies? What can I say to this? The sacrifice is made not before the consecration of the bread, and not after its consecration, but in the consecration itself, for it is necessary to fully observe the teaching of faith about it, without omitting anything. What kind of teaching do I mean? That this sacrifice is not an image or type of sacrifice, but a true sacrifice, that it was not bread that was sacrificed, but the very Body of Christ, and, moreover, that the sacrifice of the Lamb of God was completed only once. And first of all, let's look at the ritual: is it a real sacrifice or just a semblance of it? Just as when a sheep is sacrificed, it turns from one that was not at all slain into one that was slain, so it happens here too, that is, the unsacrificial bread is then turned into a sacrifice, since from the unslaughtered bread it turns into the very Body of the Lord, truly slain. Consequently, just as a change in a sheep makes it a true sacrifice, so here, through this change, a true sacrifice is made, for the bread is not changed into the form of slaughter, but into the slaughter itself, into the very Body of the Lord, sacrificed. But if bread were sacrificed as bread, then the bread would also be slaughtered, and then the sacrifice of bread would be slaughtered. And since in both respects a change took place in him: from a non-sacrifice he became a sacrifice, and from bread - the Body of Christ, then this slaughter, contemplated not in the bread, but as if in the present Body of Christ, is and is called the sacrifice not of bread, but of the Lamb of God. It is clear that if we assume this, then there will be no need to think that there are many offerings of the Body of the Lord, for since this sacrifice is not accomplished through the slaughter of the Lamb at that time, but through the breaking of the bread into the slain Lamb, then it is clear that then there is a transformation, but there is no slaughter, and thus the offering is repeated many times and the transformation is performed often, and nothing prevents that into which it is broken from being one and the same; and just as the Body is one, so the slaughter of the Body is one. 33. About prayers after the sacrifice and why the saints are remembered here, especially the Most Holy (Mother of God) After the sacrifice is completed, the priest, seeing the pledge of God's love for mankind that is set before him - His Lamb, accepting him as an Intercessor and having with him the Comforter, expresses his offerings before God, pours out prayer with good and firm hope and prays that the prayers that he brought for those whom he remembered, offering bread, and for whom he made preliminary petitions, with which he brought gifts and asked to accept them, so that they, having been accepted, were fulfilled in practice. What kind of prayers? Common both for the living and for those who have departed, so that God, who has accepted the gifts in return, would send His grace, in particular to those who have departed - the repose of souls and the inheritance of the Kingdom with the glorified saints, and to the living - the communion of the holy meal, sanctification, freedom from all condemnation, remission of sins, peace, fertility, receiving what is necessary and, finally, so that they appear before God worthy of the Kingdom. Since the very offering of a sacrifice is not only a prayerful action, but also a grateful one, just as at the beginning of the sacrament the priest, dedicating the gifts brought to God, expressed both gratitude and petition, so now, after the sacrifice and consecration of the gifts, he thanks God for them and adds a petition, at the same time setting out the incentives for gratitude and indicating the subject of prayer. What are these motivations for gratitude? These, as was said before, are saints, for in them the Church found what it asked for and received what it prayed for - the Kingdom of Heaven. And what is the subject of the Church’s petitions? These are those who have not yet achieved perfection and need her prayer. And about the Saints she says: we also offer thee a verbal service about those who have died in the faith: the Fathers, the Forefathers, the Patriarchs, the Prophets, the Evangelists, the Apostles, the Confessors, the abstinents, and about every soul who has passed away in the faith, about the Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Lady of our Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, and then lists all host of Saints. They constitute an incentive for the Church to thank God; for them she offers this verbal service, as gratitude to God, and especially before all others for the Blessed Mother of God, as the highest of all holiness. Therefore, the priest does not ask for anything regarding them, but rather prays for them to help him with their prayers: because he does for them, as it is said, not a prayerful, but a grateful offering of Gifts. After this, he expresses a request and, listing those for whom he asks, prays to grant everyone salvation and the benefit corresponding to each; By the way, he also says the following: we also offer this verbal service to You about the universe and about the holy catholic and apostolic Church, about those who live in honest life, about our rulers; and prays about it. Thus, Blessed John, meaning that this sacred service has two sides: gratitude and supplication, gives special regard to those for whom he thanks, and especially to those for whom he prays. But the divine Basil combines thanksgiving with petition and does this throughout the liturgy; so that you will find that almost all his prayers have both powers. Thus, he remembers the Saints whom Saint John lists, and in the same place of sacred rites, but in a different way, for, praying that everyone may be worthy of communion of the Mysteries not in judgment or condemnation, he adds: “but may we find grace with all the saints from the ages who have pleased You, forefathers, fathers, patriarchs,” etc.; then - “pretty much about the Most Holy One.” However, these words, although they contain a petition, also express thanksgiving and preach a God who benefits the human race; in them the priest remembers the glorified. To them and sanctified people, saying as it were: grant us the grace that you previously bestowed on the saints; sanctify us, as you sanctified your only begotten with us before. 34. About how the priest prays for the Holy Gifts to himself and what he commands the faithful to pray for Having prayed for what everyone needs, the priest also prays for himself, so that he can also receive sanctification from the Gifts. Какое освящение? Forgiveness of sins, for this is the first action of these Gifts. Where can you see this? From the words of the Lord, which He spoke to the apostles, pointing to the bread: “This is My Body, broken for you for the remission of sins,” just like the cup. “Remember, Lord,” he says, “and my unworthiness, forgive me every sin, voluntary or involuntary, and for the sake of sins, not mine, withhold the grace of the Holy Spirit from the Gifts that are presented.” May the Holy Spirit grant remission of sins to those who partake of these Gifts. This grace, he says, may not be withheld from the holy Gifts for the sake of my sins, for grace acts in two ways in honest Gifts: one way is because they are sanctified by it; the other - because through them she sanctifies us. No human iniquities can hinder the first method of the action of grace in the Gifts, but since their sanctification is not a matter of human virtue, human iniquities cannot in the least hinder it. But the second also requires our efforts, and therefore meets an obstacle in our negligence. For grace sanctifies us through the Gifts if it finds us capable of sanctification; if it meets us unprepared, it will not bring any benefit and will cause countless harm. For this grace - whether it be the remission of sins only or at the same time another gift given to people who partake of this sacred supper with a clear conscience - the priest prays that it will not be withheld from the Gifts, since it can be withheld by human depravity. A little later he performs this prayer together with all the people. Having asked everyone for unanimity, so that with one mouth and one heart he could glorify God, and to those who are so disposed, proclaiming the mercies of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, after that he really commands to pray to God for what he himself prayed for, calling on all the saints to intercede, for this means remembering all the saints - calling on them, praying to them. And what does he say? Let us pray to the Lord for the sanctified Gifts, not so that they receive sanctification - that is why I called them sanctified, so that no one would think this - but so that they communicate it to us, for this is what the words of the prayer mean: “For God, the Lover of mankind, accept me, and bestow upon us grace.” Let us pray, he says, about Darech, so that they begin to act in us, so that they are not powerless to communicate this grace, just as the omnipotent Body of the Lord, while He was dealing with people, in some cities could not perform miracles because of their unbelief. When in this way he proclaims this to the people, then he himself secretly prays, begging God for people, so that with a clear conscience they would partake of the terrible Mysteries and enjoy this sacred meal for the forgiveness of sins, for the communion of the Holy Spirit, for the inheritance of the Kingdom, not for judgment or condemnation. Then, having asked everyone for help and protection from God, he commands them to pray to spend the whole day perfectly, holy, peacefully and sinlessly, having as their guardian the Angel of Peace, a faithful mentor, since there is an angel of lies to whom it is not safe to entrust oneself. We pray for a Guardian Angel not so that he would be given to us at that time, for an Angel was given to every believer from the very beginning, but so that he would act and do his job, preserve us and guide us on the right path and not retreat from us, indignant at our sins. Moreover, the priest commands us to ask for forgiveness of sins and all that is good and beneficial to our souls and peace in the world, and, moreover, security for the future, in order to spend the rest of our life in peace and repentance so that the end of life is decent for Christians. Then, having asked for the unity of faith and the communion of the Holy Spirit, he commands us to surrender ourselves and each other and our whole lives to God. And what the unity of faith and the communion of the Holy Spirit means and why we pray for this here has been said more than once in detail. 35. About prayer dedicated to God, and about bowing the heads, and about the following thanksgiving and petition to God, and glorification After the priest instructs in this way and confirms (the faithful) in goodness from everywhere, he prays to God that they, as already perfect and made worthy of Divine sonhood, will be worthy to pray with boldness that prayer in which we dare to call Him Father. And when everyone prays this prayer with him, he concludes it by shouting a praise to God at the end. Then he asks for peace for everyone. But, having reminded them with that prayer of their high birth and calling God Father, he then commands them to recognize Him as Lord and express slavery before Him, and bow their heads to Him, and with this outward appearance confess slavery. And everyone bows them down, not only as by nature the Lord and Creator and God, but also as unbought slaves to the One who redeemed them with the Blood of the Only Begotten (Son), through which He purchased us as His doubly slaves and at the same time made us sons, for the same Blood both strengthened and increased our slavery, and was the cause of adoption. When everyone bows their heads, the priest, having silently given thanks to God for the creation of everything, asks for what is useful to everyone, and remembers before Him the name of the Only Begotten Son, His grace and love for mankind, in the hope of receiving through what we ask, according to the Divine promise of the Savior Himself, as He said: whatever you ask from the Father in My name, He will give it to you (John 16:23). Then, adding a doxology aloud to the people ahead, he glorifies the Most Holy Trinity and, when the people take part in the doxology, he again turns to himself and secretly, silently, prays. When he prays, he calls on Christ Himself, the Sacrifice, the Priest, the Bread, so that through him He might give Himself to the slaves. 36. About what the priest shouts to the people, offering the holy gifts, and about what the people shout in response to him Then he intends to start himself and invite others to the meal; but since not everyone, without distinction, is allowed to partake of the sacraments, he does not call everyone, but, taking and showing the life-giving bread, he calls to communion those who are worthy to partake of it: Holy One, he says, to the saints. He seems to say this: this is the bread of life that you see; hurry to receive communion, but not everyone, but only those who are holy, because the holy is allowed only to the saints. Here he calls saints not only those who are perfect in virtue, but also all those who strive for that perfection, although they have not yet achieved it. And nothing prevents us from being sanctified through Communion of the Holy Mysteries and in this regard being holy, just as the whole Church is called Holy, and the blessed Apostle, writing to all the people in general, says: Holy brethren, partakers of the title of heaven (Heb. 3:1). They are called saints for the sake of the Holy One, with whom they have communion and whose Body and Blood they partake, for they are members of His Body, flesh of His flesh and bone of His bones. So, while we are united with Him and maintain a connection, we live a holy life, extracting sanctification from That head and heart through the sacraments. When we separate ourselves and fall away from the integrity of the all-holy Body, then we accept the sacred sacraments without benefit, because life will not pass on to the dead and severed members. What is it that cuts off these members from the holy Body? Your sins, it is said, separate me and you (Isa. 59:2). So what? Does every sin make a person dead? No, but only sin leading to death, which is why it is called sin leading to death, since, according to Blessed John, there is sin and not leading to death (1 John 5:16). Therefore, those initiated into the sacraments, if they have not committed such sins as separate them from Christ and cause death, nothing prevents, through Communion of the sacraments, from being participants in sanctification both in deed and in name, since they are still living members and united with the Head. Therefore, to the exclamation of the priest: Holy of Holies, the faithful cry out in response: there is only one holy, the Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of the Father, since no one has sanctification on his own, and it is not a matter of human virtue, but everything is from Him and through Him. And just as when many mirrors are placed in the sun, they all shine and emit rays in such a way that it seems as if you see many suns, and, however, in fact, one sun is reflected in all of them, so the One Holy One, pouring out into the faithful, although he appears in many souls and shows many to be saints, nevertheless, One alone is holy, and, moreover, holy to the glory of the Father. For no one glorified God with the glory befitting Him, which is why He said, reproaching the Jews: if I am God, then where is My glory? But the Only Begotten One gave Him due glory, which is why He said, approaching His suffering: I have glorified You on earth (John 17:4). How did He glorify? Not otherwise than by showing people His sanctification - by appearing to the saints, just as the Father Himself is holy. For if we imagine God to be the Father of this Holy One, the lordship of the Son is the glory of the Father; or we will appear as God according to humanity (the Savior), - the dignity or virtue of the creature is, of course, the glory of the Creator. 37. What does warm water poured into the Mysteries mean? Having thus called the faithful to the sacred supper, the priest himself is the first to partake of it, together with all those who have the same degree as him and with all those who serve the altar; but first he pours warm water into the chalice to signify the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Church. Then the Spirit descended at the end of the Savior’s economy, and now it descends after the offering of sacrifice and after the consecration of gifts on those who worthily partake of them. Since in the sacred sacrament of the Eucharist the entire economy of Christ is depicted on bread, as on a board, for we, as if in an image, contemplate Christ as a baby, and led to death, and crucified, and pierced in the side, and then we see this very bread laid into that all-holy Body, which really suffered all this and was resurrected, and ascended, and sits at the right hand of the Father, it was necessary, so that after all this, the purpose for which all this was done would be indicated, so that the sacrament would be fully accomplished, through the application of the end to the entire work of building our salvation. For what is the fruit and end of Christ's sufferings, teachings and works? If we consider them in relation to us, then they are none other than the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Church. Therefore, after that it was necessary to signify this (descent). And it is really signified by the pouring of warm water into the Mysteries, for this water, being at the same time both water and a partaker of fire, signifies the Holy Spirit, who is also called water (John 7:38), and as fire appeared at the time when it descended on the disciples of Christ. And this time (when the water is poured in) means that time, for then the Spirit descended after the fulfillment of everything pertaining to Christ, and now this water is poured in after the completion of the gifts. And the Mysteries also mean the Church, since it is the body of Christ and in part (1 Cor. 12:27). Then she received the Holy Spirit after Christ’s ascension into heaven, and now she receives the gift of the Holy Spirit after receiving the gifts on the heavenly altar, because God, who received them in their place, as said above, sends Him down to us, for there is one and the same Mediator both then and now, and one and the same Spirit. 38. How the Mysteries signify the Church And the Church is indicated by the Mysteries not as symbols, but as the members are indicated by the heart, as by the roots of a tree - branches and, as the Lord said, as by a vine - branches, for here there is not only the sameness of name and not the similarity of likeness, but the identity of the deed, since the Mysteries are the Body and Blood of Christ. For the Church of Christ they are true food and drink, and by partaking of them, it does not transform them into the human body, like some other food, but itself turns into them, because the best overpowers the worst. Likewise, iron, having communicated with fire, itself becomes fire, and it is not fire that makes iron. And just as in red-hot iron we usually see not iron, but fire, because the properties of iron are completely covered by fire, so if someone could see the Church of Christ in the very form in which it is united with Christ and participates in His flesh, then he would see it as nothing other than the Body of the Lord. For this reason, Paul writes: you are the body of Christ and you are in part (1 Cor. 12:27). Not in order to signify Christ’s care for us, His nurture and guidance and our submission to Him, Paul called Him Head, and us – Body, just as we, to put it more forcefully, call relatives or friends sons, but to express exactly what he said, namely, that the faithful through this blood are already living life in Christ, truly united with that Head and clothed with this Body. Therefore, there is nothing unnatural in the fact that the Church is signified here by the Mysteries. 39. About the invitation of the faithful to Communion and about what the faithful proclaim when the gifts are revealed When the priest receives communion of the holy thing, he turns to the people and, having shown the holy (gifts), calls those who wish to receive communion and commands them to approach with the fear of God and faith, so that they do not neglect (the sacrament) for the sake of what we see in it, and do not doubt it because what we believe in surpasses our understanding, but, realizing the dignity of the holy gifts, since they bring life to the communicants eternal, - they approached them with faith. And the faithful, expressing reverence and faith, worship, bless, and glorify, as God, Jesus, Whom they represent in gifts, and in order to make the doxology more solemn, they compose it from the prophetic words: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! God is the Lord, and appear to us. I have come, says (the Lord), in the name of My Father, and you do not receive Me; If anyone comes in his own name, you will accept him. Glorifying the Father is the sign of the true Master, this is the sign of the Only Begotten; and conceit and retreat (from the Father) are the sign of a runaway slave. Knowing this and understanding the difference between a good shepherd and a wolf, the prophet from ancient times blesses the Coming One in the name of the Lord, calling the Father Lord, and at the same time calls the One who appeared Himself God. With these same words the faithful also bless the Christ who is now coming and appearing to them. 40. About the prayer that the priest says for the faithful after their Communion Then the priest asks God for salvation and blessings for the participants of the Mysteries. What kind of prayer? Save, O God, Your people and bless Your inheritance. And these are the words of the prophet (Ps. 27:9). In a similar way, the same prophet speaks in another place from the person of God to the Son: I will give Thee the tongues of Thy inheritance, and Thy possession the ends of the earth (Ps. 2:8). For what the Son, as God, had from the beginning, as man, he inherited subsequently. Why, when He is our Creator, does the priest not say: Bless Your works, of which You Yourself are the Creator, but: Your heritage? In order to better implore Him through a reminder of the poverty with which He became poor because of us. For those, he says, I pray, because of whom You suffered to be among the slaves, and to accept the commandment, and to stand along with those who accepted, while You have everything, and to be called an heir, while nothing can be added to Your possession. On the other hand, a reminder of God’s more perfect appropriation of us more strongly disposes Him to mercy. And appropriation by inheritance is much more perfect than appropriation by creation, and (the Lord) acquired us much better by inheritance than he previously had by creation. By creation, He owned only human nature, and by inheritance He became the Lord of reason and will, which constitutes true dominion over people, and this is common to us with dumb and inanimate creatures, since by nature everything is subject to God, just as creation is subject to the Creator. How, by inheritance, did He become the Lord of reason and will? This is because when He descended to earth and was crucified and resurrected, we subjugated our mind and will to Him: mind, because we recognized Him as the true God and Creator of all creation, will, because we loved Him and His dominion and joyfully carried His yoke on our shoulders. So completely God accepted people, so truly gained them! From ancient times the prophet Isaiah desired this acquisition and therefore said: Lord our God, acquire us (Isaiah 26:13). This is the property that is said to have been received by the Only Begotten from the Father. 41. About the next thanksgiving and doxology Here the entire sacred rite is concluded and the sacrament of the Divine Eucharist ends, for now the gifts have already been consecrated and consecrated the priest and the entire sacred face, and through them the rest of the assembly of the Church was performed and consecrated. Therefore, both the priest himself and the faithful around him now turn to thanksgiving and glorification of God. The priest says: Blessed is God always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, Amen, and the people sing a song of praise, borrowing it from the words of the prophets: may our lips be filled with Thy praise, O Lord, for let us sing of Thy glory (Ps. 70:8). We cannot, Lord, say (the faithful), even bring You a song for the blessings that You have vouchsafed to us, but You grant this too. How? Filling our lips with praise. Just as You give prayer to those who pray, so that we know what and how to ask for, so for Your glorification, grant strength to our lips. Then they ask that, with the assistance of His help, they preserve intact the sanctification that they have received, and not change the grace and not destroy the gift. Preserve us in Your sanctuary - us who do what? (For assistance is also needed on our part): all the day long will they learn Thy righteousness. Righteousness (here) refers to the wisdom and love of God contemplated in prayers, as Paul explained: I am not ashamed, he says, of the gospel of God, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed in all and on all who believe (Rom. 3:22). Thinking about this truth can preserve sanctification in us, for it increases faith in God, ignites love, and does not allow anything bad to enter the soul. Consequently, it was not in vain that we said above that without thoughts corresponding to the sacraments it is impossible for sanctification to be and remain in us. 42. About the dead, namely, whether they are sanctified from the gifts of the meal, like the living In addition to what has been said, it is necessary to investigate this too. It is known that the Divine and sacred sacrament sanctifies in two ways: firstly, through intercession, since the gifts offered, by the very fact that they are offered, sanctify those who bring them and those for whom they are offered, and appease God in relation to them; secondly, through Communion, because they are true food and drink for us, according to the word of the Lord. Of these methods, the first is common to both the living and the dead, for a sacrifice is made for both; and the second is accessible only to the living, because the dead can no longer eat and drink. So what? Is this why the dead are not sanctified by this consecration from Communion and, in this regard, have less of the living? No, for Christ teaches Himself to them as He knows Himself. And so that this can be seen, let us consider what sanctification depends on and whether the souls of the dead also have this, like the living. What does sanctification depend on: does it depend on the fact that we have a body, that we come to the table with our feet, that we take holy gifts with our hands, that we receive them with our lips, that we eat and drink? No, for many who had all this and who thus approached the sacraments did not receive any benefit from it and departed, having suffered greater evil. So what is the reason for sanctification for those being sanctified? And what does Christ require of us? This is purity of soul, love for God, faith, desire for the sacrament, zeal for Communion, ardent zeal and the fact that we come with thirst. This is how this sanctification is acquired and what is necessary for those who come to become partakers of Christ, without which it is impossible (sanctification). But all this does not relate to the body, but depends on the soul alone. Consequently, nothing prevents the souls of the dead from having this, like the living. Therefore, if souls have a readiness and disposition for the sacrament, and the Lord, Who sanctified and performed (it), always wants to sanctify and wants to teach Himself every time, then what can prevent communion? Obviously nothing. In this case, someone will say, if anyone among the living has in his soul those good qualities that we spoke about, then even if he does not approach the sacraments, he will nevertheless receive sanctification from them? Not everyone, but only those who, like the souls of the dead, cannot approach them bodily, such as were those who wandered in deserts, in mountains, dens and clefts of the earth, for whom it was impossible to see the altar and the priest. Christ Himself obviously sanctified these people with this sanctification. How can this be seen? From the fact that they had life in themselves, and they would not have had it if they had not partaken of this sacrament, for Christ Himself said: unless you have eaten the flesh of the Son of man and drunk His blood, you have not life in you (John 6:53), and in commemoration of this he sent angels with gifts to many of these saints. If someone can, but will not begin to eat, it is completely impossible for him to receive consecration, not because he simply does not begin, but because he can, but does not begin, and through this shows that in his soul there are no those good qualities that are needed for the sacraments. What kind of diligence and desire to start a meal does someone have, really, who can easily start it and doesn’t want to? What faith in God does one have who is not afraid of the threat contained in the words of the Lord to all who despise this supper? And how can you trust the love of someone who, having the opportunity to take, does not take? Why is there nothing unusual in the fact that Christ teaches this meal to souls estranged from the body, whom he could not blame for any of these shortcomings? What is extraordinary and wonderful is that man, who is corruptible, has an incorruptible body, and that the soul, an immortal being, partakes of the most appropriate image of that which is immortal. What's surprising about this? If (the Lord), out of inexpressible love for mankind and incomprehensible wisdom, found how to accomplish what is unusual and wonderful, then how can one not believe that He does what is probable and natural? 43. That sanctification is mainly communicated to the soul of the communicant After all, even among those who still live in the body, the gift, although communicated through the body, initially enters the being of the soul and passes through the soul to the body. This is what the blessed apostle points to when he says: cleave unto the Lord; there is one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), since this unity and conjugation occurs mainly in the soul. For there is actually a person there; there is sanctification from virtues and from human effort; there is also that which sins and that needs to be healed by gifts. As for the body, everything in it comes from the soul. And just as it is desecrated from evil thoughts emanating from the heart, so from there comes sanctification to it, sanctification both from virtue and from the sacraments. And sometimes physical illnesses occur, the cause of which lies in the evil nature of the soul. To show this, the Savior restored the body from illness by healing the soul of the sick person, that is, resolving it from sins. So, if even to receive sanctification the soul does not need the body, but, on the contrary, the body needs the soul, then what advantage from the sacrament do souls united with the body have in comparison with those who are freed from it? That they see a priest and receive gifts from him? But they also have an eternal Priest, who is all this for them. Who administers the sacrament even from the living to those who truly receive. For not everyone to whom the priest gives communion truly receives communion, but, undoubtedly, only those to whom Christ Himself gives it. The priest teaches to everyone, including those who come, and Christ teaches to those worthy of communion. Hence it is clear that He who fulfills souls through the sacrament and sanctifies both the living and the dead is the Savior Himself alone. And from all that has been said, it becomes obvious that everything that only relates to this sacred action is common to both the living and the dead, for what is the cause of sanctification, consisting in the good qualities of the soul, is characteristic of both, and that by which sanctification is primarily and actually accepted is one and the same, and the sanctifying priest is the same. There is only one thing that those living in the body have that those who have departed do not have, namely, that (among the living) there are also unworthy. Such, apparently, are sanctified, since they receive gifts with their lips, and there it is impossible for one who has not been prepared to receive communion only to the worthy. But this does not add anything to the sanctification of the living, but, on the contrary, subjects them to extreme punishment and therefore is far from being an advantage for the living. Moreover, and from the following consideration, it becomes obvious that for those souls it is not only possible and unhindered, but also necessary, to receive the Holy Gifts. If there was something else that brought joy and peace to those souls, then this would be a reward for integrity for the worthy, and they would not necessarily need this meal. But meanwhile, every pleasure and bliss - whether we call it paradise, or the bosom of Abraham, or a place free from all sorrow and illness, a bright, green and cool place, or the kingdom itself - (all this) brings to those who are there nothing more than this cup and this bread. For this is (our) Intercessor and Forerunner for us into the holy, Who alone leads to the Father, alone is the Sun of souls, Who now appears and communicates Himself as He willed, a prisoner of the flesh, and then He will be seen and give Himself in communion without coverings, when we see Him, as (Scripture) says, as He is (1 Cor. 13:12), when He gathers (the righteous), as the corpse gathers the eagles when it girds itself and forces them to lie down; it will come and serve them when it shines on the clouds, and through Him the righteous will shine like the sun. Whoever is not united with Him, as the (holy) meal usually unites, is completely impossible to achieve peace or receive any benefit - great or small. He is the Intercessor through whom all blessings are given to us from God, or better yet, are always given. For not only did He intercede for us once and did not retreat after He had provided us with everything for which He interceded, but He always intercedes; not with words and petitions, as ordinary intercessors do, but with deeds. What's the matter? The fact that He unites (us) with Himself and through Himself communicates His grace to everyone according to his dignity and according to the measure of purity. And just as light through itself makes it possible for those who see to see, and those who do not have light will not see, so souls need to be in constant communion with Christ if they want to fully live and rest. For even an eye without light cannot see, and it is impossible for souls without Christ to have true life and peace, since He alone reconciles with God, produces that peace, without which there is no true hope for the enemies of God to participate in any of the good things of God. Consequently, whoever either did not first unite with Christ, or, having united, did not remain in unity, is still an enemy (of God) and a stranger to Divine blessings. For what reconciled God with human nature? Of course, that He saw His Beloved Son as a man. Thus, He is reconciled with every person who puts on the image of the Only Begotten, bears His body and is one spirit with Him. And without this, everyone in himself is an old man, hated by God, having nothing in common with Him. Therefore, if one must believe that souls receive peace from the prayers of priests and from the offering of holy gifts, then one must first believe that this happens in the very way in which it is possible for a person to receive peace. And what this method is has already been said: it is to be reconciled with God and not be His enemy. How to do this? One must unite with God and become one spirit with the Beloved; in whom alone the Father was well pleased. And this is the work of the holy meal, which, as can be seen from what has been said, is common to both the living and the dead. 45. That the sanctification of the dead is complete However, in relation to the sanctification of souls, those free from the body have some advantage over those living in the body. It is they who are cleansed and receive remission of sins, through the prayers of the priests and through the intercession of the gifts, no less than the living, but they do not sin at all and do not add new crimes to the previous ones, as happens with the majority of the living, but are only either completely freed from all guilt, or at least constantly reduce the severity of sins and, thus, for the Communion of the Savior they are more ready and capable not only of the majority of those living in the body, but also of themselves, if they were in the body. And the very fact that they are free from the body makes them much more capable of receiving the Sacraments than was possible when they were clothed with the body. Since there are many different mansions in heaven, so that every measure of virtue is rewarded and nothing is left without retribution from the righteous and humane Judge, then, just as those worthy of the greatest rewards, and the perfect, and heirs of complete bliss, for example, Paul and others like him, enjoy this bliss more purer when they are separated from the body than when they were in the present life, so those who are destined for ordinary rest, naturally, better enjoy it according to departing from here than during life in the body. And it has already been shown that every peace of souls and every reward for virtue - both great and small - is nothing other than this bread and this cup, of which the race of the living and the race of the dead equally partake, each in its own way. That is why the Lord called the delight of the saints in the next century supper, in order to show that there is nothing more than this meal. Thus, the Divine celebration of the Eucharist occurs for the departed as well as for the living. And just as these latter are sanctified, as has been said, in a twofold way, so in the same way those who have migrated are sanctified in this respect no less than the living, but in some way even more. 46. How these gifts are always acceptable to God Now let's look at this in order. That all the faithful are sanctified by this sacrament is clear from what has been said; but is it always worth exploring? Since this sacred act is the offering of gifts, and gifts are not always acceptable to God, but sometimes, due to the malice of those who bring them, they are hated and rejected, as there is much evidence for this both among the ancients and among those living under grace, then let us examine whether it sometimes happens that these gifts are sacredly performed in vain, because they are not consecrated according to the promise of the sacrament, as gifts that are not pleasing to God, since they are not always brought good people, but sometimes evil people. And that God turns away even these gifts when the one who brings them is wicked is clear from the fact that the Church acts this way. For whom she knows mortal sins, she does not allow them to bring these gifts and, if they dare (to bring), she does not accept them and drives them away along with the gifts. But since the Church does not know all of these well, but many are unknown to her and their gifts are accepted by the Divine Table, then what should we think about these gifts? Does God really not accept them, and are they alien to all sanctification? But if we agree with this, then it becomes unknown when the gifts are holy, since the properties of those who bring them are for the most part doubtful or completely unknown to us, and, in this case, the faithful, doubting and approaching the sacraments without faith, of necessity, do not receive any benefit from them. What needs to be said to this? The fact that the offering of gifts is twofold: one from the one who brings them from himself into the hands of the priests, the other from the Church to God. The first offering, when the one who brings it is wicked, is vain and does not bring any benefit to the offerer, because he is wicked, for the gifts offered are not in themselves abominable before God, since every creation of God is good. But the second offering, which comes from good people, for the sake of the glory of God and the saints, for the sake of the salvation of the universe and for the sake of any just request in general, nothing prevents it from being favorable. No defilement passes onto the gifts from the hands of the one who first brought them, but they remain pure and, being offered by pure people, are sanctified and sanctify those who approach. For in nothing unreasonable or inanimate can any impurity of sin be contained: sin is a disease of freedom, and only rational beings are capable of being defiled by sin. So what? If gifts brought by vicious people are always pure, then why does the law of the Church not accept them? In order to enlighten those who offer, so that they know what great wrath of God threatens them if the Lord turns away and hates His creatures, who are not guilty of anything and, knowing this, were afraid and corrected their lives. The gifts themselves are not condemned for any lack, and therefore nothing prevents them from being accepted and consecrated when the second offering is made by good people. But not all, someone will say, the offering priests are good people, but some also suffer from diseases of extreme depravity, and this again leads us to the same bewilderment. For when it happens that those and other offerings are hated by God (and this happens), then where will the opportunity appear in the gifts to be pleasing and pleasing to God, and holy, and sanctifying? Out of nowhere. On the contrary, then they are truly objectionable. In any case, there is doubt about them, because we are not sure of the properties of the people who bring them and perform them. No one, says Scripture, knows with certainty what is in a person except the spirit living in him. Thus, there is a lot of unbelief and doubt regarding the sacrament, but no certainty, and Communion of the holy gifts will not bring any benefit to the faithful, because they receive communion without faith. So, perhaps, those who think that the priest himself is the ruler of the offering of these gifts will say and be perplexed. But this is unfair: on the contrary, what actually makes their offering is sanctifying grace, since they are then offered when they are sanctified. And the one who performs the sacrament every time is a servant of this grace. For he does not bring anything from himself and does not have anything to do or say according to his own judgment and reflection, but only what he has received, whether it be a deed or a word or an action, he repays to God, offering as he was commanded. And thus, gifts, being always offered in the way that pleases God, are naturally pleasing to Him and are always accepted by Him. For what does it matter if the one who brings is in himself wicked? After all, its depravity does not add anything to the gifts and does not make the offering worse, just as the fact that it was compiled by a simple person and not at all familiar with the art of medicine does not prevent a medicine from being salutary, if only he compiled it as the doctor ordered, and from all those potions that he gave him. The medicine will not become ineffective due to the ignorance of the one who worked on its composition, but will be healing according to the art of the one who communicated its composition, for from the ignorance of the minister it received nothing, but from the skill of the doctor it received all its composition. So it is here: everything is accomplished by grace, the priest is only a minister, whose ministry itself is not of himself, because this too comes from grace; The priesthood is only a ministerial power for sacred rites. Thus, from what has been said it is clear that these gifts sanctify all the faithful and always, because they are always accepted by God. 47. About what measure is accepted Now we should consider the extent to which they are accepted. What does the expression people use about a gift mean: accepted? What do people do with gifts when they are told to accept them? Is this really said because we take them with our hands and put them in our bosom? No, for there are many things which those who receive cannot drink or take; for example, if the gift is a field or a house, or something similar. So what would the expression: accept in relation to all gifts mean? Recognition as one's property, assimilation to oneself - this is what is called acceptance. And God appropriates these gifts to Himself in such a way that He makes them the Body and Blood of the Only Begotten. If it is impossible to imagine anything equal to such assimilation, then it is impossible to determine to what extent (these gifts) are accepted. In addition, it is also clear from reward how the gift is accepted by those who accepted it. What is the reward here? Again the very Body of Christ and Blood, for by accepting bread and wine from us, God gives us the Son Himself. But where, you say, is it clear that God gives us this as a gift instead of the gifts brought to Him? From what He Himself, clothed in this, says, addressing us: accept. This indicates a gift. This word means the giver, the receiver, and the given. You can receive something in another way, as a pledge, which the recipient cannot use. But so that you would not think this, but would know that (the gift) belongs to you, (the Lord) commanded you to use it, saying: eat. This is how, and to such a high degree, these gifts are pleasing to God. Therefore, they always sanctify the souls of all Christians, both living and dead, imperfect souls that still need sanctification. For the perfect saints, standing with the angels and already numbered in the heavenly hierarchy, no longer need the earthly hierarchy. 48. About the sense in which we honor the saints with these gifts Following what we have said, it is natural to investigate this. In fact, if these holy gifts are dedicated to God, and sanctify those who need sanctification, then why, according to our faith, do we honor those who are already sanctified and completely perfect with this gift, and when, asking for something, we call on them for help, we promise the service of these gifts, as if we want to bring gifts to them or for them, so that they become more perfect? This is because there is another way of this gift-giving, different from the one I spoke about before, according to which these gifts are also gifts of saints, when they are offered to God, as gifts of gratitude for the glory with which He glorified them, and for the perfection with which He vouchsafed them. For although they are gifts of God, since they are dedicated to God, they are also gifts of the faithful in need of help, because they help them, and gifts of saints, because for their sake they are dedicated to God. What is given for my sake, no matter who accepts it, I receive it, for not everything that is given to us by someone we accept with our own hands, but also with the hands of friends, and our family, and in general all those to whom the giver gives in order to please us. Therefore, the Lord, despite the fact that the poor accept alms, says that He Himself accepts, since those who give give for His sake. So the saints also accept these gifts, because for their sake the gifts are dedicated to God, for just as this happens out of love for Christ, so this happens out of love for the saints. Indeed, since we love them very much, we consider their benefits to be ours and rejoice with them in their well-being, as if we ourselves were participating in those benefits. And rejoicing thus over the gifts that are given to them from the Lord, we thank the Giver and bring Him gifts of gratitude. But not only do saints accept gifts because gifts are given out of love for them, but also because for them it is extremely pleasant and delightful that through them God receives thanksgiving and is glorified. For just as the greatest sin of vicious people is that through them the name of God is blasphemed, so the great virtue of the saints, a virtue extremely desirable for them, is that through them God is glorified. This was their continuous feat even during their life in the body; in this, even after moving to heaven, is their constant occupation, and pleasure, and the height of that bliss. If at the time when they only hoped to receive blessings, they constantly thanked God for everything and did everything for the glory of God, then what kind of person, one must think, they became in this regard when, on the one hand, their gratitude is incomparably greater, because they became perfect in every virtue, and on the other hand, they no longer hope only to receive blessings, but in fact experience the generosity of the Lord when they see what and what they have become: from earthly creatures - suns, from despised slaves - venerable sons and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, from guilty ones - able to free others from guilt by their boldness before the Judge? Therefore, they can never get enough of the glorification of God, and they do not consider themselves alone to be content to give thanks, but they want to have everyone as accomplices in this glorification - both angels and men, so that by multiplying the number of those praising, the better they can pay their debt - gratitude to God. Witnesses to this are Azariah and the holy youths who were with him, who defeated the power of fire, having received this grace from God. When they needed to give thanks to the Savior and glorify Him for their wonderful salvation, they were not content to glorify Him themselves, and did not consider their voice sufficient, but called (to glorification) along with them the angels, and all kinds of people, and the sky itself, and the sun, and the stars, and the earth, on the mountains, and all unreasonable and inanimate creatures, and in general all creation. The saints have such a great desire to glorify God even when they are still living in the body, and even more so after they are liberated from the body. Therefore, if someone, remembering them and their honor, and bliss, and glory, glorifies God who crowned them, he will give them joy above all joys, and especially if he glorifies them not only with words, but also with the offering of gifts of gratitude - those gifts that are so pleasing to God and are valued at the highest price. In this case, just as the Savior Himself, graciously accepting these gifts and valuing them above any legal service, gives us His Body and Blood in return, so the saints, rejoicing in those gifts with which we think to honor them, as they do not rejoice in anything else, completely devote themselves to serving us in everything that is useful to us, since in everything they imitate their Master. 49. Against those who say that the remembrance of saints at the Liturgy is a priestly prayer to God for them But here some have fallen into error, considering the remembrance of the saints not as thanksgiving, but as a prayer to God for them. I don’t know what gave them the reason for such a way of thinking, because to think so is inconsistent with either the deed itself or the words of the sacred rite. And that the essence of the matter really does not allow this is clear from the following. If the Church prays for the saints, then, of course, she prays in the same way as she usually prays everywhere. What does she ask for the deceased? Forgiveness of sins, inheritance of the Kingdom, repose in the bosom of Abraham along with the perfected saints. This is the prayer of the Church, other than this you will not find anything that she would ask for the deceased. This is the limit of our intercessory prayer to God, for not everything that anyone desires can be prayed for, but even here there is a law and a limit that cannot be transgressed. For what let us pray, says (the apostle), as it should be, we do not know, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us (Rom. 8:26), that is, as the teachers of the Church have betrayed, teaches us what we should pray for. So, consider whether in all the sacred rites and sacred words there is anything beyond what has been said, for which the Church would pray, and you will not find anything. Consequently, (praying for the saints, the priests) will ask the innocent for remission of sins, as if they were still guilty and subject to trial; they will ask the saints, as those who have not yet been sanctified, to rest with the saints; They will ask for perfection to be completed as if they have not yet achieved perfection. And thus, they necessarily sin in one of two things: either, recognizing the bliss and perfection of the saints, they voluntarily want to talk idle words before God and weave a vain prayer for them, which is more typical of people who laugh at divine objects than of priests; or, performing prayers seriously, with the thought of bringing benefit to the saints through them, they reject the glory of the saints, and this means blaspheming not only them, but also God Himself, as if He had not fulfilled the promises, since He promised to glorify them and give them the Kingdom. It’s better to say that both are obvious blasphemy: one because they completely reject the beatitude of the saints, and the other because they act like those who reject, for those who are recognized as blessed, as numbered among the sons, and as heirs of the Kingdom itself, those same ones, through the fact that they want to pray for them in this way, are clearly placed on an equal footing with those who do not deserve the reward, with those not honored and with the guilty. So, by the very essence of the matter, it turns out to be absurd if anyone thinks that the offering of God for the saints that comes from the Church is an intercessory offering. Now let's look at the words themselves. We also bring to You this verbal service about those who died in the faith: forefathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, abstinents, and about every soul who died in the faith; a lot about the Most Holy, Most Pure, Most Blessed, Glorious Lady of our Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary; about Saint John the Prophet, Baptist and Forerunner, about the saints and all-praised apostles, and about all the saints, visit us with their prayers, O God. And remember all those who have fallen asleep in the hope of resurrection and eternal life. These words do not contain any prayer to God for the saints, and the priest does not ask them for anything that he usually prays for. Remembering the other faithful departed, he immediately adds a prayer for them; give them rest, he says, where the light of Your Face shines; but in relation to the saints he acts completely differently. He does not intercede for them, but, on the contrary, makes them intercessors, for, having named and enumerated the saints, he adds: visit us with their prayers, O God. But what especially shows that these words do not contain supplication and prayer, but thanksgiving for the saints, is that here, in the list of saints, the Mother of God is also placed, and She would not have been placed if this face had the need for any kind of intercession, because She is above any intercession, not only of the human hierarchy, but also of the angels, as the incomparably Holy One and of the heavenly minds themselves. But Christ, you say, performs this sacred act, so what is surprising if He intercedes both for the saints and for the Mother Herself? But there is no basis for this, because this is not the way of Christ’s intercession. Christ became the intercessor of God and men, but not through any words or prayers, but through Himself, since, being God and becoming man, He united God with men, placing Himself in the limit where both natures (Divine and human) enter into communion. To think about Him that He constantly intercedes through the prayers of sacred rites is all kinds of blasphemy and absurdity. In fact, although He Himself performs the sacred act, not everything that happens and is said there should be attributed to Him. What constitutes the essence and purpose of secrecy, that is, the consecration of gifts and the sanctification of the faithful, is done by Him alone, and prayers for this, and petitions, and supplications are the work of the priest. For this is characteristic of the Master, and this is characteristic of the slave. One prays, and the other fulfills prayers; The Savior gives, and the priest thanks for what was given; the priest brings, and the Savior accepts the gifts. The Lord, of course, also brings Himself to the Father and these gifts when they become Himself, when they are transferred into His Body and Blood. And since He offers Himself, therefore it is said that He is both the offerer, and the one offered, and the acceptor: the one who offers and the one who receives is like God, and the one who is offered is like a man. In the meantime, the gifts are bread and wine, the priest brings them, and the Lord accepts them. How does the Lord accept gifts? Sanctifying them, translating them into His Body and Blood, for to accept means, as said above, to assimilate to oneself. This is how Christ performs this sacred act! This is what the priesthood brings to Him! If anyone, in addition to what has been said, considers the prayers of the occult, either all or some, to be the words of Christ, then he will therefore be no different from the wicked who dared to belittle His glory. Read all the prayers - and you will see that all the words in them are the words of slaves. Read that prayer in which (the priest) remembers the saints and which they dare to attribute to Christ, and you will find that nothing in it is befitting of the Son of equal honor with the Father, but everything is characteristic of slaves. And, firstly, it is thanksgiving not on behalf of one person, but on behalf of the entire (human) race, and those who give thanks give thanks in it, as those who have sinned and are not despised by God’s love for mankind. Further, this thanksgiving refers not only to the Father, but also to the Son and the Holy Spirit, and those who give thanks here remember the Mother of God, like slaves remember the Lady, and through the prayers of Her and the saints they ask for God’s visitation and providence. And what does this have to do with the One Lord, the Only Begotten Son of God, the Sinless One, the Lord of all? We thank You, says the prayer, and Your Only Begotten Son. Therefore, Christ thanks the Only Begotten Son of God? In this case, two sons will appear, in accordance with the insane teaching of Nestorius. It is so impious and senseless to recognize Christ here as interceding for the saints and to assimilate to Him this kind of intercession and intercession. Meanwhile, it is shown that this is not even a petition from the priests. It remains, then, to assume that these words do not constitute prayer, but thanksgiving. So, you will say, but the speech does not allow this: it clearly makes it clear to pray, because the preposition υπερ (about, for) means exactly that. Not necessarily, because it doesn’t point everywhere to the one who asks. We use this expression not only when we beg, but also when we thank. This can be seen from many places and even from real prayer itself. “O (υπερ) of all these, it says, we thank You, and Your Only Begotten Son, and Your Holy Spirit, about (υπερ) all, we know them and we do not know them; We thank You for this (υπερ) service, which You have deigned to receive from our hands.” Do you see that the preposition υπερ (about, for) is also used about thanksgiving? Consequently, there is no reason left for this misconception. Thus, it is impossible for the remembrance of saints to be prayerful. And that it is grateful is evident from the very fact that it is not prayerful, for one of two things is necessary: ​​either it must be prayerful, or it must be grateful. Only in these two ways do we remember before God His benefits that have been upon us, either in order to receive them, or because we have already received them. And one (of these memories) is prayer, and the other is thanksgiving. Yes, this is also evident from the fact that the perfection of the saints is the greatest of all God’s gifts to man, therefore it would be unfair if the Church did not confess gratitude to God for them. But why do I call the perfection of the saints the greatest gift of God? It combines all the gifts of God, because the faces of the saints are the goal, this is the fruit of all the benefits that the Lord has shown to our family. For this reason, heaven and earth and everything visible was created for us. For this is paradise, for this are the prophets, for this is God Himself in the flesh, and the Divine teaching, and works, and suffering, and death, so that people move from earth to heaven and become heirs of the Heavenly Kingdom. So, if in this sacred rite there is any thanksgiving at all, and if these gifts are as much thanksgiving as they are propitiatory, then it is absolutely necessary that the saints themselves who have reached perfection constitute the main subject and reason for thanksgiving. In general, what makes us give thanks? Is it not that we ask and receive what we ask? What does the Church ask from God? What she is commanded to ask for, that is, the Kingdom of God, so that the faithful may inherit it, so that they may become saints according to the Holy One who calls them. If she asks and prays to God for this, then, obviously, this is the same thing she thanks. She prays that the faithful will be perfect in the shrine, and therefore it is necessary for the saints who have already achieved perfection to give thanks to the One who brought this perfection. That is why thanksgiving for the saints, the sacrament itself, is called thanksgiving. For, although (the Church) remembers many other things here, the saints constitute the goal of everything, and for their sake all this is asked, therefore, when she gives thanks for this, she thanks for the perfection of the saints. Just as the Lord did everything he did in order to form the face of the saints, so the Church, when it glorifies Him for all this, glorifies Him by looking at the face of the saints. For this reason, the Savior, when he gave this sacrament, gave it with thanksgiving to the Father, since through Him He had to open heaven to us and gather there this great council of the firstborn. Following His example, the Church offers gifts not only in prayer, but also in thanksgiving. This is evident from many other things, but especially from that prayer, which seems to embrace the purpose of the sacred rite. Here, having outlined everything that was given to us from God, and having given thanks for everything, and, finally, having spoken about the appearance of the Lord in the flesh, and about the delivery of the sacrament, about how He commanded us to do the same, (the Church) adds: “Remembering this saving commandment and everything that was for us: the Cross” and so on; then, having counted everything that followed the Cross, he says: “What is offered to You from Yours for everyone and for everything, We sing to You, we bless You, we thank You, Lord, and we pray to You, our God.” Do you see? Remembering, he says, good deeds, we make this gift. And to honor a benefactor with gifts for the benefits already given to us means to give thanks. Then, to show thanksgiving even more clearly, he says: in bringing this offering, we sing to You, we bless You, we thank You, O Lord, and we pray to You, our God. This, according to the Church, is the intention with which gifts are offered: this, as we said at first, is glorification, thanksgiving, prayer, so that this offering is both grateful and prayerful. And we do this, says (the Church), remembering two things - the commandment that (the Lord) gave us, saying: do this in remembrance of Me, and everything that was done for our sake. For the memory of good deeds encourages us only to repay and, in general, to bring something to the One who has shown us such countless mercies; and the memory of the commandment teaches us the very image of retribution and how to bring gifts. We offer the same offering that the Only Begotten Himself showed to You, God and Father, and in offering, we give thanks, because He, having shown, gave thanks. Therefore, we do not bring anything of our own into this gift offering, for the gifts are not our business, but belong to You, the Creator of everything, and this way of service is not our invention - no, we did not desire it ourselves, not on our own and not by our own impulse and came to it - but You Yourself taught us. He Himself prompted through the Only Begotten Son. Therefore, what we bring to You from Yours, what You have given to us, is Yours in everything and in everything. Thus, for this very offering of thanks, we again owe new gratitude to God, since there is nothing of ours in it, but it is all a gift from God; even the very fact that we desire it and bring it into fulfillment, God produces in us, according to the words of the Divine Apostle. That is why the prayers also say this: “We thank You for this service, which You have deigned to receive from our hands.” So, this is what teaches us that the remembrance of the saints that occurs at the liturgy is not a prayer to God for them, but thanksgiving. 50. About how many times saints are remembered during sacred rites, and about the differences in these commemorations Now let's see how many times and when saints are commemorated during the rite. They are commemorated twice: the first time - at the beginning of the ritual, when gifts are offered, and the second time - when they are sacrificed. Since there are two types of offerings: one when the gifts are brought simply as gifts and offerings, as was said before, and the other when they are brought as a sacrifice, it is necessary that those for whom they are offered should be remembered both at the first and at the second when they are worn. That is why, as with the first it is said: “In remembrance of the Lord, and God, and our Savior Jesus Christ,” so with the second: “In remembrance of (everything) that happened to us: the Cross,” and so on, that Christ suffered for our sake. And what the remembrance of the Cross and everything that followed the Cross means here, then there is the remembrance of the Lord, for the priest then remembers the Savior not as a miracle worker, but as crucified and dead, as we have extensively proven in that place. And again, as at the first offering, (the priest) says: for the glory of the All-Holy, for the sake of the intercession of the saints, so at the second: about all the saints, especially about the Most Holy. Just as there he showed the superiority of the Mother of God by naming Her before all others (saints), so here, because he mentioned Her after others, by adding the word: especially (fairly). And just as in the first, after the saints, the priest remembers (all) those who need mercy, both living and dead, and intercedes for them, so in the second. However, (with this similarity in commemoration) there is also a difference. During the second, the priest also mentions the offering itself: we offer, he says, this verbal service to You, and he also indicates the reason for the offering, naming at the beginning or at the end the memory of the suffering of the Savior, the memory of the saints. And at the first, he indicates only the reason for the offering, saying: in remembrance of the Lord, in the glory of the All-Holy, and so on, he remembers both those for whom he thanks and those for whom he prays. Because in this offering he shows by his deed what he brings: for, taking a portion from the bread, he offers it as a gift to God and therefore does not need words that would indicate this. But at the second offering, he does not visibly do anything, and although the offering occurs, it happens invisibly, for grace invisibly accomplishes the sacrifice through the mysterious prayers of the priest. Therefore, words are needed here that would proclaim the invisible offering. 51. About why the priest calls the sacrifice a verbal service That is why the priest calls this offering a verbal service, because he does not do any work here, but brings it, using perfect words. The first offering is a work possible for a person, and since it is performed by a priest, it could therefore be called an active service (πρακτικη λειτουργια). And the second, that is, the transformation of gifts into the Divine Body and Blood, which constitutes a sacrifice, is beyond human power: it is accomplished by grace, and the priest only prays. Why, although sacrifice is truly a deed and a thing, but as a priest does nothing here, but only speaks, he rightly says that he does not offer an active, but a verbal service. 52. About why this sacrament is called only the Eucharist (thanksgiving) And this is also worthy of research. In fact, if this sacrament is both grateful and prayerful, then why is it not called one or the other name, but only the Eucharist (thanksgiving)? The name is borrowed from the majority, since there are more reasons for thanksgiving than for petition. We have already received more than what we still needed, this is a part, and that is the whole; what we ask to receive is part of what we have received. As for God, we received everything from Him, and He did not omit anything that He did not give, but the time has not yet come for us to take advantage of others, such as, for example, the incorruptibility of the body, immortality and the Kingdom of Heaven; We received other things, but did not keep them, such as, for example, the remission of sins and other gifts given to us through the sacraments; and we lost others because we used them badly, and in order not to become bad, such as contentment, health, wealth, from which we made ourselves an instrument of pleasure and vice, or we are deprived of real benefits for greater benefit, as was the case with Job. From this it is clear that God did not leave any place for petition, but gave all kinds of reasons for thanksgiving. But through our negligence we bring needs upon ourselves and therefore we need to ask. Let's really see what we're asking for. About forgiveness of sins? But we fully received this without any work on our part, through holy Baptism. Why are we asking this again? Because they again became guilty of sins. But what is the reason for this guilt of ours? We ourselves. Therefore, this is our reason for our petition. We also pray for the Kingdom to receive it as an inheritance. But we have been given this inheritance, since we have become children of God Himself, invested with the Kingdom, for who is the Heir if not the Son? And what of the paternal property does not pass to the heir? Nothing. How do we ask for something that has already been given? Having been born of God and having achieved such honor, we have ventured into deeds that are not consistent with adoption; we have become wicked slaves from sons, and therefore we pray for the Kingdom as if it were a foreign thing and in no way belongs to us! Consequently, we ourselves are guilty of this petition. And the Lord commanded about bodily blessings: seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:44); and: do not worry about food and clothing, and your heavenly Father will give you everything you need (Matthew 6:25–34). If we are in need of these benefits, then we endure it either through negligence and unbelief and due to non-observance of the commandment given regarding them, and in this case, both the need and the need, the request is our work, or through the providence and love of God, like Job, in order to receive the best and most precious benefits, and in this case, although the need is the work of God, it serves as a reason not for asking and praying, but for glorifying and thanksgiving, just as Job says: Blessed be the name of the Lord from now to eternity. You see that everything given to us from God encourages only praise and thanksgiving, and we are guilty of these prayers and petitions. Therefore, when we mention in our prayer appeals to God about all the blessings, both physical and mental, we mention them for the purpose of gratitude - whether we have them all or not - because He once gave us everything and left nothing behind Him. Knowing this, the blessed apostle commanded to give thanks for everything: always rejoice, he writes, give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:18). Therefore, the most perfect and most necessary conversation with God, that is, the secret action of Communion, in which we mention not this or that mercy, but all the blessings of God, both present and future, it was natural to call the Eucharist (thanksgiving), to borrow the name not from the fact that we have needs and ask for them, but from those benefits that God provides, not from our poverty, but from the riches of His goodness. For, although we here ask God and give thanks, since thanksgiving is, as we said, the work of God, and petition is a matter of human weakness, moreover, there are more reasons for thanksgiving, and fewer for petition, because thanksgiving is for all good things in general, and petition is for some, then it was therefore necessary that when naming this sacrament it should be called from the best and the greater - thanksgiving. Likewise, man, although he has something irrational in himself, is called a rational animal, borrowing his name from the better and greater part. And on the other hand, the One who first indicated this secret action, our Lord Jesus Christ, performed it not with a request, but only with thanksgiving to the Father. Therefore, the Church, as it accepted it, calls it the Eucharist. 53. About general thanksgiving for the Communion of the Mysteries and about the final prayers of the sacred rite Meanwhile, the priest commands the communicants of the Mysteries to thank the Giver of God for Communion, and to thank not somehow or lazily, but diligently, for this means: forgive, that is, not lying down, and not sitting, but directing both soul and body to God. Then, having urged them to pray to God and about other things that they usually pray for, he leaves the altar and, standing in front of the doors, reads a prayer for everyone, since now everything that should have been done in relation to God has been accomplished - as if he leaves his communication with God and the height on which he stood, and little by little apparently descends to an interview with people. And he does this as befits a priest, because he does it with prayer. Both the image of the prayer and the place itself show his descent. For before he prayed inside the altar, and to himself, so that no one heard, and turning entirely to God, and now he makes a common prayer for the Church and for all the faithful, leaving the altar and standing among the people, out loud to everyone. Then the brought bread, from which the sacred bread was taken, divided into parts, is distributed to the faithful as bread that has become holy because it was brought and dedicated to God. And the faithful receive him with all reverence and kiss the priest’s hand, like the hand that recently touched the all-holy Body of Christ the Savior, which itself received sanctification from him and can pass it on to those who touch it. At the same time, they glorify the Author and Giver of these blessings, glorify those taken from Scripture: blessed be the name of the Lord, and so on. And, having exclaimed this several times, they then read a psalm full of praise and thanksgiving. What kind of psalm is this? I will bless the Lord at all times (Ps. 33). After the distribution of bread and at the end of the psalm, the priest says the last prayer for the people, not only outside the altar and out loud to everyone, but also turning the words of the prayer to the people themselves, and thus now shows greater communication with them than before. That we may be pardoned and saved, since on our own we cannot bring anything worthy of salvation, but we trust in the love of Him alone who can save. That is why (the priest) mentions here many intercessors who will help us in this, and, first of all, the All-Holy Mother of God, through Whom we were previously shown mercy. And the beginning of this prayer is Christ, our true God, that is, not one of those false false gods that we once revered in abundance, but our true God, Whom we have finally found. Therefore, to Him alone is due, as God, all glory, honor and worship with His Beginning Father and His All-Holy, Good, and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. You might be interested in: