Слово во славу Святого Духа, совосседающего Отцу и Сыну и доставляющего людям усыновление. Императора Льва VI Мудрого

Without a doubt, the Comforter crowned our yesterday's triumph with His presence and made our yesterday a day of joy, bringing at the same time an obvious sign of the reconciliation of God the Father with us. And today, as if having collected the remains of the feast, we will again organize a holiday. Yesterday He graced our meeting with His presence, and today for this visit we will give Him due honors. Yesterday the blessing we received, and today the glory of the Holy Spirit gives us a reason to glorify Him. One God is in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one in essence and threefold in persons, all-perfect, ever-present, giving existence to all that exists. The Father was never deprived of glory, although before the appearance of the Son, who is the glory of the Father, this glory was not fully known; The Son has no less glory than the Father, although this glory illuminated the Son somewhat more slowly; Likewise, the Holy Spirit did not come into being in time, although He occupies third place in theology. They all have a single and common existence and should be equally glorified, although the Father is, as it were, the beginning and root, and the Son and the Holy Spirit are, as it were, branches growing from eternity from Him. This dogma was known in ancient times to some, by the goodness of God, although it is unclear, so this knowledge of the Triune God was speckled, as it were, with black spots and was preserved until more convenient times. Thus, God the Father was once revered by the people of Israel, who revered only Him alone and did not worship the Son, although the latter revealed Himself to people in many ways. Until the Light that shone with the Father before the beginning of the world, shining with them, and the Holy Spirit had not yet shone among us; but when the glory of the Father through His Only Begotten Son was clearly revealed to the world, then the Divine dignity of the Holy Spirit became known to all who were not blind to their own destruction; and so the Holy Spirit, reigning together with the Father and the Son, then shone forth in the world. First, while living on earth with the Son, He also descended into the world and did what is characteristic of God, testifying about the Son and Himself receiving testimony from Him, and subsequently He declared Himself even more clearly to the world, after the Son’s ascension to heaven, ascending in the form of a flame. Now the Comforter who descended into the world is especially obvious, when another Comforter is accepted into the bosom of the Father; He dwells in the world, fulfilling the promise of the Son, as well as what the mouth prophesied about Him, namely, the pouring out of the Spirit on all flesh. Now He revealed His dignity, inseparably divided among the disciples, not assisting, as before the Son, but Himself performing miracles; by the similarity of His beneficial activities He now showed His natural similarity with the Son. Not long ago words of wisdom were heard from a Teacher untrained in the scriptures, but now learned speeches are uttered by the mouths of unlearned disciples. Since the Divine Essence is always one, Her manifestations are also one. Previously, the Holy Spirit, together with the Son, cared for the salvation of creation, but now, descending to the slaves, He performs the sacraments. Therefore, let Him who is equal in dignity and nature with the Father and the Son be equally honored with Them by those for whom the most important concern is to correctly theologize and correctly render Divine honors. Sanctified by His Divine light and enjoying the clear contemplation of that in which His benevolent presence among us was manifested, let us honor Him as God! We know that He is consubstantial with the Father and the Son and requires Himself to be worshiped with Them. We know that He exists from eternity, that He is neither different in power from Them nor alien to Them in nature, that He lacks nothing that the Father and the Son have, that He possesses the same throne, the same glory, the same activity and power. By the Divine Word, the Creator of all things, the heavens were established; but we also know that the Holy Spirit was the Creator of their power. No one knows the Father except the Son (Matthew 11:27); the same applies to the knowledge of the Holy Spirit: for the Spirit tests all things, even the depths of God (1 Cor. 2:10). The remission of sins is given by the Son, but the same power belongs to the Holy Spirit: He names slaves with the dignity of “sonship.” If the Holy Spirit is not God, how can He bestow grace? If He is not one in essence with God, how through Him can we become like God? If He does not reign, how can He make us heirs? Consider at least the testimony about the Divinity of the Holy Spirit, which was given by the Divine Word Himself. He, ascending to the Father, said to those to whom he conveyed His ministry: Go and teach all languages, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). A slave cannot take part in what belongs to a master; therefore, the above words indicate that the Holy Spirit is the Lord, equal in dignity to the Father and the Son, and not a creation subordinate to Them. He, as an equal friend, is invited to renew the creation and endows everyone with the abundance of His own Divine glory, and not someone else’s, which, even if you listen to the wicked Doukhobors, He does not have. As the All-Good, He sent down good; as the All-Holy One, He pours out holiness; as the Creator, He sanctifies creation. So, His existence is original and has no beginning. But Jesus Christ said: He will receive from Mine, or: Him I will send to you from the Father (John 16:14; 15:26), and the like, objecting, is repeated by wicked lips. However, in this case, they call to the aid of their slander that which actually exposes their wickedness. With these words, Christ shows that everything with Him is common and inseparable with the Holy Spirit. Just as about the Holy Spirit, He speaks about Himself and about the Father: I came in the name of My Father, or: I glorified You on earth, or: Everything that You gave Me is from You (John 17:4, 7; 5:43). Those words point to the one essence and abundance of glory: what belongs to the Father together with the Son, then all belongs to the Holy Spirit. He will receive from Mine. How will He receive from what Jesus Christ has? He accepts when he does the same thing as the Son, just as the Son receives from the Father because he creates, seeing the Father create. He will receive from Mine. These words do not denote the communication of what the Holy Spirit would need, but, on the contrary, inseparable agreement and unity. We, enlightened by adoption, and knowing how to honor this adoption, will honor, as sons of God, His consubstantial Spirit, who shows the true path of salvation to us, wandering along the winding paths of destruction, who gives good, pours out blessings - the Spirit, Who is the inexhaustible source of holiness. Spiritual eyes are sanctified by Him, and everyone becomes pure, even if he was darkened by his own evil will, for He is the Supreme Lord. And all created things are adorned by communion with His good holiness. Therefore, it was said that all good things were created by the Father through the Son and perfected through the communication of the Holy Spirit. And everything that was disfigured by accidental sin is again adorned by the Holy Spirit and renewed on better conditions than before: everything that was previously subject to fall now rejoices in the higher conditions of existence. Enlivened by the Holy Spirit and sanctified by His grace, let us honor God as He requires of us, both by glorifying Him in our speeches and by our good deeds. Let us be free from dead passions and make our virtue bear life-giving fruit; Let's cast aside the shameful appearance of sin and embrace Divine purity! The Only Begotten destroyed the mediastinum of sin, the Father gave us peace, the Comforter adopted us. Let this unity of God with us be strong and strong. But how can this be achieved? – Through competition for the benefit of adoption. Let us testify through our moral lives that we are sons of God! Let us also do as the Father did with us! Let us show our love for humanity, having ourselves received so much! Do not harden your heart, who not only received the mercy you needed, but even received the Son as a guarantee of this from the Merciful God and came out of all difficulties. Do not exalt yourself with pride, if you occupy high positions, do not distinguish yourself from others, and, being more lent because you received more, do not repay with resentment the benefits by which you are all bound. Take your example from the One who lifted you up, fallen and oppressed, having descended from an immeasurable height. The advantage by virtue of which you have the duty to do good to everyone, do not use it to oppress them. Imitate the Merciful Jesus, Who is in the image of God, not by admiration to be equal to God: but He made Himself lesser (Phil. 2:7) in order to make you merciful. Let us not be inexorably demanding of what we ourselves need: for that is why we have been given too much, so that we do not act cruelly to others. Let us compete with the good master, and not with the crafty slave, who did not imitate the master’s condescension towards him, did not treat another slave condescendingly, and thereby embittered the master against himself: since he cruelly demanded what was owed to him, then everything that he owed was demanded from him himself. Let us not follow this example (of the slave), so as not to fall into danger ourselves! Let go, and they will let you go. Be merciful, as your Father is merciful (Matthew 5:48; 6:14). Feed the poor for the sake of Him who Himself was hungry to feed you, clothe the naked, have pity on those who were created by the same hand, although on different terms. The less you need (if only there is one who sails so happily in this worldly sea), the more you show your compassion to others. Do not reject beings equal to you with contempt and do not neglect them. Perhaps even - although you live in chambers, and they are under heaven - they are closer like God and, perhaps, they are more beautiful and more similar to their Prototype, as the example of naked Lazarus and the one who was dressed in fine line shows. So, strictly watching ourselves, let us maintain our closeness with the Father and try not to deprive ourselves of the dignity of the sons of God. Let us be servants, as we should be, of the Reconciler-Son, who accepted us as brothers; Let us honor the Comforter, who brought us the guarantees of reconciliation for our glorification and salvation, for the sake of which everything was created. All this, Consubstantial Comforter of the Father and the Son, was said in honor of Your descent. Guide and strengthen our minds with Your guidance, do not let them again plunge into the darkness that You once dispelled; Do not let us go astray in everyday affairs, so that we may avoid the misfortunes that happen here on earth, and achieve heavenly bliss, according to Your grace and goodness, in order to constantly honor and glorify Your Divine power. Amen 239. In short. See Curs Compl. Patrolog. Migne - tom. CVII, p. p. 133–157; cp. research by N. Popov: “Emperor Leo VI the Wise and his reign in church-historical terms.” Moscow, 1892, pp. 283–295. You might be interested in: