Слово на Преображение Господа Бога и Спаса нашего Иисуса Христа. Святителя Леонтия Карповича, епископа Владимирского и Брестского (XVII в.)

Orthodox Christians! The Holy Eastern Church, singing in spiritual joy and delight hymns about this glorious holiday, in one of them speaks to us in these words: “Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of our God, and we will see the glory of His Transfiguration, the glory of the Only Begotten from the Father: with light we receive the light, and having been transfigured by the spirit, let us sing the Trinity of Consubstantial forever.” With joy we hear from You, our Mother - the Church, this much-desired voice of Yours; We gladly accept this reminder of yours, we are quick to fulfill your command. And who would not want to look at such a glorious vision? Who would not want to have a dove wing so that he could fly to that mountain, which became the second heaven for the sake of the glory of the Heavenly King shown on it? For on that mountain the beauty of the Divine appeared; the mystery of the Crucifixion is intended for it; on it the image of the future resurrection was revealed to us; on her, in the glorious brilliance of Christ’s robes, the future lordship of the holy bodies shone; on that mountain, in the bright shadow of a bright cloud, the longed-for rapture of the saints of God upon the clouds is foreshadowed (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Who would not want to stand on that glorious Mount Tabor, on which stood the holy feet of Christ our Savior, in the very form and likeness in which He will come into this world to judge the living and the dead? Who would not be glad to see That All-Powerful and Terrible Judge and hear Him talking not about judgment and punishment, but about immeasurable and wonderful mercy? Who would not want to see those men with whom that Almighty King had a conversation about such important and great subjects, spoke about the fulfillment of a secret hidden for centuries, about the raising in Jerusalem of voluntary suffering and death for our salvation (Luke 9:31)? Who would not want to see their so wondrous glory, lightness and beauty in which they appeared at that time? Who would not want to be present at that famous festival, to which, by the divine wave, representatives of the Old and New Testaments flocked, and the like, seeing their own kind, greeted each other in a friendly manner? For there Moses, the great seer of God with faith, saw the warm in faith self-seer of the Word - Peter; I saw the virgin Elijah, lifted up by a chariot and horses of fire, like the virgin Elijah - the one who lay down on the fiery breasts of Christ. God, with the fiery wings of Theology soared above the heavens (I mean the virgin John). Who would not want to quench his thirst with that God-sober wine of heavenly sweetness, having tasted which, the Supreme Apostle Peter, as if in some kind of frenzy, exclaimed: Lord! It is good for us to be here: if you want, let us create three blues here, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah (Matthew 17:4)?! You yourself, Peter, do not know what you say (Luke 9:33); you do not know, having become as if intoxicated: for one drop of this premium glory and heavenly sweetness that you tasted has intoxicated you. But your Lord calls you to the very source of immortal pleasure, which you will not achieve otherwise, if after tasting this present sweetness you do not taste the fruit of the cross. You don’t know what you are saying: for you want to rest before the end of the work, you want to triumph before winning the victory. “You must first,” your Teacher tells you, “deny yourself, take up your cross, take up suffering and death for My name, and then you will rest, and not only with Moses and Elijah, in the three tabernacles of which you speak, but with the countless multitude of the blessed countenance, in these many abodes of My Father, in these precious palaces of My heavenly house.” Truly, Peter, it is good to be with Christ the Savior; however, not only on that mountain, but in every place. For even if I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, says David, I will fear no evil, for You are with me (Ps. 23:4). It is good to endure with Him: for if we suffer with Him, we will also be glorified with Him (Rom. 8:16), says Paul. It is good to die with Him: for He is our life (Col. 3:4), and all who died for His sake and in Him will rise with Him in the resurrection of life (John 5:29), and with Him will appear in the manifestation of ineffable and endless glory. And in another respect, Peter, you do not know what you are saying: for, having your mind enraptured above sensory understanding, and in this frenzy, as if entering the threshold of the heavenly kingdom, you utter verbs filled with mysteries: you remember the three tabernacles, in the likeness of the threefold state in human life, i.e., the state of the law, the state of grace and the state of glory, or that eternal bliss. About these three tabernacles, I, unworthy, decided, with the help and grace of God, to talk with you, Orthodox Christians, and in that conversation to consider the threefold transformation, or change of the soul of a true Christian. First of all, I ask the true Light, which enlightens every person coming into the world, so that He Himself, according to the great and unsearchable riches of His bounties, will open the eyes of our souls to the vision of the Glory of His Transfiguration and enlighten us with the light of His God-Mind. The holy Apostle Paul remembers the threefold tabernacle or tabernacle, flying to the third heaven, in his letter to the Hebrews. The first, which the priests were always allowed to enter, was called “holy” (Heb. 9:6). The second, along the second veil, into which one Bishop entered once a year, not without a blood sacrifice; and this was called the “holy of holies.” The third, which (the Apostle) remembers in the following words: Christ did not enter into holy things made with hands, the opposite of the true ones, but into heaven itself (Heb. 9:24). The first tabernacle, with the appearance of the second, had to be eliminated: the old law gave way when it was necessary to give way to a new one; Moses the lawgiver yielded, and Christ the Giver of grace appeared; the Prophets yielded when the One prophesied by them appeared; the letter that kills has given way, and the life-giving Spirit has come. The Holy Apostle is inexpressibly comforted by the fact that he does not have on his face that Old Testament Mosaic veil or veil, but with his open face he beholds the glory of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18). However, he does not stop there either, but, hoping to achieve in the third tabernacle (in the heavenly tabernacle) an even more perfect vision of the ever-present glory, he speaks in the following words: For now we see as with a mirror in fortune-telling, but then face to face (1 Cor. 13:12). We already have an entrance into the Holy of Holies not made with hands, renewed by the blood of the Heavenly Bishop (Heb. 10:20); however, we partake of this inheritance and these blessings, and enjoy them only through faith and hope (1 Cor. 13:13). Indeed, we will achieve the acquisition and use of this inheritance only when we cease to be babies or children - when we reach a perfect husband, to the extent of the age of the fulfillment of Christ - when these two virtues, faith and hope, cease and are eliminated, and only one love remains, and no longer partial, but perfect love. The Hand of the Most High will then accomplish a great and wonderful change, this glorious transfiguration: for, as the same saint says. Apostle, “He will transform the body of our humility, so that it may be conformed to the body of His glory” (Phil. 3:21). So this body, which dies in dishonor, will then appear in unspeakable glory; this mortal body will appear in indescribable beauty; the body subject to sin will appear sinless; a body covered with heaviness will appear lightest; the body, subject to various imperfections, will be like the glorified body of Christ in glory. Oh, dear! Oh, all-joyful, blissful and longed-for transformation! Who will be worthy to be your participant? - The one who first transforms himself spiritually here in this world - who puts off the old man with his lusts and puts on the new - who, having removed his mind and heart from these earthly vanities and passions, will place himself by living faith on the height of high virtues and godly wisdom. Whoever, thus, ascends Mount Tabor spiritually with Christ will, indeed, rest with Him on that mountain in which He forever lives and reigns. In relation to this mountain, this second tabernacle is, as it were, a kind of tabernacle set up for a short stay, which must be removed after its inhabitants move to that mountain dwelling. Just like that first tabernacle, with the appearance of this second one, in which we now dwell, was destroyed. The Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon bore the image and prototype of the two Churches of Christ - the one on earth and the one in heaven. The prototype of the Church that exists on earth was the tabernacle of Moses; the prototype of the Church, which is in heaven, was the temple of Solomon, built on the mountain. These two Churches are by number, but one by faith. About the one who is on earth, the Lord said: On this rock I will build My church (Matthew 16:18); and about the heavenly one the Apostle says: Approach Mount Zion, and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the church of the firstborn in heaven, which are written (Heb. 12:22–23). Just as the tabernacle of Moses in the desert was transported many times from place to place, and those who stayed in it became strangers and strangers, so the Church of Christ, located on earth, is a tabernacle, shining with desert life. And therefore the Church is also a tabernacle, established not by men, but by the Lord. For like a tabernacle, or a tent, during persecution it is transferred from one place to another according to the will of Him who said: if they persecute you in this city, flee to another (Matthew 10:23). But, changing places in this way, she does not change her place, for she runs from city to city, but does not run from piety to ungodliness, or from knowledge of God to atheism, from Orthodoxy to heresy. Just as then the tabernacle of Moses was carried hither and thither, and remained in many places, and the temple of Solomon, built on the mountain, stood motionless, and could in no way be shaken as long as it remained the church of God: so the Church of Christ on earth, as if dwelling in a distant country, has in itself pious wanderers or strangers, and the highest Church of the firstborn in heaven no longer has strangers or sojourners, but pious inhabitants and strangers. citizens. There are no strangers there, for there is no persecution. Just as a migrant or a stranger, having entered some dwelling for a while, again, at the command of his master, moves to another place: so we, having entered the Church through baptism, again pass from it through death into an eternal dwelling, and we, who here in the world below were strangers and strangers, there in the world above we become permanent residents and citizens, and who here, as guests and strangers, suffered persecution on earth, We rest there as friends and heirs. About this, who would be worthy of both this abode and the highest dwelling there, the Prophet asks God: Lord, who dwells in Your dwelling? Who can live in this Tabernacle of Yours unchangeably and relentlessly, and endure to the end, and then move into this Holy Mountain of Yours? Let us be enlightened by the Holy Spirit, says Saint John Chrysostom, let us learn and understand what kind of people or people will live there. Truly, those about whom it is said: will not all the workers of iniquity, who devour My people in eating bread, understand (Ps. 52:5)? So those who consume do not dwell there; but those who are devoured are: for sheep can dwell in the courtyard of That Good Shepherd (John 10:11), but wolves cannot. Whoever strives to become an eternal citizen in that highest mountain, in that heavenly Church of Mental Solomon, must first be a wretched stranger and wanderer in this temporary tabernacle or tent. On the contrary, in no way can there be a place for those who live here on earth not as strangers, not as wanderers, but as hereditary possessors of it, who are comforted and established on it as if they will never be transplanted into this life. Cain, who founded a city on earth (Gen. 4:17), does not live there, in that glorious city, treats God and his neighbors insincerely, and persecutes his brother out of envy. His descendants do not live, whom Scripture calls “the sons of men,” giants who prosper in strength, glory and worldly power (Gen. 6:4). But Abel dwells there, who sincerely treats his neighbors, suffers persecution, and does not persecute; Evil overcomes good, hatred overcomes love, the violent anger of a brother overcomes patience. His descendants live, or instead of his resurrected seed, whom Scripture calls the sons of God (Gen. 6:2), having a spiritual birth from God through the promised Messiah - who, not founding cities and houses here on earth for their stay, and not caring about the great treasures and glory of this world, but, like strangers, engaged in cattle breeding only for their own food, dwelt under the tabernacles. “It does not dwell,” as St. says. Ambrose, - in this city is a thief, crucified on the neck, who cares about temporary life, but dwells a prudent thief, who, forgetting about temporary life and health, asks and desires only one thing, so that the Eternal King will remember him in that future life, in that endless kingdom of His" (Luke 23:42). Those who lay the foundation of their happiness here on earth do not live in this city, here they seek peace, glory and riches, here they promise themselves long days, from this vale of tears they build themselves a paradise of luxury, from this place of exile - a fatherland, and therefore do not strive for that eternal fatherland, and do not care about it in the least. Such people repeat these words not only in their hearts, but also in their tongues: “My Lord will not come when I come” (Matt. 24:48), and where is the promise of His coming (2 Pet. 3:4)? “They live carelessly and depravedly, and do what they want without shame.” And since for this they do not accept punishment from God in this world, but, for all that, they still have barns overflowing, palaces built with much foam and care, they are magnified in their malice (Ps. 51:3), they boast about sins and crimes, they think unrighteousness all the days (Ps. 51:3-4); and they also blasphemously claim that with those nasty and vile actions they serve God and glorify His name! Those who, although they shy away from the aforementioned nasty and godless things, do not live in this city, although they boast of the righteousness of the faith and the title of sonship of the Church, but do not observe the purity and holiness characteristic of the sons of the Church, and who, with good faith, do not do good deeds (James 2:18), or do it carelessly (Jeremiah 48:10), as well as, wanting to serve and God and the world (Luke 16:13), attract this terrible sentence from God: you are neither warm nor cold: the imam will vomit you out of my mouth (Rev. 3:16). Those who seek peace and luxury on earth do not live like this; and therefore they do not mourn for their eternal Fatherland; who seek glory from men (John 5:41) and are comforted by it, and therefore squander the glory that is from the One God in vain and foolishly; who, finally, do not want to go carefully with Christ their Savior to the mountain, and therefore, without difficulty, headlong fall after the devil into the very vale of hell. For, although the tempter often lifts them up without any labor, as Simon the Magus once did, to the heights of vain and charming glory; however, soon, like him, he is thrown to the ground. They dwell in this mountain, in this mountainous Jerusalem: the one who, as a guest and stranger, flees bodily lusts that war against the soul (1 Pet. 2:11); who in all his deeds remembers his last (Sir. 7:39); who always prepares himself to return from this journey to his father’s house; who lives the time of his life with fear and trembling (1 Peter 1:17); who, having loved freedom from sin, does not seek freedom to cover up malice (1 Pet. 2:16); who does not treat anyone hypocritically and unfairly, carries truth in his heart, truth and on his tongue (Ps. 14:2); who, not knowing how to offend anyone or cause offense to anyone, retains the sincerity and kindness of a dove, as well as the wisdom and caution of a serpent (Matthew 10:16), willingly giving not only property for plunder, but also his body for killing (Col. 1:24), just to keep his head intact, just not to be separated from Christ the Savior - this true and immortal Head yours. Such and such ascends the mountain with Christ, and God is not ashamed to call him God; For such He prepares a city, of which He is the Architect (Heb. 11:16), and the builder is He Himself. But whoever hopes to reach this city by following a long path, drowning in pleasures, glory, and temporary peace, everyone is greatly mistaken and deceived. For it was not without reason that Christ your Savior revealed the glory of His Divinity after He had predicted to the disciples about suffering and His voluntary death, and stopped Peter from disputing this (Matthew 16:21-23). Not without reason, six days before this appearance, He spoke these words to everyone in general: If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and come after Me. Whoever wants to save his soul will destroy it; and even if he loses his soul for My sake, he will find it (Matthew 16:24–20). Not without reason, and at the very manifestation of His glory and greatness, He talked about the cross and His death, but talked about this, making it known that everyone can come to that glory and eternal bliss only through the cross and suffering. Not without reason, finally, this voice was heard at that time: Behold, this is My beloved Son, in Him I am well pleased: Hear ye Him (Matthew 17:5). For if the Most Beloved Son, fulfilling in full the will and predestination of God His Father, prepares Himself for suffering and death for the sake of the salvation and redemption of people, then how can His indecent servant and servant, wanting to serve Him in anything and find mercy from Him, do without patience? If the Son and Heir by nature enters into His glory through suffering (Luke 24:26), then how can the son by grace (1 John 3:1} hope to enter without suffering into glory and inheritance, not his own, but belonging to the Son by nature? Has he not thereby lost the very name of son? Who is a son, he is not punished by the father (Heb. 12:7 )? Besides this, if God the Father betrays His Most Beloved, Only Begotten and Co-essential Son and Word to such grave suffering, then how can you, an insignificant person, not want to accept with gratitude from His most holy hand every test and visitation? Heavenly? So, you must listen to the One who shows you the path to salvation, although narrow and regrettable, but first laid out by Himself, and not the world, which leads all its lovers and its sons along a wide and spacious path to eternal destruction. But if this path is so narrow and regrettable, if the yoke of the cross is heavy and unbearable, then why does Christ our Savior call His yoke good and the burden light (Matthew 11:30)? In order to receive a satisfactory answer and undoubted notification to this, you, a Christian man, must know that the transformation that changes the soul of a Christian man makes the sorrow of the cross sweet, the burden of the yoke of Christ light, and the tightness and inconvenience of the path leading to salvation smooth, extensive and comforting. You may ask, how does the human soul transform? - this happens when a person is fulfilled, by the grace and gift of the Most Holy and Life-giving Spirit, consolations and pleasures pouring out from heaven; when he tastes the sweetness of manna, hidden from the sensualists of this world (Rev. 2:17), and having tasted it in surprise, he cries out with these prophetic words: Since the great abundance of Thy goodness, O Lord, hast Thou hid from those who fear Thee (Ps. 30:20)! Someone will say: why is there an incomparably greater number of those who are completely careless about these spiritual pleasures? I answer this: because they do not know these blessings, which cannot be known otherwise than by experience alone. For it is not without reason that the King and Prophet of God says these words: blessed are the people who shout (Ps. 89:16); and exclamation is such a joy and pleasure of the heart that it cannot be explained in words or expressed by any external signs: only the one who has experienced it knows it. Taste, says the Prophet, and see that the Lord is good (Ps. 33:9). For just as no one knows the sweetness of honey better than the one who tastes it, so no one can know this invaluable gift except the one who accepts it, as St. John in Revelation (Rev. 2:17). You will object to me: why doesn’t everyone, or at least not many, accept this gift? I answer: because they did not acquire these two conditions, the image and outline of which was given by Christ our Savior in His Transfiguration. What are these conditions? The first thing is that He showed them (the disciples) the glory of His Divinity in solitude; the second, which (showed) on a high mountain. Truly, if anyone wants to acquire spiritual vision and the sweetest conversation with his Creator, he must first, leaving the deep vale of the temporary pleasures of this world, ascend to the mountain of God-thought. If anyone wants to rest in sweet sleep on the bed of this mental Solomon (Song. 3:7; 8:2), he must first carefully close the doors of all thoughts so that no noise and cry of the anxieties and sorrows of everyday life enter there. Then, if he wants to enjoy this desert manna, about which the Church sings in its hymn: “The unceasing Divine desire is deserted,” then he must first wean himself from Egyptian meats and garlic (Num. 11:4, 5); if one wishes to taste spiritual consolations and pleasures, one must first remove oneself from the pleasures of time and bodily pleasures. For no one can be comforted and rejoice in both this and the next world, but he who desires to achieve one of these consolations must lose the other. Finally, just as Christ our Savior, desiring to be transformed and show the glory of His Divinity before His disciples, led them to a mountain, so the mental transformation of the Christian soul does not and cannot happen anywhere else than on that mental mountain and in that house of the God of Jacob. For nowhere else can a person see the glory of the transfiguration of Christ our Savior, nowhere can he be transformed from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18), except in this house of the holy Eastern Church, which, having been created, is firmly founded on the top of that high mountain of God, revealed in the last days (Is. 2:2), that is, on Christ Himself Our Savior, recognizes Him as His One Head and Bridegroom (Eph. 1:22; 2 Cor. 11:2), undoubtedly believes in this sweet voice of His Bridegroom: I am with you to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20), and diligently awaits that glorious second coming into this world of His Beloved Bridegroom (Matt. 25:3). And at this time she is greatly consoled by the expensive objects left to her by Him as a remembrance, she sweetly kisses and embraces them until she settles into that eternal marriage (Rev. 19:7), and, being led from Him by the hand into that heavenly chamber, she will sweetly embrace and kiss no longer these jewels, and not what was left to her as a remembrance, but Himself him, more beautiful in kindness than the sons of men (Ps. 44:3), his Bridegroom, and enjoy His ineffable kindness. All the glorious and venerable places of Christ’s suffering, such as: Nazareth, where He was brought up; Bethlehem, where He was born; Zion, where he accomplished the salvation of the world; Jordan, where He renewed Adam; Tabor, where he foreshadowed the kingdom of heaven; Mount of Olives, from which He ascended from us to the Heavenly Father - God did not in vain entrust all these holy and glorious places to the conciliar Church, but as such, which is the truest and most worthy of honor of all the faiths and churches found among Christians. And just as a king entrusts the most precious things and treasures of his palace to his most faithful servants, so Christ, from the beginning of His sojourn in these places, entrusted these glorious places to the cathedral Church. You may ask, how does the Church find comfort in these treasures, and how does she kiss and embrace them? Firstly, she firmly, constantly and invariably adheres to orthodoxy, decorum and splendor of the church, which, having received its beginning in these places, as if from some source, poured out throughout the wide circle of this world (Luke 24:47). Secondly, she, with constant gratitude and ardent love, celebrates the remembrance of all those deeds and exploits of Christ the Savior, which He deigned to perform in these places, fulfilling his care for us and having in due respect and protection all those holy and holiday days on which the secrets of His humane Providence and our salvation are remembered, she celebrates them and triumphs, in a wondrous, touching and unchanging way order, compiled according to the action of the Holy and Life-giving Spirit. But the Church is especially wondrously consoled by those feasts on which God the Father gave a glorious testimony of His Only Begotten and Ever-Eternal Son, and on which the Trinity Adoration appeared, and the image and outline of His second, glorious coming into this world was written - it is consoled by the glorious feast of the Epiphany and the present - the Transfiguration of the Lord, and celebrates and glorifies them in a special manner solemn rites - those two saving holidays that the Godfather David contemplated with the prophetic gaze, rejoicing in spirit and crying out with these words: Tabor and Hermon will rejoice in Your name (Ps. 89:13). For, as Saint John of Damascus says, Mount Tabor rejoiced at the hour of the Transfiguration; Hermon, a hill lying near the Jordan River, also rejoiced at the hour of baptism in the Most Sweet Name of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, when a voice came to Him: This is My beloved Son, in Him I am well pleased; Hear Him (Matthew 17:5). The Church of God heard this sweet and longed for Her voice, which came from Her mountainous fatherland, and rejoiced. She heard this true and immutable testimony, and, undoubtedly, believed him. She heard that she must listen to Him, and in this way, and not in another way, she contains, listens to the teachings and commands of Him, and not otherwise. It does not deviate the slightest bit from the words and teachings of Christ His Savior and from the tradition of His witnesses and witnesses - the Apostles, preserved intact and intact by their true successors, approved by the canons of the holy Ecumenical Councils, collected by the Holy Spirit, and sealed with the blood of martyrs. The Holy Church, having accepted the robe woven from the highest Theology, and once placing it on herself, never laid it aside, and not only did not stain it with any heresy, but also did not disfigure it with any diversity of human inventions, and, wearing it on herself with due reverence, in it she proceeds to meet her Bridegroom, who is coming again into this world with with much power and glory. The transformation of the soul of a person - a Christian - is threefold: for those pleasures and heavenly joys with which the Almighty Voivode bestows upon His warriors can be divided into three types. Some that He was pleased to share and provide to young recruits, at their very arrival to Him, to prepare them for future labors, to ease and delight the upcoming difficulties and exploits of the military. Others, which He bestows on experienced warriors who have victoriously fought against enemies after many battles, are already, as it were, some kind of reward for their labors and exploits - but bestows them only before removing them from the battlefield. Still others He will generously distribute from the inexhaustible treasury of His riches, not only after the victory, but also after the expulsion of all enemies, with their return with honors and glorious triumph to the fatherland, and will crown them with an unfading crown of eternal glory. A certain similarity and image of this can be seen in the disciples of Christ themselves, who, firstly, before the passion on the cross and the life-giving death of Christ our Savior, saw on Mount Tabor the glory of the transfiguration and the dawn of His Divine beauty; secondly, after the resurrection, on the Mount of Olives, they saw His glorious triumph, when He deigned to ascend and ascend into heaven; and about the third manifestation of His glory and greatness on Mount Zion, there and then from the messengers of the Palace of Heaven they received assurance that this Christ would again come with power and much glory to judge the living and the dead (Acts 1:11). I remembered this threefold revelation of the glory (of Christ) in order that by this example I could more clearly outline the difference and properties of this threefold transformation of the soul. For, what a difference there is between those gifts and consolations that the Creator of heaven and earth shares with young warriors, and those that He bestows on His experienced warriors; What is the difference between the milk with which He feeds little infants (1 Cor. 3:2), and the perfect food with which He strengthens His workers who toil in the garden, everyone can see this with the eyes of the holy Apostles, the same John and James who were on the mountain, asking to sit on the right hand and left side of Christ, philosophized about the earthly kingdom (Matt. 20:21); the same Peter who cried: Lord! It is good for us to be here (Matthew 17:4), fearing one wretched slave, he rejected His Teacher and Benefactor with an oath. And when these disciples saw the glory and triumph of Christ their Savior after His three-day resurrection and glorious ascension; when the Most Holy and Life-Giving Spirit visited them with His coming (Acts. 2:4): then the same Peter, not in the least afraid of the whole assembly of scribes, Pharisees and the mighty of this world, cried out with these words: if it is righteous before God to listen to you rather than to God, judge (Acts 4:19); then the same John explored the unsearchable depths of the mysteries and soared to the unknown heights of theology; then all the Apostles not only do not fear the fear of the Jews, but also rejoice when they are deemed worthy to endure dishonor for His Name (Acts 5:41) From here, everyone can see with their own eyes how weak and powerless he is by his own nature, distorted by sin; and how, on the other hand, when spiritual grace comes, a great and wonderful change takes place in him. For, like water heated by fire, forgetting its nature, which gravitates toward the earth, grief quickly rises: so man, endowed with grace and the gift of the Most Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, rises above the weakness of his powerless nature, and cries out: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13). And if, as has been said, there is such a great difference between this first and second transfiguration, then what comparison can there be between both of them and this third, which is expected by all who have pleased God from all eternity? For another matter is those consolations with which the Merciful Lord consoles the poor, crying and weeping in this vale of tears; and the other is those with whom He will rejoice (His) friends who rejoice and enjoy in it all the joyful dwellings (Ps. 87:7). Another thing is the reinforcements with which He strengthens the soldiers who are still on the battlefield; and the other is the honors with which He crowns the victors who sing a joyful song after winning a victory. So, if just one grain from this very rich meal, given by the Apostles on Mount Tabor as a reinforcement, nourished them so much that they, not only forgetting, but also abhorring all the sweet foods of this world, and not wanting to leave this mountain, cried out: there is goodness for us to be here: then what will happen at the time when it will be given to fully enjoy it? And if at the time when Christ our Savior revealed only the small dawn of His Divinity, as the Church of God sings, and showed a small ray of this ever-present glory to His disciples, they were filled with such great consolations and joys, surpassing mind and heart: then what will happen when He reveals not a certain dawn, but the very glory of His Divinity, and when no longer through any veil or cover, but will bless us to contemplate it clearly and in action - when we see Him, according to the word of the beloved disciple of Christ, as He is (1 John 3:2). And if the Apostles, having seen only Moses and Elijah in glory and lightness, under that Almighty King of glory, were so much comforted in that longed-for company and coexistence that they never wanted to be separated from them: then what will happen at that time when not only Moses and Elijah, but countless legions and armies of ethereal servants of immaterial glory, as well as the faces of other saints saints of God, when the most praiseworthy apostolic council, the prophetic choir of praise, the victorious martyr regiment, the crowned legion of virgins, the standard-bearing army of confessors, the fiery-winged face of the hermits; when all the great multitude of these blessed citizens of the highest Jerusalem, according to the Divine word of the Eternal King of glory, will be enlightened like the sun (Matthew 13:43). Jesus Christ, our Savior, You, Who now showed on Tabor the radiance and ray of that splendid glory, could only contain the Apostolic gaze, - Who, in this wonderful and laudatory feast, destined the image and likeness of Your second glorious and majestic coming to the judgment of the living and the dead (Matthew 25:31), - Who promised Your beloved friends to seat them at this rich table, at the abundant feast and supper of His! Grant that we, too, who are unworthy, according to Your immeasurable mercy, may become participants in these inexhaustible benefits of Yours and abundant gifts! Grant that we may be satisfied with the grains of this rich table of Thy (Matthew 15:27); vouchsafe to find the doors of this beautifully adorned Chamber of Yours unclosed (Matthew 25:10)! Vouchsafe to accept recompense with these workers from the eleventh hour of Your heirloom (Matthew 20:); vouchsafe to meet You with joy, Coming on the clouds of heaven (Matthew 24:30)! Grant yourself the privilege of enjoying Your ineffable goodness and beauty face to face, both in that countless face of those who have pleased You from time to time, and in that beloved community of Your disembodied servants, to glorify and glorify You, with the Beginning Father and the Most Holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit, to the endless ages of ages. Amen 242. In short. See “Leonty Karpovich, church developments of Orthodox southwestern Rus' in the 17th century and two of his words.” Ed. Emperor. General Histor. and Ancient Ross. at Moscow University. Moscow, 1878, pp. 1–62. You might be interested in: