Поучение на Вознесение Христа Спасителя. Святого Феодора, игумена Студийского и исповедника

Brothers and fathers! Now the brightest day of the Ascension of the Lord has come. This holiday is the end of the incarnate economy of our Lord Jesus Christ: for He, having fulfilled and accomplished all the will of the Father, ascended in glory into heaven, accompanied by angels and people, and resurrected us and with our nature, in His most holy flesh, sat above the heavens. What and how great is the wealth of His glorious inheritance, and how immeasurably the greatness of His power (Eph. 1:18-19), that He elevated our humble, mortal and humiliated nature to the Divine royal throne, and made it worshiped by all the heavenly angelic Powers! Keeping this in our minds, brethren, let us be filled with fear and trembling, reverently honor the greatness of the gift of God and let us lead our lives worthy of the Head of the Master, as members of Christ, as one body with Him, as partakers and joint heirs of Him - in purity, in reason, in long-suffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, in the word of truth, in power of God (2 Cor. 6:6–7) with all obedience and humility, with all care and attention, saying nothing indecent and doing nothing contrary to the commandment. So, one who defiles his flesh is no longer a member of Christ, and one who bears a grudge is no longer a member of Christ, and one who nourishes any other passion is no longer a member of Christ - and therefore is not worthy of communion of the Holy Mysteries. Therefore, everyone should test himself so that he is not unclean and vindictive, and when he is cleansed and corrected through confession, then let him partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. For whoever receives communion unworthily is subject to all condemnation, without judging the Body of the Lord, which is why many die when they receive communion unworthily, and those possessed by illnesses do not confess. Even if they had reasoned with themselves, they would not have been condemned. If we are judged by the Lord, we are punished, so that we will not be condemned with the world (1 Cor. 11:28–32). Therefore, we must be pure and reverent, so that we are worthy to be called members of Christ and partake of the Holy Mysteries. And if, through inattention, we happen to be inflamed with evil lust, or anger, or envy, or enmity, or rancor, or some other sin that is hateful to God (and this is not surprising, for we are people, not angels): then we will repent immediately, and again we will return to our former good mood, we will become sober and will not remain stuck in sin; and whoever remains stuck in sin is subject to merciless judgment. Or do we not know that death comes suddenly and unknown, and kidnaps us?.. And what are these (here) torments compared to the future? Is this not a dream and a shadow in comparison with future torments? That fire does not go out and that worm does not die, the darkness does not dissipate, tartarus has no limits, the gnashing of teeth does not stop and all other torments are endless. If we, brethren, thought about this, we would not rest our bodies, and no one would be jealous, would not offend anyone, would not be angry, would not condemn, would not lie, and would not do any evil. So, let us live in peace, we will have a good mood, we will be contrite, we will be meek, having sincere love for each other, and we will diligently and willingly do everything commanded to us, so that we may escape eternal torment and gain eternal life, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom belongs glory and dominion, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen 96. See Curs. Compl. Patrolog. edit. Migne, Tom. XCIX, p. 518; compare Theodore Studite 126 catechetical teachings, entitled: “Small Catechism”, - manuscript. Moscow Synod. Bibliote., X century. (374–CCCLXI), l.l. 21–22; Announcement teachings of the Rev. Theodora, abbot of Studium. Published. Kozelskaya desert. Kaluga. 1896, pp. 248–250; Philokalia, in Russian. translation Moscow. 1889, vol. 4, pp. 445–446. You might be interested in: