Слово на день Светов, в который крестился Господь наш. Св. Григория, епископа Нисского

Now Christ the Lord is baptized by John in order to cleanse what has been defiled, to bring down the Spirit from above and to lift man to heaven - in order to restore the overthrown and put to shame the overthrown. And do not be surprised if we became the subject of such care for God that He Himself brought about the salvation of man: through the care of an evildoer we suffered violence; through the care of the Creator we are saved. The evil slanderer, introducing a hitherto unknown sin into our race, put on a covering worthy of his intention - in a serpent, like an unclean one, entering into one like himself, like an earthly and dusty one, according to the nature of his will, inhabiting a reptile. Christ, correcting his wickedness, accepts the perfect man and saves man, and becomes the image and mark for all of us, in order to sanctify the firstfruits of every work and leave an undoubted tradition for the slaves to carry out zealously. So, baptism is the cleansing of sins, the forgiveness of sins, the cause of renewal and rebirth; Understand rebirth as something contemplated by thought, not visible with the eyes. For, truly, an old man does not change into a youth (according to the word of the Jew Nicodemus and his rude understanding), and a gray-haired man does not turn into a tender and newborn child, and a person does not return again to his mother’s womb; but, stained by sins and aged in evil habits, by royal grace he returns to the innocence of a child. Just as a newborn child is free from guilt and punishment, so a child of rebirth, having received remission of punishment by the gift of the King, is not subject to responsibility for anything. But it is not water that bestows such a benefit (for then it would be more perfect than anything created); but the command of God and the influx of the Spirit, mysteriously descending for our liberation; water serves to indicate purification. since we usually make a body defiled by dirt and impurity clean by washing it with water, therefore it is also used in a mysterious action, denoting non-physical purity with a sensory object. Let us dwell on the study of the issue of bath (baptism), starting, as it were, from some source, from the commandment of Scripture: unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5). Why are two objects, and not one Spirit, considered sufficient for the complete performance of baptism? Man is not simple, but complex, as we well know; Therefore, for a dual being, conjugated (of two parts), corresponding medicines are assigned: for the visible body - sensory water, and for the invisible soul - the invisible Spirit, called by faith, coming ineffably. For the Spirit wills wherever it wills. he breathes, and you hear his voice, but do not know where he comes from or where he goes (John 3:8); He blesses the body being baptized and the water washing it. Therefore, do not despise the Divine bath and do not consider it of little value, as something ordinary, because of the use of water, for He who works is great and from Him wonderful things are accomplished. After all, the holy altar by nature is an ordinary stone, no different from other slabs from which our walls are built and with which our floors are decorated; but since it is dedicated to the service of God and has received the blessing, then it is a holy meal, a clean altar, which is no longer touched by everyone, but only by the priests, and even those with reverence. Bread again - while there is ordinary bread: but when the sacrament is performed over it, it is called and becomes the Body of Christ. The same thing happens with the mysterious oil, and also with wine; these objects are of little value before blessing, but after sanctification by the Spirit, each of them acts in a different way. The same power of the word produces an equally respectable and honest priest, separating him from ordinary, simple people with a new blessing. For the one who yesterday and before was one of the people suddenly turns out to be a teacher of piety, a performer of hidden sacraments; and this is how he becomes, without changing at all in body or appearance, but, remaining in appearance the same as he was, by some invisible power and grace he is transformed according to the invisible soul, for the better. Thus, moving your thoughts to many objects, you will find that what is despised is despised, and what is accomplished by it is great, especially when you collect similar (examples) from Old Testament history to what is being discussed. The rod of Moses was nothing more than an ordinary tree (which every hand cuts down, and adapts to anything, and at will throws into the fire); when God wanted to create high and inexpressible miracles through it, the tree turned into a serpent (Ex. 4:2–5). And again, another time, the blow of this tree on the waters either turned the water into blood, or plagued a countless tribe of frogs (Ex. 7:17; 8:6); then it split the sea to the very depths, so that it was separated and not united (Ex. 14:20). Likewise, the mantle of one of the prophets, being a goatskin, made Elisha a celebrity in the world (2 Kings 2:13). And the tree of the cross is salvation for all people, although it is part of a plant valued no more than many others. And the thorn bush showed Moses the appearance of God (Exodus 3:2), and the remains of Elisha raised the dead (2 Kings 13:21), and the clay enlightened the man born blind (John 9:6). All these objects, being inanimate and insensitive substances, served as a means for great miracles, receiving the power of God. Based on similar reasoning, we affirm that water, being nothing other than water, when blessed by grace from above, renews a person into mental rebirth. If anyone begins to inquire into how water and the secret action performed on it regenerate, then I can tell him in all fairness: present me with an image of birth according to the flesh, and I will tell you the power of rebirth according to the soul. If you again object to me: “how blessed water purifies and enlightens a person,” I will exclaim even more strongly in response: how does a wet and formless essence become a person? If we go through the entire creation with our word, then we will also find it difficult to answer regarding each thing. How did heaven come about? what about earth? what about the sea? how – each thing separately? For everywhere human thought, powerless to reveal the truth, resorts to this particle as, just as those who cannot walk, resort to the seat. And to put it briefly: everywhere the power of God and the action are incomprehensible and unsearchable; she easily gave existence to everything she wanted, but hid from us detailed knowledge of her action. Therefore, blessed David, having once turned his mind to the splendor of creation and being filled in his soul with bewilderment at the wonders of it, uttered these words, glorified by everyone: Thy works are magnified, O Lord: with wisdom thou hast created all things (Ps. 103:24). He understood wisdom, but did not comprehend the art of wisdom. So, leaving behind difficult investigations that exceed human strength, let us instead ask about what seems (possible) to understand, at least in part. Why is purification (performed) with water? and for what need are three dives taken? Our God and Savior, completing the economy of our salvation, descended underground to manifest life from here. And we, having received baptism, in imitation of our Lord and Teacher, although we are not buried in the earth, as a completely dead body is buried in it, to hide in it the corruption of our nature, however, descending into the element akin to the earth - water, we hide in it, like the Savior - in the earth; and by doing this three times, we reflect on ourselves the grace of the three-day resurrection of Christ. And when we accept the sacrament of baptism, the names of the three Holy Hypostases are pronounced over us, in Whom we have believed, in Whom we trust, from Whom our present existence and future existence comes. Perhaps you, who boldly oppose the glory of the Spirit, are dissatisfied with this, and are jealous of the honor of the Comforter, with which the pious honor him? Stop arguing with me, and contradict, if you can, the words of the Lord, by which it is lawful for people to be called upon at baptism. What does the Lord’s command say? Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Why in the name of the Father? - because He is the beginning of everything. Why in the name of the Son? - because He is the Creator of creation. Why in the name of the Holy Spirit? - because He is the perfect power of everything. So there is no difference in sanctification, as if the Father sanctifies more, and the Son less, and the Holy Spirit less than both. since examples always make the word more lively for the listeners, then let us try to correct the way of thinking of those who blaspheme with similarities, explaining the great and the invisible by feelings with earthly and base things. If you had the misfortune of being captured by enemies; become a slave, be in poverty and mourn the former freedom that you had, and suddenly three famous citizens, having arrived in the country of your rulers and tyrants, freed you from depressing bondage, paying the ransom equally and equally dividing the monetary costs among themselves: then, having received such mercy, if you rightly value the benefit, will you not equally begin to look at (all) three as benefactors and will you not repay them in equal parts the debt for ransom, when both care for you and costs were common? As for examples, this is enough: for now our goal is not to justify the teaching of faith. Let's move on to the proposed study. The grace of baptism was announced not only after the suffering of the cross in the Gospels, but also before the incarnation of the Lord, the Old Testament Scripture outlined the image of our rebirth, not clearly revealing its appearance, but mysteriously depicting God’s love for mankind. And just as the lamb was foretold, and the cross was foretold, so baptism was foretold both in action and in word. Let us remind the inquisitive about these prototypes, because the current holiday itself naturally brings them to our memory. Hagar, Abraham's slave, the story of which Paul allegorically explains (Gal. 4:22-28), - Hagar, expelled from her master's house because of Sarah's anger, walked alone through the desert land, having with her Ishmael, who had been fed by her. since there was a shortage of what was necessary, and she herself was on the verge of death (and the child before her) because the water that was in the bottle was exhausted: then an angel suddenly appears and shows her a well of living water, drawing from which Hagar saves Ishmael (Gen. 21:14–20). Here is the most ancient mysterious prototype of how those who were perishing were saved through living water, which was not such before, but became such by the grace given by the Angel. Again, later on, the same Isaac was to be married, for whose sake Ishmael was expelled with his mother from under his father’s roof. And the servant of Abraham, sent to find a bride for (his) master, finds Rebekah near the well, and the marriage from which the race of Christ was to descend receives its beginning and the first agreement at the water (Gen. 24:11-27). Also, Isaac himself, when leading the flocks, dug wells everywhere in the desert, which were blocked and filled up by the Philistines (Gen. 26:15-23), in image of the fact that the wicked of the subsequent time will arm themselves against the grace of baptism, opposing the truth: although the martyrs and priests who dug the wells will overcome wickedness, and the gift of baptism will flood the entire universe. We find the same meaning of the words (of Scripture) in the fact that Jacob, hastening to marriage, unexpectedly met Rachel at the well; on the well lay a large stone, which many shepherds, gathering together, rolled away in order to get water for themselves and the rams (Gen. 29:1-10). This event was a mysterious image and a shadow of the future. So, over the mouth of the well for a long time lay the spiritual Stone - Christ (Isa. 28:16; Dan. 2:45), hiding in the depths and secrecy the bath of rebirth, the opening of which still required a long time (like a long rope). Jacob, the one who rolled away the stone and drew water and watered the sheep of his bride, is a prototype of the One who, having revealed the hidden sacrament, gives living water to the flock of the Church. Add to this what is said in Scripture about the three rods of Jacob. From the time the three rods were laid at the fountain, the rich Laban became poor, and Jacob became rich and having many sheep (Gen. 30:31–43); allegorically, Laban signifies the devil, and Jacob signifies Christ: for after baptism, Christ took the whole flock from Satan and Himself became rich. The great Moses, while he was a suckling baby, having fallen under the general and sad decree pronounced by the cruel Pharaoh on male infants, was left on the bank of the river (Ex. 2:3) not naked, but placed in the ark (because, allegorically, the law had to be in the ark), - was laid near the water: for the law is in close proximity to grace and the daily washings of the Jews were soon to be replaced in later times by a perfect and wondrous baptism. According to the explanation of the Divine Paul, the very transition of the Israeli people through the Red Sea preached salvation from water (1 Cor. 10:1-4). The Israelites crossed the sea, and the Egyptian king and his army drowned; this event foreshadowed the sacrament of baptism: since even now people, fleeing from Egypt, descend from the torment of sin into the water of rebirth, they themselves are liberated from spiritual slavery and saved, and the devil with his servants (spirits of evil) is suffocating with sadness and tormented, considering the salvation of people to be their own misfortune. This would be enough to prove the subject we are revealing. However, let us not ignore the following. The Jewish people, who, as we know, suffered a lot and ended a painful wandering in the desert, received the promised land not before crossing the Jordan under the leadership of the leader and ruler of their lives, Joshua. Jesus, having laid twelve stones in the stream, obviously prefigured the twelve disciples, the ministers of baptism (Joshua 4:9). And the amazing sacred service of Elder Elijah the Tishbite, which surpasses every human mind, was anything other than a sign, the very act, of faith in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and redemption? Filled with spiritual grace, the Prophet, with witnesses - King Ahab and all the people, entered into an amazing and extraordinary struggle with the priests of Baal, not only by praying to his true God, He brought fire down from heaven onto dry wood, but, commanding the servants to bring a lot of water and watering the wood three times from waterpots, with prayer he kindled fire from water, so that through an extraordinary connection into affinity and the assistance of elements contrary in nature to show the power of their God with greater extraordinaryness (1 Kings 18:16–40). Thus, with this miraculous sacrifice of his, Elijah clearly foreshadowed to us the mystery of baptism that was to take place subsequently: for fire is kindled with water poured three times in order to show that where the mystical water is, there is the life-giving Spirit, burning, fiery, burning the wicked, and illuminating the faithful. Also, his disciple Elisha, who suffered from leprosy, Naaman the Syrian, cleanses from the disease by washing in the Jordan (2 Kings 5:1-15), by drinking water in general and by immersing himself in this river in particular, clearly foreshadowing the future: since from the rivers alone the Jordan received into itself the firstfruits of sanctification and blessing, and from itself, as if from some special transformative source, poured out grace to the whole world baptism. After these prototypes of the mysterious rebirth through the bath of baptism, let us recall the prophetic words and sayings about it. The prophet Isaiah cried out, saying: wash yourself. Be clean, take away wickedness from your souls (Isa. 1:16); King Prophet David called: come to him and be enlightened, and your faces will not be ashamed (Psalm 33:6). The prophet Ezekiel foretold the grace-filled rebirth more clearly and clearly, preaching the very promise of baptism: and I will sprinkle clean water on you, and be cleansed from all your uncleanness, and from all your idols: and I will cleanse you, and I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh, and I will put My spirit in you. (Ezek. 36:25, 26). Saint Zechariah prophesies even more clearly about the baptism. First, he speaks of the great priest Jesus, clothed in vile garments, in our slave flesh; then, having taken off this sad garment of ours from Jesus, Zechariah adorns him with a clean and bright undershirt (Zechariah. 3:1-6), through such a representative comparison, teaching us that in the baptism of Jesus, all of us, having been stripped of the sins of a beggar and from the rags of a tunic sewn together, are clothed in the sacred and most beautiful (clothing) of rebirth. And what can we say about the voice of the prophet Isaiah, addressed to the desert: rejoice, thirsty desert, let the desert rejoice, and let it bloom like a tree. And will the desert of Jordan prosper and rejoice (Isa. 35:1, 2)? It is clear that the Prophet of God does not preach joy to lifeless and insensitive places, but by the desert in a figurative sense he means an unrefined and unadorned soul, just like Saint David when he says: my soul is like a waterless land (Ps. 143:6); my soul thirsts for the mighty, living God (Ps. 41:3); and then Christ the Lord Himself in the Holy Gospel says: if anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink (John 7:37); Whoever drinks of the water sows will thirst again: but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst (John 4:13, 14). And the honor of Carmel (Isa. 35:2) is given to a soul that has similarity with the wilderness, that is, grace from the (Holy) Spirit. Since Elijah lived on Carmel, this mountain became famous due to the virtue and glory of those who lived on it, and John the Baptist, who shone in the spirit of Elijah (Luke 1:17), sanctified the Jordan: therefore, the Prophet foretold that this river would be given the honor of Carmel. And he attributed the glory of Lebanon (Isa. 35:2) to the river, in comparison with the tall trees, for how Lebanon has a sufficient subject for surprise - the very trees that it produces and nourishes; so the Jordan is glorified for the fact that it revives and plants people in the paradise of God, always blooming with virtues, the leaf of which, according to the psalm, will not fall away (Ps. 1:3), and God will rejoice at the fruits, harvested in due time, as a good planter, rejoicing in his own deeds. The inspired David also prophesied about the voice that the Father spoke from heaven at the baptism of the Son, so that those who heard this voice, but until then looked only at the visible humiliation of the Savior according to humanity, would be convinced that the Son by nature had Divine dignity. Foreshadowing this, Saint David wrote the following in the book of Psalms: the voice of the Lord is on the waters, the voice of the Lord is in splendor (Ps. 28:3, 4). However, let us end here with the evidence from the Divine Scriptures about the grace-filled rebirth, because there would be no end to the word if someone wanted to collect all these evidence and conclude them in one word. Brothers! All of us, who flaunt the gift of re-existence and boast of the saving “renewal”, will show, after (receiving) mysterious grace, a change in morals, and through the purity of our way of life, let us know about the difference in the change for the better. We need some obvious sign by which one could recognize a regenerated person: we need some clear signs by which one could distinguish the new man from the old. Like darkness. dissipates with light and just as blackness disappears if it is painted over with white paint: so our old man disappears when he is adorned by the works of righteousness. You see how Zacchaeus, by changing his way of life, killed the tax collector in himself, returning and giving fourfold to those whom he had wrongfully caused harm (Luke 19:8). Matt. 9:9) that hour changed life, as if in some way. Paul was a persecutor, but after (accepting) grace he became an Apostle, and bore heavy chains for Christ, as a sign of retribution and repentance for those unjust chains that, having taken from the law, he could not place on the Gospel (Acts 9:1-3). This is what rebirth should be; This is how the habit of sin should be eradicated; This is how the sons of God should live: for we are called after (receiving) grace children of God. Therefore, we must carefully look at the properties of our Parent, so that, by forming ourselves and our lives in the likeness of the Father, we may appear as true children of Him who called us to a grace-filled “adoption." Whoever, by his deeds, disgraces the fatherly nobility, inflicts on his father the same grave dishonor as an illegitimate son. That is why the Lord Himself in the Gospel, establishing for us the rules of life, used the following expressions (addressing) to the disciples: do good to those who hate you, pray for those who do evil to you, and those who drive you out: that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, as his sun shines on the evil and on the good, and rains on the righteous and on the unjust (Matthew 5:44, 45). That is, according to the words of Christ the Savior, people become children of God only when they imprint in their souls the likeness of fatherly goodness, in love for others. Therefore, the devil, after (we have received) the dignity of adoption, plots more strongly against us, casting envious glances when he sees the beauty of a newborn man, hastening to the heavenly habitation from where he fell, and arouses fiery temptations against us, trying to take away the second decoration, as he took away the first. So, when we feel the attacks of the spirit of malice, we will apply to ourselves the apostolic saying: as we are baptized into Christ, we are baptized into His death (Rom. 6:3). We have become conformed to Christ in death (Phil. 3:10), therefore sin in us is completely dead, having been pierced by the spear of baptism, like that fornicator - by the zealot Phinehas (Num. 25:8). So flee from us, hated one: for you want to rob the dead one who was of old in union with you, who has now lost the ability to feel pleasure. A dead person does not nourish carnal love, a dead person is not captivated by wealth, a dead person does not slander, a dead person does not lie, does not kidnap someone else’s property, and does not give drink to his neighbor. For another life, the rules of life are indicated to me: I am taught to despise worldly things, to ignore earthly things, to hasten to heavenly things, just as the Apostle Paul definitely testifies to himself that the world is crucified to him and he is to the world (Galatians 6:14). Such are the thoughts and desires of a truly regenerated soul; These are the words and speeches of a newly initiated man, remembering his promise that he made to God when the sacrament was communicated to him - a promise to neglect all pain and pleasure for the sake of love for the Lord Christ. What we have said is sufficient for the sacred subject of this day. Let us conclude the word with an appeal to the Humane Giver of the heavenly gift, raising a small voice in reward for great deeds. You, Master, truly are the most pure and ever-flowing source of goodness. You righteously turned away from us and lovingly had mercy on us, - you hated us and made peace with us, - you cursed and blessed us, - you expelled us from paradise and again called us to yourself, - you pulled off the leaves of the fig tree (a shameful covering) from us, and clothed us with costly clothing, - you opened the prison and freed the condemned, sprinkling us with clean water and cleansing us from filth. Adam, called by you, will no longer be ashamed, and he, convicted by his conscience, will no longer hide, burying himself under the bush of paradise. The fiery sword will no longer fence off paradise, making the entrance inaccessible to those approaching it. But everything for us, heirs of sin, has changed to joy: paradise and heaven itself are accessible to man; the creation, both in the world and above the world, which had anciently been at enmity with each other, came into friendly agreement, and we people began to agree with the angels, piously professing their theology. For all this, let us sing to God a joyful song, which of old was prophesied by lips animated by the Spirit: Let my soul rejoice in the Lord: for thou hast clothed me with the robe of salvation, and clothed me with the robe of gladness: as a bridegroom put a crown on me, and as a bride adorn me with beauty (Isa. 61:10). The beautifier of the bride, of course, is Christ. Here and before, here and to come, blessed now and forever. Amen 93. In a slight reduction. See Curs. Compl. Patrolog. Migne, series graec, vol. XLVI, col. 577–599; compare creations of St. Gregory of Nyssa, in Russian translation. Moscow. Part VIII. 1872, pp. 1–25; "Christ. 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