Беседа на Сретение Господа Бога и Спаса нашего Иисуса Христа. Святого Кирилла, архиепископа Иерусалимского 112

Rejoice greatly, daughters of Zion! preach joy, daughters of Jerusalem (Zechariah 9:9)! Rejoice, people of the city of God (Ps. 47:2)! Leap up, gates and walls of Zion and all the earth! Cry, you mountains (Isa. 44:23) and leap in delight, you hills (Ps. 113:6)! Clasp the rivers with your hands (Psalm 97:8), and, O people, embrace Zion (Psalm 47:13), seeing God present in it. May the inhabitants of heaven now unite their voices with those on earth, and may the heavenly Jerusalem be glorified with songs along with the ones below: for here is Christ, heavenly and earthly. Around the Heavenly, let the intelligent Powers rejoice; around the earthly things, let the earthly ones sing with the Angels. Now the God of gods has appeared in Zion (Psalm 83:8). Now the most glorious word is spoken about you, the city of God (Psalm 86:3). Jerusalem, city of the great King (Psalm 47:3). Open the gates to God, who opened the gates of heaven to everyone and opened the doors of heaven to everyone, - to the One who opened the gates of tombs for everyone (Matthew 27:52), Who crushed the eternal gates of hell (Psalm 23:7; 106:16), Who miraculously closed the gates of virginity. He who of old on Mount Sinai, as God, spoke with Moses (Exodus 20:1), now, as a servant, fulfills the law, submitting to the law (Galatians 4:4). Now God has come from Teman to Zion (Hab. 3:3). Now the Heavenly Bridegroom with the Mother of God, His bridal chamber, comes to the church. Daughters of Jerusalem! come out to meet Him! Let us light the lamps with true light! Let us prepare tunics of souls for the Bridegroom Christ (Matthew 25:6)! Nations from tongues, together with Zion! Let us meet Him with lamps! Let's gather in the church together with the Church, God and Christ! Let us shout to Him the song of the Angels with the Angels: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; Let the whole earth be filled with His glory (Isa. 6:3); the limits of the world are full of His goodness, all creation is filled with His praise; all humanity is filled with His condescension; heavenly, earthly and underworld are full of His mercy - full of His mercy, His bounty, His gifts, His benefits. So, all nations clasp your hands (Ps. 47:2); all the ends of the earth, come and see the works of God (Ps. 45:9); Let every breath praise the Lord (Ps. 150:6); Let all the earth bow down (Ps. 65:4); Let every tongue sing, let him praise, let him glorify God, the Child of forty days old and eternal, the little Child and the ancient of days (Dan. 7:9), the Child who sucks milk and made the eyelids (Heb. 1:2). I see a Baby and recognize God in Him - a Baby fed with milk and feeding the world. The Child who cries and gives life and joy to the world, the Child who is wrapped in swaddling clothes and liberates me from the bonds of sin - the Child who is one and the same - both on earth in the arms of his mother according to the flesh, truly and completely, and in heaven in the bosom of the Father, truly and completely. I see a Child walking from Bethlehem to Jerusalem and not being separated from the heavenly Jerusalem. I see the Child, according to the law, making a sacrifice in the church on earth, and at the same time accepting pious sacrifices from everyone in heaven. Behold, one and the same both in the arms of the elder according to the economy, and on the thrones of the cherubim according to the Divinity (Ps. 79:2), - one and the same and offered and redeemed, and redeeming and cleansing everything - one and the same gift and church, and high priest and altar, and redeemer and atonement, and one who brings and the offering for the world, and the tree of life and the tree of knowledge, and the lamb and the fire, and the burnt offering and the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17), and the shepherd and the sheep, and the priest, and the sacrifice, and the one who offers and the one who receives the sacrifice, and the law and the one under the law (Galatians 4:4). But let’s listen to what the Holy Gospel says about the real celebration. The wondrous Luke tells about Christ that when the days of his purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled. Jesus ascended to Jerusalem, to set Him before the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord: For every child of manhood, opening his lieu, shall be called holy to the Lord (Luke 2:22–23). So, although Samuel, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and others, who were born beyond expectation from barren women, and opened the barren wombs of their mothers, are called saints of the Lord, but Christ, one of one and only begotten of one, born of a virgin and not opening the gates of virginity, will be called and will be believed and worshiped not only as the Holy One of the Lord, but also as the Holy of holies (Dan. 9:24), and Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:15), God of gods, Firstborn of the firstborn, Lord of those who rule and King of kings (Apoc. 19:16). And now, in the church, Simeon preaches about Him. There was, says Luke, a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon: and this man was righteous and pious, seeking the joy of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was in him. And he was promised by the Holy Spirit not to see death, before he even saw Christ the Lord. And he came in spirit to the church: and when he brought in the parent of the Child Jesus, he did according to the lawful custom concerning Him, and Simeon received Him in his hand, and blessed God, and said: now do You let Your servant go, O Master, according to Your word, in peace. As my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people: a light for revelation in the tongue, and the glory of Your people Israel (Luke 2:25–32). Whoever speaks of the mighty powers of the Lord will make all His praises heard (Psalm 106:2)? He who holds the whole earth in his hand (Isa. 40:12) is embraced by the elder, and carries all kinds of things with the verb of his strength (Heb. 1:3). Let Adam triumph, calling out to Christ in the words of Simeon: now let Thy servant go, O Master, according to Thy word, in peace. You now free me from eternal bonds, from corruption, from death, and take away my sorrow. O my Son and God! Simeon received him in his arms in the church, and, proclaiming to all the peoples and Jews the wonderful mystery of the economy, he leapt, triumphed, and exclaimed with a bright and loud voice, saying: This is the Son, before this and ever, co-existent with the Father, co-essential, one-throne, one-glorified, one-powered, equal-powerful, without beginning, uncreated, unchangeable, indescribable, invisible, ineffable, immense, immeasurable, incomprehensible, unsearchable. This is the radiance of the glory of the Father (Heb. 1:3). This is the image of the hypostasis (of the Father), by which all things exist (Heb. 1:3). This is the Light of lights, shining from the depths of the Father. This is the God of gods (Ps. 49:1), God known from God. This is the source of life (Ps. 35:10), coming from the Father’s source of life. This is the river of God (Ps. 45:5; 64:10), flowing from the abyss of the Divine, but not separating. This is the treasure of paternal goodness and inexhaustible bliss. This is the water of life (John 4:10), giving life to the world. This is an uncreated ray, born, but not separated from the Sun - the Father of light. This is God the Word (John 1:1), who brought everything from non-existence into being with one word. This is the Lucifer, who, before the Lucifer, organized the incorporeal Forces of the heavenly armies and ranks. This is the One who alone stretches out the heavens (Ps. 103:2; Job 9:8) and walks on the sea as on dry land. This is the One who covered the abyss with darkness as with swaddling clothes (Job 38:9). This is the One who established the earth on the waters (Ps. 136:6). This is the One who fenced the sea with sand (Jer. 5:22, 11), like a wall. This is the One who separated the light from the darkness (Gen. 1:4). This is the One who arranged the circle of stars. This is the One who wisely created the whole world, visible and intelligible. This is the One who, with hands not made by hands, formed and formed man from dust. This is the One who created us in the image of God, now He Himself became man in our image, and is a man, but at the same time also God: there is a man, in appearance, exactly the same as me, with all my properties, in order to, having cleansed me, save me; there is also a God who is perfect in his inner being, having the essence of a perfect Father. Being the image of the Lord God, He has now taken on my image as a servant, not diminishing the dignity of the Divinity, but sanctifying the confusion of my nature: one and the same in everything, knowable in heaven and on earth; born untimely in heaven, without seed on earth, in heaven the Creator as God, on earth a creature as man. Hear this, all the nations (Ps. 48:1). Hear, O Israel: He whom I, your priest Simeon, carry in my arms and preach and testify to the people with a great voice in the church, is the Lord your God. So, my people, give ear to my word, incline your ear to the words of my mouth (Ps. 77:1). This is the Child about whom Isaiah foretold, saying: A Child was born unto us, a son, and was given unto us: and His name is called: Great is the counsel of the Father, the Angel, the Wonderful, the Counselor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, the Father of the Age to Come (Is. 9:6). If this Child is the Mighty God, then it is clear what David said about Him: the God of gods will appear in Zion (Ps. 83:8). It is about this Youth that Jeremiah also cries out: God has appeared on earth, and lived with men (Baruch 3:38). This Child of old split the sea for Israel and drowned Pharaoh (Ex. 14:21), gave the law to the Israelites, rained down manna, led the Jewish people in the desert with a pillar of fire, cut the stone (Num. 20:8) and kept the bush (bush) indestructible from the fire (Ex. 3:2). This Youth made the fourty-year-old Moses the destroyer of the Egyptian people (Ex. 2:11), then, for fourty years, a shepherd of the sheep (Ex. 3:1), then, for another fourty years, - the leader of Israel, and strengthened him for a fourty-day fast (Ex. 24:18), just as this Child Himself fasted for fourty days after baptism (Matthew 4:2), fourty days after the resurrection from the dead (Acts 1:3, 9, 11) ascended to heavenly Jerusalem, and fourty days after being born from the Virgin now came to earthly Jerusalem. Habakkuk foretold about this Youth, saying: God will come from Teman (Habakk 3:3), that is, from the south: for from the southern country of Jerusalem, from Bethlehem, He has now come to Zion. Moses testified about this Youth, saying: The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brethren: and whoever does not listen to Him, his soul will be consumed (Deut. 18:15; Acts 3:22). The Prophet David prayed to this Youth, saying: Sit on the cherubim, appear: raise up Your power, and come to save us (Ps. 79:2, 3); and in another place: may Your tender mercies soon precede us, O Lord (Psalm 78:8). Lord, bow down Your heavens and come down (Ps. 143:5); You are the Lord God of hosts, you will visit all languages ​​(Ps. 58:6). So, understand the Gentiles and repent (Isa. 8:9). See and believe, Jews. The Angels praise this Youth; The Archangels worship him; The Powers tremble at him; The Powers glorify Him; He is served by Cherubim; His theologians are the Seraphim; The sun works for him; The moon serves him; The elements listen to him; The sources obey him. At the sight of this Youth, the gates of hell were crushed, the gates of heaven were opened (Job 38:17), and hell, seeing Him, trembled. This Youth destroyed death, put the devil to shame, destroyed the oath, stopped sorrow, erased (the head of) the serpent (Gen. 3:15), destroyed the mediastinum (Eph. 2:14). he tore up the hostile handwriting of sins (Colossians 2:14), trampled upon sin, destroyed error, raised up the creation. This Youth saved Adam, raised up Eve, called the nations, enlightened the world. And so, come, lovers of Christ and lovers of God, let us go out to meet the Lord and Master all in joy and purity - not according to a legal custom, but according to a spiritual disposition, - not satiated in the belly, but leaping in heart, - not drunk with wine, but burning in the spirit (Rom. 12:11). Rejoicing so brightly now, let us decorate the lamps with light: as sons of light, let us bring lamps to the true light, Christ. since the light appeared to the world, in the revelation of tongues: then, like lights from the light, we will shine more than snow, we will mingle (with souls) more than milk, we will shine more than sapphire (Lam. 4:7), we will soar into the heavens more than an undefiled dove, and thus we will go out on the clouds to meet God. Let us all now and everywhere triumph and celebrate: with the Angels we will rejoice (Luke 2:13), with the shepherds we will be enlightened (Luke 2:9), with the Magi we will worship (Matthew 2:2), with Bethlehem we will celebrate, with Zion we will meet (Song of Songs 3:11), with the church we will sanctify, with the Virgin we will magnify and rejoice, with Joseph, like two turtle doves (Luke 2:24), let us bring soul and body, with Simeon we will accept Christ into the arms, and with Anna we will repeat the confession, so that we may become partakers of eternal blessings, by the grace, mercy and love of mankind of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen 113. See manuscript. Moscow Synod of Libraries. XII century (159–CLX), l. l. 74–77; compare Teachings of our holy father Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem. Moscow. 1900, countries. 358–366; Christian Read 1840, 1 hour, countries. 115–128. You might be interested in: