Слово на Сретение Господа нашего Иисуса Христа. Святого Амфилохия, епископа Иконийского

Many great people glorify virginity. Indeed, it is worthy of praise. Virginity is a property of Angels; interlocutor of the heavenly Powers, imitator of incorporeal beings, light-bearer of the Holy Church. Virginity conquers the world, tramples passions, tames desires, does not belong to Eve; it is not involved in sorrow, free from groaning; The sentence pronounced by God does not extend to virginity: by multiplying I will multiply your sorrows and your groanings: in sickness you will give birth to children: and your turning to your husband, and he will possess you (Gen. 3:16). So, virginity is truly glorious, as a free acquisition, as an unfading plant, as an independent life, as an ascetic adornment; it is above the ordinary human condition, is not constrained by the bonds of necessary worries, and, together with the Bridegroom Christ, enters the palace of the heavenly kingdom. Such and similar are the praises of virginity! However, an honorable marriage (Heb. 13:4) surpasses every earthly gift, as a fruitful tree, as a beautiful fruit, as the root of virginity, as a producer of animate and intelligent branches, as a blessing for the multiplication of the world, as a comforter of the human race, as the culprit of humanity, as an image of the Divine image, as an acquirer of the blessings of the Lord, as a support for the whole world, as fulfilling the commands of Him Who became man, as who can boldly say: Behold, I am the children whom God has given me (Isa. 8:18). Eradicate honest marriage, where will you find the color of virginity? But beloved, in saying this, we do not introduce hostility between virginity and marriage; on the contrary, we respect both as mutually necessary. The Lord and Provider of both does not oppose one to the other: for both in virginity and in marriage piety is necessary; and without piety, virginity is not chaste, and marriage is not honest. Therefore, virginity is glorious, but true virginity: for in virginity there is a difference. Some virgins took a nap and fell asleep, while others stayed awake (Matthew 25:1–13). Marriage is also worthy of praise, but marriage is faithful and honest: since many have preserved, and many have not preserved, its purity. Widowhood is also honorable (since justice requires mentioning three states) - honorable, I say, and widowhood, but true widowhood, victorious in the feat of chastity, honest, pure, unblemished widowhood - widowhood that has not been mixed, after marriage, with the defilement of sin. Such was Anna the Prophetess, presented to us by the Word of God, who lived to a ripe old age and, like an eagle, was renewed with youth. For you recently heard the narration of the Evangelist: And Anna the Prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who became a wife in the days of many, living with her husband seven years from her virginity. And that widow, who was eighty and four years old, no longer left the church, served with fasting and prayers day and night (Luke 2:36, 37). Do you see what kind of widow Anna is, and how exalted she is in the Holy Gospel? Anna is truly gracious: her very name corresponded to her splendid disposition 114 . Listen to this, wives, be jealous of the illustrious Anna, and follow the same path in order to receive the same crown of praise. Do not present as an excuse the defenselessness of the widow's condition, and do not darken the grace of monogamous life. Anna is the crown of widows, a wife by gender, a prophetess by dignity. She was adorned with widowhood like a royal diadem; decrepit in body, she was strong in spirit; with the dilapidation of her face she was sculpted with wisdom; bowed down by old age, she was cheerful with knowledge; withering from many years, the knowledge of God blossomed; she fasted, and did not become satiated; she prayed, and did not wander; stayed in the church, and did not go around other people's houses; sang psalms, and did not talk idle; prophesied, not fabled; I occupied myself with Divine subjects, and did not care about vain things. Anna surpassed the widow whom the Apostle praises. What widow? Listen to what Paul says: let a widow not be less than sixty years old from birth: if she has raised children, if she has raised the minds of saints, if she has provided for the sorrowful, if she has followed every good work, she should eat (1 Timothy 5:9, 10). Anna surpassed the widow described by Paul in both years and lifestyle. And how did she not surpass every widow when she was awarded the prophetic gift, became the abode of the Holy Spirit, and pointed out the signs of this appearance to everyone who was waiting for the appearance of the Lord in the flesh? You heard what the Evangelist said about her: and she, that is, Anna, at that hour came and confessed to the Lord, and spoke about Him to all who hoped for deliverance in Jerusalem (Luke 2:38). Do you see Anna's greatness? She became the Lord's protector and spoke about Him in the presence of Himself. Wonderful thing! The widow shamed the priests and scribes, and, shaming them, inspired all the people, proclaiming the deliverance that was to be in Jerusalem through the coming of the Lord: she preached to those who stood by, glorifying the Lord. Anna saw the Lord as an Infant: she saw the gifts and cleansing sacrifices offered with Him and for Him, and was not stunned by doubt about the age of infancy. Anna confessed that this Child is God, the Physician and the Almighty Redeemer, and the Destroyer of sins. Don’t leave Anna’s words unattended, beloved. Proclaiming the power of the Lord to all who were present, she seemed to speak to the assembled people like this: "Do you see this Child, suckling his breasts? resting in the bosom of the Mother? not yet able to walk on the earth with His feet? circumcised on the eighth day? Do you see this Child? He created the eyelids; He established the heavens; He stretched out the earth; He fenced the sea with sand. This This Child brought forth the winds from His treasures; This Child opened the abyss of heaven; This Child brought forth the rain like a wave. This Child brought forth our forefathers from Egypt with the rod of Moses, and through it He led His people through the wilderness; He sent down manna to him like rain, and gave him an inheritance of land yielding milk and honey. This Child guided the fathers who built this church. This Child, establishing a covenant with Abraham, said: Having truly blessed, I will bless You, and I will multiply Your seed like the stars of the heaven, and like the sand of the sea (Gen. 22:17). About this Child, the Prophetic face, in a voice of prayer to Him, prophesied: raise up Your power, and come to save us (Psalm 79:3). Do not be tempted by the age of the Child: for He is both a Child and co-originating with the Father; subject to the reckoning of time, and no one can confess His generation: He is both the silent Child, and at the same time the giver of wisdom and the opener of the mouth; born of a virgin, and incomprehensible in essence; visible and immense." These are the prophetic verbs of Anna. This is the wife's gospel. These are the deeds of a widow, a true widow, who made an excellent exchange in the way of her life: she lost her husband and received the Lord. Having lived with her husband for seven years from her virginity, and having thus completed a week of years, she then rested from the affairs of marriage. She fulfilled the week wonderfully, kept the Sabbath wonderfully, and wonderfully achieved the summer of the Lord’s grace. Anna was like a turtle dove: she did not forget her husband, did not change her first loyalty, and therefore this reproof of Paul does not concern her: when they become furious against Christ, they want to encroach, having sin, because they rejected the first faith (1 Timothy 5:11, 12). Truly, that wife is worthy of condemnation who, together with the husband given to her by God, buries his memory, and especially when she is left with a child or several children, for the birth of which the marriage itself is legalized. However, if a young widow does not have children, then, motivated by the desire to bear children, she is allowed to enter into a second marriage. For blessed Paul, inspiring this, said: I would like to encroach upon young widows; then, showing the purpose for which one should enter into a second marriage, he adds to what has been said: give birth to children, build a house (1 Timothy 5:14); Consequently, the purpose of getting into a second marriage should be childbearing. However, if a widow entering into a second marriage has children, then such sowing seems unnecessary, since reasonable ears of corn, usually in such a case, do not grow in harmony with each other. But it’s time for us to return to the previous subject, that is, to the prophecy of the Messiah. What else have we heard from the Evangelist? They heard the words of Simeon, said to the Virgin: This one is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, and it is a sign that can be contradicted: and a weapon will pierce your very soul (Luke 2:34, 35). How wonderful are these words! And what do they mean? How does the Restorer of the world, raising some, overthrow others? This One lies for the fall and for the rising, that is, for the rising of those who believe in Him, and for the fall of those who do not believe. Simeon called the cross a sign of controversy. Why? because many of the unbelievers reproached the Lord when He hung on the cross, and revealed the thoughts of their hearts, mocking Him in words and deeds: they gave Him milk to drink, they brought gall to His lips, they crowned Him with a crown of thorns, they pierced His side with a spear - they shouted blasphemous words: He saved others, He cannot save Himself (Matthew 27:42)? Foreshadowing this, Simeon said: and as a sign we can argue. For Peter also denied Him, and all the Apostles were scattered like sheep without a Shepherd, which the Lord also foretold: you will all be offended because of Me this night (Matthew 26:31). The cross filled with sorrow the soul of the Virgin Mother herself: that is why Simeon added: and a weapon will pierce your very soul. Here Simeon called weapons the countless and bleak thoughts that shake the insides and penetrate to the very brain. The Virgin Mary indulged in these thoughts when she did not yet know about the power of the resurrection, although the rise of Christ from the dead was already close. After the resurrection, there was no longer a double-edged sword, but joy and gladness. So, Simeon called the sign of controversy the sign of the cross, during the manifestation of which the weapon of thoughts struck the Virgin Mary. The proof of this is found in the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who says: This generation is evil: it seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah. As Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights: so will the Son of man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights (Luke 11:29; Matt. 12:40). Do you see how Christ’s death on the cross is called a sign not only in the New Testament, but also in the Old? For the Old completely agrees with the New, why? - because one and the same God is the Lawgiver of the Old Testament and the Founder of the New Testament. Who testifies to this? The Lord Himself. Listen to what He said through the Prophet Ezekiel to the angels, announcing the world's end: do not spare your eyes, and do not have mercy. Beat the old, and the young, and the virgin, and the little children, and the wives for consumption: but do not touch anyone who has a sign on them (Ezek. 9:5, 6). This is the sign of the Old and New Testaments! This is the cross that saves the world through Jesus Christ, our Lord, crucified on it, to whom be glory and dominion, now and always and unto ages of ages. Amen 115. The Hebrew name “Anna” means “grace.” Curs. Compl. patrolog. Migne, series graeca, vol. XXXIX, col. 44–60; compare "Christian Reading" 1838, part 1, countries. 147–158; "The Presentation of the Lord. Service for the feast of the Presentation of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, with the appendix of menaion legends, selected articles."... Published by the Moscow Synodal Printing House. Moscow. 1902. 19–23 countries. You might be interested in: