138. Слово в день обновления храма Воскресения Христова, что в Барашах

(Spoken September 13; printed in the 1844 and 1848 collections) Then there was renewal in Jerusalem. (John 10:22). And now the Orthodox Church celebrates the renewal of the church; and this church in particular, thanks to the zeal of Christ-loving souls, triumphs in its renewal. What is this holiday for, and what should it serve? – For every Church institution must be established on a holy foundation; must have the goal of spiritual good. A holiday without a reason and without benefit would be unworthy not only of Christian wisdom, but also of simple human prudence. The custom of solemnly renovating a temple, and even solemnly remembering its completion, has its basis in examples of deep and sacred antiquity. When the appearance of the Lord to Jacob in a dream above the ladder connecting earth with heaven, it gave him the first thought, perhaps on earth, about the local presence of the incontainable God: “the Lord is in this place” (Gen. 28:16); and when Jacob called this place “the house of God” (Gen. 28:17): then he, a lonely wanderer, with a staff in his hand, and with a travel supply of bread and butter on his shoulders, of course could not erect this house of God in a huge and magnificent form; however, while still in the spirit of communication with God, he was prompted, at least instead of the altar, to put up the stone on which he slept, and to pour on it the oil that he had with him. What is this if not the experience of a bloodless altar, unexpected in times of bloody sacrifices, and its renewal through anointing - an action that you still see today in the anointing of the altar, during the consecration of the Christian church? After Moses, at the command of God, erected the Tabernacle of Meeting, that is, a mobile church in the camp of the wandering people of Israel, in the book of Numbers about the solemn renovation of this church he writes the following: “And it came to pass on the day that Moses died, that he set up the Tabernacle, and anointed it, and sanctified it, and all the vessels thereof, and the altar, and all its vessels, and I anointed it, and I sanctified it, and brought the Princes of Israel their gifts before the Lord” (Num. 7:1-3). And here we see anointing, but anointing not with simple oil, as Jacob did out of necessity, but with fragrant myrrh, arranged according to the special command of God, and designated solely for sanctifying anointing, moreover, anointing not only the altar, but also the church, with its accessories. Likewise, in the consecration of the Christian church you see not only the anointing of the altar, but also the anointing of the church, cross-shaped, in the four corners of the world. When, instead of the tabernacle, a fixed church was created in Jerusalem: to renew it, “Solomon made a feast on that day, and all Israel with him, a great council” (1 Kings 8:65). Because the ancient shrine of the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant of the Lord, which especially represented the presence of God, was to move into this new church: therefore, a special action in the triumph of renewal was that “the Priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord into its place, into the holy of holies, under the wings of the Cherubim” (1 Kings 8:6). To this, during the renovation of the Christian church, there corresponds the solemn entry into it of the sacred remains of the holy Martyrs or other glorified Saints, through which the entry into it of the King of glory Himself, Jesus Christ, resting among the Saints, is represented. We can say that the renovation of the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon, not only the ministers of the shrine and the people, but also God Himself triumphed, filling the sanctuary with His glory in the likeness of a cloud, and sending down heavenly fire on the victims. Wouldn't we envy this wonderful solemnity? - Yes, it won’t. Then there were times of visible images and signs. We are told: “Those who have seen no blessings have believed” (John 20:29). And now the bright cloud of God’s grace overshadows not the eyes, but the hearts of believers; and now the fire of Divine love inflames, not the lambs, but the hearts of the meek; and the worthy know with experience, although the unworthy do not see. And the wonderfully renewed Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed, not so much by the hostile power of the Babylonians, but by the disastrous predominance of the sins of the Jewish people. But after his return from the captivity of Babylon, he created a new church, and again “he made the children of Israel, the priests, and Levite, and the rest of the sons of exile, renew the house of God with joy” (1 Ezra 6:16). Then, when in this church, although not destroyed, but stripped of its shrine by the Syrians, it was necessary, and it turned out to be possible, to rebuild the holy vessels and the altar, again all the people “renewed the altar every day, and offered burnt offerings with joy” (1 Mac. 4:56). The more hopeless the condition of the Jews was before this; this made this event more joyful, and more worthy of eternal gratitude before God: and therefore, “And Judah and his brethren, and the whole assembly of Israel, decreed that the days of the renewal of the altar should be celebrated in their seasons for every year” (1 Mac. 4:59). And here is the feast of renewal, which the Holy Evangelist John mentions: “Then there was renewal in Jerusalem, and there was no winter; and Jesus walked in the church in the porch of Solomon” (John 10:22–23). From this narrative it is clear that Jesus Christ Himself respected the holiday of renewal, and visited the church for the sake of the holiday, although the time was not favorable to the holiday: “there is no winter,” and, what is much worse than the airy weather, “the winter without unbelief,” as Saint Gregory the Theologian complements St. John the Theologian. After the Old Law feast of renewal in Jerusalem is decorated and exalted, because on it - I will say again in the words of Gregory the Theologian - “Jesus is present, God and the church. Eternal God, a new church, destroyed in one day, and raised up in three days, and abiding forever”; - after this, it is not surprising, and it is understandable that a similar idea appeared in the Christian world, to make the renovation of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem a common, annual holiday of the universal Church. It is necessary to remember that pagan malice, trying to destroy Christianity and its very traces on earth, the holy places of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of the Lord, not only made Christians inaccessible to the reverence of Christians, covering them with earth and stones, but also desecrated them by placing idols on them. What was the joy of Christians, after long sorrow, when Saint Helen overthrew these idols, opened holy places, found the true Cross of the Lord, and enveloped Golgotha ​​and the cave of the Holy Sepulcher in one vast church! The Mother of the Churches conveyed this joy to the Churches of all places and times, and they all accepted it, in the feast of the renewal of this church. Sometimes other churches imitated this, annually celebrating the day of their renewal: but now the commemorative holiday of the renewal of the church is usually hidden in the celebration of the day of the name of the church, which is more famous, and therefore more capable of public celebration. This, brethren, is the origin and consistent formation of Church custom and the order of sacred renewals. The memories and considerations offered to you should place you in reverent attention to the present holiday. But what we reverence, if it is truly worthy of reverence, must also be beneficial for us. What benefit should the holiday of renewal bring us? The sacred act of renewal brings to the church the grace of sanctification, by which it, from a simple church, becomes the house and dwelling of God, the repository of all blessings and sanctification for believers and for those approaching faith. For this purpose, the rite of consecration of the church was actually appointed: but that’s not all. The solemn commemoration of the renovation of the church confesses the blessing of consecration, and the glory of God the Sanctifier. Dignified and righteous! But that's not all. What else? - “And you yourselves, like living stone, are built into a spiritual church” (1 Peter 2:5), the Apostle calls out to all Christians, and therefore to us. And the other Apostle already sees in Christians what this man demands: “Do you not know that you are the church of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you” (1 Cor. 3:16)? We Christians must also achieve this, if we have not already achieved it. Its solemnity reminds us of this, the feast of the renewal of the church calls us to this. But let the ancient Church book speak to you and me about this: “we also are renewed, being the Church of the living God, putting off the old man and putting on the new, we will turn away from our evils that were promised to us, and we will do good deeds, walk more in the news of life: and like men made with hands, the Angels of our spiritual church not made with hands celebrate renewal: for there is joy in heaven through an angel about a sinner who is renewed by repentance” (Prologue, Sept. 13). Is it easy, some will say, to put aside the whole “old man!” Is it easy to become a completely “new person”? – Let’s assume that it’s not easy; but if this has been achieved by many, then it is possible for us too. Not easy; but it is necessary for our salvation: is it better to perish when it is not so difficult? The work of renewal is not easy: but don’t the works of the old man also have their difficulties? It is not easy for the lazy, for those who rely on their own strength: but not too difficult for the zealous, and not very difficult for those who believe in God’s always ready help. We should not exaggerate difficulties to feed laziness and cowardice. Small plinths are placed one on top of the other, and they create a huge church: in the same way, edify your soul, as much as possible, continuously, with good thoughts, good desires, good deeds, and you will be built into a spiritual church. Try every day to put aside something old and accept something new: and finally you will appear completely and eternally new. If yesterday you cared only about the flesh, which wears out daily, and will definitely wear out in the tomb: now take care of the spirit, which suffers from your decay, and can forever suffer from it if you do not work on your renewal. If yesterday you enjoyed the taste of selected dishes: now experience the taste of simple food, seasoned with prolonged abstinence. If yesterday you praised old wine, today you prefer new water. If yesterday you shone with jewelry: find out today that simple, unrefined clothing is incomparably calmer. If yesterday you thought about self-interest, now think about alms. If yesterday you were a lover of spectacles: now love Church meetings. If yesterday in the books of idle talk you “taught in vain” (Ps. 2:1): begin now to “test the scriptures” (John 5:39) of the God-wise One. If you have done a good deed, do not dwell on it, so that your self-praise and vanity do not wear out, “but forgetting those things which are behind, stretch forward to those things which are before” (Phil. 3:13), to new deeds and virtues. If you liked to appear kind: do not seek to appear any more, but be. The new man is not a dream, not a ghost, but truth, reality; He should not live in the eyes of others, but in your insides: “the hidden man of the heart, in the uncorruption of a meek and silent spirit, which is of great worth before God” (1 Pet. 3:4). How long to fuss for people, for the world? We must finally live for God. Only by living for God will we become the church of God, and God will live in us, and we will live and bliss in him forever. Amen. You might be interested in: