Собор святого Архангела Гавриила 2122

The day after the Annunciation of the Most Pure Virgin Theotokos, the Church has long decreed by the Jerusalem charter and the charter of the great monastery of St. Sava to celebrate the Council of the Holy Archangel Gabriel with a special day and hymn, honoring this joyful evangelist. And truly, the one who served the mystery of our salvation and brought the Immaculate Virgin the news of the incarnation of God the Word in Her most pure womb is worthy of special honor. If an honored ambassador and an earthly king, who brought a royal merciful word to some city, is received by all citizens of that city with special honor, then all the more should the most honorable ambassador of the Heavenly King, the greatest prince of the Angels, who came to the entire human race with a most merciful word proclaiming our eternal salvation, be honored with a special celebration. And how great is this messenger, who himself first revealed his dignity to Saint Zechariah: “I am Gabriel, standing before God” (Luke 1:19), i.e. standing closer than other Angels to the throne of God. Just as in the earthly kingdom the dignitary closest to the king, more knowledgeable about the secrets of the king, is incomparably higher than other dignitaries who are more distant from the king, similarly in the Kingdom of Heaven the holy Angels, standing closer before God, more clearly contemplating the mysteries of God, shine with greater honor and glory than other Angels of lower ranks. The Holy Scriptures tell us that seven Angels of the highest rank, the leading princes of the Angels, always stand before the unapproachable glory of God. In the book of Tobit it is written that the companion of young Tobiah announced that he was one of the seven holy Angels standing before God. And Saint John the Theologian in his book of Revelation remembers these seven leading Angels, saying: “Grace to you and peace from Him who is and was and comes, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne” (Rev. 1:4). Among these seven is Gabriel, the second in number, and after Michael the first. All of them are numbered by name as follows: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selaphiel, Yehudiel, Barachiel. If anyone asks: why God did not send to the Most Pure Virgin the first in rank of his Angels - Michael, but the second behind him - Gabriel - let it be known that these seven highest Angels are all equal in dignity, and Michael is the first among them only in number. Each of them has its own special ministry. Mikhail is the winner of adversaries; Gabriel is the messenger of the Mysteries of God; Raphael is a doctor of human ailments; Uriel, being the radiance of the Divine fire, is the enlightener of the darkened; Selafiel is a man of prayer, always praying to God for people and inciting people to prayer; Jehudiel - glorifies God: his ministry is to strengthen people who work in something for the glory of God and to intercede for reward for their exploits; Barachiel is a dispenser of God’s blessings and an intercessor, asking for God’s benefits for us. So, Michael was not sent with the gospel to the Blessed Virgin because his ministry is of a different kind: to always hold a drawn sword, take up arms against enemies and drive them away. Gabriel was sent because it is characteristic of his ministry to announce the mysteries of God. He announced to the holy prophet Daniel about the liberation of the people of God from the captivity of Babylon and about the time of the coming of the Messiah; He also announced to Saint Zechariah about the birth of John the Baptist from a barren mother. He also instructed the holy prophet Moses in the desert when writing the Book of Genesis, conveying to him the revelations of God about the first births and years, starting from the creation of the world. Pious tradition testifies that he preached the news to the righteous saints Joachim and Anna about the conception of the Most Pure Mother of God and was the Guardian Angel of the Immaculate Lady from Her very conception and birth, and brought food to Her in the Holy of Holies; That’s why he also told Her about the conception of the Son of God. In addition, Gabriel was sent with the gospel because the subject of the gospel is contained in his very name. The name Gabriel means “fortress of God”, also “husband-God”. So, by his very name, the evangelist means that the mighty God, the Lord in the womb of the Virgin is made a perfect man (husband), i.e. is a perfect God and a perfect man - perfect not in physical age, but in strength and intelligence. Other babies, conceived in the wombs of their mothers, do not understand anything, and there is no strength in them - on the contrary, the Baby, conceived in the Virgin womb of the Most Blessed Mary, from the very moment of His conception had an inconceivable mind and an invincible strength, and therefore in a small body was a perfect man. Having foreseen this, the prophet says: “And I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. And the Lord said to me: call his name Mager-shelal-hash-baz. For before the child can say, “My father, my mother, will receive the riches of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria” (Isa. 8:3-4). This means that the Baby, who cannot yet speak, will already have great strength and strength to defeat His enemies. The transformation of this was the very name of Gabriel, which means: Man-God, Mighty God. And this God, at the very time of his annunciation, by the influx of the Holy Spirit, was conceived in an incorruptible virgin womb. Saint Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople, discusses this this way: “The very name of the Angel is wonderful in its meaning, for the one who preached the gospel to the Virgin Mary is called Gabriel. With this name he foreshadowed and transformed the God-man who was about to come into the world. Gabriel means: Strong Husband, or Husband - God, comes from the word Gavir, which means: strong, or God, and in the totality of both sayings this word means: Husband - God. From ancient times Jeremiah foretold this, saying: “The Lord will create something new on earth: the wife will save the husband” (Jer. 31:22). So, this messenger of God is very high both in the meaning of his name, and in the nature of his ministry, and even more so in that secret, hidden for centuries and unknown to the Angels, which God was the first to reveal to him and which he brought to the Most Pure Virgin. And the more majestic this mystery of the incarnation of God was, the higher it was than other mysteries, through Gabriel, previously revealed to the holy prophets, the greater the honor from that time on he was awarded in the host of the Angels themselves, revered by them as the closest spectator of the inner and most unknown mysteries of God. Church teachers, especially Dionysius the Areopagite 2123, agree on those seven highest Angels that they always relentlessly stand before God. Other Angels are sent to various ministries, and these, as those closest to God, always remain at the throne of God. For the proclamation of the highest mysteries of God and for the manifestation of the greater power of God, they are also sent, as the holy Apostle Paul says: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent to serve?” (Hebrews 1:14). But what manifestation of the power of God is greater and what mystery is higher, if not the mystery of the incarnation of Christ, unknown, incomprehensible, ineffable? So, to proclaim such a great mystery, it was fitting for a great Angel to be sent, the persistent primate of the throne of God, the closest viewer of the mysteries of God, which Saint Gabriel was. It is also worthy of attention to which of the nine ranks of Angels in the three hierarchies Saint Gabriel belongs to. Some think that he is in the third, lower hierarchy, and is an official of the middle rank between the beginnings and the Angels, i.e. Arkhangelsk, destined for the proclamation of the great deeds of God. They think so partly because he is called an Archangel, partly because, as Saint Dionysius says, it is not the highest Angels who stand near the throne of God who are sent to serve, but only the lower Angels assigned for this purpose. But what is more reliable is the opinion that Saint Gabriel belongs to the highest order of the Seraphim and is not sent in less important actions of the will of God, but is sent to proclaim only the greatest mysteries of God, which was the mystery of the incarnation of God, and he is called an Archangel from the joyful gospel that he brought to the Most Pure Virgin, and with which he filled with joy not only Her, but also every creature, not only longer (earthly), but also above (heavenly), as Saint Damascus sings about this: one triumph for both ascended, when the incorporeal brought joy to you 2124. And that Saint Gabriel should be numbered among the Seraphim rank, we learn from the fact that no other rank ascends closer than the Seraphim to the throne of the unapproachable glory of God, according to the unfalse testimony of Saint Dionysius. By special order of God, each rank of Angels has its place: some ranks are closer, others further, and the Seraphim rank is closest to God, as Isaiah says about this: “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, around him stood Seraphim, each of them had six wings” (Is. 6: 1-2). And since Saint Gabriel is one of the seven closest Angels standing before God, he should be of the rank of Seraphim, the second among the Seraphim. In accordance with this, Saint Andrew of Crete calls him one of the first Angels, saying: “God commands one of the first Angels to announce the sacrament. If he was one of the first, then, of course, from the seven spirits who always stand before God; and if from the seven spirits, then from the Seraphim. For which of the Angels is higher than the Seraphim? Who is closer than them to the throne of God? So, Gabriel is Seraphim, the highest in this rank.” This is also revealed from the fact that for the great work of God it was necessary to send a great Angel. And since the incarnation of the Word was the greatest of God’s works, the highest of the Angels, Saint Gabriel, was sent to proclaim it, as Saint Gregory the Dvoeslov writes about this 2125 “To fulfill this great service, the highest of the Angels had to appear, for he proclaims the incomparably highest of all. If once upon a time the chief prince of darkness came to seduce Eve, then it was also necessary for the Supreme Prince of Heavenly Light to appear to the Most Pure Virgin to announce the annunciation; to the flaming Seraphim love for God, Mary should also have been sent to the Seraphim.” So, let us diligently honor Gabriel, as the chief prince in the ranks of the Angels, as one of the seven Seraphim closest to God, as the universal Archangel who announced salvation to the whole world; Let us honor him with reverent worship and prayerful singing, joyfully commemorating him and giving him thanks for such great benefits to his human race, which he has previously and now provides, constantly praying for us to the incarnate God. Through the prayers of St. Archangel Gabriel, may we all receive remission of sins! Regarding the seven highest Angels mentioned here, it should be noted that only the names of four of them are indicated in the Holy Scriptures. Thus, in the book of Daniel it is written that Saint Michael helps the Jews, then still pious worshipers of God (Dan.10:13); the message of the Apostle Jude says that, arguing about the body of Moses with the devil, he said to him: “The Lord rebuke you” (Jude 1:9); John the Theologian, in his revelation, writes that he fought with the serpent (that is, the devil) (Rev. 12:7); it is also known about Saint Gabriel from the book of Daniel that he revealed to the prophet, in the future, the innermost secrets of God (Dan.8:16), and the Gospel of Saint Luke says that Gabriel preached to Zechariah about the conception of the Forerunner (of the Lord), and to the Most Pure Virgin Mary about the incarnation of God the Word (Luke 1). Saint Raphael is mentioned in the book of Tobit, where it is said that he protected young Tobias from unexpected misfortunes on the way, drove away the demon from the maiden Sarah and restored Tobit’s sight (Tov.12:15). It is written about Saint Uriel in the third book of Ezra that he offered Ezra to weigh the “weight of fire” (3 Ezra 4:5). About the other three Angels, although not mentioned by name in the Holy Scriptures, however, according to the understanding of some God-minded interpreters of the Divine Scripture, one can think that Salafiel is the Angel who appeared to Hagar in the desert, when she was praying in deep sorrow; he told her: “God heard the voice of the lad (Gen. 21:17) and your humble prayer.” The name Jehudiel is given to that Angel whom the Lord promised to send to the Israelites in the wilderness, so that he would lead them to the Promised Land, thereby giving reward to those who keep the commandments of God to the glory of the Lord (Ex. 23:22–23). They think about Barachiel that he was one of those three Angels who appeared to Abraham at the oak of Mamre, blessed Sarah with the release of her womb from infertility and the gift of the son Isaac and prefigured the Holy Trinity: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Gen. 18). These saints, the highest seven Angels, of which Michael is the first, and Gabriel the second, from ancient times, according to the pious understanding of the Holy Church, were depicted on icons and revered by the creation of their churches in the name of them. Church history tells the following about this: The wicked emperor Diocletian 2126, a cruel persecutor of Christianity, building stone baths for himself in Ancient Rome 2127, ordered to take many Christians and sent them to that work, under strict and unmerciful guards, which tormented and depressed the saints. There one could see several thousand holy sufferers, who worked, drenched in sweat and blood, and many of them were destroyed there by the sword and various executions for Christ. Thus, through this hard work, a building was created so huge and beautiful, like royal chambers. When, after many years, Hellenic wickedness, together with its kings, perished, and Christianity, with the accession of Christian kings to the throne, triumphed throughout the entire universe - then the believers living in Rome, looking at the beautiful Baths of Diocletian, remembered that this building was built by the hands of Christians, and, having cleansed it of pagan filth, turned it into a Christian temple in the name of the seven main heavenly spirits, Archangels and archangels of the Angelic forces: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selaphiel, Jehudiel and Barachiel. Other cities began to imitate Rome, such as Naples in Campania 2128 and Palermo in Sicily 2129, where stone churches were also created in the name of these seven commanding Angels. Their faces were depicted on boards in iconography and in mosaic work on church walls, and each of them was distinguished from the others by special features that mysteriously depicted their invisible service. The images of the Angels were as follows: Saint Michael was depicted trampling Lucifer 2130 with his feet and holding a green date branch in his left hand, and a spear in his right hand, on top of which was a white banner with a red cross woven on it 2131; Saint Gabriel was depicted holding in his right hand a lantern with a candle lit inside, and in his left hand a stone mirror made of green jasper, with red speckles in places 2132. Saint Raphael is depicted holding in his left hand a slightly raised vessel with medical remedies, and in his right hand he is leading the youth Tobias, carrying fish caught in the Tigris River 2133. Saint Uriel is depicted holding against his chest, in his right hand, a naked sword, and in his left hand, lowered down, a fiery flame 2134. Saint Selaphiel is depicted with his face and eyes bowed down, and with his hands pressed to his chest, as is the case with a person tenderly praying. Saint Jehudiel is depicted holding a golden crown in his right hand, and in his left hand a scourge of three black ropes with three ends 2135. Saint Barachiel is depicted carrying white roses on his chest on his clothes 2136. Heavenly armies of the Archangel, we always pray to you, we are unworthy, and with your prayers protect us with the shelter of your immaterial glory, preserving us, falling diligently and crying out: deliver us from troubles, like the commander of the Highest Powers. Blessed, and Honest, and Omnipotent, Most Innumerable and Terrible Trinity, you are, Archangel, glorious servant and prayer book, now unceasingly pray for us to be delivered from all troubles and torments, so we call to you: Rejoice, protection for your servant. The day of celebration in honor of the Archangel Gabriel is called the day of “cathedral” because Christians on this day gather together to glorify the Holy Archangel Gabriel with sacred songs. Dionysius the Areopagite - a noble Athenian, a member of the Athenian Areopagus, converted to Christianity by the preaching of St. Apostle Paul. Of the works of Dionysius Areopagus, the following are especially remarkable: “On the Heavenly Hierarchy”) and “On the Heavenly Hierarchy” εκκλησιατικης ιεραρχιας..." (“On the Church Hierarchy”). Sedalen 3 voices. (according to the 1st Kathisma on December 15 and on the Week of the Paralytic. - Editorial Board of the ABC of Faith) Saint Gregory Dvoeslov, Pope, lived in the 6th century. The most remarkable of his works is “Regula pastoralis” (“Pastoral Rule”), which treats what a shepherd should be and how he should fulfill his duties. The name “Dvoeslov” was given to him for his essay “Dialogue about the life of the Italian fathers”, where the story is told as if by two persons. Diocletian, the Roman emperor, reigned from 284 to 305 and ruled the eastern half of the Roman Empire, while his friend Maximian ruled the western half. Thermae are public baths, which in Rome were arranged with particular splendor. At the baths there were also places for gymnastic exercises. Campania is a province in southern Italy. This province is remarkable because bells for church use were first cast here, which is why they are called “campans” (after the name of the province) in the Church Charter. Sicily is one of the large islands of the Mediterranean Sea. Lucifer – “light bearer”, Lucifer, morning star. In a figurative sense, this name is assigned to the first fallen Angel - the devil. White banner decorating the spear of St. Archangel Michael, denotes his holiness and purity, and the cross signifies that ethereal forces are fighting the kingdom of darkness and darkness in the name of the cross and the name of Christ. The mirror means that St. Archangel Gabriel is the messenger of God’s destinies for the salvation of the human race, while the lantern with a candle signifies that God’s destinies are hidden until the time of their fulfillment and, upon their very fulfillment, are comprehended only by those who steadily look into the mirror of the word of God and their conscience. St. Raphael, according to the belief of the Church, asks God for help and healing for all those who suffer. This marks a particularly strong zeal for God of this Archangel. This marks a reward from God for pious and holy people and punishment for sinners. St. Barachiel is, as it were, a harbinger of bliss and endless peace in the Kingdom of Heaven. You might be interested in: