| The importance of fasting and its observance today: Draft document of the Pan-Orthodox Council Source: DECR Draft document of the Pan-Orthodox Council, adopted by the 5th Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference in Chambésy on October 10-17, 2015. Photo: http://www.patriarchia.ru/ Published in compliance with the decision of the Synaxis of Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches, Chambésy, January 21-28, 2016. 1. Fast is God’s commandment (Gen 2:16-17). According to St Basil the Great, fasting is as old as humanity itself; it was prescribed in Paradise (On Fasting, 1,3). It is a great spiritual endeavour and the foremost expression of the Orthodox ascetic ideal. The Orthodox Church, in strict conformity with the precepts of the holy apostles, the rules of the Councils and the patristic tradition as a whole, has always proclaimed a great significance of fasting for people’s spiritual life and salvation. The annual cycle of liturgical celebrations fully reflects the patristic teaching on fasting, as well as the teaching on the necessity of constant unrelaxing watchfulness and on how to succeed in spiritual endeavours. The Triodion praises fasting as bringing the light of grace , as the invincible arms , the beginning of spiritual warfare , the perfect path of virtues , the nourishment for the soul , the source of wisdom , the life imperishable and imitation the angelic life , the mother of all blessings and virtues , and as the image of the life to come . 2. As an ancient institution, fasting was mentioned already in the Old Testament (Deut 9:18; Is 58:4-10; Joel 2:15; Jonah 3:5-7) and affirmed in the New Testament. The Lord Himself fasted for forty days before entering upon His public ministry (Lk 4:1-2) and gave to people instructions on how to practice fasting (Mt 6:16-18). Fasting as a means of abstinence, repentance and spiritual growth is presented in the New Testament (Mk 1:6; Acts 13:3; 14:23; Rom 14:21). Since the apostolic times, the Church has being proclaiming a profound importance of fasting, having established Wednesday and Friday as fast days (Didache, 8,1) and the fast before Easter (St Irenaeus of Lyons in Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica 5, 24). |
| Материал из Православной Энциклопедии под редакцией Патриарха Московского и всея Руси Кирилла ВЕРНЫЕ [греч. Πιστο; лат. fideles], те из христиан, кто уже принял Крещение (в противоположность оглашаемым) и регулярно участвует в таинстве Евхаристии. В НЗ В. называются все уверовавшие во Христа (Деян 10. 45; Еф 1. 1; Кол 1. 1; 1 Тим 4. 3, 6. 2; 1 Петр 1. 21; ср.: Ин 20. 27). Во время земной жизни Господа Его последователи именовались учениками (ο μαθητα); этот термин встречается во всех Евангелиях и Деяниях св. апостолов. В Посланиях к последователям Христа прилагаются различные наименования («братья», «святые» (1 Кор 6. 2; 2 Кор 13. 12; Флп 4. 22; Евр 3. 1), «подражатели» (1 Кор 11. 1; 1 Фес 1. 6; 2. 14), «избранные» (1 Петр 1. 1; Кол 3. 12), «(при)званные» (Рим 1. 6-7; 8. 28; 1 Кор 1. 2, 24)); в этот синонимический ряд входят и В. Они должны открыто исповедать свою веру прежде всего в принятии таинства Крещения. К неверным относятся язычники (1 Кор 6. 6; 7. 12; 14. 22; 2 Кор 6. 14; 1 Тим 5. 8). Термин В. в раннехрист. период встречается в надписях (напр., рядом с известной карикатурой на Распятие (Алексамен поклоняется своему Богу) (III в.) найдена надпись, в к-рой упоминается то же лицо как «Alexamenos fidelis» (DACL. 1914. T. 3. Col. 3051. Fig. 3359)). Если у мужей апостольских В. называются еще все члены Церкви ( Ign . Eph. 21. 2; Ep. ad Magn. 5. 2; Martyr. Polyc. 12. 3), то, начиная с III в., с развитием института оглашения, так начинают называть только одну из категорий членов Церкви - крещеных в противоположность оглашаемым, к-рые, уже считаясь христианами, еще не имели права участвовать в таинствах ( Tertull. De praescript. haer. 41//PL. 2. Col. 56; Orig. In Ier. hom. 18. 8//PG. 13. Col. 480c; Лаодик. 7; Cyr. Hieros. Catech. 1. 4; Hist. mon. Aeg. 5. 4). Именно полноценное участие в таинствах являлось для св. отцов основным критерием отличия В. ( Cyr. Hieros. Procatech. 2; Theodoret. Quaest. in Deut. 28). Строгая покаянная дисциплина исключала из их числа всех кающихся (Григ. Неок. 11; Васил. 3). Нек-рые из них должны были уходить вместе с «оглашенными», др. именовались «купно стоящими», т. к. могли участвовать вместе с верными в молитвах, но не приобщаться Св. Таин (Григ. Неок. 12; Феоф. 14; Васил. 3, 34, 56-64, 66, 75, 77, 81, 83; Трул. 87). Однако св. отцы подчеркивали, что В. не избавлены от действия страстей и могут впадать в прегрешения разной степени тяжести ( Cyr. Hieros. Catech. 2. 3; Ioan. Chrysost. In Matth. IV 8). Считалось, что у еретиков, к-рые, конечно, не относились к числу В., тоже были свои В. (Лаодик. 7). |
| Take fasting seriously as a very important aspect of Lent. Think of fasting not simply as an item of diet, but as something related to the fall of humankind, and at the same time as a victory through Christ. We fast for forty days in Lent before Holy Week not merely as an exercise, an ascesis, but also because there is an important Christological significance attached to fasting. We have forty-day fasting models from both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, Moses fasted for forty days on Mount Sinai before receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28, Deut. 9:9, 9:18) and Prophet Elijah fasted for forty days on Mount Horeb (3 Kingdoms 19:8). Both of these instances are connected with an encounter with God at the end of their fasting. In the New Testament, we have the forty-day fasting in the desert by our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-13). At the end of the forty-day fasting by Christ in the desert, there are the well-known “Temptations” of Christ, the first of which is related to eating: And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he [Christ] answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Matt. 4:3-4). Is this event in the life of Christ in any way connected to the Fall of Adam? Indeed, the Fall of Adam was caused by an eating situation, yet the victory of Christ also happened through an eating situation. While Adam said “yes” to the temptation and ate (Genesis 3:1-6), Christ said “no” to the temptation and did not eat. This is why the fasting of the forty-days during Lent is not simply a matter of abstention or an issue of diet, but is a major Christological and soteriological situation; the fall of humankind, and then the restoration through the victory of Christ. So let us take fasting seriously and prepare ourselves for a blessed encounter with God. 3. Reconsider our life of prayer |
| Photo: Mikhail Timofeyev. In the beginning when God created man he set him in paradise (the divine holy scripture says [Gen. 2:20]) adorned with every virtue, and gave him a command not to eat of the tree in the middle of paradise. He was provided for in paradise, in prayer and contemplation in the midst of honor and glory; healthy in his emotions and sense perceptions, and perfect in his nature, as he was created. For, in the likeness of God did God make man, that is, immortal, having the power to act freely, and adorned with all the virtues. When he disobeyed the command and ate of the tree that God commanded him not to eat, he was thrown out of paradise (Gen. 3) and fell from a state in accord with his nature to a state contrary to nature, i.e. a prey to sin, to ambition, to love of the pleasures of this life and the other passions; and he was mastered by them, and became a slave to them through his transgression. Then, little by little evil increased and death reigned. There was no more piety, and everywhere was ignorance of God. Only a few, I say, of the fathers moved by the law of nature acknowledged God; such were Abraham and the rest of the Patriarchs, and Noah and Jacob. And to speak simply, very few and rare were those who knew about God. For then the Enemy deployed all his wickedness so that sin would rule. Then began idolatry and the worship of many gods, divining, murders and the rest of the devil " s wickedness. Then God in His goodness had mercy on His creatures and gave Moses a written law in which he forbade some things and allowed others, saying This you shall do, that you shall not do. He gave the commandments, and said The Lord, your God, is one Lord, (Deuter. 6:4) in order to turn their minds from polytheism, and then: Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all thy soul and with all thy mind, everywhere proclaiming that God is one, and there is no other. For in saying Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, he showed that God is one and one is the Lord. So also in the Decalogue: The Lord your God shall you adore, Him only shall you worship. You shall adhere to Him and swear by His name (Deut. 6:13) Then he adds, Thou shalt have no other gods, nor any likeness to anything heaven above or on earth beneath (Exod. 20:3, 4), for they used to bow down before all sorts of creatures. |
| Is the Current Drought God’s Punishment? Photo by Ilya Varlamov God does not only act historically; He also rules the nature which He created. This thought runs throughout Holy Scripture. Psalm 103 is a magnificent hymn to God Who created all things in His wisdom, and Who continues to care not only for man, but for His other creations as well: He watereth the mountains from His chambers; the earth shall be satisfied with the fruit of Thy works. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and green herb for the service of men. To bring forth bread out the earth (Ps. 103:14–15). People of Biblical times always looked at rain as an expression of Divine mercy: And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing (Ezek. 34:26). The Psalmist praises God’s mercy, for He sent rain even while the Jews were wandering in the desert: A rain freely given shall Thou ordain, O God, for thine inheritance; yea, it became weak, but Thou shalt restore it (Ps. 67:10). Also through the Prophet Moses did the Lord reveal to the chosen people that their prosperity depends upon their faithfulness to God, and upon their fulfillment of the commandments which He gave to people. If they stray from their fulfillment of the commandments and worship idols, then The LORD's wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit (Deut. 11:17). On the other hand, the Lord God sends people fruit-giving rain for their pious life: If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit (Lev. 26:3–4). Referring to the significance of moisture for the earth, the Prophet Hosea says of the Lord: Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth (Hos. 6:3). After a dry summer beginning in mid-May until the second half of October, a rainy period begins in Palestine. The most fruitful rains were the early (October–November) and the late (February–early March) rains, which are often cited in Holy Scripture (see Jer. 5:24; Jac. 5:7). The late, spring rains were especially needed for a fruitful harvest. Thanks to these rains, the reservoirs were filled from which crops were irrigated during the dry summer months. |
| And no, I’m not referring to the Psalter of David, or even the later Odes of Solomon . I’m talking about the “Book of Odes” (δα), a collection of fourteen Scriptural hymns or canticles, which are still regularly sung in the liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church. The earliest known collection of these fourteen Odes is found in the Old Testament of Codex Alexandrinus. Codex Alexandrinus is a four-volume compilation of the Scriptures in the Greek language, and includes what the Orthodox Church calls Anaginoskomena , as well as some other pseudepigraphal and apostolic-era works. For example, a summary of the Psalms written by Eusebius of Caesarea, as well as St. Athanasius’ Epistle to Marcellinus are included before the traditional Psalter, with the 151st Psalm of David and the δα immediately following. The epistle of St. Clement to the Corinthians (1 Clement), as well as a sermon attributed to him (2 Clement) are also placed after the traditional twenty seven books of the New Testament. Given the inclusion of St. Athanasius’ letter, the earliest date for this codex can be A.D. 373, and most scholars today date it between the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth century. The Book of Odes aptly begins with the chorus, “Sing to the Lord! For he is eminently glorified” ( Odes 1:1 ). As already mentioned, most of these hymns are found in the canon of Matins—or “Orthros,” a morning prayer service—in the Orthodox Church. Of the fourteen, nine are included in the following order (versification according to Orthodox Psalter): 1. Ode of Moses ( Exo. 15:1-19 ) 2. Ode of Moses in Deuteronomy ( Deut. 32:1-43 ; sung during Great Lent) 3. Prayer of Anna ( 1 Sam. 2:1-10 ; 1 Kings/Reigns in LXX) 4. Prayer of Habakkuk ( Hab. 3:2-19 ) 5. Prayer of Isaiah ( Isa. 26:9-20 ) 6. Prayer of Jonah ( Jon. 2:3-10 ) 7. Prayer of the Three Holy Youths ( Dan. 3:26-56 ) 8. Hymn of the Three Holy Youths ( Dan. 3:57-88 ) 9a.Hymn of the Theotokos ( Lk. 1:46-55 ) 9b.Prayer of Zacharias ( Lk. 1:68-79 ) |
| В иудаизме один из 2 грядущих мессий должен был происходить из колена Е. (Таргум на Исх. 40. 11; Суккот 52a). Традиц. символом колена Е., возможно, изображенном на его знаменах (Числ 2. 18, 20), был черный буйвол (ср.: Втор 33. 17; Мидбар Рабба. 2. 7). Огромное количество представителей колена было уничтожено филистимлянами во время завоевания земли обетованной, так что кости павших лежали грудами вдоль дорог. Согласно Палестинскому Талмуду, именно эти останки будут воскрешены Богом по пророчеству Иезекииля (Иез 37; Санхедрин. 92б). В святоотеческой экзегезе проводилась параллель между включением Е. в число Израилевых колен и избранием ап. Павла в число 12 апостолов ( Hipp. De bened. Is. et Jac. 11; Ambros. Mediol. De patriarch. 1. 2). По мнению Ефрема Сирина, благословение Иаковом меньшего из братьев вместо старшего брата должно знаменовать тайну, по которой «первенец Израиль будет умален, как первородный Манассия, а языческие народы будут возвеличены, как младший Ефрем» ( Ephraem Syr. In Gen. 47. 11). «...Ефрем изображает народы языческие, которые спасены, потому что вера их возросла и умножилась паче веры народа еврейского, представленного здесь в образе Манассии» ( Idem. In Deut. 33. 17). В том, как патриарх возложил руки при благословении (правая рука над левой), усматривается прообраз Креста Христова ( Tertull. De bapt. 8; Isid. Pel. Ep. 362). Принятие Е. Иаковом, словно своего сына, служит прообразом того, как верующие посредством Христа усыновляются Богу Отцу ( Суг. Alex. Glaph. in Pent. 6. 2//PG. 69. Col. 328-329). В словах Иосифа, обращенных к Е. при рождении (Быт 41. 52), содержится указание на новый молодой народ, образующий тело Христово, который не забывает своего Отца ( Ambros. Mediol. De patriarch. 1. 3-4). Лит.: Elliger K. Ephraim//IDB. Vol. 2. P. 119-121; Geus C. H. J., de. The Tribes of Israel. Assen, 1976; Hopkins D. C. The Highlands of Canaan. Sheffield, 1985; Kallai Z. The Settlement Traditions of Ephraim//ZDPV. 1986. Bd. 102. S. 68-74; Finkelstein I. The Archaeology of the Israelite Settlement. Jerusalem, 1988; Herrmann S., Finkelstein I. Ephraim//ABD. Vol. 2. P. 551-555; Hawk L. D. Ephraim, Ephraimites//New IDB. 2007. Vol. 2. P. 280-283. |
| 2 Cor. 4:13/Psalm 116:10 – I believed and so I spoke (past tense). Hebrew – I believe, for I will speak (future tense). 2 Cor. 6:2/Isaiah 49:8 – I have “listened” to you. Hebrew – I have “answered” you. Gal. 3:10/Deut. 27:26 – cursed be every one who does not “abide” by all things. Hebrew – does not “confirm” the words. Gal. 3:13/Deut. 21:23 – cursed is everyone who hangs on a “tree.” Hebrew – a hanged man is accursed. The word “tree” does not follow. Gal. 4:27/Isaiah 54:1 – “rejoice” and “break forth and shout.” Hebrew – “sing” and “break forth into singing.” 2 Tim. 2:19/Num. 16:5 – The Lord “knows” those who are His. Hebrew – God will “show” who are His. Heb. 1:6/Deut. 32:43 – let all the angels of God worship Him. Hebrew – the Masoretic text omits this phrase from Deut. 32:43. Heb. 1:12/Psalm 102:25 – like a “mantle” … “roll them”… “will be changed.” Hebrew – “raiment”… “change”…”pass away.” Heb. 2:7/Psalm 8:5 – thou has made Him a little “lower than angels.” Hebrew – made Him but a little “lower than God.” Heb. 2:12/Psalm 22:22 – I will ” sing” thy praise. Hebrew – I will praise thee. The LXX and most NTs (but not the RSV) have “sing.” Heb. 2:13/Isaiah 8:17 – I will “put my trust in Him.” Hebrew – I will “look for Him.” Heb. 3:15/Psalm 95:8 – do not harden your hearts as “in the rebellion.” Hebrew – harden not your hearts “as at Meribah.” Heb. 3:15; 4:7/Psalm 95:7 – when you hear His voice do not harden not your hearts. Hebrew – oh that you would hear His voice! Heb. 8:9-10/Jer. 31:32-33 – (nothing about husband); laws into their mind. Hebrew – I was a husband; law in their inward parts. Heb. 9:28/Isaiah 10:22 – “to save those” who are eagerly awaiting for Him. Hebrew – a remnant of them “shall return.” Heb. 10:5/Psalm 40:6 – “but a body hast thou prepared for me.” Hebrew – “mine ears hast thou opened.” Heb. 10:38/Hab. 2:3-4 – if he shrinks (or draws) back, my soul shall have no pleasure. Hebrew – his soul is puffed up, not upright. Heb. 11:5/Gen. 5:24 – Enoch was not “found.” Hebrew – Enoch was “not.” |
| . . has eternal life” (John 5:24). And again: “if anyone loves me, he will keep my word ( ton logon mou ), and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23). The book of Acts features the most frequent use of the term logos for the message of salvation. The first Christians were those “who heard the word and believed” (Acts 4:40). The apostles devoted themselves “to prayer and the ministry of the word ” (Acts 6:4). When persecuted and expelled from Jerusalem, the Christians went about spreading the word ( ton logon ), meaning the message of salvation. In some instances, the terms logos and euangelion are combined in various ways. For example, those expelled from Jerusalem went about “preaching the good news of the word” ( euangelizomenoi ton logon , Acts 8:4). The apostle Peter preached “the word of the gospel” ( ton logon tou euangeliou ) to the family of Cornelius (Acts 15:7). Paul also employed the term logos for the gospel, but less frequently. For example, he reminded the Christians in Thessalonica that they received “ the word ( ton logon ) in much affliction” (1 Thes 1:6), where the “word” means the core message of salvation. A notable occurrence is in 1 Cor 1:18: “For the word of the cross ( logos tou stavrou ) is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” What is the “word of the cross” here? It is none other than the message of the gospel concerning the death of Christ as an event of redemption. Paul’s emphatic reference to the scandal of Jesus’ humiliating death is a sharp rebuke to the prideful Christians in Corinth who boasted about their spiritual gifts but at the same time were divided over the apostolic leaders, viewing as bearers of wisdom and rhetoric according to worldly standards (1 Cor 1:12, 19-21; 2:1-4, 13). The use of the term logos for the saving good news occurs as well in virtually all of the other books of the New Testament. Occasionally the term rhema (another form of the same verb legein , “to speak,” translated also as “word”) is employed for the gospel. Paul used this term by quoting Deut 30:14 and applying it to the good news: “The word ( rhema ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart, that is, the word of faith ( rhma ts pistes ) which we preach” (Rom 10:8; cf. 1 Pet 1:25), that is, the gospel. |
| Д. был членом академий Берлина, Вены, Гёттингена и Праги, доктором honoris causa Мюнстерского, Инсбрукского и Кембриджского ун-тов, кавалером ордена «Железной короны» Австрии и франц. ордена Почетного легиона. Погребен в крипте аббатства св. Бонифация в Мюнхене. По распоряжению папы Пия Х в память о Д. в помещении Ватиканского секретного архива был установлен его бюст. Соч.: Die Kathol. Kirche und das Ziel der Menschheit. Graz, 1872; Das geistliche Leben: Blumenlese aus d. deut. Mystikern des XIV. Jh. Graz, 1873; Der Gottesfreund im Oberlande und Nicolaus von Basel. Münch., 1875; Taulers Bekehrung: Krit. Untersuch. Strassburg, 1879; Deutsche Schriften. Münch., 1880. Bd. 1. Abt. 1: Die Schriften des seligen Heinrich Seuse aus dem Predigerorden; Die Universitäten des Mittelalters bis 1400. B., 1885. Graz, 1956. Bd. 1; Specimina palaeographica Regestorum Romanorum Pontificum ab Innocentio III ad Urbanum V. R., 1888; Chartularium universitatis Parisiensis. P., 1889-1897. 4 vol.; Auctarium Chartularii Universitatis Parisiensis. P., 1894-1897. 2 vol.; La désolation des églises, monastères et hôpitaux en France pendant la guerre de Cent Ans. P., 1897-1899. 2 vol.; Le procès de Jeanne d " Arc et l " Université de Paris. P., 1897; Luther und Lutherum in der ersten Entwicklung. Mainz, 1904. 2 Bde in 4; Luther in rationalist. und christl. Beleuchtung prinzipielle Auseinandersetzung mit A. Harnack und R. Seeberg. Mainz, 1904; Die deut. Mystiker des XIV. Jh.: Beitr. z. Deutung ihrer Lehre. Freiburg, 1951. Лит.: Kirsch J. P. Le R. P. Henri-Suso Denifle O. P.: Not. biogr. et bibliogr.//RHE. 1905. Vol. 6. P. 665-674; Grauert H. P. Henrich Denifle, O. P.: Ein Wort zum Gedächtnis und zum Frieden. Freiburg i. Br., 1906; Walz A. Analecta Denifleana. R., 1955; idem. Denifle//DHGE. Vol 14. Col. 221-245; Russo A. La Scuola cattolica di Franz Brentano: Heinrich Suso Denifle. Trieste, 2003; P. Heinrich Denifle O. P. (1844-1905)/Hrsg. H. Gritsch et al. Innsbruck, 2005. А. Г. Крысов Рубрики: Ключевые слова: |
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