| Материал из Православной Энциклопедии под редакцией Патриарха Московского и всея Руси Кирилла Содержание ГОСТЕПРИИМСТВО [странноприимство; греч. φιλοξενα], одна из христ. добродетелей. Букв. значение слова φιλοξενα как «страннолюбие» подчеркивает, что Г. должно не только проявляться в действии, но прежде всего быть духовным качеством человека. Свящ. Писание о Г. Закон, данный Богом израильскому народу, содержит немало мест, в к-рых запрещается притеснять и угнетать пришельцев (Исх 22. 21; Втор 24. 17-18; 27. 19: «Проклят, кто превратно судит пришельца...»; Иер 7. 6), предписывается относиться гостеприимно к пришельцу, любить его, как себя, он напоминает израильтянам, что и они были пришельцами в земле Египетской (Лев 19. 34; Втор 10. 19). Нужно подражать Богу, Который «и любит пришельца, и дает ему хлеб и одежду» (Втор 10. 18; ср.: Пс 145. 9). Египтяне оказываются хуже содомлян, «ибо они более сильную питали ненависть к чужеземцам», содомляне «враждебно приняли чужих», а египтяне, радостно приняв израильский народ, потом стали угнетать его «ужасными работами», хотя тех и других Бог наказывает (Прем 19. 13-16). Бог дал Своему народу землю, пищу, Он защитил его во время исхода из Египта, в пустыне Он напоил и накормил его (Пс 77. 12 слл.); Он - странноприимец для Своего народа: «...Моя земля: вы пришельцы и поселенцы у Меня» (Лев 25. 23). «...Благость и милость [Твоя] да сопровождают меня во все дни жизни моей, и я пребуду в доме Господнем многие дни»,- вторит псалмопевец (Пс 22. 6). Гостеприимство Лота. Роспись собора Св. Троицы Данилова мон-ря в Переславле Залесском. Мастер Гурий Никитин. 1662–1668 гг. Гостеприимство Лота. Роспись собора Св. Троицы Данилова мон-ря в Переславле Залесском. Мастер Гурий Никитин. 1662–1668 гг. ВЗ представляет образцы странноприимства среди людей: прав. Авраам, завидев 3 путников, бросается им навстречу, чтобы пригласить отдохнуть у его шатра и подкрепиться, он проявляет радушное и благочестивое Г.: путникам омывают ноги, готовят пресный хлеб и нежного теленка (Быт 18. 2-8); Лот, чтобы защитить пришедших под его кров, готов пойти на огромные жертвы (Быт 19. 8). В том и др. случае пришельцы оказываются не простыми странниками: это посланцы Бога, ангелы, или даже Сам Бог ( Aug. De civ. Dei. XVI 29; Idem. Contr. Maxim. III 27; Idem. De Trinit. II 11. 12; Hieron. In Gal. II 4; Iust. Martyr. Dial.; Iren. Adv. haer. IV 23; et al.; см. подробнее ст. Авраам ); странноприимцы получают милость Божию: прав. Авраам становится праотцом множества народа (ср.: Быт 18. 18), Лот с семейством выводится из Содома, поражаемого Богом за грехи (Быт 19. 15-16; ср.: Clem. Rom. Ep. I ad Cor. 11). Т. о., Г. получает Божественную поддержку как одна из важных добродетелей, более того, является свидетельством веры в Бога. «За веру и гостеприимство,- пишет свт. Климент Римский,- была спасена Раав блудница» (Ibid. 12). Многострадальный Иов, взывая к Богу, говорит о том, что он насыщал голодных и давал кров странствующим (Иов 31. 31-32). |
| Message of His Holiest Beatitude, Theophilos III, Patriarch of Jerusalem Behold the Virgin, begetting God in flesh, in the city of Bethlehem, inside the Cavern, the entire universe has been enriched, rejoice and dance, associate with servants - for the Lord has come near everyone. (Matins Oikos 20, December) The one, holy, catholic and apostolic Orthodox Church of Christ, across the world, celebrates today a miraculous and sublime event which transcends every human intellect and concept. It celebrates the event of the birth in flesh of the Son and Word of God, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, incarnate and made man from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. This event, God the Father had wanted since centuries ago and for it He had prepared men through His holy prophets and “the Law as guardian” (Gal. 3, 24) in His Holy Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. “But when the fullness of time had come” (Gal.4, 4) during the reign of Caesar Octavius Augustus, he revealed so in this very city, Bethlehem, “which is by no means least among the rulers of Judah” (Matt. 2, 6), and in this plain cavern. Here, in this land, God the Father had deigned that His hitherto fleshless and timeless Son be born in flesh and appear in time. Here came the Magi from the East, led by a bright star, and saw an infant in the arms of the Virgin and worshipped Him, offering Him their presents of ‘gold, frankincense and myrrh” (Matt. 2, 11). The Shepherds worshipped Him too, those living in the fields near the town of the Shepherds. Here too the angelic hymn of peace was heard from the heavens: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests” (Luke 2, 14). And this happened because God, who had made man, never ceased to love and seek him, even when man was distant from Him. God sought man in his complex, endless and pointless philosophical quests, and in his sinful and pernicious achievements, but He did not decline him; instead, according to the god-bearing saint Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria, “He appropriated humanity and, without confusion, incorporated flesh and received man” (On the Right Faith, PG 76, 1181D) during the mission in the world and the incarnation of His Son. |
| A Christian is to die every day, day after day, even minute after minute, for 525,949 minutes each year. The death that we accept at baptism is not symbolic at all; it is as real as the life that we accept. Photo: http://kistine.my1.ru/ Nowadays, children get baptized for any number of reasons: because their family is Russian (Ukrainian/Greek/Serbian, etc.), because it is what they have “always done,” because the grandmother insists, because the parents want the child to be able to take communion or to go to Sunday school, or for any number of other reasons. But the Apostle Paul says that baptism is a manifestation of Christ’s death in our lives (Rom. 6:3)–no, no, not a symbol of His death, not a theatrical re-enactment, not a remembrance, but the “making-real,” the “making-present” of His death. Paul says that the baptized “put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27)–but what kind of Christ? The one who was tortured. The One who was crucified. The One who died. The One whose wounds did not heal even in His glorious resurrection (Luke 24:39). The fundamental vision of Christ’s death in our lives begins with the full acceptance of our own physical death. Unfortunately, here in the U.S., we have outsourced our death to various companies and are not acquainted with it anymore. Not all that long ago, people would die in their family homes, surrounded by several generations of relatives. Their bodies would remain in the home, in full view of everyone, for as long as was practical. Young siblings would die of disease, adult relatives would die in accidents, older people would dies of old age… Death was all around, it was real, tangible, visceral. Nowadays, babies no longer die, and if they do, it happens in neonatal ICUs; adult deaths are whisked away and disposed of; old people are hidden in hospices. Relatives come to visit hospice patients and say the strangest things: “How are you feeling? Hope you get well soon. You and I are gonna go fishing together!”–knowing very well that the person has a few days or hours to live, but being in denial all the same, denying the loved ones the right to say: “I am dying. Pray for me. See you on the other side.” |
| Thinking Out Loud About Gay Marriage Why Gay Marriage Now? Not long ago, I was invited to participate in a discussion on gay marriage on a radio program of Oregon Public Broadcasting. The occasion seemed timely enough—a proposition to legalize gay marriage was on a ballot in Washington, a neighboring state. A few days later, I found out that the main guest on the program would be Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church. Bishop Robinson had published a new book which was being introduced on the show. Naturally, the author received most of the airtime. The host, Dave Miller, did allow me a few minutes in which to represent my point of view—hardly enough to even begin to develop an intelligent argument. The issue of gay marriage, however, is most certainly here to stay. Thus, I have decided to put down a few thoughts on the digital equivalent of paper. Doesn’t the Bible Condemn Homosexuality? Those who oppose gay marriage on biblical grounds usually point to several passages, both in the Old and New Testaments, that condemn the act of a man “lying with a male as with a woman” (Lev. 18:22 and 20:13) and women exchanging “natural intercourse for unnatural” (Rom. 1:26). Bishop Robinson follows the tradition of the Anglican Church and interprets the Scripture to be little more than a historical commentary on the primitive social state of the ancient Jews. Charles Darwin, after all, was an Englishman. Social Darwinism—the idea that the ancients were more primitive than we are, or that we have somehow evolved compared to them—is a logical extension of biological Darwinism. It makes perfect sense that apes had more primitive morals than those of early humans, and that ours are even more sophisticated. The absurdity of this view is best discussed by G. K. Chesterton in The Everlasting Man, and we need not re-tell of it here. In some ways, however, even the traditional Christian understanding of the process by which God chose to save the human race seems to support some notion of “social Darwinism.” Was not the law of the Old Testament a schoolmaster used to bring us unto Christ (Gal. 3:24)? This suggests that the spiritual—and, presumably, moral—state of the ancient Jews had to “evolve” before the coming of the Messiah. There is an alternate point of view as well. Some note that Christ came to heal the sick and save the dying, which means that humanity was seriously ill and nearly spiritually dead just before the incarnation of the Divine Physician. |
| The religion of the Law, which for 15 centuries prepared the chosen people for the coming into the world of the its Savior, the Incarnate Lord Jesus Christ, preceded New Testament religion. According to the Holy Apostle Paul, " the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ " (Gal. 3:24). It was all in all only " a shadow of good things to come " (Heb. 10:1). When the Savior came into the world, Old Testament religion had fulfilled its purpose. Our Lord Jesus Christ revealed to us the mystery of the Heavenly Kingdom and established the New Covenant, which was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah. " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people " (Jer. 31:31-33). Man was redeemed from original sin and its consequences by the voluntary death on the Cross of Jesus Christ as Savior of the World. He entered into an entirely new period in terms of his relationship with God in comparison with the Old Testament: instead of the law, there was a free condition of sonship and grace. Man received new means for achieving the ideal set for him of moral perfection as a necessary condition for salvation. Islam, having arisen in Arabia in the seventh century, appeared as the religion of the law six centuries after the God of the chosen people of the religion of the Law fulfilled its purpose. The difference between the Old Testament religion of the Law and Islam is not only that the latter emerged more than two thousand years after God gave on Mount Sinai the Ten Commandments and other precepts that governed life for the chosen people. The most important difference is that the Law of Moses has a Divine source. The book of Exodus gives a narrative of the majestic Epiphany. " And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up " (Exod. 19:17-20). |
| De viris illustribus//PL. T. 23. Col. 604–631 (pyc. пер.: Иероним Стридонский , блж. Книга о знаменитых мужах//Там же. C. 258–314). Ер. Epistulae//PL. T. 22; CSEL. 56 (ed. I. Hilberg); (pyc. пер.: Иероним Стридонский , блж. [Письма]//Там же. 1893, 1894, 1903. Ч. 1–3). In Amos. Commentaria in Amos//PL. T. 25. Col. 989–1097 (Комментарий на кн. пророка Амоса). In Ep. ad Gal. Commentarii in Epistolam ad Galatam libritres//PL. T. 26. Col. 307–139 (pyc. пер.: Иероним Стридопский, блж. Три книги толкований на Послание к Галатам//Творения. Ч. 17. Киев. 1901). In Is. Commentaria in Isaiam//PL. T. 24. Col. 17–678; (pyc. пер.: Иероним Стридонский , блж. Толкование на пророка Исаию//Творения. Ч. 7. Киев. 1882). In Matth. Commentaria in Matthaeum//PL. T. 26. Col. 15–218 (pyc. пер.: Иероним Стридопский, блж. Четыре книги толкований на Евангелие от Матфея к Евсевию//Творения. Ч. 16. Киев. 1901. С. 1–316). Quaest. Herb, in Gen. Quaestiones Hebraicae in Genesim//PL. T. 23. Col. 935–1010 (pyc. пер.: Иероним Стридонский , блж. Еврейские вопросы на книгу Бытия/Пер. С. Жуков. М. 2009). Hippolitus Romanus – Свт. Ипполит Римский Philos. Refutatio omnium haeresium (Philosophumena)//Refutatio omnium haeresium/Ed. M. Marcovich. B. 1968. S. 53–417. (PTS; 25) (Философумены или опровержение всех ересей). Ign. Ignatius Antiochenus – Свт. Игнатий Антиохийский (Богоносец) Ep. ad Magn. Ep. ad Magnesios//PG. T. 5. Col. 661–674; Ibid.//Ignatius Scr. Eccl. Epistulae vii genuinae (rec. media)/Ed. P.T. Camelot. Ignace d’Antioche. Polycarpe de Smyrne. Lettres. Martyre de Polycarpe. Paris. 1969. P. 80–92. (SC; 10) (pyc. пер.: Игнатий Богоносец , cem. Послание к магнезийцам/Пер.: прот. П. Преображенский //ПМА. С. 317–322). Ep. ad. Philad. Ep. ad Philadelphienses//PG. T. 5. Col. 697–708 (pyc. пер.: Игнатий Богоносец , свт. Послание к филадельфийцам/Пер.: прот. П. Преображенский //Там же. С. 334–339). Ep. ad Polyc. Ep. ad Polycarpon//PG. T. 5. Col. 717–728 (pyc. пер.: Игнатий Богопосец, свт. Послание Поликарпу/Пер.: прот. П. Преображенский //Там же. С. 346–350). |
| 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.” |
| BEATITUDE Literally, " exalted happiness. " The ninefold blessing of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount is called the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12). BELIEF The acceptance of the truths of the gospel. More than a mental assent, belief as used in the NT includes trusting in God from the heart. Such belief results from (1) hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17) and (2) a gift of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:8). Although a Christian is saved by belief in Christ, faith without action (that is, a distinct movement of the will to follow Christ) is hollow and void of the righteousness necessary to salvation (see article, " Justification by Faith, " at Rom. 5; Matt. 7:21; John 3:16; James 2:14-26). BENEDICTION Literally, " good word " ; blessing. Benedictions were given by Christ (Luke 24:50, 51) and by the Apostles (2 Cor. 13:14), and are given by the bishop or priest at the close of every Divine Liturgy. BISHOP (Gr. episkopos) Overseer. A bishop is the leader of a local community of In the New Testament there is no clear distinction between the offices of bishop and elder (presbyter), both of which function as leaders of the community. However, by the mid- to late first century, the Church began to reserve the title bishop for the men of spiritual qualification who were consecrated to follow the Apostles in their office of oversight (Acts 1:15-26; 14:23; 1 Tim. 3:1-7). BORN AGAIN Literally, " born from above. " A person must be born again to new life in Christ to enter God’s eternal Kingdom. This new birth takes place through the sacrament of Holy Baptism (John 3:16; Rom. 6:3, 4; Gal. 3:27). Spiritual life begins by receiving the Holy Spirit in baptism, and it is a dynamic process which continues throughout life. BROTHERS OF THE LORD St. James, the first bishop of Jerusalem, Joses, Simon, and Judas are referred to as brothers of Christ (Matt. 13:55). In the ancient Middle East one’s close relatives were frequently referred to as brothers and sisters. Also, there is an ancient tradition that the " brothers and sisters " of Christ were actually children of St. Joseph from an earlier marriage; they are called the children of Mary although they are actually her stepchildren. Thus, these references to siblings of Christ do not contradict the ancient belief of the Orthodox Church that the Virgin Mary was a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ. The absence of blood brothers is suggested by Christ’s act of entrusting Mary to the care of the apostle John (John 19:26, 27), which would have been against the Mosaic Law had she had other natural children. |
| 2.2. The New Testament shows that Christ, who did not have to die, because He was without sin, stepped into the sphere of death, humbled Himself, having been obedient even unto death, the death of the Cross (Phil 2:7; 1 Cor 5:7; 1 Pet 3:18) and died for us (1 Thess 5:10; compare with Mark 10:45; Rom 5:6; Heb 2:9). By His Resurrection He conquered the Devil and death and holds the keys of Hell and death (Heb 2, 14-15; Rev 1:17-18). Then Christ had destroyed the power of death over those that believed in Him, i.e. those who were baptised into Christ (Rom 6:3-4) and died with Him for the world and for sin (Rom 7:6; Gal 6:14; Col 2:20). A Christian goes through death in Christ and is separated not from God, but from the world and from sin. The world and sin die within him, because the life of Jesus is opened to those who believe (2 Cor 4:10; 5:1-15; Col 3:3). In other words Christ grants life or raises from the dead. Moreover, this does not happen in the Last Days, but in the same instant, immediately. Everyone who entrusts himself to Christ crosses over from death to life (John 5:24) and will never see death (John 8:51-52), although the whole world already exists in a state of death (Rev 3:2) and is moving towards a second death, to eternal separation from God (Rev 20:14). Christians remain mortal, they die in the physical sense, but they die in Christ (1 Thess 4:16) or fall asleep in Him (Acts 7:60; John 11:11-14; 1 Cor 7:39; 15:6, 18; 51; 1 Thess 4:13-15). Physical death is the last enemy destroyed by Christ (1 Cor 15:26), but He gave us this victory as a potential and death itself continues to afflict the bodily life of a particular individual (Rom 8:9-11). However, it has been deprived of its sting and it cannot separate a Christian from Christ; on the contrary, it brings him closer to Christ (Rom 8:38-39; 2 Cor 5:1-10; Phil 1:20-21). He, having risen from the dead, the firstborn of the dead, calls all the faithful to a new life, resurrecting and transfiguring their bodies, and then the spirit and body will exist in perfect harmony (compare with 1 Cor 15:20; Col 1:12). |
| Illumined by the contemplation of the great event, let us return, beloved brethren, to our homes, and bring along with us deep, saving thoughts, smiting our hearts with these thoughts. We remembered and vividly beheld the act of divine love; an act surpassing words, surpassing comprehension. Martyrs responded to this love by the streams of their blood, poured out like water; the saints responded to this love by the mortification of their flesh with the affections and lusts (Gal. 5:24); many sinners responded to this love with a flood of tears, heartfelt sighs, and the confession of their sins, and drew from it healing of their souls; many people burdened by sorrows and sickness responded to this love, and this love dissolved their sorrows by Divine consolation. Let us also respond to the love of our Lord Jesus Christ by our sympathy with His love: by a life according to His all-holy commandments. He demands this sign of love from us, and only this sign of love will He accept from us. If a man love me, said He, he will keep my words: He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings (Jn 14:23-24). If we do not respond to the Lord " s love for us by our love for Him, then was not the blood of the God-Man shed in vain? Was not His all-holy body tormented for us in vain? Was not the Great Sacrifice placed upon the table of oblation and pierced in vain? Its intercession for our salvation is all-powerful; all-powerful also is its indictment against those who disdain it. The blood of righteous Able rose from the earth to heaven, and stood before God to accuse those who had shed that blood; the voice of the great Sacrifice rings out through the very heavens, on the very throne of the Godhead, upon which the great Sacrifice is seated. The voice of Its indictment is also God " s sentence of eternal punishment to the enemies and disdainers of the Son of God. What profit is there in My Blood when I go down into corruption? (Ps. 29:9) announces the all-holy Sacrifice, accusing Christians whom It has redeemed, who took the price of It on themselves, and cast It down along with themselves into the stench of sin. Anyone who has made his soul and body members of Christ, redeemed by Christ and belonging to Christ, commits a terrible crime when he then makes them the members of an harlot (1 Cor. 6:15) through multiform merging with sin. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy (1 Cor. 3:16–17). Amen. |
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