| No man cometh unto the Father, but by me (Jn 14:6), said the Lord. There is no God for those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ: Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father (1Jn. 2:23), and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (Jn. 3:36). It is impossible to approach God, or to enter into any kind of communion with Him in any other way than through our Lord Jesus Christ, the only intermediary, intercessor, and means of communion between God and man! There is no true knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ without the mediation of the Holy Spirit! No man, says the Apostle, can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. 12:3). Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his (Rom. 8:9). There is no virtue outside of Christianity that is worthy of Heaven! " Nothing good, " says St. Mark the Ascetic, " can be believed in, or acted upon unless it be of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. " Unworthy of God are natural human good works, which proceed from our fallen nature, in which goodness is mixed with evil, and in which goodness is for the most part barely noticeable amidst the preponderance of evil. Fallen nature is capable exclusively of evil, as God Himself testified: The imagination of man is intently bent upon evil things from his youth (Gen. 8:21); If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children (Mt. 7:11; Lk. 11:13). Such is the worth before the Gospels and God of natural human goodness and the activity proceeding from it. In vain does fallen nature glorify its great and famous good works! Such self-praise shows a terrible blindness! Such self-praise is an involuntary reproach against the famous works of men, inspired and nourished by vainglory. The stench of pride coming from these whited sepulchers is an abomination to God; pleasing to Him is the incense of humility. That is why the Lord commanded fallen and blinded mankind to deny its nature, for man is unconscious of his woeful fallenness. |
| My soul magnifies the Lord and my Spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden. For behold, hence-forth all generations shall call me blessed; for He who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation (Lk 1.47–50). The main theme of the feast of Mary’s entrance to the Temple, repeated many times in the liturgical services, is the fact that she enters the Temple to become herself the living temple of God, thus inaugurating the New Testament in which are fulfilled the prophecies of old that “the dwelling of God is with man” and that the human person is the sole proper dwelling place of the Divine Presence (Ezek 37.27; Jn 14.15–23; Acts 7.47; 2 Cor 6.11; Eph 2.18–22; 1 Pet 2.4; Rev 22.1–4). Today is the preview of the good will of God, of the preaching of the salvation of mankind. The Virgin appears in the temple of God, in anticipation proclaiming Christ to all. Let us rejoice and sing to her: Rejoice, O Divine Fulfillment of the Creator’s dispensation (Troparion). The most pure Temple of the Saviour, the precious Chamber and Virgin, the Sacred Treasure of the Glory of God, is presented today to the house of the Lord. She brings with her the grace of the Spirit, which the angels of God do praise. Truly this woman is the Abode of Heaven! (Kontakion). The fortieth chapter of Exodus about the building of the tabernacle is read at Vespers, together with passages from the First Book of Kings and the Prophecy of Ezekiel. Each one of these readings all end with exactly the same line, “for the glory of the Lord filled the house [tabernacle] of the Lord God Almighty” (Ex 40.35; 1 Kg 8.11; Ezek 44.4). Once again on this feast, the Old Testament readings are interpreted as symbols of the Mother of God. This “glory of the Lord” is referred to the Mother of Christ and it “fills” her and all people after her who “hear the word of God and keep it” as the Gospel of the festal liturgy proclaims (Lk 11.37–28). The epistle reading at the Divine Liturgy also proclaims this very same theme (Heb 9.1–7). |
| “God loved the world.” Why? Why did God love the world? A visitor from outer space, looking at all the conflicts and disunity of humanity, seeing its cruel trials and evils, would perhaps not regard humankind as lovable at all. But God, the true and living God whom we know in Jesus Christ, the God to whom we pray and address as “Our Father who art in heaven,” most assuredly loves the world. He does so because of His own character which is defined by selfless love. We read in the Scriptures: “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and those who love are born of God and know God . . . for God is love.” (1 Jn 4:7). And again: “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them” (1 Jn 4:16). In other words, love is the essence and source of life that comes from God. Whoever truly loves is in spiritual communion with God. Whoever truly loves affirms and shares in the very existence of the living God, the ground of all true, selfless love. “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.” How much did God love the world? So much so that He gave His only Son. Nothing was more valuable to God than His eternal Son–our Lord Jesus. At His baptism, God said: “You are my beloved Son” (Mk 1:11). At His transfiguration, God said: “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him” (Mk 9:8). At the crucifixion, the Roman centurion cried out: “Truly, this man was the Son of God” (Mk 15:39). God gave as a precious gift to the world what was most valuable to Him, because of the magnitude of His love for us. “God has shown His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). In Jesus we have the greatest expression and most persuasive example of what God’s love is all about. “In this the love of God was shown among us, that God sent His only Son into the world . . . In this is love, not that we loved God (first) but that He loved us and sent His Son” to us (1 Jn 4:9-10). What was the purpose of God’s love in sending His only Son to the world? God’s love is purposeful; it has an aim and a target, all motivated by love. |
| But the farther time separated them from the God-revealed source of truth, the stronger a purely human origin showed itself in their teachings and actions. Formalism began to grow. The Lord through Moses forbade the introduction of new commandments and the repeal of those already given: You shall not add to the word that I speak to you, neither shall you take away from it: keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you (Deut. 4:2). Despite this, they introduced 613 new rules: 248 commands (according to the number of bones in the human body) and 365 prohibitions (according to the number of days in the year). They ascribed more significance to their innovations than they did to God’s commandments. The Savior rebuked them for this: Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? (Mt. 15:3); For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men (Mk. 7:8). They characteristically treated with contempt sinners, publicans, and people not of the book: But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed (Jn. 7:49). Although there were many sinners in Israeli society during the time of the Savior, the Lord never rebuked anyone like he did the Pharisees. But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them (Lk. 11:42-44) . Jesus Christ rebuked the soulless formalism of the Pharisees and Scribes, who accused the Savior of violating the Sabbath by healing seriously ill people. Without doing away with the law, the Lord placed works of love and mercy for suffering people higher than ritual: The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath (Mk. 2:27). |
| The next four chapters (7–10) can be seen as dealing with sub-themes of Christology, exploring the implications of the Incarnation and the salvation brought thereby. We have placed «eschatology» immediately after »Christ and salvation» in order to emphasise that eschatology does not concern only the «last things» in a chronological sense: the Church is interested in the »last things» because it lives in the time inaugurated with the coming of the «last Adam». This »inaugurated eschatology» is glimpsed in the Church, the body of Christ on earth (Ch. 8), – and it is expressed in the icon, which reveals the transformation of human beings and the entire creation in the light of Christ " s Incarnation (Ch. 9). The same eschatological vision informs the «spiritual way» (Ch. 10), the practical path by which humans appropriate salvation as the divine image in each of us is restored to the likeness of God. The second part of the book tries to give more of the context of Orthodox Christian theology and witness today. Inevitably, it is a collection of samplings with certain overlaps and it is far from comprehensive. Yet, disparate though these chapters are, they share a common theme: theology comes out of the experience of the Church. It may be the experience of the Church through the ages as it appropriates the work of the councils and Church Fathers (Ch. 11), or the experience of local Churches and communities as they bring the resources of Christian tradition to bear on particular historical circumstances. It may be the testimony of people of holiness, whose theological insights are shaped by »what their eyes have seen» (cf. i Jn i.i). We had planned to include a chapter on this aspect of Orthodox theology, but unfortunately this proved impossible. Perhaps there is a lesson here in the hiddenness of holiness, its unwillingness to trumpet its own contributions. It is because of the Orthodox emphasis on the communal matrix of theology that we have decided not to single out a few outstanding figures to be the subject of separate chapters. |
| 1 Но не самый первый среди произведений и толкований Оригена. Ранее им были написаны толкования на Псалмы и Плач Иеремии, трактат „О воскресении“ и некоторые другие. „Комментарии“ современны трактату „О началах“: между обоими произведениями много общего и в отдельных темах (например, о полемике с гностицизмом в сочинении „О началах“ см.: «Le Boulluec A». La place de la polémique antignostique dans le Peri archon Origeniana. Premier colloque international des études origéniennes (Montserrat, 18—21 septembre 1973) Dirigé par Henri Crouzel, Gennaro Lomiento, Josep Rius-Camps (Quaderni di „Vetera Christianorum“, 12). Bari, 1975. P. 47—61), и в самом духе. 2 Известный французский ученый, ведущий специалист прошлого века в изучении наследия Оригена. Им составлена, в частности, превосходная аннотированная библиография (с указателями и с продолжениями) всех исследований об александрийском богослове, существенно облегчающая ориентацию в современной научной литературе. 3 Crouzel H». Origène. P., 1985. P. 70. 4 На русский язык переведены толкования только первых двух. 5 Подробный разбор толкований Гераклеона и Оригена на примере XIII книги „Комментариев“ представлен в исследовании: «Poffet J. M». La méthode exégétique d’Héracléon et d’Origène, commentateurs de Jn. 4. Jésus, la Samaritaine et les Samaritains. Fribourg: Éd. Universitaires, 1985 (Paradosis XXVIII). 304 p. 6 Возможные датировки основываются на упоминании Оригена (I, 13) о разлуке с Амвросием. По одному пониманию, речь идет об отлучке Оригена в 224—225 годах в Антиохию по приглашению Маммеи, матери императора Александра Севера (ср. «Евсевий», „Церковная история“ VI, 21, 3—4; 23, 1). По другой интерпретации, в данном месте Ориген подразумевает временное отсутствие в Александрии Амвросия в 215—216 годах вследствие преследования философов Каракаллой. 7 in Iohannem libros xxxii, in partes quasdam Iohannis excerptorum librum i... . 8 Цифра 22, приводимая «Евсевием» в „Церковной истории“ VI, 24, 1, явно неверна и может объясняться либо ошибкой переписчика, либо неполнотой экземпляра Кесарийской библиотеки. Никаких сведений, что Ориген успел написать более 32 книг, нет. Три фрагмента, дошедшие в катенах, на последующие книги Евангелия от Иоанна (на Ин. 14:3; 17, 11 и 20, 25. См.: «Origenes». Bd. IV Hrsg. E. Preuschen. Leipzig, 1903. S. 560—562, 574) могли быть взяты из других сочинений Оригена либо из тех выдержек, о которых упоминает Иероним. Возможно, сам Ориген изменил впоследствии характер комментариев, перейдя к жанру схолий на отдельные места. |
| The New Testament presupposes the stream of Jewish worship and prayer. The Gospel of Luke records exquisite prayers by the Virgin Mary ( Lk. 1.46–55 ), the priest Zechariah ( Lk. 1.68–79 ), and the elder Simeon ( Lk. 2.29–32 ). Jesus himself, circumcised on the eighth day and presented at the Temple on the fortieth, grew up in the tradition of Jewish prayer and piety with frequent appearances at the Temple and the synagogue. He not only gave instructions on prayer but also practiced heartfelt prayer, seeking solitude in the hills where he could pray all night, not least before making important decisions ( Mk. 1.35 ; Lk. 6.12 ). The personal depth of Jesus’ prayers to God the Father breaks forth in dramatic moments of joyful confession ( Mt. 11.25 ), the giving of the Lord’s Prayer ( Mt. 6.5–13 ), the high priestly prayer to the Father ( Jn. 17 ), and the agony at Gethsemane ( Mk. 14.33–5 ), all of which exemplify the intimate relationship with God as a personal and loving Father which Jesus lived and taught. While the early church inherited much of the Jewish tradition of prayer, it gradually moved away from the Temple worship and cultic practices such as animal sacrifices, circumcision, and kosher foods, regarded as no longer compatible with the gospel. Instead, the church focused on its own rites of baptism, the Mystical Supper or Eucharist, and other rites that gradually developed into a whole tradition of worship continuously elaborated in content and structure. St. Paul, large sections of whose letters read like prayers, is a primary figure of the Christian renewal of prayer and worship in trinitarian forms based on the view that each baptized Christian is a living sacrifice to God ( Rom. 6.4, 13; 12.1 ) and the church is the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit ( 1Cor. 3.16–17; 12.12–27 ). Stirring echoes of early Christian prayers and aspects of worship, replete with Old Testament language, frequently occur in the Book of Revelation, where the eschatological drama of salvation itself is recounted from the perspective of the worship of God (Rev. 4.4–11; 5.8–14; 7.9–12; 11.15–18; 12.10–12; 15.3–4; 19.1–8). |
| Archive Christmas Message from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia 6 January 2023 year 08:00 Christmas Message from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia to the Archpastors, Pastors, Deacons, Monastics and all the Faithful Children of the Russian Orthodox Church. Beloved in the Lord archpastors, all-honourable presbyters and deacons, God-loving monks and nuns, dear brothers and sisters, Today, as the Heavenly and earthly Church in conciliar unity glorifies God Incarnate, I extend my heartfelt greetings to all of you on the great and radiant feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Once again we look back at the events that occurred in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago, beholding the meek Infant lying in the manger, surrounded by His Most Pure Mother, the righteous Joseph and the shepherds who were the first to hear the glad tidings of the Saviour coming into the world. We join the heavenly hosts in praising the Most High Creator Who through His Begotten Son granted unto people peace and good will. St. Gregory the Theologian reveals the very essence of this feast, saying: It is this which we are celebrating today, the Coming of God to Man... that we might go back to God (Oration 38). Truly, the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mt 3:2); the long-expected Shiloh (Gen 49:10) has come to earth to fulfil the ancient prophecies; unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given... and his name shall be called... The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Is 9:6). Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you (Jn 14:27), Christ says to us. What kind of peace is it, which the Lord granted unto man and which the angels were singing of at the time of the Saviour’s birth? Has there been less enmity or conflicts in the world since then? We hear all around, Peace, peace; when there is no peace , as Jeremiah the prophet writes (Jer 8:11). Yet, the true peace of God that came down to earth with the Nativity of Christ surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7) and is unaffected by external circumstances or afflictions and hardships of this transient life. This invincible inner peace is in God Himself Who, having become a man like us in all things but sin, is not only active, but visibly present in the human history. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14). The Lord is at hand, my beloved, let us never forget that and be of good cheer! In Him is our strength, our firm hope and spiritual comfort in all vicissitudes of life. |
| Homily on the Day of the Apostles Peter and Paul Their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. Psalm 18:5; Romans 10:18 Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles In order to raise our spirit but a little over the vanity of this world in which it is ordinarily immersed, we shall impress in our minds, brothers and sisters, the image of the holy chief Apostles Peter and Paul, filled with inexhaustible life. Their souls represent an equally abundant treasure house of spiritual virtues for us, who are in but small measure participants in the Divine life that was revealed through the appearance of God in the flesh. Both equally hazarded their lives (Acts 15:26) for the word of God, and to witness the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, desiring to shepherd the sheep of Christ's flock and betroth to Christ a Church made of pagans who were redeemed by His blood. One, a rock of faith, strengthened his brethren (cf. Lk. 22:32) who were scattered in their fear of persecution for the name of Christ after His resurrection, and first explained how God willed that to the Church, hitherto composed only of the sons of Israel, should be united those pagans who converted (Acts. 15:7–11). The other, a chosen vessel (Acts 9:15) to bear the name of Christ to peoples who had not yet heard of Christ (Rom. 15:20–21), travelled with words of preaching to nearly all the known inhabited world, so that the words be fulfilled, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not (Gal. 4:27; Is. 54:1) and Be glad, thou thirsty desert: let the wilderness exult (Is. 35:1)— the hearts of the pagans. Both were equally filled with love for Christ, dedicated their whole lives to preaching the Word and to apostolic labors, and both sealed their love for Christ with a martyr's death. One, having first denied Christ, followed Him for the rest of his life in repentance, as if on the crucifix, enduring fiery temptations and satan's calumny (1 Pet. 4:12; 5:8), in order to fulfill what Christ had said to him: Follow Me (Jn. 21:19). The other, called from amongst the persecutors, counted all things as dung, that he might win Christ (cf. Phil. 3:6–8), and desired to be accursed from Christ that he might bring to Him his brothers in the flesh—Israel (Rom. 9:3), until he finished his course by martyrdom in order to receive a crown of righteousness (cf. 2 Tim. 4:6–8). |
| Schema-Archimandrite Andronik (Lukash). On Lies Schema-Archimandrite Andronik (Lukash) Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Eph. 4:25 A lie is an intentional distortion of the truth. As the holy fathers explain it, a lie can be in thought, in word, or by one’s life. The source of lies is the devil: He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it (Jn. 8:44). Lies are forbidden by the ninth commandment, and the main means of struggling with it is truthfulness. On the pages of Holy Scripture we rather often meet these compound terms, one of their roots being the word “false”: false witness (cf. Mt 26 59-60), false prophets (cf. Mt. 7:15), false teachers (cf. 2 Pet. 2:1-2), false brethren (cf. 2 Cor. 11:26), false apostles (cf. 2 Cor. 1:13), false Christs (cf. Mt. 24:24). Deep and precise are the words of St. Nicholai Velimirovich: “We are separated from God by falsehood, and only falsehood. To say that truth separates us from God would be to say that God separates us from God. Lying thoughts, lying words, lying feelings, lying desires are the collected lies that lead us to nonexistence, illusions, and apostasy from God.” We will cite several notes by St. Andronik on the sin of lying: “Guard yourself from lies—they banish the fear of God from a person.” “Lies are the old man, but truth is the new man. Truth is the root of good works, while lies are death (from the Patericon).” “If we do not carefully conduct ourselves outwardly, then we will not be able to preserve the inner man. May lies not proceed from your lips.” “Preserve yourself from lies: they banish the fear of God from a person; confess all your thoughts and deeds to your [spiritual] father, and God’s help will sign itself upon you. Force yourself to do your handiwork, and the fear of God will abide in you.” From the book, Examples of unlimited humility: the Life and Teachings of Schema-Archimandrite Andronik (Lukash), ascetic of Glinsk Hermitage. Schema-Archimandrite Andronik (Lukash) Translation by OrthoChristian.com 21 октября 2014 г. Смотри также Комментарии Мы в соцсетях Подпишитесь на нашу рассылку |
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