| Свят. Амвросий говорит об этой работе первого дня как об «основании» мира: «Хороший архитектор кладет сперва основание, и затем, когда основание уже положено, задумывает различные части строения, одну за другой, и затем прибавляет к этому украшения... Почему же Бог не даровал стихиям в то же самое время, как они возникли, свойственные им украшения, как если бы Он, в самый момент творения был не способен заставить небо тотчас же мерцать усеивающими его звездами и землю быть одеянной цветами и плодами? Так вполне бы могло быть. Писание, однако, указывает, что вещи были сперва сотворены и лишь затем приведены в порядок, чтобы не думали, будто они не были в действительности сотворены и, будто они имели начала, как если бы природа вещей была, как бы то ни было произведена от начала и не представлялась чем-то привнесенным впоследствии» (Six Days, 1:7, p. 26, 28—29). Преп. Ефрем говорит: «(Он) сказал, желая показать, что пустота была прежде природ (вещей)... Была тогда одна земля и кроме нее ничего другого не было» (стр. 211—212). «И тма верх бездны» (Быт. 1:2). Воды Бездны были созданы вместе с землей и полностью покрывали землю. В этом была причина ее незавершенного внешнего вида. Отцы допускают, что был некий свет, созданный с небесами, поскольку небеса суть область света; но если так, то облака, покрывающие землю, препятствовали его проникновению на землю. Преп. Ефрем пишет: «Если все сотворенное (хотя написано или не написано о сотворении того) сотворено в шесть дней; то облака сотворены в первый день... Ибо надлежало, чтобы все было сотворено в шесть дней» (гл. I, стр. 212). (Это, между прочим, еще одно указание, что делание шести дней отлично от продолжающейся после того творческой активности Бога, и что мы не можем понять его путем обратной проекции нашего настоящего опыта). Свят. Амвросий специально опровергает мнение, что тма здесь означает аллегорические силы зла (Six Days, 1:8). (Быт. 1:2). «И дух Божий ношашеся веру воды». Здесь мы видим активность Третьего Лица Святой Троицы в деле творения. Свят. Амвросий пишет: |
| The parishioners of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist had been eagerly preparing for the visit of the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God for quite some time before its arrival. In anticipation of its visit, the church had been tidied up, and the analogia and iconostasis decorated with flowers. To ensure that as many of the faithful as possible could have the opportunity to pray before the 13th century holy Icon, news of its coming had already been disseminated to all of the Orthodox communities of the Greater Washington area. His Grace, Bishop Nicholas of Manhattan, guardian of the wonderworking Icon, arrived late in the evening on Wednesday, November 25, after the All-Night Vigil for the eve of the feast of St. John Chrysostom, which this year coincided with Thanksgiving Day. With the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Thanksgiving Day and the following three days became a time when the Kursk Root Icon would visit Washington annually. At 8:30 AM the next day, November 26, there was a festive greeting, first of the Kursk Root Icon, and then of His Eminence, Metropolitan Jonah, formerly Primate of the Orthodox Church in America (now a retired hierarch in ROCOR). The Divine Liturgy was served by Metropolitan Jonah and Bishop Nicholas, co-served by six priests and three deacons. After the reading of the Gospel, Metropolitan Jonah delivered an English-language homily on taking St. John Chrysostom as our example in rendering thanks unto God. A video recording of that homily is available here . Upon conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Bishop Nicholas devoted his Russian-language homily to the same subject. After the divine services, the faithful gathered together in the parish hall for a traditional Thanksgiving Day meal. On Friday, November 27, the Kursk Icon visited sick and elderly parishioners unable to come to church to pray before the holy Icon. The Icon visited a total of nine people, living in Washington, Maryland, and Virginia. Its visit to Stephan Petrovitch Soudakoff, confined to his sick bed, was especially memorable. This ailing person reverently kissed the wonderworking Icon, and for the second time in five days, received Christ’s Holy Mysteries. Several hours later, he gave up his soul to God (Stephan Petrovitch’s funeral was served on December 1). Thus did the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God escort him on his final journey to her Divine Son! |
| Those who were seeking him in the temple (11:56) probably included these Jewish people from outside Jerusalem (11:55) who remembered hearing Jesus at earlier recent feasts (thus presumably they were mostly Galileans rather than distant foreigners, who could make pilgrimage only rarely); in contrast to the leaders mentioned in 11:57, they do not appear uniformly hostile to Jesus. They had good reason to wonder whether he would come to the feast (11:56); although it was considered pious behavior to come, they were also aware that the leaders wanted to kill Jesus (11:57; cf. 8:59; 10:31; 11:8). Thus John again builds suspense as his narrative begins to climax in Jesus» final coming to, and suffering in, Jerusalem. 4. Mary " s Lavish Devotion (12:1–8) Even though Jesus» passion overshadows the entire body of the Gospel from ch. 2 on, fully one-third of the Gospel specifically occurs during the week of Jesus» execution, mostly in or near Jerusalem. This reflects and further augments the sort of emphasis on the passion that one finds in Mark. In contrast to most modern biographies, some ancient biographies devoted an extensive proportion of their space to events immediately preceding and surrounding their protagonists» deaths. 7745 R. Alan Culpepper points to structural parallels between John 12 and 13: Category John 12 John 13 Six days before Passover Before Passover Companion Lazarus Beloved disciple Washing feet Mary washed Jesus Jesus washed disciples Jesus» death Day of my burial Took off robe (implied) Jesus» departure You do not always have me Hour to depart from the world As Culpepper notes, this repetition increases pathos. 7746 The repetition also builds toward a climax, the discourse making Jesus» death and departure more explicit. Most of ch. 12 is transitional, closing Jesus» public ministry and (with 11:45–57) leading into the Passion Narrative. 7747 Mary " s anointing at Bethany contrasts starkly with the preceding scene of calculated plans to have Jesus killed: «a supreme act of ignorant unbelief and a supreme act of intelligent faith.» 7748 The smaller units (11:45–46, 54–57; 12:9–11) in this section underline the mixed response to Jesus; the two longest units, however, contrast the high priests (11:47–53) and Mary (12:1–8), while linking Judas with the attitude of the Judean elite (12:4–6). 7749 After the leaders have plotted against Jesus» life (11:47–53), Mary lovingly anoints him for burial, Jesus is acclaimed king of Israel (12:13) as he will be at the cross (18:39; 19:3, 14–15, 19), and Jesus» brief discourse elaborates on his impending death (12:23–33), preparing the way for the Passion Narrative. 7750 4A. The Tradition |
| The evidence for Elijah " s eschatological role in post-OT sources is hardly limited to later rabbinic texts, however. 3845 Aune finds reference to him as forerunner in 1 En. 90:31; 3846 4 Ezra 6assumes him among historic figures with special roles at the end of the age (among those who never died); 3847 and Matthew (17:10) unhesitatingly follows Mark (9) in presupposing that this role was widely known in Jewish circles. Sirachs portrayal of Elijah as a restorer and forerunner of the end time (if not explicitly of the messiah) is very close to this. 3848 2B. Not the Prophet (1:21b) Some of these texts may coalesce the image of Elijah with that of the Mosaic eschatological prophet many Jewish people saw in Deut 18:18 . 3849 A Tannaitic midrash on Deut 18 declares that this prophet could even temporarily suspend a commandment of Moses, as Elijah did. 3850 Expectations of this prophet were not solely linked with Elijah, however; that represented only one conceptual option among severa1. 3851 The expectation may appear in 1Maccabees (4:46; 14), 3852 although these texts more likely focus on the restoration of prophecy in general and not a Mosaic prophet in particular. 3853 Some other texts are clearer, although not attesting that all segments of Judaism expected a Mosaic prophet distinct from Elijah. 3854 A Qumran text links an eschatological prophet with the messiahs of Aaron and Israel while distinguishing all three figures; 3855 the historic Teacher of Righteousness apparently reflected some functions of the «prophet like Moses,» but after his passing the complete fulfillment seems to have awaited the eschatological generation. 3856 Samaritan expectation, with its emphasis on the Pentateuch, naturally emphasizes this prophet more than most Jewish texts do, although Qumran expectation is similar. 3857 In our text, Johns interlocutors are careful to question whether he is Elijah or the Prophet if he is not the Christ. «The Prophet» here refers to Deut 18:15–18 , 3858 and early Christian tradition found this text " s fulfillment in Jesus 3859 (e.g., Acts 3:22; 7:37; 3860 cf. Matt 17:5; Mark 9:7 ; Luke 9:35). «Hear him» in the transfiguration story probably alludes in this context to Deut 18:15 ; 3861 likewise the mountain; cloud; allusion to tabernacles; transfiguration (cf. Exod 34:29); presence of Moses and Elijah on the mount (Exod 34:2; 1 Kgs 19:8); and the timing («six days,» cf. Exod 24:16) all suggest allusions to Moses. 3862 The present text, however, distinguishes various roles, suggesting that more than mainstream Christian theology stands behind it. It is possible that the segment of Judaism from which much of John " s community and/or its opponents sprang laid heavy emphasis on the eschatological prophet (1:25; 6:14; 7:40; 9:17); while a prophet Christology would be inadequate (4:19, 25–29; 6:14–15; 7:40–41), Jesus is clearly a prophet (4:44; 9:17), 3863 hence foreshadows the prophetic ministry of the Johannine community (16:7–15). 3864 |
| Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the Other Bodiless Powers Commemorated on November 8 The Synaxis of the Chief of the Heavenly Hosts, Archangel Michael and the Other Heavenly Bodiless Powers: Archangels Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selaphiel, Jehudiel, Barachiel, and Jeremiel was established at the beginning of the fourth century at the Council of Laodicea, which met several years before the First Ecumenical Council. The 35th Canon of the Council of Laodicea condemned and denounced as heretical the worship of angels as gods and rulers of the world, but affirmed their proper veneration. A Feastday was established in November, the ninth month after March (with which the year began in ancient times) since there are Nine Ranks of Angels. The eighth day of the month was chosen for the Synaxis of all the Bodiless Powers of Heaven since the Day of the Dread Last Judgment is called the Eighth Day by the holy Fathers. After the end of this age (characterized by its seven days of Creation) will come the Eighth Day, and then “the Son of Man shall come in His Glory and all the holy Angels with Him” (Mt. 25:31). The Angelic Ranks are divided into three Hierarchies: highest, middle, and lowest. The Highest Hierarchy includes: the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones. The six-winged SERAPHIM (Flaming, Fiery) (Is 6:12) stand closest of all to the Most Holy Trinity. They blaze with love for God and kindle such love in others. The many-eyed CHERUBIM (outpouring of wisdom, enlightenment) (Gen 3:24) stand before the Lord after the Seraphim. They are radiant with the light of knowledge of God, and knowledge of the mysteries of God. Through them wisdom is poured forth, and people’s minds are enlightened so they may know God and behold His glory. The THRONES (Col 1:16) stand after the Cherubim, mysteriously and incomprehensibly bearing God through the grace given them for their service. They are ministers of God’s justice, giving to tribunals, kings, etc. the capacity for righteous judgment. The Middle Angelic Hierarchy consists of three Ranks: Dominions, Powers, and Authorities: |
| The Church knows that evil is neither co-eternal with God nor equal to Him. That the devil rebelled against God and even became the king and ruler of hell does not mean that his kingdom will last for ever. On the contrary, Christian eschatology, as we shall see later, is profoundly optimistic and strongly holds faith in the final victory of good over evil, God over the devil, Christ over the Antichrist. Yet, what this victory will entail and what the final outcome of the existence of evil will be still remains unclear in Christian teaching. Pondering on this, the human mind once more falls silent in the presence of the mystery, powerless to delve into the depths of Divine destinies. As God says in the book of Isaiah, «My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways» ( Is.55:8–9 in Septuagint translation). THE UNIVERSE According to the Old Testament, the visible world was created in six days. It is difficult to imagine that reference is being made to a conventional six-day period. The biblical six days of creation are not six ordinary days but rather six consecutive stages which unfold gradually to form the epic picture of the great Artist. The biblical account of creation opens with the words, «In the beginning» ( Gen.1:1 ), a phrase also used by St John the Theologian to describe the eternal existence of the Word of God ( John 1:1 ). This «beginning» therefore refers to what had existed before time began. It is not yet finite timë it is infinite eternity, from which time is to be born. The «beginning» is that first reality which links time with eternity, since from the moment when time is set into motion the universe must subject itself to its laws. According to the laws of time, the past is already over, the future is yet to come, and the present exists as an elusive and forever fleeting second which ends once it has hardly begun. And although time appears simultaneously with the universe, that timeless «beginning» when the universe was poised to begin but not yet began, is a pledge of the fact that creation has been allied with eternity and that upon the completion of its history will once again become part of eternity. |
| Isn’t it true that the strength that overcame the deluge spread all over the earth to the so-called Columns of Hercules640 and the vast sea boiling over the tops of the highest mountains? There is no doubt, therefore, that that deluge was subsided by the invisible power of the Spirit, not through the wind as such but through divine intervention. On Noah 16.58. 641 8:3–5 The Waters Abated Duration of the Deluge. Ephrem the Syrian: The springs of the abyss and the floodgates of heaven were open forty days and forty nights and “the ark was afloat for one hundred fifty days.” 642 But after one hundred fifty days the waters began to subside and the ark came to rest on Mt. Qardu. 643 In the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen. In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. In the second month, that is, Iyor, “on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.” Therefore Noah and those with him had been in the ark three hundred sixty-five days, for from the seventeenth of the second month, that is, Iyor, until the twenty-seventh of the same month the following year, according to the lunar reckoning, there were three hundred sixty-five days. Notice then that even the generation of the house of Noah employed this reckoning of three hundred sixty-five days in a year. Why then should you say that it was Chaldeans and Egyptians who invented and developed it? Commentary on Genesis 6.11.2–6.12.1. 644 8:6–12 END OF THE DELUGE 6At the end of forty days opened the window of the ark which he had made, 7and sent forth a raven;+ and it went to and fro# until the waters were dried up from the earth. 8Then he sent forth a dove from him,§ to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; 9but the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put forth his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him. 10He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; 11and the dove came back to him in the evening, and lo, in her mouth a freshly plucked olive leaf; so knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12Then he waited another seven days, and sent forth the dove; and she did not return to him any more. |
| 4541 . Although John " s point is clear enough, his mention of waterpots for purification requires explanation on a historical leve1. Since drawn water was not normally used, and Cana, at its probable site, received much more rainwater than Masada or other such sites, it is difficult to understand how John could have conceived of purificatory water found in pots or drawn from a wel1. (Many scholars have made much of the term «draw» in 2:8, but unless John employs that term symbolically the source in 2is not likely a well; context takes precedence over usual word usage. The source of water for 2is the pots of 2:7.) 4542 Several solutions are possible: (1) John is unaware of the details of Palestinian halakah, and his narrative is simply implausible at this point; (2) He intends handwashing rather than a full mikveh (the former being a well-known Pharisaic and Diaspora practice); (3) The real site of Cana is much dryer than the sites currently regarded as most probable; (4) John and his readers are both sufficiently familiar with ritual purification as we know it from our texts, and he wishes them to suppose the feast " s host to be less than strict in his observance of the purification ritual; (5) Some strict pietists and most Jews outside Jerusalem did not insist on the use of «living water,» and the host would be seen as non-religious only by Pharisees and those who subscribed to their halakic prescriptions. While the first explanation is plausible, it is weakened by suggestions that John does indeed know the ritual, for example, his use of the amount of water in the six waterpots, for a total of over 150 liters 4543 or 120–150 gallons, 4544 which is more than enough 4545 for an immersion poo1. 4546 (It might be more to the point of the narrative, however, that it is also more than enough wine for a large banquet, emphasizing the enormity of the miracle, as in 6:10; 21:11.) 4547 (Ignoring their volume and counting only their number, Augustine found in the six jars six eras of history based on the six days of creation! 4548 Allegorizing the six waterpots in Philonic style 4549 like this misses the point. John, however, does provide an implicit contrast between the merely abundant «measure» of 2and the unlimited provision of the Spirit in 3:34.) He also seems well aware of Judean customs elsewhere (e.g., 7:37–39). . |
| THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF FASTING Over the years, the days of fasting increased to seven before Easter. These Christians ate in the evenings, and then only bread, salt and water, as recorded by Epiphanios in 403. The difference in counting the hours of fasting resulted from the different calculations of the time of the Resurrection of Christ in the Gospels (Matthew 28:1, before midnight; John 20:1, after midnight; Mark 16:2, at sunrise). The period of fasting before Easter was extended to 40 days without substantial evidence of any authoritative determination. The fact is that the 40 days of fasting was known to the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod (325). St. Augustine during the fifth century attributes the lengthy period of 40 days to the persecutions, 306-323. Others refer to the example of Christ fasting 40 days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2); or to Moses (Exodus 34:28), or to Prophet Elias (1 Kings 19:8 – III Vasilion LXX) Probably the 40-day fasting period among the people was started during the persecutions, because the people took refuge in monasteries and followed the order of abstinence of the monks, which was very strict. Also hermits and other pious people of sobriety kept a fasting period of 40 days during the mid-third century, and this was handed down to the people. In reality, the 40-day practice for fasting before Easter was not a simultaneous practice in all the Christian lands, but a gradual process. Fasting as such was practiced by the people at the, very beginning for only two or three days per week, Wednesday and Friday and in some places Saturday (in the West). In the course of time, a gradual increase in the number of weeks also took place. However, between East and West the number of weeks of Lent differed, with seven weeks being established in the East and six in the West by the mid-sixth century. The reason for the difference in the number of weeks between East and West was because in the West Saturday was a fast day along with Wednesday and Friday, while in the East Saturday was not a fast day except the Saturday of Holy Week, according to the Canons of the Church (Canon 66, Apostolic Fathers; Canon 55A Sixth Ecumenical Synod in 692 – Canon 18, Gangra Synod in 340-370). The adding of Saturday by the Church in the West as a fast day was related to the thought that the Body of Christ was in the tomb on this day. This innovation of fasting on Saturday was fought by Tertullian, Hippolytos (Ecclesiastical writer) and Bishop Jerome. |
| About Pages Проекты «Правмира» Raising Orthodox Children to Orthodox Adulthood The Daily Website on How to be an Orthodox Christian Today Twitter Telegram Parler RSS Donate Navigation In preparation for Holy Week….Saturday Morning of St. Lazarus ON THIS DAY THE RISING from the dead of St. Lazarus, the righteous friend of Christ, is celebrated. Holy Week begins with the phrase: " Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany " (John 12:1). His arrival coincided with the Jewish Passover. It started on the 15th of the month of Nissan in commemoration of the freeing of the Hebrew people under the leadership of Moses, from the slavery of the Egyptians by the miraculous act of God. The Church relates preparation and redemption to the events of this week. admin 31 March 2007 (Saturday before Palm Sunday) ON THIS DAY THE RISING from the dead of St. Lazarus, the righteous friend of Christ, is celebrated. Holy Week begins with the phrase: “Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany” (John 12:1). His arrival coincided with the Jewish Passover. It started on the 15th of the month of Nissan in commemoration of the freeing of the Hebrew people under the leadership of Moses, from the slavery of the Egyptians by the miraculous act of God. The Church relates preparation and redemption to the events of this week. Six days before the Passover a feast was given for Christ in Bethany of Judea where Christ had stopped on His way to Jerusalem. Lazarus, His friend, and his sisters were present. A short time earlier Christ had risen Lazarus from the dead, thereby gaining the respect and faith of the people, but also the hatred of the fanatics. The Church names this day the “Saturday of Lazarus” in remembrance of the resurrection of Lazarus and its promise of universal resurrection for all men. The Church connects this celebration, by anticipation, with the Entrance of Christ into Jerusalem: “We carry the Symbols of victory and cry Hosanna in the highest.” The readings are Hebrews 12:28-13:8 and John 11:1-45. |
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