“The Word of the Father without a beginning (anarchos) has received a beginning in time, without separating Himself from His Divinity”.[1] “The Ancient of Days makes Himself a Child according to the flesh”.[2] “He who gave the Law to Moses on Sinai…to observe His Law has Himself brought to the temple”.[3]

CUSTOM: A RITE OF PASSAGE

According to ancient Jewish religious practices, as set down by the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 12, Exodus 13:12-15), a period of 40 days from the birth of an infant must pass before the mother and child could enter the Temple in Jerusalem. This 40 day period allowed the mother of a newly born infant to recover from her pregnancy, become well acquainted with her child, settle into her new role and routine, and subsequently be excused from her religious duties. Furthermore it was the time allocated by the Mosaic Law (Lev. 12:2-4) in which a mother and child would undergo the process of “purification”[4] (spiritual preparation), so that the two could present themselves within the Temple, with the mother reassuming her religious obligations, while the infant being initiated into Jewish religious life.

The custom itself recounts the test of faith and initiation of Abraham (Gen. 22:1-19), who was called upon by the Lord to sacrifice his sole legitimate heir and son, Isaac, whom he loved immensely. Naturally the Author of Life (God) did not seek the sacrifice of beings created within His own image, and so stopped Abraham from proceeding in conducting the sacrifice of Isaac. He thus commanded Abraham, by providing him a ram caught within a thicket, to instead offer the ram as a whole-burnt offering to Himself (God) in order to redeem the life of Isaac, and make a dedication of faith on Isaac’s behalf.

This was the foundation on which Jews journeyed to the Temple to make a sacrifice of whole-burnt offering when presenting (dedicating) a child into the liturgical life of Judaism. For those who could afford it, rams were purchased at the Temple for sacrifice, while those who came from lower income earning professions, the Law substituted the sacrifice of two turtle-doves or young pigeons as whole-burnt offerings since one was for holocaust and the other for a sin offering (Lev. 12:8). The choice of turtle-doves or young pigeons was symbolic, since they represent purity, peace, hope and innocence, (consider the story of the dove returning to Noah with an olive branch).

Naturally with Christ becoming human at the Incarnation, in effect humbling Himself before the Law, He had in effect became subject to its tenets despite being beyond its scope (for remember He was the Lawgiver and its chief exponent!). Therefore it was only natural that He too would be initiated into Jewish religious life in the same manner as all other Jews who had to be brought before the Temple to present their sacrifice for dedication, for He Himself cited that He did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it (Mt. 5:17).

Within our Orthodox Christian Tradition this rite of passage continues to our present day, whereby the parents of a newly born baby is brought to church at 40 days of age and presented to the priest who reads a series of prayers standing either before the icon of Christ (for girls) or proceeding into the altar (for boys), offering them up as new members being prepared for entry into Church life.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT & PRACTICES

This particular feast day is unique in that it combines elements of both a Great Feast of the Lord and a Great Feast of the Theotokos. It has a forefeast of one day, and an afterfeast of seven days. However, if the feast falls during Cheesefare Week or Great Lent, the afterfeast is either shortened or eliminated altogether.

The holy day is celebrated with an All-Night Vigil on the eve of the feast, and a celebration of the Divine Liturgy the next morning, at which beeswax candles are blessed. This blessing traditionally takes place after the Little Hours and before the beginning of the Divine Liturgy (though in some places it is done after). The priest reads four prayers, and then a fifth one during which all present bow their heads before God. He then censes the candles and blesses them with holy water. The candles are then distributed to the people and the Liturgy begins.

The services for the Presentation of the Lord contains hymns composed by many of the great Church hymnographers: St. Andrew, Bishop of Crete (7th cent.); St. Cosmas, Bishop of Maiuma; St. John Damascene; St. Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople (8th cent.); and St. Joseph the Hymnographer, Archbishop of Thessalonica (9th cent.)

As for the origin of the feast, the existing information indicates that it is an ancient celebration which can be traced back to Palestine itself. This is attested to by one of the earliest surviving accounts which come from Aetheria’s Itinerarium Peregrinatio (“Pilgrimage Itinerary”) which recounts the events of her pilgrimage to the Holy Land (381–384AD). Within this account she cited that the 14 February was a day solemnly kept in Jerusalem with a procession to Constantine I‘s Basilica of the Resurrection (The Holy Sepulchre), with a homily preached on Luke 2:22 (which makes the occasion perfectly clear), and a Divine Liturgy. The date of 14 February indicates that in Jerusalem at that time, Christ’s birth was celebrated on 6 January, and not on the 25^th December. Aetheria who was writing for her fellow nuns at home recounts that:

“The fortieth day after the Epiphany is undoubtedly celebrated here with the very highest honour, for on that day there is a procession, in which all take part, in the Anastasis, and all things are done in their order with the greatest joy, just as at Easter. All the priests, and after them the bishop, preach, always taking for their subject that part of the Gospel where Joseph and Mary brought the Lord into the Temple on the fortieth day, and Simeon and Anna the prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, saw Him, treating of the words which they spoke when they saw the Lord, and of that offering which his parents made. And when everything that is customary has been done in order, the sacrament is celebrated, and the dismissal takes place.”

Other early surviving references to this feast day come from sermons written by the bishops Methodius of Patara († 312), Cyril of Jerusalem († 360), Gregory the Theologian († 389), Amphilochios of Iconium († 394), Gregory of Nyssa († 400), and John Chrysostom († 407).

Originally, it seems that outside of Palestine, the feast remained as a minor celebration. However in 542 AD the feast was established throughout the Eastern part of the Byzantine Empire by the Emperor Justinian I. The reason for this gesture was that in 541AD a terrible plague had broken out in Constantinople, killing thousands. The Emperor, in consultation with the Patriarch of Constantinople, ordered a period of fasting and prayer throughout the entire Empire. While, on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, arranged great processions throughout towns and villages as well as a solemn prayer service (Litia) to ask for deliverance from evils, and the plague ceased. In thanksgiving, the feast was elevated to a more solemn celebration.

In Rome, the feast appears in the Gelasian Sacramentary, a manuscript collection of the seventh and eighth centuries associated with Pope Gelasius I, but with many interpolations and some forgeries. There it carries for the first time the new title of the feast of Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In time the custom of holding lighted candles during the service in Jerusalem’s practice can be traced as early as 450 AD, a custom which spread to other areas of Christendom which gave way to some of the names used within Western Christian traditions, that referred to the feast as Candlemas (“Chandeleur” in French speaking lands and “Lichtmesse” in German speaking lands).

Nevertheless the importance of Candlemas caught on slowly in the West during the Middle Ages, as indicated by its absence in the Lectionary of Silos (650) or in the Calendar (731–741) of Sainte-Geneviève of Paris.

While in the tenth century Benedictional of St. Aethelwold, bishop of Winchester, has a formula used for blessing the candles. However Candlemas did become important enough to find its way into the secular calendar. It became the traditional day to remove the cattle from the hay meadows, and from the field that was to be ploughed and sown that spring. References to it are common in later medieval and early Modern literature; Shakespeare‘s Twelfth Night is recorded as having its first performance on Candlemas Day, 1602.  Furthermore it remains one of the Scottish quarter days, at which debts are paid and law courts are in session.

Meanwhile the earliest surviving depictions of this feast can be found on a mosaic in Santa Maggiore (5^th Century) and on an enamelled cruciform reliquary in the Lateran museum (circa 5^th – 6^th Century), but the final form in which it takes occurs sometime around the 9^th and 10^th centuries, and has remained virtually unchanged since.

The main texts on which the feast is based upon primarily revolves around the gospel account in Luke 2: 22-40. Nevertheless we have Old Testament references (Gen. 22:1-19, Leviticus 12, Exodus 13:12-15) which cite the practice of this rite of purification and dedication to which all Jews were expected to perform without exception, to which the Virgin Mary and Christ would have certainly undergone even if we had no gospel reference to.

In addition to this, the Church also drew upon the New Testament era apocryphal writings which though not recognised as Scripture, were utilised as historical references to clarify various aspects of the events of this feast and its importance to Christ’s ministry and adherence to the Law, (just as His naming and circumcision which would have taken place eight days after His birth, in accordance to Jewish Law).

In more recent times, the General Assembly of SYNDESMOS[5] proposed a World Day of Orthodox Youth to be celebrated annually on 2 February, to coincide with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Members were urged to implement the celebration in their local parish churches “through concrete and appropriate activities that celebrate youth as an essential part of the Church’s present and not just its future.” This proposal has received the blessing of the primates of all the local Orthodox Churches.

SCRIPTURAL READINGS

Scriptural readings for the Feast are the following:

Great Vespers – Exodus 12:15-13:16; Leviticus 12 and Numbers 8; Isaiah 6:1-12, and 19:1,3-5,12,16,19-21.

Matins – Luke 2:25-32;

Divine Liturgy – Hebrews 7:7-17 and Luke 2:22-40.

Yet out of all these readings, the key foundational text for the feast day is taken from the gospel of Luke 2:22-40 which is recited in the Matins and the Divine Liturgy of the day.

Spiritual Themes

Like the feast of the Circumcision (1^st January) the Presentation of Christ in the Temple shows us the “Author of the Law accomplishing what was laid down by the Law” (Vespers, Tone 1). It is in effect the consecration of the first born Son of God (Ex. 13:2) and the sacrifice of the Purification after the birth of the male child (Lev. 12:6-8). Yet within the gospel narrative, the theme of Mary’s purification is almost overlooked, the central focus is on the former point, that of Christ’s dedication which is a “meeting” (upapanth) of the Messiah who represents the New Testament and the traditions of the Temple and the Law which symbolises the Old Testament, often personified by the figure of Simeon.[6]

Of course as cited earlier, Christ had no need to be presented in the Temple by virtue of the fact that He is the Son and Word of God, the Messiah who is the Consolation of Israel and the light of the Gentiles. Yet in assuming our human nature through His earthly birth at the Incarnation, He freely condescended and submitted Himself to the same rigours of mortal life, as all humans are subjected to, including obedience to the Law. Furthermore through His Incarnation, He progresses through each stage of life, experiencing and blessing the human life cycle, sanctifying all ages, indicating that salvation is possible for all age groups and not exclusive to one over another. That is why Christ does not come down from the heavens as a fully formed adult, to distinguish only one stage of life as worth living, but belongs to the greater mystery of creation which is growth and development that bring their own experiences and insights.

We could liken this experience to that of the four seasons, whereby each season brings forth its own unique character which would see dormancy in winter, new life in spring, growth in summer and maturity in autumn with the setting of fruit and seed which will contain within it the essentials for continued life for the coming year.

If we also consider the fact that the Messiah submitted Himself to the experiences of normal human physical, emotional and intellectual growth, then it was only natural that the Theotokos would do the same, since she too must fulfill the Law and the prophecies. The Righteous Joseph also displays this obedience and submission to the Mosaic Law, regardless of the fact that together with the Theotokos, even if some may assert that this was not necessary, he had been placed with the responsibility of caring for the Messiah’s natural progress and “upbringing” through the stages of human existence. Hence the Theotokos and Joseph needed to provide the correct Jewish environment with strict adherence to the spirit of the Law[7] in which to allow Christ to grow and perform His function.

With reference to Simeon the Righteous and Anna the Prophetess, we are given an example of patience and faith, as well as realistic expectations of what one may wish to accomplish in their lifetime. In Simeon’s case particularly, he had one specific desire which was to witness the Messiah, and like Anna, he knew that this was not a flimsy unachievable dream, but was a promise from God. If there was some sort of disclaimer clause which could serve as an obstacle, it was the need to not depart from God, and to patiently wait and trust in Him.

Thus the focus that both Simeon and Anna had, was to work towards our ultimate goal, which God teaches us, is the Kingdom of Heaven. For seeking the Kingdom of Heaven would not be restricted to only those who had the necessary financial or physical resources, but could be attained at any stage of our lives, whether in our youth or in our senior years, even from the confines of a bed for an invalid.

Therefore the promise of Simeon was fulfilled because he was patient and trusted in God. Our Lord Jesus Christ promises us that those who become His followers will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. He also said that if we do not forgive others, neither will God forgive us. As a consequence He gave us two essential commandments on which the entire Law falls upon: To love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength; and to love our neighbour as ourselves. (Subsequently, one comes to understand the symbols of the two turtle-doves, as representing these two key commandments of God. Nevertheless they also represent the Jew and the Gentile, who as Simeon cites from the Prophets, are both called towards service to God and receiving the blessing of His salvation.)

As we can see, God only reveals things to those who do not depart from Him, but undertake the journey with Him which is the patience of preparation and duty to which Simeon and Anna did. Anna had demonstrated this through her many years of service to God combined with prayer and fasting. This example is a formidable testament and guide for those who are elderly or lonely and wonder what they can do to serve God.

Meanwhile the references that Simeon makes about the Consolation of Israel refers to the joy of the deliverance that the Messiah is expected to bring Israel, yet opinions amongst the Jews were divided as to how this Messiah will do it. Those well versed in Scripture knew that the message and ministry of the Messiah was a universal and humble one which would bring the message of faith, the light to the Gentiles. This is summarised in the “Canticle of Simeon” (Lk. 2:29-32) which is a confession and experience of all worshipping Christians (even today), because it cites that Christ is still the salvation God prepared for all peoples, the light of the Gentiles and the glory of Israel.

However as we read on in the New Testament many Jews (particularly many of the clergy and scribes) misunderstood the task of the Messiah, quite often believing that he would be a king and conqueror, a nationalist hero who would not only expel the Romans from Israel, but who would go on to extend the power and glory of Israel, thus subjecting Gentiles under his rule.

Yet Simeon alludes to this misunderstanding when speaking to Mary when he cites that Christ will be the cause of many to fall and rise within Israel, those who will stumble over Christ’s ministry and reject and crucify Him, and those who will accept Him, who will fall with Him, only to rise up through the Resurrection of life. Simeon also alludes to, that at the time of Christ’s Passion, Mary will suffer the sword of pain which (according to tradition) she escaped in childbirth. Seeing her Son on the Cross, her soul will be pierced in grief.

BRIEF DISCUSSION OF FESTAL ICONOGRAPHY

The traditional festal icon shows that the meeting takes place inside the Temple and in front of the altar. Usually the altar has a scroll or book upon it and is covered by a canopy. The Theotokos stands on the left hand-side, holding out her hands in a gesture of offering. If one observes the one hand of the Theotokos is covered by her cloak (maphorion) as she had handed Christ over to Simeon.

The icon normally shows Christ as a child and in proper clothes as opposed to the swaddling cloths seen in the icon of His Nativity. He is clothed in a small robe or tunic and his legs are bare, while appearing to be bestowing His blessing upon all.

Within the icon Simeon is shown to be the most important person in the icon, since he represents all that was good, and all that was God-seeking in the Old Testament community. Encountering the Incarnate Word of God present in the Infant Jesus, the Old Testament people, (personified by Simeon), reached their fulfillment. Thus completed, it can recognize the dawn of a new age, the Age of Redemption, and see the close of its own era.

In more specific observations we see that Simeon holds Jesus with both hands which are covered, thus showing his reverence towards the Messiah. Simeon is bare headed and there is nothing to show that he is a priest. Some Biblical scholars claim that Simeon may have been a priest of the Temple, or a Doctor of the Law, (with some even claiming that he was the son of Hillel and the father of Gamaliel, who was the teacher of St. Paul).

Meanwhile Joseph stands behind the Theotokos, and is carrying the two turtle doves for the sacrifice. While in some icons Anna the Prophetess also standing behind the Theotokos, is pointing to the Christ child. In other icons Anna sometimes stands behind Simeon, but she is still pointing to Christ. The reason why Anna is pointing, in both styles of icons, is to announce to all of creation that the Child to Whom she is pointing to, now presented in the Temple, is the Creator of Heaven and of Earth. Thus for us, the icon is a call to discover Christ, to meet Him, and accept Him as our Lord and Saviour.

The words Simeon spoke when he saw the Christ Child are known as “St. Simeon’s Prayer.”

Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace,

according to Your word,

for my eyes have seen Your salvation,

a Light to lighten the Gentiles,

the Glory of Your people Israel.

This prayer is sung daily at the evening Vespers services of the Orthodox Church.

In the Orthodox Church, both baby boys and baby girls are taken to the Church on the fortieth day after their birth. This is done in remembrance of the Theotokos and Joseph taking the infant Jesus to the Temple.

HYMNS OF THE FEAST

Apolytikion (First Tone)
Hail Virgin Theotokos full of Grace, for Christ our God, the Sun of Righteousness, has dawned from you, granting light to those in darkness. And you, O Righteous Elder, rejoice, taking in Your arms, the Deliverance of our souls, who grants us Resurrection.

Kontakion (First Tone)
Your birth sanctified a Virgin’s womb and properly blessed the hands of Simeon. Having now come and saved us O Christ our God, give peace to your commonwealth in troubled times and strengthen those in authority, whom you love, as only the loving one.

(Sticheron at Saturday Great Vespers for Pentecost Sunday)

 Introductory Remarks

The feastday of Pentecost (Greek: Πεντηκοστή, “the Fiftieth [day]“) is one of the prominent feasts within the Orthodox Christian liturgical year which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ’s disciples after His Resurrection. This event is celebrated 50 days (seven weeks) after the feast of Pascha (Easter), and it follows some ten days after the feast of Ascension Thursday, which marks Christ’s ascension into heaven. Due to this close association with Pascha, Pentecost thus forms part of the moveable cycles of feasts within the Church calendar, and as such the dating of this feastday will vary from year to year.

 Origins & Significance

Jewish Traditions

This particular feast traces its origins back to the Jewish Feast of Weeks (Heb. – Shabuoth or Shavuoth), also known as Pentecost (Deuteronomy 16:9-10). Pentecost according to Jewish tradition was celebrated in late spring during the Hebrew month of Sivan, seven weeks after Passover (Pesach), and was traditionally a thanksgiving festival for the first grain harvests (Exodus 23:16; Numbers 28:26) that were gathered that year and offered back to God.

Yet later on in Biblical times, this thanksgiving festival became linked to the spiritual significance of Passover, in that the Jews were delivered out of Egypt, and in the course of their wandering within the wilderness they were bestowed with God’s Law that guided them into light and life (khalakh), as well as a land in which to dwell in. Therefore the significance of Pentecost took on a new and deeper meaning since it became a celebration of the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai to the Prophet Moses, and subsequently set the tone by which Jewish culture and society evolved.

To put it in other words, the first-fruit of the grain was a testimony and thanksgiving for the giving of the Law and God’s covenant which not only delivered the Jews out of Egypt into a Chosen Land, but set the manner by which to live. In the course of festal development within the Jewish tradition, religious observances included the reading of the Book of Ruth and the decoration of the home and synagogue with greens. In addition, a dairy meal, symbolic of milk and honey, was eaten.

Christian Interpretation and Understanding

Firstly the significance to both Jews and Christians is the symbolism of the number fifty, which stands for eternal and heavenly fulfillment, that is seven times seven, plus one.

 The Law of the Spirit and the Covenant

However more specifically for Christians, this feast which marks the descent of the Holy Spirit signified the confirmation of the Mosaic Law and God’s promised covenant in the spirit, just as Christ cites to the Samaritan woman (St. Photini) that, “you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:21-24).

The particular inference of this statement refers to the fact that the more elementary and ritualistic parts of the Law are not of final or salvific importance, since the objective of worship is to glorify and commune with God in spirit and truth. Furthermore that this worship will not be confined to any specific geographic area but as implied will be open to all, but that the Jews had been privileged to receive it first. This of course raises the question over why were the Jews specifically chosen to bring salvation to the world? The answer is twofold, firstly to cultivate and put into practice the worship of the One True Living God in accordance to divinely inspired principles as set out in the Law within the world. Secondly, through this example within the world, to bring forth the Messiah who will come to administer to all nations, including the Jews, bestowing unity of prayer and peace to the world.

In practical terms this effort was often hampered throughout the course of Jewish history whereby God often sent Prophets to guide the people back towards fidelity to Him, as Christ exclaims that many prophets and righteous people were sent, but were killed by those seeking worldly objectives (cf. Mt. 23:13-39, give particular attention to vv. 34 and 37). The adherence to the Law in spirit often gave way to the ritualistic elements and man-made traditions which gave the appearance of living within the Law according to its letter, but not its true meaning, guiding the Israelites instead on a secular course of religious-ethnic nationalism. A point highlighted in Mt 15:3, 6 whereby Christ asks; “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?…Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition”. Further on in the same passage Christ reiterates the point by quoting the Prophet Isaiah in vv. 7-9: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honour Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men…(Is 29:13)”.

 One example Christ used to illustrate how the Law had been twisted into legalities and loopholes, whereby the Jews only adhered to it only in letter, but not in spirit was the issue of marriage: “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery” (Mt. 19: 8-9). Evidently this was but one point of contention, whereby the Law had been abused to such an extent, that Christ protested and called into question the practices of the day, when He was conducting His earthly ministry.

Another example was the extreme observance of the Sabbath, whereby simple acts of mercy would be condemned, since they were defined as work. This of course went contrary to what the Law sought to promote, in that works of mercy should not be condemned, and should be performed any day of the week for they constitute the weightier matters of the Law, as Christ demonstrates by healing the man with the withered hand in Mt 12:10-14. As response to His detractors, Jesus cites that when a person’s livelihood is at stake (cf. v. 11-12), the faithful would break the Sabbath rules since the Sabbath was created for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath (cf. Mk 2:27).

In an extreme example through His parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:25-37), Christ points out that the Levite and the priest allowed the rites of purification stand in the way of fulfilling the most basic and fundamental of all of God’s commandments which was: “To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself” (cf. Deut. 6:5; Lev.19:18; Mt 22:37-40). Whereas, the Samaritan who was not bound by the rites of purification, and did not allow himself to be bound by them, showed more mercy to the man who was left for dead, than the Levite or the priest. In effect, to put it as Christ would say: “First cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside of them may be clean also” (Mt 23:26).

In spite of these failings within Jewish history and society, led quite often by the appointed authorities, God remains faithful to His promise and overcomes the obstacles that people put before Him, by raising righteous people within Israel and bringing forth from them the Messiah to teach all the nations. Thus in fulfilling their role of salvation to the world, they as well as all other peoples who receive the teaching of the Messiah, would be judged according to both the Law of Faith and the Law of the Heart, as St Paul refers to it within his epistle to the Romans. It is to this that Christ refers to, when He says that He did not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill their teachings (cf. Mt 5:17).

Nevertheless this Law of Faith as spoken of by St Paul, is a reference to the Apostolic preaching of Christ, who shows us the way to God the Father, and is the calling to all people who are willing to accept God’s entreaty, to unity with Him via salvation through repentance. Belief, hope and love underpin this calling, which has as its final stage the attainment of divine wisdom, hence living and worshipping God in spirit and truth. This is as opposed to living under the burden of the Mosaic Law which St Paul calls dead, because the traditions of men have obscured its meaning and practice. Thus accepting the Law of Faith, one not only rediscovers the spirit of the Mosaic Law, but its very breath and foundation.

Whereas the Law of the Heart refers to human conscience, and is viewed as the Natural Law by which all peoples receive at the moment of conception and birth, for it is inscribed on every person’s heart, whether they have heard the Gospel or not. Accordingly each person’s actions, thoughts and deeds shall be weighed against this natural standard and judged. Yet to whoever has received the Law of Faith will be judged by it and the Law of the Heart, and thus is examined according to a higher standard, for as Christ says to whom more is given, more is expected (Lk 12:48).

In having said all this, the day of Pentecost is a day which marks the fulfillment of the Law, whereby God provides a direct guiding hand into adherence to His Laws upon all humanity. Out of exceeding love which knows no bounds, God has poured out His Spirit upon all of humanity (cf. Joel 2:28), to directly guide all peoples in the light of spirit and truth along the way of the Law, as expressed by its greatest exponent, Christ the Word of God. For as Christ says He will not leave us orphans (Jn. 14:18), but that the Father will bestow a Helper (Paraclete) that will abide with all those who follow God, assisting them always into truth, but whom the world cannot receive, since it neither sees Him nor knows Him, but will be experienced by the faithful (cf. Jn. 14:15-17).

This particular point as Christ states (cf. Jn. 16:5-15), is to the advantage of the faithful, because if He does not depart, the Paraclete would not descend upon the faithful to guide them, and the world would not receive its terrible reward for the injustice that it meted out to the righteous of every age. Thus the coming of the Paraclete will convict the world of sin, for many did not accept Christ. Whereas the conviction of righteousness, will be bestowed upon those who do accept Christ and are thus guided by the Paraclete along the proper way to the Father as shown through Christ’s ministry of service and subsequent Resurrection and Ascension. Hence the believers are shown the rewards for cultivating a proper relationship with God, (that is salvation through union with God – theosis).

While judgement is proclaimed upon the ruler of the world, that is the devil, who has been defeated through the works of salvation. Furthermore, the bestowal of charismatic gifts upon the faithful, will be the reward for remaining true and sincere to God’s calling, that will help guide, guard and enrich their lives, revealing all truth and even the future to them, (cf. Jn. 16:5-15).

The Beginning of the Messianic Age of the Kingdom of God

This now brings us to the question of ministry of the Spirit, that which is known as the Church. For the feast of Pentecost marks the final work of Christ’s earthly ministry which seeks to usher the first beginning of the messianic age of the Kingdom of God, mystically present in His Church, which is known as the One Holy Catholic[1]  and Apostolic[2] Church, and is called to ministering to the whole world. For each Orthodox Christian, the feast of Pentecost is not merely the celebration of a historic event, but is also a celebration of their membership within the Church, since every believer has lived Pentecost through receiving “the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit” in the mystery (sacrament) of chrismation after they were baptised.

Nevertheless, it is an error to refer to the feast of Pentecost as the birthday of the Church, rather it marks the ministry of the Church to the whole world, and not specifically to Israel or certain families and individuals as cited in the Old Testament. Therefore prior to Pentecost, the Apostles were not permitted to go amongst the Gentiles to preach, until the Gospel had been fulfilled, that is, at the completion of Christ’s salvific ministry which was then confirmed upon the day the Paraclete was sent upon them.

Patristic writings and witness reaffirm this particular point, for within the second vision of The Shepherd of Hermas we read:

“Now brethren, a revelation was made unto me in my sleep by a youth of exceeding fair form, who said to me, `Whom do you the aged woman, from whom you received the book, to be?‘ I said, `The Sibyl.’ `You are wrong,’ said he, `she is not.’ `Who then is she?’ I said. `The Church,’ he said. I asked him, `Wherefore then is she aged?’ `Because,’ he said, `she was created before all things; therefore is she aged, and for her sake the world was framed”.

Saint Gregory the Theologian also speaks of “the Church of Christ … both before Christ and after Christ”. Saint Epiphanios of Cyprus writes, “The Catholic Church, which exists from the ages, is revealed most clearly in the incarnate advent of Christ”. Saint John of Damascus observes, “The Holy Catholic Church of God, therefore, is the assembly of the holy Fathers, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists, and Martyrs who have been from the very beginning, to whom were added all the nations who believed with one accord”. According to Saint Gregory the Theologian, “The Prophets established the Church, the Apostles conjoined it, and the Evangelists set it in order”.

The Church existed from the creation of the Angels, for the Angels came into existence before the creation of the world, and they have always been members of the Church.

Saint Clement, Bishop of Rome, says in his second epistle to the Corinthians, the Church “was created before the sun and moon”; and further on states that, “The Church existed not now for the first time, but had been from the beginning”.

That which came to pass at Pentecost, then, was the ordination of the Apostles, the commencement of the apostolic preaching to the nations, and the inauguration of the priesthood of the new Israel.

Saint Cyril of Alexandria says that “Our Lord Jesus Christ herein ordained the instructors and teachers of the world and the stewards of His divine Mysteries … showing together with the dignity of Apostleship, the incomparable glory of the authority given them … Revealing them to be splendid with the great dignity of the Apostleship and showing them forth as both stewards and priests of the divine altars . . . they became fit to initiate others through the enlightening guidance of the Holy Spirit”.

Saint Gregory Palamas says, “Now, therefore … the Holy Spirit descended … showing the Disciples to be supernal luminaries … and the distributed grace of the Divine Spirit came through the ordination of the Apostles upon their successors”; While Saint Sophronios, Patriarch of Jerusalem, writes, “After the visitation of the Comforter, the Apostles became high priests”.

Therefore, together with the baptism of the Holy Spirit which came upon them who were present in the upper chamber, which the Lord had foretold as recorded in the Acts, “you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence” (Acts 1:5), the Apostles were also appointed and raised to the high priestly rank, according to Saint John Chrysostom.

Furthermore, on this day commenced the celebration of the Holy Eucharist by which we become “partakers of the Divine Nature” (2 Peter 1:4). For before Pentecost, it is said of the Apostles and disciples, only that they abode in “prayer and supplication” (Acts 1:14); it is only after the coming of the Holy Spirit that they persevered in the “breaking of bread”, that is, the communion of the Holy Mysteries “and in prayer” (Acts 2:42).

The feast of holy Pentecost, therefore, determined the beginning of the priesthood of grace (the order of Melchizedek), not the beginning of the Church. Henceforth, the Apostles proclaimed the good tidings “in country and town”, preaching and baptizing and appointing shepherds, imparting the priesthood to them whom they discerned were worthy to minister, as Saint Clement writes in his first Epistle to the Corinthians.

Yet to make this point clearer, we should first emphasise that the Church (Heb. – Qahal /Gk. – εκκλησία) is not a human institution, or an organisation of any sort, but is a relationship. The Greeks of Asia Minor through their folkloric expressions have helped explain this relational phenomenon over successive generations, for they refer to the Church as the gathering of peoples within one communion joined to God in a direct relationship. The exact phrase they would use is as such:

“τών σύνολον τών άνθωπων έν κοινωνία μέ τών θεὠ”.

In simpler terms, they would normally call the Church, the gathering of the faithful (τών σύνολον τώ πιστών). The principle behind their expression was grounded within their perception of the Church not being an institution of any sort, but was a physical relationship between God the Creator, and humanity as the created beings who are the elect stewards representing all of creation. Yet to enter into this direct and personal relationship with God, one has to first accept God’s invitation to salvation in all sincerity and modesty without any compulsion in faith. Furthermore this undertaking is a call to salvation through ongoing repentance and a whole-hearted commitment to remain joined to God.

In effect the Anatolian Greek concept of Church (εκκλησία) as a relational or communal reality, was that those who answered the invitation, were called (καλέω) from (εκ) amongst the multitudes that comprise the world (κόσμου) of humanity, to aspire to a greater transcendental cause and reality. Naturally many are called, but few actually respond, thus the faithful were termed the “elect” (εκκλησία – Church). In effect the Anatolian Greeks were playing on the etymology of the word Church (εκκλησία) to explain very basic elements of ecclesiology (that is the doctrine/theology of the Church):

εκκλησία (The Church)

κλήσις (Invitation)

εκ-καλέω (To invite or call from or out of)

However, they would explain their analogy further, by citing that because the Church is a relationship and thus a link with the living God, that God does not compel people to enter into this communal reality, but allows all to enter or not enter according to their free-will, since the journey of faith is detrimental to those who are lukewarm about their calling, and thus holds no benefit for one who is unstable and negative in their approach to life.

Nonetheless they would express that the communal reality of what the Church is, is manifested in three key ways: Firstly through the gift of the Holy Eucharist and the mystery (sacrament) of baptism which provides a physical link and expression of the unity of the believers as one gathering, while at the same time their direct link with God and the saints. The second was their assertion that the Church is the relationship between God and creation, because creation bears indelibly the fingerprints of God’s creative activity within the universe, or as some would call it, the various “logoi” that is inherent in all things which help them to function according to their designated purpose. The third point they would raise, is that the Church is merely an expression of the inner Trinitarian Church. That is, the internal communal relationship between the Three Persons of the One Godhead. Hence the Church is basically a manifestation of the Trinitarian relationship of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in one undividable union.

Finally the Greeks of Asia Minor would then make reference to salvation history as cited within Scripture, by noting that the covenants made between God and Adam and Eve, or with Noah, or with Abraham, or with Moses, or the people who would constitute Israel, or send messages through the Prophets, represented the Church throughout time and how that relationship between God and humanity developed or changed. Therefore the Church was a relationship of love and life that God had always intended to share with humanity, when He had first created Adam and Eve before their falling away, and that every good thing within this relationship should be shared in common. Hence the preaching of the Gospel has not only been a message of faith within world history, but one that also strives to manifest faith within worldly reality through works of faith like almsgiving, charity and so forth.

The feastday signifies the pouring out of God’s Spirit upon the whole world in order to allow each person to come into direct contact with God’s invitation to salvation and enter into the Church. For within the Church, by living its liturgical and prayer life, each believer will have the opportunity to unlock the charismatic gifts that the Lord had bestowed upon them, for the benefit of all within the Christian communion and the wider community of humanity (cf. 1 Cor. 12).

Charismatic Gifts and the Speaking of Different Languages (Tongues)

This in a roundabout way brings us to the charismatic gifts that Christ spoke of in Jn. 16:5-15 which would be bestowed upon all the faithful and particularly upon the Apostles. On this point St. Paul explains to us in 1 Corinthians 12, that the bestowal of charismatic gifts was for the benefit and edification of all members within the Christian (Church) communion and thus should be shared in common, since each person received a different gift to share. For some as St. Paul notes may have the gift of healing, while others have the gift of teaching and so forth. However, all these gifts from God was to assist the communion of the faithful in their endeavour towards their journey of salvation, and subsequently give them strength, reassurance and courage in this difficult task.

Yet through the communion of the believers the world would also benefit, since the charismatic gifts were the testimony to God’s presence, saving power and love within the world. It was to bear witness to the Gospel and encourage others to seek faith and repentance, and to remind all people of their own finiteness within the whole scheme of the universe, where God reigns supreme. The only catch to this of course, lay within the mindset and attitude of the believers in their approach to spiritual life, and how seriously they took their calling.

Hence the more open a believer is to the workings of the Holy Spirit, the more numerous and powerful the charismatic gifts can be bestowed upon them or unlocked within them, and thus God can work through them for the benefit of their souls and others. The less receptive a believer is to the workings of the Spirit, the more of an obstacle they prove to God, Who is seeking to work through them, and manifest grace upon them and the communion of believers as well as the world. To sort of paraphrase St. Seraphim of Sarov, if you wish to save yourself and others, become a saint and you will save many souls because you will serve as a beacon of salvific grace.

Nevertheless of the numerous charismatic gifts that God has bestowed upon humanity, the feastday of Pentecost and the unusual events that surround it, manifest particularly the gift of speaking in languages which marks out this particular event. For as many of the liturgical hymns of Pentecost exclaim, is that the simplicity of the fishermen, the Apostles that is, were made wise by the Paraclete, and enabled them to speak in numerous languages (Γλώσσες) with great eloquence, so that as many people as possible could come to hear and learn about the Gospel.

In Acts 2:1-31 which provides a fairly detailed account, we observe that the Apostles are gathered together within one place and with one accord (v. 1), that is in one communion, when they received the gift of speaking in different languages (v. 3) as the original Greek states. Quite often the word γλώσσα is translated as tongue, but in the context of the narrative and its grammar, it means languages. As a consequence of the Feast of Pentecost taking place, numerous Jews and converts to Judaism coming from many different nations had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the giving of the Mosaic Law. Yet with the bestowal of being capable to speak in different languages, the Apostles were able to attest to the fact that the Law had been fulfilled through the ministry of the Messiah in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

Thus their charismatic gift was able to reach a broad and diverse audience of many different nationalities, for the edification of all those who heard them, who were surprised that a bunch of illiterate “Galilean Jews” who come from the “backwaters” of Jewish society, were preaching in their own language. A testimony in itself of the power and truth of what God had taught them through Jesus. Of course some dismissed them as being drunk, but as St. Peter points out in Acts 2:15 that it was only the third hour of the day, which corresponds with around nine o’clock in the morning when pubs, inns and taverns were closed (and had remained so from the previous night, especially on the eve of a feast of religious observance).

The point that needs to be emphasised here, is that the charismatic gift of speaking in different languages served a key purpose, because the languages uttered by the Apostles were not incomprehensible gibberish as in today’s so-called modern day phenomenon. The Apostles spoke in actual, and comprehensible, languages and dialects that people of the time spoke, read and wrote in, as attested to within the Scriptural account. There was no need for an interpreter or some specially designated charismatic leader who could “understand” or “explain” what was said by the Apostles, because through the workings of the Holy Spirit and the Apostles, God communicated directly to all the peoples who had gathered for the feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem that very day.

This very point corresponds with what St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12 about the role of charismatic gifts, in that it is for the edification of all members of the Church and to assist those who are outside it, to come towards knowledge, wisdom and love of God. Hence the Apostles were communicating God’s words within comprehensible languages, so that people may be exposed to the Gospel and come to knowledge, wisdom and love of God. This undertaking was not an individual effort, nor an attempt to disperse people, but was a communal effort by the Apostles with God’s grace, to gather the people together in one accord. This is therefore the purpose of charismatic gifts, to bring people together and join them to God, offering their commitment, which we are told in Acts 2:41 numbered some three thousand.[3]

Therefore God is not the author of chaos causing the people to disperse, that is why the devil is called the diabolos (διά-βολος) which means the one who tears apart, or Satan which means to serve as a stumbling stone, frustrating others in attaining a goal.

Yet the speaking of different languages bears another point of significance, which is re-teaching humanity the language of Divine Wisdom, something lost through humanity’s arrogance and rebellion when constructing the world’s second city with the Tower of Babel at its epicentre in Genesis 11. The purpose of the Tower as seen from the account was based on two key premises, the first was disbelief in God’s promise to never inundate the world by flood, thus the tower was to act as an insurance policy. The second point was that the people who sought to build Babel, intended it as a cheap and showy form of shameless self-advertisement, so that they could make a “name” for themselves and to project it unto other generations. In effect their action was one of self-worship, which is another, but the most dangerous form of idolatry, because it has egocentric pride as its foundations, not showing due respect or thanksgiving to God.

God’s own response by creating different languages for the people of Babel to speak, and thus distract them from their arrogant undertaking, was an act of pedagogical love. Firstly the chastisement of those leading this rebellious act by God’s creative response in turning the one human language into the “babble” of different languages, since the people had turned away from speaking and thinking according to divine wisdom and piety. Instead they had thought and spoken in terms contrary to their reason of being, that is as godlike beings. Consider it, the people did not trust in God’s own promise to them, but had more faith in their own delusions and arrogance. Hence it would not be an exaggeration to say that even God’s chastisement of this unsound phronema[4] was a form of mercy. On the other hand God’s response also served as a preventative measure from redirecting humanity from becoming spiritually worse.[5]

Babel of course represents the development of technology and civilisation, and the breaking with the cycles of the natural world by humanity, which quite often put it at odds with the environment. Yet this could be explained symbolically from the point of view that Babel represents political and economic establishments characterised by arrogance, greed and love for power. Under such circumstances God is often ignored in the process and is thus denied the due respect owed to Him, while the earth we inhabit which He created, is utilised as our personal property to dispose of however we wish. Not only that, but that fellow human beings are in like fashion, dealt with as if they were commodities for our own personal use and service, thus explaining the foundations for all wars, political strife, and socio-economic problems throughout all ages of human history.

As a consequence, the day of Pentecost marks God reuniting all nations and peoples, willing to accept His calling through His Apostles, who thanks to the Spirit, are speaking in the language of the Gospel, thus overcoming all linguistic, cultural and ethnic barriers that had developed since the time of Babel. It is for this purpose the charismatic gift of speaking in different languages were granted to the Apostles, so that the language of the Gospel may be known in every human language of the world, unhindered and without need of translators. So that all may be edified and have the opportunity to hear God’s calling and have the same equal opportunity to find salvation.[6]

Trinitarian Revelation

Within the Orthodox Church there is no specific feastday, in the literal sense, which marks the celebration of the Holy Trinity, since all Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are God and take equal part in their Godly providential action in relation to the world, therefore all feastdays are a celebration of the Holy Trinity. Yet within the liturgical practice of the Orthodox Church, the day which is viewed as appropriate for such a celebration, and has been the practice for many centuries, is the feastday of Pentecost which is also known as “Trinity Day” or “Descent of the Holy Spirit”. Yet these two titles represent two very distinct themes, that of the Trinitarian action within the world and revealed at Pentecost, whereby the descent of the Holy Spirit, proceeds from the Father and shed forth by God the Son (Acts 2:33).

Whereas, the other theme, is specifically concerned with celebrating and honouring the Holy Spirit, whose commemoration occurs on the Monday which directly proceeds from Pentecost Sunday, and is known as “Spirit Monday”. As a consequence Pentecost in liturgical terms is a feast whose duration spans two days. The import of this significance, stems from the fact that this feastday marks the fullness of Trinitarian revelation within the world, that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and subsequently is the sign of God’s final act of self-disclosure to the world (creation). That is, the descent of the Holy Spirit to guide all of humanity into the journey of wisdom and self-discovery which is known as faith, and serves as a witness to the wider world, bringing all into communion with the Holy Trinity. Not surprisingly, much of the hymnography of the feast revolves around Trinitarian dogma, the very core belief of Christianity.

In more specific terms, the Trinitarian action of Pentecost differs in each Divine Person’s role within this great event, for as a Sticheron in the 8^th tone from Great Vespers indicates that; God the Father who is the Creator of the visible and invisible world does all things through the Son with the participation of the Holy Spirit; God the Son, the Redeemer through Whom we have come to know the Father, and through Whom the Holy Spirit came into the world; while God the Spirit and Comforter, proceeding from the Father and resting in the Son, gives life to all things.

The meaning of this, is simply that Pentecost manifested and revealed to the world the grace-given knowledge of the Trinitarian mystery as One God, yet consisting of Three distinct Persons who are indivisible and consubstantial (equal), united in one common effort, without subsuming or overriding the other members of this communion, nor becoming subservient to the others.

Naturally some may contend that at Christ’s baptism within the Jordan, by St. John the Forerunner, that this Trinitarian revelation had previously occurred. This is true, but discerning from all Scriptural indications it was a revelation perceptible to St. John who was the last of the Old Testament Prophets, and whom Christ referred to as the second Elijah. The pouring out of God’s Spirit upon all flesh had not occurred at this particular point, since Christ said that He had to depart so that the Spirit may be bestowed upon all flesh. Hence the Trinitarian action at Christ’s baptism was one perceptible to the few, and accessible only to the external senses, for St John the Baptist heard the voice of the Father, saw the Son before him, and saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Christ in the physical form of a dove.

Whereas, this contrasts sharply to the day of Pentecost, whereby the grace of the Holy Spirit is poured forth upon humanity; enlightening the entire being of man redeemed by the Son of God and bringing him to deification. According to the extent of our potentialities, we in effect receive the possibility of seeing and experiencing God, and of participating in the Kingdom of grace of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Consider the enlightenment of the Apostles on the actual day as described in the Book of Acts, this event bore witnesse to not only an external perception of the working of grace by seeing the Spirit come down like tongues of fire, but experiencing their own internal transformation and then being able to preach in numerous languages.

Nor were these things confined to a Prophetic figure who dwelled in obscurity like the Prophets of old or like John the Baptist, but simple men of moderate or minimal learning who dwelled and worked within the world. The Apostles were followed by other peoples of many nations present within Jerusalem at that time, comprising of different socio-economic stratas and experiences, who were baptised also with fire and the Spirit, just as they had received. No distinctions or discrimination was made between those who sought to learn and be baptised, no preferential treatment, all received the message of the Gospel and those who responded were not turned away, for the gifts of the Spirit was for all to partake of. Gone were the days of the Old Testament, for even St. John the Forerunner cited that Christ will baptise with fire[7] and the Spirit.

It is for these reasons that Pentecost marks the final work of Christ’s earthly ministry which usher in the first beginning of the messianic age of the Kingdom of God, mystically present in His Church, and called to ministering to the whole world.

Customs & Liturgical Practices

Originally, in liturgical and cultural practice, Pentecost marked the end of the Paschal period prior to the advent of the Paschal Apodosis (Conclusion) and the Feast of the Martyrs (which later became the Feast of All-Saints). The custom though is still preserved within various Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox churches whereby the fifty days proceeding from Pascha would be days of non-fasting and numerous celebrations ending with the Feast of Pentecost before proceeding into the fast of the Holy Apostles and thus ending the moveable cycle of feasts.

The reason for this custom was to “recover” from the strict asceticism of the 50 days leading to Pascha which consisted of the weeks of preparation, Great Lent and Holy Week. Yet it was also an effort to balance the spiritual life of the faithful by not enforcing strict and austere forms of asceticism over the full 101 day period, since the Church did not wish to push the faithful too far and cause them to “snap” from spiritual “burnout”. Thus time was allowed for celebration, since Pascha was the fruit of spiritual struggle to which the faithful endeavoured towards day and night for the duration of the year. The opinion was that the faithful should symbolically have a foretaste of what the eternal banquet and rest meant, and that it was to this ceaseless cycle of feasting to which all aspired to; since the present world was the place of suffering, sacrifice, testing and struggle to pass through the mystery of our own crosses, an opportunity to be prepared to enter the relief of the celestial life close to God.

Nevertheless as time went pass, and the development of the cycle of feasts continued, while people abused the paschal period of feasting taking awful liberties, the Church decided to reinstate the usual fasts of Wednesdays and Fridays to maintain spiritual vigilance, with the exception of Bright Week and the week after Pentecost.

Within the English-speaking world, particularly within Britain, the feast of Pentecost became known as the feast of Whitsunday. It is believed the reason for this name stems from the fact that Pentecost, Pascha, and certain other festal Sundays were set aside for baptisms within the Divine Liturgy. As such, and reflecting the illumination and purity of divine action within the world, the churches would be decorated in white, while the clergy and those who were to be baptised were vested in white garments. Hence one can hear the term in the English speaking world “the Whitsundays”, that is the “White Sundays” whereby many will turn from the darkness of ignorance, and be baptised into the light and purity of divine wisdom as they descend into the baptismal mystery of crucifying their old identity, and rising out of the waters of forgiveness and purification to become partakers within Christ’s Resurrection and new life.

Yet within this tradition, Pentecost became the main day of baptism and was called the Whitsunday, due to the warmer weather experienced within Northern Europe than that of Pascha, but also from a theological perspective it was to link with the belief of being baptised in the Spirit on the day which marks the gift of the Spirit upon humanity. Thus within the British Christian tradition, Whitsunday is a day of full Trinitarian revelation and call towards our own ministry of healing (therapeutic theosis), and confession of faith to the world, hence following the Apostles’ commission to go forth and live the Gospel. For each member who were baptised in Christ through the Holy Spirit has put on the wedding garment of Christ and has been joined to His Church, and come into union with God the Father as adoptive children by grace.

As for the custom of adorning churches and houses with green branches, leaves and some flowers date back to the Old Testament practices of the Jews, but within the Christian context represented the life-giving, renewing and regenerative power of the Holy Spirit which helps to sustain all things of creation and cause them to blossom forth. The wearing of green liturgical vestments upon this day mimicked this practice but develops during the medieval period, since the original practice was to wear white vestments that resemble the pure white of doves, a symbol of the Spirit. Yet red vestments and red flowers were also utilised (and still are in some Christian traditions) to represent the fire of the Holy Spirit and contrast against the greenery used to adorn houses and churches.

One final custom worthy of note was the baking of various pastries and breads as a celebration of the firstfruits of the grain harvest, and churches would be adorned with wheat husks. The origin of this seems to have been a continuation from the Jewish practice (much like the use of greenery) of the Feast of Weeks.

Scriptural Readings

Vespers: Numbers 11:16-17, 24-29; Joel 2:23-32; Ezekiel 36:24-28.

Matins: John 20:19-23.

Pentecost Sunday Divine Liturgy: Acts 2:1-31; John 7:37-52, 8:12.

Pentecost Monday Divine Liturgy: Ephesians 5:8-19; Matthew 18: 10-20.

Hymnography

To gain a greater appreciation of the feast of Pentecost and the various themes raised within it celebration, a brief examination of the hymnography provides excellent summaries and theological insight into this great event and its implications. The majority of English translations utilised here, and the ordering of hymnographical texts are drawn from the work of John Baggley, a Roman Catholic who has authored a book[8] on Orthodox festal icons and the feasts to which they belong to. His exposition is a very balanced and Orthodox presentation which is written for a Non-Orthodox audience, so that others may attain an appreciation for Orthodoxy’s rich spiritual heritage.[9]

Apolytikion of Pentecost – Fourth Plagal Tone

Blessed are You, O Christ our God, who made fishermen all-wise, sending upon them the Holy Spirit and, through them, netting the world. O Loving One, glory to You.

Kontakion – Tone 8.

When the Most High came down he confused the tongues, divided the nations; but when he parted the tongues of fire, he called all to unity, and with one voice we glorify the all-holy Spirit.

Ikos

Give swift and stable comfort to your servants, Jesus, in the despondency of our spirits; do not part from our souls in troubles, do not be far from our minds in perils, but ever anticipate us. Be near us, be near you, who are everywhere; as you are also always with your Apostles, so unite yourself, O compassionate, with those who long for you, that united to you we may hymn and glorify your All-holy Spirit.

The following Sticheron is a basic summary of the differing themes presented within the Feast of Pentecost:

The Holy Spirit provides every gift: He inspires prophecy, perfects the priesthood, grants wisdom to the illiterate, makes simple fishermen to become wise theologians, and establishes perfect order in the organisation of the Church. Wherefore, O Comforter, equal in nature and majesty with the Father and the Son, glory to You! – A Sticheron from Saturday’s Great Vespers.

Amongst those key themes is the fulfillment of Old Testament expectations and hopes which the Prophets of old often spoke of and sought to inspire their fellow brethren who often ignored them or passed them over as insane. Thus Pentecost is a day of fulfillment of a promise made by God:

That which was proclaimed in the Prophets and in the Law of old hath been fulfilled; for on this day the grace of the Divine Spirit is poured on all the faithful. – From Ode 1 of Matins

Similarly, the gift of the Holy Spirit is described as a fulfillment of Christ’s personal promise:

Thou didst say unto Thy disciples, O Christ: Tarry ye in Jerusalem till ye be clothed with power on high, and I will send you another Comforter like unto Me, Who is My Spirit and the Spirit of the Father, in Whom ye shall be established. – From Ode 3 of Matins

The events that occurred in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, are celebrated with reference to the revelation of the Holy Trinity:

Today all the nations beheld strange things in the city of David, when the Holy Spirit descended in fiery tongues, as Luke, the herald of things divine, declared; for he said: As the disciples of Christ were gathered together, there came a sound as of mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting; and all began to articulate strange and foreign words, doctrines strange and new, strange and new teachings of the Holy Trinity. – A Sticheron from Matins

The gift of languages, of wisdom and of teaching, are often mentioned – along with the accusations that the strange behaviour of the Apostles was due to drunkenness:

O Lord, when You sent down your Spirit upon the assembled apostles, the Hebrews were struck with awe as they heard them speak in many languages, as the Spirit inspired them. They knew them to be illiterate and now saw them wise, speaking divine truths and bringing Gentiles to believe. Wherefore we also cry out to You: “O Lord who have appeared on earth and saved us from error, glory to You!” – From the Litia at Saturday’s Great Vespers

When the Apostles spoke eloquently concerning the divine and mighty deeds, the Spirit’s power, whereby the Trinity is known as the one God or our Fathers, was thought to be drunkenness by them that believed not. – From Ode 7 of Matins

Worship of the Holy Trinity becomes possible as a result of the divine revelation at Pentecost. The hymnographers relish the wonder of this revelation:

All things bow their knee before the Comforter,

And the Offspring of the Father, and the Consubstantial Father;

For they acknowledge in Three Persons,

The, One Infallible, Unapproachable and Timeless Essence;

For the grace of the Spirit hath shined forth illumination. – From Ode 4 of Matins

The story of the Tower of Babel forms a point of comparison for the Pentecost events: one brought division and confusion, the other brings reconciliation and harmony:

In days of old, pride brought confusion of tongues to the builders of the tower of Babel, but now the diversity of tongues enlightened the minds and gave knowledge for the glory of God. There, God punished infidels for their sin, while here Christ enlightened fishermen through His Spirit; there, the confusion of tongues was for the sake of vengeance, while here there was variety so that voices could be joined in unison for the salvation of our souls. – Aposticha from Saturday Great Vespers

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit leads to life in the Church through Baptism, and there are many texts which link these aspects of the Feast. Baptism is rarely mentioned directly, but the references to water, fire and Spirit leave no doubt as to their sacramental reference:

Coming down to those on earth, the Holy Spirit’s spring was seen in the form of fiery streams apportioned spiritually to all, as it bedewed and enlightened the Lord’s Apostles. And thus, the fire became a cloud bedewing them, filling them with light, and raining fire flames on them. And through them, grace hath been vouchsafed to us by fire and water in very truth. Behold, the Comforter’s light is come and hath illumined the whole world. – Second sessional hymn from Matins

Illumination and sanctification are continuing aspects of the work of the Spirit in the Church, bringing successive generations into the fullness of the Trinitarian life:

The Father is Light; the Word is Light; and the Holy Spirit is Light, Who was sent to the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues; and thus through Him all creation is illuminated and guided to worship the Holy Trinity. – Exaposteilarion from Matins

Iconography

As mentioned earlier, the feastday of Pentecost marks two particular themes which are represented within the two icons of Pentecost, that of the Hospitality of Abraham, and the Descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

The reason for the first icon is that the exposition of the dogma of the Holy Trinity is the first fundamental principle which underpins Pentecost. To express this, the Orthodox Church took as its iconographical expression, the Biblical narrative of three men appearing to Abraham by the Oak of Mambre in Genesis 18. The three men, from some of the earliest examples within iconography, have been depicted as winged angels to indicate their heavenly origins, for according to the Scriptural witness of this historical event, we have the first appearance of God to man (Theophany). Thus signifying the existence of a personal relationship and promise of redemption, between humanity and God, something which Adam and Eve originally knew when they were created as tenants of God’s earth.

Furthermore, within the context of the feast, the icon links the first manifestation of the Trinity in the Old Testament and the final theophanic manifestation within the New Testament at Pentecost. Hence the idea of a promise being made and the fulfillment of that promise, or if you will, covenant (Heb. Berith/Gk. Διαθήκη).

The original iconographic depiction, usually showed the Three Angels sitting around a table under the shade of the Oak, with Abraham and Sarah attending to them, while their house was in the background, and quite often a servant was slaughtering a calf in the foreground. The scene was explained in three ways by early Church Fathers as, an indirect visitation by the Holy Trinity through angelic representatives, or as a visitation by the Holy Trinity itself, or the appearance of the Second Person of the Trinity accompanied by two angels who represented the other Trinitarian Persons.

The thought with regards to the last interpretation, was that since each Person of the Trinity possesses the fullness of the Godhead, the presence of the Son with two angels can be taken as a representation of the Trinity. Whatever interpretation one utilised, the meaning and significance of the event is clear, that Abraham saw the Trinity as far as any human can, and greet It as a close and benevolent friend.

As to how the Three Angels were depicted often varied with dogmatic interpretation and iconographic development. In earlier examples of icons, the Angels are grouped together, sitting equal to each other at the table (isocephalous principle), to indicate their total shared equality and yet remain distinct as Three Angels. At times such icons would show the Angels wearing the same clothes to reemphasise the total shared equality, while other icons would have the Angels sitting equally but wearing slightly different garments to represent their distinction.

Later on within iconography, the table would be structured like a pyramid which was headed by one Angel to signify the Father. Yet later on the icon shows the table as round and the Angels sitting around it, to show that unlike a rectangular table, there is no “head” or “place of honour”, but all sit equally within a circle. The significance of a circle is simply that it is not a “regular shape” because it has neither a beginning nor an end, thus expressing the eternal character of the Heavenly Trinity. Yet at the same time, represent the equality and unity of each Trinitarian Person, bound together within an unbroken communion.

Rublev, and other contemporary iconographers of his era, began to focus entirely on the Three Angels within some of their works and leave out the presence of Abraham and Sarah. Within the background they would leave the oak within the scene to indicate the origin of the work’s link to a historical event. The objective of these iconographers was to tease out the theological significance of the Trinitarian manifestation, the inner Trinitarian communal relationship, the Church and references to the Holy Eucharist.

Within the Rublev icon of the Trinity, the table is set with bread and wine within a chalice symbolising the Holy Eucharist, being blessed by an Angel dressed as Christ. The Angels are all leaning inwards and forming a circle to represent the eternality of the inner Trinitarian life of Three Unique Persons united within one communion, but remaining distinct, neither being subsumed by each other or subservient to the other Trinitarian members. The indication is that the Church, just like the Anatolian Greeks with their analogies expressed, the Church militant (that is within the world) is a reflection and communal reality that has its origins within the Trinitarian Church.

This reality is expressed in the gestures and actions of the Three Angels who incline their heads to one another showing signs of love, humility and reverence, within a motionless peace, and the world around them continuously in a state of movement. The immobility of course indicating the omnipotence, omnipresence, immutability and unmoveable glory and peace of the Trinitarian union that remains constant while the world may be in a state of constant flux, but here we observe that there is a firm foundation which will not change and yet remains as an internal mystery by which we only catch glimpses of. The grouping of the Angels upon the icon reflects the Nicene Creed, from left to right, since in iconographic tradition the left is the place of honour: I believe in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Correspondingly the very colours utilised also indicate the differences between these Persons. The somewhat vague colour of the clothing of the Angel on the left, indicates the impossibility of depicting God the Father. Whereas the dual colours of burgundy and blue which represents Christ, indicates His perfect Divine and Human natures as the Theanthropos, while the Holy Spirit is clothed with a green cloak to symbolise His life-giving and renewing power. The strong colours that characterise both Christ and the Holy Spirit indicate how they have been manifested and seen by humanity, and thus can be depicted due to the various events of Scriptural history like Christ’s baptism, or Pentecost. The common colour in many of these icons is blue which is worn by all members of the Trinity, and remind us of the bluish-green divine light that is shown engulfing Christ in icons of the Resurrection, the Dormition of the Theotokos, Transfiguration and Ascension. Hence the blue cloaks within these icons of the Trinity symbolise the divinity of all Three Persons and therefore their commonality and unity.

The other icon which refers to the specific event that characterises Pentecost, is the one that depicts the descent of the Holy Spirit, and is put out on display on Spirit Monday. The usual depiction shows the Apostles seated within the house that they were dwelling in at the time in Jerusalem, patiently awaiting Christ’s promise of the Paraclete bestowing its help upon them. At the very centre is usually a gap to show that Christ had ascended into Heaven and no longer was sitting with them in dialogue, but had made room for the Paraclete to come and dwell amongst the Apostles.

Within these icons one can see the Apostles sitting in a semi-circle facing us, but still inclined to one another. The significance is threefold; firstly it marks the beginning of their mission and ministry to carry on Christ’s teaching, and for that matter their own spiritual journey towards salvation has not been completed. That is, the circle is not complete because on a personal level they were still in the process of deification, but to also mark the beginning of the Messianic age which will only be completed upon the Eighth Day of Creation, the Day of Completion and Fulfillment, better known to us as Christ’s Second Coming or Parousia.

The inclination of the Apostles to one another expresses their unity and collegiality, and not showing one Apostle to be greater than another, all have received the gift and authority of the Holy Spirit as shown with the flames above their heads. Yet the Apostles’ bodies and eyes have the tendency to be focused upon us as if calling us to join their communion, which is a reflection of the Trinitarian communion, and thus the objective of ecclesial reality. The consequence of which, is that nothing is done within the Church by one sole leader, but in consultation as a synod, as reflected by the Council of Jerusalem as spoken of in the Book of Acts, and subsequently in Christian history by local and Ecumenical councils.

In some other icons this collegiality is depicted by showing the Apostles sitting or congregated within a circle. In some icons, the iconographer shows the Theotokos sitting in the place of Christ at the centre of the Apostles to represent the Church as our mother, just as Mary served as the Theotokos within the flesh. It is not to show that she is equal with God, but that she is the mother of every believer.

The elderly male figure at the base of the icon represents the “cosmos” or if you will, all the nations to whom the Apostles must carry the Gospel to, as signified by the Twelve Scrolls that he holds within his mantle. The scrolls of course indicate the Gospel but are symbolic of a letter of commission that an authority gives to an employee which sets out their task and duties. These of course were set forth by Christ Himself during His earthly ministry, but are now items of faith and Church governance which are now shown as scrolls. Some of the Apostles or all of them in various iconographic versions, are holding these scrolls in their hands, to show that what they have received is not of their own making, but that which God has entrusted to them to transmit.

The blue-green light at the top centre of icons represents the Divine Light of the Holy Trinity in action, and in the feastday’s case, more specifically the Holy Spirit descending upon the Apostles. The indication is that the eternal which was and is before time and creation, is now violently penetrating into linear time and human history, like a rush of wind as the Scriptural accounts refer to it, and not coming in all humility as it would normally do. Instead it announces its presence and its work. Iconographers have often depicted this descent into worldly time as small lines or “tongues” of fire emanating from the divine light which is within the celestial realms, coming directly upon the heads of the Apostles. These lines or tongues usually bear the same blue-green colour while others utilise red and oranges to show the peaceful action of the Trinity, comes in as a fire within our world, since our reality struggles to cope with the power of loving grace.

Dedicated to the beloved memory of the late spiritual father, Fr. George Kalodimos, and to my own great grandparents Vasilios and Zinovia on whom the teachings of the Spirit were inscribed on their hearts, and like so many of their fellow Anatolian Greeks, endured exile and hardships, rather than to renounce their faith nor their ethnic identity.

What is greater than to be called – and to be – the Mother of God – the source of life whom Christ took the humanity that He made divine? St Paul said: ‘if the root is holy, then the branches are also’ (Rom. 11:16). Her body is the bridal-chamber of virginity, the heaven above us, the earth that brings forth God, the first-fruits of Adam’s mass of clay made divine, the exact image of creation’s original beauty, the earthly Palace of the heavenly King.

In Icon of the Dormition by Theophan the Greek 1392, the Theotokos is depicted lying on a couch surrounded by the Twelve Apostles. At center, Jesus Christ is shown in a mandorla swadling the soul of the Virgin Mary (a red seraphim is shown above his head). To either side of him are depicted the Hieromartyrs Dionysius the Areopagite and Ignatius the God-bearer who, according to sacred tradition are responsible for transmitting the account of the dormition.

The liturgical year, which is the image of the life in Christ, is also defined by two events in the life of Mary, her birth and her death. In fact, the first feast of the liturgical year is the Nativity of the Virgin (September 8). The last major feast of the liturgical year is the Dormition, celebrated on August 15.

In the tradition of our faith, we keep the vision of Mary’s ascent to heaven with the body (in the West this mystery is called the ‘Assumption’ which is also the name given to the feast – assumption signifies ‘ascension into heaven’. Dormition and Assumption are different names of the same event). In the East the feast is called Dormition which means ‘passage through death’ or ‘falling asleep in death’ – from which the word cemetery derives. In the language of scripture, death is often called a “sleeping” or “falling asleep” (Greek κοίμησις; whence κοιμητήριον > coemetērium > cemetery, a place of sleeping). If we die and then live again a better life after death, then clearly that is not so much a death as a sleep, a passage into a second life – born away by death; giving us complete release from earthly cares.

Like her Son, who ascended to the Father, so Mary was taken by angels and transported into heaven with her body (the absence of relics of the Virgin confirms her assumption into heaven). The Dormition expresses the hope of every Christian who waits for the hour of death as the passage into life, because of the victory of the resurrected Christ. Each death is a new and personal Pascha. Therefore this event is seen as the first-fruits of the bodily resurrection of the faithful that will occur at the Second Coming of Christ. The Theotokos has already undergone the bodily resurrection and stands in heaven in that glorified state – which the rest of humanity hopes for. Like us she was formed from earth, but she did not return there after her death, though she intercedes on earth for us.

We can ask why the Word of God took so long to descend to earth and become incarnate in order to save fallen humanity. Only after many millennia (from the middle of the sixth millennium after Adam’s sin) did God find on earth a virgin pure not only in body – but also in spirit. There was only one such woman, unique in her spiritual and bodily purity, who was worthy to become the church and the temple of the Holy Spirit.

We believe that the life, the death, and the resurrection of Mary are a mystery which the Church keeps in its memory/conscience. The exterior world has no access to this mystery. For no words can fully explain the virginity of the Mother of God, no analysis of her miraculous motherhood is possible; and her resurrection too remains a mystery which only the faithful piously preserve in faith and Tradition. The death and resurrection of Mary remains a mystery which the Church venerates in silence. This is why Scripture does not mention the passage from death to life of the most-pure Virgin. In the same way, the Orthodox Church has never proclaimed that the Assumption is a dogma, and yet it offers the Mother of God a limitless devotion. Her glory is such that it remains honourably wrapped up in the mysterious obscurity of God – to preserve its reality and truth unshaken – until the final restoration of all things.

For two thousand years the Church has preserved the memory of the Virgin Mary as the prototype of all Christians – a model of deification – what we are to become in Christ.

If ‘precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints’ (Ps. 116:15), and ‘the memory of the just is praised’ (Prov. 10:7), how much more fitting is it for us to celebrate with the highest honours the memory of the ever-virgin Theotokos (Mother of God), the Holy of Holies, through whom the saints receive their holiness?

 By commemorating her holy Dormition and passing away, through which, having been made a little lower than the angels (cf. Ps. 8:5), she rose incomparably higher than the Angels, Archangels, and all the heavenly powers above them, because of her nearness to the God of all (cf. Rom. 9:5), and the marvels written of old which were accomplished in her.

The beginning and foundation of subsequent marvellous events, was the accomplishment of God’s promise to Joachim and Anna, the most virtuous people of their day, that, although childless from their youth, they would have a child in their extreme old age, and that their daughter would bear without seed Him Whom God the Father had begotten before all ages, outside time.

In addition, those who were to become parents in this mysterious way vowed to give back the child, who was to give birth herself even more mysteriously, to the Giver of the gift.

In accordance with this worthiest of vows, the Mother of God left her father’s house in extraordinary fashion while still an infant, to live in God’s house. For the space of many years she stayed there, strange as it seems, in the Holy of Holies (which we celebrate on the 21 November – the entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple – ta isodia). There she was provided with indescribable nourishment by attending angels: food, which Adam never reached the point of tasting, otherwise he would not have fallen away from life.

After this period of spiritual growth came the mysterious divine plan for the Virgin’s betrothal, the strange, inexplicable greeting of the Archangel Gabriel who flew down from on high, with God’s messages and salutations (which we celebrated on the 25^th March as the Annunciation). This event reversed Adam and Eve’s condemnation, and healed the curse which was upon them, turning it into a blessing (Lk. 1:28-38).

For the King of all desired the secret beauty of the Ever-Virgin, as David foretold (Ps.45:11). He bowed the heavens and came down (Ps. 18:9), and overshadowed her (Lk. 1:35) – the power of the Most High came to dwell in her in His very person.

God did not reveal His presence through darkness and fire, as He did to Moses (Ex. 19:16, 18), nor through a tempest and cloud, as He did to Elijah (1K. 18:45), but the unveiled power of the Most High directly overshadowed the Virgin’s perfectly pure womb with nothing intervening, neither the air of earth or heaven, nor anything visible or invisible. For this was not overshadowing but pure union.

What came to pass in the Virgin’s womb was not just union but the formation, out of both the power of the Most High and her all-holy virgin womb, of the incarnate Word of God.

The Word of God in the flesh made His abode in her, came forth from her, ’and appeared on earth and went about among men’. He made our human nature divine, and bestowed on us, according to the Holy Apostle Peter, ‘things the angels desire to look into’ (1Pet. 1:12). Such is the extraordinary honour and all-surpassing glory of the Ever-Virgin, which defeats all mind and speech, however angelic they may be.

Even after Christ took flesh from her and ascended into heaven, she strove on earth to emulate the great works – past understanding and speech – which He had begun in her. She did this through patient endurance in all kinds of asceticism, through prayers, exertions for the whole world, counsels and exhortations for those going to the ends of the earth to preach.

She was the sole support and consolation of all who saw or heard her, assisting them by various means in the proclamation of the Gospel. Thus she showed that her whole life, her behaviour, her mind and her words, were utterly devoted to godly striving.

As a result of this, her death, too, was life-giving and led to heavenly, immortal life, and its day of remembrance is a joyful worldwide festival. Not only does it renew the memory of the wonders of the Mother of God, it also commemorates the unheard-of way in which all the holy Apostles were gathered from every country to her sacred funeral. With all their might they assisted in deed and song to reverence that body which had held God and is the starting-point of life, the saving remedy of our human race, solemnly chosen from the whole Creation.

In our iconography is indicated that the Son of the Ever-Virgin, was invisibly present at her Dormition, honouring His Mother’s departure. Into His hands she entrusted her God-bearing spirit, and through Him her body – her spirit’s companion – was soon translated into a heavenly place of eternal life, as rightly befits her whole life from the very beginning.

In ancient times there were many who attained to divine favour, glory, and power. As David said, ‘How precious also are thy friends unto me, O God! How great is their authority! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand’ (Ps. 139:17-18). According to Solomon, ‘Many have acquired riches, and many daughters have acted with power, but she excels and outdoes them all’, to an inexpressible degree (Prov. 31:29).

Standing between God and the whole human race, she alone made God a son of mankind, and mankind sons and daughters of God, thus rendered the earth heaven and mankind divine.

She alone among women was declared the Mother of God/Theotokos by nature transcending every nature. It is at the Third Ecumenical Council, held in 431 in Ephesus, that the Church confirmed the veneration of the Virgin Mary by calling her the Theotokos, i.e. the Mother of God, the Mother of light, literally, God-Bearer. Theotokos implies that her Son is both fully man and fully God. Hence there is a historical consensus of the apostolic college about the veneration which the Church renders to the Theotokos.

Through her unutterable childbearing she became Queen of all Creation in this world and beyond, and through herself she raised up those below her, and made her followers heavenly instead of earthly. She shared in the noblest honour, the most sublime power and the ordination bestowed from heaven through the divine Spirit (Acts. 1:14; 2:1-4), and was set high above all, as the supremely blessed Queen of a blessed race.

At her Dormition she was moved from earth to heaven, and now has heaven too as a fitting dwelling-place, a palace delightful for her. She has stood at the right hand of the King of all, clothed in vesture covered with gold, and arrayed in diverse colours, as the Psalmist and the Prophet said of her (Ps. 45:9); We should take this garment interwoven with gold to mean her divinely radiant body, adorned with every type of virtue.

For at present she is the only one who has a place in heaven with her divinely glorified body in the company of her Son, lavishing the highest benefits upon us in her goodness. and by her unsleeping intercessions she reconciles us to her Son.

Earth, the grave, and death could not ultimately detain her life-giving body, which has held God and been a more beloved habitation for Him than heaven and the heaven of heavens. For if a soul which has the grace of God dwelling within it goes up to heaven when released from this world, as we believe and is evident on many accounts, then how could that body which not only received within it the pre-eternal, only-begotten Son of God, the ever-flowing Fount of grace, fail to be taken up from earth to heaven?

It is as though God wanted to set up an icon of everything good and, in doing so, to display His own image clearly to angels and mankind, and thus He made her so truly beautiful. Bringing together all the various means He had used to adorn all Creation, He made her a world of everything good, both visible and invisible.

He revealed her as the synthesis of divine, angelic and human loveliness, a nobler beauty to embellish both worlds, originating from the tomb to heaven, to the heavens, and beyond.

It is fitting that she, who held Him Who fills all things and is above all things, should herself outstrip all, and become higher than all in her virtues and great in honour. She embraces in their entirety the virtues, which, distributed among the noblest of every age, were sufficient to make them great, and the various graces with which angels and men have individually been favoured by God. But she perfects them all in herself with inexpressible excellence.

Anyone observing her help and generosity in everything good would say that, for those who live virtuously, the Virgin radiates virtue as the sun radiates visible light for those dwelling below, on earth. But if we were to shift our mental gaze to the Sun/Son Who marvellously shone forth to mankind from her, and Who possesses by His very nature everything bestowed on her by grace, and far more – then the Virgin would immediately seem like heaven to us.

Having a far more abundant share in God’s good things than all other recipients of His grace in heaven or below, she is as much greater than them, as the heavens are greater than the sun, though the Sun is brighter.

What words can describe the Virgin Mother of God’s divinely-radiant beauty? We cannot circumscribe her in our words and thoughts, for everything about her surpasses our speech and understanding. In her all graces find a place. She is the fullness of everything noble and good, a living picture and icon of all goodness and kindness, for she alone was found worthy of the gifts of the Spirit in their entirety, she alone had mysteriously dwelling in her womb Him in Whom all these gifts were stored.

The Mother of God is so much closer to God than others who draw near Him that she is able to intercede more powerfully than any of them, and by this I mean not just human beings but even all the ranks of angels.

Isaiah writes of the highest order of angels in heaven, ‘And the Seraphim stood round about Him’ (Isah. 6:2), whereas David says of the Mother of God, ‘Upon thy right hand did stand the queen’ (Ps. 45:9). Do you notice the difference in honour between the Seraphim’s rank and hers, for the Seraphim are ‘round about’ God, but only the Queen of all stands beside Him.

She is admired and praised by God Himself, as though He were extolling her to the powers around Him in the words used in the Song of Songs, ‘How beautiful is my companion’ (Song of Song 4:1; 6:4). She is more brilliant than light, she blossoms more beautifully than the gardens of paradise, and she is more delightfully adorned than the visible and invisible worlds.

It is fitting that she stands not just beside God, but on His right hand of the majesty (Heb. 1:3), for where Christ sat in heaven, there she now stands, having ascended from earth to heaven. Nor is this solely because no one longs for Christ as she does, but because she is truly His throne; and where the King sits, there stands the throne.

Isaiah did not see the Seraphim taking the live coal directly off the altar, but picking it up with tongs, which he also used to touch his prophetic lips to purify them (Isah. 6:6-7). This vision of the tongs is the same as that great vision which Moses saw of the bush burning with fire but not consumed (Exod. 3:2). Is there anyone who is unaware that the Virgin Mother is both that bush and those tongs, which held the divine fire without being burnt; for was it not to this very mystery that the Archangel ministered at her conception, which united through her the One Who takes away the sin of the world with the race of men, and which, through this indescribable union, has thoroughly cleansed us?

She alone stands at the border between created and uncreated nature, and no one can come to God unless he is truly illumined by her, the true lamp of divine radiance. ‘For God is in the midst of her’, says the Scripture, ‘she shall not be moved’ (Ps. 46:5).

God returns a kindness to us according to the measure of our love for Him, and he who loves the Son is loved by Him and by His Father, and becomes a place for them both to dwell, secretly living within each person and going about with each person, as the Lord promised (Jn. 4:21-23). But who could love the Son more than His Mother, who did not just bear Him as her only child, but gave birth alone to Him without a husband, such that her parental love was twice as strong, since it was not shared with a spouse?

Who could be more loved by the only-begotten Son than His Mother, especially as He came forth ineffably from her alone in the last times, as He has come forth from the Father alone before time began? How could He Who came down to fulfil the Law (Matt. 5:17) fail to increase many times over, in addition to the loving disposition expected of a son, the honour due to His Mother under that Law?

Just as it was through her that the Son came to us, was seen on earth, and lived among men, after previously being invisible to all, so from now on and for endless eternity all progress towards the manifestation of divine light, every revelation of divine mysteries, and all forms of spiritual gifts are beyond everyone’s grasp without her. She was the first to receive the all-pervading fullness of Him Who fills all things (Eph. 1:23; 4:10), and she brought Him within reach of all, distributing to each as they are able to receive, in proportion to the measure of their purity, such that she is both the treasure-house and Mistress of God’s richness.

So as many as will share in God will do so through her, all those who know God will know her as the one who holds Him Whom nothing can contain, and all who sing God’s praises will hymn her after God.

She is the cause of what preceded her, the protectress of what comes after her, and she acquires eternity. Of all those on earth she is the glory, of those in heaven the delight, the adornment of all Creation. Source, fount and root of ineffable good things, she is the crown and perfection of all the saints.

How can we fully describe the holy and now heavenly Virgin? How can we glorify the treasure-house of glory? Just the remembrance of her brings holiness. Simply turning towards her makes our mind more lucid, and takes it straight up to divine heights. Through her the eye of our understanding is sharpened; through her our spirit is enlightened by the Coming of the divine Spirit.

She has become the treasurer of graces and their store, not so that she might keep them for herself, but that she might fill the universe with grace. For the trustee of inexhaustible treasures sees to their distribution; why would never-ending treasure be locked away?

Therefore we ask her, as the first believer and the mother of the Church, for guidance and protection. We venerate her – but we do not worship her, for worship belongs to God alone.

God became man so that mankind might become god, said the Fathers of the Church; and in Mary, the Mother of God, we see the divine plan fulfilled. The person of Mary is the fulfilment of the Old Testament, in her Christ inaugurates the New Testament. The passage from the one to the other is accomplished in her body through the incarnation. The goal of the incarnation is manifested in her. Jesus Christ revealed humanity’s reality in Himself and His whole reality in the Theotokos and which He wants to do in us by responding to His call to become god’s by His grace.

The glory of the age to come, the final destiny of mankind, is already realized, not only in a divine person (hypostasis) made flesh, but also in a deified, human person. Her passage from death to life, from the temporal to the eternal, from the earthly condition to heavenly bliss, places the Mother of God beyond the universal resurrection, beyond the Last Judgement, beyond the Parousia which will bring the history of the world to an end.

The feast of the Dormition on the 15^th of August is a second mysterious Pascha because there the Church celebrates, before the end of time, the secret first-fruits of (the end times of huamnity) its eschatological consummation of humanity – in the person of Mary. She reigns with her Son and sits at His side. She is our advocate, she defends us and intercedes for us before the one who will return in glory to judge the living and the dead. This is why we address her as the heavenly Queen Pantanassa in our prayers. She is the standard of royalty for the heavenly race. She is the sanctuary where all sacred worship and sacrifice takes place; virgin earth for Adams re-creator.

The Theotokos leads us to believe, in hope, that we too will be brought to share in incorruption and enjoy eternal life – that is if we do not bring death upon ourselves by sinful self-indulgence. The soul’s of all who submit to God’s will/the law of nature, who love what is good, who long to gaze on the good more deeply, and show, in the Holy Spirit, a heavenly pattern of life while still in the flesh, will be taken from here to a place of light that suits the holy state of the saints.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

The Feast of the Transfiguration (Metamorphosis) of Our Lord Saviour, Jesus Christ, is one of the major events that took place within the travelling ministry of Christ, and is recorded within the gospels of Matthew (17:1-18), Mark (9:2-8), and Luke (9:28-36). Within the Scriptural narratives of all three cited gospels, the Transfiguration takes place immediately after the recognition and confession of the Apostles that “Jesus is the Christ, and that the Christ is the Son of the Living God”. This was followed in turn by Christ’s announcement that He will have to proceed to Jerusalem where He will be delivered up to an unjust sentence whereby He will suffer His passion and death, which raised the ire of the disciples who protested at such forthcoming events. Christ rebuked them, and thus the Scriptural narrative proceeds to the events of the Transfiguration, whereby Christ takes Peter, James and John to ascend a high mountain with Him so as to enter into prayer, but what takes place, was that Christ transfigured before them:

…and His [Christ’s] face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as snow and behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces with awe. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead” (Mt 17:1-13, see also Mk 9:1-9; Lk 9:28-36; 2 Peter 1:16-18).

Within the Orthodox Christian Church, this Feast is one of the Great Feasts of the liturgical calendar and is celebrated on August 6, some 40 days before the solemn Feast of the Holy Cross (14 September), which is considered a second Holy Friday. Hence linking the themes of Christ’s promise of eternal life for those willing to undertake the journey to the Cross, and thus reinforce within a period outside the Lenten-Pascal cycle of the importance of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, which are inextricably linked for the Christian faithful to experience. As a consequence the Transfiguration highlights Christ’s divinity, which the disciples came to comprehend that after the Ascension, Christ had voluntarily entered His passion and death so that He could demonstrate that He truly was the radiant splendour of the Father, while showing our own possibilities to attain theosis (deification and union with God – in effect to become godlike), if we join ourselves to a life of prayer and faith in God.[1]

Nevertheless, the feast of the Transfiguration falls during the preparatory fast for the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (15^th August). Yet in recognition of the importance of the Transfiguration, the fast is relaxed somewhat, and the consumption of fish, wine and oil is allowed on this day. This is due to the Orthodox view of the feastday as not only a feast in honour of Jesus, but a feast of the Holy Trinity, for all three Persons of the Trinity were present at that moment: God the Father spoke from heaven; God the Son was the one being transfigured, and God the Holy Spirit was present in the form of a cloud. In this sense, the transfiguration is also considered the “Small Epiphany” (the “Great Epiphany” being the Baptism of Jesus, when the Holy Trinity appeared in a similar pattern).

The Transfiguration is the second of the “Three Feasts of the Saviour in August“, the other two being the Procession of the Cross on August 1 and the Icon of Christ Not Made by Hands on August 16. The Transfiguration is preceded by a one-day Forefeast and is followed by an Afterfeast of eight days, ending the day before the Forefeast of the Dormition. An All-Night Vigil  (Agripnia) is celebrated on the eve of the Feast.

ORIGINS

The foundations of this feast is Scripturally based, but historians are still debating, as to when the feast of the Transfiguration emerged into the liturgical calendar, because there are indications that it is a very ancient feastday, but much of the surviving evidence come from passing references to it, within homilies of St John Chrysostom, St Cyril of Alexandria and St. Andrew of Crete. As well as iconographic depictions within the apses of San Apollonaire in Ravenna and the main church of St. Catherine’s of Sinai which are both dated around the 6^th century. It is possible that the feast dates earlier than this existing evidence, but there are some indicators which point to the fact that the feastday had its origins within the Church of Jerusalem, and is linked to the dedication of three basilicas at the summit of Mount Tabor.

Furthermore it seems that this feast originally took place during the Lenten period, since the event which it marks, took place before Christ’s journey towards Jerusalem to meet His prophesised crucifixion and resurrection. In effect the Transfiguration serving as a prefigurement and precursor to the glory of the resurrection. Within the western Christian tradition this has remained so within liturgical practice whereby the second Sunday of Lent was dedicated to this event. Within western tradition the separate observance of the Transfiguration upon the 6^th August was recognised in 1457, despite the attempts of the monastery of Cluny in France to promote it as a feast in its own right back in the 12^th century.

According to some historians, they would assert that the Sunday of Stavroproskynesios (Veneration of the Holy Cross) within the centre of Lent was originally the feast of the Transfiguration, while others contend that it was Sunday of St Gregory Palamas, who was the Church Father who wrote extensively and placed immense emphasis on the importance of the feastday within Christian liturgical and spiritual life.

To add to further confusion and dispute, there are some who claim that the Transfiguration took place around the Jewish feast of Booths/Tabernacles (Sukkoth) because of St. Peter’s reference within the gospel narratives to build booths dedicated to Moses, Elijah and Christ. Subsequently they would assert the significance of this feast as the original Ecclesial New Year, since as the Feast of Booths marked the manifestation of God within the presence of humankind and creation, while reminding us of the sojourn of the Israelites within the desert before entering Canaan and settling down, (an explanation of Sukkoth is dealt with in the article “Feastday of the Ecclesial New Year”). However, the reference within Scripture is only a passing reference and does not necessarily mean that it was the time of the Feast of Booths, it could possibly be that St Peter, although somewhat confused by the event as the gospel narratives seem to indicate, recognised that whatever he had witnessed was a manifestation of God, and thus in line with Jewish tradition and history, tabernacles should be built at that very site.

SYMBOLISMS & MEANING OF THE FEAST

Without doubt, this would have to be one of the most difficult feastdays within the liturgical calendar to provide a systematic and coherent explanation, and not just because of the wealth of information and writing that comments upon it. But because of the event itself is so awe-inspiring and reveals something of the infinite glory and power of God, as well as His Trinitarian character, to which humanity is called to unite itself to. Furthermore it reveals the contrast between our existing reality and our potential reality to transcend our own limitations as mortal beings provided we seek to join ourselves to a life with God.

The themes raised are very closely related and often overlap each other with the same teachings or meanings for us as humans, and thus it can become tiresome and repetitive initially, but it is because we are confronting an eternal vision and manifestation of God within our linear historical time-frame which cannot be apprehended by logic alone, nor with words, but is something that requires due attention to detail and the need to be living the spiritual struggle. Yet with much pain we have endeavoured to provide a detailed outline that is not exhaustive, but differs from the usual surmised versions that are easily available upon the internet which do not give the full import of the significance of the Transfiguration of Christ.

Scriptural Context and Numerical Significance

The event of the Transfiguration takes place some days after Christ foretells of His forthcoming Passion in Jerusalem, and sought to help clarify in the minds and hearts of the disciples who He was, and what was His role as the Messiah. For Scripture relates how the disciples were still attached to the notion, (which was popular at the time), that the Christ was some great worldly ruler chosen and anointed by God to expel all the Gentiles from the land of Palestine and subjugate those beyond its borders, thus ushering in a new age of glory for Israel.[2] This great “national hero” would establish a great kingdom by fire and the sword, a hope that the subjugated Jews chaffing under the pressures of Roman rule, the corruption of their priestly hierarchy, and the machinations of their community leaders, found attractive.

Naturally this understanding was a far cry from what the Old Testament related using poetic licence; for the fire and sword were that of the Holy Spirit and the power of God. The expulsion of the Gentile or his subjugation was through conversion to Faith, so that no Gentile or Jew shall exist because all will be believers.[3] Furthermore, the Messiah would not be a mere “king” who comes according to “human glory” that “reigns” for an allotted time and thus was transitory and vainglorious. But was the eternally begotten Son of God who comes in humble, almost understated, glory to bestow and unlock the reign of the Kingdom of Heaven which can be found within the hearts of all peoples, and was not transitory nor could it be destroyed.

The Disciples to some extent, had begun to realise that Jesus was not just a prophet or holy man, but was someone who was quite unique. After the various miracles they had beheld by this point, like the feeding of the 5,000 and the enigmatic teachings of Jesus’ wisdom, the Disciples had pedagogically been brought to some sort of insight as to what the Hebrew Scriptures and the Prophets spoke about in reference to the Messiah. That of course, was epitomised by their confession of faith, particularly through St. Peter who had at that point assumed the role of spokesman, who proclaimed Jesus as “the Son of the living God” (cf. Mt. 16:16).

Yet to further teach the Disciples and test the ground of their faith, Jesus begins speaking of His Passion and Crucifixion that were integral to fulfilling His salvific ministry. Unfortunately the foundation of the Disciples’ faith had yet to solidify adequately, and so they protested in the belief that they were going to lose Jesus permanently, via this inconceivable, and to their minds, blasphemous turn of events as foretold by Jesus. In response to these protests, particularly that of Peter, Jesus rebukes His Disciples for voicing that which was contrary to God’s providence, for His own suffering and voluntary sacrifice was an integral conclusion to His earthly ministry.[4] This rebuke reinforced Christ’s previous warning to the disciples about avoiding the doctrines of the Pharisees and the Scribes (cf. Mt 16:5-12) which had perverted the meaning and application of the Law, making it of no consequence through their own oral and written traditions (cf. Mt 15:1-20).[5]

Succeeding these teachings, prophesies and rebukes, the ascent to the mountain of theophany occurred some days afterwards. However the gospels of Matthew and Mark claim that this ascent took place some 6 days later, while Luke’s gospel seems to contradict this by asserting that 8 days had passed. At the most basic and simple level this seemingly unusual discrepancy could be explained by the means a person counts time. In that Matthew and Mark identify the time period between Christ’s prophecy and the event of the Transfiguration, whereas Luke counts the day of the prophesy and the day of the Transfiguration, hence the difference of 6 and 8.

However, as is characteristic of the four Evangelists, as inspired by God, their use of images, symbols, numbers and so forth were to highlight a specific message or meaning to the believer. The number 6 of course is representative of the 6 days of Creation, and consequently signifies God’s creative action and ministry within the world. This naturally correlates with what Christ had sought to make the disciples realise, with regards the person and role of the Messiah. In effect, a reflection of the six days in which Christ concludes His earthly ministry, forming and preparing the ground of faith of the Jews, so that they may be the foundation and well-spring from which the ministry of the Messiah may continue and bloom forth within the world like wheat that emerges from the ground by which new life can be sustained by, and thus bring the bread[6] of enlightenment to the nations.

It is not coincidental that Christ says to the Samaritan woman that salvation is of the Jews because the Messiah and His Apostles shall come from the land of confession (Judea[7]). Liturgically, these final days of ministry we refer to as “Holy Week”, but Biblically it can also be referred to as the days of “re-creation” or the “second” days of creation, whose day of rest, the new Sabbath, was the day of the Resurrection. This new Sabbath, the day of the Resurrection, did not occur on the Seventh Day of the week that the Jews marked as the Sabbath (Saturday), but on the first day of the week, which in the Genesis creation narrative is the first day of creation (what we call in English “Sunday”). The themes put forward here, is that of renewal, regeneration and consecration of a physical link between God and humanity, whereby the latter have been given the means to pass over the chasm that separates itself from God and thus offer the opportunity to dwell in the presence of God.

This contrast of Sabbath rest, or the “new” Sabbath which is the first day of the week corresponding to the first day of Genesis, is to indicate that the bridging of this “ontological” chasm brought eternal rest to humanity, but was at the same time the “creative labour” of God in “action”, (-If you will, the “new creation” or “re-creation”). In ancient and Byzantine Christian liturgical imagery, this was depicted as a well-spring from which a peacock drank or a grapevine grew, hence highlighting that God is the source (“well-spring”) and sustainer of life, and it is from Him that we find renewal and regeneration. Thus, the use of the image of water which allows the plant and animal life to exist.

Nevertheless, this reference to the 7^th Day, the Day of the Sabbath on which God “rested” in the Genesis narrative, is understood by the Church to represent the age of humankind, that is the time in which humanity and creation presently exists in its current form. Both the Greek and Hebrew, (as reflected also in the various Semitic languages of Arabic, Syriac or Assyrian) through grammar and syntax, leave the clause (to some extent) as to God’s “rest” from “creating” in an open manner. The reason for this is to indicate that God is ever-present and always “functioning” and “working”, and therefore the designation/attributing of “rest” is merely a human expression to identify a perceptible “halt” (even if temporary) to the manifestation of creative action by God. The premise of this is founded upon the point that God may have “ceased” to “create” but He continues to sustain, while the possibility to “create” further is left open (as demonstrated by the event of the Resurrection). As such the Church asserts that humanity is presently living within the age of the 7^th Day, the Day of Sabbath rest.

The epicentre of this age of the 7^th day was naturally the Resurrection. The period of time prior to this event, signifies the dawn of the 7^th day, while the time that succeeds from it known as the Messianic age, is the twilight of the 7^th Day. The conclusion of this 7^th Day will occur at the “Parousia”, that is the “True Manifestation and Revelation of God in all His glory” before humanity, often referred to as “Christ’s Second Coming”. This particular point marks the fulfilment, completion and perfection of God’s “creative” action through the finality of Christ’s Second Parousia that is known to Christians as the “8^th Day”. Thus we are brought before the teaching that St. Luke the Evangelist wanted to highlight about the importance of that theophanic event on Mt. Tabor, which is dwelling in and beholding the presence of God in all His true glory and not that of worldly kingdoms.

For the Transfiguration, like the events on Sinai in the Book of Exodus with Moses and the Elders of Israel, is a foretaste of beholding the final “Vision” and “Parousia” (manifestation) of God which is a reality that humanity will witness and dwell in the presence of, for all eternity. Yet the numerical contrast between 6 and 8 within the three gospel traditions, also signify the presence of those who witnessed or participated within this event of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor. The first group refers to those who belong to the earthly, “militant” Church, who had as yet attained the conclusion of their spiritual struggles within the world. That is, Peter, James and John, who are symbolic of our own “militant” spiritual struggles against our own weaknesses and passions, or the temptations of the devil and the world which seeks to take us away from our journey towards God and our own fulfilment.

This struggle of humanity, has confronting it, glimpses at the vision of God (Theoria), which like the three disciples, catechise and induct us into a deeper mystery of reality. That mystery is of course, penetrating into the limitless depths of God’s presence. This is then contrasted against the other group of 3 who were perceptible to human vision, that of Jesus Christ and the Prophets Moses and Elias (Elijah). Naturally they represent the communion of the holy, the righteous, the saintly and the pious who have concluded their “militant” struggle of the spirit and have entered into the presence of God (as shown by Christ), bathing within the light and glory of the Lord.

This communion of the “Saints”[8] (Heb. 12:1) are not dead as we might presume, but are living because they are united to the living God. It is no coincidence that when God made His presence known before various figures of the Old Testament, that He proclaims that He is “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”, which is a direct reference to the communion of Saints who dwell alongside God. Just as Christ refers to the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus (Lk. 16:19-31), whereby the rich man’s death and entrance into eternal life brings him to behold the living communion of the Saints. And he beseeches Abraham to help him and his family, while requesting for Lazarus’ intercessions.

In having said that, the three figures who represent the communion of the Saints, also symbolise by their number, the mystery of the Holy Trinity. This of course is made quite apparent by the fact that Christ is one of the actual members of the Holy Trinity. The three disciples symbolise the calling and aspiration of humanity to manifest the relational communion of Trinitarian agape (love) within the world. Yet their number signifies the 3 key constituent elements of the human person, that of the unity of body, mind and soul, which we must strive to cultivate each in their own respective right, while still maintaining an equilibrium between them without over-emphasising either to the detriment of the other. Finally, the three disciples are also symbolic of the presence, and the need for that presence, of the Holy Trinity within Creation in order to sustain it. In effect all life exists and draws its source of existence from the Trinity, and it is to the Trinity that it seeks to imitate, commune with and return to.

Yet in speaking of the 6 perceptible figures, we should also mention the 2 figures who were spiritually present and thus constitute the number of supreme perfection, “8”. The first is God the Father who bore witness from Heaven concerning His Son, Jesus Christ (Mt. 17:5) as being one with Him and consubstantial. The other figure who was present, was of course the Holy Spirit as the presence of the cloud which engulfs Christ and Tabor. At the symbolic level, the number of two, represented by the Father and the Spirit, alludes to a mystery that is imperceptible to humanity, that of the union of divine and human natures within the personhood (hypostasis) of Christ, and consequently the “physical association” that Christ has with both the realms of Heaven and Creation.

The two realities are physically joined together in one person, one identity, one existence and one reality, the one prophesised Messiah and not in two different beings (as articulated and affirmed by the 4^th Ecumenical Council). Yet the significance of two, also underlines to us the 2 different paths in which we can approach our concern of life on the first-hand, and God on the second hand, which ultimately are one and the same. That is, we can live a life contrary to God, or a life oriented towards God, or put another way; a life that seeks out and performs its vocation or one that refuses to accept or goes contrary to our vocation. However the presence of the two figures of the Father and the Spirit together with the “Transfigured” Christ help manifest the Supreme Eternal Three which we know as the Holy Trinity who penetrate through “horizontal”, “worldly”, “physical”, “created” time, in other words our reality and time. Thus we have the manifestation of the mystical meaning and importance of the number 3.

The other play on the meaning of numbers as indicated not by the festal pericope, but by the gospel narratives, is the fact that the Transfiguration occurs some 40 days prior to the Crucifixion. This number which is charged with “miraculous”, “Scriptural” and “spiritual” overtones has multiple meanings. In the first instance, Christ’s ministry began with His forty-day contest of faith and endurance within the harshness of the wilderness, and here we have the Transfiguration that marks the beginning of His journey towards the Cross. That of course reflects the 40 year sojourn of the Israelites in the wilderness prior to the arrival and entry into the Promised Land.

The inference being that creation’s, and more specifically humanity’s, Promised Homeland, where it will find peace and comfort, is the joy of the Resurrection which is the gift and outcome of the Crucifixion. Hence, the number 40 tells us that it signifies the time of initial struggle and sacrifice to which our lives revolve around before we unearth the powerful image of God within us and enter into our intended Paradise. Make no mistake about it, for it is not coincidental that many of the Old Testament Prophets underwent their period of spiritual testing within the wilderness, whether 40 days, 40 weeks or 40 years. Yet it was also a reflection of Israel’s 400 year bondage and suffering within Egypt, for if one calculates that time into sets of ten, then we have ten sets of 40 year periods (40 years x 10 generations = 400 years in Egypt).

The Role of Mountains

The very beginning of the various gospel narratives which recount the theophanic event of the Transfiguration, all relate that Jesus led the three disciples up a high mountain (Mt 17:1; Mk 9:2; Lk 9:28)[9]. The significance of mountains within Scripture, and for that matter ancient cultures and societies, is that they were places of immense spiritual importance and thus worship. In the mindset of ancient peoples, these places of topography that rose above and overlooked the surrounding landscape, represented or manifested an alternate or differing reality to the one where they existed and lived off via farming and settlement. Such elevated places were not easy to get to or to ascend, while these aspects of elevation were subject to greater weather extremes and changes, thus requiring the traveller to exert greater effort in journeying to them.

Yet these places of elevation would appeal to the mystical, poetic and sensorial elements of humans as they rise from the land brooding over it, quite often engulfed by mists and clouds which obscured their peaks, causing people to perceive these as the spirits of the land or of human ancestors and divinities. From such peaks on a clear day, one could see all the land that radiates from its base, and yet if one stood at the base, the only thing that could be seen would be the hill/s or mountain/s rising from the landscape pointing vertically to the sky.

As a consequence, ancient peoples would see mountains as images of naturally occurring altars[10] rising from the landscape offering worship to those supreme divinities that either dwelt upon them or in the skies which were seen as a celestial or heavenly realm of paradise and otherness, divorced from our human, physical and material reality. It was thus seen that hills and mountains were a meeting place between humanity and the physical created world, with that of the transcendental and eternal world of the divine. It was on the peaks of such elevated ground where the two worlds would meet each other half-way, with the human and material world struggling to ascend the heights of elevated ground, against the onslaught of the natural elements, while the divine and transcendental condescended itself to the level of the created order. It was thus a place where the two met on almost but symbolic equal terms, but the manner in which they conducted themselves differed.

In the case of humanity representing the created order, worship was offered, petitions or requests were made and directives that needed to be executed were received from the divine power. In the case of divinity, the matter was to either bestow a gift or grace of some sort, reveal something of importance, correct humanity’s mistakes, issue directives and hear concerns and petitions. Naturally, hills and mountains became major centres of worship and cultic practice for ancient peoples, for they served as places of spiritual dialogue and revelation, whereby innumerable shrines and altars were built upon or close to the summits of such places. Accordingly, the narrative of the Transfiguration mirrors much of this perception and understanding, but with its own unique twist. In that the summit of Mt. Tabor is the meeting and revelation of Faith, but in order to ascend it, the disciples must leave behind in the lowlands surrounding the mount, their own “spiritual and existential baggage”.

And like the Prophet Moses before them, rise out of the quagmire of their passions and sins, as well as human “understandings”, through the “purification” of their ascent, guided by God Himself in the person of Christ. Thus, like Moses who was guided up Horeb by God, the disciples were prepared and purified so that they could perceive spiritual wisdom, or to put it as St. Gregory Palamas does: “Let us put aside the blindness of mind of those who can conceive of nothing higher than what is known through the senses…True beauty, essentially, can only be contemplated only with a purified mind”. And what of this beauty of wisdom at the place where heaven and earth meet, where God and man commune with each other?

Simply, that the beauty of wisdom which is the joint work or synergy of humankind struggling alongside and towards God through the process of purification, ascends the levels of faith, which then brings us to hope and finally to love (agape) which then opens the believer to divine wisdom and witness. Naturally this journey of purification which cultivates faith, hope and love, reveal to us the source and origins of all wisdom, that of our Divine Creator, the mysterious reality of the Holy Trinity. The inference being that in our own efforts to approach God, we must first strive to purify ourselves before we can become capable of perceiving or receiving what God seeks to reveal to us.

In the case of the Transfiguration, it was to assure and reveal a foretaste of what was the purpose of the Incarnational ministry of the Messiah, and why the disciples (and by extension humanity in general) should not be fearful of Christ’s prophesy of the trials and tribulations that will await in Jerusalem at Passover. Yet this revelation on Mt. Tabor, where divinity and humanity meet is not one of “patronising” or “charitable” condescension by Christ and the other Persons of the Holy Trinity, as usually marks the narratives within the traditions of other religions. Instead we witness the meek and humble manner in which the Holy Trinity work together to reveal Their glory in Their Incarnate member of Christ. This humble condescension to created reality reveals to us that this “theophany” is the act of love for humanity and all creation.

An often repeated point within Orthodox Christian thought is that, “God awaited humanity to freely turn to Him in love so that they may be in communion with each other. But after waiting for quite some time, God forsook the appropriate convention and could not wait to be reunited with His creation, but rushed towards us, and became one of us, so as to show us the way towards Him”. St. Athanasius the Great and many others like him, characterised this as “God became man, so that man may become god(like)”. It was to this deep mystery, that the parable of the Merciful Father, or more commonly known as the Prodigal Son (Lk. 15:11-32), refers to; for if one observes that particular narrative, the father ignores all conventions and cultural etiquettes and runs towards his wayward son and embraces him.

This particular thought was reflected by St. Gregory the Theologian, who duly noted that Christ had often spoken of His ministry as that of seeking out the lost sheep that had gone astray. The reference to lost sheep naturally referred to humanity, which was bound by sin and the devil. But humanity like a stray sheep often does, it usually gets lost upon hilly and mountainous  terrain where it cannot move or survive effectively, is at the mercy of the elements. It is only through the guidance of a shepherd that a stray sheep, for example can profitably dwell upon hilly and mountainous terrain without being pinned down and tormented by the extremes of weather and the animals which prey upon it, for the shepherd will guide it to pasture, find it shelter, seek out water and protect it.

Of course these are symbolic and poetic forms of expressing that Jesus is the shepherd of men, who has found humanity upon the terrain of sin and the works of the devil, and has helped guide us back to the various safe paths of that mountain, thus leaving behind the lowliness of the things that bound us.

Mount Tabor

In keeping these reflections and the significance of mountains in mind, one might ask as to why Mt. Tabor figures within the festal tradition of the Transfiguration? By looking at the three gospel narratives of the Transfiguration, there is only a passing reference to Christ leading the three disciples up a mountain. Matthew and Mark’s gospels make specific reference as a high mountain which could either be interpreted as referring to its physical feature as steep or a symbolic reference to the spiritual dimension of their journey. Yet what all three accounts fail to mention, is the name and location of this particular mountain.

To which some Christian scholars assert the possibilities of Mount Panium (Paneas/Banias) which is a small hill near the source of the Jordan river, as the place of the Transfiguration. Their attempts are based on drawing a link between St. John the Forerunner who baptised people in the Jordan and Christ bestowing the revelation of the Transfiguration in the presence of the first Elijah at the source of the Jordan; thus showing that the Forerunner’s ministry has its source in Jesus to whom John’s “predecessor” (Elijah) honours and worships. Another group of scholars holding onto a similar line of thought, advocate Mount Hermon (2,814 m.) which is one of the chief sources of the Jordan. The other place put forward by these various Christian scholars is Mount Nebo (823 m.), thus drawing a parallel with Moses standing on its summit looking at the land of Promise, while Christ led humanity into the eternal land of Promise.

However, the Church’s tradition asserts that the mount spoken of within the gospel accounts of the Transfiguration, is that of Mount Tabor. This tradition of course is drawn from the local knowledge and folklore of Palestine, and specifically of the inhabitants of the Jezreel valley. But what gave weight to this, was that historically, even during the first three centuries of Christian persecution, Mount Tabor was a place of prayer and worship for both pilgrim and local Christians and Nazarenes (Jewish Christians). Of course to which others would also cite the annual miracle of the unique cloud which only appears on the actual feastday, for the duration of the liturgical services, and in the specific area where the present Orthodox Christian monastery stands. On these reasons, but more so upon local tradition and careful reading of the gospel passages to discern where Christ and His Disciples were travelling within the region, that the Church discerned that Tabor was the mount of the Transfiguration.

Subsequently, when the persecutions of the Christians ceased under Emperor Constantine, there was a concerted effort made by Christians to finally secure their holy sites and to build and dedicate churches at such locations. The emperor’s own mother, St. Helen, had been encharged with travelling to these holy sites of Christendom, to confirm their locations and to build places of Christian worship on these sites, such as the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. But it was within this period, probably not by St. Helen, that the first churches were built and dedicated on Mount Tabor.

In topographical terms, Tabor seems to fit the gospel accounts of a high mountain according to its appearance, since it is a small isolated mountain that rises dramatically out of the surrounding flat landscape. Furthermore it is within the region where Christ traversed during His travelling ministry, and is close to the events referred to by the preceding and succeeding gospel chapters.

Nevertheless, the significance of Tabor within the Transfiguration narrative is not confined to the time of the New Testament or the subsequent spread of Christianity, but can be found within the Old Testament and the early history of Israel. It seems that the first reference to it within Scripture, is made in the Book of Joshua (19:22), whereby it marks as the border for the three Israelite tribes of Zebulun, Isaachar and Naphtali, whose territory subsequently became known as the region of Galilee.

It is worth noting that this one particular juncture where the three tribes meet, was the place that within the New Testament where the revelation of the One True God as Holy Trinity occurs. This meeting point was perceived by various Church fathers as a prefigurement of the Transfiguration in that the forefathers of the Galileans who belonged to three different tribes had Tabor as their one uniting focus and meeting place that was both neutral and common to all of them. It was thus understood allegorically by some fathers as a compass point from which all corners of the earth meet, and that the three tribes represented three distinct groups of people:

1. Those who accepted Jesus as the Messiah and thus became believers.
2. The Jews who refused to recognise Jesus’ Messiahship, but sought to adhere to the man-made traditions that had become attached to the Mosaic Law, and were passed off as an integral part of the Law, even though they did not carry that sort of weight.[11]
3. Those who were unbelievers, either because they had not been afforded the opportunity to hear and receive the Gospel, or those who were unbelievers because they rejected or were indifferent to the Gospel. Some Church fathers included within this category the unbelievers who felt they were not ready or worthy to become a faithful Christian, but were supportive of the Gospel’s message.

In addition to these points, some fathers draw upon the meaning of the names of the three tribes and refer to the various comments and prophesies that God makes with regards to them. But the point of interest lies particularly in their historical context in that they form later on, within the Old Testament, the northern kingdom of Israel which was destroyed first. Consequently its people were predominately enslaved or exiled. Those who were able to remain, intermarried with their Gentile neighbours or the new Gentile settlers who replaced those who were forcibly removed. This admixture of believer and unbeliever continues even after Jews return from the Babylonian captivity and seek to re-establish their nation and the land’s Jewish identity and culture. Yet this interaction with paganism and Gentiles, produced two differing communities not quite within the scope of Jewish society. That of the Samaritans which adhered to much of the earlier beliefs of Judaism, and that of Galilee which was part of mainstream Judaism, but had assimilated many elements and expressions of Gentile culture within their own. Consequently the Judeans often spoke disparagingly of the Galileans as “country bumpkins” and as “Galilee of the Gentiles”.

Yet these descendants of Zebulun, Naphtali and Isaachar, who had intermarried or lived alongside non-Jews held within them the mystery of Faith, which was the call of the Messiah to all peoples towards salvation, and not confined to the Jews solely. That is, their own interaction with non-Jews was a prefigurement of the Gospel, and thus was a proto-evangelion of sorts that prepared the ground for the Messiah’s universal ministry of salvation, which needed a foundation where there was tolerance, respect and understanding between Jews and Gentiles.

In returning to the next point of reference within the Old Testament, Mt. Tabor makes its next appearance within the Book of Judges (4:6, 12 and 14). In this particular narrative of Judges 4:1-23, is set in the time when the Israelites were governed by judges, the people of Israel had done evil in the sight of God who had handed them over to King Jabin of Canaan who oppressed and tyrannised them for some twenty years. Jabin had at his disposal a strong military commander named Sisera who had charge over 900 iron chariots. Chaffing under this tyranny, the Israelites beseeched the Lord for deliverance and so they turned to the Prophetess Deborah, who was the wife of the Israelite Judge and leader, Lapidoth (Judges 4:4).

In deep prayer and prophesy, Deborah calls upon the Israelite commander Barak, who was the son of Abinoam of Kedesh of Naphtali. It is then that Deborah reveals to Barak that God will deliver the Canaanites into his hand and that he must encamp himself upon Tabor and do battle at the river at Kishon. Barak hesitates to follow through with this directive and insisted that Deborah accompany him and his men so as to guide them according to God’s will. After offering her prayers, God reveals to Deborah the certainty of victory and so she instructs Barak that the enemy will be delivered into his hand (v. 14). The narrative concludes in v. 23 when it notes that “God had routed Jabin”.

The meaning drawn from this account in which Mt Tabor played a significant role, is manifold. Firstly that Tabor is a place where God manifests Himself and bestows hope upon those who seek Him via revelation and deliverance from oppression and tyranny. On this point, St. Ambrose of Milan draws a parallel between the oppression and tyranny endured by the Israelites, and the burden of sin and the devil which bounded humanity prior to the Crucifixion and Resurrection. He noted that this particular military battle, was representative of the battle of Faith against sin and an enemy who neither rests or is of flesh (the devil and his minions), but the victory will be of the Church.

Consequently, the gathering of Barak and his men under the guidance of Deborah upon Tabor, could easily be perceived as the ecclesial communion, the “Qahal Yahweh” (Εκκλησία τού Θεού). That is, the gathering of the Faithful who are called and joined to God and shepherded by God’s appointed prophet/leader, which is symbolic of the priesthood. Yet unlike most of the Old Testament narratives, the prophetic leader figure is a woman shepherding the “Synaxis” (gathering) of the Faithful of Israel. The immediate answer lies in that it was against the misinterpretation of the Genesis creation narrative made by various teachers of the Mosaic Law who tried to use Eve’s temptation as a basis for the “suppression” of women, since they claimed Eve had mislead Adam to partake of the forbidden fruit. Of course, as we know Adam had the freedom to choose to consume the fruit or not, but he chose to eat it, so there is no justification since Adam and Eve both shared equally in the same sin. Therefore God’s choice of Deborah as His prophet, was to show the equality of the sexes as God had intended when He created Adam and Eve, and to show that it was He who would choose the human “vessel” who would perform the vocation that He sought, (provided they were willing to accept).

This brings us to the true reason and meaning why a female figure, like Deborah, was bestowed with the responsibility of prophethood. That is to draw a parallel and prefigure, that it was to be from a woman that the deliverance of humanity from the burden of sin, mortality and the devil would occur. The role of this woman, prefigured by Deborah, had been entitled the “Second Eve” or the “New Eve” since she would differ from the original Eve by remaining as a pure and faithful steward to God and freely and willingly play a crucial role in God’s divine economy (plan) towards creation, more specifically, humanity. This woman would assent to the immense burden and sacrificial responsibility as serving as the “Theo-tokos” (God-bearer) within God’s providential Incarnational ministry of the Messiahship, we are of course talking about the Virgin Mary. It is Mary to whom Deborah prefigures in holding this unique role upon Tabor, and together with two other women, Miriam (Ex 15:20) and Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), who served as Prophetesses, as opposed to the other numerous and strong female figures which are mentioned within Scripture. The fact that there are three of them in itself reveals a Trinitarian meaning to their unique ministry.

However we must return to the point of the ecclesial communion being represented upon Tabor by Deborah, Barak and his army; for this “synaxis” could be also seen as symbolising the Heavenly ecclesial communion of the Saints and the Angelic powers, to which the members of the “militant” (earthly) Church strive towards becoming a part of. Yet the common thread between the account of this Old Testament revelation and that of the Transfiguration can be explained in this sort of manner: The three disciples underwent their own process of purification, and the purging of their misconceptions, as Christ guided them to ascend Tabor and revealed to their senses the eternal vision of who the Messiah is. Thus continuing that process of purging purification, before they could return to the worldly reality to carry out their designated vocation. This of course was in the same mode of how Christ Himself conducted His own ministry, when He broke away from the multitudes who sought Him, and so He would ascend nearby hills to go and pray and seek to be purged of worldly concerns before He returned to carry on.

In like manner, Barak and his men were prepared and formed by Deborah’s guidance when they ascended and dwelt upon Tabor, before they received God’s blessing to carry out their designated commission to fight for their nation’s freedom by the river at Kishon. And on this point, our attention is brought to observe the purifying image of water, which builds upon this momentum of purification and spiritual formation in order to receive God’s grace. For we see that the very waters of this river washed away the oppression of tyranny that the Israelites endured under Jabin, just as humanity’s bondage to sin, mortality and the devil are washed away by the waters of baptism. But to get to those waters which bestow deliverance, we still need to struggle to ascend our own Mt. Tabor, carrying with us our own cross in this process; so that God may take away those things that hold us back from transcending our own limitations.

Another key point with regards this pericope from the Book of Judges, is that the name and origin of the Israelite commander Barak. The meaning of the name Barak roughly translates as “grace” and “blessing”, which as we can see seems quite appropriate given that it was God’s grace and blessing to which the Israelites sought in order to be free of a burden that tyrannised them. Yet, this tyranny was brought about by their own sin and evil that had expelled God’s grace and blessing from within their midst. This of course explains how St. Ambrose came to interpret this particular account as representing our own spiritual and ethical struggles in our own daily lives, and demonstrates what the consequences of sin and evil bring about when we expel the loving compassion of God.

We hence replace God with selfish addictions and compulsions that are either self-destructive or leave ourselves defenceless against those who seek to do us harm. For if we are blinded by sin or the pathoi (negative passions), we consequently fall into committing actions that may cause us to step upon others in the process of pursuing our evil intent, and it is only fallen human character that the injured party would at some point seek revenge. The devil of course plays his part in manipulating these cleavages within our temperaments, while others seek to take advantage of our weaknesses. Many more things can be said, which help to explain this point of bondage to sin and evil and their consequences, but suffice to say the point that this Old Testament event and the Transfiguration both reveal upon Tabor, is the salvific alternative.

As for Barak’s origins being from the land of Naphtali, we observe that it was in Naphtali that Christ conducted most of His travelling ministry, basing Himself within the lakeside town of Capernaum. And it was in Naphtali that He began His ministry by gathering the fisherman and making disciples of them.[12] Thus Barak’s presence within the Old Testament story of revelation upon Tabor is as one can see not by coincidence; for we have the seeking of God’s grace and blessing to be made manifest within human reality, by victory over Jabin, by a man who was from the land where God’s grace and blessing was poured out upon all of humanity. Therefore it is not presumptuous to call Naphtali as the land of Barak, that is, of God’s grace and blessing. In any case an effective summary of Tabor’s significance between the Old Testament account of Deborah leading Barak to Tabor and Christ leading His Disciples could be structured as follows:

Old Testament – Judges 4:1-23

*Deborah was the shepherd guiding Barak and the Israelites according to the directives of God.

 *Battle against oppressors and enemies of the Faith and a nation.

 *God manifested Himself, revealing the path that the Israelites must take and bestowing victory.

New Testament – Transfiguration

*Christ is God and was the shepherd guiding the Disciples.

 *Battle against the true oppressor and enemy of Faith and humanity: Sin and the devil.

 *Christ manifested His glory and revealed a glimpse of the eternal possibilities open to humankind in union with God that grants true victory.

Theoria: The Deifying Vision

To reiterate, in very simple terms, the event of the Transfiguration was a preview and foretaste of the Resurrection and Ascension, via the manifestation of Christ’s own divinity and consubstantiality (equality) within the Holy Trinity. As such it demonstrates to humanity, through this revealing vision of God (Θεωρία – theoria[13]), that it too can experience this eternal glory and joy. It is to the attainment of this state of existence which is the loving graceful offer that God seeks to bestow upon humanity, both at the individual and communal level, in every age and context. For it is our ultimate purpose or “reason of being”, to which our search for truth and authenticity yearns for, so that we may attain completeness, fulfilment and peace. To transcend our own limitations and overcome the obstacles to which life, our circumstances and mortality impose upon us. In effect to follow the way of Christ, and in like manner, to be transfigured like Christ.

Therefore, the Transfiguration is a vision into our own potentiality and possible eternal reality. This of course, is the journey of faith from image of God towards attaining likeness of God, or as some Church fathers would aptly call it, the yearning of nostalgia to return home to our divine origins in God who created us, that is, the blessed homeland. Naturally, this revelation of our intended goal, is what the ministry of Jesus is about, since the prophesised Messiah, is both the Son of God and the Son of man. For within His very personhood He unites the two realms of humanity and divinity, thus bridging the “ontological” chasm between Creator and created. In doing this, Jesus shows the disciples, God’s intended vision and path to the mystery of being and life for humanity.

Consequently, such an intended path goes contrary and often leaves wanting, the many different methodologies, philosophies and ideologies that humanity has often created for itself, to assist in living its existence. To which these paths, according to historical witness, are always deficient, fallible and incomplete within themselves and require to be replaced by a new idea or method to correct these inadequacies. Yet to the believer, this is only to be expected, since only the source of all life and Creation has that flexibility and capability of being complete, whole, thorough, adaptable and all-encompassing in approaching the question of being. Nor does that vision of the Transfiguration and for all that it represents, does not try to give us “set” propositions, fixed legalistic frameworks or ideological perimeters to govern and order our lives.

Instead, God provides us moral and spiritual principles by which we can use to discern things by, and turn to for guidance in our existential journey. If we consider the Mosaic Law of the ancient Israelites, it may provide some clear directives on a few matters, (mainly liturgical though), we see that it should be more rightfully called the “Mosaic Principle”, ethos or “khalakh”. Not coincidentally, the appearance of Moses praying and talking to Christ, highlights to us and bears witness to Christ’s unique divine-human identity and His Messianic ministry. But Moses’ presence and confession, also reinforces the point mentioned earlier, in that existential considerations and the ultimate goal of humanity, cannot be encompassed or fulfilled by ideologies and laws that people form.

As Scripture and other elements of Holy Tradition attest to, Moses was known as the “Deliverer” or “Saviour”[14] of the ancient Israelites by leading them out of 400 years of bondage in Egypt, in accordance to God’s will. He subsequently receives the “Law” from God upon Mt. Sinai and bestows it upon the Israelites, and then through the trial of 40 years of wandering in the Wilderness, guides the Israelites towards the Promised Land. The significance of his prophetic ministry was that he gave the Israelites, and to us, guiding principles which can set us upon the path that delivers and saves us from sin.

However the “Mosaic Law” cannot save a person from death, or deliver them from sin, nor does it answer the difficult and pertinent questions of existence in its own right, only God can do this, (particularly through the ministry of the Messiah). Consequently, the Law cannot bestow life in of itself, and the presence of Moses reverently bowing towards Christ upon Tabor (as shown in iconography), represents the Law and all those who have died prior to the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Therefore, the Mosaic Law is what is called in Hebrew as “khalakh”, that is, it serves as a moral and ethical guidepost or compass along our existential journey of life and intercommunion with humanity, creation and God. Its various ordinances aim to reign in the excesses of our human character to which it is prone to, seeks to refocus our attention upon our existential journey and work towards God.

The Mosaic Law is, if anything, a pedagogical tool that seeks to cultivate a person within virtue and self-control, while showing due respect and consideration of others and reverence of God. It is not an ideological programme or methodology as to how societies should be governed, but it provides sound principles on which a society needs to have in place in order to survive and promote the cause of justice. Hence, it could be summarised by the epithet that “he who wishes to govern or lead others, must learn first to govern himself”. And what was the standard that the Mosaic Law aspired to bring people towards in learning to “govern” themselves and attain an enlightened existence?

Moses, as we said, reveals by his reverence towards God’s Anointed One, Jesus, that the “Law” seeks to bring us into communion with one another in love, with God and dwelling in His presence eternally, that is the life of the Resurrection. Therefore, the goal is God and a sound relationship with one another, and if every person struggled and truly attained this, then humanity would not need to create legal or political systems, nor require to develop ideological frameworks for the evnomic[15] functioning of societies/communities. However, such utopian ideals may not be achievable since no one was born perfect or complete,[16] but we do have a guiding principle in the presence of the Mosaic Law, but it is God who ultimately is the beginning and end of all our efforts.

Therefore to apply the Mosaic Law beyond the realm of “khalakh” as many of the Pharisees and Scribes did, distorts and reduces it to a mere collection of lifeless rules and obligations that govern every aspect of life, which unfortunately ignores the “Law’s” true spirit and purpose. This is the doctrine of “Pharisaism” to which Christ reviled and Moses highlighted upon Tabor is not the real objective of the Law of God. Rather it is to strive to witness, experience and become like that vision of the Transfiguration. Naturally this brings us to the figure of Elijah who neither tasted or experienced death, and due to this great blessing attained the highest calling to which the Prophets all aspired to. That is, to not only behold and experience visions of God (theoria), but to enter into and dwell within God’s glorious eternal presence, both in body and soul, prior to the Resurrection and the Second Coming.

Subsequently, Elijah is representative of all the Prophets, just as Moses represents the “Law”. Furthermore, like his fellow prophetic counterpart, Moses, Elijah also converses and shows due reverence to Christ upon Tabor, thus bearing witness to the divine-human identity of Christ and the intended purpose of His Messiahship as attested to by the Transfiguration. Though Elijah, was granted the grace of never experiencing death, he neither “consumed” or “defeated” death on behalf of humanity, but was granted this gift by God. Whereas, the Messiah was the one who would and did, “experience”, “consume” and “defeat” death, thus bestowing the gift of life to all who are willing to respond to His calling and not just a specific gift bestowed upon a specific prophet like Elijah. Yet Elijah’s role within salvation history is a double-edged one, in that it was prophesised that he would return to dwell amongst us, so as to bear witness to the truth, to God and against the enemies of God and truth.

As part of this return to prophetic ministry within our midst, he would be unjustly accused, prosecuted and beheaded, thus experiencing physical death. With regards to Christ’s First Coming at His Incarnational ministry, this death was by St. John the Baptist who comes in the likeness and way of Elijah, as Jesus Himself informs the disciples’ who enquire about Elijah’s return as they descend from Tabor (Mt. 17:10-13). Yet Elijah himself is expected to come prior to the Second Parousia and experience death by beheading. Thus we have two deaths of Elijah, that of his spiritual protégé St. John the Baptist, and his own physical death that will signal the Second Coming. This signifies the two key elements of the human person, that of body and soul, and thus the two types of deaths we all could experience, that of physical death and that of spiritual death. The first will be tasted by all of us, but spiritual death is something we can avoid if we so choose, and if we do choose to avoid it, physical death will be nothing but a mere temporary transition into an eternal existence.

In any case, these facts remind us once again, that no human can save humanity or is to be worshipped, just as the Mosaic Law cannot be turned into an end in itself as the Pharisees had done by their traditions and doctrines. Therefore the presence of Moses and Elijah conversing and showing due reverence to Christ, shows us the source of life and all wisdom which deals with our existential concerns, is God. Hence these two figures represent the Law and the Prophets, the Living and the Dead, who all bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah and the fulfilment of whole Old Testament. Nevertheless the presence of two prophetic figures of authority meet the Mosaic Law requirement of producing at least two witnesses to verify a claim or an assertion.

Yet the Transfiguration also provides us two more additional witnesses who at the same time, are one with Christ, the Father who proclaims from Heaven that “This is My beloved Son” (Mt. 17:5), and that the Holy Spirit who engulfs Tabor as the bright cloud (Mt. 17:5). The Father’s proclamation is not that Jesus “has become” His Son, as if to say that Jesus is only a mere human person who has been adopted by grace which is what the Arian heretics asserted. But is His Son and shares the same divinity with Him, therefore the glory that shines forth from Jesus, is Christ’s by nature. As the prologue of St. John the Evangelist proclaims (Jn. 1:1-18), there was never a time in which Jesus did not exist, for He was before time and its author, because He was and is (ήν) one with the Father, fully sharing in the same divinity and essence. Consequently the Transfiguration recalls to memory the same proclamation made at Christ’s baptism in the Jordan when the Father says, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Mt. 3:17).

Yet it also recounts as attested to the presence of Moses, the event of Sinai, which reveals that God is the “Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End…who was and who is to come, the Almighty…the First and the Last” (Rev. 1:8; 22:13). It is for this reason that God does not give a name to the enquiry of Moses upon Sinai, because a name defines and places parameters around a being. The only true names that could be ascribed are statements of fact like “Holy Trinity”, “I Am” or “The One Who Is” (Ο Ων). Any other names are either statements or titles which humans have applied because they reflect revelations or experiences that God has bestowed upon humanity. Thus it is how God has revealed Himself to us and not how we see Him or try to formulate theories about Him, because according to our own human capacities, especially logic. Hence, in serious terms, who can truly comprehend God or explain that God is Holy Trinity? How can we explain Jesus’ eternal Sonship, or for that matter how could God communicate all these aforementioned points to Moses in human language when asked for His identity? It is not a logical proposition or something that could be grasped by the mind, which if it could, would mean God is not God! Furthermore, there are theological and philosophical formulations which we could develop as humans which fit into our own perceptions and would make perfectly logical sense that we could be comfortable with. But then that would not be God but a formulation of our own making, if not a false idol.

Therefore, in approaching God and seeking to learn something of His identity, could only be done so by one who had striven to purify themselves and had experienced God’s grace and revelation. Thus the testimony from Heaven upon Tabor revealed the eternal reality and unity between Christ and the other persons of the Holy Trinity, who all share in the same divine essence as One God. Nonetheless, the Transfiguration theophany (manifestation of God) also proclaims Christ’s future glory when He will initiate the long-awaited Kingdom whose signposts are the Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension. With reference to the bright cloud, it represents the presence of the Holy Spirit which bears witness to Christ’s unity with It and the Father, but it also recalls to memory the presence of God within Temple worship and the cloud which guided the Israelites during their 40 year sojourn in the Wilderness, prior to their entry into the Land of Promise.

As repetitive as it may be, these two points reiterate once again the meaning of the Transfiguration. Firstly, in that the genuine “Temple” where true worship is offered to God, is our very being, for our bodies are the temples of God in which His Spirit dwells in (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19). Thus the answers to the myriad of questions and concerns that we are confronted with during the course of our own lives, whether our thirst for justice or search for peace and comfort, or our desire to find meaning (cf. Mt. 5:3-12), ultimately can be found within ourselves. This brings us to the so-called “catch” or “snag” which is required to be attained in order to unlock this very dwelling of God within our very being. That requisite is the search and journey to approach the true Promised Land which is not Canaan, but to dwell in the presence and be united to God, or as we cited earlier, to return to our divine origins. This Promised Land hold within it all that we seek and need, and it is not something that one has to die first in order to experience or even enter it; for there are those who strove for purity and opened themselves to become receptive to God’s grace both through the inner workings of their being, as well as the outer transformation and direct working of God within their life.

If this may seem difficult to comprehend, then it can only be ascertained by personal experience, or to stand in the presence of a person who has allowed the manifestation of God to occur within their own life, and thus serve as a witness to this truth of Paradise within this corporeal existence. Within recent Orthodox Christian memory there have been many such figures such as Paisios of Athos, Cleopa of Romania, Thaddaeus of Vitovnica or Iakovos of Evvoia to name a few, who have borne witness to such experiences of the Promised Land that can be manifested here and now. Of course such figures represent the monastic tradition and the ascetical path, but the experience of the Promised Land is not confined to them; for there are those who live according to differing mode of existence, and even within our general society, but usually go unnoticed due to the rush of modern-day life. It is this that the cloud of the Holy Spirit and the light emanating from Christ reveals to us within this great event, and it shows us the cooperative synergy between God and man to effect the potential and holistic transformation of each human being.

Again, this may sound difficult and repetitive to our thoughts, but that is because it is a living experience that goes beyond words, logic or the senses; just as the overwhelming radiance of Christ caused the disciples to fall to the ground in fear and thus cover their faces. In Luke’s gospel, this overwhelming luminous vision sent the disciples into a trance or daze of sleep from which they awoke from to behold the vision in its entirety.[17] The point being that the Light of the Transfiguration is not a sensory light like the sun, but is the infinite mystery of God confronting and penetrating through our very being. The deeper we journey into this infinite mystery, the more we are overwhelmed, or “hyper-illumined” to the point of blindness as an old Greek expression sarcastically puts it, (παραφώτισις). St. Gregory of Nyssa characterises this experiential journey using quite paradoxical language, whereby he cites that it is a journey into “illumined darkness” whereby we are less sure or conscious of our surroundings, for even though we have attained knowledge, the darkness remains because that knowledge reveals that our previous understandings are not certain or complete or must be divested of.

It is like how a teenager believes that they have all the supposed answers to all of life’s concerns, but with age and maturity become less sure of such convictions as the reality of daily life challenges these presuppositions. By inference, we can see that Christ chooses as His disciples, not men of immense learning or theological training, but poor, self-employed and working class men of minimal education who were not “tainted” by fixed mindsets and doctrines like many amongst the Pharisees and Scribes. If anything, had Christ taken from amongst the number of Pharisees and Scribes, many of them would have had to “unlearn” what they knew in order to be receptive to the full reality of their Faith.

One can often see for example, the result that education has in forming and even standardising the thought processes of people, developing specific forms of intelligences according to the desired trend or fashion of pedagogical theory. Quite often one can see greater wisdom, intelligence and life skills expressed in the words and actions of illiterate people who have never received a formal education and have never had their thought processes formed, structured or constricted by it, and thus display greater flexibility in thought.

With the 3 disciples present upon Tabor, they were not constricted by a formalised doctrinal understanding of their Faith which was particular to a specific school of thought as the Scribes and Pharisees. They did not need to “unlearn” such noetic (spiritual) perceptions, but recognised through their unconstrained simplicity, cultivated by their journey of purification (catharsis) and prayer in ascending Tabor, that what they perceived at the summit were two types of light. The first being the physical sensory light of the sun, since it was daytime when the Transfiguration occurred. The second type of light came about as Christ prayed, revealing the radiant power that is within Him, and which transfigured and deified both Moses and Elijah. Of course, given Christ’s previous miracles and the power of His radiance, the disciples realised that it was not necessary for Christ to pray in order to manifest such feats. But that it was Christ’s way of teaching them as to how they could mimic and follow His example to unlock God’s power within themselves, and call upon God’s help to perform the miracles necessary for serving in God’s loving therapeutic ministry towards the world.

As for the disciples recognising Moses and Elijah who they never had met personally since both prophets lived centuries before their own births; they were able to discern their identities via the conversation they had with Christ, and as Luke’s gospel relates, made reference to Christ’s forthcoming ordeal in Jerusalem. Then, as Tabor was engulfed by the bright cloud and the voice of the Father proclaiming Christ’s Sonship, the disciples were moved with fear and reverence, flinging themselves in prostration upon the ground. Yet in all this “spiritual commotion”, Peter somehow plucks up the courage to thank Christ for having brought them to Tabor and begins to babble nervously, not knowing what to say, but inadvertently recognises the significance of the event unfolding before them by offering to build tabernacles.

On this point some Christian commentators assert that Peter’s offer indicated that it was the feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth). However this is a somewhat fanciful thought since this particular feast does not occur some 40 days before Passover (Pesach) as the event of the Transfiguration does. Instead it takes place in the Jewish month of Tishri which roughly corresponds with September or October, while Passover when Christ was crucified occurs in Nisan which falls about March or April in our present day calendar.

Rather, St. Peter’s offer to build tabernacles, or enclosed altars, recalls the meaning of Sukkoth as being the feast of the Coming Kingdom and God’s dwelling amongst humanity, as had been the case in the tabernacle built for the Ark of the Covenant, and later on, the Temple constructed in Jerusalem. Yet it mimicked the custom of the Jewish Patriarchs who would construct such altars whenever they “communed” and “interacted” with God in prayer and worship, just as Abraham had done when God had made the covenant with him. Furthermore, tabernacles served as symbols representing God’s dwelling amongst the just in the Kingdom of Heaven, while the unjust were at a great distance from Him. Nevertheless, St. Peter’s offer to build tabernacles is ignored since the real, supreme tabernacles are the temples of the Holy Spirit, being each and every one of us being both altar and offering to God. Yet St. Peter’s offer was not required also on the basis that the Holy Spirit had engulfed Mt. Tabor and in effect, “tabernacled” all who were present. The task of building enclosed altars would come many centuries later, after the persecutions of the Christians ceased and the Church of Jerusalem would build and dedicate three great churches upon the summit of Tabor.

SCRIPTURAL READINGS

Vespers

Exodus 24:12-18; 33:11-23; 34:4-6, 8.

1 Kings 19:3-9, 11-13, 15-16.

Matins

Luke 9:28-36

Divine Liturgy

Epistle: 2 Peter 1:10-19

Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9

HYMNOGRAPHY

Due to time constraints, this section could not be written and researched by me personally but is drawn directly from the excellent work: “Festival Icons for the Christian Year”, by John Baggley, SVS Press: Crestwood NY, 2000, pp. 65-66.

Apolytikion (Tone 7)

You were Transfigured on the Mount, O Christ God,

Revealing Your glory to Your disciples as far as they could bear it.

Let Your everlasting Light shine upon us sinners!

Through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Giver of Light, glory to You!

Kontakion (Tone 7)

On the Mountain You were Transfigured, O Christ God,

And Your disciples beheld Your glory as far as they could see it;

So that when they would behold You crucified,

They would understand that Your suffering was voluntary,

And would proclaim to the world,

That You are truly the Radiance of the Father!

Forefeast hymns:

Troparion (Tone 4)

Come, you faithful, let us welcome the Transfiguration of Christ,

And let us joyfully cry as we celebrate the prefeast:

“The day of holy gladness has come;

The Lord has ascended Mount Tabor

To radiate the beauty of His divinity.”

Kontakion (Tone 4)

“Today You have shown forth…”

Today all mortal nature shines with the divine Transfiguration

And cries with exultation:

“Christ the Saviour is transfigured to save us all!”

• Many texts reiterate the details of the narrative in the Synoptic Gospels, often with theological comments added:

Thou wast transfigured upon the mountain, O Christ our God, showing Thy glory to Thy disciples as far as they were able to bear it. – Apolytikion at Great Vespers

Enlightening the disciples that were with Thee, O Christ our Benefactor, Thou hast shown them upon the holy mountain the hidden and blinding light of Thy nature and Thy divine beauty beneath the flesh; and they, understanding that Thy glory could not be borne, loudly cried out, ‘Holy art Thou’. For Thou art He whom no man may approach, yet wast Thou seen in the flesh by the world, O Thou who alone lovest mankind. –Sessional Hymn at Matins in Slavic tradition

Moses who saw God and Elijah who rode in the chariot of fire, passing across the heavens unconsumed, beheld Thee in the cloud at Thy transfiguration, O Christ, and they testified that Thou art the maker and the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. With them, count us also worthy of Thy light, O master, that we may sing Thy praises unto all ages. –Lity at Great Vespers

•  Great emphasis is laid on the fact that both the divinity and the perfect humanity of Christ are manifested at the Transfiguration.

He who once spoke through symbols to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, ‘I am He who is’, was transfigured today upon Mount Tabor before the disciples; and in His own person he showed them the nature of man, arrayed in the original beauty of the Image. Calling Moses and Elijah to be witnesses of this exceeding grace, He made them sharers in His joy, foretelling His decease through the Cross and His saving Resurrection. –Aposticha at Great Vespers

Being complete God, Thou hast become complete man, bringing together manhood and the complete Godhead in Thy Person which Moses and Elijah saw on Mount Tabor in the two natures. –From the Second Canon of Canticle Three at Matins

On Tabor the ministers of the Word looked upon strange and marvellous wonders, and hearing the voice of the Father, they cried out: ‘This is the imprint of the archetype, even our Saviour’. O unchanged image of the One Who Is, O Seal that cannot be removed or altered, Son and Word, Wisdom and Arm (1 Cor. 1:24; Isaiah 53:1), Right Hand (Exodus 15:6) and Strength of the Most High, Thee do we sing with the Father and the Spirit. –From the First Canon of Canticle Nine at Matins

• The links between Christ’s Transfiguration and His suffering and Crucifixion, and strengthening of the faith of the disciples.

Before Thy Crucifixion O Lord, the mountain became as heaven and a cloud spread itself out to form a tabernacle. When Thou wast transfigured and the Father testified unto Thee, Peter, James and John were there, who were to be present with Thee also at the time of Thy betrayal: that, having beheld Thy wonders, they should not be afraid before Thy suffering. Grant in Thy great mercy that we too may be counted worthy to venerate these Thy sufferings in peace. –First Sticheron at Great Vespers

At Matins of the Transfiguration, at the end of each Canticle a Katavasia from the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is sung, for at the Feast of the Transfiguration the Church begins its preparation to celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (14^th September). Two examples of such a Katavasia now follow:

O thrice-blessed Tree, on which Christ the King and Lord was stretched!

Though thee the beguiler fell, who tempted mankind with the tree. He was caught in the trap set by God, who was crucified upon thee in flesh, granting peace unto our souls. - Katavasia of Canticle Five at Matins

O Theotokos, thou art a mystical Paradise, who untilled hast brought forth Christ.

He has planted upon earth the life-giving Tree of the Cross: therefore at its exaltation on this day, we worship Him and Thee do we magnify. –Katavasia of Canticle Nine at Matins

• Christ’s Transfiguration looks forward not only to the Cross, but through the Crucifixion to the Resurrection.

Prefiguring, O Christ our God, Thy Resurrection, Thou hast taken with Thee in Thy ascent upon Mount Tabor Thy three disciples, Peter, James and John. When Thou wast transfigured, O Saviour, Mount Tabor was covered with light. Thy disciples, O Word, cast themselves down upon the ground, unable to gaze upon the Form that none may see. The angels ministered in fear and trembling, the heavens shook and the earth quaked, as they beheld upon earth the Lord of glory. –Sticheron at Great Vespers

• Christ’s Transfiguration is a foretaste also of our resurrection at Christ’s Second Coming:

Thou wast transfigured upon Mount Tabor, showing the exchange mortal men will make with Thy glory at Thy second and fearful coming, O Saviour. – From First Sessional Hymn at Matins

• The Transfiguration is seen as a theophany, a manifestation of the Holy Trinity: of the Son in the person of Jesus; the Spirit in the bright and overshadowing cloud; and the Father in the voice from the cloud. There is thus a link between the Feasts of Christ’s Baptism and His Transfiguration, for both involve the activity and manifestation of the Trinity.

Today on Tabor in the manifestation of Thy Light, O Word, Thou unaltered Light from the Light of the unbegotten Father, we have seen the Father as Light and the Spirit as Light, guiding with light the whole creation. –Exapostilarion at Matins

• The greatest emphasis is laid on the divine light manifested on Mount Tabor:

The shining cloud of the Transfiguration has taken the place of the darkness of the Law. Moses and Elijah were counted worthy of this glory brighter than light and, taken up within it, they said unto God: “Thou art our God, the King of the ages”. –Sticheron at Small Vespers

The sun which makes the earth bright sets once more; but Christ has shone as lightning with glory upon the mountain and has filled the world with light. –Aposticha at Small Vespers

As they gazed upon Thy glory, O Master, they were struck with wonder at Thy blinding brightness. Do Thou who hast then shone upon them with Thy light, give light now to our souls. –From the First Sessional Hymn at Matins

The following quotation accords well with the scene depicted in most icons of the Transfiguration:

On Mount Tabor, O Lord, Thou hast shown today the glory of Thy divine form unto Thy chosen disciples, Peter, James and John. For they looked upon Thy garments that gleamed as the light and at Thy face that shone more than the sun; and unable to endure the vision of Thy brightness which none can bear, they fell to the earth, completely powerless to lift up their gaze. For they heard a voice that testified from above: “This is My beloved Son, who has come into the world to save mankind”. – Aposticha at Great Vespers

The following texts show how the themes transfiguration, transformation, and enlightenment relate to the restoration of human life that has been accomplished in Christ:

O Christ our God, who wast transfigured in glory on Mount Tabor, showing to Thy disciples the splendour of Thy Godhead, do Thou enlighten us also with the light of Thy knowledge and guide us in the path of Thy commandments, for Thou alone art good and lovest man.

-From the Lity at Great Vespers

Thou, O Christ, with invisible hands hast fashioned man in Thine image; and Thou hast now displayed the original beauty in this same human body formed by Thee, revealing it, not as in an image, but as Thou art in thine own self according to Thine essence, being both God and man. – Second Canon of Canticle Five at Matins

Today Christ on Mount Tabor has changed the darkened nature of Adam, and filling it with brightness He has made it godlike. – Aposticha at Small Vespers

ICONOGRAPHY

Of course after the exposition of heavy and almost repetitive theology, the easiest and most succinct way of appreciating the meaning of the Transfiguration is through iconography, or more precisely the festal icon.

In observing the festal icon, without doubt, the key focus is the figure of Christ who is at the centre top location of the icon, standing firmly upon the summit of Tabor, while everything about Him is in engaged in some form of movement. Already, to an observer of the icon, their attention is drawn to look upwards to Christ to behold what is our goal, that is our potentiality in Christ and to experience and live in the presence of God. This looking upwards reminds us of our own position in life and the higher aspiration to which we seek to attain, or to poetically put it, to ascend Tabor ourselves and become one with the radiant light.

As the visual and theological centre of the icon, Christ’s right hand is raised in blessing all who are present, while His left hand holds a scroll. The scroll of course represents the Covenant that God made with Abraham and built upon in each succeeding generation since. Thus it symbolises God’s fidelity to a promise and the fulfilment of that promise, to which the whole Old Testament is dedicated to. As such it is a sign of authority, which is also reinforced by Christ’s halo that has inscribed “Ο Ων” (“The One Who Is”). In some icons of the Transfiguration, the Greek initials IC (Jesus) and XC (Christ) are inscribed on either side of the halo to indicate that Jesus is the Christ (Anointed One of God). As for His garments, they have been transfigured into a bright white.

The light emanating from Christ forms a circular mandorla around Him with brilliant rays of white, gold and blue. In ancient and Byzantine artistic expression, blue was a colour used to represent divinity, while gold represents sunlight and royalty (or something of a higher order). Yet the use of gold and blue within the light of the mandorla is to indicate a radiance of light that is beyond white, in order to depict the non-sensory otherness of the Light of the Transfiguration. The fact that the mandorla is a circular shape is to show that like a circle, God has neither a beginning or end point, but embraces all within the grasp of the “eternal circle”.

This circular mandorla contrasts against the almond shaped mandorla of the icon of the Resurrection whose top edge points upward to Heaven, whereas the Transfiguration mandorla merely points out the eternity of divinity and divine radiance within an embracing circular reality. Furthermore, in the Resurrection icon, Christ is pulling Adam and Eve (the ancestors of humanity) into the divine light and into His presence, hence bestowing eternal life and indicating the raising of humanity heaven-bound.

In the icon of the Transfiguration, earth-bound humanity which has as yet attained their own “transformation” is represented by the three disciples seeking to shelter themselves from the power and radiance of God. Those who are embraced by the mandorla or are bathed by its radiance, that is Moses and Elijah, represents the communion of the saints, who are that part of humanity who have attained their transformation and the gift of eternal life, by struggling towards and alongside God.

In the icon, Moses is bowing in reverence towards Christ and holding the tablets of the Law which he represents, and offers them to Christ. As for Elijah, he offers his hands in reverential prayer and represents the prophets because he symbolically serves as the quintessential prophetic figure par excellence. In any case both prophets experienced visions of God, Moses upon Sinai and Elijah on Mt. Carmel, but Moses represents the dead because he experienced death and to show that it is not the Law that bestows life and salvation, but guides us (khalakh) along the path towards eternal life and salvation. Salvation and eternal life are gifts of God, not the Law, which is shown by Elijah’s experience when he was taken up alive into Heaven by a chariot of fire. Thus he did not experience death because God bestowed this gift, therefore Elijah represents the living.

In returning to the three disciples, we see them in great disarray in their effort to shield themselves from the radiant magnitude of God’s glory revealed in Christ. Their unreadiness and inability at this specific juncture within their spiritual life to behold this radiance is shown by James who has fallen over backwards with his hands of over his eyes. John who is in the centre, thus indicating his status as the beloved disciple, has fallen prostrate upon the ground. Then we have the senior white-haired Peter who struggles with immense pain to kneel upwards from the ground, raising his right hand towards Christ in order to gesture his desire to build three tabernacles. The garments of all three disciples are much like themselves, in complete disarray.

Whatever the case may be, the icon is a reminder that Jesus is God’s Anointed One in whom God’s glory is revealed. Furthermore it comes at a point in His ministry whereby He is preparing for His journey to Jerusalem, where humiliation, suffering and crucifixion await Him. The Transfiguration is a brief stop or interlude in this journey in which Christ reveals that in spite of the ordeals that await in Jerusalem, the glorious light of the Resurrection will shine through and triumph, thus bestowing strength to the disciples to not lose heart. Yet it also reveals a preview of the glorious Second Coming of Christ and the fulfilment of the Kingdom of God when all of creation will be “transfigured” and “filled with light”.

CUSTOMS & TRADITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FEAST

In many countries in the Northern Hemisphere where Orthodox Christians are present the offering of fruits during church services would occur. In Greece and Romania specifically, the harvest season traditionally began on the Transfiguration. Grapes, in particular, were not eaten before August 6. In some parishes, the first grapes would be brought to church for a blessing and distributed to parishioners.

Grapes are traditionally brought to church to be blessed after the Divine Liturgy on the day of the Transfiguration. If grapes are not available in the area, apples or some other fruit may be brought. This begins the “Blessing of First Fruits” for the year. The symbolism with the offering of fruits was to indicate that through the efforts of cultivating and “transfiguring” the simple earth on which we walk upon, it shall bestow fruit. The symbolism being that our lives in like fashion require the same effort of hard labour in order to be transformed and fruitful, both spiritually and emotionally, thus bestowing a focus for us to find meaning and purpose. The other main feast whereby the fruits of the earth were offered and blessed is upon the ecclesial new year (1^st September)

Dedicated to the humble and pious Fr. Nektarios Zorbalas whose unceasing love, philanthropy and prayers has transfigured many people of many different walks of life and faiths. The poor have been fed, the naked have been clothed, the sick have been healed, the unsettled found peace, the sorrowful have found joy, the impatient attained patience, and many more rediscovered the image of God within themselves due to you reverend father.

– With the love of Christ, your spiritual son V. M.

Introductory Remarks

Within our present-day globalised societies whereby nations and peoples are all closely interlinked it has become common practice to accept the 1^st of January as the beginning of a New Year, often ignoring local, cultural, religious or national customs.

 However, the origins of this practice, is drawn specifically from the tradition of those who worshipped the sun at around the time, of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter solstice. This particular event was known to the sun worshippers as the Feast of Sol Invictus, whereby they would gather to feast at the midpoint of winter which was seen as a turning point from the starkness of winter’s death and the beginning of re-entry into the natural life cycle as the days grew longer after the feast, moving towards the rebirth of spring.

 Historical Origins & Developments

Yet within the ancient world, particularly in the Mediterranean and Middle East regions, the New Year was not the 1^st January, but fell roughly around the 1^st September which marked the beginning of autumn and the gathering of the land’s first harvests for which the farmers had toiled earnestly for.

 This day and the period which proceeded from it, was a time marked by thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth, and of making prayerful supplications for the following year’s crops to be successful. This often involved farmers offering the fruit of that year’s harvest along with seeds that would be blessed within various religious rites. The action of offering seed was in the hope that the following season’s bounty would be successful and protected from disaster through the blessing.

These events would be followed with the storing of seed within warehouses, while in hot dry places like the Mediterranean and the Middle East, there was an additional blessing of seeds when they were planted out in the fields to receive the winter rains. This aspect being particularly important to those regions, because if the seed was not planted to receive the winter rains, then the people would starve, since the spring rains were not sufficient for the germination of their crops.

In any case this period saw families and communities gather together to celebrate and share in the earth’s bounty, singing, dancing, reciting stories and so forth. Nonetheless, it was also a time dedicated to meditation and self-reflection, taking stock of the year that had concluded.

 Within these pre-industrial societies, autumn marked the harvest, while trade wound up its activities for the forthcoming winter months, thus in effect it was also considered, in some respects, as the end of financial year. Hence many civil authorities deigned that it was the appropriate time to assess and collect taxes, which could either be paid with money or in kind, like wheat etc. Within Roman times, this day became known as the Indiction, whereby an annual tax was collected for the maintenance of the army. Furthermore, the rate of taxation would be adjusted every fifteen years in order to account for natural inflation.

The New Year Period within Jewish Tradition

The marking of the New Year saw the intertwining of three key festivals together, encompassing what we would now call the months of September and October, but according to the Jewish calendar, is the lunar month of Tishrei. This period consisted of the feasts Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot:

 Rosh Hashanah (“Beginning of the year”), is the Jewish New Year, which is celebrated on the first and second days of the Jewish month of Tishrei. It begins the observance of the Ten Penitential Days, a period ending with Yom Kippur that is the most solemn of the Jewish calendar. To Jews of present day, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are known as the High Holy Days. 

Within the Bible, Rosh Hashanah is referred to as a day of remembrance and of the sounding of the ram’s horn (shofar). These two characteristics of the day, interwoven with the theme of the proclamation of God’s Kingship, became the major components of the New Year’s observance in later Judaism. These elements are emphasised in the service by the repetition of “verses of remembrance,” “verses that mention the ram’s horn,” and “sovereignty verses”.

Out of these, the verses of remembrance is crucial to the feast, in that it represents the sense of continuing creation and development of the world, (in other words God’s sustaining gift of life and creation), thus according to Judaism’s perception this feast marks the anniversary of creation. Furthermore, because good and evil actions are perceived to greatly influence the future, the feast thus emphasises that God “remembers” what we do in contributing to this tension between good and evil.  Hence during the feast mention is made of the meritorious acts of the Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as a paradigm of virtue and as an exhortation to emulate their holiness as the path to redemption.

Accordingly, the most prominent Scriptural passage utilised within the Rosh Hashanah service is that of the binding of Isaac (see Genesis 22), which forms the key Scriptural pericope designated for reading on that day. The passage in question leads into the theme of the ram’s horn, which during the service is blown, and represents the horn of the animal sacrificed in Isaac’s stead. (Once again, we see the theme of God’s gift of life and all of Creation belonging to Him).

 Nevertheless many ancient peoples often made noise at the New Year to drive away demons. Within Judaism this practice was transformed, whereby Jews would blow into the shofar to prefigure the moment when God would destroy the evil in the world, (reflective of the Christian belief of the Day of Judgement). At that moment, it is held in the “sovereignty verses,” God will be King over all the earth, as He is now King over those who accept him in a renewal of commitment on Rosh Hashanah.

Yom Kippur (“Day of Atonement”), was a solemn feast which fell on the tenth day of Tishrei, and it is the high point of observance of the Ten Penitential Days, which begin with Rosh Hashanah, and is considered the most sacred of Jewish feasts. The feast itself is a day dedicated to confession, repentance, and prayers for forgiveness of sins committed during the year against the Laws and Covenant of God. For some Jews it was also believed that this particular day a person’s own fate for the ensuing year was sealed. The grounds for this interpretation, was drawn from the laws that could be found within Leviticus 16, 23:26-32, 25:9 and Numbers 29:7-11.[1]

 In the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, the high priest offered sacrifices for the expiation of sin. During the ritual, the high priest placed his hands upon a goat as he confessed the people’s sins; the goat was then taken into the wilderness and thrown over a precipice. This act was symbolic of expiation and God’s forgiveness. The concept of the scapegoat, that is, someone who bears the blame for others, originated in this ceremony.

In modern practice, Jews observe the day by a rigorous fast and virtually unbroken prayer. The mood is solemn but not mournful, as evidenced by Mizrahi and Romioniote Jewish custom of calling Yom Kippur the White Fast; which is in contradistinction to Tishah b’Ab (the Ninth of Ab), the Black Fast, which commemorates the destruction of the Temple.

Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, is the name given within the Old Testament, which refers to the close of the harvest in Palestine. As a harvest festival it is also known as the Feast of Ingathering (see Exodus 23:16, 34:22) and can be traced back to the Canaanites, who during this period would remain in their fields dwelling in tabernacles, or booths, in order to be close to the harvest.

For the Hebrew people who settled in Canaan, (and adopted the Canaanite custom of the harvest festival), the dwelling in tabernacles/booths was a reminder of their former nomadic existence. This gesture of dwelling in booths often represented the journey of Abraham towards the Chosen Land or the 40 years’ sojourn in the wilderness when the Hebrews had departed from Egypt, whereby the tent was the only habitation, thus the festival’s alternate name Feast of Tabernacles (see Deuteronomy 16:13-16, 31:10-13; Leviticus 23:34-36, 39-44; Numbers 29:12-40).

The significance of Tabernacles is also an indicative reminder of the Tent (Tabernacle) that was established by Moses in which the Ark of the Covenant was conveyed (see Exodus 25-31, 35-40), and was held to represent the presence of God amongst our midst.[2] In any case, Sukkot was celebrated on the 15^th day of Tishrei and would last for eight or nine days.[3] During the festival, it was quite customary for Jews to eat (and even sleep) in the special booths or huts, which were built in the five days between Yom Kippur and Sukkot. Palm, myrtle, willow, and citron were brought to the Temple (see Leviticus 23:40), and during the chanting of Hallel[4] these were waved about, as is the present practice amongst Jews today within their synagogues.

In summing up, the Jewish tradition of New Year, was a period that was dedicated to solemn contemplation, acknowledgement of God, supplicatory offering to God and finally concluded with celebration.

Spiritual Significance and Customs of New Year Within Christianity

For the Christians, maintaining the New Year period in September was not differing in practice from their Jewish roots or their pagan counterparts, since for all peoples at that time, it was only natural to mark the New Year with the end of the agricultural cycle that was concluded by the harvest. The Christians drew upon the themes and insights of the three key Jewish festivals and in time synthesised these into one feast which became known as the Feast of the New Year (Indiction).[5]

However, for Christians the meaning of New Year took on a unique insight and understanding which related to spiritual development and living a life in Christ. For Christians, Christ’s exhortation and teaching about planting the seed of faith in order to produce the fruits of faith was one of the key themes which underpinned this feastday, (cf. Parable of the Sower Mt 13:3-23; Mk 4:1-9; Lk 8:4-8, Faith as a Mustard Seed Mt 17:20; Lk 17:6).

 Of course in coinciding with the ingathering of the harvest, the Church used this to link it and make reference to the first-fruits of faith and the spirit, particularly the gift of redemption wrought by Christ via His Resurrection (Rom 8:23; 1Cor 15:20, 23; James 1:18). The relevance to the believer was their own spiritual response to God’s calling, bringing forth its own first-fruits through their own personal struggle for Christ within that year which had passed. They would then contemplate and reflect upon what improvements could be made, or goals to strive towards, within the forthcoming year. These resolutions would then be cited to a spiritual father who would work closely with the believer to discern whether their aims were feasible, what strategies could be utilised for fulfilling their goals, while provide positive and objective feedback, or suggest more possible alternatives, before affirming that they will support and monitor their progress within the forthcoming year.

Nevertheless the Church also wished to tie in the harvest and the blessing of seed for the next agricultural cycle, to highlight our own dependency upon God for survival, as is reflected within one of the Divine Liturgy’s petitions: “For seasonable weather, the abundance of the fruits of the earth, and peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord”. Within the Christian liturgical services this view was represented by the fruits of the earth being offered by farmers and greengrocers in thanksgiving, and for the blessing of the feast which proceeded after the service, while the sanctification of seeds for the success of next year’s crop, served as symbols of life (past, present and future). To take the analogy further, the original seed being God, who was planted amongst us, bore the fruit of the faithful, and thus with every forthcoming generation the fruits would be gathered and seed taken from them for the establishment of the next generation of faithful, or as we would call it, Apostolic Succession and the Communion of the Faithful throughout the ages.

 The other main theme of the feastday was to also mark the feast of Life and Creation which is a gift given and sustained by God. A gift which in the Genesis narrative of Creation cites, that humankind was placed to serve and maintain what God had created and to dwell within its natural cycles of life like the seasons and so forth.[6] It is not surprising that with Adam and Eve seeking a different source of life outside of God and His Creation through their fall, followed by Cain’s expulsion from the land of Eden for the murder of his brother Abel, we see humankind distancing itself further and further from the natural world created by God, and taking their call of dominion over creation as something to exploit and abuse. Within this process the creation of a man-made reality takes shape that sees the consumption of the earth’s resources in an unethical, wasteful and dangerous way for something as base as economical gain and political power, rather than sustainability and harmony. In taking our dominion over creation, to mean the subjection, conquest and exploitation of the natural world, we bend it to conform to our notions of life, rather than live within its rhythm and natural cycles.

 Thus the New Year is a reminder of the theme raised by Psalm 65 (64) that praises the Creator Who is awesome as the Holy Lord but who richly sustains the earth with His abundant goodness. Therefore the Church states categorically through its hymnology of this feastday which reflects psalm 65 (64), that the coming year is God’s to give and God’s to bless, a year of the Lord: “Bless, O Lord, the crown (the beginning) of the year with Your goodness!” The goodness referred to here of course is speaking of Christ’s love, mercy and grace, and it is especially the gift of grace we earnestly petition the Lord to bestow upon the coming year, so that it may be a year of grace, a year blessed by the Lord.

Apart from extolling the wonderful works of God in creation and salvific history, the Church’s hymnography provides guidance on how one can make the coming year one blessed by grace. The very first hymn of the liturgical New Year which is chanted in the joyful first tone at Vespers, reminds us that daily prayerful dependence on God is the foundational attitude of the believer and mode of life. However it also alludes to a key Biblical passage which is an address to the faithful: “O faithful, having learned true prayer from the very words and divine teachings of Christ, let us cry out to the Creator each day: Our Father Who dwells in heaven, give us always daily bread, and forgive us our transgressions” (Vesper Hymn, September 1).

Naturally this hymn is inspired by the Lord’s Prayer, which both texts set out three key principles necessary for making the coming year a year blessed with grace:

• The teachings of Christ are the source of truth for our daily lives.
• Our Father in Heaven is a personal God who provides for all our material and spiritual needs as we ask Him in faith.
• Daily prayer is the ongoing mode of dialogue within this vital relationship with God (it is the spiritual nerves and breath of a person!). This daily prayerful dependence upon God seeks to sanctify every moment of the day, irrespective whether we are engaged in work, play, rest or in difficulty, for it fills the day with the presence of God and makes it His moment. 

If we examine other hymns chanted during the festal services the Christian understanding and mindset (phronema) becomes much clearer, which tie together all the aforementioned themes:

“Christ our God, Your Kingdom is an everlasting one and Your lordship is over all. You have made all things with wisdom and have established proper times and seasons for our lives. We give thanks to You in all circumstances and for all things. Lord, bless the beginning of our Church year with Your goodness. Grant that this liturgical year be for all of us a year of grace. Make us worthy with purity of heart always to praise you. Lord, glory to You!” (Matin Hymn, September 1).

“Christ our Lord, You who provide the rains and fruitful seasons, hear the prayers of those who humbly seek You, accept also our requests about our needs and concerns and deliver us from worry, danger and sin. Your mercies are as abundant as Your works. Bless all our activities, direct our steps by Your Holy Spirit, and forgive our shortcomings. Lord bless the year with Your goodness and make it a year of grace for all of us. Amen”.

(Matin Hymn, September 1).

“O Lord, Creator of all things, who by Your authority have established times and seasons, bless the beginning of our Church year with Your goodness; preserve Your people in peace, and through the intercessions of the Theotokos, save us, Amen”.

(Apolytikion/Dismissal Hymn, September 1).

In keeping with these themes of thanksgiving and dependence upon the Lord, the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1989, dedicated the Ecclesial New Year to the protection of the natural environment calling upon all Orthodox faithful and the Christian world to: “offer every year on this day of prayers and supplications to the Maker of all things; thanksgivings for the great gift of the Creation, and supplications for its protection and preservation from every evil that threatens it”. This proposal was finally adopted by all the other Orthodox Churches in 1992.

Scriptural Readings & Hymns of the Feast

Vespers

• Isaiah 61:1-9
• Leviticus 23-24, 26:3-12, 14 – 17, 19 – 24 and 29: 1-2
• Wisdom of Solomon 4:7-15

Matins

• Luke 1:39-49, 56; 18: 2-8

Divine Liturgy

• 1 Timothy 2:1-7, 11-19
• Colossians 8:12-16
• Philippians 2:5-11
• Luke 4:16-22
• Matthew 11:27-30

The Word of God is a central theme to the feastday’s liturgical services, since there are a total of nine readings[7] designated, consisting of three Old Testament pericopes which are read during Vespers[8], and five from the New Testament which are read during the Matins and the Divine Liturgy. The main Bible reading for the Divine Liturgy of September the 1^st is Luke 4:16-22, a passage which marks the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in the Lucan gospel narrative. In this reading we see Jesus begin his ministry within the synagogue on the Sabbath, where He reads from the Book of Isaiah and proclaims to the world that Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in Him.

According to Orthodox liturgical tradition, Jesus came to Nazareth to preach this Good News of His mission on September 1st which would have coincided with the Jewish feast of Rosh Hashanah. Unfortunately, this cannot be verified outright since over the centuries many things have been lost or forgotten from collective memory, and are preserved and remembered via oral and liturgical tradition, yet the significance of the Church linking the beginning of the New Year with the beginning of Christ’s ministry is one of immense significance. For the Church has placed Jesus to speak directly to us through Luke’s account (4:16-22), whereby we are confronted with the same questions that Christ confronted His contemporaries with in the synagogue at Nazareth with His preaching.

How will we respond to the Good News? Will we respond in a positive frame of mind or with hostility and apathy? For the Orthodox believer Christ’s good news demands a faithful but total response of mind, heart, body and soul, since God’s unconditional love was shown by the precious gift of His Son who shed His blood on the Cross for our salvation. Thus our response to God’s call of love must be unwavering and steadfast.

Apolytikion of the Indiction – Tone 2

O Creator of all the Universe, Who has placed times and seasons under Thine own Authority; Bless, O Lord, the Crown of this year of Thy Kindness, keeping in Peace Thy Kings and Thy City; by the Intercessions of the Theotokos, O Only True Lover of mankind.

Apolytikion of Our Ever Blessed Lady Theotokos – Tone 2

Rejoice, O Theotokos Virgin Full of Grace: for from Thee has shone forth the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, giving Light to those in darkness. Be glad also, Thou Righteous Elder, for Thou hast received in Thine arms the Deliverer of our souls, Who bestows upon us Resurrection. Thou became a Pillar of Patience, and the Ancient Fathers Thou equalled and rivalled: Thou rivalled Job in Sufferings, Joseph in Temptations, and the Lifestyle of the Incorporeals while in the flesh. Therefore, O our Righteous Father, Symeon, Intercede with Christ God to Save our souls!

Kontakion of the Indiction – Tone 4

O Thou Creator and Lord of ages, O God of All, truly transcending all essence, we earnestly beseech Thee to Bless the year, and, O Tender-Loving Lord, in Thine Infinite Mercy, O only Master, Save us all who worship and serve Thee, O our Redeemer, and who cry with fear: For all Thy servants make the coming year fruitful.

St Symeon the Stylite: A Christian Paradigm of Unwavering Devotion

On this great feastday, the Church marks the memory of St Symeon the Stylite who dwelt upon the top of a pillar (stylos – thus the epithet stylite) in devoted prayer, sustained primarily by the power of God, and little else. His ascetical witness served as a denial of all earthly things, as well as a physical pointer towards the Heavens, thus provokingly reminding all those who saw him the purpose to which we are all called towards, which is our sanctification and entry into the Kingdom of God. Symeon’s unique dedication to God had a powerful impact upon many generations of Christians who wished to commit their lives to Christ, particularly those who sought to mimic Symeon’s example by becoming stylites themselves.

Symeon’s example is one that the Church often refers to, as a bloodless martyrdom, because a martyr who sacrifices their life for the Faith does so only once by the hand of their persecutor. Whereas a bloodless martyrdom like St Symeon’s does not happen once but many times over, and in St Symeon’s case that martyrdom lasted for some forty years dwelling upon his pillar until his death in 459AD.

One of the key hymns for St Symeon’s feast compares the Saint’s witness to the dedication of Christ’s own ministry: “O holy Father, imitating your own Lord, you ascended on a pillar as if on a cross by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord wiped away the ancient sentence against us whereas you destroyed the rebellion of corruptive passions; He became as a lamb and you as a victim; He ascended a cross and you a pillar. Holy Symeon, intercede with Him for the salvation of our souls”, (Vesper Hymn).

By placing before us St Symeon’s extreme example of asceticism at the beginning of the liturgical New Year, the Church is declaring how seriously it takes the priority of Christ and how uncompromising our Faith is about worldly values. The eve which proceeds the feast is one of deep prayer and contemplation, whereby one can pause and refresh the spirit, meditating upon the forthcoming year ahead and recommit one’s life to Christ, before the celebration of the actual day of New Year, entering from the silence of night into the feast of light.

Apolytikion  of St Symeon the Stylite – First Tone

Thou becamest a pillar of patience and didst emulate the Forefathers, O righteous one:

Job in his sufferings, Joseph in temptations, and the life of the bodiless while in the body,

O Symeon, our righteous Father, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion of St Symeon the Stylite  – Second Tone

Thou soughtest the heights, though parted not from things below;

thy pillar became a chariot of fire for thee.

Thou becamest thereby a true companion of the angelic host;

and together with them, O Saint, thou ceaselessly prayest Christ God for us all.

 Other Saints Commemorated on this Feastday

In addition to our beloved paradigm of devotion, St Symeon the Stylite, the feast of the New Year (Indiction) is also a celebration of many saints of the Church, particularly ascetics and martyrs, and is considered by some as a second feast of All Saints, the following figures are just a few of the Saints honoured upon this day:

St Joshua the Son of Nun,
St Ammoun the Deacon, the 40 Virgin Martyrs of Heraclea, Thrace:
St Theona, St Lambrou, St Arevoia, St Alone, St Mosho,
St Theofani, St Akrive, St Ermia, St Sappho, St Athena,
St Adamatene, St Kalliroe, St Evterpe, St Terpsihore, St Erato,
St Elpinike, St Melpomene, St Polymbia, St Dodone, St Troada,
St Koralia, St Theano, St Aspasia, St Erasmia, St Theonymphe,
St Aphrodite, St Aglaia, St Pandora, St Polynike, St Antigone ,
St Ourania, St Marianth, St Thaleia, St Harikleia, St Kleio,
St Athena, St Penelope, St Kleopatra, St Kleonike, St Margarita.
St Kallista and her Brothers,
St Evodos,
St Hermogenes, together with other Holy Martyrs of Nicomedia,
St Symeon the Stylite’s Venerable mother,
St Martha of Sisan, Cappadocia,
St Evanthia,
St Meletios the New of Cappadocia,
and St Aithalas of Persia.

Various Traditional Customs of the Feastday

I had been asked by some to include a few brief comments on the customs of the celebration. Speaking to some of the elderly members within Melbourne’s Orthodox communities, revealed that there was quite some uniformity in practices. The common thread was that the people would bring all manner of food and flowers to church for blessing. Some of it placed on the table with “artos” for vespers and then on an empty table during matins and the liturgy. Usually the key symbols of the feast, if obtainable, were olives, figs, wheat husks, grapes, pomegranates, wine, water and olive oil. In the colder Eastern European Orthodox lands, some of these would be replaced with vegetable or sunflower oil, apples, rye, corn and plums.

During the service people held various sorts of flowers, seeds or produce, which often included the recent year’s vintage, (-from which I have been told, was occasionally imbibed during the service when no one was looking! That of course is not part of the day’s custom until after the service!).

In any case the church would be decorated with fruits, flowers, vegetables, and various grains which were held together with colourful ribbons and tapestries around icons and on the walls. In many cases the clergy would often conduct an aghiasmos service (blessing of the waters), read various prayers of thanksgiving and bless the produce set on the table before the solea, before proceeding to bless the congregation, and then concluding with a procession around the neighbourhood, village or church to the sound of drums, cymbals and trumpets, or in some places flutes and clarinets accompanying the drums.

Then everyone would proceed to the church’s courtyard for the celebrations, which would include dancing, singing, communal feasting, story-telling, poetry or even the premiere of a theatrical performance. The days that would follow would witness the clergy going around blessing gardens and farms.

In Asia Minor, to symbolise the washing away of the previous year’s trials and tribulations, to be renewed, clean and prepared for the forthcoming year, people would break open barrels of rose or citrus scented water and douse each other with it often sprinkling each other with aromatic spices, usually taken from gardens or the wilderness, like rosemary, lavender, cinnamon etc. This also gave relief from the heat of the day, while people would remain till night when a performance of the shadow theatre Karagiozis (Black-Eye: Karagoz) would be given, concluded with the lighting of the night sky with bon-fires which would have various treats like chestnuts being roasted over them. In a slightly different take, the Cephalonians would crack open barrels of cologne and perfumes and douse each other, while the singing of kandathes would follow, along with the telling of humorous anecdotes and impressions satirising various character types within society. They would then conclude their feasting with the consumption of seeds like sunflower, pumpkin, watermelon as well as various nuts like pine, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts and so forth.

While in some parts of Georgia, people would go around wearing wreaths of flowers, grapes and barley, banging pots and pans gathering money and food for the needy and singing songs as they went about. Whereas in Bulgaria, they would go about with roses and carnations, offering well-wishes to people as they passed and offering bottles of wine, spirits and jars of jam and preserved fruits.

-Dedicated to our beloved lecturer at St Andrew’s Theological College, Dr Guy Freeland, whose sharp British wit, selfless contributions towards Orthodox Christian learning, the exacting high standards that he sought to instil within students, as well as his own piety and humility was both an inspiration and a refreshing example within a world gone mad! To you and to all peoples we wish you a Happy New Year blessed by God with joy, peace, health and wisdom. –V. M.

Festal Prologue

The official title of this solemn feastday is “The Universal Elevation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross” (Η Παγκόσμιος  Ύψωσης του Τιμιού & Ζωοποιού Σταυρού); but is better known by its abbreviated titles as the “Elevation” or “Exaltation of the Holy Cross”. It is one of four solemn feasts dedicated to the event of the Crucifixion and the importance of the symbol and role in which the actual Cross of Christ played within God’s economy[1] of salvation. First and foremost amongst these four solemn or “penthimos”[2] feasts, is Holy Friday (Μεγάλη Παρασκευή) which marks the final moments of Christ’s Incarnational ministry.

Holy Friday is followed in importance by Elevation of the Holy Cross which is designated as a second Holy Friday within the liturgical calendar, and to which the same strict fast and devotion is applied. The next feast is the Veneration of the Holy Cross (Σταυροπροσκυνήσεως), which occurs on the third Sunday of Great Lent and marks its middle point. It serves as a reminder to the faithful of Christ’s journey towards the ministry of the Cross, as well as our own journey towards it, throughout our own lives along with our liturgical journey towards Holy Week, and specifically Holy Friday. The final and lesser known of all four solemn feasts, is “The Remembrance and Procession of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross” (Η Ανάμνησις & Πρόοδος του Τιμιού & Ζωοποιού Σταυρού), simply known as the Procession of the Holy Cross. This particular day (1 August) marks the beginning of the Dormition Fast period and the journey towards the feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross, as well as honour the Holy Maccabean Martyrs of the Old Testament.

This in full, are the four solemn feasts of the Holy Cross which reveal an eternal truth to humanity that philosophers, mystics and people of differing faiths all bear witness to; which is that sacrifice, perseverance and effort are necessary in life, in order to realise our goals, aspirations, transformation and the betterment of humanity and ourselves.[3] Yet within the Orthodox liturgical cycle this point is emphasised in conjunction with all the other meanings and significance of the Cross, by the designation of a one-day Forefeast and an Eight-day Afterfeast to the Elevation of the Holy Cross. The Saturday and Sunday before and after September 14 are also commemorated with special Epistle and Gospel readings about the Cross at the Divine Liturgy.

Therefore, the key point is that this feastday not only “re-enacts” the events of Christ’s own journey towards the Cross, or our own journey in life, but “re-lives” that event and reality which took place some 2000 years ago, as a mystery occurring now in our present midst. It is for this reason, the Orthodox Church identifies it as a “penthimos” feast, and is considered as a second “Holy Friday” to which a strict fast applies, whereby all dairy, meat, fish, oil, wine and margarine food products are not consumed.[4]

Introduction – A Synopsis of Origins, Development & Ritual

Without doubt, as attested by the plethora of writings and references made by chroniclers and various Church Fathers, ranging from St Ambrose of Milan, St Cyril of Jerusalem, Aetheria, Sozomen, St John Chrysostom, Eusebius of Caesarea and to many more, that this feast had its origins within the Church of Jerusalem and was a devotion of all of Palestine. Initially this feast encompassed two days, because it marked two key events, that of the dedication of the Church of the Resurrection (13^th September) and the discovery of the Holy Cross of Christ in Jerusalem (14^th September). It is not clear which event occurred first and thus inspired the effort for the other, but according to Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, the dedication ceremony for the Church of the Resurrection occurred about 335AD. But the discovery of the Cross must have occurred very close to this date, since St Cyril of Jerusalem makes reference to the existing devotion of the discovered Cross in 347AD.

Subsequently the site of Golgotha in turn had a church dedicated to the Crucifixion, while in time it would grow and merge with the basilican church dedicated to the Holy Resurrection, and thus became the revered Christian complex known to us as the Holy Sepulchre. Nevertheless, the discovery and raising of the Cross from its burial ground progressively began to eclipse the significance of the dedication of the Church of the Resurrection, as attested to by the writings of Alexander the Monk in the 6^th century who refers to September 14 as “The Elevation of the Holy Cross”. Naturally popular devotion played a key role in this development, but it was influential ecclesial figures like St John Chrysostom, who articulated further the theology of the Cross that helped increase its popularity within liturgical expression (particularly in iconography and hymnography).

To St John Chrysostom, the Cross was central to God’s loving kindness towards humanity, since it was a symbol of His providential care for Creation, and that salvation of the world was rooted in the Cross of Christ. He then points out, drawing upon St Paul’s teachings, that it is through Baptism and the Cross that humanity is freed from the excesses[5] that the Old Covenant Law was subjected to, and the consequences of humanity following in the ways of Adam’s sin and being bound by the devil. This is aptly captured by the Sticheron of Tone 5 from the Festal Vespers which proclaims that: “the curse was abolished, incorruptible life flowered again, earthly creatures have acquired deification and the demon has been decisively overthrown”. To which this festival of the Raising of the Cross is a glorification of the Cross of Christ which recognises the universal truth that, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25).

The reference to the feast as “Universal” (Παγκόσμιος) emphasises that the Divine force manifested in the Cross is one of cosmic sanctification, thus reiterating St John Chrysostom’s articulations. However the Crucifixion is celebrated in the light of the Resurrection, and therefore we are not allowed to lose sight of these two sides of the story:

“When Thou wast crucified, O Christ, all the creation saw and trembled. The foundations of the earth quaked in fear of Thy power. The lights of heaven hid themselves and the veil of the temple was rent in twain, the mountains trembled and the rocks were split”. –From Stichera after the sixth Gospel in the Service of the 12 Gospels, Holy Thursday Evening Service.

“O Lord, upon the Cross Thou hast torn up the record of our sins; numbered among the departed, Thou hast bound fast the ruler of hell, delivering all men from the chains of death by Thy Resurrection. Through this Thy Resurrection, O Lord, who lovest mankind, we have been granted light, and cry to Thee: Remember us also, Saviour in Thy Kingdom”. –From Stichera after the sixth Gospel in the Service of the 12 Gospels, Holy Thursday Evening Service.

With respects to the festal title of “Elevation” or “Raising” (Ύψωσης), the reference not only highlights the raising of the Cross from the place of its 300 year burial, but is an actual reference to the original liturgical practice of the feast. On the day of the feast, a high ambon (pulpit) would be set up in the common courtyard of the churches of the Resurrection and Crucifixion, whereby the Patriarch of Jerusalem would ascend carrying the Cross and then elevating it upright within the centre of the ambon to the chanting by the multitudes of “Lord have mercy” (Κύριε ελέησον). The Cross was naturally elevated above the height of the crowd overlooking them for the duration of the liturgical services that took place outdoors. This practiced temporarily ceased when the Persians invaded Jerusalem and seized the Cross of Christ, taking it back to Persia with them.

The practice resumed when the Byzantines defeated the Persians and recovered the Cross. However for safe keeping, and with the threats of civil unrest, and invasions of the Mohammedan Arabs in the Middle East, and the Slavs on the northern frontiers, the Cross was taken to the imperial capital of Constantinople (Istanbul). When the Cross arrived for the feastday in 633AD, Ecumenical Patriarch Sergios led a procession carrying the Cross, from Blacharnes to the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia). It was inside the church, at its centre, that he ascended the ambon and raised the Cross upon it, with the multitudes chanting “Lord have mercy”, and so the service of the feast would begin. The Cross had been brought to the imperial city due to the threats posed to Jerusalem’s security, but it was not long afterwards that with the consent of the Patriarchate and people of Jerusalem, that for the safety and survival of the Holy Cross, that it was cut up into various pieces and distributed to the major centres of Christianity. Consequently, the feast became widespread throughout Christendom, as references of Pope Sergios of Rome, citing the celebration of the Exaltation of the Cross during his episcopal tenure (687-701AD).

Invariably, this feast holds immense importance within Christian history and belief, because it was both a religious feast and a day of political importance, equivalent to the status that national day celebrations are accorded within modern day political states and nations. Yet to better appreciate and understand this dual significance and the origins of the feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross, we must look at the historical context and tradition from which it springs forth.

Historical Context & Tradition

Of the many feastdays of the Orthodox Church, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is quite well documented, with fairly detailed historical and spiritual accounts of its origins and development. It is a feast which is very closely tied to immensely significant historical events and figures, so it is not surprising that it has a rich and detailed history which may not seem spiritually relevant, but are crucial to the origin and development of the feast and its meaning. One cannot attain an appreciation of this feast without learning of this context, because many of those events that are inextricably linked to the feast have created the world we live in. It is a legacy that for many, remains unknown or forgotten. And yet it is at the heart of the collective Christian psyche of historical undivided Christendom, before the existence of any “denominations” and “churches”, because it was “pre-denominational” for there was only One Christian, Holy, Apostolic and Catholic Church. In looking at this historical context and its associated tradition, there is no doubt that its presence and character within Christian devotion is closely entwined with the figures of St and Emperor Constantine the Great, and his mother St Helen.[6]

Constantine’s Discovery of the Faith of the Cross

The era in which St Constantine was born into, was a time of immense socio-political upheaval and anxiety since the assassination of Emperor Commodus in 192AD ended the Antonine dynasty. The Roman world descended into a period of virtual anarchy, whereby civil wars were fought over for the imperial succession, corruption and lawlessness became rife. This in turn led to the economy to flail with taxation, inflation and unemployment to increase exponentially. Businesses were going bankrupt, farms were abandoned, infrastructure left to decay and the population was in decline due to malnutrition, plagues and the violent class conflicts that ensued.

Naturally the empire’s defences were sorely neglected, leaving the door open to the onslaught of foreign powers or barbarian marauders to invade and seize whatever they coveted. Yet order was restored in 284AD by the successful coup of a military commander known to history as Emperor Diocletian. Diocletian was supported by St Constantine’s father, Flavius Constantius, along with commanders Maximian and Galerius. The immediate task set before Diocletian was the overhaul and reform of Roman governance, to which effect he divided the empire in two, appointing Maximian as Emperor in the west with Flavius Constantius as his deputy; while in the east he ruled, with Galerius serving as his deputy. The establishment of this tetrarchy helped resolve the issue of succession and made administering the empire more efficient and effective. Each Caesar based their capital near the frontiers, where their main attention was focused upon the empire’s defences.

St Constantine (Flavius Valerius Aurelis Constantius) though, was born during the time prior to the full restoration of order in around 272AD, when his father was still residing and serving in the army at Naissus (Nis, Serbia). From existing accounts, as well as Constantine’s own witness, his father was a Roman officer who was initially a pagan, but was well-disposed towards Christianity. It is only St Constantine who mentions that his father had become a Christian and had played a role within his spiritual formation. His mother Helena, was a Greek of humble working-class origins whose family came from Drepano of Bithynia (Asia Minor), and earnt her living as a barmaid. Yet from all accounts, we know that she was a crypto-Christian, and may have exercised a significant role in influencing her husband’s faith and disposition towards Christianity. But the crucial spiritual influence that she wielded, was upon Constantine’s own piety and spiritual formation.

However, the other key influence, and probably the beginning of Constantine’s own journey towards faith occurs around the time Diocletian requested his presence to reside with him, at his capital in Nicomedia (Iznik, Turkey) as a “guest”. Even though Constantine received further military training, went on campaign and resided in comfort at Nicomedia, the real purpose of being Diocletian’s “guest” was to ensure the loyalty of Constantine’s father, and prevent him from colluding with Maximian to undermine his own position. Yet this time was a revelation for the young Constantine in that he witnessed the ideological war of persecution that Diocletian waged against the Christians and various other religions.

This “internal war” of the empire against her own populace, was grounded in Diocletian’s belief that the due honour to the pagan deities of Greece and Rome had not been accorded, thus explaining the empire’s decline and recent experience of anarchy. In Diocletian’s mind there was no doubt, that the waning popularity and adherence to the worship of the gods, as well as to the imperial cult of an emperor’s “divine honours” were at the core of the empire’s socio-economic, moral and political decay. To Diocletian, the restoration, honour and strict adherence to these cults were essential to the empire’s regeneration and “civilising” mission. The presence of “new” or “foreign” religions and cults were to blame for this state of affairs, for they drew away the populace’s loyalty to the empire, and her religious and secular beliefs. Therefore, to refocus the attention of the populace away from these “false”, “new” and “foreign” “diversions”, the only logical conclusion was to root them out as ruthlessly as possible, with full force.

Not coincidentally, the synaxaria of the Church relate that of all the state-sponsored persecutions endured during the pagan Roman period following Christ’s ascension (about 300 years), the most sadistic, violent and brutal was that of Diocletian and Galerius. Diocletian’s own paranoia, with respects to the Christians, was magnified by the existence of a flourishing Christian community in the empire’s greatest enemy, Persia. This of itself may not have been a concern per se, if Christianity had not been so widespread within the Roman empire, constituting a sizeable minority, which archaeologists and historians estimate, made up 10% of the empire’s population. Furthermore, the Christian community was not confined to a specific ethnic, cultural or socio-economic group of Roman imperial society, for it brought together the working class with the aristocracy, the Celt with the Egyptian, the young with the old, on an equal footing. This universally unifying faith had begun to flourish and expand beyond its estimated 10% during the 92 years of Roman imperial anarchy and decay.

Thus in every city and town the crown of martyrdom became part of everyday life, with even quite a considerable number of pagans being falsely accused and martyred for being Christians, Christian sympathisers or heretical pagans. Across the provinces, churches were torn down, scriptures burnt, liturgical items and sacred relics desecrated, church properties confiscated, while Christians who refused to renounce their faith were imprisoned, tortured and executed. However, there were administrators, like Constantine’s father, who did not enforce such draconian directives, or pretended that they had enforced them, since many saw that these measures destabilised the empire further by depleting it of its limited human resources; especially of law-abiding and philanthropic citizens like the Christians, who were helping to rebuild the empire.

In any case the cities of Antioch, Alexandria and Nicomedia became the main focal points of Diocletian’s spectacle of inhumane barbarity with sham trials, public tortures and executions. Not far from these scenes of carnage and miscarriages of justice, was Constantine who was an eyewitness, and thus exposed him directly to the face of Christianity. Impressed and amazed by the resolve of the Christians to adhere to their beliefs and show unquestioning love of their fellow man, even to the point of sacrificing their lives willingly, intrigued Constantine to examine this faith of his parents and its particular worldview. Constantine’s orientation towards Christianity was strengthened in 303AD when he visited for the first time, Rome, in order to attend Diocletian’s 20 year reign celebrations. He was both bewildered and in awe of the grandeur and opulence of Rome which had ceased being a capital, but was still a thriving metropolis of 1 million inhabitants.

Despite these initial feelings, his disciplined, militaristic and provincial upbringing made him uncomfortable and disdainful of Roman habits. Constantine’s mind was too preoccupied with thoughts of the military campaigns on the empire’s frontiers and his own survival, than to indulge in the social niceties of Rome’s arrogant, landed aristocrats. A contemporary of Constantine’s time, Ammianus, provides the following description of Rome which helps in some way to explain Constantine’s disdain:

“The few houses that were formerly famed for devotion to serious pursuits now teem with the sports of sluggish indolence, re-echoing to the sound of singing and the tinkling of flutes and lyres. In short, in place of the philosopher the singer is called in, and in place of the orator the teacher of stagecraft, while the libraries are shut up forever like tombs…Of the multitude of lowest condition and greatest poverty some spend the entire night in wineshops, some lurk in the shade of the awnings of the theatres…or they quarrel with one another in their games of dice, making a disgusting sound by drawing back the breath into their resounding nostrils….The favourite among all amusements, from daylight till evening, in sunshine and in rain, they stand open-mouthed, examining minutely the good points or defects of charioteers and their horses…”

In 305AD Diocletian became ill and retired, with Galerius assuming the duties of senior emperor in the east and appointing two new deputies, (Severus and Maximian Daia). At this point, Constantine’s father, Flavius Constantius, was gravely ill, which naturally meant that Constantine’s life was in danger, since the appointment of two deputies put his own position into question. Lactantius highlighted the urgent need for Constantine to rejoin his father at his court in Trier (Germany) when he described the events surrounding Constantine’s departure:

“…seriously ill, Constantius had written to Galerius asking him to send his son Constantine back for him to see, as he had not seen him in a long time. There was nothing Galerius was less keen to do. Although he did not dare take any action against Constantine, in case this stirred up civil war against himself and – what he feared most – made him unpopular with the troops, he had already made several covert attacks on the young man, exposing him under the pretext of exercise and sport to wild beasts…”

We have another citation which noted that Constantine decided to escape, “when Galerius was resting after dinner, he made a hurried departure and sped on his way, getting rid of the horses of the public post at the many staging points he passed”. In any case Constantine learnt of his father’s location, and joined him to cross the English Channel to fight against Pictish invaders of Roman Britain. But as Flavius Constantius began to succumb further to ill health on campaign north of Hadrian’s Wall, both he and Constantine had to return to his base in Eboracum (York) in 306AD, where before the military garrison he proclaimed his son Constantine as his successor.

Galerius, had been entrusted with power in the east by his father-in-law, the retired Diocletian, but he was not in a position to refuse recognition of Constantine’s succession, especially given that the other western Caesar, Maximian, had accepted Constantine as co-Caesar, and was also his father-in-law. Yet this arrangement was tenuous, especially for Constantine due to the ongoing internal political manoeuvrings of the tetrarchy and the campaigns on the empire’s frontiers. In time the tetrarchy began to unravel as seven claimants over the imperial throne vied with each other for power and hegemony. Maximian’s son (Constantine’s brother-in-law), the cruel tyrant, Maxentius (ca. 279-312AD) who was hated by Christians and Pagans alike, seized power from his father and usurped the government of Italy and North Africa. At the time, Constantine was already on campaign in Gaul when these turn of events happened, but the people from the provinces under Maxentius rule appealed to Constantine for deliverance from Maxentius’ tyranny. Given this plea for help and the threat posed by Maxentius to his own survival, Constantine mustered a multiethnic army of 98,000 soldiers and fought his way through Gaul and marched across the Alps, despite knowing that Maxentius had greater supplies of financing, resources and soldiers at his command to attack him.

According to his own testimony, Constantine had been praying to the true living God whom the Christians worshipped. He duly noted that he had already begun his journey of conversion towards Christianity years before this expedition of liberation, but it was during this time when engaged in private prayer, where he (Constantine) prayed to God for deliverance and victory, beseeching God for a sign. Subsequently, it was one particular day where the twilight shone prior to the descent of the darkness of night, that Constantine was praying, when together with his men, they ceased their activities to behold a vision of a shining Cross in the heavens above the setting sun, with the inscriptions: “By this Conquer” (also translated as “In this Sign your will Conquer”).

According to Nikephoros and Zonaras, this inscription was in Latin, possibly “Hoc signo vinces”, but has survived in historical accounts to our own time by its Greek form: “έν τούτο νικά”. This vision was succeeded by the following night when Constantine slept and beheld a vision of Christ who directed him to affix the sign of the Cross upon his battle standards, and commanded to advance against Maxentius with immediate haste. In response, Constantine awoke and gave order that all battle standards and shields be affixed with the sign of the Cross with the Greek monogram of the first two letters of the name of Christ, “X” (Chi) and “P” (Rho).

Not long afterwards, Constantine engaged and defeated Maxentius’ well-equipped and numerically superior forces in three pitched battles. By the 27^th October 312AD he had reached the Tiber River at a point some 3km north of Rome, facing once again a numerically superior force that stretched all the way back to Rome itself. The populace of Rome rioted against Maxentius, because they were not keen on the idea of being besieged within the city. Yet Maxentius quelled the riots, but was hesitant in taking a stand against Constantine from within the city due to a lack of public favour. Providentially, the false prophets whom Maxentius consulted, had advised him to make his stand outside the walls of Rome, assuring him of victory instead of fortifying defences from within, which would have made his position unassailable.

Yet it was outside Rome, at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge on the 28^th October 312AD that Maxentius was defeated once and for all, and meeting his final demise during that battle by drowning in the Tiber. This resounding victory ensured Constantine’s survival and confirmed him as the sole ruler of the West Roman empire to the joy of Christians and Pagans alike who had chaffed under Maxentius’ tyranny.

Some years later, when speaking to the ecclesial historian Eusebius of Caesarea, Constantine related one particular point about the battle of the Milvian Bridge. He noted that none of the standard-bearers were killed as opposed to other military campaigns he had led previously. He also expressed his thorough conviction that it was by the power of God and the sign of His life-giving Cross replacing the Roman eagle which granted victory. Constantine highlighted this point in noting that his entry into Rome was marked by the Roman custom of raising a statue of himself within the forum, but holding the standard of Christ in his right hand which broke with this Roman tradition.

In returning to our discourse, Constantine had set about re-establishing order within the West, and had ensured harmony with the East via the marriage of his step-sister Constantia to one of Galerius’ closest confidants, Licinius who governed Illyria. In January 313AD at the city of Milan both he and Licinius agreed to pass an edict of religious toleration, granting full freedom to all forms of worship, with special reference and honour towards Christianity. As a result of this, Constantine began within his realms the process of reconciliation, restitution and compensation of damages and injustices endured by the Christian populace and their church communities. Ruined churches were rebuilt, properties seized by the state returned and civil rights restored.

From this point onwards within the Church and world history, we begin to witness continual reverential references made towards Christianity and the Church by Constantine within his imperial directives and decrees. It is also at this point we begin to witness the Christian Church slowly emerge from the underground (like a seed of wheat within a field) to blossom forth out in the open after 300 years of persecution and discrimination.

Unfortunately that emergence was not to be an easy or straightforward process, as Licinius would betray some of the key principles of the edict of toleration and conspire with one of Constantine’s sons to dethrone and murder him. Licinius made himself the figurehead and leader of the pagans who opposed the very existence, let alone the legitimate acceptance or endorsement of Christians within Roman society. Various battles and peace treaties were concluded between Constantine and Licinius, but Constantine knew that like a chess match, he would have to discern and pre-empt any moves made by Licinius. It was due to his faith in God and the presence of his step-sister that Constantine showed mercy and sought peace with Licinius. But given the tenuous socio-political problems of that era, peace and stability alluded the empire. Constantine’s own accounts of his rise to power testify to the difficulties of this era: “My father revered the Christian God and uniformly prospered, while the emperors who worshipped the heathen gods died miserable deaths”.

Yet, it was Licinius who had more resources and numerically superior forces under his authority, but was defeated every time by the seasoned and battle-hardened Constantine. The final conclusion within these series of events and final triumph of Christian freedom over those pagans who sought to return them to the torments of the last 300 years, came with two crucial battles in 324AD. The first was at Adrianople (Edirne) in July, which was the largest land battle of the fourth century where the more numerous and well-supplied forces of Licinius were routed by Constantine. Licinius fled with the remainder of his forces and encamped within  the besieged city of Byzantium until September, when he sought to break through the gauntlet on land and sea.

Despite commanding larger naval and land forces he was blockaded and defeated by Constantine’s navy, while on land his army was defeated, and he and Constantine’s conspiring son were prosecuted and put to the sword some 3 weeks later. Constantine incurred much criticism for his action, but within the empire there was a sense that finally some sort of real semblance of order and peace was established, and that the dawn of a new era had begun. To many pagans, it showed that they had been wrong in their estimations of Christianity and that it was a sign of the triumph of the Cross over the deities to which the people had already turned away from or were indifferent to. Their curiosity to learn and investigate this unique religion was encouraged by Constantine, who had issued a public announcement to all his subjects that they may embrace Christianity of their own free-will without any hindrance or danger.

Constantinian Imperial Vision & the Commission of St Helen

All over the empire, Constantine commissioned many public works to restore the economy and the well-being of the people. Yet in the process, Constantine sought to remake the image and culture of Rome, his particular emphasis on this point was due to his provincial and militaristic disdain of Rome’s socio-ethical decay and the idle and indolent manner of her inhabitants. He envisaged a New Rome which would rival the Old Rome and contrast against its values and outlook by its Christian foundation. The city that he would rename “New Rome” was the strategically located city of Byzantium where he had finally defeated Licinius, and could use as an effective administrative centre, and military-naval base for future campaigns. He later renamed this city after himself (Constantinople) because he wanted in every way that the vision he held for this “model” city to which the rest of the empire would turn to and find inspiration, would become and remain part of him.

Despite his sober militaristic upbringing, we see within Constantine a characteristic of our own human being, which is the obsession of an ideal that becomes so entwined with ourselves it becomes difficult to disengage. From all over the empire people, craftsmen, technicians of every sort and resources poured into Constantinople for its redevelopment and expansion. Churches were built there and all over the empire, as a grateful emperor made his thanksgiving offerings to God who had bestowed a future upon him and the people.

Unfortunately the stability of the Christian Faith was challenged by the heresy of Arianism. Ever the pragmatist who understood that the Church operated upon synodical structures, and inspired by the Spirit, Constantine gathered together as many Church leaders as possible and convoked the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325AD. This council discerned and articulated what was the true belief of Christianity that the Apostles had preached and was practiced ever since. It set down the first foundations on which Arianism would be refuted by, and Constantine felt that the matter had been resolved once and for all.

However, as we know from history, Arianism did not disappear and that St Constantine had been overly optimistic. Yet in that optimism he built two great basilican churches in Constantinople, the first dedicated to the Holy Peace of God (Αγία Ειρήνη) and that of the Holy Apostles. In 326AD he then turned his attention to that most important task that his mother and many Christians had desired for some 300 years, the building and dedication of the holy shrines of worship upon the places of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection.

His own mother who reigned with him as “augusta” (co-ruler) at the age of 79, was not attracted by this honour of fanfare, but desired to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to offer her prayers and visit the Holy Sites. According to Socrates Scholasticus (ca. 380-450AD) this desire had been inspired by many dreams which divinely directed her to go to Jerusalem and fulfil this pious wish with the blessing of God. Eusebius of Caesarea affirmed this point, to which he added that Helen wished to make prayerful petition and thanksgiving for God’s blessing upon her son and grandchildren, asking particularly for the protection and blessing for Constantine. Yet it was also to journey to eastern lands to learn of the customs and cultures of the people who inhabited them. St Ambrose of Milan also noted that it was Helen’s continual prayerful appeal to God that in whatever task she or Constantine would undertake, would first be offered to God’s discernment, especially Constantine to receive divine favour in battle and be delivered safely and without fear of danger.

Who else would be better for Constantine to appoint, to head the fact-finding mission of the Holy Sites of Palestine and overseer any subsequent building works? St Helen’s fervent prayers to God to bless and approve all her undertakings or her desire to make the pilgrimage, naturally made her the appropriate candidate who would ensure that Constantine’s commission would proceed in a proper, dignified and God-pleasing manner. This was particularly important, given that the task was not going to be an easy one, since many battles had ravaged Jerusalem, which had been replaced by a new city named Aelia, that the Romans had built some generations previously. Even the journey to the Holy Land was marked with its own drama, for when she departed from Drepano (Bithynia) on the Asiatic shore of the Marmara Sea, the ship was assailed by storms and difficulties all the way to Palestine. Yet the aged augusta remained resolute for her life-time’s desire and pious wish was finally coming to fruition.

Upon her arrival at Jerusalem she had to seek out the site of Golgotha and the Resurrection, which according to Roman chroniclers had been concealed by being buried under earth that had been brought by pagans, and on which various emperors had deliberately built pagan temples and statues upon, so as to deny Christians access to these Holy Places. Sozomen even mentions the construction of retaining walls to hold the earth in place and other walls to enclose the area, while the pagan temple was dedicated to Aphrodite, so that Christians who would go to reverence the Holy Place would appear to be venerating Aphrodite and accepting some of the immoral rites that took place there. Even when Jerusalem was destroyed and rebuilt by the Romans, Golgotha and the place of the Resurrection was still used as a site for the disposal of the city’s rubbish.

St Jerome also noted that the Emperor Hadrian had deliberately sought to offend Christians and profane these sites by having idols raised all over them with a giant statue dedicated to Venus (Aphrodite) upon Golgotha, while at the Resurrection he raised a giant statue of Jupiter (Zeus).[7] St Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, explained the reason of Hadrian’s intent was to deny Christians access to the sites most sacred to them, profane those sites, but most importantly as he saw it, to destroy the root and foundation of the Church by the cult of the idols. In a sense to invoke the power of the pagan deities to destroy and overcome the presence of Christ in these places sacred to His Incarnational ministry.

Of course St Helen was armed with some basic information about these efforts to conceal and profane the sacred sites of Christianity, and had secured imperial approval and funding in order to remove these pagan places of worship and construct churches in these locations. The most difficult of all locations to discern, were those sites within Jerusalem. On this, St Helen had only two key sources of information to rely upon. The first was that of local knowledge and Christian pilgrimage practices. The difficulty with this source, was the lack of reliable informants who could be found; since the passing of many years and the formation of innumerable superstitions and embellished folkloric stories, had removed all dependable recollections or interest in religious awareness or observance.

Thus, St Helen could only take with fistfuls of truth, what local knowledge had preserved. The other source of information on which she could turn to, was that of physical evidence in the form of archaeology or documentation, particularly town plans, civil engineering reports or military maps. Naturally within this search, and always engaged within prayer, St Helen especially sought out the learned from all religious and cultural backgrounds, particularly with respects to the sites of Golgotha and the Resurrection. Yet God in His infinite providence, secured for St Helen the help of a certain Jew named Judah, who had reliably preserved the ancient legacy of the site of the Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, and who pointed out the east side of the burial cave of Christ.

According to Sozomen, Judah dwelt in the East and had derived his information from documents that he had received via paternal inheritance. The other person who could be relied upon was Bishop Macarios of Jerusalem,[8] who had previously taken St Helen upon a tour of Jerusalem’s shrines and the area asserted to being Golgotha. It was he who insisted that St Helen and her entourage, along with Judah and his knowledge, to proceed to the place of Golgotha, where he conducted a prayer service. At the conclusion of the service, as St Paulinus remarks, St Helen’s resolve had been strengthened and undoubtedly under the impulse of revelation she experienced during that blessed service, that she ordered digging operations should commence on that very site. St Ambrose of Milan relates to us the words spoken by St Helen at this very moment, in her inspired search for the Cross:

“Behold the place of combat: where is thy victory? I seek the banner of salvation and I do not find it. Shall I, be among kings, and the Cross lie in the dust? Shall I be covered by golden ornaments, and the triumph of Christ by ruins? Is this still hidden, and is the palm of eternal life hidden? How can I believe that I have been redeemed if the redemption itself is not seen? I see what thou didst, O devil, that the sword by which thou wast destroyed might be obstructed. But Isaac cleared out the wells stopped up by foreigners, and did not permit the water to lie concealed[9]. So let the ruins be removed, that life may appear; let the sword by which the head of the real Goliath was cut off be drawn forth; let the earth be opened, that salvation may shine out. Why didst thou labour to hide the wood, O devil, except to be vanquished a second time? Thou wast vanquished by Mary, who gave the Conqueror birth. Without any impairment of her virginity, she brought Him forth to conquer thee by His crucifixion and to subjugate thee by His death. Today, also, thou shalt be vanquished when a woman discovers thy snares. That holy Woman bore the Lord; I shall search for His Cross. She gave proof that He was born; I shall give proof that He rose from the dead. She caused God to be seen among men; I shall raise from ruins the divine banner which shall be a remedy for our sins”.

Thus soldiers and civilians were recruited for the task, and we are told by some anecdotal accounts, that digging operations proceeded quickly because those who were excavating kept on discovering gold and silver coins in the earth that gave them incentive to dig further, but apparently were dispersed by St Helen when the workers were not looking! In any case, after weeks of excavations, in a lonely and abandoned area nearby, littered with disposed stonework from construction conducted in Hadrian’s time, there grew a strange and unidentified plant. St Helen noticed this unusual plant which was the only thing growing within the vicinity and appeared to grow nowhere else. Her curiosity was intrigued by this rare unidentified plant, and enlightened by God, gave commands for it to be dug up, preserved and propagated. The plant in question, was named “Vasilikos” (Basil), which means “royalty” because it was found on the site of the true King of Kings, the Crucifixion of the Messiah. This plant is the herb colloquially known to us as “Greek Basil” because since that day some 1,600 years ago, “basil” has been the official flower of the Orthodox Christian Church[10]. In any case, Orthodox priests use basil (whenever it is available) to bless homes or during church services where the blessing of the waters (aghiasmos) takes place.

In returning to St Helen, after the basil was removed, she gave instructions that on the same spot, excavations should commence. Within the various synaxaria accounts of this feastday, they all make mention that as the diggers went deeper into the earth, they began to detect a fragrant scent emitting from underground, which became stronger and overwhelming the deeper they went. According to some anecdotes, there were workers who could not handle the ever-strengthening sweet fragrance and sought to abandon their task, but St Helen directed them to redouble their efforts and continue.

Finally, the workers came to a point where they found a cavity and opened it up, where they discovered three crosses, a placard and nails. This is what St Helen expected, through deep excavations because it was the custom in earlier times, to bury the implements of torture close to the site of suffering; and given the controversy surrounding Christ’s ministry and crucifixion, concerted effort would have been made (as it was) to bury these implements that testified to Christ’s existence and unjust crucifixion, to which 300 years of successive generations of anti-Christian Jews and Pagans would add further to burying these items.

Nonetheless, they were rediscovered in spite of these efforts, but the problem arose as to which of the three crosses was that of Christ, since the placard with its inscription had been removed from the Cross. The three crosses were virtually indistinct from one another, even though the placard attested to the fact that one of the crosses was Christ’s. Thus, the thanksgiving that St Helen and the faithful who had gone to observe amongst the crowds watching excavation works, turned to concern and fear. Because St Helen and the faithful who had doubts in their own ability to discern which cross was Christ’s, and they feared that they might accidently choose the wrong crucifix, and hence offend God, or discard the genuine article in place of one of the crucifixes of the thieves.

Agitated by the devotion of her heart, the elderly St Helen offered fervent prayers and descended into the pit, clearing away the dust from the three crosses. Inspired by the Lord, she recalled to memory the Scriptural account of Christ’s Passion, and that the middle beam should be that of Christ’s, since the thieves were crucified either side of Him. Yet she pondered that the debris which had buried the crosses could have easily mixed them up. She used her sound reasoning to examine the crosses carefully to see where the placard had been nailed into, as well as any other tell-tale sign that might reveal the identity of the true Cross.

Providentially, while the crowd were distracted by St Helen’s examination, St Macarios observed the presence of a funeral procession that was taking place nearby and brought it to St Helen’s attention. She gave command that the deceased man, to the chagrin of the mourners, be brought to the excavation site, so that by a possible miracle, God would reveal to all present which was the true Cross. The corpse was taken off its bier and placed on the first and then the second cross, but as Sulpitius Severus relates, “death spurned the wood which had supported the guilty”. Finally the corpse was placed upon the third cross, and death was shaken off, as the Lord’s Cross was revealed by a resurrection before a great crowd. The crowd of the living began to tremble before this sight, while the dead man stood up and began screaming praises to God.

Judah who was one of the onlookers present at this miracle, and beholding this great sign of God, requested St Macarios to baptise him, and so he received the name Kyriakos (meaning “of the Lord’s”). History remembers St Kyriakos as the successor of Bishop Macarios as Patriarch of Jerusalem, and who together with his mother Anna, suffered and was martyred in the reign of Julian the Apostate, and is commemorated by the Church on the 28^th October.

Yet our blessed father amongst the Saints, Bishop Macarios, sought to affirm the identity and veracity of the Lord’s Cross further. Within Jerusalem, there was a well-known case of a certain lady of considerable rank, who was afflicted by an incurable disease that had brought her to the point of death. St Macarios had convinced St Helen to issue an order to bring the bed-ridden woman to the site of Golgotha so that she may receive healing and confirm the identity of the Cross which raised the dead man to life, as the Cross of Christ. The invalid woman was brought upon her bed to the site of Golgotha, where Bishop Macarios signified by signs to the onlookers his intentions to confirm the identity of the Cross via healing the woman of her disease. He approached the bed-ridden woman in turn with each of the crosses. When the two crosses that they asserted belonged to the thieves came in contact with the dying woman, it seemed both folly and mockery to her, that she would be healed by some old wooden planks of torture. Yet when St Macarios brought the Cross, that raised the dead man to life, into contact with the dying woman, she suddenly opened wide her eyes, regained her strength and arose from her bed in complete health.

The crowd of onlookers had grown immensely, as virtually all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the nearby villages had emptied and poured into the area around Golgotha. The Christians of the region who were within the crowd kept on pressing closer to see the holy wood and seeking to get close to St Helen and beseech her for a piece of the Cross. Seeing the restlessness of the thronging crowd, St Helen became concerned, since out of unrestrained zeal, the crowd might seize the Cross and even cut it up. She posted more soldiers to guard the Cross to prevent people from breaking off pieces for distribution. The crowds implored St Helen, that if they were not permitted to take a piece of the Cross, then they should be afforded the blessing to behold it. Orders were given to construct a high ambon (pulpit) which Bishop Macarios ascended taking hold of the precious Cross, and raised it aloft in all four directions, just as priests do today. When the people beheld the Cross raised on high, they wept and cried aloud, and with a great unified voice proclaimed “Lord have mercy”. This was the first Exaltation of the Lord’s Cross in 326AD (the year believed to be the date of the Crucifix’s discovery).

Naturally St Helen sought to place the Cross in worthier surroundings by the foundation of a basilican church on the site of the Passion. She named the basilica “New Jerusalem” and designed it to have a gleaming gilded ceiling, rich golden altars and a hidden sanctuary for where the Cross was kept and preserved. The Cross was only taken out on the feasts of the Exaltation, Holy Friday and Pascha, and it would be carried by the local bishop leading a procession of the faithful. At all other times, the Cross remained within the hidden sanctuary, unless with the dispensation of the local bishop who allowed pilgrims from far off lands to venerate the Cross. And it was he, by his generosity who would allow a shaving or splinter from the Cross to be bestowed upon the pilgrims, thus inspiring St Cyril of Jerusalem’s comment to cite, “…the whole world has since been filled with pieces of the wood of the Cross”. To which St Paulinus notes has “…lent its wood to countless, almost daily, prayers of the people. Yet it suffers no diminution”.

In any case, to inform her son of the great discovery of the Cross of Christ, St Helen commanded that bonfires were to be lit on hill and mountain tops from Jerusalem all the way to Constantinople. The epilogue to Constantine’s commission and St Helen’s execution of that directive was that she remained in Palestine for 2 years, travelling its length and breadth while overseeing the construction of churches upon the various sites sacred to Christianity. After this, St Helen travelled across the East to bestow benefactions upon Christian communities and churches there, in addition to extending much charity to people in need whether poor, hungry, naked or paid for the freedom of those in servitude. It is said that by her philanthropic ministry and example, many people were inspired to follow a higher calling in life or to even seek baptism.

Yet, it is one act of hers, which has become a sign, symbol and practice even within our own times that marks the kingship of Christian nations. It is said that after encasing one of the nails from Christ’s Cross as a holy relic to be used in devotion, she melted another nail to make an imperial diadem which became the crown of Byzantine emperors. It was thus a symbol of kingship that became necessary for imperial succession, just as the stone of scone is important for the crowning and succession of a Scottish monarch, or the throne of Edward the Confessor for an English monarch. Yet the design of St Helen’s diadem was shaped like a hill that was surmounted by a crucifix. The symbolism of course representing the hill of Golgotha, and the Cross being that of Christ’s, under whose sign Christian monarchs exercise authority and under whose sign they are bound to serve the nation and its people.

The Original Crusade – Emperor Heraclius fights the Persians

The other key event to which the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is connected with, occurs some centuries afterwards, with the murder of Emperor Maurice by the tyrannical usurper, Phocas. Now Phocas, as is well documented by chroniclers and historiographers, could easily be characterised as the “Hitler” or “Stalin” of the Byzantine Empire, whose trademark of violence and brutality encompassed every aspect of his reign. No one was immune or safe from the full force of his tyrannical authority both within and beyond the empire. His systematic “purges” of the population, his ineptitude in managing the empire’s finances and squandering its resources caused widespread poverty to which he then added the burden of excessive increases in taxation.

Phocas of course sought to coerce the Church to comply with and bless his “directives”, but many within the Church’s ministry stubbornly resisted, to which torture, imprisonment and death was meted out to them. Yet the murderous reign of Phocas (602-610AD) set in motion a chain of events to which the empire had to face. The first was the invasion and settlement of the Slavs into the Balkans, and the invasions of the Avars. The other, was far deadlier, which was war with the other great “super-power” of that era, Sassanian Persia. The cause of that war stemmed from the fact that Emperor Maurice had sheltered and mentored Chosroes II (Khozroes) like a foster father, and had provided him the means to retake the Persian throne. Naturally, Chosroes was a close ally of Maurice, to whom he held in great esteem and love, and with whom he concluded a series of peace treaties.

Yet as Persian chroniclers cite, Chosroes was a tyrant much like his Byzantine counterpart Phocas, and so when he learnt of the murder of Maurice he seethed with an inflamed thirst for revenge. But which gave way to his brazen self-serving opportunism to break Persian treaties with Byzantium, and seize whatever he could, since Phocas had weakened the Byzantine realm. Thus the Persians declare war and won many battles against the disoriented, disorganised and weakened Byzantine armies. The Quranic Surah (30) entitled “Al-Roum” (translated as “The Romans” or “The Greeks”[11]) makes specific reference to this titanic struggle and the shockwaves caused by the Persian victories: “The Romans have been defeated. In the nearest land (Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Palestine), and they, after their defeat, will be victorious. Within 3 to 9 years. The decision of the matter, before and after (these events) is only with Allah, (before the defeat of the Romans by the Persians, and after the defeat of the Persians by the Romans) And on that Day, the believers (Muslims) will rejoice (at the victory given by Allah to the Romans against the Persians)…” – Surah 30, Ayats[12] 2-4.

In any case, the ensuing chaos in the aftermath of these defeats, saw the Persians seize Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Egypt. Times were difficult given that the Monophysite controversy had been raging since the time of Justinian, the plague had wiped out one third of the population, recession, high taxation and the earlier wars with Persia had pushed people to breaking point. In spite of this the Persians exacted tribute out of these newly conquered people, plundering what little they had, and desecrating many Christian Holy Sites, often stealing precious relics and liturgical items. Of particular importance, was the seizure of Patriarch Zacharias of Jerusalem[13] and the Holy Cross, as a means to humiliate Christendom and taunting the Byzantines; even threatening to destroy all that they had acquired (including the Cross, which they later tried to ransom) if any steps were taken against Persia. However for the Persians, the outcome of carrying off the Cross to Persia witnessed the Church of Persia to grow in leaps and bounds with an ever-increasing number of Persians seeking to learn about and even become Christians. Rather than humiliating the Christians, the Persian civil authorities and the priestly caste realised their folly and were compelled to take drastic actions against a grassroots movement that threatened to engulf Persia and turn it into a Christian nation.

During this period of Byzantine setbacks, the military commander Heraclius, with the aid of the army, deposed Phocas and was crowned Emperor on October the 5^th, 610AD. Heraclius had the unenviable task of setting about re-establishing law and order, while fending off the Slavic and Avar incursions into the empire. However, he also knew that he needed to have a “reckoning” with the Persians, to liberate those peoples subject to Chosroes’ tyrannical rule and persecution. And most importantly to secure the return of peoples and sacred items, especially the Holy Cross, to their places of origin. The memories of the fall and destruction of Damascus in 613AD, followed by the fall of Jerusalem in 614AD, weighed immensely upon Heraclius’ conscience. Jerusalem’s demise was particularly a bitter memory, since the city’s inhabitants rose up against and killed the entire occupying Persian garrison. To which Chosroes despatched another garrison to occupy Jerusalem and slaughter 90,000 of the city’s inhabitants, only sparing the city’s Jews who according to Persian, Byzantine, Arab and Jewish chroniclers had aided the Persians in their conquest. The seizure of Patriarch Zacharias and the Holy Cross crowned this most painful event, reemphasising the need for Heraclius to reckon with the Persians, who had begun forming alliances with the invading Slavs and Avars.

In the meantime, the Holy Synod of Jerusalem had to elect a caretaker Patriarch in the absence of St Zacharias, who could help restore Church life and rebuild the many shrines and churches damaged or destroyed by the Persian invaders. The man selected for the task was the holy Modestos II whose memory is commemorated by the Church on 16^th December. St Modestos set about his task of restoration immediately, giving particular priority to rebuilding the ruined Church of the Resurrection that the Persians had ransacked. He also initiated and facilitated the return of the local Christians back to their homes who had been driven away or taken hostage. From surviving accounts we are told that St Modestos paid the ransom for many of the hostages or secured their release through tact and diplomacy. He went about giving comfort to those who had been traumatised by the recent events and to the afflicted he gave strength and courage. He secured the bodies of the holy fathers of St Savvas Monastery, who had been slain by the Persian raiders, and gave them an honoured and fitting funeral and burial.

This and many more things the blessed St Modestos did as part of his ministry to rebuild and maintain the stability of Church life; especially given that Chosroes had enacted a series of prejudicial laws and directives for the systematic purging of Christians in Persia and in all the newly conquered territories. From Palestine to Persia, from Egypt to Syria, the Church witnessed another era of martyrdom. As for Heraclius who had been waging war against the Slavs and the Avars, he had been making preparations for war against Persia while fending them off from invading Asia Minor and linking up with the Slavs and the Avars. After eight years of going backwards and forwards from one front to another, he was ready to take the field against Chosroes. He waged six campaigns from 622 to 627AD, inflicted devastating defeats upon the Persians and annihilating their armies. It was as one Persian contemporary put it, “the beginning of the end”.

Yet Chosroes and his generals had only one hope to fend off and put Heraclius on the defensive, by circumventing Byzantine forces and invade Asia Minor. Their objective was to besiege Constantinople and meet up with the armies of the Avars to eliminate Byzantium once and for all. Despite being a gamble, the strategy had sound merit because Chosroes knew that Heraclius was sacrificing the battlefront against the Slavic and Avar invaders by drawing men and resources to fight Persia. This stratagem was put into action in 626AD, where Chosroes’ armies had reached the Bosphoros shore opposite Constantinople and threatened to succeed in linking up with the Avars who were encamped to the City’s north on the Thracian shore. By the grace of God and the ability of Heraclius, who had to retreat to defend his capital, he fought them all off and defeated them.

Heraclius then began the final march towards Persia, that would be the fatal deathblow to Chosroes (and in hindsight we can also say, Pre-Islamic Iran). On the 1^st February 628AD, Heraclius finally besieged and occupied Dastargerd (Dastagird) which was Chosroes’ favourite imperial residence; and from which he made a hasty retreat, but all in vain for prior to the conclusion of March, Chosroes was killed by his own son, Kawad Sheroe (Siroes), who negotiated peace with Heraclius. As part of the peace agreement, the Persians surrendered all their conquered territories and captives, as well as the return of all looted treasures and sacred items, including the Holy Cross. Heraclius returned to his capital in great triumph and public accolade, but as onlookers observed (and noted in Synaxaria accounts also), that the pressures and military campaigns since his ascent to the throne, had taken their toll, for he was a man in his mid-fifties but appeared older, worn out and ill.

The thanksgiving service that was held in Constantinople, presided over by Ecumenical Patriarch Sergios, which began as a procession from Blachernes to Hagia Sophia where Matins, and the service of the Elevation of the Cross took place. And in imitating the liturgical custom of Jerusalem, Patriarch Sergios ascended an ambon that had been set up in the centre of Hagia Sophia, and raised the Cross at the four points of the compass, while the choir chanted “Lord have mercy”.[14] The Cross remained in Constantinople till arrangements could be made for its safe return to Jerusalem. Then, on March 21, 630 AD, Heraclius left with his wife Martina for Jerusalem. Upon their entrance into the Holy City, there was much joy, hardly anyone could chant from the great emotion. Heraclius himself was carrying the Cross on his back when, suddenly he could not take another step. Patriarch Zacharias then beheld an angel directing Heraclius to remove his imperial robes and to walk barefoot bearing the Cross. Disclosing the vision to Heraclius, the emperor straightway stripped his raiment and donned poor clothing. Heraclius then restored the Holy Cross to Golgotha, to the joy and consolation of all Christendom, and returned all the church objects, each to its place. He then distributed gifts to all the churches and to the inhabitants of the Holy City.

Thus, that same year when the actual feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross took place, the feast had acquired greater meaning to the people of the Holy Land and all of Christendom. The feast’s dual religious and political character and importance had finally been cemented, and in laymen’s terms became Byzantium’s own “National Day”. And by extension, the feast is also the national day of all Orthodox Christian nations and empires. But it is also a reminder to Christians everywhere, that all of humanity is dependent upon and beneficiaries of Christ’s selfless ministry of salvation. This significance became ever manifest, not too long after the restoration of the Cross in Jerusalem, because as Heraclius and Chosroes fought each other in 626AD, they had both received letters from the Quraysh Arab, Mohammed of Mecca, who had invited them to adopt his newly founded religion of Islam.

Naturally the two kings and their peoples, did not take much notice of this merchant who the Meccans and Arab poets had branded as a “deceitful and deranged coward whose followers attacked defenceless and unarmed communities and caravans in the dark of night”, because they and their nations were too preoccupied by war. Yet the deprivations of the past century had wrought their effects upon Byzantium and Persia, from plague, war, barbarian invasions, religious controversies and economic depression which had stretched the limits of endurance of both empires. And it now afforded the followers of Mohammed, who had defeated the Meccans via hit and run raids, to look beyond Arabia for conquest, loot and the imposition of their imperialistic ideology of apartheid for: “Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (Mohammed) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah tax[15] with willing submission, and feel themselves humiliated”, – Surah 9 (A-Taubah) Ayat 29.

Epilogue to Heraclius’ Campaigns

Numerous historiographers tend to agree, that the year 629AD, when the Mohammedan Arabs begin their “war” of conquest and against “unbelief” beyond Arabia by raiding the Ghassanids of Jordan who were a client kingdom of Byzantium, and that 629AD and the following 30-40 year period, was the only historical opportunity to which the semi-nomadic Arabs could possibly succeed in conquering settled, advanced civilisations. Their use of genocide, terror tactics and piratical raids against unarmed and innocent civilians, as they had employed in Arabia, sanctioned by the Mohammedan protocols of war, caused many people to flee and take refuge in major walled cities for protection, while many of those war-weary cities opened their doors to avoid additional bloodshed. The city of Damascus, after a long siege, opened its doors to the invader in 635AD, by order of the local military commander (who subsequently, was the grandfather of St John of Damascus).

By this time Heraclius had removed the Cross from Jerusalem and taken it to Constantinople for safekeeping, but with the fall of Damascus he was prompted to consult the people and the Patriarch of Jerusalem to consider the cutting of the Holy Cross into segments, and its distribution throughout the world to ensure its survival. With a heavy heart, the people and the Patriarch of Jerusalem took the fateful decision to agree to Heraclius’ proposal, and so they received back a piece of their beloved Cross. As difficult as the decision may have been, it proved to be providential, because in 637AD Jerusalem fell to the Mohammedans; and so the feast of the Exaltation and Elevation of the Holy Cross became a more mainstream ecclesial feast within Christendom, since Christians gained pieces of the Holy Cross and learnt about the fall of Jerusalem, and so they endeavoured to preserve and perpetuate the feast. It thus served as a reminder to Christians, no matter where they dwelt, that there is no permanent human order or authority that endures forever or is immune to corruption, decay and destruction. The only thing that is permanent, was and is God, and His infinite, firm, but merciful love.

As for the figure of Heraclius, his wars against the Persians, as well as his careful diplomacy had been able to cultivate a sense of solidarity and begin the process of reconciliation amongst Christians who were bitterly divided into two factions over the dogmas of Christology, namely the personhood and natures of Christ. The Church was evenly divided between the two factions, those who were advocates of the Christology of the 4^th Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451AD), and the 5^th Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (553AD), and those who were opposed to either council. It is here we should mention that Church synods such as those of the Ecumenical Councils, did not “innovate” or “develop” “new ideas of theology” as quite a number of foolhardy or ignorant scholars like to assert. Their purpose was to discern and articulate what was the Christian Faith and teaching, especially on dogmatic matters of deep theology. They cross-referenced their examinations slowly and carefully against the witness of Scripture, Apostolic Tradition and inheritance, liturgical practice, patristic teaching or commentary and so forth. They utilised all these approaches to ensure that they were not erring or diverging away from what Christ taught.

With specific reference, the 4^th Ecumenical Council condemned the teaching of Monophysitism, which asserted that Christ had one nature, that is divine, which “subsumed” or “absorbed” Christ’s human nature. The 5^th Ecumenical Council on the other hand, dealt with Monothelitism, which was the assertion that Christ had both a human and divine nature, but had one overriding divine will that commanded both natures. From a theological perspective, these two councils had articulated the Christian belief of the Undivided Church and helped resolve the “Christological issues” that people were arguing over, and by which both sides could agree to. However, as is usual with the imperfections of human character, ignorance and the “kinks” of historical circumstances, the opponents denied the validity of these councils. The opponents questioned their “ecumenical” character because of the manner in which they were convened, along with ignoring or being misinformed of its proclaimed dogmas. As for the adherents of the two Ecumenical Councils in question, they branded and denounced the opponents for not heeding the conclusions drawn from the councils, rather than adopting a firm but conciliatory stance. Unfortunately both sides, against the teachings and beliefs of the Church, turned to political and military means to resolve their differences, to which the Mohammedans exploited to great effect, and justified their conquests.

Probably the most shocking and calamitous of these “resolutions”, was without doubt the opening of Egypt to the new barbarian invader. Egypt, the empire’s granary and one of its main centres of monastic spirituality became the centre stage for the Christological disputes. The country was evenly divided between those who were advocates of the Chalcedonian view, and those who opposed it. Historiographers highlight that what added weight to the problem, was that many of the deliberations of the 4^th Ecumenical Council had not become widely circulated or translated as yet, thus compounding the existing problem. We also know that the Church leadership of Egypt was Greek speaking on both sides of the “theological divide”, and it was not a case of “imperialistic Greeks” lording it over the native Egyptians as some claim. The difference amongst them lay squarely upon their knowledge and use of Greek,[16] for many utilised the language of the Alexandrine schools of philosophical and theological discourse, which differed from that employed by the 4^th Ecumenical Council. Hence the opportunity for misunderstanding amongst brother Christians was already entrenched from the start.

To further complicate matters the emergence of a new generation of ecclesial hierarchy in Egypt, who were not as well versed in the diversity and richness of Greek philology or the subtleties of Alexandrine thought, and quite ignorant of other schools of thought beyond Alexandria, begin to succeed in vacant sees. To this generation of hierarchs the 4^th Ecumenical Council was a “veiled” form of the heresy of Nestorianism,[17] which if one examines the deliberations of Chalcedon show that it was not. This was coupled with a sort of triumphal religious particularism about the Patriarchate of Alexandria which had begun to take shape, since there was immense pride amongst the Christian hierarchy of Egypt, in the fact that Alexandria had stood firm in expositing the Church’s dogmas against Arianism and Nestorianism; especially via the respected persons of Sts Athanasios the Great and Cyril of Alexandria. Of course it is only natural for people to feel honoured by the fact that their own ecclesial communities and context brought forth such personas of immense spiritual and dogmatic influence, and to know that their Church had been able to stand firm against those who sought to destroy Christianity. Yet this created a false confidence in thinking that the deliberations of the 4^th Ecumenical Council was another attack on the Orthodox faith of the One Undivided Church, and to which Alexandria must once again defend from a new form of Nestorianism.

The other key problem was discerning from amongst the opponents of Chalcedon, those who were in actual fact “Monophysites”, that is those who asserted that Christ had one divine and overriding nature, and those who were utilising Alexandrine theological terminology to respond to what they perceived as Nestorianism re-presented in a different form. In both cases, both these groups of opponents would appeal to the teachings of St Athanasios the Great and even more so to St Cyril of Alexandria. The particular quote amongst the body of Cyrillian writings that they often quoted, and to which the Monophysites hid behind, was the one where St Cyril spoke in response to Nestorius’ teachings by saying that in Christ “there was one physis incarnate” (Μίαν φύσιν σεσαρκωμένην). In the terminology of the 4^th Ecumenical Council, or the Antiochene school of theological and philosophical thought, “physis” (Φύσις)[18], specifically meant “nature”; whereas in the Alexandrine terminology as employed by St Cyril, the word means “personhood/hypostasis” or “being”. The terminology of Antioch and the 4^th Ecumenical Council employed the word hypostasis (personhood – Υπόστασης) to explain how Christ’s human and divine natures coexist equally, and they used the word “physis” to mean nature.

Thus the 4^th Ecumenical Council proclaimed that Christ had two natures (physis), both human and divine, which exist in His one hypostasis (personhood). St Cyril’s famous line, which the Monophysites distorted the meaning to serve their purposes, actually proclaimed the same teaching of the 4^th Ecumenical Council; that is, that Christ had one personhood or identity that became incarnate, not that Christ had one nature. If there was a difference between Cyrillian Christology and that of the 4^th Ecumenical Council, it would revolve around the subtlety of preposition utilised to explain the unity of Christ’s divine and human natures, that of “from” (έκ) and “in” (έν). Because the 4^th Ecumenical Council proclaimed that Christ had two natures which exist within His very being and hypostasis, whereas St Cyril states that Christ’s dual natures come from His very being and personhood (hypostasis).

In spite of this theological truth and the 4^th Ecumenical Council articulating the dogma of the Undivided Church, the presiding Patriarch of Alexandria, who was a “Chalcedonian”, was assassinated. He was then succeeded by a very politically shrewd opponent of Chalcedon, who opened Egypt’s doors to the Mohammedan invader. This successor had campaigned effectively in convincing a considerable swathe of Egypt’s Christians, as he believed also, that it was better to submit to the yoke of the new invader than to “compromise” the “opposition” to the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon. This very point is well documented by Mohammedan Arab chroniclers and provided their justification for their invasion and subsequent “exploits” in Egypt. Yet the same chroniclers also mention, that this successor patriarch met with opposition from his own supporters, for his issuing the invite to the Muslims to enter Egypt, and his entreaties to the general populace to not resist the “welcomed guests”. Instead they called for dialogue to continue, especially given the wars into which Heraclius had sought to re-establish Christian solidarity.

However as Muslim chroniclers point out, the successor patriarch of Alexandria had won over public support to his actions, and to which the initial lower levels of taxation to which the new Muslim overlords initially charged in comparison to Byzantium, confirmed that public sentiment. As for the Chalcedonian adherents of Egypt, they naturally did not recognise the validity of the patriarchal succession of Alexandria, especially due to the manner in which the predecessor had been disposed of, nor the dealings that his successor had made with the Muslim invaders, and so they elected another Patriarch of Alexandria. The Muslim chroniclers relate how this ecclesial impasse served their interests of divide and conquer perfectly, because the “Chalcedonian opponent” patriarchal successor petitioned the Muslim authorities to have him officially recognised as the legitimate Patriarch of Alexandria; and to eliminate all those “imperial” (“melkia”, that is the Chalcedonian advocates) Christians from the land of Egypt, and their episcopal successors. Thus seizing the opportunity to secure their rule, the Muslims began a wave of persecution to purge Egypt of Chalcedonian Christian adherents. Though they did not eliminate them altogether, so as to use their presence to manipulate or put pressure upon the Non Chalcedonian Christian hierarchy, despite having secured their fealty.

Of course in time the Muslim invader applied their religious apartheid, and began to oppress the very people who had invited them into Egypt, for as the Muslim chroniclers relate that some 30-50 years into the occupation, Egyptians began to revolt against Muslim rule. Naturally these revolts were put down with immense brutality, as Egyptians sought at every opportunity to free themselves from the ever-increasing and burdensome levels of taxation, prejudicial laws and the enforced Arabisation and Islamisation of their nation. Such were the short-sighted policy of this “successor” patriarch, who indelibly drove a wedge between the process of reconciliation that Heraclius had sought to promote. The Muslim invasion and the persecutions helped create the emergence of two distinct patriarchates within Alexandria, that of the Coptic Orthodox Church that succeeded the opponents of Chalcedon, and those who advocated the Chalcedonian view which is the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria.

It was because of the actions of such individuals, particularly those of influence, that undermined Heraclius’ efforts towards reconciliation and to rally the Christians in defence of the empire against the combined barbarian invasions of Arabs, Slavs and Avars; who all threatened the livelihood, well-being and Christian faith of each person of the empire, irrespective of whether they were advocates or opponents of the 4^th and 5^th Ecumenical Councils.[19] The present-day trials and tribulations of Middle Eastern Christians, and their martyric witness since 629AD, affirmed Heraclius’ foresight in trying weld a unified and coordinated front against the Mohammedan invaders; who as history attested to, have replicated the same strategy of conquest and oppression against many other peoples and places from the Balkans to India to Sub-Saharan Africa.

The other key legacy of Heraclius’ campaigns against the Persians, was a weakened Persia. Chosroes’ own reign of terror, especially his conquests and persecution of the Christians within Persia, helped aid this state of affairs. But in hindsight, the seizure of the Holy Cross, and keeping it in Persia brought about a renaissance within the Christian communities of Persia, and an ever-increasing movement amongst Zoroastrians to apostasise and become Christians. Despite bringing about this circumstance upon his own empire, Chosroes still insisted on the imprisonment, torture and killing of the ever-growing number of Christians, just as Diocletian had done in the Roman realm in earlier times. Thus Chosroes purged Persia of many able bodied people who could serve his empire. Many Persians, like earlier Roman counterparts had done, denounced their fellow citizens as Christians, even if the accused had no knowledge of Christianity at all and were delivered up for execution on false witness or evidence.

In summary, the net result of Heraclius’ campaigns and Chosroes’ purges paved the way for two possibilities, since Persian imperial authority has seriously been eroded. The first scenario was the emergence of a Christianised Persia. The second scenario became the historical reality, whereby the Mohammedan Arabs found a weakened Persia which they completely annihilated, enslaved and Islamised; while in Mohammedan Arab folkloric tales demonised the figure of the Persian, often casting them in roles of villainous sorcerers and so forth. As for Persian Christians, much like their Zoroastrian counterparts, were put to the sword and almost were made extinct. Yet the conquest of Persia, which is still bitterly remembered and commemorated by Iranians each year, also saw the emergence of the world’s first Non-Arab Muslim state, because the Persians eventually expelled their Arab overlords and had preserved their language and much of their culture. Thus, the Persians had not submitted entirely to Arab Muslim imperialism, but were distrusted for this very point as well as becoming the safe-haven, and later, empire of Shia’a Islam.

The final point and legacy of these events that surround this unique feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, was the nature of “Christian Holy War”. There are historians and Byzantists who, and with good reason, assert that Heraclius’ war for the Cross was the true and original “crusade”. However the Byzantine understanding and the later Papal influenced Western European understanding of crusade or “Christian Holy War” came to differ immensely. The foundation of going forth in the name and bearing of the Cross[20] had its roots within the revelation of St Constantine, but it was Heraclius whose fight against the Persians to recover the Holy Cross was where this concept took real form. The objective of Heraclius’ “holy war” or “crusade” was not to conquer or kill, but an action taken in legitimate self-defence of the nation, its peoples and most importantly its holy sites and treasures like the Cross. Killing in battle though, was and is an inevitability of any armed conflict, but Heraclius’ campaigns demonstrate that this heinous crime against God should never be the objective or purpose of any war, that is killing for the sake of killing like genocides and massacres. In our own times, the placing of such parameters on the conduct of war has the example of the Geneva Convention, but of course in those days of Heraclius, the world was not as globalised as we are, nor were there any systems of international arbitration.

Thus, the inspiration of Christian teaching and ideals helped develop the first tentative parameters upon a failing of humans to attain peace. Yet unlike in our own times, Heraclius set down a norm for Byzantine military conduct in that soldiers were commanded to undertake a period of confession and penance for killing fellow human beings who are “born in the image of God” once the war was concluded, in order to be received once again for Holy Eucharist. Initially, this concept was to avoid “soiling” the sanctity of the Cross in whose name Heraclius sought to wage war against the Persians to recover. But it became the stock-standard practice for all armed conflicts in Byzantium, drawing its particular inspiration from Genesis, the Ten Commandments and Christ’s teaching of “what you do to the least, you do to Me”. And this unique phenomenon in military history, whereby such a great premium was put on the sanctity of human life, marks out Byzantium right till its very end. Within Western Europe the only example of a crusade that comes close to the Byzantine conception of a “Christian Holy War” was the Iberian Crusade, better known to most as the Reconquista of Spain and Portugal to expel the foreign Arab-Moorish invader who had occupied the land and tyrannised its people with the same discriminatory apartheid as had been employed in the Middle East.[21] It was a war of liberation that took many centuries and drew many other Christian Europeans to come to the aid of the Spanish and the Portuguese, many of whom eventually settled down in those lands and intermarried with the Spanish and the Portuguese.

Where “crusade” or “Christian Holy War” takes a radical shift within Western Europe was after the Great Schism of 1054, whereby Pope Urban II receives a letter (ca. 1090s) from the Byzantine Emperor, Alexios Comnenos, petitioning him to send soldiers to assist him to fight the Turks. Pope Urban seized the opportunity to use this petition as a means to expand the scope of Papal authority and impose it physically within the East.[22] He then gave his blessing to the indiscriminate killing of “non-believers” at the great Council of Clermont, and asserted that Christ had been misquoted, and thus it was not a sin to kill. In actual fact, the killing was the penitential act itself for the forgiveness of all sins! At this point, some Byzantine historians often question as to whether Urban’s directive was inspired by the feudal politics of Western Europe born in the times of barbarian invasions, or by the Islamic protocols of war. Whatever the case, Urban’s directive gave birth to the disaster of the Crusades and revived Islamic Jihadism, since there is much evidence from Muslim and Byzantine chronicles that indicate the decline of the Caliphate due to corruption and Muslim apostasy towards Christianity. Yet one of the first victims of the First Crusades were Byzantine and Oriental Orthodox Christians.

It is on record that on the First Crusade, the city of Semlin was burnt down over a dispute for a pair of shoes, Constantinople besieged during Holy Week, the environs of Nicaea’s native Greek Christian populace were massacred and pillaged, while the indigenous Christians of Syria and Palestine were tortured, killed or imprisoned (including the Patriarch of Antioch who refused to submit to Rome’s authority), and to crown this path of depravity, the destruction and massacre of Jerusalem and the burning down of the Holy Sepulchre. Naturally the massacres of Jews and Muslims are well known to most, but the “non-believers” to which Urban and other succeeding Popes and Crusader leaders attacked were Byzantine and Oriental Christians because they were not under Rome’s authority and refused to submit to Rome. Hence the First Crusade set the tone for all subsequent Crusades, and later on, the Western European “Christian” wars from the Conquista of the New World to the wars of the Counter-Reformation between Protestants and Roman Catholics.

Meaning & Significance of the Feast

Core Spiritual Meditations

The Ministry of the Cross may seem to many people as a paradox. Firstly, due to the fact, that the Cross which was an instrument of torture and death, became a symbol of life. Yet, if we consider that death is a part of the cycle of life then it should not seem paradoxical. Consider the farmer who sacrifices consuming or preserving a seed in order to plant it within his field, in the expectation of seeing a future harvest, thus outweighing this temporary loss. For the Orthodox Christian this signifies the journey of life which has all its difficulties that tests and risks their faith. This journey begins at birth whereby one is born in the image of God, but their objective is to invest their energies into overcoming their weaknesses and transcending their limitations in order to attain (with God’s help) likeness of God. In effect, to become deified or “God-like” beings, united to God just like the angels.

The mystery of the Cross, this symbol of death which bestows life, becomes a prefigurement of our own struggles and the central focus on which our whole lives revolve around, because we carry our own “Cross” daily. This personal Cross is the article of our own affliction, on which our daily cares and worldly sufferings crucify us upon. It is following Christ’s own journey towards His Crucifixion, and yet it is our own personal witness and sacrifice of love, so that with Christ we may also partake within the joy and glory of the Resurrection. To use an everyday analogy, consider how a student attains a tertiary degree so that they may pursue a particular vocation. In that pursuit, the student sacrifices initial employment options that may pay money now, but does not ensure long-term support or employment future.

Thus they temporarily forgo the prospect of utilising their full working potential in the present, so that they can devote time to study, research and the execution of their academic tasks. They might work a small casual or part-time job which may not earn them all the money that they require, but is sufficient to ensure their survival in the meantime as they devote themselves to study. Both recreational activities and quality time with family or friends is structured according to the student’s study programme. They know fully well, that if too much time or effort, is devoted to work, recreation, family or friends, then the necessary time and energy for study is impinged upon, and could compromise their ultimate goal. These are but a few considerations that a university student must take into account in their effort to attain qualifications that will enable them to pursue a vocation.

Business owners in like fashion, must expend time and energy in the overseeing and operation of their business. They must examine inventory, observe sales patterns, train staff, develop processes and so forth, so that they might have a means to sustain their own life and families. In both analogies, and how many more examples we may wish to draw upon, the fundamental lesson is sacrifice, effort and patience. This is what the Mystery of the Cross recognises, in that nothing worthwhile or of value within life is attained without these qualities. Even the way we appear and present ourselves to people, is a conscious and subconscious effort on our part, for time is expended upon shopping for clothes, combing our hair, getting dressed, our manner of speech and walk, or level of hygiene for example. Hence the mysterious reality of the Cross both recognises and reveals to us that we cannot attain our goals or ideals by wishing and dreaming, but must be seized by force like the Sword of the Spirit. Yet an often repeated proverb also teaches us the importance of the tension of struggle and effort in, “That which we gain too easily, we esteem too lightly and even take for granted”.

The second point, is that the Cross also marks both the lowest point and the highest point of human history. It is the lowest point since it was God’s creation (humanity), that crucified Christ, while Christ willingly submitted in silence to false accusations, torture and an unjust death as if He were a common criminal. He did not put forward nice sounding arguments or rhetoric to defend the words and actions of His ministry, or of His own person. Instead, in silence and serenity He allowed Himself to be freely subjected to and endure such cruel torments and humiliation out of agapetic love[23] for humankind. Such a powerful example of silent, serene and selfless sacrificial love still resounds loudly through the chronicles of human history. Thus we are also confronted with the irony, that this event marks the highest point in human history because it occurred for the benefit of humanity, since it was the fulfilment of the Law and Prophecies which cited that it was part of God’s plan of salvation, by which humanity will physically be joined to Him. Remember that the Messiah was prophesised to be the messenger of God who was both human and divine, thus bridging the gap between God the Creator and humanity (and all the universe subsequently) which is part of creation, within Himself. In this light we can see that we will suffer the same things He did, but it also means we will be raised to the Heavens as divine-like beings united to God.

The third key point is that this feastday not only “re-enacts” the events of Christ’s own journey towards the Cross, or our own journey in life, but “re-lives” that event and reality which took place some 2000 years ago, as a mystery occurring now in our present midst. As a consequence the Orthodox Church identifies this feastday as a “penthimos” (sorrowful) feast, and is considered a second “Holy Friday”, and therefore is a day of strict fasting.

Scriptural Reflections

The first reflection we can draw upon is that the Cross, as viewed by many Church Fathers, is the New Tree of Life as contrasted against the Old Tree of Life that grew in the Garden of Eden. The fruits of the Old Tree brought death upon Adam and Eve, just as God had forewarned them. God’s warning was not a threat as many often misinterpret, but was a statement of fact, because to seek a source of life and knowledge outside of God is futile, and as Adam and Eve (along with humanity) discovered was also fatal. This “distorted” self-will cultivated by a spirit of pride brought the fall-out of death upon all Creation. It is this fall-out which Psalm 50 (51)[24] refers to when it states that, “my mother conceived me in iniquity”, that is, we were conceived into this fallen and imperfect world, not that our mothers were conceiving us in evil.

Nevertheless, the Cross became the New Tree of Life, in effect God becoming the fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil, and thus mocking the Devil who had encouraged Adam and Eve to seek the fruits of the Original Tree and estrange them from God. Hence re-establishing God as the source of Life and Truth, and those willing to partake of its fruits must follow the way of Christ by taking up their own cross (Lk. 9:22-26). For the fruits were also Christ’s selfless sacrificial love (agape) that sought to re-establish humanity with the true source of life, which is not an isolationist autonomous self-will, but enjoying the celebration of eternal life with God.

Furthermore the Cross highlighted that sacrifice is not something to fear or shy away from, because as it is written, those who do not hate their lives shall lose it (Jn. 12:24-26). That is to say, you need to be ready to make sacrifices and struggle in order to attain your goal, otherwise if you are fearful or seek to avoid those obstacles within life, they will seek you out and destroy you. In effect you must pass through the Cross to see the brightness of the day, just as a grain of wheat dies when it is planted only to sprout forth anew, stronger, invigorated and multiplied. Christ Himself in many instances, just like in Jn. 12:31-32, prophesises His own Crucifixion which He cannot, must not and will not avoid, will also be the means that will bestow life.

As how we approach our own crosses, is best illustrated in Christ’s parable of the Sower (Lk. 8:4-15) which speaks about how people respond in different ways to the call of the spiritual life and union with God. Some may receive the call to take up their cross willingly, but when confronted with obstacles give-in, or those who are too distracted by worldly matters ignore the call, and so forth.

Within the Old Testament there are many references to the ministry and power of the Cross. However, there are three key events which revolve around the personage of the Prophet and Lawgiver, Moses, who is understood by Christian Biblical commentators as a “Christ-like” figure or a “prefigurement” of Christ:

• Moses casting his staff into the bitter waters of Marah (Ex. 15:22-25) in order to make the water sweet and drinkable for the Israelites. The staff’s power was a prefigurement and representation of the Transforming power of the Cross, as well as a symbol of the Gentiles being brought forth to faith in God.

• The Bronze Serpent that Moses makes (Numb. 21:4-9) in order to heal the sicknesses of the Israelites, a reference to the Cross’s power to take away the sting of death, the healing of sin and the bestowal of new life. Note the symbol of the serpent here, which represents the Cross, being contrasted with the serpent of Eden (the devil) which had encouraged Adam and Eve to go astray, in effect God is the “Greater Serpent” who swallows up and mocks the “lesser” serpent (the devil) and all his minions.

• Moses standing upright and holding his arms out-straight thus forming the shape of the Cross on top of the mountain overlooking the Israelites who are battling against Amalek and his tribes who seek to wipe them out (Ex. 17:8-13). Every time Moses was not able to maintain his arms out-straight and upwards the Israelites would be losing the battle, and so there were those who were appointed to assist Moses to maintain this composure till the battle was complete. In brief terms, this is a reference to the struggle of the Cross against our own weaknesses, those who seek to do us ill or the demons which wish to help us fail, only those who persevere with the Cross will succeed. The other point is that to hold one’s arms outwards is also a sign of welcoming and transparency, the fact that you are not curling up to avoid contact or pain, or trying to hide something. Rather that you are open to the world and life, and are willing to embrace both of them head on, knowing fully well and accepting it for what it is.

Liturgical Expressions & Rites[25]

The importance of the Cross is reflected in the liturgical[26] expression of the feastday. At the beginning of Vespers, the cross that a priest or bishop uses to bless a congregation, is taken from the place of its storage and is placed upon a silver tray that has been covered by an “Aer” (liturgical veil), like the ones used to cover the Holy Gospels on the altar, or the Holy Chalice and Patel in which Holy Eucharist is prepared and served from. Decorating the fringes of this veil are fresh flowers and basil, while the cross is placed in its centre. This tray with the veil and cross, is then placed at the Oblation (Prothesis)[27] altar where the Holy Chalice and Patel are stored and used to prepare the Holy Eucharist.

A single lit candle is placed before the tray, the tray itself will remain at the Oblation until the point of the Vesper procession. Before exiting the church’s sanctuary, the priest takes the tray with him as part of the procession. Just as the Small and Great Entrances of the Divine Liturgy, the priest exists from the sanctuary’s north door[28] (which has the icon of the Archangel Michael), proceeds around the church holding at chest level (close to the heart) the tray for all to see. He then returns to the sanctuary as he concludes the procession, by coming through the Royal Doors (that is the central doors of the iconostasis[29]) and depositing the tray with the cross upon the Altar.

In some liturgical traditions, the tray is placed upon the altar’s Holy Gospels, while in other traditions it is placed alongside the Gospels. The difference probably stems from a point of emphasis, in that by placing the tray with the cross upon the Gospels, is to indicate that the Gospels spoke of the Crucifixion and its centrality (together with the Resurrection) within Christ’s Incarnational ministry. Thus, the thought behind this practice is that the Gospels derive their teaching and existence from the sacrifice of the Cross. The other practice of placing the tray alongside the Altar’s Holy Gospels, is to express the unity of God’s blessings upon the world through the wisdom of the Word of God (as represented by the Gospels) and the actual, physical expression of that Word in everyday human reality as expressed by the Cross.

As for the actual ceremony of the Elevation and Exaltation of the Holy Cross, it takes place towards the conclusion of Matins (Orthros) the following morning. However in practice, particularly in non-Orthodox Christian countries, where the faithful may not be able to reach church until a later point in the festal services, the exaltation ceremony is conducted at the end of the Divine Liturgy. Yet the actual order of the ceremony occurs in Matins, where at the beginning of Matins a wreath is made from basil, seasonal flowers, herbs[30] and possibly rosemary, lavender or bay leaves. The wreath is surmounted upon a base which the priest will carry, and at its centre is a mound in which the Cross will be fixed into. Thus, the priest takes the blessing cross from the tray, which is upon the altar, and fixes it within the centre of the wreath.

Then towards the conclusion of Matins after the chanting of the Great Doxology is completed, the Trisaghion[31] hymn is chanted to a drawn-out funeral melody, as the priest exits the altar sanctuary from the north door, holding above his head (or resting upon his head) the wreath that is crowned with the cross and three lit candles. He proceeds around the whole church, proceeding up the north aisle, along the west aisle (that’s at the back of the church near the narthex), and returning via the south aisle towards the solea[32]. At the centre of the solea, before the Royal Doors is a table[33] which the priest circles around 1 or 3 times (depending on local liturgical custom), while being censed. The priest then stops at the west end of the table, that is, he is facing east towards the altar with his back to the people, and raises the wreath and proclaims aloud “Wisdom arise”, which is an invocation to the whole universe (including himself and the congregation) to stand in reverence before the wisdom of God.

He then places the wreath upon the table and takes the censer, and censes the wreath from all four sides of the table. Again in some liturgical customs the circling of the table where the priest briefly pauses to cense from the four sides of the table is either 1 or 3. As he does this, the Apolytikion of the feast is chanted three times, and its duration varies according to whether the priest circles and censes the wreath 1 or 3 times. If there is a deacon present, as the priest censes the wreath at the four sides of the table, he recites a series of prayerful petitions from a litany to which the choir and the congregation affirm by chanting “Lord have mercy”, a hundred times. If there is only a priest present, he could choose to recite the litany petitions as he censes or when he stops censing and resumes standing at the table’s west side, facing towards the altar.

The priest then removes the cross and cuts off a section of the wreath, and binds the two items together. He then holds the bound cross and wreath sprig with both hands before or above his own forehead. Then the priest slowly bows down reverentially to the ground, where he is almost fully prostrate, with his own head only 1 inch above the ground. He then slowly rises up. As the priest does this, the chanters and the congregation, chant a hundred times “Lord have mercy”, which is divided into 50 times for the priest’s descent to the ground, and 50 times as he arises from the ground. The priest then proceeds to the south side of the table where he faces northwards and repeats the same prostration and rising up to the hundredfold chant of “Lord have mercy”. The liturgical action is repeated again when the priest stands on the table’s eastside facing west directly at the congregation, then again at the table’s north-side facing south, and then the full circle is completed with the final prostration and ascent on the table’s west-side facing east towards the altar.

This series of liturgical expressions repeats those same actions which St Macarios of Jerusalem did when he ascended the ambon and raised up the Cross in the four directions of the compass within the service of the exaltation that took place after the discovery of the Cross. In returning to the liturgical actions of the priest, after the fifth and final prostration and ascent, the choir and congregation chant “Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and onto the ages of ages, Amen.” This is then followed by the Kontakion of the Cross, “O Thou Who wast lifted up willingly on the Cross…” During the singing of the kontakion the cross is again laid on the table, after which the veneration of the cross takes place. “Before Thy cross we fall down in worship, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify” is chanted thrice, first by the clergy, then twice by the choir. After each repetition a prostration is made, regardless of what day of the week it may be. Then the choir chants special stichera to the cross, during which, first the clergy, then all the worshipers venerate the cross, making three prostrations before it, as usual; that is, two prostrations before venerating, then one after venerating.

(However in some parishes, instead of the full exaltation rite, where the clergy and laity come and venerate the cross with three prostrations; then the chanting of “Before Thy cross…” occurs immediately after the festal Apolytikion — “Save, O Lord, Thy people” — and the censing. This of course is the usual practice in many parishes within Australia across many Eastern Orthodox Christian jurisdictions).

Yet if the full rite of the Exaltation of the Cross has taken place, then after the veneration of the cross, the augmented litany, “Have mercy on us, O God…,” is not pronounced, as is usual at a vigil. Instead the supplicatory litany is immediately said: “Let us complete our morning prayer unto the Lord.” During the bringing out of the cross the ringing of the church’s bells occurs. The chief clergyman, who carries out the cross, regardless of whether he is a priest or a bishop, vests in full vesture before the time for the bringing out of the cross. The cross remains in the center of the temple throughout the afterfeast, and the faithful venerate it whenever they enter or leave the church. Finally, on the leave-taking (apodosis) of the feast, the priest and deacon will cense around the cross, there will be a final veneration of the cross, and then they will solemnly bring the cross back into the sanctuary through the Royal Doors. This same pattern of bringing out the cross, veneration, and returning the cross at the end of the celebration is repeated at a number of the lesser Feasts of the Cross.

Explaining the Symbolism of the Liturgical Expressions

In having explained in brief terms the manner and actions of how the service of the Elevation and Exaltation of the Holy Cross is conducted, we now need to examine and explain the symbolisms of these liturgical expressions to better appreciate all these unique gestures and the items utilised.

Firstly the wreath is a symbol of triumph for as we know that in past times that the people who wore wreaths were either people of power like kings or governors, or alternatively were military commanders and generals who had triumphed in war and lauded their conquests, or they were athletes who had won in the sporting events of religious festivals like the Olympics. Therefore the Church is liturgically proclaiming a reality about the Cross of Christ, being that it is the supreme symbol of power and victory on behalf of humanity, and is held high above all other things. It is for this reason that the priest bears the wreath above or upon his head. It is thus indicating that humanity and all of creation, lives under the selfless authority of the Cross and the inheritance of its ministry of agapetic love.

Furthermore the bowing of the priest at the four points of the earth indicates that nothing or no one has plunged to the depths that the Cross did in being the instruments of Christ’s torture and His entry into Hades. Yet as we said before it is held above the head of the priest which cites the Mystery of the Cross, in that nothing or no one is higher or reached the heights of the Cross since it is the ladder between Heaven and earth, thus bestowing the eternal life of the Resurrection. Therefore the reality of the Cross envelops all points of the compass because it is there for all to see, and all are called to partake, for the Cross does not acknowledge borders or horizons, nor discriminates between differences in language, culture or race, but embraces all in love.

In relation to the use of three candles within the wreath, it shows us that through the Cross we have a direct communion to the Holy Trinity which enlightens all of creation. The mound within the wreath on which the Cross and the candles are placed upon, represents both Golgotha and Mt. Sinai (Horeb) whereby God revealed His love, glory and laws before humanity. While the table on which the wreath is placed upon is a symbol of the Church, that is us (congregation and clergy) together with God, the Saints, the Angelic powers and all those who have passed on.

With regards to the use of incense, which is part and parcel with most, if not all, Orthodox liturgical services, is an offering of prayer made before God. In a sense this offering is a sort of way of thanksgiving by giving something back to God that shows Him due honour and worship. This is not dissimilar in the way we offer back to God the fruits of our labour (using the material matter that He has provided us[34]) such as bread, wine, oil or the produce of the earth. Our, that is humanity’s, response and offering to God is like that of a little child who offers a present back to their parents who have fed, clothed and sheltered them. Yet even though a little child may not have the abilities of a trade or a craft to produce a gift of “value” or “use”, nor the money to purchase such a gift of “value” or “use”, a loving parent receives such a gift in all joy and appreciation, knowing fully well that the gift is usually “produced” or “acquired” through the resources that they have expended upon their child.

Therefore the “value” of a gift is not considered according to its usefulness or meeting a desire or need of the parent, but often means more because of its gesture, intent and sentimental value. It is in this same manner by which we offer incense throughout the service of the Exaltation of the Cross, and for that matter any liturgical service. The use of incense is thus a worshipful acknowledgement of the sacred and the blessings of God upon us, yet it is an offering of prayer and thanksgiving. The symbolism of offering incense adds to this sense because we see the smoke of the incense rise upwards towards the skies which we poetically refer to as “the Heavens” that represent the domains of God and all the Angelic beings. We even chant or read that passage from Psalm 140 (141) which proclaims this very symbolic and liturgical notion: “Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice”.

Of course when we analyse this imagery and understanding, we see that ultimately, the only thing we truly can offer to God as a gift, is our time. That is, spending quality time with God in prayer and meditation of His infinite mysteries. God may not have need of our words or prayers; but one who comes in all sincerity with a humble and contrite heart, offering their time in worship and prayerful dialogue to God, will as shown by the example of Prophets, Saints and commonfolk, is acknowledged and appreciated by God who bestows further blessings. Such are the results of simple heartfelt liturgical offerings of prayer.

The next point of liturgical observation is the fact that the wreath is formed in the shape of a circle, and that the priest goes around the table and wreath at various points of the service in a circular manner. This of course brings our attention to the fact that the outline of a circle does not have a visible beginning or end, nor does it have a visible turning point like other shapes, like for example a square. Naturally this expresses the notion of eternity and embraces all that is within its confines, while all that comes before it are forced to remain upon its edges on an equal footing. Take for example a rectangular table where we identify that there is a “head” or “point” of the table, whereas at a circular table there is no such thing, because everyone who sits around a circular table, sit equally and open to one another. This is partly why Orthodox churches, as opposed to the earlier Apostolic era basilican style churches, are built with a dome that is able to “embrace” openly and enclose the entire congregation. The very notion was adopted within Islamic religious architecture, where Muslim scholars felt this idea of the circle and sacred geometry, best expressed their own religion and its notion of the unity of the brethren (al-ikhawan) within the umma (ecclesia/community) of God. (From an engineering point of view, a circular dome is the most effective way of creating the largest indoor space that can encompass as many people as possible).

Of course another example are the traditional folkloric dances of many different nations and cultures which are often formed by people holding hands with each other, thus creating a circular shape where all the dancers can see each other openly and equally[35]. Some may even include “group hugs” or “huddling together” as examples, but whichever imagery one uses they all express an eternal reality of God who neither has a beginning nor an end, and embraces us all on an equal footing. That is one of the reasons why in domed Orthodox churches there is an icon of Christ the Pantocrator (Ruler of the Universe) that crowns the dome’s centre, this icon looks down upon those within the church, and through the dome’s curved shape gives the appearance of Christ “embracing” those present. Yet it also reflects according to what has been revealed, the inner reality of God as Trinity, where the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who eternally embrace one another in an eternal union of agapetic love.

Finally, we should make note of the 5 times which the priest descends and ascends during the service of the Exaltation. In simple terms it is for liturgical convenience that the priest completes the circle at the same point of where he begun, thus 5 prostrations and ascents. However the open and closing of this circular action has its own significance in expressing the meaning of a circle. But the number 5, reflects the 5 loaves of bread by which Christ fed the multitudes. With respects to the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the meaning is simply that it is the ministry and inheritance of the Cross that God has bestowed in order to quench the human soul’s hunger for eternal life. Like those multitudes in the Wilderness who were fed with the 5 loaves, the soul of every person is offered the Cross as the food of immortality.

Additional Liturgical Expressions

It is noteworthy to point out that the invocation of the Cross by Christians when they do the sign of the Cross, predates this particular feastday, and we have evidence from writers of the Apostolic and Early Christian period making reference to doing the sign of the Cross especially at baptism (cf. The 3^rd century works of the priest, Hippolytus’ “On the Apostolic Tradition). An interesting parallel that has come down to us since that time is the custom with infant baptisms whereby the priest raises the baby making the sign of the Cross before immersing the infant.

Another interesting example is drawn from iconography whereby we have martyrs depicted holding small crucifixes as the symbol of their faith and hope in which they show confidence in their own salvation by bearing witness unto death the salvific truth of the Cross. Furthermore if one observes the many examples of the icon of the Resurrection we have Christ crushing under feet the gates of Hades in the shape of a crucifix. While in numerous icons of His baptism in the Jordan, Christ is depicted treading on a crucifix which is crushing the symbol of the devil which is the serpent. Again, the imagery linking the Genesis story of Adam’s failing at the original Tree of Life, being defeated by the Tree of the Crucifix by the New Adam (Christ), who washes away sin with the life-giving waters of His grace and blood.

From a historical perspective, the use of the Cross as a physical depiction within Christian iconography appears to slowly come into use, since the early Christians were not able to openly show their faith and would use other representations for Christ, the Eucharist or the Cross. Depictions of, or symbols for Christ included:

• Wheat husks – Symbol of Christ as the bread of life, because wheat was the most basic and affordable food item and thus the staff of life from the poor to the rich. If one looks at the development of the world’s first civilisations, the cultivation of wheat marks the beginning of the first farmers and the construction of settled organised communities and cities.

• Grapes & Grapevines – Reference to the other key staff of life which was purer than the water that was drunk at the time, wine. A reference to the Eucharistic blood of Christ, but also the tough, long-lived and enduring characteristics of the grapevine identifying Christ and the Christian who “abides in Him” as steadfast, strong and wise.

• Fish – A very popular image used to represent Christ, since many of the Apostles were fishermen and that Christ had called them fishers of men. Yet it is also because the Greek word for fish, ΙΥΧΘΣ, served as an acronym for the Christian confession of faith in Christ: Jesus (Ιησούς), Christ (Χριστός), God (Θεός), Son (Υιέ), Saviour (Σωτήρ).

• Peacock – The blue colouring of the peacock represented in the ancient world the divine light (as shown in Orthodox icons of the Resurrection) of immortality and eternal life. It was also believed at the time, that the consumption of this bird at great banquets would bestow this eternal life of immortality, while prolong our earthly life. The link with Christ was a Eucharistic reference drawn from St. John’s Gospel, whereby Christ proclaims that whoever partook of His Body (Bread) and Blood (Wine) will dwell in Him and He will dwell in them and have life-everlasting.

• Font of Water – Water being the source that sustains all earthly life, the link here is clear, Christ as the source and sustainer of life, or as He refers to Himself before the Samaritan woman as the well of living waters. Usually in these depictions there are two peacocks drinking from this fountain, the male bird representing Christ and the female symbolising Mary the Holy Theotokos.

• Orpheus – A troubled figure within Greco-Roman mythology who is confronted with the testing hardships of this world and falsely persecuted by deities and humanity alike. Orpheus though, had the gift of music which he used to descend into Hades, to retrieve his lost wife Eurydice from amongst the dead and rise again. But the analogy between Christ and Orpheus stops there, but the imagery was used because of the Pagan origins of many of the early Christians who needed an example of what rising from the dead or descent into Hades meant.

All these symbols were direct or indirect references to the ministry of the Cross and the Eucharist. One must remember that the Christians had to blend in within the wider society of pagan culture and had to use the symbols of the day to explain and teach their beliefs. Furthermore with persecutions came raids or surprise inspections of churches which had to be disguised as pagan places of worship, pagan mystery cults or as philosophical brotherhoods. The outright use and depiction of the Cross really takes shape from the time of St. Constantine and onwards, in effect becoming an openly public and acceptable symbol for the first time in history.

A final but distantly related example is the use of the Cross to structure various iconic depictions of the Theotokos’ Dormition. The Virgin Mary is lying horizontally upon her “death-bed” while Christ stands in the centre holding His mother’s soul in His arms, with the Heavens and angels above Him with the Divine Light shining down upon Him and Mary’s soul. Directly at the parallel end of the bed are usually candles or lanterns which complete the shape of the Cross, alternatively we have the impious thief who seeks to desecrate the Holy Body of Mary by trying to steal her, but is stopped by angels who cut off his hands. In this latter representation the iconographer’s symbolism is demonstrating the power of the Cross by which those faithful can transcend and overcome impious worldly cares which are crushed underfoot by grace and eternal life.

Scriptural Readings of the Feast

Vespers

Exodus 15:22-16:1.

This reading tells of the “tree” which made the bitter waters sweet, the symbol of the Tree of the Cross.

Proverbs 3:11-18.

This passage reminds us that the Lord chastens and corrects those whom He loves and that Divine Wisdom is “a Tree of life to those who lay hold upon her and trust in her, as in the Lord”.

Isaiah 60:11-16.

This tells of the “city of the Lord” where both Jews and Gentiles will live together and shall prostrate themselves at the place of God’s feet and “shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.”

Matins

Psalm 50 (LXX)[36]

Prayer for God’s forgiveness and petitions God’s help to cultivate a contrite and humbled heart which the faithful wishes to offer back to God.

John 12:28-36.

In it Christ says that when he is elevated on the Cross he will draw all men to Himself.

Divine Liturgy

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:18-24.

The core message of this pericope revolves around St Paul’s statement “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God”.

Gospel: John 19:6-11, 13-20, 25-28, 30-35.

This long reading is the passion account of Christ’s Crucifixion.

Hymnography

Most of the English translations and the commentaries on the hymnography of the feast used within this section are drawn from the excellent work of Rev. John Baggley: “Festival Icons for the Christian Year”, by John Baggley, SVS Press: Crestwood NY, 2000, pp. 100-115. In having said that we should note that the exposition of the feast’s historical background earlier within this article aids us in better understanding the festal Apolytikion and Kontakion which expresses the concerns of both Church and state:

Apolytikion (Tone 1)

O Lord, save Thy people,

And bless Thine inheritance.

Grant victory to the Kingdom

Over the barbarians, [or "enemies"]

And by the power of Thy Cross

Preserve Thy commonwealth.

Kontakion (Tone 4)

As Thou were voluntarily raised upon the cross for our sake,

Grant mercy to those who are called by Thy Name, O Christ God;

Make all Orthodox Christians glad by Thy power,

Granting them victories over their adversaries,

By bestowing on them the Invincible trophy, Thy weapon of Peace.

FOREFEAST HYMN:

Troparion (Tone 4)

We offer in supplication

The Life-Creating Cross of Your Goodness, O Lord,

Which You have granted to us who are unworthy:

Save the Orthodox Christians, O only Lover of Man,

Through the Theotokos.

AFTERFEAST HYMN:

Kontakion – Tone 4

As Thou were voluntarily raised upon the cross for our sake,

Grant mercy to those who are called by Thy Name, O Christ God;

Make all Orthodox Christians glad by Thy power,

Granting them victories over their adversaries,

By bestowing on them the Invincible trophy, Thy weapon of Peace.

Yet in spite of the concerns of Church and state, the main focus of the feast is not subsumed or lost for many of it liturgical texts express and evoke a sense of wonder at what has been accomplished through the Cross:

Hail! Guide of the blind, physician of the sick and resurrection of the dead. O Precious Cross, thou hast lifted us up when we were fallen into mortality. Through Thee corruption has been destroyed, and incorruption has flowered forth; we mortal men are made divine and the devil is utterly cast down. – From the Lity of Great Vespers

The Cross is the guardian of the whole earth; the Cross is the beauty of the Church. The Cross is the strength of kings; the Cross is the support of the faithful. The Cross is the glory of angels and the wounder of demons. – Exapostilarion at Matins

Nonetheless, within the festal liturgy as elsewhere within festal services, we find the figure of Adam often mentioned as representing the whole human race that has been raised up with Christ. So wonderful is the Cross that it moves the “whole assembly of those born on earth” and all creation to sing the praises of the Lord’s passion; true human beauty has been restored and we are counted worthy to be citizens of heaven:

Lifted high upon the Cross, O Master, with Thyself Thou didst raise up Adam and the whole of fallen nature. – From the Stichera at Small Vespers

As an unconquerable token of victory, an invincible shield and a divine sceptre, we worship Thy most Holy Cross, O Christ, whereby the world has been saved and Adam filled with joy. With the whole assembly of those born on earth we honour it, singing its praises, and as we celebrate its divine Exaltation, we entreat Thee for forgiveness. – From the Stichera at Small Vespers

The use of imagery and types drawn from the Old Testament is extensive to say the least. Here we draw attention to four examples of this typology:

The first focuses on the wood of the Cross of Christ which stands in as the New Tree of Life as opposed to the Old Tree of Good and Bad which Adam and Eve consumed from. The New Tree of Life brings redemption for its fruits are the works of Christ’s sacrificial love for humankind and all creation. Of course when one reads the following text it is worth keeping in mind the importance of the discovery of the True Cross in Jerusalem, the building of the “Martyrion” over the site of Golgotha, the construction of the Church of the Resurrection (Anastasis) over Christ’s tomb, and the veneration of the True Cross in Hagia Sophia in Constantinople after its recovery from the Persians.

The Tree of true life was planted in the place of the skull, and upon it hast Thou, the eternal King, worked salvation in the midst of the earth. Exalted today, it sanctifies the ends of the world, and the Church of the Resurrection celebrates its dedication. – From the Lity of Great Vespers

Today is lifted up from the hidden places of the earth the Tree of life on which Christ was nailed, confirming our faith in the Resurrection. And exalted on high by priestly hands, it proclaims His Ascension into heaven, whereby our nature, lifted from its fallen state on earth, is made a citizen of Heaven. – Chanted during the veneration of the Cross at Matins

The second typological theme is drawn from Exodus 17:8-13 where Moses holds out his hands to support and bless the children of Israel as they fight against Amalek. Moses with his outstretched arms becomes a “type” of the Cross itself. Because of Christ’s Incarnation and redemption we can say “now is the fulfilment of these images”:

Moses prefigured the power of the precious Cross, O Christ, when he put to flight Amalek, his adversary, in the wilderness of Sinai: for when he stretched out his arms in the form of a cross, the people became strong again. And now the fulfilment of these images has come to pass for us. Today is the Cross exalted and devils are put to flight; today the whole creation is set free from corruption: for through the Cross every gift of grace has shone upon us. – From the Lity of Great Vespers

The third theme brings us to the wood cast into the waters of Marah to take away their bitterness becomes a type of the transforming power of the Cross to transform human life, and bring Gentiles to the true faith (refer to Exodus 15:22-25):

Not suffering the deadly bitterness of the tree still to remain, Thou hast utterly destroyed it through the Cross. In like manner of old did wood once destroy the bitterness of the waters of Marah, prefiguring the strength of the Cross that all the powers of Heaven magnify. – From the Canon after Canticle Nine at Matins

In days of old Moses transformed with wood the bitter wells in the wilderness, prefiguring the bringing of the Gentiles to the true faith through the Cross. – From Canticle Four at Matins.

The fourth theme is raised by St John the Evangelist who makes use of the story of Moses and the serpents, using the raising up of the bronze serpent to make the point that Christ raised up on the Cross takes away the sting of death and gives hope of new life (cf. Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:13-15). This same typology appears in the hymns for this Feast.

Moses set upon a pole a cure against the deadly and poisonous bite of the serpents: for crosswise upon the wood – as a symbol of the Cross – he placed a serpent that creeps about the earth, and thereby he triumphed over calamity. Therefore let us sing to Christ our God, for He has been glorified. – From Canticle One at Matins.

That aside, we should also now give attention to the immense influence that St Constantine the Great had on the development of Church’s presence within the Byzantine state, and his mother St Helen’s influence on the development of pilgrimage sites and relics associated with the origins of Christianity. These two founders of the Byzantine theocracy are often represented together in icons and frescoes on either side of the True Cross, and naturally they invariably appear within hymns of this particular feast. Of particular note, St Constantine’s vision of the Cross in the heavens and St Helen’s recovery of the True Cross from the site of Golgotha have left a permanent impression on the Orthodox Christian tradition.

Divine treasure hidden in the earth, the Cross of the Giver of Life appeared in the heavens to the godly King, and its inscription spiritually signified his victory over the enemy. Rejoicing with faith and love, inspired by God he made haste to raise on high the Cross which he had seen in his vision; and with great zeal he brought it forth from the bosom of the earth, for the deliverance of the world and the salvation of souls. – From the Lity of Great Vespers

O Cross, sign radiant with light among the stars, thou hast in prophecy revealed a trophy of victory to the godly King; and when his mother Helen found thee, she displayed thee in the sight of the world. – From the Lity of Great Vespers

The final theme which we should draw attention to is the sense of joy and hope that is conveyed through this celebration of this significance of the Cross of Christ for the life and society of the Christian world.

Shining with pure rays, the holy Cross sheds its divine light upon the peoples darkened by the beguilement of error, and it reconciles them to Christ who was crucified upon it, granting peace unto our souls. – Canticle Five at Matins.

Lifted up of Thine own will upon the Cross, do Thou bestow Thy mercy upon the new commonwealth that bears Thy Name. Make the Orthodox peoples glad in Thy strength, giving them victory over their enemies: may Thy Cross assist them in battle, weapon of peace and unconquerable ensign of victory. – Kontakion of the Feast.

We should also note that the normal antiphons of the Divine Liturgy are replaced by special verses from the Psalms 22, 74, and 99, which have direct reference to Christ’s crucifixion on the Cross.

Furthermore instead of the Trisaghion in the Divine Liturgy:

Before Thy Cross we bow down in worship, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify. (Thrice)

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

And Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.

Before Thy Cross we bow down in worship, O Master, and Thy holy Resurrection we glorify.

Iconography

The festal icon of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is fairly self-explanatory because it presents us with a historical image of the first original service of the Holy Cross’ elevation and exaltation upon its discovery in Jerusalem. The central focus of the icon is of course the Holy Cross being raised by St Macarios who is vested in his episcopal raiment, as can be seen by his omophorion and chasuble with the multiple crucifixes. With devotion and a serene face St Macarios looks up at the Cross which he holds in his hands, but in doing this he is also looking towards the Heavens. The iconographic depiction itself, indicate his silent prayerful supplication before God, while Jerusalem’s multitudes surround him and looking up towards his hands and the Holy Cross which they embrace.

St Macarios is raised high with the Cross by standing on the wooden ambon that had been made for the specific occasion. All around the ambon are young men who are dressed in diaconal vestments holding candles and incense, while offering their available hands in prayerful petition in the direction of the Cross and their spiritual father, the revered St Macarios.

The placing of St Helen and her retinue within the festal icon varies from one iconographic version to another, but the usual convention is to locate her in the bottom left hand corner of the icon, surrounded by her female attendants who wear veils. St Helen stands out because she tends to wear bright colours, usually crimson, that is decorated by rich brocade embroidery, she is the only female figure not wearing a veil, but is crowned by an imperial diadem. She too, raises her hands in prayer and looks upwards at the Cross. The placing of St Helen on the left is significant, because it is the icon’s right hand side, but to the viewer who faces the icon it is the left side of the icon, and the left side in iconography is the place of honour.

The multitudes of Jerusalem surround the deacons and St Helen’s retinue. However in some icons, St Macarios is often, also shown walking towards the ambon behind the deacons. In some case he merely has his hands outstretched in prayer, while in others he is carrying the Cross towards the ambon. This point indicates two things, the first is movement of persons within the icon such as Macarios processing towards his holy task of elevating the Cross. The second point is to illustrate something of his humble character because he stands behind the deacons, but the iconographer honours his humility by placing him on the side of the icon that the viewer distinguishes as the right side. In some icons he is accompanied by St Helen and her retinue as they process towards the ambon and the service that is to take place there.

The building structures in the icon’s background usually depict the Church of the Resurrection compound, which is usually marked by a canopy or a dome. In some icons the iconographer includes an image of the later structure of the Church of the Crucifixion and Tomb, while in others the Church of the Resurrection is placed to one side and a collection of buildings on the opposite side to indicate Jerusalem.

Liturgical – Cultural Expressions of other Christian Traditions

Oriental Orthodox: Armenian Apostolic Church

The Armenian Apostolic Church observes a five-day fast, called the Fast of the Holy Cross from September 10 through September 14, in preparation for the Feast of the Holy Church in view of the Holy Cross, which they celebrate on September 15. September 16 is observed as the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Khachverats in Armenian), a feast which continues for several days thereafter.

It is counted as one of the five major feasts of the Armenian Church, and the most important of the four feasts of the Holy Cross. According to Armenian tradition, the first one to “exalt” the Cross was the Apostle James of Jerusalem, the Brother of the Lord. On the Sunday nearest September 14, the liturgy is marked with an antasdan service (blessing of the fields) during which the processional cross is adorned with basil (a symbol of royalty) and the four corners of the church are blessed as a sign of the sanctification of the world.

On the Sunday nearest September 28 (always two weeks after the Exaltation) the Armenian Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Cross of Varak (Varaka Khach) commemorating the third century placement of an authentic relic of the Cross on Armenian soil at Varagavank. This is a Cross feast unique to the Armenian Church.

On the Sunday closest to October 26, the Armenian Church celebrates the Discovery of the Holy Cross (Kyood Khach), commemorating the finding of the True Cross by Saint Helena (ca. 327 AD).

Oriental Orthodox: Ethiopian Orthodox Church

In the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, this feast is called Mesqel and commemorates the finding of the true cross on Meskerem 17 of the Ethiopian Calendar corresponding to September 27 in the Julian Calendar (or, in leap years, one day later). Within the Ethiopian liturgical cycle it commands great importance after Pascha (Easter) and the Nativity (Christmas). The eve of this day is popularly called “Demera” in Amharic – meaning Bonfire.

This is because the faithful all over Ethiopia and Eritrea light bonfires in parish courtyards and village squares to commemorate St Helen’s bonfire that revealed the Holy Cross, and signalled to her son Constantine in Constantinople the success of her mission. The faithful cast daisies into the bonfires to symbolise the incense that descended upon the location of the Cross. The most well-known bonfire on this feast is lit with great ceremony and fanfare by the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Maskal Square, Addis Ababa’s greatest open arena. Thousands attend the colourful and vibrant ceremony of religious chanting around the bonfire in Maskal Square, which owes its name to the ceremony, “maskal” meaning in Ge’ez “cross”.

Oriental Orthodox: Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church

In the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church a special offering called panchasarayumanda is made on this day, in particular at the Akaparambu Mor Sabor-Mor Aphroth Church in the Ernakulam District, Kerala (Southern India).

Assyrian Church

The Assyrian Church of the East celebrates the finding of the Cross on September 13, and considers it to be a major feast. The Assyrian Church considers the Sign of the Cross to be a seventh sacrament, by which all of the other sacraments are sealed and perfected (it takes the place of marriage, which they do not name in their traditional list of sacraments). Saranaya (Assyrian) hold a shara every year in cities like Chicago, Illinois, and Modesto, California, and other parts of the world. The shara in Modesto is held every Sunday prior to September 13 at East La Loma Park, where they sacrifice lambs in remembrance of the Feast of the Cross. People gather and feast and sing and dance to celebrate a happy day.

Western Christianity

In Roman Catholic liturgical observance, red vestments are worn at church services conducted on this day, and if the day falls on a Sunday, its Mass is used instead of that for the occurring Sunday in Ordinary Time, what some would call a Sunday after Pentecost. The lectionary of the Church of England (and other Anglican churches) also stipulates red as the liturgical colour for ‘Holy Cross Day’.

Until 1969, the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of the calendar week after the one in which 14 September falls were designated as one of each year’s four sets of Ember days by the Church in the West. Organization of these celebrations is now left to the decision of episcopal conferences in view of local conditions and customs.

September 14 is the titular feast of the Congregation of Holy Cross and the Episcopal Church’s Order of the Holy Cross.

The Syrian Town of Maa’loula

The town of Maa’loula[37] perched up in the mountains north of Damascus, where the western dialect of Aramaic, which was spoken by the ancient Galileans of Christ’s time, is preserved. This particular town, inhabited predominately by Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholics (Melkites), with some Maronite Christians and Muslims, played a unique role within the events of the finding of the Holy Cross, in that it was on the town’s own mountain top that served as one of the numerous summits on which bonfires were lit to relay the good news from Jerusalem to Emperor Constantine in Constantinople. In time it also served as a major stopping point for pilgrims coming overland from Europe and the Caucasus who were travelling towards Jerusalem, and it was the custom of those pilgrims to stop and pray in Maa’loula’s Sacred Garden of Repentance.

Yet unlike many other areas of the Christian world, the feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross was not only a solemn feast, but was also a feast of immense joyous celebration that drew pilgrims to remain in Maa’loula to take part and to visit the monastery of St Thecla (24 September). The week-long celebrations in actual fact were concluded upon the feastday of St Thecla whose monastery is built into the same cliff-face which God opened for her to enter into, in order to escape those harassing her. Many church services were conducted during this week of religious importance, while after the liturgical services, in the church courtyards, dancing, storytelling and the chanting of lyrical poetry was accompanied by improvised proclamations of people welcoming one another. The men of the town would go around the streets and squares chanting slogans and poems to the accompaniment of drums and ouds, carrying bottles of arak and bouquets of basil, visiting every church and house in the town’s environs and welcoming every person and clergymen with affectionate expressions of brotherly love and extending the hospitality of a drink of the arak that they carried.

Bonfires would be lit up in every street and square to light the night sky, while in remembrance of the great bonfire that was lit upon Mount Maa’loula, a great fire would be lit in the same place and the chards and pieces of flaming wood were cast down upon the town. The dancing and singing continued day and night. People would gather at common tables within homes, balconies or on the streets where the chanting of lyrical poems and stories would continue to be told, or extol the virtues of the various invited guests who partook in the common shared meal. In amongst this, God was not forgotten, for many verbal recitations and thanksgivings were dedicated and offered to God’s magnanimous mercy and His innumerable blessings. And so stories of Saints and the Scriptures were recalled to memory.

Thankfully many of these centuries old traditions are still preserved and perpetuated today during the celebrations that encompass the feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross. Yet the feast and the celebrations that encompass it, have taken on a greater meaning to the townsfolk of Maa’loula, who due to economic necessity have been forced to migrate to cities and to other lands as far afield as America or Australia, the festal celebrations afford the opportunity to reunite with one another when they return to partake within the festivities. The groups of men who go around the town’s street now issue additional expressions of welcome for peoples’ homecoming and return to their place of birth, and the emotion and joy felt by all cannot be contained, for the day of the Cross is a day of reunion.

Dedicated to His Beatitude, Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem and the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre who are the defenders and custodians of the Holy Sites of Christianity, preserving the common heritage of all Christians for future generations. –V. M.

*1. This is the day that gladdened them, the Prophets, Kings, and Priests, for in it were their words fulfilled, and thus were the whole of them indeed performed!

*2. For the Virgin this day brought forth Immanuel in Bethlehem. The voice that of old Isaiah spoke, today became reality.

*3. He was born there who in writing should tell the Gentiles’ number! The Psalm that David once sang, by its fulfillment came today!

*4. The word that Micah once spoke, today was come indeed to pass! For there came from Ephratha a Shepherd, and His staff swayed over souls.

*5. Lo! From Jacob shone the Star, and from Israel rose the Head. The prophecy that Balaam spoke had its interpreting today!

*6. Down also came the hidden Light, and from the Body rose His beauty! The light that spoke in Zacharias, today shined in Bethlehem!

*7. Risen is the Light of the Kingdom, in Ephratha the city of the King. The blessing wherewith Jacob blessed, to its fulfillment came today!

*8. That tree likewise, the tree of life, brings hope to mortal men! Solomon’s hidden proverb had today its explanation!

*9. Today was born the Child, and His name was called Wonder! For a wonder it is that God as a Babe should show Himself.

*10. By the word did the Spirit foreshow Him in parable, because His generation was without marriage. The type that the Holy Spirit figured today its meaning was explained.

*11. He came up as a root before Him, as a root of parched ground. Aught that covertly was said, openly today was done!

*12. The King that in Judah was hidden, Tamar stole Him from his thigh. Today arose His conquering beauty, which in hidden estate she loved.

*13. Ruth at Boaz’ side lay down, because the Medicine of Life hidden in him she perceived. Today was fulfilled her vow, since from her seed arose the Quickener of all.

*14. Travail Adam on the woman brought, that from him had come forth. She today her travail ransomed, who to her a Saviour bare!

*15. To Eve our mother a man gave birth, who himself had, had no birth. How much more should Eve’s daughter be believed to have borne a Child without a man!

*16. The virgin earth, she bare that Adam that was head over the earth! The Virgin bore today the Adam that was Head over the Heavens.

*17. The staff of Aaron, it budded, and the dry wood yielded fruit! Its mystery is cleared up today, for the virgin womb a Child hath borne!

*18. Shamed is that people which holds the prophets as true; for unless our Saviour has come, their words have been falsified!

*19. Blessed be the True One Who came from the Father of the Truth and fulfilled the true seers’ words, which were accomplished in their truth.

*20. From thy treasure-house put forth, Lord, from the coffers of Thy Scriptures, names of righteous men of old, who looked to see Thy coming!

*21. Seth who was in Abel’s stead shadowed out the Son as slain, by Whose death was dulled the envy Cain had brought into the world!

*22. Noah saw the sons of God, saints that sudden waxed wanton, and the Holy Son he looked for, by whom lewd men were turned to holiness.

*23. The brothers twain, that covered Noah, saw the only Son of God who should come to hide the nakedness of Adam, who was drunk with pride.

*24. Shem and Japhet, being gracious, looked for the gracious Son, Who should come and set free Canaan from the servitude of sin.

*25. Melchizedek expected Him; as His vicegerent, looked that he might see the Priesthood’s Lord whose hyssop purifies the world.

*26. Lot beheld the Sodomites how they perverted nature: for nature’s Lord he looked who gave a holiness not natural.

*27. Him Aaron looked for, for he saw that if his rod ate serpents up, His cross would eat the Serpent up that had eaten Adam and Eve.

*28. Moses saw the uplifted serpent that had cured the bites of asps, and he looked to see Him who would heal the ancient Serpent’s wound.

*29. Moses saw that he himself alone retained the brightness from God, and he looked for Him who came and multiplied gods by His teaching.

*30. Caleb the spy bore the cluster on the staff, and came and longed to see the Cluster, Whose wine should comfort the world.

*31. Him did Jesus (Joshua) son of Nun long for, that he might conceive the force of his own surname: for if by His name he waxed so mighty, how much more would He by His Birth?

*32. This Jesus that gathered and carried, and brought with him of the fruit, was longing for the Tree of Life to taste the Fruit that quickens all.

*33. For Him Rahab too was looking; for when the scarlet thread in type redeemed her from wrath, in type she tasted of the Truth.

*34. For Him Elijah longed, and when Him on earth he saw not, he, through faith most thoroughly cleansed, mounted up in heaven to see Him.

*35. Moses saw Him and Elijah; the meek man from the depth ascended, the zealous from on high descended, and in the midst beheld the Son.

*36. They figured the mystery of His Advent: Moses was a type of the dead, and Elijah a type of the living, that fly to meet Him at His coming.

*37. For the dead that have tasted death, them He makes to be first: and the rest that are not buried, are last caught up to meet Him.

*38. Who is there that can count me up the just that looked for the Son, whose number cannot be determined by the mouth of us weak creatures?

*39. Pray ye for me, O beloved, that another time with strength endued, I in another legend may so set forth their foretaste, as I am able.

*40. Who is adequate to the praising of the Son of the Truth that has risen to us? For it was for Him the righteous longed, that in their generation they might see Him.

*41. Adam looked for Him, for He is the Cherub’s Lord, and could minister an entrance and a residence hard by the branches of the Tree of life.

*42. Abel longed after Him, that in his days He might come; that instead of that lamb that he offered, the Lamb of God he might behold.

*43. For Him Eve also looked; for woman’s nakedness was sore, and He capable to clothe them; not with leaves, but with that same glory that they had exchanged away.

*44. The tower that the many builded, in mystery looked for One, who coming down would build on earth a tower that lifts up to Heaven.

*45. Yea the ark of living creatures looked in a type for our Lord; for He should build the Holy Church, wherein souls find a refuge.

*46. In Peleg’s days earth was divided into tongues, threescore and ten. For Him Who by the tongues, to His Apostles divided earth.

*47. Earth which the flood had swallowed up, in silence cried to her Lord. He came down and opened Baptism, and men were drawn by it to Heaven.

*48. Seth and Enos, Cainan too, were surnamed sons of God; for the Son of God they looked, that they by grace might be His brethren.

*49. But little short of a thousand years did Methuselah live: He looked for the Son Who makes heirs of life that never ends!

*50. Grace itself in hidden mystery was beseeching on their behalf that their Lord might come in their age and fill up their shortcomings.

*51. For the Holy Spirit in them, in their stead, besought with meditation: He stirred them up, and in Him did they look on that Redeemer, after whom they longed.

*52. The soul of just men perceive in the Son a Medicine of life; and so it felt desires that He might come in its own days, and then would it taste His sweetness.

*53. Enoch was longing for Him, and since on earth the Son he saw not, he was justified by great faith, and mounted up in Heaven to see Him.

*54. Who is there that will spurn at grace, when the Gift that they of old gained not by much labour, freely comes to men now?

*55. For Him Lamech also looked who might come and lovingly give Him quiet from his labour and the toiling of his hands, and from the earth the Just One had cursed.

*56. Lamech then beheld his son, Noah, him, in whom were figured types relating to the Son. In the stead of the Lord afar off, the type at hand afforded quiet.

*57. Yea Noah also longed to see Him, the taste of whose assisting graces he had tasted. For if the type of Him preserved living things, Himself how sure to bestow life upon souls!

*58. Noah longed for Him, by trial knowing Him, for through Him had the ark been established. For if the type of Him thus saved life, assuredly much more would He in person.

*59. Abraham perceived in Spirit that the Son’s Birth was far off; instead of Him in person he rejoiced to see even His day.

*60. To see Him Isaac longed, as having tasted the taste of His redemption; for if the sign of Him so gave life, much more would He by the reality.

*61. Joyous were today the Watchers, that the Wakeful came to wake us! Who would pass this night in slumber, in which all the world was watching?

*62. Since Adam brought into the world the sleep of death by sins, the Wakeful came down that He might awake us from the deep sleep of sin.

*63. Watch not we as usurers, who thinking on money put to interest, watch at night so oft, to reckon up their capital, and interest.

*64. Wakeful and cautious is the thief, who in the earth hath buried and concealed his sleep. His wakefulness all comes to this, that he may cause much wakefulness to them that be asleep.

*65. Wakeful likewise is the glutton, who hath eaten much and is restless; his watching is to him his torment, because he was impatient of stint.

*66. Wakeful likewise is the merchant; of a night he works his fingers telling over what pounds are coming, and if his wealth doubles or trebles.

*67. Wakeful likewise is the rich man, whose sleep his riches chase away: his dogs sleep; he guards his treasures from the thieves.

*68. Wakeful also is the careful, by his care his sleep is swallowed: though his end stands by his pillow, yet he wakes with cares for years to come.

*69. Satan teaches, O my brethren, one watching instead of another; to good deeds to be sleepy, and to ill awake and watchful.

*70. Even Judas Iscariot, for the whole night through was wakeful; and he sold the righteous Blood, that purchased the whole world.

*71. The son of the dark one put on darkness, having stripped the Light from off him: and Him who created silver, for silver the thief sold.

*72. Yea, Pharisees, the dark one’s sons, all the night through kept awake: the dark ones watched that they might veil the Light which is unlimited.

*73. Ye then watch as heaven’s lights in this night of starry light. For though so dark be its colour yet in virtue it is clear.

*74. For whoever is like this clear One, wakeful and prayerful in darkness, him in this darkness visible a light unseen surrounds!

*75. The bad man that in daylight stands, yet as a son of darkness deals; though with light clad outwardly, inly is with darkness girt.

*76. Be we not deceived, beloved, by the fact that we are watching! For whoso does not rightly watch, his watch is an unrighteous watch.

*77. Whoso watches not cheerfully, his watching is but a sleeping: whoso also watches not innocently, even his waking is his foe.

*78. This is the waking of the envious one! a solid mass, compact with harm. That watch is but a trafficking, with scorn and mockery compact.

*79. The wrathful man if he wakes, fretful with wrath his wake will be, and his watching proves to him full of rage and of cursings.

*80. If the babbler be waking, then his mouth becomes a passage which for sins is ready but for prayers shows hindrance.

*81. The wise man, if so be he that watches, one of two things chooseth him; either takes sweet, moderate, sleep, or a holy vigil keeps.

*82. That night is fair, wherein He Who is Fair rose to come and make us fair. Let not aught that may disturb it enter into our watch!

*83. Fair be kept the ear’s approach, chaste the seeing of the eye! hallowed the musing of the heart! the speaking of the mouth be cleared.

*84. Mary hid in us today leaven that came from Abraham. Let us then so pity beggars as did Abraham the needy. Today the rennet fell on us from the gentle David’s house.

*85. Let a man show mercy to his persecutors, as did Jesse’s son to Saul. The prophets’ sweet salt is today sprinkled among the Gentiles.

*86. Let us gain a new savor by that whereby the ancient people lost their savor. Let us speak the speech of wisdom; speak we not of things outside it, lest we ourselves be outside it!

*87. In this night of reconcilement let no man be wroth or gloomy! in this night that stills all, none that threatens or disturbs!

*88. This night belongs to the sweet One; bitter or harsh be in it none! In this night that is the meek One’s, high or haughty be in it none!

*89. In this day of pardoning let us not exact trespasses! In this day of gladnesses let us not spread sadnesses!

*90. In this day so sweet, let us not be harsh! In this day of peaceful rest, let us not be wrathful in it!

*91. In this day when God came to sinners, let not the righteous be in his mind uplifted over sinner!

*92. In this day in which there came the Lord of all unto the servants, let masters too condescend to their servants lovingly!

*93. In this day in which the Rich became poor for our sakes, let the rich man make the poor man share with him at his table.

*94. On this day to us came forth the Gift, although we asked it not! Let us therefore bestow alms on them that cry and beg of us.

*95. This is the day that opened for us a gate on high to our prayers. Let us open also gates to supplicants that have transgressed, and of us have asked forgiveness.

*96. Today the Lord of nature was against His nature changed; let it not to us be irksome to turn our evil wills.

*97. Fixed in nature is the body; great or less it cannot become: but the will has such dominion, it can grow to any measure.

*98. This is the day that gladdened them, the Prophets, Kings, and Priests, for in it were their words fulfilled, and thus were the whole of them indeed performed!

*99. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Today Godhead sealed itself upon Manhood, that so with the Godhead’s stamp Manhood might be adorned.

*100. Both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. The voice that of old Isaiah spake, today became reality. For the Virgin this day brought forth Immanuel in Bethlehem.

To the readers and visitors of Mode of Life, we wish to extend our heartfelt well-wishes and prayers for you all so that you may have a blessed Feast of the 12 Days of the Nativity (Dodecaimera); And may God always keep you all peace, joy, health and wisdom, and may He bestow upon you all forbearance, patience and progress in all your endeavours which are pleasing to His will.

With the humble and sincere love of Christ,

Mode of Life Project

Translation of Nativity Hymn

“Magnify, O my soul, her who is more honorable and more exalted in glory than the heavenly hosts.
I behold a strange and wonderful mystery: the cave a heaven, the Virgin a cherubic throne, and the manger a noble place in which hath lain Christ the uncontained God. Let us, therefore, praise and magnify Him.

Magnify, O my soul, the God born in flesh from the Virgin.
When the Magi saw a new and strange star appearing suddenly, moving in a wonderful way, and transcending the stars of heaven in brightness, they were guided by it to Christ, the King born on earth in Bethlehem, for our salvation.

Magnify, O my soul, the King born in a cave.
The Magi said, Where is the Child King, the newborn, Whose star hath appeared? For we have verily come to worship Him. And Herod, the contender against God, trembled, and began to roar in folly to kill Christ.

Magnify, O my soul, the God worshipped by the Magi.
Herod ascertained from the Magi about the time of the star by whose guidance they were led to Bethlehem to worship with presents Christ Who guided them, and so they returned to their country, disregarding Herod, the evil murderer of babes, mocking him.
Magnify, O my soul, her who is more honorable and more exalted in glory than the heavenly hosts.
I behold a strange and wonderful mystery: the cave a heaven, the Virgin a cherubic throne, and the manger a noble place in which hath lain Christ the uncontained God. Let us, therefore, praise and magnify Him.

Magi and shepherds came to worship Christ, Who was born in the city of Bethlehem.
Verily it is easier for us to endure silence since there is no dread danger there from for us. But because of our strong desire, O Virgin, and Mother of sameness, to begin well-balanced songs of praise, this becometh indeed onerous to us. Wherefore, grant us power to equal our natural inclination.”

HOMILY ONE – BY SAINT GREGORY OF NYSSA

How lovely is the inspiration exhibited by those who are good, and how sweet is the joy which they disclose! See, we acquire a feast from a feast and grace from grace. Yesterday the Lord of the universe welcomed us whereas today it is the imitator [Stephen] of the Lord. How are they related to each other? One assumed human nature on our behalf while the other shed it for his Lord. One accepted the cave of this life for us, and the other left it for him. One was wrapped in swaddling clothes for us, and the other was stoned for him. One destroyed death, and the other scorned it.

Brethren, let us hasten to the stadium where the great athlete contends against the wicked adversary of human life by stripping himself in the arena by his confession [of faith] [cf. 1Cor 4.9]. Indeed, as Paul has said [Heb 12.4], Stephen [Stephanos] has become a spectacle to the world, angels and to men. He was the first to have received the crown [stephanos] of martyrdom, the first to have paved the way for the chorus of martyrs and the first to have resisted sin to the point of shedding blood. It seems to me that the entire host of transcendent powers, angels, and myriads both assist and accompany them [i.e., the martyrs]. If we hear anything honorable in the heavens from among the principalities, powers, thrones, ruling forces and the entire heavenly assembly, their words provide an athletic spectacle by contending with an opponent [cf. Col 1.16 & Eph 1.21].

Let human life resemble a stadium for the contestants where one person contends against another. That antagonist which showed himself hostile to human life from the fall of our first parents until the time of Stephen strove to be victorious over men, yet the great athlete of faith considered his assaults as nothing [cf. Wis 2.24]. Both took up arms against each other: the inventor of death confronted a threat to death, whereas the disciple of life confessed his faith. For who could not help but admire this new type of struggle when truth judged between life and death chronicled the truth? For while the herald of a life hidden [in God] remained unknown, he nevertheless divulged it to men. At once he forsook this life and rightly judged it better to exchange a more honorable life for the present one.

It would be beneficial to accurately record his contest in order to disclose the order of our method by a series of miracles. Recently a powerful wind from heaven scattered every airy, deceptive power of the demons and filled the Apostles’ house. Tongues of fire resided in each man corresponding with the number of those who received the grace of the Spirit. All were overcome by shock and confusion with the widely diverse languages immediately which the disciples spoke according to the sound and wonder of tongues and to the astonishment of those from every nation who were dwelling in Jerusalem [cf. Acts 2.2-5]. This was not a result of training and study but was a gift in the form of speaking which suddenly came from the Spirit’s [J.705] inspiration. Those engaged in constructing an earthly tower must speak the [J.78] same language when building the church’s spiritual dwelling. And so, the Holy Spirit’s wonderful dispensation introduced grace in order to diffuse it, thereby providing a common benefit for everyone through the medium of the human voice. In this way the preaching of piety might not be limited to one tongue and remain unprofitable for those persons who spoke various tongues.

Even at this early point the Pharisees did not believe with their own ears and concocted to trip up persons astonished by these miraculous events as though new wine had made them [the Apostles] insane [cf. Acts 2.13]. Then Peter’s solitary defense captured three thousand souls for Christ [cf. Acts 2.41], after which the church grew in the number of those who had been delivered. Those who were saved opened the temple’s Beautiful Gate for the man born lame [cf. Acts 3.2ff] because his miraculous healing both increased and led to the faith persons lame in soul. As a result, many flocked when the faith was preached and sought help from the diverse profusion of grace at which point Stephen, who was wealthy in wisdom and grace by the Spirit, was summoned to assist the Apostles [cf. Acts 6.5]. Let no one think that the name of minister [diakonia] made him inferior to the dignity of the Apostles. Since Paul realized that he was a minister of the mysteries of Christ [cf. 1 Cor 4.1] and the Lord of the universe brought salvation by assuming human , he was not ashamed to be called a minister. As the Apostle says, he was in their midst as one who serves [cf. Lk 22.27] and as one who provides a variety of ministries [cf. 1 Cor 12.5-6].

Just as fire consumes useful material and bright flames rise on high, so did the Holy Spirit make the rays of grace shine brighter through Stephen’s nobility. Similarly, all turned to him because he was gifted with knowledge and training. Those few persons who gathered together seemed to be a dense crowd much like a phalanx which attempted to assail Stephen who was equally serene whether in the company of many or few persons. Then certain persons under the guise of Alexandrians, Libertinians, Cyrenians and men from every place engaged the athlete in a debate regarding the truth. The father of lies assumed a human form and rose against truth which Stephen had spoken [cf. Jn 8.44]. However, the truth brought forth trophies against such lies, and its excellence wonderfully put to flight every assault of deception. The minister of truth sought the truth about the enemy who concealed his substance; rather, he made the truth appear as something which lacks substance.

How does this ruse affect the preacher? I believe that it comes from the devil. If any of you shares his strength, the truth destroys it in Stephen. But if that truth is loftier than your machinations, why are you deceitfully planning evil against the vessel of truth in order to destroy what remains of it? Dogs do this when they open their mouths for stones cast to them, yet they cannot touch the person whom threw them. Since true facts repulsed such a lie and could no longer find another champion of deception, all who looked squarely at the manifest truth remembered his own struggle. Stephen directed his energy against his accusers who passed judgment upon him, for they brought false accusations against him while being marked by rage and slander. The Jews brought various accusers against Stephen including judges who were either elected or who were subservient to death and did not know the impact of a ruinous vote levelled against Stephen. For just as experienced athletes bring down their more formidable opponents through vigorous training and thereby make them fall, so did the great Stephen who lay prostrate upon the ground overcome his adversary with difficultly.

From this point began the Apostles’ journey throughout the entire world and their preaching. If it were not for [Stephen's] murder and the Jews’ rage against the Apostles, perhaps the grace of the Gospel would have been confined to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Having been driven out by the Jews to another nation, the teaching of the [Christian] mysteries expelled the devil from the world. Thus Samaria received the preaching [cf. Acts 8.14]; salvation reached the eunuch through Philip [Acts 8.26ff]; Paul was a great vessel of election armed against the devil’s wrath and his threats against whose arrows he raised a shield [Acts 9.15], thereby abolishing him from the entire earth and making all places accessible to the faith of Christ. As a result, Egyptians, Syrians, Parthians, Mesopotamians, Galatians, Illyrians, Macedonians as well as nations from everywhere hastened to hear the preaching. Do you see Stephen’s athletic prowess and how the adversary was brought down to ruin although he appeared more excellent than his adversary by making false accusations?

But let us return again to the stadium. How do the calumniators enflame the people? They say, “He does not cease to speak words against this holy place and the Law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs which Moses handed down to us” [Acts 6.13-14]. Such is the allegation presented by the devil’s speech, but who pays attention to such rubbish? Against whom do they rage so vehemently and what evil can they detect in his words? They even brought forth another indictment against [Stephen] claiming that he boasted that this place would be destroyed and that the institutes of Moses would be changed. What outrage doe these words contain whether they happen to be true or false? If false, there is no cause for alarm; if true, what unjust ground is there for denunciation? For what had transpired will indeed happen again whether or not we remain silent. Can the murder of him who was denounced earlier relieve persons who are grieving? For example, Jesus the Nazarene was condemned by the same vote of reprisal levelled against Stephen. If he who is unjust vents his wrath, gives place to injustice and alters customs, Stephen is not responsible for these acts but it is Jesus, as the accuser says, and the court is compelled to pass judgement against him who is accused. Oh, what an unfair verdict for those who are listening! Since Jesus, says the judge, changes the laws, Stephen should then [J.83] be stoned. How did Jesus abrogate the Law when he affirmed its antiquity by saying, “I did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it” [Mt 5.17]? Who strengthened his disciples according to the Law? He forbade them to become angry and to commit murder [cf. Mt 5.21-22], rejected adultery out of desire [cf. Mt 5.39], ordered that grief not be repaid since unjust hands cannot lay hold of you [cf. Mt 6.19ff] and wiped out passion, a result of greed, and taught mastery over it. Why were these neither mentioned nor examined when judgement was passed? I do not wish the crowd of those bloodstained judges to be present and do not want to know about places associated with such malevolent persons, the celebrated temple’s location, the huge amount of stones, the gold left over which equalled the small amount left in the temple, the sacrifices according to the Law such as the ram, calf, lamb, heifer, dove, turtle-dove and he-goat for averting evil [cf. Lev 16.20ff]. Therefore if they condemn Stephen to death in order to deflect their sadness, they reveal their fruits through that terrible murder. If nothing is left, they claim that the vote counts, not the murder.

But let us see in the succeeding struggles how he who was covered by stones as if they were snow had warded off his murderers and how he returned a variety of thunderbolts against those who cast stones. The Jews knew the Christians’ weapons which the great Stephen used to ward off their attacks and who made it the law of life. They were all fierce, standing in a circle, looked at him with a hysterical gaze and brandished a weapon against Stephen in their hands. However, he resembled a priest according to the spiritual law, was a pure sacrifice, submissive, and offered his own body instead of an offering of sprinkled blood. He saw God in the celestial sanctuary, made petition on behalf of those who mistreated him, exchanged their bloodthirstiness for a good deed and cried out in their ears, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” [Acts 7.60]. By this prayer he expiated their sin which the murderers committed by their transgression and who were exasperated at his prayer. However, this did not prevent them from casting stones until the great Stephen fell into a sweet, blessed sleep as though he were surrounded by tender flowers or by gentle dew.

The athletes have achieved victory before we see those crowned who had engaged in fierce struggles since before seeing the contest, we have attained the goal of their struggles. I believe that we must not neglect them without mentioning the outstanding nature of their witness. This gathering of murderers was so filled with rage that they resorted to bloodshed; their evil was so strong that it restricted their breathing; their glance, appearance and passion was manifested by their teeth as divine Scripture says concerning enraged hearts which gnashed their teeth against him [cf. Acts 7.54]. Being in their midst, he girded himself against their hostile, murderous intent, surmounted their contemptuous intentions, resisted their wrath with patience and their threats with disdain, the fear of death with contempt, hatred with love, ill-will with benevolence and slander with truth.

Not only did the true athlete reveal one type of victory but combatted by countless virtues every form of evil which the Jews devised, thereby resulting in victory. I hear about various contests of strength in gymnasiums when athletes strip themselves naked in the arena and achieve victory against their contenders. Such martyrs are sovereign in the stadium, resisting with their own power every adversary and are as a beacon of triumph for all to see. The false wisdom of the Libertinians, Cyreninas and sages [J.86] from Alexandria [Acts 6.9] contend against him who is triumphant through true wisdom: courage overcomes fear, disdain conquers threats, charity subdues savagery and truth is victorious over falsehood. They sought to murder him, and their hands were already armed with stones; their glance and breathing through their teeth [M.713] held tightly together revealed their brutality. Nevertheless, he saw them as brothers and greeted them as fathers saying, “Men, brothers and fathers, listen [Acts 7.2]!”

They persuasively devised all sorts of calumny by convening a council of murderers against the truth. [Stephen] neither reproved them out of fear, was unconcerned with impending dangers nor did he consider death; rather, having his soul raised on high and appearing as though her were senseless to everyone gazing upon him, he taught them as though they were foolish children and demonstrated the error of their doctrines with regard to faith. In their presence [Stephen] briefly recounted the story of Abraham as well as the saints who followed him [cf. Acts 7.2-7]. He also added Moses, his birth, upbringing, education, initiation on the mountain, smiting the Egyptians, service to the Israelites and prophesy concerning the mystery of the Lord [cf. Acts 7.20-22, 30, 34, 36-37]. What especially incited this group and [J.87] fomented their illness was that Moses to whom they were especially devoted was a mentor for their teaching. They rose up against him in order to quiet him, something which Stephen desired in order to end his bitterness. He exited human nature and before he left the body, with pure eyes gazed upon heaven’s gates and the temple’s interior, the revelation of divine glory and the effulgence of his glory [cf. Acts 7.55-56]. The stamp of the Father’s glory [cf. Heb 1.3] could not be described, and the athlete saw his brilliance among men which accommodated itself to human nature. Thus being outside human nature, he shared the angelic nature which seemed like a miracle to these murderers. His face was changed to assume that of the angels and seeing invisible reality, he proclaimed the grace he had beheld [cf. Acts 7.56]. But they blocked their ears and did not wish to see this with their eyes, preferring their own self-righteous since they were not capable of hearing this divine report. However, he shared the grace with those present although he alone was worthy of it: “I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing at God’s right hand” [Acts 7.57]. They exclaimed with a great voice, blocked their ears and unanimously rushed upon him. History recounts a similar uproar in order to show how their actions coincide with the Sodomites, for the judge [God] hears their wicked cry when he says, “The cry of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah have reached me” [Gen 18.20-21]. Therefore they shouted out in order that the cry against Stephen might be heard.

The athlete fully realized the benefit hidden beneath the murderers’ bitterness because they who stood in a circle ready to stone him provided him with a crown much like a victor’s crown plaited at enemy hands. Therefore [Stephen] warded off their murderous intent by a blessing and being fully aware of their plan to slay him, was prepared to suffer death at their hands. Furthermore, he believed that his enemies had the opportunity of conferring a benefit upon him. For this reason the person who knows Christ wishes to bring his enemies into submission. [Stephen] knew that the Lawgiver was patient, recalled his command to love one’s enemies, to do good to those who bear hatred and to pray for one’s enemies [cf. Mt 5.44]. But the athlete’s goal does not consider human glory; rather, he seeks to overcome the entire world by the magnificence of his triumph and to outstrip human endurance, thereby rejecting every type of praise.

Although [Stephen] acquires victory in accord with every human manner of praise, we should pay attention to the narrative which pertains to the salvation of souls. Just as there are some athletes who have ceased their activity and train youths for athletic competitions through skillful technical manoeuvres to vanquish their adversaries, so I think we should be trained by the great Stephen in piety that we might escape the grips of spiritual adversaries [pneumatomachoi]. For those who are mad with rage detract from the Spirit’s glory claiming that Stephen is an advocate of their error when he gazed intently at heaven and saw God’s glory and Jesus standing at his right hand [Acts 7.55]. They claimed that he perverted the teachings of piety when, if the Spirit should be included along with the Father and Son, why did not Stephen see in his vision the Spirit with the Son? Therefore how did Stephen cause such distress by uttering these words with his hands outstretched? How does his reasonable tactics counteract such distressing words since he countered the incredulity of his adversaries at that very spot? Do you seek, oh pneumatichos, when the Father’s glory appears and the Son stands at his right, the location of the Spirit? If the Spirit were present within you, you would not fail to notice what is proposed [of the Spirit] much like those with defective vision who are ignorant of gold lying at their feet. At any rate I have now gotten wind of this and [desire] that you do not subscribe to the rumour devised by the Jews.

How did Stephen see transcendent glory? Who laid bare heaven’s gates for him? Was this the work of men? Which of the angels enabled inferior [human] nature soar to that height? Stephen was not alone when he was generously filled with power coming from the angels which enabled him to see what he saw. What was recorded? “Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit and saw the glory of God and his Only-Begotten Son” [Acts 7.55]. As the Prophet says, light cannot be seen unless one is filled with light: “In your light we shall see light” [Ps 35.10] (If observation of the light does not share this same light, how can anyone deprived of the sun’s rays see it?). Since the Father’s light makes this possible, the Only Begotten [Son's] light emanates through the Holy Spirit which makes it visible. Therefore the Spirit’s glory enables us to perceive the glory of both the Father and Son. But can we say that the Gospel is true which says that “No man has ever seen God” [Jn 1.18]? How do the Apostle’s words agree with the following, “No man has seen nor can see [God]” [1Tm 6.16]? If human nature and power can perceive the glory of the Father and Son, their vision must indeed be mistaken. However, history is true and cannot lie. The evil deed of the pneumatomachoi is indeed made clear because Scripture bears witness to similar situations. For Stephen beholds God not in human nature and power but is united by grace to the Holy Spirit who elevates him in order to comprehend God. Therefore, one cannot say that Jesus is Lord apart from the Spirit, as the Apostle says [cf. 1 Tm 6.16, 1Cor 12.3]. One cannot contemplate the Father’s glory because where the Spirit is the Son is seen and is grasped the Father’s glory.

But history presents us with another problem, namely, the weapon of impiety coming from the Christomachoi who condemn the Only Begotten [Son], for they consider the One present in the Father’s glory to be inferior to his authority. What about Paul? How shall I answer them? What does the prophet David who lived earlier say when he explained the glory of the Only Begotten [Son] by the teaching of the Spirit? David says, “The Lord said to my Lord, `Sit at my right hand’” [Ps 109.1]. The Apostle says that the Lord is seated at the right hand of God’s throne [Col 3.1, Heb 1.3]. If this represents either a place of inferiority or a seat of honour, testimony concerning [J.92] its magnificence is added in order to signify the loftiness of honour and the reception of true piety. For the Spirit’s grace teaches all these things. Stephen, being filled with the Holy Spirit, saw everything and spoke about what he knew. While in the Spirit, David calls “Lord” as the Gospel says [Mt 22.43]; when Paul, speaks of him, he mentions mysteries in the Spirit [1 Cor 14.2]. Therefore if there is one teacher who is in complete harmony, the teaching is the Spirit of truth which was present in divinely inspired persons.

Then how can any dissonance be present in teachings? But there is another seat and position which I can easily point out and will now mention it. Instead of showing concern for the body, these words should refer to what is incorporeal. With regard to man, the seat signifies that part of the body’s hips which enables it not to continuously bear strain and thereby become weighed down and crooked. On the other hand, an upright position upon one’s knees signifies that a person does not rest upon his hips when seated. But when it comes to transcendent nature, sitting and standing have no place with such concepts since each is separate and should be understood respectively. We neither subscribe to a bent position regarding incorporeal nature nor a sitting down with regard to what is formless; rather, we devoutly understand that each represents stability and being unmoved in every good. For standing and sitting apply to God and do not pertain to a difference of words concerning concepts which teach that God is firmly standing and sitting unmoved in the good. The prophet David and the apostle Paul do not comprehend the sitting of the Only Begotten [Son] in the same manner because the Father is standing and the Son is sitting. Indeed, by mentioning only the fact that the Son is sitting, Scripture tells us about the standing of the Son and no longer suggests the sitting of the Father.

For just as Paul and David both confessed the Father sitting through the Son’s standing at his right, indeed nothing is taught beforehand concerning the Father which is also true regarding Stephen where the Son is standing and revealed in the Father’s glory. Thus this image is valid if it appears to be a satisfactory archetype. Goodness is present in what is good, light is present in the light it reflects and primeval beauty is present in everything supported by an appropriate image. Thus we should clearly understand the image of the Son’s sitting, the Father’s sitting and the standing in the standing which differs from the archetype’s properties.

Brothers, you should ponder our words and thoughts and hold them as introductory remarks since Stephen’s vision provokes reflection. We are not only spectators of Stephen’s contest but since we are full of the Holy Spirit, we share his grace and eradicate adversaries for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ to whom be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

HOMILY TWO – BY SAINT GREGORY OF NYSSA

Upon entering the world, Christ brought salvation and founded the Church. The witness to the truth shone forth as well as those witnesses to such a great providence. The disciples followed their Teacher by following in his footsteps, for after Christ there came bears of Christ [Christophoroi - Christbearers]; after the Son of Justice [cf. Mal 3.20], they illumine the world. Stephen was the first to flourish on our behalf, not from the thorns of the Jews, but he was the first fruit for the Lord from the Church’s fertility. The Jews placed a crown woven from thorns on the Saviour’s head [Mt 27.29] since the Cultivator of the vine considered their fruit to be evil. With regard to this the prophet says, “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah is his pleasant planting. I have looked for grapes but behold, it produced thorns” [Is 5.7].

But the works of the evangelical truth are a foretaste of piety and offer to the Lord the holy man Stephen [Stephanos] as the first fruits of what has been cultivated in the form of a crown [stephanos] from the harmony of many and various virtues. First this wonderful man bore witness to suffering and was chosen as a faithful man by the Apostles; he was filled with the Holy Spirit by whose power he became wise. He showed diligence for preaching the divine word, and great wonders of divine power confirmed his teachings. Scripture says, “Stephen, being full of faith and power, performed great signs” [Acts 6.8]. He did not consider sufferings to be an impediment and did not hesitate to demonstrate zeal for his task; as a result, he became a great wonder and had the advantage of assuming hardship with a spirit of love. He endured sufferings, was concerned for souls, nourished them with bread, taught with words, offered bodily nourishment and set a spiritual feast because he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit. [Stephen] was sustained by the goodness of his will to serve the poor and curbed enemies by the Spirit’s power of the truth. Every [thought] ought to be rejected and every premeditation against the truth ought to be dispersed.

As it is written, “he cast down arguments and every proud obstacle to the power of God” [2 Cor 10.5]. Holy Scripture testifies to such power and mastery of speaking so that “no one can resist the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke” [Acts 6.10]. However the herald of truth stirred up the council of impiety. We should take notice of the protomartyr in order to give him his due which, because of the body’s weakness, could not be completed yesterday.

Today we wish to make memory of him along with the holy Apostles. Neither can praise of the saints be bound by days or time because “the memory of the just man remains forever” [Ps 111.6]. As a result, their significance will remain unaltered. Therefore [praise of] the martyrs will not be without the apostles nor will the apostles be without the martyrs. The apostles are teachers of the martyrs, whereas the martyrs are images of the apostles. Indeed blessed Stephen bears their image and the stamp of the cross and was first to receive the crown of martyrdom through death. However, the martyr’s endurance is a sign for teachers and has indeed become a crown on their behalf. The crown of beautiful teachers is not honour due to celebrity but growth for the Church so that as the divine Apostle says, “My dearly beloved, my joy and crown, stand firm” [Phil 4.1]. But let us return to the task at hand.

The bearer of Christ [Christophoros] has entered the assembly of those slain for Christ; the sheep has entered the pack of wolves but not every sheep fell prey and was handed over to the wolves. For they ripped apart and tore asunder the flock by biting it with accusations; rather, they were cut into pieces by reproaches, threats and denunciations just like them. Let us not pass over these words without notice. I have spoken of this assembly of evil doers which with bold effrontery comprises this pack of wolves and to which applies the reprimand, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and hears, you always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers and those after you” [Acts 7.51].

Thus he who appeared on earth gazes heavenward and being clothed with human nature, has been transformed into the appearance and form of an angel (there is nothing unseemly here; indeed, in the protomartyr it is becoming that the martyrs’ dignity become apparent that we may know the effects of such a new grace). The martyr’s yearning is not only pleasing to the angelic dignity but opens heaven’s gates; no longer are souls handed over to death, but they commend their spirits into Christ’s hands. For the man who is Lord cries out on the cross to his Father, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” [Lk 23.46]. Stephen, the servant of Christ, extends his hands to the Lord saying, “Jesus, receive my spirit” [Acts 7.59].

Having said these words, he hands over his soul. The angels have received a member of their chorus; rather, they took him up with praise while the Jews below stoned him. However, Stephen received a heavenly inheritance after undergoing such noble struggles. To Stephen all these stones are suddenly woven together as a herald to the divine Gospel and with him are the martyrs who again shine with the beauty of salvation. We have earlier mentioned the brilliance of piety which shines so brightly, namely, Peter, James, John and those leaders of the apostolic unanimity and crowns of the Church’s glory. Far be it for me to obstruct [the meaning of] Stephen’s name; rather, in many ways I will show how inexhaustible it is, for it knows no end to that perfect blessedness represented by crowns. Therefore, if in a spirit of loving the truth we again enjoy crowns from Stephen and share in their memory, then we hope to participate, [J.101] remain and be glorified with him, for when a promise has been confirmed, fellowship in the faith increases.

Again, brothers, enjoyment of the good occurs when the martyrs’ memory illuminates the Lord’s day of resurrection. Through these preceding remarks the brilliance belonging to the glory of Christ’s Gospel has illumined our minds in which the rays of salvation invigorate justice and banish the gloom of impiety once they have shed light upon souls by knowledge of the truth. To me this is especially wonderful and noteworthy. We feel the sun which rises early and whose rays foreshadow the coming of day by casting its rays upon everything under heaven. It hides and obscures the stars’ chorus so that we can no longer perceive their heavenly circuit.

But our Lord Jesus Christ rises to us from on high as the prophet says of him, “whereby the sun’s rising will visit up from on high” [Lk 1.78]. Not only does [the sun] hide like stars those holy persons who were its precursors, but it makes them shine more brightly and causes others to gleam more intensely. For the prophets radiated after his coming rather than before. Upon coming into the world the Saviour illumined and rent the obscurity of prophecy with regard to the Scribes’ decrees, having fulfilled the Law and prophets [cf. Rom 13.10], for he did not come to abolish the Law and the prophets but to fulfill them [Mt 5.17]. The Saviour said with regard to himself concerning the new order of grace, “I am the light of this world” [Jn 8.12]. The fountain of goodness coming from the good Father did not scorn to allow his servants participate in himself but said to his disciples, “You are the light of the world” [Mt 5.14], and “Let your deeds shine before men” [Mt 5.16]. We again confirm her our words by the Lord’s grace: John the Baptist was called a lamp [Jn 12.27], and in the Psalms [Christ] was announced and witnessed to by the Lord. The prophet says in the person of the Father in one of the hymns, “I have prepared a light for my Christ” [Ps 131.17, LXX]. That is, I have prepared a helper and precursor for the light. The Lord confirms this voice of the Father by saying, “He [John] was a burning lamp” [Jn 5.35]. However, such a light withdrew and became obscure at the Lord’s coming who was the sun of righteousness [cf. Mal 3.20].

In this way, the baptist might radiate all the more as a proclaimer of [Christ's] divinity. John therefore was called a lamp because he illumined through one [sun] alone the house of Israel [cf. Mt 5.15]. The Apostles of the Saviour were neither lamps, lights nor stars but messengers of light not illumining one region or area but brightening every place under heaven. The most important leaders were Peter, James and John who were designated as witnesses by Christ, running to the end of their lives and expending themselves by various forms of witness. For he whom the Lord designated as leader of the apostolic chorus obtained proper glory. By the cross he expressed the lordly image of the king (I mean the image of the cross of which he was not ashamed of suffering but took it as a great trophy.

Neither we nor any other person, as Paul says, can say that Jesus Christ is our Lord. Thus Peter radiates with much holiness and reverence when he is suspended upside down on a cross in order not to equal himself with his Saviour’s glory which spread through his crucifixion to humanity in its entirety and whose embrace included the entire world. James was beheaded [cf. Acts 12.2] out of love for Christ his true head. As the Apostle says, Christ is the head of man and the entire church [cf. 1Cor 11.3, Eph 5.23]. Blessed John endured many, diverse conflicts and succeeded in various positions with regard to fostering the religion. He underwent an unsuccessful attempt at being drowned and was judged to be numbered among the martyrs’ chorus. [John] was held in esteem not by his suffering but by his desire to undergo martyrdom, a type of death which became an immortal tribute who by his death had graced the churches. It is indeed fitting to recall those special men not only with regard to their outstanding piety but their noble character. Together they hold special rank among the other apostles, and their courage does not belong to human reasoning but is in accord with the judgment of divine truth.

Such persons recognized by their great wonders are only known by the Lord in their steadfast fidelity and true witness. This was the vision on the mountain when the Lord was transfigured in resplendent, divine glory only before Peter, James and John [cf. Mt 17.1ff.]. Both Moses and Elias were present with him, and his brilliance which was overshadowed by a cloud revealed the king’s great image. Such was the case with Jairus’ daughter whom [Jesus] brought back to life [cf. Mt 26.37], only in this instance they were witnesses to the miracle. Without delaying further, we see that [Jesus] took these same men at the time of his saving passion when he encouraged and confirmed them to be faithful by saying, “Now my soul is troubled” [Jn 12.27]. We do not relate these words to cast a bad light upon the rest of the apostles but as a testimony in remembrance of their virtue.

If we must excel among the saints is not restricted by human discernment but by God’s judgment and truth. We have been made worthy of sharing them by recalling such men and must give thanks not so much because we are obliged (this is impossible) but in so far our capacity (this indeed is possible). The saints accept our honour not in order to gain something but only that we might share a common benefit. Again I think we should recall not only Peter, James and John but celebrate the memory of all the apostles. If anyone attains the truth which is in accord with their teachings, this person serves to complete the form of one body. As the Apostle says, “if one member is glorified then all the others are glorified” [1Cor 12.26].

Thus truth is especially present in those blessed, perfect men who share the same faith and the same blessing of piety and who solemnly participate in the truth. Who does not gladly exult and is filled with the Holy Spirit once he has been deemed worthy of sharing the apostolic chorus, of guiding the entire world into the knowledge of truth, of filling the true religion’s net with the world? Such a person has ensnared with traps whatever belongs to the truth in order to seize every type of evil which afflicts mankind and to lead men to him who both tames and saves them? “To every place on the earth goes their sound” [Ps 18.5]. Here are the foundations of the Church, the columns and supports of truth which are the eternal fountains of salvation from which with great abundance the streams of divine teaching flows. With regard to these matters the prophetic voices says to us, “You will draw water with joy from the fountains of salvation” [Is 12.3].

Peter, the chief of the Apostles, is recalled and the remaining members of the Church are glorified with him for indeed the Church of God is established upon him. This is accord with the Lord’s words who made him the firm and most solid rock upon which he had built his Church [cf. Mt 16.16ff]. Then we have mention of James, John and as sons of thunder whom the Saviour had named and who had brought rain clouds; for the gathering of clouds by necessity herald rain. Thus the clouds represent Apostles and prophetic words; although times of preaching differ, nevertheless the laws of true religion are in harmony and one spirit is the source of various gifts. But who can explain for those who are incapable their courage and worthily recall apostolic virtue? We do not refer to Simon who was known for his fishing or for his ambition to receive praise but to his steadfast faith which made the entire Church firm.

Neither again do we mention the sons of Zebedee but the Boanergoi, that is, the Sons of Thunder. How does such a faint sound is now so insufficient transformed into thunderous words which penetrate every ear? Therefore we desire to dismiss an ineffective silence with regard to studying the saints, being fully aware that their memory makes us worthy of being with them and of imitating their virtue. We do not celebrate their lives by words but by keeping their manner of life in ours minds. We show ourselves as worthy disciples not through irrational words but by reverence, good speech, by having the same opinion and ardour. Do you honour the martyrs’ memory and hold them in veneration? Fellowship with their memory implies agreement with their mind. Does not the light of knowledge by the Gospel’s glory concerning Christ illumine such persons [cf. 2Cor 4.4, 6]? Is not grace poured out by them? Their commands, way of life, struggle, judgement of truth are one and make us worthy by the prayers and intercession of the saints whom we recall through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power forever. Amen.

We shall now say something about the present feast. Many celebrate the feastdays and know their designations, but the cause for which they were established they know not. Thus concerning this, that the present feast is called Theophany — everyone knows; but what this is — Theophany, and whether it be one thing or another, they know not. And this is shameful — every year to celebrate the feastday and not know its reason.

First of all therefore, it is necessary to say that there is not one Theophany, but two: the one actual, which already has occurred, and the second in future, which will happen with glory at the end of the world. About this one and about the other you will hear today from Paul, who in conversing with Titus, speaks thus about the present: “The grace of God hath revealed itself, having saved all mankind, decreeing, that we reject iniquity and worldly desires, and dwell in the present age in prudence and in righteousness and piety” — and about the future: “awaiting the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Tit 2:11-13). And a prophet speaks thus about this latter: “the sun shalt turn to darkness, and the moon to blood at first, then shalt come the great and illuminating Day of the Lord” (Joel 2:31). Why is not that day, on which the Lord was born, considered Theophany — but rather this day on which He was baptised? This present day it is, on which He was baptised and sanctified the nature of water. Because on this day all, having obtained the waters, do carry it home and keep it all year, since today the waters are sanctified; and an obvious phenomenon occurs: these waters in their essence do not spoil with the passage of time, but obtained today, for one whole year and often for two or three years, they remain unharmed and fresh, and afterwards for a long time do not stop being water, just as that obtained from the fountains.

Why then is this day called Theophany? Because Christ made Himself known to all — not then when He was born — but then when He was baptised. Until this time He was not known to the people. And that the people did not know Him, Who He was, listen about this to John the Baptist, who says: “Amidst you standeth, Him Whom ye know not of” (Jn.1:26). And is it surprising that others did not know Him, when even the Baptist did not know Him until that day? “And I — said he — knew Him not: but He that did send me to baptise with water, about This One did tell unto me: over Him that shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding upon Him, This One it is Who baptiseth in the Holy Spirit” (Jn. 1:33). Thus from this it is evident, that — there are two Theophanies, and why Christ comes at baptism and on whichever baptism He comes, about this it is necessary to say: it is therefore necessary to know both the one and equally the other. And first it is necessary to speak your love about the latter, so that we might learn about the former. There was a Jewish baptism, which cleansed from bodily impurities, but not to remove sins. Thus, whoever committed adultery, or decided on thievery, or who did some other kind of misdeed, it did not free him from guilt. But whoever touched the bones of the dead, whoever tasted food forbidden by the law, whoever approached from contamination, whoever consorted with lepers — that one washed, and until evening was impure, and then cleansed. “Let one wash his body in pure water — it says in the Scriptures, — and he will be unclean until evening, and then he will be clean” (Lev 15:5, 22:4). This was not truly of sins or impurities, but since the Jews lacked perfection, then God, accomplishing it by means of this greater piety, prepared them by their beginnings for a precise observance of important things.

Thus, Jewish cleansings did not free from sins, but only from bodily impurities. Not so with ours: it is far more sublime and it manifests a great grace, whereby it sets free from sin, it cleanses the spirit and bestows the gifts of the Spirit. And the baptism of John was far more sublime than the Jewish, but less so than ours: it was like a bridge between both baptisms, leading across itself from the first to the last. Wherefore John did not give guidance for observance of bodily purifications, but together with them he exhorted and advised to be converted from vice to good deeds and to trust in the hope of salvation and the accomplishing of good deeds, rather than in different washings and purifications by water. John did not say: wash your clothes, wash your body, and ye will be pure, but what? — “bear ye fruits worthy of repentance” (Mt 3:8). Since it was more than of the Jews, but less than ours: the baptism of John did not impart the Holy Spirit and it did not grant forgiveness by grace: it gave the commandment to repent, but it was powerless to absolve sins. Wherefore John did also say: “I baptise you with water…That One however will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Mt 3:11). Obviously, he did not baptise with the Spirit. But what does this mean: “with the Holy Spirit and with fire?”

Call to mind that day, on which for the Apostles “there appeared disparate tongues like fire, and sat over each one of them” (Acts 2:3). And that the baptism of John did not impart the Spirit and remission of sins is evident from the following: Paul “found certain disciples, and said to them: received ye the Holy Spirit since ye have believed? They said to him: but furthermore whether it be of the Holy Spirit, we shall hear. He said to them: into what were ye baptised? They answered: into the baptism of John. Paul then said: John indeed baptised with the baptism of repentance,” — repentance, but not remission of sins; for whom did he baptise? “Having proclaimed to the people, that they should believe in the One coming after him, namely, Christ Jesus. Having heard this, they were baptised in the Name of the Lord Jesus: and Paul laying his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them” (Acts 19:1-6). Do you see, how incomplete was the baptism of John? If the one were not incomplete, would then Paul have baptised them again, and placed his hands on them; having performed also the second, he shew the superiority of the apostolic Baptism and that the baptism of John was far less than his. Thus, from this we recognise the difference of the baptisms.

Now it is necessary to say, for whom was Christ baptised and by which baptism? Neither the former the Jewish, nor the last — ours. Whence hath He need for remission of sins, how is this possible for Him, Who hath not any sins? “Of sin, — it says in the Scriptures, — worked He not, nor was there deceit found in His mouth” (1 Pet 2:22); and further, “who of you convicteth Me of Sin?” (Jn 8:46). And His flesh was privy to the Holy Spirit; how might this be possible, when it in the beginning was fashioned by the Holy Spirit? And so, if His flesh was privy to the Holy Spirit, and He was not subject to sins, then for whom was He baptised? But first of all it is necessary for us to recognise, by which baptism He was baptised, and then it will be clear for us. By which baptism indeed was He baptised? — Not the Jewish, nor ours, nor John’s. For whom, since thou from thine own aspect of baptism dost perceive, that He was baptised not by reason of sin and not having need of the gift of the Spirit; therefore, as we have demonstrated, this baptism was alien to the one and to the other. Hence it is evident, that He came to Jordan not for the forgiveness of sins and not for receiving the gifts of the Spirit. But so that some from those present then should not think, that He came for repentance like others, listen to how John precluded this. What he then spoke to the others then was: “Bear ye fruits worthy of repentance”; but listen what he said to Him: “I have need to be baptised of Thee, and Thou art come to me?” (Mt 3:8, 14).

With these words he demonstrated, that Christ came to him not through that need with which people came, and that He was so far from the need to be baptised for this reason — so much more sublime and perfectly purer than Baptism itself. For whom was He baptised, if this was done not for repentance, nor for the remission of sins, nor for receiving the gifts of the Spirit? Through the other two reasons, of which about the one the disciple speaks, and about the other He Himself spoke to John. Which reason of this baptism did John declare? Namely, that Christ should become known to the people, as Paul also mentions: “John therefore baptised with the baptism of repentance, so that through him they should believe on Him that cometh” (Acts 19:4); this was the consequence of the baptism. If John had gone to the home of each and, standing at the door, had spoken out for Christ and said: “He is the Son of God,” such a testimony would have been suspicious, and this deed would have been extremely perplexing. So too, if he in advocating Christ had gone into the synagogues and witnessed to Him, this testimony of his might be suspiciously fabricated.

But when all the people thronged out from all the cities to Jordan and remained on the banks of the river, and when He Himself came to be baptised and received the testimony of the Father by a voice from above and by the coming-upon of the Spirit in the form of a dove, then the testimony of John about Him was made beyond all questioning. And since he said: “and I knew Him not” (Jn 1:31), his testimony put forth is trustworthy. They were kindred after the flesh between themselves “wherefore Elizabeth, thy kinswoman, hath also conceived a son” — said the Angel to Mary about the mother of John (Lk. 1: 36); if however the mothers were relatives, then obviously so also were the children.

Thus, since they were kinsmen — in order that it should not seem that John would testify concerning Christ because of kinship, the grace of the Spirit organised it such, that John spent all his early years in the wilderness, so that it should not seem that John had declared his testimony out of friendship or some similar reason. But John, as he was instructed of God, thus also announced about Him, wherein also he did say: “and I knew Him not.” From whence didst thou find out? “He having sent me that sayeth to baptise with water, That One did tell me” What did He tell thee? “Over Him thou shalt see the Spirit descending, like to a dove, and abiding over Him, That One is baptised by the Holy Spirit” (Jn 1:32-33). Dost thou see, that the Holy Spirit did not descend as in a first time then coming down upon Him, but in order to point out that preached by His inspiration — as though by a finger, it pointed Him out to all. For this reason He came to baptism.

And there is a second reason, about which He Himself spoke — what exactly is it? When John said: “I have need to be baptised of Thee, and Thou art come to me?” — He answered thus: “stay now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill every righteousness” (Mt 3:14-15). Dost thou see the meekness of the servant? Dost thou see the humility of the Master? What does He mean: “to fulfill every righteousness?” By righteousness is meant the fulfillment of all the commandments, as is said: “both were righteous, walking faultlessly in the commandments of the Lord” (Lk 1:6). Since fulfilling this righteousness was necessary for all people — but no one of them kept it or fulfilled it — Christ came then and fulfilled this righteousness.

And what righteousness is there, someone will say, in being baptised? Obedience for a prophet was righteous. As Christ was circumcised, offered sacrifice, kept the sabbath and observed the Jewish feasts, so also He added this remaining thing, that He was obedient to having been baptised by a prophet. It was the will of God then, that all should be baptised — about which listen, as John speaks: “He having sent me to baptise with water” (Jn 1:33); so also Christ: “the publicans and the people do justify God, having been baptised with the baptism of John; the Pharisees and the lawyers reject the counsel of God concerning themselves, not having been baptised by him” (Lk 7:29-30). Thus, if obedience to God constitutes righteousness, and God sent John to baptise the nation, then Christ has also fulfilled this along with all the other commandments.

Consider, that the commandments of the law is the main point of the two denarii: this — debt, which our race has needed to pay; but we did not pay it, and we, falling under such an accusation, are embraced by death. Christ came, and finding us afflicted by it — He paid the debt, fulfilled the necessary and seized from it those, who were not able to pay. Wherefore He does not say: “it is necessary for us to do this or that,” but rather “to fulfill every righteousness.” “It is for Me, being the Master, — says He, — proper to make payment for the needy.” Such was the reason for His baptism — wherefore they should see, that He had fulfilled all the law — both this reason and also that, about which was spoken of before.

Wherefore also the Spirit did descend as a dove: because where there is reconciliation with God — there also is the dove. So also in the ark of Noah the dove did bring the branch of olive — a sign of God’s love of mankind and of the cessation of the flood. And now in the form of a dove, and not in a body — this particularly deserves to be noted — the Spirit descended, announcing the universal mercy of God and showing with it, that the spiritual man needs to be gentle, simple and innocent, as Christ also says: “Except ye be converted and become as children, ye shalt not enter into the Heavenly Kingdom” (Mt 18:3). But that ark, after the cessation of the flood, remained upon the earth; this ark, after the cessation of wrath, is taken to heaven, and now this Immaculate and Imperishable Body is situated at the right hand of the Father.

Having made mention about the Body of the Lord, I shall also say a little about this, and then the conclusion of the talk. Many now will approach the Holy Table on the occasion of the feast. But some approach not with trembling, but shoving, hitting others, blazing with anger, shouting, cursing, roughing it up with their fellows with great confusion. What, tell me, art thou troubled by, my fellow? What disturbeth thee? Do urgent affairs, for certain, summon thee? At this hour art thou particularly aware, that these affairs of thine that thou particularly rememberest, that thou art situated upon the earth, and dost thou think to mix about with people? But is it not with a soul of stone naturally to think, that in such a time thou stand upon the earth, and not exult with the Angels with whom to raise up victorious song to God? For this Christ also did describe us with eagles, saying: “where the corpse is, there are the eagles gathered” (Mt 24:28) — so that we might have risen to heaven and soared to the heights, having ascended on the wings of the spirit; but we, like snakes, crawl upon the earth and eat dirt. Having been invited to supper, thou, although satiated before others, would not dare to leave before others while others are still reclining. But here, when the sacred doings are going on, thou at the very middle would pass by everything and leave? Is it for a worthy excuse? What excuse might it be? Judas, having communed that last evening on that final night, left hastily then as all the others were still reclining.

Here these also are in imitation of him, who leave before the final blessing! If he had not gone, then he would not have made the betrayal; if he did not leave his co-disciples, then he would not have perished; if he had not removed himself from the flock, then the wolf would not have seized and devoured him alone; if he had separated himself from the Pastor, then he would not have made himself the prey of wild beasts. Wherefore he (Judas) was with the Jews, and those (the apostles) went out with the Lord. Dost thou see, by what manner the final prayer after the offering of the sacrifice is accomplished? We should, beloved, stand forth for this, we should ponder this, fearful of the coming judgement for this. We should approach the Holy Sacrifice with great decorum, with proper piety, so as to merit us more of God’s benevolence, to cleanse one’s soul and to receive eternal blessings, of which may we all be worthy by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to with Whom the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, and worship now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Author: Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople

Our Most Holy Lady, the Ever-Virgin Mary is a wonder and mystery which not even the angels can understand: “Heaven was astonished and the ends of the earth amazed, for God appeared bodily to mankind, and your bosom became broader than the heavens. Therefore, Mother of God, the leaders of the orders of angels and of men magnify you”, writes the poet of the Paraclitic Canon. She is, as Gregory the Theologian says, “God after God”. Of course, the Fathers also refer to her position elsewhere, clarifying it: “Let Mary be held in honour. Let the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be worshipped, but let no-one worship Mary”, (Saint Epifanios).

Regarding the genealogy of Our Lady, we’re told in the Gospel according to Saint Luke that she was “of the house of David”. The protoevangelium, as it is called, of James, the Brother of the Lord, tells us that the priest Matthan married a Mary and she bore four children: Jacob, who was father to Joseph, the betrothed of Our Lady, Salome the midwife, Sobe, who bore Elizabeth the Mother of John the Baptist and Ann who gave birth to Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, the God/Man.

She was given the name Mary by her parents Ioakeim and Ann, but the name she mainly goes by in Orthodoxy is Mother of God. This term was ratified at the 3^rd Ecumenical Synod of the Church in 431. But in order to express its great love and respect towards the Virgin, the Church has attributed to her a host of honorific titles and epithets. A typical example is Saint Nektarios, who devoted five thousand verses to her honour, comprising his “Theotokario”*.

From the Gospels in the New Testament we learn that the Daughter of Nazareth received her Annunciation from the Archangel Gabriel; visited her cousin Elizabeth; who was already pregnant with the Honourable Forerunner, John the Baptist; gave birth to the Saviour of the world in Bethlehem; fled to Egypt to protect her child from those seeking to kill Him; sought her twelve-year-old Son in Jerusalem, while He was debating with the teachers in the Temple; was present at the wedding in Cana, where she interceded with her Son; accompanied Him to Golgotha and witnessed the divine events of the Crucifixion, the burial and the glorious Resurrection of the Lord and then the descent of the Holy Spirit which occurred in the upper room on the day of Pentecost.

We learn more about the life of the Mother of God from Patristic Tradition, which is just as valid a source as the Apostolic Tradition, of which it is the natural continuation, based on the experience and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The work, On the Divine Names, by Saint Dionysios the Areopagite, the Encomia of the Dormition of Our Lady which were written by various saints of the Church such as John the Damascan and Andrew  of Crete, the hymns and iconography of the Church – all these are basic sources. We also find information in the Apocryphal narrative of Saint John the Theologian on the Dormition of Mary, the Mother of God.

Just as the Archangel Gabriel had been her attendant all through the previous years, so now he brought her the message that, in three days, her Son would come and take her all-pure soul. After the divine message, Our Lady went up onto the Mount of Olives, where she prayed to her Son and God.  She then told the Church about what was about to happen. On the day of her Dormition, the Grace of God, in the form of a cloud, brought the Apostles, who were far away, to the house of Saint John the Evangelist in Gethsemane, so that they could take her blessing and experience her blessed Dormition. Saint Paul, Timothy the Apostle, Saint Dionysios the Areopagite and other saints of both sexes were also present. Our Lady comforted and advised the apostles and prayed for the salvation of the whole world, until the morning, when her Son Himself took her spirit.

Then, “her God-bearing body, with angelic and apostolic hymnody was carried and buried, and was laid in the grave in Gethsemane”, even though the Jews tried to impede the holy rite. It is reported that a Jew called Ieronias, attempted to stop her interment, with the result that his arms were cut off by an invisible force. Fortunately, he repented and was immediately healed. A similar fate befell all those who approached Our Lady with impiety in their hearts: they were blinded, but had their sight restored when they repented.

The Holy Apostles then interred the most holy body of the Mother of God and remained there for three days, while the “presence of the choirs of angels singing hymns continued unceasing”. John the Damascan records in his Encomium on the most august Dormition of the Mother of God: “After the third day, when the angelic hymnody had ceased, with the apostles still present, one was brought to them, and since he wished to reverence the God-bearing body, they opened the grave. They were unable to find her all-praised body, only the burial objects, and were filled with the ineffable fragrance she left behind”.

The apostle who had been absent on the day of the Dormition was Thomas, according to tradition. Thus, on the third day after the event, when Our Lady was due to be transposed in the body to be with her Son, the Apostle Thomas was borne to Gethsemane by the Grace of the Holy Spirit, where he saw the Mother of God being taken up into the heavens. Our Lady gave him her belt, which is now kept as a prize possession in the Holy Monastery of Vatopaidi.

The Paraclitic Canons to the Mother of God The day of the Dormition of the Mother of God is a high feast. In the life of the Church, the dismissal hymn and kontakion for the feast explain why: “In giving birth, Mother of God, you retained your virginity, and in your Dormition you did not abandon the world. You who are the Mother of Life have passed over into life and by your prayers you deliver our souls from death”. “Neither the tomb nor death had power over the Mother of God, who is always watchful in her prayers and in whose intercessions lies unfailing hope. For as the Mother of Life she has been transported into life by Him Who dwelt within her ever-virgin womb”.

Initially, this feast of Our Lady was moveable, but then, at the behest of Emperor Mavrikios, was established on 15 August.

Nowadays, the feast is preceded by a period of compunction lasting two weeks and every evening we Orthodox gather in our churches in order to sing the Paraclitic Canons to the Most Holy Mother of God.

We have recourse to Our Lady and sing the canons because we firmly believe, together with the poets who wrote them that “No-one who hastens to you leaves disappointed, pure Virgin Mother of God, but they ask for grace and receive profit from their request”. Our experience of the countless bounties we have received from the Queen of the Heavens prohibits our silence: “We, though unworthy, never cease from telling your mighty works, Mother of God. For had you not shielded us and interceded for us, who would have delivered us from such dangers and how would we still be free? We cleave to you, Lady, for you forever save your servants from all manner of adversity”. “I do not hide the depth of your mercy nor the fount of your unlimited wonders… but I confess, proclaim and announce them to all and rejoice in them”.

We confess our sinfulness before the Mother of God, we express our cry of anguish to her, the pain of our soul and body and the sorrow, all of which make us feel that “our life has drawn nigh to Hades” Of course, we don’t lose heart and we don’t bemoan our fate as those do who have no hope, but sing from the depths of our hearts “fill my heart with joy Virgin… you who expunge the sorrow of sin”. We place all our hopes on her, because we know from experience that she really is merciful and that, as the Mother of God she is a fount of mercy, the only refuge of the world and “unfailing Mediatrix before the creator”. Moreover, we request her to govern our lives and as the “invincible bulwark and protection” and “most secure citadel” that she is to “keep us safe from the “flighted arrows of the demons” which fly around us and which we are unable to withstand alone. And so we Christians really do experience the summer Easter.

So on those days, apart from at Vespers on the Saturdays and the eve of the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, we sing alternately the Small Paraclitic Canon, which is a poem by a hymnographer called Monk Theostiriktos, or Theofanis, to give him his secular name, and the Great Paraclitic Canon, a poem composed by Theodoros II Laskaris, the emperor of Nicea, who lived in the 13th century.

We have little evidence concerning the identity of the Monk Theostiriktos, who composed the Small Paraclitic Canon. As regards Theodoros II, we know that he was the son of the emperor and saint Ioannis Doukas Vatatzis and Eirini Laskarina. It is reported that Emperor Theodoros suffered from a malady that produced severe depression, from which he prayed to be delivered. Indeed, it appears that sometimes he disregarded his spiritual struggle which is why he often repeated the phrase “I have abandoned you, Christ”.  His prayers, therefore, took the form of intercessions to Our Lady after he came to know Saint Theodora, the Empress of Epirus, who had great reverence for the Mother of God. It was from the saint that he learned to turn to Our Lady in difficult times, when he was burdened by depression, and to ask her to soothe the pain and bring him divine grace and comfort. In this Paraclitic Canon “the sufferings and tortures of a soul are put into song… where a Greek emperor, pursued, fought against, worried, by Latins and Arabs and his own people, puts into song to Our Lady his own pain and the persecutions that he suffered from the hordes of the barbarians, which he calls “clouds”, as Alexandros Papadiamantis notes. The Paraclisis of Theodoros II was given out to the Holy Monasteries of the region, where a service was composed, and from there spread throughout Byzantium, as the Great Paraclitic Canon.

The fact that the two Canon services are held on alternate days is probably due to the set of historical circumstances which marked Byzantium in 1261. In that year, during the reign of Mikhaïl VIII Palaiologos, the Reigning City, Constantinople, was recaptured without bloodshed and this was attributed to the miraculous intervention of the Mother of God. Mikhaïl wanted to enter the City in procession and to address his thanks to Our Lady. But since, at that time, the Great Paraclitic Canon of Theodoros II, his predecessor, was being sung, a compromise solution had to be found. It was suggested that the older, Small Paraclitic Canon to Our Lady the Mother of God be used instead. Since then, the use of the Great Paraclitic Canon has been restricted to the fast for the 15th August.

The services of the Paraclitic Canons, then, which fall between the two great feasts of the Church, Easter and Christmas, are held so that we can address supplications and prayers to Our Lady, our sole mediatrix with our Philanthropic God, so that we will be granted mercy and the strength to ascend our Golgotha, where the ineffable joy of the resurrection is experienced. Because the resurrection is not to be found beyond the cross but is granted right there upon it.

Let us pay all due honour, then, and like the great preacher Ilias Miniatis (1669-1714) let us implore Our Lady the Mother of God: “You who are full of grace and glorified, the Queen of All, from the exuberant radiance of the divine light you enjoy, standing on the right of your only-begotten Son, send down to us here, your devout servants, a blessed ray as light to our endarkened minds and a flame to our ice-cold will, that we may see to  hasten to tread in the way of the divine strictures. After God we have our hope of salvation in you, the Mother of God and Mother of us all; from you we hope in the victories of the most serene Power, the trophies of the God-fearing Emperors; the firm foundation of the Church; the defence of the race of the Orthodox; the shelter of this habitation, which is dedicated to your peaceable assistance. Indeed, Our Lady Virgin, indeed, Mary, the name which is the joy, comfort and boast of Christians, accept the fast and supplication of these holy days, which we have made in your honour, as welcome incense. And count us worthy, just as we embrace here in Church your holy and wonder-working icon, so, too, in Paradise, to see your blessed face, which we shall venerate as we do the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, throughout the vast ages. Amen”

* Including the well-known hymn “Agni Parthene” [trans. note]

Source: www.churchofcyprus.org.cy

*(I.) CANONICAL ORDER

*1. The period of the Nativity Fast begins on November 15 (the day after the Feast of St. Philip, 14 November) and ends on 24 December.[1]

*2. During this period, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, we eat food without oil, but fish is permitted on the other days.[2]

*3. By Tradition, the period during which we are permitted to eat fish begins on the Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos (21 November)[3] and ends on the Feast of St. Spyridon (12 December).

*4. On the Eve of the Nativity (24 December), we maintain a strict fast (xerophagy), unless the Eve falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, in which case we are allowed oil, wine, and shellfish, but not fish.[4]

*5. On the Feast of the Nativity we are permitted to eat food of any kind, regardless of the day on which it falls.[5]

*6. There is a parallel and well-attested tradition that the period during which fish is permitted extends as far as the commemoration of the Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Youths (17 December), since, according to the ancient order, the Nativity Fast lasted for only seven days (18-24 December).[6]

*7. There is yet another parallel tradition, also quite well attested, that fish is permitted only on Saturdays and Sundays. This was originally a stricter order enjoined by monastic Typika and was not applied universally.[7]

*8. The aforementioned two parallel practices have always existed in the life of the Orthodox Church, but it has been left—“on the basis of unwritten Church Tradition”—to the charitable discretion and pastoral responsibility of spiritual Fathers to accommodate their pious spiritual children either to the stricter or to the more lenient regimen, depending on their spiritual and physical capacities.

*9. The possibility of such discretion is mentioned both by St. John of Damascus, who explicitly emphasizes that in questions of fasting, “we should obey…those who have been entrusted with leadership and with stewardship of the word,”[8] and by the Permanent Synod convened under Patriarch Luke

Chrysoverges of Constantinople (twelfth century), which codified the Nativity Fast (and that of the Dormition of the Theotokos) and which furnished local Orthodox Bishops with very broad canonical authority in the application of ecclesiastical economy, whenever the need might arise: “If we are compelled to relax the fasts on account of bodily infirmity, the prescribed days of the fast may be shortened at the behest of the Bishop; for this, too, has been decreed on the basis of unwritten Church Tradition.”[9]

*10. If a Hierarch has not publicly announced in advance, in the region of his jurisdiction or to the parishes Priests, the order of fasting to be observed during the forty-day period of the Nativity Fast, especially with regard to whether everyone is or is not permitted to eat fish on Tuesdays and Thursdays until December 17, the Faithful should consult their spiritual Fathers concerning this matter and should put their instructions into practice with confidence, as the Saints enjoin: “Do nothing without the Bishop.” [10] 21 November 1997 (Old Style) Entrance of the Theotokos

Notes

*1. See (i) St. Anastasios of Antioch, Patrologia Græca, Vol. LXXXIX,

cols. 1389-1398/G. Rallis and M. Potlis (eds.), SÊntagma t«n Ye¤vn ka‹ ÑIer«n KanÒnvn [Compendium of the Divine and Sacred Canons] (Athens: G. Chartophylax, 1852-1859), Vol. IV, pp. 580-584;

*(ii) St. Theodore the Studite, Patrologia Græca, vol. XCIX, cols. 1693-1696;

*(iii) Nikon the Monk, Patrologia Græca, Vol. CXXVII, cols. 525D-528A/Rallis and Potlis, SÊntagma,

Vol. IV, p. 591;

*(iv) “TÒmow ÑEn≈sevw” [“Tome of Union”] (920), in Rallis and Potlis, SÊntagma, Vol. V, p. 8/Praktikå t«n ÑAg¤vn ka‹ Ofikoumenik«n SunÒdvn [Proceedings of the Holy Œcumenical Synods], ed. Spyridon Melias (Holy Mountain: Kalyve of the Venerable Forerunner Publications, 1981), Vol. II, p. 77a;

*(v) Theodore Balsamon, Patriarch of Antioch, Patrologia Græca, vol. CXXXVIII, cols. 941AD, 1001AC, 1335-1360/Rallis and Potlis, SÊntagma, Vol. IV, p. 419-421, 488, 565-579;

*(vi) St. Nicodemos the Hagiorite, ÑIerÚn Phdãlion [The Rudder], pp. 93-94 (note on the Sixty-ninth Apostolic Canon), pp. 387ff. (note on the Third Canon of the Council of Neocæsarea), and p. 728 (note on the Nineteenth Canon of St. Nicephoros the Confessor);

*(vii) Peter Moghila, Metropolitan of Kiev, Orthodox Confession, Part I: Question/Answer 88, in J. Karmiris (ed), Dogmatikå ka‹ Sumbolikå Mnhme›a t∞w ÉOryodÒjou Kayolik∞w ÉEkklhs¤aw [Dogmatic and Credal Statements of the Orthodox Catholic Church] (Graz, Austria: Akademische Druck u. Verlagsanstalt, 1968), Vol. II, p. 632.

*2. St. Theodore the Studite, Patrologia Græca, Vol. XCIX, col. 1696D.

*3. St. Theodore the Studite, Patrologia Græca, Vol. XCIX, col. 1696C, 1700C.

*4. St. Theodore the Studite, Patrologia Græca, Vol. XCIX, col. 1697A; St. Nicodemos the Hagiorite, Phdãlion, p. 92, n. 2.

*5. St. Theodore the Studite, Patrologia Græca, Vol. XCIX, col. 1697A.

*6. Theodore Balsamon, Patrologia Græca, Vol. CXXXVIII, cols. 941C, 1001B, 1357C/Rallis and Potlis,

SÊntagma, Vol. IV, pp. 420, 488, 579.

*7. Nicholas of Constantinople, Patrologia Græca, vol. CXI, col. 401B; St. Meletios the Confessor,

ÉAlfabhtalfãbhtow, Step 37, “Concerning Oneʼs Overall Diet” (ed. Monk Spyridon Lavriotes, p. 142); St. Nicodemos the Hagiorite, Phdãlion, p. 95, n.1, p. 728.

*8. St. John of Damascus, Patrologia Græca, vol. XCV, col. 68AB.

*9. Theodore Balsamon, Patrologia Græca, vol. CXXXVIII, cols. 941BC/ Rallis and Potlis, SÊntagma, ol. IV, p. 420.

*10. St. Ignatios the God-bearer, Patrologia Græca, Vol. V, col. 704A, col. 668B.

Clarification

•The Nicholas of Constantinople cited in footnote 6 is Nicholas III Grammatikos (1084-1111); he is not to be confused with St. Nicholas I Mystikos (16 May) or Nicholas II Chrysoverges (16 December), also Patriarchs of Constantinople, both of whom flourished in the tenth century.

*II. GUIDELINES FOR THE NATIVITY FAST

•NOVEMBER

*14 – St. Philip the Apostle: fish is permitted.

*15 – Beginning of the Fast: on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays oil is not permitted.

* 15-20 – Fish is not permitted.

+21 – Entrance of the Theotokos: fish is permitted.

+ 22-12/12 Order 1:Fish is permitted only on Saturdays, and Sundays.

+ 22-12/17 Order 2: Fish is permitted on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

*25 – St. Catherine the Great Martyr: wine and oil are permitted.

*30 – St. Andrew the First-called Apostle: wine and oil are permitted.

•DECEMBER

*4 – St. Barbara and St. John of Damascus: wine and oil are permitted.

*5 – St. Sabbas the Sanctified: wine and oil are permitted.

*6 – St. Nicholas the Wonder-worker: wine and oil are permitted.

*9 – Conception of the Theotokos: wine and oil are permitted.

*12 – St. Spyridon of Trimythous: wine and oil are permitted.

+ 13-24 Order 1: fish is not permitted.

*15 – St. Eleftherios the Hieromartyr: wine and oil are permitted.

*17 – St. Daniel the Prophet and St. Dionysios of Zakynthos: wine and oil are permitted.

+ 18-24 Order 2: fish is not permitted.

*20 St. Ignatios the God-bearer: wine and oil are permitted.

*24 Eve of the Nativity: strict fast (xerophagy); but if it falls on a Saturday or a Sunday, wine and oil are permitted.

*25 +Nativity of our Savior: foods of any kind are permitted

The Orthodox Church prepares its faithful to welcome the Nativity of Christ in a worthy manner by means of a 40-day Nativity fast, which lasts from November 15th to December 25.

Besides generally known reasons, the Nativity fast is also undertaken by Orthodox Christians in order to venerate the suffering and sorrow undergone by the Holy Mother of God at the hands of the scribes and the Pharisees just prior to the sacred event of Christ’s Nativity.

Holy Tradition tells us that shortly before the righteous Joseph and the Holy Virgin set off for Bethlehem, they were subjected to the following tribulation. A certain scribe by the name of Ananias, entering their home and seeing the Virgin pregnant, was severely distressed and went to the High Priest and the entire Jewish council, saying: “Joseph the carpenter, who has been regarded as a righteous man, has committed an iniquity. He has secretly violated the Virgin Who was given to him from the temple of God for safekeeping. And now She is with child.” Then the High Priest’s servants went to Joseph’s house, took Mary and Joseph, and brought them to the High Priest, who began to denounce and shame the Most-blessed Virgin Mary.

But the Holy Virgin, crying in deep sorrow, replied: “The Lord God is My witness that I am innocent and have known no man.” Then the High Priest accused the righteous Joseph, but the latter swore on oath that he was not guilty of this sin. Yet the High Priest did not believe them and subjected them to the trial that was customary in those times, (when a woman suspected of violation was given to drink bitter water that had been cursed by the High Priest). However, the trial just served to confirm the innocence of the Holy Virgin and the righteous Joseph. All those present were amazed at this, unable to understand how a Virgin could simultaneously be with child and yet remain inviolate.

After that the High Priest allowed the holy couple to go home in peace. The righteous Joseph took the Virgin Mary and went to his house, joyously glorifying God. But this was not the end of the Holy Theotokos’ trials. It is well known that afterwards she shared with Joseph the toil of a three-day journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. And in Bethlehem there was no place for the Holy Virgin either in an inn, or in some home, and since night was already approaching, She was forced to seek shelter in a cave which served as a resting place for cattle. In this humblest of shelters the Most-blessed Virgin remained in prayer and divine contemplation. It is here that She painlessly gave birth to our Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour of the world.

We can see from all of the above that the days immediately preceding the Nativity were not days of rest and comfort for the Holy Mother of God. In those days She suffered various sorrows and trials, but did not leave off her prayers and contemplation. The Holy Church appeals to the faithful to participate, at least to some small degree, in the Holy Theotokos’ spiritual labor, constraining one’s flesh during the Nativity fast and nourishing one’s soul with prayer. However, the Church warns us that external fasting only is not enough. We must also apply ourselves to internal fasting, which consists of shunning malice, deceit, wrath, worldly bustle, and other vices. During this fast, as at all times, we must show works of love and mercy to our fellow beings, doing all we can to help those in need and in sorrow. Only then will our fasting be genuine and not hypocritical, only then will it be God-pleasing, and only then will we know the true joy of the bright feast of Christ’s Nativity.

Source: “Orthodox Russia”, No. 21, 1999.

The first mention of a preparatory period before Christmas is mentioned in a decree of the Council of Saragossa (380). The Council Fathers stated that every Christian should daily go to church from December 17 until the Theophany (January 6th). At the Synod of Mac (581) in Gaul (present day France) it was decreed that from November 11, the day of St. Martin, until December 24 every Christian should fast three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday).

Our pre-Nativity period of preparation developed rather late. Scholars do not agree about the exact time it began. Some hold that it began in the sixth century. Others believe it began in the seventh or eighth century. The present liturgical pre-Nativity season was finally established at the Council of Constantinople (1166). The Council decreed that the fast would begin on November 15 and last until December 24 inclusive. Thus, there was created another 40 day fast.

The pre-Nativity fast is often called “Philip’s Fast” because it begins on the day after the feast of St. Philip. The fast was introduced to prepare the Church for a worthy celebration of the great and holy day of the Birth of Christ. The regulations for the fast were far more lenient than the Great Fast before Pascha. Only Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were days of strict fasting without meat, dairy products or oil (in Slavic countries). On Sundays fish was permitted. Lay people were at first permitted to eat fish on other days, too, until the monastic rigoristic influence prevailed.

It is interesting to observe that the famous 12th century Byzantine canonist Balsamon expressed the opinion that it would be enough if the lay people fasted only one week before Christmas. In 1958 a modern Greek author, Christos M. Enislides, welcomes Balsamon’s suggestion and believes that the best solution would be for the Church at large to abstain from meat and dairy products for 33 days; during the last seven days of the fast everybody should observe the strict fast. But for now this is a mere proposition and should not be seen as the rule.

The Nativity Fast in the Orthodox Church begins on November 15th. From that time until December 17th (or some observe December 12th) we fast from meat, milk products, and eggs, though fish is allowed. After the 17th (or 12th) we fast also from fish. But fasting from food, according to the command of our Lord, must go hand in hand with spiritual fasting in order for it to be beneficial and have a deeper meaning. For this reason it must be coupled with prayer and almsgiving. Hence, with these fasting periods the Church calls us also to a deeper liturgical life and good works.

It is for this reason that during the forty day period prior to the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord it is a tradition for priests to celebrate daily the Divine Liturgy. The Forty Liturgies celebrated during this time are a great blessing not only for those who participate, but also for those commemorated among both the living and reposed. As St. Ignatius of Antioch writes: “Take heed, then, often to come together to give thanks to God, and show forth His praise. For when you assemble frequently in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and the destruction at which he aims is prevented by the unity of your faith” (Eph. 13). The power of the Divine Liturgy isn’t magical, but it is a manifestation of love and unity in Christ. It teaches us to forgive, to have love for one another, and to be united in Christ as one body. In such an assembly, where the living and reposed are commemorated, great blessings follow for all.

The Divine Forty Day Liturgies of the Nativity season on behalf of the living and reposed are a manifestation of the love we should have for one another as members of the Church. Nothing makes more real and present the love of Christ for mankind, who took on flesh for the salvation of sinners, then the daily offering of the Divine Eucharist for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting of the living and reposed. As St. John of Kronstadt writes: “In the Divine Liturgy is celebrated the Mystery of Love…perfect love…. This love is found in the sacrifice of Christ.” And Elder Paisios advised regarding the need to pray for the departed: “Leave in your prayers room for the reposed. The dead can do nothing for themselves. The living can. Bring to the church prosphoro (offertory bread), and give the names of the reposed to be commemorated by the priest in the proskomede (oblation). Do also memorials and trisagia. But the trisagion without the Divine Liturgy is nothing. The greatest thing we can do for someone is Forty Liturgies. It would be good to tie it in together with almsgiving.” St. Symeon of Thessaloniki writes of the commemoration of the reposed during the Divine Liturgy: “During the Liturgy their portion which is placed on the diskos invisibly partakes of God, they are cleansed through the Sacred Blood and commune,…and they are consoled…and they rejoice in Christ.” And St. John Chrysostom writes: “You should not have any doubt whatsoever that the dead will benefit spiritually. The priest does not plead in vain in the Holy Prothesis or at the Holy Table for the reposed in Christ, with faith in the God-man Lord.”

By Monk Moses the Athonite

*1. When he would Liturgize he would become another man. Those attending church would hear various sounds from the Holy Altar from his heavenly visitors. They would kneel and chant “Lord have mercy”.

*2. One day the Saint said to his chanter: “I had so many saints today that I didn’t have enough room to fit them. We put Saint Panteleimon in one corner, because there was no room.”

*3. At one time demons bothered the Saint and would not allow him to do the proskomede. After the Liturgy he said: “I began these Forty Liturgies with stress. The demons would yell out the names so that I would not be able to commemorate them, and thus not allow them to be forgiven.”

*4. After a period of Forty Liturgies he was asked:

“Elder, were you tired to finish them?”

“No my child. It was a pleasure for me, as if I did one Vespers, because they were very good people. Your father had a rich table like Abraham.”

Then the man thought: “We were so poor, to the point we were hungry, so where did our father find such a rich table?”

“Don’t see things like that,” the Saint corrected. “Maybe he did not have to give, but his soul wanted to give much, and God accounted it to him as if he did give it. Your mother is a servant of your father, because she was very tiresome and would sadden him, always complaining to him. But your father always wore a smile with much goodness. Among your relatives you had a blind girl, whom you forgot to write. She was pure and very good.”

“But how did you know this?” asked the man in wonder.

“When I commemorate, she also comes to the kollyva, but she comes as a guest, and does not unite with the others. Now everyone went to their place and opened the road for you.”

Source: Athonite Flowers (vol. 14). Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

St. Ireaneus, Against Heresies, Book 4, Chapters 7, 10, 11, 23

Therefore Abraham also, knowing the Father through the Word, who made heaven and earth, confessed Him to be God; and having learned, by an announcement [made to him], that the Son of God would be a man among men, by whose advent his seed should be as the stars of heaven, he desired to see that day, so that he might himself also embrace Christ; and, seeing it through the spirit of prophecy, he rejoiced [Genesis 17:17].

Wherefore Symeon also, one of his descendants, carried fully out the rejoicing of the patriarch, and said: “Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace. For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people: a light for the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of the people Israel” [Luke 2:29].

And the angels, in like manner, announced tidings of great joy to the shepherds who were keeping watch by night [Luke 2:8]. Moreover, Mary said, “My soul does magnify the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my salvation” [Luke 1:46].

The rejoicing of Abraham descending upon those who sprang from him — those, namely, who were watching, and who beheld Christ, and believed in Him; while, on the other hand, there was a reciprocal rejoicing which passed backwards from the children to Abraham, who did also desire to see the day of Christ’s coming. Rightly, then, did our Lord bear witness to him, saying, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad”.

For not alone upon Abraham’s account did He say these things, but also that He might point out how all who have known God from the beginning, and have foretold the advent of Christ, have received the revelation from the Son Himself; who also in the last times was made visible and passible, and spoke with the human race, that He might from the stones raise up children unto Abraham, and fulfil the promise which God had given him, and that He might make his seed “as the stars of heaven” [Genesis 15:5], as John the Baptist says: “For God is able from these stones to raise up children unto Abraham” [Matthew 3:9]. Now, this Jesus did by drawing us off from the religion of stones, and bringing us over from hard and fruitless cogitations, and establishing in us a faith like unto Abraham. As Paul does also testify, saying that we are children of Abraham because of the similarity of our faith, and the promise of inheritance [Romans 4:12; Galatians 4:28].

He is therefore one and the same God, who called Abraham and gave him the promise. But He is the Creator, who does also through Christ prepare lights in the world, [namely] those who believe from among the Gentiles. And He says, “You are the light of the world” [Matthew 5:14]; that is, as the stars of heaven. Him, therefore, I have rightly shown to be known by no man, unless by the Son, and to whomsoever the Son shall reveal Him. But the Son reveals the Father to all to whom He wills that He should be known; and neither without the goodwill of the Father nor without the agency of the Son, can any man know God. Wherefore did the Lord say to His disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life and no man comes unto the Father but by Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also: and from henceforth you have both known Him, and have seen Him” [John 14:6-7]. From these words it is evident, that He is known by the Son, that is, by the Word….

Wherefore also John does appropriately relate that the Lord said to the Jews: “You search the Scriptures, in which you think you have eternal life; these are they which testify of me. And you are not willing to come unto Me, that you may have life” [John 5:39-40]. How therefore did the Scriptures testify of Him, unless they were from one and the same Father, instructing men beforehand as to the advent of His Son, and foretelling the salvation brought in by Him? “For if you had believed Moses, you would also have believed Me; for he wrote of Me” [John 5:46]; [saying this,] no doubt, because the Son of God is implanted everywhere throughout his writings: at one time, indeed, speaking with Abraham, when about to eat with him; at another time with Noah, giving to him the dimensions [of the ark]; at another, inquiring after Adam; at another, bringing down judgment upon the Sodomites; and again, when He becomes visible, and directs Jacob on his journey, and speaks with Moses from the bush. And it would be endless to recount [the occasions] upon which the Son of God is shown forth by Moses. Of the day of His passion, too, he was not ignorant; but foretold Him, after a figurative manner, by the name given to the passover; and at that very festival, which had been proclaimed such a long time previously by Moses, did our Lord suffer, thus fulfilling the passover. And he did not describe the day only, but the place also, and the time of day at which the sufferings ceased, and the sign of the setting of the sun, saying: “You may not sacrifice the passover within any other of your cities which the Lord God gives you; but in the place which the Lord your God shall choose that His name be called on there, you shall sacrifice the passover at even towards the setting of the sun” [Deuteronomy 16:5-6].

And already he had also declared His advent, saying, “There shall not fail a chief in Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until He come for whom it is laid up, and He is the hope of the nations; binding His foal to the vine, and His ass’s colt to the creeping ivy. He shall wash His stole in wine, and His upper garment in the blood of the grape; His eyes shall be more joyous than wine, and His teeth whiter than milk.” For, let those who have the reputation of investigating everything, inquire at what time a prince and leader failed out of Judah, and who is the hope of the nations, who also is the vine, what was the ass’s colt [referred to as] His, what the clothing, and what the eyes, what the teeth, and what the wine, and thus let them investigate every one of the points mentioned; and they shall find that there was none other announced than our Lord, Christ Jesus. Wherefore Moses, when chiding the ingratitude of the people, said, “You infatuated people, and unwise, do you thus requite the Lord?” [Deuteronomy 32:6]. And again, he indicates that He who from the beginning founded and created them, the Word, who also redeems and vivifies us in the last times, is shown as hanging on the tree, and they will not believe in Him. For he says, “And your life shall be hanging before your eyes, and you will not believe your life.” And again, “Has not this same one your Father owned you, and made you, and created you?”…

But that it was not only the prophets and many righteous men, who, foreseeing through the Holy Spirit His advent, prayed that they might attain to that period in which they should see their Lord face to face, and hear His words, the Lord has made manifest, when He says to His disciples, “Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them” [Matthew 13:17]. In what way, then, did they desire both to hear and to see, unless they had foreknowledge of His future advent? But how could they have foreknown it, unless they had previously received foreknowledge from Himself? And how do the Scriptures testify of Him, unless all things had ever been revealed and shown to believers by one and the same God through the Word; He at one time conferring with His creature, and at another propounding His law; at one time, again, reproving, at another exhorting, and then setting free His servant, and adopting him as a son (in filium); and, at the proper time, bestowing an incorruptible inheritance, for the purpose of bringing man to perfection? For He formed him for growth and increase, as the Scripture says: “Increase and multiply” [Genesis 1:28].

And in this respect God differs from man, that God indeed makes, but man is made; and truly, He who makes is always the same; but that which is made must receive both beginning, and middle, and addition, and increase. And God does indeed create after a skilful manner, while, [as regards] man, he is created skilfully. God also is truly perfect in all things, Himself equal and similar to Himself, as He is all light, and all mind, and all substance, and the fount of all good; but man receives advancement and increase towards God. For as God is always the same, so also man, when found in God, shall always go on towards God. For neither does God at any time cease to confer benefits upon, or to enrich man; nor does man ever cease from receiving the benefits, and being enriched by God. For the receptacle of His goodness, and the instrument of His glorification, is the man who is grateful to Him that made him; and again, the receptacle of His just judgment is the ungrateful man, who both despises his Maker and is not subject to His Word; who has promised that He will give very much to those always bringing forth fruit, and more [and more] to those who have the Lord’s money. “Well done,” He says, “good and faithful servant: because you have been faithful in little, I will appoint you over many things; enter into the joy of your Lord” [Matthew 25:21]. The Lord Himself thus promises very much.

As, therefore, He has promised to give very much to those who do now bring forth fruit, according to the gift of His grace, but not according to the changeableness of knowledge; for the Lord remains the same, and the same Father is revealed; thus, therefore, has the one and the same Lord granted, by means of His advent, a greater gift of grace to those of a later period, than what He had granted to those under the Old Testament dispensation. For they indeed used to hear, by means of [His] servants, that the King would come, and they rejoiced to a certain extent, inasmuch as they hoped for His coming; but those who have beheld Him actually present, and have obtained liberty, and been made partakers of His gifts, do possess a greater amount of grace, and a higher degree of exultation, rejoicing because of the King’s arrival: as also David says, “My soul shall rejoice in the Lord; it shall be glad in His salvation”. And for this cause, upon His entrance into Jerusalem, all those who were in the way recognised David their king in His sorrow of soul, and spread their garments for Him, and ornamented the way with green boughs, crying out with great joy and gladness, “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord: hosanna in the highest” [Matthew 21:8]. But to the envious wicked stewards, who circumvented those under them, and ruled over those that had no great intelligence, and for this reason were unwilling that the king should come, and who said to Him, “Do you hear what these say?” did the Lord reply, “Have you never read, Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings have You perfected praise?” — thus pointing out that what had been declared by David concerning the Son of God, was accomplished in His own person; and indicating that they were indeed ignorant of the meaning of the Scripture and the dispensation of God; but declaring that it was Himself who was announced by the prophets as Christ, whose name is praised in all the earth, and who perfects praise to His Father from the mouth of babes and sucklings; wherefore also His glory has been raised above the heavens.

If, therefore, the self-same person is present who was announced by the prophets, our Lord Jesus Christ, and if His advent has brought in a fuller [measure of] grace and greater gifts to those who have received Him, it is plain that the Father also is Himself the same who was proclaimed by the prophets, and that the Son, on His coming, did not spread the knowledge of another Father, but of the same who was preached from the beginning; from whom also He has brought down liberty to those who, in a lawful manner, and with a willing mind, and with all the heart, do Him service; whereas to scoffers, and to those not subject to God, but who follow outward purifications for the praise of men (which observances had been given as a type of future things — the law typifying, as it were, certain things in a shadow, and delineating eternal things by temporal, celestial by terrestrial), and to those who pretend that they do themselves observe more than what has been prescribed, as if preferring their own zeal to God Himself, while within they are full of hypocrisy, and covetousness, and all wickedness—[to such] has He assigned everlasting perdition by cutting them off from life….

For which reason the Lord declared to the disciples: “Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look upon the districts (regiones), for they are white [already] to harvest. For the harvest-man receives wages, and gathers fruit unto life eternal, that both he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together. For in this is the saying true, that one sows and another reaps. For I have sent you forward to reap that whereon you bestowed no labour; other men have laboured, and you have entered into their labours” [John 4:35]. Who, then, are they that have laboured, and have helped forward the dispensations of God? It is clear that they are the patriarchs and prophets, who even prefigured our faith, and disseminated through the earth the advent of the Son of God, who and what He should be: so that posterity, possessing the fear of God, might easily accept the advent of Christ, having been instructed by the prophets. And for this reason it was, that when Joseph became aware that Mary was with child, and was minded to put her away privately, the angel said to him in sleep: “Fear not to take to you Mary your wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. For she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins” [Matthew 1:20]. And exhorting him [to this], he added: “Now all this has been done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken from the Lord by the prophet, saying, ‘Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel’”; thus influencing him by the words of the prophet, and warding off blame from Mary, pointing out that it was she who was the virgin mentioned by Isaiah beforehand, who should give birth to Emmanuel. Wherefore, when Joseph was convinced beyond all doubt, he both did take Mary, and joyfully yielded obedience in regard to all the rest of the education of Christ, undertaking a journey into Egypt and back again, and then a removal to Nazareth. [For this reason,] those who knew not the Scriptures nor the promise of God, nor the dispensation of Christ, at last called him the father of the child. For this reason, too, did the Lord Himself read at Capernaum the prophecies of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me; to preach the Gospel to the poor has He sent Me, to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and sight to the blind” [Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18]. At the same time, showing that it was He Himself who had been foretold by Isaiah the prophet, He said to them: “This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

For this reason, also, Philip, when he had discovered the eunuch of the Ethiopians’ queen reading these words which had been written: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb is dumb before the shearer, so He opened not His mouth: in His humiliation His judgment was taken away” [Acts 8:27, Isaiah 53:7]; and all the rest which the prophet proceeded to relate in regard to His passion and His coming in the flesh, and how He was dishonoured by those who did not believe Him; easily persuaded him to believe in Him, that He was Christ Jesus, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and suffered whatsoever the prophet had predicted, and that He was the Son of God, who gives eternal life to men. And immediately when [Philip] had baptized him, he departed from him. For nothing else [but baptism] was wanting to him who had been already instructed by the prophets: he was not ignorant of God the Father, nor of the rules as to the [proper] manner of life, but was merely ignorant of the advent of the Son of God, which, when he had become acquainted with, in a short space of time, he went on his way rejoicing, to be the herald in Ethiopia of Christ’s advent. Therefore Philip had no great labour to go through with regard to this man, because he was already prepared in the fear of God by the prophets. For this reason, too, did the apostles, collecting the sheep which had perished of the house of Israel, and discoursing to them from the Scriptures, prove that this crucified Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God; and they persuaded a great multitude, who, however, [already] possessed the fear of God. And there were, in one day, baptized three, and four, and five thousand men [Acts 2:41, Acts 4:4].

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

A Sermon by St John of Kronstadt on the Nativity of Christ

The Word became flesh; that is, the Son of God, co-eternal with God the Father and with the Holy Spirit, became human – having become incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. O, wondrous, awesome and salvific mystery! The One Who had no beginning took on a beginning according to humanity; the One without flesh assumed flesh. God became man – without ceasing to be God. The Unapproachable One became approachable to all, in the aspect of a humble servant. Why, and for what reason, was there such condescension [shown] on the part of the Creator toward His transgressing creatures – toward humanity which, through an act of its own will had fallen away from God, its Creator?

It was by reason of a supreme, inexpressible mercy toward His creation on the part of the Master, Who could not bear to see the entire race of mankind – which, He, in creating, had endowed with wondrous gifts – enslaved by the devil and thus destined for eternal suffering and torment.

And the Word became flesh!…in order to make us earthly beings into heavenly ones, in order to make sinners into saints; in order to raise us up from corruption into incorruption, from earth to heaven; from enslavement to sin and the devil – into the glorious freedom of children of God; from death – into immortality, in order to make us sons of God and to seat us together with Him upon the Throne as His royal children.

O, boundless compassion of God! O, inexpressible wisdom of God! O, great wonder, astounding not only the human mind, but the angelic [mind] as well!

Let us glorify God! With the coming of the Son of God in the flesh upon the earth, with His offering Himself up as a sacrifice for the sinful human race, there is given to those who believe the blessing of the Heavenly Father, replacing that curse which had been uttered by God in the beginning; they are adopted and receive the promise of an eternal inheritance of life. To a humanity orphaned by reason of sin, the Heavenly Father returns anew through the mystery of re-birth, that is, through baptism and repentance. People are freed of the tormenting, death-bearing authority of the devil, of the afflictions of sin and of various passions.

Human nature is deified for the sake of the boundless compassion of the Son of God; and its sins are purified; the defiled are sanctified. The ailing are healed. Upon those in dishonour are boundless honour and glory bestowed.

Those in darkness are enlightened by the Divine light of grace and reason.

The human mind is given the rational power of God – we have the mind of Christ (Cor. 2, 16), says the Holy apostle Paul. To the human heart, the heart of Christ is given. The perishable is made immortal. Those naked and wounded by sin and by passions are adorned in Divine glory. Those who hunger and thirst are sated and assuaged by the nourishing and soul-strengthening Word of God and by the most pure Body and Divine Blood of Christ. The inconsolable are consoled. Those ravaged by the devil have been – and continue to be – delivered.

What, then, O, brethren, is required of us in order that we might avail ourselves of all the grace brought unto us from on high by the coming to earth of the Son of God? What is necessary, first of all, is faith in the Son of God, in the Gospel as the salvation-bestowing heavenly teaching; a true repentance of sins and the correction of life and of heart; communion in prayer and in the Mysteries [sacraments]; the knowledge and fulfillment of Christ’s commandments. Also necessary are the virtues: Christian humility, almsgiving, continence, purity and chastity, simplicity and goodness of heart.

Let us, then, O brothers and sisters, bring these virtues as a gift to the One Who was born for the sake of our salvation – let us bring them in place of the gold, frankincense and myrrh which the Magi brought Him, as to One Who is King, God, and Man, come to die for us. This, from us, shall be the most-pleasing form of sacrifice to God and to the Infant Jesus Christ.

Amen.

By Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos

Pleasure and Pain According to St. Maximus the Confessor

In his Centuries on Theology St. Maximus the Confessor refers to the nexus of the dualism of pleasure and pain, which, by any standard, is an important subject. This means that we cannot discuss Orthodox Theology if we fail to face this crucial point, because the transcendence of pleasure and pain is, precisely, a prerequisite for correct Orthodox Theology. As St. Maximus the Confessor says, the transcendence of pleasure and pain proves that man has cleansed his heart from the passions.

As we pointed out above, the whole of modern life is governed by pleasure and pain, since, in our age, enjoyment and the gratification of the senses dominate, while at the same time deep grief, an inner pain, prevails. In reality, modern man tries to escape pain through the satisfaction of sensual pleasure. All contemporary problems, such as AIDS and drugs, are to be found in this connection. This is why I believe it is extremely important to see this link between pleasure and pain, as elaborated by St. Maximus the Confessor.

*A.) The origin of pleasure and pain

The world was created by God in Trinity. The most perfect creature is man, for he is the apex of creation, the microcosm in the macrocosm. Analyzing the issue of the creation of man and its relation to the birth and the origin of pleasure and pain, St. Maximus says that God the Word who created man’s nature, made it without pleasure and pain. “He did not make the senses susceptible to either pleasure or pain.” He insists on this point by saying: “Pleasure and pain were not created simultaneously with the flesh.”

While there was no pleasure and pain in man before the fall, there was a noetic faculty towards pleasure, through which man could enjoy God ineffably. But he misused this natural faculty. Man oriented the “the natural longing of the nous for God” to sensible things and thus “by the initial movement towards sensible things, the first man transferred this longing to his senses, and through them began to experience this pleasure in a way contrary to nature”. The words “according to nature” and “contrary to nature” show the complete ontological change that took place in man and depict his fallen state clearly.

Of course, man did not invent this mode of operation of the faculties of the soul on his own, but with the advice of the devil. The devil was motivated by jealously against man, for whom God had shown special care and attention. It is interesting that the devil envied not only man but God Himself: “Since the devil is jealous of both us and god, he persuaded man by guile that God was jealous of him, and so made him break the commandment”.

After the unnatural movement of the noetic capacity of the soul to sensible things and the birth of pleasure, God, being interested in man’s salvation “implanted pain, as a kind of chastising force”. Pain, which God, in His love for man, tied to sensual pleasure, is the whole complex of the mortal and passible body, that is the law of death, which has, ever since then, been very closely connected to human nature. In this way, the “manic longing of the nous” which incites the unnatural inclination of the soul to sensible things, is restrained.

This whole analysis by St. Maximus the Confessor in no way reminds us of Platonic teaching about the movement of the immortal soul from the unborn realm of the ideas, and its confinement to a mortal body which is the prison of the soul. This is simply because St. Maximus the Confessor, being an integral member of the entire Orthodox tradition, makes no distinction between a naturally immortal soul and a naturally mortal body, he does not believe in an immortal and unborn realm of ideas, and, obviously, does not adopt a dualistic view of man, according to which salvation consists in his liberation from the prison of the soul, which is the body. In St. Maximus’ teaching there is a clear reference to the unnatural movement of the faculties of the soul and to the “manic longing of the nous”, which draws the body into situations and acts which are against nature.

It is clear, then, that ancestral sin consists of the “initial movement of the soul” toward sensible things and in the “law of death” granted by God’s love for man. Therefore, pleasure and pain constitute so-called original sin. Pleasure is the soul’s initial movement toward sensible things, while pain is the whole law of death which took roots in man’s existence and constitutes the law of the mortal flesh.

St. Maximus makes some marvellous observations. He states that the transgression (of the commandment) devised pleasure “in order to corrupt the will”, i.e. man’s freedom, and also imposed pain (death) “to cause the dissolution of man’s nature”. This means that pleasure causes sin, which is a voluntary death of the soul, while pain, through the separation of soul and body, causes the disintegration of the flesh. This was, actually, the work and objective of the devil, but God allowed the link between pleasure and pain. That is, He allowed death to come into man’s existence on grounds of love and philanthropy, for pain is the refutation of pleasure. Thus, “God has providentially given man pain he has not chosen, together with death that follows from it, in order to chasten him for the pleasure he has chosen.”

On several occasions, St. Maximus refers to “voluntary pleasure” and “irrational pleasure”, as well as to “involuntary” and “sensible” pain. Pain balances the results of pleasure, that is, it subtracts pain, but does not completely revoke it.

Therefore, pleasure precedes pain, since all pain is caused by pleasure, and this is why it is called natural pain. For Adam and Eve, pleasure was without cause, that is, it was not preceded by pain, while pain, which is a natural consequence of pleasure, is an obligation, a debt, paid by all men who have the same human nature. This is what happened to Adam and Eve. For their descendants, things are a little different; the experience of pain leads them to the enjoyment of pleasure.

After the Fall and the entry of the law of sin and death into his existence, man is in a tragic state, because, even though pain reverses pleasure and annuls its active movement, man cannot reverse and eliminate the law of death which is found within his being, and this law brings a new experience of pleasure. “Philosophy towards virtue”, namely man’s whole ascetic struggle brings dispassion not in his will but in his nature, because asceticism cannot defeat death, which is found as a powerful law within man’s being. Herein lies the tragedy of man, who may cure pleasure and obtain inner balance through voluntary pain (asceticism) and involuntary events (external grief, death) but is unable to liberate himself from pain, which is determined by the law of death.

*B.) The purpose of Christ’s incarnation

So far we have described how the link between pleasure and pain was established after the Fall. Pleasure was a result of the irrational movement of the faculty of the soul , with its natural consequence the coming of pain, along with the entire law of death. This combination of pleasure and pain became a law of human nature. Obviously, while living a life contrary to nature, man could not be delivered from this state which had become natural. Christ’s incarnation contributed to man’s liberation from this connection between pleasure and pain. St. Maximus the Confessor also makes some marvellous observations on this point too.

It was absolutely impossible for human nature which had fallen to voluntary pleasure and involuntary pain to return to the former state “had the Creator not become man”. The mystery of incarnation lies in the fact that Christ was born human, but the beginning and cause of His birth was not sensual pleasure, for He was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, outside the human way of generation, and He embraced pain and death by His own free choice. For man, pain came as a result of sin, it was involuntary. While for Christ, who was born without sensual pleasure, pain was received by choice.

All humans born after the transgression, are born with sensual pleasure, which precedes their birth, because man is an offspring of his parents’ pleasure and, of course, no one is free, by nature, from impassioned generation provoked by pleasure. Thus man had the origin of his birth “in the corruption that comes from pleasure” and would finish his life “in the corruption that comes through death”. Therefore, he was a complete slave to pleasure and pain “and he could not find the way to freedom”. Humans are tortured by unjust pleasure and just pain and, of course, by their outcome which is death.

For man to return to his previous state and to be deified, an unjust pain and death without cause had to be invented. Death had to be without cause, not to be caused by pleasure, and unjust, not following an impassioned life. In this way, most unjust death would cure unjust pleasure which had caused just death and just pain. In this way mankind would enjoy freedom again, delivered from pleasure and pain. Christ became perfect man, having a noetic soul and a passible body, like ours, but without sin. He was born as a man by an immaculate conception and, thus, did not have any sensual pleasure whatsoever, but voluntarily accepted pain and death and suffered unjustly, out of love for man, in order to revoke the principle of human generation from unjust pleasure, which dominates human nature, and in order to eliminate nature’s just termination by death. Thus, Christ’s immaculate conception as man and His voluntary assumption of the passibility of human nature, as well as His unjust death, liberated mankind from sensual pleasure, pain and death.

Christ’s birth as man took place in a way contrary to that of humans. After the Fall, human nature has its principle of generation in “pleasure-provoked conception by sperm” from the father. A direct consequence of this sensual birth is the end, namely “painful death through corruption.” But Christ could not possibly be ruled over by death, because He was not born in this pleasure-provoked way. With His incarnation, Christ offered a different principle of generation to man, the pleasure of the life to come, by means of pain. Adam, with his transgression, introduced a different way of generation, a generation originating in sensual pleasure and ending in pain, grief and death. Thus, everyone who descends from Adam according to the flesh, justly and painfully suffers the end from death. Christ offered a different way of generation, because, through His seedless generation (birth) and His voluntary and unjust death, He eliminated the principle of generation according to Adam (sensual pleasure) and the end which Adam came to (pain-death). In this way “he liberated from all those reborn spiritually in him”.

The way by which Christ became incarnate and cured human nature reveals indisputably that He is wise, just and powerful. He is wise because He became a true man according to nature without being subjected to any change. He is just, because He voluntarily assumed passible human flesh, out of great condescension and love for man. This is also why He did not make man’s salvation tortuous. He is also powerful, because He created eternal life and unchangeable dispassion in nature, through suffering and death, and in this way He did not show Himself to be at all incapable of achieving the cure of human nature.

From: “The Picture of the Modern World“

Saint Gregory Thaumaturgos, who lived from about 213 AD until about 270 AD, was the Bishop of Neo-Caesarea.

We behold now a great and wondrous mystery. Shepherds with cries of joy come forth as messengers to the sons of mankind, not on their hilly pastures with their flocks conversing and not in the field with their sheep frolicking, but rather in the city of David Bethlehem spiritual songs exclaiming. In the highest sing Angels, proclaiming hymns Archangelic; the heavenly Cherubim and Seraphim sing out praises to the glory of God: “Holy, Holy, Holy…” Together all do celebrate this joyous feast, beholding God upon the earth, and mankind of earth amidst the heavens. By Divine providence the far distant are uplifted to the highest, and the highest, through the love of God for mankind, have bent down to the far distant, wherefore the Most High, through His humility, “is exalted through humility.” On this day of great festivity Bethlehem hath become like unto heaven, taking place amidst the glittering stars are Angels singing glory, and taking the place of the visible sun — is the indefinable and immeasurable Sun of Truth, having made all things that do exist. But who would dare investigate so great a mystery? “Wherein God doth wish it, therein the order of nature is overturned”, and laws cannot impede. And so, of that which was impossible for mankind to undertake, God did aspire and did descend, making for the salvation of mankind, since in the will of God this is life for all mankind.

On the present joyous day God hath come to be born; on this great day of arrival God is become That Which He was not: being God, He hath become Man, so to speak as though removed from Divinity (though His Divine Nature be not divested of); in being made Man, He hath remained God. Wherefore, though He grew and flourished, it however was not thus as it were by human power to attain to Divinity nor by any human ability to be made God; but rather as the Word, by miraculous sufferance, wherein He was incarnated and manifest not being transformed, not being made something other, not deprived of that Divine Nature which He possessed previously. In Judea the new King is born; but this new and wondrous nativity which pagan Gentiles have come to believe, the Jew have eschewed. The Pharisees comprehended incorrectly the Law and the prophets. That which therein was contradictory for them, they explained away mistakenly. Herod too strove to learn of this new birth, full of mystery, yet Herod did this not to reverence the new-born King, but to kill Him.

That One, Who did forsake the Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, and all the constant and luminous spirits — He alone having come a new path, does issue forth from an inviolate of seed virginal womb. The Creator of all comes to enlighten the world, indeed not leaving His angels orphaned, and He appears also as Man, come forth from God.

And I, though I see by the New Born neither trumpets (nor other musical instruments), nor sword, nor bodily adornments, neither lamps nor way-lamps, and seeing the choir of Christ composed of those humble of birth and without influence — it doth persuade me to praise of Him. I see speechless animals and choirs of youth, as though some sort of trumpet, resonant with song, as though taking the place of lamps and as it were shining upon the Lord. But what shall I say about what the lamps do light? He — is the very most Hope and Life Itself, He is Salvation Itself, Blessedness Itself, the focal point of the Kingdom of Heaven. He is Himself borne as offering, so that there would in power transpire the proclamation of the heavenly Angels: “Glory to God in the Highest,” and with the shepherds of Bethlehem be pronounced the joyous song: “And on earth peace, good-will to mankind!” Born of the Father, in His Person and in His Being passionless, now in a manner dispassionate and incomprehensible He is born for us. The pre-eternal birth, He alone Who was born dispassionately doth know of; the present birth, is supernaturally known only by the grace of the Holy Spirit; but in both the first birth truly, and in the present birth in kenotic humbling, actually and immutably God was born from God, but He — is also Man, having received flesh of the Virgin. In the highest of the One Father — He is One, the Only-Begotten Son of the One Father; in kenotic humbling Unique of the unique Virgin, the Only-Begotten Son of the one Virgin… God suffereth not passions, in being born God of God; and the Virgin did not suffer corruption, since in a manner spiritual was born the Spiritual. The first birth — is inexplicable and the second — is insurmisable; the first birth was without travail and the second was without impurity … We know, Who now is born of the Virgin, and we believe, that it is He, born of the Father before all eternity. But what manner of birth it was we would not hope to explain. Neither with words would I attempt to speak of this, nor in thought would I dare to approach it, since the Divine Nature is not subject to observation, nor approachable by thought, nor containable by the hapless reasoning. Needful only is to believe in the power of His works. The laws of corporeal nature are evident: a married woman conceives and gives birth to a son in accord with the purpose of marriage; but when the Unwedded Virgin gives birth to the son miraculously, and after birth remaineth a Virgin, — then is manifest and higher corporeal nature. We can comprehend what exists according to the laws of corporeal nature, but concerning that which is beyond the laws of nature, we fall silent, not through fear, but more so through sin-wrought fallibility. We fall silent, in silent stillness to reverence virtue with a worthy reverence and, not going beyond the far limits (of word), to be vouchsafed the heavenly gifts.

What to say and what shalt I proclaim? To speak more concerning the Virgin Birth-Giver? To deliberate more on the miraculously new birth? It is possible only to be astonished, in contemplating the miraculous birth, since it overturns the ordinary laws and order of nature and of things. About the wondrous works (of God) one might say in brief, that they are more wondrous than the works of nature, since in nature nothing begets itself by its own will, though there be the freedom thereof: wondrous therefore are all the works of the Lord, Who hath caused them to be. O, immaculate and inexplicable mystery! That One, Who before the very creation of the world was the Only-Begotten, Without-Compare, Simple, Incorporeal, is incarnated and descends (into the world), clothed in a perishable body, so that He be visible to all. For if He were not visible, then by what manner would He teach us to keep His precepts and how would He lead us to the invisible reality? It was for this therefore that He became openly visible, to lead forth those of the visible world to the invisible. Far more so do people reckon their eyesight as more credible a witness than mere hearsay; they trust that which they see, and doubt that which they see not. God willed to be visible in body, to resolve and dispel the doubts. He willed to be born of the Virgin, not to initiate of Her something unneeded and wherein the Virgin knew not the reasons of the matter, but rather the mystery of His birth is an immaculate act of goodness, wherein the Virgin Herself asked of Gabriel: “How can this be, in that I know not a man” — to which She received in reply: “The Holy Spirit shalt come upon Thee, and the power of the Most High shalt overshadow Thee” (Luke 1:34-35). But in what manner did the Word, Who was God, therefore issue forth from the Virgin? This — is an inexplicable wonder. Just as a goldsmith, having obtained the metal, makes of it a thing suitable for use, thus did Christ also: finding the Virgin immaculate both in spirit and in body, He assumed of Her a spirit-fashioned body conformable to His intents, and was arrayed in it, as in clothing. On this wondrous day of the Nativity the Word was neither afraid nor ashamed to issue forth from the virginal womb, nor did He consider it unworthy of Himself to assume flesh from His creation — so that the creation, made the attire of the Creator, should be esteemed worthy of glory, and so that mercy should be made known when revealed, from whence God through His goodness hath descended. Just as it would be impossible for an earthen vessel to appear before it be clay in the hands of the potter, so likewise would it be impossible for the perishable vessel (of human nature) to be renewed otherwise, to make it the attire of the Creator, Who is garbed in it.

What more to say, what shall I expound on? The new wonders do strike me with awe. The Ancient of Days is become a Child, to make people children of God. Sitting in glory in the Heavens, because of His love for mankind, He now lays in a manger of dumb beasts. The Impassionate, Incorporeal, Incomprehensible One is taken by human hands, in order to atone the violence of sinners and the iniquitous and free them of their slavery, to be wrapped in swaddling cloths and be nourished on the knees of Woman, so that shame be transformed into honour, the impious to be led to glory, and in place of thorns a crown. He hath taken on my body, so that I be made capable to have within myself His Spirit — He hath appropriated unto Himself (my nature), being garbed in my body, and doth give unto me His Spirit, so that I, giving and in turn receiving, might discover the treasure of life.

What shall I say and what proclaim? “Behold, a Virgin in womb shalt conceive and She shalt give birth a Son, and they will call Him the name Emmanuel, in interpretation: God is with us (Matthew 1:23). The saying here deals not with something for future whereof we might learn to hope, but rather it tells us about something that already has occurred and it awes us with something that already has been fulfilled. What formerly was said to the Jews and fulfilled amidst them, is now thus amidst us realised as an occurrence, whereof we have received (this prophecy), and adopted it, and believed in it. The prophet says to the Jews: “Behold, a Virgin shalt conceive” (Isaiah 7:14); for Christians however, the saying devolves upon the fulfilling of the actual deed, the full treasure-trove of the actual event. In Judea a Virgin gave birth, but all the lands of the world accepted Her Son. There — was the root of the vine; here — the vine of truth. The Jews squeezed the wine-press, and the Gentiles have tasted of the sacramental Blood; those others planted the kernel of wheat, and these thrive by the grain harvest of faith. The Jews were pricked to death by the thorns, the Gentiles are filled by the harvest; those others sat beneathe the tree of desolation, and these — beneathe the tree of life; those expounded the precepts of the Law, but the Gentiles reap the spiritual fruits. The Virgin gave birth not Herself of Herself, but as willed He needing to be born. Not in corporeal manner did God act, not to the law of the flesh did God subordinate Himself, but the Lord of corporeal nature manifested Himself to appear in the world by a miraculous birth, in order to reveal His power and to show, that in having been made Man, He is born not as a mere man, — that God is made Man, since for His will nothing be difficult.

On the present great day He is born of the Virgin, having overcome the natural order of things. He is higher than wedlock and free from defilement. It sufficed that He the preceptor of purity should shine forth gloriously, to emerge from a pure and undefiled womb. For He — is That Same, Who in the beginning did create Adam from the virgin soil, and from Adam without wedlock did bring forth for him his wife Eve. And as Adam was without wife before that he had a wife, and the first woman then was brought into the world, so likewise on the present day the Virgin without man giveth birth to That One, about Whom spake the prophet: “He — is Man, who is he that doth know Him?” The Man Christ, clearly seen by mankind, born of God, is such that womankind was needed to perfect that of mankind, so that perfectly would be born man for woman. And just as from Adam was taken woman, without impairment and without diminishing of his masculine nature, so also from woman without man was needed to bring forth a man, similar to the bringing forth of Eve, so that Adam be not extolled in that without his means woman should bring forth woman. Therefore the Virgin without cohabitation with man gave birth to God the Word, made Man, so that in equal measure it was by the same miracle to bestow equal honour to both the one and the other half — man and woman. And just as from Adam was taken woman without his diminishing, so likewise from the Virgin was taken the body (Born of Her), wherein also the Virgin did not undergo diminishing, and Her virginity did not suffer harm. Adam dwelt well and unharmed, when the rib was taken from him: and so without defilement dwelt the Virgin, when from Her was brought forth God the Word. For this sort of reason particularly the word assumed of the Virgin Her flesh and Her (corporeal) garb, so that He be not accounted innocent of the sin of Adam. Since man stung by sin had become a vessel and instrument of evil, Christ took upon Himself this receptacle of sin into His Own flesh so that, the Creator having been co-united with the body, it should thus be freed from the foulness of the enemy, and man thus be clothed in an eternal body, which be neither perished nor destroyed for all eternity. Moreover, He that is become the God-Man is born, not as ordinarily man is born — He is born as God made Man, manifest of this by His Own Divine power, since if He were born according to the general laws of nature, the Word would seem something imperfect. Therefore, He was born of the Virgin and shone forth; therefore, having been born, He preserved unharmed the virginal womb, so that the hitherto unheard of manner of the Nativity should be for us a sign of great mystery.

Is Christ God? Christ is God by nature, but not by the order of nature did He become Man. Thus we declare and in truth believe, calling to witness the seal of intact virginity: as Almighty Creator of the womb and virginity, He chose an unshameful manner of birth and was made Man, as He did will.

On this great day, now being celebrated, God hath appeared as Man, as Pastor of the nation of Israel, Who hath enlivened all the universe with His goodness. O dear warriors, glorious champions for mankind, who did preach Bethlehem as a place of Theophany and the Nativity of the Son of God, who have made known to all the world the Lord of all, lying in a manger, and did point out God contained within a narrow cave!

And so, we now glorify joyfully a feast of the years. Just as hence the laws of feasts be new, so now also the laws of birth be wondrous. On this great day now celebrated, of shattered chains, of Satan shamed, of all demons to flight, the all-destroying death is replaced by life, paradise is opened to the thief, curses be transformed into blessings, all sins forgiven and evil banished, truth is come, and they have proclaimed tidings filled with reverence and love for God, traits pure and immaculate are implanted, virtue is exalted upon the earth, Angels are come together with people, and people make bold to converse with Angels. Whence and why hath all this happened? From this, that God hath descended into the world and exalted mankind unto Heaven. There is accomplished a certain transposition of everything: God Who is perfect hath descended to earth, though by Nature He remaineth entirely in the Heavens, even at that time when in His wholeness He be situated upon the earth. He was God and was made Man, not negating His Divinity: He was not made God, since He was always such by His very Nature, but He was made flesh, so that He be visible to everything corporeal. That One, upon Whom even the Heaven-dwellers cannot look, chose as His habitation a manger, and when He came, all around Him became still. And for naught else did He lay in the manger, than for this, that in giving nourishment to all, He should for Himself extract the nourishment of infants from maternal breasts and by this to bless wedlock.

On this great day people, leaving off from their arduous and serious affairs, do come forth for the glory of Heaven, and they learn through the gleaming of the stars, that the Lord hath descended to the earth to save His creation. The Lord, sitting upon a swift cloud, in the flesh wilt enter into Egypt (Isaiah 19:1), visible fleeing from Herod, on that very deed which inspires the saying by Isaiah: “On that day Israel wilt be third amidst the Egyptians” (Isaiah 19:24).

People entered into the cave, thinking not at all about this beforehand, and it became for them an holy temple. God entered into Egypt, in the place of the ancient sadness there to bring joy, and in the place of dark gloom to shed forth the light of salvation. The waters of the Nile had become defiled and harmful after infants perished in it with untimely death. There appeared in Egypt That One, Who upon a time turned the water into blood and Who thereafter transformed these waters into well-springs of the water of rebirth, by the grace of the Holy Spirit cleansing away sins and transgressions. Chastisement once befell the Egyptians, since in their errors they defied God. But Jesus now is come into Egypt and hath sown in it reverence for God, so that in casting off from the Egyptian soul its errors, they are made amicable unto God. The river waters concurred worthily to encompass His head, like a crown.

In order not to stretch out in length our discourse and briefly to conclude what is said, we shall ask: in what manner was the passionless Word made flesh and become visible, while dwelling immutably in His Divine Nature? But what shall I say and what declare? I see the carpenter and the manger, the Infant and the Virgin Birth-Giver, forsaken by all, weighed down by hardship and want. Behold, to what a degree of humiliation the great God hath descended. For our sakes “impoverished, Who was rich” (2 Cor 8:9): He was put into but sorry swaddling cloths — not on a soft bed. O poverty, source of all exaltation! O destitution, revealing all treasures! He doth appear to the poor — and the poor He maketh rich; He doth lay in an animal manger — and by His word He sets in motion all the world. He is wrapped in tattered swaddling cloths — and shatters the bonds of sinners having called the entire world into being by His Word alone.

What still should I say and proclaim? I see the Infant, in swaddling cloths and lying in the manger; Mary, the Virgin Mother, stands before it together with Joseph, called Her husband. He is called Her husband, and She — his wife, in name but so and seemingly wedded, though in fact they were not spouses. she was betrothed to Joseph, but the Holy Spirit came upon Her, as about this the holy evangelist doth speak: “The Holy Spirit shalt come upon Thee, and the power of the Most High wilt overshadow Thee: and He to be born is Holy” (Lk 1:35) and is of the seed of Heaven. Joseph did not dare to speak in opposition, and the righteous man did not wish to reprove the Holy Virgin; he did not want to believe any suspicion of sin nor pronounce against the Holy Virgin words of slander; but the Son to be born he did not wish to acknowledge as his, since he knew, that He — was not of him. And although he was perplexed and had doubts, Who such an Infant should be, and pondered it over — he then had an heavenly vision, an Angel appeared to him and encouraged him with the words: Fear not, Joseph, son of David; He That shalt be born of Mary is called Holy and the Son of God; that is: the Holy Spirit shalt come upon the Immaculate Virgin, and the power of the Most High wilt overshadow Her (Matthew 1:20-21; Luke 1:35). Truly He was to be born of the Virgin, preserving unharmed Her virginity. Just as the first virgin had fallen, enticed by Satan, so now Gabriel bears new tidings to the Virgin Mary, so that a virgin would give assent to be the Virgin, and to the Nativity — by birth. Allured by temptations, Eve did once utter words of ruination; Mary, in turn, in accepting the tidings gave birth to the Incorporeal and Life-Creating Word. For the words of Eve, Adam was cast out of paradise; the Word, born of the Virgin, revealed the Cross, by which the thief entered into the paradise of Adam. Though neither the pagan Gentiles, nor the Jews, nor the high-priests would believe, that from God could be born a Son without travail and without man, this now is so and He is born in the body, capable to endure suffering, while preserving inviolate the body of the Virgin.

Thus did He manifest His Omnipotence, born of the Virgin, preserving the virginity of the Virgin intact, and He was born of God with neither complication, travail, evil nor a separation of forsaking the immutable Divine Essence, born God from God. Since mankind abandoned God, in place of Him worshipping graven images of humans, God the Word thus assumed the image of man, so that in banishing error and restoring truth, He should consign to oblivion the worshipping of idols and for Himself to be accorded divine honour, since to Him becometh all glory and honour unto ages of ages.

Amen!

I behold a new and wondrous mystery! My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn.

The Angels sing!

The Archangels blend their voices in harmony!

The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise!

The Seraphim exalt His glory!

All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised.

Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side, the Sun of Justice. And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed, He had the power, He descended, He redeemed; all things move in obedience to God. This day He Who is, is Born; and He Who is, becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of divinity became He man, nor through increase became He God from man; but being the Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassibility, remaining unchanged…

And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him Angels, nor Archangels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Powers, nor Principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.

Yet He has not forsaken His angels, nor left them deprived of His care, nor because of His Incarnation has he departed from the Godhead.

And behold kings have come, that they might adore the heavenly King of glory;

soldiers, that they might serve the Leader of the Hosts of Heaven;

women, that they might adore Him Who was born of a woman so that He might change the pains of child-birth into joy;

virgins, to the Son of the Virgin, beholding with joy, that He Who is the Giver of milk, Who has decreed that the fountains of the breast pour forth in ready streams, receives from a Virgin Mother the food of infancy;

infants, that they may adore Him Who became a little child, so that out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings, He might perfect praise;

children, to the Child Who raised up martyrs through the rage of Herod;

men, to Him Who became man, that He might heal the miseries of His servants;

shepherds, to the Good Shepherd Who has laid down His life for His sheep;

priests, to Him Who has become a High Priest according to the order of Melchisedech;

servants, to Him Who took upon Himself the form of a servant that He might bless our servitude with the reward of freedom;

fisherman, to Him Who from amongst fishermen chose catchers of men;

publicans, to Him Who from amongst them named a chosen Evangelist;

sinful women, to Him Who exposed His feet to the tears of the repentant; and that I may embrace them all together, all sinners have come, that they may look upon the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world.

Since therefore all rejoice, I too desire to rejoice. I too wish to share the choral dance, to celebrate the festival. But I take my part, not plucking the harp, not shaking the Thyrsian staff, not with the music of the pipes, nor holding a torch, but holding in my arms the cradle of Christ. For this is all my hope, this my life, this my salvation, this my pipe, my harp. And bearing it I come, and having from its power received the gift of speech, I too, with the angels, sing: Glory to God in the Highest; and with the shepherds, and on earth peace to men of good will.