By Saint Simeon of Thessalonica
Each of us, according to his rank, bears a divine and highest image. The bishop is the image of Jesus, and then the presbyter, according to the authority to perform the sacraments. In relation to the other gifts, the bishop is the image of the Father of lights, from whom every gift is good and every gift is perfect; therefore he is (called) the enlightener. The presbyter is the image of the highest ranks, the second light; he delivers and performs the mysteries; therefore he is (called) the perfecter. The deacon occupies the third place. He is the image of the ministering angels, constantly sent to those who want to inherit salvation; and therefore he is (called) the messenger, the preparer, and the minister. But all of them stand before one God, offer one sacrifice, partake of the same, partake of the same body, are all equally honored, and the same divine grace is communicated to others from them, whether from the first or from the second, according to the place which is appointed to each of them from above. Let us now look at Jesus. He is the true God, Who is from the Being, the Word of the Mind without beginning, the only-begotten Son of the most high Father, from whom are all things, Wisdom, Power, and Word, by whom all things (were created), the Almighty, the Lord, immaterial, invisible, ineffable, incomprehensible, indescribable, impalpable, immortal. What did He finally become for our sake? Man, visible, describable, having desire, mortal, impoverished; He had no place to lay his head, was despised, sold, condemned, insulted, ridiculed, slandered and crucified, and all this for our sake. What is more divine than this? What other example of goodness is so great? What can better depict the immeasurable compassion? What can more clearly present the humiliation of God? The Creator becomes the creature, the Creator – the creature, suffers for the creature from his own creatures; The Master suffers from His servants for themselves, for those who betrayed Him, voluntarily abandoned Him and began to serve His enemy, did not recognize Him as the Creator, did not repent, did not seek Him and not only did not turn to Him, but even, having fallen away, persecute Him, blaspheme and betray Him to death, and He – the good one – betrayed Himself, suffered, died, rose again and raised us up with Himself, ascended and exalted us with Himself, and, finally, He constantly lays down Himself for our sake, unites us with Himself, communicates and makes us His members; He desires to constantly abide in us and not only allows this, but also seeks it. What will we bring to Him for this? For how many priceless deaths, if one can say so, do we remain debtors to Him? We are His eternal debtors and are not able to pay the debts. When we stand before Him, we speak words of humility and do the same deeds: then let us humble ourselves, looking at Him who has humbled Himself and is still humbled; let us be afraid at the thought of Him before whom we stand: Christ is present among us both invisibly and visibly – in the divine bread of the flesh and the precious cup of blood, revealing to us His passions, murder, wounds of nails, blood, death. Let us stand with trembling when we approach Him and directly look at Him, break and eat, and drink of the blood, and distribute to others according to the grace given to us. Then the face of the cherubim marvels, the seraphim are marveled at; all the divine powers, looking, tremble, stand with fear and, being creatures and weak, recognize their nature and with amazement glorify the immeasurable goodness of God. All these ranks stand with us and surround the altar with fear, wishing to penetrate into the mystery; and they do not stand in vain, but borrow from there a ray of light for themselves, for there is the source of their light, there is the power (focus) of their fire, life, wisdom, sanctification. If thus dispassionate beings stand, alien to all lust, then how should we stand – earth, dust and worms? How should we prepare ourselves for such a divine action? Let us try to approach and serve such a work with all zeal and reverence. Since nothing other than love alone accomplished this work, then let us also love Him – who loved us “first” (1 John 4:19); let us approach the service of love with all the strength of the soul, since love revealed God so humiliated. Let us serve the cause of humiliation with humility and love, for the incarnate God showed that it was impossible for the nature of mortals, who had voluntarily inclined to fall, to rise up without God. Man felt the need for union with God, and to this day we constantly recognize ourselves as weak. Let us constantly pray to God for help, let us never undertake anything without Him: for “without Me,” He said, “you can do nothing” (John 15:5), so that we may unite with Him and abide inseparably. And if the spirit of malice has become an apostate through pride and despair, then we, through the consciousness of our disastrous situation, must unite ourselves to the Creator. “He who humbles himself,” He said, “will exalt himself” (Luke 18:14). If the Master gave Himself for all and became everything for all who need Him, then let us give ourselves to Him, so that we may be partakers of His blessings; let us serve His work with all our hearts and, if possible, let us offer Him a terrible sacrifice, for this pleases Him. “With desire,” He says, “I have longed to eat this Passover with you” (Luke 22:15), and He continually desires that, for He did not say: do, but “do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19), that is, constantly. What other deed could be more important than this deed – constantly remembering Christ, His death for us, and constantly offering sacrifice? “For this is,” He said, “My body which is broken for you” (1 Cor. 11:24), that is, always; “this … is My blood … which is shed for you” (Matt. 26:28), not once shed, but, obviously, constantly (poured out). Nothing can be more useful for us and more pleasing to God than this sacrifice, for it is His work and the restoration of humanity; in it is His communion with us, as the Incarnate One showed – before His sufferings He prayed thus: “that they may be one, even as we are” (John 17:11).
And now He Himself testifies that through this we become one with Him. “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood, He says, abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56). More than any prayer and praise, we must be diligent in this work, for through it every prayer has power. We must devote the greater part of the days of our lives to this work; for just as all divine works and commands relating to the world, all without exception, as soon as they appeared, are constantly in action until now, so the same must be understood about this (work). We notice that all visible creatures are constantly in action: I am talking about the constantly moving heaven, the vegetating earth and everything that is in them; everything acts in accordance with its nature. All the more should he be active who is appointed to this divine and greatest work. If both sensory objects act so tirelessly, and man – this small and at the same time great world – also proves, when the sensory side constantly acts as is proper to the sensory, is nourished, grows and changes, and the spiritual side as is proper to spiritual beings, always acts according to the suggestion of the mind and the intellectual power of the soul, and together with the activity of the human mind the intellectual divine powers are gradually developed in it; then how can one abandon the highest work of the great service to God, a work accomplished for the sake of all creation, through which all beings are brought to a better state, united with God, made divine, and especially rational beings, but primarily people dead and living; how can one abandon this work through negligence, or through the imaginary fear of God of the priests? Fear of God cannot restrain one from the sacred rite of the Mysteries; much less can it hinder the saving sacrifice, and consequently its beneficence. And if there is no obstacle to the sacred rite, then it means that the saving sacrifice must be constantly offered. The priest is appointed to be a sacred organ, therefore he must not be careless; for carelessness, I think, he will give an account, as the divine Basil also says to a certain Gregory, reproaching him for negligence: either let him, under a plausible pretext, refuse to be an organ and leave the office, or, having lawfully prepared himself to be a divine organ and remaining in his office, let him not neglect the service. “Every man shall receive his own reward according to his labor” (1 Cor. 3:8). “Cursed,” it is written, “is he that doeth the work of the Lord negligently” (Jer. 48:10). What other work of God is more important than this? Negligence in this matter, as we have said, is pernicious, unless, according to the teaching of the fathers, a man has received grace and does not refrain from actions contrary to grace. Let the careless one correct himself; let him fear God, who will demand of him an account of the service, for, through his negligence, the benefit of the sacred sacrifice is lost for those who wish to receive it (the benefit); because of him, the remembrance of the Savior and His divine sufferings is not made. Anyone who is not free from such offenses, for which the fathers forbade the service, should not act. According to the opinion of the fathers, he who does not perform acts willfully and is guilty of the Mysteries of Christ, for if he who partakes unworthily is condemned, how much more is the unworthy performer? True, we know that no Man is not worthy of this work, because it is terrible even for angels; but God, who has given it, has condescended to men as much as possible, and gives Himself. Mortals! Let us try to be worthy of grace in a certain measure and let us diligently cooperate with it, imitating, as much as possible, the entire earthly life of the Lord. Those who bear His image should, if possible, make remembrance of Him every day, in order to be constantly both doers and partakers of this (remembrance). Then God will be with them, and the angels with God and with them, and the holy souls, and the souls of all the faithful and those living piously, whether they be people successfully and calmly asceticizing, or fallen people, but repentant and seeking mercy and purification. And in general, every creature will receive sanctification from this and the greatest help in what we need most. And for this there is a great reward for him who performs the sacred rite reverently and diligently. If it is impossible to perform the sacred service every day, then at least four times a week, as Basil the Great commands, who himself did so, omitting three services and sometimes replacing them with a word of edification. It is necessary to perform the sacred service every day; I do not dare to say this on my own behalf, but having learned from the Savior, who says: “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). And again: “I live …, and whoever eats Me … will live for My sake” (John 6:56-57). And the Apostles did so, practicing prayer and the breaking of bread, as it is written (Acts 2:42), that is, in the sacred service of the Mysteries and communion. Many of the fathers also spoke and acted in the same way, for example, blessed Gregory, Bishop of Rome, who showed special zeal for the divine service; he, they say, established in the Roman Church to conduct the full liturgy during the fasts and taught to perform the rite daily, following the example of one bishop who acted in a similar way. This bishop attracted the attention of the supreme (hierarchs), who laid down the pronunciation after the divine rite to give him a word of praise. The same way spoke and acted the venerable Anthony, whose disciples performed the sacrament every day and received the Mysteries. And St. Chrysostom, together with Father Basil, in addition, wrote the rite of divine mysteries and praises those who participate in the sacrament of communion every day, but only reverently and worthily. And in the Catholic Churches and everywhere the tradition is widespread – to perform the sacrament every day for those who diligently desire it.
But let not what has been said seem to anyone an absolute commandment, for this service includes laymen and those who have married women, and monks are often subject to nightly temptations, and very many, through the instigation of the evil one, suffer temptations of anger, rancor, and many other passions, while a true priest must be free from all such. Therefore, according to the words of Basil the Great, let (priests) perform the sacred rite, if possible, four times a week; and if not, then at least by all means twice a week, for this is easily accomplished both for laymen and for monks, and there can be no excuse here, since by labors and vigil and confession for five days they can pre-purify themselves. Therefore, they must first of all take care of the remission (of sins), since this can especially cleanse them. And this is very necessary for priests, and especially for those who daily approach the omniscient God and Giver, through repentance and absolution. But if anyone is possessed by any passion, especially in relation to another – as, for example, the vindictive often have to be possessed by slander and envy – then such a slave of passion, an instrument of the evil one who has settled in him through passion, should not approach the Good One and Giver of peace. Let such a one know that, having voluntarily yielded to the suggestions of the evil one, he will give an account for passion and negligence; for the enemy, however much he tries, is not able to subdue you to himself; to us is given the power to tread on the serpent and the scorpion – on the insidious and pernicious demons, and on all the power of the enemy. The author of evil only finds a place for attack; but he cannot in any case use complete violence and tyranny, as we know from the experiences of the faithful and chosen, and, being a creature of God, he has no power even over the dumb. Therefore, since it is in our will and in our disposition (to conquer him) and to perfect ourselves in virtue, then we will be subject to condemnation if we are conquered by him and are deprived because of some corrupt passion of such a heavenly gift – I mean the sacred rite and the sanctification that comes from it. Therefore it is necessary to purify ourselves as much as possible, and try in no case to fall into the nets of the evil one. Let us, then, who have been honored with sanctification, preserve ourselves so that we may stand before and serve the Most Pure One in as much purity as possible; let us hasten to adorn ourselves in deeds, words and thoughts with His high perfections, so that we may have in ourselves a reflection of at least some of His properties. And what are His properties? – love for mankind, humility, mercy, love for all, peace, communication of divine gifts, and above all, communion with us and sanctification, because our God is Holy and sanctifies those who approach Him, and deigns to rest in the saints. Oh, if He would grant us a share of His chosen and holy ones! May He make us worthy even here, may He preserve us to the end as ministers of His most holy sacraments for sanctification; and there, having brought us again into the Holy of Holies, may He make us forever partakers of direct communion with Himself! For to Him, Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God and our God, who dedicated Himself for us by the sacrifice of the cross, that we also might be sanctified in truth, befits all glory, honor, majesty and praise, together with His Father without beginning, and the Most Holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages! Amen.
Source in Russian: Writings of the Holy Fathers and Teachers of the Church, relating to the interpretation of Orthodox worship. Volume III. – St. Petersburg: In the Printing House of Grigory Trusov, 1857. – P. 225-248.
