Author: Archimandrite Justin (Popovich)

Matter is represented in the human body, no doubt, in the most enigmatic, mysterious and complex way. Brain?! What marvelous mysteries are performed between his matter and soul! No matter how much experience the human race has, these mysteries can neither be understood nor comprehended. Only a few of them are accessible to human sensory-rational knowledge. In the same way, the human heart is all woven from heavenly and earthly secrets. Every cell in the human body, and every molecule, and every atom are woven in the same way. Everything and everything is on its mysterious path to God, to the God-man. After all, matter was created by the God Logos, and thus it is God-centered. By his coming into our earthly world and by his chain-like divine-human economy of saving the world, the Lord Christ clearly showed that not only the soul, but also matter was created by God and for God; showed that there is a God-man. After all, the matter created by the God Logos with all its inner nerve is God-striking and Christ-centered.

The obvious proof of this is that God the Word became flesh, became man (John 1:14). Thus, matter was awarded divine majesty and entered into the gracious and virtuous feat of deification and Christification. God became flesh, became human, so that, having become a man, the whole body would receive God into itself, be filled with His miraculous powers and might, supracherubic glory and eternity. And all this happens, and all this comes true through the divine-human body of the Church, which is the God-man Christ in the fullness of his divine-human personality, the fullness of “He who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:23). By this divine-human life in the church, the body as matter, as substance, is sanctified by the Holy Spirit and thereby is trinified by the Most Holy Trinity. Thus, matter comprehends its highest divine meaning and purpose, its eternal bliss and its divine-human immortal joy.

The holiness of the saints, the holiness of their souls and their bodies, has its source in their zealous grace-virtuous life in the divine-human body of the Church of Christ. Thus, holiness embraces the entire personality of a person: the whole soul and body, everything that enters into the mysterious structure of a human being. The holiness of the saints is not contained only in their soul, but inevitably extends to their body, the saints have both soul and body, and we, piously honoring the saints, honor their whole personality, without dividing them into a holy soul and a holy body. Hence the pious veneration of the relics of the saints – a natural component of the pious veneration and prayerful invocation of the saints. All this makes up a single indivisible feat, just as the soul and body make up a single indivisible personality of a saint. During his life on earth, the saint achieves the holiness of his personality by the unceasing and concordant gracious-virtuous cooperation of his soul and body, fills his soul and body with the grace of the Holy Spirit, and thus transforms them into vessels of holy mysteries and holy virtues. Therefore, it is quite natural to give pious veneration to both vessels of God’s grace. After all, the grace-filled power of Christ permeates and blesses all the constituent parts of the human personality and the whole personality as a whole. By their unceasing evangelical deeds, the saints are gradually filled with the Holy Spirit, so that their holy bodies also become temples of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 6:19; 3:17). By faith instilling Christ in their hearts (Eph. 3:17), by active love and fulfillment of the commandments (cf. II Cor. 13:13; Gal. 5:6; John 14:28) — God the Father, by feats of grace (cf. Eph 3:16; 3:3; I Cor. 2:12) being established in the Holy Spirit, the saints trinify themselves, become the abode of the Most Holy Trinity (cf. John 14:23; 17:21-23), the temple of the living God ( II Cor. 6:16), and their whole life flows from the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. And graciously venerating the holy relics of the saints, the Church venerates the temples of the Holy Spirit, the temples of the living God, in which God lives by his grace even after the bodily death of the saint, and, according to his wise good will, works miracles – from them and through them. And those miracles that happen from holy relics testify that their pious veneration by people is pleasing to God.

The pious veneration of holy relics, based on their miraculous work, originates in Divine Revelation. “Even in the Old Testament, God deigned to glorify the relics of some of his saints with miracles. So, from touching the holy relics of the prophet Elisha, the deceased was resurrected (IV Kings 13, 21; Sir. 48, 14-15). 18; compare III Kings 13:32). Patriarch Joseph left a testament to the sons of Israel that they keep his remains in Egypt and take them to the promised land at the Exodus (Gen. 50, 25).

The New Testament raised the body to an unprecedented divine height and glorified it with a glory that does not exist with cherubim and seraphim. The gospel of the New Testament: the meaning and purpose of the human body is that it, together with the soul, achieve and inherit eternal life in eternal bliss, the Lord Christ came to save-christify-deify-deify the whole person, that is, both soul and body, so that by the resurrection provide them with victory over death and eternal life. And no one has ever glorified the human body as the Lord Christ did with his resurrection in the body, his ascension in the body to heaven and eternal sitting in the body at the right hand of God the Father.

Thus, the resurrected Lord introduced the pledge of resurrection into the nature of the human body and — “created the way of all flesh to the resurrection from the dead” (liturgy of St. Basil the Great, Prayer during “Holy, holy, holy …”). From that time on, man knows that the body was created for eternity through God-manhood, and that his divine calling on earth is to fight together with the soul for eternal life (cf. I Tim. 6:12; II Cor. 4:18), to fight with the help of all gracious and virtuous means and thereby grace oneself, be filled with the grace of God, transform oneself into the temple of the Holy Spirit, into the temple of the living God (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19; II Cor. 6:16).

Bearing in mind that this New Testament goal of the human body has been achieved and realized in the personality of a saint, Christians also render pious veneration to the bodies of saints, their holy relics, as holy temples of the Holy Spirit who dwells in them with his grace. But the Holy Revelation shows that, due to its immeasurable love for mankind, the Holy Spirit abides by His grace not only in the bodies of the saints, but also in their clothes. Thus, the handkerchiefs and aprons of the holy Apostle Paul heal the sick and cast out unclean spirits (Acts 19:12); the prophet Elijah strikes the water with his mantle, dividing the waters of the Jordan, and the Jordan crosses the dry bed with his disciple Elisha (2 Kings 2:8); the prophet Elisha himself does the same with the same mantle after the ascension of Elijah to heaven (2 Kings 2, 1 4). And all this has its divine confirmation and explanation in the divine power that dwelt in the clothes of the Savior, which wrapped around His most pure divine body (cf. Mt. 9, 20-23). And even more – out of His unspeakable philanthropy, the Divine Lord makes it so that the servants of His Divinity work miracles not only with their bodies and clothes, but also with the shadow of their body, as evidenced by the case of the Apostle Peter: his shadow heals the sick and casts out unclean spirits (Acts 5, 15-16).

The immortal gospel of the Holy Revelation about the holy relics and their pious veneration has been witnessed and is unceasingly witnessed by Holy Tradition from the Apostolic age to our days. Countless are the holy relics of the holy saints of God throughout the Orthodox world. Their miracles are innumerable. Their pious veneration on the part of Orthodox Christians is ubiquitous. And this is undoubtedly because the most holy relics by their miracle-working induce us to pious veneration of them. From the very beginning, back in the apostolic age, Christians piously venerated the honest relics of the holy Forerunner and the holy apostles, and so their relics were able to reach us, and during persecutions they hid, hid in their homes the sacred remains of the holy martyrs. And from that time until the present day, the holy relics of the holy saints of God, with their miracles, pour the immortal joy of our God-human faith into the hearts of Orthodox Christians. The evidence for this is countless, let us recall only a few.

How touchingly St. Chrysostom describes the festive transfer and meeting of the holy relics in his Eulogy to St. Ignatius (Patr. gr. t. 50, col. 594): You, inhabitants of Antioch, dismissed the bishop, and accepted the martyr; they let him go with prayers, but received him with a crown, and not only you, but also the inhabitants of the cities that lay on his way. Think how they must all have felt at the return of his holy remains! what sweetness they enjoyed! what admiration they were! how happy they were! what praises were showered from everywhere on the crowned bearer! Like a brave warrior who defeated the enemy and returns triumphantly from the battle, the inhabitants admiringly greet him, not even letting him set foot on the ground, but they lift him up and carry him home in their arms, showering him with countless praises – in the same way, the inhabitants of all cities , starting from Rome, they carried one after another on their shoulders and handed it over to our city, glorifying the crowned bearer, praising the winner … During this time, the holy martyr bestowed grace on all those cities, confirmed them in piety; and ever since then he has enriched your city.

Narrating the miraculous power of the holy relics, Saint Ephraim of Syria speaks to the holy martyrs: even after death they act as if they were alive, heal the sick, cast out demons, and by the power of the Lord repel their every evil attack. After all, the miraculous grace of the Holy Spirit is always present in holy relics (A eulogy to the martyrs all over the world who have suffered. – Creations, part II, p. 497, M., 1881).

At the opening of the holy relics of Sts. Gervasius and Protasius, Saint Ambrose addresses the audience and says with reverent admiration: You have heard and even seen many who have been freed from demons, and even more of those who have just touched the clothes of the saints with their hands and were immediately healed of their illnesses. Miracles of ancient times have been revived since the coming of the Lord Jesus poured out abundant grace on the earth: you see with your own eyes how many people were healed only by the shadow of the saints. How many handkerchiefs do believers pass from hand to hand! how many different clothes that were laid on the sacred remains and only from touching them were filled with healing power, they ask each other. Everyone tries to touch them at least a little, and whoever touches them is healed. (Episi. 22; Patr. lat. 16, col. 1022).

Justifying the pious veneration of holy relics by Christians, Saint Ambrose proclaims: In the body of a martyr, I venerate the wounds taken for the name of Christ, I venerate the one who lives by the immortality of virtue; I venerate the dust sanctified by the confession of the Lord; I honor in the dust the seed of eternity; I honor the body that teaches me to love the Lord and not be afraid of death for him … Yes, I honor the body that Christ honored with martyrdom and which will reign with Christ in heaven (Serm. 55,1.11; Patr. lat. 17, col- 718 and 719).

Narrating about miracles from holy relics, Blessed Augustine says: What else do these miracles testify to, if not about the faith that preaches that Christ was resurrected in the flesh and with the flesh ascended to heaven? For the martyrs themselves were martyrs, i.e. witnesses of this faith… They laid down their lives for this faith, being able to ask it from the Lord, for whose name they tasted death. For the sake of this faith, they first discovered extraordinary patience, so that later such strength would be manifested in these miracles (On the City of God, book 22, ch. IX, Kyiv, 1910).

Saint Damascene, summing up the life-giving teaching of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition about the pious veneration of holy relics, cherubically proclaims from the altar of his God-bearing Christ-like soul: The saints became by grace (hariti) what the Lord Christ is by nature (fusei). That is, they became gods by grace: pure and living abodes of God. For God said: I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God (II Cor. 6:16; Lev. 26:12). At the same time, Holy Scripture says: The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and torment will not touch them (Wisdom 3:1). After all, the death of a saint is more like a dream than death. And: The death of His saints is dear in the sight of the Lord (Pel. 115:6). Their same, what could be more precious than being in the hand of God!? For God is Life and Light, and those who are in the hand of God are in Life and Light, and God through the mind (dia tou vou) dwells also in the bodies of the saints, as the apostle testifies: Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and Does the Spirit of God live in you? (I Cor. 3:16), the Lord is Spirit (II Cor. 3:17). And one more gospel truth: If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will punish him “for the temple of God is holy; and this temple is you (I Cor. 3, 17). Therefore, how not to honor the spiritualization of God, spiritualized bodily dwellings of God? “Being alive, they boldly stand before God. The Lord Christ gave us the relics of the saints as saving springs that exude various good deeds and pour out fragrant myrrh. Let no one doubt this! After all, by the will of God, water flowed in the desert from a solid rock for a thirsty people (Ex. 17, 6), and from the jaw of a donkey – for the thirsty Samson (Jud. 15, 14-19) Is it really more incredible that the relics of the holy martyrs abundantly exude fragrant myrrh? honoring and respecting the saints.According to the Old Testament law, whoever touches a dead body is considered unclean for seven days (Num. 19, 11).

But the saints are not dead. Since He Who Himself is Life and the Author of Life was numbered among the dead, we no longer call dead those who fell asleep, reposed in the hope of the resurrection and with faith in Him — we do not call them dead. And how a dead body could work miracles. And then – how do demons are cast out by the action of holy relics, illnesses pass away, the sick are healed, the blind receive their sight, lepers are cleansed, temptations and troubles end, and every good gift from the Father of lights (James 1:17) descends on those who pray with strong faith (de fide, IV 15).

The ecumenical faith of the church about the pious veneration of holy relics was confirmed by the God-bearing fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council by their resolution: Our Lord Jesus Christ has given us the relics of the saints as a saving source, pouring out various blessings on the weak. Therefore, those who dared to reject the relics of the martyr: if the bishops – let them be deposed, if the monks and laity – are deprived of communion (AcL Vll, BiniiConcil. l.V, p.794, 1636 – Translated from Serbian). Rule 7 of the same Ecumenical Council says: If the honorable churches are consecrated without the holy relics of the martyrs, we determine: let the position of the relics be completed in them with the usual prayer. (Book of Rules of the Holy Apostle, Holy Councils of the Universe and Local and Holy Fathers. Canada, 1971, p. 177),

The fact that the pious veneration of holy relics is an integral part of the Divine-human economy of salvation is also evidenced by the following fact: according to all the most ancient testimonies of Holy Tradition, churches were built on the tombs and relics of saints, and the holy liturgy is performed only on the antimension, in which there are particles of holy relics. At the same time, the liturgical books, especially the Menaion, are full of prayers and hymns that speak of the pious veneration of holy relics. And the lives of the saints are replete with testimonies of their miracles, pouring into the hearts of Orthodox Christians the immortal joy of our Orthodox-God-human faith.

Everything is in everything: the mystery of holy relics is in the heart of the New Testament all-mystery: the Incarnation of God (cf. I Tim. 3:16). After all, the whole mystery of the human body is explained by the incarnation and incarnation of God: the God-man of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence the gospel, the all-gospel about the body: The body … for the Lord and the Lord for the body (1 Cor. 6:13). And through the human body and all creation, all matter acquired its divine meaning, the divine-human universal meaning (cf. Rom. 8:19-23). After all, a person sanctified in the church with holy mysteries and holy virtues, both creature and matter are sanctified, Christified. And hence such joy: the myrrh-streaming relics of many saints. This precious miracle was given to the holy relics to show that Christians really are “Christ’s fragrance to God” (II Cor. 2:15), they are censing incense to God, heaven. The gospel truth is this: human sin is a stench before God; and every sin is a foul incense to the devil. Through the cooperation of the holy mysteries and holy virtues, Christians become “Christ’s fragrance to God.” Hence the holy myrrh-streaming relics of the saints.

Patristic heritage: a library of works of the holy fathers and teachers of the Church © <Library of the forum “Orthodox Conversation” at https://www.pagez.ru/

Photo by Ron Lach :

The further life of man, as we have seen above, consists in the development of that seed of eternal life which is laid in baptism. A person is gradually cleansed from sin, gradually perfected and strengthened in goodness, and ascends to the perfect age of a husband. However, even then “the beginning of his life” (Isaac the Syrian), that “salt that keeps a person intact,” continues to be faith. “Faith is the mother of every good deed, and with it a person achieves the fulfillment on himself of the promise of the Lord and Savior of our Jesus Christ, according to what is written:” without faith it is impossible to please God “(Ephraim the Syrian). Even if a person happened to fall: let him only keep his faith – the broken harmony of his soul will be restored, his disparate forces will again be gathered and rush against sin with new energy. “Faith,” says St. I. Chrysostom, – there is a head and a root; if you keep it, then, even though you have lost everything, you will gain everything again with greater glory. “Faith is power for salvation and power for eternal life” (Clement of Alexandria).

On the other hand, it is clear what happens if faith is lost by a person. “Without oil the lamp cannot burn,” without the root every tree will wither. “Without Me,” said the Lord, “you can do nothing.” Once faith is taken away, every meaning of life and every power to do good is taken away. There is no center that would bind the efforts of a person and comprehend them. A person does not feel the closeness of God, he cannot understand His goodness, God again for him is only a punisher of untruth. Will such a person turn to God? And if he does not turn, then he cannot accept God’s help, His grace. So, having lost this “eye that enlightens every conscience” (Cyril of Jerusalem), his faith, a person loses all his spiritual property – and perishes. Remarkable in this regard are the features with which the Lord depicts the righteous and sinners at the last judgment. Meanwhile, how the righteous, who have kept their faith, marvel at the mercy of God: “When did you see thee hungry, and drink?” – For sinners, God’s sentence seems unfair: “when did I see you hungry, and not serve you?” God appears either as hostile to them, wanting, looking for an excuse to condemn them, to deprive them of eternal bliss. The first lived in faith, and therefore their whole soul is filled with a feeling of the undeserved mercy of God, and now they confess their unworthiness. The latter, however, have lost their faith, they do not recognize the mercy of God, they lived only for themselves, and therefore they are now rising to the defense of their “I”. The first in their faith always saw the way to God open to themselves, because they saw the mercy of God. Seeing this, they always aspired to God and were constantly in spiritual unity with Him: this unity, of course, becomes their lot even after leaving this life. The latter, having lost their faith, naturally also lost their strength for spiritual union with God, alienated themselves from God: therefore, even after their transition to the future world, they do not have the ability to surrender to God, their lot is in the gloomy realm of selfishness, which gnashes its teeth about its death. , not finding the strength to come to terms with this, even if, like a righteous man, in the thought that he suffered according to the will of God (Rom. 9:3).

So, faith revived a person, faith developed and educated him in spiritual life, faith will lead him to eternal bliss. By believing, a person accepted here the grace of God and could accept communion with God, despite the fact that until then he had lived in sin. The same faith in the love of God will enable a person to maintain this fellowship with God in the coming kingdom. “On the day of judgment,” says St. Neil of Sinai, “we ourselves will be our own accusers, convicted by our own conscience. Therefore, in this extreme case, will we find any other protection or help, except for one faith in the most philanthropic Lord Christ? This faith is our great defense, great help, security, and boldness, and an answer for those who have become unanswerable because of an inexpressible multitude of sins.”

Faith that saves is free and active

In order to avoid misunderstandings, it must be repeated here once again that the Orthodox Church, assuming in faith all the blessedness of man and considering faith as the cause of man’s spiritual growth, never imagines this faith in the form of some kind of self-acting force, which, as something extraneous, would almost force man to a virtuous life and to communion with God. Of course, a believing person perceives the grace of God, with which he goes to fight against sin. However, the instrument for receiving this grace is not the knowledge or contemplation of the mercy of God and His readiness to forgive and help, but certainly the free desire and decision of a person. In the same way, faith is “a worker of goodness, the basis of righteous conduct” only because it “is the free consent of the soul” (Clement of Alexandria). Faith only inspires the will of a person, but by no means frees him from efforts on himself. “You should not only believe in Christ,” said St. Macarius of Egypt, “but also suffer, according to what is written: “as it was given to you … not only believe in Christ, but also suffer for Him” (Phil. 1, 29 ) To believe only in God is characteristic of those who think earthly, even, I would not say, and unclean spirits who say: “We know Thee, who art the Son of God” (Mk. 1.24; Mt. 8.29)”. Faith requires the free choice of good and the decision to do it.

Not by its contemplative side, not as a state of perceiving, faith saves a person, so that a person can only inactively experience his salvation, Faith saves with its active side, the constant participation of good will in it (John 7:17). The believer in his faith finds the boldness to turn to God and, thus, enters into communion with God, accepts this communion. The believer, strengthened by the power of God, aspires to the life of a saint and thereby begins it. Faith in this sense is “the beginning of our hope and the beginning of Divine mercy towards us, like a door and a way” (Cyril of Alexandria).

Faith and deeds

In order to bring into view precisely this vital (and not formal) meaning of salvation, and precisely where it is necessary to protect itself from Protestant fabrications, our Church chooses from two formulas worked out in the West the one that ascribes salvation not to faith alone, but to faith with works. . “We believe,” says the 13th member of the Epistle of the Eastern Patriarchs, “that a person is justified not simply by faith alone (i.e., as will be seen later, not by its theoretical, perceptive side), but by faith, aided by love (faith, as active force, by the fact that it produces love), i.e. through faith and deeds “… “Not a ghost, – the fathers explain even more specifically, – only faith, but the faith that exists in us through deeds justifies us in Christ.” Thus, it is undoubtedly faith that justifies a person, but only real, true faith, that which leads a person to true life, makes him work out his salvation. The teaching of the Rev. Theophan that faith saves by deeds. “Salvation,” says the Saint, “from good deeds; but it is impossible to succeed in good deeds, as it should be, without faith. Faith inspires good deeds, faith points them out, faith also leads to obtaining strength for doing good deeds. Therefore, faith is an accomplice to good deeds. The main thing is deeds, and she is a benefit.” Salvation, therefore, lies in the fact that a person creates it himself, but he does not come to this creation except by faith.

The Orthodox should not understand this definition in the Catholic way, i.e. so that by deeds a man earns his salvation. Deeds in themselves, as outward acts or separate deeds, have no meaning in Christianity. Behavior is valued here only as an expression of the corresponding mood of the soul, a certain direction of the will, although, in turn, it influences the formation of this mood. The entire Conversation on the Mount is built on the thought of the insufficiency of one external good deed and the need for an internal change, which actually assimilates the Kingdom of Heaven to a person. Therefore, the mercy shown to a prophet or disciple is only appreciated when it is rendered “in the name of the prophet or disciple”, in the name of faith (Matthew 10:41-42). “If,” says St. Apostle Paul, “I give away all my possessions, and give my body to be burned, but I do not have love, it does not profit me at all” (1 Corinthians 13:3). You can’t look at the outside. The apostle explains in more detail: the essence of salvation is not in ascetic labors, as such, not in outward zeal; and exploits, and zeal should flow from a regenerated, changed soul; otherwise they are nothing before God (Rom. 4:2). Therefore, it may happen that two mites brought by a widow will outweigh the entire multitude of offerings from the rich, and a sinner-publican will be closer to God than a righteous Pharisee; those who come at the eleventh hour and do nothing will receive an equal reward with those who worked all day and endured the heat of the day. From a legal point of view, this cannot be explained: more work requires more rewards (unless we generally deny the possibility of any kindness on the part of a person). With the Orthodox, this does not require explanation: the Lord wants to save everyone equally and the whole aspires to everyone equally, but one has more aspiration for God, the ability to perceive His communion more, the other has less. In such a case, it may happen that the newly converted and who has done nothing will be equal or even higher in reward than the one who has grown old in faith and accomplished feats. The kingdom of God is not a reward for labors, but a mercy offered to the tun and assimilated according to the acceptability of each.

The question, therefore, is where the soul is directed, what it wants, how it lives. If its aspiration is towards God, if it does not live for itself, then it, in addition to its external deeds, is justified; this is the guarantee of future pardon, and deeds and labors are important only for the return and strengthening of this aspiration. “Recompense,” says St. Isaac the Syrian, “is no longer for virtue, and not for labor for its sake, but for humility born from them. If it is lost, then the former will be in vain.”

The soul is saved not from its external deeds, but because its inner being is renewed, that its heart is always with God. Of course, at the last judgment the book of everyone’s life will be opened, and everyone will give an answer for every deed and word, for every thought, no matter how insignificant and fleeting it may be: the perfect cannot be called imperfect. But this revelation of life for some will only be a source of humility, it will only lead them to the realization of the undeserved pardon, and will bind them even more closely to God; for others, the conviction of conscience at the judgment will bring despair, and finally tear them away from God and the Kingdom. “And these go into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Whoever directed his soul where he goes, goes there.

Thus, in faith – all the blessedness of a Christian. Faith is not only the cause, the driving force in the spiritual development of man, it is rather the focus, the very heart of spiritual life. As faith grows, love grows, as love grows, faith grows: the moral development of a person finds both its expression and its fruit in the strengthening and growth of faith. Faith promotes deeds, and faith is perfected by deeds (James 2:22). Faith is truly the alpha and omega of moral life, just like the Lord Himself, Whom it reveals to man*. Leading to love, in which the essence of eternal life (1 John 3:14; John 17:26), faith thus gives a person the opportunity here on earth to begin eternal bliss. Upon passing into the next world, faith turns into knowledge, and love, which connected a person with God, continues into eternity.

Cf. © M. Novoselov. Salvation and faith according to Orthodox teaching. Religious and Philosophical Library. Issue. 31. Brotherhood of St. Alexia, 1995. Published according to the text of the 1913 edition.

“I believe in one God the Father, Almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth,

of all things visible and invisible”

(Symbol of Faith)

By the word invisible in the first article of the Creed we must understand the invisible or spiritual world to which the angels belong.

Angels are spirits, disembodied beings, endowed with mind, will and feeling. They are ministering spirits (Heb. 1:14), who are more perfect than man in mind, power, and might, but are still limited.

The word angel is Greek and means messenger. The disembodied spirits are so called because God sends them to inform men of His will. For example, Archangel Gabriel was sent by God to the Holy Virgin Mary to inform her that she would give birth to the Savior of the world (Luke 1:26-35).

Divine Revelation indicates that the number of angels is too great. Thus, in one of his visions, the prophet Daniel observes:

“Thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days sat down… a thousand thousands served Him, and tens of thousands by ten thousands stood before Him; judges sat down, and books were opened” (Dan. 7:9-10)

At the capture of Jesus Christ, when one of His disciples took out a knife to protect Him, He said to him:

“Put your knife back in its place…or do you think I cannot now ask My Father, and He will present me with more than twelve legions of Angels?” (Matt. 26:52-53).

Guardian angels

According to the teaching of the Orthodox Church, every person has his own guardian angel (Angel-franititel, Guardian angel), who invisibly stays with him from the cradle to the grave, helps him in good and protects him from evil. We can be sure of this truth from the words of Jesus Christ Himself:

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for, I say to you, their Angels in heaven always behold the face of My Heavenly Father” (Matt. 18:10).

“Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven” (KJV Mat 18:10).

“Look, do not despise one of these little ones; for I say to you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my heavenly Father” (Mat. 18:10)

By little we must first understand children, and then all true Christians, who in their gentleness and humility resemble children. That the Angels always look at the face of the heavenly Father means that they are especially close to God, and their closeness is determined by their moral purity.

Apparently, believers in the early Christian Church also believed in the real existence of the guardian angel. After the Angel of the Lord delivered St. Ap. Peter from prison, he went to the home of John Mark and his mother “where many were gathered and praying”.

“When Peter knocked on the road enemy, a servant girl named Rhoda went to listen. And, recognizing Peter’s voice, she did not open the door for joy, but ran and called that Peter was standing at the door. And they said to her: you you are out of your mind! But she claimed that it was so. And they said: this is his Angel. At that time Peter kept knocking. And when they opened it, they saw him and were amazed” (Acts 12:13-15).

That they used the possessive pronoun “his” certainly indicates their belief that St. Peter had his personal angel.

Photo: Icon of the Synaxis of the Angels (E. Tzanes, 1666)

“God is love” (1 John 4:8)

Like being hidden. Do you see and save everything? How, we are not visible. Do you see us all? But You, my God, do not know all whom You see, but in loving You know only those who love You, and only to them You show Yourself. Being the Sun hidden to every mortal nature. You ascend in Your servants, we see being them, and they rise in You, who were previously darkened: fornicators, adulterers, libertines, sinners, tax collectors. Through repentance they become sons of Your Divine Light. After all, Light, of course, gives birth to light, therefore they also become light, children of God, as it is written (Ps. 81, 6), and gods by grace, those who renounce the vain and deceitful world, hate their parents and brothers without hatred, considering themselves as wanderers and strangers in life; those who will deprive themselves of riches and possessions, completely rejecting addiction to them; those who, for the sake of heavenly glory, from their souls abhor empty glory and human praises; those who cut off their will and became for the shepherds, as it were, harmless sheep; those who became dead in body to every evil deed, toiling to sweat on the cultivation of virtues and being guided in life by the will of the helmsman alone, dying through obedience and resurrecting again; those who, thanks to the fear of God and the memory of death, shed tears all day and night and cleverly fall at the feet of the Lord, asking for mercy and forgiveness of sins. Such, through every good deed, come to a good state, and, like those who daily weep and knock zealously, they attract mercy to themselves. With frequent prayers, unspoken sighs and streams of tears, they purify the soul and, seeing its purification, they perceive the fire of love and the fire of desire to see it completely purified. But since it is impossible for them to find the end of the world, their purification is endless. For no matter how much I, the pitiful one, am cleansed and enlightened, no matter how much I see the Holy Spirit purifying me, it will always seem to me that this is only the beginning of purification and vision, because in the boundless depth and in the immeasurable height, who can find the middle or the end? I know that there is a lot of Light, but I don’t know how much. Desiring more and more, I constantly sigh that I have been given little (although it seems to me a lot) in comparison with what, as I guess, is far from me, which I crave when I see and think that nothing I don’t have it, because I don’t feel the wealth given to me at all, although I see the Sun, I don’t consider it as such. In what way? – listen and believe. What I see is the Sun, Which is inexpressibly pleasant to the senses; It draws the soul to unspeakable and divine Love. The soul, seeing Him, ignites and burns with love, desiring to completely have within itself that which is it, but cannot, and therefore it is sad and no longer considers it good to see and feel Him. When the One I see and cannot be contained by anyone, as truly impregnable, deigns to have mercy on my contrite and humble soul, then as He appears to me, shining in front of my face, He becomes the same shining one in me, filling me completely, humble, with all joy, every desire and divine sweetness. This is a sudden transformation and a wonderful change, and what is happening in me is inexpressible in words. After all, if someone saw that this sun, visible to all, descended into his heart and everything settled into him, and would also shine, would he not die from a miracle and become mute, and would not all who saw this is? But if anyone sees the Creator of the sun, like a luminary, shining within himself, acting and speaking, how will he not be amazed and tremble at such a vision? How can he not love his Life-Giver? People love people like themselves when they seem to them somewhat better than others; The Creator of all, the only immortal and omnipotent, who, having seen Him, will not love? If many, believing by hearing, loved Him, and the saints even died for Him, and yet they are alive, then those who partake of the visions of Him and the Light, known by Him and knowing Him, how will they not love Him? Tell me how, for His sake, will they not weep incessantly? How will they not despise the world and what is in the world? How will those not renounce all honor and glory who, having risen above all glory and earthly honor and having loved the Lord, have found the One Who is beyond the earth and all things visible, the One Who created all things visible and invisible, and received immortal Glory, having in Is every good thing without lack? Also, every remission of sins and every desire for eternal blessings and divine things, like some kind of wealth, they drew from the same eternally living source, which give us, Lord, and all those who seek and passionately love You, so that we also with the saints Your eternal blessings have been enjoyed forever and ever. Amen (59, 41-43).

Who can, Master, tell about You?

Those who do not know You are deceived, knowing nothing at all;

Those who have known by faith Thy divinity

They are possessed by great fear and terrified with trembling,

Not knowing what to say to them about You, for You are beyond the mind,

And everything with You is inexhaustible by thought and incomprehensible:

Works and Your glory, and Your knowledge.

We know that You are God, and we see Your Light,

But what you are and what kind you are, no one knows for sure.

However, we have hope, we have faith

And we know the love that you gave us,

Boundless, inexpressible, in no way incomprehensible,

which is Light,

The Light is impregnable and does everything.

It is sometimes called Your hand, sometimes the eye,

Now with holy lips, then by Strength, then by Glory,

That is known as the most beautiful face.

He is the unsetting sun for the lofty in the knowledge of the Divine,

He is a star forever shining for those

that contain nothing more.

It is the opposite of sadness, drives away hostility

And completely destroys satanic envy.

In the beginning, He softens and, purifying, refines,

Banishes thoughts and reduces movement.

He secretly teaches to be humble

And does not allow to scatter and stagger.

On the other hand. It clearly separates from the world

And makes you forget all the sad things in life.

He nourishes and quenches thirst in various ways,

And gives strength to those who work well.

He repays irritation and sadness of the heart,

Absolutely not allowing to be angry or indignant.

When He flees, those wounded by Him chase after Him.

And with great love from the heart they seek Him.

When He returns, appears, and shines forth lovingly,

It encourages those who pursue to turn away from Him and humble themselves.

And, being repeatedly sought, it encourages to move away from fear

How unworthy of such a good, surpassing every creature.

O inexpressible and incomprehensible Gift!

For what does He not do and what does not happen!

He is delight and joy, meekness and peace,

Mercy is boundless, the abyss of philanthropy.

He is seen invisibly, fits out of place

And it is contained in my mind inviolably and intangibly.

Having Him, I do not contemplate, but contemplating until He is gone,

I strive to quickly grab Him, but He flies away.

Perplexed and inflamed, I learn to ask

And seek Him with weeping and great humility

And don’t think that the supernatural is possible

For my strength or human effort,

But—for the goodness of God and boundless mercy.

Appearing for a short time and hiding. He

One by one, he expels passions from the heart.

For man cannot conquer passion,

If He does not come to the rescue;

And again, not everything immediately expels,

For it is impossible to perceive the whole Spirit at once

A man of the soul and become impassive.

But when he has done all he can:

Non-acquisition, impartiality, removal from one’s own,

Cutting off the will and renunciation of the world,

Patience of temptations, prayer and crying,

Poverty and humility, as far as he has the strength,

Then for a short time, as it were, the subtlest and smallest Light,

Surprisingly surrounding his mind, he will enthrall him into a frenzy,

But, so that he does not die, he will soon leave him

With such great speed, no matter what you think,

It is impossible for one who sees to remember the beauty of the Light,

Lest he, being a child, taste the food of perfect men

And immediately he was not dissolved or harmed by throwing up her.

So, since then, the Light guides, strengthens and instructs;

When we need Him

He shows up and runs away;

Not when we wish, for this is the work of the perfect,

But when we are in difficulty and completely powerless,

He comes to the rescue, rising from afar,

And makes me feel in my heart

Struck, breathless, I want to hold Him.

But all around is night. With empty and pitiful hands,

Forgetting everything, I sit and cry

Not hoping another time to see Him in the same way.

When, after crying enough, I want to stop,

Then He, coming, mysteriously touches my crown,

I burst into tears, not knowing who it is;

And then He illuminates my mind with the sweetest Light.

When will I know. Who is it. He immediately flies

Leaving in me the fire of divine love for Himself,

Which does not allow you to laugh or look at people,

Nor accept desire for anything seen.

Little by little, through patience, it flares up and swells,

Becoming a great flame reaching to Heaven.

It is quenched by relaxation and entertainment with household chores,

For in the beginning there is also concern for worldly things;

Returns silence and hatred to all glory

Wandering the earth and trampling oneself like dung,

For in this He delights, and then delights to be present,

By teaching this almighty humility.

So when I get it and become humble,

Then He is inseparable from me:

Talks to me, enlightens me,

Looks at me, and I look at Him.

He is in my heart and is in Heaven.

He explains the Scriptures to me and increases in me knowledge,

He teaches me mysteries which I cannot utter.

He shows how He took me from the world,

And he commands me to be merciful to all who are in the world.

So the walls hold me and the body holds me

But I am truly, no doubt, outside of them.

I don’t feel sounds and I don’t hear voices.

I am not afraid of death, for I have surpassed it too.

I don’t know what sorrow is, although everyone makes me sad.

Pleasures are bitter for me, all passions flee from me

And I constantly see the Light night and day,

Day is night for me and night is day.

I don’t even want to sleep, because this is a loss for me.

When all sorts of troubles surround me

And, it would seem, they will be overthrown and overcome me;

Then I, suddenly finding myself with the Light beyond everything

Joyful and sad, and worldly pleasures,

I enjoy inexpressible and divine joy,

I rejoice in His beauty, I often embrace Him,

I kiss and bow with great gratitude

To those who gave me the opportunity to see what I desired,

And partake of the inexpressible Light and become light,

And his gift to join from here,

And acquire the Giver of all blessings,

And to be not deprived of spiritual gifts.

Who attracted and guided me to these blessings?

Who brought me up from the depths of worldly delusion?

Who separated me from my father and brethren, friends

And relatives, pleasures and joys of the world?

Who showed me the way of repentance and crying,

By which I found a day without end?

It was an angel, not a man, * However, such a man,

Who laughs at the world and tramples the dragon,

whose presence the demons tremble.

As I tell you, brother, what I saw in Egypt,

About the signs and wonders he performed?

I’ll tell you one thing for now, because I can’t tell you everything.

He came down and found me a slave and a stranger in Egypt.

Come here, my child, he said, I will lead you to God.

And out of great disbelief I answered him:

What sign will you show me to assure me

That you yourself can free me from Egypt

And steal from the hands of the flattering pharaoh,

So that by following you, I would not be in even more danger?

Kindle, he said, a great fire, so that I may enter the middle,

And if I do not remain unscorched, then do not follow me.

These words struck me. I did what was ordered.

A flame was kindled, and he himself stood in the middle.

Safe and sound, he invited me too.

I fear, sir, I said, for I am a sinner.

Coming out of the fire, he came up to me and kissed me.

Why are you afraid, he said to me, why are you timid and trembling?

Great and terrible is this miracle? — you will see more than this.

I am terrified, sir, I said, and I dare not approach you,

Not wanting to be bolder than fire,

For I see that you are a man superior to man,

And I do not dare to look at you, of whom the fire is ashamed.

He pulled me closer and hugged me

And kissed me again with a holy kiss,

Himself fragrant all the fragrance of immortality.

After that I believed and lovingly followed him,

Wishing to become a slave to him alone.

Pharaoh held me in his power. and his terrible assistants

Forced me to take care of bricks and straw

I alone could not escape, because I did not have a weapon.

Moses ** begged God to help

Christ strikes Egypt with tenfold plagues.

But Pharaoh did not submit and did not release me.

The father prays, and God listens to him And tells His servant to take my hand,

Promising Himself to go with us;

To deliver me from Pharaoh and from the calamities of Egypt.

He put boldness into my heart

And gave me the courage not to be afraid of the pharaoh.

So did the servant of God:

Holding my hand, he walked ahead of me

And so we began to make the journey.

Give me. Lord, through the prayers of my father, understanding

And a word to tell about the wondrous works of Your hand,

which You did for me, the lost and prodigal,

By the hand of Thy servant leading me out of Egypt.

Upon learning of my departure, the king of Egypt

He neglected me as one, and did not come out himself.

But he sent slaves subject to him.

They ran and overtook me within the boundaries of Egypt,

But they all returned with nothing and broken:

They broke their swords, shook their arrows,

Their hands are weakened, acting against us,

And we were completely unscathed.

A pillar of fire burned before us, and a cloud was above us;

And we alone passed in a foreign country

Among the robbers, among the great peoples and kings.

When the king also learned about the defeat of his people,

Then he went into a rage, considering it a great dishonor

To be abused and defeated by one person.

He harnessed his chariots, raised the people

And he chased himself with great boasting.

When he came, he found me alone lying from fatigue;

Moses was awake and talking with God.

He ordered me to be bound hand and foot,

And, keeping me through the mind, they attempted to knit;

I, lying down, laughed, and armed with prayer

And with the sign of the cross, he reflected them all.

Not daring to touch or come close to me,

They, standing somewhere at a distance, thought to frighten me:

Holding fire in their hands, they threatened to burn me

They raised a loud cry and made noise.

Lest they boast that they have done something great,

They saw that I also became a light, through the prayers of my father,

And ashamed, they suddenly all left together.

Moses went out from God, and finding me bold,

Overjoyed and trembling at this wonderworking,

Asked what happened? I told him all this:

That there was a pharaoh, the king of Egypt;

Coming now with countless people,

He couldn’t tie me up; he wanted to burn me

And all those who came with him became a flame,

Emitting fire from his mouth against me;

But since they saw that I became a light, through your prayers,

Then everything turned into darkness; and now I’m alone.

Look, Moses answered me, don’t be presumptuous,

Do not look at the obvious, especially be afraid of the secret.

Hurry! let us take advantage of flight, as God commands;

And Christ will defeat the Egyptians instead of us.

Come, sir, I said, I will not be separated from you.

I will not transgress your commandments, but I will keep everything. Amen.

* Here St. Simeon speaks of his spiritual father, Simeon the Studite, or Reverent.—Note.

** That is, the spiritual father of St. Simeon, who was discussed above.—Note.

Source: Saint Simeon the New Theologian (59, 157-164). – Hymn 37. Teaching with theology about the actions of Holy Love, that is, the very Light of the Holy Spirit.

Photo by Igor Starkov: