Who will sow good seed in the unplowed field? A prudent one will not sow, but a prudent one will do according to the word of God: he will first clear the field of weeds, and in the ploughed field he will sow good seed. The field is the human soul, the weeds are polytheism, the good seed is faith in one God.Now faith in one God seems to us simple and natural, and polytheism is ridiculous and insane, but it was not always so. There was a time when only a few people in the whole world believed in Him, and then there came a time when only one people on earth believed in one God. The idolaters, who had gods for every need, looked upon believers in one God with the contempt of a rich man who looked upon the poor: they believed that such faith was defective and poor. Believers in one God looked at the pagans with wonder and pity, as they look at those who, having much, have nothing. The most reliable Witness of monotheism is God Himself, living and true. He Himself bears witness to Himself through His elect, saying: "I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt have no other gods besides Me" (cf. Exodus 20:2-3). Among the weeds of polytheism, He found small fields and sowed on them the good seed of faith. These were the souls of the righteous, souls like tall candles, which He lit with the flame of faith so that they would shine in the darkness of polytheism. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not enveloped it (John 1:5). Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, Joseph, Moses, Isaiah, Daniel - these are the candles of God, kindled by faith! By His mercy He manifested Himself first in Egypt, in a foreign land (Psalm 136:4), then in the wilderness, and finally in Canaan, in the Promised Land. But the people of God began to waver in the true faith, and the darkness of idolatry again began to threaten the light in the darkness (cf. John 1:5).The One Living, True, Merciful and Most Merciful, seeing this danger, sent His Only-begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to mankind to dispel the darkness of polytheism, to strengthen the hearts of men for the ascent to the things above, and to sow the good seed of faith in the only living and true God. the industrious bees of Christ have spread this faith, this sowing of God, throughout the whole world. Truly, like the honey bees of God, the apostles flew from Jerusalem to all four corners of the world, to nations and tribes, in order to drink the souls of men with the gospel of the one Living and True One, as with honey. They cleansed the fields of souls from the weed of idolatry, from faith in spirits and gods. In the cultivated fields they sowed holy faith in the one Living and True One. Their work was difficult and dangerous! Believe me, missionaries of the one God: this unprecedented battle cost sweat and tears, wounds and blood. In their confusion from the multitude of natural phenomena and their opposition in the universe, it was easier for them to believe in the existence of different gods than in one God. Captivated by deception, inexperienced children, they believed that many different gods were stronger than one One, that help from many was stronger than from one One.Two groups of people rebelled against the apostles, and at that time there were two of them: those who nourished their souls with the poison of idolatry, and those who nourished their bodies by making statues of idols. For example, a certain silversmith, named Demetrius, who made silver temples of Artemis and brought considerable profit to the artists, gathered them and other similar craftsmen and said: "Friends! you know that our well-being depends on this trade; yet you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but almost in all Asia, this Paul by his persuasions has deceived a considerable number of people, saying that those who are made by human hands are not gods. And this threatens us that our craft will be despised (cf. Acts 19:24-27).Some feared for their souls, others for their purse, but in one way or another, all the peoples of the earth, with rare exceptions, were in captivity of idolatry. Those who were exceptions were subjected to cruel execution, as was the case with the Greek philosopher Socrates.The higher the culture of the peoples, the more perfect and expensive were the images of idols, and the deeper their enslavement. When the holy Apostle Paul was in Athens, he was troubled in spirit at the sight of this city full of idols (Acts 17:16). The same indignation of spirit was experienced by the Apostles Andrew in Samaria, Matthew in Ethiopia, and Bartholomew in India. Idols in the squares, idols at the entrance to the house, idols in the houses, idols everywhere. An innumerable number of idols that people worshipped. The thorns of idols wounded and wounded the holy apostles in blood. But they courageously weeded and cultivated the fields of souls, and in a place cleared of weeds and thorns, they sowed the good seed of faith in one God, one, living, true. The apostles performed this titanic work and podvig by word, miracles, love and sacrifice. Where one did not help, they resorted to another, when neither one nor the other helped, they went to death, burning idols with their martyr's blood, as if with fire. The seed they sowed bore good fruit. This fruit is that now faith in one God seems to us simple and natural, and polytheism ridiculous and insane. This is God's first testimony about Himself, God's first revelation of God to people about God, and God's first commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods besides Me, the Lord commanded, for if thou worshipest other gods, a double destruction shall befall thee. The first is the belief in false, non-existent gods. The other is that reverence and love, which should belong entirely to the One One, you will give to idols. And then your faith in the One will be darkened and your love for Him will grow cold; He, insulted and humiliated, will depart from you. And you will become an atheist, even if, having many gods, you consider yourself pious. For the atheist and the idolater are one and the same: both without the one, living, true God.Faith in one God, one, living, true Creator, is the faith of the humble and reasonable, for the proud deify either the creature or themselves; Pride gives birth to madmen. The more humble a person is, the more rational he is, the more vain, the madder. The Lord opposes the proud, but gives grace and understanding to the humble. The more a humble person humbles himself before the Lord, the more the Lord gives him reason. Reason is the light that leads to the one, living, true God. Blessed are those who have reason to see the corruption of the world and man. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the Lord will exalt them to the highest knowledge – the knowledge of the existence and majesty of the Most High God. Let it also become the faith of your children, from generation to generation, until the end of time. Faith is unashamed, Orthodox, salvific. Your fathers were saved by her, they were not ashamed of her, and she was not ashamed of them. Truly, faith in one God, one, living, true, faith is the faith of the educated, of those who bear within themselves the image of God. He will not be ashamed either at the Last Judgment, he will not be ashamed either before the righteous or before the angel, but he will receive glory and be called blessed.

... The Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible

With fear and trembling, let us look behind the half-open veil of eternity... It is opened not by a weak human hand, but by God Himself, the one, living, true God. If in His mercy to men He had not done this, who else would have dared? All the minds of men, all the powers of the heavens, would not have moved it by a hair's breadth. Three rays of light stretched out to people who bear the image of God in themselves. And the educated trembled with heavenly joy, for He revealed Himself as incomparable, that is, equal only to Himself. The One, the living, the true One has revealed Himself as the Father, the Almighty, and the Creator.Your restless thought hastens with the question: whose Father? Since when has the Father? The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal Father. Before the creation of the world, He was the Father. Before times and temporal creatures, before the angels and the powers of heaven, before the sun and the moon, before the dawn and the moon, the Father begat His only begotten Son. And, speaking of the Eternal, do we dare to pronounce the word "when"? He is the eternal God, the eternal Father, there is no "when" in Him, He is outside the wheel of time. This is obvious to you, educated. His parenthood refers to His co-eternal Son, and His omnipotence and creativity to the created world, visible and invisible. First the Father, and only then the Almighty and Creator. In eternity, no one could call God Father, except His Only-begotten Son. And no one can in time. Listen to the ancient history of the human race and accept it in your hearts. It will give joy to the soul and light to the mind.Since the creation of the world, since the expulsion of Adam from paradise for the grave sin of disobedience to the Creator, no mortal has dared to call God his Father. The wondrous chosen ones called Him by His greatest names: Almighty, Judge, Most High, King and Lord, but not by the Father, by a sweet name.The best in the human race felt themselves to be the creation of the one omnipotent Creator, the vessel of the Divine Potter, but they never imagined themselves to be children of the Heavenly Father. This right was given to people only with the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and it was not given to everyone, but to those who accepted Him. And to those who received Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the power to become children of God (John 1:12). That is, the adopted received the right to turn to the Lord: Abba, Father! (Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:14-16).Adoption, a gift of God's mercy, was revealed and brought to people by Jesus Christ at the very beginning of His earthly ministry. He revealed to the people that from now on they could call God their Father, saying: Our Father who art in heaven! (Matt. 6:9). And since then, millions of youths and elders throughout the world have been crying out day after day: Our Father! Demons do not dare to call God Father, it is difficult for unrepentant sinners to pronounce the sweet word: Father! Only the righteous and penitent are given the right and boldness in their prayers to exclaim with all their hearts: Our Father! Those who rise up against the Lord and His law, whether in thought, word, or deed, cannot utter the comforting and sweet word: Father, the three hundred and eighteen holy fathers, who composed the Faith for all of you, educated, bearing within yourselves the image of God, called God first the Father, and then the Almighty and Creator. They did this, being filled with the Holy Spirit, for it was revealed to them that the Most High Father was the Father before the beginning of time and the creation of the world. They did, for the Son of God, having become incarnate, brought as a gift to people, His followers, adoption, that is, the right to call His Father their Father: Our Father! Is there greater joy for your heart, O educated ones, who bear the image of God in themselves? And our Lord, the Son of God, not only allowed you to call the Most High, the one, the living, the true, your Father, but also left the commandment: "And call no one on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven" (Matt. 23:9). O ineffable joy! True parenthood is in the heavens, above the sun and stars, and earthly parenthood is only a shadow and a symbol. The Holy Fathers of Nicaea, filled with the Holy Spirit, called the Most High first the Almighty, and only then the Creator! You will say, "Is it not more logical to call Him first the Creator and then the Almighty?" No, it only seems so from the outside, but do not judge superficially when you speak of the True. The Lord is the Almighty. Before the creation of heaven and earth, God Almighty bore within Himself the plan of creation, from a speck of dust to the universe, of all powers, all laws, of all order. When the majestic Creator created the two worlds, the visible and the invisible, He revealed Himself to be the Almighty, holding in His all-embracing will all the powers and laws of the two worlds: Are not two little birds sold for an assarium? And not one of them shall fall to the ground without the will of your Father (Matt. 10:29); and not a hair of your head shall perish (Luke 21:18) - again without the will of the Almighty. With His strong right hand the Lord holds all the forces, even those who deny Him and rise up against Him. All their actions against His laws and against His faithful He turns to good, according to His wisdom and power, and brings them into harmony with His plan. Not a single word, good or evil, will remain without God's answer, secret or open. The Father, the Almighty, the Creator - this is your God, one, living and true. The Creator, Who created heaven and earth, all things visible and invisible. The holy interpreters have always understood by "heaven" the world of angels and all the heavenly powers, bodiless, visible to God and invisible to us. By "earth" were understood earthly creations and those that are under the earth, around the earth, accessible to our sensory vision. There is no other Creator except the Almighty, neither in heaven nor on earth. In the same way, there is nothing created, from the atom to the universe, that would be created by someone other than the Almighty. He is the only Creator in the full and true sense of the word. In the full and true sense, the Creator is the one who created things and their forms, the mobile and the immovable, who imbued everything with the mysterious power of existence, interconnectedness, attraction and rejection, breath and life. The fullness of God's creative power is manifested precisely in the fact that He created both. Did this matter consist of the four great elements - earth, water, fire and air, as the ancients thought, or were they a single primordial matter of electrical nature, according to modern scientists? Are we going to talk about this? One thing is obvious: the source and foundation of every universal fabric is the fruit of the thought and creativity of the great God the Creator.

And there, beyond those gates, there is a real miracle, the miracle of miracles, the greatest of the great. Where instead of the sun shines the Most High, the King of kings! (Revelation 22:5). Thought, hearing, sight and tongue are powerless there. The great Apostle was lifted up in spirit to the third heaven and raptured into paradise, and he heard ineffable words that cannot be told to man (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:2:4). But both worlds were created by the same Creator. He alone holds both worlds with His tireless right hand of the Almighty—the only Almighty. He alone leads them along mysterious paths to mysterious goals, which are known only to Him - the good Father of the Lord Jesus Christ and all His chosen children. It will never be the faith of the servants of falsehood, falsehood and death, the friends of joy, the end of which is despair. This is the faith of those who weep over their own weakness and the weakness of the human race, who seek the Source of truth, truth, and life. And then the tears of sorrow are transformed into tears of joy, for they have found the most precious of treasures - the Father, the Almighty, the Creator. What else is left for them to seek, if, having found Him, they gain everything? The only thing that remains for them is tears of repentance, with which they are washed from all unrighteousness and lies, and are protected from eternal death. Washed with tears of repentance, they acquire goodness and mercy for their brothers, companions for the eternal Fatherland. This is your faith, Christ-bearers, the faith of your fathers, who spared neither labor nor tears, until they drew near to the Lord and received consolation from Him. May it become the faith of your children, from generation to generation, until the end of time, an unashamed, Orthodox, salvific faith. Truly, it is the faith of truly educated people who bear the image of God within themselves, and at the Judgment of God it will be easy for them, for they will be called blessed. Almighty. Creator.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Who was born of the Father before all ages

The new light has shone upon you, educated, bearing the image of God within you. Through the veil opened by the right hand of the Most High, a new ray of light fell on you, and you shine like children of God. This light reveals to you an eternal mystery, the joyous mystery of eternal parenthood and eternal sonship. This light brings blessing upon you, and the oil of comfort is poured out on your tear-stained eyes. As Christ, in the sense of the Messiah, He is the only one from the beginning to the end of time. Mankind can neither seek nor expect another Messiah. Many will come in My name, and will say, "I am the Christ," and will deceive many (Matt. 24:5). Thus prophesied the One, the True and the Clairvoyant. There were many false messiahs, and they still exist, and the closer the end of the human race, there will be more and more of them. But the true Messiah is the one and only, true Christ, the incomprehensible Lover of mankind. This True, True and Incomprehensible One is the Messiah for all peoples and tribes throughout the world for all time. And you, who are educated, are called to proclaim to the tribes and peoples, "O nations and peoples, there may be great men among you, the greatest of the great, there may be great sons and daughters among you, the best of the best, but the Messiah is one for you. And don't wait for anything else and don't look for anything else. Indeed, if another comes in His name, there will be another besides Him, the only one, a lie and a son of lies. "Then," says the only true Messiah, "if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is Christ, or there,' do not believe it" (Matt. 24:23). Don't be like the Jews who are waiting for their Jewish messiah. No other messiah will come: neither Jewish, nor American, nor Indian, nor Russian. For the main quality of the true Messiah is His all-humanity. He will come to all, He is above all and for the sake of all. Such is your Messiah, O peoples and nations, like the dazzling sun in the firmament. And just as the sun shines on all of you, white, black, yellow and red, so the one Messiah shines on all of you, shines on all, serves all, rules over all. Will any of you seek another sun? No. Why then seek another messiah, if the light of the Messiah Jesus Christ is brighter than the sunlight, brighter, more generous, more life-giving, more joyful, more salvific? Beware of other messiahs, O peoples and nations, beware of many messiahs, for they are murderers and servants of the wicked. The devil tries to belittle the significance and greatness of the Lord Jesus, and therefore strives to turn the title of the Messiah, Christ, a unique and unearthly title, into an order in order to assign to many and many. But you know that wearing military orders and being a true commander are not the same thing. Your Messiah bears one sign, one difference, the Cross. The cross as a banner of victory. By him you will know your Messiah, the only true one, Who once bent into the field to sow it, but Who will once again enter it bent up, in order to gather the harvest with the angels." This is His heavenly seal and the pledge of the truth of His messiahship. Whoever denies the Messiah of the Lord will be caught in a lie.About the same, but even more sternly, the apostle who reclined at the breast of Jesus tells you. Here are his words: Who is a liar if not he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? - that is, the Messiah (1 John 2:22). Can anyone less than the Son of God be the Messiah? Could people take for the Messiah anything less than the Son of God? The blood of no mortal was pure enough, nor strong enough and life-giving enough to ennoble and strengthen the old tree. No one's blood could do this except the Blood of the Son of God, in which He clothed His eternal Divinity as in a scarlet robe. You will immediately recognize Him through the image of God that is in you, and when you know Him, you will rejoice. Christ is called the Only-begotten Son of God because He is the only Son, begotten of God the Father. When you call the Most High the Father, then you confirm the existence of the Son. They do not call a childless person the father or parent. Thus saith the Most High through the mouth of His prophet: Shall I bring forth unto childbirth, and shall I not cause him to give birth? saith the Lord. Or, giving strength to give birth, shall I close the womb? (Isaiah 66:9). Let no one doubt that the Lord is the Parent; let no one doubt the Son of God, the Only-begotten. Can there be anything good in the world that is not in the Lord and not from the Lord? And birth is always good. Therefore, birth to God is not as an idea, but as a reality, an eternal reality, for God is eternal. God the Father Himself bears witness to His Son, first through the prophet, saying: "Thou art My Son, I have begotten Thee today" (Psalm 2:7). And this is God's day - eternal! And then He Himself proclaimed Him on the Jordan River and Mount Tabor: "This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; Hear Him (Matt. 17:5). And the Lord Jesus Christ Himself says of Himself: "I am the Son of God" (John 10:36). Just as none of the earth-born can be called father without having a son, so he will not be called a son if he rejects the father. Can a parent and a son without a parent be childless? Of this again the one who reclined at the breast of the Lord tells you: "Whosoever rejecteth the Son hath not the Father; but he who confesses the Son also has the Father (1 John 2:23). And the man was very merciful: when he learned that there were many orphans in the area, he took pity on them, went and gathered them, and brought them to his house. And he made his house their home, his wealth their wealth. And when he turned to them, he said, "My children! Just as, turning to his son, he said: "My child! It is not difficult for you, educated, to see it. It is obvious: that man by nature had one son, and by mercy he called himself the father of all the orphans whom he adopted in his house. This is said to you, enlightened ones, so that you may arm yourselves against the unenlightened, who say boldly: We acknowledge Christ to be the Son of God, just as we consider ourselves to be the sons of God! Ask them meekly and humbly: how do you consider everyone to be the sons of God, both yourself and Christ? Is it all by grace or all by nature? Answer us: how can the sinless Christ be a son by mercy, and how can you, sinners, be sons by nature? The Lord is sinless, you admit that. The Sinless One can only give birth to the Sinless One. How can a sinner be born of Him who has no sin? Who can give what he does not have himself? And which of the sons of a woman is without sin? And who among you can be called the son of God in essence?In nature, or essence, only He can be called the Son of God Who bears in Himself the Divine attributes and the Divine power of God the Father. In other words, only God can be the Son of God. Does not all nature bear witness to you with one voice, that the begotten are always of the same nature as the begetter? From an oak is born an oak, from a dove a dove, from a lion a lion, from an eagle an eagle, from a man a man, and such is the order in the whole kingdom of living nature. Who can be born of God if not God? The eternal Son of God is born of God the Father; therefore He is God. Yes, this is the order of which all living nature speaks, of which the Lord Himself bears witness. And if the sinless Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God in essence, then you can be His sons only by gift, by mercy, by adoption. The Son of God Himself testified to this before the Jews, His persecutors, saying: "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). And again, when they asked Him, "Who are You?" He answered them, "From the beginning He who is" (John 8:25). With these words, the Lord wanted to indicate His timeless origin, His timeless eternal sonship. He, the Only-begotten, Who exists from the beginning of all creation, from the beginning of the angelic circles and corporeal beings. It is impossible to talk about any of the phenomena without pointing to its beginning. The Son of God is the Beginning. If the Most High is eternal, His parenthood is eternal, and eternal parenthood is due to eternal sonship. Therefore you confess faithfully when you say that you believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Who was born of the Father before all ages. Parents who love their children wholeheartedly, and children who love their parents wholeheartedly, gladly accept her. The inexplicable and deepest mystery of the attachment of parents to children and of children to parents is illumined by the light of God's parenthood and God's sonship. Only in this light can children and parents comprehend the mystery of their mutual love, only in this light can they comprehend that their love is of heavenly origin. It was kindled by the eternal flame of love between the Father and the Son, and therefore parents who love their children wholeheartedly, and children who love their parents wholeheartedly, joyfully accept faith in the eternal Father and His co-eternal Son in heaven. May it become the faith of your children, whom you love wholeheartedly, a faith that is not shameful, Orthodox, and salvific. Truly, this is the faith of educated people who bear the image of God in themselves. On the Day of Judgment of Christ they will be pardoned and called blessed. Messiah. The Son of God.

… Light of Light, true of God, true of God, begotten, uncreated, of one essence with the Father, in Whom all things were

Both the prophet and the seer, seeing eternity, saw Him: it was not the radiance of the sun, nor the glow of the moon or stars, but nevertheless some ineffable Light penetrated everywhere and illuminated everything (Isaiah 60:19; Rev. 21:23). Do you know what kind of Light it is, you educated ones? Yes, you guessed it, this is the eternal Light of the face of the Almighty. This is the Light of the eternal Parent, and the Light of the eternal Son, and the Light of the eternal Holy Spirit – one Light, one Divinity, one Beauty.The Holy Nicene Fathers, enlightened by this eternal heavenly Light, defined the relationship of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Heavenly Father and His relationship to creation in six words. Four words define the first, and the next two define the second.The first word is Light of Light. The great seer said: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness (1 John 1:5). If the Parent is the Light, what can His Son be if not the Light? If the eternal Father is Light, then His Son is Light. The Son's testimony about Himself says: "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). Blessed are you if you can call yourselves enlightened by this Light!The second word is true of God, true of God. Once the Apostle Philip dared to ask the Lord: Lord! show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us, to which the Lord answered him: "He who has seen Me has seen the Father," and added: "Believe Me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me" (John 14:8-11). And again He said: "All that the Father has is Mine" (John 16:15), and again: "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30), He said when the Jews wanted to stone Him, saying to Him: "Because You, being a man, make Yourself God" (John 10:33). As they, blinded by sin, saw, so they spoke. And they saw in Christ only the human body, and that which was hidden behind the bodily veil, behind the scarlet robe of the flesh, was hidden from their eyes. After all, a copper wire that conducts electricity, carries thought and voice, and an ordinary copper wire that lies on the ground, look the same to inexperienced and unreasonable people. A veil covered their spiritual vision, and they did not see the Divine nature behind human nature. Only the baptized, consecrated and cleansed could see it. It was seen by the holy apostles and all spiritual people throughout the centuries, such as the Holy Nicene Fathers. God is in Christ... - the Apostle Paul testifies (2 Corinthians 5:19). This is God's revelation. But the fact that He who is born of God is true, that God is true, is true from God, becomes evident from the phenomenon of parenthood in the kingdom of living nature. The true God could only give birth to the true God. That is, the Son of God is born of God. Light is born of Light, Truth is born of Truth, Life is born of Life, Glory is of Glory, God is true of God is true. The human mind is able to understand to some extent the bodily birth of the flesh from the flesh, but it is difficult for it to understand the birth of the spirit from the spirit. Know, you who are educated, that bodily birth is only a shadow or a symbol of spiritual birth. It is enough for you, Christ-bearers, to know that our Messiah and Saviour is not death by death, nor darkness by darkness, nor corruptible by corruption, nor weakness by weakness, but Light by Light, true God, born of true God. And since He was born in eternity, when you leave this world and its gates are closed behind you, He will appear to you in eternity.It was said to you once that your Messiah is the Son of God, the Only-begotten, the only one born of God the Father, may you have full joy to hear of Him again as begotten. For birth means love. It was told to you before that He is the only one born of God by nature, the Most High of the Highest, born of the Most High before all the world. He may resemble creation, but He is uncreated.The fourth word is of one essence with the Father, that is, of one nature with the Father. Is this not self-evident after all that has been said about Him? For if it is said that He is the Son of the Father, these words already imply that He is of one being, of one nature with the Father. And if it is said: Light from Light, then this again confirms that the Light born of Light is equal in essence and nature to the Light that gives birth. And when it is said, "True of God, true of God," these words confirm the truth that the Son is of one essence with the Father. Finally, when we say: begotten, uncreated, this emphasizes what has been said before. For that which is born is always of the same nature as the parent, while that which is created is of a different being and nature than that of the one who created it. Look and see that the child that is born is of the same nature as its father, and the sword is of a different nature than the smith who forged it.These are the two words by which the Holy Fathers of Nicaea defined the relationship in eternity of the Son of God Jesus Christ to His Father. And here are two words by which they defined the relationship of the Son of God to creation.The first word is uncreated. The heavens and the earth, and all that is visible and invisible in it, everything that is outside the essence of God, the one, the living, all this is created. Only the Creator is uncreated. And just as the Father is uncreated, so is the Son. Born, not created. From the beginning He is the doer and not the deed, the author of creation, and not the creature. He is co-existent with the Father and of one essence with the Father. The Father is the Alpha and the Omega, and He is the Alpha and the Omega. The Father is beginningless, and He is beginningless. Beyond time, outside of space, eternal and immortal. His being is inseparable from the essence of the Father; His light and glory are inseparable from the light and glory of the Father. The power of the Father and His power. Does it not follow from this that the Son of the Most High is uncreated? For how can He be created who is eternal? Just as it is impossible to speak of the sun without light, or of a fountain without water, it is impossible to speak of the Father without the Son, or of the Son without the Father. Therefore it is said, you who are educated, that your Saviour is uncreated. For if He were created, then He, like all of us of created beings, would need a Savior. If He were created, He would not be the Son, but one of the sons, He would not be the Son, but one of the adopted ones. But He is truly the Son, not the stepson. And if He had been a stepson, then the Father would not have had a native Son, could not have been called the Father, and there would have been no eternal parenthood. Eternal love would not exist then. There would be no eternal sonship, and there would be no eternal parenthood - the two pillars of eternal love. But let your hearts rejoice, O children of God, for there is parenthood, sonship, and love. May the rays of eternal love warm you! Through Him, all creation came into being. According to the word of God: "All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:3). The Son of God, the Only-begotten, is therefore not only uncreated, but He is the Creator. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing would have been made that was made. Creation, in which everything in heaven and on earth has come into existence, is equally the work of the Father and the Son, just as everything that happens is equally in the power of both the Father and the Son. Thus, on the basis of the written revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ and the unwritten revelation of the Holy Spirit of God, they clothed their faith and our faith in words. But know that He Who cannot be contained in the universe cannot be contained in the word of man.Everything that is said about Him, Christ-bearers, is said about the Most High God, it is said about the eternally secret Father and about the manifested Son: about the eternal Being, Who begets and sons with Himself, and has no need of anything outside of Himself. It is said about the miracle of existence - unchangeably and immortally, about the unquenchable Divine Flame, on which all light in the world, visible or invisible, causally depends. Just as a mother bows down to a child crying in the cradle, so the Creator of man bowed down and descended to people, into the valley of tears. It is difficult for souls to accept it sensual and covered with worldly dust. Thoughtful people sincerely recognize the limitations of the human mind in comparison with the ever-higher and higher cliffs of mystery that grow one after another. We have just climbed to the top with such an effort and breathed a sigh of joy and relief, and a new, even higher rock grows in front of our eyes. And so on endlessly, from generation to generation.They look and see that none of the already solved mysteries is still a "messiah", but only a "forerunner" - a forerunner of new mysteries. Everything new, unraveled, known, is not yet a discovery, but still a veil that hides new miracles - unspeakable, innumerable, infinite. That is why they prayerfully lift up their minds to the Most High and sensitively accept in their hearts the revelations of new and lofty mysteries, which He, in love and wisdom, deigns to reveal to the human race. They receive them with joy and confess them with boldness. What can prayerful people expect from sensual ones? And what can the sensual, together with the prayerful wanderers, tell of the Divine mysteries, unheard-of, unseen, unapproachable, hidden behind the innumerable rocks of the mysteries of nature? What can they hear from those who are sensual and covered with worldly dust? Nothing but what they have already heard and rejected. That is why they love so much the Messiah, the only and true one, Who, as a personal witness, came from the Kingdom of the last mysteries and revealed as much as the human soul can contain and bear. Let it become the faith of your children, from generation to generation, to the end of the journey. Truly, this is the faith of truly educated people, those who carry the image of God within themselves. On the day of God's Judgment they will endure and be justified by faith, and purity, and by their good works. And they will be called blessed. The truth. Word.

For our sake and for our salvation, He came down from Heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man

Just as a mother bows down to a child crying in the cradle, so the Creator bowed down and descended to people, into the valley of tears. The miraculous existence of the Son of God in eternity corresponds to the miraculous image of His descent into this visible, temporal world. The purpose of His descent is we, people, and our salvation, and the image of His descent is the birth of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. Who said that? If we, people, had said, one could have doubts. But this was said by Him Himself, in Whom none of those who bear the image of God in themselves can doubt.He Himself, the true one, said of Himself that He came to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). To serve, of course, people and give Himself as a ransom for people. That's the purpose of His coming. And the image of His coming was not revealed by man. Who would believe him? The Archangel of God Gabriel revealed to the Virgin Mary in Nazareth: "Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bear a son, and shalt call His name Jesus." To Her question, "How shall this be, since I know no man?" - the archangel answered: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; wherefore also the Holy One who is born shall be called the Son of God. Will someone ask you in wonder: "How will this be?" and the evangelist of God will answer him as he answered the Most Holy Virgin, saying: "With God no word will remain powerless" (cf. Luke 1:28-37). Silence and joy are more appropriate here than questions and questions. Silence from the greatness of the mystery and joy from the almighty power of our Creator and God.The Son of God and the Son of the Virgin are Born in heaven and on earth. Abiding in eternity and in time. This is your Messiah, the educated ones, and your Savior. Born in eternity from the Father without a mother. Born in time of a Mother without a father, let him tell us whether he understands the mystery of a grain of sand under his feet, or a leaf on a tree, or a star in the firmament... Does he understand the smallest of God's creations: which he steps, looks at, or touches? Has the human mind, which for thousands and thousands of years has been investigating, calculating, measuring, comparing, describing, fully understanding at least one single work of God? It is full of secrets, it is all shrouded, as if with incense, in a terrible and sublime mystery. But how much more wonderful is the Creator of this world Himself! At every point where eternity and time meet, there is a wondrous, ineffable light, and even if it is incomprehensible to you, it is not darkness but light. The Holy Virgin has become such a blessed point of contact between time and eternity, heaven and earth. And from their contact shone such a great Light that rose over the whole world. It is a Light incomprehensible to you, you who are blessed, but it is Light, not darkness.Examine with humility and trembling, examine with your mind all that the Lord has created, and believe in what He has revealed about Himself and His great being. For we walk by faith, and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Is God a man, so that his birth should be the same as man's? Human parenthood and birth are but a symbol and a shadow, a pale image of divine parenthood and birth. It is hidden from us, and therefore we cannot know what the action of the Holy Spirit is at the eternal birth of the Son of God. What is the use of investigating what the Lord is silent about and does not want to reveal anything? But through the Archangel Gabriel, the Lord revealed to us something about the action of the Spirit at the temporary birth of the Son of God. And this is the only thing that the Almighty deigned to reveal to us through His bodiless messenger. And this is the only thing we know. We know that the Holy Spirit descended on the Virgin Mary in Nazareth and that the power of the Most High overshadowed Her. Thus eternity came into contact with time, heaven with earth, the spiritual with the corporeal, and the greatest Light shone, illuminating the whole world. Thus the Holy Virgin conceived in Her womb and gave flesh to Him Who deigned to be the Messiah and Saviour, and to appear in a human body among men.... And became man. Why did the Holy Fathers of Nicaea use this word, if earlier they had already said "incarnate"? Was this word not enough or was it incomprehensible? Incarnate - gained flesh and appeared in the flesh, isn't it clear? No. There are many different bodies in the universe. The Lord appeared to ancient Israel in the form of a pillar of fire and in the form of a cloud. The Holy Spirit appeared on the Jordan in the form of a dove. It was necessary to emphasize in what body the Son of God appeared to the world. And He appeared in a human body. Not in the form of a man, as the Holy Spirit once did in the form of a dove, but let it not be! But as a real bodily person. He appeared not as the appearance of man, but as a true man. That is why the Fathers used two words - incarnate and incarnate.He bestowed upon us honor, the greatest honor that is possible, when, the Lover of mankind, descended to us as one of us. From eternal glory and joy and beauty He descended into our vale of infamy, sorrow and misery, for the sake of people and for the sake of our salvation.Just as a king sends ambassadors to a certain country to announce his arrival, so the King of Heaven, Who out of love for mankind wanted to come to earth, sent His messengers to the human race and announced His arrival. Finally, He humbled Himself, taking the form of a servant, becoming like men (Phil. 2:7). And all this humiliation He voluntarily took upon Himself: for our sake and for our salvation.This faith is given by God to all people, to all nations, to all generations. But the unclean will not be able to accept it until they repent and are cleansed of unrighteousness, pride and cruelty. How can those in whom the image of God is corrupted, in whose souls the heavenly strings are torn and do not respond with an echo to the voice of heaven, accept it? When the King of Heaven completely draws back the veil of mystery and appears surrounded by angels to judge the world, it will be hard, oh, how hard it will be for the stubborn atheists! And for pure and virgin souls - blissful and joyful! A thousand times blessed will be those who have been cleansed of defilement in due time and have accepted the faith of God and kept it in themselves – the heavenly myrrh in the pure hearts and souls of the righteous. They will not be ashamed in heaven from the presence of the Most-Pure Virgin Mother of God, but from Her Son they will receive blessing and eternal life. Let it become the faith of your children, from generation to generation, to the end. The faith is unashamed, Orthodox, the faith of light, truth and consolation. The faith of the greatest, the best, the most worthy in your generation and in every generation, from generation to generation. On the day of the Judgment of God they will be called blessed. Virgin. A lover of mankind.

And he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried

The flame of eternal Divine love burns in the hearth of God's parenthood with the same intensity as in the hearth of God's sonship. The wind of time does not reach it. Bizarre changes do not touch this flame, do not spread, fan or reduce it. Divine love bestows fullness of life, purity of joy and boundless power. With such a miraculous flame in His hands and in His heart and in His whole being, the King of Heaven miraculously descended to fulfill a wonderful mission among people. And He spoke the blessed words: "I have come to bring fire down upon the earth, and how I languish until this is done" (cf. Luke 12:49). Even if a single spark of this holy fire falls into your heart, it will be enough to illumine your long journey to the eternal Hearth. Do not extinguish it, but hide it and preserve it as a most precious inheritance, O educated ones who bear within themselves the image of God.The Son of God, the Only-begotten, the Beloved, bowed down to heaven and descended to earth for our sake and for our salvation. He did not pass from throne to throne, but descended from the throne to a cold stone. He suffered much for our sake. When we only pronounce these words: "I suffered much," it is already enough to feel shame for ourselves and joy from His love. But for the truth to be complete, more must be said. The Messiah of the human race endured slander, malice, conspiracy, spitting, scolding, mockery, scourging. And this does not say everything: condemnation with robbers, crucifixion, crucifixion, painful death, burial. He did not reject the overflowing cup of suffering, He did not remove the crown of thorns from His head, He did not lay down the heavy cross from His shoulders. And do you, educated ones, know why the Holy Fathers inscribed in our Faith the name of Pontius Pilate, the God-killer? Let not doubt it, so did the Holy Spirit of God, Who inspired and made the Holy Fathers wise. And the Holy Spirit of God willed that the faithful should know exactly and forever in which Christ they believe. For false Christs, false messiahs, have appeared and will appear in the world to seduce and confuse. That is why the Holy Spirit, loving mankind and all-seeing, wanted to protect those faithful to Christ with His wings forever from every temptation and all confusion. That is why He, through the mouth of the Holy Fathers of Nicaea, pointed out exactly which Christ was meant, which Messiah and Savior of the world. We are talking, educated, solely and exclusively about Christ, crucified under Pontius Pilate, the governor of the Roman Caesar of that time. This Christ is the only true Christ, the only true Messiah, the only humane Saviour. All the others who introduced themselves and those who will be presented by this great name, until the end of time, until the Day of Judgment, are false Christs.And the name of Pilate is also mentioned in order to emphasize and confirm the personality of the Savior of the world as a historical, and not an invented person. At the mention of the name of Pontius Pilate, the time and place of the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ in the world is determined. For even according to the testimony of pagan Roman historians and Christ-fighters, it is known exactly when and where Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor. Do you know human weakness? Because of this weakness, many, too many, are inclined to forget their benefactor, but do not forget the villain. Because of this weakness, many to this day - and there will be many in the future - doubt the historicity of Christ, but no one doubts the historical existence of a man named Pontius Pilate, a man who during the reign of the Roman Caesar Tiberius was his viceroy in the city of Jerusalem. Consequently, by including the name of Pontius Pilate in the Symbol of Faith, the Holy Fathers of Nicaea wanted to emphasize the historicity of the person of Christ, Who at a certain time and in a certain place appeared in the world and lived among people. Roman laws, which are considered to be the most perfect, were written by pagans. However, an innocent Man was condemned to death at the time of these vaunted laws by one of their executors, Pontius Pilate. When applied to the Righteous of the Righteous, these "perfect laws" of the Gentiles turned out to be a complete insignificance. This is another obvious reason why the Lord of Heaven Himself had to come down to earth to save the world from the all-consuming darkness of paganism. Therefore, the mention of Pilate's name in the Creed sounds like an eternal condemnation not only of the executors of pagan laws, but also of these laws themselves.... And suffered, and buried, - wrote the Holy Fathers. You may ask: why were these words needed, if it has already been said, "He who was crucified?" If a person is crucified and chained to the cross with nails, how can one doubt his suffering? And when he dies on the cross, is it not customary to bury the dead? Verbal people do not doubt this. This is clear and clear to the verbal, but doubts gnaw at the dumb. They think that if they humiliate Christ, they themselves will be exalted, and by condemning their Judge, they will escape condemnation. There were those among the dumb who asserted that the Lord did not suffer on the cross. It was said that Christ was only a visible man and, like a ghost, could not feel either suffering or torment. As if they had not heard the prayer of the Son of God in Gethsemane: My Father! if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me (Matt. 26:39)! As if petrified, their hearts did not tremble at His cry on the cross: My God, My God! why hast thou forsaken me? (Matt. 27:46). O unrighteous ones, do you not believe in the suffering of the greatest Sufferer? Do you deny the torment that made the earth shake and the sun darkened? Are your hearts hardened to believe in the suffering that has shattered the stones? Behold, stones shall bear witness against you in the day of retribution, in the dreadful day.Blessed are the two men, Joseph and Nicodemus. They took care of the dead body of the Lord. With trepidation they took Him down from the cross, carefully wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and performed the burial. And the Jews came to the tomb and sealed it. And they begged Pilate for a guard, so that no one would steal the dead Christ. That is how it was, and that is how the verbal believe. But there were dumb ones, who spread the tale that the Lord's body was not buried, but only covered. From this fairy tale the dishonest writers invented other fairy tales, false and unrighteous.All these lies and untruths against the Saviour of the world were foreseen by the Holy Spirit, Who inspired and enlightened the holy fathers of Nicaea. Therefore He moved them to put the words "both suffered and buried" after the word of the crucified. So that you, the educated, and your descendants may know the truth about your Lord Saviour, and so that, armed with the truth, you may be able to refute the lie.With these words the Holy Fathers of Nicaea expounded our faith in the Lord our Saviour, the Redeemer and Transfigurer of the human race, Who suffered for the sake of love for sinners. This faith is open and given to all. But it cannot be accepted by the ungrateful and the selfish, the self-satisfied and the heartless. How can it be accepted by those who have covered the image of God with earthly dust in their souls and have become a grave alive? Verily, the graves will not enter the eternal Kingdom of God; the perishable will be given over to the unquenchable fire.This is the faith of grateful souls. They live in a valley of pain and bitterness and do good without expecting retribution. They have come to know the thorny field of this world and are trying with all their might not to grow thorns from their footprints. They are silent in response to the prickly words: "There are only thorns around, and you want to remain roses!" - and secretly weep over their brethren, who zealously plant thorns with every step they take. Only thorns are dear to grateful hearts - the one on which the light foot of the Son of God stepped and on which roses blossomed. Grateful hearts, looking at these roses, delight in their fragrance, the only beautiful and life-giving fragrance amidst the stench of decay and death. They see thorns of bitterness, the garden of the Most Holy Theotokos abundantly watered with tears, in which beautiful white roses blossomed from each tear. They also see many other gardens of the righteous and martyrs for the truth, in which thorns have blossomed with miraculous flowers. They inhale the fragrance and know that these flowers are from the Lord and they smell of His fragrance, holy and life-giving. And the feeling of gratitude to the heavenly Gardener overwhelms their hearts. And with all their strength they work to turn their lives and the lives of their neighbors into flowers grafted by Christ crucified. Let it become the faith of your children, from generation to generation, to the end, until the day of the judgment of Christ, in which the flowers will blossom, and the barren thorns will be cast into the fire. This is a faith that is not shameful, Orthodox, and salvific. Truly, the faith of educated people, who bear the image of God in themselves. On the Day of Retribution, their faces will shine like suns and will be like the Lord. And they will be called blessed. Cross. Death.

And rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures

Christ is risen, you who are educated! Neither the earth will harm Him, nor the grave will hold Him. May your souls be resurrected, beloved of Christ! May the image of God shine in you, cleansed from the dust of the earth and saved from the decay of death! Rejoice and be glad, for your Messiah, the one and only, has conquered death, which frightened all the earth-born! It is in accordance with His miraculous birth from the Most-Pure Virgin, and with His miracles performed on earth, and with His heavenly wisdom and mercy, with His superhuman patience and dignity in enduring injustice and suffering, with His Divine forgiveness from the cross of His murderers. Everything is in harmony with one another, everything corresponds to and befits one another. Just as by a drop of sea water one can know the composition and quality of the whole sea, so by the Lord's act alone one can know His entire character. And His character is a heavenly miracle, organically woven from a multitude of miracles. He is your almighty Messiah, O educated ones, whom He has blessed from the cross, from the tomb, and after the resurrection. This treasure is as beautiful, as priceless, as comforting as all the treasures on the divine necklace of Christ's works. His resurrection is completely natural from the point of view of the eternal reality that He revealed by His deeds and His entire personality. On the third day, at dawn, the Almighty Lord rose from the dead and appeared alive to His Holy Mother, the myrrh-bearing women and the apostles (cf. Matt. 28; Mk. 16; Lk. 24; Jn. 20 and 21; 1 Cor. 15:6). And then, for forty days, He appeared to His disciples and friends (see: Acts 1), and appeared both to His enemy and persecutor Saul (see: Acts. 9). Thus, first the Lord appeared to His friends and followers, as the first members of His Holy Church, in order to strengthen and educate them, and then to His enemies He appeared in order to defend His Church and to show mercy to them also. For He "loves the righteous and has mercy on sinners" and wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. He appeared to the monks, saints and wonderworkers throughout the history of the Church of God and is to this day. He appeared in dreams and in reality, on the battlefields and in prisons, at the bed of sickness and in troubles, when human power is powerless. He appeared in the orphanages and in the shining altars to the saints, His servants, to repentant sinners in the dens of sin. He appeared where fervent faith and tearful prayer called Him and where His appearance was necessary. Why should we list? His living presence is constantly felt by truly educated people who keep the image of God within themselves. The resurrected and living Lord spoke His last word as His heirs: Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen (Matt. 28:20). Amen, Lord... According to the Scriptures. Everything was fulfilled according to the Scriptures, as the inspired writers of God wrote, as the prophets of God prophesied. It is written in the prophet: "For thou hast not left my soul in hell, let Thy saint see corruption below" (Psalm 15:10); it is promised: God will rise, and His enemies will be scattered (Psalm 67:1). But, in addition to many prophecies about the resurrection of Christ in the Old Testament, this great event is symbolically and figuratively expressed in the fates of many righteous men. We see the prototype of the same victory in the rescue of Isaac from the slaughter by his own father. A symbol of the resurrection of Christ in the three-day stay of the prophet Jonah in the belly of the whale and in his miraculous salvation. In the fates of many other righteous men: Moses, Noah, Joseph, King David, the prophet Elijah, the prophet Daniel, the three youths in the fiery furnace, the long-suffering Job - all those who, under the burden of satanic and human unrighteousness, overcame all trials and came to glory, preserving in themselves the image of God intact. Therefore, the Holy Fathers of Nicaea emphasized that our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead according to the Scriptures. For a predicted event convinces a person more easily than an unpredicted one.And the holy Evangelists testified in the Gospels that the Lord more than once predicted His resurrection to His disciples. It was precisely when the Saviour foretold His sufferings and death that He also foretold His glorious resurrection (cf. Matt. 16:21; 20:19; 26:32; Mk. 8:31; 9:12, 31; 10:34; 14:28; Luke 9:22; 18:33; Jn. 2:19-22). And everything was as predicted, so it was. Your Lord and Redeemer suffered, was crucified, died, and was buried, and on the third day rose gloriously from the dead. Her homeland is in heaven, her kingdom is in eternity, her shadow is on earth, her absence is hell. But how strong is even her shadow! And love itself, burning in the hearth of eternal parenthood and sonship of God, the one that Christ the Lord brought to earth, is all-powerful! The devil and sinners rejoiced over the dead Messiah, the devil's foolishness went so far that he completely destroyed the image of God in himself. How could he know, how could he remember that Divine love is all-powerful? Its strength has no measure, no comparison, no limits. The earth would have been torn asunder: if Christ had not risen, it would not have been able to hold Him within itself. This is the power of true, heavenly, eternal love. Its power is ineffable. By the power of this ardent love, the King of Heaven descended to earth, endured all the humiliations and torments, and was resurrected. By its power, ailments are healed, demons are scattered, storms subside, and all nature becomes meek and obedient. Wherever she appears, in every place and at any time, she works a miracle.This is the faith of the children of God, the children of the King, adopted by God by the power of Christ's love. It cannot be accepted by haters and evildoers, atheists and non-humans, who weave chains from their own sins, and give their ends into the claws of hellish spirits. This is the faith of bright and pure souls, God-loving and brotherly-loving. They accept it and suffer for it similar to Christ's. Love eases their suffering and softens their bitterness. Their vision is clouded for the illusory treasures of this world, but their spiritual eyes, washed and enlightened by tears, clearly see the Fatherland of eternal love. Blessed will they be on the day of judgment, on the dreadful day of God's retribution. They will stand on that day and be warmed by the hearth of eternal love.Is this not your faith, Christ-bearers, and your glorious ancestors? Let it become the faith of your children. Faith is unashamed, Orthodox, bitter as death, but healing as heavenly oil, and bright as resurrection. Truly, this is the faith of great souls, people who are truly educated, who carry the image of God within themselves. On the day of the Judgment of the risen Messiah, they will be pardoned and called blessed. Resurrection. Joy.