The birthplace of John the Baptist. 41

227. Chrysostom's Praise of the Holy Apostle Paul. 41

228. Do not overlook (do not condemn) the virtue of others. 43

229. Without the fear of God one cannot refrain from sin. 44

230. Treasure, children, the blessing of your parents! 46

231. What Does Christ's Transfiguration Teach Us? 48

232. The joy of the Mother of God ascending to heaven. 49

233. How does Holy Scripture teach about sacred tradition? 50

234. How to Pray to God in Church? 52

235. Прежде долг уплати. 54

236. Помоги, Господи! 55

Боже, в помощь мою вонми!.. 56

Два коварных советника. 57

237. Пора одуматься! 57

Что так поздно?. 58

238. Житейские занятия христианина. 59

239. Дни седмицы.. 60

240. Наши оправдания. 62

241. «Я буду судить вас ... каждого по путям его» (Иез. 33; 20) 64

242. Слава долготерпению Твоему, Господи! 65

Воздыхание твари. 66

243. Беседа отца Иоанна Предтечи с Архангелом.. 67

244. Есть ли в мире люди здоровые?. 68

245. Душа — наше сокровище. 70

246. Как учить детей страху Божию?. 71

247. Притча о дворе и о змие. 73

248. Завистник — человеконенавистник. 74

249. Преславное таинство Христова воплощения. 75

Do not lose heart, even you, brother who sins! 76

250. Happy New Year! 77

201. The Evangelist of the Old Testament

Seven hundred years before the Nativity of Christ, the holy Prophet Isaiah lived in Jerusalem. He came from a royal family, but he did not seek either riches or earthly honors, and for God's sake he humbly asceticized in poverty. In his early youth he was called by God to the prophetic ministry, and continued this ministry under the five kings of Judah for more than seventy years. This is how he himself tells about his calling to the great prophetic service. "I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and exalted, and the edges of His garments filled the whole temple. Seraphim stood around Him; each of them has six wings; with two they covered each of their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And they cried out to one another, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory!"

And the tops of the gate shook at the voice of those who shouted, and the house was filled with incense. And I said, "Woe is me! I am lost! I would like to glorify God, but my lips are unclean, and I live among people with unclean lips... But behold, I see the King of the Lord of hosts with my eyes!" ... Then one of the Seraphim flew to me, and in his hand he had a burning coal, which he took with tongs from the altar; And he touched my mouth, and said, Behold, this has touched thy mouth, and thy iniquity hath been taken away from thee, and thy sin has been cleansed. And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And I said, 'Here am I, send me!'"

Thus, inflamed by the heavenly fire of prophetic inspiration, Isaiah himself volunteered for the work of preaching, and from that time he began to fearlessly proclaim the will of God both to the kings and to all the Jewish people. He boldly denounced their vices and wickedness, threatened them with the judgment of God, predicted the desolation of Jerusalem, the taking of the people into captivity in Babylon and the return from this captivity. More than a hundred years before the birth of Cyrus, king of Persia, Isaiah called him by name and predicted that this king would free the Jews from captivity and command the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the construction of the temple. The prophet clearly saw the future fate of the peoples and kingdoms adjacent to the kingdom of Judah, and for almost two hundred years he described in detail the fall of Babylon. But most striking of all are His prophecies about Christ the Savior. More than seven hundred years before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, inspired by God, Isaiah announces Him to the world with such precision, with such clear features, as if it were not a prophet but an evangelist: this is why many interpreters of the Holy Scriptures call Isaiah the evangelist of the Old Testament, and His holy book the Gospel of Isaiah. Let us open this inspired book and listen to what the Old Testament prophet-evangelist says about our Lord.