Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council – Metropolitan of Strumica Naum
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“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
Knowledge of God is not faith, it is not fantasy, it is not thinking, it is not an idea, it is not reading, it is not intellectual knowledge, it is not worldly education, it is not a good upbringing, it is not a custom, etc… And one finds himself robustly interpreting a purely affirmative phenomenon – something that is obtainable and can be known by experience. Unfortunately, he does not have the experience – therefore it is what it is.
Knowledge of God in the Orthodox Church means a full-of-grace experience of God in a purified heart, through the Orthodox spiritual life under the supervision of and obedience to a spiritual father, manifested as the prayer of the mind in the heart and made conscious (realized) by the enlightened mind. Only such knowledge of God certainly means eternal life.
From today’s Gospel reading (refer to: John 17: 1–13) we will pay special attention to the following passage: “Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You; For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known (understood) surely that I came forth from You, and they have believed that You have sent Me”
In the words: “received, known (understood) and believed” we can see the description of the three stages of the spiritual growth: purification of the heart from the passions, enlightenment of the mind – with the gift of the prayer of the mind in the heart, and deification.
“Received” means – the very practice of purifying the heart from the passions. Because, by what else would you know that someone has received your words, if not by the obedience in their execution?
In order “to understand”, that is, to comprehend – in the spiritual Orthodox sense, signifies the enlightenment of the mind – with the gift of the prayer of the mind in the heart. Because what is this comprehension and knowledge without enlightenment of the mind? It is usually a subjective view, which can be both very retrograde and disintegrating in the Church community; and everywhere else.
The enlightenment of the mind can only happen if we succeed, the energy of our mind – scattered through the senses, prayerfully to collect and join with its essence in the heart and in God.
Therefore, we say: enlightenment – with the gift of the ascetic prayer of the mind in the heart.
The word “believed”, especially on the level of deification, is the same as they recognised (identified); because what you go through in an actual situation, you know and recognise it from experience, and in the new horizon that has opened up before you – which you see and have not yet reached, you begin to believe.
The words “Glorify Me” have been told and written exclusively for our tuition and for our salvation, as well as many other evangelical words of the God-Man Christ, and not for something that He needs. With what else may the Consubstantial Son of the Father be glorified, Who, from the moment of the incarnation, carries in Himself all the Divine glory even in the flesh?
“I have glorified You on the earth; I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” By what work did the God-Man Christ glorified His Heavenly Father, if not by the Resurrection from the dead? Since the beginning of the world and of man there is nothing new except the victory over the death through the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Nor will there ever be.
The words ” keep through Your name those whom You have given Me” are better understood in the context of the words ” I have kept them in Your name”. Take note, the God-Man Christ – Who is nothing less than His Father, gives all glory to the Father; and this is ineffable.
And the words “they may be one as We are”, although are describable, I will not interpret – they are more or less clear to us, but we are far from that.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
Metropolitan of Strumica Nahum
12.06.2021
