Transfiguration of the Lord – Metropolitan of Strumica Nahum
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If we were to ask the people in church, who are celebrating today’s feast; “Why are we gathered here?” they would immediately answer that today is the Transfiguration of the Lord. I am not saying that the answer is not correct, but I must say that it is in need of further interpretation using the teachings of the Holy Fathers of the Church.
We should search for the interpretation of the Holy Fathers in the written tradition of the Holy Fathers and in the sacramental tradition in our heart, and not ignore it unjustifiably. Even Gregory Palamas said: “Let’s run away from those who do not accept the interpretations of the Holy Fathers, but they try to introduce something contrary by themselves!” They pretend to respect the words of the Holy Scriptures, whereas they actually reject the godly understanding of those words.”
I am certain that the traditional believers do not think much about the meaning of the feast, as well as of all its soteriological dimensions. Such an approach is very close to the red line of introducing something erroneous of their own accord.
So that, if we are permitted to speak only according to the word of the Gospel, then we speak only about the Transfiguration of the God-Man, Christ and that is all we “celebrate”. If we have equipped ourselves and if we are given to speak according to the Spirit of the Gospel, and if we want to discover that the Transfiguration of the Lord has an essential connection with us, then we speak about the transfiguration of the holy Apostles, and that, we celebrate together.
Which is to say, on this great feast, the discussion arises about the change and transformation that happens to the Apostles themselves; because what can be added to Him in Whom dwells all the fullness of the Deity, corporally! That is why on this blessed day we don’t celebrate primarily the transfiguration of the Lord, but the transfiguration of the Apostles, as well as the possibility of our own transfiguration.
The Holy Apostles are extraordinarily endowed by the Holy Spirit in order to be able to see the divine light, and, the God-Man Christ merely showed them what He had from the moment of His incarnation. They were so transfigured and deified at that moment, not only with the soul but also with the body, that even with their transfigured bodily eyes they could see the God-Man Christ in His uncreated light. They saw the God-Man as He IS.
Regular contemplation, and not extraordinary and temporary (as happened to the three Apostles), is possible only at the third stage of the spiritual growth and development – deification, in which, through the grace of deification, the divine uncreated light is seen with the transfigured bodily eyes. “In Thy light we shall see light.”
Let us listen what Saint Gregory Palamas says. He writes that Christ first took Peter, James and John to the high mountain, which means, above the indignity (humiliation)of our nature. And he continues: “Those introduced to the mysteries by the Lord (the Apostles), then through the change of senses, which the Holy Spirit caused in them, were brought from the state of the body to the state of the spirit.” And he also says: “Christ at the moment of the Transfiguration did not receive anything that He did not already have before then, nor did He change into something that He was not prior to that moment, but He did this in order to show his disciples that which HE Is, by opening their eyes and making the blind to see. Do you see that the eyes that can physically see are blind to seeing the Light? So, that Light is not created and cannot be seen with the eyes of the senses, but they were prepared to see it by the power of the Divine Spirit. The Apostles were changed, and only thus could they see the changed form; not that form which, just then was made manifest, but that which He received from the very unification with our nature, deified through the union with the Word of God”.
As in every feast of the Lord throughout the year, thus in this one, we participate in the manifestation of God as Holy Trinity. We hear the voice of the Father: “This is my beloved Son, in Whom My will is done; Listen to Him!” The Holy Spirit appears in the form of a bright cloud. And we see the God-Man as HE IS; “and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light” (Matthew 17, 2-5).
It is important to know that the dogmatic part is not a problem for us – it can be read and even learned by heart. The real problem is how to “retain” grace with the way of life!? How to avoid great oscillations in our daily ups and downs!? And how to ensure at least minimal continuity in our spiritual growth!? And, that can be read, but only in the practice of concrete and wholehearted obedience can it be realised.
True worshipers will worship in the Truth, i.e. in Christ (in the Church as the Body of Christ, of which He is the Head) and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, constantly transfiguring ourselves and growing spiritually through the three stages of spiritual development, from purification to enlightenment and from enlightenment to becoming likeness of God (deification). There is no middle ground in spiritual life – either we walk, that is, we climb (therefore Transfiguration occurred on the Mountain) along this evangelical path, and path of the Holy Fathers, path of Christ, or we fall through the levels of the unnatural way of life: neuroses (feelings and thoughts without control), psychopathy or sociopathy (words and deeds without control), and demonisation.
Let’s remind ourselves: according to the orthodox anthropology of the Holy Fathers, the essence of the mind is located in the heart – as the spiritual centre of the person, and the energy of the mind is dispersed throughout the world through the senses. Directing the energy of the mind to the world is called the secondary function of the mind, that is, reason (nous). So, it is necessary to prayerfully activate the primary function of the mind, that is, to redirect the sole energy of the mind from the outside to its essence in the heart, and through its essence to direct that energy towards God.
With this non-beguiling circular movement of our mind, through the prayer of the mind in the heart, union and communion with the uncreated energy of God is achieved, and thereby the transfiguration of the entire mind. With the transfiguration of the mind, our soul and our body are simultaneously transfigured and deified, so that in the end, with our physical eyes, we can also see the uncreated energy of God as Divine light and glory – in us and in everything created around us. This is the essence and purpose of repentance, i.e. the “change-of-mind”.
One more thing has caught my attention: Peter received the gift of transfiguration, he sees the uncreated light with bodily eyes, but even after that he falls and forsakes the God-Man Christ. The answer is related to the spiritual state of the Apostles before and after the Holy Pentecost. It is important to remember that even after the extraordinary receiving of grace, as we read in the hagiographies of some saints, falls are possible, as is the act of repentance after the fall.
According to the regular ascetic order, the divine grace of deification is preceded by the enlightening grace, and prior to that – the purifying grace. As we climb the ladder of spiritual development, the presence, that is, the manifestation of grace in us becomes more constant and intense, and its oscillations are less frequent and smaller. Somewhere in the teachings of the Holy Fathers I found that God does not constantly give intense grace to His chosen, so that they can serve in the Dispensation of Salvation to those who live in the world. Imagine, someone is serving (performing) the Holy Liturgy and cannot finish it at the normal time because of (his) crying. How would such a person serve in the world?
We have seen what happened to the apostle Peter, and it is understandable why he responded so strangely to Christ: “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah” (Matthew 17, 4). Do you think that this one, confused and “drunk” (elated) by grace, Peter, is capable of soberly serving in the world those who want to be saved? Certainly he is not! Peter, in his ecstasy, is not aware that just as he does not need tabernacles, neither do the others he mentions. The grace of Christ’s presence is everything – eating, drinking, warmth and shade, and every good thing, spiritual and bodily, that a person can imagine needing – to those who have tasted it.
The extraordinary receiving of grace is an exception in the life of the Church. It is mostly received by Episcopes and Priests as an aid in the management of the Church. But let us be careful not to consider ourselves as an exception, especially since this does not free us from the duties and rules of the regular path. And some ascetics have been given an extraordinary grace, such as Saint Silouan Athonite, but in his own way, he too must take it upon himself, make it his own, through obedience and by enduring voluntary and involuntary suffering. Thus also the holy apostle Peter, in the first instance, temporarily receives the extraordinary grace of transfiguration, then passes the path of temptations, fall, repentance and crying, to finally be honoured with a martyr’s death, with which he justifies the gift of God of the great apostolic grace, that is, deifying grace, previously invested in him.
I will present and emphasize three truths to you at this time, which I want to remain in our memory from this day, and may God grant that we turn them into practice, to remain a conscious part of our everyday life.
First, we should not forget that we are not energetically independent beings, neither physically nor spiritually, and that our true existence depends on another energetic, gracious Source. And we, in fact, quite wrongly live as if we are energetically independent beings. For example: without prayer, without communion with Christ, etc.
Second, we can never strive for perfection insomuch as God’s providence can “fix that” for us. Only God can make the conditions for a struggle (endeavour) in which we will acquire true humility, and henceforth, with all the gifts of God. Our endeavours are associated with a bit of vanity, even when they are done in obedience.
And thirdly, a person should tread well on his self-love and vanity in order to be able to serve his neighbour, both in the needs of everyday life and for his salvation. When I say “tread”, I do not mean suppressing our own passions, but rather cleansing, that is, transfiguring passions: for example, from self-love to love for God and for our neighbour. Because suppressed passions will return under conditions favourable to them back with even greater strength and fervour, and those who are cleansed and transfigured will function normally even in the greatest temptations (tribulations). If we do not harmonise our life and endeavour in the Church with the stage of spiritual development we are at, we should know for certain, that we are in the process of suppressing the passions, i.e. in a great illusion that we are living a spiritual life, and, and we are not in the process of transfiguring our passions. And suppressed passions will surely return in the form of some mental or physical illness. Either way, they will come back in one form or another.
The Blessed Transfiguration Day once again confirms to us that the teaching of the prayer of the mind in the heart is, obviously, not simply a part of the overall Holy Tradition, it is the very core of the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church. Therefore, when the Holy Fathers – hesychasts had the opportunity to build a church, they usually built it on a peak and dedicated it to the Transfiguration, and this was a sign of their presence in that area and at that time in history. The fast which is until today is for this feast. After the Transfiguration, we continue with the fast for the Dormition of the Most-Holy, our Sovereign Lady Theotokos.
Lord Jesus Christ, through the Theotokos, receive us and transfigure us! Metropolitan of Strumica Nahum (18.08.2022 15:39)