On the Betrayal of Judas

(and on the Passover, and on the transmission of the Mysteries, and on not remembering wrongs) Delivered on Great and Holy Thursday
HOMILY ONE By St. John Chrysostom Editors Introduction

n a previous issue of The Orthodox Word (nos. 282283), we presented a homily of St. John Chrysostom On the Cross and the Thief, delivered on Great and Holy Friday. Below we present the homily he gave on the previous day, when the Church commemorates the Mystical Supper and the Betrayal of Judas. As with the homily On the Cross and the Thief, two versions of the homily On the Betrayal of Judas have come down to us. In both cases, the two versions of the same homily have only minor differences, and it is probable that St. John delivered one set of homilies on Holy Thursday and Holy Friday one year, and then, in other years, gave the same homilies with minor revisions. The homily below, On the Betrayal of Judas, is presented as the first of the two versions in Patrologia Graeca.1 It is most likely the
Following Fr. Bernard de Montfaucon (Paris, 17181738), and, before him, Sir Henry Savile (Eton, 16101613). On the earliest printed editions of St. Johns collected works, see The Orthodox Word nos. 282283, p. 65n.
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version given the day before the first homily On the Cross and the Thief which was printed in The Orthodox Word, since in the first homily for Holy Thursday, St. John says that it is the fourth day in a row he has been speaking on praying for ones enemies,2 while in the first homily for Holy Friday, he says it is the fifth day he has been speaking on this theme.3 It is not known in which year he gave these homilies. Johannes Quasten, in his Patrology, regards both the two homilies on the Betrayal of Judas and the two homilies On the Cross and the Thief as genuine works of St. John Chrysostom.4 As with all his homilies on the life of Christ, in his homily for Holy Thursday St. John Chrysostom delves deeply into the reasons for Christs words and actions, as well as the words and actions of others portrayed in the Gospelsin this case Judas Iscariot. On this day commemorating the Mystical Supper, St. John states that the Old Testament Passover meal was partaken of at the same table as the Mystical Supper of Christs Body and Blood, the former being but a shadow and a figure of the latter. Using Judas as the ultimate example of partaking of the Holy Mysteries unworthily, St. John exhorts his flock to approach the Eucharist with awe and reverence, without harboring any rancor and animosity for those who may have offended them. Hieromonk Damascene On the Betrayal of Judas 1.

Today we can only speak a little to your charity. It is not because you are wearied by a multitude of words that we can only speak a little, for it is not possible to find another city that is so lovingly disposed
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Johannes Quasten, Patrology, vol. 3 (Utrecht-Antwerp: Spectrum, 1950; reprint, 1966), p. 455.

3See The Orthodox Word nos. 282283, p. 78.

See p. 232 below.

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towards hearing spiritual talks. Thus it is not lest we wear you out by a multitude of words that we will speak only a little, but that today there is a compelling reason for brevity of speech: for I see that many of the faithful are eager to partake of the fearful Mysteries. In order that you neither miss that table nor be deprived of this one, the feasting must be in due proportion, so that you profit on each side, and being supplied with instruction by our words, you go and with fear and trembling and the proper reverence approach the dread and fearful Communion. Today, beloved, our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed. It was on this approaching evening that the Jews seized him and took Him away. But do not be dejected, hearing that Jesus was betrayed; rather, be dejected and weep bitterlynot over Jesus Who was betrayed, but over the traitor, Judas. For, indeed, the One Who was betrayed saved the whole world, while the one who betrayed Him lost his own soul. And the One Who was betrayed is seated at the right hand of the Father, while the one who betrayed Him is now in hades, awaiting the inevitable punishment. Thus, weep and moan for his sake; mourn for his sake, since even our Master shed tears on his account. Seeing him, Jesus was troubled and said: One of you shall betray Me ( John 13:21). Oh, how great is our Masters compassion! The One Who was betrayed grieved for the one who betrayed Him. Seeing him, Jesus was troubled and said: One of you shall betray Me. Why was He disheartened? In order to show His tender love and, at the same time, to teach us that it is altogether fitting to mourn, not for the one enduring evil, but for the one committing it. Committing evil is worse than enduring it; or rather, enduring evil is not evil, but committing it is evil. While enduring evil procures us the Kingdom of Heaven, committing evil results in Gehenna and punishment for us. For Blessed, says the Lord, are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt 5:10). Do you see how enduring evil has as its recompense and reward the Kingdom of Heaven? Listen to how committing evil brings retribution and punishment. Paul, saying of the Jews, that they killed the Lord and persecuted the 231

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prophets (cf. I Thess. 2:15), added: whose end shall be according to their works (II Cor. 11:15). Do you see that while the persecuted receive the Kingdom, the persecutors inherit wrath? I have not said this for no reason, but in order that we might not get angry with our enemies, but rather have pity on them and lament for them and have sympathy for them, since they who are at enmity with us suffer hardship. If we dispose our souls in such a way, then we will even be able to pray for them. Therefore, this is the fourth day that I have spoken with you about praying for ones enemies, so that this word of instruction might become firmly rooted in you by continually repeating the exhortation. For this reason, in order that the swelling of anger might subside and the inflammation might be relieved, I continually draw off fluid by my words, so that you might approach prayer free from anger. Christ did not command this only for the sake of our enemies, but also for the sake of us who forgive their sins, since you receive more than you give when you forgive the anger of your enemy. And how do I receive more? you say. If you pardon the sins of your enemy, your offences against the Master will be forgiven. And while your offenses against the Master are incurable and unpardonable, the sins of your enemy admit of great relief and forgiveness. Listen, then, to Eli speaking to his sons: If one man sins against another, they will pray to the Lord for him. But if a man sins against the Lord, who will pray for him? (I Kingdoms 2:25). Thus, this wound is not easily cured by prayer. But while it is not healed by prayer, it is healed by forgiving the sins of our neighbor. For this reason Christ called our sins against the Master ten thousand talents, and those of our neighbor against us a hundred days wages (cf. Matt 18:2335). Therefore, forgive a hundred days wages, so that you may be forgiven ten thousand talents. 2. But we have said enough about praying for our enemies. Let us return, if you will, to the subject of the betrayal and see how our Lord 232

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was handed over. Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you? (Matt. 26:1415). These words seem to be clear and not to hint at anything more, but if you carefully examine each word, you will find deep meaning and a great deal to contemplate. First, the time. The Evangelist does not indicate it without cause. He does not simply say, One of the twelve went, but adds, Then one of the twelve went. Then. Tell me, when? And why does he indicate the time? What does he want to teach me? He does not say Then for no reason: speaking by the Spirit, he does not say anything at random or to no end. Therefore, what does this then mean? Before that time, before that hour, a harlot came with an alabaster box of ointment and poured the oil onto the head of the Lord. She displayed great service; she displayed great faith, great obedience, and great piety. She was turned from her former life and became better and wiser. And when the harlot had repented, when she had been drawn to the Master, then the disciple betrayed his Teacher. Thus the Evangelist said then, so that you not accuse the Teacher of weakness when you see the disciple betraying Him. For the power of the Teacher was such that He drew even harlots to proper obedience. Why then, you say, was He Who won over harlots not able to win over His disciple? He had the power to win over His disciple, but He did not wish to make him good by force or to forcibly draw him to Himself. Then [he] went. In this went there is not a little matter for contemplation: for he was not summoned by the chief priests, he was not constrained or forced. Rather, of himself and of his own accord, he gave birth to his intention and brought forth his treachery, without any counselor in his wickedness. Then one of the twelve went. What does one of the twelve mean? Saying one of the twelve shows the great magnitude of the accusation against him. For there were other disciples of Jesus, seventy in number, but they occupied a second rank. They did not enjoy as much honor, they did not partake of as much liberty of speech, they did not have as much of a share in the hidden thingsas 233

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the twelve. The twelve were esteemed first and above all; they were the choir around the King; they were the company around the Teacher and Judas leapt away from this. Therefore, in order that it be known that it was not simply a disciple that betrayed Him but a disciple of the most esteemed rank, it is said: one of the twelve. And Matthew is not ashamed to write this. Why is he not ashamed? In order that you know that everything is said absolutely truthfully, and nothing is concealed, not even things considered shameful. For these things which are considered to be shameful bring to light the Lords love for mankind that He deemed the traitor, the thief, the cheat, worthy of such good things and tolerated him to the last hour. He advised him, admonished him, and showed care for him in every way. But if Judas did not take heed, the Lord is not to blame. And the harlot is a witness: she took heed to herself and was saved. Therefore, looking at the harlot, do not despair of yourself, and seeing Judas, do not be confident of yourself. For both are deadly both confidence in yourself and despair. Confidence makes him who is standing fall, while despair does not let him who is lying down get up. Therefore Paul advised: Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall (I Cor. 10:12). You have both examples: how the disciple who seemed to be upright fell, and how the harlot who was fallen rose up. Our mind is unstable, our free choice inconstant. Thus we must secure and protect ourselves on every side. Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went. Do you see what sort of company he fell from? Do you see what sort of teaching he disdained? Do you see how evil indifference and negligence are? Judas who was called Iscariot. Why are you telling me his city? Would that I not know it! Judas who was called Iscariot. For what reason are you saying his city? There was another disciple Judas, surnamed the Zealot. In order that the sameness of the names not cause any mistake, the Evangelist distinguished one from the other. One he named after his excellence, Judas the Zealot, while the other he did not name after his wickedness, for he did not say Judas the Traitor. And yet it would 234

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have been fitting, just as he called the one after his excellence, to call the other after his wickedness and say Judas the Traitor. But in order to teach you to keep your tongue free from accusation, he even spared the traitor. One of the twelve, it says, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, What will ye give me and I will deliver Him unto you? Oh, what foul words! How did they leap out of his mouth? How did he move his tongue? Why did his whole body not grow stiff ? Why did he not go out of his mind? 3. What will ye give me and I will deliver Him unto you? Tell me, did Christ teach you that? Did He not restrain in advance your covetous intention, saying: Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses (Matt. 10:9)? Did He not continually advise this, and also say: If someone shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matt. 5:39)? What will ye give me and I will deliver Him unto you? Oh, what madness! Tell me, for what? With what small or great accusation do you betray the Teacher? That He granted you power over demons? That He granted you the power to put an end to sicknesses? To cleanse lepers? To raise the dead? That He brought an end to the tyranny of death? For these benefactions you give this recompense? What will ye give me and I will deliver Him unto you? Oh, what madness! Or rather, what covetousness! For it is covetousness that produced all this evil: lusting after money, he betrayed the Teacher. Such is the root of this evil; worse than the devil, it excites to frenzy the souls it has conquered and renders them oblivious to everyone, both to themselves and to their neighbors, as well as to the laws of nature, driving them out of their minds and making them insane. See how much it cast out from the soul of Judas: the fellowship, the intimacy, the common table, the miracles, the instruction, the counsel, the admonitionsall of that was then cast into oblivion by covetousness. Thus Paul rightly said: The love of money is the root of all evil (I Tim. 6:10). 235

The betrayal of Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane. Fresco in the Perivleptos Church of the Most Holy Mother of God, Ohrid, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 1295.

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What will ye give me and I will deliver Him unto you? Great is the folly of these words. Tell me, can you hand over Him Who rules all things, Him Who has authority over the demons, Him Who commands the sea, Him Who is Master of all creation? In order to restrain this folly and show that if He had not willed it, He would not have been betrayedlisten to what He did. At the very time of the betrayal, when they came against Him with clubs and torches and lanterns, He said to them: Whom seek ye? ( John 18:4). And they did not recognize Him Whom they intended to seize. So far was Judas from being capable of handing Him over, that he did not perceive the presence of Him Whom he intended to hand over, even with the torches and the great number of lanterns. In order to hint at this, the Evangelist said that they had torches and lanterns but did not perceive Him (cf. John 18:36). Every day the Lord had reminded him, by deeds and by words, that He would not be betrayed unawares. He did not expose Judas in front of everyone, so as not to make him the more impudent, nor did He pass over the betrayal in silence, so that Judas would not set about it freely, thinking himself unnoticed. But He would often say: One of you shall betray Me ( John 13:21), without, however, making him known. He spoke a great deal about Gehenna and about the Kingdom, showing His authority over each of them, both in the punishment of sinners and in the reward of the righteous. But Judas spurned all this, and God did not draw him by force. Seeing that God gave us the power to choose both evil and good deeds, He wants us to be good willingly. Thus, if we do not wish to, He does not constrain us or force us, for being good by force is not truly being good. Since Judas too was master over his thoughts and had the power not to be persuaded by them and not to become drawn toward covetousness, his intelligence thus became blinded, and he forsook his own salvation and said: What will ye give me and I will deliver Him unto you? Exposing the blindness of his mind and his madness, the Evangelist said that, at the time of the assault, Judas stood with them ( John 18:5), he who said: What will ye 237

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give me and I will deliver Him unto you? But it is not only in this that the power of Christ is seen, but in the fact that when He uttered a mere word, they drew back and fell to the ground. But since they did not then abandon their impudence, He thus handed Himself over to them, as if saying: I have done all My part: I revealed My power; I showed that you are attempting impossible things. I wished to restrain your wickedness, yet since you were not willing but remain in your folly, behold, I hand Myself over. I have said all this so that no one will accuse Christ, saying: Why did He not change Judas? Why did He not make him sensible and good? How ought Judas to have been made good? By force or voluntarily? If by force, he would not have become better, for no one becomes good by force. But if, by his own deliberate choice, Judas had wanted to, then Christ would have used all means to amend his will and intent. But if he did not want to take the medicine, it is not the Physician Who is at fault but the one who evaded the treatment. Look at how much Christ did in order to win him over and save him: He taught him all wisdom by deeds and by words; He placed him above the demons; He prepared him to perform numerous miracles; He inspired fear in him with the threat of hell; He impelled him forward with the promise of the Kingdom; He continually censured his unspeakable plans, without making them public; He washed his feet along with the others and shared His table with him. He did not leave anything undone, either small or great, but Judas of his own free will remained uncorrected. In order to understand that although he was capable of changing he did not want to, and that everything happened as a result of his indifferencelisten. After he had betrayed Him, he threw down the thirty pieces of silver and said: I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood (Matt. 27:4). What has come to pass? When you saw Him working miracles, you did not say: I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood, but: What will ye give me and I will deliver Him unto you? But when the wickedness had advanced, the betrayal 238

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had been accomplished, and the sin had been performed, then you recognized the sin. Therefore, what do we learn from this? That when we are indifferent, counsel is of no benefit to us; but when we are earnest, we are able to raise ourselves up by ourselves. And Judas was like this. When the Teacher exhorted him, he failed to listen; but when no one was exhorting him, his own conscience rose up, and without a teacher, he changed and condemned the things he had dared to do and threw down the thirty pieces of silver. What will ye give me and I will deliver Him unto you? And, says the Evangelist, they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver (Matt. 26:15). They set down a price for the Blood which is without price. Why, O Judas, are you taking the thirty pieces of silver? Christ came to pour out this Blood as a free gift for the sake of the world, and you make agreements and shameless contracts over it. For, what could be more shameless than this contract? 4. Now the disciples came. Nowwhen is that? While this was going on, while the betrayal was proceeding, while Judas was destroying himself, the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Passover? (Matt. 26:17). Do you see the one disciple? Do you see the other disciples? He is betraying the Master; they are thinking earnestly about the Passover. He is making agreements; they are preparing to serve. He and they had the benefit of the same miracles, the same instruction, and the same power. So, where did the change come from? From free choicethis is always the cause of all good and all evil. Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Passover? It was that very evening; since the Master did not have a house, they said to Him: Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Passover? We do not have a definite place to stay; we have neither a tent nor a house. Let them take note, they who build magnificent houses and broad porticoes and great enclosures, that Christ had 239

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nowhere to lay His head. For this reason they asked: Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Passover? Which Passover? It was not our Passover, but still the Passover of the Jews. That one, the disciples prepared. But ours, Christ Himself prepared. And not only did He prepare it, but He Himself became our Passover. Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Passover? This was the Jewish Passover, which had its origin in Egypt. Why, then, did Christ eat this Passover? Because He fulfilled all the provisions of the law. For truly, when He was baptized He said: For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness (Matt. 3:15). I came to redeem mankind from the curse of the law. For God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law (Gal. 4:45), and to put an end to the law itself. In order that someone not say that He made the law of none effect because He could not fulfill itsince it was burdensome and grievous and hard to deal withfirst He fulfilled the entire law, and then He brought it to an end. Thus He also performed the Passover, for the Passover was a command of the law. And why did the law ordain that the Passover be eaten? The Jews were ungrateful towards their Benefactor, and immediately after the very benefactions they forgot the commandments of God. For when they went out from Egypt, having seen the sea divided and brought together again, as well as countless other miracles, they said [to Aaron]: Make us gods which shall go before us (Exod. 32:1). What are you saying? The wonders are still in your hands, and you have already forgotten your Benefactor? Therefore, since they were unfeeling and ungrateful, God linked the remembrance of His gifts to the institution of feasts. And thus He commanded them to sacrifice the Passover, in order that, He said, if your son asks you what this Passover signifies, you will say, Our ancestors in Egypt once anointed their doors with the blood of a sheep, so that when the destroyer came and saw it, he would not dare to burst in and strike (cf. Exod. 12:2627). And thenceforth this feast was a continual reminder of their salva240

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tion. And they profited not only from its reminding them of ancient benefactions, but even more so from its prefiguring of the future. For that lamb was a figure of another Lamb, a spiritual Lamb, and the sheep of another Sheep. That one was a shadow but this one is reality. When the Sun of Righteousness appeared, the shadow then came to an end, for when the sun rises the shadow hides itself. Thus on the same table each Passover takes placeboth the one in figure and the one in truth. For just as on the same board painters both trace out the lines and depict the shadows and then apply the true colors, so Christ also did. On the same table He both depicted the figurative Passover and added the true one. Where wilt Thou that we prepare for Thee to eat the Passover? Then it was the Jewish Passover; but since the sun has come, let the lamp no longer appear; since the truth has arrived, let the shadow be brought to an end. 5. I say these things in reply to the Jews, since they suppose that they observe the Passover, since with shameless intent the uncircumcised of heart make a show of the feast of unleavened bread. Tell me, O Jew, how can you celebrate the Passover? The temple is utterly destroyed, the altar is done away with, the Holy of Holies has been trampled underfoot, and any sort of sacrifice has been abolished. On what account, then, do you dare to perform these unlawful things? You once went away into Babylon, and there they that had taken you captive said: Sing us one of the songs of Sion (Ps. 136:3), but you refused. David told of this, saying: By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and we wept when we remembered Sion. Upon the willows in the midst thereof did we hang our instruments (Ps. 136:12)that is, the psaltery, the harp, the lyre, and so forth, since in olden times they used these and chanted the psalms with them. Going off into captivity, they took these along in order to be reminded of the way of life of their homeland, not in order to use them. For there, says the psalmist, they that had taken us captive 241

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asked us for words of song. And we said: How shall we sing the Lords song in a strange land? (Ps. 136:34). What are you saying? You will not sing the Lords song in a strange land, but you celebrate the Passover of the Lord in a strange land? Do you see their willful lack of understanding? Do you see their lawlessness? Even when their enemies were coercing them, they did not dare to utter a psalm in a strange land. But now, on their own, with no one coercing them or forcing them, they are waging war against God. Do you see how unclean the feast of unleavened bread is, how lawless the festival? Do you see that there is no Jewish Passover? At one time the Jewish Passover existed, but now it has been abolished; it was succeeded by the spiritual Passover, which Christ delivered unto us. It is said that as they were eating and drinking, Jesus took bread, broke it and said: This is My Body, which is broken for you, for the remission of sins.5 Those who have been initiated know these words. In turn He took the cup and said: This is My Blood , which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matt 26:28). And Judas was present when Christ said these things. This is the Body which you, O Judas, sold for thirty pieces of silver; this is the Blood over which, a little while ago, you made shameless agreements with the ungrateful Pharisees. Oh, what love of Christ for mankind! Oh, what madness of Judas! What folly! Judas sold Him for thirty pieces of money, but even after that, Christ would not have failed to offer the Blood that had been sold for the forgiveness of the sins of him who had sold it, if the latter had in fact wished it. For Judas was also present and shared in the holy table. Just as his feet were washed along with the other disciples, so also he took part in the holy table, in order that he would have no excuse if he remained in his wickedness. Christ, for His part, brought forth and offered everything, but Judas continued to hold onto his wicked intention.
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Anaphora of the Divine Liturgy.Trans.

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6. But it is time then to approach that fearful table. Therefore, let us all approach with fitting discretion and sobriety. And let no one be Judas any longer; let no one be wicked; let no one possess venom, bearing one thing in his mouth and another in his mind. Christ is present, and He Who set in order that meal of old also sets this one in order now. For it is not a man who causes the elements that are set forth to become the Body and Blood of Christ, but Christ Himself, Who was crucified for our sake. Fulfilling the figure, the priest stands and utters the words. But the power and the grace belong to God. This is My Body, the priest says. These words transform the elements set forth;6
Here, in affirming that it is Christ Himself Who changes the bread and wine into His Body and Blood during the Divine Liturgy, St. John Chrysostom is not necessarily saying that this change occurs solely at the moment of the words of Institution (This is My Body This is My Blood), or that it is the Son alone Who effects this change, since the Father, Son and Holy Spirit act as one. The Orthodox Church holds that the change of the elements into the Divine Body and Blood begins at the Liturgy of Preparation, includes the words of Institution, and is completed with the Epiklesis, when the celebrant prays that God the Father send down His Holy Spirit to change the elements. Elsewhere, in his Homily on the Cemetery and the Cross, St. John Chrysostom emphasizes the importance of the Epiklesis. Speaking about those who make disturbance in church, he tells his congregation: When the priest stands before the altar table lifting up his hands to heaven, calling on the Holy Spirit to come and touch the elements, there is great silence, great quiet. When the Spirit gives the grace, when He comes down, when He touches the elements, when you see the slaughtered and perfect Lamb, then you start up noise and disorder and contentiousness and abuse? (PG 49.39798). Earlier, St. Cyril of Jerusalem (ca. 315386) wrote concerning the Epiklesis: The Bread of the Eucharist, after the invocation of the Holy Spirit, is mere bread no longer, but the Body of Christ (Catechetical Lectures 21.3). St. Basil the Great (329 379), speaking broadly of the transformation of the Holy Gifts, and of the importance of unwritten Holy Tradition in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, writes: Have any saints left for us in writing the words to be used in the invocation over the Eucharistic bread and the cup of blessing? As everyone knows, we are not content in the Liturgy simply to recite the words recorded by St. Paul or the Gospels [i.e., the words of Institu6

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and just as the words Increase and multiply and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28) were said once, but throughout all time they give our nature the power to beget children, so also from that time until now and until His Coming, these words that were said once accomplish the perfect Sacrifice on each altar table in the churches. Therefore, let no one hide festering sores within; let no one be filled with wickedness; let no one have venom in his thoughts, lest he partake unto condemnation. For truly it was after Judas had received the Holy Gifts that the devil fell upon him, out of contempt not for the Body of the Lord but for Judas, on account of his shamelessness so that you understand that the devil especially falls upon and repeatedly attacks those who partake of the Holy Mysteries unworthily, as with Judas at that time. For honors benefit those who are worthy, but honors cast into greater torment those who enjoy them unworthily. I do not say these things to frighten you, but in order to warn you. Therefore, let no one be Judas; let no one that enters have the venom of wickedness. The sacrifice is spiritual food; and just as bodily food that enters a stomach having foul juices makes the illness even worse not because of its own nature but because of the sickness of the stomachso also does it usually happen with the spiritual Mysteries. For they also, when they enter a soul that is full of wickedness, ruin and destroy it even morenot on account of their own nature but on account of the sickness of the soul that receives them. Therefore, let no one have evil thoughts within, but let us purify our mind, for we are truly drawing near to the spotless sacrifice. Let us make our soul holy; it is possible for this to happen even in a single
tion], but we add other words both before and after, words of great importance to this Mystery (On the Holy Spirit 27). The harmony of Orthodox Patristic tradition on this subject was set forth by Patriarch Dositheus of Jerusalem at the Synod of Jerusalem in 1672: The Mystery of the Offering [i.e., the Holy Eucharist], which being instituted by the Substantial Word, and hallowed by the invocation of the Holy Spirit, is perfected by the presence of the thing signified, specifically, of the Body and Blood of Christ (Confession of Dositheus, Decree 15).Ed.

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day. How, and in what way? If you have anything against your enemy, expel your anger, treat your wound, put an end to your enmity, so that you may receive healing from the holy tablefor you are approaching the fearful and holy sacrifice. Stand in awe before the meaning of this sacrifice. The slain Christ is laid out before us. On what account was He slain and why? In order to make peace between heaven and the earth, in order to make you a friend of the angels, in order to reconcile you entirely to God, to make you, an enemy and opponent, into a friend. He gave His life for those who hate Him, but you continue to hate your fellow servant? And how can you come to the table of peace? He did not decline to die for you, but you cannot bear, for your own sake, to get rid of your anger toward your fellow servant? And what sort of forgiveness are you worthy of ? He abused me, you say, and hurt me a great deal. But what is this? The damage is only to property; by no means did he wound you like Judas did Christ, but nevertheless Christ gave His own Blood for the salvation of those who caused it to pour forth. What can you say is equal to that? If you do not forgive your enemy, you do not hurt him but yourself. You wound him many times in this present life, but you make yourself unpardonable at the judgment in the day to come. For God hates nothing so much as a man who remembers past wrongs, nothing so much as a puffed-up heart and a soul inflamed. Listen to what He says: When you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember, standing high-up at the altar, that your brother has something against you, leave your gift at the altar and go be reconciled to your brother, and then offer your gift (Matt. 5:2324). What are you saying?that I should leave my gift? Yes, for it was for the sake of peace with your brother that this sacrifice took place. Thus, if it is for the sake of peace with your brother that this sacrifice took place, but you have not accomplished that peace, then you take part in the sacrifice to no purpose, the good work is of no benefit to you. Therefore, let us first do that on account of which the sacrifice has been offered, and then we will benefit well from it. The Son of God 245

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came down in order to reconcile our nature to the Master. And not only for that did He come down, but also in order to make us who do these things sharers in His name. For He says: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (Matt. 5:9). Do also, according to human strength, that which the only-begotten Son of God did, becoming an agent of peace both for yourself and for others. On account of this, O peacemaker, He even calls you a son of God. And therefore He did not mention any other commandment regarding the time of the sacrifice except to be reconciled with ones brother, showing that this is the most important of all. I had wanted to extend my discourse, but what has been said is enough for those who are attentive, if they call it to mind. Beloved ones, let us continually call to mind these words, the holy greetings, and the awe-inspiring kiss of peace with each other. For this joins our minds together and makes everyone become one Body, since we all also partake of one Body. Let us be joined together in one Body, not mingling with the bodies of one another, but uniting our souls with each other in the bond of love. In this way we will be able to partake with boldness of the meal which is set forth. Even if we possess countless righteous deeds, if we bear remembrance of wrongs, they are all to no avail and in vain, and we will not be able to reap from them any benefit toward our salvation. Therefore, being conscious of these things, let us bring an end to all anger, and purifying our conscience, let us approach with all meekness and gentleness the table of Christ, to Whom is all glory, honor, and power, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Translated by Monk Moses of the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood from the original Greek, in Patrologia Graeca 49.37380.

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