The Veneration of the MAGI

THE VENERATION OF THE MAGI

My beloved brothers and sisters in incarnate Logos, our only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!

On the Veneration of the MAGI

Magi, or WISE MEN, referred to a class of priestly scholars, who had great power among the Persians, not unlike the Levites among the Jews. This group of intellectuals was occupied with the study of medicine, philosophy, the natural sciences, scientific observation of the stars and planets (astrology), and the interpretation of dreams. We know that the Prophet Daniel, as a youth, was one of the first of the Jewish captives taken to Babylon in 605 B.C. He was renamed Baltasar (or Valtasa) and made chief over this society of scholars that held great honor and respect in the court of the Persian kings. Recognizing Daniel’s God as the “God of gods and Lord of kings, Who reveals mysteries.” Chaldeans, and soothsayers [Daniel 2:48; 4:6; 5:11]. The prophet then asked the king to appoint Ananias, Misael, and Azarias over the affairs of the Province of Babylon, which was done [Daniel 2:49].

The Wise Men of the Gospel were among the last successors of this group that held a dual Priestly (a hereditary Priesthood) and governmental office. The writings of their chief Magian, Daniel or Baltasar, during the 6th century B.C. concerning the Messianic prophecies, had a profound and motivating effect upon them. Among the prophecies concerning the time of the coming of Christ [Daniel 9:25-26]. The Archangel Gabriel had answered Daniel’s prayers by revealing the time span that would intervene: “Thou shalt know and understand that from the going forth of the command for the answer and for the building of Jerusalem until Christ the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks [Daniel 9:25]. They were also familiar with Balaam’s prophecy about the star shining forth from Jacob [Numbers 24:17].

Saint John Chrysostom rebuked an unbelieving Jewish nation when comparing them to the Gentile Magi. “The Magi sought the Lord Christ, born King of the Jews, among those from whose race they knew that Balaam, a Prophet from Gentiles, had prophesied that He would come. The faith of the Magi is the condemnation of the Jews. The Magi believed in the authority of their one soothsayer Balaam and the Prophet Daniel; but the Jews, from the testimony of many Prophets, refused to believe. Whereas the Magi acknowledged that the coming of Christ WOULD TERMINATE THEIR PROFANE KNOWLEDGE AND MAGICAL ARTS, THE JEWS WOULD NOT ACCEPT THE LAWGIVER DOING AWAY WITH THEIR SACRIFICES AND REFUSED TO ACCEPT THE MYSTERIES OF THE DIVINE DISPENSATION. THE MAGI CONFESSED A Stranger, the Jews REJECTED THEIR OWN.”

The Church and Canons forbid us to dabble in astrology and horoscopes; and the Magi understand that the coming of Christ was the utter destruction of their art. The great Church doctor, Saint Gregory the Great Pope of Rome, exhorts us not to believe that one’s destiny is determined by the stars, and remarks, “Far be it from the faithful to believe that there is such a thing as fate. Certain HERETICS (Priscillian believe that every person born is subject to the rule of the stars. They assume this to support their error, that a new star came out when the Lord appeared in the flesh. They hold that his same star was His destiny. Let us reflect on the words of the Gospel that speak of this very star: “till it came and stood over where the young Child was” [Matthew 2:9]. Thus it is clear that it is not the Child Who hastens to the star, but THE STAR THAT HASTENS TO THE Child. And is the destiny of the star… For it is the Creator Who has made the lives of all men Who alone governs them. Man was not made for the stars, but rather the stars were made for man.” [Homily, 10, On the Gifts of the Magi, P.L. 74:1110]

Since the Magi believed that there was a mystical influence of the stars upon earthlings, they would constantly study the heavens, seeking extraordinary signs which might herald the “Expected One.” As Blessed Theophylact, Patriarch of Bulgaria, aptly states: “Because the Magi were astrologists, the Lord brought them in an ordinary manner, as Peter, being fisherman, came away from the multitude of the fish. The famous Dismissal hymn for the feast also speaks of them, saying, “Those who worshipped the stars were taught by a star, to do homage to Thee, the Sun of Righteousness [Malachi 4:2], and now to know Thee, the Dayspring from on high.”

Saint Kosmas the Poet writes concerning this: “The Magi, beholding the strange course of an unknown and newly shining star that exceeded the brightness of all heavenly light, learned thereby that Christ the King was born on earth in Bethlehem for our salvation.” The Magi, a group already involved in political maneuvering, apart from being wise and knowledgeable, brought gifts to the newborn King. They were good men who struggled to maintain the purity of their souls. They accepted divine inspiration and were obedient to it. They then understood that the Messianic prophecy of the Kingdom would not be fulfilled immediately then and there, and they obediently departed to their own land to proclaim the newborn Christ; hence, the Persians were the first fruits of the Gentiles. “And kings shall walk in Thy light, and nations in Thy brightness” [Isaiah 60:3].

The Identities of the Magi

Thus, we see in holy icons that three Magi are travelling, either walking or riding spirited horses over mountain trails in pursuit of the star of Bethlehem. They are often depicted beyond and opposite the cave, for they were not present during those first hours after the virgin birth. One magus is a beardless youth. The second magus is a middle-aged man with a short, dark beard, while the third magus is an old man with a gray beard. In the shepherds, we witness the first sons of Israel to worship the Christ Child. The Church sees the beginning of the Hebrew Church. In the Wise Men, we see the beginning of nations, the Church of the Gentiles. According to Saint Dimitri of Rostov (1651-1709), in his investigation of the identities of these three kings, he asserts that they were kings of small regions in Persia, Arabia, and Egypt. They had arrived in Bethlehem very soon after the birth of Christ. MELCHIOR was old and withered, with long white hair and beard. It was he who offered the Lord THE GIFT OF GOLD. GASPAR or CASPAR was of ruddy complexion, young and beardless. He OFFERED THE LORD THE GIFT OF FRANKINCENSE. The third, BALTHAZAR, was dark-complexioned and heavily bearded. He GAVE THE GIFT OF MYRRH. He further writes that these three Wise Men represented THE THREE CHIEF RACES OF MEN THAT DESCENDED FROM NOAH’S THREE SONS, THAT IS, SHEM, JAPHETH, AND HAM: THEREFORE, THE ARABIAN, GASPAR, REPRESENTED SHEM; THE PERSIAN, MELCHIOR, REPRESENTED JAPHETH; THE EGYPTIAN, BALTHAZAR, REPRESENTED HAM. Thus, through these three Magi, the human race worshipped our incarnate Lord and God. [Resources: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]

(To be continued)

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“Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!”
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in our Incarnate Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George