THE HOLY TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD, GOD, AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST 6th of August (Part II)

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE HOLY TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD, GOD,
AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST (6th of August)
Part II

The Greek word for Transfiguration is Metamorphosis and int means change of form. In other words, at a certain moment our Lord Christ REVEALED WHAT HE HAD BEEN CONCEALING, HE MANIFESTED THE GLORY OF THE DIVINITY WITH WHICH HIS HUMAN NATURE WAS UNITED FROM THE MOMENT OF HIS CONCEPTION IN THE WOMB OF THE THEOTOKOS AND EVER VIRGIN MARY. Through His great love for mankind our Lord Christ concealed what he alway had, IN ORDER THAT THE DISCIPLES SHOULD NOT "BE BURNED" BY REASON OF THEIR UNFITNESS, BECAUSE THEY HAD NOT YET BE PREPARED.

At that moment our Savior Jesus Christ was transfigured, "NOT ASSUMING SOMETHING THAT HE WAS NOT, NOR CHANGING INTO SOMETHING WHICH HE WAS NOT, BUT MANIFESTING WHAT HE WAS TO HIS OWN DISCIPLES" (Saint John of Damaskos). Essentially, when we speak of the Transfiguration we mean THAT HE MANIFESTED THE GLORY OF HIS DIVINITY, WHICH HE KEPT UNSEEN IN THE VISIBLE BODY, BECAUSE MEN WERE NOT ABLE TO FACE IT.

Saint John Chrysostom says that Christ did not show His WHOLE DIVINITY, but a SMALL ENERGY OF IT. And He did this, on the one hand, TO GIVE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THE DIVINE GLORY OF THE KINGDOM IS LIKE, and on the other hand, OUT OF LOVE FOR MANKIND, LEST THEY EVEN LOSE THEIR LIFE ON SEEING THE FULL GLORY OF THE GODHEAD. Therefore the mystery of the Transfiguration is both A REVELATION OF THE KINGDOM AND AN EXPRESSION OF GOD’S LOVE AND HIS PHILANTHROPY.

It is said in the liturgical texts that during the Transfiguration our Lord Christ DEIFIED THE HUMAN NATURE WHICH HE ASSUMED. But this is said with a definite meaning and does not mean that it was only then that human nature was deified. According to Saint John of Damaskos, HUMAN NATURE WAS DEIFIED BY THE HYPOSTATIC UNION AND COMMUNION WITH GOD THE LOGOS/WORD WHICH CAME ABOUT FROM THE MOMENT OF CONCEPTION IN THE WOMB OF THE THEOTOKOS ON THE DAY OF THE ANNUNCIATION. At that moment THE DIVINITY DEIFIED THE HUMAN NATURE, WHILE THE HUMAN NATURE WAS DEIFIED (Saint Gregory the Theologian). During the Transfiguration of our Savior Christ this human nature, DEIFIED BY ITS ASSUMPTION BY GOD THE LOGOS/WORD, WAS MADE MANIFEST TO THE DISCIPLES. Previously it was UNKNOWN, now IT BECAME MANIFEST. It is this sense that several troparia (hymns) speak about the deification (theosis) of human nature during the Transfiguration.

This very fact leads us to the view that on Mt ha. Tabor we do not have only a Transfiguration, a revelation of Christ, because He really showed some rays of His Divinity the, but we also have A TRANSFORMATION OF THE DISCIPLES. The disciples were GRANTED TO SEE THE DEIFICATION (THEOSIS) OF THE HUMAN NATURE OF CHRIST, PRECISELY BECAUSE THEY THEMSELVES WERE TRANSFIGURED. The Holy Fathers of the Church speak OF A CHANGE in the Disciples. "They were changed, and SO THEY SAW THE CHANGE" (Saint Gregory Palamas). This means that there was a change, a Transfiguration of Christ, but this became known because there was also a change, A TRANSFIGURATION OF THE DISCIPLES.

The transfiguration of the Disciples took place in their whole psychosomatic being. The Disciples did not see the divine light only with their NOUS, which is the EYE OF THE SOUL, but also with those bodily senses which had previously been empowered by the UNCREATED ENERGY OF GOD and transfigured in order to see it. The bodily eyes ARE BLIND TO GOD’S LIGHT, SINCE MAN’S EYES ARE CREATED AND CANNOT SEE THE UNCREATED LIGHT. THIS IS WHY THEY WERE CHANGED BY GOD’S ACTION AND GRANTED TO SEE THE GLORY OF GOD (Saint Gregory Palamas). [Resources: The Feasts of the Lord. An Introduction to the Twelve feasts and Orthodox Christology by Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos)

(To be continued)

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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
+ Saint John Chrisostomos

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With sincere agape in Christ’s Divine Transfiguration and Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George