Homily Four on the Transfiguration of the Lord (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily Four on the Transfiguration of the Lord

By St. John of Kronstadt

(Delivered in 1905)

I begin my speech to you, dear brothers and sisters, about the glorious Transfiguration of the Lord with the words of the Apostle Peter from his second epistle to the Jews of the Diaspora.

"For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain" (2 Pet. 1:16-18). 

Here the Apostle Peter briefly mentions how the Lord was transfigured on Mount Tabor in the presence of the three chosen Apostles: Peter, James, and John, when His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light. At the same time, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with Him.

Homily One on the Feast of Transfiguration (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

 

Homily One on the Feast of Transfiguration 

 

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on August 6, 1914)*

“Then Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up to a high mountain together, and was transfigured before them” (Matthew 17:1–2).

Many wondrous deeds have occurred in the life of the Lord, significant events, extraordinary manifestations of His divinity, but none were as astonishing as the glorious Transfiguration of the Lord. Here, in the darkness of night, alone at the summit of the mountain, the Lord prays, while three of His disciples, weary, are plunged into a deep sleep. At that moment, the Lord takes upon Himself, or rather, unveils from Himself, the light of the sun; His garments shone with purest whiteness, and before Him appeared reverently two of the highest prophets of the Old Testament, Elijah and Moses. The very night was illuminated, and the entire mountain was aglow with otherworldly, marvelous light. Awakened, His disciples were filled with wonder, marveling and tremulously beholding this unprecedented spectacle.

August: Day 6: Teaching 1: Holy Transfiguration of the Lord

 

August: Day 6: Teaching 1:
Holy Transfiguration of the Lord
 
(Lessons From the Event Being Celebrated: 
a) Hurry to Jesus Christ and He Will Calm You and Make You Happy; 
b) The Means to Live in Peace and Love)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Transfiguration of the Lord, which we celebrate today, took place in this way: Jesus Christ, taking with Him three of His disciples, Peter, James, and John, went up with them to the high mountain Tabor, and there, during prayer, He was transfigured before them, that is, He appeared in a glorified form: His face shone like the sun, His garments became white as snow, and Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Him. The Apostle Peter, delighted with such a wonderful sight, said to Jesus Christ: "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You want, let us build here three canopies: one for You, another for Moses, and a third for Elijah." But while he was still speaking, a bright cloud appeared and overshadowed them; and when they found themselves in the cloud, fear fell upon them. And behold, from the cloud came the voice of God the Father, saying: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him." When the disciples heard this voice, they were very afraid and fell to the ground. Jesus came and touched them and said, "Rise and do not be afraid." When they rose, they saw no one else except Jesus alone in His former form.

Controversy Over the 2024 Appearance of the Holy Cloud on Mount Tabor

A photo of the Holy Cloud over Nazareth at night from Mount Tabor

A Romanian Tourist Manager, Dumitru Georgeta, who often travels to the Holy Land has witnessed the miracle of the Holy Cloud enveloping Mount Tabor for the vigil of the feast of the Transfiguration on the night of August 18th into the 19th fifteen times, and this year pointed out the fact in a post on Facebook that the Holy Cloud did not appear over Mount Tabor this year while she was there for the feast.

A Romanian publication picked up on this and wrote a news report that the Holy Cloud failed to appear over Mount Tabor on the feast of the Transfiguration, which was then reported in Greek sources and possibly other languages.

However, Dumitru Georgeta, upset by this report, clarified that what was reported was not the whole story. On Facebook she had mentioned that the Israeli police would not let visitors go up Mount Tabor for this year's feast because the "organizer" of the event refused to pay the required money for a fire truck, ambulance and police to be present. However, a small group was allowed. She then says what she experienced:

Homily on the Transfiguration of the Lord (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily on the Transfiguration of the Lord

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1964)

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

Brothers and sisters beloved of God, today Christians throughout the world celebrate with great joy the most glorious Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christians rejoice and are glad in celebrating this feast, because the glorious Transfiguration of the Lord gives great consolation to the Christian heart. Our faith in Christ and our hope in Christ for eternal blessedness become firm and unshakable when we are transported in spirit to Tabor and become spectators of the Transfiguration of the Savior.

Homily Three on the Transfiguration of the Lord (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily Three on the Transfiguration of the Lord

By St. John of Kronstadt

"He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light" (Matthew 17:2).

 

Thus the Lord was transfigured according to His humanity, on Tabor. And by this we are given to know that He can miraculously transform and illuminate us, our nature, our soul and our body, darkened by sin and the passions of life, as He indeed transfigures, transforms, illuminates. You don't have to go far for examples. They happen every day to every praying and sincerely repentant Christian believer. I will ask each of you: tell me, what happens to you when you come burdened with some sin, even though you come to this church with sincere repentance and fervent prayer to God and His Most Pure Mother? Or when you are oppressed by some strong sorrow and anguish, and you pray to the Lord with tears that He would ease it, destroy it, drive it away? Did you not notice a great change in your soul soon after? You sincerely repented of your sin, condemned yourself, reproached yourself, looked soberly at your disapproving thoughts, feelings, actions, gave your word to change: your sin is forgiven, you have become calm; your soul is light, free, quiet and graceful. And if you grieved greatly and yearned for something, and expressed your sorrows and misfortunes before God or the Mother of God, the joy of all those who mourn, with obedience to the will of God, tell me, did you not soon feel a change in your soul? Peace and quiet tenderness settled in your soul with hope in the paternal providence of God, and you left after your prayer comforted and encouraged.

Homily Two on the Transfiguration of the Lord (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily Two on the Transfiguration of the Lord

By St. John of Kronstadt

"He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light" (Matthew 17:2).

Today we remember and celebrate the glorious Transfiguration of the Most Pure Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ. This transfiguration took place in the presence of three earthly witnesses – the Apostles Peter, James and John. Jesus Christ, according to custom, ascended the mountain to pray, as a man, to the Heavenly Father. While He was praying, His Divinity suddenly shone through His body: His face became as bright as the sun, and His garments, from the inner light of the Divinity and from the light of the body, became white as light – so white that no bleacher is able to make them so white. Moses and Elijah, the great prophets of old, appeared; they spoke to the Lord. What were they talking about?

Homily One on the Transfiguration of the Lord (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily One on the Transfiguration of the Lord

By St. John of Kronstadt

The Holy Church now celebrates – and we celebrate with Her – the radiant feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor and the glorification of our human nature in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. I will repeat in Russian the Gospel or the all-joyous Gospel of the Evangelist Matthew about the present day, which tells about the event of the Transfiguration.

"Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, '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.' While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!' And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. But Jesus came and touched them and said, 'Arise, and do not be afraid.' When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, 'Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead'” (Matthew 17:1-9).

Homily on the Transfiguration of the Lord (St. John Maximovitch)

Homily on the Transfiguration of the Lord

By St. John Maximovitch

When He created the world, God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Gen. 1:26). The image of God in man is manifested in his mental abilities, in his authority over nature, his power, and his ability to create. The likeness of God in him lies in his moral perfections, in his spiritual aspirations, in his ability to achieve holiness.

The image and likeness of God, in which our first parents were created, was fully reflected in them before the Fall. Sin violated both the former and the latter, although it did not completely deprive a person of them. The mind and everything else that was the image of God remained in man, but to develop them it is necessary to use great efforts, yet he achieves only a small measure of what the first parents completely received. There remains in man, to some extent, the desire to be in the likeness of God, although sometimes he falls beyond recognition.

The Experience of Saint Paisios the Athonite With the Uncreated Light

"Elder, what is the uncreated light like?"

"How should I know? In my hut, I have a built-in stove that I light to warm myself. If I want light, I light a candle and see!

Never ask for lights or gifts from God, but only repentance, which will bring humility, and then the Good God will give what one needs.

I went once to see Father David of Dionysiou. He lived in a cell, in rags, in the dark. But in that dark cell, he lived in the light. He was very advanced in the prayer, he had reached a great spiritual state. I was afraid to get something out of him! 'These things are not to be spoke about, they are not to be spoke about,' he said. Do you know what it's like in the dark to see light, without having light? To be in rags, while being in the palaces of God!

Homily Two on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Savior (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

 By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ is a glorious Despotic feast, because it refers to the Despot Christ and is closely connected with the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, and shows what Holy Scripture is and what is its purpose. These two points are interesting and will be highlighted today in this written sermon.

The first point is that what the Evangelists describe on Tabor is a living Holy Scripture. When we speak of Holy Scripture, we mean the Old and New Testaments that God joined in with His people. The Old Testament includes what is described in the holy books from the Genesis of the world and the history of the Israelite people, and the New Testament includes all those things related to the life of Christ and the activity and teaching of the Holy Apostles.

Homily One on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Savior (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

This year the Feast of the Transfiguration fell on a Sunday. Sunday is the day of the Resurrection of Christ, but also the light of the Transfiguration of Christ is the light of Christ's divinity, it is the light of the Resurrection, and the light of the Kingdom of Heaven.

On Mount Tabor Christ was transfigured before His disciples, He showed the beauty of His divinity, as much as the disciples could bear, and at the same time a cloud overshadowed the disciples, which was the presence of the Holy Spirit and through the cloud the voice of the Father was heard, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him" (Mark 8:7).

At the moment when the voice of the Father was heard, it was the greatest degree of Theophany, which is why the disciples fell to the ground. The Evangelist Matthew informs us: "And when the disciples heard this, they fell upon their faces and were sorely afraid" (Matt. 17:6). Then it was necessary for Christ to approach them, to touch them and to say to them: "Stand up and do not be afraid" (Matt. 17:7).

Homily Eight on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

The great feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord gives us a reason to remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him" (John 10:37–39).

Great and countless are the miracles of our Lord Jesus Christ: with one word He raised the dead daughter of Jairus, the head of the synagogue, the son of the widow of Nain, and even Lazarus, who had been lying in the tomb for four days; with one word of He commanded the stormy wind and the high waves of Lake Gennesaret to subside, and a great silence ensued; He fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes, besides women and children, and four thousand with seven loaves. Every day He healed the sick of various diseases, and cast out evil spirits from the demoniac; He restored sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf with one touch.