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prayers. Therefore, putting away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk. Then the readings are succeeded by the heavenly speech of the angels, the praise of God, the song of the powers above; as the blessed John both saw and wrote, saying: I heard the powers above like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia.

After this, when all has been proclaimed, and the forerunners and ministers cease to herald and announce the Master's ascent to the ambo, with the priests seated for a time, and the ministers having fallen silent, and the hour arriving for the insatiable Master and Lord of glory to appear on the high place, and the people preparing their ears for the hearing of the God-spoken and life-giving words, and pushing themselves forward, and approaching the ambo, and a great silence having fallen, when finally it is not permitted for anyone to be seated, not an archbishop, not a priest, not a king, on account of the surpassing glory of the one who is appearing, those who hold the rank of angels cry out with power, saying to all, both small and great: Upright, let us all hear what the Lord God will speak; upright, let us hear what the King of kings will command, and what he desires; upright, let us hear the words and commandments of eternal life; for his commandment is eternal life. But what does "Upright" mean or imply? For I know that many understand it to mean only the rising from their seats; but I suspect the word has a greater depth, and signifies not only the standing up from the seats, but also a more mystical meaning; that is, upright in faith, upright in heart, upright in thoughts, in love, in confession, upright towards every commandment of the Lord, upright, upwards toward heaven. As rational beings, set your minds on things above, and not like beasts, bowing down. Then, with all having risen and standing in fear, to hear what the Lord will relate to us in Scripture, as the prophet David foretold, what He who is terrible in counsels will command, what He will enjoin, what He desires. Then is lifted up also the pearl of great price and the expectation of the nations, the light of the world, the grace poured from the lips of our Savior God, the relief of the afflicted, the release of the bound, the redemption of sins, 60.686 the raising up of the fallen, the healing of the sick, the hope of the hopeless, the help of the weary, the joy of the repentant, the refuge of the persecuted, the law of liberty for those oppressed by the adversary, the net that does not kill, but gives life to those submerged in the salty sea of the world, the springs of waters, the foundations of the world, the four rivers proceeding from the paradise of the holy mouth of Christ. And when the divine and venerable and undefiled Gospels are opened, the earthly angels, the priests, I mean, cry out again with fear to the people, Let us attend; that is, Here be the mind of each, here the hearts of all, let no one be distracted, let no one look around, let no one whisper. Let us attend, for God is speaking; let us attend, for the King of heaven and earth and all creation is speaking with us; let us attend, the great shepherd is distributing the food of life for souls; let us attend, he who killed death and conquered the world, promises to us, the unworthy, a joy without end and a kingdom that has no end. O the incomparable love for mankind! O the inexpressible goodness! That He himself, the invisible, the uncontainable, the Creator and Master of all, whom heaven and earth and sea tremble before, to whom every knee bends of things in heaven and on earth and under the earth, not through an angel or through the Seraphim or through

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προσευχάς. Ἀποθέμενοι οὖν πᾶσαν κακίαν καὶ πάντα δόλον καὶ ὑποκρίσεις καὶ φθόνους καὶ πάσας καταλαλιὰς, ὡς ἀρτιγένητα βρέφη, τὸ λογικὸν ἄδολον γάλα ἐπιποθήσατε. Εἶτα τοῖς ἀναγνώσμασι διαδέχεται ἡ οὐράνιος λαλιὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ αἶνος, τῶν ἄνω δυνάμεων ἡ τραγῳδία· καθὼς ὁ μακάριος Ἰωάννης ἑώρακέ τε καὶ ἔγραψε λέγων· Ἤκουσα τῶν ἄνω δυνάμεων ὡς φωνὴν ὄχλων πολλῶν, καὶ ὡς φωνὴν βροντῶν ἰσχυρῶν λεγόντων, Ἀλληλούϊα.

Μετὰ τοῦτο ὅτε λοιπὸν προκηρυχθῇ πάντα, καὶ καταπαύσουσιν οἱ πρόδρομοι καὶ λειτουργοὶ κηρύσσειν καὶ μηνύειν τοῦ ∆εσπότου τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἄμβωνος ἄνοδον, τῶν ἱερέων τέως καθεζομένων, καὶ τῶν λειτουργῶν σιωπησάντων, καὶ τῆς ὥρας καταφθανούσης τοῦ ἀναφανῆναι ἐφ' ὑψηλοῦ τόπου τὸν ἀκόρεστον ∆εσπότην καὶ Κύριον τῆς δόξης, καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ τὰς ἀκοὰς ἑτοιμάζοντος πρὸς ἀκρόασιν τῶν θεολέκτων καὶ ζωοποιῶν ῥημάτων, καὶ ὠθούντων ἑαυτοὺς, καὶ τῷ ἄμβωνι πλησιαζόντων, καὶ σιγῆς πολλῆς γενομένης, ὅτε λοιπὸν οὐκ ἔξεστί τινα καθέζεσθαι, οὐκ ἀρχιερέα, οὐχ ἱερέα, οὐ βασιλέα ἕνεκεν τῆς ὑπερβαλλούσης δόξης τοῦ ἀναφαινομένου, κράζουσιν ἐν δυνάμει οἱ τὴν τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐπέχοντες τάξιν, λέγοντες πρὸς πάντας μικρούς τε καὶ μεγάλους· Ὀρθοὶ πάντες ἀκούσωμεν τί λαλήσει Κύριος ὁ Θεός· ὀρθοὶ ἀκούσωμεν τί κελεύσει, καὶ τί βούλεται ὁ Βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλέων· ὀρθοὶ ἀκούσωμεν ῥήματα καὶ ἐντολὰς ζωῆς αἰωνίου· ἡ γὰρ ἐντολὴ αὐτοῦ ζωὴ αἰώνιός ἐστι. Τὸ δὲ, Ὀρθοὶ, τί ἄρα σημαίνει ἢ καταδέχεται; Οἶδα γὰρ, ὅτι πολλοὶ τὴν ἐκ τῶν θρόνων ἔγερσιν νοοῦσι καὶ μόνον· ἐγὼ δὲ πλεῖόν τι ὑπονοῶ ἔχειν βάθος τὸ ῥῆμα, καὶ οὐ μόνον τὴν ἐκ τῶν θρόνων ἀνόρθωσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μυστικώτερόν τι σημαίνειν νόημα· τουτέστιν, ὀρθοὶ τῇ πίστει, ὀρθοὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὀρθοὶ τοῖς λογισμοῖς, τῇ ἀγάπῃ, τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ, ὀρθοὶ πρὸς πᾶσαν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Κυρίου, ὀρθοὶ ἄνω πρὸς τὸν οὐρανόν. Ὡς λογικοὶ τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖτε, καὶ μὴ ὡς τὰ κτήνη κάτω νεύοντες. Εἶτα πάντων ἀναστάντων καὶ ἐν φόβῳ ἱσταμένων, ἄκουσαι τί ἄρα Κύριος διηγήσεται ἡμῖν ἐν Γραφῄ, καθὼς προεσήμανεν ὁ προφήτης ∆αυῒδ, τί κελεύσει, τί ἐντέλλεται, τί βούλεται ὁ φοβερὸς ἐν βουλαῖς. Εἶτα ἀνυψοῦται καὶ ὁ πολυτίμητος μαργαρίτης καὶ προσδοκία τῶν ἐθνῶν, ἡ φωταγωγία τοῦ κόσμου, ἡ χάρις ἡ ἐκ τῶν χειλέων χυθεῖσα τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Θεοῦ, ἡ ἄνεσις τῶν θλιβομένων, ἡ λύσις τῶν δεδεμένων, ἡ λύτρωσις τῶν ἁμαρτίων, 60.686 ἡ ἀνόρθωσις τῶν πεπτωκότων, τὸ ἰατρεῖον τῶν νοσούντων, ἡ ἐλπὶς τῶν ἀπηλπισμένων, ἡ βοήθεια τῶν καταπονουμένων, ἡ χαρὰ τῶν μετανοούντων, ἡ καταφυγὴ τῶν διωκομένων, ὁ νόμος τῆς ἐλευθερίας τῶν καταδυναστευομένων ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου, ἡ σαγήνη ἡ μὴ θανατῶσα, ἀλλὰ ζωοποιοῦσα τοὺς ἐν τῇ ἁλμυρᾷ τοῦ κόσμου θαλάσσῃ βυθιζομένους, αἱ πηγαὶ τῶν ὑδάτων, τὰ θεμέλια τῆς οἰκουμένης, οἱ ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου τοῦ ἁγίου στόματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐκπορευόμενοι τέσσαρες ποταμοί. Καὶ ἀνοιχθέντων τῶν θείων καὶ σεπτῶν καὶ ἀχράντων Εὐαγγελίων, κράζουσι πάλιν μετὰ φόβου οἱ ἐπίγειοι ἄγγελοι, οἱ ἱερεῖς, φημὶ, πρὸς τὸν λαὸν, Προσχῶμεν· τουτέστιν, Ὧδε ὁ νοῦς ἑκάστου, ὧδε αἱ καρδίαι πάντων, μηδεὶς μετεωριζέσθω, μηδεὶς περιβλεπέσθω, μηδεὶς ψιθυριζέσθω. Προσχῶμεν, Θεὸς ὁ λαλῶν· προσχῶμεν, οὐρανοῦ γὰρ καὶ γῆς καὶ πάσης κτίσεως ὁ Βασιλεὺς πρὸς ἡμᾶς διαλέγεται· προσχῶμεν, ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ μέγας τροφὴν ζωῆς ψυχῶν διανέμει· προσχῶμεν, ὁ τὸν θάνατον φονεύσας, καὶ τὸν κόσμον νικήσας, χαρὰν ἀπλήρωτον καὶ βασιλείαν μὴ ἔχουσαν τέλος ἐπαγγέλλεται ἡμῖν τοῖς ἀναξίοις. Ὢ τῆς ἀνεικάστου φιλανθρωπίας! ὢ τῆς ἀνεκδιηγήτου ἀγαθότητος! Ὅτι αὐτὸς ὁ ἀόρατος, ὁ ἀχώρητος, ὁ πάντων ∆ημιουργὸς καὶ ∆εσπότης, ὃν φρίσσει ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ καὶ ἡ θάλασσα, ᾧ κάμπτει πᾶν γόνυ ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ καταχθονίων, οὐ δι' ἀγγέλου ἢ διὰ τῶν Σεραφεὶμ ἢ δι'