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let it be referred to; in which exists the fullness of good things and "the hidden treasures of knowledge and wisdom," of which if anyone is deemed worthy to be within, he will find God himself inscribed upon the tablets of his heart through the grace in the spirit, beholding "with unveiled face the glory of God" by the removal of the veil according to the letter.

8. OF WHAT ARE THE FIRST ENTRANCE OF THE HOLY SYNAXIS AND THE RITES PERFORMED AFTER IT SYMBOLS? 14__096 8. Of what are the first entrance of the holy synaxis and the rites performed after it symbols?

And so our discourse has arrived, following the brief exposition from the blessed elder of the aforementioned contemplations concerning the holy Church, to make, as far as possible, a still briefer narration concerning the holy synaxis of the Church. Thus, the first entrance of the high priest into the holy Church during the sacred synaxis he taught that it bears the type and image of the first coming in the flesh of the Son of God and our Savior Christ into this world, through which He freed and redeemed the nature of men, which had been enslaved to corruption, had suffered death from itself through sin, and was tyrannically ruled by the devil, the one without responsibility and without sin paying as if responsible the entire debt on its behalf, and led it back again to the grace of the kingdom from the beginning, giving himself as a ransom and an exchange for us, and giving his own life-giving passion in exchange for our corrupting passions, a healing remedy and salvation for the whole world, after which coming, His ascension into heaven and restoration to the super-celestial throne are symbolically prefigured, through the entrance of the high priest into the sanctuary and his ascent to the priestly throne.

9. WHAT DOES THE ENTRANCE OF THE PEOPLE INTO THE HOLY CHURCH OF GOD ALSO SIGNIFY?

ENTRANCE 14__098 9. What does the entrance of the people into the holy Church of God also signify?

The entrance of the people into the Church, made together with the hierarch, signifies the turning of the unbelievers from ignorance and error to the knowledge of God, and the transfer of the faithful from vice and ignorance to virtue and knowledge, the blessed elder said. For the entrance into the Church indicates not only the turning of unbelievers to the true God, but also the correction through repentance of each one of us who, though believing, sets aside the Lord's commandments through a dissolute conduct and unseemly life. For every person, whether a murderer, or an adulterer, or a thief, or proud, or boastful, or insolent, or greedy, or avaricious, or a slanderer, or resentful, or easily led to anger and wrath, or a reviler, or a calumniator, or a whisperer, or easily overcome by envy, or a drunkard—and simply, so as not to lengthen the discourse by enumerating all the forms of vice, whoever is held by any vice whatsoever, should cease from being willingly and deliberately held and acting intentionally, and should change his life for the better, choosing virtue over vice, such a one is properly and truly understood and said to enter together with Christ, the God and high priest, into virtue, which is tropologically understood as the Church.

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ἀναφερέσθω· ἐν ᾧ τὸ πλήρωμα ὑπάρχει τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ "οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς γνώσεως καὶ τῆς σοφίας ἀπόκρυφοι», ὧν εἴ τις ἐντὸς ἄξιος γενέσθαι φανήσεται τὸν Θεὸν αὐτὸν εὑρήσει ταῖς πλαξὶ τῆς καρδίας ἐγγεγραμμένον διὰ τῆς ἐν πνεύματι χάριτος, "ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ δόξαν" ἐνοπτριζόμενος τῇ περιαιρέσει τοῦ κατὰ γράμμα καλύμματος.

Η. ΤΙΝΩΝ ΕΙΣΙ ΣΥΜΒΟΛΑ Η ΤΕ ΠΡΩΤΗ ΤΗΣ ΑΓΙΑΣ ΣΥΝΑΞΕΩΣ ΕΙΣΟ∆ΟΣ... 14__096 Η. Τίνων εἰσὶ σύμβολα ἥ τε πρώτη τῆς ἁγίας συνάξεως εἴσοδος καὶ τὰ μετ᾽

αὐτὴν τελούμενα Ἥκει δὲ λοιπὸν ὁ λόγος ἡμῖν κατὰ τὴν σύντομον ἔκθεσιν τῶν εἰρημένων

περὶ τῆς ἁγίας Ἐκκλησίας θεωριῶν παρὰ τοῦ μακαρίου γέροντος, συντομωτέραν καὶ τὴν περὶ τῆς ἁγίας τῆς Ἐκκλησίας συνάξεως διήγησιν, ὡς οἷόν τε, ποιησόμενος. Τὴν μὲν οὖν πρώτην εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν Ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ ἀρχιερέως κατὰ τὴν ἱερὰν σύναξιν εἴσοδον τῆς πρώτης τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Χριστοῦ διὰ σαρκὸς εἰς τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον παρουσίας τύπον καὶ εἰκόνα φέρειν ἐδίδασκε, δι᾽ ἧς τὴν δουλωθεῖσαν τῇ φθορᾷ καὶ παθοῦσαν ὑφ᾽ ἑαυτῆς τῷ θανάτῳ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ βασιλευομένην τυραννικῶς ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσιν ἐλευθερώσας τε καὶ λυτρωσάμενος πᾶσαν τὴν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς ὀφειλὴν ὡς ὑπεύθυνος ἀποδοὺς ὁ ἀνεύθυνος καὶ ἀναμάρτητος, πάλιν πρὸς τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐπανήγαγε τῆς βασιλείας χάριν, ἑαυτὸν λύτρον ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν δοὺς καὶ ἀντάλλαγμα, καὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων φθοροποιῶν παθημάτων τὸ ζωοποιὸν αὐτοῦ πάθος ἀντιδούς, παιώνιον ἄκος καὶ παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου σωτήριον, μεθ᾽ ἣν παρουσίαν, ἡ εἰς οὐρανὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν ὑπερουράνιον θρόνον ἀνάβασίς τε καὶ ἀποκατάστασις συμβολικῶς τυποῦται, διὰ τῆς ἐν τῷ ἱερατείῳ τοῦ ἀρχιερέως εἰσόδου καὶ τῆς εἰς τὸν θρόνον τὸν ἱερατικὸν ἀναβάσεως.

Θ. ΤΙΝΟΣ ΕΧΕΙ ∆ΗΛΩΣΙΝ ΚΑΙ Η ΤΟΥ ΛΑΟΥ ΕΙΣ ΤΗΝ ΑΓΙΑΝ ΤΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ

ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑΝ ΕΙΣΟ∆ΟΣ 14__098 Θ. Τίνος ἔχει δήλωσιν καὶ ἡ τοῦ λαοῦ εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίαν

εἴσοδος Τὴν δὲ τοῦ λαοῦ σὺν τῷ ἱεράρχῃ γενομένην εἰς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν εἴσοδον, τὴν

ἐξ ἀγνοίας καὶ πλάνης εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν Θεοῦ ἐπιστροφὴν τῶν ἀπίστων, καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ κακίας καὶ ἀγνωσίας εἰς ἀρετὴν καὶ γνῶσιν μετάθεσιν τῶν πιστῶν σημαίνειν, ὁ μακάριος ἔλεγε γέρων. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον τὴν ἐπὶ τὸν ἀληθινὸν Θεὸν ἐπιστροφὴν τῶν ἀπίστων ἡ εἰς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν εἴσοδος παραδηλοῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑκάστου ἡμῶν τῶν πιστευόντων μέν, ἀθετούντων δὲ τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Κυρίου δι᾽ ἀγωγῆς ἀκολάστου καὶ ἀσχήμονος βίου, τὴν διὰ μετανοίας διόρθωσιν. Πᾶς γὰρ ἄνθρωπος, εἴτε φονεύς, εἴτε μοιχός, εἴτε κλέπτης, εἴτε ὑπερήφανος, εἴτε ἀλαζών, ἢ ὑβριστής, ἢ πλεονέκτης, ἢ φιλάργυρος, ἢ κατάλαλος, ἢ μνησίκακος, ἢ πρὸς θυμὸν καὶ ὀργὴν εὐάγωγος, ἢ λοίδορος, ἢ συκοφάντης, ἢ ψίθυρος, ἢ φθόνῳ εὐχείρωτος, ἢ μέθυσος καὶ ἁπλῶς, ἵνα μὴ πάντα τὰ ἐκ κακίας εἴδη ἀπαριθμούμενος μηκύνω τὸν λόγον, ὅστις ὑφ᾽ οἱασδήποτε κακίας ἐνεχόμενος, ἐπὸν τοῦ ἑκουσίως κατ᾽ ἐπιτήδευσιν ἐνέχεσθαι καὶ ἐνεργεῖν κατὰ πρόθεσιν, παύσοιτο καὶ μεταβαλοῖ τὸν βίον ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον, τῆς κακίας τὴν ἀρετὴν ἀνθαιρούμενος, ὁ τοιοῦτος κυρίως τε καὶ ἀληθῶς Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ ἀρχιερεῖ νοείσθω τε καὶ λεγέσθω συνεισιέναι εἰς τὴν ἀρετήν, Ἐκκλησίαν τροπικῶς νοουμένην.