TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD GOD AND SALVATION OF OURS JESUS CHRIST

In the third year of His preaching on earth, the Lord Jesus spoke more often to His disciples about His close suffering, but also about His glory after suffering on the cross. So that His upcoming suffering would not weaken the disciples and that they would not fall away from Him, He wanted to show them part of His divine glory before His suffering. That’s why he took Peter, James and John with him, went out with them at night to Mount Tabor, and there he was transfigured in front of them. And his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as the world. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, who talked with him. And Peter answered Jesus and said: Lord! It is good for us to be here, if you want us to build three gazebos here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud saying: This is my beloved son, who is according to my will, listen to him (Matt. 17). Why did the Lord take only three disciples to Tabor? Because Judas was not worthy to see the divine glory of the Teacher whom he would betray, and the Lord did not want to leave him under the mountain, so that the traitor would not justify his betrayal. Why is he transformed into a mountain and not a valley? To teach us hard work and devotion to God. Because climbing to a height requires effort, and height represents the height of our thoughts. Why did he transform at night? Because the night is more suitable for prayer and meditation than the day, and because the night covers with darkness all the earthly beauty and reveals the beauty of the starry sky. Why did Moses and Elijah appear? To dispel the Jewish delusion that Christ is one of the prophets. That is why he appears as the King of the prophets, and Moses and Elijah as his servants. Until then, the Lord showed the disciples his divine power many times, and on Tabor he showed them his divine nature. That seeing His Divinity and hearing the heavenly testimony about Him as the Son of God should have served the disciples in the days of the Lord’s suffering to strengthen their unshakable faith in Him and His ultimate victory. The Transfiguration of the Lord is one of the most important church holidays and one of the twelve great feasts of the Lord. It is celebrated on August 6 according to the old calendar. That day celebrates the moment when Christ’s divine nature became visible for the first time. On the Transfiguration, grapes are consecrated in the church and distributed to the people as a sign of gratitude to God for the fruits for food. In regions where there are no grapes, other fruits are consecrated, such as apples. Since the holiday is always at the time of the Holy Mother’s Lent, fasting is also prescribed on that holiday. The beginnings of the liturgical celebration of this holiday are related to the period from the 6th to the 8th century and the Homilies of the Holy Fathers on this bright holiday. Already in the 8th century, the holiday was celebrated throughout the Christian East.