Keywords: Evangelistary, Announcement, Sacrifice, Lord’s Resurrection, Sustainer of the World, Almighty, Pantocrator
Abstract:
Instead of the Law, the Gospel is founded on the “Divine Grace”, as the power to write the Word of God within the hearts. For this holy and redeeming work, God brings forth not His Omnipotence, which is beyond resurrection, but the “might” of His strength that sustains all towards the resurrection: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit” (Zechariah 4, 6). The relation between the Body of our Lord and the Gospel, between the Eucharist and the Word, is the one between “doing” and “teaching”, symbolized by the “five breads” for the sustainment of the heart and the “two fishes” for the enlightenment of the mind. The Word cannot be separated from the Body of Christ, which was shared by our Saviour from His heart, just as the “Tablets of the Law” were housed in the Holy of Holies of the Temple. The “Pantocrator” represents the Eucharistic Christ through the sacrifice of His Body, by which, as through a “veil” (cf. Hebrews 10, 20), He consecrated the Word of the Lord as the Truth, as His Holy Gospel, held in His left hand, from which no one can take it, while His right hand blesses and sanctifies the Sacrifice of His Body. As symbols, the Eucharist and the Gospel are organically related. The subtle difference between Almightiness and Power that Sustains the World thorough the Resurrection is of paramount importance for understanding the Mystery of the Incarnation of God as Emmanuel, He who brings us back to life, for we were robbed of this “treasure”. Consequently, the most valuable reading of the Holy Scripture can be done in the light of the Orthodox Evangelistary.
Pages: 10-33