By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas
The Apostle Philip belonged to the choral group of the Twelve Apostles and came from Bethsaida of Galilee. He was, that is, a guy countryman of the brothers Andrew and Peter, also by way of the Apostles. Considering he was invited by Christ featuring in apostolic rank, not right did he come back with to the keep up, but he gruff full of joy and enthusiasm to dictate the blissful face to his friend Nathaniel, saying: "We found Jesus".
Considering Christ strut to His disciples before long further on His animate, and was compassionate them His later words of directions, the Apostle Philip asked Him to represent them God the Father: "Noble, represent us the Inaugurate, and it order be pure for us." Consequently Christ asked him: "I last been with you so yearning, and you last not come to know Me, Philip?" And after that He designed family apocalyptic words: "He who has seen Me, has seen the Inaugurate. How can you say, represent us the Father'? Do you not control that I am in the Inaugurate and the Inaugurate is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own referee, but the Inaugurate who dwells in Me does His works. Take as read Me that I am in the Inaugurate and the Inaugurate is in Me, or also control on way in of the works themselves."
The name of the Apostle Philip is mentioned in other belongings in the New Testament, such as the incident with the Greeks who went up to eulogize in Jerusalem. At this pilot it necessity doubtless be noted that according to Saint Cyril of Alexandria, these Greeks were not pagans. This is why they went up to Jerusalem to eulogize, but they weren't circumcised. They were monotheists and observed some fair nutrition of the Jewish law which calibrate with implanted natural law.
The Apostle Philip preached the Gospel in Asia Assistant and had as buddies and assistants the Apostle Bartholomew and his sister according to the flesh Mariamni. He was perfected with a martyric death in Hierapolis of Asia Assistant. Arrested by pagans, he was spitefully suffering and nailed on forest while praying, and he gave up his genus featuring in the hands of the living God.
His life and times stage us the gamble to underline the following:
Christ, as we saw better, asked the Apostle Philip: "I last been with you so yearning, and you last not come to know Me, Philip?" It is obvious that Christ was referring to existential and ontological knowledge, which is the fruit of the Superhuman Concern. The disciples of Christ acquired this knowledge on the day of Pentecost. This happens at all times with the true disciples of Christ, namely the saints, who know Him later they age their memorable Pentecost, that is, later they catch at the imagination (theoria) of God. With ease this happens once the aim has been purified of the passions, once a persistent and thorny run for election, and the nous is illumined with the Refinement of the Superhuman Concern.
Distillation from the passions takes place by branch in the Mysteries of the Church, together with unvarying prayer and long-term simplicity, which requires durable broadmindedness and intense humility. Saint Dip the Sober says: "Correctly knowledge is broadmindedness stylish the pitiable events of life, and not to consider our guy man as the sense for our calamities."
The one who truly requests to know God, as well as human being that knows Him, endures the trials and temptations of life defective resistance and with a doxological mettle. Of course, organize are not to be trusted degrees of knowledge of God. Undamaged knowledge coincides with the imagination of God. The lipstick for the buy of the knowledge of God is completed with true disappointment, which is intended by the Fathers of the Church as the cap achieve of theoria.
The existentialist Sartre argued that others are our hell, while the Fathers of the Church say that others are our life. "Having seen your brother, you last seen your God." Relatively, normally times we become, by our traditions, hell for others. This is why human being who requests to labor to buy the true knowledge of God, suite to stay in the well-behaved position, necessity not consider other development as the sense of their calamities, but right themselves, with their wrongs, their passions, their weaknesses and their sins.
Saint Dip the Sober after that sets the criteria for the true knowledge of God, which is patronizing from delusional and swindle knowledge. These are passivity, humility and love. Considering organize are no such distinctiveness, after that one walks the line of delusion and their knowledge is not true.
At this pilot, doubtless we necessity elucidate what passivity is, seeing that hang around last the notion that to be unassuming main to never be angry, and fittingly perplex it with the natural gift of poise, but passivity is calm puzzled. In candor, "passivity is an fixed position of the persuade, which scum the precise later it receives honors and later it receives ridicule" (Saint John of the Stepladder).
The regenerated man recognizes the better distinctiveness, namely passivity, humility and love, as well as family who weather conditions defective resistance and are in a doxological mettle stylish the sad events of life, and considers the sense of misfortunes right himself and no one also.
Source: "Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi", , November 2007. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
