St. Maximos the Confessor on the "Man bearing a pitcher of water", and the Mystical Supper

The Mystical Supper (source)

 

Question: In the Gospel, who is the man in the city bearing a pitcher of water? Why water, and why are the disciples told that they’ll meet him and are to follow him? Who’s the master of the house? Why don’t the Gospel writers mention his name? What is the large upper room where a table’s been laid and in which the dread mystery of the Last Supper takes place?

   

Answer:  It’s not only the name of the man to whom the two disciples were sent to prepare the Passover which isn’t mentioned in Scripture, but the name of the city, too. So, an initial attempt at interpretation might be that the city denotes the perceptible world and the man symbolizes the human race in general, to whom the disciples of God the Word are being sent. The law of the Old Testament and the law of the New are sent as precursors to prepare His mystical feast with the human race. The former, through asceticism, cleanses our nature of every stain; whereas the latter, through the mystagogy of contemplation, elevates the mind, with its cognitive power, away from the corporeal and towards visions related to what is spiritually intelligible.

   

An indication of this is that the disciples who were sent were Peter and John. Because Peter is a symbol of action, John of contemplation. This is why it’s appropriate that they’re met first by the man bearing the pitcher of water, who symbolizes all those who, passing through the stage of practical philosophy, bear upon their shoulders the virtues, just as, within the pitcher, and with the mortification of the earthly members of their body, they also bear the grace of the Holy Spirit which, through their faith, cleanses them of every taint.

   

After him, they encounter the master of the house who shows them to the upper room, where a table has been spread. He, again, symbolizes all those who, being in the stage of contemplation, have embellished their pure and elevated intellect with sublime concepts of knowledge and with dogmas, just as the upper room had been prepared, in order to welcome the great Word in a godly manner.

   

Finally, the house itself is permanent residence in godliness, to which the practical mind in pursuit of virtue is progressing. The lord of this permanent godliness, which is now its natural possession, is the intellect illumined by the divine light of mystical knowledge. This is why, together with the practical, the supernatural presence of the Word the Saviour is required at the feast.

   

The word ‘man’ is used only once in the narrative, even though it refers to two persons: the one who’s described as bearing a pitcher of water and the other who’s the master of the house. As I say, it’s used once to refer to two person, perhaps because the one nature which they have in common is divided into the practical and the contemplative, as far as godliness is concerned. The Word, Who unites them spiritually, takes them and manifests them as one.

   

Again, if we want to attribute what’s been said to each person individually, we won’t have strayed from the truth. Because the city is the soul of each of us, to which words concerning virtue and knowledge are constantly being sent, as were the disciples of the Word. The man bearing the pitcher of water is the patient manner and thought that keeps high on the shoulders of self-restraint the unaltered grace of faith which was granted at baptism. And the house is that state of the permanent acquisition of the virtues which has been constructed as it were from many and varied stones, that is unshakeable and bold thoughts and habits.

   

The upper room is the broad and spacious mind and the intellect’s ability for cognitive power, which has been bedecked with divine visions of mystical and arcane dogmas. And the master of the house is the intellect which opens wide and is adorned with the trappings of the house, which means virtue, with the height, beauty and breadth of spiritual knowledge, too. And it is to this that the Word offers Himself at a repast, having first sent His disciples, that is, the initial spiritual notions concerning nature and time.

Easter, then, is truly the coming of the Word to our human intellect, when He Who comes, in mystic manner, the Word of God, grants fulfilment to all those worthy of it, through the offer of participation in His own good things.

(Σταυρός και Ανάσταση, Akritas Publications, pp. 84-7; Source-Pemptousia.com)

   

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

The Ceremony of the Washing of the Feet on the Holy Island of Patmos

Christ washing the feet of the Disciples: "I came not to be served, but to serve..." (source)

   

The Ceremony of the Washing of the Feet (The Niptir) on the Holy Island of Patmos
For the text of this beautiful service in English, see here.

For four hundred years now, on the pleasantly cool island of divine visions, holy little Patmos, on Great Thursday every year, there’s been a tradition of re-enacting the drama of the Last Supper, which neither time nor the years of subjugation to the Turks, Italians and Germans were able to expunge. 

This re-enactment, a symbolic scene, is a celebration which involves a great deal of grandeur, religious feeling and picturesqueness. It takes place to this day in other places as well, including, in the Orthodox world, Jerusalem and Antioch.

It’s an important event in the holy days of Great Week, not only for the island of Patmos, but for the other islands in the area: Samos, Ikaria, Leros, Kalymnos, and, in former times, for the  coastal towns and cities of Asia Minor on the opposite shore.

At the time of the Italian occupation, the number of pilgrims who came to the island to attend this wonderful ceremony was considerably fewer, but since the liberation, the ceremony of the Washing of the Feet has regained its former eminence so that, in the peaceful life of the island, it is, once more, a religious event of great significance.

There is evidence for this religious ceremony of the Washing of the Feet from the 4^thcentury, to be precise after the synod of Elvira in about 300 A. D. It was performed in very many monasteries and bishoprics in the middle years. In particular, the Byzantine emperors in their palace, in imitation of the gentle Nazarene, washed the feet of twelve of the poor among their subjects and afterwards presented them with gifts.

The whole ceremony, or rather its symbolic re-enactment, is nothing more nor less than a recollection and replication of the practical teaching of the Lord, who wished simply, by His example of washing the feet of his disciples, to teach stark humility towards the other people who share the planet with us.

On Great Wednesday, in one of the two large squares in Hora (those of Xanthou and Patriarch Theofilos II) alternately, towards the evening, a large, wooden, squarish platform is erected by a construction team of the elders of the town. Around it, the child play wild games of hide and seek. Decorating begins in the very early hours of Great Thursday. Liturgical fans and silver crosses, at intervals, with arches of palms and myrtles and with valuable carpets on the ground make for a grand sight.

The entrance, the central arch, is made of the fragrant spring flowers of the island, dominated by the blossoms on the twigs of spikenard, with its faintest of scents. On the platform, twelve seats have been placed. Six on the right and six on the left. And in the centre, opposite the entrance a chair for the Abbot. In the centre, there’s a little table with a silver bowl on it.

The tall trees surrounding the square- Xanthou, that is- with their verdant foliage cast their protective shade on the congregation of the faithful, beneath the burning spring sun. In complete silence, with moving compunction, they follow the swift development of this religious performance by the monks, brothers of the monastery, who perform the role of the disciples in this re-enactment of the divine drama of the Last Supper.

Great Thursday. The time is eleven in the morning. In the monastery, the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great has ended, with the handing out of the antidoro, the blessed bread, the “pearl” which people on the island keep for difficult times, especially someone’s last moments. With the Abbot at their head, the monks of the monastery move down to the church of the community, that of the Great Mother of God, as if by ancient custom. All the priests are attired in the same, precious, purple and gold, Byzantine vestments, gifts to the monastery from the Byzantine era, which have survived wonderfully to this day, untouched by time.

Priests and Deacons proceeding to the town square for the service (source)

   

The great bells of the monastery toll gravely and slowly. The whole atmosphere of the island resounds sweetly to their deep peals. In the delighful natural environment of spring, everything is charming. With heightened religious emotions, with deep compunction, the island lives the holy Passion of Christ for the whole of this week in a unique way and with a special tone.

From the Great Mother of God, the priests, each one with the name of one of Jesus’ disciples, proceed in twos to the appointed square. Behind them comes the abbot in a purple robe, holding his staff- since he’s a Patriarchal Exarch- and a small, gilded Bible, flanked by four deacons. All of them, priests and Abbot, wear their monastic cowls, which lend gravity and a graphic tone to the measured proceedings. Before them walks an ordinary monk, holding a huge basin and the “water of the bowl” in a silver pot. The ecclesiarch brings up the rear. As the best chanter in the monastery, it’s his job to sing psalm 50, “Have mercy on me, God”. The disciples and the Teacher arrive at one of the two chapels- Saint Foteini or Saint George, depending on the square- where the ceremony will take place. The ecclesiarch takes his position first, opposite the platform, at a prominent point, from where he will read the appointed excerpts from the four Gospels.

The four deacons cense the approach and escort the priest-disciples, two by two, onto the platform, where they bow deeply to each other and then take their seats, beginning from the outside and working inwards. They follow that order as given in the Gospels, starting with the sons of Zebedee. And thus they continue until all twelve are seated. The last one is Judas. In former days, his role was assigned to an ordinary layman, who was rewarded with 50 small coins and a cottage cheese. Later, however, the role was given to a monk. Last comes the Abbot and the four deacons escort him onto the platform, standing at his side. In the meantime, the ecclesiarch chants the beautiful Byzantine melodies for “When the glorious disciples were enlightened at the washing of the feet at the supper” (dismissal hymn) and “United in the bond of love, the Apostles…” (katavasia, canticle five).

Once everyone is seated on the platform the whole drama of the Holy Last Supper begins to unfold.

The Abbot of the Monastery of St. John the Theologian in the role of Christ, before 12 Priests in the roles of the Disciples (source)

   

It has been divided into three parts and in the first there is a wide-ranging lesson from the great teacher of love, concerning the phrase “love one another”, which is full of incident and divinely-inspired significance. After this, there follows the second part, which is the washing of the disciples’ feet as a practical demonstration of Christ’s humility. The third part is a reconstruction of Christ’s anguish at prayer on the Mount of Olives, when He’s tested as a person, finally triumphing as God.

From his prominent position, the reader, methodically and slowly reads excerpts from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John, referring to the dialogue conducted between the Teacher and His disciples. The first to be read is from Saint Mark: “At that time, Jesus took his twelve disciples and began to tell them what would happen to him”. Then follows a dialogue taken from John (4, 10-11), Mathew (20, 22-9) and Mark (10, 32-45), explaining to them what was to happen and urging them warmly to love one another.

Then, after this dialogue, comes the second part, the washing of the disciples’ feet: The reader’s text is from Saint John: “Knowing that the Father had given everything into his hands, Jesus arose from the supper and removed his outer garment. He took a towel and fastened it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet…”. At that moment, the Abbot ties a dark red, square, velvet vestment, the “towel”, round his waist and begins to pour water from the pot into the bowl. Beginning with Judas, he washes the disciples’ feet, in fact sprinkling them on their shins with rose water through an aspergillum. This is the most impressive part of the scene, together with the role of Saint Peter, who is rebuked for his initial refusal and then goes on to request that the Lord wash “not only my feet, but also my hands and head”.

“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, Sit here, while I go and pray over there. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very troubled”. At this point, the Abbot, together with the three disciples mentioned, descends from the platform and proceeds towards the edge of the square, while the disciples kneel on cushions in front of the platform, obeying His command to “wait here and keep watch”.

This is when the third part of the Last Supper is played out. It is when Christ’s soul is sick unto death and when He cries aloud “not as I wish, but you”. But at the same time, the disciples’ devotion to their teacher is also tested, at the most difficult part of the drama. At the edge of the square, the Abbot prays before the icon of “The Coming One”, a large, very old icon from an iconostas, of rare Byzantine craftsmanship, one of the treasures of the monastery. It’s a symbolic depiction of the prayer of Christ on the Mount of Olives.

A photograph of the procession in prior years. The monks are carrying the historic icon of Christ "The Coming One" (source)

   

“Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass”. And again: “Nevertheless, not as I wish, but you” (Math. 26, 40-42). Apprehension and sorrow weigh heavily on Him. And He repeats: “Is it not possible for this cup to pass?” When he turns to His disciples, He find then with drooping eyelids. He turns back to pray to His heavenly Father, strengthened now in the role He’s been ordered to shoulder for the salvation of the human race. He shouts to His disciples: “Let’s go. It’s time for the Son of Man to be betrayed in order that he may be glorified”, rousing them from their deep sleep when He approaches them for the third time.

The three get up from their knees and go back to the platform, together with the Abbot. The symbolic re-enactment of the Last Supper ends here. The Abbot takes up position near the platform and holds the Gospel and a small bunch of marjoram with which he will sprinkle the crowd with the blessed water from the basin. The laity kiss the Gospel and embrace, wishing each other “Many years”.

Finally, with the same good order and with the monastery bells tolling, the monks return to their place of abode, the grey Byzantine fortress which has been a sacred ark over many centuries.

And the people, inducted into divine matters and with souls exalted, disperse to their homes, in order to continue the rest of Great Week with the same depth of compunction, on the island of Patmos where Saint John the Evangelist had his divinely-inspired visions.
(source)
   

The Monastery of St. John the Theologian, Patmos (source)

   

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!

Excerpt from the Homily on the Betrayal of Judas, by St. John Chrysostom

The Mystical Supper (source)

   
Excerpt from the Homily on the Betrayal of Judas, by St. John Chrysostom
Translated by Monk Moses of the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood from the original Greek, in Patrologia Graeca 49.373–80. See this link for the whole text of this beautiful and moving sermon.

  
Today, beloved, our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed. It was on this approaching evening that the Jews seized him and took Him away. But do not be dejected, hearing that Jesus was betrayed; rather, be dejected and weep bitterly—not over Jesus Who was betrayed, but over the traitor, Judas. For, indeed, the One Who was betrayed saved the whole world, while the one who betrayed Him lost his own soul. And the One Who was betrayed is seated at the right hand of the Father, while the one who betrayed Him is now in hades, awaiting the inevitable punishment. Thus, weep and moan for his sake; mourn for his sake, since even our Master shed tears on his account. Seeing him, Jesus was troubled and said: One of you shall betray Me ( John 13:21). Oh, how great is our Master’s compassion! The One Who was betrayed grieved for the one who betrayed Him. Seeing him, Jesus was troubled and said: One of you shall betray Me. Why was He disheartened? In order to show His tender love and, at the same time, to teach us that it is altogether fitting to mourn, not for the one enduring evil, but for the one committing it. Committing evil is worse than enduring it; or rather, enduring evil is not evil, but committing it is evil. While enduring evil procures us the Kingdom of Heaven, committing evil results in Gehenna and punishment for us. For Blessed, says the Lord, are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt 5:10). Do you see how enduring evil has as its recompense and reward the Kingdom of Heaven?

...What will ye give me and I will deliver Him unto you? Tell me, did Christ teach you that? Did He not restrain in advance your covetous intention, saying: Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses (Matt. 10:9)? Did He not continually advise this, and also say: If someone shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matt. 5:39)? What will ye give me and I will deliver Him unto you? Oh, what madness! Tell me, for what? With what small or great accusation do you betray the Teacher? That He granted you power over demons? That He granted you the power to put an end to sicknesses? To cleanse lepers? To raise the dead? That He brought an end to the tyranny of death? For these benefactions you give this recompense? What will ye give me and I will deliver Him unto you? Oh, what madness! Or rather, what covetousness! For it is covetousness that produced all this evil: lusting after money, he betrayed the Teacher. Such is the root of this evil; worse than the devil, it excites to frenzy the souls it has conquered and renders them oblivious to everyone, both to themselves
and to their neighbors, as well as to the laws of nature, driving them out of their minds and making them insane. See how much it cast out from the soul of Judas: the fellowship, the intimacy, the common
table, the miracles, the instruction, the counsel, the admonitions—all of that was then cast into oblivion by covetousness. Thus Paul rightly said: The love of money is the root of all evil (I Tim. 6:10)...

...I have said all this so that no one will accuse Christ, saying: “Why did He not change Judas? Why did He not make him sensible and good?” How ought Judas to have been made good? By force or voluntarily? If by force, he would not have become better, for no one becomes good by force. But if, by his own deliberate choice, Judas had wanted to, then Christ would have used all means to amend his will and intent. But if he did not want to take the medicine, it is not the Physician Who is at fault but the one who evaded the treatment. Look at how much Christ did in order to win him over and save him: He taught him all wisdom by deeds and by words; He placed him above the demons; He prepared him to perform numerous miracles; He inspired fear in him with the threat of hell; He impelled him forward with the promise of the Kingdom; He continually censured his unspeakable plans, without making them public; He washed his feet along with the others and shared His table with him. He did not leave anything undone, either small or great, but Judas of his own free will remained uncorrected...

But it is time then to approach that fearful table. Therefore, let us all approach with fitting discretion and sobriety. And let no one be Judas any longer; let no one be wicked; let no one possess venom, bearing one thing in his mouth and another in his mind. Christ is present, and He Who set in order that meal of old also sets this one in order now. For it is not a man who causes the elements that are set forth to become the Body and Blood of Christ, but Christ Himself, Who was crucified for our sake. Fulfilling the figure, the priest stands and utters the words. But the power and the grace belong to God. This is My Body, the priest says. These words transform the elements set forth; and just as the words Increase and multiply and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28) were said once, but throughout all time they give our nature the power to beget children, so also from that time until now and until His Coming, these words that were said once accomplish the perfect Sacrifice on each altar table in the churches.

Therefore, let no one hide festering sores within; let no one be filled with wickedness; let no one have venom in his thoughts, lest he partake unto condemnation. For truly it was after Judas had received the Holy Gifts that the devil fell upon him, out of contempt not for the Body of the Lord but for Judas, on account of his shamelessness—so that you understand that the devil especially falls upon and repeatedly attacks those who partake of the Holy Mysteries unworthily, as with Judas at that time. For honors benefit those who are worthy, but honors cast into greater torment those who enjoy them unworthily. I do not say these things to frighten you, but in order to warn you. Therefore, let no one be Judas; let no one that enters have the venom of wickedness. The sacrifice is spiritual food; and just as bodily food that enters a stomach having foul juices makes the illness even worse—not because of its own nature but because of the sickness of the stomach—so also does it usually happen with the spiritual Mysteries. For they also, when they enter a soul that is full of wickedness, ruin and destroy it even more—not on account of their own nature but on account of the sickness of the soul that receives them.

Therefore, let no one have evil thoughts within, but let us purify our mind, for we are truly drawing near to the spotless sacrifice. Let us make our soul holy; it is possible for this to happen even in a single day. How, and in what way? If you have anything against your enemy, expel your anger, treat your wound, put an end to your enmity, so that you may receive healing from the holy table—for you are approaching the fearful and holy sacrifice. Stand in awe before the meaning of this sacrifice. The slain Christ is laid out before us. On what account was He slain and why? In order to make peace between heaven and the earth, in order to make you a friend of the angels, in order to reconcile you entirely to God, to make you, an enemy and opponent, into a friend. He gave His life for those who hate Him, but you continue to hate your fellow servant? And how can you come to the table of peace? He did not decline to die for you, but you cannot bear, for your own sake, to get rid of your anger toward your fellow servant? And what sort of forgiveness are you worthy of?

He abused me, you say, and hurt me a great deal. But what is this? The damage is only to property; by no means did he wound you like Judas did Christ, but nevertheless Christ gave His own Blood for the salvation of those who caused it to pour forth. What can you say is equal to that? If you do not forgive your enemy, you do not hurt him but yourself. You wound him many times in this present life, but you make yourself unpardonable at the judgment in the day to come. For God hates nothing so much as a man who remembers past wrongs, nothing so much as a puffed-up heart and a soul inflamed. Listen to what He says: When you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember, standing high-up at the altar, that your brother has something against you, leave … your gift at the altar and go … be reconciled to your brother, and then … offer your gift (Matt. 5:23–24).

What are you saying?—that I should leave my gift? Yes, for it was for the sake of peace with your brother that this sacrifice took place. Thus, if it is for the sake of peace with your brother that this sacrifice took place, but you have not accomplished that peace, then you take part in the sacrifice to no purpose, the good work is of no benefit to you. Therefore, let us first do that on account of which the sacrifice has been offered, and then we will benefit well from it. The Son of God came down in order to reconcile our nature to the Master. And not only for that did He come down, but also in order to make us who do these things sharers in His name. For He says: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (Matt. 5:9). Do also, according to human strength, that which the only-begotten Son of God did, becoming an agent of peace both for yourself and for others. On account of this, O peacemaker, He even calls you a son of God. And therefore He did not mention any other commandment regarding the time of the sacrifice except to be reconciled with one’s brother, showing that this is the most important of all.

I had wanted to extend my discourse, but what has been said is enough for those who are attentive, if they call it to mind. Beloved ones, let us continually call to mind these words, the holy greetings, and the awe-inspiring kiss of peace with each other. For this joins our minds together and makes everyone become one Body, since we all also partake of one Body. Let us be joined together in one Body, not
mingling with the bodies of one another, but uniting our souls with each other in the bond of love. In this way we will be able to partake with boldness of the meal which is set forth. Even if we possess countless righteous deeds, if we bear remembrance of wrongs, they are all to no avail and in vain, and we will not be able to reap from them any benefit toward our salvation.

Therefore, being conscious of these things, let us bring an end to all anger, and purifying our conscience, let us approach with all meekness and gentleness the table of Christ, to Whom is all glory, honor, and power, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
   

The Betrayal of Judas (source)

  

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us! Amen!