In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!

Today the Church of Christ recalls the Saint Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council who under inspiration of the Holy Spirit formulated, explained and passed to us the truth about God imprinted in definitions of the Apostles’ Creed. Today during the Divine Service an extract from the Holy Gospel of St. John is read which is often called the pontifical prayer of Christ.

The Lord prays for people. The Lord, like a priest, interceding before the Throne, prays for us. Before being crucified, before taking terrible torture and awful shame our Saviour prays for those who will become orphans after His leaving. He prays for those who will betray Him at the first danger. The Lord prays for people because He loves them. Let’s listen again to these loving, alarming words which Christ says praying for His disciples, and, thus, for each of us, “It is for them that I pray, I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me… I am no longer in the world; but they are in the world… Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name…” (John 17, 9-11).

This prayer full of pity, alarm and hope is offered up by the One Who told His disciples, “I am the light of the world” (John 8,12). Lord prays to the Heavenly Father not only for eleven Apostles. He is God. Time doesn’t exist for Him. There exist neither “yesterday” nor “tomorrow” for Him. There is only “now” for Him. So, our Lord prays in His pontifical prayer both for the Apostles and bishops, presbyters of the Christ Church who will meet in three ages to utter, to sing, to proclaim our Creed. Christ prays for them so that the Creed may be proclaimed and adopted by the Church. “For I have given them the teaching you gave me and they have indeed accepted it and know for certain that I came from You…” (John 17,8).

Our Saviour sees everything during this praying. He sees us who are lost in passions, who get angry because of offence and loneliness, who are greedy and shiver with fear. He sees us in such a way as we are today and intercedes to our All-Father for us, “Keep them in Your name”. He prays for us because He knows how difficult it will be for us to keep our faith, how difficult it will be for us to remain credulous as children among temptation of this age.

God is for us! God is with us! God didn’t turn his back upon us when we betrayed the Crucified, when we again and again crucified Him by our sins. Again He calls us with Him to the eternal life. He calls us to the joy which only He can give, to the happiness which is possible only with Him. We often imagine Him as a severe judge who will say His just but awful verdict to us, but our Lord in His prayer to God-Father intercedes for us, He doesn’t simply ask to keep us save, but you only listen, He asks neither peace, the truth nor justice for humankind but says to His and our Father, “But now I am coming to you and I say these things in the world to share my joy with them to the full” (John. 17, 13).

I wish we didn’t forget it, I wish we head these words of our Saviour some day. To listen to Christ’s word about absolute joy not only with ear which can’t be surprised by any words or speeches but with all our heart, all depth of our soul. And then joy and the truth may return to our life as warmth returns to the earth tired of cold. Amen.

By rev. G. Sergeev