August 19/6
Feast of the Transfiguration
of our Lord God & Saviour Jesus Christ
Beautiful Sermon on the Transfiguration
by St. Gregory Palamas
(1296-1359)
Free Image – late 19th century photo of Mt. Tabor by the French photographer Bonfils
First Transfiguration upstairs in the newly renovatedย church (circa 2006) .
Father John blessing the Fruit Baskets.
Father John (Memory Eternal) atop our local “Mt. Tabor” – on Moss Rocks,ย where he reads the Transfiguration Gospel to parishionersย and we sing the tropar and kontak of the Feast ~ 2014ย
The Light of the Lord’s Transfiguration does not come into being or cease to be, nor is it circumscribed or perceptible to the senses, even though for a short time on the narrow mountain top it was seen by human eyes. Rather, at that moment the initiated disciples of the Lord ‘passed’, as we have been taught, ‘from flesh to spirit’ by the transformation of their senses, which the Spirit wrought in them, and so they saw that ineffable light, when and as much as the Holy Spirit’s power granted them to do so. ~ St. Gregory Palamas
Why was our Lord Transfigured on a mountain and not in a valley? So as to teach us two virtues: love of labour and godly thoughts – for climbing to the heights requires labour, and the heights themselves represent the elevation of our thoughts to the things of God. ~ St. Nikolai Velimirovich
The Shining Light of Mt. Tabor is a message to the whole world, about the possibility of the transfiguration of the human soul!