The Lord God Almighty. Akathist to God Safaof

First of all, it is necessary to clarify the origin of the phrase "God of hosts", often found in the Bible and denoting one of the names of our Lord - the Creator of the universe and everything. It came from Hebrew, or rather, from its most ancient form - the Aramite, the language on which most books of Holy Scripture were written. It is pronounced by the sons of Israel as "Zevaot" (צבאות), because it is the plural of the word "host", which sounds in Hebrew as "tsava" (צבא).

Lord of heaven and earthly armies

According to the Orthodox tradition, it is usually translated into Russian with the expression "Lord of the armies of the Angels." Thus, unlike other names of the Most High found in biblical texts, the word of Sabaoth emphasizes his power and omnipotence.

Since this name is derived from the word "host", there is a misconception that God Almighty is the personification of the God of War. However, biblical scholars rightly point out that it does not occur in texts that correspond to the period of the most active military actions of the Jewish people, for example, the era of the conquest of Canaan. On the contrary, its very frequent use is noted in the books of the prophets and psalms relating to the later period, when the tribes of Israel began their peaceful development.

Thus, the expression Lord God of Sabaoth is not limited to any narrow spectrum of his understanding, but bears the significance of the all-powerful lord and master of all earthly and heavenly powers. According to the biblical view, the stars and everything that fills the firmament is also part of His vast army.

The Lord is infinite and omnipresent

Another name for God of Sabaoth - Jehovah (יהוה), which is translated as "He will be" or "He is alive," is also widely known. It does not carry any semantic difference and is used only as an alternative. It is interesting to note that in the original text of the Bible, this word, like other names of God, is traditionally unpronounceable for Jews because of their worship of the greatness of the Creator.

An example of how in the Old Testament one of the names of God of Sabaoth is used, we find in the 3rd chapter of the Book of Exodus, which enters the Pentateuch of Moses. Familiar with the text of the Holy Scripture well remember the episode when the prophet Moses , when he was a shepherd at the priest of the land of Midian Jethro, received from the Lord a command to lead his people out of Egyptian slavery.

This great event happened on Mount Haryw, where the Most High spoke to his prophet from the flame that swept the bush of the bush. Asked by Moses what to say to the tribesmen when they ask about the name of God who sent him to them, He answered literally, "I AM THAT I AM." The original text uses the Hebrew word יהוה, that is, "Jehovah." It is not the name of God in the common meaning of this word, but merely points to His infinite being.

Here we note that in the Bible you can find other names of God. In addition to those mentioned above, there are Old Testament such as Elohim, Adonai, Yahweh and a number of others. In the New Testament this name is Jesus, translated as the Savior, and Christ is the Anointed One.

The unsociable and inseparable incarnations of God

It is noted that since the XVI century on the Orthodox icons of the Holy Trinity, the image of God of Sabaoth corresponds to one of the three Her hypostases - God the Father. This is evidenced by the inscriptions made near his figure. However, this does not mean at all that when we say the name of Sabaoth, we mean only God the Father.

As the Holy Tradition teaches us, all three persons of the Most Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - do not exist together and not separately. They can not be separated from each other, as it is impossible to imagine the shining disk of the sun without the light emanating from it and the heat being emitted. All of them are three hypostases of one entity, called the Sun - one for all the diversity of its manifestations.

So is the Most High. The divine energy that created the visible and invisible world is perceived by us as an image of God the Father. His will embodied in the Word took the image of the eternal Son, Jesus Christ. And by the power by which the Lord acts in people and the Church that he created, the Holy Spirit is. All these three hypostases are components of the one God, and therefore, by naming one of them, we mean the other two. That is why the expression God the Father, the Lord of Sabaoth, includes an indication both of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The divine power embodied in the name

In Orthodox theology, Divine names reflect the totality of its manifestations in the world around us. For this reason, He is of the same name. In the diversity of His relation to the created (that is, created by Him) world, the Lord gives Himself to all things, sending down His infinite Grace to Him. Its manifestations in our life are endless.

It is important to keep in mind that Divine names are not an independent rational concept, but merely recreate His image in the world around us. For example, the expression God Almighty, as mentioned above, emphasizes His authority over all earthly and heavenly powers, and Jehovah testifies to the infinity of being. As the outstanding theologian of the third century, the first bishop of Paris, Saint Dionysius, pointed out in his writings, the names of God are "the created analogue of the uncreated Creator".

The names of the Lord in the writings of St. Dionysius

Developing his teaching, as a divine name, the theologian used a number of terms used in ordinary speech to designate purely positive concepts. For example, God Almighty is called by him as Goodness. This name he gives to the Lord in view of that ineffable goodness, which He generously exudes to the whole created by Him the world.

The effulgent radiance with which God fills the earth gives the foundation to Saint Dionysius to call Him Light, and the charm He bestows upon His creations is Beauty. By uniting these concepts in one word, he gives the name of Love to God. In the writings of Dionysius, we meet also such names of the Lord as Good, Unity, Life, Wisdom and many others, the rationale of which follows from the very doctrine of the One and Ever-Exist God.

Prayer born on the banks of the Neva

Such a naming of God in words that characterize his basic qualities can also be found in the widely known prayer to the Lord, composed by the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. In it, calling God Power, the saint pleads to support him, exhausted and falling. Calling the Supreme Light, asks to enlighten the soul darkened in everyday passions, and giving Him the name of Grace, trusts in boundless mercy.

Praise hymns that came to Russia from Byzantium

In the first years that followed the Baptism of Rus, on the lands consecrated with the light of true faith, an active process of translation from Greek into Russian of various liturgical texts that came to us from Byzantium began. A significant place among them was occupied by akathists belonging to the genre of Orthodox hymnography and representing laudatory songs written in honor of the Lord God, His Most Pure Mother, and also angels and saints.

A structural feature of the akathists is the presence of a short introduction called kukulia, followed by 12 large stanzas called icots and ending with an unchanged refrain beginning with the words "Rejoice ..." and the same number of small stanzas - kontakion, at the end of each of which is " Hallelujah!"

Akathist to the Eternal God

It is hardly possible to reliably determine the historical period in which the Akathist to God was created, but, having got to Russia, he took a firm place in the national hymnography. From time immemorial, its text is read both in the composition of certain festive prayers, and during general worship. The text of the akathist both in the old-printed tradition and in the manuscript variant was traditionally placed in such liturgical books as the Akafestnik, the Hours, the Psalter the Followed, and also the Triodion the Posty.

From the traditional writing of akathists, he differs only in that the final words for each icon of the word "Rejoice ..." are replaced by more appropriate contents - "Lord God ...". From the first lines, in which the Lord is called the Raised Warmaster of the Fiery and Heavenly Powers, the entire text of the akathist is imbued with the spirit of high veneration of the Creator of the universe, and therefore the generally accepted in Orthodoxy "Have mercy on me!" Sounds like a natural and natural conversion of the creature to its Creator.

Akathist, which included the history of the world

With careful reading of the text, it is not difficult to see that the Akathist to the God of Sabaoth is a rather complete exposition of the Christian doctrine of the Triune God. In addition, in an extremely compressed in volume, but deep in content form, it presents the main events of the Holy History from the Creation to the Sacrifice of Christ. This feature of it, combined with the high artistic construction and transfer of material, brings this akathist to the most striking works of Christian hymnography.