Miracles performed by Peter. History of the Christian Church
Apostle Peter
The Apostle Peter was put in prison for the third time. He sat there for several days. They put him in chains. In addition to the watchmen who stood at all the doors, two sentries were posted at night, and he slept between them. One night it suddenly became light in the dungeon, an angel of the Lord appeared and said to him: “Get up quickly!” Peter stood up, the chains fell from his hands. The angel ordered to put on shoes, get dressed and follow him.
Peter follows the angel and thinks if he sees all this in a dream? The first sentries passed, the second, came to the last gate to the street. The heavy gates opened without noise of their own accord, and they went out of the prison, went down one street, and the angel disappeared. Looking around, Peter said, "Yes, now I see that God has sent His angel to save me." Then he went to the house where the apostles and other believers were going to pray to God. You can probably guess why they gathered for prayer at night. During the day they were afraid of the Jews. Peter came up, knocked on the door, a maid came out and asked: “Who is there?” Peter responded. When the maid heard Peter's voice, she was so delighted that, forgetting to unlock the door for him, she ran into the upper room (room) to say that Peter was standing at the porch. "Are you out of your mind?" - attacked her. She argued that she had heard Peter's voice. And he knocks and waits to see if he will be let in soon. Finally unlocked. Peter told how the angel brought him out of prison, and the disciples rejoiced and thanked the Lord.
The Apostle Peter preached about Jesus Christ not only in Jerusalem. He traveled all over the Jewish land, was in foreign distant lands, spoke about Jesus and baptized the Gentiles. He went to Rome, where the Roman emperors lived, and there he converted many to the faith of Christ. He was even in the palace, where he baptized the wife of the Roman emperor.
Miracles Performed by the Apostle Peter
The Apostle Peter, like other disciples of Christ, had a special power from God to heal the sick and work various miracles. As he passed along the street, the sick were carried out and laid on the road along which he was walking. You have certainly seen your shadow moving behind you as you walk or run. The most seriously ill, taken out into the street, immediately became healthy, as soon as the shadow of the Apostle Peter, passing by, fell on them.
In the city of Lydda, he healed a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed for eight years and could not get out of bed. Aeneas immediately recovered, got up and began to walk. Many who saw this miracle believed in Christ.
At this time, in the neighboring city of Joppa, one pious girl Tabitha, who believed in Jesus Christ, fell ill and died. After death, she was washed and laid on the table. When they heard that the Apostle Peter was not far away, they sent for him. When he arrived, the women who were in the house wept and showed him the shirts and dresses that Tabitha had made. Peter sent everyone out of the room, knelt down, prayed to God, then, turning to the deceased, said: “Tabitha! Get up!" The deceased opened her eyes and sat up. And she went back to her work.
The release of the Apostle Peter from prison. (Acts 12:1-11)
An angel leads the apostle Peter out of prison. (Acts 12:1-17)
In Rome, a noble lady's son died. The apostle Peter said to the deceased: “Young man, get up! Get up! The Lord Jesus Christ resurrects you!” The dead man came to life and stood up.
Martyrdom of the Apostle Peter
When Peter was in Rome, the depraved and cruel emperor Nero reigned there, who, like other pagans, did not like Christians. He ordered them to be seized and tortured. What have they done to Christians! They beat, flogged, crucified on crosses, chopped off hands, feet, heads, burned in fire, boiled in hot oil, tore off nails and skin from the whole body, pulled out tongues, gouged out eyes, gave them to be eaten by wild animals, hung on trees and hacked with iron with a rake, smeared the whole body with pitch and set it on fire. Many, many other torments were invented by evil pagans to force Christians to renounce Christ and worship pagan idols. It is terrible to even talk about the torments that Christians endured from the pagans. Thank God that we live now, and not at that time! You and I, friends, perhaps, could not endure these torments. And Christians endured all this, did not renounce Christ, did not pray to idols and did not offer pagan sacrifices. Thousands of people died for Christ. This angered the tormentors even more. They especially tried to torture the apostles and Christian teachers.
Christians were afraid that the pagans would seize, torture and kill the Apostle Peter. They urged him to leave Rome. Peter obeyed and slowly left the city at night. He has already left the city gates, when he suddenly sees that the Savior Himself, Jesus Christ, is coming towards him. Peter was afraid and rejoiced, bowed to Him and asked: “Lord! Where are you going?" The Lord replied, “I am going to Rome to be crucified there again.” And he disappeared. Peter guessed what he had done wrong, running away from torment, and returned to Rome, where he was seized by the pagans, imprisoned and sentenced to be crucified on a cross. The Apostle Peter asked not to be crucified like Christ, he is not worth it, but to be crucified upside down. So they did. His legs were nailed on top, and his head hung down.
Apostle Paul
Paul was originally called Saul. Saul was a Pharisee who could not stand the disciples of Christ. He walked around Jerusalem, broke into houses and sent everyone who believed in Christ to prison. But this seemed to him not enough. He went to the high priest Caiaphas and asked to be allowed to go to the city of Damascus to catch all the believers in Christ there and send them to the Jerusalem prison. The high priest allowed, and Saul went. Around noon he approached Damascus. The day was bright, not a single cloud in the sky. Suddenly, a light brighter than the sun poured from the sky. Saul and all who were with him could not endure such a bright light and fell to the ground in fear. Then Saul heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you chasing me?" Saul asked, "Who are you, Lord?" “I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are driving away!” the Lord replied. Saul immediately remembered all his evil deeds, how he imprisoned and killed Christians. “What will You command me to do, Lord?” - he asked.
Saul on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9:1-8)
Christ ordered him to get up and go to Damascus, where he would be told what to do. Saul's companions heard someone talking to him, but they couldn't make out the words. Saul got up, wanted to go, but could not. Do you know what happened to him? He is blind. They took him by the hand and led him to Damascus. For three whole days, out of grief, he did not eat or drink anything, until the Lord sent His disciple Ananias to him, who healed Saul from blindness and baptized him. From that time on, Saul not only stopped the persecution of Christians, but began to preach Christ, telling everyone about the life and miracles of Christ, and he persuaded everyone to believe in the Lord and pray to Him. Saul became an apostle and baptized all those who believed in Christ. They began to call him Paul.
Miracles Performed by the Apostle Paul
Once the apostle Paul told about Jesus Christ to one chief (the proconsul of the city of Pafa Sergius). There was also a magician, a sorcerer, who interfered with him, persuaded Sergius not to listen to Paul. The apostle said to him: “Behold the hand of the Lord is upon you (here is your punishment for knocking people down): you will be blind and you will not see the sun for a long time.” The magician went blind at that very moment. And the proconsul, seeing the miracle, believed in Christ.
In the city of Lystra, the apostle Paul said to a lame man who had never been able to control his legs: “Stand up straight!” He jumped up and began to walk.
In the city of Philippi, the pagans attacked the apostles Paul and Silas (out of the seventy apostles), beat them, put them in prison, and ordered the watchman to look after them well. He put them in chains and locked them in the most reliable, strong prison. Around midnight, Paul and Silas prayed to God and sang sacred songs. The rest of the prisoners listened to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake: the walls of the dungeon shook and were ready to fall; all the doors were opened, and the fetters fell from all. The prison watchman half-awake thought that all the prisoners had run away, grabbed a sword and wanted to kill himself, but Pavel shouted to him: “Stop! We are all here!” They lit a fire, began to look and saw that no one had run away. The watchman threw himself at the feet of Paul and Silas and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” They answered: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved yourself and your family!” And they began to tell everyone who was here about Jesus Christ. The watchman immediately washed their wounds, brought them to his house and prepared supper. That very night the watchman and all his household were baptized.
In the city of Troas, the apostle Paul raised the dead. Christians gathered for prayer at night, because during the day it was impossible. The pagans, who were looking for Christians everywhere, could take away the worshipers, disperse them, interfere with prayer, ridicule the rites, desecrate the sacraments. One Sunday the Christians gathered at night. They served mass (performed the sacrament of communion) and took communion. The apostle Paul gave sermons. The service took a long time. Around midnight, one young man, feeling very tired, sat down on the window, dozed off, fell asleep and fell into the street from the third floor. He crashed to death. Pavel went down to the street, leaned over the dead man, hugged him and said: "Don't worry, his soul is in him." The young man immediately revived.
The miraculous salvation of the Apostle Paul and his companions. (Acts 27:27–44)
One day, Paul was being taken on a ship to a Roman prison. Before that, the apostle warned that there would be a terrible storm at sea, so it’s better to wait a bit, not to go. They did not listen to him, but when they went to sea, such a terrible storm arose that they threw all the cargo from the ship into the sea, all the things that anyone had, in order to make the ship lighter. The sky was covered with thick black clouds: neither the sun nor the stars are visible, a strong wind howls, which breaks and tears everything. All you can hear is how the sails and ropes burst and tear, the boards and logs crack and creak. It's scary: it seems that at any moment the ship can be flooded with waves, which then lifted it like a light chip, then threw it down. This terrible storm continued for two whole weeks. Finally, Paul stood up among his companions, who were almost dying of fear and hunger, and said to them: “Calm down! That night, an angel of God appeared to me and said that we would not drown, we would stay alive. Only the ship will crash. It's been fourteen days since you haven't eaten anything. Eat something." He took the bread, prayed to God and began to eat. Others, looking at Pavel, also ate. Soon we saw the shore. The ship smashed its nose into the sand with all its might and ran aground. It began to fill with water and break. Everyone rushed to swim to the shore, and those who did not know how to swim grabbed boards and logs, which were carried to the shore by the waves. As Paul said, it happened: no one drowned, everyone was saved.
All wet, chilled, they ended up on the island of Melit-Malta. The inhabitants accepted them, lit a fire to dry them and keep them warm. Paul picked up an armful of brushwood, and when he put it on the fire, a snake, a viper, crawled out of the brushwood, and bit into his hand. Everyone thought that Paul was about to fall and die, but he shook off the snake into the fire and remained alive.
The ruler of this island had a father with a fever, who, in addition, had a stomachache. Paul went to the sick man, prayed, and laying his hands on him healed him. Here he cured many other patients.
Apostle Paul worked many, many miracles, healed the sick many. The sick were cured even when the apostle's belts and handkerchiefs were placed on them, with which he tied his head.
Martyrdom of the Apostle Paul
The Apostle Paul endured many persecutions from Jews and Gentiles. How many times he was taken to court, imprisoned, beaten with sticks and stones! How many times Jews and pagans wanted to kill him because he believes in Christ and teaches this faith to others! But he feared neither persecution, nor prison, nor death. He told everyone about Jesus Christ, taught everyone to believe in Him. To do this, he went to Greece, Italy and other countries. Finally, in Rome, on the orders of Nero, the pagans cut off his head.
The Sermon and the Death of the Other Apostles
What happened to the other apostles? After the ascension of the Lord, the apostles cast lots on which of them to which land to go to preach the teachings of Christ and baptize believers. And they parted from Jerusalem in different directions. Where on foot, where on a ship they traveled to the most distant countries and told everyone about Jesus Christ, about what it was. true god Who saves all who believe and pray to Him. Many attentively listened to the words of the apostles and were baptized with joy. But there were also evil people who did not want to hear about Christ. The apostles and those whom they converted to Christianity, because they did not recognize pagan idols and did not pray to them, were expelled from the cities, imprisoned and killed. All the apostles suffered for Christ; all, except for one John the Evangelist, were killed by Jews or pagans.
Holy Evangelist John the Theologian on the island of Patmos. (Apocalypse 1:9)
One of them, Jacob, who by God's lot was a bishop, bishop of Jerusalem, was thrown by the Jews from the high roof of the temple. Jacob was badly crushed on the stones of the churchyard, but he remained alive and prayed for his killers: “Lord! Forgive them! They don't know what they're doing." Then a Jew hit him on the head and killed him to death.
Another apostle, Andrew the First-Called, came to our Russian land. But it was an empty, wild, densely forested country. There were no big beautiful cities, there were no such roads as today. The semi-savage inhabitants of that time were not at all like the present-day educated Russian people. The Apostle Andrew reached the place where our glorious city of Kyiv now stands. There, on the mountain, he put up a cross and said that there would be a big city with many churches in this place, that the inhabitants of this land would become Christians. In Greece, the Apostle Andrew was crucified by the pagans.
All the other apostles also suffered and died for Christ, except for the apostle John, whom they wanted to poison with poison, but the poison did not work. They threw him into a cauldron of boiling oil, but even here the Lord preserved him. He died a natural death at a ripe old age on one island (Patmos), where he was exiled by the pagans.
Assumption (death, death) of the Mother of God
You, dear children, of course, have not forgotten that the Mother of God was the daughter of the blessed parents Joachim and Anna, who had no children until their very old age. Joachim and Anna were very sad because of this, they prayed and promised that if a child was born to them, they would give it to God. No matter how happy they were at the birth of their Daughter, Whom they named Mary, no matter how much they loved Her, but from the age of three they were taken to the temple and given to the upbringing of the priests. You know what a pious and meek Virgin she was, so Holy that angels brought her food. She either did needlework, or prayed to God, or read the word of God. When she grew up, She was given to old Joseph, and in order for him to look after Her better, they were betrothed, because She did not want to marry, having sworn to God to remain a Virgin forever. Remember my stories about how She lived in the house of Joseph, how the archangel Gabriel appeared to Her and said that a Savior would be born from Her? Remember how She gave birth to the Savior in Bethlehem, in a cave, how she carried Him to the temple, where Simeon and Anna met them, how she later fled with the Infant Jesus from Herod to Egypt, how she searched for Her twelve-year-old Son Jesus and found Him? She was with Jesus at the wedding celebration in Cana of Galilee, she was with Him when He walked the earth and taught people, she suffered poverty and humiliation with Him. And how She suffered and wept when Her beloved Son was tortured and crucified on the cross when He died! How I rejoiced when I saw the Lord resurrected!
After the ascension of Jesus Christ to Heaven, His Most Pure Mother, the Virgin Mary, lived in the house of the Apostle John, who, remembering the words of the Savior spoken to him from the cross: “Here is your Mother!”, Honored Her like the most tender son, and cared for her like her own mother . About twenty years after the ascension of the Lord, His Most Pure Mother lived on earth. Every day She went to pray to the tomb of Her Son and to the Garden of Gethsemane, where our Savior prayed before His death, and to Golgotha. The evil Jews wanted to kill Her, but the Son kept His Mother. Having learned that She goes daily to the tomb of Her Son, the bishops and scribes placed guards at the tomb not to let anyone in and kill the Mother of Christ. But God did a miracle. He blinded the guard so they couldn't see Mother of God who came to the tomb. The guards finally reported that no one was coming, that they had been guarding the coffin for a long time, but did not see anyone.
The apostles, who, after the ascension of their beloved Teacher to Heaven, had only one consolation - to see His Mother and talk to Her, deeply revered Her. They did not start any business without the blessing and advice of the Mother of God. Going to preach in distant lands, the apostles asked the Virgin Mary to bless them and pray for them. Coming to Jerusalem, they told Her where they were, how they preached and converted people to the faith of Christ.
The sick came to her, and she healed them; mourners came, weeping from grief, and She consoled them; sinners came, and She urged them to repent and correct themselves in order to be saved.
Finally, the time came when the Lord Jesus Christ wanted to take His Most Pure Mother to Himself in Heaven. She was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, when suddenly an angel appeared to Her and said that in three days She would die, and gave Her a date branch from paradise. Holy Mother of God She ordered everything to be prepared for Her burial and asked John to carry a paradise branch in front of Her tomb. All relatives, many Christians gathered to the Mother of God and wept that She would soon leave them. The Mother of God comforted them, asked them not to cry and promised to pray for them.
She wanted to see the apostles, the disciples of her beloved Son, before her death, to say goodbye to them. But only James and John were in Jerusalem; the rest dispersed different countries preach Christ. And this is what a miracle the Savior did to fulfill the desire of His Mother. All the apostles, except for Thomas, were brought by angels to Jerusalem, to the house where the Most Holy Theotokos lived. How surprised they were when they saw each other, and how they wept when they learned that the Lord had gathered them in order to bury the Mother of God, whom they loved and revered so much.
The day appointed by the angel has come. The Mother of God, waiting for her death, lay on a bed that had been removed, as for a dead person. The apostles prayed. Suddenly, the ceiling opens, and Jesus Christ Himself descends from Heaven, surrounded by angels. The Mother of God bowed to Her Son and God, lay down on her bed and died, as if she had fallen asleep. That is why the death of the Mother of God is called "assumption, sleep." The sick, the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the insane, were brought to the most pure body of the Mother of God, and they were all healed by touching Her.
They carried the Mother of God to the Garden of Gethsemane to bury. Ahead, the apostle John carried a branch of paradise. Other apostles carried the body of the Virgin on their shoulders. Many Christians saw off the stretcher. Everyone sang sacred songs, and the singing of angels was heard in the air.
The high priests and scribes, having learned with what honors the Mother of the crucified Christ was buried, sent servants and soldiers to disperse the funeral procession and kill the apostles of Jesus. The soldiers had to burn the body of the Virgin. But these evil people could not do anything. The cloud also hid the bed on which the body of the Mother of God was carried, and the people who accompanied Her. And the servants and warriors became blind, stumbled against the walls and looked for escorts who would take them home. Only one Jewish priest, Athos, squeezed his way to the very bed on which the body of the Virgin was carried, and grabbed it with his hands in order to throw the body to the ground. And what?! Athos' hands fell off to the very elbow, stuck to the bed and hung on it, and he himself fell to the ground. Then he repented: he recognized Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God. Then Peter ordered him to put his hands on the broken parts hanging on the coffin. As soon as Athos did this, the arms grew together, and only a red stripe remained near the elbows. Many people, including the messengers of the bishops, fearful of blindness, began to pray to the Theotokos to heal them. Their prayer was heard, they again became sighted and became Christians.
They brought the body of the Mother of God to Gethsemane. Everyone began to cry, say goodbye, apply to the body. Finally, they put Her in a cave, the entrance to which was blocked with a huge stone. For three days the apostles did not leave the cave and prayed.
On the third day after the funeral, Thomas came (remember, he did not believe the other disciples that Jesus Christ had risen). He wept bitterly that he had not been able to see the Mother of God and say goodbye to Her. Began to ask to open the cave. His request was fulfilled. And what? The apostles were frightened: the most pure body of the Mother of God was no longer in the tomb; only the clothes in which she was buried lay.
Jesus Christ also took His Mother's body to where Her soul was already, to Heaven.
So, dear children, the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven Himself and took His Most Pure Mother there.
But they never leave us, they are always with us, protect us from everything bad and send us everything good. They hear your prayers, waiting for you to remember Them and pray to Them. They will gladly give you everything you need and useful. Be obedient, diligent and humble. Jesus Christ and His Mother love such kind children.
The word "apostle" in translation from Greek means "messenger". The Apostles of Christ were sent into the world to proclaim the gospel, bear witness to Christ, and establish and establish Churches.
A group of people, about a hundred people, caught the whole world in the net of Christ. And this is a perfect and wondrous miracle! This is perhaps the most important proof that God was with them and God is with us - their followers and children. After all, the entire power of the Roman Empire, inflamed by the malice of the Jews, was against them. Ninety percent of the civilized aristocratic Romans, the refined intellectual Greeks, and the hundreds of barbarous rude tribes of Europe and Asia have never heard of Christ. And besides, they did not want to hear, taking a hostile position towards the apostles. Official Roman paganism, centered around the deified figure of the emperor, seemed to be a reinforced concrete invincible power.
But, as the old rock and roll song goes: "The stone of the passed roads managed to break through the sprout." A little more than three centuries passed - and the colossus of the pagan religion collapsed, and instead of it the living tree of Orthodoxy flourished.
Isn't this a miracle? Everything seemed to be against him. It seemed that all earthly conditions were disastrous, fatal to Christianity. Biologically speaking, an almost completely hostile hostile environment.
But the vine of Christ blossoms and bears fruit...
And what strikes every imagination, of course, is the indefatigability of the apostles. Just read what ends they overcame and to what hostile tribes they went to proclaim the gospel: Rome, Greece, Spain, Britain, Africa, Iran, India, the Caucasus ...
And everywhere the vine, planted by the right hand of God, was grafted in. Because it was not a man who planted, but the Lord.
And it is necessary, perhaps, to understand that we are the direct descendants and heirs of the apostles, that the world, which in many respects has remained pagan or, better to say, has in itself a tendency to slide into paganism, requires from us apostolate, the witness of Christ - and in the family , and at work, and in a trolleybus or minibus, a Christian turns out to be an apostle, that is, a messenger of Christ.
Passing by public transport past the temple, you can cross yourself or turn away shyly. At home, tired after work, teach the child "Our Father" or give him a tablet with the Internet, and bury himself in the Internet or TV ...
A huge number of opportunities for a modern Christian to be an apostle. It is important that the heart burns with faith and the search for God, and the thirst for knowing Him. The main thing is that we are both a stone (Peter) and a small one (Pavel, Paulus - from Latin - “smaller, small”): we turned out to be an indestructible stone at the same time Orthodox faith and, being filled with this smallness, they felt themselves small, poor in spirit, that is, they cultivated in themselves with God help the virtue of humility, without which there is no salvation. In addition, of course, they did not forget about the virtue of love. And their Corinths, Romes and Thessaloniki are waiting for us in the family, metro, trolleybuses and at work. And the Lord, both for the apostles and for us, is the same.
Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, pray to God for us!
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Of course, the Apostolic Epistles are difficult for 12-13-year-old schoolchildren to understand, but we considered it impossible to completely exclude them from the course. We devote one lesson to the very concept of the "Apostolic Epistles" and conciliar epistles, and one lesson - Paul's epistles. The Worksheets for these two lessons are scroll-style slips with blank lines and links to the passage we propose to review. It is important that these quotes are small but memorable. From the Epistles of John - quotes that "God is love":
From the epistles of James:
From the epistles of Peter - the call of Christians to holiness on the grounds that they are "redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of an unblemished Lamb" (1 Peter 1:19) From the epistles of Paul, in addition to indispensable quotations about love, we considered it necessary to give the youth instructions in piety from the apostle himself, especially since our wishes for the pupils completely coincide with the apostles. We, like the apostle, desire that our young men "say prayers, lifting up pure hands without anger or doubt"; and our girls “in decent attire, with modesty and chastity, adorned themselves not with braided hair, not with gold, not with pearls, not with valuable clothes, but good deeds how befitting women who devote themselves to piety.” (1 Tim 2:8-10) The Apostolic Epistles ends direct acquaintance with the Holy Scriptures, further lessons in the history of Christianity will allow students to touch the richest treasury of Church Tradition. This is again relevant in our difficult time, when numerous Protestant denominations, proclaiming the principle of "Only Scripture" and inevitably creating their own tradition in the process, accuse the Orthodox of being separated from the Bible. In our opinion, teenagers should be prepared for the fact that some preacher wants to sow doubt in their young souls by stating that, for example, there is no information about the Assumption of the Mother of God in the Bible. This question will not confuse them if they know that the life of the Church, founded by our Lord Jesus Christ, is not limited by the framework of the Bible, although, undoubtedly, it continues strictly in the spirit of Holy Scripture and cuts off from itself everything that does not correspond to this spirit. The concepts of "Scripture" and "Tradition" were already considered at the beginning of the New Testament course, and students know that the Church finds the grounds for the Twelve Feasts of the Mother of God in Holy Tradition. The Church History course expands the acquaintance with Tradition. Several lessons are devoted to the history of persecution; the lives of the holy martyrs are also part of Church Tradition. The next big layer of Tradition is history Ecumenical Councils. We considered it senseless to give 12-13-year-old children to remember the dates of the Councils and the dogmatic issues discussed at them. We designate the general reason for convening Councils - the appearance of internal enemies in the Church - heretics, who replaced external enemies - pagans. And they decided to connect the conversation about each specific Council with the most striking personality of the participant in the Council. The First Ecumenical Council is an acquaintance with Saints Nicholas of Myra and Spyridon of Trimifunts; II Ecumenical Council - Gregory the Theologian and Basil the Great, VII Ecumenical Council - John of Damascus. The Worksheets for these lessons are short summaries of the lives of these founders of the Christian faith, divided into paragraphs. Students are asked to give a heading to each paragraph and thus highlight the main points of the saint's life. Five lessons are devoted to the history of the Russian Church. Themes “Enlightenment of the Slavs by Saints Cyril and Methodius”, “Baptism of Russia” are integral. In addition to them, we have included in the course: one topic introducing high school students to the monument of ancient Russian writing - “The Sermon on the Law and Grace of Metropolitan Hilarion”, one topic dedicated to icon painting by Andrei Rublev and one topic dedicated to our compatriots who suffered for their faith in the Horde. The last lesson of Church history is devoted to Christian art - the history of the icon. At the end of the course, we invite students to write a story about their patron saint, pay attention to at what point in church history he made his Christian life, with what kind of experience of communion with God he replenished the treasury of the life of the Church in the Holy Spirit. |
Miracles performed by Jesus Christ - a series of miraculous deeds described in the Gospels performed by Jesus Christ. Miracles, according to John Chrysostom, were performed with the aim of strengthening people in faith, as well as their correction: “The Savior knew their (Jews) blindness and therefore worked miracles not to convince them, but in order to correct others.”
List of miracles
The list of miracles performed by Jesus Christ differs among the evangelists (only the miracle with the feeding of five thousand people is mentioned in all four gospels), so their descriptions should be considered comprehensively. In the synoptic gospels, 11 miracles performed by Jesus are traditionally distinguished, which are described by all three evangelists. The Gospel of John contains a description of only seven miracles (three of them have parallels with weather forecasters). At the same time, John makes a reservation: “Jesus did many other things; but if one were to write about it in detail, then, I think, the world itself would not contain the books written.
Marriage at Cana of Galilee (The First Miracle of Jesus Christ)
During the wedding feast, at the request of his mother, Jesus turned water into wine. The Orthodox and Catholic traditions see this as an expression of the special power of the prayers of the Mother of God for people.
Healing the son of a courtier
When Jesus Christ, on the way to Capernaum, entered Cana, one of the inhabitants of Capernaum (the courtier of Herod) found out about this. He hastened to Cana to ask Jesus to come to Capernaum and heal his dying son. Christ told him, "You will not believe unless you see signs and wonders." By this, Christ placed the faith based on the contemplation of miracles below the faith based on the understanding of his teaching. To this reproach, the courtier insistently began to ask, “Lord! come before my son dies." Seeing the strengthening of his faith, Christ said: "Go, your son is healthy." The courtier believed Jesus and, going home, he learned from his servants that his son had recovered at the moment when Christ uttered these words. After that, as the evangelist says, "he himself and all his house believed."
Healing the Paralytic at the Sheep Pool
It was done in a bathhouse located at the Sheep Gate (through which sacrificial animals were driven to the temple or a market for these animals was located). The pool was called in Hebrew Bethesda, which means "house of mercy." The water from the pool was considered miraculous when "an angel of the Lord at times went into the pool and disturbed the water, and whoever first entered it after the disturbance of the water, he recovered, no matter what disease he was possessed." At the pool lay relaxed, suffering from his illness for 38 years and almost lost hope for healing, since there was no one to lower him into the pool when the water was disturbed. Jesus said to him, "Take up your bed and walk." And he immediately recovered, and took his bed and went. It was on the Sabbath day. Seeing the paralyzed man carrying his bed, the Jews said: “Today is Saturday; you shouldn't take a bed," to which he replied - "Who healed me, He said to me: take your bed and walk," but he could not say who healed him. Later, Jesus met him in the temple and said: “Behold, you have recovered; sin no more, lest something worse happen to you." When it became known who had performed the healing on Saturday, “the Jews sought to kill Him because He not only violated the Sabbath, but also called God His Father, making Himself equal with God.”
Dry Hand Healing
The miracle was performed by Jesus on Saturday under the Pharisees, who reproached him for violating the law of Moses, to which Christ answered them: “... which of you, having one sheep, if it falls into a pit on Saturday, will not take it and pull it out? How much better is a man than a sheep! And so it is possible to do good on the Sabbath.”
Healing of the Paralytic in Capernaum
To the city of Capernaum, Jesus Christ taught in one house, and because of the multitude of people who listened to him, they could not bring a paralytic to him. Then his friends opened the roof and lowered the patient's bed down. Jesus said to the paralytic, “Child! your sins are forgiven." The Pharisees who heard this considered these words blasphemy, but knowing their thoughts, he said: “... which is easier to say: your sins are forgiven you, or to say: get up and walk? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, I say to you (he turned to the paralytic): get up, take up your bed and go to your house.
Resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain
The miracle is mentioned only by one evangelist. At the city gates of Nain, Christ saw a funeral procession: a dead young man, the only son of a widow mother, was carried out of the city for burial. Seeing the grief of the woman, Jesus took pity on her and said: “Do not cry” and turned to the deceased: “Young man! I tell you, get up!" The young man "rose, sat down and began to speak." Everyone was seized with fear, people “glorified God, saying: a great prophet has risen among us,” but they did not recognize Christ as the Messiah.
Healing of the Possessed in the Land of Gadara
The miracle was performed in a country that lay on the eastern shore of the Lake of Galilee, called Gadarene (by Mark and Luke) or Gergesin (by Matthew). On the shore, Jesus and his disciples were met by a demoniac (in Matthew, two demoniacs are mentioned). He “seeing Jesus from afar, ran and worshiped Him, and, crying out with a loud voice, said: What have you to do with me, Jesus, the Son of the Most High God? I conjure you by God, do not torment me! And then, when asked by Jesus what his name was, he answered: “Legion”, indicating by this the dwelling in it of a large number of unclean spirits. The demons asked Jesus “not to send them out of that country,” but to let them into the herd of pigs grazing nearby. Jesus allowed them, and "the whole herd of pigs threw themselves down the steep slope into the sea and perished in the water." According to Mark, about two thousand pigs died. Christ did not allow the healed to follow him, "but said: go home to your people and tell them what the Lord has done to you and how he has had mercy on you." At the same time, the inhabitants of the city were frightened by this miracle - “the whole city came out to meet Jesus; And when they saw Him, they asked Him to depart from their borders.
Healing of the possessed in Capernaum
When Christ was teaching in the Capernaum synagogue, there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit who suddenly cried out: “Leave, what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? You came to destroy us; I know you who you are, Holy One of God." It became an involuntary confession of the truth from an unclean spirit, caused by the presence of the Son of God. By this confession of Jesus Christ as God, the devil hoped to undermine the trust in him in people, and therefore Jesus forbade him to testify about him, saying: "Shut up and get out of him!". The demoniac fell down in the middle of the synagogue and got up completely healthy, the demon left him. Both evangelists note the strong impression that this healing of the demoniac made on everyone - “And horror fell on everyone, and they reasoned among themselves: what does it mean that He commands unclean spirits with authority and power, and they go out?”
Healing of Peter's mother-in-law and many people
Mark and Luke describe this miracle in direct connection with the previous one. Leaving the synagogue, Jesus entered the house of Simon (Peter). Petrov’s mother-in-law turned out to be seriously ill (Luke, as a doctor, explains that it was a “severe fever.” According to Jesus, the fever left her and “she got up and served them.” The healing in the synagogue of the possessed, and then the mother-in-law of Simon made a strong impression on the people and to the doors of the house of Simon, after sunset, they began to bring the sick and possessed, so that "the whole city gathered at the doors." Christ healed people and cast out spirits. When describing this miracle, Matthew explains that in this mass healing of the sick, the prophecy of Isaiah came true, who said, "He took upon Himself our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."
Huge catch of fish
Described only by Luke. A miracle was performed before Jesus called the first apostles - Simon (Peter) and Andrew. Christ "taught the people" at the Lake of Gennesaret and, having finished the sermon, "said to Simon: sail out into the depths and throw down your nets for fishing." Simon, as an experienced fisherman, said - “Mentor! we toiled all night and caught nothing, but at your word I will cast down the net.” Throwing the net, they caught "a great many fish, and even the net broke through." The catch was filled with two boats, which began to sink. Seeing this, “Simon Peter knelt down on Jesus’ knees and said, Get out of me, Lord! because I am a sinful person." Seeing the horror of Peter, Jesus answered him: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch people. Further, as the evangelist narrates, the first apostles "left everything and followed Him."
Healing a leper
The leper, full of faith, “when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face, imploring Him and saying: Lord! if you want, you can cleanse me.” His faith was so strong that he broke the law forbidding him to approach healthy people. In response to this humble request, that Jesus touched him, showing that he was not bound by the prohibition to touch the unclean, and said: "I want, cleanse yourself." And immediately the leprosy left him. Fulfilling the law of Moses, Christ orders the healed man to go to see the priest and asks not to disclose to anyone about the miracle.
Taming the Storm
When Jesus and his disciples were crossing the lake of Galilee in a boat, a violent storm arose that threatened to capsize the boat. The frightened disciples woke Jesus up and he forbade the wind and said to the water: “be quiet, stop it,” and then, turning to the disciples, said: “Why are you so fearful? Where is your faith? The disciples, in fear and wonder, said to each other: “Who is this that commands both the winds and the water, and obey Him?!”
Resurrection of the daughter of Jairus
The leader of the synagogue, Jairus, had an only daughter at her death. He came to Jesus Christ and asked him, saying: “My daughter is at death; come and lay hands on her that she may be healed and live.” Seeing his faith, Jesus went with him, but on the way he met a servant who told Jairus, “your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher," but Jesus said, "do not be afraid, only believe, and she will be saved." Approaching the house and seeing crying people Jesus told them, “Don't cry; the maiden is not dead, but asleep,” but the people did not understand his words and began to laugh at him. Taking with him only the girl's parents and three apostles - Peter, James and John, Jesus entered the room where the dead girl was lying and taking her by the hand said: "talifa kumi", which means; "girl, I tell you, get up!". And the girl immediately got up and began to walk. Jesus commanded that she be given food and forbade her parents to tell what had happened, but the rumor about it spread throughout the country.
Healing a bleeding woman
The miracle was performed by Jesus on the way to the house of Jairus. A woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years, believing that it was enough for her to touch Christ's garments to be healed, approached him and touched the hem of his garment. “And immediately her fountain of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.” Jesus felt that at that moment "power went out of Him" and asked who had touched him. The woman "fell down before Him and told Him all the truth." Jesus addressed her with the words: "your faith has saved you."
Feeding the people with five loaves
This is the only miracle that is mentioned by all the evangelists. Jesus was preaching in a desert place and the disciples asked him to let the people go so they could go and buy food for themselves. Christ answered the disciples: “They do not need to go; you give them something to eat." In response to the doubt of the disciples how it is possible to feed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, Jesus Christ took the food in his hands and, looking at the sky, blessed it, broke it and gave it to the disciples, and the disciples distributed it to the people. According to the evangelist: “They all ate and were satisfied; and the pieces that remained with them were collected in twelve baskets.
Feeding the people with seven loaves
Done in circumstances similar to the previous miracle, only “they all ate and were satisfied; And they took up seven baskets full of the remaining pieces, and those who ate were four thousand people, besides women and children.
Walking of Jesus Christ on the water
When the disciples of Christ were crossing the boat to the other side of the Lake of Galilee to Bethsaida of Galilee, they saw Jesus walking on the water, thought it was a ghost, and screamed in fear. Jesus Christ spoke to them: "calm down, it's me, don't be afraid." Then the apostle Peter exclaimed: “Lord! if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Christ said, "Go." Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, but being afraid of the waves, he doubted, began to sink and shouted: “Lord! save me". Christ stretched out his hand to him and said: “O you of little faith! Why did you doubt?" When Jesus entered the boat, the wind died down and the disciples came up, bowed to him and said: "Truly You are the Son of God."
Healing of the Canaanite Daughter
The miracle of healing was performed in absentia. Initially, to the request of the Canaanite woman, Jesus answered: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” and added - “first let the children be satisfied; for it is not good to take bread from the children and throw it to the dogs.” The woman humbly replied to this: “Yes, Lord! but the dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters.” With these words, the Canaanite woman showed not only her great humility and consciousness that in paganism a person cannot be as close to God as in true faith, but also expressed her deep faith that a merciful God will have mercy on every person. After these words, Jesus Christ said to her: “O woman! Your faith is great. May it be to you as you wish." And her daughter was healed in that hour.
Healing a demon-possessed child
The healing took place immediately after the Transfiguration. Jesus, having descended from the mountain, was surrounded by people and a certain person turned to Him with a request to heal his son, who “on the new moon rages and suffers greatly, for he often throws himself into fire and often into water.” Also, this man said that he had already brought his son to the disciples of Christ, but they could not heal him. When Jesus heard this, he exclaimed, “Oh, unfaithful and perverted generation! how long will I be with you and endure you?” and commanded that the boy be brought to him. By this, he reproached his disciples for lack of faith (according to some interpretations, the entire Jewish people). When the youth was still on his way to Jesus, “the demon cast him down and began to beat him; but Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him to his father.”
Healing of the Blind Man of Jericho
Coming out of Jericho on the road to Jerusalem, Jesus met the blind Bartimaeus (in the story of the Evangelist Matthew, two blind men), who began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David! have mercy on me!" In response, Jesus asked, “What do you want from Me?” The blind man asked for insight and was healed by Jesus.
Miracle with the stater
The collector of the tax for the temple, who turned to the Apostle Peter, asked the question “Will your teacher give a didrachma?” hoping that Jesus would refuse and that would be an accusation against him. Peter immediately said that they would pay the tax. When he came to Jesus, he told him about the request of the tax collector and heard from Christ the question: “Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect duties or taxes? from his own sons, or from strangers? Peter says to Him: from strangers. Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free." But in order not to tempt anyone with his behavior, Jesus ordered Peter to go to the sea and said, “Take the first fish that comes across, and, opening its mouth, you will find a stater; take it and give it to them for me and for yourself.”
Healing the Blind
Jesus, on the occasion of one feast, was in the Jerusalem temple, and after his sermon, he came out of it and, walking down the street, met a man blind from birth. The disciples asked him: “Rabbi! Who sinned, he or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered: "Neither he nor his parents sinned, but it was so that the works of God might appear on him." After these words, he spat on the ground, made clay (mud) and anointed the blind man's eyes with clay, saying to him: "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam." The man born blind went to the Pool of Siloam, washed himself, and began to see.
Healing ten lepers
At the entrance to the village of Christ, ten lepers met (nine Jews and one Samaritan). Not daring to approach Jesus, she shouted from afar, “Jesus the Mentor! have mercy on us." Christ told them: “Go, show yourselves to the priests,” and while they were walking, they were cured of leprosy. Seeing his healing, only the Samaritan returned and thanked Christ, while the Jews remained ungrateful. The instructive meaning of this miracle, according to the teachings of the church, is that believers should be grateful to God for all his mercies.
Resurrection of Lazarus
I remember Orthodox Church Saturday in the sixth week of Great Lent (the eve of Palm Sunday).
Theological interpretations
The miracles of Christ were palpable; they were clear to the simplest people; there was nothing mysterious about them; anyone could conveniently examine them; there was no room for doubt and bewilderment whether it was a miracle, or just a representation of a miracle. The miracles of the God-Man had many witnesses, most of whom were or were hostile to Him… The most worst enemies The Lord did not reject them, they only tried to humiliate them by blasphemous interpretation and by all the means that were inspired by wickedness and malice. There was no vanity in the miracles of the Lord, no effect; not a single miracle has been done for show to people; all miracles were covered by the veil of Divine humility. They constitute a chain of blessings to suffering humanity.
The Apostle Peter preached about Jesus Christ not only in Jerusalem. He traveled all over the Jewish land, was in foreign distant lands, spoke about Jesus and baptized the Gentiles. He went to Rome, where the Roman emperors lived, and there he converted many to the faith of Christ. He was even in the palace, where he baptized the wife of the Roman emperor.
Miracles Performed by the Apostle Peter
The Apostle Peter, like other disciples of Christ, had a special power from God to heal the sick and work various miracles. As he passed along the street, the sick were carried out and laid on the road along which he was walking. You have certainly seen your shadow moving behind you as you walk or run. The most seriously ill, taken out into the street, immediately became healthy, as soon as the shadow of the Apostle Peter, passing by, fell on them.
In the city of Lydda, he healed a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed for eight years and could not get out of bed. Aeneas immediately recovered, got up and began to walk. Many who saw this miracle believed in Christ.
At this time, in the neighboring city of Joppa, one pious girl Tabitha, who believed in Jesus Christ, fell ill and died. After death, she was washed and laid on the table. When they heard that the Apostle Peter was not far away, they sent for him. When he arrived, the women who were in the house wept and showed him the shirts and dresses that Tabitha had made. Peter sent everyone out of the room, knelt down, prayed to God, then, turning to the deceased, said: “Tabitha! Get up!" The deceased opened her eyes and sat up. And she went back to her work.
The release of the Apostle Peter from prison. (Acts 12:1-11)
An angel leads the apostle Peter out of prison. (Acts 12:1-17)
In Rome, a noble lady's son died. The apostle Peter said to the deceased: “Young man, get up! Get up! The Lord Jesus Christ resurrects you!” The dead man came to life and stood up.
Martyrdom of the Apostle Peter
When Peter was in Rome, the depraved and cruel emperor Nero reigned there, who, like other pagans, did not like Christians. He ordered them to be seized and tortured. What have they done to Christians! They beat, flogged, crucified on crosses, chopped off hands, feet, heads, burned in fire, boiled in hot oil, tore off nails and skin from the whole body, pulled out tongues, gouged out eyes, gave them to be eaten by wild animals, hung on trees and hacked with iron with a rake, smeared the whole body with pitch and set it on fire. Many, many other torments were invented by evil pagans to force Christians to renounce Christ and worship pagan idols. It is terrible to even talk about the torments that Christians endured from the pagans. Thank God that we live now, and not at that time! You and I, friends, perhaps, could not endure these torments. And Christians endured all this, did not renounce Christ, did not pray to idols and did not offer pagan sacrifices. Thousands of people died for Christ. This angered the tormentors even more. They especially tried to torture the apostles and Christian teachers.
Christians were afraid that the pagans would seize, torture and kill the Apostle Peter. They urged him to leave Rome. Peter obeyed and slowly left the city at night. He has already left the city gates, when he suddenly sees that the Savior Himself, Jesus Christ, is coming towards him. Peter was afraid and rejoiced, bowed to Him and asked: “Lord! Where are you going?" The Lord replied, “I am going to Rome to be crucified there again.” And he disappeared. Peter guessed what he had done wrong, running away from torment, and returned to Rome, where he was seized by the pagans, imprisoned and sentenced to be crucified on a cross. The Apostle Peter asked not to be crucified like Christ, he is not worth it, but to be crucified upside down. So they did. His legs were nailed on top, and his head hung down.
Apostle Paul
Paul was originally called Saul. Saul was a Pharisee who could not stand the disciples of Christ. He walked around Jerusalem, broke into houses and sent everyone who believed in Christ to prison. But this seemed to him not enough. He went to the high priest Caiaphas and asked to be allowed to go to the city of Damascus to catch all the believers in Christ there and send them to the Jerusalem prison. The high priest allowed, and Saul went. Around noon he approached Damascus. The day was bright, not a single cloud in the sky. Suddenly, a light brighter than the sun poured from the sky. Saul and all who were with him could not endure such a bright light and fell to the ground in fear. Then Saul heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you chasing me?" Saul asked, "Who are you, Lord?" “I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are driving away!” the Lord replied. Saul immediately remembered all his evil deeds, how he imprisoned and killed Christians. “What will You command me to do, Lord?” - he asked.
Saul on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9:1-8)
Christ ordered him to get up and go to Damascus, where he would be told what to do. Saul's companions heard someone talking to him, but they couldn't make out the words. Saul got up, wanted to go, but could not. Do you know what happened to him? He is blind. They took him by the hand and led him to Damascus. For three whole days, out of grief, he did not eat or drink anything, until the Lord sent His disciple Ananias to him, who healed Saul from blindness and baptized him. From that time on, Saul not only stopped the persecution of Christians, but began to preach Christ, telling everyone about the life and miracles of Christ, and he persuaded everyone to believe in the Lord and pray to Him. Saul became an apostle and baptized all those who believed in Christ. They began to call him Paul.
Miracles Performed by the Apostle Paul
Once the apostle Paul told about Jesus Christ to one chief (the proconsul of the city of Pafa Sergius). There was also a magician, a sorcerer, who interfered with him, persuaded Sergius not to listen to Paul. The apostle said to him: “Behold the hand of the Lord is upon you (here is your punishment for knocking people down): you will be blind and you will not see the sun for a long time.” The magician went blind at that very moment. And the proconsul, seeing the miracle, believed in Christ.
In the city of Lystra, the apostle Paul said to a lame man who had never been able to control his legs: “Stand up straight!” He jumped up and began to walk.
In the city of Philippi, the pagans attacked the apostles Paul and Silas (out of the seventy apostles), beat them, put them in prison, and ordered the watchman to look after them well. He put them in chains and locked them in the most reliable, strong prison. Around midnight, Paul and Silas prayed to God and sang sacred songs. The rest of the prisoners listened to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake: the walls of the dungeon shook and were ready to fall; all the doors were opened, and the fetters fell from all. The prison watchman half-awake thought that all the prisoners had run away, grabbed a sword and wanted to kill himself, but Pavel shouted to him: “Stop! We are all here!” They lit a fire, began to look and saw that no one had run away. The watchman threw himself at the feet of Paul and Silas and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” They answered: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved yourself and your family!” And they began to tell everyone who was here about Jesus Christ. The watchman immediately washed their wounds, brought them to his house and prepared supper. That very night the watchman and all his household were baptized.
In the city of Troas, the apostle Paul raised the dead. Christians gathered for prayer at night, because during the day it was impossible. The pagans, who were looking for Christians everywhere, could take away the worshipers, disperse them, interfere with prayer, ridicule the rites, desecrate the sacraments. One Sunday the Christians gathered at night. They served mass (performed the sacrament of communion) and took communion. The apostle Paul gave sermons. The service took a long time. Around midnight, one young man, feeling very tired, sat down on the window, dozed off, fell asleep and fell into the street from the third floor. He crashed to death. Pavel went down to the street, leaned over the dead man, hugged him and said: "Don't worry, his soul is in him." The young man immediately revived.
