Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy
God's Law

New Testament

Adoration of the Magi

While Joseph and the Most Holy Mother of God with the Child Jesus remained in Bethlehem, they came to Jerusalem from a distant country in the east (from Persia or Babylonia) Magi.

Magi or sages were called learned people. They were engaged in observing and studying the stars. At that time, people believed that at the birth of a great man, a new star appeared in the sky. Many pagans, taught by the scattered Jews, knew about the Messiah coming into the world - the Great King of Israel, who would conquer the whole world. Therefore, they expected that when this King was born, a new star would appear in the sky. These Magi were pious people, and the Lord, by His mercy, gave them such a sign - a new, extraordinary star appeared in the sky. Seeing this star, the Magi immediately realized that the expected King had already been born. They got ready to go and went to the capital of the kingdom of Judah, Jerusalem, to find out where this King was born and to worship Him.

In Jerusalem, the wise men began to ask: “Where is the born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and came to worship Him.”

King Herod, hearing this, became alarmed: he was a very cruel and very suspicious man. On one suspicion, he put his own children to death. And now he was especially frightened, fearing that his power would be taken away from him and the royal throne would be handed over to the newborn Tsar. And all the inhabitants of Jerusalem became agitated when they heard about this news.

Herod gathered to himself all the priests and scribes, that is, people who studied books scripture, and asked them; "Where should Christ be born?"

They answered: “in Bethlehem of Judea, because it is written so by the prophet Micah.”

Then Herod secretly called the Magi to himself, found out from them the time of the appearance of the star, sent them to Bethlehem and said: “go there and find out everything about the Child, and when you find Him, come and tell me, so that I too can go to worship Him.” . In fact, Herod planned to kill the born King.

The Magi, after listening to King Herod, went to Bethlehem. And again the same star that they had seen before in the east appeared in the sky and, moving across the sky, walked in front of them, showing them the way. In Bethlehem, the star stopped over the place where the Baby Jesus was born.

Star of Bethlehem

At this time, the holy elder Joseph and the Most Holy Virgin Mary and the Child lived in the city, in the house where they had moved from the cave, since the people began to disperse after the census.

The Magi entered the house and saw the Baby Jesus with His Mother. They bowed to Him to the ground and presented Him with their gifts: gold, Lebanon(incense) and myrrh(precious, fragrant oil).

With their gifts, the Magi showed that the born Baby Jesus is a King, a God, and a man. They brought gold to Him as a King (in the form of tribute, or taxes), incense as to God (because incense is used in worship), and myrrh as to a person who was about to die (because the dead were then anointed and rubbed with fragrant oils).

After this, the Magi wanted to return to Jerusalem to Herod, but they received a command from God in a dream not to return to Herod. Then they went along another road, straight to their land.

Adoration of the Magi

Tradition has preserved the names of the Magi, who later became Christians, these were: Melchior, Gaspard and Belshazzar. Their memory is St. The church celebrates it on the day of the Nativity of Christ.

The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ St. Celebrated by the Orthodox Church December 25th(Jan. 7, New Art.). We prepare ourselves for this great holiday by fasting for forty days, which is called Christmas post. Christmas Eve is called nomad or Christmas Eve, because on this day, according to the church charter, it is supposed to eat lusciously, that is, boiled cereal with honey, and even then in the evening, with the appearance of the first star.

NOTE: See Gospel of Matthew, ch. 2 , 1-12.

Troparion of the holiday.

Under serving the stars of course here Magi, that is, the sages who studied the stars and worshiped them; Lead you- To know you; Sun of truth And East from above is called Jesus Christ, who enlightened people with His teaching.

Kontakion of the holiday.

Kontakion- a short song containing the history of the festive event; Transubstantial- Existing before all ages, that is, always; nativity scene- cave; With shepherds- with shepherds; praise- sing and praise God; Otrocha Mlado- baby.

Three wise men who came to the newborn Jesus

Now it's time to talk about the three wise men. As you know, when Jesus was born, three wise men came to him and predicted a great future for him, saying that he would become the King of the Jews. The wise men came from the east, seeing the star, and “having opened their treasures, they brought Him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11). Myrrh is myrrh, an odorous resin for incense.

The names of the Magi: Caspar, Belshazzar and Melchior. We are accustomed to thinking that all three wise men were men, but this is not so. There are many images that clearly show that the sorcerer Melchior, who is generally considered a man, is in fact a woman (see, for example, Fig. 125, taken from, vol. 4).

Now let’s take a closer look at the names of the Magi, but first let’s remember the structure of the universe (Fig. 126a). This figure can be understood as follows (Fig. 126 b):

Rice. 125. Adoration of the Magi from the fresco cathedral in Bonn, 15th century. Magus Melchior stands in the middle

Rice. 126 a. Structure of the Mind

Rice. 126 b. Reason is love

So, the names of the Magi. Let's start with Belshazzar. Belshazzar - Baal the king - the king of the Lower Kingdom - Volos - the Power of Life - the masculine principle.

Melchior - el M/Mind - the highest Mind/Wisdom. Here one could assume that we are talking about Mokoshi - Mother Emptiness - the feminine principle. And this is true, because the key is hior.

Chior - arche - hero - chiron. Heron translated from Greek as “old man,” which is where the word comes from hero(note the root dick in these words). Arche in the same Greek it means “beginning, eldest, highest” (here is really the beginning of the beginning, and he is above all). Consequently, in the name Melchior we have two words denoting the highest position of the object in question: this ale And chior/arche, which together can be translated as “the highest.” Then the name Melchior can be exactly translated as “The Highest Mind,” and this is Wisdom. Thus, we are really dealing here with the Great Mother, Wisdom/Emptiness, which lies at the very beginning, at the basis of the world.

That is, it turns out that the masculine and feminine principles came to the newborn Christ in the form of the primitive forces of Volos and Mokosh. The fact that Melchior and Belshazzar are a couple is shown by the name Caspar. Kaspar - saspar - sus para - sus para . It is interesting that many medieval paintings depicting the three wise men clearly indicate that Belshazzar and Melchior are a couple (in the book, vol. 4, there are many such paintings).

What is sus? As we found out in Volume 2, the nickname or title Jesus can be deciphered approximately as “a person whose highest spiritual essence has come out and become his face”. Sus is the spiritual weight of existence/essence, and everything that exists contains a pair: the male and female principles - Belshazzara and Melchior, that is, Hair and Makosh, the power of Life and Wisdom, respectively.

Let's combine all three names into one whole, combining them in one picture. What will we get? The same drawing that has already been examined: the masculine and feminine principles, united by the essence - love (see Fig. 127). In my opinion, there is no need to prove that love and sus (the root of the name Jesus) are one and the same.

Rice. 127. The meaning of the names of the three wise men

It turns out that when Jesus was born, the essence came to him - a couple that combines the masculine and feminine principles, the Power of Life and Wisdom, united by love. And what does the words “when Jesus was born” mean? When a person’s “I” dies and he turns into a god, Knowledge/Essence comes to him, which unites the Power of Life and Wisdom with Love. However, how much our ancestors saw and knew! And we again see that the story of Christ is not a literal description of a person’s life, but a symbolic description of the path of man’s transformation into God. This must be understood very clearly, otherwise we will never emerge from empty faith in living the state of Christ.

Gifts of the Magi

Historical excursion

The worship of the Eastern sages, who brought gifts - gold, incense and myrrh - to the Infant Christ, is described in the Gospel of Matthew.

Seeing the star, they rejoiced with very great joy, and, entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary, His Mother, and, falling down, they worshiped Him; and having opened their treasures, they brought Him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.(Matt. 2:9-11)

Adoration of the Magi

Three eastern wise men, also called Magi, brought rich gifts to the born Infant Christ. They were exploring the heavenly bodies and one day they saw an amazing star. They knew an ancient prophecy (independent of Jewish sources) that around this time the Messiah, the Savior of the world, should come, and his coming should be indicated by a special star. And one day she appeared in the sky. The Magi realized that the star was a sign. Following its movement across the sky, they crossed several states and arrived in Jerusalem. There, the eastern sages turned to the ruling ruler of this country, Herod, with the question of where they could see the newly born King of the Jews, obviously assuming that the ruler should be related to him by family ties.

Herod was alarmed by this news, but did not show it and politely escorted the wise men out of the palace, asking them, when they found the King, to tell him where he was, “so that I too could go and worship Him.” The travelers left Jerusalem and followed guiding star which brought them to Bethlehem. There they found Mary and the baby, bowed to him and brought gifts. Tradition has brought down to our time the names of the Magi: Belshazzar, Gaspar, Melchior. Although, there is another point of view that there were more than 3 Magi.

The Gospel story about the bringing of gifts shows the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy about how the pagans would bring their gifts to the King of Israel: "...the kings of Tarshish and the islands will bring him tribute; the kings of Arabia and Sheba will bring gifts; and all kings will worship him; all nations will serve him..."(Ps. 71:10-11) (in the Christian interpretation, the Church of Christ is called Israel here, as the new, spiritual Israel, which should replace the old Israel - the Jewish state and the Jewish church.) This phrase has a reference to the gift to the king of Israel Gifts to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba as a prototype event of the bringing of gifts to Christ.

The gifts brought by the Magi have a symbolic meaning:

• Gold is a royal gift, showing that Jesus was a Man born to be a King;
• Frankincense is a gift to the priest, since Jesus came to become the new Teacher and true High Priest (see the iconography “Great Bishop”);
• Myrrh is a gift to someone who is about to die, since myrrh in Ancient Israel was used to embalm the body of the deceased. This gift refers to the coming atoning sacrifice of Christ - one of the episodes of the Passion of the Lord, crowned with the Crucifixion, will be the anointing of the Savior’s feet with myrrh, and before burial his body was anointed with an fragrant composition of myrrh and aloe.

A piece of gifts

The Magi and their gifts began the well-known tradition of giving gifts at Christmas.

According to legend, the Mother of God carefully preserved the honest gifts of the Magi all her life. Shortly before her Assumption, She handed them over Jerusalem Church, where they were stored for 400 years. The Byzantine Emperor Arcadius transferred the gifts to Constantinople to consecrate the new capital of the empire. Then they came to the city of Nicaea and stayed there for about sixty years. When the Latins were expelled from Constantinople, the gifts of the Magi were returned to the capital. After the fall of Byzantium in 1453 they were sent to St. Mount Athos to the monastery of St. Paul - the Serbian princess Maria transferred them there.

At that time the monastery was Slavic (now it is Greek). The Serbian ruler Georgiy Brankovich provided him with great financial assistance. The ruler's daughter, Princess Maria, became his wife Ottoman Sultan Murad II. In 1389, on the Kosovo field, the Serbs were defeated by countless hordes of Turks and the princess was forced to become the wife of the Sulatan. Being a deeply religious Christian, she did not miss a single opportunity to do something useful. Orthodox churches or monasteries.

When the gifts of the Magi were discovered in the Constantinople treasury of the Greek emperors, the decision to transfer them to the monastery of St. was ripe in the heart of the pious princess. Pavel. She told the Sultan that for his lush, luxurious courtyard, the found objects were nothing more than funny toys. In a matter of days, a magnificent ship was equipped, and the princess set sail.

Knowing that women were not allowed to enter Mount Athos, Maria thought that she would be forgiven for her actions because she was carrying great shrines. Having landed on the shore, she went to the monastery. A majestic maiden appeared before the guest in a dazzling radiance.

Who are you? - she asked sternly.

I am Serbian Princess Maria.

Why did you come to my lot?

I brought a great shrine to give it to Father Abbot.

Women are not allowed to enter Mount Athos. “Go back,” said the beautiful Virgin and disappeared.

The princess realized that it was Mother of God. She fell to her knees and warmly, from the bottom of her heart, asked her forgiveness for her involuntary insolence. (On the spot where this miracle happened, a chapel was built, which has survived to this day). Having handed over the treasure to the brethren of the monastery, Maria returned to the ship.

The gifts are kept in 10 special arks in the sacristy of the monastery of St. Paul. For pilgrims' worship, only 3 parts are separated in one ark.

In 2014, the gifts of the Magi were brought to Russia and Ukraine for the first time.

Description

The Gifts of the Magi are one of the few relics associated with the earthly life of the Savior, preserved until today. Today they represent 28 small gold pendants of various shapes, skillfully decorated with filigree patterns. Attached to each of these gold plates on a silver thread are beads consisting of a mixture of frankincense and myrrh. The gifts are kept in 10 special arks in the sacristy of the monastery of St. Paul.

The episode of the Nativity of Christ was the worship of the Magi, which is described in the Gospel of Matthew:

"When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said, “Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” for we saw His star in the east and came to worship Him. Hearing this, King Herod became alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. And, having gathered all the high priests and scribes of the people, he asked them: where should Christ be born? And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judah, for thus it is written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means the least of the provinces of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” Then Herod, secretly calling the wise men, found out from them the time of the appearance of the star and, sending them to Bethlehem, said: go, carefully investigate about the Child and, when you find it, notify me, so that I too can go and worship Him. After listening to the king, they left. [And] behold, the star that they saw in the east was walking before them, when it finally came and stood over the place where the Child was. Seeing the star, they rejoiced with very great joy, and, entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary, His Mother, and, falling down, they worshiped Him; and having opened their treasures, they brought Him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having received a revelation in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their country by another route.".

In the Russian tradition, the wanderers who came to worship the baby Jesus are usually called Magi, emphasizing that they were pagan priests, like the Slavic Magi. In the Gospel, the Greek word μάγοι (magi) is used, meaning at that time the Persian ministers of the Zoroastrian cult of Mithra or the Babylonian priest-astrologers. Since antiquity, the Magi have been depicted in Persian costumes. 7th century Persian king Khosrow II Parviz, who destroyed everything Christian churches in Palestine, spared the Bethlehem Church of the Nativity because of the Persian appearance of the Magi depicted on it.
However, there is another point, also coming from antiquity, according to which the Magi came from Arabia. This point of view is based on Old Testament prophecies, which coincide with the worship of the Magi described in the Gospel: " the kings of Arabia and Saba will bring gifts. and they will give him from the gold of Arabia" (Ps. 71/72, 10 and 15); " And the nations will come to your light, and kings - to the radiance rising above you, they will all come from Saba, bring gold and incense, and proclaim the glory of the Lord"(Isa. 60, 3 and 6). Certain features of Arabian myths and cults, which included the idea of ​​the birth of a god from a stone maiden, prompted Christians to assume that the priests and “wise men” of Arabia had a special premonition of the mystery of Christmas. In the Arabian point of view, the wise men were not just priests, but also kings.

The Gospel does not mention the exact number of Magi, but the 3rd century Greek Christian theologian Origen suggested that the number of Magi is related to the number of gifts, i.e. three wise men. This point of view is still dominant today. However, in the Syriac and Armenian tradition there are twelve Magi.

Origen also gave the Magi names: Abimelech, Ochozat, Ficol. However, other names of the Magi took root in the medieval Western European tradition: Caspar, Balthazar, Melchior. With the advent of the era of the Great geographical discoveries and the intensification of missionary activity in “exotic” countries, the Magi become the personification of the human races - white, yellow and black, or the three parts of the world - Europe, Asia, Africa: Balthazar - Moor, Africa; Cupronickel - a white man, Europe; Kaspar - s oriental features or in oriental clothes, Asia. In addition, the Magi began to be credited with dividing into three human ages: Balthazar - a young man, Melchior - a mature man and Caspar - an old man.

Bernardino Luini. Adoration of the Magi

Albrecht Durer. Adoration of the Magi

Konrad von Soest. Adoration of the Magi

Hieronymus Bosch. Adoration of the Magi

School of Hieronymus Bosch. Adoration of the Magi

Edward Burne-Jones. Adoration of the Magi

Rubens. Adoration of the Magi

Correggio. Adoration of the Magi

Cosimo Tura. Adoration of the Magi

Gerard David. Adoration of the Magi

Guido da Siena. Adoration of the Magi

Hans Memling. Adoration of the Magi

As for the gifts of the Magi, the following point of view prevails here: they honor God with incense, pay tribute to the king in gold, and honor the upcoming painful death of Jesus Christ with myrrh (with which they anointed the dead). It is believed that the tradition of giving gifts at Christmas originates from the gifts of the Magi.

Dirk Bouts. Adoration of the Magi

Luca di Tomme. Adoration of the Magi

Richard King. Adoration of the Magi

There are legends about the further life of the Magi: they were baptized by the Apostle Thomas, then suffered martyrdom in eastern countries. The relics of the Magi were found by the Byzantine Empress Helen and placed first in Constantinople, and in the 5th century they were transferred from there to Mediolan (Milan). In 1164, at the request of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, the relics of the three wise men were transferred to Cologne, where they are still kept in the Cologne Cathedral. In Catholicism, the veneration of the Magi is celebrated on the feast of Epiphany - January 6 (in Spain and many Spanish-speaking countries, gifts are given on the feast of Epiphany), and the memory of the Magi is honored on July 23.

An important point in the story of the Magi is the Star of Bethlehem, which led the Magi to the baby Jesus. Believers consider this star to be the fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy: " I see Him, but now I am not there yet; I see Him, but not close. A star rises from Jacob and a rod arises from Israel, and smite the princes of Moab and crush all the sons of Seth." (Num. 24:17).
There are different points of view on what exactly the Star of Bethlehem represented. Origen and John of Damascus believed that it was a comet. Astronomers say Halley's Comet was actually visible in the sky for 63 days in 12 BC. The 14th-century Italian artist Giotto used Halley's Comet, which passed the Earth again in 1301, as a model for his depiction of the Star of Bethlehem.

Giotto. Adoration of the Magi

Giotto. Adoration of the Magi

Since, according to the Gospel, the inhabitants of Judea themselves did not notice any miraculous phenomenon, there is an opinion that the Star of Bethlehem is actually a parade of planets (an astronomical phenomenon during which a certain number of planets solar system lines up in one line) - an event that is not particularly remarkable for the uninitiated, but has great importance for those who are able to interpret it. Astronomers indicate that there were also parades of planets at that time: the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the sign of Pisces (November 15, 7 BC), the conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars (in early March 6 BC), conjunction of Jupiter with Regulus (August 12, 3 BC) and Venus with Jupiter (August 12, 2 BC).

There is an opinion that the Star of Bethlehem, due to the strange features of its behavior, cannot be an astronomical object at all, but has a supernatural origin. Theologian Theophylact of Bulgaria wrote: " When you hear about a star, do not think that it was one of those visible to us: no, it was a divine and angelic power that appeared in the form of a star. Since the Magi were engaged in the science of the stars, the Lord led them with this familiar sign, just as Peter the fisherman, amazed by the multitude of fish, attracted them to Christ. And that the star had angelic power is evident from the fact that it shone brightly during the day, walked when the Magi walked, shone when they did not walk: especially from the fact that it walked from the north, where Persia is, to the south, where Jerusalem is: but the stars never go from north to south".

There is also a point of view that the Star of Bethlehem is the creation not of God, but of the Devil, who thus wanted to kill the baby Jesus with the hands of King Herod. And this would have been possible if Joseph and the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus had not fled to Egypt during the mass extermination of infants on the orders of Herod.

Gifts of the Magi. Just give our progressive public a reason to mock another part of society. It is, of course, not to mock when, if the journalists are not deceiving, the loudspeaker at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior reported: “” and other well-known statements took place. I will not talk about the queue, authenticity and time of production of the relics. Unable to resist the general PR of gifts, I propose to look at the born Savior, who is worshiped by the wise men, and the shepherds, and the parents, and the animals.

Jacopino di Francesco. Active 1320-1350. The Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi. circa 1325-1330

According to the testimony of Tacitus, Suetonius and Josephus, in the entire east at that time there was a prevailing belief, based on ancient prophecies, that a powerful king would soon rise in Judea and subjugate the whole world. And here's what sources say.

2.


Mosaic in Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, 6th century. Above the heads of the Magi you can read their names / Magi. Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy via

Holy Gospel from Matthew. Chapter 2:

1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said, 2 Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? for we saw His star in the east and came to worship Him.
3 When King Herod heard this, he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And having gathered together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them: Where should Christ be born?

3.

Bartolo di Fredi. Adoration of the Magi,1385-88

5 And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judah, for thus it is written through the prophet: 6 And you, Bethlehem, the land of Judah, are by no means the least of the provinces of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” 7 Then Herod, secretly calling the wise men, found out from them the time of the appearance of the star 8 and, sending them to Bethlehem, said: go, carefully investigate the Child and, when you find it, notify me, so that I too can go to worship Him.

4.

The Adoration of the Magi. c. 1420. Unknown Master, German

9 After they had heard the king, they left. [And] behold, the star that they saw in the east was walking before them, when it finally came and stood over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy,

5.


Gentile da Fabriano. Adoration of the Magi, 1423, Uffizi / Gentile da Fabriano, The Adoration of the Magi, 1423, tempera and gold leaf on panel. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. Detail. Click to see the composition in full. Large fragment

11 And entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary His Mother, and, falling down, they worshiped Him; and having opened their treasures, they brought Him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having received a revelation in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Holy Gospel from Luke. Chapter 2:

7 And she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 In the same country there were shepherds in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were afraid with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them: Do not be afraid; I bring you good news of great joy, which will be to all people: 11 For today a Savior has been born to you in the city of David, who is Christ the Lord; 12 And this is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

6.


Master of Moulins. Nativity circa 1480 Musée Rolin, Autun

13 And suddenly a large army of heaven appeared with the angel, praising God and crying: 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men! 15 When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see what has happened there, which the Lord has told us about.”

7.


Domenico Ghirlandaio. Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds. 1485

16 And they hastened and came and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in a manger. 17 When they saw it, they related what had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard were amazed at what the shepherds told them.

8.

The Nativity, by Bicci di Lorenzo. ca XV

19 But Mary kept all these words, writing them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
21 After eight days had passed, when [the Child] should have been circumcised, they gave Him the name Jesus, which the angel had called before He was conceived in the womb.

9.

The Adoration of the Magi. Altarpiece Place of origin Italy (made) Date ca. 1500-1510

So, the worship of the Magi is a gospel story about wise men who came from the East (Greek: μάγοι ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν) to worship the baby Jesus and bring him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gifts were symbolic, and the very worship of the Magi signifies the appearance of Christ to the pagans.

10.


The Adoration of the Kings. Jan Gossaert. 1510-1515. National Gallery, London

John Chrysostom. Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew. Conversation 6:3:

Since the purpose of Christ’s coming was to abolish the ancient rules of life, to call the entire universe to worship Himself and accept this worship on earth and at sea, Christ from the very beginning opens the door to the pagans, wanting to teach his own through strangers. Since the Jews, constantly hearing the prophets proclaiming the coming of Christ, did not pay special attention to it, the Lord inspired the barbarians to come from a distant country and ask about the King who was born among the Jews.

11.


Painted and gilded limewood panel depicting the Adoration of the Magi, by Augustin Henckel, Schaffhausen, Switzerland, 1500-1520

Magi is a Slavic word used in Russian translations. In the Gospel original there is a Greek word μάγοι. In ancient literature, there are mainly two meanings of this term: people belonging to the Persian Zoroastrian priests, and the Babylonian astrologer priests as a special professional group.

12.


Hans Memling. Adoration des Mages. 1463. via

In the Latin tradition, the Greek μάγοι is translated by the Latin word magi (“magicians”, “wizards”) - this word originally designated members of the priestly caste of Persia and Media. The legend about the Persian origin of the Magi lasted longest in Byzantine iconography; in European art it was lost: the Magi either had no ethnic affiliation or, in general, were associated with the Arab or Byzantine East.

13.


Antonio Vivarini, Adoration of the Kings. 1418

For the first time the Magi were called kings by St. Caesarea of ​​Arles. In Bede the Venerable, their names appear for the first time - Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

14.


Hugo van der Goes - The Adoration of the Kings. Monforte Altar.1470

In early Christian literature, the names of the Magi vary: for Origen they are Abimelech, Ochozat, Ficol; in the Syrian tradition these are Hormizd, Yazgerd, Peroz, etc. There are Greek versions of their names: Appellikon, Amerin and Damascon and Hebrew: Magalat, Galgalat and Serakin. There are legends about the fourth magician, whose name is Artabanus, as the brother or descendant of the brother of the Persian king Darius I. In the early manuscripts, Balthasar is called Bethesareus.

In the medieval West they received names that are now common everywhere: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

15.

Eusebio di Jacopo di Cristoforo da San Giorgio, The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1505.via

Evangelists do not write about the number of Magi. Origen was the first to suggest, based on the number of gifts brought, that there were three of them. This archetypal number of aliens allowed us to play with the implementation of various ideas. Thus, as the iconographic type developed, the Magi began to be depicted as representatives of three different ages of man: Balthazar - a young man, Melchior - a mature man and Caspar - an old man; three different sides of the world: Balthazar - black, possibly Abyssinian or Nubian - Africa; Melchior - white man - Europe; Caspar - with oriental features or in oriental clothing - Asia. That is, their homeland was three countries with ethnically different populations - Persia, Arabia and Ethiopia.

16.


Adoration of the Magi. Filippino Lippi. 1496

In the Syrian Church there is a legend about 12 wise men who arrived in Jerusalem with a huge retinue.

Church Tradition holds that the revelation of Herod's plans was received by the Magi during an overnight stay in a cave in the vicinity of Bethlehem. This place is revered by believers - in the 5th century, the monastery of Saint Theodosius the Great was founded over the cave, which became the first communal monastery in Palestine.

17.


Bigarelli Guido, Pulpit, XIII A.D. Tuscany, Italy. Fragment 1. Fragment 2

According to legend, the Magi were baptized by the Apostle Thomas and suffered martyrdom in eastern countries.
For the first time the Magi were called kings by St. Caesarea of ​​Arles.

18.


Adoration and Crucifixion Diptych. 1340-1360

According to legend, the relics of the Magi were found by Empress Helena, they were first placed in Constantinople, in the 4th (?) or 5th century they were transferred from there by Saint Eustorgius to Mediolan (Milan), and in 1164, at the request of Frederick Barbarossa, to Cologne, where for them To house the shrine of the Three Magi, the shrine of the Three Magi was built, and to house the shrine, Cologne Cathedral, the largest in Western Europe.

19.


Albrecht Dürer. L "Adoration des mages. 1504. via

IN Catholic Church The memory of the three kings is celebrated on the feast of the Epiphany. January 6, in some Catholic countries, is a day off. They are considered the patrons of travelers. Orthodox Church does not consider them kings, did not count their number, did not give them names and did not write them into doctrine.

20.

Adoration of the Shepherds / Adoration of the Shepherds, c.1500. Manuscript Image of Bodleian MS. Arch. Selden B. 26, fol. 8r

Beginning in the 15th century, the scene of the Adoration of the Magi began to be often combined with the scene of the Adoration of the Shepherds (Luke 2:8-20). This allowed artists to diversify the image by adding more people and animals. In some compositions, for example triptychs, these two scenes of worship could become side flaps of the central Nativity scene.

21.


Duccio, The Nativity with the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel.1308 or 1311

Journey of the Athonite Gifts of the Magi 2014: Moscow January 6-13, St. Petersburg January 14-17, Minsk January 18-24, Kiev Pechersk Lavra January 25-30.

22.


A Natividade - Domenico Ghirlandaio, c.1492

Surprisingly, just when one hundred thousand Christians were standing in line to receive the Gifts, my friends were looking around Moscow for platelets for a dying patient. I am sure that if we came and asked for blood, many would bow to the Gifts and go and donate. Isn't it true?

After all, in a city where there are such crowds of Christians that they even have to be restrained by cordons, there simply cannot be unkempt old people, abandoned children, or a lack of blood in hospitals. If they do exist, the problem is probably that we didn't show up to talk to the person in line.

How do you think?

25.