👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾 The #Church Built in the Name of the #Holy #Virgin# Mary
O beloved brethren in Christ, hear now with trembling hearts and minds alight with reverence, the mystery which the Lord revealed to His apostles and to us, concerning the Most Holy Virgin Mary and the Church built not by human hands, but by the hands of God Himself. This is no ordinary story, but a sacred event recorded in the Synaxarion, preserved by the Church, and bathed in divine light.
On Sene 20, in the district of Chalcedon in Caesarea Philippi, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself built a church not of wood, nor of clay, nor of water but by three stones, drawn together by divine command. This church was built in honor of His Holy Mother, the Virgin Mary, the All-Immaculate Theotokos. It stands among the holiest of her feast days, a monument not only of stone, but of heaven's descent upon earth.
In the eighth year of the Lord’s reign, the apostles Paul and Barnabas, having preached the Gospel and baptized many Gentiles in Philippi, desired to build a holy place where the new believers might worship. But they did not act without heavenly guidance. Saint Peter, the Chief of the Apostles, and Saint John the Beloved, were summoned. And then O awe-striking wonder! the Lord, gathering both the living and the dead, brought together all His apostles in a divine convocation.
Christ our God appeared and said, “I have gathered you to teach you the manner in which churches are to be built throughout the earth in the name of My Mother.” He took them eastward and, with divine majesty, moved three stones into one foundation. He measured it: 24 cubits in height and 12 in width, a mystery in number and in spirit. These stones, soft as wax under divine fire, were fashioned into a church by the hands of the apostles, according to the command and guidance of the Lord.
On the following day, Sene 21, the Lord descended again with His Holy Mother, the Virgin Mary. She stood as the new Ark of the Covenant, holier than that of Moses. He ordained the apostles: Saint Peter as priest, Saint Stephen as deacon, and sanctified the Eucharistic mystery, causing the heavenly bread and cup to descend into that first church. And thus, the apostolic priesthood and the mystery of the Eucharist were sealed under the name of the Theotokos.
What then do these sacred elements mean? Why such precise numbers and symbols? The Church built 24 cubits high mirrors the 24 heavenly prophets, who in the time of kings foretold the coming of Christ. The 12 cubits in width mirror the 12 holy apostles, who bore the Gospel to all lands. The three stones are a figure of the All-Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit one essence, undivided, eternal.
But more still is hidden in this holy teaching:
The church, being divided into three parts, reflects the ark across three divine ages:
1. The Ark of Adam—the beginning of humanity, fallen yet destined for glory.
2. The Ark of Moses—the Law, a shadow of the greater things to come.
3. The Ark of Christ—the fulfillment, in whom all is completed.
Likewise, it reflects three worlds:
The Ark of the Serpent (the world of the fall),
The Ark of Ior (the world of renewal),
The Ark of the Universe (the final, eternal world to come).
And even the angelic orders are shown as a divine reflection of the priestly ranks of the Church:
Angels = Singers
Princes = Anagogians
Elders = Deacons
Powers = Priests
Arbab = Commissaries
Cherubim, Seraphim = Bishops
These ranks are not merely symbols, but living realities. Just as the celestial orders do not usurp one another, so also in the Church no lower order may ascend presumptuously to the higher, and no higher may neglect the service to the lower. Yet all serve in harmony, according to grace and rank, in unity and obedience.
Continues 👇🏾