(Ὁμιλία στὸν Ἱ. Ναὸ Ἁγίου Γεωργίου Κορυδαλλοῦ, 21 Δεκ. 2025)
Μέχρι τὸ 400 μ.Χ. ἡ γέννηση τοῦ Χριστοῦ δὲν γιορταζόταν ἀπὸ μόνη της σὲ μία ἰδιαίτερη μέρα τοῦ ἔτους, ἀλλὰ μνημονευόταν ὡς ἐνανθρώπηση τοῦ Λόγου κατὰ τὴν ἡμέρα τὴν ἀφιερωμένη στὰ Θεοφάνεια, στὶς 6 Ἰανουαρίου. Κι αὐτὸ γιατὶ τὴν ἡμέρα τῶν Θεοφανείων μνημονευόταν ἡ ἀποκαλυπτικὴ ἀναγγελία ὅτι ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀπὸ τὴ Ναζαρὲτ εἶναι ὁ Χριστός, ὁ κεχρισμένος ὡς Σωτήρας, κι αὐτὴ τὴν ἐξαγγελία τὴν ἐνεργεῖ ὁ Πατὴρ κατὰ τὴ Βάπτιση τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ὅπως περιγράφεται στὰ εὐαγγέλια, α) στὸ κατὰ Ματθαῖον (3,16-17): «Καὶ βαπτισθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀνέβη εὐθὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνεῴχθησαν αὐτῷ οἱ οὐρανοί, καὶ εἶδεν τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ καταβαῖνον ὡσεὶ περιστερὰν καὶ ἐρχόμενον ἐπ’ αὐτόν· καὶ ἰδοὺ φωνὴ ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν λέγουσα· Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν ᾧ εὐδόκησα», β) στὸ κατὰ Μάρκον (1,10-11): «Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις ἦλθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀπὸ Ναζαρὲτ τῆς Γαλιλαίας καὶ ἐβαπτίσθη ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου εἰς τὸν Ἰορδάνην. Καὶ εὐθέως ἀναβαίνων ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος εἶδε σχιζομένους τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα ὡς περιστερὰν καταβαῖνον ἐπ’ αὐτόν· καὶ φωνὴ ἐγένετο ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν· Σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν σοὶ εὐδόκησα», γ) στὸ κατὰ Λουκᾶν (3,21-22): «Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ βαπτισθῆναι ἅπαντα τὸν λαὸν καὶ Ἰησοῦ βαπτισθέντος καὶ προσευχομένου ἀνεῳχθῆναι τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ καταβῆναι τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον σωματικῷ εἴδει ὡσεὶ περιστερὰν ἐπ’ αὐτόν, καὶ φωνὴν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ γενέσθαι λέγουσαν· Σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν σοὶ εὐδόκησα». Σ᾽ αὐτὲς τὶς περιγραφὲς ἔχουμε παρουσία τῶν τριῶν προσώπων τῆς θεότητας: ὁ Πατὴρ βεβαιώνει περὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ του (διὰ τῆς φωνῆς), ὁ Υἱὸς βαπτιζόμενος δηλώνει τὴν ἀναμαρτησία του (διὰ τῆς ἐξόδου του ἀμέσως ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος χωρὶς νὰ καταθέσει ἢ νὰ ὁμολογήσει ἁμαρτίες), καὶ τὸ Ἅγιο Πνεῦμα ἐπιβεβαιώνει τὴν ἀποστολὴ τοῦ Υἱοῦ γιὰ τὴ σωτηρία τοῦ κόσμου (διὰ τοῦ ἀκτίστου φωτὸς ποὺ ἐπιχέεται ἐπὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ). Σ’ αὐτὸ τὸ γεγονός, ποὺ ἀποκαλύπτει τὸν Ἰησοῦ ὡς Υἱὸ τοῦ οὐρανίου Πατρὸς καὶ συγχρόνως ἀνάγει τὸ ἔργο του στὰ τρία πρόσωπα τῆς θεότητας, δεδομένης τῆς παρουσίας τοῦ Πατρός, τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος, ἡ Ἐκκλησία ἀφιέρωσε τὴ γιορτὴ τῶν Θεοφανείων καὶ θεολόγησε μὲ τὴ γιορτὴ αὐτὴ τὴ σημασία τῆς παρεμβολῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ στὴν ἱστορία γιὰ τὴ σωτηρία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.
Φαίνεται ὅτι οἱ χριστολογικὲς αἱρέσεις τοῦ 4ου αἰώνα, αἱρέσεις ποὺ ἀμφισβητοῦσαν τὴ θεότητα τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἢ μίλαγαν γιὰ φαινομενικὴ (κατὰ φαντασίαν) ἐνανθρώπηση τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁδήγησαν τοὺς διδασκάλους τῆς Ἐκκλησίας στὰ ἐγκαίνια μιᾶς ἰδιαίτερης γιορτῆς ἀφιερωμένης στὴ γέννηση τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τὴν ὁποία μάλιστα συνέδεσαν μὲ τὸ φυσικὸ φαινόμενο τοῦ χειμερινοῦ ἡλιοστασίου, ὁπότε ἄρχιζε νὰ μικραίνει ἡ νύχτα καὶ νὰ μεγαλώνει ἡ ἡμέρα, νὰ «ξαναγεννιέται» δηλαδὴ ὁ αἰσθητὸς ἥλιος, συνδέοντας αὐτὸ τὸ φυσικὸ γεγονὸς μὲ τὴν ἀνατολὴ ἑνὸς νοητοῦ ἡλίου ποὺ φωτίζει τὴ θεία δημιουργία καὶ ποὺ ὀνομάζεται «Ἥλιος τῆς Δικαιοσύνης», ὅπως ψαλμωδεῖται στὸ Ἀπολυτίκιο τῆς ἑορτῆς: «Ἡ γέννησίς σου Χριστὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, ἀνέτειλε τῷ κόσμῳ, τὸ φῶς τὸ τῆς γνώσεως· ἐν αὐτῇ γὰρ οἱ τοὶς ἄστροις λατρεύοντες, ὑπὸ ἀστέρος ἐδιδάσκοντο, σὲ προσκυνεῖν, τὸν Ἥλιον τῆς δικαιοσύνης, καὶ σὲ γινώσκειν ἐξ ὕψους ἀνατολήν, Κύριε δόξα σοί». Ἡ εἰσαγωγὴ τῆς γιορτῆς πρωτοέγινε στὴ Ρώμη, περὶ τὸ 350, καὶ ἀκολούθησε ὁ ἐγκαινιασμός της ὑπὸ τοῦ Μ. Βασιλείου στὴν Καισάρεια τῆς Καππαδοκίας καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου Φλαβιανοῦ στὴν Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Συρίας. Στὴν Κωνσταντινούπολη εἰσήχθη ἡ ἑορτὴ ἐπὶ πατριαρχείας Γρηγορίου τοῦ Θεολόγου περὶ τὸ 380, ἀλλὰ γενικεύθηκε περὶ τὸ 400 ἐπὶ πατριαρχείας τοῦ Ἰωάννου Χρυσοστόμου, ὅπως μαρτυρεῖ ἡ παράδοση.
Κατ’ ἀκολουθίαν, ἐγκαινιάσθηκαν οἱ ἑορτὲς ποὺ ἐξαρτῶνται ἀπὸ τὴ γέννηση τοῦ Χριστοῦ: ὀκτὼ ἡμέρες μετὰ ἡ Περιτομή, σαράντα ἡμέρες μετὰ ἡ Ὑπαπαντή, ἐννέα μῆνες πρὶν ὁ Εὐαγγελισμός· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ γέννηση τοῦ τιμίου Προδρόμου ἕξι μῆνες πρίν. Ἦταν ἐπάναγκες νὰ τονιστεῖ ἡ κεφαλαιώδης σημασία τῆς πραγματικῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τοῦ Λόγου τοῦ Θεοῦ γιὰ νὰ διαφυλαχθεῖ ἡ ἀλήθεια τῆς σωτηρίας, ἀφοῦ, κατὰ τὸν ἅγιο Κύριλλο Ἱεροσολύμων, «εἰ φάντασμα ἦν ἡ ἐνανθρώπησις, φάντασμα καὶ ἡ σωτηρία» (Κατηχήσεις 4, 9).
Πέραν βέβαια ὅλων αὐτῶν τῶν «ἑορτολογικῶν», παραμένει κρίσιμο τὸ ἐρώτημα καὶ οἱ συνέπειες ἀπὸ τὴν ἀπάντηση ὡς πρὸς τὸ περιεχόμενο τῆς ἑορτῆς. Θὰ παραδοθοῦμε στὸ μυστήριο τῆς σαρκώσεως τοῦ Λόγου καὶ θὰ ὁδεύσουμε μία πορεία πνευματικῆς ἄσκησης, ὥστε τὸ Ἅγιο Πνεῦμα νὰ ἐνεργήσει ἐντός μας καὶ νὰ μᾶς συνδέσει πραγματικὰ μὲ τὸ πρόσωπο τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ; Θὰ ἐπιχειρήσουμε νὰ γίνουμε ἔτσι ὅμαιμοι μὲ αὐτόν, υἱοὶ τοῦ ἴδιου Πατέρα; Θὰ ἀντιληφθοῦμε ὅτι ἡ ἀνθρώπινη φύση, ἡ φύση τοῦ καθενός μας, εἶναι ἐνθρονισμένη δίπλα στὸν οὐράνιο Πατέρα, χάρη ἀκριβῶς στὴν ἐνανθρώπηση τοῦ Υἱοῦ του, καὶ ὅτι ὁ δρόμος ἔχει ἀνοιχτεῖ γιὰ καθένα μας ὥστε νὰ ἑνωθεῖ μὲ τὸν Υἱό, νὰ ἐγχριστωθεῖ στὴν κυριολεξία; Ἢ θὰ μείνουμε σὲ συναισθηματικὲς προσεγγίσεις, σὲ ἰδεοληπτικὲς παγιδεύσεις, σὲ εὐσεβιστικοὺς στοχασμοὺς καὶ σὲ ἱεραποστολικές, δηλαδὴ ἐγωιστικές, ἀκροβασίες καὶ ἀκτιβισμούς; Ἡ ἀπόφαση εἶναι καίρια. Μιλᾶμε γιὰ θεραπεία τῆς φύσης καὶ ὄχι ἁπλῶς γιὰ βελτίωση τοῦ χαρακτήρα. Μιλᾶμε γιὰ νίκη κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου καὶ ὄχι γιὰ ψυχολογικὸ ἐφησυχασμό. Γι’ αὐτὸ καὶ ἡ ἀπάντηση εἶναι πρόκληση. Μᾶς προκαλοῦν ἄλλωστε ―καὶ μᾶς προσκαλοῦν― στὴν ὁδὸ θεώσεως οἱ Ἅγιοί μας. Ἂς δοῦμε ὅμως, ποιὸ εἶναι τὸ περιεχόμενο τῆς σχέσης ὡς πρὸς τὴν ἐνανθρώπηση τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ Λόγου τοῦ Θεοῦ μὲ τὴ δυνατότητα θεώσεως τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, σύμφωνα μὲ τὴ διδασκαλία τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ὥστε νὰ πραγματοποιηθεῖ ἡ ἀρχαία ἐπισήμανση ὅτι δημιουργηθήκααμε «κατ᾽ εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωση τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Ἡ σχέση θεότητας καὶ ἀνθρωπότητας ὑπῆρχε στὴ βούληση τοῦ Θεοῦ πρὶν ἀπὸ τὴ δημιουργία τοῦ κόσμου. Αὐτὴ ἡ θεία βούληση χαρακτηρίζεται ὡς κεκρυμμένο μυστήριο, τὸ ὁποῖο τελικὰ ἀποκαλύφθηκε μὲ τὸ ἔργο τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (ἐνανθρώπηση, διδασκαλία, ἐνέργειες, Πάθος, Ἀνάσταση καὶ Ἀνάληψη), ἤ, ὅπως ὑπογραμμίζει ὁ ἀπόστολος Πέτρος, ἑνὸς μυστηρίου «προεγνωσμένου μὲν πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, φανερωθέντος δὲ ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων τῶν χρόνων» (Α´ Πέτρ. 1,20).
Ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς Ἰωάννης δὲν περιγράφει τὴ γέννηση τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅπως μᾶς τὴν παραδίδουν οἱ ἄλλοι εὐαγγελιστές, θεολογεῖ ὅμως μὲ μοναδικὸ τρόπο γιὰ τὴν ἐνανθρώπηση τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ Λόγου τοῦ Θεοῦ στὸ Προοίμιο τοῦ εὐαγγελίου του. Ἀνάμεσα στὰ ἄλλα ὑπογραμμίζει τὰ ἑξῆς: «Ἦν τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν, ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον, ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον. Ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἦν, καὶ ὁ κόσμος δι᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔγνω. Εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἦλθεν, καὶ οἱ ἴδιοι αὐτὸν οὐ παρέλαβον. Ὅσοι δὲ ἔλαβον αὐτόν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, οἳ οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων, οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκός, οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρός, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν. Καὶ ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἐθεασάμεθα τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ πατρός, πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας» (Ἰωάν. 1,9-14). [= Ὁ Λόγος [καὶ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ] ἦταν τὸ ἀληθινὸ φῶς, ἐκεῖνο ποὺ φωτίζει κάθε ἄνθρωπο ποὺ ἔρχεται στὸν κόσμο. Μέσα στὸν κόσμο ἦταν κι ὁ κόσμος δι᾽ αὐτοῦ δημιουργήθηκε, μὰ ὁ κόσμος δὲν τὸν ἀναγνώρισε. Ἦρθε στὸν τόπο τὸν δικό του, καὶ οἱ δικοί του δὲν τὸν δέχτηκαν. Σὲ ὅσους ὅμως τὸν δέχτηκαν καὶ πίστεψαν σ᾽ αὐτόν, ἔδωσε τὴ δυνατότητα νὰ γίνουν παιδιὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Αὐτοὶ γεννήθηκαν ἀπ᾽ τὸν Θεὸ καὶ ὄχι ἀπὸ γυναίκας αἷμα, οὔτε ἀπὸ ἐπιθυμία ἀνθρώπινη ἢ ἐπιθυμία ἄνδρα. Ὁ Λόγος ἔγινε ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἔστησε τὴ σκηνή του ἀνάμεσά μας καὶ εἴδαμε τὴ θεϊκή του δόξα, τὴ δόξα ποὺ τὴν ἔχει ὁ μοναχογιὸς ἀπὸ τὸν Πατέρα,γεμάτος χάρη κι ἀλήθεια.] Ὅσοι λοιπὸν τὸν δέχτηκαν αὐτὸν τὸν Υἱὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὡς Υἱὸ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ὅσοι δέχτηκαν αὐτὸ τὸ φῶς, ὅσοι ἀναγνώρισαν στὸ πρόσωπο τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τὸν Υἱὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, χαριτώθηκαν νὰ γίνουν υἱοὶ τοῦ ἴδιου Πατέρα, τοῦ Πατέρα τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Μιλᾶμε γιὰ τὸ μυστήριο τῆς θείας υἱοθεσίας. Ὅποιος συνδέεται μὲ τὸν Χριστό, συνδέεται καὶ μὲ τὸν Πατέρα τοῦ Υἱοῦ. Πρόκειται ὄχι γιὰ υἱότητα σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος, ἀλλὰ γιὰ υἱότητα χάριτος. Ὁ Θεὸς γεννάει τοὺς πιστούς!
Ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς χρησιμοποιεῖ τὸ ρῆμα «γίγνομαι» (γενέσθαι) γιὰ νὰ ὑπογραμμίσει ὅτι πρόκειται γιὰ πραγματικὴ συνθήκη καὶ ὄχι γιὰ συμβολικὴ ἢ φαντασιακὴ ἀναφορά. Ὄχι νὰ νομισθοῦν παιδιὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ κατὰ ἕναν συμβολικὸ τρόπο, ὅπως ἀναπτύσσεται σὲ ἄλλες θρησκεῖες, ἢ στὴν ἀρχαιοελληνικὴ φιλοσοφία. Δὲν εἶναι τὰ τέκνα Θεοῦ ὅπως ἦταν τέκνα Θεοῦ ὁ Ἀβραάμ, ὁ Ἰσαάκ, ὁ Ἰακώβ, γιὰ νὰ χρησιμοποιήσω μία ἔκφραση τῆς Παλαιᾶς Διαθήκης, ἀλλὰ εἶναι τέκνα Θεοῦ ὡς ὅμαιμοι καὶ ὁμόσαρκοι τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς κοινωνοῦντες μὲ τὸ θεωμένο σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Αὐτὴ ἡ υἱοθεσία ὀνομάζεται «μυστήριο» στὴν παράδοσή μας γιατὶ πρῶτον εἶναι ἀκατανόητη καὶ δεύτερον ἡ ἀντίληψή της γίνεται μὲ ἕναν μυστικό, ἐσωτερικὸ τρόπο. Πρόκειται γιὰ τὴν οὐσία τῆς σωτηρίας, ποὺ σημαίνει ὅτι ὅσοι λαμβάνουν τὸν Ἰησοῦ Χριστό, λαμβάνουν συγχρόνως καὶ τὴ δυνατότητα νὰ εἶναι υἱοὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, λαμβάνουν τὴ δυνατότητα νὰ γίνουν ὅ,τι εἶναι καὶ ὁ Υἱός.
Αὐτὸς ὁ Υἱὸς καὶ Λόγος τοῦ οὐρανίου Πατρὸς ναὶ μὲν ὑπάρχει προαιωνίως στὸν Θεό, ἀλλὰ κάποια στιγμὴ ἐμφανίζεται μέσα στὴν ἱστορία, γίνεται πρόσωπο τῆς ἱστορίας. Δηλαδὴ ἡ πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου βουλὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ φανεροῦται στὴν ἱστορία. Καὶ φανεροῦται ὡς δόξα, γιὰ πρώτη φορὰ ἀντιλαμβανόμαστε ποιὸς εἶναι αὐτὸς ὁ Υἱός.
Τὴ λέξη «δόξα», γιὰ νὰ τὴν κατανοήσουμε καλύτερα μὲ τὴ λειτουργική της σημασία, πρέπει νὰ τὴν συνδέσουμε μὲ τὸ ἐπεισόδιο τῆς Μεταμόρφωσης τοῦ Σωτῆρος στὸ ὄρος Θαβώρ. Ἐκεῖ ἔχουμε ἕνα περιστατικό, ὀλίγον παράξενο, ποὺ συμβαίνει πρὸ τοῦ Πάθους. Ὁ Ἰησοῦς παίρνει τρεῖς ἀπὸ τοὺς μαθητές του, τὸν Πέτρο, τὸν Ἰάκωβο καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννη, καὶ ἀνεβαίνουν σὲ ἕναν μικρὸ λοφίσκο. Ἀνεβαίνουν σ’ αὐτὸν τὸν λοφίσκο, συνομιλώντας βέβαια, ὅπως ὑποδηλώνει ἡ διήγηση, καὶ ἐνῶ συνομιλοῦν ἀλλάζει ὁ Χριστός. Δὲν ἀλλάζει ἡ φύση του, ἀλλάζει ἡ θέα του. Ξαφνικὰ ἕνα φῶς περιλούει ὅλον τὸν Χριστό· ὄχι μόνο τὸ πρόσωπό του, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἱμάτιά του («καὶ ἔλαμψεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος, τὰ δὲ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο λευκὰ ὡς τὸ φῶς» – Ματθ. 17,2). Ἑπομένως, καὶ τὴν κτίση περιλούει αὐτὸ τὸ φῶς. Αὐτὸ τὸ φῶς εἶναι δυνατό, αὐτὸ τὸ φῶς κάνει τοὺς μαθητὲς νὰ μὴν μποροῦν νὰ δοῦν, γι᾽ αὐτὸ σκύβουν κάτω, καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀντιλαμβάνονται ὡς αἴσθηση, δηλαδὴ ἀντιλαμβάνονται μία πραγματικότητα ὡς αἴσθηση, τὴν ὁποίαν θέλουν νὰ τὴν αἰωνίσουν, νὰ τὴν βγάλουν ἀπὸ τὸν χρόνο. Καὶ σ’ αὐτὴν τὴν ἀπουσία τοῦ χρόνου νὰ ὑπάρχουν οἱ τρεῖς μορφές, ὁ Χριστός, ὁ Ἠλίας καὶ ὁ Μωυσῆς, καὶ οἱ τρεῖς μαθητές. Αὐτὸ ζητᾶνε, αὐτὸ ζητάει ὁ Πέτρος.
Γιὰ τοὺς μαθητὲς δὲν εἶναι κάτι ἐξωπραγματικὸ ἡ θέα ἑνὸς φωτός. Τὴν ἔχουν διδαχθεῖ αὐτὴ τὴ θέα, ἐπειδὴ οἱ μαθητὲς τοῦ Χριστοῦ, σχεδὸν ὅλοι, ἔχουν βγεῖ ἀπὸ ἱερὰ σπουδαστήρια, ἔχουν σπουδάσει τὸν Νόμο (Μωυσής) καὶ τοὺς Προφῆτες Ἠλίας), ὅπως λέμε, οἱ περισσότεροι μάλιστα εἶναι μαθητὲς τοῦ Ἰωάννη τοῦ Βαπτιστῆ, ἔχουν μάθει γι’ αὐτὴ τὴ θεοφάνεια, ὅπως αὐτὴ περιγράφεται ἀπὸ ἄλλους ἔμπειρους τῆς ἰουδαϊκῆς παράδοσης, μὲ ἀποκορύφωμα τὴ θεοφάνεια ποὺ ἔχουμε στὴν περίπτωση τοῦ Μωυσῆ, ὁ ὁποῖος βλέπει αὐτὸ τὸ φῶς, εἴτε ὡς φλόγα στὸν βάτο (ποὺ φλέγεται ἀλλὰ δὲν καίεται) , εἴτε ὡς ἀστράπτον φῶς στὴν κορυφὴ τοῦ ὄρους Σινᾶ – καὶ πάντως αὐτὸ τὸ φῶς ποὺ βλέπει ὁ Μωυσῆς ὡς παρουσία τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ βλέπει καὶ ὁ λαὸς στὸ πρόσωπο τοῦ Μωυσῆ.
Τὸ εὐαγγέλιο μᾶς μιλάει γι᾽ αὐτὴ τὴ δόξα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ σὲ ἄλλες περιπτώσεις. Ὁ ἴδιος μάλιστα ὁ Χριστὸς θὰ ὑπογραμμίσει στοὺς μαθητές του ὅτι δὲν καταλαβαίνουν ἐντελῶς τὰ σημεῖα ποὺ ἐπιτελεῖ, γιατὶ ἀκόμα δὲν εἶδαν τὸν Υἱὸ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου νὰ δοξάζεται: «οὔπω ἐδοξάσθη ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου», τοὺς λέει. Τὸ περιστατικὸ τοῦ Θαβὼρ εἶναι ἕνα ἔμμεσο καὶ παρενθετικὸ περιστατικό, ἕνα μυστικὸ περιστατικό, γι᾽ αὐτὸ καὶ κατεβαίνοντας ἀπὸ τὸ ὄρος τοὺς λέει ἀκριβῶς αὐτό: σὲ κανέναν δὲν θὰ πεῖτε μέχρι νὰ δοξασθεῖ ὁ Υἱός. Τώρα εἴδατε αὐτὸ ποὺ θὰ συμβεῖ, ἀλλὰ ἂν δὲν συμβεῖ δὲν μπορεῖτε νὰ τὸ κηρύξετε.
Στὸ χωρίο τοῦ Ἰωάννη ποὺ παραθέσαμε παραπάνω ὑπάρχει καὶ ἡ ἔκφραση «ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν», ποὺ σημαίνει ἔστησε τὴ σκηνή του ἀνάμεσά μας, δηλαδὴ τὸν οἶκο του, θεμελίωσε οἶκο μέσα στὴν ἱστορία ὁ Ἰησοῦς μὲ τὸ νὰ γίνει ἄνθρωπος. Ἡ ἐνανθρώπηση τοῦ Λόγου καὶ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀποτελεῖ τὴν ἀπαρχὴ μιᾶς νέας πραγματικότητας. Ἱδρύεται ὁ οἶκος τοῦ νέου Ἰσραήλ, τῆς Ἐκκλησίας. Ἀνάμεσά μας, ἀνάμεσα στὸν νέο αὐτὸ λαὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπικεφαλῆς, βρίσκεται ὁ Χριστὸς ὡς Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ὡς θεάνθρωπος, «πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας». Καὶ ἡ «χάρις» καὶ ἡ «ἀλήθεια» εἶναι δυνάμεις τῆς θεότητας. Ὁ ἴδιος ὁ Θεὸς εἶναι πηγὴ χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας. Μὲ τὴν ἐνανθρώπησή του ὁ Υἱὸς τὶς προσφέρει, τὶς κάνει οἰκεῖες σὲ καθέναν ποὺ συνδέεται μαζί του. Ὁ ἴδιος ὁ Xριστὸς θὰ ἐπισημάνει στοὺς μαθητές του ὅτι ἡ ἀλήθεια ταυτίζεται μὲ τὸ πρόσωπό του: «ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀλήθεια» (βλ. Ἰωάν. 14,6).
Στὴν ὑπόσταση ἢ τὸ πρόσωπο τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μετὰ τὴν ἐνανθρώπησή του, συντρέχουν δύο φύσεις, ἡ θεία καὶ ἡ ἀνθρώπινη. Γι᾽ αὐτὸ καὶ ὀνομάζεται Θεάνθρωπος. Ἡ σχέση μεταξὺ αὐτῶν τῶν δύο φύσεων ἀποτέλεσε πεδίο ἔντονων συζητήσεων ἀνάμεσα σὲ ὁμάδες ἐντὸς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἀπὸ τὶς ὁποῖες προέκυψαν αἱρέσεις καὶ σχίσματα. Καὶ ναὶ μὲν ἔχει παγιωθεῖ ἡ πίστη στὸ πρόσωπο τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὡς Θεανθρώπου, τουλάχιστον στὶς μεγάλες χριστιανικὲς παραδόσεις (Ὀρθόδοξη, Ρωμαιοκαθολική, Λουθηρανική, Ἀγγλικανική), δὲν ἔλειψε ὅμως μέχρι σήμερα νὰ ἕρπει αὐτὴ ἡ διαμάχη, κυρίως ὡς πίστη διάφορων προτεσταντικῶν ὁμάδων (ὑπὸ τὴν ἔννοια τῆς σέκτας), ἢ μεταξὺ ἀκαδημαϊκῶν θεολόγων, καὶ πάλι κυρίως στὸν προτεσταντικὸ χῶρο.
Σημειώνω ὅτι ἡ ὁλοκληρωμένη διατύπωση γιὰ τὴ θεανδρικότητα τοῦ Χριστοῦ περιέχεται στὸν ὅρο τῆς Δ´ Οἰκουμενικῆς Συνόδου (451), ὅπου μεταξὺ ἄλλων ἀναφέρεται ὅτι: «… ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ὁμολογεῖν Υἱὸν τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν συμφώνως ἅπαντες ἐκδιδάσκομεν, τέλειον τὸν αὐτὸν ἐν θεότητι καὶ τέλειον τὸν αὐτὸν ἐν ἀνθρωπότητι, Θεὸν ἀληθῶς καὶ ἄνθρωπον ἀληθῶς τὸν αὐτὸν ἐκ ψυχῆς λογικῆς καὶ σώματος, […] ἐν δύο φύσεσιν ἀσυγχύτως, ἀτρέπτως, ἀδιαιρέτως, ἀχωρίστως γνωριζόμενον, οὐδαμοῦ τῆς τῶν φύσεων διαφορᾶς ἀνῃρημένης διὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν, σῳζομένης δὲ μᾶλλον τῆς ἰδιότητος ἑκατέρας φύσεως καὶ εἰς ἓν πρόσωπον καὶ μίαν ὑπόστασιν συντρεχούσης». Ἰδιαίτερα ὑπογραμμίζω τὴν ἐπισήμανση: «οὐδαμοῦ τῆς τῶν φύσεων διαφορᾶς ἀνῃρημένης διὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν, σῳζομένης δὲ μᾶλλον τῆς ἰδιότητος ἑκατέρας φύσεως καὶ εἰς ἓν πρόσωπον καὶ μίαν ὑπόστασιν συντρεχούσης, οὐκ εἰς δύο πρόσωπα μεριζόμενον ἢ διαιρούμενον» [= καμία διαφορὰ τῶν φύσεων δὲν καταργήθηκε ἐξαιτίας τῆς ἑνώσεως, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον διασώθηκε ἡ ἰδιότητα καθεμιᾶς φύσεως, καὶ καθεμιὰ ἀπὸ αὐτὲς συναντᾶ τὴν ἄλλη σὲ ἕνα πρόσωπο καὶ μία ὑπόσταση, χωρὶς νὰ χωρίζονται σὲ δύο πρόσωπα ἢ νὰ διαιροῦνται].
Εἶναι λοιπὸν κοινὸς τόπος ἡ πίστη μας στὴ θεανδρικότητα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ: τέλειος Θεὸς καὶ τέλειος ἄνθρωπος, Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Συνειδοτοποιοῦμε ὅμως τὸ περιεχόμενο αὐτῆς τῆς συνθήκης, ἢ τὴν ἀποδεχόμαστε χωρὶς νὰ ἀντιλαμβανόμαστε τὴ σημασία της, κυρίως γιὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπολογία ποὺ θεμελιώνει, δηλαδὴ γιὰ τὴ δυνατότητα ἡ κτιστὴ ἀνθρώπινη φύση μας νὰ σχετιστεῖ, σὲ ὑπαρξιακὸ ἐπίπεδο, μὲ τὴν ἄκτιστη φύση τῆς θεότητας;
Γνωρίζουμε ὅτι ἡ θεολογία τῆς Ὀρθόδοξης Ἐκκλησίας ἀπέφυγε νὰ ἀσχοληθεῖ μὲ τὴ φύση τῆς θεότητας, ὅπως περιττῶς καὶ ἐσφαλμένως ἔκανε ἡ σχολαστικὴ δυτικὴ παράδοση ἀπὸ τὸ 9ο αἰ. καὶ μετά, ἐπηρεάζοντας δυστυχῶς καὶ τὴν ὀρθόδοξη θεολογία τουλάχιστον μέχρι τὰ μέσα τοῦ 20οῦ αἰ. Γιὰ τοὺς Πατέρες τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἴσχυε ἡ ἀρχὴ τοῦ ἁγίου Γρηγορίου τοῦ Θεολόγου, ὅτι «[Θεὸν] φράσαι μὲν ἀδύνατον, νοῆσαι δὲ ἀδυνατώτερον» (Λόγος Θεολογικὸς Β´, 4,5), ἢ ἡ ἀρχὴ τοῦ ἁγίου Ἰωάννου Δαμασκηνοῦ, ὅτι «Ἄπειρον τὸ θεῖον καὶ ἀκατάληπτον, καὶ τοῦτο μόνον αὐτοῦ καταληπτόν, ἡ ἀπειρία καὶ ἡ ἀκαταληψία» (Ἔκδοσις ἀκριβὴς τῆς ὀρθοδόξου πίστεως, 4,2). Ἤδη στὴν ἀποκάλυψη τῆς ἰουδαϊκῆς παράδοσης εἶχε ἐπισημανθεῖ ὅτι τὸ πρόσωπο τοῦ Θεοῦ, δηλαδὴ ἡ φύση του, δὲν ἀποκαλύπτεται στὸν ἄνθρωπο, παρὰ μόνον ὁ βηματισμός του ἐντὸς τῆς Δημιουργίας, δηλαδὴ οἱ ἐνέργειές του — καὶ ἀναφέρομαι στὸ περιστατικὸ τῆς θεοφάνειας πρὸς τὸν Μωυσῆ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄρους Σινᾶ (βλ. Ἔξοδ. 33,18-23: «Καὶ λέγει [Μωυσῆς]· ἐμφάνισόν μοι σεαυτόν, καὶ εἶπεν [ὁ Θεός]· ἐγὼ παρελεύσομαι πρότερός σου τῇ δόξῃ μου καὶ καλέσω τῷ ὀνόματί μου, Κύριος ἐναντίον σου· καὶ ἐλεήσω ὃν ἂν ἐλεῶ, καὶ οἰκτειρήσω ὃν ἂν οἰκτείρω. καὶ εἶπεν· οὐ δυνήσῃ ἰδεῖν τὸ πρόσωπόν μου· οὐ γὰρ μὴ ἴδῃ ἄνθρωπος τὸ πρόσωπόν μου καὶ ζήσεται. Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος· ἰδοὺ τόπος παρ᾿ ἐμοί, στήσῃ ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας· ἡνίκα δ᾿ ἂν παρέλθῃ ἡ δόξα μου, καὶ θήσω σε εἰς ὀπὴν τῆς πέτρας καὶ σκεπάσω τῇ χειρί μου ἐπὶ σέ, ἕως ἂν παρέλθω· καὶ ἀφελῶ τὴν χεῖρα, καὶ τότε ὄψει τὰ ὀπίσω μου, τὸ δὲ πρόσωπόν μου οὐκ ὀφθήσεταί σοι»).
Αὐτὴ ἡ στάση τῶν Ἑλλήνων Πατέρων μᾶς ἐπιτρέπει νὰ συμπεράνουμε ὅτι ἡ σκέψη τους καὶ ἡ διδασκαλία τους ἦταν πάντοτε ἐπικεντρωμένη στὸν ἄνθρωπο καὶ ὄχι στὸν Θεό, ὅσο κι ἂν αὐτὸς ὁ λόγος μοιάζει παράξενος. Οἱ ἀγῶνες τους καὶ ἡ διδασκαλία τους, κυρίως ἐναντίον τῶν αἱρέσεων, ἀπέβλεπε στὴ διαφύλαξη τῆς ὁδοῦ σωτηρίας τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Ἄλλωστε, οἱ ἐνέργειες τοῦ ἴδιου τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅπως τὶς γνωρίζουμε ἀπὸ τὶς βιβλικὲς ἀποκαλύψεις, εἶναι ἐπικεντρωμένες στὴ σωτηρία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, δηλαδὴ στὴν ὁλοκλήρωση τοῦ δημιουργικοῦ του ἔργου διὰ τῆς ἐμφανίσεως τοῦ τέλειου ἀνθρώπου, ὅπως τελικὰ συνέβη στὸ πρόσωπο τοῦ Νέου Ἀδάμ, τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Πρόκειται γιὰ τὸ «προεπινοούμενο τέλος» τῆς θείας βουλῆς, κατὰ τὴ διατύπωση τοῦ ἁγίου Μαξίμου Ὁμολογητοῦ («Τοῦτό ἐστιν ὁ τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν ὄντων προεπινοούμενος θεῖος σκοπός, ὃν ὁρίζοντες εἶναί φαμεν, προεπινοούμενον τέλος, οὗ ἕνεκα μὲν πάντα, αὐτὸ δὲ οὐδενὸς ἕνεκα», Πρὸς Θαλάσσιον, ξ΄).
Γνωρίζουμε ὅτι τέσσερα εἶναι τὰ κορυφαῖα γεγονότα μέσῳ τῶν ὁποίων ὁλοκληρώθηκε τὸ ἔργο τοῦ Χριστοῦ γιὰ τὴ σωτηρία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου: ἡ Γέννηση, τὸ Πάθος, ἡ Ἀνάσταση καὶ ἡ Ἀνάληψη. Τὸ τελευταῖο περιέχει ἐν συμπεράσματι ὅλο τὸ ἔργο τῆς σωτηρίας, δεδομένου ὅτι εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς βρέθηκε πλέον ὁ Χριστὸς ὡς Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, καὶ μάλιστα μὲ ἔμφαση στὴ δικαίωση τῆς ἀνθρωπότητάς του, δεδομένου ὅτι ὡς Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐδέποτε ἀπέστη τῆς σχέσης του μὲ τὸν οὐράνιο Πατέρα. Ἑπομένως αὐτὸ ποὺ ἀποκαλύφθηκε μὲ τὴν Ἀνάληψη εἶναι ὅτι ἄνοιξε ὁ δρόμος γιὰ νὰ ἀνέλθει ἕκαστος ἄνθρωπος στὸν τόπο τῆς θεότητας, ἐφ᾽ ὅσον συνδεθεῖ μὲ τὸν Ἰησοῦ Χριστό, νὰ πραγματοποιηθεῖ δηλαδὴ τὸ μυστήριο τῆς θείας υἱοθεσίας, ὥστε ὁ Πατὴρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ νὰ εἶναι καὶ Πατέρας ἑκάστου χριστοποιημένου πιστοῦ.
Ὑπάρχει καὶ ἕνα πέμπτο γεγονὸς ποὺ συνέβαλε στὴν ὁλοκλήρωση τοῦ ἔργου τῆς σωτηρίας, ἡ ἀποστολὴ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος τὴν ἡμέρα τῆς Πεντηκοστῆς, τὸ ὁποῖο παραμένει ἐντὸς τῆς ἱστορίας καὶ ὁδηγεῖ τοὺς πιστοὺς σὲ κοινωνία μὲ τὸν Χριστό, ἤ, γιὰ νὰ χρησιμοποιήσουμε λειτουργικὴ ὁρολογία, «ὅλον συγκροτεῖ τὸν θεσμὸν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας» (βλ. Στιχηρὸν Ἑσπερινοῦ Πεντηκοστῆς). Ἡ παρουσία τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος κάνει τὸ ἔργο τῆς θείας Οἰκονομίας, ποὺ ἐπιτελέσθηκε μὲ τὴ δράση τοῦ Χριστοῦ, νὰ ἐπηρεάζει τελεσίδικα τὸ ὑπαρξιακὸ εἶναι τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, συνδέοντας τὴν κτιστότητά του μὲ τὶς ἐνέργειες τῆς ἄκτιστης θεότητας.
Αὐτὴ ἡ σύνδεση κτιστοῦ καὶ ἀκτίστου, ποὺ ὀφείλεται στὴ θεανδρικότητα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, εἰσάγει τὴν προοπτικὴ τῆς αἰωνιότητας ὡς κατάργησης τοῦ θανάτου, τῆς δυνατότητας νὰ γίνει ὁ ἄνθρωπος κοινωνὸς τῆς θείας φύσεως, κατὰ τὴ διατύπωση τοῦ ἀποστόλου Πέτρου: «δι’ ὧν τὰ τίμια ἡμῖν καὶ μέγιστα ἐπαγγέλματα δεδώρηται, ἵνα διὰ τούτων γένησθε θείας κοινωνοὶ φύσεως ἀποφυγόντες τῆς ἐν κόσμῳ ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ φθορᾶς» (Β´ Πέτρ. 1,4).
Εἶναι σημαντικὸ νὰ ἔχουμε πάντοτε ἐνώπιόν μας τὴν προοπτικὴ τῆς θέωσης τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, κατάσταση ποὺ θεωρεῖται ὡς ὁ τελικὸς σκοπὸς τῆς δημιουργίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ποὺ ἐνεργεῖται μὲ τὴ συνεργασία Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπου. Αὐτὴ τὴν προοπτικὴ ἀνέδειξε (καὶ ἀναδεικνύει) σχεδὸν ὡς μονοσήμαντη ἡ θεολογία τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ὅπως διατυπώνεται ἀπὸ τὸν Μέγα Ἀθανάσιο («αὐτὸς [ὁ Υἱὸς] υἱοποίησεν ἡμᾶς τῷ Πατρί, καὶ ἐθεοποίησε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους γενόμενος αὐτὸς ἄνθρωπος. […] γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, ἵνα μᾶλλον ἡμᾶς θεοποιήσῃ», Κατά Ἀρειανῶν 1, 38 καὶ 39, PG 26, 92B καὶ C), καὶ ὅπως ἐπίσης τονίζουμε στὴ λατρευτική μας παράδοση («Σωματοῦται ὁ Λόγος ἐν μήτρᾳ σου, καὶ δι᾿ εὐσπλαγχνίαν γνωρίζεται ἄνθρωπος, ἵνα Θεὸν τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀπεργάσηται, Κόρη πανάμωμε», σύμφωνα μὲ τὸ Θεοτοκίο τῆς ³΄ ὠδῆς τῆς 22ας Νοεμβρίου· ἢ: «ἄνθρωπος γίνεται Θεός, ἵνα Θεὸν τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἀπεργάσηται», σύμφωνα μὲ τὸ Δοξαστικὸ τῶν Αἴνων τῆς ἑορτῆς τοῦ Εὐαγγελισμοῦ).
Κατὰ τὸν ἅγιο Μάξιμο τὸν Ὁμολογητή, ὁ Θεὸς μᾶς δημιούργησε γιὰ νὰ κοινωνήσουμε μαζί του καὶ νὰ γίνουμε μέτοχοι τῆς αἰώνιας ζωῆς του, ὥστε νὰ γίνουμε ὅμοιοι μὲ αὐτὸν κατὰ τὴ θέωση ποὺ μᾶς χαρίζει, τονίζοντας ὅτι γι᾽ αὐτὸ τὸν λόγο δημιουργήθηκαν τὰ ὄντα καὶ αὐτὸς εἶναι ὁ σκοπὸς τῶν ἐνεργειῶν τους («Εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ ἡμᾶς καὶ πεποίηκεν, ἵνα γενώμεθα θείας κοινωνοὶ φύσεως, καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀϊδιότητος μέτοχοι· καὶ φανῶμεν αὐτῷ ὅμοιοι κατὰ τὴν ἐκ χάριτος θέωσιν· δι᾿ ἣν πᾶσά τε τῶν ὄντων ἡ σύστασίς ἐστι καὶ ἡ διαμονή, καὶ ἡ τῶν μὴ ὄντων παραγωγὴ καὶ γένεσις», Ἐπιστολὴ δ΄, Πρὸς Κωνσταντῖνον σακελλάριον, PG 91, 609C). [= Γι᾽ αὐτὸ μᾶς δημιούργησε [ὁ Θεός], γιὰ νὰ γίνουμε κοινωνοὶ τῆς θείας φύσεως καὶ μέτοχοι τῆς αἰωνιότητάς του, καὶ νὰ φανοῦμε ὅμοιοι μ᾽ αὐτὸν μὲ τὴν κατὰ χάρη θέωση, γιὰ τὴν ὁποία ἔλαβαν τὰ ὄντα τὴ σύστασή τους καὶ τὴ διατήρηση, ὅπως καὶ γενικῶς ἡ δημιουργία τῶν ὄντων ἀπὸ τὸ μηδέν.]
Ἡ πραγματοποίηση αὐτῆς τῆς προοπτικῆς ἀναδεικνύει τὸ περιεχόμενο τῆς μέριμνας καὶ τοῦ ἔργου τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἡ ὁποία ἀπὸ τὴν ἡμέρα τῆς Πεντηκοστῆς, μὲ τὴν παρουσία καὶ τὴν ἐνδυνάμωση τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος, μᾶς παιδαγωγεῖ καὶ μᾶς ὁδηγεῖ στὴ σχέση μὲ τὸν Χριστό. Καὶ ναὶ μὲν τὸ ἔργο τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐνεργεῖ τὴ σωτηρία ἑκάστου πιστοῦ, ὑπόκειται ὅμως ἡ καθολικὴ μέριμνά της γιὰ τὴ σωτηρία τῆς ὅλης δημιουργίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὥστε νὰ πραγματοποιηθεῖ ἡ ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου θεία ἐπαγγελία τῆς ἀποκατάστασης καὶ τῆς ἐγχρίστωσης ὅλης τῆς κτίσεως, μιᾶς κατάστασης ποὺ ἐγκαινιάσθηκε μὲ τὴν ἐνανθρώπηση τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ποὺ κατευθύνεται στὴν τελικὴ ἐγκαθίδρυση τῆς θείας Βασιλείας, ὅταν ὁ Θεὸς θὰ εἶναι «τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσι», κατὰ τὴν εὔστοχη διατύπωση τοῦ ἀποστόλου Παύλου: «ἵνα ᾖ ὁ Θεὸς τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσι» (Α´ Κορ. 15,28).
Στὴν αὐγὴ τῆς ἱστορίας ὁ Θεὸς ζήτησε ἀπὸ τὸν ἄνθρωπο τὴ συνεργασία γιὰ νὰ ὁλοκληρώσει τὴ δημιουργία του, δηλαδὴ γιὰ νὰ ἀνυψώσει τὸν ἄνθρωπο στὸν τόπο τῆς θεότητας, στὴ θεία ὁμοίωση. Τότε ὁ ἄνθρωπος δὲν ὑπάκουσε στὴ θεία ὑπόδειξη, προτιμώντας νὰ ἀντλήσει ζωὴ ἀπὸ τὸν ἑαυτό του ἀντὶ νὰ παραμείνει συνδεδεμένος μὲ τὴν πηγὴ τῆς αἰώνιας ζωῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Ἡ ἁμαρτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, δηλαδὴ τὸ λάθος του, διορθώθηκε μὲ τὴν ἐμφάνιση στὴν ὕπαρξη τῆς Παρθένου Μαρίας, ἡ ὁποία ὑπάκουσε στὴν κλήση τοῦ Θεοῦ νὰ συνεργαστεῖ γιὰ τὴν ἀνάδειξη τοῦ ἀνθρώπου σὲ εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωση Θεοῦ. Ὁ ἐρχομὸς στὴν ὕπαρξη τῆς Θεοτόκου ἐντάσσεται στὸ προαιώνιο σχέδιο τῆς θείας βούλησης γιὰ τὴ σωτηρία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, κατὰ ὁμόλογο τρόπο μὲ τὸ σχέδιο τῆς ἐνανθρώπησης τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ Λόγου τοῦ Θεοῦ. Αὐτὴ τὴ συνθήκη καταγράφει ὁ ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνὸς σὲ ἕνα ἐγκώμιό του γιὰ τὴν Παναγία, λέγοντας ὅτι: «Σὲ [τὴν Μαριὰμ] προγνοὺς ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς ἀξίαν, ἠγάπησε, καὶ ἀγαπήσας προώρισε, καὶ ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτων τῶν χρόνων εἰς τὸ εἶναι παρήγαγε» (Λόγος εἰς τὸ Γενέσιον τῆς Θεοτόκου, PG 96, 672D). Καὶ συμπληρώνει ὁ ἅγιος Νικόλαος Καβάσιλας ὅτι ἡ συμπερασματικὴ ἁγιογραφικὴ διατύπωση ὅτι ὅσα «ἐποίησε» ὁ Δημιουργὸς ἦταν «καλὰ λίαν» (βλ. Γέν. 1,31: «Καὶ εἶδεν ὁ Θεὸς τὰ πάντα, ὅσα ἐποίησε, καὶ ἰδοὺ καλὰ λίαν»), ἀναφερόταν στὸ πρόσωπο τῆς Παναγίας («Ὥστε ἐξεῖναι εἰπεῖν ὡς ἣν ὁ Θεὸς περὶ αὐτῶν ἐξήνεγκε ψῆφον καλὰ προσειπὼν καὶ καλὰ διαφερόντως εὐφημία τῆς Παρθένου» [= Ὥστε μποροῦμε νὰ ποῦμε πὼς ἡ κρίση ποὺ διατύπωσε ὁ Θεὸς λέγοντας ὅτι τὰ δημιουργήματά του εἶναι καλὰ καὶ καλὰ λίαν, ἀποτελοῦσε ἐγκώμιο τῆς Παρθένου] (βλ. Νικολάου Καβάσιλα, Ἡ Θεομήτωρ, Γ´, Εἰς τὴν πάνδοξον Κοίμησιν τῆς […] Θεοτόκου, Ἔκδοσις […] Εὐαγγελιστρίας Τήνου, Ἀθῆναι 1968, σελ. 168-171).
Ἡ συμφωνία τῆς Θεοτόκου νὰ δεχθεῖ τὴν «ἄνευ σπορᾶς» σάρκωση τοῦ Λόγου, καὶ νὰ τὸν κυοφορήσει, μὲ τὸ «γένοιτό μοι κατὰ τὸ ρῆμά σου», θεωρεῖται «τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν τὸ κεφάλαιον». Ἡ ἴδια μάλιστα ἔχει πλήρη συνείδηση τοῦ κορυφαίου γεγονότος, ὅπως ἐκφράζεται στὸν χαιρετισμό της πρὸς τὴν Ἐλισάβετ: «Ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσί με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί» (Λουκ. 1,48).
Γνωρίζοντας ὅτι ἡ Παναγία κατὰ τὴ φύση της εἶναι ἀληθὴς ἄνθρωπος, κατὰ πάντα ὅμοια μὲ κάθε ἄνθρωπο, μποροῦμε νὰ καταλάβουμε ὅτι δι᾽ αὐτῆς μετέχει ὅλο τὸ ἀνθρώπινο γένος στὸ γεγονὸς τῆς ἐνανθρώπησης τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Αὐτὸ ἄλλωστε ὑπογραμμίζει ὁ ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος: «Ἀδελφὴ ἡμῶν ἡ Μαρία, ἐπεὶ καὶ πάντες ἐκ τοῦ Ἀδάμ ἐσμεν» (Ἐπιστολὴ πρὸς Ἐπίκτητον Κορίνθου, PG 26, 1061B), καὶ τὸ ἴδιο ἐπιβεβαιώνει ἡ λειτουργική μας παράδοση: α) «Μακαρία σὺ εἶ (εἶσαι) ἄχραντε κόρη, Ἀδὰμ τοῦ γηγενοῦς θυγάτηρ», κατὰ τὸ δογματικὸ Θεοτοκίο τοῦ γ´ ἤχου, ἤ: β) «Δεῦτε […] τὴν Παναγίαν Παρθένον καὶ Θεοτόκον ἀνευφημήσωμεν, τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης οὐσίας τὸ χωνευτήριον», κατὰ τὸ ἀνάλογο Θεοτοκίο τοῦ πλ. β´ ἤχου.
Ὀνομάζουμε λοιπὸν τὸν Χριστὸ Νέο Ἀδάμ, γιατὶ ὁ ἴδιος ἐγκαινιάζει μιὰ νέα ἀνθρωπολογία. Εἶναι ἕνας νέος ἄνθρωπος, κατὰ πάντα βέβαια ὅμοιος μὲ τὸν παλαιό, χοϊκὸς καὶ αὐτὸς ὅπως ὁ παλαιός, ἀλλὰ ἐγχριστωμένος, ἐνθεωμένος λόγῳ τῆς ὑποστατικῆς ἕνωσης θείας καὶ ἀνθρώπινης φύσης. Καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Νέος Ἀδὰμ ἀποκαθιστᾶ τὸ ἔργο τοῦ Πατέρα.
Καὶ ὀνομάζουμε τὴν Παναγία Νέα Εὔα, γιατὶ προσήγαγε διὰ τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ της τὸ ἀνθρώπινο γένος γιὰ τὴν πραγματοποίηση τοῦ ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς σκοποῦ τῆς θείας δημιουργίας, τὴ θέωση τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Ἔτσι δικαιώνεται ἡ δημιουργία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου στὰ πρόσωπα τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ τῆς Παναγίας.
Μένει νὰ ἀπαντήσουμε στὸ ὑποθετικὸ ἐρώτημα, ἂν θὰ ἐνσαρκωνόταν ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ στὴν περίπτωση ποὺ ὁ ἄνθρωπος δὲν ἀποτύγχανε. Οἱ Πατέρες ἀπαντοῦν, ναί, συμπληρώνοντας ὅτι τότε δὲν θὰ μιλούσαμε γιὰ ἐνανθρώπηση τοῦ Λόγου μὲ πρωτοβουλία τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ γιὰ ἐνθέωση τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μὲ δικές του ἐνέργειες (ὑπακοὴ στὸ θεῖο θέλημα καὶ παραμονὴ στὴ σχέση του μὲ τὸν Θεό). Καὶ στὶς δυὸ περιπτώσεις θὰ εἴχαμε ἕνωση τοῦ κτιστοῦ μὲ τὸ ἄκτιστο στὸ πρόσωπο τοῦ Υἱοῦ. Δὲν εἶναι ἑπομένως αἰτία τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως ἡ πτώση τοῦ ἀνθρώπου – ἡ ἐνανθρώπηση τοῦ Υἱοῦ (ἢ ἡ ἐνθέωση τοῦ ἀνθρώπου) θὰ γινόταν οὕτως ἢ ἄλλως. Αὐτὸ ποὺ διαφέρει εἶναι ὁ τρόπος τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως. Ὑπῆρξε αὐτὸς ὁ τρόπος, ἐπειδὴ ὑπῆρξε ἡ ἀποτυχία.
Until 400 AD, the birth of Christ was not celebrated on its own on a special day of the year, but was commemorated as the incarnation of the Word on the day dedicated to Theophany, January 6. And this is because on the day of the Epiphany the apocalyptic announcement was commemorated that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the anointed Savior, and this announcement was made by the Father during the Baptism of Jesus, as described in the gospels, a) in Matthew (3:16-17): “And when Jesus was baptized, he went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son; in him I am well pleased.” in whom I am well pleased", b) in Mark (1:10-11): "And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in the Jordan. And immediately coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him; and a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.” c) in Luke (3:21-22): “Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, and Jesus having been baptized and praying, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Holy Spirit descending bodily like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, saying, You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.” In these descriptions we have the presence of the three persons of the Godhead: the Father testifies about his Son (through the voice), the Son, being baptized, declares his sinlessness (through his immediate exit from the water without testifying or confessing sins), and the Holy Spirit confirms the Son's mission for the salvation of the world (through the uncreated light that is shed upon Christ). To this event, which reveals Jesus as the Son of the heavenly Father and at the same time reduces his work to the three persons of the divinity, given the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Church dedicated the feast of Theophany and theologized with this feast the significance of God's intervention in history for the salvation of man.
It seems that the Christological heresies of the 4th century, heresies that questioned the divinity of Christ or spoke of a phenomenal (imaginary) incarnation of the Son of God, led the teachers of the Church to inaugurate a special feast dedicated to the birth of Christ, which they even linked to the natural phenomenon of the winter solstice, when the night began to shorten and the day to lengthen, that is, the sensible sun to be "reborn", connecting this natural event with the rising of an intelligible sun that illuminates divine creation and which It is called the “Sun of Justice,” as is sung in the Apolytikion of the feast: “Your birth, Christ our God, has dawned upon the world, the light of knowledge; for in it the stars, worshipping them, taught them under a star, to worship you, the Sun of Justice, and to know you from on high in the East, O Lord, glory to you.” The introduction of the feast first took place in Rome, around 350, and was followed by its inauguration by Basil the Great in Caesarea of Cappadocia and by Bishop Flavian in Antioch of Syria. In Constantinople, the feast was introduced during the patriarchate of Gregory the Theologian around 380, but it became generalised around 400 during the patriarchate of John Chrysostom, as tradition attests.
In sequence, the feasts that depend on the birth of Christ were inaugurated: eight days after the Circumcision, forty days after the Presentation in the Temple, nine months before the Annunciation; but also the birth of the venerable Forerunner six months before. It was necessary to emphasize the paramount importance of the true incarnation of the Word of God in order to preserve the truth of salvation, since, according to Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, “if the incarnation was a phantom, salvation was also a phantom” (Catechisms 4:9).
Beyond all these "festival matters," of course, the question and the consequences of the answer regarding the content of the feast remain crucial. Will we surrender to the mystery of the incarnation of the Word and follow a path of spiritual exercise, so that the Holy Spirit may act within us and truly connect us with the person of Jesus Christ? Will we attempt to thus become one with him, sons of the same Father? Will we realize that human nature, the nature of each of us, is enthroned next to the heavenly Father, thanks precisely to the incarnation of his Son, and that the way has been opened for each of us to unite with the Son, to be literally anointed? Or will we remain in emotional approaches, in ideological trappings, in pious reflections and in missionary, that is, selfish, acrobatics and activism? The decision is crucial. We are talking about the healing of nature and not simply about improving character. We are talking about victory over death and not about psychological complacency. That is why the answer is a challenge. Our Saints challenge us - and invite us - on the path of theosis. However, let us see what is the content of the relationship as to the incarnation of the Son and Word of God with the possibility of theosis of man, according to the teaching of the Church, so that the ancient statement that we were created "in the image and likeness of God" may be realized.
The relationship between divinity and humanity existed in the will of God before the creation of the world. This divine will is characterized as a hidden mystery, which was finally revealed through the work of Jesus Christ (incarnation, teaching, actions, Passion, Resurrection and Ascension), or, as the apostle Peter emphasizes, a mystery “foretold before the foundation of the world, but revealed in the last times” (1 Pet. 1:20).
The evangelist John does not describe the birth of Christ, as the other evangelists give us, but he theologizes in a unique way about the incarnation of the Son and Word of God in the Prologue of his gospel. Among other things, he emphasizes the following: “The true light, which enlightens every man, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:9-14). [= The Word [and Son of God] was the true light, that which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, but the world did not recognize him. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. But to all who did receive him and believed in him, he gave the right to become children of God. These were born, not of human blood or human will or human desire, but of God. The Word became man and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his divine glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.] Those who therefore received this Son of God as the Son of man, those who received this light, those who recognized in the person of Jesus the Son of God, were granted the grace to become sons of the same Father, the Father of Christ. We are talking about the mystery of divine adoption. Whoever is connected to Christ is also connected to the Father of the Son. It is not a sonship of flesh and blood, but a sonship of grace. God gives birth to the faithful!
The evangelist uses the verb “become” (become) to emphasize that this is a real condition and not a symbolic or imaginary reference. Not to think of them as children of God in a symbolic way, as is developed in other religions, or in ancient Greek philosophy. They are not children of God in the same way that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were children of God, to use an expression from the Old Testament, but they are children of God as members of the same flesh and blood as the Son of God, as communicants of the deified body of Christ. This adoption is called a "mystery" in our tradition because, first, it is incomprehensible and, second, its perception is in a secret, esoteric way. It is the essence of salvation, which means that those who receive Jesus Christ also receive the ability to be sons of God, they receive the ability to become what the Son is.
This Son and Word of the heavenly Father exists eternally in God, but at some point he appears in history, he becomes a person of history. That is, the will of God before the foundation of the world is revealed in history. And he is revealed as glory, for the first time we understand who this Son is.
The word "glory", in order to better understand it in its liturgical meaning, must be connected with the episode of the Transfiguration of the Savior on Mount Tabor. There we have an incident, somewhat strange, that occurs before the Passion. Jesus takes three of his disciples, Peter, James and John, and they climb a small hill. They climb this hill, conversing of course, as the story suggests, and while they are conversing, Christ changes. His nature does not change, his appearance changes. Suddenly a light bathes the whole of Christ; not only his face, but also his garments (“and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as the light” – Matt. 17:2). Therefore, this light also bathes creation. This light is powerful, this light makes the disciples unable to see, that is why they bend down, and they perceive this light as a sensation, that is, they perceive a reality as a sensation, which they want to eternalize, to take out of time. And in this absence of time, let the three figures be present, Christ, Elijah, and Moses, and the three disciples. This is what they ask for, this is what Peter asks for.
For students, the sight of a light is not something surreal. They have been taught this vision, because the disciples of Christ, almost all of them, have come out of holy schools, have studied the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah), as we say, most of them are even disciples of John the Baptist, they have learned about this theophany, as it is described by other experts in the Jewish tradition, culminating in the theophany that we have in the case of Moses, who sees this light, either as a flame in the bush (which burns but does not burn), or as a shining light on the top of the Mount Sinai – and in any case, this light that Moses sees as the presence of God is also seen by the people in the face of Moses.
The gospel speaks to us about this glory of Jesus on other occasions as well. In fact, Christ himself will emphasize to his disciples that they do not fully understand the signs he performs, because they have not yet seen the Son of Man glorified: “the Son of Man has not yet been glorified,” he tells them. The incident of Tabor is an indirect and intervening incident, a mysterious incident, which is why, descending from the mountain, he tells them exactly this: tell no one until the Son is glorified. Now you know what will happen, but if it doesn't happen you can't preach it.
In the passage from John that we quoted above, there is also the expression “he pitched his tent among us,” which means he pitched his tent among us, that is, his house, Jesus founded a house in history by becoming man. The incarnation of the Word and Son of God constitutes the beginning of a new reality. The house of the new Israel, the Church, is established. Among us, among this new people of God, but also at its head, is Christ as the Son of God and the Son of man, as the God-man, “full of grace and truth.” Both “grace” and “truth” are powers of the divinity. God Himself is the source of grace and truth. With His incarnation, the Son offers them, makes them familiar to everyone who is connected to Him. Christ Himself will point out to His disciples that truth is identified with His person: “I am the truth” (see John 14:6).
In the hypostasis or person of Jesus Christ, after his incarnation, two natures coexist, the divine and the human. That is why he is called the God-man. The relationship between these two natures was a field of intense debate among groups within the Church, from which heresies and schisms arose. And yes, faith in the person of Christ as the God-man has been consolidated, at least in the great Christian traditions (Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican), however, this controversy has not failed to creep in to this day, mainly as the belief of various Protestant groups (under the concept of sect), or among academic theologians, and again mainly in the Protestant sphere.
I note that the complete formulation of the theomanhood of Christ is contained in the canon of the Fourth Ecumenical Council (451), where, among other things, it is stated that: “… we all teach one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, truly God and truly man, the same in soul, intellect and body, […] in two natures, unconfused, indivisible, inseparably known, without any distinction of natures being made for the sake of unity, but rather preserving the property of four natures and in one person and one hypostasis conjointly”. I particularly underline the remark: “no difference of natures is abolished by the union, but rather the property of one nature is preserved and in one person and one hypostasis conjointly, not divided or divided into two persons” [= no difference of natures was abolished because of the union, but rather the property of each nature was preserved, and each of them meets the other in one person and one hypostasis, without being divided into two persons or being divided].
Is our belief in the theomanhood of Jesus Christ commonplace: perfect God and perfect man, Son of God and Son of man? But do we realize the content of this condition, or do we accept it without understanding its significance, mainly for the anthropology it establishes, that is, for the possibility of our created human nature relating, on an existential level, to the uncreated nature of divinity?
We know that the theology of the Orthodox Church avoided dealing with the nature of the divinity, as the scholastic Western tradition unnecessarily and erroneously did from the 9th century onwards, unfortunately influencing Orthodox theology at least until the mid-20th century. For the Fathers of the Church, the principle of Saint Gregory the Theologian was valid, that “[God] is impossible to speak of, but even more impossible to understand” (Logos Theologicos II, 4,5), or the principle of Saint John Damascene, that “The divine is infinite and incomprehensible, and this alone is comprehensible about Him, infinity and incomprehensibility” (Ekdosisis akrivēs tis orthodoxos pistēos, 4,2). Already in the revelation of the Jewish tradition it had been pointed out that the face of God, that is, his nature, is not revealed to man, but only his step within Creation, that is, his actions — and I refer to the incident of the theophany to Moses on Mount Sinai (see Exod. 33:18-23: “And he [Moses] said, ‘Show yourself to me.’ And he [God] said, ‘I will pass before you in my glory, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, before you; and I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ And He said, "You cannot see my face; for no man shall see my face and live." And the Lord said, "Behold, there is a place by me, where you shall stand on a rock; and it shall be, lest my glory pass by, and I will put you under a cleft of the rock, and cover you with my hand until I have passed by; and I will take away my hand, and then you shall see my back, but my face you shall not see."
This attitude of the Greek Fathers allows us to conclude that their thought and their teaching were always centered on man and not on God, however strange this argument may seem. Their struggles and their teaching, especially against heresies, aimed at preserving the path of man's salvation. After all, the actions of God himself, as we know them from biblical revelations, are centered on the salvation of man, that is, on the completion of his creative work through the appearance of the perfect man, as ultimately happened in the person of the New Adam, Jesus Christ. This is the "premeditated end" of the divine will, according to the formulation of Saint Maximus the Confessor ("This is the divine purpose premeditated from the beginning of beings, which, defining being, we saw, a premeditated end, where I am with all, but this I am with no one", To the Sea, 6).
We know that there are four principal events through which the work of Christ for the salvation of man was completed: the Birth, the Passion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension. The latter contains in conclusion the entire work of salvation, given that Christ was now at the right hand of the Father as the Son of God and the Son of man, and indeed with an emphasis on the vindication of his humanity, given that as the Son of God he never departed from his relationship with the heavenly Father. Therefore, what was revealed with the Ascension is that the way was opened for every human being to ascend to the place of divinity, insofar as he is connected to Jesus Christ, that is, for the mystery of divine adoption to be realized, so that the Father of Christ would also be the Father of every Christified believer.
There is also a fifth event that contributed to the completion of the work of salvation, the sending of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, which remains in history and leads the faithful into communion with Christ, or, to use liturgical terminology, “all constitutes the institution of the Church” (see the Vespers of Pentecost). The presence of the Holy Spirit makes the work of the divine Economy, accomplished through the action of Christ, ultimately affect the existential being of man, connecting his creation with the energies of the uncreated divinity.
This connection of created and uncreated, which is due to the theanthropy of Christ, introduces the perspective of eternity as the abolition of death, of the possibility for man to become a partaker of the divine nature, according to the formulation of the apostle Peter: “For which reason we have been given such excellent and excellent callings, that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Pet. 1:4).
It is important to always have before us the prospect of the deification of man, a state that is considered the ultimate goal of God's creation, and which is brought about by the cooperation of God and man. This perspective was highlighted (and is highlighted) by the theology of the Church as almost unambiguous, as formulated by Athanasius the Great (“he [the Son] adopted us as sons of the Father, and deified men by becoming man. […] he became man, that he might deify us”, Against the Arians 1, 38 and 39, PG 26, 92B and C), and as we also emphasize in our liturgical tradition (“The Word is made flesh in your womb, and through compassion man is known, that God may make man, O Daughter of our God”, according to the Theotokos of the ³΄ (of the ode of November 22nd; or: "man becomes God, so that God may make Adam a god," according to the Doxasticus of the Hymns of the feast of the Annunciation).
According to Saint Maximus the Confessor, God created us to commune with him and to become sharers in his eternal life, so that we may become like him according to the theosis that he grants us, emphasizing that for this reason beings were created and this is the purpose of their actions (“For for this purpose he created us, that we might become partakers of the divine nature, and sharers of his property; and that we might appear like him according to the divinity that comes from grace; by which all things are constituted and abide, and the production and birth of things that are not,” Epistle 4, To Constantine Sakellar, PG 91, 609C). [= For this reason [God] created us, so that we might become partakers of the divine nature and sharers in his eternity, and that we might appear similar to him by the gracious deification, for which beings received their constitution and preservation, as also the creation of beings from nothing in general.]
The realization of this perspective highlights the content of the concern and work of the Church, which since the day of Pentecost, with the presence and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, educates us and guides us in our relationship with Christ. And yes, through the work of the Church, the salvation of each believer is brought about, but its universal concern is for the salvation of all of God's creation, so that the divine promise from the foundation of the world of the restoration and Christianization of all creation may be realized, a situation that was inaugurated with the incarnation of the Son of God and that leads to the final establishment of the divine Kingdom, when God will be "all in all," according to the apt formulation of the Apostle Paul: "that God may be all in all" (1 Cor. 15:28).
At the dawn of history, God asked man for cooperation to complete his creation, that is, to elevate man to the place of divinity, to divine likeness. Then man disobeyed the divine instruction, preferring to draw life from himself instead of remaining connected to the source of God's eternal life.
Man's sin, that is, his error, was corrected by the appearance into existence of the Virgin Mary, who obeyed God's call to cooperate in the elevation of man into the image and likeness of God. The coming into existence of the Theotokos is part of the eternal plan of the divine will for the salvation of man, in a manner analogous to the plan of the incarnation of the Son and Word of God. Saint John of Damascus records this condition in one of his eulogies for the Virgin Mary, saying that: “God loved [Mary] before all others, worthy of all, and having loved her, He predestined her, and at the end of time He brought her into being” (Discourse on the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, PG 96, 672D). And Saint Nicholas Kavasilas adds that the concluding hagiographic formulation that what the Creator “made” was “very good” (see Gen. 1:31: “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good”), referred to the person of the Virgin Mary (“So it is clear to say that God pronounced a voice concerning them, well-prescribed and well-differentiated, a eulogy of the Virgin” [= So we can say that the judgment that God pronounced, saying that his creations are good and very good, was a praise of the Virgin] (see Nicholas Kavasila, The Mother of God, III, On the Glorious Assumption of the […] Theotokos, Published by […] Evangelistrias Tinos, Athens 1968, pp. 168-171).
The agreement of the Theotokos to accept the “seedless” incarnation of the Word, and to conceive him, with the “be it done to me according to your word,” is considered “the chapter of our salvation.” She herself is, in fact, fully aware of the supreme event, as expressed in her greeting to Elizabeth: “For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48).
Knowing that the Virgin Mary is by nature a true human being, in every way similar to every human being, we can understand that through her the entire human race participates in the event of the incarnation of Christ. This is also emphasized by Saint Athanasius: “Our sister Mary, and we are all from Adam” (Letter to Epictetus of Corinth, PG 26, 1061B), and our liturgical tradition confirms the same: a) “Blessed are you, immaculate daughter, daughter of Adam, born of the earth,” according to the dogmatic Theotokos of the third part, or: b) “Come […] let us glorify the Most Holy Virgin and Theotokos, the crucible of human essence,” according to the analogous Theotokos of the second part.
We call Christ the New Adam, because he himself inaugurates a new anthropology. He is a new man, in every way similar to the old man, earthly like the old man, but Christified, deified by reason of the hypostatic union of divine and human nature. And this New Adam restores the work of the Father.
And we call the Virgin Mary New Eve, because she brought the human race through herself to the realization of the original purpose of divine creation, the deification of man. Thus the creation of man is justified in the persons of the Son of God and the Son of Man and the Virgin Mary.
It remains to answer the hypothetical question, if the Son of God were to become incarnate in the event that man did not fail. The Fathers answer, yes, adding that then we would not be talking about the incarnation of the Word by God’s initiative, but about the deification of man by his own actions (obedience to the divine will and abiding in his relationship with God). And in both cases we would have a union of the created with the uncreated in the person of the Son. Therefore, the cause of the incarnation is not the fall of man – the incarnation of the Son (or the deification of man) would have happened one way or another. What is different is the way of the incarnation. This way existed because there was failure.