Exodus 24.12-18 (Vespers)

12And the Lord said to Moses, Come up to me into the mountain, and be there; and I will give you the tables of stone, the law and the commandments, which I have written to give them laws. 13And Moses rose up and Joshua his attendant, and they went up into the mount of God. 14And to the elders they said, Rest there till we return to you; and behold, Aaron and Or are with you: if any man have a cause to be tried, let them go to them. 15And Moses and Joshua went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16And the glory of God came down upon the mount Sina, and the cloud covered it six days; and the Lord called Moses on the seventh day out of the midst of the cloud. 17And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was as burning fire on the top of the mountain, before the children of Israel. 18And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and went up to the mountain, and was there in the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Composite 15 - Exodus 33.11-23; 34.4-6, 8 (Vespers)

1The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as one speaks to one’s friend. Then he would return to the camp; but the young servant, Jesus, son of Navi, did not leave the tent. Moses said to the Lord, ‘See, you say to me, “Bring up this people”; but you have not shown me whom you will send with me. Yet you have said to me, “I know you above all others, and you have also found favour in my sight.” Now if I have found favour in your sight, show yourself to me, so that I may see you and find favour in your sight, that I may know that this great nation is your people.‘ And the Lord said to him, ‘I myself will go before you, and I will give you rest.’ And he said to him, ‘If you will not go with us yourself, do not carry me up from here. For how shall it be truly known that I have found favour in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be glorified, I and your people, more than all the nations.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘For you I will do this word that you have spoken; for you have found favour in my sight, and I know you above all others.’ Moses said, ‘Show me your own glory.’ And he said, ‘I will pass by you in my glory, and will proclaim before you my name, “The Lord”; and I will be have mercy on those on whom I will have mercy, and will have pity on those on whom I will have pity.’ And he said, ‘You cannot see my face; for no human shall see my face and live.’ And the Lord said, ‘See, there is a place by me; stand on the rock. And while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen by you.’ So Moses rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sina, as the Lord had commanded him. The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name, ‘The Lord. The Lord passed before his face, and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, God compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and full of mercy and true’. And Moses quickly bowed to the earth, and worshipped the Lord.

Composite 23 - 3 [1] Kings 19.3-9, 11-13, 15, 16 (Vespers)

1And Elias heard and was afraid; he arose and fled for his life, and came to Beersheba, in the land of Juda; he left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly someone touched him and said to him, ‘Arise and eat and drink, for you have a long journey.’ Elias looked, and there at his head was a cake of flour and a jar of water. He arose, ate and drank, and slept again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Arise and eat and drink, for you have a long journey.’ He arose, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to mount Horeb. There he entered a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord will pass by.’ And a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire the sound of a gentle breeze. And when Elias heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood by the cave. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return to your way and you will come to the desert way of Damascus; and you shall anoint Elissaios son of Shaphat as prophet in your place.’

Luke 9.28-36 (Matins Gospel)

28About eight days after these sayings, he took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up onto the mountain to pray. 29As he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became white and dazzling. 30Behold, two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

32Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they were fully awake, they saw his glory, and the two men who stood with him. 33As they were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not knowing what he said.

34While he said these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. 35A voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!” 36When the voice came, Jesus was found alone. They were silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.

2 Peter 1.10-19 (Epistle, Transfiguration)

10Therefore, brothers, be more diligent to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. 11For thus you will be richly supplied with the entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

12Therefore I will not be negligent to remind you of these things, though you know them and are established in the present truth. 13I think it right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, 14knowing that the putting off of my tent comes swiftly, even as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15Yes, I will make every effort that you may always be able to remember these things even after my departure.

16For we didn’t follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For he received from God the Father honor and glory when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18We heard this voice come out of heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.

19We have the more sure word of prophecy; and you do well that you heed it as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts,

1 Corinthians 15.12-19 (Epistle)

12Now if Christ is preached, that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. 14If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith also is in vain. 15Yes, we are also found false witnesses of God, because we testified about God that he raised up Christ, whom he didn’t raise up if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead aren’t raised, neither has Christ been raised. 17If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. 18Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.

Matthew 17.1-9 (Gospel, Transfiguration)

1After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves. 2He was changed before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. 3Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them talking with him.

4Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, let’s make three tents here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”

6When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were very afraid. 7Jesus came and touched them and said, “Get up, and don’t be afraid.” 8Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus alone.

9As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”

Matthew 21.18-22 (Gospel)

18Now in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry.

19Seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves. He said to it, “Let there be no fruit from you forever!” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

20When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree immediately wither away?”

21Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done. 22All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

The Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ

Second “Feast of the Saviour” in August.

Read the account of Christ’s holy Transfiguration (Metamorphosis in Greek) in Matthew ch. 17, Mark ch. 9, and Luke ch. 9. Appearing clothed in Light on Mt Tabor, the Savior fulfilled his promise to His disciples that “there are some standing here who shall not taste death, till they see the Son of man coming in His Kingdom” (Mt 16:28). Christ’s Transfiguration is the image of the future state of the righteous, of which He spoke when He said “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun” (Mt 13:43). According to the Church’s tradition, the Transfiguration occurred forty days before His Crucifixion; for this reason the Transfiguration is celebrated forty days before the Exaltation of the Cross.