God is Holy, so be holy
God is Holy, so be holy
The attribute of holiness in God is absolute, natural, and without limits. He is wholly holy, just as we say He is almighty and all-knowing.
The prophet Isaiah recorded for us the hymn of the seraphim as they chant to God, saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Is. 6:3).
And we praise God every day in the Hours’ Prayers, saying: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal.” And the Book of Revelation recorded for us the hymn of the heavenly beings with their harps as they sing: “Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy” (Rev. 15:3–4).
And the Spirit of God in His holiness is the Holy Spirit.
And just as God is holy, therefore everything that surrounds Him is characterized by holiness.
The heaven of God is holy, the angels of God are saints, and the book of God is the Holy Book. The prayers directed to God are holy prayers. And the Sacrament of the Eucharist we pray with the Divine Liturgy upon the holy altar, with the holy vessels. Likewise, we say the holy hymn (tasbeha), the holy psalmody, the holy Euchologion…
And the house of God is a holy house. Of it we say in the Psalm: “Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, forever” (Ps. 93:5). And the Day of the Lord is the holy day, and also all the seasons of the Lord and His feasts are holy, in which holy convocations are held (Lev. 23:3–4).
Even the place in which we pray is called holy, and the day also is called a holy day. Thus we say in the Prayer of Thanksgiving: “We ask Him also to keep us this holy day and all the days of our life in peace.” And we also say to the Lord: “Every envy, every temptation, every work of Satan, and the conspiracy of wicked men… remove them from us and from all Your people and from this holy place of Yours.”
Here we enter into the meanings of the words: is sanctified, sanctify, I sanctify…
We say in the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer: “Hallowed be Your name,” and the name of God is holy by its nature. But by this petition we mean that people speak the name of God with sanctification, honor, and reverence, and do not use it in vain in trivial matters. Thus it was said in the commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” (Ex. 20:7).
But the phrase “to sanctify” also comes with the meaning “to dedicate to the Lord.”
In this sense came the commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8), meaning to dedicate it to the Lord alone. You shall not do any work in it except what concerns the Lord alone: acts of worship, meditation on the word of God and its teaching…
Likewise the Lord’s command to Moses: “Sanctify to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb… it is Mine” (Ex. 13:2); meaning that whoever among human beings was firstborn would be for the service of the Lord, before the tribe of Levi and the sons of Aaron were dedicated to that… As for the firstborn of animals, they were offered as sacrifices to the Lord. And the saying of our Lord Jesus Christ about His disciples: “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself…” (Jn. 17:19), its meaning is also: I dedicate Myself to their care and to granting them strength and purity.
But it is known about holiness that it means purity and cleanness.
Of it was said: “Holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14), and of it the Lord said: “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16). And also: “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Pet. 1:15). And in this sense also enters the verse: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).
And the opposite of holiness and purity is uncleanness, and its punishment is severe.
In the Old Testament they used this word for certain diseases such as leprosy, and its bearer would go outside the camp; and also for some animals such as the pig…
And it was said of the heavenly Jerusalem that: “There shall by no means enter it anything that defiles or causes an abomination” (Rev. 21:27).
And among the most prominent forms of uncleanness is adultery. And because of that God burned Sodom in which sexual perversion had spread (Gen. 19). Likewise God flooded the world in the deluge. And the first signs of people’s wickedness were: “The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose” (Gen. 6:2). And it was said concerning the danger of the sin of adultery that our bodies are temples of God. Therefore: “If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy” (1 Cor. 3:16–17).
But uncleanness did not stop at adultery only; even the sins of the tongue. The Lord said about this: “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man” (Matt. 15:11). And thus our teacher James the Apostle said about the tongue that it “defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature” (Jas. 3:6).
And the Scripture teaches us that the baptized believers are saints.
The Apostle says: “Greet every saint in Christ Jesus… All the saints greet you” (Phil. 4:21–22). And the believer was called “saint” because he was sanctified by the precious blood that “cleanses us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7). And he was washed from his sins in the holy baptism, from which he was born a new and righteous man. And because he was also sanctified by the holy anointing, when he was sealed with the holy Myron 36 times in all the openings of his body and his joints…
But at present we use the word “saint” for a certain level of believers, one who is testified to have lived in holiness of conduct, or a saint from the heroes of faith or from the workers of wonders and miracles.
And we ask for holiness in our prayers and in the Divine Liturgy…
We say in the Third Hour Prayers: “Send down upon us the grace of Your Holy Spirit, and purify us from the defilement of body and spirit. Transfer us to a spiritual conduct, that we may strive according to the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” And we say in the Divine Liturgy: “Purify our souls, our bodies, and our spirits.”
And with holiness we approach the communion of the holy mysteries, remembering the saying of the prophet Samuel when he wanted to offer a sacrifice in Bethlehem: “Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice” (1 Sam. 16:5). And we say regarding approaching communion: “The holies are for the holy,” meaning for the pure who have prepared themselves spiritually to partake of the holy mysteries.
For better translation support, please contact the center.
