God's anointed. Anointing for the kingdom
Before the anointing of Saul in 1 Sam. chapter 8, the judge and prophet Samuel prays to God for a king and receives an unequivocal answer: the kingdom of man is a denial of the King of Heaven, so that He does not reign over Israel, as well as great hardships for the people: “And then you will groan from your king, whom you have chosen for yourself; and the Lord will not answer you then,” 1 Samuel 8:18 But the Israelites insist that they have a king, like other (pagan!) nations. After this, Samuel anoints Saul at the behest of the Lord, and in chapter 12 Samuel designates the monarchy, the kingdom of man, as a great sin in the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord confirms this statement with a sign, see 1 Sam. 12:16-19, Bible, Mosk. Patriarchate, 1988. So, we see that the Lord does not bless the monarchy, but meets the wishes of the disobedient (original sin!) Israelites, so that they themselves become convinced that the kingdom will not stand in righteousness. Indeed, already during the reign of Saul, a civil war broke out in Israel, since Saul’s servants attacked David’s supporters, then David lived in sorrow until Saul’s death on the battlefield with foreigners, became king of Israel, and together with Solomon they built the famous temple, according to the drawings which David received in a “letter from God”, see 1 Chronicles 28:19. But after Solomon, Israel split into two kingdoms, and then gradually sank into the lies of paganism and eventually went into captivity. In Russia there were also many mistakes and successes. The Tsar was not chosen according to the will of God, they simply anointed Grand Duke Ivan IV as Tsar, hoping that the Holy Spirit would abide with the Tsar. And one can doubt that the Spirit of God was with him, because it is said: “...set over you a king whom the Lord your God will choose,” Deut. 17:15. And most importantly, the Heavenly Father answers his children’s questions, including those about the king: “Turn to the law and revelation. If they do not speak according to this word, there is no light in them,” Is.8:20. Since the Russian tsars received the throne by inheritance and were not chosen by God, we could have diaper makers in the kingdom, and regicides, and impostors. And what happened to the people is beyond words. Finally, the Lord raised our hereditary kings to a very high level of service to God and the people, so that they began to carry out land reforms in favor of the people. Is this why they abandoned Nicholas II? But it was no coincidence that the Lord gave His name: Redeemer and helped Him successfully end his reign. In Abel’s prophecy, the Lord offered the king a feat: to step down from the throne. And the king did this, did not fall into the original sin of disobedience, firmly believing that the word of God would lead to victory. And so it turned out: the “Sovereign” icon appeared with the signs of royal power in its hands - a scepter and an orb. So now we have a very good state structure: the Russian Federation plus the Kingdom of Saints headed by the Mother of God, our heavenly Ministry of Emergency Situations, no corruption, the Ruler is pure and the Lord is with Her, She is completely safe. What's better? And an earthly ruler is promised to us, the Grand Duke from the Romanov family in exile (without additions about the female line. For Abel’s prophecy, see the book “Nicholas II: Crown of Earth and Heaven”, compiled by Gubanov V.M., Moscow, “Ladder”, 1999 The prophecy is true, already by the time of Nicholas II, 1901, it was partially fulfilled, by our time it has already been fulfilled about Hitler, about the truth of prophecies see Deut. 18:17-22. Therefore, the new Tsar cannot be anointed, since the Queen of Russia Maria already exists, and we won’t find a better one.
History of the ritual
Historically, the rite of anointing (not to be confused with unction or the Sacrament of Anointing, as well as with the Sacrament of Confirmation) correlates with the anointing of Aaron and his sons with sacred oil. In the New Testament you can see a mention of anointing the sick with consecrated oil.
Anointing is one of the seven Sacraments of the Orthodox Church
Since ancient times, since the time of the Old Testament, the Bible has spoken of the use of oil for blessing purposes. The fruits from which oil was obtained were olives or olives, and they were often represented as blessed by the righteous, with whom the Lord abides. “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God, and I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever” (Psalm 51:10).
Important! The olive tree plays a very important role in the life of Christians. Remember Noah, to whom a dove brought an olive leaf. This served as a kind of foreshadowing of reconciliation with the Lord.
In the book of Kings in the Old Testament, prophets and rulers of states were anointed with oil. Thanks to the anointing, revelations, goodness and other gifts of God came to them. “And Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him among his brethren, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon David from that day onwards” (1 Samuel 16:1).
Proof of this truth
If God is Virtuous, he cares about the welfare of the people; if God is Omniscient, he predicts which of the people can best rule the country; if the Lord is Almighty, he makes sure that the person he chooses and his descendants are the most fit to rule at all times and in every case of life. Establishing the dynasty of kings, God provides it with help and guardianship, directing the monarch to make the right decisions in difficult times. Thus, the Lord knows that the faithful service of His anointed will give positive results, improve the quality of life of the people, and create good conditions for the salvation of the souls of each of the Orthodox people. The Orthodox Church teaches us that the Lord is Virtue, he is omniscient and omnipotent. Therefore, it is he who chooses the anointed one who will rule the state.
Grace of the Sovereign
God's anointed (king) has the grace to comprehend goals, ways to solve modern life issues, as well as those that brighten the distant future of the country. The vital issues of the people do not always coincide with the requirements of the Orthodox state, the goal of which is the salvation of souls both now and in the future. Sometimes the needs of the present and the distant future are opposite, in this case only the monarch, the anointed of God, can solve this problem in the best way. And for everyone's benefit. This is the grace of the sovereign and the presentation of the Lord to God’s anointed one.
Separation of powers
Only after overcoming the iconoclastic crisis in the 9th century was the Byzantine Empire able to come to the distinction between the earthly, limited (i.e., the kingdom), and the sacred, eternal (i.e., the Church). If earlier emperors tended to absolutize the state, as if reflecting the “divine order” on earth, now they began to treat their empire as a “servant of Christ.” This was manifested in the images of emperors: until the 8th century we see triumphant emperors, rulers who do not know the limits of their power, although outwardly Christian, then we see an emperor bowing in the awareness of the limitations of his power before Christ, the true king. The Emperor begins to see the head of the Church next to him as an independent ruler, equal to him in his significance for the Christian empire - like Aaron next to Moses (even such an iconographic plot appears: the emperor and the patriarch in front of the Tabernacle of the Covenant). The emperor begins to understand that his ministry is sacred in the Gospel, the foundations of a true symphony of powers are laid (the symbol of which is the Byzantine double-headed eagle, the two heads of which signified the state and the Church). However, the roles of the head of state and the head of the Church in this symphony were not immediately determined. Constantine also called himself an “external bishop of the Church” (although this concerned his actual external concern for the Church; his definition of himself in the church structure is indicative). Subsequently, even some features of a clergyman were assigned to the emperor. In late Byzantium, the emperor participated in the liturgy, at the great entrance he walked in front of everyone, at a certain moment of the service he, like a deacon, incense the throne crosswise, then the patriarch, then the patriarch incense him. During the coronation (in late Byzantium and in Russia, starting with Alexei Mikhailovich), the emperor (tsar) entered the altar through the royal doors and received communion together with the priests in the altar (immediately after the patriarch, before the bishops and priests) - with the royal doors open. However, the Russian tsars and emperors who followed Alexei Mikhailovich received communion at the altar only at the coronation. In the 18th century, this tradition acquired unexpected forms: Empresses Anna Ioannovna (1730), Elizaveta Petrovna (1742) and Ekaterina Alekseevna (1762) also entered the altar during their coronation and took communion like priests at the throne. At the same time, for example, Metropolitan Feofan Prokopovich literally forced the embarrassed Anna Ioannovna to take the Eucharistic cup in her hands and take communion from it herself. Beginning with the coronation of Paul in 1797, empresses were crowned kings and were anointed only together with their husbands, receiving communion as laymen, outside the altar. Metropolitan Paisius Ligarid (17th century) discussed the spiritual component of the tsar’s “priesthood.” Speaking about the ideal symphony of powers, Paisius noted: “The priesthood reigns over spiritual affairs; the kingdom has sacred authority over the civilians.” That is, the king treats his royal service with sacred trepidation - so as not to destroy the Christian soul, but to provide it with all kinds of care and mercy - as befits a priest. The king is not a blind guardian of the law, but a merciful sovereign, on whom the words of the prophet and king David come true: “Mercy and truth meet (meet)” (Ps. 85:11). It is no coincidence that the following proverbs about tsars were born among the Russian people: “God is rich in mercy, the sovereign is rich in pity”, “Whoever is not a sinner to God is not to blame for the tsar!” etc. Of course, to be merciful is the calling of every Christian. But the king was appointed by God and anointed as king to remind us that this is possible in worldly life.
Characteristics of the Anointing
Anointing is a blessing from heaven. It is given not for one’s own needs, but to serve the Almighty. This is the power that is given to change for the better, for the ability to bear spiritual fruit. The fruit, that is, the end result, is of great importance. The anointing is given to “ripen the fruit.” The reward from above will be given only for the fruits, and not for the anointing itself. Regardless of the amount of anointing, the reward will be given according to the percentage of fruit produced, so whoever has been given a lot of anointing will be asked for a lot. And God's anointed must bring 100% positive results.
Anointing in the Bible
Anointing to the throne is a rite in which the monarch who ascends the throne is anointed with oil (olive oil) and myrrh (an aromatic oil made from several herbs) in order to present him with the gifts of the Lord for the proper management of the state. The first example from the Bible is the story of Aaron when he was elevated to the office of high priest. Repeatedly in this book there are indications of the anointing of monarchs, therefore later, upon the accession of the king to the throne, the ceremony of anointing for the kingdom was always carried out, when the monarch received the blessing of heaven.
Monarch and church
A minister of the church, the patriarch, cannot rule the people of the state. If he proclaims himself king, he will desecrate the purity of faith, since he recognizes the right of those who falsely believe in the Lord to the salvation of souls. Therefore, the sovereign is superior to the patriarch; Orthodox canons give him the power to appoint and remove the patriarch and bishops. God's anointed one is responsible before God; he is not subject to human judgment.
Following the West
Gradually, confirmation appeared in Byzantium.
In 1204, the Crusaders captured Constantinople and, founding the Latin Empire instead of the Byzantine Empire, anointed and crowned the Latin Emperor Baldwin of Flanders in Hagia Sophia. Already in 1208 in Nicaea, the anointing at the crowning of the kingdom was repeated by the Greek Theodore Laskar, the emperor of the Byzantine Nicene Orthodox Empire that arose from the ruins. From Byzantium, Rus' first adopted the crowning of the kingdom in the 15th century, and the anointing of the tsar at the end of the 16th century. In 1498, Demetrius, the grandson of Ivan III, was married according to the Byzantine rite, and in 1547, according to the rite of the wedding of Demetrius, Ivan the Terrible. By the way, there is an opinion that the tsar’s anointing was not performed at that time, and the first anointed tsar was Theodore Ioannovich in 1584. In Russia, due to the lack of correct historical and theological ideas about the rite and meaning of Byzantine anointing, the repeated sacrament of confirmation began to be performed over the king at the end of the liturgy with the words “Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit” (with some clarifications: the forehead, ears, chest, shoulders were anointed and both sides of the hands, and even Alexei Mikhailovich’s beard was anointed - according to the words of the psalmist: “Like ointment on the head, descending on the bridge, the bridge of Aaron” (Ps. 133: 2)). In Byzantium, only the anointing of the forehead was performed, and, what is important, the anointing of the king did not have the meaning of a sacrament (historians consider it possible to speak more about the sacrament of ordination in relation to the imperial coronation - since the Byzantine emperor accepted some of the features of a clergyman). Already in the 19th century, Russian theologians tried to somehow justify the secondary anointing of the Tsar and said either that it was not a sacrament, or that it was the highest degree of the sacrament of confirmation: just as there are different degrees of the sacrament of ordination (deacon, priest, bishop) . Apologists for Caesaropapism (who considered the emperor to be the head of the Church) would, on the contrary, see in this the sacrament of initiation into the head of the Church, like Christ. To be fair, it should be said that the repeated celebration of confirmation as a sacrament cannot be considered canonical. print version
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Who is the anointed one
One of the meanings of the names of Jesus Christ is “anointed one.” God anointed the Son to spread the Gospel throughout the world. After the death of Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells on earth. Because of this sacrifice, each believer has his own path and anointing.
“It is He, the God, who strengthens you and me in union with Christ the Anointed, and who has anointed us also, who has marked us with His seal and sent us as a deposit of His Spirit into our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22 ).
In other words, by believing in Christ, you automatically become God's anointed. The president and any other ruler who believes in Jesus can be called anointed.
In the Sacrament of Anointing, Christians receive the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit
However, in this case, after Baptism, the ruler experiences the Sacrament of Confirmation for the second time. Considering the fact that heads of state are rarely involved in Christianity, then, as a rule, ministers of churches who apply for a management position go through this process.
