PROPHET SAMUEL

September 2 (August 20) The Church honors the memory of the prophet Samuel. The Prophet lived three thousand years ago. In the first Christian millennium in Constantinople, the days of remembrance of almost all known biblical prophets, as well as some Old Testament kings and righteous people, were introduced into the liturgical calendar. Christian hymnographers of that time dedicated hymns, canons and chants to them.

It is important that for the Caesars of Constantinople, that is, the Byzantine emperors, and for the Romans, as the Byzantines called themselves, prophetic memories were not just calendar memories. After all, they saw themselves as successors not only to Augustus and Constantine, but also to David, Solomon, and… those prophets during the Old Testament history, from the now revered Samuel to the last prophet Malachi.

In the minds of the Byzantines, the prophets, standing before God in Heavenly Glory, interceded for the Orthodox imperial throne. At the same time, the words of the biblical books, in which their prophetic words were preserved, were perceived as entirely relevant. Therefore, the blessing of the Old Testament righteous for the Orthodox Christian Empire remained only if the Rulers truly remained impeccable in orthodoxy.

“My kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus said to Pilate (John 18:36). This tragic side of the biblical perception of statehood often went unnoticed. The Byzantine emperors saw themselves as successors to the Kings of Israel and Judah. They weren’t the only ones who did this. Indeed, before the Revolution of 1917, in the theological schools of the Russian Empire, which also considered itself the successor of Rome, seminarians learned the names of the Jewish and Israeli Kings by heart.

“Pilate also wrote an inscription and placed it on the cross. It was written: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” these words from the Gospel of John convey the death sentence of the Living God, who was written on the Cross of the Lord by Pontius Pilate (John 19:19). This Roman pagan, whose name “Pontius” is the only human name, besides the Lord Jesus and the Virgin Mary, mentioned in the Creed, went down in history along with his nickname “Pilate”.

According to various interpreters, the word “Pilate” could mean “dart,” or even “fur cap,” which, in turn, could be a sign of descent from a family of freed slaves. An amazing play on words opens up the possibility of multiple interpretations: “The fur cap of Pontius Pilate and the crown of thorns of Jesus.” According to one of the medieval legends, compiled when the fatal role of Pilate as the legitimate representative of the Empire in the verdict over the Lord Jesus became obvious over the centuries, after Pilate’s death the earth did not accept his body. Jesus rose again, ascended, and reigns forever. His kingdom, in fulfillment of the biblical words about the Throne of David, will have no end.

In our time, of all the Old Testament prophets, only Elijah is revered in popular piety. It is all the more important to truly celebrate the memory of Samuel. For it was precisely by virtue of the inspired succession of his prophetic mission that God gave Israel Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah and other prophets. After all, Samuel not only established the Kingdom of David, but also created “prophetic schools”, that is, schools, communities, and congregations of future prophets.

Samuel anointed, that is, blessed Saul to the Kingdom first, and then, when this first tragic King of Israel essentially cursed himself, he installed David as King. So Samuel “re-established” the Kingdom of Israel, and from the apparent “mistake of God” in the canceled choice of Saul as king, the throne of David was founded, the Kingdom of whose Son, the Lord Jesus, will have no end (cf. Luke 1:32). ‘Christ has made us kings and priests to His God and Father,’ says Revelation (Rev. 1:6). Thus, according to the Apocalypse, we became Kings and Priests of the Living God. All this means that by blessing David, Samuel anointed us all to the Kingdom of Heaven.