Spurious Works

, acting with me with philanthropy, have mercy. May these words of my prayer be as intercessors for me both living and dead; may this confession and the tears as incense before You be rightly directed. I, however, daily await the day of inevitable death. And my miserable body, committed to the tomb, shall be corrupted, and it shall be dissolved into those things from which it was composed—which You, Giver of Life, will raise up incorruptible at the time of regeneration; but my spirit I commend into Your hands. Grant it rest, holy Lord, in the light of the living and in the dwelling place of those who rejoice; and my parents, ancestors, brothers, and servants who were upright: for even if we have sinned, we have not departed from You, nor did we stretch out our hands to a strange god; but we have known You, we have loved You, we have believed in You, and we worship You, the One in Trinity; ^A in You we pray to God, and in You we have placed our hope of salvation. Have mercy on us according to Your great mercy, and save us for Your heavenly and eternal kingdom. Yes, I beseech You, my Lord, Lord, let these things be so for us who hope in You, on account of Your great and immense goodness and for Your ineffable mercy and clemency; through the intercessions of the most glorious, most celebrated, blessed above all, and grace-filled our Lady, the most holy Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, of the heavenly and intelligible virtues, and all those who from the ages have been pleasing to You. Amen.

SPURIA. ON THE NEW SUNDAY, AND ON THE APOSTLE THOMAS.

I have come with haste, intending to pay the remainder of my debt. For although I may be poor, I shall attempt to satisfy your worthiness. I pledged that I would show the incredulity of Thomas; I am here now, and I shall pay the debt: for my mind bids me settle former debts, lest I add interest to interest. ^B Bring me help, therefore, for the payment of this debt, and pray to Thomas that, by placing his holy right hand, which touched the side of the Lord, upon my lips, he may strengthen my tongue for the narration of those things which you desire. I, indeed, trusting in the intercession of the apostle and martyr Thomas, proclaim both his first doubt and his second confession, the base and foundation of our Church. When the Savior entered to His disciples with the doors closed, and departed again just as He had entered, Thomas alone was absent (John 20:24). This, however, was a work of divine dispensation, that the absence of the disciple might be the occasion for greater security and firmness. For if Thomas had been present, he would certainly not have doubted; if he had not doubted, he would not have searched curiously; if he had not searched, he would not have touched; if he had not touched, he would not have declared Him Lord and God; if he had not declared Christ to be Lord and God, we would not have learned to celebrate Him as such. Therefore, it was not that Thomas was present, but rather that he was our guide to knowing the truth, and then, by coming later, he made us firmer in the faith. ^C The disciples, therefore, said to Thomas, who arrived later: "We have seen the Lord; we have seen Him who said, 'I am the light of the world'; we have seen Him who said, 'I am the resurrection and the life and the truth' (John 11:25). We see Him shining through the very things themselves. We have seen Him who said, 'After three days I will rise' (Matt. 27:63), and having seen the resurrection, we have worshipped Him who had risen; we heard Him saying to us, 'Peace be with you,' and we turned the tempest of sorrow into the tranquility of joy; we have seen His hands pierced by the point of the nails; we have seen hands crying out against the madness of the dogs who impugn His divinity; we have seen hands which wove for us incorruption; we have also seen the side which, more than any herald, proclaims the splendid mercy of the Wounded One. We have seen that very side which angels celebrate, which the faithful worship, and which the demons dread. We have received also the divine insufflation of His divine mouth, the spiritual insufflation, ^D that insufflation which brings every grace. We were ordained by the Lord that we might have the power of remitting sins, that we might have the power of judging sinners—this word we received from Him as a pledge: 'Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose you shall retain, they are retained' (John 20:23). We enjoy such gifts: for we could not fail to be enriched with so rich a Lord; but you, Thomas, remained poor while you were absent. What then did Thomas say to them? 'You have seen the Lord? You do well. Whom therefore you have seen, you worship more; whom you have beheld, you preach. I, however, "Unless I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe" (John 20:25). You did not believe unless you had first seen; so neither will I believe unless I see.' Persevere, O Thomas, in this desire, persevere studiously, so that as you see, I may be firmer in spirit; persevere by seeking Him who said, 'Seek, and you shall find' (Matt. 7:7); do not pass on lightly in your searching until you find the treasure which you desire; persevere by knocking at the door of knowledge which cannot be denied, until He opens it to you who said, 'Knock, and it shall be opened to you.' I love your doubt, in that it cuts away every doubt; I love your fervor for learning, which removes all contention; I willingly hear you saying: 'Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, I will not believe.' For by your not believing, I learn to believe; by your tongue, like a hoe, digging up the field of the divine body, I reap fruit without labor, and I accumulate it within myself. Unless I see with these my eyes the furrows in His holy hands which the impious made, I will not acquiesce to your words; unless I place this finger of mine in the hollows of the nails, I will not let go of your good words; unless I touch that side with this hand of mine, I will not believe your dogma, as a suspicious witness of the resurrection. For a word strengthened by all things is firm and certain; but a voice void of the testimony of facts and works vanishes, diffused through the air from the lips. I am about to preach the miracles of the Master to men: how then shall I tell in words those things which I have not perceived with my eyes? How shall I persuade the incredulous to believe those things which I myself have not followed? Shall I say to the Jews or to the Gentiles that I saw my Lord indeed crucified, but did not see Him risen?"

^A through the door, that there might be the same identity of the event and the miracle, and that he might confirm the promise of the apostles, and present the precision of his second coming. Then he says to Thomas: *Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands.* O height of boundless love! O sea of unmeasurable condescension! He did not await the arrival of the disciple, he did not wait for the one in need to approach, to entreat, and to obtain what he desired; he did not deprive him, not even for a short time, of the grace; but He, the Beloved, compelled the lover toward the Desired One; He Himself with His voice drew the finger of the one craving toward Him; He Himself with His Lordly tongue attracted the servant's right hand, saying to him: *Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands.*

I heard, Thomas, though I was not present as a man, yet I was present as God, those things which you spoke to your brothers. I was present with you in my divinity, separated from you in my humanity. Do you wish that I should remind you of the words you spoke earlier? Did you not say, *Unless I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe*? Did these words not flow from your lips? Do these words not represent your thoughts? It is for these reasons that I have come again, for the very reasons that you doubt; it is for the very things you desire that I have approached a second time. And now, I have come to you, I who for the sake of the straying sheep descended from the heavens, without having abandoned the heavens. Do not, therefore, be ashamed to learn what you desire, do not be ashamed to examine what you seek; do not refuse to place your finger upon these my hands. I endure even an inquisitive finger, just as I endured the nails; I undergo the curiosity of the one who loves, just as I underwent the injury of those who hate. When I was crucified by enemies, I did not show indignation; and shall I not endure being examined by you? *Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands* which were wounded for you, so that the bruises of your own souls might be healed.

^B Behold my hands, and consider within yourself: am I the one who was willingly crucified, or someone else besides him? Behold my hands, which I have allowed to keep the symbols of Jewish madness, so that when the Jews customarily act shamelessly on the day of judgment, and say to me, "Lord, we did not crucify you," I may point out to the enemies the hands in this form, and by their appearance put the faces of the Jews to shame. Behold my hands and the truth of my resurrection; do not think it to be some phantom. Take hold of these hands, as hostages of your own rebirth; take hold of these hands, as pledges of the rising again from the tombs; take hold of these hands, as the anchor of the abyss in Hades. Do not fear any worldly storm, do not shudder at any worldly tempest, do not fear the blasts of opposing winds, do not worry about the gusts and the hidden rocks of the sea of enemies. Sail the ocean of life with confidence, sail holding fast to the anchor of the Spirit, sail looking towards heaven as your harbor, sail fearing only the shipwreck of my denial; laugh at death as if it were a corpse, play with corruption as if it were powerless, embrace the end that comes for my sake as the beginning of a deeper life, and stretch out your hand, and put it into my side; draw out with your hand from my life-giving fountain the desired drink, and appease your own thirst. Stretch out your hand, and put it into my side; lead your right hand into the physician’s office of nature, and bring out the medicine for your own soul; I offer the application of a loving hand, having received the wound of a lance. *Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands*—reach hither thy hand, and put it into my side, so that you may have reason to contend for it, so that you may have something to say to those who speak against the truth: that after the resurrection you saw me, and studied me, and touched me precisely. Stretch out your hand, and put it into my side; for your sake I left it thus, I who healed the bodies and souls of others, foreknowing as God that you would wish to see it thus, so that you, seeing the signs of the passion of my flesh, might heal the passion of your own soul. Stretch out your hand, and put it into my side, which I kept thus, as you see, so that when I arrive again from the heavens, and sit as Judge of the living and the dead, the Jews might see the works of their own evil handiwork appearing face-to-face, and become self-condemned.

*And be not faithless, but believing.* Unbelief is a bad thing; it sinks the mind. Faith lifts it up to heaven; unbelief blinds the soul; faith illuminates thoughts; unbelief ignores even what is visible; faith sees even the invisible; the unbeliever knows nothing at all. *Be not faithless, but believing*; drive away the cloud of unbelief, and behold the pure rays of faith. Become in all things an apostle worthy of my divinity; become such as it behoves one who has met me and obtained those things that you have obtained to be. You were called similarly to the other apostles, you were honored similarly to them, you were armed similarly to them; you have seen similarly to them what they saw, you were trusted similarly to them, as a friend, ^C with my entire mystery; preach similarly to them my power. Do not say again, after having seen once: *Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, I will not believe.* While I am with you, investigate as you wish; while you have the heavenly vine standing before you, explore all of its branches and clusters. For I shall go up to the heavens, whence I came to earth; I shall go up where I am; I shall go up in my humanity whence I descended to you in my divinity; I shall go up with this body, having departed from there without it, and remained there; I shall go up with your nature to the ancestral bosom, to the bosom of the Father; for I have finished the work, for which I have done this.

Thomas, therefore, having touched the Lordly hands and the divine side, and being filled with both fear and great joy from the sight of what he had desired, at once moves his tongue to hymnody, crying out to the Lord: *My Lord and my God.* You are Lord and God, you are also man and lover of mankind, you are the strange and paradoxical physician of nature; you do not cut sufferings with iron, you do not burn ulcers with fire, you do not gather the strength of medicines from herbs, you do not bind up ailing wounds with visible bandages; you have invisible bandages of compassion, invisibly binding together those things that have been dissolved; you have a word sharper than iron, you have speech more powerful than fire, you have a nod more gentle than medicine. As Creator you sanctify the work without labor, as Fashioner you reshape your creations without fatigue. You scrape away leprosy as you willed, you showed the lame to be swift, you made the paralyzed to carry their own beds, you ordered the blind from birth to wash away their darkness, you banished the demons from your own works, you let yourself be held by your enemies when you wished, you willed to suffer all things in the flesh at the hands of the Jews for my sake. *My Lord and my God.* I have recognized my Master, I have recognized my fisherman and guardian, I have recognized my king and Lord. *My Lord and my God.* I believe, Master, in your dispensation, I believe in your condescension, I believe in your taking upon yourself my beginning, I believe in your worshiped cross, I believe in your sufferings of the flesh, I believe in your three-day death, I believe in your resurrection; henceforth I do not inquire further; I believe, I no longer reason; I believe, I no longer weigh in the balance; I believe, I no longer investigate; I believe with my eyes, I believe with my right hand. I learned from what I saw not to reason; I learned from what I touched to worship, not to struggle in logic; I know one Lord and God, the Master Christ, to whom be glory and power unto the ages of the ages. Amen.

On the holy Stephen I

The memory of the struggles endured by those who have been proven in their excellence adorns the athletes; yet let our discourse also adorn them, as much as possible, by proclaiming their accomplishments through eulogy to them; for the recalling of their virtue is sufficient instruction for our own ways. Let us, therefore, make a beginning toward the

Spiritus, ^A to the combat the heavenly umpire trains him: he was not fighting with his body, nor joining his hands for the contest, but sharpening his tongue against those who were fighting with their hands. Let us see, therefore, how the athlete was in all things an imitator of the Master. For he had the same adversaries who had audaciously risen against Him; yet the Saviour’s passion was not enough for their cruelty, but they still thirsted for blood—they who had lately shed the Master’s blood, and who having perpetrated the slaying of the Lord, were with the same affection toward His servants. Let us produce, therefore, that proven athlete. For in outer contests, too, when there is judgment of those who have won the crown, they are accustomed to lead forward the chosen and chief combatants into the lists, so that, according to his strength and prowess, the one who deserves it may be proclaimed crowned. But say here: The first champion, the tower of piety that cannot be conquered (for if anyone shall have said these things of him, he would not be in error), was he who, through his own labors, instructed those who contended after him, and he it was who first seized the crowns, showing those who followed that it is easy to capture enemies who only attack the body, but leave the soul without a wound. For He says: "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul" (Matt. 10:26). Mindful, therefore, of this divine voice, which spurred him on to the struggles, the athlete thus stripped himself for the agones; and striking with his tongue those who were attacking his body with stones, he was shown to be stronger in his words than their missiles. With his body indeed he received the wounds of the stones, but with his words he more sharply attacked those who were throwing, and incited them to wage war against him, so that they might the more quickly prepare his journey to the heavens. And I would have you observe the difference of the stones: for they had buried his body with stones; he, with the words ministered to him by the Spirit, attacked their hearts. For "none," it says, "could resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke" (Acts 6:10). O tongue sounding more than a trumpet! O unconquered soul, firmer than adamant! He saw the Jewish people ^B compelled against the athlete; and as if he were seeing a mere shadow, thus he despised those who were present, and receiving the hail of stones upon his body, he exulted as if by those stones a tower were being built for him by which he might reach heaven. What could have been firmer than that rational rock? What could be seen as stronger than that pillar of the Church? Faith kept him unmoved; as if sustained by the firmest of fulcra, thus he remained unwounded, while his body was afflicted with various wounds, and he, by his patience, adorned his soul, and with its beauty vied with heaven. For as the heaven, adorned as with doors by the choir of stars, appears beautiful, so also this wonderful athlete, having the tunic of the Lord, covered with wounds as with multicolored garments, was comely, and rejoiced that he bore the stigmata of the Lord in his body, as though they were characters of the Lord. The stones did not encompass the athlete; but like a certain tree reaching to heaven, rooted in the earth, thus he remained unbent, receiving the volleys of stones, and not falling. With justice that prophetic oracle might fit him: "The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree" (Ps. 91:13). His body was tinged with a purple color, and irrigated by the flowing blood, receiving frequent waves of stones, and much more was he confirmed like a rock by faith. For he looked to the heavenly umpire, who extends His hand to His athletes, and draws them to heaven, where the rewards of the contests are stored, where the crowns are ^C proclaimed; and perhaps as Paul cried: "I so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air" (1 Cor. 9:26). "Ye," he says, "are of your fathers who stoned the prophets." For whom, he says, have your fathers not persecuted? (Acts 7:52). You are heirs of an evil succession, imitating their fury: as your fathers, so are you; you have received a paternal murderous spirit. These are the words of Stephen, the crown of the Churches; such are the weapons of the crowned against those who oppose. And as if one should excite a flame in a grove, so did the first martyr provoke their fury against himself more and more. For he saw the Desired One, and he desired Him whom he saw, and perhaps he addressed them with such things: "You seek the outer garment, and cast stones against the body; but you do not know, as it seems, that you are fulfilling my desire. For even I, before Paul, hasten to strip off the outer man, that I may fly naked in soul to heaven, and having traversed the etherial sea, may reign with the Lord. This navigation alone has no shipwreck; this sea-voyage keeps those who sail it without storms. My bark sails without danger; for I have a heavenly pilot, who directs the course with His spiritual rudders. Make my body purple with wounds; for your fathers also made the tunic of Joseph purple with blood, as you also do." It is fitting that the martyr's saying be repeated to them often. You have imitated those who left you an evil heritage; but those too, who sold Joseph, fell from their hope; and you, who stone the corporeal temple, are building a firm temple more beautiful: I behold its facade, which is lifted from the earth to heaven. These words befit Stephen, who, before any of the chosen of the apostles, leaped out to the struggles, and hastened to the end of martyrdom with a faster course; who fought on earth, and was proclaimed in the heavens; who conquered the speaking enemies, and prayed for his stoners; and in this matter, having imitated the Lord, he says to the umpire: "Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59). "My contest is finished," he says, "receive me to be crowned in the heavens, receive the athlete, O granter of prizes: for I run to the crowns, and I strive to report the prizes of my contests." With these things that first martyr received us, conspicuous by his words and his struggles, the head of the martyrs, the crown of the Churches, who hastens to come to the Lord as he runs, and answers Him who calls him in the heavens through that divine voice: "Where I am, there also shall my minister be" (John 12:26). "Set your mind on the things that are above," he says, "where Christ sitteth on the right hand of the Father" (Col. 3:2). He desired that royal throne, toward those prizes of the upward calling he was running; he desired those royal gifts, distributed by the heavenly King to His own combatants. Who then could suffice in speech to celebrate such and so great an athlete according to his merit, who is proclaimed by his works, and like a pillar has left an indelible memory of his own noble deeds? Let us emulate the desire for this one, and imitate his virtue, that we too may enjoy the stored-up crowns, by the grace of the only-begotten Son of God, to whom with the Father be glory, with the holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages. Amen.

IN SANCTUM STEPHANUM II

(Act. 6, 15). Let us crown the athlete Stephen, the first of Christ’s athletes, and plant the seed of the word. And so, he was numbered among the choir of the apostles, and among the disciples of piety; he surpassed all men in gentleness, and was outstanding in kindness; and he was not so much stung by his own labors as by the labors of others, and he considered his neighbor’s need his own, and concerned himself with another’s burden as though it were his own ^A. In the first preaching of the word, when faith was flourishing greatly, those with wealth were immediately setting down their burden of money, while the needy were receiving what was lacking. Such a beautiful harmony and order had a steward in Stephen; he had poverty as his patron and advocate, and wealth as his charioteer. The power of the Spirit rested upon him, and grace had his man as its own home. Let us, therefore, beloved, praise with the proto-martyr Stephen the One who bestows crowns, the holy and consubstantial Trinity, for to Him belongs glory, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ON SAINT STEPHEN III

Many and wondrous are the trophies of the blessed Stephen, and even death did not tear him away from the pious rank. For while he lived he fought against the Jews, and though dead he is armed against the heretics, having as an indomitable weapon the faith of the Trinity. And look at the phalanxes of the adversaries at that time, and be astonished at the fortitude of the soldier. The Alexandrians attacked, and the Libertines pelted him; the Cilicians and Asians besieged him; they dragged him into the council; they hired false witnesses; they prepared a great hailstorm of stones, and like lions they gnashed their teeth against him ^B. Nevertheless, the soldier, armed with wisdom and the Spirit, conquered; by the radiance of his form he struck those who looked upon him, and by his words he enervated the God-fighters. But did you see the ranks of your enemies? Look again also at the divine assistance: He opened the arches of the heavens, shaking out the rewards of the prizes to the athlete, decking his face with angelic form, and repelling the hailstorm of stones with the hail of his words; and some were throwing, but others were bringing, and offering the crown to Stephen. Look, therefore, even now, and you shall see the kinship of the trophies. Then he pleaded at the voice of the cross, and now Stephen is the crown of the Church; for he was the first to tread upon the stings of death. A crown in the royal palace; for the Queen and Virgin housed him. A crown among princes; for he has made the son of the King who showed him hospitality a father. A crown in love for the poor; for he became a wealthy and faithful steward of widows and orphans. A crown against the Jews; for he denounced the synagogue adulterated by the worship of idols. A crown against the heretics; for he stops the mouths of the God-fighters, shouting, *Great is the Lord our God*. Great; for he is not subject to the measure of a tongue. Great; for he surpasses the grasp of the mind. Great; for the uncircumscribed is proper to the divine nature. Great; for he rose from the paternal bosom without beginning. Great; for as the Word he was born without passion. Great; for the divine birth did not divide the substance. Great; for he sits upon the throne, and has not been cast down to the footstool ^C. Great; for such as the root is, such is the branch. Great; for he who has seen the Son has seen the Father. Great; for there is nothing unequal in the Trinity. Great; for through water he has regenerated many. Great; for being seen he does not grow old. Great; for he had no small Father. Great, therefore, is the Lord the Son, even if he does not seem so to the neighbors. The Son is Almighty; for all things were made through him. The Son is a King without beginning; for our King is before the ages. The Son is consubstantial with the Father; *For I came forth from God and have arrived*. The Son is the true light; *For I am the light of the world*. Why do I say much? He is God and Almighty, the Son of God who was incarnate from the Virgin, and who shepherds the Church, as the prophet confirms saying: *Let the Lord God Almighty visit his flock* (Zach. 10, 3): to whom be glory and power, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ON HOLY PENTECOST

Every day is bright, bearing the solar ray, and adorned with the common light; for thus the Master, having beautified the creation, brought it forth into the midst. But the festival day has something more for joy, honored by the word and worship of God. For it shows a double decorum, bearing both the flower of nature and displaying the beauty of piety. Such is also today’s festival, illuminating the sensible eye of the body, and brightening the intellectual eye of the mind with the rays of the Word. For today is one of the three equal [in honor], both those preached in the Law and those sung through evangelical grace. On this day according to the Old Testament the Law was given; on this day according to the new grace was given the visitation of the Spirit; on this day Moses received the tablets of the Law; on this day the choir of the apostles received the descent of the Spirit instead of the tablets ^D. For the blessed Paul says in the Epistle to the Corinthians: *You are our epistle, written not in tablets of stone, but in tablets of flesh of the heart* (2 Cor. 3, 3). You ask, if the Law was truly given on this day? For it is not explicitly written in the Old Testament that the law was given at Pentecost; but for those who search the divine scriptures, the treasure of knowledge emerges. Let us see, therefore, in what day, when God was shown according to the Old Testament, there were many terrors accompanying him; for both darkness and storm and trumpet and thunder surrounded the mountain, in order to prepare the people for the fear of the Lawgiver; so also when the Holy Spirit was about to descend, that the suddenness of the presence should not cast those who were receiving it into negligence, but that they might learn the dignity of the arrival of the Spirit in glory; so that in the darkness and the storm he might proceed, just as the Spirit did in the descent. When Pentecost was being fulfilled, *there was a sound as of a rushing spirit* (Ibid. v. 4); and then the Holy Spirit was seen, and shook the house; he was divided, not the Spirit, but the operations were divided. For the Spirit is not divided, he is divided as it testifies Paul: *But all these things work one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one as he wills* (1 Cor. 12, 11); dividing, not being divided; subject to the intent/power, not the authority. But he, whom he attributes to the Father, Paul attributes the honor of authority to him, *but God is he who works all in all* (Ib. v. 6); and he attributes to the Spirit saying: *But all these things work one and the same Spirit*. But the Holy Spirit is the Paraclete: unless he encourages men, who is the consoler? In Scripture this property is observable: the Apostle calls him by the name of consolation, but he encourages not as after God, but as God: for it is proper to God to encourage, as the Apostle says, *either the name of Paraclete or of encourager: We act as ambassadors for Christ, as though God were encouraging through us* (2 Cor. 5, 20). And let not Paul, brethren, be thought to introduce something new in the dogmas, that God is encouraging

^A men; take a proof of an old testimony. The prophet Isaiah says to Jerusalem: "He who named you shall exhort you" (Baruch 4, 22). Understand, then: the Father exhorts, the Son exhorts; for He says: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to exhort all who mourn" (Is. 61, 1-2). And, moreover, the Savior, so as to show the equal glory of the Spirit, says: "When I go away, I will send another Paraclete" (John 16, 7): and "another" would not be, unless a different one is sent in place of another. ^B The Holy Spirit therefore appears in the form of tongues of fire. Why, then, tongues? Because of the utility of preaching. For since the apostles were in need of tongues, so that through preaching they might fill the ends of the inhabited world, which the Holy Spirit was about to work, the figure is given according to the gift. But otherwise, it rings true with the ancient example. For since in those days giants were fighting against God, and were wishing to build a tower, God sent tongues and divided their evil consensus. Now, too, He sends operations of tongues, so that He may link together the dispersed world. And it was a thing of wonder: tongues divided the world, and tongues linked the world together—tongues for the sake of preaching. Why fire? Because impiety, growing rank, was binding the whole world like thorns; He sends fiery tongues that they might consume the thorn of impiety. For He Himself is the one who says: "I came to cast fire upon the earth" (Luke 12, 49); a fire that does not destroy—for the fire of God does not burn, but sanctifies. Therefore, to Isaiah was sent one of the Cherubim, who had a coal of fire taken from the altar, and when he placed it upon his lips he said to him: "Behold, I have taken away your iniquities and your sins" (Is. 6, 7). Celebrating, therefore, this solemnity of the advent of the Holy Spirit, let us send up glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Honor the advent of the Spirit: now the advent of the Spirit is honored through the remission of sins. For where the Holy Spirit is, there is remission; for the Lord says: "Receive the Holy Spirit: whose sins you remit, they are remitted to them" (John 20, 22-23). The Holy Spirit is preached as One who frees: for the Father frees, the Son frees, the Holy Spirit frees; now, one cannot give freedom to servants, for one does not give what one does not possess. Therefore, that you may know the new freedom of the Son and Spirit, the Savior says of Himself: "Unless the Son shall have freed you, you are servants." He restored freedom to Himself. Again, Paul says: "Thus we reflect as if by the Spirit of the Lord: for the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Cor. 3, 17-18). Sometimes He is called the Holy Spirit, sometimes the Spirit of the Lord, sometimes of the Father—not a confused preaching, but signifying that He is inseparable from the divine substance. The Son calls Him the Spirit of the Father: "Do not think about what you are to speak; for it is not you who are speaking, but the Spirit of the Father" (Matt. 10, 19-20). The Son says, the Spirit of the Father. Paul says, the Spirit of the Son: "Because you are sons, ^C God sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father" (Gal. 4, 6). The Son vivifies, the Spirit also vivifies. For He says: "Just as the Father raises the dead and vivifies, so the Son also vivifies whom He wills" (John 5, 21). Have you seen the Father and the Son vivifying? See again the apostle, or rather the Savior Himself speaking through him: "It is the Spirit who vivifies, the flesh profits nothing" (John 6, 64). I will speak even more briefly. The orderings of the Churches are attributed by Paul now to the Father, now to the Son, now to the Spirit: as when he says concerning the Father regarding the offices in the Church: "God has placed in the Church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers" (1 Cor. 12, 28), etc. Here he attributes the orderings to the Father, because He is the one who gives authority and establishes. But elsewhere Paul himself attributes this to the Son; for he says: "He who descended is the same who also ascended above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things: and He gave some, indeed, apostles, others prophets, others pastors and teachers" (Eph. 4, 10-11). See the authority of the saying. He did not say, "He sub-ministered"; but, "He gave from His own authority," not divided or separated from the kingdom of the Father; for what the Father wills, the Son wills; and in what the Son wills, the Father is well-pleased. What he ascribed to the Father and to the Son, he attributes to the Holy Spirit, summoning the Ephesian presbyters and saying to them: it is Paul himself who speaks and says: "Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops to shepherd the Church" (Acts 20, 28). See the concordance of the saying. He did not say of the Father, "He placed"; of the Spirit, "He ordered"; but uses the same word: God and Father has placed in the Church; the Holy Spirit has placed in the Church. The Father gives law in the Church, gives law as King of the ages, of whom David says: "To do your will, my God, I have willed, and your law in the midst of my heart" (Ps. 39, 9). The Father, therefore, gives law, the Son gives law. Listen to Paul saying: "Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal. 6, 2). See the Legislator; and he gives the same prerogative to the Holy Spirit; or rather, he does not give, but recognizes it, saying: "For the law of the spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8, 2). Not that there are three legislators: for there is one law, and one legislator: one God, even if He is preached in three persons. And how, you will ask, can the Father be called God, and the Son be God, and the Holy Spirit be God, in such a way that there be not three gods? Where the nature is common, the names of dignity are also common. For example: God calls those things which are divided into a multitude by one name, by one nature; and when He is angry at men, He calls every man subject to His wrath "one man"; and when He is reconciled to the world, He speaks as if to one man. For example, God brings the flood because of sins, and says: "My Spirit shall not remain in these men. I will destroy man whom I have made" (Gen. 6, 3. 7). Although he was not one, but there were countless thousands; yet by the name of nature, He called all "as one," the whole world "as one man," [in] the communion of substance. "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou dost visit him?" (Ps. 8, 5) says David: not that He was visiting one man, for He stirred the whole world. But I will use one brief saying of Moses. Because Pharaoh went out toward the sea, and underwent punishment according to divine law. Pharaoh falls with a thousand chariots into the sea, and many men were drowned with him, and many horses: but Moses, knowing the nature of all men to be one, says: "Let us sing to the Lord; for He has been gloriously magnified, He has cast the horse and the rider into the sea" (Exod. 15, 1). He called [the multitude] one man. If, therefore, among men, where knowledge is confused, where there are diverse forms and species—for they are not one, nor is their mind one, but their speeches are diverse—yet because of the communion of nature, he is called "one man": where dignity is undivided, where there is one kingdom, one proper power, there I say the Trinity is one God. But because I say God and God and God, do I say three gods? And because I say Lord and Lord and Lord, do I say three lords? Not at all. For the Apostle calls the Father Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord, even as David: "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand" (Ps. 109, 1). If indeed Lord to Lord, the Apostle also says: "But the Lord is Spirit," and the Spirit is Lord, how then, O Apostle, legislator of truth, patron of piety, do you cry out to the Ephesians saying: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Eph. 4, 5)? One Lord, according to the sanctification of the Seraphim; for they cry: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts" (Is. 6, 3). But if the heretics contend that the lordship of the Father is one, and that of the Son another, I wonder how they bear that there should be two lords for a servant. For it is the voice of the Savior: "No one can serve two lords" (Matt. 6, 24). But if you divide the power, how do you serve the kingdom? For two dignities cannot be worshipped at the same time, unless the honor be equal: for no one worships king and prefect at the same time. For where the dignity is equal, the worship is also equal: in equal dignity there is no war: inequality excites war; equality establishes peace. ^D

9.57 SPURIA. ^A for yourself that you divide Christ; for He says: *This is the will of the Father, that all should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father* (John 5:23). Honor the Father; nay, honor the Son, if you honor the Father. He considers the honor of the Son to be His own proper honor; for the Savior says: *He who hates Me, hates My Father also* (John 15:23). Do not think, therefore, that you bestow anything upon God, heretics, when you say He is greater than the Son; for the Father does not accept the honor referred to Himself, when the Son is insulted. And take a clear proof of this from the Old Scripture. The friends of Job, who came to comfort him, were blaming him for speaking boldly, and they were justifying God. Job said to God: *Who will grant me a judge between me and You, that I may know how many my sins are, that You have judged me thus?* (Job 15:15; 8:3). The friends of Job were justifying God, though they were ignorant of the matter, and they were rather judging the just man as one who had sinned, whereas they defended God as one who sends affliction. And they say to him: *You have spoken greatly, you have spoken excessively against the Almighty; and does God not disturb the just?* (Job 34:37; 36:3). *According to your sins He has brought this upon you; if your sins were not many, you would not have been scourged.* And they seemed to defend God, while they judged the just man. See, did God accept those who spoke in His favor against the just man? If He accepted that defense of Himself, when the just man was dishonored, He also accepts that honor directed towards Himself, when the Son is dishonored. ^B Hear what the Lord says to the friends of Job: *Why have you not spoken rightly against my servant?* (Job 42:7). If He rejects those who did not speak rightly against the servant, does He accept the one who sharpens his tongue against the Only Begotten? Far be it. Therefore, judgment is inevitable for those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Hear what the Savior says: *Every blasphemy will be forgiven to men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, neither in this age, nor in the age to come* (Matt. 12:31-32). What is the need of syllogisms of begotten and unbegotten, created and uncreated? The word of heresy is sharp, *sharper than a whetted razor* (Ps. 51:3-4). But even a razor, however large and strongly whetted it may be, can shave hairs, but it cannot cut wood; but the word of truth is not a razor, but an axe. Therefore John the Baptist says: *Behold the axe lies at the root of the trees* (Matt. 3:10). He did not say "razor"; for it is not smooth—in accordance with those who smooth out vanity with words—but the word of God is an axe cutting the pride of the arrogant, as John testifies, saying: *And the axe also lies at the root of the trees.* The crowd of those who speak deceit and weave heresies is a razor, as David says to Saul: *Why do you boast in malice, you who are powerful in lawlessness? All day long your tongue has devised injustice, as a whetted razor you have wrought deceit* (Ps. 51:3-4). The Father legislates, the Son commands, the Spirit originates authority. Hear God saying: *They who evangelize shall come, whom the Lord has called* (Joel 2:32). I beseech you, yield your hearing, that you may learn the concord of the truth. For we do not fight with reasonings, but we follow the Scriptures. We wish to be servants of the Scriptures, not to enslave the Scriptures to our own reasonings. Faith does not accept syllogisms, not as if they are irrational, but as one that surpasses every reasoning. And that Paul may show you that faith is armed against reasonings, he says: *For our weapons are not carnal, but powerful to God for the destruction of strongholds, destroying reasonings and every height lifted up against the knowledge of God* (2 Cor. 10:4-5). But even if the lawless one often wins with dialectic, do not be surprised; for David says: *The words of the lawless have prevailed over us* (Ps. 64:4). The Father also sends the apostles, the Son also sends, and the Holy Spirit also sends. The Savior says to the apostles: *Behold I send you into the world; go and make disciples of all nations* (Matt. 28:19). He also says in the Acts of the Apostles: *They therefore having been sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia* (Acts 13:4). The Father calls apostles; the Son calls apostles; the prophet says: *For from Mount Zion shall come the one who brings good tidings, and they who bring good tidings whom the Lord has called* (Joel 2:32). Therefore it is of God to call those who bring good tidings. If therefore it is of God to issue the call, for this reason the Spirit, speaking through the prophets, said: *Thus says the Holy Spirit: Set apart for me Paul and Barnabas for the work to which I have called them* (Acts 13:2). These things have been sufficiently said by us. May the God of peace increase us all in His faith and love: for to Him is due all glory, honor, and adoration, with the only-begotten Son and His all-holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CONCERNING PATIENCE, AND CONCERNING THE CONSUMMATION OF THIS AGE, AND THE SECOND COMING, AND THE PERPETUAL KINGDOM OF THE JUST, AND THE ETERNAL PUNISHMENT OF SINNERS: A HYPOTHESIS ALSO OF CONFESSION, AND AN EXHORTATION TO THE MEDITATION OF DIVINE SCRIPTURES; AND WHAT ARE THE DEVICES OF THE ENEMY, AND WHAT IS THE UTILITY OF QUIETUDE.

Splendid is the life of the just; but how is it made splendid, if not through patience? Acquire this, O brother, as the mother of fortitude; for the psalm exhorts, saying: *Wait for the Lord, and keep His way* (Ps. 36:34). And Paul, as if to acquire this virtue, says: *Tribulation works patience* (Rom. 5:3). Submissive, therefore, be to the Lord, and pray to Him, and you will find from this: *And He shall give you the petitions of your heart* (Ps. 36:4). What is more blessed than this, to have the favorable hearing of such a King? Who will not wish to have the hearing of the Judge open and obedient? You happen to be a worker of virtue, brother; Christ hired you into His vineyard: as you have time, do good. Hear Paul saying: *Whatever a man sows, this he will also reap* (Gal. 6:8). Sow in the spirit, that you may reap eternal life: *For he who sows in the flesh, he says, will reap destruction from the flesh* (Ibid.). Hear the good counselor saying: *Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of life* (Osee 10:12). Do not faint in labor, seeing hope before you: for where there are struggles, there are prizes; where there are wars, there are honors; where there is fighting, there is also a crown. Looking to this, stir up yourself through patience: always offer these holy cries: *Act as a man, and be strengthened, and wait for the Lord* (Ps. 26:14). *Prepare your works for the end, and prepare for the field* (Prov. 24:27): for such is this life. Accept the Old Testament. *Hedge your possession with thorns* (Eccl. 28:28). With what? Fasting, prayer, doctrine. If you have a hedge, the wild beast, the devil, will not enter. Just as those who guard vineyards clap, cry out with a voice, and drive away the disturbers with noise: so do you shout by prayer, rejoice by psalmody: and the wild beast, namely the devil, you will drive away, of whom Scripture says: *Catch for us the little foxes* (Cant. 2:15). Observe the enemy always: if he comes, pierce your heart and with the forethought of struggle; and if he attacks your soul, sending evil thoughts, oppose the shield of faith, assume the helmet of hope, strike with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: and thus armed against the enemy, stand firm, and do not be sleepy in the war, but be awake in all things.

^B He brings in the enemy sometimes with spaciousness, and sometimes with tribulations. For as he knows the mind of man to be inclined, so he himself carries on the war, and cunningly draws up his battle line. Therefore, my brother, keep watch cautiously, and study to be occupied always in reading, so that you may learn how the snares of the enemy are to be avoided, and how eternal life is to be acquired. For the reading of the divine Scriptures restrains the wandering mind and gives knowledge of God: for it is written, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 45:11). You hear, brother, that he who with sincere heart occupies himself in the divine Scriptures, receives the knowledge of God. Wherefore, my brother, do not neglect your soul, but occupy yourself with reading and prayer, so that your mind may be illuminated, and that you may be perfect and whole, lacking in nothing. Others boast in the conversations of great men, of princes and kings; but do you boast with the angels of God, mingling conversations with the Holy Spirit through the divine Scriptures: for it is the Holy Spirit who speaks through them. Take care, therefore, to be occupied in the divine Scriptures, and to persevere in holy prayers. For as often as you are occupied with God through them, so often are your body, soul, and spirit sanctified. Since you know this, my brother, that you are sanctified as often as you apply yourself to them, approach them more frequently. And even if your hands do not cease to work, pray with your mind. For blessed Anna, the mother of the prophet Samuel, prayed, and her lips were moved: but her prayer entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth: for her petition was granted to her. Wherefore, my brother, even if your hands are not free from work, pray with your mind: for God hears even those who are silent. But if you do not know how to read, occupy yourself assiduously where you can hear and be helped: for it is written: "If you see a man of understanding, go to him early, and let your feet wear the steps of his doors" (Eccli. 6:36). This is not for those who do not know, but also for those who do know how to read. For there are many who read and do not understand what they read. See, therefore, brother, that you do not neglect the gift conferred upon you by Christ, but care for it and seek out how you can please God, so that you may obtain beatitude: for it is written: "Blessed are they who search his testimonies, with their whole heart they shall seek him" (Ps. 118:2). See that the enemy does not interrupt you when you want to read, while he proposes injustice to you, and throws you into temptations and says: "Do this thing first, which indeed is small, and afterwards you shall read without solicitude." When he suggests these things, and incites you to the work of your hands, he casts all these things forward, to turn you away from reading, which is useful to you. For when the devil sees anyone reading studiously, and receiving utility from it, he attacks him with these machines and others, so that he may hinder him. Do not, therefore, perform his will, but be as a deer thirsting, and desiring to go to the fountains of waters, that is, to the sacred Scriptures, that you may drink from them, and they may cool your thirst that burns within you through your affections. Drink also the utility flowing from thence: for example: when the Lord has granted you to understand the words, do not pass them by, but meditate on them and inscribe them in your heart, and serve them in your memory perpetually. For it is written: "I will meditate on thy justifications, I will not forget thy words" (Ps. 118:16); and again, "In my heart I have hidden thy ^C speeches, that I may not sin against thee" (Ibid., v. 11); and again, "Wherewith shall a younger man correct his way? In keeping thy words" (Ibid., v. 9). You see, brother, that when a man remembers the words of God, then he corrects his way. For who is it who remembers the words of God, and does not correct himself, unless perhaps he is that wicked and miserable man, who does not even remember them at all, nay rather, even forgets those whom he seems to remember? To a man of this kind God says: "Why do you declare my justices, and take my covenant by your mouth?" (Ps. 49:16). He commands, therefore, that those things which he seems to have be taken away from him (Matth. 25:29). For this man seems to have faith (for he calls himself a Christian), but he denies it by his works, and is worse than an infidel. Therefore He commands the Holy Spirit to be taken away from him, whom he received in the day of redemption, and whom he seems to have. And such a man is made like a broken wine jar, which loses its wine; all however who see it, not knowing what has happened, think it is full; but if the matter is explored, then it is found by all to be empty. So, therefore, such a man, being examined in that day of judgment, is found so to be: and then his works will be manifest to all. Such are they who will say to the King in that day: "Lord, have we not done many miracles in thy name?" And the King answering will say to them: "Amen I say to you, I do not know you" (Matth. 7:22-23). You see, brother, that such a man obtains no mercy. Do you, therefore, remember the words that you hear, and direct your way. Take care not to allow oblivion to come, and take them away from your heart; take care not to allow the birds to descend, and eat the seed of God: for He himself says the seed is the word which you have heard. Hide the seed in the fold of the earth; that is, hide the word in the middle of your heart, that it may bear fruit to the Lord in fear. But when you have read, read accurately and with labor, running through the verse with much attention, and do not care only to turn the leaves; but, if there is need, do not be slothful, to read the same verse twice, three times, or more often, so that you may understand its power. But when you are about to sit and read, or to hear another reading, pray first to the Lord, saying: "Lord Jesus Christ, open the ears and eyes of my heart, that I may hear thy word, and understand and do thy will, Lord, because I am a sojourner on the earth. Do not hide thy commandments from me, but Open my eyes, and I will consider the wondrous things of thy law" (Ps. 118:18): for in thee have I hoped, my God, that thou mayest illuminate my heart. Also, my brother, I beseech you, pray thus always to God, that he may illuminate your mind, and show you the power of his words. For many have been led into error, trusting in their own prudence; and "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" (Rom. 1:22), not understanding those things which were written, and they fell into blasphemy and perished. If, therefore, while you are reading you find a word difficult to understand, take care that the wicked one does not teach you to say within yourself: "The matter is not as it is said here; how can it be so?" and similar things: but, if you believe in God, believe also in his words, and say to that wicked one: "Go behind me, Satan: for I know The speeches of the Lord are chaste speeches, as silver examined by fire, purged seven times" (Ps. 11:7), and that there is nothing crooked or oblique in them, but all things are good to those who understand: I, however, am unlearned and do not know: I know, however, that they are written spiritually: for the Apostle says: "The law is spiritual" (Rom. 7:14). Then look up to heaven, and say: "Lord, I believe thy words: I do not contradict, but I trust in the words of the Holy Spirit. Do thou, therefore, Lord, save me that I may find grace before thee. For I seek nothing else, except that I may be saved, and obtain thy mercy, O merciful one, because thine is the kingdom and the empire for ever. Amen. Possess, brother, quiet, as a firm wall: for quiet renders you superior to the passions: for you fight from above, but that one from below. Possess, therefore, with the fear of God quiet, and all the darts of the enemy will not harm you: for quiet joined with the fear of God is a fiery chariot. Let the prophet Elias persuade you of this, who loved quiet and the fear of God and was as if assumed into heaven. O quiet, the progress of monks! O quiet, the heavenly ladder! O quiet, the way to the kingdom of heaven! O quiet, the mother of compunction! O quiet, the mirror of sinners, which shows a man his faults! O quiet, which does not hinder ^D tears! O quiet, the parent of gentleness! O quiet, the companion of humility! O quiet, joined with the fear of God, which illuminates the mind! O quiet, the explorer of thoughts, and the helper of discretion! O quiet, the mother of all good, the fulcrum of fasting, and the impediment of gluttony! O quiet, by which one applies oneself to prayer and reading! O quiet, the serenity of thoughts and the tranquil port! O quiet, by which the soul is free from solicitude! O quiet, the sweet yoke and light burden, which gives rest, and carries him who bears you! Quiet, the joy of the soul and heart! O quiet, the... of eyes, ears and tongue

[TRANSLATION START] frenum! O quiet, destruction of insolence and enemy of impudence! O quiet, prison of the diseases of the soul! O quiet, helper of every virtue, producer of voluntary poverty, you field bearing good fruits! O quiet, wall and protection of those who wish to fight for the kingdom of heaven! Yes, brother, possess this better portion which Mary chose. She was indeed an example of quiet, sitting at the feet of the Lord and clinging to Him alone. Therefore the Lord also praised her, saying: *Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her* (Luc. 10, 42). You see, brother, what quiet is; since our Lord God praises the one who possesses it. Possess this, brother, and you shall take delight in the Lord, sitting at His feet and clinging to Him alone, that you may say with confidence: *My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me* (Psal. 62, 9). Therefore, *as with marrow and fatness* may my soul be filled. Yes, my brother, possess this thing sweeter than honey. For a morsel with the salt of quiet and freedom from care is better than the provision of luxurious dishes in temptations and troubles. Hear the Lord God saying: *Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest* (Matth. 11, 28). For the Lord wants to give you rest from cares, from anger, from temptation, and from the affliction of this age; He wants you to be free from care regarding the brick-making of Egypt; He wishes to lead you into the desert—that is, into quiet—that He may illuminate your paths with the pillar of cloud, that He may feed you with manna, I mean the bread of quiet and freedom from care; so that you may inherit the good land, I mean the Jerusalem above. Yes, beloved, love this, possess this, that you may be delighted in the way of the testimonies of God, as over all riches. Yes, brother, possess quiet with the fear of God, and the God of peace shall be with you, to whom glory is due for ever. Amen. ^B POSSESS quiet, brother, with the fear of God: and the God of peace shall be with you, to whom glory is due for ever. Amen. Therefore, I ask you, brothers beloved by the Lord, that you strive daily to keep the memory of these things: namely, of hope, of faith, of charity, of humility, and that you be always signed in the prayers of God, and in the meditations of the divine Scriptures, and in quiet. For if these things are present and abound in you, they do not render you idle or fruitless in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For a Christian who does not possess these is blind, short-sighted, having forgotten his past sins; and it happens to him as in the true proverb: *The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire* (2 Petr. 2, 22). Therefore, because those who have escaped the pollutions of the world—as it is written—and have renounced them in the holy laver, and have come into the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, are then again entangled in the same, the last state has become worse for them than the first. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back again. Therefore, beloved, faithful servants and chosen soldiers of God, Christians, let us take up the armor of the aforementioned in our hearts, and without delay let us make mention of them each day, so that we may be able to fight the good fight and to trample down all the power of the enemy, that we might be delivered from the wrath coming upon the children of disobedience, and find mercy and grace on the terrible day before the just Judge, who renders to everyone according to his works: to whom glory is due, with the almighty Father and the all-holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.

NOTICE TO THE ENCOMIUM OF SAINT GREGORY, ILLUMINATOR OF THE ARMENIANS, WHICH CIRCULATES IN ARMENIAN MANUSCRIPTS UNDER THE NAME OF SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM.

We bring forward here a thing entirely new, which can aptly conclude this vast series of works of Chrysostom; namely, the encomium of Saint Gregory, Illuminator of the Armenians, which is held in the Royal Armenian manuscript library and was translated into Latin by A. Abbate de Villefroy, a man of remarkable knowledge of Oriental languages, and presented to me. ^C

As it is reported, this discourse was delivered at Cocusus, which was a city of Lesser Armenia, and which in the published editions and in the manuscripts of the works of Saint John Chrysostom is called Kουκουρός, Cocusus. In the Vatican Codex, however, it is read as Κεκουκὸς, and in the Itinerary of Antoninus it is most frequently written as Cocusus. It is therefore Cocusus, through the favor or benevolence, as it were, of a certain other Armenian named Dioscorus—who in the title is said to be a kinsman of Saint Gregory the Illuminator—who, being the bishop of Cocusus, wished to cede his own episcopal see to him, since he could not easily resist the man. But after the incursion of the Isaurians was repulsed, and having been forced to flee the city of Lesser Armenia by the Arabs, Otreius, the bishop of the city, was received with such great kindness that from then on he was numbered among his most intimate friends. From this, he was always thereafter in the company, friendship, and familiarity of the Armenians.

At the request of this same bishop Dioscorus, however—who, as it is said in the title, was a kinsman of Saint Gregory the Illuminator—he delivered this encomium, which he also delivered to the people on the feast day of the same saint. So far, all is consistent. But a question might arise as to whether it is truly by Chrysostom. The prologue certainly has nothing alien to Chrysostom: but in the progress of the work, some things occur that are more consistent with Chrysostom in their style and disagreement, so that no one should dare to ascribe it to such a great doctor: for example, the speaking pit and trench, serpents and dragons, and similar portents, which, however, are found in the Life of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, of which I have seen two manuscript codices, one in the Royal Library, the other in the Coislinian. It might perhaps be said that Chrysostom had the discourse in praise of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, but that it was so changed by the Armenians that now the style of Chrysostom almost nowhere appears in it.

It is not, I think, being ungrateful to the reader that I have brought forward this little work, both because it records a certain matter of Armenia, little known in the current course of the history, and because in the learned notes of the most erudite interpreter not a few things worthy of knowledge occur.