Resp. I confess two natures, of God and of man. Inter. How many substances? Resp. I confess two substances, the Son consubstantial with the Father according to his divinity, and consubstantial with us according to his humanity. Inter. How many wills? Resp. Two wills, divine and human. Inter. How many operations? Resp. I confess two operations. Inter. How many hypostases? Resp. One hypostasis of the Word of God. Inter. How many generations? Resp. I confess two generations: one before the ages from the Father, intemporally and incorporeally, shining forth from the Father as light from the sun.
PANTALEON CONSTANTINOPOLITANUS DIACONUS
NOTITIA
(FABRIC. Biblioth. Græca ed. Harles, t. XI, p. 445.)Pantaleon the Greek, and deacon and chartophylax of the great church of Constantinople, later assigning himself to the Dominican order in 1252 (a), composed a book at Constantinople in the house of the Friars Preachers, which some falsely attribute to Calecas, *On the Errors of the Greeks*. This was published in Latin by Petrus Stevartius, taken from the Bavarian library, and edited anonymously in his *Auctarium*, Ingolstadt 1616, 4, p. 555; from which it is reprinted in vol. XXVI of the *Patrum Lugd.*, pp. 467-471. Combefisius, in his preface to the *Auctarium novissimum*, noted that Pantaleon is the author, and I see no reason why I should not agree with him. From this it also appears that Margarinus de la Bigne is mistaken, by whom Pantaleon is assigned to the eighth century, as is Jodocus Coccius, by whom he is pushed back to the year 850 (b). The other writings of Pantaleon are:
(a) Fabricius, who affirms that Pantaleon assigned himself to the Dominican order in 1252, is mistaken, and Margarinus de la Bigne and Jodocus Coccius are not mistaken—though blamed by Fabricius. Bandini, in his *Catalogus codicum Græcorum bibliothecæ Laurentianæ*, I, p. 503, moved by the authority of the Laurentian codex 9, plut. II, written at the beginning of the eleventh century (which contains Pantaleon’s *Narration of the Greatest Miracles of the Holy Archangels*, n. 5, as in Fabricius), and by the faith of another codex of the same repository of almost the same age, affirms this. Mingarelli judges the same in the *Catalogus codicum Græcorum Nanianorum*, p. 47, concerning codex 58, which contains part of the *Oration on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross* and was written in the ninth century. Concerning Pantaleon, compare Cave, *Dissertatio I ad Historiam litterariam SS. ecclesiasticorum*, vol. II, p. 459, Basle edition, in which the age of Pantaleon is little certain, and Oudin, *Commentarius de SS. ecclesiasticis*, vol. III, p. 229 sqq., up to the year 1250. Mingarelli, in the Index to the *Catalogus codicum Græcorum Nanianorum*, distinguishes Pantaleon, a presbyter of the Byzantine monastery (as he is learnedly called in Nanian codex 73, n. 13; 151, n. 54, 63, 30, and elsewhere) from Pantaleon the deacon (as he is called in col. 1252), as others also have done. But Oudin, loc. cit., p. 230, with François Combefisius in the *Apparatus* to the authors reviewed before the *Bibliotheca SS. Patrum concionatorium*, under the word "Pantaleon," thinks otherwise, believing that the various orations and homilies were written in part by a presbyter Pantaleon and in part by a deacon. HARL.
(b) Another younger Pantaleon Ligarides, or Ligaridus, also a Greek, whose epistle to Allatius is cited by Nicolaus Comnenus, p. 244, in the *Prænott. Mystagog.*, where he calls him a learned and orthodox man; although on page 246 he is not very fair to the Latins. His *Apologia pro Arcudio adversus Barlaamum* appeared at Rome in 1637, 4. Another Pantaleon, a logothete, to whom the Epistles of Theodore Studita are addressed. FABR. See Montfaucon, *Bibliotheca Coisliniana*, pp. 323 and 325. Pantaleon Nicomed. Martyr. See above vol. X, p. 303; his contest is in the Milanese codex, Bibl. Ambros. See Montfaucon, *Bibliotheca*.
2. Homily *On the Holy Lights*, begins: Τὴν τῆς πανηγύρεως χάριν; it exists in Greek and Latin in the *Micropresbyticon*, p. 587, Basel 1550, fol., and in both *Orthodoxographia* of 1555 and 1569, and in the *Auctarium Ducæanum* of the *Bibliotheca Patrum*, vol. II, Paris 1624, and in the *Bibliotheca Patrum Morelliana*, vol. XII, and in Latin in other editions of the *Bibliotheca Patrum*. [Conf. Leiden Library Catalog, p. 62, on editions. HARL.]
3. *On the Exaltation of the Cross*, begins: Πάλιν ὑψοῦται σταυρός, πάλιν ἡ κτίσις ἀγάλλεται. Greek and Latin edited from three codices by Gretser in vol. II, *De Cruce*, p. 1233, and notes p. 2717, Ingolstadt 1616, fol.; and in Latin in Combefis's *Bibliotheca Concionatoria*, and in the *Bibliotheca Patrum*, vol. XII, Lyons ed., p. 747. This homily is also available in Greek in vol. VII of the Savile edition of Chrysostom, p. 661; Eton 1612, fol. FABR. See above, vol. VIII, p. 512 and vol. X, p. 247 mss.; Venice in cod. Nanian. 38; a portion only of the oration in codd. 73, no. 13, and 104, no. 54. See Catalog of Greek codices of Nani, pp. 47, 149, and 315. Turin in codd. 135, fol. 28. See Catalog of Greek codices of Turin, p. 231. Florence in the Laurentian library, col. 4, no. 7, plut. 4. See Bandini, Catalog of Greek codices of the Laurentian, I, p. 520. Vienna in cod. Caes. 40, no. 3. See Lambeck VIII, p. 822. According to the Catalog of mss. of England, etc., vol. I, Oxford in the Bodleian library, no. 294, cod. Oliver Cromwell 115, no. 28, *On the invention of the cross under Constantine and Helena, in August*; — no. 2500, in codd. Bodl. *On the Exaltation of the Holy Cross*, — no. 3383, in cod. Selden 53, 9. *Panegyric on the Holy Cross*. Moscow in cod. synod. 271, no. 3. See Matthaei's notes on Moscow Greek codices, p. 169. Paris in four codices of the public library. HARL.
4. Two homilies *On the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ*. The former begins: Οἱ μὲν εὖ εἰδότες ἀθλεῖν, the latter: Αὐγὸς μὲν ἑωθινοῦ φωτὸς προηγούμενοι. Combefis was the first to publish both in Greek and Latin in the *Auctarium novum Bibliothecae Patrum*, vol. I, pp. 1760, 1768, Paris 1648, fol. Later in Latin from the Combefis version, vol. XII of the *Bibliotheca Patrum* Lyons, pp. 748, 749. The latter, which Combefis judges to be more elegant and perhaps the work of another author, certain mss. attribute to Cyril. FABR. Paris in the public library cod. 1197, no. 8, both orations. In cod. Mazarin 73, the second is attributed to Cyril of Alexandria. See Montfaucon *Bibliotheca bibliothecarum mss.*, p. 1317 A. HARL.
5. Pantaleon, deacon and chartophylax of the Great Church, *Narrative of the miracles of Saint Michael*, edited in Latin by Lipomanus and Surius, Sept. 29. It exists in Greek in various libraries, and is cited by Meursius and Du Cange in their glossaries; Allatius also mentions it, *De Simeonibus* [pp. 99, 103]. It begins: Μεγάλαι τε καὶ πολλαὶ καὶ ποικίλαι καὶ τῆς ἀσωμάτου. FABR. See above, vol. X, p. 199, and concerning another, p. 200. Allatius, *De Simeonum scriptis*, p. 103, cites another, *Panegyric on Michael*, beginning: Ὁ τῶν ἁγίων πνευμάτων Κύριος, and it exists in Greek in the Greek Paris cod. 800, noted by Oudin, l. c. p. 230; from Philip Labbe's *Bibliotheca nova mss.* from Royal mss. part 1, p. 75: or according to the Catalog of Paris mss., vol. II, in cod. 274, 2, and Moscow in cod. 202, 1. (See Matthaei's *Notitia* cited, p. 127.) Also Florence in the Laurentian library cod. 21 plut. 9, no. 4; but it begins: Ὁ τῶν ἁγίων πνευμάτων Κύριος. (In Latin in Lipomanus and Surius, Sept. 29), but no. 5 is another, the beginning of which is: Μεγάλαι καὶ πολλαὶ καὶ ποικίλαι, which also exists there in cod. 9, no. 9, plut. 11; and in cod. 4, no. 12, plut. 4. See Bandini, Catalog of Greek codices of the Laurentian I, pp. 425, 503 and 520. Turin, in Royal cod. 70, fol. 240. See Catalog of Greek codices of Turin, p. 166. Rome, in the *Bibliotheca Patrum* of St. Basil, cod. 10, *On the miracles of the archangels*. See Montfaucon, *Diarium Italicum* p. 213, and *Bibliotheca bibliothecarum mss.* p. 195 D, and p. 700 E. In the Sforza library cod., *On the miracles of Michael*. Paris in seven codices of the public library and in cod. 1519, no. 9. Pantal. *History of the miracles wrought by the archangel Gabriel*. Moscow in cod. synod. 171, no. 8. See Matthaei, *Notitia* cited, p. 103. HARL.
6. *Panegyric Orations for the whole year on 12 months of Sundays and feast days*, were in Constantinople in the possession of the Prince James Marmoretus, just as Cave previously noted from his manuscript catalog in the appendix to his *Apparatus*, p. 48. FABRIC. Sermons, at Rome in the Vatican Library. See Montfaucon, *Bibliotheca bibliothecarum mss.*, p. 154 C. Harl.
... [Bibliotheca bibliothecarum mss.] p. 502 E. — Florence in the library of the Annunciation monastery. See Montfaucon, *Diarium Italicum*, p. 372. — Pantaleon of Vercelli, physician. See below in the *Index of Medical Writers*, vol. XIII, p. 357. — Henry Pantaleon of Basel, theologian, physician, and historian, born 1522, died 1595; about whom Saxius wrote more in *Onomasticon literarium*, part III, p. 260 seq. Two errors, which he committed in his work *On the Illustrious Men of Germany*, are noted by Lambeck, *Commentarii*, p. 67, § 35 and p. 80, § 40. HARL.
ANOTHER NOTITIA
(COMBEF. *Bibliotheca Concionatoria*, vol. I, p. 33.)Pantaleon, Presbyter of the Monastery of the Byzantines, whom Margarinus and Colonna place in the 7th century, and Coccius in the year 850, of uncertain age for me, wrote a *Sermon on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross*, which Gretser first published, from which I also present it for that day. Is this the same Pantaleon, deacon and chartophylax of the Great Church, whose various Sermons are partly published by me, partly by others, and partly unpublished? This is what Gretser, Possevinus, Margarinus, and others seem to want. For my part, I cannot easily persuade myself. It is too facile to take two men of the same name.
Pantaleon of Constantinople lived, it seems, at different times and in different roles. There exist two sermons by him on the Holy Lights (that is, on the Lord Christ and John at the feast of the Epiphany), and on the Sunday of the Transfiguration, which I first produced in the *Auctarium* from a Royal codex; but later I noticed in the Em. Maz. codex that I had attributed one to Cyril, and I observed that they did not sufficiently agree in style, and that one was more elegant than the other. A eulogy of St. Michael the Archangel exists in Lipomanus and Surius, to which a narrative regarding his miracles is joined. Possevinus says that his festive sermons and homilies for the feast days and Sundays of the whole year are extant: he is the authority for this. Leo Allatius found no others than those I have reviewed (indeed, not even all of those) in the Roman codices.
ORATIONS
I.
A Sermon of Pantaleon, Deacon of the Great Church of God, on the Holy Lights (that is, on the Lord Christ and his forerunner, Saint John)
A The grace of this feast, I think, stands in no need of the splendor of words. For the subjects we are treating are more beautiful than any elegance of speech, nor is any discourse so beautiful as the feast itself in its own right. For what could be more beautiful than the present festival? To which the kingdoms of heaven and the kingdoms of earth come to celebrate? To which the spirit of the King from on high descended? To which the King of those on earth, having hidden his diadem, comes into the midst of the crowds, and Christ, the Lord of all, having descended to take captive the devil, and having covered the majesty of his divinity with the appearance of humanity, takes his place among the crowds of the Jews, and submits himself to the custom of baptism, though he himself is the baptism of those who baptize? B And he becomes, to all outward appearance, one of men. For just as a king, when he goes out to hunt, follows the custom of leaving behind his royal majesty and clothing himself in military garb, so too Christ, the King of all, arriving for the hunt of the devil and provoking the beast to the contest, hid the divinity that was inaccessible to the beast (for had it known, it would not have approached), and displayed the weak nature of humanity, so that, by approaching that which it could easily grasp, the beast might fall into the trap. C But this art of dissimulation did not escape John, for the grace of the Spirit showed him the divinity hidden in the flesh. See, therefore, how he cries out to him: "I have need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Even if you are hidden from these others, he says, you have become known to me, Master. I recognize the one hidden within; I have known your majesty, while I was still being carried in my mother's womb. Is it a great thing for me to loose the latchet of your shoes, and do you command that I place my right hand upon your head? I came as the herald of your arrival, not the sanctifier of your flesh, which is without stain and blemish. I am not of those who are ignorant of your majesty; D I, who from my mother's womb, having beheld you being carried [in the womb], cried out: "Whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?"
You have come as the Lamb, taking away the sin of the world, and I, together with the world, await your gift. I have need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? For the clay, the gold? For the lamp, the sun? For the spark, the light; for the fountain, the one hastening to drink? For the one born of seed, A the one born of the Virgin? It is enough for me to be called your forerunner; I adore the ministry unto this.
Why, then, do you, the Sun of Righteousness, also compel yourself to be washed? Why, then, the Lord Christ? "Suffer it now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." Suffer it now—this is a time for me of humility, not of glorification; for a human manner of life, not for the authority of a Master. For I came for your sake, O John; I was born from a human womb; I had the experience of being nourished with milk; I grew according to the law of the body; I fulfilled the observance of human statutes. No manner of life belonging to the human nature has been passed over by me. I shall receive baptism even now as a human being. Let all things that are the consequents of the body's nature be performed by me. B Let not the devil learn of my hidden divinity, lest, fearing the mystery, he flee my encounter and gain that flight as a victory. "Suffer it now"—you shall see my glory a little later, John; you shall see me the victor over the host of demons; you shall see the kingdom of Hades despoiled by me. You shall see me celebrated by choirs of heavenly angels; you shall see me sitting as Judge of the inhabited world; C you shall see me worshipped by every nation; you shall see every knee of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, bowed unto my adoration. "Suffer it now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness."
As these things were being spoken between Christ and John, the crowds of Jews who were listening stood by, and they were, on their own, lost in silence and filled with wonder. The thing taking place was marvelous; the spectacle was worthy of astonishment. He who used to baptize the Pharisees, now asks to be baptized by this one; he who was formidable to the Sadducees, now stands bowed at the sight of this one; the faster seeks blessings from him who did not fast; D he who was clothed in a garment of hair, as a supplicant, seeks purification from him who bears no such thing; he who was nourished from his childhood by the labors of bees in the desert and by herbs and locusts, now fears this one's manner of life as being holier. What, then, is the difference in excellence between them? What, then, is the judgment that God passes regarding this, while they are in the midst of such perplexity? A voice is heard from the heavens: "Seek," it says, "among yourselves the power of him who is being baptized; learn the essence of him who is sought among you; know how great the difference is between John and this one. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." From this point also, John does not perform baptism in the temple, nor in a house, as is customary for anyone who baptizes; but in the desert and in an open-air river, so that all, hearing the voice from the heavens through the air, might...
A learn. He is then the great chorus leader of a great festival, the Master of a masterly one, the King of a royal one, the lover of humanity of a lover of humanity. For your yoke is gentle, O lover of humanity King; and your burden is light, so that it becomes us, and to you, the Master’s things. "Take my yoke upon you. For my yoke is gentle, and my burden is light. Learn from me, for I am meek." And we are not weighed down by the command, nor are we subdued by a yoke, nor crushed by an excessive fear; but we stand in awe, yet as those free from a fear of condemnation, we pull the yoke of slavery, not burdened, but rather rejoicing. May you therefore be preserved for us for many multiplied years; may you add to the length of time. May you become an old man; may you direct the people you have been allotted. May God also say to you: "I will greatly increase the kingdom of those who come from you, and I will place you as nations, and kings will come forth from you." In Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is due all glory, honor, and worship, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
II. The Oration I of Pantaleon, Deacon of the Great Church of God, on the Most Glorious Transfiguration of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.
B Indeed, those who are well-prepared to struggle delight in the applause of the spectators, and are sharpened in their spirits by the hope of prizes toward the victory that becomes them; but those who desire to obtain the gifts of God, and those who thirst for the participation in the hope prepared for the saints—these willingly embrace the struggles on behalf of piety toward Christ, and earn an approved life; they do not prefer idleness without reward, nor do they love effeminate cowardice: nay, with a manly heart, they make light of every temptation and the incursions of persecutions, and they count it riches to suffer for Him. For they remember the blessed Paul writing to this effect: "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the future glory which shall be revealed in us." C See, therefore, how and in what manner, very providentially, the Lord Jesus Christ used this for the benefit and edification of the holy apostles. For He had said to them: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his soul shall lose it: but whoever loses his soul for my sake shall find it." A salutary admonition, indeed, and appropriate to the saints; one which procures heavenly glory and provides a pleasant rest. For it is not without reward that one chooses to suffer for Christ: thus it makes them participants in eternal glory. But since the disciples had not yet D "received power from on high,"
it was perhaps natural that they might also fall into human weaknesses, and while thinking to themselves might say: "How will any man deny himself? Or how, having lost his own soul, will he find it again? And what will be the equal reward for those who have suffered this?" Therefore, in order to restrain such thoughts and words in them, and to temper them, as it were, for heroic strength by implanting in their minds a desire for the glory that was to be given to them, He says: "I say to you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God." A Was it, then, he says, that the measure of their life was to be extended to such a degree that they would reach those times when, at the consummation of the ages, He would descend from heaven and restore to the saints the kingdom prepared for them? But even this was possible for Him; for He is able to do all things, and nothing is impossible or unaccomplished for His most omnipotent purposes. By the "kingdom of God," He means the very vision of the glory in which He Himself was also to be seen at that time, when He would shine forth upon those on earth. B "For He is to come in the glory of God and of the Father," and no longer in the lowliness that is our own. How, then, did He make those to whom the promise had been made viewers of the miracle? "He ascends the mountain," having with Him three of the chosen ones; then He is transformed into a certain exceptional and god-befitting splendor, so that even His garments seemed to shine with the impact of the light. Then "Moses and Elijah [standing] with Jesus, spoke together of his exodus, which, he says, he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem." C This is the mystery of the dispensation in the flesh, and the saving passion upon the precious Cross. For it is true that the law given through Moses, and the word of the holy prophets, prefigured the mystery of Christ—the one, as it were, in types and shadows, recording it as if on a tablet; but the others, having foretold it in many ways, [declared] that He would one day appear in the visible form of our own nature, and would not refuse to suffer death upon the wood of the Cross for the salvation and life of all. D Therefore, the presence of Moses and Elijah, and their speaking to one another, was a certain dispensation, very clearly demonstrating that our Lord Jesus Christ is attended by the Law and the Prophets, just as He had been pre-indicated by them as the Master of the Law and the Prophets, through which they consistently prophesied of Him to one another. For the things of the prophets are not incompatible with those of the Law; and this, I think, is what is meant by the most sacred Moses and the most excellent of the prophets—and this was Elijah—speaking to one another. But it is also possible to conceive of another reason: since the crowds were saying, some that He was Elijah, others Jeremiah, others one of the prophets, He takes the leaders, so that from this side they might see the mean between the servants and the Master. Beyond this, one may offer another insight: for because they were constantly...
accusing Him as a transgressor of the Law and deemed Him a blasphemer, as though He were arrogating to Himself a glory not belonging to Him—that of the Father—they said: A "This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." And again: "We do not stone Thee for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because Thou, being a man, makest Thyself God." In order to show that both charges were born of envy, and that He was innocent of either—for that which was being done was neither a transgression of the Law nor an appropriation of a glory not His own—by declaring Himself equal to the Father, He brings into the midst those who had shone in each of these things. For Moses gave the Law, and the Jews could have reasoned that He would in no way be lenient toward one who transgressed it, much less would he attend to one who was an enemy to him who had established the Law. And Elias, too, was zealous for the glory of God, and he would not have been B against Him, nor would he have stood by Him, if He had been opposed to God and were calling Himself God equal to the Father, while not being what He said, nor doing what was proper; and yet, he did stand by Him and did obey Him.
But one may also add another reason to what has been said. What, then, is this? That they might learn that He has power over both death and life, and that He holds sway over things above and things below. For this reason, He brings into the midst both one who was living and one who had departed from the living. Indeed, they were not seen merely by chance, but "they spoke of His departure," which He was about to fulfill in Jerusalem—that is to say, the Passion, the Cross, and the Resurrection. But the blessed disciples, while Christ was occupied with prayer, had fallen into a light sleep C for a short time; for the human element was being fulfilled according to the economy. Then, having been awakened, they became spectators of such a venerable and wondrous transformation.
The divine Peter, perhaps thinking that the time of the kingdom of God had already arrived, gladly chooses to linger on the mountain, and says that three tabernacles should be made, "not knowing what he was saying." For it was not yet the time for the consummation of the age, nor was it the present time for the saints to receive the enjoyment of the hope set before them. For Paul says: "Who will transform our lowly body, so that it may be made conformed to the body of His glory"—that is, Christ. Since, therefore, [the economy] was still in its beginning and not yet brought to its end, how could it be fitting for Christ, who out of love for the world D had come to die for it, to refuse and to abandon His purpose? For He saved human nature, both by suffering for it in the flesh and by abolishing death through the resurrection from the dead. Peter, therefore, did not know what he was saying.
Yet, apart from the wondrous and ineffable apparition of the glory of Christ, something else was also accomplished, useful and necessary for the strengthening of faith in Him, not only for the disciples but also for ourselves. For from heaven, out of a cloud, the voice of the Father was sent down, saying: "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear Him." And when the voice had occurred, "Jesus was found alone." What says the Jew to these things—the stiff-necked, the refractory, the disobedient, and the one with an unreasonable heart? Lo, with Moses present, the Father commands the saints...
A apostles to hear Him; but if it were His will that they follow the commandments of Moses, He would have said further: "Obey Moses; keep the law." But now, God and the Father does not even say this; rather, with Moses and his prophet Elijah standing by, He commands them to hear Him [Christ] instead, so that the truth might not suffer calumny from some who might say that the Father had ordered them to hear Moses rather than the Savior of us all, Christ. Necessarily, therefore, the evangelist noted, saying that when the voice occurred, Jesus was found alone. Therefore, when God and the Father was commanding the holy apostles from the clouds above, saying, "Hear Him," Moses was absent, and Elijah was not present, but only Christ was there. Therefore, He commanded them to hear Him. For He Himself is the end of the law and the prophets. For this reason, He also addressed the crowds of the Jews, saying, "If you believed Moses, you would have believed Me; for he wrote about Me." But since they despised the commandment [given] through the all-wise Moses, and rejected the word B spoken through the holy prophets, and remained in this state to the end, they were justly alienated and thrust away from the good things promised to their fathers. For "Obedience is better than a good sacrifice, and hearkening is better than the fat of rams," as it is written. And so it is with the Jews in these matters; but to us who have known His manifestation, all things good shall surely be present, through Him, through whom to God and the Father, glory and power, with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.
III. Oration II on the most glorious transfiguration C of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ
The first splendor of the morning light drives sleep from the eyelids, and the morning twilight, drawn out into the day, dissolves the shadows of dreams; and every songbird, hanging from the trunks and branches before its flight, makes the coming of the dawn known. For with the softening that comes with sleep upon it, by the shaking of its feathers, it shakes off the silence, receives the morning ray, and with clamorous voice removes sleep from those still sleeping. Even so, let the mist of sloth now depart from the house of the universal Church, illuminated by the D flashes of gospel light as if from some night; and let every study of vanity be dispelled as if it were a tent fixed in dreams; and let the God-inspired songs of the teachers resound from the highest branches of the pulpit, testifying to the coming of the heavenly light. But for the birds, the voice is indistinct, though it rouses the lazy to wakefulness; in the teachers, however, there is that certain and distinct voice of Paul crying out: "The night is far spent, the day is at hand." Which night has passed, O teacher of the Church, and which day has approached?
Are we caught in the gloomier conditions of night as we draw near to the light of day? But if indeed the change of seasons has brought about a change of evils, so that the time which has approached has turned out better than that which has passed, yet no praise has accrued to human nature itself, since it has not of itself been changed into something else. "Away with that notion," he says. "I am not discoursing on the passage of time, but on the illumination of knowledge; and as one who awakens those who have been sleeping long and deeply." A For we ourselves were night, but now, having put on Christ, we befit the name of the day. "For we were sometimes darkness, but now we are light in the Lord." Blessed art Thou, O Christ, through whom man has obtained the title of light. Blessed art Thou, O Christ, through whom human nature has lent a garment to God, and the nature of God has bestowed a person and subsistence upon the substance of humanity. Blessed art Thou, O Christ, through whom punishment is extinguished, as the Judge respects the kinship He shares with the condemned. Blessed art Thou, O Christ; for Thou, being the true Light, having entered the lamp of humanity, didst indeed saturate the wick of nature with the oil of the Spirit, enkindling it with the radiance of spiritual glory; and by means of a human vessel Thou didst enlighten creation, causing that little lamp to shine, which neither Peter, nor James, nor John dared to behold with human eyes; but rather, those great and supreme branches among the disciples fell prone to the earth, and confessed the Light to be inaccessible. B For the Lord, having taken these men as hearers of the heavenly voice, while gently revealing the divinity hidden within by the effulgence of His own glory, wished to have them as faithful witnesses, so that, having obtained the eye as an ally to their ears, they might not cease from crying out, with clear and intent voice, through the whole inhabited world: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes."
It will be worth our while, then, to interrupt the history in the midst of our discourse and, in explaining it, to ascend together with the princes of the disciples, obeying the great-voiced Isaiah who says: "Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord." Let us ascend, however, not with sweat, nor with difficult breathing, C striving in haste toward the heights, but rather, bringing our mind into a state of leisure for the reception of those things which are to be said. And first, indeed, having unfolded the divine Books, and then, having fixed our eyes upon the sacred Scripture, let us lay hold of the riches stored up within it.
"He takes," he says, "Jesus Peter, and James, and John his brother, and brings them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them." But first, if you please, let us see for what reason, having taken only these three, He leaves behind the rest of the apostles. The revelation was one that would strike much fear, with prophets secretly appearing, the cloud shining, the garment flashing, and the radiance of the countenance far surpassing them both; D while from the cloud the Father's voice cried out, and...
bore witness to the Son, who was well-pleasing. Lest, therefore, by the agitation of the many, the mystery should be divulged before the proper time, He takes with Him only those whom He knew to be more fervent lovers; and to these He enjoined silence, and forbade them to declare that terrible vision to any one, until His resurrection from the dead; and for this reason He took them to the approaching vision, because, being greatly moved by longing for Him, they were exceedingly sad, hearing Him discourse upon, and foretell, His passion.
Observe then how Peter is annoyed at [Jesus'] explanation of these things. For as soon as he heard that He must go up to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the chief priests and elders and B Scribes of the people, and be killed, he is immediately stung in his mind; and out of great affection he leaps upon what was said, and reproves the Master rather boldly. "For taking Him," it says, "he began to rebuke Him, saying: Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not be unto Thee." Do you see the disciple's fervent love for the Master? Do you see his disposition toward the sufferings of the Beloved? How in this alone he did not observe the bounds of boldness. "He began to rebuke Him, and to say: Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not be unto Thee." What then does the Lord? He touches upon that over-anxious care as if it were harmful. "For I do not wish," He says, "to be loved to the detriment of those who love Me. My death becomes the healing of the death C of the whole world. Why are you troubled at the planting of the cross, you who are ignorant of the fruit that will come from it? Why do you hinder the slaughter that destroys death, ignorant of the love of God toward the world? You love as a man, Peter. Allow the grain to be sown, and prepare yourself for the harvest." By saying these things, He persuaded His disciple not to offer such petitions to the Master; yet, because of his intense love for Him, He did not banish the sadness of death from his mind. In order, therefore, that he might receive some comfort regarding the passion through the resurrection, which was not to be long delayed, He took him and those who loved Him in like manner, and by that terrible vision confirmed the power D of the divinity that was in Him. "For He was transfigured," it says, "before them: and His face shone as the sun, and His garments became white as the light."
"And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with Him." The Sun of righteousness reined in the cloud of the body, and the ray of divinity shone round about the spectators. For a cloud was the garment of the Invisible that is subject to the eyes. Isaias knew this clearly; for, seeing the future advent of the Saviour into Egypt, he says: "Behold, the Lord sits upon a light cloud, and will come into Egypt." "And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias with Him, talking to Him." For they were never separate from His divinity. But why also above all others [was there] the choir of the prophets, Moses and Elias; since Elias was numbered among the...
living, but Moses had died? For this reason, by the presence of both, He showed Himself to the disciples as Lord of the living and of the dead; clearly teaching those present by this argument that He Himself is the One who has authority over life and death. But even so, Peter’s fear was not settled; for he had not yet received the adamantine strength through the operation of the divine Spirit. His weak nature was still prevailing, although later, through his confidence, he would demonstrate the power of the divine Spirit, as the blessed Paul says: "That the excellence of the power may be of God, and not of us." B What then, does Peter, still trembling, say? "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make three tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elias." Since he could not avert the Passion, he craftily attempted to delay the journey to Jerusalem: not saying clearly what he had in mind, but by persuading [them] to stay on the mountain, he was attempting to see to it that He would not depart from there; and not saying openly what he desired, he nevertheless accomplished by those words what he zealously sought. "Lord, it is good for us to be here, rather than in Jerusalem. If You wish, let us make here three tabernacles." Fearing that he might again be rebuked, he added plausibility to his speech: "If You wish, let us make here three tabernacles." It is better to make three tabernacles here, and not, by going there, [find] the one tomb that awaits You. Truly, an exceeding timidity of the Apostle! Be it so. You urge the Lord, blessed Peter, to remain there? Why do you also ask that tabernacles be fixed for Elias and Moses as well? "Yes," he says. "If, while we remain here, the multitude of the Jews should fall upon us, the tongue of Elias knows how to bring down fire from heaven; the rod of Moses has been taught to draw down from the air flame that shares its dwelling with hail." While Peter was considering these things, from heaven came the rebuke of his thought: C "This," He says, "is My beloved Son; why do you tremble, O Peter? And why do you even stir up allies against the Jews? This is My beloved Son." All the prophets have the capacity to do what they have been able to do through the power of the Only-Begotten. "Listen to Him," not searching for anything more curious from your own mind. "For in Him I am well pleased," and He Himself clearly knows My will. To Him be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
IV.
Encomium of Pantaleon, Deacon and Cartophylax of the Great Church, on the most mighty and glorious Michael, Prince of the Heavenly Host.
(COMBEFIS. Biblioth. Concionat., vol. VI, p. 229.)The Lord of the spirits that are devoid of matter, and He who holds power and administration over all flesh; He who also formed our essence: and furthermore, who constituted the whole world that falls under the gaze, D and sustains and preserves it for the sake of man, producing all things from things that are not, so that they might be; He is the only One who, by nature and properly and primarily, is the leader of all, and their caretaker.
A And with the Seraphim who have six wings, and occupy the first place among the thousands of thousands, and ten thousand times myriads of angelic orders: and nearby, and without any astonishment, they sing the thrice-holy and admirable hymn, inveighing against the rebellious and most wicked Satan, who like lightning was cast down from heaven to the earth with his unclean and evil spirits. Michael, who is the greatest and most brilliant star of angelic grace and beauty, and who renders clear and manifest all the snares of the devil, who covered, led, and directed Adam after he was ejected from paradise by the fraud of the demon, the enemy of good things, and taught him to dig the earth with a mattock, to sow and to reap, and instructed him in the remaining tasks that brought utility; and he brought it about that he might eat bread with blessing and appropriate thanksgiving, and by the sweat of his brow; so that the fall which had come upon him through injury might be corrected again through a laborious life, pleasing to God. Michael, who is the true and sincere assessor of God, and leads the orders of the heavenly virtues; and is the wise governor of those who have believed in God. Who, though he might not have been seen by the pious patriarch Abraham, restrained the sword, so that it might not touch his son Isaac, who was pleasing to God, after he had manifested in every respect the absolute and God-pleasing purpose of the patriarch, and in him He blessed all nations, inasmuch as from him, according to the flesh, Christ the true God and our Savior was to spring forth. Michael, the most brilliant torch of immaterial and inaccessible light, and the divine leader of the angelic orders. Who, appearing to the legislator Moses while he was pasturing sheep on Mount Horeb—being wholly in the midst of the bush—burned him without any harm, and did not consume him at all, signifying the signs of our most holy Lady, the Mother of God. Michael, who by the divine will holds the first place among the ministers of fire and traverses the earth, fulfilling the omnipotent will of God; who restrained the irrational impulse of the prophet Balaam by his terrible arrival: whom even the ass, when it saw him and was afraid, corrected the mad old man with a human voice. Michael, the leader of the angels, by far the greatest and most excellent minister of the divine law which was given on Mount Sinai; who, when he had received the soul of the servant of God, Moses, caused the obscure and destructive devil, who had dared to confer with him concerning his body, to cease and quickly D vanish. Michael, who if you interpret it, is called the leader and army of God, and the most strong fighter and champion of those who place their hope in the Lord: and the flaming sword which cuts asunder the machinations of the adversaries, both those that fall under the intellect and those that fall under the senses; who, to Joshua Son of Nun as he was directing his battle line against the adversaries, appeared with a drawn sword, and terrified him with this strange and terrible spectacle, and exhorted him to join battle and to cut down the enemies, the foes of God. Michael, the supreme of all
A bearing fire, the lamp of divinity, which is the principle of light, the unique, threefold, and subtle nature: who traverses the ends of the earth swiftly, and appears in a mute form to those whom God wills. He who came to Gideon like a solar ray, and was adored by him as a divine and heavenly angel: and like a burnt offering, he consumed with a rod of fire the food which he had offered; and with only three hundred weak men, he strengthened him against the most impious and infinite multitude of the Midianites. Michael, the most transparent and purest mirror, free from every stain, of the ineffable and immense beauty of the divine and fountain-like ray and splendor; the sharp weapon of the powerful and great King, God. Who appeared to the prophet Nathan holding a shining spear, and gave him the spirit to rebuke the parent of God, David, on account of the fall that had occurred; and as a friend of the good, he departed quickly, when he heard from King David, from the depth of his heart, "I have sinned against the Lord."
Michael, the pure and capable receptacle of the most blessed radiance and divine illumination, the sharpest and most swift sword against those who blaspheme the Lord. Who in one moment at night put to death one hundred and fifty-five thousand of the execrable and impious King Sennacherib of the Assyrians: and delivered the pious King Hezekiah with the city of Jerusalem from his tyranny. Michael, who is a luminous and shining Spirit, possessing many eyes, most powerful, and removed from every material apparition, and admitting no corruption at all; who together with Azariah and the others ascended symbolically into the furnace and preserved the three most pious youths unharmed: and being seen in a divine form by King Nebuchadnezzar, he filled him with great admiration. Michael, who dwells in the heavens, and courses through the ether like a swift flash of lightning; and traverses the whole earth under heaven in a moment, and adds to, refreshes, and consoles the pious who are afflicted; who quickly preserved the prophet Daniel when he was unjustly cast into the pit, and restrained the mouths of the ferocious lions; and he snatched up Habakkuk, and brought him through the air with food prepared from Palestine to Babylon, and again suddenly restored him to his own place. Michael, who is the great prince of the angelic hosts and archangelic orders, of the most blessed and immense legion of the incorporeal; and who was the governor of ancient Israel at that time, but is now the most valid leader, most safe guardian, and teacher of the divine precepts of the newly elected Israel named by Christ. Who repelled the angelic prince of the Persians, who was resisting so that the captive Israelites would not be liberated from Babylon, as an adversary: and those who had been captives for seventy years B they had been held, he restored to their native land, because of the constant prayer of the divine prophet Daniel for them to God with vehement fasting and many tears. Michael, who is constituted by God as the assessor of the mystical Trinity, the mystagogue, illuminator, and initiator of the supernal hierarchy, and of the Old Testament which has passed away, and of our new, chosen inheritance of Christ. Who for many years sanctified the waters of the pool of Bethesda into a figure of divine baptism: and to him who first descended into it, he immediately offered a cure, whatever disease he might be held by. Michael, who is the beautiful and most decorous, and the light that does not set, of the whole earth that is under heaven. The fiery and hand-not-constructed column of the holy and apostolic Church: bearing the appearance of gold, and ladders reaching in magnitude up to heaven, through which descends every good gift, and every perfect gift, which is sent by the beneficent and good-bestowing nature to good men and honest lovers on earth. He who appeared in the column of fire to the most holy archpriest, and most faithful minister of his archangelic and venerable house, when the wicked populace tried to overwhelm that holy place with the temple using river waters, and by divine and archangelic virtue, the waters which were insolently moving, he quickly poured out and sent away into the rock by means of his rod.
Michael, who perpetually looks upon the face of our Father who is in heaven, and rejoices, or rather exults with the Lord of the universe because of the finding of those who were lost, and because of one sinner who is led to repentance, he celebrates a feast day with all the heavenly powers. Who is to sound that terrible and mighty trumpet: and shall shake the foundations of the earth and those things which are under the earth, when the final consummation comes; and shall cause all the dead who have been from the ages to arise in the twinkling of an eye, for the general judgment, and to receive C the reward of life, that each one may bear those things he did through the body, whether good or evil.
Since, therefore, we have such a great patron and powerful defender, an intercessor speaking freely and confidently before the King of all, God, the divine prince of the militia, Michael, O dear fathers, brothers, and assembly chosen by God, let us all always piously extol him as truly the purest, in clean hearts, and with words of joy and spiritual exultation, as is fitting for an archangel, let us today pursue him with honorable words and praises: and let us offer to him with love and desire, and let us venerate him, who ardently run to his sacred feast into his venerable temple, which is of pious name, that we may abundantly gather his perennial and salutary graces and D benefits.
He rescues those who call upon him from the waves of the sea; he provides the fruits of the A earth; he leads those who dwell in darkness; he defends those who suffer injustice; he comforts those who are faint-hearted; he visits the sick; he intercedes for sinners; he repels the assaults of demons; he extinguishes the flame of vices; he incites us to manifest holiness; and he delivers all who fervently celebrate his holy and venerable feast with faith and desire from every difficulty and harmful encounter, and the prince of the heavenly host grants salutary grace; he always leads us to useful petition and to the way of repentance, and procures for them the remission of sins, and numbers them among the station of the righteous in the kingdom of heaven; by the grace of the most clement God: To whom be glory and power with the omnipotent B Father, and with the most holy and good and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
V.
Oration of Pantaleon, Presbyter of the Monastery of the Byzantines, on the Exaltation of the Venerable and Life-Giving Cross
Again the Cross is exalted, again creation exults. Again the Cross is exalted, again the nations keep festival. But let us rather bring the discourse back to the beginning. Again the Cross is exalted, again creation is renewed. Again the Cross is exalted, again Adam is refashioned. Again the Cross is exalted, again from the side the mother of the living arrives, truly an assistant, not an insidious one as before; instead of the tree of knowledge, she harvests the tree of life; instead of disobedience, bringing about C obedience; instead of the curse, receiving the blessing. Instead of, *In sorrows shalt thou bring forth*, she brings forth a multitude of offspring with joy; instead of corruption, she brings back immortality. But who is this mother of the living? And what other gathers the fruit of the tree of life than the Church of God, which tree is the Cross of God, the excellent bridegroom of the Church? This is now exalted, and the devil is cast down. This is now demonstrated, and the prince of wickedness is exposed, and the demons are publicly noted and defamed, and the spiritual hosts of wickedness are put to flight, and death is plundered, and hell is confiscated, and the promoter of sin no longer incites the mother of all with suggestions, but crawls upon his belly, D indeed watching the heel; but...
A but he is being crushed B as to his head, and he eats the earth which was condemned to bring forth thorns and thistles. He sees her whom he formerly deceived, enjoying the tree of life, while he himself, remaining bound by the former curse, sees that he does not even have power over her heel; he himself, having all his heads crushed by the cross, beholds her standing at the right hand like a queen, who had previously been liable to condemnation, and who had covered her nakedness with fig leaves—"clothed in vesture of gold, encompassed with variety"—and he laments his own ugliness and deformity. He sees her supported by the royal scepter and raised toward heaven itself, and he bewails his own fall. He sees her calling her children with a loud proclamation to the adoration of the cross, and he shudders at their obedience, and marvels at their zeal, and is struck by the multitude. "For behold," he says, "Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, according to what is written in the Acts, and those who inhabit Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, Cretans, and Arabs, and Indians," and all the other nations which the sun beholds, having abandoned his own deception, cry out with the prophet to the Crucified: "Save thy people, O Lord, and bless thine inheritance." Anticipating these things, Isaiah also cried out with a loud voice: "He shall lift up an ensign to the nations, and shall assemble the lost, and shall gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four winds of the earth; and the wolf shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard shall rest with the kid," and the calf and the lion and the bull shall graze together in the flowery meadow of the Church, in the truly spiritual and intelligible paradise, where no biting and hissing serpent is found, nor Eve, who, deceived by words and deceiving her husband with words, persuades him to taste of the tree of knowledge, having already been evilly persuaded by the counsel of the author of all evil; where no flaming sword terrifies those who wish to enter, barring the way with its fearsome appearance. But here are found the tree of life, and the Virgin bringing forth her own Bridegroom without corruption, and betrothing to Him all those who are held by the desire for this betrothal. Moreover, here is also that spring divided into four heads, watering our whole dry land. For our nature had truly become dry, and without moisture, and devoid of all spiritual fatness due to sin, and it lacked little of having to dwell forever in hell and corruption, had the tree of life not budded, had it not reopened paradise, had it not unlocked the fountain of the Gospels, and drowned the dragon in the rivers of baptism. But come, let us worship the cross. Come, let us gather.
A Let us harvest the fruit of the tree which "is planted by the streams of the waters, that will yield its fruit in its season." For the cross is the tree of immortality, the plant of incorruption, the root of justice, the sprout of temperance, the flower of virginity. The cross is the armor of fortitude, the pillar of continence, the foundation of faith, the support of piety, the illumination of divine knowledge, and far more—the undoing of the curse, the solution of the decree, the recall from exile, the redemption of captives, the conversion of wanderers, the resurrection of those who fall, the power of those who are saved, the advancement of the just, the boldness of the saints, the exultation of the prophets, the proclamation and trophy of the apostles. The cross is the prize of the peace of heaven and earth, or rather the concord of things heavenly and earthly, the sanctification of creation, a festival of those who celebrate, a pledge of adoption as children, an inheritance of the kingdom of heaven, and, what is more divine, the greatest symbol of the love of God and the Father toward us, and a demonstration and proof of the more divine obedience of the Son unto death, and of the wisdom of the Spirit. "For God so loved the world," He says, "that He gave His only-begotten Son, that all who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life." And the Son, having become obedient even unto death, even the death of the cross, B gave to us the trophy of victory against death; so that with Him, through the wisdom of the Spirit, having despoiled the principalities and powers, we might subdue the Enemy, and bind the strong man, and plunder his spoils, and henceforth fearlessly cultivate the paradise of God, and dig up the treasure of the field, and purchase the precious pearl, so that it may adorn the sign of the cross in that day of creation and reparation.
SERMON ON THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
C "For then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven." Then, when? When "the powers of the heavens shall be shaken," when the only-begotten Son of the Father shall come with His angels to judge the living and the dead. For then those who are distinguished by the royal sign, and who possess the precious pearl within themselves, and who have well preserved that which is according to the image and likeness of God, shall be caught up in clouds into heaven. For the Lord shall send His angels with a trumpet and a great voice, and they shall gather "His elect from the four winds," from the end of heaven to the end thereof. These things the evangelist Matthew has recorded concerning the coming second advent of the Son of man, and the cross which shall precede Him. But that which is now being performed is a clear type of what is to come. For behold, the cross is exalted upon the earth, and all the families of the nations, and the race of men, and every age, signed with the sign of the cross, glorifies the place where the feet of our Lord D stood. To Him be glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.