George of Nicomedia, Metropolitan

YEAR OF OUR LORD 860. GEORGE OF NICOMEDIA, METROPOLITAN. NOTICE.

(Fabric. Biblioth. Græca, ed. Harles, t. IX, p. 9.)

^A Georgius Nicomediensis (a) wrote many things. Possevinus mentions his very elegant orations, although he later calls him Gregory and confesses that he left behind one hundred and seventy panegyrical orations, and that he existed at Constantinople. For in the library of the patriarch it is listed: *Orations of Georgius, metropolitan of Nicomedia, very beautiful panegyrical orations*; and in Cantacuzenus: *Liber of Georgius, metropolitan, containing one hundred and seventy panegyrical orations*. But who does not see that this occurred through the carelessness of the scribe, so that Gregory slipped in for Georgius? ^B This is refuted in various codices: it will be no light evidence that he is the same as the Nicomediensis who was *chartophylax*; which an ancient codex later confirmed, in which that Orations on the Presentation of the Virgin was read, of which this is the beginning: Καλὰς ἡμῖν ὑποθέσεων, for in the title it was prefixed: Γεωργίου Χαρτοφύλακος, τοῦ ὕστερον γεγονότος μητροπολίτου Νικομηδείας, *Of Georgius, chartophylax, who later was metropolitan of Nicomedia*. What he wrote, or is said to have written, and which are recorded by Allatius somewhat more fully, I am pleased to reduce to a summary, because they have already been mentioned for the most part in the passages cited by me and by Fabricius. Nor, however, will I depart ^C empty-handed. ^D 2. Georgius, chartophylax of the Great Church, *Encomium on the leading of the Mother of God into the temple and her consecration*. V. supra, vol. X, p. 279. Begins: Φαιδρὸν τὸ τῆς παρούσης ἑορτῆς, etc. In the Vatican library, among the Venetian codices of Antonius Augustinus, in cod. Nanianus 308 (V. Cat. codd. gr. Nau. p. 522, n. 23) it is attributed to the Nicomediensis with the title εἰς τὰ εἰσόδια etc., *On the entrance of the Mother of God, when she was led, three years old, into the temple*. The same oration is at Moscow in the synodal codex of the library 271, n. 7, and, but with the inscription which Allatius prefixed to the following oration, ibid. in cod. 171, n. 22. V. Matthæi Not. codd. Gr. Mosq. p. 169 et 403. Paris, in eleven codices of the public library, exists a Homily on the Holy Mother of God, when she was returned, three years old, to the temple. V. ind. ad Cat. mss. Regg. bibl. Paris. vol. II, p. xiv. Oxford, in the Bodleian library, cod. Barocc. 180. — in cod. Bodlei. 2500; but in the catalogue of the manuscripts of England 1, p. 129, the beginning is not added. Wherefore I do not know if this is it, or the following oration: both, however, are ibid. in cod. Selden, 53, or n. 3383 of said Catalogue. Combefisius published them in Greek and Latin in *Auctario novo Bibl. Patrum*, Paris, 1648, fol. page 1069, with notes, and other orations of this Georgius, and Combefisius collated the codex of Allatius with the Mazarinian and his third one. Harl. [Greek text segment: ἀπεδόθη ἐν τῷ ναῷ τριετίζουσα ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτῆς γονέων. — In sanctissimam Deiparam, quando ad templum est triennis a parentibus suis deducta. Princip. Καλὰς ἡμῖν ὑποθέσεων ἀρχὰς ἡ παροῦσα πανήγυρις δεί]

(a) To this Georgius Nicomediensis, archbishop and metropolitan, there exist many epistles of Photius the patriarch, 84, 166, 210, 221, 224, 235, 243, 295, 296, 318, 380. Hence it is clear that he is rightly thought by Cave (tom. I, Hist. litter. SS. Eccles. p. 63) and by Oudin (tom. II, Commentar. de SS. Eccles. col. 332, seq.) to have lived circa A.D. 880, but wrongly confused by Combefisius in the *Auctario novo* with Georgius Pisida and referred to the times of Heraclius, which Combefisius later himself acknowledged in his *Bibl. concionatoria* [V. supra, vol. VIII, p. 643, not. i]. Hippolytus Marracci, however, is indignant that in his *Maria* he had called Georgius a saint. (b) The same Combefisius gave ibid. page 1091, and besides another homily of the same argument page 1113, [which exists under the name of Georg. Nicom. Venet. In cod. Nanian. cit. 308. n. 24. V. cat. mem. p. 522] which begins: Αἱ τῶν θείων πανηγύρεων ἀνατολαί. In the Imperial Library there also exists an as yet unpublished *encomium* of this Georgius *on the prophet Zacharias and on Elisabeth the prophetess, when she conceived John the Forerunner and Baptist*. *Encomium on the prophet Zacharias and the prophetess Elisabeth, when she conceived, John, the forerunner and Baptist*. Begins: ἀρχὴ τῷ κόσμῳ χαρᾶς τὰ πρὸς τὸν Ζαχαρίαν τοῦ Ἀγγέλου Γαβριήλ εὐαγγέλια, καὶ πρώτη πιστοῖς ἀγαλλίασις· τὸ τοῦ μεγάλου Προδρόμου γένεσθαι ἤδη γάρ, etc. See Lambeck. Vin. p. 222 [l. p. 472 seq. Kollar. in cod. 15 n. 5. N. Supra, vol. X, pag. 257. HARL.]. Labbe notes that this Georgius in manuscript codices is not rarely called the Rhetor, Georgius archbishop of Nicomedia.

[4.] *On the conversation of Joseph with the Virgin.* Principium: *Beautiful is the law of obedience.* It exists in the Vatican, says Possevin, in the Index of the Vatican Library.

[5.] *An Oration by the same Nicomedian on the Nativity of the Mother of God*, which begins: *If the earth is measured by a span, and the sea is enclosed by a rope.* It was edited in Greek and Latin under the name of Germanus, archbishop of Constantinople, by the translator Andreas Schottus, in the *Bibliotheca Patrum Græco-Latina*, vol. II, p. 450; however, the most ancient codices, as well as the style and manner, reclaim it and ascribe it to Georgius [(c)].

[6.] *On those assisting at the immaculate sepulcher of the Virgin, and thanksgiving for the glorious resurrection* [(f)]. Principium: *Let the voice of exultation now offer its first sounds.* ALLAT. See above, vol. X, p. 282, where another Oration of Georgius Nicom. *On the assistance of Mary at the cross and the sepulcher* is also cited; which also exists in Vienna in the Imperial codex 35, n. 30. See Kollar. *Supplem. ad Lambec.* vol. 1, p. 260 seq. The former, which begins: *Voice*, etc., is at Oxford in the Baroccian codex 199. Paris: in the public library, codices 520, n. 32; 708, n. 2; 872, n. 38; 1505, n. 20; and 1595, n. 26; but in the Catalogue the beginning of the oration is nowhere added. Similarly, it is mentioned simply by Montfaucon, in *Diarium Italicum*, p. 365: "Georg. Nicom. in S. Virginem," in the Florentine monastery of the Annunciation. HARL.

*On the saints and workers of miracles Cosmas and Damianus* [(e)]. Principium: *Thy, O lover of virtues, to marvel with me.* In the library of the King of the Gauls, codex 272 [according to the Catalogue of manuscripts of that library, vol. II; in codex 1177], and they are kept with me.

[7.] *On the conception of Saint Anna* [(d)]. Principium: *Nothing is sweeter or more joyful than the present [day] could be judged.* ALLAT. Conf. above, vol. X, p. 196. Georgius, chartophylax, *Sermon on the conception of S. Anna*, Venice in the Marcian library, codex 363. See the celebrated Morell, *Bibl. mss. Gr. et Lat.* 1, p. 236. Incipit: *Nothing sweeter.* Paris, in the public library, codex 1658, are according to the Paris catalogue II, n. 16. Georgius Nicom. bishop, *Homily on the Conception*; which begins: *Nothing second.* N. 17, another *On the Conception*, with no beginning of the oration added; and n. 15, *Homily on the salutation of the blessed Mary*; which begins: *Bright and illustrious*; which Fabricius has already declared in his note to have been edited by Combefisius. HARL.

[8.] *On the conception of the most blessed Mother of God.* Principium: *Of the heavens, [or] the earth, the rays of grace* [(g)]. ALLAT. Conf. above, vol. X, p. 277. Florentine in the Laurentian library, codex 4, n. 21, shelf 4. See Bandinius, *Cat. codd. gr. Laur.* I, p. 521, who says it is by Georgius Nicom. (to whom, however, it is ascribed in the codex) or by Jacobus the monk from the Coccinobaphi monastery. HARL.

[9.] *On that [passage]: "There stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and Mary the wife of Cleopas, and at the tomb of the Lord."* Principium: *The discourse having ascended for us to a most lofty height, with a more sonorous* [(h)] *trumpet.* In the library of Antonius.

*The Orator.* In the Coislinian library of Montfaucon [p. 588, codex 274, and] p. 423 [codex 307], there is likewise mentioned a hitherto unpublished *Homily on the Hypapante* by Georgius Nicomediensis. It begins: *The present holy celebration, O [audience].* Nicetas Comnenus Papadopoli speaks highly of Georgius Nicomediensis, metropolitan, in his book *De traditionibus ecclesiæ*, in the *Prænotiones mystagogica*, page 598. FABR. Whether the *Oration on the deposition of the precious robe of the Mother of God in Blachernæ* is to be attributed to our Georgius, or to Theodorus, see above, vol. X, p. 285; it is in the Florentine Laurentian codex 17, n. 35, shelf 9, without the author's name; see Bandinius, *Cat. codd. Gr. Laur.* 1, p. 419, who attributes it to our Georgius, and cites Combefis., *Auctar. nov.* vol. II, p. 751 and 785, and it is ascribed to Georgius Nicom. in the Paris public library codex 1177, n. 2, according to the Paris manuscript catalogue. Georgius the Rhetor of the [cathedral] church is different, who rendered into Greek the book of Ricardus Latinus *Against Mohammed* (Mωάμεθ), which begins: *How many are the days of thy servant*, and contains 17 chapters—and the book *Against the Saracens*, which begins: *The Saracens are called Agarini and Ishmaelites*; in Moscow in the synodal codex 347, n. 3 and 4. See the notes of Matthæi cited, 224. HARL.

^A ...in cod. 24, [as well as in the codex Cæsar. 315, and in the Moscow codex, lauded in note h, at n. 5] it was read under the name of George, rhetorician, bishop of Nicomedia. From this you may note the confusion of similar names. [See above vol. X, p. 282.] ^B ...the name of the present joy. [See above, vol. X, p. 277.] ...4°, in the imperial library of Vienna. The Gesnerian Epitome. I am surprised it was passed over by the most diligent Gretser. And who in the world could these be who attribute it to Psellus? In my codex, which is quite ancient, tattered, and moth-eaten, there is an oration of Michael Psellus, *On the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ*. The Apostle says: *For the word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness*. It is quite prolix and elegant, yet itself tattered, in which I have certainly seen nothing more accurate or grave on that subject, which someone—I know not whom—also noted at its beginning: *This is indeed among the very exceptional ones*. Yet this oration is also most excellent. That it is not by this George, however, is argued by the style itself and the manner in which the subjects are treated, which most evidently vindicate it for Psellus. [But compare Lambec. IV, p. 44, seqq. Koll.]

12. He wrote Tropes of every kind, which I remember reading in the ecclesiastical books of the Greeks: *On all the holy Fathers who gathered for the holy ecumenical synods* (i). *On Saint John Chrysostom*. *On the Feast of the Virgin’s entrance into the temple* (j). And it is very likely that he wrote more, as well as canons; since these bear only the name of George, and others of the same name cultivated the same zeal for composition, it has remained uncertain to which of them they should rather be attributed. You will nevertheless find a list of them under the name of George the Sicilian (k). The Nicomedian is lauded by Hippolytus of Thebes in his *Chronicle* and in the *Antiquities* of Canisius. In Possevino’s *Indices* it is read: *Oration of George the Deacon, in the Medicean [codex]*. Whether that is a work of the Nicomedian, I am in doubt. ALLAT.

[Oxford, in cod. Barocc. 40, *Homily of George the Nicomedian on Palm Sunday*: inc. *The mind of the things set before us*; and in the Catalogue of English mss., etc. 1, p. 4, it is noted that in the same Baroccian codex, at the foot of the index, prefixed to the homilies of Theophanes, which occupy the first place in that codex, the following homilies are attributed to George the Nicomedian, although the titles bear no author: n. *For Dominica Jubilate*, inc. *The feast was of the Jews*, and *For Rogation Sunday*; init. *It is permitted from the temple*. In the index to vol. II, Catalogue of Paris royal mss., n. 4, in cod. 1138, it is not correctly, I think, ascribed to George the Nicomedian, but in the codex review, p. [it was present at the Council of Nicea.] Florence, in the Laurentian codex XXIII, n. 2, there is a discourse on the holy 318 fathers and on the emperor, spoken by George, presbyter of Cæsarea in Cappadocia: inc. *To obey those who lead*, etc. See Bandini, Catalogue of Greek codices of the Laurentian [library] II, p. 683, seq., and above, vol. XI, p. 627, seq., where more Georges are named. A certain George, a presbyter, appears above in vol. X, p. 336. George, presbyter of Crete, copied certain codices. See Morell, Bibl. ms. Gr. et Lat. I, p. 114, 117, 157. HARL.]

13. George, Chartophylax of the Great Church, *Chronicle*. I, 9, 4; VI, 3, 2, and others. Is he the same as the one above? Since I have not seen it, alas, how shall I extricate myself from this crowd? ALLAT. Paris, in the public library, cod. 1704. *Chronicle of George the Monk*, from the creation of the world to the time of the Emperor Maxentius; In cod. 1705 *Chronicle of George the Monk*, from the creation of the world to the time of the Emperor Michael and his mother Theodora; — in cod. 1706, *Chronicle of George Hamartolus* (concerning whom see below, § 24); in codd. 1707 and 1708, his *Chronicle*, augmented and interpolated, part 1 and 2. See below, § 24; and in cod. 1711, *Chronographia of George the Monk, Patriarch Tarasios, and Syncellus*, brought from Adam to the empire of Diocletian: all of which are wrongly attributed to George the Nicomedian in the index to vol. II of the cited library, p. xiv. Add Montfaucon, Bibl. Coist. p. 205. Cod. 234, p. 419 and 425. At Venice, in the Justinian library, a codex of *History of George the Monk from Adam to Romanus Diogenes*. See Montfaucon, Diar. italic. p. 435. Concerning the *Chronicle* of another George the Monk, see above vol. VII, p. 685 seq. Cave’s Diss. I on the literary history of the holy Fathers of the church, II, p. 9; and Oudin, Comm. de SS. eccl. II, col. 461 seq., at the year 956, and col. 768 seq. of another George the Monk, also the author of a *Chronicle*, at the year 1080. For there were many Georges the Monks. Compare § 22.

...in Berlin. See Montfaucon, Diar. ital. p. 215. At Moscow, in synodal codex 183, n. 28. See Matthæi, *Notitia of Greek Moscow codices*, p. 118, where that learned man says in note k, "In the Greek Church to this day (perhaps as is read in the Greek text, *On Holy and Great Friday*) *Matthæi* 27, 1 is read." But here he explains John 19. ... Therefore, it is more correctly inscribed: *On the passion* (εἰς τὸ πάθος). For it is the ninth Gospel of the holy passions. *On the Great Friday, homily*. Paris, in the public library, codd. 699, n. 2; 1179, n. 35: and 1186, n. 18. At Rome, in the Vatican library. See Montfaucon, Bibl. biblioth. mss. p. 142 B, and of others p. 544 E, 701 C, and 1062 B. HARL.

(i) Specifically the Nicene, *To the holy Fathers who were in Nicea*. (j) Combefis exhibits these three Idiomela mentioned by Allatius in Greek and Latin, the first and second on p. 1221, and the third on 1136. [Compare above, vol. XI, p. 78.] HARL. (k) Below p. 337 seq.

NOTITIA

It is read that George of Nicomedia was present at and subscribed to the Constantinopolitan Synod, which was convened after the death of St. Ignatius on account of the restoration of Photius. This should indeed be read as George of Nicomedia, not, as Hardouin has it in his edition of the Councils, "Gregorio." George of Nicomedia was, in fact, joined to Photius by a very close bond of intimacy; Photius had, on the first occasion when he was in possession of the Constantinopolitan see, promoted him from the position of *Chartophylax* of the Great Church to the metropolis of Bithynia. Photius himself testifies to this in Epistle 24, which he wrote to him: "to George, Metropolitan of Nicomedia." He also sent him other epistles which are extant today; and indeed, among others, Epistle 126, which is inscribed to Euschemon of Caesarea and to that same George of Nicomedia, signifies that, just as he himself had been ejected from the Byzantine see, so too were they ejected, as was fitting, when Ignatius regained his throne. He praises their constancy and their trust in God against the storm of the evils that were besetting them—a storm which that most cunning pretender, the recently ousted tyrant of the Byzantine Church, did not hesitate to call "an extension of the tyranny and a winter of evils." George, therefore, sought the see of Nicomedia again after the death of Ignatius. Of him, certainly, are the Homilies of George of Nicomedia, which Combefis published in Greek and Latin in volume 1 of the *Auctarium Bibliothecae Patrum Graecorum*, and not someone of an earlier time who flourished in the period of the Emperor Heraclius and George Pisides, as a most learned man once thought. See Leo Allatius, *Diatriba de Georgiis*, p. 313. George, Metropolitan of Nicomedia, is quoted by the most learned Abbot Nicolaus Papadopoli in *Praenot. mystag.*, resp. 6, sect. 7, *De probationibus testium*, n. 5, as cited by the monk Matthew in his book *De traditionibus ecclesiasticis*, title *De judicibus sacris*.

GEORGE, METROPOLITAN OF NICOMEDIA, ORATIONS

ADMONITION

What I once labored to bring forth—that I might offer to the sacred eulogists of Mary a rich harvest for preaching based on George of Nicomedia—I now at last produce, with God granting my wishes. I offer most distinguished monuments of this most devout eulogist of Mary regarding her, and especially regarding her beginnings and infancy; so that perhaps antiquity has produced, or the new age and our own time has seen, nothing more distinguished than this work. I know that the splendor of the style and the grace of the elocution will be a source of wonder to others, if only you, reader, are able to approach George himself and let him speak to you for himself. For I do not dwell upon my own version, which, although I have tried to make it not at all bad, I cannot promise to be perfect in every respect, such that you might not miss George himself within it. I myself greatly desire to determine the time of George, even though certain writings, which are inscribed with both his name and that of George Pisides in various manuscripts, suggest he should be referred to the times of Heraclius, as if they were one and the same author; the most learned man Leo Allatius will clarify this difficulty in his own way, when he eventually makes his own study of the Georges available to the public.

ORATION I. BY GEORGE OF NICOMEDIA

On the oracle concerning the conception of the holy Mother of God.

^A The celebration of the present feast is indeed brilliant and illustrious, but it shines all the more brightly because of the noble zeal of those who have gathered for it. For while it possesses a radiant magnificence in its own right, it makes this public through the assembly of those who have come together; it is brightened by the multitude, and it brightens the multitude by the outpouring of its graces. It does not receive an increase of light from any participation [in outside sources], but rather, by the distribution of its own light to those who are gathered, it manifests and demonstrates its splendor, expanding in proportion to the brilliance of its radiance. And just as the sun we see, while it possesses within itself that which is most bright, even when it is hidden from sight, yet when it rises and emerges from the lofty mountains, it unfolds its rays upon the fairest parts of creation, and by the illumination of these, extends the greatness of the miracle; so too, this feast, being today super-illuminated by the intelligible light of grace, possesses its own ever-shining brilliance, yet extends this further through the fitting assembly of those who run to it and are illuminated. Since, therefore, it illuminates with the mystical rays of the Spirit, and all those who gather here are illumined, it would be better for everyone to run to it eagerly and be illuminated, to have their minds enlightened, and to be clothed in light, not being covered by any perishable cloud. For such is the brilliance of the present feast as it spreads out with joy, and in this way it imparts to those who see it a more lasting, or rather, a super-eminent radiance.

^B The very title declares the argument of this day as it was for the Greeks when George was praying for them, and later for the Latins, among whom this solemnity was introduced more slowly. The Greeks celebrated, and even now celebrate, it under the title of the Conception, or of Saint Anne, as they more often say, and as is inscribed in their sacred books; or of Saint Mary, and the Theotokos, as it is in the title of this oration, which I have transcribed from a sufficiently ancient parchment Regius codex; the miraculous [conceiving], and, by way of an oracle, the first Nativity of Mary, and nothing else besides—which is also evident from the orations of Andrew of Crete, Germanus of Constantinople, Damascenus, etc., on the Nativity of Mary, in which they touch upon both of her births. I believe that, just as the second Nativity of Mary, the one from the womb, began to be honored with festive rites, after the fashion and example of the day of the birth of Saint John the Baptist and Forerunner, which was celebrated of old—at a time when, in the age of Augustine, this feast of Mary was not yet observed, at least in the West or in Africa, as is evident from his 20th sermon on the Saints—so too her first Nativity, that in the womb, which they commonly call the Conception, was the first to be celebrated, in the fashion and example of that which was long since famous in the books of the Greek and Latin Churches, the Conception and the first Nativity of the same Saint John. This was done so that the Mother of the Lord might not seem to have anything less than the servant and Forerunner; for, undoubtedly, the birth of John was more illustrious because it was delivered by divine oracles themselves, whereas the history of Mary’s birth had been handed down to posterity by a more obscure tradition, and was contained in no other books than those of the hagiographers, or rather, the apocrypha. ^C As therefore the first birth of John rightly deserved, by divine miracle and oracle, to be celebrated by the Church with an annual memory as a unique benefit of God to men and a kind of inauguration of human restoration, being a precursor to the birth of Christ in the flesh and an index to it, so surely, and by a more just title, the day of the first origin of Mary could be annually consecrated, since the Mother has a greater relationship to the Son than the Forerunner. It was right for the Latins to be warned from heaven to have a day celebrated for Mary conceived in the womb, with the Theotokos herself warning a certain abbot of Bec, the successor of Anselm, through whose help above all this feast spread, first in England, then in Lyons—though Bernard disapproved of it, estimating such a revelation too slight for the most grave Church of Lyons to be led into such a novelty. Francis Bibarius has in his *Vindiciae* both that history and the ancient office of that day, in which you may see that very same thing, and nothing at all other than what Pius V sanctioned: namely, that the day of Mary’s conception should be celebrated with festive joy, with the office of the Nativity of the same [feast] adapted to it, by only changing the names. This is the one holy agreement of both Churches; all the rest concerning preservation from original [sin], or cleansing from it, lies in the opinions of those who debate it, in which more heat is often expended than fruit. Thus, in this part, I consider the Greeks, because they are more sober, to be wiser than we are—if I may speak according to my own ignorance. ^D

ON THE CONCEPTION OF THE MOST HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

For such is the splendor that is joyfully unfolded in the present solemnity, and thus it sends forth a brilliance that is more constant and shines more clearly than those things which are visible to the eyes. ^A For when the spiritual cloud is reported today to be unfolding at the clear proclamation of the voice, the rays of the light that knows no setting already arise for the world, and the darkness that had hitherto prevailed of impiety begins to diminish and be put to flight. ^B Today, as the construction of the divine tabernacle is announced, the foundations of piety are planted more firmly, while the fortifications of impiety are shaken from their very roots. Today, as the royal purple is woven, the advent of the King of all is proclaimed; the reconciliations of men who were at enmity are written beforehand; the trophies against their enemy are celebrated before they are raised. Today, the root of good things, announced to be growing in a barren womb, signifies that our nature, which had withered through wickedness, is to put forth green shoots of piety. Today, the gate of the King, which may not be traversed, ^C is fixed, being prepared for His passage that is beyond thought; but for us, it prepares beforehand the heavenly gates that may be traversed. Today, the barren parents, receiving the glad tidings of her who is the cause of the abundant flowing of good things, instruct the whole human race to prepare for the participation in such riches. But how glorious their memory is extended for ages! How inviolable their honor remains! How blessed was their election, and how blessed is the virtue they manifested, through which it came about that they were chosen! For by this, having surpassed all their kinsmen in the nobility of their will, they surpassed them also in the magnificence of the gifts according to the election and purpose of God. ^D For they were preferred before the whole race, because they preferred the Creator of all things in honor. They were chosen beforehand, because they preferred the love of the Master before their own life. They were elected beforehand for the ministry of the mysteries, because they chose to fulfill only the wills of Him who chose them throughout their lives. They were glorified, because they glorified Him through their own works. They were magnified by the great gift of grace, because they prepared themselves as worthy of such a reception. For this is what honored them above all the just who came before. This is what made them worthy to enjoy the mysteries that those had desired; this is what caused the beginning of the fulfillment of the things prophesied to them and sought after with great longing to be brought about. For this reason, being set before all their fellow tribesmen, they obtained an incomparable dignity. For having kept the royal race unmixed, they kept it pure and unadulterated by royal virtues. They did not allow themselves to be swept away from that which stood above the dignity of such status toward the servile abasement of pleasures, but keeping its magnificence untarnished, and, as pious...

^A and worthy to reap the fruit of victory.

For the history relating to them, when set alongside the facts, speaks thus: just as they had retained their God-like beauty and original propriety, so too did they preserve the nobility of their race unmixed, being honored among the most beautiful of the tribes; or rather, being set above those who were honored. They were wealthy in external possessions, but super-abundantly wealthy in the ambition of their moral choice. Thus, they made the wealth which invites and drags others toward pleasures into material for their own uprightness and a stepping-stone to the height of the virtues, not only fulfilling all that is according to the law and its ordinances, through which blessing is assigned to wealth and ^B good order to those who bring their fruits—but in many respects…

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(2) *The history relating to them.* It is the book by the name of *James, Brother of the Lord*, which the Greeks, and in particular the Fathers, even the most ancient, use everywhere; and although it is apocryphal, it nevertheless contains many things that are approved, so that it does not seem to have been written by heretics, but by some pious Hebrew, whose name might have been James, as was the case among the Jews, and indeed among the disciples of the Lord themselves, there were many Jameses, as Hegesippus testifies; he who either invented it under the name of James, the brother of the Lord, or rather was gifted with that title by others, since he himself more nearly insinuates another, and distinguishes himself from the James who is the son of Joseph, whom he calls the brother of the Lord: and it could be that he, through a human slip, erred in something, unless his book, like the one that has come down to us, and which exists here and there in the sacred books of the Greeks, has suffered some interpolation. Many note in it as rejectable what it relates concerning the trial of Mary and Joseph through the waters of proof, which is certainly not consistent with the things that the martyr Ignatius narrates, when he brings forth the reasons why the Lord willed to be born of a married woman, and neither the sacred Gospels, nor the common report of all, treat the infant Jesus as the son of Joseph, or as born of anything but a legitimate wife, and from a legitimate bed, and thus conceived of a lawful spouse, and after the nuptials were celebrated, Mary being surrendered for the use of marriage, at least as much as appeared outwardly, not merely betrothed and commended as a guardian of virginity as some narrate. Unless, perhaps, we say that a matter so new was known to few, with most people thinking it had been handed down after the manner of others into a perfect marriage, when she had only been handed over as a spouse, and for safekeeping, which I see many Fathers saying; nor do I understand sufficiently why there would not have been a need for some proof, so that this might be granted, and those miracles in the betrothal of Mary might stand fast, as they are narrated in the apocryphal book, and as Gregory of Nyssa recites from it in his oration on the Nativity of Christ: from which it is clear that the Holy Mary was handed over to Joseph like a sacred deposit, which was consecrated to God, and not for a time, but for her whole life, ^C as she could not be kept less honorably in the temple, according to the condition of her sex and her more advanced age. Clearly, the aforementioned Gregory, from the words of Mary to the angel in Luke 1, "How shall this be?", etc., truly gathers all those things from the apocryphal book as consistent, that she was consigned to Joseph as a spouse and guardian by the priests, as a sacred anathema to God, so that therefore her violation was not even a possibility for him. "This, the voice of Mary, is the proof of the things narrated in the secret account." He proves, he says, by the wax, the things that are narrated from the apocryphal book and by an uncertain author. I would prefer to hear from another than to speak more. God’s wisdom most wisely provided both for her maternal modesty and for His own honor, in whatever way He brought the matter about. But another, more apocryphal part, has just before the end, I will express the matter. In this place there is *eunomia* (good order), which, with a certain proportion according to the law's decree, and by obeying it, is better offered to God. Blessing is therefore defined for wealth; so that everyone, in proportion to his means, offers some ^D...

^A part, as if from an abundance, to the needy: and to those who offer, according to the right law, and according to what the law establishes should be divided, they offer a few things from the better part: that it may be an allusion to that in Gen. IV, “If thou dost not offer rightly, thou hast sinned.” Let there be both a legal utterance, and from that, a law, and from that, distribution: to which samples of this acceptance are lacking.

Nay, rather, whatever there was in abundance of riches, consecrating it to God, they surpassed in the magnificence of their gifts all those who were making their offerings. For Joachim, he says, offered his gifts in twofold measure, saying: “Let that which is of my abundance be for the whole people; and that which is for my remission, to the Lord God.” O these acceptable gifts! O fruit-bearing deposited in inviolable treasuries! O riches storing up an inexhaustible abundance of good things! O intention admired for the generosity of its noble offerings! “Just as,” he says, “it is right that things determined by the laws should be offered to God, so also it is worthy that all that is of my abundance should be placed before the people and the needy.” For even these things are offered to God through those who receive them. And what law, O righteous man, commands the offering to be made in a twofold way, of gifts and of deductions? And what ordinance commands all of one’s abundance to be distributed to the people? There is no law, he says, nor any ordinance compelling one to do these things; but having discovered the good for himself, as something acceptable to God, he fulfills it. “The riches,” he says, “which I have received as a gift are His, and it is right that they should be given back to Him in return. They are benefits of His providence; let them be ^B bestowed as a kindness upon members of the same stock. What has been given is an abundance of wealth; let it be dispensed to the peculiar people. Since these things are a grace, and not a payment for works, let the name confirm the things themselves, and let them proclaim the kindness of the Giver. Let the cares of wealth be divided among many, or rather let the whole burden of them be cast off by us. Let the crowd of riches be scattered far from the senses, so that the divine gifts may be received without hindrance. Let the cloud of cares that darkens the mind be driven away, so that the soul may look purely to the light of dispassion alone. Let not the wing of the intellect, which tracks the high-soaring things, be pulled down by the weight of ephemeral thoughts; let it have an unobstructed flight toward things immaterial. Let the ears of the soul, freed from the tumultuous roar of vain things, receive the sound of those things which are celebrated spiritually; let them perceive the sweetly modulated ^C songs of those who exult in the heavens. And thus indeed, the offering of the righteous, and coming from such a noble-minded resolve, is rendered worthy of reception by the God of all.

But those who were joined by kinship of race, and who were bringing their own offerings together with the righteous man on the solemn feast days, not only did not admire the fervor of his God-loving magnificence, but, moved to envy by the superiority of it, they brought forward certain customs against him that forbade him to offer to God, as he was childless and unfruitful, and lacked the progeny of his race. “For it is not permitted to thee,” he says, “to offer gifts, inasmuch as thou ^D hast not made seed in the sons of Israel.” Some indeed say: “It is not permitted for thee to offer as the first”: whereby he...

^A altogether bars him from performing such an act. Whether this or that be meant, it is a decree of the envious. For they ought to have admired the magnificent gift of the righteous man; they ought to have applauded the abundance of the things offered; they ought to have rejoiced with him in the magnificence of his purpose. Instead, they not only refuse to deem them worthy of just acceptance, but even attempt to repel them. What indeed do you blame in the offerings that you wish them to be repelled, so that they should not be offered? What sordidness of the gift do you criticize? What did you discover in the offerings that was not of the will? Are they therefore not whole? Do they not possess, I will not say integrity, but even a surpassing quality for admiration? Are they not offered out of a right and discerning will? But, he says, custom, acquiring the force of law, forbids those who are barren from offering firstfruits to God in the same manner as those who have offspring, and from participating in the same honors as them. For my part, I am certain there is no law ordained on this matter: but if anything has been innovated by custom, I testify with sure faith that it has been added entirely out of your own dense and base understanding. ^B For God does not hold sacrifices and oblations acceptable because fecundity and many children are present, but because of the possession of virtues; because of upright morals; because of a magnificent spirit; because of a bounty not so much of the things offered as of the will poured out into the gifts; because of a humble soul and a modest sense, and one who knows that no gift can respond to God according to His dignity. For He says: “The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit” (Ps. L, 19). For God Himself, the acceptor of the gifts, would be a witness by His own testimony, as to how the oblations made from these are acceptable, and all men, if any come around to a better opinion, would agree by an equal confession. For the Holy Scripture hands down that God praised and deemed acceptable many sacrifices of the saints and just men; and their glory abundantly testifies to those who offer them. For the gifts of that very first martyr, the righteous Abel, did not deserve praise and ^C were not accepted because he had begotten children, but because he had sacrificed out of a generous will; because he had offered the best to God; because he had made a sincere host ^D to Him, harboring no thoughts of a narrow mind. For even Cain, who, lacking offspring, offered a host, was not rejected on that title, but because of his barren will; because of the sterility of a narrow mind; and because he had held his own interest in higher regard than God’s; because he had not divided them equally, but unjustly, and far otherwise than the law of offerings to God requires. Thus, indeed, the Lord approves of the gifts justly offered by the righteous man, and shows by the most evident sign that He has accepted them, by fire sent from heaven, which would entirely consume the offered gifts and with a joyful symbol proclaim the justice of him who had offered. But he who declares himself unjust in his...

^B arrangement of what was being offered, justly fails of acceptance. For not only does he fail to perceive that God, most just, is not assenting to these things, but he also sees Him reproaching him and openly convicting him of the impropriety of his action. For He says to him: "If you offer correctly, but do not divide correctly, you have sinned." For you, Cain, he says, thinking that your offering would reasonably be accepted, are distressed at its being overlooked and sent back; yet it was sent back because it was not divided decorously, nor even offered correctly. For "if you offer correctly, but do not divide correctly" (you have sinned). Some say this was spoken concerning the victims which were about to be offered as burnt offerings. For the ancients, dividing in two, separated the sacrifices being brought in parts; and that Cain did not make the division of the offerings according to reason, and for this reason failed of his goal. But this stands far from the truth of Scripture. For it does not say that this offering of Cain was a blood sacrifice, but rather the first-fruits of the labors of his hands. "For Abel became a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a worker of the ground; and Cain brought of the fruits of the ground a sacrifice to God; and Abel also brought of the firstlings of his sheep and of their fat" (Gen. iv, 2). What, then, does "If you offer correctly, but do not divide correctly, you have sinned" mean? What it says is of this sort: "You cannot," he says, "offer correctly, unless you first ^C divide correctly." And what is it to divide correctly? It is to distribute according to reason; it is to perform the division and selection of those things being brought to God, not by allotting the best things to one's own share, and the worst to Him. For if men, when dividing certain common funds, choose and prefer as arbiter one who is able to divide them with equality, and reject and bid depart one who deviates so as not to divide with equality, how could God, the God of all, have accepted without rebuke Cain, who had become an unequal and unjust divider of His own gifts, or have looked upon his gifts? "Mine," he says, "O Cain, are all things: these are gifts of my providence; benefits of my mercies. I have admitted you to a share of these, not for the reward of works, but for my loving-kindness alone. And being in no need of these, yet desiring your salvation, I receive the first-fruits, not commanding that what was provided to you be divided with equal quantity, but seeking through the first-fruits the godliness of your soul. Yet I, having provided you with the enjoyment of my good things, and having set you up as master of the division of what was brought to me, found evil in the benefactor: an ingrate toward the abundance of good things, wicked in the division of the first-fruits. For by making this division, you have made it unworthy of the giver of the gifts; for you have taken for yourself, just as the greater part, so also the better parts of the ^D gifts; but me, you have treated with contumely by the sordidness of your offering." These things, moreover, were not said alien to his purpose, but to prove that the gift is one of pious will, of the fruits of exuberant virtues, so that God may prefer and...

^A choose the offerings, rather than treat them as an excuse for childbearing.

Nor must we pass over in silence, for the sake of brevity, the manner in which the patriarch Abraham, before the birth of children—through whom the true promises of God had to be fulfilled—both built an altar and was later commanded to offer that most celebrated sacrifice. "Take for me," he says, "a three-year-old heifer, and a three-year-old ram," and he is commanded to collect other things of this kind for the preparation of the burnt offering. In addition to these, consider the offerings that other just men made while still without children: that sacrifice which Manoah was commanded to offer upon the rock, ^B by which, through the resolution of the prevailing barrenness, both he and his sterile wife receive the auspicious news, and both receive the proof of the promised event by the angel who ascends from the flame and flies up into heaven. Why, then, do you, who quarrel over these things, reject the offerings which the prophetess Anna made, which were accepted in deed and in word? And what offspring from the loins of Elijah and Elisha could you point to? Yet they offered rational sacrifices to God that were perpetually acceptable, and when time demanded, bloody ones as well. Why do you also restrain and exclude those who lack offspring from prayers, ^C and canticles, and the perpetual praises of God? For God favors these more when they are offered from a contrite heart than he does the sacrifices of animals.

But you, in truth, by closing the eyes of your mind, voluntarily create for yourself a blindness so that you cannot see good things, and you are blind to the sight of them; swelling with envy of the just man, you vomit forth your venom against him, falsely alleging the upright constitution of the law. "It is not permitted," he says, "for you to offer gifts." For what reason is it not permitted? Is it not permitted because of his most ardent ^D spirit toward God? Is it not permitted because of the abundance of his gifts? Because he serves God over and above what the law requires, and magnanimously bestows benefits upon you? For he says, "That which is from my abundance shall be for all the people." Therefore, it shall be for you also, since you yourself are a part of that same people. Was it not fitting that you should honor the love he poured out so fervently toward the Creator God, and that you should gratefully receive the grace and benefit he lavishes upon the multitude? Was it not fitting that you should admire his magnificent spirit, praise it, and return it with appropriate thanksgivings?

But you, burdened by the excellence of his gifts—or rather, by the envy that makes you wither on their account—are dragged downward, and with your face cast to the ground, you are unable to gaze into the light of such manifest achievements. He, however, raised higher than your insults, and flying as it were through the heights of the air, is in no way dragged down by these things to the lowliness of humble thoughts. Nothing drives him headlong from the high summit of a magnificent soul into the abyss of a dejected one. He does not struggle against reproaches; he does not fight...

against the unreasonableness of your malice with logical defenses. Instead, by the goodness of his relationship with God, he repels the injustice of your insults, entrusting to prayer the release from his childlessness, and, in exchange for those reproaches with which you have assaulted him, he is to obtain the fame of a celebrated name. For shortly you shall see the magnificent glory of his noble offspring; you shall see the honor that surpasses that of his fathers, the blessedness of his nature, the fruit of his prayers, ^A the blessing of humanity, the abundant wealth, the joy that no sorrow follows, and the bringer of that which is truly a delight of the soul.

Thus, therefore, the just man, having disposed himself toward those who reproach him with such greatness and generosity of mind, and having bidden farewell to all who were present, girds himself for the glorious contests and the laborious solitude, without a thought for his return home, nor having consulted with anyone in his household about what he had determined in his mind. This is something that, should anyone perceive it by careful conjecture, he would find both miraculous ^B and beyond human frailty. For who, admiring his religious devotion and his mind, which was emptied of concern for all other things, would not address such words to him? "What is this, most admirable man, surpassing the just men of old, that you have conceived in your counsel? What is this plan that you are putting into action? Why, furthermore, have you severed your domestic relationship? Why have you cut the bond of your spouse and partner in life? Was it not He who joined her, just as into one flesh, so also into one counsel and mind, who fashioned her? Was it not proper that, in the same way as you had to preserve towards her the indissoluble bond of unity, you should also have taken care that her ^C mind might likewise remain undivided in its purpose? Was it not fitting that you should urge her to similar labors, and that just as you took her as a partner in the fruit, so also you might take her as a partner in the works? But even if for these reasons the return home did not please you, surely you ought to have acted so as not to involve her in sharper torments; so as not to bring her vexation through the uncertainty of your departure; so as not to strike her with countless harrowing thoughts through the obscurity of your absence. It was fitting that, having arranged domestic matters becomingly, you should then set out for where your heart led. Or do you ^D not care for your overflowing wealth, nor turn your mind to the possessions that you have, as one who is not bound by things that appear good, and who is not possessed by the necessity of pleasures that hold the soul?"

"Yes," says the just man, "none of these is sufficient to sever me from converse with God: not the unity of nature, not the bonds of kin, not the abundance of wealth, not the company of friends. Nothing of those things that are visible can draw me away from the desire for invisible goods. A contest of arduous prayer is set before me, calling me to the struggle naked, unencumbered, and ready. Let anything that might interrupt the course depart. Let nothing of the present life stand in the way or hold back the intensity of my zeal. The gifts that are given are God's; let the care of them be left to God."

^A I know, then, that his spouse Anna is of the same mind and intent, and that though absent she remains close by; I know her unquenchable love for the Master, through which she assists in His providence and cooperates with my struggles through fitting labors. She will in no way be cut off from the form of our union, nor from the affection with which she follows. She will preserve an indivisible agreement of will, as befits a spouse and a religious soul. She will be more helpful by her prayers in her absence than if she were present. Her supplications will be effective; in most fervent faith she will secure the result of being heard. For she offers them to God from a contrite soul. With innate humility, she will lift them up to the only lofty One, who is greater than all understanding, the beneficent God. For He is supremely good, and hears those who call upon Him in truth. Such are the preeminent prerogatives of the righteous; such is the overflowing wealth of their virtues; such is the intensity of their faith; such is the intimacy of their closeness to God. Thus do they attain the request of their petitions; thus, by divine oracle, are they announced as being about to bring forth both their own blessing and the joy of the world, which is their fruit. For the angels proclaimed that, by her birth, joy and gladness would rise for the world.

^B Indeed, such are your preliminary announcements and miracles. But you, O Mother of God, who were to sprout from such a stock and were announced beforehand, you received a course of life fitting to what was revealed. For it was indeed necessary that you be announced by such voices. It was fitting that your future marvels be designated by such words. It was necessary to prefigure by such symbols the fruit and offspring that was to come from such parents. It was necessary that such a sprout should be born from such a root. It was necessary that a royal rod should grow from royal plants. ^C It was necessary that the abundant wealth of good things should overflow from a wealth of virtue. It was fitting that you should be called the daughter of such parents, and that they should be shown to be the parents of such a daughter. For just as you were chosen above all creation to be the Mother of God, so they were predestined to be honored as parents of the parents of all. How, then, is the grandeur of such providence beyond all glory! How beyond all praise are the miracles of the providence of the Lord of all! How much more desirable than all desirable things are the good things that have come through you! How blessed with pleasure are those who have been deemed worthy to enjoy them worthily! For this alone is true fruition; this is the unfailing delight—to take pleasure in the miracles which you provide. ^D Through this we are led by the hand to that unending banquet, and through your joy here, we already greet and embrace that future pleasure. We have the pledge of eternal goods through the gifts you now provide. We listen to the melody of those who rejoice in eternal gladness through the present celebration of your praise. Our praise of you is therefore true; our hope is secure; the good things we expect are in our hands;

for this reason we long to keep your assemblies not just frequently, but constantly, so that we may always have a share in what we desire. And in celebrating today the feast that is kept ^A for you, we do not honor it as something recently discovered, but as one to be numbered among the notable feasts; nay rather, just as it is in order, so too in the reality of the event, it is set before us. Through it, we enjoy the declared gladness; we feast on its mystical banquets; we are filled with the gifts foreshadowed within it. By the joy of this day, we store up for ourselves eternal grace, and we mingle our voices with the chorus of those celebrating in the heavens. Entreat your Son, Christ our God—the only gladness and joy of those who desire you—to grant that we be numbered with them, to celebrate this feast, and to offer up the doxology of exaltation in a voice that never ceases; for to Him belongs honor, power, and glory, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ORATION II. Praise on the Conception of Saint Anna, Mother of the Most Holy Theotokos.

^B Nothing, if it be judged by those who love God, could be considered sweeter or more delightful than the present assembly, of all things that are accustomed to produce a merely apparent pleasure through the senses. For they do not expend all their zeal for the sake of things that seem good, but for those that truly exist and remain. For the delights of the present festivity are lasting; they relate to that which alone is desirable, and they would be sought after only by those who, in their preference for these things, despise all others. ^C And I see that you both desire this and are zealous to put it into action, always choosing the better things, and especially so in the present joy, in which it is possible to partake of the incorruptible blessings through these delightful things. For these things lead us by the hand to those; the mysteries accomplished on earth go before those that remain stored up in the heavens. For this reason, the present brightness is set forth, and the whole mystery of the benevolent economy consists in this. Through the wonders made manifest to life in the present, the eternal glory of the invisible things is revealed. Through the things renewed in the world, the super-celestial restoration of the human race is dispensed. By the good will of the lower, the joy of the higher is negotiated ^D for our earthly nature. Because of God seen upon earth, rest in the heavens is prepared for mortals. This is the reason for the gathered assembly; this is the gain stored up today for those who have gathered here; this is the cause of both the manifestation of the wonders of the present time and of the gathering that takes place because of them.

^A For with the manifestation of the wonders, the most wonderful mystery of the salvation of the race is revealed. Because our nature had withered away through wickedness, being dead, it is revived by the barren woman for childbearing; and the virginal birth is wrought beyond nature. And see how the proofs of the wonders of the economy precede it: the revival of the barren woman serves as proof for the virginal conception; the sprouting of the unfruitful one for the birth beyond reason; and the childbearing beyond expectation for the conception beyond understanding. For nature becomes accustomed to things beyond expectation, so that it might not disbelieve the things beyond nature that are being wrought in a new way. From a barren woman, a Virgin; from a Virgin, God is born corporeally; and by both, the new creation is brought about. For the present joy has announced this to us beforehand. It confirmed this in the miracle performed in the just ones. Finally, the unexpected birth of those ones revealed this and established it as the beginning of the secret mysteries and of their outcome. Therefore, since the festival of today, in the account of the wonders consummated within it, leads over all more illustrious solemnities, and as a kind of foundation and base placed under them, brings together all the mysteries dispensed in them as if into a foundation, it is entirely right that we should offer it veneration as the beginning and cause of all good things, and celebrate it with more intense joy. It truly befits us to honor the beginnings of salvation: it befits us to rejoice together with the rejoicing righteous: it befits us to sing praises together with those who are pouring forth thanks: or rather, it is right that, gathering up all things of this kind of thanksgiving, we should repay the whole to the Giver, as if for our own goods and benefits, which alone are truly benefits. For through us, more than through others, they ought to be repaid, to whom the fruit of the gifts mostly pertains, for whom they are the cause. But enough of these things. It is indeed time that we, who have been brought together at the magnificent banquet of the righteous who have summoned us, should enjoy to satiety the sweetness that surpasses their prerogatives, and that, by setting forth those things which the previous discourse omitted, we should enjoy their sweetest savor. ^C For he, having brought forward and explained to the best of his ability the preeminent prerogatives of Joachim, and how, in the very preparation of his offering, he was repelled by his kinsfolk, who were agitated by envy, so that he might not offer magnificent gifts, and how the one refuge he found to be freed from their reproaches was his flight to God; and what his perseverance was on the mountain, greater than that of a man, and his intense abstinence; or, to speak more truly, his life devoid of the body—for the fact that he was alien to carnal affection and practiced a fast that was unaccustomed to nature and new, compels one almost to call him bodiless—since the previous discourse had briefly suggested these things, up to the oracle that reached him through the angel, it left the rest, and what pertains to the chaste and just Anna, unexamined—not as if nothing at all had been explained by us about her in other discourses. For in different ones, as far as we were able, we have endeavored to elucidate them; ^D for having brought him forward, and having unfolded to the extent possible the preeminent qualities of Joachim, and how he was hindered by the envy of his tribesmen from bringing the gifts of his magnanimity, and how he found this one relief from the reproaches of others—that flight to God—and what his endurance and intense fasting were on the mountain, surpassing human nature, or rather, to speak more accurately, his lack of body—for the fact that he was disposed to be alien to carnal relation and endured a fast alien to nature almost makes one say that he was bodiless. Having therefore reminded us of these things in brief, the discourse passed over the rest, and what pertains to the temperate and just Anna, up to the revelation that took place to him through the angel; not by an unfolding of the words about her in general (for we have dispersed these in various places as far as was possible for us),

^B but rather in this present joy, and in this God-loving assembly. Wherefore it is right that we should also traverse the matters concerning her today, and then, after that, add the remaining parts of the subject, through an unfolding of them, to those which have been collected. For just as we recently brought forward the high-souled and, at the same time, God-loving Joachim in a sublime wonder—how he was not moved in a contrary manner by the idle taunts of the Jews, and did not curb the arrogant insolence of those who were heaping reproaches upon him, showing no one that any law had been moved in the things brought against him, but [rather] that it was solely by envy that they had devised an unprovoked pretext against him; and how, having disdained both these and all the affairs of his household, he referred the sum of the matter to God alone, and displayed an extraordinary perseverance in the desert—so, just as we then marveled at the excelling virtues of the righteous man while unfolding them, we shall also, if we bring the achievements of his spouse Anne into the midst of our discourse, exalt them with a wonder consonant to them. For she also is glorified by an equal, or rather a more excelling, merit of patience and perseverance. And there are many things that demonstrate this and bring the matters before the eyes of those who wish to pay heed: for both the reproaches from her kin on account of infertility, and the uncertain absence of her husband; and in addition to these, the taunts dared by the handmaid, and the curses invoked by her fellow tribespeople on account of the lack of children, and the fact that they were brought before her very eyes, and the way that, by the reminder of those things, they unleashed sharper arrows against the righteous woman—all these things would confirm such a thing. But Anne, setting her perseverance against the sorrows that were befalling her, was indeed affected, for she was not without sense toward them, yet she was not cast down from the height of her patience, either into the abasement of despondency or into the indignation of those who were attacking her. ^C Whence she does not even reply to those who are heaping reproaches, nor does she stand against their unjust rebuke. She does not call the wickedness they were using as a pretext the act of a jealous disposition; she does not reproach them for that misdeed as being the invention of their own minds, and one not found written in the Scriptures. Although honored by the excellence of her lineage and supported by the sincerity of her life, she did not boldly resist them, nor did she refute the rashness and the unreasoning machinations of their undertaking. ^D Thus also, when the partner of her virtue and of her whole life had disappeared, she did not go about seeking him, nor did she summon all her acquaintances to this very purpose. She does not search the mountains and unforeseen places, nor does she incite much tumult among her kin, nor does she cry out against the one who had departed, bringing much condemnation upon him as if he had decided upon something alien to their communion and life together; as if he had shown a disposition unlike his former affection; as if he had severed the bond of nature; as if he had disregarded the decrees of the law that had bound them together, and had disdained all the affairs of the household. None of these things struck the invulnerable mind of Anne; but she spurned the reproaches, as in no way affecting her soul...

indeed, regarding her husband’s absence, she grieved, as if being deprived of those good things of his; yet she considered this a dispensation of a better providence. ^A For this reason, also, establishing her cherished grief, she sought his appearing, and entreated God, the giver of good things, for the begetting of children. And what need is there to marvel at her great-souled manner concerning these things? For she, having suffered nothing from the insults of her maidservant in her pettiness of mind, restrained the anger that was just against her; neither using any excessive authority of lordship against such a manic invective, nor becoming indignant at the audacity of those who acted in collusion.

For what reasonable pretext, the girl who was reproaching her having seized, did she heap up these irrational taunts? Simply because, in a time of prayer and of a contrite heart, she did not imitate the pursuits of the lifted-up and the haughty; because with a lowly and humble sentiment, as well as demeanor, she stretched forth her petition to the Lord; because she did not admit a garment sought after with the zeal of voluptuous women; because she rejected a finery that, having lived her whole life chastely and soberly, she had never admitted, ^B even when offered at an inopportune time? Who then, you ask, is this, and what is that headband placed in the story, which, being presented to Anne, she rejected and sent away? Some say that such a thing was a magnificent, bridal diadem, which women who were loose and relaxed used during present festivities. But it seems probable that this was offered to Anne by some malicious design, whereby the malicious plotters thought that her intense fervor of prayer might be slackened, by an inopportune pleasure, by a dissolute tenor of her mind, and by her presuming something alien to her chaste customs and prior sobriety, by reason of which she would be someone to be despised by God. ^C For this reason, the girl who delivered it, attempting to dispel suspicion, says she had not received it from others, but that it had been made by her own hands, and that she was offering what was proposed solely out of favor, and not for any other of the things suspected. This is shown by the mistress of the work herself. But she, not only because of the suspected malice, but also because she had never been pleased to use such ornaments, rejected what was being handed over as an occasion for wickedness. "Never," she said, "even at the prime of youth, was I adorned with such things. Never, when I was equanimous and all the things of this present life seemed to abound, was I delighted by such braided bands. Never did the estimation of royal blood raise me to such a thought; never did the abundance of riches draw me toward ^D a superfluous care of the body."

And observe the humility of Anne: how, far from being elated by the achievement, she acknowledges herself even to be guilty. "And since I have not done this," she says, "I see myself..."

as ^A paying the debts for certain unknown shortcomings, which the Master, the examiner of unseen things, demands I discharge and correct, for which reason He calls me to this present humility." What then of the impudent maidservant? With what words of consolation does she approach her noble mistress? For it was fitting that, having considered the life of the righteous woman, she should cease from her unreasonable undertaking and, by her own prayers, be a help to her in that same need. It was fitting that at the time of prayer she should approach as a companion in humility and composedness of mind. It was incumbent upon her to take upon herself a part of the labor of intense supplication; to offer refreshment with words that might encourage hope. It was fitting that the worldly adornment, imported inappropriately and ^B by others, should be pushed aside and dismissed, declared unreasonable, and alien to the masterly decorum; but she, beyond not devising such things, lashes out with words and presses [upon her], and aims insults against the righteous woman more severe than those of the Jews, opening up and rubbing raw the wounds of her barrenness, and testifying that it is not unjust for her to be subjected to the tragedy of her tribesfolk. What then is the view of the most noble and magnanimous Anne? She does not employ unreasonable anger against the taunting girl; she does not refute and brand her folly, nor does she rise up to push her away and cast her out, nor does she subject her to a deserved penalty as one unworthy of her own service; but, abandoning all things by an excess of magnanimity, she departs from the house, and gains the untroubled place ^C of the garden, where, being freed from all clamor and having attained quiet, ^D she takes up the place in the garden. She imitates, therefore, the stories regarding the mother of Samuel; and having reached the inside of the Holy of Holies, she becomes a suppliant to God, that she might not fall outside the blessing of the Law, having sinned in nothing against the Law; but that she might become a mother, and dedicate to God that which was to be born. Within the garden, as one having reached the inside of the Holy of Holies. And indeed, both of them, emulating the renowned Anne, were attentive to the temple; they persistently sought of God with prayers to grant a release to their barrenness, and fruit to their sterility; nor did they yield before they had attained what they desired.

Commentary

^A But why did she not seek the silent tranquility of her chamber, where she might offer to God those prayers which, hidden in the depths of her heart, she was bringing to birth? Truly, because the matter would not have turned out according to her vow, since she had to bring forth many things in her prayers, and she could not purely represent them to God there, amidst the domestic tumults and the annoyances of neighbors arriving. This was the reason that even upon reaching the temple, she did not offer the steps of her supplication to the Master within it, even though it was the place designated for all to pray. Yet not even this offered her the desired moment of quiet, providing many things that were to be suspected as interrupting it.

She pondered within herself that if even those who were already offering fruits—both she herself and her husband before God, and the whole people—had been upbraided and driven away by those Jews who offered with them out of blind envy, what taunts would they not have devised against her, seeing her alone, and remaining incessantly in the temple beyond the proper time for prayer? Nothing prevented the Jewish madness from condemning her—in such a state—of some mania or drunkenness. For thus did those who seemed more moderate than the others, by reason of the priesthood they held, harshly upbraid the blessed prophetess—I mean the elder Anne, who shared her name—by accusing her supplication to God of being drunkenness. ^B For she indeed was sending up that fervent supplication from a sober and watchful mind; but they mistook her sobriety for drunkenness, and her theology for foolish babbling. This they cast at the blessed woman with wicked insult, even though she sent forth no cries, nor bothered the hearers with disorderly voices. For already the priest Eli had closed her mouth, although she spoke obscurely and submissively.

"And Eli the priest," it says, "was watching her mouth; and she was speaking in her heart, and her lips were moving, and her voice was not heard." And the boy said to her, "Eli, how long will you be drunken? Put away your wine, and go from the face of the Lord." How then, by what reasoning, did Eli suspect her of being drunk, if he saw her conversing with God through prayer? If he had closed her mouth with a rebuke from the very first? ^C For it is said to her by "a certain boy"—not one, but by every hand that has the vigor to act insolently and to mock the good: "How long will you be drunken?" ^D

of those who are thus disposed, did she bring forth from her mouth? For the words of those who are drunk and brawling are improper; ^A even when they are compelled by others to be silent, and are struck severely, they let loose those impudent cries, presenting themselves to the spectacle of others in a similar way in their words and their disorderly behavior. But she, by what unbecoming act of this sort did she provide evidence of drunkenness? What improper words did she utter? What decorum of sober women did she transgress? Was it that, condemned to silence, she cherished the penalty? That by the decency of the visible form she manifested the state of her mind? That in silence she contained the flame of prayer ignited within, and by the movement of her lips alone indicated its burning? For, it says, *she was speaking in her heart, and her lips were moving, and her voice was not heard*. Was it not necessary, therefore, to be amazed at her extraordinary endurance? Was it not necessary to admire the composure of her observable form? Her incessant prayer to God in silence? The constant lifting of her eyes toward heaven? The inexpressible, or rather, the soundless, groanings from the distress of her heart? For she did not even allow them to be heard; therefore it says: *Her voice was not heard*. They, for their part, exclude her from articulate voices and words; but she refrained even from inarticulate sounds, ^B allowing no opportunity to be given to those who mocked her.

But she, indeed, in such a way and with such admirable endurance, lifted up her prayers to God; but what does the young boy, who insolently mocked her, say? "How long will you be drunken? Take away your wine from you, and depart from the presence of the Lord." What kind of wine do you command her to take away? The burning desire for God? A sober mind? The constant persistence of a fasting body? The prayers sent up from a fervent soul? And where do you send her away from the presence of the Lord—she who has disregarded all things, and seeks only His face; who has the desire fixed in her heart; who sees as the only auditor of her own words Him whom she beholds more with the eyes ^C of her mind, whether outside or within the tabernacle?

And thus, indeed, at the time of prayer, the mockers of old beset Anna; but the new and most prudent of all, fearing that she might suffer anything of such a kind, when offering her earnest prayer, withdrew as much from the temple as she did from her house. She sought a more deserted place, on account of its tranquility, more remote from human custom, for the sake of quiet, where she very wisely foresaw that the sincere purity of the desired prayer would be preserved for her. Yet perhaps not for this reason, but for the sake of truly declaring the truth, it was already foreshadowing the outcome concerning her through her deeds. For those who were ordered to serve the shadows of legal customs—just as the offerings and first-fruits ^D were prescribed—so also the petition for necessary things through prayer was defined by the circuit of the temple, in which they were persuaded they would especially be granted their requests. Now, therefore, Anna, namesake of grace, through the prayer which...

she offers to God as the first of rational ^A first-fruits, declares that the initial state of human existence is not circumscribed by location. For the grace of God, which is present everywhere and exists in every place, will have the power to manifest its benefits in all things, just as it does in material objects, so too in the beliefs of the faithful. This the righteous Joachim also heralds, withdrawing himself from the temple and offering that acceptable and marvelous prayer upon the mountain, clearly signifying thereby that, upon the arrival of the new grace, the temple—being devoid of typical shadows—should be abandoned, and that the rays of its illumination shall be stretched out over all things that exist.

Enimvero, what are the words of Anna’s prayer in the garden? It is better to bring them forth in speech, that we may see what they contain that is universally becoming. For although, in other and diverse places, she was wont to offer a prayer that she had conceived in a manner distinct to her, nevertheless, she never held it as alien from the consistent order; yet here, proceeding from a more contrite and humble mind, something new and marvelous was heard resonating. For the righteous woman, beginning the sequence of her supplication, introduces that blessed humility into her speech in the manner of a lamentation. Wherefore, not comparing herself to her own kin and fellow-tribesmen, she declares herself deprived of their blessing and grace as one unworthy; nay, she even pronounces herself entirely estranged, regarding the matter of blessing, from the brute animals themselves and from the likeness of inanimate ^B creation. For this reason, in the prayer she utters in solitude, she makes mention of birds and quadrupeds, of beasts and the earth, and of those things that grow from the earth; as well as of the waters and the creatures that teem within the waters, so that she might demonstrate herself to be utterly useless, and from this might draw and bend the only most compassionate God toward mercy.

But He anticipates these words, and before Anna's prayer has reached its conclusion, He announces to the petitioner an outcome for those things requested that is beyond all hope. For behold, he says, while she was speaking, an angel of the Lord came to her, saying: "God has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive and bear, and your seed shall be spoken of in the whole world." He heard, who, before the words of the prayer were conceived in the mind, knew them, and for this reason, in an ineffable manner, He recompensed them. He heard the prayer, who stirs up the prayer and causes it to be heard. He heard the prayer offered from a contrite soul, who rests therein for this very reason; ^C who delights in its modesty and humility. He heard the prayer, who long ago predicted its outcome through the voices of the prophets. He heard the prayer, He who was to make its fruit known to all created things. For it shall be spoken of, He says, your seed in the whole world. Its most celebrated glory shall be spoken of to the circle of the earth; her unique, illustrious fame, her celebrated fruit-bearing; the most illustrious pride and ornament of all creatures. That eloquent mouth of human nature shall be spoken of; the rational defense of those whom shame would have robbed of ^D words,

^A regarding whom glorious things are to be said and proclaimed in every rational nature; whose intellective powers celebrate her greatness with canticles; whose glory they proclaim. "Your seed shall be spoken of in all the world." You, indeed, O Anna, it says, do not pursue the succession of the race and the fruit of human nature so much as you devote your efforts to that constancy of perseverance and these struggles of prayer (for you offer to God the abundant fruits of virtues); but you do so that the report of the child-birth, being heard among the nations, might deliver you from the reproaches of sterility, and that you might not be excluded from their blessing. For truly the fruit of that prayer of yours, and that fertile production of nature, will not only be spoken of and glorified in Israel and among your fellow-tribesmen, but will be ^B proclaimed throughout the whole world: among kings and princes, among priests and righteous men, among nations of diverse tongues, among the wise and the foolish. In so many, I say, will that fruit of yours be spoken of; having been echoed in the ears of so many, it will be magnified in a manner appropriate to its own miracles.

What, then, of the blessed and magnanimous Anna? What gift does she render in return to the One who bestows such a blessing? With what gifts does she reward the Benefactor? What offerings does she promise to make as a monument of a grateful soul? She does not vow precious gifts, not sacrifices of irrational animals, not first-fruits, not any other sacrifice that might be paid; but that very fruit of nature which she receives by the bounty of God, that very ^C desirable and precious sprout for whose sake those constant prayers were made and abundant tears flowed from her eyes; for whose sake, I say, she undertook both the laborious struggles of persistence and the contempt of all things that are wont to make one's life comfortable. "For the Lord my God lives," she says, "if I shall bear either a male or a female, I will offer it as a gift to my Lord God, and it shall be ministering unto Him all the days of its life." See the burning desire of Anna towards God; see her exceeding greatness of soul; see how, through this present dedication, she showed that she would also offer to God the fruit of her external substance, which was also being offered abundantly. For if she offers to God, with such a fervent purpose, the blessing ^D granted to nature, the joy of the soul, and the consolation of her toils, what of her remaining property would she have spared? What of her more precious possessions would she not have dedicated to Him?

And consider the abundance of her resolve. She does not distinguish: "If the one born happens to be male, I will return it to the Lord God," but, "even if it be male, or if it be female." This is a promise of an insatiable love towards God, a proof of an uncontrollable desire for Him. She says that He alone is to be held more precious, just as she receives Him as the first-fruits and fruit of nature, whatever they might happen to be, just as she does the choice of other things. For if she had said, "If the one born is a male, I will offer it to the Lord God," and had remained silent about the female designation, she might have been thought to diminish the integrity of her offering by what was left silent in the vow. But now, she promises both male and female—

she showed her ineffable love for the One preferred, God, while leaving the account clear of any other suspicion. And yet, one would not find in Scripture, either in covenants or in dedications, a female dedicated to God—and especially not one numbered among those serving in the temple. ^A Yet even so, this excess of piety innovates this in the covenant, prophesying the innovation that was to come in the matter. For she alone of the female sex, the only first-fruits of humanity, both promised and was offered as a most precious dedication to God. But O, such an infallible promise! O, promises of blessings exceeding reason for the nature that was promised beforehand! O, most sacred offering! O, god-loving resolve, which thus and in such a way rendered the fruit of its own hope unto God! By what account shall this burnt offering of Abraham not be surpassed? By the account of the time preceding the prayer for her? By the time of the prayer itself? By the mode of the oracle sent from heaven? Or finally, by the magnanimity of the promise? Let the manner of this offering be kept in silence, for it does not allow for comparison, as it is the one thing dearer to God than all created things; but the glowing love toward God of the one who brought it should be admired and celebrated with clear proclamation. For she offered just as Abraham did; yet he, obeying the command, fulfilled obedience, while she rendered the fruit of her own voluntary resolve. And he, by the account of the promise rather than the account of procreation, offered the Only-Begotten; she offered the one and only blessing of her nature, which she had received as the fruit of many labors and of intense prayer. ^B

For the labors and the deeds of the greatest struggles are those that have rewards for good things superior to reason, and such as cannot be explained by words. Prayers, when lifted by labors, are carried to God. Through labors the great matter of virtue is achieved; through labors the soul is tested as if by fire; by the wages of labors, the enjoyments of eternal goods are obtained; through labors, the inclination toward God and the ascent to Him are naturally brought about.

^C Since she had moved out from a barren mother, she who brought forth the ear of incorruption from the womb, her parents brought her in the prime of her first bloom and dedicated her to the temple: "She shall be serving Him all the days." ^D This Joseph, being an old man and a widower, by the necessity of the lots which were cast among the widowers and celibates within each tribe for the virgins of the temple—on account of the dedication of firstborn children, both male and female, to the temple—received by lot the holy Virgin Mary.

[The Offering of the Virgin]

^A Yet even for the sake of the reward of toils, these things are judged by true reason to be bestowed in return, even if they be for things lowly and small, since they are beyond the reach of the mind. For who could even conceive of, let alone perform, a toil that might be thought to balance, even in the smallest part, those goods that are reserved? What manner of works of struggle could the ascent to heaven be? What manner of ladders of toils are those capable of reaching such a height? Of what sort are the sweats expended in this transitory and fleeting life, to which the rewards are eternal and incorruptible? What toils could one show, in accordance with the worth of the Creator’s intimacy? In what way could one fashion oneself as a fitting house for His indwelling? "For I will dwell in them," He says, "and will walk among them." And again, "I and the Father will come." ^B This is the end of the goods that are in hope; this is the heavenly kingdom; this is the enjoyment of eternal delight; this is the succession of gladness, the undying exultation; this is the recompense that surpasses not only toils, but even every mind. Do you see how no toil, I say not that it is not measured in return, but that it is not even conceivable in comparison with the blessed enjoyment of the goods that are laid up? Yet even so, the all-good Master, in return for such lowly and most insignificant toils—though our own struggles fall far short, and the sweats for the sake of virtue for which these rewards, that surpass reason, are bestowed—will render an enjoyment that is beyond conception. ^C For the toils of human endeavor, when compared to the blessedness that is there, are small and worthy of no account, even if one were to wear away his whole life in them, or were to show a constant struggle throughout his entire existence. And even if, multiplying this a hundredfold, or twice as much, or three or ten thousand times, one were to extend the time of his life, in which time such a person were to finish the persistent struggles of virtue, nothing will appear to have been striven for in comparison with those expected rewards.

Therefore, by small and lowly toils, let us acquire the insurmountable rewards; let us store up for ourselves the wealth of non-depleting goods. And when I say things small ^D and lowly, I do not mean that we should consider only those things that seem to be such, but also the continuous struggles of the whole of life: the persistent contest of virtue; the toils that are incessantly and fervently expended for its sake. For such are the rewards of the munificent Master; such is the overflowing wealth of His recompenses; such is the superabundance of His philanthropy and goodness, that He exchanges a few things for infinite ones, poverty for riches, and perishable things for eternal goods. For He is in need of nothing of those that are offered, being in need only of the salvation of those who offer them; therefore, the only rich Giver does not incline so much to the quantity of the things offered as to the quality of the intent of those who offer them; He who possesses a compassion that is incomprehensible.

^A He who is the goodness itself, and the sole abundance of all good things; He who has composed this present joy for the sake of the future gladness; He who, through the great things of his own Mother, exalts our humility to Himself; He who, through her wondrous miracles, makes provision for human salvation beyond hope. For this is the end which His entire economy works to achieve. Therefore, we too make our boast in your mysteries, O Theotokos; for the sake of the creation accomplished through them, we offer you constant thanks; for the sake of this, just as we do for the rest, we also assemble this festive gathering in your honor. For this reason, we proclaim the achievements of the Fathers; we glorify the magnificence of their virtue today; we praise their burning love for God; their surpassing endurance; the prayers that were heard; the oracles that heralded our salvation. We honor you, their glorious fruit and that of nature; the root of good things; the bestower of eternal gifts. For this reason, we propose you as mediatrix to the One born of you, while them we set before you today as intercessors. Through them we ask—or rather, through you, for there is no need of intermediaries to approach You, ^B O benign One—that you may preserve for us a perpetual joy in your great works. We ask through you, O God incarnate of you in a manner beyond reason, that you may grant that the beatitude of the future excel this present gladness, that it may provide eternal praises to replace the choirs of this world; that in place of silent songs, you may set the sound of those who feast, a sound that knows no silence, which we may send up to Him in a voice of exultation and confession: for He Himself is continuous joy, exultation, and gladness. And to Him is due honor, glory, and adoration, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ORATION III. A discourse on the Conception and Nativity of our most holy Lady, the Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary.

Today the earth displays a joyful face, ^C brighter with the flashes of grace than heaven itself; it shines with a spiritual clarity more august than the heavens; it prevails in beauty greater than the firmament of the world: for it receives the heaven that is born above, the heaven, I say, that is exceptionally radiant and most spacious; for it presents to the world not the setting sun, but the Sun that knows no setting; a heaven clearly not variegated by visible stars, but by the kindling of spiritual lights. For this is what we commemorate in today's celebrated assembly; this is what has set before us most splendidly a feast of every kind of food; this is what has gathered the present dance; this is what has awakened this discourse and calls everyone to share in its participation. Come, then, being obedient to the clarion call, let no one of those invited abstain from this sweet and universal joy of the world. ^D Let no one be deprived of the common possession of our nature, of the delight and of the boasting; let us all share in the banquet set before us. For in every way...

it is proposed equally, and for the joy of all, and a super-glorified glory is prepared.

^A Now, human nature had already obtained many and great benefits from God; it had been honored with diverse gifts, with which the Author of benefits brought the sharers of his graces into common glory. Yet nowhere, if you compare all together, is it so highly and divinely honored as it is by the magnificent gift of the present. For this reason, nature, forgetting what came before and leaving behind what is ancient, rises up and is exalted by this magnificent glory. For what could be understood as so magnificent among the gifts bestowed by God upon it, that it could deservedly be compared to the present one? What is the bringing of nature out of nothing, compared to taking it up after it had decayed, and reforming it again with a more noble creation? What is the honor of the image, compared to adoption? What is earthly rule and power, compared to that which now reigns together with the Master of all in the heavens? What is the vision shown to the seers of God in dreams and visions and the manifestation of a most delicate breeze, compared to Him who was seen, appearing to us in substance and dwelling among us kindly? ^B What, finally, is the choice of the prophets and the righteous, and what is the glory that came to the race through them, compared to the choosing of the Mother of the God who prefers [us], the glory of our nature, and through her, this magnificent honor having come to us? This is truly that which has been excellently glorified for us. This we must all receive and embrace, rejoice, and adorn with, as far as is possible, praises.

But if some say that such joy and thanksgiving belong to the Master’s appearance, as having been accomplished by all these things, and that this constitutes the end of the mystery and of the gifts bestowed; let those who propose these things know that the present day is the cause of that joy, and the beginning of God’s reconciliation with us, and of the gladness that has shone upon us through her. ^C For just as the pledges accepted for reconciliation are indeed signs of a firm peace, but are the beginning of that joy by which peace affects those reconciled with good things; or as, if a woman from a subject people is betrothed and taken to the royal chamber, it becomes a certain proof to her people both of relationship with the king and of the glory that will come from her; or just as when a palace is inaugurated in private lands, it becomes to the surrounding people an undoubted sign of the presence and dwelling-through of him by whom it is made new, through which he attracts the care of his favor and preservation; so too have these things regarding today occurred, and the approaches to the supernal glory. ^D

ON THE CONCEPTION AND NATIVITY OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS

(12) Supernal glory arguments. The approaches to the highest glory: the term is somewhat obscure; I think it signifies the things of the economy, and those displayed in Christ, which are the approach to the heavenly and supernal glory: which, in any case, the birth of Mary, being previously and closely near to these things, has announced.

^A

The pledge has been brought forth, and the chosen unwedded spouse 15 having been published as royal today, and ^B truly, ^C as ^D the temple of God, at the same time and adorned with that very first publication and conception, with those most ample gifts of grace bestowed upon Mary; and whatever that bestowal of grace possessed relative to the conception itself.

^A And the stability of those things hoped for, through both the royal visitation and the union, has surely come to be shared by us in the gifts. Therefore, the present brightness leads the way for the joy according to the ineffable economy; it leads, not as one not connected to it, or differing in magnitude, but as one that has, as it were, conducted us to the certainty of the whole matter, and in a way familiar and appropriate to us, since through it, which was of our own kin, it has procured for us most perfect joy. Wherefore it is worth the effort that, adding this grace as a prelude and a reconciler of the end, we should crown the celebration of the present day with praises, joyful indeed in appearance, but more joyful in the integrity of the soul; let us leap more merrily; let us rejoice in a spiritual rather than a bodily manner; let us vie with the celestial and divine orders in exultation; let us all exhort every creature to stir itself up in this. ^B Indeed, the choir of angels occupies the discourse that invites us, and today proclaims her with a celebrated announcement, through whom it beheld the end of the mystery. The heavens also occupy it, and honor the heights of that new and supreme firmament. The luminaries run on ahead, and are more joyfully illuminated by those rays which the cloud of the spiritual sun sends forth. The earth is present, uninvited, and is honored and glories in its own sprout. The element of water, dancing with new motions and leaps, assists its own author of sanctification. Since, therefore, all things have thus displayed their own freedom today, I would more appropriately invite our own kindred nature, ^C crying out in this way with a penetrating voice: Come, every age and every dignity; priests alike and emperors, and you who exhibit the heavenly state and manner of life in things below: princes at the same time and subjects, old and young, virgins and mothers, and the barren, and you who are boys in innocence: let us receive this saving day with more intense and more divine joy, and follow it with auspicious omens. For in it was born a cause for boasting appropriate to all; in it sprouted from unfruitful loins the adornment of priests; the strength of the empire; the consummation of those who cultivate virtue; the tranquil composition of order for magistrates and subjects; the prudence of infants; ^D the ornament of virgins; the crown of mothers; [in] a solemnity which makes nothing towards the truth of matrimony. So clearly, that even if the bride was handed over, and no other nuptials followed, when Joseph had discovered her pregnant, it was easy, while he himself held the mystery, for the matter to remain hidden, with all thinking everywhere that she had either been handed over into marriage immediately, or later, or that she had received a husband, either at home or at the house of Zacharias, who himself, if there is any faith in apocryphal accounts, was the principal minister of this whole economy, having been killed on account of it by the Jews, and because he said that Mary was a Virgin after birth, as Basil reports from a certain apocryphal tradition in his sermon *On the Human Generation of Christ*. The author of the book *On the Birth of Mary* says that he was killed on account of John, who had been hidden—which seems more true, and that we might view so great a celebration of the birth of John as being, for that reason, rightly suspected by Herod.

^A of those not having offspring, a blessed and ample offspring; the solution to sterility. From the barren one flourished an abundance of good things: from the just, the most just fruit abounded. ^B But who are these, and of what kind? And may it be granted to me to relate the matters concerning them, not in such a way that I might elevate them with worthy encomiums (for I believe this to be beyond not only our power, but also the power of all), but rather how they were preferred over our nature, and how, having obtained the insurmountable grace, they have appeared as the causes of the great gift to the race. For what sort of demonstration of speech might be elevated together with the greatness of the events, unless one should set about to craft these things toward that which is excluded? For the praisers, taking the deeds and the grace that has come to those being praised from God on account of these things—so that the meditative power in those individuals might be sufficient—strive to raise up the proposed matters toward something more wondrous, or rather to procure glory for them in proportion. Of whom indeed the achievements of the just, the gift beyond understanding proclaims, what display of encomiasts would be sufficient? What paradox of the most paradoxical honors could be found? For what such thing could be conceived in those from the ages, which might guide the praise by analogy? Consider for me the election of all the just and the prophets, and their intimacy with the God who chose them, and you will see ^C the incomparable superiority of Joachim and Anna; you will see their dignity that is greater than thought, held in greater value, and increased with more ample glory. For God the Creator chose them for the restoration of the world that had grown old; from them he takes the mother through whom he willed to provide for a new creation, from their blood, as being most royal in virtues, he dons the royal purple of the human race. This makes them superior to all the just; this is the right beyond worth for them, to have been chosen alone out of all, and to have been brought forth at the fitting time, and to have been taken up for the end of the mystery. See, then, how their affairs escape every comparative assessment. For it is not words, but the matters themselves that are set forth that proclaim this like a sounding trumpet. But it will be advantageous both to the festival itself, and to the revealing of their prerogatives, if we unfold some few things from the history concerning them; for so it would show forth the truth of what is said more clearly. And it is so, as I lead the discourse from the beginning, ^D *In the histories*, he says, *of the twelve tribes of Israel, there was a certain Joachim, very rich.* With an extended encomium, the beginning of the writing is laid down, declaring the greatness of what follows with clearer judgment. But what does "in the histories" mean? *In the genealogies*, he says, *of the twelve tribes of Israel.* Hence, therefore, he shows the unmixed

^A royal lineage descending from ancestors, honored by ancestral and personal noble laws, being distinguished and eminent as he had chosen among the tribes of Israel. Then also, the author, having established wealth as a certain token of his preeminence, speaks also of the most particular aspect of his justice, and how it stood above all his fellow tribesmen at once. For he says, "He offered double gifts to the Lord." Truly he gloried in double wealth. For in that he consecrated double gifts, he was acting so that those of the present and fleeting wealth might be diminished, but those of the everlasting treasure might be multiplied; or is it clear that he did not even allow wealth to remain for the transient, by restricting it day by day to what was sufficient? For the discourse also demonstrates this. For he offered his gifts to the Lord in double, saying to himself: ^B "Let that which is of my abundance be for all the people, and that of my remission for the Lord my God." See the excellence of the justice in the law; observe the evangelical life in the apostles, perfected in these righteous ones; or better to say, over-perfected. "Let that of my abundance be for all the people." Nothing, he says, should be superfluous beyond the necessaries. Let those things which abound beyond necessary use be set before all the people. Let my substance be common to all. O mind and judgment most full of justice! O wealth gathered into inviolable treasuries! Thus did their virtue excel from the very beginning. But a second virtue of theirs, a point of excellence, is also demonstrated from what follows. For after they had restricted their wealth within the bounds of what sufficed, they offered all the things prescribed concerning both the new moons, and the customary offerings, and the sacrifices for remission, and the bodily purifications—out of what remained—to the God of all. "And that of my remission, to the Lord my God." So that not only to the point of sufficiency, but even to the point of their own need, their substance was divided and given away. And the phrase, "Saying to himself," is a thing of certain ^C exceptional virtue; for in addition to the most wise counsel of his mind, it shows the preeminence of the virtue of the one who spoke. For he was doing these things, not looking to others, nor having applied his mind to any examples; but he himself, being the discoverer of the good, was fulfilling it; and he is not led by hand to such a feat by ancient suggestions and legislations, but he himself initiates the work of good things, and becomes a practical legislator to those after him. See how worthily they are preferred before all the righteous. And I say worthily, not with regard to the gift of the mystery (for the magnitude of the benefit surpasses the retribution of works), but insofar as one has compared the men with their own fellow tribesmen. But it is fitting to proceed to what the history has next. For he says ^D that as he was offering the gifts customarily during some bright feast, his fellow tribesmen brought against him the reproach of barrenness. "For it is not permitted you," they say, "to offer your gifts, inasmuch as you have not made seed in Israel." Some of the copies contain, "It is not permitted you for the first time [or: first] to offer." It seems likely, therefore, that the man, as being just and honored with a double nobility,

^A in all other matters, so also in consecrating and dedicating gifts to God, held the primacy: a thing which appeared by no means endurable to the envious. But since there was nothing in his life that they could carp at—for they knew him not only to be irreprehensible and beyond all reproach, but also regarded it as impossible for such a man, in his surpassing excellence, to be caught—they take his childlessness as an occasion to suggest that he does not act according to the law. Yet this was of the highest providence, I say, so that just men remained childless up to that time, and at that moment were stirred to the begetting of offspring through supplication. ^B For the one fact revealed their confidence toward God; since when they asked, the effect of their petitions was not deferred: but the other, at the time shortened for the mystery, contributed to what God in His good will had decreed. The just man, therefore, having received the reproach as if sent away, bears it very heavily; not as though struck by the shameful words, or because he had suffered disgrace in the matter, but fearing lest some transgression of the divine commandments on his part had caused this rejection from God, and had brought it into the open through men. [Omit: Gk repetition bracket] Thus, having already reached the truth of the oracle, he sought to be reconciled through enigmatic manifestations (16), not as if he were seeking the begetting of children—for to that extent was he accurate regarding the establishing of reasons, whether you look to the fulfillment of the law, or to the exploration of the hidden things of the conscience; thus he attributed all his affairs to the divine providence. Therefore he did not contend; he did not offer opposition in words; he did not even take up a defense that he had by no means been prohibited by legitimate rites; being as one who acted irreprehensibly in life and character, and offered gifts appropriate to life: but rather, as soon as he received the rebuke from the reproach cast upon him, he fled to God, the examiner of hidden things, and sought the wilderness as a collaborator for his communion with Him, not having shared his counsel with his wife, who was of one mind and same opinion with him, nor having entrusted the care of external matters to those in his household. Who, even in our own times, has shown such unwavering hope in God, and such contempt for present things, especially in his own circumstances, in which the fulfillment of even the more moderate and prescribed virtues was laborious?

(16) *Through enigmatic manifestations*. The Seventy translate this way, where the Hebrew has *Teraphim*, which Jerome and others render as "images": and they understand this to be the Cherubim overshadowing the ark and the propitiatory, from the midst of which God gave oracles: and as that *Teraphim* region was, so also was the superstition, with idols fashioned to the imitation of such *Teraphim* in particular, whence profane men might themselves catch at divine responses. The most learned Philippaeus may be seen on that verse of Osee where he discusses this matter most accurately. Furthermore, Georgius alludes to that apocryphal story, where it relates that an oracle was consulted by Joachim in the temple, and through legal symbols; where he had already returned from the mountain having received a divine response, he says, ^C Returning on the morrow he offered his gifts and said: "If the Lord is appeased with me, he will show it to me by the priest's plate." And he took note of the priest's plate. Moreover, he also ascended to the altar of the Lord, and he did not see sin in them, and he said: "Now I know that the Lord has blessed me greatly, and has taken away all my sins." And he descended from the mountain justified. These are arguments of a very fearful conscience, and that Joachim entreated not so much the reproach of childlessness, as the sin from which that could be seen to have flowed, which this Georgius rightly states. Whether, however, God had then altogether ceased from such oracles on account of the sins of the Jewish people, as Josephus testifies concerning the brilliance of the rational (Book 3, ch. 9), is a matter for another work and a different leisure. Certainly it should not seem to be denied that, even in the latest times, just as of old, He may have answered some pious and friendly men, among whom Joachim was chief, even if perchance more rarely; since not even of old did He answer everyone, and if any crime made one unworthy of a divine response, as is clear in the case of Saul.

^A Let us now pass by the matters concerning the patriarch Abraham. For it might seem to some that he possessed advantages in both time and the eminence of his justice, as with those of old, and also over the man now proposed to us; yet if anyone wished to weigh these against each other, he would perceive how great is the superiority of those things here set before us. For in that case, both the migration and the land in which he was to dwell were foretold to him; furthermore, the release from the childlessness and barrenness of Sarah was announced beforehand by Him who cannot lie. Holding these promises, he nurtured his hope and solaced his mind through prayer. For what could be seen as more gladdening than a promise of God? But this man, having believed without such a promise in Him who is able to bring about all things that are impossible and to remake nature, and having anchored his hope on His hidden providence, thus manages both his separation from his kin and his persistent communion with Him through intercession. And the former asks for proof of both the possession of the land and the increase of his lineage, and inquires as to in what manner the things promised might be fulfilled; but the latter, just as he had shown an unwavering spirit in his prayer, so also when he had been heard and had received from the angel the good tidings of the birth of offspring, he does not ask how the announced event is to occur, ^B nor does he seek out signs indicating the healing of a weakened nature. For having grasped the announcement as a fulfillment of being purely looked upon by God alone, and after the assurance of the birth, he began to expect them as signs. ^C But the matter of the sacrifice—here called forth for examination as a paradox—must be left aside: how the one acted by command, while this man sacrificed of his own free will; and the one held a monogenitus (only-begotten) properly so-called, whereas the other did so by reason of the promise; and that the former receiving back the victim after having offered it, while this one, having truly consecrated it, offered it as a whole burnt offering, and having given it back, presented it; and the one was a patriarch of tribes and a just man, but this one the father of the Mother of God, and the most righteous Lord of patriarchs. For the effort is better than not only the current comparison, but any comparison at all. You see what advantages those of this just man have surpassed. Truly, even beyond the present case, a greater fact exists. You see how great are the prerogatives and exquisite ornaments that excel in this just man. ^D Behold further his sojourn in the desert, and his perseverance beyond human reason—which we may rightly call an angelic way of life—so that it stands out as something new and strange in the comparison of both deeds and words. For the history of the event says that he persevered for forty days and nights in prayer, fasting, while in the meantime hope in God alone nourished him. For he fasted for forty days and nights, saying: "I will not descend either to partake of food or of drink." This, to some of the more contentious among us, is judged to be strange, and by some even impossible. For the feat surpasses human strength: it is of the Creator of nature alone

^A to maintain it continually, by the choice of the will. The righteous man, presenting this to Him as an unshakeable offering, and rising up with great force against the necessity of the body, receives from that very One the grace to attain to struggles beyond his power and to gifts beyond his hope. For Moses, indeed, is admired for his fasting of equal number of days; and his deeds are surely not without wonder. But if anyone would wish to investigate and weigh the endurance of each, he will discover precisely in this a difference, in the execution of the matter. For the one was held fast by the ordinance of the One who commanded, and by the keeping of the tablets, and by the very expectation of the Lawgiver, things which, through a superior strengthening, lightened both the weariness of the prolonged time and the necessity of nature; but the other, supported by no one else, but strengthened only by a hope in God that does not deceive, ^B undergoes both the solitude and the struggles, and puts forth an intense prayer of this kind. Who would not marvel at this, and deem it superior to every account, as it vanquishes all reason and thought with its magnificence? And if anyone suspects that the things we are saying are stated with exaggeration, let him set before his mind the facts, bare as they are, and investigate whether he has found such great things that no one could possibly equal them in celebration, even if he possessed the most approved faculty of speech; much less that he could raise them with a glory greater than their nature. Such, then, are the matters concerning the righteous man.

The things concerning his spouse and like-minded Anne, however, are as great and marvelous, and are not only not inferior to those of her participant in grace, ^C but even proceed further. For she had to finish double the struggles of endurance. For both the departure and the unknown sojourning of her husband, and the injury brought upon both on account of their childlessness, besieged her; struggling against these, she emerged superior through the aids of hope and faith. Nay, she was also affected by a twofold reproach of this kind: first, indeed, by her fellow-tribesmen; but afterwards, by her servant, which also causes the most grievous rebuke when it is brought forward. For the insults hurled by others do not strike so much as those from one's own kin and household; and this is especially so when those who hurl them are of those set in subjection and are servants. In what manner, then, is the mind of the most noble woman composed? She is not touched by any of these to the point of turning back from her insuperable expectation: ^D but having cast off the world offered to her not quite fittingly, and having taken off her mourning garment, and putting on a clean and bridal one together with a spiritual robe, and having compared the world on both sides, she prepares herself for prayer, clean, and adorned with a double covering, she addresses the most clean God. Nor does she, upon entering the temple, submit her supplication to the God of all, but—

^A seeking a quiet place in the garden, removed from the crowds, she occupied that space as if it were a secure chamber, and there, secretly, she offered her pain. For having meditated upon a prayer conceived in her heart, one requiring much time, she did not bring it to the open view of those who would reproach her. For they would have condemned her for drunkenness, as they had the former Anna, or for nonsensical babbling. For if, when she was propitiating the Divine in a timely manner, they had previously attacked her with mockery, what kind of harsher words would they not have unleashed upon her unprecedented persistence? For this reason, neither she nor the magnanimous Joachim, though they ran to the temple, offered their prayer to God there, thinking that it would be more fittingly and less burdensomely accepted in a state of greater leisure and quiet. ^B But a more appropriate and sure cause is this: that as forerunners and heralds they were, both in the matter itself and in the designation of grace. For Joachim indeed signifies "reposited," while Anna, interpreted, is confirmed as "grace"; through themselves, they weave the description of the Uncircumscribed One within this; withdrawing from the temple, they please the Creator of all things in every place. And let this be the account regarding these matters. ^C But the prayer, how worthy of consideration is that which is proposed by both! For they bring forth all the magnificent works of God, both those which He brought forth from non-existence and those which He miraculously innovated, changing the natures of things. Thus the good deeds of the righteous are brought forward; thus Abraham and Sarah; thus the things concerning Anna and Samuel are brought forward by the righteous pair, who, pursuing things similar to this in the same gratitude, ask for an equal grace for themselves, and with more intense and earnest persistence, they strive not to fall short of that which is appropriate. The prayer which the blessed Anna afterwards poured out in the garden has much that sets it apart from the rest; it made its hearing by God much more effective through the contrition of her soul. ^D For she did not believe that one should make shift with the words and thoughts of supplication, but with the height of humility, she confessed her own worthiness, lamenting it gravely; and, placing herself below all creation, she recounted in speech those things which had attained the blessing of the Creator. For the very compassionate providence of the Creator is by nature inclined to yield to such habits and words—and more so to these than to those offered in the customary way. Therefore, the prudent woman says: "I am more useless than all created things, Lord, since they serve Your command, while I am utterly deprived of such a blessing and grace, unworthy of the fertility of the race; for that is fruitful for You, and indeed it shows by the very fact how far I am from it: I am alien to the fertility of manifold animals; for even they have attained the same blessing. The earth is fruit-bearing, which, according to the reason of Your command, never ceases to bring forth rich fruits. The meadows bear fruit; but also the beautiful ^C sprouts of plants...

^A bring forth a fruit that is timely and most sweet, and by the thanksgiving of those who partake, they offer up the doxology to You. I, being devoid of the grace of these—since I also judge myself unworthy to be numbered among these creatures, which are of Your goodness—confess this of myself. What excellence of humility do these words not reveal? What contrite heart has that soul not surpassed, which brings forth such thoughts? And how would the all-good God not accept such a mind, above every fragrance and offering? How would He not incline toward such a prayer, above every burnt offering, He who delights most in such victims? For, [*Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit*].

Such are the privileges and the recounted deeds of the just. These are the bright characteristics of their virtues, ^B and they have shed forth a noble appearance of soul, more illustrious than those who had shone in any previous age. Indeed, it was fitting that a gift—greater in comparison than any among creatures—should proceed from an excellent election; it was fitting that those pre-sanctified riches should gush forth from an abundant store of virtues; it was fitting that such labors should bring back such a fruit: that from a noble root a most noble sprout should spring; from good loins a most excellent shoot should rise; that always-blooming and flourishing glory of its kind; that most beautiful sprout of nature; that high-born branch of the sacrament, from which the flower of immortality, ascending, breathed forth an eternal sweetness of fragrance: the fruit of which becomes life, and incorruption, and perseverance to those who partake in it.

^C But the prayer of the just, borne upward by such labors and words, receives its end from the divine response in the case of both. For the angels, appearing, announced both that the prayers were heard and the coming event of an unexpected birth. The angels bring the auspicious announcements of the conception of her who was more noble than the angels themselves; the angels proclaim the loosing of sterility, and through it, they preach that the middle wall of sin is to be broken down. The angels give a prologue to the unexpected conception of her who produced the supernatural and ineffable conception. The angels run ahead of the birth through which the pains of the first mother ceased. ^D Her procession surpasses expectation, for it is a new and unusual generation. From an unhoped-for harvest comes a fruit-bearing greater than thought. The lack of sterility declares the innovation of nature, and the very novelty of the issuing forth of the offspring to be produced makes an argument for a most new sacrament. In her own case, the wondrous birth receives its certain tokens. In the miracle of the parents, one learns the more mysterious arcanum. For this is the anterior proclamation of that one; and by its own fulfillment, it presaged the certain event of that which was preached. Here, a barren woman, rejected by the proprieties of nature; there, a Virgin, fortified by inviolable chastity. Here, a long-lasting bond; there, an immortal and legitimate manner. Here, the fruit of merits and prayers; there, on account of the greater virtue in comparison,

for its incomparable virtue and exceeding purity, an ineffable ^A renewal of conception is brought about. Here, the angel is the herald of the redemption of childbirth; there, the archangel is the joyous messenger of the supernatural conception.

Furthermore, the promise of the present good tidings proclaimed that which concerns her more clearly. For your birth, says the messenger angel, shall be proclaimed to all. It shall be proclaimed and preached; not on earth alone, but also in the heavens; it shall resound not only in human ears, but also in the divine senses, as to what those great things are that shall be proclaimed concerning this birth. And observe how David foretold these things; how he proclaimed the outcome of things to come as though it had already happened, marking the infallible truth of the events future in the time long past. For: "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God." ^B Glorious beyond all glory that is recounted. Glorious to the highest powers; priced and desired by fellow humans; longed for by the patriarchs; revered by the forefathers; inscribed and searched for by the prophets. Because of these things, all creation rejoices; angelic hosts rejoice with them; the whole cosmos is adorned by them; through them today the generation of earth-born creatures exults, glorifying these things, and leads the pre-festal assembly of the greatest salvation; it embraces this day, through which it has attained the most perfect exultation. For this nativity announced her own regeneration beforehand. This proclaimed the recall from error and the restoration of old age once again. This signaled that the infertility of our ignorance would be transformed into the fruitfulness of the knowledge of God. This made the paths to grace accessible for her; this opened the gates of salvation; this was set forth for reconciliation; this was taken up for mediation. Because of this, we who are partakers of the same race now have boldness; because of this, we have shared in a more intimate position; because of the wedding chamber that was brought forth, we were accounted worthy of the royal bride-chamber; because of the heaven that was brought forth, now more brilliant and more spacious, we inscribed for ourselves the heavenly conduct; through the kindred blessing, we enjoy the evangelical joy.

But, O you who are the cause of present and future joy! O you who are the dignity of boldness and honor! May you, for the feast of your own celebrations, ^D repay us with the highest banquet; may you, for our eagerness regarding such things, return with great gifts. Adorn the present assembly with both sensible and spiritual joy; compose the chorus gathered together by God; sound within it a harmonious melody, even that of the exultation of those who feast in the heavens; look into the mind of each one; search out the burning of their desire, and show it gently to Him who searches the secrets of the conscience; offer that affection to Him who sees hidden things openly. He indeed sees, as the one who knows all invisible things, and also those things which are praised in you,

the longing ^A of those who sing hymns. He wills, and that most kindly, that these things also be offered and fulfilled through maternal intercessions. For this, which is yours and ours towards Him, is an ornament to you; and this is a token of His philanthropy which has come about through you. Supported by the hopes of this, we despise our own lowliness, forgetting our humble and earthy way of life; from here, we are eager to lift ourselves up from the earth and hasten towards heaven. From here, we gain the unerring hopes of the blessings laid up for us; from here, the expectations of eternal things. For this reason, we who celebrate this noble and divine feast with kindness, send up our thanksgiving to Him who provided all things for His own glory—as the One who knows all things that are unseen—and to Him who is, for His own sake, both a maternal boast and a saving ornament for His subjects, even Christ, the cause and bestower of good things; for to Him is due honor, and adoration, and doxology, with the Father, and with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ORATION IV.

1. It is indeed sweet to recount in speech the name of this present solemnity. But it is sweeter to unravel its reasons; and, by unfolding them repeatedly and explaining them with pleasure, we are refreshed by a new increase of sweetness, and are steeped in a more splendid and truly ampler delight. For when we linger on words in the treatment of such a subject, the sweetness is increased by the repetition of the discourse; and just as any fragrant germs that grow, although they have fragrance by themselves, yet when handled and pressed, exhale a more pleasant and fragrant odor, so too this celebrated solemnity, filled with the scent of the grace of ointments, brings with it a most pleasant and unfeigned sweetness; yet when celebrated by proclamation, and commended by favorable acclamations, and handled as it were by words, it exhales and pours forth its fragrance even more, and the scented ointments of knowledge never vanish, but for those by whom its notion is more deeply perceived, they exhale a more abundant odor of sweetness. Since, therefore, this sweet spiritual pleasure receives a greater increase by the constant meditation and repeated explanation of the matter ^B, and the mind is delighted thereby, it is fitting to have a discourse on this very solemnity with a much sharper study and more laborious treatment, so that we may be abundantly satisfied by the sweetness exhaling from it. But so that we may be able to attain that which we lack, may the breath of the divine, fragrant scent inspire us; for the wealth of these good things is inexhaustible, nor do we reject the demonstration of those things which were done after the divine oracle was returned to those just ones, Joachim and Anna. For having carried the sermon up to that point, and having gathered an abundant supply through it, we had put off our insatiable desire with a moderate composition; but now, after setting that aside, it is necessary to approach the treasure itself, and to set forth to those who have gathered the most pleasant part of the tradition.

II. When, therefore, the most holy Joachim and Anna had received the promise of such a kind, brought by the voice of the herald, not at all hesitant, but with a most constant mind, just as if the thing had already been completed, they had accepted it with joy; immediately he, indeed, prepares prayers, stations, invoked vows, holocausts of propitiation, and acceptable sacrifices. She herself, however, promises that she would offer to God the gift ^C obtained by her prayers, and would consecrate it with a more sacred holocaust. O the faith of the just! O the most proven hope, which surpasses the powers of related nature! O matter comparable to nothing, and left to the free judgment of those who hold the true and genuine eminence of them as proven! For the just, when they have faith, do not otherwise stand in need of signs. Indeed, Joachim did not even seek to merit signs, feeling most certainly, as if he had already received it, that a child would be his.

III. Anna, however, holds the promised child, both in words and in reality, as if she were already present, and...

confirms, with the most certain pledge of a vow, her intention to render back that very thing which was to be had beforehand; she declares that it shall be entirely so. For if my offspring, she says, be a male, or if it be a female that I shall bear, this very thing, as it shall be, I will dedicate to the Lord my God and consecrate to His temple. And whom of the ancients, O blessed Anna, didst thou perceive to have made a similar vow? And when hast thou seen a woman dedicated in that sacred place? In what manner dost thou associate a woman, who is incompatible with that most holy assembly of men? And what is this fervent and kindled faith, by which thou attemptest unheard-of deeds with thy proclaimed vows? Who has foretold such new institutions? Who has instilled the senses of such a mind into thy soul? No man, she says; nor did any mother of the elders, by receiving examples, urge me to the admiration of sending forth this vow; but from Him who delivers from barrenness, the Author, and from Him who perfects the desires of men beyond all hope, considering that this will be, I send forth this certain and constant voice of faith. IV. Behold the expressed signs of the prophecy: behold the arguments of a sincere mind and of a hope that does not waver. Not only does the event of future things not require signs, but it also rejoices and prophesies, and hence shines with the prophetic gift.

Hence she perceives the beginnings of the hidden sacrament; hence the beauty of all mortals flourishes. Hence the mother of the Mother of God is produced—of her, I say, who gave birth incorruptly, who conceived beyond what she could hope, who was a peculiar and foreign ornament of nature, the genuine glorification of all; the daughter of cognate nature, and the mother, daughter, and queen above nature; the girl, and more sublime than every creature; ever-virgin, and mother of a child; knowing no man, and yet most fruitful; and, let it be said without flattery, she who truly surpasses the purity of the incorporeal virtues.

Anna, through her constant faith, merits to become her mother; and thus, through the manifold seeds of virtues, she produces the fruit of incorruption; thus she receives the glorious events of a dark anticipation, and sees the promises of words to be completed in the thing itself. For those hopes which are placed in God are most certainly not frustrated of their desired end: which, indeed, as they obtain it after the event, so they most certainly expect it before, etc.

ORATION V

By George the monk and Chartophylax of the Great Church, Encomium on the Presentation of the most holy Theotokos in the temple, and on her consecration to God according to the history.

The signal of the present feast is bright; therefore it urges the assembly gathered at this celebration toward the infinite light. The proof of the present words is brilliant, and promises that we may enjoy the subjects full of glory. For behold, the festival of the Virgin, having shone upon us, has intellectually guided our understanding toward itself; and, having cleared the mind like a stable spring, it has brought the winter of silence into a tranquility opportune for speaking. But come, eagerly, guided by the rays of this feast, let us direct our speech, stretched taut, toward her.

^A And whatever power each of us possesses, let us crown her with such. For although we all fall short of what is fitting, let us at least strive to have an abundance of zeal, and by the intensity of our resolve, strive to outdo one another. For what speech could attain even the slightest part of her worth? Or what imagination could boast of even approaching her, let alone attempting to comprehend her fully? Thus, the praises of the Virgin have soared beyond the entire power of words, and for this reason, they have placed their boundaries behind all praise. I myself, therefore, gentlemen, before being captured by the passion of desire, used to judge the crime of those who dared to attempt this as serious; for it seemed like madness to touch upon things beyond one’s strength, and for which words have received something beyond words. But since I was tyrannized by the leading affection, I became a suppliant with them for pardon, having learned by experience of the passion that it is unpardonable. Therefore, if any of you should try to introduce accusations of arrogance, let him judge the matter at hand not as a display of bold audacity, but as an overflow of desire. For a strong dominance of this ^B led to the daring audacity of the many, I myself having been led by them, a beggar with them for pardon. For its intense prevalence made one ready to dare the greatest things, with faith leading the way and hope lifting us up toward them. For the speeches are not brought forward for the sake of the glory of those who are praised, but for the sake of the piety of those who speak. Whence it seems to me very safe, that God, who by nature lacks nothing and is Himself glory and the magnificence of those who are praised, permits Himself as a subject for praise to those who wish it, receiving no increase of His own glory from it, but desiring all the more the zeal of those who offer it. Having established these things in this manner, come, let us now launch into the festive speeches of the present day; and let us dedicate our labor to those things about which we have begun to speak. ^C For truly, what such power of art could appropriately treat the present argument, so that it might execute what is consistent for each order? What comparison, when set forth, could represent a likeness for that to which nothing equal has appeared since the world began? For since those who treat such subjects hunt for an abundance of words by bringing into comparison equal things with similar ones, or by opposing greater things to lesser ones, for this reason the examination of what is invented becomes very easy for them, and they possess the judgment of the truths of what is said. But for that which has surpassed the boundaries of nature, the laws of praise are unable to comply. Let no one, therefore, attempt to subject those things that surpass the reason of nature, and whatever consequences accompany it, to the same standards. ^D For those things produce no corresponding communion with one another, showing a great distance between both. Hence, therefore, the excellent superiority of the argument appears to me difficult to grasp, and it is impossible for the explanation of the things proposed to us to be directed toward similarities by any rules. But although this subject matter entirely surpasses the sequence of things, we must not, however, allow it to escape us, lest at some point, frustrated in our desire, we be deprived of piety along with it.

^A For since the venom of the serpent, breaking in from above and lurking within, was consuming the human race; and since it was always feeding upon individuals, and was no longer being cut off from its pasture, nor was any immediate remedy shown to wipe it away—but rather, like some festering wound, it was infiltrating them all, it was corrupting those who were coming to be. The Creator, wishing to remove this, and to demonstrate both His own power and the healing of the wounded one, contrives to raise up the fallen one against the one who struck him, and to hand over the trophies of victory to him; from this, a brilliant trophy is displayed, and the defeat of the destroyer is made manifest. ^B This could not be brought about in any other way than by the Physician assuming the nature of the patient, and by such a gentle guise drawing to Himself that which was corrupted, so that by creating a habitual presence, He might strike unexpectedly; and thus, the cause of the disease losing all its power, its cure might be more easily achieved. But when these things had been thus arranged, it was necessary that the healing should spring forth from the same root from which the evil had originally sprung, and that it should be driven out by the same path through which it had entered into the human race. And this was the levity of woman, which, having insecurely opened the entrance, had brought ruin alike upon herself, her husband, and their descendants; and so, this is what is accomplished. ^C But since I have drawn near to the subject, I am held back in my discourse by the helplessness of the matter, and I am astonished in my mind at the magnitude of the miracle, seeing a strange and paradoxical mystery being fulfilled on earth, and that which had been promised ineffably before all ages is now receiving its fulfillment as salvation. This is clearly the privilege of the parents of the Virgin: these are the beginnings that surpass the full extent of words. My mind, turning its attention to this—unless its effect is too weak—has gone beyond its own bounds. For consider, whoever you are who examine these things, how great a miracle has shone forth from thence. By the sole benignity of the Creator, we were produced from nothing: we were commanded to cultivate Paradise with good works: we foolishly rejected the commandment, and by our own will we drew death upon ourselves. ^D The Creator promised freedom; and the matter was destined to happen, and time was seeking those who were suitable. Generations were passing by; continuous prophecies were being cast; the hopes of the patriarchs and of all the just were deposited in these things. Abraham had passed, and his descendants, having learned in symbols the mysteries of that day, were yearning in their souls for the event of the future thing. Moses, that admirable man, looking into the figures of the mystery and perceiving the truth, kept thinking that it was about to be fulfilled in himself and in his own age: there was hope in the desert; expectation among the leaders of the people who were judges; Samuel was receiving a response; David, while proclaiming that the day was near, was pushing it further away; the choir of the prophets was proclaiming clearly, and announcing that Christ was at the doors. But all of them passed away frustrated of their hope, because, in truth, time was failing along with those who were worthy of it. Moreover, He found those suitable for Him who were born of the same ancestors (20), and to that end from the Author of all things…

^A they were made ready—I mean Joachim and Anna, who brought to birth the reason for the end of the promised things. These laid the foundations of the prophecies as an introduction; these caused the root of the things expected to sprout; these fixed the foundation of the things promised. From them the treasury of healing for us was prepared; from them the author of gladness has arisen; from them the pledges of joy have been prepared. These, then, by reason of their surpassing virtue, become known to the Creator above all others, although they were foreseen and appointed for the ministry of divine mysteries. Wherefore, having walked in every path of the commandments, they arrived at the peak of perfection, and alone attained what for many from ages past had been highly desired. For even though they partook of the common human nature, they carried away a unique glory. For those by whom the greatest deeds are accomplished receive greater glory than those for whose sake they are accomplished, and this is so much the more [true] as the necessity of the deed is shown to be greater. Here, however, nothing could be considered more akin or closely related to those things which were taken up for the working of miracles. For the Word, building for Himself a tabernacle from their substance, took from it—in a manner above understanding—the portion of human nature, managing a deed and a thought that were entirely strange.

^B Thus, in this way, these excellent deeds were proclaimed by means of [the condition of] childlessness; and by the ailment of barrenness, the hidden augmentations of their virtue were made public. For since the legitimate customs of the Law determined piety by the number of one’s offspring, and considered the fruitfulness of nature to be an unfailing proof of a blessing, they judged from that factor alone the acceptability of the sacrifices for propitiation. I think it was not without reason, nor inconsistent with the coarseness of mind of those who lived before, that they prophesied thus. For since the people of that age were more prone to bodily things, covering the goods of the soul with the growth of the flesh—and being strangers to the abundant ^C gifts of the Spirit—they conjectured that victims and vows were accepted based on these [bodily factors]. Therefore, those who served the shadow and held to this custom did not accept the gifts offered by these righteous ones, because they lacked offspring, thinking it unlawful to unsettle the stability of the laws in these matters, as it had been kept until that time.

But it is likely that some will try to raise a question for us from this. For if the parents of the most pure Virgin were chosen for this specific purpose, how were the gifts of procreation withheld from them until that time, and why did they spend the greatest part of their lives without children? This, together with the manifestation of the ^D mystery—it seems to conform to what has been said by George while explaining the history of holy Mary, as I was just saying; and in some respects it makes the conjecture of Leo Allatius, and those of the codices that attribute it to him, suspicious to me, for I know the facility of antiquarians in prefixing or expanding titles and attributing treatises of the same subject to one certain and more famous author. But whether this oration is by our George or someone else, it is certainly brilliant and eloquent, and worthy to be made public property and proposed like the others by George to those who praise the conception of Mary, so that they may learn not only how to ply the pen, but also in what they ought to ply it, as I have often advised.

^A it was ordained to begin, and from them she who was to minister to this mystery was to have her procession. For if they had fulfilled the things that seemed at that time to be required by the Law without failing; if they had garnered an abundant swarm of virtues, and yet offered more abundant fruits than those by which the men of that age judged what was perfect, how then were they frustrated in that by which they were to obtain the end? How, in that which contained the predictions, did they—laboring under the defect of sterility—have an impediment? And how, from those whom the Word was hastening to take up the common nature, did the beginnings not appear superabundant? That, however, shall be seen by us to be a truthful defense: namely, that the Steward of things to come and Creator of all things, whenever He wishes to manage any of His hidden mysteries, does not begin the origin of future things through the increase and abundance of nature, but works out what is to be by the abundance of power and the insufficiency of things. ^B And indeed, this is most proper to God. It is not most wonderful in the order of nature. Thus, when He promised to Abraham that the procession of his seed would be likened to the multitude of the stars and the sand of the sea, He did not bring this to pass by the fertility of nature, but through symbols of weakness, and He fulfilled the promise by His own power. In this way He brought forth Samuel. Thus He sent John as a herald of the economy. And thus, if one examines them, one would perceive that most of the things that have come to us miraculously did not happen in the way that seemed likely to the majority, but as was fitting for the Author. ^C But to me, the solution does not stop even at these points; rather, another thing arises which is not improbable to add. And what is this? Their piety would not have been made known to the men of that age; their closeness to God, confirmed by prayer, would not have repelled the contentious speech of doubting men. Now, however, being placed in that necessity, they immediately showed that they held a closeness with God in other matters as well, because the event made clear what was obscure. Since, therefore, the righteous had set prayer in motion, they did not doubt that they would be granted their petition. They did not judge such things by their own reasoning, as if to say: "If the Knower of hidden things knew that the production of offspring would end in good, He would not have closed the doors of their nature; He would not have condemned our life to sterility." Therefore, they exhorted one another to look upon Abraham, and Sarah, and Anna, and urged one another to receive the result of prayer with them. "They are set before us," he says, "as a fine example, so that we may offer our prayer without doubting. Sarah’s sterility, changed into fruitfulness, is a fine proof. Her stature, bent by old age and converted into the operation of vigorous limbs, is a fine sign. Let us look to Anna, the wife of Elkanah,* who cast off an identical defect through prayer. Let us learn the persistence of her prayer, and the fervor of her mind. Let us know how also..."

*(Note: The text reads "in Cana", reflecting an OCR error for "Elcana", which is also reflected in the Latin column's "in Elcanæ Annam".)*

vor of her mind. Let us know how also, though she was accused on the same grounds as we are, she nevertheless did not cease from prayer. Let us imitate her. Let us be eager to follow in her footsteps. She guides us to the petition of things hoped for, and by those things which she has wrought, she promises the attainment of the petition. ^A This is the counsel, therefore, that the righteous brought into action, wherefore the words of prayer were thus chanted by them: "You, O Lord," they say, "who promised the Patriarch that his seed would be multiplied beyond the number of the sand of the sea, did not fulfill this promise by the production of many offspring, but by the birth of one; you distributed the promised land into the inheritance not of many, but of this one. You turned the infecundity of Sarah into the fecundity of offspring. You strengthened her relaxed limbs, that they might serve your commandment. You changed her incredulity into faith, and you caused the movements of a hesitating mind to yield to an unhesitating resolve. We do not laugh, as she did, but we supplicate, as did Anna. We are not of doubtful mind in prayer; but we are certain of the outcome. You have wrought wonders for our fathers. You blessed Jacob, and you gave him the name of Israel, thereby implying his perspicacity of mind. You provided for his seed the journey into Egypt and their preservation. You did not permit the cruelty of the Egyptians to crush your people. You punished the unbelieving with intolerable plagues, so that your benevolence might be made manifest and their hardness revealed. You discovered a new path in the sea. You renewed the powers of the elements. You converted the flowing nature into a hard substance, and you led your people over with dry footsteps. You rained down abundant food for them in the wilderness, and you nourished the hungry to the point of satiety. You caused the hard ^B rock to gush forth water, and you gave drink to the thirsty people. Looking upon this, we do not suppress our prayers with doubt, but we stretch out the hope of our soul with sincerity. For since you, O Lord, are effective in producing those things which could not be produced, will you not be a helper, according to your clemency, in those things which are of human capacity according to the primordial nature? If you intermingled those things that were distant by a whole genus in communion, why will you not turn back to that which is their own those things that are united by nature, though they have become weak? If you produced nature from nothing, why will you not, as Lord, restore it when it is not in a good state? It is your work, O Lord; it is your deed, which no one else besides you can perform. By your power, the greatest things are accomplished as a prodigy. By your command, rivers turn back and flow in the opposite direction. By your word, the sun restrains its course and draws back. By your nod, the multigenerous species of brute creatures remain fecund for succession. ^C All things yield to your ordination, and nothing resists your commandment. You also gifted that same Anna, who was struggling with the same disease of childlessness, with many children, and you made her who had many children to be without children. We too, O Lord, are afflicted with reproach, not brought forth by one cohabiting woman only, but by the whole tribe [of]

^A of all that is tragedy-struck. Thou art able to lift this away; thou art able to render the barrenness of nature fruitful. Wherefore, having simply fixed our mind on thee for this, we do not turn aside in any other way until we might behold the end of our requests; for we know that thou dost not delay, who in other things hast quickly anticipated our petitions.

This is the prayer of the just, demonstrating the sincerity of their faith; and, by those means through which it was delivered, it manifests the approved character in others. This is a certain mark of that piety which they cultivated in secret. For indeed the progression of words reveals the disposition from which it emanated. For those things which were hidden within, not being revealed as matters, when the words are brought forward as symbols of these things, they become established; and the mind brings forth the word. But the word proclaims the passions of the soul. And it makes clear things that were obscure, and sets forth the principles of actions. ^B Thus, therefore, the prayer of the just was brought to completion as a work. Wherefore, they are informed of the future event by an oracle. O amazing attainment! O prayer that crossed the heavens and flew up to the very throne of glory! O reports by which their magnitude was praised, which are greater than report! And when the mother, having received what was announced as if it were present, promises to consecrate to God the offspring that is to be born, and to offer her in the temple: What is this, O Anna, that I might say to her? Why do you run ahead of the progression of the future? Why do you anticipate with alacrity of spirit what is being proclaimed? Why do you promise to offer to God what is not yet born as if it were held in your hands? It was fitting, having awaited the time of childbirth, to offer the gift to the One who gave it to her. It was fitting, while observing the end of that which was obscure, not to fail in the promises by such a proclamation. ^C O the faith of the just! O the token of a magnanimous Mother! She did not debate the future; she did not delay by hesitation what had been announced; she did not consider her own nature—unsuited until that time—nor did she become moved to contradiction by the difficulty of an unaccustomed thing; nor did she cast her soul into anxiety by the impossibility of the matter. She did not fall into doubt, reasoning within herself as is the custom for others: Might the oracle deliver these things to deception? Would a long-standing barrenness meet the promises? Did the one who appeared come to bring tidings to soothe? Behold, the time of life has withered away. Behold, the most flourishing vigor has faded with time. Behold, the strongest part of the limbs tends toward weakness. The greatest part of life has run its course. The time in which one might willingly rejoice ^D and exult in children flees away. What does the desirable joy of having children bring in the first years, if one hopes for the fruits in advanced old age? Why do I linger over the prayer and the promise? Anna allowed nothing of this sort to fall into her reasoning; rather, as soon as she had prayed, and had received the announcement of success from the one who appeared, as if she already held the awaited offspring, she hastened with vehement alacrity to offer this to the temple. What speech would suffice to praise that faith of hers, through which she became possessed of her vow? Through which her mind doubted nothing [index: entries preserved]

That which was achieved was truly faith ^A unchangeable, through which all the prophets were persuaded of things about to come as if they were present; for which reason the divine Paul, defining it, says: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." For since that which is hoped for seems to be among those things that do not exist, not subsisting in itself, nor appearing at the time of need, and bringing a doubtful outcome by its obscurity, and tending rather toward the obscure, therefore he shows that firm and unchangeable faith has the rationale of substance, so that it makes the existence of things placed in hope to subsist, and inserts itself in practice into those who hope. "Evidence of things not seen," he says, represents a thing once expected by faith, and in the process of time brought into work, as an argument and proof, the true outcome of things. Thus, the mystery of the Word, surpassing the mind, once preached, then expected by faith, and declared long afterward, this faith demonstrated as its fulfillment, as an argument and as it were a proof. ^B Therefore, having laid hold of this, the righteous did not fall away from their hope and their petitions; for which reason they also give birth to the immaculate one, the author of our regeneration; the cause of our reformation; through whom the image of God, which was corrupted in us, returned to its own comeliness; through whom, casting off the tunics of sin, we have put on the garment of light. She is that acclamation of the prophets, the fulfillment of the divine oracles, the head of our salvation. O happy offspring of parents! O birth, by which goods surpassing all power of the intellect were acquired for those who brought her forth! Among humans, indeed, for whoever happens to become a parent, if the offspring born should be either remarkable for worldly splendor, or should shine with the light of virtues, or should be seen to have performed some strenuous deed of great fortitude, no small honor accrues to him ^C from this, since he enters into a partnership of glory by communion of nature: but in these parents, what glory so excellent could be imagined, the prerogatives of which they have not attained? But why is there need to become tiresome to the listeners with a longer discourse? For just as she whom they brought forth received the supreme apex of glory, the Creator alone excepted, so they too obtained an incomparable glory beyond all parents. The divine girl having thus been brought forth by birth, Anna called together her friends and companions, and said: "Come, rejoice with my childbearing. Come, be glad at the birth of my offspring. Come, see her who nurses beyond expectation. Come, behold the rod that has sprung up from unfruitful loins, and consider that the barren woman has borne in her womb. Come, learn well the fruit of your ^D reproaches, and contemplate the work of prayer. Run together with alacrity, and prepare the way for her arrival at the temple. Adorn the streets; for her entrance...

^A be radiant with lights; start the procession with joy, sing nuptial songs, and offer the maiden to the temple as a pure bride. Fulfill with me the vows made to the Lord. Join with me in offering thanksgiving, because the Lord has taken away the reproach from my house; because my hopes have not been in vain. Behold, the petitions have reached their fulfillment. Behold, the promises have attained their end. Behold, the child I bore, according to my vow, I dedicate in the house of God. Come, enter with her, and as an acceptable gift, let us offer her together to the Lord.” Thus, then, was the mother urged on by the force of her zeal to fulfill her vow; but the time of infancy held her back, not through the pretense of immediately depriving the parents of her, but because it required waiting for the appropriate age. For this reason, they offer her to the temple at three years old: a truly precious offering, ^B and venerable even to the angels; the supreme and most pure treasure, in which the riches of grace were deposited; in which the wealth of the economy was ineffably stored; in which the pledges of our salvation were kept. The vessel, I say, the undefiled; the light-receiving space, from which rays of salvation shone upon the whole world. For it was fitting that the spotless infant should prefigure the threefold number in herself, through whom the power of the Trinity was made known to those in the world; in whom the contract of the Father’s good pleasure was celebrated; in whom the Word, dwelling, put on our nature; in whom the Spirit, tabernacling, showed forth the indivisible Trinity; through whom the world, ^C divided in three (22), was harmonized into the one worship of God; through whom its divider perished with a sound.

Today the living temple is led into the temple; a temple, I say, higher than the heavens, and wider than all creation. Today she is settled in the temple who brought back the human race—exiles—to their own home through Him whom she begat. Today the spiritual tabernacle brings the auspicious tidings of grace to the legal order, and bids the letter yield to the spirit. Today the spotless lamb is offered in the temple as an acceptable sacrifice, from whom went forth the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. Today that blameless dove, flying into the inner sanctum of the temple, ^D avoided the hunter of wickedness, having become higher than his devices. Today the vessel of the Spirit, placed in the temple, is made ready for the reception of the Word. For it was not fitting that that most pure tabernacle should reside amidst the defilements of the world, but, having been transferred to an irreproachable place, it should there be the first to receive the foretastes of joy: that it might there, I say, obtain the earnest of blessing; that it might there, supplied by the hand of an angel, be nourished with the symbol of the mystery.

^A It was necessary that the treasure, which was to remain unstained by the contagion of human habits, should be kept pure. It was necessary that the sanctuary, which was to remain transparent, should be kept free from all communion with sin. It was necessary that those holy ears should be saved, inaccessible to deceitful words, in which the voice of the archangel was about to resound with joy, to banish the sad mourning from the ears of Eve. Thus was the most sacred offering dedicated to the temple! Thus is the most spotless lamb brought to the Creator to be offered, beyond any other sacrifice, not by the shedding of blood, but by its own surpassing purity. Let us also strive to enter—bringing deeds worthy of such an entry, and, in place of a garment, clothed in the varied habit of the virtues—so that we may penetrate within with her, that, having attained this entry without hindrance, we may mystically delight in its secrets, in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom it is fitting that glory, power, honor, and adoration ^B be rendered to the Father and the Holy Spirit, unto ages of ages. Amen.

ORATIO VI. The Oration of George, Metropolitan of Nicomedia, on the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Mother of God.

This present festival presents us with beginnings of arguments; it has prepared beautiful paths for our approach; it has supplied a beautiful base for our ascents, which now leads the discourse of this day toward itself. Therefore, lifting this discourse on high, it leads it by grace to the heights of panegyric; and, step by step changing its footing, it translates the praise from glory to glory. But since it is impossible for it to attain such a height of things—for it cannot be that one who has emerged only a little ^C from the earthly deep should rise up to any degree matching the loftiness of the subject—come then, let us also, working together with it, cast off the burden of the flesh, and with the wing of the mind let us rise to coincide with this festival; and let us willingly accompany the most pure one, who hastens to advance within the inner sanctum, and, gathering ourselves from profane error, let us ascend to the vestibule of the discourse that follows.

For the beauty of flowery meadows does not create such a desire for entry in those who walk around outside as does the sweetly-breathing garden of the Virgin's praises, which offers its most desirable entry to those who wish for it. ^D For indeed, this meadow surpasses all meadows in sweetness and variety, and imparts incorruption to those who gather its flowers. It does not smile with vernal blossoms, whose beauty, while it delights, easily withers; but, breathing the sweet fragrance of grace, it imbues the sense with a divine ointment and ravishes the soul toward itself with the sweetest hearing. For in those others, indeed, the sense turns toward satiety, for they do not so much [attract those who encounter them next...]

as the ones that follow, where the fragrance of those that have gone before still remains, while for those that come after, a greater desire arises. And there, indeed, the sight has a beauty that fades with time; here, however, the comeliness brings an everlasting delight to the soul. ^A And just as those who happen to enter the vestibules of royal palaces conjecture the inner arrangement from the outside, and what they have not discerned by sense, they infer with the mind and surpass, so too, it is shown, the same thing happens at the propylaea of encomia. In all things, I suppose, and not least in these, it shall be judged. For the preludes are raised to a height; and from them a brilliant adornment of the subject appears, having most numerous developments, excelling in glory and beauty.

We are therefore tasked with lifting our eyes a little toward the entrance and gazing upon the hidden comeliness as far as is possible; for it is impossible to recount all its radiance. Come then, let us proceed in our discourse to the interior, having the Queen herself leading the way as our guide. But now I see the festival being struck by an infinite light, and I am illuminated in my mind, and it comes to me to leap for joy, and I imagine the things now being accomplished to be great, and I observe the angels dancing in chorus, and all things to be strange and worthy of the order and beauty of heaven. Hence it seems to me that the grace of the one being praised comes into our midst and fills the whole assembly with joy, bestowing gifts abundantly. Therefore, applying our minds in the hope of these things, let us all enter together, with each bringing what is owed: the speaker, his words; the hearer, a prudent ear; the minister, the fulfillment of what has been commanded, ^B and everything else whose necessary payment the entrance demands. Let the words therefore lead the way, gathering what follows unto themselves.

Now, indeed, the parents of the Virgin were offering her at the doors of the temple, with angels circling about as guards and all the supramundane powers rejoicing with them. For even if they were ignorant of the ineffable manner of the mystery, yet as servants, at the command of the Master, they ministered to her procession. And first, indeed, they observed her, seeing, as being spiritual natures, that she was a precious vessel of virtues, bearing symbols of incorrupt purity and having a body separated from the admixture of passions; then, not disobeying the command, they fulfilled the service. ^C Then truly, torches of light illuminated the entrance, and all things contained within the temple were turned toward feasting, with even the inanimate things, I think, exulting with the angels in common joy. Wherefore it falls to me also to dance in chorus with them, and as if I were present then, to let out a great voice and cry out to the temple: She is already entering; and it shall be fittingly said: Dilate thy habitations, ^D as it is said, so that thou mayest receive...

^A the one who is broader than the visible and invisible creation, and who was seen; in whom the Incomprehensible, becoming comprehensible, shall narrow the breadth of wickedness into the most confined space. Kindle the lamp of light, and brighten the entrances; lift up ^A a lofty torch as a signal, and direct the world toward thee, that it may behold the shining cloud; that it may become a participant in the rays of this same cloud; that it may behold the fountain of light gushing forth from her. Open thy gates, and bring in the intellectual gate, which ^A the Word of God alone, having passed through, kept sealed, as He knows how. For even if she has accepted the name of a gate, the Virgin yet maintained the use of it, and fulfilled indeed the ministry of the fact, but did not break the seals of incorruption. Hold back ^B the veil, that thou mayest receive within the living veil of the Word, which hid the divinity within itself, and, not being consumed by this fire, [hid] the material substance. Receive the lampstand gilded in the spirit, whose small lamp illuminates the ends of the earth; through which the seven gifts of the Spirit were kindled, and enlightened the terrestrial world. Receive the life-bearing table, on which the Bread of our life, being set forth, feasted those who partook of it with ambrosia; from which the mixing bowls of wisdom pour out the unclouded and purest draught of knowledge. Adorn the Holy of Holies, and receive the all-holy tabernacle, which is capable of receiving the immaterial substance; which raised up for us the tabernacle that had fallen; which rebuilt the tabernacle of the forefather David that had been taken away; through which our limbs, dissolved by transgression, were joined back to their original wholeness. Receive the all-golden censer, in which the Word, having ignited the flesh, filled the whole world with the fragrance of sweet odor; in which the crimes of disobedience were burned; by which the air is delivered from the unpleasantness of pollutions; by which in turn ^C the sweetness of the Spirit breathed upon the human race. Bring in the ark of sanctification, which contained the Lawgiver Himself within it; which carried that heavenly manna; which saved our nature from the flood of sin, and by her birthing liberated the whole world from destruction. Bring in, I say, that treasury of the new testament; the glorious urn; the tablets inscribed by the finger of God, by which the Word of God changed the weight of the legal letter into the lightness of the Spirit, in a manner higher than can be expressed in words or conceived by the mind, written by reason. Receive ^D the priestly rod, which by the merit of faith sprouted the unfading flower, the Lord. The holy and desirable land, from which truth and justice have sprung; in which feet covered by a wrapping are forbidden to walk; I speak, namely, of the mind, covered by doubt and unbelief. The shady mountain, in which it pleased the Word to dwell;

^A in which nature, having bowed down, escaped the burning of sin; from which the corner-stone, cut without hands, shattered the image of the enemy and scattered it into dust. Receive the fruitful olive-tree, through which that exhilarating oil flowed forth and anointed creation; the glorious throne; the royal chariot, on which the Word, having assumed flesh, made his advent; the holy Sion, which the Creator chose, which he prepared before the ages by the reason of his providence, and from which he was born in the flesh; from which, going forth, he crushed the powers of the impious. Embrace the couch of Solomon, which sixty valiant men surround and attend in a circle; the truthful prophecies of the divinely inspired Scripture, which, in witnessing, have revealed the authority of this Theotokos; in which the Word, having reposed, rose again in the flesh, and mightily struck down the tyrannical power of the enemy. ^B This the prophetic tongs typified, which carried the coal and purified the lips; which is kept with angelic, or rather Seraphic, care, and preached through the Holy Spirit. This the sealed book revealed, which no one learned in letters read, except the one who sealed it and preserved it beyond reason. This the most pure scroll declared, in which the Word, inscribed without writing, tore up the handwriting of deceit. This is the queen who stands at the right hand of God, she who is near in beauty and splendor; fair by nature, and incapable of finding fault; she who arises from Lebanon of virginity and perfumes the world, from whom the sweetness flowing forth sweetened the ancient bitterness of the wood; whose lips were made sweeter than honey, and whose tongue poured forth joy as from a fountain; whose odor of garments has given a fragrance above all the spices of the earth. ^C Receive her within as a bride, whose beauty is incomparable and whose glory is beyond speech; whose eyes’ brilliant radiance has put to flight the brightness of the sun; the garden enclosed, into which there is no access for the thoughts of sin; in which the divine plant, having sprouted without human cultivation, utterly dried up from the root the first curse of the wood that was luxuriating in the life of the world, and in its place caused a blessing to blossom. The fountain truly sealed, from which the purest waters flow and irrigate the whole world; in which no remnant of turbid mire was detected; from which the river of graces, going forth, circles the world under the sun. Receive the cloud traversing the air, on which he who rides upon the clouds of heaven is seated, and who overthrew the idols of the Egyptians. ^D Bring in the ensouled city of God, made glad by the streams of him for ever; the sanctified tabernacle; the glorious house; the indissoluble temple, of which you yourself have been constituted the type and symbol. Waiting for the true manifestation, you already possess this; this

^A you must bring inside, and yield as to one who is better. Cease henceforth from symbolic things; stop clinging to riddles. How long will you fix your mind upon the shadow? How long will you deck yourself out with the letter? Behold, the rays of grace have shone forth; behold, those things which were of the letter have been transformed into the spirit. You have labored while serving the letter; behold, He who makes all things new is arrived. Pass over, then, from the outworn law to the burgeoning grace of the Word. Why do you linger in dreams, when you might receive Him who brings about the fulfillment? Why are you sprinkled with the blood of victims and choked with the fumes of burnt offerings, when He who commanded these things does not admit them, but rejects them? For the Word says to the Father: "Sacrifice and oblation you would not, but a body you have prepared for me." He who, by His own blood, causes these things to cease is come, and He is able to cleanse nature not from carnal defilements, but from sins. Redemption is at the doors; you have the preaching at your gates: attend with honor to her who precedes this mystery. She brings with her the fulfillment of those things which were announced by divine oracles. Isaiah designated her, saying: "Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel." Ezekiel called her the gate of God; David called her the ark of sanctification; Jeremiah predicted her as the way of God; the bush on the mountain prefigured her to Moses, ^B burning indeed, yet in no wise consumed. Receive her with joy; run to her with all alacrity; adore her as one superior to every creature, visible and invisible; embrace that most pure lodging. Bring inside the unstained tabernacle, and cast out the murderous assembly of the Jews. The slaughter of the prophets cries aloud against them; the blood that has been poured out cries quite clearly: "Why are you polluted by the gore of their defilements? Why are you contaminated by their iniquities? Why do you cloak their profane arrogance and fury, and kindle the wrath of the Creator more violently?" Cease henceforth from the bile of that bitterness; do not kindle further the wrath of Him who fashioned you. For by as much as the multitude of sins is gathered together, by so much is the retribution of vengeance increased; and it is rendered the more grievous for crimes in that it leads to immortal punishment. She admonishes you to cease: she has come to succeed you; she has received greater glory, in that she has been allotted the end of all things. For she has exhibited the fulfillment of those things of which you indicated the figures. Furthermore, by as much as a shadow differs from a body, and a riddle from the truth, ^C and a description from the reality itself, and an image from its exemplar and archetype, by so much do you fall short of her brilliance. For you receive veneration from only one people of your own; but she obtains most magnificent glory from all creation; and you indeed, having a shadowing of God that deserts you and is fleeting, are to be destroyed shortly after, when it leaves you; she, however, by the inhabitation of the divine Word, substantially ^D

glory, so that its glory might never be stripped away. Depart therefore from here, and yield to those who are superior; for even if you were willing, it will not be left for you to remain, since the ministers of the holy things are becoming the cause of your departure. These things have been spoken by me regarding the temple not unfittingly, having credibility from the things now seen; which, I believe, the hearers accept without scrutiny, testing the matters instead of subjecting them to torture.

^B When that receptacle broader than the heavens was brought inside the temple, the customs and laws of the temple immediately saw this as a symbol of their own passing away. They observed all their glory, as they themselves were daily deprived of it, voluntarily migrating toward her. Then Zacharias, who was performing the priestly office, inspired by the prophetic gift, rejoiced at the advent of the Virgin; but he considered the inexpressible beauty of her soul, hidden under a womanly form, and he perceived that she bore signs strange to nature, although she was clothed in it like everyone else. For there was in her an incomparable character, and a manner of life regulated by virtues. Wherefore, with each successive advancement in age, the gifts of the Spirit were intensified in her; she conversed with angels, and was not destitute of divine manifestations.

As she was therefore habitually dwelling in the inner sanctuary, Zacharias saw a matter of this kind: a strange ^C appearance... ^D

^A and one offering food; yet he who appeared was an angel. Wherefore she was distraught in her mind and reasoned thus: "What is this that is seen, truly strange and alien to the custom of this place? It has an angelic appearance, and it converses with a maiden. An incorporeal form presents food, as though adapted for the nourishment of bodies, and an immaterial substance presents some material thing to a woman. The visitations of angels hither are accustomed to occur to priests alone, for the sake of an exhortation or a dissuasion regarding things to be done; and even these do not appear often. But the approach of the one now seen to a woman is altogether unusual; and this, too, while she is of such an age, still quite young." If, indeed, she who was set before him ^B happened to be a woman joined to a husband, and was suffering from the disease of barrenness, and was lacking the gift of childbearing, and was supplicating the Lord to obtain progeny, and the conversation had been directed toward this end, then the mystery of what was seen would have had a solution according to her purpose. And this has happened once in the case of Anna, but that it should happen always and everywhere is not the way of human affairs. But now, that coming to the Virgin is free of such things, and the arrival of the one seen is continuous. Because of this, greater wonder and fear fall upon me; and doubts ^C lie hidden regarding the obscure matter. What could this be? For what purpose has the angel come to announce? What is this food that is brought? From what storehouse has it been brought forth? Who is he who prepared it? What hand made this bread? For it is not for angels to prepare things that are suited for bodily needs. Although very many have been nourished through them, yet they prepared things from food already conveniently available; and they, being incorporeal, ministered to their fellow servants by the aid of a body. Indeed, the angel who ministered to Daniel by the power of Him who commanded ^D could have fulfilled the order by himself, without assuming any other; nevertheless, he employed Habakkuk as an intermediary, so that the unusualness of the deed, and the spectacle being excellent, and the preparation of food being too foreign to the angelic custom, might not terrify the one to be fed. Furthermore, the raven that ministered to Elijah did not know the place by itself, but was taught it by an angel; and the prey it brought, I think it did not have from elsewhere, but from a rich storehouse; not as though He who commanded could not of His own accord provide prepared food—for how could all things not have been created by His word?—but so that He might provide a ministry suitable to the need. And so, in those cases, it was thus dispensed; but here, the angel himself, directly to the Virgin without any intermediary...

diverts: and it would seem indeed a wondrous thing, beyond the scope of human reason, that such a young maiden should be endowed with such gifts that even incorporeal minds should yield to her service. ^A What is the greatness of such gifts? What such deed did the Virgin perform in proportion to its worth? That she has surpassed in purity all generations that have existed, I know, being convinced by the facts; her character is a clear testimony, and the end, the work itself, having received it. But what could be the cause of her obtaining such great goods? Perhaps the Virgin will be shown to us as a mediator of great benefits, through which she draws to herself the Divine. Might it be that the oracles of the prophets will be fulfilled in her? Might the end of those things hoped for be found in her? Might He who is to come for the restoration of the race be about to take up our nature from her? For this mystery has indeed been proclaimed, and the Word requires such a one to minister to Him. Might there truly be no other proclaimed ^B or preferred for His service than the young maiden here seen? For it is impossible for me to contemplate the hidden beauty of the purity in her, and the manifestation of what is hidden, which the goodness of God toward her sets forth. How blessed is the house of Israel, from which such a shoot has blossomed! How blessed is the root of Jesse, from which this flourishing rod has ascended, which is to bear for the world the flower of salvation! How superior to all glory is the memory of those who begat you, and beyond every felicity! How glorious do I consider myself, having enjoyed such spectacles, having obtained such gifts, having become the paranymph of such a Virgin! I shall owe you immortal thanks, O temple of the Lord, because by the occasion of your ministry, I have at last attained to what is desired by all the righteous. Today I have been magnified above ^C all priests; today I have obtained glory beyond all prophets. For the things which they learned in shadows, I behold with my own eyes the true beginnings of them.

Such thoughts Zacharias might not undeservedly entertain, as one who perceived the new and supra-natural prodigies of the Virgin. And so indeed they were. O beginnings full of miracles! O transcendent symbols! O growth of the body, receiving an increase of grace beyond measure! O the purity of that clean and super-resplendent soul, which in a vigorous body showed forth gifts greater than human reason; to whom the defect of age was no impediment to the perfection of virtue; whose union with God was not hindered by the youthfulness of her years! Who has seen, who has heard of such an ascent of a body dwelling among the holy, guarded by angels, and nourished by ambrosial food? For souls, even if they have reached the summit of impassivity ^D in the communion of the body, can scarcely be nourished by angelic [original-script column: see facsimile] food, since it signifies that which is an impediment to the soul, so that it might not easily attain it; according to the text: "The corruptible body presseth down the soul," etc.

^A Scripture implies the food of angels, a ration immune from error; but here corporeal hands receive the immortal food, and through them the undefiled soul is satiated with gifts. Oh, the supereminence of purity! Oh, the ascent of succeeding ages, what a ladder of dignity it has erected to the highest summits of the heavens, through which the Word came down to us by a strange and wondrous descent! Through which the earthly, humble tabernacle of [our] nature has ascended into the heavens!

But you, O man, hearing of the wondrous and new manner of life of the Virgin in the Temple, do not doubt it; do not examine by reason those things which surpass all understanding; do not subject to comparison things that are greater than any comparison. ^B You see an unheard-of innovation of nature, and do you doubt these things? You see the Word of God Himself in an ineffable manner dwelling in her womb, and do you dispute about immaterial food and that which has another mode? You see by the Father’s counsel the overshadowing of the Spirit upon her, and do you still inquire about the ministry of angels? Nothing of those things which pertain to the most chaste Virgin has any doubt; nothing of her wonders has any incongruity. All things stand with certain truth.

For it was necessary that the divine tabernacle be increased by such ascents; it was necessary that the immaculate lamb be welcomed by such a splendid feast, and be filled with such food. It was ^C necessary, I say, that not in the Holy of Holies of the legal tabernacle, but in the very heavens of the heavens, she should be reared in her first age, she who had been seen to be more spacious than they, and who surpassed them in purity. It was necessary that she should not be ministered to by one angel alone, but that she should be escorted by ten thousand times ten thousand. For if they are unable to see Him, she, by a wondrous manner, held and carried Him in her womb. She merited to wrap in her own bosom Him who is clothed with light as with a garment. She received into her human arms, and held, Him who contains all things in His palm. Who, considering these things, would not think something great of his own nature? Who, for this reason, would not raise his mind to something sublime, and consider himself set above all things? ^D Who would not, because of these things, appear with high-sounding voice, and cry out great things to the creation; and who would not, because of these things, become high-minded, and be seen to have been ravished out of his own lowliness? For indeed the thing is magnificent beyond measure, and greater than all majesty. For consider how highly human affairs have been exalted, increased by an elevation equal to the ratio of their abasement. We had fallen [index: entries preserved]

^A by the transgression of the commandment, and had become unworthy of the providence of our Creator, finding nothing to offer in defense of our deception. Nature lay in that great ruin; it needed someone to restore it. And it did indeed find one—not through another, but through the Creator Himself. And this resurrection is strange; it happened not by command, as in the ancient creation, but by dispensation, according to His own love for mankind.

He did not entrust the work of the resurrection to angels, but set aside the works of condescension for Himself. And He not only restored it, but He also assumed it, and installed what was assumed onto the paternal throne. What shall I think of in the face of this ineffable love for mankind? With what words shall I praise this infinite condescension? With what praises shall I celebrate the Virgin, through whom these things were accomplished, through whom the restoration of the ^B fallen creature came to be? What honor could be shown that is equal to her purity, from whom the Creator, having become her lover, built His own tabernacle? She did not reject His indwelling; in her, the paternal counsel was fulfilled; in her, the all-holy Spirit has rested. What glory shall be seen worthy of her, whose glory the Creator showed to be superior—save for Himself alone—to all things? O gift, more precious than all honor! O most beautiful beauty of beautiful things! O Theotokos, most sublime adornment of noble things! You rectified the ruin of our ancient nobility by your delivery, which is above reason; you reshaped the beauty of the first image, which had been tarnished, back to its own natural ^C splendor; you transformed the pains that were in the sorrows of the foremother into the offspring of joy by your giving birth. Through you, the migration of the race returned to its own home; through you, we received the incorruptible delight of paradise; through you, the withdrawal of the turning sword came about; through you, the closed gates of delight opened the way for entrance; through you, the hopes of the prophets came to fruition; in you, their prophecies found their end; through you, we possess the true symbols of our resurrection; through you, we hope to attain the kingdom of heaven; we possess you as the helper of our salvation; we have you as the champion of our aid; we put you forward as the mouth for our defense; we carry you around as the boast of our confidence; we, the multitude of Christians, possess you as a most fortified wall; devout kings hold you as a powerful weapon; through you, they shatter the audacity ^D of their enemies; through you, they obtain the trophies of victory. And you, Mother of God, do not look down upon the supplication of those who always pray to you. Stretch out a hand to those who are weary; help those who are shipwrecked; set them in

Oration 7

^A peace, turning the waves of war into tranquility. Dissolve into air the blasts of those who oppress us; grant as you are able a fitting outcome to this prayer. You have, as a Mother, ^B an irreproachable confidence in the Son; you have power that is unconquered; you have authority that is irresistible. Do not let the boundless multitude of sins overcome your compassion; do not let the absurdity of my actions block your incomparable mercy. For however great the multitude of sins may be, it easily admits of dissolution, provided only that you will it. Nothing resists your power, nothing opposes your might; all things yield to your command, all things submit to your direction, all things serve your authority. He who was born of you has placed you higher than the heavens and all created things, and by the things which He works miraculously, He establishes faith in you. You have no labor in attaining these things; you address God the Creator without any intermediary. Requeſt pleases Him; intercession delights Him; He does not refuse to fulfill it, for He considers your glory to be His own, and as a Son, He exults in this and fulfills requests as if a debtor. Relying on this, O Lady, and on your incomparable power and clemency, I have offered you this fruit of my indigent lips—a meager tribute, indeed, compared to what you deserve, yet one that shows the greatest of intentions. For not only is my own strength frustrated in its desire, but even the expectations of illustrious men are unable to reach it. Receive, therefore, not looking at the deed, but approving the willing mind. And I know well that you will receive it, as you are bountiful, and leading me by the hand to the rest of the discourse, ^C will grant the remission of sins and count us worthy of the kingdom of heaven, and will make the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit propitious—that one Divinity and kingdom, to which are due glory, power, honor, adoration, and magnificence, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ORATIO VII. In the same solemnity, and to what the history relates next.

The splendors of divine solemnities, ^D shining with constant rays of light, continuously guide those who love what is good and are devoted to noble pursuits towards themselves; and by as much as they illuminate them with greater grace, by so much do they increase their desire for the object they long for. This, then, is what the saving solemnities and feast days of God the Word claim for themselves first and foremost, being proofs and manifestations of His condescension towards us; and along with these, those of the Virgin, which relate to the Annunciation.

^A And those, indeed, even the feasts of the Virgin, which signify the same thing, might not undeservedly be seen to carry one away into an equal longing and love. I, for my part, having already set an end in the preceding remarks to my discourse, was proffering an excuse, as I was besieged by the lack of subject matter and the meagerness of my faculties—as the saying goes, not allowing me to extend my foot beyond the threshold, nor to attempt things greater than my strength. For that flame, hiding inside and secretly agitating, and having already been fanned into a greater blaze, and not being able, in silence, to check its impulse, has driven it—striving to break out—into the open, as I saw the subject matter spreading forth into the infinite, under the influence of such a torch and incentive as could possibly kindle everything. ^B Now then, let anyone here whom affection forces, and you, listeners, be indulgent with your affection, and grant pardon. Furthermore, why must this be demanded of everyone, when the majority are delighted by the matter, and very few are they who do not approve and accept such an intensity? And indeed, that this our discourse might show some reward of labor for the solemnity, thanks must be paid to the longing that pushes it, since that longing is commendable; and let its victory show the one who has been overcome to be a victor, and one gifted with a crown. But if it should be found far unequal to its merits—as indeed it will be found—to it let temerity be attributed, but to us a just defense. And let these things be handled in this way; but as for us, let us press on to what follows, asking her, who is the cause of the subject matter, the holy Theotokos, to be our guide.

^C Now, therefore, since Zacharias was utterly astounded at the miracle of the spectacle, and was conjecturing by a more divine inspiration what was about to happen: what were the angels who preside over the temple to think about this? By what doubts were they, even if they were intellectual powers, resolving what was seen? For the matter was indeed profound, clear only to those to whom He, who alone makes things clear, might wish it to be clear. It is right, however, that they should ask with hesitation regarding her: "What is this new spectacle? What is this retinue? Who is this one to whom angels carry food? New and astounding is what is perceived, and unknown to us. The woman appears superior to our understanding; in her alone the excellent gifts of our nature have been rendered weak; her end is hidden from us, as one who ministers to the mysteries of God. ^D All the ministries pertaining to the things here are dispensed through us at the appropriate times, for we are not ignorant of the causes of the prayers that are offered; and some we understand by custom and figures; others we learn by comparative studies and meditation. The speeches of those who pray to God are never hidden from our nature, nor indeed from human nature at all. But now, the things that are being displayed, while they are hidden from her, also escape our understanding. For neither did she propose the beginnings of the future mysteries as a foundation, nor did any of them indicate through accustomed supplication what was about to happen. And he who ministers to her is indeed connected to us by communion of nature, yet he is apart from those things which are elicited by us individually. And

his approach to her is unusual, and wholly novel are the conversations which he holds with the girl. What is this great care for the Virgin? What is the hidden miracle in her, and this novelty? ^B

Angels surround her, as is their wont; they send forth a hymn that vies with our choir. Though she exists in a body, she has surpassed our purity; she is a woman by the form which is seen, but as for the mystery which is understood in her, it transcends our nature. In her all things are united; the orders of our heavenly hosts rejoice with her; this divine temple, having received her, arises to minister to her. O vessel seen to be full of grace! O [one who has] gone beyond the properties of earth-born nature! O you who in incomparable ways have surpassed the measures of your own nature! What first-fruits of its proper harvest has human nature offered to the Creator! What a gift it has hung up! What an offering it has made! Verily, [one] worthy of God, and more mystical than our own mystical service; more holy and more pure than our own purity. For indeed, if our own blamelessness were to be compared with hers, it would be found to fall short of resemblance in every way; it does not rise together with her indescribable, holy, and undefiled [nature]. Yet even so, if it were judged to be on a par with those things which are according to us, it would appear most worthy of wonder, having, by reason of [such] novelty, something alien. For it is no great thing for us, who are free from the concretion of matter and removed from its pollutions, [to be pure]. For to those whose nature is not inclined toward the worse, the miracle of immutability is nothing strange. As therefore this [nature] of hers is joined to bodies, and yet in truth competes with our purity that is free from all defilement, this would appear a paradox, and beyond all astonishment. For how could it not be judged as such, since she, in her nature, acquired things alien to herself, above nature, and by the force of her own merits strove to rise to our [angelic] excellences? In this Virgin, then, even the paradox of [her] likeness escapes [us] and is admired for its superiority. For that which escapes our comprehension does not decline to be reckoned among things higher than we are. In what manner is this hidden thing veiled? By what blessings is it stored up? By what dispensations is it preserved? Truly, indeed, when God formerly bestowed benefits upon the human race, the grace of his care and providence was provided not obscurely, but in hidden ways. For when things began to come to pass, knowledge of the end resulted from this for those who correctly investigated. But as for those whose manner is overshadowed, knowledge of them departs entirely. ^C

These things, I think, the angels presiding in the temple were pondering and wondering about, and meanwhile they were rejoicing at the novelty of the things they saw. And not only were they affected in this way, but already there was a certain common joy among the men who were present, and who had received the Virgin as a cause of gladness. This, then, we understand the history to signify, when it describes her affairs in this way. For it says: "He loved," ^D

^A Mary, the whole house of Israel." And truly a magnificent discourse, as one which well befits the matter, and as one which reliably makes clear the future. What, then, does that which was spoken intimate? Nothing, he says, remained excluded from this great joy; nothing of existing things has become a stranger to this common exultation: all things were in anticipation embracing their own salvation. Not that the mysteries of the Virgin were being played out, but that the things of the future were being prefigured; or rather, that by her power those things which were to come, obtaining their strength, were transformed into this joy of beneficence.

For how could they not have been wounded by this new spectacle? How could they not have been charmed by the beauty they beheld, seeing a young girl in body, who had transcended the things of the body; seeing a maiden who had escaped the habits of her age-mates; a virgin removed from the defilements of nature; a shoot of the human race, a companion of angels; a form of weakness that had risen above every mark of strength; the very ornament of the holy of holies dancing within; dwelling in the inner and sacred recesses, she who was the declaration of secrets? ^B

Behold, furthermore, the certainty of the prophecy; see its precision and unflinching accuracy; how, by the meaning of the words, it made clear the reality of the matter. For it did not merely indicate "the people," but by the appellation "of Israel," it designated the affection of those who, through recognition and faith, would be added to it. For almost whenever holy Scripture wishes to signify the Hebrew race, it calls it "people" alone; as is that saying: "Rejoice, ye nations, with his people," and, "My people, it says, did not understand." But whenever the intention is to designate both the Hebrew race and the true people of the faithful, it indicates this by the title "Israel," this name explicitly confirming that the God of those who see is Israel, and is so called. Because, therefore, the Jews, as if veiled by certain shadows of unbelief, and willfully not looking toward the rays of truth, were about to be blinded by God, the Word, omitting their own specific Gentile name, indicated the common affection of those who were to be. But if we see that a very great close kinship ^C to the Creator is signified by it—as when it is said, "The people of the Lord," and, "He himself shall save his people"—in truth, this was indeed how it was, and God took special care of them; but because they willfully tore themselves away from this connection, and unreasonably recoiling from salvation, wandered far from Him who was calling them, therefore He signified that there would be those who, through the vision of the mind, were to be reconciled and joined to God in kinship. And He did not say, "the whole house of Israel," but absolutely, "all house," by the removal of the article establishing the addition of those who were to follow.

With things standing thus, nothing of such matters was hidden from the priest. What, therefore, would be the [work] of the Holy Spirit ^D

^A illumination given by the Spirit, that he attributed such great reverence to the one full of grace? For it was not possible for him not to think that the things which were to happen through her were a cause of greater salvation. First, he looked upon the character and beauty of her virtue. Then, ^B he contemplated the ministry of the angel, which heralded something great concerning her; and it did not stop at what was seen, but enigmatically pointed to something else more wondrous. For the angel’s remaining with her indicated the presence of Gabriel—in one way, God clearly manifesting the matter, and in another, habituating the Virgin. The food brought to her was an image of the Bread of Life itself; it had a likeness easily recognized by those capable of judging, even though it differed greatly in its highest aspect. For just as the manner of that preparation, and the way in which God produced it, is unknown, so too is the reason and cause of the mystery of the incarnation of the Word hidden. And that ^C undefiled Virgin, receiving that food, was enriched with a heap of divine gifts; and those who become participants in this are filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. But that food did not effect a cleansing of sins; for the one partaking of it was not subject to them, being entirely pure and needing no purgation whatever. Here, however, with the bestowing of grace, there also comes a wiping away of sins.

Being struck with wonder at these things, then, could Zacharias not be astonished beyond measure? What excellence of honor would he not have attributed ^D to Mary, who is full of grace? What would he not have wished to contemplate or to do, in order to dedicate all that is glorious in the world to her? For what of her did not openly exceed human modes? What, even of her smallest [qualities], did not surpass every famous thing among the great? For even those things that appeared meager in her surpassed, by a long way, those things which are known among humans as excellent and greater by comparison. See, for instance, how, when she had not yet exceeded the bounds of infancy, she was far removed from things that are characteristic of infancy. For, having been offered to the Temple and separated from her parents, she felt no violence from coercive nature; nor did that separation from her parents cause any change in that steady sense of her soul; nor, looking back at them with unperturbed eyes, was she moved in her mind within; although she was still almost clinging to the maternal breast and attached to it—which is truly worthy of admiration and deserving of such an innocent mind, free from every sin.

For we all, as humans, are born in such a way that we are drawn by a certain force toward our parents and kinsmen; and although countless things often drag us away from them, nothing, however, can separate what is united by nature; and this is especially the case where affection binds those joined as parent and child, which neither fears can terrify, nor pleasures steal away; but natural love, persevering unimpaired in the same way, is in no way cut or divided by the parts of the body being separated in place. Wherefore, if you tear an infant from its mother’s bosom by force, it cries out against the injustice by its very posture and voice, stretching out its hands toward the one who bore it; it is pitiful and

^A continues to keep its eyes intent and open, full of tears, and with wailing sends forth a mournful voice, calling upon its mother, and openly displays its sorrow; a sorrow which neither the fear of threats quieted, nor did the bestowal of any of the most beautiful and precious things soften; but rather it is so built that, always clinging to what it seeks, it turns to none of the things offered to soothe it; as it knows but one remedy for the distressing things that hold it fast—to cling once more to the maternal womb. This pure one, however, clean from every human habit and passion, being unassailable by these, and higher than the necessity of nature, had her mind stolen away by none of these pleasures; and although the separation had lasted a long time, she was not distressed even by this. What mind, however pure, arrived at such apathy in perfection as this all-stainless child displayed in her infancy? What soul, what reason, what intellect in old age ever cast off the worse in the choice of the good, as she did in her youth? For she reached the very pinnacle of these virtues. ^B To me, it happens that I am amazed beyond measure not for this reason alone, but also that in the prime of life and with a flourishing body, the purity of the all-immaculate Mary transcended the nature of the incorporeal. For if it were in the progress of age, this might not be judged as great, being concealed by the mystery. And why is it necessary to wonder that she alone did not turn back to her kinsfolk, when we see that her parents themselves attained glory in this regard? For not even they were indignant at the separation from their dearest pledge, nor were their paternal hearts moved, nor were they wounded by the sting of nature—or if they were, they returned to their girl, ^C and embraced her with the longing which is common. The sweet and indistinct babbling of words, having come to their memory, did not trouble their mind. The image of the appearance and the time spent and the beauty lingering in the mind, and the objects—as of those of whom they had previously been in possession—did not grieve them more heavily. For it is not equally painful that a good thing should not be present, as it is that it should be taken away. For that of which we have not had experience, we possess in desire; but that which we have once enjoyed, once it is taken away, brings about a sharper pain; and especially when we have greatly concerned ourselves with that which is desired, the despondency arising from its absence comes upon us in abundance. ^D It is likely, then, if the righteous ones were distressed by this, that they would have spoken to one another in words such as these: "What has the persistence of our many prayers brought us? What more stable gift of God has He left us? What is the benefit of the labor of birth? What is the consolation of the child? The gifts of childbearing have their fruit not in birth, but in the ages of time; and the relief of labors comes at a seasonable time, and the fulfillment of expectation, and the succession of the parents' blessing is awaited at

^A hand. But for you, what remains of those things that delight the soul, for you whose labor is infinite, and whose hope lies in obscurity?

It was likely that the just would speak in such terms, if they had suffered anything human. But having risen above all these things, and holding [her] as if in their hands, having offered her to God, not only did they cast aside expressions of distress, but they also sincerely put forth words of thanksgiving; as those who had become the immediate producers of such fruit; as those who had consecrated their own first-fruits to God; as those who had brought within the sanctuary a newly blooming sprout. ^B O, the most excellently accepted sacrifice of the just! O offering, presented as the redemption price of the world! O good root, from which that most excellent sprout has grown! With what words shall I praise Joachim and Anna? With what flowers of encomia shall I interweave their crown? With what thoughts shall I conjecture the miracle that is greater than their power to conceive? Indeed, what can a varied composition of words contribute to them? Whose glory and crown this is, the joy that has come forth from them: whose exultation and boast is the common rejoicing of the human race: to whom the precious world, the Virgin who is greater in value than all that, is present; that illustrious and glorious diadem; that glad and multi-luminous splendor; that shining one, a ray more brilliant than every ray. This, indeed, is their most ornate praise; this is the decor fitting for them; these are the inalienable riches, flowing with abundance into infinite ages. O their attainment, and [their] fulfilled vows! O the virtue that is the parent of such fruit! Truly, a fruit so great and surpassing all. Since, therefore, they were such as discourse has demonstrated, why do you seek in vain whether they grieved with an ignoble resolve at the parting from their daughter?

Furthermore, as she was acting in an angelic manner of life, spending long periods in the temple, the time arrived which gave notice that women must abstain from the holy places; ^C when, with the Jews not keeping silent in safety, the populace initiated a counsel that they should drive her out from the temple as one among many: alien, certainly, to reason, and not [produced by] mature examination. For the miracle of her holiness was no longer hidden. For I believe, judging by the truth, that no natural stains were ever detected in her most clean body: but that all things were designed in a new and marvelous manner, just as was her future birth.

Zacharias, therefore, understanding these things, did not contemplate taking the Virgin out by his own decision; preferring instead to incur the charge of a violated custom and people's anger, rather than to lose the good ^D of her companionship. Therefore, with the people pressing him to this end, he remained anxious within himself, agitating such things in his mind and saying: “What shall I do in such circumstances? What necessity shall I now choose? What end shall I set before myself, that I may not provoke God by a reckless audacity? Shall I lead the Virgin out of the temple? But the strangeness of the mysterious things I have beheld terrifies me; and the miracle of the young maiden strikes me with fear; lest if I should happen to sin against her, I might pay the penalty for [my] rashness. For no other person besides me has enjoyed the myst-

mysteries, and the sin is imputed more to those who know than to those who are ignorant. Shall I receive her into the temple? But the multitude of the Jews is in sedition, and they hold up lawlessness as the helper of their own resolve. He is ignorant of the manner of the affair; he knows not the mystery of the dispensation; he has not recognized the purity of the Virgin, which is superior to nature; he is inexperienced in her all-immaculate frame of mind; and for this reason he hastens her departure hence. It is better to face danger on her behalf, as I am one instructed in the truth of the matter; better that I should submit to death, as is fitting, rather than surrender her in such a way, and provoke the Divine against myself. But there is a fear that even if this happens, unworthy hands might arm themselves against her, and invade her most immaculate body, and by force drive it from the temple; lest, I say, profane mouths should utter insulting words against her, and heap abuse upon that inviolable treasure. ^B

« But who among men is to receive her? Who is sufficient to bring her into the inner parts of his own tabernacles? What dwelling could receive her without being confined, when this temple, the object of such great wonder, does not easily contain her stay; [the temple] which reveres her consummate purity; which marvels at her greatness; which is struck with amazement at her paradoxes? What hands could minister to her, to whom angels have ministered; whom bodiless spirits have tended? Who would have the strength to gaze upon such beauty, in which the eye of God itself delights; by whose purity He is gladdened; by whose appearance He is pleased? By what [gifts] would one appear worthy of her, whom the Word of God has sanctified, whom He has filled with grace, and has made a storehouse for the needy? Who among all could be found worthy of these things, so that the deposit of God might not be afflicted by unworthy reception? » ^C

These things, therefore, Zacharias pondered, as one who had clearly learned the mysteries of the Virgin. And it was absolutely necessary that he, thinking upon these things, should be in doubt. If, therefore, he came to such a wonder of astonishment, being still only at the beginning of the mystery, how should we not be struck with awe, we who hold its end, and with joy and longing praise her through whom it was accomplished? How should we not proclaim her greatness with a loud voice? Why should we not celebrate her with encomiums, even if the power of every encomium is weak for the understanding of these things? And what need is there to say these things about encomiums, when the mind itself and the intellect are overcome by them? For speech has a more dim facility regarding these matters. For those things which the mind often discovers, speech is not strong enough to express; and it is possible to see within, the wonder of the Virgin being lifted up; but without, [the speech] being humbled by a lack of words. For I, suffering this regarding it, receive the discourse without [human] witness, deriving faith for myself from within. But with these things thus confessed, let us leave the examination of them to her, as one who knows all things; and let us ask not to requite the grace with words, but with the sentiments of the soul. ^D

But, O Theotokos, the name desired above all; the brief

^A of the things said, do not despise, as though it were of greater intention, but of lesser power that has passed; receive it, do not reject it; and for the things that are to be said hereafter, provide the abundance and do not dismiss our prayers. By thy intercessions, still the wars against thy people; defend with thy mighty power the flock that trusts in thee. We put forward no trophy stronger than thy help. ^B There is one thing stronger than this in us, which is hoped for: the authority of thy Son; yet we reckon the grace of this also to be thine; for since we are always offending Him, we remain disregarded, being unworthy of His care. Thou, therefore, as mediatrix, drawest near and reconcilest us to Him, being more benign in the imitation of Him. Thou stirrest His immense clemency toward our pity, keeping watch for us with thy intercession. For indeed this is worthy of His philanthropy and of thy protection. Because of this, He has taken thee as the first-fruits of our race. That He might administer our affairs through thee, He made Himself subject to human nature. We were guilty of punishment from the transgression; He Himself became guilty of the dispensation, by which He, being merciful, might take counsel for the human race. Through these two greatest things we beg for grace; through the flesh taken from thee, and through thee, who as the first-fruit from us hast been offered to Him. The prayer is firmly rooted in fitting logic, our expectation is good, our hope is certain. ^C For even if the swarm of our sins opposes and wars against us, and obstructs the gifts of His philanthropy, yet there is no multitude of sins such that it could overcome His goodness. We know the instability of our nature; we know the exceeding degree of its unworthiness; we are not ignorant of the immensity of our offenses; and for this reason we put thee forward as our mediatrix. Seest thou all the hope of the people named after thy Son hanging upon thee? Grant, therefore, that this hope may be fulfilled for our good by thy power. There is no other refuge for this people from the evils that beset them, except for that inexpugnable help of thine. Those who hold the highest station have fastened their hope upon thee; they set thee in the place of all armor; they wear thee as a shield and breastplate; they carry thee about as a crown of glory; they have placed thee as a rampart of their own empire; ^D they have entrusted the scepters of their power to thee. Arise, therefore, in great power before the face of the people, and disperse the enemies of thy Son; that, being delivered from their godless frenzy, we may celebrate a common joy and exultation; and magnifying thy glorious and most desired name, let us worship the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; for to Him belongs glory, power, honor, and worship, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ORATION VIII. ON THE HOLY MARY STANDING BY THE CROSS, AND ON THE BURIAL OF THE DIVINE BODY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, ON HOLY AND GREAT FRIDAY

^A Our speech, ascending to a most high vantage point, with a sound more penetrating than a trumpet blast, calls the whole of creation to itself. For ascending with Him who ascended to the height of the Cross, it forgets its own humility; and being lifted up by such height of matters, it sends forth a brilliant and far-resounding cry. For what, in the present mystery, could be seen by us as more sublime or more radiant, by which we were brought up from the lowest and darkest corners of Hades, and were moved to the heavenly and ever-bright dwelling? By which, casting off the gloomy covering of sin, we put on the luminous robe of adoption. For through condemnation, freedom came to us; through sufferings, freedom from suffering; through death, we who were held fast in the iron prisons of death were translated to eternal life. Thus the sacraments of the present day are brilliant to us, and full of supreme majesty, but to the Jews who perpetrated them, they are fearful and horrific. To them, they are sad; to us, glorious; to them, a retribution for deicide; to us, an attainment of the knowledge of God; to them, mourning; to us, exultation; theirs is the slaughter, ours the benefit. Their affairs and ours turn out the opposite; for they presumed to act against the Savior when He arrived. They repelled, we accepted; they, having cast the heir outside the vineyard, killed Him; but we, receiving the Benefactor within the Church, are made alive. They have the cross, we the salvation brought about through the cross; they the lance and the nails, we the immortality that flowed through them. ^B Indeed, the sweetest dart of Your passion, piercing my soul, truly inflicts its own wound, O Master; and being enchanted by the ineffable nature of Your dispensation, I am wounded more vehemently, not by passion, but by love through Your passion. Yet Your friendship toward us cannot in any way be compared to it, even if it has flared up into a most ardent and irresistible heat. For, as it were, a sort of fiery warmth of nature and an ignition of paternal love compelled You, who possess a paternal love for us, to become thus toward the chosen children who are loved, and to descend to such great humility, and to submit—though blamelessly, yet for the sake of the affection of the beloved—to such sufferings. O the goodness of the Master! God, who beholds all things, is plotted against; the Son, who sits on the throne with the Father, is condemned by ^C condemned men in the flesh; the King of the heavenly powers asks for account...

and He who holds the entirety of creation in His invisible hand is struck by a most wicked hand. He who is praised by myriads of angels bears mocking and insults, and He who adorned man with a crown of graces is encircled with a crown of thorns. He is scourged, who heals the wounds of nature; He is stripped naked in body, who clothes Himself in light like a garment in a divine manner; who, I say, took away our nakedness born of transgression, and exchanged for us into luminous tunics the dark garment of sin. He who fashioned the heavenly heights is hung upon the cross. He who sits upon a high and lifted throne is pierced with nails; He, I say, who established the earth upon nothing, having fixed its foundations firmly by His own command. He is given vinegar and gall to drink, who brought forth the perennial nature of waters; the cause of the sweetest qualities; the sweet and untroubled delight. He is pierced in the side with a spear, who heals our wounds; who arrests the spreading of the scars that grew upon us through sin.

^B But what is this incomparable endurance of Yours, O Lord, and for whom do You suffer these things? For wicked men, You, the good Lord, die in human flesh; for enemies and foes, You, the peacemaker; for murderers, You, the innocent One; for wicked assassins, You, the just Judge, are slain. For beasts plotting ambushes, the innocent Lamb is slaughtered; for monstrous judges, the sweetest Lord, You are condemned. In what way did the disposition of the universe maintain its order at that time? Why were the elements not dissolved, and all things thrown into confusion, and by unruly movement and impetus accumulated into an unordered mass and chaos? How did the earth bear the audacious crime? Why did it not flee from its seat, and allow the abyss to overwhelm the whole world with waters? These things You held back while nailed to the wood: and the earth, indeed, which was sinking into chaos, You raised up; and the sea, which was raging in fury against it and its inhabitants, You restrained. ^C Thus, when the heavenly things, with the lights darkened, were showing how they took Your death grievously, You did not permit things to proceed entirely to destruction; thus You restrained the indignation and just fury of the incorporeal ministers. For they, looking down from the heavens and hovering around the place of Calvary, cried out such words against the human race: “O wicked creatures! O cruel race, which has dared such things against its own Master! O sin-loving nature, which has raged thus against its Creator! Let us be, O Lord, to bring upon them the punishment they deserve. Allow them to pay the final penalty for the myriad impieties they have committed. For see to what depth of misery they have progressed. ^D Against You, their Benefactor, they have armed bloodthirsty hands; against You, the Just One, they have woven injustice; against Life itself, they have brought forth a death-dealing sentence, those who are guilty of death—that wretched gathering, that most loathsome race,

as opposed to life, brought the sentence of death, they who were guilty of death; a wicked congregation, a race altogether abominable. For yielding to Thee—to Thee, who for their salvation willed thus to suffer unworthy things—we are held by Thy omnipotent hand, wherefore we also defer the just vengeance. But we praise with great astonishment that incomparable patience of Thine: that, being just, Thou diest for the unjust; that, being powerful, Thou sufferest bodily for the weak crowd of Thine enemies; that, Thou who holdest all things, art willingly held upon the Cross. Thus, therefore, the creation, lamenting the Dominical passion, was restrained by the command of Him who was suffering, so that it might neither rush in an attack against the murderers, nor sink into dissolution. But it would be proper, having taken up the subject of our discourse, to praise the salvific passion under its guidance. For just as it might lead the way to the glorification of the entire dispensation, so also it might lead through this. The preceding passage, therefore, has it thus: ^B *Stabant autem juxta crucem Jesu, Mater ejus, et soror Matris ejus Maria Cleophæ, et Maria Magdalene.* The other divine evangelists concordantly say that the women who had accompanied Him stood afar off, and from there beheld what was being perpetrated; but this one says that the Mother of Jesus and the two Marys stood by the Cross itself; and so much the closer, that they could even hear those things spoken quietly. Is there, then, any discord among the heralds of the truth? By no means. All His acquaintances, and the women who followed with them, for fear not daring to approach, observed from afar the things which were being done; but the Mother, always keeping near, was closer and remained unmoved. For in proportion to the intensity of the affection of her soul pitying her Son, she showed the fortitude and constancy of a daring spirit. When, therefore, they saw her alone persevering with constancy, those two women, having ^C greater fortitude and compassion than the rest, thought to approach her, so that by their presence and words they might be able to afford some comfort. Yet this divine Theologus mentions only that the Mother of Jesus stood by the Cross; but of her constancy and assiduous joining either before the Cross or after it, neither he nor any other of the evangelists appears to make clearer mention. But the reason why they do not express her constant attendance after the Cross, we shall ourselves state when, under Christ’s guidance, we have arrived at that place.

For since she saw her Son hastening to His salvific passion, she could not endure to be separated from Him even for a short time; wherefore, as she followed Him everywhere, nor when the mysteries were celebrated, ^D was she absent.

She did not, indeed, recline at the table with the twelve, but she was a participant in the same house with them. For He Himself, since He was hastening to deliver the mysteries and the examples of His high-achieving humility to the disciples, made only the twelve recline with Him; but He permitted His Mother to have the care of the serving women and to preside over them, and in return He shared with them the fruits of His own meal. For the holy heralds say that there were many [women] who followed Him for the sake of service as the occasion required, whom He then of necessity gathered into one place, as the reason for celebrating the Passover and the need of the time demanded. ^A Thus, therefore, we surmise that she was not absent even throughout that night in which the Son was being delivered to the saving slaughter; but that she was present, ^B and shared in the struggles; or rather, that she took upon herself something far greater, both witnessing and hearing the things that were done and said more clearly. For although all the disciples were suddenly scattered by fear, and did not clearly grasp the words spoken by the Lord to those who had gathered, she, fearing nothing, followed and observed with certainty all that was happening. For the love of her most beloved Son prevailed over the excess of the perils that lay before Her. Thus, indeed, did she also come into the courtyard of Annas and Caiaphas, diligently scrutinizing and contemplating both the unjust judgment of the condemned and each of the things that were dared.

For who, in truth, could enumerate what shafts pierced through her inward parts at that time? Who could describe in speech the pains that surpassed all power of speech and reason? For even though she was invincible and superior to the affections of nature, nevertheless the burning heat for the One longed for, and the excess of their impieties, and the madness of their insolent deeds, were the cause of unbearable pain for her. How ^C indeed, did those arrows pierce through her entrails at that time? Who shall recount with words her pains that surpass all words? For although she was unconquerable, and superior to the passions of nature, yet the ardor for the One desired, and the excess of those impieties, and the sheer audacity of those who dared them, were to her the cause of insufferable grief. How...?

^D ...established; more truly so, than that it should have been the house of John the Evangelist, as Nicephorus (lib. I, c. 28, etc., lib. XI, c. 1, etc. 3) relates, deceiving himself through Evodius, whom he reports in that 3rd chapter. For he only names the house of John, which nothing compels us to understand as the Evangelist, and John the Apostle: nay, the sacred text dissuades it, when it is written that John himself was sent with Peter under a certain sign to the paterfamilias of the house, as if to an unknown man. Although I confess that the matter is not altogether settled by this argument. For neither was the paterfamilias of the house of Mary unknown, nor [unknown was] Mary herself, to whom the Lord had often turned aside with the disciples, and at whose house He had already celebrated the Passover once or twice. The Lord, therefore, may have preferred to designate the suitable lodging for celebrating such a great mystery under that sign, exercising both the obedience and the faith of the disciples, and showing Himself to be a true prophet, rather than expressly naming the man or the house, whom they might know [simply] as an old host. Nor, if the house were the Evangelist John's, was he therefore the paterfamilias, but rather he who held those hired dwellings from him. Yet, so that this may sufficiently harmonize with that apostolic renunciation, by which Peter says generally that they had left all things: I certainly am not pleased with those magnificent houses in the Apostle of Christ, unless perhaps they were said to be his after his apostleship, because they had been his before, and he still had free access to them through the benevolence of the master, however that may have been arranged. See Augustine, tract. 119, in Joan.

^A And the madness of men created an intolerable sadness in her soul. For who could bear to see the best Son and Lord seized by wicked servants, and the meek and innocent lamb held by wild beasts; and whereas he addressed them with a gentle and mild voice, they, mad and untamed, roared at him with a savage and cruel cry? Who had the spirit to follow the Son as he was being dragged away, and to remain steadfast while he was brought inside and judged? How did she, observing closely the passage of those coming out, watch the faces of all, to see if they would announce what sentence the judges had decreed? When she saw that all were unanimously conspiring in his slaughter, her pain was intensified the more. For there was no one then to plead for the truth; nor anyone to rebuke the injustice which the Jews were committing, and, by crying out against their wickedness, to relieve in some way her sorrow. The whole ^B council was set on murder; the whole council breathed forth an impious sentence; there was no one to take the side of justice. For even his own genuine friends had fled; others, out of fear, concealed the truth. Indeed, even the prince of the disciples and friends had denied him. Thus, keeping alone an unconquerable strength of mind and persevering constantly in such difficult and sad circumstances, if she saw any more gentle persons coming out from the tribunal, she would inquire, as if wishing to learn the reason [for] the cause and what decree had been passed against the just accused, saying: "What is the reason, O men, for the seizure of this stranger? What is the accusation stirred up against him, for which he is now held fast and brought to judgment as a criminal? What is the verdict passing judgment on him? With what mind are the judges disposed toward him? What sentence do they bring forth against him? Is there any thought of pardon, or have all brought forth an inexorable cruelty?" With such words she questioned them—not indeed so softly that she might not be detected, yet, by an affective impulse of mercy, she exposed the burning flame hidden within her soul; and in part she was compelled to bring it into the open, in part she suppressed it by force so as to avoid suspicion; not as though she were dodging the struggle for the sake of such a person, but diligently taking care that she might do nothing against the will of the one who was dying. ^C Since, however, it was necessary that she should also follow him when he was transmitted to Pilate and Herod, with what mind, I ask, did she bear seeing him led around as a criminal? What soul could endure watching him, now publicly condemned and beaten with lashes, now seized by a military hand and suffering ten thousand outrages and being mocked by them? How, I say, could that life-giving face receive the profane spittle of wicked men? How did she have the strength to behold those eyes that see all things being covered by a veil? For this is what it means: to be buffeted; and for others to strike his cheeks, and to shout in mockery at his most holy head: "Prophesy to us, Christ." How [did she see] that head which she held in veneration; which, as the head of the Creator and Son, she used to kiss and adore: girt with a crown of thorns and

^A beaten with a reed; and those members, so precious and desirable to her, being ignominiously stripped, and clothed in a false purple? How could she endure to behold this? These things dealt her myriads of slaughters. Each one, even before the death of the Master, was fixing a lethal arrow in her; and this was indeed the case, though it was alleviated by the power of Him who was suffering.

Who could contemplate the burning of her inward parts, ^B at the time when she beheld the Son proceeding to His voluntary slaughter? How, as a spotless lamb, the Lamb of God was led; how, as one condemned, He who takes away the sin of the world was dragged along; how He meekly endured the audacity of the murderers; with what mildness He acted toward them; with what a most sweet gaze He looked upon them; with what gentle words He spoke to them; how He imperturbably took up the cross laid upon His shoulders. For even before Simon the Cyrenian encountered those who were hastening the work, Scripture teaches that the cross had been laid upon Him. So, too, the tears of the women who were accompanying Him and beating their breasts dealt her a more violent pain; but not at all their tears, but that most mild word of the Lord to them: *Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me* (Luc. XXIII, 28). By this voice, how was the heart of Mary savagely torn! How was she wholly shaken! Into how great an uncontrollable conflagration did the flame of her burning [grief] erupt! For who, having heard such words, would not have been bent? Who would not have become softer than all wax? Who would not have been moved to pity, even if he were exceedingly stony and inflexible?

^C After the God-slayers had come to the place of Calvary, and were busily carrying out what was needed to inflict the saving death, and had fixed the cross, and stripped Him of the garments with which He was clothed; and, sharpening the brutality of the nails, had themselves made a footstool step for Him to ascend the cross with bloodthirsty intent, then was the sword driven more deeply into Mary; then did the arrows of grief go straight toward her. But how did the soul not depart from the body? How was it not severed from its own union? How could her eyes endure, when they saw their own Light ascending the cross? How did the pupils not flee, when they beheld the undefiled palms ^D voluntarily offered to the murderous hands? How did the harmonies [of her body] not dissolve, when the members of Him who contains all things were then being nailed? Oh! how was the nail fixed in the hand, but the lethal wound struck in her heart? How was her soul wounded more painfully with each piercing of His members? How did drops of blood flow from the wounds, while the rushing streams from her eyes were more bitter than tears? With what eyes did she behold Him suspended by the body, who is clothed with light as a garment (Psal. CIII, 2), as it were, with divinity? How [did she watch] those garments which she herself had made with her own hands, and which were once undefiled and clinging to the Master’s body, [being] divided by lots among wicked

men? ^A How could she bear to look upon the shape of the cross, the most gentle gaze directed toward her and toward everyone, the meekness and lack of malice toward those who mocked and the evildoer who was crucified and blasphemed along with Him? For these things inflicted upon her a wound more profound and painful than the nails that were driven into Him: I mean the jeers of the passersby, the mockery of those standing around, the taunts of those rejoicing and playing, the sneers, the nods of derision, the countless reproaches of the man-slayers. For all alike, rejoicing in the slaughter, were mocking Him. This, too, the Prophet, inspired from above, foretold in advance, saying: "I looked for one who would grieve together with me, and there was none; and for those who would comfort me, and I found none." Then, further expressing the excess of their madness, beyond merely not grieving or comforting, he says: "And they gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."

^B Thus, therefore, wounded by infinite and piercing pains, she strove to draw near and speak a word of sorrow to her Beloved, but was pushed back by the rudeness of the soldiers and the multitude of those surrounding Him. But when all things that the God-killers wished to perpetrate had been brought to completion, and when they supposed that the execution had reached its end, and the crowd had gone home and the soldiers were feasting somewhere nearby; then, truly, when she was freed from those pushing her, and had approached with confidence enough to touch the cross, she kissed His undefiled feet and embraced the scars where they had been nailed; and, gathering up the trickles of blood, she brought them to her eyes and heart; and, looking intently at Him, she addressed Him thus, weeping: "What is this, Master? Are these the rewards for Your ineffable condescension? Is this the recompense for Your great compassion? Are these the honors with which those whom You benefited have repaid You? O most unjust deed! O unholy judgment! ^C The unjust condemned You, the Just One; the guilty judged the Innocent; the ungrateful kill their Benefactor; the wicked servants have hung up their good Master. O hateful counsel! O envy that raged against my Light! O murder armed against my sinless offspring! By what audacity have they used these [actions], those slayers who kill the Life of all in the flesh, the… ^D [The text continues into the next page.]

flesh through the [divine] economy? What requital for their transgressions did they devise in the wicked murder committed against Thee? What just trial did they demand when they contrived this terrible spectacle? Is this the recompense they devised for [Thy] great benefits? Is it thus that, after countless blessings and the grace of [our] existence and preservation, they repay these things? Do they slay Thee, who raised the dead, for the sake of the dead? For the sake of eyes that were enlightened, do they hasten to close Thy bodily eyes? For the sake of many healings, have they pierced Thy limbs, which are the objects of my longing? Because Thou didst strip from the lepers the spotted deformity which they wore like a garment, they have stripped Thee—my most sweet radiance! They have stripped the Sun of Justice! They have stripped my most beautiful ornament! They have pierced the limbs of Him who preserved my chastity and kept safe the ^B seals of my virginity and purity.

Oh, would that it were permitted me, my Son, to receive Thy sufferings! Would that those nails could have been fixed in my own limbs! Would that I could have endured the pains of Thy slaughter in my own body! Perhaps the agony of the heart would have been bearable, but now the arrows fixed into it are unendurable; the pain of my soul is insufferable. For Thou, my entrails, art in pain; Thou, my offspring, who holdest my breath, art being destroyed; Thou, my only-begotten Son, art being slaughtered! O wicked audacity! Set, O sun, as Thou beholdest the light of me and of the world being corporeally extinguished. Shudder, O heaven, and in thy mournful guise join in my lamentation, mourning as thou beholdest the slaughter of the common Lord. O earth, and you foundation of eternal bases, O mountains and glens, do not bear the wicked murder ^C mildly. Be shaken, O subterranean regions; mourn with me, O every delight of the meadows. For behold, He who adorned you with varied flowers hangs dishonored upon the wood; He who gave grace with the fragrant, beautiful colors of flowers hangs there without grace or form, in human likeness. [He is] the unadulterated beauty, the unchangeable splendor, and the constant delight of her who bore Him.

But, O sweetest Son! O preservation of my soul! Now I alone am affected by Thy venerable torments; I alone receive Thy sharper pains into my heart. For there is no one who partakes of my sorrows; no one who shares the wounds with me. Even if one of those standing by grieves at the murder, it is not as maternal entrails do; not as one pierced by the stings of nature; not as one consumed by the twofold fire of love; not as one bound by the double and most tyrannical ties. For the affection for the God who is immutable and the true Son ^D draws me more vehemently, and kindles and consumes me. The fire that is stirred up is therefore immense; the flames that are divided exceed maternal birth pangs; the sword of Thy passion pierces my heart more sharply; the pains are more bitter than nature can bear, for the birth was greater than this. And by how much this [birth] is more miraculous, by so much do the entrails [suffer] more overwhelmingly.

^A My entrails have a more grievously rent wound. Truly I would have held it most desirable, and milder than the pains that possess me, if the nails had penetrated into me: that I might have received your tortures in my own limbs; that I might have been dishonored by the countless mockeries and flagellations by which you were affected through extreme injury; that for my dearest offspring, maternal hands might have been wounded. But surely it could not be so, since you alone were to take upon yourself death for all, you who were the sole Creator, and for that reason had come into the world. But what shall I do? By what reason shall I bear this dreadful spectacle? How, seeing the back before indeed bloodied with precious blood, but now the limbs reddened, shall I endure? How shall I look again upon those eyes, the lamps of the world, closed? How shall I see, even for a short time, the tongue and mellifluous lips, which formerly raised the dead and commanded demons, in silence? ^B

« Yet depart, Lord, to fulfill this ineffable dispensation: depart, Son more desirable than every good, that you may obtain the honor due to you. For I shall no longer embrace you corporally, my ornament: for the nature which you took on, you have placed on high upon your divine throne. No longer shall I adorn your body with maternal hands; for you ascend into your own glory, who were never separated from your first glory. For even if you are to be present divinely with your Mother, yet not as before; not in such a way as to be embraced; so that she may continuously enjoy your sweet gaze; so that she may be delighted by your corporeal beauty. ^C And while this is to me the cause of supreme glory and joy—that you, having arranged the salvation of all through your passion, and having raised the assumed clay to its own throne, should be with me mentally, and converse [with me] at all times—yet my entrails are squeezed and suffer, seeing you in agony and suffering in the flesh, and pelted by the myriad insults of those standing by and passing by: those whom that great providence ought to have made better, but who see themselves thrusting into the abyss of perdition. But they indeed are thus disposed by their murderous intent; but do you speak some parting word to your Mother, you who are absent from nothing in existence; speak a sweet and life-giving word, that I may have it as a consolation for the time hereafter. Give an order concerning your Mother, you who also govern her even as you do the whole world. Speak a word sweetest to be heard now, but fixed so that it may be held for ever. »

Thus the Lord, looking at his Mother struck by the most bitter darts of nature, and searching the fire ignited in the depths of her heart, such as her lips revealed externally, emits a desirable voice, one having the power to recreate more by its sound than by the texture of the words. ^D For this was what her desiring soul was seeking: that she might hear even only the sound of the voice, with her most loving [Son] uttering it. Such, indeed, was the voice, that in few words it indicated all things. “Woman,” he said, “behold, your son,” entrust-

^Aing her to the disciple. But consider again how the fire of her nature is kindled more vehemently; the flame within her vitals, once excited, is irrepressible. For by saying “Son,” he brought to her remembrance a mysterious and ineffable childbirth; he reminded her of an extraordinary bond of affection, a lovable life together, a grief beyond understanding. He brought to light the gracious words spoken by a Son to a Mother, that high and wondrous subjection, her own pride in him, those desirable and chaste encounters; and that, consequently, such discourses would no longer be suitable: that he would not, as before, be continually with her in the flesh, since he was hastening toward his own glory. “Behold your son.” You know, you who have learned by experience, how such commendations from those who are departing and leaving the living can pierce the heart; how they move the bowels; what sorrow and what pain they produce. For him whom they once pursued with love, and with whom they were continually conversing, they exchange for an unfamiliar man; and it is announced to them that he who was known in all things and took care of them is departing, and that one who is in many respects unknown is to stand in his place.

“Behold your son.” You have, says he, me present in my divinity, and I tend to you as my own Mother; but you also have the beloved disciple, who will fulfill all the duties of filial piety toward you, who will render the debt due to a parent. Looking upon him in place of my bodily presence, soothe your intolerable sorrows. Allay the greater part of your grievous pains: lighten the heaviest sadness of nature by the magnitude of this benefit. I know that your heart is torn, that a more violent fire consumes your vitals, and that you are pierced by a terrible wound. For your longing for me is not only natural, but greater than what is natural, an extraordinary thing; nor can it be that you should remain unfeeling. Nevertheless, something must be subtracted from your pain, since you are my Mother, and the reason for this secret counsel is not hidden from you. For by such sufferings I procure freedom from suffering for the human race; it pleased me to increase in honor that human kind which was held in ignominy, through such degradations. These, indeed, are insults, yet they are a certain very great and preeminent glory for me, who suffer in the flesh, and they are a manifestation and proclamation of your own greatness. Having, therefore, the friend whom I reclined upon my breast, put an end to your sorrows, and ^Dfill my place while you dwell with him and the other companions. For I desire that the rest of the disciples be commended to you through him. And whenever it is pleasing that you should dwell with them, and act among the living, you shall offer them your presence in place of my own carnal presence. Be to them, if it be possible, as mothers are to their sons; or rather, as I have been present: and they, in turn, shall render to you that which is due from sons and subjects. They will pay you the homage due to the Mother of their Lord, as to her through whom I came to them, and as to one whom they have as an accessible mediatrix to obtain for them a truce with me.

When, therefore, he had thus gently addressed his Mother, he [proceeded] to the disciple.

saying: "Behold your mother." O the surpassing honor of the disciple! O the inheritance richer than the substance of all things! O the grace which the beloved herald has received: to be named brother of the Creator of all, and in the lot and portion of the Mother, to have received the Lady of all! "Behold your mother." "Behold," he says, "I entrust her to you in my place. Departing now to my own glory, I leave her to you instead of my visible self. Repay to her, as a son, the duty that is mine; and for your part, offer the veneration due to the Mother of the Lord and Teacher. She shall indeed have me ever present in my divinity; but let her also have your unceasing service. You shall lighten the unbearable force of her grief by your words, and I by my deeds. Dispense to her the consolation that is her due; I, for my part, shall supply entirely [the strength of] perseverance. For now I establish her as a parent, not only to you, but as leader of the remaining disciples, and I desire that she be honored absolutely with the prerogative of a Mother. Although, therefore, I forbade you to call anyone father upon earth, I nonetheless desire that you honor and call this woman Mother, who has been to me a super-celestial tabernacle, and who has shown a disposition alien to the custom of nature."

^B When, therefore, the all-good Lord had thus ordained his testament with ineffable long-suffering, those bloodthirsty beasts ran together again: encircling the cross and standing by, they cut off the Mother, illustrious in her thousands of agonies, from that immediate closeness and conversation. For what agonies of martyrs, what divisions of limbs, what cutting of bodies, what inventions of torture instruments could so suffice, and could so pierce the soul, as the myriad swords of the Lord and Son’s passions pierced her, and increased her pain to an insuperable degree? Thus, the soul would not have remained so manifoldly rent within the body, had it not been held by the Sufferer himself; had not divine impulse assisted her perseverance. Since, therefore, the mystery of the economy was already being fulfilled, and it behooved that nothing of what was prophesied about him should be omitted, the participation in the gall and vinegar also reached its end with the confession of thirst. ^C For the Lord says: "I thirst." And the Jews thirsted likewise to demonstrate such madness. For it was not because of the necessity of prophecies that the things dared by them were done; but because of their own inexorable stubbornness, the truthful prophecy was both anticipated and fulfilled. But mark, how this matter inflicted a wound upon the Mother greater than the preceding sorrows. For the moment the voice was sent forth, her heart was torn by it; and at the very sound of the words, it was to see her seized by a more ardent flame, her soul dissevered, and with a piteous eye intent upon the present crowd, and most earnestly imploring everyone to assist, and ^D to offer water, that she might bring it to the lips of her most beloved [Son], to refresh his bodily flame; and

this indeed she was hastening to do, but could not find it readily; or even if she had found it, she could not have succeeded, either because she had no way to offer it, since his head was hanging so high that her hand could not reach to bring it to his mouth, or because she was being pushed away by the murderers, who had pressed forward to hand him the vinegar, yet would not allow her to treat the crucified One with greater humanity. O what sufferings the Word encountered, bringing upon us freedom from passion, but upon the bold and disobedient an endless punishment! ^B Indeed, they had brought the myrrhed wine to the cross and nails through an excess of madness. For, he says, they offered him drink before he was hung up, and he would not; but taking what was at hand, they satisfied the drunken malice of their own minds. But what was she suffering even when he, having tasted it, refused to drink? For they were offering him myrrhed wine, and he did not take it; yet was he not taking wine when the sponge was brought to his mouth? How, when the gall touched his immaculate lips, did sharper flames course through her own entrails? How, when he, who is the sweetness of all, was tasting the vinegar, did the bitter torrent of grief flood her soul? What groans did she send forth from the depths! What laments did she let out! With what burning tears was she drenched! But these things, no other mind, nor any word, is sufficient to unfold tragically; for they are utterly beyond expression, just as the reality itself was. It belongs to the Son ^C alone, and to the Mother who experienced it by deed, both to know these things and for a word to express them.

Thus, then, the dread mystery having been accomplished, she listened with trembling to that fearful voice, which was commending his spirit into the hands of his own Father. And having heard this and beheld it, the all-holy one, by a divine power and an unspeakable constancy, having all but completed the whole of the passion with her soul accompanying him in his departure, she now began to rise toward the joy of his resurrection; wherefore also the ^D [alt-version omitted]

^A end was being considered, how it might come to pass. And while she was meditating on this, and deliberating with most prudent counsel, another sword, harsher than the former ones, was sent into her—namely, the piercing of the immaculate side. For the soldiers, more savage than all wild beasts, were wounding the Life-giver, who was dead and still hanging corporally, neither fearing the divine retribution nor restrained by nature herself, which possesses a common sympathy for all who lie dead, even if they had previously been enemies and foes. For men are so drawn toward dead bodies that, even if some are very resistant to pity, they do not pass by such a spectacle without tears. But those stony and unruly men, iron-hearted in their inhumanity, possessed nothing of this common nature; nay, rather, seeing the very inanimate creation suffering with him and all but mourning and lamenting the saving passion, they, by an excess of madness and godlessness, railed against him who was hanging, and struck him, taking no fill of their impieties. But they, having acted wantonly toward the life-bestowing side, departed from him who deigned to let flow for us from it immortality that gushes forth forever.

^B The Mother, wounded more deeply in her soul, and calling upon him who had deigned to endure it with many lamentations, thus spoke while shedding tears: "Not even now, O Master, do the parricidal men cease from their madness against you; not even now do they take their fill of slaughter; they are not broken when they see you hanging in such a guise; they are not moved when they see you dead, and stripped, and nailed; they do not pity you, seeing you slaughtered in the midst of condemned men and cast aside as if abandoned; but, attacking with most savage madness, they wound you, my sweetest womb; they wound you, the one who heals the wounds of nature. They pierce the side that causes the ever-living stream to gush forth. They strike without mercy, attacking with both deeds and words, and they do not relent. O bonds, and laws, and sympathy of nature! O righteous customs of piety toward the departed! O human gentleness, and manners, and mark of character! Where are these things now, and in whom are they to be found? They have fled from those present; they have flown away from the evil counsel of the God-killers. But may the life that drips from the wound be mine and theirs who are with me; for the daring ones shall see it when they pay the penalty of justice." Thus gazing with sympathy and speaking to the Master, she received the blood and water that flowed from his divine side; and having received this with much longing and honor, she was entirely ^C

Concerning the Renovation-effecting Burial

[Having received the blood and water] they say the mass was dissolved by the ebullient blood, and a great crowd flocked to the spectacle, so that through it—although I myself was once among the ministers and one of them, on that day according to the custom of the office, at the end of which such a miraculous change happened—it was granted to me to examine the matter quite attentively, so that I might be a witness of it from sight; although I heard the peoples who saw it crying out the miracle at the very sight. Nicephorus also, in book 1, chapter 59, asserts that the blood and water were thus collected by Mary and John, and honorably placed in a vessel.

^A Since the concern for the life-giving burial was upon her, and how the undefiled body taken down from the wood might not increase her pangs at such a sight, nor, by being delayed in the interment in the tomb, compromise the common restoration; this, therefore, she could not fulfill by herself, as well because of the scarcity of the necessary things—for she was in a foreign land, and those who looked on from afar were also acquaintances—as because she did not choose to abandon the life-giving body that hung there and run here and there to the wealthy to petition for it. And as she was anxiously deliberating about this, and considering how a place worthy and a tomb receptive of God might be found, He who had prepared all things in His eternal counsel gives her the means, casting into her mind to search out the place nearest to Calvary. This was indeed judged by her to be very well-advised, so that the task might be accomplished and she herself not depart from the sight of the most holy body. And so, having set this in her mind, her feet went away, but her soul did not depart; she changed her steps from the body, but, having her eyes intently fixed, she did not for a moment abandon the sight of the sacred pledge. When, therefore, she had searched and found a suitable tomb—for it was new, and the area around it possessed a pleasant and secure appearance; for, being a garden at that time, it had beauty with both ornaments—she inquired whose it was, or whether any of her acquaintances possessed it. Knowing, moreover, that the man was a friend and one numbered among the acquaintances of the disciples, although he was still hidden because of the fear of the murderers—for thus says the divine Evangelist: *Hidden for fear of the Jews*—she came to him and set forth the good counsel; and she exhorted him to deposit the Life of all in his own tomb, saying: ^C “The slaughter of the Jews, O Joseph, has at last come to an end, the Master having deigned to suffer such things through His ineffable long-suffering. For they left no extreme of insult or indignity unattempted against Him, until they finally brought upon Him a shameful death. And now He hangs dead and naked upon the wood, a sight fearful to me and to all creation; with no one to pity Him, but rather with the parricides still mocking Him. Grant this favor, therefore, both to Him as Master, and to her who bore Him, whose soul is cruelly torn by grief; and taking courage, make the request. Take down the body and gather the treasure of the world that lies before you. Grant this favor to us, who are strangers and in poverty, whom all men hate and turn away from; whom all loathe and mock; whom acquaintances and friends have deserted; of whom no one takes pity. For there is no one here to protect, no one to come as an assistant. No one dares to ask for the body; no one has conceived such a plan in his mind; no one comes forward who would take care of the funeral. To me ^D

as you see, either of these is impossible at the present time, standing alone and with but one disciple, having neither boldness before Pilate nor the ability to procure the things for the funeral in any other way. It is even ^A impossible for us to wrap up and cover the nakedness of the Crucified. For the soldiers, having taken the garments, divided them among themselves, not even leaving the last little tunic; a thing which, while painful to me, is fearful to the entire unreasoning creation, and to those murderers both most joyful and shameful. Come, then, having risen above the cowardice and faint-heartedness of all, go and ask for the divine body. Do not fear the impulse of the murderers any longer; for all of their madness stopped at the point of the slaughter; as far as my light is concerned, they have limited their plotting for now. To this extent they have carried their daring. Go, then, shrinking from nothing; for He who willingly suffered will keep you safe, and He who leads the way will go before you. He Himself will grace your words with grace, ^B granting that they be well-received. For He, O Joseph, even if He suffered as a man by His own will, nevertheless shook the earth as God; He rent the rocks; He opened the monuments and dragged the dead up from the subterranean depths. Angels were amazed at His passion; the elements stood in awe of this; the brilliant, ever-shining luminaries shuddered, and with trembling drew in their rays. These things you will see more clearly as you proceed, and you will be urged more fervently to make your request. For there is no need to hesitate or delay, or to give any postponement to the common restoration. Let the life-giving body be placed in a monument, so that He may make a path for the resurrection of mankind. ^C

Having thus instructed and urged Joseph with these words, and having especially moved him with this pitiable and maternal posture, she sends him to Pilate. For he did not dare at once, nor did he know the end of the passion, being hidden and fearful, just as were the other disciples. But when, through her, he both knew and was revived, he went out more boldly. He asks for, and indeed receives, the Life of all; and having prepared the things for the burial with great expense, he hastens to take Him down from the cross. But consider for me again the Mother, standing by and enduring, and directed toward all: for she ^D identifies with the passion...

(39) Wherefore, when Joseph had learned of such things and had been encouraged, and especially had been moved by her miserable and maternal habit, he proceeds to Pilate. For he did not dare at once; nor did he know the end of the passion, being hidden and fearful, as were the rest of the disciples. After, therefore, he knew from her, and was excited by her words, he went off having become bolder. He asks, therefore, and receives the Life of all; and with a burial prepared at great expense, he hastens to take Him down from the cross. Indeed, consider here also the Mother standing by, and her constant in her duty, and prepared for all things. For with honorable gravity, showing nothing degenerate of soul, she attended her suffering Son, compassionate, shedding clear tears over Him; they bind Him in linens, and lead Him to the inn, committing Him to the earth by the common law of humanity, and burying Him in a tomb.

^A She went about the task not unworthily, ministering with her own hands. Thus, she received into her bosom the nails as they were drawn out, and kissing the loosened limbs, she clasped them; and placing them in her arms, she alone strove to minister to His descent from the cross. When He had been brought down and the all-holy body had been laid upon the earth, she fell upon it, bathing it in most fervent tears, and with a gentle voice and most compassionate words she spoke to Him: "Behold, O Lord," she said, "the mystery which was foreordained is fulfilled. Behold, the end of Your benevolent dispensation has arrived. Behold, Your ineffable endurance is set forth before the eyes of all. For now You lie breathless in the flesh, You who provide breath to all. I hold and embrace the breathless body of the Creator of the life of all, of Him who sustains my own breath. I hold now Him, breathless, whom shortly ago I cradled as my own dearest child; whose sweetest words I heard; whose life I glorified with flowing speech. I kiss now His motionless and wounded ^B limbs, He who heals the incurable wounds of nature; who was wounded for the healing of all. I press now with my own those silent lips and mute mouth of Him who created all nature endowed with speech and reason; who placed on earth man, a speaking animal. I kiss those closed eyes of Him who invented the faculty of sight; who by His own command bestowed light upon the eyes of the blind. But would that now I might hear Your sweet voice! Would that I might see You speaking once again! Would that I might once more grasp your longing-filled words! But if even now it is not possible, may I see this quickly in the resurrection, in which, announcing the restoration of men, You shall speak more joyfully to Her who bore You." Thus giving praise, she adorned the all-pure body with divine funeral rites and a precious shroud. ^C When they had laid Him in that God-receptive tomb, both Joseph and those with Nicodemus withdrew, while she alone sat before its doors, awaiting the divine resurrection. But let the discourse on these matters remain reserved for the splendor of the morrow; for now it is worth my while, O Lord, as I collect my thoughts to give thanks to You who suffered for my sake; to You, I say, who displayed ineffable patience; who by Your inscrutable condescension brought about my ascent from the subterranean places for my benefit. I praise, therefore, Your long-suffering and patience, O Lord; I praise Your hidden dispensation. I glorify Your incomparable mercy, by which, being moved, You justified me who was guilty. I kiss Your sufferings, by which I ^D was delivered from most shameful passions. I love Your cross, by which I was condemned to…

my sin; by which You delivered me from the condemnation of death. I kiss those nails, by which You shook off the penalty of the curse. I kiss the piercings of Your limbs, by which the wounds of my disobedience were healed. I kiss the reed, by which You wrote out my freedom; by which You wounded the head of the arrogant dragon. I kiss the sponge offered to Your immaculate lips, by which the bitterness of my transgression was changed for me into sweetness. As if for the sweetest food, I would have tasted the gall; as if for a joyful draught, I would have partaken of the vinegar; as if for a royal diadem, I would have put on the crown of thorns; as if with glistening pearls, I would have been adorned with the spittings; as if with most precious honors, I would have been glorified by the mockings; as if with the most splendid array, I would have been honored by Your buffetings. ^B Loving You, therefore, O Master, I pride myself in Your sufferings. I kiss the lance which tore my record of debt and opened the fountain of immortality. I kiss Your side, from which the rivers of life flowed; from which the perennial stream of incorruption welled up for me. I kiss Your burial linens, by which You adorned me and covered the garments of my shame. I kiss the most precious shroud, in which, being wrapped, You invested me with the robe of adoption. I kiss the tomb, in which You initiated the mystery of my resurrection; in which You prepared for me the way to emerge from Hades. I kiss that stone, by which You relieved me of the heavy burden of the fear of death. I honor those who ministered to the life-giving burial, as having obtained such grace. I kiss the hands of Her who gave birth to You, as having served the entirety of Your divine economy; as having labored alone, ^C formerly in the service of Your birth, and now in the need of Your burial alone; as having gathered the precious blood; as having wrapped the immaculate body. I glorify her, therefore, as having been seen as the sole companion of the saving passion; as the herald of the benefit, the proclaimer of immortality, and the mediator of Your divine illumination. But just as You, O Lady, were the first to see and proclaim Him, so may you also auspiciously announce to us that intelligible illumination of His in our souls—in Christ Himself, our sweetest light: to whom pertains glory, honor, and thanksgiving, with the Father, and with the Holy Spirit; now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ORATION IX

The voice of exultation let it be the prelude today for our giving of thanks. Let the voice of gladness sound forth first, ^D

^A suitably illuminated by the present brilliance, to proclaim the doxology. Let it beat out the songs of victory for Him who has ended the war of the ages; for Him who has routed the battle that was never proclaimed; for Him who through death has pulled down the kingdoms of death; for Him who has bound the strong man and plundered, as spoils, the souls held from the ages. For today His invincible tyranny is dissolved. Today the King of the heavenly powers, having engaged in combat with the adversary in the flesh, has cast him down, and liberated His own handiwork from grievous slavery. Today, having emptied the fearsome and dark treasure-houses of Hades, He has transferred those who were held by tyranny into His own authority. Today the Author of our life, having become the firstborn from the dead, has renewed for us the way of immortality. Today He exchanges the heavens for the nether regions by His nature, and for humanity—which had been hidden in a joyless land—He has inscribed a luminous and divine dwelling. Today the most radiant Sun of righteousness, casting forth the golden rays of the resurrection, has incomparably and beyond measure illumined both heavenly beauty and earthly grace. Today, sending forth the sweet and supremely joyful voice of gladness to the women bearing myrrh, He has plucked up by the roots, taken away, and caused to vanish the sorrows of the race.

But come, every tongue that has partaken of grace, let it join in harmony with me in this hymn of praise. Let it come to the aid of a longing that is oppressed, yet of speech that is at a loss. For this, even this, compels one to touch upon extraordinary things. This compels one to things greater than one's own power. This induces an oblivion of one's own nature. That we should all yield to this is not without glory. For it is a debt, even if it falls short of a return, and does not seem equal to the benefits bestowed, yet it is rendered by every creature that partakes of reason; since the Bestower Himself wills ^B such an exchange as a discharge of debts greater than we can pay. To me, however, O divine assembly, it has come about that I am under obligation not only for that reason, but also on account of the promise that, having been pledged beforehand, is now demanded of those [who owe the] debts. And what is this, and what is its nature? It is good to add it. Since, therefore, in what has gone before, the discourse had left the Mother of the Lord before the door of the life-giving monument—the Mother who received Life—it has reserved her for the brightness of this day. For thus it avoided being tedious through prolixity, and at the same time preserved a fitting order. But since, by the grace of Him who leads us to the payment of the debt, we have arrived at the point where the obligation must be redeemed, I hasten to redeem it according to my own ability. Furthermore, a proper handling of the discourse concerns the clear attendance of the Mother at the sepulcher amid countless struggles; ^C upon which the matter itself and the reason for the debt turn. For she alone, when all others had retreated—inasmuch as she alone was burning with the intense fire of her inner being—remained ^D and stood by, and was not deterred by things that are certainly not easy to believe. For it is difficult that Mary, alone, with none of the disciples or holy women attending, should have spent that three-day period in continuous sitting at the monument, and so remained unmoved from it, while the crowds of Jews and soldiers who were guarding [the tomb] were raging against the Lord and His sacred body. It is more honorable [to believe] that she either kept herself at home, not doubting about the imminent resurrection, or went to the monument only after the Sabbath with Magdalene and the other pious women, according to the opinion of Chrysostom, Hesychius, Cerameus, John of Thessalonica, and others.

of all, as if she whose bosom had been scorched by a vehement fire, and whose soul was established by manly fortitude, was sitting by the sepulcher; and her presence was assiduous, and she kept both her eyes wakeful. For although the wondrous Matthew said that the Magdalene, together with the other, had sat opposite the tomb, it was only for the sake of looking on, not daring to approach even at the very time of the burial. Whence it happened that they also had withdrawn, out of fear of the Jews and at the approach of the guard. ^A And the same person confirms this account, saying: "In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher" (Matt. XXVIII, 1). He would not have said they "came," if they had remained, just as the rest had likewise withdrawn. Now, some have supposed this "other Mary" — the one left unexplained — to be the Mother of the Lord, whom he had previously called the mother of Joses; and Mark points this out more clearly, saying: "And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid" (Marc. XV, 47). And some have even conjectured that she was the one called the mother of James, ^B whom this same writer nevertheless distinguishes from the mother of Joses, and truth affirms it. However, I think that these are the conjectures of those who do not touch the matter with the truth, nor do they deduce them from any certain evidence, but only from uncertain and obscure suppositions. For whence did they take it to fabricate such a change of name? Seeing that throughout the entire context of the divine Gospels, we see after the ineffable birth that most authoritative appellation of the Mother applied to her. For he says, "He took the young child and his mother" (Matt. II, 14). And, "The mother of Jesus was there" (Joan. II, 1). And again, "His mother saith unto the servants" (Joan. II, 5). And, "He went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother" (Joan. II, 12). ^C And, "Thy mother and thy brethren stand without" (Luc. VIII, 20). And, "There stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister" (Joan. XIX, 25). And Luke says in the Acts: "These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus" (Act. I, 14). And in short, one cannot find her ever called by an altered name, either from her parents or because of a kinship relation, but only by that most specific, honored, and celebrated designation. But there is also a more certain testimony to the fact, provided by the most truthful history of the theologians. For when the beloved disciple said that she was near, and almost touching the divine cross, the others, on the contrary, recounted that these women stood afar off and observed what was being done. ^D "For there were," says Matthew, "many women there beholding afar off, among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children" (Matt. XXVII, 55). And this also

both Mark and Luke ^A indicate with an indefinite statement. But if it is to be believed that the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene, who is recorded as being at the cross, were also with her by the reasoning already given, then none of the women mentioned is "the one of many names" who is named in this passage. For those women, throughout the whole night, were entering and departing from the tomb and reporting to the apostles what they had seen; hence it happened that the greater part of the miracles of the resurrection escaped them. But she, sitting immovably opposite the tomb, beheld all things more clearly, and did not declare them immediately, but at a later time.

For otherwise, how could she have seen, at the same time, both the earthquake and the angel’s descent, and then the rolling away of the stone, and furthermore the fainting of the guards and their subsequent awakening as if from sleep, and also the arrival of some of them into the city, while those women were departing and then returning, unless she remained there constantly, excited by a more ardent fire of love? For thus, not only the things that happened at that time, but also all other things from the time the Lord was captured, she beheld more clearly than all others, by no means enduring to be absent from it, nor indulging anything for bodily necessities in the meantime—I mean sleep or food—until she perceived the joys and delights of the life-giving resurrection. ^B Indeed, the women bearing unguents did see the stone rolled back and the angel sitting upon it; but when or in what manner these things happened, they did not know. For Matthew describes both the vision they had and the events that preceded their arrival; that is to say, the earthquake, the descent of the angel, and the displacement of the stone. The others recorded only the vision of the angels and their conversation with them, both of which they had been granted. But even he indicates this same thing through the past tense: "For the angel of the Lord," he says, "descended from heaven, and coming, rolled back the stone and sat upon it." But the word "sat" signifies the time both before their arrival and after they had come. Therefore, the Lord’s Mother alone knew both the things that preceded and that sweet and establishing earthquake: the earthquake, I say, by which those who were dead as if from sleep were awakened, and the watching guards were lulled to sleep. By which I think it was granted to her, before all others, ^C to receive the tidings of the divine resurrection, and, as far as was possible, to delight in the vision and splendor of the Son regarding the dispensation. For to the Mother, who had been entrusted with the mysteries of the dispensation, the Lord alone revealed the miracles of the resurrection—not only more excellently than the apostles and the women bearing unguents, but even beyond angelic and intellectual initiation. Thus, therefore, the brightness of the resurrection shone upon her immediately and primarily; but to those...

unguent-bearing women, it is signified by the angel and by the removal of the stone. For because they were weaker in disposition, it is revealed to them not suddenly nor in one way; but they receive faith partly by hearing, through the angel’s word concerning Him, and partly by sight, through the rolling away of the stone. Wherefore, having been led by the hand gradually toward the mystery, He Himself, who is Life and the Resurrection, appears to them.

For thus did His wisdom and prudence ^B arrange, so that by not appearing suddenly, He might not provide an occasion for them to think Him a phantom, out of amazement, as happened to some of the disciples; or even, upon believing, to be driven into some foolish and impotent state of mind by the intensity of their joy. If, even with this having been done, and having appeared to them, they—using an unrestrained and ungovernable impulse—laid hold of His immaculate feet, what propriety would they not have exceeded if matters had not been so arranged, given that they would have been tyrannized by the violence of their joy? And here indeed are the matters of the resurrection ^C as concerns Mary and those with her; but to the Mother, it is revealed more mystically and more intimately. Behold, therefore, the most familiar and genuine nature of her understanding that is beyond thought: how she does not proclaim these things beforehand of herself, either to the unguent-bearing women or to the apostles, but rather allows them, having become eyewitnesses, to grasp the truth more firmly. For in this way, it is most wisely pursued by her throughout the whole economy, that she should not possess the foreknown things of herself, but should ask for them from God, and that He, through her as mediatrix, should grant them to those for whom it was fitting.

Therefore, the heralds, knowing that the Mother had been instructed beforehand—since through her they had received an assurance more secure than the unguent-bearing women—chose not to make mention of her at all in their accounts of those events, guided, of course, by that wisdom which is mutually appropriate, and by the providence of the Spirit. For by producing her as a witness of His [resurrection], they would have provided an occasion for suspicion to those who did not believe, seeing that she might be thought to be seeking her own glory. And for this reason, they quite properly ^D omit and pass over in silence here the things that concern her.

But I would say that it would be very fitting for the present brightness, if we, having taken up the words of thanksgiving which she offered when she was sitting by the sepulcher at that time, were to begin our own now. For having spent the time before the resurrection in quiet, pondering the paradox and meditating on the mystery, and holding converse in solitude with Him who was fulfilling the fearful economy, she was uttering in stillness and privately such words as these: "You," she says, "O Lord, impassible and deathless..."

in virtue of the nature of Deity you possess, have suffered as a man by the assumption of flesh. You, I say, without departing from the Father's bosom, dwell in the hollows of the earth. You, who are uncircumscribed as God in the universe, are circumscribed in the tomb in your body. Thus do the souls of the righteous, receiving you, lead the dance. With such voices they salute you as their Redeemer. Thus, illuminated by your ineffable brightness, they proclaim your inexpressible philanthropy. But show your trophies of war to those on earth also. Appear, present invisibly with your fitting beauty. Let your light shine to the ends of the earth at your resurrection. Rise up bodily, you who are uncontainable as God. Awake, therefore, you who are unsleeping for the ages. Awake, ^A to be encircled by the gatherings of the peoples who hymn you. Awake for the defense of your poor, and for the scattering of the opposing powers into utter destruction. Show, O Sun of righteousness, the rays of the resurrection. Let the flashes of victory shine forth to the inhabited world. Let these saving deeds be known to all. Let the poor see and rejoice 92. Let me also see the desired sight of my most desired Master. Let me see the transcendent beauty of the most high Son. Let me behold the glory of the glorified God shining forth. Let me hear that sweet voice, sending forth words that are sweet and full of all grace. As you appeared first to your Mother at your advent, so also appear now, announcing the joy of the resurrection. Appear, you who are always with her, preserving her invincible. ^B Thus to the theologian and myrrh-bearing Virgin, both hymning and supplicating, the Son first shows the brightness of his resurrection; and, as far as it was possible to be initiated and to honor a Mother, he honors her by the foremost presence of his own manifestation. For even if it is written that he appeared first to the Magdalene 93, yet this must be understood as referring to the apostles or the other women who were bringing myrrh. For indeed she who bore him, even before the intellectual initiation of the angels, beholds the mysteries of the One born of her. For, burning with desire above all others, and struggling and persevering, she alone is the first to receive the due rewards. It was necessary, indeed, that she be the first to receive the universal joy, she who had been to us the cause of such fullness of gladness, she seen to be the cause of such joy, she alone entrusted with the secrets, she pierced by the infinite swords of the passion ^C. It was necessary that she, alone of...

all, who had been the companion of her Son’s sorrows, should also be the first to perceive that joy.

Truly, what mind, O Lord, could conceive the glory that you then received? What intellectual nature could comprehend that immense beauty which you then, as to a Mother, revealed? With what joy did you appear to her! With what great light did you illuminate the whole of creation at that time! With what a luminous aspect were you seen by the citizens of the world! What fragrance did that earthquake, that sweet herald of your resurrection, breathe into all things! What ointments did the earth yield, as your inexhaustible ointment welled up beyond measure! O how at that time was the entire distribution of things transformed into a new kind of beauty! How were the elements changed into a more harmonious order! How was the air adorned with calm and sweet breezes! What was the beauty that shone forth from the chorus of the stars! What rays of the sun were those, so lucid and pure! What was the grace of the celestial array! What a great gathering and dance of angels! What was the sweet sound of their doxology! With what divine splendors ^B they were adorned at that time! When the heralds of your resurrection were clothed in radiance! What glory and beauty they showed, which they had seen! O those voices and those words which announced the victory over the enemy: which proclaimed the prostration of death: which brought the good news of you, Life and Resurrection, to those on earth! O your voice, sweet and above all else to be desired, which sounded joy to the world through the myrrh-bearing women: which broke the sad bonds of death; which poured sweetness into the ears of all! For it was necessary that the very Joy and Gladness itself should initiate the calling of men with such a proclamation, and should address those held by the sad penalty of sin with such a gladsome greeting, so that such auspicious messages of your arrival and benefit might run on before. All creation leapt for joy.

Then the heavens opened their gates, and as if it were their own, they welcomed the message of those on earth. The spiritual powers exulted and, rejoicing with the gladness of men, they struck up a dance of joy surpassing all things. At that moment, both the intelligible and the sensible world were illuminated. The clouds of sorrow were driven from the ends of the earth, and the rays of joy encompassed all things. ^C Guilty nature cast off the habit of sorrow and put on the robe of light. The handwriting of the curse was torn asunder, and in its place were written promises. All things were filled with your most sweet and indefectible joy through that new address of "Hail." For you are the exultation of all joy, and the herald and the cause; the reconciliation of good things, and the provider of gladness; life, and resurrection, and an unfading adornment: sweet light, and a sight desirable beyond measure: tranquility conceived by the mind, and peace arriving ^D : you are wisdom itself, and virtue, and the supplier

^A of understanding, incorruption and eternity, remainder and sweetness, and alone unchanging beauty. Unconceptualized beauty, and ingenious elegance, self-holiness ^B and honor, and justice, and glorified glory beyond measure; you alone are desire unwaning, and longing unrestrainable; at once nameless and multinamed, and beauty most to be desired. O how many names the mind desires to bring forth along with your ineffable beauty! But it is held back both by its own weakness and by the poverty of language. But you, as a good multinamed and unnamable, removed from any subtle conceiving of names to be invented, not regarding words, but rather the burning of the intention, come ^C to announce to us the joy which, having arrived before, you announced through the myrrh-bearing women. Let the most radiant light of your manifestation shine upon us even now. May we see with the eyes of the mind the beauty exceeding the intelligible sun. May we enjoy with longing the sight of the Master that exceeds all desire. May we hear the divine voice, something sweet and joyfully proclaiming a message; may we receive the most joyous announcement of your benevolence. We have the myrrh-bearer, through whom you announce to us the inviolable joy; through whom you convey to us the fragrance of your benefits; her who carried you, the inexhaustible ointment; who both reconciled you, the exultation and life and resurrection, to us, and proclaimed you: whose aromatics of purity, when you had scented them above every fragrance of odor, you dwelt within her, and through her you came to us. Therefore, through her, ^D O benevolent one, you proclaimed the arrival of your joy-bringing reconciliation; come, so that you may snatch us from human things and the things of this age, as if from the lowest depths of the earth; and having paved for us the path to that life that knows no old age, number us with the highest choirs of those who feast; for you are light, and life, and resurrection, and the delight of those who rejoice in the heavens; and to you is fitting glory, honor, and worship, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ORATION X. Encomium on the holy and wonder-working

unmercenary physicians, Cosmas and Damian.

The zeal of yours, O lover of good things, toward piety, which I observe, stirs ^D amazement in me; yet at the same time, wonder and fear, when I consider the gravity of the commandment, take precedence. For to such a height

^A of love for God have you advanced, that you long to attain even the greatest things, and to call upon many to share in the difficult praise of these men. Yet we must, while keeping in mind the lofty worth of him who commands, not allow ourselves to be overcome by his eagerness for piety, but rather exhibit the sincerity of an honest mind; and even if we should fail, in our words, to match the dignity of the subject currently before us, we must not, at least, fall short of the zeal of him who proposed it. For the undertaking itself has a burning heat, kindled by a love of good things; yet it is held back, as if by a damp substance dividing the flame, or by things that hinder its bursting forth—by the massive weight of the subject, which exceeds our power. Yet it tries, finding some opening, and most earnestly, to bring out into the light the ray that its ability to speak can manage to produce.

You, excellent man, who incite us to such celebratory discourses, perhaps ask for the customary exaggerations belonging to encomia, ^B demanding with a certain superficial curiosity that these exceed the norm. But those who are the subjects of the praise proposed, just as they would reject the things themselves, would also reject the grandiloquent language woven about them. For whatever would not delight them when presented, they will surely resent if it is set forth in speeches. And how would they not rightly rebuke those who seek to honor them with the goods of their own country, when they themselves held such a hostile attitude toward the greatest riches and abundant possessions of that same country? For they will say—and most fittingly, mocking at the same time and suppressing the zeal of those attempting such a thing—"Let no one, in his laudatory speeches, do an injury ^C to the magnificence of spiritual goods, which we ourselves in truth deemed superior, by preferring before them those delightful things that are subject to the eyes and are forbidden to us. Nor let him who plans such a course think that, by rejecting those things through which we chanced to gain an eternal glory, he will be adding a brilliant supplement of high-sounding words to that glory of ours. For we consider such things not an increase but a loss of what we desire, and we therefore repel any ostentation arising from them. We count as nothing the magnificence ^D of cities and their founders; as nothing the fertility of the earth, heavy with timely fruits; as nothing the delights of varied meadows; as nothing regions blessed with a temperate air; as nothing fountains gushing forth with the clearest streams, filling the eyes with the greatest sweetness even before the taste; as nothing, finally, the rivers flowing down from mountain ridges, and gently pouring their current through valleys and plains, so that they might render these green with grass and blooming, and draw the eyes of those who look upon them with a lovely grace and pleasure. In this way, the abundance of what is called wealth has been despised, as has the affluence of goods that sea-borne merchandise provides; trodden underfoot is gold, which captivates the souls of men, and overcome is that tyranny of its power which masters others, and seizes those captured, treating and enslaving them almost like household slaves.

^A Such truly, with reasoned confidence or even by command, will be the joy felt by those who are so disposed toward the contemplation of apparent goods. But you, wonderful man, passing over these things as well, and neglecting an explanation of them, shift the narrative deliberately toward the image of the parents. And a noble plan it is! For it is worthwhile that those who were partners, or rather, the very authors of these good things, should also be sharers in the glory of the praise; and just as they were fortunate enough to possess integrity of character both by nature and by their actions, so too they should not justly be considered strangers to the praise of their words. For those whom character has joined together, the discourse of praise does not separate. For indeed, the offspring of the holy men set forth as the subject of our praise reveal the glorious reputation of their father. For those by whom they were trained, and through whom they ascended to the pinnacle of virtue and were deemed worthy to draw near to God, who is exalted above all, they proclaim as their instructors, and they bear witness to an appropriate participation in their own goods.

The father, then, of the celebrated Anargyroi, having set them upon the path of a godly way of life and most honorable conduct, entrusted the mother to be their guide until the end, while he meanwhile departed for the heavenly tabernacles. She, moreover, taking up the words of intention and, in the uncertainty of expectations, having presumed outcomes greater than could be anticipated, labored with diligent care to apply herself to what was lacking. For she was Theodota, that is to say, "given by divine gift," sealing her name with her deeds and confirming the glory of her appellation by the very facts; for she had detached her soul from the abjection of earthly things and had flown aloft, raised higher than nature; not carried by visible wings, but by purity and a wise understanding. ^{B C} Theodota, a gift indeed, as one given from God, but one who offered back with herself the fruit of her womb to the Giver; she who brought forth a double offering and in that respect surpassed that famous offering of Abraham; she who brought a whole burnt offering to the Lord who was sacrificed for the sake of men, and merited a greater commendation than he: not here honing a sword, not erecting an altar, not gathering wood, not kindling a fire, not polluting the air with smoke and the odor of burnt fat; ^D but, regarding those whom she was offering, holding out as a sword the chastity that amputates vices; and having raised up an altar of instruction—that purest dwelling-place of their souls—within which the fire, the ardor of divine longing, brought the sacrifice to its end, and she offered a sacrifice of most sweet savor, and most acceptable to the One desired.

Since, therefore, she had rightly divided her offering and gift, she ensured that they were rightly offered by the free will of those being offered. For she, indeed, was placing the seeds of good things in her sons; but they, in turn, strove so that what was thus sown might grow into a hundredfold harvest; and

they brought to completion what they had judged to be good—preferring the love of God to all other desirable things; keeping their faith unadulterated; ^A bearing witness to their conscience at all times; bound together by an inseparable love for their neighbors; torn away from the passions of pleasure; showing courage against them; mortifying the members of the body; strengthening the powers of the soul; and by the zeal through which they accomplished the greatest things in the flower of their youth, they gave an intimation of the newness of the gifts that were to come to them—a newness which, not only in the magnitude of the things performed but also in their number, proclaimed something wondrous.

So Cosmas and Damian, watered and at the same time nourished in body while in their youth—like noble branches—ascended to an immense height of virtue and gifts. Cosmas and Damian: they adorned their souls with godly deeds; and, adorned by these, they presented themselves as ornaments for all men through the most radiant splendors of their miracles. By the words of piety they cultivated the minds of men, and they provided an ornament for bodies through the driving away of ignoble diseases.

^B These men, therefore, having reached the most perfect virtue and action, received a sound and uncorrupted judgment through a more divine inspiration; they detested avarice, the cause of all evils and the enemy of things good. For they had learned by experience, being instructed by the words of the divine Paul, that this verily stands as the root of the whole catalogue of evils. Through it, strifes and fights and implacable wars are stirred up. Through it, even close kin are turned to enmity against one another; a father feels resentment toward his son, and a son devises guile against his father. Because of the love of it, brothers dissolve the bond of nature and contrive against it worse things than enemies. Through it, insurrections are prepared, not only of those living beyond the borders but also of neighboring nations. Through it, most cruel tyrannies are whetted like swords, and are launched against an empire that is well-ordered, pious, and possesses its power from God. Through it, the murder of tribesmen and the total destruction of peoples are emboldened. By means of it, the hands of the wicked prevail, slaughter abounds, injustices are increased beyond measure, and poverty and need strangle those who are wronged by it.

He who voluptuously delights in this becomes entirely estranged from the enjoyment of what are truly good things; he gathers up the opposite; he is drawn toward pleasures; he behaves madly toward his neighbors; he raises his eyebrows; he looks with arrogance; he is proud and senseless; he is ignorant, not only of the humility of his nature and the dissolution of his body, but also of the impending courts of law and the inexorable retribution of the just Judge.

^D And so, by the obsession of the love of money, he acts toward his neighbors and his own salvation, leading a life more troublesome than that of wretched slaves, subject to cupidity and—

^A nor permitted even to draw breath freely. For he accepts being wretched and worn out for its sake, and welcomes myriad cares; he spends sleepless nights, devising means for its increase and the growth of his trading; he schemes for sales and exchanges of things that are abundant to others, calculating how much wine, how much livestock, or even wool is sold. He even lets his thoughts drift down to hay, imagining that he will exchange it for gold. Once again, he laboriously investigates within himself what commerce among those he has devised is inexpensive, who is the guarantor of this, and who is worthy of these hazard-free goods. And if, anxious in his mind, he should ever manage to taste the lightest and least pleasant sleep, he dreams that he is gathering gold and storing it in purses; but when wakefulness comes and snatches it away from the hand that seemed to hold it, it pierces him with true sorrow, like an arrow, because of his frustrated desire. ^B And such is his way through nightly vision and meditation; but as for what happens during the day—the preparations of a Laconian table, I mean, the voluntary scarcity of food, the killing of servants through hunger, and the driving away of needy beggars with insults and blows, beyond even the refusal of aid—perhaps he himself might relate it as befits the matter, or even demonstrate it through his own deeds, displaying his own wickedness. For us, at any rate, though it was in our mind to show it as best we could with the art of rhetoric, the subject we have in hand nonetheless commands us to bring the discourse, which has been wandering like a colt, back to its proper goal ^C and to direct its course toward that same end, to which it will immediately proceed without any further delay.

Therefore, the lovers of truth and merchants of golden virtue—the Anargyri [the Unmercenary], having known most wisely that avarice which captivates the nature of greedy men—uprooted it from their own souls, and together with it extirpated the swarm of evils: irrational desire, beastly anger, the tyranny of pleasures; they cut down the swelling of vainglory, the vicious affection of self-love, the injury of iniquitous action, the insane inflation of pride, the stubbornness of a heart devoid of compassion. And in the place of those budding and growing shoots, ^D which were cut off together with the root of evils, they grafted the nobility of poverty, which sprouted forth: an angelic mode of life, a life blooming with purity, chastity flourishing in the beauty of holiness, humility the mother of modesty, love the parent of compassion, an inexhaustible fountain of mercy—charity, through which they imitated the philanthropy of Christ the Lord, and through Him received the grace to earn favor by means of their good deeds. For having yoked this [charity] to the rejection of money, or rather, if I should say it better, to the total renunciation of things and to destitution, and fashioning, as it were, a fiery chariot, they traversed a strange journey.

^A And making their course towards God, as far as it is permitted to created beings, they conversed with Him by a certain spiritual intimacy; and they received from Him gifts greater than any mind can sufficiently understand. For, desiring Him alone without any satiety, and loving their neighbors more than themselves—or, to speak more truly, or at least not loving themselves any less—they obtained the means to display their love for Him through their deeds. ^B From thence the cataracts of heavenly graces were opened to them; from thence an abyss of good things was poured out for them; thus the wealth of the better gifts abounded for them—wealth, I say, which poverty brought forth, which lack of means gathered, which the rejection of money amassed, which the disdain for present things stored away; which, finally, the yearning for God increased, and love for their fellow men accumulated. This wealth, which abounded in them who were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word of God 96—this wealth also overflowed in those who, by their likeness of character and word, have become their successors. For they courageously took up the struggles of the former; the labors for the truth; the journeyings; the cares for the well-being of souls; the concerns for the healing of bodies; the labor without expense; the courses run without pay; a life which was not only not superfluous, but altogether destitute of the necessities; the stripping away of the things of the present age; a life nailed to the cross, by which they became partakers of the resurrection of Him who suffered—and they received from Him who is the Risen One, and who raised the dead with Himself, [the power] to revive the hopes of men that had been deadened by the excess of passions.

^C And what speech ^D could narrate their greatness and multitude, or even touch upon their magnificence in any way? How many tongues? Not even if there were ten thousand; not even if there were more than these; not even if all that are now at work in every individual man were to attempt to explain them, could they say anything fitting and sufficient. For these things are honored above not only verbal explanation, but even the intelligence of the mind; existing as miracles of the incomprehensible God, they are praised in an ineffable manner; the gifts, being miraculously renewed, are proclaimed to be admired inexpressibly. They are not grasped by reason; they are not manifest to speech; they do not fall under measure; they are not bounded by time. For since they are perfected throughout all time and every single day, they stretch the enumeration into the infinite, and become a subject of contention for both periods of time. For the past age strives, bringing forward the new things that were innovated within it and showing their number to be countless, and claiming respect due to the success of what was admired after it and to the antiquity of the deeds; the present age strives in return, claiming to surpass the former in the things already established and to excel by the incomparable excellence of the things newly innovated. And the former, indeed, as a foundation, glories in showing that which is in the subjects recorded; but the latter, along with those who thus extend the memory, [also shows] those things which are recent and more clearly—

he is honored. And yet, although they signify something great, they are nevertheless found wanting when compared to the vast heap of things miraculously accomplished. For, just as they cannot be comprehended by thought, nor explained in speech, so too can they not be bounded by time.

For what time or what reasoning, O stewards of stupendous miracles, could suffice to marvel at [your] miracles, let alone to write them down or to declare them with articulated voice, those things which remain stored away in the perceptions of the soul? Namely, the subduing of deadly diseases; the routing of exasperated and turbulent passions; the drawing up of an army against spiritual [foes], while removing the bodily; the guardianship of chastity and sobriety. Thus, the varied visitation ^B which you bestow upon bodies shows forth diverse benefits. Thus, the Lord, who alone is most admirable, has made His own power wonderful in you. For, "He has made wonderful," says the Psalmist, "to the saints." He did not say, "He was made wonderful," but "He has made wonderful." For He is by nature wonderful, he says, and stands in need of no addition from the miracles performed to win admiration, but He makes His benefits wonderful in the saints, He makes the prodigies performed through them wonderful, He makes His power in them wonderful, and [He makes] the new miracles which are brought about through them wonderful. Furthermore, he explains the cause of this "making wonderful" very clearly. But what is this, and of what sort? "For all His wills," he says, "are in them." In those in whom His wills are fulfilled, in those He makes His gifts wonderful; in those in whom His precepts are performed without delay; in those in whom sincere faith and the wholesome institution of the laws are preserved; in those in whom He Himself, and the Father, because they have been pre-purified and sanctified by the advent of the Holy Spirit, coming, make their abode.

In this manner, He shows clearly through the things which He gives in return that His precepts have been fulfilled in you; and this is manifest and displayed by the magnitude of the rewards in the things themselves. For while the gifts themselves exist and are held in honor, yet by the zeal and will of those who draw them forth and worthily receive them, they both receive their measure and are provided. Therefore, by the abundant distribution of these, your religious will, you who have received them, and also the prior preparation through works commensurate with them, are shown alike, and are set forth into the work for those who wish to examine it. For who is so rich in the glory of miracles, whether of our present age or of the most ancient men, that when his virtues are compared with your gifts, that magnificence of virtue would not yield? ^D Abraham, indeed, the just man, was renowned for the celebrity of his name above all who existed in his time; yet he will be seen to be far removed in many parts from your graces, by which a most honorable life, and an excellence of virtues, show your excellence to be greater by comparison. For while he, indeed, loved God of all, you have loved Him even more,

^A and having chosen an angelic life, as it were, beyond the flesh for His sake. And he, indeed, offered to God the fruit of his loins as a sacrifice, obeying the commandment of Him who was to receive it; but you, offering your own bodies of your own free will, sacrificed them with the sword of divine love and the fire of continence. And he, indeed, received a ram as a substitute for him who was to be offered; but you, by offering yourselves, were the sacrifice in reality, and had no need of any exchange. And finally, he offered once; but you have been offered throughout your whole life, crucified and put to death to the world, and dying through every day of your life.

And Abraham is admired for his hospitality; for the action is indeed worthy of admiration, and a genuine work of his magnificent spirit; yet it was from an abundance of his possessions that he was generous, and he shared this with those who chanced by. But you, having entered into the same station as those who receive hospitality, through a voluntary and unforced poverty, have hosted all the needy with a superior hospitality, cherishing them as brothers, mind and body alike, embracing and comforting them with love; and you did not limit this hospitality to any time or specific place, but extended it everywhere over land and sea, feeding them spiritually; and you physically restored those who were pining away, and by granting the desire for food to those who were satiated, you changed their famine into satisfaction.^B

He once received in the guise of angels the deity, which is by nature uncircumscribed, but which typified the Trinity to be seen among men; but you, having enjoyed the illumination of that same Trinity throughout the whole course of your life, became lights of the world; and you manifested its unfailing beneficence through miraculous healings; and not only while present, but even after you migrated from among men, you display its abundant gifts through your works, being both pure heralds of the divinity and defenders of its assistance.^C

And why is it necessary to compare the descendants of the patriarch, or even the righteous who followed after him, with you and with the gifts bestowed upon you by God? He, indeed, had an abundance that sufficed for the comparison; yet nothing of his virtue was diminished or lowered thereby, for the incomparable immensity of the gift bestowed by grace, as it shone forth through words, so also did it shine through the works themselves. Indeed, having become imitators of the ministers and heralds of this grace, you obtained the same gifts as they. For to those whose struggles are equal, the gifts are distributed in equal measure. Following in their footsteps, you undertook labors for the sake of the saving proclamation, and you did not fall short of their equal course, anointing the souls of men with words toward piety; uprooting the super-sown tares; planting the pure dogmas of theology; cultivating a life of poverty; becoming rich in the gifts of the Spirit; taking up arms against the multifaceted ailments of bodies; battling and driving away their countless diseases; and thus you fulfilled the words and imitated the kindness of the Giver and His willing disposition toward the human race.^D

^A For it was right that you, having received the benefits from the Giver of gifts, and having inherited His wealth as a free gift, should imitate the Benefactor, both by reflecting upon the kindness of the Provider and by considering the grace that is fitting for the apostles, through the visiting of those who are to be benefited. For it is not for the sake of your own ambition, but for the sake of His glory, that you minister to these and cause the greatness of the gift to be proclaimed.

For, says the divine evangelist, He gave to those who saw Him themselves, and to the disciples, power against unclean spirits, so that they might cast them out. What, therefore, was granted to them by promise, this has been provided to you through the outcome of events themselves. Power has been given to you against unclean spirits, not only that they might tremble at you as servants of God, and fear and quake before you—but also that they might be driven out, and put to flight, and find no place to dwell. ^B And to heal, He says, every disease: not that you should heal those whose cure was easy, while passing over those that seemed more difficult to cure, but by saying "every," He gave you the power to heal easily even those diseases that might otherwise seem incurable. Even if a disease happens to be chronic and despaired of by those who think upon these matters, and by those who seem to judge of future events by the signs that appear; even if it tends toward death. For so the truth of the divine promise holds. By saying "every," therefore, without making any distinction among the diseases that were to be cured, He also signified those that were extreme, clearly showing that you have received the confidence to liberate bodies afflicted even with lethal diseases through your intercessions to our Christ. ^C Since, therefore, you have obtained this gift from Him, and, becoming imitators of the Giver's kindness and of His ready zeal for the human race, you have the ability to benefit the needy without toil, be moved by the prayers of those who now entreat you; listen to the words sent up from the depths of the heart; give ear to the sorrowful groans. You have the abundance of healings received from above; you also have the ability to distribute them easily to those who ask for them, unless something of the things that hinder should exclude the petitioners from the grace. But that which hinders the benefit is sin, which also produces the most evil of passions and prepares the pains of these to reach far; yet it is to be overcome and uprooted by the efficacy of your supplications. ^D Do not, therefore, by looking at the resistance of this, wish to withhold the grace that is always being poured forth by you, on account of a just cause; but as though it were a very strong rampart built up against them, remove it from the midst, and prepare the gift to be conveyed without hindrance to those who are in need. For this disease is the most grave of all others, as of all things, most requiring help

^A of your visitation—or rather, care. You possess authority even over it, having become associates in the very deeds of those who have received this promise. It is powerful—this, certainly, is beyond doubt—that when those in need are cooperating, this prayer of yours, being acceptable, is able to remove also the other diseases, and in genuine well-being, to restore those who are being tended.

Since, therefore, by the providence of God, you possess the victories over all passions, imitate the goodness of Him who has provided for you, even in those who are held accountable. With persistent intercessions, dissolve the charges of their transgressions; release those fettered by long-standing diseases; be moved by the determination and the desire of those who take refuge beneath the wing of your warm visitation. For you see ^B how those in pain, as if to some effortless and grace-filled medical dispensary, flee to your shrines and hope for the immediate removal of their painful conditions. For they see you with the mind, even if you are not visible to the eyes; they stretch out their hands; they converse with words, seeking mercy; they implore you as saviors; they beseech you as guardians. One, not yet having ceased to speak, declares the pains that beset him, putting forward petitions on their behalf; another, due to the excess of suffering and having even ceased from words, sends up sighs and reveals the smoldering pain.

Thus, he who is consumed by the burning of fever stretches out his parched tongue in supplication and, by the mere sight, seeks the dew of your visitation; he who is struck by the most bitter pains seeks the sweet aid of your visitation; he who is fainting expects the refreshment from you that will restore his soul; he who is dissolved by long-standing wasting away looks toward your coming for restoration; he who has his eyes ^C clouded by illness and is dragging out a life full of pain foresees you as illuminators and liberators from his pains; he who has his limbs shattered by some accident calls upon your help to set and bind them together. Everyone, therefore, who wears a body subject to many passions, and is bound by the painful things of it, seeks through you, with Christ the Lover of Good providing, to receive deliverance from the afflictions that beset him.

Cheerfully, therefore, assenting to the prayers of those in need (for this is most peculiar to you, and for those who ask, a hope that admits of no delay), fulfill the offered petitions: extinguish the flame of those burning; calm the pains that are raging; restore the limbs of the paralyzed; dispel dejection by the recall of cheerfulness; revive deserted hopes; stir into flame the deadened expectations. ^D You are not unaware of the weakness of nature, not only as having been partakers of it, but also as having been enlightened by God, and by that very experience, through the bowels of that greater loving-kindness, and the visitation of those who indeed were companions of its evils, but through you were delivered from the injury of these things.

^A You know its sloth when tested by the calamities of others, as you, being merciful by an imitation of God, lean down towards the fallen; as you endure the stench of those who rot; as you labor not only by your own hand to correct its failings, but also join your labor to those who attempt to stretch out a hand to it, and by the very works of your presence and zeal, provide a sense of correction lest they err in anything.

For indeed the physician, sprinkling ready remedies for health, and seeking the help of the Lord, summons you as helpers both in supplication and in healing; and thinking to stop the fever, he requests your dew-like presence. He, drawing steel, and lifting his eyes to heaven, draws and raises up your intercession along with him, and through it looks forward to safety, while performing surgery on the incision ^B and endeavoring to remove the putrefaction, he perceives you as co-cutting and co-healing in [his] helplessness.

But truly also, he who has undertaken the battle against the enemies of the republic, and is vexed by the wars of the impious, summons your intercession, which he sets against them as a battle line. For just as you have received irresistible strength against spiritual enemies and bodily diseases, so also against the contrary onset and visible battle, and the raid of enemies, you have received authority from Christ the Almighty. Wherefore you also have pious emperors, together with peoples and cities, as suppliants to you. Quickly therefore, anticipating their prayers, provide a common remedy, the victory over enemies for the Christ-named people. ^C Kindly assenting to the prayers of the suppliants, seek for them, indeed, that they may be unharmed and unhurt; but for the adversaries, seek a flight that shall lead to their utter destruction; blunt the edge of swords drawn for slaughter; shatter the bows of the blasphemers; burn the shields of the impious with the fire of intercession; silence the voices and words of men speaking loftily; shackle the tongues moved against the Most High; show the boast of the pious to be vocal and heard; arm those who acknowledge Christ with a stronger power; and with fervent and persistent supplications to the King of all, crowning pious emperors with victories, procure common trophies for the flock of Christ.

You have as a helper Him who bestows abundant gifts; ^D who pours forth rivers of mercy; who opens the abyss of His own gifts and accommodates His work to those who wish to draw from it; who grants by irresistible strength; who alone makes victors, Christ; and bestows peace, truth, and peace.

You have, in both word and deed, the Mother of the Giver and Queen of creatures favoring you; that intercession easy to be heard; a woman, I say, as in incomparable glory, so also in the efficacy of her supplications, set above all minds detached from matter, and above the servants of God, and who has received from the Giver Himself that her prayers should never fail: through whom the weak race of men, and those who had truly lost good health, was restored, and the pastures of those things which had grown upon [us] by

[...were restrained; by her the disease-bearing disobedience] has been stayed, and the human race enjoys the wholesome virtues of obedience. By her, death-bearing sin was cut off from the stream of evils, and an abundance of righteousness has increased among men. By her, the long-standing tyranny of death has been destroyed, and those dead from of old—having been dissolved—were integrated by the powerful virtue of Him who was born of her, and were recalled to an ageless life. She is the only gate of immortal life, ^A which has been called that which does not admit a crossing (or: through which there is no returning), and by her storehouses of incorruption were opened, and they enriched mortals with immortality. By her, the flowing streams of tears of our first ancestors were stayed; and streams of joy irrigate those who perceive her great deeds, and their descendants, unto the ages.

The glory of the angels; their unceasing exultation; the joyful boast of human nature. Her grace, working together with those who seek it at the right time and with those in need who beg for it, is revealed not only to be present with you; but at such a time, to those who fervently invoke her, she grants that they might understand her own visitation. For they see ^B as she gives them to see: sometimes ordering them to care for the suffering patient, and sometimes explaining the mode of the cure, yielding the whole of the healing to the service of your own hands. This she thinks and accomplishes, not as though she were refusing the means of inclination or were unwilling to extend her hands to the sick, or were refusing to bring about health by a mere command—for she possesses the power to consent and to bend with philanthropy, and this she concedes—above created nature—only to the Son, the incomparable prerogative of mercy. Rather, she does this as one honoring you as His servants, and ^C confirming the honor obtained by you in the dispensing of such health.

Therefore, moving her to be ready for intercession, and as one who abundantly pours the oil of mercy upon all, soothe the pains of those suffering and in need of being healed. Repay the longing of those who adorn your holy shrine and who glory in your protection; and fill always the petitions of those who gather for the praise of God, and for the celebration of the grace given to you by Him. Receive her as an intercessor offering a harmonious prayer for you—both to the Lord who was incarnate from her, ^D and to her divine maternal majesty—a true mother, imitating the philanthropy of her children. You have obtained her whom, as she nourished you with milk, so she perfected with godly actions; you have been fortunate to have her as one of like mind in nature and likewise in life. By her, you were illuminated by the rays of both visible and intelligible light—Theodota, indeed, called the divine gift, who nonetheless, as she offered her own virtues, so also offered you as gifts acceptable to God. Having taken her as a sharer—just as of good works, so also of graces, and of boldness toward the Creator—therefore also toward...

having attained [them]. Wherefore, taking hold ^A of that very Giver of good things, and the Author of all blessings, Christ our God, for intercession, fulfill the petitions of those who pray. For He Himself is the Fulfiller and the plenitude of the blessings promised; He is their steward and provider, and He both protects and holds out their abundant participation. To Whom is due honor, and glory, and praise, and thanksgiving, with the Father and the holy and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

OF THE SAME GEORGE, IDIOMELA.

On the Entrance of the Most Holy Mother of God:

Today the God-containing temple. The Mother of God is brought into the temple of the Lord, and Zacharias receives her. Today the Holy of Holies rejoices, and the choir of angels mystically celebrates a festival; with whom we also, keeping festival today, cry out with Gabriel: Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with you, He who has great mercy.

Come, all you people, let us celebrate with songs of praise her who alone is immaculate: whom the prophets foretold, and who was offered in the temple: her, I say, who was predestined before the ages as Mother, and in the last times was shown to be the Mother of God. O Lord, by her intercessions, grant us Thy peace and great mercy.

II.

On Saint John Chrysostom. (Nov. 13)

III. On the holy Fathers who first gathered at Nicaea. (16 July.)

The chorus of holy Fathers, gathered from the ends of the world, ordained one substance and nature of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; and clearly and lucidly delivered the mystery of theology to the Church; whom, praising in faith, we call blessed, saying: O divine camp, God-inspired soldiers of the army of the Lord; stars of much light of the intelligible firmament of mystical Sion, ^A you indestructible towers; you thousand-fragranced flowers of paradise; you all-golden mouths of the Word; boast of the Church; ornament of the world, ^B fervently intercede for the salvation of our souls.

ANALYTICAL INDICES.

1.

INDEX TO THE ANTIRRHETICS OF ST. NICEPHORUS.

A Acephali heretics, 16, 22, 170. Adoration, true, or properly so-called, is rendered to God alone, 171. Adoration, honorary, of the saints is not latria, 92. Adorations, various kinds of, 91. Ægyptians, worshippers of foul beasts, 114, adn. The idolatry of the Ægyptians surpassed the superstitions of all peoples, 114. Agatho, Pope, a fragment of his letter, 274. Agnoetae, the impious heresy of, 250. Agraptodocoetae, who they were, 40. "Amnemoneutoi" (unmentionable), a shameful name imposed on monks by Copronymus, 144. Amphilochius to Seleucus, 63. Anastasius, successor of Germanus of Constantinople, 269. Angels are uncircumscribed, but not absolutely so, 73. Other things concerning angels, ibid. The same figure in which angels have appeared is depicted by Christian artists, 75. How they appeared in the body, 215. Aniptopodes (the footless), v. Chameunae. Antioch, temple of Apollo with an oracle, 200. Antonius, an iconoclast, 268. "Aoraton" (invisible), a various reading, or rather an addition (II Cor. IV, 4), 128. Apollinaris, his errors, 74, and elsewhere. Arius, his name is said to denote fury, namely from "Ares," the raging god, 160. Arian heresy is set forth, 160. Arians, agreeing with the Manichaeans, 17, 120. Arians said that the flesh was assumed by the Word without a soul, 31. Masters of the iconoclasts, 31, 250. They accused Christ of ignorance, 250. "Asebeia" for "aselgeia" (Jude v, 4), 165. Asterius (one or two), cited in the oration concerning St. Euphemia and the woman with the issue of blood, 80, 88.

B Baptism, the utility of, 223. Basil the Great, his dictum is explained at length, 97 seq. Basil to Amphilochius, or concerning the Holy Spirit, 90, 98. Against Sabellius, 99.

C Canon of Frankfurt against the holy images is exploded, 91, adn. Canons of the Trullan Council, praise and defense of, 277, 278. Cantacuzenus, Matthew (who was emperor), several passages from his unpublished Commentary on the book of Wisdom, 93, 103, 114, 130, 131. His singular interpretation of the saying that God made man in His own image and likeness, 100. But Nicephorus says otherwise, 129. Chameunae, the aniptopodes, priests of the Didonaean Jupiter, 195. Cherubim, as much heavenly as material in the ark. Concerning these, Nicephorus writes at length and excellently, 73 seq., 259 seqq. Christ's knowledge, 250. It was twofold, 65. How Christ's body entered to the disciples with the doors closed after the resurrection, 110. Christian religion spread throughout the whole world, 193. Christians, the ancients were staurophori (cross-bearers), 109. Christians called idolaters by the Iconomachs, 3, 171, 180, 212, 269. Christianocategori (accusers of Christians), a new heresy, 146. Its origin, ibid. Christolyti, heretics, 49. Christ, the deity did not desert Him even in death, 49. Circumscription, how many-fold it is, 77 seq. Circumscription is not the same thing as painting or configuration, 80. Concerning circumscription, Nicephorus writes often and at length. Clement of Alexandria, a fragment from his lost book on the Pasch, 101. Comparison of evangelical matters with Mosaic ones, 237 seqq. Conciliar, ecumenical and authentic, marks assigned to a writing, 17. Confession of faith concerning Christ's incarnation, 38 seq. and 251 seq. Confusanei, heretics, 54. Constantine the Great, emperor, praise of, 142, 145. Constantine, archbishop of Cyprus, 70. Constantine, bishop of Nacolia, the front-runner of the Iconomachs, 147, with adn. Controversies, dogmatic, are to be settled by ecumenical councils, 171. Copronymus, his treatise or edict against the holy images, parts are cited and refuted, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 33, 34, 47, 48, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 58, 59, 66, 67, 70, 92, 103, 106, 109, 110, 114, 118, 121, 122, 126, 159, 171, 175, 235, 243. Whether all the aforesaid passages are by Copronymus or also by his followers is questioned, 148, in adn. Certainly, 166, the cited passage is not Copronymus', but of other Iconomachs. Otherwise, Nicephorus also mentions Copronymus’ impious writings, 276. Copronymus' cruelty, 137. His impious character and crimes, 20, 24, 25, 44, 47, 49, 72, 137. His dire death in the 58th year of his age, 157. His prosperities and victories are minimized, 133, 137. [His statute], 140, 159. Avarice and impiety, 140, 141, 142. Copronymus casts down Christ’s image, substituting his own, 44. He tortures the painter of the sacred image, 52. [He was a] Monophysite.

^A having experienced many calamities under his rule, 133. Copronymus, why he was called Mamonas by Nicephorus, 15, n. The fable of the glorious crows, 22. Bishops used to place crosses before their signatures, as is done even now, 154. Veneration of the cross, 89. The cross is a material image of Christ’s body, 107. The Phantasiastae said that the Cyrenaean was crucified in place of Christ, who meanwhile sat on a mountain and mocked the Jews as crucifiers, 82. Cyril of Alexandria is cited, 62, 100, 104, 105. From his previously unpublished Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, 1.4; 10.6. Two passages produced by Nicephorus in the Latin part, 0.

D Summary definition against the Iconoclasts, 220. God, super-perfect and pre-perfect, 163. Righteousness (*dikaiosynē*) instead of glory (*doxa*) (Is. xxxvi, 17), 94. Various gods of the heathens are named, 179, 194, 195. Dionysius the Areopagite is cited, 101. The same is called *theomysticus*, 168, with n. Docetae or Phantasiastae heretics, 53. Their fable about the death of Christ, 82. A dogma defined in an ecumenical council is not subject to a new question, 276.

E Epiphanius, sermon on the offering for the dead, 90. His passage, corrupt in the editions, is emended, 91, n. His same opinion concerning sacred images is believed to be fictitious, 270. Bishops apostatizing from the faith of the Second Council of Nicaea, 150. Bishops or priests who are Iconoclasts are gravely argued against, 136. Erichthonius is double-natured (*diphyes*), 194. The Eucharist in the catholic view, that is, containing Christ’s body and blood, 67, 68, 69, 84, 103, 177, 239, [in reference to] heterodox views. Read also the annotation, 69. The *antitypa* of the Eucharist are [so called] before, not after consecration, 69, 270. The Eucharist is not an image of Christ’s body but the body itself, 68. Eusebius Pamphili was an Arian, 279. He is gravely reproved, 52, 160. The same was an Iconoclast, 160. The same fictitiously subscribed to the Nicene faith, even as Arius did, ibid. It is believed that he sacrificed to idols out of fear of death, ibid. The error of Eutyches, 54. The Gospels, calligraphic and most highly adorned with precious images, both painted and fashioned, 231, 232. (Such as are still seen, for instance in the Vatican Library and at Saint Mark’s in Venice). The book of the Gospel is accustomed to be laid upon the neck of the bishop being consecrated, 172.

F Great famine under Copronymus, 135. Praise of the Christian faith, 253. Its beautiful definition, which admits of no doubt, 86, 145. (For Chrysologus also says in sermon 58: He who seeks faith, does not seek a reason.) Its full confession is written, 167. A profession of faith was made by the bishop-elect, 154. Right faith is not proven by human prosperity, but by apostolic doctrine, 138, 139. The Iconoclasts forced the orthodox to subscribe to a certain formula, 162. The thunderbolt of Jupiter worshipped, 193.

G Two fragments from the Chronicle of George Hamartolus, ms., 111, 117, n. Germanus I, Patriarch of Constantinople, deposed by the Iconoclast Leo the Isaurian, 269. A specimen of old glossaries for the life of Saint Nicephorus from a Vatican codex, 268, n. The power of evangelical grace compared with the Mosaic law, 236. To engrave (*grapsai*), 77, with n. Gregory Nazianzen is cited, 79, 83, 95, 100, 113, 117, 163, 167. Gregory of Nyssa is cited, 63.

H Almost every image was forbidden to the Hebrews, 114, 115. Why not likewise to Christians, ibid. Various heretics are named, 170. Praise of the Emperor Heraclius, 144. Honor paid to images by those who respect them with a certain grace, 235. (This is against those who say that such things profit the soul not at all.) Pope Honorius is not placed among the Monothelites by Nicephorus, 171, n. Hypsistarian heretics, 16.

I Why the feast day of the Alexandrians is Iconium, 144. ^B Iconoclasm had its origin from Jews and Saracens, 146. Iconoclasts corrupted the writings of the Fathers, 16, 93, 161. Iconoclasts were like the Phantasiastae, 32. Suspected of heresy regarding the dogma of the Eucharist, 68, with n., and 69. Enemies of the blessed Mary, whom they denied to be the Theotokos, 71. Utterly unworthy of the name of Christians, 122, 219. They did, however, honor the cross, 106. They were hostile to monasticism, 142, with n. In the age of Nicephorus, the Iconoclasts did not yet have perfect treatises of their sect, 161. The heresy of the Iconoclasts recrudescing under Leo the Armenian, 161, 173. Their fury against sacred buildings and objects, 231. The worst morals of the Iconoclasts are described at length, 150 seqq., 137, 163. The *idiomata* (properties) of Christ are accurately explained, 60 seq. It is proved at length that idolatry was destroyed by Christianity, 181 seqq. The image of the Savior sent to Abgar, 17, 36, where see the note. Also, 120. An image is a thing different from an idol, 45. Regarding the image, the archetype, and the prototype, 45, 46. By what moving causes the veneration of images occurs, 91. The honor of profane images persuades us of the honor of sacred images, 129. The image of the Lord is demonstrated to be more venerable than the cross, 106, 108. The word "circumscriptible" was the chief argument of the Iconoclasts, 16, 27, 48, and passim. Invocation before the images of the saints is pious, 126. The orthodoxy of the Empress Irene, 133. Isidore of Pelusium is cited, 234.

J It is related that the King of the Persians, having sent a painter, desired images of the infant Jesus and his Mother to be made for himself, 120. Yazid, the Caliph, ordered the holy images of the Christians to be torn down, 146. John Chrysostom is cited, 8, 90, 274. Two fragments from the Chronicle of John the Sicilian, ms., 141, n., and 147. The metamorphoses of Jove, 194. A Jew of Tiberias was the cause of Iconoclasm, 146. His punishment, 147. Fear of the last judgment is encouraged, 150. Praise of Justinian the Great, 144. Justinian (Rhinotmetus) subscribed to the Trullan canons, 277.

L Laity were forbidden to dispute about dogmas, 20. Nicephorus says that law is nothing else than written custom, 90. Leo the Isaurian was an Iconoclast, 147, 268. Litanies and supplications were conducted to determined places, 90.

M Excerpts from Macarius Chrysocephalus, 25, 26, 27, 29, 31, 32, 34, 38, 39, 44, 46, 50, 61, 72, 96. The Magi who worshipped the child Jesus were Persians, 94. Manichaeans and Arians were the leaders of the Iconoclasts, 120, 136, 159. Errors of the Manichaeans, 113, 243, and elsewhere. The two principles of the Manichaeans, 93, 251. Books of the Manichaeans and Arians, 120. Marcion in agreement with Manes, 127. The intercession of Mary, the Theotokos, with God, 19, 71. Mary of the lineage of David, 205, with n. Martyrdom in schism is of no avail, 275. Martyrs flying to heaven immediately after their torture, 125. Copious praise of the martyrs, 123 seq. Epistle of Patriarch Methodius to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, 268. Miracles are performed through the intercession of the saints, and healings by name, 126. Miracles are sometimes performed in the tortures of the holy martyrs, 126, and elsewhere. The liturgical Mass is truly a sacrifice, 69, 70, 84, 239. Hamartolus traces monasticism from the beginnings of religion, 142, n. Byzantine monasteries of Florus and Callistratus, 133. The Monothelites are refuted, 170. The fly worshipped by the Ekronites, 201.

1533 INDICES ANALYTICI. 1534

N Nicephorus: his minor apologia written in the year 813; the greater in the year 817, 171, with note 2, 277, annot. 1. Nestorius: his errors, 33.

O Oikonomia as oikodomia, varied reading (I Tim. i, 4), 85.

P Panthera: men deceived by a representation of this human figure, 234. Patres (Church Fathers): held in contempt by the Iconoclasts, 158. Paulus: abdicates the patriarchate of Constantinople, unwilling to associate longer with the Iconoclasts, 171. Peccatum (Original Sin), 105. Persecutio: under Leo the Armenian, 163. Pestilentia: in Constantinople under Copronymus, 133. Petrus: the Apostle’s primacy, 165, 184. Phantasmata: "ecalaea" and "empusa," 195. Phylacteria: holy phylacteries worn by Christians, 109. Pictura: comparison with Scripture, 88. Picturae: sacred paintings which were the cause of much spiritual salvation, among which is that of Mary of Egypt, 93. Picturarum: their effect greater than that of the Scriptures, 252. Pneuma (Spirit) as phos (light) (Ephes. v, 8), 205. Polemon the philosopher: his image, 95. Praeconium: in the ordination of a bishop, 154. Preces: those customarily offered at the dedication of churches, 176. Prophetiae: the series concerning Christ and His religion, 223 ff. Providentia: God’s providence, 250-252. Pyrrhus the Monothelite, 171.

R Reliquiae: the remains of saints must necessarily be placed at the dedication of churches, 71; the Iconoclasts, having excluded these, substituted the Eucharist, ibid. Romana Ecclesia: her primacy, and the right of presiding over and authorizing councils, 174. Rudes homines: unlearned men are not to be deterred from honoring images, but taught the correct way of honoring them, 235.

S Sabinus: duke of the Bulgarians, defects to the Byzantines, 138. Sacerdotes: priests, and their liturgical acts, represent the angels and the heavenly court, 129. Sancti: they can assist those who pray, through the power and grace implanted in them by God, 171, with note. Sanctorum: communion and invocation of, 76. Schisma: lamentation over, in the words of Chrysostom, 275. Scriptura: holds the same value as painting, and vice versa, 76 ff. Sergius the Monothelite, 171. Severiani: justly called "Acephali" (headless), 170. Simulacra: images of ethnic gods destroyed by Christians, 102, with note, and 200. Sophronius of Jerusalem: history concerning Mary of Egypt, 95. Stercutius Deus, 195. Silvanus the monk, 268. Symbolum: the Creed, customarily recited daily, 89. Synodus Trullana: canon concerning the holy images, 17, 104; its decree on behalf of the holy images, 273. Synodus: council of Iconoclast bishops under Copronymus, 147, 166, 167, 269; and under Leo the Armenian, 155, 162. Synodus Alexandrina: condemns Arius and Eusebius Pamphili, 160.

T Tarasius the patriarch: his noble protest before assuming the patriarchate, 271. Templum S. Sophiae: praise of, 144. Templorum: parts of ancient temples, 121. Terrae motus: under Copronymus, 154. Theodosius the Elder: praise of, 143, 144. Timotheus: Athenian duke, famous for good fortune, 139. Traditio: grammatical, 90. Traditionem annorum, 800. Nicephorus asserts the honor due to the holy images, 255. Traditionis: the authority of holy tradition, 21 ff. Trinitatis: the circuminsession (perichoresis) of the most holy Trinity, 38 and 62.

V Valentinian heresy, 160. Verbum: how the Word became flesh, 83, note. Virginitas: hated by the Iconoclasts, 131, 142. Praised by Cantacuzene, 131, note.

II. INDICES IN S. NICEPHORI BREVIARIUM HISTORICUM.

GRAMMATICAL INDEX TO THE BREVIARY.

"Αγαν (exceedingly): very few (oligostoi mala) exceedingly many (pleistous agan), 71. Very many (pleista agan) in a very short time, 85. Αἵματος (of blood): even unto blood (mechris anelthesthai) to ward off the danger, 67. Ἀμφίνον (perhaps for amphion): 9. Ἀνευφημεῖν (to acclaim): the emperor, 4, 39. Ἀξίαν (the rank): magister, 29; patrikios, 6, 10, 67. The rank which they are accustomed to call candidatus, 9. The rank which they indeed call quaestor, 14. Rank which they call "kometa," 36. Rank which they call logothete of the dromos, 83. Ἀπηγορευμένοι (those forbidden): on pain of death, 81. Ἀπιδιάσας (having turned away): 46. Ἀπογνῶναι (to despair of): the resource (poron), 60, 61; of salvation, 65. Ἀποτεμεῖν (to cut off): Artemius (Artemiou), to behead (ten kephalen ektemein), 63. Ἀρχοντία (principality/office of a ruler): 50. Ἀσηκρήτις (asecretis/secretary): 55. Ἀσπάζεται (he salutes/greets): the emperor, 18. Sacred things (ta hiera), 55. Αὐτοκράτωρ (emperor): of the empire, 35. Ἀφνίδιος (sudden): 59. Ἀχυρῶδες (to) (the chaff-like nature): of the people, 35. Βασιλεύειν (to reign): 7. Βασιλέα ποιεῖν (to make emperor), 63. Τῶν δορυφόρων (of the guards): coming upon them (epiontes), they rushed (epeigonto), 9. Τῶν πολιτῶν (of the citizens): perceiving (aisthomenoi), they obstructed, 14. Τὴν πόλιν (the city): of Cherson, 52. Τῇ πόλει (in the city): of Nicaea, in Bithynia, 57. Τὰς νήσους (the islands): called Thera and Therasia, 64. Γλυφαῖος (sculptured): column, 66. Δαπανήματα (expenses/outlays): 49, 56, 60, 85. Δημόται (members of factions): of the colors, 4, 16. From the factions (ek ton chromaton), 78. Διακειμένη (situated): among the neighbors, 9. Situated on the Asian land (epigeion pros te Asiatidi ge), 68. In misfortunes (en symphurais) the affairs of the Romans were situated (ta Romaion diekeito), 69. Διιππεύσαντος (having ridden across/passed): of time, 8. On certain days riding across (diippeuousais), 76. Διωθεῖσθαι (to be thrust away): from the empire, 33. From the palace (ek ton basileion) he was thrust away and driven out, 80. Δοχή (reception/feast): 15, 59. Ἔγκλειστος (reclused/enclosed): 42, 48. Ἐγχειρίζει (he entrusts): to Bonos the administrations, 17. Entrusted (egcheirismenai) with the business of the rule, 5. Εἰς (into/to): in, 20, 67. To flay (apedeiren auto) his skin into a wineskin, 13. Being put forward (proballomenos) for rulers, 48. Proclaimed (anagoreuousin) as emperor, 55; they acclaimed (euphemoun), 52; he crowns (stefei), 48; yielding (dosin), 18, 47; he gave up (exedoto), 46; he betrothed (katengyesen), 60; not to receive another as emperor, 67; he is led (agetai) as a son to his spouse (gameten) Irene, 86. Ἐκστρατεύματα (expeditions): 6, 28, 62. Ἔμπειρος (skilled): in archery (ten toxiken), 21. Hostile (ta polemia), 56. Of the enemies (ton polemion), 44. Εἰς οἰκοδομήν (for building): 85. Ἐμπολαῖος (commercial): contribution (syneisphora), 28. Ἐν τῇ πόλει (in the city): to enter, 29. To go out (exerchesthai), 57. In this (en touto).

[GREEK COLUMN] ^A to come, 32. He sent into Rome, 48. He cast into the deep, 48. [On behalf/sake of] (ἕνεκεν). On behalf of the common [weal], 6. Insulted for the sake of the deposition (i.e. through the deposition), 4. For the sake of the tenets set forth regarding the two wills, 35. Falls upon the inhabitants, 54. For thirty years, 37. For three days, 47. For six months, 57. By two signs, 72, 75. For a short hour, 48. For a three-year period, 56. He sends against the city, 47. Two wills of the Savior, 35, 40. They seethe in cauldrons, 59. Those who hold the authority over them, 77. To moor to the sea, 28. To a ship/boat, 47. To ships, 49. Division, 60. Famine befalls the state, 13. Earthquake in the regions 66; ^B a nation befalling 75; to Christians of the second Hellenism befalling, 80. Sensible/grateful life, 11. Having taken courage towards these, 41. Wreck/breaking, 71. Theatrical equipment, 15. Theatrical instruments, 16. Having seen towards the insult of the Church, 13; towards an illicit practice, 16. [No page number 58 here] (Note: reference 58 falls in text block above). Hieromyst (priest), 12. Fruits/products, 85. He went along through the city, 10. Easily persuaded/submissive, 57. To overrun the territories, 74, 77. The state of the government, 58. State of drought, 85; wintry/stormy, 75. (By) melted wax material, iconography, 85. With branches, 29. Curopalates, 7. Logothete, 42; general, 56; of the Drome, 83. He asked for a word so that he might suffer no harm, 58. Words of faith, 24. Word of salvation, 12. The written word of peace, 42. To harm/ravage [the] land, 27; the authority/rule, 42. Modii, 85. To back-guard/act as rearguard, 60. Saying, 8, 12, 16, 74. Having been quick to suffer/excitable, 39. Heavy-armed folk/soldiers, 49, 53, 77. Throng, 54. Army, 39, 44, 53. Pope, 7. The things said in your presence, 17. Taken in war by them, 44. He demands the authority from the emperor, 24. Tribute; that is, to receive from the emperor, 74. Cubicularius, [to receive] from the Romans the dignity, 28. To deliver to punishments/torments, 80; to the deep, 62, 65; to the earth, 82; to deaths, 81; to fire, 44; burial, 8.

^C 1536 To send away under anathema, 41; to remote regions, 62, 81; [to cast] into exile, 33, 81. Freedom of speech/boldness, 22, 50. To attempt to conspire, 85. To prevail/gain the upper hand, 63. Struck/battered on all sides, 82. Peculiar/chosen people, 41, 42. Having filled the Heracleon with men, 4. Podagral disease (gout), 39. To make a son-in-law, a friend, i.e. agere, 7. Leek-green color, 4, 16. Having previously fortified/secured, 57. He went out towards the territories, 25. He sends towards the mainland, 49. He sent to the western places, 41, 49; [having led] through Thracian territories, 41, 49. Those who approached the sea, 37, 57. Towards the customs, 37, 57. They occupy [the position] near the strait, 59. Having reached the Hebdomon, 15. Having sat down/approached, 84. He worships the emperor, 18. Sacred icons, 81, 82. Those worshipping the opened [icons], 25; of those worshipping the sacred icons, 82. Chief citizen/head of city, 50. Fever, 19. To dwell in a tent, 40. The Ister (Danube), 39. To dwell in tents, 82. Campaigns of the officials, 80. To go on a campaign, i.e. to recruit/levy, 41. Having feasted with him, 18. [With] the friends, 55. To be stoned with/together, 75. Fast-sailing ships, 56. To beget, i.e. to receive [a child] from baptism, 14. Cf. 54. [For] payments/tasks, 28, 37, 40. Prodigy, 64. Prodigies and portents, 70. A terrible and strange sight/spectacle, 73. He begets Heraclius, 16. To be adopted as a son, 6. To corrupt/destroy, 45, 58. He made a fortress/garrison, 43. To reward with gifts those initiated, 14. To reward with money the soldiers, 36. To think against the Christians, 30. To be enlightened by the divine bath (baptism), 50. [Through/during] times, 44. Opposite colors, 4. Gold tesserae/tiles, 86. Here (the) citizens, 46. As, i.e. into/to, 8, 19. Having agreed as to seize the one who arrived beforehand, 4, 67. Having commanded as to share/communicate, 18. He reports as to put aside/to deposit, 32. He convicts as to have heard, 83. Thinking as that they would be enslaved, 78. He shows as having conspired, 34.

HISTORICAL INDEX

and seventy thousand led away, 16. Besiege Constantinople, 20. Destroy the aqueduct of Valentinian, 85. Sue for peace, 37.

B Bajanus, 59. Tocti his brother, 79. Baptistery, 43. Barasbacurius, general of Justinian, 47, 54. Bardanes the Armenian, exile, 50. Flees to the Khazars, 52. Emperor, and having changed his name from Philippicus to Elias, he sends [troops] against Justinian, 53. Rejects the decrees of the Sixth Synod, 54. Overthrown by treachery, 55. Barnyssus river, 16, 21, 30. Basianus, son of Curatus, a Bulgar, 38. Basilius, son of Onomagulus, emperor, and Tiberius, 61. Incursion of the Berigani, 82. Berylia, near the Sarmatians, 39. Bithynia, 60. Fortifications of Blachernae, 20, 21, 25, 45. Bonosus killed with Phocas, 5. Bonus, patrician, 17. Bosporus of Scythia, 46. Of Thrace, 34, 60. Forum of the Ox (Bovis), 5, 81. Great Bulgaria, 38. Bulgars, whence they originated, 38. Demand tribute, 40, 74. Betray Sisinnium, 63. Buraphus, Georgius, patrician, 55.

C Caboes, king of the Persians after Siroes, 23. Caesarea, 6. Basilica of Caesarius, 4. Callinicus, 54. Callinicus, Patriarch of Constantinople, 43, 48. Monastery of Callistratus, 43. Port of the Fair Field (Kalou Agrou), 61. Campaganus, a Bulgar, 79. Carthage captured by the Saracens, 44. Chagan of the Avars, 12, 27. Of the Khazars, 46, 48. His daughter marries Constantine, 66. Chaleb, a Saracen, 36. Chalcedon besieged by the Persians, 10. Bath there of Constantine, son of Heraclius (I), 32. Khazars departing from Berylia, 39. Khazaria, 48. Cherson, 44, 47, 50. Chosroes, 13, 17, 22. His letters intercepted, 19. Idol, 19. Two wills and actions of Christ, 55. All Christians summoned to St. Sophia, 43. Christophorus, son of Constantine (Copronymus), Caesar, 86. Contragus, son of Curatus, 38. Crispus, son-in-law of Phocas, hostile to his father-in-law, 4. Rejects the kingdom [and becomes] prefect of Cappadocia, 6. Mocks Heraclius, 6. Is tonsured, 7. Dies in a monastery, 7. Cross carried away by the Persians and restored, 23. Cubratus, prince of the Hunnogunduri, patrician, 27. Cupressina (cypress wood matting), 56. Curatus, prince of the Bulgars and Cotragori, 38. Curiciolae, 45. Curopalates, 7. Cyclades islands, 65. Cynegium, 48, 63, 83. Island of Cyprus, 62, 72. Cyrus, prelate of Alexandria, 28. Guilty of treason, 30. Restored to his see, 33. Cyrus, Patriarch of Constantinople, 48. Cyzicus, 37, 68.

D Damascenus, byname Mansur, 74. Damatry campus, 53. Danapris river, 38. Danastris river, 38. Daniel, patrician, prefect of the city, 56. Daphnusia, fortress, 76. David, son of Heraclius (I), Caesar, 51. Crowned and called Tiberius, 36. Monastery of Delmati, 45. Domentiolus, brother of Phocas, 5. Doros, fortress, 46. Campus of Dorylaeum, 67. Drungarius, 45. Dunus, of Cherson, 50.

E Four elephants in the triumph of Heraclius (I), 26. Elias, [sent] against Justinian from the praetorians, 50, 51, 53. Eudocia, wife of Constantine (Copronymus), 86. Eudocia, wife of Heraclius (I), 8. Eudocia, daughter of Heraclius (I), betrothed to the Turk, 18, 19, 23. Refused to the Saracen, 28. Euphratesia, province, 70. Eutropius, husband of Maria, 16.

F Prasina (Green) faction, 4, 16. Flavius Heraclius (I), son of Martina, 16. Monastery of Florus, 43. Tablets of the treaty suspended from a standard, 42. Forum, 10, 12.

G Galata, 77. Island of Gaudomelete, 29. Gebulus, prefect of the Slavonian soldier, 41. Georgius Cyprius, 74. Georgius, patrician, 51. A certain Georgius killed in Sicily, 61. Germanicia, 70. Germanus, metropolitan of Cyzicus, 54. Patriarch of Constantinople, 58, 63, 65, 74. Ginglissus village, 53. Gothic region, 46. Gregoria, daughter of Heraclius (I), betrothed to Nicetas the patrician, 10. Gregoria marries Nicetas [recte: marries Constantine, son of Nicetas], 24. Gregorius, uncle of Heraclius (I), father of Nicetas, 4. Gregorius, monk of Cappadocia, 43.

H Hebdomon, 15, 36. Hebrews, 55. Heraclea, 15, 51, 63. Heraclius, brother of Apsimarus, 47. Heraclius, brother of Gregorius, father of Heraclius (I), 4. Heraclius (I), Emperor, 5. Sends envoys to Chosroes, 13. Desires to return to Africa, 13. With difficulty escapes the treachery of the Avars, 15. Takes Martina, daughter of his sister, as his wife, 16. Spends the wealth of the churches on barbarian tribute, 17. Loses two sons and as many daughters in Persia, 25. Does not commit himself to the sea, 28. Dies from dropsy, 31. Leaves his sepulcher open for three days, 31. Heraclius (II) Constantine, son of Heraclius (I) by Eudocia, 6. Crowned, 10. Husband of Gregoria, 24. Consul, 26. Heraclius (III), son of Heraclius (I) by Martina, 17. Caesar, 26. Crowned, 34. Heraclius (IV), son of Heraclius (II), 34. Crowned, 34. Called Constantine, 34. Hiatus of the earth, 72. Immense winter, 75. Hiera island, 64. Hieria, palace of the emperors in the region of Constantinople, 28, 84. Hormisdas, successor of Cabuis, 23. Son of Hormisdas succeeds his father, 24. Origin of the Huns, 58. Their king is Christian and a patrician, 14, 16. Hunnogunduri revolt from the Avars, 27.

I Greek fire, 60. Persian fire temples, 19. Images made of mosaic work are erased, 86. Imbrii taken captive among the Bulgars, 86. Indus, the cook, 52. Temple of St. Irene overturned, 66. Irene marries Leo, son of Constantine (Copronymus), 86. Isoes, patrician, 62. Ister river, 39. Jezid, a Saracen, 60. Joannes Atalarichus, see Atalarichus. Joannes, general of Barcaena, 28. Joannes, son of Bonus, hostage of the Avars, 20. Joannes Damascenus, 74. Joannes, deacon, logothete, 56. Joannes, patriarch, 34. Joannes, patrician, had recovered Carthage, 44. Joannes, prefect of the city, 51. Justinianus, 41, 53.

L Lazica, 17. Lembi (monoxyla boats), 63. Leo, son of Constantine (Copronymus), 72. Crowned, 73. Leo, patrician, emperor, 59, 66. Leontius, patrician, drives Justinian from the throne, 42, 44. Is driven out, 45. Is tonsured, 45. Is killed, 48. Leontius, quaestor of Phocas, is killed with him, 5. Leontius, prefect of the city, sent as envoy to Chosroes, 13. Dies as a captive, 23. Justinian leads the defense of the Mount Libanus, 41. The mouth of the accused is struck with a libel, 7, 81. Long walls, 74. Lombards, 61.

ANALYTICAL INDICES

N Shipwreck swallows 73,000, 51. Nazarene worship, 83. Necropyla, 47. Nicaea, 57, 65, 69. Nice, daughter of Nicetas the patrician, marries Theodosius, 21. Nicephorus, son of Artabazus, 67, 68. Nicephorus, son of Constantine (Copronymus), Caesar, 86. Nicetas, son of Artabazus, 67, 68, 69. Nicetas, son of Constantine (Copronymus), 85. Nicetas, son of Gregorius, cousin of Heraclius (I), 4. And son-in-law, 10. Patrician, 6, 10. Father-in-law of Heraclius (II), 24. His son is a patrician, 24. Gilded statue, 10. Nicetas, patriarch of Constantinople, 84, 85. Nicomedia, 69.

O Obsequium province, 41, 56. Obsequians, 53, 55, 57. Odessus, 40. Oglus, a place at the Danube, 59. Olympius, prefect of the praetorium, sent as legate to Chosroes, 13. Killed with a cudgel, 23. Onomagulus, Gregorius, 61. Organas, prince of the Hunnogunduri, 27.

P Patriarch does not draft dogmas without a general council, 65. Paulina, 54. Paulus, monk dedicated to astrology, 45. Paulus, patriarch of Constantinople, 36. Paulus, patrician, appointed in Sicily, 61. Tombs of Pelagius, 81, 84. Pergamus, occupied by the Saracens, 59. Plague, 13, 45, 70. Petzigaudius, Joannes, patrician, 37. Phanagora, 46. Phidalia, gulf, 29. Philagrius, comes of private affairs, 32. Philippicus, emperor. See Bardanes. Philippicus, son-in-law of Mauricius, 8. Phocas, having killed Mauricius, usurps the empire, 3, 6. Casts down the statue of Crispus, 4. Beheaded by order of Heraclius, 5. Photius, delivers Phocas bound to Heraclius, 5. Pontus Euxinus, frozen with ice, 75. Praetorium, 43. Island of the Princes, 29. Puzantis, castle, 70. Pyrrhus, patriarch of Constantinople, 30, 31, 35, 52.

R Ravenna pentapolis, 39. Rhendacius. See Sisinnius. Rhodes, island, 6. Rufus, blinds Apsimarus, 55. Ryzates, leader of Chosroes, 21.

S Sabinus, Bulgar, 78. Saitus, leader of Chosroes, captures Alexandria, 10. Besieges Chalcedon, 10. Persuades Heraclius to seek peace, 11. Throws legates into chains, 13. Samothracians, captives among the Bulgars, 86. Thirty pounds of gold paid annually to the Saracens, 27. Sarbarus, the Persian, carries off the holy cross from Jerusalem and besieges Chalcedon, 17. Induced by letters intercepted from Heraclius, 19. Obtains the kingdom, 24. Sardis, 68. Sarmatians, 39. Satyri, harbor, 61. Sclavini, help the Avars, 20. Serve the Bulgars, 40. Brought over into Asia by Justinian, 41. Cross the Euxine, bring aid to Telesius, 78. Sebastopolis, 41. Secreta, 85. Selymbria, 15. Septe, castle, 33. Sergius, leader of the East, enclosed in a camel skin by the Saracens, 26. Sergius, patriarch of Constantinople, crowns Heraclius, 5. Restrains him from attempting flight, 14. Dissuades him from his marriage with Martina, 16. Dies, 30. Sergius, patrician, prefect of Sicily, 61. Sicily, (in) made golden basins, 78. Siroes, son of Chosroes, 22. Sisinnius, patrician, 67. Sisinnius Rhendacius, patrician, 62, 63. Solibas, comes of Justinian, 47. Solyman, Saracen, 49, 60. Sophian, Saracen, 60. Sosthenius, harbor, 60. The strait, 29, 42. Stephanus, associate of Cosmas, 65. Stephanus, hermit, 81. Stephanus, envoy of Justinian to Terbelis, 47. Stephanus, son of Maria by Eutropius, given as a hostage to the Avars, 20. Redeemed by his mother, 27. Stephanus, Persian, prefect of the treasury, threatens the mother of Justinian with lashes, 42. Is burned, 44. Strategius, brother of Constantine, 83. Struthus, Joannes, of the palace school, 53. Sycæ, 45. Syllæum, 37, 74. Symbelum, 47. Syrians, translated into Thrace, 71. Syria, shaken by an earthquake, 72.

T Tanais, river, 38. Telesius, prince of the Huns, 77. Tenedians, captives among the Bulgars, 86. Terbelis, Bulgar Caesar, 47, 48, 53. Earth risen from the sea, 64. Theoctistus, 63. Theodora, Chazar wife of Justinian, 46. Theodorus, comes of the private treasury, appointed over the East, 26. Theodorus, brother of Heraclius, curopalates, 7. Put into custody, 26. Theodorus, master, son of Theodorus, deported after his nose and hands were cut off by his uncle, 29. Theodosius, exactor of taxes, is forced to rule, 37. Abdicates the empire, 59. Theodosius, bishop of Ephesus, 4. Theodosius, son of Heraclius by Martina, 24. Theodotus, monk, logothete, 42, 44. Theophylactus, duke and patrician, 83. Thera and Therasia, island of the Cretan sea, 64. Thessalonica, 55, 58, 62, 65. Archbishop of Thessalonica, his head is cut off, 63. Thrace, joined with Asia by mounds of ice, 76. Tiberius. See Apsimarus, Basilius, David. Tiberius, son of Justinian by Theodora the Chazar, 53. Toctus, brother of Baianus, Bulgar, 79. Tomis, 47. Tribunal of the nineteen couches, 64. Prince of the Turks, adores Heraclius, 18. Tyana, besieged by the Saracens, 49.

U Umarus, prince of the Bulgars, 79. Birthday of the City, 55.

V Aqueduct of Valentinian, restored by Constantine (Copronymus), 85. Valentinus, armiger of Philagrius, comes of the excubitors, 33, 36. Varna, near Odessus, 40, 79. Viserus, patrician, 67.

X Xerenses, 77. Xerolopho, (at) statue of Arcadius, 66. Xylinites, Nicetas, master, 62.

Z Zoilus, Chersonite, 50, 51, 52.

ORDER OF THINGS. III. INDEX TO THE LIFE OF ST. STEPHEN THE YOUNGER.

^A Acacius martyr, 481. Aetius heretic, 441. Ambo, 414. Analabus, 435, 474, 516. Anastasius, or Artemius Augustus, 401. Anastasius CP. patriarch, 414. Anna, mother of St. Stephen the Younger, 402, 421, 494. Anna, disciple of St. Stephen the Younger, 439, 462. St. Anna’s church, 485. Anthes patrician, 462. Antonius the Cretan, 501. Aphthartodocetae heretics, 412. Apollinarius heretic, 442. Arius heretic, 441. Artemon heretic, 441. Atzypius the Iconoclast bishop, 455. Aulica amus, prefect of the publicans of Nicomedia, 461. Auxentius, famed for his holiness, 416.

^B Bardisanes heretic, 441. Basilides heretic, 441. Basil the Great, 446. Blachernae church, sacred to the B. Mary, 402, 453. Bovis forum in Constantinople, 519. Brumalia, 511, 514.

^C Cabalus the Iconoclast bishop, 456. Calistus patrician, 457, 477. Cancelli (chancel screen) of the presbytery, 410, 463. Carcer phialae, 495. Carpocrates heretic, 441. Catapelta, 504. Cerdon heretic, 441. Cerinthus heretic, ibid. Chalcedon, the IVth ecumenical synod, 416. Christopher, disciple of St. Stephen the Younger, 429. Comboconon, master of the offices (scriniorum magister), 477. Communion of the sacred Mysteries, or of the most holy Body of Christ, 406. Consta, house in Constantinople so called, 401. Constantinus, patriarch of CP., 444. Constantine Copronymus, 443. Constantine, bishop of Nacolia, 477. Constantine, bishop of Nicomedia, 477. Cross, adoration of the, 446. Cross (Holy) wood, 444. Cubicularius, 466. Cuculla (cowl), 435, 474, 516. Cyrus heretic, 442.

^D Dioratic gift (gift of discernment), 417. Dioscorus of Alexandria, 416, 441. Discus (paten) of the sacred Mysteries, 480. Domus in Constantinople, called Consta, 401.

[E] Epomis, 435, 464, 474. Gospels (swearing on) not permitted, 444. Eunomius, 441. Eutyches heretic, 416, 441.

[G] Georgius the syncellus, 468, 472. Germanus, patriarch of CP., 404, 405, 412, 414, 455. Gregorius of the Cave, monk of St. Auxentius, 417. Gregorius, father of St. Stephen the Younger, 417, 424.

[H] Habit, monastic, called great and angelic, 418, 419. Honorius, Roman pope, 442. Hydrostatae, 518.

[I] Image of Christ, sculpted by the woman with the issue of blood, 413. Image of the same preserved at Edessa, ibid. Image of Christ, bronze, placed in the vestibules of the imperial palace of CP., 414. Image of the Theotokos, painted by Luke the evangelist, 413. Images, true doctrine concerning their veneration, 416. Isdandul, 508.

[J] Jacob heretic, 442. John Chrysostom’s sermons, 410. John Climacus, 419. John martyr, 507. John, master of St. Stephen the Younger, 417, 421, 424. John, disciple of St. Stephen the Younger, 429, 460.

[L] Lavacrum (baptistery) of the Church, 478. Leo Isaurus, emperor, 411, 442.

[M] Macarius heretic, 442. Macedonius heretic, 441. Mahomet, 412. Manichaean heresy, 412. Manichaeus, 441. Marcellus heretic, ibid. Marcus heretic, 441. Marcion heretic, 441. Mary of Egypt, 489. Marinus, disciple of St. Stephen the Younger, 429, 431. Martyrs (the Forty), 481, 486. Maura (Saint), martyr, 511. Maximus heretic, 441. Menander heretic, 441. Milium, forum in Constantinople, 512. Monagri monastery, 507. Monocionii monastery, 520. Monastery of St. Auxentius, 430. Monastery of St. Dius, 522. Monastery of Trichiaria, 421. Mount of St. Auxentius, 416, 417. Montanus heretic, 441.

[O] Origen’s heresy, 442.

[P] Palace of the Sophiani, 486. Pastilas, Iconoclast bishop, 433, 477. Paulus heretic, 441. Paulus, abbot and martyr, 504. Pelagius martyr, 520. Pelecete monastery, 503. Peplum (sacred veil), 463, 481. Petrus heretic, 442. Petrus martyr, 507. Photinus, 441. Profession, monastic, a second baptism, 418. Proximus (a dignity), 511.

[R] Relics of the saints, the manner of their veneration, 446. Roman pontiff, authority of, 481. Russata faction, 472.

[S] Sabellius heretic, 441. Saturninus heretic, 441. Scythia, 451. Sergius, disciple of St. Stephen the Younger, 429, 460. Sergius, disciple of St. Auxentius, 417. Simon heretic, 441. Socarium, 310. Socaria, two kinds of, ibid. Spatharius, 415. Stephen (Saint) the Younger, born, anointed, 408. Embraces the monastic life, 418. Dies a martyr, 518. Stephen, disciple of St. Stephen the Younger, 429. Strator, 475. Six first ecumenical synods, 482. Synod of CP. against the holy images, 445, 454, 458, 480.

[T] Tatianus heretic, 441. Theocteristus, presbyter of the Pelecete monastery, 505. Theodorus martyr, 481, 518. Theodorus, a pious man, 520. Theodosius heretic, 442. Theodosius Adramyttenus, emperor, 411. Theodosius, bishop of Ephesus, 477. Tricacabus, Iconoclast bishop, 453, 477.

[V] Valentius heretic, 441.

[Z] Zeno heretic, 442. Zosimus heretic, 441.

ORDER OF THINGS WHICH ARE CONTAINED IN THIS VOLUME.

S. NICEPHORUS CONSTANTINOPOLITANUS PATRIARCHA. Notitia. 9 Vita S. Nicephori ex Bolland. 58 Vita ejusdem ab Ignatio diacono et cimeliarcha scripta. 42 Prologus auctoris. 42 Caput primum. — S. Nicephori parentes eximia pietate.

and famous for exile for the faith. His dignity in the court of the emperors. 46

Ch. II. — Monastery built by St. Nicephorus. His conduct there, various sciences and virtues. 51

Ch. III. — Election and ordination of St. Nicephorus as patriarch of Constantinople. 62

Ch. IV. — Heresies opposed by St. Nicephorus; monastic discipline amended; synodical epistle to Pope Leo III. 70

Ch. V. — Reign of Leo the Armenian. Persecution undertaken against the invocation of images and St. Nicephorus. 75

Ch. VI. — Prayers proclaimed by St. Nicephorus; subjects animated. His approach to the emperor. 81

Ch. VII. — Colloquy of St. Nicephorus with the emperor about not making a graven image according to the prescription of Moses. 92

Ch. VIII. — Further defense of images made by St. Nicephorus, especially of Christ, angels, and saints. The intercession of these before God. 99

Ch. IX. — Colloquy of St. Nicephorus and other bishops and monks with the emperor about images. Their exile. 110

Ch. X. — Constancy of St. Nicephorus in captivity and sickness: letters written: threats of the conciliabulum rejected: anathema brought against them, and cast back upon him. 115

Ch. XI. — Danger of death to be inflicted on St. Nicephorus. Final farewell in the temple. Exile. 126

Ch. XII. — Impious conciliabulum under the pseudo-patriarch. Grave persecution. Images erased. 134

Ch. XIII. — Impiety and slaughter of Leo the Armenian. Succession of Michael the Stammerer, also an iconoclast; epistle of St. Nicephorus to him. 142

Ch. XIV. — Comparison of St. Nicephorus with various saints. His death. Peroration of the writer. 147

ORATION ON THE EXILE OF ST. NICEPHORUS, AND THE TRANSLATION OF HIS RELICS, BY THEOPHANES.

Ch. first. — Patriarchate, exile, death of St. Nicephorus. 159

Ch. II. — Body of St. Nicephorus translated to Constantinople with great solemnity. 163

EPISTLE TO POPE LEO III. 170

WRITINGS AGAINST THE ICONOCLASTS. 202

Preface by Ang. Mai. 202

ANTIRRHETICUS I AGAINST CONSTANTINE COPRONYMUS. 206

ANTIRRHETICUS II. 330

ANTIRRHETICUS III. 375

APOLOGETICUS FOR SACRED IMAGES. 534

APOLOGETICUS MINOR FOR SACRED IMAGES. 834

SECOND DEMONSTRATION CONCERNING SACRED IMAGES. 850

SOME CANONS. 851

Appendix to the canons. 855

HISTORICAL BREVIARY. 863

Dedication epistle. 865

Preface of Petavius to the Reader. 866

Protheoria. 866

Chronological synopsis of the 18 years of Heraclius. 871

HISTORICAL BREVIARY CONCERNING EVENTS AFTER THE REIGN OF MAURICE. 875

Admonition to the Chronography. 995

SHORT CHRONOGRAPHY FROM ADAM TO THE TIMES OF MICHAEL AND THEOPHILUS. 1002

EPISTLE TO THEODOSIUS THE MONK. 1062

ANOTHER EPISTLE TO THE SAME. 1066

STEPHANUS DIACONUS CONSTANTINOPOLITANUS.

Notice. 1067

Preface of the Benedictines. 1067

LIFE OF ST. STEPHEN THE YOUNGER.

PROCOPIUS THE DEACON. 1187

Notice. 1187

ENCOMIUM ON ST. MARK THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST. 1187

ST. GREGORY DECAPOLITA. 1199

Notice. 1199

HISTORICAL SERMON. 1202

CHRISTOPHORUS PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA. 1214

Notice. 1214

Second notice. 1214

HOMILY: TO WHAT IS HUMAN LIFE SIMILAR. 1215

EPISTLE TO THEOPHILUS CONCERNING SACRED IMAGES. 1251

ST. METHODIUS PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 1231

Notice. 1231

Second notice. 1239

Cult of Methodius among the Greeks and Latins and acts of his life. 1241

Life of Methodius by a contemporary author. 1243

Chapter first. — Birth, studies, monasticism, torments endured, exile in a cave. 1243

Ch. II. — Patriarchate of Constantinople: events therein, sickness, death. 1251

Analecta from various sources. 1262

Chapter first. — Chastity. Afflictions in the cave. Acts in the court of Theophilus. Calumnies repelled. 1262

Ch. II. — Scars preserved in the patriarchate. Feast of Orthodoxy ordained. Bodies of the saints Theodore the Studite and Nicephorus the patriarch translated. Constitutions edited. 1263

Some lives of saints and homilies written. 1266

HOMILIES ON THE CROSS AND PASSION OF CHRIST. 1271

ORATION ON SAINT AGATHA. 1271

MARTYRDOM OF BLESSED DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE. 1291

EPISTLE TO THE PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM. 1291

EPISTLE AGAINST THE STUDITES. 1294

CONCERNING THOSE WHO DENIED THE FAITH. 1299

GEORGIUS METROPOLITAN OF NICOMEDIA. 1323

Notice. 1323

Second notice. 1337

ORATIONS. 1334

Admonition. 1334

Oration I. — On the conception of the Holy Mother of God. 1335

Oration II. — Eulogy on the conception of Saint Anne. 1334

Oration III. — On the conception and nativity of the Holy Mother of God. 1375

Oration IV. — On the conception of the Holy Mother of God. 1402

Oration V. — On the Presentation of the Blessed Mary. 1402

Oration VI. — On the entry of the Holy Mother of God into the temple. 1419

Oration VII. — On the same solemnity. 1458

Oration VIII. — On the Holy Mary assisting at the cross. 1455

Oration IX. — On the assistance of the Holy Mary at the sepulcher. 1490

Oration X. — On the holy martyrs Cosmas and Damian. 1503

IDIOMELA. 1527

I. — On the entry of the Holy Mother of God. 1527

II. — On St. John Chrysostom. 1527

III. — On the holy Fathers who first gathered at Nicaea. 1530

END OF THE HUNDREDTH VOLUME.

Paris. — From the press of L. MIGNE.