Alexius, Patriarch of Constantinople

RESPONSES OF DEMETRIUS SYNCELLUS, METROPOLITAN OF CYZICUS, CONCERNING PROHIBITED MARRIAGES.

See Patrologia, vol. CXIX, col. 1098-1115. We have already provided above, under Philippus Solitarius, the booklet concerning the heresy of the Jacobites, or on the affairs of Armenia, which some attribute to Demetrius. See vol. CXXVI.

SYMEON THE YOUNGER.

NOTITIA.

Symeon, prefect of the monastery of Saint Mamas at Xerocercus, is someone other than the Metaphrast. Regardless of how much Joseph of Methone and Gretser, as I have indicated above, confuse them, I pass over other matters and examine only the time in which the prefect of Saint Mamas lived. For whether he flourished in the year from the creation of the world 6200, as Pontanus translates in Symeon’s own oration 13: "The devil has been our enemy for now more than six thousand two hundred years," which was the year 692 of our salvation; or in the year 6600, that is, 1092 of Christ, as all the Greek manuscripts clearly have in that same oration: *Αὐτὸς δὲ ἐξακισχιλίοις καὶ ἐξακοσίοις, καὶ ἐπέκεινα τούτων ἔτεσι διαμείνας ἀεὶ πολέμιος τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἄδηλος καὶ κρύφιος* — "For six thousand six hundred years and more, he has remained ever the enemy of men, unknown and hidden"—he is ^A very far removed from the age of Symeon Metaphrastes, who lived around the time of Leo, son of Basil, about the year of our Lord 886. And the things that are brought forward—that this Symeon lived in the very times of the iconoclasts, or certainly after they had lived, under Leo the Isaurian and Copronymus; or certainly under Leo the Armenian, Michael the Stammerer, and Theophilus, who all waged war against the images—are plainly trifles. Moreover, they are idle tales which, to prove the age of Symeon, refer from the Menologies of the Greeks on November 20th to Gregory the Decapolite as having endured many things: *Καὶ Συμεῶνα τὸν ὁμολογητὴν καὶ θεοφόρον ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁγίων εἰκόνων εὑρεῖν ἐγκεκλεισμένον*—"And to have found Symeon the Confessor and God-bearer imprisoned for the sake of the holy images." And nothing prevents that Symeon from having been visited by Gregory, whom we are seeking, since he himself testifies in two places that he was cast into exile; one in his *Orations*, the other in his *Commentaries*, although he remains silent regarding the cause. ^B He also speaks of the martyrdom of Stephen the Younger as if it were a matter plainly recent in his own era; for although one who lived under Justinian Rhinotmetus in the year of our Lord 692 could have been still alive when Leo the Isaurian seized the empire, twenty-five years after Rhinotmetus; and if he had also led a longer life, reaching Copronymus himself forty-nine years after the same Rhinotmetus, he could certainly not—unless we wish to be insane—have reached an age extending through Leo the Armenian, and Balbus, and Theophilus, prolonging his life to 137 years after Rhinotmetus, and remembering Stephen the Younger, who was killed for the defense of the holy images.

Wherefore, this first number having been exploded, we must most clearly return to that which the Greek codices represent. Namely, this Symeon [lived] in the year of the world 6600, that is, 1092 of Christ, [as is noted] even below by some others, lest that *ἐπέκεινα* (and more) be rashly cast [in place].

^A

NOTITIA

Regarding the claim that he lived, [some say] he was more recent than Metaphrastes, [living] for at least 200 years under Alexius Comnenus, who occupied the empire after Nicephorus Botoniates, before John and Manuel Comnenus. But if some room for conjecture is to be allowed in this matter, I would say that this writer was older than the years he himself recounts; that he used an integral number which he later tempered with that adverb, which is able to signify not only the following years, but also the preceding six hundred; since by the force of its meaning, it indicates both the earlier and the subsequent, and the sense of those words is that the devil had always and subtly been an adversary to men from the very foundation of the world until the year 6600, which was imminent. Hence I fix his age at the year 1051, or thereabouts, under Isaac Comnenus and Ducas. ^B

If one considers the years of Nicetas' life, [extending to] 58 years, and then when he was still living and flourishing while Symeon was writing, if you count the years of his further life to his death, we would have Nicetas being more than a centenarian when he wrote his preface; which, unless proved from elsewhere, I for one would not so easily believe. He is called the Younger Theologian, as Gretser and Possevinus note, so as to be distinguished from Gregory Nazianzen. Thus Stephen the Younger, martyr under Copronymus, is so called for the distinction from the protomartyr Stephen; [so too] Theodosius Junior, Valentinianus Junior, in respect to their predecessors of the same name. Regarding Saint Mamas, and Xerocercus (which they change to Xylocereum), and [his account] of the Hegumenos being falsely slandered by heretics as a leader, see the same authors. It does not seem worth the effort for me to examine every single minute detail. He wrote thirty-three orations on faith and morals, both Christian and monastic; also a book of divine loves, or sacred praises; and two hundred and twenty-eight moral chapters which are inscribed in Greek *Praktyka* and *Theological* [chapters]. Collected together from the Bavarian and Augustan libraries, Jacob Pontanus rendered them from Greek into Latin, and at Ingolstadt, with other works he had translated from Greek into Latin, he had them edited by Adam Sartorius in the year 1603. Jacob Gretser added Notes, and in them wrote a preface. There is also a *Dialogue of a Scholastic concerning God* addressed to the same Symeon. ^C

However, that I may satisfy the reader, I shall append here in their own order [the titles] that I have observed in various manuscript codices; noting what has been edited in Latin from the unedited, so that others, with me as a guide, may distinguish them without wider labor. Let us proceed, therefore:

I. Concerning love, and what are the ways and actions of spiritual men, and a beatitude for those who possess love in their hearts. P. Brothers and Fathers, I wish to speak to you concerning things that contribute to the profit of the soul.

II. Concerning how to flee the plagues and corrupting influences of men, and to cast away their words, and to arise to the work of virtue. And further, concerning the need to observe whether we possess the beatitudes of Christ within ourselves, and concerning tears and compunction. P. Whoever wishes to see God, let him deny himself.

III. Concerning that it is necessary to be well-submissive, and not to forget the covenants which we have made with God; and that one must not grumble at the all-night vigils of the morning. P. Remembering the commandments of God, thus saying: Judge not. ^D

IV. Concerning repentance and compunction, and by what works it is possible to acquire this, and that it is impossible to attain purity and impassibility without tears. P. Since, Fathers and brothers, [the writings] of our holy Father Symeon the Studite... [the rest] edited by Pontanus, no. 28.

labor of virtues in the time of fasting; and concerning silence, and how those who struggle in truth ought to conduct themselves throughout the fast. P. I, both in soul and in body, from a faulty and heavy-hearted purpose and disposition.

V. On repentance, and that the mere distribution of what one possesses, and the stripping away of one’s belongings, does not suffice for the cleansing of the soul unless we also acquire sorrow. And concerning the exile of Adam, and that if he had repented after transgressing, he would not have fallen from Paradise; and what a benefit his repentance wrought for him after his fall. And concerning the second coming of the Lord, and the judgment of sinners. And at the end, a reproof of those who live in wickedness and hypocrisy. P. Repentance is good, and the benefit derived from it.

VI. On spiritual labor, and what the labor of the ancient saints was; and how we can achieve this, that we might become partakers of the All-Holy Spirit, as they were. P. Since some, having high opinions of themselves, as if...

VII. On attachment to relatives, and what its deception is; and into what pit and bonds it brings those who are held by it; and concerning despair, and the difference therein; what is meant by, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." P. Would that I were able to keep silence, and lament my own evils.

VIII. On perfect love, and what its operation is; and that unless, through zeal, we already become partakers of the grace of the Spirit from this point forward, we can neither be believers and Christians, nor shall we be named sons and children of God. P. If he who feigns virtue for the sake of deceiving many...

IX. On almsgiving, and what it is, feeding one who is hungry for God, giving drink to one who is thirsty, and so on; and how this is achieved in one; and that if one does not also do these things in himself and thereby feed and give drink to Christ, he will be nothing benefited by merely doing these things for the poor, while neglecting his own self, trembling and naked, from the righteousness of Christ. P. I ought not to have dared to speak to you at all.

X. On partaking of the Holy Spirit, and holiness, and perfect impassibility; and that he who loves the glory that comes from men is nothing profited by the rest of the virtues, even if he has accomplished them all. P. Do you not see how those who stand before an earthly king consider themselves as having glory?

XI. That one should not zealously keep and embrace the benefit of the fast only in the first week of the fasts; but that it is necessary for those who are zealous to maintain the same and equal fervor throughout all the weeks of the fasts. P. We should have on the past Sunday what is now about to be kept.

XII. On abstinence and patience in labor, and how one ought in all the fast to conduct oneself ^B towards those who struggle in truth. P. I, indeed, both in soul and body, from a faulty and heavy-hearted purpose and disposition.

XIII. On the Resurrection of Christ, and what manner it is, or how the resurrection of Christ comes to be in us, and in it the resurrection of the soul; and what the mystery of this resurrection is. P. The Passover is now here, the joyful day, [the cause] of all gladness and cheer.

XIV. On repentance and the beginning of the monastic life, and how one, proceeding by road and order unto virtue, comes to perfection in the labor of the commandments. P. The man who has despised all visible things and his own soul itself...

XV. On an impassioned, faithless, and evil disposition; and what the union of God with the sons of light is, and in what manner it comes to be in them; and towards the end, a denunciation of those who unworthily dare to approach the priesthood. P. Darkness is always opposed to light ^C, and unbelief to faith.

XVI. On the operations of the Holy Spirit, and what the contemplation of its mysteries is, and how they are revealed to the pure in heart; and a narrative from the prologues, useful regarding a certain novice who received the Holy Spirit through the prayers of his spiritual Father. P. A certain youth narrated to me, saying that while being a novice to a venerable Father...

XVII. On contemplation and revelation, and the illumined soul, and how he who is seized by the love of God, and has reached the depth of humility, is operated upon by the Holy Spirit. P. Great is the condescension and philanthropy of God toward men; wherefore, being struck with wonder...

XVIII. On the methods of the evil one, which he suggests to the lighter-minded and those who love to be first, whenever a shepherd is made from among men. And that one should zealously hinder those who unworthily leap upon authority, but should support and cooperate with the spiritual and holy; and towards the end, regarding the shepherd. P. If you have been appointed to lead a people and a flock, consider [your duty] well.

XIX. That we should not trust in the words and promises of men alone, but should confirm the trustworthiness of their words by their deeds; and what the disposition of true teachers is, and their love for those who are being taught by them, and what their heart is, and their care, and how they intercede for them to God. P. Let each one know the beginning of your friendship toward me.

XX. On renunciation and the cutting off of the will ^D, for those who asked him to write to them how one ought to pass the ascetic life, and that it is good in this...

to use an experienced guide, that is, a spiritual Father, in order to learn the works of virtue ^A and the difficult labor of the ascetic craft. And on faith in the spiritual Fathers, and the contemplation of light, by which every soul that is illumined advances toward the love of God. R. My beloved and most desired brethren, you have often wished to hear a discourse for your benefit.

XXI. On the remembrance of death, and what a good end his thrice-blessed brother Anthony made, and at the end, a funeral oration for him. R. I pray to the God who has had mercy on me, for the salvation of all.

XXII. On faith and teaching, concerning those who say it is not possible to reach the perfection of the virtues in the midst of worldly life; and a narrative from the prologues that is very beneficial. R. It is good for us all to proclaim the mercy of God.

XXIII. On repentance and the fear of God, and what struggle of soul and pain of heart he who repents with a contrite body has, and what he says and prays toward the Lord. R. Hear my word, O my sons, in the latter days, my beloved, my most desired.

XXIV. On spiritual knowledge, and that the treasure of the Spirit hidden in the letter of holy Scripture is not clear to all, even those who wish for it, but only to those who have acquired the One who opens the mind to understand the Scriptures. R. Spiritual knowledge is like a house built between worldly and Greek knowledge. It is found among the published [works], number 19.

XXV. On the transformation of soul and body from the air, from the elements, from foods, and from the demons that arise in us. R. The monk ought not only to understand and perceive the transformations and changes that occur in the soul. It is found among the published [works], number 18.

XXVI. On the beginning of a beneficial and saving life that is fitting for those who have just renounced the world and those in the world, and those who are running toward the monastic life; and a teaching most profitable for beginners. R. Every man who has just renounced the world and all those who are in the world.

XXVII. On not being negligent regarding the work of God’s commandments, nor despising one single one of them, but striving to keep them all together, so that we may not, as despisers, be shut out of the bridal chamber; and on enduring ^D temptations courageously. R. Will you not hear the Lord and his apostles crying out? If anyone, he says, keeps the whole law.

XXVIII. On the life-giving death that occurs in those who struggle even before physical death, and that those who have come to be under grace, above the law, knowingly receive within themselves the grace of divine light; for those who have not already received this light in the present life, nor behold it, are under the shadow of the law, and they shall be judged by it. And what kind of person the priest ought to be, who has received from above the power to bind and loose, and that to him who truly performs the priestly office and is illumined by the divine light, all are manifest—both those who walk in the Spirit of God and those who have not yet put off the earthly man. R. See how you hear; for Christ and God says, Search the Scriptures; for what reason, he says?

XXIX. On the fact that one ought not to say that it is impossible now for one who wishes to do so to come to the height of virtue and to rival the saints of old; and that everyone who teaches a new heresy to those who are persuaded by the holy Scriptures teaches contrary things. R. Many say every day, whom we also hear saying [such things]. It is in the published [works] 30.

XXX. On repentance and the beginning of a praiseworthy life; how the one who is repenting ought to act each day, in which [discourse] there is also mention of demons and of compunction. R. Hear the power of my words, and accept them gladly, as being a piece of advice good for us.

XXXI. On how each person ought to examine himself and carefully search himself; and how one must compare one's own [deeds] with the commandments of Christ. R. In the preceding instruction, so as not to prolong the discourse too much, we left the things instructed at that time incomplete.

XXXII. On blasphemy, and that he who says that no one in the present generation can participate in the Holy Spirit, but also he who slanders the energies of the Spirit and attributes them to the opposite, revives a new heresy in the Church of God. R. Every sin, says the most sacred word of the Savior, shall be forgiven to men; but that against the Holy Spirit [shall not].

XXXIII. On participation in the Holy Spirit, and that it is impossible for the works of virtue to be confirmed except through the visitation of the Spirit, without whom no one is directed toward virtue, nor is able to benefit others, or to accept the thoughts of others. R. God is [Spirit], and this is [evident] from all the divinely inspired [Scripture].

XXXIV. That it is not without danger to bury the talent given to us by God. For it is necessary to make it public and demonstrate it to all, and gratefully to proclaim the benefits of God for the benefit of the hearers, even if some are displeased. R. Brethren and Fathers, and children in Christ, what did you suspect regarding the things taught by us in various discourses so often?

XXXV. Thanksgiving to God for the gifts of which we are deemed worthy, and an introduction on how God always appears to those who are purified in heart. And in what things and signs [this happens]. R. I give thanks and worship, and I fall before you, Lord of all, and all-holy King.

XXXVI. A certain partial natural philosophy on the creation of the world, and the fall of Adam. R. ^A

transgression and exile of Adam. R. And since He also gave them a law, commanding them not to eat of the tree alone. XXXVIII. On the incarnation of the Word, and in what manner He was incarnate for our sake. R. And when the summit of extreme wickedness was fulfilled. XXXIX. How the entire creation is again to be renewed, and to become a new heaven and a new earth according to the divine Apostle. R. But let us consider how the creation shall be renewed. XL. What the final splendor of the creation shall be; in which [we speak] also concerning angels and the soul. R. But after it had been stripped, it was transferred into corruption and bondage to vanity. XLI. How all the saints are united to Christ and God, and become with Him. R. Having therefore spoken sufficiently and adequately concerning these things. XLII. How it behooves the upper world to be filled, and what sort it is, and in what manner it shall be filled. R. But open to me your ears and the guiding mind, ^B where it did not ascend? And who, and how shall it be, and is the kingdom of God among us, and what is the energy of this within us? R. Since the Lord of all things expressly cries out, even day by day, through the Gospels. L. On impassibility, and the gifts and graces in it according to progress; and what is the perfection of spiritual maturity according to Christ. R. Just as one who desires to gaze upon the most brilliant sun must have pure [eyes]. LI. On those who imagine they possess the Holy Spirit within themselves, but are entirely unaware of His energy; and concerning those who say that it is not possible for any human to see His glory during the present life; and proofs by citations concerning this; and that there is no envy among the saints when we become equal to them through every virtuous zeal; and in what manner one sees God, from whence he is already initiated into the enjoyment to be given to the saints in the age to come, and that whatever such a person says, or does, or writes, it is not he himself, but the Holy Spirit speaking in him who says and writes these things; and he who sets aside or perverts his words sins against and blasphemes the Holy Spirit that is at work and speaking in him. R. Behold, I [speak] again to those who say they possess the Spirit of God unknowingly. LII. On impassibility and a virtuous life; and how one must cut off his own will, and ascend to a height of perfection, and concerning the conjunction of God to the soul and of the soul to the body, and the union of the three in a paradoxical way; and in addition to these, [concerning] spiritual healing; and how one must heal those who are sick in soul. R. Having often conversed with many who are in the world, and between certain discussions. LIII. ^C On those who serve God, who they are and of what kind and quality; and who it is that repents, and what is his work; and who it is that follows the ascetic life, and what is his work; and who is serving God, and what is his work; and if we do not acquire virtues, the mere riddance of passions will benefit us nothing. R. Since, so far as concerns holy baptism, we [call] ourselves Christians apart from works. LIV. On love and faith; and how one becomes pregnant with the love of God, and concerning the illumination and contemplation of light, and the mystical discourse of the Spirit. R. If it seems good, therefore, let us hear our Savior God clearly crying out and saying. LV. On true knowledge; ^D and that the knowledge of God comes not from lessons, but from purity and grace from above to the diligent. And that it is difficult to judge; and a rebuke of those who think they know the things of the Spirit without the Spirit; in which also [we speak] concerning the holiness of the Spirit. And what a good thing faith is, and what its fruit is, and how it increases; and that those who have possessed the treasure of the Spirit within themselves, and in others

^A they recognize. And what are the signs of the saints, and how and by whom they are recognized; and that he who is not born from above cannot see God, who has begotten him, nor recognize him whom through the Spirit he has reached. R. Now it is fitting to speak well with David, and thus to cry out more loudly.

On the fact that he is naked, having been brought forth from nothing.

LXI. On stillness, and the kind of labor to which he who perseveres bravely in it ought to hold fast. R. Desiring to say a few things about the more perfect of the virtues, I beg of you, open your ears to me.

LXII. On confession, to someone you are writing to, who is your spiritual child, and who therefore are those who have received the authority to bind and release sins. R. You have commanded our humility, Father.

LXIII. A multifaceted ascetic, moral word. R. Brother, consider this to be called a perfect withdrawal from the world, the complete mortification of one's own will.

LVI. On the fearful day of the Lord and the coming judgment; that even before death it is already being atoned for in us here through tears; and that he in whom it happens during the present life, will not meet it in the next. And what is the day of the Lord, and to whom it is suddenly revealed; and that faith in Christ is not able to save us alone, unless we also become consciously partakers of the Holy Spirit; and that not all who are baptized partake of Christ through baptism; and how one can know if he carries Christ within himself, and has become a partaker of the Holy Spirit; and an explanation, as if in passing, of the text, "In the beginning was the Word"; and a beatitude for those who, through struggles, have received the visitation of the Spirit. R. The word about judgment, beloved, is great for us, and difficult to interpret.

LVII. On the life-giving death of Jesus and God, which is always taking place insensibly in the perfect, and that the acquisition of the virtues is bought with blood; and what are the resting places of the virtues; and that he who does not ascend in order through the first step into the kingdom of heaven will by no means enter into it; and that in the perfect there is joy and exultation and not weeping, and in them the streams of theology gush forth; and towards the end, that one must not leap to authority without the grace that gives assurance to our hearts, which calls one to shepherd the people of God; and what is the work of those who preside, and what is the care for the rational sheep; and how these ought to be shepherded by the shepherds. R. The things of the life-giving death of Jesus and God, and of its wondrous energy. ^C

LVIII. On the statement of the Apostle which says: "The first man is earthly, from the earth; the second man is the Lord from heaven"; and how we put off the earthly man and put on Christ, having become his kinsmen and brothers. R. The blessed Paul has well feasted us in the former of the divine things.

LIX. On the statement of the Apostle which says: "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil"; and how one wisely redeems the time of the present life. R. Nothing is so useful to the soul, above all else, as the night and the day.

LX. On feasts; and how one ought to celebrate; and of what things the acts performed in the feasts are symbols, and against those who take pride in them; and concerning those who communicate worthily or unworthily, and what is the difference in these cases; and towards the end, how one is united to God through communion; and how one is not united.

LXIV. On repentance, and what are the things that a multitude of sins forbids one to do. R. Neither with regard to the multitude of sins should one ever despair.

LXV. To one of his disciples concerning the manner in which one can recognize a holy man, and how or by doing what he may find him, and after having attained such ones, how one ought to be disposed toward him. R. We have conceived you through teaching; we have distressed you through repentance; I have brought you forth through patience.

LXVI. On self-ordained teachers, and those who take to themselves the apostolic dignity without grace from above; and that it is not right, before being born of a spiritual Father and being enlightened, to lead others, or to teach at all. R. I wished that I too had been so dead to the world.

LXVII. That we must examine whether we have the things of the beatitudes of Christ in ourselves; for these are the sign of the seal of Christ, and the characteristics of his image; and that it is impossible for one not marked with the sign of Christ, and bearing his image within himself, to enter into his kingdom. R. As many as are unsealed by the sign of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. Edita Numer. xxi.

LXVIII. On that which arises from the Spirit in the faithful who are striving, and the life-giving death before death; and that those who have become in grace above the law receive the grace of divine light consciously within themselves. For those who have not yet received this light in the present life, and are not seeing it clearly, are still under the shadow of the law, and will be judged by it. And how the participation of the Holy Spirit in the faithful, and holiness, and perfect dispassion comes about. R. Search, said our Lord and God Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, so that in the first place, indeed, is salvation. In editis Num. xx.

LXIX. What is meant by, "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned"; and what are the signs of love toward God, and toward one's neighbor; and concerning perfect love, and what is its energy, and that, if we do not with diligence become partakers of love and of the participation of the Holy Spirit here and now, we are not even Christians.

^A can we be? But neither shall we be called sons and children of God before the world is created; answer: God who made the world. But as unbelievers rather shall we be condemned in the day of judgment. R. The Lord and our God Jesus Christ, being the genuine Son of God and Father, is both consubstantial and of the same nature.

On stillness.

death also affects those more resolute in nature. R. I heard a thing strange and full of wonder.

XI. How God was seen by him, as [He was seen] by Stephen and Paul the apostles, here the Father relates in astonishment. R. What is the newness of the miracle, which even now is happening?

XII. Concerning the theology of the one in all things tri-hypostatic Deity, and through which, using humility, he speaks about Him, and turns away the conceit of those who think they are something. R. How is it that you appear again, living in me?

XIII. An exhortation to repentance, and how the will of the flesh, being united to the will of the Spirit, makes man God-like. R. I weep and am pricked [in heart], when the light shines upon me.

XIV. Thanksgiving to God for the gifts of which he was deemed worthy by Him, and that the dignity of priesthood and leadership is a fearful thing even to angels. R. If I even wish, Master, to speak, I have no strength.

XV. How, seeing the glory of God, this divine Father was energized by the Holy Spirit—and that the Divine is within all; but is also both graspable and ungraspable to the worthy; and that becoming many, Christ and our God is one and the same, and remaining undivided and unchangeable. R. As You are revealed, Master of all, and the glory of Your face.

XVI. That only the Divine is by nature desirable and to be longed for, of which he who partakes has become a partaker of all good things. R. Because the thing is hidden from every created essence.

XVII. That fear begets love; but love roots out fear from the soul, and remains alone in it, being divine and holy Spirit. R. How shall I hymn? How shall I glorify? How shall I worthily praise?

XVIII. Instruction with theology concerning the energies of holy love, that is, of the light of the Holy Spirit itself. R. Who will have the strength, Master, to tell of You?

XIX. Instruction with theology, in which also [one finds] concerning priesthood along with dispassionate contemplation. R. How shall I tell of your wonders and strange things, Master?

XX. Thanksgiving and confession with theology, and concerning the gift and participation of the Holy Spirit. R. He who exists before the ages as invisible was seen for my sake on earth from a virgin.

XXI. A letter to a monk who asked, "How do you separate the Son from the Father, by thought or by reality?" in which you will find a wealth of theology overthrowing his blasphemy. R. You shone forth, you manifested the light of glory.

XXII. Thanksgiving with theology; and concerning those things which the divine grace of the Spirit has named through the energies. ^C

XXIII. Precise theology concerning the incomprehensible and uncircumscribed Deity; and that this divine nature is uncircumscribed, neither inside nor outside the whole; but is both inside and outside as the cause of all things, and that the Divine is graspable to man only by the mind, in an ungraspable way, as the rays of the sun [are] to the eyes. R. O Trinity, the creation of all! O Monad, most foundational! ^B

XXIV. Through which, confessing in the present discourse, he shows the depth of his own humility, and going forward teaches it to him who has reached a measure of perfection, and who was deemed worthy of such revelations in theology, in this also imitating Paul the divine who called himself a sinner, and unworthy to be called an Apostle. R. Grant to me, Christ, to kiss Your feet.

XXV. Concerning the vision of divine light that occurred to him, and how the divine light is not overtaken by darkness, in which he also, being astonished because of the abundance of the revelations, remembers human weakness and condemns himself. R. How shall I describe, Master, the vision of Your face?

XXVI. That he who still lives in ignorance of God is a dead man among the living who are in the knowledge of God; and that for those who partake of the mysteries unworthily, the divine body and blood of Christ becomes ungraspable. R. Now among the living, as one dead, O Master, I exist.

XXVII. What kind of person the monk ought to be, and what is his work and progress and ascent. R. Make the house of your soul a palace for a dwelling for Christ.

XXVIII. Concerning the revelation of the energies of the divine light, and the intellectual and divine work of the virtuous life. R. Leave my cell to me alone, enclosed.

XXIX. That the things of divine matters are manifest only to those to whom, through the participation of the Holy Spirit, God has been united as whole to whole. R. From where do you come? How do you enter the inside of the cell, tell me.

XXX. That to souls purified through tears and repentance, the divine fire touches them beforehand, and cleanses them further, illuminating their parts darkened by sin, and healing their wounds, brings them to complete integration, so that they shine forth with divine beauty for them. R. For the divine is truly fire, which the Master said He came to cast.

XXXI. Concerning theology, and that the divine nature is unsearchable, and to men entirely incomprehensible. R. Lord our God, Father, Son, and Spirit, in form formless.

XXXII. That the glorious ones of the earth, and those haughty with wealth, are led astray concerning the shadow of things seen; but those who have despised present things become in [their] wandering-free participation of the divine Spirit. R. Seeing me, Master, reviled by believers.

XXXIII. Concerning theology, and that those who [possess] the one according to...

the image, preserving it, trample upon the wicked powers of the ruler of darkness; but the others, whose life is filled with passions, are ruled and reigned over by him. R. Light is the Father, Light is the Son, Light is the Holy Spirit. ^A XXXIV. That the union of the all-holy Spirit with purified souls takes place in clear sensation, that is, in knowledge, and in whomever it occurs, it renders them light-like, similar to itself, and light. R. The invisible is altogether distinct from visible things and creatures. XXXV. That all angels are illuminated by being shone upon, and behold the glory of God as it is lawful for human nature to see God. R. Look from above, my God, and be pleased to appear. XXXVI. Thanksgiving for the exile and the afflictions which he endured during the persecution against him. R. I thank thee, Lord; I thank thee, alone. XXXVII. Supplication and prayer of the same to God for His help. R. Master Christ, Master who saves the soul, Master of all. XXXVIII. Concerning theology; and that the mind, having been purified from the matter of the passions, beholds immaterially the immaterial and invisible. R. What path might I walk? What track might I avoid? XXXIX. That longing and love for God transcends every love and every human longing. And the mind, having been dyed by those who are being purified in the light of God, becomes entirely deified, and from thence is called the mind of Christ. R. How lovely is thy beauty, incomparable [is] the form. XL. Confession of the grace of God's gifts, and how this Father who writes was energized by the Holy Spirit, and the teaching spoken by God, making things there [be] a portion of the salvation of those being saved. R. Again the light shines upon me; again it is seen. XLI. Thanksgiving to God for the benefits received from Him, and a request to know for what sake those who have become perfect are permitted by demons to be tempted; and instruction concerning those renouncing the world, and an outlining spoken by God. R. Thou knowest my poverty; behold my orphanhood. XLII. That those who have already departed from here to God through participation in the Holy Spirit, having been united [to Him] upon departing this life, will be with Him forever from there. But if not, the opposite will happen to those who are otherwise here. R. The beginning of life [is] the end to me, and the end [is] the beginning. XLIII. That it is better to be well-shepherded than to shepherd those who do not wish to be shepherded. For there will be no profit for one who is zealous to save others, ^B but loses himself through the keeping of them. R. Say, Christ, to thy servant; say, O Light of the world. XLIV. What is the [man] according to the image, and how man is reasonably held to be the image of God; and that he who loves his enemies as benefactors is a follower of God. And having become a participant of the Holy Spirit from there, he becomes [so] by position and by grace, known only to those— ^C rooted, [by] those who are energized by the Holy Spirit. R. Glory, praise, grace to Him who made creation out of nothing. XLV. Concerning most exact theology, and that he who does not see the light of the glory of God turns out to be worse than the blind. R. O most compassionate my God, my Creator, shine more upon me. XLVI. Confession joined with prayer; and concerning the connection of the Holy Spirit, and dispassion. R. I have gone far away, O Lover of mankind; I have lodged in a desert. XLVII. Concerning the far-shining contemplation of the intelligible paradise; and concerning the tree of life in it. R. Blessed art thou, Lord; blessed art thou alone. XLVIII. That it is glory and honor for every man who is insulted and suffering evil for the sake of God’s commandment, [to suffer] the dishonor [inflicted] for the sake of the commandment of God itself; and a dialogue with his own soul, teaching the inexhaustible wealth of the Spirit. R. Give me the sensation, Christ, which thou once granted. XLIX. That there is a time when even through the care for one's neighbor and [his] correction, the teacher may be dragged down into the infirmity of the passion that is in the other. R. Have mercy on me, Lord; have mercy on me, alone. L. Concerning the contemplation of God and divine things, and the paradoxical energy of the Holy Spirit, and concerning the properties of the holy and consubstantial Trinity; and that he who has not attained to enter into the kingdom of heaven will be in no way benefited, even if he be outside the punishments of Hades. R. What have I done [worthy] of thee? LI. That when the Holy Spirit shines upon us, everything of the passions is put to flight, as darkness [is] by light; but when He withdraws His rays, we are struck by these and by wicked thoughts. R. Thy light shining upon me gives life, my Christ. LII. Concerning theology; and that to one not transformed by participation in the Holy Spirit, and not having become God by position in the knowledge [of Him], it is not permitted to teach divine things to men. R. Who shall comfort me in the pain of my heart? LIII. Concerning God’s manner of expression, and the Word of the Father of words, and how this divine Father, being illuminated by the Holy Spirit, conversed with God, and was initiated by Him into divine and human things. R. It is missing. LIV. That God has given to each of men the gift appropriately, and for the benefit, through the Holy Spirit, for the purpose of working—not as he himself wishes, but as was predestined by Him—so that the [body] of His Church might not be empty. Without beginning. But it begins from these verses: "Each possesses his own energy. But not having received it from himself, but from us he certainly [does]." LV. That for those who keep the holy baptism pure, the Holy Spirit remains; but from those who have polluted it, He departs. R. Thou knowest me, O Christ, as a worker of all lawlessness. LVI. Prayer to God, concerning what has happened for...

^A both an intercessory and a thanksgiving prayer. R. O Lord, give me understanding; O Lord, give me knowledge. LVII. That having desired God with my whole soul, I might hate the world. R. I am held in shadow, and I behold the truth. LVIII. A common teaching with reproof for all kings, high priests, priests, monks, and laymen, spoken and being spoken by the mouth of God. R. O Christ, grant me words of wisdom, words of divine knowledge. ^B

Prose orations; divine Praises, or Loves, are written in strict composition: for as they mostly consist of political, iambic, and Anacreontic verses, yet in such a way that no account is kept of the quantity of syllables, which the ancients observed most accurately; only their number and the accents are attended to. And this method of fashioning poems is not found to be in use now for the first time in that nation, but perhaps many centuries ago, having eventually grown weary of labor and with barbarism occupying all things (add also the ignorance of similar matters), as we see in the hemiambics or Anacreontics of Photius the Patriarch, of Christopher first of the secretaries, of Constantine the Reader, of the Emperor Manuel and others; of Psellus, Metaphrastes, Manasses, Philip the Solitary, Manuel Philes, Tzetzes in iambics and political verses: in which, however, the more recent authors have been more negligent in their composition. Just as the Anacreontic verses are not all concluded with the same number of syllables and feet, so these also are composed now with more, now with fewer syllables, yet according to their norm. In iambics, it is done otherwise: for whereas the ancients, by reason of the feet being longer or contracted, made verses which were sometimes richer in syllables and sometimes fewer, even though they always observed the number of feet, the more recent authors most religiously keep only the syllables, and those twelve in number. The same is observed in political verses, in which they never exceed fifteen syllables; and if any seem to be beyond this, they shorten and remove them by aphaeresis or synaloepha, which is more visible in the recent and vulgar Greek tongue, as well as in that of the Italians, among whom similar hiatuses are restricted to retain the number of syllables. They are called "political" because they are common to all citizens and adapted to their use; just as prostitutes and harlots, because they are compliant and peculiar to all, and serve a public servitude, are known by no other name added, but only by that one. They are purely Trochaic; for as those consist of seven feet and a syllable, so also do these: except that the verses of the ancients, by reason of the longer feet, sometimes exceed fifteen syllables, while the political ones never do, as was stated regarding the iambics. And as those of the ancients are integrated by two members and are divided in the middle, so also are these which are called political: let this be an example: Hear that I may tell you Sudden and harsh Where it happened once Between two young ones A mournful death And complainingly In a beautiful meadow, Where one was making merry. ^C And as for the kinds of these poems, let whatever others may say, lest we wander too long outside the subject, these suffice.

Gesner, from the Practical and Theological Chapters of Symeon, sets down only one hundred, to which he adds twenty-five. In the library of Bavaria, many more are provided under three titles: etc. 1. Pontanus reduced these to one body, and seeing in such a multitude a few scattered theological pieces, he deemed them "Practical" rather than, as in the greater number, "Moral," and published them in Latin with other works of Symeon. I have read his own in the Italian libraries in Greek.

I. Chapters practical and theological. R. Faith is to die for Christ for the sake of His commandment, and of His demons, from whom he [was cast] out of paradise. II. Practical and theological chapters. [The text continues, translating the remaining titles and catalog entries:] II. Practical and theological chapters. R. Faith is to die for Christ for the sake of His commandment. III. Chapters. R. How the devil found [it] with his own, after he was [cast] out of paradise. IV. Selections of certain theological [chapters] from the same. R. In what manner the intellectual orders of the higher powers [were created] by God. In the Vatican library, just as with many other things which we recounted above, there are besides his prayers. V. Beginning, O crystalline life, and bejeweled, and almighty right hand. VI. Beginning, O Lord Jesus Christ, Creator of all creation. VII. To the Holy Spirit. To Thee alone O Good, and to the all-holy and life-giving Spirit. VIII. Another. R. Lord almighty, immeasurable and ineffable.

In the library of Antonius Augustinus, codex 86, are contained his: Practical and theological chapters 101. Of theology other Chapters 25. Other theological and practical chapters 102. Codex 87. Sermons 35. Institutions on dilection or charity, and what the lives and actions of spiritual men ought to be. His Practical and theological chapters 100. On penitence, and what he who has recently confessed ought to do. To one of his disciples, how one can know a holy man. Codex 37: From Symeon the Theologian, excerpts concerning silence. In the library of the King of the Gauls: Of Symeon the Younger, provost of the monastery of Saint Mamas, Practical and theological chapters 101. His gnostic chapters 25. His Ethics, etc. His on the difference of attention and prayer. His precepts for the monastic life. His various chapters. His on penitence and the perfection of life.

^A In the Altempsian Library at Rome: Symeon the Younger’s 46 Orations, and Chapters, and On Prayer. In the Royal [library] of Saint Lawrence, Symeon the Younger the Theologian’s Historical Work, collected from various authors. On prayer and attention. On penance. Theological chapters pertaining to the knowledge of one’s neighbor and to theology. On charity and the beatitudes. How one ought to recognize a holy man. 100 practical and theological chapters. Gnostic and theological chapters of Constantinus Varinus: Symeon the Monk [the] New Theologian’s Exposition of the Holy Trinity.

He had his admirers, and most especially men of similar condition: Hierotheus, monk and presbyter, head of the monastery of the Beautiful ^B Fountain; Alexius the Philosopher, a great master; Nicetas, deacon of the Great Church; Basil, first of the Secretaries and founder of the monastery of Evergetis, Nicetas Stellatus, and others. Since their poems in honor of Symeon are not available to everyone, I shall not hesitate to transcribe them here:

Of Hierotheus, monk and presbyter of the monastery of the Beautiful Fountain

Of Alexius the philosopher, who became a great teacher

Of Nicetas, the God-beloved deacon of the Great Church of God

Of Basil, Chief Secretary and founder of the monastery of the Evergetis

Of the same

Of the Same.

And Symeon of Thessalonica mentions him not without praise in his Dialogue against heresies, among those who have written concerning prayer, placing him as the blessed Symeon the New Theologian, and the rest, worthily, because of the divine Spirit that was in them. Catholici also have extolled his piety and doctrine no less. This writer, they have shown to be deeply enamored of the integrity and innocence of all Christians, both high and low, and to be one who diligently excites and stimulates them in every way to cultivate this, so that he urges this common perfection and holiness vehemently; thus he commends the monastic life most frequently and accurately, and inflames them with the desire to pursue it, and most sharply rebukes the slothful and those walking according to the flesh: nor does he omit to admonish their superiors and governors explicitly concerning their duty. Hence, ^A a suitable and appropriate inscription was given to the work: *Orations on faith and morals, both Christian and monastic*, in the Holy Scriptures, and in the doctrine which is held to be proper to theologians, well-exercised and appearing safe. What is brought forward in the *Sacred Laudations* is piety, even the preeminent, and those blessed flowers with which the Bride desires to be supported, and those ointments which give off a scent, the odor of which is above all aromatics. Concerning God, not only most learnedly—but also most sweetly—although sometimes, as is also discussed above in the *Orations*: so also not a few precepts are interspersed, by which either the Christian or the monastic life is instituted and conformed to its own perfection. In the *Chapters*, Symeon is seen to be like himself, and with the same religion, piety, and doctrine he brought forth these other things; nor is Christian and monastic holiness less taught and inculcated in these than in the former, fitting similitudes being employed. Gretser, however, more cautiously [noted] that not only in this Symeon, but also in not a few other monastic and ascetic writers, there occur some things said rather harshly which need the file of judgment, the greater part of which he softened with his most learned notes, and endeavored to draw into a good sense. And indeed, these [interpreters], not having perceived everything, have brought into the open the piety and doctrine of this Symeon.

We, having treated of the proscenium, shall discuss the scene of the whole matter, and we will ingenuously untie the knot of the difficulty. C Whatever may be the case regarding the piety of this man, whether it was true or feigned—for I do not wish to detract anything from his glory. Certainly, concerning his doctrine, there is something that might be able to draw me to the other side, which even while he himself lived, or wrote, was obnoxious to the various accusations of others, which those who act as Symeon’s *Symmista* have endeavored to defend by word and writing. Nicetas Stethatos [in his] Preface to the *Sacred Laudations*: "For if these revelations and voices are not the voices of God, nor of a soul converted to God, and made outside all perception of the world, and all in accordance with the total holy [state], one could hardly show that any other of human things, and those performed by us with all diligence, would be acceptable to God and praiseworthy to men, which is not brought forward by the wisdom and knowledge of the highest God [as something] illustrious and bright." Therefore, for the sake of those who are overcome by envy toward good things, and by unbelief and ignorance, these things are added by us to the erotic and divine hymns of the teacher; so that, if upon a first encounter they receive them, they might at some time become better than themselves, and superior to envy and malice, and glorify as far as possible the One who in deed and word and contemplation has glorified God, and who has sanctified the name which is above every name in his own odes; or, as those untasted by good things, and entirely incapable of the high visions because of the grossness inherent in them, they might desist from the attempt and the curious examination of the things written here. "For these revelations and voices are not of voices, nor of a soul converted to God, and made outside all perception of the world, and entirely in accordance with..."

^A all its parts being holy, much less something human, and performed with the greatest diligence by the elders, will be shown to be acceptable to God and praiseworthy to men, provided that it does not also have, attached to it, glory from wisdom and the supreme knowledge of God. Therefore, these things have been set forth by us for the sake of those who attack good things and are besieged by envy, disbelief, and ignorance of the divine praises and the love of the master, so that those who offend in these matters at the very first encounter may eventually turn out to be better than themselves, and may repel envy and calumny, and praise as much as they are able Him who glorified God in action, word, and contemplation, and who sanctified the name above every name in His members; or, as if starving for good things and utterly incapable of sublime speculations because of their innate coarseness, they might abstain from the very approach and curious investigation of these writings. Indeed, they even strove to wash away the crimes opposed to the Master by publishing Orations, calling the attackers by no other name than that of the Hagiocategoroi [accusers of saints], as if one who accused Symeon were accusing holiness itself. Under this title, the same Nicetas published an Oration: "Let envy perish, which grudges good things, and let Symeon, worthy of all hymns and praises, be praised and glorified," just as we have explained more broadly with sacred usages in the speech against the Hagiocategoroi. Let envy, which always devours the good, perish. Let him who is worthy of praises and every kind of encomium, Symeon, be praised and exalted with sufficiently auspicious voices, just as we have explained at greater length in the Oration against the Hagiocategoroi, having cited the authorities of the saints.

^C When the crowds would not be quieted, Symeon was called to trial, and persisting in his opinion, he was condemned to prison, not because of the faith or because of the defended images, which no one was attacking at the time, but because of his ardent zeal with which he, fired up, quite freely criticized the emperor’s loose morals and license—which, indeed, he surely would never have kept quiet, whenever he remembered his imprisonment, since it turned to his own glory and that of the universal Church. Theodorus the Studite, in commemorating his own exiles, punishments, and imprisonments, did not conceal the cause for which he underwent similar things: to say nothing of Athanasius, Chrysostom, John Veccus, and others. He confesses the imprisonments, he makes the cause visible in such a great number of writers; it is not a laudable cause. He is himself suspected of wrongdoing. What end the imprisonments had is not clear to me; nevertheless, the silence of subsequent writers is an indication that his opinions were condemned and lay neglected in obscurity and in hiding. But being always dug up from the shadows by the new arrogance of those who dare all things, they obtained authority among the monks of Mount Athos, until Barlaam, as Cantacuzenus relates (Hist. lib. II), a monk from Calabria, a man sharp and perspicacious in wit, and most eloquent in language, imbued with the foreign doctrine of the philosophers and our own doctrine of the holy Fathers, arriving in Thessalonica and dealing with many matters of religion against the ^D Latins, was amply received, and became dear and intimate to them. Having gone to one of those who are called Hesychasts, he heard about the mode of solitary life and the precepts of obedience: then, in what way those who embark upon the solitary life, gradually and quietly intent on prayers, are suffused with exultation of soul and a certain divine and inexplicable pleasure, and behold with bodily eyes the light shining around them. Hearing this, Barlaam immediately began to attack the solitaries; he labeled them impostors, Massalians, Omphalopsychoi, corrupters of the dogmas of the Church of the fathers, and other similar marks, and disseminated publicly that their practice was to be shunned as one that both deceived and was deceived: for they were destroying the souls entrusted to them for the sake of the piety they displayed, by the greatest ruin of religion. Moved by these things, the Thessalonian solitaries, having interrupted their friends, asked that he desist from speaking such things against the Hesychasts; and that he should not, by the instruction of one poorly sane person, rashly invade and cut to pieces with curses their holy quiet. With this light, many, in times of persecution—the holy Antony also standing in the battle line against demons—were clothed in it: [they argued] that it is possible that someone may contemplate with bodily eyes the divine and uncreated Light. On Mount Tabor, men, even though still imperfect, were able to see the light shining around them and the uncreated Light: it is not to be wondered at if now the saints, illuminated from above by God, are said to behold this Light. Barlaam could not contain himself at such words, but exclaimed: "If that Light is neither a created thing nor the nature of God—for no one has ever seen God—you are serving two gods: one indeed the creator of all, whom all confess to be invisible, and another that falls under the gaze, the uncreated Light." He reasoned that [the Light] was not at all different or discrepant from the divine essence, which is why he accused them of ditheism, the worship of two gods. Steering his course to Byzantium, and trusting in his cause, he insisted that a synod be gathered: the monks of Thessalonica were summoned to judgment: and when the emperor tried to settle the disputes, and urged that an end be put to the altercations, as Barlaam would not rest, the matter was committed to a synod. Therefore, with the emperor and the patriarch presiding, and the remaining bishops, nobles, and senators sitting by, the synod was gathered in the temple of divine Wisdom. To Barlaam, as the actor, the first place of speaking was given, who offered the Fathers a pamphlet concerning these matters, added words to the proposed subject, and finally accused the monks, that they did not offer the prayer, which they said they celebrated, without defect and conveniently; but [asserted] that it was in need of an addition, which he himself supplied, so that he might complete what was lacking. Palamas responded on behalf of the monks, and refuted what was contrary according to the sayings of the saints and of men skilled in theology. He taught that the light on Tabor, by which the disciples were illuminated, was the glory of God without beginning, and His majesty, and the light of the Divinity and Deity, and natural and eternal...

and not created, nor was that light what is predicated by the theologians; and then, producing the Tomos composed by the monks living on Athos, he showed that he was in agreement with the saints, while the dogmas ^A of Barlaam were shown to be perverse. When, after a long dispute, victory inclined toward Gregory and the monks, Barlaam, seeing that he would not escape paying the penalty for his calumny and scurrility, approached the Grand Domestic, begging for his help and counsel so that he might escape the impending punishment. The Grand Domestic promised his services, and urged him not to await a grim verdict, but rather to confess his own previous ignorance and the truth he had recognized, to agree with the saints, and to set aside his enmities with the monks, so that he might live his life harmlessly, as a friend to the monks, who were not resisting him because of any invective poured out, but because of the perversity of an ecclesiastical doctrine. Barlaam affirmed that this seemed to be the best course of action for him, but he feared that after his confession he would be punished with some ignominy, since he had opposed himself to approved and accepted dogmas; therefore, if he were to suffer such things, it would be better to have borne the judgment in silence, so that he might be able to revoke the injury and judgment done to him in the future. When the Grand Domestic advised him not to fear any such thing in his presence, he, standing in the middle, confessed his past ignorance, asked pardon for his foolishly spoken words, and claimed that when he thought others were in error, he had applied diligence to amend their error, but that now he dissented from them in nothing, and that he believed and confessed that the light on Tabor was the glory of God, without beginning, and an eternal light. Now Gregory, with his assembly, embraced Barlaam, granted pardon for the past, and gave thanks to God for peace and concord. And in this manner the synod was dismissed. Not long after, when the emperor ^B had died, Barlaam stirred up the dispute again, and shouting that the judgment had been very lame, he fled to Italy. Gregory, later surnamed Acindynus, for a long time a disciple of Barlaam, attempting the same things, was condemned by all in a full synod gathered in the same temple, and sentence was passed against Barlaam and his followers as heretics unless they repented, and both were separated from the communion of the orthodox; and if any other in the future dared such things, and brought an accusation against Palamas and others as if they held ill-conceived views on religion, the Tomos—composed according to the ancient custom of the synods, to which Patriarch John and the bishops present at that time had subscribed, and which many others later agreed to and subscribed to—was handed over to Palamas and his companions so that they might defend themselves. And these things, indeed, Cantacuzenus repeats at greater length, whereas he repeats them more succinctly in the Prooemion which he prefixes to his contradictions against the hieromonk Prochorus Cydones, the mother of Demetrius, concerning the light of Tabor. Gregoras, in book 11, reports that nothing was done in that synod ^C because of the presence of the unskilled multitude, and so that the mysteries of theology would not be poured into the ears of the profane vulgar, and so that Palamas might not be convicted of a blasphemous doctrine while Barlaam was debating against him. And Barlaam was condemned not because he did not hold the same views as Palamas, but was convicted from his own other writings of malevolence and pertinacity, and above all of greed for glory. Let it be heard: "But this, and the lover of popular glory..." Then, so that Barlaam might not be made to pay the penalty for his inept garrulity and his mind, and Palamas might not seem to be guilty of a blasphemous and importunate theology—and so that from this, in place of the peace and good order that circumstances required, a tumult and enormous confusion might arise—the charges of prayer were first proposed. As for the matters concerning the Messalian heresy, and whatever other things were brought against Palamas, these were deferred for a few days; and had the sudden death of the emperor not followed soon after, the vehement attacks against the Palamite heresy would have been quickly concluded: that is, the root of what was to grow would have been extirpated then. And to omit what intervened, since Barlaam was not permitted—for the reasons we have mentioned—to demonstrate theological crimes, he was found guilty from his other writings and condemned for malevolence and pertinacity, and above all for his greed for popular glory. The cause of Barlaam, therefore, was his calumny and his forward aggression against the monks; Palamas, [was accused of] a blasphemous and importunate theology. Furthermore, I have to report to us from the Tomos of Patriarch John, who was present at the synod, which was dealing with another Tomos—which we have edited in Greek and Latin, in *The Consension of the Western and Eastern Church*, book 11, cap. 17: "It is indeed manifest from the Tomos... ^D that the judgment and the sentence were not made, as some might wish to interpret, with aversion, based only on those two chapters—that concerning the divine light in the Taborite discourse, and that concerning prayer, as we shall show as we proceed—and on those two very chapters Barlaam was condemned, and Barlaam was sent away, and the weight of the penalty placed in the Tomos was imposed *in defense*... because of these two chapters alone." It is clear from the Tomos itself, unless one out of envy or...

^A a desire to judge the matter wishes to be made a fool by the invocation of Jesus Christ, that it pursues and destroys this. From this point, the mind, harboring grudges against demons, stirs up anger according to nature, and pursuing, casts out the intellectual enemies. The rest you will learn with God, by keeping the Jesus of the mind in your heart. "For sit," he says, "in your cell, and this will teach you everything."

The Tomos was issued, having neither beginning nor end, doing nothing other than [setting forth] the two chapters contained therein, concerning the divine light of the Transfiguration, and prayer; for which chapters the sayings of the Fathers were also set forth. We have thus briefly explained the whole in this matter of truth, that the synodal inquiry took its end solely upon the two chapters in question, and no other.

The crimes therefore opposed to the monks by Barlaam, and while they thus see the divine light, and hold what Palamas asserts, they are manifestly convinced to be Massalians and Omphalopsychoi, and corruptors of the correct dogmas of the Church. However, the source and origin of similar errors and heresies was this Symeon, from whom those who were at first little cautious drank; later, for fear of infamy, they endeavored to defend them with all their might, both in word and writing. For in Homily 3, on prayer, or attention, he prescribes as follows for those praying so that they may see the light of God, and be illuminated by it: ^B "Before all things, three things you must acquire for yourself, and thus begin what you desire: freedom from care regarding both irrational and rational things—that is, the purity of a conscience kept from all things, so that it may be blameless to one’s own conscience—and detachment, having no inclination toward anything in this age, nor even your own body. Then, sitting in a quiet cell and in one corner alone, take care to do what I tell you. Having closed the door, lift up your mind from every vanity, that is, from any temporary thing, then fixing your chin upon your chest, moving the eye of sense along with the mind into the middle of the belly, that is, the navel. Restrain also the drawing in of breath through the nose, so as not to breathe freely, and search intellectually within your bowels to find the place of the heart, where all the faculties of the soul are accustomed to dwell. And at first you will find darkness, and an immovable density; but as you persist, and perform this work by night and by day, you will find, O miracle, ceaseless joy! For as soon as the mind finds the place of the heart, it sees immediately what it never knew; it sees the air in the middle of the heart, and itself all luminous, and full of discernment; and from that time, whenever a thought rises up before it can receive strength or form, it will be put to flight and vanish by the invocation of Jesus Christ. ^C Hence, the intellect, indignant at the demons, stirs up anger, which is according to nature; and pursuing, puts the intellectual adversaries to flight. The rest you will learn with God, by keeping Christ in your heart through the guarding of the mind. For 'Sit,' he says, 'in your cell, and it will teach you all things.' Do you see the origin of the Omphalopsychoi, and the dogma of the Massalians, conceived and propagated among these Hesychasts by this author? Indeed, all the heresies that later arose from Palamas and others were disseminated in the Church of the Greeks from no other source than this fountain."

Niphon the Hieromonk, or Demetrius Cydonius, concerning the heresies of Palamas: "But to run through the dogmas of Palamas in summary, taking our start from earlier times, we shall show briefly that Palamas did not first conceive the whole of the heresy, but many years before, among the so-called Hesychasts, the matters of this heresy were whispered as if in a mystery; and it is clear from the fact that a certain Symeon, the hegumen of the monastery called Xyloker- ^D kou—whom the mystics and mystagogues of such things have inscribed as the 'New Theologian'—wrote many profane and blasphemous things in his other writings; but especially in that concerning sobriety and attention, he sets forth such things: 'Sit in one corner,' and so forth."

among those who were called Hesychasts, as if in the hidden corners, this heresy was being whispered. That this is manifest from those things which a certain Symeon, prefect of the monastery of Xerocercus, whom the mystics and mystagogues of those like him also inscribed as "the younger theologian," set forth in his other writings, many of them blasphemous and profane, but most especially in his work ^A *On Sobriety and Attention*, where he has this: "Sit in one corner," etc. From this, this Symeon, on every page, more often and even to the point of nausea, inculcates divine illuminations, divine light, divine unions, essential unions with God, and six hundred other similar things. But who will bear those things with a calm mind, so that I may involve the remaining things in silence, which are held in oration 27: "O the wonder! That a human is united spiritually and bodily, if the soul is not separated from the mind, nor the body from the soul, but by the essential union he becomes tripersonal according to grace, and the human is a god by adoption, from body and soul and from that which he has partaken, the divine Spirit, and then is fulfilled what was said by the prophet David, 'I said, you are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High;' according to the image, that is, and according to the likeness of the Most High, divine offspring from the divine Spirit." O, miraculous thing! Man is united to God spiritually and bodily: since the soul is not separated from the mind, nor the body from the soul, and by an essential union man becomes even by grace one of the three hypostases, a god by adoption, consisting clearly of body and soul, and partaking in that of which he has become a participant, the divine Spirit, and then that which is of the Prophet David is fulfilled: "I said, you are gods, and children of the Most High all;" children of the Most High, that is, according to the image and likeness of the Almighty, divine offspring from the divine Spirit. ^B From this I deem it must be concluded that writings of this kind must be handled cautiously, lest readers slip into the most pernicious heresies—which lie hidden beneath them beneath the guise of piety and divine worship—and which can only with difficulty be torn from the soul, a thing which in the time of Palamas, to the greatest detriment of its religion, the entire Greek Church experienced; and not only because similar heresies had fixed their foothold especially among those who were the leaders of others to piety, but because, distracted into parties and factions, and conferring all their zeal on idle contentions and clearly futile things with more than diabolical cunning, it had lost the true doctrine regarding divine matters received from the Fathers. And it is truly a wonder, among so many dissensions and stubborn agitations of minds, that the fame of this Symeon was so protected that they seem to have been ignorant of the author of his opinions, whom they scarcely ever knew by name. And when mention of him necessarily had to be inculcated, they indicated the man by a silent name and other titles, "as one of the great ones," as one of the great men, speaking about him, Palamas says in his 2nd oration, which he himself inscribed *Patres* (Fathers). Epistle to Mena, "those initiated." Elsewhere, "Theologians," "Cantacuzenus," and similar things. But I think this happened lest, with the man's name indicated, people concerned with it might search for and examine his books, and since they would not find everything reported according to the rule of true doctrine as was fitting, they would condemn them, even forcing a synod, as was the custom, to condemn them, by which condemnation they themselves would also be brought into a crime as if they held and defended things ^C previously condemned by a synod.

Jacobus Pontanus' Preface.

The title of the orations is this: *Of our Holy Father Symeon the New Theologian*, or, as the inscription prefixed to the book of divine hymns has it, *Of the new one among theologians, presbyter and hegumen of the monastery of the holy great martyr Mamas of Xylocercus*. He seems to have been called Saint Father our Symeon (commonly Simeon with an iota, not with a upsilon) the Junior Theologian, so that he might be distinguished from Gregory Nazianzen, who obtained the name of "Theologian" among the Greeks; because, since this was also given to our Simeon, for that reason the word "the new" is added in the customary manner of the Greeks, so that no ^D one, hearing the name "Theologian" without any addition, might immediately conceive of Gregory Nazianzen in their mind; just as Stephen *the new* (Junior), a martyr under Copronymus, is distinguished from the protomartyr Stephen; just as Theodosius *the new*, Valentinian *the new*, with respect to predecessors of the same name: Presbyter and superior of the monastery of the holy and great martyr Mamas in Xylocercus. Concerning the holy martyr Mamant, the Latin Martyrologies treat of him on the 17th day of August, the Greek Menologies on the 2nd of September. He was most celebrated among the Greeks, as is clear both from other sources and from the oration with which Saint Basil adorned this martyr. Saint Gregory Nazianzen also says no few things about the same man, in his oration *on the New Sunday*. The *Miscella Historia* also mentions the martyr Mamas several times, for that author inflects the name of this martyr in this manner. In whose honor Pharasmanes (who under Justinian was prefect of the imperial bedchamber, as Nicephorus writes, lib. XVIII, cap. 441) founded a temple and monastery at Constantinople, near the wall which is named Xylocercus. And of this monastery was this Symeon of ours, the superior and presbyter. Nor was he only called *Xylocercus*; but also his...

monastery] derives its name from that specific gate, as noted by the author of the Pandect of Turkish History. For the builders constructing that gate, having found a great abundance of water in the foundation, drove many logs and piles into the water and placed stones upon them, and thus finally made a firm foundation for the building. Today it is named the Hagiobazari Gate, through which, clearly, the Hagiobazaritae, who live across the bay opposite this gate, enter the city. The name Hagiobazari signifies either "holy" or "holy market." And Symeon the Master, along with other Greeks, uses the word *emporion* (market) for a small town that is not closed by gates nor surrounded by walls. I should rather think it refers to the "holy market" in order to signify the market of Saint Mamas, which once possessed a notable monastery, an imperial palace most celebrated in histories, and finally a bridge no less noble, called Saint Mamas. For here those famous rivers of the ancients, the Cydaris and Barbyses—now the Machlena and Chartaricon—empty themselves into the far end of the Ceratine Gulf, and they are indeed joined to Saint Mamas by a bridge. The word Hagiobazariotai denotes the inhabitants of the market of Saint Mamas. So much for that.

Now, this Symeon of ours was not a Stylite; and those three Symeons lived before the times of the Iconoclasts; our Symeon lived either during those times or certainly after them. For he makes mention of Stephen the Younger, who was killed by Copronymus for the defense of the holy images. What, then, is his age? Indeed, one might think he lived under the Iconoclast emperors; under Leo, I say, the Isaurian, and Copronymus; ^B or certainly under Leo the Armenian, Michael Balbus, and Theophilus, who all waged war against the images. This may be confirmed by the testimony of Symeon himself, who says in his thirteenth oration: "The devil has been our enemy for now more than six thousand two hundred years, reckoning by the Greek calculation, from the foundation of the world." Lest anyone think a mistake has crept into the numbers, one must know that this number is not marked in the Greek manuscript with numerical signs, but is written out clearly in full words.

Furthermore, there was a famous Hippodrome at Saint Mamas, in which Copronymus killed the monk Andrew Calybites, as is recorded in the twenty-second book of the *Miscellanea*. Concerning the bridge at Saint Mamas, see Suidas under the word *Mamas*, and the *Constantinopolitan Origins*, Cod. M. His writings are now brought to light for the first time, which the epitome of the Gesnerian library also mentions. But it wrongly manufactures three men out of one Symeon. For Symeon the presbyter, and Symeon the Younger, or, as the Epitome says, the New Theologian, and Symeon head of Xerocercus, are one and the same Symeon, unless it ineptly calls him "head of Xerocercus" when he should have been called the warden or prelate of Saint Mamas at Xylocercus. For even if our codex also has *tes Xerokerkou*, I have no doubt that it should be read as *Xylokerkou*.

Moreover, besides those monuments of Symeon which now come to light, the Gesnerian Epitome mentions a book *On Prayer*, or on the three modes of praying, which we do not find in the Bavarian codices. Of the practical and theological chapters, it posits only one hundred, and to these, another twenty-five. But the most highly supplied library of the Bavarian prince provided us with far more, as you see; these are distinguished in codex 104 by three titles: 1. *Of our holy Father Symeon the New Theologian, Abbot of the Monastery of Saint Mamas of Xylocercus, Practical and Theological Chapters 101.* 2. *Chapters of the same, Gnostic and concerning Theology, 25.* 3. *Chapters of the same, Theological and Practical, 102.*

Concerning the time in which this Symeon flourished, I shall say not what I have found for certain, but what I have found probably. And in the first place, I do not think I need even advise that this Symeon of ours is different from Symeon the Elder the Stylite (whose life Theodoret committed to writing), and also from Symeon the Stylite the Younger (who flourished under Justin the Younger), and from Symeon the Stylite in ^C Cilicia, whom the *Spiritual Meadow* mentions in chapter 37.

Leo the Isaurian began his reign in the year of the creation of the world 6209, according to Cedrenus. Then, in the *Menologies* of the Greeks on the 20th of November, it is reported that Gregory Decapolites, having suffered many things from the Iconoclasts, came to Constantinople. "And that he found Symeon the Confessor and God-bearer, imprisoned for the sake of the holy images." But what prevents this Symeon, visited by Gregory, from being the same one we are looking for, when he himself testifies in two places that he was cast into exile—one in his orations, the other in his commentaries—though he is silent on the cause? He also seems to speak of the martyrdom of Stephen the Younger as of a matter clearly recent in his own age.

These and other things of this kind would not lack credibility if, in the Greek manuscript, "two hundred" were written explicitly and not "six hundred"—*but he himself, having remained for six thousand and six hundred years after these, has been always an enemy of men, hidden and secret*, etc. Six thousand six hundred and more years. Therefore, this Symeon is much younger, and his age falls into the reign of John or Manuel Comnenus; of which reign some novels exist, one of which, *On Voluntary Homicides*, was edited and published in the year of the creation of the world 6674, as was another of the same emperor, *On Diverse Causes and Negotiations*. Manuel began his reign in the year of Christ 1143, if Onuphrius in his *Chronicle* does not err; he ruled for thirty-eight years, less three months, as Nicetas testifies in book VII *On the affairs of Manuel*, near the end. Therefore, this Symeon flourished in the reign of the Comneni, John or Manuel, and wrote these orations. Wherefore, those things which were said in the annotation to the third oration concerning the age of Symeon must be corrected in accordance with the first opinion—which, however, collapses if we read not "two hundred" but "six hundred" with the Greek codex, as indeed it ought to be read, since the codex manifestly represents this writing [as such].

And although the Greek schism had already existed even then, all the passages in which Symeon mentions the procession of the Holy Spirit can, by a good reader, be accepted in a good sense, as can most other things, to some of which we have added brief notes; others we have left to the candor of the learned reader. For not only in this Symeon of ours, but also in many other monastic and ascetic writers, there occur certain somewhat harsh sayings which have need of a judge’s file. He who wishes to read the ascetic discourses of Abba Isaiah, John Climacus, Mark, Nilus, and others, will admit that I speak the truth. This is all we have of Symeon: to whom also the *Dialogue* of that Scholastic was written, which you will find after the moral chapters, which are nothing else than certain aphorisms and brief sentences adapted for rightly ordering one's life; chapters of a kind which others, too, have edited, as have Mark the Ascetic and Saint Nilus, which still exist. ^A

SYMEON JUNIOR PROVOST OF THE MONASTERY OF SAINT MAMAS AT XYLOCERCUS THIRTY-THREE ORATIONS

ORATION FIRST. ARGUMENT. How man, driven from paradise, lost the truth which is the Word of God. Concerning the sin of the devil and of Adam. That every man is a sinner from his very conception: and in what manner he is regenerated through baptism in the Holy Spirit. What things many kings and prophets longed for before the times of Christ. That those not yet initiated, and who are sorrowful and confessing their sins, should not be subjected to canonical bonds and penalties, but should be instructed in the mysteries of the faith, and only then initiated. That every Christian needs divine transformation, in which perfection consists.

Adam, after he had given credence to the lying devil, and with that faith had eaten from the tree of knowledge, lost the truth; which human nature subsequently investigated for a long time and at great length, but could not find. ^B All the wise men of Greece are a testimony to this, who, amid such a diversity of human opinions, handed down by way of various disciplines and methods, and especially through many and long disputations on virtue and vice which they left behind, were unable to reduce them to simplicity and rectitude, or to bring them together and bind them harmoniously into one. But the truth is the Word of God, or the grace of Christ, which composed those many dissertations of words—which were contradictory to one another, and intricate, and twisted, proceeding from the meditations and reasonings of men—with one straight simplicity, as if by a natural, peaceful, and tranquil conjunction, and by its incomprehensible power, it demonstrated that all the rest of those doctrines were idle, vain, and useless; since, like blind men groping, they were unable to find the truth, which was deservedly hidden from our eyes. For as soon as man of his own accord, and by no impulse, embraced the lie, he fell into such a penalty, that he indeed searches for the truth, yet does not become possessed of it; he pursues, but does not grasp it. For that which had been snatched from our eyes by the lie given to faith is, by faith entrusted to the truth, found again and restored. He believed the open and manifest lie: we believe in the great and manifest mystery, namely, God clothed in a human body. That was incredible because of God’s command: this is rendered credible because of God speaking to us. That which was believed was found to be false (for it precipitated the believer into destruction and death*); this which is believed is found to be the truth, since it recalls from destruction and death him who had lent faith to the lie, taking away his sin, and bestowing upon him that he may fare well and happily: and from the result, both are perceived, the lie, that is, and the truth. Therefore, one is sin, and one is justice. ^C

Adam, after he had given credence to the lying devil, and with that faith had eaten from the tree of knowledge, lost the truth; which human nature subsequently investigated for a long time and at great length, but could not find. To this all the wise men of Greece are witnesses, who, amid such a diversity of human opinions, handed down by way and reason of various disciplines, and especially through many and long disputations on virtue and vice which they left behind, were unable to reduce them to simplicity and rectitude, or to bring them together and bind them harmoniously into one. But the truth is the Word of God, or the grace of Christ, which composed those many dissertations of words—which were contradictory to one another, and intricate, and twisted, arising from the cogitations and reasonings of men—with one straight simplicity, as if by a natural, peaceful, and tranquil conjunction, and by its incomprehensible power it showed all the remaining sermons of doctrines to be one and all idle, vain, and useless; whereas, like blind men groping, they sought the truth—rightfully kept from our eyes—and could not find it. For as soon as man, of his own accord and by no compulsion, ^D took hold of the lie, he fell into the punishment of searching for the truth without possessing it, pursuing it without apprehending it. For that which had been snatched from our eyes by the lie applied by faith is, by faith rendered to the truth, found again and restored. He believed a manifest and open lie: we believe a great and manifest mystery: God, namely, made flesh. That was incredible because of the command of God: this is made credible because of God addressing us. That, once believed, was discovered to be false (for it plunged the believer into perdition and death*); this, once believed, is found to be truth, since it calls back from perdition and death him who had trusted in the lie, taking away his sin, and granting him that it may be well and happily with him: and by the outcome, both—the lie, that is, and the truth—are discerned. Thus there is one sin, and one justice.

See what the devil did, consider what sin Adam committed, and you will find nothing other than an admiration of himself and pride. Indeed, they behaved thus because of the excellence of their glory. For they did not exalt themselves having obtained glory from humility: but since they did not yet know humility, and were ignorant of the ignominy and humiliation that would follow from their fall, for that reason they feared nothing, and did not hesitate to exalt themselves so much. Observe, on the contrary, how Jesus was justified. Though He was God, He humbled Himself even to the cross (which was the punishment of criminals)*. Therefore, there is one sin: an inflated opinion of oneself; and one justice: extreme humility. But now, who would exalt himself unless he were completely foolish? For no one in this life is endowed with such divine power that he can procure for himself the highest glory: nor can he...

*1 Tim. iii, 15. *Gen. iii, 6. *Phil. ii, 7, 8.

^A be, for he who is first created is in paradise under the intellect, and acts as its guardian: let him perform the commandments of Jesus Christ, by whom he is renewed, and let him guard the grace he has received from the Holy Spirit, being washed in the divine font, and let him confess and say: "His virtue (the grace, I say) which is in me, works the commandments of Christ with me"* [Col. i, 29]. For this is the guarding. For just as a building cannot stand or be raised without a foundation, so the soul believing in Christ, unless it has laid the foundation of the grace of the Holy Spirit, can by no means take up a life and manners pleasing to God; and its fasts, vigils, sleeping on the ground, other bodily afflictions, poverty, tears, and prayers are to be deemed of no moment. For thus did those who denied Christ after many torments deny Him. "He who confesses me," He says [Luc. xii, 8]. In Him we confess, in Him we adore, in Him we are saved. For the Holy Spirit renews the soul, just as it does the body.

But whoever is born into this light is immediately inglorious, and step by step proceeds at length toward glory. Who therefore, remembering his former vileness, exalts himself, how can he not be foolish and blind? For what is said, "No one is without sin, except God alone, nor an infant whose life is of one day"* [Job xiv, 4, 5 sec. LXX], is not said of those who have sinned; for how could an infant born for a single day commit sin? But this lies in the mystery, that human nature is sinful from its very conception. And God indeed fashioned man not as a sinner, but pure and holy. But after that first-formed man, having been stripped of the robe of sanctity by the sole sting of pride, became subject to corruption and ruin, from that time also conception, birth, and all things thereafter were subject to sin. And in general, whoever is numbered as a man, even if he has not sinned, is nonetheless a sinner. Wherefore another condition of birth comes, and another formation, by which indeed man is born again from the sacrosanct font of baptism in the Holy Spirit, and is again mixed in a certain way with the divine nature, just as it was when the divine hands fashioned him, and just as if from the first elements, all the powers of his soul are informed, and restored, renewed, into that state in which the head and prince of our race was before the transgression; and in this way he is instructed and prepared for the kingdom of God, into which he who is not yet cleansed by the saving water can neither enter, nor behold it, nor understand it. So that each baptized person [1] is now such as he ^B was first created, in paradise under the intellect, and acts as its guardian: let him perform the commandments of Jesus Christ, by whom he is renewed, and let him guard the grace he has received from the Holy Spirit, being washed in the divine font, and let him confess and say: "His virtue (the grace, I say) which is in me, works the commandments of Christ with me." For this is the guarding. For just as a building cannot stand or be raised without a foundation, so the soul believing in Christ, unless it has laid the foundation of the grace of the Holy Spirit, can by no means take up a life and manners pleasing to God; and its fasts, vigils, sleeping on the ground, other bodily afflictions, poverty, tears, and prayers are to be deemed of no moment. For thus did those who denied Christ after many torments deny Him. "He who confesses me," He says. In Him we confess, in Him we adore, in Him we are saved. For the Holy Spirit renews the soul, just as it does the body.

A great mystery, which the whole world rightly venerates. In it is contained the sacrifice of praise, namely a pure heart, which is a contrite and humble heart* [Ps. l, 19]. For it knows that it has nothing of its own, and how shall it be exalted? Furthermore, it is itself an argument and material for humility. But if this is the truth, it is not ambition, but a sacrifice of praise to God, and in His sight he is not a sinner (for who is without sin?), but every man with a proud heart is held to be unclean, while he who is humble of heart is justified, has performed his duty, or has conducted himself as he ought. Justification is the gift of the Holy Spirit. He who is governed by the Holy Spirit is glorified; ^C but and how very pleasant it will be; I wish that not only our Simeon, but also any other, were immune from every error. Meanwhile these are the voices of truth: that one who is truly and legitimately baptized can sin again, if he wills. For to the baptized tends that exhortation of Saint Paul [Rom. xi, 20]: "Stand by faith; do not be haughty, but fear." And to the Hebrews [vi, 4]: "For it is impossible for those who were once illuminated, have tasted also the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, have nevertheless tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, and have fallen away, to be renewed again unto penance," etc. Where the Apostle manifestly indicates that he who is truly baptized and has become a partaker of divine grace can fall again into sins, and therefore is not made impeccable through baptism, which must be applied much more to the profession of a religious life. Which, as baptism makes one neither "immovable" nor "difficult to move" to sin, and if a baptized person can be said to be "difficult to move" in some sense, it is because, having already obtained the grace of God through baptism, he has much greater and more valid defenses for repelling the allurements of vices than before the initiation of baptism, provided he wishes to use them legitimately: for if he refuses to use them, and through the liberty of the will again declines to the filth of sin, he is equally able to do so as before: and it happens to him, as ^D Saint Peter says [II Pet. ii, 22], that true proverb: "The dog is returned to his vomit, and the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire." Let the reader consult Cardinal Bellarmine in his book *On Baptism*, chapter 14, where he copiously shows against the heretics that men are not made impeccable through baptism.

^A who is glorified, has been sanctified; without sanctification no one shall see God. Let the impious be taken away, lest he see the glory of the Lord. Who is the impious one? Surely the proud man, and he is as much impious as he is proud. Who is humble of heart? Not the prudent, not the wise, not the intelligent, not the crafty, nor one taught and knowing from himself; but one communicating with the Holy Spirit, in whom prudence and wisdom, and intelligence, erudition and knowledge are purged in the soul itself, living and pleasing to God. For this reason the Word and Son of God put on man, and bore death, and gave Himself as a price for the freeing of the whole human race. Truly, however, for the pious who had fallen asleep before, He became a great and august sacrifice, and therefore one that knew no rejection, since after Adam’s fall no just person could attain salvation, as all were subject to the sin of the first parent, and to death and destruction: because no one existed whom that fiery blade, the guardian of paradise, after the protoplast was cast out from there, would easily admit, so that he might enter into the undefiled, and from all sin clean, and holy tabernacles, and remain in the atria of the Holy of Holies (since, as the Apostle also says, corruption shall not inherit incorruption) and it was necessary for the incorruptible Word of God, having offered His mortal flesh as a sacrifice, to rescue the just from corruption. For it was not in their power to be restored to that incorruption in which the first man had been created, and from which he had fallen: but it looked toward this great economy, undertaken in judgment and justice. But indeed for those who lived afterward, both sacrifice and communion is named; because clearly through the taking of it He mingles Himself with the one who receives, and by that commingling and union He forms him anew, and by the inexplicable power of the artificer of His divinity leads the united one unto Himself, so that he may genuinely coalesce with Him. Just as fire, although it may be received by harder bodies, by that very conjunction makes them fire, nor overturns their nature: nevertheless, as long as they are coupled with the fire, they are even themselves fire. And this is what once many prophets, kings, and just men desired, when they foresaw those who were to be flesh of the flesh of the Word of God and bone of His bones, and understood that they were estranged from so great a good.

Therefore, for those who are instructed, and scholarly, and have attained the knowledge of the great mystery of Christianity, and are initiated faithful, if afterward on account of human weakness, and because they are still surrounded by dust, they fall into guilt, good will be the spiritual medicine, if canonical bonds are imposed upon them when they confess, by which they may be loosed from the knots of sin, and salutary remedies applied, since they, having been trained in the initiations they deserve, had tasted the power of Christ, in whom they ought to have trusted and avoided sin, according to that of the Apostle: For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace ^B of Christ. For unless they had rejected the grace of Christ, which they had known, that grace would not have permitted them to sin. And they themselves made themselves guilty of the blood of Christ, who cleansed their conscience from dead works, to serve the living and true God: and again, through labors, that is, sweats, groans, and tears, they ought to be cleansed, so that they may say to God: Look upon my humility and my labor, and forgive all my sins. But perfect remission is once again a participation in grace, not that God needs the fatigues and labors of the penitent: but lest the penitent, reconciled without labor, contemn divine grace as he did before, and needing a third purgation, be rejected, and cast into everlasting fire to be purged, which, since it always burns, cannot purge the one it burns.

But now, to those who are ignorant of the mysteries of the Christian religion (for there are, there are, I say, many who are indeed affected by baptism, and therefore called Christians: but truly imbued with no catechism and unlearned, and to speak briefly, profane, and ignorant of this illustrious mystery), to such, I say, their sins, committed after holy baptism, when confessed, offer no utility through bonds and medical aid. For because they do not know the mystery of Christ, they could never have the sense and understanding of spiritual bonds and remedies. And since they believed without understanding, they have sinned without understanding: and because they have sinned without reason, they cannot recognize the medicine, which is perceived by the soul. Wherefore, as the mysteries of Christianity are for those who know and hold them in memory, according to the measure of their knowledge, and the bonds of their error, a medicine, cautery, affliction, and punishment; so for those who are rude, and not yet instructed, there is need of instruction, faith, and initiation, not bonds. For to bind and to burn that which lacks sense is absurd; and to apply a cure to the dead is a useless and foolish business. But whoever have sinned in the law, that is, with knowledge, shall be judged through the law, according to the norm and prescription of the sacred canons, clearly. But those who have sinned without the law, that is, it not being known, shall also perish without the law, surely in vain excusing their ignorance, when it has been said by the Lord: This Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, as a testimony to all nations. It follows hence, if condemnation awaits the heathens, much more are they to be condemned who, in the midst of Christ's Church, remain ignorant of the first rudiments, and are guests and strangers in the accounts of divine piety, contemners of this admirable work of the Word of God, for whose sake He clothed Himself in human limbs, though He was God, and was treated contumeliously, and was delivered to death no differently than for their own crimes. Now that some of these profane persons claim to sit on the throne of glory ^{C D}