A Or shall we rather speak according to our ability, and calling her blessed, as she herself foretold, saying, "The Mighty One has done great things for me," we will religiously venerate her, as far as lies within our power, rather than diligently inquire into them? Indeed, by proclaiming the magnitude of those things which we cannot grasp, we shall glorify them all the more by the very inability to describe them; and at the same time, both the tongues of those who speak and the ears of those who hear will partake of something of sanctity.
2. B Human nature was in a bad state, and, having once been torn away from God, it was carried headlong like a stone rolling from the mountain's peak, broken and wretchedly scattered into many opinions and judgments, and perishing miserably because of this. Since deception, having made its beginning from a woman, was devouring the whole human race, sparing not even the stronger part of nature. What then? Our great Maker and Provider reveals himself, and confirms creation by his providence, and puts forth his wisdom to be the herald of his governance over created things and of his power to create. For it is necessary that the author should take care of what he has made, if he desires its composition to endure for a long time, and not to be dissolved as soon as it has been fashioned; otherwise he would be devoid of reason and skill, and truly a child playing on the sand, or rather, while playing, he is himself mocked by his own work.
3. C Therefore, the Creator did not leave us destitute of his care and providence; but he constantly reminded us and urged us toward the right path through conversations and apparitions, instructed us through dreams, heaped benefits of every kind upon us, and gave the law as an assistance. At times, he restrained us with hardships and chastised us with more severe punishments, so that everything in us that was carnal, superfluous, and inimical to the Spirit might be effaced. For what did he not do? What industry did he omit? But when he saw that all these things were rendered useless by our sloth, and that we, struck from head to foot by cruel robbers, would admit neither oil nor bandages from the law and the prophets, but resisted them, and that because of sin reigning in our flesh we were powerless to do good; then at last the bowels of his mercy compelled him to come himself in the likeness of sinful flesh, so that by condemning sin in the flesh, and dying as one for all, he might bring to our whole nature the honor and fruit of victory. D Now, since death reigned through sin, protected and fortified as if by a bodyguard, and exercised great power over us who are conceived in iniquities and born in sins, and since it was a necessity of nature that whoever was born must also perish, it was for this reason necessary that both our conception and our nativity should be sanctified; and thus the torrent of death, which flows through the valley of generation into sinners, was to be restrained and stayed by the great bulwark of holiness.
A 4. Since, therefore, things were established in this way, and it was fitting that the paths through which the entrance into this life is made should first partake of grace, so that the ends might correspond appropriately to these beginnings, she is chosen who was to bring forth this fruit, adorned with every virtue and surpassing all other creatures. She was of a royal tribe—for she was from Judah—and of parents who were illustrious, and even more illustrious in their offspring and piety: she was manifestly a fruit given to them by God. For as the judgments of God are, although they walked irreproachably in all their ways, they were in great danger of not being able to escape the reproach of sterility—whether it was that God was testing their faith, just as He did their forefather Abraham (for it is His custom always to impose heavier trials upon the stronger, so that they themselves may be more brightly crowned and become a consolation to those who come after), or whether He was looking to some other more mystical and symbolic mystery to be revealed in them. But who could say how much they were torn in their hearts because of this, and how much the memory of their childlessness lacerated them? Especially the blessed Anna (for what is woman but a delicate thing, prone to sorrows and most of all vulnerable to this jealousy?)—the sword of childlessness cut her to the quick.
What then? They do not take refuge with physicians, they do not cling to them; they do not seek potions that might arouse B fertility, they do not call upon sorcerers. For they knew these things truly belong to people who are infirm and have their souls swallowed up by unbelief, and who are bound by the unspeakable knots of the Evil One, and who for that reason are truly unworthy to leave any seed behind them. But not so they! They look to the Creator of all creation, who from the beginning gave the power to multiply and increase, and who quickened the deadened womb of Sarah; and devoting themselves to fasts, and knocking at the divine goodness with prayers, and recalling the memory of the ancient wonders which the wives of the patriarchs enjoyed—those of the Shunammite, and of Anna, the mother of Samuel—they sow in tears and reap in exultation. And those who were before despised, C were transformed, and to them is born a female child, so far exceeding them in holiness and grace as the indwelling or rest of God within her surpassed the dwelling in those others. For in them God dwelt in a simple and ordinary way, according to what is said: "I will dwell in them and walk among them," but the womb of this one God Himself filled substantially.
5. D Did they, then, not acknowledge the grace? Did they imitate unworthy parents, and out of hope of having the child as a comfort for their old age, an heir of their possessions, and a propagator of their line, did they keep her at home to be reared too delicately? But they would not have been her true parents,
and indeed they would never have been deemed worthy to receive her, had they been disposed to think in such a way. Putting off every human affection and becoming superior to every consideration, they offer to God as a gift the good thing which God himself had given to them; and by restoring it, they declared that they had received it from God. Therefore A they bring her to the temple, as a living and moving offering, to be dedicated to the Lord of all things; and splendor is added to the house of God, and a place is assigned to it for the habitation of His glory (which indeed David once professed to love, yet was not deemed worthy to behold with his own eyes). And the daughter forgets her father's house, and is brought to the King who has desired her beauty. She is brought forth, however, not timorously, nor secretly, nor ignobly, but with a brilliant and magnificent procession. She is led out of the house B while all pray for her well-being and applaud her departure. All her kinsmen and neighbors, and everyone who was joined by any bond of friendship to her parents, followed; and the fathers congratulated the father, and the mothers the mother. Girls and young women bearing lamps went before her, along with the Daughter of God, like a circle of stars around the moon, shining upon her. All Jerusalem resounded, with the eyes of all fixed upon the three-year-old child, surrounded by such great glory and adorned by the bearing of so many lights. When they had entered the temple, the entire priestly race came out to meet her with hymns; and the high priest himself was possessed by the greatest admiration, all the more so in that he was more inspired by the divine power than the rest.
VI. To him, therefore, the parents bring and entrust the child, recounting both their past sterility and the promise received C concerning her, while confessing that to rear such a daughter was above their own strength and merits. For since she was more divine, it was fitting that the condition of her upbringing should correspond to such great dignity; and that so splendid and priceless a pearl should not be covered by a wretched, tattered garment, but that it was fitting she be stored away in a royal mantle for greater glory and adornment. The high priest, then, being struck with even greater astonishment, and as if caught up out of himself and moved by the breath of God, fixes his eyes upon the child, whom he perceived to be truly a lodging-place of divine graces, and more worthy than even himself to remain incessantly in the sight of the Lord. And then he understood that the mystery deeply prescribed in the law regarding the Ark, which was to be deposited in the Holy of Holies, D clearly pointed to this young girl. Therefore, fearing nothing, nor hesitating, he dares something that is indeed just, even if it is beyond the law; or rather, having become superior to the lower law, and having crossed the darkness of the letter, he follows its spirit, and deposits the offering into the Holy of Holies; and the place receives the girl, who was visible to none of the other men, accessible to none of the priests, nor even to the high priest himself, except for once
A a year. But it was fitting that she who, above all nature, was holy and pure, and justified from the womb, should not be subject to the severity of the law, which was not enacted for the righteous but for the unjust and for sinners; for the law was enacted for the sake of transgressions, and was given to those who, being in need of guidance, were under a pedagogue. But to her who was exalted even above the angels themselves, it was not the law, but grace that ministered more perfect things. And God indicates how much the things that were done pleased Him; for He used the ministry of an angel for the rearing of her who was dedicated to Him, and in a miraculous way He nourished her who was later to bear and nourish Him, so that almost nothing in that Girl would be human, but all things would appear divine.
7. B This is the festival for us, this is what we celebrate today: the presentation of the Maiden, and her introduction into the Holy of Holies. O, a new thing! O, a thing unheard of! A female Child dwelling in the inner sanctum of God, which is invisible and inaccessible to all! And yet, if she had only trodden in the courtyard, even that would have demonstrated her particular intimacy and familiarity with the Lord; since that which is written, "You shall not add to tread my courtyard," C is ordained by God for all those who have incurred some offense. And if it had been granted to her merely to see the Holy Place, even this would have been a great pledge of confidence; and if she had entered that sacred place only once a year, even this would have been a prerogative far superior to the humble condition of women. But it was decreed that she should not only pass beyond the courtyard, but also cross the first and second veil, and, entering the sanctuary itself, be set apart to be constantly with God; and she became a pledge for human nature of the grace that would follow, and demonstrated in herself the things that were later to happily befall us, and opened up a way for the whole human race, by which it might ascend to and enter the true and heavenly Holies; and from there, finally, she demonstrated that the law was now superfluous, since, being unable to justify and free from sins, it kept almost everyone outside the Holies. For the Lord Christ was about to justify all by grace, and, breaking down the middle wall of partition, to open to all the entrances of those places which were previously inaccessible, and, having sanctified all and purified them by water and the Spirit, to admit them into the Holies. For this reason, He receives the Virgin first; and the things that are now accomplished in her He constitutes as so many faithful pledges of the reconciliation of the whole human race with Himself that will follow.
8. D Therefore, the Child is offered on account of her innocence and rectitude; for of such is the kingdom of heaven, and the Lord takes hold of the innocent, and has regarded rectitude.
A And since, on account of Eve, through whom and from whom came the transgression, it was fitting that where sin abounded, grace should superabound, a woman, who had cast us out of paradise, shall lead the way to the Holy of Holies for the whole of nature. She is three years old, because the number mystically signifies the Trinity, which has increased her holiness. And what is this procession? It is the manifestation of grace, liberated and made public, which has gone out into all the earth, and is not enclosed in one place according to the narrowness of the Law. And what of the young maidens? They are souls of a new mass, fashioned according to God, who accompany the Virgin in imitation. Is there something for me to perceive in the lamps as well? Indeed, for they are the light of life shining to the glory of God, and the illumination of the mind, ignited and carried by the hands of action; for to him whose hands are slack, and whom his own strength has forsaken (as the divine David says), even the light of his eyes is not with him. For the Holy Spirit will flee from deceit, and will not dwell in a body subject to sin.
B But as for you, whoever you are, stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, who always resist the Spirit, cling to the shadow, since it pleases you so, and thinking nothing higher than the letter, take offense, due to your own blindness, at these things which I have said thus far. But let it be permitted to say: would the high priest have so rashly violated the law, and have undertaken a matter so full of danger, if he had not perceived something more divine in the Child? How could he have so incautiously introduced the Girl, if he had not had counselors wiser than you—namely, the manifestation and truth—in which ornaments he had his breast adorned, and from whom he was receiving the signal for what he was about to do? For otherwise, who among the priests would have tolerated these things to be done? And how would the novelty of so great a matter not have stirred up the people, who were so prone to sedition and always on the lookout for any opportunities to innovate? But the will of God was stronger, and what the most holy God had ratified, C no human being could hinder; whence the jaws of all were constrained and governed by the secret bridle of divine providence, and they praised the things which they saw happening above the capacity of human understanding. But you—do you not agree that these things are true, and do you not believe in God? This you have in common with your forefathers, and you have received this noble way of thinking from your fathers, who, not believing in God, but despising the desirable land, were told by Him to whom they denied faith: "For forty years I was provoked, and I said: They always go astray in their heart." D Yet take care, lest in opening a wider door to the Gentiles for disbelief in the miracles of God in the Law, you match their...
disbelief; and while you think you are defending the Law by attacking our position, take care lest you cast your votes against the Law itself.
B 10. But let us leave the Jews, who 79 bear a veil over their eyes and descry nothing luminous or worthy of God; for their eyes were closed, 80 and therefore they have not known; 81 they walk in darkness. 82 We, however, with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord, and being marked and fashioned by this Light, let us not only contemplate and honor the matters of the feast, but let us ourselves also become a feast, or the subject of the feast. And how shall this be? Yesterday you were a barren soul and fruitless, not even generating a child 83 worthy of the life of light; today, in your womb, receive the Lordly fetus, with wholesome fasts, tears, and confessions—as with truly good seeds—and generate within yourself the Spirit of salvation, and nurture 84 the child, and cause it to grow by faith reaching unto the worshipful Trinity, not introducing a multitude of gods—for that is a vulgar thing—nor yet a single monarchy, 85 for that is lacking; for the former is of the disgraceful Hellenic passion, which conceived of successions of divinity, and the latter is of the Jewish meanness, which, due to the narrowness of their reasoning, could not encompass the Trinity. And render to the Lord as a votive offering [back to] Him from whom comes every good gift; not attributing the good offspring to your own labors, but to His power and grace. Let the light of virginity or continence also shine within you, inextinguishable, and thus you shall be worthy to enter into, or to bring into, the Holies; for without holiness and purity, no one shall see God, 86 as you may believe Paul when he says this after the Lord. Thus, having been nourished 87 by the divine bread, mystically carried and given to you through an angel—if indeed the priest is called and believed to be an angel of the Lord—
11. Such are the fruits of the feast according to Christ; thus do Christians rejoice in their festivals. Are you a virgin? Consider the glory of virginity, and whither it leads and brings you, and by whom it is nourished, and through what; and do not give your foot to be moved, 88 nor let your lamp slumber, nor let death climb up to you through the windows, nor defile the holy thing of incorruption, which cannot be called back. For who has ever restored virginity to himself, however much he may have wasted his flesh, or however much he may have kept himself inaccessible to thieving thoughts? But if the bonds of marriage have been placed upon you, see that you do not blame marriage as being the cause of separation from God, nor use vain excuses. For Joachim and Anna, even under the yoke of matrimony, were not far from...
A being called the parents of God, having given a daughter to God. Looking toward these, pay also to marriage what is due, as to Caesar, and render to God the things that are God’s. Love your wife as your own flesh (for no one ever hated his own flesh), and let not your eyes extend beyond your own house. Drink waters from your own cisterns; for those of others are narrow, bringing upon the flesh here too that tribulation derived from the laws. Train your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, fearing the condemnation of the high priest Eli; and thus you have been sanctified by marriage, and have sanctified marriage, and have become ambidextrous, managing the things of the world according to the will of God: and you have demonstrated to yourself that the Scripture speaks truly, B that "A wife is joined to a husband from the Lord," and that which is truly a good joining, and one crowned for God, who disposes all things according to reason, is worthy of a crown.
12. Thus let us keep the feast, brethren, thus let us keep it, that we also might be deemed worthy of the entry into the more perfect holy of holies, being virgin souls and pure from all vice (which true virginity the Word establishes), carrying lamps bright with the oil of kindness and beneficence, where Christ has entered as a forerunner for us, C having as the helper of both our purpose and our action her who made us worthy of so many and such great graces, who now by this her solemnity sanctifies us, and then will make us worthy of the beauty of the most holy and beyond all things intimate Trinity—the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God; to whom is due all glory, honor, and adoration, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
FINAL PART OF THE HOMILY OF THEOPHYLACT ON THE ELEVENTH MATUTINAL GOSPEL
A Others affirm that John truly fell asleep, that is, he died. For after Domitian, Nerva reigned for one year, who, having recalled John from the island of Patmos, permitted him to dwell in Ephesus. When he alone among all the disciples remained in life, and had written his own Gospel, he rested in peace. Concerning whom also the most erudite Eusebius in his *Ecclesiastical History* (1) says: Thomas indeed obtained Parthia; but John obtained Asia. Among whom having spent time, he died in Ephesus. And again: And John the evangelist dies in Ephesus of Asia, and is buried by the faithful who were there. Likewise also Philip, one of the seven deacons, is brought to perfection in Hierapolis and is buried with his daughter. B Concerning whom Polycrates, the bishop of the parish in Ephesus, writing to Victor, the bishop of [Rome], says thus: For in Asia also great luminaries have fallen asleep, which shall rise again on the last day of the coming of the Lord... John, the one who reclined upon the breast of Christ, and who wore the petalon [and was a martyr], and was a teacher, having come to Ephesus, fell asleep. And Philip, one of the seven deacons, is brought to perfection in Hierapolis. This is he who also baptized the eunuch and instructed Simon in the faith. But not only he; the divine Hippolytus of Rome, while discoursing on the preaching and the end of the apostles, said: John, the brother of James, while preaching the Word in Asia, was exiled to the island of Patmos by the Roman emperor Domitian; and from there, again recalled from exile to Ephesus by Nerva; and having written the Gospel according to him, where also C he had the Apocalypse or revelation, he died: whose relics, having been sought for a long time, could not be found. But also Caesarius, in the meantime...
secretariat regarding this matter, replied saying thus: “John himself explained this near the end of his own Gospel, saying thus: ‘And when he had said this, Jesus says to him,’—that is, to Peter—‘Follow me. But Peter, turning, sees the disciple whom Jesus loved, following, and says: Lord, but what of this man? Jesus says to him: If I wish him to remain until I come, what is that to you?’ Since, therefore, having found him fishing, he had commanded Peter alone to follow him, but he, desiring that John might also come along, said: ‘But what of this man?’—John having seen this revelation and having died, whose mandate Jesus decreed to await [his work] at the fishing—he says: ‘If I wish him to remain here fishing until I return here again, what is that to you?’ Wherefore, then, excellently correcting their mistaken supposition, he reasonably added: ‘And Jesus did not say to him that he does not die.’ For in many things they were frequently mistaken regarding the questions and answers of Christ, so as to have been called by him foolish and slow of heart, until the coming of the Holy Spirit taught them and led them into all truth, according to the word of Christ.” B But if anyone, listening contentiously and rashly to these sacred words and testimonies, and reasoning importunately, were to say that he was left behind living in the flesh to announce the second coming of the Lord alongside Enoch and Elijah, let him hear John himself in the Apocalypse saying, as if in the person of God, that they alone, namely Enoch and Elijah, would be the witnesses of his coming. For he says: “And I will give to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lamps, standing in the presence of the Lord of all the earth. And if any man wishes to harm them, fire goes forth from their mouth and consumes their enemies. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the abyss shall make war against them and will overcome them and will kill them, and their dead bodies shall lie C in the street of the great city for three days unburied, where also the Lord was crucified.” Vainly, therefore, do some rave, saying that he is still living in the flesh, not understanding—neither in actual suffering nor in flesh—what it is they maintain, inventing this from their own heads, and not from any sacred interpreters, dangerously and rashly, as it were, creating wonders.
“This is that disciple who bears witness of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they should be written one by one, I do not suppose even
the world could contain the books that should be written. Amen.
After the evangelist had recounted the false report that had spread about him, and had corrected the mistaken opinion of the many who, as if they had clearly understood what the Lord had said about him, thought that he would not die, he confirms what he had said, adding: "This is the disciple, and no other, who bears witness about himself." I (says the disciple who was loved by the Lord and who reclined upon the Lord's breast) affirm A that I shall die according to the law of nature. Or alternatively: He whom the apostles said would not die, this is the very one who bears witness about these things. About which things? Clearly, about the miracles and wonders of Christ that happened before the passion and after the resurrection. For there are many other things which we have neither mentioned nor written down, all that Jesus did in the way of instructive discourses and miracles, which if they were to be written accurately and in order, one by one, as would be fitting, not even the world itself B—that is, the human mind—could contain, that is, could receive and comprehend (as I presume) the divine and life-giving words written about Christ. Now "Amen" is a word of confirmation, and as it were a seal upon his words; namely, "Yes, the truth is indeed this way." Having therefore given thanks to the Lord our God, who has deemed us worthy and granted us to reach this point, so that we might bring the explanation to completion C here, since to Him belongs all glory, honor, and worship, with His beginningless Father, and with His all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.