a plant of temerity A and lawlessness. For such is the way of the Jews. For when they were being given the law in the wilderness, they said to Moses: "All that the Lord has spoken, we will do and we will hear." And those who made such promises worshipped a lifeless calf, and preferred the dead to the living God. Other seed fell upon the thorns, that is, the prickly and blasphemous heresies which choke the seed of piety day by day. Other seed fell upon the good ground, the Church of Christ, which is fertile and brings forth fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundred-fold. The thirty refers to the modest yoke of marriage; the sixty to the angel-like virginity; the hundred to divine justice, purity, and the courage of the martyrs.
For the heralds of piety, B proclaiming to all the final coming of the Lord, said: "As you saw him going into heaven, so he will come." For two men were seen in white raiment. Two, so that the truth might be confirmed; men, so that they might strengthen the disciples for manly courage; in white raiment, so that they might illuminate the minds of those who heard. What, then, did those who appeared proclaim? "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? Why do you gaze into heaven?" Rather, considering the Creator of heaven, praise the greatness of him who is being taken up, and marvel at the condescension of his loving-kindness, because he united to himself the earthly man, revealed him a citizen of heaven, and appointed him a dweller in the heavens; oh, the wonder! to what heights he has raised him who lay below. "Why do you stand looking into heaven? So he will come. So. How? Clothed in our body, showing forth the side wounded by the spear, so that the Jews may see him whom they pierced; but we may be deemed worthy to behold his countenance with confidence, and obtain the promised blessings, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ: with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power, and honor, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Of our holy Father Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia in Cyprus, an encomium on the holy Theotokos.
The effulgent radiance of the Theotokos, the D awesome and incomprehensible powers, the mystery of heaven and earth, the wonder, the propitiation—I, a wretched man, am [failing to grasp]...
with my words. The thought of my inner mind was indeed exultant, reaching toward a more exact understanding, and it sought to express the profound miracle of memory and most high contemplation. Nevertheless, beloved, a great and heavy fear restrained me. For the memory of that terrifying contemplation, agitating my trembling soul and causing my heart to shudder, affected me not a little, but rather weighed upon me heavily. For the memory of this greatest contemplation shakes my mind, as a mystery incomprehensible, being unable to utter it. For who is sufficient to express a mystery of this kind? What mouth is capable of speaking, or what tongue could relate it? It lies hidden, and one lacks the power to tell of it. Now, however, I shall dare—I will speak of the Theotokos alone, so far as I am able; yet again I am afraid, inasmuch as I am not gifted with a tongue suitable for speaking of things that are very great. I am indeed meager in voice and slow of speech, and B lacking in eloquence, so to speak—and this regarding the glorious, holy, and ever-virgin Theotokos Mary, Mother of the Lord, of whom no human tongue can easily speak. For the tongue is weak, and it shrinks back, not having the ability to speak worthily of her. For she caused even the powers of the heavens to marvel; all the angels, archangels, principalities, powers, thrones, lordships, the cherubim and seraphim, and the whole host of angels were struck with great fear and trembling, because they beheld Him who dwells in the heavens dwelling on earth through her, and they shuddered. They watched the Virgin, the heaven, and the throne, and they were seized with fear, beholding Him who is without beginning, who had descended from the cherubic throne, sitting in a virginal womb. C O blessed root, which brought forth this one! Concerning this, the prophet Isaiah murmurs like a swallow with a tongue of fire, crying out: *There shall rise up a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise out of the root, and the Spirit of the fear of God shall rest upon him.* From the root of Jesse sprang King David, and from the tribe of King David, the holy Virgin—holy, I say, and the daughter of holy men, whose parents were Joachim and Anna; who indeed pleased God in their life, and also brought forth such a fruit, the holy Virgin Mary, at once the temple and mother of God. Joachim, moreover, and Anna and Mary, these three openly offered a sacrifice of praise to the Trinity. For Joachim is interpreted as "preparation of the Lord," because from him the temple of the Lord was prepared, namely the Virgin. Anna, on the other hand, is likewise interpreted as "grace," because Joachim and Anna received grace so that, with approaching prayers, D they might bring forth such a fruit, having obtained the holy Virgin. For Joachim was praying on the mountain, and Anna in her garden. Anna, however, having become pregnant, gave birth to a heaven and a cherubic throne, the holy maiden Mary. For she is found to be heaven, and temple, and throne, because we are accustomed to interpret Mary as "Lady," and also as "hope." For she gave birth to the Lord, the hope of all.
Christ, the hope of the whole world. Again, that name Mary is interpreted as "myrrh of the sea." And by "myrrh," I mean A that which concerns immortality, because she was about to bring forth the immortal pearl in the sea, that is, in the world. And by "sea" he means the whole world, to which the Virgin granted serenity and tranquility when she gave birth to Christ, the harbor. Therefore, again, the blessed name of the noble girl Mary is interpreted as "enlightened," inasmuch as she was enlightened by the Son of God, and enlightened those who believe to the ends of the earth with the Trinity. For the holy Theotokos, the girl Mary, is the bride of the Trinity, the utterly ineffable treasure of the economy; to whom Gabriel says: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you." Gabriel reminded her, and the Father sent from heaven the Spirit, the holy deposit; he hastened the Virgin toward the only-begotten Son, the heavenly bridegroom, whom the Father loved, the Son inhabited, and the holy Spirit desired. For she is bride and bridal chamber, and from her proceeds Christ the bridegroom, the virginal garment, according to the song of the prophet David: "In the sun he set his tabernacle, and he himself as a bridegroom proceeding from his chamber." O desire of the bridegroom for supreme purity! The Lord betroths to himself his own handmaid, bride, and mother; Gabriel became the mediator of the Virgin, uniting the incense and offering of heaven and earth, whom the prophets clearly described when they proclaimed the order of the marriage, namely, how the Virgin is found to be a heavenly bride and mother, who received the holy Spirit by way of prenuptial gifts, and grace—heaven together with paradise—as a dowry.
Therefore, the Virgin sought to see him whom she desired, and said: "Where is the bridegroom whose beauty I long for? Where is the beauty more splendid than the sun? Where is the ineffable glory of all comeliness? Where is the unquenchable light, which I seek with the greatest desire? Where is the sun that seeks the ray? Where is the cithara of the cherubim? Where is Christ, the never-sleeping eye of the seraphim? Where is the adoration of the angels, which Gabriel announced? Where is the only-begotten Son of the only Father, C whom the Virgin, desiring and loving, at once seeks and greets?" To whom Gabriel says: "Hail, full of grace." The boundless grace of the holy Virgin. "Hail, full of grace, adorned with many virtues, you who bear in a lamp, O Virgin, the light more unquenchable than the sun. Hail, full of grace, the bait of the intelligible hook; for in you the divinity is the hook. Hail, full of grace, the intellectual censer of glory; Hail, full of grace, the golden jar holding the heavenly manna. Hail, full of grace, you who satisfy the thirsty with the sweetness of the perennial fountain. D Hail, full of grace, spiritual sea, holding the heavenly pearl, Christ; Hail, full of grace, luminous heaven, you who in heaven—
A hold God. Hail, full of grace, you who make the cherubic throne of the divinity flash with splendor. Hail, full of grace, you who hold the circle of heaven, and God who is uncontainable, but in you is contained and not constrained. Hail, full of grace, cloud like a pillar, holding God, who led the people in the desert. What shall I say? And what shall I speak? How shall I bless the root of glory? For except for God alone, she exists superior to all; her nature is more beautiful than the cherubim themselves, the seraphim, and all the angelic host: to praise whom neither heavenly nor earthly tongue is sufficient, nor indeed even that of angels. For they indeed offered a hymn, praise, honor, and glory; but they were not able to speak of her according to her dignity. But the angels rejoiced, as if they alone possessed God; B to whom the all-holy Virgin has been made superior, having conceived on earth the God who dwells in heaven, so that in this way she might draw down the hosts of angels to earth to be with men. For she is the mediatress of heaven and earth, having brought about their unity. O blessed Virgin, pure dove, the heavenly bride Mary, heaven and temple and throne of the divinity; you who hold Christ, the sun flashing in heaven and on earth; luminous cloud, having brought down to the world Christ, the light flashing from heaven; heavenly cloud, having brought down to the world the thunder of the Holy Spirit hidden within you, and having poured out the rain of the Holy Spirit upon the whole earth for the fruitfulness of faith C. Hail, full of grace, gate of the heavens, concerning whom the prophet cried out, saying: Behold the gate is shut, and no one shall enter through it, nor shall he go out, except the Lord God alone; and the gate shall be shut for the leader, because he himself shall be called leader, and in him all the nations shall hope.
Concerning this gate, the prophet also speaks clearly and plainly in the Canticles in the course of his discourse, crying out: A garden enclosed is my sister, my bride; a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed. The holy and venerable maiden Mary remained in virginity, she who is the luminous cloud, holding within her God the Word; concerning whom the clear-voiced Isaiah says: Behold a light cloud, and it shall come into Egypt; the uncut mountain, she who holds the rock Christ—hewn without hands—concerning whom the wisest Daniel states: A stone was cut from a mountain without hands; that is, without a man did the Virgin bring forth the solid rock Christ, the assembled temple, holding the heavenly rock Christ, the cloud like thunder, carrying the flash inside her womb; and the divine Scripture bears witness to my speech, saying: Thy belly is as an heap of wheat set about with lilies. She is the field not cultivated, which, receiving the Word like a grain of wheat D, brought forth also a sheaf. She is the intellectual furnace, which possessed the fire and the bread of life. She is the holy mother of the Savior,
A who brought forth the Word of the Father incarnate from her. Concerning her, Isaiah says: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel." O holy Virgin, holy mother of the Lord, blessed bride of the indivisible Trinity; blessed art thou among women, who didst bring forth on earth, as an infant, the Creator of all, God; blessed art thou among women, who alone on earth didst conceive the heavenly God; blessed art thou among women, whose breasts He sucked who nourishes all things; blessed art thou among women, who hast now brought forth Him who once fashioned Adam from the clay in paradise, O Theotokos, holy Virgin Mary. For thou art Theotokos, having brought forth the Word incarnate from thee; thou art Theotokos, having conceived the God-Word in the form of a servant; thou art Theotokos, because, having received the God-Word, thou didst bring Him forth incarnate; B thou art Theotokos, who alone didst bring forth the only-begotten Son of God—thou didst not bring forth a temporary God, but the eternal God, who is before thee and before all things, incarnate from thee; the spotless ewe, who brought forth the lamb, Christ; the heifer that has never known the yoke, who brought forth the calf; the intellectual table of faith, which supplied the bread of life to the world.
What shall I say, and with what words shall I speak of the glory rooted from the foundation? Concerning this holy girl, always, I say, girl and virgin, God says through the prophet: "Out of thee shall come forth for me a ruler, to be a governor in Israel; and his goings forth are from the C beginning, from the days of eternity. Therefore he will give them until the time of her who brings forth; she shall bring forth, and the rest of his brothers shall return to the sons of Israel; and he shall stand, and shall see, and shall shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord." O holy Virgin, mother of the Eternal Light—of the Light, I say, which illuminates the hosts of the angels in the heavens; of the Light which illuminates the incomprehensible eye of the Seraphim; of the Light which illuminates the sun with brilliant torches; of the Light which illuminates the ends of the inhabited world for the belief in the Trinity; of the Light which said, "I am the light of the world"; of the Light which said, "I have come as light into the world"; of the Light which was taken up and illuminated all things in heaven and on earth. D O all-holy Virgin, who hast caused the host of angels to wonder! For it is a strange miracle in the heavens: a woman bearing the Light in her arms; a strange miracle in the heavens: another cherubic throne; a strange miracle in the heavens: the son of a woman, who is her Father and the Father of the ages; a strange miracle in the heavens: the bridal chamber of the Virgin, having the Son of God, the God-bridegroom Christ; a strange miracle in the heavens: the infant of the Virgin has become the Master of the angels. O all-holy Virgin, mother of the Savior, who didst bring forth the beginningless Word, the Son who shares the throne of the Father, consubstantial with the Father and the Holy Spirit, who exists before the ages with the Father and the Holy Spirit, who arched the heavens, who established the earth. Hail, all-holy Virgin, who, as an intellectual bush, without consumption...
A holding the fire, art an intellectual oven, which brought forth the fire and the warm bread of life to the world for food, concerning whom the Savior of the world, Christ, says: Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins. Rich is the all-virtuous table of virginity, O beloved, for the holy Virgin and mother of Christ has bestowed upon the world all sorts of good foods to enjoy, she who bore Christ, the luminous lamp shining in heaven and on earth, concerning whom the prophet Zechariah says: Behold a golden lampstand and a lamp upon it. Indeed, David also cries out this melodious song: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my paths.
O virgin lampstand, which dispelled those involved in darkness and made light shine forth. O virgin lampstand, which brought the fire and the oil inseparably for illumination. O virgin lampstand, which received from the most high throne the thrice-luminous, one, inextinguishable, consubstantial fire, and shone forth for the illumination of the world. O virgin lampstand, concerning whom God says through the Prophet: There will I make a horn to bud for David; I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. The royal crown, possessing Christ as the precious stone, resembling gems; the royal purple, which clothed the King of heaven and earth, representing the universal purple garment of the body, the most constant faith of Christians; the incomprehensible book, which displayed to the world the Word and Son of the Father to be read. B Blessed among women, who gave birth to the Word incarnate from you, the Word, I say, the Son of the Father, the Word who is God before the ages, the Word without beginning and eternal, the Word worshiped with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Word sharing the throne of the Father, the Word sitting upon the cherubim, the Word whom the four-faced living creatures glorify, the Word who created the angels, the Word who brought to be the principalities and powers, the Word who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth, the Word, the true God, Jesus Christ our Lord, whom you brought forth, O all-holy Virgin, and after birth remained a virgin, you who brought forth the pearl and wove the royal crown. O blessed Virgin, who brought forth the heavenly glory, and filled the world with the good fragrance from the many flowers of paradise. The Virgin is an immaculate lily, who gave birth to the unfading rose, Christ; the most fertile vine of truth, and, as regards virginity, unharvested; which, though it was not dug, was yet most fruitful in grapes: for she brought forth the mature grape, Christ. Wherefore, most holy Virgin, C grant us faith, by what manner you brought forth, in what way, having received the Word who is before the ages, you were seen as the Mother of God upon earth. "I, as an incorrupt virgin, who carried in my womb, became an undefiled temple of the God-Word who dwelt within me, [who is] untouched by marriage."
A I, who did not know the experience of man, brought forth the pre-eternal God, Jesus Christ. For I am a virgin even now after the birth, purer than [I was] before. I gave birth without pain, not as every woman does; for the things between me and them during childbirth were unlike. Human nature did not know my birth, except for God alone, who dwelt within me. O Virgin, the awesome treasure of the Church, having attained the great mystery, B calls the virgin both priest and altar; she who, carrying the table, gave to us the heavenly bread, Christ, for the remission of sins. O undefiled womb, containing the circle of the heavens, and bearing in yourself the God whom no space can contain! O womb wider than the heavens, for you did not straiten the God who was in you! O womb, the seven-circled heaven, and being greater than them. O womb, higher and wider than the seven heavens. O womb, the eighth heaven, higher than the firmaments. O womb, possessing the unquenchable light of seven-illumined grace. What shall I say, or what shall I speak of the noble and holy Virgin? Desire pulls me to speak of the Theotokos, and fear holds me back from silence, as I do not have the worthiness to speak. The mind urges, and fear pushes away; the one draws me, the other pulls me back. Since, therefore, I am held by both, C it is expedient for me to speak about the glorious and holy Virgin. For I say that she is heaven, and throne, and cross at once; for stretching out her holy arms, she bore the Master, a cherubic, cross-shaped, heavenly throne, about whom I lean over in the Scriptures into the heavens, and I see her being worshipped by the angels. Whence first Gabriel greets the Virgin: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; hail, full of grace, the shining heaven; hail, full of grace, who hast the sun, Christ, radiating forth from heaven with D bright lamps." The Virgin became a Seraph, the many-named and many-eyed [one], of the incomprehensible vision; a certain intellectual veil found through the universal body, transcending the Cherubim. For those turn away, not being able to gaze at the intellectual fire of the Godhead. But she, gazing with open eyes, looked fixedly at the incomprehensible and sleepless eye of Christ, and longing and loving, she kissed Him. The hosts of angels (who are the footstool of the feet of the Savior) falling down, are able neither to see nor to touch; but she, joining lip to lip, kissed the Incomprehensible. O Virgin, bearing the miracle of an incomprehensible mystery, who preached the thrice-desired faith to the world.
The Virgin has become higher than the angels, greater than the Cherubim and Seraphim, pleasing Christ the King, as a worthy handmaid and mother honored by God. Holy immaculate mother, who gave birth to Christ, [you who] before you
were born were known as the one who said: "Before Abraham was, I am," and who has glorified the cave and magnified the manger. A For the Virgin, the cave, and the manger, bearing the circle of heaven, carried God, the Incomprehensible, as three witnesses clearly serving the Trinity. When the Virgin, without labor, having brought forth the Lord of heaven and earth in the cave, placed Him in the manger, then also the ranks of the angels surrounded the Virgin, crying out and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men." B Whence also the shepherds, passing the night in the fields, heard such glorification from the angels concerning the Savior, and hastening with speed, they adored the Light, beholding an unwonted miracle: the handmaid of the Lord and the earthly virgin having become a heavenly bride. For she was seen in the stable both as bride, and bridal chamber, and Mother of God, when she brought forth the infant Christ, according to the prophetic voice of Isaiah: "For a Child is born to us, a Son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called the Angel of great counsel, God the Mighty, the Potentate, the Prince of peace, the Father of the age to come." Then it says after these things: The Magi from the parts of the East, illuminated and led by a shining star, having traversed the length of the journey from the East, have arrived to adore Him who was born in Bethlehem. C Whence, having reached the city of Jerusalem, the star begins to be hidden from them; but they, troubled, because they had lost their guide, with necessity compelling them, questioned the inhabitants of the city, and inquired of them: "Where is Christ born?" And it was thought by all to be an unheard-of miracle. Having heard about this, Herod was troubled exceedingly, and having called the priests, he inquired of them where Christ was to be born. But they spoke and did not deny; they confessed and did not lie. They could not hide the rays of the sun, namely the voice clearly proclaimed through the prophet concerning the Savior; with testimony they said: "In Bethlehem Christ is born." For thus he cries out through the prophet: "And you, Bethlehem, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a leader, who shall be the ruler in Israel." D O faithless Israel! It confessed the effect of the law, yet denied the Lawgiver; they themselves testified where Christ was born, and they in turn denied Christ who was born. What then of the Magi? Whose power of mind was changed, whose heart was troubled exceedingly and being extinguished in grief, whose sighs, like the violence of waves, were submerging the ship, whose eyes were watering the earth with tears resembling pearls, whose affliction was intolerable, seeking the guide from the East—whom they did not have, yet having, they were seeking—where the star, the guide of the Magi, might be. But truly consider the truth, in what manner the star is hidden from them, and behold the miracle and its meaning. For this reason the star is hidden from them, so that while they were inquiring of the faithless
to make it manifest to all, the star appears again to the Magi, A until it came and stood over the infant in the stable, or rather in heaven. For where Christ is, there is heaven; for the stable was seen to be heaven on earth. And they, having seen the star, or rather the Savior, rejoiced with great joy, and bowing down they worshipped, and bringing forth their gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Gold, indeed, as to a king; frankincense as to God; and myrrh as to one mortal; or rather, that they might also signify the burial of Christ, the Creator and Maker of all, whom the heavenly bride Mary brought forth, who is heaven and temple and throne of the divinity, the ineffable jewel of paradise. The angels used to reproach Eve, but now they glorify Mary; she who has truly made the weakness of women glorious, who raised up the fallen Eve, and sent Adam, who had been cast out of paradise, into the heavens; she who opened the closed paradise, B and through the thief planted Adam there again. For through you, O holy Virgin, the middle wall of the hedge has dissolved the enmity; through you heavenly peace has been given to the world; through you men have become angels; through you men have been called friends, and servants, and children of God; and through you men have been deemed worthy to become fellow-servants of the angels and companions; through you heavenly knowledge and doxology are sent up from earth to the heavens; through you men have boldness in heaven towards the Most High; through you the cross shone forth over all the world, on which your infant, Christ our God, was suspended; through you death is trampled underfoot, and Hades is despoiled; through you the idols have fallen, and heavenly knowledge has been raised up; through you we have known the only-begotten Son of God, C whom you brought forth, all-holy Virgin, our Lord Jesus Christ, whom all angels and men, worshipping, call the Father without beginning, the Son without beginning, the Holy Spirit without beginning, glorifying the inseparable and consubstantial Trinity unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Fragment of the Discourse of our Holy Father Epiphanius, Bishop, regarding the Palms.
He who is unceasingly sung and glorified by the angels, below, as a man, bends his knees to the Father and prays; while above, he himself receives prayers and genuflections from every visible and invisible creature. Below, he hungers as a man; but from above, the same one having come as heavenly bread, he thirsts economically; yet he himself is the fountain of life in a manner worthy of God. Below, he labors according to his assumption [of human nature]; yet he himself is the rest of those who labor and are heavy laden. D This is he who today comes voluntarily to death, that by his own death he might abolish him who has the power of death, and grant immortality to those who had died by his [the enemy's] work, and who had been enticed by the hope of immortality. For this purpose he came, not bearing scepters and trumpets, but the extreme