On the Theophany (Oration 38)

nia, or Apparition, be called? ... Because He was not rendered manifest to all when He was produced by birth, but when He was baptized. For until this day, He was commonly unknown.» It must be noted, however, that this homily is rejected by Savilius and others among the spurious works of Chrysostom.

III. This other question may be solved with ease: whether the solemnity of Christ’s nativity was celebrated by all Christians on one and the same day. For, as is the consensus of opinion among all, the rite of celebrating this feast was different between Greeks and Latins. Among the Latins, indeed, the reckoning of the day and time was the same in primitive times as it is now; and by distinct names, feast, and time, the Nativity and Epiphany were celebrated: the former on the 25th of December; the latter on the 6th of January. Furthermore, the Latins designated by the word "Epiphany," usually in the singular number, although expressed by the Greeks in the plural number, both the star which, appearing in the East, led the Magi to the presence of Christ, and His baptism, in which the heavens were opened and Christ, manifested by the heavenly voice, became known to men. Matters were different, however, among the Greeks. For, to begin with the Egyptians, Cassian clearly teaches in these words that they celebrated the feasts of the nativity and baptism on one and the same day, namely the 6th of January: «Within the region of Egypt, this custom is preserved by ancient tradition, that, after the day of the Epiphanies has passed, which the priests of that province define as being either of the Lord’s baptism or according to the flesh of His nativity: and therefore they celebrate the solemnity of either sacrament, not in two parts, as in the western provinces, but under the one celebration of this day,» etc. Cassian was writing this around the year 420 or 425. This same rite also flourished among the remaining Orientals, not indeed until the time of Cassian, but only until about the middle of the fourth century, in which, as we learn from Chrysostom, the custom of celebrating the birthday of the Lord on the 25th of December was introduced into the East «from the western regions.» But lest anyone perchance think that Chrysostom spoke only of the Antiochene province, because he delivered the homily in which these things are read at Antioch, let us also refer to the testimonies of Gregory of Nyssa and our own Gregory. Gregory of Nyssa indeed, bishop in the province of Cappadocia, speaking of the Lord’s birthday, speaks thus: «Now throughout the whole inhabited world (provided, however, that you except the region of Egypt, as we saw from Cassian), the harmonic sound of those celebrating the feast day is heard.» By which, surely, it is signified that it was not celebrated with equal harmony before. The same Nyssen, in his oration *On Baptism*, says: «Christ is born, therefore,» «as if a few days ago... He is baptized today,» etc. These things, however, perfectly harmonize with those things which are related by our Gregory, both in this oration and in that which is inscribed *On the Holy Lights*. For in this oration, having spoken of the divinity of the newborn Christ, he adds (n. 16): «And indeed, a little later, you will see Jesus being purified in the Jordan for the sake of my purification; or rather, purifying the waters by His own purification.» In the other (Orat. XXXIX, n. 14), he says: «The nativity of Christ has indeed been celebrated with appropriate solemnity beforehand, both by me, the leader of the feast, and by you... We have run with the star, we have worshipped with the Magi... But now another action of Christ, and another mystery follows... Christ is illuminated, Christ is baptized,» etc. From which we not unreasonably conclude that, already in the time of Gregory, the birth of Christ was distinguished from His baptism among most Orientals, and was celebrated by almost the entire Church on the 25th of December, with this difference, however, that the adoration of the Magi, which among the Latins is celebrated on the 6th of January together with the baptism, is annexed to the birthday of the Lord among the Greeks. Which custom, as Tillemont observes, «even now persists in these regions.» Therefore, it seems to us that it must be concluded from what has been said that this oration was delivered at Constantinople on December 25th of the year 380.

ORATION XXXVIII. On the Theophany, or the Nativity of the Savior.

^A 1. Christ is born, glorify Him; Christ is from the heavens, go to meet Him; ^B Christ is on earth, be ye lifted up. Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; and, that I may combine both in one, Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, because of the heavenly, and afterward the earthly, ^C one. ^D

Christ is in the flesh; exult with trembling and with joy; with trembling because of sin, with joy because of hope. Christ is from the Virgin; women, preserve your virginity, that you may become mothers of Christ. Who does not worship him who is from the beginning? Who does not praise and celebrate him who is the last?

^B II. Again the darkness is dispelled, again the light is created, again Egypt is punished with darkness, again Israel is illuminated by the pillar. Let the people who sit in the darkness of ignorance behold the great light of knowledge. The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. The letter yields, the spirit prevails, the shadows pass away, the truth enters in. Melchizedek is brought into account; he who was without mother, is made without father; he was first without mother, and afterwards without father. The laws of nature are overturned. The heavenly world must be filled. Christ commands: let us not resist. All you nations, clap your hands, for a child is born unto us, and a son is given unto us, whose government is upon his shoulder (for he is lifted up with the cross), and his name is called the Angel of Great Counsel, which is, of the Father. Let John cry out: Prepare the way of the Lord. I, too, will cry out the power and potency of this day; he who is without flesh is incarnate; the Word is made dense; the invisible is seen; the intangible is touched; he who is without time takes a beginning; the Son of God becomes the Son of man, Jesus Christ, yesterday and today, the same also for the ages. Let the Jews be offended, let the Greeks mock, let the heretics be afflicted with the itching of their tongues. They shall believe then, when they see him ascending into heaven; or if not then, at any rate when they shall see him descending from the heavens, and sitting as Judge.

^C III. But these things are for the future. Now, however, is the Theophany, or the Festival of the Nativity — for it is called both, two names imposed upon one and the same matter. For God appeared to men through his birth; the one, indeed, existing already, and indeed eternally from the Eternal, above cause and reason (for there was no cause superior to the Word); the other, having become for our sake later, so that he who gave existence might also bestow well-being; or rather, that he might recall us, who had fallen away from well-being through wickedness, back to it again through his Incarnation. It is called Theophany, therefore, for that reason, because he appeared; but Nativity, because he was born.

^A IV. This is our festival, this is what we celebrate today: the coming of God to man, so that we might go to God, or—as it is more apt to say—return; so that, putting off the old man, we might put on the new; and just as we died in Adam, so we might live in Christ, being born with Christ, and crucified with him, and buried with him, and rising again with him. For I must undergo this beautiful change, and just as grief came from the better things, so too might the more joyful things return from the griefs. For where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Rom. V, 20); and if the taste condemned us, how much more has the suffering of Christ justified us? Therefore, let us celebrate, not in a festive manner, but in a divine one; not after the manner of our own affairs, but after the manner of the Master; not in terms of weakness, but of healing; not in terms of creation, but of re-creation. ^B V. But how shall we achieve this? Surely if we do not wreathe the porches of our houses, nor form choruses, nor decorate the streets, nor feast the eye, nor beguile the ear with song, nor pamper the sense of smell, nor pander to the taste, nor gratify the touch—those ready paths to vice and doors to sin; and if we are not softened by delicate and flowing garments whose most beautiful quality is to be useless, nor by the splendors of gems, nor by the glister of gold, nor by the trickery of colors that feign natural beauty and are devised against the divine image; nor by revelries and drunken bouts, to which I know that beds and lewdness are joined (for the teachings of evil teachers are evil, or rather, the crops are evil because the seeds were); let us not spread out high couches of leaves, building delicate shelters for the belly. Let us not hold scented wines, the magic of cooks, or expensive perfumes in high regard. Let not earth and sea offer us expensive dung as a gift (for this is how I am accustomed to honoring delights); nor let us vie with one another in outdoing each other in intemperance. For to me, intemperance is anything that is superfluous and exceeds what is necessary, especially while others are hungry and in need—those who consist of the same clay and mixture as we do. ^C VI. But let us leave these things to the pagans and to pagan pageants and festivals; they who also give the name of gods to those who are delighted by the savor of sacrifices, and consequently serve the divine in their bellies—being themselves evil, and the fabricators, priests, and worshippers of evil demons. But let us, ^D who worship the Word, if we must indulge in any delight, find it in the Word...

^A and in the divine law, and in narratives, along with other things, and especially those that are appropriate to the present festival; so that our delights may be fitting, and not far removed from Him who has called us together. Or, if you please—since I am today acting as your host—shall I set before you, my excellent guests, a discourse on these matters, prepared as lavishly and generously as possible, so that you may know how a stranger can feed the locals, a rustic can feed the city-dwellers, one who does not indulge in luxury can feed those who do, and a poor man who is homeless can feed those who are brilliant in their wealth? I will begin from this point. And I ask you, all of you who delight in such things, to purify your mind, your hearing, and your understanding; for we are speaking about God, and the discourse itself is divine, so that you may depart having truly delighted in things that are never exhausted. The discourse shall be at once most full and most concise, so that it may cause neither annoyance from any lack, nor weariness from an excess ^B of words.

VII.

VII. On the nature of God.

seeing that it is not even the characteristic of composite things to be merely composite. ^B

VIII. But since the infinite is considered in two ways, in respect of both beginning and end (for that which is above these, and not contained in them, is infinite), when the mind looks toward the upward abyss ^A, having nowhere to stand or to rest its imaginations concerning God, it has called this here infinite and inaccessible, and without beginning. But when it looks toward the things below ^B and the subsequent orders, it calls it immortal and indestructible; and when it takes both together, eternal. For the Aeon is neither time, nor any part of time; for it is not measurable. But what time is to us, measured by the motion of the sun, that the Aeon is to eternal things: an extension that accompanies them, a kind of temporal motion and interval. Let these things serve as my philosophical reflections on God for the present. For this is not the time to speak about these matters at greater length, since our proposed subject here is not theology, but the economy. When I say God, I mean Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; and the Godhead is neither poured out beyond these, lest we introduce a crowd of gods, nor is it circumscribed within these, lest we suffer the poverty of the Godhead, falling by reason of the monarchy into Judaism, or by reason of the abundance into Hellenism. For the evil is equal in both, even if it be found in opposites. Thus, then, the Holy of Holies, which is veiled even from the seraphim ^C and is celebrated with three sanctifications, comes together into one lordship and Godhead; and some other before us has philosophized this most beautifully and loftily.

IX. But since it was not enough for goodness to be moved by the contemplation of itself alone, but it was necessary that the good should be poured out and go forth, so that there might be more to receive the benefit (for this was the mark of the highest goodness), He first conceived of the angelic and heavenly powers; and that conception was a work, accomplished by the Word, and perfected by the Spirit. And thus secondary splendors were brought into being as ministers of the first splendor; ^D whether they be intelligent spirits, or fire as it were immaterial and incorporeal, or some other nature as close as possible to those mentioned.

^A I wish, indeed, to say that they are immovable toward evil and have only the movement toward good, as they are around God and are illuminated by the first light from God—for these things here are of a secondary illumination. But he persuades me to think and speak of them not as immovable, but as difficult to move, because of Lucifer, who, on account of his splendor, became and is called darkness because of his pride, and the powers rebellious under him, who, by their flight from the good, became the creators of evil and the authors of it to us.

X. Thus, then, and for these causes, the intelligible world was created by Him, so far as I am able to philosophize upon these things, weighing great matters with brief speech. ^B And after He saw the first parts of creation well disposed, He devised a second world, material and visible; and this is the system and combination from heaven and earth, and the things contained in their embrace, a thing to be praised for the elegance of each individual part, but more to be praised for the concinnity and harmony that exists from all of them, one thing being beautifully quadrating with another, and all with all, to the completion of one world; in order that He might show that He is able to create not only a nature kindred to Himself, but also one completely foreign. For those natures endowed with mind, and which can be perceived by mind alone, are kindred to the Divine; but those that fall under sense, and those still further removed from these, which are completely soulless and immovable, are altogether foreign. ^C But what is this to us? some one of those who are more eagerly delighted by feasts and are of a more fervent spirit might say. You are goading the colt toward the turn. Philosophize about the things pertaining to the feast, and concerning those things for which we are seated here today. This, indeed, I shall do, and even if I began a little further back, it is because desire and the sequence of the discourse compel me to do so.

XI. Mind, then, and sense ^D were already distinct from one another, and remained within their own boundaries, and bore within themselves the greatness of the creative Word, silent praisers of the magnificent work, and celebrated heralds. But there was not yet any tempering of both, or any mixture of contraries, which might present a specimen of a higher wisdom and of the variety and excellence concerning the creation of natures; nor was all the wealth of goodness known and beheld. When, therefore, it pleased the artificer Word to show this, He fashions man, one animal out of both, I mean of invisible and visible nature; and taking the body from the matter which had already been previously created, and inserting from Himself the breath (which indeed the Word knows to be an intellectual soul and the image of God),

^A He places on earth a sort of second world, great in smallness, another angel, a composite worshiper, a spectator of visible creation, a mystagogue of the intelligible, king of those on earth, yet subject from above, earthly and heavenly, temporal and immortal, visible and intelligible, midway between greatness and lowliness; the same being spirit and flesh: spirit because of grace, flesh because of pride—the former, so that he might remain and glorify the Benefactor; the latter, so that he might suffer, and by suffering be reminded and instructed, being humbled by the magnitude [of his state]. An animal here being governed, and moving onward elsewhere, and—the final point of the mystery—being deified by his inclination toward God. For to this end the slight glimmer of truth here leads me, both to see and to experience the splendor of God, worthy of Him who has both bound [us together], and will loosen, and again bind [us] more sublimely.

^B XII. He placed him—endowed with freedom of will (that the good might be no less that of the one who had chosen it than of the one who had provided the seeds)—in paradise, whoever that paradise might have been, as a tiller of immortal plants—perhaps divine thoughts—both the simpler and the more perfect; naked in simplicity and in a life void of artifice and guile, and devoid of every covering and protection. For it was fitting that he who was first created should be such. And He gives him a law, as material for his free will. And the law was a command as to which plants he should make use of, and from which he must abstain. Now, that was the tree of knowledge, not indeed planted badly from the beginning, nor forbidden out of envy (let not those who fight against God cast their tongues there, nor let them imitate the serpent), but good when tasted at the proper time (for the plant was *contemplation*, as is my ^C theory, to which it is safe only for those who are more perfect in their state of mind to ascend), but not good for those still simpler and more eager in their appetite, just as neither is solid and perfect food beneficial to those who are still of tender age and in need of milk. But after, through the envy of the devil and the injury of the woman—which she suffered as being softer, and which she brought forward as being more persuasive (alas for my weakness! for I consider the weakness of the first parent to be my own)—he cast aside the memory of the command that had been given, and was overcome by the bitter taste, at once he is exiled from the tree of life, from paradise, and from God Himself on account of his wickedness, and he is clothed with coats of skins—perhaps the thicker, mortal, and recalcitrant flesh—and thus he first recognizes his own shame and hides himself from God. He gains something, however, ^D even there: death, and the interruption of sin, so that evil may not be immortal. And his punishment becomes a mark of God’s love for mankind. For thus I am persuaded that God punishes, while at the same time showing favor.

[XIII]. Humanity had been chastised in many ways previously, for the many sins which had sprouted from the root of wickedness, according to various causes and times: by speech, by law, by prophets, by benefits, by threats, by plagues, by waters, by fires, by wars, by victories, by defeats, by signs from heaven, signs from the air, from earth, from sea, and by unexpected changes of men, of cities, and of nations—all of which were intended to wear away wickedness. Yet it began to need a stronger remedy for more severe maladies, namely, for mutual slaughters, adulteries, perjuries, the mad passions for males, and—that which is the last and first of all evils—idolatry and the transfer of worship from the Creator to the creatures. Since these required a greater remedy, they received one that was greater. This was the Son of God Himself, He who is before the ages, the invisible, the incomprehensible, the incorporeal, the Beginning from the Beginning, the Light from Light, the Fountain of life and immortality, the express image of the archetypal beauty, the unmoving seal, the image in everything like its source, the Term and Reason of the Father. He, I say, descends to His own image and wears flesh for the sake of flesh, and is united to an intellectual soul for the sake of my soul, that He might purify like by like. He becomes all things human, except for sin, having been conceived from the Virgin—whose soul and body were previously purified by the Spirit (for it was proper that both generation should be honored, and virginity preferred)—and having gone forth as God with that which He had taken upon Himself, one from two opposites, flesh and Spirit; of which He deified the one, and was partaker in the other. O the new mixture! O the wondrous tempering! He who is, comes into being; He who is uncreated, is created; He who cannot be contained, is contained, through the medium of an intellectual soul which serves as a bridge between the Deity and the density of the flesh. He who enriches others becomes poor; for He assumes the poverty of my flesh, that I may obtain the riches of His divinity. He who is full is emptied; for He empties Himself of His own glory for a short time, that I may share in His fullness. What is the wealth of His goodness? What is this mystery that surrounds me? I partook of the image, and did not keep it; He partakes of my flesh, that He may both save the image and make the flesh immortal. He enters into a second communion with us, ^D far more marvelous than the first; for then He imparted to us the more excellent, but now He partakes of the worse. This is more divine than the former; to those who have understanding, this is more sublime.

^A XIV. What do our calumniators say to these things? These bitter reckoners of the Godhead, these accusers of things worthy of praise, they who are in darkness concerning the light and untaught concerning wisdom—they for whom Christ died gratuitously, these ungrateful creatures, these figments of the Devil! Do you thus reproach God for a benefit, as if it were a crime? Is He small for this reason, because He was humble for your sake? Because that good Shepherd, who lays down His life for the sheep, came to the wandering sheep, and came to the mountains and hills upon which you used to sacrifice; and having found the wanderer, He took it upon the same shoulders on which He also bore the wood of the cross; and having taken it, He brought it back to the life above; and having brought it back, He numbered it with those that remain? Because He kindled a lamp, which is His own flesh, and swept the house, cleansing the world from sin, and sought the drachma—that royal image buried under the passions—and calls together His friends, the powers, upon the finding of the drachma, and makes them partakers of His joy, whom He had also made initiates of His economy? Because the most brilliant light follows the lamp, which is the forerunner, and the Word follows the voice, and the Bridegroom follows the bridal-attendant, preparing for the Lord a peculiar people and purifying them beforehand for the Spirit through the water? Do you reproach God with these things? ^B And do you for this reason deem Him inferior, because He girds Himself with a towel and washes the feet of the disciples, and shows the best way of exaltation—which is humility? Because He humbles Himself for the sake of the soul that is bowed down to the ground, so that He might lift up with Himself that which was bent downwards by sin? But why do you not also reproach Him because He eats with tax-gatherers and at the houses of tax-gatherers, and makes tax-gatherers His disciples, so that He might also gain something Himself? What is this? The salvation of sinners! Unless, perhaps, someone might also accuse a physician because he stoops down over diseases and endures their stench in order to grant health to the suffering, and like him who, moved by a feeling of humanity and compassion, lets himself down into a pit to save a fallen beast, according to the prescription of the Law.

^C XV. He was indeed sent, but as man—for He was of dual nature; since He underwent weariness, and hunger, and thirst, and was affected by anguish, and shed tears by the law of the body. But if He was also sent as God, what of that? Consider the mission to be the good pleasure of the Father, to whom He also attributes His own works, both to honor the Beginning who is without time, and so that He might not appear to be an adversary of God. For since it is said that He was delivered up, so it is written that He also delivered up Himself; and that He was raised by the Father and taken up, but also that He Himself raised Himself and ascended again—the former belonging to the good pleasure, the latter to His own authority. But you mention the things that signify lowliness, while—

you pass over those that have the power to exalt; and you weigh what He suffered, but do not join to it what He did of His own will. Oh, what things the Word suffers even now! By some He is honored as God and is joined together, while by others He is despised as flesh and is divided. With whom will He be more angry? Or rather, to whom will He forgive more? To those who join Him wrongly, or to those who cut Him asunder? For one ought to have joined the former and divided the latter—the former in number, the latter in divinity. Are you offended by the flesh? The Jews are so, too. Or do you even call Him a Samaritan? (For the rest of what follows, I shall be silent.) ^B Do you disbelieve in His divinity? Not even the demons do this. O one more unbelieving than the demons, and more senseless than the Jews! The latter believed the name of the Son to be a voice of equality, while the former knew God, by whom they were put to flight. For the things they suffered gave them faith. But you, neither do you accept the equality, nor do you confess the divinity. It would have been better for you to have been circumcised and possessed by a demon—if I may say something ridiculous—than to be in an uncircumcised state and in sound health, yet be so wickedly and impiously disposed.

XVI. And a little later, you will see Jesus, for the sake of my purification, being purified in the Jordan, or rather, purifying the waters by His own purification (for He Himself, who takes away the sin of the world, had no need of purification); and the heavens being ^C opened, and Him being testified to by the kindred Spirit, and being tempted, and winning the victory, and being ministered to by angels, and healing every sickness and every weakness, and raising the dead (as I wish you also were, being dead through the wickedness of your heresy), and driving out demons, sometimes by Himself, sometimes through His disciples, and feeding many thousands with a few loaves, and walking on the sea, and being betrayed, and being crucified, and co-crucifying my sin; being led as a lamb, and leading as a priest, being buried as man, and rising as God, then also ascending, and destined to come with His own glory. How many festivals does each of these mysteries of Christ provide for me! The sum and head of them all is one: my own perfection and restoration, and my return to that first Adam.

XVII. But now, accept the conception and leap for joy—if not as John from the womb, then at least as David at the resting of the Ark. And revere the census, ^D because of which you are enrolled in the heavens; and honor the birth, because of which you were freed from the bonds of birth; and honor that little Bethlehem, which has led you… and to win the victory over the tempter.

back to Paradise ^A; and worship the manger, because of which, being void of reason, you have been nourished by the Word. Recognize your owner, as Isaiah admonishes you, like an ox, and the manger of your Lord like an ass; whether you are one of the clean, and under the law, and ruminating the Word, and suited for sacrifice; or whether you are still unclean and without food and unsacrificed, and of the Gentile portion. Run with the star, and with the Magi offer gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh, as to a king, and as to God, and as to one who died for your sake. With the shepherds glorify God, with the angels sing hymns, with the archangels dance. Let there be a common festival of heavenly and earthly powers. For I trust that they too rejoice together and celebrate the festival today; if indeed they are philanthropic and lovers of God, just as those whom David introduces after the Passion, ascending with Christ, and meeting Him, and urging one another to lift up the gates.

^B XVIII. Hate and detest only this one thing out of all that happened regarding Christ's birth: the slaughter of the children perpetrated by Herod. Or rather, revere even this: that victim coeval with Christ, which was offered up for the sake of the new Victim. If He flees into Egypt, join yourself to that flight with a ready mind. It is noble to flee with Christ when He suffers persecution. If He makes a somewhat long stay in Egypt, call Him out of Egypt, where He is rightly worshipped and honored. Through all the ages and virtues of Christ, as a disciple of Christ, walk blamelessly. Be purified, be circumcised, strip off the covering contracted from birth. Afterwards, teach in the Temple, cast out the sacrilegious merchants; stand ready, if it be necessary, to be stoned. You will elude the stone-throwers, believe me, and you will escape through the midst of them, as God. For the Word is not struck by stones. If you are brought before Herod, do not answer more even than a word. Your silence will be honored more than the prolix speeches of others. If you are struck with a scourge, ask for the rest. Taste gall for the sake of the taste; be given vinegar to drink, seek spittle, receive blows, buffetings; be crowned with thorns, with the harshness of life in accordance with God; put on the purple robe, receive a reed, be worshiped by those who make sport of the Truth; ^D and finally, be crucified with Him, die with Him, be buried with Him willingly, that you may rise again with Him, and be glorified with Him, and reign with Him.