Saint Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople

YEAR OF OUR LORD DCCCXXVIII. ST. NICEPHORUS PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE. NOTICE.

(FABRIC. Biblioth. Græc. edit. HARL. t. VII, p. 605.)

Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople ^A, was created in the place of Tarasius on the 12th of April of the year of Christ 806 ^B, on the day of Easter. In the year 815, he was deposed for having championed the veneration of the holy images, and hence, being called by the Greeks a "homologete" or confessor, he passed away in a monastery in the year 828. Regarding him, see the Menaion for June 2nd; the *Life* by Ignatius, deacon of Constantinople (which Combefis received from Allatius and communicated to Henschenius, by whom it was edited in Greek and Latin in the *Acta SS.* for March 13th), Vol. II, in Latin, page 294; and in Greek, page 704; and Martin Hanckius, *De Byzantinarum rerum scriptoribus*, lib. 1, cap. 12. Jo. Boivin, that most worthy keeper of the truly royal library, undertook to edit a dissertation on his writings along with a catalog of the manuscripts in the Royal Library at Paris. We were also expecting a new edition of the Works of this Nicephorus from Anselmo Banduri of Ragusa, a priest and monk of the Order of St. Benedict, from the congregation of Metz. Compare the *Conspectus of the Works of St. Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople*, which I shall share with the reader below; these are to be published soon in two volumes, and few of them have been edited to date, with Latin interpretation, notes, and eight critical, dogmatic, and historical dissertations (Paris, 1705, 12mo), as well as the *Memoires de Trevoux* for August of that year, page 1461. To the list of his edited writings, which appears in the outstanding work of Cave (*Hist. litter. SS. EE.*, Vol. II, p. 4 seqq.), I have these few things to add:

1. The *Breviarium historicum*, from the reign of Maurice in the year of Christ 602 to the year of Christ 770, to the nuptials of Leo IV and Irene, is read and lauded by Photius in Cod. 66; the same also implies that he had not examined it any more fully than it was edited by Petavius at Paris in 1616 (8vo), with version and notes, and subsequently reprinted among the historians of the Byzantine history in 1648 (fol.) [and Venice, 1729, fol.], and it is usually appended to Theophylactus Simocatta. Petavius adjoined the *Fragments* of Nicephorus Gregoras, pages 240-257, which were omitted in earlier editions. Furthermore, there is the homily on the beginning of the indiction, or year, by Gregory, surnamed Figulus, bishop of Tauromenium in Sicily, pages 258-285. There follows the *Epitome of Times from Adam to Alexius Comnenus* from the book of Eusebius Pamphili which is titled *Basilikos*, and from other monuments of a later age, pages 286-309. An index of the metropolitan sees ^C subject to the Patriarch of Constantinople, pages 310-398. The *Fragments* of Georgius Pachymeres—which Hieronymus Wolf noted in his *Synopsis of Book V* were missing in the Augsburg manuscript codex—are on pages 315-407. The booklet of Hippocrates *On purgative drugs*, first edited from the Cujacian codex, is in Greek on pages 308-410. And finally, the *Fragment* of Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, on the life and death of Constantine Copronymus, taken from the *Chronographia* of Theophanes, in Greek and Latin after the notes of Petavius, pages 206-218 (Fabricius). The *Breviarium* was translated into French by Mouterolio (Paris, 1618, 8vo) and by Moret (Moret, Controller in the Generalité of Montauban), with historical notes (Paris, 1654, 12mo). The *Breviarium historicum* exists in the Augsburg manuscript (Reiser, *Cat. codd.*, p. 80); in the Rhediger library at Wroclaw (Kranz, *Memor. illius bibl.*, p. 86). The *Chronographia*, under the name of Eusebius, is in Syriac in the Bodleian Library, codex 3131, and among the codices of Th. Hyde, n. 6401. Some excerpts from the Chronicles of Nicephorus are occasionally appended to the *Exposition of the Orthodox Faith* of [John] Damascene in the Venetian Marcian codex 400 (*Cat. codd. gr.*, p. 263). (Harl.)

2. The *Chronographia Compendiaria* from Adam to the author's own time is read in the Latin version in the *Bibliotheca Patrum*, Paris, 1575, Vol. II; 1589, Vol. VII; 1644 and 1654, seventh volume; Basel, 1561; Cologne, 1618, ninth volume; and Lyon, 1677, Vol. XIV, page 72, with the commentary of Antonius ^D.

Paris, 1573, 4°, which Jo. Maria Brasichellanus notes in the Expurgatory Index ^A as being attributed too much to the LXX Interpreters. It was also published in Latin, translated by Joachim Camerarius, along with his commentaries and a dissertation on the Council of Nicaea, Basel, 1561, fol.; Leipzig, 1573, 4°, at the shop of Voegelin, and at the shop of Jo. Steinmann, 1585, 4°. The account by Camerarius regarding the Council of Nicaea had appeared at Leipzig from the press of Jacob Berwald, 1545, 8°; reprinted there in 1546, 1552, 1560, 8°, from the shop of Valentinus Papa. An edition without commentaries appeared at Basel, 1569, 8°, before the history commonly called the *Miscellanea*. In Greek, it is found in the *Thesaurus Temporum* of Joseph Scaliger, Leiden, 1606, p. 305, and 1658, p. 301, fol. In Greek and Latin, with the notes of Jacobus Goar, at the end of Georgius Syncellus, Paris, 1652, fol. [and Venice, vol. V, of 1729]. Selden (II, 4, *De Synedriis*, p. 106 sq.) and Hanckius (*De scriptoribus Byz.*, p. 245) demonstrate that among the writers of Byzantine history, the names of the emperors and certain later patriarchs were added by a younger writer, both in the Greek text of Nicephorus and in the Latin codices of Anastasius. Jo. Pearson also notes in his *Vindiciae epistolarum S. Ignatii* that the genealogy of Valentinianus is also missing in certain codices. Conversely, in other manuscripts, various continuations are found already reaching to Constantine Ducas, who died in the year of Christ 1067, and even further, up to the year of Christ 1180. Consult note (f).

It was published from the translation of Turrianus by H. Canisius, Vol. IV of *Antiq. lect.* (d); but erratically in various places, since he connects without care things that should not be joined. They were reprinted in Vol. XIV of the *Bibl. Patrum*, Lyon edition, p. 89-98; Cologne, 1618, Vol. IX; and in the second part of Vol. IV, Paris, [1624] 1654. From book II, and in two of his Fragments in which the statements of Asterius of Amasea are defended, Combefis provided the Greek and Latin in the *Auctarium novum Bibl. Patrum*, Vol. I, p. 267-289, Paris, 1648. The entire work, which (in the judgment of Combefis) remains hidden to the no small detriment of Christian and literary affairs, is held in Greek in the library of the King of France under the name of Theodorus Graptus, under which title Nicephorus Gregoras, along with others, was deceived into taking Graptus to be the author of the book. [V. compiler of the Catalogues of Parisian codices, II, p. 176.] But in the Colbertine library, a codex of the same antiquity, as Boivin also says, correctly attributes it to Nicephorus of Constantinople. See Jo. Boivin on Gregoras, p. 783 sq. Chapter 51 of the *Logoi* is cited by Allatius, p. 159, against Hottinger. From book II, a Fragment concerning the six synods in Greek and Latin was published by Combefis, Vol. II of the *Auctarium novi Bibl. Patrum*, Paris, 1648, p. 603-610, reprinted in Latin in the *Bibl. Patrum Lugd.*, Vol. XIV, p. 97. Combefis says in the *Bibl. concionatoria*, 1662: "I have those [works] which would fill a proper volume, yet they are not integral, with leaves having occasionally fallen out: perhaps the thick manuscript on silken paper belonging to Petrus Seguierius, Chancellor of France, might complete it." Allatius offered other things, etc. Confer Combelis's *Origines CPolitanas*, p. 184, who at p. 159 sq. published in Greek and Latin, from the Life of Nicephorus written by Theodorus Graptus, his *Disputation on Images with the Emperor Leo Armenus*, Paris, 1664, 4°. Fabr. ^B In the Parisian library, formerly the Royal, there are, according to the catalogue of codices, 2 *Antirrhetics against Mamonas* (e) and Eusebius and Epiphanides in three codices, 909-911, the last of which also contains the Prooemium of Nicephorus to the testimonies subjoined to the Antirrhetics, and a Censure or Explanation of the testimonies brought forward, though with little skill, against the holy images. Furthermore, in those three codices there are eighty-three chapters of Nicephorus for the irreproachable and pure faith of the Christians. — In the Coislinian library, codex 93 contains the books of Nicephorus for the orthodox faith against the false accusations and perverse dogmas of the Iconoclasts. A survey of these unpublished books was published by Ans. Banduri. Therefore, Montfaucon in the *B. Coisl.*, p. 143 sq., represented only the names and beginnings of the books as they lie in that codex, and he also noted that some things are mutilated and confused, with leaves sometimes cut out or transposed, but that they could be restored from one Royal codex; and, conversely, that some things missing in the Royal codex could be repaired from the Coislinian. — In codices 115, 120 and 259, fol. 57, there are contents in the *Questions and Answers* of Anastasius, etc., then in codex 122 in the *Collectanea* of Nicon, and in codex 193, fol. 40 verso, passages also taken from Nicephorus (Montfauc. p. 183, 193, 197 sq., p. 245 and 505). In the Bodleian library, in codex 2877, n. 57, [there is the] *Disputation of Nicephorus with the Emperor Leo concerning the venerable images*. — In Dublin, in the library of Trinity College, in codex 277, n. 35 (to use the words of the author of the *Catalogue of English and Hibernian codices*, Vol. II, part II, p. 24), is the work of Nicephorus of Constantinople, or rather a fragment of the *haeres. p. 6, Eikonomachon*, etc., not yet published. — Magnus Crusius had promised an edition of the Epitome of the Antirrhetic books of Nicephorus of Constantinople against the Iconoclasts; but he did not stand by his promises. See what I wrote in the *Introductio in Hist. L. Gr.* II, 1, p. 454 sq. Hart. ^C You have [the work of] Anastasius in the posthumous works of Petrus Pithaeus, Paris, 1609, 4°, p. 14 sq. Joannes Pearson caused it to be reprinted from there in the *Critici sacri Angli* (reprinted among the Dutch and at Frankfurt). Montfaucon [provided] a more corrected version from an ms. codex of the Coislinian library, p. 204. That same most learned man, in his *Vindiciae Ignatii*, part I, p. 33 sq., denies that it belongs to Nicephorus, and it certainly seems to be older than Nicephorus: for it lists the books in the same order as they are read at the end of the Athanasian *Synopsis*, even though in the printed editions there the enumeration of the [stichoi] is omitted. The manuscript Greek codex of the *Chronographia* of Nicephorus, with the stichometry subjoined, but which Camerarius omitted, exists at Jena, to say nothing of other libraries in Gaul, England, and Italy (f). Others have published stichometries and lists of sacred books from manuscripts, including Cotelerius, Carus, Jo. Morinus, Rich. Simon, Laurentius Zaccagnius and ^D

Humfredus Hody, as I have stated in book IV, chapter 5, page 223. Regarding that manuscript of Jena, which Camerarius once used, see Jo. Andreas Bosi’s letters to Reinesius, pages 361, 362. ^A 5. The Profession of Faith to Pope Leo III, supposed to be in Latin from an ancient translation, is published by Baronius in his Annals for the year 811, nos. 20–43. But the version in the Greco-Latin Commelinian edition among the Acts of the Synod of Ephesus is by Theodorus Peltanus, S.J. (Heidelberg, 1591, fol., page 342; Lat. and Greek, p. 505, ibid. 1604, fol.). The same version by Peltanus is read after Jo. Zonaras’ Commentary on the canons of the councils (Paris, 1618, fol., p. 760) and in the Labbean Collection of councils, vol. VII, p. 1205. Fabr. and Harduin, vol. IV, p. 978, corrected the Greek in both places from the excellent Seguier manuscript. Fronto Ducaeus sent a veteran Latin version to Baronius, described from a large manuscript of the councils in the library of the canons of the Church of Verdun in Lorraine, and Baronius provided it in his Annals, loc. cit. 6. Nicephorus the Confessor’s ^B 17 Ecclesiastical Canons were published in the second book of the *Jus Orientale* edited by Leunclavius (Paris, 1585, 8vo, page 18, Greek and Latin, p. 103). They also appear in the Greco-Latin edition of Marq. Freher (Frankfurt, 1596, fol., p. 195 sq.) and then in vol. VII of Labbe’s Councils, p. 1297, and in Latin in the *Appendix ad Bibl. Patrum* (Paris, 1579; and in vol. VI, edited Paris, 1654). [Add Cat. B. Leid. p. 59; there also exists a version in the Royal edition of the councils, vol. XX, Labbe’s vol. VII, and Harduin’s vol. IV. See below, book VI, p. 519, vol. XI, old ed., where the council of Constantinople, gathered by Nicephorus of Constantinople, and the synod of Constantinople in which Nicephorus was deposed, are also treated.] Concerning Zonaras, where Cave writes that they exist, and the person who compiled the catalog of the Barberini library, I have been unable to find them. Of these, numbers 2, 5, 4, 9, 12, and 16 do not appear among those 37 canons which Cotelerius published in Greek and Latin (vol. III, *Monumenta Ecclesiae Graecae*, page 445 sq.); from whom, on page 451 sq., you have another ^C nine ecclesiastical ordinances (διατάξεις ἐκκλησιαστικαί) published from a collection that comprised 76 canons. For Michael Glycas, on page 294, praises the fifty-first, and as Cotelerius observes on page 652, it happened that the canons of that famous patriarch and confessor were collected in different orders and ways by others, as seemed best to them. To the same Cotelerius we owe, on pages 453–465, the *Epistle of Nicephorus*, comprising Responses to 17 heads, proposed by Hilarius and Eustratius. Labbe mentions a manuscript *Exposition of Faith* in *Bibl. nov. mss.*, p. 88. FABR. The *Exposition of Faith* is in manuscript 887, no. 6, of the public library in Paris. Nicephorus’ Epistle to Pope Leo of Rome is in Coislin manuscript 32, and Montfaucon, in *Bibl. Coislin.*, p. 85, notes that it was finally emended from this manuscript and illustrated in the Collection of councils, as Labbe advised, vol. VII, p. 1205. In Coislin manuscript 36, on the last folio, is a canon of Nicephorus *On the fasting of monks*. In manuscript 211, fol. 512 sq., Nicephorus’ *Selections from his ecclesiastical ordinances and those of the holy Fathers with him* is completed in XVI articles. The same author’s *Symbol of Faith divided into 12 heads*. — The same author’s *Difference between the image and the cross of Christ*, in ten syllogisms. From the epistle of Nicephorus to Pope Leo. In manuscript 363, which contains a very brief Collection of councils, toward the end are fragments from Nicephorus the patriarch, as Montfaucon attests, loc. cit., pp. 105, 269, and 563. — In Moscow synodal manuscript 32, no. 55, are Nicephorus’ canons *From his ecclesiastical ordinances and those of the holy Fathers with him concerning diverse heads*, and no. 56, from others of his canons, *That is, Concerning the prescribed ordinances of the holy apostles*, as attested by the celebrated Matthaei in the *Notitia codd. mss. Gr. biblioth. Mosquens. S. synodi*, p. 54. In the codices of the public library in Paris there are Nicephorus’ canons in manuscript 1151, no. 2; 1259, no. 11; 37 Ecclesiastical canons. In manuscript 1337, Nicephorus the Confessor’s 27 canons. — In manuscript 1339, no. 3, canon 36. In manuscript 1342, no. 4, canons excerpted from his Constitutions; in manuscript 1374, no. 4, canons, and in the following manuscript, no. 8, canons 35. — In manuscript 163 of the Elector’s library in Bavaria, Nicephorus’ canons according to the *Cat. codd. Gr.*. — In the Imperial manuscript of Vienna 283, no. 5, excerpts from the Ecclesiastical Constitutions of Nicephorus and the Fathers gathered with him (Lambec. *Comm.*, vol. V, p. 475). — In manuscript 45, no. 66, the fifth canon concerning the week of Pentecost (Lambec. VIII, p. 948). — In manuscript 51, no. 15, canons 36 and 18, Nicephorus’ Observances and canonical Constitutions on various subjects (Lamb. ibid., col. 989 and 993). In manuscript 52, no. 5, and manuscript 55, no. 5, ecclesiastical canons 36 (Lambec. ibid., col. 1001 and 1006). — Most worthy of praise is the Vienna manuscript 45, in which are Nicephorus’ 66 ecclesiastical canons, and which Kollarius describes widely and diligently in Supplement I to Lambecius’ *Comm.*, page 321 sqq. He deals with Nicephorus the patriarch: the abridged chronicle from the creation of the world, and that—whether you look at the words, the numerical notes, or the order of events—differs in some places from what has been published and is in many places much fuller and richer; added to this is the fact that the greatest part of it, which P. Goar supplements from Anastasius, is likewise restored from the Greek context of this manuscript. The *Chronographia* ends with Leo the Armenian. Constantinus Lascaris, however, attached a series of Basil’s successors up to Constantinus III, with a short narration of the taking of the city and his own captivity. The last place is occupied by the account of the sons and progeny of Constantine, which Iriarte published in Greek in his *Cat. codd. Gr. Matrit.*, p. 481, and noted other things well, and he lists many other chronological catalogs in that manuscript. Page 4 follows the narration: "There are divine Scriptures, canonical and accepted, and the stichometry of these." But whether such a short work is by St. Nicephorus himself also seems uncertain to Iriarte, p. 483, and he notes in the Nesselian Vienna Library *Catalog*, part 1, page 250, codex 153, no. 11, that a similar anonymous stichometry also occurs. The same author explains each point more fully, and notes how they differ from the Royal Paris edition. Add concerning the stichometries of Nicephorus and others, Nathan Lardner in: *The credibility of the Gospel Historie*, etc., vol. XI, London 1754, n. 8; or according to the German version of Dan. Bruhn, *Die Glaubwürdigkeiten der evangelischen Geschichte*, etc., vol. XI, cap. 147, p. 235–261. Coll. Baumgart. *Nachrichten von merkwürdigen Büchern*, vol. X, p. 353. Salmasius deals learnedly with the stichometry or measurement of the verses of all the books of the Old and New Testaments, the variety of their distinctions, and the disagreement in measuring verses in ancient books, in his *Prolegomena in Solinum seu Plinianas Exercitatt.*, sheet 4 verso, and sheet 5. HARL.

^A He advises consulting, besides our place in Fabricius, Mansi in the *Supplements to the Councils* edited by Labbé and Cossart, vol. I, pp. 775 and 806, as well as in the newest and most extensive Venetian edition of the councils, vol. XIV, p. 119 sqq. And from those most learned men, he says, we learn that the canons I am now discussing have nowhere yet been brought to light by anyone in such a sequence and so fully as they are contained in this our codex. He then notes that in the previously mentioned Viennese codex 283, there exist forty canons excerpted from the canons of Nicephorus, indeed many more than were published by Mansi from Cotelier in the new Venetian edition of the councils, vol. XIV, p. 129; however, the cited Viennese codices 51, 52, and 53 preserve these same seventeen canons which Mansi placed before the rest from the Greco-Roman Law in the aforementioned edition of the councils, vol. XIV, p. 419, and he strongly commends those four imperial codices to the future editor of the canons of Nicephorus. Indeed, he judges a new edition of the canons to be necessary, since they are not circulated either in their own sequence or in the correct number. Finally, he observes that Mansi brought forward 69 canons taken from various works; but if those repeated over and over are removed, the legitimate number matches this Viennese codex. As the same Kollarius reveals on page 770 of the same work, in codex 137, nos. 5 and 6, there are three Prophecies of Nicephorus. The ecclesiastical canons of Nicephorus are cited in the Laurentian Medicean codex 4, in the *Exposition of Sacred Precepts*, and in codex 25, plut. 9, or the *Thesaurus of the Orthodox Faith*. V.- Bandini, *Catalogus codicum Graecorum*, vol. I, pp. 99 and 454. — *Kyriadromion of Archbishop Nicephorus*. Moscow, from the office of Ridiger and Claudius, 1796, 2 vols., 4to. Nicephorus's *On the Christian Faith* and other works are available in various libraries, which Montfaucon has indicated in his *Bibliotheca bibliothecarum manuscriptorum*; you should search for them in the index under Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople. Fabricius, below in vol. XI, book VI, ch. 3, page 166 sqq., rendered the Greek into Latin from the synodical epistle of Nicephorus of Constantinople to Pope Leo III, in which the seven synods are briefly described and approved. A part of it is attributed to Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, in Paris public library codex 1375, no. 8, as a *Poem on the Fasts of the Greeks to Meletius the Monk*, and the compiler of the *Catalogus*, II, p. 510, says it is unpublished, I believe: it begins: Πρώτος Σεπτέμβριος ἀρχὴ τυγχάνει τοῦ Ἰνδίκτου. In the Venetian Marcian codex 498, it is ascribed to the same person, a work *Against Herodias and Other Wicked Women*, perhaps excerpted from another work. HARL.

^B This Nicephorus might also be the same as our Nicephorus, Chartophylax of the Great Church of Constantinople, if it be true what is noted in the *Orthodoxographa*, that he rose from the office of chartophylax to the bishopric of the church of Constantinople. But he could not have lived around the year of Christ 560: for there was no bishop or patriarch of Constantinople in those times by the name of Nicephorus. Truly, it agrees well with that opinion that Nicephorus the Chartophylax seems to have flourished around the year of Christ 801. For he was created patriarch in the year of Christ 806, as has already been noted by me. But on the other hand, there exist manuscript questions of Maximus the Monk to Nicephorus the Chartophylax. See Lambeck, book VI, p. 56. If this Maximus is the same person as the confessor who died in the year of Christ 672, then this Nicephorus must also be referred to the seventh century and distinguished from the patriarch. Be that as it may, a fragment of Nicephorus the Chartophylax from his epistle to Theodosius, a monk of Corinth, *On the Power of Binding and Loosing*, is read in Latin in the *Orthodoxographa* of 1555, p. 936; and of 1569, page 74; and at the end of Philastrius, Basel 1559, 8vo, page 404 sqq.: and in some editions of the *Bibliotheca Patrum*, such as Lyons vol. XII, page 547; and Cologne vol. VII, and Paris 1589, 1654, vol. III (g). Two epistles to the same Theodosius regarding certain questions exist in Greek and Latin in Freher's *Jus Graeco-Romanum*, vol. I, pp. 341-344, and in the Bonefidiana edition, Greek p. 197, and Latin p. 233. It also occurs in Latin in the *Appendix to the Bignean Bibliotheca Patrum*, of 1579, and in the others which I have already mentioned, the editions of the *Bibliotheca Patrum*, such as Lyons vol. XII, p. 546 sqq. FABR. The *Sacred Miscellaneous Questions* of Maximus the Monk to Nicephorus the Chartophylax are in the Viennese codex 17; [*the questions of*] Nicephorus the Chartophylax to Theodosius the monk, *on canons*; and Kollar in his *Supplement to the Lambeck Commentaries*, col. 117 sqq., not only suspects that Nicephorus the Chartophylax flourished at the beginning of the ninth century; but also notes that the imperial codex is somewhat more copious than the Freherian example, and differs from it so much that a new edition of it is needed to demonstrate that diversity. In the other epistle, written consecutively with the former, the passage about the *Penitential Book* of John Nestentas, as Kollar suspects, and many other things are written more correctly and fully in the Viennese codex than they were published in print by Freher.— From the epistles of Nicephorus the Chartophylax to Theodosius, the monk of Corinth, containing the solution of certain questions, excerpts are found in the Laurentian Medicean codex II, no. 82, plut. 5, and Bandini in the *Catalogus codicum Graecorum* II, page 9, observes that more things are excerpted here than in Leunclavius's *Jus Graeco-Romanum*, book V, p. 34. In the *Decree* published regarding the union of the synod with Leo of Chalcedon and regarding the pious opinion on the adoration of images, by the Emperor Alexius Comnenus (which decree Montfaucon published in his *Bibliotheca Coisliniana*, p. 105 sqq., from Coislin codex 56, in Greek with a Latin version), among those assembled appear Nicephorus, bishop of Gangra, and Nicephorus the deacon, formerly chartophylax. In the Coislin codex (see Montfaucon, *Bibliotheca Coisliniana*, p. 325), an epistle to Methodius, monk, comprising responses to 17 questions, is attributed to Theodore, which Cotelier published under the name of Nicephorus of Constantinople in the second volume of his *Ecclesiae Graecae Monumenta*, p. 455. HARL.

^C The *Life of Dionysius the Areopagite*, which is attributed to Nicephorus of Constantinople in the Barberini library catalog and exists in the Corderian edition of Dionysius, vol. II, page 201, is taken from book II of Nicephorus Callistus's *Ecclesiastical History*, ch. 20. Just as the *Scholia on Synesius*, ascribed to the same Nicephorus of Constantinople in the same catalog, [are ...]

(g) See other editions in the Catalog of the Leiden library, p. 58. — in codex 32, no. 9 (according to Matthaei in the *Notitia* cited on p. 32), is the *Epistle of Nicephorus the Chartophylax on the Power of Binding and Loosing to the Archpriests*.

NOTITIA.

The fact that Nicephorus Gregoras wrote the *Life of John of Cappadocia* is to be found in Paris manuscript 276. See below, Book V, ch. 40, Vol. X, p. 164 of the old edition. HARL.

Here, since, as far as I know, Banduri’s edition never saw the light of day, I shall forthwith add the prospectus of Banduri, which Fabricius, in the old edition, had at last arranged to be reprinted in § 25, p. 624 seqq., and to which many are accustomed to appeal. I have omitted the Greek, and have only placed or condensed the names of the authors, and especially the short lines, so that I might spare paper. HARL.

PROSPECTUS OF THE WORKS OF S. NICEPHORUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE, BY ANSELM BANDURI, FEW OF WHICH HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED HITHERTO, TO BE PUBLISHED SOON IN TWO FOLIO VOLUMES WITH A LATIN TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND EIGHT CRITICAL, DOGMATIC, AND HISTORICAL DISSERTATIONS.

To the Learned Reader. ^A Among the prelates of Constantinople, none since the age of Chrysostom was adorned with so many gifts of doctrine and piety as that Nicephorus who, in the eighth century, received all the assaults of the Iconoclasts and repelled their writings and machinations in a brilliant manner. Since it is my intention to bring to light his works, which have been attempted by many but which lie hidden until now in various libraries, I am compelled to seek the help and counsel of learned men; partly so that, if anything exists in the libraries not expressed in this Catalogue, they might not disdain to remind me of the matter; partly so that, if those few things are found anywhere which, through the injury of time, have fallen away in our manuscripts and which we have noted in their proper place, they might not be burdened to lend them to us for public use.

^B How much these works are to be valued, even if the matter speaks for itself, let it not be tedious to review in a few words. Here, all the opinions, impious sayings, and machinations of the Iconoclasts are laid open and refuted with incredible diligence; in which matter nothing more perfect has been brought to light until now. Here, very many things pertaining to history and left untouched by historians are narrated; and everywhere, in matters both ecclesiastical and profane, the erudition of Nicephorus is discovered. The daring of Constantine Copronymus, whom he everywhere calls Mamona, in violating religion, his wiles, frauds, fury against Christians, and machinations against the pious faith are recounted, with the monuments of the deeds interspersed throughout, and his impious doctrine is refuted as manfully as possible. Here, the dogmas of Eusebius of Caesarea are refuted as impious and alien to the sincerity of the Christian faith: for among the most eminent of the Greeks, Eusebius has always been held (and perhaps not unjustly) as an Arian and a heretic; yet in these things which concern Eusebius, many things are held which are hitherto inedited and unknown, which conduce primarily to the history of those times. ^C The opinion of a certain Epiphanides, of whom neither the age nor the name is so well established, is also adduced, and is utterly destroyed as impious and deadly. And what, in my judgment, is most excellent, he brings forth many new and unobserved things concerning the Second Council of Nicaea, far more sincere than those that now appear in the *Collection of Councils*; inasmuch as they are handed down by an eyewitness who was even present at the events. Many fragments also of holy Fathers, or even short treatises, almost complete and not yet published, you might find here inserted in various places, nor without pleasure; among these are the precious fragments of Macarius Magnes, a writer scarcely known, who, according to Nicephorus, flourished in the first centuries of the Church, to which we have added other fragments of the same writer, extremely useful for ecclesiastical doctrine, received from the most learned and accomplished Joannes Boivin. Nor does he bring the works of the Fathers into the light without examination and investigation; but where necessary, he discourses accurately and sagaciously concerning their authenticity or spuriousness. ^D Not without merit, therefore, is such a man praised everywhere by writers, both his contemporaries and those of the subsequent age, for his doctrine, his religion, and his knowledge of all disciplines: in these, Ignatius, the writer of his *Life*, Theodore the Studite, Photius in his *Bibliotheca*, and others hold the first place, whose testimonies we shall provide at the beginning of the works of this same Nicephorus.

Although these works of Nicephorus are now coming to light for the first time, there were not wanting those who had wished to publish them before. Among them was Combefis, a man well-deserving of literature, as can be seen in his Preface to the *Life of Nicephorus*. But whether distracted by other business or forestalled by death, he left the matter to others; and if we complete his promises, we trust that we shall have done a very grateful thing for all the learned. To these, we shall add critical, dogmatic, and historical dissertations for the elucidation of the work, as can be seen in the index.

These come forth from the royal codices 1826, 1989, 2378, and from the Colbertine 364 (h-i). Furthermore, we shall add to these inedited works all other things that are in the public domain, and which you will find arranged in order at the end of the following index. We shall comprise all these things in two folio volumes: unless perhaps it may be possible to unearth a more abundant harvest from the Vatican library, where all things are now available to students by the kindness of the Supreme Pontiff Clement XI, who was born for the good of the republic, both ecclesiastical and literary, and was raised to the pinnacle of this office, and is himself thoroughly well-versed in Greek letters and every kind of doctrine. Nor must I pass over in silence him to whom we owe this leisure and this opportunity for cultivating letters. He is Cosmas III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. If anything from his magnificence shall avail for the use of students, let the whole be referred as accepted, whether by us or by those to whom any utility and fruit might have come from our poverty. By his kindness, we also prepare to bring to light other monuments of letters during our leisure: among which are the Commentaries of Theodore of Mopsuestia on the twelve prophets; the genuine Commentaries of Philo of Carpathus on the Canticles; those of Hesychius on the psalms, all of which we have unearthed from libraries; and other things as well, if God shall favor our prayers. We also profess to owe much to Clement, the custodian of the Royal library, who granted us access to this truly royal supply of books at our request; and no less to the illustrious Boivin, another custodian, who most kindly offered us the Catalogue of the works of Saint Nicephorus, which he had most accurately compiled, from which we adorned our prospect and the codices themselves. Nor should Michael Lequien be left unmentioned, of the Dominican order, an erudite man and full of duty, whose works and counsel we have also frequently used. But I could never say enough for the merits of that most learned man and joined to us by the closest necessity, the R. P. D. Bernard de Montfaucon, by whose works, counsel, and example we have applied our mind to undertaking these and many other things, by whose counsel we undertook the journey to Gaul, and we have devoted ourselves entirely to the study of the Greek muses, which we had cultivated from childhood. These were the authors for us to undertake the work. Now, however, it remains for us to await the counsel and judgment of the learned. In Paris, at the monastery of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, May 29, 1705.

ELENCHUS OF THE WORKS OF S. NICEPHORUS, PATRIARCH OF CPOL. TOMUS I. Preliminaries of the Interpreter. General Preface. Preface concerning those things which are contained in this volume. - (h-i) To be added: the codex of the Coislin library, about which Montfaucon, p. 145. - Dissertation on the Nicephori,

and their writings. Life of St. Nicephorus, patriarch of Constantinople, described by Ignatius the deacon, his disciple. Oration of Theophanes the presbyter, delivered at the translation of his relics. Chronical synopsis of St. Nicephorus, patriarch of CP., arranging deeds and writings in chronological order; from the life of the same Nicephorus, from the letters of St. Theodore the Studite, and from the monuments of other authors. Testimonies of the ancients regarding St. Nicephorus, patriarch of CP. -

Eighty-three chapters of St. Nicephorus, patriarch of Constantinople, for the irreprehensible and pure faith of Christians.

I. Proemium. That there is a time for everything, according to Solomon; but for defending the faith, the time is now present. II. That men would do better if, omitting useless questions, they meditated on the future judgment and eternal life. III. On the progress of the faith from its very origin: how Divine Providence consulted for the salvation of men in varying ways for varying times: of the old Law: of the salvation of the human race repaired through Christ. That theology has been abundantly explained by holy doctors up to this point. IV. On the perverse opinions of the Iconoclasts: that they were long ago condemned by the synods: that they are now reviving to the ruin of the Church. V. The vices of the Iconoclasts: that they are given over to gluttony and the belly. VI. A continuation of the invective against the Iconoclasts: that most of them subscribed to the Nicene council, then changed their opinion; shortly thereafter were deposed, and being deprived of the priesthood, stirred up disturbances. VII. How the Iconoclasts attacked the Church and sacred things with tongue and hand. A pathetic and vehement declamation. VIII. The Iconoclasts compared with the Jews. That Christ suffered at their hands a second and third time; namely, by his images being violated and deformed. IX. The same compared with the builders of the tower of Shinar, also with Jannes and Jambres, with Alexander and Hymenaeus, with the sons of Korah, and finally with the Babylonian elders who slandered Susanna: that the Iconoclasts have joined to themselves a rabble ^A of the vilest men. For what cause God permitted the Church to be disturbed and the orthodox to be vexed. An invective against the most corrupt customs of the priests. X. The double blasphemy of the Iconoclasts: first, that those who honor images are idolaters: second, that the body of Christ is uncircumscript. That they attempt to confirm the first error with testimonies of the holy Fathers; XI. and the second, with testimonies of the Arians and Manichaeans. XII. On Eusebius of Caesarea, and the Arian heresy. XIII. Testimonies of the holy Fathers ^B wrongly understood, and mangled, being usurped by the Iconoclasts. XIV. An invective against those by whom the schism was stirred up anew. XV. On the persecution raised by the same people. XVI. On those who, through fear of losing goods or dignities, embraced the heresy, the customs of the Iconoclasts. Sayings of Christ, the apostles, and the prophets, brought forth against them. XVII. Crimes objected to the orthodox by the Iconoclasts. On the synod, or pseudo-synod, of Copronymus. XVIII. An exposition of the orthodox faith. On God, one and three. ^C XIX. On Christ. XX. On Christ, or more fully on the mystery of the incarnate Word. XXI. On the two natures in Christ, and on the hypostatic union. XXII. That there are two wills in Christ, and two diverse operations. XXIII. On the double adoration; on the cult of images; on the object of the crime of idolatry. XXIV. Who the idolaters are. That the Iconoclasts are enemies of God. Sayings of the prophets brought forth against the enemies of God. XXV. The impiety of bishops and priests amplified through prosopopoeia. On the second Nicene synod. XXVI. Argument ^D against the Iconoclasts taken from those words which were recited in the Liturgy: *Cum nos ab errore idolorum revocasset*, etc., that is, "When He had recalled us from the error of idols," etc. XXVII. On those words of the Iconoclasts, that unless Constantine (namely Copronymus) had liberated us from the insane cult of idols, Christ could in no way have brought salvation to us. That the Iconoclasts say and do contradictory things in the very celebration of the sacred mysteries. On the progress of the Christian religion from its very origin. XXVIII. If Christ was not able to liberate His Church from the cult of idols, what absurdities follow therefrom? XXIX. Argument against the Iconoclast priests, saying that they themselves were idolaters. XXX. That there are two kinds of idolaters: also that the cult of idols and the cult of images are different things. XXXI. That many gods are worshiped by idolaters, various in habit and figure; one by Christians. The diversity of sacrifices. XXXII. Another ironical illustration against the Iconoclasts, saying they had served idols. XXXIII. A double accusation devised by the Iconoclasts; the first against the image of Christ itself; the second against the Christians; that the Iconoclasts are worse than Jews and Greeks.

The second part of this Apologetic, in which it is proved from the sacred Scriptures that all nations have been liberated from the cult of idols by the virtue of Christ, and that the universal Church cannot err.

XXXIV. Whether the things which the Iconoclasts teach accord with the sacred Scriptures and prophetic sayings. The sayings of the prophets follow, in chronological order. XXXV. The words of David, and annotations upon them by the holy patriarch of CP. XXXVI. The words of Micah, Hosea, and Habakkuk, with an explanation and observations. XXXVII. The words of Zephaniah and Zechariah with an explanation and observations. XXXVIII. That Christians are very far from the cult of idols: what the faith of the martyrs, what the faith of the ascetics and anchorites was. XXXIX. On the gods of the gentiles and fabulous theology. That the superstitious cult of idols was abolished from the time Christ came into the world. XL. That Christ is worshiped by the orthodox: that His image is also worshiped: namely, that the body of Christ could be depicted, and was circumscript and passible. XLI. The words of Malachi and Isaiah, with explanations and observations. XLII. Observations on the words of Isaiah. XLIII. The words of Isaiah, with an explanation and observations. XLIV. Other words of Isaiah, with observations and an explanation. XLV. An explanation of the words of Isaiah. Other words of the same prophet. The words of the apostles Paul, John, and Peter, agreeing with the prophetic ones. XLVI. The words of Isaiah with an explanation and observations. XLVII. The words of Isaiah and the apostle Paul concerning the Church purified and sanctified by Christ, and its union with Christ. XLVIII. A digression on the Iconoclasts. Prophetic words, namely of Isaiah. XLIX. That it is false, which the Iconoclasts said, that His people were turned away and alienated from God. A refutation by dilemma. L. That the Iconoclasts act to despoil Christ of both His dignity and virtue. The words of the Iconoclasts compared with the evangelical ones. LI. That they also do injury to the Father and the Holy Spirit. The words of Jeremiah with an explanation and observations. LII. Other words of Jeremiah with an explanation and observations. LIII. How sweet the eloquia and promises of God are. LIV. The words of Ezekiel. LV. An explanation of the preceding prophecy, and observations upon it. Other words of the same prophet with an explanation and observations. LVI. Other words of Ezekiel with an explanation and observations. LVII. Other words of Ezekiel with explanations and observations.

^A LVIII. Concerning the prophet Daniel: his words, with an explanation and observations. LIX. Epilogue, or conclusion of the prophetic testimonies brought forward above. Excursion against the Iconoclasts. LX. How the very temples were profaned and defiled by the Iconoclasts: likewise the sacred vestments and vessels. LXI. That they spared not even the evangelical books themselves: what is the difference between pictures and scriptures, or between painted histories and those which are written. On the excellence and utility of painting. LXII. That the Iconoclasts are despisers and violators of the Gospel. LXIII. That they have declared war against both Christ and the saints. Prosopopoeia. That the Iconoclasts are worse than the Jews. LXIV. The Iconoclasts hate the image of Christ, just as the panther hates the likeness of man. A complaint or lamentation over the profanation of the temples.

^B Third part of the Apologetics. LXV. What reasons the Iconoclasts claim to have for destroying the images: these reasons are refuted. LXVI. The utility of images. Concerning the Mosaic Law. Concerning the grace which, by Christ’s agency, succeeded the Law. LXVII. The Law and grace compared with one another. That idolatry and grace cannot stand together. LXVIII. How much grace and truth excel the Law and its figures. Concerning the priesthood of Christ. Concerning the sacrifices instituted by Him. Concerning the tabernacle and its ceremonies. LXIX. The old tabernacle compared with the new. Concerning the mediator or minister. Concerning the high priest, the candlestick, the table, the bread, the sacrifice, the ark, and the propitiatory. Proemium of a fuller disputation concerning the Cherubim. LXX. ^C Concerning the golden Cherubim, fabricated by the command of God Himself, and placed upon the ark: that those idols were to be venerated, for many reasons. LXXI. That those things which are referred to God in some peculiar way, and pertain to His glory, are precious and to be venerated. Images of the Cherubim compared with images of Christ; that the use of images is most ancient, and coeval with the Church itself. How much the sacred rites of the new Law excel those of the Old Testament. LXXII. Concerning the temple of Solomon. Concerning the temple built after the Babylonian captivity. How great was the glory of each. LXXIII. That the glory of the temple and of the old sacred rites vanished from the time that truth succeeded the shadow. Christian temples compared with Jewish temples. LXXIV. How much the new sacred rites excel the old. That God was indignant with the Jews for neglecting the restoration of the temple; how much more so with the Iconoclasts, who overturn temples. ^D LXXV. If Christ taking on flesh did not help men, it must be that He either did not know, would not, or could not. LXXVI. That the first is absurd. LXXVII. Likewise the second, and the third. LXXVIII. That Christ knew, willed, and was able to save us. LXXIX. Concerning faith and unbelief. That the Christian faith is irreprehensible. LXXX. What things are truly impure and unclean. That images are not to be rejected on account of the unbelief and madness of the Iconoclasts. LXXXI. Concerning the obstinacy and hardness of the Iconoclasts. That eight hundred years have passed since the cult of images has flourished in the Church. LXXXII. Persons who lived throughout that time, were they idolaters? How absurd it is to say so. LXXXIII. Invective against the Iconoclasts. Epilogue of the whole work.

Preliminaries of the interpreter. Appendix to the previous book, or select sentences and rules of faith, excerpted from the sacred Scriptures and from the books of the holy Fathers. Prefixed is a proemium, in which [the author discusses] the rashness of the Iconoclasts concerning things pertaining to faith; the avoidance of empty questions; the excellence of faith, etc. Testimonies of the Scriptures of John, Paul, Isaiah, and of the holy Fathers, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Athanasius.

DISSERTATION ON THE LIFE, MORALS, DOCTRINE, AND WRITINGS OF CONSTANTINE COPRONYMUS, WHO WAS CALLED MAMONAS BY NICEPHORUS. An Antirrhetic book, or refutation of the inanities which the irreligious Mamonas ignorantly and impiously uttered against the saving incarnation of the Word of God, in L chapters. I. Proemium. That a twofold crime was objected to the orthodox by the Iconoclasts; first, that they served idols: second, that they painted the body of Christ, as if it were circumscribed. Concerning the first [we have] acted above: concerning the second, it will be acted upon in this and subsequent Antirrhetics. II. Invective against the Iconoclasts. III. That they hold the same opinions as Mane. IV. Likewise with Arius. V. That various heresies are renewed by them. VI. That the general councils have been rendered of no effect by them. VII. That their arguments are futile, and scarcely worthy of refutation, and that they confuse the terms *γραπτόν* (circumscribed) and *ἀπερίγραπτον* (uncircumscribed). VIII. Concerning the dogmatic book of which Mamonas is the author, in what order and by what method it was written. IX. Proemium of that book, where Mamonas catches at benevolence by feigned piety. X. Upon those words of Mamonas: "Our holy and catholic Church of God"; that the same Church is called catholic by him, and yet "idolic," or addicted to idols. Concerning Mamonas’s impiety and cruelty. XI. Upon those words of Mamonas: "So it confesses it has been handed down"; that ecclesiastical tradition is at once acknowledged and repudiated by him. XII. Upon those words of the same: "Not changed into flesh, etc.," that he begins to betray himself there as thinking wrongly of the incarnation of the Word. XIII. Upon those words of the same: "Although every image is known to be derived from some prototype"; that this does not cohere with the preceding [statements]. Concerning the malice of Mamonas, who is hastening to vomit his poison. XIV. Mamonas, having lied about himself being orthodox at the beginning; then, recognized by the filthiness of his own error, is compared to the Aesopic jackdaw stripped of its stolen feathers. XV. Upon those words of Mamonas: "Although it is of the same nature as that which is depicted, etc." That these things are no more to the point than the previous ones. That the image made by art is confused by Mamonas with the natural image. XVI. If the image is of the same essence or nature as the thing depicted, how many absurdities follow from that? XVII. Upon those words of Mamonas: "That the whole may be preserved, etc." That the image is not that which is in all respects the same as the prototype and differs from it in nothing. XVIII. That Mamonas does not even have the knowledge of the art of logic. That through ignorance he utterly overturns the notion of an image. XIX. Upon those words of Mamonas: "We ask of you how it can be that our Lord Jesus Christ (who, out of two natures, corporeal and incorporeal, is one person through an inconfused union), can be depicted," that is, portrayed. The solution of that question. XX. That Mamonas confuses the natures in Christ, although he says they are inconfused; that Christ, since He is simultaneously God and man, is simultaneously *γραπτὸς* and *ἄγραπτος*. XXI. Upon those words of Mamonas: "Since He also has another nature, the incorporeal, united to the flesh, etc." From the fact that the natures are united in Christ, it does not follow that the flesh is uncircumscribed; for the union is inconfused. XXII. If, because of the hypostatic union of the two natures in Christ, the flesh is uncircumscribed, just as the divinity itself [is]; therefore, because of the natural union of the three persons in God, the Father and the Spirit, the Holy Spirit...

^A must also be recognized as having been born, just as the Son. XXIII. To those words of Mamonas: "Since after that union it is an inseparable thing, etc.," [he replies that] he who alone depicts the image of the flesh does not attribute a personal property to the flesh, nor add a fourth to the Trinity. XXIV. Mamonas's words: "That is, characterizing the person, and positing that Christ is merely a creature, and that the divine nature is not in him." Refutation of the words. That Christ himself imprinted the divine lineaments of his face upon the shroud. That the Iconoclasts are imitators of the Jews. XXV. Regarding the orthodox doctrine of the mystery of the incarnation. Against those who say that the body of the blessed Virgin was uncircumscribed at the time when Christ was conceived. A dilemma. XXVI. The opinion of the Aphthartodocetae, who say that the flesh assumed by Christ was incorruptible. Whether, if Christ's body was uncircumscribed, he either had it from the blessed Virgin or communicated it to the blessed Virgin. XXVII. He who denies that Christ is circumscribed, also denies that he is man: he who depicts the body of a man does not separate the body from the soul. Concerning the sculpted images of Copronymus, and others. An invective against him. That he wished his own effigy to be adored. Definition of the archetype. Definition of the image. XXIX. Definition of an idol. XXX. An image has a relation to the archetype, and differs from it in essence. He who mocks the image, mocks [the subject] as well in the archetype. XXXI. Etymology of the word EIKON, which signifies an image. That the image of Christ is something else than Christ. Also, that these differ—to be similar is one thing, and to be the same is another: also, to be one thing ^B and another thing. XXXII. To those words of Mamonas: "He separates from the united divine Word, etc." He who depicts Christ separates the natures in thought alone, not in actuality or in reality. XXXIII. To those words of Mamonas: "But if he is not separated, then he is circumscribed at the same time." That the divine Word, since its nature is uncircumscribed, cannot be circumscribed at the same time by circumscribed flesh. Concerning the archetype and the image. XXXIV. Concerning the Christolytes. If the art of painters separates the divinity of Christ from the flesh, it must be more powerful than death itself. A digression into Copronymus. XXXV. That the divine Word did not suffer injury through the violated flesh, nor circumscription through the depicted flesh. XXXVI. With what words a painter should address an Iconoclast. XXXVII. That the divine Word is not circumscribed by circumscribed flesh, is proven by the examples of a solar ray; also of a depicted solar orb; also of glowing iron, from which it is derived. XXXVIII. To those words of Mamonas: "For it is impossible for [there] to be an image which does not declare the form or character of the prototype person, etc." Mamonas posits that Christ is devoid of person, form, and character. There are two forms in Christ. Testimonies of the saints Paul and Peter. Concerning Eusebius, who held an erroneous opinion. XXXIX. To those words of Mamonas: "For it cannot be that in him who consists of two natures in one person, etc." If there are two natures in Christ, each nature has its own properties: if therefore the divinity is uncircumscribed, the humanity is circumscribed. XL. Mamonas, like Apollinarius, appears ^C to acknowledge one nature in Christ. XLI. To those words of Mamonas: "But either the divinity is circumscribed at the same time in the image, insofar as Christ is one person from two natures, or, etc." That the divine Word is not only not circumscribed by circumscribed flesh; but was not even circumscribed when he was in the flesh. Testimonies from the Holy Scriptures. In God, substance does not differ from operation. XLII. If Christ is composite, it is necessary also that he be circumscribed. That the divine Word, with circumscribed flesh, is not circumscribed: this is proven by the examples of a golden seal and of fiery wheels, which are depicted with Cherubim. XLIII. To those words of Mamonas: "But he who made that image says that it is an image of Christ, etc." He who makes an image and says it is of Christ, knows that different things are signified by the name of Christ, and, since there are two significations, he uses only the one. XLIV. When Paul says: "But we preach Christ crucified," he does not say, nor suppose, that the Word himself is crucified. Other testimonies, from which it is clear that the name of Christ is often accepted for one nature. XLV. To those words of Mamonas: "And how does the name of God and man, signifying the divine nature and the human, etc." It is not necessary that things said of Christ be accepted regarding both natures. In the Gospel, Christ is at one time called man, at another God or the Son of God. XLVI. That one must not linger on mere words. For often there occurs an enallage or permutation of terms; as when it is said: "If you see the Son of man ascending where he was before." XLVII. That it happens through the mode of ^D *antidosis* or *oikeiosis* that each nature in Christ communicates its own properties to the other, and that the Word adopts those things which are specific to the flesh. Testimonies of the saints Peter, Paul, Cyril, Amphilochius, Gregory of Nyssa. — Also concerning the images of Christ. XLVIII. If the Iconoclasts were to think rightly about the incarnation of Christ, they would not confound the natures in Christ, and the properties and operations of the natures. XLIX. Concerning the divine operations; that they do not differ from essence. Concerning the operation of Christ, that is, the human; that it is finite and circumscribed. Concerning the dual faculty of Christ, divine and human: that his will is likewise dual, yet the human [is] not contrary to the divine. L. Dual knowledge in Christ: as God, he knows all things, even before he was born as a man: as man, he was ignorant of some things. Testimonies from the Gospel. Other things also are dual in Christ, because of the two natures. Therefore nothing prevents him from being circumscribed and uncircumscribed in the same person.

Brief preface of the interpreter to the second Antirrheticus

ANTIRRHETICUS II, IN TWENTY CHAPTERS.

Proem. — I. To those words of Mamonas: "We have decided, however, to ask you also about another head, etc." An invective against Mamonas. That he makes himself wiser than the doctors of the Church and those princes who ruled justly and piously before him. II. To those words of Mamonas: "That one [reduced] from two into one person, etc." From the very fact that he posits one of the natures as uncircumscribed, he imprudently and unwillingly admits that the other is circumscribed. III. To those words of Mamonas: "Through his divinity he had foreknown him, etc." That Mamonas is so stupid that he does not understand that the image of Christ is a monument of the incarnation (k). Refutation of those things which Mamonas taught concerning the body of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Concerning the Apology which Mamonas uses for himself. IV. To those words of Mamonas: "For if we persuade you that we speak rightly concerning this one image, etc." What those things are which he professes he will say concerning the images of the saints and the blessed Virgin. That he is unwilling for the blessed Virgin to be called *Theotokos*, that is, Mother of God, and that he rejects her intercession. V. Concerning the veneration of the saints. A digression into Mamonas's impiety. VI. Concerning the temples and sacred relics profaned by him. VII. Concerning Angels (l), that they are uncircumscribed, but not in all respects; that it is lawful and pious for them to be depicted and represented. VIII. Concerning the Cherubim (m), whom God himself commanded to be depicted. IX. Concerning the apparitions of angels, and other visions of that kind.

X. Concerning the angels who appeared to the women around Christ's sepulcher; that they were depicted as they were seen. Concerning the honor due to angels. Through them our prayers are offered to God. XI. That the Iconoclasts do not know what a painting is, what circumscription is, what *graphē* is, and what *perigraphē* is: but these must not be confused. XII. What *graphē* or painting is, and *perigraphē* or circumscription. XIII. That Christ is circumscribed in three ways: that *graphē* and *perigraphē* are not the same thing. XIV. An enumeration of various things which, although they are circumscribed, cannot nevertheless be painted. XV. That those who paint virtues do not paint properly, but feign them. The folly of the Iconoclasts, who determine that *graphein* and *perigraphein* are the same, and think otherwise than he himself [Asterius] thinks, whose authority they use, and whom they contend to be the true Asterius. XVI. The testimony of the true Asterius. That the holy Fathers never used *perigraphein*, or *perigraphē*, or *perigraphikē*, or *zōgraphos*, or *zōgraphein* in place of *graphein*. XVII. That Christ possessed a circumscribed body as long as He lived: likewise when He ascended into the heavens: and with such a body He is to come again to judge the living and the dead. XVIII. That Christ, while He lived, was not present corporally in two places at once; nor is He present to us corporally even now, while He is in heaven. If He was *ensōmatos*, that is, incarnate, He was also in a place and circumscribed. XIX. That those who deny that Christ was circumscribed are implicated in the error of the Docetae. The opinion of the Docetae concerning Christ crucified. When Christ is depicted, He is not circumscribed, but painted, and that not insofar as He is God, but insofar as He is man. If He was incarnate, He was also circumscribed. XX. If, on account of the hypostasis, which is one in Christ, the body of Christ were uncircumscribed, it would for that same reason also be invisible and incomprehensible, and could neither be touched nor eaten. Concerning the body of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist; that it is that very body, not an image.

Preface of the translator to the third Antirrheticus.

ANTIRRHETICUS III. CONTAINS LXXXIV CHAPTERS.

The *Antirrheticus* was not published at the same time as the others; for it contains many things already set forth in the preceding pages.

Proemium. That the Iconoclasts foolishly ask whence it has been handed down that images should be honored. I. Just as the Iconoclasts, adhering to tradition, adore the evangelical books and the cross, so the orthodox, following tradition, venerate images. In things that pertain to God, one must not argue, but believe. II. Concerning faith and incredulity. The orthodox honor faith. III. That the use of painting is coeval with the preaching of the Gospel itself; that painting is a certain kind of writing, necessary for the instruction of the simple and the unlearned. IV. The utility of painting, through which the memory of those things which Christ either did or suffered is renewed. Comparing evangelical writings with historical paintings of evangelical events. V. The accounts themselves are nothing other than images of things; paintings add light and force to the accounts. Concerning ancient books, in which images were joined to the accounts. Historical paintings are worth as much as historical accounts; the testimony of the eyes is greater than that of the ears. Evangelical history, expressed in images, is nothing other than the Gospel itself. VI. Concerning the bronze statue which the woman freed from the issue of blood erected to Christ. What Asterius says of that matter in the *Encomium* of that woman. That the Iconoclasts are to be numbered not among Christians, but among Jews. VII. Concerning unwritten tradition. Christ did not write His own laws, but wished them to be inscribed in hearts. The testimony of the evangelist Luke. Many things are observed in the Churches which rest on usage and tradition, not on scripture. An enumeration of various traditions. VIII. Concerning law and custom. Tradition, that is to say, usage, is venerable even to grammarians themselves. Various testimonies concerning tradition, from the Gospel, from the Epistles of Paul, from Chrysostom, from Basil the Great, and from the writing of Epiphanius, *Concerning those things offered for the sake of the departed*. That law and custom are of the same value. IX. Against those who say: What law commands the image of Christ to be adored? X. Concerning the different kinds of adoration. XI. Concerning the image of Caesar. XII. Concerning the fact that the very images of the emperors are venerable. XIII. That the impious Iconoclasts are more demented than the Jews themselves, who have shaken off the sovereignty of Christ. XIV. That the same men are more senseless than the Persians, and more contumacious than Herod. XV. An example concerning those who adore and those who spit upon the image of Christ. XVI. The story of Saint Mary of Egypt. XVII. The story of the image of Polemon. XVIII. The words of Saint Basil. XIX. That the Son, or Word, is called the image of the Father because He does not in the least differ in hypostasis. XX. That even a sensible image retains a likeness to the form of Christ. XXI. What an image is, and according to what an *eikōn* is said to be? A division. XXII. That an artificial image, by reason of species and form, is called by the same name as the prototype. XXIII. Concerning the image, the words of Saint Gregory the Theologian. XXIV. The words of Saint Cyril. XXV. The words of Saint Dionysius. XXVI. The words of Clement of Alexandria, from his treatise *On the Pascha*. XXVII. That the prophet Samuel also was an image of Christ. XXVIII. Concerning the detestable superstitions of the Greeks. XXIX. That simplicity and that which lacks composition are mystically depicted: therefore Christ, since He is a composite person, can be depicted compositely and materially. XXX. That the holy Fathers and sacred synods took care that temples be adorned with images by stated deeds. XXXI. That the Son is called the image of the Father, since He has a hypostasis not differing in nature. We, however, are called children of God by adoption and grace, having such a likeness to Him who is the Son by nature and power, as images have with their prototypes. XXXII. The impious Iconoclasts defraud themselves of the adoption by which it happens that they are adopted through holy baptism. XXXIII. Removing the passion of Christ, they simultaneously remove the cross itself. XXXIV. How the impious reject the figure of the sanctifying Christ, but honor the sanctified figure of the cross. XXXV. Ten syllogisms; by how much Christ is more precious than His own cross, by so much the image of Christ is more precious than the image of the cross itself. XXXVI. That those very precious woods are trampled underfoot by them, and phylacteries fashioned from gold and silver are donned. XXXVII. Against those who forbid images to be woven into sacred vestments. XXXVIII. Against those who say that Christ is not circumscribed after the resurrection. XXXIX. Against those who say: If that which was mortal and corruptible has been changed, why not also that which was circumscribed? XL. What that means, "You shall not make a likeness of any thing," etc. XLI. Against those who say: By what law is it commanded that a likeness of God be made? XLII. Concerning Abgar and the image of Christ not made by hands. XLIII. Concerning the king of the Persians, who, having sent a painter, wished to see the image of Christ, born in the city of Bethlehem, and of the holy Virgin Mother. XLIV. That images are abolished by the Manichaeans and by the Arians. XLV. Concerning those who equate images of birds and beasts woven into sacred vestments with the images of Christ and the saints. XLVI. Concerning those who [seek] a demonstration…

by which it is shown that Christians retain the form and name of Christ by derivation—that is, derived from Christ as from a fountain. XLVII. Example: two sons of one father. XLIX. What can the adversaries say about the most holy Virgin, the Mother of God, and about the saints? Do they also consist of divinity and humanity? L. Both formerly in their bodies, and now in images, the holy martyrs endure persecution and struggle along with Christ. LI. Concerning the contests of the holy martyrs. LII. That they were martyrs when they lived, and that they are still martyrs through their images. LIII. The iconoclasts despise the intercessions of the saints and overturn their venerable temples. LIV. Temples and images of the saints possess the same name and grace as they do. LV. That those who do these things labor under the impiety of Marcion and Manes. LVI. That the impious iconoclasts have renounced the Christian faith entirely and are alienated from it. LVII. That true things are indicated by images, and thus the iconoclasts abolish the memory of Christ and the saints. LVIII. What that is: "Let us make man according to our likeness." LIX. Our priests express the likeness of the celestial orders and hierarchies. LX. Why the Son, the same as the Word, is honored as the image of the Father, ^B but the image of the Son is held up to mockery on account of the Son. LXI. That the insignia of Christ and the saints are utterly despised by the iconoclasts. LXII. Who the impious iconoclasts are and to what discipline they belong. LXIII. Who they are whose god is their belly. LXIV. About those who proclaim the impious Mammon [Constantine] blessed. LXV. About the calamities and deadly slaughter which occurred in infinite numbers during his time. LXVI. That the stars of heaven, not bearing the injury done to Christ, fell from heaven, as at the time of the passion. LXVII. About the famine, the rebellions against Mammon, and the incursions and plundering of nations. LXVIII. That this heresy was suppressed by the labors of the pious Empress Irene. LXIX. That those wandering errors, seeking a religion for themselves, found the superstition of the Manichaeans. LXX. ^C About those who say that Mammon was therefore long-lived because he had been insolent toward God. LXXI. That Mammon, when he was dying, recognized the thresholds of the appointed hell. LXXII. About his military expeditions. LXXIII. That impious and atheistic emperors have lived long and fortunate lives. LXXIV. About the kings of Israel and Judah. LXXV. About the cruelty of Mammon. LXXVI. How he caviled at the passion of Christ and the martyrs. LXXVII. How he compelled monks to put off the venerable and apostolic habit, and called them (a term omitted). LXXVIII. About the excellent deeds and moderation of the faithful emperors. LXXIX. A narrative about the Emperor Theodosius the Great and the monk who performed a miracle with the staff and veil removed from his own neck. LXXX. That monks were joined to women by Mammon. LXXXI. About the pious emperors whose lives were both prosperous and long. LXXXII. That from the very age of Christ, the Church and its dogmas have been ^D retained unharmed, down to the times of Mammon the apostate. LXXXIII. That the heresy of the iconoclasts is not imperial, but a Jewish crime. LXXXIV. That this impiety having arisen from Jews and Saracens, clung to Leo and Constantine, impious princes.

Appendix to the books above, or LXXV testimonies of the holy Fathers concerning the question of whether Christ was circumscribed or not. A Proemium is prefixed, namely with proofs.

Passages proclaiming Christ to be circumscribed according to his humanity.

Passages proclaiming Christ to be perfect man just as he is perfect God.

Passages concerning the things after the resurrection of Christ.

An Antirrheticus, or refutation of those things which Eusebius and Epiphanides foolishly argued against the incarnation of our Savior Christ. This Antirrheticus has two parts: the first against Eusebius, the second against Epiphanides.

Disquisition on the life, character, doctrine, and writings of Eusebius.

ANTIRRHETICUS AGAINST THE IMPIOUS EUSEBIUS, IN XXVI CHAPTERS

^A by the transfiguration was deified, says Eusebius. XXI. That Eusebius entertains the same sentiment as Manes, Marcio, Marcianus, and the Massalians. XXII. That the human nature of Christ was changed and confused with the divine substance, is the opinion of Eusebius. XXIII. An argument taken from the fact that emperors and martyrs have long since been known by their likeness in an image. XXIV. That Christ is depicted according to a form similar to our own. XXV. Concerning baptism, and in what manner our old man has been crucified. XXVI. Eusebius says that the body of Christ was transformed and has already become immortal. XXVII. Arguments concerning mutation and conversion. XXVIII. What is substance in Christ, and what is [ἐνυπόστατον]. XXIX. That the human form is not circumscribed, and it is necessary to attribute passions to the divinity. XXX. Concerning the opinion of the Arians. XXXI. Concerning the error of the Docetæ. XXXII. That God the Word proceeded from the holy Virgin with an assumed human body. XXXIII. That the heretics of that sect hold contrary opinions, that Christ was deified in the Jordan, and was called the Son. XXXIV. That after the resurrection Christ was seen by men not immutable. XXXV. That natural and essential things are not changed. Concerning the prodigies performed by Moses. XXXVI. Concerning the divine incarnation. XXXVII. What is innovation of nature in the divine incarnation. XXXVIII. That the human nature has returned to its primordial beauty. XXXIX. That the incarnation of Christ is totally denied by Eusebius. XL. That one reason is regarded in God, another in the incarnation. XLI. That even our bodies are not changed after the resurrection. XLII. Against the opinion of Manes. XLIII. In what way Eusebius calls form an intellectual substance, such as that of the angels. XLIV. Eusebius and the Arians say the flesh of Christ is inanimate, and that, being intellectual, it is not depicted. XLV. Whether the priest Eusebius is to be named an enemy of Christ? XLVI. Against those who say that the divine mysteries of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist are an image of the body. XLVII. Against those who call true Christians idolaters. XLVIII. What an idol is, and to what extent it is called an idol, and in how many ways it is said. XLIX. Against those who establish that a mutation and alteration has taken place in Christ. L. The example of the sun, ^B concerning the inconfused union of the two natures of Christ. LI. What is: + "Thou shalt not make to thyself a likeness of anything that is in heaven above," etc. LII. That we Christians serve the vivifying Trinity and God. LIII. That God even commanded images of the incorporeal Cherubim to be made. LIV. That Joshua, the son of Nun, consecrated stones taken from the Jordan, having made them into columns. LV. That Isaiah predicts a column, that is, a statue, to the Lord in his temple. LVI. That the patriarch Jacob set up a column in the manner of a statue. LVII. That the custom of depicting the image of Christ was transmitted by the apostles themselves. LVIII. That Eusebius himself tells the history concerning the statue of the Lord and the woman. LIX. What is that saying: "For if we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no more." LX. Eusebius testifies that the image of Manes was carried about by the Manichaeans on a pole or spear, like the images of emperors on military standards. LXI. The argumentation of Eusebius from those words, "Blessed are the pure in heart," and the reply to it. LXII. Concerning the divine nature: that it is incomprehensible. LXIII. Concerning the testimonies which Mamonas brought forward for himself from Gregory of Nyssa, where he says: "And I say to Arius, and to Aetius." LXIV. Against Apollinaris. LXV. Testimonies of the Holy Fathers concerning the inconfused union and the individual hypostasis. LXVI. Against Eusebius, who established that Christ was changed and altered. LXVII. The words of Ambrose of Milan concerning anacrasis, or commixtion, and what that is. LXVIII. Concerning the perfect natures of Christ. LXIX. A dogmatic definition of form and person. LXX. Concerning the statue, and the herb grown upon it. LXXI. Concerning the apostles and James the brother of God, whose images were celebrated at Jerusalem by his disciples in the very earliest times. LXXII. Concerning Asterius. LXXIII. Concerning the statue of Christ, which Maximinus stole, but Julian the Apostate destroyed. LXXIV. Concerning the patriarch Jacob. LXXV. The words of Saint Gregory of Armenia. LXXVI. The followers of Eusebius say that he repented and was converted to the orthodox faith, which is false.

Index of quotations which are brought forward against Eusebius and Mamonas, namely from the books of the same, who were cited before.

Concerning the doctrine of the pseudonym Epiphanius, a dissertation. Contra Epiphanidem, in XXX chapters.

II. That Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, triumphed over all heresies in a book written against them. III. That the holy metropolitan of Side testifies that the epistle which is attributed to Epiphanius is supposititious. IV. Against the testament of Epiphanius. V. A definition or exposition of the dogma of Epiphanius. VI. Against those who say that an image of Christ and of the holy Mother of God is not to be made. VII. On that saying: "When he shall be manifested, we shall be like him." VIII. The words of Saint Epiphanius against the Collyridians, and concerning the women who were in Arabia. IX. How the angels are depicted, testimonies of the prophets. X. Concerning the opinion of the Acataleptetæ and the Aperigraptetæ. XI. Against those who say: Where did the Lord command an image to be made and worshipped? XII. Concerning Abgar and the image not made by hands, among the Elesseni and the Romans. XIII. Against those who say that that institution is from the evil spirit. XIV. Against those who say that idolatry was brought into the world again by the devil. XV. That the pseudonym Epiphanius is proven a liar from his own genealogy. XVI. That the pseudonym Epiphanius held the same views as Valentinus. XVII. Against those who say that men were drawn back again to idolatry by the devil; ^C XVIII. Against those who say: Who among the ancients painted the likeness of Christ? XIX. Against those who say that the apostles are painted as old men, but Christ as long-haired. XX. Against the same men who say: If Christ had long hair, why did the Jews attract Judas with thirty denarii to betray him? XXI. That the pseudonym Epiphanius was a follower of Marcion and Manes. XXII. Concerning the veils which he commanded to be given for the burial of the poor. XXIII. Against those who say that one ought to fast on the Sabbath, and who impiously affirm that the holy Mother of God was slain with a sword. XXIV. Saint Epiphanius proscribed all heresies. XXV. Concerning the epistle of Nilus. XXVI. Concerning the image of the holy protomartyr Thecla. XXVII. Concerning the heretic Leontius. XXVIII. Concerning Leontius of Cyprus, the orthodox. XXIX. That it is proven by many arguments that the pseudonym Epiphanius is distinct from the great Epiphanius. XXX. The opinion of the Arians, Manes, Apollinaris, Dioscorus, and the Acephali.

Index of heretical quotations which are subjoined to the Antirrhetic against Epiphanius. Eudoxius of Constantinople, Arian; Lucius, bishop of Alexandria, Arian; Manes; Apollinaris; Dioscorus; Timothy the presbyter.

VOLUME II. Preliminaries of the interpreter.

Preface concerning the things which are contained in this volume. — A dissertation concerning the second Council of Nicaea, and observations on the same. — A critical review of many works of various Holy Fathers, from which ^D

^A fragments were brought forward by the Iconoclasts against the holy images. — A preface to the works of Macarius Magnes. — Testimonies of recent writers concerning Macarius Magnes.

Testimonies of the ancients concerning Macarius Magnes, or the judgment of the orthodox prelates regarding the words of Macarius Magnes which the Iconoclasts had impiously usurped against sacred images.

Prooemium. That one must not rashly believe in any doctrine whatsoever, but only in that which is in agreement with the Holy Scriptures. Concerning the bad faith of the Iconoclasts who had sent truncated and mutilated testimonies, having scarcely indicated their authors, to be examined (by Saint Nicephorus). — Concerning the testimony taken from the *Apocriticus* of Macarius. — Concerning a most ancient manuscript codex in which the *Apocriticus* of Macarius was contained. — Concerning Macarius himself: whose he was, and at what time he lived. — Excerpts from the *Apocriticus* of Macarius, or from his dialogues with a Greek or pagan. — Saint Nicephorus shows that whatever Macarius discussed in those books concerning images does not pertain to images of Christ or the saints, but to the profane images of the gods of the Gentiles. — Brief preface of the interpreter.

^B Saint Nicephorus’s *Antirrheticus* book. Against those who have impiously dared to call the divine image an idol. — Item, what is

γραπτόν καὶ περιγραπτόν

Item, things to be observed which have been handed down by the Fathers: finally, a refutation of the testimonies which have been impiously usurped by the enemies of the Church.

Prooemium. That his purpose is to confirm the true doctrine, but to refute the errors of the adversaries. — That those things which have been handed down by the ancestors and confirmed by long usage are to be preserved. — That the orthodox rely upon a stable foundation; but heretics do not. — On the Church. — That the ways of the orthodox and the heretics are very different. — The character of the Iconoclasts. — The mystery of the Incarnation is abolished by the Iconoclasts. — Their cruelty. — ^C Cap. I. On the charge of idolatry brought against the orthodox. — The persecution stirred up against the orthodox; what outcome it had. — Cap. II. The Iconoclasts, after they had tried in vain to accuse the orthodox of idolatry, attack them by another way, and, having stirred up the controversy about the "circumscribed," they attack the mystery of the Incarnation and embrace the errors of Valentinus and others. — Cap. III. The Iconoclasts object to the orthodox those words of the Mosaic law: "Thou shalt not make any likeness," etc. — The solution to that objection. — That law, "Thou shalt not make any likeness," etc., was given to the Jews after the exodus from Egypt, so that they would not imitate the idolatry of the Egyptians. — That the things which are written in the Law pertain to the Jews, not to Christians. — The Law forbids images of being worshipped, namely, of quadrupeds and other creatures, but not of Christ. — The Iconoclasts do not establish any distinction between the image of Christ and the image of a creature, and consequently not between Christ and the creature. — Cap. IV. How far the crime of idolatry is from the orthodox. — That it was not permitted to the Jews to represent God, because they had not seen Him; but that it is permitted to Christians, because they have seen Him. — Cap. V. That it was forbidden by the Law that ^D *τῶν περιγείων* (earthly things) be made, but not *τῶν ἐπερανίων* (heavenly things). — On the tabernacle, the propitiatory, and the Cherubim. — Jewish images compared with those which Christians venerate. — The Iconoclasts themselves adore the cross, which is nothing other than an image of the passion of Christ. — Cap. VI. That the Iconoclasts have no regard for tradition and long-standing custom. — That the cult of images is most ancient. — That the Iconoclasts would have done better if they had read the writings of the Christians and the Holy Fathers, by whom these questions had already been examined. — Cap. VII. That the sayings of the Iconoclasts are so futile that they are not even worthy of being refuted. — That the cult of images, established by the authority of Christ, the apostles, and the whole Church, confirmed by tradition and long usage, is finally consonant with reason itself. — On the holy shroud. — On the incredulity of the Iconoclasts. — Cap. VIII. That the cult of images is not to be rejected just because it was not established by the Law. — Cap. IX. On the testimonies which the Iconoclasts use to build up their errors. — That they are like those fighting in the dark. — Cap. X. The testimony of Saint John Chrysostom produced by the Iconoclasts against images, from his Commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew. — That Saint Chrysostom appears in that place to condemn painting and the art of

πλαϊστική

A dissertation, of which there are two parts. The first concerning the pseudosynod of Copronymus. The second concerning general councils, and to whom the convening of a council belongs: and which one is called universal and ecumenical.

The *Antirrheticus* book, of which there are two parts. The first. Refutatio and overturning of the illegitimate and pseudonymous decree

^A which was promulgated by those who deserted the Catholic and Apostolic Church, and accommodated themselves to alien sentiments in order to overturn the incarnation of the divine Word.

Proem

Of the death of Leo the Armenian. By what arts Leo the Armenian began to disturb the peace of the Church. Of the synod which the same man convened against the images. That this synod was not canonically held. Of the authority of the Roman Pontiff neglected: of those excluded from communion who presided over the Church. Of the decision of that pseudosynod, which Nicephorus calls *horos aoriston* (an indeterminate limit). That the writings of the Iconomachs are indeed worthy of refutation, as being futile and raving. Of the emperors Leo the Isaurian and Constantine Copronymus, the authors of the heresy.

^B Cap. I. The beginning of the decision, or decree, by which the Copronymian synod is confirmed. Refutatio. That it is false, what the Iconomachs say, that that synod was convened by the emperors Leo and Constantine: for it was convened by Copronymus after the death of Leo. What deeds were performed by Leo the Isaurian so that he deposed the patriarch and intruded another in his place. Of Constantine Copronymus, how he gathered his pseudosynod. Invective against that synod.

Cap. II. Words of the Iconomachs taken from the aforementioned decision, which confirms the Copronymian council. Refutatio of those words, in so far as they deny that the use of painting Christ rests upon tradition. Of the image of Christ of Edessa, whose remains were still visible in the times of Nicephorus. That the worship of images is not useless. The Iconomachs confess that they worshiped images and were priests of idols. ^C Of the Copronymian council: that it was truly acephalous; for it was held while the Constantinopolitan see was vacant, and no new patriarch was created until the end of the council. That the worship of images is condemned by the Iconomachs with the intent that the memory of the incarnation might be erased. That images of Christ are painted for the purpose that his memory might be preserved and renewed. Other arguments, by which it is proved that the use of painting images is not useless.

Cap. III. Words of the Iconomachs from the same decision. Refutatio. Nicephorus denies that Christians served images as idols. That a thing is not evil on that account, because someone might abuse it.

Cap. IV. Words of the Iconomachs, taken from the same place. Refutatio. That what the Iconomachs maintain does not conform to the six ecumenical synods, especially with the sixth. That the worship of images is not on that account to be neglected, because that which is exhibited in spirit and truth is to be preferred to it. The true cause why the Iconomachs declared war on the images. Invective against the Iconomachs. That there were many pious emperors, yet none raged against the images. ^D That those who worship images the same worship God in spirit and truth. Of true adoration. That Christ’s body is entirely similar to ours, and that truly and in reality, not *doxei kai phantasia* (in appearance and fancy); and therefore it was both circumscribed and could be painted. Of the worship of the image of Christ; what is its goal, and how great are the benefits it possesses. But after these words: *“to lead the initiated through these to those of which they are symbols. Thence also they bring interpretations of the Gospel…”* one leaf is missing, perhaps more: the text resumes, however, from these words: *“as having worshiped those as gods. But the synod that pronounced the abolition of these,”* etc.

That the Copronymian synod is falsely called an emulator of the six ecumenical councils. Of the Nicene synod, of the Constantinopolitan, and of the Ephesian, and of the Chalcedonian. Of the sixth ecumenical synod. A comparison of the ancient canons, which the holy Fathers constituted as consonant with apostolic doctrine, with the canons of the Copronymian council. A canon concerning the sacred symbols of the saving incarnation of Christ.

Cap. V. Words of the Iconomachs from the decision. Refutatio. That the Iconomachs abuse the testimony of St. Gregory of Nyssa against the images.

Cap. VI. Words of the Iconomachs taken from the same place and pertaining to the aforementioned testimony of Gregory of Nyssa. Invective against the Iconomachs. That the Iconomachs use the testimonies of heretics, such as Eusebius the Arian; but they neglect the sacred Scriptures. That not even Christ himself despised the image of Caesar, of an idolatrous and pagan man. That the opinion of the Iconomachs concerning the images is far different from the doctrine of the holy Fathers. Invective.

Cap. VII. Words of the Iconomachs from the decision. Refutatio. That it is most false, what the Iconomachs assert, that the Church was tranquil from the time that Copronymus held his synod. Of the most atrocious persecution which followed the Copronymian synod. What disasters, God being angry, followed. Earthquakes, ice, plague, aerial terrors.

Cap. VIII. Words of the Iconomachs. Invective against those whom the Iconomachs call men; praise of the woman Empress Irene, whom they despise; how much that feminine simplicity was beneficial to all. A historical narrative of those things which preceded the second Nicene synod, and gave the occasion for its being convened. Of the secession of Paul, the patriarch. Of Tarasius, the patriarch. Of the second Nicene synod. A comparison of this synod with the Copronymian.

Cap. IX and X. Words of the Iconomachs. That the bishops who were present at that synod were the teachers of these men, and they anointed those by whom they are despised. Invective against the Iconomach bishops. Praise of the bishops who were present at the second Nicene council. Praise of the Empress Irene. After these words: *“Let another of the prophets invite, and let yet another, lamenting, wail. I planted you,”* a leaf or some other thing is missing; the text resumes, however, from these words: *“Having the high-mindedness of those, as a fragile pot being struck by the sturdiness of the noble ones, as it were by a cauldron, [having] the break upon themselves,”* etc.

Cap. XI. Words of the Iconomachs. Refutatio. That the Iconomachs think the same as the Manichaeans and Arians. Of the worship of images.

Cap. XII. Words of the Iconomachs. Apology for the images.

Cap. XIII. Words of the Iconomachs. Refutatio. Why should not that honor be attributed to images, which Copronymus displayed to horses and horsemen? How great was the insanity of Copronymus concerning equestrian pomps. Copronymus followed horses anointed with ointments in public, with clerics carrying torches and sacred vessels before them.

Cap. XIV. Words of the Iconomachs. Refutatio. Neither is God circumscribed by a circumscribed body, nor is the divinity separated from the flesh. Examples: the solar body, and the ray of the sun.

Cap. XV. Other words of the Iconomachs. Refutatio. Concerning the difference of *graphis* (painting/description) and *perigraphe* (circumscription). These same things are discussed elsewhere more fully by the same Nicephorus in the former *Antirrheticus* works. What authors the Iconomachs follow. The opinions of Valentinus, Marcion, Marcianus, Manes, Eusebius, and Epiphanides. Twenty testimonies, by which the true doctrine concerning the circumscript is established.

Cap. XVI. Words of the Iconomachs. Refutatio. That the Iconomachs assent to the errors of Epiphanides, the Manichaean, and the Docetae. That the image of Christ is not pseudonymous, but true: that every image is similar to the archetype, and has a relation to it. Etymology of the word *eikon*.

Cap. XVII. Words of the Iconomachs. Refutatio. The Iconomachs condemn themselves.

(1) The pseudo-synod in this book, convened by Leo the Armenian, by which the second Nicene council was abrogated, but the Copronymian synod was confirmed.

^A

Chapter XVIII. Words of the Iconoclasts.

Chapter XIX. Words of the Iconoclasts, Refutation.

Chapter XX. Words of the Iconoclasts. Refutation.

Chapter XXI. Words of the Iconoclasts. Refutation.

Part Two of the Antirrheticus.

Refutation of the testimonies, which the Iconoclasts brought forward against images. — I. Testimony taken from the Apostolic Constitutions. Refutation, in which is the testimony of Evagrius for images. — II. Testimony of Asterius, Bishop of Amasea, against images. From his oration *On the Rich Man and Lazarus*. — Refutation, in which is the testimony from the same oration for images. Also an *Encomium of the Woman who, delivered from the flow of blood, erected a statue to Christ*, by the same Asterius as author. Testimony of Antipater of Bostra concerning the same woman. Testimony of Eusebius of Caesarea concerning the same matter. — III. Testimony of Leontius against images. ^D Refutation, in which is the testimony of the true Leontius, Bishop of Neapolis in Cyprus, for images, taken from his *Apologetic for Christians against the Jews*. — IV. Testimony of Theodore Galates against images. Refutation, in which is the testimony of the same for images, from his oration *In Praise of the Virgin Mother of God*. Various testimonies for images, against the false testimony of Theodotus. Testimony of Asterius for images, from his oration *In Praise of Euphemia*, or rather an *Ecphrasis of the Tablet*, in which Euphemia was depicted. — V. Other words of false Theodotus against images. Refutation, in which is the testimony of Saint Basil for images. — VI. Other words of the Pseudonymous Theodotus. Refutation, in which is the testimony of Gregory (Nazianzen) concerning the image of the philosopher Polemon. Testimony of Gregory of Nyssa for images. Also of Basil the Great. Also of John Chrysostom. — VII. Other words of the Pseudonymous Theodotus. — VIII. Testimony of the Pseudonymous Basil of Seleucia against images. Refutation, in which is the testimony of the true Basil of Seleucia for images, from his *Epistle to the Emperor Leo*. — IX. Testimony of Amphilochius of Iconium against images, from his *Encomium of Basil the Great*. Refutation, in which the words of the same Amphilochius are brought forward from the same *Encomium*. Testimony of Saint Chrysostom to illustrate the opinion of Amphilochius. — X. Continuation of the Amphilochian testimony. Observations of Nicephorus on the testimony of Amphilochius. Concerning the excellence of painting. — XI. Testimony of Basil the Great against images, from his oration *On the Creation of Man*. Refutation, in which is the testimony of the same Basil the Great for images, from his epistle *To Amphilochius*, pontiff of Iconium. — XII. Testimony of Gregory of Nyssa against images. Refutation, in which are testimonies of the Fathers—Gregory Nazianzen, Gregory of Nyssa, Epiphanius, Saint John Chrysostom—for images. — XIII. Testimony of Gregory Nazianzen against images from a certain poem of his. Refutation, or rather an explanation of that testimony. — XIV. Testimony of Saint Chrysostom, from the *Encomium of the Martyr Romanus*, against images. — Explanation of that testimony. — XV. Another testimony of the same from the oration *In Praise of Abraham*, likewise against images. Explanation of that testimony. — XVI. Another testimony of the same, from the oration *On the Keeper of the Prison*. Explanation of that testimony. — XVII. Testimony of Epiphanius against images, from his testament. — Refutation of that testimony. — XVIII. Testimony of the same against images, from the oration which is inscribed *Against those who strive to make images in the manner of idols in the likeness of Christ, and of the Virgin Mother of God, as also of martyrs, angels, and prophets*. — Refutation. — XIX. Testimony of the same from his epistle to Theodosius, against images. — Refutation. — XX. Testimony of the same, from his epistle to John, Bishop of Allia, against images. — Refutation. — Twelve arguments by which it is proven that those testimonies which have been brought forward by the Iconoclasts are not of the true Epiphanius.

Works of Saint Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, formerly edited.

General preface of the interpreter. — The Constantinopolitan Synod under Nicephorus, in which he received into the priesthood Joseph, whom the deceased Tarasius had deposed on account of the incestuous marriage unions of the Emperor Constantine, the son of Irene. — The Constantinopolitan Council held against Antonius, the metropolitan of Silae, by Saint Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, and 270 bishops. — Canons of Saint Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, collected from the ecclesiastical constitutions of himself and the Holy Fathers gathered with him. — From the canons of Nicephorus, most holy ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, from his own ecclesiastical constitutions, 17 canons. — The canonical epistle of our Holy Father Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople and confessor. — Epistle of Nicephorus, in which he sets forth at length his confession of faith in the year 802 to Pope Leo; whose title is: "To Pope Leo, brother and co-minister of ancient Rome, in all things most holy and most blessed, Nicephorus, by the mercy of God Bishop of Constantinople, greeting in the Lord." — The *Tripartite Chronology* according to the reckoning of the Greeks, formerly translated into Latin by Anastasius the Librarian; explained by Joachim Camerarius. The same, amended and illustrated with notes by Antonius Contius. And finally, under the title of *Short Chronography*, published as reviewed for various editions, and enriched with chronological tables and annotations, at Paris in the year 1652, by the care and study of the Reverend Father Jacob Goar, of the Order of Preachers. — *Historical Breviary* of Saint Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, concerning the events from the death of Maurice until Constantine Copronymus, first brought to light and translated into Latin by the work and...

by the study of Dionysius Petavius of the Society of Jesus, with his own chronological notes. Paris, 1616; and from the Royal Press, 1648.

Doubtful works of S. Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople

Interpretations of dreams according to alphabetical order, in iambic verse. Edited by Nicolaus Rigaltius after the *Oneirocriticon* of Astrampsychus, in the same volume as the *Oneirocriticon* of Artemidorus. In quarto, Lutetia [Paris], from the workshop of Claudius Morellus, 1603.

Macarius Magnes, or concerning Macarius Magnes, by a very ancient author, with testimonies of the ancients and the moderns. Also, excerpts from his same books, mostly now for the first time drawn from manuscript codices.

An index of those things which are contained in this little book: 1. Preface of Joannes Boivin, on Macarius Magnes and his works. 2. Testimonies of Photius concerning Macarius Magnes, Bishop of the Magnetes. 3. On the words of Macarius Magnes which the Iconoclasts uttered against sacred images. A disputation of orthodox bishops, containing many things excerpted from his same *Apocriticus* books. 4. Testimonies of the moderns. Also, fragments of the *Apocriticus* books, edited by Turrianus and certain other moderns. 5. Fragments of a commentary of the same Macarius Magnes on Genesis, taken from a manuscript codex of the most eminent Cardinal Ottoboni.

So far, an overview of the works of S. Nicephorus of Constantinople, formerly to be published collectively by Anselm Banduri.

THE LIFE OF S. NICEPHORUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

PRELIMINARY COMMENTARY

^A 1. This day is celebrated for the veneration of Saint Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, among both Latins and Greeks; concerning whom the Tables of the Roman Martyrology have this: “At Constantinople, Saint Nicephorus, Bishop, who, as a most fierce champion of the traditions of the fathers, persistently opposed the iconoclast Emperor Leo the Armenian regarding the veneration of holy images; for which he was punished with exile, and there, leading a long martyrdom for fourteen years, he migrated to the Lord.” Molanus, Felicius, Canisius, Ghius, and others treat of the same. This day is, moreover, as is read below in the later Acts, remarkable for a double event: that on this day he was cast into exile, but most especially that his sacred body was brought back to Constantinople and, by the hands of Saint Methodius, was placed in the most celebrated temple of the Apostles, in a newly constructed tomb, on the third day before the Ides of March. The Greeks, in their Menæa, both printed and hand-written, celebrate on this day this same translation of his body, with an encomium taken from the same Acts. But his primary solemnity is performed on the second day of June, on which he, as an exile, was stripped of this mortal life and migrated gloriously to immortal and eternal beatitude. These things, which the Greeks then present in a long and illustrious Encomium and sing of in various odes and hymns, are contained in the former Acts. Following the example of the Greeks, it is referred to the same day by Molanus in his *Auctarium Usuardi* and by Ferrarius in his *Catalogus generalis*.

2. The Acts, as we have said, we provide in duplicate; previously unpublished ^B ones were written by Ignatius, according to Suidas, a deacon and keeper of the vessels of the Great Church of Constantinople, later made Metropolitan of Nicaea, a grammarian. “This man,” the same Suidas adds, “wrote the Lives of Tarasius and Nicephorus, the holy and blessed patriarchs,” and many other things, as we ^C have said. ^D February for the Life of Saint Tarasius, in which he asserts that he had been his disciple exercised in the art of poetry and the composing of verses, that he had copied his sacred sermons into a book with a swift pen, and that he finally stood by him as he was dying. Nicephorus succeeded Saint Tarasius, whom Ignatius calls his father, and acknowledges himself as his son toward the beginning of his Life; and again toward the end, out of singular veneration, he pours out all the feelings of his inner soul, and laments that he had at one time been attracted into the error of heresy, and indicates that he was led back to the path of truth by his patronage and example. Some things concerning this are contained in the letter of the interpreter to be given shortly. However, we provide these same Acts in our own manner, divided into chapters and numbers, and we illustrate them with more abundant notations from ancient writers. The later Acts were written by Theophanes, priest and superior, in which those things which pertain to his life and exile are touched upon in a few words, because they had been accurately narrated by the aforementioned Ignatius; but as to what was done afterward in the solemn translation of the body, a contemporary author relates it, as we gather from the epilogue, where he approaches the ark of the translated body with longing, and invokes his aid, so that the holy Church might be able to persevere in the tranquility which it had then obtained under Saint Methodius. We have provided on the 12th of March the Acts of Saint Theophanes, also a priest and superior, indeed an illustrious writer, but who died about the year 720, at which time we have said Nicephorus was living in exile. This, therefore, is a different Theophanes, our own, and somewhat younger, whose Greek lucubration concerning Saint Nicephorus Aloysius Lipomanus found in the Venetian library, and Peter Francisco Zino translated into Latin and published in his eighth volume.

3. Saint Nicephorus was born after the Council of Copronymus around the year 758, ordained patriarch on the 12th of April, on the very day of Easter in the year 806; he presided over his Church for nine years, minus one month, sent into exile on the 13th of March in the year 815: he lived in exile for thirteen years, and having died in holiness on the second of June in the fourteenth year of his exile, in the year 828: his body was brought back from exile in the year 846. All these things are established below from the Acts themselves. Philipp Labbe, among others, enumerates the books written by him in his *Dissertation on Ecclesiastical Writers*, which the curious reader should consult: many things from the Confession of faith sent to Pope Leo, as well as from his treatises against the Iconoclasts, are referred to below in the Acts. The great Theodore the Studite was a close friend of Saint Nicephorus, whose letter sent to him in exile we give here: and it is of this kind:

4. ^A “Although I have often intended to write to the summit of your blessedness, I desisted from the undertaking, partly out of a consideration of my own worthlessness, and partly hindered by the infirmity born of hardships. But now, regarding both as of little account, and relying on the Trinity, miserable as I am, I say these things: Rejoice, you who are truly the victor of impiety, who complete the course of faith with a four-horse chariot of virtues. Hail, great sun of orthodox doctrine, by the rays of whose confession the entire world is illuminated. Hail, champion of truth, shining like the ancient saints with the beauty of virtue. You left the high throne for the sake of Him who humbled Himself even to death, even the death of the cross. You left behind the ministries and delights of the archbishopric, and preferred to be exercised in the manner of confessors through various hardships, rather than to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin. And indeed, what wonder, if you lived among them, yet mortifying your members through a life lived in Christ, you endured the deprivation of your holy mother, dear to all the brethren, yet despoiled of all things at once. I do not yet mention your reproaches that are similar to the reproaches of Christ, the assaults, vexations, straits and, as it were, suffocations unleashed by the emperors. You were led off with Christ at night: for having been betrayed, you yourself were also relegated, driven into the confines of the hills, O martyr of Christ. But bravo, how all things turn out for your good! Lift your eyes from the watchtower of your mind to the world, and look upon your children, or if you prefer, O good shepherd, your sheep, although dispersed in body, yet united in spirit, occupying almost your entire Church in various places, and by the radiance of your confession, like stars, showing the light of the orthodox faith to those who wander in the nocturnal darkness of heresy: some indeed sacrificed to God through an athletic consummation; others struggling without any fear of present things, but strengthened by your prayers that sway God. This is the glory of your Church: this is the badge and symbol of martyrdom, which the following age, receiving, will glorify God in you, as it does now. Many encomia will be spoken for you, who fought for the image of Christ. But forgive me, imitator of God, ^B granting your prayers; that I may not cease to be your tiny son, who am most useless of all on account of my sins.” These things Saint Theodore the Studite wrote to Nicephorus.

We place this letter of the Reverend Father François Combefis, of the Order of Preachers, sent to us at Paris at the Annunciation of Holy Mary, before the Acts of Saint Nicephorus, about to proceed.

5. Prompted by your labors, it seemed to me, as I looked upon the triple great volume of February, that I should strive to contribute something of useful in the way of work for the awaited March; and if anything had been stored up for me from the Acts of the saints that you lacked, I should provide it with a more willing spirit for the benefit of the Christian cause and for the spreading of the glory of Christ and the saints. There occurs, first of all, the life and struggle of the most holy confessor, archbishop and patriarch of the city of Constantinople, Nicephorus, by Ignatius, deacon of the Great Church and keeper of the vessels, and a contemporary of the same Nicephorus, a writer who is neither uncultivated nor less accurate: the task, to be sure, of Leo Allatius, a most learned and friendly man, from Roman codices, while he was meditating on some work on Nicephorus, and his monuments clearer than light; he repaid a certain return for benefits received from me by the five books of the illustrious confessor George Metochites, with which he splendidly enriched the second volume of his Orthodox Greece from royal codices. I rendered the Greek of Ignatius as clearly and faithfully as the translator's work allowed. He himself ^C reveals that he at one time suffered violence and mingled with the heretics who broke the images, although he never receded in his mind from the truth of the faith and the sound sense of the Church regarding them. The power of Leo, and subsequently of Theophilus, was so great in agitating pious believers that it nearly prostrated even those who could be seen as pillars: nor were there many within the bounds where the majesty and dominion of the Roman Empire over the East extended whom that immense ruin did not involve. How great the matter of business was, with the pious Theodora, the wife of a man who was evil and therefore impious and dead, the *anastelosis* of the icons, they declare the Acts to the Sunday of Orthodoxy, inserted into the Greek ecclesiastical books, and long ago produced for me from the same; then when also the most holy confessor Methodius, with a new light shining and the darkness of heresy having been dispelled from the earth, was placed in the Constantinopolitan see as a worthy pastor and successor to Nicephorus, having driven away the wolves and incubators from it: at which time also Ignatius, led by repentance, deposited this illustrious monument of Nicephorus, as a *stēliteutikon*. I praise his judgment regarding the works of Nicephorus, by whose light he portends that that darkness of error will be dispelled. Nor is there any doubt that they contributed much to that same dispelling, after the faculty of reading them was granted to the lovers of truth by the clemency and piety of the Augusti: nor do I think they will be less useful now for dispersing the clouds, which new agents of darkness have recalled from hell for the same cause, if ever the most clement God ^D [for his faithful and his Church...]

LIFE OF OUR HOLY FATHER NICEPHORUS, ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE, WRITTEN BY IGNATIUS, DEACON AND KEEPER OF THE SACRED VESSELS (CIMELIARCH) OF THE HOLY AND GREAT CHURCH OF SAINT SOPHIA, HIS DISCIPLE.

PROLOGUE OF THE AUTHOR

1. If, O listeners, the time did not call for the contrition of the heart, with the throes of grief tormenting the senses of the soul, perhaps my speech, proceeding on a smooth path and with a fair wind, would have fulfilled its own earnest desire, at least as much as possible, though not sufficiently for the dignity of the subject. But now, besieged by such inevitable incursions of evils and passions, it is as though numbed for festive praise, preferring a lamentation, and, having despaired of the pouring forth of praises, it has wholly surrendered to sorrow. ^B And who, my friend, has hindered it? What is the cause that has midwifed this ^C sorrow, and what is the pretext that has introduced turbulence and darkness into my thoughts? It is, my friend, the departure and deprivation of a God-bearing Father; the extinction of the all-shining and light-bearing luminary of the Church; the loss of the herald of that worship towards God alone; the silence of the trumpet that resounded mightily to awaken the true faith; the hiding away of the precious treasure of incorporeal doctrine; the cessation of those winged lips that were meant to hunt down stupid and vain unbelief; the passing of him who was truly named for victory (even if, as a man, he was overcome by death). This is what caused the tongue to become numb for praise,

^A and this turned the mind toward the impropriety of a lament. Because of this—if I did not fear the reproach of the ungrateful, for a son to choose silence while his Father is passing away, and simply to pass over such a great miracle, which can in no way be hidden under the bushel of forgetfulness—I would have persuaded myself to remain shrouded in the cloud of ignorance and, like that ancient people held back by the storm of sin, not to approach the mountain of this man’s virtues, nor to touch anything of his, unworthy as I am of the undertaking, behaving with a bestial boldness, and being stoned or struck with missiles. Yet, having revealed the pettiness of my own resolve, and with my heart burning within from desire, and being instructed by God regarding what he loves insofar as possible, I have cast myself, as best I can, into the deep abyss of the praises of the all-lauded Father. ^B May it be granted to me, through your intercessions toward the Higher Being, to seize the pearl hidden within him, and to resurface from the swim without danger, and to exchange it for incorruptible wealth for us who desire it. For I would be unjust to myself if, having plucked from him the occasion for speaking, I did not render in return the compensation that consists in the art of discourse.

2. Come then, ^C leaving aside the dirge, let us approach the discourse, and set forth the deeds performed by this God-bearer throughout his life, as a kind of shared tablet of virtue, for those striving for what is right and honorable. For it will be to the pleasure and benefit of all who labor in love for the good and who cherish the doctrines of pure faith; for they plainly demonstrate the force and strength of truth, and they cut the sinews of those who do not aim correctly toward it. For it will embrace (and in some way mention) not only what was accomplished by him in terms of more solemn habits and ways of life, but also what he struggled for, even to the point of bloodshed, for the sake of the truth itself. ^D I wish and am pleased to have as listeners all the foster-children of orthodoxy, those whom the Church—its own breast, I mean the teaching of the better things, having unveiled—has nourished with spiritual and perfect food for the discernment of good and evil. But I drive away and turn aside those who, having been preoccupied with wicked notions, have thought the opposite to the Father, just as if in vain they were attempting to shake the foundation of the Church, and, to speak prophetically, have sold their own hope to a lie; for those who are evilly disposed toward him, and who have meditated upon every evil thing against him, would never listen to his praises with pleasure, nor would they ever give their assent. For to sinners, as it seems to Solomon and to the truth, piety is an abomination. For by the nets of their own foolish [counsels they are taken].

Oppressed by his inextricable arguments and wandering without exit through the labyrinth of his proofs, they were pushed by their straits to turn to wickedness, and like mad dogs, they did not cease to bark at the holy man. For heretical pravity is unyielding and stubborn; even if it be a thousand times refuted and swallowed up, it emerges just as often, shameless.

3. Therefore, our discourse, avoiding the wearisome complexity of many words, keeps to the straight path of truth, bringing forward him who is the subject of this panegyric. Now, as for family, worldly renown, country, and possessions, and all those things which the laws of outsiders prescribe to be included in laudatory speeches—I do not think it holy or pious for those who have chosen to praise virtue to admire and recount these things in detail concerning a man who had ^B set his mind to labor in none of these things, having adorned himself, as is fitting, with the ornaments of piety alone. For the canon and standard of virtues, confirmed by deeds and actions, does not follow the rules of sophistic cavil. Yet, since the knowledge of his earthly country’s renown and of the God-pleasing approval of his parents serves as a way to lead to truth, and renders the countenance of the subject bright, as someone among the lyric poets has declared, come, let us compose the whole heavenly and spiritual statue for you, starting from the rough outline of his lineage and the first sketches of his life, as if from material. ^C

CAPUT I. Saint Nicephorus’s parents, of manifest piety, and suddenly famous for exile for the sake of the faith. His dignity in the palace of the emperors.

4. Now, the first and queen of cities brought him forth, from truly God-fearing parents, ^D as a sort of vital spark from their very swaddling clothes, destined to light up the world and to extinguish the impiety of the heretical flame that was all but consuming it; parents whose very names bear witness to their calling. For Eudocia, having joined in marriage with Theodore, brought forth the truly approved and God-given Nicephorus, and reared him like a heavenly plant into a tree. Their piety was so illustrious and well-known that they sought out and underwent dangers, exiles, and scourging for the sake of defending the truth. In my opinion, this was a kind of prophecy of the future outcome for the child, a prefiguration and image showing that son and parent would suffer for the same cause and with the same spirit, even if not at the same time.

5. For it happened at that time...

^A that when he had taken the reins of imperial power, the one who fulfilled the duty of scribe or notary and served in the royal secrets—Theodorus—being adorned with the most pure light of right confession and faith in God, not unlike another Abraham the patriarch, was grievously struck by a calumny before his most savage enemy, for the reason that he held Christ in an image, and His immaculate Mother, and all the saints, in veneration. The tyrant, therefore, as one who hated the truth and could not bear to hear such things, swelled with rage and ordered the man to appear as quickly as possible, and to state his case regarding the things that rumor had spread. He, as if invited to a feast rather than called to answer a charge as a culprit, openly showed that the matter was as he had heard. When the affair was thus clearly ascertained, the emperor, seeing the man’s firm constancy as if it were fuel that might kindle the wickedness of his own spirit, condemned Theodorus—tempted by unusual threats—also to stripes as if he were a criminal. But when he noticed the man was in no way softened, he stripped him of his cloak and the insignia of his dignity and justly punished him with a grievous exile.

6. Postmodum, some time having elapsed, he ordered the man to be brought back from Pemolina (for this was the fortress assigned to him for his exile) and to appear again at the palace; trusting, I suppose, that worn out by the dire vexation, he would have learned what he himself thought was worth the effort. But he found him in truth resisting more strongly than adamant, and in no way inferior to his threats and boldness, but ready to endure all other harsher inventions of his mind, should the need arise. For he pursued these things with an eager spirit, and preferred to be adorned with the marks of Christ ^B rather than to stray at all from the ecclesiastical law and the apostolic and Patristic tradition, which very appropriately and rightly ordains that Christ, our true God, in the manner in which He is man, should be adored when depicted in painted colors. But when the holy man had confessed salvation with his mouth and had abundantly declared that he sided with those opposing the tyrant, he was called to other kinds of torments. Enduring these with the greatest strength of mind, he was cast out as an exile to Nicaea in Bithynia. In that place, passing the remainder of his life religiously and becoming a model for all of a firm mind in defending the rule of the true faith, he departed to that blessed rest, to receive the rewards of his labors when the things done through the span of life shall be judged, ^C life having been extended into long ages.

7. But she, who had adhered to this man according to divine law, as one who proved herself a lover of God and a lover of her husband, followed her spouse in all things—in dangers, in exiles, in tribulations, in the things of justice, as the Apostle says (2 Cor. vi, 7), by the right hand and the left; namely, in sad things as well as in joyful things. For since they were a pair mutually inciting one another to better things and to the struggles of virtue, ^D they were united no less in spirit than in body. She, after

the death of her husband, which occurred by a blessed lot, continued for no few years with her son; at that time he had just begun the studies of the liberal arts, and had become a scribe of no small reputation with pen and ink. ^A For he was chosen as a secretary to the emperors—to use the Latin term, a minister *a secretis*. And the blessed mother indeed saw him, whom she had brought forth, placed upon the candelabrum of the high priesthood like a most luminous lamp, always extending a bright light before our paths, and she received from him the honor and care due to parents after God, even until her old age. Meanwhile, however, the strong woman, considering the fleeting things of the world as nothing more than spider webs, devoted herself with a pious purpose to the study of monastic discipline, and laboring strenuously therein, having conquered the adversary and having worthily completed the course of her profession, she departed this life and received the crown of immortality. There, having been taken into the bridal chamber with the virgins, she leads the dance and keeps her lamp ever lit and shining with the oil of good works. O son, to whom such a propitious recommendation came from the piety of your parents! O parents, to whom it fell to obtain such a son of such virtues and praise, and so remarkable!

8. But let this discourse concerning his parents, being far inferior to what is required to match their merits, suffice as far as it has gone; now it remains to describe how he built himself upon the foundation of virtue, and, as the Prophet says, disposed ascensions in his heart. Although my speech trembles, fearing lest it fail to perform its part according to their dignity—even though a fair-minded listener would not demand what is beyond what is fitting and deserved. ^C Therefore, by a certain small and subtle path and method, gathering in the abundance, so that the poverty of my design may not be made apparent, I shall attempt to single out one from many of his rightly performed acts, and to show you the whole from part, as [one recognizes] the lion from its claw.

9. The emperor and the imperial court, therefore, held him in such high regard as a divine adornment and glory, a renowned speaker or, if you will, a Paeanian orator like Philip. For he was not some prattling fellow performing a fawning speech ^D so as to hunt for praise by saying what is pleasing; rather, he put forth his argument while moving according to reason, not tickling the listener with the elegance of words, but clearly setting forth their benefit with simple and relaxed speech. And since some part of those who at that time were swamped by a shipwreck of the true faith were among those holding the reins of the Roman empire, he, as far as he was able, stemmed the storm. For from of old, according to the apostolic and patristic tradition...

^A thriving in the blameless Church, they—delighting in the audacity to abolish the sacred tradition of painting and venerating images, and as though fearing to see Christ characterized by bodily attributes—set out in a swarm like swine against the very beauty of this custom. They poured scorn upon every theandric representation of Christ—our true God, who for our sake bore our weaknesses in the flesh—as well as upon the bodily memorials of his most immaculate Mother and of the saints who have flourished throughout the ages. They defiled and besmirched these memorials, deeming it necessary to gather a local conventicle, or rather, to speak truly, a Pharisaic council in the imperial city. For while that ancient gathering, maddened against Christ, incurred the crime of deicide, these men, looking with distorted eyes upon His bodily form, earned the title and name of Christ-fighters. They possessed no justification derived logically from the context of Holy Scripture; rather, they foolishly plucked out brief sayings from the treatises of the Fathers written against the idols and images of the gentiles, and, peering through a fog as if they would see what they were looking for, they condemned it with a premature definition and, to use the words of Scripture*, “removed the landmarks of the Fathers,” engraving the sense of their own madness upon eternal tables.

10. But since the divine judgment, which hates evil, had put an end both to the life and the dignity of all those who had raged against the Church, or rather, who had plotted wickedness against our venerable confession of the Christian faith, the one whose very name signified peace ^C—Irene—at the same time with her son Constantine, received by the nod of God the sceptre of the empire as if it were a paternal inheritance; that strong-minded and God-loving woman, if indeed it is lawful to call a woman one who surpassed men in pious understanding, by whose agency God gathered together into the one confession of the right faith, with most merciful kindness, all things which the former discord, creeping in like a serpent, had torn asunder in the Church. By decreeing that a synod of holy men should be gathered from the ends of the world to the city of Nicaea in Bithynia to abolish this pestilential disease, she accomplished the matter, with God subsequently aiding her. Presiding over the synod was Tarasius, the most holy prelate of the imperial city; there were present as most holy legates ^D Hadrian of the elder Rome, Politianus of Alexandria, Theodoret of Antioch, and Elias of the city of Aelia. These...

^A chief exarchs preferred Nicephorus, above many of his own age, to journey along with them, entrusting him with the imperial address for that holy synod. By it, he proclaimed the sincerity of the faith to all, and as if from a high watchtower, he cried out and clearly explained the ancient religion and veneration of the holy images; thus, he became a fellow-sitter in that sacred assembly even before his holy ordination. This was the first contest of piety toward God completed for the blessed man; this was his first prize and his crown, which cannot be taken away by any accident, and which is far more precious than those of wool, wild olive, or parsley, with which the ancients were accustomed to adorn the brows of their victors.

11. But because that assembly of Fathers, chosen by God and breathed upon by the breeze of the divine Spirit, had brought the vessel of confession safely into the harbor of right faith, and because the tunic of the Church was again receiving its varied ornament from sacred paintings, its dead and misshapen birth having been cast off—which the heresy had brought forth—then indeed ^B the great Nicephorus, bearing the signals of victory, played a clear and resonant melody against the adversaries of the faith. He bore witness that Christ, in accordance with the simplicity and untouchable nature of His divinity, is free from all circumscription and cannot be formed by any colors; but in accordance with His humanity, inasmuch as He is tangible and composite, He is circumscript and capable of being depicted—for which the use of images is entirely consistent, so that we may recoil from the fantasies and dreams of the followers of Manes. He lived both speaking and thinking in this way, while, as has been said, he was engaged in the secret service ^C of those in power and burdened with public affairs.

CAPUT II.

12. But since he understood more deeply the commandment that bids one to pay heed to himself and to God alone (for thus it is possible to be detached from earthly things and already be borne toward God), he strove with all his might to steal himself away to the solitary life of desired stillness, begging and devising every manner of supplication so that he might persuade those who were, on the contrary, dragging him into the business and turmoil of the world to allow him to attain his desire. And he did indeed persuade them, and in a short time he obtained what he so ardently desired. Therefore, despising the annoyances of the marketplace and the whirling turmoils in their midst, and having crowned the honors of his rank with wool and bidden farewell to all that is called ^D vanity, softness, and bodily pleasure, he migrated to a cave located opposite the Thracian Bosphorus. He brought nothing with him except the mantle of Elijah—that is, poverty—toward the similar Carmel, bearing that poverty which is truly the first to build a dwelling-place for...

^A virtue, through which he who acquires it becomes incorruptible and embraces the life of angels. Having therefore acquired this as a companion and associate in great affairs—and long before having valued it more than others value the stones of Ophir and the threads of the Seres—he withdrew to the aforementioned new Carmel. In its ruggedness and difficulty of access it presented an unsightly aspect, and on the steep and lofty summit of the mountain it showed little promise for fertility, being thirsty, unyielding, and, if not impossible to cultivate, at least deprived of the benefit of irrigation from the clouds because of the declivity of the place.

13. But why is it necessary to speak at such length about the unfitness and the unfavorable position of the site, when anyone who visits it can, even before I speak, recognize the character of the place and judge for himself what kind of place it was and what it has become since that time? For, as if stripping off a worn and tattered garment, it put aside that rustic and wild appearance, and having cast off the name of sterility, it exchanged it for the fertility of the soil. That which before was arid began to be irrigated by heavenly rain through the fissures and veins of the earth, which flow beneath into one another, and being made rich by alternating abundance, ^B it surpassed the court of Alcinous and the golden plane tree of Xerxes in such a delightful aspect as truth is more beautiful than fabulous inventions, and more honorable than them. Being further sanctified by the shrines of martyrs, in which their fierce struggles are clearly expressed with varied artistic decoration, it imitates the paradise of God, to use the language of Scripture, most beautifully. For who would not admire, even before experiencing it, the sufficiency of its life-manner and the composition of its dwelling set up for that purpose? ^C Therefore, he determined that the place should be a cloister for holy men, who would worship God with constant praises, among whom he himself also unceasingly, by night and by day, persevered in liturgical prayers, and regaling himself with the best measure of austerity, he applied his mind to the reading of divine things and to studies, refusing a Syracusan table and that which would be more sumptuous than required, even for the sustenance of life, using only what was meager.

14. But since I have mentioned studies, I do not think it ungrateful or foreign to my purpose to recall the diligence and excellence of the man regarding these things. For to his meditation on the divine Scriptures he added the compendiums of secular literature, both that he might be able to persuade more easily in teaching, and that he might be more ready to refute errors. For just as the virtue of the law is such that it professes the understanding and certain knowledge of both the just and the unjust, so that it may render an equal retribution to those who follow one or the other, as each deserves, so also the perfection of disciplines requires knowledge and skill of both. ^D Yet, we do not place them on an equal scale—God forbid—for the handmaid shall not contend with equal honor with the mistress; nor shall the son of the bondwoman inherit with the son of the free woman, so that I may also recall the things said to Abraham. For as much as he was [versed] in grammar, and

^A its parts and instruments, by which the correctness of writing is distinguished from that which suffers from a fault, and the Greek language is directed, and the foundation of meters is regulated, this became known to those who even moderately understood the art. ^B How much he appeared regarding the multi-sounding lyre of the rhetoricians, pleasant in words and gentle, it is not difficult to see; for, casting far from his speech the superfluous garrulity and bragging of words and whatever finally tends toward the inept fictions and trifles of the sophists, he cultivated the sweetness and grace of composition through distinction and purity.

15. As regards the grasping of the mathematical tetractys, which has taken its constitution from limited continuants and limited discretes (for mathematical matter either is in motion, and makes astronomy; or is immobile, and constitutes geometry; or again exists in proportion and certain comparison, and makes music; or finally, such proportion is dissolved and free, and effects arithmetic), he arrived at such a degree of diligence, that as one cultivating all things, and all things as one, he carried off the first prize in all of them. He fitted a musical lyre, not such as Pythagoras the Samian [did], nor such as the deceiver Aristoxenus; but rather that more noble one of one hundred and fifty strings; and hitting this continually, he once drove away the disease of Saul from his subjects, and softened that most cruel tyrant, ^C who was choked by the spirit of false belief and had acted wantonly and unrepentantly against the economy of Christ, and he preserved the flock from his corruption.

16. Having associated most clearly with these four handmaidens of the science that truly exists, he proceeded forthwith by an easy and certain path to their mistress, I mean philosophy, and to her theorems. For he accurately examined what and how many are its terms, and what is their property, what is subjected and what is the predicate, as they call it, and whether this is of every [subject], or of none, or as a whole, and similar things. And what the elements mean among them, and if they agree with those which they call Physical and Geometrical only by community of name: how many the propositions are, and by what ratio they are converted; what is the power of negation; what are the substantive verbs; what are the circumstances, and by what certain reason and proportion they respond to that which is indefinite in them; how many are the modes of syllogisms; ^D what and how many the figures are; which is hypothetical, which categorical, and what they differ in; and if reduction to the impossible confirms them all; how and how many times these are mixed, how they are concluded and resolved; what is the composition of a fallacy, which is the sophistic syllogism, and by what reason it is at once fallacious and probable; what sort consists of a single assumption, how the acceptable dialec-

dialectical syllogism draws its conclusion from things that seem true, and what the reduction of these is; what necessity a demonstration possesses, so that it may seize truth from inferior things; which of these are problems, which are axioms, and which are similar to axioms; what things receive matter, mixtures, and combinations; which are the first principles of physics, such that they cannot be demonstrated; what rest is; in how many ways the same and the different are spoken of; where, to what end, how, and when; whether the process of principles is continuous, or whether it does not terminate in a continuum; what is the mover, what the organic power, what the reproductive power; what is antecedent, what is that which has been educed, ^A and by what means; toward what each thing tends, whether spontaneously or by violence; what contains the qualities, from what deprivation these are said to be, and whether nothing comes from absolute nothing; which things and how they have their origin and essence from contraries; and how they are again destroyed by contraries and perish equally. What matter they take, and what mixtures and combinations.

17. Examining these and similar things with attention of mind and perfect sobriety, as far as was possible, and having tasted of their usefulness with the very tip of his fingers, he occupied himself with philosophy, and displayed a much-praised modesty, that is, humility, which elevates the senses toward heaven. For the perfect knowledge of a man is to ascribe his perfect understanding with a grateful mind unto the ^B Better One, and to know that he has grasped that the non-existent things are not as they are according to essence. Thus, by the power of nature and the will of his judgment, and by the divine inspiration of grace, having attained the knowledge of the disciplines, he strove no less to advance toward the true virtues. For he did not judge that his approved labor in those was an impediment to him in regard to virtue; but using a suitable path and order, he extended himself toward progress in both, and reached the perfection of each.

18. By joining temperance, which is natural to us, with frugality and self-control, he crushed the swelling of the unbridled passions that press upon the belly from the navel. Possessing an ^C animus calmed from all anger by an innate gentleness, he showed himself bland and sweet to all, having banished the appearance of an irascible countenance. For anger was not present in him according to the likeness of a serpent; it was directed entirely toward the dragon, who alone stood forth as the author of our ruin. Contempt for money, by which men are prepared for the comforts of the spiritual life, he did not store in a tub after the manner of that Cynic philosopher; but by the constant distribution of his means to the poor, he showed with a broader spirit that he despised money, and turned away from the path by which it is acquired. For having opportunely attained such a pinnacle of virtue—so that he did nothing for the sake of ostentation, ^D and on that account possessing a mind unperturbed—he not only armed his right hand for works of alms, but also faithfully entrusted the knowledge of this to his left, since he had advanced so far that the affection of this insatiable disease could no longer tickle his soul.

19. Wherefore, divine grace deemed him worthy, by the forceful urging of those in power, to act as curator of the greatest hospital in the imperial city, that by that function it might prepare him; for, so as to speak the word, it was about to entrust to him a certain special administration of the governance of the catholic Church. But indeed, these things and those regarding the narrators of these events

^A and of these, other writers, who with love and desire ^A, like bees from a most flourishing rose-garden, gather his excellencies, and deposit their quality by the strength of their oration into the honeycomb, that is, into the delights of divine emulation: for I believe that the store of those things which pertain to this will never fail, since they are many and great, and of such a nature that they do not permit one to be preferred to another, because they all reach the highest level. But we, avoiding prolixity which would be tedious to the listener, shall hasten to what follows, God being propitious and favorable.

CHAPTER III. The election and ordination of Saint Nicephorus to the patriarchate of Constantinople.

^B Now Tarasius, that unwearied light-bearer of the Church, who had steered the ship of faith well and had shown it to be superior to the storm of heresy, and had most excellently brought it into harbor laden with the merchandise of true opinion, upon departing from the mortal to the better lot, was added to the Fathers: a Father to the fathers, a patriarch to the patriarchs, because he had entered upon the patriarchal seat and rank for the sake of defending the truth; holy among the holy, because he had lived holily so long as he remained in life; a true pastor among true pastors, because he had imitated Christ, the prince of pastors, and both calling his sheep by name and knowing them, and driving away the wolves with the staff of his words, he impelled them to the folds of right confession and faith. ^C This, therefore, was that heavenly man, who on earth had led a life like the angels as far as was possible, and having deposited the reins of the priesthood into the hands of God along with his soul, he prayed to God with a pure supplication, I believe, that a worthy pontiff should be created, and that a renowned herald might shine forth for the Church joined to Christ. For because with many labors and sweat he had uprooted the thorn of heresy that had sprouted in her, ^D and by the guidance of the Spirit had removed the stumbling blocks and scandals from her midst, and breaking up the fallow ground of faith with the rational plow, he had sown the divinely-handed-down symbols of the Lord’s dispensation, not upon a way or upon rock or among thorns, but upon good and fertile soil, such as the Scripture calls productive of hundredfold fruit: for this reason, even after his death, having already departed this life, he desired and strove to see the man who would foster his cultivation. And he was not disappointed in his hope: for God, who is always found by those who seek Him and opens the door to those who knock, and who always fulfills true prayers by His divine finger and Spirit, clearly showed the man worthy of the sacred unction, Nicephorus, to him who at that time was governing the scepters of the Roman Empire, and who bore the same name.

21. For (since he was most sharp-witted even if anyone…)

…) ^A he had been endeavoring to establish ^B a bridegroom, and a paranymph, for the widowed Church who was capable of holding fast the faithful word according to the teaching, and of walking most wisely in the footsteps of the one who had previously shepherded her. Wherefore he also communicated with all—both priests and monks, and as many of the senatorial council as he knew to be eminent and superior to the rest—so that to the most just election of the majority, which the assent of the divine Spirit ratified, his own vote might also be added. But they (for, being men, it was impossible for them to be fully on guard against acting out of favoritism), breaking the common accord by dissension, were each one designating and drawing [toward himself] another—not the one whom the foreknowledge of the divine nod had designated, but the one whom each person’s own will fashioned and persuaded [them] should be preferred. To the emperor, however, [the emperor's] own keen judgment of mind suggested Nicephorus as the shepherd of the flock, and he compelled all to cast their eyes upon him, calling to remembrance the man’s outstanding gifts: his great power of eloquence, both in sacred and secular matters; his humility and mildness in character; his integrity of conscience toward all, far removed from any offense. And, in a word, as though with a cloud—by those continuous utterances of his royal mouth—closing the ears of all, and doing violence to no one, he caught them all as in a net into one opinion; for from that time forth, on every lip and in every mouth, Nicephorus was proclaimed patriarch.

22. Therefore the emperor sends men to him, bidding him to gratify the Queen of Cities with his presence, without any hesitation and without any delay. But he, ^C preferring praiseworthy obedience to blameworthy disobedience, though reluctant, followed the men leading the way on the journey. And when the emperor had achieved what he was striving for, and beheld before his eyes the one whom he desired, he is said to have addressed him with these words: "For me, O man beloved by God, if it were lawful to hold the commands of God in light regard, and to neglect the work of these while managing the public business, there was ready at hand a certain seductive and broad way by which I might have appointed as high priest to the imperial city anyone I chanced to meet, with no prior merit required but only the will to be so. But because, through the instructions of the divine Scripture, I am taught what manner of man he ought to be who is to be a priest, and especially he whose duty it is to promote others to such a rank—namely, one who is sublime in virtue and ^D untouchable in his lips, who guards knowledge and bears the sought-after law in his mouth, and for this reason is addressed as an angel of the Lord Almighty—I fear lest, having despised that sacred admonition, I afterwards incur the penalties for negligence and call down upon my own head the threatened curses. Now, therefore, since God is entrusting to you the citadel of the priesthood and the reins of this heavenly arena, do not, I beseech you, reject the calling, but entering upon the divine contest, look rather to that which is for: the common salvation. For we know that, according to your and our common leader, Paul, you should not showcase your boxing to the air, nor run aimlessly; but we have confidence in the...

^A perfection of those whose past discipline of the body has caused their proven virtue to shine forth more brightly than gold. Do not pray to God for the sake of your own salvation alone, nor emulate the shortcut of the monastic life, which is yours, but strive that all might attain salvation. Consider the Church a most beautiful bride, whose receptive ear the pearl of right and unclouded dogmas binds, and whose head the crown of graces, as if with highly precious stones, dazzling with Patristic discourses, adorns; and whose breast the seven-fold definition and rule of the heaven-inspired councils, like a golden torque mystically suspended from her neck, magnificently decorates; she who is, in short, clothed in all glory from within, and shines, adorned in an evangelical manner with holy and venerable images. Let no one, then, who is adulterous in his ways betroth her to himself, sowing the weeds of heretical descent within her, and corrupting the beauty of her genuine children; nor, pretending to have a sound faith under the guise of a gentle lamb, should he reveal the wolf of faithlessness from within, and drive the flock into mountains and places that the Lord does not visit. Since, therefore, you have Christ, the Lamb of God and our true God, as a partner in pastoral skill, and His Cross as a staff leaning upon which you guide the flock in the path of rectitude, do not reject the calling, nor disregard our suppliant word, lest it become a grievance against you before God.

^C 23. But he, struck in his mind by the emperor’s advice as if by javelins sent from the heart, said: But to me, O Emperor, he alone seems worthy to preside over the rational flock who has no dealings with earthly things, and in whom no desire for carnal matter—which drags one down from the heavenly arches—has remained fixed, so as to seize him; he who has not been shown to be liable to those curses pronounced prophetically against the shepherds; he who, in imitation of the Chief Shepherd and sole High Priest, Christ, is ready to lay down his own soul for the flock; he who does not enter the fold of the Church through the window for the purpose of slaughtering and destroying through stolen doctrines, entering from elsewhere than by the door, but has resolved to vivify and save and ^D nourish the lambs in the pens of the faith; he who apportions himself to every disposition, step, gaze, and habit of those being shepherded, and varies himself in pastoral care for the healing of each, giving more use to the staff that raises and supports the one who has fallen, but using the rod sparingly—that which strikes without wounding and keeps the mind free from total suffering. Being unversed and unprepared for this war, I do not wish to cast myself against invisible and relentless and ceaseless warriors.

^A For being flesh, I am not capable of wielding spiritual weapons, the assault of which, even if one were to guard oneself from every side as much as power allows, no one could fully understand.

24. Then in turn the emperor replied to him: Let there be no discourse or pretext for you to resist the sacred yoke of Christ; for He Himself, as I said before, being the Word, will be your helper in the pastoral office, and will work with you and join in your zeal, offering you complete ease for what seem for now difficult tasks. ^B He who had not been the least bit disobedient to all divine instructions always obeys these things, and immediately requested of the emperor that he might change the garb of the layman for the angelic way of life of the solitary, adding to the meticulous life he had lived until then a more meticulous one, and to the labors which he had already famously completed, a greater completion of labors. The emperor agreed, and wisely saw fit that the shorn locks of that sacred head be received by the hands of his son and co-emperor, as if they were the august ornaments of the purple that clothed them; for it was fitting that hair nourished by the pinnacle of divine virtues should be escorted by the first of the dignities, and that he who was about to rise to the pinnacle of the high priesthood should be brightened with the glory that excels all others. Therefore, the divine initiation of the monk having preceded—according to what that prelate of sacred things and wise Dionysius teaches—and the priestly fulfillment having proceeded through a series of degrees and order according to the sacred regulation, ^C the ornamentation of the high-priestly consecration then followed for these; but when and how, I now proceed to say.

25. For when the emperor and the senate regarding the palace were present in the great church, in order to perform the rites of the awe-inspiring Resurrection, when that sacred space was lavishly bathed in golden-sunlight radiance, foreshadowing the rays of the hoped-for indestructible brightness, and when the whole crowd of the Church, gleaming in white garments, had flowed together; then, indeed, taking in his hands the divine tome of the faith, which had been previously composed by him and approved by the confession of his heart and mouth, and then also acclaimed by the clergy under him, he approached the divine laying on of hands; ^D calling this as an inviolable witness, and declaring that he wished, if he had ever violated anything of what was written therein, to stand hereafter with this true and sincere profession and worship at the fearful and glorious coming of our great God and Savior; and after the divine mysteries had been celebrated over it, he deposited it behind the holy table as if to be consecrated, and so that it might obtain stability and authority from God through the very holiness of the place. But when the celebration of the sacraments had been completed by divine command and nod, the people shouted aloud: "Worthy of the worthy," and answered three times with a voice of worth according to his merit. From there [(γ)]

he ascended to the sacred summit of the throne, as if to some most lofty watchtower—which the wonderful Habacuc had spiritually indicated as a divine keep—and having invoked the blessing of peace upon all the people and received it in return, he himself proved to be the performer of what remained of the divine ritual. ^A

CAPUT IV.

Heresies opposed by Saint Nicephorus; monastic discipline amended; synodical epistle to Pope Leo III.

^B 26. Thus God, who measures out grace to the humble, decided that he too, being possessed by the love of spiritual ascent, should attain the supreme dignity of the Church. Having attained this and beginning to build in a manner worthy of the Gospel, he asserted the firm foundation of the faith. For having found the Church in a state of tranquility—since the scandals of heresy had already been deleted and purged, as it has been said, by the synodical diligence of the Fathers—he himself subsequently endured the sea of the Church in quiet serenity, fearing no contrary blast of heresy against it. Wherefore, driven by zeal, he initiated another path to turn against the dissonant heresies of the unbelievers, whose madness, having been recently aroused at that time, shamelessly presumed to celebrate mysteries worthy of every execration; I mean the Jews and the Phrygians, and those who, following the ravings of Manes, were peddling the turbid cup of unbelief to the unwise. ^C Accordingly, having made their absurd religion known to the Emperor in a more detailed written tract, and having demonstrated by his application that they were like a gangrene—bringing harm to the whole body of the commonwealth (if they should be allowed for any longer to do what they wished)—he strikes against the Jewish deicide, and he strikes against the monstrous trifling of the Phrygians, and he wounds the Manichaean hallucinations so that they did not dare to utter their defilements even beyond their own lips, but muttered the ravings of their deception in secret and in the corners of their error. For their boldness of speech having been taken away by the authority, the impious were reduced to not being able to do anything even in secret.

27. Thus the storm of lawless heresies gradually receded, and the "rectotomy" of our true confession, shining clearly, provided a sabbath rest ^D for the Church of God. But because those things outside were rightly settled for him, he turned his mind to the things within—I mean, to the exactitude of monastic life. For certain men, having chosen this heavenly way of life

^A or indeed having only prayed to choose it, under the pretext—specious, of course—of kinship or other friendly regard, thought it fit to build their own hermitages near convents of virgins, avoiding visible cohabitation, yet utterly unable to escape the assent of their own thoughts. For they held all things in common, both possessions and properties, doing the exact opposite of what was said of the faithful in olden times. For among those ancients, the common was preferred for the sake of acquiring well, whereas here, by pooling everything wrongly, they managed not to acquire well; and there was a certain confusion in that most sublime life, and everyone who professed virginity fell under suspicion of unchastity. Observing this, that most pure mind endured no delay in time, lest by the fall he might be allowed to be entirely stained with impurity and to slip into the passion of voluptuousness. But utilizing apostolic authority, and having chosen ^B bishops who looked to the guarding of this and held the zeal of Phinehas in their hearts, he sent them forth as a second proclamation, to prick the abomination of the passion with the canonical dagger and to stop the collapse through such admonitory appeasement. And they, having gone throughout the whole of the world thus diseased and having used the life-saving medicines at the right moment, hastened to make the wound, having ceased from the ulcer, close up, by separating the women’s quarters far from the men and provisioning them abundantly with the necessities of life, so that they might not be pressed by the lack thereof, nor receive a reminder of wantonness, so that the latter state might become worse than their former association. But the men they sent away to their accustomed duties and monasteries—or rather, to the internal care of each one’s soul—persuading them to flee the company ^C of women as they would the bite of an adder, lest a lustful consensus, entering through the window of their thoughts, might thrust a javelin and wound the soul. In this way did these leaders of the flock of chaste monastics, acting as reliable shepherds of temperance, carefully oversee the sacred charge and safely receive the fruitful earnings of their labor with praiseworthy interest before the Chief Shepherd.

28. Moreover, in whatever city or region Nicephorus found this disease flourishing, he labored to provide its cure with reed and ink. Something of this sort is shown to have been done in the climate ^D of the Taurus mountains, for the governor who presided over the people there at that time, being caught in this wretched vice, was meditating a divorce from his lawful wife in order to introduce a harlot. Nicephorus, intending to cleanse him of this most foul pestilence, warned him in writing, casting his crime in his face and adding threats that, unless he willed to refrain from it, he would be justly held liable for it. And these matters were handled in approximately this way.

^A Since he was eager to confirm the sincerity of his faith with exactness according to the definitions of the Fathers, and following the canonical and ancient custom—which enjoins that matters of faith be communicated to the apostolic sees—he set this down in synodal letters and, having confirmed it, sent it to the Pope of the Romans at that time, Leo. It was a formal arraignment of the heterodox heresies, yet a pillar of the orthodox faith. And if anyone wishes to test the power of the man's discourse, let him read this, and he will know how abundant and opportune it is regarding divine dogmas.

That holy Leo admired these [writings] as well; he received them most gladly and, embracing them together with the decrees of Peter, the chief of the Apostles, he proclaimed them most clearly. For he expressed the connaturality and coequality of the consubstantial Trinity so transparently that nothing was lacking in comparison to those who held the authority in theology. And he so clarified and proclaimed the manifestation of one of the holy Trinity in the last times, from the most pure and spotless Virgin and Theotokos, of Christ our true God, consistently with the ecumenical councils, that nothing pertaining to the dignity of worship was left unsaid. Furthermore, he showed the supplications to God and the intercessions of the venerable Theometor, and of the heavenly Powers, apostles, prophets, glorious martyrs, and all the saints and righteous—as well as their adorable relics—and their holy icons, to be as worthy of honor as it was just for those who lived in such a way and were so glorified by God to be honored and magnified.

Thus, the worship in spirit and truth of the one true God was firmly established for the worshipper; thus the most limpid drink of sound religion was mixed for him, not adulterated as it is by some, but tempered by the divinely-transmitted patterns, and purging away every corruption of turbid heresy sprouting up nearby. Was this then merely a confession in name that this great man laid out as the foundation of the true faith? And was there not also zeal added to the confession ^B towards...

trials? Or did he hold fast against these like an adamant, but fearing to speak, neglected to show himself approved before God? Not at all: rather, to his confession he added zeal, his zeal was proved by dangers, and in the midst of these, his speech—a sword sharper than any blade—hung over the souls of those who had decided to attack divine things and overthrow them by force, rooting out their perverse dogmas.

CHAPTER V.

30. He who is the adversary ^B and always begrudges the good, who brings on those who stand firm the raging waves of the sea, who measures out implacable hatred against tranquility and the stability of peace, and who perversely stitches the rotten rags of heresies onto the seamless garment of the faith, did not suffer the state of the Church and the Empire to be governed any longer in tranquil order. Instead, devising troubles equal to his own audacity, he stirred up an implacable war against both. He did not forge sharpened arrows and swords, as is the custom for those who engage in bodily warfare, but sharpening on the whetstone of his own malice languages skilled in meditating on wickedness, he marshaled them for a battle of spiritual perils, and brought forward an emperor proud with recently seized tyranny, Leo by name: Leo, I say, a man who, by the variety of his impiety, showed himself to be a ^C multiform chameleon, a man who, from the very moment of his proclamation, cast off reason, transformed those better than himself into the mind of impiety, and who, as far as his lineage is concerned, afflicted the ancient Israel under the leadership of Moses, but now showed himself more dire to the new Israel than the Amalekites: crueller than Sennacherib, more detestable than Rabshakeh, and more shameful than Nebuzaradan, the slave of his own belly.

31. He, against the one who had honored him (for by him he had been appointed leader of the first rank of the military host of the so-called Themes, and was established as an officer in the vanguard), holding in no account the honor or the one who had bestowed it, fell into the abyss ^D of tyranny. For when a war had been waged by the Emperor against the Huns who were infesting Thrace and bringing great devastation upon its cities, Leo was the primary author of the defeat in it, and provided the cause of flight for the whole army. He occupied

^A the city as emperor, while deriving no benefit from the advantages of the victory; but by his rebel discourse he corrupted the common people, and by vain hopes cheating and misleading them, he seized the dignity of the empire by tyrannical force. Having taken possession of this, he flew with great speed to the royal city, and, having been received by the walls—would that it had never been!—the wretch entered, and was escorted through the main street to the royal palace with the customary pomp of a retinue; he removed the man who preceded him from that dignity, a man who for his simplicity and innocence was more glorious than the purple. When this man felt Leo roaring like a lion and bellowing with beastly ferocity against the principate, he rent the garment in which he shone as Augustus, and having shorn his hair, he exchanged his golden habit for a dark one and shut himself ^B up in the sacred enclosure with his wife and children. This occurrence at last slowly and with difficulty inclined Leo’s mind not to decide against him more cruelly; and sending him into exile sooner than words could tell, he was himself intent in haste on placing the royal diadem upon his head.

52. Therefore the divine Nicephorus, discerning this calamity, and understanding the versatile and fickle mind of the man, was thinking of drawing him in, so that he might profess the faith in writing according to custom. And so, having produced a codex containing the symbol of our blameless religion, he offered it through certain bishops to the emperor, urging him to subscribe with his own hand. He feigned to give ready assent to all that was said; he indicated, however, that while he was awaiting the honor of the ^C diadem, he would defer that matter; but that he was prepared, once he had obtained it, to submit himself to the ecclesiastical yoke. But in the meantime, stung by the goad of his conscience and darkened by the gloom of his mind, and misusing these—as it were, with pen and ink—before he had even received the diadem and his solemn inauguration, he subscribed to a libel of heresy: verily, he gave himself over entirely to the demons drawing him, and was more obedient to them than to the Fathers who were striving to lead him to salvation.

53. Therefore he ^D came to the holy church of Sophia to receive the diadem. Then, indeed, then did the unslumbering eye, looking upon the One who was about to be the immediate agent of the proclamation, the great high priest, judge well and justly concerning him. For it seemed that the holy man, after the prayer,

^A and the taking up of the crown, when the time arrived to touch the head of him who was being initiated, was as if casting his hand onto thorns and briers; and he placed the crown upon him in such a way that he clearly confessed he felt a sharp pain. For that thorny crown, by its contact with the holy man, presaged the lawless harshness that was soon to break forth from him against the Church.

34. But he departed, crowned with the imperial diadem, on which he duly received the final blow, since he had become a despiser of what is just and right. On the second day of his reign, the God-bearing man again urged the newly appearing emperor to subscribe to the document of Orthodoxy, but he powerfully refused. For, staining the purple with falsehood and presenting himself in his first showing as a Proteus, to those who approached him he appeared now as one thing, now as another. Oh, the superstitious soul by which the foundation of faith is shaken! Oh, the unrestrained error of those minds through which the sense of right confession has been depraved! Oh, the multifarious entanglement of lie, by the chain of which the truth of right decrees, which is devoid of all variation, is impeded! For it was not against the enemies of the state, who at that time had surrounded the city with war, that he first exerted his struggle, but he drew up his battle line against Him who had entrusted the reins of power to him (by judgments which He alone knows). For, as I said, caring little or nothing for the enemies, since he was not fit to engage in battle or face them—due to the crafty device of a feigned defeat he had concocted—he marched forth to make war against the King of all, ^C and left no stone unturned to banish His image from the Church. For when he ought to have revered that which is worthy of veneration; when he ought to have cherished the religion of ancient tradition; when he ought to have kept the safe path of the divine journey upon which the footsteps of the saints had gone before; when he ought to have admired the constancy of the most holy pastor and prelate; he, on the contrary, supported the serpent of madness and fury, and, having his mind infected with a deceitful disposition, he persisted stubbornly in his purpose. Truly, in the manner of that degenerate Roboam, ^D rejecting the warnings of the elders and the counsels of the prudent which from the very first meeting offered benefit, and turning his soul to the trivial words of younger men and their old wives' tales—who spoke not from heaven but from the earth—he promised himself long times and victories, if only he could sprinkle impiety with an impure vomit upon the ancient state of things.

^A 35. One might likewise gather into one place those whom the canonical rule and the strictness of the holy altars had barred, along with all those whom deceit mixed with force had bent to his will. For them, a place was designated within the palace walls, and a copious allowance was decreed—like swine, so that they might fill their bellies—by the deserter of the ancient dogma, who was eager to establish a new faith. They, puffed up with that royal audacity, just like the fabled Aegeon, raged most cruelly against all the churches, searching for and seizing books. If those books were of such a kind that they had been published against idols, they embraced them as if they favored their own cause and opinion; but if they were written in defense of the images, as if they were convicting them of their own fictions, they burned most of them with fire.

^B 36. The emperor also summoned the majority of the bishops, so that they might lend their support to this innovation. As soon as they had drawn near the naval station on the opposite side of Byzantium, they did not voluntarily go to the chief shepherd and supreme pontiff, as was the custom, to cross over to him; rather, encountering the royal impulse that stood against them, they were seized by force and dragged off to the punishments of Echetus and Phalaris. If they professed that they held the same views as the emperor, there was ready relief and remission from their evils. But if anyone, pricked by the goad of truth, opposed the impiety even slightly, he was condemned to prison, hunger, and earthly terrors, to which nothing was lacking that would make them as distressing as the specters of Empusa. In this manner the council of the second Caiaphas had gathered; thus did Jannes and Mambres array their grandiloquent struggle against the new Moses; ^C thus did the inventors of darkness and the precursors and patrons of Antichrist reject the star of the priesthood and father of the world, Nicephorus. For by imposing silence upon the master—and that with threats—they commanded those who had not even received the rank of disciples to teach in the churches. They prohibited the golden river of the Word and of doctrine from flowing according to reason, and they did not shudder to set those who had dug for themselves pits of perdition, and who lacked the water of wisdom, to govern the Church. They kept the venerable pontiff away from the sacred table, ^D and to those for whom it was a sin even to enter the house of God, they entrusted the inner sanctuaries of the Saints. They shook those whom they thought to be the pillars of the Church, and boasted that they would prop it up with their empty and unstable delusions.

^A 37. This servant of God, Nicephorus, observing these things, devised every form of supplication to God, beseeching and calling upon Him as a helper to keep the Church pure from stain, and not to allow the sincere flock to be defiled by the wicked practices and society of heretics. For this reason, he drew all men to himself, admonishing, beseeching, and exhorting them not to mingle with the leaven of the heretics; he warned them to flee from the fruits of their strange doctrine as from a venomous brood of vipers, for they were like unnatural births. He said that the wound they inflict is not bodily, such as might yield to medical remedies, but that such a danger is one that, piercing through to the very recesses of the soul, rejects any poultice applied only to the surface. Therefore, one must not yield to the exigency of the time, nor to the violence of power; for although the heresy drags along with it both the emperor and a dense crowd of erring men as its companions, their strength shall come to naught, nor shall it be accounted as the Church of God. For God does not delight in a multitude, but regards him who fears and trembles at His words, and clearly shows the whole Church to be as one man. Let us, therefore, render Him propitious through prayers; let us appease Him by importuning Him with an all-night vigil; let us beg Him that we may not suffer what our persecutors are striving to inflict upon us. He spoke these things, and held all the people, as they completed the all-night assembly.

^B 38. And when it became known to the emperor that they were performing the hymnody that night, a chill and trembling fear seized him, lest peradventure something might be innovated against him, moved by the reverence he held for the high priest and the common affection of the people toward him. Therefore, about the cockcrow, he sent men to the temple, vexed and indignant, bringing a charge against the chief shepherd as though he were the cause of the disturbances. "For it was not fitting," he said, "when the emperor is compelling all things toward peace, for you to plot dissension and discord, and to speak against peace. Since, therefore, it has been discovered that you are acting against the emperor's will, when the day has dawned, depart to the palace, that he himself may understand these matters more clearly." The whole assembly immediately perceived what these words of the messenger indicated, and showed a greater readiness than the report of the matter demanded. Thus, all began to shed suppliant tears from their eyes, and prayed the more intently to the Judge and Inspector of all, that He might defend ^C and preserve the rights of the Catholic faith. And when the prayers were finished, the most sacred man, standing in their midst, addressed the assembly of the Church in these words:

39. "It was fitting, O God-chosen assembly, that we should not have to see the Church, in which ye are, even in the vision of dreams, in such a state—"

^A in the state we now behold, and to see what evils are being plotted against her: that she is exchanging her brightness for gloom, that she is hastening from profound peace into discord, that while she provides perfect and voluntary pasture for all, she suffers the violent plundering of those she feeds, that while she permits all to be of one mind, she is divided by diverse opinions; the Church which Christ acquired with His own blood, which He has kept spotless and without blemish from every stain, and which, surrounding her with apostles, prophets, martyrs, and the spirits of all the just, He showed as a walled garden. ^B But now we see her suffering these things, at the hands of those who in appearance are our own, but in reality are utter strangers; things which we would even pray not to suffer at the hands of enemies. For today, the archetype is also dishonored along with the image of Christ, if indeed the honor of the image ascends to the archetype. Today, the tradition which had been preserved in the Church from the beginning by word and writing is being excised and abolished (at least so far as the enemies of the truth are concerned), and the faithful are to be imbued with a hitherto unheard-of tradition. But I beseech you, do not let your spirits fail, terrified by their threats, nor relax any of your zeal; for you are spurred on by that aid which this war will not lack. For it is no different dealing with the enemies of the truth than with those who try to swim against the current of the most rapid rivers: for as those who strive to swim upstream are, even against their will, swept downstream by the very force of the water; so these men, having devised a thousand trifles against the truth, are led, even against their will, to its concord. ^C For the truth is an unconquerable thing, able to do all things, and bringing great weight to bear on either side. It knows how to crown, when it is honored; it knows how to defeat, when it is attacked by war. With it as a companion, even he who is armed with no weapons may be victorious; but if it is absent, even a heavily armored soldier can easily be defeated. And witnesses to these things are they themselves, against whom our speech is directed; for through no concern for the truth, they have become a laughingstock even to those who are being taught the alphabet, being sufficient to contradict themselves, and feeding upon their own flesh ^D like madmen.

40. Having spoken these things offhandedly, and having placed the holy pallium—the

sacred rag

^A Having cast a downward glance, he led the way and took his place on the royal throne, while he yielded the second seat to the just man. What he discussed at that time with the emperor alone, and how he overwhelmed him with showers of words from the divine Scriptures, we shall tell when the time calls for it. For the most vile man, a slave to impiety, thought that he could easily overcome the saint if he engaged with him alone, when he was devoid of any help or weapons. He begins, therefore, as if his mind were kindled from the lowest depths of rage, to vomit forth these things: "What is this discord, O man, being fabricated by you, or rather, this youthful uprising against the empire? For he who seeks to gather men outside our authority, and to teach strange doctrines, and to devise complaints against the better cause, throws himself into nothing other than opposition to the common salvation. For if it were our imperial intention to do something for the destruction of the right doctrines, and we were attempting to shake their foundations—as you, in your folly, say—one might have had both the time and the opportunity to pour complaints upon us and to bring against us the charge of heresy. But since we are concerned with the orthotomy [correct cutting/dividing] of these things, and we desire to turn away all discord, and we wish for all to be of one mind in the faith, in what way do we appear to do wrong in this, desiring to preside over peace in the Church? Do you not know that no small part [of the people] is agitated and stands apart from the Church, concerning the writing and standing of icons, [and] the bringing forward of Scriptural sayings for their rejection? If those things that are proposed [as arguments] are not examined, there is nothing to prevent the agreement of faith from being broken into divisions, and no way to see the restoration of the righteous [doctrine] towards a union of concord. We therefore exhort you to discuss these matters with those who are debating them, without any delay, and we have determined that you should either persuade or be persuaded, so that we, too, knowing what is more rightly said, may stand on the side of that which is just, and grant therewith the weight of our authority. But if you refuse to do this, and wish by your silence to claim justice for yourselves, it is not obscure where your affairs will be placed." ^B Nicephorus answered: "We are not the artificers, O Emperor, of those things which aim at discord and sedition, nor have we stirred up our prayer against your rule; for we are instructed by the Scripture to pray for kings, not to curse them. Nor, indeed, do we turn the healthy word of the faith toward the disease of perverse doctrine and heresy; for we are forbidden by the teacher of truth ^C even to say 'Hail' to those who are held by such things. But we know this, and we confidently declare it to you who also know it, that it is acknowledged by all men that peace is the primary good, to those..."

therefore, whoever becomes the author of its dissolution, he is the most responsible for evils, not only for those who are near, but also for those who are of the same origin as himself. That emperor, then, is the best, who is naturally capable of arranging peace from war; but you, ^A when the affairs of the Churches were well-ordered, have taken it into your head to bring war upon us, having no cause; and while the right dogmas, in which the cross of Christ is proclaimed, are shining brightly (for neither the East, nor the West, nor the North, nor the Sea is outside the reach of their clear light), you have decided, not least of all, to stir up an obscure teaching of corrupt men. For what Rome, the first-seated throne of the apostles, conspired with you for the abolition of the venerable image of Christ? Yet it labors with us and rejoices in the honor of it. ^B What Alexandria, that venerable sanctuary of the Evangelist Mark, ever refused to honor the representation of the Mother of God in the flesh through matter, as you have dared to do? Rather, she acts as a fellow-worker and is in agreement with us in this. What Antioch, the great-named seat of the coryphaeus Peter, joined with you in the insult of the images of the saints? To the contrary, it works with us to preserve their ancient dignity. What Jerusalem, the glorious dwelling-place of the Brother of God, has agreed with you for the abolition of the Patristic traditions? What priest living under your authority, not by force or fear, has voluntarily yielded and agreed with your opinion? ^C And what universal synod, by which the genuine symbol of the faith has been elucidated by the divine Spirit, has voiced agreement with you in these matters? For he who is deprived of the concurrence of these will not be able to weave a garment of dogmas for the Church. But, O emperor, do not stretch out your hands to a heresy that is stretched out on the ground, nor breathe life into a voice against the Church that has been condemned by reasonable silence. Let it, with its inventors, be cast away to a great distance; let it be gone to the dogs; let it be sent off to Cynosarges; but let the incomparable magnificence of the Church always remain. No part of the world under the sun, as I have already said to your imperial Majesty, ^D has been eager to keep itself away from the holy images, and no part has ever plotted disorder against its lawful good order; for it appears from all sides to hold its calmness and stability, prevailing against storms and surges and even the gates of Hades themselves. Do not allow innovative teachings to be set against our long-standing tradition; for these have learned to speak for the sake of pleasing others, not the things of the Lord, and these are miscarriages from the womb of murderers. But if the subtle persuasion of the heretics has unsettled your upright sobriety (for we know that even before you assumed the empire you adhered to the blameless faith), and if someone of such a kind has corrupted your ears and persuaded you, and has produced a stumbling-block for you, if you desire to find the solution to this, we assure you that God will provide it, with the divine light shining upon us. For we are bound by this duty, and it is the most necessary of all debts, to eradicate completely, with God giving the strength, the stumbling-block that has been placed before you. For to open the mouth and to communicate the things of the Spirit with those outside

we deem it not worthwhile, whatever necessity may have compelled us to this; yet we do not therefore yield to the interpretations which they have plucked from Scripture and the books of the Fathers. For long ago they were confuted by many Fathers and have been extinguished.

CHAPTER VII. Colloquium sancti Nicephori cum imperatore de sculptili ex praescripto Moysis non faciendo.

42. Then the emperor, taking him up, said: Does not even Moses seem to you to have taught the true opinion regarding these things? Do you doubt that the words of Moses are the words of God, who commands that an idol, or a likeness, or a similitude is not to be made—and that not only of a man, but absolutely and indefinitely of any other thing whatsoever, of those that fly in the sky and air, or of those that live on the earth, or of those that swim in the waters? By what reasoning, therefore, do you demonstrate that you offer honor to images and likenesses, when the Lawgiver forbids the making of such things? ^A PATRIARCH. You lead us into a deep and fathomless sea of inquiry, O Emperor; a sea which many have often crossed, yet none, as far as we know, has reached the harbor of accuracy. For some, although they think the use of images to be absurd and blame them in the secret judgment of their minds as an offspring of pagan worship, and join themselves to those who condemn them; yet when it comes to the matter, they withdraw their ship, as they say, by degrees, acting contrary to what they have judged. For they have images both in the churches and in the forum and in houses; some even have them as companions of their journeys and housemates by land and by sea. Others, utterly exhausted by the perplexity of the matter, and throwing away their weapons from the very first encounter, have turned their backs to the enemy; and they do not honor the images of the prophets, nor the likenesses of the apostles, nor figures drawn with colors and brush of the martyrs, but erecting churches free from all this equipment of figures and images, they boast that they offer supplications and perform vows to the invisible and incorporeal God. ^B If it pleases you, having entered into the investigation of this matter, let us not neglect the door, lest we wander in circles; but pursuing the truth by its own tracks, we may be able to capture it in our discourse as in a net. Hear, therefore, a very wise and true discourse, which you will surely approve and praise, if you truly love that which is true and are possessed by a desire for the truth.

43. Do you not know what a deception formerly took hold of the souls of the Egyptians regarding God, and how they brought down the uncreated and immaterial glory of the Lord into matter and form, and worshipped this as a doll and in the likeness of a man? I speak of that Osiris, and Typhon, and Horus, and Isis, and the catalog of other human gods, whose licentiousness their manner of life refutes, and whose avarice and unjust strivings in war, in oppressing

^A the nature [of things], have death as their result. But why? Did the divine stop at this, or was the divine form fashioned and shaped into irrational animals and the species of the irrational? They worshipped the dog as God; the bull Apis was hymned, the goat [as] Hermes, and the fish [as] Athena, and by an irrational judgment they declared irrational things to be gods. And already, combining these with one another, they fashioned certain multiform and multi-faced gods; creating one with goat-feet—this was Pan—and to another attaching the face of a dog—Anubis, I think, it was called—allowing it to be neither a complete man nor a finished dog. Am I lying in recounting these things, or do you subscribe to them as true? EMPEROR. You speak the truth. PATRIARCH. Since, therefore, that legislator, leading out from Egypt the people ^B handed over to him by God, wishing to wipe away and cleanse the foul stains that had therein become ingrained in their souls, so that they might not think the divine to be of human form and likeness, or [to have] the forms of other animals, he urges them likewise and legislates in the discourse as follows: "Do not conduct yourselves, O men, according to the custom in Egypt, nor, having learned absurdly from them, let an image of God be perfected among you—neither of those things flying in the air, nor moving on the earth, nor swimming in the waters; for these are not God, even if it seems so to the Egyptians, nor is that which is incapable of being seen to be depicted in an image. For the divine is formless and unshapen, and invisible, and [resembles] nothing of that which is manifest and known to the eyes of men; but [is] to be contemplated by the mind alone, if somehow one might be able [to do] even this. For if [He is] the Creator of all things, He could not Himself be one of all things; and if He permeates through all, He could not be confined in one." ^C The legislator, therefore, forbade the making of images only with regard to God. And that this is clear, he himself will first demonstrate it, to those wishing to understand what is written aright; for as though offering the discourse concerning God, and referring the expression to Him alone, he adds, saying somewhere: "For you shall not worship them, nor shall you serve them; for I am the Lord your God, a jealous God." ^D For the impious rashness and absurd notion—that whoever might ever dare to take for himself, having received the conceptions from manifest things, the form and shape of Him who is beyond all nature and essence and knowledge, whom no one has ever seen nor can ever possibly see, and to fashioned [it] boldly—these are like what was impiously dared among the Greeks, who, seeking God, did not stretch the eye of their soul upward, nor, having been lightened in their mind above the aether and heaven, did they search out there the desired [One]; but, having been brought down to the earth and matter, and having poured out all their wisdom below, they proclaimed the appearances as God. If, however, any man, whether honoring a king, or hymning a general, or admiring the excellent, fashioned images of them, I think it no wrong, if he should set before those who have color [that] which he praises with the soul and knows with the eyes; let it be honored only, according to the babblings and trifles of those people, as a god at some time the thing being made—for this is already [*] * Deut. v, 9.

^A that which Moses forbids, which the Christian law hates, and which God does not wish to be [Isa. xlii, 8]. For He says: “My glory I will not give to another.” He who thus understands the words of the lawgiver preserves the eye of his mind pure and serene; and contemplating immutably the One who flees every risk of change, he thinks of Him in such a way that no form and no color affects Him; no place or time, or whatever things of this nature are properties of bodies that draw the mind toward themselves through the eyes. But, anchoring himself somewhere upon the incorporeal, he stands immovable and tranquil around the Good, keeping his own operation unclouded and dispassionate. He, however, who hears them in another way, and, becoming dizzy because of the weakness of his soul at that which is invisible and intelligible, having slipped from the understanding concerning God, wanders about the field of unstable forgetfulness, ^B wallowing as if in mud around bodies and the earth.

44. What then, if I demonstrate that even those holy men themselves who lived under the institutions of Moses did not keep this law—nor did they flee from making images of those things which are in heaven and on earth and in the sea—if the discourse is to be understood according to your indefinite interpretations? [IMPER.] How, and in what manner? [PATR.] Has it escaped you, O Emperor, how Solomon, while building the temple, fashioned within the temple precincts that bronze sea in which the priests used to wash their hands stained with the blood and gore of victims? Upon what base, therefore, did he suspend that great work? Did he not cast twelve oxen in bronze, and placing them underneath, spread the sea above them? How, therefore, does he observe the law, making a likeness of oxen in those things which he consecrated? By these things, I think, he signified that the choir of the Apostles, equal in number, who, as wise masters of the Word in the bovine work, lift up this world—that is, the sea—by the cultivation of piety, and ^C raising it on high, purify and cleanse the hands of the priests, which were defiled by the blood of sacrifices, with the streams of doctrine, so that, having been delivered from those things, they might offer an unbloody sacrifice to the Master. And what of the fact that, constructing various and exceedingly precious seats, he placed in them figures of lions—so, that is to say, as to fix some at the top, where the curve of the elbows was, and to fit others appropriately below along the steps? Moreover, the material of the lions was ivory.

45. And why should I say these things to you about others, when it is permitted to show the lawgiver himself, if understood in your sense, not following his own laws? For are you unaware that a propitiatory was fashioned from pure gold, and that he placed this above the golden ark ^D which was also fashioned from gold? And, as the opinion of Paul is, in

^A the type of the Savior and our Lord took the propitiatory. Furthermore, did he not make two Cherubim under the propitiatory with wings spread out, overshadowing and covering it, and by a silent cry, mute to the shout of men, proclaiming the hidden and unknown Divinity of Him who was to be seen upon earth? And do you not admit these to be those powers endowed with the faculty of intellect, which, around the luminous axes of the heavens, lead dances before God, rejoicing in their own tranquility and the abundance of knowledge which they possess concerning the desired Good? By what reasoning, then, did the lawgiver, who, as you say, forbade images, make images of these? ^B Furthermore, when he saw the Israelite people perishing in the desert, a plague of serpents raging—vipers which crept from secret places and cast themselves into the path at travelers, no differently than deadly weapons—he fashioned that bronze serpent and raised it up as a sign, by looking toward which the opposing powers, the serpents, were deadened, and those who had been secretly wounded were suddenly delivered from their blows. They say that this served as a symbol and figure of my Jesus; those powers of the same kind, beholding Him suspended upon the wood of the cross, immediately fail, as if dead in spirit, and vomit and spit forth in vain the copious poison of wickedness they have gathered against the human race. ^C But we, looking upon Him, either do not receive at all the fiery darts they inflict, or, even if we are struck, we are restored to health. Indeed, the dragon, the prince of serpents, reflecting on the strength of the serpent suspended upon the wood, and remembering the darts that were cast from it, flees backward, and for fear of the ancient blow he always laments his new calamity. Do you see how it is not free from danger that the things spoken by the lawgiver should be understood so rashly and indefinitely?

46. You will also know this, O Emperor, if you happen to recall it: for what reason did the lawgiver once grow angry with the Israelite people? ^D EMPER. I know that he grew angry often, but for what cause you now make mention, I do not know. PATR. At the time when they fashioned the golden head of the calf, he was most rightly angry with them. For by forgetting the miracles that were wrought in Egypt, the passage through the midst of the waters, the sudden death of the firstborn, and the transformation of the elements, they proclaimed the head of the calf to be God while the lawgiver was engaged for their benefit on the mountain. Do you think, therefore, that they seem to you to have sinned in this, or does the lawgiver hold it against them because they fashioned the calf rashly and simply? EMPER. Why? PATR. Because if we should accuse them of crime on that account, it will be necessary that we likewise accuse Solomon, since he also cast oxen. Therefore, if we accuse them on that account, and the lawgiver censured them, it is because they proclaimed the ox to be God and impiously attributed to it the salvation that had been in Egypt. It is not, therefore, forbidden to make an image in any manner, but to make an image of God. For this reason, the Word also has written that he took away the gold of the women.

^A They fashioned that golden head of the calf, indicating, as I suppose, and hinting that the hearing of those people, having received the sincere words concerning God, then falling into other opinions, was stripped bare and deprived, and was removed from the adornment that had been cast out of their ears. But the Legislator himself also, as the Word himself says, after breaking up the calf and sprinkling it into the water, gave the people it to drink. What does this signify by that rite? Indeed, in my opinion, since He saw that they were ignorant of the error of their idolatry and did not reflect on how great was its damage, He explained its reasons more subtly and precisely, and making them comprehensible, He taught them, and gave the people the drink, and instilled it within their hearts, so that no ignorance of impiety might easily fall upon them. ^B

CHAPTER VIII.

47. But I must say something else to me who asks. EMPEROR: What is that? PATRIARCH: Is it not a custom accepted by the morals of all nations to fashion images, and do we not often craft terrible lions with a grim look, or wild boars with bristling manes, or horses running in composed stride as if in the field or in the mountains; or kinds of birds which seem to soothe the air with a sweet song and chirping, so that men themselves sometimes incline their ears as if to hear a voice? ^C And some paint these things on walls, others weave them into tapestries; indeed, some even hammer them in bronze or gold, so that the mind may be delighted, and they set them up for the sake of ornament in their homes or dedicate them in the forum. Have these things, therefore, ruined men or human life, provided that they (as the full impiety of the Greeks' madness has done) have not called these things that were cast and fashioned "God"? But if some foolish man, obeying the error of demons, should think any of these to be God, would we not immediately stone him, or burn him with fire, or cast him to the ravenous jaws of beasts?

48. The way is thus clear, O Emperor, to know well and to understand that the Legislator restricted and forbade us to make images only in the case of God. ^D And if we say this, we neither blame those who lived according to the Law of old, nor do we Christians sin, who fashion images of martyrs and holy men, and by a visible figure manifest those things in them which are invisible. And if anyone who wishes to be pious believes me, the discourse must be distinguished and divided here in such a way that two fixed rules and definitions are set up, which no one can overturn or confuse. EMPEROR: In what way and by what means? PATRIARCH: That God’s images are not to be made,

^A but also if anyone attempts something of the sort, as if he were a partner in Hellenic dogmas, he should be subjected to the ultimate penalties. But holy men should be depicted, those who excel in their boldness toward God and in the purity of their lives, and who are in a way mediators and ferrymen for us to Him, bringing up to God the things that are asked for, and bringing down to us from God the things that are given. For it is not, it is not one, O Emperor, the manner of those approaching God, or of those honored by God; but boldness is commensurate with one’s life, and a fitting recompense follows one’s way of living. For God, being always and having no origin, whereas that which is not always, but came into being later, received its origin from the One who is. And by this argument, everything that is always coming into being might be called a servant of God; for that which has been made would rightly be considered a servant of the One who made it. But by reason of the intimacy toward God and the difference in the light from Him, a different designation and title is assigned to those who approach. For as many as abstain from transgressions for fear of punishment, these might be called servants of God, truly a sort of scourged ones and slaves, needing stripes and prison and the threats that accompany them so that they might not sin; ^B but those who have inclined toward the good by the hope of future good things they would not be called domestics, but hirelings, as one might say, doing what is necessary for the sake of gain and wages from God. But those who in turn have surpassed these, and have appeared purely for the sake of the good, not moved toward the good by fear of expected punishment, nor by hope of future good things, but who accomplish the good for the sake of the good itself, these, having been filled with the undefiled treasures of wisdom, would justly be called sons of God, being designated heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ; even if, being human by nature, they persuade the God of all by interceding more on behalf of men, and while they still traverse this wandering and disordered space, and especially then, when they are stripped of rags and have shaken off the bony and heavy dust, and have thrown clay to clay, they run cleanly and purely to the merciful and good Lord. ^C

49. EMPEROR. What then? Do those who construct the images of holy men, as you say, not share in the dogmas of the Hellenes? PATRIARCH. They are not to be condemned so simply and rashly, but one must consider and investigate. EMPEROR. How do Christians construct such images? How do they paint them? PATRIARCH. Do they, Emperor, I ask, bestow upon those being depicted the ineffable and transcendent essence? EMPEROR. Certainly not. PATRIARCH. And do they judge them to be mortal men? EMPEROR. Yes. PATRIARCH. What then is the grievance, if, knowing them as men, we represent them as men with a paintbrush and colors? And the name of God, being unique and exceptional, which cannot properly be applied to created things, we allow to remain in the essence that is exalted above all things, as fitting to Him alone, that very essence

^A which we compose ^B or delineate with figures, we do not draw—for how are we to depict that which we do not know with our eyes? Rather, we use the images of Martyrs or other men illustrious in holiness, not thinking them gods (may we not fall from what is necessary in such a way!), but as grateful servants of God, that we may both repay them for their bravery, and that those things which we are unable to obtain from the Emperor due to being led by our transgressions, they may present before him on our behalf, as bodyguards or ministers standing by the King.

Why then do we not compose them in types and characters? How are we to write of what we do not know with our eyes? Our argument must be tested by examples from human affairs. Do you not admit and confess that He who fashioned this whole universe, being a good governor and one who provides for the calm of those sailing within it—so that they, like ships lacking ballast, are not tossed about by being pushed by men amidst the storms of life—has set up the Emperor upon the earth as an image and type of Himself? EMPEROR. Yes. PATRIARCH. And he (not being God, but wishing to imitate God as far as is possible for a man, since he is circumscribed and simply a human being), fills the commonwealth with his own presence through the appointments of other rulers, so that even though absent he may be present to all, and although standing far off he may instill fear in those who are ruled. What then? Will he ever be angry if we call those kings who have been appointed by him to rule, or if we share his title with them? EMPEROR. Certainly not. PATRIARCH. Will he blame us if we honor and entreat those who have been appointed by him and who, as it seems to him, conduct affairs, and if we offer to him through them those petitions which we are not able to offer to him ourselves? EMPEROR. By no means. PATRIARCH. Therefore, Emperor, we must also think this of God: that He is indeed angry if we share the glory of His incommunicable name with another, but that He praises and is pleased if we have wisely determined in our minds to honor His servants. ^C

51. But the most wise Paul will also appear to you to be in agreement with this sentiment, in his letter to the Romans, not utterly and simply rejecting images or blaming those who use them, but saying that they "exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man." ^D For truly these men are to be considered both daring and foolish, who neither saw the form or shape of God, nor were able to conceive of it in their minds (for being earth-born, sown and nurtured, and slaves of sensation, and flesh—so to speak—and lacking soul and movement, they failed in all that by which they might attain to the immaterial in an immaterial way, by transcending the nature of things visible to the eyes), and they worshiped as God those things that were merely presented to the external senses. Here you will also admire the plan of the Apostle most well; for "they exchanged" means and signifies to me precisely this: that the concepts divinely implanted in their souls from the beginning...

and the traditions of the first of men derived from above, they knew only one true God; but the lovers of earthly wisdom, led by an unwise wisdom and an irrational argument, having boldly torn up the roots of piety, exchanged them and turned to another, and having planted the shoots of polytheism, they betrayed the truth they once had, providing to God the likeness of man and of birds and so forth. For he who has something beforehand exchanges it, preferring to what he has that which is not present to him; but that which he did not have, he would never choose to exchange.

^B 52. THE EMPEROR: Is this not what you are arguing, that the word of the Lawgiver should be accepted only regarding God, and that regarding Him he forbade the making of images? THE PATRIARCH: That is what I said, and I shall never cease to say it. THE EMPEROR: Why so? Do you not preach Christ as the true God? THE PATRIARCH: I do indeed. THE EMPEROR: And do you not paint images of Christ? THE PATRIARCH: Most certainly. THE EMPEROR: How, then, can you preach Christ as true God and yet paint images of Christ, if the Lawgiver has forbidden the painting of images of God? THE PATRIARCH: May it turn out well for you, O Emperor; for the argument you have initiated will set forth the doctrine more clearly. For tell me, do you not preach Christ as true God and true man? THE EMPEROR: That is my position. ^C THE PATRIARCH: When Christ became man, is He not equally perfect in both this and that, and did He not diminish His own nature, nor convert that which He assumed into the nature of deity? THE EMPEROR: Certainly. THE PATRIARCH: And do you not agree and state that we could never say that Christ is one person and another; but that we say the same one is, at once and in different respects, both impassible and passible—in the respect by which He is God, the former, and in the respect by which He is man, the latter? Why so? Is He not, in the respect by which He is God, invisible, intangible, and understood by the mind alone; but, in the respect by which He is man, seen, touched, and manifested? Do we not, then, recognize Him who is depicted as the true God? For Christ is truly God, although He is also clothed in flesh. ^D However, we do not paint Christ in the respect by which He is God, nor do we attribute images to Him on that account; but we use images in the respect by which He, the same one, was man and appeared on earth. And we do not reduce the visible and circumscribed by the measures of invisibility and uncircumscription, lest our salvation be falsified, nor, on the other hand, do we maniacally attempt to fashion with colors that which is intangible, invisible, and uncircumscribed by the canons of handling, description, and sight; but rather, knowing that to the one Christ there pertains both the visible and invisible, the circumscribed and uncircumscribed, indivisibly and unconfusedly according to the properties of the natures of which He consists, we have learned to assign to each its own according to what was stated before. The mode of the images being painted shows this; for they paint Him either lying in a manger, or being nursed by the Mother of God, or speaking to His disciples, or standing before Pilate, or hanging upon the wood, or whatever other things of this kind demonstrate His presence on earth; of which

nothing is so by reason of His being God, but because the same one and only Person existed as man. For unless He had at some time become man and assumed the figure and form of man on earth, these things would never have been fashioned by the art of painting, nor would there have been any place for such things to exist. But since the Word was made flesh and appeared on earth and was seen in human form—He who was once incorporeal God and without flesh—we cannot be seen to have committed any offense if we determine to render with colors and the brush those things which we have seen with our eyes.

^B 53. IMPERATOR. What have you to say concerning the iconography of the angels? For I do not suppose you will say that the forms of angels are known to painters, and that they paint them by looking upon that form. PATRIARCH. I would readily admit that they neither know nor possess the image or form of angels, nor do I say they paint them as though they have knowledge of them; yet they paint them in human form, I suppose, in order to follow the custom of Holy Scripture. IMPERATOR. Whence do you say this? PATRIARCH. Do you not know how Scripture says in a certain place concerning the angels who appeared to Abraham at the oak, that Abraham, looking up with his eyes, saw three men standing by him? And why? Did it not introduce the angels who were in Sodom as appearing in the likeness of men? Therefore, the painters do not play with mere inventions, nor is what is written a product of irrational audacity; but just as they appeared, so they depict and represent them with painted colors. IMPERATOR. But whence came the addition of wings to them? PATRIARCH. I believe it was altogether to distinguish them, so that they might not be thought to be entirely human, by this addition they indicated that which is different. Nor do I think they discovered this addition without fitness or reason, but in order to signify that power by which they fly through the air, and their divine life in the heavens with God; to indicate that they descend continually from there to us and again ascend swiftly to heaven, they decided to depict them thus equipped with wings. Moreover, since Moses also, when he was about to fashion the winged Cherubim (and these, too, are angels; for they call all the celestial and intellectual Powers angels, according to Dionysius), I think it not unreasonable that the painters made use of a similar example. Now, therefore, O Emperor, it is necessary to remember these things and to hold them firmly in mind, that for us who paint the images of angels, that which we fashion with colors and the brush is a creature; and I approach them thus, not as though they possessed the supreme and first essence by their own right (far be it that I should be so maddened as to think what is created to be God), but as fellow-servants who, through the abundance of their virtue and the power of their intercession, possess great boldness before the common Lord.

^A 54. The emperor, pressed by an inability to answer, spoke with difficulty, in a voice that was feeble and shrill: "But," said he, "they offer us many authorities of the Fathers who are of the opposing opinion; and it is our pleasure that you resolve them before us and them, straightway and without delay." To this, the divine Father replied: "We have already said, most sacred majesty, and we say it again, that we, who have your salvation at heart, will, with God as our guide and helper, provide the solutions to both the passages of Scripture and the Fathers; but we will not be induced to hold a discussion with those who have cast themselves out of the Church and have rendered themselves liable to the dire anathema. For we are not so disposed as to permit any of the things that have been canonically decreed and sanctioned to be moved or set aside. But if it is your wish to clearly learn that we have not felt this way only in the past, nor are we now rushing to speak alone, but that a numerous and distinguished crowd of ^B bishops and monks are standing with us, firmly treading the path of this orthodox confession—behold, they are standing at the gates of your palace; if you would consent for them to enter, you will learn even from their own mouths that their minds do not differ in any way from our own."

55. He then consented to their entrance; but he ordered the leaders of the nobles and officials to accompany them, wearing their swords fastened to their thighs, according to the rank of each, thinking in his wretchedness to frighten those who were undaunted by his military hand. That holy gathering of the Church therefore enters the gold-adorned palace, exulting with great and unspeakable readiness, and as if spurred on by a divine sting of boldness; and when they drew near to where the tyrant sat, they saw ^C the chief Shepherd answering with a somewhat louder voice, and by means of a syllogism [confuting] the king. ^D

as if he were striking a new-born child; hence they too were emboldened to speak, and they cast off from themselves all trembling fear. 56 To whom, looking askance, the lion-hearted one says: "Neither you, as you see, nor any others, is it hidden that we have been ordained by God to fulfill the role of arbiter and mediator over this most celebrated and rational flock, being intent with all zeal and eager spirits to take away every offense that arises within it. Since, therefore, there are even now some who dispute about the reality of the icons and their adoration, and produce many scriptural passages that oppose these things, it is absolutely necessary that these be solved: so that that which we are striving for—and we are striving, as you well know, for peace and the concord of a single mind among all—may reach its desired conclusion. It is necessary, therefore, for you to propose a conclusion to those who are perplexed and bringing forward these propositions, and to dissolve their objections. For we have already conferred about these matters with the prelate who is present here, and now, as we are gathered together, it is necessary that you solve what has been proposed, lest by chance this slowness of silence become a cause of blame for you, and it turn out ill for you as being disobedient to our command." Then indeed the followers and fellow-shepherds of the excellent chief Shepherd, drawing forth the quiver of divine oracles against Leo—one worthy of his bestial name and wolfish disposition—and discharging upon him in turns the shafts of refutation contained therein, inflicted a wholesale wound upon him. And that we may not repeat in detail the things said at that time by each one, let us bring together one voice out of all, as in a summary, having this tenor: 57 "That you, O King, have been ordained—by judgments that we do not know—to act as mediator over the greatest flock of Christ, is obvious to us and to all, as you say. But that the scales of your mediation have been disposed from the very beginning to incline toward one side, is not in the least hidden to those who know how to judge rightly. For that man is an arbiter and mediator who does not drag wrongly to this side or that, and who does not add weight to one part for the sake of favor, but who consults equally for both. If therefore you are affected in mind so as to settle and resolve the scandals that have arisen in the Church, why have you not shown the balance to be unmoved toward all? For everyone sees..."

^A clearly that those who are devoted to the right dogma are forced to suffer persecution and are subjected on equal terms to those who are workers of evil and worthy of the gallows; while those who think differently are your favorites and are cherished with every care and kindness. Do they not inhabit houses furnished with gilded ceilings, while the straitness of prisons confines us? Are not the dishes of royal abundance allotted to them, while hunger presses us and provides only the fullness of poverty? Is not every book open to them for research, while the threat of justice hangs over anyone who supplies such books to us? What appearance of mediation or conciliation is recognized in these things? What impartiality of equal rights prevails for them? What constancy of mind oversees these things with equal balance and keeps the conscience from favoring neither side? Seeing these things, then, and considering the multifaceted inclination of your purpose, and how from the very first attempt we were judged in our absence ^B (16), we honor the venerable silence of the Catholic Church, so that we may not be ensnared in the mud of blasphemy, nor polluted by speeches that, with insatiable petulance, attack the dispensation of Christ and His mystery in the flesh. For, I ask, who of sound mind would show himself an associate to you in the subversion of the universal world? For from the rising of the sun to Gades and the Pillars of Hercules, the veneration and religion of the holy images prevails, which is known not to be some new invention of a single day, as they say, but to have been brought in by the advent of Christ to men. On this foundation, therefore, we know that the prophets, apostles, and doctors have built; but that emperors and kings should yield to these, and embrace and hold as indubitable what has been confirmed by their judgment—not, however, to enact laws for the Church, much less to force upon it furtive decrees and give them ^C forceful violence and strength—is not something we have ever understood. And that these things are true, we leave to the conscience of the hearers as the tribunal for such a matter. For at that terrible and unerring tribunal, the truth will crown its own praisers, and it will distinguish and repel those who are now adversaries of the pious doctrines into the shame of falsehood.

58. Leo, therefore, struck in his mind by these and many other things, and appearing as though deaf in his ears to the resounding voice of those inspired men, and supposing that those who had already clashed with him were unforgivable (17); and having been treated with what was a most manifest slander, he thus basely fled from his own argument and confessed his clear defeat. For he had no power to extend his hand to his own argument, nor did he dare to look back toward the refutation of what had been said. And quite rightly so; for arrogance, when it has seized even a little power, makes the one captured by it completely ^D senseless and destroys his ability to think. At the same time,

^A when the matter was called into examination, he knew well that he would fall completely; for he himself, even against his will, had discovered that the truth is invincible and clearly unassailable. Therefore, having heaped together certain fatuous trifles that were of no consequence, in order to bring about the ruin of those illustrious champions, and being unable to repair his own defeat, he then expelled them from the palace along with the leader of the sacred mysteries, using threats. O, the spirit of a man inclined toward the worse! O, the fall from the better! For from that time on, as the Proverb says, he put on the lion’s skin against the Church, and openly joined the ranks of those who were arming themselves against her. For immediately he sent his chosen champions into exile, though they were not unwilling, distributing them here and there and removing them far from the courts of the Church, ^B for he thought that, having cast down the patriarch with a single word, he would afterwards ensnare him in the nets of heretical depravity; or if not that, that he would of his own accord resign the governance of the priesthood, having no one from the sacred order to assist him. Thus, alone bearing the trials of the time, he was intent in spirit upon help from above, and prayed that God might assist him in his desolation and state of counsel-less poverty through His pious kindness.

CAPUT X.

59. Seeing, then, that the most sacred bishop, Leo, had truly abjured the faith and was already showing himself to be obstinate in spirit toward God, he wrote to his wife, as a woman, reminding her of the correct religion and faith of the Christians, and urged her to persuade the emperor, her husband, to refrain from such a wicked undertaking. He also wrote to the prefect of the public treasury at that time, whom the emperor treated fondly because of his freedom of speech and because he shared his way of thinking, [urging him] not to plot anything against the Church, which was now living in peace and a tranquil state of affairs, nor to disturb it with new agitation; ^C but rather to quench the flame which men worthy of eternal punishment had kindled, and to soften the savage character of the emperor. Finally, to him who performed the role of First Secretary to the emperor, Eutychianus by name, who was fostering the side of the heretics and perverting the words of the true faith, he wrote clearly that if he did not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord, while treading in the footsteps of Elymas the sorcerer, he would pay the penalty with God as witness and avenger, which would cruelly torment him with the bitter necessity of life. But he, seeming to despise the one who warned him, received ^D [the penalty of his threats].

^A a portion: for whatever remained of life thereafter for the miserable man, heaping upon him constant pains, daily set a breathing corpse at the portals of death. Thus indeed does God know how to heal those who, under the office of amanuensis and scribe, produce false signatures, bringing an almost incurable sickness upon the Church. 60. ^B Having become no better through the warnings and rebukes of the teacher, the emperor applied his whole mind to this one thing, that he might expel him and clothe the Church, the bride of Christ, in the sackcloth of widowhood. Indeed, he entrusts the duty of preaching in the Church and the care of the sacred vessels to a certain patrician, excluding the high priest from all responsibility for them: for having become no less contentious, he moved every stone, as they say, to unsettle that pillar of the Church. How gladly would this account—if it could find a resting place of silence, not knowing whither else to proceed—have veiled itself, and in reporting the illness of the blessed man, have first confessed its own infirmity! He lay, therefore, upon his bed breathing with difficulty, and as a certain influx of fluid attacked his body, he was troubled by a disease that was considered nearly desperate (z). Yet nothing so tormented the righteous man as the conspiracy which the enemies had plotted against the Church. For he alone sustained that struggle of his own ill health, but by this other one, the entire assembly of the Church was brought into very great danger.

^C 61. The council against the Church was swelling, and fattened by the richness of falsehood, it sought to break forth into the light of day. Therefore, they persuade the emperor again—a man light-minded, and borne about by every wind of false doctrine—to force the teacher to come together for a disputation. Accordingly, he sends Theophanes, the brother of the Augusta, and bearer of the royal sword, so that he might drag the prelate into the assembly of those who were panting for carnage. To whom the prelate replied, using as an excuse the very same points mentioned above; to which now illness was also added, he refused to attend to engage in disputation with the profane. “For,” he said, “a shepherd does not fight against wolves when deprived of his sheep, nor does he hasten to fight ^D with wild beasts seeking only his own safety: but where, in a safe place and beyond the hazard of danger, he has enclosed his flock in a fold, and has cast away far off the fear where fear is, there he girds himself for the hunting of wolves. By what logic, therefore, when you have taken away my sheep and driven them far from the true pastures, do you now provoke me to engage in battle against you as if you were dire beasts? This does not befit the pastoral office; but if you wish to make a trial of your figments (for truly they are figments, whatever you always hurl at us, and clearly of such a nature [as to make the emperor, having been informed of the force used, relent somewhat: thinking that upon his death he would more easily execute all things according to his will].

^A Let those who are pressed in bitter exile be released; let your underground pits be uncovered, and let those who have become victims of famine and thirst be brought back—those for whom, as the blessed Psalmist sang, their night is daily illumination in their delights. Let the scourges cease that flay the bodies of men inspired by God. If these things were done, and if you were to enroll freedom for all and not permit force to work its own way, then we would persuade ourselves to go into discussion with the rest—if anyone, which God forbid, should remain—of the manifest enemies of the Church, those who bear no shred of the priesthood and, on that account, are unable to be admitted to ecclesiastical investigations, and have been cast out. For it is not permitted for the unholy to be gathered together for the investigation of sacred matters. For let those who follow the decrees long ago condemned and suppressed by Constantine say: who has conferred sacred dignity upon them? By the power of what ordination, which ecclesiastical laws recognize, do they claim to be ranked in the order of those who perform sacred rites? If, therefore, ecclesiastical order testifies that they are unworthy, who will endure to speak to them in the Church? Let these things be made known to those who sent you, and if they appear persuaded by our words, behold, we determine the time and place for those among whom it is opportune to converse—and there is a time, when it is pleasing to God, for the disease to subside for us, and for God to grant to those who live to confess and speak together. The place shall be the temple named for the divine Word, in which God sits, ^B settling and most justly clarifying what pertains to the catholic faith in a refined manner.

62. When the messenger had sounded these words into the ears of him who had sent him, and he himself had concealed nothing from those who held the contrary opinion, he stirred up their tongue to total speechlessness and pierced their heart, as the things proposed existed as impossibilities and such that they were in no way able to be performed. Wherefore, having gathered themselves in common counsel, they spat out such words to the emperor against the bulwark of the Church: "It is not possible, according to this argument, for the things decreed by your power and judged by the synod here present to reach a double-edged outcome. For if opportunity be given to everyone to turn according to the intent of his own mind wherever he wishes, and if those who have been condemned to exile obtain the power of returning, and any person becomes master of his own will, with no force compelling him, perhaps we would be left naked and alone. For every sentiment, being granted freedom, will follow him with haste, and our affairs will remain devoid of all support, especially by refusing the discussion ^C with our leading men, [which looks to the catholic faith distinctly and subtly]. ^D

^A It is enough, therefore, of this challenge; for already we have made this third appeal to him, and, following his stubbornness, he has not responded. But, if it seems good, let us use synodal authority and make these things known to him in writing, as is customary to be declared to the disobedient, in order that he may appear and render an account concerning the things for which the synod has brought a charge against him. They write, therefore, a base and limping document to the head of the Church, commanding him to present himself to those who were not initiated into holy orders, and to render an account of those things which they wanted. They entrust this libel to certain bishops and clerics—who in truth possessed no clerical character nor were adorned with any episcopal mitre—and dispatch them to this most luminous lamp of the orthodox faith, having joined to them a tumultuous, marketplace rabble that had associated itself with their madness. ^B When they stood before the doors of the episcopal tabernacle, and the very harsh news of their arrival struck the ears of the great high priest—for he could barely endure even the sight of those holding such ill sentiments (for such are pure minds, that whatever is foreign to the truth is plainly burdensome and disagreeable to them)—he had determined in his mind to have no conversation with them. Yet, compelled by the patrician to whom his custody had been entrusted, lest those sent should return having achieved nothing, late and with difficulty he permitted them to enter.

63. Having entered, they were not shamed by the incurable nature of the vice ^C of these wretched little men; but rather, using their innate impudence, they pretended to speak with a certain show of pity regarding the things inscribed in that infamous document. "The synod," they say, "has received libels against you, and, for the dissolving of these, it has decreed that you must appear and answer clearly, with all evasion put aside. Therefore, before the rigor of condemnation subjects you to the penalty of deposition, change your opinion in accordance with the judgment of the synod and the Emperor, that you may think and teach the same things as we; namely, that images and likenesses are to be overturned and their use abolished, for in this way it will be possible to dispel the crime inscribed in the libels. But if you stubbornly refuse, thinking the opposite, you will be openly subject to the appeal of the accusers, which cannot be avoided unless you present yourself in person and are judged concerning the things objected against you." These things the wolves in shepherds' clothing ^D spoke incongruously to the prince of shepherds, whispering mockeries through their teeth (for they were unable to confront that most pure mind with free eyes, or to speak to him openly), covering over the disgrace of their confusion with silence, and keeping their ears stopped, although the desire to hear the responses of that honey-flowing tongue had otherwise seized those who were most hostile to him.

64. But he, although exhausted by the disease, anticipating them, spoke thus: "Who is this who brandishes libels against us and accepts the charges against us? Of what church, which excels in patriarchal dignity, does he boast that he is the bishop? Having assumed what pastoral care...

^A he who piously steers the helm of elder Rome calls upon, I shall follow; if the herald of Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria accuses, I shall readily follow, I shrink from nothing; if the holy shepherd of Antioch drags me into judgment, I shall not leave; if, finally, he who administers the see of Jerusalem summons me to testify, I shall not be absent. But if grievous wolves, intending to disturb the flock, disguise ^B themselves in sheep’s clothing and rail against the Shepherd, who would consent to come even into their sight, they upon whom the divine Apostle also has laid the heavy burden of judgment? But if, according to your babbling, we were added to the dogma of those who hold power and to yours, we would wash away the stain of the libels against us; and what order would be assigned to us, being accountable, as you say, and fallen into canonical crimes? Who, therefore, is he that on the same day deposes and raises to the heights one who cannot even stand below? Or have you taken us to be uninitiated and ignorant regarding the investigation of divine things? An act of daring, to consider this a judgment among those who are ordained. But in truth, before their oversight, and for transgression alone, impiety is ready, dragging those who obey it down to the pit of Hades. Depart therefore from us, you workers of lawlessness; turn back to your own vomit, return to the dens and lairs of your robbery. For you shall not overcome those who have settled their minds upon the rock of the right confession, you shall not cast down those who have placed themselves upon the watchtower of the synodical decrees; but the waves of heresy will be broken against ^C you yourselves, without bringing any harm from that foul inundation to the Catholic Church.

65. Having set forth these things against those who are void of sense and full of foolishness, the blessed one adds these things also: Even if this seat of ours were widowed of a shepherd in such a way that no one bestowed care upon it, yet not even so would it be permitted to any man whatsoever to teach a fallacy pleasing by some vain appearance, or to hold a meeting against the prescriptions of the canons, and, coming from another province, to invade boundaries that in no way concern him. But since it glories in the presence of its shepherd, and there is no lack of one who leads it usefully and legitimately; what argument will exempt you from the severity of canonical rigor, who attempt to superimpose the wood, hay, and stubble of perverse faith upon gold and silver, and upon precious stones, upon the foundation, I say, adorned with the utterances of the Apostles and Fathers; so that it would be right to pronounce you guilty of the very exactitude of the sacred canons, since you fight against and rave against these things that are manifest and clear, and it is most opportune to subject you to eternal bonds. Having therefore read the canon to them, and having bound them with the condemnation of deposition, he ^D bids them be outside the divine fold.

(20) Reference is made to II Pet. II, 3: whose judgment has long been impending. (21) The text is obscure, and I know not what meaning it can make: I supplement therefore what appears to have been omitted by the scribe, and reading it, I render this meaning: ‘A bold crime against those consecrated to God, how can it be called a judgment?’

^A And those, as if driven by a lash, seized by grief and madness, along with those who followed them—vile wretches and charlatans—cast anathemata upon both him and Tarasius, those most firm pillars of the Church; and thus, the most abominable men, behaving shamelessly along the public thoroughfare as they made their way toward the palace with their insults against the saints, threatened, before both the emperor and that refuse of heresy, all that they had heard and all that they had done.

CAPUT XI.

The danger of death brought upon Saint Nicephorus. The final farewell in the temple. Exile.

^B 66. As they perceived their own condemnation from the canon’s strictness, and read the sharpness of that holy soul from their own false messengers, they abated their boldness, and voluntarily renounced conversation with him. Turning to another path of lawlessness, they whispered of forcibly deposing the saint, or else made a plan to remove him by a clandestine death. And if someone among those adhering to the right faith, and numbered among the clergy, having clearly learned of the plot from the truth, had not exposed it and hastened to provide for his safety, there might now exist tragic lamentations written about him. But as the murderers were also frustrated in this performance—for the divine impulse from above was guarding its own servant—they let go of their zeal to depose him by force from the throne, threatening death as an evil to those who would contribute to his relief in his weakness; and even if it was not permitted, they deprived him of external care and of the commemoration traditionally made in the assemblies (22-23). For that specter—let it be forbidden to call him emperor, according to the Jewish custom—had threatened those who had been allotted the priesthood, that if anyone should clearly name him high priest ^C he should be excommunicated, and, moved by fury against those who shone with priestly dignity, he threatened that if anyone were to call him bishop openly, he would be cast out of the synagogue.

67. Thus, therefore, he lived henceforth in hope alone, and having been broadened by God in his afflictions, like the most divine David, in this alone he could not bear it, in seeing the flock having betrayed the chief shepherd and having become prey for the wolves. What, then, was to be done ^D [O beloved] for the sake of your own salvation?

How long was one to drift upon the abundance of difficulties, and not yield, nor give way to the evil time, nor to the more malicious power, nor give place to those who lead such, lest—as far as it concerned him—he fall into sin? For he cared even for those who were distressing and pursuing him, imitating in this the Teacher, Christ. But those others were by no means such, who proved themselves eager to attack the one attempting to benefit them. For they did not cease meditating vain things against him, and threatening him with death, at times wishing to cast him outside the gate (of the Church, I mean) and to kill him with one accord, speaking according to that Gospel parable: "Come, let us kill him, and let us possess his inheritance" ^B. When, therefore, by the ray of a most enlightened mind, possessing some prophetic inspiration for looking into future things, he discerned their mind, blinded and incited to slaughter, he writes to the ruler in the following words:

68. The time demands that our humility, having come into this predicament and bodily infirmity, report these things to your justice-loving majesty. Hitherto we have struggled to the best of our ability for the sake of the defense of truth and piety; and, as we believe, we have omitted nothing of what was required of us, having failed neither in opportunities for debate for those who asked, nor in instruction for those who received it. But since, on account of this, we have endured every tribulation and constraint and affliction, reproaches, ^C prisons, proscriptions, and suffered even the loss of those who served us, at last some men who call themselves bishops have broken forth, inflicting upon us greater insult and abuse than the former ones, presenting themselves to us with a rabble of street-porters and common folk equipped with swords and clubs. And they indeed hurled every kind of abuse shamelessly and impudently against us, neither taking the fear of God into their hearts, nor standing in awe of one who had once become their high priest, and this while he was lying in extreme infirmity and surviving only by a faint breath; and the mob which accompanied them cursed both me and my predecessor, ^D which has become a glory and a great honor for both of us. Beyond all these evils, I have learned by certain report that the enemies of the truth are weaving plots against us, their intention being either to depose us or to deliver us over to violent death. In order, therefore, that such a crime may not occur, and that sin may not revert upon your majesty (since no greater persecution against us can be devised), we are under the absolute necessity, though unwilling and reluctant, and pursued by those who hold us in enmity, of departing from our throne; we acquiesce in the divine judgments and decrees regarding us and our affairs, and we give thanks to His goodness.

^A 69. Having received this letter, that most filthy man, as if it were the final blow, and smiling with a certain maniacal and sardonic grin, adds yet more violent measures to the violence already displayed. For having handed a detachment of soldiers to the patrician who was prefect of the prison where the divine Father was held, he gave orders at the dead of night to banish the lamp of the light of the Lord. And what does this mean? It does not differ in its pattern and arrangement from the conspiracy against Christ; for just as those others did not arrange their shots and plots against Christ outside of the night, so these too, having night as their accomplice, are shown to be guilty of equal treachery against the good Shepherd. But he, seeing that the hour had arrived and beholding the cohort swarming upon him like gnats and kicking locusts, asked for a light and, rising from his bed, instructed one of his attendants to support him—for the pain of his infirmity was still raging, and the strength that rules the body was failing. Thus, as I said, supporting his weakness with his left hand, with his right he grasped the divine censer ^B and perfumed the halls of those sacred dwellings. Having reached the renowned catechumenium of the great temple where he had often implored the Divine during all-night vigils, he lit two wax candles, then, letting go of what was in his hands and rising above what is seen, he cast his body prone upon the earth, and raising his soul upright toward heaven, he says:

70. "And You," he says, "O all-transcendent and supernatural Lord of the most wondrous creations, and sole inventor of that unsearchable wisdom of which you show us but a faint trace ^C, appear through your most kindly condescension and care over the great and lofty structure of your wondrous temple, in which..."

^A you have deigned to receive the whole burnt offerings of the immortal mysteries and to confer the remission of sins upon those who have stood by, worthy to share in them. For this [temple], being pure from every stain and blemish, I now also entrust to your all-powerful right hand, as having received it in trust from you and having preserved it holy to the best of my ability, I have kept it firmly established upon the rock of true philosophy; as a place and tabernacle of your glory, it has kept its own most beautiful splendor, and through the venerable laver it has brought forth many sons and heirs to you as a fruitful offspring, and through unceasing repentance it has reconciled countless numbers to your most merciful kindness. To you, O Savior, though with unworthy hands, I deliver this deposit: I yield it to the abyss of your judgments, to be disposed of in whatever manner you prefer. The Lion ^B roars against your holy house, seeking to seize it and make it a suitable dwelling for his own whelps. Let not your most brilliant and unsleeping eye slumber against his unbridled audacity. Let him know whom he has offended and against whom he has raged with impotent frenzy. He has turned the shepherds into the ferocity of wolves. He has driven the docile spirits of the sheep, that they might obey those who rule and preside well, into the ferocity of disobedience. Free from his error the flock which has not yet joined itself to him; let it obtain remission from evils and be rescued from perils. It is the possession of your right hand; let it not, I beseech you, fall as prey to those who seek to devour it. But as for us, who have cast ourselves upon your judgments, may you guide and direct us with your hand wherever it seems good to your governing providence. You see, O Lord, what great violence presses upon us; do not, I beseech you, exclude us from the recompense that comes from it. Do not reproach us as being unskilled and less than diligent shepherds; for to you alone is it granted to rule and feed with wisdom and every praise of prudence. Let us not be condemned for laziness, as if we had betrayed the beneficial birthrights of doctrine; for in proportion to our ability, we have kept these things also unharmed for you, the firstborn of all creation.

71. Farewell to me, O Sophia, clear and explicit shrine of the divine Word; I lay upon you the barriers of the orthodox faith, which shall in no way be broken by the levers of the heretics. To you, with the seal of sincere ^D confession, I have deemed it worth the effort to entrust the dogmas of the Fathers, which no heretical wiles shall ever be able to despoil. Farewell to me, O throne, which I did not ascend without being constrained, and from which I now depart, being even more forcibly driven away. Farewell, you tombs breathing the divine virtue of the martyrs, and sacred houses, adorned with evangelical figures and histories of the contests by which those who have passed away were crowned, upon which insane men will indeed lay profane hands; yet they shall not escape the retribution hanging over them from the invincible hand of God. Farewell also to you, great city of God, and all who lean upon the sound dogmas of the orthodox Fathers within you, whom I have placed under the wings of God and your own,

^A so that no wing of malice may lead them away from your care.

72. Having thus offered the fruits of his prayerful liturgy, he yielded himself to be carried off on his litter, according to the itinerary into which the violent and cruel leaders wished to force him, travel whither he would, however unwillingly. The sea, smoothing its back, received the righteous man into a small boat and conveyed him to the monastery of the Good, which he himself had built. ^B Being permitted to spend a short time there, he was again, by the instigators of this violence, ordered to be moved to the holy monastery of the great martyr Theodore, which was situated further away and which had also been founded by his own labors. For they could not bear to see the righteous man dwelling so near the sight of their own filth. Therefore, Bardan, the very trusted cousin of Leo, was sent for this purpose. ^C Arriving at the place, he went up onto the ship, and sitting established upon his throne, he called the great high priest to himself. And then, while his attendants were vying to stand in his sight, he himself showed no semblance of reverence for the lovely arrival of that holy man; nor, if nothing else, did he blush at the proverbial admonition which wisely commands, "Rise up before the face of the gray-headed," but remained stuck as if fixed to his seat. The man of God, observing the young man’s puffed-up spirits according to the composition [of his character], said nothing else ^D but this: "O good Barda, learn from the misfortunes of others to rightly manage your own!" And having said this, he yielded himself to the will of those leading him. O, the clarity of the all-holy man’s perspicacity, which draws near things standing far off and joins the future to the present! For vengeance did not strictly follow the young man, but following at a gap of nearly four years, it brought upon him calamity; if anyone desires to know this thoroughly, let him approach the man, and seeing his laboring eyes, he will perceive the sad and openly pitiable fate that has befallen him. But enough of these things.

CHAPTER XII

An impious council under a pseudo-patriarch. Heavy persecution. Images erased.

73. Leo, applying his mind to the search for a wolf rather than a shepherd (h), finds him for this business with little effort: a man redolent of secular life,

^A one comparable to the Hercules who devoured oxen, intent only on fattening his own belly and pursuing the delicacies of food; utterly destitute of the skill of governing, and an artificer of nothing but solecistic and barbarian speech. This man, not to mention the details in between, having washed and "sophisticated" him in a single day, he installed as president of the priestly and awesome throne; and the barbarian proclaimed him shepherd of his own wolf-like soul (for not of Christ's sheep). Henceforth, therefore, having gathered a jackdaw-like ^B (28) assembly from the bishops who were persuaded, whether by torments or by their own will, and from the innovators and unholy teachers, he established within the Church an anti-Church council: in which, having vomited forth whatever had been noted down and piled up formerly with insane zeal, and having taken the synod of Constantine at Blachernae (k) as a helper, they called this one a confirmation of that, and very rightly so. For since it lacked all strength from the suffrage of the Fathers, nor had, as ecclesiastical law requires, any members from the apostolic sees, it confirmed its own actions ^C from those similar to itself, and tries to deceive the truth with a lie. Having decreed these things on the first day of their pestilential session, they dispersed; but on the day following this, they flowed together to the same place, and began setting forth their false dogmas, which also openly revealed the cruelty of their headstrong malice. But I ask you to observe the enormity of their cruelty.

74. And observe the excess of their brutality. For they chose out some of the bishops of the orthodox confession, whom they presumed they could bring under their hands from the very first encounter, and then, having torn their sacred vestments into small rags, they ordered them to stand before the gates of the great church, held as if they were prisoners, and after chatting much at them ineptly, and after noisily uttering incoherent and inarticulate sounds like frogs, they commanded them to be dragged through the midst of their own assembly. ^D And as they approached the leaders of that wickedness, they ordered them to stop through shouting. But when they saw their steadfastness of mind toward the injuries to be unshakable (for they looked at them like hard rocks or deeply rooted oak trees...

they offered them such childish and unfounded words: "How long will you, bolstered by disobedience, refuse to look upon the good of the truth, and refuse to acknowledge the nobility of right reason? Now, therefore, if any remnant of hardness of heart remains in you, cast it away and approach us and our holy synod; and do not betray the right of your see and dignity through levity and a spirit of contention."

^B 75. But they, though they were held in the place of the condemned and were struck by the blasphemous tongues of all, nevertheless, spurning every abuse and ill-treatment, answered them in this wise: "That we are disobedient to you clearly shows our well-disposed mind toward obeying the truth; for to obey you is the same as being led far away from the truth and being made strangers to all communion with God. But for us to give our assent to your synod, so long as it remains destitute of the form and perfection of the holy synods, and brings reproach upon the holy image of Christ and his saints, and delivers over to the anathema all who in any way hold to it, is forbidden to us and to all who think as we do or have thought so. For we, following the immovable and inviolable canons of the catholic synods, and being confirmed by the sacred propositions and conclusions of the God-bearing Fathers, accept and reverence the venerable images, and we cast those who do not hold to this under anathema. But the canons and propositions of your faction, and the conclusions which you boast are clearer than geometrical evidence, and your teaching which you stretch above your own temples, we reject as foreign to ecclesiastical order. For it has insults in the place of canons, a certain construction of these for propositions, and threats for conclusions; which, if they were taken into the assumptions of a new syllogism, would no longer bring threats, but snares, and the consequences of these. For pride goes before a breaking; when you have inflicted upon us that breaking, we have determined, with God’s help, to seek what remains."

76. Thus these men, having taken to their hearts the wisdom of the serpent, stood having clearly declared it in the midst of the foolish; but they, just as the council which was gathered against Stephen the first martyr, ^C stopped their ears, and before they rushed upon the holy ones, ordered their necks to be trampled by the very dregs of the rabble. And these stage-players and madmen, having played out this drama as if on a stage, commanded them to rise up and...

return by the way they had come, so that they appeared to be driven off like swine, struck in the cheeks with fists and bruised with kicks over their entire bodies. Having raved against the saints with this confused and profane savagery, and the hour now calling them to the table, a cleric of flowery eloquence, acting as spokesman for his companions, addressed the emperor and praised him. And so, having, as they thought, consigned the guardians of the true faith to anathema, they ended their assembly. ^B

77. But since they had sated their insane fury against the Church, they composed a rule and definition far removed from the boundaries of truth, and urged the emperor to sign it, calling it a pious act. He, for his part (for he was, if anyone ever was, a man of fickle mind in the cause of religion), intending to comply with them, ordered a convention to be announced again; in this, having ascended his throne—as if it were some kind of elevated pulpit—and the patrons of falsehood having also occupied their seats, the most false rule was made known to the ears of all. When this had pleased most of the bystanders, though not all, they asked that each one firm it up with the subscription of his own hand. Once these things were thus accomplished, and they had stained their names and fortunes with ink, they dispersed with the customary acclamations toward the emperors and the excommunications directed against the luminaries of the Church, with the aforementioned cleric, of course, acting as spokesman. ^C

78. But the avenging justice of God was not long to suffer these abuses of the saints for the sake of His long-suffering, but brought down a swift vengeance, not without a miracle: for in a short time the cleric who had acted as spokesman was seized by a punishment, his tongue becoming mute and his vocal organs failing. Observe, moreover, the nature and magnitude of this: if someone suggested to the man the oracles of the Psalms, his tongue was loosened to supply the words; but if he happened to confer about some matter of speech with anyone, it remained utterly slack and obstructed, and, uttering uncertain and muffled sounds that were poorly articulated, it transmitted a noise devoid of any consistent meaning to the ears of the listener. In this way is the tongue most insolent against those who spoke wisdom with their mouths and voiced prudence from the meditation of their hearts punished. And so fittingly is that divine utterance cited: *Death and life are in the power of the tongue; and they that hold it shall eat the fruits thereof* (Prov. XVIII, 21). ^D

79. But these things are enough to refute their malicious spirit and to show the intimacy of the saints with God. And so, let the account of those things which pertain to the synod, insofar as they bring a burdensome weariness to the ears, have an end here. But the dark night of gloom that settled upon the churches from that time onward, it is not befitting...

to conceal; for they did not fear to trample underfoot, with a mixture of lime, the entire beauty of the Gospel history and the struggles of the martyrs, which had been recounted from of old, thereby destroying its grace. And how shall I describe them—those who, yielding wickedly to the heresy, yet keeping the sound doctrine inviolate within the tribunal of their conscience, nevertheless set their hand, in such a perverse manner, to this transgression? They often mingled tears with the mixture of lime, unable to conceal their grief because of the enormity of the sacrilege. For the license to do whatever one pleased against the holy images ^A was granted to all who desired it. Some shattered the venerable treasures of the churches, while others tore the precious holy vestments into tiny shreds and tatters and cast them upon the ground; others broke the paintings on panels with axes and burned them most cruelly in the middle of the forum. Others defiled them with excrement, ointments, and foul-smelling odors in place of the former incense. And one could see, as if in a hostile captivity, the votive offerings of the holy temples being trampled underfoot; one could see things that were untouched and unseen by many, being dragged by profane hands and exposed to the promiscuous gaze of the rabble. One could see the pastors of the Churches being driven out, and wolves being set over the flock; those who professed the right doctrine being chased away, while those who loathed the holy word were received into domestic and necessary offices ^B. One could see blameless men standing as if they were defendants before tribunals, while scourgers sat in judgment; clerics experiencing mockeries and lashes, and being held in the most secure dungeons; and our Nazarenes, worn out by lashes, famine, thirst, long imprisonments, and hardships, persevering in their sufferings even unto the extreme perils of death. Some of them lost their lives by the sword; others, shut up in sacks and bound with stones, were plunged into the deep sea. As for the women, they were stripped naked in the presence of men and, like condemned criminals, were stretched upon the rack and scourged, bearing everything with a manly spirit for the sake of Christ. ^C

CAPUT XIII. Impiety and murders of Leo the Armenian. Succession of Michael the Stammerer, also an Iconoclast; to him the epistle of St. Nicephorus.

80. And these acts, indeed, regarding divine things and those who hold them in honor, were displayed by Leo, that hater of the truth. But who would not weep most bitterly over the friendships and treaties which [Leo] so shamefully and indecorously concluded with the neighboring Huns? ^D

^A Indeed, they adopted our customs, and we theirs, and in this way they pledged their mutual agreements. In these, one could see the Emperor of the Romans pouring water from a cup onto the ground with his own hands, turning the horses’ trappings himself, touching the crupper-straps, and lifting the hay aloft, dedicating himself by this whole ceremony and ritual; while the nations handled our divine symbols with wicked hands, and swore by their power in a sacrilegious oath. Were these not the seeds of cruelty? Was this not an open madness and impiety against Christ? Was it not a provocation of God's just condemnation? The monstrous and extraordinary portents of that time bear witness to this: tremors and quakes of the earth, crushing the heart as the prophet says ^B, and burying populous cities in ruin; famines spreading every kind of destitution over the face of the earth, as farmers gathered the wheat not with sickles, but with their hands and sacks; the air emitting sparks like rods and bringing terror to those who beheld them; the sea remaining barren and pouring out waves like a harvest of grief; forgetfulness of kinship and relationships spreading everywhere; and civil strife sprouting up in every region and city. For from that time until now, the terrible disease of civil discord has happened to prevail.

81. But even so, the man’s wickedness did not slacken or cease; rather, his soul, swelling and growing, threatening the eruption of the evils it was bearing, sharpened the sword of conspiracy ^C against its own self—not in the midst of battle, nor in a foreign land, nor in hostile territory (for this would have been a cold occasion for praise, from which we might have congratulated the wretch as if he had run risks for his country), but while at home, idle and, as he thought, settling his own affairs in the best way. For he held the one who was the author of the whole business and plot under guard and in chains, waiting until the approaching trial of the Savior’s Nativity, which was already at the doors and pressing upon his own superstition, should be completed, ^D and until the matter could be examined with more diligent care. Then, indeed, that head crowned with a diadem against the Church, and the hand stretched forth to overturn right decrees, being justly operated upon by the swords of his own guards and soldiers in the middle of the temple area itself, the wretch breathed out his soul, execrable for having violated the religion of many saints. But if it pleases, let us add a few words by way of commentary, not as if we rejoiced at the event, but as we sadly recall the calamity. What is this, O you who were so lofty and proud, rousing storms against us with the very breath of your mouth, and breathing like a dragon against the Church? Where has that spirit flown, which was forging tempests of persecution and thundering against the pious as Salmoneus did with the madness of Cures? Where did that sorcery, by which you were initiated or completed, turn out?

[you] seeking to provide long years of empire, [when] you produced a miscarriage of a shorter life? How did it come about that those grammarians who gave voice from the womb, and who, spewing out for you the rewards of empire and prophesying long prosperity, did not divinely foresee the blow of the sword against you? How did those wool-combers and wagoners overlook that shameful sight, and the disgraces of [your] unspeakable shames? Where is that diadem of the purple, which, having received it from the Church, you cut away from her [as] a garland? How [are you] dead today, [who were] arrogant and proud yesterday? How [are you] pierced with wounds, [who were] formerly unrestrained against the saints? Where are those plots against the great shepherd, the dream-like and non-existent inquiries, which you abandoned while investigating things incomprehensible? For your inquisitive mind, having labored much and practiced much, was not able to attain even a single hearing [that could] bring against him a worthy cause of stain. But since it lacks the speech for an answer, having left him breathless, wallowing in his own gore while defiled by his own ruin, let us proceed to the rest of the discourse. ^A

^B 82. The prisoner, therefore, is adorned after him with the diadem of the empire, who, while in expectations of losing both his belt and his life itself, as if swimming up from the abyss of chains, is established as a crown-bearer instead of a chain-bearer, and having made the victory equal, becomes more powerful than the one who hoped to rule. And having transferred the empire to himself, and having yielded a little of the previously prevailing malice—inasmuch as those who were in prisons and labors were dreaming of freedom—he indulged an imaginary phantom, [and] pampered the conviction of the deceased, [and] having been pierced by the net of heresy, he died in it like a fish [trapped] in the rot of [its] doctrines. ^C

83. The most discerning mind of the great Nicephorus, having perceived these things, and that the tail of heresy was not dead together with the movement of the serpent, but was still wiggling and pretending to be dead even in life, having inscribed the doctrines of Orthodoxy with the pen of the Spirit, intended to send [them] to the newly crowned emperor, placing before his eyes his own chains and God who had saved him, and the shame and deposition of the tyrant who had sinned in vain, and the destruction in the very places where he had sinned; sketching for him the true and traditionary imprint of the sacred images, so that the certainty is brought [not] by some recent and newer invention, but from that from which the [source of the] preaching... ^D

of the apostolic trumpet, resounding more clearly, has pervaded the world, and has been held in veneration. ^B

84. Furthermore, admiring the ingenuity of this man, and considering his great power of doctrine and eloquence, although he was most unskilled in all such matters, having obtained an ignorance from his paternal lack of education as a sufficient sort of store, he is said to have replied to the messengers who brought the letter in this manner: "Those who, before us, took it upon themselves to investigate ecclesiastical dogmas, will themselves render an account to God the judge, whether they ordained well or otherwise; but we have determined to preserve the Church in that state in which we found her walking." Explaining more clearly what his intent is here, we declare that no one from this point on shall presume to move his tongue openly either against the images or in defense of them; but let there be banished and removed both the synod of Tarasius, and those which were convened long ago under Constantine, and recently under Leo Augustus, and let the whole matter be buried in deep silence for the sake of the memory of the images, as it is a matter of invidious dispute. He, however, who took it upon his charge to say and write these things—if indeed he wishes to be considered as presiding over the Church with this opinion—let him show no further discourse regarding the truth and the adoration of the images, and having pressed everything into silence, let him come.

85. Since, therefore, this apology for the royal absurdities reached the ears of the blessed Father, he, setting it at nothing and refusing even to allow it to enter his mind, adhered to the former confession of most solid truth. Then, confuting the fabrications of his adversaries with dialectical arguments and demonstrations, he showed that one [synod]—the seventh among the ecumenical synods—is to be held, to which the most celebrated Fathers gathered under the renowned pastor Tarasius: showing the wicked and empty opinions of Constantine against the sacred images to be vain, and likewise the madness by which Leo strove to confirm them, and producing him [Leo] as equally overcome before all those who still possessed any care for the unblamed worship and faith. ^C

Chapter XIV. Comparison of Saint Nicephorus with various saints. His death. The writer's peroration.

86. By this faith, and so teaching, and applying his labor to divine doctrine, he filled the whole circuit of the world with a sincere opinion concerning God, following in the footsteps of every distinguished man of both the Old and New Testament, as far as he was able. Nor did he envy the faith of Abraham, and being inflamed in his soul by this, like him, he armed his own household servants with the armor of doctrine, and despoiled the kings who were raging against the Church, the same...

^A whom, like another Lot, he delivered from the captivity of heresy. Having acquired an obedience toward God, the Father of all, reaching even unto blood, and having been mortified by a multitude of temptations—though he did not succeed in shedding his blood in the fulfillment of a burnt offering—he became, however, a priest and offerer of the true, unbloody sacrifice, wisely bringing forth, from the spiritual Church that was wedded to him as another Rebecca, children of God and heirs. Following the pastoral skill of Jacob, not from obscure but from noble and rational sheep, he increased his flock, over which he also boasted that God had blessed his footsteps. He expressed not only the prudence of Joseph, but likewise represented his beauty, both of soul and body; for indeed, he repelled that Egyptian woman of our day—I mean that base heresy—who was captivated by his love and pulling him toward a communion of forbidden dogmas; he chose to cast off not only his common garment but his sacred stole as well. He displayed the patience of Job and a spirit enduring toward the adversary, furnishing a peerless example of virtue in sad and troublesome affairs; and he scraped away the ulcers inflicted through injury not with a potsherd, but by banishing and ostracizing the words of his adversaries that dragged men toward folly. ^B

87. He applied the guiding standard of Moses, leading the people out of the Egyptian darkness of heretical vain-babbling—feeding those who had placed their trust in it with doctrines that stunk like onions and garlic—and purging away their bitter and heavy burden through the salt of the Red Sea, that is, through a doctrine that is astringent and somewhat bitter; he transferred them to a land flowing with milk and honey, that is to say, to the white and guileless and pleasant sweetness of divine doctrine. He obtained the veneration of Aaron among the priests, not having some Moses as a guide in things pertaining to God, but being himself accustomed to stand face to face and constantly before Him in the sacred prayers of intercession; he did not enter the inner sanctuaries with a miter, an ephod, and bells ringing once a year, but playing the twelve-stringed lyre of the Apostles, he entered more frequently into the Holy of Holies, and most clearly unfolded to all the meaning of the divine oracles. He copied the military science of Joshua, ^C and his invincibility against the assaults of enemies; not by arresting the luminaries for the defense against the adversaries, but by setting his day and night prayers to God like battle lines, until he saw the enemies of the truth bathed in their own blood. With Phinehas, he shall be proclaimed for the slaughter of the fornicator; for he too, using the rational goads of the righteous like a dagger, pierced and transfixed those who had gone whoring after the Lord—as the prophetic threat expresses it—and who desired to sow the Chaldæan seed in the apostolic tillages of the Church. ^D David’s [virtue], not yet having...

^A added the vigorous strength of the consecrated youth and the palace, presided over the sheep that use reason, and crushed the molars of the lions and the bears—that is, the tongues of the heretics that roared against the flock of Christ and raged against it with all insolence. He embraced the love of the solitary and monastic life, for which Elias and John are celebrated, as much before as after his sacred manifestation; and, dwelling but little in the cities, he spent the greatest part of his time in monastic exercise. For it did not escape him that by such worship the soul is purified and liberated from every earthly thought; whence he also acquired a free and ready power of rebuke, so that he spoke in the presence of kings, doing nothing out of shame, nor concealing anything for the sake of currying favor.

^B 88. But who, among those magnified by grace, did he not imitate in virtue and follow in their footsteps? Indeed, he demonstrated the greatness of soul and the fervor of faith of Peter, the president of the apostles and the bulwark of the Church; and, considering the solicitude of Paul for all, and the toil of his daily pressing concerns, he put every comfort behind the afflictions and hardships that it is habitual for those who live piously to encounter, and he welcomed all painful and sad things most gladly. In the abundance of prison he was even superior to Paul; for whereas Paul, moving from place to place and explaining the whole power of the Gospel, experienced a frequent change in his succession of imprisonments, the same one prison held this man, from the time he was forced to retreat from his throne until his final day brought his captivity to a glorious close. He confirmed in himself the diligence of the other disciples of the Word in the apostolate, clearly revealing to all the life-giving and divinely-handed-down oracles of their more secret and sacred ^C doctrine. By that mass of dangers which he endured for the sake of the truth, he became a companion to the martyrs of confession, choosing rather to endure all infamy than to admit anything which might not seem sufficiently in accordance with the principles of truth. He was in no part inferior to, but in all things imitated—as far as it was possible in a divine and priestly manner—those fathers who preceded the approved synods in age, those who shone in the time between them, and those who, above all, shone in all things in which the Church was enriched and illustrious for its magnificent opinion concerning God; he was illuminated in his understanding by the undefiled light of the priesthood, and he applied himself with intense ^D anxiety to diligent prayer and continuous and concentrated meditation, that he might surrender his own soul to the first and great High Priest.

89. But since it was necessary for him to satisfy the inevitable debt of nature as a human being, he made his own dissolution from the body through death; although this is not to be called a common death, but a passage and departure to a better and blessed life, in which [he awaits the assembly] of the firstborn in heaven.

^A The Church, leading the choirs with a sound of joy, keeps the feast of eternal duration, and he, standing in the choir with them and representing in an angelic manner the holiness of sanctuary, was deemed worthy of an equal inheritance in the promises with them. ^B In the ninth year, then, and one month less, from the time he had held the helm of the patriarchate holily and blamelessly, when he fell into his final illness, he was by no means ignorant of the arrival of the end; but that end which he had once feared on account of the terror of its sudden and most swift arrival, he then greeted with great joy, giving thanks to Him who, by releasing what He had bound, brought him liberation from evils, and who would again bind him by those judgments with which He justified him, in a higher way. In those days of his illness, when he lay upon his bed, he did not cease in every way possible to devise teaching for those who approached him, urging them to abstain from the heretical outpouring, which prophetically dries up the bones of the soul and destroys the hope of those who cleave to it; but [he urged them] rather to hold fast to the sole teaching and faith that was clarified and confirmed by the seven venerable and ecumenical councils, which the universal Church reverently embraces, and which transports all the hope of the faithful toward God, and causes them to grasp what is desired. For the pious faith of the Fathers, as you know, does not allow itself to be dulled by innovations, but is confirmed all the more by apostolic definitions.

^B

90. The Confident Spirit of the Saint amidst the Malice of Heretics

^C These things, and many more than these, having uttered from the treasure of his own God-enriched wisdom as life-giving words, and having strengthened as if with spiritual bread the hearts of the faithful who heard him, and having spoken to the gathered assembly the saying, *Blessed be God, who has not given us for a prey to their teeth, but having rescued us, has broken the snare*, he deposited his holy and sacred soul into the hands of God. What a pang of grief and gloom he left behind for the God-minded, no speech can represent; and how much occasion for joy and boldness he gave to the evil-minded, it is easy to perceive from what was seen. For just as jackals and foxes, and whatever other animal is marked by cowardice, cannot endure to look upon the leaps of lions, but love very much not to feel even their roar from afar, which contributes naught to courage and generosity—so the foxes of heresy, dreading the leonine and confident nature of the holy man’s still-living tongue, and fearing the terrible and wondrous nature of his soul’s divine outpourings, and being pressed by much suspicion because of what they had done against him and because of what they had been refuted in by the truth itself, were unable even to proceed easily from the retreats of their own wickedness. From the time when that divine corpse was moved toward the better, via

^A the burial, the tabernacle was dissolved, and in the silence of that same sacred tongue the divine oracles were passed on, as if they had run up to some watchtower of joy, and having washed away every hypocrisy through the dark mist, with bare head, as the saying goes, they reveal the rhapsodies of their own trifling—things which, by the multi-luminous splendors of the words (I know well) of the Father, will be scattered, and will pass into non-existence and will be turned aside.

21. I, then, shall lay open the cause of my defeat and fall through my epilogue to you, the unconquered, if perhaps I may move the affection of your fatherly bowels to mercy, and may draw forth your solicitous, protective intercession, which mediates before God. But you, O overseer of the divine tabernacle, and most eloquent doctor and initiate, who walk in the supernal atria of the sacred principalities, and have been deemed worthy to approach the incorruptible lot and the undefiled abodes, and, filled with the goods prepared for them, are replenished by those who, through action and contemplation, have attained the summit of virtue: show our life’s ground, abject, uncultivated, and coarse, and producing nothing but hay, through your most diligent intercession to the only cultivator of souls, to be fertile in fruit instead of bearing thorns; rooted out and pulled up from the deepest roots every wickedness and everything difficult and contrary to a good state that exists within it; and concede to those who, having been seduced and polluted by the execrable communion, have nevertheless not equally defiled the judgment of their conscience, to wash away the stain with the tears of true repentance, and to tread again the way of truth—those who have need only of turning back, and not at all of teaching. For, by the irrefutable counsels and templates of your ringing words, we have established our mind firmly upon the foundation of the apostolic and fatherly decrees, immovable, as with God as our witness, and we have kept the sincerity of the dogma, as if conserving it clearly like a certain seed in the perceptive faculties of our heart. And may this unworthiness of my apology not seem to you, who have the greatest power before God, ^B as mere flattery and cold chatter; but as the produce of a grieving heart, and the contrition of an afflicted soul. May I find among you ^C a place and a way left for the expiation of heresy, lest, being utterly oppressed, I fall, and be struck down by an incurable despair, and be cast away like him who of old, for the price of a small pleasure, sold his own firstborn rights, since he did not bring offerings worthy of the fatherly table. For I am convinced that I shall suffer no small things on account of such a fall, but many things; for as one who has known the will of the Master and has not done it, I shall be beaten, and I shall weep endlessly, as one who, although he has sought a place of repentance, has not found it. Now therefore, stretch out to me a helping hand, and draw me out, as one who has been submerged by the wave of unbelief. Let not the storm of heretical waters submerge me, nor let the deep ^D chasm of a mind alien to the truth swallow me, nor let the pit, bubbling up with muddy and deadly subversion, stop its mouth over me,

but render the Judge propitious to me, who rejoices more over one sinner repenting than over many righteous ones—I mean the ^A heavenly hosts. Be the guarantor of my mind before the Lord, and clarify to Him who knows all things even before they come to pass, that it was not by a voluntary movement of my will that I ran to the Itabyrion of heresy, nor was I trapped by the snares and inextricable prey laid within it; rather, I was forced into it by bitter—though rotten and feigned—threats and by traps that blocked every path of escape for me, and thus I was wickedly captured in the nets of those who hunt souls. ^B Hence, the sharpness of the bruise of prayer makes me deeply distressed and pained, and sets me in the company of the condemned. Yet, with the healing poultice of your prayer, knit together what is incurable and hard to bring back to the glorious and smooth path of the faith, so that, through the long neglect of your therapeutic oversight, the inflamed part of the wound does not fester and appear difficult to cure, or indeed altogether incurable. Do not, therefore, let me remain far from your saving help; may I not be found bereft of your venerable confession, nor be cast out of your soul-nurturing teaching, ^C bound hand and foot like that man who had entered the wedding feast dressed unworthily. Nor, pressed by a famine—not caused by a lack of bread and water, but by a lack of hearing the word of the right-dividing profession of the Church—may I be overlooked like the Chananæan woman bowed down by a long infirmity, and may I not need to cry out in vain behind her, wearying the intercessors who are following Christ. But instead, feed me like a starving little dog with the crumbs of the table of your holy word, ^D and loosen the bond of my inclination toward unbelief, so that I might perhaps be able to see straight and hear from God and your gentleness that desirable sentence: "Your faith has saved you." For behold, I have put an end to being a Chananæan, and I have cast off all the dogmas of the Chananæan mind, putting myself in line with and following your life-benefiting teachings, while shunning and turning away from everything strange, foreign, and separated from the ecclesiastical fold—that rotten invention. For to think with you is to think unto sobriety, and to be joined to you brings much favor before God. These are, as if in a summary, the marks of your blameless life; these are your struggles unto blood for the sake of the true confession; these are the boasts of your boldness before God for this very reason. But do you, O precious and angel-like soul, accept my good will, and grant pardon for the rusticity of my speech—understanding that, as one who has attained the goal, I have attempted things greater than my own strength, trusting in your teaching.

[he] possesses the praise, yet to err deserves a forgiving pardon.

ORATION ON THE EXILE OF SAINT NICEPHORUS, AND THE TRANSLATION OF HIS RELICS, by Theophanes, Priest and Abbot.

CHAPTER I.

The patriarchate, exile, and death of Saint Nicephorus.

1. Many things, indeed, have been done on various occasions and at various times, in many nations and cities, which are notable deeds, demonstrating the supreme and greatest works of God, by which the true knowledge of Him has been clearly confirmed; just as it is sung in the Psalms: *Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.* Although by these words that perpetual power of God, the preserver and ruler of all things and of the whole world, is indicated, yet no less, nay, indeed even more, are those things signified which in our own times have been excellently and wonderfully accomplished by that same divine power, which governs and rules all things with its supreme authority. Since these gifts of such great blessings have flourished not in one place, nor among a small or contemptible people, but publicly and generally, and in the own chosen clergy of Christ, who by the words of the Apostle Peter is rightly called *a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of acquisition.* But because the proofs of such great matters require the most excellent narrators, who are able to explain them with the power of speech, lest their magnitude be diminished by the unadorned thinness of the discourse; I, who labor under the poverty of expression, was vehemently deterred from writing; yet I could not help but obey the assiduous prayers of those urging me to undertake this task. Confiding, therefore, in the kindness of God, who grants the faculty of speech, I approach the writing, aided by the prayers of the divine Father Nicephorus, and with him guiding my discourse, for he has provided us with the greatest subject for speaking.

2. When our affairs were being managed clearly, and with good order and dignity, at the time when one sentiment flourished in the Church, and rejecting all impious and foreign dogmas as detestable crimes and sins, it reduced all the trifles of the heretics to nothing; Nicephorus ^A held the scepters of the empire, and Nicephorus held the throne of the holy city, the queen of cities, who like a perpetually shining light, illuminated the whole world with the rays of his virtues. Already, both in the principle and blessed Trinity, the one and same essence, and in the one person of the Word of God incarnate, the two natures and two wills had been most clearly established and declared by opportune councils, with contrary opinions rejected and condemned, and the useful practice of sacred images had already been instituted from the beginning and handed down through the hands, being demonstrated in all the churches with ornamentation and decorum: just as in recent times it had been divinely approved by the suffrages ^B of the council of the holy Fathers.

3. But after Nicephorus, together with his son, met the end of this life, and the government of the empire arrived at Michael, his son-in-law, breathing cruelly under a leonine name, this very savage and monstrous Leo, tracing his lineage from Armenia, invaded—he who was plotting a tyranny that was by no means obscure or hidden, both against God and against the emperor, in whose favor he stood. And indeed, this succeeded according to his desire: for he seized the empire for himself by force. Moreover, he thought that his power would be in no way long-lasting, unless he boldly undertook a war against us, and strove with all his study and art for the destruction of the venerable images. For he had been miserably compelled to this fury and madness by the demons, by whom he was instructed, and by the lying dreams of false prophets and the uncertain promises of the times.

4. The impious and bold villain did not expect to lead his undertaking to the desired end, unless he should expel from the holy see Nicephorus, the renowned leader of the Church and one removed from every reproach, the rule of right doctrine, and should establish the Church as a bulwark for his own malice, so that—with no one resisting his attempts—he might safely govern all things according to his own will and that of those who favored him. First ^{C D}

^A he observed the time, so that, with artifice and teachings, he might lead them into his own way of thinking, pretending that he was occupied with the correct exercise of the dogmas. But when that man, most learned and most prudent in divine matters, demonstrated the use of sacred images, approved by many discourses and by testimonies of the Scriptures as well as by the custom of a very long period, and yet he could not move the insolent man from his purpose, then the deceit, which had previously been hidden, erupted into the open; for he bore savage manners congruent with his name. And so, like some pernicious wild boar, or a most savage lion, or a monstrous beast, thus closing his ears to the saving teachings of the Master, just as the asp does to incantations, he was moved by nothing, but raged more obstinately.

5. Immediately, therefore, a man strengthened by the zeal of piety and by more excellent aid, who had a name derived from victory, and was for this reason called Nicephorus, was arrayed stoutly against impiety and the tyrant who was the defender of impiety. Having gathered the leading priests, men proven both in life and in doctrine, who were ready to fight together for the sake of piety, they rebuked the emperor—who was acting with a common mindset against the Church—although in vain, and they judged him as a contumelious enemy of God and of divine things. Wherefore, ^B that arrogant and proud man was forced immediately to uncover the simulation which he had hidden, and to vomit out the recondite reason for his malice, like some quantity of corrupt humors overflowing from distemper, or to bring into the light misshapen and imperfect fetters of a miscarriage. Therefore, with tyrannical audacity ^C he forced the most celebrated patriarch, having been deposed from his see, to live in exile: fearing not even this, if nothing else, that he had received the crown of empire by the imposition and sealing of his own hands (which ought not to have been done). But as is likely, having slipped on the slippery slope of defection and tyranny, he had lost his prudence and reason and mind along with his piety. And so he began to attack the unspeakable crimes of impiety and audacity.

6. The patriarch, indeed, as a disciple of the peaceful Master, departed from the Church sad and tearful, as one who was leaving behind his immaculate bride, handed over to him by God, mourning and groaning at his departure. He, however, instructed and comforted his people and his flock with opportune discourses, that they might observe the faith whole in the bond of peace. But he [the emperor], becoming insane and spurred by fury, continued to persecute piety with all his might; and not content with those things which he had committed against the divine patriarch, he still published further spectacles of his malice, worthy of lamentations and groanings, against many. All who had embraced the straight dogmas of truth and agreed with the master, including the leading priests, the monks, and the prominent among the people, both men and even women, he ^D afflicted with unsufferable punishments. For some of them were tortured with beatings and cruel torments; others were pressed for a long time in prison by hunger and thirst; many were sent into exile without any hope of pardon; not a few were despoiled of their fortunes for this reason alone, that they were studious of piety; some also, as the report is, were killed secretly. Therefore, some of the magistrates and those established in dignities, and priests, and monks, and those from the rest of the multitude, partly dragged by the force of the petitioner, adhered to him; others were corrupted by fear, some by sloth, others by the desire for glory: but the greatest part kept their minds stable and constant in the faith.

7. Then, in the seat of the royal city, three true adversaries of the shepherd, one after another in order, impiously sat: Theodotus, Antonius, and John; who, like some grave wolves, lacerated and devoured the Church on all sides. And in other places and cities, priests of the same opinion and unskilled leaders, and men of no value, were set over the Churches: who, impiously and foolishly confirming the execrable and detestable decree of their sect, attempted in various ways to abrogate the use of images, so that, as far as it depended upon them, no trace of them should remain, which might present to itself the image either of the Word of God having put on flesh, or of the most holy Mother of God, or of the heavenly angels, or of the order of the rest of the saints and just ones. Yet it was most absurd and grievous to see throughout the sacred temples being despoiled of their beauty and ancient ornaments by obscure and execrable men.

8. And this domination of the evil ones brought down most grievous calamities, and confused and confounded all things, not for a small or short interval of time, but for a space of nearly thirty years, fortified by the strength of the emperor. Of which having passed fourteen in exile, the divine Father Nicephorus migrated from this mortal life to the immortal; and he is buried next to the temple of the holy martyr Theodore, in the monastery which he himself had built from the foundations. In this, indeed, when he was punished with exile, he led a pious and sacred life, and diligently cultivated and purged his mind by the study of virtues, and exhibited himself as a pure temple of God and divine things, since he was like the angels, and at the same time adorned the dignity of both the monastic and pontifical life with his virtues.

9. Thus far we have commemorated how the most blessed Nicephorus, as an excellent governor, wisely administered the ecclesiastical office; and as much by the honesty of his life as by the excellence of his knowledge, he instructed all his senses and his mind rightly toward piety: and in what pertains to the faith, he always held his course tranquilly and observed the legitimate institutions of civil life: and just as envy, which

was accustomed to disparage worthy deeds, moved by malice, and unable to look upon the flock of Christ increased and adorned by the best institutions, spurred on the Emperor Leo—a pernicious enemy of his own soul—to rise up against God in a zeal for innovations in religion, and with all his might to afflict and defile sacred and divine things, and finally to drive this divine man from his sacred see and cast him into exile, where, cultivating his soul with virtues and contemplations and living with God, he led a good and blessed life. But now the time is come that, by the providence of God, who turns the shadow of death into the morning brightness and darkness into light, and has changed sorrow and sadness into joy and gladness, we should set forth in the remaining part of this discourse, briefly, how his sacred body was translated to the royal city; for this we had especially proposed to ourselves, ^B even though we have lingered in recounting other matters.

CHAPTER II.

The body of Saint Nicephorus is translated to Constantinople with great solemnity.

40. For after the death of Theophilus, the empire was transferred to his wife Theodora and their son Michael, who was still a youth; and the woman applied herself most especially to the study and care of piety. Truly given as a gift of God (as her name indicates), she deemed none of the many renowned and great deeds by which princes are accustomed to be proved, more excellent for securing her empire and for exercising masculine fortitude within a female person, than if she were to render God propitious to herself through the cultivation of piety and religion. Moreover, this could in no way happen more easily or conveniently than if she were to appease the disturbance long since stirred up in the Church, and restore to health the part of it suffering from disease: so that those who were alienated from one another in spirit might be reconciled and think exactly the same thing. For thus it would come about that, when there was one sentiment and one mind among all, the true and sincere faith, adhering to the institutions of the apostles and Fathers as solid foundations, would be preserved firm and immovable: and subsequently, the governance of the empire would remain easy and tolerable for her.

41. Therefore, when the Queen, excellent of mind and strong of intellect, had devised this in her own wit and considered it with prudence, having communicated the matter with those who were established in magistracy and dignity, she summoned with them those who were preeminent among the monks, and ^C proposed for consideration the question of the restoration of the images. And since she found that all were of the same mind, and that they were held by a daily desire for this thing, and tormented in soul because of the change which had taken place in religious matters, she requested that they confirm themselves also by the authorities of the Fathers, which they had found in various books; and she ordered that the entire ecclesiastical assembly be gathered in the place in the palace appointed for that purpose, and that they speak to the people as clearly as possible concerning this matter. But such a great multitude flocked together that it could not be comprehended by number. For there gathered not only those who had preserved a sound mind during the times of impiety, but also many out of those who had consented with the enemies of piety, and who had been elected by them for the governing of priesthoods and Churches; and, with their opinion changed on the spot, they subjected to anathema those who had attacked the holy images.

12. But at this swift and unexpected transformation of affairs, John, who was then impiously administering the pontifical office, seized by stupor and mental darkness, almost laid hands upon himself and procured his own death. For he had been the head and sum of the wickedness: because, thinking impiously, and previously possessing the greatest authority with the emperor, he had pushed him, through lies and deceits brazenly and inconsiderately fabricated, into the abyss of impiety. Therefore, because of the wicked acts he had committed against God, he was ejected from the sacred see with ignominy by the unanimous consent of all and by the suffrages of all the great emperors then present, as well as of the entire ecclesiastical assembly; and Methodius, a man highly approved in both life and doctrine, and who had endured very many struggles and a long exile for the sake of truth and religion, and had returned from there after having been long tormented by scourges and prison, was elected—with all who were established in dignity approving—to occupy the sacred see of the city which is queen of cities.

13. Then the holy ecumenical council, which was celebrated through the zeal of the Empress Irene—who truly took her name from peace—and of Tarasius, the greatest and most blessed patriarch, deservedly obtained firm authority and strength; since all approved what had been decreed in it by the inspiration of God. Then all the Churches received their own glory everywhere, and were illustrated by the splendor of the venerable images; and with those who nefariously assailed them cast out, priests and leaders who were students of right dogma were appointed in them.

14. Four years later, therefore, the most sacred Methodius, clearly impelled by the divine spirit, ^D at an opportune time and wisely [approached] the divine Empress Theodora.

^A admonished by her, that it was not fitting, with regard to the dignity of the empire and the commonwealth, that the venerable and illustrious among patriarchs, Nicephorus, who for his defense of the glorious and pure faith had been thrust from his sacred see and had died in a most long exile, should be neglected; but rather that it should be ensured with all zeal that his divine body be brought back to the city. Otherwise, he said, we shall not avoid the vice of ingratitude if, even after his death, we leave him in exile as if justly condemned; especially when we are not ignorant that those who were of the line of Joseph took pains in the matter of the blessing to see that their father’s bones were brought out of Egypt into the land of Canaan after nearly four hundred years. Since this is so, shall we, who are children of piety, suffer ourselves to be deprived any longer of the presence of that Father by whom we have been nourished with divine teachings? This city, indeed—most outstanding of all that the sun beholds—is the royal city, and it desires the sacred relics of its holy leader and pastor, that it may piously preserve and cherish them. May the Church, most loving towards her spouse, enjoy his presence once again, and may she embrace the body of him—who, while living, was despoiled by the hand of a most unjust emperor—now that he is dead, with the consent of the Empress who is zealous for the pastor. Do you see how this people, who through you rest secure in the true religion, with incredible zeal desires to hear his voice in the spirit even after his death? And if they should see his tabernacle merely brought back to them, they will deem that they have received him himself, living, and will store and observe it like some most precious treasure. ^B With these petitions and entreaties the illustrious Empress at once and most willingly consented: "It is clear," she said, "that this will be an honor to me and my children before all those who come after."

15. Then the holy bishop of the city, with the priests and monks and the whole people, approached the temple of Saint Theodore, where the grace-filled relics lay, and embracing them with veneration and tears, as if he were addressing the holy man himself while alive, he spoke thus: "O most blessed man, who were afflicted by the same labors and hardships as Saint John Chrysostom, and who surpassed him in the same zeal for religion and freedom of speech; you who were likewise deprived of your see and punished with exile, and lived out the same span of thirty-three years as an exile both living and dead: now restore yourself to us who are most loving toward you, and departing from this place, return to your own, that the people most devoted to you may now receive you with joy. An emperor who was a stranger to God opposed you while you were alive and inconsiderately drove you from the Church: but he paid the penalties worthy of his rage, and by a miserable end was deprived of both his empire and his life, and received the rewards owed to his audacity. Today, the emperors, most dear to God on account of the piety of their character, restore to the Church him who is dead, whom, as sons made so through the Gospel, we have... not having a stain or a wrinkle, such as you left it, adorned and strengthened by your institutions. Look and see your children gathered, who have come from nearby, while others await your return from afar: do not, like an orphan, leave them mourning your absence. Let your city have your most blessed tabernacle in place of a most precious gift, so that it may be adorned and rejoice therein more than in the magnitude of the empire."

16. With this tearful voice, the most sacred Patriarch Methodius, performing the nocturnal chanting of the psalms and the mystical sacrifice with the faithful people, uncovered the illustrious body from the tomb, which for the space of nineteen years had remained entirely whole and pure: and when it had been placed by his own hands in the ark, and removed by the hands of the priests, it was brought with lights and frequent chanting of psalms to the ship prepared for this purpose. But when he had crossed the strait and had approached the shore of the city, Michael, the young emperor by God’s care, and men distinguished by the most ample dignities, and the patricians, and the rest of the citizens, holding torches in their hands, went out to meet him, and taking up that precious ark with faith and veneration upon their shoulders, they carried it as far as the Great Church, from which, ^C stripped of his pontifical dignity, he had been ejected.

17. Then again, employing alternate daily round of psalm-singing and carrying him through the midst of the city with every kind of light, they placed him in the temple of the Holy Apostles. But the multitude of people—men and women and all ages—who were converging was so great that it could not be counted. For they were squeezed at the crossways and in the porticoes, and everywhere were forcing a way for themselves: so that, although many celebrations have occurred at various times on account of emperors and priests, none could be compared with this. Some even who were vexed with unclean spirits on the way, while they were being compressed by others, were emitting piteous and blasphemous voices: a number of whom were cured by him. Therefore, having with difficulty avoided the rush of the people, the holy body of the excellent Patriarch was placed in the most famous temple of the Apostles, the holy mysteries having been celebrated to God, in a tomb newly constructed by the hands of Methodius himself, on the third Ides of March ^D (k), on which very day he had also been cast into exile, so that both events might be memorable.

18. But we, O most holy of Fathers, beauty of sacred heralds, who have been made worthy that we should have you as both a fellow-citizen on earth and a heavenly intercessor before God, approach your ark with desire, and embracing it with all veneration, we pour forth these voices to you: O interpreter and contemplator of the sublime and hidden mysteries; O... [alt-version omitted]

^A you who are abundantly illuminated by the divine vision and glory because of the purity of your mind; O you who are a participant in the society of patriarchs and pontiffs, you who have received in both name and deed, together with them, the proclamations and rewards of victory, having overcome sorrows and dangers: graciously accept the faith and affection of a sincere heart towards you, and in return offer up your pure and chaste prayers to God for us, so that the holy Church may dwell in tranquility and the faith may be kept whole. Render God propitious to us forever, and keeping us, who have read through the most delightful monuments and the most beautiful teachings left behind by you in your various books, firm, immovable, and constant in all the variety of times in ^A the right doctrine of dogmas: so that we may pass all the rest of our life holily by your example, that we may be dear to God, and may obtain the good things promised to the just, through the mercy and gift of Him who did not disdain to become man for our sake and to be seen clothed in flesh, Christ our God: who is to be worshipped and adored with the Father, who is before the beginning, and with the divine Spirit, who is of the same essence as they, and the author of life, unto ages of ages. Amen.

EPISTLE TO POPE LEO III

EPISTLE OF NICEPHORUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE TO LEO, SUPREME PONTIFF

Argumentum

To the most holy and most blessed brother and fellow-minister, Lord Leo, Pope of the elder Rome, Nicephorus, by the mercy of God Bishop of Constantinople, greeting. ^C

Truly great, and worthy of admiration, and deserving of every praise, is he who is that faithful [and prudent] servant, of the kind described in those holy and evangelical parables. Established by the Lord over His household, he who governs with judgment the discourse entrusted to him, and who spends not superfluously nor wastefully, but as is needful for those entrusted to him, and makes good use of his charge, giving in due season the measure of wheat to his fellow-servants, and supplying and distributing to each that which is appropriate in proportion—by these things he draws down upon himself the whole grace and favor of the Master, and receives the reward from Him. And in all things to which he is appointed to supervise, he gains the profession. For, being as he is very skillful and excellent, he has mingled and presented both faith and most careful prudence together: on the one hand, showing his own goodwill and gratitude toward the Master, and by no means rejecting any of the things entrusted to him; on the other hand, by the appropriate reasoning, the wakefulness of his mind, and by attention and purity, conveying the resources to those to whom they pertain, for the sake of freedom. From which, being already deemed worthy of the protection as if from the Master himself, and receiving that, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things; I will set you over many; enter into the joy of your Lord" (Matt. XXV, 23). Such then are the gifts and the works of that servant. ^B

^A But I am not one who is able to govern and direct these things rightly, but rather one who stands in clear need of the governance and direction of others; for I am very insignificant, truly the lowest of all, and utterly unworthy of so noble a lot and such a great office. And therefore the Church, which is defined by the Apostle as the house of God, ought by no means to have been entrusted to a man of such weak and feeble nature, and one still destitute for the most part of the benefit of divine purifications (not to say anything more severe). Furthermore, because I have not yet sufficiently learned how to rule and properly compose myself, nor have I yet sufficiently despised those vile and earthly things, I ought not in any way to have taken upon myself the care and governance of souls; since even those who are endowed with greater gifts of both soul and body find it very difficult to attain the end of this administration. But since I have been raised to this office, which I have always judged myself—and judge even now—unworthy of, I pray that, if I do not wholly merit that eulogy of blessedness, I may at least not fall into such calamities and miseries as to be drawn away from righteousness by a perverse and obstinate disposition of mind, and thus seek the opposite lot, namely the disaster and fate of that evil servant (for he, while indulging greatly in sloth and intemperance, neglected the coming of the Lord, and besides showed himself grave and intolerable to his fellow-servants, and held commerce and fellowship with the drunken; upon the sudden advent of his Lord he was cut asunder, ^B and is read to have been allotted the same portion as the hypocrites in the sulfurous lake), or certainly of him who, having buried the talent he received and hidden it under the earth, was bitterly and severely accused, and was not only required to return it with the increase, but was also stripped of the principal itself, and cast into the outer darkness (Matt. XXV). I pray that I may not be found in the number of these, nor be set before all beholders as an example and for derision and shaming, and, being reproved and condemned by Him who knows and searches all our hearts, be compelled to pay the deserved penalties for my iniquitous actions, so that those who might perhaps have fallen into similar sins may, warned by my example and punishment, refrain from wickedness and correct themselves.

^D Since, therefore, by the permission and sufferance of God I have submitted to this yoke, and have taken upon myself this present ministry and service unwillingly and almost under compulsion, I shall briefly explain what my function and my manner of life have been in the years past, as is known to almost everyone. Thus, for some, the study and work is one thing, for others another—greater or less—according as the inclination of each leads him, and each one chooses for himself at his own discretion what he hopes will be profitable. For just as the opinions of men are various, and their counsels different, and their habits and characters diverse, so also the choices and ways of living are separated and divided in various manners among them, and in a certain way they tend toward an infinity of

variety and multitude. Some have judged it right to embrace the life of mechanics, however base, miserable, and uncertain it may be; others appear to have made the toil and troubles of agriculture their pursuit; some are allotted the greedy and wealth-loving life of trade ^B or the wandering and dangerous life of seafaring; others proceed with one or another craft of the artisans, that we may not speak of each one by one. But there are others, though few and select, who have embraced the ascetic and philosophical way of life, purifying their souls and bodies alike, and by this means they have been thought worthy to draw near to God, and they press on toward the upper and blessed inheritance. Or, they who are adorned by the eloquence of logical sciences and arts, and are honored by virtuous characters, have cultured their souls, and as to everyone it seemed sweet and dear, so it came to pass according to the impulse ^C of nature.

But as for me, the state of my present life turned out in this fashion. When, therefore, I was passing into manhood, having left behind the newness of my youth, I was already frequenting the royal courts and obtained a certain office, and that not a sluggish or relaxed one, but one accomplished by the labor of hands and pens, for I happened to be a royal scribe, which we know the Latin tongue is accustomed to call *a secretis*. Being bound for a time to this ministry and entangled in human affairs, I began to reflect seriously upon the instability of this present life. And when, after frequent and various waves of thought, I had discovered that it is difficult or almost impossible for those occupied by such worldly business to reach at any time toward higher and more divine things, ^D and nevertheless I considered that all these things are trifling and fleeting, while those are serious and eternal, I determined and resolved surely with myself to send word to the former at the very first opportunity and henceforth to apply myself with hands and feet to the latter. For it came to my mind that it was better if I excelled even moderately in those higher things, and were seen to be approved, than to be considered most adorned and splendid in those lowest things; and again, that it was much more excellent to possess myself and be in a certain manner a law unto myself, than to care for the things of others. Therefore, pondering these things again and again, and having in mind that all things are subject to vanity, and that there is no profit to a man in all his labor, [with which he labors under the sun] (Eccl. 1:3), according to the voice of the most excellent prophet, and that the fashion of this world passes away, according to the doctrine of the wise man (1 Cor. 7:31), and according to the sentiment of the Chosen Vessel, and diligently pondering many other Scriptures also that discourse on the same sense, and silently revolving with myself the saying of a certain most famous philosopher: "It is better," he says, "to live a private life than to possess the greatest power, if you are not to accomplish anything extraordinary," I have judged all the glory which flatters at present as a mere fable.

Soon, therefore, turning my mind to the consideration of myself, and promising myself the sure help of God...

^A I have renounced all honor and every authority, and, tearing myself away from the royal court and the disturbances of the city, I have occupied a certain retreat and a rough, almost inaccessible, crag, removed a few stadia from the royal city into the region of the Propontis, and there I have firmly resolved to spend my life and to make trial of a solitary existence (for which I had already for a long time been possessed by an incredible desire), and nowhere else but in that place to breathe forth my last breath of life. But since it cannot be that all things should fall out for all men according to their desire (for in many things a certain fatal necessity dominates, and human endeavors, not rarely, do not obtain the outcome that man, but that which God, wills), this very thing occurred: that I was frustrated in the hope of my intent and purpose, and for me also. ^B Indeed, from that pleasant and beloved solitude, by some judgment—God, who permitted or even so ordained it, knows—I was dragged away to the royal palace, certainly by the will of those who held the seats of power at that time, and by the common act of the whole clergy and the senate, machinating a certain inexcusable and inevitable deed, by a vote (since the prelate of the royal city had departed this life, and as a man had discharged his debt) I was advanced, though unwilling and loudly protesting (God is my witness), to this episcopal see; and I was set over the governing of others by tyranny rather than by counsel or any persuasion at all.

Because, therefore, I have been compelled, although unwilling, to submit my neck to the yoke, and to undertake the care of souls neither worthily nor in a manner sufficiently consonant with charity, ^C I fear, first of all, the varied and deeply entangled machinations of the author of malice, and the onslaught of wicked and invisible spirits, and their innate cruelty; I fear, namely, that they might suddenly invade me, thoughtless and bereft of all the ornaments and guards of the virtues (for they know that I have not yet been sufficiently schooled in spiritual and divine exercises, nor are they ignorant that up to now I have been in no way skilled in the art of fighting against them), and that they might wound me with the arrows of sins, and by that means dissipate the ecclesiastical flock and disturb the well-ordered battle line, and at last insultingly exult over the ruin of one who directs the battle without learning and without skill. Further, when I see that the authority is an interloper, I am wary of the deceitful and malignant jealousy of those who envy me, ^D who are eager to watch our affairs in every way, whether they go well or otherwise. For while they do not perceive the beams in their own eyes, nor do they try to remove the rheum from their own vision, they curiously investigate the specks in others; and for the sake of matters very slight, worthless, and of almost no moment, they impiously and virulently arm their tongues against those who hold the first places, and hurl barbs bitterly and most unjustly from both sides.

But having undertaken this struggle against such powerful enemies, whose help and patronage could I more conveniently implore than His, who permits these things? From whom I seek aid and assistance,

^A that He may look upon my lowliness with a merciful and favorable eye, take me by my right hand, and guide me toward His will and the government of those committed to me for their salvation. He who even defers in these difficult and painful matters, or because of our wickedness, is leading us to improvement, or is revealing the villainous and perverse nature of those who attack us, so that a treacherous bitterness, lurking deceitfully within the soul, may not remain hidden, but that what is concealed may come forth into the open and be manifest.

If, therefore, a brother helped by a brother is like a fortified city and a palace secured with bars, as Solomon somewhere testifies (Prov. XVIII), I indeed implore the prayers of many others for help, but most of all I request the holy prayers and intercessions to God of your brotherhood, which is most desired in the spirit, as they bring us the greatest benefit and assistance, offering as they do to God, and being carried up to the heavenly and intellectual altar, as you commune purely and attend, being silent and calling out, ^B just as those around Moses and Samuel were heard, and whoever else was like them in the spirit. For this reason, support my weakness and lift up holy hands to the heights. For we are confident that the power from that boldness is present, drawing mercy down to us from above, and rendering God propitious to us, to strengthen and invigorate what is weak and lethargic, and [to aid] those who have put on the breastplate of faith and the helmet, so that we may stand bravely against the principalities and powers, and against the world-rulers of this darkness of this age, against the spiritual forces of wickedness, against whom our struggle is set; that the intensity of the soul may be preserved steadfast and unbreakable, ^C and further, that against those threatening and resisting, we may be borne auspiciously and skillfully, and may lead them as children of the Church, and by setting straight the rational sheep of the elect flock of Christ, and preparing them to dwell in the divine fold of the Church, they may become unassailable to the wolves that mercilessly tear them apart, being sealed with the signs of oneness and concord, remaining unplotted against and unwounded, so that they may be subject to Christ, the head of all of us and the Chief Shepherd, and may bow their necks to Him with readiness.

May we also be cleansed and made bright, and become the perfect offspring of the perfect light, so that we may be able to impart brightness and cleansing to others; and may a word be given to us in the opening of our mouth, for the filling of our hearers with the Spirit, and to preach without hesitation and most intensely the power of the mysteries concerning us, by the grace of Him who makes a stammering tongue clear, ^D and is able to make lame feet walk, and...

^A makes them run nimbly to the preaching of the Gospel, and establishes and confirms them. May He also multiply the entrusted talent, so that at the opportune time, that which is owed to the master of the house may be returned not without interest; and may He grant us not only to work in that fertile vineyard, but that, having endured with an equable mind the gravity and hardship of the labors and having exhausted the heat of the day, we may also receive the reward of our work and be made equal in obtaining the wage to those who, without a prior agreement, entered at the eleventh hour (Matt. 20). Finally, may He illuminate the eye of our mind, so that, enlightened by spiritual light and having removed and washed away that which disturbed the keenness of our soul and obscured our intellect, we may draw more clearly the sense of the prophetic voices and perform more nimbly the ministries of the divine commands. And, lest we be struck by the darts of our adversaries, may we cautiously take heed and guard ourselves, and more carefully foresee the sword of divine wrath hanging over sinners, so that, if it be possible, having understood the danger and having appeased the divinity, we may escape the coming wrath, both we ourselves and the rest for whom we have been appointed leaders. But if we cannot achieve both, let me at least save my own soul, following the example of that righteous Lot, who strove to deliver his own soul from the fire (Gen. 19:22). Your prayers, therefore, and your efforts of spiritual protection should ^B tend to this. But since the occasion has thus presented itself, it is fitting at this place to hear that great and sonorous trumpet, the most eloquent herald of the Gospel, the Apostle Paul. He therefore, exulting in spirit in the highest degree over the fervor of the ancient Romans and their constancy in faith and religion, and thus in the Epistle which he writes to them, not without a certain holy boasting, asserting and publicly declaring that their piety and faith are being divulged and celebrated in the whole world, writes among other things: "I give thanks to my God [through Jesus Christ for you all], because your faith is proclaimed in the whole world" (Rom. 1:8). But is that pure and sincere faith of our Gospel, beyond which there is no other, held confined only within the borders of the Romans? By no means. For it is not circumscribed by the boundaries of any certain place, but is so widely diffused and, being diffused, is propagated, that the prophetic and apostolic voices breaking forth do not hesitate to affirm that the sound of the divine preaching has gone out into all the earth, and the words of the heavenly heralds have resounded to the ends of the world (Rom. 10; Ps. 18). Indeed, to say something even more: that faith is not shut out even from the heavens themselves, and from the supreme and intellectual ^C powers; for although that superior Church of the firstborn justified in the heavens, the city of those who have been justified by faith (Rom. 5), the heavenly Jerusalem, whose builder and maker is God—He who reconciled things heavenly with things earthly, and broke down the partition of the hedge, and taking the lost sheep upon His shoulders through an admirable descent and inexplicable condescension, saves it and has grafted it into those who had persevered—is called by these and other such names, it is nevertheless no other. ^D For if we must speak even more highly of these things, this same Church also speaks boldly in the highest heavens with the intellectual powers; for if we hear that there is one Church in heaven and on earth, and a Church of the firstborn justified in the heavens, and that the city of those justified by faith is the Jerusalem above, the builder and maker of which is God, and that through this we have the same and indivisible [unity] when creation unites with faith; for God is not known in Judea only.

but in every place wherever the mind or sense can reach. ^A

Whence we also, who have received the name of the new Rome, as built upon one and the same foundation of faith—that of the apostles and prophets, those most wise architects—with Christ, the Savior and God of us all, laid as the cornerstone and foundation, do not in any respect fall behind the ancients regarding the integrity of faith. For in the holy Churches of God there is no principle of first or last, just as there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, barbarian nor Scythian, but we are all one in Christ (Coloss. 3). Wherefore, let the divine Paul glory and feel magnificently about us as well, and connecting the new to the old, joining dogma to dogma and preaching to preaching, let him rejoice equally in both. For we have attained the same doctrine and instruction as they, and we stand rooted and confirmed in that confession of our faith: in which we also stand and glory, and our conviction, which we hold regarding such a glorious and blameless religion, we proclaim with open and revealed face; in which we serve God, and by which we desire to persevere undefended as long as we breathe, being strengthened and established by heavenly grace; for there is no other way for us to conduct this present life correctly and holily, or to attain with certainty the good things reserved in the age to come for those who are worthy. ^B

I confess, therefore, that I believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker of all things, lord and master; and in His only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the true God, the eternal Word, born of the Father from eternity, ineffably, incomprehensibly, and in a manner that no creature, neither spiritual nor sensible, can grasp; and in the Holy Spirit, the life-giving and most holy. I believe in the consubstantial Trinity, supersubstantial, invisible, incomprehensible, impartible, inalterable, eternal, indivisible, simple, free from any part, any composition, any body, or any quantity or quality; ^C existing with the same honor, the same glory, and the same divinity; unapproachable by touch or contact, devoid of any shape, infinitely good, a light that knows no defect, triple-rayed, supersplendid, always existing in the same and like manner; a power looking upon all things and perfecting all things; illuminating all things endowed with reason and intellect spiritually and indivisibly by the providence [overflowing] of divine light, in proportion to the receptivity of those illuminated; and preserving them in existence and well-being in real, subsistent things, and not known in mere empty names; acknowledged in one deity, authority, and kingdom, and worshipped by all visible and invisible creation. ^D

Of the things contemplated in the Trinity, one is the Father, existing without beginning and without cause; for He is not from anyone, but has His being in Himself. The Son, however, is not without beginning, for He is from the Father; for the Father is the beginning of the Son, as His cause; but if you take "beginning" in the sense of time, He also is without beginning, for being the Creator of times, He is not subject to time; but by generation, He shines forth from the Father eternally and inseparably, as the radiance of His glory and the character of the paternal hypostasis. The Holy Spirit has His existence from the Father, not by generation, but by procession, being contemplated eternally with the Father and the Son; He is not without beginning by reason of His procession from the Father—for the Father is the beginning of Him also, according to the principle of cause—but He is without beginning according to time. ^B Therefore, there is one God the Father from whom are all things, and one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things, and one Holy Spirit in whom are all things. Out of these three perfect ones comes one most perfect and primordial Deity. By their limiting and personal properties, they differ from one another; for each of these, while inseparable by nature due to the union of the substance, is confessed and believed by us to be God, when considered by the mind, being most full of all the properties of the Godhead. And the three, being joined to one another, are worshipped by us as one God, Trinity according to hypostasis, but Unity according to substance, and what is honored by us is mon-archy, not polyarchy—which is the disorderly and seditious confusion of Hellenic insanity. But monarchy is not a circumscription of one person (which would be a circumscription of persons, due to the imperfect and elementary [nature] of Jewish poverty and infancy), but rather it is shown by equality of nature, agreement of will, identical motion, and the convergence of each toward the One—which, as the great theologian Gregory says, cannot have a place in generated nature—and nothing of the united and connatural Deity considered in the Trinity is severed. ^C For let the evil opinion and madness of the insane Arius be far from us and be cut off; for the same Trinity is indivisible, not being divided or alienated in glory and eternity; neither do the divine hypostases shift and pass into one another, but the eternity of each of these remains unchanged and unconfused; for may the deceptive confusion of the foolhardy Sabellius be far removed and driven away. I also venerate and adore the mystery of the incarnation, ^D»

^A predestined before all ages, but revealed in the last times for the salvation of our whole human race, and accomplished through the great condescension and ineffable dispensation of the One of the holy and life-giving Trinity, Christ, our true God; so that from whence our being had its origin through His unutterable goodness, from that same source our well-being also might be granted to us. Therefore, I confess and believe in Him, the One of the life-originating and blessed Trinity, the Son of God and Word, who is eternally co-worshipped and co-glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, as being co-essential and co-equal, moved by infinite philanthropy toward pity for His own creature, with the Father’s good pleasure and compassions, and by the grace and cooperation of the all-holy Spirit, [He] descended from the heavens to dwell among men, ^B so that He might save us, who had long ago been condemned by sin and had fallen from the delight of Paradise and were subject to corruption, through grace, and might make us partakers of the divine nature. For having dwelt in the womb of the Virgin, who is truly and properly the Theotokos, and having had His soul and flesh purified beforehand by the Spirit, and having assumed to Himself our entire nature from her, just as in the beginning He had fashioned man, He came forth as God incarnate, remaining what He was, namely, God.

He also preserved the Virgin, who had brought Him forth supernaturally and ineffably, as a virgin even after childbirth, her natural virginity not being changed in any way, as a true indication of the immutability and unchangeable state of His own birth during His coming forth. For He who is consubstantial with the Father, who is co-essential with us in all things, sin only excepted, takes hold of the seed of Abraham, having partaken of blood and flesh in a manner similar to us; He assumed flesh enlivened by a soul, rational and intellectual, which did not pre-exist the ultimate union, but one flesh, ensouled and rational, is believed in based on the union in Christ, ^C not as if He dwelt in us by grace, but as joined fully to the whole human nature; having wrought the union unconfusedly, indivisibly, and supernaturally, so that the substances that have come together, of divinity and humanity, remain in the property of their own nature, and do not pass into one another at all; ^D even if we piously understand that concessions in language regarding the union are to be allowed because of the linking of the names; for we judge them to be distinct only in concept and not in reality, because of the supernatural nature of the things that have come together in the union.

Moreover, we believe that the uniqueness and unity of the hypostasis must be preserved, remaining unsevered and unbroken; for let the phantom-like deception of the impostor Eutyches be cast down, because of the natural, admirable, and wonderful union of the natures that have come together, we do not posit any distinction here in reality, but only in imagination, of this one and the same [Person]. Furthermore, that the singularity of the person and its unity remain always indivisible and uninterrupted with the distinction of the natures (for we piously understand that because of the union, they exist in one another. HARDUINUS).

^A We banish far from us the monstrous confusion and concretion of the impostor Eutyches and Dioscorus, so that we may confess one and the same to be created and uncreated, eternal and temporal, heavenly and earthly, circumscribed and uncircumscribed, passible and impassible, without mother and without father: the one on account of his ineffable, eternal birth from the Father, which precedes all ages; the other on account of his secret and incomprehensible union with our nature. For we acknowledge two births of his, exceeding all sense and all intellect; for the only-begotten Son, who exists in the form of God and in the bosom, that is, in the essence of the Father, having shone forth from him from eternity, at the end of the ages emptied himself and took the form of a servant, which is our substance.

The union in Christ according to hypostasis joins one thing to another, such as the invisible to the visible, the passible to the impassible, and the rest from which the Savior is constituted, but it does not constitute another and yet another—far be it. We confess the same one to be perfect God and likewise perfect man, assigning the difference of the natures, so that we recognize the same one even after the incarnation, not dividing him into a duality of sons because of the otherness of the natures that have come together in the hypostatic union, that the senseless Nestorius may be cast out of the divine fold; but we assign all his actions—which are indeed theandric, that is, of God and man together—to one. For ^B as God he performed divine works, performing tokens and miracles; but as man, the same one voluntarily underwent sufferings and endured reproaches and insults. Hence, in accordance with the two natures, and indeed necessarily, following the pious and divine traditions of our God-inspired fathers, I also glorify two natural operations of his, as marks and constitutive elements, in a certain way, of those very natures and substances. In the same way, I also venerate two natural wills, that is, natural volitions, of the same one Lord and our God Jesus Christ. For according to each of the natures, in which he exists and is understood, we assign to him the capacity of will; for just as he acts, so also he wills, and he voluntarily came to the saving passion.

I believe again that he was crucified, not indeed in the nature in which he shines and reigns with the Father (although the Lord of glory is said to be crucified by reason of the communication of idioms), but in the nature, that is, the earthly one, according to which he took our earthly mass ^C and became a curse for our sins, that he might make us partakers of his own blessing; and he patiently endured the death brought upon him by the wicked, that he might condemn the sting of death, that is, sin, in his own flesh, and destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. I believe that his body, consigned to the tomb, remained incorrupt, in no way separated from that secret and inexpressible union, even though for that interval of three days it was despoiled of his rational and intellectual soul, with which he himself also descended into Hades, and to those in the prison

^A of spirits, as the chief and divine Peter said, he went and preached the resurrection, and bestowed freedom and redemption, and became for us the first-fruits of incorruption, in that he arose as the firstborn from the dead. For he rose as God, having trampled down death, paving the way for all flesh to the resurrection, and raised us up, who had fallen by the lapse of sin.

And after his resurrection, I believe that he stood by the women, and having announced joy to them, and having caused that sorrow which had fallen upon us through a woman to vanish, he appeared also to his divine disciples, confirming the mystery of his resurrection, ^B and showing, as he was the same as he was before the resurrection, both through eating and through the touching of the divine side by the wise Thomas, he demonstrated the manifestation; and having been taken up into heaven, and seated at the right hand of God and the Father with his assumed nature, with which he will again come in divine glory and authority over all creation, and will be seated as judge, rendering to each according to the things done in this life; for we must all be made manifest before the judgment seat of Christ.

After these things, I believe also in the resurrection of the flesh, when the transmutation of the world shall come to pass, so that our mortal may put on immortality, and the corruptible may put on incorruption (1 Cor. xv). I confess also one baptism for the remission of sins, which is performed in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, according to the evangelical and divine tradition. These venerable dogmas and mysteries of our orthodox and sacred worship, along with the high and most sincere theology which the divine and sacred teachers have handed down to us, and the saving dispensation of the Word of God concerning us, and how many proclamations ^C similar and consonant to these exist, I preserve and embrace with all acceptance and faith.

I also welcome and beseech the intercessions and prayers to God, first and foremost, of the all-holy and all-undefiled and ever-virgin Lady, our Theotokos; then of the divine and heavenly powers, of the holy and all-praised apostles, of the blessed prophets, and of the glorious and triumphant martyrs, and of the God-bearing Fathers, and of all the saints who from the beginning of the world have pleased the Lord—who live always in him; for "the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God" (Sap. III, 1)—as I reap from this the greatest salvation of soul and body. ^D I adore and embrace their venerable relics, as they are a healing of psychic and bodily sufferings. I therefore praise their revered and godly manner of life and their celebrated struggles and contests; I honor the shrines, and to the highest

^A honors I deem them worthy, and I raise them with the greatest praises, because for the glory of God, the Savior of us all, they poured out their blood and animosely despised this fleeting and present life for the sake of their love toward God, having become imitators of His life-giving and saving passion; at the same time, I embrace the venerable image of Christ the Savior of all, and that of the all-pure God-bearer, and their sacred and holy countenances, bestowing upon them the veneration of honor. ^B Furthermore, I lovingly and reverently venerate and embrace the seven holy and ecumenical synods, and all the supernatural and saving dogmas and decrees which were sanctioned and determined in them by our holy and divine Fathers, whom the Holy Spirit once appointed to shepherd and rule His Church.

First, the council of the 318 renowned Fathers which once gathered at the city of Nicaea against the impious and mad Arius, which cast the author of impiety from the Church, and expounded to us the true and most upright faith through that sacred and divine symbol, and orthodoxly determined that God the Word, and Son of God—not a creature, as he claimed—[is] consubstantial with the Father and co-eternal, as true God and Creator of all things.

Then the council of the holy and most divine Fathers which, after Nicaea, was assembled in this imperial city, which deposed the unholy spirit-fighter Macedonius, showing him not to be anything created, but true God, ^C consubstantial with the Father and the Son in all things; the same council explained the sacred symbol more fully in the words of the Holy Spirit, and also cast out from the Church Apollinarius, a man truly foolish and insane.

After this, I accept the holy council of the 200 holy Fathers and teachers of men, which gathered at Ephesus against the mad Nestorius and his blasphemous utterances; it deposed him, and wisely dogmatized that there is one person of Christ and our God by union, and [defined] two natures [existing] without confusion and without division, declaring Him at once the same [person] as God and man, and confessing the holy Virgin Mary, properly and truly, to be Theotokos.

Fourthly, I embrace the holy council of 630 divinely-inspired and God-bearing Fathers assembled at Chalcedon, which condemned the impious Eutyches and Dioscorus, and their murky and darkened confusion, and having anathematized them, it piously proclaimed ^D that the same Christ, our God and Lord, is perfect God and perfect man, existing in two natures and in one person, inconfusedly and indivisibly.

Then, moreover, the fifth holy council gathered once again in this same God-guarded

^A city, the fifth holy synod of our 165 holy Fathers, that which cut away the dogmas of Theodore and Nestorius, and further also those of Origen, Didymus, and Evagrius, and those of the other heretics who held these same opinions—dogmas which had for a long time been hidden from the many, but at that time had bitterly sprouted and blossomed forth because the fables that they themselves were babbling were more conformable to the imagination of Jews and pagans than to the Christian faith.

Next, I venerate the sixth ecumenical synod of the 170 holy men, which was likewise gathered in this imperial city, and which declared and preached the properties and natural operations and wills of the natures in Christ; and it subjected to anathema Theodore, bishop of Pharan, and Honorius, Cyrus, Sergius, Pyrrhus, Paul, and Peter, who by the permission of God had crept into the priesthood of the Church through corruption and fraud; and furthermore, Macarius, who was named patriarch of Antioch, and Stephen, a disciple of his; and in addition to them, Polychronius, that childish and insane old man; for these taught that only one will and one operation were to be attributed to Christ our Saviour and God.

Finally, I receive the seventh holy synod of the holy Fathers, which met a second time in Nicaea in our own times, ^B which confirmed and, in a manner, sealed all the preceding holy synods and their dogmas, and received the veneration of the sacred and holy icons that had been handed down to the Church from the beginning, ordaining that they be venerated in a manner similar to the type of the life-giving Cross. We therefore cast out of the Church those who, to the insult and destruction of these, have uttered novelties and have accused the Christians of venerating them as gods—that is to say, Theodosius, Basil, and Sisinnius, who, by the permission of God, occupied episcopal thrones. ^C

These aforementioned holy and ecumenical synods I accept, and I embrace the dogmas and works of all the elect and blessed Fathers as irreproachable instruction and as the foundation of salvation; and those whom the catholic Church receives I receive, and those whom she rejects I reject. I also execrate and in every way detest those who, having derived their name from Simon Magus and having cast off all piety, continue to this present day to weaken the tradition of the saints with the opinions of their wicked and destructive dogmas and to mix the bitter seed of tares into the field of orthodoxy. These, I say, and all who follow them, I execrate, and just like pests of the churches of Christ, I reject them and subject them to anathema. ^D We, then, following the ecclesiastical decree that has prevailed from of old, have addressed our own opinion to you, who are most blessed and taught by God, as if by a living herald, and using our letter as a pledge of the love in Christ and of the concord and friendship that exist between us, we thought it right to greet you and to make known our position to you, who are most blessed and instructed by God, in this manner.

^A May your fraternity, most desired in the Lord, returning the favor to us with prayers poured out to the Lord and with appropriate sermons and with these very actions, confirm and inform us, so that, supported by your laws and your doctrine, we may remain stable, simple, and immune from every defect in this faith, and may retain unshakeable all the mysteries which were delivered from the beginning in it or concerning it, and may finally gather into one our entire rational flock, marked by the name and anointing of the supreme Pastor and placed within the enclosures of the ecclesiastical fold, by the manifest proclamation of that divine and apostolic spiritual doctrine, and by voices divinely inspired, and preserve it unharmed from the bites of the stalking wild beasts.

If any things have been omitted by us, do you fulfill them through yourselves with friendly and paternal affection, so that, of course, your abundance may supply our lack; whatever, I say, or in words, or even in deeds, is lacking to us, add to it and build upon it with an authority worthy of a venerable priest of our life: for the charisma communicated to you will take no detriment in this way, since a liberal communication of goods brings no diminution, but at its own time it returns manifold and glorious fruits. Therefore, support us, as being weaker, with your God-given power, and perfect our feet for running the path of the Gospel, and do not neglect to suggest anything at all that may seem salutary or useful, so that, just as we preserve unity and concord in faith and confession, so too, joined and bound together by the bond of charity, we may retain among ourselves the inseparable gift of peace, which conciliates the concord and unity of the Churches, preserved in the ministry entrusted to us: so that the city of the great King, fortified and surrounded by this, may remain ^B impervious and unconquerable to all the frauds and assaults of invisible enemies, who, greedily waiting to devour someone described in it and sealed by the Spirit, are never not ^C prowling in a circle; against whom, indeed, we throw not carnal but spiritual weapons, namely the shield of faith and the sword of the word, which is the word of God, so that by demolishing the fortifications and machines of sin with the sling of the Spirit and pursuing them, we may drive far away and break their cruel audacity, so that finally in this way, having obtained divine custody and help, the conduct of our life may remain quiet and peaceful, and in the regeneration, when the last trumpet shall sound, we may be deemed worthy, without condemnation, to meet the Author of our life who is to come in the glory of the Father with His holy angels, and together may enter into the marriage chamber of the bridegroom with the wise virgins, to enjoy the spiritual and angelic feast perpetually, and may be made heirs of those goods which are stored in Christ, the true God, for those who are not unworthy, and this through the intercession of His immaculate and blameless mother and of all the saints. Amen.

But as to why so late, through those things which until now have been set forth ^D

^A be this, let no one wonder, nor charge it against our reputation; but rather let your God-beloved fraternity know that a harsh and implacable judgment of the ruling power was able to hinder us from employing the customary norms, neither has the priestly custom been set aside and fallen away, nor from any slothfulness have we become despisers of things which are necessary and belong to ecclesiastical men. And let your holy soul grant pardon, if there be any blame of delay on my part, for being experienced in this, as it is not an easy road to oppose a power, given over to its own wills and hastening to fulfill all the things that please it. For it seemed to the one who was hindering us that he could also put forward a plausible pretext against us due to the things that were done regarding the chrism, and he spread gossip and grew fierce, as if you had torn yourselves away from the Church. Wherefore, you too, from the fact that you have suffered necessity in these matters, can be forgiving towards those who fall into similar things against their will. And because of these things, I think there will be no need for more words of apology, but here they will be dismissed in due time, and the things now being done and fulfilled bear witness. Since the bolt has been broken, and the gate is thrown open, and the stones of stumbling have been cleared from the road, and every smooth and untrodden path has been leveled, and henceforth the painful things are gone, the scandals have become things of the past, the insults are now dissolved, the obstacles from that quarter are undone, and a light of freedom has shone upon the Church. For this reason, the things of love and of the prevailing priestly custom have found a place to be carried out and completed.

^B But there are still some who do not care for divine things, but for the sake of their own glory have striven to look upon what sort of divine judgment will befall them. For as it is dear to them, gaping for the present glory and splendor, to set their sights on one another, we, however, setting our zeal on the glory concerning God, and the ecclesiastical honor, and concord, and the keeping of the sacred canons, hold to our own; and on behalf of our now revealed pious and most powerful emperor, and true son of the Church—who outshines others in God-pleasing character and ways of beneficence—we send up intense prayers and supplications to God, who crowned him and reigns with him, that He may grant him a peaceful life and preserve his kingdom for the longest time, adorning him with trophies against the barbarians, and governing the Christian polity prosperously, ^C as he is trained toward zeal for orthodoxy and the keeping of the divine commandments, and as he gains that which is praiseworthy for his children in the permanence of his ^D authority.

^A Furthermore, we have entrusted these present synodal letters of ours to Michael, most holy and Christ-loving metropolitan of the city of Philadelphia, to be delivered to your beloved and desired fraternity. And although from the conversation and discourse that we have had with him, making a conjecture, we do not doubt that you will receive him with every kindness and look upon him with glad eyes, we nevertheless request, for the sake of our own insignificance, that he be received and refreshed by you in a genuine, friendly, and honorable manner. For he is a man who embraces your love with a sincere and fervent affection, and he manifests great zeal and readiness in ecclesiastical matters; and in speech, integrity of life, and virtue, he appears to excel greatly. Therefore, with God guiding him and moving your mind for our greater spiritual joy and for a more perfect affection of our love in the Lord, he is the one who is to bring back to us the symbols of love and concord—that is, your venerable letters answering these present ones. ^B We greet most warmly in Christ the entire fraternity that dwells with you. Fare well in the Lord. Pray for us, most holy and most blessed brother, having acquired as a mediator and fellow-worker before God our common patron and advocate, the great and chief apostle; do not hesitate to offer to him the intercessions on our behalf, the prayers of us, his unworthy servants. Furthermore, as a sign of the charity which subsists between us in the Lord, we have sent to your brotherly beatitude a golden encolpion, of which one side is enclosed in crystal, and the other is fashioned with molded work; it contains within it another encolpion, in which remnants of the precious woods are carved and inserted. There have been added to these a white sticharion and a chestnut-colored phenolion, seamless, as well as an epitrachelium and an enchirion, variegated and adorned with gold. And so that these might be conveyed—God leading—to that merciful apostolate as a token of remembrance, and offered humbly, we have taken care that they be elegantly wrapped in fine linen and sealed with a leaden seal.

a Here ends the Siguier codex, with the last page cut off.

ANGELO MAI'S PREFACE TO THE WRITINGS OF ST. NICEPHORUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE AGAINST THE ICONOCLASTS, EDITED BY HIMSELF.

I. That St. Nicephorus alone surpassed the prelates of the Byzantine Church after Chrysostom in the gifts of doctrine and piety, I think has been truly said by Anselm Banduri, who had decided to collect his works from manuscripts and publish them, comprised in two volumes; although his plan, by the not unusual turn of human affairs, later vanished. In the Vatican library, two manuscripts of the unedited writings of Nicephorus were observed by me above all others: one, a very old and beautiful folio, whose first page you hold here, struck in copper in this our volume; and it contains: 1. A defense ^A for the sacred images (which I call the *greater* one, to distinguish it from another, lesser one, of which presently); 2. Three *Antirrhetici* against Constantine Copronymus, that dire iconoclast. The other manuscript, however (which I found after the edition had already been somewhat delayed), an equally ancient codex, provided me with a speech or booklet appended to the Second Council of Nicaea by this same Nicephorus, also on behalf of the sacred images, which I have inscribed as the *lesser* defense. Furthermore, I have demonstrated in the Latin part of the volume on pages 11 and 174 that this lesser work was composed by Nicephorus under Leo the Armenian, likewise an iconoclast, in the year 813; while the greater one was composed during the reign of the same, in the year 817. I have held to this order of publication: that first I might place the three *Antirrhetici*, the reading of which I judged would be more agreeable; then the *Greater Defense*, whose prolixity and deep structure of theology require much greater leisure on the part of students; afterwards I have placed the *Lesser Defense* with its annexed commentary; and finally, the Latin translation of the three *Antirrhetici* and the *Greater Defense*, along with a brief index of matters.

II. Although many have already written on the iconoclastic war among the Greeks, I do not reheat this cabbage; but since Nicephorus says in the title of his *Lesser Defense* that he was writing for the sake of a new schism, I will say only this: that after the enemies of the holy images, Leo the Isaurian and Copronymus, had died, and that heresy had been condemned at the Second Council of Nicaea in the year 787, again under Leo the Armenian, whom Nicephorus—having become patriarch—had crowned in the year 813, the hydra of error, reborn from its ashes, had offered the occasion for a new schism in the Church, of which Nicephorus speaks. At which time he first published a brief *Defense*, as it were a kind of skirmish, in which, sketching a compendium of events from the very beginning of the error, he inveighs thereafter against the apostates, especially the bishops, who had departed again from the faith sworn at the Council of Nicaea; at which council, although not yet endowed with the sacred miters, Nicephorus himself had been present, and there had argued for orthodox doctrine, as his biographer Ignatius the Deacon narrates, and the synodal acts testify. Having written the *Lesser Defense* in the year 813, as I said, there followed the most calamitous year 815, in which Nicephorus was thrown down by the iconoclast Leo the Armenian and thrust into exile, after the ninth year of his patriarchate, which he had begun in the year 806. Therefore, in exile, he wrote his other works, namely the *Greater Defense* in the year 817, and thereafter the *Antirrhetici*, as he himself teaches us in the beginning of the first, until he died in the year 828, a septuagenarian, or rather, as the most valiant pugilist of orthodoxy, he flew away to heaven. ^B

III. Now, as it pertains to the *Antirrhetici*, although Copronymus had departed this life many years before, nonetheless Nicephorus prudently brought all his invective against the iconoclasts expressly to bear on the name of Copronymus, both that he might speak more freely about a dead man, and because with a changed name—as the poet says—the whole story was telling of the living Leo the Armenian, who was instigating a religious war. For nothing was more evident than that, as often as Copronymus was struck, just so often did the darts penetrate to Leo, a man of equal merit. A part of these *Antirrhetici* is unexpected and curious: those many segments which are recited by Nicephorus from books of the iconoclasts previously unknown to us, written by the royal name and authority of Copronymus, whom Nicephorus derides and refutes bit by bit. For there indeed appear the subtle tricks of the heretics, their feigned piety, the fallacies of their arguments, and other frauds of that kind; all of which Nicephorus, with sublime genius, with the heavy weight of ecclesiastical doctrine, and with the exact rules of the art of logic, defeats invincibly. And in the first book, indeed, he discourses long and acutely on the nature of the image, of the prototype or archetype, of the painting, of the description, of the hypostasis, of the enhypostaton, and above all of the circumscribed and the uncircumscribed. In the second, however, which is shorter, he discourses, among other things, on the angels, on the handmade Cherubim, and what it is to "write" (γράφειν) and to "circumscribe" (περιγράφειν) with their derivatives, and many things of this kind. Finally, the third or last *Antirrheticus*, very prolix and various, sets forth history in part and the most weighty reasons for honoring sacred images: the chief of which is the ancient and constant use, that is, the tradition of the Catholic Church, which for a long time has rendered honor to the icon and the Lord's cross and the relics and images of martyrs and holy men. ^C Therefore, he calls the iconoclasts, who heaped the crime of idolatrous worship upon the Catholics, by the new title of heresy, *Christiianokategorous* (Christ-accusers). Besides these three *Antirrhetici* edited by us, Banduri also saw other *Antirrhetici* of Nicephorus in the codices, namely: 1. Against Eusebius, a leader of the iconoclastic sect. 2. Against Epiphanides, his follower. 3. Against those who said the Savior's image is an idol. However, these latter three did not occur to me in the Vatican codices (a). Now, regarding Theodore the Studite as well, a contemporary and close acquaintance of Nicephorus, three works against the iconoclasts ^D...

(a) I have seen Nicephorus cited for the sacred images also by George Hamartolus in his ms. Chronicle, Vatican, p. 153, 189, 192, 196.

^A IV. Moreover, before the *Antirrhetici*, Nicephorus had written the *Greater Apologeticus* in the quiet of his exile; a great and dense work, figured and redundant with much erudition, declamation, invective, and even various digressions and episodes. The author's style, both here and in the *Antirrhetici*, is sharp, deeply piercing the sides of his adversaries—especially Copronymus—and sprinkling every one of their vices with the bitter salt of vituperation. For he contends that, beyond the graphic description of their depraved characters, they are at times Phantasiasts, Monophysites, and Acephali; at others, Arians, Manichaeans, or Jews; the most bitter enemies of Christ and the Blessed Mary; pagans, Antichrists, and children of the devil; and he calls them, almost everywhere, senseless, drunken, and beasts. Although, in truth, concerning Copronymus, nothing could be said equal to his filth, cruelty, and impiety. I narrate this, not because such a vehement and headstrong kind of invective pleases my own character, but so that I may explain the matter as it stands: for we are not accustomed to imitating even the more fiery invectives of the holy Jerome. Otherwise, zeal—the honor of Christ or virtue offended, common scandals, the triumph of the impious, the oppression of the good, the ruin of religion—sometimes inflames the minds of saints so that, especially those who excel in the impetuosity of eloquence, they relax the reins of complaints and vituperation without measure. Now this *Apologeticus*, in the first part, contains a description of the orthodox faith and demonstrates how far Christians are from the crime of idolatry. Then, in approximately the middle part, he recites many testimonies of the Holy Scriptures to show that idolatry had been totally destroyed by Christ, so that His Church cannot suffer from this disease, contrary to what the heretics—the *Christianokategoroi*—calumniated. Then, many other things are written, which generally begin from chapter 65, regarding various rites, figures, the tabernacle, the ark, especially the form of the Cherubim placed upon it, and the Solomonic temple and its sacred emblems or ornaments; all of which types of sacred worship the author draws to advocate the veneration of sacred images. Then, having discussed many such things, he finally invokes the prescription of eight hundred years, from the beginnings of the Church down to his own age; so that he may conclude from this that honor to sacred images cannot be denied without accusing sacred antiquity. And now that more than a thousand years have elapsed from the times of Nicephorus down to our own, with the veneration of sacred images meanwhile persisting among Catholics, it follows that a prescription even much more long-lived favors us against the iconoclasts of the western regions today, who have not yet departed from that condemned error. And I wish that they, besides Nicephorus, would read with a teachable mind the classic passages of the great Augustine regarding the honor of the holy martyrs in *De Civitate Dei*, bk. xix, last chapter, as well as the same author’s *Contra Faustum Manichaeum*, bk. xx, 21.

^B V. But come now, as to what my labor has been in editing this Nicephorus, those who know that many learned men have sought to roll this stone, but have desisted, deterred by exhaustion or expense, will easily estimate it. For besides Banduri, Turrianus also, Crusius, Combefis, and, as I hear, Allatius, thought about this edition; and Petavius himself brought forth only a brief fragment. Certainly, as far as the Latin translation is concerned, which I wrote at various times amid various occupations, and now in the city, now while traveling, it was a task in itself troublesome and long, which brought boredom; yet I persisted, although in many places, because of the theological locution of the Greek school and other obstacles, I was not rarely agitated, nor do I assume that I have always succeeded happily. Indeed, Photius praises the style of Nicephorus in code 65: *Kallieleia te kai synthēkē logou kechrēmenos, hois an chrēsaito ho rhētorikos hōs alēthōs kai teleios anēr*: "He uses such beauty of words and composition of oratory as a truly perfect orator would employ." Truly, the *hellenismos* of Nicephorus is pure, his elocution artificial and ornate, though not of the Attic kind but the Asian; indeed, more than once, as it seems to me, he sins by tautology or at least perissology: for having stated a sentiment once, he immediately repeats it in another way, switching and turning it in many ways; and what others would close with a single comma, he sometimes expands with the entire circuit of a period; and what he had said before, he brings back to the stage again after many things have been interposed. Sometimes, also, carried away by an excessive abundance of wit or by an anagogical or mystical sense, he wanders through the Holy Scriptures in such a way that he seems almost to stray outside his own purpose. However, the diction of Nicephorus is noble, as I have said, sweet, rounded, and, as it were, pompous—such as befitted a man, as his biographer Ignatius says, excelling from boyhood in every kind of discipline, long practiced in writing many things, also abundant in leisure, and lavishly equipped with a store of the best books. Finally, I will put forth, not my own judgment but that of Banduri, speaking thus in view of his contemplated edition: "How valuable these works are, although the thing itself speaks for itself, let it not be a burden to recount in a few words..." [(b)]

VI. Now [(c)] the fruits of these works of Nicephorus can be counted as even slightly more numerous. For first, there are dogmatic testimonies regarding the necessity of the faith beyond doubt, regarding the most sacred Eucharist, the peremptory authority of an ecumenical council, the primacy of the Roman Church, the honor of virginity, many things about the angels, and about others [(d)]; not to mention the invocation of the saints, which is commended by the entire argument of the work. There are also [(b) omitted; (c) omitted; (d) omitted]

in biblical testimonies beautiful varieties of the manuscripts. There are many new words of the Greek language which should be added to the lexicons. There are formulas of theological discourse. There is a manifold knowledge of heresies, and an amusing mockery—running through individual points—of the gods of the gentiles. There is a brief lemma from Clement of Alexandria from his lost work on Easter. There are two major segments of Cyril of Alexandria, likewise hitherto unknown, as a Commentary on the Epistles to the Romans 1, 4; x, 6, the first of which we have inserted at the end of our second volume of the Anecdota of Cyril, the other in the Latin part, p. 27. Some homilies are also attributed by Nicephorus to Basil and Chrysostom, which critics were taking away from them. The famous saying of Epiphanius regarding images, as they desired it, is now sufficiently exhausted. Finally, in order that we might not pass over any good fruit that might perchance have been offered to us, we have written many parts in our annotations from Macarius Chrysocephalus, and also some from two chroniclers, G. Hamartolus and P. Siculus, as well as from Matthew Cantacuzenus, taken from Vatican manuscripts; and we have elucidated the argument of Nicephorus with underlying scholia. But enough of these things.

[...the text here describes the holy shroud/antimensium...]

OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS AND ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE, NICEPHORUS: REFUTATION AND OVERTHROW OF THE FOOLISH AND GODLESS NONSENSE SPOKEN IN IGNORANCE BY THE IMPIOUS MAMMON AGAINST THE SAVING INCARNATION OF THE WORD OF GOD.

S. P. N. NICEPHORI ARCHIEPISCOPI CONSTANTINOPOLITANI REFUTATIO ET EVERSIO DELIRAMENTORUM INSCITE ET IMPIE AB IRRELIGIOSI MAMONÆ VANILOQUENTIA DICTORUM ADVERSUS SALUTAREM DEI VERBI INCARNATIONEM.

(Ang. Mai Biblioth. Nov. t. V, p. 1.)

FIRST ANTIRRHETICUS.

^A Thus, indeed, the struggle of our previous discourses has been worked out and concluded. For 1-15 indeed the contest of the previous disputation has been performed and brought to completion by us. For

the preceding discourse, through the sacred scriptures, has shown the religion of the Christians to be pure from idolatrous impiety, and has branded and struck down as madmen those who spoke and meditated iniquity on high. ^A Now, however, having girded ourselves again, we enter upon another stadium against impiety. For, as we have already said, a double battle is waged by the enemies of truth against orthodoxy; and we, even as the zealot Phinehas, armed with the dart of the Spirit and utilizing the truth itself as an auxiliary, for which we fight and have formed a fellowship of arms, and for whose sake this war has arisen for us also—we shall take care to destroy the Midianitish impiety along with the Jewish unbelief, that is, the Manichaean rabidness along with the Arian frenzy.

1. Since, therefore, if one of them were to ask where they have ever detected Christians bowing down to idolatrous abominations as if they were gods, they have nothing to reply, but are themselves reeling, being tortured by the truth itself, and with their tongue bound and their soul filled with darkness. But also, realizing that they sin greatly against God while they stumble lawlessly in sacred matters, and when it is made clear to them how insulting they are, then they flee to the term "uncircumscribed." For hoping to avoid the excess of their insult, they have devised a clever mask to put on, namely, the appellation of the "uncircumscribed" which they attribute to Christ; ^B surrounding themselves with this as a sort of precaution, so that, while they say one ought not to make images, they may yet seem to avoid the charge of madness against holy things. ^C But in this their insolence is found to be even greater. For the fools maliciously attempt to hide from God in the things wherein they sin against Him. Yet the deluded are unaware that, by deceiving themselves, this is the surest proof of the most senseless and fallacious.

2. Again, therefore, in this part of their impiety they are consistent with themselves; for they do not seek to find the truth, but these wretches have adopted the error of Mammon as their rule and exact standard of doctrine. For thus they have departed from sound reasoning and have brought their vote to support shame, whence this whole vain teaching has been senseless in them. It is truly said of those who think such things now, as it was then: *Their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and their shoot is of Gomorrah; their grape is a grape of gall, their cluster is a cluster of bitterness* (Deut. 32:32). ^D For, having drunk from there the bitter raw wine of impiety, and having their mind intoxicated with myths falsely elaborated by Mammon, they most absurdly move their tongues to wondrous and completely irrational garrulities. Having therefore exhausted themselves with much labor, and having corrupted and adulterated many books, and having searched through most of the opinions of our glorious Fathers, as well as those of others expelled from the assembly of the Church, and attempting to distort and color these, they have profited nothing more.

But as for him, they honor him with honors equal to the gods, according to the manner of the Greeks; and, running toward his glory and his mindset most foolishly, they embrace and greet it as their own. And among these, especially those who foolishly stand at the head of his apostasy, thinking to attain illustrious fame from such infamy, they subscribe to these dogmas without inquiry or any investigation. For wickedness is precipitous, and the course toward worse things is vehement, and there is a great proclivity in voluptuous men toward worldly things. From which, the evil having increased within them, they betrayed their own salvation, as if by some pestilence and destructive disease of the soul creeping upon them. Hence, by the term "uncircumscribed," they offer a defense, by which they cunningly and maliciously attempt to overturn from the very foundations the divine economy of our Savior ^B. And setting this against the orthodox, and building it as an impregnable fortress against them, they hope to be superior; as if, unless our people admit this, they would be compelled to divide the one person of Christ. But since the artifice of falsehood is cunning and many-sided, they pretend to accept the incarnation, persisting only in empty words, because they fear being seen as heterodox, yet in truth they not only reject those who admit it, holding them as enemies, but also bitterly repel them, deeming them worthy of no pardon.

^C 3. What then remains to be considered from this? What else but to truly think and say this, that once again the Charybdis of Manes, opening wide against those who navigate in the madness of this world, steals away entire fleets of souls, and sinking them, delivers them into the depths of the abyss of perdition?

4. Again, the chimera of the Arian flame, burning with its destructive fire of the teachings of godlessness, miserably consumes the minds of those who fall into it unexpectedly and incautiously.

5. Again, the many-headed hydra of the Acephali and of the confused conspiracy of the Eutychians, or rather [the conspirators of] the Phantasiastae, has sprouted many-branched shoots of bitter offspring for the division and destruction of the beautifully united body of the Church ^D. And as one might say in a nutshell, from the Manichaean viper and the Arian asp, another, from the coupling of these, has sprung forth as a two-headed serpent; such as we hear the spurious and abominable sect of the Hypsistarians to be, compounded of ethnic fallacy and the prodigious lie of the Jews; which serpent, crawling terribly toward these contemners of the divine precept, whose heel it had already been commanded to watch for a long time, pours its bitter and destructive venom into the souls of those who lend an easy ear to this heresy. For that the Arians conspire with the Manichaeans, we shall make clear in what follows.

6. It is, moreover, plain to everyone that their eagerness tends to this, that those numerous and God-gathered

^A assemblies of our celebrated Fathers be utterly abolished, by whom, through the Spirit who works and speaks in them, we are firmly persuaded that the truth of the divine mystery has come down to us, portrayed more clearly and more plainly: those gathered at Nicaea, I say, the God-loving city of the Bithynians, which holds its primacy as a metropolis, and that city in which Chalcedon especially glories, and indeed also that city with which Byzantium is adorned, distinguished by a full number of bishops, for the sake of the greater conviction, suppression, and putting to flight of impiety; and the canons and rules enacted in them by the divinely-inspired Fathers, who were guided by the grace from above, by which it is most wisely and most justly determined that the venerable icon of our Lord and ^B God Jesus Christ according to his human character should, from that time forth, be publicly set up—a thing which indeed was long since manifest, for this divine depiction is coeval with the appearance of the Savior—but that the lamb, which had been taken as a type, should, now that the truth itself shines, no longer be depicted, for it is proper that ancient types and shadows, as symbols and prefigurations of the truth, even though once held in honor, should now be abolished, and that grace and truth should be honored in preference to them. But before these synods, and indeed over and above them, they wish to utterly void the one of which the Ephesians greatly boast, which proclaimed with a great voice that Christ our God is clearly circumscribed with respect to his humanity, and bound with dreadful anathemas those who do not accept this expression. And what need is there to speak of the synods being subverted by them? For those who treat the whole mystery of our Savior’s incarnation with insult, also despise our customs, canons, and sacred things ^C and have insolently dared to assail our divine dogmas, rejecting all sacred tradition, and against the glory of the Only-Begotten, they bring forward empty utterances—taken from the father of unbelief, or rather to speak more fittingly, of apostasy—for the confirmation of their own folly. These things ought indeed to have been utterly rejected and thrust aside as babbling, as deceptive, as full of unpleasantness and idle talk, as uneducated, senseless, and brimming with falsehood, as inconsistent with themselves, as fighting against the truth and against each other, as filled with the error of deception, and—that I may sum it all up—as unlearnedly and ignorantly gathered from much dung and rubbish. For so inordinately, rashly, and indecorously do they [act] against things manifest and brought before the eyes of all, and ^D indeed, the image of Christ the Lord sent to King Abgar, and that statue placed for the same Christ by the woman with the issue of blood, because God is uncircumscribed, but Christ is God. Now, since the Ephesian synod defined against Nestorius that there is one Son of God, alike God and man (whereby it follows that he is to be worshiped with one adoration), it follows that the icon of Christ is the icon of God-man; yet whose veneration properly and truly tends toward and terminates in Christ God himself.

^A And who will endure such an insult to the Word? To hear Him called mortal and circumscriptible and subject to time in your view, and alienated and divided from the divine substance and glory? And what else, I ask, are you bringing to us as a new faith, suddenly and without preparation, when you betray your own salvation and, what is the most important of all, when you are depriving us of the most vital point? If the substances which are united in Christ were so constituted that they were retorting their properties one against another, since the Word is consubstantial with God the Father and the Spirit, would not the Father and the Spirit therefore suffer ^B and be circumcised and suffer all other things which the Word endured? But such a blasphemy should land on the heads of those who have sown the seeds of this impiety!

We gladly say something else here as well. Whence, I ask, do you have this authority, O sirs, that while you dismiss other properties of the body, you tyrannically strip away only its circumscription? Indeed, its shape, its three-dimensional volume, its tangibility, the disposition of its organs, and other things from which circumscription is composed; and if one takes away something from the body, the body itself is taken away from our midst. For it will be denied to be or to be limited in any place—which is the same thing as being circumscribed. But what has been said ^C is also ridiculous. Therefore, if you say that this alone perishes from the body, why do you pass over in silence the other properties in the meantime? And yet it appears that you deny the others also with this word: for if any of those things are lacking which denote a nature, it will appear imperfect. For if human nature lacks rationality in a man, he is not a man; likewise, if mortality, or upright walking, or agility, or animation, or any other thing that constitutes the definition of human nature is wanting, he will not be a man. If the capacity for neighing is taken away from a horse, or the capacity for barking from a dog, there will be neither horse nor dog. Thus, if Christ’s humanity ^D lacks any of its properties, the nature will be maimed, and Christ will not be a perfect man—nay, He will not even be Christ at all; for the whole thing vanishes if it is not circumscribed and depicted. But what is this, if not that your Arrian masters wish for the flesh to be assumed by the Lord without a soul? And regarding this contradiction—for Arrianism and Sabellianism and Nestorius and Dioscorus and Apollinarius and Eunomius fight against one another: one says that a man was assumed without a soul and without a word by the Word of God; Eunomius and Arius again dogmatize that He assumed only a body; and those around Marcion and Mani openly denied the humanity of Christ; while those around Paul of Samosata, and Marcellus, and the followers of Photinus, uttering the opposite blasphemy in every way, preaching only a man in Christ.

^A And those, too, who have received their instruction from the same source, shall have their works destroyed at the same time.

8. But our discourse will now be directed against the inventor and father of this staged dogma, and against his satellites and the new dogmatists of this scurrilous and erroneous opinion. Come, then, let us, without delay, weigh what they have put forward; and having brought these things into the open, let us easily refute as many absurd things as they say, and as many as they contrive to deceive and beguile the common people, and whatever of blasphemy may be found to be contained therein. But as for their many trifles and the garrulity innate in them, with which they have cast a vain heap of words upon their hearers, we shall bypass these, and come to grips with those points that are deemed the capitals of their folly. And it must also be remarked in what way he directs his speech toward those who were at that time adorned with priestly dignity. For, discourse in the form of an interrogation, he pretends to be seeking solutions to doubts; although, in reality, using much arrogance and all audacity and an obstinate adherence to his own opinion, he has long since worked out his own tenets. Thus, therefore, do the objections stand (9).

9. ^C “The holy catholic Church of God, to which we all who are Christians belong, has received it to confess the Son and Word of God as follows: that by nature He is simple, but was made flesh from our most holy and immaculate Lady, the Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary; with the divinity not having been changed into flesh, nor the flesh having brought increase to the divinity; but with the two natures coming together into one unconfused union, that of the divinity and that of the humanity; and therefore that He is one and the same according to a single hypostasis, that is to say, double in one person: even if every image is known to be derived from some prototype.”

These are the things in the prologue. What, then, do we say to these things? Namely, that at once and from the very first movement, since his discourse is addressed to Christians, he puts on the stage-mask of a Christian man, for the time being concealing within his own soul—as in a threshing floor—his guile and deceit. He boasts that he maintains the tradition of the ^D Church, and he seems to magnify the mystery of the Word of God made man; and at the same time, he pretends to honor the most holy Virgin, the Mother of God, whom in other places he endeavored to traduce as being dishonored in many ways, and even to deny her intercession before God, from whom all Christians, relying with immovable hope, as upon a mediatrix of salvation, are saved.

^A It happens that he fascinates the habits of his hearers with such feigned words, so that he can lead them astray. Hence it appears most beautifully and accurately fulfilled in this man, that which the holy oracles say: "Their tongue is a wounding arrow: their throat is an open sepulcher: with their tongues they have dealt deceitfully" (Ps. CXVII, 20). Indeed, they persuade, fashioning themselves with the grace and smoothness of speech and soothing the ears; yet at the same time they wound, as with sharp arrows, the souls of the more unlearned, piercing them deeply with various and incurable wounds. For when this man behaves stubbornly and maliciously against the truth, he does not immediately display his impiety; but he sets forth sound doctrine kindly and sincerely, so that he may appear to think rightly and irreprehensibly. And thus he strives to hunt for the benevolence of many, so that when he later vomits forth his own malice, having been held worthy of trust, he may more easily capture those who have allowed his feigned fables to be persuaded to them. But it is not proper to attend to words, but to consider deeds. For in reality the war is stirred up by him against the incarnation of the Only-Begotten. Hence the Typhon of impiety is raised up and grows greatly, opposing his perverse opinion to our sacred dogmas, and he attacks, beyond all right and beyond our legislation, things that it was not permitted for him to touch or behold ^B, leaping with the greatest impetus and hatred into the body of the Church. Certainly it is known to all what men God has placed in His Church, namely those whom the doctrine of the great Apostle demonstrates to us (Acts XX, 28). Nevertheless, when this man ought to be occupied with public and royal affairs, after he preferred his own carnality and passion to the divine glory, urged on by the persuasions of his leaders, he horribly raging, armed his hand against the side of the pious and sharpened his tongue against our right and blameless faith. If, therefore, anyone will turn his mind to it and examine the matter more accurately, he will most easily recognize him, not only stumbling against the truth, but also shamefully contradicting himself ^C.

10. The holy and catholic Church of all of us

^A have you introduced this, which has been accustomed [to be done] from ancient times? For these are the dregs of your mind and the audacious acts of your God-opposing tongue. You have left behind the traces of blasphemy everywhere, not only in words, but now even in writing, for the conviction of the impiety you have committed against God and men. How then do you falsely call it catholic and holy, when you wish to advocate for your own opinions? But when you wish to rise up against our divine dogmas, equating God and demons, you denounce it as idolatrous? How are you not rather an idolater? And to pass over more secret matters, you who are consumed by the world and puffed up with worldly glory, you who are a slave to the flesh and to pleasures, measuring every happiness by this span of temporal life and by present goods, and harboring no thought beyond earthly things, but rather preferring not to boast in hope in God and the observance of divine commandments—you, I say, clinging to these material things and carried away by various desires, have fallen from the inheritance of the heavenly kingdom and will be sent away to the place of Gehenna destined for you by divine judgments. For this reason you accuse the religion of Christians, and declare the power of Almighty God to be weak through your own verdict, as if He were unable to deliver the human race from the error of idols; and you do this so that, anticipating the misery and hatred of your dogma, you may escape and maliciously hide your own shame. For this reason you have ravaged the vine of Christ, which He translated from the intellectual Egypt and liberated from the brick-making mud of sins and from the invisible taskmasters, as a wild boar out of the forest, and you have grazed upon it as a wild beast; you are no less raging against it than that hard-hearted and bitter taskmaster of the Egyptians of old against the people of the house of Jacob, and that grim and tyrannical ruler, the Babylonian. For thus you, rushing upon the inheritance of Christ, persecuting His chosen portion—and most of all its more fervent part—with intolerable and countless injuries, have tortured them even unto death. You have published this as the first proof of your insanity. ^{B C}

11. Then: "He received [it] thus to confess." In these words, either he who thinks himself the wisest of all does not understand what he is saying, or he deliberately wishes to deceive some; and I know not whether he should be accused of insanity or of cunning. For he shall hear from us: Do you still make mention of tradition? Why, then, do you not first admit the ancient custom, handed down from the beginning by the holy Apostles and our renowned Fathers, which has prevailed in the truly catholic and apostolic Church, whether that which was handed down in writings or that which was handed down in speech? For, "Stand fast," says the divine Apostle, writing to certain ones, "and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by speech or by our epistle." ^D For the power and the proof are equally present in both parts.

^A Are these not the words of a witless and frantic man, who in one and the same matter now accepts the tradition of the Church, and now rejects it? How could this "most clever" man, while wishing to dogmatize these things, fail to realize that the Church of Christ, along with all other holy sacred things, has from the beginning and until this day preserved the history and proper veneration of the venerable images, just as it received them? But it seems that vanity—a dire passion which is at once subtle and easily ensnaring—causes him to go astray in the very heart of the matter. For here he deceives himself, or at least those whom he thinks he can persuade. Therefore, one must not attend to the words he uses to decieve the many, but rather judge him by his manner and the deeds he has plotted and perpetrated against the saints.

^B 12. Then he adds: "Neither changing divinity into flesh, nor flesh into divinity bringing about an increase." Hence he demonstrates clearly that he is erring regarding the incarnation of the Word, and he now begins, little by little, to lay bare his wickedness. For he did not assign the same attribute of inconvertibility to the flesh as he assigned to the Word, even though he thought he could persuade some that he accepts the flesh. For what need was there to speak of "increase" in place of "inconvertibility"? Therefore, by completely denying the properties of the flesh, he declares his own perverse opinion. ^C "But," he says, "with two natures coming together into one inconfused union, that of the divinity and that of the humanity, there is one and the same [person according to] hypostasis, double in one person." Here too he deceives himself, but certainly not his sagacious and perceptive auditors. For if he proposed the matter rightly, why did he not also rightly distinguish it? If he confessed that the natures coming together in Christ remained inconfused, he surely ought not to have doubted that they are also entirely inconvertible. Then, how does he pretend to set forth the properties of the one—that is, the nature of the Word—as preserved on account of their inconvertibility, while denying those of the other—that is, the flesh—as if they were removed? This is not the office of a man who deems the natures to be inconvertible and inconfused. For if someone judges that one has undergone something in its properties, he must necessarily confess that the other has undergone the same. ^D For just as we all confess Christ to be perfect God, existing in the form of God, that is, in the substance of God, so also, having taken the form of a servant—which is ours—he must be believed to be a perfect man, lacking in nothing. And indeed, our Church, according to what has been divinely handed down to us from apostolic preachings and the teachings of the Fathers, confessing the natures to be inconvertible and inconfused, has also expressly and explicitly proclaimed the properties of each of them, just as each is. In vain, therefore, does the ecclesiastical sentiment [of this man]...

think that it is supported: for he is convicted of holding the contrary view even in these matters, following his masters, the Acephali (16), some of whom appear to admit natures (17), yet all of them utterly remove and abolish their properties. Hence, he manifests and displays—in a disorderly and incoherent manner—the flame of his mind, and the resentment lying hidden in the depths of his soul against those who depict and exhibit to us the human form of our Savior Christ.

13. For he says: "Even if every image is known as derived from some prototype." To what should these things be compared? Unless one must say that, just like a bronze pipe distended in the middle by the violent spirit enclosed within, he was swollen, just like that loquacious Buzite ^B when he directed reproving words toward the great Ausite. For Mammon could not longer conceal the malice within him. Now he has poured forth the bitter offspring of impiety which he had long been travailing with, and the wickedness which he previously seemed to veil under the screen of simulation has finally broken out; and he does this incongruously, even though the sequence of the discourse in no way required it, showing from this that he held within himself by force even those things he previously feigned. And indeed, his belly would have burst, had he not uttered this voice also out of turn, and outside the harmony and series of the ordered discourse. For having played ^C for a short time on the stage, and the laughter at the drama which he was acting having been consumed, he returned again to his own nature.

14. Ancient mythology tells of that crow, famed in story, who once adorned and vaunted himself with alien feathers, upon whom a gust of air blowing, scattered the counterfeit beauty and made the alien thing vanish; from which his deformity was then revealed. A similar thing, it seems to me, Mammon has also suffered. For after he had for a little while adorned himself with the expressions of the true faith as if with foreign [plumage], when the adversary force soon blew upon him, not long after he showed the foulness of his opinion to be manifest. For is it not patent to all ^D that the glory of Christ is opposed by him, while he threatens and roars against the incarnation of the Word? Since, before the discourse on images had even begun, through the words which he cast into the midst, even before that excellent structure of his oration, he hints at his own opinion. Indeed, observe here what coherence of sense these words retain with the preceding: for having spoken previously about natures and hypostasis, he soon, prompted by his own audacity and the impulse of his mind, leaps inordinately to images and prototypes: so that he openly demonstrates that the whole

discourse he has set in motion, both earlier and later, was intended to heap insult upon the whole economy of our Savior Christ, together with the sacred symbols of our faith, or rather to reject Christ Himself. Having once embarked upon such a purpose, he continues thereafter, and carries out the composition of his discourse in a most violent and savage manner. He employs a general definition so that, while he seems to be speaking about any image whatsoever, he may not be suspected by many, yet he speaks no differently about the matter than he had proposed to treat.

^A 15. He immediately continues: "And if it is well that it be consubstantial with the thing that is depicted." Therefore, you do not hinder Christ from being depicted in a simple sense, but [only] because the depiction is of a different substance. For Christ is one thing, and the material from which He is depicted is another. But is it not laughable to refute such things? For things that not even a mime or some person from the crossroads—whom the crowds strike on the cheek in jest—would have let slip, this man, reveling in the drunkenness of unbelief and goaded into a fury by the power of impiety, has blurted out; for these are already mere trifles, and are entirely labored to no purpose on his part. But there are some who have reached such a degree of ignorance and irrationality that they think they perceive something of value in these points. Therefore, we institute a necessary examination into a matter that is not at all necessary. For what is more absurd or thoughtless than these statements? For these could not be the words of men who retain the connection of their own thoughts. For if he makes his discourse regarding a natural image—which is indeed contrasted with an artificial one—such as we call the Son to be the image of the Father, perhaps his discourse would hold well. But he errs while inaptly usurping the name of "simulacrum" in these matters; for there is no need here for simulacra or arguments. In vain, therefore, is the mention of simulacra made in this place: for this is more foolish and irreligious than the former. And he makes it entirely plain that he is weaving his discourse out of absurd and incongruous matters.

16. Now, since his discourse has been stirred up concerning simulacra and artificial images, which are brought about from underlying material, art, and the natural aptitude of the one who practices it, who among those of sound mind will endure one saying that a simulacrum and image is consubstantial with its prototype? For, in the first place, he is mistaken in bringing substance and art into the same category, as they differ greatly from one another. For God, the Creator and Artificer of all, brought forth nature into existence from non-existence. But art imitates nature; it is not nature itself, but taking the natural form as a model and prototype, it fashions a certain likeness and resemblance, as is to be seen in the case of many crafts. Furthermore, he now wanders far from equitable reasoning, defining that the inanimate differs in no way from the animate, but that both are consubstantial; since, for example, if man is animate, it must be that his image is also animate, and the simulacrum as well; so that colors and the remaining inanimate material,

^A of which the image is composed, do not differ from human nature. ^A Yet according to such reasoning, one ought to require that both participate in the same definition, and that both preserve the same definition of things consubstantial. For instance, just as man in relation to man falls under the same definition, so too must the image; and if man is a rational animal, mortal, and capable of mind and knowledge, then the image must likewise be a rational animal, mortal, and capable of mind and knowledge, differing in nothing. But that no image can reach the whole truth purely, truth itself confirms, as do the most eminent of theologians. And the true account knows that even a man differs from himself, consisting as he does of different natures—I mean of soul and body—even if man is one thing composed of these. For each thing possesses its own definition; for the account of the soul is one, and that of the body another, with many differences and accidents. For we are composite, and indeed even opposed both to ourselves and to one another. ^B But Mamonas ^B thought that even in reality, simulacra do not differ at all from those of which they are simulacra, but that they retain the same nature and substance as those which they represent. Yet how can it be possible that an image or simulacrum is called such, unless it has a nature different from its prototype? This most wise man is therefore entirely cut off from the truth and is far removed from the understanding of things. ^C Here is something else, moreover, that it is fair for us to say to him: namely, that you are unaware, O pillar of philosophers, that you are being ensnared by your own arguments. For since, as you say, the image must be consubstantial with the prototype, and you also concede (for no one is so insane as to deny this) that the image is circumscribed, it follows that the prototype, as being consubstantial, must also be circumscribed! For it is utterly impossible for consubstantial things to differ from one another in regard to the account of their substance—since you yourself also include the circumscribed and the uncircumscribed in the definition of substance. If, therefore, your dogma stands, your mechanism is overthrown, and your arguments are laid low, thoroughly conquered by the sling and the weapons of truth. Truly, it was fitting that such teachers should have such students as have now sprung up! Such, I say, are the fruits of these fields: from bad, they are the worst; from shameful, the most shameful.

17. ^D Remaining in the same frame of mind, or more justly calling it madness, he says: "So that the whole may be preserved; otherwise it is not even an image." This, too, stems from his madness and stupidity. For those who possess a sound and whole mind, and who preserve accuracy in their speech, will say the contrary: namely, that if the whole is indeed preserved, it is no longer an image, but the very thing being depicted—for these seem to be one and the same only in appearance, but not in subject. But he believes that unless the image is also animate and self-moving, and whatever belongs to the prototype...

^A possesses all the attributes of the prototype, it cannot even be called an image. But if these are not strictly the properties of an image, every definition of an image is lost to him. What then follows from this? Namely, that one and the same thing is both one and two at the same time: nay, that they are mutually images and archetypes; and that this is similar to that, and that to this in turn. This is otherwise than what happens in the case of a man, for example, to whom his image is said to be similar, but not the man to the image. Otherwise, they would have a convertible naming; so that a man would be called an image of an image just as indifferently as an image is called an image of a man: and thus it would be doubted which of the two was the origin and antecedent. These things, forsooth, demonstrate the acumen of Mammon. Are not these inventions futile and those of an alienated mind? Is he so ignorant of the nature of things, and so far removed from the truth? There is a danger that these things are no better than the fables which are sung by bibulous old women in the gynaecea during their long gossip-sessions.

^B 18. There is therefore not even a spark of true religion in him, nor the slightest tincture of logical science. For whence will the doctrine of cause and effect, or the mutual comparison of similar things, be maintained for him? Or how will that which participates and that which is participated in, or diversity and difference, be judged? Which indeed are naturally seen in the archetype and the image, describing for us partly their relation and quality, and partly the diversity of the subject. ^C But he, by positing the same and indifferent [nature] in both (since he is ignorant of how to consider things), has totally destroyed the definition of an image, which is utterly impossible. For in this way, the nature of things would also be abolished by him. But now I seem to myself to be indulging in the same ignorance as he does, while I rebuke him who has never had any knowledge of these things. For I might be thought to be doing the same thing as if someone wished to instruct a farmer or a porter in speculative philosophy. For what has this cruel and unrefined man of Mammon to do with logical faculties? Does he who delights in human blood, and that of Christians, and who takes pleasure in dogs and boars, on which he spends the greatest part of his life—whence he evidently learned the meditation of dogmas, and gathered the sum of his great science from exercises of this kind—have any such business? ^D Let us pass over in silence the rest of his life, which it is shameful to recount, but more shameful and pernicious to hear recounted. For who has ever seen a man who is a hunter, pursuing the tracks of boars and stags, as dogs and wild beasts are wont to do, and who is devoted and bound to the beloved passion of driving horses—and who considers this as the sweetest ointment—safely and healthily engaging as well with the sublime dogmas of religion? It is easier for someone to believe that he who holds an oar could be taught pottery or agriculture instead of seamanship, or that an armored man could be assigned to a military life instead of to navigation, than that a man defiled with dung and unspeakable turpitudes, with bloody hands, an intemperate tongue, and a withered mind, could touch divine dogmas and speak of the mysteries of God, which m...

to those who are pure in heart and deemed worthy to draw near to God are revealed by the grace from above. ^B

19. But let these things pass as they are. As for us, we shall pass over certain things in the middle on account of their unpleasantness and the annoyance of their prattle, and we shall turn our discourse to those matters which seem to them to be of greater importance. "We ask of you," he says, "how is it possible that our Lord Jesus Christ, who is one person from the inconfused union of two natures, an immaterial and a material one, can be painted or figured?" He who, having allowed himself whatever he pleased, had previously acted on behalf of God, now addresses the priests in the form of a question—the priests whom he had previously terrified with chains and prisons, with threats and many other torments, in order to force them to his own way of thinking. He asks, therefore, whether it is possible for Christ, consisting of two natures, one immaterial and one material, to be painted. But here, too, the corruption and inconsistency of his words are shown, and how he concludes in contradiction to his own premises. For if the truth of our sacred dogmas had been dear to his heart, he ought to have walked the royal road directly, and to have instituted an accurate examination of our mystery. Since, therefore, he began to speak about the immaterial and material nature—things completely opposed to one another—it was necessary for him to attribute correctly and properly to each side of the opposition those things which are seen to accompany these natures. For if it is the property of an immaterial thing that it cannot be delineated, as he himself will say in what follows—in that it lacks form, figure, and every accident of this kind—then it is absolutely necessary that for a material thing, inasmuch as it is completely opposed to the immaterial, one must assign the contrary attributes; that is, that it can be delineated, formed, figured, and the like, so that the logical consequence of the opposition might be well and consistently maintained. And thus he would have recognized that it was possible—nay, even true and pious—for Christ to be figured. ^C But nothing of this enters his mind. ^D

(19) Concerning the shameful morals of Copronymus, Nicephorus often speaks in these writings, and especially towards the end of his third *Antirrhetic*. Furthermore, Macarius Chrysocephalus, of whom we shall speak shortly, writes as follows against the base Copronymus, who had forbidden the saints to be called such, as we have already said in reference to Cedrenus, p. 19, n. 1, and also against the Iconoclast synod assembled by him: "You, stripping them of their holiness, have ordained that they be addressed by a simple name everywhere in the world, and indeed as if they were the vilest of mortals, to be denoted only by their proper names, thus destroying the given grace of holiness? Have you dared to act so impiously, O carnal and arrogant one? O iniquitous synod! O wicked congregation! etc. With what confidence, O fool, do you deprive those sanctified by God of the name of holiness, especially when they themselves are called saints by Him?" etc. Indeed, even in our own times, some heterodox people are afraid to say, for example, "Saint Francis" or "Saint Dominic," and prefer simply to pronounce "Francis," etc.

(20) There exists an unpublished oration by Macarius Chrysocephalus, Archbishop of Philadelphia in Lydia, *On the Universal Solemnity of Orthodoxy*, in which title the author denotes the ecumenical feast for the restoration of the honor of the holy images after the Iconoclast heresy had been condemned and defeated. From this illustrious oration, we shall repeatedly recite passages as the text of Nicephorus provides the occasion. And this following tract,

On the Universal Solemnity of Orthodoxy:

and did not judge by just reasoning concerning the aforementioned matters, but rather allowed himself to be swayed by the error of his leaders. For otherwise, he would not have denied that a material thing can be painted and depicted. But just as to him who holds the plow, folly ^A is imputed by the wise, so to him who performs an unspeakable work, disgrace and imprudence will be imputed: for he is contrary to himself and to the truth; neither reflecting on what he affirms, nor acting ignorantly while also acting wickedly.

20. Then he appears to advocate for the unconfused union of the person in Christ, which is composed of opposite natures, just as the doctrines of the Fathers teach. ^B "For God has gone forth," say the theologians, "in the assumption of humanity, one thing out of two opposites." How, therefore, will the "unconfused" be preserved for him, since he attributes to both natures that which essentially applies to only one of them? This is impossible. For it is not permitted that things which are present to the divine and supreme nature should ^C naturally pass over to this earthy substance of ours; nor can an immaterial thing have the same properties as a material one, as they are entirely separated from one another. But he, avoiding this, says nothing else than that opposites, and those which are much at variance with one another, come together and are mixed into one and the same thing, being confused and mutually interchanged; so that the natures, by reason of their union in a single person, either both become uncircumscribed on account of the Word, or conversely both become circumscribed on account of the flesh; or, what is more truly said, neither of these, but some other kind of substance has arisen, which confusion has produced, and the levity of our author has fabricated. For such is confusion, which destroys the things that come together, and preserves none of them clearly, so that, according to him, neither divinity remains, nor humanity. ^D There is no imprint. We do not worship the creature instead of the Creator, but we worship the Creator who was created according to us, and has descended into creation without humiliation or destruction, so that He might glorify our nature, and make men partakers of the divine nature. I worship, along with the King and God, the purple of the body which He wore; I honor the beauty of the flesh which He put on; not as a garment, nor as a fourth person of the holy Trinity, but as one having become like God, and having become what it was without change. For the nature of the flesh is not divinity, but just as the Word became flesh without change, remaining what He was, so also the flesh became Word, not losing what it is, but being identified rather with the Word according to hypostasis. Therefore I boldly depict Him who was formerly invisible, not, I say, as invisible, but as having become visible for our sake through the partaking of flesh and blood; I do not depict the invisible divinity, but I portray the flesh that was seen; for if it is impossible to depict a soul, how much more so God, who gave the soul its worth? By colors we express that form of man which was visible; we represent the material substance of the Lord, we revere the likeness of His human aspect, from which we also lift up our mind to the original beauty, and thus we transmit our adoration to the One who was incarnate for our sake. We do not depict the nature of the divinity, we do not figure the substance that is incapable of being figured. Nor let him who imposes this calumny upon us hope that he will see the face of God; but that which we have seen, we testify; that which our eyes have looked upon, and our hands have handled, this we also worship in images; and we depict the human part which was seen; we behold the effigy of the flesh assumed by God the Word, we revere the image of the theandric form.

^A Since this introduces an unconfused state, unless the proper quality which each of the two natures possesses substantially is allotted and distinguished, how could we admit that that which is composed of certain diverse elements should be designated or known by a single appellation taken from its parts? When a dogma is presented and it is necessary to speak properly and exacty, we must name it either entirely uncircumscribable or entirely circumscribable. Thus, certainly, neither should the soul alone be called man or the nature of man, nor the body alone, but this whole composed of both is man. Thus, likewise, neither would a house be properly called, in and of itself, a stone or wood or anything else of which it is composed. For we must now set aside those things expressed through the figure of the interchange of properties, or through synecdoche, or those said through another trope, as they are not used according to the proper signification of the individual terms. These things, therefore, are also to be observed in regard to Christ. For just as we do not say God alone, nor man alone, because He is both, so neither do we say uncircumscribable alone because of the Word—for He is not only the Word—nor circumscribable alone because of the humanity—for He is not only man—but both will be stated of Him properly. For as the same one is at once God and man, so the same one may be depicted, and otherwise. That this is true is demonstrated also from the opposites. For different natures would never admit the same predicates: for no one would predicate "immortal" or "invisible" of soul and body together; so it shall be with those things that are oppositely disposed: for "mortal" or "visible" would not be predicated of both. In the same way, neither could "uncircumscribable" be piously said of the natures in Christ together. Wherefore he who thinks and opines such things is convicted of being at once impious and ignorant. ^C If indeed we were to worship the image of the invisible God, and were to fashion and worship the glory of the incorruptible and immaterial One in the likeness of a corruptible man, we would be seen to be truly insane.

Then he says next: “Since He also has another immaterial nature joined to the flesh, and yet with those two natures he is one, and his person, that is, his hypostasis, is indivisible in both natures, we do not think that he can be circumscribed; because both that which is represented is one person, and he who circumscribes that person, it is manifest that he also circumscribes the divine nature, which is, however, uncircumscribable.” ^D This distinguished fellow has reached the main point of his argument, in which he boasts and prides himself greatly, as in something inevitable and impregnable. Truly this proposition possesses force and strength among the unwise and foolish, and is everywhere chanted, as if someone could more easily fly high through the air than extricate himself from the snare of this argument. For they think it has an invincible and irrefutable force; and waving it before them like a scarecrow, they strike terror into those who heedlessly and without examination offer their ears, and those who . . .

^A are bound by indissoluble chains, so that, even if they were unwilling, being swept away by the persuasiveness they imagine to be in them, they might give their assent. But in truth, they offer their neighbor a murky subversion, babbling from the intuition of their own hearts and not speaking from the mouth of the Lord. Now, however, they will be caught in their own nets, experiencing refutation through a counter-argument. It is truly worth marveling at the feebleness and abjection of their ignorance and folly, seeing how they pride themselves on these expressions as if they were strong and well-founded. And, first of all, their stupidity must be observed in how they confuse terms—I mean "undescribed" and "circumscribed." For what this invincible and formidable author previously said was "to be described," he now calls "to be circumscribed," acknowledging and handing down no difference between these words, as has already been said before. And it is no wonder if they are seen to be ignorant and erring in this matter as well. We shall therefore respond to these overly wise and cleverly spoken points in the following way. ^B But as regards the Person and the Hypostasis, which they themselves also seem to confess—setting it as a sort of base for their own dogma, and leaning upon it as an immovable foundation, whence, gathering boldness, they run most readily toward dogmatizing—they are in agreement and concord with us. The controversy, however, centers on the natures, which they indeed affirm in word, but in reality and by their very deeds they clearly do away with. For while they strip away the natural properties and the differences belonging to them—by which they are characterized and recognized—while, I say, they strip away circumscription, the property most intimate above all others, from human flesh and nature, they likewise extinguish the natures themselves.

^C Now that these have been set aside, it remains to be seen whether this Hypostasis itself, understood in a healthy sense, is brought forward by them. We say, therefore, that if Christ's Hypostasis were a simple and incomposite thing, such that composition were entirely denied, it would be permitted for you to predicate circumscription of Christ; for such is the nature of simple things, and we too would agree, and the dispute would be shown to be of no effect. But if Christ is double and composite, possessing a concurrence from heterogeneous things, as he himself also says, what shall we say to those who oppose the truth? Furthermore, if, according to your argument, one of the natures in Christ is confessed to be uncircumscribed—I mean the divine—and it is necessary, on account of the one Person and the union of the natures in one Hypostasis, that the other nature, namely that which is similar to our own, should also be uncircumscribed (for you would not be so insane as to say that this nature possesses uncircumscription of its own), what then will prevent us, using the similar tenor of your own arguments, from rightly employing the counter-argument and saying in turn, since one of these ^D

two natures, the human nature indeed, is circumscribed (a thing which is conceded by every person of sense, since we ourselves are circumscribed, and Christ possesses everything that is ours, sin alone excepted), that it is necessary that the other nature as well, namely the divine and ineffable nature, for the same reason—that is, on account of the hypostatic union—should also be circumscribed, so that this whole, composed of divinity and humanity, would be circumscribed? For Christ participates equally in the divine and the human nature, and has become the mediator between God and men. Now, that which is intermediate between certain things must of necessity equally share in both the extremes between which it lies, and it will neither possess more nor less of one than of the other, nor will it lack any, just as it is written: ^A *Since the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise partook of the same*. It is therefore very evident that you circumscribe the immaterial and infinite nature, which yet you were unwilling to grant even to the material and incarnate [nature]. For this is the outcome of your arguments, that you should feel yourselves struck by that very thing which you were casting at us.

How, then, has immutability been preserved in the divine Word, or invariability in our nature? These are things which the Gospels proclaim and the holy Fathers, who are the ministers of sacred things, teach; and we shall take care hereafter to set forth their doctrine and what sentiment they hold regarding this matter. But how, also, will the inconfusedness, which you pretend to champion, be preserved in the hypostasis of Christ? Let us consider it thus: since the nature which the Word assumed is created, and likewise corruptible and passible, and suffers hunger, and experiences pain, and endures other things which it is natural for it to suffer, why then, ^B because of the hypostatic union with the divine nature, should the Word also be created, passible, and corruptible, and [possess] the rest of the things which the form of a servant and the servile nature possesses? And in order that the sequence of our argument may set forth in brief the whole of their blasphemy, according to their own proposition, they will be compelled to confess the Word, who was also embodied and concerning whom these things are considered, as being rather a body. But they will say: "We contemplate the flesh united to the Word." But they shall hear: "And the Word was made flesh," and became dense, and that which cannot be touched was touched; ^C yet, not on that account did the Word depart from his divine prerogatives, nor did the flesh change the properties inhering in it from the beginning, nor was it cast out from its proper condition. For concerning those things which happened anew after the divine resurrection—I speak of incorruptibility and immortality—if anyone objects, it shall be discussed in the following pages. Indeed, the body which the Lord assumed, being like our own, in the same way as other bodies, was entirely circumscribed. For when, from [the divine nature], ^D the divine nature is uncircumscribed, we see it circumscribed on account of the assumption of our own makeup; not that he makes the properties of the nature which he assumed his own.

^A For otherwise, where has it been heard throughout the ages that a body is uncircumscribed? Moreover, circumscription is among the things without which a body cannot exist. For just as there is no body without place or time, so neither is there one without circumscription. For place indeed circumscribes and contains a body, if place is the limit of the container in which it contains the thing contained. To say, then, that a body is not circumscribed is the same as to say that it is not in a place. But that which is not in a place is not even a body. What then is to be concluded from this, if not that a body is not a body? And what else is this but to have gone beyond all bounds of stupidity and madness? The father of such doctrines has therefore been caught by his own wings, and his own attempts have recoiled against him; the proud and terrible arguments, whose onslaught he thought unavoidable and inescapable, have failed and appeared to differ in no way from the babbling of children. For these are truly the products of a childish mind, and they rank no better than the condition of an infant.

^B But in order to see what the abundance of their wisdom will lead to, let us add this to what has been said: It is acknowledged by all men of sense that every passion occurring to our body from any cause—such as being whipped, wounded, cut, burned, or anything else of that sort which damages and corrupts the body—passes over into the suffering person as if it were a natural growth, becoming, so to speak, one's own and interior to one. But what you call circumscription—that is, figuration—is subject to none of these, seeing that it is on the exterior and does not touch the body at all, except that it shares in the appearance and shape of the thing depicted. Since, therefore, suffering is more ^C intimate than figuration and circumscription, which are external and do not afflict the body, it would surely follow, according to your own reasoning, that Christ, suffering in the flesh and enduring passion for us, should not only be circumscribed in the flesh, but also, together with his divinity, share in those same passions. For it is more fitting and just that what is more intimate and closer should happen and be attributed [to the divinity], rather than that which is not so. Why, then, when you hear that the Lord is flesh, and the Son of man, and that he experienced infirmities, and whatever else is said of him in the divine Scriptures—since the one person of the two natures is inseparable—do you not, according to your own opinions, ^D drag down his divinity as well? For he who says these things diminishes the queen of all natures more than he who circumscribes it according to the flesh. And if you wish it so, then it will also be circumcised with the flesh, it will be stoned, it will likewise endure the cross, it will die together with it, and it will suffer all the other things which the flesh is believed to have suffered for us. But who is so struck with madness? Who is so foolish and has gone to such an extreme of insanity, that he would tolerate such absurd and God-opposing statements, which result from your premises? Who...

would ^A endure such insults to the Word, as to hear you say that He is mortal, circumscribed, subject to temporal authorities, despoiled of divine properties, and alienated and divided from the Father’s substance and glory? And what else, pray, are you doing but introducing a new God to us, you who suddenly concoct a new faith? Who would endure the betrayal of their own salvation here, suffering loss in the most critical matter of all, which concerns us above all else? If, therefore, the substances that came together in Christ are so naturally related that they turn back, mixing their properties with one another, since the Word is consubstantial with God the Father and the Spirit, then the Father and the Spirit would also suffer, and would be circumcised, and would undergo all the other things that the Word is said to have suffered. But may this blasphemy fall upon the heads of those who have sown the seeds of this impiety!

We would also gladly ask you another question here. Whence, I pray, do you derive this authority, O men, to ignore other properties of the body while tyrannically snatching away and depriving it of circumscription alone—such as having a form, three dimensions, tangibility, the disposition of organs, and the other things from which circumscription is composed? For if anyone were to remove any of these from a body, he would have removed its being a body as well. For to be in some place and to be moved about would be abolished, coming to the same thing as circumscription, and even to say this is ridiculous. Why, then, do you say that only this perishes from the body, while you keep silent for the time being about the other properties? Yet it is clear ^B that by this one word you deny the rest as well; for if any of those things that define a nature are missing, it will be seen as imperfect. For if rationality is lacking in a man, he will not be a man; likewise, if mortality, the upright gait, mobility, animation, or any other thing 31 that constitutes the nature of a man and his definition is missing, he will not be a man. Likewise, if the ability to neigh is taken from a horse, or the ability to bark from a dog, they will be neither horse nor dog. Thus, the humanity of Christ, if it should lack any of its properties, is an incomplete nature, and Christ is not a perfect man—or rather, He is not even Christ; rather, the whole thing vanishes if He is not circumscribed and depicted. And what else is this, if not ^C what your teachers, the Arians, desire—that he assumed only flesh without a soul—and in this they ^D contend. Arianism battles Sabellianism, and Nestorius is opposed to Dioscorus; and Apollinarius to Eunomius; for the former says that God the Word took on a soul that was mindless and bereft of all reason, while Eunomius and Arius, on the other hand, teach that only a body was assumed; and those around Marcion and Basilides and Manes openly denied the humanity of Christ; while those around Paul of Samosata, and Marcellus, and the son of darkness, Photinus, fell into the diametrically opposite blasphemy, preaching Christ as a mere man.

^A

^A And note the absurdity into which your discourse proceeds. For if it were necessary, according to your opinion, for a nature to exist without its properties—which is entirely incredible—then no property should be given to either of the natures in Christ. For why do you favor the flesh alone with this, according to the whim of your own mind, and not rather bestow it upon the other nature as well? By doing so, you would better demonstrate your sincerity toward the one hypostasis, since you determine, by mere ^B simple thought—at your own will and convenience—the things from which natures are known and consist; and, just like your masters of old, you imagine a confusion and a ferment, and you sketch out the mystery of Christ in shadows, so that the goat-stag person you have fabricated might arise more clearly and openly.

Neither do I see what sort of distribution this is, to grant the uncircumscription of the Word alone to the flesh, as if it were something noble and august, and to think it is honored by a gift which it is not even appropriate for it to have, while you—out of envy, as it were—strip it of its other divine prerogatives, leaving it half-formed and imperfect, so that ^C not even the integrity of the honor remains; for it is not so much honored by the thing given as it is dishonored by the things taken away. For he who is generous in one thing is not necessarily benevolent, and he who acts sparingly in many things is malicious.

Perhaps this gift alone (uncircumscription) being added to the flesh would be sufficient to demonstrate the state of the question, namely, that it is already evident among you that it is not even flesh at all. For in this way you think to destroy the very standard of the entire economy, since you have drained the whole cesspool of the Phantasiasts. ^D For why, on account of its union with the Word, do you not also attribute to the flesh impassibility, and that it should be intemporal, and without beginning, invisible, and intangible, and deny its preexisting divinity before the ages?

(27) *In understanding*, as the Jacobites say in the colloquy I published with Theorianus. For these heretics, pressed by the arguments of the Catholics, eventually fled to the point where they contemplated two natures in Christ by the phantasy of their own minds, while in reality, they denied that they existed at all.

(28) *Against the Iconoclasts*, who pave the way for the Phantasiasts, so Macarius: Why do you open doors to the Phantasiasts, and overthrow the mystery of the economy? Why do you introduce a new and wicked legislation, you who are unworthy of grace, O wretched offspring of the Manichaean heresy?

^A And what is without shape, and all that is contemplated in the Word; since it further follows that these things usually follow one another; for what is uncircumscribed is also invisible; and what is invisible is also unlimited; and this is also incomprehensible; and what is also impassible and incorruptible; and what is incorruptible is also immortal; and what is immortal is also eternal, and for that reason also has no end. Now the flesh will also be in this state, so that, as if grown together with the Word and subsisting with Him, and having naturally received all the properties by which His essence is characterized, it may also be consubstantial with Him. And if we must speak more logically while engaged with you, since the flesh, according to you, is given as consubstantial with the Word, and the Word is consubstantial with the Father, then, by your own reasoning, the flesh must also be consubstantial with the Father, and likewise with the Spirit. Into such an abyss of impiety has this ^B specious and brilliant "uncircumscription" cast you! But I will add this, how the sermon of Mamonas ends in another way in extreme impiety: surely we shall recognize here into what level of irreligion it snatches them. For while these men wander about the very essence of the matter concerning the incarnation, they also stumble in the doctrine concerning God Himself, and, caught in their own snares, they are most incautiously found guilty of a capital crime. For in a certain way the relations alternate in both issues, as they are seen.

21. For just as natures are united to the hypostasis in the economy, so are the hypostases distinguished in the Trinity ^C because of personal properties. Conversely, the hypostases are united in the Trinity because of the same nature in them; but the natures are distinguished in the incarnation because of the difference in substance, as individual facts. As therefore they do not assign the peculiar properties of the natures in the incarnation, which distinguish them from those of a different kind, so neither will they manifest in the Trinity the signs distinguishing the hypostases at all, which distinguish them from one another while they are viewed in one and the same substance. And whatever they will contend about regarding the hypostasis there, they will fight over regarding the nature here, since among them no distinction of properties appears. What, then, do we say to these things? Namely, that if, according to ^D their propositions, because of the union with the Word, the flesh must be uncircumscribed, it is necessary by contrast—since the affairs of the incarnation have the opposite ratio—that the same infamy follow, as our ongoing discourse will demonstrate. For if the Father is ingenerate, but the Son is generate; then because of the one and the same nature, according to which sameness and equality are viewed in both, the Father too will be generate, or alternatively the Son ingenerate; and the same argument will hold regarding the Holy Spirit. What could be said that is more wicked or godless than this? But, leaving aside such absurdities, let us proceed to the next parts of the discourse.

22. Mamonas therefore continues: "Since after the union," we proceed to the Word.

^A Since after the union the action is indivisible, as we confess in our dogma; yet if the artist makes an image of the flesh alone, he subsequently gives a persona proper to the flesh. And this becomes a monster in the entire Godhead, that is to say, three persons in the Godhead and one of the humanity, and this is evil." He harps on and on about the union, which this wise man calls inseparable, so that through it he may seem to strengthen his own dogma and obscure the humanity of Christ. For this reason he says: "Even if he makes an image of the flesh alone." And here that wise oracle must be recited: "Wisdom that lacks rebuke goes astray, and the wisdom of a fool is words past searching out." And, "Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!" For their senseless soul has been made foolish, and their thoughts have been darkened. For they fall completely away from the truth of the right dogmas of the Church, neither foreseeing the absurdities that appear from their own propositions, nor [the precipice] into which they lead them; and there is nothing to which they are so devoted for an abundance of boastfulness as the learning of ignorance; for they deck themselves out in their own shame, whose glory in truth is in their own confusion. ^B But I would say to one who has reasoned thus, and whoever has chosen to think these things: "You, therefore, since you posit two natures in your arguments, which of these do you confess to be in the form of Christ, and in the person that is perceived and appears? If you say the divine, then you affirm the incomprehensible and invisible Godhead of the Word to be visible; and it will make no difference to say it is also circumscribed. For everything that is seen is circumscribed and limited, as it falls under the senses; and what you refused to grant to the flesh, this you have cast upon the divine nature. And you will not escape the charge of blasphemy, nor will you go free from the accusation of madness; because after your most great effort, while you wish to demonstrate that the visible is invisible and the circumscribed is uncircumscribed, being deceived by the vanity of your thoughts, you have turned your words to the opposite sense. ^C For what is invisible becomes, on the contrary, visible, and the uncircumscribed, by your own account, becomes circumscribed."

But if, perchance, you would not dare to say this, you will necessarily attribute only the human nature, which is seen, to Christ. ^D And that we might make a similar retort to your argument: you have divided the hypostasis, and you have defined Christ as a mere man, and you have made the quaternity more clear and evident. For you have assigned a proper persona to the flesh, and you have made Christ nothing more than a creature, in such a way that the Godhead is not in Him; and you have circumscribed Him more perfectly and more securely, and this very wickedly and fallaciously. You are thus caught, entangled in your own artifices. For how, then, [will you escape] the absurdity of the Nestorian insanity and division?

You have fallen into this quite clearly. For those around Nestorius, for this very reason, refuse to acknowledge the ^A hypostatic union in Christ, but prattle that it exists rather by favor and relation, as if the divine nature does not admit of another person of union because of its insircumscription. From which it follows that they foolishly say that the holy Virgin is not properly the Mother of God, but was the mother of a man. Next, regarding the miracles and at the same time the sufferings proposed to you concerning Christ, and which are far separated and different from one another, what do you say? Since even the Word is uncircumscribed, and likewise the flesh—do you then attribute both to each, both to the Word and to the flesh? For you do not separate the Word and the flesh, ^B as regards what is uncircumscribed, by assigning them individually and in part, as though the property does not alternate according to your view. But this will be not only impious, but also stupid; for no man of sound mind will declare that the Word suffers torments, or will think that the miracles belong to the flesh. For these are not shown by the power of the flesh, but the omnipotent and active energy of the united Word performs them through it; or else the sufferings will vanish for you along with the miracles. For if the flesh be granted to be uncircumscribed, it cannot be subject to sufferings; how then will you escape blasphemy? On every side the yawning pit of impiety surrounds you. Surely it is just and fitting that he who assigns the miracles to ^C the Word, and confesses it to be uncircumscribed, should also, by a corresponding and suitable analogy, attribute the sufferings to the flesh, and hold it to be circumscribed. For thus it is proper to ascribe to each of the two natures that which is proper and peculiar to it.

23. Then he says: "That in the case of the flesh, and of it alone, he circumscribes a proper person of a simple man." But if it does not circumscribe it, what will happen to you? That I may use the same formula of speech with you: thus he will assign a proper person separately to the naked and sole Word, divided and separated from the humanity of Christ, which is truly circumscribed, as is evident to all who think rightly, and as was ^D copiously demonstrated before. And thus for you once again from this source a quaternity arises, because the humanity is separated from the Word according to your reasoning, and Christ is nonetheless divided for you, and a person is added by you to the Life-giving and adorable Trinity. Thus, indeed, this enemy of Christ, shaking an unbridled tongue against the economy of Christ, utters contradictory speeches; and deceiving himself with many new arguments, embracing the whole error of falsehood, he henceforth indulges in composing fables, invents impostures, weaves them with vain garrulity, and fills his own soul with phantasms; so that thus blasphemy [may write] impiety, and impostures [may write] madness, and...

^A clearly manifest both impiety and the delusion of the writer to all who have received his discourse.

For what does he say in the following sections, in the continuity of his discourse? "Namely, characterizing a person, and making Christ a mere creature, and that the divine nature is not in him." These are words of arrogance and coarseness, from which two sources the impiety has sprouted and been built up, acting youthfully against our blameless faith and fighting against the right dogmas. But against such vomit, so that I may adorn myself with the words of the Fathers, denouncing the folly of this wise man, is silence not better? For it is written: "Answer not a fool according to his folly." But lest those who appear wise to themselves and are defenders of the apostasy might seem ^B to invade the cause of the pious as if it were destitute of patronage, thinking their own doctrine of lies and vanity to be invincible; therefore, although it is shameful and unseemly to contend with so weak and superable an enemy, nevertheless, exercising the common sense of mankind, we shall very powerfully besiege the machines and frauds they have devised against the truth, which they stupidly and inconsiderately lead into battle against it. For they stray into foolish and absurd notions, being dragged about to things they ought not, and being puffed up in vain by the mind of their flesh; and they define things that no man of sound mind knows, nor does the nature of things itself understand. For in addition to impiety, they also possess incredibility; and looking but to one goal, and applying all diligence, and, as the saying goes, leaving no stone unturned, to undermine, as they hope, the mystery of the Economy of Christ, and by the pretext of this ^C "incircumscription," to cause to disappear the image of his venerable form; and there is nothing strange in saying [they wish] to cause even the very memory of Christ itself to disappear.

But with good reason would the wise Proverb utter against them: "He who relies on lies feeds the winds; and the same shall pursue flying birds; and he gathers sterility with his hands." For they fashion for themselves, as dreamers, falsehoods which the perversity of their reasonings and the stale and deceptive phantasms of a profane soul suggest to them. For that they, wandering in mind, bear a reprobate one, and stand far away from the truth and the path that leads straight, and do not cease from their trickery, nor omit the weaving of those vanities—no one, I believe, who is religious and possesses his own mind will fail to agree.

But let them say, whence does their great teacher have these things ^D that he received? If indeed from the God-inspired oracles of the Spirit, or from the teaching of our God-wise Fathers, let them demonstrate where, and we shall willingly be silent. But if he speaks from his own brain, from which also the falsehood of the matter depends, who will listen to him speaking foolish things? Who is so destitute of mind and heart, as to agree that he who characterizes...

^A Christ, makes him a mere creature, or separates him from the divine nature? Where upon earth or sea has it been heard that any man, either of old or of our own time, ever even took such things into his mind, or would accept this monstrosity fabricated by him, which he, growing foolish with novel fables, has patched together? For what argument would force these things upon us? What power of syllogisms, and persuasions of fraudulent words? For if it is necessary, having dispelled the deceit of those men, to lay hold of the truth itself, we say that he who depicts rather unites, while he portrays the visible creature and a body in every way similar to us; and he neither diminishes nor distracts anything from Christ, but rather adds to him both by his reasoning ^B and by the relation; and whether one says natures, or something else, that fact certainly binds the union together. For it is not only the human form of Christ that is exhibited as visible, both because of the memorial refreshed and because of the assimilation to the archetype, but also the Word himself—although he is neither circumscribed nor depicted, as far as his own nature is concerned, being invisible and altogether intangible—yet at any rate, since he is one in subsistence and indivisible, for this reason his memory also enters in along with it. But this is for them a burdensome and most obnoxious thing; for Christ is heavy to them, even when only seen in an icon. For thus that man also, having his soul puffed up at the mention of him, pours out all his boldness and anger against the icon that bears this. It is permitted, therefore, to those ^C thus disposed in mind, when they also hear the oracles of the holy Gospels, which are connected by a certain bond with the aforementioned, because they have an equal power of signification (for in both—that is, in the icon and in the reading—the same subject matter is revolved, and the same history is viewed from the beginning), it is permitted to these, I say, if they teach anything lowly and human regarding the economy of the Savior, to think the same [of the icons], and to receive them as though they were presenting Christ to us as a creature; or, as if dividing the Word, to mark him out in the same way, and it is necessary to abolish the Gospels: especially when the Lord himself said to the crowd of Jews: "Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth?" and, "The Son of Man is delivered ^D to be crucified." For by these utterances his humble and poor status is represented. Finally, whatever reminds us of the passion and the cross, it would be permitted to deride and despise. But no sensible person will think or speak in this way. Therefore, the contempt for images also suffers from the same absurdity.

36 What then do we say? Just as this worthless theologian everywhere turns away from the truth, so here too he plainly errs. For one must note this also: just as above he was entangled in falsehood, and, playing the sage against himself, he said that if, well,

^A a work ought to be a consubstantial figure of the being it depicts—being ignorant of, or not conceding, the difference between them, just as he does not recognize the difference between animate and inanimate, or rational and irrational, or of other things clearly distinct from one another, from which it is shown that his opinion is feeble and unstable—so too, using the same mind in these matters, mingling his theology with his mythology with much keenness and exquisite sobriety of mind, he treats the archetype and the derivative as one and the same. And just as he did not wish to distinguish between the holy and the profane, he did not endure to discern between these either, not even in the slightest degree to touch upon the discourse concerning them. For he who thinks that Christ is divided by reason of the image considers nothing else but that Christ does not differ from his own image, but that both are the same. But had he known how to discern these, he would not have condemned things sacred and worthy of veneration. ^B For he, overcome by vain glory and the vanity of the world, and submerged in self-love and passion, has darkened his soul and is deprived of the light of truth, knowing and imagining nothing beyond visible things. For being earthy and turned toward the ground, he does not discern the grace hidden and reposed in sacred things, inasmuch as he confines his mind only within matter and creatures.

But come now, let him—who this most wise and most contemplative man thinks to think and set forth—answer us who are inquiring, and let him deliberate with us, so that he might know wherever his propositions may lead him. For let him tell us first, did he learn from any Christian holding such an opinion? Truly, he would ^C be unable to affirm it, nor could he show it; for it is his own device and mischief that he has already plainly set forth. How, then, and by what power, and in what way does this inventor of new dogmas wish these things to be reconciled? For if Christ, when depicted, remains only a creature and devoid of the divine nature—because the latter is uncircumscribed—this should much rather have been the case when he was incarnate; inasmuch as the flesh assumed by the Word is more proper to him than the image of the archetype: since that imitation which is made by depicting will not be well-preserved unless it is made to resemble the exemplar as far as possible. For how can that which is made in the imitation and likeness of someone be able ^D to act or suffer, unless that of which it is the imitation is itself such as to be this? But if to say these things is the height of madness and impiety, why are those other things not also steeped in the greatest insanity? For if one were to say that those things are true, then by the necessary nexus of the discourse, since Christ truly appeared visible to men when he dwelt among us (although it is impossible for the divine nature to be beheld), it follows, I say, that because the divine nature is not visible, that which is seen must be only a creature with greater right, the divine nature not existing in it, and that he needed to be depicted only insofar as he was first seen by men; for if one had not seen him, one would not, in any case, have depicted him. But if they find fault for the stated reasons, pic

^A how much more should they fault him who was seen? For it is precisely because of this that the one person of Christ has been distinguished, and that he alone has been left behind as a creature.

24. But if, when requested by some of the faithful, Christ imprinted ^B his own divine likeness on a linen cloth and sent it forth, why are others who depict him accused in vain? Further, it is worth asking this too: Was Christ, by nature, such that he could undergo these things, or not? For if he were not by nature able to undergo suffering, the one who brings such an accusation is full of error and vanity, and his pain has lapsed into the depths of absurdity and madness. For, indeed, he will be recognizable as acting against the very nature of things, and against the modes by which things exist. For what cannot come to be is of necessity determined by its own nature to happen; and what is not of such a nature as to come to be, he nonetheless wills to exist for someone by a certain consequence. But if Christ was indeed of such a nature, then the one who depicts him or the one who has seen him is accused in vain; for these events did not occur because of the painting or the seeing of the painter or the spectator, but because of the one being seen and depicted, and the one whose nature it was to undergo these things. Therefore, the one who was seen and depicted is himself more responsible for himself; he who, in the superabundance of his philanthropy, descended and, having emptied himself for us as both seen and depicted, introduced the reason for both the distance and for his having been left behind as a creature. From this, it seems that a strange sort of accusation is being woven against Christ: ^C that those things for which he ought to have been honored and worshipped as a benefactor are turned instead into a source of blame and insult against him. And thus the grace of the Economy becomes a subject of dishonor and disgrace. And that these things have occurred more under the attacks of our opponents, and in a way more dishonorable and impious than the passion of the cross itself, has already been sufficiently stated above.

But even if they were to tire of these arguments, it is ready for them to move on to another form of blasphemy. ^D

They bring forward another argument, namely that the Word must of necessity be circumscribed in an image together with his flesh; and they broadcast this everywhere, attaching this evil appendage to their previous points. But it must be said in response to these things as well: Was the Word circumscribed in his own ineffable nature when he assumed a body, or was he not? If he was circumscribed, then let it be granted that it happens also when he is depicted. But if not, what reasoning compels one to say that the Word, insofar as he is in the flesh, is circumscribed when he is depicted? For that which has not suffered while assuming the flesh that is circumscribed, how will it suffer when its flesh is painted? Although they have been publicly refuted in this way, in that they have contrived insane and insulting things against our holy confession, nevertheless they thought that by this one of their absurd arguments they could confirm the vanity of their own dogma; so that they might then win the whole controversy, and plainly show him to be a deceiver who said: *The Word became flesh and dwelt among us* 24, and likewise him who wrote: *Since the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same* 25. And all other things that have been handed down to us by the evangelical preaching. But such absurdities and irrationalities, proceeding from the absurdity of the writer, befit the insanity of himself and others who lend an ear to him.

^B It must also be said that the holy image of our Savior, as the things just argued teach, partakes in the realities of the archetype; which becomes manifest from the very works of these people. For just as whatever his image suffers when attacked and cast down by the enemies of Christ, it suffers on account of the archetype itself—for they do these things in order to offend Christ—so analogously and consistently, as anyone can recognize by simple reasoning, the image in turn partakes of some grace and power from the archetype. Indeed, Christ is burdensome to them even when seen in an image. For just as Christ when seen in the flesh was burdensome to the ancient Jews, so that, not enduring this righteous one, they would at one time say to him: *How long do you hold our soul in suspense?* 26 and at another surround him with myriad slanders, and finally deliver him to a most shameful death; so also to the Jews of today, Christ appears intolerable in his venerable effigy. For they, bearing in themselves the image and imitation of the Jews, are enraged at the image of Christ; and just like them, they attack it with myriad insults and invectives, and finally violently destroy it, being the followers and evildoers of the Jews.

^D 25. Since our discourse is concerning the incarnation of the Lord, we have not thought it untimely to add this to the aforementioned points, by first setting forth the doctrine which is approved by us and by the truth itself, and then also the opinion of our opponents, as far as

^A crookedness, we examine. For we, as we have been initiated by those taught of God, confess the one and the same Christ and God to be twofold, having been instructed to confess the one and the same Christ and God ^B as twofold. And thus He sits at the right hand of the Father, willing our salvation both divinely and humanly, and working according to both: divinely, by claiming the elect as His own handiwork; humanly, by receiving them as brothers. Just as, then, the ascending from earth to heaven and the descending again are the operations of a circumscribed body, so too is being seen [an operation] of the created nature, etc. For, keeping the ancestral laws of the Church and strengthening the apostolic traditions, we proclaim the incarnation of the Word and confirm the orthodox faith by works and by words: We proclaim the only-begotten Son, the Word, to have been made man for our sake and to have assumed our handiwork to Himself: and while we know Him to be before the ages in His divinity, we acknowledge Him to be temporal in His humanity; having two natures in one person, the same entire God, and the same entire man; God wholly incarnate, not phantastically or apparently, but in very deed and truth; not having turned His divinity, but having assumed humanity, that is, flesh animated by a rational and intellectual soul: for He did not assume only flesh bereft of a rational soul, but was truly born of a woman, taking the form of a servant: and as He is perfect in divinity, so is He also perfect in humanity; not composed of divinity and flesh alone into one Christ and Lord and Son, but strangely joined into one and the same from two perfect natures, I mean humanity and divinity, neither undergoing confusion through the union nor admitting division because of the unmingled nature, nor separation; but I also speak of the union according to the hypostasis of the two perfect natures as an immutable, unconfused, inalterable, indivisible, and inseparable union. For we do not think in terms of one composite nature, but we confess one composite hypostasis, possessing the concurrence of the natures as inseparable, and preserving the properties of these natures unconfused. For neither do the things which have come together for the union, as having an unmingled character, exist thereafter separate from one another; nor, as possessing the connection as indivisible, does any confusion entirely arise; but there remained even after the union the properties of each nature in their purity, according to themselves—that is, the wills, the operations, the passibility of the flesh, the impassibility of the divinity. And there was preserved also that which is indivisible from one another and inseparable for the ages of the created and the uncreated essence, of the circumscribed and the uncircumscribed nature. For even if the Only-begotten suffered from the weakness of the flesh, He remained impassible by the power of the divinity. Even if He suffered for our sake by the suspension on the cross and the stretching, and thus died, yet the passion and the pain and the dying were voluntary for Him. The flesh suffered, and the soul suffered naturally because of the conjunction; for from it comes sensitivity to the flesh; but the divinity in both did not suffer nor was it in pain, since the divine is superior to such things. The soul was separated from the flesh, but the divinity remained indivisible in both; wherefore also, our Lord Jesus Christ, having suffered and died and been buried, shook off corruption and the effects of corruption; and having transformed His own body toward incorruptibility, and having assumed His own soul by power as God, He rose on the third day and remains God, with soul and flesh inseparable for the ages, no longer having the assumption as passible. "For even if we have known Christ according to the flesh," the Apostle says (II Cor. V, 16), "yet now we know Him no longer." For the human nature of the Savior, which received deification from the union, did not straightforwardly cast off the passible on account of the fulfillment of the economy; but in the resurrection, having put this off as well, it was restored as needing nothing, and impassible, and immortal; not, however, as uncreated, nor invisible, nor uncircumscribed; for these are properties of the divinity alone. From this, then, is known the difference of the natures of the God-man Lord, and the uniqueness of the person for the ages. For nothing that He assumed of ours did He cast off after the resurrection—not the body, nor the soul—but He remains having a circumscribed body, and a rational and intellectual soul, possessing both will and activity, ^C and ^D into heaven He departed; and thus He sits at the right hand of the Father, willing our salvation both divinely and humanly, and working according to each: divinely, by claiming the elect as His own handiwork; humanly, by receiving them as brothers. Just as, then, the ascending from earth to heaven and the descending again are the operations of a circumscribed body, so too is being seen [an operation] of the created nature, etc. For, keeping the ancestral laws of the Church and strengthening the apostolic traditions, we proclaim the incarnation of the Word and confirm the orthodox faith by works and by words: We proclaim the Only-begotten Son, the Word, to have been made man for our sake, and to have assumed our handiwork to Himself: and while we know Him to be before the ages in His divinity, we acknowledge Him to be temporal in His humanity; having two natures in one person, the same total God, and the same total man; God wholly incarnate, not phantastically or apparently, but in very deed and truth; not having undergone change from His divinity, but having assumed humanity, flesh, that is, animated, that is, composed of a rational and intellectual soul: for He did not only clothe Himself in flesh, which would be lacking a rational soul, but He was truly born of a woman, taking the form of a servant: and as He is perfect in divinity, so also is He perfect in humanity; not concreted into one Christ and Lord and Son out of divinity and flesh alone, but mirabily copulated into one and the same out of two perfect natures, namely humanity and divinity: suffering neither confusion on account of the union, nor mixture, nor experiencing division or separation on account of the distinct natures: but retaining an unconfused conjunction and an inseparable union. That conjunction, indeed, we call that which is of two perfect natures in one person; an inconvertible, unconfused, immutable, indivisible, inseparable, I say, union. For we do not believe in a unique composite nature, but we confess a unique composite person, which retains an inseparable bond of the natures, and keeps the properties of these unconfused. Nor, because the concurrent parts are united unconfusedly, can they therefore be separated from each other henceforth: nor, because they have an inseparable conjunction, does any confusion arise: but there remain even after the union the properties of each nature inviolate, item by item: the wills, namely, and the operations; the passibility of the flesh, the impassibility of the divinity. Intact also is the mutual inseparability and eternal indivisibility of the created and uncreated substance, of the circumscribed and uncircumscribed nature. For even though the Only-begotten suffered on account of the infirmity of the flesh, he remained the same, impassible by the virtue of the divinity. But if He suffered for us on the cross on account of the nailing of the nails and the stretching, and thus died, yet the pain and the passion and the very death were voluntary for Him. The flesh was suffering, the soul was suffering naturally because of the conjunction; for from that source comes the sensation to the flesh: yet in both the divinity was impassible and without pain; because God's nature is excelling these. Separated from the flesh was the soul, but the divinity remained indivisibly in both. Therefore, suffering and dying and being buried, our Lord Jesus Christ avoided corruption and the effect of corruption; and having transformed His body to incorruptibility, and resuming the soul by His own divine power, He rose on the third day: and remains with flesh and soul God indivisible through the ages; no longer having the assumed part as passible. "For even if we have known Christ according to the flesh," quotes the Apostle (II Cor. V, 16), "yet now we know Him no longer." For surely the Savior’s humanity of old, which for the union's sake was deified, did not forthwith cast off passibility, for the sake of the accomplishment: as...

we have learned to confess; namely, both as God existing without beginning and timelessly and incorporeally, on account of His consubstantial nature with God the Father; and in time and bodily, as having appeared a perfect human being, on account of His ^A kinship with her who bore Him, both bodily and supernaturally. Since, therefore, God the Father is uncircumscribed, and Christ, insofar as He is God and consubstantial with Him, is also confessed to be uncircumscribed; yet since the mother is circumscribed—for she is also a human being like us—Christ, therefore, insofar as He is a human being and connatural with her, will be confessed to be circumscribed. For thus does the duality of the natures that are in His one hypostasis truly appear, and the sequence of the Word, adhering to the truth, will necessarily and faultlessly be preserved. For Christ, having become the Mediator of God and men, and having gone forth as God with the assumption—being one from two opposites, as the theological mystery teaches—equally and with equal honor shares in both of the natures and properties of which He is composed; and on account of the communion and relationship toward each, being rendered as one from both, and being centered upon His own ^B hypostasis; and in these things, indeed, the definition of piety rests.

If anyone, however, were to grant Christ to be uncircumscribed even insofar as He is a human being, he would cut Him off from the natural kinship with her who bore Him, and would bring divine and human nature into the same, and would deny the difference of the extremes in opposition to one another, and would in no way see the distinction between God and men, but would introduce these as consubstantial. And who will bear the enormity of such a blasphemy? We inquire, therefore, if according to their proposition the hypostatic union is the cause of the Lord's flesh being uncircumscribed, whence and how will this be made manifest to us? For whether, because the Word donned our nature, having conversed in the uncircumscribed body of the Virgin, did Christ go forth from her also uncircumscribed according to the flesh? Or will they perhaps think that this was granted to the Virgin by the arrival of the all-holy Spirit, and that it [her nature] was transmuted, so that, having once departed from its natural and human property, it might more opportunely and fittingly receive ^C the uncircumscribed Word in an uncircumscribed manner? Or was it rather that, with the nature of the Virgin remaining within its own bounds, as soon as the Word touched the virginal womb, that which He assumed (namely, humanity) was immediately… ^D [footnote 27: II Tim. ii, 5.] ...even in the resurrection, having laid aside this quality, became impassible, immortal, and outside of every necessity; yet not uncreated, nor invisible, nor uncircumscribed: for these are the properties of one divinity. Hence, therefore, the difference also of the natures of the Theanthropic Lord, and at the same time the unity of the person, are recognized as enduring forever. For He laid aside nothing of our things which He assumed, after the resurrection—not body, not soul; but possessing a circumscribed body, and retaining a rational and intellectual, volitional and operative soul, He was cast into heaven; and thus He sits at the right hand of the Father, willing our salvation both divinely and humanly, and working in both ways; divinely indeed appropriating His chosen ones as His creatures, but humanly embracing them as brothers. Just as, therefore, the ascension from the earth into heaven, and the descent from there, are the operations of a circumscribed body; so is His visibility proper to a created nature. Thus we, keeping the ancestral rules of the Church and retaining the apostolic traditions, preach the incarnation of the Word, and establish the orthodox faith by works and words.

^A ...having fashioned ^B them—I speak of the primal elements, the virginal blood—immediately by the presence and power of the Word [into] an uncircumscribed state? By this reasoning, evidently, it appears to the corrupt minds of the Incorrupticolarum that the Lord took on an incorruptible flesh. For they decree things equal to the uncircumscribed ones [i.e., Agraptodocetae, authors of phantastical indescribability]. For if one were to call them thus, one would not miss what is fitting.

26. If, therefore, they should adhere to the former opinion, we have derived ^B no benefit from the incarnation of the Word. For He by no means assumed our nature, the nature of the one who gave birth having undergone change, and in no way sharing the nature with us who are circumscribed. But, besides its impiety, this argument also possesses incredibility. For how is it possible for an uncircumscribed being to dwell in an uncircumscribed one passibly and corporally? Nor is a body naturally uncircumscribed and impervious to the senses. Furthermore, they will strip away—which is the most wicked thing of all—the very birth of the most holy Virgin. For if it is impossible for any body to be uncircumscribed, it is even more impossible for a woman to give birth to an uncircumscribed one according to human nature. Nor, indeed, is it reasonable to go beyond the lines of truth and right in honoring the Virgin; for praise that overflows does not differ from disgrace. For if that were true, incorruptibility also, and immortality ^C and impassibility would be attributed to her; so that what the Word has by His own nature, this would exist in the one who gave birth by adoption. What could be more absurd than this? For how would God differ from men? But if they should subscribe to the second opinion, why, then, was not incorruptibility and immortality and impassibility also ^D granted to His nature immediately from the beginning of the union, and at the same moment the Word touched the maternal womb? For if this were the case, the manner of the Lord’s life among us and His converse with men would have been superfluous; nor would there have been any need for the Lord to do the things He did, to suffer tortures, and, last of all, to endure the most pitiable death by the cross, through which the things of our freedom and salvation have been accomplished.

But perhaps they might say that the Word acted in this way because He could not or did not know how to do otherwise. But how is He God, if He has suffered such things? Or how, having performed one deed, did He not perform the others? Why, then, having endured other things, all that pertain to nature and the human composition, did He alone refuse circumscription? Which is, however, most especially proper to a body, and most intimate, and without which a body would not exist; so that if one were to deprive a body of this quality, one would admit that it does not even exist as a body at all. It is necessary, therefore, for them to say that He proceeded to another creation, and established another beginning of nature, and assumed a body that in no way belongs to us, which, being new and alien to our substance, He wrought for Himself: whence for us, who are circumscribed...

^A by the beginning of nature, no salvation will come, because we do not have a nature conformed to His. But why did the Word, who by His incarnation renewed our nature and bestowed upon us the greatest gifts—I mean immortality and incorruption, and all the other things that the hope of future goods sets before us—why did He alone envy us and deprive us of this? For He never promised anything concerning being uncircumscribed in His proclamations during His teaching. Nor does this appear to be introduced in any other place in Scripture or in any of the lucubrations of the holy teachers. For it is necessary that this corruptible should put on incorruption, and this mortal should put on immortality, as the divine Apostle says somewhere 28; and: It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory 29. But that this circumscribed nature should put on being uncircumscribed—no one, not even today, has heard this from Paul, or from any other of the teachers of the Church.

^B Shunning, however, much idle talk, we say just this: if they do not concede that Christ—His very indwelling in the virginal womb—was corporally circumscribed, as the light of truth brilliantly shines forth, what else would they say, unless they believe that the uncircumscribed Word was contained within a circumscribed place, as they suppose? But how can this happen without the height of impiety and atheism? For it is necessary that one of two things be the case: either that the Word received from the holy Virgin a body that is circumscribed, or—that these most perverse men, by inverting the relation of things, attribute being uncircumscribed to the Virgin. For the union and the indwelling of the Word in the Virgin brought about one of these two things. But in truth, the Virgin was circumscribed, and the Lord’s body was like- ^C wise circumscribed, since it proceeded from a circumscribed body.

For if they grant neither of these, but wish to avoid absurdities, it remains that they would fall into a worse error. For, following even now the teachers of that worn-out fantasy, they will teach as dogma that the Word brought His flesh down from heaven through the Virgin, as if through a pipe, so that the one would not be a partaker of the other (that is, the Son of the mother). Yet it is more just that these cursed ones be numbered with those whom holy men have subjected to horrendous anathemas.

Furthermore, our argument, pressing them as if on the rack, continues to speak thus. For this supreme theologian and dogmatist ^D nowhere clearly distinguishes when the flesh is granted the property of being uncircumscribed; whether before its union with the Word, or after the union? But before the union, no one, I suppose, would be so stupid as to say this; for otherwise he would not even profess that He had assumed flesh: for that which is uncircumscribed is not man, but God. Nor, perhaps, would anyone say that He assumed the angelic form. For Paul cries out in a loud voice that the Word did not take to Himself the nature of angels, saying: For He does not take hold of angels, but He takes hold of the seed of Abraham 30. But to call the seed of Abraham uncircumscribed is the work of a Mammon-worshipping sage; for no one is so bestial and senseless, that in this very Word

since the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, he should attribute to the flesh, immediately after the union is accomplished, an incircumscription. For in that case, he would also have to attribute to it, by reason of the union and the same Word, impassibility, intangibility, invisibility, and anything else of this kind, which immediately after the union would deny that it is passible, visible, tangible, and the other things by which the nature of flesh is known. And according to his opinion, the same thing would be at once circumscribed and uncircumscribed, passible and impassible, tangible and intangible, and everything else that is opposed ^B. And some attributes would exist by their own nature even before the union, while others would exist through something else even after the union: and it would be the same thing at once, and yet at once also its opposite. Nor would it any longer be established that the body remains; for it would depart from itself, and would renounce its own definition and nature: than which nothing could be more irrational or insane.

For whence would the matters of the sacred economy and Christ’s conversation with men be established? Whence would it be apparent that He hungered and thirsted? Whence the labor of journeys, the sweating, the trembling, and all the other passions that befall our body, which surely is not lacking in form, solidity, triple dimension, color, stature, and weight, and furthermore in tangibility and every other thing that is and is called proper to the body? How then is that which is tangible not circumscribed? So that from one property the others might be understood, as many as are viewed in Christ because of the humanity He assumed. Unless Mammon agrees with these things, it is necessary that the Christ who was embodied be explicitly denied by him ^C. Therefore he will not even confess that He suffered, and our redemption will vanish, and the withdrawal from idols, which is what he primarily desired: our hope is vain, and whatever has come to us through the suffering of the Savior; the Gospels likewise will contain nothing true, and all our doctrine and our faith will seem vain to him.

Let these things be said against him who foolishly clamors about incircumscription. Yet the account of the truth is not thus; but just as the Word, having been united to the flesh, preserved the natures perfect and complete, and departed not from His physical properties, remaining in substance distinct from the body as far as He is the Word; so also the body is distinct from the Word ^D, in respect, I say, to its property: for it did not depart from its own notions. And just as the body of God, once made, did not cease to be a body, even if it were entirely transformed to a better condition by the power of the Word, so neither was it despoiled of its physical properties. Otherwise, how would the integrity be kept sound, which the ecclesiastical magisterium hands down concerning Christ, as in His deity so also in His humanity? Certainly, if anything pertaining to the humanity were withdrawn, not only would the integrity of the thing not remain, but the thing itself would not exist at all. How then does He take hold of the seed of Abraham, if this very same thing is not circumscribed in Christ? How was He bound to be made like His brethren in all things, He who in mul-

- ^A titude is the firstborn among many brethren, He who was tempted in all things according to our likeness? How shall He be named Son of David and Son of the most holy Virgin, whose genealogy descends from the Davidic tribe? Unless perhaps he has also attributed to the Virgin herself the quality of being uncircumscribed, so that the Word might have passed through her—as it has been said—as if through a pipe: and so he has thoroughly gorged himself on the goblet of the Phantasiastae and Docetae, in the manner of his own masters.

How, in the same way, can the truth of the evangelical preachers remain intact? One of them, evangelizing the mystery of Christ, says: *The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.* But another says: *The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.* And yet our author does not even concede to Christ himself, who said to those stoning Him: *Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth?* ^B Where then is the teaching of our hierophants and theological Fathers? They who were guardians of the mysteries of Christ and possessed by the Holy Spirit, and who explicitly taught us that He is the same, perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, consubstantial with God the Father according to his divinity, and with us according to his humanity, both circumscribed and uncircumscribed? But what benefit has Christ been to us at all, if we are circumscribed, unless He who is like us purified and healed what is like Him; unless He assumed all that we are, sin excepted? For they say that which cannot be assumed cannot be healed. For in those things in which nature needed reformation, it was necessary for Him to become entirely like our nature. And let not the modern patrons of error and of his dogmas say that we have not heard; for *their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.* They have been so blinded by their own arrogance, and have closed their eyes, and heard heavily with their ears, and have come to everything pertaining to piety with the vision of their minds darkened; ^C they are not illuminated by the light of piety, opposing the evangelical and patristic voices shamelessly and contradicting them without any reverence. Wherefore, no manner of defense will remain for them before the just Judge.

27. If it seems that Christ is divided from what has been written, and that only a created thing remains, it remains to be seen whether, by the tenor of his argument, he allows Christ to be even an ensouled creature. For if he does not believe that the physical differences of the man whom the Word assumed are preserved intact in Him, he does not even concede that He is a man. For how will the natures subsist in Him? Just as physical differences preserve a nature when they are present, so they destroy it when they are absent. ^D Therefore, if anyone were to strip these away from the Lord, he would not so much call Him a mere man, but rather one inanimate and without agency; finally, he would have improvised Him as a statue and nothing more.

^A Truly these are the inventions of impiety, not the dogmas of Christians—far from it—but the thoughts and conceptions of Mammon.

What then would he say if a comparison were instituted with man, since there is one person for every man, who consists of two natures, of which one is visible and circumscribed and bears an outward figure, while the other occurs only to the mind and is not depicted? If anyone should depict a man, would he seem to him to be depicting together the visible with the invisible? Or to separate the soul from the body—which is nothing other than death? For what else is death, if not the separation of the soul from the body?

^B And now, one might very justly address Mammon in this way: "You, therefore, who are intoxicated by the drunkenness of much gold, and overcome by the desire for wealth, and given over to it no differently than that Midas of ancient history, and who in many vessels of gold or even on painted tablets in various places have taken care to have your own image engraved, do you acknowledge these as your dogmas? Do you circumscribe your own soul together with them? Or is this separated from your body? Which is the same as saying: 'Are you dying while you do this, or are you not?' Would that you had perished at once, so that you might not commit such outrages against Christians! ^C What kind of soul you have—whether canine or swinish, or that of some wild beast—you yourself would know. But that, while you were saying these things, you were more irrational than the irrational animals and more bitter than the wild beasts, having cast away all fear of God and besieging the entire religion of the Christians—this I affirm most vehemently. Was it not fitting for you to think and speak in a way consistent with your actions? And not to be contrary to yourself and the truth, doing one thing and preaching another? For if you yourself do not persuade yourself of this matter, you would much less persuade others.

Nay, you even commanded that your own images be held in price and honored—things which were done at your command—nor was the danger of punishment light for him who did not comply with your orders. ^D You are exactly like that proud and barbarous Babylonian—whose character and irascible temper you have truly emulated—who fashioned that celebrated image and commanded it to be adored, and death most bitter was the penalty for those who did not obey his edicts. Therefore, you who have cast down the icon of Christ and substituted your own, you are rightly and deservedly to be reckoned as nothing other than an Antichrist. How many deaths should you suffer, while you are characterized and fashioned on your own coins! But, having already died in your soul on account of your impiety and madness, you felt no sensation of those countless deaths. These things, against one who thinks and acts in this way, are, I believe, aptly and deservedly spoken. But now it is time to move on to the distinction and exposition of the proposed questions, so that the discourse regarding them may not be delayed for too long."

28. It is manifest, therefore, to the sober-minded, that regarding

^A what is currently proposed, one may say: an archetype is a principle and an exemplar existing by itself, which is the cause of the form derived and expressed from it, and of the development which has been assimilated to it. The definition of an image, however, will be as follows, as one might speak of these things produced by art: an image, I say, is a likeness of an archetype, expressing within itself the whole form of that which is being imprinted, through assimilation, differing only in the diversity of substance according to its matter; or it is an imitation and resemblance of an archetype, differing in substance and subject; or it is a product of art formed according to the imitation of the archetype, but differing in substance and subject. For if it did not differ in any respect, it would not be an image, nor anything other than the archetype itself. Thus, then, an image is a likeness and an impression of things that are and exist.

^B 29. An idol is a fabrication of certain non-existent and unsubstantial things, such as the Greeks, through folly and impiety, fashion as images of certain Tritons, Centaurs, and other phantoms that do not exist. In this way, an image and an idol are distinguished from one another, so that those who do not accept the difference between them could justly be called idolaters. Now images are images of both good and evil things, of which the estimation is different. For those of the good are to be honored, while those of the evil are to be rejected and avoided just as idols, especially those which some of the ancients wrongly and impiously dedicated as an object of veneration for idols, ignoring the God of all and the primary cause. This was brought about both by the passion of those enslaved to their own desires and worldly considerations, and by tyrannical power, overstepping the bounds and laws of rightful honor. Therefore, the word "idol" would not be used for any good thing, since that term has been primarily used in pagan worship, ^C which is offered to demons through sacrifices, as the Apostle says.

30. I do not think it inappropriate at this time to add this to the discourse: that an image has a relation to an archetype, and it is an effect of a cause; it is therefore necessary for this reason that it both exists as, and is called, a relative. Now those things which are relative are said to be what they are in relation to others, and their relationship to one another is reciprocal; just as a father is called the father of a son, and conversely, a son is called the son of a father; likewise a friend is [friend] of a friend, and the right [is right] of the left, and conversely the left of the right; ^D similarly also a master [is master] of a slave, and conversely, and whatever else is similar to these. Thus, therefore, an archetype is the archetype of an image; and an image is an image of an archetype; and no one would say that an image is of nothing. For together one is introduced and contemplated with the other; and even if the archetype should depart, the relation does not perish or cease; for the principle of their relation does not cease at the same time.

(Note: The Greek text at the bottom containing the definition of the idol and the note on the legislator (Moses) translates as follows): An idol is a representation of an unsubstantial thing. An idol has no substance. And shortly after: Since the Greeks fabricate forms that do not exist, such as certain Sphinxes and Tritons; but the Egyptians speak of dog-headed and bull-headed creatures, therefore the legislator (Moses) calls these images of things that do not exist "idols." Hence also the divine Paul says (1 Cor. viii, 4): An idol is nothing in the world.

^A For the principle of mutual destruction extends to all such things; for sometimes relationships remain intact even when left behind, stripped and denuded of the things themselves—as happens in the case of a father and son and of those things [that are] similar. For by manifesting the absent one just as if he were present, through resemblance and memory or form, it preserves the relationship, extending it along with time. Similarity, therefore, is a certain intermediate relationship that stands between the extremes—I mean the one being resembled and the one resembling—inhering in the form and connecting them, even if they differ in nature. For if each is one thing and another in nature, yet they are not "another" and "another" [personally], but [the image] is that same one himself; for through the shape of the form that existed from the beginning, knowledge is produced, and the hypostasis of the one depicted is seen within that shape—which is not possible to observe in the case of other such [relationships], for instance in the case of a father or son or ^B friend. For these have it in a contrary way; for each of these is not "one thing and another," since they partake of the same substance, but they are "another and another" by the diversity of their hypostases. And if in these, which are divided, the relationship does not perish, how much more will it be preserved in those! Moreover, similarity grants the sharing of a name; for the designation is one for both—for both the king and the image of the king are called [king]; and one might say, "I and the king are one," it being clear that this is notwithstanding the difference of substance. We have said these things in order to demonstrate the mode of the image; according to which, when viewed in relation to the archetype, it possesses a relationship; it does not possess identity according to substance, for not everything that is said of the archetype as archetype will necessarily be said of the image derived from it. For the one, perhaps, is animate, ^C while the other is inanimate; or one is rational and moving, while the other is irrational and motionless. Therefore, both are not the same; but rather, they have a partial similarity of image between them, and a partial dissimilarity of substance. Since, therefore, the image is of the genus of those things that have a mutual relationship, for that reason, when the prototype is honored, its image is honored at the same time; and again, when it is dishonored, it is dishonored at the same time. Since, therefore, the difference is recognized in these things both by reason and by definition, and since the painting belongs to the genus of other things which have nothing in common with the definition of substance, why do the adversaries tremble in vain, thinking that those things which are naturally united are being divided here? They will therefore deservedly be considered ^D foolish and thunderstruck.

31. If it is necessary also to say whence the name has been derived and formed, following the path of etymology, we say that it is from the verb *eikō*, which indeed signifies other things, but specifically denotes "to resemble." From this verb *eikō*, therefore, by taking the letter *v* [nu], "icon" [eikōn] has come to be, which signifies "likeness." Hence the icon also suffers injury from the enemies of the truth, which is made to resemble Christ (59). And from the said verb, as from a certain beginning and root, the verb *eoike* is also formed, which itself also indicates…

^A that it is similar. Since matters are in this state, who among those who know well is unaware that the image of Christ is one thing, and Christ himself another? But only he, the most wise one, ignorant of what is known to all, follows his own impulses and those who lead him; one who, if he possessed even a slight perception of what is fitting—if for no other reason, then at least on account of the relationship which the image of Christ has to the archetype—ought to have worshipped and embraced it. It is clear, therefore, as it seems, that impiety and ignorance are what both suffer and proclaim such absurdities. For he should have employed the term of the "similar" and "dissimilar," which exists in the things mentioned and is referred to a certain quality, as those who are practiced in these subjects would say, whence it would have been permitted for him to arrive little by little at this skill of speaking. Instead, he asserts that it is one and the same thing, to which another thing is rather associated and is contemplated around the substance. But neither of these things is necessary for this purpose. ^B It seems to me, however, that Mamonas does not even demand that in these cases it be said "one thing and another" (which distinguishes natures), but that he introduces "another person and another person," since he represents persons, which make one different from another, and [thus] introduces many persons, and as many Christs as there are images. And thus there will be more sons, so that henceforth even the name of the Only-Begotten might be removed from the midst. Now, whether the impiety of those who think thus is to be censured, or rather their stupidity is to be mocked—we cannot express this in words adequate to the matter. But let the discourse concerning these things be concluded here: that the divine and supersubstantial Word is neither able to be painted, nor circumscribed, nor even when dwelling among us did He undergo these things (for who is so brutish and foolish and darkened in soul as to doubt this? since He never departed from His own natural property); and that on account of the Word Himself, the flesh united to Him did not escape being circumscribed, has been shown, as I think, sufficiently at length, and how the things that appeared from the arguments of the opposition ^C received their overturning and refutation by their own attempts, with truth acting as an ally.

32. It remains, then, to speak about the division which they have foolishly and senselessly fabricated, and the manner of it. But first, it is worth questioning by what manner he who circumscribes the flesh, or rather images it (for let it be conceded for the present that it makes no difference, since to that man both are the same ^D and he wishes to retain them irrationally), [index: entries preserved]

^A he separates it from the united divine Word, and makes Christ only a creature, so that the divine nature is not in Him. Does he separate this by thought and word alone, or also by sense and actual operation? For in these there is a great difference. For when he introduces the principle of separation, he has not at all made clear the manner in which he judges these things to be separated. And if, indeed, he were to say that the separation is made by thought alone, we too would agree; for our own doctrine involves this, with the exception of circumscription. ‹ For when natures are distinguished by mind and thought, names are also divided at the same time, says the Theologian [(42)]. Hear Paul speaking: *That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory* 37; Christ’s God, indeed, but Father of glory. For although the composite whole is one, it is not by nature, but by the union. ^B Mamonas would certainly have been greatly praised if he had stopped at this point, for then we would have no words to say about this matter; nor would he himself have vibrated his tongue against us, since he would have said that the painting has equal honor with the Word. But at present he does not say this; for he has never lent an ear to the dogmas of the theologians, because it did not please him to busy himself among their teachings, for the reason that he surrendered himself, overcome by the stimuli and desires of the flesh alone.

Therefore, he must needs turn foolishly and impiously to the other meaning of the expression, and hold this as a dogma: namely, that things which are inseparably united are separated by sense and by the very act itself. And this most wise man ought to have explained to us by what power and operation, ^C that supernatural and wondrous union, which surpasses all speech and mind—that by which the Word, substantially dwelling in the most holy Theotokos Virgin, joined the whole man to His whole self by a hypostatic union, which it was the work of God alone to effect—how, I say, he who circumscribes and depicts it separates them, and divides God separately and man separately; as if the Word were naturally capable of suffering this, and of being separated from the flesh once united to Him, or as if He were not at all capable of such things? For if the first be granted, then passion would be cast upon the Word. And if He were to suffer, ^D He would doubtless also be circumscribed, and He would have suffered this even before the union. But this is impossible; for He would not suffer, being naturally impassible; therefore, He will not have the nature to be separated from the flesh united to Him. But if the second be given, and it is not in His nature to do this? What is the reasoning that touches upon things above reason, and approaches things that are neither graspable by the mind nor expressible by word, which could be able to harm that inseparable, unchangeable, and natural conjunction?

«But even if He is not separated, He will certainly be circumscribed.» And for this reason he fears to call the flesh circumscribed, not knowing that the passion of circumscription is

^A brought by him upon the Word. For what else is this but a passion? And he has fallen into that from which he seemed to be fleeing, since if this were the case, the Word would have been circumscribed, having been so constituted by nature even before the union with the body, and not because of the union itself. But if He is by nature uncircumscribed, even when joined to a body He would surely preserve His own nature as God, entirely unharmed and undiminished in His physical infinity and uncircumscription. For the Word would not experience in His own substance the things proper to the suffering body, just as He could never be changed from the impassible and immutable into the passible and mutable. Consequently, even if His body is circumscribed, the Word will not be circumscribed. It is, therefore, absurd, insane, and impious to state that Christ is divided when He is depicted, or is circumscribed along with the image. However, ^B this is not the principal scope of his argument; rather, he has devised "the uncircumscribed" as a convenient instrument serving his wicked will, the use of which he found suitable for overturning the economy of our Savior.

^A 55. But one may marvel at the greatness of the wisdom of this man, how he failed to perceive that, while he was examining and investigating the matters of the Word subtly and accurately. For by honoring Christ with uncircumscription, and asserting that He is separated from the flesh if He is circumscribed, he omits to say anything about His most holy flesh, leaving it without honor in his dogmas. What then? He who circumscribes Christ appears to separate His soul as well from the body, and together with the Word to snatch the soul away from Him; for it [the soul] would be as absent from the painted body as the divine Word; for it, too, cannot be depicted by its own nature. Again, let those who—as we question and doubt—are [the authors of] the words of this wise man, and those who now argue from them, or more truly speak ^C as if insane, explain (for this further absurdity remains for them); let them say, I ask: Is the human form of Christ animated when it is depicted, or is it inanimate, departing from the divine Word that assumed it? For if it is inanimate, the humanity of Christ dies again, and he who was free among the dead again becomes among the dead, is crucified again, and is set forth as a spectacle; and this not once, but often and always, as often as it happens to be depicted. But someone will say that an inanimate thing can neither move anywhere, because of its immobility, nor pass across. Furthermore, it is uninvestigated whither the soul would transfer itself. For if peradventure they wish the Word to be in the place of the soul, clearly the dogma of the Arian heresy emerges from this. But if the human form of ^D Christ is animated [when it is] separated, it will be consistent with their insanity to say whither, in the end, it departs. For surely this is considered the most proper and obvious place in which they might be involved. What is this place, I ask? They wish, clearly, for the image to be completely the same as the archetype, and for both to be consubstantial, and to possess no difference at all...

^A. If these things are so, the image would necessarily not lack motion and sensation, and would possess the power of transitioning from place to place, according to their delusion; and, in short, it would both act and suffer everything that is proper to and recognized in an animate being. It would no longer be an image, but an animate and rational animal, as they must believe; and, what necessarily follows, the divine Word would also be stripped of his own body. How, then, will these things be brought to bear upon Christ? Or by what powers will the painter carry out his intent? Certainly, in no other way than by the art of painting. Therefore, it will be necessary to regard the art of painting as something more than divine and admirable, and as possessing in its tablets a power of attraction and effect greater than that of a magnet. For it will then be established as dogma that the art of painters is more potent than the Word himself, inasmuch as the former deprived him of the flesh united to him, and the Word himself was stripped, and the hypostasis of Christ was dissolved. ^B Does it not appear from this that the weakest of all passions is being attributed to the Word?

34. Why does this yield to the absurdity of the heresy of those who are called Christolytes, and to their abominable nature? Whence, then, comes this invincible and insuperable enemy and challenger of Christ, this small and violent tyrant—I mean the art of painters and sculptors? What great power and efficacy lies within it, that it can prevail to despoil and plunder God of his own attributes—not, indeed, accidental and external ones, but those innate and hypostatically united—and to dissolve the hypostasis itself? Did the Word, then, put off unwillingly what He assumed willingly? What peak of impiety do these claims not surpass? For thus, the art itself will be found to be more powerful than death; for what death, at the time they raised the cross and killed Christ, could not achieve, this art has accomplished elegantly and strenuously. For in no way was the Word separated from his most holy and life-giving flesh, not even for that momentary and very brief time when Christ endured death for us—since, according to his supremely good and philanthropic nature, He even journeyed to the underworld, that He might announce and grant freedom to the spirits held in prison there, and loosen the bonds by which they were held. ^D How, then, can a painter achieve what was not achieved by the powers of death? And he who "bound the strong man" 38, is He in turn bound by an art so weak and worthless? Truly, in this way, the art of painting and sculpture will appear to possess a greater faculty for cutting and separating than death, and thus nothing will have been omitted to slacken the bridle of impiety.

But what need is there to speak further of such detestable and abominable [matters] 38 Matt. XII, 29.

when it suffices to say to the progenitor of these things, that your inventions crown you with such gifts as these; such is the recompense with which the arguments of your wise and artful discourses adorn you; to such a degree is the speculative sublimity and height of your dogmas a matter of the greatest boasting for you! Are these not rather the ravings of the intoxicated, more deranged than even them? Are they not more senseless than those of the melancholic or the frenzied? These, clearly, are the belchings of men intemperate in gluttony and belly; these are the dung-strewings so dear and pleasing to him; these are the immense vomitings, the dogmas of that canine and porcine life and bestial manner; these are the deeds of men who like hunters track the paths of brute animals; these are the habits of those who carry hands stained with the blood of Christians; these, in short, are the inventions of those who tear to pieces human flesh. But to those who choose to think in this manner, that sacred oracle will well apply: "The fool will speak folly, and his heart will think vain things, to speak craftily against the Lord" 39. In very truth, what sound mind could think thus? Assuredly, not even those bereft of the use of reason would ever think or speak in this way.

35. The Savior, indeed, because He bore an overflowing philanthropy, though insulted, though stoned, and surrendered to death as the crown of evils, did not suffer these things—could He ^B ever suffer them while being depicted? For just as there, as far as His own nature is concerned, the Word suffered nothing, not being separated from the flesh, but existing inseparably and inconfusedly united to it even while it suffered, so also here, He would suffer nothing of these things by being depicted. For everywhere, the same Word will be preserved for us in equal truth; and the Christ, in the earthly icon and representation, would say to the Mammon-worshiper: "I am not uncircumscribed in these, but rather circumscribed." As, therefore, the created body received insults and tortures, so also will He suffer Himself to be circumscribed in place, and painted, and figured, yet without in any way being separated from the united and co-existing Word.

36. But if the manner and the purpose of this mystery is not known to this man, it was possible to inquire of the one who paints, and he would have heard from him, if ^D indeed he had a sound mind and had not allowed the senses of his soul to be corrupted, and he would have learned from him saying: "Those things which we have received from the holy Gospels, following the ancient and patristic tradition—having received them as children from fathers—these we also paint and delineate, and we have nothing beyond the divinely-spoken oracles. And if those are to be honored, then these of ours should also be either preserved together or destroyed together, in that they are held by the same right and reason." For we have been instructed by them 39 Isa. XXXII, 6.

^A that the Word of God is become hypostatic man, similar to us, and has conversed with men, and participated with us in blood and flesh in like manner; and the Uncreated has become a creature, and the Word was made fat and became flesh, and the Invisible was seen, and the Impassible accepted passions for our sake as one who loves mankind. We believe these things just as those who heard believed, so that we too might attain the beatitude of which it was said: "Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed."* Therefore, what we have seen with our eyes and our hands have touched through faith, this we also describe and depict; not dividing nor separating the flesh, once united to the divinity, into parts or individually; for this is absurd even to say, and to think of it is a sign of the greatest madness. But we do both: we perform these actions and we confess that these things are to be kept, according to the divine and lawful custom that has prevailed from the beginning.

37. But if the truth of the Gospels is unbelievable to you, we shall cease from defending and demonstrating it. Therefore, either accept the icons as well, or else delete the Gospels also. With us, certainly, those things which dwell in us through faith are no less firm than those which are held in the hands or versant before the eyes. But you are not moved even by these, so as to draw their truth from them, because you are wholly carnal and creeping upon the ground, and do not understand anything high concerning our mysteries. For if you were to see a solar ray falling upon a tree or some other material, and the tree were then cut, would you suppose that the ray is also cut along with it, a thing which the nature of a ray cannot suffer? Or perhaps, if one were to depict the body of the sun, would he judge that he is tearing away and separating the sun from the light? Likewise, if you see glowing iron being drenched with water by someone, would you imagine that the iron is also extinguished and destroyed along with the fire, even though iron is by no means of such a nature as to suffer any detriment from what is cold and moist, but is, on the contrary, rather hardened and strengthened? But it would have been necessary for this man to busy himself a little more wisely and prudently regarding such matters, and to estimate them according to their nature, with truth as his guide; and then, from these slight demonstrations and examples, to reflect also upon our own proposed subject, ^C that the Word is neither circumscribed by the flesh, nor is the ^D Word who is being depicted...

(44) That the Word of God is made man similar to us, and has conversed with men, and the same one has partaken with us of flesh and blood, and has been seen, though invisible, and has suffered for us—He who was impassible—because of His love for men, is taught in the books. Although these things are only heard, we believe no less than if we had seen them, that we may attain that beatitude of which it was said: "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed." Therefore, what we have seen and handled with the eyes of faith, this we also paint and figure; not indeed dividing or separating the flesh once added to the deity; for this is absurd to say, and could not be thought of without the greatest insanity; but we do both, and we confess that these things are to be preserved, according to that divine and legitimate custom which has persisted from the beginning.

(45) Macarius says: "Does not the image rather lead to piety through the sight of what is seen, than through hearing what is said? And all are guided by what is seen in paintings, while it is a small thing to understand what is written in books."

* John xx, 29.

^A all things, will be divided. It is evident, therefore, from a great many things, that the doctrines taught by him appear to be ravings rather than dogmas. For he speaks more formlessly than crows and frogs, and, having blasphemed in such ways and to such an extent against Christ and our faith, he brings forth things similar to the speechlessness of fish and the insensibility of oaks.

58. ^B For it is impossible for something to be an icon if it does not show the form and character of its prototype person, such as it is. Therefore, if Christ has a form and character, his own icon will very reasonably and piously represent him; but if it does not represent him, then Christ is formless, without character, and without a person; which is the same as saying that Christ lacks a hypostasis. For this is what his argument intends to conclude; therefore, by his own words he shall be justified, and by his own words, in turn, he shall be condemned. For even if it is impossible for there to be an icon which does not demonstrate the form and character of its prototype person, nonetheless that icon which represents Christ to us—that is, which is made by Christians in his likeness and endowed with his name, with an inscription ^C added—asserts the truth on every side, namely, it demonstrates to us his form and face as a prototype, since it is fashioned according to his standard or prototype. Furthermore, the relation of things confirms the truth of our discourse. For if, by chance, an icon does not represent Christ, it will certainly be far from denoting the form of anyone else. For how could it describe him whose icon it is not? For not even the icon of one person will be exactly like another; just as a seal impressed upon wax will not be fitted to any other impression. When, therefore, he discarded the icon of Christ, he did this clearly because he thought it had no person to exhibit and represent, nor a prototype to describe. It is necessary, therefore, that even against his will he must confess, consistent with his own words, that Christ is without a person, without a form, and without character, and indeed without a hypostasis. For this reason, he also ^D tormented the painter, as one who had not represented an external form nor a subject person. Therefore, he also dared most irreligiously to affix the name of "idol" to the sacred images of Christ: namely, defining that Christ lacks a person, and indeed even lacks a hypostasis. For they say that an idol is a fiction and likeness of a non-subsistent thing: for it does not have a relation to that which it is assimilated to, but is a phantastical fabrication, formed according to the supreme foolishness as it seems to the artificer.

But such dogmas depend entirely on his own genius, to whom it does not please in any way to attribute a form to Christ. Yet the divine Paul, explaining the mystery of Christ, beyond one, that is to say, the divine, another

form, that of a servant, and [tells us] that Christ was made in the likeness of men, and was found in fashion as a man. Hence we, who believe Paul and confess two forms in Christ, through which His natures are signified, know that He is a man who suffered just as we do, and who was likewise fashioned and circumscribed. But Mammonas, neither by the human appearance is led to the idea of circumscription, nor does he pay attention to the divine Peter who says: "That God has glorified His servant Jesus"; and it is claimed as a dogma by him that the servant is formless and without a person. But why, for him, were the back and the cheeks considered—the former for stripes, the latter for slaps—and the pierced divine side, and the fastenings of the nails? But these things are a mockery to Mammonas, and are said in vain to him. For perhaps he had in this also Eusebius as his teacher, who vainly babbled that the whole human form of Christ had been utterly changed, and in no way remained in its own proper quality. But after Mammonas knew that no orthodox person would tolerate his vain ravings, leaving aside words, he rushed to deeds, constituting himself a public enemy of Christ: from which time he brought forth every machination and effort, so that he might bring contumely upon the archetype itself along with the icon, and at the same time destroy and erase the memory; since Christ was burdensome to him even when seen in an image. ^B Then, as if coming to his senses, because he says Christ is without a person and without a hypostasis—much like those who recover from frenzy or pause from insanity—he returns to himself and goes back to his own vomit, and again mentioning "person," he says:

59. "For it is impossible that, in the case of Him who subsists from two natures in one person, one should figure the person in one nature, and in the other [nature] that He is the same without a person." He still persists in his dogmas, yet not in the former way. For here he puts off the interrogative form, and, as if forgetting himself, ^C he casts aside his former figments and finally reveals his thought; not proceeding by a logical method, nor weaving his discourse from the arguments of the Scriptures or the Fathers, but whatever his power allows him, and the rot of his mind, and the fat of his belly, and the filth of his vomit, and the sprinkling of dung, and the immoderate passion for worldly and earth-crawling desires, in which he thought to boast and take delight, he now dogmatizes confidently. That he offers us vain discourses, teeming with gossiping, is manifest to everyone. Nevertheless, it does not weary us to curb the ignorance of such men, both in season and out of season. For nothing prevents us, even now, from taking an opportunity from the subject matter of his words, to lead him back to a contradiction, and to show him clearly contradicting himself. For it must be said that, since

^A there is but one person of Christ, he says it is impossible for Christ to be depicted according to one of his natures. He confirms this by saying a little later: "Since an icon is an icon of a person, and therefore the divine nature does not have a person, because it is uncircumscribed." I say, then, that in order for an antithesis consistent with his argument to be maintained, because of the fact that Christ is not believed to be capable of being depicted, he must likewise imply that Christ is without a person in the other of his natures. Yet this, in turn, is impossible. For here too, compelled by the logic, he would have to say that it is impossible for him who exists from two natures in one person to be, in one nature, uncircumscribable, and in the other to be devoid of a person—and so for Christ to be understood only as mere God, and for a person to be ascribed only to his divinity, while he himself is not depicted; inasmuch as that which is uncircumscribable is personal in an uncircumscribable way, while flesh is circumscribable. Thus, in addition to the absurdities mentioned previously, those that now appear labor under no less an absurdity. For he has not avoided a double precipice, having become entangled in the nets of his own words: since it was necessary for him, even against his will—though he had labored much for the sake of the "uncircumscribed" and said many vain things—to confess the Word as circumscribed, lest he place the person separately in his divinity alone, while the flesh remained impersonal. ^B Or, alternatively, it will remain for him to suppose the Word to be invisible, intangible, and impassible, and, in sum, not to have assumed flesh at all. But how will he avoid the blasphemy of the Docetists and Phantasiasts? Now he does not for the moment say that this person and hypostasis is simple; otherwise, he would have destroyed the whole operation of the economy, which he now fears to state clearly, in such a way that he appears to commingle and ruin all our mysteries. For that which is naturally simple can in no way be seen, nor represented, nor suffer anything: for it is impassible, incorruptible, utterly incomprehensible, and unintelligible. And what, then, could this be but God? This he does not say; rather, he himself has confessed that it is composite, by saying it was made from two natures, even if he ^C currently tries to conceal in what manner he thinks of this composition. For he uses craftiness through the single word "uncircumscribed" to abolish all other properties.

But we say that it is composite from opposites, just as the theologians teach, saying: "God proceeding with the assumption of humanity, one from two opposites, I mean flesh and spirit." For it is impossible for two natures coming together into the existence of one thing not to be opposite and different, the difference of which is also indicated by number; for in those things to which number is applied when they are compounded, it introduces the heterogeneous nature of the things counted. For if they were the same, they would not be two, but one. For how is a composition possible in the case of one and the same nature? For composition manifests ^D the difference of the things that run together, which, moreover, this

^A a mixture of both, nor any mixing of opposites, when philosophizing about human composition and the creation of man, fashioned as he is from invisible and visible nature, with opposites clearly placed alongside one another. Why then, when calling the hypostasis composite, did he not graciously and fittingly attribute to it the features that are observed within it? For if the visible is contrary to the invisible, and the tangible to the intangible, and the corruptible to the incorruptible, and the passible to the impassible, and if anything else of this kind is set against another, and these are all contemplated concerning the one and same person of Christ, for what reason will the other antithesis not be contemplated in Him: I mean the circumscribed and the uncircumscribed? For by introducing flesh as uncircumscribed, he says nothing else but that the divine nature in no way differs from the human, or the uncreated from the created: for both come to the same thing, and it is superfluous and untimely for him to make mention of two natures. For if the proper qualities from which they consist are not attributed to each of the natures, in such a way that each is recognized by its own properties, from where will the natural opposite differences and substantial qualities appear to us now? Consequently, things that are opposite will be found to be one and the same; which is impossible.

40. These are the phantoms and sophistries of the Arians, Apollinarians, and Eutychians, and of the confounding and acephalous parties, some of which, when compared, will make clear how much he differs from them. For he speaks thus: ^B "So that by speaking of flesh, which does not have its own person but that of God, we proclaim God in divine majesty." And again: "For if He who is from the Virgin has been called one Lord, and is He through whom all things were made, there is one nature, since one person does not suffer division into two: since there is neither a proper nature of the body, nor a proper nature of the deity according to the flesh; but as man is one nature, so also is Christ, who became in the likeness of men." Since he voices these things in agreement with them, it was consequent for him also to say that there is one nature in Christ composed of both, so that by sinning together with them in impiety, he would not fall short: for, suffering from their truly godless and blasphemous [doctrine], he was eager to abolish that great and most numerous holy synod, which, moved by the divine Spirit, set forth the doctrine concerning the hypostasis of Christ and His natures, announcing to us the mystery of the divine economy more clearly and more plainly. ^D

Indeed, one must first note that Mammon here defines Christ as being out of two natures; I do not know, by heaven, by what right, since a little before he did not grant Him even one form. Nevertheless, it is clear that Christ is not yet said by him to be *in* two natures.

^A Does he, then, here also, following his masters, confuse the natures on account of the one hypostasis? For while he removes circumscription, it is clear that he also denies the other differences of the flesh. Moreover, he who speaks thus will not preserve even the properties of the divine nature, and he will admit neither a circumscribed nor an uncircumscribed hypostasis of the Lord; for such is the nature of confusion. Nor does it demonstrate either of the united things as existing absolutely by itself, but it exhibits I know not what, as happens in corruptions; just as one may observe in the confusion of liquids, and the combination of metals, and likewise in the composition of medicines, and finally in the concurrence of elements to form bodies; in which nothing is pure, neither fire, nor earth, nor anything else whatsoever. Our man here was entirely of the same opinion regarding the two operations ^B that are observed in Christ. For with the one hypostasis he likewise attributed one operation: and thus he appears to follow the path of the confusaneans and Docetae, his masters. For just as they irreligiously and maliciously seize upon the duality of number, which the defenders of true religion and correct doctrine piously affirm concerning the two natures; and subsequently bring forward this duality as the cause of dividing the hypostasis of Christ, so as to introduce either two persons on account of the natures, or to posit a single nature necessarily on account of the one person; so too this man of ours, attaching himself to the word "uncircumscribed," seems to exert himself gravely and vehemently, ^C so that through this he may either divide the hypostasis of Christ, or else circumscribe the Word with the flesh. For the parts he adds run thus:

41.

^A in the flesh? And the Savior Himself, the Truth, addressing Nathanael: "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you," and living in the flesh with his disciples far from Bethany, openly announcing the death of Lazarus, and finally promising to be with them after the resurrection even to the consummation of the age.

What need is there to enumerate more examples? He promises that where two or three are gathered in his name, there he is in their midst. But Christians are gathered everywhere; therefore, he will be everywhere; and this is manifest to all, as belonging to his ineffable and ^B secret divine nature, according to which he is understood to be everywhere and even beyond this. For the divine oracles say somewhere: "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" says the Lord. And again: "I am a God who draws near," says the Lord, "and not a God from afar." And: "The Spirit of the Lord has filled the world." And: "Where shall I go from your Spirit, and from your face where shall I flee?" And although he is present to all things, yet not all things are present to him (56), the theologians say. From all of which it is shown that he is present to all things divinely; for he was not present in the flesh everywhere to those who were gathered; nor was he where the disciples said: "In your name the demons are also subject to us." For his body was seen elsewhere in a certain place. ^C It is clear, therefore, that he was not circumscribed in his body, but the all-powerful and incomprehensible power of his name performed wonders everywhere. Nor did he do such things and announce them to the disciples by prophetic foreknowledge and grace (God forbid!), as if seeing things in the future, but rather as God present to all. Nor again by active power alone, as some ancients have nonsensically claimed—namely, that he abandoned the heavens by his hypostasis during the time of the divine incarnation and dwelt substantially with us, while he existed with God the Father only by active power and majesty; since they held that substance is one thing and active power another, just as in visible bodies, even in the divine Word. This, the orthodox deny, for in simple and incorporeal ^D beings they know that the aforementioned differ in nothing; for these are not truly to be separated from one another, lest we imagine him to be composite—a thing which surpasses all simplicity. For neither will the divine substance ever be without action, nor will action exist without substance. "My Father," he says, "works until now, and I work." For substance demonstrates that he exists supersubstantially, and is always equal to himself, and stands unchangeably in his own stability and immobility. But action denotes providence regarding things and his secret administration, through which, although he does not in the least depart from his simplicity, he nevertheless acts, and

^A cares for all things. Yet even if he walked among men as true man, he did not depart from the Father's bosom; and the Father was in him, and he in the Father.

If, therefore, as the argument of truth running its course concludes, he is not circumscribed in his own body, why does he not exceed every measure of folly, madness, and impiety, who says that the Word is circumscribed along with the circumscribed body, when in reality the Word is uncircumscribed? For those things which are joined in the question ought also to be taken together. And since he is present in all things, it would be the height of madness and the ultimate delirium to say that the Word is separated from the body, provided that it is acknowledged to be circumscribed. For if he is absent from nothing, and is wanting nowhere, why is it not truer to say that he is always present in his own body, which is hypostatically united to him and is indeed circumscribed, so that at the same time and in the same respect the absurd and irrational contentiousness of the impious may be refuted on both sides? For if the entire creation, to which God is present uncircumscribably, were uncircumscribed, perhaps his argument might have some force for him. But if all things are circumscribed, why this most insipid and frigid contention, which banishes the Word from his own body alone? Truly, those who think and say these things are weaving a spider's web!

42. Having said these things, let us turn to the remaining ^B parts of our argument. Since he affirms that Christ is fashioned from a duality, if he truly wishes to preserve the glorious and excellent name of duality that he vaunts, he ought to confess that Christ is circumscribed in one or the other of these natures. But since he does not concede this, this compact and marvelous term "duality" is dissolved for him, and by the very artifice of his duality and his cunning sophisms, he is stripped bare. It is the business of a proud man, who is too pleased with himself, to investigate matters beyond reasonable limits, as if on an airy course, while manifesting error concerning those things which it would be allowed for him to examine and contemplate. For he ought to have foreseen and understood from what he himself had previously said, what would result for him from that same source. Does he think that Christ consists of a duality? Therefore, on that account, he will also be entirely composite. For if that which is simple is incomposite, that which is from a duality is composite. What therefore ensues? If the Godhead is uncircumscribed because it is simple and incomposite, what then will that which is from a duality and is composite be? He would say, even if he were unwilling, that it is circumscribed. Otherwise, even the very notion of composition represents boundary ^D to us entirely. Thus, he is known to be repugnant everywhere both to right doctrine and to himself. And let these things be said in opposition to his arguments. For he seems to have hoped to grasp the mystery of Christ with his mind, he who does not even know or see the things that lie at his feet. For having once turned aside from the straight and royal path, he wanders onto the cliffs that lean to one side or the other.

^B He wishes, therefore, to compel his hearers, driven by the force of his arguments, to choose one of two alternatives. For either, in depicting Christ, they must necessarily fall into a twofold error, as it seems—namely, either by circumscribing the divinity together with the image, on account of the single person which he says is formed from a duality; or they will regard Christ as merely a simple man, and thus consent to the insanity of Nestorius. Or if they strive to avoid these, they must refrain entirely from depicting Christ; and thus they fall into the perverse dogma of Mamonas—that is, into the contrary sect of the phantasiasts, who have utterly fallen away from the truth; to which sect, however, he himself adheres with no small fervor; for while he affirms that Christ exists from duality, he altogether denies that He exists in duality—that is, in two natures (58). And thus, in at least one way, the doctrine of the divine incarnation is corrupted. The Church, fleeing the absurdities of these men, and divinely avoiding limping onto either side, holding to the middle and straight path as it were, keeps only to the truth, confessing and embracing the economy of Christ in an orthodox and pious manner.

^C Now, he who teaches such things clearly does something similar to one who, seeing several impressions made in wax by a golden seal, should at once contend that either the gold has become concreted and mixed with the wax while it was expressing the characters, or that the writing incised on the seal is somehow divided and separated from it. Or as someone might look upon fire being depicted—such as we often see when certain fiery wheels and burning flames are painted together with the cherubim, in the form in which the theologians saw the apparitions of the angels—he would, I say, think that the fiery heat was also entirely circumscribed there with the material, or that the fire, by being depicted, was separated from its own proper and substantial quality.

Just as, therefore, to think and say such things is foolish and impossible, so that other claim is more foolish and more impossible. For these are the spumings of a fatuous and stupefied mind. For if the aforementioned things suffer nothing in their own nature, how shall the supernatural and impassible Word either be circumscribed with His own flesh, or, if this is depicted, be divided from it, or suffer any other thing of this kind? Since even in His own most holy flesh, to which He is substantially united, He was not circumscribed (59). And yet this wise man ought to have known and believed, as one obedient to the dogmas of the Christians, that the divine Word, ^D when He willed to redeem our race through His own saving advent, mystically and ineffably, in His own hypostasis, united our circumscribable and linear and depictable nature—whole to whole—to Himself, which even after the assumption is eternally preserved as circumscribed and linear. For if this circumscribed body had not been assumed, it would not be sal- [vific].

For that which cannot be assumed, is incurable, as the theologians say. Then he adds the following:

43. ^B "He who produced that icon says that it is an icon of Christ. And the name 'Christ' is known to indicate not only man, but also God." He ought, if he had at least given some consideration to his own arguments, to have noticed the absurdity of the things he had previously stated. But it is the way of error and falsehood to contradict both itself and the truth. For if what is indicated by the name were one thing, our discourse—which investigates the truth and weighs the ambiguity of opinions—could, in examining the contradictory opinions battling over that one thing, have awarded the victory to the superior argument, by declaring the one thing either to be completely circumscribed or completely uncircumscribed. But since it is descriptive of two natures, as he himself also stated, what is the argument that would prevent each of them from having its own proper and fitting attributes assigned to it? So that they are united with one another, and yet neither has departed from the physical characteristics substantially perceived in them and inconvertibly existing within them; nor are the natures divided by their passing into one another without confusion. For if both exist in relation to the same thing, they are not, however, both these things [i.e., one and the same in attribute], just as soul and body are not. For if one were to grant that the same person is a goldsmith and a stone-mason, he would not immediately shift the goldsmith’s craft into that of the stone-mason. But he [the opponent] takes the number of the duality as a method for his own perversity, and he deals maliciously regarding the natures, so that he may completely define the person composed from them and easily satisfy the opinion he has formed about Him.

The one, therefore, who makes that icon, and says that it is of Christ, knows both the things indicated by the name, and he knows also the things which are perceived from the person; nor is he ignorant that those things which have come together are contraries, of which there is one knowledge, as it is said. ^C Knowing, therefore, that one of these is invisible and entirely incomprehensible, and for this reason unpaintable and uncircumscribed, he will likewise know that the other is visible and comprehensible; so that it is necessarily both circumscribed and paintable, due to the antithesis of the contraries. He is not, therefore, looking at the whole as one single whole, which is composed from both parts—for in that case perhaps the argument might have had some weight; rather, by observing only the visible, he acts in this way. But he knows that on account of the painting, the other is not necessarily circumscribed at the same time, nor is the one whole divided. For that simply cannot happen. For just as, because you see the one who is painting, the thing seen does not for that reason go into parts, so neither, on account of one being depicted, will the other be circumscribed at the same time. And we have already demonstrated this by the example of man and one could easily find it in other things, too. For if someone knows the different things indicated by an object, but should choose—

^A one of these, would he therefore also make use of the other? For example, I say this: we know that fire possesses a double energy proceeding from it, the one illuminating, the other burning. If, therefore, someone stands in need of the illumination from the fire, will he be compelled, even against his will, to undergo the sensation of burning from it also? Or if someone should make use of hot water for the cleansing of mire, will he also necessarily be chilled by it, since it possesses the faculty of both cleansing and cooling? Certainly, no one endowed with intelligence would agree to these things. Since, therefore, that man, contemplating this whole—Christ—as a single thing, wished that those things from which He is composed should also be introduced together, as in the mention of the whole, and that none of these should be seen ^B by itself; so that those things which happen to one must, by necessity, also belong to the other.

59 44. But if at some time he has heard Paul say: "But we preach Christ crucified," what then occurs to his mind from this? Since the name Christ is common to both united natures, he would be compelled, even unwillingly, according to his own propositions, because God is also denoted by this name, lest he divide that which is one, to say that the Word Himself in His own true nature was crucified, and that the divine and secret substance suffered together with the human. And if anyone were to point out to him the venerable and life-giving tomb (to omit for now the circumcision and other passions), he would surely say that the Word was dead, and that the divine and immortal nature ^C was buried together with the human and mortal one. For these things happen in his view, so that the natures may not be divided; if one of them suffers anything, it draws the other likewise into the same calamity. What, furthermore, do the words demonstrate to him: "To us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through Him?" Assuredly, similar absurdities will follow for him from the contrary. For because all things are brought together in the one, our nature also will appear as co-creator with the Word in the production of all things, and man will be his own creator. And again, when the divine Peter says: "You are the Christ, the Son of God," according to the 44. man's same proposition, the flesh will also be found, on account of the relationship of the Son, to possess naturally the dignity of the Deity. ^D Anyone perusing the divine Scriptures will find many other similar things which will refute his blasphemy and absurdity. For the preambles of his discourses, and his vain and fallacious questions, demonstrate to us that Mammon is thinking and opining such things. And he indeed delivers these dogmas unartfully and simply, and not in any mode of appropriation or permutation (61), as is the custom of the Catholic magisterium, regarding which matter it will be spoken of a little later.

^A 45. But because we have determined to hold discourse with one who trifles and repeats himself, and to meet him once more as he returns to the same matters, we shall do so; for his words are thus: "And how can the name of God and man, which signifies both the divine and the human nature, be pronounced by us over that icon, which has the power to characterize only the human nature, but not the divine and incomprehensible nature?"

How, if I were to speak to you as if you were present—if the ears of your soul had not become deaf, if the eyes of your intellect had not been blinded, if your mind had not been alienated and the use of your reason subverted, if the boundaries of religion remained unmoved for you, and the tradition of the Catholic Church had been preserved unharmed, if you retained at least some spark of faith in your heart, and were not driven by furies against our blameless and unerring confession, following those who drag you toward the precipice of infidelity and perdition—this "how" which you have sought would have been most evidently manifest to you, if indeed it was a question, and not rather that it was stored up within you like some snare or cunning wickedness. ^B

And that we may repeat the same things concerning the same matters: just as the crucifixion and the passions are said to be Christ’s, as is the tomb and the rest—lest we speak at greater length, exceeding moderation and causing annoyance to the ears of those who attend, and lest we talk as long as you do; for because the name of Christ encompasses the duality of natures, those things which are attributed to one also pertain to the other. For the cross can only torment the nature of man; nevertheless, it is called the cross of Christ. And let him convince you who says: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." ^C (Gal. VI, 14). Circumcision can divide the flesh of man, and the tomb is able to circumscribe, enclose, and hide it. Yet all these things are called Christ’s; although none of these things is said properly and substantially of the divine and ineffable nature, because it is inviolable and impassible, and entirely removed from every such thing that can be thought of. For if anything of this sort appears to be said, it is said by way of the exchange of properties or of appropriation, which you do not do at present, because you are fundamentally ignorant of it. ^D Moreover, Christ is said to have suffered not as God, but as man, although He is one and the same, united hypostatically. Since, therefore, the body which He took from us is called the body of Christ, in which also He is believed to have suffered all things, and since this body entirely and in every way had a "character"—for if it lacked this, it would not even be a body—it is necessary that the character and the form of the body also be called Christ's. For as that body is proper to Christ, so the character is not to be referred to the nature of the Word, which lacks form and is infinite and endowed with no figure; but it pertains to the body and the human nature of the Word, and to its form, from which Christ...

^A is composed; and therefore it is also called by the same name with Him, according to the likeness of Him that is manifested.

But the name 'Christ' which has been assumed, being demonstrative of two natures, has incited you to boast and be puffed up over your dogmas, and to imagine that neither of the things denoted by this name can be invoked without the other in any matter or dogma, or be taken up in any way, but that if it were separated from the other, it would be cut away entirely. But what do we say to these things? Surely it will occur to you at some point that Christ is called only "man" or "son of man," and is designated by such a bare nomination. And if you would be willing to be convinced by no one else, but by Christ Himself—when He says to the crowd of the Jews, "Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth?" ^B And: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man." And: "Now the Son of man has been glorified." And: "The Son of man is to be handed over." And: "The Son of man came to save what was lost." And: "They called Him the Son of David." Many such things will be found in the Gospels, unless you believe the evangelical oracles to be mere games and trifles.

Since, therefore, what is signified by the bare appellation of "man" is one thing, not two, as is the case with the name 'Christ'—for the term defines for us one human nature—what will result for you, and what will be added for you, as if it were some new and great and clearly miraculous thing? ^C For it is permitted to you—you who oppose Christ rather than His name—to preach that the Lord is a mere man and one of our own number (which is what you have wickedly striven to do, both formerly and now), and that He was a culprit, and subject to punishment, and suffered what is worthy of evildoers, and was condemned to a violent death. I deliberately omit other things for fear of blasphemy. Perhaps you will say that this man is also God. You have solved the question; for this God is also man.

But, on the contrary, when you hear Him named as God alone: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And: "We saw His glory, glory as of the Only-begotten from the Father." And: ^D "As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes." And: "Father, glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son may also glorify Thee." And: "I and the Father are one." And it is said to the man born blind: "Do you believe in the Son of God?" and whatever is similar to these—do you, I ask, when you hear these things, imagine Him to be God only, stripped of our substance? So completely would you strip Him of a body and take away everything that is human; to such an extent that you could then openly destroy the whole economy.

46. What do you say? You pay attention to the terms peculiar to the natures, and with the humble ones you debase Christ, despoiling Him of His divine and exalted gifts, echoing your own masters and laboring under Arian insanity. With the exalted terms, however, you abolish the humble, granting only what is sublime and singing in concert with your inspirers, having emulated the foolish and phantasmagorical myth-making of the abominable Eutychians, or more properly, the Manichaeans. But to you it is easy, since you have set your mind on trampling and destroying the economy, to delight in such absurdities. But when we look at the reciprocal exchange in these matters—for instance, where the designation is proper and specific to our substance, yet the things predicated of it are fitting to the nature above our own—what will you suppose? For it is not the case that, just as the name "Christ" is common and indicative of both natures, so it happens here; but along with the peculiar and physical denomination, the sublime prerogatives of the other co-existing substance are also connected, on account of the interchange of properties, which are communicated mutually in the same subject just as the natures are, according to the mind of the Church. For what will you say to these passages: *If you see the Son of man ascending where He was before*? And: *No one has ascended into heaven except Him who descended from heaven, the Son of man*? And: *There are some of those standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom*? And: *The Son of man is to come in the glory of His Father with His holy angels*?

Are you, then, clinging to the mere names and imagining an eternal and indissoluble kingdom of a mere man? And a man pre-existing in heaven? And one descending from heaven and again ascending into heaven? And that God the Father is the progenitor of a man? Or will you look instead to the nature of the events and to the truth itself, and with wonder marvel at the great mystery of the economy, and accept what is said and believed about it according to the magisterium of the Catholic Church, not attending to mere words and names, lest you cast away your own salvation? But having bid farewell to all these things, and following your prophets and guides, you proceed foolishly and impiously to calumniate the truth and the economy of Christ. We, for our part, leaving these word-fighters to remain in the proclamation of empty names, and allowing them to struggle over syllables and the letter, turn our gaze toward the power of the truth and the realities themselves, and let us briefly explain this.

47. We must say therefore that the name "Christ," as is acknowledged, manifests to us the duality of the natures in one hypostasis, as has been said more fully in what preceded. But the divinely inspired Scripture, and the elect among the Fathers, ^{A B C D} considering the matters regarding the name with great insight,

47. Therefore, it must be said that the name of Christ undoubtedly signifies to us the duality of natures in one hypostasis, as has often been said more broadly in the preceding sections. But the divinely inspired Scripture, and the Fathers

^A praestantissimi, magnifacientes dignitatem nominis, multis modis eius significationes acceperunt, et permutationis atque appropriationis modo in eiusdem exercitio usi sunt. Cum enim Christi naturas per se seorsum spectant, id est deitatem et humanitatem (hae sunt enim substantiarum denominationes), tunc quae sunt propria et naturaliter inhaerentia, utrique sigillatim naturae tribuunt; neque dicta de una ex his natura, de altera quoque praedicant: nam neque deitatem creatam passibilemve dicerent; neque vicissim humanitatem increatam aut incorruptibilem aut impassibilem appellarent, multoque minus eas invicem compati dicerent, sicut hodierni dogmatistae existimant. Cum autem compositam ex his hypostasin, ceu unum quid accipiunt, Christum quidem ex utraque appellant; concurrentium autem naturarum idiomata, una cum ipsa hypostasi praedicant; quoniam et Deus simul et homo Christus est, et Deus incarnatus, et Christus creatus pariter et increatus, impassibilis et passibilis idem. Interdum vero ex divinis solis excelsisque attributis Deum et Dei Filium nominant. Interdum denique ex humanis tantum atque humilibus, hominem hominisque filium vocant.

Aliquando etiam ea quae de utraque parte dicuntur idiomata, de alterutro simul subsistente et coexsistente vicissim praedicant, propter mutuam partium circuminsessionem (66). Sic videlicet Deus passibilis dicitur, et gloriae Dominus cruci- ^C fixus, non qua Deus, sed qua homo. Et vice versa, homo absque initio, impassibilis, increatus, caelestis, puer ante saecula, non qua homo, sed qua Deus. Nam propter summam naturarum unionem, et hypostaseos unitatem, et quia eadem persona est, unus est, et idem pariter ambo est, partim quidem sine initio a Patre, partim vero ita factus ob suam erga homines benignitatem. Atque hac ratione utraque natura idiomata sua alteri communicat, propter ejusdem hypostaseos unitatem; quin tamen pars alterutra deserat alterum in eodem subjecto attributum: sicuti etiam sibi proprias fecisse dicitur Verbum carnis suae secundum oeconomiam passiones. Nam etsi nihil in propria natura reapse sit passum, nihilominus perpessum dicitur, ut unus omnium Servator credatur: atque ut nostrae exsistentiae conservationisque causa asseritur, sic etiam nostra felicitas accepta eidem referatur. ^D Atque hoc nos docet theologorum apex divus Petrus (67) dicens: Christus semel propter [. . . ]

^A saying: Christ having once suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intent. To these points will also consent the initiator of the mysteries, who proclaims Christ crucified, and the Lord of glory to have been hung upon the cross. For this reason, these people, together with our inspired Fathers, who discourse in this manner on the manner of the appropriation of properties, call the Jews "God-slayers" and "Lord-slayers." The divine Cyril, in his third epistle to Nestorius, says: "And He was in the body that was crucified, appropriating to Himself the sufferings of His own flesh." And in the one to the Orientals, he says thus: ^B "We all confess the Word of God to be impassible to these things, even if, most wisely managing the mystery, He was seen ascribing to Himself the sufferings that had befallen His own flesh." For this reason, the all-wise Peter also says: "Christ having therefore suffered for us in the flesh"; in the flesh, I say, not in the nature of the ineffable divinity; for in order that He might be believed to be the Savior of all, He, as I have said, by an economic appropriation, transferred the sufferings of His own flesh unto Himself. The holy Amphilochius, writing to Seleucus, speaks thus: "The assumed nature suffers, but that which assumed it remains impassible; yet God appropriates to Himself the human sufferings of His own temple—I mean the cross and death, and whatever else is considered concerning Him according to the economy; He appropriates them, I say, while He Himself suffers nothing." ^C So also the divine Gregory of Nyssa, writing against Apollinaris, says: "Since, therefore, the human will is one thing, and the divine is another, He who appropriated our sufferings speaks, as it were, out of humanity, that which is appropriate to the infirmity of nature." And yet more extraordinarily, we find in the holy Scriptures that not only those passions which essentially and from the beginning exist in our nature are ascribed to Christ, our Savior of all, but also those that are even more shameful than these; and He is said to appropriate these, such as His having become a curse for us, and indeed even sin itself, according to the words: "Cursed is everyone who hangs upon a tree"; and that: "Him who knew no sin, He made to be sin." ^D And that He took upon Himself our rebellious and disobedient nature. For thus He appropriates the things of the assumption, that He might consume the inferior in Himself, as fire consumes wax, and the sun the vapor of the earth, so that we might partake of His own things through the union, says the great Gregory.

^A Verumtamen, the adversaries of the truth do not follow these leaders; for being simultaneously impious and foolish, and enslaved to the desires of the flesh, they clearly hold contrary dogmas. We, however, being instructed by the teachers of the Church, stand within the bounds of piety, not indeed dragging the nature of the Word down to the passions of the flesh, but saying that He, by appropriating these things to Himself according to the principle of the economy, suffered them; in no way falling away in these things from right reason, since He is one and the same who participates in glory and in ignominies. As, therefore, He appropriated to Himself the passions of the body according to the economy, and as it is called the body of God the Word, so also the image and likeness of His most holy body are referred to Him as belonging to Him; and thus, having been appropriated and using the common name of the natures, it is called by the same name as the archetype. But you, enemies of the economy of the Only-begotten (for I address you by name), what do you say to these things? What seems to you to have contributed to the ignominy of Christ in the unshakable faith and ardent love of the orthodox regarding the divine mystery? Those who confess the benefits resulting therefrom record and depict the great works performed for our liberation, so that, as if having them before their eyes, they may bear in their souls a memory of them that is always fresh, flourishing, and continuous, as has been handed down from ancient times to the Church of Christ. For the sluggishness and sloth of our nature require as it were a certain goad to prick and rouse it to the pursuit of useful things. That Christ became a curse and sin, that He was crucified and died, and that He suffered the punishment of malefactors, and whatever else He willingly endured for our salvation—are these things not to be believed by you? But if He bore these things for our sake out of His supreme goodness, how much more will He accept those things from us—namely, the faith and gratitude of those who seek Him—valuing them with a just measure?

^C 48. But you, however, make excuses for your sins, irreverently and ignorantly, both circumscribed and uncircumscribed, as you rave with an intemperate tongue, and instead of wishing to commend your glory, you commend your own shame; for not wanting to confirm His glory, you set yourselves against the long-suffering and patience of God, and rejecting the saving economy, you calumniate it, attempting to extinguish it completely. For if your counsels were not of this kind,

For what reason do you make excuses for your sins?

I have seen the human form of God; and having depicted what I have seen, I venerate it, and intellectionally I refer the worship to the prototype. I hold this image as a spark for my mind and as a consolation for my ardent desire, having the likeness of Him who appeared in the flesh. I do not paint the face of God, which Moses did not see in Horeb and Sinai; but that which the same saw on Tabor, this I depict and venerate. I do not paint in colors the appearance of the Most High to Elijah in the gentle breeze, but I delineate that adorable vision which was offered to the Tishbite on Tabor. Why do you slander, O senseless one, those things which are above all calumny? Why do you make excuses for your sins?

^A If but a shadow of piety were with you, there would be no need now for these empty, novel doctrines by which you set yourselves against the Church of Christ. For if you truly had a care for orthodoxy, and maintained the right and irreprehensible belief concerning Christ’s dispensation, and did not hurl at us a duality of persons in Christ—maliciously imagined and fabricated at your own discretion—you would have rightly and most appropriately bequeathed those things which are congruent and proper to it. You would confess the twofold birth of Christ: the one before the ages, without beginning, incorporeal, and eternal, from the eternal and beginningless Father; the other in the final times, from the immaculate Theotokos, brought about in time for the sake of our salvation. To each of these you would attribute those things by which their diverse nature is distinguished, and ^B is known to be unconfused and unmixed, including their connatural operations and wills, namely, the divine and the human. For where the natures are diverse, their operations are surely likewise; just as, where the operations are the same, their natures are also of equal honor, due to the opposition of the things joined together, according to the ecclesiastical dogma and sentiment. In this way, it is religiously understood that the divine operation is eternal—or rather, it is essential operation, because the operation is not distinguished from the essence, but falls under the same definition, owing to the property of a simple and incorporeal nature; and it proceeds differently in all things, and, as one might say, incircumscribably. For it did not exist in potentiality at first, and then later pass into operation from having been in potentiality.

49. Similarly, that which is said by the Lord: "My Father works until now, and I work," ^C does not signify only the passage of things from non-being into being at the beginning, but already also their maintenance and providence, such as: "making His angels spirits," and "stretching out the heaven like a curtain," and "covering His upper chambers with waters," and "founding the earth upon its stability"—which, once constituted, possess the continuous duration of their existence. But human operation is not eternal; it is finite, and, to speak more properly, circumscribed. For silence breaks in upon the speaker; and he who has slept, does he not afterwards wake? And rest puts a limit to motion. And, generally, he who does one thing cannot at the same time do another. Likewise, the power is also twofold; for the divine is eternal, self-existing, and infinite in power according to the transcendence of its majesty and strength. "For His eternal power," he says, "and divinity." ^D But the human is limited and weak. "For the flesh is weak, even if the spirit," he says, "is willing." And: "A man in a scourge, who knows how to bear infirmity." And: "If He was crucified out of weakness, yet He lives by power." For God always wills for us to be well,

and to be saved, and He awaits the conversion and repentance of the sinner. But our own disposition is fickle and limited; for we do not always will the same thing, but now one way, now another; at one time we wish to walk, at another to rest; at one time to contemplate and scan, at another time not; and at one time to be active, at another to be at leisure. And the will of the man being renewed according to the Saviour was not contrary to the divine will, having been wholly deified. Such indeed are the things of the mutable, changeable, and fluid nature, transitioning and shifting at different times, and having no stability or firmness.

50. What then? Is not knowledge also twofold with regard to Christ? For as God, He knows all things even before they come to pass; thus, while dwelling far away, He foretold the death of His friend to the disciples as God; yet, being present and approaching the grave, He asks: "Where have you laid him?" ^B thereby signifying the measures of our nature. And: "Jesus knew their thoughts," that they were going to ask Him. For insofar as He was man, He possessed the knowledge of all things, through having been united to the Word according to hypostasis, just as He had been enriched with other gifts. And again, He feigned ignorance of the day and hour in which the end of this whole universe shall come, imparting to the assumed nature what was its own. All these things, having been taken into Himself for the sake of the economy, He is honoured and proclaimed by us as perfect man in all things, just as He is also perfect God. ^C And in the same way, the same one is confessed both as created and uncreated, both mortal and immortal, and whatever else is perceived as contrary in one and the same subject, by reason of the duality of the natures.

When these things have been thus declared, what argument is there to prevent the followers of pious dogma from assigning the remaining duality of things in the same manner to the same person, which the Christ-fighters impiously deny? And insofar as Christ is referred to the Word, let them say He is uncircumscribed; but insofar as it pertains to the form of a servant, let them assign circumscription. Who is so brutish ^D and dull of mind and senseless, that while confessing all other things to be dual in the twofold birth or nature, he alone struggles in this matter of circumscription? Certainly, he who takes away the primary and inward notions of the natures will not leave even the nature remaining. For what is here frightening or greatly harmful? For just as the Lord’s acting and willing, and even His being ignorant and suffering in a human way, in no way harmed the principle of His deity, nor introduced any division into one and the same hypostasis, so too His being depicted in the flesh as He was seen and conversed among men will cast no ignominy upon Him, nor will any separation appear in the single hypostasis. Let them therefore depart who babble in vain, who envy the reason of the divine economy, and alienate themselves from our holy faith.

SECOND ANTIRRHETIC. THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND INTERROGATION OF MAMONAS.

^A 1. Having finished the first interrogation—or rather, command, through which he truly manifested his own overweening power—as he thought fit, Mamonas transfers his discourse to a second interrogation. In like manner to what preceded, stuttering and murmuring and prattling about the same things, he labors in vain. We have thought it just to bring some of his words into the middle, so that his arrogant and haughty mind might become manifest even in these: he says thus: "We have thought it well to ask you another chapter, considering that he who made this image of Christ, about which we have moved the discourse, had not entered into the depth of the dogma of the inconfused union of the two natures of Christ." What excess of arrogance and puffery—or rather, what excess of folly and madness—does this leave behind? For out of much lack of sense, he imagines himself alone to have been snatched up, not only into the third heaven, but even already into the fourth, and to have heard words clearer than those of Paul, and to have attained the mind of God, and, having left all creation behind, to have been initiated into things which no one ever learned. Who will not marvel at the magnitude of such impudence? I say nothing now of the Apostles and other teachers of the Church, whom he assailed with many insults, and whose dogmas he was constantly washing away and deleting, mocking and railing at them partly on account of the injuries their bodies suffered, and partly on account of their infirmities. ^B How, then, does he not stand in awe of the character and the zeal for divine things of those who shone upon the royal throne and were adorned with piety and justice? For they honored the Divinity with votive offerings and holy precincts, and not only did they not dismantle the world of sacred writing, but they also built and skillfully fashioned these holy offerings with generosity, both in divine temples, and in sacred vessels and vestments, following closely the footsteps of the apostolic and Patristic tradition, an infinite multitude of which lies open to the eyes of all even to this day—for those, a testimony of piety, but for this man, a proof of his rashness and impiety. For whom it was necessary to emulate in his manner... ^C ...among whom, however, Justinian cannot be passed over, who built, or rather restored, the church of Holy Sophia, the greatest in the whole East, and covered the whole interior with sacred images in mosaic work.

^A His morals and pure faith and piety he should have imitated; yet he boasted that he was wiser and more perspicacious than all of them, always yielding to his own desires. Did those men, then, not penetrate to the height of dogma, who in every act followed the teachers of the Church, both those before them and those who flourished during their own times, but only to this man did a most pure and sanctified life grant access to the inner sanctuary of the inscrutable mysteries of God? No, indeed, he reveals himself here as well to be clearly opposed, both to them and to the truth, in all things.

2. But he who boasts of things beyond measure, and has surpassed the bounds of human knowledge and speech, hesitates about matters that are evident to all, saying: ^B “For that one [Christ], who from two [natures] has merged into one person, how can he be depicted, since one of his natures is not circumscribed?” If so, I say, one of these is circumscribed. For the curiosity of his discourse has brought him to this very point, and has compelled him to speak even contrary to his intention. Thus, throttled by the truth itself, he was forced to mutter and clatter some small fragment of what is proper, which he has never been seen to utter until now. He fails, therefore, in the essential matter, and his dogma collapses. For since he has already proclaimed there to be two natures, and has openly stated that one of them is uncircumscribed, it follows that, even if he should be unwilling, he has proclaimed the other to be circumscribed. For what person in their right mind, if they were to say that of two men one is unknown, would not at the same time and immediately confess that the other is known? His childish thoughts and boastings are therefore to be laughed at. But he has remained silent about this remaining part, which he should nevertheless have added. But he does not dare, lest his thought—or rather his madness—be refuted. He has even provided a way for those who do not recognize the difference between the natures to introduce the idea that the other nature is circumscribed; and what he had often avoided, he now involuntarily indicates as his confession of that fact. ^C O the vanity and madness! How has that great wisdom fallen into ignorance, and how has he been caught by the malice of his own words and appeared in public? So that, indeed, the falsity of his perverse opinion may be easily detected and the light of truth revealed. Why, in his doubting, did he not add: How could Christ suffer, when in one of his natures he is not passible? Or how did he die? How was he placed in a tomb, when one of these natures is neither mortal nor circumscribed?

Verum ille, his omissis, ad aliam orationis partem pergit, producitque in medium panem ac vinum, quæ divinis adhibentur mysteriis, aitque: «Christus divinitatis suæ vi mortem propriam prævidens ac resurrectionem et in cœlos reditum, atque ut memoriale incarnationis suæ diu noctuque haberemus qui in eum credidimus.» Nonne vero hæc prioribus sunt insipientiora? ^D Siquidem non tam illius impietatem pervulgant, quam vesaniam atque dementiam: [alt-version omitted] nam nec quæ dicit, nec de quibus

^A he affirms, he knows. What, then, is to be said? Is the icon of Christ, I ask, a memorial of someone, or otherwise? Since he knows well here that Christ is demonstrated to us by the icon, he rages against it, and acts with fury against Christ and his inheritance. For because Christ, even when viewed in an image, is burdensome to him, the inscription of the name does not stir up in him the memory of Christ. For why does he grow angry and resist? Is it because the name of Christ is placed upon the icon? Do not these sacred inscriptions narrate his incarnation and the torments which he endured as a man for our sake? Do they not signify to us the cross, the death, the resurrection? Do they not signify the miracles and wonders which he performed as God? But to refute these things is futile; and yet to remain silent, because of foolish people, is of no small moment. Then he adds:

^B ‹He commanded his holy disciples and apostles to hand down a type of his love in his body, as a primary work, so that through the priestly ministry, even if it happens by participation and adoption, we may receive it as truly and properly his body.› What he may think about the Lord’s body, let him and his disciples see. Nevertheless, we shall meet his statements thus. Since this which he says is accomplished by participation and adoption, through the priestly ministry, is made truly and absolutely the body of Christ, proper to the Word himself; he has altogether confessed that that very body is perfected which he took from the holy Virgin. What, therefore, this body is, having been made after the sacred ministry and sanctification, it is necessary to ask: is it circumscribed or uncircumscribed? No one, surely, will be so dejected and astonished in mind as to dare to call it uncircumscribed; nor do I think that Mammonas himself would ever say that. For how can that be such, which is sensibly presented to the eyes of men, and extended by human hands, and enclosed within the teeth, and made edible? These things, I say, what else do they affirm ^C and show than that it is circumscribed? If, therefore, this is circumscribed, and it is the same as that which the Word incarnate assumed in the beginning, since it is referred to that, then that too was circumscribed; and Mammonas is caught being everywhere contrary to himself. Or this likewise must be considered uncircumscribed; and then not only will the incredulity and irreligion of Mammonas appear primarily, but his opinions will also be a laughingstock and a mockery to all: or certainly that was equally circumscribed.

γ. And let these things be shown thus. But what other thing from among the non-types encountered him from this? He is forced, as far as his own words go, either to say that the divine Word is circumscribed along with this body that comes to be by participation, or to be divided from it because of the one hypostasis; so that in truth he does not share in any way from that source in sanctification and grace. 5. And let these things be demonstrated thus. But another absurdity also befalls him from this. He is compelled, indeed, as far as his words are worth, either to say that the divine Word is circumscribed together with this body made by participation, or to divide ^D it from him because of the one hypostasis; so that in reality this shares absolutely nothing of sanctification and grace. What, furthermore, happens to him?

and that it is merely a participant of common bread and wine, differing in no way from the things eaten by men. ^A And even if we were willing to consider it as an image of His body, as though it were derived from that, we have it for the formation of His body. As that erroneous wise man said above, that the image and prototype do not differ from one another in any way, so also here he makes a pronouncement about them. One might well be astonished at the senselessness and instability of his mind even in these things; for that which a little while before he insisted was truly and in reality the body of Christ, he now designates as an image of His body. And as for saying that the same thing is properly and truly the body, and yet is also an image of it, what could be more ridiculous or more foolish? And how is this so? Just as we might please; yielding everything to the will and to the bent of vanity. For where faith or the fear of God has not taken root, there the lust of the will holds sway. And this, he says, we have ^B for the figure of His body, not for the sake of truth, but just as he himself might wish to define it, whether the matter be so or otherwise. But we say that these things are neither an image nor a figure of His body, even if they are performed with symbolic signs, but they are the very body of Christ, made divine. For His are the words saying: *Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.* This same thing He also delivered to the disciples, saying: *Take, eat my body*, not *the image of my body*. For just as from the holy Virgin He fashioned flesh for Himself, the Holy Spirit working [therein]; and if it is necessary to demonstrate this even from our own circumstances, just as bread and wine and water are naturally ^C converted into the body and blood of the one eating and drinking—without, however, our saying that our body becomes different from what it was before—so also these are supernaturally, by the invocation of the priest and the intervention of the Holy Spirit, converted into the body and blood of Christ. For the petition of the priest also speaks to this. Nor do we think that these are two things, but we believe that one and the same becomes [it]. And if they are by chance called antitypes, they are not of such a kind after sanctification, but were so called before they were sanctified. Since, therefore, he said that if you circumscribe it, you divide Christ, or also circumscribe the Word; it would be consistent to say to him: If you sacrifice, you divide Christ; for you sacrifice the body, not the nature of the deity. For our great High Priest, the host and the lamb ^D and the victim, in so far as He is man, both is and is called [these things]. Either, therefore, you also sacrifice the Word, according to your argument, because of the one hypostasis; or, while you are sacrificing, the humanity

humanitatem separas ^A. But if you are persuaded by your teacher Eusebius, who says that the flesh has been wholly changed, so as no longer to remain what it was—flesh—but has passed into the nature of the Godhead, which he himself knows, you are convicted of sacrificing in vain 78. For what will a man receive in the end? Will he not seem to partake, not of the flesh of God, but of the divine nature? This is a Manichaean fancy. Although he harbors a thoroughly angry mind against the Lord's body, yet, regarding its participation, he does not dare to say anything blasphemous. He adds, however, these words:

But what? Even the bread which we take is an image of his body, fashioning his flesh, as it becomes a type of that body.

After these things he says:

Not every bread is his body, as not every wine is his blood, unless that which is offered through the priestly rite, being transferred from the hand-made to the un-hand-made.

^A needing, it was worthy of his wisdom to speak. But we, letting go of these ravings and words cast heedlessly into the air, will rather say this: If these things which are sacrificed are circumscribed—I mean the bread and the wine—then surely that body which was borne by the Word of God was never sacrificed according to the opinion of Mamonas, who for this reason calls it uncircumscribed. But from where and how will that great and immaculate and venerable host, that propitiatory sacrifice, I say, and that salvation of the whole world, be known? If, therefore, Mamonas had believed that it was sacrificed for the salvation of all, at least this, if nothing else, ought to have shamed him, that it too is circumscribed; and if not naturally—which is a foolish thing to say—then certainly by the consecration, as we must speak according to his own opinion, it ought to be circumscribed. The body of Christ is therefore circumscribed, even if Mamonas does not wish to be persuaded of this. ^B Having furthermore babbled and talked a great deal more about these same things—which we, regarding them as the meaningless and inarticulate cries of the rabid, the mad, or the bacchant, turn from with contempt, since they pollute the ears of the pious and sober, and stain the tongue of those who speak them, teeming with filth and nonsense—he concludes his discourse at the end of his treatise in this manner. First, indeed, binding himself with curses, he asserts that none of those of whom he speaks has ever suspected that he has fallen away from the faith of Christ, and for that reason has raged against His image. In which place, he indicates the cause of his defense, whence this accusation against him has stuck. For he says that from the time when his kin and household, being eager for new things, rebelled (79), this defamation also spread among the people, as if he had been turned away from God, and so he was judged by many. Then, with many and horrible oaths, as is his custom, contrary to the evangelical command, he tries to persuade, or rather, falsely swearing, he mocks, that he was never such either in word or deed: and setting forth his opinion and judgment concerning this dogma to the bishops present, he says he is ready to admit their decisions. But soon, a little further on, according to his custom, returning from his feigned words to himself, he decides like a judge and a dictator. ^{C D} 4. «But if we persuade you concerning this one image that we speak correctly, then we determine to bring before you the purposes regarding other images as well, and as you judge, so also regarding those. For we have reason to be pleased with your judgment, when you are about to agree with the other bishops, and present testimonies from reasonable arguments.» Such are his words, of which we have quoted some literally, so that his apostasy from God might be made manifest, and the falsehood of his violated oaths [might be exposed], and his hypocrisy and deceit, and towards

(79) Understand Artabasdus, who had the sister of Copronymus in marriage. He, for his part, rebelled against this man, and publicly restored the sacred images, and caused the heretic Copronymus to be proclaimed a patriarch. But Artabasdus was finally overcome in war. Theophan. Chron. ed. Paris. p. 349, et 352.

^A ...so that the falsehood might be exposed, and the hypocrisy, the trickery, and the deception aimed at the ignorant might become manifest. And what, pray, is this, that he should desire to speak about the other images as well? And what sort of aims does he wish to bring forward? That, having woven together much monstrosity and nonsense against the incarnation of the Word of God, he has impiously pushed forward into drunken insolence against the holy memorials of the saints, is clear to everyone; and before these, against those of the foremost of the saints, and the most exalted of all who exist in creation, our all-holy Lady, the Mother of God, so that he might also insult her along with the one who was born of her.

What indeed were the intentions of that God-hated and godless soul, it is worth knowing; for perhaps he might wish to bring forward here too the argument about the "un-depictable" and "uncircumscribable," or the duality of the saints, consisting of divinity and humanity? Or perhaps he revolves in his mind—as those familiar with him and his leaders suggest to him—that the substance of each of the saints is also dual, being composed of soul and body? And if they are to be painted, the soul must necessarily be painted and represented with them—or else it would be separated from the body, from which it has long since departed. And with such nonsense and fabrications as he used regarding the hypostasis of Christ, he would talk emptily about the saints. But as far as can be sensed from what he said and did, it is not difficult to discern those aims. For because there is nothing base or impious that he has not plotted against the divine majesty and the saints, and nothing wicked and most absurd that he has not perpetrated in this matter, and nothing in our unerring faith that he has not left without blame or slander, for this reason, ^B first of all, he dares to reject the term "Theotokos" and to remove it entirely from the speech of Christians. For he was greatly annoyed and indignant at the invocation of this name, which was customary among Christians, and at which we see the Jews are always annoyed. Then he corrupts and falsifies all that had been invoked in her name, and which those in need were always shouting in litanies to the one born of her, and in entreaties and odes for the salvation of all. For we confess and proclaim that she possesses mediation and secure protection toward him, because of which she has maternal boldness. And he completely forbids her intercessions, upon which no small punishment and vengeance threatened those who received them. And what need is there to go into details, when ^C he would not have her name mentioned at all? For as to the other saints, what need is there to speak at length at the present time? For he was not content merely to despise and mock them in most disgraceful ways with unsanctified words, but the very holy and venerable relics of them he made the fuel and consumption of fire.

5. Since he once... ^D

became an enemy and a scorner of divine laws and an adversary of the sacred canons, as many as were set forth by the apostles and holy Fathers, he decreed that such things should not, according to the custom of the Christian rite, be deposited in the foundations of the divine tables of the venerable altar. For those who worship and reverence them, as was their duty, being lovers of God and lovers of the martyrs, were in danger of their lives; so that the temples built during his time seemed to be consecrated without the relics of the saints. Instead of these, they placed the relics of the mysteries performed by themselves, truly acting in a manner worthy of their own dogmas and ceremonies; for this is not permitted by apostolic tradition. ^B For how could ^A he honor the relics of the saints, he who, in his impudence and audacity, impiously undermined and overturned the sacred houses dedicated to their names, which earlier Christians had erected, moved by faith and religion? And he especially demolished those where the holy and venerable things of the saints were depicted, and their precious relics deposited. He strove with all his might that no memory of their name might remain among men.

6. Moreover, it is just and useful, and fitting for the dignity of the saints, to say in the present place that, as servants of God, and having taken up the cross in this life, they followed Christ and were crucified with Him, and became imitators and followers of His life-giving passion and saving death; wherefore they are also to reign with Him forever. But they are no less, even after their departure from hence, persecuted with Christ and suffer with Him. ^C For what formerly happened to the archetypes, the same now likewise is manifested concerning the sacred images, and they are crowned by Christ, the giver of the crown, with double the struggles for double the persecutions and insults. They live to God always and are in peace, even if they seemed to the eyes of the foolish to have died. For he, having acted lawlessly, departed in vain, reaping fruits worthy of his labors, having carried off as his inheritance Gehenna and the fire prepared for him and his leaders. This apostate after apostates, and after persecutors a bitter and most cruel persecutor, was not satisfied with venting his indignation and hatred against those who were still living and choosing to live piously according to God, and afflicting them with most unjust punishments; but already against those who were dead, and who had become illustrious through many strenuous labors and agonies, and who had attained the end of life through martyrdom, ^D and who were adorning themselves with the shapes of the saints—and having in the midst the tree of life, the immaculate image of the Savior, and of the all-pure Mother of God who bore Him without man—the saints so greatly loved Christ, that they wished even to imitate that death which He underwent for our sake, and willingly to drink His cup, and to be baptized with His baptism. Wherefore the Church glorifies the soldiers together with the King, and publicly honors the images of Christ Himself and of His friends, set forth for view. And thus we see the Church like a most adorned and flourishing garden, and one much more beautiful than that Edenic one: for it is adorned, as it were, with various trees, by the venerable icons of the saints; having in the midst the tree of life, the immaculate image of the Savior, and of the all-pure Mother of God, who brought Him forth with intact virginity.

^A With so much, insofar as it lay in his power, he overwhelmed them with infamy. Such were his juvenile petulances against the saints, such his impious deeds against the just; this is the reward he deemed fitting to make for the happiness of his life in this world—namely, injury toward God and the saints. I pass over now how many and how great were the things in which he raved against the evangelical doctrine, how he spat upon the entire evangelical way of life, and endeavored to drag the lives of men toward his own impassioned and wicked will. These are the machinations, to speak briefly, which he promised to bring forward; these are the conceptions and deliberations of his mind which this enemy of Christ was plotting against our infallible faith and the life of Christians, which imitates that of the angels. ^B But let there be an end here to the war against the saints, who from the beginning of time have glorified the Lord on earth; and let the schemes which he rashly and impiously chose to bring forward, without any respect, by treating the venerable and sacred memorials of the saints with insult, finally cease. As for him, if he stood at this point, having achieved little of what he intended and destined to suffer great loss, he would, I know well, have been vexed, had he not proceeded to the remainder.

7. What, then, did he say concerning the holy and supramundane powers in the heavens? What kind and what sort were the schemes he wished to bring forward, through which he might also work illegality against them? What trifles and monstrosities did he devise to contrive their defamation? ^C Since an opportunity was granted to him to mock and to carry through, he brought forward the claim of "uncircumscribed" to apply to the angels; this is clear to everyone, for it was something dear to him and habitual, and one that assisted his impious opinion. For one might say that they are uncircumscribed, but not entirely; for they are circumscribed by the fact that they have a beginning, since they themselves also began to exist. But that which began to exist in any way whatsoever is not entirely devoid of circumscription; and since they are creatures, they are limited by the Creator. Indeed, they are even limited by intellectual comprehension. For inasmuch as they are minds, they communicate ^D their thoughts to one another, and know their mutual nature to some extent; for comprehension also is a certain kind of circumscription. And being minds, they are in intelligible places; they are not, however, limited bodily or sensibly. For as there is no body, and therefore no shape, nor mass, nor bodily form, it is fitting that they are not contained even in a sensible place. But these matters are outside our present purpose. For we are not concerned now with whether they are circumscribed or not, but whether they can be painted and depicted. It was necessary, however, in this place to make use of the primary terms for these things; and how they differ from one another will be said a little later.

8. And with this, his argument proceeded in a guise and pretense, fashioned as if it would seem to those

many to be something significant ^A regarding the matters set before him. But in truth, he was exerting power overbearingly, through which he accomplished all things that pleased him. As for us, who stand in defense of the doctrine of truth and are discoursing on these matters—namely, that the holy angels are painted and represented in images—we shall briefly embrace and teach the whole.

For, in the first place, facts bear witness to this, which are safely confirmed by the spectacles placed before our very eyes. For everywhere on earth, throughout the sacred temples, historical paintings abound with sacred figures of the incorporeal powers, a practice which holds force from the tradition accepted by the Catholic Church from antiquity: to seek a proof for this is to go beyond all stupidity and foolishness.

Furthermore, we are taught the same thing by the magisterium of the divine oracles. And that we may begin from the very first order, which is nearest to God and shines forth from Him, let us see what Paul says concerning the ornaments of the ark placed in the legal tabernacle: *And over it the Cherubim of glory shadowing the propitiatory* (Heb. ix, 5). The Cherubim of glory are rightly and deservedly believed by the teachers of the Church to be glorified, glorious, and beneath God. Moreover, the Hebrew language signifies by this name an abundance of knowledge and an outpouring of wisdom.

But who are these? If Mammon had ears endowed with hearing, he would certainly have heard and clearly known that these words do not designate those most august Cherubim themselves, who are incorporeal, without form or shape, and are intellectual and rational beings; but rather their sacred images, composed of the purest and most splendid material, fabricated by human hands at God’s command with golden plates and golden embossing—inanimate, without motion or sense—called by the same name as those others, partakers of the appellation and worthy of glory and grace.

What, then, was one to do? To believe these things, or to reject Paul when he says this? ^C This would have been pleasant and agreeable to Mammon, to depart far from apostolic doctrine, and to cease to be a Christian; nay, not even to believe Moses, who was commanded to construct them; nor to profess himself a Hebrew, or—if anything more egregious must be said—not even to acquiesce to God, who commanded these things to be made. For what did God say in the oracle to His own servant? *See that you make all things according to the pattern shown to you* (Exod. xxv, 22); and *thence I shall be known to you*—meaning, clearly, by the Cherubim.

Are they not, therefore, seen to be honorable and venerable, the means by which God is known to men? Anyone who respects divine things will agree. ^D Yet he who brings insult upon these, to what lot will he be consigned, and with whom will he be ranked? Anyone who wants to understand can easily see this: he will be placed with the atheism of the heathens and with the impiety of the Manichaeans, whose glory and doctrine he has emulated.

^A He has slipped into such madness and irreligion that he thinks it permitted to himself to revile and erase many other passages of the divinely inspired Scripture, just as he does those, acting most foolishly and wickedly. Since, therefore, having abjured the utterances of the Holy Spirit, he dwells very far from the court of Christians, come, let us set forth briefly our view, which all of us who stand within the bounds of orthodoxy maintain, according to what the interpreters of the Spirit have all taught, and what the mind of the catholic Church holds.

9. We say, then, that as for these most holy powers, what sort of nature and substance they possess is something we are largely ignorant of, or can only with great difficulty explain; and we have spoken of this more broadly elsewhere, following the teachings of the holy masters. For although they are entirely simple and incomposite, and without circumscription by place on account of their incorporeality, nevertheless they are written of and depicted. And we know this primarily through the oracles of the Spirit, which the hierophant Moses delivered to us for the sake of the making of the Cherubim. ^B Furthermore, since they are ministering spirits sent forth to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation, it has pleased the guardian and Lord of all, God, who graciously governs all things and steers our affairs, as human infirmity demands, in a way conjoined with and familiar to our senses, that the tutelage of these blessed powers should be present; so that, communicating with us, they might transmit divine gifts and the benefits of things being managed and provided for. Many, therefore, have been the apparitions of angels to the servants of God, not of their own nature revealed, but according to the measure of the holiness and purity of the one called to such a vision, or as the need and the time of the tasks in hand required; thus the forms and figures of angels, who lack these things in themselves, were fashioned and appeared in many ways to those deemed worthy of such a vision, with the pure eyes of the mind. And the event, indeed, with the patriarch Abraham was something more sublime than angelic; and the manner of that new and marvelous greeting, by which the piety and hospitality of the recipient is celebrated and honored, manifests the presence of God rather than that of angels. ^C And as for his grandson Jacob, when he was about to be initiated into the condescension of the Word of God toward men, it is written that he clearly saw angels, and a ladder, ^D as it were, reaching and extending from the earth to heaven itself, and the Lord of all established upon it, and the movement of those ascending and descending there, by which the descent of the God who is the Savior of us all toward us was mystically prefigured; which the leaders of the Church most clearly proclaim to be an image of Christ depicted in advance.

^A 10. Let us pass over speaking of the message delivered through the angels after those things, and if anything else similar to these has been done. Thus, to the son of Nun, while standing prepared for battle, when the army had already been led out against the enemy, a divine angel appeared, looking like a man, resembling one armed for battle, holding a drawn sword in his hand. Joshuah, looking upon him as a soldier, and being astonished by the unusual sight, wondered who he might be, and whether he was one of his own people or from the enemy; but he declared himself to be the captain of the Lord’s host. And one of the divine prophets says that he beheld the Lord of glory himself, ^B surrounded by a crown of Seraphim. For when he was about to be sent to that stubborn and hard-hearted people, that unspeakable glory shone upon him, and his lips were cleansed with the coal, so that he might draw near, pure to the pure; and having become a minister of divine words, and being strengthened by this sight and glory—to which he could compare nothing else—he despised all human things and proceeded more confidently to the proclamation of the oracles to his hearers. But another, with the eyes of his mind purified, when he perceived the divine punishment impending over sinners, saw the ministers appointed and serving this task, carrying axes in their hands; by which apparition they represented the death-dealing and destructive and cutting power directed against the multitude of the guilty. Just as he also saw one clothed in a long, priestly robe, ^C commanded to pass through the midst of the city and to give the mark upon the foreheads of the men who were sighing and grieving over all the lawless deeds happening in their midst, with the divine righteous judgment separating the innocent from those liable to punishment. And to another, a horseman appears, riding upon a red horse, perhaps demonstrating as a rider the swift-moving and rapid course of the things being brought to pass. And the color of the complexion, by which the wrathful and bloody and red and fiery aspect of those fighting is denoted, hints at the wrath of God against certain hostile nations. And again he heard good words and comforting speeches, proclaiming the divine favor and benevolence which the God of all was about to show toward Jerusalem, ^D bringing back those who had been enslaved and taken captive to their former prosperity and happiness; and that the city would be rebuilt again, and would fare well and abound in riches. And as many other visions as those things represented to the one beholding them. And one in one way, another in another, according as the measure of his worth required, and the types of the things to be performed were symbolically prepared, and God ordered and judged the things revealed in them. But what is one to say concerning those venerable and holy women, I mean the myrrh-bearers? Did they not behold the sight of angels, and these clothed in white and shining in their apparel, as they were going to the divine sepulcher, where the life-giving body of the most high God had been laid? Their white and shining garments, because they symbolically designated the common joy and liberation of the human race, almost before the angels themselves uttered this voice: He who was buried has risen—

raising up with himself those who had long been held fast in the chains of death. For death is destroyed, the bonds of hell are broken, the devil is slain, and sin rendered null. For this was the good tidings: the greatness of the wondrous things being preached.

11. Since, therefore, the holy angels are invisible to carnal eyes, but appeared in various ways according to the symbols of the ministries entrusted to them, so they were also ^A depicted and written, even down to the present day among Christians. According to these things, it is also performed and preached. And since they are holy and godlike, and ministers of the divine majesty, and second lights shining forth from the first light, and assistants of our salvation, for this reason their images too are venerable and holy, and we render to them the fitting honor, and seek their holy intercessions; for we know and ^B believe that our doxologies, and our thanksgivings and prayers and supplications to God are offered through them; if it is true, as was said in the Gospels by our Savior: That their angels in heaven always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven. What else do they truly care for or do, but bring our prayers to the ears of the Lord Sabaoth, and reconcile him to be gracious to us regarding what we have done, and intercede for our salvation? Here, therefore, let the discourse on these matters ^C come to an end, and let the babbling of impious vanity be abandoned. But let us now turn our discourse to the matters previously promised, regarding the words "written" and "uncircumscribed," whose difference one who is ignorant owing to lack of training and unlearning might overlook, just as one might overlook his students and the auditors of his error, the impious and untrained dogmatists of this age, in order that we may examine their nonsense; for just as they are ignorant of the difference between natures and properties, and being foolish are unable to distinguish between the holy and the profane; so too they do not know what a painting and a circumscription are, nor ^D what is painted and circumscribed, which differ greatly from one another, acknowledging and interposing no distinction in these things. Indulging their stupidity for a little while in what was said above, so that the flow of the discourse might not be broken, we too have used these words as the matter required; in some places speaking properly and according to the principal meaning of the word, but in other places we have maintained a certain indifference in speech: we have promised, however, that we would present the clarified notion and distinction of these words, and in what way they differ from one another, so that their interpretation and meaning might be more evident to the ignorant.

Moreover, that the discourse of those men might be shown as ridiculous and full of folly, we have judged it timely now to discuss these things briefly.

12 For who, among those who have partaken of the slightest education, would not understand that a ^B writing (γραφή) is one thing, and a circumscription (περιγραφή) another? For writing, that we may begin from the simpler things, is spoken of in two ways: it is either that which is marked out by the characters of these elements in sequence and order, and which proceeds syllabically to be brought forth by those who write; or that which is formed and fashioned by similarities in imitation of an exemplar, as occurs in that painting which is now set as the subject of our inquiry. And the former, through the words which are uttered, makes manifest those things which the connected discourses declare; the latter, however, exhibits the imitative quality of the persons proposed as exemplars through the colors that render them. Whether it also conveys at times an impression of certain ideas and things is a matter we need not examine at present. Both of those who pursue and create these things are called "writers" (γραφεῖς) according to the usage here, both he who writes out a discourse and he who is skilled in the science of painting. For what the ancients called *scalpere* (to carve), is not far removed from the meaning of these terms (i. e., writing and painting).

Circumscription, they say, is effected by these factors; for that which is circumscribed is circumscribed either by place, or by time and having a beginning, or by comprehension. By place, as bodies are; for they are contained by place, since place is the limit of the thing contained, insofar as it contains the contained. By time and having a beginning, that ^C is circumscribed which began to be from a point in time, just as angels and souls are said to be circumscribed; for angels are not contained by place corporally, because they lack form and shape, but they operate in a place according to their own nature, because they are present there intellectually, being of an intellectual nature, and are not elsewhere, but are circumscribed intellectually in that place. It may also be said that they are circumscribed by their Creator. Also, those things are circumscribed by time which not only began to be, but which have an end and an extremity, of which kind is our present life, which indeed is greatly circumscribed and limited; for each of us receives the end of life through death, and the end and consummation of this whole world is that by which it will be transformed into another state. And that also is circumscribed by comprehension which is apprehended by the mind and understanding; for comprehension itself is also called one kind of circumscription, according to which even ^D

angels know their nature among themselves; ^A so that circumscription is comprehension, and the limit of that which is comprehended and limited, or the termination of that which has begun and is moved, or the apprehension of that which is thought and known. But that which is contained by none of these is uncircumscribed. Christ, therefore, in the aforementioned ways, has been circumscribed according to humanity; for because He truly bore a body such as ours, not in fantasy, He who was incorporeal is circumscribed in place; and having taken a temporal beginning, He who was intemporal is circumscribed in time; and having associated with men bodily, He who was incomprehensible was comprehended.

13. Therefore, since circumscription is spoken of in so many ways, there is to be found among these a great difference; ^B for neither does he who writes, that is, who depicts a man—of whom it is now proposed to speak—thereby circumscribe him at the same time and in the same act. Nor if someone marks out the boundaries of another person, does he for that reason enclose him in the place in which he is contained, especially if he is not present; for indeed, in circumscription, the person is necessarily present; but when he is being depicted, he is not at all necessarily present; and indeed, strictly speaking, he does not even circumscribe him, even if someone might think he is doing so. For entirely in the case of those things that are corporally circumscribed, it is the place that immediately circumscribes them; and what place is, has already been said. ^C Nor again, if someone were to corporally circumscribe someone—so that we might also use his terms—does he entirely write, that is, depict, the same person; for no logic compels us to say this, since these things do not follow one another, as will be said again. For in this place, such as on some wall or panel, we say a man is written—that is, depicted—but in that very place, no sober or thoughtful person would say he is circumscribed, that is, defined. For a man is indeed written in his own image, but he is not circumscribed in it, unless it be in the place proper to his circumscription. And the mode of these things differs by much; for a man is written through colors and mosaic stones, if it should happen to be done so, and indeed, formed in a varied and manifold way, and with distinct colors; ^D but in no way can he be circumscribed by these, since we have said that circumscription is something else.

Furthermore, a painting represents the corporeal appearance of the one depicted, and expresses his shape, form, and likeness. But circumscription, having nothing in common with these three aforementioned modes, restricts the things it contains. And the image, having a relation to the archetype in likeness, is and is called the image of the archetype, and is separated from it, and exists separately, and at some time is; but the circumscription becomes neither similar nor dissimilar, nor is it formed into a species or shape, nor is it called the circumscription of the archetype, nor is it referred to the archetype; but it exists inseparably and by its own nature together with the things it contains, and is always present with them. For a man is always in a place, and in time, and in comprehension, and it is a necessary consequence of his nature being circumscribed, being interrupted by no vacuum; as one might see in the case of local circumscription, the joining

^A of both at their surface where their boundaries meet. For where there is bulk and magnitude, there place must also necessarily be conceived. But painting is far removed from this. For a picture, although it is depicted in different places, is nonetheless definitely fashioned. Circumscription, however, defining simply and infinitely, is carried around with all those things which by their nature can be circumscribed. For it does not circumscribe in one instance, but not in another. And image consistency resides entirely in perception and exhibition, whereas circumscription resides in great part in notion: for perhaps we only perceive the place containing the object. And to speak summarily, neither does painting circumscribe a man, even if he is circumscribed, nor does circumscription paint, even if he can be painted; for each will have its own rationale. Furthermore, a picture is contained by circumscription, but circumscription is not contained by a picture, but rather contains it; thus there is no reciprocity. For circumscription is broader: for if there is anything painted—that is, figured—I mean a man, and the picture itself, or the fashioned character, these, I say, can also be called circumscribed, which is the subject of our discourse, a point that must be noted everywhere, for we are not discussing the other mode. Yet it does not follow conversely that if anything is circumscribed, it is also painted (or an image).

I will use an example. The year, ^B which is called a cycle, that our discourse may proceed evenly, is revolved by certain measures, that is, four temporal intervals: wherefore it is also said to be circumscribed, though it is neither painted nor figured. How, indeed, would that which lacks appearance and form be figured, and for that reason neither falls under sight nor subsists? For as it is continuous, it always connects its own limits with the beginnings of what is next. Thus, at least, since the sun is revolved cyclically from the same point to the same point, it is said to be circumscribed in a certain way. And thus they complete their successions one to another, as if in an atom, and in an instant, and almost imperceptibly. For in order that flowing time ^C might not hold human life in a blind course, and that confusion, disturbance, and irregularity might not dominate our affairs and actions, with no temporal sign interposed for them, we measure this time, I say, by days, hours, weeks, months, and years: and formerly it was decorously distinguished by Olympiads, consulships, and other dimensions, so that a clear and accurate memory of events might be preserved, and the acts of life rightly arranged.

So, therefore, the law of Moses, having proceeded ^D up to the evangelical and saving proclamation, stood in time and was circumscribed. And idolatry, upon the appearance of our Saviour God, likewise ceased and was circumscribed, neither proceeding any further nor any longer executing its acts. But neither did the law, however circumscribed it may have been, possess a figure—since of itself it is nothing but a name—although its mandates are written syllable by syllable, and remain perpetually in the holy Books. Nor, likewise, is idolatry painted, as it labors in vain concerning insubstantial things, being itself without appearance or shape.

14. The principalities and powers of the nations ^A are likewise circumscribed and so described, being distinguished by certain boundaries and limits. For in places separated for each nation, the things belonging to its own leadership and power have been distributed by God, according to the stated passage: "He set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God." Yet the name of the principality and power itself will not be depicted; for it is a thing and a symbol of dignity. Human life, similarly, though it is circumscribed and limited by God, the creator of all things, is nonetheless not depicted. The diseases that occur in us are also circumscribed, for they are defined by time; and especially ephemeral fevers, which for the most part are circumscribed in one day, as physicians say—yet no one has ever seen a fever depicted or represented. Furthermore, the qualities of flowers, which, while breathing out an odor, are present in the bodies placed or deposited in such a place, and emit their fragrance, are circumscribed just so far. But because these qualities do not exist by themselves, they are not ^B depicted, because they do not constitute a whole. And what of the descent of Jacob and those from Jacob into Egypt, which lasted over four hundred years; or the captivity of the Jews from there in Babylon under the Chaldeans, strictly defined for seventy full years by the God of all, during which those taken in war were condemned to spend time in a foreign land for the chastisement of their transgressions? Were they not circumscribed and long ago ended by their return, as the divine Gregory says? The descent or migration of those who were moved is a thing; but captivity is, for the captors, a demonstration of greed and tyrannical resolve, and for the captured, a deprivation of freedom, enslavement, and involuntary abduction. But no one would depict the descent or captivity as the thing itself; for one must not think that this refers now to the ones descending or the ones captured themselves—for these are different from them, just as acts differ from bodies. One may also call the airy breeze circumscribed, inasmuch as it blows in this place and fails in that; but it cannot be depicted, since it is not endowed with limbs nor bears any form. ^C

15. And speech is said to be easily circumscribed, yet it is in no way depicted; for neither body nor species nor form belongs to it. For how could it, when it is poured forth and dissolves in utterance? It has been stated how the word "depicted" is to be understood in all these cases. For according to the other of the meanings, that is, syllabically, all things will be written; and one would find many things upon investigation in which the difference between these terms becomes manifest. None of the aforementioned things, therefore, is depicted, except perhaps as some, in shaping and ^D fashioning the virtues—such as justice and [the like] — [end of page]

^A fortitude and other virtues—embody them, as we see somewhere; these are not said to be properly depicted or painted, because they lack an archetype and are in no way like any subsisting thing. For images are designed and engraved with reference to archetypes, and are among those things which are "relative," as we have said before. But these are figments, fashioned according to the ingenuity and power of the artist. It is evident, therefore, that no pre-existing thing is carried by them, neither form, nor shape, nor figure; therefore, they will not be properly nor truly depicted. And, in general, things that are confined in a place and come to our senses, to which a body, an appearance, and a shape are attributed, these are for the most part depicted; but things that are otherwise, or not at all, are rarely painted, or only in an abusive sense, or in some other way.

Since such a difference has been shown in these matters, both from the definition and from the rest of the discourse concerning them, nevertheless these carnal and foolish men, ^B confining their hope within the limits of this present life (so that we may sing this also to them, in addition to other things), and in no way looking to the future because of the softness of their soul and their proclivity toward matter, being goaded by unbridled and arbitrary desires, set up their dogmas as if with authority, inconsiderately and too imprudently, which the very nature of things does not permit. For when it should be said "to paint" and "to figure," they themselves say "to circumscribe," paying heed neither to ecclesiastical doctrine nor to the consistency of things. Nor have the things that exist in this common and popular usage persuaded them to recognize the difference between them, such as those things which are called in private agreements "circumscribed deeds," distinguished from those which are designated concerning perpetual contracts sanctioned by law.

16. But the misery of those men does not understand the insanity which most of all disgraces them. For they always have in their mouths and cite the teacher Asterius, commanding: "Do not paint Christ." ^C But he does not command: "Do not circumscribe." For our Asterius also says in his discourse on the martyr Euphemia: "I saw," he says, "a certain painting: that is, a sacred one of the divine martyr," indicating to us by this word the history. He did not, however, say a "circumscription"; he called it a painting, I say, not a circumscription. He saw the art, and that the best of painters were struck with wonder, and that many things were made by them, with people admiring the panels of the excellent artists. What, furthermore, is to be said of other holy Fathers of ours? Of whom one shows the painters engraving on panels; while another says: Is it to you, O men,

^A that the Word has depicted the man? And again: Has the painter-Word not clearly depicted for you the one who is homonymous with me and of one soul? Yet no one, he says, has circumscribed him. But these men do not even understand the term itself, which those experienced in this art apply to it. So corrupted and senseless their reasoning has become! For they are called painters, not circumscribers. And that we may not wander into a labyrinth of words, or introduce a stream of interminable speech, let us here circumscribe a well-defined treatise concerning the painted and the circumscribable.

17. How then are the Christ-fighters not ashamed and confounded, hearing that incorporeal and formless things, such as an angel and the soul, are circumscribed according to their own logic, yet ^B refuse to believe that Christ—who became incarnate, appeared in our own substance, is enhypostatic, and has taken on human form, figure, and appearance, while retaining the human perfection in all things—is circumscribed, that is, can be painted and figured? For both are shown in him; since these things happen to us as well, in whose likeness he willed to be, omitting nothing except sin. For the new Adam bore the whole old Adam, so that he, being without sin, might by grace lift up with himself the one who had fallen into sin through the transgression of the divine commandment. Or will they also refuse to believe that they themselves, being parts of the same plasm, are circumscribed, ^C lest they also lose the very fact of being human? For we have believed and we proclaim that, on account of his surpassing love for mankind, the divine Word called back his own creation to its ancient nobility, first by dwelling in the womb of the Mother of God, who is truly Theotokos, and truly taking on our flesh from virginal blood. For she too was a human being, in no way differing from our nature, merely surpassing all others in holiness and purity; and as perfect man, existing not fantastically nor in appearance, he circumscribed himself according to his humanity. From this point on, these words must be used according to their proper and specific meanings. Although as the Word he is always what he is, impassible, and being the circumscription and limit of all uncircumscribedness and infinity; yet after that, having come forth from there as he willed, ^D lying in a cave and a manger, and wrapped in swaddling clothes, he was circumscribed and limited in flesh. From which point the rest also followed upon his circumscribed body: he was circumcised, he was baptized, he was circumscribed bodily in the waters, and being handed over by a servant, he was raised on the cross, his side was pierced, he endured death for our sake, he was buried in a tomb in which he was circumscribed bodily. Then, on the third day, he rose again as God, having trampled down death and having granted freedom and life to the dead. What then do you say, you who worship the uncircumscribed

^A and who uphold the error of an inconceivable doctrine? Is he who is wrapped in swaddling clothes, or who is laid in a manger, or who comes to be inside a cave, circumscribed or not? And what of this? Is he who is circumcised, and baptized, and crucified, and—last of all—shut up in a tomb, delimited and contained within these things, or not? For that which is not circumscribed is not even in a place; and if it is not in a place, it is not even a body; and if it is not a body, much less is it a human being. Therefore, he was not even made man, nor did he assume our fallen nature, nor did he become subject to such passions as our body, which is naturally wont to suffer these things. But if, with your characteristic rudeness and impudence, it is permitted to joke for a moment: is he who is circumscribed, I ask, circumscribed or not? This is truly a question worthy of your stupidity and insanity. Yet perhaps you will not even agree to this proposition. But among Christians, these things will neither be disbelieved nor mocked. Since even after his divine ^B resurrection, he entered through closed doors with the same body, even though it had already attained incorruptibility, and presented himself to the disciples to be handled, and showed the scars of his divine side and the nails in his hands by which he had been pierced. Nor do you pay attention to those who say: "Who ate and drank with him." And what is even more wonderful than these things, he ascended into the heavens in his body, and was seen bearing his body with him. And this is further confirmed by the words of the angels who accompanied him, which were heard by the disciples: "Just as you saw him ascending into heaven, so he will come." Namely, he who sits at the right hand of God, is to come again, attended by the glory of the Father, with the same body, so that he may also be seen by those who pierced him, and be believed in by those who did not believe. In short, to sum up my words, his ascension is something proper only to a body, being, as it is, a transition from place to place. These, then, are the functions of a circumscribed body—a body, I say, like ours, though superior to ours, even if these wicked men do not wish it so. Even if we no longer know Christ according to the flesh, by these words it is signified ^C that he is now exempt from labors, from hunger, from thirst, and from all the infirmities and passions of the flesh, except for sin, which are ours. For he will no longer fall into these same passions, since he has once and for all put on incorruptibility.

18. Certainly, while he was living on earth and was seen by men, and was conversing with them, at the time when he was teaching while bodily present within the temple, he was at that time, I say, circumscribed. While he was there, he was in no way at the same time bodily in Galilee; although, as God, he was filling all things, and was everywhere and above all things, and, as may be allowed to say here, was uncircumscribed. For how and from where was he transferred to Bethany, he who said to his disciples, "I am glad for your sakes that you may believe, that I was not there"? It was in order to accomplish that great mystery ^D of the common and catholic resurrection...

^A that He shows these preludes. He calls forth the four-day-dead from the most hidden and unseen regions of Hades, as if he were alive; and by counting him among the living—him who was already hastening toward corruption and dissolution—He clearly demonstrates the power of the miracle of Him who makes the dead live. But, indeed, while He was here, He was not already appearing bodily in Capharnaum or in another place at the same time; and, in general, while He was in this place, He was not elsewhere. Therefore, I do not know if anyone would say that He who ascended to the heavens is still even now conversing bodily among men, even though He is otherwise with us, as with believers and His own, passing through time, according to His promise; unless perhaps those who are alien to our faith wish to be indignant even at this. And ^B so as not to draw out a long discourse by detailing many things, if He was corporal, He was in a place and was circumscribed. For "place" is the limit of the container, inasmuch as it contains what is contained, and is distinguished by limits, according to which relationships are defined.

19. It is clear, therefore, that Christ also, truly bearing our body, and not by mere semblance, being in a certain place, was not bodily everywhere; from all of which it is evident that He was circumscribed. And if they will not acknowledge this, they will have to grant the alternative, being madly carried away by the wretched error of the Docetists, dreaming in fantasy of the Lord’s incarnation and crucifixion. For they did not imagine that Christ was the one being crucified, but rather that He Himself sat on the mountain, mocking the Jews as they crucified Simon, thinking they had crucified Christ ^C (97-98). Christ, therefore, does not possess circumscription from us, nor is He circumscribed simply because we depict Him in an image or carve Him. Therefore, these foolish and ignorant men are babbling at great length, void of all understanding, and no better than those who are raging. We, therefore, do not circumscribe Him; for how could one do that to someone who is not bodily present? But we depict Him, not insofar as He is circumscribed, but insofar as He is naturally suited to be depicted bodily, so that the meaning of the words may appear more clearly. Thus, icons also reveal Him to all, not as someone who is circumscribed, but as someone who can be depicted. And indeed, we depict Him, not as He is Word and God (for He is invisible, intangible, and without form—far from it; for this would be pure madness and filled with the utmost insanity), but insofar as He ^D has been made manifest in all things as man. Not as He appeared to Abraham and to the prophets in the form of a man, but because "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." And, "The Word is thickened," that is, He has worn our flesh; and, "The One without beginning receives a beginning."

And whatever things of this kind have been handed down to us by the Spirit and are believed. ^A Thus, that He is circumscribed is not for our sake, but for the sake of Him who deigned to descend and for our economy put on our poverty; but that He is depicted, it is from us, who believe in this, and receive and embrace it, and explicitly proclaim the benefit and salvation that have come to us from this, and are led by divine desire and the Spirit, and come to the memory of the things accomplished for our sake.

The Word is thickened, the invisible is seen, the intangible is touched, the One without beginning receives a beginning, the timeless receives a beginning, the Son of God becomes the son of man.

It is, therefore, extremely foolish and truly ^B senseless to call Him a body, yet not circumscribed, nor depicted, modeling the body of Christ according to their own lack of judgment, as if the fact that the Word has been thickened and enfleshed might be nullified. It is appropriate for them to be called deceivers also, according to their like-minded Jews, and if there is anything more unholy than this, because that which He did not possess, He exhibited and communicated as if it were present. Let them also slander the resurrection, and all the other mysteries of the economy accomplished for our sake: imagining that all these things were done in appearance only. What follows from this? That they must necessarily think either that the Word was not incarnate, or that if He was incarnate, He was not circumscribed: so that in the former case their unbelief is made manifest, and in the latter their madness is combined with their unbelief. For what is more foolish or more bestial than to say that the Word was indeed incarnate, ^C but was not circumscribed or endowed with form? But they, for the demonstration of their own impiety, put forward the hypostatic union; but their whole aim tends toward something else. For they do such things out of hatred for the archetype; so that if the image were removed, the memory of the archetype might perish along with it. Since, in truth, Christ is burdensome to them even when seen in an image.

I consider it just, as I think, to inquire of those who are adorned with the priestly dignity: namely, that if you say that because of the one hypostasis, the flesh which Christ assumed is uncircumscribed, ^D and that "uncircumscribed," as "The Word became flesh" signifies the inseparable and supreme union. And thus the crass error of some Orientals was refuted, who, as Nerses relates (loc. cit. p. 420), very wickedly said that the divine essence of the Word became concrete in the bosom of the Virgin, just as water is congealed with ice, and that the human nature was not assumed. But against these also Athanasius says in his major sermon on the faith: "The Word was not resolved into flesh, but assumed flesh." Then Cyril in the fragments which we have published, of the prosphonetic to the Alexandrians: "The Word was not made concrete nor converted into flesh." Finally, our Leo in his epistle to the Council of Ephesus, cap. 2: "Nor was the Word in any part of Himself converted into flesh or into soul."

^A Since it is acknowledged by all whose souls possess healthy senses that it [the Word] is invisible, and that which is invisible is also intangible, incomprehensible, and, to use a single word, incorporeal—why, I ask, do you perform sacrifices in our mysteries, you who approach the sacred rites with unwashed feet, as the proverb has it? For if that body is not tangible, how is it offered in sacrifice? And what, pray, is being sacrificed? For a thing that is invisible can neither be sacrificed nor immolated. And what intangible thing do you touch, and what sort of body is it? Whither will that which you hold in your hands, which you enclose within your lips and circumscribe, which is broken by your teeth, and which is edible, go for you, if, being intangible, it has not been sacrificed? For surely you would not say that the Word Himself is edible in His own nature. ^B How, likewise, do you proclaim the death of Christ, or confess the resurrection, and the things delivered to the ministers of the Word on that holy night in which He made them partakers of such mysteries? From these things you are shown to be out of your minds, saying that not even Christ truly offered Himself, since His body is not circumscribed. Therefore, you deceive yourselves and practice sophistry, imagining that you are sacrificing things which you deny can be sacrificed. For how could that which is uncircumvisible be sacrificed, or be tangible or eaten? From this it is evident that you cross out and abolish all those things concerning these mysteries which have been handed down in the holy Gospels, along with everything else, seeing that you stumble rashly over the body of Christ; for you teach that it is not body in the strict sense, but an image of a body, according to your master. Therefore, according to the doctrine of the image which you teach, you must of necessity either confess that the Word is sacrificed together with the body, on account of the one hypostasis, or that, because the Word is uncircumvisible, He is separate from the body; and you will neither offer in sacrifice nor partake of anything more than common bread and wine. ^C But to think that you derive salvation or sanctification from this is not even worthy of consideration. The faithful man, however, does not go astray; for he believes that it is the body of Christ which is offered in sacrifice by those who are worthy; and when he holds it in his hands, he knows it to be circumscribed, and by eating it he is sanctified, and cleansed from sins, and possesses the safe hope of attaining the kingdom of heaven through these things. ^D

THIRD ANTIRRHETICUS

^A But the defenders of unbelief, who demand rigorous proofs for things that are indeed clear and universally known to everyone, because they make it their business to promote impiety and to subvert the established dogmas of the Church—seeking for themselves, among those they deceive, the reputation of being clever and profound dogmatists—as soon as they are refuted and pressed by the truth itself, they turn to disorderly disputes and ill-timed arguments. They concoct profane novelties of language and stir up foolish and inept questions with a spirit hostile to Christ, suffering shipwreck concerning the faith they have cast off, knowing nothing but languishing, as Holy Scripture says, ^B about questions and wordy battles. Wherefore they present themselves to us as doubters, asking from where the account of the images was taken by us, and from where the veneration of them has been handed down, hoping, of course, that once we are driven to an impasse, they will strip us of our confidence.

1. Come then, we also answer such an inquiry with a discourse. From where, for you, was the discovery of the Evangelical books, and the veneration which you show toward them, demonstrated? And the Cross, and all other things which in the Church of the Christians enjoy reverence and worship? ^C Upon hearing these things, they are exceedingly exasperated, and with anger they decree that one should not inquire about these things, fearing, of course, that they might fall into the same controversy with us. Then, as if they could not escape from elsewhere—for what else could they say?—they flee to tradition; just as men accustomed to being released from prison hasten toward spacious and free places, and they respond that the Church has already from the very beginning accepted the grace written in those books and manifested. Furthermore, if one were to look at the incredulity and folly of these men, he would surely say ^D that they would have need of another scripture, and another demonstration of some kind, which would attest to and confirm the truth inscribed in the Gospels; and again, that for this second one, there would be need of another, and so to proceed to infinity.

But let us grant this to their ineptitude. They put forward tradition, which they wish to have force in matters that are pleasing to them, but in unpleasant ones, they strive to repudiate. And yet, in all these things, the subject is the same, the course of time is equal, and the authority is the selfsame. But what could one say to men who believe neither in deeds nor in words, nor know what they say or what they hear

^A or realize their own salvation? Nevertheless, the word of truth shall speak with boldness. First, it is worthy to say that in those things which are spoken and heard concerning God, one must approach with the fitting reverence, being instructed by godly fear. Then, one must use faith as a guide in these matters, have honor for faith, plant it in the soul, and receive the discourses concerning such great things with uprightness of heart, abstaining from empty and vain questions, and utterly rejecting old wives’ fables and profane babblings. One must not attend to endless genealogies, as the holy Scripture has taught, which provide questionings rather than the dispensation of God which is in faith, nor should one demand that confirmation and demonstration be made through miracles and prodigious works, or indeed hold a vacillating opinion concerning the essentials. This is a Jewish argument, and the malice of the unbelieving. To whom did the Lord say, "O faithless generation! It seeks a sign, and no sign shall be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet"? Was it not to the disobedient Jews, and those who always resist the Holy Spirit? Nor should we be carried away into curious and uneducated investigations, which generate verbal contentions and garrulity rather than useful and profitable doctrine; nor, advancing through dialectical methods to demonstrative conclusions by means of artificial and sophistical arguments, should we take refuge in such persuasions as those that violently constrain the hearers to consent. This is entirely an invention of the Greeks and of the faithless. For just as the Jews seek a sign, so also do the Greeks seek wisdom.

2. But for us, for whom faith is what is honored, let faith be set as the beginning and foundation of our salvation, from which we hasten toward the goal and end of the things hoped for. Since faith is from hearing, he who approaches must first believe that God is, and that He becomes a rewarder of those who seek Him; he must believe, I say, not oppose, but approach with faith, expecting the reward of obedience. For faith is a simple and uncurious assent, free from reasonings; therefore we approach by faith to the grace which is born in the souls of the faithful by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. ^D Possessing a mind free from all unbelief, and in simplicity of heart, we simply and without critical examination receive the doctrines handed down to the Catholic Church as shining with divine grace, cleansing ourselves from every stain and filth of doubt. For the worst of all diseases of the soul is unbelief, the beginning of folly and the cause of perdition. For "If you will not believe," it says, "neither shall you understand." For unbelief allows no...

obscuring the splendor of truth like a cloud passing before the sun, does not allow the understanding of those who are in need to be enlightened clearly. It is therefore proven that there is nothing firmer or safer than to take one’s beginning from faith. But to seek a beginning for the beginning, and a demonstration for a demonstration—what is this but to seek faith for faith? And what is more senseless or ridiculous than this? For a man will never have a place to stand and fix his reasoning if, for whatever is discovered, he is forced to a further inquiry; so that, however much one may weary oneself with searching, one will eventually take refuge in faith as in a safe beginning. For to the unbelieving, vanity will proceed to infinity, and they will nowhere find a place to rest, but will be ground down among themselves and perish, because of their unbelief and hard heart (6).

3. Next we say this: that the custom of depicting or imaging Christ did not take its beginning from us, nor did it originate in our own age, nor is it a modern invention. ^B Painting is honored by the authority of time, is distinguished by antiquity, and is concurrent in age with the evangelical proclamation; therefore it is venerable and religious. And to speak more briefly and assertively: because these visible images are symbols of our immaculate faith, and because they have stood and flourished together with faith from the very beginning, it follows that this is an apostolic work, confirmed by the seal of the Fathers. For just as they delivered to us the word of godliness in writing, so too in this respect, the manner in which the Savior conversed on earth while living among men—which is made manifest and clear through the evangelical writings—they made known in the same way, perchance doing what many of the ancients did who described noble deeds, not only by committing them to books, but by portraying them on panels. ^C We hear something of this sort from one of the teachers of the Church, that "the brave deeds of war are often depicted by both historians and painters, the former adorning them with speech, the latter expressing them on panels." Thus, whoever accepts the writing necessarily accepts the representation also; for if one does not accept the one, he surely will not accept the other. And because the whole economy of the emptying of the Word was something already accomplished, it pleased Him, in this way also, to benevolently demonstrate the things of the economy; therefore, this coarser—but nevertheless clearer—type of description was necessary, for the sake of the simpler and more unlearned, so that even those who do not know letters, who are left behind by the word, ^D might receive what is offered to their sight and derive a more compendious and evident knowledge of the facts. For what the mind does not often perceive through the hearing of words, the sight, taking it in more truthfully, interprets more clearly for itself. Thus such men more easily remember the things that Christ did. (6) You see the description of the genuine Christian faith, which is most suitable even for our own times. Read, moreover, the distinguished passage of the divine Cyril on this matter, provided to us by Nicephorus himself in the *Apologeticus Major*, p. 137 (Greek), which we have also transferred to its own place, namely, in the explanation of Cyril in his *Epistle to the Romans*, p. 27 (Latin), with a note.

^A passusque est; and indeed it comes to pass more swiftly than through the reporting of words, inasmuch as sight is swifter than hearing for coming to knowledge and is more ready for faith. Thus, therefore, this veneration has reached even unto us, established throughout the long and measureless lapse of time, and having obtained testimony and practice through the just credulity of the faithful Christians.

4. Why then is it burdensome that the memory of Christ is more frequently stirred up from this, and that the benefits and great works wrought for us are acknowledged? But these architects of evils begrudge men their salvation, not only for themselves, but also clearly locking out the kingdom for others, according to those Pharisees whose ways and pride they emulate. ^B Therefore, all things that are to be worshipped and are venerable, as many as are handed down in the Church of God, whether existing in letters or unwritten, both sanctify souls and bodies, and there is no doubt among the faithful concerning them.

But if someone, being a stickler for detail, should wish to discuss them more subtly, he will say the following: namely, that the evangelical writing was handed down by word of mouth by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word, of those divine and supernatural words and actions and powers, which it was the province of the Word who became man alone to do and to teach; and it was received faithfully by the faithful, not as mere speech poured into the air and briefly ringing in the ears, but as if they were present at the events themselves, from which they are called blessed. But the history of these sacred types hangs from there, and they originate from one and the same principle; yet it happens to be an imitation of the same things, bringing the manifestation of what was done before the eyes, ^C just as has been said by us more extensively in other places, and it clearly presents the ineffaceable quality of the writing.

5. But words themselves are also images of things, and they follow them as their causes. And primarily they enter into the hearing; for first the echoes of what is said strike those who hear; secondly, through reasoning, the one who hears arrives at the understanding of the things signified. ^D But painting immediately, without any intermediary, leads the mind of those who behold to the things themselves, as if already present, and from the first sight and encounter, provides a clear and refined knowledge of them. And that I may use the phrase of a Father: "What the account of the history describes, this writing, being silent, shows through imitation." Therefore, by as much as the work has excelled the oration, by so much will the imitation and likeness of the work excel the sound of the oration regarding the demonstration of things. Wherefore the oration often becomes more manifest and evident through these paintings. For frequently from speech, doubtful matters...

^A and disputes arise, and diverse sentiments are apt to be born in the soul, as is likely; and thus many, both among themselves and towards others, dissent and contend in words, doubting about what is said. But belief through visible things possesses an unquestionable authority from every source. And such is the communion in both—as in one and the very same book, as may often be seen in most ancient charts, where affairs are alternately delineated—that here the narration is exhibited by syllabic speech, and there by these images, just as it was done in letters.

As, therefore, the writing of the Gospel acquires faith among Christians of itself, not needing another writing or discourse to testify for it and support it, that it may be held venerable and honorable; so also the delineation of divine images, being the same as the evangelical writing, produces faith of itself and needs no extrinsic argument to represent the matters of the Gospel and to obtain the same honor as it. If, indeed, the image required extrinsic testimony, how otherwise could we support it than by invoking confirmation from the evangelical writing? If, therefore, the Gospel resonating in the ears of the faithful is so honorable (for our faith is from hearing), the picture which falls upon the vision itself and the senses, and exhibits the same instruction to us—this, I say, will either surpass the instruction in speed, since vision is more apt to persuade than hearing, or at least will not hold the second place. And thus it will be like the Gospel.

^B 6. Now Asterius (for it is just that he too should be remembered 6), whether he is the one whom they bring forward as a teacher, or some other, Asterius, I say, nevertheless, in his encomium on the woman with the issue of blood 10, greatly admiring the zeal and intention of the woman, which she displayed in believing in her benefactor, says that the bronze image of Christ which had been fashioned by her stood for the support of the evangelical proclamation, so that the Jews and Gentiles mocking and deriding this were nevertheless refuted and put to shame, because that doctrine was being made manifest and clear through it. Unable to bear this refutation, certain impious men and enemies of God, having subsequently seized power, endeavored to cast down the divine statue, God then permitting it 11: a thing which we see brought to pass in our own times also because of our sins. Since in both, that is to say in painting and in writing, one and the same argument exists, and the matters signified by them are in all things similar, who that is endowed with a sound mind or so ^{C D} [marginalia remains for next page]

sober judgment, ^A in which this indifference exists, would deem the one worthy of being worshipped, while the other is to be burned? For if the one is honorable, the other is necessarily so; but if not the latter, then neither is the former honorable. And since they do not differ in any respect, whoever destroys the one would have destroyed the whole sum of the Gospel. O madness and folly! The mention and name of Christ are there set forth; who are they who destroy them? Are they to be called Christians? I certainly deny it. The Jews dare this crime, and the Gentiles and barbarians, for they are enemies and strangers to our sacred worship, among whom these men, as enemies of Christ, will without any doubt be numbered. As if the Jews were scandalized, as if the Gentiles were led to infatuation; inasmuch as Christ, who is preached as crucified—which is the same as saying he is depicted—is to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles foolishness. Therefore, just as the word concerning the cross and the memorials of the Crucified is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God, so these things likewise ^B describe for us the cross of Christ and his passion; nay, with greater power, to speak more truly, and also the divine prodigies which he performed in a wondrous manner. And there is one cause for honoring both, namely, the exinanition (emptying) of Christ.

7. But these wicked men and workers of wickedness accuse us with an impudent mind, because we firmly abide in simple faith and the unwritten tradition of the Catholic Church. ^C But it must be said to them, that the unwritten tradition possesses the greatest strength of all, and serves as a kind of foundation and base in the uses of human life, which, having endured for a very long time, constitutes a received custom; and custom, confirmed by long time, takes on the force of nature; and what could be stronger than nature? But if it is necessary to speak more meticulously about this cause, we see that the Gospel itself was originally delivered without writing. For the Lord and our God, when he approached his saving preaching, did not set forth those divine and wondrous laws in letters, as we all know, nor did he write such saving doctrine on paper and ink, nor did he carve it on stone tablets, as was the ancient law according to Moses ^D; but God implanted these things in souls, formed and sealed in the Spirit, not in letters. This had also been foretold long ago by the holy prophets: "For I will give," he says, "my laws into their minds, and upon their hearts I will write them" (Jerem. XXXI, 33). We know that this was indeed accomplished by the Truth itself, Christ; but after some years it was also expressed in writing. An ineluctable witness is the divine Luke (if indeed they admit him), who supplied their tradition as the foundation for his own Gospel,

in the writings where he says: *Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word.* ^A Such is the evangelist. But it is possible to see, even in the holy assemblies, when the divine liturgy is performed, or at other times, not a few things that have been delivered to us and are maintained without writing, and most of the divine chants themselves. For whence comes our veneration of things holy, and of the life-giving wood itself? Whence comes the saving Pascha, which is celebrated concordantly on the same day by all Christians, even though in the time of the ancients it was not observed in the same way? The holy Symbol of faith, which we confess with one voice every day: what Scripture delivered it, if it was not brought forth without writing? What, moreover, is one to say concerning purifications and fasts, and all the pre-festal and post-festal observances, and what is shown forth in the solemnities themselves, and the manner of the divine mysteries, and their reception, and the saving baptism, and certain other things which the order of holy discipline requires? Let us pass over for now the litanies and the supplications led to designated places, or performed in any other way; all of which we have received from a custom that comes down to us from antiquity, unwritten, and which we nonetheless honor, cultivate, venerate, and retain no less than those things sanctioned in writings, because the safe foundation of both has flowed to us from the apostolic magisterium.

^B 8. We see that even laws set down in writing are often ignored because a different tradition and custom prevails. For custom confirms all things, since a deed is more powerful than a word. Indeed, what is a law but a written custom? Just as, conversely, custom is an unwritten law. This is easy to see even outside of sacred matters. For grammarians, too, if it ever happens that a word deviates from the prevailing rule in a book, and is written differently according to the prevailing custom, they excuse the tradition as a "rule of the rule." What then will they object to him who says: *I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you?* Why would they not contemn him—the one writing to the pupils of the Gospel, that is, the Corinthians: ^C *I praise you, brethren, that you remember all my things; and as I delivered them to you, you keep the traditions?* And to the Thessalonians: *Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by our epistle.* The pontiff of the royal city and most splendid luminary of the world, great John, will explain these things more clearly, saying: ^D Why? Because not

everything did the apostles deliver by epistle, but also in unwritten fashion; and these things are of equal trustworthiness to those. So that even the tradition of the ^A Church, he says, we consider trustworthy. Is it tradition? Ask for nothing more. Similar things to these the divine Basil also writes to the holy Amphilochius, where he says: “Of the dogmas and proclamations kept in the Church, some we have from written instruction, while others we have received in mystery, having been handed down to us from the tradition of the apostles; both of which possess the same power in regard to piety. And these no one will gainsay—no one, I say, who has even a slight acquaintance with the laws of the Church. For if we should undertake to reject the unwritten customs as not having great power, we would unwittingly be doing injury to the very essentials of the Gospel—or rather, we would be reduced to a bare name as regards the message of faith.” And what these [customs] are, the reader will clearly understand. Likewise also the divine Epiphanius, in those passages where he discusses the offerings made on behalf of the departed, says: “The Church necessarily performs this, having received the tradition ^B from the Fathers; for who will be able to abolish the ordinance of a mother or the law of a father?” As it is spoken by Solomon: “Hear, my son, the words of thy father, and do not put away the laws of thy mother”* [Prov. 1, 8]; demonstrating that the Father, that is to say God, the Only-Begotten, and the Holy Spirit, taught both in writing and without writing, and that our mother, the Church, has within herself ordinances that cannot be abolished.

^C 9. These, indeed, are the oracles of the sacred teachers; and what could be clearer than these, or more persuasive toward piety? Was it not, then, right to yield to the apostolic and Patristic commands? Was it not right, for this reason if for no other, to revere them as proceeding from spiritual grace? Was it not right for these to soften their stony heart, and to banish from their souls every occasion of unbelief and every perversity? But those who live in arrogance and disobedience distort the terms of justice, and disregard the ordinances of the Church, holding the sacred things in contempt in their own eyes. Whence then, they ask, and what law commands us to worship the icon of Christ? That they have cast aside the faith of Christians by asking such questions is manifest, and therefore there was no need to engage in discourse with them. Yet, for the sake of the benefit and edification of those who are of a better mind and who approach closer to obedience, we say these things to them in turn: that in the first place, ^D

the same law which commands that honor and glory be rendered to the divine Gospels, the Cross, and all other things that are honored and glorified in our Church, also enjoins us to venerate this one as well.

10. But what is this? It is faith, and the innate and spontaneous impulse of believers toward divine things, and the pious and most upright intention and zeal toward them, and the tradition handed down to the Church and confirmed and prevailing over a long period of time, as has been said a little before. Furthermore, there is also a natural law implanted in us (beyond that which the written law also commands) that appropriate honor and veneration should be offered to things of excellence. And this one might learn from the difference between the various types of ^B adoration. For the preeminent and greatest of all adoration, which is carried out in worship and spirit, is owed and rendered only to the God of all and the Master of all—this is what is considered to be the adoration of service (*latria*). Of the other kinds of adoration, one is for the sake of elevated rank and dignity, such as that which is offered by subjects to kings and other rulers; for so the law has prevailed from of old. Another is tyrannical and violent, which is offered involuntarily by the oppressed out of fear and trepidation toward the irascible and powerful. Another is that which is distributed by honor and settled purpose, out of love and faith, by believers to the saints for the sake of the God of the saints, as being led through them to Him; the same applies to divine angels, and holy men, and venerable temples and vessels. Finally, there is the relative and affectionate kind, signifying familiarity and goodwill to beloved persons, out of a friendly and benevolent disposition. ^C But however the nature of adoration stands, that we may speak more generally, adoration is characterized by three things; for it is seen to take place either out of love, or out of fear, or by law. Wherefore, to those things which our discourse has touched upon so far, as being endowed with greater dignity and deserving of veneration on account of those whose memory they bear, we rightly accord—stimulated by love—honorary adoration, and not that which belongs to *latria*—Heaven forbid!—as those who slander the Christians in a manner unworthy of Christians have falsely claimed.

11. If it is necessary also to cite the laws, let Paul be the lawgiver, saying, "Render to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor," and all things that are enumerated along with these. But if they do not obey Paul, perhaps they will not be persuaded by Christ either, who commanded that the image of Caesar be honored; for when the coin was shown by those who were tempting Him, He did not say, "Spit upon it," or ^D "trample it underfoot," or "perform some unworthy and shameful act," even though He was God and by nature...

or do anything dishonorable or shameful, although He was God and possessed power over all things. But: "Render," He says, "to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." ^A What is this, if not a demonstration of exceptional honor? For He speaks equally of both, as if laying down a law, while commanding that what is fitting for God be analogously rendered also to Caesar—and this even to an idolater and a pagan. But oh, the impiety and madness of the Christ-haters! Christ did not dishonor the image of Caesar, yet these who are called Christians strike at the image of Christ—nay, at Christ Himself—with countless injuries, and commit every kind of base and absurd act; and neither the word of the Gospel, nor practice, nor exhortation persuades them to act rightly.

12. Their impiety increases ^B even from this point most of all. For if any of the pious, by way of example, should say that—just as the custom has prevailed from of old that the images of kings should be venerated by their subjects, a point which our own sacred ministers and teachers have often utilized in their discourses, and which common and popular usage knows—it is fitting that the image of the King of kings, the universal God, also be honored, and that much more benevolently and zealously: these wretched ones do not suffer us to speak, but are exasperated at these things and respond: "For men indeed, kings endowed with our nature, and having obtained dominion over those on earth, this is fitting, but the same cannot at all be adapted to Christ." ^C But we ask them to say in what way. If they refuse this as being tyrannical, then let kings cease from tyranny, and we too will acquiesce, who offer honor to Christ—even through sacred forms—voluntarily and benevolently, demonstrating our faith towards Him without any coercion or offense. But if, on the other hand, they reject Him as though Christ cares for nothing of earthly affairs—which is more characteristic of their own insanity—what do we then say? Surely that they have kicked against the kingdom of Christ, just as once that beloved Israel did; they have broken the bonds, thrown off the yoke, refused obedience, ^D and shamelessly fled from the faith in Christ; they have denied the kingdom of Christ and at the same time the mystery of the Incarnation, exercising an impudent and familiar tongue against the Savior, in accordance with the mouthings of the Jews, to whom, being of one mind, they speak almost in agreement: "We have no king but Caesar." Because of these things these men are also exasperated, just as those former ones were annoyed. For thus, being envious of Christ, after they saw the great and supernatural and divine wonders being accomplished, which revealed and proclaimed Him to be both King and God of all, what then did they say? "Everyone who makes himself a king, speaks against Caesar."

13. Perhaps those who are bold in all things and shameless will dare

to give voice, as he himself said: "My kingdom is not of this world," to this—which is to them ^A pleasant and agreeable—that he did not endure to be king on earth, so that in this point also they might appear to be of the same mind as their teachers, those from Manes, attributing to a different beginning the things here, perhaps not understanding, being foolish, the power of what was said and of the economy. For what does this little saying of his mean? "Because," he says, "not like these earthly and mortal kings, who possess temporary and small glory, is the kingdom of mine disposed, which, after being enjoyed for a short time by this worldly glory, fading away like the flowers of the grass, is thereafter overtaken by corruption and death; and of whom, furthermore, the opinions of the populace and factious counsels have stripped them of their dignity, and brought them under the weight of countless and grievous calamities. For none of the earthly and low-creeping things are to be perceived in me, as they are revealed in the progress of such as those; not popular decrees and elections, and human opinions—often emerging and deciding upon things that have not led to advantage, but hastening toward pleasure and ambition—ever installed ^B even an unworthy man into this office; nor do I carry any of the symbols of such an office, which are indeed perishable and ephemeral—no purple colored robe, no gem-studded crown, no scepter, no loftiness of thrones, no splendid appearances; no gold-gilded chariots, no public processions of attendants, no throngs of shield-bearers and spearmen, no applause of those acclaiming, with some going before and others following; nor, in short, anything transient and human, such as is wont to be in this terrestrial power. Therefore, my kingdom is not 'from here.' It is cheap in appearance, lowly as beheld, and I bring with me a small number of disciples, and these the most obscure of the poor and the fishermen; yet it is perfect and superior to all that can be conceived by the mind: I am the Son of God, the universal King of all, His most true offspring and splendor (20): the same (20) "Splendor," [a title] by which at least he took the occasion to speak, will, I think, be neither useless nor unpleasant to append here a certain theological passage along with notice of the author and the work. Cave mentions that a commentary on the Wisdom of Solomon by Matthew Cantacuzenus, who also held the imperial dignity for a short time at Constantinople, is recorded by uncertain rumor, and reports that his codex existed on Mount Athos (where Cantacuzenus last professed the monastic life), as indexed by Possevinus. But let us not seek this information from afar; there is a good and most complete Vatican codex of 445 folios, of no small size, in which this commentary is contained under this title:

The Wisdom of Solomon explained by the most religious emperor, Lord Matthew Cantacuzenus

^A And He possesses glory and honor: for I am the heir of the Father’s glory; and since I sit with the Father upon the same throne, I possess the regal majesty of that same glory. Thence it happens that I reign and rule over all. This power of mine, therefore, is not of this sort, nor is it like these human affairs: I have no bounded power. I am neither the ruler nor lord of this nation, nor of these regions, nor of this city, but of angels and men and all things at once, heavenly, earthly, and infernal, and to me every knee bows, and all things lie beneath my feet, and there is no one who can escape my hand. For no limit or end shall there be to my kingdom. And yet that these things are so, and not otherwise, is believed and preached by all the faithful. For how could there be Providence toward the affairs of this world, and how could the business of our life be administered, unless all the ends of the earth 33 were in His hand? Nor is it only as God, but also as He is man, that He rules and governs them, as it has been said: “I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession 34.” And: “The Lord shall be king over all the earth 35.” And: “Lo, thy King comes to thee, humble,”—it is said to the city of Jerusalem—“just and saving 36.” And: “The Lord shall reign in the midst of thee 37.” And: “The Lord shall reign on Mount Sion from now and unto the ages 38.” ^B 14. But what could they say to what has been said, that “Ye shall see a King with righteousness 39”? But those who are more disobedient than the Jews—who have separated themselves from the kingdom of Christ—would not understand these things. Nor does the good intent and faith of the Persians (the Magi) instill shame in them, when they sought for Christ who was born as King; and by the gifts they brought, they made clear who He was, for whose sake they had undertaken so long a journey and pilgrimage. But these are more barbarous and harder than the Persians. The Persians, having abandoned their ancestral superstition, fled of their own accord to the King and Lord of all, and recognized and confessed the God of the universe, using the star as their guide and teacher. These, however, have abolished the straight and blameless faith preached and handed down by the Apostles and Fathers from an infinite time, ^D adhering to a new doctrine against the saving incarnation. Nor did Herod move them from their purpose, who slaughtered that new and immature generation of newborn children; whom was he seeking, or whom was he envying? Was it not the King preached by the Magi? Hoping, of course, that in the number of those being slain, that one also whom he sought would be included. Why is it necessary to say more?

^A Since the King of all is proclaimed in the holy Gospels as Christ, and is believed in by us, yet these men have thrust aside this King Christ and have both renounced him and cast their vote against him, what is one to call these Christians? Let everyone, therefore, who hears this judge for himself. At the hearing of Christ’s name, demons flee; but these men, when they see it depicted in an image—oh, the audacity and impiety!—not only do they not show reverence, as even the impure demons do, but they actually perform the most shameful acts. The true Christians of old, who valued piety above all else, used to pursue with great veneration even the shadows of the apostles, which, although transitory, they held to be in place of a great benefit and an earnest of salvation. But these men, though gifted with the mere name of Christians, treat the icon of the Lord and Master of the apostles with such indignity, casting it down. Yet, by as much as an image differs from a shadow, a master from a disciple, and the Lord from his servants, by so much does this crime of theirs differ from the sins of others when set in comparison. In order that their malice may remain concealed and their impiety not become more manifest, they dare not ask any pious person to what end this veneration tends, because they cannot endure to hear of the honor due to Christ. In vain, therefore, will they be justly considered to have claimed the name of Christians, since they deny its power and its reality in every way.

^B 15. If anyone, guided by the truth itself, were to see a man from among the Jews or Greeks or any other religion worshipping and kissing the image of Christ or of the saints, or the Cross, or the Gospel, or any other of those things held sacred among us, would he not say that he has been added to our faith, and from that point call him a Christian? For who has fallen into such animalistic behavior and madness as not to confess this? But if, among those who are considered Christians, one were to see someone casting down a representation of Christ, or any other of the aforementioned objects, by what name will you call him? Just as, following the truth, one would say of the former that he has embraced our faith, so one would say of the latter that he has denied it. We have heard, indeed, by report, that many even to this day have found in these painted histories an occasion for their own salvation. For, learning from them the mystery of the divine incarnation and receiving the light of the Gospel, they are guided toward our blameless faith; and we know that others have passed from a base life to habits that are modest and pleasing to God.

^D 16. We have known a similar case regarding that holy woman (Maria is her name), so that, for the sake of one, we might present an example that is not unsuitable out of so many. For previously, having been caught in the snares of the devil, she had become a dwelling-place for every passion. But when the holy pictures met her eyes, having been illumined from them by divine grace, she appeared superior not only to the passions, but to nature itself. The angelic life of which she is the subject in the historical record will demonstrate that she lived a life beyond that of a human being.

^A 17. One might find these things even among those outside the faith, as the history of Polemon signifies, mentioned also by the great Gregory in his own poems. For, being transformed from a profligate to a temperate man, he was shown to be so much more the master of his passions that miracles were even sung about him; one of which is what is said to have occurred with the harlot. What then does the adversary say? "It was not the image," he says, "but Polemon, looking at his own image, who commanded temperance to the unchaste woman." And he adds, "And indeed it was venerable." Listen, heaven; lend your ears, earth; and all you angels and men who piously and godly honor and glorify God and the things of God at all times: be astonished and marvel at the great and extraordinary monstrosity in the impudence and irreligiousness of these impious men. The image of Polemon is venerable, and this according to the judgment of our own theologians; but what of the image of Christ? It abounds with every kind of dishonor and insult. What could be said to be more impious or more wicked? But, they say, it is the man of the Greek, and among the Greeks. And how is it not entirely absurd if the image of Christ is not equally venerable among Christians, if indeed they are Christians? Then again, whenever some text supporting the truth is set before them by the orthodox, the wretches, in their impudence, distort the utterances of the inspired Scripture and the teachers of the Church to suit their own whim, imagining that their own error is aided by wretched and false reasonings. For they mutilate some of these texts, and scrape away and cut off others, just as those who mark spurious verses with an obelus, or as masons scrape away the excess from stones and wood.

^B 18. What, then, are the arguments we propose? That the knowledge of the archetype is produced in us through the image. Furthermore, that the honor of the image passes to the prototype; just as it seems to the great Basil and to the truth itself, and as all who are of sound mind confess. And no sensible man had, until now, dared to raise his eyes so audaciously and ignorantly against such a brilliant truth, until this impious and abominable dogma, like a certain plague, infected human souls throughout the Church of God. The testimony of the Father, in what he writes to Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium, runs word for word as follows: “While we worship God from God, we confess the property of the persons, and remain in the unity of the monarchy, not dispersing theology into a fragmented multitude; because we see one and the same form, as it were, in God the Father and God the Only-begotten, united by the parity of divinity. For the Son is in the Father, and the Father is in the Son; since this one is such as that one is, and that one is what this one is; and in this is the one. So that according to the distinction of the persons, they are one and one; but according to the commonality of nature, both are one. How then, if there is one and one, are there not two gods? Because the King is also called...

^A the image of the King, and not two kings; for neither is the power divided, nor is the glory apportioned. For just as the ruling authority and power among us is one, so also is the giving of glory from us one, and not many, because the honor of the image passes to the prototype. What therefore the image is here by way of imitation, this the Son is there by nature. And just as in the case of craftsmen there is likeness in form, so too in the case of the divine and incomposite nature, the union exists in the communion of the divinity.” Such are the words of the Father Basil, and they are so clear that not even the most rustic or common person, I imagine, could fail to perceive them. ^B But what are the arguments of the opponents? They say, then, that these things were said by the Father regarding theology, and nothing accrues to us from this toward the matter in question; for in Holy Scripture the Son is called the image of God and Father. But it must be answered immediately that if these things have no bearing on the incarnation of the Word, why then are they rejected? For you know clearly that the action does not stop at the mere sight or the material; for honors are not offered because of the intermediate material and the thing seen. Otherwise, one would have to honor all material, and for others to treat it with contumely; and thus you would hold any image whatever up to ridicule. But it is plainly evident that you act in the same way here also regarding the proposed matter. For unless you knew that Christ is signified by the image, and that the honors offered are referred to Him, you would certainly not rage with so many insults. For Christ, even when seen in an image, is burdensome to you. ^C 19. What then is to be concluded from this? That since those who offer honor confess that they refer the honor to the prototype, it is necessary that those who destroy the images, ^D ... [the] unsurpassable power, ineffable beauty, endless kingdom; one and only God, worshipped in three perfect persons, and glorified in three sanctifications in one lordship indivisibly and inconfusedly. Truth teaches us to confess one God, one nature without beginning and eternal, recognized in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For the Father is the unbegotten begetter of the Son, inasmuch as He is from no one; the Son is the offspring of the Father, as having been begotten of Him; the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father; three persons; each one a perfect and true God; the three are one God, because there is one divinity, one power, one essence, one will, one operation; indivisible in the divided persons, and in the differing properties of the existences; for to the Father alone belongs unbegottenness, to the Son alone that He has been begotten from the Father without beginning and without time and eternally and co-eternally, to the Holy Spirit alone that He proceeds from the Father without time and eternally and co-eternally. A Trinity simple and incomposite; a substance supersubstantial; a nature uncircumscribed; glory beyond measure; power unlimited; incomprehensible light; inscrutable goodness; unsurpassable power; beauty unintelligible; kingdom without end; one and only God, worshipped in three perfect persons, and in one lordship indivisibly and inconfusedly praised with the Thrice-Holy hymn. (Regarding the procession of the Holy Spirit also from the Son, you have most certain testimonies of the ancient and modern Greeks in our disputation concerning the dogmatic particle EK to be retained in the third sermon of Saint Gregory of Nyssa on the Lord's Prayer.)

^A to say this frequently and inevitably, that we refer the contumely to the prototype. But they do not say this in truth, because they rely on theology; (for how could that be, when they are entirely devoid of the mystery of theology?) rather, they do so in order to remove the very name of the image from our midst, so that it might not be mentioned at all in this life; and this is true especially of all those images that bear the human form; wherefore they have even dared to call the images of the saints pseudonymously named. Whatever, therefore, that holy man said by way of example, they maliciously and foolishly endeavor to conceal (as if they could truly hide or deceive anyone), as though it were contrary to their own impious dogma. But that the Father uses that saying while speaking of God, we also agree; and nonetheless, we too, taking our occasion from that, ^B speak to them in this way; namely, that the Son, although He shines and is glorified in many other ornaments of divinity, nevertheless, insofar as He is the image of God and the Father, He is much more than by other gifts associated and substantially united with the Father; and therefore He receives from all at once an equal and equally august glory and veneration, the very same as the Father. For the honor which is paid to the Son, as to an image, passes over to the Father as to the archetype. For thus, somewhere, He Himself says to the Father: *I have glorified you on the earth* (John xvii, 4). And again: *Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him* (John xiii, 31). And: *Father, glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify you* (John xvii, 1). That the archetype is also known through the image, the Savior Himself again said to the disciples: *If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; and from now on you know him* (John xiv, 7). And: *He that sees me sees the Father* (John xiv, 9). And: *I am in the Father, and the Father is in me* (John xiv, 10).

20. Since therefore these things are so, why, pray, should this sacred likeness, as an image of the incarnate Son, which brings to us both the knowledge and the memory of Him—not according to its own analogy and the peculiarity of the Word (for it is not as if it were the same in substance with the Son, but as preserving the likeness of His form)—not be honored and adored? Since it is itself one of the most honorable of the sacred symbols that signify the glory of His economy; so that through this likeness the glory may pass to the archetype. ^D Unless perhaps, on account of the naming of the image, those who cavil over names would alienate the Son also from the paternal substance and glory; and divide the cult and adoration, granting no relation of images to their prototypes. Therefore, the saying of Basil profits our purpose, rather than hindering it.

21. But that which the foolish either did not understand, or deliberately concealed, is that the name of an image does not belong simply to the number of those things which are viewed in one way, but is an omonymous word, and one of multiple significance; concerning which distinction this very Father subtly discourses elsewhere.

^A For according to the first approach, it is divided into natural and artificial; but according to the second, or subdivision, the artificial image is, he says, of form and shape, or of species and color. Let them tell us, then, what argument compels us to accept the one meaning—that which is taken from natural things—and to suppose that it accurately preserves the kinship and relation, but to reject the other part, which looks toward the artificial sense? Why? Will not these also preserve the relation and kinship, according to their own logic, intact? Even though the definition of an image, as an image simply, is understood by sensible people equally and in the same degree in both cases, even if it is applied to different meanings. For just as in natural things it signifies what is pure, like, and undifferentiated, so too in artificial things, it signifies according to species and form—even if, as far as nature is concerned, it indicates a difference in them; whence it is that they share in one and the same appellation, and are homonymous. But because this term is ^B properly taken regarding the embodiment of the Word, the senseless attempt to suppress and subvert it. For as long as it does not clearly oppose them, they pretend to follow the teacher, as if it stood for them and they had used the term potentially; but when they perceive it opposing them, they always refuse it.

But it is time for us to proceed to the consideration of his statement. To the Doctor, then, discoursing on the nature of God, and knowing that the Son is connatural with the Father and of the same substance, and defining that he is distinguished solely by the property of the hypostasis, that is, of the person—since many—at that time also, heretical enemies of God had risen against the majesty of the Only-Begotten—it was necessary, I say, to set forth and demonstrate his argument by means of an example; for we are accustomed to conjecture about higher things from our own affairs; which is to be seen also in inspired Scripture, and no less so among the doctors of the Church. For when he had said: "How, if the Father is God, and the Son is God, is it not the case that there are two gods?"—framing the words as if in a dialogue—he says: "For the king is called one, and the image of the king is another; yet there are not two kings; for neither is the power divided, nor is the majesty split into parts." Then, as if someone were in doubt as to how it is certain that these things are so, he proceeds, as if confirming the argument of that example, by using common notions which are confessed by all, and adds: "Because the honor of the image passes to the prototype." For everyone confesses this regarding an image; and in all endowed with reason, the knowledge of this has been implanted not only by teaching, but already naturally. Thus, having completed the argument of the example, he then turns the discourse back to where he had departed, and says: "What, therefore, is here an image by way of imitation (and where is this, if not, clearly, in the image which artificially presents an imitation?), that, there, is the Son naturally." Then, the holy Father, well knowing the difference and kinship of artificial images from their archetypes, again by an example analogous to the natural image

adds: ^A "And just as in artificial things, the likeness occurs in the form, so in the divine and uncompounded nature, the unity exists in the communion of divinity." It must be noted how, concerning artificial things, he did not speak determinately of this or that likeness to the prototype, but by the plural number, he brought forth the same argument simply for all things; as if, should the shameless ones not desist from their absurd contentiousness, they would be compelled to fashion, impiously and foolishly, not one Son only, but also many sons.

22. Therefore, the statement that the honor of the image passes over to the prototype, as it ^B truly rests more proximately upon the example of the king’s image, is applied primarily to artificial images, and in that way it passes over to the natural image, and is transferred by way of example to theology. And that the artificial image partakes of such communion and relation toward the prototype, he indicated no less than by homonymy. For just as it results that not two, but one king is spoken of (for one thing appears from both), so it is also more wonderful and more intimate that neither the power is split, nor the glory divided, which the unity of substance in the natural image was demonstrating. How, then, are images dishonored and rejected, when they have been assumed for the exposition and clarification of such a great matter, as is the discourse concerning the nature of God? The same doctor, in his discourse against Sabellius, ^C unfolds his mind more clearly regarding the aforementioned matter: "For neither does he who looks at the royal image in the forum, and calls the one on the tablet king, confess two kings, namely the image and the one whose image it is; nor, if he points out the one painted on the tablet and says, 'This is the king,' does he thereby deprive the prototype of the appellation of 'king'; nay, rather, he confirms the honor to him through this confession. For if the image is king, much more is it fitting that he who provided the cause for the image to be made should be king. But here, indeed, wood and the art of the painter make the image corruptible, an artificial imitation of a corruptible man; there, however, when you hear 'image,' think of the splendor of glory. And who is that splendor, and what is that glory, the Apostle himself ^D immediately interpreted, adding: 'And the character of his substance' (Heb. 1, 3)." Such being the theory concerning images demonstrated through all things, as having in all respects, for its own several definition and reason, a likeness; what is the absurdity in reversing the order and saying that, just as the injury of the impious against the Son passes straight to the Father as to an archetype, so the dishonor brought by these men against the artificial image of Christ is openly referred to Christ himself as to an archetype? What is more manifest or evident than these things for the protection and affirmation of the truth, and for true doctrine and

^A of the ecclesiastical and pious tradition? Who, even if highly dull and foolish, will not understand that the God-bearing Basil brought forth the artificial image, about which the question primarily concerned, as we said recently, for the declaration and explanation of the natural image in the Godhead, as a proper, clear, and suitable example? Certainly, he who does not think that these things are so, as they are now observed and have been handed down, stands far removed from the mind and purpose of the holy Father, and has wandered completely and foolishly from the truth of his words.

^B 23. But the enemies of Christ, concealing these things and wishing to deceive the simpler ones, suppose that their bitterness and their fight against the truth remain hidden from us. Their souls are so darkened that they hide away, as if in a courtyard, things that have been clearly spoken and that do not escape the knowledge of the multitude; from which it happens that their malice is revealed all the more. Next, let there be called upon by us one who is similar in character and opinion to this holy Father, the great Gregory, in his theological discourses, who speaks in the same way about the same matter: «An image is, insofar as it is consubstantial; and because the Son is from Him, not the Father from Him. For this is the nature of an image, to be an imitation of the archetype of which it is called the image. But here there is more: for there the image is immobile, ^C [the image] of a moving man; here, the image of a living one and [who is] living, and more similar than Seth is to Adam, and than any begotten thing is to its begetter. For such is the nature of simple things, that they are not partly similar and partly dissimilar, but are the type of the whole, and are the same rather than similar.» Thus the aforementioned Father.

That he is of the same mind, we shall know thus: for when he says that such is the nature of the image, that it is an imitation of the archetype, it is clear that he is speaking about every image simply, so that he may thereby obtain the matter sought. For particular things are demonstrated from general ones; and this is the best and principal mode of demonstration. But the words that follow there indicate that he is looking most especially at this sensible and artificial image. For when he adds, «But ^D yet there is more here,» of the earth, and the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, [he suggests] that from this point nothing else appears to be the «according to the image of God» in us, than to rule over those things that are on the earth; and that it is good, and as far as is possible for man, to be made like unto God.

^A He is here even more expansive, indicating the sublimity of his argument concerning the nature of God by means of a comparative expression, distinguishing the one from the other. Then, adding: «There, the immobile image of a mobile man; here, the living image of a living being,» he displayed the difference which they have between them, as if he had said: The property of an artificial image is that it is an immobile (representation) of a mobile being; but the property of a natural one is that it is the living (representation) of a living being. After these things, he also makes a comparison of these physical objects with dissimilar things, introducing a discourse about Adam and Seth, and whatever else is said concerning the nature of simple things. It must be noted, furthermore, that this God-inspired teacher, even if he removes all things from the doctrine concerning God, because they in no way pertain to Him, since He is separated from all things; ^B yet he does not so reject these handmade objects, but even accepts them quite willingly.

24. The God-filled Cyril, the president of the great (city) of Alexander and a great teacher, let him join those who have gone before and speak in harmony, saying something like this concerning the matters at hand: «Just as if someone were to look at an image painted excellently, and were to marvel at the appearance of the king, and were able to see and have whatever is manifested in him also in the depiction, and were to fall into a desire to see also the king himself, the depiction might reasonably say to him: 'He who has seen me, has seen the king.' And again: 'I and the king are one,' so far as concerns similarity and the most accurate and supreme equality. ^C And further: 'I am in the king, and the king is in me,' so far as concerns the configuration of the form. For the depiction fully bears his aspect, and the aspect of the depiction is preserved in him in turn. Thus it is also with the Son, saying: 'He who has seen me, has seen my Father.' And: 'I and the Father are one.' Do they therefore follow these wise words, or do they (sometimes) follow them and sometimes not, as the evil mind of the demon working within them might suggest? If, therefore, they wish to persuade us that according to the words of the teacher, they glorify the Son as consubstantial with the Begetter, as being the image of the Father, and, confessing him as the King along with the form we assumed, they honor him according to the example already set forth; ^D let them worship with us his worshipful image, which also itself says, as it were: 'He who has seen me, has seen the King of all and Lord Jesus Christ and God.' But if they do not accept this worship, they do not even believe the Son to be consubstantial with the Father, and they will vote against his kingdom, and clearly prove themselves strangers to this, and to our faith.»

25. To these God-wise Fathers, let also the one great in divine things and revealer of divine secrets, Dionysius, speak in concord. «For just as in material images, if the painter looks steadfastly toward the archetypal form...

without being drawn aside or distracted by any other sensible thing, he will, if it is permitted to say so, double that very one who is being painted, and will show the truth in the likeness, the archetype in the image, both in each, except for the difference in substance; so to those endowed with a mind for beauty, a continuous and unfaltering contemplation of that sweet and in a way hidden beauty will produce an undoubted and most godlike image.» ^B Do the children of disobedience obey these words, and do they revere the theologians, and do they permit there to be material images? Do they acknowledge as circumscribed that which is often doubled? And do they adore that which demonstrates the one through the other—that is, the shaped and the shaping—just as now Christ and the venerable image of Christ are honored by us? Or do they rather reject one by means of the other, and dishonor Christ through His image? And at the same time treat with contempt the holy teacher, and confirm to us that they in no way share in that hidden beauty, but are base and impure and devoid of any divine form?

26. The matter stands thus also for that Clement of Alexandria, ^C in his treatise *On the Legal Passover* (54): «As if an image of someone, when the archetype is not present, receives equal honor to it: but when the truth is present, the image is illuminated by it, that likeness remaining, because it signifies the truth.» And these are the sayings of the holy Fathers. However, it must be observed that they do not limit this, nor do they speak uniquely regarding such an image or only such a form, but they establish that the same meaning and power applies to every image absolutely, and they unanimously affirm that the relation and consistency toward the prototype is preserved; which the words of the divine Dionysius show more clearly; even if some of the Fathers, because of the custom then prevailing of publicly displaying and venerating the images of kings, availed themselves of the example of the king, ^D as being closer than all others to the King of kings and Lord of all, since royal dignity is greater and more excellent than all honors on earth. For the structure of the discourse also demands this, that from things of this world the supramundane, and from the lower the higher, are revealed as much as is possible. Moreover, that what is done toward images passes over to the prototype is also easily discovered from the holy Scriptures.

27. For even the history concerning the blessed Samuel wishes to signify something of this kind. For he, even before his conception, promised to God by his God-fearing mother, was consecrated immediately from his swaddling clothes. Then, having been allotted to perform the priesthood before God, he was also, insofar as he was a priest, an image of God; and this is confirmed to us by that which is in the Psalms

^A chanted: “Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” [Ps. cix, 4]; and indeed the voice of the all-wise Paul also teaches us that, “Made like unto the Son of God, he abideth a priest continually” [Heb. vii, 3]. Samuel, therefore, while exercising his priesthood, bore before him the image of God. But when the Israelites saw him weighed down by old age, and because they complained bitterly against his sons, their elders came to him, asking that he appoint a king over them, just as they saw happening among other nations. What, then, does the Scripture say? This request seemed evil to the prophet himself, and very justly so. And what sort of divine oracle was there, and what was it? “Hear,” says the God of all, being grieved and angry, “the voice of this people according to what they speak unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but me” [1 Reg. viii, 7]. Most clearly, therefore, is it demonstrated from this also that the contempt shown to the prophet, as to a thing dedicated to God and representing the Deity, passed—as from an image to the archetypal God—to Him. We acknowledge this, moreover, in good deeds; for we hear in the Gospels the Savior God declaring to His venerable ^B disciples: “He that receiveth you, receiveth me” [Matt. x, 40]. In like manner, the sins committed against the Church of God, because of holy images and because of things offered to God and His consecrated bodies, redound to Christ Himself. What then? Does not God grow angry and indignant at these things? Most certainly. But He delays His wrath, as He did with the ancients, so even now with present offenders, although they themselves despise His ineffable long-suffering and goodness. How, then, do these senseless men not understand what was said above for the reproof of their own madness? For they ought to have been led by this warning to the comprehension of the truth.

28. What, then, must be said? If Christians had not known that these things are so, why did they, from the beginning, consider the things recognized and fashioned by the Greeks for worship and religion to be abominable ^C and worthy of being spat upon? Utilizing divine zeal and every effort, they pulled them down stoutly from their foundations and destroyed them, delivered them to the fire, and were otherwise working their ruin. Why, therefore, did they do these things? Was it not out of hatred and detestation for the gods for whose sake the images had been created? For the Greeks, while wishing also to depict the images of certain men, dedicated them—most foolishly—to certain detestable and abominable beings, or to those notorious for the vileness of their lives, or certainly to those who had performed some generous and brave deed while they lived. There were also some images of certain demons worshiped by the Greeks, which one may rightly term idols and phantastic figments, and full of deception. If, therefore, these things are so, how is it just ^D that our own holy things… that the religion of idols from the beginning, to those who recount history, whence the discovery of them began, has been manifested; and that it shall not be forever, the prophetic...

text rightly says; for it foreknew that when the Savior Christ appeared and took on our nature, all worship of idols throughout the whole world would be brought to an end. ^A For if we acknowledge our sacred things as worthy of honor, are we not bound to pursue them with every honor, on account of the faith and religion owed to the prototypes? For what is more honorable or more venerable than the Lord’s body, which, when partaken of, sanctifies those who receive it with faith, and when represented in an image, fills them with the grace of devotion? Thus, these things are venerable and honorable among Christians, along with other holy things. But the impious, against these invincible arguments, immediately object: “Surely, what the heathens consider worthy for the heathens—for such a discovery originated from them—it is not permitted for Christians to do.” And they do not understand that this argument stands against them rather than us, and supports us to the greatest extent. For why should Christians not honor the things of Christians? And even if the things of the heathens were false and full of deceit, we know and believe our own to be true and truly performed; and by as much as truth is preferable to falsehood, by so much should our zeal and fervor for the things among us be greater. So great, therefore, is the trustworthiness, or rather the self-evident nature, of material images that they are even taken up by those inspired by God for the clear demonstration and proof of other things—and indeed of divine and supernatural things, and of the nature of the Most High and the nature above all. Thus, the honor of the image passes to the prototype not only in theological matters, but in all things whatsoever that are depicted, as has been shown. And if this is so, it would be most fitting, nay, owed by Christians, to offer to the images of Christ and the saints the veneration due as to those who are truly to be honored.

29. ^C But if the custom of representing things has been introduced even for simple and non-composite objects, and the significance and dignity of the image is such that it is observed even in the divine and ineffable nature, and is able to express and demonstrate the filial and physical relationship of the Son, by which He, essentially representing the Father, becomes intimate and joined to Him—why, pray, should it not be adopted most especially for these composite things, I mean for the composite person (hypostasis) of Christ? From this, the things of His saving advent to mankind will become more known and more familiar to us, who are composite and material and of a heavier nature, and therefore need material and sensible instruments suited to us, as being customary and most appropriate to us, for clearer instruction and for a guidance that leads us toward things that are above us. ^D And if this were not permitted, nor deemed proper by the illustrious leaders of the Church, they would have long since...

abrogated it. What do I say of veneration? They would not have decreed that an image should be represented in any way at all. ^A

30. But on the contrary, some of these men built sacred houses and crafted sacred treasures, in which it is evident that these images were imprinted or painted by them. While these things existed and were being made, they finished their whole life’s course. And already, those ancient, God-inspired Fathers who celebrated the sacred and holy sixth synod, taught us that the iconic image of Christ should be set up, and that the human form should be produced—as it is more in keeping with the truth—rather than the form of a lamb. ^B Ignoring all these things, these impious men flee to the leader of impiety, the ungodly Eusebius, and to others whom they have gathered to themselves as fathers, inflamed by the desires of their own wickedness. Having borrowed figments from the pestilence of the Manichaeans and Arians, and taking some parts and fragments of these, full of every abomination and impurity, and having long since excluded them from the assembly of the Church and from divine glory—those whom the sacred synods excommunicated, binding them with terrible anathemas, for thinking that Christ is at once uncircumscribed and alien and of a different substance from the Father (who begat him)— ^C yet we, besides what has been said, bringing forward the hierophant Cyril, the patron of our discourse and of the truth, let us see to what point this controversy of theirs about images will finally come. For I marvel if they do not give a bill of divorce to this holy man himself. For thus he speaks, explaining the divine Apostle’s Epistle to the Romans: "‘But regarding him who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, he says he was marked out as the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.’ For we also are marked out as sons, but not in power; rather, as a portion of grace, we are deemed worthy of this calling, and we gain this state solely by the will of God the Father. But the Emmanuel is far from being in this state, and is very far from it. ^D For even though he came from the seed of David according to the flesh, yet in power and truth he is the natural Son, through whom we also are made sons. For if it is true to say that, having been enriched by his Spirit through holy baptism, we then at last say without reproach: Abba, Father. Therefore, just as images are toward their archetypes, so we, being sons by adoption and grace, are toward him who is such by his own nature and power, and truly declared to be the Father by his own testimony."

31. We must therefore carefully consider that the example of the image is not brought forward here as it was in the preceding passage, in the way the Son relates to the Father, but rather how we, being sons by adoption and grace, [relate] to him

^A in demonstration of the manner in which we have been deemed worthy of adoption: that as images relate to their archetypes simply and indefinitely—not that this is an image of this person or of this dignity, such as royal [dignity] according to the preceding [arguments]—but how images relate to archetypes is shown by common notions and general intelligence, and it is agreed upon and confessed by all who are sane, since they possess the knowledge of these things naturally and self-evidently. Thus, therefore, are we who are sons by adoption [related] to the One who is Son by nature, and truth, and power; for every example is accepted as something universally agreed upon, so that from better-known and clearer things, those that are disputed and obscure may receive faith and assurance. Therefore, a dual manner of sonship is set forth here before the Father; for the one is, and is called, [Son] by nature and truth, who is kindred to God the Word—or perhaps it would be more accurately termed not adoption, but sonship; but the other is by adoption and grace, which is fittingly applied to us who have believed. How then does the latter relate to the former? As images, he says, relate to the archetype. For since we have borne the image of the earthly [man], says the apostolic oracle, let us also bear the image of the heavenly (1 Cor. xv. 49). This is what the blessed Cyril himself also clearly dictates in other places, saying: ^C «When the animal man declined toward wickedness, and because of an all-encompassing affection for flesh, was suffering from the disease of an adoptive sin, he cast off his conformation to the divine image and the Spirit inserted within him like a seal; and thus he appeared corruptible and disfigured. But after the Creator of all willed to restore to integrity and ancient beauty that which had once fallen, he sent back into him the divine and holy Spirit that had once departed, transforming him quite well toward the supramundane image, and being naturally able through him to reform us to his own likeness.» But that which is stronger than all these, the same teacher has said again, that the Son subsists in the form of God. And the sacred Word calls him the image and character of the One who begat him. And images [relate] as archetypes. What would they answer to these things? Would they not go away from here convicted and ashamed? For as much as concerns the rationale of theology, he has delivered that, saying that the Son is the image of the One who begat him, according to the dictum; but as much as pertains to the common and general manner ^D of images, he indicates this by the addition of words, using the plural number and saying, "And images [relate] as archetypes." Will these madmen take this expression also for the description of the divine nature, so that they may introduce several sons and fathers, and profess polytheism? For it does not say "image," but "images [are] as archetypes," pointing out...

in this the likeness and the relationship.

32 32. What is more manifest or evident than the question set before us? Unless, perhaps, the mind of these men is utterly blinded and the eye of their understanding darkened. What, then, will these men, strangers to divine adoption, say to this? Will they be able to close their eyes against such a bright and shining splendor of the truth? Will they oppose vain and abominable ravings belched out from their impure and God-detested heart? Do they accept these God-inspired words, or do they reject the teacher? If they do not accept them, their alienation from the flock of Christ follows at once. But if they do accept them, one of two things must necessarily follow: either they should confess with us the nature of images, as they relate to their archetypes, and on that account allow themselves to venerate with us the image of the Lord and of the saints; or they will be plainly cast out from the adoption which we have obtained through the Holy Spirit in the divine bath, and they will be classed with Jews and heathens, since they do not acknowledge the communion and relationship which the aforementioned images have with one another. For their baptism perishes for them, they cease to be in the image of the Creator; they will henceforth be fallen and cast out from the sacred flock of the children of Christ. This much profit the wretches have reaped for themselves from their injury against the sacred images. One may well marvel all the more at them for this reason: how far they have fallen into folly and madness, having a judgment of mind that is consistent with their impious deeds.

33. For they pretend and make a show of honoring the type of the cross; yet the fact itself, which is the saving passion of Christ, they in truth abolish. For how, according to their madness, could he have suffered or been crucified if he had assumed an uncircumscribed body? For what would there be on the cross to be nailed or pierced by nails? And where would the points of the spear have penetrated, if the body were not circumscribed? Does not the darkness of the phantom-doctrine here also pour itself over these pupils of unthinkable impiety? For why would they not be reprobate, who have a mind and soul darkened, speaking perverse things? For they do not know how to speak good things, being evil, and from the evil treasure of their heart they bring forth more evil things. Is, therefore, the impiety of these men not detected, in how the enemies of the cross of Christ pretend to venerate the cross, while they undermine and destroy the very type of the cross along with the sacred characters?

34. What then do they say, these men who utter wily and distorted words? "We adore the type of the cross, because of him who was extended upon it." But their madness and perversity is clearly manifest, in that they already loathe the type of the one who sanctifies,

^B yet at the same time they claim to honor it; and yet how, according to them, has it been sanctified, if the body of Christ has not suffered in truth? Against, therefore, such mania and mental derangement, it is not even appropriate to answer: "Do not answer a fool according to his folly," we are taught. But for the sake of the truth and consistency of the argument, and the persuasiveness of those who are more reasonable, we say these things: that first of all, we know and confess that all things in the Church of God are sacred and holy; and for this reason, they are held by us to be equally worthy of adoration and veneration, and honorable. There is nothing inglorious or ignoble among them, as we have said elsewhere. Nor is it permitted to us faithful, nor do the traditions of those who were leaders of our doctrine suggest, that we should make any distinctions or inquiries—what is first or second, or what is more or less honorable. For that entirely stems from the malice of the faithless and the impious: for instance, "If I adore this and not that, shall I be saved or not? Is this better than that?" This, indeed, is a proof of the extreme ignorance and lack of understanding of those who now seek such things. For what will they answer to the one who said: "If anyone keeps the whole law, but fails in one point, he has become guilty of all?" And these things concern legal acts, let alone our blameless and unadulterated faith. Therefore, we should not quarrel about these matters, since the divinely issued canons of the holy Fathers prescribe that holy things are to be honored with an equal degree of reverence.

^C 35. But on account of the contentious and shameless nature of the foolish, we have thought it necessary to reason about this matter with greater scrutiny; not that we are denying honor to either thing (both the cross and the image), but insofar as a certain excellence between them follows from the investigation, we shall define it in a brief discourse. We say, therefore, that we might begin from a similarity: 1) Since the image itself is of such a kind; the image of Christ is a likeness of him, and it resembles his body, and it describes and outlines for us the figure of his body, and proclaims his appearance, and as a rule signifies the mode of action, or teaching, or passion, by imitating it in most respects. The figure of the cross, however, is in no part similar to his body, nor does it demonstrate any of the things I have mentioned. But that which is similar to something is more near and kindred to it than that which is not similar, and it makes that thing better known on account of the likeness; and for this reason, the image of Christ is more honorable, inasmuch as it is more closely related and better known to him. Since, therefore, the figure of the cross is held by us in honor and veneration, the image of Christ will be more honorable and more venerable. II) Furthermore, the image of Christ, directly and immediately, and upon the very first encounter, indicates his appearance to us and brings him to memory, since we gaze upon the one who is depicted in the effigy itself as if in a mirror. But the cross does not do this...

for when we see the cross, we fix our mind first upon what appears. Then, we consider what it is, and we contemplate how it has been sanctified, and by whom; and thus, in a second sense, we pass over to the one who was crucified and who sanctified it. Therefore, that which first passes to something and first makes it known is more honorable than that which does so in the second place: the image of Christ, therefore, is truly more honorable than the holy cross.

Next, III) it is admitted by all who are in possession of their minds that that which sanctifies is better than that which is sanctified; for, the Apostolic text says, *Without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the better* ^B. If, therefore, the body of Christ sanctified the cross when it touched it and was fixed to it—and through it brought down sanctification upon us—while the cross was sanctified by him, and where the prototypes are more honorable, they [the images] themselves are also more honorable; since both are figures, and the figure of the sanctified cross is honorable, the figure of the body that sanctified the cross is therefore more honorable. ^C IV) Furthermore, the type of the stretching out of the hands and the figure of Christ are venerable; but by as much as a body differs from a form, by so much will those which proceed from them also differ; for where the archetypes are more honorable, those [images] themselves will also be in greater honor, since the figure exists for the sake of the body, and not, conversely, the body for the sake of the figure. And the body is indeed substance and subject, while the figure is an accident and a consequence; by as much, therefore, as substance is better than accident—or as much as the soul is better than knowledge—by so much does the body excel the figure. And a body is indeed something that is figured and is so called; but no one of sound mind would say that a figure is a body; for in this way, indeed, a body could be called something colored, but a body is not color, nor is color a body; those things, therefore, that belong to the body are more excellent than those that belong to the figure. And if this is the case, the type of the body is more honorable than the type of the figure.

V) Moreover, the cross presents to us the passion of Christ in a way that is simple and without variety; to the rustic and the uneducated, it can scarcely be understood to be a symbol of the passion. But the sacred images not only diversify the passion and describe it more subtly, but also express to us more broadly and clearly the miracles and wonders which Christ performed. Those things, therefore, which reveal these to us more plainly and clearly are more honorable and significant than those which declare them more obscurely. ^D VI) Furthermore, the cross is a symbol of the passion, and it hints at the manner in which he who suffered endured the passion; for what else does it mean to say: *Take up thy cross and follow me*?

or him who is fixed by the fear of the Lord and has renounced the vanities of the world, to be ready to endure anything whatsoever for the love that is in Him? Thus also he who bore the stigmata of Christ in his own flesh, and thought greatly of his passion, was zealous to say: *But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ* (Galat. vi, 14), ^A portraying to us through these words the crucifixion, that is to say, the passion of Christ. But the image of him who suffered is a vivid impression and likeness, and is more appropriate and more worthy of honor, as it portrays the person himself, rather than that which signifies the things external to and surrounding him. The image, therefore, which portrays Christ himself to us, is more worthy of honor than the cross, which demonstrates to us the mode of the passion.

VII) The name "Christ" is predicated homonymously of the image of Christ himself; for it is also called Christ, just as the king is, and the image of the king. But it is impossible for this to be predicated of the cross; for no one of sound mind would call the cross Christ in any way. Therefore, that which participates in the name itself, just as it participates in the form of the body, is more honored than that which participates in neither of these; the image, therefore, is more honorable than the figure of the cross. ^B VIII) The cause precedes the effect, and especially the efficient cause; and that which precedes anything is more honorable than that which it precedes. Since, therefore, the cause of the figure of the cross is the passion of Christ's body, and the body is the principal cause of the figure of the cross, it follows that the image of Christ's body, as the efficient cause of the figure of the cross, should be held more honorable. IX) Furthermore, that which is made for the sake of something else is inferior to that for which it was made. If, therefore, the cross was made for the sake of the Lord's body, it is necessary that in their figures also the figure of the cross bears the inferior part. For those things whose antecedents are lesser are themselves also lesser. It has been demonstrated, therefore, by many arguments that, even if the life-giving cross be held in honor, the image of Christ—as has been established by the arguments above—is more honorable; ^C wherefore he who professes to honor the cross will honor the image of the Lord also; but if he does not honor this, he will much less honor that.

Lastly, X) we see in many places the crucifixion of Christ depicted in an image, and as the convenience of the matter demands, which was done in that specific way: we see Christ hanging, and his hands extended and fixed with nails, by which the saving passion of Christ, more wondrous than all miracles and more fundamental than all other things by which we have been saved, is portrayed to us. What, then, will the enemies of the cross of Christ do here? It is necessary for them to do one of two things: either, while adoring the cross, to adore the image also, unless they wish their profession to be frustrated; or, while destroying the image, to destroy the cross at the same time. But those who... ^D

choose the latter ^A entirely cancel out both the cross itself and the whole economy of Christ at once, as if they were people who have no economy; and they publicly demonstrate the falsehood of their own pledge. For if there were even the slightest bit of truth in them, they ought first of all to have venerated the image as the efficient and productive cause of the cross. For whatever is said to exist by means of something else is less than that by which it is brought about. And if the cross is to be venerated, as indeed it is, then the image, which holds the status of having been the cause of this, is to be venerated even more. For the cross came into being because of the image, not the image because of the type of the cross; for as this was being drawn and fashioned first, the cross was drawn along with it, fashioned as a consequence by the posture of the upright body and the extension of both hands; it appears as a necessary and logical result of the shape of the body. Nor would anyone stray from the truth by saying that whoever portrays the image of the Lord in this way, even if he does not wish it, portrays the type of the cross along with it. How, then, is the madness and impiety of the Christ-haters not manifest to all? For they pretend to honor the cross as something venerable, while they thoroughly despise that which is ^B even more venerable; but they do not do this because they honor the cross (for who would believe that, since they have often cast it down, burned it, and trampled it under profane and unclean feet?), but so that they might not appear to be overturning all the religions of the Church from their foundations. In the meantime, they strive opportunely and inopportunely to remove the divine type of Christ from their midst, since Christ, even when seen in an image, is a burden to them. Just as if someone, wishing to diminish his natural ugliness, were to attempt to beautify himself with cosmetic embellishments, so they hold out the matter of the cross to us as a most respectable pretext.

36. But what more must be said about the type of the cross? They subject to insult and shameful dishonor the very prototypes, as one might call them, of the cross—the venerable woods, precious and life-giving, which are faithfully adored by us the faithful. For these things, which have been kept by Christians from ancient times in gold and silver cases—which are called phylacteries—and which we Christians wear, hanging them around our necks and letting them down onto our chests for the custody and protection of our life, and for the salvation of our souls and our bodies (for hence the name has been given to them as well, and we believe that we possess these for the healing of passions and the warding off of the assaults of unclean demons), these things, in which the passion of Christ and His miracles and life-giving resurrection are for the most part shown to be depicted, and an infinite number of these are found among Christians—what have these been judged to be by the unholy? Abominable ones...

^A and to be shunned: therefore, with these very precious woods, which they deliver to the fire, they show them to be worthless, base matter, devoid of any reason, through the crucible. They have been so foolish and darkened that those things which they ought to have embraced for the guarding and safety of their lives, these they have betrayed and destroyed; doing something similar as if someone possessed a most secure wall and a well-fortified stronghold, and then, neglectful of his own protection and safety, foolishly and most thoughtlessly tore it down, thereby presenting himself as easily captured by those plotting against him. What then is shown from this? That by the joint destruction of these holy things, the equal honor [due] to them is clearly recognized. How then, if these sacred things were to be shunned, did Christians from the beginning fit them together with the precious wooden beams, and construct them? It is worthy for the enemies of the cross of Christ ^B everywhere to be told that Christ, even when seen in an image, is a burden to them, and his memory is more troublesome and heavier to the same degree as it is to Jews and Greeks, among whom they themselves will be aptly enumerated.

37. "But," they say, "in the images of Christ, other things also are depicted from among the number of abominable and forbidden things, such as, in the image of the resurrection, Hades being trampled upon, and the devil being rendered powerless and cast down, and whatever is similar to these; and thus these are also silently worshipped. Wherefore it is not permitted to worship even the images of Christ." The fools are captured here also ^C in their own nets; for what they reproach us with, that same thing they show themselves also to believe. For they acknowledge, even against their will, that the honor of images passes to the prototypes. For if for this reason these things are rejected, how much more should divine things be honored, that the honor might ascend to the prototype. From this, therefore, anyone might very carefully conjecture that they are gradually unfolding their crooked and treacherous opinion regarding the cross of Christ—which they had hitherto hidden from many—and are revealing it to those who are a little sharper. For if they maintain their purpose, with God overlooking and permitting it, next, as is consistent and naturally follows from this opinion, they will announce that they will not even worship Christ crucified, since, in fact, thieves and wicked, unholy men were crucified together with him. But we indeed ^D are sober Christians, and have not been transformed into beasts like them. For we know what we worship. For we venerate the sacred things as holy, but we look upon and judge those base things as dead and trampled upon. For religious artists did not paint them together [with the holy] in order to surround them with honor, but to signify their miserable and immense ruin; looking upon which, we praise the Lord the conqueror; and for this reason we venerate his august image all the more, mindful of the signal benefits conferred upon us by him, and of the common salvation given to our race; and we marvel at his mighty works, and we praise his merciful condescension. Someone might perhaps say—conjecturing from the present state about the future—that they will eventually come to accuse the holy Scripture of the Gospels

of ^A mentioning demons and other wicked spirits; but it was not for these that it was written, but clearly on account of Him who wrought miracles, cast out demons, and cleansed diseases. Nor will the Gospel itself be worshipped together [with the images]; for our worship, even if it happens sensibly toward things that are sensible, namely the holy icons, yet from this we raise our veneration through intellectual energies toward the cause of these things, and these things are performed symbolically. Since our worship and service in spirit and in truth, according to the word of the Savior, takes place principally and truly; for we know what we worship. But they do not know what we worship, because they are ignorant of the great mystery of the divine ^B economy.

38. In addition, they say: "Before the passion and the resurrection of Christ, you circumscribe Christ; but what will you say after the resurrection?" For things are not in the same state; because from then on, the body of Christ is incorruptible and has attained immortality. Where, then, will your circumscription come in? And how will that be circumscribed which entered to the disciples when the doors were shut, and was hampered by no obstacle? Following the audacity of the Phantasiasts ^C shamefully, they even babble that the disciple did not touch the divine side with his hands, but only that what was ordered by the Savior was not brought to fruition. And for this reason, they claim that the body was neither seen in a body, nor was the body a body at all. Thus, for them, the things of the Gospels are unbelievable! But he who has doubts about these things will hear this first: by saying "He entered," you have solved the problem; for entirely to enter, and to go out, or to pass from here to there, is nothing other than a property ^D of circumscription. For that which is within the doors, and no longer exists outside, is entirely circumscribed. Thus, one might also see in the resurrection of the Savior, when the stone had been placed upon the tomb on which the seals had been set: for the body having risen, it was no longer also in the tomb; from which it is necessarily concluded that it was circumscribed. Moreover, that He rose from the dead, and entered when the doors were shut, and whatever else of this kind was performed, did not proceed by the law of a body, nor of our material and perishable nature. For even before the passion, the Savior was seen walking on the waves, raising the dead by the touch of His hand, and all the other wonders He performed through the body; and we by no means call these the properties of a body, nor do we say it happened without a body. For these were the operations of an effective and invincible power, to which all things yield; they had the character of a miracle, but they were not performed by a property inherent in the body. But when, after the resurrection, that body had become adorned with the beauty of incorruptibility, and was inviolable, and immune to all corruption and density, it acted according to the union of the nature hypostatically joined to it, from which it participated in supernatural gifts, performing things above the body, and as was fitting, things proper not simply to a body, but to a divine and incorruptible body.

^A The Savior was therefore seen thus naturally constituted, yet He did not move among all as before; but He revealed Himself to those worthy of such a vision, and showed the signs of the cross. The disciple confirms this to us, and we accept it willingly and faithfully, as he touches the divine side and cries out with a great and clear voice: *My Lord and my God!* 1 Likewise also the holy women, as they touched His most pure feet; and moreover, those who accompanied Him on the journey, and who experienced a burning heart, yet whose eyes were nevertheless restrained during their conversation, so that they did not recognize Him—which obstacle was soon removed at the breaking of the bread. He himself partook of food and drink, although His body was already incorruptible; He did this, however, not out of any need, but by way of condescension and for the sake of the economy, so that He might be believed to be the same, and the mystery of the resurrection might be held to be true and not a mere phantasm. But how could the divine disciples have seen Him taken from their midst and flying sublimely into the heavens, and becoming the co-assessor of the Father's glory, and destined to come again in the same way, according to the voice of the supermundane powers accompanying Him, if His body were not circumscribable? Or what, indeed, did the great Stephen, first and strongest among martyrs, see in the midst of his contest, not long after the Savior's ascent into heaven; what, I ask, did he see, as it behooved one to see who was full of such grace, and [who saw] insofar as it could supernaturally touch a man born of earth? Did he not behold Him, in the same form as He had previously borne among us, standing at the right hand of the Father's glory? For how else could he have said: *I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God?* 2 We are clearly taught these things also by the sentiments of the divine Fathers, which we shall recount later; even if the calumniators of the truth and the Gospel disbelieve, and virtually drive away Christ Himself as He shows flesh and bones to the disciples—since they thought they saw a spirit, and will believe all these things to have been done apart from a body. But we, proclaiming the truth of these matters, say that by the same manner of condescension that He accomplished the humanization, by that same [manner] He is also circumscribed, so that through sight the truth might be made known to us.

39. How then have some things been changed—for the mortal has become immortal, the corruptible has appeared incorruptible, and the passible has passed into impassibility—but the circumscribable has not become uncircumscribable? We say, therefore, that from the beginning the Creator formed and composed together in human nature such things as: the intellectual power, the rational, the sensory, and also the appetitive—and more excellently, what is called free will—and anything else of this kind. Man was taken from the earth and fashioned corporally, and he became a body which by necessity was entirely visible, tangible, and circumscribable; and no one possessed of a sound mind would say that a body is uncircumscribable.

1 John xx, 28. 2 Acts vii, 55.

^A These things have come about after creation, and are as it were superadded, having been introduced because of the violation of the Creator's commandment. For when man was first fashioned, if indeed he had lived according to the judgment of the One who fashioned him, life had been adjudged to him, yet so that with the law laid down, the choice of his own will remained free, namely that either by observing it he would obtain the highest blessedness, equal to that of the angels; or by neglecting it, he would be consigned to the worst and most wretched lot. This latter, having chosen through the deception of the serpent, he immediately and naturally underwent corruption and mortality, and the remaining swarm of countless passions was introduced into him. For corruption and death were not created together with the first-formed man; otherwise, he would not have needed the tree of life, which flourished in the midst of Paradise. The Lord of his own creation, therefore, ^B out of an abundance of loving-kindness and ineffable mercy, wishing to deliver the nature subjected to death from corruption and to restore it to its original happiness, did not refuse to take on such a body as the condemned man was seen to have, and as we all have who have shared in the same condemnation, which is undoubtedly mortal and corruptible. But being a body, it would not be free from circumscription as long as it is a body. Then, having experienced physical death, to which he was not otherwise subject, he paid the debt on our behalf, in order that he might heal in himself the transgression made in Adam, and by restoring the loss of nature, might raise up the one who had fallen; since "he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth," ^C he neutralized death and abolished corruption, being indeed by nature truly life and the fountain of immortality, having been seen to be superior to death and corruption. For his flesh did not see corruption, which was swallowed up into victory and destroyed by the Conqueror of the world; but the flesh was preserved by the superior and all-powerful power of the Word, even though by its own nature it was prone to corruption. Then he rose on the third day, and having cleansed away through himself all the defilements and stains that had attacked nature from sin, he wiped them clean, having become as it were the first-fruits and pledge of the lump of our humanity, thus proving his own work to be brilliant and devoid of every blemish, and bestowing the boastings of his own glory. ^D For in this way, by being baptized, he accomplished our cleansing, he who is beyond all purity. And this would have been possessed even of old, if man, created from the beginning, had kept the commandment of the Creator; for he had been led forward by the Creator toward immortality and the transition to better things.

These things our teachers instruct us. For the divine Apostle said somewhere: "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, and thus death passed upon all men." These things the wise sayings of certain ancients also contain, according to which it is written...

that God did not make death, but He created all things that they might exist; and the origins of the world are salutary, and there is no medicine of destruction in them. And, that God created man for incorruptibility, but by the envy of the devil death entered into the world. To these things the voices of the teachers of our religion, the holy initiates, also agree and proclaim; and thus, that which required greater confirmation has in fact obtained it. For it was not fitting for the body to become incorporeal, so that it might also be uncircumscribed, since man was not created without a body; nor did the body accrue to him later on account of sin; otherwise, neither man would have existed, nor would there have been transgression. For in what else was sin committed, if not in the affections of the body, which had already entered into it on account of the instilled sin? Therefore, nature is renewed in Christ and is saved. And the body which God assumed is altogether deified, having been transformed for the better and crowned with ineffable adornments; and it was thenceforth spiritual, and transcending all material and earthly density. And it did not on that account cease to be a body, but remained a body, of whatever sort it might happen to be, and certainly circumscribed. For circumscription does not come from without, nor from sin, as corruption and other passions have entered in, but it is indigenous to the body, and, if I may so say, this is the body’s circumstance, and its own limit and definition. For if one should define the body as consisting of a triple quality, or as physical, organic, living by an inner virtue; or as figured and ^C encompassed by limits, which are all properties of our own body, he would signify nothing other than that it is circumscribed.

After, therefore, the resurrection from the dead, the body of Christ, although it appeared altogether most God-like, nevertheless remained a body; for it has not been transformed into the substance of the Deity. For the verse, that Christ is no longer known according to the flesh, does not suggest to us the cessation or the laying aside of the body—for these are hallucinations of the Manichaeans—but that He is exempt from bodily necessities and has exceeded carnal affections and our own infirmity, such as the fatigue from the journey, thirst and hunger and fear, and if there is anything else of this kind. "For it is no longer flesh, yet it is not incorporeal, but of the kind He Himself knows, in the manner of a deified body," as the great Gregory proclaims. Then, "That this corruptible must put on incorruptibility, and the mortal become immortal," the great Apostle teaches. But for a body to put on incorporeality, or for the created to become uncreated, or for the circumscribed to be changed into uncircumscription, has not yet been heard of until this day.

These are partly attributes of incorporeal beings as well, because angels are also creatures of God, and insofar as they had a beginning, they are circumscribed by time.

^A It must be said, therefore, as the religion of Christians professes, or rather as the doctrine of the Catholic and Apostolic Church teaches, that Christ our God, after his ascension into the heavens and his sitting and settlement at the right hand of God the Father, has preserved the nature he assumed undiminished, and has cast away no part of the integrity of the sum; for the same body is preserved in him, as well as the soul by which it is animated, rational and intellectual, volitional and active, by which he wills and carries out the providence and conservation of all things, as divinely so also humanly; he has become an advocate for us before the Father, administering our salvation and the provision of things useful to us. Moreover, that most holy and divine soul retains the memory of all things which Christ, while dwelling on earth, did and suffered for our salvation; and it knows that it is ^B hypostatically united to the divine Word, and sees that it is co-worshipped with him as the soul of God, and not simply as a soul, by every rational and intellectual creature. It knows also that it has ascended from earth to heaven, and that it will come again with the majesty of the Father. Therefore, to ascend into the heavens and to return again, which describes a complete local translation and exhibits ambulatory motion—these, I say, are known to be the operations of a circumscribed body. But when we say that Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father with his body, we do not think of the right side of a place; for the uncircumscribed Father will never have the appearance of a right or left side; but we confess the glory and honor by which the Word, as the Son of God and God before the ages, and consubstantial with the Father, is in such wise honored and glorified also with the flesh, ^C and receives one and the same adoration with the body from all, since there is one hypostasis. Let the tongues of the Christ-haters be turned to ashes, and their hearts be dried up! And let every mouth speaking iniquitous things against the truth, which is clearly set forth to all, be stopped!

40. Furthermore, they add to what has been said: "It is written: Thou shalt not make any likeness of those things which are in the heaven above, or those things which are in the earth below, or those things which are in the waters beneath the earth." And for this reason it is not lawful to depict Christ. But as to these sayings, the preceding and following ones—the, "There shall be no other gods for thee besides me"; and, "Thou shalt not make for thyself an idol"; and the, "Thou shalt not worship them, nor shalt thou serve them" ^D — I do not know how they, by suppressing them, willingly or unwillingly conceal them, perhaps fleeing the charges of blasphemy. Nevertheless, they are found guilty of equal blasphemy in this way as well. For because the fear of God has ceased from before their eyes,

and because reverence and devotion toward our holy and immaculate faith have been cast off, they do not tremble to rank the image of Christ comparatively with the images of heavenly, earthly, and marine things, establishing no difference between the image of the Lord and Creator and the images of creatures and servants. But let them wrangle as they wish. We, however, respond to such impious enemies that these things were indeed commanded to the ancient Jews. (For it is expedient to argue in this way also with the new Jews.) For the Israelites had recently escaped the Egyptian impiety by divine nod and not without unheard-of prodigies. Furthermore, the false worship of the Egyptians surpassed the superstition of all nations; ^B raised in their customs, the Hebrews had spent that long time of servitude.

But God provided for the freedom and safety of the migrating people, on account of the promises made to their fathers. Therefore, leading them away from that irreligion and profanity in a manner worthy of God, and converting them to the knowledge and worship of Himself, He promulgated those commands so that they might acknowledge Him alone as the God and Lord of all, and offer Him the fitting worship, and-not remembering their former habits—might not choose to return to the land addicted to idols. Yet they, in their madness, having forgotten those awe-inspiring miracles and the extraordinary wonders they had seen—shortly after they had departed from there—fashioned a calf for themselves in the desert. ^C The law therefore forbade them to make an image of any forbidden thing: namely, of things in heaven—the sun, and the moon, and the rest of the host of stars along with them; and of things on earth—beasts of burden, wild animals, creeping things, birds, and monsters, and all those that dwell in the waters, swimming in the sea and rivers; all of which they knew to be worshipped and adored by those living in the barbarian region. For men, ignorant of Him who is truly the universal God, and beguiled by the fraud of the malignant demon, impiously served the creature in place of the Creator: for which crime, many years later, God reproved them through...

[(51)] For the Egyptians considered all the idols of the nations to be gods, but they even worshipped the most loathsome animals. And how these are most loathsome, he himself shows: for when compared with folly, they are worse than others. For every irrational animal is also mindless; but when compared with the things worshipped by the Egyptians, being so cheap, they surpassed the other animals in ignorance and senselessness. Nay, they are found to be worse than the others when compared according to folly. And not only are they worse in this way, but they are not even worthy of desire in as much as they appear to be animals. For many animals, even if they happen to be cheap, yet delight the sight, being of various colors, and beautiful to behold. But those are not such; they are hideous, as it seems, and altogether painful to the sight, etc. Because of this, the Egyptians, by worshipping these things, were justly punished by similar things; the land became full of mice and frogs, and they were tormented by a multitude of swarming creatures and cheap animals. ^D For the Egyptians did not hold the idols of the heathen as gods, but worshipped detestable animals. How these were detestable, he himself demonstrates, saying: *For even being compared to these, they are worse than the rest.* For every irrational animal is likewise devoid of mind. Furthermore, the things the Egyptians worshipped were so vile that they surpassed the other animals in ineptitude and stupidity. They are certainly found to be worse than the others if we look at their madness; and not only worse, but not even worthy of any affection, in as much as they bear the shape of animals. For many animals, although vile in themselves, still delight [the eye] when seen, with their color and variety, and exhibit a beautiful appearance. But in Egypt, the worshipped beasts are of a foul kind, and altogether sadden the spectators, etc. Therefore, he says, the Egyptians, the worshippers of these, were justly punished by similar monsters; the earth swarmed with flies and frogs, and they suffered a grievous punishment from the multitude of serpents and the sight of foul animals. Juvenal, Theophilus, Lactantius, Jerome, Cyril, and other authors everywhere at times mockingly deride, at times detest, this foolish Egyptian worship; that this is done by them with good reason, the paintings on papyrus demonstrate, which, when I look at them (for Europe already abounds to nausea with these near-trifles), I look in vain for that noble and much-extolled wisdom of the Egyptians.

^A God subsequently reproves them via the prophetic voice, saying: “I am the Lord thy God, who established the heaven and founded the earth, whose hands have created all the host of heaven; and I have not shown you that you should go after them. I brought you out of the land of Egypt, and thou shalt acknowledge no God beyond me, and there is no one who saves besides me.” By these words, He brings back to their memory the commandments imposed upon them of old. Therefore, He forbids them for the time being from making likenesses of the things that appear and are seen in heaven, on earth, and in the waters, lest, out of ignorance of the better or disregard for the Creator, they might offer worship to them.

^B The command given, that “thou shalt not make this,” implies and covers by way of omission, in a sense, a prediction of what will be commanded in the future. For the word suggests something of this sort to us: he who says, “Thou shalt not make a likeness of these things,” gives notice by his word of the making of other things, and confirms those things whose time for being commanded had not yet come, ordering them, as it were, by saying, “Thou shalt make a likeness of nothing which I have not commanded; but abstaining from the foreign worships which I hate and turn away from, attend to those which, in time, I shall prescribe, in which I rejoice and am glorified.” For first, by withdrawing them from the things prohibited by the Law, He then introduces the building of the tabernacle. It is much like someone who, wishing to command or entrust some duty to one of his servants, gives a warning: “Today, do not do this, and do not go anywhere, for instance, do not go out to the field, and do not hang about the market.” ^C For he wants that servant to be unoccupied and ready for the things that are to be commanded later, since it is going to happen that, on the next day, he will send him into this city or that region. This present word suggests something of this same sort for us to consider—namely: “You shall do nothing without my command, so that you may do and observe those things which I myself shall eventually ordain.” After this, God indeed commands the hierophant to perform the construction of the tabernacle and everything pertaining to it. There was, for instance, the fabrication of the curtains, which had cherubim woven into them with Phrygian workmanship; and as for what was to be placed above the ark, what does he say? “You shall make golden, turned cherubim.” And he does not even call them images of cherubim, ^D but simply cherubim, by the very same name by which those august and supramundane substances are denoted. But what is more glorious or venerable than the cherubim, from whence divine manifestation occurred? Certainly, they were so glorious, and were spoken of, along with the other things placed in the tabernacle, that they were held in honor not only by Moses and the Jews of that time, but even by Paul himself, the herald of grace. For he religiously calls them the “cherubim of glory shadowing the mercy seat,” of which we have spoken more extensively in another place. Besides what has been said, also elsewhere according to the

^A sacred and ancient laws, those who wish to inquire more curiously will discover that other things have been handed down with a similar scope and manner, in which the making of things belonging to others and dedicated to the destructive demon is forbidden to the people of Israel, because these things were to be shunned and were most abominable; but whatever offerings were to be made to God were in every way commanded. For thus it is written in Leviticus: “You shall not make for yourselves handmade things, nor graven things, nor shall you raise up a pillar, nor shall you set up a stone of sight in your land, to worship it. For I am the Lord your God.” And who is so dull as to doubt that these things are in harmony with those words: “You shall not make any likeness of the things forbidden” in the previously cited laws, by which the people newly instructed in piety were deterred?

In Deuteronomy, however, ^B regarding things to be consecrated to God, these commands are given: “On the day when you cross the Jordan into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall set up for yourself two great stones, and you shall whiten them with lime, and you shall write upon these stones all the words of this law.” Then a little later: “And you shall build there an altar of stones; you shall not lay iron upon them; with whole stones you shall build the altar to the Lord your God, and you shall offer upon them the burnt offerings to the Lord your God, and you shall place there the altar to the Lord your God.” And further on yet: “And you shall write upon these stones all this law most clearly.” That these things are the same as that, “You shall make the tabernacle and the furnishings of the tabernacle,” I think no prudent man would contradict. Elsewhere also, regarding the religious observances of the Gentiles, it ^C was again ordained thus: “Beware that you never enter into a covenant with the inhabitants of the region into which you are about to enter, lest it become a stumbling-block for you. You shall overturn their altars, and break their pillars, and cut down their groves, and burn with fire the graven images of their gods; for you shall not serve any other god.”

Yet, after these commands, the son of Nave, Joshua, nevertheless commanded that eight-fold stones, equal in number to the tribes of Israel, be taken after the crossing of the Jordan, by the divine will, not ignoble or to be despised, but such as would be notable and conspicuous; “so that they may be for you,” he says, “a sign placed there, and that they may be a witness to future ages, signifying the greatness of the wonders ^D wrought in this place by the divine will for your sake, and preserving the memory of them through the ages.” But further, Moses himself was commanded to polish stone tablets to receive the law of God; and what is there to say regarding how honorable these were and with how much glory they were adorned? To which it is said the Lord descended, in whatever way the descent of the Lord is eventually to be understood. Whence also the face of Moses was illuminated, so much so that it became no longer accessible to those beholding it. For there it was necessary to carve the work that had been written upon the former tablets, just as those had been which the finger of God had written upon the mountain; of which

^A the lawgiver, judging the lawless and turbulent people unworthy to receive them, cast them from his hands and shattered them. Furthermore, it was commanded that an altar be raised to God from earth or from unhewn stones, upon which the law ordered burnt offerings to be presented. What, moreover, did the great Isaiah cry out with a loud voice, instructed by the Spirit? *In that day there shall be an altar to the Lord in the land of the Egyptians, and a pillar by its border to the Lord.*

But having arrived at this point, it is worth considering what these things might signify for us. We say, therefore, that because the Egyptians were of old the most impious of the impious, and servants of unclean demons, having been ignorant of the God who is by nature and in truth—for ^B they set up various likenesses of men, and indeed also of irrational beasts, and in their folly worshipped them as gods—the divine prophet, seeing with the pure eyes of his intellect what things would be brought to them once our common Savior, Christ, appeared upon the earth, says that when the divine and evangelical preaching has flourished, the light of the knowledge of God will shine upon them. And those polluted things will all be taken away and disappear, but there will be introduced and raised up divine altars and holy shrines, in which the sign of the life-giving cross and the godlike character ^C of the immaculate body of Christ will be set up to shine, adorning and crowning these places; and indeed, for them the aforementioned things have already come to pass in happiness. As, then, wood has succeeded wood, shrine shrine, and sacrifices sacrifices, and our holy things have arisen in place of all those unclean and abominable things, so in place of those vain and defiled pillars, so that it might fit the prophetic oracles more closely and naturally, the most holy monuments of the Savior—that is, his adorable images, together with other holy objects—now abound, multiplied and honored throughout all Egypt, ^D just as throughout the entire world. Thus, therefore, have the holy men who commentate on these things from the God-bearing prophet understood the aforementioned words.

Thence our discourse turns to more ancient times, that we might observe what the patriarch Jacob did when he was departing for Charran: how, as the sun was setting, he turned to sleep, and taking a stone from the place where he had happened to be, he placed it at his head, where he beheld the vision of his dreams. And then, waking from sleep, he said that the Lord was in that place, and he had not known it; and he called it awesome, and imagined it to be the house of God and the gate of heaven; and indeed

having set up the stone as a pillar, he poured oil upon its top. Does God then reject these things, as it seems to those most profane? By no means; indeed, he accepts them even most willingly; and this is clear from what he later declared to him: "For I have seen," he says, "all that Laban does to you. I am the Lord thy God, who appeared to you in the place of God, where you anointed a pillar for me there, and made a vow to me." To these things, what does our great ^A high priest Gregory say? "Jacob envisioned a certain ladder, and the ascent of angels, and he anointeth a stone mystically—perhaps so that he might signify the stone anointed for our sake—and he called that place the vision of God, in honor of him who had appeared." And all the other praises he pursues there. Do these things not make it clear to anyone, that the very same material of stones, according to the diversity of the oracles, is sometimes pleasing and honorable to God, and sometimes, when applied to contrary purposes, is to be avoided and detested?

As for what manner and how great were the things that Solomon’s wisdom and power produced, and what forms of incorporeal beings that famous temple contained, we leave these to those who wish to investigate them studiously, since we have also treated them more subtly elsewhere. Furthermore, whatever things were seen and revealed to the divine Ezekiel, and made manifest by divine oracle, are also clear. For there were Seraphim and palm trees graven around the walls of the temple described and shown, and around the vestibules—things which, according to those truthful visions, were fashioned and prefigured; in which he also saw the Holy of Holies, and the house full of the glory of the Lord, at which time he also fell down prostrate. And he heard a most grave cry against the house of Israel that provoked him, that they should desist without delay from their iniquities, and from every act by which they were violating the law of the Lord and profaning His holy things; just as we see being done today by those impious ones who ^B sin still more bitterly, and harm things holier than those holy things.

From all these things it is concluded that not everything that is written concerning such legal prescriptions is to be rejected absolutely, nor is everything in turn to be accepted; for neither is everything profane and despicable, nor is everything again holy and venerable; but what things are so, and for what cause, an oracle revealed from above to Gideon, chosen as judge over Israel, will teach more clearly. For he was given a mandate to destroy the ancestral altar of Baal and its grove, and to build another to God, and to offer sacrifices of calves using the wood of the chopped-down grove. In the same way, we also, having received a more divine and more venerable law, if we should discover any religious rite alien to our belief—such as those among the Jews, if it should happen, or among the barbarians—it is necessary, using all diligence, to destroy it as something alien, as an abominable and detestable thing. But those things which favor the glory of God, and ^C [the] salutary...

who use them, [I say] that it is necessary to tear them down as foreign. But as for things which pertain to the glory of God and are set forth for the manifestation of the saving dispensation, since they differ to us, we judge them worthy of veneration and honor; they are not, as with the profane, impiously spurned and insulted. For these people, confounding and mixing everything together, do not desire to distinguish the unclean from the clean, nor the holy from the profane. For "wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul" (Wis. 1:4). There exists a necessity for them: either, because of that [negative commandment], "You shall not make any image," they must reject all things dear and proper to God, or, because of the [commandment that says] "You shall make," they must adore and embrace all the customs of the atheists and infidels—[doing so] without any soundness of opinion or judgment. Or finally, [they must]—what is both proper and pleasant to them—obliterate the entire Old and New Law, obeying their own masters.

^A 41. "Then," they say, "let it be granted that these things are so, but where has it been legislated for you in this matter to make an image of God?" To this perverse and foolish inquiry, we respond thus: First, that you appear to be raising this question as a veil to cover your own infidelity and impiety; not that you seem to be saying anything worthwhile about God, but that you might slander the divine dispensation of the Savior. For you have no regard here for the doctrine of the Incarnation. Furthermore, the absurdity and total madness of your position is proven by these things. In vain do you reproach Christians and, with disdain, attach a title to a matter which neither they themselves have imagined, nor you yourselves have ever heard, as if they claimed to depict the simple God, stripped of flesh. For who among those who share in a rational nature does not clearly confess that to make an image of God, [inasmuch] as He is God, is truly impossible and a vain undertaking? Since the Divinity is neither visible nor comprehensible—"for no man has seen God at any time" (John 1:18). ^B Consequently, neither did Moses himself, who was a minister of the divine laws, although seized by an ardent desire for the divine manifestation, behold anything other than the glory of God, which was shown to him when the glorious God passed by—and that, while he was enclosed within the rock, seeing only the back parts of God: perhaps being instructed in the types of the future manifestation in the flesh. For what does the divine oracle say? "Man shall not see my face, and live" (Exod. 33:20). And have we not read how, in the time of the ancients, God rebuked through the voice of the great Isaiah those who had inscribed the uncommunicable name of the God who has authority over all upon the idols worshipped by them, and who bestowed upon them the worship due to God alone, saying, "To whom have you likened the Lord, and by what likeness have you compared him? Has the craftsman made an image, or the goldsmith, having melted gold, gilded it?" (Isa. 46:5). And most justly does He threaten those who have dared to commit such unlawful acts. For it is not permitted to think that there is anything among created things to which God can be likened, whether by nature, or glory, or power, or any other thing. "For my glory," He says, "I will not give to another, nor my virtues to the carved images" (Isa. 42:8). For [to what]...

^A can He who is invisible to all, and beyond all mind and all comprehension, be likened? To what hand-wrought images, or human sophistries and devices artfully contrived, shall He be compared?

For Christians to know these things and be well-versed in divine matters, having a sound apprehension concerning the ineffable and unutterable nature, it would be the mark of a madman to think they wish to figure the divine nature. To you, therefore, who are defenders of unbelief and the new Judaism, the words "No man has seen God at any time" are always ready and on your lips. Yet the words "We have seen the Lord" (John 20:18), and that we ate and drank with Him (Acts 10:41), and all other things ^B that have been proclaimed to us as befitting His supreme condescension—when these are recited to you, you in no way endure to hear them or believe them, but reject them as a foreign and jarring voice. But if we may be permitted to ask, we pray you: give an answer. Where has it been ordained for you, whether by legal precepts, or by evangelical teaching, or by apostolic instruction, to confess Christ as uncircumscribable, insofar as He has appeared among us as man? And neither to make an image of Him nor to venerate it, as you now dogmatize? Surely you would not be able to say this, nor to demonstrate it by any argument; so that the poverty of arguments that presses upon you results in the abundance of our victory.

Even if the tradition of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, constant from of old and from the beginning—which is the most valid and secure argument of all—were not established for you, and [even if] there were not the apostolic and Patristic voices which command us to hold to the traditions, whether written or unwritten (since equal force is seen in both kinds of tradition), ^C yet among two ambiguous things, that which is more religious and closer to faith and love toward Christ—which godly zeal and fervent affection inspire—ought entirely to prevail. But if, on both sides, there stands a superior and better reason on behalf of the Church of Christ, then we indeed carry off the victory by a long interval. Since, therefore, it is impossible and beyond our strength to comprehend God with the mind, it is certainly beyond all art and even more impossible to figure Him, because to assimilate the nature of God, when no species or form underlies it, is contrary to nature. For to what exemplar looking would an artist make an image? But now, because we know God to have been corporeally and truly made flesh, there is set before those who wish to act piously the form for imitation, which He who forms the image ^D of the servant has assumed. For if that which is invisible and truly without form, being incomprehensible, is like nothing and cannot be painted, it is necessary to confess that whatever is conformed and visible, being comprehensible, can be delineated and assimilated; and that we do not wait for a command to figure this. For it is not the custom of the faithful to do nothing unless it is commanded. They are wont rather to contribute some things of their own accord, whatever [is dear] to the fervent...

and those more eager for godliness and piety; for how else would their fidelity be manifest?

42. Now, if anyone should seek a law to command by word what is accomplished by deed, it is more secure for the sake of credibility; and to those who are piously disposed toward divine things, what is said will not be unbelievable. For it is recorded that Abgar, king of the Edessenes, struck by the miraculous deeds performed by Christ, and drawn by great longing, at least to behold Him in an image, dispatched a painter ^B so that, having depicted that divine form, he might bring it to him as quickly as possible. And when the painter failed in his purpose, because of the exceeding grace and splendor of [that] face, they say that Christ, having applied a linen cloth to His own face, impressed upon it His own likeness and sent the object of [the king’s] desire to the lover.

43. Moreover, it is recorded that when our Savior Christ, who is Lord of all, was born in Bethlehem, he who at that time held the scepter of the Persian nation dispatched an excellent painter there, who, having depicted the image of the born Child and His mother, brought it to him. Let the unbelieving ^C heart take note! Will it not even believe the Persians [who] undertook such a journey, bringing as was fitting gifts to the newborn king, led by a star—a thing which indeed was fearsome and cast them into manifest danger, to proclaim openly a king born in a land foreign to them? But if not all things are written down according to the evangelical history, not all things are incredible on that account; for neither are the other signs which Jesus performed to be denied, since they were so many that not even the world could contain them if they were written down one by one, as the great evangelist John says because they were not inscribed. Concerning, then, the invisible ^D and supersubstantial and incomprehensible nature, and that of which it is said it is impossible to make an image—that "You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form," and, "No man has seen God at any time," nor has any man seen [Him], nor can [anyone] see [Him]—[it is so] because it is thus, and is neither seen nor heard, but is removed from every form and every sound; and indeed also because He will not hunger nor will He toil: "There is no searching of His understanding." But concerning the appearing of the Word in the flesh, [it is said]: "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin," and, "They have seen and hated both Me and Him who sent Me." What, then, do the divine disciples say? "That which was from the beginning, which we have seen and our hands have touched concerning the Word of life." And that "We have seen the Lord, with whom we ate and drank," which happened after His resurrection from the dead; but He also toiled and hungered and thirsted by the law of the body. "God sent forth His Son, made of a woman." And God appeared in the flesh, and suffered in that which He assumed.

And He arose, renewing the nature that had grown old through sin.

44. Thus, then, we also—since He, the same, was made like unto us in all things, sin apart, according to that life-giving and most holy form which appeared—we fashion and represent and faithfully and God-befittingly worship the likenesses, as the divinely inspired custom, handed down to us from above in the Church, loudly proclaims. Why, then, are these likenesses not to be worshipped and honored? Because of the time, they say, for the veneration of these was not demonstrated from the beginning. Yet if you say that images are not to be worshipped because of the time, we on the contrary contend that they are to be worshipped all the more for this very reason. ^B For the Manichaeans and Arians, who were the leaders of these present-day dogmatizers, seeing that these were made from the beginning, exerted themselves to abolish them and castigated those who worshipped them—that is, religious men—and subscribed to their condemnation. The books which their priests hold in their hands are witnesses. But if they do not yield to their own masters, nor to our heralds of the truth, nor do they admit what they see with their own eyes, it is clear among whom they are to be numbered. But even if, upon hearing these things, these profane men close their mouths, they nevertheless do not abandon their impudent opinion, but add other things even more irrational and insane to these.

45. For when one of the pious addresses them and says that it is ^C right that divine symbols be honored, since, being placed in sacred houses, they are sacred; and likewise those which have been set forth upon the divine table or elsewhere in the sanctuary, woven into linens or depicted on other materials, were from the beginning produced by Christians as holy and entitled to be worshipped together with them; what do they say, who do not wish to distinguish between the holy and the polluted? "We see," they say, "images of wild beasts and cattle and birds and other animals in these pictures; and we honor the sacred things as sacred, but we do not honor these because of them. Thus, even if we see an image of Christ, we worship the holy thing, not the image; and therefore, the image is not to be worshipped outside of these." But one might say that the same logic is not observed in all cases. For the forms of other animals were not created primarily to be brought to the altar and worshipped, but for the sake of ^D the decoration and adornment of the linens into which they were woven. Then, it happened through religious pressure and the zeal of the pious for the divine houses that these were offered like a sacred votive gift. Yet when someone honors a sacred thing, he does not do so thinking of the beast or the wild animal; for he knows that no profit is to be derived from them, but, intent on honoring the sacred object, he bestows nothing upon those animal forms beyond the sight of them. But the case of the holy images is not so. Why? Because, since they are holy in themselves, and [their] memory...

proceeds from the holy archetypes, they are adored together with the holy things as being holy, and they will be held in honor not only along with them but even outside of the holy houses. But you, while you adore the images of the donkey, the dog, and the pig in the temple, do you not feel disgust, yet you rejoice at burning the image of Christ along with the temple itself? And do you not shudder at daring such things, showing that you inscribe for yourself the name of Christian in vain? What, then, would those who are maimed in their minds and deprived of their intellectual faculty say regarding the sacred carvings in the chancels, and those which are called the soleae, and those on the columns and the doorways themselves, and finally those placed before the divine altar? Have Christians constructed these for the sake of adornment and display, or rather by fitting the proper things to the proper places? knowing, clearly, that these places are places of worship, and that they fashioned them there for the sake of being worshiped. ^B

46. But the prophetic word long ago most rightly censured the folly and insanity of these men, proclaiming that *God gave to them eyes not to see, and ears not to hear, that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.* And: *Their mind was thickened, and they were darkened and made foolish in their reasonings.* They seek out inquiries, concerning which there has never been any investigation or doubt among Christians; and while the truth is so clear and publicized in all the world under the sun, these fools fight against their own eyes and against the very evidence, and they seek demonstrations of things seen and brought before their eyes. They do the same thing as if someone, seeing the sun recently rising from the eastern bounds and scattering the rays of its beams in every direction, were still to doubt whether day were present; or as if someone navigating the sea or crossing a river were to demand a demonstration for his crossing, and to dispute whether perhaps there is water in the sea and in the river—things which not even those who are altogether bereft of ^C this light would question, nor would those who suffer from a drunken headache and are overcome by it, even if they often think that things standing still and not moving at all are swirling in a circle. These men, drunk with the wine of unbelief, and having lulled their souls to sleep with material passions, as if being dragged down, and being made captive by worldly things, have suffered things more miserable and more grievous than anyone else, and with deceptive opinions and carnal pleasures.

47. Adding a little more to what has been said, for the examination of the argument, we might know whether, indeed, the name of Christianity is appropriately attributed to them. For we all know that just as the image of Christ, through derivation, possesses both the form of Christ and bears that very designation, so also the Christian, as if from the prototype of the name of Christ, has obtained both the calling and ^D the customs which distinguish him or...

^A in as far as it is possible to demonstrate them through imitation and conduct. Since both proceed from one principle and root, namely Christ, they preserve a communion and relationship with one another; and although in substance and in the mode of existence they are seen to differ from one another, nevertheless they share the same name, and the designation of Christ is predicated of both equivocally. If, therefore, such communion and the same order is preserved by them toward their fellow, and the honor toward what is similarly named is distributed, then let the name of Christian be assigned to them as well. But if they perform the exact opposite of these things, and fill both Christ’s name and those things which are viewed as homonymous and in the same relationship to themselves with all disgrace and ignominy, how can they participate in the calling of Christians?

48. That the destruction of the archetype also comes about through them is made intelligible by the sequence of reasoning and the intent of the things that are seen. ^B For the rejection and repudiation of what is coordinate and homonymous tears apart their union and the communion of the name. For they experience something similar to what would happen if the case of two children were being examined to see whether they were begotten by the same father—of whom one, preserving his paternal lineaments unharmed and bearing an indelible resemblance to his progenitor, might reasonably be judged the most legitimate, while the other, retaining nothing of these, might reasonably be judged a bastard and a stranger. Therefore, these men too will rightly be deemed bastard Christians, and cast out from the inheritance and sheepfold of Christ. For they claim for themselves in vain a name that in no way pertains to them; but for the destruction of the economy of Christ, or rather for the ruin of their own souls, they hold up the plausible term of "uncircumscribed."

49. What then will they declare regarding the other holy depictions, both of the all-holy Virgin and Mother of God herself, and of the other saints who in every age have pleased God? ^C Will the "uncircumscribed" nature of these also stand in the way here? Or will they maintain that they consist of deity and humanity? It is certainly not permitted here to say that the deity is circumscribed, or that the flesh is torn asunder, and the single person divided; and that what is joined together is dissolved by painting or circumscription. Therefore, these talkative sinners will turn to other inventions and prodigious deceits to commingle. For nothing is more pleasing to them and established in their custom than to decline toward absurd and impious thoughts; and they follow whatever is improbable and hateful to God.

50. What then is their opinion regarding these matters? Since they are in no way able to perceive what is useful, ^D nor to devise any argument which might sponsor their own wickedness and criminality, they flee to their own whim and to the genius of their own madness, and they say: "Since the worship of Christ has been puffed away"

and has fallen, it would be consistent for these—the things of the saints—to dwell together with it, and no longer to be deemed worthy of memory at any time. ^A But now is the time to say: "If they called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more those of his household?" For these present-day Jews do speak, having borrowed their tongues from those of old; for if they have treated the things of Christ in this way, what evil would they not be ready to do against his saints? Worthy, indeed, is this of their lawlessness and of their daring and insolence toward the saints; but it is also a most sufficient proof of the saints’ unspeakable love towards Christ, by which they were knit to him, never to be separated. For even while they were living this present life, they became witnesses of the passions of Christ and partners of his life-giving death, resisting sin even unto blood. ^B And now, having departed from here, they have been shown to be partakers of the persecution and contumely just now raised against Christ; for even then, with their own bodies, they struggled bravely on behalf of the body that suffered for us, and acted manfully, imitating the death which he suffered for the salvation of us all in common. Again, they suffer similar things for similar realities; for the images, in proportion to their archetypes, undergo the same common ignominy and wantonness; and they suffer together once more, that they may also be glorified together once more; and again they are honored by the communion of ignominy. And that we who love the martyrs, rejoicing in the memory of the martyrs, might adorn ourselves, let us linger a little while in this discourse, just as those who are fond of viewing and hearing are wont to do when they are delighted by spectacles and sounds that are pleasant and sweetest to them, from which they would not easily depart, ^C even if they sometimes have to neglect necessary business. For such things as offer nourishment to the sight and the hearing are wont to attract the senses of those who love them, and they bring about a use of themselves that is difficult to separate. For indeed the things that feast the sight and the hearing in some way produce a conversation concerning the things that are perceived by them.

51. These, then, having become imitators of Christ, and having been wounded in their souls by love for Christ, and desiring—as far as is possible for men—to walk in his footsteps, leaning upon faith and possessing an unswerving hope, and having already taken hold of the future as if it were present, they despised all things on earth as perishing and corruptible; ^D they became neglecters of wealth and even of their own bodies, because they longed for heavenly and higher things, embracing the conversation of heaven; wherefore, they deemed all things dross for the sake of love for the Creator, according to the summatem of the martyrs. Thus, taking up their cross for themselves, and taking up the armor of the Spirit, and shielding themselves with the breastplate of faith, and grasping the shield of hope, and putting on for themselves the helmet of salvation—as if receiving strength from on high, emulating the passion of Christ, and struggling bravely, they are undefeated soldiers.

They were manifested as athletes of the most noble kind, and they were shown to be undefeated soldiers of the great King. Thus they erected trophies against error, and they utterly destroyed every stratagem of the enemy; they dissolved all his power, extinguished all his fiery darts, and youthfully cast down his dominion. They spat upon all the devices and threats of the servants of the evil one, and they despised all their cruelty and insults, standing against all their cunning schemes with great bravery and manliness. They held in truth a firm and unshakable mind toward God, and as they contended, they endured labors as if they were in the bodies of others and, in a manner of speaking, oblivious to their own nature. Running the stadium of piety against the error of polytheism, leaping into the fire as if into dew, and not fearing the teeth and rage of the most terrifying wild beasts, nor the edge of the sword, nor the sharpness of claws, nor the cutting and mangling of their flesh, they did not lose heart. ^A They did not tremble; they rushed of their own free will toward the instruments of torture as if toward a delight. Enduring all things, bearing all things, looking toward one thing, and hastening toward the prize of the upward calling, they considered the sufferings of the present time not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed. But having resisted all these things, and having conquered death by fighting for the faith, they were seen to be superior to the threats of the tyrants; because they were strengthened in the name of the Lord, which they carried before the nations and kings.

Ita cruciatus fortiter tolerantes, majores vires sumebant; ita persecutionibus ac periculis corroborabantur. Hinc tentationibus ac tribulationibus magis vigebant, nullatenus minis intentatisque terroribus terrefacti; persecutorum rabiem egregie retundebant, capita impiorum concidebant, supercilium atheorum deprimebant, furibundorum tormenta ceu thesauros pretiosos admittentes, deliciarum potius quam pœnæ loco habentes. Sic erroris destructores evaserunt, angustamque et molestam viam terentes, multitudini inviam et desertam, ad spatiosam ac beatissimam, quæ ipsis erat assignata, requiei sedem pervenerunt. Hi victoriosi martyres, in cruciatuum camino excocti, atque ut aurum probatum comperti ac splendificati, sole sunt clariores, et sidera fulgore superant. ^C Hi ob Christi confessionem consummati, rationales perfectasque victimas ei semet præbuerunt, et sacrificium Deo gratissimum ac jucundissimum, et acceptabilem perlitationem beneque olentem odore spiritus, in holocaustum obtulerunt. Horum alacritate ipsi angeli obstupuerunt; horum certamina supermundiales virtutes admiratæ summopere sunt; quia mortali in corpore invisibiles hostes debellarunt, et de adversariis suis victoriam retulerunt, invisibilibus profligatis agminibus, tropæa splendida contra repugnantes statuerunt. His gaudet Deus et glorificatur; angeli quoque in cœlis gratulantur unaque lætantur; contra diabolus nec non

^A apostaticæ copiæ ejus vulneratæ pudefiunt, casum suum clademque deplorantes.

O, these wise and most lauded martyrs, having been revealed as victors over delusion, were seen as unshakable towers of our faith, pillars and supports of the Church, a base of piety and an immovable foundation, the great glory and ornament of us the faithful; as brilliant and intellectual luminaries, they enlighten the ends [of the earth], shining forth with the rays of their contests and their faith. O, unwavering faith, and ineffable love, and hope beyond doubt! O, noble soul, ^B angel-like in stature! O, lofty and heavenly understanding, and zeal and eagerness surpassing nature and transcending creation! What should we admire and be overcome by first? God, the giver of fortitude, or the purpose of the brave? The excellence of divine gifts, or the magnanimity of the saints? For both things exceed our nature and our speech. Let us therefore cry out with the Prophet: "To the saints who are in his land, the Lord has made all his purposes wonderful in them." Since here, too, he is wonderful in them, because they, elevating themselves above every creature, have clung to their one Creator and Maker. And so, in this way, they have become ^C an immaculate mirror of God, most pure and transparent; receiving the divine ray purely into their own most pure souls, they reached the likeness of God; and what God is by nature, they themselves attained by participation and grace, having become dwellings of God, divine and splendid temples, according to the prophetic proclamation which says: "I will dwell in them and walk among them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God."

These, therefore, having fought the good fight well, having kept the faith, having finished the course, having conquered and trampled upon the world and the prince of the world, and having traded well in the good commerce, and having exchanged things that do not stand and flow away for things that ever remain, ^D for such deeds of valor and such great struggles, the victors of the truth are deemed worthy of amaranthine crowns by God, the arbiter of the contests, and they reign forever with Christ; as co-heirs with Christ, and having taken the lot of immortality as their portion, they live in Him a life that is indestructible and unending, shining in eternal light, adorned with divine beauty, dancing with the powers on high; for what more can there be than to be with God and to be deemed worthy of the blessedness that comes from Him, and of the glory and splendor above? For even if their life now perhaps seems hidden, nevertheless: "When Christ," he says, "our life shall appear, then they also shall appear with him in glory." For the God of the martyrs is the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, not the God of the dead, but of the living, as it is written. And so the souls of the saints are in the hand of God, nor shall pain ever reach them; and although to the eyes of these they appear to be dead...

and their departure was accounted an affliction, and their journeying from us a calamity; yet they are in peace. For they have not died, but they live; and their death is rather a sleep, and a precious sleep at that; they are not buried in the earth, but have flown away to the heavens. ^A For, having ascended from corruptible and perishable life, they have been translated to another life, which is ageless and eternal. Wherefore, in our daily canticles, regarding that refrain of the hymn which is sung in response, we modulate something harmonious, as if to the saints who live in God: "Bless, O spirits and souls of the righteous, the Lord," we say, and what follows these words. For they would not sing the Lord's song as if in a strange land, standing as far as possible from our sacred assembly, if the saints were indeed considered dead by them.

52. But those things belong to the former part of our argument. Now, through their holy images, they participate in the same persecutions as Christ, and by being made conformable to His sufferings, so that for a double passion and injury, they are to be crowned with double rewards: and in turn they will be glorified together a second time, both as martyrs in their lifetime and as martyrs in their images. Therefore, knowing them to be the intimates and followers of God (for to them the God of all said: "I no longer call you servants, but friends," and, "He gave them power to become children of God"), let us admire their charity and faith toward God, and let us heap honors upon them from on high; let us adorn their temples, celebrate their contests, venerate their sacred relics, and follow their august images with worship: since the honor of an image truly passes to the prototype; and the honor rendered to fellow-servants who are faithful is a proof of our benevolence toward the common Master, as the teachers of the Church say. ^C Hence there is for us a firm hope and faith that we shall obtain sanctification, the remission of sins, and the averting of troubles. Hence we see demons expelled, diseases healed, and infirmities put to flight for all who approach with faith, whether spiritual or bodily; since the Lord of all has given them the power of trampling upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy, and of healing every disease and every infirmity. ^D Whence it comes to pass that, having received power from the Spirit, they shine forth in miracles and virtues, carrying within themselves the fountain of grace which abundantly gushes forth healings for all. What then, O enemies of the saints, do you say to these things? Are they worthy, or are they not, because of these contests which are greater than all thought and speech, and which we know to exceed the powers of human nature—are they worthy, I ask, of being honored and glorified? Especially since concerning them there exist pro-

promises, granted long ago, which possess the truth; for "Those who glorify me," says the Word of Truth, "I will glorify." How? Through other means certainly, since a tribute of praise and glory, worthy of their many and most lofty words and deeds, is rendered to them. Yet no less so through these sacred representations, which is what we who are pious and lovers of the martyrs are currently striving for. Venerate therefore their struggles, honor their memory, and marvel at those celebrated deeds of the martyrs, which even wild beasts respected, to whom fire often retreated, by whom iron was broken and blunted, and by whom the instruments of torture were shattered; and the elements, as if moved by sense, stood in awe of the martyrs’ charity toward the common Lord, as if they were fellow-servants. ^B 53. Or do you think otherwise? Do you abhor the prayers of the saints? Do you undermine the sacred tables of divine altars, so that you might delight in the flame devouring their relics, just as your teacher Mammon did and taught? And you defile their venerable houses, and filling them with every stench and filth, you pollute and profane the holy places, together with their sacred carvings, by which their noble deeds and celebrated struggles are handed down in writing, as in books, so also painted splendidly in churches and on tablets. So that those who look upon them may be stirred to zeal for their imitators-of-God way of life. And since you have delivered some of their books to the fire, and have contended to reduce them to dust and ashes, so that through these means you might completely extinguish their memory—you who behave so insolently toward the saints, so as to verify the reality of these things to anyone who wishes to see them from what is currently happening—what heinous and unbelievable acts would you not have committed against the saints, if by chance you had lived in the times in which they lived? Would you not have done things far worse and more cruel than the present, by as much as your opposition to the true religion is seen to be greater? ^C 54. But they pretend that they do not act impiously toward the churches; yet they deceive themselves, saying: "These places are holy, because of the sacrifices performed there, and the sacred prayers and invocations which are recited at their foundations." How then are they not entirely senseless and demented, not understanding that the grace of sanctification and the presence of the Holy Spirit pervades the whole church? For the Spirit is not given by measure; nor is one part of the church imbued with grace while another is deprived of it. For either the whole is sacred and holy, or the whole is profane and unclean. But you, O lover of the uncircumscribed and hater of martyrs, while you circumscribe sanctification, you foolishly take away the whole thing, because you remove that which has more, if one may speak boldly; since these things also participate in grace from another source. For just as churches receive their names from sacred things, so too do the images of the saints, their naming through the inscription

^B they bear, and by this they are sanctified; if indeed Christ is a credible and in no way lying witness to you, who declares the power and grace of the name, saying: "In my name they shall cast out demons" (Mark XVI, 17), and we know what follows there. "And he who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward" (Matt. X, 41). Whoever, therefore, runs to the temple of a martyr makes the same approach to the image; both this and that are works of craftsmanship, and the grace in both is the same. Moreover, he who approaches piously will obtain sanctification on account of his own faith (66-67). If, therefore, temples are holy and venerable, it is necessary that the image of the holy man also be holy and venerable; and that there is nothing here profane or polluted. But if you call these profane, then the churches are also profane: for it is established that sanctification is common and diffused through all things. Otherwise, there would be need for another sanctification, foundation, prayers, and distinct dedications for images; and they would await the arrival of another Spirit. But if by destroying one thing you simultaneously overthrow the other, you show yourself clearly an enemy of sacred things, and indeed a most furious and most bitter foe, because the saints, even when viewed in an image, are most troublesome to you. For this reason you undermine, you cast down, you despoil temples, because they are holy. Do you not thus prove yourself, by your own testimony, a hater and enemy of the saints? For you demonstrate, even if you do not wish to, that the relationship and conjunction between these things—I mean, between the sacred house and the august images—is of the highest order, because they are now destroyed together and undergo persecution, just as they were previously fabricated and honored together by Christians.

55. Since, therefore, you have shown yourself a most bitter enemy of Christ and the saints, it follows that you should think and speak in like manner regarding the symbols of the heavenly and incorporeal powers. For with the things of Christ removed, it is consistent that these also be removed and destroyed together; so that herein you are proven to labor under the infidelity and atheism of Marcion and Manes, and to hold the Old and New Scripture in mockery and derision, knowing how to delete and expel most things from them, and to rebuke God who spoke in them; and if nothing else, at least those Cherubim which were formed and fashioned of pure beaten gold, commanded by God the Lord of all, and fashioned at the oracle of Moses, and honored no less by words of the apostles (Hebr. IX, 5), called justifications of latreutic worship along with the rest, as symbols of this rule; concerning which we have disputed more broadly elsewhere.

56. Now, however, it will suffice to add this one thing: that since you are more ungrateful and contumacious than the Jews

trampling underfoot divine precepts and counting them as a child’s game, it is not permissible for you to be acknowledged or called a Christian. For if the apostolic teaching does not persuade those whom the decrees of the legislators and prophets do not stir, and whom the very statutes and commandments of God do not terrify, how could anyone suppose them to belong to the share of Christians? If, therefore, it were possible for someone to persuade you to become a Christian, there would be no need for this discussion about the images of Christ and the saints; for you would have believed that the Word of God was incarnate and embodied, and that He became man in truth, and not in mere appearance and phantasy. You would have proclaimed His body to be circumscribed, and there would be no doubt in your mind regarding the holy symbols of our faith. But while you garnish your name with the title of Christian with your lips and in speech, your deeds loudly testify that in practice you altogether deny the economy of Christ. But to us and to all men in whom the fear of the Lord is implanted, and who have been taught to reverence and honor divine things, it has become manifest ^B from the Mosaic writings, or rather from the God-inspired oracles, that the holy angels are also painted and depicted, and that through their images God is made manifest—for "from thence," He says, "I will be known to you." Hence they are to be venerated and are holy. And if the highest substances that are near to God are depicted, it is clear that the lower powers will also be depicted, and will be honored and venerated among Christians as sacred things when they are portrayed.

57. Since nothing of what is impious and perverse has been omitted by them which they have not zealously contrived or babbled against the Catholic Church—for since they were once seized by Manichaean madness, they pour forth the frantic abortions of their hearts; and like madmen, they do not fear to call the images of the truth—that is, those things which preserve for us the memory of true realities—"falsely-named," ^C these defenders of falsehood, by attaching falsehood to the archetypes—we have not thought it alien to our purpose to add to what has been said the thoughts that now occur to our mind; for these will greatly avail for the refutation of their insanity and malice. For those who resist the divine Spirit, and who reject every loftiness of speech, trying by this practice ^D to extinguish the memory of Christ and the saints, thus contradict even the God-inspired voices.

58. For how the name is of ancient origin, and older than the creation of man himself, or rather, as it was taken as a guiding principle for the creation of man, we may clearly learn from what follows. For what says the God of all? "Let us make man in our image and likeness" (Gen. 1, 26). This was the first utterance of God,

and after these words: "And God made man; in the image of God he made him" (Gen. 1, 27). And in what follows: "Adam begat Seth, in his image and after his likeness" (Gen. 5, 3). ^A And so, passing over others, let us bring into the midst those things that, although separated by a long lapse of time, are yet joined by correct reason and thoughts, and let us hear what is spoken by Paul; for he says, "As we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Cor. 15, 49). I judge these things sufficient, and there is no need for a longer discourse for the demonstration of the matter proposed. For what greater authority is there than Moses and Paul? Let those, therefore, who deny the very name, and distance themselves most completely from the image of God and from the participation in his grace, tell us: if all things that are designated by this name are venerable and honorable on account of the dignity of those from whom they derive it, why then do they scatter ignominy and contempt in every direction upon the images of Christ and the saints?

And that I may begin my discourse from the more sublime and from theology itself: the Son of God and our God, being spoken of as God together with his Father, is honored and glorified as his image above his other titles. For he is, says Paul, "the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1, 15). And in this title specifically do the theologians glory and rejoice. But will the enemies of God not, on account of the word "image," alienate the Son also from the Father’s glory and unity of nature? Furthermore, the august angel is also an image of God, a mirror pure, ^B immaculate, most limpid. Therefore the angel is honorable; and likewise man, inasmuch as he has been made to the image of God, and is called the image of God. For this reason he is held in honor, and therefore possesses free will, and differs from other animals, and holds dominion over all things. For insofar as he is merely a creature and an animal, he differs in nothing from the rest. Otherwise, what is meant in man by "to the image of God" would not even be visible to the eyes; whether one should say it is the mind and the directing and ruling power of the soul, or some other conceivable quality in man; since not even the archetype of this is found in the number of visible things.

59. Furthermore, our priests, since they express the appearance of the super-worldly ^C orders and hierarchies—for they represent them both in the sacred liturgies and in the other divine hymnologies which are performed by them—are for this reason honorable in the eyes of the truly pious and modest. And the rest of the Church’s order and arrangement is an imitation and figure of the heavenly court. Likewise, the tabernacle of the legislator Moses, and all things contained therein, bore certain resonances and likenesses of the heavenly and other created things, even as it had been arranged by him. ^D

^A For these books themselves are images of those who wrote them. Through these, indeed, their authors, though absent, speak perpetually, and in such a way are they joined to them that they bear the very names of those who wrote them. For thus we call the holy book of the Apostle, "the Apostle," and the book of the Prophet we likewise call "the Prophet," and the book of the Evangelist in the same way. And holy temples we do not always speak of with reference to someone, but for the most part we speak of them absolutely by the name of the one to whom the temple is dedicated, because of the communion and closeness of the appellation. Thus also the images of earthly rulers are to be honored by their subjects to such a degree, because even Christ deigned to honor the image of Caesar. And one would find nothing that is referred to something as its principal, which does not for that very reason deserve honor, because it sets forth the idea of its principal. If therefore these things are for this reason altogether honorable, why are those things, which are glorious above all others, afflicted with dishonor and insult by the enemies of Christ? And the Son is honored as the image of the Father; for both are images, and the argument for them is the same, even if they differ in substance. But that which most reproves their madness and shamelessness shall be added to what has been said. For we all know that even depraved men were accustomed to honor the things of depraved and impious men, and to dedicate images to their memory; for they truly become emulators of their ways and lovers of their deeds, and they continue to cherish them as their own and as like-minded, whether through ignorance of the better or by the choice of the worse. But they say, "These are pagan things and practice among pagans, and they are worthy of their stupidity and insanity." But I say, should not Christians also deem everything that pertains to Christ worthy of every honor, and likewise magnify and embrace the things of the saints? For just as the monuments of the impious are abominable and defiled, so also are those of the saints to be embraced and held dear. ^D 61. For who among those who have understanding would not agree that, if the images of depraved archetypes are depraved, necessarily the images of holy and sacred archetypes are also holy and sacred? For the argument is the same for both, in so far as they are images; even if those things which are understood and denoted by them have a great and incomparable difference. But it is most recognized that those who have completely said farewell to Christ, also detest the life and virtues and brave deeds of those blessed men, and are exasperated and vexed by their very memory alone. For whatever is of good fruit they deem to be avoided, and the evil, on the contrary, to be chosen, and the saints are most troublesome to them even when seen in an image. O the insensibility! O the lack of perception! Every nation honors and attends to things befitting its religion in a proper manner, and keeps inviolate the laws and customs and the initiations handed down to them from above for their life; but Christians alone, of all, foolishly despise the symbols and memorials of the condescension of that Word through which we have been saved, whom it behooved to honor these more vehemently than their own...

^A others—since we have received a fuller knowledge of what is beneficial than all other men, just as we have also been persuaded that God exists, and that He is the sustaining and guarding cause of all things. What depth of lawlessness and atheism does this not exceed!

62.

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rejecting some great harm, and avoiding those who peruse them and exercise themselves in them as they would some contagion; mocking all piety and orthodoxy, loathing the apostolic vestment 72, and ridiculing the priesthood. They reject everything virtuous and good, and embrace everything that ought to be avoided and is base; they pay no heed to reading, nor do they listen to the divine Scriptures—for how could they, seeing that they hate all these things, are ignorant of everything useful, and are inventors of every kind of malice? They do not frequent the temples of God, they do not honor the faith, they do not cherish love, they possess no hope, they do not persevere in prayer and fasting, they do not reverence virginity 73, nor do they love modesty; they pass their whole lives in shame, workers of all iniquity and despisers of every virtue. ^B For everything good and divine and reaching the level of virtue is regarded by them as a mere show and a joke; they are hateful and most hostile to God, and to the angels, and to those men who are more pious and have chosen to live rightly. Their life is base, and their speech is rotten and contemptible and full of every madness.

What more is there to say? They live by performing everything in which our enemy, the hater of virtue, delights. There is never any word among them concerning death, nor any mention of resurrection or judgment, or of the Judge who is expected with the glory of the Father, a thing indeed ineffable and dreadful, and inexpressible by any words, full of fear and consternation, where even the angels will stand by with great fear ^C and trembling, when the trumpet sounds mightily, and the retribution for the deeds done is administered, and each of us stands before the Creator, to receive according to what one has done through the body, whether good or evil. They, I say, are not touched by compunction for their sins, they do not ask for pardon from God, they do not accept any admonition for the salvation of the soul. "For what evil does my soul have," they reply, "to one suggesting better things?" Therefore, neither do they hope for the kingdom of heaven, nor do they ever tolerate any spiritual discourse. Truly, in them the Gospel is hidden: *In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds, that the light of the Gospel should not shine unto them*. ^D Now, among these very people who are more common and lowly, and…

CONCERNING THE NOTE ON VIRGINITY

73 He extols the great matter of virginity through these things, and says: "Better is childlessness with virtue; for childlessness from sterility is not to be praised, but rather the mastery of the passions and complete abstinence from them, with virtue and a temperate mind; for immortality exists in the memory of it. Some indeed have called the succession of children the immortality of the race; but this wise man deems rather that this very thing—the life conducted through childlessness and virginity, which has been admirably perfected by men—is immortality." Certainly to be without children for the sake of sterility is not to be accounted a happiness; but rather that which seeks to be without all conjugal society, through the persuasion of virtue and the containment of the passions. For immortality is fashioned by the memory of this thing. And although some call the succession of children by the title of immortality, yet this wise man prefers to believe that that virgin life without children is immortality, which men rightly carry out, not without the admiration of the common people. These things, however, are not to be taken as if virginity is to be chosen for the sake of human glory; for if that were to happen, not even virginity itself would generally remain intact. For the more humble—that is, the more modest—a person's mind is, the more safely does he provide for this virtue.

^A They are destitute, such that they do not have even the sustenance for a single day proper to themselves, gathered as they are from the crossroads and the hovels; and they are unable to understand even what lies at their feet. Because they are drunkards and wine-bibbers, they are always tracking and sniffing out where drinkings and feasts are being held, to which they fly most readily, so that by collecting contributions from the banqueters, they might console their own need and poverty. From these arises that gathering of vagabonds and detestable men, who delight in seditions and in stirring up new troubles. Most of them are men discharged from the military, in which they were convicted of the worst and most detestable crimes, or because they are now of an age too advanced to serve as soldiers, they have been struck from the army registers and ordered to cease from bearing arms.

65. ^B But since they are corrupt in both word and deed, they hunger after present things alone; they are given over to the flesh and are slaves to the belly, and their god is the belly. They define as the highest happiness these worldly things, and whatever passes through the throat and into the belly; they pin their hopes on nothing better, looking to nothing higher or more profitable. By divine judgment they live in destitution and are pressed by many straits, especially since the royal stipends, from which they obtained their livelihood while in the service, have failed them. ^C According to the measure and weight of necessary provisions and victuals, paying back the price, as it were, these senseless men consign their religion to the service of their belly, weighing it by the abundance of delicacies rather than by the rectitude of dogmas. They are friends so long as they abound in things suitable for their pleasure, but they are despisers and accusers of our faith if any of the aforementioned benefits are lacking. For these men, and all who are held fast in the same unbelief, are of like will and character to those who were once delivered from the Egyptian servitude; they possess a language and a disposition similar and akin to them. Manifestly bearing the evidence of those people’s worship, if they should happen to fall into similar calamities, they take it grievously and grow enraged. ^D And just as those people used to become seditious against their lawgivers and leaders, recalling their sitting by the flesh-pots and the abundance of bread, so too do these men, shamelessly reviling the heralds of the truth and the ministers of the Lord's doctrine, babble most wickedly, saying almost the same things that they did in opposing one of the divine prophets: "The word which you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you; but we will certainly do everything that has gone forth from our mouth, to offer sacrifices to the queen of heaven, and to pour out libations to her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, and our kings, and our princes in the cities of Judah and without

Jerusalem; and we were filled with bread, and we became well off, and saw no evil: and as we left off offering incense to the queen of heaven, we were all reduced, and were consumed by the sword and by famine. Moreover, we shall not sit in this land so as not to hear the voice of the Lord, for we shall enter into the land of Egypt, and we shall not see war, and we shall not hear the sound of the trumpet, and we shall not hunger for bread, and there we shall dwell.^B

§ 64. Such things, and those similar to them, being belched forth from the evil treasure of the heart, they mock our right and irreprehensible dogma, and at the same time boast in the God-hated faith of Mammon; exulting in its iniquity as prosperity, as if being well-nourished by it, and procuring with more abundant supply both wheat and other necessities; neither referring this to God, the author of all good things, nor giving thanks to the provider and curator of our life. Time and speech will fail us if we were to pursue such things. For what tongues could tell of their perversity and malice? It is enough to say one thing in place of all to declare the whole matter: "Of evil teachers, evil are the teachings; or of evil seeds, an evil harvest." For what the adversary of the Gospel, the enemy and apostate of the true religion, the sower of tares, taught them in his secret and unholy initiations, this they retain in their minds, and in this the miserable wretches rejoice as if they had grown up as his followers. Fierce and deadly thorns have grown up against the Church of God, suffocating the pure and genuine seed of piety. For this reason, the devil roused them—swineherds, shepherds, and cowherds, the filth and impurity of pens, stables, goat-folds, and every such class—so that these, being beastly and having the greatest rudeness, and being most estranged from the knowledge of God, might serve his depraved and irreligious studies and wills, gratifying him in this. Indeed, he abused these base men as weapons and instruments, not to put barbarians to flight, not to subdue nations, not to bring a hostile region under tribute, nor to conduct anything well against the enemy, but to destroy all piety, against which he armed them: so that, moving them like battering-rams, he might shake the Church of Christ through them, and impiously and most furiously overturn the symbols and memorials of His saving incarnation. On account of these things, sacrilege and the defilement of the holy temples were dared by him; for he made the monasteries their dwellings; and he established the churches of God as stables and dung-heaps, the refuse of which lasted even to our own time, lingering on; furthermore, there are those which he sold for gold, and the monasteries named after Florus and Callistratus cry out loudly ^D of these things.

^A

It is in fact worthy of their folly and absurdity that they vaunt themselves in the times of that man. For one may hear very many things from historians and from those who relate them by word of mouth; there are indeed some still surviving today who are preserved to proclaim these things. From them it is possible for those who wish to learn how many and what kind of dire calamities befell us at that time, from the moment when the faith of our tradition began to be insulted and the stability of the Churches to be ravaged, such as divinely inflicted plagues, chastisements, very grievous diseases, and scourges. Struck with terror by the multitude and magnitude of these calamities, some of those present at that time, acting appropriately and as was necessary, deemed it worthy to commit to history the kinds of evils they had suffered.

The pestilential deaths that seized upon men, no one could number, nor could any estimate the multitude of those they consumed; from which he who was the cause of them, fleeing away in fear of the internecine events, for the most part lived far from the royal city. For he resided near Nicomedia and its suburbs, and indeed even much further away. Those to whom the affairs of the city were entrusted informed him by letter of the infinite multitude of the deceased, with many thousands being counted daily, so that the tombs became too narrow for the bodies, and the water cisterns also were filled with them, as was any other place suitable for the reception of a corpse; so much so that some were not even committed to a grave, but were cast away wherever chance allowed, and were deprived of proper funeral rites. ^B For one could not see a single corpse being carried on a bier, but three or even five, and as many as the bearers could carry. And what was most unexpected and full of terror was that those who were busied with the burial of the dead would themselves be snatched away by death, preceding those they were burying to the tomb, as if dying and reaching it before them.

Add to these the terrors and the horrific, monstrous phantoms—strange and unknown to human ears and minds—which were seen and heard openly by many both by night and by day; and the phantasms and sounds that appeared over their heads, threatening destruction; sometimes even the names and ^C number of those about to die were heard. And these things occurred upon the earth. But what followed was even worse than these, which were beneath the earth or about the earth. For the earth could no longer bear the magnitude of the sins. The matter of the earthquakes, tremors, and concussions was truly horrific and exceeded human thought and speech! For the foundations of the earth seemed to be shaken, and, struck at their hinges, to be overturned and torn apart, no longer keeping their seat or their cohesion. Concerning which matter I think I should spare my words; for the ruins of those very sumptuous buildings and most ornate villas cry out as if with a trumpet, having become ^D the tombs of their oppressed inhabitants: for these buildings, overturned by the earthquake, became for them an avenging burial.

^A And this calamity fell most especially upon the hills and elevated places, which even now lie as ruins around the imperial city.

66. But neither could the terrors from the air rest or be silent when the Creator was being insulted. For then it seemed to men as if all the stars of heaven were rushing headlong to the earth, so continuously was an atmospheric disturbance suddenly diffused throughout the ends of the whole world; for at one and the same time, the inhabitants of both Eastern and Hesperian regions saw these things happening, even though it was the season of winter and night had fallen. And let no one here, in the manner of these clever men, object to us that these celestial phenomena were certain smoky and thick exhalations, by which the air surrounding the earth becomes filled, and then, being lifted up by its own natural course and mingled in the ethereal region, it conceives heat and produces those so-called wandering stars, torches, and firebrands, as well as comets, bearded globes, and whatever other phenomena of this kind are wont to appear. Rather, let him know ^B truly that something new had then occurred in the elements. For they departed from their accustomed measure and order, showing their grief on account of these events. And nature itself, in a certain manner, imitated itself, so that it might not fail to suffer even then, just as it had suffered in sympathy with the Creator and Master when He was undergoing the saving Passion on the Cross; at which time the celestial luminaries collided with one another, and unusual and unseasonable darkness interrupted the sequence of the daylight, and rocks were split, and graves opened, and the dead rose again, and all else that happened as the creation was being transformed.

We know that such things were threatened against the impious and were fulfilled in ancient times, when ^C the elements, obedient to divine nods, went beyond their bounds. No one will disbelieve this, unless he perhaps labors under an ignorance of the judgments of God. For we must believe the Scriptures dictated by the Holy Spirit, that "the wicked shall be filled with evils" (Prov. XII, 21). And, "evils shall pursue sinners" (Prov. XIII, 21). And, "the wicked shall perish in his malice" (Prov. XIV, 32). And, "he is reserved for an evil day" (Prov. XVI, 4). And, "all things come into the lap of the unjust" (Prov. XVI, 35). Known to all is the manifestation and correction of divine wrath against the Sodomites, when fiery rain descending, consuming everything in its circuit, reduced that region to ashes; with which fire ^D it also consumed some of the neighboring cities, the traces of which they say still remain even now. Nay, even before this, a flood of waters had come upon the world, at which time the heavens without end poured forth an immense quantity of unusual and incredible waters upon sinners: when the fountains of the abyss were broken up from below, and the floodgates of heaven were opened from above, with all creatures utterly perishing and all the mountain peaks of the earth being submerged; only one just man

^A with his children and wives, being carried in a wooden ark above the waters, was saved, acting as a second Adam, with God having pity so that the human race might not utterly perish from the earth. Since, therefore, these things did not happen according to the course of nature (for the heights of heaven do not observe their proper boundaries), nothing prevented the Lord from once again raining fire and brimstone from the Lord upon the earth, and instantly reducing all things to ashes; for the lightning bolt of His wrath was clearly threatened, had not the philanthropy of God openly prevailed, which clearly deferred the punishment of those who were sinning, awaiting their repentance. But the sins here seem to me much greater, since those ancient people ^B raged against the creature and acted lawlessly, whereas these have behaved insolently, raging against the Lord of the creature; first by tormenting the divine body and condemning it to a bitter death on the cross, and then by raging against the sacred depictions of that same body. For this reason, the elements could not contain themselves and remain quiet when their Creator was insulted, but they suffered an unusual grief on account of that novelty. Let us omit saying how many civil wars these turns of events stirred up against the Christians, which would be long and most laborious to narrate.

67. But these bestial and truly senseless men boast greatly, ^C as if flourishing in prosperous successes, and they wax proud. Yet what tongue will tell of the shortage of those times, and the tragedies born of that shortage? For there was in very truth a famine, the most grievous and bitter of all, which was no less than that which is now beginning, nor any of those mentioned or recorded by the ancients; and it almost equalized that which once seized the besieged Jerusalemites. For there also, as is written, the wretched mothers, pressed and tormented by famine, miserably tasted the flesh of their own offspring, having as it were forgotten their own nature. And among us, driven by the same calamity, the wretched women, selling the fruit of their own womb, provided food for themselves through the rending of their own entrails. For they say that, owing to the crushing shortage, it was barely possible to purchase a modius of wheat for fifty gold pieces. And there, the incursion of enemies, the duration of the long siege, the closure of the city as if in a net, ^D captured by an army, were the cause of its calamity and ineffable evils. Among us, however, it was not the incursion of Barbarians, not the arrival of enemies, not ramparts cast up in a circle by adversaries, nor any other external thing, but the offended faith that clearly produced this. For the apostate and tyrant who reigned among us was, through his apostasy, more hostile and harsher than any enemy or foe. But just as those paid the penalty for their crimes against Christ, so too these of ours were ensnared in similar evils: for one and the same Person had been offended by both. Such were the manifestations of divine justice; such are the wages that those who offend God receive from thence; which the enemies of Christ, considering nothing, are unwilling to understand, for just as once the Jewish people, on account of the offenses of Manasseh, king of the Jews, against God,

paid the penalty for a full forty years and suffered many terrible and most grievous things, and this even during times when leaders testified to by their piety and righteousness were governing; so too, on account of the impiety and unholy deeds of our own Manasseh, Christians have suffered a most severe discipline from above, which we are still enduring even now, nor shall we cease to be disciplined as long as the memory of the impious one stands upon the tongues of his like-minded followers. Wherefore it is timely to say even now: "And the people did not return until they were struck, and they did not seek the Lord." But they vote against the uprightness of our dogmas and the judgments of God, and though they are struck, they do not repent. ^B

68. That which most of all exposes their impiety, I do not wish to pass over intentionally. For because a few years ago, God aroused a spirit in a female prince, renowned as an ornament of orthodoxy, who held the royal power and displayed a zeal for our faith that was both enviable and inspired by God, these wicked men, through a divinely-ordained decree, were well and auspiciously cast out of this city, in which they had settled wickedly and godlessly. Wandering like planets, they sought a religious sect in which the images and memorials of Christ's incarnation would not appear. They found, therefore, the long-desired incredulity and atheism of the Manichaeans, which was in harmony with their own opinion, favored their dogmas, and taught those things for which they had long been held by desire and love. On this account, many of them, after they had sworn an oath to our creed with the utmost precision, finally adhered to that madness; and some of those caught in this, having been handed over to the sword, suffered the ultimate punishment, as the laws command. ^C

69. But the most pitiable thing of all, and one worthy of laments, wailings, and tears, is that the priests and bishops of the present time are led away by these opinions and words; and those who ought to have turned back and looked after the lost sheep, lacking knowledge of right and left, and who should have snatched them away from the hunt of the Evil One, driving them toward the precipices and abysses of unbelief, from which they might have gained the greatest things for their salvation-what do they suffer and what is happening? It is quite the reverse. Since they are more obtuse and animal-like than their masters, they are led astray by them and taught things that are forbidden, abandoning themselves to the worse part, and just like those others, they plunge headlong into the mire-pit of error. ^D

^A They are cast down, and they take to themselves collaborators, and just as they use instruments of destruction for the insult and injury of the pious, so too—having utterly denied the anointing of the gift of the Spirit, and having set aside every sacred and canonical ordinance, and being unmindful of all ecclesiastical order and discipline—they employ civil laws and affairs, and have submitted themselves to secular rulers, in their diet, their life, their manner of living, and their judgments; and in all the undertakings of life, they yield to and are governed by these. But this is not the portion of Jacob; nor are the dogmas and inclinations of those who are adorned with piety of such a kind; nor is the adherence ^B of those who have lived among them such. For, on the contrary, they go in a way opposite to those who have been already enumerated among the workers of perdition, if indeed one ought to compare them by juxtaposition. And, to sum it up: they abhor all wickedness, they desire all virtue, they honor whatever is good, they love all excellent things, and they follow every conversation that is pleasing to God. They receive every holy and upright doctrine, and they diligently observe everything that pertains to the holy Church, through which they draw near to God and are revealed as heirs of the eternal kingdom; they are companions of angels and numbered among the saints, bearing away in all things that which is praiseworthy and divine. Having embraced none of these, the adversaries are filled with ignominy, and they shall be condemned by divine judgments for eternity.

70. Since, however, certain things are bruited about among the Christ-haters—things which the father of lies breathes into them—come, let us also examine these. For, on account of the insult cast upon Christ and the Church, they boast that the longest of times and a prolonged life were granted to him by Mammon, ^C and that he reached the pinnacle of happiness; but they also credit to him victories over barbarians and many most extraordinary deeds, which it is not right even for sober men to hear. But lest these lies by chance prove a snare to some who are simpler or more ignorant, it will be necessary for us to refute them one by one, so that they may understand to what a great extent these foolish men are deluding themselves with these empty words. Therefore, that his life was utterly shameful, and that he existed as an object of abomination both to God and to angels and to pious men, is not obscure. For since this wretch wallowed in every kind of lust, and defiled his own body and soul with them—things forbidden even to ^D barbarians and heathens—he far surpassed the animals themselves in filthiness. And not a few who were his ministers and are still alive could testify to this; and likewise to the various bodily infirmities to which he was subject. For, as to the pains and tortures...

(78) The aforementioned tract, says Petavius, he found in the Parisian codex of Theophanes, as if it were an excerpt from Nicephorus, which for that reason he placed at the end of the *Histories* of Nicephorus in the Louvre edition. For the rest, this tract is not read in the Chronicle of Theophanes, nor can it pertain to it, since Theophanes spoke fully and sufficiently of Copronymus in his own place and in his own words. And so this was rather some stray fragment of the Parisian codex. We ourselves, however, have finally discovered this fragment in two unpublished Vatican chronicles, namely that of George Hamartolus, p. 189, and that of John the Sicilian, p. 356. And while this excerpt varies somewhat in the aforementioned Chronicles from our codex of the entire work of Nicephorus, we have nonetheless decided that we must adhere solely to the latter, as it is complete and interpolated by no one's hand.

and with unspeakable torments, such as it is natural for those whose bodies are ulcerated to suffer, he was afflicted and lay in a severely wretched and painful state. Indeed, some of his limbs were consumed by ulcers, with parts of the flesh having sloughed off from him. Constantly terrified by the Furies, he passed the nighttime hours bitterly and miserably, perhaps delaying the deliberations he had proposed, while the faith he was persecuting stood against him. ^A Let it be passed over now to speak of the unpalatability and ugliness of his diet; for whatever food he would force down his throat, he would cast up again immediately, due to the vomiting. And as for his savagery and bestial character toward those serving him, and the most oppressive nature of that service—what sort of bodies could describe the things they endured? For daily, with many lashes, he would flay their backs and arms, and he acted no more humanely toward them than carnivorous beasts. And regarding the mutilation of limbs, the blinding of eyes, and all the other terrible punishments, the unjust slaughters of innocent men, and the most bitter deaths by fire, what need is there to speak? He was envious of those ^B who possessed courage and virtue; and to those who had progressed to some degree in excellence and utility—for about those who, for the sake of piety, suffered such things or even worse, there will be need of another, superior writing [(h)].

71. Finally, when he had reached the end of his evils, burning with the heat of acute fevers, he clearly foresaw and contemplated the flame of the Gehenna that was soon to receive him, and he perceived the bites of the worm that never sleeps, crying out intensely and loudly with the utmost persistence. These were the vestibules of Gehenna; from this, realizing a little of his impiety, he sought the relief of the faith we hold, and commanded the priests who accompanied him to chant the sacred hymns of the Christians. ^C But they, eager to refuse, said they did not know them, nor had they ever chanted them—whether the matter was truly so, or because they shuddered at his cruelty and irascibility. Established, therefore, in such delights, even as we have heard that Diocletian and Maximian were before their ends, the wicked man, dying wickedly and miserably, brought his life to a close. Moreover, he died while traveling by ship, some thousands of paces outside the city, as he was returning from the regions of Thrace, where he had been with the army. For the earth, the mother of all, did not allow that murderer, who had flooded and polluted her with innocent blood, to die upon her. How worthy of reproach and how miserable, therefore, are those who, in their folly, are not ashamed to call him blessed! ^D And indeed, the entire time of his life did not extend to a very long span; for having lived no more than fifty-eight years, he lost both soul and body; and even these, by God's permission, scarcely

^A permitted—or rather, not permitting, for he was unworthy of the grace of God—or, to speak more properly, God deferring the time and judging him deservedly, so that even here he might taste somewhat of the penalty for his daring deeds, and pay the price, that he might bitterly and painfully sever his most shameful life, he, the wretched man, being destined to receive hereafter from divine justice those punishments stored up for him, immortal and without end, and indeed more acerbic and lasting for him, together with his father and co-heir, being prepared by God's judgment in the Gehenna of torment.

72. But as for the victories that they attribute to him, they are of such a kind that we may recall one of the greatest ^B (k). After he had prepared to defend against the Scythian people who were settled to our west (81), he gathered together his entire army; and what the outcome of the war was when he came to grips with the enemy, the things visible to this day bear witness; for even today, the vicinity of the city called Anchialus (82), the valleys and level fields, show the limbs of those who were slaughtered; for almost the entire Roman army was cut down by the Scythian blade. But if he did anything small and of no great consequence, we indeed read of it in his letters written to the inhabitants of the royal city; in which this servant and companion of lies boasts greatly, and also displays much hatred of God, expressed in infinite oaths to the contumely of the Creator; for when he caught that nation rebelling against its own leaders (for the Scythians often do this, as they are imbued ^C with barbaric customs and are usually divided into two parts if they happen to find them resisting their own wills), which sedition happened when their lord, Sabinus, fled and defected to the Romans (83). Then, therefore, the civil dissension and sedition of the nation gave him a brief opportunity for managing the matter well. Meanwhile, however, he dreaded even the mere mention of the Eastern Barbarians; so much so that he said in an assembly that he did not dare to join battle with even a few of them with his whole army. But when the civil sword was moved among them in the accustomed manner, and iron decided the outcome from the diversity of the parties, and they were rushing into mutual destruction, he, in a brigandish rather than a military fashion, as if unknown, invading the provinces of Armenia, took strongholds there with the consent of the inhabitants. For the Armenians ^D and Syrians were Christians; for he would never have encountered a pagan foe; and these also (84), contrary to the faith given by oath, he transported as exiles to the borders of Thrace: whose

punishment for such transgression, I believe, the Thracian plain exacts this very day. But the Saracens, when they had heard of his incursion, sent against him a certain division of a heavy-armed phalanx, which did not exceed the number of five thousand men. When he learned of their arrival, he immediately took to flight with the multitude that followed him, not even daring to draw near to them. Such, then, are his accomplishments and the trophies raised against enemies.

75. But if it is necessary to measure the religious faith by victories, and heroic deeds, and long periods of time, and other things by which the happiness ^B and prosperity of the present life are known, and not to pay attention to the divine and apostolic preaching—but rather to leave those things to the judgments of God, who wishes not only for a right faith to be shown by us, but also for an excellent and evangelical life and conduct—since the one without the other is dead, and he who is deprived of one will also lack the other (a matter for which the impious have never had any care): why then do they not let this man be, neglected and despised, as if he had neither reigned, nor waged war, nor existed at all? And why, regarding their own boasted achievements as small, ^C do they not turn to those who have accomplished great things in life, and who have won victories against almost all nations throughout the whole world, and have set up trophies against their enemies, and have lived for a very long time, and have attained to great prosperity, and have acquired such glorious and boastful renown in their reign that one might even emulate and magnify their religion; and marvel at their accomplishments, and be astonished by them, and choose their life and manner of acting, so that in the ages to come, one might most justly obtain the lot prepared and destined for them? And that, ^D omitting the many, we may recall a few: consider here for me Alexander, the son of Philip, the Macedonian, who obtained almost the whole world, and subdued and enslaved all the Greek and barbarian nations. He, moving as if on wings, traversed the whole world with speed, and his vehemence and swiftness presented the likeness of a leopard to those who saw him. For thus have some of the teachers interpreted that passage (Daniel [*] VII, 6), because he accomplished the designs of his mind more effectively than human expectation supposes. For he did not have a slow momentum, but, rushing as if in a single course, he defeated everyone. Others, however, have understood this passage regarding the dynasty of the Persians. Or tell me of Caesar Augustus, who, occupying his dominion a greater time after him, established a glorious empire for himself; since the Macedo-

^Anian power was inferior to that of the Romans; and the time of his reign was extended for him, having a duration almost equal to the whole lifetime of Mammon. For I know that the profession of Christ would cause you no shame, so that you would be pleased to praise even the slaughter of the infants by Herod; and would lament only this one thing, that the One who was sought was not included in the number of the slain, but escaped by flight into Egypt, since Herod reigned—according to what they say—for thirty-seven years. Marvel, I pray, at the Athenian Timotheus (86), who had fortune as his companion in his life of affairs. Why do you not also boast of Sennacherib, and the others who have ruled over the Assyrians? So that we may return from here to older times; and after them, or even before them, do you not marvel at Nebuchadnezzar and his dynasty? And for this reason he was named by the oracles of the Spirit ^B the hammer of the whole earth, for crushing and destroying all things against which he might advance. But the Medes and Persians, inasmuch as they were sanctified and guided by God, and coming as giants with joy and at the same time with insult, as though they would fulfill the wrath of Him who sanctifies them, and Cyrus is called the Christ of God, who was the leader of their impulse—would not these lead you more quickly to faith? I pass over many things, for the sake of avoiding a heap of words. But you will say that Mammon fortified the fortresses in Thrace with walls (87). But since this is of great importance to you for religious faith, attribute the glory of this faith to Romulus and Remus, and consider the fame of the greatest Rome, and the high glory of its foundation. Emulate the religion of him who built the great Alexandria, and marvel at the suitability of the place, and at the Nile that irrigates the fields there, its annual risings, and honoring it as a bringer of fruit, you would not depart from the ancient and superstitious error of the Egyptians. Let Ninus be the head of your profession, who raised up the city of Nineveh named after himself, the crossing of which would be completed in a journey of three days.

74. Move on from here, if it pleases you, to the kings who existed among the Israelite people, and consider the ^C prosperity and the time that was upon them. One will suffice for you in place of all, possessing a great honor and glory of religion! This is Jeroboam, the servant and rebel ^D. For after Solomon, the son of the prophet David, departed from this life, he returned from Egypt, where he had previously hidden as a fugitive. And he enjoyed such fortune and prosperity that he was able to divide the nation into two parts, and lead away the greater number of the tribes, and carve out a domain and kingdom for himself, and establish royal palaces, and lead the people away from the worship of God, and bring them near to destructive demons, and set up golden calves in place of sacred religion, for the foolish.

^A And if you propose to them the adoration of golden calves, you are far surpassed by that prodigy of yours, which excelled in the beauty of its workmanship, in acclamations, and in resounding musical harmony, a wonder marvelously adorned with gold, attracting the eyes of the sightless by its variety and magnitude, that which I say was set up by craftsmen in emulation of the Babylonian statue. And what of the great and bold Uzziah, who attempted a matter beyond his dignity and was stricken with leprosy for it? But in your judgment, there is no one who will be compared to Manasseh; for he is reported to have surpassed all those celebrated for impiety and atheism, who overwhelmed himself and all his subjects with every kind of scandal and abomination. And yet, the one of these held the empire of the Jewish people for fifty-two years, and the other for fifty-five. You will deride, I know, and spit upon the pious Josiah, who had God as his witness of piety, and who excelled the others in orthodox faith, because he ended his life ingloriously, wounded by some unknown fighter, while he did not sufficiently beware of the dangers of battle. Admiring the length of their kingdoms and the prosperity of their present life, imitate their customs, and covet their way of life and religion; applaud, acclaim, adorn them with excellent praises; follow their way of life, emulate their deeds, finally offer libations and victims to them, take pleasure in sacrificing to them, and if it pleases you, offer these things to your own, ^B adore, celebrate with hymns, worship with sacred rites, listen to the responses of the fortune-tellers, consult the geomancers, ^C confer with the ventriloquists. What more is there to say? Run to the demons by whom your master was driven, so that you may more easily be happy, and be filled with bread and wine, and with all that the earth yields and that is sought after by earth-bound men. "O sons of men," let the great David shout to you, as if with a loud-voiced trumpet, preaching as it were from a watchtower and a high place, "how long will you be heavy-hearted? Why do you love vanity and seek after a lie?" (Ps. IV, 3). ^D

75. Since you deem something of great importance to be present, and confine the whole business of life to corruptible and perishable things, whence comes that little prosperity of yours, about which you boast so much, and whence, I ask, do you think he amassed his stipends? If my speech is not disagreeable to you, listen and learn. A most hostile enemy of Christ, a tyrant most desirous of gold, a slave to money, who surpassed that Lydian in his insane greed for gold, and held gold and his belly in the place of God; a most grievous and inexorable tax-collector, he made the yoke of the taxpayers heavier and heavier by constant and annual increases in levies, pressing and oppressing all the farmers most unjustly,

so that one might easily buy the entire substance of a farmer with a single gold coin. I myself have seen wretched men, on account of their taxes, hanging suspended by their hands from tall and long trees, so that they remained suspended in the air for a long time, and endured this harsh and violent punishment because they were unable to pay the public levies. But you—are you not ashamed, and do you not shrink away, you who devour the life of your neighbors, and sell the flesh, or rather the very souls, of your fellow men for a paltry weight of gold, and make the calamities of others your own luxury and pernicious profit?

^B 76. Therefore do you glory in the duration and prosperity of your reign? Do the present circumstances seem so great to you, and worthy of all admiration? Then go on and move your tongue against the Creator; reach forth hands armed against the glory of the Only-Begotten; despise Christ, because when He arrived on earth, He appeared in a humble and lowly form, and was the poorest of all, and, having nowhere to lay His head, was in greater need than the foxes and the birds, leading along a small number of disciples, and these themselves needy and poor; and condemn Him to the most shameful death as if He were some evil-doer and criminal; mock the cross and the passion, which He undertook for your sake; disbelieve in the divine signs; spue out at the miracles; hold up the resurrection to ridicule with the Jews; revile the poverty of the disciples, and scorn them as they went about everywhere possessing no coin, no staff, and only one tunic; and consider the beautiful feet of those who preach the gospel to be calamitous. Mock the suffering and the patience of the martyrs of the truth; deride their loss of all their possessions, and reproach their readiness to bear any hardship whatsoever, and their boldness in enduring dangers and death itself. For this reason the saints seem to you to be avoided, while their persecutors are beloved, because you think that the former were defeated and gained nothing of the present things, while the latter did not fail in the glory that they possess. For you are ignorant that the noble achievements of the saints are of a different order, worthy of the true faith and the hope that is in them, having acquired, as is truly the case, glory and radiance that is eternal and everlasting; while the works of the persecutors are base and impious, and worthy of their own atheism; things which, along with their memory, are immediately extinguished, being dissipated most quickly like smoke by a whirlwind; although these things are objects of admiration to you, who are attached only to present things, and in no way foster any hope for the goods laid up in the future age for those who are worthy.

77. Let the life of the holy and ascetic men, who demonstrate an angelic and fleshless manner of life while yet in the body, be a subject of laughter for you. Revile their temperance, their humility, their gentleness, their silence, their patience, their sleeping on the ground, their poverty, their solitude, their flight from the world and the things of the world, and other things in which God

^A is well-pleased and rejoices. Open your mouth against the angelic and apostolic habit; compel those who live honorably in the life of solitude; compel them, I say, to violate the profession made to God, to refashion their way of life, to change their habit, to lay aside the black, rough, and tattered garment, and to clothe themselves in white and splendid ones. Bring them into public, drive them into the theater, accuse them, weave slanders, devise lewdnesses; for which, unless they wish to become transgressors of the vows offered to God, let the innocent and guiltless be condemned; call them unworthy of memory, since even Christ, according to you, is set aside as God and invoked only as a mere man. Such is your Christ and teacher, my persecutor and the persecutor of Christians, or rather, he is the Antichrist himself. Do you seek the pleasure of this life? Do you wish to measure the tested faith and the brilliance and fame of actions by this pleasure? Indeed you can, if you are possessed by any zeal for the truth, by considering the nature of the facts—those things which lie far from the boundaries of piety—that such dogmas are deceitful and despicable, creating danger for the soul; and thus, finally, you can reject and cast away their masters and Fathers.

78. But as for those faithful kings who reigned before, and who were endowed with a great and praiseworthy zeal for piety, receive and embrace their profession and their opinion concerning the incarnation of Christ; and consider their magnificence and splendor, as well as the fervor which they showed toward our immaculate and blameless religion, and their custody and observance of the orthodox dogmas. ^B Let Constantine the Great be proposed here as a peak and altar of piety for you to behold, so that I may begin my discourse from him, who ruled for a space of time equal to this one; and see how faithful he appeared and proved to be toward God, and how much he accomplished during the time of his reign: the altars and temples in which the worship of abominable demons was carried out, he overturned from the foundations; [he ended] the error of idols and made it vanish at once; he made altars and shrines—

^C Against the impious and God-hated leader Copronymus and their new and recent teachings, which they dogmatize out of extreme madness, folly, and stupidity; not understanding what they say or about what they make assertions. But we, following the teachings of the holy Fathers, believe this to be ancient and old.

Bare feet and following in the footsteps of the apostles, bearing nothing dead; a measured tonsure, a garment curbing vanity, a girdle becoming to an unadorned man, drawing up the tunic a little, and only as much as sufficiently prevents the step from being hindered. These few things I have gathered and necessarily composed out of many for the sake of those who do not know when and where and whence the conduct, asceticism, and order of the monks began. Where, then, are the Iconoclasts, who impiously and foolishly reject and spit upon the monastic way of life, along with the other divine traditions and institutions of the apostolic Church? They are, clearly, new Jews, who, under the leadership ^D of the irreligious and God-hated Copronymus, have devised this new and recent sect through extreme insanity, dementia, and rudeness; neither knowing what they say nor what they affirm. We, however, obeying the doctrines of the holy Fathers, believe this to be ancient and derived from the very beginnings of religion.

^A And again, having razed from their foundations those temples where the healing of the loathsome demons was performed, and having completely put an end to their sacrifices and rites, he established and adorned the holy temples of our faith, making the greatest possible use of bountifulness and magnanimity toward them, and he granted freedom and boldness to the Christians. Furthermore, in the houses of worship which he himself built from their very foundations for God, he clearly and at great expense depicted the holy symbols of the great economy of God, his miracles, signs, and sufferings, and moreover those of his saints, and he honored them by placing them upon sacred vessels and elsewhere. From this he brought decoration and beauty to the holy houses, at the same time explaining and setting forth the power of the divine mystery, and stirring the spectators to the remembrance of religion, in the exact way in which they are recounted by the Gospels, which are the indelible witnesses of these things. ^B Therefore, the very temples proclaim his orthodoxy with a great and piercing voice, and no less so do the types of the coins minted by him that are still preserved to this day. From this, recognize his successfully accomplished deeds, and what and how great were the victories he carried off over every foreign nation, and how his empire grew, and how his life was prosperous, and how he completed the span of years which is most sufficient for the measure of human life. And what need is there to say how illustrious and glorious he showed himself to be in his life? If it pleases you to admire the works of his building, look as you pass by at Byzantium, to what measure of glory and fine order he raised it, increasing and adorning it so much with walls and enclosures, as was fitting for the reception of the royal residence of the Romans. Why should I enumerate the multitude and magnitude of the buildings, by which he attained the chiefest glory over all, which it is neither easy for those who see to comprehend, nor possible for those who write to set forth? Go forward, then, and coming to later times, learn what those kings who were gifted with the correctness of dogmas accomplished after him. Look, my friend, if you will, at Theodosius, so that I may continue my speech about the buildings, to what extent he enlarged and magnified this same city of Constantine, and what kind of temples he built, inasmuch as he held to the same principle of orthodoxy as his predecessors. Consider the number of years, which is most dear and desirable to you, the length of his reign—you who long for longevity in this world and foolishly love fleeting things. For he shone upon the imperial throne for forty-two years ^C (s). ^D 79. But now come, consider—if you possess the discernment to judge of better things—the reverence which his grandfather, Theodosius the Great, had toward God and the servants of God. For as to the zeal and faith which he had regarding the incarnation of our Savior, and our holy houses [built] by him...

^A and the holy houses built by him here, as well as those founded in the West [notes: 97], proclaim him: and the books narrate very many victories granted from above against the Barbarians. If you hear of but one of these matters, unless the senses of your soul are utterly dulled and atrophied, you will be more favorably disposed toward the rest of the man’s noble deeds. For when once a most significant multitude of hostile nations had closed in and were inciting the most terrible war against him, he, being God-loving in character and most fervent in his faith toward God—since his best counsel in such crises was to place little confidence in the preparation of arms, nor to boast of the great number of his troops, nor to rely much for security on the strength of men, but rather always to take refuge in divine help—did as he was wont at that time, confident that he would have this as an invincible aid. He sent, therefore, to a certain man in Egypt, full of God and illustrious for his miraculous works, urging him to come to him, so that, guided by his prayers, he might undertake the battle against the enemies. The man, however, delayed his own coming out of religious scruple, but after he had prayed over the staff upon which he leaned and over the maphorion that he wore about his neck, he sent these to Theodosius. ^B Receiving them with faith and devotion, and trusting in them, he wrapped his head with the maphorion in place of a helmet, just as he had been instructed, and armed his right hand with the staff in place of a spear. Running out first of all from his entire army, he rushed upon the enemies. When the Barbarians saw this, they were all immediately turned to flight, and pressing upon one another they suffered a great slaughter, with no enemy even drawing near or striking them. Thus, then, did he set up a brilliant trophy over the enemies at that time. From that time forth, and for his whole life, he gloried in these miraculous and victorious arms more than in a royal diadem, being always adorned with these in place of any armor and making use of them. As this miraculous victory was rumored everywhere, the inhabitants of the great city of Alexander held a public festival and panegyric every year on its account, which they called "Iconium"; for they had depicted an icon of the king, portraying him with the very same arms with which he had once been girded; which thing proclaimed that miracle which had once happened concerning him [notes: μ].

§ 80. But your master Mamunis did not act in such a way, nor was there piety and faith in him, but he behaved shamelessly and furiously against God and the holy men who were as though consecrated to him and against the apostolic and angelic ^C [mode of] monastic life.

^A Abhorring the monastic habit, which is synonymous with religion, he imposed upon them a name not to be remembered, for "religion is an abomination to a sinner." Regarding the things that the tyrant did tyrannically against them, while compelling them to abrogate the promises and covenants made to God, and shedding the sacred habit to put on secular clothing; and furthermore, while he forced some of them to unite with women, and in the circus games led monks and the venerable monastic virgins, binding them in pairs and parading them in triumph, most godlessly and illegally, and acting against the entire law of the Christians—and all the other unlawful and impious things he perpetrated against them—it would be better not to recount them in this present discourse.

^B But come, let us move from here, and if you wish, examine the lives and the prosperity of those who came later, since for you the criterion of faith is victories over enemies and the splendors of the present world. O author of a new faith—or rather, a new division and infidelity—O creature of an ungrateful mind and slave to luxury, look at the ancient Justinian, how fervently and publicly he honored the images of the incarnate Word; he held the Roman empire for thirty-eight years. How great was the prosperity he enjoyed against the barbarian nations, the many most serious histories tell, and it is known to those who study those books. Do you boast of constructed buildings, and do you take these as a testimony of faith? Omit other things, which are very many and very great and exceed any count, in which—by means of sacred temples and other structures—he took care to depict, with a great variety of forms, both the incarnation of the Word and the struggles of the saints. One thing will suffice for you in place of all: the temple ^C that takes its name from the Wisdom of God the Word. This is the most miraculous of miracles, famous throughout the world, and—of all those mentioned and recorded in histories—the most stupendous and worthy of being seen, by reason of its immense size and surpassing beauty. But as for Heraclius, if we pass over those in between, it is not easy to find his equal. How great was his love and veneration for these sacred things, the temples raised by him proclaim with a loud voice; and time has preserved images of our Savior Christ ^D not made by hands, for which he burned with such love and zeal that he would not leave his house, nor would he travel, without them, but instead used them as companions and safe guides for his journeys. And how great were his prayers to our most pure Lady, the Mother of God, and the commemoration and invocation of the saints? He was not accustomed even to draw breath without the use of these. Furthermore, what his deeds were because of this great faith and religion, the cities and provinces will proclaim, which then, in the power of the Persians...

were recovered by his faith and by numerous labors and were restored to the Romans. For carelessness and sloth by those who ruled before, or rather the sins of many, had betrayed them to the enemies. The duration of his reign exceeded thirty years, while the entire time of his life was twice as long. And thus, both the preceding and those who followed of the emperors and princes, excelling in piety, both lived and administered their affairs. What do you say to this? Where are the deeds of your teachers? If you should wish to compare what you marvel at in him with the histories, what will happen? The things you boast of will be reckoned as a drop before the ocean, compared to those.

^B 82. But those men, while they were prospering, neither stumbled at the history of our evangelical proclamation, nor, when meeting with adversity, did they lay hands upon the holy images. For they did not compare the Christian religion to the course of present affairs. For it is agreed that this life has nothing stable or firm, but is turned upside down, and never remains in the same state, and at one time things go well, at another they veer in the opposite direction, until the time of the apostasy arrived. And these calumniators of our pure faith and apostates, rushing like wild beasts into the fold of Christ, corrupted everything that is pious, illicitly and impiously subverting the most ancient and divine definitions and decrees of the holy Church on account of our sins, perverting their own judgment, or rather their own turpitude, into the judgment of God. But you, however, have been found an unfaithful and reprobate explorer of our faith. For no examination is required in religion (for this is the office of incredulity), but rather the simplicity of the soul and the uncurious assent of a pure mind. It is most thoroughly established that this is the genuine mark of a faithful man. ^C We, however, considering unbelief in very truth and directing our mind to the outcomes of events, relying on the safe criterion of truth, say that because of the impiety of your teachers and the injuries against the Church of Christ, very many provinces and great cities and peoples, which have preserved the piety of our faith—and especially, among these, the nations closest to the setting sun—have defected from us; whence it has come to pass that, division having been made long ago, the Roman empire has been weakened and diminished.

83. Much more, therefore, have the souls of men who lived at that time, having been deceived and corrupted by error, been consigned to eternal condemnation. But to you are set forth the works and prosperities and years of those who reigned with unimpaired piety: if indeed you have faith in these.

^A In these things is provided a clear teacher, guiding you toward every salutary path; if, however, the salvation of your soul should ever be a matter of concern to you, emulate their faith, taking confidence in the hope toward God, and accept their pious and most excellent deeds, and despise the present, and press on toward the future, and look for God as the most righteous judge of what has been done, so that, not remaining merely involved in worldly things, you may not, along with those who were ignorant of these things, be taken up into that impartial and most fearsome judgment to be punished eternally in Gehenna—where there is no king or commoner, rich or poor, friend or relative who can offer aid to another. For each one will be convicted by his own works, to be either glorified or put to shame. ^B But if you have not been so entirely seized by unbelief, you will exert yourself, once you have sunk into error, to eventually swim back up and look toward the straightness of the truth. In order that it may be within your power to know what is beneficial and what has come about well, it is set before you to hear whence and how this heresy—or rather, this apostasy—took its beginning and progress; so that it may be well known to you that this sentiment and crime is not royal, but Judaic. For, besides all the other heresies which were sown as bad seed in the Church of Christ by the Enemy and ungodly sprang up, this bitter thorn also, which is joined to their company and is counted as the one hundred and second among those previously enumerated, has ungodly sprouted along with them; the ^C hundred and second such bitter thorn has ungodly grown up with them, numbered after those previously listed. It is as follows:

Heresy 102. Christianocategori, or Iconoclasts.

§4. They were called Christianocategori, because they brought charges against Christians who worship the one living and true God, who is adored in the Trinity, asserting that they worship the venerable images of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of our immaculate and most holy Lady the Theotokos, and of the saints, as gods, in the manner of the Gentiles; and because they behaved as if they loathed them like idols, they shamefully insulted the Church of Christ, both by destroying these images and by bitterly tormenting those who revered them according to the custom handed down to Christians from the beginning. ^D Moreover, this sentiment is clearly Judaic and hateful to God. For some of the ancients say that this heresy sprouted in this way: that in the city of Tiberias there was a certain man of the Jewish religion who was well-known, and preeminent among his own people, whose nickname was Tessaracontapechos. Being an instrument of the wicked demon, and having received him into himself completely, he practiced sorcery and enchantments as if they were a kind of art. This man was hostile to Christians,

^A consumed with envy against the Church of Christ, and was watching for an opportunity when he might attack and corrupt the true religion. He therefore found the Saracen prince who was in power at that time, whose name was Yazid, and he gained his favor; and, exhibiting the appropriate signs of goodwill, he pretended to foretell things that would be pleasing to him. At the same time, he promised that if the prince would yield to his suggestions, he would enjoy a long reign and complete a thirty-year span of time in authority. The prince, being puffed up by this levity, and because he embraced a life of licentiousness and gladly welcomed whatever might contribute to the propagation of his lusts, consented to the demand of this impious man—namely, that he should command throughout his entire dominion that every upright image and every likeness of any living creature whatsoever be cast down and destroyed. ^B This was the diabolical scheme of that enemy of God, who concealed his deceit so that, by the destruction of every image, he might by quiet artifice undermine the entire beauty of our sacred iconography. And when this unholy decree was proclaimed, along with other images and statues, the decoration of the holy icons throughout the churches of Christ was immediately cast down; for some they scraped away, others they obliterated by covering them with dust, and others they consigned to the fire, along with the very holy houses, vessels, and vestments. And these things were perpetrated by profane and unholy hands; for those who were sent to do this compelled the Christ-hating Jews and Saracens to carry out these decrees. Yet the Christians, even though they were pressured and forced, refused to touch such a great abomination. From there, this evil arose and grew, and spread through the Roman Empire. Its corruption was not contracted by common people, but by the very princes of the priesthood themselves, who were shepherds in name but wolves in their character and intent—among whom was the bishop of Nakoleia at the time. ^C For these men, holding the same opinions as the enemies of God and acting in the same way, brought shame upon the Church of God.

But it is not right to pass over in silence the end that the perpetrator of this evil, that most wicked Hebrew, received. For this Yazid, having survived no more than two years and six months from then, perished miserably, ^D having contracted that error; which Nicephorus likewise intimates, noting as it was also said in the Second Council of Nicaea. The Saracens themselves had the Jews as the authors of their error. Such, therefore, is the lineage and ancestry of the Iconoclasts: Jews, Mahometans, and Christian-accusers—that is, the Iconoclasts themselves.

^A His son, Walid by name, succeeding to his father’s kingdom, ordered that impostor to be put to death by a most bitter and cruel execution, as a deceiver of his father, that he might receive rewards worthy of his wickedness. Then the Church throughout the East recovered its own ornament, and the restoration of the sacred images followed. Yet, since the root of this bitterness had already been planted in the Roman republic, it presently seized the very man who then held the empire. This was Leo ^B, in name and character; and because he was stung by the same goads of intemperate lust as that barbarian, being maddened by fury against religion, he strove to efface every painting of the august temples. His son, Constantine, taking up his principate, declared an irreconcilable war against the orthodox: he gathered a synod of impious priests, and published his own wicked decree of irreligion, that the sacred images should be totally removed, and that those who revered them, or who prayed for their protection in words, ^C should be handed over to bitter tortures and punishments.

On not hiding any book of the Christian-accusing heresy, directed against the holy images, but that it ought to be given to the bishop’s house of Constantinople, that it may be deposited with other heretical books.

^D The tyrant emperor, having left the royal city, betook himself to Nicomedia, and there he remained for a long time. Then, departing from there, he gathered a synod against the holy images in Blachernae, in which synod the bishops, to their disgrace, spoke many vain things against God and Christ; then also, raising their impure hands to heaven with a clamor, they uttered those deplorable words: "Today salvation has come to the world, because you, O emperor, have delivered us from the idols." O extreme and daring insolence, and madness and blasphemy of those Christ-fighters and temple-robbers, and of their licentious tongues and ungrateful minds! For if this founder of impiety, the cause of the destruction of idols, were correct, then the incarnation of Christ was in vain, and the teaching of the apostles was empty.

[Regarding the footnote-prose commentary text:] (9) Namely Moavias, who assumed the caliphate shortly after he abdicated. (10) Leo the Isaurian came to the empire in the year 717. Therefore, he was little removed from the age of Yazid, in which interval the error hostile to the sacred images had already taken root in the Roman, or rather the Greek, empire, as Nicephorus said above. (11) Our Nicephorus narrates that Copronymus held this synod in the year 755, and placed Theodosius, the archbishop of Ephesus, over it, with all subscribing to the irreligious decree, for shame! Which was also solemnly promulgated in the forum. The history of the aforementioned synod is related thus in the chronicle hitherto unedited by Georgius Hamartolus, Cod. Vat. p. 188; and also Jo. Siculus, Cod. Vat. p. 353... (12) Whether the writing containing the refutation of the Iconoclasts, which Nicephorus refutes articulately in his *Antirrhetics*, was part of this decree, or some other document composed by royal authority and nod, I do not know well. The books of the Iconomachs are mentioned in the *Apologeticus Major*, cap. 9, and elsewhere. Furthermore, it is no wonder that these have perished; since in the eighth act of the Nicene Council there stands a canon that no book of the "Christian-accusers" directed against the holy images is to be hidden, but is to be deposited in the bishop’s house of Constantinople, to be stored away with other heretical books. The penalty decreed for transgressors of this precept was: for bishops, presbyters, and deacons, the abdication of their office; for monks and the laity, excommunication. Therefore, the separation of wicked books from good ones was a custom not only in the Roman Church, but also in the Oriental. As regards the Roman, the testimony of Virgil the ancient grammarian—edited by me (AA. class. t. V, p. 41)—is remarkable, speaking thus of the books of the gentiles. This custom the Roman Church held and preserved from the authority of the apostolic men, that the books of the Christian philosophers should be kept separate from the writings of the gentiles, etc. They established this most subtly, that two libraries being composed, one should contain the books of the faithful philosophers, and the other the writings of the gentiles; lest by mixing the unfaithful with the faithful, no distinction should be made between clean and unclean; so that if anyone wished to read gentile books, they might be kept separate. Truly, in such a great current redundancy of books, we can scarcely comply with this institution of a double library: from these, however, the care of the Catholic Church is at least evident, which it does not omit even now, nay, it zealously retains, so that it may remove wicked and harmful books, contrary to the right faith and good morals, from the free and indiscreet use or reading of Christians, by its laws and authority.

upholding the case for them, were surrendered to bitter tortures and punishments; ^A imputing to these the crime of idolatry, as if they worshipped the images as gods. He ordered, moreover, the sacred institution of the monastic life to be utterly abolished and held up to ridicule, and that monks must either change their habit or be subjected to various punishments. Therefore, from what has been said thus far, it is evident to you what this dogma of the Jewish mind was: then too, you are not ignorant of what sort the Christian doctrine is. It is for your own free will, therefore, to deliberate whether you choose what is good and useful, or what is evil and harmful. (e) So far the fragment in Lequien.

OF OUR HOLY FATHER AND SOMETIME ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE NICEPHORUS, APOLOGETICUS FOR OUR BLAMELESS, PURE, AND SINCERE CHRISTIAN FAITH, AND AGAINST THOSE WHO THINK THAT WE OFFER WORSHIP TO IDOLS.

^B 1. That insightful and wise oracle of Solomon confirms for us that there is a time for every matter, regulating life from that point on, and informing human life toward what is good and advantageous, so that men might not rashly commit themselves to the undertaking of actions, acting senselessly and out of season, nor, by behaving with imprudence and in a disorderly manner according to their own judgment, fall into many unexpected troubles and harmful situations against their will. There is a time, he says, to keep silence, and a time to speak; this is enumerated among the things mentioned by the educator [i.e., Solomon] in his discourse, so that we may be taught not only to act, but also to speak at the proper time when it is necessary, but also to know the measure of each thing we do or say; for if, as it is held to be well said, "Every measure is excellent," it is believed that the measure which is best should be rightly applied in every matter, indeed, it is also necessary—

while reason wisely and most fittingly governs all things, and ever distinguishes what is present, not merely what appears and seems to be. ^A Being ourselves led by these principles, and yielding to these useful and holy admonitions, and being imbued with the other teachings of divine doctrine, we have considered it well to distinguish, as best as possible, with prudence and proper reasoning, the times of events. For, knowing that there is one time for silence and another for speech (so that we might neither unwisely and boldly put forth an intemperate tongue where it is necessary to set a guard upon the mouth; nor, on the other hand, when it is expedient to speak, pass over in silence what it is not right either to keep silent or to restrain within the barrier of the teeth), we have—since we have now fallen into these disturbances, and ^B behold a common danger gathered against the Church of God, and perceive a tempest of impiety, so grave, raging against the catholic parts, and see this calamity receiving increase with the passage of time—considered it necessary to move the tongue and sharpen the pen, that this impious crime of the heretics might be displayed, revealed by our description to future ages like some infamous pillar and trophy, and that this labor of ours might by divine grace become a protection and bulwark for the faithful and pious. Although in truth we did not keep silence on this matter at any other time, ^C lest we undergo the charge of taciturnity, and at the same time fearing the condemnation hanging over those who, set in charge to hand down the doctrine, withdraw it. Therefore, since we are about to engage in the proposed struggles, we have attempted to set forth in a few words that which we have judged most useful—indeed, necessary—at the present time, and thus to make a beginning, as far as lies within our power, of the subject we have undertaken, according as God shall supply speech to our mouths—He for whose sake this whole discourse is stirred up, and for whose sake we now fight in behalf of his right worship.

2. ^D Truly it behooves you, O men, who have arrived at the final hour, and upon whom the ends of the ages have come according to the apostolic word (for we address our words generally to all), and especially you who, through negligence or selfishness, have been led far astray and have slipped away, it behooves you, I say, to meditate upon and contemplate nothing else but that final and greatest day, in which the ends of this whole world shall arrive. You ought to behold it as if it were present, and to imagine that great and terrible trumpet sounding from above, clearly and with a loud voice, something fearful and extraordinary into the ears of all; after which—

the Judge of all and Lord and God of the universe shall be present, together with the multitude of blessed and incorporeal powers, coming down from heaven with the glory of the Father, as it is proclaimed, and shall bring into judgment the whole of creation, and shall render to each person according to how he lived—whether anyone, enslaved only to the passions of the flesh and thinking of nothing higher than visible things, has leaned toward the earth, or whether, lifted up by the Spirit, he has associated with things to come even before departing from here, as if they were already present, and, winged by divine longing, has mirrored in himself the blessedness of the things above. ^A We must pay close attention to ourselves, and choose the better and more advantageous of the impulses and motions within us. By sobriety of mind, purity of thoughts, and the watchfulness of the eyes of the soul, we should perform everything that is for the glory and pleasure of God. And, to speak briefly, whatever contributes to the salvation of the soul, we must set all diligence to perform through the keeping of the commandments. For by such things it comes about that those who have acted in this way arrive at intimacy with God, imitating those wise virgins, and lighting their ^B lamps, adorned with abundant oil, as if to meet the Bridegroom who comes at an untimely hour of the night. Having thus acquired an unwavering hope, they shall recline in those desired and wide-open bosoms of the patriarchs, in those blessed dwellings and inheritances, whatever they may be. These are the goods that should be loved; the mind should be occupied with these, and one should trouble oneself with nothing that is transitory and harmful. If we are endowed with such wisdom and choose to live in such a way, and if we lead our present life as a practice of death, we shall obtain the rewards promised by Him who does not lie, and the blessedness prepared for those who keep His word. Now, although this discourse on these matters is brief, it is nevertheless sufficient and enough; for it is not necessary to go on at any greater length, since the present time does not greatly demand this. But we shall begin a discussion ^C concerning the tares and thorns that have recently sprung up—sown by the enemy who hates what is good and ever envies what is beautiful, who does not bear the peace of Christ’s flock, and who has sown them among the pure wheat of the ecclesiastical field, which the evangelical and paternal word has nurtured and increased. These thorns, indeed, are already set to cruelly pierce with the stings of impiety those who are walking on the road of life.

3. The doctrine of our pious and only true religion of Christians had long ago been correctly established; for the foundation had been pre-laid by the wise architects of our faith and heralds of the truth—I mean the divine and inspired ^D apostles—which the Law and the Prophets had long ago foreshadowed and pre-delineated, Christ our God being the cornerstone, who, although He is a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal to those who now attempt to shake it, nevertheless remains for us, who are built upon this rock, as the chief of the disciples of the Word, when

^A he heard it. But the house of Wisdom is built up, as it were, of gold and precious stones—with the sacred and divine dogmas which have been elaborated and proclaimed by our renowned and God-bearing Fathers, both as many as shone forth, being gathered together by the divine Spirit in those sacred and divinely-called synods, being admirable and God-beloved men, and as many as, having been purified individually, and brilliant in their life, and lofty in word and thought, occupied sacred sees; and holding fast to the upright dogma of the truth as much as possible, they were distinguished, and everywhere in the inhabited world they sowed and made clear the doctrines of piety, and they cut out the thorns of impiety by the roots, and they stopped and stitched up the mouths of those holding heretical views, as those who speak and meditate injustice ^B against the heights. Hence, one faith and the same confession was maintained and kept harmoniously among all Christians. For what, in the long and infinite passage of time that has elapsed, as far as concerns the good and firm state of human life—whether you look to dogmas or to actions—what, I ask, remained unexplored or undiscussed? So wisely and benevolently had all things relating to us been arranged through the ages by the provident God; thus, the Law had been given of old to the ancients for a help, like some excellent tutor, instructing those who were still childish and imperfect in their powers through certain rudiments, and leading them to the knowledge of God, because a more perfect doctrine was not yet suitable for the men of that age. Then, indeed, after the Law was given, the prophets and men inspired by God, full of the Holy Spirit, gave many and various moral precepts, as the Spirit revealed to them, for the progress of the hearers. But because man could not accomplish these, and needed greater help, he obtained the prince of the Law and the prophets. For what was impossible in the Law, says the Apostle, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his ^C own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. And the first evil offspring of sin was idolatry, and the transference of worship from the Creator to the creatures. Thus the Word of God, the radiance of the Father’s glory, using condescension, by the good pleasure of the Father and the cooperation of the life-giving Spirit, having put on our poverty (for He could not bear, because of His ineffable goodness, that the work of His own hands should suffer detriment), became true man, even if the enemies of Christ do not wish it, and the same one also true God most fully, without sin, and through the cross, and passion, and resurrection, He freed us from the bonds of condemnation, and delivered us from the passions of sin, driving out the invisible tyrant ^D from our dominion, and restoring us to ancient prosperity.

^C For the One who brought human nature into existence also bestowed upon it, out of the overflow of His philanthropy, a blessed state, so that man, created by God, might enjoy perfect soundness. These things the prophets proclaimed from of old, the apostles subsequently evangelized, the martyrs courageously professed, and their followers and co-workers—the teachers of the Church—striving greatly, defended in concert. Through all these whom God placed in His Church, He firmly established all the supports for our life, so that whoever cares even a little for their own salvation might recognize therefrom what is better and more profitable. For what, O man, could you seek—even if you were most curious and keen to contemplate—that you would not immediately find judged and made manifest in the Spirit? Do you not have the height of theology and the sublimity of the dogmas? Do you not have the boundless goodness of the divine economy, the depth of God’s judgments, the precepts for action, the things to be avoided, the promises of good things prepared for the holy, the glory to be revealed hereafter to those who have lived rightly with the fear of God and the observance of His commandments, and, conversely, the threatened punishments and torments for those living basely and impiously? And, not to prolong our speech by recounting every particular, do they not surpass any meditation or work of others, ^D the discourses of those inspired and wise men, overflowing with divine philosophy?

4. What need, then, is there any longer for men to throw themselves into baseless babbling and absurd inquiries, and to stir up monstrous opinions, which are pregnant with much harm and are vain inventions of men who are slaves to their own passions and desires, corrupt in soul and body, and distorted in mind and understanding—opinions which, for this reason, have long been properly consigned to silence, justly driven out by the approved teachers of the Church, easily scattered like dust by a storm, and handed over to oblivion by the lovers of the honorable and the true, as being truly worthy of oblivion? It is not right, therefore, to be led astray by strange and foreign voices, and to be subjected to the teachings of impious men, who many years ago were excommunicated by ecclesiastical synods as heretics and enemies of the right faith, and were consigned to anathemas. Neither should we pay attention to those who twist the divine Scriptures toward their own God-hated way of thinking; but rather, we should rejoice to turn away from their specious arguments. For they babble at great length, deceiving themselves more than those whom they think they are hoodwinking, and wearing out the ears of their hearers in vain. Truly, those who seek out these things are speaking vanity and stumbling in vital matters. For they do not act for the glory of God—neither they themselves nor those who follow their error—but rather they strive wickedly and foolishly to establish their own opinion, ^B to their own shame, while a philosopher and one teeming with divine things shines forth; so long as impiety kept itself within its own dens, deep peace remained in the Church of God; and whatever is orthodox in the world

continued in joy and stability. And as is wont to follow in such cases, piety, as was fitting, and holiness of life, and zeal and diligence for the holy houses, were added to and increased day by day. ^B But the dragon of the abyss, the common enemy and adversary of our nature, the devil—who envies and opposes every good thing—could not behold these things with a tranquil mind. For this reason, he insinuated himself into vessels prepared for him, and into instruments of wickedness, through which he plotted to overthrow the citadel of our unadulterated faith; the very thing he had once done by sending in the serpent for the deception of our first mother. What then happened? The evil grew strong, and the whirlwind of impiety, having been stirred up, was raised and inflamed; and impious men took heart—evil workmen, I say, and followers of a sect to be shunned—as if emerging from I know not what secret dens of unbelief, they stood in battle array with brazen faces against our dogmas; and the spark of impiety, which they had long kept hidden in their own souls, having seized the fit time, as fire is wont to do when it falls upon arid material, they now fanned into a great flame.

5. But who indeed can here worthily bewail the spiritual ruin of those who reject the faith, or lament with tragic intensity the calamities of those who endure persecution for the truth? Yet it is worth the effort, as I judge, not to let even this pass in silence, so that all may know from what root such offshoots have sprung. For these men of whom we speak, as many as are base and abject in their life, lascivious and corrupt in mind, possessing a perverse and evil-inclined intellect—these, I say, had hitherto remained hidden, as often happens in other affairs; for fraud and secret guile had covered their depraved morals. ^C Yet this did not escape some who, through long association, had known their deeds. Let us omit recounting other things which it is possible to hear from those who know and can tell them; and from what wicked and savage deeds they transformed themselves into the monastic habit, having previously been laymen, so that they might secretly creep into the priesthood and ecclesiastical ^D orders. It was therefore necessary that those who were of such dishonest and detestable character should also hold opinions regarding faith consonant with those lives. For the tongue is wont to agree with actions, so that the one might indicate the other. Moreover, they were also desirous of empty glory, and pursued it greatly beforehand. Certainly, their designs were clearly discovered by some; for it was found that they had even uttered this statement: that they were ready to sell their soul, provided that they might license unrestrainedly the desires of their gluttonous and intemperate life.

^A They would come to the royal palace, there indeed hoping to debauch—which had long been their desire and the labor of their mind. Being meat-eating and most intemperate little men, given over entirely to the belly and Sybaritic tables, shadows of banquets and parasites, they seek a reward for their belly: *Whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame.* They are surely slaves of the belly and captives of carnal pleasures, following after carnal desires. For behold, they are nourished at the public expense and feast sumptuously, and, truly minding the things of the flesh and living according to the flesh, they pay homage, with bended knee, to their master the belly as if to another Baal; and from this the wretched ones reap the wages of sin. To such a degree of evil do they proceed, having found the pursuit of their passions to be a novelty for the faith, having so disregarded the fear of God and His commandment, indulging their belly and gullet, and choosing to please the authorities—as they think—in their own depravities, as it is written. And, like that God-hated and profane Esau, who for the sake of one meal sold his birthright to another, they have betrayed the freedom of the faith and of the priesthood. None the less, for the sake of such gains, they have foolishly and dangerously exchanged the covenants promised to them by God and the rectitude of our confession. *Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, and have run greedily after the error of Balaam for reward!* ^B Yet, not bearing to walk in the best and royal path, like certain skittish and unruly colts, they are borne onto precipices and thorns, even forgetting themselves, and, wretched ones, not even considering that they are subject to mortality. To these, the mournful utterance of the Proverbs would justly apply: *Woe to those who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice in evil, and delight in the perversity of evil; whose paths are crooked, and whose ways are tortuous!* For it is most pleasing and agreeable to them to remove both themselves and others from the straight path and to turn away from a righteous opinion. *But if*, it says, *they had chosen to persist in a good path, they would have found the ways of the righteous smooth.*

6. Since therefore they are also subject to prophetic rebukes, let them hear what was once said to their like-minded contemporaries, the Jews: *Thou hast a harlot’s forehead, thou hast acted shamelessly before everyone.* But, ^C puffed up and inflated by the evil of shamelessness, and disobeying the things of the Lord, they will surely say somewhere: *Depart from us; we desire not to know thy ways.* With a bold and unblushing face they confront Him, as that wise man of Uz, the unswerving and invincible tower of courage, would say, branding the wickedness and stupidity of the impious who prosper in this life. For in order that those things which they wickedly do may be confirmed, ^D they cast away the fear of God, every canonical and holy institution...

laid down by the teachers through the Spirit, and they forget the covenants which they confessed at the holy altar. ^A And the confession with which—I know not how, God ^B having overlooked this—they were unworthily anointed, and the dignity of the priesthood was proclaimed as having been conferred upon them, they now deny; and, to sum it up, they cast away our glorious and blameless faith, and, like putrid and corrupted members, rend themselves from the great and indivisible body of the Church, and pass over to the side of the heterodox, who have long battled against the right doctrine—those whose impiety they had formerly condemned, and whose cruelty and licentiousness they had often censured, yet in the end they have fallen into the same pit of perdition. They did not even respect, if nothing else, the holy and venerable second synod in the metropolis of Nicaea, gathered by divine inspiration, nor the holy definition recently issued by it, which is full of rectitude and orthodoxy and which still echoes in their ears; nay, they even deny their own hand-written documents and the types of the lifegiving Cross, to which they had subscribed in that decree. "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us" (1 Joann. ii, 19), might the trumpet of theology, sounding forth with a great voice, cry out at this place. ^C What then? It was necessary, therefore, that since they had cast away the confession, they should also be deprived of the anointing of the Spirit, since it was not possible for those who deny the faith with which they were anointed to exercise the functions of that anointing. Wherefore, quite justly—since the holy synod of the Church had recognized their stubbornness and incurable sickness (for though they often gave the pledge of faith to the Church, they were just as often convicted of lying to the holy Spirit)—justly, I say, it expelled them from the priesthood, and interdicted them from every priestly office, and declared their deposition in writing, inasmuch as they had departed from the holy canons. ^D Since, therefore, they were pushed out from serving as priests to God, they wander about the royal court quite incessantly, and having improvised a stage for themselves like stage-players, they have cut themselves off. There, they assemble meetings of lawlessness and vanity, where they perform the dramas of impiety as spectacles, and treat divine things as a play; and they do not shrink from representing the human life of Christ, the Savior of all, like a comedy and with theatrical ritual; and they consider common the blood of the new testament, by which they were redeemed, and—goaded as if by a gadfly of their own error and infidelity—they furiously insult the sacred symbols of the Incarnation.

^A

7. Since, therefore, it was necessary that they should sin both in word and deed, they mock with their tongues whatever of the things of God is beyond their reach, and they defile with profane hands whatever sacred things fall under their power. For they sin most zealously in one or the other way, or indeed in both. It is for this reason that they have entered into an evil design against the Church of Christ, and have conspired—or rather, launched an assault—against his holy ones. O, the abundance of God’s long-suffering, and of his forbearance and goodness! Why did he hold back with a bridle the creation as it roared and raged against the audacity of the Christ-fighters? Why did he not allow the mundane elements to take a course fitting against them? The bow, which is prepared against those who deserve death, is stretched, and then immediately relaxed! Lo, the flashing edge of the sword and the sharpened arrows, soon to be made drunk and filled with the blood of the ungodly, are not brandished! The stars do not withhold their light, nor do they stay their course! But because all these things are held back for a long time by God’s love for mankind and his goodness, they neither make these foolish men better, nor drive them to a sense of their sins, but rather provide them with opportunity and material for sinning. By what name, then, would any person of sound mind and clear judgment designate this godless assembly? By what other name, I ask, than as the synod of Caiaphas and the Jewish mob that once raged in madness against Christ? For even now, *the rulers of the people were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.* ^B Again, the priests and Scribes and Pharisees and other councils are here for the same undertakings; again, Christ is insulted and scourged. Just as the lover of mankind appeared in the flesh before, so does the long-suffering one, depicted now in an image, retain his patience.

8. For it must be observed with accuracy and the greatest care that, to the extent that the images now insulted and destroyed represent the Lord, just so much do the iconoclasts themselves manifest the likeness of the Jews of old who crucified him and of their destructive wickedness. For just as those Jews strove with all their might to destroy the Creator, so these men studiously endeavor to blot out his images by every means. Thus, in both cases, the image of a perfect imitation is clearly shown. Therefore, just as the resemblance between their crimes is manifest, so also will the qualities of their characters and wills be seen to be consistent. Nor, truly, will anyone judge these things to be otherwise, provided he possesses a straight and undistorted discernment of things and is considered to be of sound mind. For the argument will hold this conclusion with inevitable necessity, if it is indeed true that words are the consequence of deeds. These things suffice regarding the perverse...

^A and wicked nature of the impious. And now, this third affliction has been manifested against the Savior of us all, Christ. For in addition to that first and, as one might say, archetypal affliction, a second and now a third has been brought upon us in this generation of ours by those of like mind with the Jews, through the sacred symbols of His saving incarnation. Should one not rightly call it the tower being built in the plain of Shinar? That one too was built iniquitously, since it was in no way desired or pleasing to God; but here the languages of those gathered were confounded, just as the divine deliberation had decided beforehand, and their mutual understanding was already being divided, so that each could no longer understand the speech of his neighbor and fellow-worker, and by this means the enterprise was dissolved and those who had labored on the work were scattered over the whole earth.

9. But the mass of impiety now being built up by the innovators is much more detestable and godless; for it is built not with bricks baked in fire and bitumen, but is fashioned ^B by blasphemous words and God-opposing schemes against the glory of the Only-Begotten, and it is built with the intention of dissolving and scattering the harmony of those who are well-ordered and united in one confession and agreement of faith, by which we accord with one another in the Spirit. Against these, surely, the great David, moved by the inspiration of God and the Holy Spirit, might well pronounce a curse, saying: "Swallow up, O Lord, and divide their tongues, for I have seen iniquity and contradiction in the city. Because they have loved words of sinking, a deceitful tongue: therefore shall God ^C destroy them forever, and shall pluck them out by the root from the land of the living." They are the new Jannes and Jambres, images of that wicked duumvirate. Or rather, let them be called Hymenaeus and Alexander, who wandered far from the truth. These are another wicked and notorious pair, sharing in evil, bound to the reins of the devil and steered by his hands—a company, indeed, like that of the sons of Korah, opposing the testament of Christ and deceitfully sharpening their lying tongues to contradict the truth. They do not stumble against the ancient Moses and that shadowy law written and inscribed ^D on stone tablets, because of which there were gloom and darkness and a whirlwind, and a smoking mountain, and trumpets sounding terribly, frightening away those who would approach or touch it; but they impudently oppose Christ Himself, the Lawgiver, and Him who inaugurates for us the new and divine legislation—a law, I say, not superficially but deeply impressed upon the mind and the tablets of the heart, which initiates the intellectual Israel

into the better and higher things. They abolish the rites which have descended from heaven itself, which disclose to us the mystery of the condescension of the King of the heavens and His incarnation, and they remove from our midst the types that are the indices and heralds of that emptying, and they perpetrate everything which the apostolic sentence would condemn. ^A If anyone who sets aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses, how much worse a punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled upon the Son of God as He is depicted in a venerable image, and who has judged the blood of the covenant, in which he was sanctified, to be common, and has insulted the Spirit of grace, in whom the honor of the image ascends to the archetype? Therefore, these wretches shall eat the fruits of their own labors, and I know well that they shall receive from the divine justice the wages they deserve.

Behold our Babylon, and the iniquities that are performed therein. Again there are the Babylonian elders, and Babylonian pride, and Chaldean arrogance, and again iniquity has gone forth from Babylon, from the elder judges who seemed to govern the people. Certainly, what is now being concocted displays much of the likeness of those of old. ^B For they too, driven by foul desires and absurd passions, rush toward a similar crime, and burn with adulterous lust against the modest Susanna—I mean the Church of God—inasmuch as they themselves leap upon foreign thrones, and share among themselves the nobler cities by sheer power, and receive this as the reward of their blasphemy against God; fabricating an accusation of adultery with their empty talk, they charge the innocent and immaculate one with the crime of idolatry. ^C And whereas the innocent Lamb, Christ, who takes away the sin of the world, purchased her with His own blood, and having truly delivered her from the error of idolatry, presented her to Himself as holy and glorious, not having spot, or blemish, or wrinkle, they have no fear in slanderously calling Christ weak and incapable, as if He were unable to redeem her from the madness of idols. They strive to demonstrate that the preaching of the divine apostles is foolish and full of myths, and they desire to make the dogmas of our holy Fathers vain and useless. ^D Nor do they merely commit these absurdities themselves, but they already force all Christians to cooperate and agree with their irreligion, and to call the holy and venerable symbols of the economy of our Savior by the same name as idols. Yet the Spirit, who was in Daniel, still delays, either awaiting their repentance for their wicked deeds, or so that, by plunging more deeply into these sacrileges, they may finally suffer the punishments worthy of their own audacity and madness. One may well marvel at the extent of the evil and misery to which they have fallen, while they who appear to be bishops, like the most savage tyrants and harsh judges, sit upon the sacred throne with superciliousness,

filled with arrogance and breathing something furious and insane. ^A They are surrounded by a military band of sword-bearers and those who applaud, who offer their services more to those who threaten than to those who teach doctrines, indeed even breathing forth a frantic and impetuous spirit; and a company surrounds them, serving those who threaten rather than those who define doctrine. ^B And just as was worthy of their indecorous assembly, they have also taken unto themselves as assessors and supporters of their leadership men from the factions of the circus crowds who excel in the stadium, for such teachers as these needed such allies as these for such doctrines as these. And there attach themselves to them, as is the custom for things to happen in such disorders and confusion, even a portion of the Church, as many as have been caught on canonical charges and accusations and have been cast out, so that their sin might become sin in the extreme and they have wrought the most shameful things through themselves; alas, alas! A crowd at one and the same time beholding the things of the Church—a sinner and sin itself! ^C Nor are they who lead the theatrical games and those from the stage—whom it is customary to call mimes in common parlance—missing from this illustrious company. There are also some whom they have summoned to assist these proceedings from the class of tavern-keepers, and from the street corners and brothels, and as much of the quackish, gluttonous, and base rabble as they were able to gather to increase the mob. But most especially their battle-line is adorned by a significant number of men who once served in military ranks, some of whom, already past their prime and elderly, others having been caught in some crime or disgrace, have been cast out from the military roll; of whom the greater part belong to that ancient and wicked doctrine, because of their bestial stupidity, from whence they have now been gathered, and have embraced it above all others. ^D Since they were deprived of the royal rations, from which they were provided not only with the equipment of weapons but also with sustenance, they had come to extreme poverty and a lack of the necessities, so that they were plainly in need and had to beg from whoever they happened upon, supplementing their living from the contributions of others, hovering about wherever parties and gatherings occur, to which they run, fluttering like birds, that they might soothe their poverty and straits from such sources. These men, as we know, are all accustomed to pursue the worse things; they always hate the present state of affairs, rejoice in public upheavals, and desire new things, that they might fish out something useful and necessary for life from such tumults and disturbances. For such leaders, therefore, such a phalanx was needed—for thus the most base and shameful things were done through them. Alas! Alas! Bishops, and the plebs, and mimes, and the rest of the crowd of madmen, conglobated into one, handle the dogmas of the Church by their own authority! Since, therefore, that wicked and godless workshop has been fashioned, and all things have already turned out according to their will, and the affairs of the Church are in their hands, how does God allow these things and in what manner? Since the fire of our sins has been kindled, and has been raised to a great flame of our iniquities, the furnace...

^A of divine justice exacts from us the penalty for our transgressions. The priesthood is in danger of being administered more in a popular than in a spiritual manner; for being carnal, they do not receive the things of the Spirit, and the mysteries of the Church are entrusted and yielded to profane men. What has happened and what is there to be seen? The Scribes and Pharisees have sat upon the chair of Moses, wallowing in the passions of carnal desire, priding themselves on empty conceits and figments, exalting themselves with Pharisaic arrogance, puffing themselves up greatly with their prominent seats and the title of "rabbi," and behaving haughtily with the pride and conceit of the Scribes. Yet, nevertheless, those men used to announce to the people what the written law contained; but they did not wish to perform what they said. Hence, Christ commanded to do what was said by them, but forbade imitating what was done. These men, however, neither say nor do what the truth has delivered; but on the contrary, they fight against grace both in word and deed. It must be considered, therefore, whose crimes are the more grievous. Hence, those who utter praises freely and eagerly disgorge from their foul and detestable hearts those indecent and discordant—or, more aptly, irreligious—expressions, attending with reverence and restrained demeanor, serving as quickly as possible the mandates, bringing some of those being examined into the midst ^B or removing others from the tribunal—O the shamelessness!—either to be received with benevolence or dismissed with ignominy, and all the other things worthy of that deranged and Pharisaic tribunal. Moreover, they vilify and despise our holy Fathers and teachers of the Church, as if they differed in no respect from other men in virtue and intimacy with God, but repeat that each one of them is like anyone among the many: whose sacred Books, which contain their divine teachings, they even place under their feet and use as footstools—a most lawless act. These carnal philosophers designate themselves as "wise," and desire to be called "theologians" by their supporters, when they are empty-talkers, and "golden-mouthed" (Chrysostom), when they are foul-mouthed (cacostomi).

Let us consider, then, why these things are so. That commandment which enjoins, "Do not move the eternal boundaries which your ^C fathers have set," the wretches do not even deem worthy of admitting into their minds. As for the evangelical sayings of the Lord, against whom they are indeed hostile and injurious, they become deaf, just like the "deaf adder" which, as it is said, stops its ears against those who charm it. Now this sentence, "Whoever shall scandalize one of the little ones who have already believed," establishes as the most severe punishment that it were better for him that a millstone be hung about his neck and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea. What then? Will these men not be punished more severely, who—

by such deceptive schemes ^A lead astray and beguile the multitude, which might be compared to the sand of the sea? For they do not seek to influence but one, or two, or three, but every single man under the Roman scepter, striving to make them receive into their souls the corruption of their own soul-destroying words; for how could they be expected to spare the souls of others, when they have altogether despaired of and neglected their own? And rightly indeed will they hear, with the Scribes and Pharisees: "Woe to you, for you shut the kingdom of heaven before men! For you neither enter yourselves, nor allow those who are entering to enter." Thus, by subverting all the customs, laws, and mysteries of the Church, they distort the straight ways of the Lord. And if we shall render an account even for an idle word on the day of judgment, what punishment will they not suffer for the perverse and wicked doctrines ^B that are being spread by them? Especially when the great mind of Paul exhorts us to be without offense even to those outside, whose just condemnation he signified in the preceding. Surely it has been well said that there is nothing that the wicked will not dare! Finally, there are brought into the midst and set before our eyes the traps for human souls, those books of theirs, devised long before and prepared for this purpose.

10. Come now, besides that earlier blasphemy against Christ, the enemies of Christ add yet another ^C no less than this—namely, their dreaming that an uncircumscribed body was assumed by Christ. They strive to reinforce both of these, drawing all the substance of their detestable teaching from the storehouse of the inventor and father of the apostasy. For he who played a part in the earlier drama of this heresy heaped together certain sayings, partly taken from the oracles of the Holy Spirit, and partly those which our blessed Fathers wisely composed for the refutation of the error of impure idolatry, and for the exposing of the unbelief and insanity of the Gentiles who were ignorant of the God of all. These sayings, I say, he wickedly and foolishly plucked out and—to speak the truth—defiling himself with the abominations of idols, he applied them to the holy images; in the subsequent drama of the heresy, he confirmed the matter, bringing in substance from the insane dogma ^D of the Arians and from the furious superstition of the Manichaeans.

Regarding the duty not to conceal any book of a heresy that accuses Christians

11. These noble fellows use these things to confirm their own dogmas; for since they have nothing of their own to construct—because they cannot look toward the splendor of the truth—those who seem to be established in the priesthood are not ashamed to accept doctrines from laymen—and even those that are wicked and impure—doctrines that are alien and contrary to the mind of Christians. Thus, having lost the glory of God, the human

vanity into which they were dragged captive has led them astray. For this reason, they who have bowed down once ^A to the golden image do not endure to venerate the image of Christ.

But concerning the discourse on idols—what it is and to whom it should be applied—since this is a clear and well-known matter, I do not believe that it escapes anyone who is a lover of the truth and has any small understanding of the nature of things. Yet the impiety of the Arians, who are closely allied to them, contains a wile of heresy that is almost hidden and not sufficiently observed, and for this reason it is not easily understood by many. For by cunning words and complicated thoughts, which have been studiously devised for this purpose, they are sufficiently able—by the mist of their fallacies and the persuasive power of their rhetorical twists—to carry off and entice the simpler-minded into their own way of thinking. For this reason, I judged it necessary to say a few things about it and about those who lead it, for the knowledge and benefit of those who are ignorant. And I am about to tell what these books are, and of what kind of teaching they consist.

12. The Arian Heresy and the Blasphemies of Eusebius

Who does not know the god-hating and most impious heresy of the ill-named Arians, which Arius—whose name truly denotes the madness of his character—begat, along with the cohort that constitutes this mad and deranged group? They most senselessly do away with the divinity of the living, subsisting, and hypostatic Word of God, ^B attempting to show that He is of a different essence from God and the Father, and impiously thinking that He is to be separated from the paternal glory, and ^C depressing the incomparable sublimities of the Lord’s nature to the humble rank of a servile creature. More than that, they also slander the divine and supernatural incarnation of the Word, and they hallucinate, claiming that it appeared only in shadows and mere phantasies—in sympathy with the Manichaean frenzy, they themselves also teaching dogmas derived from the Bacchic revelries of Valentinus. Who, if he has attained even a little bit of learning and has encountered historical study, does not know the summit and acropolis of these men?

This is that truly impious man, Eusebius of Caesarea, who has indeed prattled on, uttering many blasphemies against the divinity of the Word, and has committed many impieties regarding the divine dispensation of the Savior while laboring in vain. His writings are, even to this day, full of his execrable dogmas. For he contended to surpass not only Arius, his own master and the leader of this apostasy, but also all others who have sinned against the glory of the Only-Begotten. For he is proved to have worshipped the creature, ^D and to have rendered to created things the worship due to God alone, thereby being clearly exposed as a worshipper of idols, as has also been testified by our distinguished God-bearing Fathers. It is therefore necessary that those who adhere to him and his disciples should also adopt the opinion of their master. For he taught them that the body of Christ cannot be painted or fashioned, and he meant this as something entirely phantastical.

For who among all men has escaped his notice? Or rather, to whom is it not plain and manifest, even if one be a rustic and uneducated? For more than five hundred years ago—and perhaps a little more—that great and divinely-assembled multitude, I mean the sacred synod of the God-bearing and wonderful men at Nicaea, ^A performing all things under the impulse of the divine Spirit, drove out those who clung to the Arian heresy and cast them from the Church, declaring them excommunicate along with all their alien and pagan dogmas. Although Eusebius, with feigned docility, assented to the true faith, seeking to hide himself, he nevertheless immediately returned to his own nature, just as twisted branches do as soon as they are released from the hand that forces them in the opposite direction. The very thing he did, Arius also practiced; for many years later, because some were ignorant of his deceitful mind, they thought that he should be commemorated, deeming him to belong to the orthodox company. But the synod that gathered at the great city of Alexander bound these men with canonical cords, determining that it is permitted for no one endowed with the healthy faith of Christians to make a commemoration of Eusebius.

^B What must one say, moreover, concerning the God-bearing Fathers who came after them, the teachers of the true faith and doctrine, and how bravely and manfully they struggled, resisting and contending against this error? Their written books and volumes are so many that much leisure and time would be required even to count them. Thus, then, although Eusebius had been cast out beyond the enclosure of our Church for such a long time, today he sits as prince of the doctrine—or, to speak more truly, the foolishness—of these men; and these wretches greatly glory and exult in his dogmas, and they attach to him certain sewn-together sentences that are quite absurd, which neither accord with the truth nor even with each other; for that is the property of falsehood. For they are still lacking some complete books; yet these too they dare to mark with the name of the Fathers as if by their own authority, and they proclaim them as the authors of their own vain sect. ^C Their nugatory and futile unbelief we shall refute in what follows, if it pleases God and He favors our labor and brings help—He who knows how to loosen the tongue of the stammerer and to strengthen the loosened and weak limbs, so that he may leap like a deer, and the beautiful, unimpaired feet of those who evangelize the peace of our holy Church of God may appear. But let us come to the subject at hand.

13. Since, therefore, they perceived that their designs were difficult and hard to carry out, lest they seem incredible to the many by relying solely upon the teachings of those outside the Church—and so miss their mark—what do they do? Or to what end does their malice turn? By a turbulent and ^D

and into the bitter stream of the heretics they mix the sweet and pure wellspring of truth, a thing for which wicked tavern-keepers of old who mixed water with wine are censured. And from our theological Fathers, who held up the torch of truth to the world, they have torn out certain sayings from the entirety of their books and have numbered them among their own error—either because they were perhaps unable to understand the meaning lying within those words, since they refused to wipe the rheum from the eyes of their souls, or because, following their own destructive opinion and that of those disciples deceived by them, they present and misinterpret these things, thereby debasing and huckstering the word of truth. Having set the bait upon the bronze hook, so that by the trustworthiness of these persons, these buffoons might lead the simpler of their hearers astray, having ensnared them in the hidden trap of impiety; while those things which are manifestly and indisputably set forth for the knowledge of all, they excise and delineate, and from those who have been brought to test them, they craftily hide them. O the blindness! O the insensibility! They have not known, nor have they understood; for this reason they walk in deep darkness, and have not willed to look up to the rays of the truth, and they have treated the Lord of glory with contempt. For if they had known, they would never have ^B despised the Lord of glory.

14. What is more grievous or more harmful than these attempts? What is more burdensome or detestable than this schism? The senseless are now compelling a heresy long since dead and gone from the language of Christians, to be fanned into flame once more and to flourish; for this is the work and the struggle of its zealots; and they give the enemy a passage for his spite against us, so that what he accomplished in the past by finding allies and servants of his own malice, even if he was not able to do it through those who crucified the Lord, he might now achieve among us. For behold, even now, the tunic of Christ, woven from above and throughout by His precious blood, is being torn asunder and divided, and the best of our goods, peace and concord, is dissolved and has perished. Grave indeed are the things recorded and heard of in ancient histories: the kingdom of David divided and rent asunder within itself, the secession of the tribes—caused by the grandson’s harshness and severity, with Israel retreating back to their own tents, and Jeroboam, the servant and rebel, seating himself unexpectedly upon a throne, and Samaria being set up in opposition to Jerusalem, whence the foundation of evils was laid, and the people, taught to worship the creature instead of the Creator, impiously fell into the madness of idolatry. But more grievous are the things which we see happening now. For the kingdom of Christ is being torn into parts and divided; the members are stirring up sedition against the body of Christ, nay, against the Head itself; and the holy nation, the royal priesthood, the people for God’s own possession, destined to proclaim the power of God and, with clear and resounding voice, to proclaim the benefit of liberty and redemption, is now turned to the contrary and for the most part, lured by the ministers of malice, is increased by no profit, and after the Dawn from on high has vi-

visited the darkened ones, they fall into the pit of unbelief—ungrateful creatures, the new and senseless Jews. Yet how great the difference is ^A between those and these, anyone who considers it will see: for those were involved in a fickle and halting judgment on account of earthly and humble things, and those possessed of a temporal nature that does not endure; but these act thus when the matter concerns celestial things and the supernal kingdom and glory, not to be compared to these visible things; for our upright faith promises these, provided that the works of faith correspond to it.

So truly it has happened in the present time, when this new and lawless assembly ^B, like another Samaria, has separated itself from the new Jerusalem, that is to say, the Church; and they sit in insolence and with a proud heart, and are overcome by golden calves—that is, by this second idolatry, their avaricious cupidity—because they are captives of the vain glory of the world; nor do they refuse to be called the people of Ephraim, and they set themselves against Mount Sion, that is, our high and exalted theology, opposing to it their own vanity of words and their vile, groveling doctrine, whereby they befool and mock many, ^C dragging them with them into the pit. For as many as are more stupid and fickle in mind, unstable in faith, and intent only upon present things, and who crave the glory of the world and constitute their happiness in this world, being bound like slaves to such things as these, they desert Jerusalem and pass over to the altars of ridiculous gods, and enter that brigand’s den of ignominious priests, and there they rot, contracting the sudden pestilence of their soul. Whoever of these wills it, fills his hand with gifts, but his soul with every wickedness and contamination; whether by having been unjustly made a priest of the high places, or by not refusing to bend the knee to the Astarte of carnality; whom, ^D after those hunters have caught them in their net, they set prizes before them and promise them advancement and friendships in the royal palace, holding out splendid hopes to them, and applauding them, they heap them with praises and, as if they had now become family and fellow-thinkers to them, they thereafter pursue them with benevolence.

15. As for those, however, who are manly in their purpose, swelling with zeal for piety, and who are seekers of good works, inasmuch as they have an unwavering mind grounded in the good, they have shown themselves to be scorners of these men, and have deemed such a game as worthy of no respect, as it is one teeming with fraud and vanity; these, I say, are dragged by force and pressed, though unwilling, and are taken prisoner like certain captives and condemned men; and if they presently

refuse to join in their false fabrications, and if they treat their manufactured lies as worthless, the wicked do not therefore relent in their unjust persecution. ^A On the contrary, they first attempt to subvert them with persuasive and soothing words, blandishments, and by promising them many gifts; and they urge them most forcefully to subscribe to the irreligious formula, promising good things while simultaneously threatening evil, and asking which of the two they prefer. When, however, they discover the firmness and constancy of their faith, and that their own desire is thwarted, they take refuge in the arts of cunning men, accusing them of crimes which our innocent ones have not even heard of. Nor is it a matter of mere hope any longer, but of the actual infliction of punishment. For then follow bonds and harshest prisons, famine and most grievous afflictions, ^B some having their backs flayed with stripes, and being worn out by no moderate tortures; finally, they are condemned to long and unbearable exile in places that are rugged and scarcely habitable, which, by reason of their narrowness or the lack and hardship of human amenities, seem ready to conquer the spirit of the captives, especially with the addition of those who are assigned to infiltrate their ranks; for a detachment of the public military accompanies the captives to serve the will of their captors. ^C These are the sufferings of the primary bishops who bravely champion the orthodox sentiment. There are also some standing in the rank behind them, cherishing the same religious faith—few indeed, yet so that at least a spark remains in the Church of God, which in its time, by divine inspiration, will kindle a brilliant and excellent torch and lead those buried in the darkness of infidelity to the spiritual light. So that we too, using the prophetic words, may be permitted to say: "Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we should have been as Sodom, and should have been made like unto Gomorrah." ^D

16. Regarding those who hold the second rank in the priesthood, one already sees them clinging to life and changing, conforming themselves to the times and to events, and transforming themselves, as they say of the chameleon, which easily changes its color and has a speed of movement concomitant with the impulse of its motion, so that it escapes the notice of those who happen upon it by the variety of its appearance. Thus do these submit to those who have the upper hand, not with a free mind, but led by the force of their oppressors. Some of them are brought down by an excessive love of self and by effeminacy, and they carry an almost childish mind, being tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, in the wickedness of men, in craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive, as it is written, so that when a choice is set before them—either to suffer the loss of their soul or to be cast out from their sees—they dare to say they prefer the former, and to imperil their ultimate salvation, without, however, deeming that they are committing any grave sin. These things

are worthy of what tears! How brimming are they with what gloom and lamentations! Even if men do not weep over these things, yet the inanimate creation itself will suffer and groan with them. For of what judgment are they not liable? ^A For if, as the theological tongue says, God being taken as mediator confirms the pacts made among men, how great is the peril of being found violators of those covenants which we have established with God Himself, and of being held accountable before the Truth not only for other sins, but for the very lie itself? ^B But Paul (I omit saying how many and how great the things he declared he was willing to suffer, bound by the love of God), enduring tribulations, persecutions, and all manner of perils—whom neither things present nor things to come, nor any other creature, could separate from the love of God—such was the fervor and flame of his love!—boldly opting even to be anathema from Christ, he said he would bear it lightly. Yet these men have not willed to suffer even the slightest insult for the sake of true religion. But, having neglected all these good things, they cling only to matter, and, immersed in the passions of the flesh, they do not direct their minds to heavenly things in the least. They behave as if they were soon to return home, or were about to inspect their fields and rich possessions, or their desirable vineyard, or whatever in the field is choice, arable, and spacious, counting the produce resulting from them with frequent movements of their fingers, or intending to look at select horses and mules of the best color and outstanding fatness, [to see] whether they have been skillfully exercised by their trainers, and run well, and bear their saddles well, and are fit for a quiet journey, and finally [to check] the sound state of their plowing oxen and of the rest of their herds or flocks. Nor would I say it is inappropriate if they also seem to care for the fringes and other ornaments of their cloaks, tunics, and other garments; and, to say it in one word, [for] the study and pomp of passing and vain glory. For, with a mind not well composed, captured by the love of decaying and fleeting things (for by whatever thing a person is captured, to that he is a slave), they have exchanged the true and saving faith—that is, the greatest thing—for something trivial. Thus, these men have most easily been ensnared by the deceits of the lawless, no differently than wild beasts are caught in the snares of hunters. ^C Certainly it would have been more fitting for Paul to marvel at these men than at the Galatians, as to why they departed so quickly from the doctrines transmitted through us, and from the divine and sacred dogmas handed down from above and from the Fathers, and from the custom and precedent that have held sway and endured for an infinite length of time. But they did not even remember the words that follow: *If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be anathema* (Gal. i, 9). Such, therefore, is the condition of these men, and so wretched is it.

^A 17. But our account must be directed toward the leaders of this impiety; and it is necessary to consider whether it will not fittingly apply to others as well. Since, therefore, having once fallen away from the truth, they rely rashly upon their own vain conceits, and entirely imbue themselves with lies, they surrender themselves to foolish and strange questions, weaving old-wives' tales and childish myths, neither consistent with themselves nor with the truth, investigating inquiries that pertain in no wise to them, neither understanding what they say nor what they affirm. I mean questions devised for the destruction of their own souls and of those who hear them, so that they may pay penalties not only for their own perdition but also for the harm of others. ^B The holy oracles long ago chastised their wickedness and ruin, and these can be applied to them by very good right, as they find themselves in almost this same position. For when the herald of the Gospel and teacher of divine things foresaw the malice of such men in the Spirit, he foretold it by prophetic inspiration, saying: *Grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock. And of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them* (Acts xx, 29). And again elsewhere he says that such are false teachers, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And it is no wonder; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. It is no great thing, therefore, if his ministers also are transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works (II Cor. xi, 13-15). ^C Does not the Spirit, he says, expressly say that *in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared* (I Tim. iv, 1, 2)? And again: *In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof* (II Tim. iii, 1-5). And *as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was* (II Tim. iii, 8, 9). ^D And again in another place: *They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate* (Tit. i, 16). But if God should permit and overlook the ungodly to advance, and their word should spread like a gangrene and subvert the faith of some, yet the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: *The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity* (II Tim. ii, 19). And: *But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived* (II Tim. iii, 13). We know that God is wont to have mercy, and to show His long-suffering toward them, so that eventually, though late,

^A they may come to their senses and bring forth better fruit. Furthermore, He truly approves of them—as now being faithful and good, living according to Christ, and suffering persecution for the sake of religion—on account of their patience and confidence, because, being by no means broken by tribulations, they will appear more proven and more splendid. Next, let us observe how the most divine Peter, the leader of the Savior’s disciples, the apex of theology, the foundation and pillar of the Church, exposes their wickedness and madness, speaking thus: ^B "There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will bring in destructive sects, and deny the Lord who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction; and many will follow their licentiousness, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed; and in greed they will exploit you with deceptive words; for whom the judgment has not been idle for a long time, and their destruction does not slumber" (II Petr. ii, 1-3). "And certain men have crept in," says another of the Lord's disciples, "who were long ago marked out for this judgment, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into licentiousness (59), and denying the only Master and our Lord Jesus Christ." Whom we have also seen him lamenting: ^C "Woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, and have rushed into the error of Balaam for the sake of reward, and have perished in the rebellion of Korah!" (Jud. 4, 11). Let them also hear what the prophetic word in the Spirit has proclaimed beforehand concerning them: "You have rejected knowledge," says the divine Hosea, "so I also will reject you, so that you may not serve as priest to me" (Osee iv, 6). And: "You have become a snare on the watchtower, and like a net spread out over Tabor, which those who hunt the prey have stretched; and they have become as those who move boundaries; I will pour out my indignation upon them like water" (Osee v, 1). ^D What, then, of the admirable Habakkuk? "O you who give your neighbor a turbid ruin, and make him drunk, that you may look upon their caves, a fullness of shame instead of glory!" (Habac. ii, 15). But the blessed Zephaniah says: "Her priests profane the holy things, and act iniquitously against the law. But the Lord is righteous in her midst, and will do no injustice; morning by morning He gives His judgment, and not into a quarrel of injustice" (Soph. iii, 4, 5). In addition, the divine Zechariah says: "But they refused to attend, and turned a stubborn back, and made their ears heavy, lest they should hear, and they set their heart in disobedience" (Zach. vii, 11). And: "My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the lambs. And the Lord God Almighty will visit His flock, the house of Judah" (Zach. x, 3). "O you who feed in vain, and abandon the sheep! And I will bring my hand upon the shepherds" (Zach. xi, 17). I omit the rest as being more bitter and graver. The renowned Malachi also censures those same men, who disregard the name of the Lord, and shows how and how much they are contumacious: "But if you will not listen, and if you do not devise in your hearts to give glory to My name, says the Lord Almighty, I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessing" (Malach. ii, 2). And what follows there

^A is even more grievous and harsh: "But you have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to stumble in the law; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi," says the Lord Almighty. Let the most loud-voiced of the prophets, the priest and prophet who was purified by the coal and the hand of the Seraphim, cry out loudly concerning them: "They have been alienated in mind because of wine; they have tottered through the drunkenness of strong drink, they have gone astray." This is a phantom. A curse shall devour that counsel; for this counsel is on account of greed. "The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?'" The most compassionate of the prophets will say of them: "And those who hold to My law did not know Me; and the pastors acted impiously against Me. ^B And there is no longer a place for My tabernacle; because the pastors have acted foolishly, and have not sought the Lord." And: "Many pastors have corrupted My vineyard, they have defiled My portion, they have turned My desirable portion into a pathless wilderness." And again: "Woe to the pastors who scatter and destroy the sheep of My pasture! Therefore, thus says the Lord against the pastors who shepherd My people: You have scattered My sheep, and driven them away, and have not visited them. Lo, I will exact from you the punishment according to the wickedness of your pursuits. And I will gather the remnant of My people from all the lands into which I had scattered them, and I will restore them to their pasture, and they shall increase." Celebrating the uncleanness and senselessness of these men, the most divine Ezechiel, ^C the beholder of those sublime and heavenly visions, said: "The priests have rejected My law, they have profaned My holy things; they did not distinguish between the holy and the profane, and they did not distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and I was profaned in their midst." To these let the man who is divine in his desires be added last, stigmatizing their Babylonian mindset and their corrupted judgment, and he will even say that "iniquity came forth from Babylon, from elder judges who seemed to govern the people." Such are the voices of the saints to them and concerning them.

What then do the teachers of error say? For it seems to me that I must still stand to do battle against them. "We Christians have served idols, and this until the times of the reign of Constantine." ^D To themselves, as well as to the other Christians, [index: entries preserved]

^A they assign this filth. Heaven was astonished at this, and the earth shuddered greatly at it. For who could hear such things patiently? Should one be struck with horror at the magnitude of the blasphemy, or at the excess of the folly? Having no source from which to confirm such impiety and falsehood, they flee to a profane synod, hated by God, which was gathered by that man (Copronymus) in violation of every canonical rule; they do something similar to what certain ancients among the heathens once did, who, clinging to the utterance "He himself said it," attributed this kind of honor to their master. The fools are not ashamed to call this a synod; but if it is indeed to be so called, let us hear what the prophet says about it: "A synod of transgressors; they bent their tongue like a bow, but falsehood and not faith has prevailed upon the earth." It would be more fitting, ^B however, if anyone were to call it a "Coprosynod" [Dung-Synod]; he would not err from what is proper, because of the dung-loving zeal of him who convened it, which gathered together much stench from the triviality of their words, and also much iniquity that speaks and meditates highly, which has vehemently assaulted the glory of the Only-Begotten; against which not even Satan himself, who spoke through their mouths, would have dared to belch forth worse curses. For there was much contradiction against the dogmas and mysteries of our Church. Nevertheless, this assembly, favoring impiety and falsehood, is called a synod by them; and the madmen are not afraid to insult our pure and blameless faith, embracing its filthy decrees and following the corruption of its doctrine, not understanding how great are the things they have plotted against the saints: since "they have sharpened their tongue like a serpent; ^C the poison of asps is under their lips; for the words of their mouth are iniquity and deceit."

18. What our confession as Christians is, and what it is, it is time to explain as briefly as possible. We, therefore, as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word have handed down to us, and those after them—our theologians and divine teachers—who received that same doctrine, have handed it down, ^D we believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker and lord of all things visible and invisible, without beginning, invisible, incomprehensible, immutable, immortal. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, his only-begotten Son, who without beginning, from eternity, before all ages, shone forth from the Father's substance. And in one Holy Spirit, proceeding from God the Father, and to be confessed and glorified as God with the Father and the Son, as being of the same nature and co-eternal. Honoring the Trinity in hypostases, or persons, and maintaining for each of those mentioned their distinct and unconfused distinguishing characteristics,

^A as in no way changing or moving. To the Father, indeed, we ascribe unbegottenness and the cause of those things which are from Him; to the Son, the generation; and to the Spirit, the procession; and as from a cause, the Father, we understand both the begotten and the proceeding to have beamed forth, and as light from light, each of these—one supermundane, triple-radiating, and triple-solar light; a monad in essence, and by nature, we worship, coming together into one supersubstantial and supernatural height of divinity, possessing the same indivisible and inseparable glory and power; known in one counsel and will, and one power and energy; and as queen of all and sovereign of the universe, worshipped and adored by all visible and invisible creation as equal in honor and co-throned. For we contemplate one divinity in the three, united in the sameness of essence, but three hypostases in the one divinity, divided indivisibly by the distinctness of the characteristics which subsist in each; ^B neither alienating the Son from the essence of the unbegotten Father on account of the generation, nor the Spirit from the Father and the Son on account of the procession, nor knowing confusion on account of the unified and indivisible nature, but in the communion of the nature we join that which is distinct in each. For it is divided indivisibly and joined dividedly; for the divinity is one in three, and the three are one—those in whom the divinity is, or, to speak more accurately, which the divinity is. As the most excellent of theologians has initiated us.

Therefore, we worship God the Father, from whom all things have been brought from non-existence into being; we glorify God the Son, through whom all things were made and are preserved in substantial stability; we worship God the Holy Spirit; and while we worship the three, we do not divide the one divinity into three gods—so that we might avoid the tritheism, or rather polytheism, which would be most irreligious—but we understand each of these as perfect; nor do we profess one perfect thing out of three imperfect things, but out of three perfect things, ^C precisely as the theology of the God-mystagogue Fathers suggests, one that is super-perfect and pre-perfect.

Neither, therefore, do we represent the hypostases as alien and different natures, cutting them with inequality and irregularity, but we divide them by the principle of the characteristics, while joining them to the monad of the essence, rejecting whatever excels or falls short in these. For just as it is impossible to see "greater or lesser" in the essence, so too is it in the Trinity regarding the essence or the divinity, so that we may extinguish the Arian madness, from which—and against which—our present war is waged; nor, indeed, do we confuse or commingle them into one hypostasis, ^D but we introduce what is divided—by way of the essence—as joined through subsistent persons, things, and names, that we may obliterate the Sabellian madness; for these opposing evils, numbered as distinct yet not divided in divinity.

^A. And, to speak in one word, we join them while piously distinguishing, and we distinguish while joining them in a manner worthy of God; hence, what is divided by the subsistences, we unite by the communion of nature; and what is united in substance and deity, we distinguish by ^B the difference of the subsistences, holding fast and maintaining the great and most divine and supreme mystery of our theology, both piously and soundly. Thus, being worshippers of the most holy and supersubstantial Trinity in spirit and in truth, we venerate it in holiness and righteousness of faith, with a pure and blameless judgment all the days of our life.

19. B. Being thus founded and established upon this concise and simple theology, we consequently confess also the one of the consubstantial and most divine Trinity, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and our God, the brightness of the Father’s glory, Light from Light, the exact image of the Father, the character of his subsistence, that he came in the flesh upon the earth, and accomplished for our sake the dispensation ^C as it became us. For, moved by the ineffable mercy and loving-kindness of his own compassion towards men, he could not bear until the end to see our nature enslaved to the cruel tyrant; but by the good pleasure of the Father, and with the most holy and life-giving Spirit working together, while in no way departing from the Father’s glory, nor in any way diminishing the honor due to him as God, he lowered himself into a voluntary emptying. And having been incarnate of the Holy Spirit and of the most holy, glorious, and truly Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, whose soul and flesh had been previously purified by the Spirit; and having appeared as ^D a man in all things except sin, clothed in this mortal, tangible, and circumscribed nature, and having become one and the same out of both, namely out of deity and humanity; remaining perfect in every way and immutable in his deity, and similarly perfect and unchangeable in his humanity; dwelling with us in this, he corrected the transgression of Adam by his own sinlessness; and he destroyed the corruption of sin by his voluntary passion of the flesh, and life-giving death, and resurrection worthy of God, bestowing immortality upon us. For he rose again on the third day, despoiling death, and became the firstborn of the dead; and having paved the way for human nature to the path toward immortality, he drove out the invisible enemy from his dominion over us; doing and suffering all those things which are proclaimed in the holy Gospels and believed by us. By these works he refashioned the old Adam, and renewed our nature, and brought it back to that original state of blessedness. At last, taken up into heaven, he placed the first fruits of our lump upon a throne equal to the Father’s. For thus, to speak more concisely, we confess and declare that the great and venerable mystery of the divine economy has been accomplished.

^A If, however, there is need to discourse upon this more exhaustively for the sake of those who are gaining knowledge, and for those who are currently devising certain innovations against the saving incarnation of the Word of God, we shall say again: that the only-begotten Son and Word of God, being by nature God, who was begotten of Him before the ages ineffably and timelessly, not having cast off what He was—being by nature God—in the final times of the age took on human nature, and shared in flesh and blood in a manner similar to us. For the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, not simply having taken on flesh, but flesh animated by a rational and intellectual soul. This same only Son, even after the incarnation, exists as consubstantial with God the Father according to His divinity, but also consubstantial with us according to His humanity; preserving and keeping safe—in each of the natures that converged into the same and one hypostasis, and even in the union—the internal natural differences of qualities, unchanged ^B and immutable and unconfused. For this is the new and paradoxical mixture of the emptied divinity and the assumed humanity, from which the union according to hypostasis is known to us as having been accomplished. For what God is, being united with the assumption, is most paradoxical; for the whole Word of God, being God, is united to the whole man, having come together into one composite hypostasis by identity. For this reason, she who gave birth is also confessed by us as truly and properly Theotokos; for the One who was previously begotten without mother from the Father without beginning, came forth from her without father in the second generation; not that His divinity took its beginning of existence from thence, but remaining what He was, He assumed what He was not and made it His own; and He became a mediator between God and men, having shared in both of the divergent essences, I mean of divinity and humanity, being joined by the unity ^C of the person. For the natures that ran together into one have formed the one Christ and Son and Lord. For Christ is understood to come forth from both, according to what is contemplated by the mind and what is seen; as He remained perfect and unchangeable in divinity, so also He was acknowledged as perfect and immutable according to humanity: the same One is impassible according to His divinity, because He is also incorporeal, by which He performed miracles in a supernatural way, and is likewise incorruptible, uncircumscribed, and immortal; but He is passible according to His humanity, for He has been embodied, according to which He naturally suffered the passions; and the same One is mortal, depicted, and circumscribed, according to which He appeared as a man from the seed of David. The Word makes the sufferings of His own temple His own, and He deemed it worthy to suffer for us, according to the economy, the cross and death and all other such things; for by His precious blood we were redeemed, who were sold to sin, by which He broke down the middle wall of partition, the enmity, in His own flesh, having reconciled ^D the heavenly to the earthly, and having established one Church and a festival of angels and men in heaven and on earth. Therefore the composite whole is one; although suffering nothing in respect to His own nature, He is Himself said to suffer on behalf of

^A us, not in His divinity, but in His earthy nature; for His is the body that suffered, while in all things He confirms the dignity of the divine nature and the lowliness of human poverty, so that the dispensation may not be thought a phantom. And He has remained as God in humanity, just as He is no less man in the dignity of Godhead; thus both, then, are for me one God and man, Emmanuel.

^B 21. Since, therefore, we stand thus within the boundaries of the faith, we hold our doctrines thus: we proclaim the duality of the substances that have come together in Christ, along with their properties—for each of these is perfect and lacking nothing—and we likewise declare the combination that has substantially come into being from these into the unity of person through the hypostatic union. We do not sever, we do not divide into a duality of sons the one Lord Jesus Christ, into a man specifically and into a God specifically and separately, so that we may tear down the futile division of the mad and man-worshipping Nestorius; nor yet do we merge or alter, bringing into one [the] oneness of the single person, but we preserve the differences inherent in each nature unmixed and unconfused, so that we may cast down the blending of the foolish Eutyches, together with those commonly and justly called the Acephali; ^C for these also unite them evilly, as he divides them impiously, so that Eutyches has suffered the same thing concerning the dispensation toward Nestorius as Sabellius did concerning the theology toward Arius.

22. Since, therefore, two perfect natures are confessed in Christ, it will necessarily follow that one must also confess, together with the natures themselves, their natural qualities, and the natural wills and operations subsisting in each nature. For it is necessary that, since two substances are believed in, these also should be proclaimed and confessed as twofold; for in no other way will that which is pure in perfection be preserved in them; since these are characteristic of the natures, and it is not possible to find a nature lacking in will or operation. Just as, therefore, insofar as He was God, He willed and operated, so also, ^D insofar as He was man, He willed and operated—both in the performing of signs and in the other duties of the assumed humanity. Yet these were not contrary to one another, for the things of the assumption were yielding and being subjected to the Assumer. Just as, therefore, nothing contrary or repugnant has been observed to come from the united natures, although they are diverse, so it is proven by this: that those whose natures are diverse, their principle of being also differs, a fact which is apparent in heterogeneous things. It is necessary, therefore, that the substantial qualities of will and operation should differ among themselves; for by them, moreover, the knowledge of the natures

^A we acquire: seeing that those whose operations are the same, their natures also are equal. Thus, therefore, the mode of the theandric operation of Christ, which He used while conversing with us, will become clear, which we have considered by this circumlocution: for the mutual appellation of the two natures demonstrates the duality of the operation, because the mode of union preserves within itself the mode of difference. Likewise, anyone will concede that each form operates not without the participation of the other. We do not, therefore, preach one will and operation in the divine oeconomy, by which fact we would strip each of its proper offices: if indeed we maintain that the nature is perfect, so that we do not labor under the disease of the mindless and furious Apollinaris; together with whom we shall also excommunicate the faction seen around Sergius and Pyrrhus concerning the inoperative and involuntary nature of the true Word ^B. According to these things, the mystery of the venerable and saving oeconomy is honored by us, which, even when understood, as the God-bearing man has said, remains ineffable, and when told, remains still unknown. Being visited, therefore, through the aforementioned incarnation, we confess ourselves saved; and with all the religious things that are among us, we honor and lovingly pursue also its venerable symbols and tokens, through which, no differently than through the evangelical history, whatever was done by the Savior for us is told and represented to us and brought to remembrance; just as from antiquity and from the beginning of religion, children have piously received it, handed down from their fathers.

23. While we uphold these things, we render to them the honor that is due according to dignity; not, however, offering the worship that belongs to adoration—far be it!—which is proper only to God, who holds authority over all; for all who are taught of God ^C in the Spirit know well the difference in worship, and what kind of adoration it behooves one to render to Christ, our God, and at the same time not to deny the fitting veneration to the sacred images, and through them to raise the honor to the archetype. In addition to these, we honor the venerable images of our all-holy, immaculate Lady, and true protection, the Ever-Virgin Theotokos, who according to the flesh gave birth to our Lord Jesus Christ, the God, without seed, ineffably, and supernaturally; likewise also [the images] of the holy angels, and of all the other saints who in every age have been well-pleasing to Him; whose memorials we also celebrate with piety, and whose intercessions we entreat; for they live in God, and operate in Him, and can aid and assist those who take refuge in them and beseech them ^D through the power and grace indwelling in them from God.

^A With this confession and faith, I pray, what could be more sublime or more religious? For there is no other faith besides this, nor will there be, which alone the apostolic discourse knows how to call faith. For concerning this it says: "Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which was to be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith; but after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ," which we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus.

^B What then will the enemies of piety and accusers of the truth say to these things? For we worship what we know; but they do not know what we worship. "Christians worship idols." O audacity! O madness! What is more godless or more impious than this utterance? To what an extent of absurdity their discourse is carried, it is possible to perceive. For, since they reject the things that pertain to God and claim that Christians offer worship to idols; and since he who worships idols worships that which is nothing in reality, as it is written: "And they served them which by nature were no gods," their discourse concludes, in effect, that since we worship the living and true God, they seem to be saying nothing other than that our God is not God.

^C But what else is to be said against such adversaries of the truth, than to be in agreement with the great David, and to use the tongues of those through whom the Spirit speaks? "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." And again: "The enemy hath reproached the Lord." And soon: "A foolish people hath provoked His name." And: "The enemies of the Lord have lied unto Him." And: "Their time shall be for ever." And: "Allied sons have lied unto Him, and they grew old and limped from their paths. There is no change for them, because they feared not God." And: "They spake against God themselves and said: Shall God be able? Or hath He been able to prepare liberty for His people? to deliver them from servitude and corruption, and to redeem them from the power of darkness, and to call them unto His marvelous light; or to bind the strong man and spoil his vessels, or to ascend on high and lead captivity captive?" These things the adversaries of truth and foolish men say. For a foolish man shall not know, and a simple man shall not understand these things. ^D For—

they refused to accept the discipline of the Lord, nor did they apply their ears to the divine oracles to hear, as God, the Creator of all, proclaims through the voice of the prophets: "Is my hand not able to deliver? Or am I not able to set you free? Behold, by my rebuke I will make the sea a desert, and I will turn rivers into a parched land." And, "I am he who blots out your iniquities and your sins, and I will not remember them." But we clearly learn from apostolic teaching that He alone is the blessed Potentate. Our discourse, however, proceeds along a beaten and royal road; and let us observe, if it seems good, what God rebukes through a certain saint regarding the shepherds and priests who were not living lawfully under the Law. For He says: "The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' and those who handle my law did not know me; and the shepherds committed impiety against me; and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit." Regarding ^B whom it is possible to see the divine judgment described, and God Himself almost judging them from the tribunal and commanding them with most heavy words: "Pass over to the isles of the Chittim and look; and send to Kedar and consider; and see if such things have been done; whether nations have changed their gods, which otherwise are not gods. But my people have changed their glory for that from which they will derive no profit."

25. What, then, shall He threaten regarding those who seem to be shepherds in grace? Or shall we not clearly hear Him saying: "Go to the synagogues of the bishops, and send to the assembly of the priests and see whether they have stood in the ancestral faith, or have rather changed the confession handed down even to them, and act as their own accusers." Even if they should not wish to, they will be compelled by their deeds and forced to appear as what they are, so that neither external accusers nor any arguments will be needed. And they will answer and say: "We have changed our glory, and we have not remained in our confession, nor have we revered the divine altar, upon which we carried the holy and evangelical words placed upon our necks, nor have we kept the promises given there; but, becoming transgressors of all things, we have departed and turned aside from the straight path, and we are double-minded, unstable in all our ways, and have become like the sea tossed by the winds." For thus is incredulity [disposed]... ^{C D} Of Photius of Constantinople: Why the holy Gospel is placed upon the head of the man being ordained. Why, he says, did the priest wear a tiara on his head? Because when someone is ordained as head of all, he must have another power existing above his head: so that although he himself is set as head over others, he may consider that he is in turn under another head, namely the Lord, who possesses universal authority. For authority that is absolute and uses its own free will is grievous and intolerable, etc.

^A In all our ways, and we are like the wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For such is the wickedness of unbelief: nowhere does it have anything stable or firm; rather, it is always shifting, carried and changing now in one way, now in another. To say the whole thing briefly: in striving to please men, we have fallen away from being servants of God. We have not been benumbed, as we should have been, to the extent of not daring even to think—let alone speak—those things which are contrary to the sentiment of Paul, and which we have both thought and resolved.

It would be just and logical, foreseeing the divinely ordained punishment hanging over us for the things in which we have blasphemed, to add those words to what has been said: "Vengeance shall be taken sevenfold on Cain, but on Lamech seventy-seven times," as it is written. In this expression, anyone considering it might not without reason say that there is something to be desired, perhaps implying that he who proceeds in sin is to receive a greater measure of punishment. For Cain, being inexperienced and raw in the matter, and not yet cautioned by the reproof of evil, was still laboring under ignorance; nor did he sufficiently recognize the enormity of his parricide, as the sin was then appearing, as it were, at the threshold. ^B But the homicide that followed was punished with greater and infinite vengeance, because it was dared after the knowledge of sin. An unmistakable example of this was set before our eyes and confirmed by divine decree—namely, the sign impressed by God so that no one should kill him who had been condemned by judgment, but rather that he should protract a bitter existence.

We see that certain similar things have happened in our own age. For we have found that this error also spread among our ancestors at one time. ^C Yet, their sin was somewhat lighter, and perhaps they could hope for forgiveness from God for what they had done in ignorance; there remained for them some plea of apology, even if not a very likely one, because the dogma and sentiment of the Church had not yet been sufficiently explored and understood by them. But what happened afterward (for we will not deny it), and what is detected as having been openly performed while we ourselves are living, is this: not in private, in some secret or small part of the world, but publicly and in the midst of the common theater of angels and men and of all creation—both the rational and the unreasoning—and before God, who holds all things in His hand, seeing and observing, we have abolished those things that were already plainly confessed among us. ^D For this reason, the danger that hangs over us is supreme, and the condemnation is infinitely greater, because after that great inquiry and the ineffable examination, we have sinned wretchedly, even though the dogma was already set forth most brilliantly and clearly before our eyes. And this is what the second divine assembly, or the holy and ecumenical synod, piously gathered at Nicaea—which is being the ever-triumphant metropolis of the Bithynians, supported by the right worship of God—has confirmed by very many authorities from the divinely inspired

and confirmed by the doctrine of the Fathers. Indeed, this synod is of the highest authority, and is sufficient to establish a full faith, because it was ecumenical, and entirely free, and placed outside of every risk of calumny or reprisal, and free from all blame ^A or fault with regard to any foreign belief. For it was celebrated most equitably and, in the first place, legitimately: for, according to the divine decrees published from of old, there presided over it—and predominated in it—a not insignificant part from the western heights, that is, from ancient Rome: without whom (the Romans) no dogma, which has been ventilated in the Church, has been ratified by canonical decrees and priestly custom, although it may have been approved, nor will it be put into practice; because they have been allotted the primacy of the priesthood, and possess that dignity ^B handed down by the two leaders of the apostles (53).

Furthermore, whatever from the side of Byzantium—that is to say, of the New Rome which now rules as queen in our parts, and is preeminent on account of her royal dignity—whatever, I say, of bishops presiding over holy sees and shining with the glory of virtues was there, they, being summoned from the regions of the orient, and holding here the place and teaching of those who occupy the apostolic sees for our divine dogmas, most holy men, excelling in morals and knowledge; finally, as many prelates as there were, almost, in the whole world, having been summoned hither, and all looking to one goal of truth, displayed ^C concord and the consensus of their votes, illuminated by the ray of supernal grace. For this assembly had as the establisher of peace Christ. Truly, already from ancient times the ecclesiastical law thus commands, namely, that if any doubts or controversies arise in the Church of God, they should be resolved and defined by ecumenical synods, with the consent and approbation of the pontiffs holding the apostolic sees. In this manner they dispelled the darkness of the error of those above. Armed, however, by the Holy Spirit and instructed with the weapons of true religion, they cut off the heads ^D of the impious enemies; this dogma, indeed, continued by Christians and powerful in ecclesiastical antiquity, they confirmed as was fitting, bringing in nothing modern, devising nothing new or superfluous. Being therefore moved from above by divine inspiration, they held this dogma as safe and beyond dispute, surrounding themselves with the splendid strength of truth. All the bishops, as those who bear God in their minds and are adorned with orthodoxy, held this same dogma ratified by their vote, and the pious emperors

^A confirmed and embraced it, and the entire people of Christians hugged it and continued to cherish it; and the space of nearly thirty years that has intervened has confirmed it. We too, as ones who are full of piety, received and subscribed to it, from which time we have held our elections and installations in the episcopal sees. ^B May the Lord be merciful to us, because we also despised the canons sacredly set down here, and were found ungrateful for what was confessed, whose bonds and condemnation we bear in our own souls, having thought unholily and impiously. If perhaps they should one day recover from the drunkenness of their unbelief, and, coming to their senses, look toward the truth, they might justly lament, as I said, the calamities of their souls. We, meanwhile, shall continue the rest of our discourse and persist in the argument proposed.

26. *Thy priests*, Scripture says, *shall be clothed with justice* (Ps. cxxxi, 9). But what of the alien priests? They shall be clothed with shame, because they desire to worship idols. These things are said of men who are clothed in priestly attire, yet have renounced the Christian dogma and preferred the idolatrous precipice, into which they themselves proclaim that they have fallen, some intentionally closing their eyes to the brightness of the truth, others having suffered involuntary blindness, even though they once rendered honor to the holy images, as all pious Christians profess and do. ^C For these images express the human nature of the God-Word who for our sake was made flesh, being visible and depictable, and they also signify the brave deeds and struggles of His holy and elect, which they endured for love of Him against the adversaries. By these images they see the vessels of the holy mystery adorned with beauty, and the sacred vestment, whatever is spread upon the divine table or in other places, and also the veils and tapestries adorned with them; and then, too, the sacred temple depicted with venerable histories, and crowned with them on all sides. But since my discourse is directed toward priests—I know not whom or what kind—I would most opportunely ask them: what are the religious rites among them, or what are the sacred mysteries? If they should say they have some other initiation, or mysteries different from ours, that is their own concern. ^D But if they hold these very things of ours, which are truly sublime and heavenly, into which the angels gaze with much reverence and veneration, for what reason or by what logic, when standing within the sanctuary of the temple, reciting the sacred words to the universal God and Father over the Eucharistic host, do they say: "Turning us away from the error of idols" (they are speaking, of course, of the Only-Begotten)

^A "He has brought us to the knowledge of You, the only true God and Father, acquiring us for Himself as a peculiar people," and all the other things that are mystagogically sung there in consequence of these?

27. But when, again, those raving madmen, those who have lost their senses, prattle ^A like people who are deranged and struck with folly: "If Constantine had not rescued us from the madness of idols, Christ would not have been able to help us in any way," how then, confessing that they have been delivered from idols ^B through Christ, do they again worship idols at the divine altar? And that they blather these things while inspired by the father of lies is clear to everyone, at least as I convince myself, since they suppose that two contraries, and things that fight against each other to the extreme—the false, I mean, and the true—can come into one and the same confession. They have arrived ^C at such a degree of dementia and stupidity that they do not perceive that they are wandering through empty air with vain reasonings and futile arguments. For if they foolishly think that they are speaking the truth in both cases, they could henceforth cast the charge of falsehood upon the Gospel itself. For when Christ says, "You cannot serve two masters, God and Mammon" (Luc. XVI, 15), they, ^D obeying their own opinions, will be compelled to serve both Christ and Mammon-Constantine, fashioning one religion out of two, just like those who compose hippocentaurs. These, forsooth, are the accusers of men worthy of praise, the dark ones in the presence of the light, the unskilled against wisdom, the ungrateful creatures, the wicked artifacts of the demon; these, I say, are the things they pay back to their Benefactor! For it will be most befitting to them, and very timely, what was formerly spoken by that God-inspired tongue: for they suppose that things which are in every way incompatible and incomparable, and infinitely separated from one another—as much as the rays of the sun from a dark, subterranean abyss, although the example is slight—can come together as one.

Then, again, let them answer us when we ask: do they think they are standing at the divine table, performing the service of the immaculate and bloodless sacrifice, or at the table of ^D demons, who delight in odors and blood? For this is what follows from their opinions—or, to speak more properly, from their folly—and it must be determined whether they think they are attending the divine temples or the altars of idols. May God spare us, who, while we refute their works, are involuntarily soiled by their soot. But what kind of defense remains for them? What will those contradict who mix things that do not cohere, who put light for darkness and darkness for light, the communion of which can neither exist nor be conceived? For the service of Christ

^A and the curing and expelling of unclean demons to consist in the same thing—who of those who possess a sound mind would dare to say? For darkness is not of a nature to endure the presence of solar light. But let their impiety be noted here as well: in the dedications and renewals of holy buildings, prayers and supplications are offered to God by the officiating priests, through which they ask that the all-holy Spirit be sent down, that the house be sanctified and filled with eternal light; that He might choose the temple for His habitation, and make it a place for the tabernacle of His glory; that He might adorn it with divine charisms, make it a remedy for passions, a place for the expulsion of demons, and show it to be a Holy of Holies. Among these prayers, there is the anointing in certain places of the temple with divine ointment, and the placement of holy and sacred relics. Do the men of the opposing party therefore place alongside these things that which is dogmatized by them? Are the sacred words spoken here, and those monstrously muttered by them, consonant and consistent with each other? And who is so foolish and bereft of sense as to say that ^B the same house is both a place for the expulsion of demons and a dwelling-place for demons? To show it to be both holy and defiled? Or that the divine Spirit overshadows it, and the contrary one also resides there? This is what these men, who have proceeded beyond all bounds of folly and madness, believe. But they do not even stop at these impieties; rather, they have refused to place the holy and sacred relics of Christ’s athletes—who struggled even unto blood—within the consecrated altars; whose intercessions they also spit upon and reject, according, of course, to the doctrine of their dogma: "They were looked upon as dead in the eyes of the foolish, and their departure was accounted as affliction, and their going forth from us as destruction; but they are in peace" (Wisd. 3:2-3). Therefore, in this whole manner of proceeding, it is manifestly evident that these wretched men labor under a vain error.

177 The same men appear to me to disregard and profane the name of the Lord, and to offer polluted bread upon the altar, while they dare to say: "The Table of the Lord ^C is polluted, and the foods laid upon it are despised" (Mal. 1:12), which we know was anciently reproached to the priests of the legal religion. But it would be well for them if they were only to hear what was once said to Israel: "How long will you limp upon both your legs?" (3 Kgs. 18:21). They attribute religion to those who, making little of the divine law, hasten to the superstitions of neighboring nations; in which matter they especially follow the practice of the Samaritans, who both feared the Lord and worshipped their idols—badly, indeed, but still perhaps in such a way as to offer the specific worship due to each. These men, however, conflating and mixing and bringing together at the same point things that are in every way uncoupleable and non-coexistent—which it is not possible even to contemplate without the highest blasphemy—[claim] one and the same honor and ^D worship for both;

^A they wish it to be applied in an unlearned and godless manner. For those who had lately recovered from the drunkenness of idols, and were still carnal and infants in Christ, needing to be fed with milk and not [solid] meat, it is far from fitting to compare these men—especially considering the finality of the time in which they live, and the fact that the doctrine of dogmas is now refined and explored—for they can in no way resist, nor can they put forward any pretext for their defense. Nor, likewise, can they be compared to the Hebrews, who were tenacious of their ancestral tradition, in such a way that they needed to be taught what are the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God, and needed milk, not solid food. But if their thoughts have been so darkened, and their foolish heart has been infatuated, and they are dim-sighted toward the rays of the evangelical proclamation, and are unable to discern what is to be distinguished, [being] at an infinite distance from those who have ascended above all comparison—since they do not know how to distinguish between the holy and the profane—let them hear what the minister of the Gospel will declare to them, pointing out the darkness obscuring their souls: "But if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ should shine unto them." Furthermore: "I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils."

Perchance they will imagine me to be a bitter accuser, ^C scrutinizing too curiously the byways of this manifold error. But I will not desert the defense of the truth so long as the Author of our salvation is struck and shot at by the glibness of tongue of those who reject Him, and the Church is besieged and seized to a greater extent. "For I have been very jealous for the Lord," and, "The zeal of thine house hath consumed me," and, "The reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me." Let the words of the saints sound in unison for us, and let them not refuse to speak most clearly to me as I inquire: whose body and blood do they sacrifice while performing the sacred rites? If they shall say it is Christ’s, who would believe them, when they destroy that marvelous and saving economy for us, by imagining—ignorantly and impiously—that the Word did not assume such a body as ours, by dishonestly using their terms of "uncircumscribed" and "unlimited," inventing a phantom according to the nonsense ^D of the Manichaeans? And if they grant even this, how do they at once both remove it from our midst and offer it in sacrifice? But let us leave these things aside; for the matters which they are accustomed to babble among the ignorant, these we spew out as full of nonsense and absurdity, for as transgressors they recount to us mere fables. But these are not as the law of the Lord. And that saying: "Seek wisdom from [index: entries preserved]

^A the wicked, and you shall not find it." And: "An unjust thought is an abomination to the Lord." We hear these things from the mouths of the wise; what then will that knower of ineffable mysteries say to these things? For it is not from elsewhere that it is fitting to refute those who belch forth vanities from their heart and speak being urged on by a contrary spirit: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of the Lord? And the bread which we break, is it not the participation of the body of Christ?" What participation, then, has justice with iniquity? Or what communion has light with darkness? Or what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? And as for what an idol or idol-sacrifice is, he himself shall define it, saying: "The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God."

These things, indeed, come from him who clearly revealed to us from above the doctrine of the divine oracles. But let us now turn our words to another initiation of the sacred mysteries among us. When our Lord Jesus Christ, being God, having carried off the victory over death, and having erected a glorious trophy against the tyranny of Hades, and having subdued the great beast, rose from the dead on the third day, he commanded his disciples as he appeared to them: "Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Immediately they were dispersed over the whole earth which the sun beholds, to where their sound has gone out, and their words have run even to the ends of the world. Thus those fishers of the nations were catching those who were but lately emerging from the salt sea of unbelief, drawing them alive with the net of the word. And first, those who were of the circumcision, running toward the preaching and the initiation, snatched up the blessings of grace in advance; for as many as were turned from Jewish unbelief, and were receding from their ancestral customs, and were liberated from the grievous yoke under which they were serving the law as long as they clung to the letter, now offer to the God of all adoration in spirit and truth instead of legal worship. Then also those who had been drawn back from ethnic superstition and the stench of altars, immediately abandoned their idolatrous insanity. Others, fleeing from barbaric and absurd rites, were liberated from the treachery of the devil who until then was overpowering them. From these, coming together into one confession of faith, the Catholic Church of Christ was formed and assembled. And indeed, all were led together to the knowledge of the Trinity, in which they were baptized, with no one else intruding. For it is not permitted for anyone to mention that name so famous in both heaven and earth. And so, they will never approach our mysteries as if they were profane, nor would they ever suspect that they had participated in the contaminations of impure demons. Therefore, speaking in the Spirit of God, they will not call Jesus anathema. But those men, truly profane and unbelieving, if not in the name of Constantine (Copronymus), certainly in the name of the Trinity^B

they were baptized (though I suppose they would not deny it; for otherwise there would have been no need for our present struggles and labors, nor would they have caused us so much trouble), whence then came the introduction of idols among them? Let them tell us most clearly. And if they continue keeping the seal of this confession intact and inviolate, how is it that the name of idols is always on their lips?

28. For if being baptized into the death of Christ profits them nothing, how are they not more senseless than Jews, more unbelieving than Greeks, and more godless than barbarians? For not one of these has ever yet dared to accuse the Church of God. What height of impiety does this not equal? What words will be sufficient to demonstrate the magnitude of such insolence? Who else will exist who might redeem them from such great guilt with his own blood? How could anyone call them not only bishops, but not even simply Christians? They will therefore be compelled to seek another baptism, in which they will be initiated or perfected: "Crucifying to themselves the Son of God and putting him to an open shame, if ever they had been once illuminated, and had tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost." ^C Thus, then, needing another initiation and another anointing—or rather, ordination—they will have need of these, since they have utterly denied and rejected the former. For how could they impart an initiation which they themselves did not retain? Or how could those who have divested themselves of their own ordination undertake to baptize or teach dogmas? Finally, how can it be that a dogma or baptism handed down by them is acceptable or worthy of trust?

29. I would add this also to what has been said, which even they themselves—who are accustomed to overturn everything, and easily change their mind, and nowhere have any stability—would agree to: since whenever someone from our faith ^D of his own accord or under compulsion crosses over to another religion, and contaminates himself with unbelieving Gentiles, and tastes of abominable foods, or in any other way departs from our rite, the venerable canons of the Church command that such a person, having become pricked at heart for his sin, and repenting of the things he has wrongly done, and running back to the Church in repentance, and professing to turn away from the strange and unholy things he has done, should not even step into the threshold of the divine temple, but should stay far away from our assemblies, and be excluded from the communion of the divine mysteries. A period of time is also appointed for him, until with a contrite heart and a spirit of humility, through a fervent and painful confession of his previous transgressions, he might wash away the defilement; and thus he shall be deemed worthy of participation in holy things, and be enrolled again with the faithful. Let them tell us, then, those who say they have worshiped idols, if they wish to be counted among Christians, what the method of repentance is for them, what period of time has been set, who are to receive the confession of sin, and what canons they are to obey.

^A And thus let them be examined, whether they might be found worthy of the sacred flock; so long as they do not cease from fighting against Christ, let them run far away and stay outside the sacred enclosures, and let them be cut off as rotten and useless members of the flock of Christ, lest those which are healthy, and standing firmly in the noble confession, be corrupted by the soul-destroying disease.

30. But since the reasoning regarding idols and the worship ^B of those who are led astray by them is twofold—for there are those who are coarse and material in their understanding, remaining only in what is visible and being able to conceive of nothing further, they incline their minds only to stones and wood and the rest of inanimate matter, and worship them; while others, who seem to think in a more rational and philosophical manner, imagine that certain powers inhabit the statues, which they also habitually call by the name of gods, just as they are accustomed to call those signs images of the gods—to which of these, then, do the new worshippers of idols attach themselves? If, acting like rustics, they take the worse lot, they fall into manifest bestial stupidity and senselessness. But if, acting more urbanely, they choose the other class, then they slide into the height of impiety and irreligion. And it remains to be asked: do they prefer the masculine gender of gods, and some of them allotted to it, such as Saturn, Jupiter, and Apollo; ^C or rather the feminine, such as Rhea and Hera and Artemis? And do they assign among them a first and second rank of gods, and certain superiorities, and measures, and differences of honors, so that if it should behove them to practice Hellenism, they might not fail to identify those who stand supreme? One might be greatly amazed at their insensibility, that they do not wish to perceive, if nothing else, the distinctive character of each of the two religions—that of the temples, and of the sacrifices, and the difference of the images, how great it is; that just as the objects worshipped have attributes that are beyond all comparison (for some are divine and venerable, while others are abominable and demonic), so too it must be said that the places where worship is performed, and moreover even the manner, possess most clearly ^D a separation between them. For those things which are dark and worthy of darkness are generally performed in darkness: initiations take place in subterranean shrines and caves, shutting up their mysteries; but ours, since we walk in the light of the countenance of the Lord, are revealed by the illumination of divine splendor and in the light, for they are light.

31. And as for those things that are pictured, since error is manifold (for there are many gods and demons among the heathens), it is necessary that there be many forms, and that the portrayals be varied and numerous, and different in their types, and unlike one another, and that the idol itself bestowed upon each god must differ; but among us Christians, since truth is simple and undivided, because Christ is one, also in type and

^A its likeness, proceeding always from one archetype. For example, from one ring many impressions are made, even if, due to age or the idioms of the places in which they exist, they differ slightly in habit and form; yet it is multiplied, while remaining the one and the same subject. Just as one and the same fire remains, even if many are kindled from one lamp, by the zeal and faith of those who stand in need of the grace and utility derived from it. And how great is the difference in sacrifices, it is easy to demonstrate; for what communion have those detestable and profane abominations with our bloodless and most holy sacrifice?

^B 32. But if, as they say, they once worshipped idols, why would the beings worshipped not be hostile to them, since they serve them in foreign temples? And how will they bear their resentment? For it is likely that they are enraged that their long-possessed temples—now for a very long time ruined and razed to the ground, of which not even traces remain in many cases—are not being rebuilt and renewed by these people, but rather that they go elsewhere to worship, and are required to adorn their images and offer them appropriate sacrifices. If they wished, as was the custom, to taste of them, eating the fat of the victims, drinking the wine of their libations, mingling with the smoke and the stench, and being defiled by the blood and gore of the altars—if indeed they could bear the foul odor of those pollutions, which is always offensive to the senses—then how do these wretches not shudder in soul and tongue to mix and bind together, with such supreme wickedness, things separated by such ^C solid barriers? How, then, will God bear being insulted by these things? It is also appropriate to consider this: that their injustice in this calumny against us is twofold: first, because they contend against right doctrine; and second, because their speech has much strife and controversy arising from falsehood itself, regardless of which of the two foolish arguments might prevail.

33. For those who fight against Christ were not ashamed to call the adorable image of our Savior Christ and God an "idol," nor were they ashamed to denounce Christians, claiming that they approach the holy images as gods—having reached such a pitch of distraction and madness that they neither recognize the principle of those being worshipped nor understand the intention of those who worship, even though these things are most manifestly clear, like light. Nevertheless, their blasphemy drives them from both sides into one precipice of impiety. ^D For we, who are firmly established upon the foundation of piety, have a most manifest glory regarding these things and their veneration, at least to those who have truly chosen to be wise and who preserve their reasoning sound. But let it be: they themselves, they say, have wandered like irrational animals, assuming the holy is the same as the unclean. And I do not know how they will wash away the shame of their face, which sticks to them and accompanies them to the end, incorrigible as it is. In what way do they irrationally and ignorantly accuse Christians, as if they were as insane as they are regarding the worship of sacred things—conjecturing this, evidently, from their own perfidy and apostasy, and...

measuring the things of others by themselves. They are not so much to be avoided and turned away from on account of their irreligion, as they are to be pitied and deemed wretched for their senselessness and lack of perception; matters which not even any of the Jews or Greeks who are always carping at our blameless faith ^A would have dared to utter.

34. But these absurdities of theirs are such as they are. As for me, I must proceed along another path for the refutation of this falsehood, and by the oracles of the Spirit—which I affirm must be obeyed in every way—we must judge what is right and what is faulty in their arguments. For the apostolic rule instructs us: "Do not believe every spirit, but test whether they are from God," since, it says, many false teachers have now gone out. Let us see, therefore, whether they too are led by the Spirit of God and think and speak things consonant and agreeable to those who have spoken in the Spirit of God; and if we find that their views are not the same as theirs, we shall know that they are not of God, but of the Antichrist. And first, if it pleases, let those who are older in time be brought forward; then let those who have been eminent in honor throughout the Church be added to them. But let those oracles which have been universally proposed and published ^B by the Spirit take precedence over all. For they accuse Christ our God of inefficacy and infirmity, as if He were unable to deliver men from ethnic error, and as if the passion of the cross and the whole manner of the incarnation performed by Him were in vain; they imagine that the divine preaching is futile by their erroneous reasoning, and they have attached the title of liars to the heralds of truth, ^C devising vain fables in the deceit of their own thoughts.

35. Therefore, let the blessed David sing, striking the divine lyre which the Spirit has composed in harmony: "For God is a great Lord, and a high and terrible King over all the earth." Moreover: "And God has reigned over the nations." And: "Be at leisure and know that I am God, and I shall be exalted among the nations, I shall be exalted in the earth." And: "The Lord has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations." And: "All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God." How, therefore, and when, and in what matters is the God of the universe a great God and a great King over all the earth, who is acknowledged as the universal God, and how has He made known His salvation and revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations? From this, those who are truly of sound mind, and who direct their understanding truthfully and undistortedly toward the divinely delivered oracles, may understand. For if He were thought of simply as the God of all and the Creator, He is already the King and Master of all things. "Who rules by His power over the age; for in His hand are the ends of the earth." And: "All things serve Him." But if these things happen to be said of

some singular nation, and one peculiarly dedicated to Him, ^A knowing that He is the only true God, and that to Him alone they offer worship—for in this sense also God is called King of some and God—this was known of old regarding those who remained of the blood of Israel, as it is said: "When the Most High divided the nations, when He dispersed the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God; and the portion of the Lord became His people Jacob, the measuring line of His inheritance, Israel." And: "I have chosen you out of all the nations." And: "My people, your exactors strip you." And: "We are Your people, and the sheep of Your pasture." And whatever similar things are said about them in the sacred oracles, which no one would deem simple expressions, since they are representative of characteristics that distinguish and separate them from the unbelief and atheism of other nations, and which draw them near and bring them to God—things which could never be said of those others. For the kings of those nations, and the subject multitude beneath them, yielding to the thoughtlessness of the soul, and for this reason wandering like irrational animals, were ignorant of the naturally and truly existent God, who had created them and given them the breath of life, and exercised providence over them; ^B instead, they imposed upon themselves Satan as king, and, as each saw fit, worshipped gods and ruinous demons, splitting and scattering themselves into various sects and carving out peculiar religions for themselves. Since, therefore, these did not acknowledge the God of all as King, nor were they His intimate people—even though they were otherwise so by right, as His creature and handiwork—nor are all nations Israel, nor is the whole earth Judea, it is evident that the prophetic oracles have not found their fulfillment in them.

It remains, therefore, that these things should be understood and spoken of us who have been called from the nations to divine knowledge, that is, of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, which is spread to the ends of the earth, and which with one voice confesses and worships the one God and Master of all, the great King and Lord. When, then, are these things? When ^C the fullness of the time had come, and the kingdom of heaven had drawn near, God sent forth His only-begotten Son, born of a woman, a man as we are, appearing without sin. And He called all nations to His own knowledge, and delivered us from the bitter slavery of the ruling enemy. Then indeed we also, who are from the nations, from being "not a people," have become the people of God, and have been enriched in Him with the new name. For it is written: "To those who serve Me, a new name shall be called," which shall be blessed for all ages, namely, that we are and are called Christians by Him. And the light of the knowledge of God has shone upon us: "For I have set you as a light to the nations," He says. Thus we, the people being created, ^D praise the Lord with David, saying: "Because the Lord our King is great."

We acknowledge Him as God, and we confess Him as the Head of the Church, whom He ransomed from the Gentiles with His own blood; ^A because He has acquired us for Himself as a peculiar people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, to announce His virtues and His glory; because all nations now serve Him, and all the tribes of the earth are blessed in Him, and all the families of the nations worship before Him, and all nations have heard and worship before Him, and all the kings of the earth worship Him. Leaping away from ancestral customs and gods, and from the irreligion prevailing among them, we fly with the utmost readiness to the pure and blameless faith. What, therefore, do those who resist the Holy Spirit think regarding these things? If they should affirm, in their folly, that these things were said concerning the Jews, yet: "God is known in Judah, and His name is great in Israel." For at that time, both the nation and the worship and the adoration were circumscribed there. For "it is necessary to worship in Jerusalem," as was formerly ordained by the law. For this reason, those also who were once led away captive to Babylon said: "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land," with their instruments hanging mute from the willows? But if, being equally delirious, they should wish to attribute this glory to the heathens; but "they became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened; because when they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were they thankful to Him; but they humbled themselves before the works of their own hands, and worshipped the creature in place of the Creator," and offered to abominable and impure demons the worship ^B due to God. But other nations may glory in these things. Yet the "idols of the nations are silver and gold, the works of men's hands, which will neither speak nor see, nor will they be moved in any way."

It follows, therefore, from every side, even if the enemies of the truth do not wish it, that we Christians hold the victorious position. For the Spirit commands us to sing a new song to the Lord, not in Jerusalem alone, nor in Judea, in small sections of the earth, but in every place of His dominion, lifting up holy hands, to serve God in holiness and righteousness; since the "Dayspring from on high has appeared to us," and "has given to us, His people, the knowledge of salvation for the remission of our sins." Thus we, as His people, acknowledge jubilation, "and walk in the light of His countenance, and all the congregation of the peoples hope in Him." Nor is there a new God among Christians, but we acknowledge one and the same God forever. For, "I," He says, "am the first God, and to those that come after." And: "We know no other God besides Thee," we say to God. "The Lord has made known His salvation; in the sight of the nations He has revealed His righteousness." But what is this? Hear Paul saying: "Who was made unto us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification ^C and redemption."

He is this Emmanuel. If, therefore, we have been justified in Him by faith, if we have been redeemed through Him—for "all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God"—it is manifest that those who speak from their own belly and not from the mouth of the Lord, opening their mouths to spout blasphemies against the Only-Begotten, speak from the Antichrist, as it seems to the great John and to the Truth itself. For they babble in a way most foolish and altogether different from the utterances of the divine Spirit; and if these men had never sung the song of the Lord, while it is chanted and celebrated by farmers, merchants, sailors, and men of every rank, age, and condition, they would deservedly be considered the most ignorant and senseless of all. And for this reason they shall not properly be called priests, nor is there in them any priestly vestige, but rather [the mark of] ignorance and madness. They are worthy of laughter and shall pay the ultimate penalty, since they have not been able to grasp with a sound mind the divine oracles committed to them as priests. For "a foolish man shall not know, and a senseless man shall not understand these things." Since, therefore, it is proven that they do not speak by the divine Spirit, it is found that they speak moved by the opposite power.

^B 36. But let the prophet be heeded, and the things that follow his words, namely that the Church is founded in God and remains unshaken: "God is in the midst of her, and she shall not be moved; God shall help her in the morning, early." Even if the malicious threats of the wicked should rush down a thousand times like rainstorms, and the winds of wickedness should blow with a heavier force, and the torrents of impiety should roll along with a clashing ^C wave and a great roaring; she is founded upon the immovable rock, which is Christ. "For whatsoever the Lord pleased, He hath done in heaven and in earth." Let the lawless be confounded. It remains for us to bring into the midst, for examination, the sayings of other God-bearing men—or rather, [the sayings] of the Spirit who spoke through them—so that we may know what they declare concerning the subject before us, and so it may be made manifest whether the arguments of our adversaries harmonize with them. Let us therefore take the beginning from here. "And it shall be," he says, "in the place where it was said to them: 'You are not My people,' there they shall be called sons of the living God." Who these are, and of whom the prophetic discourse speaks to us, he who was deemed worthy of those beatitudes and to whom the keys of the kingdom of heaven were entrusted—Peter, the foundation and pillar of our faith—will teach us, saying: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people, but now are the people of God; who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." ^D Consonant with these, let Paul also speak, the participant in the same grace and glory, and the guardian of the mysteries of Christ: "That He might show the riches of His glory upon the vessels of mercy, which He has prepared unto His glory." Whom He also called, not only

from the Jews, but also from the nations, just as He says in Hosea: "I will call that which was not My people, My people; and her who was not beloved, beloved. And it shall be in the place where it was said to them: 'You are not My people,' there they shall be called sons of the living God." ^A Thus, then, did the pair of teachers of the world discern this with great nobility; and since they sound in harmony with one another regarding the prophetic sayings, as if they were moved by one and the same Spirit, and testify that we, who have been called from both Jews and nations to the knowledge of the divine light, are the people of God and a nation, and are delivered from the darkness of ignorance and of that ancient infidelity, how would anyone who dares to say the contrary not be convicted of speaking by a contrary spirit?

Then, again, this same man, inspired by God, may utter another oracle in the Spirit: "And I will betroth you to Me in justice, and in judgment, and in truth, and in mercy; and I will betroth you to Me in faith, and you shall know the Lord." What will those who set themselves against the divine will and fight against it say to these things? For if, being dull and material in mind, and clinging to the letter, they should interpret these things prophesied as concerning the Jewish people, they would be using their customary lie even now. ^B For this thing is utterly incredible; for the affairs of the Jews do not persist forever, nor has their liberty remained intact even unto this day. Where, indeed, is their royal station, and the notable city, and the famous temple? Where is the worship, and the laws, and the rest of the pomp of their religion—that we might not go through them detail by detail? But all has gone, and has vanished. The Synagogue of the Jews, therefore, was not betrothed to God for eternity, nor is it permitted to apply the prophetic sayings to it.

It is necessary, therefore, for a good and prudent hearer to understand and accept these things as concerning the new people and the Church of Christ, which has been joined to Christ as a bridegroom, and has the bridegroom as a perpetual companion in her heart, and is pierced by the love of her lover. ^C From His love, therefore, she will neither depart forever, nor would she ever follow after any other. In whom one would see the prophetic saying validated quite easily, and the facts themselves shout it out, and the witness is Paul, the excellent matchmaker, writing in this way to the Church in Corinth: "I have betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." And again, writing to the Ephesians: "For thus Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for her, that He might cleanse her by the washing of water in the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she might be holy and blameless." ^D What do you say? Do you set aside Paul, and call him a vain-speaker who had Christ speaking in him?

^A Or does not the Church of Christ speak the truth entirely and maintain herself, purified from every idolatrous abomination? And are you not liars, lovers of falsehood, and—which is more appropriate and consistent to say—having the Antichrist speaking within you?

But how is it said that this happened "in justice, and in judgment, and in mercy"? Because "He delivered us from the power of darkness, and freed us from the servitude of corruption." For "God was," he says, "in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them." When was this? "When the kindness of God our Savior appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did, but according to His mercy He saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, which He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by His grace, we might become heirs of eternal life." For the riches of His goodness so superabounded toward us that by His own blood He reconciled us to God and the Father, we who had been made enemies through our sins; for not an ambassador, nor an angel, but the Lord Himself saved us. And as we offer a pure and sincere faith, we acquire divine knowledge, and we harvest the spiritual fruits of the righteousness that is from God forever.

But let another of the blessed prophets cry out in the Spirit, saying: "In that day, says the Lord, I will gather the broken, and I will receive the outcast, and those whom I had rejected. And I will place the broken as a remnant, and the outcast as a strong nation, and the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Sion ^B from now and forever." What, then, does the prophetic word signify to us again in these things? It would be clear to those who are truly sound-minded, and who have been instructed to understand divine things in a manner worthy of God, and not with human passion. It exhorts us, therefore, to think reasonably of that day in which the kingdom of heaven drew near, and the King, the powerful ruler of the heavens and of all things, dwelt among the inhabitants of the earth, "that He might make both one, and reconcile things in heaven and on earth through His cross, dissolving the middle wall of the partition, the enmity in His flesh," just as somewhere the divine Paul says.

He, therefore, who heals our brokenness, who "bore our infirmities and grieved for our sins," who "preached release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind," and who sent the light of true knowledge to those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death—He Himself gathered the broken. But let every soul ^C reasonably consider again—every soul that humbles and prostrates itself before the works of human hands, and attributes to them the unique honor owing to God. For they who were wandering did not know their own Creator and Lord; their feet, not knowing how to walk straight, were stumbling on the roughnesses and crookednesses of false religion, and, pierced by the thorns of sin, ^D and afflicted by the hardship in their ways

^B For they did not know the way of peace. These are indeed the various tribes of the nations, ground down and shattered by unbelief—those whom He once said were cast out because of their ignorance. But after God, looking past the times of ignorance and exhorting all to repentance, had mercy, He welcomed those who returned to the knowledge of Him through the evangelical preaching; and He adopted them as sons, and called them His own people, and fashioned from them a holy and strong nation, so that they would no longer stumble in their religion. For He who bound the strong man despoiled the tyrant, and as a victor snatched away those held by him like spoils of war, and chose for Himself, as if they were the first-fruits of His spoils, thieves, harlots, and tax-collectors, so that they would no longer remain bound by an enemy yoke. He broke the yoke of the striker, and set apart for Himself a holy inheritance, a holy congregation; over whom He will also reign forever on Mount Sion, that is, in His own Church, as is clear to everyone. For the age will never end, nor will it ever reach a conclusion; but those who live in the age through each individual generation will not cease to know and adore Christ, our God, as their God and King, and to loathe every idolatrous abomination. For He is with us all the days until the consummation of the age. But let those who do not understand these things prate on, covered in eternal ignominy; let them know, however, that they speak thoughtlessly against the Church of Christ. ^C

That they speak from their own heart and babble, moved by a contrary spirit, let another God-bearing witness appear and say: "The whole earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as much water covers the seas." The fame of the divine advent has gone forth, running to the ends of the world. The whole multitude of the nations has been captured, and has been filled with divine glory and knowledge; just as the force of waters might inundate like the sea, that is, the abundance and plenty of the springing grace, in the bountiful outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, with which those who believe are adorned in the saving baptism. Perhaps, indeed, these words signify to us the grace of the divine washing, in which the illuminated wash away the stains of sin. For by the triple immersion, through which the invocation of the supreme Trinity is made, by confessing the three persons and the unity of the supersubstantial Godhead, they are merged, and, overwhelmed by the pure and immaculate water, they are buried with Him, purified by the fire of the Spirit, they who before were like those tossed by the waves of the sea because of the saltiness of the prevailing unbelief. For thus, laying aside the old Adam, they are clothed in the new one, fashioned according to Christ. Indeed, [to] the multitude of them that most quickly obey the calling of the Gospel and run towards Him...

denotating that which miraculously exceeds the measure of the sea. Just as it was shown long ago in a promise from God to the patriarch Abraham, that his promised seed would grow to such a great multitude that it would be equal to the stars of heaven and the sands of the earth 17. In reality, our religion fills not only the sea, but the whole earth and its borders and the entire inhabited world. For all men, as those who are taught by God, purified by the laver of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, are filled with His glory and knowledge, retaining no trace or shadow of idolatry, nor will they ever mention it. It follows, then, that the adversaries, ^A formed by the operation of the unclean spirit, are seen to be babbling in vain against the Church of Christ.

Let another God-bearer be brought before us and let him speak: *The Lord will appear to them and will destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth, and they shall adore Him, every one from his place, all the islands of the nations* 18. What is clearer or more lucid than this, regarding the fact that the visible descent of the Word of God to us was of the greatest importance and truly salvific? For through it we who come from the nations have been delivered from the error of polytheism, and we acknowledge the one true God and Father, and Him whom He sent, Jesus Christ, our Lord and God. But, as it seems, those who have accepted that frantic, God-hateful doctrine, still lingering in the dark gloom of ignorance, have not yet been illumined by the splendors of divine knowledge. Does this saying not also gag the impudence ^B of the Jews, if they should wish to say that, when they were brought back from Babylon, those heathens who had received faith in God brought their legal worship to the temple that was in Jerusalem? For the prophetic oracle has foretold that each one would worship from his own place. This, however, belongs not to the Law, but is truly of the evangelical teaching, which has been extended to the ends of all the world. For to us who have been justified by faith, *The grace of God our Saviour hath appeared, instructing us, that, denying ungodliness ^C and worldly desires, we should live soberly and justly and godly in this world, looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and might cleanse to himself a people acceptable, a pursuer of good works* 19. But the demons, when the Saviour appeared and performed divine miracles, since He had pity on His own creation, and because they knew the One who was driving them out—for they were learning from what they were suffering—even against their will they cried out: *What have we to do with thee, Jesus Son of God? ^D Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?* 20. For the tyranny of these was being cast out, their power was being utterly overturned, and they were already sensing the judgment of the punishments and hell they expected, and even while still untimely

^A they were lamenting their torment; yet these enemies of the cross of Christ do not willingly consent to speak the words of the demons, even together with the demons, although they themselves, having already grasped the experience of their own downfall—even if not yet purely and clearly—were nonetheless shameless enough to wish to proclaim their defeat. They were compelled, even against their will, by the authority of him who commanded it. But these men represent their own condemnation as more solemn, as if they were minded toward them with something more and perhaps more reasonable than those who were—and for this reason, being most kindly disposed toward them—they cannot endure [to say] that their power has been destroyed, or that their fury against us has been rendered ineffectual.

And since the prophetic oracles must by all means find their fulfillment, every one of the faithful worships God from his own place, because it is written: *Let all the earth worship Thee* (Ps. LXV, 4). Thus, the Apostle of the Gentiles also wishes us to pray *in every place, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting* (1 Tim. II, 8). For already that worship confined to one place ^B has ceased, since He who dissolved the letter, and fulfilled the Law, and renewed grace for us, the Lord of all, has come to us. Does it not appear that He spoke such things with the Samaritan woman? Namely, that *neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father: but the hour is coming, and now is, when the true adorers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father also seeks such to worship Him. God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth* (Joan. IV, 21, 23, 24). For since the light of truth and grace is diffused everywhere, there is no longer a reason for worship to be circumscribed by place, nor to persevere according to that ancient and shadowy ordinance ^C. But just as the word of the Gospel, having been poured out over all the earth, has sounded forth, so also the manner of doxology and worship, having been extended, has been spread abroad. Or perhaps we ought to consider that every man is the place of God. For thus ought everyone to inspect his own soul, which, purifying with noble habits and virtue, he prepares as a dwelling-place for the Spirit; and having become superior to matter, and victor over his own lusts, and having set his mind free from these distracting temporal cares, he will thus have the Word of God as an inhabitant, just as it is said: *The temple of God is holy, and His Spirit dwells in you* (1 Cor. III, 16). And: *I will dwell in them, and walk among them, and they shall be My people, and I will be their God* (Levit. XXVI, 12; II Cor. VI, 18).

And the islands of the Gentiles, what else should they be understood to be, than as the ^D ministers of the mysteries have taught us, the Churches of the Gentiles, lately established, and emerging from the salt-sea of infidelity, and taking a firm footing in God? We may also rightly say that those visible islands scattered in the seas, which the Gentiles living without God once inhabited, are described by these words. For not only the inhabitants of the continent, but also the islanders, having received the doctrine of the Savior, each one worships the universal God from his own place. Since, therefore,

Christ himself, our God, who is the truth, declares us to be true worshipers, worshiping him in spirit and in truth according to the evangelical and prophetic voices—for it is one and the same who speaks in all—how is it that, after his appearing, we were not delivered from ethnic ungodliness, and did not become devoid of all idolatrous abomination, being his genuine worshipers in all things, despite the words of those who oppose us? And it is clear from this, too, that they speak from the opposite spirit and from the Antichrist, ^A having become his worshipers? Therefore, the words of those who oppose us are false, and herein it is evident that they speak from the mouth of the contrary spirit and of Antichrist.

We must also examine what is said in the following to the God-bearing man himself and to the truth: *Then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him under one yoke. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia they shall bring my offerings.* ^B Let the most noble Isaiah harmonize with this, saying: *The tongues of the stammerers shall learn to speak peace, and the tongue of the stutterer shall be made plain.* For the divine oracle has also handed down that they shall speak with new tongues. As for the languages of those peoples, which once poured forth words full of impiety and were accustomed to the naming and invocation of unclean demons, God promises to purge them of such disgusting practice and to convert them, and that they shall be in all their generations immune and pure from all idolatrous confession, so that they may present a clean and undefiled rational worship appropriate to God. And it is said that we should serve him under one yoke, since it is ^C established that human nature had previously been subjected to many yokes; for some were addicted to one god, others to another according to different sects and religions, bound by the thongs of impiety. But when the Redeemer came to us from the heavens, then he delivered us from this oppressive variety of yokes, and offered his own yoke, which draws us to the docility and obedience of the evangelical way of life. *Take,* he says, *my yoke upon you, for it is easy, and my burden is light.* We faithful, therefore, gladly submitting to this yoke of righteousness, serve him in truth, sincerity, and one faith, and in this we rejoice and boast, having been taught, of course, that *it is good for a man when he has borne the yoke from his youth.* ^D It is indeed fitting to greatly admire the greatness and goodness of the Lord of all, that his mercy and kindness have been so abundantly poured out upon us, that he has willed the saving proclamation to reach even to the ends of the earth, and that from Ethiopia and from all the ends of the earth praise for him and a perpetual hymn is sent up by those who know him with one mouth. Let these madmen hear these things and learn that they are resisting the Holy Spirit while they calumniate the Church of God, and let them know that they speak by the instinct of the contrary spirit.

^A But let us hear the words of another holy man: "Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Sion, for behold I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord; and thou shalt know that the Lord Almighty hath sent me." Who, then, is the one who comes? Let John, the great forerunner of our Savior, cry out, who, having sent two of his disciples to question the Lord—"Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another?"—and having received the answer, publicly declared him to be the Lamb and the Son of God. Moreover, David also sang thus: "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." But this Savior, who has come, speaks thus to his disciples: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." And, "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." And let another prophet also cry out: "I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

^B "Many nations shall flee," says another prophetic utterance, "unto the Lord." When shall these things be? Doubtless when the time of God’s manifestation arrives, and those who flee to him shall cry: "Lord, thou hast been our refuge in generation and generation." These, surely, being called the people of the Lord, shall dwell in Sion, that is, the Church; which is commanded to rejoice and be glad, while she marvels at the multitude and number of her children, exceeding all things. In agreement with these, another holy man, as if in the person of the Savior, shall cry: "He hath sent me to preach the gospel to the poor."

^C Now it is believed and preached among us that the Son of God and God is sent by the Father economically, according to his humanity. For the apostolic discourse recognizes him first as the apostle and high priest of our confession, namely that he was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But because they neither recognized nor received the sent Redeemer and benefactor, therefore the disciples are sent to the nations; and from this the beam of divine knowledge shines upon the world, and we cease to be subject to the elements of the world, and are delivered from all demonic oppression. Let every mouth therefore be stopped that speaks iniquity against God. For if they reject the prophets and apostles who speak in the Spirit, it is plainly evident that they also repudiate the one whom these preach; a thing which it is found they do with the utmost impiety.

^D But they do not even allow the sending Father God himself to be free of their foolish calumny; as if he had carried out a mission decreed by himself with a weak plan, and as if that ancient and true counsel had turned out in vain, if the angel of the great counsel had been able to accomplish nothing anywhere. But let the blasphemy fall back upon the head of the refractory. And if, perhaps, they expect another Redeemer (for this is their elegant and distinguished opinion)

they shall be ranked with the Jews; for how will they differ from them, if they in no wise glorify Him who has come, or believe that He has appeared or benefited mankind? For into one and the same end of blasphemy does this madness turn.

^B 37. Come then to me, O best and most blessed of prophets, and even now, invoking God, cry out with a clear and resounding voice; cry out loudly what the Spirit, resounding from above, commands you to foretell. Declare it to me, and utter your discourse with godly wisdom. You would say, I know well, while prophesying divine things: *It shall be in that day, says the Lord Almighty, I will destroy the names of the idols from the earth, and there shall no longer be any remembrance of them* (Zach. XIII, 2). But to you, O herald of God, it was easy both to be initiated by God, being purified in body and soul and mind, and to preach to others, and to hand down to future generations in writing the truth and evidence of the mysteries; but for us, tarrying here, a great perplexity, as is natural, surrounds the argument: what to say first, and what to leave for later. For what indeed could we utter in view of these things? Who is ^C sufficient, in the face of the discourse of the Spirit set before us, to worthily hymn the infinite and inaccessible summit of the truth, or to exhibit its pure and transparent image? Or who can sufficiently rebuke the ignorance and folly of the irreligious? For what is clearer or more illustrious than this doctrine? What could be said more directly or more worthily?

These things shine forth more brightly than the beams of the sun. There is no need here of long periods of hermeneutical discourse, nor of curiously searching and digging out of the depths some buried and obscured treasure, nor do we need some paraphrase which, wandering through long circuits, unfolds the ambiguity and darkness of the words; nor, finally, is there any need to contrive some art and apt composition of terms for the demonstration of this argument. For the simplicity, rectitude, and evidence of this doctrine will not ^D permit some to interpret these things in one way and others in another way out of curious inquiry, and, following their own peculiar aim, to dispel the truth and do violence to the sense of the proposed words, and maliciously distort them, and violently accommodate them to their own will, as these worldly men now do, who are enslaved to the dictates of the evil one.

Since these things are so, with what sense, then, will these men be, who have blunted the visual power of their soul and blocked their ears to the utterances of the divine Spirit? Who are weighed down by such a disease of stupor and folly? Ho, you blind, look up, and you deaf, listen! Who, then, is so blinded and bereft of sight, or who, on account of the corruption of his soul, does not receive the lamp of the heavenly words illuminating us? Who is so deaf and insensible, that he does not hear these divine voices

^A that clearly and expressly cried out to us long ago the annihilation of idols, yet, being obstructed by the cloud of material thickness, chooses not to become a listener? Even if men should wish to remain silent about these things, the very stones shall cry out, compelled by the manifest evidence of the facts. For the hardness and insensibility of their souls surpasses the hard and relentless nature of the stones themselves. ^B What manner of defense, then, would remain for them, whether they wish to persist silently in their opinion or prefer to defend it combatively? What method of contradiction could be devised against the truth? Who among them, advocating for their lies, would undertake this struggle? Where would a tribunal be established for them to discuss this case? What eloquence of grave orators or advocates would bring forth a crafty invention of sophistries? What persuasions, bending the soul and binding it with connected syllogisms? What forced logic of geometric demonstrations, concluding inevitably and without escape from their presupposed theses? What arbiter or judge, most sharp and ingenious, sitting as an examiner while they speak, and able to understand deeply and most wisely the power of the arguments offered, would pass a sentence ^C that confirms their iniquitous illusions? By Hercules, no one is so dull and insane as to strive to oppose and struggle against clear words which the facts themselves splendidly support, invincibly and without contradiction. Certainly, these men, in order to strengthen their cruel and irreligious dogma, can secure no defense for themselves; for, preferring the wicked happiness of this life to honorable calamity, they have, thoughtlessly and against the dignity of the priesthood, brought upon themselves eternal disgrace and ignominy. Assuredly, none of those who have decided to live piously will ever feel or decide such a thing, but will not even hope that such a crime should ever occur to his own mind.

^D How, then, and when, and by whom the plague of the abominable idols was brought in, they shall first hear from the evangelical words, if indeed they believe them. For the destroyer of idols and the expeller of error, our redeemer from the power of darkness, our deliverer from the necessity of corruption, the author of our life, and He who brought us the knowledge of the truth, Christ our Lord and God, speaks thus to the universal God and Father: Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee; as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that all that thou hast given him, he should give them life. And this is eternal life, that they may know thee the only true God, and whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ. Then again: I have manifested thy name to men. And again: I pray not for these alone, that is, for the disciples, but also for those who are to believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in

^A us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. What of these sacred words is more appropriate or clearer for divine knowledge? Has, then, the error not been cast out from this? Has the influence of the demons not been destroyed? Has the deception of the idols not utterly perished? Has the power of the wicked one not vanished? Who is so foolish and senseless as not to agree that these things are so? "That they may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." This voice renewed human nature; this purified the air; this opened the heavenly gates to us; this paved the way for us into the Holy of Holies; this made men companions of the angels; this broke down the partition wall; this reconciled the Father to us, who had been made enemies to God on account of sin. "I have manifested thy name to men." ^B Add also what remains: "I will destroy the names of the idols from the earth, and there shall no longer be a remembrance of them." If, therefore, the saving words are true, and the knowledge of God and His name have been manifested, and the defeat of the idols has been triumphed over—for it is impossible for the Truth to lie—it is evident that the unholy ones speak from an opposing spirit.

Next, let the minister of the Gospel be brought forward, sounding in harmony with this divine prophet, as if moved by the same Spirit, who, in defining the eating of things sacrificed to idols, writes thus to the Corinthians: "We know that there is no idol in the world; and that there is no other God but one." And he insists that such knowledge should extend to all. But lest he seem to stand against what is evident and manifest—for there were, after all, images among the godless and senseless, and they were called gods—he therefore added: "For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, yet they are not so in reality or in existence, but in mere designation, and in name only, and not in being gods; neither is there any power in them, but they are stones and wood and demons." For men were not only amazed at the brightness and clarity of the heavenly luminaries—and for this reason worshipped the sun and the moon and the choir of the other stars as gods—but they also most foolishly wished to honor and glorify with the title of God certain demons on earth, and some men who were infamous for the foulest passions and deeds.

^C

38.

^A nor will they be forever. When then shall they not be, if it is not now, when He who delivers us from idols has come? What, then, does it seem to those who have made mention of idols? If they would say that these prophetic sayings have found their fulfillment among the Jews, how much more so among the Christians? For by as much as the worship of the Jews has surpassed the superstition of the nations, by so much have our affairs risen above the Jewish ones, and they plainly stand forth in their nobility and excellence. For between our worship in spirit and the frenzied zeal of the infidels for idols, the Jewish law stands in the middle. But if it concerns the Greeks and Barbarians, upon whom the light of the knowledge of God did not shine of old, and who were the ministers of unclean demons, such truly was the state of their foolishness and madness. ^B Wherefore the martyrs of Christ, those victorious champions of the truth, endured those countless contests and labors which cannot be comprehended in speech, and sustained such struggles against the idolatrous error as human nature could never have borne: by which they broke the audacity of the devil, and, with divine grace and power aiding them, carried off splendid trophies from the ferocious enemies; and they easily and courageously, and without any labor, razed [their] altars and shrines: for which reason they were also most justly deemed worthy of the unfading crowns from God, the judge of the contests.

What, in truth, shall they judge regarding those wondrous and celebrated men,

as if they were observing these things in the prince of demons, that they were being manifested. But since they possess a reprobate mind, and are carried away toward matters that are not fitting, they are caught in empty reasonings, and will deservedly hear: "Offspring of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil?" For if they called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more his own household? ^A just as the saving word said. How then is it possible to worship the same ones as masters, and to pursue and banish them as scourges and wicked slaves? From which they also wish to bind and shut them up wherever they please. Or in this way, surely, the dominion of the wicked one will be divided against itself.

But it is manifest that just as they push aside the evangelical history, so too do the profane refuse to accept the truth of those who have lived in a godly manner or the things performed by the saints and recorded in the sacred books. But if they think the prophetic predictions are true—for I do not think that even the devil himself would dare to say that they are false—then let it be their concern to demonstrate where and when they received their fulfillment. For if they look to the future and suspect that another Christ is to arrive, they alone deny the hoped-for reality, and therefore deservedly receive the punishment of the despairing. Now, as for the fact that with the coming to us of the universal God, and His preaching of the heavenly kingdom, the error of polytheism ^B has been ^C vanished, and one Lord and God and King is concordantly worshipped and glorified by all, this same divine prophet will say in the following passages, and no one endowed with a sound mind will contradict him: "For the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day the Lord shall be one, and His name one, encompassing the whole earth." For by these and the things said thereafter, He indicated to us in the Spirit not only those from the Jewish people who received the evangelical word, but also the flocks of the nations, who at one time did not know the Master and Lord of all, as they will receive the ray of the knowledge of God and will spit upon the deceit of idols. For what place shall be left devoid of the glory of God, if indeed it is now said more truly than before: "Heaven and earth are full of His glory"? For even if one were to name Greece, or speak of the land of the barbarians, or run through the list by saying Italians and Germans, or approach the Gauls, or Britons, or ^D Libyans, and arrive at the region of the Egyptians, or approach the Arabs and Persians and Ethiopians, or even the Indians and Scythians, and every extremity, and the whole continent and sea, one would find the name of Christ being glorified and worshipped. For the net of the evangelical preaching has captured all, and the knowledge of the venerable Trinity, through the voice of those who discipled the nations, has been spread abroad under the sun, and everywhere the knowledge of the one and only true God and Master of all is present; and with a powerful voice all the nations cry out, after they have learned by faith of the power of God and His everywhere-provident magnitude: "If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there; and if..."

I descend into hell, Thou art present; if I take my wings in the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me." What could be more accurate than these words, and more evident for the sake of insinuating the worship of God?

39. Let the worshippers of idols tell us, then, where on earth and among whom are the shrines and images of idols? Where are their initiations and mysteries, and those who perform these and those who are initiated? Where are their hierarchs, those who teach these things and those who are taught, the priests of these rites and the earth-dwelling, unwashed-footed ones? Where is the order of the temple-wardens around the temples of the gods and their concern for decoration, ^B so that the demons’ mobs—who are wont to wander through the dark sanctuaries, as if truly worthy of the darkness, shunning the light and inhabiting nocturnal dens—might frequent the well-swept altars and palaces more often? Where are their festival days and the sacrifices of oxen and sheep, since demons rejoice in shed blood and delight in bloody altars, and, what is more wretched, in the slaughter of boys and men? Where among them is the honored Zeus, the highest and most distinguished of the gods, that dung-bearing god, praised as if wrapped in dung? Unless, perhaps, he is still honored by our dung-collectors—he whose fabulous and incredible birth is called by the modest, but is believed by the foolish to be most base, hidden by his mother, and saved by a stone substituted for him, and guarded by the choirs of demons and discordant noises and babble, so that the parricidal son might be hidden from the father, the devourer of his children. Someone might wonder at him now as he abandons his multiform frauds, whose prestige was abominable and illusory. When this god wishes to become a bird for them, he becomes hairy of skin and winged, and perhaps this is more pleasing to him, namely that he be equipped with wings and feathers, so that this woman-crazed one might more easily obtain his beloved female. At other times he appeared as a horned bull, adorned with beautiful hooves and long ears; just as at other times he became the goat of the gods, caught in similar vices, and appearing now in one way and now in another, using the deceptions, as they say, and easily changing into anything, according to the variety...

^A and multiform nature of their passions, shifting and transforming their shapes, by which means their shameful and licentious character might prevail. Would that he had even assumed the form of a fox, which he was certainly permitted to do, being accustomed to every fraud and guile! He might have appeared to us as a frog, and, mired in the filth of the mud, while laying traps for many, he might not have been detected by anyone, nor subjected to counter-plots by others. For in this way, there would have been ^B a greater and more earnest worship of him among those who are foolish and have strayed far from the truth, who rejoice in vain fables, and are led astray by the deceits of demons—those authors of lies, workers of wickedness, who are accustomed to drag into their own errors all who pay attention to them.

Let them point out to us Mars and Dionysus: the one presiding over warfare, breathing out wrath and fury—for it is his office to inject madness and irascibility into combatants—yet he himself was wounded by mortals, and taken captive, and bound with bronze chains in an adulterous trap, ^C ensnared by another soot-stained god. And as for the leader of drunkenness, brought forth by strange and absurd pains, as the foolish imagine, let them surround him with a cult as fabulous and ridiculous, and a shameful, indecorous honor. And what of certain Maenads who go raving, and Satyrs dancing in a beastly manner at his festivals, and all the other things worthy of drunkenness, which these truly drunken people rage about around their androgynous god?

Let Mercury come forth into their sight, perhaps the dearest of the gods to them, since they glorify him as a god of gain and ^D set him up as a god of commerce; for these people are choked by a love of gain just as they are by an ambition for glory; and it seems more "mercurial" to them to enjoy material things and ornaments than to possess a sound conviction regarding the worship of God. Let them tell fables about and admire the conception of Hercules, on account of which he was called "trinoctial," and let them enumerate those many labors of his, because of which he was deemed a god by the godless. Let them produce into our midst the armor-loving and war-loving goddess Athena, she who possesses the precious, ageless, and immortal aegis, and her other armored equipment, which was crowned on all sides with terrors and frights, casting an extraordinary fear upon those who see her, and most easily invading the phalanxes of the enemy; helping those whose side she championed, and avenging herself upon those whom she opposed; and greatly and gravely confronting the other gods who stood on the side of the enemy. But whence would her birth have come to us, if Vulcan, that marvelous craftsman, had not skillfully split the head of the insane Jove with an axe? And even if the divider missed the intended promise of the blow, that virgin would still have given birth—more easily—to Erichthonius, the double-natured, another portent more ridiculous and incredible than the former. Let Salmoneus be deemed wise and great among them, who acted haughtily against the gods, and in this lower [(The text continues to the next page)]

^A region raised a din, devising a strange artifice of thunders and lightnings. Yet he received the reward of his boasting against the gods, struck by the thunderbolt of Jove.

Let them show us Rhea, the mother of the gods, and her dishonest and shameful initiations and mysteries, celebrated by the frantic and furious Phrygians with shameless passions. As for these people, some cut their bodies with swords, so that, appearing before the demons bloodstained, they might kindle a more remarkable worship; others play the flute for them and soothe them, so that those who cut themselves, being charmed, might more easily bear the pain, and be incited to that slaughter, and loosen the reins for impure and abominable acts. Nor let the fables of Ceres be omitted, where statues of the mysteries are consecrated with seeds, and initiations and ceremonies take place at night (for they are worthy of the night), which are called Cerealia, Eleusinia, and mysteries, so that no one who has been admitted and initiated may reveal those secrets to the profane. Juno will be seen, her feet tied to a double anvil, and her hands bound with an indissoluble chain, thus suspended ^B from heaven and punished by Jove; a punishment she suffers because of her jealousy regarding Hercules, at the time when she stirred up a sea storm against him; to whom they also grant power over the winds, and to overwhelm the god with sleep, so that, being awake, he might not help the one in danger. From where, then, will these Hecatean and Empusean phantoms scare us—absurd and deformed, which by their mere sight make men astonished and terrified, while they seem to exceed others in height? These authors of terrors, and endowed with I know not what serpentine heads, will vanish with their simulation and fable. Let them also bring forward the adored thunderbolt, and the beloved consumed by the thunder-hurling deity, at the time when her rival, Juno, insinuated to Semele a counsel, or rather a plot, suggesting a way for her to receive her lover, so that in return for the favor, she might receive from him a thunderous death. They seem to me to wish, if indeed any trace of modesty still ^C remains among them, to omit mention of the goddess who is to be shunned above all others and is abominable, born of a more nefarious and shameful manner, and worshipped with absurd and infamous festivals; ancient men, loathing her lasciviousness, rightly called her a whore, a public brothel, and a man-chaser. Perhaps they might also conjure for us the Dodonaean deity, and that oak resonating with vain sounds, and the prophets who speak forth whatever they please. And again, a statue set up on high, the bronze work striking it with a rod, resonating with musical harmony, so that the statue might no longer be thought mute, but rather well-spoken and manifold by them. Where are the ravings of the Delphic tripod? From where will the Pythia speak to them, deceiving the timid and the foolish? Where are the fabulous and illusory spectra of the Castalian spring, exhaled by the demons inhabiting that place, and vanishing just like the winds and breezes? Where will Daphne lie hidden, or what land will receive her, taking pity on her in its bosom, so that ^D by avoiding her lover she might preserve her chastity, and a tree homonymous to the girl might spring up for her as a solace for the beloved thing lost?

Where now are the more ambiguous oracles of the Loxian god of prophecy, with which those who inquired, in ignorance and foolishly, destroyed principles unknown? ^A

40. And that we may pass by the rest (for it will happen to us, as it does to most who enter into such things, to be defiled and polluted along with those who are accursed and abominable), we shall here draw our discourse on these matters to a close, since these things too were long ago circumscribed and consigned to silence. And it is clear how and whence this was, now that He whom the prophet foretold has come into the world: "I will destroy the names of the idols from the earth, and there shall no longer be a remembrance of them." ^B When the grace of the saving Cross shone forth, and the divine proclamation ran through every place, did it not follow that all things were cast beneath our feet, driven away, and surrendered to the abyss of oblivion? For if they still exist, let them show where and among whom these things are; but if they do not exist (for indeed they do not), why do they vainly rail against Christians, imputing to them, through sycophancy and slander of the truth, things which they neither did nor even once thought of? But if they themselves have been led astray and are superstitious, let them accuse themselves; let the most impious ones blame and mock themselves. For the Church of God is ^C immaculate and stands free from every reproach. But these things are passed over in silence; for they are indeed worthy of silence and of deep oblivion. Would that they too observed silence just as those things do! "For let those who make them become like them, and all who trust in them." For it is better and more profitable to keep silence than to speak impiously and godlessly things which it is not right for those who truly love the higher good to speak or even think. For who is so carried away by vanity as to delight in their empty and senseless words? Who is so lacking in sense and so perverted in mind? No one is so beastly and more foolish ^D than every cattle-like ignorance, nay, not even someone possessed or out of their mind, as to tolerate their bleatings and ravings. But let the children of the Greeks play with these, both those of old and those among us who now act like Greeks. But let Christ our God be honored by us, and let Him be worshipped in spirit and in truth, as He who is at once God and man; and let His venerable image also be worshipped, in the way that it is fitting to worship it. Let it certainly be depicted, because what He took from the holy ever-virgin Theotokos is truly a body that can be lined, circumscribed, and is subject to passion; since she herself was also linear and circumscript, whether these madmen wish it or not. Yet that body, even if it be painted or sculpted, is not separated from the God Word united to Him hypostatically, just as it was not absent from the same Word even when it endured the passion for our sake. For nothing of these things can contribute in any way to division.

^A 41. But so much for these things. Furthermore, another one of the seers of God, moved by the divine Spirit, cries out to those performing worship under the Law and shadows: "It is not My will for you," says the Lord Almighty; "I will not accept sacrifices from your hands; for from the rising of the sun even to the setting, My name is glorified among all the nations, and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure sacrifice; for My name is great among the nations," says the Lord Almighty. Do you not see how the old is cast out and the new is prescribed for us? "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire," the great David sings. And: "I will not accept calves from your house, nor goats from your flocks." And: "Your new moons and your feasts my soul hates," the divine Isaiah cries out. By these words He intimates to us that He turns away from bloody sacrifices and from the untimely observations and traditions concerning months and seasons. It is therefore evident from this, too, that the universal God had already introduced the pure and sincere sacrifice, namely, the worship in spirit and truth, in which He indeed rejoices and takes pleasure. The whole world has learned to offer this worship, as being His own and most pleasing to Him, consecrating it everywhere like an odor of sweetness. What place, then, will there be here for the cult of idols, and not rather for their total abolition and destruction? What do you say? Do you believe these sacred words? For indeed, these are sufficient to confound and break your unbelief and hardness of heart. Or do you wish that we should implore other divine prophets for the defense of this doctrine? They shall certainly support us and offer aid to what has thus far been written; they will make your madness and impiety more manifest to you, and will decree a heavier and more agonizing punishment. These, therefore, just as they possessed a common grace and wisdom from the Spirit, so also in the oracles concerning our salvation dictated by God, they appear concordant and running with an equal step.

197 Come then, by connecting other testimonies of those men who were bearers of God, beyond those written above, let us free the Church of Christ from every slander and reproof; and let us represent the dogmas of our adversaries as teeming with all madness and error. Let Isaiah, the most loud-voiced of the prophets, be called to this sacred assembly, and let him ^B speak out, he who, as one cleansed by the divine coal, ^C seeing future things long before with the eyes of the soul, says: "It shall be in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall be conspicuous, and the house of the God of Jacob upon the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills, and all the nations shall come to it. And many nations shall go and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of our God, and He will declare to us His way, and we will walk in it. For out of Zion shall go forth the Law, ^D and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and He shall judge in the midst of many nations, and He shall reprove many nations." And who these last days truly are, the blessed

Paul will clarify again, writing to the Hebrews thus: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds." And again: "But now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." And again, writing to the Galatians: "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law." And to the Ephesians likewise: "Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself, in the dispensation of the fulness of times, to gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth." And certainly the divine Peter, the pillar of the Church, also says somewhere: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him ^B do believe in God." And he who flashed with divine thunders, the son of thunder, says: "Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." But here let all that concerns the "last things" come to an end. Yet, when the age is hastening toward its conclusion, and time is, as it were, declining toward its sunset, as we have arrived very near the end of the world, then indeed, then the illustrious and conspicuous mountain of God, and His house likewise, shall be made manifest in plain view.

What, however, does the discourse of this divine prophet intend to signify here, if not clearly that it invites us directly to things more divine and more sublime? To whom also is it especially fitting for those who have received the Spirit to believe and to obey? It is that we should by no means cling to the letter or be carried away ^C by sensible things, but rather direct the mind on high, and fix our thoughts upon a better and more perfect goal; and, once we have risen above earthly and groveling things, we should ascend as best we can into those things that are beyond visible phenomena. Therefore, the "conspicuous mountain of the Lord" must be understood, to speak concisely, as the nobility, splendor, and majesty of the holy Church, and that which gilds and adorns her most joyfully and brilliantly: the purity of the evangelical doctrines, and the depth and sublimity of the dogmas, everything, I say, that transcends human limits, being lofty and sublime. Whose echoes and proclaimings cry out plainly, and ring out most clearly into the ears of all, making a manifestation of the divine mystery that was hidden in silence for eternal ages, but was made manifest ^D through the holy Scriptures. Now this is the incarnation of our Savior Jesus Christ,

which he mercifully displayed for the human race, along with the knowledge and hope of the good things that have flowed to us from it. And if we approach any herald of the Gospel, we shall hear him saying: *For you have not come to a mount that may be touched, and burning fire, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which they that heard entreated that no word more might be spoken to them; for they could not endure that which was enjoined; but you have come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better than that of Abel.* ^A Thus, therefore, both the prophetic word and the apostolic preaching wing our mind toward heavenly things, and exhort us to think of and contemplate the things that are beautiful there, and to look upon the assembly of the inhabitants and happy saints; and the Gospel accounts suggest to us and announce divinely radiant and distinguished dogmas. The house of God is, clearly, the Church of God, as it also appears to the divine Paul in his Epistle to Timothy, where he says one must know: *How one ought to behave in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God.* Such are the souls of the faithful, purified by right doctrine and the best manner of life, having the supreme God dwelling within them, just as it was said: *I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be to me a people.*

^C So, indeed, this admirable house is founded on the summit of the lofty mountains and in the contemplation of those who advance, whose minds and thoughts have risen above earthly and humble things, and are brightly illuminated by the holy prophets and apostles, upon whom, as on the foundations of the faith, the Church of God, being built, stands firmly. To this mountain and house, therefore, the nations, hastening from afar, decide as if by public resolution, exhorting one another to undertake the journey hither, since that way which they were eager to enter upon was now to be announced to them. What, then, is this way? The Lord himself cries out in the Gospels: *I am the way and the truth.* And: *The ways of the Lord are right, and the paths are true.* Into this way the saints of old prayed to be led by the God of all. ^D Therefore, the Church of the nations, treading this way and path—which is sufficiently level and easy—rises up from its earthly unbelief to the high ascent of divine knowledge and to the city above, Jerusalem, the eternal metropolis of the saints; and departing from here, in the course of the present time, it awaits to Sabbathize and find rest through its faith. Moreover, anyone may very easily recognize the truth and sincerity of the prophetic saying. For even in the sacred houses, that

and thus the unerring and most truthful of the prophetic utterance; for even in the holy houses, ^A that is, in the divine temples scattered everywhere throughout the world, decently adorned and well-constructed with sanctification and glory, and comparable to fertile mountains, and thick and leafy forests, men are purged of sins, and are sanctified in soul and body, and all are filled with divine grace, who approach with religious devotion.

In these, therefore, assemblies gathered from every tongue and lineage at all times, the divine mysteries are revealed through holy readings and catecheses; and it is confessed that the saving sacrifice, the expiatory victim for the whole world, grants to those who approach with faith and purity of mind, and partake of it, the freedom from sins they seek. From which, as they multiplied and widened, the shrines and altars of the idols were mightily shaken and cast down, so that the faithful did not even retain a memory of the idolatrous abomination, remaining forever impervious to every ethnic and mortal mindset. "For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem." ^B For from this material one, which is as a figure of the Jerusalem above, the divine Word has gone forth visibly, having grasped all the ends of the world; for here were performed all the mysteries of our salvation. And the law which is believed to excel that which was laid down in shadows and in letters, which was spoken by angels on that mountain, Sinai, is believed to excel as much as immaterial things excel material things. Hence also the holy apostles were sent forth that they might disciple the nations, clearing for them that smooth and most straight and saving path. ^C "And He shall judge among many nations." For those who are just now approaching the word of grace, and learning what is necessary, condemn the formerly prevailing unbelief, being convicted by the very truth of the facts; they have the evidence for this in themselves, having rejected their previously holy-conducted life and voluntarily revealing the condemnation of their secret crimes; whose wise and sound judgment despises the damage and the full hazard of dangers, and with deep zeal they are converted to the better, useful, and saving things. But that the care and confidence in man-made idols has been abrogated, and the worship of the demons honored in them has been abolished from the face of the glory and power of the Savior who has arrived, who broke and as it were crushed the earthly and clay-like mindset ^D of those devoted to idols, the words which the God-bearer adds shortly after will demonstrate. For he says: "And they shall hide all their man-made idols, bringing them into the caves, and into the fissures of the rocks, and into the chasms of the earth, from before the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of his power, when he arises to crush the earth." By these words, I say, it is now made clear to all who are surely willing to think rightly, the completed extermination and abolition of the demonic idols. Likewise, the words that follow there express the same sentiment. He adds, therefore: "In that day shall a man cast away his abominations"

of silver and gold, which he desired to worship, [to the] vanities and the bats, to enter into the caverns of the solid rock, and into the clefts of the rocks, from before the fear of the Lord, and from the glory of his might, when he shall arise to strike the earth." ^A

42. If anyone were to inquire what day this could be, on which a man shall cast away his abominations of silver and gold, he would discover very clearly that it is that day in which the Lord of all came into the world, and by his own advent, having bound the strong man, he captured and plundered his vessels—that is, those men who were held by his tyranny, as it is written. Therefore he says: "Before the child shall know to call father or mother, he shall take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria before the king of the Assyrians." Now, these were metropolises, Damascus and Samaria: the one presiding at that time over Syria and prevailing with the empire of the Syrians; the other holding the scepter of the ten tribes that derived their lineage from Israel. Both were exceedingly idolatrous, and subject to the ^B yokes of the devil, having been given over with all their wealth and strength to every species of idol, entirely implicated in diabolical superstition, so that they offered themselves to the power of the devil as a kind of palace and a most precious and private treasury. Through these cities, therefore, as being royal and excelling in malice, the prophetic language signaled to us, as by a part the whole, both the ethnic race and those who believed from the circumcision. Thus the child born to us, who saw fit to be in infancy for our sake, despoils and takes away the enemy’s spoils and power; that is, he snatched from his hand all that was subjected to him and held fast by the empire under which he governed. From this source, Samaria received the doctrine, having cast off its ancestral customs and ^C legitimate rites. Thus the inhabitants of Antioch deserved to be and to be called Christians, even though that city had the most renowned fame in idolatrous error, and excelled many others in wickedness. For indeed, a temple of Apollo was founded in it, and the deception of the resident demon working from it was notorious. Nevertheless, the Christians gloriously plundered the treasury gathered by Satan and cast down the silver and gold statues. Thus the apostle of the nations turned the Corinthians to the knowledge of the truth; and he showed this by writing to them as follows: "Ye know that when ye were gentiles, ye were led away unto dumb idols, even as ye were led." Thus, having taken an argument from an altar, he ^D convicted those in Athens, who were devoted to that altar and in all things more superstitious. Finally, others of the apostles elsewhere, having divided the nations among themselves, plundered the enemy’s riches, and, like a treasure, directed captives toward the good pleasure of Christ, and brought them to the Lord of all as a libation and first-fruits of the spoil. At that time,

^A indeed, they cast them out—that is to say, they judged them to be detestable—and they spurned and spat upon what had been fashioned by hand, and cast them from their minds, so that they could not even endure to have a memory of them any longer. Moreover, the material itself, even if it were esteemed by many as most precious, was for the sake of the eminence of divine love rejected and despised by them, and they offered the sacrifice that is fitting to God alone. Therefore, abandoning the falsity and deceit of those things, they necessarily and most opportunely hastened to the solid rock; which is, as the discourse of our theology well knows, Christ our God. For he who grasped how much he was grasped says: "For our fathers all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ." ^B And he who had the eye of his soul purified and clear says: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and everyone who believes in him shall not be put to shame." The one for the sake of those who stumbled, the other for the sake of those who believed. And we know that Moses, too, was at one time hidden by the rock, and only with difficulty did he see the back parts of God from within that hiding place; and he was taught these things symbolically as dim echoes of the saving economy.

And the divine David has also introduced himself to us as exalted upon a rock. And other things also, having been declared in the Holy Scriptures, train us to mystically discern this rock to us, into whose clefts and caverns those flee who take refuge in it. What then ought these to be considered? Assuredly, the sublimities and arcana of theology, and the innermost and hidden mysteries of the incarnation of Christ; because in him are all the treasures of ^C knowledge and wisdom hidden. These mysteries, first of all, became manifest to the eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word from the beginning; and through them, they are revealed and wisely opened to us also, who came after them, as far as is possible. Since, of those who evangelized such things, the Son of Thunder, being inspired from above and lifting his most pure and unblemished mind to the summit of contemplation, and being divinely initiated into the divine things, caused the eternity and equal majesty of the Word with his Father to shine forth to us from thence, declaring and teaching most clearly that the Word was in the beginning, and was with God, and was God. And he who penetrated the depth of the divine condescension, ^D as much as grace illumined him, recounted the generation of Jesus Christ in a manner worthy of God, as it truly was. And these, one might say, and very rightly, are the things into which even the angels longed to look, inasmuch as they were once hidden and inaccessible even to them, but at the proper...

^A times, by the judgment of God, they were ordered and revealed. Therefore, whoever enters by faith into these mystical and inexpressible crevices and caves of wisdom and of the Rock, simultaneously acquires knowledge of better and more perfect things; he is led along the path of salvation, and is protected and guarded, being kept safe from any scorching or corruption by the evil powers that burn the inner chambers of the soul and singe its active force. Finally, he receives the various and multiform gifts of grace. For to some of those who approach and believe there is given the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith, to another the gifts of healing, to another the working of miracles, and to another something else—so as to say, in summary, that the Spirit works all things in each individual as He wills. And from there he shall arrive at those many and diverse dwellings prepared by the Father for those who have lived in a manner consistent with their calling.

43. Since, therefore, those who were formerly enslaved to vanity, if ever they were struck by the brilliance of gold or marveled at the sheen of silver, would worship the very matter itself and the idols fashioned from it by the foolish—[for they had fallen into such savagery and madness that they regarded the religion of God on a par with the worship of the vilest animals, just as we know in a certain place in Scripture of a fly honored as a god by the Ekronites]—once they have been instructed in sacred doctrine by the teachers ^B of the world, they have believed whatever God, preaching supernatural and great things, and demonstrating the magnificence of divine power, performed miraculously while He walked this earth; and all that the same Lord, as man, willingly chose to suffer for our liberation, having clothed Himself in the humility and lowliness of our poverty. Having conceived in their souls a fear of the Lord from these things, and being struck with wonder at His majesty and the power of His mighty works, they have mocked every error with disdain, and have kept their souls free from any material and corrupting affection of the mind. And no longer wishing to have a creature in the place of God, nor to worship the works of their own hands, they resolved to offer the due worship to God alone. Therefore, they no longer worship or venerate them; rather, they abominate and repel the demons, and turn away from them as from a contagion, and utterly destroy all service to idols. Henceforth they await that ^C fearsome and great coming of our Savior, when at the time of the universal resurrection He shall arrive, not without the Father’s glory and the holy angels, to crush and punish the unbelieving and contumacious, those who are prone to matter and worldly things, and who are enslaved to the will of the prince of this world; but to show as worthy of eternal delights and the kingdom those who serve Him and have loved ^D His appearing.

^A That those, however, who have been taught these things and who are rising up toward the light of the knowledge of God will entirely abstain from vain and senseless things, and that the mania for inanimate objects will cease, the God-bearing man himself will instruct us, saying thus: "The ears shall give heed to hear, and the heart of the infirm shall attend to hear, and the stammering tongues shall quickly learn to speak peace; and they shall no longer say to the fool, rule; and thy ministers shall no longer say, Be silent; for the fool shall speak foolish things, and his heart shall think vain things, so as to perform lawless deeds, and to speak error against the Lord." Here, then, the prophetic word initiates by saying that the ears of the infirm shall attend and hear, and that the stammering tongues shall indeed quickly learn to speak; but it shows, not long after, the things analogous to these, and the manner in which what is broken and distorted will be strengthened and set right. How, I say, will these things come to pass and be brought to completion? "For," he says, "our God will come and save us. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. Then the lame man shall leap as a hart, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be clear; for water has broken forth in the wilderness, and a ravine in the thirsty land; and the parched land shall be as marshes, and in the thirsty land there shall be a spring of water." And now, elsewhere, he says things comparable to these: "And in that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see in the darkness and the gloom; and the poor shall rejoice for the Lord ^B with gladness, and those of men who were without hope shall be filled with joy." Is it not therefore clear to every man that by these terms the Word insinuates to us the injury of the soul and its passions, and the false and distorted way of thinking? For those who, limping in relation to the truth, or rather, having completely fallen away from the truth, and being naturally and truly ignorant of and denying God, those men of old who were brutish and senseless preferred {the error of many gods} * to that which is sound and most upright, and were suffering from the nomadic error. For we must by no means interpret this as the privation of these bodily and perceptible members, according to their superficial explanation. For if anyone examines the understanding lying concealed within them, he will quite easily discover that these terms describe the diseases and movements of the soul; since it uses these bodily members as instruments, ^C through which it prepares and considers, performs and accomplishes the inner man, and the hidden and invisible deliberative faculty, and finally reveals its own impulses and counsels. Thus, therefore, concerning the divine opinion, if any have fashioned for themselves an erroneous and false way of thinking, and have strayed from the rule of action, they might not unfittingly be said to be blind and to limp, or to suffer any other of the things mentioned, even if neither sight nor gait, nor any other faculty whatsoever, is damaged in them, but rather they are bent in accordance with the perversion of the mind. Men, therefore, who are incredulous and without God, the Scripture... ^D

describes as having received the grace of healing; so that the souls which formerly labored under irreligion have recovered, been amended, and purged, and the eyes of their mind, dimmed by atheism, have been illuminated. ^A And subsequently, through the abundance of faith, their very limbs have likewise been sanctified and have attained excellent health, and they have been well-disposed toward religion and uprightness toward God. For when the Savior arrived, those who formerly had the eye of the mind laboring under the deprivation of the true light, now clearly perceive rectitude; and each one of the illuminated, in the visual power of the mind, says: *My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the snare.* 12 They ask, therefore, that their intellectual eyes be illuminated, that they may never sleep in death.

Then, those who before had the ears of their heart stopped up, ^B now offer them open and endowed with acoustic power, for listening with excellence to the resonance of the Lord’s praises. Thus, the stammering tongues, which formerly labored to speak of shameful and deformed things—while they called mute and inanimate objects gods—having become free and well-articulated, have learned to speak of peace through faith, singing the mystery of the Trinity, and that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father. For He Himself is *our peace,* 13 and the God of peace, and *of His peace there is no end.* 14 Thus they have instituted the study of the oracles of God day and night, ^C to speak of His powers, to recount His wonders, and to offer Him always a rational service, just as it has been said, namely that: *With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.* 15 Thus also he who previously stumbled in the course of his heart, now running along straight orbits and paths, incensed by the most desirable love of the Savior, leaps forth with great intensity like a stag panting with thirst. He sings, therefore: *As the stag desires the fountains of waters, so my soul desires the strong, living God.* 16 Thus, to speak summarily, those who thirst hasten to Christ, the fountain of life and immortality, who calls to all and cries out clearly: *If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink,* 17 and who exhorts them to draw water from the fountains of the Savior. 18 ^D Hence the soul, thirsting for the salvation of God, is irrigated and fattened; subsequently it appears flourishing and adorned, blooming in piety, justice, and all virtue, and being extremely beautiful in its splendor. Certainly, it is more fitting to speak these things concerning souls liberated from incredulity, and concerning such great liberality and abundance, which is worthy and becoming of God, or rather, more truly, concerning His benevolence toward men.

But that the physician of souls who arrived was also prepared for the healing of bodies, the innumerable multitude of those healed demonstrates. For, having been purified in soul by faith in their benefactor, then...

^A he dispensed the healings of the body, when he was performing those great and multiform prodigies. For to the blind he graciously granted sight miraculously; he effected the cleansing of the lepers; he restored and strengthened the limbs of the lame; the paralyzed and those whose members were withered he showed to be whole and nimble; rebuking the ranks of demons, he cast them out, and those troubled by them he delivered from their savage assault; he provided strength to others suffering from other ailments; and, in short, every disease and every infirmity, as a God of supreme goodness pitying his own creature, he continued to heal among the people; and what is the greater and more perfect work (for the forgiveness of sins for men was in his power), he bestowed the freedom from sins.

Thus ^B the disciples of our Redeemer and Savior, having become imitators of his ineffable philanthropy, when they had received the gift of the Spirit to perform similar miracles, made the lame man who sat at the gate of the temple called Beautiful stand with whole feet, so that in this very instance the prophecy might be fulfilled which says: "The lame man shall leap as a hart." And all the other miracles which they performed among the people through the grace working within them, they did in such a way as to convert them to the true knowledge.

But to the obedient and grateful, freedom from above was thus provided. But what did God give to those who disobey the truth? A spirit of ^C deep sleep, eyes that should not see, and ears that should not hear. For they acted in every way contrary to those. For hearing they heard and did not understand, and seeing they saw and did not perceive; for their heart was thickened, and with their ears they heard heavily, and they closed their eyes. For when the time arrived in which falsehood took hold, those who were previously illumined by the light of the truth voluntarily blinded the eyes of their mind, and stopped up the ears of their heart, and proceeded toward the activity of deception, so that they could not endure to hear even the prophetic oracles, which have their meaning manifest and published. For what is more clear or more bright than the things that have been said or are to be said? For it is written ^D thus: "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: In that day a man shall trust in his Maker, and his eyes shall look to the Holy One of Israel; and they shall no longer trust in those who did them injustice, nor in the altars, nor in the works of their hands, which their fingers made, but they shall trust in the Holy One of Israel, and they shall cut down the groves and their abominations." If, therefore, the faculty of their mind had not been altogether blinded, and the sense of hearing had not been too dulled, we would say to them: "Look and listen and attend to the truth, and do not disobey the divinely inspired oracles." But now, since they have reached the ultimate degree of madness, what indeed could one say to them, except that which is related in the Gospels, that if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone should rise from the dead.

^A But let these men who prattle in vain be ashamed; and it is right that those who are sensible and sober be persuaded that the error of absurd religions has long since ceased and been abolished. Nor, I say, will those who have recognized their own Lord and Creator, and the Author and benefactor of their life, having confessed Him because of so many and such great wonders—I say, will these men, returning to their own vomit, say to a foolish, senseless, and dumb object: "You are our God; you have made us, and you steer the course of our life, and you rule over us, and you instruct us in what should be done and what should not"? For what is more miserable or more to be avoided than this? But I think it fitting, and indeed very opportune, to turn our discourse again to the calling of the nations, and to consider what the theologian says concerning this. ^B He says this: *The region of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim, and the rest who dwell by the seaside and beyond the Jordan, the parts of the nations of Judea, the people that sat in darkness, let them see a great light; to you who dwell in the region and shadow of death, a light has risen.* The inspired and wise interpreter of these prophetic announcements, Matthew the divine apostle, who composed the evangelical history for us, clearly and most brilliantly unfolding for us their power and explaining the fulfillment of the things proclaimed, laying them down as a certain root and foundation of our faith, and making manifest and evident the mystery of the incarnation of our Savior, says this: *When Jesus heard that John had been delivered up, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capharnaum by the sea, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaias the prophet, ^C saying: Land of Zabulon and land of Nephthalim, way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations, the people that sat in darkness saw a great light, and to them that sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say: Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.*

Truly, that the prophetic word, or the evangelical (for both come to the same thing), has by these words brought about the conversion of the nations to the light of truth, will not require much labor for those who especially desire to understand, and who are not entirely ignorant of the oracles of the inspired Scripture. For those instructed in these things know that they who were given over to pagan folly sat in the shadow of death, bound as it were in the deep darkness of ignorance, ^D and shadowed by the gloom of sins, as though not yet illumined by the divine light, and with their souls blackened by the darkness of idolatry—which, by heaven, is more dire and calamitous than death. For it is the death of the soul, and the complete deprivation of the true life.

^B To these, then, he says, who dwell in the darkness of ignorance, the Savior's grace has shone forth, and the sun of righteousness has risen, dispelling the night of atheism. For he went about preaching repentance, so that they might withdraw themselves from the power of the princes of darkness, mocking their weakness and deceptive efficacy, and might be called to walk in the light of the countenance of the Lord, who says: "I am come a light into the world," and: "I am the light of the world." And: "He that walketh in the light stumbleth not." So that, drawing near to him, they might be enlightened, and their faces might not be put to shame; as the divine Paul also commands, saying: "Walk as children of light." For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and justice and truth: that they might understand intelligently how they turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead. And it is possible for him who applies his mind diligently to these sacred oracles to see that similar things are predicted elsewhere by this God-bearing man {the prophet}. For he says: "There shall be in that day the root of Jesse, and he that shall arise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles hope." Now, I do not believe that even the incredulous and those endowed with dull ears are ignorant of such a brilliant and universally known prophecy, which has been heralded even to the uttermost ends of the earth, and which demonstrates to us most manifestly the Word of God, who shone forth from the Father before the ages, and who in the last times of the age was born according to the flesh from the loins of David. For what could be clearer than these words, to demonstrate and reveal—even to the senseless—the mystery of the incarnation of our Savior? ^C For it is already confessed among us that the most pure Mother of God drew her lineage from the root of Jesse and the seed of David; from whom the Savior, as a flower, has sprouted and arisen in the flesh, who in a way above the laws of nature has brought forth for us the same being at once God and man; wherefore she is properly and truly acknowledged by us as Theotokos. And this is confirmed by the virgin birth, which is altogether ineffable, insofar as Christ was born to men in a new manner, and yet the parent preserved her virginity intact even after the birth, having in all things the uncircumscribed—the Christ who was born in a manner foreign to human custom—and keeping her virginity inviolate after the birth.

44. ^D As to how great his dominion shall be, and in what manner he will rule the nations, the prophet himself, moved by the divine Spirit, will proclaim: "Ye shall see a king with glory," and: "I will raise up to them a king with justice; and all his ways are right, he himself shall build..."

^A his city, and he himself will turn the captivity of my people, not with ransoms nor with gifts, saith the Lord Sabaoth. And again: "I will bring peace upon their rulers, peace and health to him; great is his authority, and of his peace there is no end; he shall sit upon the throne of David his father, to establish it, and to take hold of it in justice and judgment, from henceforth and for evermore." The zeal of the Lord of Sabaoth will do these things. That the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who reigns in his own dynasty forever, is indicated to us by these words—who is Christ our God—no one, I think, who has known the mystery of the incarnation accomplished among us, will gainsay. For he himself is evidently, and no other, the King raised up for us, righteous and saving, who taught us the divine justice. He has become for us, to speak apostolically, "wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." ^B He also built the city of God, not some earthly one lacking eternal stability, but rather that one fixed upon foundations, which is understood in a manner worthy of God to be the heavenly Jerusalem, whose craftsman and builder is God; in which is the Church of the firstborn who are enrolled in the heavens, which celebrates together with those heavenly powers. And he will also turn the captivity of his own people; but whose captivity this is, and how, we must hear. For we were truly once men who were ignorant of our Creator and Lord, denying our relationship with him, and having wandered as far as possible from his service on account of our stupor in sins and the guile of the devil dominating us; we were subjected to the yoke of the enemy, like slaves and captives surrendered to his will, having lost our liberty and being forced to serve him. ^C But because it could not be that God should not mercifully look upon his own creature, the Redeemer appeared, who had need of neither gifts nor external ransoms, but emptied himself, giving as the ransom for us all his own life-giving and saving blood. And having endured passion and the cross for us, he ascended on high and led captivity captive, turning our captivity; ^D snatching us in reality from the Chaldæan power of the noxious demons, and delivering us from the hand of the barbarian, mental tyrant; and he acquired us as a peculiar people—those, namely, who through illumination and sincere and right faith have fled for refuge to his lordship—reigning and ruling over us for the ages. No one will disbelieve this, unless someone who suffers from the Jewish unbelief and shamelessness, still carrying about in his soul that abolished veil, and not wishing to scrape away from his heart the thickness of the letter, and therefore being in no way worthy to peer into the divine mysteries. For if any one should dispute this, saying that the prophetic word asserts that there shall be some man who shall obtain the principality of the Jews, such a one...

shall hear from us, and from the truth itself, that according to the tradition of Holy Scripture, after the return of the Jews from Babylon, no one appeared among them who wore the royal diadem, with which their kings were formerly inaugurated, nor who held the sceptre of royal dignity; as it had been foretold by the voice of the prophets for the universal God. Rather, we know that after that time their commonwealth was governed by leaders and priests. Whence it is manifest that the discourse does not point to this Babylonian captivity for us; since it is well known by whom and in what manner those who were delivered from the Babylonian calamity returned to Palestine, as is clearly recorded in the histories of those events. Therefore, to understand the prophetic words concerning those times is not consistent with reason. But what we both know and believe, and what our fathers have told us, upon which we are most firmly stayed, this we preach: namely, that we are they whom God has brought to Himself from the nations, who, hoping constantly in Him, have been redeemed by the Lord, whom He snatched from the hand of invisible enemies, and from the regions of darkness and the shadow of death He gathered from the east and the west, from the north and the sea, from the desert and the waterless place of unbelief, having been once led astray by the arts of our enemy and deprived of the salutary streams of true religion, to whom He has bestowed from above, by the showers of His kindness, the grace of divine knowledge. ^A

That therefore the Savior was predicted by the prophetic word to sit upon the throne of David, let the divine angel persuade these senseless men; unless, perhaps, they despise the sacred words of the Gospels also, as they do the other utterances of the Spirit. For he, coming from heaven and signifying to the immaculate and ever-virgin Mother the announcement of the salvation of the whole world, proclaimed that He whom she was about to bring forth as the Savior of all would be called the Son of the Highest, and would occupy the throne of David, and would have a kingdom without end. ^B Moreover, he indicates that He Himself would be great ^C even with the nature that was to be assumed; knowing Him surely as being now, and before, and always, and as great, and God over all. Therefore the King of kings, and ruler over many nations, even in so far as He is man, is Emmanuel. For He stands forth equally, and excels in power and dignity above all, endowed with the attributes of both divinity and flesh; although He was poor by His own will, using divine condescension and putting on our poverty, that we might be enriched by His divinity. ^D Therefore it is altogether necessary that the person of our Savior Christ should be present in all things. And since so great a King has been established, it follows and is fitting that the princes of the kingdom should also be made consistent with Him, and that the nations should be subject, and not in any manner, but all the nations without exception; for He is the King and Lord of all, and just as He is Lord and most powerful over all together with the Father in heaven, so is He in like manner on earth. Therefore it is said: who shall rise to rule the nations, in Him

^A the nations shall hope, even if those who are minded like the Jews do not wish it; for if they should choose to reject and delete those things sung by every tongue, which present to us the person of the King, saying (as the Psalmist does): "But I was established king by Him upon Sion, His holy mountain," and, "Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Thy possession."

Now, we must come to other utterances of the inspired men as well. For He says: "I the Lord have called Thee in righteousness; and I will give Thee as a covenant of the race, as a light of the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to lead the bound out of shackles, and those sitting in darkness out of the prison house." And again: "I have set Thee as a covenant of the race, for salvation unto the end of the earth." And again: "I have given Thee as a covenant of the race for a light of the nations, to raise up the land, and to inherit the heritage of the desert." To say to those in shackles: "Your righteousness draws near quickly, and your salvation shall go forth as light; and in My arm shall they hope." And further: "For Sion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until your righteousness goes forth as light, and My salvation shall be kindled as a lamp; and the nations shall see your righteousness, and kings your glory. And you shall call your name by a new one, which the Lord shall name it; and you shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of your God, and you shall no longer be called 'Forsaken,' and your land shall not be called 'Desert'."

^C One might see, if one were to look back to much more ancient times, the hope of the nations laid up in the Savior and Redeemer of all, Christ, having been proclaimed long ago in prophecies. For so did Jacob the patriarch, blessing the tribe of Judah, say: "A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until He comes for whom it is reserved, and He shall be the expectation of the nations." For it is manifest that the Lord has sprung from Judah. If, therefore, the words of the saints are truth-telling—as indeed they are—having received their own completion at the appropriate times, they shall not fail or be dissipated, for they possess security and immutability from the evangelical utterances. For the Lord came to fulfill the law and the prophets; and He declared that nothing would pass away until all things were accomplished, showing Himself in the consummation of these ^D more as the operator than as a teacher. Therefore, the running together of the nations to the true faith is not false, and thus no demonic deceit shall be able to draw them away from the love and faith of the King who called them. Rotten and invalid, therefore, and teeming with every falsehood and impiety, are the arguments of the adversaries. But if anyone should inquire about the order, such as is wont to be where there is a king and subjects, let him learn from this. "In that day," He says, "Israel shall be the third, after the Assyrians and the Egyptians, blessed in the land, whom the Lord Sabaoth has blessed, saying: Blessed shall be My people in Egypt, and

in Assyria, and my inheritance Israel." For by this enumeration of the numbered nations, the prophetic discourse has signified the fullness of those called to the sacred doctrine. In the last place, that is, the third, Israel is placed, because even though he set out from a long way off and from a foreign and barbarian region, nevertheless the Assyrian anticipates him and snatches away faith in Christ, while He was still corporeally worshiped as an infant, receiving the rewards in number equal to the intellectual and contemplative services regarding Him. The Egyptian succeeds as the second, dispelling superstitious error by the arrival of Him who flees. After whom the third is Israel, and indeed called by the preacher, just as the apostles of the Lord, who arranged the holy Gospels for us, have handed down to us.

^B 45. But we shall also recognize without difficulty how the apostolic doctrines are related and rival these, and as it were follow the same path; namely, that it is believed that the Savior presides over the nations, that is, the Church of the nations, and is its head, and that without doubt He must reign until He puts His enemies under His feet, and makes those who have hoped in Him heirs of the kingdom. Therefore, the first-ranking one, as it were, the Apostle of the nations, will say: "I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ." And again: "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. And what is the supereminent magnitude of His power toward us who believe, according to the operation of the power of His might, which He wrought in Christ, raising Him from the dead, and setting Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, above every principality and power and virtue and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the coming one. And He subjected all things under His feet, and gave Him as head over all the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." And, that "God highly exalted Him, and gave Him a name which is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth." And "In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." And: "You are filled in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." And again: "But practicing the truth in love, we may grow up in all things into Him, who is the head, Christ; from whom the whole body is joined and knit together by every joint of the supply, according to the operation in the measure of each individual member, causing the growth of the body for its own edification in love." And again: "For the man is the head of the woman, as also Christ is the head of the Church."

^A Since, therefore, the holy Apostle has declared Christ to be the head and beginning of all things, and demonstrates him to be the King of all, he introduces him as bestowing a kingdom also upon those who have believed in him, concerning which he says: "Therefore, receiving an unshakable kingdom, we have grace, by which we serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe. And: Giving thanks to the Father, who has made us fit for the portion of the inheritance of the saints in the light; who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have redemption, the remission of sins." And as we are children, and brothers, and the same heirs, we must pay attention: "As it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit, that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ, by the Gospel of which I was made a minister. ^B And I have written to you more boldly, brothers, in part, as one reminding you because of the grace that was given to me by God, that I should be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, consecrating the Gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified in the Holy Spirit." And then: "For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, in which we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bears witness to our spirit that we are children of God; and if children, also heirs; heirs indeed of God, but fellow-heirs of Christ." And afterwards: "That you are no longer a slave, but a son and an heir of God through Christ." With these words another theologian will harmonize, saying: "He gave them power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name." ^C The minister of the Gospel might add: "That you are the body of Christ, and members in part; for it became him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, who had brought many sons into glory, to make the author of our salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he who sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all from one; for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying: I will declare your name to my brothers, in the midst of the church I will praise you." And again: "Whom he foreknew and predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." And in addition to these: "In which, God, wishing more abundantly to show to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, intervened with an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." ^D And further: "I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises of the fathers; but that the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: Therefore I will confess to you among the Gentiles, O Lord, and I will sing to your name."

And again he says: Rejoice, Gentiles, with his people. And again he says: Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; praise him, all you peoples. And again Isaiah: There shall be the root of Jesse, and he who shall rise to rule the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles hope. It must be noted here that the holy Apostle speaks not only about the same things, but even uses the same words as the prophet; and to these, what argument can object? For those who have freely obtained mercy from God, translated from atheism to the love of God, standing firm in faith, glorify God, and are not idolaters, whatever might appear to mad and drunken men. For how could they repent of so many and such great gifts in which they glory, ^B since they have been deemed worthy to become by faith children and heirs of God, and pass for the body and members of Christ, and are most studious of eternal glory; how could they, abandoning this grace and splendor, revolve back to darkness and error? But if these things are altogether denied by those profane men, they are nonetheless believed by us, to such a degree that we admire the divine kindness of the Savior, and openly confess that he, by an excess of goodness in accordance with the abundance of his power, did not only deliver those who were still using the present life from the tyranny of the devil through his condescension; but even those who had long been detained in the underworld, who once lived in the times of atheism and impiety, and were held by darkness and lightless places and inextricable chains, the Savior appearing, granted freedom, preaching it, and snatched them from the violence of the dominant foe. And these things had already been predicted long since by the prophetic tongue, when the person of Christ was introduced speaking to those in bonds: Come forth; and to those in darkness: Be revealed. That this truly came to pass in its own time, he who holds the summit among the disciples of Christ will suggest, stating: Because Christ once died for our sins, the just for the unjust; that he might bring us to God, being put to death indeed in the flesh, but brought to life in the spirit: in which also coming he preached to those spirits that were in prison, who had been ^C incredible sometime. And I surmise that they, having been taught about the mystery of salvation, and having received the preaching of the Redeemer, although lacking in every motion and operation, and having put aside every hope of things to be done, nevertheless, being grateful for such a splendid and excellent benefit, greatly rebuked the impious; as if they were being injured together with the living; or rather, not bearing the audacity of those who were blaspheming against the Redeemer. For entirely on account of the depth of their impiety, they will not even free the souls of the dead from idolatry. Wherefore it seems to me that both their guilt is increased, and they become liable, as is fitting, to a greater punishment. But let us omit these, who are condemned by the judgment of both the living and the dead, and returning to the matter undertaken, let us pursue the rest. And also he says: Be glad, Gentiles, with his people. Likewise: Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. ^D

^A

46. For the King of the Gentiles proclaims to his subjects what he will do, as if providing a kind of remuneration and reward for their faith and obedience toward him; and it is worth hearing what this is. For he says: The Lord God Sabaoth shall perform this for all the Gentiles upon this mountain: they shall drink gladness, they shall drink wine, they shall be anointed with ointment upon this mountain. Indeed, has anyone among all escaped this? For it is clearly taught to us through these words what the holy mysteries of the divine gift and grace are; namely, the participation in the precious blood of our Savior Christ, and the sanctification of the divine washing; for what could be more pleasant or more divine than these for the gladness and illumination of the soul? Hence, he again commands them to rejoice in the munificence of the one who calls them, saying: Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry out, you who do not travail; for more are the children of the desolate than of her who has a husband. ^B And what are the goods that those who have run toward the grace of the calling shall bring back? Any person can easily recognize it: In that time, gifts shall be brought to the Lord Sabaoth, from a people afflicted and lowly, from a large people, from now and unto eternity. And what are we to understand these gifts to be, if not, by all means, the spiritual sacrifice of praise and the rational worship offered to God by all the peoples in the Church, which he receives as a sweet-smelling savor? And that he is about to return grace to them, and to reward them with gifts, he says again: I will bring them into my holy mountain, and I will make them glad in my house of prayer; their whole burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon my altar. For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the Gentiles. But I do not think that any of the new Judaizers have fallen into such madness as to imagine that by these words is denoted a worship restricted to a single place—I mean, in Jerusalem. ^C For who is so unhearing, after the prophets have long since cried out in the person of the God of all, that those sacrifices of slaughtered animals and flesh have been abolished and rejected, and in their place has been substituted the worship of those who call upon God and offer sacrifice in spirit? What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices, says the Lord? I am full; the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and goats I reject. For who has required these things from your hands? And New Moons and Sabbaths I can no longer endure. ^D Which the Psalmist also, anticipating in the Spirit, wrote: Sacrifice and oblation you did not desire; burnt offerings for sin you did not seek. And again: And I will not receive calves from your house, nor goats from your flocks. And: If you had desired sacrifice, I would have given it; you shall not delight in whole burnt offerings. But he proposes spiritual sacrifices, exhorting:

nor goats from your flocks. And: "If you had desired, I would have given sacrifice; you will not take pleasure in burnt offerings." But He proposes spiritual sacrifices: "Sacrifice to God a sacrifice of praise," He enjoins, "and pay your vows to the Most High." ^A This is made clearer still by what follows; for by saying "to all the nations," He points not to the gathered synagogue of Israel, but to the Catholic Church, which is beyond number.

Concerning the fact that the congregations of the King of nations adhere purely to the Pure One, and that their way is pure (for they are in no way defiled by the stains and pollutions of idolatrous sacrifices), one must pay attention to what He also says: "There shall not pass through it an unclean person, nor shall there be a path of the unclean there; but the dispersed shall walk upon it." That it is thus purified and sanctified, the herald of the nations asserts, in that he declares it both a temple of God and the house of God, and that His Spirit dwells therein. For he says: "Thus Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." And elsewhere: "And He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all lawlessness, and purify for Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." And: "He who raised Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies through His Spirit that dwells in you." And: "Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken; but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house are we." And elsewhere: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for the temple of God is holy, which you are." And again: "Or do you not know that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s." ^B It is clear, therefore, from all these things that those who have believed in Christ, and have received the Spirit of grace through the purification of the divine laver, have been counted worthy both to be and to be called the temple of God; consequently, it is apparent that those who have taken it upon themselves to call these men idolaters, are themselves the temples of demons. But if there is no communion of the temple of God with idols, it is evident that the present sons of disobedience, in whom the contrary spirit works, bark against the truth, resisting the Holy Spirit, while they say that Christians worship idols, and dare to accuse them of having become a temple of demons. Against their refutation, divine oracles stand ready, ordaining for them a terrible judgment from God. Thus, therefore, the paranymph of the Church, joining and coupling her miraculously to Christ the spouse, and binding that bond and union, ^D [continues]

[^A] defines that many are one body; since we partake of one and the same bread of the mysteries of blessing, having attained unity with Him through faith. And as if in the manner of high and godlike contemplation, clarifying and making plain the mystery through the analogy of human marriage, he proceeds to say this: So ought men to love their own wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his own wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as Christ the Church; for we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This mystery is great; but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.

47. Let the workers of iniquity, therefore, come and demonstrate from whence they wickedly separate the Church [^B] from union with Christ, and from what divinely inspired oracles they do so? How is it that those who are co-heirs and fellow-bodies with Christ have worshipped the simulacra adored by the infidels? From whence, then, did they derive the truth, those who plead for falsehood? Let them consider, lest perhaps they deem Christ Himself to be something common and unclean because of those called into the same lot and fellow-body communion; let them consider, I say, lest they touch upon the summit of blasphemy. But these men feel neither overwhelmed nor, so to speak, buried by their own ignominy, while they abolish the holy prophets and apostles who speak in the Spirit of God, and proclaim them as profane and impious seers and teachers speaking from their own belly. Whose to-be-shunned and foul speeches they drag in for the confirmation of their own error: Ephraim is a partaker of idols, he hath laid for himself stumbling-blocks; he hath provoked the Canaanites, we read; but we have never yet heard, even to this day, that Christians have been called partakers and communicants of idols by anyone, except only by those who rage with madness against the glory of Christ and against those who rightly worship and adore Him. [^C] Nor is this a wonder. For it is the custom of the impious to oppose their betters, and to deprave the truth, so that they may veil the wickedness of their own opinion. And it has been rightly said by holy men, that hidden malice is more harmful than that which is proclaimed.

48. For while these men do not at all endure to openly parade their impiety, fearing the weighty reproach [^D] against our worship, and thinking that they escape the notice of the many—as if they do not insult Christ while they offer contumely to His divine image—what are they plotting? Because they know it is not naturally established that the things themselves should be changed, but that names often present an indifference, they proceed to the difference of denomination, and

^A they do not shudder to cast upon the venerable image of our Savior Christ and God the name dedicated to demonic idols, those who in reality are the lovers of idols, calling this an idol, and naming those who worship it according to the rite of Christians, idolaters; so that, as though having exposed our faith as perverted, they might, as far as it lies in them, shake its firm and stable character. From there, they have clearly spawned this lawlessness, shamelessly constructing blasphemy against Christ, and fearlessly and brazenly accusing our upright and truthful belief. But while even the nations praise God for His mercy—and this, even though those recently emerging from unbelief have received the doctrine of grace—these people now called Christians, and especially those to whom the dignity of the priesthood seems entrusted, do not shudder in their soul, nor does their tongue freeze, nor do they fear the magnitude of the blasphemy, as they label themselves and all other Christians, the portion of God and the inheritance of Christ, as the inheritance of unclean demons. And if they were pinning this apostasy and impiety only on themselves, they would have been considered the most wretched and abominable of all men. But now, since they have moved their impious tongues against all who share fully in our admirable and true religion, how can they not be subject to the divine wrath, being condemned to the most bitter punishments? ^B But the discourse must be brought back to the prophetic oracles. It would be consistent, therefore, for men out of all nations and tongues and all generations, mortals from the whole world, from the islands and the sea, gathered under one King, and acknowledging, invoking, and worshiping one Lord and God and Master, to be called and identified by one name, and that derived from that Leader. Therefore He says: *A new name shall be called upon those who serve me, which shall be blessed upon the earth; for they shall bless the true God.*

What would the senseless say to these things? And what would we? That Christ our Lord and God, having become man, has been called by a name that indicates together the dual nature of the united essences, both of the anointing Divinity and of the anointed humanity; ^C so that by one word, both the duality of the combined substances and the union of these into one person according to hypostasis might be clearly distinguished. It is therefore reasonable that those who were baptized and sealed into this name should be named from it derivatively, and should be called Christians, all recognized and addressed by the same title, just as those who bear the most distinctive tokens of a covenant. And this to us is the most proper and peculiar token and name, however much those who are drowned in the intoxication of impiety may not suffer to hear it. On account of this, it is in a most wonderful way that the Church of Christ both is and is called ^D

a people of acquisition, a holy nation, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a glorious inheritance of God, a portion of the Lord, a measuring line of his inheritance, a vine of the Lord of Sabaoth, beloved children, most faithful brothers, most intimate servants, a temple of God, heirs of the kingdom, partakers of the heavenly calling, and rational sheep ^A of the supreme shepherd. Wherefore, we also proclaim his virtues, for he called us out of darkness into his wonderful light, and we name and confess him God and King and Lord, Creator, Savior, and Redeemer, and whatever else is sung by us in hymns. Thus, recognized as true worshippers of the Trinity, we crush underfoot and spit upon every diabolical deceit; we hate and abhor every idolatrous error, and those who do not hold and confess these things we bind with anathemas. ^B Our confession, therefore, is of this kind. But now let us return to that discourse against the irreligious from which we digressed.

49. What then, you say? This great and magnificent King, whose magnificence surpasses the heavens, who possesses power over all things, and who holds an everlasting empire—for we confess daily that there shall be no end to his kingdom—the Lord of angels, the ruler of things heavenly, earthly, and under the earth, the author of all creation, and who brought all things into existence from non-existence, how then will he still reign or rule over any? ^C The people of such a great King have been led astray; one might rightly bring a charge of desertion against them, for now the royal palaces are left empty and deserted, and they follow the faction of another king. Such is the discourse of these seditious men, who perhaps do not submit to the kingdom of Christ because they have Mammon as their king. Come, let them tell us the manner of this defection; let it be asked what was the cause of this conversion. If indeed the people withdrew themselves of their own will from the hand of the one who rules, was it because he did not know how to rule, or because he could not protect them? ^D Yet he is the one who has ruled in his kingdom from the beginning, who fills heaven and earth, and in whose hand are all the ends of the earth; who is called the God of salvation, and the God of our salvations; and he himself was born for us as Savior and Lord; and there is no one else who saves besides him. Or do they reject him because he does not provide for and manage our affairs in a way worthy of God? But it is he who makes his sun rise over the evil and the good, and sends rain upon the just and the unjust; who gives to the earth the early and late rain, and who gives food to all flesh. And: "My Father," he says, "is working until now, and I am working," by which words he persuades us of the care and providence of God concerning us. Or again, do they deny him as if he were not great? Yet he is a great King over all the earth, and there is no end to his greatness. Or finally, is it as if he possessed a partial and circumscribed empire, or one limited in time? But there shall be no end to his kingdom; and before him every knee shall bow

^A of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. Or is it as if he were in need of understanding? But of his understanding there is no number, nor has anyone known the mind of the Lord. And if they suppose he is not inclined toward turning back or caring for us, who, I ask, speaks through the voice of the saints other than him: "I desire not the death of him who dies, but rather that he should turn from his way and his soul should live"? And I myself, who say to the wicked, "Thou shalt die the death," say the same: that if he turns from his way and acts rightly and justly, and walks in the commandments of life, he shall live by life and shall not die; all his sins, in which he has sinned, shall not be remembered. Or is it as if he were in some way destitute of wisdom and justice? And who could measure the abyss of his wisdom, or rather, his very essence as wisdom? For by wisdom he stretched out the heaven, he founded the earth, and in sum he made all things in wisdom. Since he is good, and possesses all things for which he is celebrated and glorified by all with hymns, why is there a need to touch upon the great works of God which are above mind and speech, and to dare upon the unattainable? Lest we should perhaps fall unawares by foolish counsel and insanity, just like those wicked men, into the pit of folly. ^B

Let those babblers then say and declare in what way the God who is rejected has been diminished or has need, as if he, being ignorant and languid in his duty, casts aside his rule. But rather, as we say, to whom is God not superior and more exalted? What speech will demonstrate the summit of his greatness, the end of his power, or his immeasurable authority, and his infinite strength across all things? And lest, while thinking to adorn the exalted with these humble words, we instead diminish the ineffable dignity of his universal dominion and potential, which incomparably and without any parity transcends and exceeds all things, and is inaccessible and incomprehensible to all, and impervious to every mind and word, as being outside all visible and invisible things, and every name that is named in this age and in the one to come—from such things, I say, as being greater than our ability, let us abstain. ^C But if he did not of his own accord yield his position and become obedient, it was surely the case that force was applied to him; and he who was prince fell into tyranny. Who then seized this tyranny, and took the empire from him? Without doubt, the one who became the tyrant is stronger and more fortunate, inasmuch as he proved victorious and had the power to match that victory. For certainly in these visible and human affairs, when the matter of war comes to a battle and an array, and hands are joined, those who emerge superior carry away the fruit of arms and labors, while they lead the enemy conquered in battle into captivity; ^D from which follows a copious acquisition of spoils and booty, a great accession of arms, or the devastation of a hostile region and its reduction under their own power, and the violent exaction of tribute for the future time as if from the conquered and those reduced to servitude.

^A The war stirred up by the invisible powers, by whom this storm against the faith is now lashed up against us, proposes to itself the success of none of these things. For the movement of that war is not equal to this; nor does the enemy rise up against us so that he might acquire some external thing of ours, but so that he might utterly devastate our whole selves—that is, our rational souls and the directing mind of man—and subject them to himself; and persuade us to call him king, and to confess as God that adversary of God, and to yield to his abominable and soul-destroying commands; so that he might not be the only one condemned to Gehenna, but might also drag along those who are to be his fellow-heirs in the eternal fire. For this has been the task of the envious and wicked demon from the beginning: to rush upon the good things prepared for our race with envy, to despoil us, and to make us partners in his own ruin. Now, indeed, he from whom the subjects have been snatched has been despoiled of his rule, ^B deprived of his dignity, and utterly shut out from power. A bare name alone will be left to him; or even that, as is fitting, will vanish entirely. Therefore, his glory will fall back into misery and deformity. For where there is no subject, there it is necessary that a king cannot exist at all. Why? Because here he will have no one whom he might command. Thus, these miserable men, favoring the demon generously, think that they are acting bravely against the kingdom of Christ, and vigorously opposing our faith, and falling away from our divine dogmas. But let them hear the divinely inspired voices: *A fool will speak foolish things, and his heart will understand vain things.*

50. And what is more foolish or vain than these things? For they have truly plotted empty things against Christ, and their counsels and thoughts have been ^C vain, and are the offspring of a mindless and distorted faculty, and of folly in very truth and perversity, or rather, beyond the greatest atheism and impiety—things which it is not right even to allow into one’s mind, let alone for a man to imagine most foolishly and to perform most wickedly, and to lower the rule of all things to such weakness and disgrace. For what could be more absurd or irreligious than this? But a certain new accusation, as it seems, arises from these unrighteous men against the kingdom of Christ. For although they ought to heap every highest honor upon Christ, they are not ashamed to drag him down instead into the utmost ignominy and vileness; that, having stripped away the dignity that befits God, they might show him to be lesser, and despoil him of ^D divine qualities, and establish him as a simple man and one of us, and thrust him out from the universal power that resides in him. To such great wickedness and irreligion have their dogmas come by a natural course! But these ignorant and foolish men have not considered how that one will suffer these things—he who bound the strong one and plundered his vessels, and restrained his fury against us. How will he who has taken captive the invisible tyrant,

^A and destroyed his formidable power, be spoiled and vanquished in turn? Has he suffered this through his own weakness, or through negligence of what he had acquired—and that, too, after so many sweatings and sufferings—only to be deprived of it, along with the care and providence he has toward us? Therefore, according to them, his struggle was vain, and his battle against the adversary was fought in vain. Perhaps he will need other struggles, and more labor will be required of him; he will not cease from anxieties on account of his enemy, and eventually he will think of another incarnation, and will accept another cross and passion. From this, it will follow that he must also have a cult analogous to these. For if Christ destroyed idolatry, and this was for us a medicine of souls, but then the pestilence resumed and revived, another medicine will again be needed; which is something encountered in bodily diseases. For if a physician wishes to heal the present disease of a sick person, he administers drugs appropriate to the sickness; then it happens that what seemed to be a remedy sometimes becomes perverse and deadly, because the state of the sick person is no better, but rather worse; necessarily, therefore, the physician will be anxious and hasten, striving by other methods to compose a medicine. If even then he does not reach his goal, he will add others, and expand his experiments infinitely. But from that point on, what is being done is not a cure, but uncertainty and digression and an increase in the sick person’s pains. In the same way, these wretched men mock the incarnation of our Savior Christ and seek to define it, thinking that it has nothing at all effective or stable. Therefore, our mysteries are held by them in derision, and they seem to differ in nothing from stage-plays. ^B

But we, employing the truth and adhering to the faith and power of the deeds themselves, say: So established is the victory of Christ, the victor over the tyrant and death, that the destructive dragon, fixing his insatiable voracity upon Christ himself, and rushing upon the one present, once human nature was set before him like bait, ^C and he, greedily thinking he had found a prey to devour, was deceived and fell onto the hook of the divinity; and those whom he had formerly swallowed with greed he was forced, stifled by the difficulty of the food, to vomit up. Therefore, men, who were formerly the easy prey and most pleasing food for the dragon, have received power from him who conquered the world and destroyed the proud and hostile power of the Evil One, to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. But they will also draw the dragon with a hook, they will cast a halter about his nostrils, they will fasten a ring in his nose, and they will pierce his lip with a clasp—even though those who are caught in the snares of error foolishly offer worship, as they themselves say, to the bound, pierced, and scourged one. Truly, the wretches have not thought to perceive or understand. For this reason, they grow insolent against the truth and dare things which should not be dared either by barbarians or by Greeks. What will they say when they hear what our King and Shepherd clearly proclaimed in the Gospels: "My sheep hear my voice, ^D and no one"

shall snatch them out of my hand? And that the Father has given him power over all flesh? And that all things that the Father has, the Son also has? "All my things," he says, "are yours, and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them." For we believe that the Only-begotten shares in all things that are the Father’s. How, then, has he been glorified if he has been conquered and diminished? How has he been despoiled of power, he who is adorned with the Father’s majesty and is a sharer in his universal power? These things the enemies of the Lord do not consider, because they live under another—the prince of this world. For this is what idol worship avails them, and indeed this has been their opposition to the evangelical doctrine from the very beginning. But we shall never grow weary of vanquishing their madness and stupidity. ^B

What, then, does the Savior say? "He who enters through the door is the shepherd. And when he puts out his own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice. But they will not follow a stranger, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." Then again: "I am the door; if anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, and will find pasture." But what of these madmen? They would have such a shepherd to be sick and weak and unskilled in the pastoral art, or having strength insufficient to lead the sheep, or that he had the flock torn apart by the wolf against his will or even through his own betrayal. But in vain, it seems, is the door set before them, providing no security whatsoever, whether one enters or exits, conferring nothing for one’s salvation. And yet, what penalty or punishment does not such trifling and speaking deserve? Then: "I am the good shepherd, and I know my own, and my own know me, and I lay down my life for the sheep." ^C But for those who fall into the pit of blasphemy on either side of this, they foolishly accuse both Christ the Shepherd and the sheep of ignorance. They will surely disbelieve him when he says that he lays down his life for the sheep, so that they may either decree that the saving passion of Christ never happened at all, or that it was feigned and phantasmal and appeared in semblance, and was composed as a hollow drama by those who explained the Gospels to us. But what could these things be the fruits of, if not their own folly and impiety? And Christ indeed says: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; and them also I must bring, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd." They, on the other hand, strive to exclude even those who are already gathered to him through knowledge of him, from his power and intimacy, and to lead them off to the devil, the leader of their error. ^D Christ would also say to these men, who labor under the madness of the Jews: "You do not believe, because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never

^A perish; and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." These men, who truly hold and act according to the dogmas of the Jews, attack Christ as if with stones using the language of their blasphemies. For thus, as far as it lies within them, they diminish Christ and strip him of his universal power; they declare him to be already cast down from his rank, and they charge the oracles of the Gospels, among other things, with falsehood; but to their father, the Antichrist, they attribute glory and victory, setting up his own destruction as a splendid trophy for him.

51. And it is likely they will also be seen to declare that the Father and God of all has been subjected to force, and that they would alienate him from the lordship over all things, proposing that he has been stripped of his power along with the Son, if indeed the Son says: "I and the Father are one," and reigns with the Father throughout the ages. They will also say that the Holy Spirit has spoken mendaciously through the apostles, since to some he inspired the words: "For he has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins; who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation"; while into the ears of others he sounded, saying: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the virtues of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; who once were not a people but now are God's people; and who once had not received mercy, but now have received mercy." ^B With these the evangelical word, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it," is in harmony. But those who are worthy of the darkness, as they think, imagine that the light has been put to flight and overcome.

"In vain," they say, "were these things said; and he who speaks of those who were in darkness as having been called into the marvelous light is babbling; and that he who was not a people is now the people of God; and that those who had not found mercy have found it." In vain, therefore, it seems, has the blood of Christ been shed, and the ransom for us paid, even as we believe and preach. Thus does their blasphemous and irreligious doctrine plunge them into the abyss of perdition.

^C Furthermore, another of the God-inspired prophets, joining in this labor, will provide aid to what has been said, and might speak thus: "It shall be in those days and at that time, they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord, and they shall be gathered still after the desires of their evil heart." Such is the divine prophet. But since we have already explained such sayings many times, I do not believe one should return to the same explanations. Although I would not wish to pass over the things that will be said by him below, if indeed they bring forth for us much truth suitable to the proposed argument, and demonstrate the natural affinity and harmony, which indeed ^D

we shall perceive as we examine them ^A intently. What it is that God might at any time intend, and for whom, and according to what times he might dispose [matters], and what is the new and strange element in the laws that are set forth, and [what] is of greater authority and carries much more benefit than those established of old, and where these laws will ever be signified, and by what power the teaching [proceeding] from them advances.

52. But it is thus: "Behold, days are coming," says the Lord, "and I will establish with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant, not according to the covenant which I established with their fathers, in the day that I took hold of their hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; and they did not remain in my covenant, and I disregarded them," says the Lord. "For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days," says the Lord, "giving my laws into their mind, and I will write them upon their hearts; and I will be to them ^B as God, and they shall be to me as a people. And no one shall teach his fellow-citizen, nor indeed anyone his brother, saying: 'Know the Lord,' for all shall know me, from the small of them even to the great of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and of their sins I will remember no more." Thus far the interpreter of the Holy Spirit. Who, moreover, has not heard these inspired oracles? Everywhere in the world and on the sea the preaching of the God-bearing men is seen spread abroad. Who is so senseless and stupid as to hold the oracles of the Spirit at naught, yet attend to the inventions of the devil's craft? Of how great reproach and punishment they are worthy, let anyone say who is studious of speaking rightly. What could be more correct or more evident than these words? ^C Is not the vanity of the foolish refuted by this? Is not our doctrine, as being consonant with true piety, demonstrated by this? Did he not proclaim to us beforehand the new covenant, which the saving Word, appearing visibly, has delivered? Did he not set forth in advance the manner of life to be lived according to God; and that the minds of those who receive it would be brightened and illuminated; and, finally, that the hearts of those drawing near to the faith would be cleansed from the old stain of sin? In which also he predicted that the divine law would be written. Did he not prescribe that the old man was to be put off, ^D and that he was to be renewed in the spirit? Does he not delineate our familiarity and closeness with God, so that we might be his people and a holy inheritance, destined to possess the divine knowledge freely and as offered by itself? Does he not show God as freely indulgent toward our sins, and about to demonstrate the oblivion of our iniquities? Did he not proclaim the mercy and kindness which he bears toward us? Did he not, to state the head of all things, in summary, establish the foundations and supports of our holy faith? To applaud these, and to crown them with happy approval, would be most just. For by this they depress the arrogance of impiety, and stop the mouths of the impudent. Truly

it was necessary that the one who was rightfully and worthily called the most compassionate of the prophets—he who was known to God even before his conception, and was sanctified in the very womb—should serve and minister to these things. For what is more compassionate and purer than that holy soul—one so full of sorrow and given to tears? What could be more sympathetic or cleaner than that holy soul which was known to God? ^A

But let us now turn in good time to the explanation of the things already mentioned. "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah." By "days," no others should be understood than those which the other prophets teach will be the last (even though it is said here indefinitely), in which the Word of God conversed with men in the flesh. For at the end of the ages, the mystery of Christ was manifested, and the laws and the new covenant were introduced to us by Him. Otherwise, let our opponents—opponents both of us and of the truth—show us another time, later than this prophetic oracle, and show us another covenant; and upon their doing so, we shall be silent. But so long as they are unable to demonstrate this (for indeed they never will be able), let our argument stand, and let the doctrine of truth ^B be lifted up with alacrity. For who would the house of Israel and Judah be, if not those who, with the purest mind, are able, as far as it is possible for man, to behold God, and to approach Him with a pure and sincere confession of faith? For thus would Israel and Judah be properly designated; even if the discourse here has made mention of those who were addicted only to the bare appellations of men, lest the promises made to the fathers should seem to have fallen away from those who were still carnal and who boasted in the token of circumcision. Just as the Savior also says to the Phoenician woman: "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." With them refusing it, He subsequently crossed over to the Gentiles, to whom the promise and blessing of the fathers pertained. ^C

But if it pleases you, let the minister of the new covenant, who bore the name of Christ before the Gentiles and kings, and who very skillfully, opportunely, and appropriately made use of these very oracles while writing to the Hebrews, be invoked and brought into our midst once more; and while he compares and judges the power of both covenants, let him say: "For if that first one had been faultless, no place would have been sought for a second." Why, then, was the first not faultless? "Because," he says, "the law made nothing perfect; but there was the introduction of a better hope, through which we draw near to God." Therefore, there was need of a second and better covenant, the chief utility and necessity of which is to save man, and to justify him who approaches with faith, and to grant the cleansing of ancient transgressions. ^D

^A For this was the grace of the evangelical legislation as it bloomed forth, and the difference between those who served therein is how great! For there the priests offered gifts and bloody sacrifices on behalf of themselves and the ignorances of the people; which could not take away sins, for they were still ministering in a pattern and shadow of heavenly things, according to the oracle given to Moses. But here a different ministry has intervened, and one incomparably better, with promises so much better, to the extent that truth differs from shadow. For our high priest, the leader and apostle of our confession, Christ our God, having once offered himself for the salvation of sinners, sacrificed and slain in the flesh, remains high priest forever, and sits at the right hand of God, henceforth waiting until his enemies be made the footstool of his feet. For by one oblation he has perfected forever those who are sanctified. The Holy Spirit also bears witness to us, he says.

But these impure and profane men do not endure to hear the oracles of the Spirit, but belching forth much impurity and stench from their abominable heart, they chant against the truth, that Christ has perfected nothing, nor have those been sanctified who were deemed worthy of grace. So let them judge, and indeed quite aptly, while they speak from their own impure spirit, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out ^B of the land of Egypt. These things in ancient times, silently as it were, hinted at the cessation of the old covenant, which the breaking of the tablets themselves also signified. For at the time when Israel was delivered from the Egyptian tyranny, the law was inscribed on stone tablets, the mountain appeared smoking, and extraordinary terrors were displayed from above; such was the work required for a rude people and those in need of these elements of terrors, so that those who had recently emerged from a foreign land might be turned away from the barbarous perversity of their customs and directed toward the knowledge of God, having laid aside ethnic superstition. And through the use of the stone tablets, the sacred word denoted the hardness ^C and rigor of their stony heart. For this reason also, it is rebuked as a stiff-necked people, having a heart like an iron sinew, and given over to all contumacy and stubbornness.

But when our Lord and God came to deliver us from the power of the wicked tyrant, and to cast off the yoke of our sins, nothing of such terrors intervened. For the worker of our salvation, walking the earth, that meek and humble of heart, without any tumult or dread, but rather displaying gentleness ^D and affability, taught the saving doctrine in the synagogues, and heaped upon those who wished to hear him every sort of benefit.

^A He did not trade in written laws, nor parcel out portions of land trodden by the feet of inhabitants of this visible earth. He did not hand down for possession anything ephemeral or fleeting, but proclaimed the heavenly kingdom, bestowed inexhaustible riches, announced ineffable joy, cured every disease and malady among the people, and provided everything worthy to be granted by divine benevolence to those who approached him in faith. And what need is there to speak further? He lavishly distributed the abundant provision of the Spirit, by all of which the grace and power of the One working and bestowing were manifested. For this reason, it was also foretold: "Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers." For he immediately introduces the evangelical legislation: "Giving my laws into their mind, and I will write them upon their hearts." The laws of grace are not on paper and ink; as the Apostle also hints, saying: "You are our letter, written in your hearts; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, ^B ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets of flesh of the heart." For they are not written on inanimate matter, but are impressed on the minds of rational men by the finger of God and the pen of the Spirit, themselves being contained in truth and sincerity, and purifying the soul and the mind. For our legislator handed down nothing written; for the divine laws are established in the souls not by letters but by deeds, not by characters but by virtues, as a demonstration of the Spirit. Thus, the evangelical gifts were prefigured in them.

^C Is this not the beautiful and fertile land, the flourishing and fruitful field, which received the divine seed when the sower went out to cast the seeds of the word; the land that brings forth fruit thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and indeed even a hundredfold, which is the greatest and highest fruit? The divine apostles appeared to be the precise writers and initiates of these laws, having attained a contemplation of God and a ministry better than that of Moses; who also boldly and proudly dare to say: "We are God’s fellow-workers; you are God’s tillage, you are God’s building." If these things are true, as indeed they are, how do those madmen not blush to prattle against the apostolic and prophetic voices, as if the Antichrist had undermined and occupied God’s building, devastated the estate, and carried off the victory along with them; for they will truly reap the sheaves of their own tilling, ^D those wretches. Then: "I will write them upon their hearts." Here, for those who received the evangelical precepts, he set forth their hearts instead of stone tablets, like certain brilliant and transparent pillars, upon which the divine laws are not engraved on the surface, but penetrate through the depths

^A in which they are kept indelible, eternal, and remaining unconsumed for all time. Here, anyone who wishes can observe that as the laws differ, so too does the dignity of those being instructed differ. Standing in this covenant, and believing that we are strengthened and guarded in it, we are deemed worthy to be called the people of God, and to register God as our own God; and with confidence, with unveiled face, with a pure heart, and with an unwavering mind, we make our proclamation.

If, therefore, the first covenant was not without blame for the reasons stated, it is surely fitting that the new covenant after the old one should appear blameless and in every way irreproachable, nay rather, glorious and distinguished, and crowned with a garland of highest glory, as something that has innovated and perfected all things, and is the head of all good things, having secured justice and salvation for us. Let those, therefore, who sin in vain cease, and let them desist from all blasphemy and nonsense, and let every mouth that speaks unjustly against our salvation be stopped. ^B But if the enemies of piety do not cease their calumny, let them seek a sect contrary to this; let them put their heads together and identify for themselves the inventor and lawgiver of such a sect, by whom they may be initiated into the mysteries of error—who is of a kind such as this: "He who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, whose coming is according to the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness in those who perish," whom the Lord will consume with the spirit of His mouth and destroy by His appearing.

As for us, grace has so lavishly and abundantly enriched us with the gift of divine knowledge that we may confidently say, as has been proclaimed: "No one shall teach his neighbor and no one his brother, saying: ^C ‘Know the Lord.’" And whence shall they know this? Because, He says, "they shall all be taught of God." And: "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." And the reason: "Because they shall know Me from the least of them to the greatest of them."

Awake, you who are drunk from the wine of your impiety, and listen to the prophet crying out loudly and clearly: for it is not one or two, whether slave or free, whether rich or poor, whether ruler or subject, whether king or private citizen, or simply this man or that man, but all, He says, shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. Whom, indeed, shall they know? Their Creator and Lord, who gave them the breath of life, the guardian and preserver of all, the benefactor who in His wisdom governs and directs all things, who provides existence and safety to all. ^D By no means shall they recognize alien gods; they shall not worship the works of their own hands; they shall not say to the stone or to the wood: "You have created us." Rather, "all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them; they shall know Me, and they shall not be ignorant—

they shall not in turn offer worship to the devil or to creation, but to the One who created them, they shall render their devotion. But He who works through His ministers speaks out, so that they may set their own false speech and error against such bright and clear words of truth. For how was it possible that those who have received this New Covenant, which is so much higher than the former, should slip into the worship of vanities? ^A For "all shall know Me," He says. For just as this visible sun illuminates all the earth upon which it looks, so too did Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, our God, flash forth the rays of knowledge of God to all through the Gospel and illuminate the minds of us all, filling us with divine knowledge and grace.

Who, then, are these people? Let them answer for themselves. For if they come over to our side, they will agree with the truth and with us, as those who have been sealed with the seal of Christ our God and are called by His name. But if they go in the opposite direction, this is clearly the work of the unclean spirit. Let the boys in the Temple, who arrived of their own accord to do the very things that were being fulfilled, teach these ignorant and uneducated men: shout- ^B ing, "Hosanna in the highest; blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Let the boys of the Greeks put them to shame—a thing truly worthy of wonder—seeing what eagerness they showed in wanting to hear Jesus speak and begging His disciples to lead them to Him. Now, the God of all things formerly accused the Jewish people through the voice of the prophets in the most grievous terms, saying: "The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's manger; but Israel does not know Me, and My people have not understood," ^C as if He saw the folly and unreason of those creatures, which even irrational beasts of burden surpassed. But as for us, upon whom the gift of knowledge has descended from above, placing us in a blessed state and in blessings, He has declared clearly that, having cast aside their foolishness and lack of reason, we would know Him. The unerasable truth of the words is confirmed by the very facts that accompany them. Let those, then, who rely on falsehoods and who impiously and ignorantly rail against the correct belief of the Christians be ashamed. "For the whole earth was filled with the knowledge of the Lord." ^D "And heaven and earth are full of His glory." For everywhere in the whole world, the faith of our holy religion is sung.

Now, what the prophet adds to these words foretells to us the ineffable philanthropy of God and the unsearchable riches of His goodness. "I will be merciful to their iniquities." What is higher or more venerable than these words? What is sweeter or more pleasant? For although He could punish and stretch wide the mouth of Gehenna, and inflict countless and unbearable scourges, and horrendous and sudden deaths for six hundred—nay, for innumerable—sins, yet He did not threaten, He did not punish, He did not command the earth to split apart and swallow everyone up entirely; but His...

^A benignity prevailed. For, He says, "I will be propitious to their iniquities." We, indeed, who have experienced such things and have come to believe, sing simultaneously a victorial and eucharistic hymn to our Savior, and offer daily our thanksgiving, singing and chanting: "Who shall speak of the powers of the Lord, shall declare all His praises?" (Ps. CV, 2) Who would be able sufficiently to announce His mercies and His wonders? What tongue could worthily express the magnitude of His benefits? What speech could be devised equal to the greatness of the good things given by Him? Yet not only did He not punish, nor surrender us to Gehenna, but He was indulgent toward our iniquities; nay, what exceeds all things and surpasses every prayer, He wrought for us the mystery of the salutary incarnation. But why, and in what manner? He did not punish, but was punished; He did not inflict a blow, but was Himself struck in His beloved house. He gave His back to the scourges, and His cheeks to buffetings. Finally, He underwent the most shameful death of the cross, despising the shame, nailing to it the bond that was against us, that He might deliver us from sin and liberate us from the power of darkness. Thus, He is the same ^B both priest and victim, the same both sacrificing and being sacrificed for us, and being sacrificed and offering to God the Father a peculiar people. Hence we were redeemed from the tyranny of the Enemy, and we recognized the Father through the Son, and we have been shown to be genuine adorers of the Trinity. But as for those who are alien to such grace, having forgotten all these things, and closing the ears and the eyes of their heart to things so venerable and worthy of love, let them adore and worship whatever they wish. What the God-bearing prophet thereafter adds is of what quality and magnitude! "And of their sins I will no more remember" (Jerem. XXXI, 34). At this point, the mind wavers, and labors in much perplexity, and prefers rather a mute silence, because it has arrived at the inextricable labyrinth of divine judgments. But it finds one single exit from its perplexity, namely, that it may say with the spectator and initiate of unspeakable things: "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments, and unsearchable His ways!" (Rom. XI, 33).

53. These things the Savior has granted us through the divine generation of the holy laver, which possesses a complete washing and purging of souls, and brings about freedom from sins. These voices I for my part value most highly, these I embrace and love; because it is sweet and pleasant to me to revolve these in my mind, and to be filled with alacrity by these thoughts, and to find a consolatory remedy for sins, and to be raised to good hope, and to cast away despair, and to recognize the benignity and mercy of God. For they represent to us the forgetfulness of our offenses, and demonstrate the merciful and indulgent Lord and Creator; and, to speak briefly, they persuade us that He is the giver of salvation.

...our lawgiver. These are the precepts and doctrines of our law and legislator. And if it should be necessary, in a way almost poetic, to color the discourse and vary it greatly, and to ornament it with many voices of those who speak of God, just as the most skilled painters take care to display a beautiful and becoming image, enlivening the panel excellently with the most splendid materials and the most brilliant colors, and making it charming so that the likeness might be preserved with greater accuracy—for indeed, it is through images that the knowledge of the archetypes comes to us—let another of those inspired by God be called, one who shall be in harmony with those who have spoken before, and let him indeed arrive in the midst of this holy gathering of those who bear God, and let him enter this God-like stadium and share in the struggle and finish the course of piety, ^B he who is a spectator and initiate of mysterious and marvelous visions and of the heavenly powers; and let him be added to those who have labored before in the house of wisdom, triumphing over the impiety and lawlessness of those detestable ones, so that he himself might not be lacking from this holy assembly; but let him play in concert, as if guided by a plectrum by the divine Spirit, very charmingly with others who have been allotted equal grace, and let him say: "Thus says the Lord: Behold, I take the whole house of Israel from the midst of the nations to which they have come, and I will gather them from all their surroundings, and will bring them into the land of Israel, and I will make them a people in my land and on the mountains of Israel." That this divine prophet, moved by divine grace, describes in these words the mystery of the incarnation of Christ, the common Savior of us all, I do not think any person of a sound mind will contradict. For they conspire with what has preceded, ^C and there will be no need for much declaration of the proposed matter or for continuous explanation through commentaries, because many other things of this kind have been explained more diffusely in what went before. But because these things, if taken according to the historical sense, fit the carnal Israel, lest any of those who now have adopted the coarseness of the Jewish mind should impudently raise themselves against the aforementioned, we have judged it our duty, walking everywhere in the footsteps of the sacred masters of the Church, to rise up against the insane and foolish questions of those senseless ones and to say that these things were prefigured for them in shadows and types; for9 ^D indeed, the things of divine Providence were also shown toward them, but in truth and reality, they were brought to completion in the saving condescension of the Lord Christ. For He poured out upon us the springs of His benevolence in abundance.

54. For He gathered us, that is to say, the intellectual Israel and those who are accounted children of the promise made to the patriarch Abraham, and He redeemed us through His cross from the hand of the enemy, and through the preaching of the Gospel He gathered us from the regions, and in the land of Israel, which...

shall be understood in a way worthy of God as the Church of Christ, He has brought us together, and has secured us with mystical mountains, that is, with the sublime dogmas of theology. And those things that follow shall teach these things more clearly: “And one prince,” He says, “shall be king of them all; and they shall no more be two nations, neither shall they be divided any more into two kingdoms.” ^A

55. Who is so ignorant and senseless that he would not agree and confess that these things clearly and lucidly shine forth in our Christian state? Nor will anyone ^B attribute the prophetic statement to Zerubbabel, if he wishes to follow the vote of those who are better. For he, after the return of the captives—that is, the Jews—from Babylon, was by no means appointed king of the people recently set free from slavery, but as a leader of the people he merely presided over and moderated his own tribe. Wherefore, it will not be reasonable to attribute this statement to him. But the true king, principally and in truth, is the ruler and lord of us all, Christ our God, who holds an immutable principality and possesses glory that cannot be taken away; as the prophetic voice says: “Thou sittest for ever, and we perish in the age.” ^C But we are subject to Him, and we all live under one king; confessing and preaching Him alone with unveiled face and constant heart as God and Lord. Therefore, there is no distinction or diversity of subjects to Him; for now one does not obey one king and another another, lest from this they be divided into many diverse opinions and irreligious sentiments, and be split and torn apart into absurd and detestable cults, and incline toward the scandals of idols. For how would that happen? Since they have known and have been taught to worship one alone, God and King by nature. But the following ^D statement will manifest these things to us more evidently: “And I will cleanse them, and they shall be to Me a people, and I will be to them God.”

Who, then, is the one cleansing, and who are the cleansed? We shall easily know if we listen to the apostolic voices, by which we are taught concerning our Saviour Christ: that “He made a cleansing of our sins by Himself.” And that “He so loved the Church, and delivered Himself for it, that He might sanctify it, cleansing it by the washing of water in the word.” And elsewhere: “Looking for the blessed hope and manifestation of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and might cleanse to Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” And again: “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the defiled, sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, clean-

- ^A se the conscience from dead works, to serve the living and true God? And, The blood of Jesus the Son of God cleanseth us from all sin. The disciple of the Savior has written: we who have been cleansed from the old leaven, have become a new lump in Him. Then: And My servant David shall be a prince in the midst of them; and there shall be one shepherd for all, and David My servant shall be their prince forever.

Since the divine prophet has thus explicitly proclaimed this, and by these words has indicated to us both Christ and our God, who blossomed from David according to the flesh, not even the Jews themselves—who are uncircumcised in heart and accustomed to transgressing the law—ought to have fallen into such perversity of conduct and vanity of thought as to stand against the ^B light of truth, which is so bright and clear. For they are forced to choose one of two things: either to shamelessly resist the prophetic sayings, or to confess Christ as King and God of all, to submit their neck to His service, and to accept with us the adoration; much more so those who vainly inscribe the name of Christ upon themselves, and are not justly entitled to be called by Him—they who wander from the straight path, and rejoice in the crooked and rough ways of falsehood. As if they did not appear even more unbelieving and ungrateful than the Jews, while they refuse to hear these sacred voices, and close the senses of their soul against the apostolic preaching, and endeavor to efface the prophetic oracles, being choked by the truth itself. Let them, therefore, finally bind their unbridled and Christ-fighting ^C tongue, and be covered with shame, and desist from the blasphemy against our sacred confession.

For if they say to us: "Who, then, is this that is proclaimed king by the prophet?" and if they are unwilling to answer, fearing lest by chance, in touching upon the truth, they might plunge themselves into extreme danger, as if running against a King and God—we, trusting in the Spirit who speaks through the divine prophet and following everywhere in the right direction the senses of the divinely-inspired Scripture, shall declare that indeed the King of glory, the only-begotten Son of God the Father, ^D shining in the proper dignity of His divinity, and in no way diminished in His divine pre-eminence, nor laying aside what He was, but remaining established in His own natural and essential perfections, out of ineffable compassion lowered Himself to emptying, and did not disdain to descend to the measure of created things, having put on the form of a servant, so that the human race, which had inclined toward the slip of ruin through the deceit of the enemy, might be transformed into its original state, and be restored to its prosperity of glory, and keep the dignity adhering to it, and that by the union with the divine, our affairs might become glorious. Since, therefore, He became like us, and proceeds from the loins and root of the patriarch David in the order of birth; and since David was a king, for this reason also Christ—although He was the same naturally as God—and together with the flesh, the same beauty of universal power

having been assumed, He could most justly be called king of all; for He both is and is named king. Wherefore, ^A in as much as He is man, He is called David, and is designated a servant; not as God, for He is the Master and Lord of all. But because of the assumption and the servile nature, which, being a lover of mankind, He voluntarily assumed, this One, therefore, who according to the flesh draws His lineage from the seed of David, is and shall be our ruler unto the ages, and He is the eternal King, whose sharpened and gleaming arrows shall be fixed in the heart of these, His enemies.

Although these men, being stiff-necked, may show resistance, yet let David himself, who sings, convince them: *And the Lord shall sit as King forever* ^B. And: *The Lord shall reign forever; thy God, O Sion, unto generation and generation*. And: *The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool*. It is therefore not probable, but rather impossible, that these things should apply to the son of Salathiel; for he neither received the symbols of royalty, nor attained the diadem, but merely governed a command or prefecture of the people. And this man, being as he was a man like us, was cut off by death, and his command reached its end. Nor did a kingdom therefore exist among the Jews, nor was the lineage of David manifest. But He who is of the seed of David according to the flesh, and the same one uniquely begotten of God the Father according to His divinity, reigns ^C. Or did not the divine Gabriel also speak similar things to the all-holy and all-pure Virgin, when he encouraged her? "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God; and thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." It is therefore altogether truer that these things should be referred to our Lord and God, whose rule and power are eternal, and whose glory is unceasing, not being cut off or diminished at any time or in any way or manner whatever, but remaining unto infinity. ^D Just as these wretches do not acknowledge the Master of all as King, so neither will they know Him as Shepherd, since they have separated themselves at once from His kingdom and His fold, and wrongfully accuse Christians of holding the same opinion as they do.

But as for the sons of disobedience, lest by chance they think to contradict, and so that no handle may remain for them, it is sufficient that they hear Christ saying in the Gospels: "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. And I know my sheep, and am known of mine. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one

^A ovile and one pastor. Who is such an enemy of the truth? Who is so great an adversary and foe of Christ and of Christ’s words as to contend and fight against the evangelical teachings without shame? From these things it would become manifest that the war they have stirred up is not against men, but against the Creator Himself and the Maker of all things. Regarding these things He says: "I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them." The gift of peace is a thing most dear and most natural to God. The Savior clearly showed this to us when He went of His own volition to His voluntary passion, undergoing a bloody death on behalf of us through the cross, at the time when the raging multitude of the Jews was impiously contriving snares against Him. ^B Therefore, when He was about to depart from here to the Father, and was giving commandments to the disciples, as is customary for a testator to do, and saw them troubled and struck by perplexities over these matters and already beginning to inquire as to where such things were to lead for them, He wisely bestowed on them consolation for their distress through the promise of the Paraclete; and then He enriched them with the gift of peace, as a most excellent and preeminent gift. For indeed He added: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you." In this way He stilled the tumult of their soul by setting before them a better hope, not allowing them to lapse into fear and despondency, but rather rousing and strengthening their minds, and turning them toward confidence and fortitude. He established them in faith toward Him, so that they might not be scandalized by the sorrows and disgraces of the coming passion, but might have an invincible and firm foundation of faith in Him, who had many times made manifest the power and greatness of His divinity through many miracles and virtues.

^C 56. Thus, therefore, with His own blood, which, as it was not yet shed, He was about to shed at His saving passion, He disposed for us a new testament of peace. "For where a testament is," He says, "there must of necessity be the death of the testator." At once renewing grace through it, and promising to men the eternal and undiminishing goods that gush forth from the cross and His life-giving side as from a fountain of life. For so also it seems to the minister of the new testament. For when he was setting out to compose the pattern of prayer for some, he spoke thus: "Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, in the blood of the everlasting covenant, even our Lord Jesus, make you perfect in every good work." Or is He not rather our peace, the mediator of God and men, through whom we have had reconciliation with the Father, having been at war because of sin? If one must believe him who says: "Christ is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition, the enmity in his flesh; voiding the law of commandments in

^A ordinances, that he might create in himself the two into one new man, making peace; and might reconcile both in one body to God, through the cross, having slain the enmity in himself; and coming, he preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near; because through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. And elsewhere he also says: "In him it pleased all the fullness to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, making peace through the blood of his cross, whether things on earth or things in heaven."

We, therefore, recognize and shall always recognize him who established peace among us and bestowed the goods that flow from it, and worshipping him as our King and Lord, we glorify him; in whom even now we delight and are sanctified, and have hope in his grace to obtain better and more perfect things. But those who maintain that this testament has been of no profit, let them look for another, more recent one, and let them cling to the future author of this one (the devil): since even now they yield to him their service, ^B so that in the future age they may be partakers of the lot prepared for him and the apostate powers along with him. For if they had ears to hear, and eyes to see, and a sober mind to understand, they would certainly comprehend that where God is the mediator and reconciler, there the peace established by him is good, eternal, and indissoluble; nor will it ever be in vain, nor ever diminished. Therefore, there is neither dissension, nor sedition, nor division of the kingdom; nor would those who have been deemed worthy of such excellent gifts desert to another dominion. For such is the work of battle, of war, and of tumult. Therefore, these men are also convicted here as vain talkers and as those who speak foolishly against the religion of Christians. Let them henceforth be silent and hide themselves, these who think most foolishly and in a way abhorrent to all reason. For what more could they dare to say, if they were truly to hear what the God-bearer says next: "For I will place ^C my holy things in their midst for ever, and my dwelling place shall be among them, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people."

For what purpose were these things said? "Search the Scriptures," the Savior once said to the people of the Jews; "for they are those that bear witness concerning me." Wherefore, if by chance these madmen should wish even now to hold to the opinion of the Hebrews, and to apply the prophetic voices to them, they will immediately hear that the holy things of the Jews were already deserted. For they were not eternal, but were rather a shadow and a typo of our truly holy things; and when the truth entered, they had their end; whereas ours stand unto the age, having a firm and immovable station; for they are founded upon the ^D unshakeable rock. Let them say to us, therefore, those who fight against the words of the Spirit, how it is possible for the worship of unclean demons to occur when holy things have been placed by God in our midst for ever. For what communion has light with darkness? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? But the...

nations knew the One who sanctifies; since they shared in divine knowledge and ^A the sanctification which comes from it, as is made clear by what follows, which is expressed in this way: *For the nations shall know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them*. But those who have been deprived of divine sanctification, and who have filled their own souls with every defilement and impurity, and who have had their reason subverted, have not only blasphemed against the God who sanctifies, but in their own polluted judgment they foolishly and impiously proclaim that those who are sanctified are likewise unclean.

^B 57. The wise Paul will reveal to us again the manner in which those who have been partakers of grace are sanctified: *For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all from one*. From which it is possible to learn to what a height of good things he has led those who believe through such a union and communion, from whence the things of sanctification come to them; for both Christ who sanctifies, and those who are sanctified, who have believed in Him, are all from the God of all things and His Father. And He indeed sanctifies as Head, and Author of salvation, and Provider of all sanctification, and Lord; while they are sanctified, being renewed by the participation of His grace, and by the regeneration of the divine laver putting Him on: *For as many as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ*. And as for the fact that being descended from One happens, and in what way he proceeds toward happiness and blessedness, as if proposing it as an explanation, so as to hint at a relationship and that they have been granted a fraternity, he adds: *For which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying: I will declare Thy name to My brothers, in the midst of the Church I will praise Thee*. ^C Honoring them in this way, and crowning them with honors greater than human. For what is more divine or blessed than these? And the cause is clear, from which they have been named brothers; for since He is God, He did not disdain to clothe Himself in our lowliness out of endless compassion and goodness, so that He might lift us up by His own poverty; and from this we have been enriched to become brothers and children, as He will immediately say: *Behold I and the children whom God has given Me; since therefore the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He also in like manner partook of the same*. Since, therefore, those who have put on Christ, and have been sanctified by Him, and have been deemed worthy to be considered brothers and children in the manner set forth, how have these wretches not shuddered to call them worshippers of idols? From these things, it is indeed permitted to discern ^D that the insults have reached unto the communion both of the brotherhood and of the adoption. It is not lawful to say this, for fear of the blasphemy against the Firstborn and the Father by those who know God, unless they are altogether destitute of feeling and mind. For the many things that teem from the tongue of the Christ-haters ought rather to be passed over in silence, as being most wicked and most absurd. For those who deny the bond of brotherhood with Christ, and have fallen from the dignity of adoption, and have never put on Christ—as they themselves betray—from where could they learn or experience these things, or obtain the grace of sanctification? For if they persist in the denial of these things, they will surely find nothing better or more useful. These are the ravings of their senselessness and vanity, and as it were, their bleating.

^A 58. But let us return to our own task, and let the one remaining from the number of the hierophants ^B enter this sacred and well-ordered choir; let him be placed like a crown upon the divinely-built house, and let him perfect the temple of wisdom, which is built most fittingly and divinely, and beautifully joined and adorned by the Spirit. Let him, therefore, toil, taking up these sacred labors along with those who have already contended; and let him be set, as a seal upon what has been previously stated—the man of God, I say, the man of desires, the treasury of the gifts of the Spirit, the revealer of deep and hidden things, the examiner of mysteries, the teacher of the Barbarians, the tamer of wild beasts; perhaps he too will soften the beastly and savage disposition of the impiety of those of our day. Come, therefore, O most contemplative and most insightful of the prophets, rising from Babylon and from the barbarian shore, and as you are inspired by the wisdom and understanding from above, declare to us what the undeceiving contemplations of divine visions in the night—impressed upon your purified intellect and your clarified faculty of thought—have shown you, and what kind of clear revelation of true things they have provided. Then, with an articulate tongue and a clear voice, prophesy of our King and Lord, possessing an endless sovereignty and an eternal glory, and thus break the madness of the impious and the rebellious. For you have cried out with clear words, as I know, when to the dreaming Chaldean you explained the visions that had slipped from his memory in his dream, and provided the solutions to his doubts, pronouncing these things: *And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven setup a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.* ^C And afterwards: *I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.*

Such are the words of the prophet. But what are the words of these most profane men? ^D First, they accuse the oracles of the divine Spirit of lying. Then, they also imply that God the Father is destitute of knowledge and foreknowledge concerning His own works. Furthermore, they say that the kingdom of the Only-Begotten is dissolved, as if it could not remain perpetual; which not even from the beginning was it delivered to them

nor indeed had it been worshipped by tongues and tribes, or enslaved, ^A nor had He possessed a people rescued from a prior tyrant, and—to speak briefly—in all these things they hold views contrary to the prophet. By wrapping up all these things in a few words, they have fashioned the greatest blasphemy against the divine glory, daring to call the religion of the Christians, impiously and wickedly, idolatry, and bringing such an opinion upon themselves and others. But how have they not trembled, nor been struck with awe in their soul, while rashly looking against things so clear and indubitable, since they persist with an impudent face and a hardened heart, and have acted insolently against the glory of the Savior? But from where will they have the confidence for this god-hated and absurd dogma? For if the prophetic word had simply announced the beginning and the kingdom of the God of all without a specific definition, they would indeed have risen up more ferociously and boldly against those who hold to the orthodox dogmas of piety, building up the vanity and madness of their own words out of meddlesome chatter; and as those who rush toward some prey, they would have taken refuge in the simplicity of the words spoken, and have introduced a kingdom of Christ that was, in a way, measured and limited. But if to the kingdom there is added the epithet “eternal” and “incorruptible,” and that it shall never pass away, ^B why then shall a bridle not be placed upon their loose-tongued speech, so that every mouth that speaks unjustly against the King of the ages may be stopped? For He who reigns from age to age and beyond would never be deprived of His rule and glory, nor would the people who are under His hand and have known Him surrender themselves to another king; for neither is there anyone better, nor will there be at all, to whom they would cling. Therefore, He has neither been tyrannized, nor plundered, nor cast out of His authority; on account of this, not even all who are under Him approach idols, or give the preeminence to the demon. For they recognize Christ, the Savior of us all, as God and Lord of all, and worship Him. For to Him every knee bows, of those in heaven and those on earth and those under the earth, and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen. It is evident, therefore, from this also that the Christ-fighters speak from an opposing spirit, because they utter things that are clearly contrary and repugnant to the oracles of the divine Spirit. ^C

59. Let those who are without a King also consider this, that the name “King” is not one of those things said absolutely and without relation, but of those referring to something else, and viewed in relation to something. For a king could not be understood without those being ruled, nor a ruler without those being ruled; for it is necessary that if one of these designations is posited, the other is introduced along with it, just as it is necessary that if the one is nullified, the other is nullified as well. For in this way, those who partake of the class of these names are for the most part familiar to each other and conjoined; so that neither can one be thought of ^D without the other, nor can that one be established without this; if t

then the revelations made by the Holy Spirit to the holy prophets are true, just as they are in fact true, then Christ our God, being called King in them, is in every way a king of some, namely of those who are under his dominion. ^A For as God and Creator of all, he is King of all; for he himself is the One who rules in his power for ages, and all things are servants to him, and "his kingdom is a kingdom of all the ages, and his dominion is in every generation and generation." But as we believe in him and acknowledge him through the true confession of him, he is our King, we who are Christians; for we are his "peculiar people, a royal priesthood, and an eternal inheritance," and, to speak concisely, his select and most special possession. ^B Our affairs, therefore, who by divine grace are orthodox, are thus and so: and therefore the divinely transmitted oracles, very opportunely and fittingly, have supplied us with such a cloud of testimonies, worthy of belief in every way, and providing a pledge: which indeed sing to us, the lovers of truth, and those who are illuminated and guided by the gifts of the divine Spirit, a well-tempered, harmonic, and musical symphony of our sacred and divinely inspired dogmas; but they dispel the madness, stupidity, and impious and fraudulent trifles of those who are moved by an apostate impulse, which issue from adulterous thoughts, and they set forth their irreligion most clearly as if written upon a monument. Thus, then, being convicted on every side, as if agitated by the spirit of error, let them be driven far from the divine choir and our hall of Christians.

^C But because every evil is restless and unbridled, and can in no way remain in its own state, but always proceeding further, finds no rest in its course; just as river currents, boiling and overflowing and exceeding their banks, when they have found a downward and sloping place, the force of their rushing flood is in no way restrained, and it easily snatches up and carries along everything it meets: so indeed, after it has crept upon any soul, which has once sent a messenger of departure to the good, it does not cease from devouring and consuming until it has cast it into the ends of perdition. Just as also happens in this matter. For behold, after this plague most rapidly permeated the souls of the impious of our day, it also drove them to a precipice of incredulity and alienation from God. For, first sharpening their deceitful tongues against Christ, they feel no satiety of their madness; nor do they cease from slandering the piety of the Christians, ^D but rather daily receive an increment of malice, so that the later things become worse than the former, weaving much calumny against the living temples of the Spirit, nor do they

stop at this point; but now they have also armed their unholy hands against inanimate ^A temples—though these are divine nonetheless. These men indeed demonstrate that their own souls are temples of demons, while they suppose that they approach idols as if they were gods, so that even in this way their alienation from the true religion might be made manifest. For there is no fellowship of light with darkness, nor any sharing of the temple of God with idols; so that their blasphemy does not merely creep along in words alone, but their wickedness is now seen to be carried out in deeds as well, and the blasphemy does not merely resound in the ears, but also stands clearly to be seen by the eyes of all.

60. Do they then falsely accuse and speak against the divine and ineffable glory and power, ^B and rail against the teachings of the inspired men and the theologians, while they see less than what they spoke emptily about, or do they shrink from showing forth deeds equal to their blasphemies, or not entirely greater? Not at all. But what we know to have been omitted or to have been trivial long ago by the devil, the father of lies, we now see added and piled up. For whereas formerly he had readied the impious to wage war against the Church only with words, and had sown myriads of heresies among the Christians, at this present time, not with words alone—for he has added what was lacking—he rages with deeds themselves against the divine houses and other sacred votive offerings, studying to destroy their ornament and splendor, ^C so that by both means the malice of these men is convicted. Therefore, these unspeakable men rage against the holy and divine types and symbols of the economy and incarnation of the saving Word of God, and they attempt to strip the ornamentation from the holy houses, and they destroy the sanctity of history, scraping away the reverently executed figures most senselessly. O the madness! O the audacity and the shameless intent! These which the most pious and God-loving of Christians, priests, I say, and kings of old, and all who were in positions of authority, and others who were more fervent and zealous regarding piety, inflamed with love and burning with warm faith in Christ and the saints, labored over and recorded ^D by way of history—these holy and divine images, in which they dedicated them to the God of all, having imprinted them in the sanctuaries according to the reason of each thing as it was represented—these, the wretched ones do not shudder to undermine and mock! And scarcely would anyone believe that their opinions were so exceedingly impious, and would rather turn away from the unbearable depravity of the words they use, were one not to see them performing such crimes in deed; wherefore it follows that they have the wickedness of their works as a witness to their nefariously spoken words. For why are they not clearly convicted of being idolaters, while they rage so shamelessly against the temples of God, as if they themselves were initiated and consecrated to some other religion—what kind of religion, they themselves might know—and as if they had denied our Lord Jesus Christ, the supreme God, as they persuade us to think from these consequences; as if, finally, they held the name of Christian in vain: for they lean upon falsehood, only

the name appearing superficially to them, and as if painted on, and they possess the form of syllables, but they demonstrate by their works that they lack the power signified by them; and the harm of their undertaking increases. ^B 61. For since with the holy images of Christ the image of the life-giving cross is also depicted, those who dissemble concerning this also destroy it, and pretend to venerate the cross; for in truth, the madness of their rage is kindled against both (the image as well as the cross). For why should they seem to be angry at one only, since both depend upon the same Christ by whom they are sanctified? Likewise, they violate the sacred vessels, by which the holy and life-giving mysteries of Christ are performed. Furthermore, they also violate the vestments, as many as are handsomely adorned with these holy histories; and also the venerable covers of the evangelical volumes; and thus they even destroy the Gospel itself. For what else is one to see, if not a Gospel emptied and dissolved by them? For in what way will those things written within differ from those things storied without, when the sense (72) and the same argument are perceived in both matters? Whence it comes about that, if one is venerable, the other is equally venerable; or it is necessary that both should perish. Behold, we see many such venerable volumes, and indeed very ancient ones, which it is established have been produced over a long time by religious and pious men, which ^C when unfolded show us, partly by calligraphic skill, the teachings of divine history, and partly by pictorial art represent the same things to us. And yet neither the one nor the other demonstrates the proposed argument more than the other. For one is the discourse of both, and through both the teaching and remembrance of the saving economy of God the Word are made. For what the word has proclaimed through the reading of the written text, this also the eye has demonstrated along with it through the inspection of the depicted histories. If, therefore, anyone were to take away a part, he would have destroyed the whole. For the whole is composed of the parts. But if anything of this disturbs the insane, and strikes their stunned mind, let it be a scandal to them, that the former are inscribed with finer scripts and colors, while the latter are painted with thicker lines and figures; and there is in these a great diversity of material. ^D 62. But if one must examine the matter more curiously, these will seem to prevail over those in some respects; because the former strike only the hearing, but the latter also draw the sight; and the former provide the knowledge of the things proposed quickly, but the latter more quickly; inasmuch as sight is swifter and more persuasive than hearing; since the object of hearing is also accustomed to be anticipated by that which is seen, and the things learned by us from hearing, oblivion in time

^A for the most part interrupts and obscures; but those things which are set before the eyes are more firmly imprinted on the souls, and, being deposited in the perceptive parts of the senses, are stored up. And still more than those, they instruct both the wise and the ignorant, and profit them no less; and whoever has a rustic or a polished mind will partake of the knowledge in the same way. And besides, they bring one the more to the mystery of the condescension of our gentle Savior. Often, indeed, the contents of the readings escape the rustic, being devoid of education and uninitiated in letters. As, therefore, in the case of one listening to a discourse, the power of what is uttered does not stop at the ear (for the declaration of the things said moves forward and transfers to the things themselves), so neither does the narrative in the case of what is seen remain at the visual power; for the encounter of the one who looks immediately transfers or conducts the mind away from the visible appearance to the things lying above or preceding it, not permitting the sacred operation to rest in the symbols. But from these sensible and kindred and familiar things, it leads forth or bears up to the things understood and indicated by them. Therefore, as if one were actually looking at the things themselves, so one is extended through these, and as if they were present, one associates with them through the symbols, and is pricked and gladdened, and filled with joy, and the soul is encouraged, and one thinks himself to be in a better disposition and state than before.

63. On the defense of the evangelical word, then, it has been handed down from the beginning, and by those of the same religion and faith—I mean Christians—in such a way, through the divine inspiration and grace working, that the one might be supported and confirmed by the other. For they cling to one another, and ^C as if proceeding from one principle, they each impart their own help and utility in turn. It seems, therefore, that the evangelical word does not profit these insane people at all; otherwise they would have perceived some fruit of docility and understanding. But as a barren word merely falling upon their ears and disturbing them slightly, it dissolves along with the air that was struck, not penetrating or entering into the depths of the heart, nor being impressed on the tablets of the mind. Hence it happens that they hold and speak of the Gospel in vain; for they become instead violators of evangelical dogmas, and consequently they will not escape the impending punishment: for they are convicted on all sides of being corrupters of the Gospel; ^D and what could be more wicked or irreligious than this? Thus, therefore, acting, they show themselves to be nursing a hatred for Christ and the saints, having taken up a dire and implacable war against them. And this, everyone who wishes to be even a little wise will acknowledge. For they surely take it hard and grow angry if they see any painting or image of Christ and the saints; because they know that those things which are done honorably to these, pass over to those who are represented; just as the mind of those who look also leans toward the thing signified. Altogether, they would not loathe the images nor destroy them if they were not of a hostile mind toward the archetypes, and did not begrudge them that utility. For they struggle with all their might, moving every stone, as the saying goes.

and devising every possible way to remove it from their path; for in truth, Christ ^A is burdensome to them even when viewed in an image. For to keep before one's eyes and to behold that which one has once conceived a hatred for, and to be brought into the remembrance of what is manifested by it, is a heavy thing indeed; and for this reason they are most eager to be rid of it, as something that vexes them.

And these are their words, all but crying out explicitly: *Let us lie in wait for the righteous, because he is not for our turn, and he is clean contrary to our doings: he upbraideth with our offending the law, and objecteth to our infamy the transgressings of our education. He professeth to have the knowledge of God: and he calleth himself the child of the Lord. He was made to reprove our thoughts; he is grievous unto us even to behold: for his life is not like other men's, his ways are of another fashion. We are esteemed of him as counterfeits: he abstaineth from our ways as from filthiness: he pronounceth the end of the just to be blessed, and maketh his boast that God is his father. Let us see if his words be true: and let us prove what shall happen in the end of him. For if the just man be the Son of God, he will help him, and deliver him from the hand of his enemies. Let us examine him with despitefulness and torture, that we may know his meekness, and prove his patience. Let us condemn him with a shameful death: for by his own saying he shall be respected.* These things they did imagine, and were deceived: for their own wickedness hath blinded them. As for the mysteries of God, they knew them not: neither hoped they for the wages of righteousness, nor discerned a reward for blameless souls. For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity.

Some followers of the new paganism, ^B who have emulated the lawlessness of the Jews of old, and who strive to treat the Righteous One even more cruelly and harshly than they did, swelling with hatred toward him—or rather, proving themselves to be genuine Jews by their deeds—these are the ones who apply these words to themselves. Since, therefore, the Lord is just and holy, it is more fitting to say that these things must of right be referred to Christ, and in no other way. For He is the support of the righteous, ^C as it is written, and the head and first-fruits of every righteous person, the fountain of all justice and the dispenser of all sanctification: *Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.*

This, some wise man of old, being most provident and instructed from above with a facility for understanding and wisdom, foresaw from afar the envy and madness that would come from these men against our Lord and God. He rightly and clearly predicted this, exposing the sum of their malice. For what would these miserable wretches not have done, having reached such a point of vanity and malice, utterly forgetful and heedless of the fear of God and piety toward Him, so that it becomes evident from present circumstances that, if it had been granted to them to live at the time when Christ

^A had taken on human nature and, appearing in the flesh, associated with those on earth, they would have committed against Him things far more outlandish and detestable than the Jews of that day. But since, because time did not permit it, they missed the opportunity to act so against Him, they pour out their wrath and indignation against the icon, toward which they act with madness, demonstrating the nature of their impiety. And they seem to me to cry out with great boldness that, if we had reached the times of the fathers, we would have fulfilled whatever they left undone, at once demonstrating our own strength and power in forcefully overcoming [the truth] and exposing their weakness and cowardice, by subjecting Christ to more severe tortures and insults—thus casting upon the fathers the crime of weakness and sloth, as if they had done nothing at all or very little against Christ. Wherefore it is now time that Christ, scourged and insulted by them, should say: *Ye are the children of them which killed the prophets*, and *fill ye up the measure of your fathers* 61.

[64]. We hear them saying, as they travail with hatred against Christ: "Christ is grievous to us, even when looked upon in an icon." To whom are these men to be likened? They say that panthers have a certain natural rage toward man, and that they are wont to leap especially into the eyes of men. Those, therefore, who wish to mock the fury of the beast, set before it on a paper an image as of a man; and it, with ^C great impetus, tears the paper as if it were a man, and therein demonstrates its hatred for man. Likewise, these men also demonstrate their hatred of Christ in the icon of Christ; for because they are unable to touch Him, not being present bodily, they are incited by their hatred of Him and leap upon the icon like panthers, tearing and destroying it. So it is that their fury against His likenesses provides proof that they are God-fighters and have declared war against Christ. To such a degree are the things of Christ and of Christians despised and trampled underfoot by them—customs, laws, and mysteries, and the tradition which has prevailed among Christians from above, noble for its antiquity, and therefore held in reverence by those who are of a sound mind. Now, what pious man, lover of God, and one nurtured in right religion, would not greatly groan and lament when he sees the holy houses and the divine altars violated and broken down, and despoiled of their own adornment? Altars, I say, dishonored and cast down, profaned by unholy hands, and shamefully cursed by tongues hostile to God. Just as if someone were to look upon the blooming, pleasant tresses of grass in its sprouting and green and graceful state being mown down, or the colorful and varied beauty of the cups rising in flowering gardens being harvested by those who pluck them: so here, too, can one behold, along with the ornament, the estimation and memory also taken away. For no account is held of a temple that is not adorned with an icon, as one of the holy and religious men said 62. Therefore, one might not absurdly say that these are like the mind to holy temples, and most especially appropriate,

just as are the sacrifices and prayers and all things performed in them. But against these profane men, let no one pray more fittingly than the holy Psalmist: "Lord, in Thy city" (signifying the Jerusalem above), "Thou shalt bring their image" (that is, their memory) "to nothing" ^A, since they have studied to erase Thy image and memory from Thy houses and from the custom of life. Moreover, let the same man continue to sing, lamenting these present calamities of ours: "O God, the nations have not come into Thy inheritance, but ones more senseless and hostile than the nations, and who strive to surpass them in wickedness against Thy saints; who, while bearing the priestly garb, but nevertheless hiding the wolf under the fleece, have defiled Thy holy sanctuary, and have filled Thy altars, O Lord of hosts, with deformity and disgrace." ^B

65. But let us see, if it pleases you, what is their purpose in this, and what is the cause why they have descended into such great wickedness and irreligion. They themselves say that they had worshipped foreign gods, condemning their own idolatry. Then, as if chanting a palinode so as not to appear to contradict themselves in the things which they previously did wrongly, and thus to remove from themselves the ignominy and loss, they dare to say what not even the demented would speak: that glory and honor are rather being acquired for the holy houses from this, as if they were performing a purging of idols, and as if they were scraping off and washing away their dishonor—in truth, curing a disease with a disease, and falling into a greater plunge of wickedness than before. For just as everyone who commits sin is ready for a defense, so everyone who is irreligious is ready to justify himself. For while putting on the mask of piety, they nevertheless uncover the face of impiety, while attacking our holy worship. For they labor to lie hidden from the many, so as to push away the opinion ^C of the scandalous, not knowing that they are bringing upon themselves heavier and more bitter punishments. Perhaps someone among them, being more moderate in his impiety, might say, putting forward an easy and specious excuse: "We are concerned to remove the icons from our midst, so that those who are perhaps too simple and rustic, being unlearned and not knowing what is proper, might not err concerning inanimate matter, stopping their mind at this, and imagining nothing beyond the object seen." ^D To whom the defenders of religion would rightly say: "If you were conducting yourself piously, and were preserving the holy things intact in a becoming manner, your speech would have some credibility. For it would have been necessary to teach and guide the ignorant, so that they might render the due honor and not stray beyond the bounds of honest duty and dignity. But nothing of this kind is done by you. For if you perceived that the icons were not being honored conveniently, it would have been your duty to honor them in a more correct way. For it does not follow that because the unlearned use sacred things badly—if we were to grant this—that they should therefore be despised. For neither because some people...

that celestial things ^A are poorly venerated, they oppose the creature to the Creator; for this reason they are to be castigated, not the works of God. But you, shamefully, violate them, crushing and breaking and trampling underfoot with your feet the holy things. Does your soul not burn within you while you burn sacred things? Is your mind not inflamed and melted? And while you impiously lay hands upon the altar, are you not struck with dread? From this it becomes clear that you fall back into a vicious circle, and like a dog return to your own vomit. And such is the character of their perversity and foolishness.

66. ^B Meanwhile, however, the argument of truth shines forth like light to the minds of men. For the holy images, through which the memory of the saints is refreshed for us, are both holy, and they aid and heap grace upon those who honor these holy things. Just as, conversely, the things of the impure are impure, and overwhelm men with impurity; for the effect of either matter is equal. Therefore, they honor the sacred images and do not stain them with ignominy, as a certain one of our theological Fathers has sublimely and divinely philosophized. We shall reveal how impious and absurd their discourse is from this point as well; saying first of all that which not even they, I think, would deny, unless by chance they have wandered entirely far from a right heart, mind, and duty. We say, therefore, that the law according to Moses was given by God to men as if it were a hedge of a middle wall, separating and dividing things that were in every way separated and stood at an infinite distance; and turning them away from the worse things, the harmful ones, and the abomination and vanity of falsely named gods, but transferring and converting them to better and incomparably higher things, teaching the knowledge of the truly existing God. And, for the time being, it permitted to the Hebrews the sacrifices of irrational animals on account of the weakness of those under the law, and their constant inclination toward the worse, and their long-established custom of immolating victims; but nevertheless, it fashioned them toward obedience and docility in such a way that, gradually excited to profess more perfect things, they might be changed toward a better and more godlike way of life.

But since the law perfected nothing, but rather ^D worked wrath on account of transgressions, not because of the gravity of the commandments, but because of the malice of those transgressing (for it was weak because all were under sin; rather, it led to the discernment of sin, whence the weakness of nature was rebuked, and the inclination toward sin), man therefore needed someone to perfect him and lead him to what is better. Therefore, what was impossible for the law, in that it was weak, God, by sending His own Son, condemned sin. For we have been justified in Christ through faith. For this, grace accomplished when the Word descended upon the earth and conversed with men through the flesh. Hence

^A we have been redeemed from sin and from every satanic error and artifice, and we have been freed from worshipping the creature instead of the Creator, and we have been taught to worship Him alone, the God of all, and to offer Him the worship and adoration that is fitting. Therefore, the grace in Christ has renewed in us the perfection and culmination of piety, fulfilling that which was lacking in the Law. "I came not," says Christ, "to destroy the law, but to fulfill." That which perfects is superior to that which is being perfected—this is surely obvious to everyone; for without any contradiction, the lesser is blessed by the greater, and among those who have served in these things, the one who excels in rank [is such] in proportion as the maker [is superior] to the work, or the builder to the house, and the potter to the clay. ^B For, "The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ," who made us His own children, "not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, but born of God in the Spirit," as John, the great voice of truth, proclaims.

67. To this, then, what do we say? This: if the law is holy, according to Paul's inspired declaration, and the commandment is holy, and these are seen to be far inferior to grace, how great then is grace itself! And if the law is exalted far above idolatry, how will grace, which far surpasses the law, be turned toward idolatry? And how will those who have received the power to become children of God endure the accusation of idolatry? The foolish did not wish to understand so that they might act well; but they seem to me to do something similar, as if someone, discoursing about the worldly elements, were to acknowledge the truth—setting down fire and water as extremes and opposed to one another in their qualities—assigning to the one heat and dryness, and to the other cold and moisture; yet inserting the air as a medium between these two extremes, partaking of both, being itself warm and moist. Then, thinking he is examining their qualities—in the way they either agree or differ among themselves—he were to reason ignorantly and foolishly, not attributing to each its own natural property, but gathering into one and the same [category] things that are utterly incompatible and irreconcilable, ^C and transferring things that dwell by definition in one extreme to the other, going beyond the bounds of the intermediate thing, attributing the qualities of fire to water, and imagining water to be hot and dry. Since, therefore, anyone doing such things would be most worthy of laughter, erring in a manifest and sensible matter, how much more ridiculous are those who attribute idolatry to divine grace, or rather, with what great impiety and atheism must they be deservedly thought to teem, while they injure our holy and immaculate religion—not in some minor part, but in the most essential matter, than which there is nothing more sublime! But, O divine justice, which nothing escapes, which nothing corrupts, and which sees through everything, observing all things visible and intellectual! O abyss of divine judgments ^D that is ineffable! O inscrutable patience and long-suffering of God! How long, I ask, [is] Thy wrath against

the impious, [which Thou] deferrest, [bearing with them] in the present? And when shall Thou pursue the sins committed against Thee by them, with deserved judgment, punishing their reckless deeds?

68. Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, and all the creation, attend: The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Very well. But if these things are holy, things that obscurely and narrowly, and as it were under a veil of the letter and shadows, display the divine knowledge to us with difficulty, how much holier and more divine will be the grace which is conferred upon us by God the Word? It is incomparably superior to the law, more clearly and more sublimely causing the manifestation of the Trinity to us in spirit and in truth, and delivering and unfolding the true and sincere knowledge and worship of the one and only God, and regenerating [us] into a better adoption through the Spirit, and clearly announcing the hope of the kingdom of heaven. But the enemies of grace label all these things as idolatry. Such, indeed, is the absurdity of their iniquity! Thus, having fallen into unwanted and vain things out of miserable counsels, they wander away from due reasoning! ^B Moreover, the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, with those annual sacrifices which were offered continually, could never make the offerers perfect; wherefore [they] were incessantly performed. But yet the law was holy, even if it could not make its followers perfect. And the commandment was holy, even though it held only a shadow of the future things, not the very image of the things. But the things themselves, of which the law was a shadow—that is, the grace and the truth which came through Jesus Christ—what are they, [let] the new Gentiles prattle. Then, the law perfected nothing, but [it] was holy; but Christ, who by one oblation has perfected forever those who are sanctified (for He is the perfecter of our faith, in whom we look) ^C — what? [Let] the new Jews crucify Him.

Let us see what follows. But we must return again to the words of Paul, and let us contemplate as accurately as possible how much more sublime and excellent our own worship is than [that] of the priests under the law and those who serve among them. For the priests established under the law, since they themselves were also encompassed ^D with infirmity, being human, were offering the prescribed sacrifices not for the people only, but also for themselves. But our own High Priest and Apostle of our confession has no need, as they did, to do this first daily for his own sins, then for those of the people; for He did this once, offering Himself, and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens; a forerunner having entered for us into the interior of the veil, having become a High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. And they, indeed, were many, because they were prevented by death from remaining; but He, because He remains forever, has an unchanging priesthood, whence He is able to save in

every way those who approach God through Him. And they, indeed, served as an example and shadow of heavenly things, and entered into the holy places year by year with the blood of others; but He has obtained a more excellent ministry, to the extent that He is the mediator of a better covenant, and high priest of the good things to come, having entered once into the Holy of Holies, not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, having found an eternal redemption. For He Himself was both priest and victim. And thus He revealed the holy things to us, opening the heavenly gates to all, making them accessible, easily approached, and indeed penetrable.

How great, therefore, is the difference between the persons, namely, of Christ and of Aaron, who differ entirely from one another! And between whom there is an immense and infinite interval! There the blood of irrational animals was offered; here the blood of the immaculate Lamb, who takes away the sin of the world, is offered. Furthermore, there is a difference in the covenants and the tabernacle; for those were temporal and hand-made, and to be consumed by time, possessing no stability, and, to say nothing more, they are already outmoded and aged, and therefore also abolished; but these are neither hand-made nor temporal, but perpetual and everlasting, renewed and refreshed always, never ceasing, nor to be diminished or corrupted. It remains that the worship and the sacrifices also differ: for those were denser and more carnal, and as in figures they were etching and describing in advance the future things and the truth itself, not yet having received perfection. But our sacred rites, performed in spirit and truth, perfect those who offer to God the sacrifice of praise, through which they cry out without ceasing, "Abba, Father." For if there had been, he says, perfection in the Levitical priesthood (for the people were given the law under it), there would have been no need for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek; since the law perfected nothing, but was the introduction of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. Nor could sacrifices or offerings perfect the worshipper according to the conscience. Then, the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer, when sprinkled upon the defiled, sanctify as far as the purification of the flesh is concerned. But the blood of Christ, which cleanses the conscience from dead works for the sake of serving the living and true God, what, pray, will it be considered by the enemies? ^D Does it neither sanctify nor cleanse? Unquestionably they will dare to say this, carrying an impure conscience and being dead in their works: "His blood be upon us and upon our children." Let these people say and do these things; we, however, shall proceed to the rest of the discourse.

^A 69. The first tabernacle, he says, also had ordinances of divine service. What were these, and what were they like? It had a lampstand, and a table, and the showbread. And what was it called? The Holy Place. But what is our tabernacle, and how is it named by the enemies of the grace of Christ? It is, of course, far better and holier than that one. For what else is one to say, except that it excels in dignity to the extent that truth excels figures and shadows, and that the mediator of the one excels the mediator of the other? But how is our tabernacle named by these people? Certainly not "holy"—oh, the blasphemy!—but rather "abominable" and "unclean," and they say it does not possess ordinances of divine service, but the appearance of idolatry. Such are the daring assertions of those tongues hostile to God, which do not even count the grace of Christ equal in honor to the Law, but deem it among the basest and most abominable things. ^B And yet, there the mediator and minister was Moses, the servant and attendant, whereas here it is the Master of Moses and the Lord of all, the Minister of the holy things and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man; He who both gave the law there as God, and here became the same mediator as man, having become like us. And there the high priest was Aaron and those around Aaron, but here it is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the first and great High Priest, as we confess and believe. And the lampstand there, fashioned of gold, was shining for those still in the shadow and the law; but here is the true light that comes into the world, which is indeed pursued by the darkness but is not overtaken; but it illuminates every man coming into the world, ^C and shines upon those who walk in the light and in the radiance of grace. The table there was wrought of incorruptible woods and overlaid with pure gold; but here it is made of material more precious among us, yet sanctified by the divine victim Himself and illuminated by the Holy Spirit, in which the mysteries of worship in spirit and in truth are performed. And each of the faithful could make his own heart, if he but scrupulously sweep and cleanse it, a spiritual table, so that he may purely receive the Word when He arrives, resting intellectually within it and being mystically eaten. And the bread there was unleavened, partaken of with bitter herbs by those commanded to eat them during the typical Passover, seasoned, as it were, with that herb as a kind of relish. But here, the Word who descended from heaven, and who bestows upon men the food of immortality, ^D through whom they partake of eternal life; He who leavened our own mass within Himself, and immutably transmuted it to the splendor of His own divinity. And there was the sacrifice and slaughter of irrational animals, whose blood was sprinkled upon those present, and was poured out for the purification and cleansing of the body; and to those offering bulls or sheep, portions were assigned to fulfill the duty of the ordinances. But here is the excellent sacrifice offered for us, with whose immaculate and precious blood we are sealed, and are cleansed of every stain and defilement of soul and body. If, therefore, the symbols are holy, how then are the realities themselves, of which those things are symbols, not entirely holy—

remoter and more holy than all things? But since the foolish have not understood, nor do they know how to say what communion Christ has with Belial, or light with darkness, or what agreement the temple of God has with idols (for they have not yet cared for the most direct faith of ours, or for the correctness of the dogmas handed down to us by our fathers, or for the study of the divinely inspired Scriptures), for this reason they do not fear to call our shrine of healing an idol-temple. But let us return to the tabernacle and proceed. ^B "And after the second veil," he says, "was the tabernacle, in which, besides the other things, were the ark and the mercy seat, they also fashioned from incorruptible wood. They were covered with the purest gold and were called the Holy of Holies." But our own tabernacle is holier and more divine than those Holy of Holies; for in the place of the ark it contains the all-holy and life-giving flesh of our Savior Christ, which was typologically prefigured by that ark of incorruptible wood, through which our sinlessness is signified as in a shadow, and the fact that we have been translated to immortality and impassibility—since, united by the power of the Word, who destroyed death and took away corruption, having conferred with the regions of Hades, it appeared superior to death, and although placed in corruptible places, it brought back the glory of incorruptibility from thence; and, like the most transparent gold, covered and brightened by the divinity substantially united to it. And again, God the Father set Christ himself before us as the mercy seat; for he himself is our propitiation. For so the Father loved us, and sent his Son as a propitiation for our sins. But what are these things to those whose minds are corrupt, and who carry a soul dead in sin? Honor is often to be paid with reverence and fear and silence regarding holy things. Yet let them speak out of their customary audacity. But come, having been brought to this place, it has seemed to me not foreign to add to this discourse—even if some should think it to be done a little outside the proposal—a few things regarding those things which were in the tabernacle, which will refute the stupidity and impiety of the foolish, and will appear to provide support for the faithful and the truth.

^C 70. It is said, therefore, by the Apostle, that above the ark the Cherubim of glory were overshadowing the mercy seat. To this, the speech of some opponent might object and say: "What are you saying, O Paul? Are these the Cherubim? And of whom do we hear these to be? Are they those who have received from God the preeminent and immediate rank and order among the blessed and supercelestial governors, so that a truly just and magnificent tribute of glory is rendered to them, as those near to God, and principally shining from thence, and adorned with that immaterial and excellent splendor?" You would not say so at all. What then will they be? If it is your will, say it openly and make these [matters] clear for us.

^A Lead our thick, material, and earth-bound intellect toward, so far as is possible for us, the simple and divine contemplations, from which your own rapture and ascent even to the third heaven gave you initiation. Or perhaps something even more divine and higher than what was shown to Moses itself was revealed, which, shining upon your own divinely-taught disciples, you have left as a more excellent instruction for those who have the strength to grasp the knowledge of such great things? For you would speak, we well know, in some such way as this: that the divine Cherubim, as regards their nature, are without form and are least of all naturally subject to be seen by human eyes; yet they are incorporeal and most holy powers, standing around God, the first to be irradiated by God, the ministers of the first brilliance, intellectual spirits, or fire, as it were, immaterial and incorporeal—"For He makes," says the Psalmist, "His angels spirits, and His ministers a burning fire" (Ps. CIII, 4). For this is asserted commonly and in the same way of all the heavenly powers, which have by the benefit of the Creator, as their own nature, that they are immortal and not subject to destruction. But those flying above ^B the Ark, which shade the mercy-seat with the shadow of their wings, are material in substance and are bodies; for they are made of the purest gold, hammered and turned on a lathe, and by human hands, with wisdom from above and the skill of the craftsman, they are very well fashioned, adorned with noble and well-wrought plates. Therefore, they have been granted many varieties of... ^C plates; for which reason they have obtained many differentiations.

You might add, to embellish the argument elegantly, that those beings to whom the name properly belongs are intellectual and intelligible substances, which have from the supreme and all-originating Cause, a sempiternal and intellectual life, essence-wise partaking of this in the very act of understanding; they are intellectual powers, hypostatic energies, and supramundane minds, conceived of by their immateriality, impassibility, and incorporeality, and they understand everything beyond mundane limits, simply and under one form, all that irradiates from God, at the same time and in one glance of the mind. Furthermore, it is handed down ^D that they are "many-eyed," because they are turned toward God and contemplate immediately what is continually revealed to them from Him. But being simple and formless, they are above and incapable of shape and figure. Since they are conceived as immaterial and incorporeal, they possess no dimension and are intangible; they have no quantity, magnitude, or quality, and on that account are exempt from corruption and entirely immune to being changed in any way. But those Cherubim set up in the tabernacle, fashioned of gold, are neither minds, nor are they intellectual, nor do they think, nor have they a share in sense perception, nor are they any of these things. They lack life and any kind of power and energy; but they are bodies and are material, even if the plate happens to be of the purest and most translucent matter; and being bodies made of matter and form, they naturally and...

fitly acquire shape and figure, whence they are not exempt from corruption and change. And having triple dimension, they are bounded and defined by bulk and size.

^A Furthermore, there is also motion in the most holy Cherubim; for they are in motion while they exercise their intellect, and being intently and unwaveringly directed toward divine love, they possess the ever-moving and incomprehensible, and they hold an inflexible yearning toward God, and they receive the splendors of the primary radiance immediately and in an archetypal manner. They also move toward one another without confusion and depart from one another, and they proceed even toward the things beneath them for the sake of providence and beneficence; for they turn toward those who are in need, and act as guides and leaders toward things more divine and exalted. Yet there is also stillness in them, by being established and turned immovably toward God, and by not departing from their own godlike disposition and constancy, but remaining in sameness, revolving around the same and ever-existing good. But to these [material images] there pertains not even the slightest motion, nor is there in them any procession, neither intellectual nor sensory, nor yearning, nor impulse, nor will. On the contrary, they are immovable and fixed, and have need of external forces to be moved. They stand, therefore, where they have been established and placed; nor did they secure this position for themselves, for they are inanimate and devoid of sense, and they require a human being to install and fix them wherever he may choose.

^B Now, in the true Cherubim there is also a word; for they are truly endowed with word—not as our word is, which proceeds from the natural and vital spirit within us, articulated through the organs of speech, formed by the percussion of the air, and carried to the hearing for the perception and reception of the listeners; but because, being immaterial, incomposite, simple, and incorporeal, they revolve within one another, and mutually recognize one another’s thoughts, and communicate with one another in a silent word more intelligibly than occurs through any other external speech.

^C But these of ours, because they consist of a golden plate and of inanimate and irrational matter, are irrational; and if we wish to reason concerning them, we would seem irrational. Those partake abundantly of the divine light and are refined as far as possible into the divine image and likeness, extending themselves intellectually and in a-cosmic fashion toward the resemblance of the divine archetype. ^D But these [images] partake only of that splendor which their matter possesses, yet they have a form unlike the archetype. And in those [Cherubim], the name itself demonstrates an eminence of knowledge second to no created being, as well as a wisdom overflowing on account of the rich fountain from the divine source, from which also the contemplation of [things]...

^A of light and the height of knowledge expands, as they are drawn upward in a God-like manner, and they are always overwhelmed by the divine and super-beautiful light. From this, the initiation of the scientific doctrines proceeding from the Godhead to those below also shines upon them first; and, by becoming partakers of theurgic knowledge as far as is lawful, they know many of the divine and most exalted things in a transcendent way; and their food is the radiance of the simple and blessed illuminations, which shines upon them proximately and primarily from the super-luminous ray. And they already occupy the rank of the orders of all the most exalted super-mundane minds, since they are most god-like. Hence, also, they become partakers in the first instance of theological knowledge from the super-substantiality of the Godhead, and then convey it in order to those beneath them. They are, therefore, revealers of the divine silence, manifesting within themselves the ineffability of that super-substantial hiddenness; and they hymn unceasingly and without silence the divine goodness, that venerable and thrice-resplendent melody of theology. But as for these [images], since they are hand-made, they have received the mere name alone; but they have not shared in the memory, nor the knowledge, nor all the other things that have been mentioned. Moreover, those [heavenly powers] are images of the Godhead, manifesting in themselves the hidden and invisible light, and being assimilated to the God-like [nature] as is lawful, and receiving the whole ray of divine light in a god-like manner—being in this by participation, subsequently, that which [He] is by essence who uniquely communicates it. They are truly secondary lights, most loving to humanity, of an optimal appearance, pure and immaculate splendors of the primary light, excellently displaying the likeness of the first most-resplendent appearance. And indeed, they also know not only their own intellectual ^C [things], but also comprehend the things in the realm of sense—not through the senses, but intellectually—according to the knowledge of the God-like power inherent in them, perceiving the things known immaterially and intellectually. But these [material images] are made of gold; they are images of images, utterly faint and dissimilar, and fall far short of the paradigmatic cause. And they know absolutely nothing. For how could they, being such as they are and in such a state? Even if they be highly wrought and polished, and send forth clear splendors and brilliance with scintillating rays. Whence, therefore, and for what reason are these called Cherubim by you, since they partake in no substantial way of those super-mundane powers? ^D

It is not my speech, I say, nor was such a designation first discovered or applied to them by me. It is the voice of Moses, the one who saw God and the lawgiver; it has been recorded long ago, and possesses that antiquity which is witnessed to by the Holy Scriptures, which easily create belief in it. But if one must speak more truly, it is the voice of God commanding His own servant, at the time when He was delineating and showing him the structure of that ancient tabernacle. For because the tabernacle possessed certain faint imitations and shadowy likenesses, expressed in figures, of some of the heavenly orders and of the worlds above, for "See," He says, "that you make all things..."

according to the pattern shown to you on the mountain." So that the Lord, the God of all, might also be seen in the Cherubim, and just as they, being illuminated directly and primarily, fulfill their ministries in the heavens in a servile manner and communicate the beneficent flows of divine Providence to those beneath them, in the same way also, among these earthly things, by the imitation of those to whom they are likened, it is found by divine indulgence to be done. This was cared for by the lawgiver, and for this reason that piece of work was ordained. For thence he received visions, he who became capable of seeing God. For already the care of administering the people had been committed to him, and he bore the leadership and guardianship of the nation, being trusted with it. It is written, therefore, in the commands issued after the ark was built, in the sacred book which has the title of the Exodus of the sons of Israel, thus as God commands: "And you shall make a mercy seat, a lid of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two golden ^A Cherubim, hammered work, and you shall place them on both sides of the mercy seat. One Cherub shall be on this side, and one Cherub shall be on the other side of the mercy seat. You shall make, I say, both Cherubim on its sides. And the Cherubim shall extend their wings upward, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look at one another. You shall place the mercy seat upon the ark, and in the ark the testimonies which I will give you. Thence I will make Myself known to you, and I will speak to you from above the mercy seat, from the midst of the two Cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, according to all things which I shall command you for the sons of Israel."

Let the deaf open their ears, let the senseless turn their minds. These are the voices and commands of God. There is no ground for them to say: "This was the work of Moses, human thoughts, the handiwork of our art"; for it was done by the will and command of God. Who would doubt this? Let them see indeed that there is no enigma here, nothing obscure, nothing oblique or placed in allegories. These, inanimate and void of sense, entirely immobile, composed of inanimate and irrational matter, superior only by the carving and splendor and the purity of the material and the wisdom of the craftsman; these, I say, the God of all deemed worthy of the name of the most holy Cherubim, the living and active and ever-moving powers. He did not call them icons of the Cherubim, nor likenesses, nor expressed figures, but the commanding God used the very same name, and in a pure and clear word named them Cherubim. Let it strike shame into the incredulous and those refusing ^D to follow the truth of the words, that the name of the Cherubim is used and pronounced seven times in this place, and in that honorable [word] according to the inspired Scripture...

and this is glorified; so that, both through the guarantor of the necessity and through the importance of the number, the matter may be inviolable from both sides. If, therefore, these wretched men reject the institutions of the Christians, let them at least imitate the Jews, lest they appear even more unbelieving and stubborn than them. For the Jews never dared to dishonor these by the name of idols, even though they were often forgetful of divine religion and worshipped idols, deceived by error. ^A These, I say, were altogether honorable and venerable among them; indeed, so venerable that no mortal would approach these holy things out of fear and reverence; for the priests always entered the first part of the tabernacle to perform the sacred rites, because this part was easily accessible to many. However, the inner sanctuary beyond that could be trodden by no foot, except that it was permitted for the high priest to enter once a year in order to perform the legal rites there.

Therefore, these most holy powers are represented by divine command. For this reason, those golden Cherubim established over the mercy seat are called by the same name as the holy archetypes; and rightly are they set before us as forms of those things that lack form, and figures of those that are not figured. So that it should be rightly said, according to our God-taught Fathers and illustrious leaders of the Church, that since our proportion is incapable of grasping intellectual ^B theories without an intermediary, and needs proper and natural introductions that show us comprehensible forms of things without form and supernatural [things], it is indeed a benefit of divine goodness and paternal providence towards us that it demonstrates the blessedness of the supercelestial powers through figured symbols, raising our mind, using material guidance, to the imitation and contemplation of their properties as far as is possible.

“But,” the adversaries say, “let it be granted that the Cherubim of the tabernacle received their naming from God; whence, however, will the majesty of glory be attributed to them?” Primo, indeed, ^C because it is the commandment of God; and whatever God commands or does, that is venerable: for nothing proceeds from Him in vain or idly. Anyone can find this expressed in the very creation of the world: “For God saw,” he says, “and behold, all things were very good.” Then, how are these not glorified, from whence God appears and is known? For what is more glorious than the divine station? Or what is more illustrious than the places in which He Himself resides in the manner He wills? Whence were the glory and reverence of Mount Sinai, and the interdiction of approaching it, brought about? Why did Moses, while he happened to touch the ground trodden by God, hear: “The place in which you stand is holy ground”? ^D Being commanded at the same time to cast off his earthly and carnal things, which the removal of his shoes showed among other things.

^A 71. Why, to pass over other matters, are the holy places in Jerusalem, in which the Savior dwelt and performed those great divine works and endured the passion for us, lovely and most desirable to all of us? But that the name also, when imposed upon certain things, can impart nobility and grace, let us hear the Lord in the Gospels saying: *He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.* Therefore, since the Cherubim also bear the same name as those heavenly ones, they also share in their glory. Let these profane and unlearned men learn the grace and efficacy contracted by the power of a name. For thus also our divine temples and buildings are glorious and venerable, because they are dedicated to God, and because His name is invoked in them, while at the same time the memory of the saints established in each of them accompanies them. It must also be remarked that, if even those things placed in a lower station, namely in the first part of the tabernacle, were nevertheless called Holy, while others stored further within were called Holy of Holies, and these existed together with them and were numbered with them, in how much better a place will they be held and in what glory will they be? But if the heirs of ignominy contradict these things, it only remains for them not to believe that even the face of Moses was glorified.

To whom therefore should we give credence? To Moses and Paul, who were deemed worthy of seeing God and to whom the mysteries of sublime theology were entrusted, or to those who speak from the dunghill false and foul-smelling ravings, and reckless abortions cast forth from a degenerate mind like the rumblings of madmen? If therefore they do not believe Paul, speaking thus about these things, they are not Christians; if not even Moses, then not as Hebrews; if finally not even God Himself, then not as Greeks or Barbarians; but they are far more irreligious and godless than all ^C these. We have discussed these things as if in summary. For already some of those who have apostatized from the faith, after these things were taken up by the pious as a pattern of the image of our Savior, have not hesitated to revile and despise them, being hateful to God, pouring out many curses, and overwhelming things commanded by God with every kind of mockery and insult. If, therefore, the representations of servants—of the divine Cherubim, I say, for even these are servants of God and creatures, as held by the great Apostle and all those imbued with the right religion—if, I say, these are glorious and are called so in the aforementioned ways, tell us, you foolish men, why the sacred image of the Ruler of all, who is also the Lord of the Cherubim and the master of the entire creation, shall be rejected or despised? Or rather, why shall it not be held in the highest honor and glory? For truly, he who performs the honor due to a greater object...

^A while neither rendering that which is due to the lesser, what weight of accusation is he not worthy of? How is he not filled with the ultimate folly? These are thoughts that not even those who are childish in mind and lisping in speech, and who do not know how to speak aright, would have entertained. And yet, to fill it with every kind of dishonor, not even those overcome by the disease of morbid melancholy would have done.

And yet, the divine Cherubim, being simple and immaterial, without any shape or form, and therefore incorporeal, cannot by their own nature be circumscribed in a sensible place, as we have already said before. For if anyone hears that the divine angels at some time appeared in a body, let him suppose nothing else than that they appeared thus patterned symbolically, insofar as they were occupied with the ministry committed to them for the sake of those who dwell on earth, because they are endowed with an invisible nature. For this reason also, they are said to exist in a place, in that they do not ^B give oracles or work elsewhere; for to be everywhere is proper only to the divine nature, which is inaccessible to all understanding. Yet this does not prevent the angels from being incorporeal. Nor, certainly, ought one to imagine that the substance of the supermundane powers is to be expressed in certain bestial or wild forms, or in winged birds. And yet, by divine movements—because God, in whose sight all things are easy and light, so willed it—they were both described and depicted.

Christ our God, who clothed Himself in our poverty and wore this thick and material ^C flesh taken from the earth—our body of humiliation—having united to Himself the form of a servant, which is a corruptible, depictable, and circumscribable nature, why shall He not be depicted and circumscribed? Insofar, therefore, as He appeared as a man like us, and was manifested in the body to those on earth, and dwelt among us, He is both depicted and portrayed. No method at all can be conceived by which the flesh, once united to Him hypostatically, could be separated or divided from His divinity by reason of being depicted, however much these fools rave to infinity. For what reason would force this? Indeed, it will never be demonstrated that this can happen naturally. Or else it would follow that the Word, by necessity, would suffer as the flesh suffers, and would be circumcised when it is circumcised, and would die with it, and would suffer all other things that are proper to a passible and mortal nature on account of the union. What could be more irrational or impious than this? Either let them invent a nature ^D taken by Him that is different from ours, so that, sharing in no way with Him, salvation would become hopeless and impossible for them; or let these demented men dogmatize a phantastic and feigned economy according to the ravings of the Manichaeans, which they pursue, thereby completely discarding it. What then? Is it not the case among all orthodox Christians, who know how to live piously, that from the very beginning of the divine manifestation and the saving incarnation, Christ is depicted and por-

- ^A trayed, as the very facts and the truth itself demonstrate? The length of time that has passed also bears witness to this, as does the infinite multitude of those who have painted and have been painted, set before the eyes of all most piously and with the greatest decorum, almost clearly calling out to the ears of all the kindness which the Savior has wrought for us, manifesting the mystery of his economy and condescension, and teaching no less than the holy Gospel, while proclaiming the noble deeds of the saints and their admirable struggles, and publicly rebuking the ignorance and unbelief of those who reject these things. For all things are open to those who understand, and right to those who have found knowledge.

^B And who is so miserable and blinded in soul, and so stupid, as to wish to contradict a truth so clear and so pellucid? And how, after an image has obtained such an appellation—that of an image of Christ—is it not to be venerated and glorified? For it is by no means absurd to designate this with the name of Christ, just as those Cherubim were designated. For what reason forbids one from naming it so? For when the name of Christ comes to those who behold it, it possesses the very resemblance of his form, as much as the hand of the painter can reach by its own talent and the aids of the painter’s art. To us, indeed, even the golden Cherubim are to be honored according to the apostolic voice, and the discourse concerning them shall be brief and circumscribed in this place. But that discourse ^C regarding these foolish men is still vigorous and flourishing and will proceed further. For one may truly and very deservedly be astonished here also at the magnitude of their folly and madness, that neither the very nature and evidence of the facts, nor things which are harmoniously acknowledged by all and are in no way ambiguous to the common sense, have yet persuaded them to the necessary consensus. For if there were any soundness of opinion in them, and if they could break through the thickness of their ignorance, it would be necessary for them, as they cogitate upon this subject, to recognize the truth from the things that are openly manifest and fall under the sense of all, and to embrace the right opinion. For just as it is possible to see sketches that are much inferior not only to the archetypes but even to colored paintings and those having decorative grace from splendid and vivid dyes, so if we place in comparison the Cherubim that are viewed only ^D relatively, and, using a certain analogy, consider that they possess only a legal shadow and not the icon of the things themselves, and yet that they are honorable and holy according to apostolic doctrine, why should these things of ours—our holy images, I say—which contain more and which bear the truth itself within them, why should they not be much more honorable and glorious? But these foolish men do not deem them worthy even of the same honor as those ancient things. So far are they from the choice of a better and useful opinion! Since indeed they even absurdly rejoice in the choice of opposite things. These, forsooth, hindered by their own folly and error, compare

^A themselves to those walking in deep darkness along a rough, steep, and thorny path strewn with brambles—people to whom it happens that, being inexperienced, they are caught in the dangers of blindness and unbearable pains. So too, these men, shrouded in the darkness of disbelief and ignorance, and stumbling upon many impediments of blasphemy and insults—which, like stones, these wretches cast against the incarnation of the Savior—undoubtedly wound their own souls with the stings of sin, insofar as they are blinded to the most righteous dogmas of the true religion, and are clearly pierced.

^B 72. But let what concerns Moses and the ancients have its endpoint; for I shall now pass on to other matters, many centuries later, in the flourishing times of the Jews. The temple of Solomon was glorious; who would deny it? Since it was the house of God and built at His command. What, I ask, was this most ornate and famous edifice of that wise and powerful king? For how could the work of Solomon be otherwise? Using great munificence, wealth, and expense, he devoted himself to endeavors worthy of his own fame and glory. Then, after that [temple] was destroyed, the one that was raised up afterward appeared more illustrious than the others in glory and the majesty of its structure; ^C as the prophetic word indeed testifies: *For the glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former,* it says, *and in this place I will give peace, saith the Lord Almighty, and peace of soul for the acquisition of everyone building [it], for the sake of raising up this temple.* The divine prophet, having spoken thus and using a comparative figure of speech, taught us, confirming that the structure of the former temple was also glorious.

For after the ancient people of Israel had turned mad and sinned against their Creator and benefactor God, neglecting the ordinances given to them by Moses and choosing for themselves a way of life that was wicked and inconsistent with God, ^D instead of that which was ordained by law, they grieved the divine justice and therefore experienced the troublesome effects of heavenly wrath, and paid the penalties for their sins. For enemies, attacking at various times, plundered the cities along with their inhabitants. Therefore, being placed under barbarian enemies and removed from their ancestral rites, they were forced as captives to inhabit a foreign land. They paid the ultimate penalty when the Babylonians invaded them, and that conspicuous and famous city was overturned after its conquest, and its most beautiful and excellent buildings became a prey to barbarian fire; both the royal palaces and the renowned temple of Solomon were destroyed together, and their holy things were torn apart by the profane hands of the enemy. Nevertheless, having obtained divine clemency, when the captives had already finished the times of captivity predetermined for them from above, they were released from their chains, recovered their freedom, returned safely to their native soil, and were led by their own leaders and princes according to the preceding prophecies; at which time also Zerubbabel

^A son of Salathiel, and Jesus, son of Josedec, who was called the great high priest, were presiding over the people. Then, therefore, commandment was given to them by God through the prophetic voice, to rouse themselves with every zeal and alacrity, and to rebuild both the city and the temple. And indeed the things commanded were straightway accomplished without delay in a continuous course, as time favored, and the liberality of the Persians provided resources, and the zeal of those striving for the construction was fervent, as men who had recently received back their dear fatherland. That temple, therefore, was perfected in such a way, and was held in admiration as the only one of the nation, and Jews from all over the world flocked to it, and there sacrifices were performed, and the worship of the whole religion was enclosed within it, just as the law of Moses ordained. But the things performed therein were nothing but the slaughter of brute animals, the effusion of blood, the purification by sprinkling, and the ashes of a heifer cleansing the defiled. For they were serving the crassness of the letter, and did not at that time attend to the contemplation of the Spirit, and yet it was glorified. ^B

73. But let us again consider what these things of ours are, and how they are regarded by the enemies of the truth. For when the time came, wherein the divine grace of our Savior Christ appeared, and the holy of holies was dissolved by those who crucified Him, and rose again after three days, and the whole purpose regarding the divine economy was accomplished, the old things passed away and new things were introduced; the shadow receded, the truth succeeded (for those things were figures and premonitions of this). The temple is gone, the glory has ceased, the worship has reached its end, the law of sacrifices has been abolished, the victims of brute animals have been removed, the shedding of blood has ceased, the unpleasantness of the smoke and the odor of burnt offerings has vanished; and to say everything at once, those ancient things have been rendered obsolete and are consumed by age. But that which is being rendered obsolete and growing old, it is not obscure to what it has approached, since the new victim is sacrificed, which is ^C brought in instead of all and above all, and the precious blood of the immaculate Lamb is brought in, poured out for the salvation of all—the former rites, I say, have been silenced and have vanished. But if those old things, now destroyed, yet abounded in glory, those which are according to the recent grace and truth, which has abolished those ancient things, how are they not more illustrious and by far excelling in glory and veneration? But the princes of the madness of idolatry, moved by their own deception and ignorance, in their folly do not even deign to compare these with those, but turning diametrically away from the truth, are carried off, most inconsiderately driven toward their own familiar and beloved error of falsehood. For as to our own temples, what need is there to speak? How many and how great they are, some of which prove by their beauty and size that they surpass that ancient one—things which are subject to the eyes and scattered throughout the whole world—the multitude of which, if anyone should desire to grasp it by number...

would feel as though he were counting the sand of the sea or tracing the surging waves. But as to how plentifully and abundantly they shine with grace and holiness, it is not even permitted to compare them with that former era. The truth of the facts itself reveals this. Yet these men are entirely ignorant of such sublime things—things more glorious than the glorious, and more wondrous than the wondrous. But why, or how, is this? It is because they do not distinguish between the holy and the profane, nor do they understand that there is no agreement between the temple of God and idols, nor fellowship between light and darkness. Therefore, they are overwhelmed by their own iniquity and impiety; they have devised and spoken wickedness, and have spoken iniquity against the Most High ^A, breathing forth into the world nothing more than the vile disease of pleasure, or shamelessly raving with their tongues in their love of idols; closing their ears to every honest counsel, they refuse to hear even the evangelical words with which the Savior rebuked the Pharisees and their disciples on account of their legal observances, saying: "Have you not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? But I say to you, that in this place is One greater than the temple ^B." Likewise: "The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold, more than Jonas is here. And the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, more than Solomon is here ^C."

74. It must be noted first that the "more than" added to each of these statements does not convey any local notion, but denotes rather how much the new things accomplished by our Savior Jesus Christ through His incarnation excel and stand preeminent; and how incomparable they are to those wondrous things that existed under Solomon and the other ancients; and finally, by what great excellence of the facts themselves they are shown to be far superior. What is meant by this "more" and this "distinctiveness" has just been stated. For through these, the divine mysteries of the dispensation are delivered to us, the heavenly is revealed to those on earth, the grace of adoption is brought forth, the kingdom of heaven is established within us, and every idolatrous and diabolical deception is banished from everywhere. And what else is this, but God with men? What could be greater or more sublime than this? And if one considers the place, what could be better or more divine than that where God is present in the flesh ^D? None of those ancient things ever possessed these qualities. But even though these things are as they are—if I may say so, things even more wondrous than the wondrous—it is nonetheless unbelievable how many and how great are the things newly devised and cast about by the enemies of the Gospel. Truly, these men once again fight against God, they hold the mystery of the incarnation up to mockery, they disregard the head of our salvation and ir-

- ridiculously rail against it; let them be the ones to enjoy such insults. For they keep their own souls filled with idolatrous deception. Most worthily and justly, therefore, will they be considered an unbelieving and adulterous generation, inasmuch as they possess a judgment and disbelief that is a friend and sister to the shamelessness and madness of the Pharisees. For if those old and prior things were honorable, how is it that it was not fitting for these new things of ours—which are better and more excellent than all others—to obtain approval and be deemed worthy of glory and honor, such as they do indeed deserve and receive from truly religious men? It is also worth observing that that old house was built by divine decree, even though it was previously neglected in an unholy manner by those who had been saved.

^B Let us see, then, what the God of all seems to think as He looks upon that old house lying in ruins and leveled to the ground. He cries out greatly against the Jews for their neglect of the construction; He castigates them through the prophet; He binds them with harsh threats. And what are these? To have mentioned a few while leaving most aside is not considered to be far from the purpose. For it is written thus: "Therefore, thus says the Lord Almighty: Because my house is deserted, and you hurry, each one to his own house, for this reason the heaven shall withhold its dew, and the earth shall withdraw its produce. And I shall bring the sword upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the wheat, and upon the wine, and upon the oil, and whatever the ground brings forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labors of your hands." And Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Judah, and Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest, and all the remainder of the people heard the voice of the Lord their God and the words of the prophet Aggaeus, just as the Lord their God had sent him to them; and the people feared before the face of the Lord. And Aggaeus said, "I am a messenger of the Lord to the people, says the Lord." And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Judah, and the spirit of Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest, and the spirit of all the rest of the people; and they came and did the works in the house of the Lord Almighty.

^D And these threats were indeed intended for the men of old who were sluggish regarding the work of the temple, while other promises were made to those who later applied themselves zealously to it. But now, what will happen to them who are so far from striving to build that they hasten rather to devastate and tear down what has been built splendidly, ornately, and piously? And this is not for one temple only, but for countless ones; not a temple filled with bloody sacrifices, redolent with incense and hearth-cakes and the vapors of fat, which served legal rites and...

were handed down to those who were still carnal and bound by the love of earthly things; but our temples [are] redolent with spiritual worship and sacrifices of praise, in which God delights, ^A which are assigned to those led by the Spirit of God and who are devoted to heavenly things. If, therefore, God is angry and threatens those Jews who committed lesser sins, how will He not be enraged as an avenger against those who are caught in greater sins and offenses, and will He not subject them to more numerous and more severe penalties? For in similar ways, through other holy prophets, the universal God reproves those who neglect the ministry of the divine house; from which it is manifest that the birth of clouds is hindered, the earth becomes barren, popular tumults are stirred up, and punishing force is wielded in the same way, as is the sword that slays, such as are wont to happen in civil sedition and the incursion of enemies. At this, the proverbial utterance also ^B groans opportunely: «O you who rejoice in evils, and take delight in wicked perversity!» (Prov. II, 14.)

75. But let us now come to the climax of their God-opposing opinion. And what indeed is this? It is that they strip the Lord of glory, Christ our God, of the dignity of divinity, and openly cast Him out from the glory of the Father, and allow Him to be only a simple man and one of our own number; preaching that we are in no way helped or saved by His divine humanization, nor delivered from the ancient curse, and freed from the deception ^C and dominion of the devil, but that we are still ensnared in our former seduction, and addicted to the worship of idols, and finally still laboring under the ignorance of the Creator. For they are again overshadowed by such darkness of impiety, and they trip themselves up over the miserable phantom of the uncircumscribed, so that, falling away entirely from the saving profession of faith, they in some one way sin against the sum of the true faith; and indeed by one of three [claims], namely that Christ either did not know, or did not wish, or was not able to bring salvation; any one of which, if it be uttered concerning Christ, is an injury to the majesty of the divinity. For if He be deprived of one of ^D these, He is not God. But these dicta do not stop the blasphemy even at the Only-Begotten himself, but run on to the supreme God and Father himself, and indeed also to the Holy Spirit, as is consistent. For it pleased the Father that the Word should incline toward men, and the Spirit cooperated with Him. Yet the Father’s good pleasure would have been rejected, the Spirit’s cooperation would have been ineffectual, and finally the apostolic preaching would have been extinguished. Moreover, for these things even to be admitted into the mind would be a sign of the highest atheism, let alone to confess or teach them.

76. But since there are many absurdities appearing from this (for the impiety is truly vast and excessive), we will omit the many and speak only of a few. For if He does not know how to save, He would have known much less how to bring forth from non-existence. But if He did not bring forth, He is not good either. For if He did not save, He ought not to have brought forth; for, by whatever…

^A means will that which is produced profit, if it is not saved? And if He is not good, He will not even be God, nor will He know anything of the others; for to bring forth is the act of a good being. But, while ignorant of how to save, how will He escape the infirmity of ignorance? And in what will He differ from creatures, if He is ignorant of something? For He will not only not be God, but will appear even inferior to creatures, since prophets and other famous men, having been called by God, knew many things present and future through the light from above; if, then, He were ignorant of these things, He would be entirely inferior to them. And if the Son, who is God, says to God the Father: *All mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them*, if He were by chance to be ignorant of any of the whole sum of things, it would be necessary that the Father also be ignorant of it; which is, above all else, absurd and irreligious. Furthermore, does He lack knowledge naturally, or was He despoiled of it by the violence of another? If He was violently deprived of knowledge by another, then that other would be more courageous and stronger. But if He is ignorant by nature, He will never know later; for things which are present in someone naturally, existing by themselves and not introduced from without, do not change what is innate. For it is the property of nature to be immutable in physical qualities. Therefore, there will never be any hope of salvation for these things, unless it is placed in another. For He who does not know how to save now, will not know hereafter either. How, then, will they be innocent and unpunished, when they have fallen into the impious heresy of the Agnoetai, who think that Christ was ignorant of the hour and the day in which the end of this whole world will be? ^B This statement the Saviour was making to the divine disciples to attest to His own humanity; or He deferred revealing it because it was not profitable for them to hear and know it, since they had not inquired about fitting matters and wished to learn things beyond their capacity; or because He wisely preferred to feign ignorance, rather than, by confessing knowledge and yet concealing it, to sadden them; or, finally, because He was considering in His mind some other thing usefully and in a manner befitting God. For surely, being Himself God and Word and Wisdom, He possessed certain knowledge of all things. But it is no wonder if they, following their masters, the Arian-mad, in everything, should follow them in this impiety as well; for beyond their other impieties, this too is a great irreligiosity of theirs, that they accuse Christ of ignorance.

^D 77. But if, knowing how to save, He did not wish to do so, they will again ascribe to Him the passion of envy, which is far more atrocious than the former vice. And how is He God, if He suffers anything? For to suffering, change also follows; and by change He will surely also undergo alteration. And how is God that which is altered? But if He did not wish to save, why did He bring forth from non-existence? For those whom He did not wish to save, He should not have brought forth at all. But if He brings forth indeed, but does not save, acting as if He had repented of the deed, He will appear contrary to Himself. How so, I ask? For if to bring forth is the property of a good being, so too is to save. For to corrupt and to destroy is not the office of a good being, but of an evil one. But evil is contrary to good; and for one and the same thing, and in the same respect, for there to be things opposed at once

is impossible. How then shall this be in God, where one would not find it even among created things? For in many cases, that which is praiseworthy is present in both, both in those who labor at something and take care of it, and in those who use their own efforts and strength for the sake of saving and preserving these things; unless perhaps they will belittle the Son of these as well. But how would He be called the cause of goods, if He does not will to save, which is the chief of goods? Furthermore, if he does not will to save, then he does not exercise providence; for of whom could there be providence, if that which is to be saved is absent? For providence is something that is for the sake of something. For if he does provide, yet is unwilling to save, he will be opposed to himself; and this is nothing else but saying that he does not will what he wills. Then, if he does not exercise providence, he is not good; and if he is not good, he will partake of nothing of his own existence, and in this way he will not even be the cause of existing things; providence, therefore, is taken away. But when providence is taken away, how could human affairs stand? And if some other creation exists (for neither will there be any order in existing things, nor will harmony or symmetry be applied), whence would come the orderly and proportionate succession of things that happen, if providence does not exist? How then will the virtuous be honored, and the wicked punished? And how will sins be rebuked, and good deeds approved? Laws and the divine tribunals become idle; the kingdom and Gehenna are gone, the one having been prepared for the good, the other for the wicked; or else, in this way, neither will good be seen and praised, nor will evil be recognized and condemned. Confusion, therefore, and disorder [rules] the whole. But if they were to say that providence exists, [but] if the Creator does not provide, it is necessary to assign another cause for this providence, by which the existing things are managed in a providential way. And this cause is either similar to Him, or contrary to Him. If it is similar, there is no need for another; but if it is contrary, and contrary things destroy and fight against one another, how will anything in the nature of things stand or be saved? And how will these things differ from the atheism of the Manichaeans, who impiously introduce two principles? But if, being both knowing and willing, He was not able to save, this has befallen Him either because of the weakness of His physical powers and faculties—and thus He will be the most infirm of all—or He is prevented by some other person entirely, and is oppressed by tyranny, and will be defeated in strength, and the one who prevents Him will be more powerful and more glorious. But let us rather confess that the latter possesses the divine majesty, and let the blasphemy fall back upon the heads of the Christ-haters; for being unable belongs not to God. And let Him be precluded not only from saving, but even from other divine glory, which they impiously have striven to do.

78.

^A that Christ is truly God by nature and the Son of God; yet he descended to the measure of created things because of the excess of his goodness. Being both knowing and willing and able to save, he saved us and delivered us from diabolical deception, and granted to us the gift of the knowledge of God. Since he is the Wisdom of God and the Father, he could hardly be ignorant of any of all things; for he is the creator of all things that exist, and nothing of those things made by him falls outside his knowledge. For God, he says, founded the earth by his wisdom, and prepared the heavens with [his] prudence, and he made all things simply in wisdom. ^B And: In him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden. He himself is the bestower of wisdom, and he makes every rational nature wise by his wisdom-producing power, because of his wisdom and understanding there is no number. But if he himself is the one saying: All things whatsoever the Father has are mine; and: As the Father knows me, I also know him, and no one knows the Father except the Son; if he who knows the greatest of all things [knows], surely he will be ignorant of none of the lesser things. For it is not only blasphemous, but also impossible, to think or believe otherwise. He, therefore, who knows all things before they come to be, from the knowledge of what thing would he be excluded? Therefore, he also knows how to save, and indeed [knows] this among the first things. Hence, by all who know God, the name of Savior is assigned to him with one voice and with one mind. For the name of Jesus also signifies this, having received its power and confirmation from the truth of the things themselves.

^C That he not only knows how to save, but also truly wills to save, let the first words convince them: All things whatsoever the Lord willed, he did in heaven and on earth. Then, because the Angel of the great counsel—whose will differs in nothing from the will of the Father; nay rather, he himself happens to be that very will, just as he is also wisdom and power and the like—has fulfilled the ancient and true will of the Father, which is to save. For why would it not be voluntary for him to save, he who says: I lay down my soul of myself, and I have power to take it up again? The good shepherd, who lays down his soul for the sheep. And how, if he does not save, does he not will the death of the sinner, as that he should turn from his wicked way and live? Therefore, while willing to save, he also provides; ^D and so providence reaches even unto the last things, proportionately attending to each. The very sense itself, and the law and reason inborn in us, demonstrate this; by which, as we consider things, we recognize their orderly and harmonious arrangement, and their position and motion, whence we celebrate the magnitude of the Creator correspondingly. But that he, knowing and willing to save, is also able to do so, who is so furious or out of his mind, and submerged in the drunkenness of unbelief, as not to be persuaded? When he hears the one saying: [We preach] Christ as the wisdom of God, so also his power. And: Great is our Lord, and his power is great. And: God our...

God is a God of salvation. And: The Lord is mighty and strong. And: God of powers. And: Behold our God comes with power. And: His arm is with power. And: Is my hand not strong enough to deliver? And: Do I not have the power to rescue you? And: He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom, and by His understanding extended the heaven.

How then shall "All things were made through Him" be secure, if He cannot save? For if He cannot save, neither can He make all things out of nothing. And the text: "All things through Him and for Him were created," and "He is before all things," and "all things consist in Him." And how does He carry all things by the word of His power if He cannot save? How shall He bind the strong man and plunder his vessels? And who is the blessed and only Potentate? Who, then, is this, if not the one whom the angel announces to us with the shepherds: "That there is born to you today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David"? For it is not an emissary, not an angel, but the Lord Himself who saved us; He who both knows and wills and is able to save us. Let these things be confessed and believed by us, and let us pray that they be firmly fixed in us for all time. ^B How then, so as not to wander beyond the bounds by letting ourselves be carried away by many words, do those who stand against the rectitude of the sacred dogmas, being spurred on by the goad of attachment to worldly things, madly betake themselves to the rough and steep path of impiety? For these are the paths of those who work iniquity; because, "If you do not believe, neither shall you understand," as it is written. ^C For this reason they also, not believing, did not understand the power of the mystery according to Christ, and [that] "The word of faith is near you, in your mouth and in your heart"; they would not. But God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear. Therefore they did not know that "without faith it is impossible to please God." For he who draws near to God must believe that He exists, and that He becomes a rewarder to those who seek Him.

^D Faith, he says, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But as many as are led by the Spirit of God, having a mind fortified and established toward every good thing, receiving faith as if it were the prize of benevolence, by faith understand that the ages were framed by the word of God, so that things seen were not made from things that appear, as it seems to the guide of such mysteries. For by faith, he says, Abel was testified to be righteous before God, and likewise Noah and Abraham and Moses; and after them the saints who followed their way, by this [faith] pleased God; of whom some conquered kingdoms, attained promises, and escaped unscathed from fire, wild beasts, and wars. Others were stoned,

^A scourged, and led through every experience of hardship; they remained unconquered and were found steadfast in the faith. And these, though they had not yet received the promise, would not have been justified or have received testimony, had they not believed. By faith the sea is divided, the sun is stayed, the river is stopped, and walls fall of their own accord, and whatever else we hear accomplished by faith. But those who have turned to the contrary and have been led away into the slippery path of infidelity, being driven far from holiness and having completely missed its perfection, are tossed like children and carried about by every wind of doctrine, walking in the wickedness of men, in craftiness toward the circumvention of error, in the vanity of their senses, having their intellect darkened, and being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts. ^B For this reason they have not attained to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, being in their intention and disposition like those disobedient ones to whom God swore that they would not enter into His rest because of their unbelief. Justly, therefore, will they be condemned by the disciple of the Savior as double-minded, unstable in all their ways, and like a storm at sea, tossed and driven by the winds. To whom, indeed, He commanded to afflict themselves, to mourn, and to weep, and to turn their laughter into mourning and their joy into sorrow. Yet, for all this, our faith is not to be reproached because of their infidelity and impiety, nor are the Holy Scriptures to be abandoned for this reason.

80. But since the Holy Scriptures are holy, and our faith is straight and blameless, while they are scarcely able to look up to the light of truth, just as those with injured eyes cannot bear the brightness of the rays, and those with aching ears are always disturbed by sounds and noises, for this reason they are condemned and excluded and are aliens from the company of the Christians. ^C But let the infidelity of these men be shown more clearly, as we set our hand to the discourse again, drawing from the presentation of the apostolic words. For He who became all things to all men, while ordering the life of the faithful, just as He employed all other things that provide life and salvation, so too, taking a likeness from the use of foods, He levels their customs and way of life; lest, by using these absurdly, they might veer towards an evil outcome, since for the more imperfect and those newly imbued with the evangelical faith, these things become an occasion of scandal, from which those for whom Christ died might perish; ^D and they would still be a hindrance to the more infirm in their path to perfection, and a clear indication that their mind had not yet been sufficiently purified. This, indeed, occurred in those who had believed from the circumcision, and who still observed in some manner the distinction of foods, being disciples of the Mosaic institutions. He says, therefore: "I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself."

save to him who ^A considers anything to be unclean; to him it is unclean." He knew well, too, the evangelical word which says: "Not that which enters into the mouth defiles a man." Let us pass over for now what was revealed to the divine Peter, when he saw the sheet let down from above by four corners, with a voice concurrently sounding that he should rise, kill, and eat of what was therein; and when he refused, because they seemed to him unclean and he was averse to unaccustomed food, the oracle responded again that none of those things which God has cleansed should be considered common. Therefore, from the production of these examples, let everyone consider to what point of impurity and reproach the dogma of those who are infected ^B by their own error is carried. For if things entering into the belly, and passing through the channels formed by nature for the purpose of excretion, are not considered common or unclean by anyone who has partaken of sacred teachings and is not devoid of the grasp of the truth, so far as their own nature is concerned—but rather, he who considers as common any of the things permitted to us by God for food is defiled and fouled in his soul, suffering from a voluntary sickness of faith and limping in the search for truth, by holding a false opinion concerning them and being distracted into distinctions—how is it that he who considers as common the form and likeness that exhibits to us the Lord’s body, and brings to memory His divine and saving incarnation, will not be stained and defiled in soul and body, and from that point become ^C abominable and unclean? He is not placing them on an equal level with the things mentioned, but is placing them in a much worse lot. Furthermore, if anyone dares to cast the stain of any pollution or impurity upon those [images] that have been employed, he will be attributing it to the Creator Himself and offering reproach to Him who brought things into existence out of nothing. Certainly, it is not ambiguous to what a charge of audacity and injury he binds himself, who injures the holy and blameless images that are fitting to the Creator of all, in as much as He appeared among us as a man; he who turns to ^D those blameless images with such daring and insult, wherever his intent may lie.

If, therefore, those who hold an erroneous opinion concerning foods are not free from reproach and guilt, what evils will they not suffer, who offend God touching the very head of the faith? Consequently, holy things will rightfully be deemed worthy of all honor by those who are pious, as is proper; while those who foolishly limp in these matters will be justly considered profane and unclean, calling common what God has glorified, and acting in opposition to the apostolic dogmas. And he who makes a distinction, yet eats, is condemned; for by approaching with a conscience of distinction, how should he not be considered worse than an unbeliever? Furthermore, "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin," and as far as concerns foods, it is not the nature of the thing eaten, but the illiberality and defect of faith of the one who eats.

For nothing has been brought forth by the Creator of all that is not worthy of all praise, at least to those who possess a sound and most direct judgment concerning existing things. Therefore, to think that anything made by Him is profane is altogether senseless, if indeed all things created by Him are very good. But as regards dogmas, the crime of incredulity is recognized, not from a consideration of the evangelical doctrine—for that is holy and divine—but from the foolishness and contumacy of these senseless ones. Since, therefore, they do not approach sacred things with faith, they sin and consider that to be defiled which is holy; and thus they can even be called idolaters, because they know not how to distinguish between the holy and the profane. Sacred icons, therefore, are not to be rejected on account of the ^B incredulity of the irreligious. As for them, they introduce an "infidel faith," one which we certainly know nothing of to this present day. But in as much as dogmas differ from foods, by so much will there be a difference in the damnation of those who sin in these respective matters. They are therefore justly cast out and excluded from divine things, because they refused to acknowledge what is useful, and they shall be accounted enemies of God.

81. It has therefore been demonstrated on all counts that they are unfaithful out of foolishness and ignorance, and are found to have a reprobate and defiled mind, and that they dwell far from the piety of Christians, and as uncircumcised in heart they shall not enter into the ^C congregation of the Lord. For, daring to act impudently against all things, setting up a brow of brass, and hardening their hearts in disbelief, they have become enemies to Christians, resisting with audacity and every kind of senselessness the dogmas and mysteries handed down from above, both in writing and by tradition, and showing themselves as contemners of all things that lead to piety. For no evangelical, apostolic, or prophetic utterance has convinced them; the opinions of the Fathers and teachers of the Church have not moved them to reverence; no other teaching proceeding from the Spirit has corrected them; the admonitions of spiritual or carnal Fathers have not softened them; the very ^D multitude of sacred temples everywhere in the world, distinguished by their antiquity and holiness, has not moved them; the ineffable and inscrutable number of sacred vessels, which are beautifully adorned with such sacred forms, has not moved them; nor has the faith and love toward God of those who built or possessed them, nor the zeal of those who made the offerings. All these things, laid out and manifest before the sight of all, emit, as it were, a clear and eloquent voice, proclaiming openly the great and venerable mystery of Christ's incarnation, and the zeal and fervor of the love and faith toward Him. And what is most wonderful of all, the great length of time has not moved them, if nothing else has; for it is ordered by nature that all things receive strength and stability from time. For the time of eight hundred years has now passed since these things were handed down and took hold, no matter how impiously these wicked men may rave.

^B 82. For is this not clear madness and frenzy? For what will they say concerning those who have already lived their lives and departed hence? Have they all become idolaters, and have they utterly fallen from salvation? How then shall Christ, who is Truth itself, be truthful among them? Or how can they believe Him who said, "In my Father's house are many mansions"? That is to say, many and various distributions of dignities; for just as the choices of life are many, so too is the recompense for what each has lived, measured out by appropriate degrees of rewards by the One who examines these things and assigns to all according to their merit; and many and various would be the allotments in the future blessedness. But perhaps even these things, these men—faithless in all—will dismiss and reject as nonsense. For how, I ask, will those who have come to the very end of the age, and as it were to the final boundary of life, being far inferior to those who preceded them, fill that infinite multitude of mansions? Where shall the rewards and crowns be distributed to those who have already contended for piety even unto blood? I think that even children of the Jews will laugh and mock greatly at such men, and the other nations who hear it too; for all strive to maintain their own religion, according to what is written: "Will a nation change its gods? And yet these are not gods, and no nation has changed its god." Only of men are Christians (if one must call them Christians, for they lay claim only to the name of Christians, not the reality), the wretches, who godlessly and audaciously besiege the faith of the Christians, and—the impious ones—irreverently abolish its sacred symbols.

^C But, O most hateful to God and most impious one, let everyone who thinks and believes in this way hear me: Is this how you ought to behave toward the Creator? He, out of ineffable goodness, brought you from non-existence into existence, and raised you up when you had fallen under sin, enduring the passion of His flesh and death, and suffered the most shameful death for your sake—for He emptied Himself even unto death, and the death of the cross, and poured out His own blood, that through it He might redeem you who were sold into sin, that He might destroy idols and deliver you from the idolatrous madness and error, and free you from the tyranny of the enemy, and, calling you back from corruption, might save you and restore you to your ancient nobility. Do you dare such things against the Savior? ^D He suffers for you, and you insult Him? He is crucified, and you revile Him? What difference is there between you and those who crucified Him? In what do you differ from the murderers of God? Nay, rather, why do you not surpass them in malice? They condemned Him once and, having crucified Him, they killed Him; but you, when you ought to worship your Benefactor and confess the magnitude of such a great benefit, you crucify Him daily and revile Him, thinking worse things of Him: you attack Him more with hostile voices than they did with stones; and you omit no act, or word, or sin against God, however exceedingly absurd and irreligious it may be.

^A

Cleverly and most appropriately, the great Isaiah described the blindness of your souls, saying: "They have not known to understand, that they have been blinded from seeing with their eyes, and understanding with their heart," and "they have spoken iniquity, and have rebelled, and have meditated from their heart words of falsehood." But these people, by thus despising and trampling upon the entire economy of our Savior Christ, prove themselves in reality to be idolaters. We, however, who believe in Him rightly and piously, and revere divine things as is fitting, honor the sacred icons handed down to us from antiquity, and deem them worthy of appropriate veneration, because they are holy, and because we refer the honor of the objects [represented] to their archetypes. We will never endure thinking anything injurious about them; wherefore, we shall not withdraw from them the duty owed to them. For since we approach the saints with faith and confidence, we would not justly be called idolaters—that is, hateful to God and faithless, as those men say—but with the great teacher of truth we also cry out: "Great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory." ^B If we are seen to have fought worthily for our sacred and irreproachable faith, thanks be to God who gives speech to those who ask in the opening of their mouths. But if we should also suffer persecution, it is beautiful to suffer with Christ, and—unless perhaps it is grandiloquence—to be counted worthy to tread in the footsteps of our holy teachers, to the glory of Christ Himself, our true God, and to the honor of His holy Church, to whom is due all glory, honor, and worship, together with His co-eternal Father, and His most holy and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. ^C

PROEM TO THE SUBSEQUENT TWENTY-SIX AUTHORITIES

Having run the course for the sake of our immaculate and sincere faith, and having exposed the vanity of those who speak boldly against the truth, we have armed the champion of true religion with the sword of the Spirit, by means of inspired voices, so that he may remain invulnerable, while the impious continually cast the arrows of falsehood and attack the right doctrine of the faith with the darts of loquacity. But since a manner has also been set before us, and indeed a rule has been established, according to which religious men ought to handle the teaching of our faith and treat our sacred dogmata with holy piety, we shall, as briefly as possible, set forth this rule also for those who are good, diligent, and fervent lovers of religion, making excerpts both from the inspired Scriptures and from our select and illustrious Fathers. ^D

We have endeavored to set forth briefly in this writing [certain] excerpts for the remembrance and benefit of those who read them ^A obediently and carefully, so that they may not suffer the same fate as those who disobey the truth. For the latter, being lovers of falsehood and always vexed by the proofs of the truth—some caught by unbelief, others by ignorance—have fallen into the ruin of impiety. Being enslaved to their own wills, they attempt to establish their own opinion out of an excess of thoughtlessness and folly, and they distort the clear and correct dogmas of piety toward unseemly meanings through curious and base questionings; hence they elect their own fathers and set up as teachers those who were formerly champions of impiety and atheism, and who have been cast as far as possible from the Catholic Church. For our theologians, divinely inspired, have fittingly named their heresy "atheism," ^B and they have taken these men as their advocates in their assault against the Church. But the good, as being docile disciples of the Gospel, should take heed not to be carried off beyond what is required into overly curious investigations, since the doctrine of faith demands to be received with a simple heart. For it is the property of faith to apply itself to believing without curiosity, to consent with a simple mind and by an autonomous impulse, and not to seek ^C proofs or to linger over wordy disputes that contribute nothing useful, but rather cause no small harm to souls. This is the practice of heretical men; this is the artifice of the Greeks, who, exhausting themselves in vain talk and unpleasant chatter, fill themselves and their neighbors with much nonsense, beating the air in vain and utterly missing the truth. For to contend against things that are acknowledged and evident is a task of such madness and stupidity that it cannot even be expressed. But those who are good learners, being brought in more obediently and listening more readily, should lend their ears to the teachings of the Spirit, to receive exhortation concerning such great matters. For faith alone contains these things, concealing human reasonings, and the divine love of those who are earnestly disposed toward such things, so that those who know how to measure out these things as the labors of obedience may gather the multi-fold fruit in due time, as those who are well-hopeful, receiving glorious ^D rewards from Him who knows how to repay these things with interest.

From the Holy Gospel according to John

^A From the same. — Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said of old: "He has blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Isaiah said these things when he saw His glory and spoke about Him. Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.

From the same. — "Believe in God, and believe in Me."

Of the holy apostle Paul, from the Epistle to the Romans. — "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 'Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.' And again: 'But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down from above) "or, 'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).' And again: 'For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.' And again, discussing foods, he says: 'But he who doubts is damned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.'" ^B

Of the same, from the Epistle to the Corinthians. — "That our faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

Of the same, from the Epistle to the Hebrews. — "But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death, and was not found, ^{C D}

^A because God had translated him; for before his translation he has this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker ^B is God. By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that

^A is to say, a heavenly one. Or what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, ^B and Samson, and Jephthah, David also, and Samuel, and the prophets; who through faith conquered kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edges of the sword, were strengthened out of weakness, became mighty in war, turned to flight armies of aliens; women received their dead by a resurrection. But others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment; they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and the holes of the earth. And these all, having had witness borne to them through their faith, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing concerning us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Of the same, from the Epistle to the Thessalonians. — So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours.

Of the same, from the Epistle to the Hebrews, concerning the faithless. — With whom was he displeased forty years? Was it not with them that sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that were disobedient? And we see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief. Let us fear therefore, lest, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they; but the word of hearing did not profit them, because they were not united by faith with them that heard.

Of the same, from the Epistle to the Romans. — To them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life. But unto them that are factious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil.

Of the prophet Isaiah. — If you will not believe, surely you shall not understand. And the Lord spoke again unto Ahaz, saying: Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. And Ahaz said: I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. And he said: Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a small thing for you to weary men, that ye weary my God also?

Of the prophet Habakkuk. — The just shall live by faith.

From the Proverbs of Solomon. — Let not mercy and truths forsake thee. And again: Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but they that deal faithfully are acceptable to him.

for him. And again: "By alms and faithfulness are sins purged."

^A From the sermon of our holy Father John Chrysostom, on the Annunciation.

Gabriel was sent, indicating Him who was at once on the throne and in the cave; the soldier was sent, heralding the mystery of the King: a mystery recognized by faith, not investigated by curiosity; a mystery to be believed, not scrutinized; a mystery to be adored, not weighed in the balance; a mystery which we receive from divine doctrine, not from examination; a mystery which we confess, not measure.

From the same author’s interpretation of the Epistle to the Romans, on those words (chap. x, 6): "But the righteousness which is of faith, so says," and so on, as set forth above.

In order that the Jews might not say, "How can we find the greater righteousness, not having found the lesser?" he shows that the way by faith is easier, which requires faith in the heart through words. And knowing that cogitations often oppose faith, and that they must be manfully repelled, he said, "Do not say in your heart," that is, do not waver in thought, nor say to yourself, "How is this possible?" For this is the property of faith: to abandon all human sequence, ^B to seek what is above nature, and to accept all things from the power of God.

From Saint Cyril of Alexandria, from the interpretation on the same passage.

He defines usefully how our faith ought to be, so that it may have blamelessness before God, and that it may seem to have been done exceedingly well. For the habit of doubting at all and of being tossed about by an idle instability of mind is a thing utterly to be rejected; and it is perhaps redundant and of the most dangerous sort to think it necessary to investigate things that are beyond all reason, and beyond the mind that is in us—as to what is better. For how could things ineffably wrought by God be manifest? And furthermore, what human heart's eye could be such that it might be able to contemplate God? Or rather, who would understand, even if one were to choose to speak and narrate things that are far and exceedingly beyond us? For our Lord Jesus Christ, while once setting forth to Nicodemus the discourses concerning spiritual regeneration, actually said: ^C "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born from above, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Then He added the remainder to these things. And when he understood nothing at all, then indeed Christ declared the heaviness of the human mind, as being very far removed from the subtlety of understanding, saying: "If you do not believe when I tell you earthly things, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly ^D

^A things?" He added to these: "Amen, amen I say unto you, we speak what we know, and we testify what we have seen, and no one receives our testimony." Therefore, things above us are inscrutable. For if it is true that we find those things which are in our hands difficult to comprehend, as it is written, why is it not necessary to think that, in matters which transcend our reasoning, faith is most useful, without any accompanying examination or any vain investigation being introduced? For in these matters, prudence is the chief ornament (86).

From the same, from the second book of the Dialogues with Hermias

Saint John Chrysostom, from the interpretation of the Epistle to the Romans (87)

From the same, from the interpretation of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians

^A From the same author, from his interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews, on the words: "For every high priest taken from among men," etc. (Heb. v, 1). For this reason we have received the faith, so that we might not be forced to wander through myriad heresies and be vexed by such matters; but whatever anyone attempts to add to or take away from it, this we should deem spurious. Just as those who provide rules do not force us to investigate countless measurements, but command us to hold to that which has been given, so it also happens concerning dogmas.

From our holy Father Basil, from his interpretation of the 115th Psalm. ^B "I believed, therefore I spoke; but I was humbled exceedingly. And I said in my haste, Every man is a liar." Let faith lead discussions regarding God: faith, which draws the soul to assent more than logical methods; faith, not produced by the necessities of geometry, but by the operations of the Spirit.

And a little later: For it is necessary for the principles of every discipline to be admitted by learners without examination, since it is impossible for those who contend about the first principles to be able to proceed by way and order to the goal. And you can learn this from those external disciplines themselves: for if you do not grant the first principles to the geometer, it is impossible for him to infer what follows; and he who contradicts the principles and elements of arithmetic cuts off the path to higher things. ^C Similarly, not even the principles of medicine can be demonstrated by physicians; and in general, in any profession whatsoever that proceeds by way and order to the goal, it is impossible to seek demonstrations of the first propositions, but it is necessary, having accepted the principles of the logical arts without examination, to look at what is consequential from the things posited in what follows.

Thus, therefore, the mystery of theology also requires assent from an unexamined faith. For one must believe, he says, that God is, not seek or contend about what He is. And in general, if "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. xi, 1), do not contend to see even now things stored up far away, nor make the things hoped for ambiguous because you cannot yet attain knowledge of them. ^D And after a few words: In general, the soul that undertakes to speak without faith will chatter in vain, since it refers its words to no subject. The beginning, therefore, of wise speech is faith firmly established in the heart of the speaker.

From the same author, from the books Against Eunomius, where he shows where unbelief comes from: "The ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them; but the

^A ungodly stumble in them." And what is wonderful is that, from those things by which those who are healthy in the faith derive benefit, those who are diseased are harmed, since they are occupied with questions and idle word-battles, as the Apostle said. That it is a disease of the soul to inquire wrongly and curiously about God—and especially with unbelief—is manifest to all. For if they do not believe the all-holy God Himself regarding things that concern Him, how will they listen to His prophets or apostles when they speak in the divine Scriptures about Him and about those who are to hope in Him? And after a little: "You seek so that you might find not faith, but unbelief." This is true according to what is written: ^B "Into a malicious soul wisdom will not enter." And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, and he was called a friend of God. The blessed Abraham is said to be a friend of God—and he is a friend because of faith, a friend because of obedience to God; but you are an enemy because of unbelief and disobedience to God. Abraham believed God; he believed as he himself did, and he did not disbelieve as you do. For this reason he is a friend, but you are enemies; the enemies of the Lord have lied to Him, according to what is written.

Of our holy Father Gregory the Theologian, from his Sermon on Holy Baptism.

For if God, when taken as a mediator, confirms agreements between men, how great is the danger of being found, in the covenants which we have established with Him, to be transgressors, and to be held accountable to the Truth not only for other sins but for the very sin of lying? And after a few words: "Contrive nothing ^C captious, devise nothing against the salvation of your own soul; for even if we deceive others, we shall never be able to deceive ourselves. Certainly, to play against one’s own self is far too perilous and foolish." And after not much: "Keep for me the things written, remaining unmoved in changeable times regarding an unchangeable matter."

Of the holy Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, from the book On the Making of Man, chapter 23

For the patriarchs, such as Abraham, indeed had the desire to see the good things, and did not cease seeking the heavenly fatherland, as the Apostle says; nevertheless, they still dwell in the hope of attaining His grace, God having provided something better for us, so that they might not be perfected without us. ^D If, then, they bear the delay—they who saw and embraced the good things from afar through faith and hope alone, as the Apostle testifies, having placed their trust in the security of the enjoyment of the things hoped for by deeming the One who promised to be faithful—what then ought the many of us to do, for whom perhaps there is not even a hope for something better remaining, on account of a past life? It must be known, however, that in the chapter just mentioned, he says that unbelief, with the other remaining diseases of the soul, has been numbered, and he has said that it is similar to the impulses of beasts, yet so that it is even increased by the assistance of reasoning.

^A Of the same, chapter 24. But in truth, that all things are from God, we have believed, hearing the Scriptures say it. And as for how it was in God—since it transcends our reason—we do not think it right to make curious inquiries, believing all things to be possible to the divine power; and that He brought into existence non-existent things, and to what exists, He imparts qualities according to His will. Therefore, we consistently believe it to be sufficient for things that exist to attain their existence by the power of the divine will. And thus, if we also attribute the reformation of created things to the same power, we shall believe nothing that deviates from the truth.

^B Of our holy father Dionysius, bishop of Athens, from the book on the Divine Names, chapter 24. The Scriptures call those who "sin in knowledge" those who are weak in the knowledge or the doing of the good which cannot be hidden; and those who know the will and do not do it; those who have heard, but are weak in faith or in the active practice of the good; and for some, it is against their will to understand how to do good, due to perversion or weakness of the will.

Of holy Athanasius, from the discourse against those who hold the opinions of Samosatenus, and concerning the faith, that Christ is one. For the apostles, having departed from there, immediately preached with one accord that Christ is the Son of God. And after a few things: What need is there to seek and to contend about words? To believe, to worship, and to adore is advantageous. And after a little: I do not ask how the same ^C one is passible and how impassible; how God and how man; lest, while I track the "how" and seek the reason, I fall away from the blessedness set before us. For it is necessary first to believe and to give glory; secondly, to ask for the confirmation of these things from above, and not to provide it from below. And in the second or third discourse against the Arians, the same Father says: That not even if one is in doubt while inquiring about God ought he to disbelieve what is written; for it is better to be silent and believe while in doubt, than to disbelieve because we are in doubt.

I think that what has been said is sufficient for a reminder; and it is not a great thing to say, that it is also a source of full assurance for those who are eager hearers of divine things and who are ^D desirous of piety. And any of the faithful and prudent, by laboriously searching through such things, might gather more testimonies from the divine Scriptures and from the sacred works of our God-speaking Fathers, exhorting the simplicity of the mode of faith, and demonstrating it as guileless in a good conscience.

^A holding fast to the sincerity of right dogmas; for they know that they shall without doubt receive the perfect reward for such labors from our universal Savior and Lord Christ, the true God.

CONTENTS OF THE TITLES

1. On knowing the best time and measure of things done or said. 2. An exhortation to keep in mind the second coming of Christ. 3. On the faith handed down from the beginning and from the divine Apostles. 4. That one ought not to stir up portentous opinions devised by foolish men. 5. What kind of men are the destroyers of the faith; in which is also treated the monk and unholy Antonius. 6. On the transgressor bishops and priests and those expelled from the ministry of God. 7. On the falsely-named Council, or the Sanhedrin of Caiaphas. 8. That Christ received a second passion from those of Jewish mind ^B by way of his image. 9. On the Christ-denying Antonius, and the Christ-hating John, and their band. 10. On the godless Constantine, called Mammon. 11. That they dogmatize from the Arians and Manichaeans. 12. That Eusebius was an Arian from the beginning and the ringleader of his fathers. 13. That they have corrupted the books of the holy Fathers. 14. On the blasphemy of the upstart Jews. 15. On the bishops and priests who have been persecuted for the sake of the orthodox faith. 16. On those who are hypocritical and comply with the times, ^C according to the example of the chameleon. 17. On those who blaspheme, saying that the Christians venerated idols until Constantine. 18. An exposition of the orthodox faith concerning the Trinity. 19. On the incarnation of Christ. 20. On the union of the two natures according to hypostasis, and the difference in their qualities. 21. Against Nestorius and Eutyches. 22. On union without confusion, and division without separation, and of the operations and wills. 23. That one ought to venerate the image of Christ according to reverence, but not according to religious service (latria). 24. On those who say that Christians have venerated idols. 25. What those fallen bishops and priests should say in lamentation ^D if they repent and return to penance. 26. How they have trampled upon the holy symbols, and have treated the words of the mystery with contempt. 27. That in blasphemy they hold that Constantine delivered them from idolatry, and that Christ was able to profit them nothing, but rather was himself the cause of it. 28. That they are not even worthy to be called Christians, let alone bishops. 29. The canonical and legal deposition and expulsion of the transgressor bishops and priests. 30. On the difference between idols and images.

21. A clear proof of the veneration of the image of Christ, and an example of a seal derived from an archetype. 32. Concerning those who say that they have worshipped idols. 33. Concerning those who dared to call the image of Christ an idol. Hactenus the summaries of the chapters of the *Apologeticus Major*. Because of a lost parchment, the remaining summaries are missing, not only of the *Apologeticus*, but also of the entire first and second *Antirrheticus*; of the third, only a few remaining items at the end survive on the last folio of the codex, as below. ... [a monk] doing miracles with his staff and his mantle. 80. That Mamonas joined monks with women. 81. Concerning pious kings who lived in prosperity and long life. 82. That from the advent of Christ, the Church kept the ancient institutions and decrees inviolate ^B, until the apostate Mamon. 83. That this crime of heresy was not royal, but Jewish. 84. That this apostasy descended from the Jews and Saracens upon Leo and Constantine, the Christ-persecuting emperors.

OF OUR HOLY FATHER NICEPHORUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE, APOLOGETICUS MINOR TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH CONCERNING THE NEW SCHISM WHICH HAS ARISEN OVER THE VENERABLE IMAGES

(ANG. MAI. Biblioth. nov. t. IV, p. 1.)

^C 1. Since the holy Church of God stands securely and firmly founded upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ our true God being its cornerstone, and is adorned and decorated with all holy and divine dogmas, and by no means is any defense or counter-argument [needed] concerning our right and blameless faith and worship in

^A it exists (b); for this reason, this apology, which the following points present, is set forth for those who inquire [about it] from those among the ministers of the Word who have alienated themselves from the common body of the Church.

3'. That the existence and veneration of the holy icons has come down to the present day from the beginning and from of old, from Apostolic and Patristic tradition, both the ancient Churches and the sacred vessels, fashioned by pious kings and other Christ-loving persons, proclaim and testify, as they were placed in holy and venerable sites to be venerated along with the other sacred objects. The most clear and most truthful evidence of this is [the icons] which are stored in the sanctuary of the holy altar along with the precious crosses; for they were not placed there in any other manner than for the sake of veneration; and furthermore, those in the holy lobbies and entrances are also fashioned in the same way; and the canons of the holy Sixth Synod, which decree these things as holy writing (c), also establish the veneration of these, as do other writings of the holy Fathers concerning them.

^C 3'. Whence also in past times, having found that these same holy icons were being venerated, the then-reigning Emperor Leo, the father of Constantine, having himself gone mad against the dispensation of our Savior God, attempted to destroy them; for this reason he also cast out from his priestly dignity Germanus of holy memory, the high priest of this Queen of Cities, as one who did not yield to his godless opinion; and if anyone wishes to learn more accurately about these matters, let him read the writings of the same most holy high priest (d). Constantine the impious, having taken hold of the Church thus being shaken, and blowing more fiercely against our right dogmas, and with neither a priest in the queen of cities (for Anastasius, who had officiated after the holy Germanus, had already died), nor having summoned the high priest of the elder Rome (f), nor those of any other see

or rather, using tyrannical arrogance, and despising the divine law, through the unholy priests shamelessly gathered by him, he wrought, as far as lay in his power, their destruction, having dared to call the Christians idolaters; and having defined by the canon of such an unholy gathering that holy images were not to be venerated from henceforth, nor at all made. And because this evil could not be contained in its beginnings, other irreligious sanctions followed besides; namely, he excluded the invocations of saints from the Church; and he burned many holy relics and holy books; and he punished with persecutions, tortures, and many torments those who would not admit this godless dogma.

4. But if it is necessary to confirm the same thing from contrary arguments as well, there are present also those testimonies which are called the authorities of Epiphanius. For as it is read there, Epiphanius, seeing that sacred images were honored by Christians, attempted to abolish them. And yet, not even in those times did the religious emperors, to whom this writing seems to have been sent, admit this opinion concerning the abolition of images, as is demonstrated by the churches founded by them and the surviving sacred icons. Moreover, the churches of Cyprus themselves cry out ^B that such words were never heard. But not even those who hail from the island of Cyprus—among whom is holy Paul, who became the archbishop of our city, and Constantine, who was also archbishop of that same island—wise and illustrious men, and well-acquainted with the dogmas of the holy Epiphanius who presided over that island, could endure that the authorities which those gathered in that pseudo-synod attributed to him were truly of that same Father. Since these things displeased God, it pleased Him that the second holy and ecumenical synod occur at Nicaea, the seventh, the origin of which was brought about reasonably and according to the ecclesiastical formula by the pontiffs ^C then existing. For the aforementioned Paul, the pontiff of Byzantium, seeing that the other pontiffs—namely, both that of elder Rome and those of other sees—were not communicating with the dignity of his priesthood, ^D [that is, not communicating with him] in the royal city, [and since the] synod was in the year 815, under Leo the Armenian (Life of Saint Nicephorus, ch. 5, p. 35, or also 10, n. 63; ch. 12, n. 73). Saint John of Damascus also objects to this in *De SS. imag. orat.* I, n. 2; and *orat.* II, n. 18, though in both places he says it is fictitious and supposed by the heretics; of which writing, however, mention is made also in the Nicene synod (act 6; Lab. t. VII, col. 475), so that there can be no doubting the Latin letter of Epiphanius among the Hieronymian ones (51), at the end of which is that famous narrative concerning the painted veil. But there is also present the response of Nicephorus to the aforementioned matters; besides other authors who have concerned themselves with the same issue.

^A and being separated from the other thrones ^B by anathemas and depositions, he abdicated his pontificate; and, first of all, laying aside fear of the emperors, he spoke as it is fitting, as many who are still alive and were eyewitnesses testify: "I," he said, "have not even up to this time had a right conscience; and now I declare to you all that, while the heresy is dominant, and I am excommunicated by the other thrones, I can no longer be your bishop." Having said these things, a little later, seized by a malady, he met his death.

5. After him, therefore, Tarasius, of holy memory, was urged to the priestly throne; he resisted the emperors of that time, and the senate, and all the people of the city, declaring that unless a public pledge were given him that an ecumenical synod would be convened—both of those present in the city and of the bishops of the remaining thrones—to correct this new error in the Church, he would never accept the pontificate. Having, in truth, received the pledge of this matter from all, only then did he become patriarch. Then, with God as his helper, he attained his goal, and the synod was celebrated legitimately and according to the canons, with the legates also present, and synodical letters having been received from the primates of the remaining thrones. And a decree was established by the universal synod, and was received by the whole world, to which even the emperors subscribed. Concerning this definition, there is no need to inquire curiously. For just as the other six holy synods published their own definitions, without anyone contradicting them—and the emperors of that time, following the priestly judgments, admitted and confirmed them, and no orthodox person raised any doubt after the proclamation, but all Christians received what was promulgated as if sealed by the seal of the Holy Spirit—so it happened also with the aforementioned seventh synod, whose decree, as if issued from a fountain of divine grace, was admitted in all the ends of the world. Moreover, that definition confirmed the old and pre-existing tradition in the Church, and did not innovate anything peculiar or new. Therefore, that synodical definition ought justly and deservedly to be observed by all Christians beyond any doubt.

6. Since this holy synod was successfully and worthily completed, those who were afterwards promoted to the dignity of the episcopacy gladly subscribed with their own hand to that definition set forth by it, according to the custom handed down from antiquity in the Church, each one placing the cross before it; among whom there are some today who have torn themselves away and alienated themselves from the body of the Church, and have thus subjected themselves to the anathemas issued in that synod. ^D (m). Let the iconoclasts of our own times consider these things; let them see how they can despise the authority of a general synod without, at the same time, judging the other ecumenical synods as equally infirm; for if that were done, the Christian faith would collapse.

^A And the tenor of the definition is as follows: «Believing in one God glorified in the Trinity, we admit the holy images; and those who hold otherwise, let them be anathema; and those who do not think in this way, let them be driven far from the Church. We follow the ancient regulation; we guard the decrees of the Fathers; we excommunicate from the Catholic Church those who add anything or take anything away. We subject those who do not hold this view to anathema. To those who interpret the sayings in the divine Scriptures against idols as applying to the sacred images, anathema; to those who call the sacred images idols, anathema, anathema.» These, I say, are the formulas which they who recently made a schism against the Church had professed by their own signatures. And if they now reject their confession, they trample upon the crosses signed by their own hands, and subject themselves to the aforementioned anathemas, and in no way stand within the Church. ^B But since they have also denied the dogma of the faith in which they were ordained, it follows that they have also denied their own ordination and are deposed as teachers of an alien doctrine. And for this reason, it is not permitted for them to come to discussions or disputes with any priestly man; for whoever discusses ecclesiastical dogmas with them involves himself in the same anathemas. Moreover, their crime increases and their condemnation becomes graver because it is not recently that they learned of these matters, but, seeing a matter long ago ratified in the Church ^C and having signed it, they willingly consented to the wickedness; and this they did while holding the place of teachers of the Church’s dogmas and having long remained in such teaching. And they happen to be deposed in another way by the divine canons, as those who hold conventicles and are troublesome to royal ears. Lastly, they exclude them from the fellowship of ecclesiastics and cast them out of the priestly assembly, and [they do this based on] other things, and especially those things which are contained in the holy sixth ecumenical synod, as is manifest in the synodical epistle of Agatho, pope of elder Rome ^D; for it states as follows: «Whosoever of the priests shall desire to preach sincerely with us those things contained in the confession of our humility regarding our apostolic faith, these we receive as holding the same opinion as us, as con-priests, as fellow-ministers, and as consorts of the same faith; and, so that we may speak simply, as our spiritual brothers and co-bishops. But those who do not wish to confess these things, we judge them to be enemies of the Catholic and Apostolic confession and guilty of eternal condemnation. Nor shall we ever admit such persons into the fellowship of our humility, unless they have been corrected; nor have we received such things from those who preceded us, so that one of them might imagine that we are transgressing what we have received.»

^B 7. But these things render them bound by a greater condemnation and liable to divine wrath, and show them not even worthy of repentance or salvation, according to what John, the luminary of the world who adorned the throne of the royal city, Chrysostom, I say, said long ago in his explanation of the Epistle of the divine apostle Paul to the Ephesians, which is as follows: "Nothing will be able to divide the Church so much as the love of power; nothing so provokes God as the division of the Church. Even if we have performed countless good deeds, we shall pay no lighter penalty for mutilating the integrity of the Church than those who violently violated the very body of Christ—for that slaughter was for the salvation of the world, even if it was apart from the will of those slaughtering. But schism causes no benefit, but brings much harm. These things have been said by me not only to leaders, but also to subjects." A certain holy man uttered a statement that seems bold, but yet he uttered it, namely, that this sin is not washed away even by the blood of martyrdom. "For tell me," he says, "why do you undergo martyrdom? Is it not for the glory of Christ? Why then do you subvert the Church, for which Christ surrendered his life?" Hear Paul speaking in this way: "I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God and laid it waste." This harm is not less than that which is inflicted by enemies, but much greater. For that one makes the Church even more ^C splendid, but this one fills her with shame even before her enemies when she is attacked by her own children. For those who were born and raised in her, and were taught her mysteries, and who soon, with a perverse judgment, shifted their views and suddenly threw themselves into the ranks of the enemies, present a great proof of delusion in them. These things have been said by me against those who easily associate with those who cause a schism in the Church." Thus far the master.

8. But if by chance these schismatics say that until now they have committed idolatry, let them be judged as idolaters and be catechumens, but by no means let them be mingled with Christians. For certainly this will profit them if they repent of the stupidity of their counsels and deeds; thus, even if they have not managed their affair well, at least let the Church receive their repentance. ^D But if they persist in the same heresy, and if they might perhaps be able to lead astray others who are more ignorant and simple, if they have caused sedition and gathered mobs, these are clearly outside the sacred precincts of the Church. But if even very few remain in orthodoxy and true piety, these are the Church, and the authority and power of ecclesiastical decrees remain in them; even if it should be necessary to suffer evils for the sake of the true

^A religion; this indeed confers upon them eternal glory and the salvation of the soul. In reality, there should henceforth be no further controversy concerning the holy images. For the dogma regarding them is not something recently born, but has long since been weighed through disputation, and held as ratified by the synod. Moreover, every dogmatic question that has arisen in the Church of God comes to an end after synodical examination and public pronouncement, and thereafter admits of no doubt whatsoever. For thus it has been done in the case of the other holy and ecumenical synods.

^B 9. Now, concerning those things which were impiously defined by Constantine, it seems right that it should not be permitted for any ecclesiastical man to institute an examination and review of them. For of the authorities cited in his unholy writings, some, because they have heretical authors, are to be rejected entirely; others, however, which were not understood by him in a pious sense, are to be deemed useless and idle. But if, among the number of these authorities, any synodical books should be found that state something concerning images, the Church has admitted and explained these in such a way as to be sufficient for our most pious emperor (Constantine, [son] of Irene). But if such persuasive solutions provided by ecclesiastical men were not enough, these men, relying on ecclesiastical custom and rule, convoked an ecumenical synod, so that the pontiffs and priests of the remaining sees might conduct an examination and inquiry into these books, and publicly pronounce what had seemed right to them by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. ^C And indeed, the canons of the holy Sixth Synod are still observed and in force, which, from the time they were promulgated by the grace of the divine Spirit, the Church has accepted, and through them exercises ecclesiastical judgments. For these canons have been held in honor for more than one hundred and twenty years, and if they had not existed in the Church, it would have suffered very great harm, because many faults within the priestly assembly would have remained without remedy or punishment. Now, also, the dignity of those who established them, and the multitude and authority of the persons, is manifest to all Christians. For both those who were at that time the most sacred patriarchs, and the others, to the number of two hundred and forty bishops, demonstrate by their own signatures that they pronounced these canons as their own; and in agreement and cooperation with them was he who was then the emperor, Justinian, who also, by his own signature, declares that he held right opinions concerning our glorious and blameless religion. ^D

10. How, therefore, could it not be blasphemous and unlawful not to accept such a great multitude of priests, and not to consider them as equivalent to some single historian? For those who recount the events that occurred before that time state that the images were venerable, and that Christians held them in honor; for they did not transmit at that time some private type, but the historical [records].

^A Observing [these] depicted matters, they pronounced judgment concerning them for the edification of the Church and for the enlargement and exaltation of [its] grace. The preeminent sees demonstrate this, and the emperors and priests of their time, who likewise honored them. But if some chatterers say that the promulgation of these canons occurred some years after the Sixth Synod, no argument of the Church regarding this fails; for the intervening time does not prevent them from being called canons of the Sixth Synod. For the reason for their gathering was that neither the holy Fifth Synod nor the Sixth itself had promulgated canons. Therefore, they were usefully – nay, necessarily – assembled, and they promulgated these for the common benefit of the Church. And they are in no way inferior, whether one considers the number of those who drafted them or their dignity; indeed, they even exceed ^B them. For in the Fourth holy Synod there were about one hundred and seventy Fathers, while in the publication of the canons, two hundred and forty bishops took part.

11. That many testimonies of holy Fathers concerning the veneration of holy icons were also presented to our pious emperor, through which it was necessary that the assurance should become indubitable for all who might encounter them, the volumes of which the Synod possessed in their entirety, as those who were present at it and still survive truly testify. That Eusebius of Pamphilus is shown in many of his writings to be a genuine Arian, but also in that very letter of his, in which he acts to forbid holy icons, he is clearly found to say that the Son of God is a second-order God, a creature, and a servant of the Father; and likewise he ^C thinks that the human form, which our Lord and God took for our sake, was blended with His divinity, and was entirely transformed—things which are altogether contrary to the mind of the Catholic Church. It is established, moreover, that some years after his death, he was rejected by certain Fathers by synodical decree as an Arian from the Church, just as other heretics were, with a rebuke also for those who made commemoration of them. Let every orthodox Christian therefore judge whether this person, who poured forth such blasphemies against our Savior, Christ the God, is to be admitted into the Church; even if he is praised in some respects, just as Origen and many others who were outside the Church are. Since these things are so, no one possessed of sound judgment would condemn the Church's anxiety, nor cast the blame ^D and sin upon the heads of those who voluntarily severed themselves from the Church, so long as this sedition, by God's permission, persists against its established order and canon. But as was said above, the Church is accustomed to convene an ecumenical synod to remove any contention from the midst, and to establish peace with the good pleasure of God for ages upon ages. Amen.

to arrive, and that peace may be awarded by the grace and pleasure of God in it unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ANOTHER DEMONSTRATION CONCERNING THE HOLY IMAGES

^A We confess the one Christ to be invisible and visible, incomprehensible and comprehensible, uncircumscribed and circumscribed, impassible and passible, not to be depicted and to be depicted. And we anathematize those who think the opposite, those who are of one mind and accomplices, by whom the story of the divine Incarnation was thought to have occurred by phantasy and supposition; through the destruction of the image of our Lord and Savior Christ, his most truthful and God-bearing flesh and form is likewise destroyed. For everything that is by nature incapable of being depicted is conceived in two ways: either as not existing, or as existing indeed, but least of all being comprehended, as being invisible and hidden. Whichever of these one might suppose in the case of Christ, our common God and Savior, would he not most obviously be found impious? For the former shows that Emmanuel did not truly become man, ^B while the latter shows that he did become man, but remained outside of human properties, and had cast off the flesh he had assumed, and returned entirely and again to the divine incomprehensibility—which is foreign to all inspired Scriptures, which say that he will come again to be the judge, clearly to be seen in the same and like manner as he was seen by his disciples and apostles when he was taken up into heaven. Such a notion is full of the Manichaean opinion and insane impiety; and concerning this, the saying of the divine David is quoted, which states: "He has set His tabernacle in the sun," hinting at the casting off and the setting aside of the Lord's, that is to say, God-bearing, body.

CERTAIN CANONS OF NICEPHORUS THE CONFESSOR

I. Monks must fast on the Wednesday of Cheesefaring week and on Friday; and after the dismissal of the Presanctified, they may eat cheese wherever they may happen to be. This canon overturns the dogma of Jacob and the heresy of the Tetradites.

II. It is not right to travel on Sunday without compelling necessity or force.

III. One ought not to accept the Apocalypse of Paul, nor the so-called Brontologia (book of thunder), nor the Selenodromia (book of moon-courses), nor the Calandologia (book of calendars), for they are all profane.

IV. One ought not to accept the Apocalypse of Ezra and Zosimas, nor the two martyrdoms of Saint George and of the holy martyrs Cyricus and Julitta, nor the book of Mark and of his successor ^A [Diadochus]. These are to be rejected and not admitted.

V. Monks who are under penance ought to be admitted to common food and prayer with the brethren. They must also be participants in the blessing—that is, the *kataklastos*—together with their confession.

VI. Pious donations made on behalf of those who die without a will ^B are to be accepted, provided that they possessed that intent while they were living, that these things might be performed in such a manner.

VII. If anyone is ill and requests holy Baptism or the holy habit, it must be given without delay, and grace is not to be denied.

VIII. If anyone has lived dissolutely and in luxury up to the age of twenty and beyond, and afterwards appears diligent in virtue, he is not to be ordained. For the sacred office must be undefiled.

IX. It is not permitted to work during the week of the Neophytes, ^C nor to chant the *Immaculate* ^D on the Sabbath of the Dismissal, nor to observe the days of Thursday.

X. A bigamist is not crowned; rather, he shall be punished by not partaking of the holy mysteries for two years.

XI. A trigamist shall be under penance for five years, and in this manner be admitted.

XII. He who strikes his father and kills him willfully, shall spend thirty-five years in the penalties of a homicide. ^A

XIII. Even a simple monk may baptize in an emergency, as also may a deacon.

XIV. If an antiminsium has been filled by ignorance, it is not polluted. For the sanctification is in it. For that which is sacred does not become impure.

XV. Those who are born of a concubine and a harlot, and of bigamists and trigamists, if they appear endowed with virtues, and are worthy of the priesthood, let them be ordained.

XVI. It is necessary for unbaptized infants, if one is found in a place where there is no priest, to be baptized. But if even the father himself, or any other person, baptizes, provided he is a Christian, he does not commit sin. ^B

XVII. To those receiving usury, the sacraments are not to be given; nor should bread be eaten in common with those who persist in iniquity.

APPENDIX TO THE CANONS OF PATRIARCH NICEPHORUS

The canons of Saint Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople and illustrious confessor of the orthodox faith concerning the veneration of holy images, which he established in his various synods, were published by Labbe as extracted from the Greco-Roman Law, Vol. IX, page 387, of the Venetian edition. But since they appear there mutilated and excerpted here and there, the learned have hitherto desired to possess them more complete in a new collection of Councils, if any were to be prepared; nor was the matter desperate, since many volumes had been printed, from which they could have been gathered and referred to the same Collections. But the Venetian editor of Labbe and author of the supplements shirked this labor. I have deemed it necessary to supply this defect of his here, exhibiting those canons more complete and greater in number, such as Cotelerius published from a manuscript codex in his *Monumenta*, Vol. III, page 445. It seemed good to add to these a few canons which Harmenopulus preserved in his epitome of canons, yet removing those which Labbe had already given; so that from all these and others, which Labbe scraped together from the Greco-Roman Law, ^C an integral collection of the canons of Patriarch Nicephorus, as much as can be, may be had in the Collection of Councils. Although, however, in those which I exhibit below from Cotelerius, certain canons occur which you likewise have repeated in Labbe, I did not judge that they should be omitted, both so as not to diminish in any way the collection of Nicephorus's canons which Cotelerius found in the old codex, and also for the sake of the more accurate version adorned by Cotelerius. I did not judge that Cotelerius's notes should be added at all, because they generally convey nothing other than an indication of the shelves from which those canons were extracted, and what kind of editions may exist in the Greco-Roman Law and elsewhere; which indeed first present themselves crudely. But if anyone should wish to know those obscure rituals which are touched upon in these canons, let him approach Goar in his *Euchologion*, and Du Cange in his *Glossarium Græcitatis*. ^D To these canons, however, Cotelerius appends an epistle of Saint Nicephorus, Patriarch and confessor, the inscription of which he found in a manuscript codex; which epistle indeed exhibits canonical responses to the interrogations of a certain person. For a long time I hesitated much and for a long time was in doubt whether to include this also in my collection, fearing lest by chance it should be held as the sanction not of Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, but rather of a certain private doctor, namely Saint Theodore the Studite, since in fact it claims its place among the epistles of Saint Theodore edited by Sirmond. But investigating everything with care, I now at length think I have discovered that this epistle is clearly to be denied to Nicephorus and ascribed to Theodore the Studite. This seemed to be indicated to me by that pericope with which the epistle concludes: "These things indeed we have explained for you to the best of our ability, as to one like-minded and a collaborator. You yourself, however, to the brethren who asked you, etc." These things indeed are equal to an equal, such as in fact was the monk Methodius (to whom the epistle is inscribed as it is read among the works of Theodore the Studite), towards the same Theodore the Studite, yet no equivalence of dignity could exist between Methodius and Nicephorus; wherefore, that being neglected as the admonition of a private man, rather than the canonical sanction of a bishop, we give the rest from Cotelerius.

CANONS OF SAINT NICEPHORUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE, THE CONFESSOR

I. If, through negligence, an antimension is washed, it does not lose its sanctification, nor does it become profane. ^A

II. A bigamist is not crowned; rather, he is under a penance of not receiving the immaculate sacraments for two years; but a trigamist for five years.

III. He who out of necessity has made a stay for a short time in the Narthex of the Church is not condemned; but if he remains for a long time, he himself shall indeed be cast out with penitential punishments, and the temple shall receive what is its own.

IV. For those who die intestate, the pious gifts and oblations made on their behalf are to be accepted; provided that they had the intention in life that they should be offered in this way. ^B

V. If the Annunciation falls on Great Thursday or Great Friday, we do not sin if we partake of wine and fish at that time.

VI. He who has been blessed and consecrated as superior of monks, and is a presbyter, may ordain a reader and a subdeacon in his own monastery.

VII. If anyone has lived in dissoluteness up to twenty years of age or even later, and is afterward known to perform works of virtue, he ought not to be ordained. For that which is sacred must be undefiled.

VIII. Those who are born of a concubine, or of bigamists or trigamists, if they have shown a life worthy of the priesthood, are ordained. ^C

IX. Divine communion is to be given to one who is sick and in danger of death, even if he has partaken of food.

X. It is proper to bend the knee for the sake of salutation on the Lord’s Day and throughout the whole of Pentecost; yet not to perform the customary genuflections.

XI. He does not sin who consecrates one oblation for three people, or lights one candle.

XII. That it is not proper to make the sign of the cross in the prayer of the Scevophylacium, or sacrarium, over the sacred chalice.

XIII. It is not proper for a presbyter to celebrate the Mass without warm water, unless there is great necessity, and such water cannot be found at all. ^D

XIV. A monk who has cast off the habit and later has been converted must be clothed again in the monastic garment that he laid aside, without the established prayers.

XV. It is proper for nuns to enter into the holy altar and to light a wax candle and taper, and to adorn and sweep it.

XVI. Monks ought not to engage in agricultural work on Great Friday (or during Lent), and under that pretext break the fast by taking wine and oil. For these are practices of gluttony.

^A XVII. For three reasons it is permitted for a monk to depart from his own monastery: if the superior is a heretic; if women enter the monastery; and if secular children are being taught in the communal house. XVIII. For it is absurd and alien that things done in the monastery be made public by such people. XIX. Monks who are subject to penalties and censures ought to eat and pray with the others; and also to be participants in the Eulogia, that is, the Cataclastos, which is the broken and blessed bread, along with their confession. XX. During the fast of the holy apostles, and the fast of Saint Philip, it is necessary for the monks residing in the monastery to take food once toward evening on Wednesdays and Fridays; but those who are working should eat after the sixth hour, and taste food, and dine in the evening. XXI. If a nun has been violated by barbarians or unruly men, and her previous life was blameless, she has a penalty of forty days; but if her former life was impure, she fulfills the censure and penance for adultery. XXII. He who puts on the monastic habit for fear of military service, or by any other craftiness—as though mocking it—and puts it off after the necessity or simulation has passed, is punished for three periods of forty days, and thus approaches holy communion. ^B XXIII. Communion is not to be received from a young monk-presbyter who ministers to nuns and administers communion to them. XXIV. The superior of a monastery shall not take away the cowl from a disciple, nor expel him. XXV. If any one has cast off the holy habit, and does not amend himself, it is not proper to admit him under one's roof, nor to say "Hail" to him. XXVI. If anyone is ill and seeks the holy baptism or the holy habit, it must be given without delay, nor is grace to be hindered. XXVII. That it is not proper for a monk-presbyter to perform the eucharist without a mandya or pallium. XXVIII. Those who confess hidden faults should indeed be kept from communion by the one who receives their confession; however, one should not prevent them from entering the church, nor expose their affairs; but one should gently admonish them to attend to penance and prayer, and moderate the penance appropriate to them according to each one's disposition. ^C XXIX. Adulterers, those who defile themselves with beasts, murderers, and similar sinners, when they have confessed their wickedness of their own accord, while it is still unknown to the many, are indeed kept from communion and receive penalties; but as they enter the church, they remain until the prayer for the catechumens. ^D But if their faults are public, then they fulfill their penalties according to the ecclesiastical law.

XXX. If a layman has voluntarily confessed his lapses, the one who receives the confession may apply a dispensation. XXXI. By the permission of the bishop, even a presbyter may perform a stauropegion, or the solemn planting of a cross. XXXII. Sacraments are not to be administered to those who accept usury, nor is it right to dwell with them as long as they persist in iniquity. XXXIII. Monks must fast on the Wednesday of the week of Cheese-fare and on Friday, and after the end and dismissal of the Liturgy of the Presanctified, they may eat cheese, wherever they may be dwelling; this is for the subversion of the dogma of Jacob and the heresy of the Tetradites. XXXIV. If someone possessing a concubine does not wish either to leave her or to be blessed and have her with the rite of a sacrament, it is not right to receive what is offered by him to the Church, whose divine sanctions he holds in contempt and treats with insult by his deeds. XXXV. If a monk, having laid aside the holy habit, eats meat and takes a wife, it is right that he, if he is unwilling to be converted, be submitted to anathema and be clothed against his will in the monastic garments and confined in a monastery. XXXVI. One who has fornicated even once shall by no means be ordained, even if he has ceased from the vice. For the great Basil says: Even if a man of this sort raises the dead, he shall not become a priest. XXXVII. When the Apostle says, "If any brother is named a fornicator, not even to eat with such a person," he does not seem to speak of him whom this person or that person has seen fornicating, but of the "named," that is, the one known to all. For offenses committed shamelessly draw upon themselves greater punishments.

FROM THE CANONS OF NICEPHORUS, Most holy Patriarch of Constantinople and ecumenical, from his own ecclesiastical constitutions.

Can. I. We permit entering into churches dedicated by the enthronement of heretics, out of necessity, as if into a common house, and chanting inside with a cross planted in the midst; yet not to enter the sanctuary, nor to offer incense, nor to perform prayer, nor to light a candle or lamp.

[VI.] * A monk who has laid aside the holy habit and returns again ought to be instructed by the brothers in what is required, not from the Catecheses, but each from those words which are supplied to him by the Lord; and they should chant the compunctive canon in the plagal tone; and he should place his clothes in the sanctuary under the holy table, as is done for the habit; and after the Gospel of the Liturgy the hegumen should tonsure him and clothe him in the habit, without any shouting. IX. One ought not to communicate from a priest who does not fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, even if he seems to be orthodox. For to be pious in part, and in part to be defiled, is profane and impure.

^C

XVI. That monks who perform labor during the holy Lenten season should take a little bread at the ninth hour, and eat in the evening.

XVII. Monks ought not to be occupied with work during the Great Lent, nor under the pretext of work break the fast by means of wine and oil; for these are inventions of gluttony.

XIX. What reasons compel a monk to leave the monastery? First, if the superior is a heretic; second, if the entrance to the monastery is permitted to women; and third, when a school is opened in the monastery for secular boys; for it is absurd that matters which are performed excellently in the monastery should be divulged; as the Gospel says: "Do not sound a trumpet before you, when you do a good deed."

XXIX. During the Lent—that is, the fast—of the holy Apostles, those monks who are laborers must fast on Wednesday and Friday until the sixth hour, and then take food, and dine at the ninth hour; and in the same way, during the Lent and fast of St. Philip, they should partake at the sixth hour and dine in the evening; but those who have remained in the monastery should eat only once, in the evening.

LVI. If a deposed presbyter, deacon, or reader is present, and a monk is found, he shall bless the table.

LXI. If anyone should cast off the holy habit and not amend, but holds to the orthodox faith, one ought not to receive such a man under one's roof, nor eat with him, nor say "Hail" to him.

^C Nicephorus the Patriarch. He who is convicted of public theft in capital crimes is not admitted to the priesthood. Indeed, even if he has been ordained, if he falls into such a crime, he is deposed.

By the same. Antimensia, wherever there is need of them, are transmitted without prohibition, and are not restricted to this or that region, but are even transferred to another province, just like the holy chrism. They are so called as being opposite or corresponding to those many altars which complete the holy and Lordly table. Properly, however, they signify those tables which consecration has not sanctified.

XIV. By Nicephorus the Patriarch. It is fitting for monastic women to enter the sanctuary and light tapers and candles, and decorate the temple. In case of danger, a simple monk may also baptize. Similarly, a deacon may do so. And even a layman, if he is found in the place, in the absence of a priest.

By the same. If a woman gives birth and the infant is in danger, after three or five days, the child shall indeed be illuminated by baptism, but another woman who is baptized and clean ^D and lactating shall nurse him. But as for the mother of the child, she shall remain outside...

shall nurse it. But its mother shall not enter the bedchamber where the child lies until the fortieth day, until she has been completely purified and has received a prayer from the priest, nor shall she touch it at all. ^A

Of the same. If an adult woman who has become a Christian, after one or two or however many days up to seven, sees her custom, she shall communicate in her own house. But she shall not enter the church until she has been purified. ^B

Of Nicephorus, Archbishop of Constantinople. That monks ought to fast on the Wednesday of Cheesefaring week and on Friday, and after the dismissal of the Presanctified [Liturgy] to eat cheese, wheresoever they may be found. This canon also overturns the dogma of James and the heresy of the Tetraditae. ^B

SAINT NICEPHORUS CP.

HISTORICAL BREVIARY

ON THE EVENTS FOLLOWING THE REIGN OF MAURICE

To the most Illustrious Gentleman, Guillaume Vair, Chancellor of France, Denis Pétau of the Society of Jesus, greetings.

At the first time you attained the dignity of that most eminent magistracy, most Illustrious Sir, it was the common sentiment of all that this provided for the health of the empire no less than for the security of literature. For that which was said by Plato concerning cities pertains much more to the study of the arts and disciplines: that those [cities] at length will be happy when either the wise rule them, or those same ones who rule are guided by the authority of the wise. Furthermore, that you are the sort of man who should be engaged for the establishing of cities, as Plato counseled, a certain public voice of the people and the constant fame of the whole kingdom have long celebrated. Which fact itself is not so trivial that it should be thought there is not some element of divinity in it, as the old proverb has it. But the same is even more certain, proven both by your whole past life and, not to depart from the judgment of others, by the weightiest verdicts of princes, of whom one made you the leader of his most eminent council, and the other turned you from the care of a single province to the administration of the whole kingdom. But this last act shows how much he attributed to your wisdom, along with the Queen Mother, when both summoned you from the furthest borders of Gaul, so that they might place you, whom they intended to set up in these fearful times as if in a watchtower of the empire—for indeed, when the sea is calm and the sky is tranquil, it is easy to trust any governor, even one moderately skilled; but in danger, there is no one who does not, if he can, enlist the man whom he has recognized as most learned and most prudent.

In this, one thing is by no means to be passed over, which I feel is of great importance to this matter. For most of those who strive to be of public use by their wisdom employ only that wisdom which is laborious and exercised in the management of affairs, while they leave that which is discerned in books and doctrines to idle men, as being useless to the state. But you have so admirably embraced both, that while there is no one with greater skill in the management of affairs, you nevertheless surpass the men of this age in your use of literature and your study of philosophy.

For you were the first among the Gauls, as Socrates once was in Greece, to lead this [study of philosophy], languishing in schools from idle contemplation of morals, to utility and use. Then you committed those things to many monuments, by which you might prescribe examples both of speaking to your fellow citizens and of living for yourself and others. In which books you have so expressed the image of your virtue that you might hand them over to the Gauls as if they were pledges and hostages; so that they might know, as if from a praetor’s edict, what your future manner of governing the republic would be, and might never believe it lawful to strip away the mask you had imposed upon yourself. Which indeed, in these few months since you began to preside over that office, has been excellently accomplished by you; nor does anyone doubt, considering what kind of beginnings these are, that through you the health of this empire may shortly be established and the authority of the laws recovered.

When you have at once finished this more pressing concern and wisely explained those greater affairs of the kingdom, then you will turn your attention to these things of ours—no less necessary for living well and happily—and will look to the health and dignity of your studies. For it comes to my mind, who—a few days ago—part of your [works]…

heard and part received from others the discourse, when you were professing that nothing had ever been more pleasing to you than the fine arts and those skilled in the arts, nor would there be anything later, to the extent that greater faculty for assisting might exist, that you would lack in any matter. Therefore, that you might remember that expression and advice, I have invoked our Nicephorus as a monitor, who might offer to you, both privately in his own name and in the common name [of our company], the patronage of letters, and might simultaneously also request that, in the studying and professing of these things, our company might exert itself—so that you might transfer some part of this concern and benevolence toward it, so that, having performed the services by which it has often been tossed about, it might be able not only to rest itself, but also to bring some benefit to all the duties of the Church and to its own vigils and labors in the study of the doctrines. Concerning myself, however, there is nothing that I primarily ask, except that you so forgive my boldness in interrupting you that you favor my love for you and my good will. Farewell. Paris, 6 Kalends of September, A.D. 1616.

PREFACE OF D. PETAVIUS TO THE READER

The epitome of Nicephorus, which we give to you here, candid and learned Reader, we received from R. P. Jacques Sirmond, who transcribed it at Rome from an ancient exemplar. Furthermore, there exists a highly honorable mention of the author himself in the Library of Photius, by which he greatly commends this epitome, and judges that by this one work he had not only challenged many before him, but had surpassed them by a long interval. He does not, however, mention by even a word the other monuments left by him. From this, the common opinion, which confuses this Nicephorus with another writer of the same name, whose Chronicle was edited long ago by many in Latin, and also in Greek by Scaliger, may appear doubtful. For since Photius is numbered among the Constantinopolitan pontiffs in the same Chronicle, one may believe that this did not proceed from that Nicephorus who, when Photius wrote those things, had departed from life, and was—as he speaks here—joined to the number of the saints ^A. Truly, it is possible that a more recent hand added that to the Chronicle of Nicephorus. However the matter stands, there seems to be no reason why our Nicephorus should not be that patriarch who is in the 78th order of that Chronicle. Concerning whom, the following is produced in the same place: "Nicephorus the asekretis, a monk, served 9 years. And he was cast out by the impious Leo the Armenian." Which in Latin signifies this: Nicephorus, a monk from the secretaries, sat 9 years, and was cast into exile by the impious Leo the Armenian. For he was the only Constantinopolitan patriarch before Photius, so that no other could be understood by that [account], and he was received among the saints not only by the flattery of the Greeks, but also by the common suffrage of the Church: for the memory of this man is consecrated in ecclesiastical records by the Latins on the 3rd of the Ides of May, and by the Greeks on the 4th of the Nones of June, after he was brought into order by the most wicked iconoclast Leo the Armenian, A.D. 828, in the 14th year of his exile, and happily departed from the living. With him, there existed a special intimacy with Theodore the Studite, a most holy man. Finally, you must be admonished of one thing: that the copy of Nicephorus which was in our possession was in many places faulty and corrupted, and that we, in order to extract a tolerable meaning, labored much in interpreting it: but by the law which we long ago imposed upon ourselves, we changed nothing in the text itself, except for some very slight and entirely manifest things, and in all matters we obeyed the Pythagorean decree which—as if from the tablets of Solon—must be brought forth in this place, truly worthy for all critics to keep before their eyes, and to accommodate their efforts and studies to it: "Pythagoras, son of Mnesarchus, of Samos, has been inscribed upon the law, which law does not permit [one] to make additions to books, but desires them to remain according to the first hand, as it once possessed of chance or art."

PRE-THEORY

Out of the number of all the emperors, you will find no one who either encountered times more difficult than Heraclius, or accomplished more and more excellent things in so short a space. But those same times, as they were long ago, are no less perturbed today, both by the tumult of wars and by the narrative itself and the series of years. For this can be said without envy: there has existed no chronicle, no annals, up to this day, in which those things have not been described perversely, and in which some remnant of error from either the anticipation or the transposition of years has adhered. Indeed, I myself am conscious of how much effort I have expended in partly discovering and partly amending those things; how much, furthermore, I have attained, I prefer to leave to the judgment of others rather than to set it down in my own discourse. For I have employed as authors and guides both many others, as well as Cedrenus and Theophanes—whose Greek [text], not yet published to this day, we had in our possession—and the Alexandrian Chronicle or the Sicilian Fasti, which the learned Fr. Matthäus Rader published this year. Relying on the authority of these, we have not only accurately distinguished what was done in each year of the emperor, but also, which is the chief thing, to whom it should be attributed in the Julian year, with which modulation of the year all our annals and chronology

^A rely. For our part, to have an exact account of the indictions—which those two later writers attribute—the notes of the years have led us, as if by hand. These are the cycles of the moon and sun, and the characteristics of Pascha and the holy days. Their method is as easy as its utility is incredible and almost necessary, so that it may rightly be called the bulwark of history and the "schema" of the times. For they are of such a nature that without them you would err greatly in the designation of years, nay rather, you would speak of things conflicting and entirely incoherent; or if, however, you have arranged something correctly, you would seem to have hit upon it by chance, not to have chosen it by a certain judgment of the mind. And since, in the Fasti, times are described from the diverse beginnings of the emperors, and the indictions and years of the Greeks do not repeat from the same head as the Julian years, it is necessary for that same single year to borrow something from two Julian ones. But if you have not distinguished those years—to which as to a certain rule you hold history—by certain marks and traces, will it not be necessary, as I said a little before, to guess and divine more often? It can hardly be said how often sin has been committed by learned men out of either contempt or disregard for this doctrine, so that even their chance circumstances ought to warn us that, in treating the times of the ancients, all things must be required as if by a standard. ^B That no one may think this is affirmed by us without cause, it must be put to the test in one or another example, especially from those which are necessarily joined with our institute. And first, concerning the indictions, by which this history of ours, like all more recent histories of the Greeks, is marked, let us see what is argued concerning their epoch in those great Annals, laden with every kind of learning. Thus, therefore, in the year of Christ 562, the 36th of Justinian, Baronius writes, omitting the consuls thereafter, who are noted by almost no one, that he will use the indictions according to the method and example of Cassiodorus. In which it must be noted, he says, that although Cassiodorus counts from the Incarnation, we indeed from the Nativity of the Lord, it is one and the same year of the Lord, since only nine months intervene from the time of the Incarnation until his birthday, etc. But if you begin to count the indictions from the month of September after the manner of our ancestors, then it will happen that the indiction of the year counted from the Incarnation and that which begins from the following Nativity of the Lord are not the same. For often there will be a need for the year marked from the Nativity of the Lord to increase by one in number. And thus this very year of the Lord five hundred and sixty-two, under the consulship of Basil for the twenty-first time, is the tenth indiction from the Incarnation of the Lord, and the same is the eleventh indiction from the time of the Nativity. Wherefore, since in this year (of Christ 562) the tenth indiction is placed by Cassiodorus, the eleventh ought to be placed by us, itself beginning from the month of September of the same five hundred and sixty-second year of the Incarnation of the Lord, which is led down to the twenty-fifth day of the month of March of this year, from which time thereafter the sixty-third begins to be counted. These things of his are indeed perplexed and utterly inextricable. Those who set out to reckon the years of Christ from the Incarnation take the beginning of the counting from that year which is the first of the Christian era and is noted by the cycle of the sun 9, moon 2, indiction 4. For thus Cassiodorus bids us add 3 to the years from the Incarnation, so that the indiction of any year may be found. Therefore, the first year of the Incarnation is to be noted by the fourth indiction, by which also the first year of the Christian era is marked. This is further proven from the nineteen-year cycle and the Dominical day of Pascha of that year, which the same Cassiodorus brings forward as an example of his method; which is the year of Christ 562. For he counts this year as the twelfth of the nineteen-year cycle, in which he writes that Pascha happened on the ninth day of April. ^C Which all the notes flow into the year of Christ 562, which had the cycle of the sun 11, moon 12, indiction 10. The Dominical letter A, the Paschal new moon March 22, the fourteenth [day], April 4, the third feria. Therefore, the Paschal Sunday was April 9. Therefore, if the five hundred and sixty-second year of the Christian era was endowed with the cycle of the sun 14, moon 12, indiction 10, and the first of the years of Christ is noted by the cycle of the sun 10, moon 2, indiction 4, and that which preceded this immediately had the cycles of the sun 9, moon 1, indiction 3. However, when the ancient computists counted the years of Christ from the Incarnation, and compared this to the first year of the Christian era, they assigned the Nativity of Christ to the same ending year after nine months exact, on December 25; so that the Incarnation fell into the same Julian year as the Nativity. But afterwards the Nativity of Christ was translated into the antecedent year, which immediately preceded the Christian era, so that the years of Christ began to proceed from the Nativity, because the first began on the eighth day after the Nativity. Now, indeed, as regards the indiction, it began its origin from the month of September according to the institution of the Orientals; and those who followed this began to count the indiction four months earlier than those who commenced it from the Kalends of January: they never, however, chose that September in beginning from September, which was the ninth from the Kalends of January, from which the indiction of others proceeded. Concerning which, see what I said in the eleventh book of *De Doctrina temporum*, c. 40. Wherefore all those who count the indictions from September believe Christ to have been incarnate according to the common account in the third indiction, but born in the fourth indiction. But the ancient computists, who affix the Incarnation and the Nativity of Christ alike to the first year of the current era, assign the fourth indiction to the Incarnation, and the fifth to the Nativity. But if they repeat the beginning of the indiction from January or from the eighth of the Kalends of April, they say he was incarnate and born either in the third indiction, in that year which immediately preceded the first year of the Christian era, or in the fourth, if they join both into the first year of the Christian era itself. From these, it is evident that it is not correctly used that we, who count the years of Christ from the Nativity, concur in the same year with Cassiodorus, who counts from the Incarnation, if indeed Cassiodorus establishes the Incarnation of Christ in the first year of the Christian era, the fourth indiction beginning, if he institutes the counting of the indictions from the eighth of the Kalends of April, but we [concur] in the antecedent year, the third indiction passing, if we fix the epoch of the indictions on the Kalends of January or on the twenty-fifth day of March.

Finally, that year which is placed by Cassiodorus as the five hundred and sixty-second ^A from the Incarnation, under the consulship of Basilius for the twenty-first time, is noted as the tenth indiction both by those who arrange the indictions from March, and by others who start them from the 25th of December or the following Kalends of January. But the former considered that the indiction from the Kalends of January to the 8th Kalends of April was still the third; yet both agreed on that same fourth indiction on the very day of the Incarnation, March 25, from which date Cassiodorus clearly calculates the five hundred and sixty-second year of Christ.

Therefore, both do not agree on the beginning of that same year and the same consuls, namely, that of the Incarnation and of the Lord’s Nativity. For those who begin from the Nativity, that is, December 25, do not follow the epoch of those who number from the Incarnation, that is, March 25, but they anticipate by three months; just as the Greeks do, whose years are more than half-over, who—as even boys know—formerly started their indictions on September 25, but afterwards from the Kalends. This later usage, to omit others, Gregory Kerameus, Archbishop of Tauromenium, indicates in his homily *On the Beginning of the Indiction, or of the New Year*.

Furthermore, regarding what I said concerning the epoch of the indictions, it is of the first importance that those who touch upon the histories of the Greeks remember this, while they compare the years of the emperors at once with the indictions and with the Julian years. For those who begin the year from the Kalends of January, which is what modern writers do, ought to note any given year with that indiction which had its beginning from the Kalends of September of the previous year according to the Constantinopolitan method—into which the beginning of the Julian year falls—and not from that which is begun in the same year less than eight months having passed. And then, for those emperors who began their reign at the end of some Julian year, it is right that this year not be named after them, but after their predecessors, who were still in control of the empire for the greater part of the year.

These things are trivial indeed, but are less observed by some; whence the order of the years of Heraclius, as I prefaced at the beginning, was undermined, since his first year began with the Constantinopolitan indiction 14, in the year of Christ 610, in the month of October, as could be established from Theophanes, Cedrenus, and others. Wherefore, in the following year, the same indiction passing or the Roman one beginning, the first year of Heraclius ought to have been numbered, since he had occupied the preceding year for the greater part of Phocas’s 8th year. But they marked the second year of Heraclius as 611 of Christ. Thus the first year of that same emperor was circumscribed within a three-month space. When learned men easily detected this lapse, they attempted to correct it in such a way that, by attributing only seven years to Phocas instead of the eighth—which falls in the year 610 ^B of Christ—they have inscribed the fourth to Heraclius. But that was to correct an error or rather to construct a new one for an old one: for it is contrary to the truth of history to take away from Phocas's 8th year, whom it is established to have completed 8 solid years, two months excepted, as we shall demonstrate later with more. But the verses of Constantine Manasses also indicate this: *Living and reigning over eight full years.* And not even so were the faults of the following years removed. For the first of Heraclius, if you follow the Roman indiction, is to be assigned for the greater part to the 14th. The second likewise is to be coupled with the 14th, since it claims for itself nine whole months from the former, and three from the latter. Otherwise, the first of Phocas, which follows the Heraclian epoch by almost a month and a half, ought to have been attributed to the year in which he began, 602, which the same men likewise and rightly termed the 20th of Maurice.

A similar and related error has crept into the years of Justinian for the same reasons, because the beginnings of the indictions as well as the epochs of the years of the reign are wrongly bound to the years of Christ or Julian years. Justinian was created Emperor on the Kalends of April, indiction 5, from which day the time of the reign is numbered, as is in the Alexandrian Chronicle, and Theophanes and Marcellinus in the Chronicle attest. It was the year of Christ 527, in which the 5th indiction, begun on September of the previous year, was running. The 5th year of this emperor, as is in Theophanes, the Alex. Chron. and others, is filled with a huge tumult at Constantinople by the nephews of Anastasius, which the same men describe at great length. This year in the annals is 534 of Christ; which Calvisius also followed. But since the 10th indiction did not enter until September of 531 and was extended through 532, it is necessary that that sedition happened in this later year, if indeed we follow the Julian style. And the characters of the days in the Alex. Chron. confirm this, where it is written that in this year January 16 was Friday, and the following day Saturday, and then the 18th day, Sunday. This indeed squares with no other than the year 532, with the solar cycle 9, bissextile, and the Sunday letter D.

From this source, faults have been derived into the other years of the same emperor. But this one is remarkable above the rest. In the 19th year of Justinian, the 9th indiction still passing, the *diaspor* (or confusion/displacement) of Pascha occurred, as Cedrenus and Theophanes write. I shall append his words: "And there was a great earthquake at Constantinople and destruction on the holy day of Pascha, and the populace began to abstain from meats on February 4th. But the Emperor commanded that meat be served the following week; and all the meat-sellers were killed and they set it out, and no one would eat or buy. But Pascha was accomplished as the emperor commanded, and the people were found fasting for a superfluous week." From which it is gathered that the people had anticipated the term set by the emperor by a full week. In the annals, this is related in the year of Christ 545. However, it clearly happened in the following year, 546, not yet having passed the 19th of Justinian (which is what misled the writers), the 9th indiction having already begun. In which they err vehemently who either attribute that error to Justinian, or write that any *diastrophē* (displacement) of Pascha occurred at all, as do Cedrenus, Theophanes, and others, who clearly conflict with themselves. For if Pascha was celebrated according to the emperor's prescription, which we shall soon show to have been consistent with the canon, there was indeed no *diastrophē* of it, but only of the *Apocreos* (meat-fare) feast, which the unlearned populace had begun, contrary to the canon, with the Quartodecimans on February 4. For in this year the cycle of the moon was 15, the Roman solar cycle 23, the Sunday letter G, the concurrents ^C

1. Therefore the time must be postponed according to the canon, and Easter celebrated on April 8, as Justinian knew. Again, from the same computation of Maximus, the limit ^A of the "advent of the holy fasts," or the "Apocreos festival," is February 4; which, with the *prosthetai* being the same and with zero concurrents, gives feria 1; therefore the day must be deferred to February 9. Since, therefore, the people had begun the fast or Quadragesima, or rather the *pentecostes*, before the legitimate time, on that very limit of February 4, intending to celebrate Easter on the Kalends of April, Justinian issued an edict that it should not be held before April 8. And so he added one week to the solemnities; and the most religious people did not wish to interrupt the fast, and rejected the meats offered. However, regarding the explanation of this passage, Joseph Scaliger is wonderfully mistaken (book 4, *de Emend. Temp.*), when he rewrites for Cedrenus "4", that is, February 4, as "IA", that is, 14, and writes that the people fasted for 53 days and abstained from the eating of meats, when by custom only 46 days are attributed to the fast. But he is manifestly refuted by the computation of Maximus, which he himself inserted at the end of his book. For Maximus, in order to ferret out the *apocreos* festival, first orders the cycles of the sun and moon to be investigated from the lunar period, then the concurrents. These, with the *prosthetai* (if there are any) and the *postiaia*, give the feria. And if the Sunday falls upon the limit itself, the day must be deferred to the following Sunday, as is usually done at Easter. He adds the use of the *psephismos* in the 31st year of Heraclius, which is 641 of Christ.

That you may understand this more clearly, know that the Greeks are accustomed to begin the Quadragesima fast from the Sunday which we commonly call Sexagesima; which we indeed gather from the computation of Maximus, where the *apocreos* festival is celebrated 56 days before Easter. And the same is read in Albinus Flaccus (*lib. de Divinis Off.*, ch. on Septuagesima) in these words: "The Greeks sanctify the next week, that is, Sexagesima, with their fast; our clergy, by the authority of Pope Telesphorus, [sanctify] the following, that is, Quinquagesima, who established a 7-week fast before Easter." The reason for this institution is as follows: The Greeks do not fast on Sunday and Saturday, except for Great Saturday, according to the prescription of the old canon, which is among the apostolic ones, 65; ^B against which, in truth, the usage of the Western Church derogated. Therefore, just as the holy Roman Church, which begins the *tessaracoste* from the Sunday that follows Quinquagesima, added four days and back-promoted the fast to feria 4, which the ancient ritual books call the head of the fast, so that Christians might observe 40 complete days of the customary *apoche* (abstinence) not only from meats but also from all food—because from Sunday the 40th to Holy Saturday there are 42 days, from which 6 *anesteutois* (non-fasting) Sundays being excepted, only 36 remain (and for that reason those 4 days must be added outside the order)—so the Greeks, who do not fast on Saturdays just as on Sundays, and consequently set aside 6 others or at least 5 from the 36 days, repeat 10 days from those preceding ^C and add the two earlier weeks, from which, two Sundays and as many Saturdays being set aside, there are 10 *apostoi* days, so that the total *apocreos* days are 56, and the *apostoi* indeed are 40 or 41. From this it is clear that the Constantinopolitan people abstained from meats for 63 days, not 53 instead of 46 as Scaliger thinks, but instead of 56 legitimate days. We learn this same thing from the Horologion of the Greeks; and furthermore, that the Sunday of Quinquagesima is called by them the Sunday of Tyrophagus (the cheese-eater). They add the cause in this scholion: "It must be known that on Wednesday and Friday of Tyrophagus after the 4th [day/service] we eat cheese and eggs for the sake of the Jacobites and Tetradites, according to the canon of our Father among the saints, Nicephorus of Constantinople." Wherefore before the Great Quadragesima there is a softer and looser fast. For this reason they call the Sunday of Quadragesima the "first of the fasts," or "of Orthodoxy." And this one example might have instilled shame in silence among the sectaries and haters of the *tessaracoste*, if they had any cheek at all. ^D Now, before I proceed to the Breviarium of Nicephorus, it is pleasing in this place to comprehend in a chronological synopsis only the prior years of Heraclius, in the illustration of which we have mostly put our efforts, so that, with the historical series viewed, the reader may more easily understand what must be discussed by us.

CHRONOLOGICAL SYNOPSIS OF THE 18 YEARS OF HERACLIUS

Anno Domini 610, Indiction 13, Phocas 8, cycle of the moon 3, of the sun 3. In this year Sergius the patriarch of Constantinople is created on April 18, Great Saturday. Heraclius, summoned by letters from Crispus, the son-in-law of Phocas, and from the Constantinopolitan senate, from Africa, overcomes Phocas, and from the nones of October he began his rule, Indiction 14 in Constantinople already begun. And soon he takes Eudocia Augusta as his wife. Saint John the Almsgiver is thought to have been created bishop of Alexandria at least in this year. A. D. 611, Indiction 14, of Heraclius 1, cycle of the moon 4, of the sun 4. Heraclius begins his consulship on the 14th day of January. The Persians in the month of May infest Syria, and occupy Apamea and Edessa.

Epiphania, the daughter of Heraclius, is born July 7, feria 4; who is also called Eudocia. A. D. 612, Indiction 15, of Heraclius 2, after the consulship of Heraclius, cycle for both 5. Heraclius the younger, who is also Constantine, is born in the suburb of the Sophianae on May 3, feria 4. Eudocia, the wife of Heraclius, dies Aug. 13, Sunday. Epiphania, the daughter of Heraclius, is crowned in the palace by Sergius on Oct. 4, Indiction 1 of Constantinople. A. D. 613, Indiction 1, of Heraclius 3, after his consulship 2, Heraclius the younger 1, cycle of the sun and moon 6. Heraclius the younger is crowned on Jan. 22, feria 2. A. D. 614, Indiction 2, Heraclius senior 7, after consulship 3, Heraclius the younger 2, cycle of the moon and sun 7. Heraclius takes Martina, the daughter of his sister, as his wife. The Persians storm Damascus.

^A A.D. 615. Indiction 3, Heraclius senior 5, after consulship 4, Heraclius junior 3, cycle for both 9. The Persians bring Judea under their power, capture Jerusalem, and transfer the holy and life-giving Cross into Persia in the month of June. They kill 90,000 Christians and carry off Patriarch Zacharias. Another Constantine is born to Martina and is baptized by Sergius at the Blachernae.

A.D. 611. Indiction 4, Heraclius 6, after consulship 5, Heraclius junior 4, cycle for both 9. Saes, sent by Chosroes, occupies Egypt, Alexandria, and Africa. From there, having gone as far as Chalcedon with his forces, he makes a pact with Heraclius and leads his envoys with him into the East to Chosroes, by whom he is most miserably killed. St. John the Almsgiver dies at the beginning of this year. St. Anastasius the Persian, serving in the camp at Sais, embraces the Christian faith and thence, proceeding to Jerusalem, professes the monastic life.

A.D. 617. Indiction 5, Heraclius 7, after consulship 6, Heraclius junior 5. Heraclius the younger, having entered upon his consulship on the Kalends of January, creates his brother Constantine, son of Martina, Caesar. The Persians storm Carthage.

A.D. 618. Indiction 6, Heraclius 8, after consulship 7, Heraclius junior 6. Envoys sent again by Heraclius to Chosroes return with nothing accomplished. In the month of August, the distribution of doles in Constantinople is abolished.

A.D. 619. Indiction 7, Heraclius 9, after his consulship 8, Heraclius junior 7. ^C The Avars break into Thrace and, deceiving Heraclius through the hope of obtaining peace, surround him. The Chagan returns with immense booty.

A.D. 620. Indiction 8, Heraclius 10, after his consulship [unclear in text], Heraclius junior 8. Peace is concluded with the Avars. The Persians capture Ancyra.

A.D. 621. Indiction 9, Heraclius 9, after his consulship 9, Heraclius junior 9. Heraclius transports forces from Europe into Asia.

A.D. 622. Indiction 10, Heraclius 13, after his consulship 9, Heraclius junior 10. St. Anastasius the Persian undergoes martyrdom in Persia. Heraclius, having celebrated Easter on April 4, sets out for the East, having left Bonus the patrician and Sergius in charge of the custody of the city of Constantinople. Thence he fights against the Persian commanders in Armenia and Persia. Winter approaching, he dismisses the army to winter quarters and returns to Constantinople.

A.D. 623. Indiction 11, Heraclius 13, after consulship 12, Heraclius junior 11. Heraclius, having celebrated Easter at Nicomedia in the month of March, marched against the Persians with his wife Martina, having sent his children back to Constantinople. Sarbarus, sent by Chosroes into Bithynia, is immediately recalled.

Heraclius ravages Persia with sword and fire and pursues the fleeing Chosroes. He finally winters in Albania.

A.D. 624. Indiction 12, Heraclius 14, after consulship 13, Heraclius junior 12. Heraclius defeats Sarbazanes and Sarablancas, the commanders of Chosroes, as well as Sainus, in three battles. Thence he passes the winter in Albania.

A.D. 625. Indiction 13, Heraclius 15, after consulship 14, Heraclius junior 13. Heraclius reaches the Tigris through Syria in the month of March. Thence, letters having been sent to the Constantinopolitans, he fights with Sarbarazas. In that battle he performed many feats beyond human strength, acting vigorously and bravely. Night coming on and the battle being broken off, the Barbarians flee.

A.D. 626. Indiction 14, Heraclius 16, after consulship 15, Heraclius junior 14. Chosroes, exasperated by so many disasters, levies forces from every condition of men; he sends a part of them with the commander Sarbarazas to Constantinople, and hands over another part to the commander Sainus and pits them against Heraclius. The Avars, incited by Sarbarazas, besiege Constantinople. But the city having been liberated by the aid of the blessed Virgin, almost all the Barbarians were destroyed. Heraclius, who had divided his army into three parts, obtains auxiliary forces from the Turks. These, having made a sortie into Persia, returned and were afterwards received by Heraclius with great kindness. Saes, the brother of Heraclius, dies having been overcome by sickness of mind. ^D Meanwhile Sarbarazas continues to besiege Chalcedon.

A.D. 627. Indiction 15, Heraclius 17, after consulship 16, Heraclius junior 15, cycle of the moon 1, of the sun 20. Chosroes sends the commander Razates, a man of greatest strength, against Heraclius; he, having entered Persia with the Turks, is deserted by them, in the 18th year of the empire now begun with Indiction 1. Hence, the whole region having been devastated far and wide, finally on December 12, on a Saturday, he utterly destroys Razates with his army. And soon he pursues the fleeing Chosroes.

A.D. 628. Indiction 1, Heraclius 18, after consulship 16, Heraclius junior 16, cycle of the sun 21, of the moon 2. Chosroes, fleeing, designates his son Merdasas as successor, despising Siroes. Because of this, he was captured by his eldest son Siroes and the Persian princes who conspired [against him] and was miserably killed on February 28. Siroes obtains peace from Heraclius; he sends letters to the S.P.Q.C. concerning the things done by him. These were read in the church on May 15, the very day of Pentecost. In the same year Heraclius returns to Constantinople, and thither he transports the most holy Cross of the Lord. He subsequently set out in the spring and restored it to Jerusalem. Finally, so that we may not omit anything that pertains to the illustration of this history, we shall here list the children of Heraclius, mention of whom is made among the writers.

OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS NICEPHORUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE, SHORT HISTORY FROM THE REIGN OF MAURICE.

SAINT NICEPHORUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE, BREVIARY OF HISTORY

CONCERNING EVENTS AFTER THE REIGN OF MAURICE

TRANSLATED BY D. PETAVIUS, S.J.

1–3 [A.D. 602]. When the Emperor Maurice had been killed, Phocas, the author of this parricide, usurped the empire. Under him, such great calamities were inflicted upon Christian affairs that it was commonly proclaimed by all that the Persians were ravaging the Roman empire from without, while Phocas was doing things much worse to it from within, and these things could not be endured by the Romans any longer. Therefore, those who were in charge of Africa at that time, made bolder by this fact—that they were situated at a very great distance from the capital—began to take action. ^A Since the state of affairs under the rule of Phocas had brought such great harm to the Christians that it was commonly sung and said that the Persians were despoiling the Roman realm from the outside, while Phocas was doing worse things within, these things became intolerable to the Romans. Wherefore, those who were in command in Libya at that time...

being far off ^A from the city and having secured their safety by that great distance, and having been entrusted by Maurice with the supreme command—these were two brothers, Heraclius and Gregorius—they took counsel together and sent their sons to the city of Byzantium, having agreed among themselves that whichever one of them arrived first should, if he could, seize the empire. And having brought Heraclius, the son of Heraclius, to the maturity of manhood, they sent him out with ships, while they surrounded Nicetas, the son of Gregorius, with a large force of cavalry and sent him by land. Heraclius, enjoying good fortune and having set sail with the most favorable winds, arrived at Byzantium before Nicetas ^B and was already approaching the city. Now Crispus—who was the son-in-law of Phocas, and at that time held the throne of the eparch of the city, and was very powerful in the imperial palace—since he was detested by Phocas, being treated insultingly by him on account of the removal of his own statue, which the partisans of the opposing colors had once inscribed along with the statue of Phocas—sought to entrap him by guile. Pretending that he was striving for his sake, he tried to persuade him and insisted that Heraclius had come for his own destruction; yet he was secretly working with Heraclius and was doing everything on his behalf. Those around Phocas, therefore, having observed how much of their own civic body was in revolt,

^A [for the partisans of the Green faction had already set fire to the structures near the Caesarium and were hailing the newcomer as emperor], and seeing also the troops of Heraclius pressing them most forcefully, they abandoned him and went over to their own side. A certain Photius by name, who had once been insulted by him when he had violated his wife, immediately seized Phocas with a multitude of soldiers in the palace, and having stripped him of the imperial garb, he clothed him in a black tunic, tied his hands behind his back, and having put him on a boat, carried him off as a prisoner to Heraclius. Seeing him, Heraclius said: "Is this how, you wretch, you have administered the state?" He replied: "And you, perhaps, are about to administer it better!" ^B Immediately, therefore, he sentenced him to death by the sword while still on the boat. Then he ordered him to be mutilated, his right hand to be amputated from the shoulder joint, his genitals to be cut off, and for these to be hung on poles. The body was then dragged through the city to the forum called the Forum of the Ox, and there it was consumed by fire. He commanded that Domentiolus, the brother of Phocas, as well as Bonus and Leontius, the treasurer of the imperial funds, undergo the same danger as Phocas. And indeed, these events came to pass in this manner.

Afterwards, Sergius, the patriarch of the city, and the rest of the populace received Heraclius within the walls with all ceremony and rejoicing. He himself exhorted Crispus to take hold of the empire, declaring that he had not come for the sake of usurping the power, but rather to exact vengeance from Phocas for the crimes he had committed against Maurice and the children of Maurice. ^C But he (Crispus) would not accept it. Eventually, Heraclius was proclaimed emperor by the senate and the people, and was crowned with the imperial diadem by the patriarch. After these things were finished, he chose Crispus as general and placed him in command of the military forces that were in Cappadocia. When the rumor spread that the Persians were campaigning against the Romans, Heraclius set out from Byzantium toward Crispus near the territory of Caesar.

^A For Crispus was then at Caesarea, and Heraclius proceeded to him as if to deliberate concerning public affairs. But Crispus feigned illness, and he was often heard railing against the emperor. Heraclius understood the drama, yet he bore the insults and for the time being kept watch for an opportunity. He appeared for a while to be speaking more sincerely about what ought to be done for one another for the sake of the state. But Crispus, mocking him, said that it was not fitting for an emperor to abandon the palace and dwell among far-off armies. In the midst of these things, a son was born to the emperor Heraclius, whom he named Constantine. ^B At that time, Nicetas the patrician arrived at the imperial city. For this reason, Heraclius returned to Byzantium, and he received Nicetas with the greatest honor and splendor, as a true brother and partner in the empire, just as it had been agreed between them at the time they departed from Libya. Crispus also arrived in Byzantium, as if to rejoice at the arrival of Nicetas. Heraclius feigned that he wished to have his son purified in the divine bath, and that he should be received from the font by Crispus. ^C Upon this, Crispus entered the palace. Heraclius, having gathered all those of the senate and the rest of the city’s multitude, together with the patriarch Sergius, is said to have spoken to them: "Against whom does a man offend who brings insult upon the emperor?" When they replied, "Against God, who made him emperor," the emperor urged Crispus to pronounce what he thought was just. He, unaware of the trap, declared openly that a man convicted of such a crime was unworthy of any fair or humane judgment. ^D Then the emperor recalled to his memory everything—how he had feigned illness at Caesarea, how he thought he was belittling the imperial dignity, and how he had incited against the imperial authority. He then took the document, struck him on the head with it, and said, "You have not acted as a son-in-law; how then will you act as a friend?"

^A He immediately ordered his head to be shaved in the form of a cleric, and for the hierarch to recite the customary prayers for the tonsure. After he had gone out, he said to the soldiers who were with Crispus, word for word: "Up to this time, Pope Crispus has had you as his ministers, but today we make you household guards of the Empire." He also added their customary annual grain allowance to them and ordered that they be counted among the first military ranks. They received the emperor with the most willing spirits and followed him with auspicious acclamations, along with the rest of the populace. Following these events, Crispus was shut up in the monastery called Chora, where he lived for a year and then died.

Heraclius appointed his own brother, Theodore, who held the second rank of dignity after the emperor (those around the palace are accustomed to calling him Curopalates), and also Philippicus, son-in-law of the Emperor Maurice, having married his sister—who at that time had had his hair shorn in the habit of a cleric—as leader of the territory previously governed by Crispus. Philippicus died after surviving for some time, and he was delivered for burial in the exceedingly beautiful and venerable temple which he had founded at Chrysopolis.

Not long after these events, the emperor's wife, Eudocia, died of epilepsy. ^B While her body was being carried out, and many, as is usual, were flocking to the spectacle, it happened that a certain girl, looking down from the upper stories (this was a maidservant of one of the citizens), spat carelessly into the air. When the spittle happened to fall upon those precious robes in which the empress's body was wrapped, those who were following the procession, being seized with wrath, caught her and condemned her to be burned with fire. Thus did those wicked men perform funeral rites for the empress contrary to law and justice, using a barbaric custom, and the unholy wretches accompanied her burial in an unlawful manner. ^C They also sought out the mistress of the servant, intending to subject her to the same danger; but she, having discerned the destruction, fled, and was never seen again thereafter. Such, then, were the affairs around the palace.

^A What is related as having occurred in other parts holds in this manner. In a certain suburban place, whose name has not hitherto been discovered, there was a certain man named Vitulinus, illustrious in both dignity and wealth, of that rank whom the Romans are accustomed to call candidates. A certain widow lived as a neighbor to him, who bore that neighborhood ill. Wherefore, when a controversy had arisen between them concerning the boundary lines of the land, Vitulinus ordered his own servants to attack those neighbors with a fight; and when they had killed one of the widow’s sons with clubs, she picked up the body of the dead man ^B and, taking his garment, flew to Byzantium. There, observing him as he was proceeding, she ran up, and seizing with her hands the reins of the horse upon which he was riding, and at the same time displaying the clothing of her son, she cried out to him: “May it so happen to your sons, O Emperor, unless you straightway avenge by law this blood which I show you.” When the guards surrounding the Emperor rushed up and threatened to strike the woman, the Emperor forbade it, and warned her not to approach further, saying that he would inquire into the case when it seemed fitting. Having said this, he withdrew. But the woman, when she did not obtain her right, dissolved into groans and lamentations. ^C When some time had passed thereafter, the murderer, fearing lest the woman should again petition the Emperor regarding the murder of her son, traveled to Byzantium and mingled himself with the multitude of citizens. It chanced that an equestrian contest was then being celebrated, when the Emperor, catching sight of him in the midst of the crowd of people, commanded the Prefect of the city to throw the suspected man into custody. Then, having summoned the woman, he inquired more accurately concerning the committed slaughter. And finally, he decreed against Vitulinus the same penalty of death which that [an. 613] deceased son of the widow had suffered, and ordered that he be killed in the same manner by the latter’s children.

Subsequent to these things, when Heraclius had had his son Heraclius, or rather Constantine (for he happened to be of double name), cleansed by the Patriarch in the divine laver, [he received him] in his arms. ^D

^A He immediately bestowed upon him the symbols of the imperial dignity and the other insignia, and, placing the diadem upon him, he crowned him and proclaimed him emperor. Moreover, he betrothed his daughter Gregoria, by name, to Nicetas, who held the rank of patrician, ^B and, having thereby bound him to the emperor by a closer tie of intimacy, he erected a gilded equestrian statue of him in the forum. Such were the events that took place in Constantinople.

Meanwhile, Chosroes, the king of the Persians, having gathered an immense army, sent it against the Romans, having appointed ^C Saitus as leader of the Persian forces. This man, marching toward Alexandria, and having taken the city by... ^D

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(24) *His daughter Gregoria?* Eudocia truly bore Heraclius only two children, Epiphania and Heraclius the younger; for in the 14th indiction, in the year of Christ 610, Heraclius entered into nuptials with Eudocia, whom he had previously betrothed. In that same indiction, but in the year 611, on July 7th, Epiphania was born, as the Alexandrian Chronicle also relates. In the 15th indiction, in the year 612, Heraclius the younger was born. Eudocia died four months later. Epiphania was, furthermore, called Eudocia, as the Alexandrian Chronicle testifies, whom Heraclius had betrothed to the prince of the Turks. This passage is therefore to be corrected, and it should be read: *He betrothed his daughter Gregoria, by name, to Constantine, his son, who was still an infant.* That this is clear from page 19 of this same book.

(25) *In the forum.* In the description of the city of Constantinople, forums are numbered; among which the Constantinian is specifically counted, in regions 7 and 8. The Theodosian is likewise in region 5, in which also the Prosphorian port is located, which some derive from *prosfora* (offering). See whether it obtained that name from bordering the forum. Theophanes in the 13th year of Copronymus: *The emperor went into the forum with Constantine, the unholy prelate.* Cedrenus in [the life of] Constantine: *This, therefore, was the Constantinian forum.*

(26) *Chosroes... Saitus.* It is difficult to assign a fixed place for these events in the chronological order. For Cedrenus writes that this Saitus, whom he calls Sais, was sent by Chosroes to bring an army to Chalcedon and had spoken with the emperor, at the time when Pascha was celebrated by Heraclius in that same year. Which, indeed, in those great Annals is referred to the year of Christ 621. The indiction was 10, not 9, as it is written there. In Theophanes, there is no mention of Sais and the three embassies sent to the East. The Alexandrian Chronicle notes this interview with Sais and Heraclius’ embassy to Chosroes in the 4th indiction, even though the indiction heading is placed before it. For it adds: *In this year...* But many things in that chronicle are disarranged in their order and subscribed under foreign titles. Therefore, this whole passage is to be referred to the following indiction, which is the 4th, in the 6th year of Heraclius, in the year of Christ 616, since...

...the 4th indiction, in the 6th year of Heraclius, brought his camp to Chalcedon, and a prochronism of years was committed by the chroniclers and historians. For because they want those events—which occurred in the 12th year of Heraclius, the year of Christ 621 (or rather, as we shall demonstrate later, 622)—to have taken place after Pascha, it is proven false by the fact that in the... year of Heraclius the Roman forces were transported from Europe into Asia. But that could not have happened before the consultation with Sais and the embassies sent; as is evident from our Nicephorus: for Heraclius had not yet organized his expedition. Truly, what we have said about Saitus, that he had transacted business with the emperor at Chalcedon long before Heraclius' departure, has George Syncellus as a witness, from whom Cedrenus copied these things; but he, deceived by the affinity of the names—of which we shall speak shortly—rendered them at the wrong time.

(27) *Leader of the Persian forces.* This man is called Sais by Cedrenus and the Alexandrian Chronicle. But beware lest you confuse him with another, whom the same Cedrenus and Theophanes later call Sahn, and Paul the Deacon calls Sathin. This affinity of names has wonderfully confused the chroniclers and writers of annals. Therefore, hold this as certain: five leaders in all were sent by Chosroes against Heraclius. The first is Sais, whom our author calls Saitus, by whom Alexandria, Egypt, and the entire East were devastated. This man, because he had not brought Heraclius alive to Chosroes, perished most miserably by having his skin flayed, before the whole of Heraclius' expedition, whose three legates he had led with him from Bithynia into Persia. The second is Sarbarus, of whom there is frequent mention thereafter. This same man is called Sarbanazas by Cedrenus and Theophanes in the 13th year, and Sarbarazas, who, being sent to besiege Constantinople, was recalled on the way by Chosroes and ordered to unite his forces with Sarablanca to fight against Heraclius. The third is Sarablanca, of whom Cedrenus and Theophanes make mention in the 14th year of Heraclius. The fourth is Sais, of whom the same [authors] make mention in the 14th year, and by whom, in the last year, being defeated by Heraclius, he died from grief and sickness. His body, having become putrid and been brought into Persia, was subjected to many insults by Chosroes. The fifth is Razates, who was slain by Heraclius in the 17th year. Mention is also made of another leader by Leontius, who edited the life of St. John the Almsgiver, whom he calls Rasmiszus, by whom he writes that the holy places were devastated: but the others attribute this to Sarbarus. That St. Anastasius served under the first Sais, and came with him to Chalcedon and there embraced the Christian faith and left the camp, is written in the Annals in the year of Christ 621, in the 12th year of Heraclius. But that this is to be compared with the 6th year of Heraclius has been evidently shown a little earlier. The one who produced the life of the martyr, Simeon Metaphrastes, writes thus of his conversion: *For there was for him a certain brother...*

^A having set out for Alexander’s city, he took it by force, reduced the whole of Egypt to servitude, and from thence laid waste the entire Orient, carrying off most of the inhabitants as captives and cruelly slaying the rest without any pity. Having finished these things, he subsequently marched with his entire army against the city of Chalcedon and enclosed it with a long siege. In the meantime, he invited the emperor to a parley; the latter, yielding to his desire, crossed the Bosphorus with royal retinue and equipment in order to go to him. As soon as Saitus caught sight of him, he rose from his throne, cast himself to the ground, and did him obeisance. The emperor, in turn, also addressed to him a greeting from the small boat in which he was sailing and honored him with gifts. Then Saitus began to speak to him in this manner: “It was fitting, O Emperor, for the princes of the Romans and the Persians neither to be disjoined in their minds from one another, nor to differ in any matter whatsoever, but to join in friendship and a treaty most willingly; which thing, as it was in the past with the ancients, so too for all men at this present time is most pleasant; and this matter both tranquil ^B and fellow-soldier—both, however, were related in the number of the army of Sain, and they came as far as the renowned Chalcedon. But when the divine Heraclius, having made an incursion into Persia, had drawn Sain back, the Persian again attempted a return and with vehement zeal was returned to his own region. Anastasius, however, left the Persian army, etc. But a short time later, he relates that this was the year of Heraclius in which he departed for Jerusalem and was received into a monastery, where, after years had passed, he at length died in the year of Heraclius. These things, indeed, agree neither with the Annals nor with the truth of the matter. In the first place, when the year is counted as the 10th of Heraclius, in which he was admitted into the monastery, it is poorly compounded with the year of Christ: for the year of Heraclius ^C began in indict. 7, and reached to October of the year 620, two years before Heraclius set out for the Orient or clashed with any of Chosroes’ commanders, and thus years after the departure of Sain, and indeed after his death. It remains that he served under another nearly contemporary Sais, especially since Sais, not Saes or Saitus, is named by Metaphrastes. But the fact stands in the way that, after Sais’ death, it was not Sais, but Sarbarus or Sarbarazas who led the army into Bithynia, from where, having been recalled by Chosroes, he fought with Heraclius, insofar as, by the authority of Theophanes and Paul the Deacon, Chosroes dispatched Sarbanazas with forces into Romania, as Cedrenus says. But he was immediately recalled when Heraclius had burst into Persia, against whom meanwhile Sais presented himself. Again, in the year of Heraclius, Chosroes, having divided his forces into two parts, sent Sarbarus with 50,000 men to Constantinople, and set the others, under the command of Sais, against Heraclius, by whom Sais was defeated and routed, while in the meantime Sarbaras was besieging Chalcedon; in which siege he persisted, nor did he subsequently engage in combat with Heraclius. The words of Theophanes and Cedrenus wonderfully agree with Metaphrastes. «In that year,» says Theophanes, «the general...» Metaphrastes, however: «When he was now reaching the age of adolescence,» he says, «and King Chosroes was gathering a new army in Persia, he himself also is recorded with others in the number of the recruits.» The year ^D and Cedrenus both narrate that this happened in the same year of Heraclius, and thus of Christ 616; which is to be observed first of all. For here also the reasoning escapes the chroniclers immensely, when they describe the years and death of John the Almsgiver of Alexandria. Whom Nicephorus asserts in his Chronicle to have presided for years, and thus it is read in the Annals that he died in the year of Christ; and in the same year, the patrician Nicetas, sent by Heraclius, wanted to collect the money of the Alexandrian Church into the treasury. Furthermore, by the testimony of Leontius, before Alexandria came into the power of the enemy, being taken by Nicetas to Constantinople, he died on the journey. But how could Nicetas in that city and province collect money, which the Persians had already held in their power for 5 years? Wherefore it is a metachronism of 5 years. But if John was appointed prefect of the Alexandrian Church by Heraclius, which the same Leontius reports, so that this was done in his first year, he could only have administered that church for years.

^A It confers a life of virtue and the establishment of the best laws, and it pertains greatly to the protection of whatever still remains of the empire. For we are not ignorant that there will never be any empire that can be compared with those two. And I deem it a sin that those between whom mutual benevolence and friendship could be confirmed by prudence and counsel should bear arms against each other and without cause inflict injury upon the peoples subject to them. For what will happen in the end from this? Assuredly, if you establish concord and peace between yourselves, you will both be much happier than other men and for the whole time of your lives you will be in greater splendor and the admiration of all, and you will exchange that labor and care for tranquility and leisure. But if, holding these things in contempt and rejecting them, you prefer to repudiate peace, that most excellent of goods, believe me, this matter will bring you no benefit. ^B But when you have taken up a hostile mind and discord against one another, you will invite upon yourselves very many wars—a thing in itself monstrous and detestable. And then you will undergo, as is evident, great sweat and labor, and you will suffer an immense loss of bodies and wealth. And, to say it in one word, the end of this war will consist for us in the greatest calamity; the nature of which you can see in the present, for from the time I entered the Roman empire, it has seen and suffered the most atrocious things. Wherefore it will remain that the state of your public affairs will be most unfortunate and most deplorable." Having said these things, he added an oath that he was striving greatly that the Romans and Persians might enter into a treaty of peace among themselves. To this the emperor promised that he would act so; but he said that some guarantee must be given for those things which had been confirmed by oath, and that he would willingly agree to those same things for Chosroes. But Saitus said: "If you trust me, send envoys with me to Chosroes concerning this matter; and I do not doubt ^C that he will accede to my opinion, provided, however, that you also form a treaty of alliance with us and keep a firm and sincere peace for the future."

Heraclius, mollified by this smooth speech, promised extensively that he would accomplish everything. Thus, having taken counsel, the affair pleased the patriarch and the magistrates greatly, and every effort was applied to promoting it. Wherefore envoys were immediately determined upon: Olympius, the prefect of the praetorian guard, and Leontius, the city prefect, ^D and Anastasius, the oeconomus of the great church which is called Sophia, along with Saitus, who was led away from Chalcedon.

^A And he drove them back and proceeded according to Persian custom. And so long as he traveled through the Roman empire, he treated the envoys with every honor and courtesy; but as soon as he reached the boundaries of the Persians, he cast iron chains upon them and led them to Chosroes. When Chosroes learned that Saitus had regarded and honored Heraclius as emperor, and had not brought him as a prisoner of war (which he had long been dreaming of and had anticipated in his mind), he was moved to great anger against him, and in the end, he flayed the skin from him and made a wineskin out of it, inflicting on him a bitter and violent death. As for the envoys of the Romans, he separated them from one another, kept them under the strictest guard, and afflicted them in a pitiable manner.

These things distressed the emperor not a little and caused him great anxiety. ^B Added to this was the severity of a famine which, at that same time, invaded the Roman empire, since no more grain was being transported from Egypt, from which the imperial rations were in large part suppressed. But also, a pestilential disease spreading through the whole city destroyed a great multitude of the citizens. By reason of all these troubles, the emperor was cast into the utmost sorrow and desperation. And already he was thinking of migrating to Africa, and had sent on ahead a great quantity of his wealth, both gold and silver, and most precious stones. A not insignificant portion of these things, while it was now arriving, perished in a shipwreck when a huge storm suddenly arose. When the citizens noticed these things, they obstructed him as much as it was in their power to do. Finally, the patriarch, summoning the emperor to the church, bound him by the obligation of an oath that he would by no means depart from the royal city. ^C Yielding to them, although he groaned under the present miseries, he nonetheless complied with their desire, even if against his will.

After these things, some time having elapsed, the king of the Huns, accompanied by a retinue of his nobles and bodyguards, arrived at Byzantium and sought from the emperor to be initiated into the Christian rites. This was willingly accepted, and the princes of the Huns were received from the sacred font by the Roman princes, and their wives by the wives of the latter. Thence, all of them ^D were [initiated] into the divine mysteries.

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he bestowed upon him royal gifts and dignities; for indeed, he honored that leader with the dignity of patrician, and sent him back to the Hunnish customs in a friendly manner.

^B [An. 619.] After these things, the leader of the Avar nation also sent envoys to Heraclius for peace; over which he rejoiced greatly and rewarded him with gifts, and he in turn sent envoys to him, Athanasius the patrician, and then after him also Cosmas, who held the rank which they call quaestor, conveying to him the intent of the Emperor. But the Avar, feigning friendship and uttering fawning and cajoling words to them, led them on, as if he were a friend to the Romans, and announced that he was coming to the Emperor for the sake of making a treaty. They, having departed, made the intent of his goodwill manifest to the Emperor. Being overjoyed at these things, he determined to meet the Avar in the city of Heraclea, as had been agreed upon between them. He sent ahead the theatrical equipment, and prepared to celebrate an equestrian contest upon his reception, and brought a splendid robe for him and those accompanying him. Then, having arrived at the city of Selymbria, he rested there. Three days later, the Chagan, together with a great multitude of the Avars, passed by Heraclea. Selecting a certain detachment of those following him—those who were the strongest and most warlike—he sent them secretly to the wooded and thick vegetation above the so-called Long Walls, and dispersed them in hiding against the mountains there, so that, having attained the rear of the Emperor, they might hold him and those ^C around him in the middle.

^A Having perceived this, and being not a little struck by the absurdity, Heraclius cast off his imperial purple garment; and clothing himself in a pitiful and wretched garment, so as to appear to those he might meet as a private person, and binding the imperial crown around his arm, he shamelessly turned to flight at once, and with difficulty managed to make his way to Byzantium. The Avars, with fury, pressed the pursuit, and having reached the place of the city called the Heptas ^B (39), they took up their position. From there they spread out as far as the bridge of the Barnyssus (40) river, and they plundered the regions around there bitterly, and slaughtered the multitude of the Romans without mercy. They seized the imperial vestments and the robes, and along with them the theatrical instruments and all those who were transporting them. They took as captives a very great multitude of people, leading them away as booty to their own lands; and the number of them all, as some of the captives who escaped and told one another in agreement reported, amounted to two hundred and seventy thousand men and women.

^B Now, as for Heraclius, since public affairs had come to such a point of difficulty and confusion, he did not give better heed to his own private ones; but rather, looking toward an illicit affair—one which the laws of the Romans forbid—he embraced a marriage with his niece ^C (41) Martina. She was the daughter of his own sister Maria, sired by her father Martinus, whom Maria had had as a husband before Eutropius. And in fact she bore him two sons from this union, one of whom he named Flavius, and the other Theodosius. But Divine Justice pursued this nefarious crime: for the neck of the elder of these children was so loose that it could not be turned in either direction, and the younger was deprived of the sense of hearing and was rendered deaf. The Green faction, more than others, chiefly taunted him regarding this indecent domestic union during the circus games, and others assented and joined in with this. Sergius, the patriarch of Constantinople, urged him with letters, insisting vehemently that he should cast off this union with the woman. To this the Emperor replied as follows: "You speak entirely rightly; for you have rendered what you owe as both a patriarch and a friend, as a kind of debt. But it will be at our own discretion to perform what you urge through our own deeds." During this same time, the treasures of the churches (43) were sold off, and were distributed to the barbarians under the name of tribute.

Again, therefore, Chosroes, king of the Persians, made a military expedition ^D against the Romans, sending the commander (45) of the army, Sarbarus, who...

ravaged the entire Eastern region. He seized the life-giving wood of the saving Cross in the holy places, while Modestus (46) was at that time presiding over the church of Jerusalem. The Persians were preparing themselves and hastening to reach Chalcedon. Heraclius (47), therefore, being troubled by the Persians and the Avars, and at the same time by the Roman state being hard-pressed by famine and perishing by pestilential death, called upon Sergius the president of the city, as well as the nobles and the rest of the people, and entrusted his children to their faithful keeping. He also gave to Bonus the patrician the administration of affairs ^B, and having departed through... [Note: The remainder of this page consists of the *Variae Lectiones* (Variant Readings) and the *Petavii Notae* (Notes of Petavius), which provide extensive chronological analysis regarding the dates of the events mentioned in the text (such as the fall of Jerusalem in 615 and Heraclius’ expedition in 622). As these represent modern scholarly commentary rather than the historical text of the *Breviarium*, and per the instruction that footnotes and apparatus-blocks are omitted, this page effectively terminates here.]

he attempted to enter Persia through Lazica; and in this region a son was born to him by his wife Martina (for he was taking her with him), whom he also named Heraclius. ^A From there he sent gifts to the lord of the Turks, inviting him into an alliance against the Persians; and the latter, having received them, promised to enter into the alliance. Meanwhile, Heraclius, feeling encouraged, set out himself toward him; and the latter, having heard of the emperor's arrival, met him with a great multitude of Turks, and dismounting from his horse, ^B bowed to the emperor upon the ground. The entire throng with him did the same. The emperor, seeing the excess of this honor, signified to him that, if his friendship were firm, he should approach riding on his horse, even calling him his own son. Thus, therefore, he greeted the emperor. The emperor, taking the crown that he wore upon his head, placed it upon the Turk’s head, and having invited him to a banquet, he bestowed upon him all the vessels and utensils for the service of the banquet, together with the imperial robe and earrings adorned with pearls. ^C Likewise, he also adorned with his own hands the princes who were with him with similar earrings. Then, fearing lest he suffer at the hands of this one the same things he had suffered from the Avar, and in order to make the terms of the agreement more secure for himself, he showed him an image of his daughter Eudocia, and said to him: "As God has united us and shown you to be my son, behold, this is my daughter and the Roman Augusta. ^D Therefore, if you stand with me and assist me against the enemies, I pledge her to you as your wife." Upon these words, the barbarian, moved by the beauty of the image and its adornment to a love for the archetype, was led by this to the strengthening of the alliance.

^A He immediately handed over a chieftain and a multitude of Turks to the Emperor; and, joining with them in an invasion of Persia, he razed cities and overturned the fire-temples.

In one of these, it is related that Chosroes had deified himself. In this building, he had set himself up in a seated position as if in heaven, having constructed the likenesses of lightning, the sun, and the moon, with a host of angels standing about him, and a mechanism to produce thunder and rain whenever he wished. Heraclius, seeing this abomination, cast it down to the ground and ground it into dust.

Chosroes, having heard all these things, and that the Turks were allied with Heraclius, made everything known to Sarbarus by letter, and ordered him to retreat quickly from the Roman frontier to join him, that he might defend ^B against Heraclius; for he claimed he could not stand against his host.

This letter, having been intercepted on its way, was brought to Heraclius. He read it and then destroyed it, but set forth another letter to Sarbarus, pretending it came from Chosroes, and stamped it with the king’s seal, which read as follows: "The Caesar of the Romans has concluded a peace with the Turks and has entered as far as the place called Adoryadigan; and having sent an army against him, I have destroyed both him and the Turks, and those who were left have fled. Do not, therefore, withdraw from the Roman land, but sit fast at Chalcedon, taking Romans as captives and plundering."

Sarbarus, having received the letter, held his position.

^C 20 [A.D. 616] Then the Avars, having broken the peace, and Sarbarus, who was troubled by these things, did not move from his siege of Chalcedon but wintered there, pillaging the regions across the sea.

^A For Heraclius, before he campaigned against the Persians, had confirmed these things to them with gifts, promising to provide them with twenty myriads of coins, and having given them as hostages one of his sons, John by name—whom he indeed called Atalarichus; he was a bastard, born to him of a concubine—and Stephen his nephew, the son of Maria his sister and Eutropius, and furthermore another John, the son of Bonus the patrician, who was himself born to him of a concubine. And they, setting out on campaign, approached the wall of Byzantium and at once began to set fire to all the suburbs. And as if dividing the Thracian Bosporus between them, the Persians were destroying the parts of the Asian side, while the Avars were ruining the region in Thrace. ^B And while they were talking to each other, the Avars were fashioning siege engines; the structures were wooden towers and tortoises. And when the engines approached the wall, a divine power suddenly dissolved them and destroyed the Avar combatants who were inside them. Since the Avars were also bringing along multitudes of Sclaveni and using them as allies, they had given them a sign: that whenever they should see torches lit on the fortification of the Blachernae, which is called the Pteron, they should at once set out with their monoxyla boats, and as soon as they appeared by sea, they would strike terror into the city on all sides, and they themselves, seizing the opportunity, would flee from the walls, make an incursion, and enter the city. But these things became known to Bonus the patrician, and he himself, having rigged biremes and triremes, armed them and moored them in the place where the sign was to be given; likewise, he drove the biremes forward to the opposite shore and ordered that they should at once signal with fire. ^C When the Sclaveni saw this, they set off from the river called the Barnyssus and were heading against the city. But our men, having run out and intercepted them in the middle, straightway slaughtered them, and the seawater was dyed with much blood. Among the corpses of those who were killed, Sclaveni women were also seen. But the Barbarians, having seen these things and being weary of the siege and the delay, were returning to their homeland. Then the patriarch, with Constantine the emperor, went to the temple of the divine Virgin which was in the Blachernae, and offered great thanks to God, and there the wall was fortified for the protection of this temple.

VARIAE LECTIONES

PETAVIUS' NOTES

^A offering prayers to God in the church of the Theotokos established at Blachernae, having arrived there. They immediately built a wall and made that holy temple a fortress. And so it went with the Avars.

But Chosroes, having learned that Heraclius was approaching, sent against him a Persian commander named Rhazates, a man brave and experienced in warfare. ^B Having arrived, he drew up his battle line against the emperor, and from his own phalanx, he challenged the king alone to single combat. When Heraclius observed that no one of his own army was willing, he went out himself against the barbarian. The latter, as one skilled in archery, let fly an arrow and grazed the extremity of the emperor’s lips; then he sent another, and grazed the ankle of his foot. Heraclius himself charged upon him with his horse, and one of his own spearmen, arriving first, cut off the shoulder of Rhazates with his sword, and the emperor struck him with a javelin while he was falling, and immediately cut off his head. ^C Upon this victory, the Roman army was filled with zeal, and perceiving the emperor’s confidence, they advanced most vehemently against the Persians, and pursued them as they were defeated with all their might, and slew a great multitude of them.

But the Persian princes, when they had learned that… ^D

the emperor of the Romans cared for his own life at the expense of his own state ^A [an. 628], took council with Siroes, the son of Chosroes, regarding the slaughter of Chosroes, who had so greatly despised his own state. Therefore, they shut him up in one of the royal houses and gave him no food; but they set before him a great quantity of gold and silver and precious stones, saying: "Enjoy those things for which you raged with insatiable desire, and which you loved so much and amassed." And so, while he was dying of hunger, they came upon him and slew him. ^B They then proclaimed Siroes, his son, king of the Persians; who immediately sent an embassy to Heraclius and dispatched gifts to reconcile himself to him. He wrote to him that their states might be united one to another and that they might embrace the peace which is from God, so that each might be at rest within its own borders. Heraclius wrote back, calling Siroes "son," and saying that it had never been his intention to snatch the kingdom away from its own glory; and for that reason, not even from Chosroes. "But if he showed very many and most evil things to the Romans and Persians," he said, "I was eager to see him preserved, even though I had become a most powerful conqueror, and to restore him to his own kingdom. But God, having known his intent, brought upon him the punishment he deserved, so that many would not be ruined by him, ^C providing us now with this union." He also pressed him earnestly, inquiring about the life-giving woods [the Cross] which Sarbarus had taken from Jerusalem, and he promised to give them if they could be found for him. Concerning the envoys whom Saitos had led to Chosroes by treachery, such that Leontius died a common death, and Chosroes killed the others with rods when he heard that Heraclius had invaded Persian territory, he [Siroes] gave him to understand the situation.

Immediately after this, Siroes died, and Caboes took hold of the kingdom of the Persians ^D, who himself died not long after. After him, Hormisdas became king of the Persians, who also himself sent an embassy to Heraclius, and sent his own son to him along with money and most precious gifts. And he signified these things through his letters: "In the same manner as you say your God was given into the arms of a certain old man, Symeon, so also do I give your servant, my son, into your hands. May God know how honorably you will treat him." This the emperor

^A their king Hormisdas was dead, received him [the new king] with great honor and, after the death of Hormisdas, ^B raised him to the Persian throne.

Sarbarus, having heard that Chosroes, Siroes, Caboes, and Hormisdas were dead, withdrew from the Roman territories and wrote an apology to Heraclius, protesting that he had not acted against the Romans of his own volition, but by the will of him by whom he had been sent. He begged, therefore, that he might come to him in safety to live in his service and obedience. He said that if the emperor would grant him his personal assurance, he would come, and would bring with him a great quantity of wealth from Persia to restore what he had ravaged within the Roman empire. While these things were being transacted, the son of Hormisdas was cut down by the treachery of his own men. Sarbarus obtained the Persian kingdom from the emperor, on the condition that he would restore entirety to the Romans whatever had been occupied by the Persians from the Roman empire. Thus, with peace established, Sarbarus restored Egypt and the entire East to the Romans, having withdrawn the Persian garrisons from those places, and sent the life-giving timbers [the True Cross] to the emperor. Heraclius promoted Nicetas, the son of Sarbarus, to the rank of patrician, and joined in marriage his daughter Nice to Theodosius, whom he had fathered by Martina. Furthermore, he brought Gregoria, the daughter of Nicetas, from Pentapolis and joined her to Constantine, the Roman emperor; he had betrothed her while her father was still alive.

^C About the same time (in the year 631), there emerged from the place called Athribos (this region is in Arabia Felix) the Saracens, who made an incursion and ravaged the neighboring localities. Heraclius had ordered his daughter Eudocia, whom he had pledged to the prince of the Turks, to travel to him from Byzantium. But when it was reported that the barbarian had been slain, at the command of the emperor she turned back. While Heraclius was still staying in Persia, two of his sons and as many daughters died. He himself, taking the life-giving timbers just as they were when they were first captured, still sealed, brought them with him to Jerusalem.

and displayed them to Modestus ^A the high priest and his clergy. They recognized the seal to be intact; and seeing how they had been preserved untouched and unseen by the profane and murderous hands of the Barbarians, they offered an anthem of thanksgiving to God. The high priest then brought forth the key that had remained with him, and opened the reliquary, and all worshipped them. When they had been exalted, the Emperor immediately sent them away to Byzantium. Sergius, the high priest of Byzantium, received them while conducting a litany from the Blachernae (the Blachernae is a temple of the Mother of God), and having brought them to the Great Church, he elevated them. This took place in the second indiction.

Not long after, Heraclius, too, was proceeding toward Byzantium, and was received by the inhabitants there with great acclaim and surpassing glory. He brought four elephants, which he indeed paraded in the hippodrome games for the amusement of the city. He celebrated victory days with all manner of joy, bestowing gifts with great bounty. Since he had taken possession of the property of the Great Church, he ordered that annual funds be provided to it and to its attendant clergy from the imperial treasury. After this, he made his son Constantine consul, and appointed Heraclius, born of Martina, Caesar.

Not much time ^C passed before the Saracens were raiding the regions around Antioch. Immediately Heraclius, with his wife Martina and his son Heraclius, set out again

towards the regions of the East. While there, he became angry with his brother Theodore; for some had whispered to him ^A that he was reviling him to the emperor on account of Martina, saying that his sin was always before him. He sent him away to Constantinople after writing to his son Constantine that he should treat him with indignity before an assembly of the people and keep him under guard. As general of the East, he dispatched Theodore, the master of the imperial treasury, surnamed Trithurius.

For Sergius, who had held command in the time of Nicetas, had perished in the following manner: the Saracens had flayed a camel, shut Sergius inside the skin, and sewn it up. As the skin dried out, it shriveled, and the man inside, wasting away little by little, perished by a miserable death. They had brought this charge against him: that he had been the author of Heraclius’ policy ^B in not allowing the Saracens, when they left Roman territory, to carry away thirty pounds of gold—which were paid to them yearly in exchange for merchandise—out of the empire; and that from this had arisen their cause for ravaging the Roman frontier.

Heraclius, moreover, had forbidden Theodore to engage in battle with the Saracens. But they, having set up an ambush and sent forward a few men to skirmish, gradually drew the Romans on until those who were in the ambush suddenly rushed upon them and, surrounding them in the middle, slaughtered many both of the soldiers and the commanders.

At that same time, Maria, the sister of Heraclius, sent money to the Chagan of the Avars and received back her son Stephen. ^C Delighted by such gifts, the Avar incited the magister Antonianus, so that he too, by sending similar gifts, might recover the other hostages he was holding. And indeed, this is what happened.

Around the same time, Cubratus, the nephew of Organa, the lord of the Hunnogundurians, rebelled against the Chagan of the Avars and, having treated the whole nation that he had received from him with contempt, drove them from their native lands. ^D He sent an embassy to Heraclius and made peace with him, which they kept until the end of their lives; for Heraclius sent him gifts and honored him with the title of patrician.

While Heraclius was still passing his time in the regions of the East, he selected John of Barcaena as general, and against the Sara-

Saracens who were occupying Egypt he sent him. But in the battle which ensued, he was killed, and Marinus, who was the commander of the Thracian armies, having joined with them, was defeated; losing a great number of his men, he himself barely escaped. ^A After him, Marianus the cubicularius was appointed general, with instructions to consult with Cyrus, the patriarch of Alexandria, so that both of them might deliberate together about the war with the Saracens. For Cyrus had indicated to the emperor that it was possible to reach an agreement with Omar, the prince of the Saracens, through a stipulated treaty, which would allow trade to be carried on without any loss of revenue. To this it was added that the barbarian demanded that Eudocia Augusta, or one of the emperor’s daughters, be handed over to him; in this way, he claimed, the man would come to the divine laver and would undoubtedly become a Christian. For Omar and his army had great faith in Cyrus, and loved him dearly. But these things did not please Heraclius at all. When Marianus learned of all this, he disagreed with Cyrus, and engaging the Saracens with a large number of troops, he fell in battle himself. ^B

At this time, Heraclius set out for his own domains and took up residence in the palace called Hiera (72); for he was afraid to set foot on the sea, and although the magistrates and the citizens urged him much, they could by no means persuade him to enter the city. During the feast days, he merely sent his sons, who, having performed the divine liturgy in the temple as was the custom, immediately returned to him. Likewise, when they watched the chariot races, they would return once more to their father. While he was staying there, it was reported to him that his son Atalarichus and Theodore the magister—the son of the emperor’s brother Theodore—together with certain others, were intending to plot against him. Trusting those who had informed him, he had their noses and hands cut off. Atalarichus was sent into exile to the island named Principum (73), and Theodore to the island called Gaudomelete, and he commanded the duke there that, when he arrived, he should have one of his feet amputated. The same punishment was decreed for all who were complicit in the crime. ^C

A long time later, they set to work, the emperor’s officials urging the eparch to gather as many ships as possible and to lash them together to bridge the strait called the Narrow, and to screen the sides on both sides with tree branches and leaves, so that to one passing by, the sea could nowhere be seen. ^D

And indeed the work proceeded with speed, and the emperor, riding on horseback ^A along the sea as if by land, crossed over along the shores of the Gulf which they call Phidalia (74), neither lingering by the coastal area nor entering toward Byzantium by the bridge of the Barnyssus river. And after these things, he crowns Heraclius Caesar as emperor.

In the twelfth indiction (75), Sergius, the president of Byzantium, died. And because Heraclius was attached (76) to Pyrrhus, whom he even called his brother—both because the emperor’s sister had received him from the sacred font, and because he knew him to be intimate with Sergius and living with him—he proclaimed him High Priest of Byzantium. But already some time before (77), he had summoned Cyrus, the president of Alexandria, to Byzantium, and held him in great accusation, as if he had surrendered all the affairs of Egypt to the Saracens. At that time, therefore, when the ^B populace of the city had gathered in great numbers concerning the things of which he was accused, he went out to them. And he defended himself, saying that he was in no way guilty of these things; and that if his counsel had prevailed, he would have provided for the Saracens the tax revenues through trade and commerce, so that they would have remained at peace, and nothing would have been lost of that which was customarily paid to the emperor. He further accused others as the authors of this crime, and [asserted that he was] unjustly accused of these things...

[alt-version omitted]

VARIOUS READINGS AND NOTES

(74) Gulf of Phidalia. Read Phidalia with Stephanus of Byzantium, under the entry "Gynaikopolis." This was the wife of Byzantas, as Stephanus narrates in the same place; in *Anatol.*, book iv, ch. 4.

(75) Under the twelfth indiction. This indiction began in the 29th year of Heraclius. Thus the year of his death is noted in the Great Annals as having returned in the 28th year, on the 21st day, as it is in the Chronicle of Nicephorus. But this is false: for it is certain that Heraclius was crowned by him. Therefore his beginning is noted in the Annals ^C as indiction 11, Phocas year 6, so that he presided over the Church for [a number of] years. But Theophanes asserts he sat for [only] a few years. By this reckoning, he entered the episcopate in the last year of the emperor Phocas, and his last year falls in the year 638, indiction 11, the 29th year of Heraclius, in which Sergius was created patriarch. He designates this with a manifold character, since he reports that Thomas, his predecessor, died on March 20, the sixth day, who was buried on the Sunday of the same month. Later, on April 8, indiction 13, on Great Saturday, Sergius was created pontiff. He also adds another character of the day, that October 3, indiction [...], was a Saturday, concerning which it was disputed above. That year is without doubt the year of Christ 610, cycle of the sun 3, dominical letter D. Therefore March 20, the sixth day, [is] a Sunday. Cycle of the moon 3, the Paschal limit is April, cycle of the sun from the method of Maximus is 26, the concurrents or epacts of the sun 5, which with the regulars of the day give the second day [of the week]. Wherefore Pascha is April 19, and Great Saturday is the same. Whence in the Chronicle for 18 should be rewritten. From this observation, you might correct the series of the earlier patriarchs in the same Annals, just as when the first year of Thomas is compared with the year 606, Phocas 4. In which those who support this, as far as the year of Phocas is concerned, have Theophanes and Cedrenus, but ^D both have fallen into error. For when Theophanes grants three years to Thomas and counts the first as a year of Phocas, he accommodates the first year of Sergius to two years, and 8, much better in the Alexandrian Chronicle, Cyriacus is said to have departed from the living on October 29, a Saturday, and his funeral was cared for the next day, Sunday. This year was 607, cycle of the sun 27, dominical letter B, indiction 10, Phocas almost finished. In the following year, 607, Phocas 5, indiction 10, after the consuls. Phocas year 4, January 23, Thomas was created. He sat, therefore, for 3 years. Nicephorus in the Chronicle attributes [...]. One must correct the Chronicle again, while for Phocas 5, when Thomas was created, indiction 10, he notes "after the consulship of Phocas 3," if indeed the first [year] of Phocas is begun; from the same Chronicle, indiction 6, November 25, Sunday, since on the 23rd day, the sixth day, he had been inaugurated by Cyriacus. The year is of Christ 602, cycle of the sun 23, dominical letter G. In the year 603, indiction 6, Phocas began his consulship. Therefore in the year 604, Phocas 2, indiction [...], he began to be counted after his 1st consulship. Then in the year 605, Phocas 3, indiction [...], it was the year after the 2nd consulship. And so the year 606, Phocas 4, indiction 9, is from his 3rd consulship; the year indeed 607, Phocas 5, indiction 10, is in order after his consulship. Therefore in the Greek the indiction is wrongly repeated twice as *to y'*. These matters have been examined by us a little more accurately, so that both the histories of those times and the most transparent Chronicle might be consulted in some part.

(76) For he was attached. We have not hesitated to restore *res restituere* in our Latin interpretation: for it is certain that Pyrrhus succeeded Sergius in the 29th year of Heraclius, 639 of Christ. To whom Theophanes assigns a year, Nicephorus in the Chronicle 2 years, 9 months, 9 days.

(77) Already some time before. Theophanes, year 25: Cyrus is accused before the emperor of having given the gold of Egypt to the Saracens, and having sent [a summons], with anger he brought him back.

^A He also accused others of having done such things, and asserted that he himself was being unjustly impeached for them. The emperor, however, called Cyrus a "Hellene," as if he were a Hellene and a hater of God, and one who, with a mind set against the Christians, had counseled Amr, the phylarch of the Saracens, to betroth the emperor’s daughter. Being therefore indignant against him, and threatening him with death, he handed him over to the prefect of the city to be tortured and tormented.

After this, he deemed his son Heraclius worthy of the consulship, and he proclaimed his sons David ^B and Marinus Caesars, and his daughters Augustina and Martina [he proclaimed] Augustae. Time having passed, he fell into the disease of dropsy, and seeing that the affliction was incurable (for it had extended to such a degree that, whenever he was about to pass water, he had to place a board against his loins; for his private part became twisted and directed his urine toward his own face—this was a manifest proof of his iniquity, for which he paid this final penalty for the marriage to his own niece), he therefore drew up wills such that Constantine and Heraclius, his sons, should be emperors with equal rights, and that Martina, his wife, should be honored by them as mother and empress. ^C From this point he died, having lived sixty-six years, and having spent thirty years, four months, and six days in the empire. He was buried in the church of the all-praised Apostles, and for three days, as he had ordered while still alive, the tomb which was to receive his body remained uncovered, with eunuch attendants standing around it.

After this, Martina Augusta gathered the people around Byzantium and produced the wills of Heraclius, as he had disposed concerning her and her children. The whole gathered populace demanded Constantine and Heraclius [to be] emperors; and she brought them forth and ^D at the same time took counsel, thinking that, as Empress, she would be given priority in the empire. Some of the gathered crowd cried out to her: "To you, as the mother of the emperors, honor is due, but these are our emperors and masters." They gave the superior rank to Constantine, as he had been advanced to the empire first, as a child, by virtue of his age. "For not even as foreigners or barbarians coming against this imperial city, O Lady," they said, "can you resist or answer with speeches; and may God forbid that the state of the Romans..."

^A should come to such a pass." And they departed, crying out against the emperors. Having heard these things, the empress withdrew to her own palace.

From that time on, Constantine began to rule. Philagrius, who was the treasurer of the imperial funds, reported to him that, while the father Heraclius was still sick, money had been deposited with the patriarch Pyrrhus for the benefit of the empress Martina, so that she might not perhaps be expelled from the palace by the emperor Constantine, her stepson, and suffer from want. The emperor therefore sent for Pyrrhus and inquired whether matters were so. Pyrrhus, being convicted by Philagrius, handed over the entrusted funds, albeit unwillingly. But Constantine, as he was struggling with a long illness and, on account of the intemperance of the weather, was living at Chalcedon in a palace which he had himself built, and Philagrius, observing his impaired health and suspecting that he would soon die, was greatly afraid of Heraclius and Martina, lest he suffer any harm at their hands. ^B For this reason, he advised Constantine to write to the armies, that after his own passing they should look after his children and not allow any injury to be done to them, nor allow them to be thrust out of the empire. Delighted by this counsel, Constantine sent Valentinus, Philiprius’s own shield-bearer, to the camps with letters and the other things necessary for that purpose; and he gave him money amounting to five million two hundred thousand, and furthermore sixteen thousand gold coins, to win over the military forces so that after the death of Constantine they might stand against Martina and her sons. So Constantine, when he had ruled for twenty-eight years with his father and had survived for one hundred and three days beyond that, died.

After him, Heraclius is proclaimed emperor of the empire, with whom Martina managed the affairs of the empire in common. ^C He, however, immediately consecrated to God in the same church the crown of his father, which Constantinus (the son) had carried out from the church at his burial and which was valued at seventy pounds of gold. Then he restored Cyrus, the patriarch of Alexandria, to his own throne. But Philagrius, having had his hair shorn, he relegated to the fortress called Septa, which lies toward the setting sun on the other side of the Pillars of Hercules near Libya; and many others, whom he found to be his friends and ministers, he punished with stripes and other torments. ^D When Valentinus, the shield-bearer of Philagrius, heard these things, he stirred up the military forces against Martina and her sons. Thence to Chalcedon

^A he betook himself, as if to be a help to the children of Constantine, and stayed there. But Heraclius held the city in safety, and kept excusing himself to all, asserting that Heraclius, the son of Constantine, remained unharmed and in perfect health, showing him as safe, and even treated him as his own true child. And he confirmed this by receiving him into his arms from the life-giving font of baptism ^B. And with Pyrrhus, the hierarch of the city, present, he touched the life-giving woods [of the Cross], and swore that neither through himself nor any other should the children of Constantine be harmed. He maintained, however, that Valentinus was showing himself to be plotting against them and was grasping at the empire. And so that he might confirm everything to a greater degree, he took Heraclius with him and crossed over to Valentinus, and again he decided to swear oaths and persuade them that he was disposed toward Heraclius with the greatest affection. But Valentinus refused to accept his word, and sent him back. And indeed he returned and recounted everything to those in the city. They were convinced and began to speak ill of Valentinus ^C.

When the time of the vintage arrived, the people of the city perceived that the army with Valentinus was destroying their vineyards and not allowing them to cross over to the other side; they gathered together and shouted to Pyrrhus to crown Heraclius, the son of Constantine. But Pyrrhus, having watched the turmoil and sedition of the people, argued in reply that they were not rebelling for that reason, but were trying to secure the empire for Valentinus. As the mob continued to insist, he made all these things known to the Emperor. He, having taken his cousin Heraclius, immediately went to the temple, and ascended the ambo together with Pyrrhus, and exhorted him to crown Heraclius. The crowds pressed the Emperor to carry out the deed. He, having taken the crown of his father Heraclius from the church, fulfilled the task. Immediately, therefore, the crowds changed the name of the one who had been crowned to Constantine. Then the chaffy and more rustically-minded [element] of the people raised their hands against Pyrrhus, and reaching the temple, they entered, bringing with them a multitude of Jews and other heretics into the sanctuary. And they tore the vestment to pieces, and shamefully defiled the holy place; and having taken the keys of the gates, they hung them upon a pole, and in this manner they went about the city lawlessly. When Pyrrhus learned of this ^D, in the following night he arrived at the temple, and reverenced all the holy things, and having taken off the omophorion that was upon him, he deposited it upon the holy table: "I do not," he said, "abdicate from the priesthood, but I yield to the obstinate people." [alt-version omitted] [index: entries preserved]

he hid himself with a certain most religious woman, and having found an opportunity, he sailed to Chalcedon. As soon as the monks who were there heard of his arrival, they questioned him concerning those things which had been spread abroad by Emperor Heraclius and Sergius, the hierarch of the city, regarding the two wills and operations of our Savior Christ, of which Maximus and Theodosius, who were then ^A in Africa, were the champions and defenders. And such were the events concerning Pyrrhus at that time.

Since, therefore, Chalcedon held the party of Valentinus, Heraclius and Martina, so that the suburbs of the city might not be damaged further, were compelled to make peace with him and to confirm it by oath. To this was added the dignity of the *comes excubitorum*, as the Romans call it, on the condition especially that he should not be called to account by anyone concerning the monies which he had received from Constantine, that the soldiers who were with him should be rewarded with gifts, and that David should be created Caesar and called Tiberius. ^B These things having been thus concluded, Paul, who had been the steward of the Great Church, was elected patriarch of Constantinople in the month of October, in the fifteenth indiction. Constantine, therefore, having been treacherously murdered in his bath by his own servants in Sicily, died, having already completed the twenty-seventh year of his reign.

His son Constantine succeeded him. At the beginning of his reign, the prince of the Saracens sent a huge fleet against Constantinople, having appointed as its leader one whom he held in the highest esteem and who was not inexperienced in war, called Chaleu in their own dialect. He set sail and moored his fleet at the suburbs of Byzantium, at the place they call Hebdomon. Against whom Constantine, with a huge ^C fleet, went out.

[alt-version omitted]

PETAVIUS’ NOTES. ...Theophanes and Cedrenus relate that in the year after the death of Heraclius, Pyrrhus was cast out from the see and Paul was appointed in his place in the month of October, indiction 15; to which our author also explicitly assents. Wherefore, in the year of Christ 641, the same in which Heraclius died, Pyrrhus was cast out, not 642, as is in the Annals. For it began in the month of September. Furthermore, since this did not happen before the abrogation of the reign of Heracleonas, who indeed reigned for six months, ^D I easily persuade myself that those months are to be counted not from the accession of Constantine, the son of Heraclius, but from the death of Heraclius himself, so that he reigned for three months and thirteen days with Constantine, according to the will of Heraclius. And so, in this very year, around the month of July, Heracleonas having been driven out, Constans began his reign. But what Zonaras writes, that Heracleonas was ten years old in this year, must be considered more attentively. If this be true, he was born around the year of Christ 632, the 22nd of Heraclius. But there is no mention of this matter among the historians. In the year 630, indiction 4, November 7, David was born in the East from his wife Martina, and on the same day Heraclius, the son of Heraclius the younger, or Constantine, who was later called Constans. Zonaras, therefore, could have been deceived by this similarity of names, and thought this Heraclius to be the son of Heraclius the elder and Martina. But for me there is no doubt that Heracleonas is that person whom our author on pages 17-20 reports was born in Lazica, that is, in the 16th or 20th year of Heraclius, who then, when he was reduced to order, had approximately... or surely Constantine, the other son of Heraclius by Martina, whom Cedrenus and Theophanes write was born in the fifth year of Heraclius. For he cannot be confused with the Heraclius who was born on the very expedition in Lazica, several years after Constantine, the son of Martina, which is perhaps truer: for thus he would have begun to reign at the age of 26. But very many things are recounted here said or done by Heracleonas, which could hardly be accommodated to another than him who had reached man's estate.

(86) *Constantinus in Sicily.* Here there is a hiatus of years. Wherefore I think this place should be noted with an asterisk: for I do not think Nicephorus was so dull that he did not touch upon even a letter of the events of those years.

(87) *At the beginning of this.* Constantine Pogonatus succeeds Constans. In whose times the Saracens devastate Africa and the East. Yet they did not sail into Thrace before the fifth year of this reign. In which year, from the month of April to September, there was continuous fighting, and Cyzicus having been captured, they spent the winter there.

^A And the war was continued by them with a great fleet. From this, many naval battles took place every day, with the war being engaged from the spring until the autumn season. When winter supervened, the Saracen fleet crossed over and spent the winter at Cyzicus; and when spring again began, having set sail from there, they continued the war by sea in the same manner. For seven years, then, the war lasted, but the Saracen fleet achieved nothing more; instead, having lost many fighting men and having been grievously wounded and severely defeated, they were returning and putting in at their own lands. But when they reached the waters near Syllaeum, having been caught by harsh winds and the tumult of the sea, they were destroyed, the whole army together. The leader of the Saracens, having heard of the disaster to the fleet, sent envoys to Constantine as if to make a truce with him for yearly payments. The Emperor, having received these and heard what was declared, sent back with them John the Patrician, surnamed Petzigaudios, a man of great experience and intelligence, to speak about a peace; and when he had arrived at the Saracen customs, he happened to confirm the peace with them by oaths for thirty years, with the condition that three thousand pieces of gold be provided to the Romans by the Saracens annually, along with fifty captive men and fifty horses. ^B Having heard these things, those who dwelt in the western parts—namely, the leader of the Avars and the princes beyond them of the nations situated to the west—likewise sent gifts to the Emperor by envoys and sought peace. To these the Emperor assented; and from that time, deep peace and tranquility were bestowed both in the East and in the West. And these things were so.

Now it must be told concerning the origin and settlement of those called Huns and Bulgars. Near the Maeotic lake, by the ^C river...

Cophin, is situated Great Bulgaria, and that which is called the race of the Cotragors, a people of the same origin as them. ^A Now, in the time of Constantine, who died in the West, a certain prince of those nations, Curatus by name, departing this life, left five sons, to whom he gave this command in his testament: that they should not dwell separately from one another, so that they might establish their dominion through mutual concord. But they, neglecting their father's mandates, were separated a short time after, so that each of them carried off his own part of the people. The first of these, Basianus ^B, as was commanded him by his father, remained in the land of his ancestors until this day. The second, Cotragus by name, crossed the Tanais river and placed his seat on the opposite side. The fourth crossed the Ister river and in Pannonia—which now lies under the power of the Avars—settled by entering into a league with the inhabitants. The fifth was brought into the Ravennate Pentapolis and became tributary to the Romans. Finally, the third brother, Asparuch by name, having crossed the Danapris and the Danastrus ^C rivers, settled around the Ister, where he occupied a location suitable for habitation, which they call Oglum in their own tongue, difficult of access and impregnable to enemies; its front is fortified by the ruggedness of the site and by marshes, its rear by steep cliffs. ^D [PETAVIUS'S NOTES: ...render[ing] Theophanes word for word, especially in the latter parts, as can be gathered from those things collected here and there. For in the earlier books the Deacon is far different from Theophanes; a fact which will be demonstrated in another place. Ibid. There are many things in this topography incorrectly described by Theophanes. First, he asserts that the great river Atel mingles with the Tanais and runs into the Maeotis, but that it is earlier drawn away again by the Tanais to form or receive the Cophin (for he speaks ambiguously), and that it empties itself into the Pontic [Sea] at Necropyla and the Ram's Brow (Κριοῦ πρόσωπον). These are the dreams of an old man who is ill. But Atel is the same as the Rha, a truly vast river of Asiatic Sarmatia, which, as they report, is called Edel by the neighboring Tartars even today, and by others the Volga. But it neither mingles its waves with the Tanais, nor flows into the Maeotis, but unfolds into the Hyrcanian sea. But it is also false that the Tanais flows from the Iberian Gates or the Caucasus. And what a monster he creates here, when from the separation of the Atel and the Tanais he derives therefrom the Cophin at the Ram's Brow? As if the Rha, having slipped across the Tanais, having penetrated countless rivers, and having measured the Tauric Chersonese, as wide as it is, flowed into the Pontic. These things are unheard of. But the negligence of Theophanes is the more to be pardoned, because in other historians, too, truth or diligence is usually found wanting in this part. But no one in delineating this tract errs more clearly than Ammianus, who is considered by some to be very accurate and has wished to be so held. He, in book 22, so deforms that Pontic region with his narration that he suddenly creates one thing out of another. First, he says the Euxine bends into the shape of a Scythian bow with twin horns, which is true. But that he asserts the extremities of this bow are the two Bospori, Cimmerian and Thracian, this is indeed very absurd. He adds that the same Euxine is enclosed on the East by the marshes of the Maeotis, which proves the same ignorance [ἀνιστορησίαν] of a man. Who is so ignorant of geography that, in that Scythian neck, he does not know that the Asiatic shore is like a bowstring from the Bosporus to the Colchi and the river Phasis? And when, as he also says, the Scythian bow, with its wide and open horns curved inwards on both sides, shows the image of a waning moon, with a straight and round rule dividing the middle; [and that] the first horn ends at the Ram's Brow from the shore of Thrace, [and] from there, like a rule, the shore of the Chersonese extends so that the other horn starts somewhat above the Cimmerian Bosporus, and from there stretches far to the Colchi and the Phasis, [and that] the Maeotis further presses upon the Euxine Pontus to the north? All of which Dionysius, the most elegant of poets, the Periegete, sang in golden verses. The rest in the same Ammianus is no less ridiculous, as when he says the maritime coast, of which the Halys is the beginning, exhibits the image of a bowstring from the Carambis promontory, connected to the two ends of the bow. Yet that string starts long before Carambis, nor is the Halys river so near to that promontory. I pass over other things equally discordant, which he is accustomed to commit in this chorography of Pontus and Egypt and in almost all others. And so that something clear might be extracted from the such turbid description of Theophanes, he establishes a great Bulgaria at the marshes of the Maeotis on this side of the Tanais, where the Iazyges and Roxolani and other Scythians or Sarmatians once were, now called Muscovites or lesser Tartars.]

^A they were fortified, as it were, by a wall with marshes and crags, a place suitable for habitation, which they call in their own language the Oglos, and having occupied it, it was both difficult of access and impregnable to enemies; for it is safe, being marshy and difficult to cross in the front, and fortified by impassable crags in the rear. Thus, therefore, with the nation divided and scattered, the tribe of the Chazars, having set out from the interior of Berylia, which borders on the Sarmatians, made incursions with impunity. Pressing onward with their forces, they crossed the Euxine Sea and arrived where they brought Baianus under their power and made him a tributary.

Constantine, when he learned that the nation which dwelt along the Danube was overrunning and destroying the districts bordering on the Roman Empire, attempted to march against the nation, having transported an infantry army into the territory of Thrace, and having also equipped a fleet, as if to defend himself. But the Bulgarians, viewing the multitude of cavalry and naval forces, and being struck by this sudden and unexpected event, fled to their own fortifications, where they remained for four days. And since the Romans could not join battle with them because of the ruggedness of the place, they took them up again and became bolder. But the Emperor, having been seized by a gouty disease and suffering acute pain, sailed away to the city of Mesembria ^B for the sake of treatment, having instructed his generals and the troops to remain at the fortification and to accomplish everything necessary for the defense against the nation. However, a rumor was spread that the Emperor was fleeing, by which they were alarmed and began to flee continuously, though no one was pursuing them. Then the Bulgari, seeing this, pursued them firmly, and those of the troops they captured they killed, while most they wounded.

Having crossed the Ister to the place called Varna, near Odyssus and the high inland country, they perceived that the place was strong and secure on all sides, both by the river and by the extreme ruggedness of the region, and they encamped there. They also brought under their power the nation of the Sclaveni that lived in the vicinity, and they ordered some of them to guard the parts adjacent to the Avars, and others to watch those adjacent to the Romans. Having become strengthened and grown in these areas, they began to ravage the districts and towns of Thrace. ^C The Emperor, seeing these things, was compelled by necessity, in order to achieve peace, to make a treaty with them by promising an annual payment.

Thus, therefore, with the Roman Empire at peace on all sides ^D

the ^A godless heresy of the Monothelites, which had already gained its beginning from the time of the Emperor Heraclius, was growing stronger, and there was a schism throughout the Catholic Church. Recognizing this, Constantine [(97)] convened an Ecumenical Council, which confirmed the five previous holy ecumenical councils, and set forth that there are two wills and two natural energies in the Lord our Savior, declaring Him perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, and consigning the authors of the heresy to anathema. Thus, having spent the remainder of his life in tranquility and a peaceful state, he passed away in the seventeenth year of his reign. And his body was laid in the royal tomb of the holy apostles.

He left as his successor to the empire his son Justinian, who had already reached his sixteenth year. And he, having obtained the empire [(an. 685)], perverted everything that had been established by his father concerning peace and the remaining order of the state, and at the same time he dissolved the peace that had been made with the Bulgarians. Hence, having sent cavalry forces to the regions of Thrace, he marched immediately against the Sclaveni. Advancing as far as the city of Thessalonica, and having taken into his power many of the Sclaveni tribes there, partly by war and partly by agreement, he crossed them through Abydos and settled them in the region called Opsikion [(98)]. From these he summoned up to thirty thousand soldiers, and he called them the "Selected" people, and set over them as commander one of the nobles, Gebul by name. ^C And, relying on these, he dissolved the peace that his father had made with the Saracens, and he also removed those soldiers who had been stationed on Mount Libanus since ancient times. Therefore, having led his army against them, he arrived at Sebastopolis. They also, having marched out, came to him; and they said that they had truly kept the peace on their part, as much as in them lay; but if the Romans wished to violate it, let God be the judge of those responsible for that crime. But as Justinian preferred war rather than this, they ordered the document of the treaty to be suspended from a high banner and carried before them, and thus they proceeded against the Romans, whom they put to flight, but that peculiar body of Sclaveni...

^A deserted to the Saracens, with whom they commonly slaughtered the Romans. And in this manner the emperor conducted himself against that nation.

But now he appointed ferocious and most cruel men to civil offices [an. 695]; one of them was Stephen, a eunuch of Persian stock, the treasurer of the imperial funds, who subjected all those under his sway to such great insults that he even dared to lay hands upon the mother of Justinian, threatening her with lashes just as schoolmasters are wont to do to young children. Furthermore, he appointed as overseer of the public treasury—whom the common people call the Logothete—a certain monk named Theodotus, who formerly had led a solitary life in the borders of Thrace near the narrows of the straits. This man, through the height of his cruelty, not only extorted money from those under him—whom he would stretch out with ropes and fumigate with burning straw—but he also proscribed other illustrious men and put them to death with intolerable tortures.

As for Leontius, a certain patrician originating from the land of the Isaurians, who had served as general of the so-called Eastern army and had distinguished himself many times in many glorious deeds, Justinian had held him in custody for three full years; subsequently, he released him from his confinement and appointed him governor of Greece, forcing him to depart from Byzantium on that very same day. ^B Some of his friends came to him at an untimely hour of the night—namely, the monk Paul from the monastery of Callistratus, who was skilled in the science of astronomy, and the monk Gregory, abbot of the monastery of Florus, a Cappadocian by birth—to escort him on his way. But he, seeing them, rebuked them, saying: "In vain have you prophesied empire to me; for now, as I depart from this city, a bitter end of my life awaits me." But they prevented his departure and promised him with certainty that, provided he did not possess a cowardly and slothful mind, he would altogether gain the empire. ^C Moved by these words, he armed a few of his servants, and under the cover of night, secretly ascended to the praetorium. When they signaled that the emperor was present and had some business to discharge there, the prefect of the praetorium ran out and opened the gates; him he immediately bound hand and foot. Then, penetrating within, Leontius set all the prisoners free, and with everyone armed, he proceeded to the forum. ^D

^A From there, dispersing throughout all parts of the city, he ordered them to cry out with a loud voice and for all Christians to assemble at the holy temple of Sophia. And the whole multitude, having been stirred up, gathered in haste at the baptistery of the Church. He, together with the monks and others of his friends, came to Callinicus, who was at that time the hierarch of the city, and compelled him to come down and proclaim to the people: "This is the day which the Lord has made." The people, for their part, uttered curses against Justinian. And thus they all went to the area of the Hippodrome. When day dawned, they brought Justinian out to them. And because the multitude was clamoring for the emperor to be put to the sword, Leontius, sparing his life out of love for his father Constantine, had his tongue and nose ^B cut off and banished him to the city of Cherson, he having already completed the tenth year of his reign. Leontius was then proclaimed emperor by the populace. As for the eunuch Stephen and the monk Theodosius, on account of the wrongs he had suffered at their hands, Leontius, even against the wishes of the emperor, had them seized and, binding them by their feet and dragging them through the city to the forum known as that of the Ox, he had them burned with fire. Such were the things that occurred in Constantinople during those days.

And things in Constantinople were disposed in this manner.

^C Now, Carthage in Africa, which was previously under Roman rule, at that time fell into the hands of the Saracens, having been taken by them in war. Upon learning of this, Leontius equipped all the Roman ships, and having appointed as commander over them the patrician John, a man experienced in military matters, he sent him to Carthage against the Saracens. When he arrived there, he put the Saracens who were in the city to flight, restored the city to Roman rule, freed all the other towns of that region from the servitude of the barbarians, and, having stationed a garrison of armed soldiers there to guard them, he spent the winter there. But the king of the Saracens, having learned of this, waged a greater war against him with more massive force and equipment. By this means, he drove out John along with all the remaining Roman fleet, and took possession of Carthage as well as the towns around it. John, setting sail from there, made his way back to the emperor. But when he arrived at the island of Crete, a sedition and tumult ^D arose against him among the officers and the military host, as shame and fear in any case prevented him from presenting himself before the emperor. For this reason, they heaped reproaches upon Leontius and set him aside, and they elected in his place one named Apsimar, who at that time was in command of the troops of the Cibyrrhaeots, from the region of the Cibyrrhaeots; him the Romans call a droungarios, and they also surname him Tiberius. Meanwhile, the city was afflicted by a pestilence which for four months consumed a vast number of people.

^A Apsimarus, having sailed to Byzantium with the fleet that was with him, anchored at a place by the sea opposite the city called Sycae. After engaging in battle against the townspeople for some time, he finally corrupted the guards of the Blachernae wall and their officers; entering the city by treachery, the army with him rushed in and plundered the possessions of the citizens. Having seized Leontius, who had been in the empire for the third year, he cut off his nose and ordered him to live in retirement in the monastery called of Delmatos.

And so these things happened to them. Meanwhile, Justinian, ^B while dwelling at Cherson, spoke more frequently and boldly about recovering the empire. The inhabitants of that place, fearing for themselves because of this, plotted to kill him or send him bound to Apsimarus. Being aware of this, he fled from there and escaped to the fortress called Doros, which lies in the Gothic territory. He requested the Chazar leader—they themselves call them Chagans—to come to him. He yielded to the request and received him with great honor, and having formed a friendship with him, gave his own sister, named Theodora, as a wife to him. With his permission, he went to Phanagoria and lived there with his wife. When Apsimarus heard ^C these things, he incessantly importuned the prince of the Chazars, promising vast wealth and gifts if he would send Justinian to him alive or send his head. Yielding to the many entreaties, he undertook to fulfill this. He sent men to be his guards, under the pretext that he might not be attacked by his fellow countrymen, but in reality to watch him securely so that he might never escape from his hands. He ordered one of the leaders of his own people, with whom Justinian had a familiarity, and also the governor of the Scythian Bosporus, to await the moment when he would command them to kill him as quickly as possible. These things were disclosed to Theodora by one of her father’s servants. She laid the plot open to her husband. ^D He, having called that Chazar, his familiar, to him, and having dismissed the witnesses, strangled him with a noose, and in the same way killed the governor of the Bosporus. Immediately he sent his wife, Theodora, back to her father, while he himself set out and traveled down to a seaside place called Tomin. There he boarded a ship with a few other men, and keeping to the coast, came to Symbolon and put in to the city of Cherson. When he had moored the ship at the port...

he sent one of his companions to the city, and from there he brought to him Barasbacurius and his brother, Solibas, and certain other men. Having sailed with them, he passed by the place called Necropyla and arrived at the river Ister. From there he sent one of those accompanying him, Stephen, to Terbelis, who was at that time the lord of the Bulgarians in that region, ^A asking for his help in order to be restored to the throne of the empire, promising him many other gifts and moreover pledging to give him his own daughter as a wife. The barbarian readily yielded to all this, and received Justinian with great honor; and having armed all the people under him, he set out with him toward the imperial city. He besieged the wall of Blachernae for three days, demanding that the people of the city receive him as emperor, but they sent him away, shamefully heaping insults upon him. By night, however, he crept in with a few men through the city’s aqueduct, and from there he took the city and encamped for a short while in the palace of Blachernae. Heraclius, the brother of Apsimar, who had been commander of the Eastern army, along with other commanders and his guards, he hung from a gallows in front of the very walls. Apsimar, having been captured in the seventh year of his reign, and Leontius as well, he shackled with iron chains and threw into prison. After this, he held a horse race, and having thrown one man on his right and the other on his left to be trampled under his feet for the space of an hour, he ordered that their heads be cut off in the place called the Cynegion. ^B He treated the Bulgarian ruler Terbelis, who was camping outside the walls of Blachernae, with every honor and generosity; finally, coming to him, he clothed him in the imperial mantle, proclaimed him Caesar, and, having made him his co-assessor, commanded that he be worshipped by the people along with himself. After presenting him with very many gifts, he sent him back to his own country. He blinded the patriarch Callinicus, because he had uttered shameful remarks against him during the coronation of Leontius, and deported him to Rome. In his place, he appointed Cyrus, who had lived a secluded and solitary life in the city of Amastris and had prophesied to him, when he was passing by, his restoration to the second empire. ^C He committed much slaughter and inflicted great cruelty upon his subjects; for he would promote some to offices and immediately send others behind them to kill them, while others he invited to a banquet and murdered by treachery, and others he threw into the depths after sewing them into sacks; and, to put it in a word, he raged against his own people with every manner of cruelty and bestial ferocity. During this time, he sent for his wife Theodora from Chazaria and his son Tiberius, who had been born to him by her, and crowned them as emperors. After this, he broke the peace with the Bulgarians and began to transport countless troops by land and sea into Thrace, and turned the weight of war toward the city of Anchialus. While the Romans were incautiously scattering to forage, the Bulgarians suddenly attacked, ^D killing many and taking others captive.

[alt-version omitted]

^A Justinian, being left behind in the city of Anchialus for three days, was besieged. At night, he boarded ships, fled from there, and returned to Byzantium.

While these things were taking place, the king of the Saracens sent out a very large infantry force, placing over them as leaders those called in his own dialect Masalmas and Solyman, to besiege the city of Tyana. Having arrived there and engaged in many battles, and having breached a part of the wall with siege engines but achieving nothing further, they were preparing to depart. At that time, Justinian sent out to the interior and gathered a very large number of peasants and farmers, and ordered them to arrive at Tyana in order to assist the besieged. Seeing them unarmed, the Saracens rushed upon them, slaying some with the sword and taking others captive. Following this success, the Saracens became more emboldened and insisted more persistently on the siege of Tyana. But the townspeople, broken by a lack of necessities and having obtained no help from the emperor, surrendered themselves to the enemy and went over to the customs of the Saracens. ^B From that time on, the greatest boldness was given to the enemy to ravage the lands of the Romans with impunity, as no one was able to stand against them; to such an extent that a band of thirty of them went down as far as Chrysopolis, a maritime town established opposite Byzantium towards the rising sun, and slaughtered the inhabitants there and set fire to the ferry boats.

Justinian, keeping in memory the slander that had been brought against him at Cherson by Apsimar, assembled a very large and varied fleet, embarking upon it up to a hundred thousand men—some from the military rolls, others from the agricultural and artisan classes, and some from the senatorial order and the city’s citizenry. ^C He appointed a certain patrician named Stephen, nicknamed "the Asmiktos," as leader of this fleet and dispatched him, ordering him to consume with the sword all the peoples in Cherson, Bosporus, and the other provinces, to install Elias, one of his own bodyguards who was accompanying him, as governor of Cherson, and to leave there Bardanes, an Armenian by race who was in exile. Stephen crossed through the Pontic sea to those parts and carried out the orders, setting aside a few young men for his own soldiers as if they were captives. He sent Donus, the governor of Cherson, and Zoilus, the so-called chief citizen, and about forty others of the more prominent men, bound together with their wives and children, to Justinian; ^D others, the leading men of Cherson—seven in number—he bound to wooden spits and roasted with fire. The rest of the...

leading men of the other cities, up to twenty in number, he cast into a boat, binding many stones to it ^B and committed them to the deep. But Justinian, thinking that Stephen had treated the youths more leniently and humanely than he had been commanded, recalled him to himself as soon as possible. Sailing thence as he had been ordered, at the onset of October, he encountered a great storm and shipwreck, in which nearly seventy-three thousand perished; their corpses were washed by the tides from the city of Amastris as far as Heraclea. Hearing this, Justinian was not saddened, but on the contrary became excessively joyful, to such an extent that he wished to prepare another fleet and send it to the same place. But the rulers of those provinces, upon hearing of this, diligently fortified themselves as best they could, and sent envoys to the Chazars, that they might send a force for their protection and to keep safe those who remained. When Justinian learned of this, he dispatched the patrician George and John, the prefect of the city, along with other leading men and an army of about three hundred men, entrusting to them Dunus and Zoilus, so that, once restored to power, they might bring them to him. When they had arrived at Cherson, the townspeople allowed only George and the leading men he had brought with him into the city. Then, having closed the gates, they slew the same George and John with the sword; they sent the soldiers who had been left outside the walls, along with Dunus and Zoilus, to the Chagan through the Chazars who had come there as a guard, and the barbarians slew them on the way. ^C Not content with this, the Chersonites cast reproaches and curses at Justinian and saluted as emperor in his place one Bardanes, an exile who was there. Whereupon Justinian, inflamed with greater anger, exercised cruelty first against the sons of Elias, who were still being carried in their mother's arms. Then he forced his wife to be joined in marriage to his own cook, a man of Indian race and entirely deformed of body. Again, having prepared another great fleet, he placed the patrician Maurus in command of it, having ordered him to destroy the city of Cherson from its foundations and to put all its citizens to death without discrimination. He, having crossed the sea, set to his task with energy. But the Chazars, suddenly falling upon them, delivered the city from destruction. Bardanes, however, fled to the prince of the Chazars. Meanwhile, the patrician Maurus, being unable to press the siege and fearing to return to the emperor, conspired with the Chersonites, rejected Justinian along with them, and proclaimed Bardanes emperor, whom they called Philippicus by a changed name. Then, through envoys, they demanded the same from the Chazar. And he, having exacted one hundred gold pieces from the Romans, gave an oath as to the safety of Bardanes. ^D Amid these things, Justinian, as time had passed, suspecting that he had been betrayed by them, even then requested aid from Terbel, king of the Bulgars; having received nearly three thousand men from him, and having crossed with all his forces together with those of the Obsequianum, in that field

^A which they call Damatrys, he ordered his camp to be pitched. He himself, having taken with him his own commanders and another division of armed men, hastened toward the regions of the Euxine Sea, as far as a maritime village called Ginglissos, in order to gain information about what was being managed against him at Cherson. Having lingered there for some time, and having observed such a fleet sailing toward Byzantium with the Emperor Philippicus, he returned to the army he had left behind at Damatrys. ^B Philippicus entered the city without a battle, and immediately sent Helias with an armed force against Justinian. He, having pledged faith to all those who remained with Justinian, granted them life and safety, and permitted the Bulgars to return to their own lands without treachery. Then he cut off the head of Justinian—who had already completed his sixth year in his second reign—and sent it to Philippicus; he, having received it, ordered it to be carried to the western regions, as far as Rome. ^C Maurus the patrician and John, the palace guard, surnamed Struthus, were sent against Tiberius, the son of Justinian, whom they found in the sanctuary of the temple of the all-pure Mother of God which is at Blachernae, at the altar to which he had fled. John, therefore, rushing in, dragged him away while he was clinging with all his might to the sacred table, moved neither by the sanctity of the place nor by the tears of Anastasia, his grandmother; for she was present, sharing and participating in the danger of her grandson. ^D They led him to the place called that of the Kallinikos, and slaughtered him like an irrational beast with a sword, ordering him to be buried in the temple of the holy Anargyroi, which they call that of Paulina. Following him, Barasbacurius and the other commanders of Justinian were arrested, and all were put to the sword.

Philippicus appeared to govern the empire basely and sluggishly. He furthermore subjected to anathema the Fathers who had gathered at the sixth ecumenical synod, refusing to accept the two wills and energies of the Savior that had been immediately decreed by them. [An. 712.] Following these events, Philippicus administered the empire basely and negligently, and condemned with anathema those Fathers who had gathered at the sixth ecumenical synod, rejecting what had been decreed by them regarding the dual will and action of Christ the Lord. [index: entries preserved]

^A In this matter, he found as an assistant John, the patriarch of the city at that time, and Germanus, the metropolitan of Cyzicus, 12 as well as many other priests and senators.

Meanwhile, a body of Bulgarian armed men made a sudden incursion and attacked those dwelling by the Thracian Bosporus. Having gained0 many captives and a considerable amount of property, and having found safety for themselves, they scattered toward the land wall of the city, even running forward as far as the gate called the Golden Gate. Returning from there, they plundered many of the villages in Thrace. After these events, the nation of the Saracens also invaded the Roman territory, and by traversing the greatest part of the country, they caused very great harm to both men and cattle; they also took Medea and other small towns. ^B Philippicus, having celebrated the birthday of the city and provided a horse race, then invited his friends to a banquet and withdrew for the purpose of resting at midday. At this time, he was oppressed by a conspiracy formed as follows: George by name, surnamed Buraphus, who was a patrician and commander of the Obsequian forces, was staying in Thrace at that time for the purpose of guarding the country against the incursion of the Bulgarians. Acting on the advice of the patrician Theodore, surnamed Myacius, he sent one of his attendants, by the name of Rufus, with a few soldiers to Byzantium so that he might bring to fruition the plot against Philippicus. Advancing with a sudden rush upon the palace, he found the emperor sleeping, and immediately rousing him from his sleep, he led him out to the area of the Hippodrome and there blinded his eyes, in the second year of his reign. ^C Following this, when the feast of Pentecost was being celebrated, the whole multitude of the people flowed to the sacred temple of the divine Word, and Artemius was crowned. [alt-version omitted]

^A His secretary (whom the Latins call "a secretis") was proclaimed emperor, and he gave him the name Anastasius. A few days having passed, they put out the eyes of the patrician Theodore, and likewise of George, and sent him into exile to Thessalonica. ^B

Anastasius began to devote himself entirely to military affairs, and he appointed many leaders and prefects for their administration. When this became known to the prince of the Saracens, he devised new plans, and prepared an expedition against the Romans. The emperor dispatched toward him the patrician Daniel, who hailed from the city of Sinope and was at that time the prefect of the imperial capital, under the pretext of seeking peace, but in reality so that he might explore the entirety of the enemy's preparations against the Romans. Upon his return, he announced that the nation was preparing an expedition against the borders of the Romans with a huge cavalry force and a massive fleet. Having heard this, the emperor allowed all those who were in the city, provided they had necessary supplies for three years, to remain, while to the others, who did not have enough, he gave permission to depart wherever they wished. He himself began to restore the city walls with greater diligence, to prepare engines of war, to gather all necessary provisions within the city, and to fortify and equip it with other things required against the onset of enemies. ^C When a rumor spread that the Saracen fleet arrived from the city of Alexandria at Phoenicus for the sake of cypress wood for shipbuilding, the emperor selected fast-sailing ships, embarked upon them an army raised from the region called the Obsequium, and sent them to the island of Rhodes. There, he ordered the rest of the Roman fleet to assemble. Over these, he placed as commander John, a deacon of the Great Church and accountant of the public taxes, whom custom generally calls the "general logothete," a man prudent and endowed with much experience. ^D When he had arrived at Rhodes, having been placed in charge of the entire fleet, he set forth what he had in his mandates. While all agreed to these and were ready to sail, only the men of the Obsequium feared that expedition. Finally, they, through sedition—

^A they progressed so far as to hurl maledictions at the emperor Anastasius and to slay with the sword John the deacon himself. Because of this, the entire fleet was scattered here and there, and everyone returned to their own homeland. But the troops of the rebels, while they also were returning to their homeland and putting in at Adramyttium, there by chance found a certain Theodosius, a collector of public taxes, a quiet and private man, and urged him to take up the empire. He, having escaped by flight, hid himself on a mountain [an. 715]. But they, running up and using force, hailed him as emperor and led him away with them.

When Anastasius learned these things, he strengthened Byzantium with fortifications and departed for Nicaea in Bithynia. There he equipped himself with all defenses. Meanwhile, the forces of Theodosius seized the entire army of the Obsequium and many merchant ships; and soon, as was related a little before, they put in at the maritime station of the city of Chrysopolis. From there, they began to besiege it and persisted in the siege for six months. While these things were being done, the fleet of Anastasius put in at the dockyard (this is the name of the city’s harbor). But the Theodosian fleet, having gained free opportunity by this event, sailed into Thrace and obtained that province. After this, by the betrayal of certain men whom they had corrupted with money, they entered the city through the gate which is called the Blachernae. Then, in the following night, they ranged through the houses of the citizens and inflicted great devastation upon them. Theodosius subsequently dismissed all the urban ^C magistrates, together with the patriarch Germanus, from the city, so that they might report to Anastasius what had been done. Having received a pledge that he would suffer no harm, he [Anastasius] clothed himself in the habit of monks and betook himself to Theodosius, by whom he was sent into exile to Thessalonica, having suffered no other harm.

Since persistent conspiracies of this sort against the emperors were occurring, and while tyranny prevailed, the affairs of the empire and the commonwealth were neglected and gradually slid into a worse state; at the same time, the study of letters began to be extinguished and to fail, and military discipline was not less corrupted. Thus it came to pass that the Roman empire was attacked with impunity by wars, and that slaughter, promiscuous and widespread, and the abduction of men and the destruction of cities were endured. [An. 716] To the heap of these evils was added an irruption of the Saracens, who, having made a terrestrial expedition against the royal city, had collected infinite forces of horse and foot from the nations subject to them. At the same time, they also sent a huge fleet of about one thousand eight hundred ships, having appointed over these a certain commander [whom] they call Musalmas in their own language.

^A Having learned these things, the military and civil commanders, and [having noticed] Theodosius’s inexperience, and knowing that he was not capable of standing against the enemy, urged and exhorted him to abdicate the empire and safely take up the life of a private citizen. He did not reject the condition, but after one year of lasting in the empire, he abdicated of his own accord. Then they took counsel to choose a successor, and at that time Leo the patrician happened to be proposed, who was then the general of what is called the Eastern army. ^B And, as was the custom for emperors, he entered Byzantium with a formal procession through the gate called the Golden [Gate], and, arriving at the Great Church, he there put on the crown of the empire.

Now the nation of the Saracens, having destroyed very many of the Romans’ towns, seized the city called Pergamum, and they were already engaged in besieging it. And they captured it for the following reason: because of some demonic [(20)] suggestion, the people of the city inside took a first-born girl who was pregnant and already close to giving birth, and they cut her open and took the infant within her and boiled it in a cauldron of water, into which all the soldiers who were prepared to fight against the enemy dipped the fingers of their right hands. From this, the wrath of God overtook them; for their hands were prevented from touching weapons, and because they were incapacitated, the enemies took the city without a battle. Setting out from there, the Saracens arrived at the straits of Abydos and crossed over into Thrace. And having captured very many towns there, they reached the imperial city, and they surrounded it with an entrenchment, and they persisted in the siege, spending thirteen whole months in the blockade and bringing up as many varieties of siege engines as possible. In the meantime, the Saracen fleet also arrived, which was led by one called Solyman in the Arab tongue. And while they were being brought up through the channels under Byzantium, the ships following behind, as if guarding the rear and being heavily burdened with a great load of both soldiers and weapons, and at the same time, because of a slight ^C wind blowing back and the contrary force of the sea repelling them, were sailing more slowly; the emperor, having noticed this, boarded biremes, and having slipped through the middle of the fleet, he set fire to about twenty of them. The remaining ships [reached] the Thracian Bos[phorus]. ^D

moved by the wind and the river, forcing them back, they sailed more slowly. The emperor, having seen these, embarked on a warship, made passes through them, and burned twenty of them with fire. The rest of the entire fleet sailed to the Thracian Bosphorus and anchored at the harbor called Sosthenion, and there they wintered. ^A During which time a winter so severe occurred that for a hundred days the earth could not be seen at all due to the mass of snow that had fallen; from which they lost no small number of men, horses, camels, and other animals. When spring arrived, another very large fleet of the Saracens arrived from Egypt, led by an archon named Sophian, carrying a large supply of grain and weapons. A short time later, another fleet also appeared, having sailed from the parts around Africa, laden with many weapons and provisions, whose commander was a Saracen named Izis. These men, as they say, fearing the damage from the fire prepared by the Romans, and despairing of crossing the strait to Byzantium, steered toward the parts of Bithynia—one toward the harbor called Kalou Agrou, the other toward the shores of the place called Satyros. ^B The Egyptians among them, however, boarding the dinghies that were attached to the ships by night, fled to Byzantium and acclaimed the emperor. The emperor, taking heart at this, sent fire-ships against those fleets and burned all their vessels. From there, having enriched themselves with huge spoils and having loaded their own ships with their weapons and provisions, they returned to the emperor. At the same time, Sergius the patrician, the governor of Sicily, and those who were in the West, unaware of what had happened at Byzantium and despairing of the emperor's position amid such an incursion of enemies, constituted as emperor a certain one from Sergius's staff, named Basilius, the son of Gregory surnamed Onomagulos, whom they called Tiberius, changing his name. ^C Having heard this, the emperor appointed Paul the patrician as governor of Sicily—a man whom he held to be faithful and close to him, and skilled in warfare—and sent him against Basilius. Upon his arrival, Sergius fled from there and went to the Lombards. But Paul, having gathered the people on the island, read the emperor's letters, by which they were persuaded, and after acclaiming the emperor, they delivered Basilius and the officials chosen by him into his custody in chains. He, having taken these men, executed a certain George and others, and sent their heads to the emperor, while ^D the rest, after having been subjected to beatings and many indignities—some even having had their noses cut off—he banished beyond the borders of the empire. Sergius, having received a pledge of safety, returned to Paul. From then on, the state of affairs in the West was established in peace and tranquility. After this, a son was born to the emperor, to whom he gave the name Constantine. On the fifteenth of the following

month of August, all the Saracen cavalry and the fleet departed from the imperial city, having lost a great many ships, which had been overtaken by a storm and wild winds; many were scattered to the islands as far as Cyprus, while others, together with their crews, were consigned to the depths. ^A Artemius, who was living in exile at Thessalonica, sought once again to seize the empire, and he attempted to act in this way. He wrote to the patrician Sisinnios, surnamed Rhendakios, who at that time was staying in the land of the Bulgarians, having been sent there by the emperor to obtain an alliance from them against the Saracens, so that he might assist him in his purpose and win over the Bulgarians to join him in his plan. He promised to do this. He wrote also to the magister Niketas, surnamed Xylinites, who was in Constantinople, and furthermore to the patrician Isoës, commander of the so-called Imperial Obsequium, and to Theodosios, who during the time of his reign had been the first of the imperial registrars, and to Niketas, surnamed Anthrax, the prefect of the walls, imploring them, in view of their old friendship, to be ready to rally to him, to open the city, and to receive him as emperor. These letters were immediately made known to the emperor, and those who received them were arrested and punished with scourging, and they themselves confessed. ^B Niketas, who held the rank of magister, and Theoktistos were beheaded; the others were severely punished and, their property being confiscated, were sent away into exile. Artemius, together with the patrician Sisinnios and the Bulgarians, arrived at Herakleia, having brought with them from Thessalonica the boats which they call *monoxyla* (dugouts). The emperor wrote to the Bulgarians, admonishing them to prefer peace to war and to hand over his enemies into his power. They turned to making excuses, begged for pardon, and promised that the peace would remain firm. Then they sent Artemius, along with the prelate of Thessalonica and many other prisoners, to the emperor, and they likewise sent the head of the patrician Sisinnios, which they had cut off; and in this way they returned to their own country. Having Artemius and the archbishop in his power, the emperor ordered their heads to be cut off at the place called ^C the Kynegion; then, having held an equestrian spectacle, he had their heads suspended on poles and paraded through the Hippodrome. All the others he punished with scourging, cut off their noses, and, having confiscated their property, sent them into exile. ^D [A.D. 720.] Having accomplished these things, he summoned the patriarch Germanos

^A on the twenty-fifth day of the month of March, of the third indiction, on the saving Feast of the Resurrection of Christ, and in the tribunal known as the Nineteen Couches [c. 720], he crowned his son Constantine emperor.

It is not to be omitted what happened at that same time regarding the islands of the Cretan Sea called Thera and Therasia. For at the beginning of summer, a vast force of smoky and opaque clouds erupted from the deep of the sea, from which the air, having thickened far and wide, ignited into fire, which was followed by masses of stone that coalesced with the island (which they call) Hiera. They say that this island, just like the two we previously mentioned, Thera and Therasia, emerged from the deep in the same manner [A.D. 726]. Moreover, the abundance of the erupting stones was so great that it covered the whole of that sea and was cast up as far as Abydos and the shore of the Asiatic coast. And because of the heat of these stones, wherever they were carried, the wave of the sea had grown so hot that it could not even be endured by hand.

When the emperor heard of these things, he deemed them to be ^B clear signs of divine wrath, and he became anxious, deliberating on the causes for which these things had been stirred up. From this, at last, he is said to have formed a plan to attack religion and the holy icons, falsely interpreting that those prodigies had occurred on account of their placement and veneration, and he even attempted to sway the people to his own opinion. Wherefore, very many lamented the distress of the Church [A.D. 727]. Those who inhabited Greece and the Cyclades islands, detesting the impious dogma, seceded from the emperor and, having gathered a very large fleet, set up a man named Cosmas as emperor over themselves. When Agallianos, one of his commanders, observed this, clearly despairing of his safety, he threw himself, fully armed, into the depths of the sea. But Cosmas ^C and another man, Stephen, were captured and beheaded.

In the following summer, the cavalry forces of the Saracens again made an incursion into the Roman territories, led by Ameras and Mavia. They pitched their camp at Nicaea, the metropolis of Bithynia, and after attacking it with a siege for some time, they eventually returned empty-handed. After being held by the siege for a certain time, they were finally sent away without success.

^A After these things, the emperor gathered a great number of the city's inhabitants into the palace and summoned the one who was then the city’s high priest, Germanus; he urged him with some vehemence to produce a written document for the overthrow of the holy icons. But he refused, and resigned his episcopate [an. 730]. "For I will not," he said, "commit any dogma of religion to writing without the authority of a general council." Once he had retired to his ancestral home, he spent the remainder of his life there. In his place, Anastasius, who was a cleric of the Great Church, was appointed high priest. From that time on, many of the pious who did not agree with the emperor’s dogma suffered many punishments and outrages.

While these things were being done, the emperor sent legates to the leader of the Chazar nation, and he brought his daughter back and betrothed her to his son, Constantine, for a wife. ^B After some time had passed, an earthquake struck Byzantium [an. 732], by which other cities and regions were also shaken with no less force. At that time, other houses, churches, and porticoes were cast down, and some were overturned from their very foundations; the divine church that was dedicated under the name of Holy Eirene, which is situated very near to the Great Church, likewise fell. Following this, the statue of Arcadius, the ancient emperor of the Romans, which was erected above a carved column in the place called Xerolophos, fell to the ground from above. The disturbance continued for an entire year; because of fear of it, many people left the city and remained outside the walls, dwelling in huts.

^C Leo, in the twenty-fourth year of his reign, died from a severe dropsy, leaving his son, Constantine, as his successor in the empire. Artabasdus, who was Constantine’s brother-in-law (for he had his sister in marriage), was stationed at the so-called plain of Dorylaeum with the people who had survived—for he was the general (doux) of the Obsequian host—and with his two sons, one of whom was named Nicetas, and the other Nicephorus. Having heard of his father-in-law's death, he immediately took counsel to seize the tyranny. Therefore, he bound all the people he had under his authority by an oath to be loyal and favorable to him, and not to accept another as emperor. Constantine, however, as soon as he became master of the empire, with a picked portion of the army outside the city in...

[index: entries preserved]

^A the plain which is called Crassus, he took possession, and signaled to Artabazus to come to him, so that they might deliberate together regarding the enemy. But he was already hastening—not for the sake of counsel, but intending to strip him of the empire. Constantine, having learned of the tyranny, and knowing that the patrician Visorus, who had come to meet him, had been slain by the opposing faction—which had marched out in the manner of an imperial army—quickly departed, and consulting his own safety, fled to the region of the Easterners. They received him humanely, and bound themselves to him with oaths, that they would not shrink from any danger on his behalf, even unto death. Straightway they cast contumelious words and reproaches against Artabazus. To these, they drew over the patrician Sisinnium with the Thracian forces, which he commanded, to their own side, and having joined their forces together, they proceeded against Artabazus. For Theophanes, surnamed Monotius, who held the dignity of magister and acted as the emperor's representative at Byzantium, had defected to Artabazus, and had saluted him as emperor, and had persuaded the Byzantines that Constantine was dead. The same man summoned his son, Nicephorus by name, who was at that time commanding the troops in Thrace, and posted him ^B with the army about him for the guard of the city. As for the imperial servants, some he blinded, and others he afflicted with different punishments and insults. Artabazus meanwhile approached the city with his own men, and upon his arrival the sacred images of the saints were immediately restored. Following behind him, Constantine occupied Chrysopolis, a port situated in Asia opposite Constantinople. Having stayed there for a short time, he returned and wintered at the city they call Amorium.

In the year that followed, Artabazus sent off one of his sons, Nicetas, as commander of the army of the so-called Armeniacs, and crowned the other, Nicephorus, as emperor. He himself crossed over into Asia with his forces, and while he was ravaging it with his incursions, Constantine met him at Sardes; and having joined battle, he was by far superior. Having thus reduced the other’s army to his power, he also gained possession of all the baggage. Artabazus first fled to the city of Cyzicus, and from there he sailed off and made for Constantinople. Nicetas, his son, turned his battle line against Constantine, who, having joined battle with him at a certain place, Modrina—as it is called in the local tongue ^C —turned him to flight after a great slaughter of his soldiers.

Thereafter, there was a great calamity for the Roman empire, when this contention for the sovereignty and rule cast the Christians into a civil war. For as to what atrocities are accustomed to happen in those times, so that nature herself seems to have forgotten her own self and brings war upon herself, and other things which there is absolutely no need to tell, not a few have learned by experience. In this way ^D

^A Constantine, having gained the upper hand, crossed over to the Thracian regions, and by laying siege to the walls of the city, he blocked the import of necessary supplies. Because of this, the city was in such great straits that, as the crushing famine afflicted the Byzantines, it happened that many perished, while others were forced to cast themselves down outside the walls. Some even persuaded the guards at the gates with bribes to let them out of the city secretly. Constantine, however, received all of them kindly and showed them particular concern.

Again, therefore, Nicetas launched an expedition and reached Chrysopolis. But Constantine attacked him in turn, captured the city of the Nicomedians, and having overcome him, he bound him in irons and severed the head of Marcellinus, the archbishop of the metropolis of Gangra, who was with him. Returning thence, he took possession of Byzantium. ^B Artabazus, having fled, saved himself by reaching the city of Nicaea in Bithynia, and he persuaded the people there that he had come to hold a levy and to muster a force. Having taken a few soldiers from these, he went off into a fortress called Pousantis and shut himself in. Constantine, having sent a portion of his army to pursue him, finally brought him into his power, and with his sons, all of them bound, he led them in a solemn procession at the circus games. Not long after, Sisinnius the Patrician was caught having plotted a tyranny against Constantine, and after being convicted, he was blinded. After this, Artabazus and his sons were also punished with the same penalty.

Having thus settled the affairs of his own reign in this manner, Constantine ^C after no long time went on an expedition into the territory of the Saracens, from whom he captured the city of Germanicia in the province of Euphratensis.

*** In the places ^D where the destructive plague afflicted men, it consumed and completely wiped out the entire human race. Yet anyone who fled as far as possible from these regions was saved, surely by divine will. The intensity of the destruction was greatest around Byzantium. Suddenly, strange and fearful signs appeared: cross-shaped markings 38 appeared on both the garments of men and on the holy

doors and their doorposts, the appearance of which awakened great horror and perplexity in all, signifying that destruction would immediately follow. People, as if beside themselves [(39)] with fear, and possessed by hallucinations, seemed to themselves to be traveling in the company of strange and monstrous men; and thereafter, as though they were acquaintances, ^B they addressed those they encountered, recounting to them on the road the things they had said to others, and being terrified by other phantoms, they found certain men attacking one another with swords. And indeed, most things turned out [as they had foreseen]. But the survivors were in no condition to commit the bodies of the departed to burial or to perform the customary funeral rites for them, for the very few were bearing away the very many. Therefore, they devised a plan: they constructed engines, and, placing planks on the backs of beasts of burden, they would go to a certain large, vast space; once they arrived there, tripping the machine, they would dump the great majority of the corpses without ceremony and haphazardly. Then, indeed, wagons also served for the transport of the multitude of the dead because ^C there was no longer a sufficient number of pack animals. Furthermore, even the tombs had utterly run out, so that they even filled the empty cisterns with the bodies of the dead. Fields were opened up, vineyards were dug through, and gardens were torn up, being repurposed for the burial of an infinite number of bodies. From this it resulted that very many houses were completely obstructed and closed off. This power of the evil lasted for up to a year, at which point it remitted in great part and gradually, just as it had been awakened at the beginning, so at last the pestilential plague ceased. To men of sound judgment, these things seemed without a doubt to point to the wrath of God, when the then godless and impious prince, ^D and others who had wickedly conspired with his dogma, had dared to lay hands upon the holy icons to the great disgrace of the Church of God.

72 Therefore, he began to repopulate this city, which had by then become almost entirely uninhabited, by bringing in multitudes of people from the lands and islands under Roman rule. At this same time, he sent out a fleet against the regions of the Saracens, which was led by the man who was then the commander of the army known as the Cibyrrhaeot. The fleet anchored off the island of Cyprus. There, a fleet from the city of Alexandria and the Saracens arrived immediately. The general, having perceived their advent, fell upon them suddenly, burned all their ships with fire, seized all the wealth that was in them, and, having completely routed the enemy, returned to Constantinople.

Following these victories, a son was born to the emperor, whom he named Leo. ^A At that time, Syria was shaken by a great earthquake, and a most dreadful destruction ensued from it. For the earth gaped open in a vast chasm around some of the cities there, while others suffered this in part. Still others were moved from their high positions and dragged, along with their walls and dwellings, down to the plains below, unharmed, having been transported up to six miles and more from their original foundations, or at any rate a short distance. Indeed, some claimed to have seen the earth in the Mesopotamian region of Syria eaten away, and at a depth of two miles, disgorging another layer of earth from below, like fine and very white sand. They added that a female mule had emerged from the same spot, which, with human speech, predicted the downfall of the Arab empire. Nor was much time passed before a nation from the desert beyond ^B fell upon them with a sudden assault and destroyed vast numbers of their forces almost without a struggle.

After these events, Constantine crowned his son Leo as emperor and immediately campaigned against the Saracens. Upon reaching the city of Melitene, he took it by siege, carrying off a great number of prisoners and vast spoils. In the meantime, the Augusta Maria, his wife, died. It is not right to pass over in silence what occurred shortly thereafter, as it is worthy of memory. ^C For there appeared at that time a fearful and strange prodigy from a celestial occurrence, which began around dusk and appeared throughout the entire night, striking terror and great fear into all who beheld it. For it seemed to them as if all the stars were being shaken from their appointed celestial places and were falling toward the earth. Yet, when they reached close to the ground, they suddenly dissolved, without ever causing any harm to anyone. Many say that this extraordinary sight was visible throughout the whole world.

Some time after these stars were seen, Anastasius, the patriarch of Byzantium, died. Constantine, having once set himself to the insult of the Church and already fighting against piety—as if caught up by the impulse of a contrary spirit—collected a council of ^D three hundred and thirty-eight bishops. [To him...]

bishop presided. Furthermore, he appointed as prelate of the city a certain Constantine, who wore the monastic habit and had been bishop of the city of Syllaea. In that conventicle they drew up a canon of faith concerning the overturning of the holy images, to which all subscribed with an impious and nefarious consensus; and that whole religion was childishly condemned with anathema in the forum. The same sentence was pronounced against Germanus, the patriarch of Constantinople, and George of Cyprus, and John of Damascus, surnamed Mansur.

^B After these matters were finally completed, Constantine began to build towns throughout Thrace, in which he settled Syrians and Armenians, whom he had transferred from the city of Melitene and from Theodosiopolis; and he most generously bestowed upon them all things necessary. While these towns were still being built, the Bulgarians, observing this, demanded tribute from the emperor; and upon his refusal, they gathered an army, ravaged Thrace, and made incursions almost as far as the Long Walls. But the emperor met them, and having joined battle, they were put to flight, and as he pursued them vigorously, very many of the Bulgarians were killed. Then the emperor set out against them with huge forces by land and sea. The fleet itself, numbering five hundred ships, navigating the Euxine Sea, landed at the Ister. From there they ravaged the fields of the Bulgarians with fire and took countless captives. The emperor himself, having engaged the barbarians in battle at Marcellae—which is a fortress situated very close to the borders of the Bulgarians—put them to flight and killed a great many of them. Having suffered these disasters, the Bulgarians sent envoys to sue for peace and handed over their children as hostages.

But neither should that which occurred at the same time be omitted. At the approach of autumn there was an immense winter and a most bitter force of cold, by which all water was hardened into ice and constrained, terrifying the eyes of onlookers with a horrendous and unusual spectacle. Nor did this happen only in fresh waters, but—what is more admirable—even in salt water and in the sea itself. And just as in other regions of the world, so too in those which lie towards the north, all things were concreted by the most bitter frost. The sea was so constricted and hardened that the Euxine gulf froze over for about one hundred miles. By the same force, the higher and greatest rivers were in larger part frozen solid; then the sea...

^A along the coast beginning from Mesembria and the city of Medea was hardened into stone by the ice; and as this freezing penetrated to a depth of up to thirty cubits, and beyond this an incredible quantity of snow fell, the ice was piled up into the heights to twenty other cubits. From this, the sea became so fused with the continental shore that hardly anyone could distinguish where the one ended and the other began. Thus, all the water facing the north was turned into solid ground, granting those who wished to do so a path to travel on foot, and every part of it was passable for men, and for cattle and other animals as well—and by this time the Pontic sea had become entirely unnavigable.

After some days, this immense mass of ice broke apart into various fragments, which, piled high to an immense size, appeared like very high mountains. Some portions of these, broken off and driven by the violence of the winds, were cast upon ^B Daphnusia, a very well-fortified castle on the Pontic coast, and were driven toward the mouth of the Euxine. There, gathered and compressed, they occupied and filled the straits of the Bosphorus, joining the two continents—namely Thrace and Asia—to such an extent that one could pass back and forth on foot more easily than by ship. From there, they were pushed through the Propontis as far as Abydos, which was no longer even suspected to be a sea. One of these fragments struck the acropolis of Byzantium and shook the wall there so that those residing within were moved by that agitation. And this, having been divided into three parts, filled the shores on both sides of the acropolis. Its height rose above the city walls, and by means of these ^C some passed on foot from the acropolis to the opposite side, where the fortress called the Galata is situated. These things caused great terror to the people of the city; for, confounded by this strange and unexpected sight, they gave way, overcome by many groans and tears.

Not long after this had passed, ^D the tribes of the Sclavini, having migrated as fugitives from their own lands, crossed the Euxine. The multitude of them is said to have reached the number of two hundred and eight thousand. And they settled along the river which is called the Artanas.

^A Now, matters concerning the Huns and Bulgars proceeded in this way: Having made a pact among themselves, they killed their lords—the Xerenses, who held dominion over them—and set up as their leader one among them named Telesius, a proud man who also displayed the boldness of youth. Having gathered an armed and warlike host, he relentlessly ravaged the neighboring regions and fortresses of the Romans. Constantine, observing his boldness and violence, prepared eight hundred horse-transport ships and, having filled these with cavalry, sent them through the Euxine to the Ister. He himself, bringing another army, arrived at the city of Anchialus, against whom Telesius came forth, having also a not insignificant multitude of Sclaveni as allies. He was defeated in battle and turned to flight. Most of the enemy from both sides fell, and many others, including those of higher rank, were taken prisoner. Having secured this victory, the emperor returned to Byzantium and distributed all the captives to the people, and especially to the factions of the Circus, for execution. They were led outside the walls to the one facing the land ^B and slaughtered to a man. Their spoils were displayed in a solemn procession before the assembled people at the Circus games; among these, two golden basins, which had been made in the island of Sicily, were put on public display, each weighing up to eight hundred pounds.

When the Bulgars learned of the misfortune of Telesius, they rose up against him in sedition and killed him, and established as their master one of their own chiefs, whose name was Sabinus. Having immediately received power, he sent envoys to the emperor, most firmly requesting peace from him. But this action did not please the Bulgars; for, being greatly disturbed by this, they strongly opposed him, thinking that they would immediately be enslaved to the Romans. Fearing their treachery, Sabinus fled to the emperor. The latter sent some light-armed troops, who found the wives and relatives of the Bulgars hidden in their retreats and brought them to Sabinus. ^C In the meantime, the Bulgars changed their minds and they too sent envoys to the emperor to ask for peace. He did not accept, but immediately marched an army against them. They fortified the narrow passes of the mountain by which they were surrounded. Their leader, having received pledges from the emperor, arrived with his chiefs before the emperor; he, receiving them, with Sabinus sitting at his side, reproached them for their disorder and the hatred they had displayed against Sabinus, and finally agreed to make peace with them.

These things were done in the first indiction. Furthermore, a son was born to the emperor, whom he named Nicetas. ^D

^A At the same time, a fleet of the Saracens set sail from Africa and arrived at the island of Sicily. But the forces stationed there resisted them bravely, and they returned having achieved none of their hopes.

In the third indiction, Constantine led an army into Bulgaria because the Bulgarians, having deposed Umarus—whom Sabinus had appointed as their leader—had proclaimed in his place Toctus, a Bulgarian man and brother of Baianus. They fled at the approach of the emperor to the passes near the Danube. Yet not a few of them were killed, among whom Toctus himself was put to death along with his brother Baianus, as well as many others. Another one of their leaders, whom they call Campaganus ^B, having fled into Varna and seemingly having escaped, was killed by his own slaves. At that time, a great part of Bulgaria was burned by fire by the Romans and was ravaged in a hostile manner.

In the meantime, the impiety of the reigning emperor began to manifest itself ever more insolently, and the life of all who were pious and dedicated to God was mocked and ridiculed; but the holy order of monks in particular was persecuted lawlessly. For those of them who kept their own confession and remained in their original way of life, and who resisted their unholy dogma, were delivered up to varied tortures and diverse punishments. Some had their beards burned off without mercy, while from others the hair of their beards was torn out by force. They would smash the skulls of others with the holy tablets upon which the likenesses of the saints were engraved. ^C More than that, the wretches inhumanly gouged out their eyes and cut off other parts of their bodies. And the pious life, so to speak, was everywhere rejected and driven away; and as if a second Hellenism had sprung up against the Christians, every engine of malice was devised by which they strove to insult and inflict harm upon those who chose to live according to God. ^D Indeed, some of these they pulled down into the pit of their own perdition, and they yielded to their impious decree, whether drawn by force, or dragged away by deceit, or stolen by flatteries, or enticed by money, or bribed by military offices, or caught by other treacherous machinations of the Wicked One; accepting the deception, they renounced their profession and, abandoning their solemn disguise, they showed themselves as long-haired men instead of shaven, and immediately they were transformed into the appearance of laymen, consented to associate with women, and bound themselves to their company. And this was sought by them with the intention that by this matter, as much as...

in them lay, God, the Lord of all, might be dishonored, and the sacred treasures of the Church might be brought into contempt. ^A

[An. 766.] Thereafter they seize a certain Stephen, a man of holiness and beloved of God, a monk by habit, shut away in a very narrow cell, situated at the base of a great mountain which they commonly call the mountain of Saint Auxentius. This man, then, these sacrilegious wretches accuse of impiety, claiming that he deceived many, teaching them to despise the glory of this present life, to hold house and kinsfolk in contempt, to turn away from the palaces of princes, and to adapt themselves to the monastic life. On this account, having tortured him with many stripes and condemned him to live in prison, at the very last they bound his feet with ropes and dragged him from the palace as far as what is called the Forum of the Ox, tearing him apart most miserably. His body they cast into that place which they name the tombs of Pelagius, as though he were some evildoer; for thither were carried the corpses of profane Gentiles and of those who had been condemned to capital punishment. ^B Hinc, they put to death by various tortures countless numbers, both from among the magistrates and from the military order, because they had adored the sacred images, convicting them as if for high treason. And so some were consumed by diverse kinds of death and subjected to unheard-of torments, while others were banished beyond the limits of the empire. Nor, content with this, did the emperor refrain, but he sought to bind all those subject to him by an oath, that they would never again adore any image of any saint. Then, those who saw him report that the patriarch of the city, having lifted up the salutary wood, swore that he was not among the number of those who adored the holy images. To such a degree had the impiety of these sacrilegious men proceeded. ^C

In the same year, Constantine made an expedition against the Bulgarians and, with his people, reached their borders, camping near the place which is called the Embolē of the Berigarians. Having equipped a fleet of two thousand six hundred vessels, and having embarked upon them a multitude of nautic and military forces, which he had gathered partly from the naval prefectures and partly from other places, he ordered them to sail to Mesembria and Anchialus, the fortresses at the borders of the Bulgarians. The barbarians, dismayed by these things and terrified by the multitude of cavalry and ships, negotiated terms with the emperor. But when the fleet had taken up its position at the shore of that sea, because this place was without a harbor and difficult for ships, a violent wind suddenly arising from the north overturned the ships and ^D

broke them to pieces upon the coast, and caused no small multitude of those sailing to sink into the deep. In the midst of these events, the emperor, being greatly alarmed, commanded the officials to cast nets into the sea, so as to recover the bodies of the drowned and commit them to the earth, and thus ^A he returned to the palace.

Exinde fervente adhuc religionis odio, he treated the holy worship of the Nazarenes with contumely. For he immediately staged a horse race, and ordered certain men from that group to be led through the Hippodrome, with a monastic woman joined to each, whom he held by the hand as he led her around. And they, having been disgraced by many insults and even by the spittle of the watching crowd, as is accustomed to happen from an unbridled and vulgar mob, completed that unspeakable and shameful circuit. ^B Sub hæc, he attacked certain primary men of the highest dignities with charges of the most atrocious crimes, alleging an imperium to have been affected by them, and that he himself was being assailed by their deceits. Among these was Antiochus, the master of memory (whom those about the palace are accustomed to call the logothete of the course), as well as Theophylactus, who ranked among the patricians and generals, along with many others from the number of the scutarii and protectors, and others besides these. ^C He led all of these in chains around the same circus spectacles. On the following day, he condemned the brothers Constantine and Strategius to death, and immediately ordered their heads to be severed in the place of the city called the Cynegion; he gouged out the eyes of others. On the day after, he suborned certain of the familiars of the patriarch Constantine as accusers, who confirmed by oath that they had heard from him all the counsels of those around Antiochus and Theophylactus concerning him. Therefore, the bishop was immediately relegated to Hieria (this is a palace of the emperor situated in the region of Constantinople toward the east), and soon Nicetas, a eunuch and presbyter of the church of the Holy Apostles, was substituted in his place. And all these things ^D occurred in the month of August of the fourth indiction.

Not long after, he summoned Constantine,

and sent him away in a litter 57, and he sent along with him one of the imperial secretaries carrying a document containing all the charges against him; these he read out within the hearing of the people gathered there, striking him on the cheek at each one of the accusations. And thus, having brought him up to the ambo, they deposed him, while the new patriarch from the altar read out such charges. And on the next day, while he was performing the customary equestrian games, he ordered him to be placed upon a donkey, with his seat turned toward the hindquarters of the animal, and to be paraded in front of the whole populace and to be cursed and spat upon by everyone. Then, not long after, at the Cynegion of the city, he ordered his head to be cut off; and it was suspended on high in the place called the Milion 58, while his body was dragged by ropes through the streets of the city and cast out into the burial place known as that of the Pelagii 59.

^B During the fifth indiction, because of a lack of rain, the state of the atmosphere became parched and dry, so that not even any dew fell from the air, and what is more, the springs of water receded; as a result of which, the basins having been exhausted, the baths fell into disuse. Because of this, Constantine 60 devised a plan to restore that aqueduct which the emperor Valentinian had formerly constructed, but which the Avars later destroyed in the times of the emperor Heraclius. Gathering, therefore, from the whole Roman empire a great number of craftsmen skilled in construction, and expending upon them many costs from the public treasury, he completed such a work in this way. But since a desire for gold burned in that Christ-hating new Midas, Constantine, he hoarded all the gold in his own treasuries. Whereupon, the people being violently compelled to the payment of taxes, there was such a glut of grain and livestock that sixty modii of wheat were sold for a single coin, and seventy of barley, and most other things were sold at a very low price. This, while the ignorant took it as an abundance of the land and a cheapness of goods, those who understood better judged it to be a work of tyranny, greed, and a disease of inhumanity.

And in the seventh indiction, a son was born to Constantine, whom he named Anthimus. About the same time 61, Nicetas, the president of the city,

^A restored some of the buildings of the Catholic Church that had collapsed from age; and in the buildings annexed to them, where stations are accustomed to be held during processions—which the Romans call *secreta*—he scraped away the images of Christ the Lord and of the saints, both in the larger and the smaller structures, which were made of mosaic work and wax. But Constantine sent legates to the princes of the Sclavinians and received back the Christians who had long been held captive among them, whom those [princes] had carried off from the islands of Imbros, Tenedos, and Samothrace. Having exchanged their clothes for silk garments, he permitted all of them, numbering about two thousand five hundred, to depart with gifts to wherever they wished.

In the seventh indiction, in the month of April, on Holy Saturday, Constantine crowned his wife, Eudocia, Augusta. On the following day, he created two of his children, Christopher and Nicephorus, Caesars, and Nicetas, Nobilissimus. And since, as is the custom of emperors, they proceeded to the Catholic Church, a great largesse was distributed to the people, and they scattered money from the palace as far as the church. Finally, in the eighth indiction, Constantine summoned Irene from Greece to be a wife for his son Leo; she was acclaimed Augusta in the month of December, and he soon celebrated the wedding of his son.

Here ends the history of Nicephorus, which, as Photius writes, he carried down to the marriage of Leo and Irene, that is, to the 29th year of Constantine, 769 AD. However, we have found a fragment of this same Nicephorus in Theophanes, in the codex of the Illustrious Cardinal Joyeuse, which is evidently from no one other than this Nicephorus, as it is clear from the fact that he is called Patriarch of Constantinople by Theophanes, and he speaks of the times of Copronymus as being near his own age when he says that some were still alive who had been mutilated in some part of the body by that dysonymous tyrant. But no patriarch of that name, other than this one of ours, existed at those times. That fragment is as follows.

Regarding whom even the divine Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, speaks thus:

by religious men, is in no way obscure. For since he wallowed in every kind of lust, and defiled his body and soul with things forbidden even to barbarians and pagans, he surpassed the beastliness of the irrational animals. ^A And this not a few of those who lived with him and survive to this day can testify; as also the various bodily infirmities to which he was subject. For, racked by pains and torments that cannot be explained in words—such as it is natural for ulcerous bodies to endure—he was in a wretched and incurable state; and some of his limbs, eaten away and consumed by festering sores, fell off with intolerable pain, while he, being perpetually agitated by the intemperance of his condition, for the most part passed his nights sleepless and in great distress. I omit the bitterness and foulness of his diet; for whatever food he had managed to convey down his throat at dinner, he would immediately cast up in vomiting. And who could describe in words that arrogance and savagery towards his servants, and that moroseness in demanding service? The bodies of many were beaten daily with many rods. Upon them he would leap with fists and kicks, showing himself no milder than flesh-eating beasts. But what need is there to speak of the mutilation of limbs and eyes and the rest of the cruel punishments of that sort, or of innocent men slaughtered by sword and fire, especially the orthodox? ^B For his satellites and ministers, the agents of his madness, would cut off the noses of very many holy men and present them on a platter as a most sweet and desirable gift, as if to a new Herod, just as of old they offered the head of the Forerunner to Herod. To this, the gouged-out eyes, the scorched cheeks, and the drained blood of those who carry these marks of their mutilation to this day bear witness. Moreover, the unusual and horrific forms of death devised by him are known not only to the depths of the sea, but the very stones seem to cry out of them. ^C But as for the victories which his rabid and furious partisans falsely attribute to him—to speak of the one which is considered the most notable of all—they are of this sort: when he had prepared an expedition to repel the western Scythian peoples, he gathered all his forces and joined battle with the enemy; what kind of victory he brought back from thence, the traces that survive to this day declare. And that hollow and depressed plain near the city of Achelous indicates even today, being covered with the limbs of the fallen from that time: for almost the entire Roman army was run through by the swords of the Scythians. ^D But if by chance some small and contemptible deed was performed by him, it was of this kind: after he discovered that the Eastern barbarians were split from their leaders and were being distracted by civil war, he burst into Armenia and Syria in a rage, more in the manner of a brigand than an emperor, and there the inhabitants...

^A agreed to surrender their fortresses to him, and he transported them into Thrace. Such were the brave deeds of that man, such the trophies he fabricated from his enemies; of this kind, I say, were the things he insolently plotted against truth and piety. For he had no shame in raging against God and against those sacred men who, as it were, belonged to Him as dedicated offerings. And that angelic and apostolic form of the monastic life, that God-hated and profane man—falsely named for Christianity—branded with the name of "the unpraised." For piety is an abomination to a sinner, and the holy man is impure in the eyes of the wicked. ^B Indeed, who could worthily recount, as I have said, the tyranny he exercised against them? For he forced them to rescind the covenants and pacts they had bound themselves to with the divine, and by a law he enacted, that lawless man compelled them to strip off their sacred garments and take up the habit of laymen. And those monasteries which had been founded for the glory of God, that man, reeking of dung and named for dung, turned into barracks for soldiers and stables for horses and latrines. Finally, when he reached the end of his wickedness and his God-hated life, scorched by the intensity ^C of fevers and by burning, he clearly saw before him the flame of Gehenna awaiting him after this life, as if in a mirror, and he felt in some way the gnawing of that sleepless worm, bursting out incessantly into horrendous and violent cries, for these were the preludes and beginnings of Gehenna. Resting, therefore, in such and so many delights—like those we have heard of old for Diocletian and Maximian—that evil man, perishing so miserably and wretchedly, thus brought to a conclusion his most shameful and wicked life, he who was the implacable and most hostile enemy of Christ and all His saints. ^D

OF SAINT NICEPHORUS, ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE AND CONFESSOR, CHRONOGRAPHIA BREVIS (SHORT CHRONICLE)

CAROLUS AUG. CREDNER, DOCTOR OF THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY. (Giessen, printed by Geo. Frid. Heyer, 1822.)

NOTICE

While I was engaged some time ago in researching the writings of Epiphanius, doubts were several times cast upon me regarding certain readings which printed books present. I therefore consulted an excellent codex of Epiphanius, written in the year 1304 A.D., which is preserved in the library of the University of Jena along with other rare books. Together with this codex, Nicephorus’s *Chronographia brevis* fell into my hands; it is read at the end of the same codex, written clearly, though by a more recent hand. It contains new and unexpected matters, containing I know not what that attracts men and renders them more curious. Hence, ignited by the desire to know, I myself compared the most recent edition of Nicephorus with the Jena codex, which I immediately recognized to be much fuller and superior.

Often, when I noticed that the Jena codex had as its companion a Latin version of Nicephorus, produced by Camerarius, I examined this very one more carefully after bringing it forward; and having done so, I soon felt certain that the Jena codex had served as the basis for Camerarius's version. For the interpreter himself says as much in the preface to the book entitled: *Chronology according to the Greek manner, with the times set forth, by Nicephorus, Archbishop of Constantinople, converted into the Latin language from the Greek, and explained by Joachim Camerarius of Bamberg, and now published for the first time. Added is, etc. Basel, by Joannes Oporinus (at the end: In the year of human salvation 1561, in the month of January), p. 17*: "I happened upon a *Chronographia*, to which the author’s name, Nicephorus, Bishop of Constantinople, was prefixed, written out indeed on a few pages, which had been put together with the work of Epiphanius, which the excellent theologian Joannes Langus kindly made available to the printers so that it might be published. Since, however, because of our long-standing relationship, it was permitted to me at that time to use it quite familiarly—a man not only outstanding in dignity and learning, but in humanity as well—I took from him both this book and several others, by the reading of which we are refreshed in that leisure of ours, which is quite busy and by no means quiet: and that *Chronographia*, which I mentioned, when I had already begun to transcribe it by translating it into Latin speech, I discovered many errors both of the author and of the copyist. Nevertheless, I proceeded as I had begun. And afterwards, for many reasons, I decided that it should be done that this very work, neither sufficiently corrected nor clearly explained, though expressed in many examples, should be seen to for publication."

Later, I know not by what means, Jo. Andr. Bose, a professor at Jena, had acquired the same codex for himself; in a letter sent in the year 1655 to the illustrious Thomas Reinesius, he discoursed as follows: "A few days ago, there came into my hands, with the ms. of Epiphanius, the *Chronology* of Nicephorus, differing not a little from the Scaligerian edition, both in other respects, and especially in the years' numbers. Lacunae which are found in Scaliger can be filled in from here. Moreover, this is the codex which Melanchthon and Camerarius used by the favor of Joannes Langus: it also has his name written on the front. This same codex, indeed, containing not all the works of Epiphanius, but only the latter part of his genuine writings, was afterwards carried into the Academic library along with the books of Buderus."

^A Having instituted a more diligent comparison between the manuscript of Nicephorus and Camerarius's Latin version, I am convinced that the translator, out of a desire for emendation, has silently altered some things at his own discretion and altogether omitted others that were more difficult to disentangle; meanwhile, the numbering of the years is often found to have been changed, and the genealogy of Valentinian and the stichometry of the books of Holy Scripture at the end of the little work are missing from Camerarius's version. Nevertheless, later editions—with the exception of Scaliger's—have all been produced based primarily on this printed version, which suffers from so many flaws, and from this, a great deal of damage has resulted for them.

The version of Camerarius, however, is of no small importance, provided the Jena manuscript is taken into account. For all the leaves in this manuscript containing Nicephorus are corrupted by a certain stain, in the circumference of which, approximately equalling the form of a large walnut, the strokes of the letters have been in part completely erased and in part rendered paler; ^B by this stain it is proven by certain indications that the manuscript was unscathed in the time of Camerarius. Hence it comes about that in some places the text of Nicephorus can only be read correctly with the help of this version.

Having accurately considered all these things, a triple cause has mainly impelled me to undertake the parts of this Chronography as editor. The first cause is repeated from the excellence of the text in the Jena manuscript; the second, from the miserable condition of the printed text; and the third, finally, from the utility of the work.

Regarding the singular excellence of the text lying hidden in the Jena manuscript, which the nature of the brand-new text established by us may prove more than sufficiently, there is no need for me to say more. Many things are surely found in the Jena code which, through the frivolity and negligence of scribes and editors elsewhere, have either been stated incorrectly or omitted.

The history of the printed text is implicated in ^C not a few difficulties on account of the carelessness of editors. Now, around the year 872, a certain Anastasius, presbyter of Rome and librarian, inserted Nicephorus's Chronography, which he had translated into Latin, into his tripartite History. Antonio Contio obtained the manuscript of this book of Anastasius not long after Nicephorus’s version was edited by Camerarius. From this, there came to light: *Tripartite Chronology from the blessed Nicephorus of Constantinople, formerly translated into Latin by Anastasius, librarian of the apostolic see, and some years ago by Joachim Camerarius, but now amended to the faith of the Anastasian exemplar and illustrated with notes by Antonio Contio* (Paris, 1573, 4°). This little book of Contio was subsequently reprinted more often and was also received into the libraries that they call "of the Fathers." Having examined this edition of our Nicephorus more accurately, I understood that Anastasius's version extended only as far as the emperor Constantine, the son of Michael and Theodora, whom Camerarius had excluded. All that follows ^D is described from Camerarius's version by Contio and has been altered, or, as they wish it, "amended," here and there at the editor's discretion. Therefore, in Contio's edition, just as in Camerarius's, the chronology of Valentinian and the stichometry of the biblical books at the end of the work are absent, nor is mention of the Anastasian manuscript made any further in Contio after the emperor Michael.

Nearly six lustra having passed after Contio's first edition, Joseph Scaliger first saw to it that the Greek text of Nicephorus was printed in his *Thesaurus temporum* (Lugd. Bat. 1606). But Scaliger used a manuscript of worse quality, to which was added the same man's haste in editing the writings of ancient authors. In Scaliger's edition, entire lines are now omitted, now the manuscript's lacunae are filled in at will, and now the text itself is completely corrupted by a vain desire for emendation.

From these such editions of Camerarius, Contio, and Scaliger, Jacobus Goar attempted to construct a new Greek text at the end of Georgius Syncellus, in a book entitled: *The Chronography of Georgius the Monk and our Holy Father Tarasius, patriarch of Constantinople, formerly Syncellus, from Adam to Diocletian. And the Chronographic Breviary of Nicephorus, patriarch of Constantinople, from Adam to the times of Michael and his son Theophilus. Nicephorus’s Breviary, reviewed against various editions. Under the care and study of P. Jacobus Goar, of the Order of Preachers, of the Reformed Congregation of Saint Louis. Paris, 1652.* Just as in the title itself, so also in his emendations and annotations, Goar professed that he had reviewed Nicephorus's text against the editions available to him. I would like the benevolent readers themselves to ponder what can be achieved with the help of such aids.

In the eighteenth century, Anselmus Banduri of Ragusa, presbyter and monk of the Order of Saint Benedict of the Melitensian congregation, published a survey of the works of Nicephorus, many of which still lie hidden in the coffers of libraries, with the title: *Survey of the works of S. Nicephorus, patriarch of Constantinople, which are soon to be published in two volumes, and few of which have been published hitherto, etc.* (Paris, 1705, 12°). Six years later, the same Banduri's *Eastern Empire, or Constantinopolitan Antiquities divided into four parts* was published (Paris, 1711). The author inserted into the first volume a *Catalogue of the bishops and patriarchs of Constantinople* excerpted from the *Compendious Chronography of S. Nicephorus*; regarding which catalogue, these things are noted in the second volume of the same work: "We have excerpted this Catalogue of bishops and patriarchs of Constantinople from the *Compendious Chronography of Saint Nicephorus, patriarch of Constantinople*, which is kept in Royal manuscript no. 2508, different from the one which the most learned man Camerarius published along with the Chronography of Georgius Syncellus, and to which he added a commentary. Antoninus Contius applied similar care and labor to the same little work; Joseph Scaliger published it in Greek in the *Thesaurus temporum*; I append this one, which I have collated to their editions, as an additional supplement."

^A Fr. Jacobus Goar. But we shall speak more at length concerning this Chronography of Nicephorus in the edition of the Works of Saint Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, to which we shall soon set our hand. However, Banduri, restrained by I know not what impediments, did not stand by his promises, though they had been repeated twice. ^B Besides Banduri, the most learned men—Lambecius, Montfaucon, and Yriarte—have openly brought forward more abundant information concerning the manuscript codices of Nicephorus; concerning these, one should consult Fabricius, *Bibliotheca Graeca*, ed. Harles, Vol. VII, p. 462 ff. and p. 602, in which book mention is also made several times of the codex of Nicephorus which is preserved at Jena.

Now, therefore, since the number of critical resources has increased so greatly in our age, there was no reason why the most recent editor of this little book of Nicephorus, in the *Corpus scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae* which appeared under the auspices of the most celebrated Niebuhr, now deceased—an edition which bears the title of being both more correct and more copious—should repeat both the text and the notes of Goar, both of which were poorly composed. ^C It is true that Dindorf used one Parisian codex, but it is of little value—indeed, perhaps it is not different from the one which Scaliger used; for the more serious lacunae are the same in both. Added to this are the errors of Goar in the annotations, which are repeated in this newest and supposedly corrected edition. What can one say when the editor did not even adapt the Latin version to the Greek text here and there, not to mention a corrected or even changed one? Why, finally, was the entirely corrupt genealogy of the Valentinians repeated, along with Goar’s note: *“Anastasius the Librarian exhibits it as corrupt in Latin as it is in Greek here”*, etc., when Lambecius (6) had long since proposed a more correct one? Why is the stichometry at the end of the book mutilated, which Montfaucon (7) had long since published in a more complete form? But enough of this. For it is certain from what we have briefly argued that the Greek text of Nicephorus, as it has been printed up to now, is of almost no value.

As for the utility of this Chronography, it contains many things that commend themselves either by their novelty or for other reasons. You would scarcely find a more convenient method for calculating the years of the world than that proposed by Nicephorus. The list of Augustae, or wives of the emperors, already had Camerarius as a fair laudator. The stichometry of the biblical books, which only appears in our author, is of the greatest importance when account is taken of history, or of the canon, or of the text. ^D Moreover, I trust that this little book can contribute to the studies of those who are first enrolled in theological seminaries. For this little book, which contains almost as many historical, exegetical, and critical questions as it does words, provides a large body of diverse kinds of material in which young minds can test what they are able to accomplish in explaining and judging. Now it is my own intention, given the opportunity, to investigate and examine the individual parts of this little book in individual commentaries; wherefore I have for now omitted what I had to say concerning the author, or rather, the authors of this little book; indeed, I have not even set forth the Greek text of the whole little work as I had wished, but only the first part of it, which in my opinion, besides the Chronography of Nicephorus itself, contains certain additions by an uncertain author, as I shall demonstrate later at greater length.

In preparing the Greek text, since I did not have access to the libraries of Vienna, Paris, and Madrid, I conducted myself in such a way that I diligently collated the Jena codex with the text of the editions, and I inserted into my critical notes all the readings of the codex that I did not approve of, adding the sign V. or Vulg. to indicate the readings of the edition of Goar or Dindorf; the readings of the Parisian codex used by Dindorf, however, I indicated with the letter R. (Regius). As often as the text of Dindorf differed from the text of Goar, I inscribed the name of Dindorf. I collated again the second edition of Scaliger, in the *Thesaurus temporum*, Amsterdam, 1658 (I did not have the first), but only up to Alexander the Great, because I understood that no fruit could be gained from the variant readings. These readings are distinguished by the sign *Scal. II*. Furthermore, I used the text of Contius, from the *Bibliotheca Sanctorum Patrum* by Margarinus de La Bigne, Vol. VII, 2nd ed., Paris, 1589, p. 974 ff.; but I carefully took care not to proceed beyond the emperors of Constantinople, Michael and Theophilus; furthermore, I consulted the *Chronographia* of Anastasius, from the edition of Fabrot, which first appeared in Paris in 1649 among the *scriptores Historiae Byzantinae*, and afterwards, without any variation of text, in Venice in 1729. Those things which we have marked with the name of Anastasius are to be referred to these editions. I deliberately excluded almost all the variant readings of Camerarius and Contius in the latter part of the book. Finally, I used for help the fragments of Nicephorus edited by Lambecius, Banduri, and Montfaucon in the books cited above. I was not able to access the catalogue of manuscript codices edited by Yriarte in Madrid.

Where these resources were not sufficient for establishing the text, I endeavored to arrive at the true meaning of the author by conjecture from the very nature of the book; and as often as this was done—and cautiously, indeed—the words included in brackets show it. I wished for the numbers that are commonly prefixed to individual kings, or bishops, etc., to be absent from the text; for the great variety in both codices and editions in their placement, from which not a few errors have crept into the text, taught me that these numbers did not originate from the author himself. I indeed retained Goar’s Latin version, though it is often to be censured, but I have rendered it everywhere consistent with our text.

(6) Lambecii comment. de augustissima Bibliotheca Caesarea Vindobonensi. II. Vindob. 1669, p. 580 ff. (7) Bibliotheca Coisliniana, p. 205 ff.

CHRONOGRAPHIA BREVIS (A BRIEF CHRONOGRAPHY) OF THE BLESSED NICEPHORUS, FROM ADAM TO THE TIMES OF MICHAEL AND THEOPHILUS. PART ONE.

^A Adam, having reached the age of 230 years, begat Seth; and Adam lived on for 700 years. Seth, having reached the age of 205 years, begat Enos. Enos, having reached the age of 190 years, begat Cainan. Cainan, having reached the age of 170 years, begat Maleleel. Maleleel, having reached the age of 165 years, begat Jared. Jared, having reached the age of 162 years, begat Enoch. Enoch, having reached the age of 165 years, begat Mathusala. Mathusala, having reached the age of 167 years, begat Lamech. Lamech, having reached the age of 188 years, begat Noe. Noe, having reached the age of 500 years, begat Sem, Cham, and Japheth; and he lived on until the flood for 100 years. In the 600th year of Noe, the flood occurred. The sum total of all years from Adam to the flood, according to the Seventy, is 2242, which truth confirms and the traditions that have prevailed in all the Churches from the beginning. After the flood, Sem, the son of Noe, having reached the age of 100 years, begat Arphaxad. Arphaxad, having reached the age of 130 years, begat Cainan. Cainan, having reached the age of 130 years, begat Sala. Sala, having reached the age of 133 years, begat Heber. Heber, having reached the age of 134 years, begat Phalec. Phalec, having reached the age of 133 years, begat Ragau. In the days of Phalec the earth was divided; ^B wherefore the name Phalec signifies "division" in the Hebrew tongue. And he died before his father. In his time, the construction of the tower

^A of Babel was established, and from the one language of old, a multiplicity of tongues came to be, and the differentiation of languages for each nation, as the divine Scripture says.

After Phalec, Ragan, being 135 years old, begat Seruch. Seruch, being 130 years old, begat Nachor. Nachor, being 79 years old, begat Thara. Thara, being 70 years old, begat Abraham. In total, from Adam to Abraham, according to the Seventy, there are 3324 years. And from the flood to Abraham, 1082 years.

Abraham, being 75 years old, was deemed worthy of a divine oracle and the promise that was made to him. From which time, until the journey through Egypt by Moses, there are 430 years, as the Apostle also testifies, saying: "The covenant confirmed ^B before by God, the law which was made after 430 years, does not disannul, to make the promise of none effect." And Moses himself in Exodus agrees with this in what he says: "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt and in the land of Chanaan, they and their fathers, was 430 years." And as for the individual breakdown, it follows thus:

Abraham, being 100 years old, begat Isaac. Isaac, being 60 years old, begat Jacob. Jacob, being 87 years old, begat Levi. Levi, being 49 years old, begat Caath. Caath, being 60 years old, begat Amram. Amram, being 70 years old, begat Moses. Moses, being 80 years old, leads the people out ^C of Egypt.

There is gathered, therefore, the whole, from the first year of Abraham to the departure out of Egypt, 502 years. From the flood, 1587 years. From Adam, truly, according to the Seventy, 3824 years; according to others, 3829.

After these things, Moses leads the people in the desert for 40 years. Jesus (Joshua) son of Nave, 27 years. The Elders, 23 years. The Aliens (Philistines), 8 years ^D.

^A Gothoniel from the tribe of Judah, 40 years. The Aliens, 18 years. After these, Aod from the tribe of Ephraim, 80 years. The Aliens, 20 years. Deborah and Barac, 40 years. The Madianites, 7 years. Gedeon, 40 years. Abimelech, 3 years. Thola, 23 years. Jair, 22 years. The Ammanites, 18 years. Jephthae, 6 years. Esebon, 7 years. Aelon, 10 years. Lamdon [Abdon], 8 years. The Aliens, 40 years. Sampson, 20 years. Heli the priest, 20 years. Samuel, [30] years. Saul, 40 years. David reigned, 40 years.

In sum, everything from the exodus of the children of Israel until David is 630 years.

Salomon, 40 years. Roboan (Rehoboam), 17 years. Asa, 40 years. Josaphat, 25 years. ^B In his time Micaiah, Elias, and Elissaeus (Elisha) prophesied. Joram, 8 years. Ochozias (Ahaziah), 1 year. Gotholia (Athaliah), mother of Ochozias, 7 years. Joas, 40 years. Amesias, 28 years. Azarias, who is also Ozias, 52 years. In his time Osee (Hosea), Amos, Isaias (Isaiah), Jonas (Jonah), and Joel prophesied. Joathan, 17 years. Achaz, 16 years. Ezekias, 29 years. Manasses, 55 years. ^C In his time Byzantium was founded. Amos [Amon], 12 years. Josias, 31 years. And an interregnum (anarchia) of 30 years according to the Septuagint; but according to the Hebrew, 50 years.

^A At this time, Jeremiah, Sophonias, and Baruch exercised the prophetic ministry. Joachaz, 3 months. Eliakim, 12 years. Jechonias, 3 months. Sedecias, 11 years. Nabuchodonosor carried him away captive after plucking out his eyes, and the temple was laid waste by fire by Nabuzardan after five months; it having stood for 432 years from the time it was founded. ^B The sum total from the beginning of the reign of Solomon to the captivity is 448 years. But after the Jews had been led away captive into Babylon and the place was left desolate, 70 years passed, the end of which is completed in the second year of Darius, king of the Persians, who released that people from captivity and rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem.

The first of the Persians, Cyrus, reigned 30 years. Cambyses, 2 years. Darius the son of Hystaspes, 36 years. In the second year of this king, as has already been said, the temple in Jerusalem was renewed. There remain, therefore, 34 years of Darius. Xerxes, the son of Darius, 28 years. Artabanes, 7 months. Artaxerxes Longimanus, 41 years. ^C They say that the events concerning Esther and Mardochæus took place during his time. Xerxes the other, 2 months. Sogdianes, 7 months. Darius the other, 19 years. Artaxerxes Mnemon, 40 years. Artaxerxes, who is also Ochus, 22 years. Arses, the son of Ochus, 4 years. Darius, the son of Arsamus, 6 years.

When he was killed and the empire of the Persians was overthrown, Alexander the Macedonian reigned for 6 years; having reigned 12 years before the slaughter of Darius, as they say. And he died in Babylon at the age of 35; though according to others, 36. He reigned, therefore, 18 years. ^D He subjected 22 nations of barbarians and 13 tribes of Greeks. And he died while reigning in Persia.

The sum total of all years from Adam to the death of Alexander, king of the Macedonians, is 5177. [index: entries preserved]

^A After the death of Alexander, the first to rule over Egypt and Alexandria was Ptolemy, son of Lagus, for 40 years. Ptolemy Philadelphus for 38 years. In his reign, the sacred Books of the Hebrews were translated into the Greek language and deposited in the libraries at Alexandria during the time of Eleazar the high priest. Ptolemy Euergetes for 25 years. Ptolemy Philopator for 17 years. Ptolemy Epiphanes for 24 years. The events concerning the Maccabees occurred in his time. Ptolemy Philometor for 35 years. Ptolemy the Younger for 29 years. Ptolemy Physcon for 17 years and 6 months. Ptolemy Alexander for 10 years. Ptolemy, his brother, for 8 years. Ptolemy, who is also called Dionysius, for 30 years. Cleopatra, daughter of Ptolemy, for 22 years. In the third year of her reign, Gaius Julius Caesar became the first monarch of the Romans, from whom the subsequent kings were called Caesars. He ruled for 4 years and 7 months. ^B After Julius, Caesar Octavius Augustus ruled over the Romans for 56 years and 6 months. From this time, the people of Antioch count their years. In the fifteenth year of his reign, having captured Cleopatra, he destroyed the principality of the Ptolemies, which they had held in Egypt for 296 years. Thus, according to the precise chronographers, the total number of years from Adam to the beginning of the reign of Augustus reaches 5257 years. Augustus, then, as has been said, reigned for 56 years and 6 months. In the 42nd year of his reign, our Lord Jesus Christ was born according to the flesh of the holy Virgin and Theotokos Mary, the God who is before the ages, in Bethlehem of Judea; eight days before the Kalends of January, which is the 29th of Choiak, that is, December 25th. ^C Cyrenius, having been sent by the decree of the Senate into Judea, conducted a census of properties and inhabitants. In total, therefore, from Adam to the advent in the flesh of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, if one calculates with all diligence, there are 5500 years. ^D After Augustus, the third to rule as emperor of the Romans was Tiberius for 23 years.

^A In the fifteenth year of his reign, our Lord Jesus Christ gave the beginning of the saving and evangelic doctrine. In the 14th year, he suffered the saving passion for us in Jerusalem before the 8th day of the Kalends of April, Phamenoth 29, which is March 25. Thus, there are gathered together from Adam until the saving passion and the resurrection of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ 5553 years.

After Tiberius, Gaius ruled for 3 years, 10 months. He was slain in the palace. Claudius, 13 years, 1 month. He was slain in Rome. Nero, 13 years, 8 months. Fleeing, he destroyed himself while alive. ^B While this Nero was first stirring up persecution, Peter and Paul suffered martyrdom in Rome, and James the brother of the Lord, whom all called the Just, was stoned by the Jews in Jerusalem. Otho, 3 months. He killed himself. Vitellius, 8 months. Vespasian, 9 years, 11 months, 22 days. He died in the gardens of Sallust. In the second year of his reign, the capture of Jerusalem by his son occurred, 35 years after Christ’s ascension. Titus, 2 years, 2 months. He was slain in the palace. Domitian, 15 years, 5 months. ^C While he was stirring up persecution, the apostle John was given to dwell on the island of Patmos because of his confession of Christ. After the death of Domitian, he returned from the island and remained in Ephesus until the reign of Trajan. Nerva, 1 year, 4 months. Trajan, 19 years, 6 months. Under his reign, Ignatius the God-bearer suffered martyrdom in Rome, having been delivered as food for beasts. Adrian, 21 years. He died of dropsy at Baiae; and he, having razed Jerusalem, named the city Aelia. Titus Antoninus, surnamed Pius, with his children Aurelius Verus and Lucius, 22 years, 3 months. Marcus Aurelius his son, 19 years, 11 months. Under him, Justin the Philosopher suffered martyrdom. Antoninus Verus, 12 years. ^D Commodus, 13 years. Aelius Pertinax, 6 months. He was slain in the palace.

Severus, 18 years. ^A Under his reign, Leonides, the father of Origen the perverted, suffered martyrdom; and Hippolytus the Roman writer flourished, as did Gregory Thaumaturgus and Clement of Alexandria. Antoninus, son of Severus, 7 years. He was slain between Baiae and Edessa. Macrinus, 1 year. He was slain. Antoninus Gabalus, 4 years. He was slain in Rome. Alexander [son] of Mammaea, 13 years. He was slain in the territory of Mogontiacum. Maximinus, 3 years. He was slain at Aquileia. Gordianus, 6 years. He strangled himself in Africa. Philippus, 7 years. He was slain in the Tiberian gardens. Decius, 1 year, 3 months. He was slain in the Forum. ^B In his time, Saint Babylas suffered martyrdom in Antioch, as did many others throughout every region, and the Seven Sleepers in Ephesus. Gallus and Volusianus, 1 year, 4 months. Valerianus and Galienus, 15 years; Valerianus was indeed slain in Persia, but Galienus at Mediolanum. Claudius, 1 year, 9 months. He died at Sirmium. Aurelianus, 5 years, 6 months. He was slain at Novocastrum. Tacitus, 6 months. He was slain in Pontus. In his time, Saint Chariton became a confessor. ^C Probus, 6 years, 4 months. He was slain at Sirmium. Carus, together with his sons Carinus and Numerianus, 2 years. Carus indeed ended his life in Mesopotamia, but Carinus was slain in the Thracian city of Numeria. Diocletianus and Maximianus, 20 years. Under them, Saint Peter of Alexandria suffered martyrdom, as did many others throughout every province. Constantine the Great, 31 years. In the 20th year of his reign, the first holy synod of the 318 holy Fathers was held at Nicaea in Bithynia, in the year 518 from the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, and from his holy passion and glorious resurrection in the year 285. ^D Thus, all the years from Adam to the death of Constantine the Great amount to 5836 years. Constantine died at the age of 65, having reigned 31 years, leaving behind three sons: Constans, Constantine, and Constantius; and indeed Constans as king of old Rome, Constantine of New Rome, and Constantius of Antioch. He served two consulships.

^A These men reigned after Constantine for 24 years. Julian 2 years. He was slain in Persia. Jovian 9 months. Valentinian the Great and Valens his brother 10 years, 9 months. Under Valens, Saint Dorotheus suffered martyrdom at Alexandria, having been thrown to the beasts in the Cynegium by the Arians. Gratian and Valentinian the Younger, sons of Valentinian, and with them Theodosius the Great ^B 16 years. Consulships 5. In the second year of his reign, the second synod of the 150 holy Fathers was held at Constantinople.

Arcadius and Honorius, his sons, 13 years, 3 months. Theodosius the Younger 42 years, 6 months. In his reign, the third synod of the 200 holy Fathers was held at Ephesus, and the second, the robber-synod, over which the impious Dioscorus presided. Marcian and Pulcheria 7 years. In his reign, the fourth holy synod of the 630 holy Fathers was held at Chalcedon. Leo the Great 16 years. Leo the Less, who reigned as co-emperor with his father for one year, died. Zeno 17 years. With [the tyrant] Basiliscus 2 years. Anastasius 27 years, 4 months. Justin the Thracian 9 years, 3 months. Justinian the Great 38 years, 7 days. Under him, the holy synod was held at Constantinople. Justin, the nephew of Justinian, 12 years, 11 months, 20 days. ^C

In the seventh year of this man's reign, the cycle of the holy Pascha of 532 years was completed, from the time when our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, in the 6th indiction, in the year 6065 from the creation of the world. Tiberius 5 years. Maurice 20 years, 4 months. He was slain. Phocas 8 years. He was slain. Heraclius 31 years, together with his son. In the third year of his reign, Chosroes the Persian ^D seized the greater part of the Roman state; he ravaged Jerusalem and burned the holy places; and he took an immense multitude of people captive, along with the patriarch Zacharias and the precious wood of the Cross, and [carried them off] into Persia.

^A And in his twelfth year, when Chosroes the Persian was removed from the midst, the captives were recalled and the life-giving Cross, with its own places restored, was set back in them.

At that time the Saracens also began to devastate everything, in the year 6126, indiction 7.

Constantine, his son, 28 years. He was removed from the midst in Sicily. In his time the greatest part of the state was devastated by the Saracens.

Constantine, grandson of Heraclius, 17 years. In his reign Byzantium was besieged by the Saracens; and in his thirteenth year the sixth synod was held at Constantinople. He also acted bravely against the Saracens, stopping them from their foray against the Romans and terrifying them sufficiently with the force of arms ^B.

Justinian, his son, 10 years. Leontius, 3 years. Tiberius, who is also Apsimarus, 7 years. Justinian, for the second time, 6 years. Philippus, who is also Bardanius, 2 years. Anastasius, who is also Artemius, 2 years. Theodosius, 1 year. Leo the Isaurian, 25 years, 3 months, 14 days. Constantine, his son, 34 years, 2 months, 25 days. Leo the Khazar, 5 years. Constantine, his son, with his mother Irene, 10 years, 2 months, 2 days. ^C In their eighth year, the second synod of the 350 holy Fathers was held at Nicaea.

Constantine, 6 years, 9 months, 8 days. Irene, his mother, 5 years, 2 months, 12 days. Nicephorus, 8 years, 9 months. He was slain in Bulgaria. Stauracius, his son, 2 months. Michael, his son-in-law, 1 year, 9 months, 11 days. Leo the Armenian, 7 years, 5 months, 12 days. He was slaughtered in the palace in the church of the all-holy Theotokos. ^D Michael the other, 8 years, 9 months, 9 days. Theophilus, his son, 12 years, 3 months, 20 days. Theodora together with her son Michael, 14 years, 1 month, 22 days. Michael alone, 11 years, 1 month, 9 days. He was slaughtered in the palace called that of Saint Mamas. Basilius.

CHRONOLOGICAL APPARATUS. I. A BRIEF COMPUTATION OF THE YEARS OF THE WORLD.

The years are collected as follows: From Adam to the flood, 2242 years. ^AFrom the flood to the tower of Nimrod, 525 years. From the building of the tower to the division of the victims of Abraham, 425 years. From the divided victims to the death of Abraham, 76 years. The sum of the years, 3268.

II. GENEALOGY OF VALENTINIAN THE GREAT.

This man begets Gratian the Emperor ^B and Galla, wife of Theodosius the Great. Another wife of his was Placidia. From these:

Arcadius and Honorius. Placidia, wife of Constantius, and Valentinian the Emperor in Rome.

This Valentinian, being a cousin of Theodosius the Younger, took as his wife his daughter Eudocia, whom Gaiseric took captive.

Of these (sons and daughters of Theodosius the Younger): Arcadius, Theodosius the Younger, Eudocia (wife of Valentinian). Placidia and Eudocia.

From these: Juliana, the foundress of Saint Polyeuctus, wife of Areobindus. Placidia, wife of Olybrius, Emperor of Rome. And Eudocia, whom Huneric, son of Gaiseric, king of the Vandals, took. ^C

From these was born Olybrius, husband of Irene, daughter of Magna, sister of the Emperor Anastasius. From these was born Proba, wife of Probus. And from these, Juliana, wife of Anastasius. From these, Proba, wife of George Areobindus, and Placidia, wife of John, surnamed Mustacon. ^D

From Abraham until the exodus of the sons of Israel, 430 years. ^A From the exodus until the building of the temple of the Lord, 757 years. From the building of the temple until the captivity, 425 years. Total of years, 1880. From the captivity until Alexander, 318 years. From Alexander until the times of Jesus our Lord, 303 years. Total of years, 5500. From Christ until Constantine the Great, 318 years. ^B From Constantine until Theophilus, 5th indiction, 530 years. Total of years, 6350.

II. GENEALOGY OF VALENTINIAN THE GREAT

He begat: Gratian the Emperor, Valentinian II the Emperor, and Galla, wife of Theodosius the Great. His other wife was Placilla, from whom [came] Arcadius and Honorius. Placidia, wife of Constantine, and Valentinian III, Emperor of Rome. Pulcheria. Eudocia, wife of Valentinian III. Placidia, wife of Olybrius, Emperor of Rome. Placidia and Eudocia. And Eudocia, whom Honoric, son of Gizericus, King of the Vandals, took as wife.

This Valentinian took as wife Eudocia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius the Younger, whom Gizericus led away captive. From these [came] Juliana, who founded the holy [church of] Polyeuctus: wife of Areobindus. From these was born Olybrius, joined in marriage to Irene, daughter of Magna, sister of King Anastasius. From these was born Proba, wife of Probus. And from these, Juliana, wife of Anastasius. From these, Proba, wife of George Areobindus, and Placidia, wife of John, surnamed Mustacon.

* The errors and commentaries in the genealogy of Valentinian in all the editions of Nicephorus, not even excepting the most recent, have long since been detected by Lambecius in his *Commentarii de Bibliotheca Caesarea Vindobonensi*, II, p. 250 ff. The same man proposed another, much superior version from an ancient parchment manuscript in the Vienna library. But before Lambecius’s book came into our hands, this genealogy of Valentinian had already been edited by us into the form in which it is seen, with the aid of the Jena codex; later only one name was changed on the authority of Lambecius. For by a thorough examination, we learned that great errors had arisen from this, that either scribes or editors had joined to the table itself scholia written in the margin for the sake of explanation. We have taken care that these scholia be printed in smaller letters so that they might be more easily distinguished from the genealogy itself. Those who wish to survey the errors of the editions at a glance should turn to the first book of Lambecius’s work. In Camerarius and Contius, not even a trace of the entire table exists. In the more recent editions of Anastasius, all is missing from the words: [Gk text omitted]. The parts which we have marked with curved lines seem to have been added in the Jena codex by the same scribe as the rest, but with blacker ink at a later time.

III.

ROMAN AUGUSTAE

And such as have been Augustae of the Romans: ^A Theodora and Helena, wives of Constantius [the father of Constantine the Great. Fausta, wife of Constantine the Great.] Eusebia, wife of Constantius. Helena, daughter of Constantine the Great, wife of Julian the Apostate. Charito, wife of Jovian. Severa and Justa, wives of Valentinian. Domnica, wife of Valens. Galla and Placilla, wives of Theodosius the Great. Eudoxia, wife of Arcadius. Eudocia, wife of Theodosius the Younger. Pulcheria, wife of Marcian. Verina, wife of Leo the Great. ^B Ariadne, wife of Zeno. The same Ariadne, wife of Anastasius. Euphemia, wife of Justin the First. Theodora, wife of Justinian the Great. Sophia, wife of Justin. Anastasia, wife of Tiberius. Constantia, wife of Maurice. Leontia, wife of Phocas. Flavia, who is also Eudocia, and Martina, wives of Heraclius. [Wife] of Constantine. [Wife] of Heraclonas. [Wife] of Constantine. [Wife] of Justinian. ^C [Wife] of Leontius. [Wife] of Apsimar. [Wife] of Philippicus. [Wife] of Theodosius. [Wife] of Justinian. [Wife] of Artemius.

Maria, [wife] of Leo I the Isaurian. Irene, [wife] of Constantine. Maria and Eudocia. Irene the Athenian, [wife] of Leo II the Chazar. ^A Maria and Theodote, [wives] of Constantine. Theophano, [wife] of Stauracius. Procopia, [wife] of Michael. Theodosia, [wife] of Leo. Thecla and Euphrosyne, [wives] of Michael. Theodora, [wife] of Theophilus. Eudocia, [wife] of Michael. Eudocia, [wife] of Basil. Theophano, [wife] of Leo the Younger. ^B

BRIEF AND CURSORY COMPARISON OF THE YEARS OF NICEPHORUS, WITH THE COMMON YEARS OF THE WORLD AND THE INDICTIONS

| Years from the birth of Christ, according to the Greek calculation from September | Indictions | Julian Years | Years of the Emperors (Logothete) | Years of Nicephorus the Patriarch | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 798 | 14 | 806 | 4 | 1 | | 803 | 4 | 811 | 9 | 6 | | 804 | 5 | 812 | Michael Rangabe year 1 | 7 | | 805 | 6 | 813 | 2 | 8 | | 806 | 7 | 814 | Leo the Armenian year 1 | 9 | | 807 | 8 | 815 | 2 | Driven into exile. 1 | | 812 | 13 | 820 | 7 | 6 | | 813 | 14 | 821 | Michael the Stammerer year 1 | 7 | | 821 | 7 | 829 | 9 | Nicephorus dies in the month of June. | | 822 | 8 | 830 | Theophilus year 1 | |

| ^A Baronius, counting from the first month of the year of Julian the year in which Nicephorus ascended the throne—which was April—and noting that Nicephorus occupied the throne for 9 years and experienced 14 years of exile, writes that he died in the year 828, although he reached the month of June of the following year. Those who desire more regarding the time of Nicephorus and his brief Chronological breviary should consult the works mentioned by Sirmond, the Menaion for the 13th of March and June, as well as Anastasius, Cedrenus, Zonaras, and Theophanes—who will soon see the light of day—and look forward to the long and detailed History of his other works, which Father François Combefis will publish as soon as the opportunity for printing arises. As to the more well-known and recent works, I agree that they were rendered into Latin long ago by Anastasius the Librarian. Joachim Camerarius again produced the Miscellanea and added a Commentary. Antoine Contius applied similar care and labor to the same work; Joseph Scaliger published the Greek in his *Thesaurus Temporum*. To these editions, I add this one—which I have collated—as a further contribution. The opening words added to the title, concerning loyalty toward us, detract nothing from the truth, both because a title is often added by others, and because they took care not to omit the honor due to Nicephorus.

PART TWO

Regarding the plan for editing this Chronographia of Nicephorus, I refer the reader to what I have more fully explained in the preface to the first part (6). In the editing of this second part, which now at last presents the stychometric index of the Sacred Books more accurately, I have been granted the opportunity to make use of the work of Joannes Iriarte, entitled: *Regiae bibliothecae Matritensis codices Graeci mss.* (vol. 1, Madrid 1769). The Madrid codex, ^B which contains the Chronographia of Nicephorus, was once possessed by Constantine Lascaris, who added in his own hand a continued History of the Byzantine Empire. Regarding the text of this codex, it closely approaches the Jena version.

Written at Giessen, 29 October, 1838.

IV.

KINGS OF THE TEN TRIBES OF ISRAEL

Kings of the ten tribes of Israel in Samaria, from the times of Roboam, son of Solomon, king of Judah, until the deportation of the ten tribes to the Assyrians under Ezecias, king of Judah.

1. Jeroboam, servant of Solomon, was anointed by Achia the prophet, because his master Solomon had turned aside to foreign women and had rendered worship to their gods. 2. Nadab, his son, 2 years. 3. Baasa. This man destroyed the house of Jeroboam, 24 years. 4. Ela, his son, under whom was Jehu the prophet, 2 years. ^{C D}

5. Zambri, his servant, who killed him, 7 months. ^A 6. Ambri, 12 years. 7. Achaab, his son, under whom Elias the prophet closed heaven and slew the priests of Baal, 22 years. 8. Ochozias, his son, 2 years. 9. Joram, his brother, whom Jehu killed according to the word of the Lord; under whom Eliseus exercised the office of prophet, 12 years. 10. Jehu, who was anointed by the disciple of Eliseus for the destruction of the house of Achaab according to the prophecy of Elias, 28 years. 11. Joachaz, whose kingdom the king of Syria devastated, 17 years. ^B 12. Joas, under whom Eliseus the prophet foretold victory against the Assyrians and performed miracles, 16 years. 13. Jeroboam, under whom was Jonas the prophet, 41 years. 14. Zacharias, under whom the prophecy of Eliseus was fulfilled; for God had promised through him to Jehu that, on account of the slaughters he committed against the house of Achaab, those from him would hold the kingdom of Israel until the fourth generation, 6 months. 15. Serum, who killed Zacharias, 16 years. 16. Phaceias, his son, 5 years. 17. Phacee, son of Romelias, under whom were Isaias and Naum the prophets, 9 years. ^C 18. Osee, son of Elia, who killed Phacee. In his time, Salmanasar, king of the Assyrians, took captive all Samaria and its king and all the land of Israel, except for Jerusalem and the tribes of Juda and Benjamin. All the people of Israel he led away captive into the land of the Assyrians, while Ezechias was king of Juda in Jerusalem. But the Assyrian, having brought up those who are called Cutheans from his own land, settled them in the land of Israel, in Samaria, and in the remaining cities that had been desolated by him—in place of those he had taken and deported into his own land of the Israelites. But they, having inhabited the land of Israel, rendered service to their own gods. And God, being angry, sent lions to devour them. The king who had deported them, learning of this and understanding the cause, sent to them one of the priests of Israel who was a captive among them, to teach them the worship of the God of Israel and the law. ^D Having obtained only those things which were handed down by Moses, and having grasped them, while retaining the worship of idols, [they began] to venerate God as well, equally.

From these are those who are now Samaritans, accepting only the Pentateuch of Moses, and not associating with the Jews.

V. HIGH PRIESTS OF THE HEBREWS

^A As to who were the high priests in Israel:

1. Aaron, being the seventh from Abraham, left two sons behind: Eleazar and Ithamar. 2. Eleazar, in whose time Moses died, and the allotment of the land took place through Joshua, and the tabernacle of the testimony was fixed in the wilderness. 3. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, who gave judgment for the people with all the elders. Abiu, Bechi, Ozei. 4. Heli, from the line of Ithamar. 5. Achitob, in whose time was Samuel. 6. Abiathar, in the time of David. 7. Sadoc, from the house of Eleazar. 8. Achimas, Azarias, Samarias. 9. Azarias, who was slain for his zeal for God. 10. Azarias, who prevented Uzziah from entering the sanctuary. 11. Urias, who was faithful in the time of Isaiah. 12. Sobnas, the wicked and debauched ^B man in the time of King Hezekiah. 13. Eliakim, Selum. 14. Chelcias, who was in the time of King Josiah. 15. Sareas, who was in the time of the Babylonian captivity, whom Nebuchadnezzar slew. 16. Josedek, whom Ezekiel calls Sadoc; he was in Babylon during the captivity. 17. Jesus, his son, who returned and built the temple with Zerubbabel. 18. Joakim, Eliasum. 19. Judas, in whose time Nehemiah rebuilt ^C Jerusalem and completed the walls. 20. Jonan. 21. Jaddo, in the time of Alexander ^D the Macedonian king. 22. Onias. Simon the godly.

23. Eleazar, under whom the divine Scriptures were translated in the time of Ptolemy. 24. Manasses. Onias. 25. Simon, his son; whom Jesus, son of Sirach, mentions in his Wisdom. 26. The three sons of Simon: Onias, Jason, and Menelaus. These being opposed to one another, perished by one another's hands; in whose time also ^A Antiochus committed the impious acts, having slain Menelaus. 27. Alcimus the alien was established by Antiochus in place of Menelaus. 28. Judas Maccabeus, and Jonathan, and Simon, his brothers. 29. Joannes, son of Simon Maccabeus. 30. Aristobulus, his son, who also put on the royal diadem ^B after his mother, Alexandra. 31. Joannes, who is also Jannaeus. And Hyrcanus. His brother drove him out. But Pompey, the Roman general, restored Hyrcanus when he fled to him; from which time the Jews became tributaries to the Romans. Aristobulus, however, was sent in chains to Rome by Pompey. Hyrcanus was taken captive by the Parthians. And Antigonus, son of Aristobulus, was also himself slain. 32. Ananelus the alien, who was appointed by Herod. 33. Aristobulus, son of Hyrcanus, whom Herod, ^C the son-in-law of Ananelus, slew. 34. Ananelus, once again appointed for the second time by Herod. 35. Simon, son of Boethus, father-in-law of Herod. 36. Matthias, son of Theophilus. 37. Joazar, brother-in-law of Herod; under whom Christ was born. 38. Eleazar. Jesus. 39. Osee. Joazar. 40. Ananus, under whom Christ, being manifested, ^D began his preaching and signs. But Gratus the Roman, having removed Ananus from office, appointed another, Ismael. 41. Eleazar, son of Ananus. 42. Simon. Caiaphas, and Joseph, son-in-law of Ananus. For one year only were they high priests.

^A Since the pontificate was conferred by the authority of those who held power among the Romans, just as if it were by their command that the high-priestly dignity were granted. Therefore, Caiaphas was the high priest of the year in which the Passion of Christ occurred. Vitellius, the commander-in-chief of the Romans, removed him.

43. Jonathan, son of Ananus. 44. Theophilus, his brother. 45. Simon. 46. Jonathan, son of Ananus, for the second time. 47. Jonathan Aelioneus, also called Josephus. 48. Ananías, whom Quadratus sent in chains to Rome. 49. Ishmael. 50. Josephus, appointed by Nero. 51. Ananias, who killed James, the brother of the Lord; to whom Paul said: "God shall strike you, you whitewashed wall." ^B Agrippa the second removed him from his principate. But during the siege of Jerusalem, he was killed by his own countrymen. 52. Jesus, son of Damnaeus. 53. Jesus, son of Gamaliel. 54. Matthias, under whom the war by the Romans was begun. 55. Phinees, who was appointed while the city of Jerusalem was being besieged by the Romans, and was present; under him, Titus captured the city and burned the temple.

Total of all: 55.

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VI.

PATRIARCHS OF JERUSALEM

—

^C All those who have been patriarchs in Jerusalem from the time of Christ.

1. James, the brother of the Lord, 26 years. 2. Symeon, son of Cleopas, his brother, and martyr, 23 years. 3. Justus, 4 years. 4. Zacharias, 4 years. 5. Tobias, 4 years. 6. Benjamin, 2 years. 7. John, 2 years. 8. Matthew, 2 years. 9. Philip, 1 year. 10. Seneca, 4 years. 11. Justus, 4 years. 12. Levi, 4 years. 13. Ephraim, 2 years. 14. Joseph, 2 years. 15. Judas, 2 years. 16. Marcus, 8 years. 17. Cassianus, 8 years. 18. Publius, 5 years. ^D

19. Maximus 4 years. 20. Julianus 2 years. 21. Gajanus 3 years. 22. Symmachus 2 years. 23. Gaius 3 years. 24. Julianus 4 years. 25. Elias 2 years. 26. Capito 4 years. 27. Maximus 4 years. 28. Antoninus 5 years. 29. Valens 3 years. 30. Dulichianus 2 years. 31. Narcissus 4 years. 32. Dius 8 years. 33. Germanio 4 years. 34. Gordius 5 years. 35. Narcissus the second, martyr, 5 years. 36. Alexander, martyr, 15 years. 37. Mazabanes 21 years. 38. Hymenaeus 23 years. 39. Zabdas 10 years. 40. Hermo 9 years. ^A Up to these are the emperors of the Greeks and the persecutions from them.

And as many ^B bishops as there were after the emperors became Christians:

41. Macarius, who was at the synod, 20 years. 42. Maximus 6 years. 43. Cyril, who was expelled ^C by the Arians; in whose place there were three: Arsenius, Heraclius, and Hilarius; and having been recalled again under Gratian, he was present at the second synod in Constantinople; his years are numbered as 62. 44. Johannes 16 years. 45. Praulius 20 years. 46. Juvenalius, who was at the two synods of Ephesus and Chalcedon, 38 years. 47. Theodosius, who was expelled by Marcian, and again Juvenalius. 48. Anastasius 18 years. 49. Martyrius 8 years. 50. Sallustius, from whom the bishop of Rome separated because of the Henotikon of Zeno, 8 years. ^D 51. Elias, who was expelled by the emperor Anastasius, 23 years. 52. Johannes 11 years. 53. Petrus, under the emperor Justinian, 5 years. 54. Macarius, who was expelled, 2 years. 55. Eustochius 1 year. 56. Macarius again 4 years. 57. Johannes 22 years.

58. Amos 8 years. 59. Isacius 8 years. 60. Zacharias before the captivity 22 years. 61. Modestus 1 year. 62. Sophronius. [VII.]

THE BISHOPS OF ROME

33. Marcus 12 years. ^A 34. Julius 15 years. 35. Liberius, banished into exile by the Arian emperor Constantius, 6 years. 36. Felix 1 year. 37. Siricius 15 years. 38. Anastasius 3 years. 39. Innocent 15 years. 40. Zosimus 8 years. 41. Boniface 4 years. 42. Celestine, under whom the synod in Ephesus [was held], 21 years. 43. Xystus 8 years. 44. Leo, under whom the synod in Chalcedon [was held], 21 years. 45. Hilario 6 years. 46. Simplicius, who sent a letter to the Antiochenes against the martyrdom of Nestorius, 14 years. ^B 47. Felix, who separated himself because of the Henotikon of Zeno, 9 years. 48. Gelasius 5 years. 49. Anastasius 2 years. 50. Symmachus, and with him Laurentius, 14 years. 51. Hormisdas, who in the time of Justinian restored the synod of Chalcedon to the diptychs, 10 years. 52. John 3 years. 53. Felix, beloved by the emperor Justinian, 4 years. 54. Boniface 2 years. 55. John 3 years. ^C 56. Agapetus 1 year. 57. Silverius 18 years. 58. Vigilius 5 years. 59. Pelagius 8 years. 60. John 5 years. 61. Benedict 6 years. 62. Another Pelagius 10 years. 63. Gregory 12 years. 64. Sabinianus 3 years. 65. Boniface 4 years. 66. Another Boniface 9 years.

VIII.

BYZANTINE AND CONSTANTINOPOLITAN BISHOPS

Those who served as bishops in Byzantium from the time of Christ and the apostles. ^D 1. Andrew the apostle. When he was preaching in Byzantium, he built an oratory across in Argyropolis, and ordained a bish—

bishop of the same city, Stachys, whom Paul mentions in his Epistle to the Romans.

2. Stachys the same, 16 years. 3. Onesimus, 14 years. 4. Polycarp, 18 years. 5. Plutarch, 16 years. 6. Sedecion, 9 years. 7. Diogenes, 15 years. 8. Eleutherius, 7 years. ^A 9. Felix, 5 years. 10. Polycarp, 17 years. 11. Athenodorus, 4 years.

He built another church in the region named Elea, and held ecclesiastical assemblies there.

12. Euzoios, 16 years. 13. Laurentius, 11 years, 6 months. 14. Alypius, 13 years. 15. Pertinax, a man of consular senatorial rank at Rome, 19 years.

He erected another church in the maritime locality named Sycae, and named the building Eirene.

16. Olympianus, 11 years. 17. Marcus, 13 years. 18. Cyriacus, 16 years. ^B 19. Castinus, 7 years.

He built an oratory in Byzantium, in the place named Petrium, for St. Euphemia, who had suffered martyrdom at that time.

20. Titus, 35 years, 6 months. 21. Dometius, brother of the Emperor Probus, 21 years, 6 months. 22. Probus, son of the same Dometius, 12 years.

All these were bishops of Byzantium before Constantine the Great was declared emperor. But he, having traveled to Byzantium for the sake of the war undertaken against Licinius, found Metrophanes as bishop. ^C

23. Metrophanes, son of the aforementioned Dometius, brother of Probus, and nephew of the Emperor Probus, 10 years. 24. Alexander lived 98 years, and held the episcopate for 23 years. 25. Paul the Confessor, 3 years, having been ejected by Constantius. ^D 26. Eusebius, an Arian, was substituted in his place; he had previously been bishop of Berytus, then of Nicomedia, 12 years. 27. Macedonius, presbyter of the Church of Constantinople, the enemy of the Holy Spirit, 12 years.

28. Eudoxius, an Arian, who was previously bishop of Germanicia, then of Antioch, ^A 10 years. 29. Demophilus, an Arian, who was previously of Beroea in Thrace, 11 years, 5 months. 30. Evagrius, orthodox, ordained by Eustathius of Antioch, was immediately sent into exile by Valens. 31. Gregory of Nazianzus presided over the Church 12 years, and returned to his own affairs. 32. Nectarius, high-ranking, ^B is both baptized and ordained by the Fathers [present at the council], 16 years, 3 months. 33. John, presbyter of Antioch, Chrysostom, 5 years, 6 months. After he was exiled, 34. Arsatius, presbyter, brother of Nectarius, 2 years. 35. Atticus, presbyter of Constantinople, 20 years. 36. Sisinnius, presbyter of the same Church, 2 years. 37. Nestorius, [the hyminicola], ^C presbyter of the Church of Antioch, 3 years, 2 months. After he was exiled to the Oasis, 38. Maximian, presbyter of Constantinople, 2 years, 5 months. 39. Proclus, ordained bishop of Cyzicus by Sisinnius, but not being accepted by them, lived in retirement; [but] after the death of Maximian he is ordained — that is, he is transferred after he had died — 12 years, 3 months. 40. Flavian, presbyter of Constantinople, 1 year, 10 months. When Dioscorus had cast him out at the predatory synod of Ephesus, ^D 41. Anatolius, presbyter and responsalis of the Alexandrian Church, 8 years, 8 months. 42. Gennadius, presbyter of Constantinople, 13 years, 2 months. 43. Acacius, presbyter and orphanotrophos, a heretic, 17 years, 9 months. 44. Phraïtas, presbyter of the holy Thecla of the Sycae, 3 months, 17 days. 45. Euphemius, presbyter of Constantinople and ptochotrophos of Neapolis, 6 years, 3 months. After he was expelled by the emperor Anastasius, 46. Macedonius, presbyter of Constantinople and skeuophylax, 6 years. 47. Timotheus, presbyter of Constantinople and skeuophylax, 6 years. 48. John of Cappadocia, presbyter and his syncellus, 1 year, 10 months. 49. Epiphanius, presbyter of Constantinople, under Justinian, 16 years, 3 months.

^A 50. Anthimus of Trapezus, bishop, 3 months. Upon his removal by the synod convened against Severus, 51. Menas, presbyter and administrator of the hospital of Samson, 16 years, 6 months.

52. Eutychius, presbyter and monk of the monastery in Amaseia, 12 years, 2 months. When he was expelled by Justinian in the 38th year of his reign for not accepting his edict concerning the Incorruptible, 53. John, presbyter of Antioch, from the scholasticus' profession, 12 years, 7 months.

54. Eutychius, restored again under Justin, held the see for 9 years, 6 months.

55. John the Faster, deacon of Constantinople, under Tiberius, 13 years, 5 months. ^B 56. Cyriacus, presbyter of the same church and oikonomos, 11 years.

57. Thomas, deacon of the same church and sakellarios, 3 years, 5 months.

58. Sergius, deacon of the same church, 28 years, 7 months, and 21 days.

59. Pyrrhus, presbyter of the same church, monk, and ruler of the monasteries, and abbot of Chrysopolis; but a sedition having been raised against him, he resigned his office after 2 years, 9 months, and 9 days.

60. Paul, presbyter of the same church and oikonomos, 2 years, 26 days.

61. Pyrrhus, restored again, 4 months, 23 days.

62. Peter, presbyter of the same church, 2 years, 6 months. ^C 63. Thomas, deacon of the same church and chartophylax, 2 years, 7 months.

64. John, presbyter and skeuophylax of the Great Church, 5 years, 9 months.

65. Constantine, deacon of the same church, skeuophylax and oikonomos, 1 year, 8 months, and 7 days.

66. Theodore, presbyter of the same church, syncellus and skeuophylax, 2 years, 3 months.

67. George, presbyter, syncellus and skeuophylax, 3 years, 10 months. Theodore, restored again, 1 year, 5 months.

68. Paul, from the laity, secretis, 6 years, 8 months. ^D 69. Callinicus, presbyter and skeuophylax of the Blachernae, 12 years. He was blinded by Justinian the Rhinotmetos.

69. ^A Cyrus, presbyter and monk from the island of Amastris, 6 years. He was cast out by Philippicus. 70. John, deacon and chartulary of the oikonomion, 3 years. 71. Germanus, bishop of Cyzicus and confessor, 15 years. He was cast out by the impious Leo the Isaurian. 72. Anastasius, presbyter and syncellus, 24 years. 73. Constantine, monk and bishop of Syllaeum, 12 years. He was beheaded. 74. Nicetas, presbyter of the Holy Apostles, and ruler of the monasteries, the eunuch, 14 years, 4 months. 75. Paul the Cypriot, deacon, 5 years, 8 months. 76. Tarasius, asekretis, 21 years, 2 days. 77. Nicephorus, having become a monk, asekretis, 9 years. He was cast out by the impious Leo the Armenian into exile. 78. Theodotus Cassiteras, 15 years. 79. Anthony, 10 years, from Syllaeum. 80. John, presbyter and syncellus, who plotted against himself, 9 years. 81. Methodius the orthodox and confessor, 4 years, 3 months. 82. Ignatius the eunuch, 11 years, 5 months. ^B

IX. THE BISHOPS OF ALEXANDRIA

And all those who served as bishops in Alexandria from the time of Christ and the apostles.

1. Mark the Evangelist, 2 years. 2. Anianus, 22 years. 3. Abilius, 12 years. 4. Cerdo, 10 years. 5. Primus, 12 years. 6. Justus, 10 years. 7. Eumenes, 10 years. 8. Marcianus, 13 years. 9. Celadion, 10 years. 10. Agrippinus, 14 years. 11. Julianus, 15 years. 12. Demetrius, 10 years. 13. Heraclas, 43 years. 14. Dionysius, who was exiled under the Emperor Valerian, 18 years. ^D 15. Maximus, 8 years.

16. Theonas, 19 years. ^A 17. Petrus, who is also a martyr, 11 years. Up to these were the emperors of the Greeks and persecutors. ^B And those who were bishops after the great Constantine are these: 18. Achillas, 1 year. 19. Alexander, who was also at the first synod, 23 years. 20. Athanasius the Great, who was frequently exiled by the Arians, in whose place was Gregorius the Arian, — years... 21. Athanasius again for the second time; he was exiled by Constantine. 22. Georgius the Cappadocian the Arian, — years... Athanasius for the third time likewise, and for the fourth, and for the fifth was restored to the see. His total years are 46. 23. Petrus, who was exiled by Valens, 1 year. 24. Lucius the Arian, 5 years. 25. Petrus for the second time, 1 year. 26. Timotheus, who was at the second synod, 8 years. 27. Theophilus, 28 years. 28. Cyrillus, who was at the first synod in Ephesus against the impious Nestorius, 32 years. 29. Dioscorus, who was at the second, robber-synod of Ephesus, 5 years, and was deposed by the fourth synod ^C at Chalcedon. 30. Proterius the orthodox, who was slaughtered at the holy baptismal font, 6 years. 31. Timotheus Aelurus, 2 years. 32. Timotheus the White (Leucus), 15 years. 33. Petrus Mongus, 1 year. 34. Joannes, who was cast out, 3 years. Petrus for the second time, 6 years. ^D 35. Athanasius the heretic, 7 years. 36. Joannes, 9 years. 37. Another Joannes, 11 years. 38. Dioscorus, 3 years. 39. Timotheus, who was under the Emperor Justinianus, 17 years. 40. Gaianus, 1 year. 41. Theodosius, 2 years. 42. Paulus, 2 years. 43. Zoilus, 7 years. 44. Apollinarius, 19 years. 45. Joannes, 11 years. 46. Eulogius, 17 years. 47. Theodorus the Scribe, 2 years.

48. Joannes Cyprius the Merciful, 10 years. ^A 49. Georgius, 11 years. 50. Petrus, 10 years.

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X. EPISCOPI ANTIOCHENI.

All the bishops of Antioch from the time of Christ and the apostles.

1. Petrus the Apostle, 11 years. 2. Evodius, 23 years. 3. Ignatius Theophorus, who suffered martyrdom under Trajan, 4 years. ^B 4. Hero, 20 years. 5. Cornelius, 13 years. 6. Eros, 26 years. 7. Theophilus, 13 years. 8. Maximianus, 13 years. 9. Serapion, 25 years. 10. Asclepiades, 9 years. 11. Philetus, 8 years. 12. Zebinus, 6 years. 13. Babylas, who suffered martyrdom under Decius, 13 years. 14. Flavius, 9 years. 15. Demetrianus, 4 years. 16. Paulus of Samosata, 8 years. ^C 17. Domnus, 2 years. 18. Timaeus, 10 years. 19. Cyrillus, 15 years. 20. Tyrannus, 15 years.

Up to these, the kings from the Greeks were persecutors.

And those who are patriarchs after the kings accepted the faith of Christ are these:

21. Vitalis, 6 years. 22. Philogenes, 5 years. 23. Paulus, 5 years. 24. Eustathius, the leader in the first council of Nicaea, ^D who was also cast out by the Arians, 18 years. After whom the Arians [held it for] 6 years. 25. Eulalius, 3 years. 26. Euphronius, 8 years. 27. Phacellius, in whose time the dedication of the Great Church of Antioch was celebrated, 12 years. 28. Stephanus, 3 years. 29. Leontius, 8 years. 30. Eudoxius, 2 years. 31. Anianus, 4 years. 32. Meletius the Confessor, who was also cast out by Valens, 25 years.

33. Euzoius the Arian, 5 years. ^A 34. Meletius again, when they also gathered for the second council held at Constantinople. 35. Flavianus, 22 years. 36. Porphyrius, 30 years. 37. Alexander, 5 years. 38. Theodotus, 4 years. 39. Joannes, who was at the third council of Ephesus, 18 years. 40. Domnus, who was at the second, the Robber Council, of Ephesus, 8 years. 41. Maximus, who was at the fourth council in Chalcedon, who was also cast out because of a fall, 4 years. 42. Basilius, 2 years. 43. Acacius, in whose time the city fell, 1 year. ^B 44. Martyrius, 13 years. 45. Julianus, 15 years. 46. Petrus Fullo, he also who was cast out by Zeno, 3 years. 47. Joannes, who was cast out after three months. 48. Stephanus, 3 years. 49. Another Stephanus, 1 year. 50. Calandion, 4 years. 51. Petrus Fullo again, 3 years. 52. Palladius, 10 years. 53. Flavianus, who was cast out by Anastasius, 7 years. ^C 54. Paulus, under the same, 3 years. 55. Euphrasius, who perished in the fall of the city, 5 years. 56. Ephraemius, who lived in the times of Justinian, 18 years. 57. Domnus, 14 years. 58. Anastasius, 11 years. 59. Gregorius, 24 years. 60. Anastasius, for a second time, 9 years. 61. Another Anastasius, 9 years.

CONCERNING THE CANONICAL SCRIPTURES

I.

What divine Scriptures are received by the Church and are enrolled in the canon, and the count of their verses, is as follows: ^D

1. Genesis, 4500 verses. 2. Exodus, 2800 verses.

3. Leviticus, 2700 verses. ^A 4. Numbers, 3530 verses. 5. Deuteronomy, 3100 verses. 6. Joshua, 2100 verses. 7. Judges and Ruth, 2050 verses. 8. Regnorum (Books of Kings) I and II, 4240 verses. 9. Regnorum III and IV, 2203 [2200] verses. 10. Paralipomenon (Chronicles) I and II, 5500 verses. 11. Esdras I and II, 5500 verses. 12. The Book of Psalms, 5100 verses. 13. Proverbs of Solomon, 1700 verses. 14. Ecclesiastes, 7500 verses. 15. Canticle of Canticles, 280 verses. 16. Job, 1800 verses. ^B 17. Isaiah the Prophet, 3800 verses. 18. Jeremiah the Prophet, 4000 verses. 19. Baruch, 700 verses. 20. Ezekiel, 4000 verses. 21. Daniel, 2000 verses. 22. The Twelve Prophets, 5000 verses. The total of the books of the Old Testament is twenty-two.

Of the New Testament: 1. Gospel according to Matthew, 2500 verses. 2. Gospel according to Mark, 2000 verses. 3. Gospel according to Luke, 2600 verses. 4. Gospel according to John, 2300 verses. 5. Acts of the Apostles, 2800 verses. 6. Epistles of Paul, 14, totaling 5500 verses. 7. Catholic Epistles, seven: James 1, Peter 2, John 3, ^C Jude 1. The total of the books of the New Testament is 26.

II.

And these are the ones of the Old Testament that are disputed: 1. Maccabees, three books, 7500 verses. 2. Wisdom of Solomon, 1100 verses. 3. Wisdom of the Son of Sirach, 2800 verses. 4. Psalms and Odes of Solomon, 2100 verses. 5. Esther (550 verses). 6. Esdras (omitted). 7. Judith, 1700 verses. ^D 8. Susanna, 550 verses. 9. Tobit, which is also Tobias, 700 verses.

^A And those of the New Testament which are disputed: 1. The Apocalypse of John, 1400 verses. 2. The Apocalypse of Peter, 300 verses. 3. The Epistle of Barnabas, 1360 verses. 4. The Gospel according to the Hebrews, 2200 verses.

— III. —

And those which are apocryphal of the Old Testament: 1. Enoch, 4800 verses. 2. The Patriarchs (Testaments of the XII Patriarchs), 5100 verses. 3. The Prayer of Joseph, 1100 verses. 4. The Testament of Moses, 1100 verses. 5. The Assumption of Moses, 1400 verses. 6. Abraham, 500 verses. 7. Eldad and Modad, 400 verses. ^B 8. Elias the prophet, 316 verses. 9. Zephaniah the prophet, 600 verses. 10. Zechariah, father of John, 500 verses. 11. Baruch, Habakkuk, Ezekiel, and Daniel, pseudepigrapha.

And those which are apocryphal of the New Testament: 1. The Acts (Itineraries) of Peter, 2750 verses. 2. The Acts (Itinerary) of John, 2600 verses. 3. The Acts (Itinerary) of Thomas, 1700 verses. 4. The Gospel according to Thomas, 1300 verses. 5. The Teaching of the Apostles, 200 verses. 6. Clement’s first and second epistles, 2600 verses. 7. Ignatius, Polycarp, and the Shepherd [and] Hermas.

EPISTLE OF NICEPHORUS THE CHARTOPHYLAX TO A CERTAIN MONK THEODOSIUS AND RECLUSE OF CORINTH, CONTAINING THE SOLUTION TO CERTAIN QUESTIONS.

^A Regarding that which you have asked, venerable Father, it is not for us to answer. For the dispensation of such matters is permitted to the chief priests. But we, having been allotted the dignity of a lower order of ministry, even if unworthy, seem to offend against the canonical regulations if, when it is not permitted to us to speak of these things, but rather to learn what is fitting from the chief priest of the region, we should nevertheless examine and speak on such matters at all. For it is fair and just that you should ask the chief priest who presides over the Church in Corinth, and learn from him, and do nothing without his judgment concerning the salvation of souls, nor even receive confessions, or reconcile those in penance, without receiving authorization from him. For this is what the apostolic and paternal constitution of the Church requires. Since, however, you have wished to learn something from me as well, I shall speak not of my own authority, nor as one having the power to determine anything in such matters, but only according to what we have drawn from the canonical books.

Those who are twice-married, or who practice fornication, or who have fornicated even once, the canonical strictness by no means allows to serve as priests; nor even allows the laity who commit fornication to partake of the divine mysteries, unless they abstain from their evil, and submit to the appropriate penance, and serve it. And if monks who are not priests receive the confessions of some, and bind and loose, let them know that ^C they do this against the canons; for the holy Fathers do not even wish priests to reconcile those in penance without the command of the local ruler, as the 6th and 42nd canon of the Council of Carthage declares; for now, I know not

how such an ordinance is despised; but we recount what is written. ^A

It is forbidden for monks to form spiritual fatherhoods or brotherhoods, and the Church strictly enjoins this upon the superiors or heads of monasteries. For the law admits in no way whatsoever those things called "brother-makings."

As for women who destroy the fetus, it is beyond doubt that they are subject to the penalties for homicide, as the second canon of the great Basil explains at length.

Regarding infants that are found dead in the bed of their parents, great discernment is needed. For if the offense comes from manifest negligence—namely, from the parents being drunk or in some other way neglectful—this is considered homicide. But if it comes from the cooperation and plotting of the adversary, when they themselves are in no way at fault, the matter deserves pardon.

^B Regarding bondmen who have been joined to bondwomen without a holy blessing, know that unless they are initiated by a blessing, they ought not to be made partakers of the divine mysteries, but should be prohibited as fornicators. We write these things to your reverence according to the divine opinions and constitutions of the holy Fathers. However, license is granted to the presiding prelates to perform dispensations in such matters, according to the divine spirit and grace given to them. For this reason, we say and declare that it is fitting to inquire of the local magistrates, or rather the archpriests, concerning these matters, and to have them as coworkers. ^C For they will all the more render an account to God for the flock entrusted to them. But the statement that those who sin do not bear the severity of the canons is nothing to us. For heaven-revealing Basil says in his 84th canon that the fruits of repentance must be tested; for we pay attention not at all to time, but to the manner. If they are with difficulty torn away from their own habits and prefer to serve the pleasures of the flesh rather than the Lord, and do not receive the evangelical life, there is no common ground between us and them. And read, Father, the canon until the end, as it is appropriate to the case.

^D You have remaining, first of all, venerable Father, what you asked for, according to our knowledge; nevertheless, if you wish to direct those who come to you to an exact and straight path, diligently go through the canons set forth by the holy heralds and divine apostles and by the divinely-spoken Fathers, and regarding all things about which you are in doubt, refer them with humility and prayers to your metropolitan, use his counsel, referring everything to God, begging God with your whole heart that He may grant you the grace of knowledge and discernment. For it is indeed very dangerous to bind and loose boldly those who have been caught in offenses, and not to prepare medicines suitable for their ailments.

Letter to Theodosius

^A You have asked us, most venerable Father, by your writing—not verbosely nor inaptly, but considerately and precisely—concerning those things about which you yourself were in doubt, which many others also question today. Therefore, what we say by God’s grace to those who speak with us face-to-face, these same things we convey also to your absent perfection.

We state that the ecclesiastical canons published and confirmed by the God-bearing Fathers are those which the holy Apostles and the holy Fathers who gathered in the seven great and ecumenical synods have set forth. In addition to these, there are also those made by provincial synods and those promulgated by the luminaries of the Church and great hierarchs who have shone forth at various times—whose names you will find, if you take the trouble, enumerated at the beginning of the sixth synod—and apart from these, the Church accepts nothing else. If, therefore, you diligently consider all these declared canons, you will not stray from the mark.

Regarding those things issued by John the Faster, we have adopted the custom of moderating the ^B corrections according to the strength of each individual; however, we say this: that if any sensible person were to examine what appears to have been spoken by John the Faster contrary to the precision of the canons, they depend upon the mind of the Fathers. For when the great Basil, in his final canon, clearly counsels that to anyone entrusted with the care of souls the power is given to increase or diminish the fault—according, of course, to the dispositions of those confessing, and taking into account the persons and circumstances, and performing the benefit for souls with discernment—it is no wonder if John the Faster, persuaded by such a canon, innovated something according to the spiritual grace given to him; for that which is dispensed, he administers entirely for (spiritual) utility. It is necessary, therefore, to hold fast to those things which have been synodically proclaimed and confirmed; then, also, the dispensation of ^C correction must be made according to the quality of the persons, the times, and the habits, as the great Basil (as it has been said) permits this.

Furthermore, it is unworthy of your virtue to say that people cannot even bear to hear the canonical precepts: for those who do not accept them are not in any way of the party of Christians. And for this reason, you must not deal with these cases severely and without consolation, but sympathetically and instructively; for ^D just as (remedies) are provided that are not burdensome but pleasant to those who are ill.

OF THE SAME TO THE SAME. On the power of binding and loosing.

(Biblioth. Patrum, t. XII, p. 547.)

The province of binding and loosing was entrusted by our most merciful God to the pontiffs themselves. For to Peter He says: "Whatever you bind... and whatever you loose shall be loosed." Whence of old