A that we be equal in endurance, by no means broken by the devil’s devices and battles; but if at any time we slumber, and be carried away into some confinement of duty—whether in mind, or word, or action—let us rise the more quickly, and return to our former state, and serve God with ardent zeal, confident that we are being urged by the King towards an invisible war even to the very breath, as a warrior and fighting soldier, to obtain eternal rewards by the grace of God, and to attain the heavenly kingdom, through Christ Jesus our Lord. To whom be glory and empire, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto all eternity. Amen.
ORATIONS OF THE SAME
EXCERPTED FROM FABRICIUS, GRETZER, AND ANGELO MAI
1. A *That one must be watchful regarding the variety of foods, and concerning temperance. On the Sunday of the holy Fathers, chapter 10.* B (FABRIC. Biblioth. graec. vol. XII, p. 303.)
My brothers and Fathers, if I open my unworthy mouth before you every day, O most desired and venerable children, I do not consider this sufficient for the longing C I have for your salvation, and the care by which I am unceasingly occupied. For in this, although I am a sinner, I am intent night and day; this I breathe, this I seek, this I pursue, this is my life. I would praise death, because through it I am granted a release when brothers depart, with the opportunity offered to converse with you through letters.
How, then, my sanctified brothers, have you spent the Pasch? And how did you pass the holy days of the resurrection of the Man-God in piety? I know that you were purified, illuminated, exalted, sanctified, and perfected in the grace of my Lord, exercising concord and charity among yourselves, and applying yourselves to all things with vigilant and ardent study. For your many letters demonstrate this, signifying to me the strength of your faith and your most exalted virtues. And surely the Lord our God, who has thus graced you with these things, and established you in such accomplishments, may He keep and guard you all, my lights and lanterns, my eyes and arms, and whatever else is most holy, more and more and in an even greater way, and preserve you most enduringly. See therefore, my children, even from the present, that good is difficult to acquire, and easily lost by those who are not watchful, and that which is found over a long time may easily slip away through small negligence. Beware of the present time: for spring is here, by which the body is stirred to agitation; our terrestrial flesh tends toward terrestrial acts. D And now the earth, saturated and gladdened with manure, sprouts, germinates, and flowers; so also the flesh, saturated with various foods and drinks, of necessity spreads the thorns of the passions. Restrain it, and chastise it in the apostolic manner, providing for it with moderation and only
what is necessary and sufficient, and continue to live in the Spirit. As for the measure, both for bread and for wine: wine, even if it is given for drinking, should be used only as a small solace and on festive days, and for those laboring in more arduous works, or those who are sickly, or those who are despondent, and for those setting out upon a journey. Since for others it should be received up to one cup of mixture, or two at the most. For you know that the elders affirm this. I say these things, B my children, not because I wish to keep you away from food. For let food be set aside, according to the Apostle, but I am anxious that you have the true nourishment, and for this reason I place these words in remembrance. I wish you to eat and drink, but appropriately, and in a way pleasing to God, and life-giving, for the strength of the body, because of the works that press upon you by necessity. Or do you not know that by this self-control and deprivation of the world’s pleasant meat-eating, and wine-drinking, and bathing, and hot baths, and highly-seasoned food, and broths, that divine paradise is prepared for you, which has the tree of life, and the water of immortality, and the sweetness of the Spirit, and the indescribable and inconceivable beauty of the brightness of those things that are seen ineffably, and the invisible contemplation of the eternal goods, reserved for you to enjoy and delight in there? Arriving there, there for a little while through death, you shall eat and drink insatiably and eternally.
For indeed here, my children, if we receive from the kings themselves, their enjoyment is not luxury, but food for worms; C nor is their ease a good life, but a wretched life; nor is their delight joy, but sorrow; nor is their inheritance a possession, but an exclusion; and their happiness is truly vanity of vanities. Thus Solomon, who reigned with the greatest glory among them, spoke of the sweetest pleasures of the world. But do you hold fast to your beloved self-control, your wedded obedience—daughters of the Lord—purity, virginity, almsgiving, the holy virgins, compunction, and humility. Look up to heaven above, and see where our dwelling is, and where our Head, Christ, is, and the common Father of all, and our city, the Jerusalem above, the mother of Paul and Peter and the saints according to them. Indeed, if you endure, you have conquered; if you persevere, you will be crowned; if you are thus perfected, the gates of the kingdom of heaven D will be opened to you, and then you will remember me, the wretched and prodigal one, seeing me in my entirety, not cast away unto judgment; rather, pray also on my behalf, O my children, that God, in saving me together with you, may save me, and grant a spirit of understanding and the restoration of the soul, so that I may return to be among you in a manner pleasing to God. I have spoken these things for the present; later, the steward to whom I gave the writings will go forth. But as for you, if you find any letter-carriers, do not refrain from announcing to me how your affairs stand. Strive, my children, toward manual labor,
and toward the care of the cattle, the fields, and the vineyards, doing all things becomingly and in order. Lead well, child Acacius; and all of you, my faithful brethren, follow the leader with holy zeal, that it may be well with you all, and that you may be children of the light. And now, along with Father Ammonius, we have sent Father A Bartholomew, and an overseer as our own child, for the needs that are at hand. The vessel carrying your necessities is also arriving shortly. And that you may know that we have received the brethren, and indeed having the habit, among whom is also Father Abraimius, who has become a man of note in the city, a pious man and one who seeks God. Pray that they may be perfected in the Lord. My lord and father, and your father the steward, the assistant steward, the archpriest Athanasius, the overseer of the studies Barsanuphius, and all the rest of the brotherhood salute you. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
II. Oration of our holy Father Theodore, abbot of the Studium, on the adoration of the precious and life-giving Cross, in the middle of Lent.
B A day of exultation and gladness, for the sign of joy is present; a chorus of praise and confession, for the most holy wood appears. O most precious gift! Hail to the beauty of the vision! It bears no imprint of a mixture of good and evil, as the wood in Eden once did, but is entirely beautiful and good, and to be gazed upon, and to be partaken of as well. For it is wood that brings life, not death; that illuminates, not obscures; that brings one into Eden, not casts one out; that wood upon which Christ, as king C
[Note: The remaining text in the column is biographical information concerning Theodore the Studite and his works, interspersed with editorial notes and references to Cedrenus, Zonaras, and other historical sources. Per the instructions, the translation of the main text continues as follows:]
1 Cor. xiv, 40. Theodore the Studite is of great name among the Greeks, being the abbot or superior of the monastery which they called Studium. The Greeks celebrate his feast day in November; with this Encomium in the Menologium, of our holy Father Theodore the Studite. He lived under the Iconoclast emperors Copronymus and his son Leo, and under the Orthodox Constantine and Irene, and Nicephorus. He had a brother, Joseph, the archbishop of Thessalonica, whose oration on the Exaltation you will find above. Besides this Homily, up to this time hidden in darkness, so far as I know, there exists in the eleventh volume of Surius an D Encomium on St. Plato, his predecessor in the government of the Studite monastery, and a dogmatic book on the honoring of images—or rather, a fragment from a certain catechesis on images—as also another from a certain Epistle on heresies, in the third volume of the *Bibliotheca* of the holy Fathers. Various hymns of his exist in the Ritual books of the Greeks; for this Theodore is placed by the Greeks among the ecclesiastical poets and hymnographers. A few years ago, the catecheses of this same Theodore appeared, interpreted from the Greek by Joannes Livineius. He endured many things with his own, both because of the veneration of images, of which he was an unconquered defender, and because of his dissension with the patriarch Tarasius and his successor Nicephorus, concerning which he himself [wrote] some things in the Life of St. Plato, and besides that, Cedrenus and Zonaras. Different from this Theodore is he of whom Cedrenus [speaks] on page 376: Where the interpreter says: "This holy John, together with Cosmas, Bishop of Maiuma, and Theophanes, brother of Theodore, bishop of the Grapti." Incorrect. For it should be translated: "With Theophanes, brother of Theodore, which two were surnamed [Grapti] from the marks or iambics inscribed on their faces by order of the emperor Theophilus," as Cedrenus relates on folio 427. Thus, the same Cedrenus calls them [Grapti] later on the same page. Where the interpreter is correct. There were among the number of the guests Theophanes also and his brother Theodore, whom they call *Grapti* [the Inscribed] from the marks impressed on their faces. From which passage Xylander could have corrected that former error of his. That they were called so from that writing on their faces is evident also from the response of Theophanes to Theodora, who, when she looked more attentively at Theophanes, [perceived it]. In the Messanensian Library in the archimandritate of the Holy Savior, there exists a homily of Joseph, archbishop of Thessalonica (who was the brother of Theodore the Studite) on the holy cross in the middle of Lent.
[]ORATION II. ON THE ADORATION OF THE CROSS[]
A just as a king upon a chariot, destroyed the devil who held the power of death, and delivered the human race from the tyranny of servitude. That wood, in which the Lord, like a most excellent combatant, wounded in the battle in His hands and feet and divine side, healed the weals of sin, that is, our nature wounded by the pernicious dragon; and, if I may add from a hymn, that wood in which the flowing blood of the Lord instills an invincible power, by which demons are scorched and the world is illuminated.
Who, then, will not run to behold this most desirable sight? Who will not desire to embrace this divinely-woven branch? Come, gather together, all tribes and tongues, every race and every age, every dignity and every state, whether priestly or royal, ruling or ruled. Since this assembly is convoked by God, it seems to me that the angels also B joyfully hasten to this assembly, and the apostles dance together with concordant minds, and exult with joy; likewise the company of the prophets, the band of martyrs, and the gathering of all the just. For how could they not be filled with joy at the display of that trophy by which, in imitation of Christ, they overcame the opposing powers, crowned with celestial glory? It seems to me that even those things which lack sense share in some sense of pleasure—the earth, I say, which brought forth this fruit like a mother from her womb; all the trees of the forest, honored by reason of their kinship; the ever-shining sun, the moon of many lights, the glittering stars, and this great and many-turning heaven itself; since through the passion of the cross, all of creation has been changed for the better.
Let David therefore strike his spiritual lyre, singing those most opportune C words: *Exalt the Lord our God, and worship the footstool of his feet, for he is holy* (Ps. xcviii, 5). Let the most wise Solomon also sing in unison: *Blessed is the wood through which salvation is realized* (Sap. xiv, 7). Therefore, today the Church is seen as paradise, bringing forth in its midst the tree of life, upon which no deceitful demon sits, urging Eve into fraud, but rather the angel of the Lord Almighty, who guards the cross as it comes forth. Today the most holy cross is adored, and the resurrection of Christ is proclaimed. Today the life-giving wood is adored, and the whole world is rekindled toward praise. Today the three-part cross is adored, and the four corners of the earth celebrate a joyous feast. *How beautiful*, he says, *are the feet of those who bring good news of peace, of those who bring good news of good things* (Rom. x, 15; Isa. lii, 7)! But I would say that those eyes are also blessed which behold the trophy of this universal peace, and those lips D which kiss this most excellent token. Abundant grace is set before all; there is a perennial fountain gushing forth sanctification, repelling no one at all from its profuse goodness, but rather—
purifying that which has been cleansed, freeing it from the stains of defilement; curbing the overbearing, rousing the slothful of heart, bracing the lax, and softening the unyielding—if each one would make their approach with promises of changing their life for the better, and not approach these divine things boldly and presumptuously, since it knows how to welcome the modest and reverent, but to turn away those who are otherwise disposed as much as possible.
This life-giving wood, when viewed, became the medicine for the sight which had been bewitched in paradise by the gaze at the alluring tree; when we apply this life-giving wood to our lips and eyes, we are immediately delivered from the tasting and touching of the death-bearing wood. O the magnitude of the gift that now publicly stands before us! O the thrice-blessed happiness! Since we were once put to death through a tree, we have found immortality in a tree; having been deceived by a tree before, we have beaten back the crafty serpent upon the tree. The exchanges are strange! In place of death, life; in place of corruption, incorruption; in place of shame, glory! Justly, therefore, the holy Apostle has cried out: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." B For on the cross the all-wise wisdom blossomed forth and brought the boastings of worldly wisdom to foolishness; on the cross, having borne the fruit of the knowledge of every good, it cut away the shoots of wickedness. Of this wood, even the types from of old were indeed the surest signs and indicators of miracles.
For behold, you who have a desire for knowledge! Did not Noah, with his sons and wives, and with every kind of animal, escape the destruction of the flood by divine decree in an insignificant structure of wood? Did not Jacob, having placed peeled branches of wood in the troughs, miraculously draw the whole flock to himself at the time of the breeding of the animals? And what of the staff of Joseph, the top of which the patriarch Jacob adored—what else is it but a symbol of the life-giving wood now adored by us? And what, again, of the staff of Moses? Is it not a type of the cross, now changing water into blood, now consuming the false serpents of the magicians, now dividing the sea with a strike and an impulse, and now, with the current turned back, bringing the waves of the sea together, submerging the enemies, but saving those who were the legitimate people? Such also was the rod of Aaron, a type of the cross, blossoming on the same day and demonstrating the legitimate priesthood. Yet it would be too long for me to speak at length, C if I were to strive to gather together all the manifestations of the type of the cross. For Abraham marked it out when, having bound his son, he placed him upon the pile of wood. Jacob designated it when, with his hands crossed, he bestowed the blessing upon the sons of Joseph. Come now, take for me also Moses himself, who by the stretching out of his hands put Amalek to flight, as a figure of the cross. Come, then, come also
A to Elisha, casting the wood into the water and drawing up the iron from the depths. Of this figure, there are many wonders not only in the Old Testament, but also in the law of grace: in victories over barbarians, in the putting to flight of demons, in the release from diseases, and in all other things beyond which there is no number to recount.
Do you see, my dear friend, how much power there is in the figure of the cross? But if there is so much power here, how much more must there be in the figure of the crucified Christ? For it is manifest that, by how much the prototypes are more excellent, by so much the more important are the derivatives. B And who, someone might say, bore the figure of Christ in the aforementioned times? I seek to understand this. I reply: those very ones who typified the cross. For just as the extension of the hands of Moses typified the cross, so Moses himself bore the figure of Christ, who put to flight the invisible Amalek; and in other examples, one must likewise suppose this, as one figure is revealed in conjunction with another.
But there, one says, the figure is animate. Why then is your discourse to me about an inanimate one? Because even in the case of the figure of the cross, when that which is seen, and in which and concerning which some miracle is performed, lacks life and soul, the image fashioned to the likeness of Christ—similarly to the image of the cross, which is represented by that figure—is accustomed to perform wondrous works, as it contains in itself the form and appearance of the prototype, and is identified with it in honor and adoration just as it is in title; this is manifest to everyone. And these things, even if they are somewhat digressive, are nevertheless for the refutation and overturning of the iconoclastic heresy, as it overturns the mystery of Christ’s economy. C For he who destroys the image destroys also the prototype, since they are related to one another, as those who have not lost their understanding know.
But now one must return to the cross, and one must dwell, as it were, upon the contemplation of its holy appellation. The cross is a treasure more precious than all wealth; the cross is the safest refuge of Christians; the cross is the lightest burden laid upon the shoulders of Christ’s disciples; the cross is the soothing consolation of exhausted souls; the cross is the unobstructed guide to the journey toward heaven. The height and breadth of the cross is a diameter more comprehensive than the celestial vault; the strength and power of the cross is the destruction of every opposing force; D the form and shape of the cross is a vision more graceful than all forms; the dart and radiance of the cross is a beam brighter than the sun; the grace and glory of the cross is a gift more gracious than all graces; the cross is the mediator of peace and the reconciler of heaven and earth. The name of the cross is holiness, especially when it is spoken by the tongue and perceived by the ears. By the cross death has been put to death, and Adam has been restored to life; by the cross every apostle has boasted, every martyr has been crowned, and every holy man has been sanctified; by the cross we put on Christ, and lay aside the old man; by the cross
A we have been gathered together as sheep of Christ into one fold, and have been destined for the pastures on high. By the cross we shall scatter our enemies, and lift up the horn of salvation; by the cross we put our passions to flight, and choose to live in a heavenly manner. He who carries the cross upon his shoulders becomes an imitator of Christ, and is openly glorified with Christ; when an angel sees the cross, he is adorned, and the devil is confounded. When the thief found the cross, he entered into paradise, and exchanged his brigandage for a kingdom. He who makes the sign of the cross dissolves fear, and recovers peace. He who has the cross as his guardian does not become prey for robbers, but remains unharmed. Whoever loves the cross, hates this world, and becomes a lover of Christ. O Cross of Christ, the most celebrated boasting of Christians! O Cross of Christ, the peculiar proclamation of the apostles! O Cross of Christ, the royal diadem of martyrs! O Cross of Christ, the most precious ornament of the prophets! O Cross of Christ, the most brilliant splendor of the ends of the earth! O Cross of Christ, for I shall speak to you as to a living thing, protect those who celebrate you with a burning heart, save those who embrace and kiss you with a faithful mind. Guide those who are subject to you in peace and right faith. Bring the most joyous day of Christ’s resurrection to all, guarding high priests, prelates, emperors, monks, and the promiscuous multitude, and all who meet together in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
III. On the Vigil or Station of the Lights.
C (Ang. Mai, Bibl. nov. t. IV, p. 16.)1. Let us oversee the porches of the Lights with light-manifesting contemplations; entering into these waters, let us partake of the rich radiance, becoming light-like in the Spirit, and let us praise with most laudable thanksgivings Jesus, the author of light, the effulgence of the Father. Israel was purified first, when it was prepared to ascend the mountain burning with fire, and filled with darkness and a tempest; and yet it did not ascend, because it was not a safe business; but it stood below, trembling and struck with amazement at the multiform spectacle of divine terrors. Moses himself also loosed his material footwear, preparing to touch the sanctified ground, at the time when he was miraculously initiated into the sight of the burning bush, which was a prefiguring image of a greater mystery. Jesus the son of Navin was also commanded by the angel to do the same, not to tread entirely with shod feet, because of the veneration due to the holy ground. But what of the three youths? Did they not approach the voracious fire with souls and bodies sanctified, and did not the power of the heat thus turn into a dewy quality for them? What a great and wonderful prodigy that was, while the same fire exacted punishment upon the unworthy! What of Daniel, the man of desires; did he not, having previously used purifying fasting, dwell with lions, bringing back his body unharmed from there?
A 2. But do you wish for me to shift the discourse to the New Testament? Look at Paul, the great herald of truth, preparing himself with a fast of three days and nights, and then, with such constant prayer, clothing himself in the true light, Christ. See also Matthew the Evangelist wisely bidding farewell to his worldly affairs, abandoning his tax accounts incomplete, and thus choosing to become a disciple of Jesus. And I have not yet mentioned Zacchaeus, who, having previously been lifted from the earth in both body and mind, thus received Jesus into his home, with an outstanding promise, by which he merited a better address from Christ. Likewise, Cornelius, fasting and praying for four days, finally saw an angel happily announcing to him the things he desired, and he obtained his wish. But you, my excellent friend—to omit mentioning others—even if you approach these sacred mysteries not without piety and long vigils, nevertheless, how do you come in such a reckless and unprepared state to this most splendid mystery, in which your spiritual birth takes place and from which you are called a son of light? And do you not fear that you might suffer what is accustomed to happen to a man with weak eyes who attempts to look directly at the sun?
B 3. But since this has been well established and set forth, as I believe, come, let us advance as best we can to the Preliminary Manifestations, and let us see with purified eyes how the true light, having dawned from its very birth, proceeds as far as the radiant baptism, being manifested as God; for in this way the mind, following the history, will be illuminated, and our discourse will make a fitting narration, considering at each stage what is appropriate for the divine life. Recently, therefore, the incomprehensible God, born of the Virgin, caused angels to sing hymns to the mystery. And let us examine this secret—what is it? That it might be known to all that he whom the angels sang as Creator when the stars were first created, they now hymn and glorify as one born in a human manner and seen in our form; therefore, also, a star reveals him to all, and thus he is shown to be above the nature of the stars, both by its local motion and by its daylight brilliance. Why is this, I ask? So that from this, too, it might be manifested that he who was born was supernatural: man indeed as he was seen, but God as he was understood. From there follows the contemplation of the circumcision, which is not itself lacking in theology for those who have examined it; for the name Jesus imposed upon him, according to the angel's prediction, since it signifies "Savior," is clearly indicative of the divine nature, as everyone knows. C Nor let any enemy of God wag his tongue here, offering explanations based on the homonymy of Jesus son of Nave, as if it were not imposed upon the Word of God, but rather upon a man who had some connection with that ancient one. For just as, although there are many lords, they are not such by nature; and even if there are many gods, they are not such by nature either—but there is one Lord, one God, true by nature—so also there are many who are called by the name Jesus, yet there is but one Jesus, the Savior of all.
D 4. From there he was brought to Jerusalem; and such are the...
A words of Simeon who received him in his arms, we know; for the salvation of God which was prepared before the face of all peoples, and a light for the revelation of the Gentiles, and whatever other thing he pronounced concerning him, is to be judged as being able to be said theologically of the Father just as well. For both the Father and the Savior and the light are named in the oracles. Those who substantively participate in the same appellation, they likewise show that they possess the same nature. And thus the Son says to the Father: "All mine are thine, and thine are mine"—a reciprocation affirmed according to the nature, evidently, and not according to the definition of the persons; for this is the opinion of the Sabellian confusion, which we reject. B Thereafter, he descends into Egypt, and indeed was carried down. But hear what Isaiah says: "Behold, the Lord sits upon a light cloud, and shall come into Egypt, and all the idols of Egypt shall be shaken before his face." What could be said more clearly concerning God incarnate arriving there? Soon he returns from Egypt, and chose to dwell in Nazareth, from whence he also received his surname. But do not you fluctuate in your thoughts, when you hear of the descent and return of God, and of a local movement and migration. For if the Word were understood without a body, it would be reasonable for our mind to be moved and perturbed; but because he is with a body, there is nothing discordant or inconsistent: for as God appeared in the flesh, so God changes places in the flesh, and admits whatever other properties of fleshly life there be.
5. From there, having become twelve years old, C he sits in the midst of the doctors, hearing and questioning, and astounds his hearers with his graceful replies. But indeed, who at that age could say such wonderful things, if he were not altogether God incarnate? For even when asked by his Mother, who desired to learn from him the revelation of his Father’s glory, he rendered an account of what had occurred. Do you see how much theology is shown in this brief narrative? And how the Lord of glory, as a certain king magnificently coming forth from royal chambers—the maternal womb, I say—is celebrated with hymns on this side and that? With good reason, therefore, did the son of thunder, John, cry out: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." D But already John also is coming forth from the desert, a strange and highly desired spectacle for the Israelites, the angel of God, and the first-chosen among the apostles. For it behooved such a King to have such a soldier, and the greatest High Priest to have such a herald; and we understand what a great mystery this is. Since it could not be that the bridegroom should not also be present when the paranymph was present, and that the Word should not also be heard when the voice was crying out, what happens, and what is the plan? He withdraws immediately from his swaddling clothes from the
A manifest to the more obscure, John, just like some lamp dwelling in the desert in a supernatural way. And there he hears divine voices and is deemed worthy of a vision of God; being initiated into and taught ineffable mysteries, just as he was while still an embryo, as to who Jesus was—that he was the Son of God, and that he upon whom the sign of the spiritual dove would descend, is he who would baptize in the Holy Spirit.
6. But when the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ arrived, and the period of thirty years of waiting had reached its end, then the lamp, burning upon the lampstand, B began to shine forth joyfully to those in the house (if one ought to consider the Israelite Synagogue as the house), and the true light appeared, illuminating the world. O miracle! The Sun comes to the star, the Word to the voice, the bridegroom to the friend; and this happens by the mystery of the dispensation, so that as all righteousness is gradually fulfilled in Jesus, the one may increase, to use the evangelical words, and the other may decrease. For how could the light of the lamp not decrease, or rather be removed from the midst entirely, when the Sun of righteousness was already shining with exceptional brilliance by His miracles? Do you see how great C is the chronological number of corporal perfection during which Jesus was subject to His parents? O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! For what reason, then? Let others say what they may, those who understand the heights and have known the depths of the Spirit; but as it seems to me, it is for two reasons: that the Lawgiver of all, by His own subjection, might legislate submissiveness toward parents for sons, and might sanctify the transitions of age; and thirdly, that the All-Perfect One, in the kind of life He led, might not exhibit anything strange or alien to our own life, in which the perfect state is most present to us. For where it is the case that even when He had attained the perfection of mature age, Arius dared to declare His body soulless; Apollinaris, in an emulation of impiety, D invented that He was mindless; and the Manichaean of the present day, through a prevailing impiety, dogmatizes that He is uncircumscribed. And let us observe how great is the difference of one from the other. He who posits Him as soulless deprives the Lordly body of life; for that which lacks a soul is evidently devoid of life. He who makes Him mindless ranks Him with irrational substance; for whatever is mindless is also devoid of reason. He who finally wishes Him to be uncircumscribed does not even grant a corporeal nature to His body; for it is a consequence of being uncircumscribed to be incorporeal. For if it is a body, and every body is subject to touch and color, it follows by necessity—unless we wish to speak nonsense—that it is also circumscribed; so that if it were not circumscribed, it would altogether depart from its own definition and dissolve into an incorporeal thing. Nothing, however, appears to be able to restrain an intemperate tongue that serves secular power.
7. But we must turn our eye toward the prophetic visions of God, and we must observe how the most holy baptism is prefigured in them; for unto this the
series of the discourse points. What, then, does Isaiah say? For taking it from there, we said: A *Rejoice, O thirsty desert; because water has broken forth in the desert, and a ravine in the thirsty land.* He addresses, clearly, human nature, which was in a desert regarding the fruitfulness of works from faith; and for this reason, the stream of adoption, the water of baptism, broke forth for the thirsty one, just as a river current, the channel of the Jordan. And what after this? *And the waterless place shall be into marshes,* that is, into abundant faith; *and in the thirsty land there shall be a spring of water*; this is clearly the fountain of adoption; *and there shall be the rejoicing of birds*, those, clearly, reborn in baptism, who are figuratively likened to birds because, from the beginning, they had their existence from the waters. And what of the basin full of water according to Gideon? The word signifies the womb-like pool of adoption, being round in shape and polished on all sides, B according to the idea of sinlessness; upon which fell the spiritual cooling dew full of the Holy Spirit, from which are reborn the new initiates, the children of God, having exchanged their birth from flesh and blood; and they progress toward the perfect man to such a degree that they overthrow the demonic race by the worship of the Trinity. And what is the threefold pouring of water according to Elijah upon the altar and the burnt offering? I think it signifies either the threefold person of the most blessed God invoked upon the one being baptized, C or the threefold immersion of the one being perfected. Naaman also, according to the command of Elisha, emerged from the water all cleansed: *For his flesh was restored*, says the Scripture, *as that of a little child, and he was cleansed.* This was already a symbol of the cleansing of the sin of all those baptized; for every one who is brought to completion in the Spirit comes forth new-blooming and spotless of the stains previously marking him.
8. But if you wish also to know about the gratuitous nature of spiritual regeneration, listen to Isaiah saying: D *You who are thirsty, go to the water; and you who have no money, go and buy.* For the grace is open to everyone who seeks it, and he who does not obtain it suffers the loss of life. But of these things, the reception and participation is only in part, because even from a poor mind the offering is made, sanctifying this vigil as much as it can. But look with me at the things subject to our eyes: pools are filled with waters, and springs and fountains, rivers and lakes are set forth as receptacles of the Spirit; the nature of waters is raised to the highest honor. Manifold lights of the holy night are prepared like stars throughout the whole world. And in every city and region, a herald stands in a high place performing the sacred rites, and sanctifying the waters through the coming of the divine Spirit into them; by the participation of which may we be sanctified, and thereafter may we all appear shining with the all-bright Spirit, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Oration IV. — On Holy Easter. Catechetical oration on the holy and great Sunday of Easter.
A 7. What is this, beloved brothers, and lovers of the feast, and lovers of Christ? What is this great wearing of bright garments? What is this great illumination and cheerfulness? What is this that has so shone upon the Church? What is this that has beautified the inhabited world? What is this that has prepared such pleasure and radiance? Yesterday in despondency, and today in cheerfulness; yesterday in gloom, and today in radiance; yesterday in wailing, and today in exultation. You ask what is the cause of these things, and what has prepared such joy and radiance? Christ is risen from the dead, and the whole world has exulted. He has abolished death by His life-giving death, and all those in Hades have been released from their bonds; He opened paradise, and made it accessible to all. O depth not understood! O height not measured! O fearful mystery, surpassing the power of the mind! Angels hymn, rejoicing at our salvation. Prophets rejoice, seeing their own prophecies fulfilled. All creation keeps the feast together. For the saving day has shone upon it, the Sun of righteousness has shone again. Who, therefore, shall worthily hymn the grace of this bright day? Who will magnificently extol the power of such a mystery? Who else, but our golden Father John, the sonorous and most loud-voiced herald, the most manifest and brightest luminare B of the inhabited world, and true shepherd and teacher, the most talented and most proven physician of souls, the worthy guarantee of sinners, he who flows with golden-streaming waters more than the river Nile, the golden and golden-tongued and Golden-mouthed; let him extol and hymn and applaud the power of the mystery; and for this reason, let him proclaim it in as few and brief words as possible; but he indeed is ready, as a versatile rhetorician of the word, and most loud-voiced trumpet of the Spirit; let us, however, be more ready and more attentive to hear him, so that we may see what the second herald of repentance promises us. Therefore, hear.
THE BEGINNING OF CHRYSOSTOM
C 2. If anyone is pious and a lover of God, let him enjoy this fair festival; if any is a grateful servant, let him enter rejoicing into the joy of his Lord; if any has labored fasting, let him now receive the denarius; if any has worked from the first hour, let him now receive the just payment; if any came after the third hour, let him keep the feast giving thanks; if any came about the sixth hour, let him not hesitate, for he will suffer no loss; if any has delayed until the ninth, let him draw near, nothing doubting; if any has arrived only at the eleventh, let him draw near, and D
A he will not hesitate, for the Master is generous and receives the last just as he does the first; he grants rest to the one of the eleventh hour, just as to the one who has labored from the first. He shows mercy to the last and cares for the first; to the one he gives, and to the other he bestows gifts; he receives the works and welcomes the intention; he honors the deed and praises the purpose. Therefore, enter all of you into the joy of our Lord, and both first and second, receive your reward; rich and poor, dance together; the continent and the slothful, honor the day; you who have fasted and you who have not, be glad today; the table is full, feast yourselves all; the fatted calf is abundant, let no one depart hungry; all of you enjoy the wealth of goodness; let no one lament poverty, for the common kingdom has appeared; let no one mourn his transgressions, for forgiveness has risen from the tomb; let no one fear death, for the death of the Savior has set us free; he quenched it, being held himself by it; he hindered Hades, he who descended into Hades; he made it bitter when it tasted of his flesh. B And Isaiah, anticipating this, cried out: Hades, he says, was made bitter, meeting thee below; it was made bitter, for it was deadened; it was made bitter, for it was mocked; it received a body, and encountered God; it took earth, and met heaven; it took what it saw, and fell where it did not see. Where, O death, is your sting? Where, O Hades, is your victory? Christ is risen, and the demons have fallen; Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice; Christ is risen, and life is lived; Christ is risen, and there is no dead person in the tomb; for Christ being risen from the dead, became the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. The Lord has risen from the dead, and with him a great multitude of saints. Let us celebrate the feast joyfully and soberly; for this is truly the day which the Lord has made; let us exult and be glad in it; let us proclaim the resurrection of the Savior, C or rather, let us applaud our own salvation; let us proclaim the memorial of the day of salvation; let us proclaim the mortification of the devil, the captivity of the unclean
A beings into existence from nothing; He too has now saved those who were perishing, brought to life those who were dead, and snatched them from the tyranny of the devil. He has shown us, who were slaves of sin, to be free, having blotted out the handwriting against us. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for our sake; for which it is fitting that we also should say, "What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits toward me?" (Ps. CXVII, 20). God, the only-begotten Son, was well-pleased to become man for our sake, and became obedient even unto death, so that He might rescue us from eternal death. The Lord of the angels put on the form of a servant; God the Word took on flesh, and appeared as a man, He who is of the same form and consubstantial with the Father. And He endured these things so that He might deliver us from unjust slavery and strip away our shame. For this reason the Author of life endured it in the flesh; for this reason the Fountain of immortality was buried, so that He might grant eternal life to mortals. And He was indeed present on earth, doing good and healing every infirmity of men, but He received unworthy returns from the God-fighting Jews. For our Lord Jesus Christ, for His great goodness, cleansed lepers, granted sight to the blind, healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the four-day-old Lazarus from the dead, and with five loaves fed five thousand; He walked upon the sea, changed the water into wine, healed the woman with an issue of blood, and brought back to life the dead daughter of the ruler of the synagogue. But the Jews, moved by envy and malice, at one time stoned Him, at another time attempted to throw Him down a precipice, and at the last they even led Him to the cross.
B 4. Yet our Lord Jesus Christ did not imitate the malice of the blaspheming Jews, but "gave his back to the scourges," as the prophet says (Isa. L, 6), "and his cheeks to the palms," and He did not turn away His face from the shame of spitting. And finally, "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is dumb" (Isa. LIII, 7), not resisting, not speaking against; being blasphemed He did not revile in return, suffering He did not threaten, but handed Himself over to the One who judges. For He did not come at His first coming to punish and take vengeance on the unbelievers, but He desired through long-suffering to lead the misled to the C truth. And learn of the Lord’s great kindness and gentleness. The Jews blasphemed against Him, saying, "You have a demon," and the Lord, being long-suffering, was casting demons out of men. The Jews were spitting in His face, but He was healing their blind. The Jews were stoning Christ, but Christ was granting to their lame the power to walk. And throughout He continued doing good to those who insulted Him, and instead of evil, bestowing good things upon those ungrateful and execrable men; and bearing insults with equanimity, He was perhaps thought to be weak, He who was otherwise D attended by angels.
A 5. But lest by saying many things we seem to lengthen our discourse, let us come to the very substance of the matters. Finally, therefore, the King of glory was led to the cross and to death, and He who is hymned by the Cherubim and Seraphim, and adored by all the powers and angels, was nailed to the wood. He benignly endured and suffered these things, offering us an example and becoming a teacher of gentleness. Wherefore we also should bravely bear the threats of wicked men. Moreover, hanging on the cross, He showed forth greater works and more miracles, so that He might thus quell the madness of those hateful to God, so that they might have no excuse for their unbelief, nor say that they had crucified only a simple man. First, therefore, Christ allowed Himself to be crucified and lifted up into the air, that He might put to flight the demons of the air. He was suspended on the wood, so that He might heal the sin committed by mankind of old through the wood. His side was pierced with a lance, on account of the woman taken from Adam’s side. For after the serpent deceived Eve, and Eve urged Adam to transgression, the sentence was issued against both, and death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned. Therefore, the side is wounded, so that we may learn that the passion of Christ brought salvation not only to men, but also to women. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman, having been deceived, fell into transgression. B She shall be saved, however, through the childbearing of the holy Mary; for she bore the Savior Christ, not having come together with a man, as Isaiah testifies, but by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, as the archangel Gabriel had announced. For this reason, therefore, the side of Christ is also pierced, so that the aforementioned things might be managed by dispensation, the mystery of baptism might be preached, and the grace to come might shine forth. For blood and water flow from the side of Christ, that the handwriting of sin against us might be blotted out, and we might be cleansed by His blood, and recover paradise.
C 6. O great mystery! The thief repented; there was need of water for him to be baptized. He was hanging on the cross; there was no other place suitable for baptism—no spring, no pool, no rain, nor anyone to perform the liturgy; for all the disciples had fled because of fear of the Jews. But Jesus was not lacking in waters; even hanging on the cross, He was nonetheless the Creator of waters. For because it was not possible for the thief to enter the kingdom of heaven without baptism, the Savior allowed blood and water to flow from His pierced side, that He might deliver the said thief from the evils impending and demonstrate that His blood was the price of redemption for those who place their hope in Him. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the defiled, sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more has the blood of our Savior become a means of cleansing for all Christians together? If, therefore, any infidel says to you: D
Why was Christ crucified? Say to him: That he might crucify the devil. If he says to you: Why was he hung upon a tree? Say to him: That he might uproot the thorns and thistles of Adam; for he had been condemned to groan and tremble, and to till thorns; Jesus, therefore, being a lover of mankind, and wishing to take care of his own creation, underwent all things for us, that we might be freed from the curse. For just as he was born of a woman, so that he might wipe away the sin brought upon men by a woman, so also is he crowned with thorns, that he might render the earth, which had been badly tilled by sin, more gentle through his own obedience. If he says to you: Why did he drink gall and vinegar? Say to him: That we might vomit forth the death-bearing poison of the dragon; for that gall has become for me sweetness, and that vinegar has become for me sweetness and a remedy. But if the infidel says to you again: Why did the Jews bend the knee while approaching him? Say to him: That they might, even against their will, worship him, and confess his kingdom upon the earth. For now, indeed, they worshiped him mockingly, not knowing what they were doing, but in the coming resurrection, «every knee shall bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.» That purple robe also has another riddle: not only did it prefigure his kingdom, but it also demonstrated the bloodthirsty and murderous nature of the Jews; and they also placed a reed in his hand, that their sins might be written down.
ORATIO IV. ON HOLY PASCHA
C 7. These things, then, the enemies of Christ were doing, not knowing the one who was crucified. But creation did not fail to recognize its own Master and Creator; for while the Savior was still hanging on the cross, the sensible sun, seeing the Sun of righteousness insulted by the lawless and not enduring the outrage, fled, casting darkness over the earth, judging it improper to cooperate and to illuminate the eyes of men who had committed such a great impiety. And not only did the sun flee, but also the earth was moved, not bearing the iniquity of what was being done, and showing and teaching that he who was being crucified was God; therefore it could not even endure it, but was wretched, not wishing to bear upon itself the God-hating Jews. For Cain, having killed his brother, did not so defile the earth, nor did the tower built by the giants so weigh upon it, nor did the lawless Sodomites so pollute it, nor did those who fashioned idols from it, nor did the blood shed from Abel to Zacharias make it so, as the Jews did, having dared this great impiety. For this reason the very hard rocks were split, that they might learn that this is the spiritual and living rock; «for they drank,» it says, «from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.» O the thoughtlessness of the Jews! The rocks are split, and they remain insensible; the inanimate things tremble, and the animate ones disbelieve; the veil of the temple is rent, that henceforth their desolation might be shown; for the veil was rent and the things within the
the city and the temple, departed from thence, and migrated to the Church: and many bodies of the saints which slept arose with Christ, that we might learn that Christ not only rises from the dead, but will likewise raise from the dead all who believe in him.
8. This, in summary, is the venerable feast of Easter; and these are the mysteries of the resurrection of the dead and of eternal life that we celebrate. Let us therefore keep the feast, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, believing in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in the consubstantial and uncreated Trinity, believing in the resurrection, and expecting the Lord to come again, no longer in humility, but gloriously with heavenly majesty, with shining angels, with trumpets, and with terror and joy at once: with joy, I say, for the saints, and with terror for the condemned and the sinners. May the God of peace count us all worthy of rising with the saints, if we have imitated their works, their words, and their orthodox faith; for to him belongs the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
V. Laudation on the Dormition of our holy Lady, the Theotokos.
1. The word, demanding for the celebration of this present day, so renowned for its sacred proclamation, a voice like a trumpet, crying out with a horn-blast, louder and more stirring than the ends of the earth, is in danger, O men, of failing because of the weakness of our vocal organ. Yet the Queen and Lady of all, as one who is not ambitious, will perhaps receive this brief and poor discourse of ours, dedicated to her service, no less than the long and splendid orations of the sublime orators, being propitiated by the prayers of him who ordered this of me: besides the fact that the most benevolent Virgin looks only at the intention of the mind. But come now, gather together, all who are under heaven, as many as there be of high priests and priests, of monks and laymen, of kings and princes, of men and women, of youths and virgins, of tribes and tongues, of every race and people; and putting on the garments of the virtues, as if clothed in golden fringes and varied, come forth joyfully and exultantly, to celebrate the funeral rites and the transition of Mary, the Mother of the Lord. For she migrates from these earthly things and draws near to the eternal mountains, the true mount of Sion, in which God has delighted to dwell, as the lyre of the Psalmist sings. A Today, therefore, the earthly heaven, being wrapped in the garment of incorruptibility, is transformed into a dwelling B
A to a better and eternal mansion. Today the spiritual and God-illumined moon, entering into the sun of righteousness, ceases indeed from the present temporal life, but is simultaneously glorified with the dignity of immortality. Today the gold-plated and divinely-fashioned Ark of sanctification migrates from earthly tabernacles to the heavenly Jerusalem, to a rest that has no end; and the God-father David, as if singing with a cithara, says: *The virgins shall be brought to the king* 28; that is, the souls, after her shall be brought unto thee.
2. Now, therefore, since the Theotokos has closed her material eyes, she raises up spiritual and great luminaries for us, which shall never set, being fixed for the protection of the world before the sight of God: for now, while her voice is silent, her tongue restricted by the ties of death, she yet opens her intercession for the whole of mankind; now, having laid aside the bodily hands that carried God, and having become immortal, she stretches them out to the Lord for the salvation of the world; now, while she removes the sun from its natural form, she still shines in her painted icon, which she provides to the peoples for salutary and becoming veneration; even if the heretics [6-7] by no means desire it. And when the most holy dove has soared up into the heights, she does not cease to protect these lower things: she has departed in body, but in spirit she is with us; having been brought into the heavens, she repels the demons, acting as a mediatrix before the Lord. C Formerly, indeed, through our first mother Eve, death entered and prevailed over the world; but now, having attacked the blessed Daughter of that one, it has been repelled; and it has been defeated in the same place from which it had derived its power. Let the female gender, therefore, rejoice, having substituted glory for ignominy. Let Eve rejoice, who is no longer cursed, since she brought forth the offspring of blessing, Mary. Let the whole creation exult, which mystically draws from the virginal fountain the flowing streams of immortality, by which it is delivered from the deadly thirst. This is our solemnity today: this is the hymnology that the root of Jesse supplies to us, which brought forth the flower, Christ, the sacred rod of Aaron putting forth leaves, the intellectual paradise where the tree of life is, the spiritual meadow of virginal fragrances, the flowering and God-cultivated vine of the mature and life-distilling grape: the lofty and exalted Cherubic throne of the King of all, D the house full of the glory of the Lord, the holy veil of Christ, the most shining region of the East, thou who hast fallen asleep in peace and justice: thou hast fallen asleep, I say, but thou hast not died; thou hast migrated, but thou hast not ceased to protect the race. With what words, therefore, shall we set forth thy mystery? We are at a loss to conceive it, we are weak to express it, we are dizzy to describe it, because it is strange and high and transcends all thoughts. Nor does it have anything common or comparable, so that it might easily be understood from our own affairs.
Instead, we piously contemplate the beauties of what is above us, A and we concede to you alone what is beyond man. You changed nature, therefore, by your ineffable birth; for when has anyone heard of a virgin conceiving without seed? O miracle! You see her bringing forth as a mother B and remaining a virgin incorrupt, since He who was being born was God. Consequently, you alone among all others, in your life-giving falling asleep, deservedly possess the incorruptibility of both together, body and soul.
3. But let Sion tell us of the paradoxes of that day. C The term of life was therefore fulfilled; the hour of departure was at hand. The all-holy [Virgin], as Mother of God, foresaw the stage of her translation. For, O Christ-lovers, how much greater must one consider this to be, in the eyes of everyone who looks with a servile gaze, for the Mother of God and chief of prophets? And when she perceived and learned these things, how does the narrative suggest she called out? "The day of my exit has come; D the time for my passing to you is here. Let those who are to perform my funeral rites be present, O Lord: let the ministers who are to carry out my burial arrive; and into your hands I shall entrust my spirit. By the hands of your disciples, let my body, the intact receptacle of God, from which you who are Immortality itself came forth, be carried out. Let my heralds and ministers of your Gospel, who are scattered to the ends of the earth, be present to comfort me. But if you were pleased that the just Enoch, while still living, should be translated because of his goodness; and that Elias the Thesbite should be taken up in a chariot of fire from the visible to unknown regions, both, that is to say, waiting for the time of your fearful and all-resplendent second coming; and again, that you wondrously caused the prophet Habacuc to be moved in a single moment of time from Jerusalem to Babylon for the need of Daniel, and to return from there—what is impossible for you, if you but will it?" Scarcely had the most praised Virgin said these things when the twelve apostles arrived, one from here and one from there, like clouds on the wings of the Spirit, borne to the cloud of light (namely, that which obscured the light with its own radiance) until they planted their feet there. What then did the God-named, many-named, and greatly-named Virgin say? Casting her eyes round from her couch and seeing the disciples she had sought, she said: "Let my soul rejoice in the Lord, and let this be for me a title of joy, and for praise and greatness among all the nations of the earth, because the Lord has gathered for me the foundations of the Church; he has assembled for me the rulers of the world, the wonderful ministers of my funeral." O great portent! O work of maternal dedication! O gift of filial relationship! The heaven has appeared to me as a lodging-place, containing within itself the luminaries of the world; the ceiling of the temple of the Lord has been revealed, showing me the divine mystics and priests.
A No longer will the Jewish system contemplate its insolence against me; no longer will the priestly council arm its audacious hand for my slaughter. For a long time, those bloodthirsty men indeed plotted to destroy the Mother with the Son, but they missed the mark, with Divine Providence restraining them from above. I am being transferred to inviolable dwellings, to safe and untroubled rest, where the enemy does not set the snares of his malice, where I may enjoy the delights of the Lord, and I, the all-resplendent temple, shall behold the temple of His temple.
4. But what did the blessed Apostles say to her, whether choosing it from themselves or from the prophetic mouths? B
1°. Hail, they said, ladder set up from earth to heaven, through whom the descent of the Lord to us and the ascent to heaven has taken place, according to the great patriarch Jacob.
2°. Hail, most paradoxical bush, from which the angel of the Lord appeared in a flame of fire, which the burning fire did not consume, as was shown to Moses, who saw God most clearly.
3°. Hail, fleece receiving God, from which the heavenly dew flowed, a bowl full of water, according to the most wondrous Gideon.
4°. Hail, city of the great King, which kings, marveling, magnify, together with David the hymn-writer.
5°. Hail, intellectual Bethlehem, house of Ephratha, from which the King of glory has gone forth to be a ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from the beginning, from the days of eternity, C according to the most divine Micah.
6°. Hail, shadowed virginal mountain, from whom the Holy One of Israel appeared, according to Habakkuk, who was summoned by God.
7°. Hail, most golden and light-bearing lampstand, from which there shone forth to those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death the inaccessible light of the Godhead, according to the inspired Zechariah.
8°. Hail, universal propitiatory of mortals, through whom from the rising of the sun even to its setting, the name of the Lord is glorified among the nations, D and in every place incense is offered to His name, according to the most holy Malachi.
9°. Hail, light cloud, in which the Lord has sat, according to Isaiah, the most sacred-voiced.
10°. Hail, sacred book of the Lord's commandments, and the newly-inscribed law of grace, through which those things pleasing to God are known to us, according to Jeremy, the most lamenting.
A 11° Hail, O closed gate, through which the Lord God of Israel has entered and departed, as the most high seer of God, Ezechiel, writes 39.
12° Hail, O mountain untouched by hand, most high, from which the cornerstone has been hewn, as the most high theologian, Daniel, says 40.
5. But indeed, what mind can grasp, or what discourse can equal, how many and how great were the things that the theologians sang therein, spoke of, and extolled with laudatory proclamation? But after they had performed the just and sacred rites, and had celebrated the holy things holily, behold, the Lord himself was present with the glory of his strength and with all the host of heaven. And while the incorporeal ones (the angels) served invisibly, B the apostles corporally were the chanters of the divine greatness. It was a mixed assembly, O brethren, a panegyris and a choir of both heavenly and earthly beings (and let not the discourse be surprised, depicting as it does things worthy of God): of Angels, Archangels, Dominations, Thrones, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Cherubim, Seraphim, apostles, martyrs, and the just; of whom some were leading, others preceding, others following, others encompassing; and all with one voice were crying out with jubilation: "Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord; blessed is the Lord upon his just, holy mountain, and let heaven be exalted in the heights." Who, then, has heard such a song from of old, O lover of Christ? Who has known such a procession of funeral rites? Who has ever experienced such a C transition, as the Mother of my Lord has been deemed worthy of? Nor is it without cause, since no one is higher than her, who was the greatest of all. My spirit shudders as it considers the greatness of your transition, O Virgin. My mind trembles as it considers the wonder of your dormition. My tongue falters as it recounts the mystery of your returning to life. For who will worthily make all your praises heard, and will tell all your wonders? What mind will speak with sufficiently sublime eloquence? What tongue will proclaim with resounding voice? It will speak of your beauties, I say; it will describe your deeds, express your merits in words, or will measure up to your wonders, mysteries, celebrations, holy days, laudations, accolades? Wherefore, D for the celebration of this mystery too, it is infirm, unequal in its powers, and is convicted of being inept in reaching the goal. For you surpass, you exceed, you transcendentally excel in height and greatness, every most sublime part of heaven: in the splendor of holiness, the light of the sun; in merit, the dignity of the angels; and [you surpass] every incorporeal rational substance of intellectual and intelligible powers.
6. But O your celebrated and brilliant (by the returning to life),
A how I love to say, festival! O your sign-bearing and miracle-working departure! O your life-providing and ever-incorruptibility-bestowing burial, you who bore the Light! But, having passed through the clouds, and ascending to heaven, and entering into the Holy of Holies in a voice of exultation and confession, deign, O Theotokos, to bless the ends of the earth; by your intercessions tempering the air in a healthy way, granting rains at the proper time, regulating the winds, making the earth fruitful, keeping the Church in peace, strengthening orthodoxy, guarding the empire, driving away the barbarian nations, and tending to the entire race of Christians. Then, also, forgive my boldness; for it is your saying, and you, O Mother of God, prophetically sang what was to come: "For behold," she says, "from now on all generations will call me blessed." Since, therefore, your God-uttered word cannot fail, receive from me, your unworthy servant, this address as best I can; and "Restore the joy of your salvation"; and by the strength of your intercessions, support me, along with the prelate who is over me, and the flock entrusted to me; in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and honor and power, with the almighty Father and the life-giving Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
On the Assembly of the Heavenly Hosts
1. The trumpets of the spiritual supreme commanders have sounded around us, and the graces of the divine sacred ministers have flashed upon us. Choirs of vigilant hymn-singers have gathered us together to be awake for hymns, and immaterial orders have joined with material ones in singing to establish a dance. He who is the leader of the chorus of those above and those below is in the same house today. And who is this, this great Michael, who is brightened by the grace of God, and has become a mediator of divine illuminations to mortals? Laws, therefore, both God-founded and altogether just, were revealed to men through the supreme divine archetypal manifestations, C and especially [the law] that those who receive the most gifts from benefactors ought not to become unmindful and ungrateful toward their protectors, but to declare their graces with all the strength of nature that each possesses. Protectors, therefore, both quick and fervent before God, and tireless and unceasing ambassadors for mortals, who have received philanthropy from the philanthropic Master, are the philanthropic angels, who are illuminated with the light [in a way that] imparts that light which was first created from the uncreated Light. Angels, who were the first world before the world, the supermundane world, and who announced Christ, the supermundane world, to this world; angels, the unmediated mediators to God for mortals, D gods by deification from God, but not called so by nature; angels of the
A city of the free, free citizens, or rather the Jerusalem above, the free, who is indeed the mother of all those who are made free by Christ. Angels, the living and intellectual fire, the rational flame of God; angels, the bright and superior and lofty, supermundane and eternal mountains, by whom He illuminates us wondrously from the eternal mountains; angels, the ready porters of the upper tabernacles and dwellings: "How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth and fainteth for thy courts, O Lord." For there is the light of rejoicing and salvation in the angelic tabernacles of the righteous; and with the voice of rejoicing and thanksgiving, in the sounds of those celebrating a feast, in the place of a wondrous tabernacle, even to the house of God; in which are all the angels of God, mighty in strength, doing his word; in which is the simplicity of life, peaceful and undisturbed; in which He is great and terrible above all those who are round about him; in which is the hidden silence of the triumphal hymns; in which are the ineffable mysteries of the most holy praises; in which are the invisible revelations of the unspeakable and yet widely heard hymnologies; in which is the light without evening, illumining the sleepless eyes of the incorporeal ones; in which, in that intellectual house of God, is the gathering of those stars—the angelic powers, I mean—who labor with us for better things, always being sent to us from God for ministry, for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation.
B C 2. Regarding the angelic powers, the incorporeal ones, the immortal armies, in whom are God’s ministers and servants at once; diverse is the station, diverse the appellations, diverse the dignities, yet the substance is one, having manifold operations. There are the hymnological orders, the custodians of the heavens, standing directly before God; there are the interior orders, and likewise the exterior ones, which are also called the gates of heaven; there are higher orders, and lower orders, which once said to the higher, "Lift up your gates, O ye princes." There are orders that send, and there are those that are sent; there are orders that initiate, and there are those that are initiated. Diverse are the orders of the diverse angels. Angels fly through the air, protecting the souls of the saints from the spirits of the air; and signifying this, the patriarch Jacob D said when he was dying, "The angel that delivered me from all evils." Wherefore, also, angels are entrusted with the administration of the terrestrial world, performing the appropriate providence by the Despotic nod. An angel is entrusted by God to every soul of a true Christian for protection and assistance: "For he shall not suffer thy foot to be moved, and he that keepeth thee shall not slumber." And again, "Take heed," he says, "that ye despise not one of these little ones who believe in me; for I say unto you, that their angels see the face of my Father who is in heaven." Moreover, just as an angel is granted by God to each individual soul, so too is a single angel handed down by God as a provider to each entire faithful nation: Consti
for He set, it says, the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God. Through heavenly angels, the mysteries of God are communicated to the world of men; through angels, the custody and healing of waters and fountains take place; through angels, those who are worthy are delivered from temptations—for He says: "The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear Him, and shall deliver them." Through angels, the remains of the martyrs are preserved: "The Lord keepeth all their bones," although the term "bones" is understood in this place somewhat more mystically. Through angels, the altars of God are guarded, and the temples of the faithful are kept safe. Through angels, prayers and supplications are brought up from earth to God in heaven, and at the same time, divine gifts are presented to men; in a word, almost every mystery of God is perfected on earth through angels.
3. ON THE ANGELS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
Thus, God once reliably set the Cherubim, knowing they would guard the tree of life, inaccessible to the unworthy. Thus, He shapes Himself to Abraham, by stationing before him a chorus of three angels in human form, signifying the most holy decree of the Trinity. Thus, again, He reveals two of this angelic Trinity to Lot in the city of Gomorrah, demonstrating by the punishment inflicted there that the Father judges no one, but has handed over all judgment to the Son, with the Holy Spirit also substantially present with Him. Thus, also, a wrestling angel appeared to Jacob, in the manner of the law given through an angel. Thus, also, to Moses the Great, in the fire of the burning flame, the river of fire of the angels appeared, B burning the thorn-bearing, fire-irrigated bush without harm, prefiguring the unconfused union of God with the nature of mortals, which is burdened with the thorns of sin. Thus, through angels, the first-born of the Pharaonic race were destroyed at that time by a most swift, silent, and swordless hand in the night, while the race of the Hebrews was kept unharmed. Thus, they were bound in the sea, by an angelic hand, in the deep abyss, axle to axle, along with the captains and commanders. Wherefore, those accursed ones, seeing these angelic powers sinking them, said: "Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians." Thus, after this, again, a divine angel, having taken the form of a pillar of fire, appeared as a guide of the people, just as Christ, whose fair countenance, veiled in the form of a cloud, designated the stations and halts for the same people. Thus, when those to whom the law was to be given approached the mountain of legislation, they received the tablets written by God through many angels, some of whom sounded with trumpets, others clothed the mountain in a fiery appearance, and others made it smoke with darkness, gloom, and storm, C in order to strike fear into the people, who were afflicted with the disease of not fearing God. Afterwards, indeed, through an angel, Joshua the son of Nun also announced the victory won over his own tribesmen. And in order that we may join more angels to the archangel (for I believe they always rejoice with their own leader), an angel once devastated Israel in Jerusalem, until great David [those in the threshing floor of Si...]
Sion as a burnt offering, and thus stayed the plague upon the people. What reflection, or what admonition, does this bring to our minds? Surely this: that only the sacrifice of Christ, offered through the wood of the cross, stayed the wrath of God against the world. For there, as the great Phinehas of God truly stood, and made propitiation for us, the slaughter ceased.
4. It is also right to consider this, while the archistrategos guides us in the discourse concerning the angels: how is it that, being of one substance, they do not show themselves to men upon the earth in one and the same form and appearance? Instead, at one time they exhibit the form of youths, at another of soldiers, and at other times of horsemen, and again of the six-winged and many-eyed ones, and yet again of lions, then of oxen, and again of eagles, and at another time of fiery horses, and again of wheels and chariots? B Therefore, the divine Isaiah, when he beheld that divine and most awesome and Lordly sitting upon the divine throne, on which, as he saw, the God of all was seated, said that the highest powers of the angelic and cherubic ranks stood round about Him in a six-winged form; and with two wings, he says, they covered their own faces, and with two they covered their own feet, and with two they were flying, covering the upper and lower parts; signifying by this illustration that both to those above in heaven, and to those below on earth, the mystery of the Godhead is invisible and hidden and covered over; or perhaps they covered the beginnings and the ends for this reason: to teach that the things before the descent of the Word and God and Christ are incomprehensible, and likewise those after His taking up C; but that the Church, believing in the things which happened during the incarnation, as if on wings, flies up into heaven. Perhaps also, through this illustration of the veiling of the faces and feet, the most holy Seraphim hint to us that it is impossible either to see, or to discover, or to conceive of either the beginning or the end of the divine nature; for the veiling of the face denotes the invisibility of the uncreated nature; while the veiling of the feet, in turn, signifies that no one can approach or draw near to God.
5. Then the divine prophet, speaking of these things, says that the house is also full of the glory of God. God was known then in Judea, and in Israel alone was His name great; D but yet, to the intelligent spirits, the foreknowing and perspicacious ones, the mystery of His incarnation, and of the Word of God sitting upon the throne, was known; and that He was about to be seen by men on earth as a man, and the bodiless one to be incarnate, and He who is invisible even to those immaterial beings was to become visible to material ones through the flesh; and to fill the whole earth with His glory and praise and grace.
A And so, being astonished at that unexpected and incomprehensible condescension, and marveling at the ineffable revelation of Himself which He was about to manifest to men, they cried out together a hymn of thanksgiving and astonishment, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabaoth, the whole earth is full of His glory." The most blessed Seraphim were prophesying of Christ, who was to be the glory of the Churches; wherefore it says that the whole earth was filled with His glory. Observe what happens. "The lintel was lifted up," it says, "by the voice of them that cried," that is, it was removed—that which was the covering and defense holding together from above the Jewish temple and people—and the house was filled with smoke, that is, with desolation and darkness, error and ignorance. Attend diligently, I pray you. When the whole earth was inglorious in error and ignorance, the house of the Jewish temple was full of glory. But when the whole earth became full of glory and the knowledge of God, then the house of Israel was filled with smoke, the legal lamp having been extinguished for them; so that, as Christ says, we who were not seeing might see, and the Jews who were seeing might become blind. But these things are from Isaiah.
B 6. Ezekiel again, the one who was, if anyone was, endowed with a mind apt for divine visions, saw not only dual but quadriform living creatures, the supreme minds of the immaterial angels, which I believe clearly prefigured in those very forms the mystery of the incarnation of Emmanuel from the Virgin. For there was encompassed within the living creatures the form of a man, and the likeness of an ox, and the third, of a lion, and that which is higher than these, of an eagle. For as man, Christ truly appeared on earth, who is truly at once God and man; as an ox, [He was led] to the slaughter for the salvation of the world; as a lion, He rose with power, having been raised from the dead; C as an eagle, He was taken up, exalted into the heavens. Or the living creatures may be interpreted about Christ in this other way also: man, as a rational Word and image of the invisible God, because of the intellectual and invisible nature of the soul and mind; an ox, as a powerful high priest, bearing the yoke of the cross upon His shoulders, and having shared a manger with us, the irrational ones, at the time of birth in Bethlehem, and having sown the seed of the evangelical word over the whole earth; a lion, as the king of us who were once wild, savage, bloodthirsty, and flesh-eating impure nations. For "God has reigned," it says, "over the nations." Nor is Christ only a lion, D but also a lion's whelp, as Jacob says of Him, that is, the son of a king, having proceeded from a royal Father. Wherefore also an eagle, as king of the heavenly winged fowl, the intellectual, holy, angelic powers; winged, as they are protecting and guarding us, the chicks of Christ; winged, as being agile and having a position higher than all earthly things; winged, as being in an ever-moving and insatiable state with divine love; many-eyed, as being abundantly illuminated by divine light and not darkened in their contemplation by any matter; therefore the spirit
A are called, as immaterial, incorporeal, invisible, intangible, immortal, without depth, and airy, and by the benefit of grace, incorruptible and inextinguishable.
7. Let the angel of the Lord persuade you, who descended together with the very nature of the Lord to those around Azarias; he who is an igneous spirit made the pyre cold, and caused the flame to be fruitful in dew rather than in fire. And what is more miraculous than a miracle: those whom the flame had enclosed within its womb, it gave birth to unscathed; but those who were outside its grasp, it consumed as impious. This is clearly the strength of divine virtue, the most powerful faculty of the angel, and so robust that it is able to destroy the whole world in a single moment of time. A witness to this is the Chaldean nocturnal destruction under Sennacherib by a single divine angel, which silently slew a multitude of one hundred and eighty-five thousand without a sword; we pray to God that this may now also be accomplished most swiftly against the present-day Chaldeans. B Likewise, Habakkuk, who was material and flesh-bearing, was transferred quite lightly by an immaterial angel from the borders of Jerusalem to Babylon, the prophet carrying food for his fellow prophet Daniel, who was then held in the prison of the lions' den. He entered and left unharmed, keeping the seals of the pit intact, in order to figure the burial of Christ: so that as Christ rose from death and Hades, the prophet too, having been saved from the man-eating beasts, might return unharmed, casting instead into Hades those who had cast him into it. Just as against the Chaldeans, so this happened as an incorrupt judgment of the decree of God, who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire; C as in the holy Scriptures the blessed angels are often named, as purgers of human passions, scorching and chastising those things that are contrary to God, and imparting light to mortals who have been darkened.
8. Again, they are seen under the guise of horses, as Zacharias says, as if running swiftly through every divine path; and as fiery wheels, as those who together encompass and inhabit the celestial sphere. "For the voice of thy thunder," he says, "was in the wheel." Wherefore also Elias the Tishbite is taken up from the earth in a chariot of fire; which was a manifest type: the four-horse chariot representing our nature, composed of the four elements, without which he who carried and steered it as he willed, God the Word, ascended upward into heaven. D Yet the horses of the royal vehicles were a model of the holy angels. "For the chariot of God," he says, "is ten thousand-fold, thousands of those who feast and celebrate." Daniel also saw in a vision a man again in human form seated upon a throne, the Ancient of Days, God: "And thousands of thousands," he says, "stood before him, and ten thousand myriads ministered unto him."
A But these things, and those of a similar nature, were delineated in the Old Testament by visions and apparitions; since no one in the flesh has ever seen, nor can see, the substance of God, nor His form, nor His shape, nor His appearance, nor His beauty, as the holy Word teaches us; but neither was any one able to see or behold the substance of an angel.
9. Come, then, pass from the shadows to the New Testament, and contemplate more clearly the angelic ministries. There comes at times the leader of the choir and the prince of the elect upper company of incorporeal ministers, the mystical revealer of God's hidden mysteries to men, Gabriel, the servant like unto God, the harbinger of joy and gladness to mortal nature, B to the most pure maiden; to whom he entered, showing his form such as it is in its substance to the venerable Virgin. For only the holy Theotokos, as they say, was able to see the angelic nature as it is in reality and as it was created, so that from the beauty of the servant she might exceedingly admire the beauty of the Master. Therefore, by divine command the archangel entered unto her, showing her an unimaginable beauty, and a form brighter than the very solar rays, gradually revealing to the undefiled one the most pure property of his own form. Whence she truly saw a form of a small and eternal outflowing, an effulgence; she saw beauty adorned with a beauty beyond all beauty; she saw a brilliance of beauty strange beyond custom; C she saw the coruscations of an incorporeal substance exceeding those of the sun; she saw the ever-living splendor of a rational morning star; she saw an animate flame, a flashing brightness of intellectual light. Hence the all-venerable one received the vision and encounter of the angel not as an immaterial being, as if she were seeing what had never happened to nature.
10. Zechariah is also restrained by speechlessness D for having disbelieved the holy angel; for since he who was to come forth from the womb into the light was the forerunner of the true Light, John, the voice, as it were, of one crying in the wilderness for us members of the Church from the Gentiles, about to declare the old age of the Law—of which Zacharias, bearing the type, begets John six months before Christ. For that one was not the light; and for this reason he has John six months before; after whom Christ was born, as a certain seventh day. For He is truly our mystical rest of the Sabbaths, which the God of all blessed and sanctified; because in it and by it He rested from all His works. And He is truly the real Archangel of the great counsel of the Father, and He is the Lord, the God of hosts; wherefore the holy and benevolent angels are subject to Him, and serve and minister in every way and place of His incarnate economy, as to a benevolent Master; and at times, when He was born according to the flesh, the angels appeared as first-knowers to the shepherds, mystically initiating them into His birth in the manger at Bethlehem, while they admired His great and unexpected [nativity in poor form of hu-]
incarnation, they cried out clearly and resoundingly, "Glory to God in the highest." And an angel, having been fashioned like a heavenly light into the form of a star, made a path for the Magi, calling them to the Way who says: "I am the way." And again, after the departure of the Magi, an angel gives another oracle to Joseph, that he should make his departure for Egypt with the Mother and Jesus. And God departs as a fugitive from man by the secret counsel of the economy—not indeed fearing death, for He is the judge of men, but offering to you a pattern and an image, as well as the limits of fear and of manly courage, so that all might know when and where and at what time to use opportunity in all things. Yet the ministry of the angels toward their Master did not accompany Him only as far as Egypt; rather, an angel also announces the return from Egypt to Joseph.
11. What then? You may find other things concerning angels as well. Angels indeed approached Jesus when He was baptized in the desert for the sake of ministration, not that they ever stood apart from their Master, but so that you, O faithful one, might believe that a man who is baptized and keeps his purity has angels invisibly as ministers and guardians. Whence also in the Probatica pool, as a figure of baptism, an angel was manifesting healings, in which Christ, the Angel of the great counsel, bestowed healing upon the man who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. He who was thirty years old was baptized, and by his faith in the Trinity, miraculously healing the five senses of this man. But I nearly passed over by my discourse that which is the most preeminent and wonderful of all things related in sacred histories about the angels. What is this? I mean those unexpected and multiform angels around the life-giving tomb of Christ, whose sayings and wonders in that place were truly strange and beyond speech. In this matter, you will carefully consider above all else how it is said that all those born of earth who were beloved by Christ ran thither, while the higher natures appear to be seated without running. For Peter, having risen, ran to the monument, and the other disciple ran faster than Peter; and Mary Magdalene runs and comes to Simon Peter; and the other Marys ran bringing the news to the disciples; and according to Mark, the women likewise fled in a run from the monument. B But the angels do not use running in this way; rather, they appear sitting there, one at the head, and another at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain, and some indeed within, while others sitting upon the stone without.
12. What then, do we learn through these things? That those who have not yet grasped the divine mysteries, being as it were earth-born, rightfully run, as Paul also says, so that they may grasp; for he who runs, runs toward that which is desired. Therefore the all-holy angels are said to have been sitting at the tomb, as already knowing the divine mysteries of the resurrection. But one sits at the head, perhaps as having been initiated into the higher mysteries, and the other at the feet, perhaps of some of the lower mysteries and ministrationsC
and of the offices, being a minister: and some indeed look on, as if searching into the more hidden marvels of the Divinity; others are outside, perhaps as those proclaiming the miracle of the incarnation of Christ; and another sits at the right, having become the guide of just souls and those being placed at the right hand of God. But they are also seen A adorned with the countenances of young men, of young men both unbroken and unaging and incorruptible, and indicating through their youthful appearance the steadiness and virtue-loving nature of their own essence toward God; whence also they appear in flashing garments, both to show at once the bright and stainless and lovable nature of the resurrection of Christ, and the purity, impassibility, and spotlessness of their own nature by grace. For since the angel is called a second light after the first, which is the light of lights, on this account these most holy luminaries appear to the worthy in garments that flash, and as lightning, and as snow; in whom there is no color, no body, no wings, no arms of two cubits, no hair-bearing head, no upright stature, nor in general anything of those in the nature of things seen in matter or moving. Even if they are often said to appear in human form in divine visions, yet we do not suppose that even these names which they wear are indicative of their substance, but rather they have B drawn them from their own operations by the will of God, and from theological men; and rightly so. For consider it with me thus: Angels, as bringing to men the divine decrees and leading them from elsewhere. Archangels, that you may learn that there is an order and constitution also among men, of which the Church stands as a type. Principalities, again, are so called as leading the way toward the instruction and illumination of those orders below them. Powers, as being endowed with royal and lordly dignities. Virtues, as being, by grace, superior to every weakness and passion and death. Thrones, as God resting upon their disposition and ministry. Dominations, as those entrusted by God with the care and salvation and guidance of the human race, and as unenslaved, by grace, from any passion-filled movement and fall henceforth. Seraphim, which in the Hebrew tongue is interpreted "burning," as they happen to be C essentially the purgative and illuminative substances of others; and the highest of all and nearest to God, Cherubim, which in turn is interpreted as "fulness of knowledge."
13. This the commander-in-chief of the angels has taught us today to say about the angels; these are the nine orders of the incorporeal beings, and the tenth is man: there are therefore ten orders or drachmas, about which Christ says: "What woman having ten drachmas, if she lose one of them, does not light a lamp and search for it? And if she find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost?" Which was also the sheep that was lost D from the ninety-nine that were not lost; which the good and kind and philanthropic shepherd did not overlook, but sought out, and having found it, upon the mountains
A and the Gentile hills, where it was wandering miserably and sacrificing to idols, he brought it back; and having placed it upon his shoulders, he returned the strayed one to the unerring flock, numbered it once again among the inhabitants of heaven, and deemed it worthy of the eternal kingdom. May we all attain to this, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father, together with the holy and life-giving consubstantial Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
On the Nativity of the holy prophet, the Forerunner and Baptist
[Z].1. If our discourse were like a nightingale of many voices, singing resonantly and musically about the spring hours, it might perhaps be able to chant a little of that great voice of truth which is born today. But since our speech is feeble and exceedingly dissonant, how shall it praise the great glory of the prophets? How shall it extol the signal dignity of the apostles? How shall it glorify B the wondrous majesty of the martyrs? This, moreover, I must consider: that with other saints, one person has praised another—the exalted praising the exalted, and the lesser the lesser; but of him who is now being praised, Christ Himself, the God and the Truth, pronounced the praises before all others. For He says: *Among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist* (Matt. XI, 11). Since, therefore, such great and transcendent praise for the great Forerunner is provided by the Word of supreme authority, does he still stand in need of our meager talk, O studious auditors? Far from it! But, discharging a servile debt and fulfilling the command of the Father, and as though C we might be sanctified by the mere mention of the Forerunner, we will display our boldness.
2. Come, then, let us celebrate the day, let us feast his nativity, and not the neighbors only, but the whole region of the intellectual Jordan. Let us see the strange mystery; let us behold the work accomplished today beyond all hope; let us consider the circumstances of Zacharias, and in turn let us recount those of Elisabeth. He was not born of low-born parents, so that the Forerunner might appear greatest even from this, but of illustrious and renowned ones. For the one was like an Aaron, on account of his white hair and his dignity, clad in the priestly garment—the breastplate, D I mean, and the superhumeral, the robe, the fringed tunic, the turban, and the girdle, all of which were adorned with gold and stones and hyacinth and fine linen—and thus he would enter into the Holy of Holies, according to the rotation of the priestly service; and she, of the house of Sabbas, was of equal glory, and even more so
in that she drew near to the Mother of God. For she bore from sterility, according to the promise, not Isaac—who was called a servant of God—but John, who was worthyly named the true friend of the Lord. O barren womb that carried such a child! O unfruitful field that brought forth such an ear of grain! Therefore, one must not hesitate to speak to her in a somewhat newer way the words of the most resonant Isaiah: Rejoice, O barren one who dost not bear; break forth and cry, thou who sufferest not the pains of childbirth, for there blossomed forth from thy desert womb the lily of purity, the rose of spiritual fragrance, the meadow of fruit-bearing continence, the day-shining lamp of Christ’s epiphany, John, the divinely-appointed soldier of the heavenly King, the best paranymph of Christ’s Church, the never-silent witness of the Truth which truly is, John, the resonant herald of repentance, the angel of the Lord in the body, the manifestation of the Lamb who takest away the sin of the world. And not even if I were to add many more names of his calling could I encompass his honors; for he is a man of many names and of many honors, having inherited an office greater than all the anointed of the Lord.
B 3. It is true, the birth of Isaac, the forefather, is also honored, whom Sarah conceived and bore as a son in her old age, and then said, "Who will tell Abraham that Sarah suckles a child?" at which the father is seen making a great feast on the day of his weaning. And the birth of Samson is again honored, he who was born to Manue according to a promise, and who also came forth from a barren mother; of whom it is said that he shall not drink wine and strong drink, and shall not eat anything unclean, and he himself shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the aliens. Furthermore, not to mention others, the birth of Samuel, who saw the things before, is honored, whom the much-sung Anna bore to her husband Elkanah, and dedicated to God from infancy. But they have not attained the greatness of John, O beloved; for some were before the written law, and others after the law. But John, the son of Zachariah the priest and the wondrous Elizabeth, a flower appearing as a forerunner of Christ’s presence, blossomed forth as one appearing between the law and grace. C For the intellectual morning star shone forth, signifying the rising of the Sun of Justice; the soldier ran before, announcing the arrival of the universal King; the paranymph came, signaling the presence of the Bridegroom; and while the others, some time after their birth, either prophesied or performed wonders, he, while yet carried in the womb, was filled with the Holy Spirit and appeared as a worker of wonders.
4. Therefore, something of this sort occurs to me, that I might depict in an image the magnificence of the Forerunner: just as a king, D proceeding regally from his palaces, ha
bet first lictors and sceptre-bearers preceding, then consuls, prefects, and commanders of orders, and finally someone endowed with greater dignity, after whom immediately the king appears, with no one intervening, shining with gold and clear stones; so think with me of the true and only king of all, Christ our God. For to Him who was about to enter the world through the flesh, there preceded patriarchs, namely Abraham, Isaac, Jacob; then Moses the interpreter of God, Aaron and Samuel, and the whole throng of the prophets. Last appeared John, and immediately afterwards Christ the Lord; of whom he said: *He who comes after me is made before me, because He was before me.* And he who is last in order has been shown in proportion to be greater in dignity. Thus, therefore, he was the chief of the prophets and apostles and of all others, according to the truthful Word, the great Forerunner; to the former indeed as a successor, to the latter as a precursor. But come, opening the evangelical history, let us hear what things were announced to Zacharias.
5. *There appeared unto him,* he says, *an angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.* For truly the angelic vision is terrible, and shown in a terrible place. *How terrible is this place,* he says, *this is none other but the house of God.* And it is not to be wondered at if the priest, being just, was troubled and fear fell upon him, C seeing that even Daniel, the man of desires, when he saw it, was struck with amazement, and falling upon his face, he was speechless, because of the incomparable splendor of the angelic excellence. *There appeared unto him,* he says, *an angel of the Lord.* What do these semi-Christians say to us about these things, who do not wish for the images of angels to be made? If the angel was seen by man, then he wore a figure entirely, in no other way than as he was seen. But he was seen in such a figure, as previously the Cherubim were shown in type to Moses on Mount Sinai around the mercy seat. And if that which is incorporeal and without figure is delineated according to the type shown, why shall we not delineate that which is corporeal and shaped, subject to color, touch, and the three dimensions, such as was the form of the Saviour, for a clear demonstration that His incarnation was not phantastic? And let not these fools think that we thereby circumscribe the Godhead, which cannot be expressed in words, nor comprehended, which has no posture, D no figure, no place, no quantity, no quality, nor anything else of those things which are inside the bounds of circumscription, because it is infinite and incomprehensible. For even now, if we fashion the image of a simple man, we certainly do not fashion his soul, which is immaterial and incapable of figure, because this cannot be done at all; but we attribute appropriately to each the things that are proper to it; namely, to the uncircumscript, uncircumscription, and to the circumscript, circumscription, as the logic of truth persuades us. But we must return again to the subject.
ORATION VII. ON THE NATIVITY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
A 6. The angel said to him: "Fear not, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard." He immediately quelled his fear with this announcement, as an angelic vision is wont to remove the cause of fear after it has struck terror—in contrast to the encounters with demons. "Fear not," he says, "Zacharias, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son." O the desideratum that becomes a command from God! O the most desirable promise brought by the angel! He obtained what he had longed for; he accomplished what he had pleaded for; he found what he had been seeking: the transformation of barrenness, the gift of fruitfulness, not by the sequence of nature, but by the attainment of prayer. For barrenness was not a penalty of a curse—far from it—but a signification of a great mystery. For I think it likely that Zacharias, pressing God with frequent supplications that his barrenness might be resolved, had heard these words spoken to him: "The time has not yet been completed, the days of the advent have not yet been fulfilled; then at last, O Zacharias, hope for the birth of offspring when the expectation of the nations shall have come; then expect the cessation of barrenness when the hope of all the ends of the earth shall have arrived." But because the time has now come, receive what you have devoutly desired through the prediction of Gabriel. "Be renewed as an eagle in your youth; acknowledge," he says, "your spouse, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name John." He also made known the name by which he would be called, indicating from the very etymology of it that it proceeds from on high.
C 7. Zacharias said to the angel—for now he speaks to him with the boldness of a fellow-servant—"By what shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her days." The common and patristic explanation charges the priest with the crime of unbelief. But our discourse, not acquiescing in this, but proceeding further for the sake of enquiry, says that Zacharias suffered the same thing as the great Thomas. For it is not likely that a prophet, cognizant of divine matters, could have been ignorant that God is able both to D renovate nature, and to restore the strength of old age, and to open a way through impossibilities, as He did in the case of Abraham and Sarah, as He did with the Shunammite, and in other various and manifold cases of His wonders. But because the promises of great and paradoxical expectations, when heard suddenly, are wont to disturb the soul in some way, I believe that Zacharias, not hesitating out of unbelief, but hastening toward the perfection of the matter, immediately, as if seized by joy, exclaims and says, "By what shall I know this? Do not deceive me, do not by any means mislead me; give me the sign, provide me with the pledge." Just as God of old to Abraham, in order to persuade him that he would be the father of many nations and that kings would spring from his loins, delivered the sign of circumcision; and before him, to Noah, so that he might produce faith that the flood would never again be brought upon the earth, showed the rainbow in the cloud; and in addition to these, to Moses...
A former state, so that the Egyptians might believe that the One Who Is had appeared to him.
8. And, he says, the angel answering said to him: "Behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak, because you did not believe my words" (one must add, what is implied—namely, simply and without inquiry), "which will be fulfilled in their time." Zacharias therefore received a sign appropriate to the matter: the silence of a passing voice in exchange for the living and substantial voice that was shortly to be brought forth for him. And with his lips pressed together, he praises the Giver of offspring with sounds inaudible to the ear. For coming out, he says, "he could not speak: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: and he remained gesturing, and stayed mute." Partly, indeed, so that he would not be questioned, because it was not to be borne that the vision should be heard of everywhere; and partly, as one who had in a way departed from his senses and was ruminating on the vision, all of himself, he was mute to those beating the air with their words. Nor is it unlikely that the father of the prophet signifies here an argument for prophecy—that is, perhaps, the cessation of the legal cult, in anticipation of the divulging of the cult according to grace in the birth of John. But now, omitting the intermediate matters which do not pertain to the present B day, and which our powers cannot pursue, let us return again to that which is at hand.
9. And it came to pass, he says, "when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped for joy in her womb." O John, happy infant, watchful embryo! You who are in the womb, how are you in the world? You who are not yet perfect, how are you most absolute? You who are six months old, how are you long-lived? You who cannot yet think, how are you most prudent? You who cannot speak, how do you discourse so readily? Tell us, I say, come; enclosed still in the dark place of the maternal womb, not yet exercising the faculty of sight, receiving no clamor with your ear, not yet emitting a vocal sound, not yet having a share in walking motion, not yet displaying the laughter proper to man; how do you hear? How do you utter divine things? How do you leap? How do you exult? Answer us, O most wonderful one. Large, he says, is the mystery, and the act is removed from human comprehension. Justly I renew nature, for the sake of Him who is about to renew things above nature. Being an embryo, I see, because I behold the Sun of righteousness being carried in the womb. I have the sense of hearing, since I hear that I am being born as the voice of the great Word. I cry out, because I perceive the only-begotten Son of the Father being incarnated. I leap, because I feel the Creator of C all things having assumed the form of a man. I exult, because I understand the Redeemer of the world being embodied. I signify to you, he says, the beginning of the entry of God into the world and His bodily progress: I run before the Advent, and in a way I go ahead of you in confession. Take up a psalm, to speak with David, and a timbrel, as with the prophet, a pleasant psalter-
-Ay with the harp; sing to Him and chant to Him; declare all His wonderful works.
10. Have you then, John, risen above earthly things? Have you looked forth into the heavens? Have you ascended above the angelic and primordial hierarchies? How, then, did you receive the order and dignity of those whose nature you did not grasp? And how is it that you have conveyed and announced to us that which was from the ages unknown and untaught to them, while you are still being brought forth by midwifery? "I have not beaten the air," he says, "I have not coursed through the clouds, I have not transcended the heavens, I have not risen above the incorporeal and fiery powers. Let no such thing be suspected; but He who is above all things, and remains in the paternal bosom with the Holy Spirit, escaping the notice of all His fiery ministers, having entered into the womb of the ever-virgin Mary as into another heaven, He revealed Himself and initiated me in such great mysteries. Therefore, I am the announcer of the Infant, that a Child is born to us, and a Son is given to you, according to the great Isaiah, the God before the ages. I am a child of a barren woman, so that the virginal birth may soon come forth." O the supernatural greatness! O the paradoxical miracle! What things the unborn Infant reveals to us today! What divine matters the birth of Elizabeth has announced to us in advance! Let the whole earth exult; let the Church dance in anticipation at these pre-festival honors, celebrating the birth of Christ's nativity, and let all things be filled with joy, having received the announcer of the coming of the King of all.
11. But, O blessed John, greatest of the greatest prophets, first among apostles; most excellent of martyrs, great martyr; divinely adorned protector of the desert; beloved friend of the most beautiful Bridegroom; lamp prepared for the ineffable light; trusted herald of the spotless Lamb; excellent listener to the paternal voice; proclaimed baptizer of Christ; fearless reprover of Herod's wantonness; messenger of life to those in Hades; God-signifying trumpet of the universe, resound even now to us from heaven through your most holy intercessions. Be propitious to the people who praise you and to your little flock, and together with my excellent Father, be indulgent to the bold undertaking of me, a poor man; receive it not as a gift offered, but as a debt of an useless servant, paid to you with fear and longing. To whom be glory and honor and worship, with the almighty Father and the all-holy Spirit, now and always, and for ages of ages. Amen.
Encomium on the Beheading of the Sacred Head of the Great Baptist, Christ's Forerunner
1. Splendid and full of divine joy is this gathering of us...
O Christ-lovers. It is splendid—and named A properly after the one we remember, who is called a lamp of light—not because it illuminates our bodily eyes with material rays, for their brilliance is not perpetual, being constantly interrupted by the opposing shadow. Rather, it is because it always radiates the hearts of those gathered with the beams of divine grace, and lifts our thoughts toward the struggle of the righteous one, so that by contemplating that blessed passion intellectually, we might establish a cause for joy for ourselves.
Truly, the blood of any other person spilled upon the ground by the sword would not gladden the sight of any man, nor would the account of a dying man, when it reaches the ear, sanctify the memory of the deceased. Indeed, where the shedding of blood brings the loss of life, how, I ask, could that delight a person who is by nature a lover of life? Would it not rather drag one to mourning and to pity for the passion, with a sorrowful face, unless someone were perhaps deranged or imbued with a savage nature, such as is the nature of some brutes who go mad at spectacles before them? Just as with roosters, which rejoice, crow, and leap when their own kind are slaughtered, using only their senses and not reasoning that the same fate will soon come upon them.
But the blood of a righteous man is delightful to the sight, welcome to the ears like a messenger, and honorable to the lips; for its loss brings the acquisition of an immortal and better life. I would say that not only a drop of blood, but even B any bone, a particle of any limb, a relic of hair, or anything at all that he wore or touched is highly desirable and sought after by those who have chosen a life of piety. Therefore, one person rejoices to possess one thing, another another, like some treasure—whether a part, a limb, or the whole—in their homes or in the churches, for the sake of its sanctifying power and saving protection. They approach with reverence the stored-up dust, and touch with fear the untouchable sacred offerings.
2. Such to us is the blood of the righteous Abel, even if to his parents it appeared at that time as a strange source of lamentation. For since they had not yet seen the passion of one who has died, how could they not have been beside themselves, wept, and broken into wailing at the slaughter of their son, suddenly seeing him cast upon the C ground, stained with the blood of fratricide, and thus deprived of vital energy? Such is the holy blood of the prophet Amos, whom King Amaziah repeatedly struck and killed with a sword; for because he was struck by the darts of prophecy, he struck the righteous man with a club on his temple and delivered him to death. Such is the holy blood of the prophet Micaiah, whom Joram, son of Ahab, killed by casting him down a precipice for speaking the truth boldly, for he reproved him for the impieties of his fathers, just as is written. Such also the
A holy blood of the prophet Isaiah, sawn asunder by a saw under Manasseh, who had incited the easily led and easily swayed Israel toward idolatrous worship, for they could not bear to hear the revelations of prophecy. Such the holy blood of the brave Eleazar, with his seven sons and God-minded mother, which Antiochus shed in various tortures, not bearing the defiance of the unconquerable ones for the sake of God’s law, whom the seal of death perfected in faith. Such finally the holy blood of the prophet Zacharias, which the drunken cruelty of the Jews shed with a sword before the altar, not bearing to hear the intimations of prophecy. And what need is there for me to recount many things, when I could speak summarily of the holy blood of apostles, prophets, and martyrs, which many murderers shed in various ways, like a great water circling the whole world under heaven, and having the power to extinguish impiety?
3. Such is the holy blood of Christ’s Baptist and Forerunner, concerning which our present discourse is set; which was poured forth like a precious ointment from a holy neck, perfuming the habitable world—blood which was not gathered by the pleasure of the belly, nor the enjoyment of wine, nor the eating of meat, nor anything else accustomed to fatten and soothe our appetites, but which, from his very swaddling clothes until the end, B the grace of temperance produced. For, he says, John came neither eating nor drinking. Blood that was shed before the Lord’s and immortal cup; for it was necessary that the forerunner of the Light, having appeared to those above the earth through his shining birth from a barren womb, should also become a shining herald to those under the earth through his death. Blood which, far more than the slaughter of Abel, has been sounded into the ears of the Lord Sabaoth; for the performance of the deed is a resonance of a mystic voice, proceeding not through vocal organs, but heard by the power of its efficacy. Blood more venerable than patriarchs, more precious than prophets, and holier than the just; since it is also more excellent than apostles and more glorious than martyrs, as the Word bears witness from the great Word. Blood more pleasing than any flower-dyed color, adorning the Church of Christ, poured out for righteousness at the end of the old law, and existing as a flower portending the coming of Christ. C
4. But how this was poured out, and by whom, and for what cause, our discourse, drawn from the holy Gospels, will explain. “For Herod,” it says, “having seized John, bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John used to say to him, ‘It is not lawful for you to have her;’ and wishing to kill him, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.” Let it first be asked who this Herod is, for D [the text continues]
homonymy A creates an ambiguity as to which person is meant; it is the tetrarch, clearly. For his father, the slayer of the infants, had died long before. And for what reason was he being rebuked by John? Because, having cast aside his lawful wife, the daughter of King Aretas, he had unlawfully married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. It would have been permissible for him to take in marriage one without children, for the purpose of raising up offspring for his brother according to the Mosaic Law; but it was not permitted to take one who was already a mother. Moreover, she had a little daughter, named Herodias after her, the offspring of the asp, a diabolical instrument of her own ruin. The rebuke by John, therefore, was just; and it was advisory, not insulting; medicinal, not injurious. B For what did he say? “It is not lawful for you to have her.” And he appealed to the Law, saying essentially: “Look and understand what the Law commands you: ‘If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no offspring, the wife of the dead man shall not be given to a man outside the family; his brother shall go in to her, and take her for his wife, and dwell with her; and the child that is born shall be established in the name of the dead man, and his name shall not be blotted out from Israel’ (Deut. xxv, 5). This the Law commands you; but you have cohabited with one who has a child by your brother. Do not transgress the decree of the legislator; do not stain the purple itself with unholy blood; nor, while you ought to stand as a model of lawfulness for others, should you be seen as the cause of lawlessness for your subjects; otherwise, you will have to C endure a righteous judgment, for a severe judgment is held for those who are in high places.”
5. But he, having forgotten his power and that God exists, raged, was inflamed with fury, and repelled the rebuke. He did not imitate David, who, when rebuked by the prophet Nathan for the charge of adultery, broke forth into that cry: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Reg. xii, 13), for whose humility the Lord took away the sin. But this man, the Scripture says, arrested John, bound him, and cast him into prison (Matt. xiv, 3). He who was held by the passion of licentiousness arrested the man who was unconquered by philosophy; he who was bound by the chains of intemperance bound the man who was free, as one liberated from all passion; he who was a thrall to impure acts handed over to prison the guardian and herald of the Church. He did this on account of Herodias, his brother D Philip’s wife; Herodias, I say, whose ways were like those of Delilah, and who was a fellow-worker of the devil. For she incited her bedfellow, or rather her confederate, to fury against John. “I do not endure,” she said, “to be slandered, being queen, by the son of Zechariah. Lock in prison the tongue that defames me; kill quickly with a spear him who wounds my soul with his words as if they were arrows.” And wishing to kill him, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. For it is not the case that whenever kings wish [to do something]
unseemly act, they immediately bring their impulse to fruition, but rather, out of reverence and fear of their subjects, they delay and turn inward to find the appropriate time for their wickedness.
A 6. As Herod’s birthday was being celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and she pleased Herod, insomuch that he promised her with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. When he ought to have been giving glory to God on the day he was brought into this light, he chose instead to execute the works of darkness. Furthermore, this was a time for rejoicing, though not for dancing, especially by a woman in the sight of men. And what was the consequence of this? Why, an oath. And what followed that? Murder. Take away the roots of malice, and the fruit of iniquity will not spring forth; for when a beginning is made, the end of the matter will necessarily follow. The daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and she pleased Herod. For what else would that lewd daughter have been taught by her mother, if not to dance? And to be so well-practiced in that performance as to delight Herod himself, who therefore pledged to grant her whatever she might ask? Such is the rashness of those who are frenzied by the passions of shame, deciding inconsiderately upon any matter, as they see fit. The girl, however, prompted by her mother, seized the opportunity to demand the bloody death which the viperous Herodias had long been laboring to bring forth. And being inflamed toward her daughter, she seemed to say such things as these: “Behold, child, the moment we have sought. You have accomplished with your foot what I desired, and you have eased my pain with your artful skipping. Let us bury in the ground the man who defames us. Go at once and say: ‘Give me here upon a platter the head of John the Baptist.’” O request of excessive madness! It was as if she were not already glutted enough by the murderous spectacle; the maenad and murderess was displeased. For it was not enough for you that you chose to have the sword slash through those sacred necks, but you also contrived that the holy head be given to you on a platter. O wicked one, and one bearing a character more savage than even Jezebel!
D 7. And the king was grieved, Scripture says; but for the sake of the oaths, and because of those who reclined with him, he commanded it to be given. And he sent a headsman and beheaded John in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. O result of diabolical preparation! Who is he that brought the murderous sword against that divine head? A second Doeg, a lawless servant, and in no way an imitator of those who prudently withstood King Saul when he ordered the prophets of God to be killed. And his head was brought on a platter. Should I call such a feast a banquet, or a place of execution? Should I call the wine-soaked guests fellow-diners, or executioners? O strange spectacle! O wicked vision! On one side, a bird was served; on the other, a prophetic head was carried.
A Matured wine was being poured out, and from that source, just blood flowed in a stream. How fearful is the announcement, and how dreadful the narrative! And it was given to the maiden, and she brought it to her mother. Alas, for the impropriety! An invaluable head was given for a worthless act; given to an impure and profane woman, a thing holy and untouched, honorable even to the angels. And she brought it to her mother, having set it before her, as it were, as a meal for the gluttony of the mother who had craved the death of the prophet: "Eat," she said, "O mother, the flesh of one who lived without flesh; drink the blood of the bloodless. At last, finally, we have silenced the tongue of the man who branded us with public infamy."
8. *And His disciples came*, it says, *and took up the body and buried it.* B Behold with me, studious hearer, the burial of the just man depicted in an image, and at the same time rebuke the Iconoclasts as enemies of the truth. And when you have sedulously inspected the depicted history, gather from it the profit: how the holy man is brought forth from prison bound in chains; how the executioner cruelly directs his sword against the sacred head; how the head is severed, and dripping with fragrant gore is handed over to the raving Herodias; and how the sacred body is buried by the hands of his own disciples, as they weep, as they lament, as they stand around in groups; while one touches the feet, another adjusts the head to the remainder of the body, another burns incense and chants the funeral rites. I am there, O hearers, in the vision of my mind, and I behold the burial of the just man resting in peace, as the Scripture says. C I behold that angelic face, whose eyes, as two luminaries, have set, and whose whole countenance appears as a pattern of goodness. I see him lifeless, as far as the activity of temporal life is concerned, yet supremely alive as far as the precious fragrance of divine grace is concerned. I kiss those sacred hands, whose touch was untouched by sin, and by whose finger He who takes away the sin of the world was pointed out to men. I adore those beautiful feet, whose duty it was to bring good tidings to the inhabitants of the earth, and by which the way was prepared for the Lord's arrival. And should I omit to speak of the venerable chain, with which the most excellent of angels among men was bound? I omit also the honorable platter, in which that august head, more precious than gold, was placed. Nay, even the executioner’s sword, which was driven through that sacred neck—if I should happen upon it, I would not leave it unhonored. D But even the very earth, in which this treasure was kept—if I should ever come upon it, I would embrace it as fertile with grace. O blessed sepulcher and not-sorrowful stone, which contains that most blessed body, more radiant than a heap of emeralds and pearls! Therefore, there was present there visibly the crowd of disciples, but invisibly a multitude of angels, who [honored] the angel in body who was their namesake, the friend of the Lord
the paranymph of the Bridegroom, the ever-luminous lamp of the ineffable light, the living voice of the great Word, he who is more than a prophet, greater than those born of women; they praised him, they celebrated him, they carried him up to heaven, and transferred him to immortal joy. Such, then, was the peaceful burial of the just man, joyous and saving for the world.
B 9. Did the senseless Herod flee from the outcome of justice even from that point on? By no means. But, as has been said, on account of this he was slain, having departed to sedition by all his subjects, God setting forth the events concerning him for the instruction of those who would reign later, so that they might not fall into similar passions. But departing from there, I shall call out with a voice befitting the present day: Today John the Forerunner, having his head cut off for the sake of the truth, is pronounced blessed, and Herod the lawless is reviled and mocked; today John the Forerunner is honored in the tongues of all with the report of his reproof, and Herod the utterly mad is shamed, being branded for adultery by everyone who fears the Lord. Today the head of John the Forerunner is brought forward on a platter, a sacred sacrifice, and Herodias the adulteress is branded, even against her will, forever. Today the blood of John the Forerunner is shed for the preservation of the divine law, and the adversary of the Forerunner is justly triumphed over for his contrary actions; today John the Forerunner is killed for his boldness before Herod on behalf of justice, and kings of the earth, taught not to be separated from their own consorts, despise him who did separate them; today John the Forerunner raises a sign upon the earth, and every man is admonished to be satisfied with his own wife and to proceed no further; today John the Forerunner descends into Hades, and the dead are made to hear an ineffable joy at the presence of Christ; today the heavens rejoice because of John, whose head was cut off for justice, and men upon earth sing festive hymns. And it seems to me that the great Forerunner of the Lord looks down upon us from heaven, and rewards us as his singers with divine gifts; among the prophets, he is a morning star, darting through and shining brightly; among the apostles, C he is a sun in the midst of suns, outshining and beaming brilliantly; among the martyrs, he is like the heaven adorned with the stars of miracles; among the just, like one flourishing highly with many ornaments of justice, surpassing the cedars of Lebanon; he who today sends forth joy to the inhabited world. For if many will rejoice at his birth, according to the divine saying, it should be commensurate that in his passing there be the same joy, which we have been deemed worthy to celebrate, as many as we are of the priestly, or eremitic, or monastic, or even lay order, all of us indeed.
A And may we share in his intercessions all the more fervently, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power, with the Father and the most holy and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and for the endless ages of ages. Amen.
Oratio IX. Encomium on the Great John, Apostle and Evangelist
B 1. Since heaven is set before us as the subject for an encomium, what speech could be found capable of being raised to the height of such praises? And what intellect could soar to the greatness of such supernatural exaltation? Perhaps we might grow weary merely from beginning the subject, as though attempting things that no one can attain, and as though trying to leap to an infinitely great height. And yet, I do not mean this firmament by name, which starry choirs ornament with varied beauty, nor that which the sun, as it drives its chariot, traverses in its daily course, nor indeed that which the crescent moon, running through, makes the night shine like the day; the sight of which miracle also acts as a teacher, penetrating the beauties of creation and lifting the mind up to the author of creation. Rather, I would mean that heaven whose forever-shining stars are crowds of many virtues, gleaming with the splendor of good deeds, and whose sun—that is, the evangelical preaching—rushing to the ends of the inhabited world, illuminates the visible and invisible world many thousand times more brightly than the sun. For it does not yet receive lunar light, because not even night knows how to succeed the day around it, since it is illuminated by splendors that never set.
C 2. And do you wish to learn who this is that is so magnificently proclaimed? It is John, O men, the apostle above all, the most preeminent of the evangelists, the eagle of God, the great one, the golden-winged, the unapproachable investigator of the heavenly deep, the man who by his contemplation swam beyond the Cherubim, who announced the existence of the eternal Word even to the angels, the most vocal herald of the truth, the mind that looks on high, the fiery tongue, the mouth taught by God, the infinite sea of wisdom, the unsearchable eddy of dogmas, the greatest container of knowledge, D the world-manifesting lightning of the Spirit, the ecumenical thunder of grace, the supreme pillar of the Churches, the firm foundation of God, the hunting-net of human nature, the fishing-rod of souls reaching up to heaven, the ever-moving saw against all heresies, the sharp sword cutting down the weeds of impiety, the heavenly key shutting out the armies of ungodliness, the God-strengthened mind slinging its spiritual prey, the one who flows like a sea of the of the God of...
A river overflowing with the waters of God's wisdom, the most pure temple of virginity, greatly beloved by the One who is truly lovely, and resting upon His breast, the great sun of the Gospel running its beautiful course, the sweet-sounding lyre and trumpet of the Spirit. And what need is there to speak? Not even if I were to compile a list a thousand times over could I ever hope to fathom the abyss of his praises. Come then, come—not indeed to state everything, for that is already impossible, not only because of my own poverty of speech, but even for those who possess the power of high-flown eloquence, who are overcome by the magnitude of the miracle, since not even the height of heaven is such that one could take its measure. But if it is granted to us to offer some small portion of praise, gathering a few flowers as bees do from the meadows of the Gospels, and skillfully shaping them like wax into certain honeycombs, and placing them as a tribute before this apostolic festival as if before a queen, taking as our helper the very one about whom our discourse is concerned, we shall most gladly dare to offer them.
B 3. If someone, relying on the laws of encomia, were to inquire after the homeland from which the Apostle came forth into the light, he would not find it to be illustrious, but rather very obscure and ignoble, namely Galilee—for this is the common opinion. And yet, even from there, the Apostle appears remarkable. How and in what manner? Because from that place, from which it was thought that no prophet had arisen, and indeed that nothing good could come for the Jews and for the true Israelite, there Christ, the fountain of every good, was conceived in the womb of the Virgin, the chief prophetess; and there, having taken on human form, He was nurtured, subject to His parents, in the city from which He received His name (for He was called a Nazarene, under Galilee, as the village of Bethsaida was for the most part subordinate to it). O soil worthy of all admiration! O blessed homeland! Shining more reverently than the homeland of Adam, as it brought forth the second Adam from heaven along with John. Nor is his lineage contemptible. How so? Because the one whom we praise was born of Zebedee and Salome, a relative of Christ according to the flesh. O how holily and excellently did both combine, so that the son of the bridechamber might be found to be the cousin of Christ! So that John stands forth as nobler than all those from the sunrise, being of the lineage of God on both sides. Do you see how great these things appear, which seemed C more contemptible, now that they are woven together with studious labor? What next? We must show what and of what kind was his way of life; since from here, too, the sequence of our oration proceeds.
4. There is nothing more fraught with difficulty among the methods of life that we know of than the art of fishing, nor anything more rustic than the manner of life associated with it. For the practice of other arts, while they may provide for social life and bring greater profit to the craftsman, whether one considers them logically or practically, does so; but this art, in addition to being solitary, is matched by a scarcity of provisions, so that the scripture is fulfilled: "All the labor of man is for"
A his mouth" (Eccl. VI, 7). For they are clothed in rags, wearing tattered garments, with unkempt hair and sun-scorched faces, running about with naked feet, spending their time on the shores and in more desolate places; sometimes sitting upon rocks, sometimes gazing down into the depths of the sea from which they await their catch. Why, then, have I explained these things so carefully? It is so that I might show that there is nothing worthy of reproach in this, even if John practiced this art. Now, you who search for the spiritual sense, move on to the visible mode of metaphor, and you will find a knowledge suited to this kind of life. David was first a shepherd of sheep, and afterwards he was chosen by God to feed Jacob, His servant, and Israel, His inheritance (Ps. LXXVII, 71). Similarly, consider John for me: he was transferred by the great Word, in a manner befitting God, from the fishing of irrational creatures to the capture B of rational ones. For he was not chosen to feed this or that flock, nor tribes separated by certain boundaries, but to capture the whole world by his fishing. "Come after me," He says, "and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. IV, 19). Although the calling was common, it must be referred by us to him for whom this discourse was composed. This is also done in the case of certain other more general terms; not that we should claim for the Theologian a right above the other apostles by virtue of what we are explaining about him more specifically—far from it. For neither is a light, when lit from a common source, any less than the full participation of the splendor from that one source.
5. Since, therefore, the great apostle has been appointed by God as a fisherman, let us see him allegorically, as it were in a little boat, C repairing in his physical body—not torn nets, but evangelical casting-nets. What is the rod? The reed of doctrine. What is the fisherman’s line? The tie of theology. What is the hook? The three-fold cross. What is the bait? The God-bearing flesh, by which the great sea-monster, Beliar, was enticed and captured. Do you ask upon what rock he sits? Consider for me the firm seat of the faith. O marvelous thing! He casts the net, not into this or that bay, but into the sea of the whole world; he extends the rod, not to some small circumference, but to the very ends of the earth; he casts the line, not into a vast abyss of water, but into the very abyss of impiety. Consider for me the rich catch collected from both single D and mixed individuals; I speak of the coarse and common people of the crowd—varied, certainly, in character and affections, from the young to the old, both in age and in rank. Some, exacerbated by wicked doctrines, he takes, as it were, from rocks hidden beneath the waves of godlessness; others, intercepted by a simplicity of mind as they speed across the sea, he includes in his net—and this not to bring them to death, but to bring them to life; not keeping them in the salt waters of sin, but making them live in the sweet streams of baptism; nor indeed buying them with corruptible money, but freeing them by the written deed of adoption from the slavery of the devil, by whom they were previously held captive according to his will. O marvelous work! Who from the beginning of the age has heard of such a catch?
A Since he was entrusted not only with hundreds and thousands, but with teaching all the nations, he brings them to Christ the Master, the prince of fishers; did I not then rightly claim that I could not reach the depths of this subject, even as if with the very tip of a finger?
6. Consider with me also the other things allegorized with excellent consistency. "You are the light of the world": light is the expeller of darkness, the illumination of the eyes, the renewal of bodies, desirable and worthy of wonder. What then of the Apostle? Does he not diminish the opposing darkness? Does he not restore sight to the blind on both sides? Does he not provide strength to bodies? Is he not for these reasons worthy of love and admiration? This, then, was what Christ was commanding: "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give." B Consider for me the myriad kinds of diseases, and you will touch upon the infinite abundance of the miracles wrought on men who, in a crowded multitude, flow toward the gratuitous and painless physician of salvation; for he drives away diseases not with knives or cauteries or certain medicinal potions, but by faith alone and the scourge of the word. O, the magnificence of the gift! Now the blind man suddenly sees the light, having cast off the cloud that always obscured his eyes, and he rejoices as he beholds the beauties and sights beneath the heavens; now the lame man immediately gains firm footing and leaps for joy like a hart; now he who was tongue-tied, his bonds of speech loosened, speaks correctly in thanksgiving; now he who had a withered hand, having been restored in both hands, sings prayers toward the Master in the heavens; C now the hydropic is emptied of his malady most quickly and returns to his ancient health; now the leper is pulled away from his corruption and exults as he sees his own flesh made new; now the paralytic, having been restored, carries his pallet on his shoulders; now the demoniac, cleansed of the spirit, praises the Lord with a sober mind; now the half-dead man, gasping his final words, immediately recovers; now the dead man jumps up quickly from corruption, rendering an account of those things in Hades to those established on earth and confessing God, the Author of life, in turn. D Now the man with one eye sees straight, and he who had one eye sees with two, and he who was hairless grows a head of hair; now the hunchback is made straight, the deaf man regains his hearing, he who was burning with fever thrives, and he who was shivering finds fair temperature; now the barren woman bears children, the one flowing with blood finds health, the one having difficulty in birth gives birth easily, the one with cancer gains a whole body, any natural deficiency is restored, every weakness retreats, and every ailment of the soul is driven away. I omit speaking of the miracles wrought among irrational animals, and the removals and transpositions of the elements, or whatever other paradox of nature there might be; for is it not true, as was said by the Lord: "That whoever shall say to this mountain, 'Be removed and cast into the sea,' and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he says comes to pass, it shall be to him whatever he says"? See for me, then, even a mountain being removed into the water, and again any
deep dried up and changed into a grassy plain; and water gushing forth suddenly from the depths, and a rock being split asunder and sending forth the Christ-bearer; and whatever else the necessity of those who were drawing their disciples to the faith might rightfully demand; since there is nothing which divine grace cannot accomplish.
7. But that I may not, by dwelling at greater length, become tedious to those who hear me in parts, I shall turn to something else. A *You are the salt of the earth.* From things necessary, the metaphor is taken here, just as also elsewhere: *Have salt in yourselves.* For what else could this be but charity, which is also the fulfillment of the law, as the holy apostle Paul says? Therefore, just as bread will not be eaten without salt, since almost nothing consumable will be, so it is clear that without charity nothing pleasing to God will be accomplished. Such has the Apostle shown himself to us, possessed of an adamant soul, and insuperable in the contests undertaken for the cause of piety, B neither changed by prosperity nor by adversity, that is to say, kept steady. Observe: he suffered persecutions, and did not depart from the love of those who persecuted him; he was led before kings and governors, and did not remit anything of his courageous confession; he was beaten with rods, and showed himself a physician to those who flogged him; he was reviled, he was held up to mockery, and he sought the glory of his mockers; imitating the Master, who even while He was suffering, sought forgiveness from the Father for those who crucified Him. C They brandished a sword, he held forth doctrine; they threatened fire, he increased charity; they offered threats, he offered prayers; they offered affliction, he held out a thirst for the salvation of those who afflicted him: he was delighted by hardships, enlarged by straits. Moreover, neither was he lacking temptation by prosperity, for non-vulgar honor and commendation followed the signs and wonders that were performed. But neither did his charity grow cold by adversity, nor was he softened by praises, but remained the same in all things, varied and seasoned according to the manner of each, like the taste of manna. Oh, miraculous matter! For these D things must also be added. Sent like a sheep into the midst of wolves by Christ, the Prince of shepherds, he was not himself changed into a wolf, but he transformed the wolves into lambs. Being bitten, he healed the bites of souls, repaying the wounds received with the treatment of cures; unlettered, he converted the wise men of the world to the dogmas of piety; unarmed, he enrolled even the enemies of God into the militia against the devil. Oh, of how much difficulty was this! I would add, also, of how much grace! Such, indeed, is the divine salt. How great the astuteness of the serpent and the simplicity of the dove were, has now become clear from what has just been said.
And the majority of these things are present to those who know, for the sake of avoiding prolixity; but we must proceed to the conclusion of the discourse.
A 7. And he gave them the name Boanerges, which is, Sons of Thunder. Some say that thunder is the product of an aerial spirit, which, being caught within the clouds and having no exit through which it might break, produces the lightning by its compression, and the thunder by its bursting. If someone were to say that thunder is engendered from thunder, he would not be out of line with what is reasonable; for as the begetter is, so also is the offspring. What follow from this, then? That the Apostle is called a Son of Thunder as an echo of the Holy Spirit, simultaneously flashing forth and thundering divine things to us, as if having erupted from the clouds of divine grace.
Let us see, if you please, in summary, what kind of thunderous sounds these are, so that we might the more admire the power of Him who gave the name: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." O the most resonant divine word! Men do not tremble so much at the crash of thunder as they have been amazed—along with the inhabitants of the earth—at the theology of John, and even the heavenly beings, if indeed their instruction also comes from John. For, he says, "that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, through the Church." B As then, when writing about things in the sensory realm, he set the heaven as the beginning of all created things, saying: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"—for it was not possible for the eye, which holds the primacy among our senses, to be extended anywhere beyond the height of the heaven; and therefore, the creature was placed first in accordance with the sense, with the others being secondary to the others—so he, as one making an exposition beyond the senses, took as his beginning not heaven and earth, but the Maker of heaven and of all the super-heavenly minds together, saying: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
C 9. Did you see to what infinite height he raised the eye of the mind? Just as if he had fixed an intelligible firmament in our intellect with that triple "Was," so that up to that point, the mind, advancing like a leaping light—and this is the first of the soul's faculties—would have no nature to be lifted anywhere beyond, lest it seem to walk in the empty air out of useless curiosity; but, as if checking its course, it turns back to the created things, to which man is naturally bound, beholding them and glorifying the Master-Artisan, who is one God without beginning in three persons, presiding over all things that exist. And what are these? Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, D Powers, Authorities, Dominions, Principalities, Archangels, Angels; then the things according to sense: heaven, sun, moon, stars, air, earth, sea, land animals, sea creatures, aerial creatures, plants, herbs, and, in short, every nature, both animate and
I say, nature, both that which is endowed with a soul, and that which is devoid of a soul. For all these things, and if there be any other thing which the two worlds possess that is unnameable, He has declared to be comprehended by those words: *All things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made that was made*. For why is it necessary to be superfluous with many words, when men inspired by the divine Spirit have interpreted the whole theology according to the Word divinely, from whom we also, like little dogs, have had [as it were] the crumbs of the word to offer as discourse? O theology, which thundered forth the heavenly doctrines more audibly than thunder! O expression, which pervaded all things more swiftly than lightning! *Thy knowledge has become wonderful through me*. Let everyone say to John, as to one like unto God, who finished the breadth of the earth with his preaching, who walked in the traces of the abyss of wisdom with the thoughts of his soul; by whom the gates of hell were destroyed by the fullness of the divine voice, and the sun of orthodoxy has arisen; by whom the wisdom of the world has been made foolish, and the ends [of the earth] have been filled with theosophy, with the orators and sophists trodden underfoot, while John’s theology reigned supreme. But I know not what I should say that is worthy of such high apostolic magnitude, unless I should rather yield to those who celebrated his sacred praises with divine mouths before me. A
10. But what does that signify? *Jesus, therefore, when He saw His mother and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, saith to His mother: Woman, behold thy son. Then He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour that disciple took her into his own.* And in another chapter again: *Who also leaned back at the supper upon His breast, and said: Lord, who is it that betrayeth thee?* These are, as it were, peculiar attributes to the Theologian, some kind of royal marriage-gifts; that, I say, he should have been loved by Jesus above the other disciples by privilege; and that he should have reclined upon that most pure breast; and finally that he should have been called the son of the Theotokos. How B fearful are these three! For one excels the other, and each one, as separately excellent, drives the sense of my mind into stupor. Andrew was called first among the disciples; yet he did not call himself the beloved of Jesus as this man did. Peter is the prince of the apostles; and yet even he did not obtain an appellation of this kind. The Godhead is immune to affections. Christ sheds the ray of love to all equally. Furthermore: if Peter loves more than all, as he himself confessed when asked, and Christ confirmed the confession by that triple interrogation and response, and as a reward for that confession he received the office of feeding others, and perhaps he also owed a greater return of love, by a reflected and reciprocal office. C But I believe that the excellence of virginity was the cause. Why? Because, of course, although the ray of light fell in equal portions upon those mirrors (for all the apostles were pure, as Scripture says), yet on account of the brilliance of virginity, it enters more clearly into one than into those of equal rank; even if the D word is somehow paradoxical; and this is more towards love, that
A a more brilliant light illuminates the clearer recipient. And if it is held that Peter is preferred because he loves more, I must say this: it is not that the body which has approached the light is more illuminated, but that which has a clearer nature, even if it does not possess it as closely. And if to you the argument still seems weak, the hand that inflicted the wound will also heal it. Hence the reclining upon the breast. Oh, the excellence of that dignity! The Cherubim are the vehicle of God, and John is the reclined upon the breast. Moses barely saw the back parts of God, and that only after having asked; and John, of his own volition, remains before Him, and asks those very things. Peter, the leader, did not dare to, yielding the second place to himself, in his preference for John. If you examine both contemplations, you will know how great and what manner of thing is the preeminent dignity of John. Hence, it seems to me that, as from some fountain of life, he drew the divinely-bursting waters of wisdom, and from these, from his living womb, he produced the rivers of theology. But we must return to the cross.
11. Behold, He says, thy son; then to the disciple, Behold thy mother. Oh, the wonder of the gift! That a servant, on account of surpassing purity, should be called son of the Lady, and be appointed guardian of the treasure-house of life! He, indeed, withdraws through his passion from her who brought forth without passion—that is, with integrity unharmed—but this one, in the manner of a servant, receives her into his own; the virgin receives the Virgin, the branch the vine-bringer, the soldier the Queen, the theologian the Theotokos, he who is brother by grace [receives] her who is mother of God by nature. See the harmony of the appropriate calling, and praise beyond measure the convergence. B Would not this one thing alone be sufficient to obscure all excellence of praise with which one might pursue the theologian, even if all other praise were lacking? And if, together with the sublimity of the things said above, those which followed also shine, who could gaze upon the height inaccessible to sight? So, indeed, he is above every faculty of praising, such that he should be honored only by the commendation of God (although this seems bolder to say); he from whom he also obtains that prerogative of love, and from whom he is crowned with praises by that appellation of light and thunder and similar things. C Since these things are thus, and after the pure gathering of flowers has reached its end, as far as it was possible for us, the poor in speech, to gather, come let us also conclude the discourse here, repaying great things for small. Adding this to what has been said, that it would be no small prize for his honor—and the most awesome revelation which, having been confined in Patmos on account of the word by him who ruled at that time, he gave forth, having been instructed by God; and this, from the superabundance of love, he received as a privilege apart from the others. They say that he, after those sacred circuits and the evangelical summary of the ends [of the earth], somewhere here in the middle towards the Asian land, in which he had rather established D the teaching throne...
that he had deposited his sacred body, and that the sepulcher was placed as a kind of figure of death; yet he himself was translated above the condition of human nature, so that in this way also God might bestow special honors upon His lover. And the body was indeed maintained as such—pure and sweetly fragrant, bearing the stigmata of Christ—but the soul, truly brighter than the splendors of the sun, flying away from human things, passed with the accompanying choirs of angels to the place that befitted it, that place of ineffable and first-shining joy.
12. But O most blessed, and thrice-blessed, and all-blessed B John, great sun of the Gospel, perennial fountain of theology, branch of the apostles, equal to Peter: look down upon us kindly from heaven, [and see] how great is the gloom of these things below. Altars crowned with divine images have been destroyed, the beauty of sacred temples has been taken away; the icon of Christ has been insulted, and has been brought to nothing in cities, in the country, and in homes; and furthermore even [the icons] of the Mother of God, and of any other person such as you, and of those holy men lesser than you who were inspired by God. Everything is full of lamentation. Take Peter, and take with you James, we pray; you three are always the companions of Christ—when He was transfigured, when He performed many miracles, when He poured forth prayers in His agony—as you are already more mystical than the other colleagues and disciples, and taught in divine things; do you yourselves, and now with the rest of the venerable company, render the holy Trinity propitious to us, so that Christ may rebuke this wicked sea, C as He once did at Tiberias, so that with peace, which grants tranquility, arising in turn, He may lead back His own churches to that ancient and pleasing beauty of Orthodoxy. But as for me in my rashness, O blessed one, be propitious to me, who ought to have praised you but did not; and may you deign to accept those who have raised this temple to you so ornately and so sumptuously, in which many also have left their bodies in the vestibules, after the manner of monks, so that here, lying down, they might be turned toward your splendid and heavenly tabernacle; desiring only to see you, with the whole flock, according to the measure of dignity, as much as is granted to those who look from the earth toward the sun itself: in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is due all glory, honor, and adoration, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and D always and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
two [orations] on Virgins, Greek and Latin, of which one is inserted in his Life, chapters 65-73, and another appeared with the Damascenic writings in Basel, in the year 1575. V. On the third finding of the head of St. John the Baptist, Greek and Latin, by Combefis and Du Cange. VI. On the holy apostle Bartholomew. In Latin only, in D’Achery’s *Spicilegium*, new edition, vol. II, p. 12. Allatius also saw this in Greek, beginning: Μέγιστος ἀγών, προσθήσω δ' ἔτι, καὶ κλέος, and he was about to publish it in the sixth book of his *Symmicta*, according to Fabricius, *B. G.*, old edition, vol. XIV, p. 123. It has not yet come to my attention, although I scarcely doubt that it lies hidden among the Vallicellian or Barberini papers of Allatius. VII. Epitaphic oration on his master Plato, Greek and Latin, in the Bollandists, vol. I, April, Appendix, p. 46. VIII. Also an epitaphic oration on the great Arsenius, Greek and Latin, in the same Bollandists, vol. IV, July 19th. IX. Likewise an epitaphic oration on his mother, which exists unpublished in Greek in the Metaphrast codex in Paris. Finally, others unpublished in the Paris codices regarding the finding of the head of St. John the Baptist, according to Fabricius, *B. G.*, new edition, vol. X, p. 472, from whom the information regarding the former ones was also gathered. And this is effectively the Panegyric volume for the feast days of the Lord, and also of the Mother of God, and of St. John the Baptist, which the monk Michael mentions among the writings of Studites in his Life, chapter 38, which we have in print. I omit mentioning the lesser Sermons of the double catechesis, that is, the greater or the lesser, of which Livineius published 135 in Latin, and Fabricius published one in Greek, *B. G.*, new edition, p. 470; the author of the *Catalogus codicum Nanianorum*, p. 164, also [published] three in Greek. Among the Works of Theodore, which Sirmond seemed to be preparing for the press, in the last place in the index after the preface I see mentioned a fragment, *Confessio de Trinitate*. In reality, the fragment beginning: Μίαν εἶναι τῶν ὅλων ἀρχήν, is read under the name of Theodore in Vatican codex 620, and Ottoboni Vatican 414. But in Vatican 2026, it is inscribed to Theodoret. The same variety of names occurs also in the Florentine codices, as Bandini observes in *Catalogus codicum Græcorum*, vol. I, p. 525. But in truth, that fragment is nothing other than, as I have discovered, a compendium patched together from the fifth book of Theodoret’s *Haereticarum Fabularum*.
NOTICE REGARDING THE FOLLOWING ORATION
(Angelo Mai, loc. cit., p. 148.)I had said above that I desired the Greek text of the panegyric Oration which our Studites had delivered regarding the holy apostle Bartholomew. But observe, I afterwards found this oration in Greek in the ancient codex Vatican 1989, f. 238, which belonged to the monastery of Grottaferrata, although it is mutilated by one folio at the end: because this was not to be omitted for the completion of my edition, it is now placed at the end of this volume. D’Achery had long ago published it in Latin, translated, indeed, by Anastasius the Librarian, in *Spicilegium*, new edition, vol. II, p. 123, and Combefis had repeated it in *B. C.*, vol. VII, p. 755. I, however, read this very Latin text in the Latin Vatican codex 1195, f. 268, and compared it not without some benefit. Certainly, neither his skill in the Greek language recommends Anastasius sufficiently, nor does his Latinity delight readers. For this reason, now that the Greek text has been found, a new translation had to be ensured, both because of the aforementioned shortcomings of Anastasius and because variant readings of the Greek exemplar occurred repeatedly. Regarding our Studites, Anastasius speaks thus honorably in the preceding epistle: "If you ask who is considered the expositor of such a great sermon, I will willingly disclose it. Theodore, namely, a certain priest, was in the city of Constantinople during the times of Adrian and Leo, the Roman pontiffs, a man truly most marvelous, who was powerful not only in the constancy of faith, but also in the grace of knowledge and the virtues of signs, having been constituted abbot of two imperial and distinguished monasteries, namely, the Studium and the Saccudion. He, always remaining in communion with the apostolic see, repressed the ravings of heretics and the madness of emperors with the constancy of his faith, even when afflicted by torments; and furthermore, full of the grace of the Holy Spirit, he composed some short works, among which [is] this sermon on the blessed Bartholomew, quite useful, which he published in Greek diction, which is called by the Greek term ἐγκώμιον, which in Latin is expressed as *præconium*, or praise. Which, having been faithfully translated into a knowledge of Latin, etc." Anastasius therefore truly wished to interpret it, but how well he succeeded, those will know who now wish to compare the Greek text with his Latinity, or at least have read our observations. Finally, that Anastasius accuses Theodore of obscurity, although he part ly accuses him rightly, yet he himself is often much more obscure and a more unpolished interpreter.
Now, as it pertains to the prodigious translation of the relics from Armenia to Lipari across the waves of the Euxine and Aegean [seas], it is certainly depicted with such colors of miracle that it can with difficulty induce belief; regarding which matter Tillemont writes prudently in *Mémoires*, vol. I, p. 381, and also in the notes, p. 649. Furthermore, Baronius himself, having spoken of the same matter in his *Martyrologium* for the day of August 25th, concludes: "Let the reader approve all things in such a way that he holds to what is good." This narrative is otherwise famous in the Greek menaia, histories, and panegyrics; yet it was not drawn from Studites alone: for Studites himself derived it from an older source. For behold, this story, even if not adorned with so many trappings, is read in the esteemed author S. Gregory of Tours, a man of the sixth century, in *De miraculis martyrum*, book 1, chapter 33, whose words it is worth while to recite: "The history narrates the passion of the apostle Bartholomew, who suffered in India. After the space of many years from his passion, when persecution had come again to the Christians, and the gentiles saw all the people running to his sepulcher, and bringing to him prayers assiduously and incense, they, lured by envy, took away his body, and placing it in a leaden sarcophagus, threw it into the sea, saying: 'Since you shall no longer seduce our people.' But the providence of God, cooperating through the secret of his work, the leaden sarcophagus was lifted by the waters carrying it from that place, and was brought to an island, by the name of Lipari; and it was revealed to the Christians that they should collect him (the holy apostle): and having collected and buried him, they built a great temple over him. In which now, being invoked, he shows himself to be of use to many peoples with virtues and benefits."
Praise of our Holy Father and Confessor Theodore the Studite, for the Glorious and Holy Apostle of Christ, Bartholomew.
A 1. It is a very great struggle, and I would add, glory, to weave praises for any one of the saints; for since the witness ought to be greater than the one to whom he gives testimony, every speaker here is inferior to him who possesses a beatitude made blameless by the end of his life. But to praise an apostle, and one of the illustrious ones at that, how much labor it requires, so that the spirit may be lifted up by contemplations and applaud with worthy voices! For the sound of him went out into all the earth, so that by the power of his words, it reached even to the ends; thus it is reasonable that his praise should be heard with equal force. And who is adequate for these things; who is hopeful; who is strong? Is it because he is not Peter, nor is he John, that the divine Bartholomew is to be celebrated meagerly, and not rather honored with great praise? You hear that he is a disciple of Christ, and do you not tremble at him who steps forward? You know him to be a witness of the truth, and are you not awestruck at him who is being sung? And yet, even if he was one of many, he nevertheless excels in praise among the servants of God. Is it not because he is the midpoint in the divine number of twelve, and shines B as the sun among the luminaries of the world? For this number twelve is, in itself, like a harmonious lyre, sending forth the sound of theology, equal and similar from both sides. Or if you prefer, it is like the annual cycle, in which the utility of each month contributes equally to the whole, even if one differs from another in its own specific quantity and quality. Our praised one is not small, but sublime in the virtue of the Spirit; having also a certain mystical meaning in the very counting of it, according to the rule of arithmetic. For the number six alone, from the unit, is perfect in its own parts by which it is completed, with its half, the triad, and its third, the duad, and its sixth, the monad.
C 2. But if, according to the enumeration in the Acts of the Apostles, we should place him seventh, he is again an origin and a vertex of the second hexad; from which it may be inferred that he has a relation to Peter: for as in the first hexad, the beginning has a relation to the end; so in the latter hexad, Bartholomew is the summit of those who are numbered after him. And observe, beloved. Peter disciples the nations; but Bartholomew, walking the same path, D performs the same. Peter's feet are beautiful, [bearing] the good [things...]
of him who brings good tidings, but Bartholomew's steps are equally sublime, [he who] speaks of God. Peter performs great wonders; but Bartholomew likewise works rapid miracles. Peter is crucified; but Bartholomew, suffering similar reprisals, is beheaded. As much as Peter does, so much Bartholomew effects. Into as many mysteries as Peter enters, into so many Bartholomew delves. He ascends the mountain of theology equally; he founds the Church equally; he possesses the other divine charisms in equal measure. Come, therefore, be propitious, and become one who brings forth [fruit] of the word, O blessed one; clear my stammering tongue; give me the pretexts for the praises of your greatness—not that you yourself might gain anything, possessing from within the fullness of beatitudes, but that the longing of him who gave the command might be fulfilled, and that I, your most impoverished child, might enjoy your fatherly prayer, while [I] compile the praise of your [glory]; for it is not possible that one who directs the gaze of his eyes to the splendors of the solar ray should remain without a share of the light. B
3. Accordingly, as one of the apostles had taken from one part and another from another part of the world for the proclamation of the knowledge of God, and all having shared the whole among themselves, they appeared as truly generals, and are established as princes of the universal king, Christ. For "You shall appoint them as princes over all the earth," the Scripture declared [Ps. XLIV, 17]. To him who is thus celebrated, there fell as his portion and lot the region of Armenia, from Evilath unto Gabaoth, bounded by many nations and cities. Therefore, I deem that the Lord, when sending him, spoke mystically to him thus: "Go, O disciple, to the preaching; set out for war; advance toward dangers. Take thought for my creature, for whose sake, having had compassion, I became man, and for whom I chose the ignominious death. I have completed the work of the Father, having become the first witness of the truth. It is for you to supply what is lacking of my deficiencies, performing [them] according to my likeness. Imitate your teacher; emulate the passions of your Master; pay back blood with blood; render flesh for flesh; whatever things I have endured, having suffered in return, show in yourself the clear features of my character. Let your weapons be philanthropy among the inhuman, gentleness among the revilers, long-suffering among the killers; having become as a sheep in the midst of wolves, as a soldier sharpened by bravery." The Apostle did not disobey, did not say: "How shall the lamb overcome the wolves, one against thousands, a stranger *to* the rulers of the cities, C
A a man of the kings with only a single tunic? But like a faithful servant obedient to the Master's command, he departs rejoicing, carrying nothing with him save only the precious name of Christ, in place of every armor.
4. Therefore, having arrived at the region allotted to him, our discourse shall relate how much he did there and how much he bore, partly from ancient tradition and partly according to the analogy of the Gospel commandments. For if he was the light of the world, it is clear that he wrought the works of light among those in darkness; and if he was the salt of the earth, it is certain that he cleansed the irrational nations by seasoning them with salt; and if he was called a laborer, it follows that he accomplished a spiritual husbandry. And what has been said commonly, it is most reasonable to take as applying to each individual person. B Therefore, behold him by allegory: at one time laboring, not the earth with iron dragged by oxen, but with the plowshare of the tongue turning the rational fields, by the yoke, evidently, of contemplation and action; neither sowing anything perishable or corruptible, but setting the word of faith into the depths of the heart. At another time, planting gardens and vineyards of the Lord—those who, by the reception of the word, have already made progress toward better things, and from their newness of life have been given over to bearing fruit in due time. And at other times acting as a physician and providing suitable remedies as you may wish, whatever they might be: giving sight to the blind, cleansing the lepers, driving away fevers, C providing easy movement to the lame, hearing to the deaf, and restoring the manifold and painful forms of other diseases to their natural health with incorruptible cures. Moreover, taking on the pastoral form, caring for the flock for God, by guiding, recalling, tending, defending, and warding off the beasts of heresies and the throngs of demons. All that is in their midst he waters unceasingly, leads those being added to the stature of Christ by the hand, plucks out the intellectual thorns, burns up the whole of impiety, sets up dogmatic stakes, surrounds them with didactic hedges, and sees to whatever else is needful. The same is also a builder and architect of a building and structure not made by hand—I mean of the temples of the Lord, which are built in spirit D and in truth, and are perfected into an excellent people, zealous for good works.
5. Consider for me the cities and the habitations which the headlong seducer of the people once held in unbelief; contemplate these, I say, fortified as if by towers through the knowledge of God, and easily repelling the ambushes of the adversaries: the fields flourishing with corn, the vineyards darkening with clusters, the gardens blossoming, and those who were sick with every disease and every infirmity healed. Such are the things of the Apostle.
A ...as one might say, the first-fruits and the tribute of the Apostle, such and so great were the struggles, the sweats, the labors; and these in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, in insults and revilings, in prisons and bonds, in persecutions and abductions from place to place, from city to city, from theater to theater, in torments and tortures, and finally in slaughter and the sword. For by those whom it behooved to recompense the teacher, the savior, the physician with good things, by them, on the contrary, he is required to pay with torments; they trample him with their feet, they strike, they beat, they punish, they flay him. What do they not say? What do they not devise? What do they not threaten? What do they not attempt in order to cause more bitter and more vexatious harm? Oh the cruelty! Oh the bestial madness! What rewards did they bring to the physician by those who had recovered their sight, who had listened, who had been built up, who had been set in order? Instead of honor, ignominy; instead of blessing, cursing; instead of gifts, punishments; instead of a restful life, the most bitter death. For they say that after enduring many and incurable torments, he was flayed by the impious in the manner of a wineskin; and was afterward buried by the believers, so that even after death the great herald of God might appear as a guardian. For not even after he departed from here did he neglect his persecutors, but like a good shepherd, as long as there was time, he invited the lost by his miraculous works, and drew to himself by wonders those who had turned away. But nothing placates or reconciles a beastly mind and a pitiless heart once it has fallen into the depths of wickedness.
B 6. For what is next? They rage against that sacred body; they vent their fury against the healing ark. The sick cast away the dispensary, the blind the guide, those short-sighted the light-giver, the shipwrecked the pilot, the dying the life-giver. And how is this? They cast it into the sea, so that there might be no one who could benefit from him. For such is the vice of the envious, that they are willing to suffer their own voluntary destruction if they can but hinder the salvation of others. But He who cried out long ago through David: "Thy way is in the sea, and Thy paths in the great waters, and Thy footsteps will not be known" (Ps. LXXVI, 20), has here made the liquid element passable for the ark. And the great Peter was seen walking on the sea when Christ called him to Himself (Matt. XIV, 28); the divine Bartholomew is shown here walking on the waves with his relic-bearing ark. O what a miracle! O what a great wonder! For the ark, setting out from the lands of Armenia with four others C martyred for similar miracles, and having been cast out and plowing through the same sea, with these four preceding and as it were rendering service to the Apostle, having passed by Sicily, arrived at the island named Lipari, and were revealed in a vision to Agatho, the most holy bishop of that place. Who has ever heard of such a miracle? To whom could one make such a request?
A A miracle is heaped upon a miracle. For the island—praying in a manner fitting to its name—cries out to him, perhaps, as is credible, with silent voices: "Come to me, who am poor, O rich treasure of the All-Holy Spirit; come to me, who am needy, O precious pearl; come to me, who am a supplicant, O you who have been most unfairly driven out by others. Dwell with me, and I shall abound in inhabitants; protect my cities, and I shall abound in the multitude of my people; inscribe your name upon me, and I shall be celebrated throughout the world. Others have cast you out, O luminary, but I, being in darkness, yearn for your light; others have enjoyed the table of your living words, but I, like a little dog, long to pick up the crumbs of your relics."
7. The Apostle, for his part, sent others of the martyrs to one place and another as if they were his bodyguards, appointing Papinus by name to the city of Mela in Sicily, and named Lucian to Messina; the other two he destined for the shores of Calabria—Gregory to the city of Columna, and Acacius to the place called Cala—so that each might be in his own town B a protector of its inhabitants, who indeed shine forth with favors even to this day. Bartholomew himself, however, like a king who has attained peace in his own residence, drew near to the city that called him; he was received magnificently, with many torches, sweet perfumes, and hymns, as all the citizens there encountered him in exultation. Yet the ark would proceed no further; for although they pulled it, it remained immovable. Joy succeeded sorrow; the people were in anxiety. But they obtained the desired outcome; for "the Lord is nigh unto them that call upon him." Therefore, being taken up by two chaste heifers, it was deposited where his holy temple was immediately built. Scarcely had it been completed when a huge miracle occurred. C For since Vulcan, as they call it, being almost contiguous to the island, was a source of damage to the inhabitants, it withdrew by an invisible departure, as if dragged away, for seven stades into the sea; and that miracle is proclaimed to this day by that pull, just like the current of a river.
8. As for the things that followed, and how great they are, which he performed or continues to perform by showing wonders to those who come in faith to this day, entangled in diverse diseases and infirmities—it is not necessary for us to recount them, both because of the length of the D narrative, and because it is not incredible to the hearer, since the exhibition of one gives confirmation of the others that were wonderfully brought to pass. But hail, O blessed one among the blessed...
thrice-blessed Bartholomew. A Hail, God-like imitator of the good Teacher. Hail, God-bright adornment of the holy Church. Hail, most melodious instrument of the Spirit’s melody. Hail, spreading and sweet-fruited branch of Christ’s living and Father-tended vine. Hail, worthy minister of the Master of all. Hail, much-desired friend of the heavenly Bridegroom. Hail, wise-flowing and well-watered river of the spiritual paradise. Hail, fisherman of rational fish, skilled in your catch. Hail, divinely-powerful wounder of the devil who plundered the world. Hail, most artful orator of the true wisdom. Hail, manifold and world-manifesting star of morning of theology. B Hail, God-manifest and fire-like pillar of orthodoxy. Hail, you who walked upon the sea from East to West, paradoxically. Hail, most brilliant sun of the inhabited world. Hail, many-tongued mouth of divine wisdom. Hail, ever-flowing fountain of healings. Hail, most fearful chaser of demons. Hail, the most-desirable ornament of Armenia. Hail, the saluted and much-venerated boast of Lipari. Hail, you who sanctified the sea by your walking upon it. Hail, you who dyed the earth purple with the redness of your all-holy blood. Hail, you who scented the air with your God-inspired divine discourses. Hail, you who went to heaven and, as a mid-choir leader of the co-equal host, shine forth in the brightness of inaccessible glory, in the insatiable joy of exultation. Do you look down upon us from there most kindly; from there, bless those who call you blessed; from there, glorify those who sing your praises; C from there, grant harmony to the world and keep it in peace; let priests be clothed in righteousness and holiness; let kings be armed with good works in orthodoxy against the barbarians; let those who hold the monastic life preserve the angelic conversation, unbought and pure; let men toward women, and conversely, observe the due law; let fathers toward sons, masters toward servants, rulers toward the ruled, lenders toward debtors, buyers toward sellers, in all things provide for the common welfare with the perfection of benevolence, and serve those things due through the good pleasure of God; and indeed, [protect them all] for the sake of the nurslings of beautiful Lipari, for the shepherd and the flock, for him who built your holy temple, and for him who has praised you, albeit very briefly; in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is due all glory, honor, and adoration, with the omnipotent Father and the holy and life-giving Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen. D
XI. Funeral Oration by our Holy Father and Confessor Theodore, Abbot of the Studites, for Plato, his spiritual father.
A
PROLOGUE
1. Orators and sophists devote all their zeal, not to attaining the truth when they set themselves to write, but to embellishing their style, trimming their composition, and from this point of departure lifting up their narrative to titillate their listeners. For they beguile them with elegant phrasing and deceive them with specious arguments, caring little for the truth, inasmuch as they are fame-hungry and enslaved to human approval. But those who possess a love of truth aim to say what is, and to advocate for what is true, even if their discourse lacks polish and fluency; for since they yearn for the beauty of truth, they disdain as mere screens those phrases that others find pleasing—which is the truly wise discovery. In this manner, therefore, I too, slight in intellect, diction, and spirit, shall praise my Father; not to curry favor with him, for what grace would there be for one who takes no pleasure in things here, having already attained the supernal lot, everyone who attains which mocks the present life, as having nothing in it that is stable or blessed, but which passes by like shadows and withers like spring flowers? Moreover, if, while he was still on earth, he considered himself unworthy to be counted even among the common run of monks—which was a sign of his extreme humility and an excellent proof of that holy soul—how, having departed from here and having come to those incorruptible regions, where there is no desire for empty glory, could he seek such a thing through our praises? B C 2. But because it is a duty for me, if for anyone else most justly, as one who owes it alongside others, and because of the faculty of speech that I have through his toils and care—as a sort of repayment—to dedicate this discourse to my Father; even while considering that paternal praise reflects back on the glory of the son, according to the words of the Wise One: "The glory of a man is from the honor of his father" (Eccli. III, 13). Not that for this reason, as someone might think I am about to praise him, knowing furthermore that each man, if he possesses nobility from within himself, would be more noble when gathering glory from his father as well; but if not, the paternal honor profits nothing for the one who is inglorious and unhonored in himself, such as I seem to be. Yet it is not right to hide his life, lived in such virtue, under the bushel of silence like some lamp that is ever-bright, but rather [to place it] on the rational lampstand, shining forth, I dare say, not for just one or another, but for nearly all those who are in the Church of God. Since, therefore, the argument has been shown to be profitable to us and a matter of duty, possessing in addition to truth and
utility, come, let us begin the laudation from that point from which it is most especially fitting to make our beginning.
ORATIO XI. LAUDATIO S. PLATONIS HEGUMENI.
CHAPTER FIRST.
A 3. The parents of the blessed Plato were Sergius and Euphemia, and their lineage was illustrious, nor were their ways less noble; for, conducting themselves with most excellent habits and managing their domestic affairs with prudence, they increased what they possessed beyond most others, even to the point of arousing the envy of their kinsmen. Nevertheless, above other praises, the happiness of their begetting of children deserves to be singled out, in that they brought forth, as a brilliant shoot, him whom we now praise, along with two daughters who were also far from inglorious (for many noble things could be said of them as well), of whom one indeed lived commendably in the secular life, while the other, from whom we were born, shone forth also in the monastic order. Furthermore, a certain divine wrath at that time (for the matter itself prompts us to speak of this, since it brought about a mortality that was most universal) fell not merely upon a few other places and cities, but passed from one to another like an Egyptian scourge, afflicting the royal city of Byzantium most of all. In this city, the aforementioned and ever-to-be-remembered couple also ended their lives. How this came to pass, it is worth explaining; for the account of this matter is of such a kind that it might strike souls with a salutary fear, if they receive it with prudence.
B 4. Suddenly there was seen upon the garments of each individual, in an oily stain, the sign of the life-giving cross branded on, as if by a skilled hand, or rather, formed from above by the finger of God and higher still. Those who were seized by it were struck with terror, and death followed immediately after them; on that same day, he who had carried out the dead was himself carried out dead. It was possible to see two on the same bier, C four carried upon a single beast of burden, and heaps of other wretched corpses. Lamentations and wailings were heard ringing out everywhere; the corpse-bearers grew weary, the undertakers grew scarce, houses were shuttered, streets were emptied, and cemeteries were filled; so that within the space of two months, the most populous and crowded city appeared almost deserted and uncultivated. This happened in the days of Constantine, the impious emperor—that man, I say, that wicked impostor, by whom the image of Christ was insulted, D
or rather, Christ our God Himself was insulted, since the honor paid to the image ascends to the prototype, just as the God-inspired Basil says somewhere in this regard. This was indeed, as one might say, the most just rod of God, chastising those who sinned, in a way that, through His wrath, corrects our immense wickedness and makes a path to salvation for those who accept the correction with composure. But let my discourse return to our Father. D
5. He was left, therefore, bereft of his parents together with his siblings while still a young child; and having been taken in by one of his relatives and brought to a mature age, he flourished at once, like a vigorous shoot, with a youthful bloom of excellent understanding—which is something difficult to achieve for those led by orphanage, not having one like a parent to oversee them. He bore fruit, by his own application and zeal, in a proficiency in the notarial profession such as a person educated with paternal solicitude could barely have attained. Then, providing services to the aforementioned guardian of his, who was in charge of weighing the royal coin, he managed that matter so deftly that the latter supposedly held only the name of the office, while he was known to do the work; and on this account, he came to be illustrious in the imperial treasury, dear to the high officials, and known even to the Caesar himself. B
6. Being such, he did not surrender his mind to the unbridled desires of youth (as some of the more petulant of his own accord might do), but being his own best tamer, he refrained from the company of the foolish and joined himself to the educated; attaching himself to the more honorable, and not to the less honorable; to those older in years, and not to his juniors; and by these very external honors, he fostered, in a way, his innate nobility of soul toward greater things. C He did not yield himself to carousers and drinking companions for equal draughts, as young men are wont to do at banquets; nor did he squander his substance on gambling and wine, as spendthrifts do; but, attending to the public scales, he gathered riches for himself by continuous labor, and indeed so many that to his most ample paternal inheritance he added no small amount of other wealth. This could not have happened in any way had he not maintained temperance in all things, through which he adorned himself with continence as a lover of honesty, and instructed himself in prudence to be affable to all, casting far away youthful pleasures—to which those who indulge not only fail to acquire what they lack, but are accustomed to squander even what they have. D
7. What then? He became so distinguished in his understanding, and so capable in the practical matters of life (which is highly regarded by those who live in the world and who wish to properly marry off their daughters), that he was invited from all sides.
A But the divine love, which he had kindled in himself through a superior judgment, did not permit him to remain mired in the quagmires of worldly life. For he was attentive to readings instead of games, haunting churches instead of theaters, and frequenting places of spiritual gravity instead of shameless taverns; and what is even more praiseworthy, he made confession of the hidden impulses and movements of his mind to one of the leaders. This served as a symbol of his love for God, and it struck the mind of the one receiving the confession with wonder, as it was becoming perfecting.
B 8. When, therefore, he had lifted the eye of his understanding toward the contemplation of eternal things, and had been winged by the love for them, he extinguished earthly desire, playing the part of the divine Antony, that marvelous man. For, having sold everything even to his paternal home, and having distributed it to the poor, and having set his servants free, and having left but a small portion for his two sisters, he departed in an Abrahamic resolve—not to go to nearby villages to practice asceticism, but fleeing far away, into the regions of Olympus, to the place and man pointed out to him by one of the archimandrites in the city. The man was named Theoctistus, a person of good character, illustrious birth, and a holy end, and the place was called Symbola. But what sort of departure from his fatherland it was! It is worthy of my memory, and for those who hear it, it provides a medicinal draught of compunction. For, having set off from his country with one most beloved servant and having arrived at the place called "the Kings," C he entered a certain cave and offered his hair to be shorn by his companion; then he donned the somber robe as if it were a purple garment. And how great the spectacle was! The one was to go away, ordered to return home with the discarded clothes, and, as was natural, was bathed in tears, grieving to be deprived of his master; but the other remained entirely alone with God, for whom the whole drama was being performed. Such is divine love: it strips the lover of all things and draws all his burning longing toward itself alone.
Chapter II. Monastic life, exercises of the virtues.
9. D When he had gone to the master and was asked who he was, whence he had come, and for what purpose his journey was undertaken, he gave pious answers to each of the questions. And when the elder had learned of his country, his family, and his upbringing, he said: "You are not yet able, in this position of the place, which is not a little rugged, to sustain the monastic labor." To whom the champion of Christ replied: "Everything, Father, I surrender
A to you—mind, will, and body; use your servant as you will, for I yield to you in all things." O marvelous proof of resolve, and even more marvelous argument for renunciation! Of the first, that in the very flower of his age, with circumstances flowing in his favor, with the best hopes of greater things laid before him, with wealth abounding, with glory shining around him, with his body in its prime, and with these things accompanied by the freedom of his own will, he nevertheless held the desire for God as superior to all of them. Of the second, that although he had taken counsel so excellently, he established his renunciation not hypocritically—as do the many of the present time, or more properly speaking, as those who renounce without renouncing—but as the true word has shown. For some, I know not how, have forgotten what the Lord says: *Whoever does not renounce all that he possesses, cannot be my disciple*; and what he commands elsewhere: *Sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me*. Neglecting these, I say, they build temples and monasteries for themselves, then, having embraced the monastic profession, they rule over their own properties, dragging slaves and various materials after them; yesterday novices, and today abbots; yesterday not even fit to be ruled prudently themselves, today presuming to rule others ignorantly. To these, it is not their virtue that has brought prelacy, but the usurpation of their own resources. Although they ought to have spent many years learning how to obey one who commands, so as to ascend to the rule over others, they cast themselves prematurely into the danger of the latter before they have learned the former, and they make those who are under them such as they are themselves. But he, B after having truly renounced the world, showed that his obedience was by no means feigned; for the former precedes the latter, just as lightning precedes thunder, and the morning star precedes the rising sun. For he who has renounced the world well, it is clear that he will also obey well; but he who has walked crookedly in the one, will most certainly limp in the other.
10. There are, then, many exercises according to virtue: the wasting away of self-restraint, the wakefulness of vigils, the pouring out of tears, the winging of prayer, the hardship of sleeping on the ground, the cheapness of clothing, the work of the hands, the frequency of genuflections, the meditation on death, the intensity of psalmody, the perseverance of standing. Yet, to one who is under authority, nothing is as necessary as the struggle of confession and the accomplishment of obedience, by which the soul is illuminated, the will is deadened, and a complete union is C achieved between him who is born spiritually and him who begets. For he who does not prefer these things above all others becomes unstable toward obedience, and through that by which he seems to obtain salvation, he undergoes the ruin of deception. For temperance and vigilance, and any other of the aforementioned accomplishments, one might concede to be praiseworthy in themselves, but they would not be profitable; rather, they are a cause of falling for one who acts according to his own will, unless they are directed by the guidance and rule D of the superior.
A Since he practices confession with obedience, he leaves secondary things to others, enclosing all things in these two.
11. This blessed man, as I do not know if anyone else has done, laid a beautiful foundation and built upon it a secure structure, surrendering every reasoning and performing everything according to obedience; and for these reasons, to speak scripturally, he was beloved in the sight of his Father. He became a diamond in endurance, skilled in ministry, shining forth in many co-struggles, from which he was not far removed in the coenobitic life, though he was privately subject in quiet to the ever-memorable Theoctistus, with one who shared his way of life. Sometimes he lived alone, and sometimes he came together with the community, in psalmodies, in sustenance, and in labors; and, so to speak, he became both common and social, and moderate in all things. For since he was noble according to the flesh, he did not become harsh when living with those more rustic; nor, because he had previously been served by domestics, did he feel aversion toward taking on the more dishonorable ministries. Therefore, he even carried dung upon his shoulders, and he was ordered to irrigate the field, and he endured grinding flour—and this while writing with great vigor and the utmost care.
12. B Do you wish to learn other prize-winning deeds of obedience from close at hand? The doer of these achievements was reproached by the Father in the presence of strangers; and, as if receiving praise, the most glorious one remained unmoved. C He read worthily in the ears of the brotherhood, and when corrected as if he had read incorrectly, the most prudent man shrank away. Hearing himself called "slave-born" in mockery, the truly noble man—noble in both soul and body—bowed his head in agreement with the Father. He was a great sufferer in handiwork and, though achieving much, he accounted himself as one who brought in nothing. The student and lover of God went about in the greatest humility; when he was sent away by the Father after falling to his knees—as if he had committed the same fault—the most admirable man was not insolent, but remained imploring for forgiveness. D He who was testing him by mocking and disparaging him grew weary; he who was rebuking him was sated with insults, while he who was procuring for himself eternal glory through such voluntary disgrace was not. Shall I say something that might seem foreign to the religious profession, yet is consonant with reason when done rightly? He was so held by the love of humiliation that he prayed and besought to be beaten with fists and slapped. And indeed he persuaded, and, having persuaded, he was struck; and when struck by someone at the command of the Father, he rejoiced as if he had received a gift. And what was happening was supernatural: the one was compelled to do what seemed improper, while the other rejoiced because of the reward. And the profit for those who saw and heard was…
no less great, in that there was one who would voluntarily suffer such things and, in this, imitate Christ.
13. A Was it then possible for such a man, and one of such stature, not to be loved and revered? And how, when he had surrendered his whole self as a son of obedience, could it be reasonable for him to be unlovable and not most dear to his begetter? Truly, he was greatly loved, as has been said; and everywhere he was celebrated for the radiance of his virtue, becoming everything to his Father: like an eye seeing on the right, a hand working, a foot walking, a good counselor, a steadfast supporter, a sweet companion, the most faithful of those within, the most vigilant guardian of those without. He showed himself at once as disciple, as brother, and—I would add—as one bestowing even the Father's gifts. He was so great in both regards that, if ever by some necessity it was required for Plato to be away, the venerable Theoctistus would be distressed, and, to speak apostolically, would have no rest for his spirit because of his beloved. B For who was more foresighted than he in providing for the future? Who more gentle in soothing and healing sorrow? Who more apt at introducing what was necessary? Who more variegated in bestowing honor? Such was he in gaining genuine goodwill, so full of authority over all that was his father's, and yet so detached that he was not even the master of a single obol. For all this, what was the end, and what the reward? It was the paternal blessing upon this spiritual Jacob, from whom come patriarchs—or rather, hierarchs and shepherds of the flock—from whom many children according to God multiply and will continue to multiply, I do not doubt, through such blessed seed. Such, in short, was Plato, a true lover of holiness, who ascended to such a degree of perfection that I could express the character of his absolute obedience only by a kind of adumbration.
14. C But after his master departed to the Lord, he himself moved into his cell and way of life, legitimately embracing solitude; not like many nowadays who approach it perilously—who, before having perfectly subjected their flesh to the spirit, dare to engage in single combat with the spirits of wickedness by themselves, beginning to exercise themselves first when it is the time of battle, and, for the sake of experience, presuming to obtain victory, which is difficult even with God's help. For he who has not first learned to obey, how shall he subject to himself the passions of the flesh that resist the spirit? And he who has not kept his obedience D pure, how shall he ascend the mountain of solitary conversation? Is it not clear that he who approaches it untimely will be stoned with stones, or pierced through with shafts, and will die a spiritual death, as the Holy Scriptures say? But not so with him of whom we speak; for by word and deed, he obeyed...
A with pleasure, as was pleasing to God, and followed it; with a timely and propitious beginning he entered upon solitude; and lifting up his mind, he drew near to God; he was gladdened by contemplations revolving around Him, traversing the heights in his soul: for there is nothing more delightful than to gaze upon God, who is entirely delight and pleasure to those who taste of His insatiable love, so that they almost come to forget even the need of food for their appetite. Thus, therefore, Plato looked out for himself for the future, passing from virtue to virtue, and setting the ascents in his heart.
Chapter III. St. Plato is placed in charge of the monastery of the Symbola; he travels to Constantinople.
B 15. But since it did not suffice merely to look after his own self, as love sought also the benefit of others, he was placed in the rank of Father, or rather as a luminary to the aforementioned brotherhood, in succession to the blessed Theoctistus, having his own guide—a community which both of them, spiritually as well as bodily, had advanced as much as possible, so that it was and is called a most holy monastery. He became the guide in a special way to two students, by whom he was served and whom he had as fellow-tablers (though not fellow-feeders), of whom one still survives by the name of Antonius, who lives with us and among us even to old age in obedience; let him be our guide here for the things that are sought. Bread, they say, was for the Father, and beans with herbs C and fruits of trees, without oil, except on Sundays and feast days, on which he was accustomed to be at the common table with the brotherhood. The drink was that which the springs yield, and with which the mind is collected, not being shed in a stream of drunkenness; and this was not even always daily, but sometimes put off beyond the day, or taken twice in a week. Sometimes also, even on only the tenth day, he would use this small or rather non-existent refreshment, on account of the utter restraint of appetite which had in a certain way passed into nature for him.
16. Clothing was cheap and of little value, and produced only for warmth, but not fashioned of fine textures, nor D adorned with dyed colors, which those who love finery, but not monks, seek after. Prayer and laborious reading were apportioned according to time, and seasoned for his nourishment in place of delicacies. The frequency of genuflections, handed down by the Fathers, was such that they induced calluses on his hands and on the very ground upon which he walked, until this present time documenting his virtue. His bedding was not soft and yielding, but such as was able to afflict the body, and powerful enough to keep it from being humbled with respect to spiritual duties. Handiwork was practiced with diligence; for this was the notable one among his accomplishments—beyond the many, if not to say all—of those things which made him illustrious; or, to speak more appropriately, to say it with the holy Apostle:
A these hands have served my needs and those who were with me, because he did not eat bread for free. For what hand traced the letters more artistically than his right hand? Or who worked at writing more studiously, since his own eagerness was such that he would fervently set his hand to whatever task presented itself? And who could count those into whose hands have come the booklets and short works written by him, collected from various holy Fathers and providing no small benefit to their possessors? Indeed, whence comes such an abundance of books to our monasteries, if not from his holy hands and labors? By studying them, we are enlightened in our souls, and we stand in wonder at such a great and significant work of script. But because our narrative has passed over some matters in haste, it is necessary to go back and report what was omitted.
B 17. At that time, the winter of impiety was at its peak—Constantine, I mean, that man impious in his reasoning, that receptacle of malice, that many-headed dragon, the captain of the iconoclastic heresy, the bitter persecutor of the monastic order. Whom among our Nazarites did he not exterminate? Whom who was hiding did he not bring out into the open? Whom who resisted him did he not drag down into the pit of impiety? So that if any of the more illustrious escaped his notice, like a spark lying in a hidden place, they were reckoned as dead by those who still lived upon the earth. Such a man was our own Elias, guarded by the Lord in the places where he exercised himself, so that he neither fell into the hands of this new Ahab nor became a partaker in his impiety; but after the passing of that nocturnal confusion, he might appear to us as a morning C star—which, as we have seen, is what came to pass. Hence, for certain necessary reasons he entered Byzantium, just as the monks who had been left behind in the city began to shine again like luminaries.
18. And because the blessed man was recognized as if living from the dead (for it was not even known to us that the brother of my mother was still surviving), his arrival became famous not only among kinsmen and acquaintances, but throughout the whole city of Byzantium, with people pulling him hither and thither, welcoming him joyfully, and receiving him kindly, desiring to enjoy his salutary teaching. For the man was most pleasant in speech, more pleasant in manner, ascetic in appearance, and manifold in his teaching, becoming, to speak apostolically, all things to all men: a temperer for those in wedlock, a defender of virgins, an exhorter for those in positions of power, a physician for the D faint of spirit; reconciling children to their fathers and fathers to their children, persuading servants to be obedient to their masters, and urging the latter to treat the former well. So that all the other things which the man of God did and said might be known, one
A I shall say, indeed, something that may inspire faith in the rest: namely, that from the time he began to have dealings with the citizens, he reformed entire families and turned them toward the cultivation of virtue. By what means, you ask? By cutting away the habit of swearing with his exhortative tongue; by restraining superfluous ornament of the body with his most elegant teaching; by impressing, through moral discourse, a love for the poor, from which came gifts of money and public distributions of alms in the places where he exercised his ministry; and, finally, by encouraging pious reading and every good work—and this he did in pressure and toil, laboring night and day, watching, hurrying to and fro, so that he might balance the comforts of hospitality received from friends and relatives with the endurance of hardships, protesting in his very deed with the Apostle: "I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps after I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway" (1 Cor. ix, 27).
B 19. He therefore raised a standard for the imperial city, having a message to which his life gave consistent testimony; so much so that from his very plain and simple attire, he was an exhorter to virtue for those who saw him. But if, because he was cultured, he sweetened his discourse somewhat so as to adapt himself to the disposition of his hearers, let the fruit be considered, and the manner shall not be blamed. And who is this fruit? The repentance of sinners and the multitude of those who were renouncing the world. For he has shown himself to be, I might almost say, the first and only one to have given wings to virtue for our own kin and those outside our kin, and to have led us toward a love of perfection. For this reason, though being earnestly asked to undertake the headship of an urban monastery, he refused entirely, nor would he comply when invited by him who was then Patriarch to govern the Church of the Nicomedians, fleeing the clerical state of which he was most worthy, and fearing the height of the hierarchy, for he embraced virtue alone. He returned, rather, to the solitude he loved, and there performed deeds worthy of memory—defending the poor, championing the unjustly oppressed, comforting the afflicted, and healing those who were burdened by whatever distress they desired; this he did either by word of mouth or by letter, for because of the reverence in which the man was held, his request was like an effective gift for bending the heart of one who had the power to show mercy.
20. This he did also by giving from the things that were at hand, while those who had good things emptied out what they possessed for the participation in the inexhaustible and eternal. If, therefore, [they]... C D
A he could, he would alleviate their grief by consolation, and by more prolonged questioning would soften the hardened heart of the sufferer. What is surprising at this, and that he himself, with the praiseworthy Job, could say these things: "I delivered the poor from the hand of the powerful, and the orphan who had no helper; the mouth of the widow blessed me, and I investigated the cause that I did not know"? For which reasons he was recognized as a father, was praised as a protector, and was blessed as a guardian, being seen, being met, and being treated as a guest by both monks and the worldly, with the fame of him running forward to places beyond those in which he practiced, and all men bringing forward Plato in their own tongues as something great and highly to be admired, of whom even future time, I know well, would not be silent, if virtue is an immortal thing. B
CAP. IV. Plato is appointed over the monastery of Sakkudion, and acts in the council for the veneration of the holy images.
21. Now there comes to our memory the Christ-bearing Irene, who reigned as her name implies, in whom, among other good things, the door was opened to everyone who wished to embrace the monastic life, though before this, under the reigning impious ones, it was no less closed than it was under the heathens for Christianity. Then our whole family renounced the world: then our most celebrated Father, after the quiet of solitude, undertook the prelacy: he undertook it, I say, neither willing nor desiring it (for how could he, who had fled the greatest offices, be held by the desire for the smallest dignities?), but softened part C by the prayers of his kinsmen (for I will say what is the case, even if it may seem a little incongruous), and partly trusting that he might be able to preserve his former quiet even in the prefecture itself: but he by no means obtained this as he had hoped; for many temptations arose for him from this head: but by whom and through whom these were stirred up, I omit to say out of respect for the persons: I only signify this, that he led a life full of troubles and most alien to his own institute and purpose.
22. But what does that truly noble and sound-counseling man do? Since he saw himself caught by the presidency, and that to flee it was not without danger, although he had often deliberated about this, like a prudent pilot D stationed in the midst of a roaring storm, he shook off all torpor of soul, and lifting up the eye of his mind on high, he began to investigate the lives of holy men, not looking at recent examples (for these are for the most part distorted and confused), but looking to the archetypal image of the apostolic life, which all those who desire to express the likeness of perfect virtue in themselves, and wish to institute their life to the likeness of the Fathers and for salvation, ought to do; this he does first, and very youthfully.
23. But for the [lives] of the great and God-bearing Basil...
A having entered, as if into paradise, and finding human custom contrary to the monastic life—in that communities were governed by [the help of] female animals and maidservants, and from this many absurdities were born, and greater spiritual injuries were suffered—see what he does. First, having used the inquiries of those who knew well, so that not even the good itself should be unexamined (for, leaning far away from self-complacency, there was nothing he did not perform through consultations), he abolished the unlawful traditions as if they were pernicious heresies, and established his own monastery without servants, without the female animal, and without any other commercial income, which the same divine Basil, calling them huckstering gains, had declared were to be avoided. This reformation was not brought about easily, but indeed with very great difficulty, both because of those living together who were inexperienced, and because of those outside who were resisting this good intention, who were not few. And B it is not to be wondered at; since it is not easy or simple to cut away a custom, nor do noble endeavors lack envy. For is it not the mark of a lofty mind to withdraw from a harmful tradition, and to set oneself as a good example for those who wish to be monastics not only in name but also in deed, and to have a work also fitting to their life? For how could a true monastic be one who creates fear of mastery in servants? Or how could that ascetic, who is served by the ministry of the female animal present with him for the contemplation of the [divine], have his sight unbewitched—where, being even outside of this, it has happened that he is caught by civil war? Therefore, the zeal touched those nearby, and those who love God from afar partook of the good, and he himself carried off the everlasting glory. But if he had another companion in counsel and labor, I mean him who says and writes these things, the grace is to be referred to the Father; for it befits a son to inherit everything from the father, and to surrender himself C entirely to be formed by his begetter.
24. Afterwards he restrains himself from the outings in the city, from the association of those who are near, from common living with princes, having his foot fixed within the spiritual courtyard; he presides over the rational flock, feeding it with the grass of doctrine, and watering it with the stream of instruction; from which what happens? Lia flourishes, the flock increases, it becomes famous, God is glorified, from whom every good thing comes to men. But what is that which, lurking in the midst of what has been said, I very nearly passed over! When the pious Irene was already reigning, and many words were being cast and
A regarding the subject of the holy icons, he spoke freely before many and with a few for the truth. He fought against the iconoclasts as much as he could, since he was not a dogmatist, but had a style of speech that was simple, yet—as his name suggests—broad and persuasive. The proof of what has been said is that, in the see of the city of the illustrious, in the council held at the Holy Apostles, he was chosen by election to be placed in that office by the one then presiding. He was neither previously terrified by the threats of those favoring the heresy, nor did he then cower before the frustration and incursion of the military order, when it rushed toward the great temple, shouting against the president and cheering for the pseudo-synod formerly held against the holy icons. B And a little later, when that assembly for the establishment of the truth was being dissolved, and the empress was departing from the midst of the lions—having been shown to be, if I may so speak, a martyr without blood—our teacher, following the high priest, feared nothing in regard to what was perpetrated. For it is a small thing to have been found a second time in the Nicene council, because that tumultuous and stubborn mob had, at that time, been scattered.
23. C Since these things were so, and the trophy of orthodoxy was fortified, the Father returned to his own monastery, occupied with his charge. And having been struck by an illness that indicated a hopelessness of life to the one smitten with desire, he transferred the governance to us—who are not even worthy of being ruled. He therefore found the desired humility; he received a cessation of his troubles; he was freed from the vexations that surrounded him, and appeared as he was before: dispassionate, unattached to possessions, and unconcerned with worldly business, with envy no longer having the opportunity to cloud the rays of his virtue. For even just men are tested, so that, through the very testing of evils, they might emerge in their souls more like gold, and walking straight, they might not slip, so that they might learn that every success comes to them from God. D [alt-version omitted]
ORATION XI. LAUDATION OF ST. PLATO THE HEGUMEN. CHAP. V.
What Plato suffered on account of his reproof of the adultery of Constantine and Theodote.
A26. We have already finished speaking of how the blessed Plato conducted his governance: wherefore let us turn the oration to that which is more famous. But here it is near that I should groan, undertaking indeed to tell the truth, yet unwilling to relate the matter as it was done, while I desire to spare those who committed it. Since, however, it is not possible to manifest otherwise those things which by no means ought to be hidden, inasmuch as they are already bruited about everywhere, I begin to describe them here; not that I may insult those who were entangled in them, but that I may proclaim the virtue of the blessed man. "Woe to thee, O land," says Scripture, "whose king is a child" (Eccl. X, 16); which indeed I once heard from the Scriptures, but now I have learned by experience itself. Constantine, the offshoot of Irene, whose faith was indeed upright from his maternal piety, but whose life was warped, having been stung by imperial insolence, since he had begun to reign at a very youthful age, shaking off at once the bridle of maternal reverence and guardianship, and scorning the law of God, repudiated the wife joined to him by lawful marriage, and committed adultery like Herod. But to what end is this history? Because our Father clearly imitated the zeal of the Forerunner; and whereas almost all were consenting to the lawlessness, he alone, so to say, with his own boys, or if you prefer, sons, remained unshaken: wherefore what and how great were the struggles that had to be undergone throughout one whole year! Rumors upon rumors, threats upon threats, of scourgings, of exiles, of mutilations.
B27. But when nothing was accomplished thereby for those things purposed by the Caesar, he moves to another way; and the drama was according to what is sung by others, but the hand that brought this about was the hand of Absalom. You know of the monks who were sent, and the letters that were written. CAnd in the end, since these too appeared vain and weak, with the Father bringing forward and sending back the things that were needed, the revelation of the imperial form took place, the mask no longer having room to appear. Woe! at the things then done by the two generals sent as if against some enemies, against the unarmed monk of Christ, and protected only by divine law. The shepherd was taken from the midst, and the sheep of the flock were scattered; some were beaten, others were sent into exile, others were persecuted, and what is more pitiable, Dthere was an imperial edict that they who were persecuted for the Lord's sake should nowhere be received; and indeed the superiors of the holy places obeyed, and rare was he who dared to provide shelter; and Christ was sleeping, for reasons known to Him, proving the love of the former in Himself, whether it would remain constant, and pitying the inhumanity of the latter, in order to provoke them to repentance.
A 28. What then of the athlete of Christ? He is voluntarily cut off from his own members and is left utterly alone, having laid down his soul for the sheep, according to the Gospel, as a true and good shepherd. He is led to the Caesar by a violent hand, and stands face to face—if it is bold to say it—like another John, the Forerunner of the Lord, except that the one moved by his own accord, while the other was moved by another. Oh, for that manly heart! He did not cringe before power, he did not yield to threats, he was not softened by coaxing—and this, even though the woman was of the same blood as Herodias, and of the same mind. But he spoke out calmly, and shamelessly confessed the word of truth. The Forerunner of the Lord said, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother Philip's wife" (Mark VI, 18). His imitator said things to the same effect to the one who had made himself like Herod; yet he was not beheaded, for the Emperor did not wish to make him a martyr—as he had indeed earlier predicted he would be, should he be ready for the final struggle—but rather showed him to be a confessor of Christ even against his own will, having shut up the treasure of truth in a cell as if he were a criminal, putting key upon key, and ordering food to be provided through a narrow hole, so that he might be seen by no one else among all the others, though he was seen by the Lord.
B 29. And what of the leaders of the monks who cooperated with the Caesar, whose names I am ashamed to mention? And the prison, that miserable royal monastery called Echecolla, and the remarkable warden who had crowned the adulterers? Woe is me! With the prophet I must cry out, "The godly man has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among men" (Micah VII, 2). For what should I say of the one who handed over the saint to the adulterer-maker to be kept in custody? Or of the man who, sent on a mission by the Emperor, presumed to judge the innocent? Or of the bishops deputed by the Caesar to make the righteous man consent by a mere word, for the sake of being released from prison and managing his own affairs according to his own will? Or of those who mocked and slandered him from outside—both kin and non-kin, those wearing the same habit and those who did not? C Oh, the absurdity! Or rather, the injury done to the truth! The adulterous-minded ones accused this noble man of delusion; those who had fallen from the sovereignty of the Lord because they acted and spoke according to the will of the Caesar falsely accused of vanity the one who was struggling for the glory of Christ. Nevertheless, the healer of Christ endured the inhuman plight of those times, looking to nothing but the truth and the reward for it; and he went through D
the time of his suffering as one resting in the inner sanctuary of a temple. For when one has God before his eyes, nothing can overcome his love for Him. B
30. A short time later, that adulterous reign expired, having been unwilling to understand that it ought to act rightly, so that even kings might learn not to violate divine laws, nor to weave together unlawful persecutions and imprisonments, however much they may be exalted by the purple. And so the faithful guardian of the Lord’s law, having donned the crown of confession, came forth from prison like a victor, receiving many accolades from many, being sung, blessed, called a martyr, even by those who had previously mocked and ridiculed him. "For even enemies know," says the Theologian, "how to admire the virtue of a brave man, when their anger has ceased and their conduct is judged in its own right," even if they have spoken otherwise until then. For when the peace-loving Irene returned to power, extolling the man and holding him in reverence for the sake of his martyric dignity, all things were transformed, as often happens in the turning of a river; and if anyone had been an enemy before, he was transformed into a friend and an admirer, to such a degree that even the jailer himself, prostrate on the ground, begged for forgiveness, C for the unfeeling stone suffered from human fragility more rapidly than he did with any new movement regarding what was being done and said.
31. But after we also had returned from our exile, and others from elsewhere, like little birds running together under wings, we provided a sight to be admired by the worshippers of piety. The members were being joined to their head, and perhaps even here one might say, if it be not too bold, what the most eloquent Isaiah says: "Lift up your eyes around and see: your children are gathered; all your sons have come from afar; then you will see and rejoice, and you will be afraid, and your heart will be amazed" (Isa. XLIX, 18). So much for him; but I for my part would add this, that the patriarch also felt reverence for the man and offered him an apology, inviting him to union; and it came to pass, with the expulsion of the one who had crowned the adulteress, both for the sake of avoiding dissension—from which the blessed man was utterly averse—and even though he might have carried off the prize of victory before all who had gathered. For what is more precious to God than concord and union, D provided that such union does not dissolve the law of God?
CAPUT VI
S. Platonis reclusio Constantinopoli: Nicephori imperatoris contra eumdem asperitas.32. But what of the matters following? Our transfer from the first monastery to the city because of the barbarian nation...
gravimus Byzantium, where our Father, most loving of virtue, chose a secluded life, lest he be compelled to resume the reins of government. But see the admirable invention of supreme humility: that the brotherhood might not remain under a double empire, he subjected himself to the yoke of obedience, a follower of the divine example, and that in the presence of witnesses gathered for this purpose. A Is it not a wonder for him to be called a son who formerly had been called father; and indeed the son of him whom he himself had begotten in the Spirit? And to be subjected to him whom he had previously commanded? And this after so many struggles endured, in which it should have sufficed for praise merely to conduct himself modestly? That admirable man did this, not feignedly or in some adulterated manner, merely leaving the name to the prelate, but altogether completely and divinely. For where there is confession, there also is confidence; and where there is confidence, there is the cutting off of the will; and where there is the cutting off of the will, there is the perfection of obedience. Witnesses to these praises are those for whose sake he asked for anything. For if he prayed for someone close to him, and obtained what was requested, he rejoiced that he had obtained it; if, in asking, he did not attain the things sought, he did not resentment being frustrated in his petition, looking to nothing else than the benefit of the one suffering, not to fulfilling his own will. B May I be allowed to exclaim with the prophetic voice: "Woe is me! my father, why did you beget me?" not ashamed to call him father, who was not worthy to be called your son. Why did you raise me to this dignity, who am not even suited for obedience? God knows, and your holy soul knows, the reason for this, and that friendship, or rather obedience, will bear more than forces endure, so that in a brief word I may put the whole excuse here.
33. But we must return to the proposed narrative.
The Father was enclosed: and the cell was most confined, and in the time of the season so hot that it seemed another Babylonian furnace because of the burning of the lead with which it was covered; but he was so far from being offended by it, that on the contrary he prayed insistently that such a rest might be reserved for him hereafter, love surely lightening the labor, and good hope extenuating the difficulty: from which two heads the virtues receive their strength. C But neither did this suffice for a man desirous of labors, but he worked insistently with those hands from which many virtues proceeded. More insistently, however, he gave himself to divine meditation, and daily struggling against the enemy and more fervently adapting himself to the utility of the Brethren, he solaced the sad, instructed the failing, raised the fallen, softened the exasperated, and conformed himself to the condition of the sufferer, an excellent doctor of souls and most skilled in curing passions. Nor will I omit that, which is surely worthy of memory, that he [wore] a sufficiently heavy iron chainabout his foot, and persevered in such labor (how burdensome it was to sleep, to be awake, and to work with such a bond, is easily apparent to anyone of sound mind), and this, not to make a show of his confinement, or to boast of it as a workshop of virtue, like that Chiron who dwelt in the Thessalian cave (for the athlete of the passions was far removed from such a vice); but rather he made light of it, as not cultivating virtue as he ought, and hid the chain with an artful humility, so that it might remain unknown to everyone that he had gone out from his cell for the sake of the Lord; he revealed it even against his will. But let this suffice for now, since the listener loves moderation, and the writer does not possess the capacity to relate matters more copiously.
34. B When the divine prelate of that time had died, a vote for the one to act as patriarch was sought, and votes were cast for many by the many, just as each was moved by friendship or by the truth. The opinion of our Father was also sought, not only by those who were eminent in the priesthood, but already by the reigning Emperor himself. What, then, was he to do, by the truth itself? Was not he who had struggled so much for the good, and who stood as a law of an upright life to all, bound to state his sentiment honestly, having in view the common good? No, say his scoffers and mockers; rather, he ought to have feigned ignorance, or let the decision rest with those who sought it. But the former would have been a lie, and the latter hypocrisy, and both are to be rejected. He therefore sent his ballot; to whom it was given, I omit to say, yet he sent it as before God, as his witness. And they received it gladly, though I know not in what manner they authenticated the document; for his part, he received back [their requests], tossing them C like one playing dice.
35. And he (since there was need for a presiding head for each of the members to perform its own task) went by night to one wearing the same habit, a kinsman of the Caesar, not fearing to go out for the sake of the common good, and having spoken what was fitting, he returned home more quickly. But when the Emperor learned of this, he was enraged, and after pausing briefly to bring his design to fruition, he carried off our Father with us, and after keeping him for twenty-four days in close custody, allowed him to return home. For what need is there to speak of how much injury he inflicted upon the Saint, or rather upon the truth itself, stirred to anger and throwing the whole community into confusion, imprisoning some and dragging others to interrogation; although in all these things he was finally vanquished and appeared worthy of laughter? But these were only certain preludes to the iniquity he was meditating, and as it were a preliminary outrage and a first taste D of his trifling and insolence. For after a short interval of time, there followed an assault of perfected malice: and this because of Joseph, that one who joined the adulterers, an evil lurking within his vitals, and a disturbance of the Church.
since we, as though from a serpent, canonically shunned his communion, threats came from the Caesar, and those who stood against him were on a razor’s edge. A 36. And how could I recount in a few syllables the multitude of terrors and struggles that were brought upon us during the space of an entire year—the fears and turnings-away, the conflicts and temptations? He who has suffered these things knows them, and he who stood near the sufferer. Finally, a military phalanx surrounded the monastery in a circle, in such a way as to allow no one even to whisper or to peer out at all; fears within, terrors without, threats being sent, and I refrain from speaking of those who were dispatched, out of respect for their order. Alas for the upheaval of the times! Almost no one is above the current; no one is there to advise what is right and to defend the things of God; it was welcome if one did not also thoroughly conspire with the anger of those in power, and what is more pitiable, of those of the same rank. In closing, that I may summarize it all, there was the nighttime abduction of Plato from the midst of the brotherhood, and after the abduction, imprisonment, and after the imprisonment, the day of the synod, and on that day, the Father was brought forward, along with three of his own, by a military hand, as if a malefactor. A pitiful sight, the elder carried because of his infirmity, brought along with the chain that he wore fettered to his foot, being passed from one back to another as if he were some expiatory sacrifice. B 37. Alas, the state of synodical order! Such is the reputation of the Christian empire! In what, I pray, do these things differ from those of the past who sat in council like brigands, or otherwise ruled for the protection of heresy? But in order that I may bypass, as if they were some trifling matters, things that occurred in the meantime and that could fill the measure of a history, exile is decreed, and our Father is confined to one of the islands near the city, just as my brother is in another one, equally most wretched, where to the discomforts of exile were added the constraints of the firmest imprisonment. O the changeability of things! Secular men were more humane than the monks, and those who heard the matter did not hesitate to pass a just judgment upon the judges themselves; for the iniquity of the judgment was manifest. I pass over that bath-house, in which he who shut up the entire brotherhood, having gathered them from the monastery by military hand and attempted to bend each one individually to his own will, was disappointed in his hopes, having perceived that those who lean upon the divine law are more powerful than his own power. C I pass over the prisons established in the monasteries, and the Hegumens themselves who were the jailers, and who were in some cases more brutal toward the prisoners than the commands required. D
A many [other] evils which were inflicted upon the captives beyond what was ordered. I pass over what happened later, when there was nothing to be heard but abductions, transfers, persecutions, inquisitions, disjunctions, relegations, threats, rages, and investigations, and proclamations resounding through the whole city, so that no brother might be hidden anywhere; to such an extent that some sought safety in the caverns of the earth for fear of the persecutors.
58. B And for what reason was all this? (For I am compelled to repeat this again out of astonishment.) It was so that he who had crowned the adulterers against the Gospel and against the example of the Forerunner, having acted as if [he were using] a useful discretion for the Church, might be acquitted and perform the sacred rites; and that those who did not accept him, according to the Gospel, might be deemed lawless and alienated from God! O bitter persecutor, you who bear the name of Christian and yet burn to trample upon the laws of Christ! Why do you rage so, o hard-hearted and most inclement one, together with your like-minded whelp? Do you not know that you are set against the unconquerable laws of God, against which none of the emperors [who came] before you has ever gained a victory? Nay, anyone who has resisted them, as you do, has fallen into manifest destruction.
59. C But oh! How was the servant of God led away? For I return to him [the subject]. Again he was being shifted and again being torn asunder and pushed by two [men], because he had no strength left to proceed, being dragged and hauled about, and causing even the mindless stones to lament at the injustice of the act. Let the region of the celebrated martyr Mamas testify to these things; let the rocky island, which—after the first imprisonment of my brother—held the guardian of piety in custody, write of this. Alas for the unfeeling hearts, I know not how to call them politely, of the soldier-monks who were his keepers! D They set the righteous man all alone, as in a bottomless pit or a certain cell, already worn out by old age and stricken by disease; and they, slaves of the world and of Caesar, allowed him to be served by only one servant once or twice a day. The old man begged for some necessity for his body to be brought to him, and that fierce man reproached him for it; he would ask for something appropriate for his illness, and the barbarian would shut the door against him. Yet enduring these things, the saint stood firm in his confession, which he confessed before God and men, and never renounced the truth. After the Emperor learned that he was falling ill from such imprisonment, and indeed [was sick] unto death, his cruelty of mind having softened somewhat, he transferred Platon to Byzantium and wished to repair what had been done evilly. But
since the intention was not from a right mind, it did not lead the purpose to its end. For the one who had been A lifted up to a great extent in his self-conceit, the mighty hand of God banished to the Scythians and destroyed there with his entire army, leaving behind a fearful tale and a terrible story for coming generations of the unsearchable judgments of His own most wise providence; but the other, He restored to his own flock, the impetus of those who were then piously reigning having established him as a confessor to themselves. [40.] And how was this so? For it is not worth passing over. Through the concern of those who interceded in our affairs, both in a friendly and in an opposing manner, the scandal was removed from the midst, by which there was also a difference with the one presiding as hierarch; the authorities were persuaded, and the most holy Patriarch defended all that had happened as being from a certain *epikeia* on the part of the one who had reigned. Thereupon followed the agreement, and the dedication to him, because nothing is dearer to God than the good of peace and concord, when that concord is not a dissonance from the true faith, nor a transgression of God's commandment, nor indeed an abrogation of any canon, just as the present instance, as far as we are concerned, is shown to be to those who have intelligence, having left the intervening events aside, as being consistent with those things which happened of old under the God-bearing Fathers, and likewisely overlooked through *epikeia*, or rather as events whose more accurate examination is reserved for the incorruptible Judge in the age to come. B
CHAPTER VII. Extremus sancti Platonis morbus, et pius obitus.
[41.] What then followed after these things? The Father was no longer shut in, because there was no strength in him even to provide for the necessary requirements of the body by himself: but partly lying on his bed, he comforted himself with the recollection of his past ascetic and athletic labors; partly resting in a chair, he either recited the Davidic Psalms vocally, or prayed to God mentally, or contributed whatever else was for the benefit of the brotherhood, by counseling, exhorting, instructing, and consoling, C according to his paternal and benevolent habit, though he was no longer able to work, or to bend his knee, or to occupy himself with reading, except insofar as the work of the minister reading near him could facilitate this. But in these things he was saddened and distressed, as if he had lost his soul, because he saw himself ceasing from spiritual exercises and resting from bodily labors. If, however, he took some food on account of illness, or utilized a bath because of obedience, he gave thanks indeed to God, yet he grieved because of the slackened rigor of his former life. Most worthy of praise indeed is he, who completed his beautiful stadium and truly solar course, having arisen from obedience and towards obeD
obedience; for since he had completed an equal cycle of years in each diurnally-measured trial of twelve hours, he departed to eternal life, about to enjoy light without end. Count the trials, and you will find forty-eight years. Add the twice twelve years before his renunciation of the world, add four others he spent in persecutions, and three he passed in infirmity, and you will find that the venerable man departed in his seventy-ninth year. B 42. But oh! how shall I relate his end without tears? The old man lay there, like a precious gift, his soul prepared for the departure, and the brotherhood poured around him, begging to receive the gift of his holy prayers; and since he blessed and kissed each one, he went also to the tomb, which out of longing he had long sought to see, even if he had not obtained his desire, due to the cutting off of his own will; but having seen it, he rejoiced greatly and gave thanks to the Lord, saying: "This is my resting place for ever and ever" (Ps. cxxxi, 14). He then added this utterance also: "He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him" (Ps. cxliv, 19). He drew also not a few of those from outside, who, taking no account of the time (for it was the cycle of the holy fasts), streamed in, both monks and laymen, were blessed, and returned, furnished with excellent provisions for their journey—namely, the holy memory of his deposition. C Furthermore, the most holy patriarch was present, asking that he might pray for him; and upon obtaining this, he kissed him. And so that hour became a remedy for all who suspected that they were estranged from one another in spirit, with whatever bitterness had previously existed being banished far away. He admonished all, prayed for all, and forgave all—those who had acted like enemies, who had persecuted, who had caused grief—truly as a man of God, and imitating Christ even in death. 43. But since it was necessary to make a testament, what was it? The Orthodox faith and the lawful conduct in which he lived and with which he departed; for as to distributing this or that, it did not pertain to him (since he was not the master even of his own scapular). Indeed, when asked by me, miserable as I am, if he had anything to set forth—touching his garment with his hand, this…
A he shook, as a sign of his most perfect obedience, and he uttered a voice very faint, saying he had nothing at all, because he had committed everything to my lowliness. Nor shall I omit that other thing, which carries the force of a prediction, that he himself composed his own funeral chant before his death. For, being constrained by his chest and breathing with difficulty, he would move his lips from the habit of divine meditation, and he chanted in particular that part of that chant: *The dead shall rise, and those who are in the tombs shall be raised, and those who are on the earth shall rejoice*: he exhorted those present to chant this same verse continually with him, so long as he had the strength and could emit even the smallest voice. And death came following the chant, arriving then, when the memory of the righteous Lazarus had come, to whom the reference of the chant is directed, and with whom is the portion of him concerning whom this discourse is.
B 44. Then, finally, having whispered that he was to be saved, and lying in a seemly posture, having inclined his head to the right with a peaceful and quiet movement of his body, as if he were preparing to depart for his own home, he closed his eyes at the hour when the sun sets, and delivered up his holy soul to the holy angels who were to conduct it to the Sun of Righteousness. And now he is indeed in the heavens—I dare to say, deemed worthy not only of the ascetic order, but also to be numbered among the choirs of the confessors; for of whose struggles he bore the weight, of their inheritance it is clear he has also partaken. Or, if you prefer: among the subject, a most approved subject; nay rather, a twice-obedient recipient of the crown; among the solitary, a legitimate solitary; among the prelates, a most worthy prelate; among the recluses, not only a recluse, but also a subordinate; C and what is most august of all, among the confessors a genuine confessor, testifying to it in reality and in words. But I, the miserable one, bereft of my good Father—upon whom shall I lean my hand, wavering in my soul? Whom shall I find as an admonisher when I decline from the right reason? How shall I flee the incursion of the evil demon, not having thee as my domestic instructor and teacher?
45. But, O divine and sacred head for me, do thou look upon me from above graciously, and raise up him who is falling, and direct him who walks, and keep me unharmed, and tend with me this flock, which thou hast gathered with much labor and sweat; so that, insisting upon thy footprints, it may walk the path of the commandments of God; watch over, cherish, and defend D both the great and the small, just as I entreated thee at the hour of thy departure; for thine are all they, of whom thy children are the leaders, and they are the children of children; so that in God and...
all your flocks, over whom your children are leaders, as well as the descendants of your children; so that having you as an intercessor before God and towards God, we may remain unscathed by invisible and visible enemies, in no way wavering in the orthodox faith through fear, nor yet being carried away from the divine commandments, nor again opening the door through inattention to destructive passions, nor furthermore neglecting the discipline, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is glory and honor and power, with the almighty Father, and the life-giving and all-holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. B
XII. LAUDATION OF SAINT ARSENIUS THE ANACHORET
Ex pervetusto codice Petri Seguierii, Franciæ cancellarii, varie collato. Interprete Joanne Pinio. Edidere BOLLANDIANI. Act. Sanct. Jul. t. IV, 617.
PROLOGUE
1. A star ever-shining for us, not numbered in the zodiacal circle, but fixed in the heaven of virtue, rising today through his yearly memorial, sheds most brilliant coruscations of good works with a most pure light upon the inhabited world. And who is this, O congregation of those who love holiness? Arsenius, equal to the angels, inaccessible in virtue, the height of humility, the glory of ascetic discipline, the strength of solitude, the flowing stream of compunction, C whose memory alone is an incentive to progress in virtue. And in truth, it occurs to me to wonder why it is that, after the lives of other blessed men who are praiseworthy for their virtue have been written down and illuminated by the rays of encomiums, the life of this thrice-blessed one has been left unrecorded, except insofar as it has been indicated in scattered fashion by certain holy Fathers—a record which, by the faculty they possess for illustrating matters, is not inferior, but indeed in many ways shines forth more than others because of the divine and manly splendors of Arsenius’s deeds.
2. What then? Should we too join those of time past and allow such a treasure to be hidden by silence? D By no means; but urged on by the example of the Fathers, although destitute of convenient speech, and relying on the assistance of him who is the subject of our life-argument to come to our present endeavor, we shall make a beginning of speaking, adopting nothing foreign or alien to the truth, but gathering whatever has been said of him in a concise manner, and, even if recalling them to memory through non-coherent narration, weaving them together in a certain way, and adding, where the matter allows, supplementary thoughts that follow from them so that the narrative may be coherent, we shall endeavor to complete his life, gratifying the desire that those who love virtue hold toward this most blessed one.
CHAPTER ONE. The Saint's fatherland and birth; the transformation of his secular life into a solitary one by divine intimation; his remarkable progress; flight from men.
3. Arsenius's lineage—to state the truth, and those who share in it are not scarce—was virtue; and to be descended and marked by this. But since those who are given to the passions seek it in terms of blood, his homeland was the first of the cities under heaven, I mean Rome, the renowned, from which those who hold the imperial scepter have taken their name; he was a scion of noble parents, flourishing in wealth and the rest of life's splendor; whose hearth still exists to this day, though not intact—for how could it have been preserved through so many years?—but remnants, of such magnitude and excellence, it has divided into three hundred dwellings for its inhabitants. A This suffices to show how illustrious and altogether blessed this memorable man was; and being such, he was also superior in his education, admired for both Greek and Roman wisdom.
4. When, therefore, the affairs concerning him came to the hearing of the great Emperor Theodosius at that time, who was seeking to set such a tutor over his sons Arcadius and Honorius—one who would perform this task more effectively than all others—Arsenius was brought to Byzantium by the impulse of the sovereign. Having taken both the boys, he led them up in character and learning, proving them to be excellent in both disciplines. Until the fortieth year of his age he lived continuously in the palace, and, having the fear of God in his mind, he groaned and called upon God with tears, saying: "Lord, show me the way in which I may be saved." B And indeed, while he was one day in the palace, he heard a divine voice saying to him: "Arsenius, if you wish to be saved, flee men, and you shall be saved."
5. Having heard these things, Arsenius, already wounded by divine desire, immediately despising all human and fleeting glory, and splendor, and bodily pleasure, and every other ambition for honor, and deeming the courts of emperors as nothing, said nothing to anyone and sailed for Alexandria; from there he came to Scetis. C And having entered the church, he approached the clergy, saying: "For the Lord's sake, make me a monk, and show me the way in which I may be saved." But they, conjecturing the nobility of the man from his character, his countenance, and his discourse, inquired of him who he was and whence he came. When he refused at first, and said, "I am a stranger and a lowly man, seeking to be saved," they could with difficulty at last persuade him to reveal what concerned him. D
And having learned it, they said to one another: "Who then is the one who ought to receive him and lead him into the monastic way of life?" And having reached a decision, they resolved to take him A to Abba John the Dwarf. And taking him with them, they went to the elder. And after they had offered a prayer, they spoke to him about Arsenius.
6. And as they were talking, when the ninth hour arrived, the elder said to the clergy: "Come, let us partake of an *agape*, and the will of the Lord be done." And Abba John sat down with the clerics, and they began to eat, leaving Arsenius standing. Then Abba John threw a morsel upon the ground and said to Arsenius: "Eat, if you wish." B He, bowing himself to the ground, went over to it, walking on his hands and knees, where the morsel was, and ate it, just as it lay on the ground. And seeing this, the elder said to the brethren: "Go in peace, and pray for us; for you know that this man is well-proven to become a monk." The clerics afterwards asked Arsenius among themselves, saying to him: "Perform an *agape*, brother, for the Lord's sake, and tell us what thought you had when you were eating the morsel?" And he said to them: "I reasoned with myself that, C just as they threw the bread to you like they would to a dog, so eat it like a dog." And they glorified God. Arsenius remained for a short while with Abba John, and having learned the whole monastic condition, he departed from him to go away and dwell in solitude. And he persevered, struggling as a man in the Lord, so much so that he surpassed the great elders of that time in labors, in steadfastness, and in the endurance of ascetic struggles. Having withdrawn into the hesychastic life, he again prayed to God, saying: "Lord, show me how I may be saved." And he heard a voice saying: "Arsenius, flee, D be silent, be still; for these are the roots of sinlessness."
NOTES
(39) John the Dwarf (in the appendix to the *Vitas Patrum*, p. 904, by the apocope *Colob*; in Greek *Kolobos*, and he is short, small, a dwarf, of short stature, etc.) was most celebrated among the anchorites; and perhaps the same as the one noted in the Coptic Martyrology for the third of March, p. 692, with these words: "The passing of John the short hermit." Gerard Vossius Borchlonius, provost of Tongeren, among the *Apophthegmata Patrum* edited with St. Ephrem the Syrian at Cologne in the year 1603, p. 507, reads *Colobios*; foolishly adding: "It is likely that John the Colobite is meant here, and otherwise the Calybite, the Roman hermit (or rather Constantinopolitan; see the commentary preceding his day of January 15, § 2), who is mentioned in the Roman Martyrology on January 15." However, he soon mentions another Egyptian hermit named John, not sufficiently instructed to determine anything absolutely about him. You will be able to be more fully informed about John the Dwarf from the *Vitas Patrum* in various places; Cotelier, Vol. I, from p. 468, and Tillemont, Vol. X, from p. 427.
*Agape*, in Greek, is taken either for an extraordinary refreshment in monasteries; or for a solemn feast; or for the supper at which Christians, but especially the poor, were admitted. Regarding the first meaning, consult Du Cange; regarding the second, Cotelier in the notes, col. 801; regarding the third, Ciacconio in his notes to Cassian, p. 669. Here, however, I do not know if anything more is signified than the monks' ordinary supper.
That word is variously written; namely *paxamas*, *paxamation*, *paximation*: about which Rosweyde writes at length in the *Onomasticon* to the *Vitas Patrum*, p. 1045; and more briefly in the Latin Glossary. It signifies hearth-baked bread, or re-baked or twice-baked [biscuit]: which some wish to have been so named from a certain confectioner named Paxamus.
The term means quiet, silent, solitary; it can be elucidated in the Greek from the annotations to the chapter of the Life of St. Stephen the Sabaite for July 13, p. 534. St. Luke the Younger, the miracle-worker, regarding the place where he was frequently importuned by many, consulting Theophylact on exchanging it for a more secret one, received this response (Vol. II of February, p. 194): "It should be held that Arsenius's advice was best: for he says to flee from men and be saved. And again: Flee, be silent, be still." One may also consult...
A Arsenius, having received such a command from God, transfers his whole disposition toward heaven, dwelling on earth indeed with his body, but in his heart familiarly consorting with the powers above. When he had departed to carry out this command, and since he so loved solitude, one of the fathers, by the name of Marcus, addressed him thus: "Why do you flee from us, Father?" But the old man said to him: "God knows that I love you; but I cannot be with God and with men. The thousands and myriads above have one will; but men have many wills. I cannot, therefore, leave God and be at leisure for men." And indeed, for a clearer declaration of his stillness, this too must be said, being worthy of remembrance. B 8. Therefore, when he had arrived at a certain place, since there were reeds there moved by the wind, Arsenius said to the brothers: "What is this commotion?" They said to him: "They are reeds, Father." The old man then said to them: "By nature, if someone sits in stillness and hears the voice of a little bird, his heart does not have its stillness; how much more so for you, having this commotion." And how could he who was thus resting, and who had his ecstasy from the agitation of lower tumults immovable toward God, not love the undistracted nature of human seclusion, and have the speech that comes from the tongue without advance, unless necessity altogether compelled otherwise, is what the narrative will reveal. C 9. Once Theophilus, the Archbishop of Alexandria, having taken along with him a certain leader, was asking to hear a word from the old man. But the old man, after a little silence, answered him: "And if I tell you, will you keep it?" They agreed. The old man then said to them: "Wherever you hear of Arsenius, do not go near." Another time, the Archbishop, wishing to visit him, sent ahead first to see if the old man would open. And he signifies to him, saying: "If you come, I open; and if I open to you, I open to all, and then I no longer sit here." Having heard these things, the Archbishop said: "If I am coming to drive him away, I no longer come to him." And indeed, even when one of the D fathers came to him and knocked on the door...
A, Arsenius opened it, believing it to be his servant. And when he saw that it was another man, he fell upon his face. But the man said to him, "Rise, abba, that I may greet you." The old man answered, "I will not rise, unless you depart." And although he was importuned for a long time, he did not rise until that man had departed. This was not, as one might suppose, to dissolve the bond of charity—of which he was very much a lover—but rather so that he might not be distracted, even in the slightest, from the practice of perfection.
10. When some brothers were about to go to the Thebaid for linen, they said among themselves: "By this opportunity, let us also see Abba Arsenius." Abba Alexander came in and said to the old man: "Brothers coming from Alexandria wish to see you." The old man said: "Have they come for this very reason?" And having learned that they were going to the Thebaid, the old man said: "By nature they do not see the face of Arsenius, because they did not come for my sake. Refresh them, therefore, and dismiss them in peace, saying to them that 'The old man cannot meet with you.'" At another time, seniors again came to him and pleaded at length that they might speak with him; and they urged him to say to them a word concerning those who live in stillness and do not meet with anyone. The old man then said to them: "When a virgin is in the house of her father, many desire to become her suitor; but when she goes forth, she does not have the same honor that she had when she was hidden. So it is with the things of the soul: since it is made public, it cannot please all. A measure, therefore, is shown to us here concerning the meeting with brothers: for it does not always have a place, lest by preferring what is secondary to the work itself, we cause ourselves harm without realizing it. But it will be useful to append what sort of thing this is here B.
11. A brother, having come to Scetis, entreated the clerics, saying: "I wish to meet with Abba Arsenius." They said to him: "Rest a little, and you shall see him." But he said: "I will not taste C of anything, unless I
meet him." A They therefore sent someone with the brother to conduct him, for his cell was far away. And having knocked at the door, they entered; and having greeted the elder, they sat down in silence. Then the brother from the church said: "I am rising, I am departing; pray for me." But the stranger brother, not finding freedom of speech with the elder, said to the brother: "I am coming with you as well." And they went out together. The stranger then besought him, saying: "Take me also to Abba Moses, who was converted from being a bandit." And when they had come to him, he received him with joy, and after performing the duties of hospitality, sent him away. Then he who had led the other said: "Behold, I have brought you to the foreign monk and to the Egyptian; which of the two pleased you more?" The brother said: "The Egyptian pleased me more." B Hearing these things, one of the Fathers prayed to God, saying: "Lord, show me this matter: why does the one flee for the sake of your name, while the other embraces [others] for the sake of your name?" And there were shown to him two large ships; and he beheld Abba Arsenius and the Spirit of God sailing in silence in one; and Abba Moses and the angels of God were sailing in the other, and they were feeding him with honeycomb. Thus, while he yielded a little to the approach of men, he yielded to that of women not at all; for he was altogether austere and alien to freer speech, being preoccupied with the love of God.
12. [The Roman Senator's Wife]
12. A certain Roman woman of senatorial rank therefore came to Canopus of Alexandria, very wealthy and fearing God, desiring to see him. C Theophilus the archbishop received her, and she entreated him to persuade the elder to admit her. And when the archbishop had come to him, he besought him to admit her. But the elder refused to meet her. When these things were reported to her, she ordered her beasts of burden to be saddled, saying: "I trust in God that I shall see him; for I did not come to see a man—there are many men in our city—but I came to see a prophet." And when she reached the neighborhood of the elder’s cell, by the providence of God the elder happened to be outside the cell; and seeing him, she fell at his feet, and he raised her up with indignation, and looked upon her, saying: "If you wish to see my face, behold, look." But she, out of shame, did not look at his face. D Then the Saint said: "Have you not heard of my works? It was necessary to consider them. And how did you dare to undertake such a great voyage? Are you unaware that you are a woman, and that you ought never to go out? Or did you come here to go away to Rome and say to the women: 'I have seen Arsenius,' and so make the sea a path for women coming to me?" But she said: "If it pleases the Lord, I shall not allow anyone to come here."
A And, "But pray for me, and remember me always." He, answering, said to her: "I pray to God that the memory of you may be blotted out from my mind." Having heard these things, she went away troubled. And when she arrived in the city, she fell into a fever from B sorrow. And it was reported to the pope that she was ill; and he, coming to her, urged her to learn what it was that she had. She said to him: "Would that I had not met him there; for I said to the elder: 'Remember me,' and he said to me that: 'I pray to God that the memory of you may be blotted out from my mind.' And behold, I am dying of sorrow." And the archbishop says to her: "Do you not know that you are a woman, and that the enemy the devil wars against the saints through women? And for this reason did the elder speak; for he prays for your soul always." And thus her mind was healed, and she departed with joy to her own home. Such, then, was the seclusion and the encounter of Arsenius.
CAPUT II
The gift of prayer and tears; vigils, instructions, manual labor; mortification, poverty; the dismissal and admission of disciples; return to Troe.
13. For who was so adorned with gifts of prayer and humility? And a witness of this was that brother who, having gone to the cell of the elder, and observing through the window the things that were transpiring inside, sees the elder entirely as fire (and the brother was indeed worthy to see these things). C As soon as he knocked, the elder came out; and seeing the brother struck with amazement, he says to him: "Have you been knocking for a long time? Did you by any chance see something here?" And he said: "No." And having spoken to him, he dismissed him. And who was it that said that, just as no one in the palace wore a better garment than he did when living in the emperor's court, so also, no other person wore a viler one than he did after arriving at the assembly of Scetis? Even when at one time some few dried figs were brought to Scetis, and they did not send them to Arsenius, as if they were of no account, so that he might not be offended—the elder, having heard this, did not come to the gathering, saying: "You have cast me out by not giving me the blessing which God sent to the brothers, which I am not worthy to receive." And all heard, and were edified by the humility of the elder. D And the presbyter went and brought him to the gathering with joy.
14. But, regarding the questioning of him, and not following one's own counsel, is this not a work of humility? Although he was adorned with knowledge and prudence and wisdom. Therefore, when he was once questioned by a certain Egyptian about his own thoughts, another of the brothers, having seen him, said: "Abba Arsenius, how is it that such an education in Roman (meaning Greek and Latin) knowledge, you ask this peasant about your thoughts?"
And the blessed one said: "The Roman and Greek education I know, but the alphabet of this peasant I have not yet learned." What does the saint signify by this? That even if someone has practiced every discipline, if he does not first learn the alphabet through true humility, placing all worldly wisdom in the second rank as if it were an accessory, he is in reality uneducated and most ignorant. Again, therefore, he asked him: A "How is it that we have nothing from such education and wisdom, but these Egyptians possess such great virtues?" Arsenius says to him: "We have nothing from the wisdom of the world; but these Egyptians and unlettered men have acquired virtues from their own labors."
15. Furthermore, the saint was B also easily moved to compunction regarding humility, pouring forth unceasingly that holy tear of his. For during the whole time of his life, when he sat at his manual work, he carried a cloth in his bosom for the sake of the tears falling from his eyes. And there was present in him also the gift of vigils to a supernatural degree. Once, therefore, he called Abba Alexander and Zoilus, his disciples, and humbling himself, he said: "Since the demons battle me, and I do not know if they steal upon me in my sleep, watch with me this night and observe me, if I nod off in my vigil." Therefore, from the evening time they sat silently, one on his right, the other on his left; and both C said: "We went to sleep and we arose, and we did not perceive him nodding." But in the morning—God knows whether he feigned it so that we would think that he had slept, or whether natural sleep truly stole upon him—he breathed three times and immediately arose, saying: "I nodded, yes." And we answered: "We do not know." But he would pass the whole night awake, and when in the morning nature compelled him to sleep, he would say to his sleep: "Come, you wicked servant, serve me"; and he would snatch a little sleep while sitting, and immediately he would wake up. On the evening of the Sabbath, as the Lord’s day dawned, he would let the sun pass behind him and he would stretch his hands to heaven, praying, until the sun shone D upon his face again; and thus, for the remainder, he would sit.
16. The blessed one also bore this on his tongue: that it is sufficient for a monk to sleep for one hour, if he is a struggler. And again, that a stranger monk in a foreign land should not meddle with anyone, and…
will be at peace. And he said again: If we seek God, He will appear to us, and if we hold fast to Him, He will remain with us. A Arsenius also worked with his hands, being adorned with apostolic boasting; for he would weave palm leaves and sew until the sixth hour. And the amazing thing is that he would not change the water for the palm leaves except once a year, but rather would add to it. And some of the Fathers entreated him, saying: "Why do you not change the water for the palm leaves? For it stinks." And he said to them: "Instead of the incenses and perfumes that I enjoyed in the world, I need to enjoy this stench." He did not lack temperance in such an endeavor, but chastising his body, he brought it into subjection, as the best horse-breaker, avoiding satiety just as one would a rebellious colt. He was entirely abstinent from fruit. Only when he heard that all the harvest of fruits was ended did he say to himself: "Bring some to me." And he would taste a little of everything once, giving thanks to God. And Abbot Daniel said concerning him that he remained with us for so many years that we only made for him one measure of grain for the year, and when we visited him, we would eat from that same supply.
17. But truly, Arsenius was also possessionless, though he was truly rich in good things. He once had need of a thing as small as a single thread, and not having it, nor having the means to buy it, he accepted alms from someone and said: "I thank You, O Lord, that You deemed me worthy to receive alms for the sake of Your name." B And it must be said what manner of perfect freedom from perturbation he had finally reached. There came once to him an official, bringing him the will of a senator, a kinsman of his, who had left him a very great inheritance. And receiving it, he wanted to tear it up. The official fell at his feet, saying: "I beseech you, do not tear it up, and do not accept it."
A Moreover, he possessed the faculty of discernment, if anyone were to ask him. Therefore, when Abba Mark asked him, saying: "Is it good for one to have no consolation in his cell? For I saw a brother having small vegetables, and he was rooting them out." The elder said: "It is indeed good, but it depends on the habit of the man; for if he does not have the strength in such a way of life, he will plant others again." At another time, the elder said again to Abba Alexander: "Whenever you have finished your palm branches, come and eat with me." Now Abba Alexander was working evenly and gently, and when the hour arrived, he still had palm branches, and wishing to keep the word of the elder, he waited to finish them. Abba Arsenius, therefore, when he saw that he delayed, thinking that perhaps he had guests, ate. But Alexander, when he finished, came late, B and the elder said to him: "Did you have guests?" And he said: "No." "Why then," I said to him, "did you not come?" And he says: "Because you said to me: 'Whenever you have finished your palm branches, come,' and keeping your word, I did not come, because I had just finished them." And the elder marveled at his precision, and says to him: "Break your fast quickly, so that you may also perform your synaxis, and partake of your water; otherwise, your body will quickly come to be infirm."
18.
The blessed man did not need to be humbled before his disciples at any time. When he was sitting at one time in the lower parts, and was being troubled, it seemed good to him to leave the cell, taking nothing from it with him. And he went to his disciples, the Pharanites, Alexander and Zoilus. C He said, therefore, to Alexander: "Arise, sail away." And he did so. And to Zoilus he said: "Come with me as far as the river, and seek for me a ship that is sailing towards Alexandria. And thus you also sail away to your brother." And Zoilus DA hearing this, was troubled and kept silence, and thus they were separated from one another. The old man then went down to the regions of the Thebaid and fell into a great sickness. His attendants said to one another: "Could it be that one of us has grieved the old man, and for this reason he departed from us?" But they found nothing at fault within themselves. When the old man was restored to health, he said: "I will go to my fathers." And thus, having sailed back, he came to Petra, where his disciples were. While he was near the river, a certain Ethiopian maidservant came up and touched his sheepskin. The old man rebuked her. The maidservant then said to him: "If you are a monk, go to the mountain." The old man, struck by this word, said within himself: "Arsenius, if you are a monk, go to the mountain." And upon this, both Alexander and Zoilus met him, and as they fell at his feet, the old man threw himself down, and they both wept. The old man said: "Did you not hear that I was ill?" B And they said to him: "Yes." And the old man said: "And why did you not come to see me?" And Abbas Alexander said: "Because your departure from us did not seem right, and many were not edified, saying: 'If they had not disobeyed the old man, he would not have separated himself from them.'" And he said to them: "I also knew it. Therefore, people will surely say again: 'Because the dove did not find rest for its feet, it returned to Noah into the ark.'" And thus they were comforted, and they remained with him until his death.
CHAPTER XIII
Deceptions of the demon, and the perception of secret things; sickness, vision, care for the most sordid burial; death; condition of the body, summary of life, eulogy.
19. Again, someone else asked and said to Arsenius: "My thoughts afflict me, saying: 'You are not able to fast, nor to work; at least visit the sick, and this is truly charity.'" The old man, therefore, knowing the wickedness and the guiles of the demons, said to the brother: "Go, eat, drink, sleep, and do not work; only do not depart from your cell; for I know that the patience of the cell brings the monk to his proper order." Nor was he deprived of spiritual discernment.
A, for the man of renown was filled with divine grace. While he was sitting in his cell, a voice came, saying to him: "Come, I will show you the works of men." He arose and went out, and it brought him into a certain place and showed him an Ethiopian cutting wood and making a large bundle; he tried to carry it, but he could not; and instead of taking something away from it, he went off again, cut more wood, and added to the bundle. Walking on a little further, it showed him a man standing at a pool, drawing water from it and pouring it into a perforated vessel B, and this same water was spilling out. And again it said to him: "Come, I will show you." And he beheld a temple and two men sitting on horses, and they were carrying a beam C obliquely, one behind the other. They wished to enter through the gate of the temple, but they could not, because their beam was oblique; nor did the one behind the other lower it so as to carry the beam in a straight line; and for this reason they remained outside the gate. Arsenius then inquired what these things meant. And it was told to him: "These are they who carry the beam of justice with pride, and have not humbled themselves to walk along the humble way of Christ; therefore they remain outside the kingdom of God. But the one who is cutting the wood is a man burdened with sins, who, instead of repenting, does not cease to add others. And he who is drawing the water is a man who indeed does good works, but because he has certain evil ones along with them, in this he has destroyed even the good. There is need, therefore, for watchfulness in a man’s works, so that he may not labor in vain."
κ΄. It is also told regarding him, that when he was once sick in Scetis, the presbyter went and took him to the church, and placed him on a mat, with a small pillow at his head. And one of the elders, coming to visit him and seeing him on the mat, was scandalized, saying: "Is this the abbas Arsenius, and does he lie in/*such a state as this?" The presbyter took him aside and said to him: "What was your work in your village?" The elder says: "I was a shepherd of sheep." The presbyter urges: "How, then," he says, "did you lead your life... D
A He replies: "In much labor and toil." And he says to him: "And how do you fare now in your cell?" The other said: "I rest well." And the presbyter says to him: "Do you see this Abba Arsenius? He was the father of emperors in the world, and a thousand servants clothed in silk stood by him, and precious carpets were beneath him; but you, being a shepherd, did not have the rest which you have now; and he does not have here the delicacies which he had in the world. See, therefore; you indulge in rest, but he is afflicted." Upon hearing these things, he was pricked in his conscience and bowed down, asking for pardon and saying: "Forgive me, abba; I have sinned, for he has come to labor and I to rest." And the elder, having been helped, departed.
21. The demons once set upon this blessed man in his cell, trying to afflict him. B Those who ministered to him, having taken him and standing outside the cell, heard him crying out to God and saying: "My God, do not forsake me; I have done nothing good in your sight; but give me, according to your goodness, to lay a foundation." When another brother asked him to hear a word of profit, the elder said to him: "Strive as much as you can that your internal work may be according to God, and you will overcome the external passions." When the blessed Macarius had, for many years, incessantly completed his ascetic struggles and was full of every virtue, since the time of his departure had arrived, he exhorted his disciples, saying: "Do not be anxious to hold *agapae* for my sake; for as for me, if I have done any work for myself, I shall find it." The disciples were therefore troubled in hearing these things; and he says to them: "The hour has not yet come; but when it comes, I will tell you. For I must undergo judgment with you before the tribunal of Christ, if you give my remains to anyone." "What then," they say, "shall we do? For we do not know how to perform the funeral." And the elder says to them: "Do you not know how to cast a rope and lift me into the mountain?" This was the saying the Elder frequently used: "Arsenius, why did you come forth?" signifying this. For, he says, since you have purposed to be with God, keep your mind unshakable, that through forgetfulness you may not become empty of struggling alongside God. [alt-version omitted]
B 22. He also said this: "I have often repented of having spoken, but never of having been silent." By this the Saint revealed that through loquacity—and often without intending to offer what is fitting—a man slips and is cast down into calamities, perhaps even lethal ones, and into defensive arguments. The fool, not perceiving this, is not led to repentance, but rather, acting shamelessly, is emboldened to the opposite, to speak out of a contentious malice; for a man’s own lips are a strong snare, and he is caught by the words of his own mouth. But the wise man, who holds his mind cleansed, has often repented of a word spoken beyond what was necessary. "I wish," he would say, "that I had not uttered this remark; for from much speaking you will not escape sin." Therefore, timely silence is a good thing. When he was already near death, the brothers saw him weeping, and they said to him, "Are you truly afraid, Father?" He replied, "In truth, the fear which is now with me in this hour, has been with me since I became a monk." C And thus he fell asleep in peace. Indeed, Abbot Pemen, hearing that he had died, wept and said, "Blessed are you, Abba Arsenius, for you wept for yourself in this world; for he who does not weep for himself here, will weep eternally there; so that even if one is not willing to weep here, it is impossible not to weep there because of the torments." 23. Abbot Daniel related concerning him that he never wished to speak on a question of Scripture, even though he could have spoken if he had wished; but neither did he write a letter easily. When he would come to church at intervals, he sat behind a pillar in order that no one might see his face, nor he himself pay attention to someone else. His appearance was angelic, like that of Jacob; he was completely white-haired; he was festive in his countenance, thin, and tall in stature, though bent from old age. He had a great beard, extending down to his chest; and the hairs of his eyelashes had fallen out from much weeping. He died at the age of ninety.
A five. He remained in the palace of the emperor Theodosius of divine memory until the fortieth year of his age, and for forty years he was in Scetis, and ten in Troe of Upper Babylon, opposite Memphis; and for three years he was in Canopus of Alexandria; and for two other years he returned to Troe, and there he fell asleep, having finished his course in peace and in the fear of God: because he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. He left me his tunic of skin, and a white hair-shirt, and sandals made of palm leaves, and I, the unworthy one, wore them, that I might be blessed. This is the end of the life of the blessed Arsenius, as it is narrated in brief, not according to the multitude of his admirable deeds, but as far as it was possible for the simple summary to be handed down in writing by the holy elders. We, having also received these things concerning ourselves, will not hesitate, using boldness, to add something to what has been said, as a declaration of our own poverty of speech, and as the fulfillment of our longing for the Saint.
ORATION XIII: EULOGY OF ST. ARSENIUS THE ANACHORETE
24. What speech could suffice to recount the accomplishments of this all-blessed and thrice-happy most holy man? Things which not only our generation admires, and attempts to emulate his athletic contests in the arena of asceticism, but also the very leaders and pillars of the holy ancient Fathers made known his way of life; I speak of the great Euthymius, who set his whole heart on imitating his virtues—his solitude, his silence, his humility, the simplicity of his attire, his abstinence from food, and his endurance in all things—to pay attention to himself according to that which was said by him: "Arsenius, why did you come out [from the world]?" He also eagerly strove to emulate his compunction, his tears, his all-night vigils, his love of the desert and hatred of glory, and B C
his aversion to society, his eagerness and focus in prayer, and then his compassion and discernment. Since, therefore, with all diligence he imitated his way of life, he was also deemed worthy to enjoy those same gifts with which he was endowed, specifically the communion of the most holy Spirit, the illumination of divine light, and the gift of discernment.
EPILOGUE
B25. O most blessed Arsenius, A receptacle of the pure Spirit! What discourse is worthy to celebrate your deeds? What kind of virtue shall I praise in you first? The withdrawal from the world? And who, having heard the divine call, abandoned the whole world more quickly? Abraham the patriarch ran to the manner and place of his saving rest, but he came with his wife and his baggage; you, however, most solitary and unencumbered and without superfluities, carrying only the cross of Christ upon your shoulders, dwelt in the desert. Imperial courts did not draw you; the heights of dignities did not hold you back. How much more admirable these things are than his deeds! And who, having turned away from desires outside the world and from the impressions of earthly shadows, was honored with such an intimacy of speaking with God? That great Moses ascended Mount Sinai; but you also, having occupied the pillar of prayer, were deemed worthy to converse with God daily. His face shone thereafter with glory; but did you not appear entirely as fire to the one who saw you? O what a miracle! Seen to be changed into flame by the contact of prayer with God; and you, to whom the grace was communicated, being like to that which was communicated, were an angel burning with fire, and, if it is not too bold to say so, surpassing the Mosaic glory. C But what of the all-night vigil? The night was illuminated like the day by your prayers, just as the divine David sang. The sun, standing by you as you prayed, kept pace with you, as it made its circular course. O sun, and [you who are] truly a rival to the intelligible, intellectual sun! Your mind, being pregnant with light, sent forth its thoughts into heaven more purely than solar rays, running even beyond the heavens.
26. Shall I speak of the sweetness of silence? And who has appeared to be more in love with silence than you, recoiling from human tumults and being lifted up to God alone? They say that the philosopher Pythagoras, from his love of stillness, would converse with no other person, but with oxen and birds; but you, by refuting this, showed it to be unphilosophical and trivial, for you taught that a hesychast should remain at peace even without hearing the voice of birds. Your pure heart is like a sea, settled in profound calm, far from D the breath of the spirits of wickedness, being cast by the inspiration of the most holy Spirit—
was like a tranquil sea, when the spirits of malice had been cast out by the breathing of the most Holy Spirit: under whose auspices you traversed the navigation, and came to rest in the calm harbor of the kingdom above. A Shall I speak of the height of your humility? And who ever so cast himself down in the meanness of his attire? Who, having held the first place among emperors and being of great reputation for learning, appeared the most lowly, by hiding the nobility and the wisdom that is passing away? You who were clothed in a golden stole, you wear a poor man's habit; you who were most wise, you became rude and rustic; you who were a master most highly cultured in the disciplines, you learn the mortification of the passions through examinations and studies, and you yielded the better parts to another. B Shall I tell how you felt toward your kin? Hence your own sure utterance: "I died before him," that is, by voluntary death having anticipated your natural death. Hence your blessed saying: "Arsenius, why did you go forth?" Which the choirs of monks intone, bearing the viaticum of salvation: for sin is a hindrance to the cause for which we have been torn from the world—the remembrance of it, and no other care than for this alone.
27. And what of the exultation of divine compunction, the constant meditation on death, C perpetually billowing in your pure heart, from which the streams of tears, flowing forth unceasingly, kindled for you the flame of divine love? In modesty, I might justly call you a second Joseph; for you have utterly blotted out from your chaste heart even the remembrance of women; bearing in the significance of the fact the name of a man, and showing in yourself nothing effeminate. By temperance trampling upon the base perturbations of the soul, you emulated the patriarch Jacob, eating to live, not living to eat: for what is philosophized in word by those outside, this was fulfilled by you in deed at every moment. By wakefulness D you lived as one incorporeal, bringing the stars to sleep with your vigils, and passing the night in invocations, full of every virtue, a most precise lover of every right duty. O you most bright luminary of all that is beneath the heaven! O most radiant star of hesychasts! O most desired glory of monks! Well done, terrestrial angel, feathered with the beauties of dispassion. Well done, paradise of virtues, planted with every mature fruit of honesty. Well done, starry heaven, fashioned with various beauties... on the summit of a most pure life... the rest is wanting.
NOTICE REGARDING THE FOLLOWING FUNERAL EULOGY
(Ang. Mai, *Biblioth. nov.*, vol. VI, p. 363.)
Theodorus had consoled his mother, Theoctista, while she was laboring under her final illness, with a most loving and pious epistle, which is the sixth of the first book. Soon after, he followed her when she had passed away with a funeral oration, and indeed a remarkable one, which two biographers mention, ours in chapter 2, and the Sirmondian on page 3. Now, however, when I had read in the printed catalogue of manuscript codices of the Royal Library of Paris, vol. II, p. 338, that this oration of the Studite concerning his mother was preserved in a codex, and seeing that it had not yet been published, a just desire arose in me, inasmuch as I had already published several other writings of the Studite, to bring this epitaph likewise to light; for who would not be delighted by an encomium of a holy woman recited by a holy son? Therefore, I requested by letter the man adorned with equestrian dignity, and most famous for his published books, and long since bound to me by friendship, Paulus Drachius, that he might see to it that the aforementioned Studite composition be transcribed for my sake from the Parisian codex; which he took care to have executed purely and elegantly by the excellent calligrapher Sypsomus. Having therefore received the Greek exemplar, I immediately added a Latin translation, so that this pious Commentary might benefit many. It will therefore be necessary to append this writing concerning Theoctista to that which the same Studite wrote concerning Plato, the most pious brother of that same woman, namely his uncle and in spiritual things his Father, which the Bollandists published long ago, in the Appendix to the first April volume, pp. 46-54, from a Vatican codex. A
Funeral Catechesis of our Holy Father and Confessor Theodorus upon his Mother
1. The time demands, O sons and brothers, that we announce to you the unexpected tidings of the death of the renowned sister of our common Father. For after she had finished her present life according to the preordained will of the Creator God, she transferred herself to the supermundane realms, leaving behind for us not an unreasoning grief, as one might perhaps imagine, but rather joy, because of her migration, which was full of hope. For do you wish that I recount to you, as I do to those present here (since it is a time not for silence, but for speech, according to the commanding precept: *Praise no man before his death* [Eccli. XI, 30]), whatever that blessed soul wrought, while still dwelling in the flesh, that was good and holy and worthy of the reward of the kingdom of heaven? Lend your ears, therefore, my children, while I institute a narration far from all falsehood; and the report concerning this woman will be for you not an unprofitable sort of catechesis, but even highly beneficial.
2. I cannot say that she began her virtue from her parents, just as [I cannot say it] of her life; since I have not been commissioned to write of things prior to me, but of those after me; and from the time when she had already obtained the discernment of good and what is not such. That we may therefore pass over the matters of her first and second childhood, let us begin the narration from the time of her marriage; and even if the worldly life of this beautiful-mother is not perfectly in keeping with our profession, nevertheless, because we foresee the end from the beginning, I will necessarily add this. Therefore, her first achievement was to worship and love God from the depths of her being; so that, although she was given in marriage to a man, she strove no less to follow the better course of life insofar as it could be done. B Wherefore, when she first gave birth to us, she did not say that which other women, as they are accustomed to do with their newborn children according to a demonic impulse, C
A use keys, ligatures, and other charms upon their cradles and bedchambers, casting necklaces and amulets about their necks; but it was enough for her to fortify us with the sign of the life-giving Cross, proposing this as her weapon and most impregnable shield. Because of this, when all other women bowed down and rose up at the sight of the very worker, initiator, and teacher of such things, our mother alone would not endure it, nor would she ever bow her head, nor run to them, nor again take part in that sorcery; although she was often threatened by those who performed these acts. But in truth, *The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them* (Sap. III, 1). *And he who trusts in the Lord is as Mount Sion* (Ps. CXXIV, 1), as the Scriptures say.
γ΄. Second, as divine love increased in her heart, because she had been brought up as an orphan without schooling, this wise woman taught herself letters and understanding, and committed the Psalter to memory most beautifully and in the shortest time. And how did she do this? She did not spend her day in study, lest she trouble her husband or neglect the household; but before sleep and after sleep, laboring with intensity by the light of a lamp, she did not neglect the work in her hands. But by applying herself now to this and now to the other, she both increased the household's welfare and grasped her studies. From that time on, she never ceased conversing with the divine David day after day, paying attention to the divine readings. B Being inflamed in heart from thence, and gleaming with regard to the future good, what does this admirable woman do and perform? Having stripped herself of vain ornaments, and having taken up a sort of widow’s attire, she thus stood forth as a beautiful example to her acquaintances, neither swearing at all, nor lying, nor eating meat for the most part, especially during the time of the Forty Days. But also, if she were ever invited to a wedding feast, she would restrain herself secretly, not touching any meat, nor lifting her eyes to the theatrical displays; for she was as chaste as any other, acknowledging one husband, and having purified her soul, after their renunciation of marital relations, even to the highest chastisement of her very thoughts.
δ΄. Who, then, evaded the time of midnight for her? Since she fulfilled the labor of the psalm: *At midnight I rose to profess to thee concerning the judgments of thy righteousness* (Ps. CXVIII, 62). What awakening at dawn? What other hour of appointed thanksgiving was omitted? None at all. But also, being greatly dedicated to the care of the house, and more than any of the laborious women, she made the progress in good works more abundant, regulating by her own example both her spouse, and her children, and her handmaidens. She brought to the first, among other things, the remembrance of their future separation by death; and for this reason, she advised and exhorted them to abstain from one another. And indeed she persuaded him; and, having persuaded him, they, occupying one bed, did not
A know one another for five whole years or more—a thing most wonderful and difficult to find. For how could it be that fire would not communicate with the straw placed next to it, unless what occurred was supernatural? And if Boaz is praised for leaving Ruth untouched when she slept beside him for one night, why should not both my parents rightly win the glory of temperance? Let this, then, be the encomium of them both; for my father will not unjustly share in the praise of my mother in this matter.
Furthermore, B the lady, full of virtue, instructed her children with warnings and exhortations; at times striking with the rational rod, at times leading and drawing them with gentleness, and advancing them toward more perfect things. What was the result? The young daughter was perfected, and her conduct was wondrous: she neither exposed herself to the sight of men, nor did she display feminine ornaments, bracelets, and purple robes; but she led her toward piety, instructed her in the Holy Scriptures, taught her to receive the poor, and compelled her to wipe the ulcers of the lepers with her own hands. Finally, turning the girl's mind from the low, earthly things of this life to God and heavenly beauties, she consecrated her to God.
Many accounts of this excellent upbringing provide much for me to say, but I will stop here to avoid satiety. Yet, one thing that cannot rightly be passed over in silence I shall add: namely, that every day, after the children had laid themselves down in their beds, she would not go to sleep herself until she had come and marked their limbs with the sign of the cross. C And again, when they arose, she would often stimulate and awaken us, compelling us to prayer, so that not only she, but also her children might be trained to serve God.
5. Great would be the discourse, should I wish to explain the things concerning the menservants and maidservants—how she treated them, fed them, gave them drink, and clothed them as no one else, however kind, would do. Nor, as is common, did she provide only the daily ration of bread, wine, and lard; but she often fed them on solemn days with fresh meat, fish, and other delicacies, and draughts of honeymixed wine, because, in truth, she did not wish to enjoy such things alone. Are these things not to be praised, and are they not rare, and the peculiar prerogatives of that holy soul? I believe you will all agree with me. D But I also think it right to say that she would threaten, correct, and—especially regarding her domestics (I know not whether I should count this as a fault or as a praise)—she would slap, upbraid, and beat them. This was done for the sake of teaching honesty, keeping them from theft, and for the sake of other virtues; and her mind, being a lover of rectitude, was stirred to anger, since she was of a somewhat irritable nature, often pricked by zeal for God. But that same woman, after the beatings, would enter her chamber and, beating her own cheeks, would say, "I hope you feel the pain!", and being moved to repentance, she would call the maid she had beaten, fall on her knees, and beg for forgiveness. O holy repentance! Certainly, if anyone should perchance find fault with the former, he will...
A nonetheless commend the latter as having come about paradoxically. And so, having tempered mercy with fear, she was known to be held dear by them, and she showed herself to protect them for the sake of their self-discipline, and thus she possessed the best of both. And for love toward those nearby, and for almsgiving toward the needy, who could surpass her? She possessed the former through moderation, especially toward those of lower station; and the latter through extreme sympathy, such that her own lack of means did not prevent the abundance of her intention from being manifested. Yet, witnesses to the truth are many, and often, and in appointed turns: orphans and widows, strangers and townspeople, the sick and the aged, and those struck by the sacred disease, all being cared for by the hand that nourished the poor. And indeed, this too was an exceptional quality in her: that she was accustomed to have Christ as her guest at table—some poor person—especially when there was an occasion for festivity. To me, these things do not appear to be small as provisions for salvation for those who have anticipated it in the state of marriage, even if we were not able to speak further of this blessed woman.
B 6. Therefore, when the time brought the calling to the monastic way of life, who was there before her who either welcomed the servants of Christ, or showed hospitality, or cared for them, especially while being drawn thereto by her own brother? Wherefore, that I may abridge these many things: having reached a longing for the ascetic life, she persuades her husband, and she persuades her children with many cares and admonitions and promises, and then the brothers of her husband; and having arranged all things well, she departs from the house, having presented an entire multitude to God: four children, three brothers-in-law, and with them, the head of the house. O marvelous innovation! O C astounding change! This appeared strange to the Queen; it struck her kinswomen with amazement, it suspended her acquaintances in wonder, and it pricked/pricked not only those who saw it, but those who heard of it—that a marriage still in middle course, she herself being sufficiently provided for in life, shining with palatial dignity and questorian rank, having children in the prime of life, was not moved by the love of these, nor by the desire of leaving behind a successor to her lineage, nor by the affection of kinsfolk, nor by the abandonment of a home, nor by the destitution of servants; but she had cast away the honors from kings, she had trampled upon the pleasures of life, and she had cut herself off from carnal relations by the sword of the Spirit, and with a magnanimous will she performed what was pleasing to God. O truly Abrahamic and courageous soul! One might deservedly rank her with the most excellent mother of the Maccabees, who offered her offspring as a sacrifice for the ascetic contest; and with Anna the mother of Samuel, who consecrated to the Lord not just one according to a vow, but the entire fruit of her womb. And I shall grant to you, my listeners, perhaps D something even holier, by narrating the manner of her departure. For at the appointed time, as she was about to depart from the house, as if she were keeping a feast day, she called all her relatives to herself: of whom the men indeed...
grieved, and the women lamented, seeing this strange spectacle of a voluntary departure; and contemplating the magnitude of the mystery, they praised what was taking place. For both parties saw that he was leaving the house, while she remained for a little while, and soon after departed for the asceterium, and that the house itself had been sold and the proceeds distributed to the needy. These are the notable deeds of our mother in her worldly life; and I have recounted these, so that not only you, but even if any there are in the worldly life who come to know them, may have something by which they may be helped through these most beautiful narratives, and may render praise to God.
B 7. Come then, henceforth let us follow the successive events, on which our discourse will most particularly and fittingly dwell, beloved. That most noble woman makes a beautiful change, putting on the angelic habit: by this act she elicits tears from many who had been called together on that day, or who had even flocked there of their own accord, if only to behold the mystery being enacted. We ourselves were also present with our common father—what should I say? to celebrate a feast or to mourn? For we were losing our mother, no longer conversing with her or approaching her with the same confidence as before, but thinking of our separation from her with a sorrowful heart. For as we ourselves were, after a certain interval of time, about to depart for the profession with our father—I, indeed, as I was progressing from a beardless age into a man, was certainly grieving and sorrowing (for how could I not?)—yet I bore this sadness with thanksgiving. But of the two brothers, the one who was very young, as soon as the hour of departure arrived, and the final farewell was being said, and the calls, the lamentations, and the embraces were being made; he, I say, flew to his mother’s bosom and clung to her inseparably, like a calf refusing to be separated, and asked to remain with his mother for a little while, promising to fulfill her will afterwards. Was that heart of adamant therefore softened, or did it sink, or was it broken by the child’s wailing? By no means. But what was her holy utterance? With a certain severity of countenance, overcoming the most powerful affection of maternal bowels, she said: "If you do not leave willingly, my child, I shall board you onto the ship with my own hands." The boy therefore yielded, and we both departed. And she, I believe, had achieved something equal to that holy mother in the martyrdom of the Forty Martyrs, who, with her own hands, lifted up and placed that son of hers, who was still breathing, onto the wagon.
8. But what of what follows? The noble woman desired, then, to live under obedience, which was also just. But because, through the past turbulence of the times, neither was there a monastery established, nor was there yet a soul capable of...
A directing the rest, she was forced by her brother to live in the manner of a recluse, along with her daughter who had already been tonsured and another kinswoman. She lived immediately in a state of endurance; yet she lived painfully—for how could she not, lacking a guide, having found others who opposed her piety, and to such an extent that she was even driven out of that sacred place? I am ashamed to say for what reason and by whom, for the sake of those listening; nevertheless, she endured it, suffering for the sake of the good and being afflicted for the Lord’s sake. And I know not how to recount the successive burdens and vicissitudes of her life, and the troubles, pains, and pressures that befell us, from our kin and from the imperial power; but the sum of the matter was the notorious adultery of the emperor, because of which she also had to suffer. B Since I have mentioned that global act of audacity, you know how painful a thing it was, when she saw us being dragged away from the monastery, having gathered there for that hour. But even though she was in mourning, being deprived most of all of us, she did not grow angry, she did not utter an unseemly word, nor did she tear her tunic, nor did she raise up wailing cries; but, "Go," she said, "my children, and be safe in the Lord, wherever you may be led, and whatever you may suffer, since you have chosen this for the sake of His law. For it is better for you to suffer any terrible thing, even unto blood, than to admit an adulterer into communion, and thereby betray the truth." O courageous and generous soul! She did not immediately collapse, as was to be expected, or suffer in a base and cowardly way; but who traveled with us, who journeyed with us, who wore out her delicate little body on the ascent of the mountain, without finding any ready companion for the journey? Alas, alas, how have all people become more inhumane because of the times! And some even insulted and reviled us, those who had been of our own household, so that the evangelical word was fulfilled, that "a man’s enemies are those of his own household." C Thus, the blessed one came to us even while we were being tormented.
9. And let no one in this think that we are praising ourselves, as if we had any of the things that are to be praised; for others, not we, strove, and the achievement must be attributed to the common Father. But in order to set forth the struggle of the woman who is being praised, we have fallen—forgive us—into these accounts of our own affairs, as we did not wish to do; but, "Great is our Lord, and great is his power." For as she would secretly enter our place of confinement, seeing the wounds and anointing them, and sending up glory and praise to God that her own children were enduring such things for the sake of His commandment; so she accompanied us with prayers, with groans, and at the same time with gladness—being between these two D passions of the soul—as we were being led away from that place to the regions beyond the
A sea, A she was admired, and she obtained a blessed name from God and from the more pious among men. Thus, she anticipated our return from Athara, and our exile toward Thessalonica, arriving at a winter evening hour at a rustic lodging, and with great fear—secretly and unrecognized—she saw us and spent almost the entire night with us, while we made our testaments to one another in the Lord. And immediately at early dawn—how bitter and pitiful it was!—when we were being separated from one another, and she was delivering her parting words, and as though during a commendation of our souls, she imprinted kisses upon every member of our bodies with groans. "I," she said (if I may use her own expression), "my children, seem now to be speaking the final words to the dying." Any person endowed with a rational mind may conjecture of what sort that situation was. For if, according to the great Theologian Gregory, B between those who are lovingly united and soon separated there occurs, as it were, a dissection of one body into two and a death of both, or the separation of oxen raised together and accustomed to the same yoke, which causes not a little mournful lowing and inability to endure the alienation; what, and of what sort, and how great should we concede it to have been in the present instance? Truly on both sides, for the sake of the fear of God, we repressed the bitterness of the sorrow; but that which it was, and how great it was, let it be ascribed to C her magnanimity.
10. But as for your own affairs, brethren, you yourselves tell the story, you who have enjoyed the benefit of when she, coming to us, gathered you—just like chicks cast from the nest—and received you into her own monastery. Then, returning, she consoled you each in turn and hastened to the city; and having entered there somehow, with sighing and praying, she received this guest, strengthened another, sustained another, and withdrew yet another; and like an excellent steward and a guardian according to God, partly nourishing and partly administering, she was a true new Natalia, and an emulator of Priscilla. And you are witnesses, who have experienced her benefits, and who acknowledge and celebrate with your tongues the comforts you have received. D Then, indeed, this wonderful woman was worthy to attain the final beatitude as well, being affected by reproaches from certain people—whose names I leave out of my own volition—and by bearing persecution on account of justice and truth. Answer me also, O Father, what this most patient woman endured on your behalf while you were given over to prison, when you were being accused, when an inquiry was being made about you, and finally for the provision of necessary things. Speak of the tyrant's robberies, the threats, the examinations. Was she not herself a companion to you in your sorrows, being held in custody for thirty days with four of those who share in the ascetic life, and these dispersed among the prisons? And there I omit to say how many…
A things she endured at the hands of the jailer's handmaids, and how much she suffered regarding the provision of her life, eating the bread of sorrow and drinking the cup of affliction. But it is not the time now to signify all that was then dared and done; rather, let it be forgiven to those who did it, for it is more fitting to speak thus, even if it were by judgments which He permitted or ordained, so that evil might be cut short and that which is lawless should not become law, that God stayed the persecution. For we, the exiled and scattered, have returned to the same place, as you know, having obtained a happy return from the reigning Lady.
11. B But what more could we add to what has been said about this divinely-honored mother, and what could we say that is more fitting? O rivers of tears, as many as flowed perennially from her eyes for her husband, for the son most prone to slipping, for the flock, for those who stumble, and for the strengthening of each individual! For she possessed mercy as a spiritual mother; and as a sister, she was always struggling for brothers in the Lord, even if she did not live with them. C O outpouring of a merciful and compassionate soul! And O emptying of sympathetic bowels, which could not bear the distress of those approaching her! So much so that she would pray for those in need, and borrow to relieve others of their debts; and she would rejoice and buy herself for the redemption of others, engaging in money-changing, as it were, many times in imitation of Christ, and calling together the poor women, and serving them with her own hands, because the gift of love for the poor was a passion for her. D O honorable mouth, ever-studying the divine oracles, and performing her service without ceasing until death! O honorable feet, firm and ever-ready to walk steadily in prayer and standing before God! O elevation of holy hands to God, not only in the evening, but also in the morning and at midnight, and the certain attainment of things requested! And O revelation of nocturnal dreams! For often, because of the surrounding distress, God signaled the future to her, consoling His own handmaid. O dissolution of the whole body through ascetic life, and its cheap and unwarming clothing in the season of cold! And O bed, dry, narrow, short, and chilling to lie upon! O character of mind indifferent and irreconcilable to the sight of any man! And O her constant and intense solitude with God! For this reason, struggling with despondency and being unable to see us more often, or anyone else to offer spiritual encouragement, she would yield, making some excursions and journeys; yet even in this, she showed herself keeping the rule without fail. O unsurpassable love of labor, both by night and by day! And O hardness of her working fingers, her natural softness turned into the roughness of leather; for, clearly, not for herself—(for that she cared little,
A but for the sufficiency of the entire community, as you who hear this know) did she work; rather, she clothed almost the entire coenobium.
12. For B she was a stranger to the women among whom she was seen, so that if there were anything for which she, as a human, could be reproached, the occasion for it arose from this, and from her general fervor for goodness, being for the most part an exacting and meticulous mistress toward the sisters under her care, and at times becoming angry at defects, whether in their tasks, their psalmody, or their attendance at the offices; and she was rarely surpassed by any in these matters, urging on the sluggish and even buffeting those who were disobedient. Yet, even so, she was more beloved than those who are overly indulgent, because it was only out of a love for what was right and good that she was moved to such actions—otherwise, she was utterly averse to them and prayed to be subject to others, meanwhile imploring God to be merciful to her, just as we ourselves justly extend forgiveness to others. In reality, after the Father (Plato) was shut in confinement, she was so subject to my humility and had so submitted herself in obedience that she called herself my servant, would prostrate herself at my unworthy feet, disclose the secrets of her heart, and in no way contradict any of my commands. I, wretch that I am, am filled with shame whenever I reflect upon how she called me master and father, and how she revered me, mingling love with fear, and bearing herself not as a mother, but as a child in obedience.
13. C Furthermore, she had as a rule of temperance never to eat to satiety; yet obedience did not allow her to diminish the quality of her food, although she resisted this mightily and was not heeded. She partook of food, therefore, only once a day, and usually around sunset, taking a light and simple meal without oil or wine; and if on certain appointed days she omitted the fast, she would take only a small amount, not out of gluttony, but merely tasting a little, which was enough for her. A demonstration of her religious poverty was that she possessed nothing at all, neither a handmaid, nor gold nor silver, nor anything of this world, only the hair shirt she wore and two wretched covers. D When she was at the point of death, she bestowed these upon me and my brother, reserving the rest for her burial; and, thus naked of material goods and worldly attachments, joyous as one going to her own home, she departed this life, having bestowed upon us blessed and saving prayers and having signed each of those present with the sign of the cross; for many of the brothers were found there witnessing her passing.
14. But O venerable and most-desired mother (for to you I now turn my words, the sweet to me, and
A a name, a desirable and lovable sight, mother and daughter at once, you who twice gave birth to me, twice-mother, where have you left us? Whither have you migrated? Into what regions have you been translated? What places do you now inhabit? In what dwellings do you pass your time? What companions do you now behold? For I truly know that you have overcome the prince of the air of this world by your good deeds, and that you are there where pain, sorrow, and sighing have fled away, where the dwelling of all the blessed saints who are gladdened is, where there is the sound and choir of those keeping festival and rejoicing, where also our common brothers are, whom you loved and desired to have as associates; for at present the properties of the flesh create a separation in our living together. Do not, do not forget us, your least of children; do not, I entreat, do not, I beseech, do not neglect your flock, both the small and the great. But having obtained B boldness—and I trust that you have indeed obtained it—stand by, have mercy, and make propitiation; pray and intercede now all the more earnestly. Guide, strengthen, and guard me, the wretched one, from the danger of sin, from the flying arrow of iniquity, and from every other affliction of the devil. Shepherd me and co-shepherd me, prick me and remind me through spiritual intercession; visit me and correct me at every moment, and watch how I rise, how I lie down, how I stir in body and soul, so that being guided and perfected in every way, and walking according to the rule of truth, I may be able to please God through a good conduct of life; and after this life, I may obtain the grace to be numbered among those who follow me under your protection, and as your least child, I may share with you the lot of standing at the right hand of Christ our God. These things, my children, the C truth has compelled me to declare also to you, as these matters demand that I speak them out briefly.
EPISTLES
(SIRMOND, p. 177.)OF OUR HOLY FATHER AND CONFESSOR THEODORE, ABBOT OF THE STUDITES, EPISTLES. BOOK ONE. A SELECTION FROM VARIOUS OF HIS EPISTLES WRITTEN DURING HIS FIRST AND SECOND EXILE.
A 1. — To Plato, his spiritual father. (Theodore, in exile, writes to Plato, or rather, under the persona of Plato, exhorts his monks not to consent to the adulterous Emperor. — Baronius, A.D. 786, n. 4.)
With what words shall we address you, sweetest Father, we who have been orphaned for God’s sake from your holy bosom? What pleasant or joyful thing shall we speak? For we are far from uttering any lamentations or sorrowful complaints, as though bearing with bitterness what is deemed an exile—which we have been taught by you not to recognize as such, since we are inhabitants of the whole earth; but we recognize only that exile from God which occurs through the transgression of any one of His commandments, whereby a man is cast far away. B Therefore we rejoice and are glad that, although we are unworthy of heaven and earth, we have nevertheless been deemed worthy, together with you our holy Father, to suffer these things for the sake of His commandment, and to be deprived of your companionship in the flesh. For otherwise, Father, you are always with us, seen and spoken with in the eyes and mouths of us all. And how else could we live, unless we were covered by the protection of your holy prayers, and kept unharmed from the Evil One, being separated and segregated each of us alone? Yet we have all remained safe and sound and steadfast. And although we endured some small hardships on the road, with some of us even falling ill, nevertheless He who said, *Look at the birds of the air, and the lilies of the field* (Matth. VI, 26, 28), and who does not falter in His promises, has brought us safely, beyond our hope, to this [Thessalonica]