CATECHESIS I. OF OUR HOLY FATHER CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF JERUSALEM: FIRST CATECHESIS OF THE ILLUMINATED.
Pronounced extemporaneously at Jerusalem; containing an introduction for those approaching baptism: And a reading from Isaiah: "Wash yourselves, become clean, remove wickedness from your souls before my eyes," etc.
A I. Disciples of the New Testament, and partakers of the mysteries of Christ, now indeed by calling, but soon also by grace, make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit, that joy may be caused B to those in heaven. For if there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, according to the Gospel, how much more shall the salvation of so many souls move the heavenly beings to joy? Having entered upon a good and most excellent path, run the race of piety with reverence. For the only-begotten Son of God is most ready for your C redemption, saying: "Come..."
unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. XI, 28). You who are clothed with the grievous garment of offenses, and bound by the chains of your own sins, hear the prophetic voice saying: "Wash you, make you clean; put away your evil doings from your souls, from before mine eyes" (Isa. I, 16); that the choir of angels may shout to you: "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered" (Ps. XXXI, 1). You who have lately lit the lamps of faith, keep them unquenched in your hands; so that He who once opened Paradise to the robber on this most holy mount Golgotha through faith, may grant you also to sing the nuptial song.
II. If any man be here as a servant of sin, let him be made ready through faith for the free regeneration of adoption; and having laid aside the most wretched slavery of sin, and having acquired the most blessed service of the Lord, let him be judged worthy to obtain the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. Put off by confession the old man which is corrupt according to the desires of deceit; that you may put on the new man, which is renewed according to the knowledge of Him who created him (Col. III, 9-10). Acquire the earnest of the Holy Spirit through faith, that you may be able to be received into the eternal mansions (Luke XVI, 9). Draw near to the mystical seal, that you may be favorably recognized by the Master; be numbered among the holy and rational flock of Christ, that you may be set apart on his right hand, and inherit the life prepared for you. For those to whom the harshness of sins still clings, they shall stand on the left, because they have not approached the grace of God which is given through Christ at the regeneration of the laver. I do not speak, however, of the regeneration of bodies, but of the spiritual regeneration of the soul. For while bodies are begotten by visible parents, souls are regenerated through faith; for "the Spirit bloweth where he listeth" (John III, 8). And then, if you be made worthy, it will be allowed you to hear: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" (Matt. XXV, 21), when you are found having no impurity of hypocrisy in your conscience.
III. For if any of those present hopes to tempt the grace of God, he deceives himself, and is ignorant of the power. Have a sincere and guileless soul, O man, for the sake of Him who "trieth the hearts and reins" (Ps. VII, 10). For just as those who are about to enlist as soldiers examine the ages and bodies of those being enrolled; so also the Lord, making a choice of souls, inquires into their intentions; and if anyone has hypocrisy hidden, He rejects the man as... D
unfit for true warfare; but if He finds him worthy, He most readily bestows the grace upon him. He does not give what is holy to the dogs; but where He sees a good conscience, there He gives the salutary and admirable seal, which demons tremble at and angels recognize, so that the former may flee, being driven away, and the latter may embrace the person as one of their own kin. Therefore, those who receive this spiritual and salutary seal have need also of their own resolve; for just as a writing pen or a dart has need of the one who uses it, so too does grace have need of those who believe.
IV. On the Baptismal Seal and Name
IV. You receive a weapon that is not corruptible, but spiritual. You are then transplanted into the intelligible paradise; B you receive a new name, which you did not have before. Before this you were a catechumen, but now you shall be called a believer. You are then transplanted into the intelligible olive trees, being grafted from a wild olive into a fruit-bearing olive; from sins into righteousness, from defilements into purity. You become a partaker of the holy vine. But if you remain in the vine, you will grow as a fruit-bearing branch; if, however, you do not remain, you shall be consumed by fire. Let us, therefore, bear fruit worthily; for let it not be that the incident of that fruitless fig tree should occur in us, lest C Jesus come even now and curse it for its barrenness; but let it be for all to say that: “I, however, am like a fruit-bearing olive tree in the house of God; I have hoped in the mercy of God forever.” It is not a sensible olive, but an intelligible, light-bearing one. His part, then, is to plant and to water, and yours is to bear fruit. It is God’s gift to bestow, but yours to receive and keep. Do not for D the sake of...
A the fact that it is given freely, offer contempt; but having received it, keep it with reverence.
V. The present time is a time of confession. Confess what you have perpetrated, whether in word or in deed; whether by night or by day. Confess in an acceptable time, and in the day of salvation receive the heavenly treasure. Apply yourself diligently to the exorcisms. Be constant in the catecheses, and remember the things that shall be said. For they are spoken not that you may merely hear, but that you may seal what is said through faith. Wipe away from yourself every human anxiety; for it is for your soul that you are running the race. You are indeed leaving behind the things of the world; those things being abandoned are small, but the things bestowed by the Lord are great. Abandon B the present things, and believe in those which are to come. You have passed through so many cycles of years, laboring in vain for the world; and will you not have leisure for forty days for your own soul? “Be at leisure, and know that I am God,” says the Scripture. Refrain from speaking many idle words; neither speak evil of others, nor gladly listen to one who speaks evil; but rather be ready for prayers. Show through exercise the strength of your heart.
A Purify your vessel, that you may receive more abundant grace. For while the remission of sins is given equally to all, the communion of the Holy Spirit is bestowed according to the measure of each one’s faith. If you labor little, you receive little; but if you work much, the reward is great. You are running for yourself; consider what is to your advantage.
B VI. If you have anything against anyone, forgive it. You approach to receive the remission of sins; it is necessary that you also forgive the one who has sinned against you. Otherwise, with what face will you say to the Lord, "Forgive me my many sins," if you yourself have not forgiven even a few to your fellow-servant? Be diligent in the assemblies, not only now, when the clergy require this diligence from you, but also after you have received the grace. For if it is good and commendable before you receive it, is it not also good after it has been given? If it is safe to be watered and cultivated before you are grafted, is it not much better after the planting? C Struggle for your own soul, especially in these days. Nourish your soul with divine readings, for the Lord has prepared a spiritual table for you. Say also yourself, according to the Psalmist: The Lord is my shepherd, and I shall lack nothing; he made me lie down in a place of pasture, he has nurtured me upon the water of rest; he has converted my soul, that both the angels may rejoice together, and Christ himself, the great high priest, accepting the resolve of your will, and offering you all to the Father, may say: Behold, I and the children whom God has given me; may He keep you all well-pleasing to Himself, to whom be glory and power for the D endless ages of ages. Amen.
Catechesis II. On Repentance and Remission of Sins. Admonition.
20 I. In this oration, Cyril, exhorting those who are to be baptized to repentance and confession, first represents the gravity of sin (num. 1); then its origin, from the free will of man and the suggestion of the devil, who nevertheless only incites but does not compel the willing (num. 2 and 3). He then demonstrates (num. 5) the remedy in man’s repentance and in divine goodness. To present this more effectively, he accumulates many examples from the sacred Scriptures, both of divine patience and of those who, having sinned, attained health, or pardon, or some indulgence through repentance. It is particularly memorable (n. 10) that he enumerates angels among them. He begins from Adam, and running through the individual ages of the world, he concludes with Peter, the prince of the apostles.
II. It is titled "On Repentance and Remission of Sins," and "On the Adversary," namely the devil. But this latter part of the title is missing in some manuscript books: and in truth, repentance and the remission of sins is the entire argument of this catechesis, in which the devil is only discussed incidentally at the very beginning, while the origin of evil is being investigated. Indeed, the author’s purpose is to explain the words of the ninth article of the Creed, by which it is said that there is one baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. He fights against the Manichaeans, and all, whether pagans or heretics, who, by teaching that sin in us is either natural or in any way necessary, completely took away the power and fruit of repentance by that perverse doctrine. I do not think the Novatians are the target here, though it has seemed so to some. For, as Cyril himself testifies (Cat. 18, n. 22), he deals here with repentance before baptism, which they never damaged with their dogmas: indeed, they preached it in such a way that they left no room for any other; Epiphanius refutes them (Haeres. LIX, n. 1) in such a way that he concedes to them that there is one true repentance, *metanoia*, which is the companion of baptism, and the only perfect repentance, attributing to it the name of the sacrament of repentance, *metameleias*, or of regret and return to sense. But all of Cyril’s reasoning, and especially what he puts forward toward the end concerning the repentance of Saint Peter, proves that repentance is useful even after baptism.
III. This oration was delivered shortly after the previous one, as the following catecheses make clear, in which he signifies that he is holding his discourse at the beginning of Lent, and also these words in n. 7, in which he says that his listeners had recently come to the catechesis: "You who have recently come to the catechesis," unless, however, he is addressing those privately who, not long before they gave their names, had added themselves to the order of the catechumens.
IV. We have examined this catechesis against the Coislinian, Roe, Casaubon, and three Ottobonian manuscripts, of which the first is older, the second more recent, and the third contains only a fragment. But the first Ottobonian is mutilated, with some leaves torn away, for which reason the final part of this catechesis is missing, namely from these words, *ostea ek ton taphon*, at the beginning of n. 17, and the entire third catechesis, as a result of which, in that very place of this catechesis where we most required its authority, it is missing for us.
V. It is wonderful how much the manuscripts for this transcribed catechesis differ both from the printed editions and from each other. For, beyond the common and usual variations of codes, there are others so different from the published text that another oration of the same argument could be formed from them: they seem to disagree not only in words, but even in entire sentences. Nor, however, have we seen any manuscript in which that great variety is continuously spread throughout the whole catechesis; but some disagree with the published versions at the beginning and end, while consenting with them in the middle, like the Roe and Casaubon codices, and others consent at the beginning and end but disagree in the middle, like the Coislin and the first Ottobonian: although in this last one it cannot be affirmed at all concerning the end, since one leaf is missing. The Ottobonian, however, is not as different from the published versions as the Coislinian; but the variations of both of these barely affect the author’s sense: contrary to the first two, whose diverse sentences sometimes do.
VI. But since it would have been inconvenient to place all those diversities, which are not to be despised, at the bottom margin of the pages, and indeed the page could barely have held them with its Latin interpretation and necessary annotations, it seemed best to propose to the reader two examples of this catechesis: which we have found used with praise by other editors in a similar variety of copies. The first example contains the catechesis according to the editions long ago published, with the varying readings of the codices that agree with them, by whose authority we have corrected some things; the help of the discordant ones was also used in those places of the published edition that required emendation. Then, with all those more significant variations collected, which are in the discordant codices
were found in part; from these I constructed another copy of this discourse, which I appended to the end of it as an appendix.
VII. These varieties were not to be neglected for many reasons. First, they are found in manuscripts that do not yield in antiquity and authority. Furthermore, the Second Ecumenical Council (the Seventh) C, reciting the testimony of this catechesis which lies at no. 17, refers to it not as it is in the published editions, but as it was transcribed by us in the second example from the Roe and Casaubon manuscripts. Thirdly, that passage in the same manuscripts at no. 19 savors of the highest antiquity: "If any one here is present from among the number of the Gentiles, who either at any time has spoken reproachfully against Christians, or who during the time of persecutions has lain in wait for the holy Churches, etc." These matters are very closely akin to the other reading in cat. 3, no. 15. Therefore, if anyone should ask us which reading of the first or second example ought to be preferred, we might dare to say it is difficult to give a judgment; the diction of the second example is for the most part shorter and more concise, less polished and refined than the first. The reading of Scripture in the first example is also more suitable to the design.
VIII. It is not easy to assign the cause of so many various readings. I should hardly believe that they arose simply from the license of copyists, although similar examples are not lacking. Perhaps Cyril, pronouncing the same catechesis in different years, changed a few things repeatedly, having amputated, for example, things that no longer suited the time in which he was speaking; such as that mention of the time of persecution, noted a little before? Or perhaps he himself, having pronounced it extempore, and it having been taken down hastily by shorthand reporters, later consigning it to writing and polishing it, brought it about that we have two or even more examples of the same discourse? We might also suspect whether perhaps someone, appointed to instruct catechumens at Jerusalem or elsewhere, used Cyril's discourse; and, lest he himself speak slavishly in another's words, changed some things. Nevertheless, it must be diligently observed that the doctrine is found the same in both examples, and, if you except the end, the number of sentences is almost the same. Those things which were changed seem to look only to the manner of speaking; those which were removed seem to have been taken away because they did not suit another time. Thus one thing can serve as an argument for this: that even the greatest diversity of copies ought not immediately to be to the detriment of the authority and utility of the writers.
CATECHESIS II TO THE ILLUMINATED.
Pronounced in Jerusalem, on Repentance, and the Remission of Sins, and on the Adversary. And a reading from Ezekiel: "Justice shall be upon the righteous man, and iniquity shall be upon the lawless man. And if the lawless man shall turn from all his iniquities, and the rest."
CATECHESIS II OF THE ILLUMINATED.
Held extempore at Jerusalem, On repentance, and the remission of sins, and on the adversary. A reading from Ezekiel: "Justice shall be upon the righteous, and impiety shall be upon the impious, and if the impious one shall have turned from all his impieties," and the rest.
Ⅰ. A dire thing is sin, and a most grievous disease of the soul is iniquity: acting to cut its tendons, and becoming also the cause of eternal fire. It is an evil of free choice, a sprout of the will; and that it is so, D our author elsewhere forcefully urges that principle of the catholic faith, that we sin freely and by no necessity, in order that he might perform it with weight and copiousness, he had many reasons; and many were the adversaries to be attacked who were distracting the minds of the faithful into contrary opinions. At the beginning, the astrologers, without doubt pagans (though many heretics were infected with these vanities), who taught that men were dragged into sins against their will by the necessities of the stars, cat. 4, n. 18. Others dreamed that the soul had sinned before it slid into the body, ibid. Others distinguished a two-fold order of souls, of which some were by nature sinful, others acted well by nature, ibid. n. 20, and cat. 7, n. 12. Then indeed there were those who would cast the cause of sin upon a certain God, who was evil by nature, namely the Marcionites and Manichaeans, cat. 6, n. 16, etc., and for this reason the Manichaeans said that the sins of men were incurable, on the authority of Titus of Bostra, book 1, against the Manichaeans, Bib. PP. Lugd. D Cyril indeed brings forward a definition of sin, that it is not caused by original sin, we prove in Dissertation 3.
A For we sin of our own choice, the prophet says clearly: *I planted thee a vine, wholly true; how art thou turned into bitterness, O alien vine?* [Jerem. II, 21] The planting is good, the fruit is evil; the evil comes from the power of choice; the planter is blameless, but the vine shall be consumed by fire, because it was planted for good, yet brought forth fruit for evil by its own free choice. For God made man upright, according to the Ecclesiastes, but they themselves sought out many inventions. [Eccl. VII, 30] For we are His workmanship, created unto good works, says the Apostle. [Ephes. III, 10] The Creator, therefore, being good, created us for good works; but the thing created turned to wickedness by its own free choice. Sin, therefore, is a terrible evil, as has been said, but it is not incurable: it is terrible to him who retains it, but easily healed for him who puts it away through repentance. B Suppose, I pray, that someone holds fire in his hand; as long as he holds the coal, he is undoubtedly burned; but if he throws away the coal, he has cast off along with it that which burned him. But if anyone thinks he is not burned by sinning, to him the Scripture says: *Shall a man take fire in his bosom, and his garments not be burned?* [Prov. VI, 27] For sin burns the nerves of the soul.
II. But someone will say, what then is sin? Is it a living creature, or an angel, or a demon? What is this thing that acts? It is not an enemy from without, O man, warring against you; but it is an evil shoot growing up from yourself. Look with straight eyes, and there will be no desire. Keep what is yours, and do not snatch what belongs to others; and robbery shall be put to sleep; remember the judgment, and neither fornication, nor adultery, nor murder, nor any of the transgressions whatever shall have power over you. But when you forget God, then finally you begin to think evil thoughts, and to commit what is forbidden.
III. Nor indeed are you the only leader and author of the deed; but there is another most wretched instigator, the devil. A He suggests [these things] to all, but he does not overcome by force those who do not acquiesce. Therefore, Ecclesiastes says: "If the spirit of him who has power rises up against you, do not leave your place." Shut your door, and keep it far from you, and it will not harm you. But if you receive the thought of desire indifferently, it will fix its roots in you, lurking in your mind, will bind your intellect, and will drag you into a pit of evils. But perhaps you will say: "I am a believer, and a wicked desire will not overcome me, even if I should think of it quite often." Do you not know that a root, remaining fixed for a long time, also breaks the rock? Do not receive the seed, since it will rend your faith. Before it blooms, extract the evil from the root; so that you may not, by being negligent from the beginning, have to think of B fire and axes later on. Cure the beginning of an eye infection in time, lest, having become blind, you only then seek the physician.
IV. The primary author of sin, therefore, is the devil, and the father of evils. But the Lord said this, not I: "That from the beginning the devil sins," for before him no one sinned. He sinned, however, not having received the sinful nature from necessity (otherwise the cause of sin would revert to the one who had so fashioned him), but, having been created good, he became a devil by his own will, taking his name from his action. C
A For being an archangel, he was afterwards called devil B from his slandering; and being a good minister of God, he became Satan C by his very name, for Satan is interpreted as "the adversary." These teachings are not my own, but those of Ezekiel the Spirit-bearing prophet. For he, taking up D a lamentation over him, says: "You are the seal of likeness, and the crown of beauty; in the paradise of God you were born." And after a few words: "You were born blameless in your days, from the day you were created, until iniquities were found in you." Very well did he say, "were found in you"; for it was not brought in from without, but you yourself begat the evil. And he stated the cause afterwards: "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; because of the multitude of your sins, and because of your sins, you were wounded, and I cast you to the earth." The Lord, in the Gospels, speaks in harmony with this again, saying: "I was beholding Satan as lightning falling from heaven." You see the harmony of the Old Testament with the New. This one, having fallen, caused many to depart with him. This one casts desires into those who obey him; from him come adultery, fornication, and every kind of evil. Through him our first forefather Adam was cast out...
A and instead of a paradise spontaneously bringing forth marvelous fruits, he received in exchange the earth that brings forth thorns.
V. What then? someone will say, we are lost having been deceived; is there no salvation left? We have fallen; is it not possible to rise? We have been blinded; is it not possible to see again? We have become lame; is it not possible to walk straight? To put it briefly, we have died; is it not possible for us to rise again? Indeed, will not He who raised Lazarus the four-day-old, the one who stank, O man, raise up you who are still alive much more easily? He who poured out his precious blood for us, He himself shall deliver us from sin. Let us not despair of ourselves, brothers; let us not cast ourselves into a hopeless state. B For it is a terrible thing not to believe in the hope of repentance. For he who does not expect salvation adds to his evils without restraint; but he who hopes for healing spares himself with ease for the time to come. For the robber who does not expect a gift grows into recklessness; but having hoped for forgiveness, he often turns to repentance. Furthermore, a serpent sheds its old age; shall we not put off sin? And was the thorny ground, when it was well cultivated, changed into being fruit-bearing; and is our salvation irreparable? The nature, therefore, is capable of salvation, but the intention is what is sought from now on.
VI. God is philanthropic, and not philanthropically in a small way. For do not say: I have committed fornication, I have committed adultery; terrible things have been done by me, and not once, but very often; C will He forgive? will He grant the amnesty? Hear what the Psalmist says: "How great is the multitude of your kindness, O Lord!" The accumulated sins do not conquer the multitude of God's mercies; your wounds do not conquer the expert skill of the supreme Physician. Simply hand yourself over to Him with faith; tell the Physician your ailment; say even you, according to David: "I said, I will confess my transgression to the Lord," and there shall happen to you the like, that which follows: "And you forgave the impiety of my heart." D
VII. Do you wish, you who have recently come to the catechesis, to see the humanity of God? Do you wish to see the benignity of God and the multitude of his patience? Hear about Adam. Adam, the first-formed man, violated the command of God: could He not have immediately brought death upon him? But see what the most benevolent Lord does. He casts him from Paradise (for he was unworthy of the dwelling of that place because of sin), but he settles him opposite Paradise, that seeing from whence he fell, and into what things he had been cast down, he might afterwards attain salvation through repentance. Cain, the first man brought forth by birth, became a fratricide; the inventor of evils, the author and leader of murders, and the first envious one; but after he had removed his brother, to what punishment is he condemned? "Groaning and trembling you shall be upon the earth." A The sin was great, the condemnation light.
VIII. And this indeed was truly the clemency of God, but it is yet small in respect of what follows. Reflect, I pray, on what happened in the time of Noah. The giants sinned, and much iniquity was then poured out over the earth, and because of this a flood was about to come; and in the five-hundredth year God utters his threat, but in the six-hundredth he brought the flood upon the earth. Do you see the breadth of God's benignity, extended to one hundred years? Could he not have done immediately that which he did after the hundred years? But he intentionally delayed it, giving space for repentance. Do you see the goodness of God? And if those men had repented then, they would not have felt the want of the divine clemency of God. B
IX. Come now also to others who were saved through repentance. There will perhaps be some among women who says: "I have played the harlot, I have committed adultery, I have defiled my body with every kind of wantonness; is there salvation?" Look, O woman, into Rahab, and do you also expect salvation. For if she who openly and publicly practiced fornication obtained salvation through repentance, is she not saved who once at some time before grace defiled her body, through repentance and fasting? Inquire how she was saved; she said only this: "For your God is in heaven and on earth." Your God, she said; for through immodesty she dared not say "my God." And if you wish to receive written testimony of her salvation, you have it inscribed in the Psalms: "I will be mindful of Rahab and Babylon to those who know me." C O the great benignity of God, which remembers even harlots in the Scriptures! But he did not simply say, "I will be mindful of Rahab and Babylon," but with D
A knowledge of me. There is, therefore, salvation for men, and likewise for women, which is procured through repentance.
X. Even if an entire people should sin, it does not surpass the benignity of God. The people fashioned a calf, yet God did not depart from his clemency; men denied God, but God did not deny himself 67. These are, they said, thy gods, O Israel 68; and yet, according to his custom, the God of Israel became their savior. And not only the people sinned, but also Aaron the high priest [(6)]. For B Moses is the one who says: *And upon Aaron the Lord was very angry: and I prayed*, he says, *for him, and God forgave him* [(4)]. Then Moses indeed, asking on behalf of a high priest who was sinning, bent the Lord; shall not Jesus, the only-begotten, asking on behalf of us, propitiate God? And him, because of the transgression, he did not prevent [(5)] from coming to the high priesthood; and will he prevent you, coming from the Gentiles, from entering into salvation? Repent, O man, henceforth, you also in like manner, and the grace shall not be denied to you. Present your manner of life blameless for the future; for God is truly a lover of mankind, and not all mankind [(6)] will be able to declare his benignity according to its worth; not even if all the tongues of men should assemble together, not even so will they be able to narrate some part of the benignity of God. For we speak of a part of those things which are written concerning his benignity toward men; but we do not know how much he has forgiven even the angels [(8)]. For he forgives even them; how—
even they themselves are capable of seeing, it testifies; but how this status can be reconciled with sin, or rather with the power of sinning, we do not understand. Added to this is the fact that he says the will of God is perfectly fulfilled in the angels, A so that by that example the Church prays that the will of God may be done in us. On the other hand, with all books consenting, both printed and manuscript, it is not permitted to accuse the text of interpolation. That this opinion was not peculiar to Cyril, since the narrowness of the margins here does not allow us to prove it, we have shown in Dissertation 5. Let it only be added here that Cyril could have received this opinion either from Origen, or from the source from which Origen drew, namely in two chapters of the Apocalypse, in which some sins are reproached by Christ to the angels of the Churches of Asia.
XI. But if you wish, I will also set before you other examples from our own history: come and go to blessed David, and take him as a type of repentance. B That great man stumbled: after his rest in the afternoon hours, while walking on the roof, he looked indifferently, and suffered something human. The sin was accomplished, but the gratitude regarding the confession of the fault did not die with it. Nathan the prophet came, a prompt reprover and physician of the wound. "The Lord was angry," he says, "and thou hast sinned." To the king, a private man C spoke. The king of royal purple did not grow angry; for he did not pay attention to the one speaking, but to him who had sent him. He acknowledged the sin, and was healed. For he did not say, "Why do you rebuke me?" but "I have sinned against the Lord." He knew that where there is confession of fault, there the forgiveness of sin follows.
11. But if you desire other models for us, come 11 also to the blessed David, and take him as a type of repentance. The great man stumbled; for after his rest, in the evening, as he was walking upon the roof, he looked indifferently, and suffered a human infirmity. The sin was finished, but the good sense concerning the confession of the fault did not die along with it. Nathan the prophet came, a prompt reprover, and a physician of the wound. "The Lord was angry," he says, "and thou hast sinned." To the king, a private individual D spoke...
A. The king, wearing the purple, was not indignant; for he did not attend to him who spoke, but to Him by whom he was sent. The surrounding cohort of soldiers did not blind him; for he reflected on the angelic host of the Lord, and, as if seeing the Invisible, he trembled 73; and to him who came, or rather to Him by whom he was sent, he replied: "I have sinned against the Lord 74." Do you see the humility of the king? Do you see the confession? For had he been convicted by anyone? Were many privy to the affair? The matter was done quickly, and the prophet was immediately present as an accuser, and he who had offended confesses the evil; and because he confessed it ingenuously and with a good mind, he obtained the most speedy healing. For the prophet Nathan, who had used threats, immediately says: "The Lord also has put away thy sin 75." Do you see the most speedy change of the God who loves mankind? Yet he says: "By doing so, thou hast made the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme 76." You had many enemies because of your justice, but chastity guarded you. But after you betrayed this main defense, you have enemies standing ready to rise up against you. Thus, therefore, the prophet consoled him.
B XII. But blessed David, even though he had heard that "The Lord has put away thy sin," the king did not cease from repentance; but he put on sackcloth instead of purple; and instead of gold-wrought thrones, the king sat on ashes and the ground 77; and he did not sit on ashes only, but he even had ashes as his food, as he himself says: "For I have eaten ashes like bread 78." He consumed his eye, which was too desirous, with tears C.
A saying: "I will wash my bed every night; with my tears I will wet my couch." When the princes urged him to eat bread, he would not be persuaded. He extended the fast for a full seven days. If a king B made confession in such a way, ought not you, a private citizen, to make confession? And after the rebellion of Absalom, when there were many paths of flight open to him, he chose to flee by way of the Mount of Olives, as if in his mind he were invoking the Deliverer who was destined to ascend into the heavens from that place. And when Semei cursed him bitterly, he says: "And let him alone; for he knew that it will be forgiven to him who forgives."
XIII. You see that to make confession is a beautiful thing; you see that there is salvation for those who repent. Salomon also had fallen; but what does he say? "Afterward I repented." And Achab, too, the king of Samaria, had become a most lawless idolater, outrageous, a murderer of prophets, a stranger to piety, a coveter of the fields and vineyards of others. But when he killed Nabuthai through Jezebel, and C Elias the prophet had come and merely threatened him, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth. And what does the merciful God say to Elias? "Hast thou seen how Achab was compuncted from before my face?"—as if laboring to incline the fiery nature of the prophet toward the one who was repenting. "For I will not bring the evil in his days," he says. And yet, though he was not going to depart from his wickedness after the forgiveness, he who forgives grants forgiveness; not being ignorant of the future, but granting the forgiveness that is appropriate to the present time of repentance. For it is the way of a just judge to answer toward each of the things that have happened in an appropriate manner.
A XIV. Again, Jeroboam stood sacrificing to idols upon the altar: his hand became withered, since he had commanded to seize the prophet who was rebuking him. But having known by experience the power of the one present, he says: "Entreat the face of the Lord your God"; and because of this word, his hand was restored to its integrity. If the prophet healed Jeroboam, will Christ not be able, by healing you, to deliver you from your sins? There was also Manasseh, a most lawless man, who sawed Isaiah asunder, and was defiled by all manner of idolatry, and filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; yet, being led captive to Babylon, by the experience of his evils he had recourse to the medicine of repentance. For the Scripture says that Manasseh was humbled before the Lord, and prayed, and the Lord heard him, and restored him to his kingdom. If he who sawed the prophet asunder was saved by repentance, will you not be saved, having done nothing so grievous?
B XV. See that you do not distrust the power of repentance in vain. Do you wish to know how much repentance avails? Do you wish to know the strong weapon of salvation, and learn how much confession avails? Hezekiah, by confession, put to flight one hundred and eighty-five thousand enemies; a great thing indeed, forsooth, and yet small in comparison with what is to be told. The same man, by repentance, revoked a divine sentence that had been pronounced. For to him when he was sick, Isaiah said: "Set your house in order; for you shall die, and not live." C What expectation therefore remained? What hope of salvation, when the prophet said, "For you shall die"? But Hezekiah did not depart from repentance; but, mindful of what is written, "When you shall turn and lament, then you shall be saved," he turned himself to the wall, and his mind was D [intentionally omitted: apparatus note preserved in facsimile].
hinder prayers sent up with a devout mind), and he says, "Lord, remember me." A And it is in itself a healing, that You should remember me. You are not subject to times, but You Yourself are the Lawgiver of life. For we do not live according to birth and the conjunction of the stars, as some foolishly prate; but You Yourself are the Lawgiver both of living, and of the fact that we ought to live as You will. And he to whom life was despaired of because of the prophetic sentence, to him was added fifteen years of time, the sun having made its retracing of its course for the sake of the sign. Then, for the sake of Hezekiah, the sun turned back, but for the sake of Christ, the sun was eclipsed—not by retracing, but by failing, and by this it showed the difference between the two, I mean Hezekiah and Jesus. And the one was able to rescind God's sentence; but shall Jesus not be able to grant the remission of sins? Turn B and lament for yourself; shut the door, and pray that it may be forgiven you, that He may take away from you the burning flames! For confession has power to quench fire, and it has power to tame lions.
XVI. But if you do not believe, consider what happened to Ananias and his companions; what fountains did they pour forth? How many sextarii of water were sufficient to quench a flame rising to forty-nine cubits? But where the flame exceeded a little, there faith was poured forth like a river, and there they spoke the antidote for evils: "You are righteous, O Lord, in all that You have done to us, for we have sinned and committed iniquity." And repentance C quenched the flames. If you do not believe that repentance is able to quench the fire of Gehenna, learn from what happened regarding Ananias. But someone will say, "Hezekiah was able to rescind a deadly sentence; but is Jesus not able to grant the remission of sins?" But "turn" and lament you also. Shut the door, and pray to Him who sees hidden things, that He may take away from you the scourges of fire that are being prepared; for it has power also to tame lions.
[XVII.] What judgment do you have regarding Nebuchadnezzar? Have you not heard from the Scriptures that he was a bloodthirsty, wild man, having a leonine disposition? Have you not heard that he cast the bones of kings out of their tombs to the light; have you not heard that he carried the people into captivity; have you not heard that he blinded the eyes of the king, after he had seen his children slaughtered; have you not heard that he crushed the cherubim? I do not mean the intelligible ones—far be it! Do not let that come into your mind, O man—but the carved ones, the mercy-seat, from the midst of which God spoke with a voice. He trampled upon the veil of the sanctuary; he took the censer and carried it off to an idol-temple; he removed all the offerings; he burned the temple from its very foundations. Of how many punishments was he worthy, for slaughtering kings, for burning the holy things, for carrying the people into captivity, for placing the sacred vessels inside of idols? Was he not, then, worthy of a thousand deaths?
A XVIII. You have seen the magnitude of these evils; turn now to the mercy of God. He became a beast: he lived in the desert, he was scourged that he might be saved. He had claws like a lion; for he had been a ravisher of the saints. He had the hair of a lion; for he was a lion, seizing and roaring. He ate grass like an ox; for he was a brute, not knowing Him who had given him the kingdom. His body was dampened by the dew; for having foreseen that the fire would be extinguished by the dew, he did not believe. And what happens? "Afterward," he says, "I, Nabuchodonosor, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and glorified Him that liveth forever" (Dan. IV, 31). When, therefore, he recognized the Most High, and sent forth to God the voices of a grateful heart, he came to repentance for what he had done and recognized his own weakness; then God restored to him the honor of the kingdom.
B XIX. What then? To Nabuchodonosor, who had committed such great crimes, and yet confessed, God gave forgiveness and the kingdom; and will He not grant to you, if you repent, the forgiveness of sins and the kingdom of heaven, if you conduct yourself worthily? The Lord is merciful, and quick to forgive, but slow to punish. Let no one, therefore, despair of his own salvation. Peter, the highest and foremost of the apostles, denied the Lord three times before a base maidservant; but being touched by repentance, he wept bitterly. His weeping declares a repentance that is intimate and from the heart; and for this reason he not only received forgiveness for his denial, but also retained his apostolic dignity unimpaired.
C XX. Since, therefore, brethren, you have many examples of those who have sinned, and have repented, and have been saved, do you too readily confess to the Lord, so that you may receive both the forgiveness of your former sins and be deemed worthy of the heavenly gift, and may inherit the kingdom of heaven with all the saints, in Christ Jesus, to whom is the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE SAME CATECHESIS AS IT IS READ IN VARIOUS MANUSCRIPTS
We present this second example of the second catechesis, from the variations of four manuscripts in particular: the Roe and the Casaubon, which differ much from the published editions at the beginning and the end, but agree in the middle; and the Coislin and the Ottobonian, which differ in the middle only, while in other respects they almost entirely agree with the published texts: so that where the variation of the former manuscripts ends, that of the latter begins, and vice-versa. And thus, from all of them, I have formed one diverse example, although three numbers...
CATECHESIS II FOR THE ILLUMINANDI
A Held at Jerusalem, concerning repentance and the remission of sins; and concerning the Adversary. And a reading from the prophet Ezekiel: As I live, saith the Lord, I desire not the death of the sinner, but that he should be converted and live, and the rest.
I. Dreadful is sin, and most grievous is the disease of the soul, which is transgression: for it cuts asunder its nerves and becomes the cause of eternal fire; and it makes us masters of our own actions. And that we sin by our own free choice, the prophet says somewhere clearly: But I planted thee a fruitful vine, all true; how art thou turned into bitterness, O alien vine? The planting is good, whose fruit is evil through free will; and for this reason the planter is blameless, but the vine shall be burned with fire; because it was planted for good, and brought forth evil fruit. For God made man upright, according to Ecclesiastes, and they themselves sought out many inventions; and the Apostle says: For we are His handiwork, created unto good works, which God hath prepared that we should walk in them. The Creator, therefore, being good, created us for good; but the things well created by Him were turned to evil by their own free choice. B Great, therefore, is sin, but not incurable; great to one who holds fast to it, but easy to cure for one who believes. Imagine that someone holds fire in his hand: so long as he holds it, the coal burns; put down the coal, and you have put down that which burned. But if anyone thinks he is not burned while sinning, to him the Scripture says: Shall a man take fire in his bosom, and his garments not be burned? For sin cuts asunder the nerves of the soul, breaks the bones of the mind, and covers what is luminous in the soul.
II. But someone will say: What then is sin? Is it a living being? Is it an angel? Is it a daemon? What is it that produces it? It is not an enemy brought in from elsewhere, but C sin cuts asunder the nerves of the soul, and smashes the intelligible bones of the mind, and darkens what is luminous in the heart.
II. But someone will say: What then is sin? Is it a living being? Is it an angel? Is it a daemon? What is it that produces it? It is not an enemy brought in from elsewhere, but
A a wicked shoot springing up from you. See straight with your eyes, and there is no desire. Keep your own, and do not seize what is another’s, and rapine will be put to rest. Be mindful of the judgment, and neither fornication, nor adultery, nor murder will prevail in you. But when you have forgotten God, then at last you begin B to gush forth sources of evils.
III. Nor are you alone the author of this affair; but there is some other instigator and author, the devil. He suggests to all, but he does not overcome by force those who do not yield. For this reason the Ecclesiastes says: *If the spirit of the one having power should rise up against you, do not leave your place* (Eccles. x, 4). Shut the doors, remove him from you, and he will not harm you. But if you receive the seed of depraved desire, it will increase through the recurrence of thoughts, it will send out roots, it will bind your mind, and lead it into C an abyss of evils. But you often say: "I am faithful, and the daemon will not overcome me." But a root once found often splits a rock; do not receive the seed, lest it break through your faith. Before it blossoms, uproot the evil; lest, having been negligent at the beginning, you later require axes and flame. When you begin to have pain in your eyes, see to your cure for a short time, that you may not be blinded and then require the physician.
IV. The devil, therefore, is the prince of sin, the father of evils. The Lord Jesus says this, not I; He himself says concerning him: *That from the beginning the devil sins* (I Joan. iii, 8); no one sinned before him. He sinned, not by taking the necessity of sinning from his nature, for so the sin would recoil upon the Creator; but, having been created good, he became the devil, having obtained the appellation from his deed. Being an Archangel, he was called devil (calumniator) from slandering. From a good servant D of God, he became Satan; for Satan signifies the same as devil [or calumniator]. These teachings are not mine, but we have been instructed by Ezekiel. For he, pouring forth lamentations against him, says: *You are a seal of resemblance, in the paradise of God were you born* (Ezech. xxviii, 12). And after a few words: *You were born blameless in your days, until iniquities were found in you.* They were not summoned from elsewhere; you yourself gave birth to the evil. And on account of your sins you were wounded, and I cast you to the ground. The Lord again in the Gospels says: *I was seeing Satan as lightning falling from heaven to the ground* (Luc. x, 18).
A Do you see the harmony of the Old Testament with the New? He, when he fell, dragged many down with him; he suggests desires to those who obey him: from him come adultery, fornication, and whatever is evil. Through him our first parent fell by disobedience, and in place of a paradise that bore fruits of its own accord, he received a land bearing thorns.
V. What then, someone will say, have we perished utterly? Is sin a terrible thing, and is there no salvation? Have we fallen, and is it impossible to rise? Have we been blinded, and is it impossible to look up? Have we become lame, and is it impossible to walk aright? Or, to say it briefly, have we died, and is it impossible to rise again? Does He who raised Lazarus on the fourth day, [already] rotting, not have the power to raise us up? Can He who shed His precious blood for us not liberate us from sin? Let us not despair of ourselves, brothers; let us not cast ourselves aside; for it is an extreme evil not to believe in repentance. For he who does not expect salvation adds to his sins, but he who hopes for healing easily spares himself. The thief who does not expect [mercy] for nothing increases in despair; but if he has hoped, he often turns to repentance. Furthermore, the serpent casts off its old skin; are we not to cast off sin? And land that was thorny, when cultivated, changed into something fruit-bearing; are we, when taught, not to become better? Nature is capable of salvation, but it demands the will. B
VI. God is a lover of mankind, and not in a small way. Do not say: "I have lived lewdly, I have committed adultery, I have done terrible things; will God forgive me?" Hear what the Psalmist says: *How great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord!* (Ps. XXX, 20). Your accumulated sins do not overcome the multitude of God's mercies; your wounds do not overcome the physician’s skill. Only give yourself [to Him] through faith; tell the physician the malady, say yourself as David did: *I said: I will confess against myself my sin to the Lord, and you have forgiven the impiety of my heart* (Ps. XXXI, 5).
VII. Do you wish to see God's love for mankind, if you do not fully believe the words of Scripture, you who have recently come to the catechism? Do you wish to see others saved in this way, so that you may believe that it is possible for this to happen even to you? Do you wish to see much of God's love for mankind? Adam, the first-formed, disobeyed God. Could He not have brought death upon him immediately? But He, most loving of mankind, casts him out of Paradise, yet settles him in the region opposite, so that by seeing [it] he might be saved through repentance. C Cain, the fratricide, inventor of evils, leader of murders, the first envious one and killer, with what penalty is he punished? *Groaning and trembling you shall be upon the earth* (Gen. IV, 12). Great is the sin, small the punishment.
VIII. It is love for mankind indeed, but still small. Think of the things in the time of Noah. The giants sinned by lawlessness. D
A such a magnitude that a flood was about to come. In the five hundredth year he speaks to Noah, and in the six hundredth he brings the flood upon the earth. Do you see the breadth of God's love for mankind extended over a hundred years? What He did then, could He not have done immediately? But He deliberately delayed it, giving an opportunity for repentance. Do you see the goodness of God? If only those of that time had repented! And they would have obtained the love of God for mankind.
IX. Come then, and consider others who have been saved through repentance, even among the number of women. You have acted the harlot, you have defiled B your body, you have become useless; you will ask, is there salvation? Look, O woman, to Rahab, and take courage for your salvation. He who had openly and publicly professed harlotry is saved. How was she saved? She believed. She said only, "Your God is God in heaven and on earth." She said "Your God," for she dared not call Him her own because of her lewdness. Imitate her faith and receive salvation. And do you wish to know that she was saved? It is written in the Psalms: "I will be mindful of Rahab and Babylon." O the great counsel and love of God, that even in the Scriptures He mentions a harlot! But not simply: "I will be mindful of Rahab and Babylon," but, "to those who know me." Salvation exists equally for men and for women.
X. Even if an entire people should sin, it does not overcome the love of God for mankind. The people fashioned a calf, and God did not cease from His goodness. C Men denied God, but God did not deny Himself. "These are the gods of Israel." Yet again, God is the savior of Israel. And not only the people sinned, but also Aaron the high priest. It is Moses who says, "And the Lord's anger was upon Aaron; and I prayed," he says, "for him, and God forgave him." Moses prevails upon God on behalf of the high priest; and will the only-begotten Son, by asking, not prevail upon God? Since He did not prevent Aaron, after he had stumbled, from entering into the high priesthood, will He prevent you, who have come from the Gentiles, from coming to salvation? Repent you likewise, and grace will not be prevented for you. Show your manner of life to be irreproachable; for God is truly D a lover of mankind, and not all time is sufficient to tell of the love of God for mankind; not even if all tongues were to come together, would they be able to recount even a part of the love of God for mankind. We speak a part of the things which are written, but we do not know how much He has even forgiven the angels; for He forgives even them, since He alone is without sin, He who has cleansed us from our sins. But let what has been said of them suffice, and let us now proceed to the things that pertain to us.
A XI. Do you wish that I should show you other examples of repentance? Do you wish that we should come to David? Do you wish to see the blessed man? Take him as an example of repentance. The great man fell. After resting, while walking upon his roof in the afternoon hours, he looked carelessly and suffered a human weakness. The sin was completed, yet the integrity of his sound mind did not perish along with it. Nathan the prophet came as a reprover, a swift physician. "God is angry," he says, "and you have sinned." A private individual was speaking to a king. The king, distinguished by his purple, was not puffed up with insolence; for he did not attend to the person of the one speaking, but to him who had sent him; the surrounding circle of soldiers did not elate him, for he was beholding the angelic one; for he endured, seeing Him who is invisible. And he says to the one who had come, answering through him to Him who had sent him: "I have sinned against the Lord." Do you see the humility of a king? Do you see the confession? For did he not know if it were a reproof? Did the multitudes not know? The deed was done swiftly, the prophet was not present, no reprover was present, yet he confesses the evil. Because he confessed it with a sound mind, he attained the speediest cure. And again Nathan, who had reproved him, said: "And the Lord has taken away your sin." Do you see the very swift change of God’s wrath? "Yet, by provoking, you have provoked the enemies of the Lord." You had many enemies, but your chastity was guarding you; but now you have provoked them by the sin that has occurred. B
C XII. But he, although the prophet had said, "The Lord has taken away your sin," did not depart from repentance, even though he was king. He put on sackcloth instead of purple, and instead of gold-adorned thrones, he sat upon ashes and the ground. And he even had ashes for food, as he himself says: "For I have eaten ashes like bread." He wasted away the eye of evil desire with tears. The princes were urging him to eat bread, but he would not be persuaded; he extended the fast to the seventh entire day. Kings confess in such a way, and you, a private individual, ought you not to confess? And after the rebellion of Absalom, when there were many ways for flight, he fled through the Mount of Olives, as if invoking the Liberator. When Semei was cursing him, he said: "Let him alone, that God may look upon my humility." D
XIII. Do you see that it is good to confess? Do you see that there is salvation? Even Solomon fell. But what does he say? "Afterwards I repented." And Achab also became most lawless, an idolater, a monstrous man, a murderer of prophets, a stranger to piety, a coveter of the fields of others. But when he killed Nabutha, when Elijah the prophet came and only uttered threats, he put on sackcloth and tore his garments; and what does the merciful God say? "Have you seen how Achab was pricked to the heart before my face?"
A how fervent the prophet’s disposition was, softening so as to incline toward mercy! "For I will not bring the evil," he says, "in his days." And after the forgiveness, he did not depart from his wickedness. Yet God granted pardon absolutely, not being ignorant of the future, but rendering for the time what was fitting. For it is the work of a just judge to pronounce sentence justly in regard to each of the things that have happened.
XIV. Again, Jeroboam was standing at the altar. Because he had ordered the prophet to be seized, his hand becomes withered. Recognizing by his own experience the power of him who had come to him, he says: "Entreat the Lord, and let my hand be restored." Because Jeroboam said, "Entreat," the prophet healed him: and shall Christ not be able to heal you? Manasses also existed, a most lawless man, he who sawed Isaiah asunder; what is more lawless than this? He was led away captive to Babylon, having suffered from his enemies rewards worthy of his own determination. But what does the Scripture say? "Manasses was humbled, and he confessed to the Lord, and the Lord heard him, and brought him back into his kingdom." B He who had sawed the prophet asunder found salvation through repentance: and do you distrust repentance?
XV. Do you wish to know how strong this weapon of salvation is, how much confession prevails even against enemies? Ezechias routed one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the enemy through confession. And this is still a small thing; he dissolved a sentence of God pronounced against himself. For to him as he lay sick, Isaiah said: "You are dying, and shall not live." What hope, what salvation or expectation remained, when the prophet had pronounced this? But he was not called back from repentance. But mindful of what is written, "When you have turned and groaned, then you shall be saved," he turned to the wall, and stretching his mind through prayer to heaven, "Lord," he says, "remember me; for it is sufficient for my healing that you remember me." You are not subject to times, but you are the arbiter of life and the lawgiver; for our life does not run according to the birth or the alignment of the stars, but according to your will. And to him, whose life had been despaired of, fifteen years of life were added; and as a sign, the sun went back ten steps. But for the sake of Jesus the sun failed, not retreating, but failing, and showing the difference between the two. C And indeed he possessed the power to dissolve a sentence of God; and shall Jesus not be able to grant forgiveness of sins? Do you also turn and groan; shut the door; pray that you may be forgiven, D that he may remove from you the scorching flames; it possesses...
A the power to quench fire, and the power to tame lions.
XVI. But if you are faithless, consider what once happened to Ananias and his companions. What springs did they release into the furnace of fire? What measure of water was sufficient to quench the flame rising to forty-nine cubits? Yet where the flame rose up fiercely, there a great spring of repentance was poured out, as they said: "For you are just in all that you have done to us," and, "We have sinned, and we have transgressed, and we have done iniquitously." Then repentance quelled the flames of the furnace; and do you doubt that it can also quench the fire of Gehenna? But someone, quick and ready to answer, will say to me that this discourse is ill-suited to the present purpose; for it was because Ananias and his companions refused to worship the idol that God gave them that extraordinary power. Yielding to this line of reasoning, and relying on an abundance of examples, I now turn to another instance of repentance.
XVII. For what is your opinion of B Nebuchadnezzar? Have you not heard from the Scriptures that he was most ungodly, most brutal in his ways, and possessed a lion-like resolve? Have you not heard that he brought the bones of the kings from their tombs into the light? Do you not know that he led the people away captive? Have you not heard that he put out the eyes of the king, having first made him watch his own children being slaughtered? Have you not heard that he seized the cherubim—I do not mean the intelligible and heavenly ones, but those constructed in the temple on the mercy seat of the ark, between which the Lord spoke? This Nebuchadnezzar tore down the veil of the sanctuary, overturned the altar, and taking all the vessels, C carried them off into an idol temple, and he burned the temple itself. How many deaths did he deserve for slaying kings, for burning the holy things, for taking the people captive, for storing sacred vessels in the temples of idols? Was he not worthy of ten thousand deaths?
XVIII. But you have seen the magnitude of his evils; now come to the loving-kindness of God. He became beast-like, he who was of a beastly and most cruel disposition; yet he became a beast not that he might perish, but that he might be saved through repentance. He had the claws of birds; for he had been a plunderer of the saints. He had hair like a D lion; for he was like a lion, plucking and roaring. He ate grass like an ox; for he was brutish, not knowing Him who had granted him the kingdom. His body was bedewed with dew; for after he had become
A...as once, after the midst of the furnace had become for Ananias and his companions like a whistling spirit of dew, he saw it and did not believe. But afterward, having been brought to his senses, he repented, as he himself says: "I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised Him who lives forever." And because he had been punished for many years, he praised Him who lives forever; he confessed Him who had granted him the kingdom, and he recognized the King of kings. And though he had sinned much in his deeds, by merely confessing with words, he experienced the ineffable clemency of God. He who had been the most lawless of all, by the divine judgment and the kindness of Him who corrects, was again adorned with the royal diadem and regained his royal thrones.
B XIX. If, therefore, there is any among you from the number of the Gentiles, or who has at some time blasphemed against Christ, or has plotted against the holy churches in times of persecution, let him have Nebuchadnezzar as an example for salvation: let him confess in similar fashion, that he too may obtain like amnesty. If any, desiring poorly, has been defiled by passions, let him take to himself the repentance of the blessed David; if any has denied Him, like Peter, let him die again in renewed struggle for the Lord Jesus. For He who did not begrudge the honor of the apostleship to him who wept, will not begrudge you the evangelical mysteries. Let Rahab be an example for salvation to women; but for men, let there be that varied example of the men of old which was recounted above.
C XX. But all of you, looking toward the clemency of God, be filled with good hope; not that we may fall back into the same sins again, but that, having obtained redemption and performing works worthy of grace, we may be able to blot out the chirograph of the decree that is against us by good works; by the power of the Only-begotten, the Son of God, and our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom is glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, both now and always, and for all the ages of ages. Amen.
CATECHESIS III, ON BAPTISM. — ARGUMENT.
In the first catecheses, the author, exhorting those to be baptized to show a preparation worthy of baptism, when in the previous one he had spoken of repentance and the remission of sins to be hoped for from God, in this one reveals the remedy in which God has established the remission of sins for the penitent, namely, baptism. He commends its dignity (n. 1) from the very close covenant by which it joins the soul with God, the grace of the Holy Spirit which it imparts (n. 2, 3, 4), the figures by which it was prefigured (n. 5), the excellence of its first author, John the Baptist, over other men (n. 6), and the example of Christ who received it (n. 9 and 11). He asserts its necessity for salvation from the decrees of Christ and the examples of the Scriptures (n. 4 and 10), defining that only martyrs obtain salvation without water baptism.
CATECHESIS III OF THE ILLUMINATED
Preached extemporaneously at Jerusalem. Concerning Baptism. A reading from the Epistle to the Romans: "Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him through baptism into death," and the following verses.
A I. Rejoice, heavens, and let the earth exult, for those who are to be sprinkled with hyssop, and to be cleansed by the intellectual hyssop, by the power of Him who, at the time of the passion, was given to drink by the hyssop and the reed. Let the heavenly hosts rejoice; but let the souls that are to be joined to the intelligible bridegroom prepare themselves. For the voice of one crying in the wilderness says: "Prepare the way of the Lord." For it is no small matter that is being enacted, nor is it a customary and reckless union of bodies, but a choice according to faith made by the Spirit who searches all things. For the worldly marriages and contracts among men are not always made with discretion; but wherever there is either wealth or beauty, the bridegroom quickly inclines. Here, however, it is not where there is beauty of bodies, but where there is a conscience free from reproach in the soul: here it is not the condemned Mammon that is sought, but the riches of the soul acquired through piety.
B II. Yield, therefore, O children of righteousness, to John who exhorts you and says: "Make straight the way of the Lord; remove all obstacles and stumbling blocks, that you may walk straight toward eternal life." Prepare the vessels of your soul to be clean through sincere faith, for the reception of the Holy Spirit. Begin to wash your garments through repentance, that when you are called to the bridal chamber, you may be found clean. For the [evangelical] Bridegroom
A calls everyone equally, since grace is generous; and the voice of loud-sounding heralds gathers everyone together: but thereafter He Himself distinguishes those who have entered inside to the typical marriage. May it not come to pass that any of those who have now signed their names hear: "Friend, how did you come in hither, not having a wedding garment?" But may it be for all of you to hear: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many; enter into the joy of your Lord." For now, you stand outside the door; but I pray you may all be able to say: "The King hath brought me into His chamber." Let my soul exult in the Lord; for He hath clothed me with a garment of salvation, and with a tunic of gladness; as a bridegroom He hath put a mitre upon me, and as a bride He hath adorned me with an ornament. That the soul of B each of you may be found having no spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; I do not say before you receive grace (for how could you, you who have been called for the remission of sins?), but that, when grace is given, the conscience, being found blameless, may concur with grace.
III. It is a great matter, indeed, brothers, and approach it with caution. Each one of you is about to stand before God, with myriad hosts of angels present; the Holy Spirit is about to seal your souls; you are about to be enlisted into the army of the great King. Therefore, prepare yourselves, and be ready.C
A Do not look upon the laver as mere water, but look to the spiritual grace which is given with the water. For just as the things offered to the altars, being in their nature mere things, become polluted by the invocation of idols; so, on the contrary, the mere water, having received the invocation of the Holy Spirit, and of Christ, and of the Father, acquires a power of holiness.
D IV. For since man is twofold, composed of soul and body, the purification is also twofold: the incorporeal for the incorporeal part, and the corporeal for the body; for just as water cleanses the body, so the Spirit seals the soul; so that, having our hearts sprinkled by the Spirit, and our bodies washed with pure water, we may approach God. Therefore, when you are about to descend into the water, do not look upon the mere water, but expect salvation by the operation of the Holy Spirit.
A For without both it is impossible for you to be perfected. I am not the one who says this, but the Lord Jesus Christ, who has the authority over the matter; for He says: B *Unless one is born from above*, and He proceeds to say, *of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God*. Neither does he who is baptized in water, if he has not been deemed worthy of the Spirit, possess the grace in its perfection; nor, though one be virtuous in deeds, shall he enter into the kingdom of heaven, if he has not received the seal by water. Daring may this speech seem, but it is not mine; for it is Jesus who has pronounced it. And take for yourself the proof of these words from the divine Scripture. Cornelius was a just man, deemed worthy of the vision of angels, who had raised his prayers and alms before God in heaven like a noble pillar. C Then Peter came, and the Spirit was poured out upon those who believed, and they spoke in other tongues, and prophesied. And after the grace of the Spirit, the Scripture says that Peter commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that the soul having been regenerated through faith, the body also might partake of grace through the water.
V. If any one desires to know why grace is given through water, and not through another of the elements, he will find the answer by searching the divine Scriptures. For water is something great, and D [the most beautiful of the four visible elements of the world.]
The habitation of angels is heaven, but the heavens are from the waters; earth is the place for men, but the earth is from the waters. And before the formation of all created things in the six days, the Spirit of God was borne above the water.
Water is the beginning of the world, and the Jordan is the beginning of the Gospels. Freedom for Israel from Pharaoh came through the sea; and freedom from sins for the world comes through the washing of water in the word of God. Wherever there is a covenant with someone, there also is water. After the flood, a covenant was made with Noah; a covenant with Israel from Mount Sinai, but with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop. Elijah is taken up, but not without water; for first he crosses the Jordan, then he rides through the heavens. First the high priest is washed, then he offers incense; for first Aaron was washed, and then he became high priest. For how could he B intercede for others, he who had not yet been purified by water? And a symbol of baptism lay within, a laver placed inside the tabernacle.
VI. The end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New is baptism. For John was the forerunner, than whom there is not a greater among those born of women; he was the end of the prophets. For *all the prophets and the law until John*. But of the things of the Gospel C
he was the beginning. A For the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he says, *came to be: John was in the desert baptizing*. And even if you were to name Elijah the Tishbite, who was taken up, yet he is not greater than John. Enoch was translated, yet he is not greater than John. Moses is the greatest lawgiver, and all the prophets are to be marveled at, but they are not greater than John. I do not dare to compare prophet with prophet, but their Master and ours, the Lord Jesus, has declared: *Among those born of women there has not arisen a greater than John*; not among those born of virgins, but of women. B The comparison is between a great servant and his fellow servants, but for the Son, the excellence and grace in comparison to servants is incomparable. Do you see how great a man God chose as the leader of this grace? One who possessed nothing at all, and who was a lover of the desert, but not a hater of mankind; one who ate locusts and who grew wings upon his soul; one who was filled with honey and spoke things sweeter and more useful than honey; one who was clothed in a garment of camel’s hair, and who showed in himself the model of the ascetic life; who also, while yet being carried in his mother’s womb, was sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Jeremiah was sanctified, but he did not prophesy in the womb; but John alone, while being carried, leapt for joy, and though he did not see with the eyes of the flesh, he recognized the Master by the Spirit. C For since the grace of baptism was great, it required also a great harbinger.
VII. This man was baptizing in the Jordan, and all Jerusalem was going out to him, enjoying the first fruits of baptisms; for the D prerogative of all good things
A in Jerusalem. But know, O Jerusalemites, how those who were going out were being baptized by him: *Confessing*, he says, *their sins*. First they were showing their wounds, then he was applying the medications, and to those who believed he was giving redemption from eternal fire. And if you wish to be convinced of this very fact, that John’s baptism is a redemption from the threat of fire, listen to him saying: *Progeny of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?* Do not, then, be a viper any longer, but since you were once a progeny of a viper, strip off, he says, the substance of your first life of sin. For every snake, when it enters into a narrow place, sheds its old skin, and by casting off its age through the constriction, it becomes young again in its body. In this same way, B enter in, he says, even you, through the narrow and constricted gate; having looked to yourself through fasting, force your way out of your destruction. Strip off the old man with his actions, and speak that word in the Song of Songs: *I have stripped off my tunic; how shall I put it on?* But perhaps there is some hypocrite among you, a men-pleaser, who, while pretending to be devout, does not believe from the heart, having the hypocrisy of Simon Magus, not approaching in order to partake of grace, but in order to pry into what is being given; let such a one also listen to John: *And now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.* The Judge is inexorable; take away the hypocrisy. C
VIII. What, then, must be done? And what are the fruits of repentance? *Let him who has two tunics share with him who has none* (that teacher was credible, since he was the first to practice what was being taught; no shame restrained him from speaking; for his conscience did not check him, hindering his tongue); and let him who has food do likewise. If you wish to enjoy the grace of the Holy Spirit, and
do not think the poor worthy of sensible food? You seek great things, yet do not share the small? Even A if you were a publican, even if you were a fornicator, hope for salvation. "Publicans and harlots go before you into the kingdom of God" (Matt. xxi, 31). And Paul is a witness to this matter, saying: "Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor others who follow, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but you are washed, but you are sanctified" — he did not say "you are," but "such were some of you" (I Cor. vi, 9-11). A sin committed in ignorance is forgiven, but stubborn malice is condemned.
IX. You have the boast of baptism, the only-begotten Son of God himself. For what is it for me to say more about a man? B Great is John, but what is he compared to the Lord? The voice is high-sounding, but what is it compared to the Word? The herald is most illustrious, but what is he compared to the King? He who baptizes in water is good, but what is he compared to the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. iii, 11)? The Savior baptized the apostles with the Holy Spirit and fire when there occurred "suddenly from heaven a sound as of a rushing violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting; and there appeared to them cloven tongues as of fire, and it sat upon each one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit" (Act. ii, 2-4).
X. If anyone does not receive baptism, he has no salvation—except only for martyrs, who even without water receive the kingdom. For the Savior, redeeming the world by the cross, and being pierced in the side, poured forth blood and water; so that some, C in times of peace, might be baptized in water, and others, in times of persecution, might be baptized in their own blood. For the Savior is accustomed to call martyrdom a baptism too, saying: "Can you drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" (Marc. x, 38). And the martyrs indeed confess, having become a spectacle to the world and to angels and to men; but you meanwhile...
A confess; but it is not yet time for you to hear about these things.
XI. Jesus sanctified baptism when He Himself was baptized. If the Son of God was baptized, who is there who, in his piety, could despise baptism? He was baptized, not that He might receive the remission of sins (for He was free from sin); but, being sinless, He was baptized, so that He might bestow divine grace and dignity upon those who are baptized. For just as, because the children have shared in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same, in order that we, having become partakers of His incarnate presence, might also become partakers of His divine grace; so Jesus was baptized, that we too, through this B communion, might receive along with salvation the dignity. The dragon was in the waters, according to Job, he who receives the Jordan into his mouth. Since, therefore, it was necessary to crush the heads of the dragon, He descended into the waters and bound the strong one, that we might receive the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions; the beast was not small, but fearsome. No fishing vessel could bring one skin of his tail; destruction ran before him, defiling those it met. C Life ran to his aid, so that eventually death might be muzzled, that we all who have been saved might say: O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? Through baptism the sting of death is destroyed.
XII. You do indeed descend into the water bearing sins; but the invocation of grace, sealing the soul, D does not [index: entries preserved]
A permit it to be swallowed by the fearsome dragon. B Dead in sins you descended, you ascend made alive in righteousness; for if you have been planted in the likeness of the Saviour’s death, you shall also be accounted worthy of His resurrection. For even as Jesus, having taken upon Himself the sins of the world, died, so that having put sin to death He might raise you C in righteousness; so also you, having descended into the water, and in a manner having been buried in the waters, just as He was in the rock, are raised again, walking in newness of life.
XIII. Then, when you have been counted worthy of grace, He gives you the power to wrestle against opposing forces. For even as He, after baptism, was tempted for forty days B (not because He was unable to conquer before this, but because He wished to do everything in order and sequence), so also you, who did not dare wrestle with your adversaries before baptism, having received grace and being now confident in the weapons of righteousness, then struggle, and if you wish, preach the Gospel.
XIV. Jesus Christ was the Son of God; yet He did not preach the Gospel before His baptism. If the Master Himself managed the time according to order, are we, the servants, to dare to do anything out of order? From that time Jesus began to preach, when the Holy Spirit descended C upon Him in bodily form like a dove; not that Jesus should see this first (for He knew it even before it arrived in bodily form), but in order that John, who was baptizing, might see it. "For I," he says, "did not know Him; but He who sent me to baptize in water, He said to me: Upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is He." If you, too, have sincere piety, the Holy Spirit D descends also upon you, and the Fatherly voice from above resounds over you: "This is My beloved Son," in whom I am well pleased: not that He then begins to be a Son, but that you then begin to be a son A of God through adoption. For since He is the radiance of His glory, He does not begin to be a Son, but He is always a Son, before all ages and in all ages, being the same, the Son of God, not lacking any beginning of time, having come to us at the due time as the Saviour and Benefactor of men.
A You also will have piety, and the Father’s voice will be heard by you from above: not, "This is my Son," but, "This one has now become my son." For of Him alone is it said, "Is," since "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"—of Him, "Is," since He is always the Son of God. But of you, "Now has become," because you possess adoption not by nature, but you receive it by grace. He is eternally; you, however, receive grace through progress.
XV. Therefore, prepare the vessel of your soul, that you may become a son of God, and an heir indeed of God, but a co-heir of Christ; if indeed you prepare yourself so as to receive, if you approach from faith that you may be confirmed, if you put off B the old man by choice. For all things that you have committed will be forgiven, whether it be fornication, whether adultery, or any other kind of licentiousness of this sort. What is greater than to have crucified Christ? And yet the baptism of repentance is a cleansing even for this. For to the three thousand who had approached, to those who had crucified the Lord and were inquiring and saying, "What shall we do, men and brethren?" Peter was speaking; for great is the wound. You have brought us to a realization of our own fall, O Peter, by saying, "You killed the Author of life." What plaster will be given for such a great wound? What cleansing C for such great filth? What salvation for such destruction? Repent, he says, and be baptized everyone of you—
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. O ineffable philanthropy of God! They do not hope for salvation, and they are accounted worthy of the gift of the Holy Spirit. A You see the power of baptism. If any of you has crucified Christ with blasphemous words; if any of you has denied him before men through ignorance; if any of you has caused the doctrine to be blasphemed through evil deeds; let him be of good hope, repenting; for the same grace is present even now.
XVI. "Be of good courage, O Jerusalem; the Lord shall take away all thine iniquities." The Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons B and of the daughters of his people, in a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. He shall sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be cleansed from all your sin. Angels dance around you, and shall say, "Who is this that cometh up whitened, leaning upon her kinsman?" For the soul that was formerly a slave now claims the Master himself as her kinsman; and he, accepting her sincere determination, shall proclaim: "Behold, thou art fair, my neighbor; behold, thou art fair; thy teeth are as flocks of shorn sheep," because of the confession that proceeds from a good conscience; and the rest: "All of them bear twins," because of the double grace, I mean that which is accomplished through water and the Spirit, or that which is proclaimed through C the Old and New Testaments. And may it be granted to you all, as you complete the course of the fast, to attain to D the public profession of the holy and adorable Trinity.
having fulfilled the fast, remembering the things that have been said, bringing forth fruit in good works, standing without reproach before the intelligible Bridegroom, may you obtain the remission of sins from God; to whom be the glory A with the Son and the Holy Spirit, unto the ages. Amen. Coloss. 1, 10.
However, in the churches of Palestine, the seven weeks of Lent were gradually introduced; and so it was in the time of St. Dorotheus, namely about the sixth and seventh centuries, according to the doctrine of Dorotheus 15. That in the Jerusalem church, as in the whole East, there was no fasting on Saturdays, and that therefore there were only thirty days of fasting, Sozomen is the witness cited above, and this is confirmed by the examples cited by Palladius in the *Lausiac History*: first, Adolius, who was living a solitary life in Jerusalem, ch. 104, who after only five days would eat food during Lent. A second example is in ch. 106, of Elpidius, who practiced his asceticism near Jericho; he would eat only on Sundays and Saturdays during the whole time. It seems to follow that the liturgy was celebrated on the Saturdays of Lent in the Jerusalem church, if the fast was broken on that day. Moreover, in the *Life of St. Saba* by Cyril, n. 25, it is noted that he, living in the desert during Lent, took the holy communion on Saturdays and Sundays. The things that Cyril warns against regarding the observation of the Sabbaths, cat. 4, n. 37, can signify that, because of the solemnity of that day, those whom he criticizes took the opportunity to celebrate that day as a feast. He does not, however, mention any other assemblies than those which were held on the Lord's days; and Eusebius of Caesarea, in *Psalm* XXI, 31, and the *Catena* on Luke ch. XXII, 7, when mentioning the times of holy communion, designates only the Lord's day. In the fast, they abstained from wine and meat, cat. 4, n. 27.
CATECHESIS FOURTH
CONCERNING THE TEN OR ELEVEN DOGMAS WHICH CONTAIN THE SUM OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
49
PROLOGUE
I. After the author has instructed his hearers in the laws of their new status in the previous catecheses, and has prepared them for penance and the confession of sins, which ought to precede baptism; he now proceeds to explain to them the rudiments of the Christian faith (no. 3), which was to be brought about by an explanation of the Creed. But before he delivered that, and explained its doctrine in parts throughout the whole time of Lent in distinct sermons, he judged it best to encompass the sum of this doctrine in a certain compendium, and to fortify the rest of his sermon and disputation with it; so that the mind of the hearers, being informed by this general notion, might more easily receive the subsequent fuller explanation of the individual chapters, and the earlier points would not fall from their mind while the later ones were being spoken.
II. Therefore in the catechesis, after having inculcated (no. 1 and 2) the equal necessity of two things for salvation, namely, right doctrine and good works; and having denounced the danger of listening to wicked teachers instead of good ones; he delivers (no. 4 et seq.) the general precepts of the Christian faith: concerning God; concerning Christ, His incarnation, death, burial, and descent into hell, resurrection, ascension, and sitting at the right hand of the Father, and His second coming; concerning the Holy Spirit; concerning the nature of man and both his parts, namely the soul and the body; concerning the diverse goodness of virginity, marriage, widowhood, and second marriages; concerning the nature and selection of foods, and the manner of dress, which all pertain to the body; and finally, concerning the general resurrection and the last judgment. Having explained these, he points out the source of all these dogmas (no. 33 et seqq.), namely the Holy Scripture, the index of whose books, as well of the Old Testament, which he says were translated by the LXX Interpreters, as of the New, he weaves. All of which he concludes (no. 37) with certain moral precepts. This discourse was given at the beginning of Lent, as n. 3 signifies.
and I should judge this to be the last catechesis of the first week of the fast. III. This custom, at the beginning of Lent, of proposing all the dogmas of the Church at once in a single discourse to those about to be baptized, was peculiar to the Church of Jerusalem; so that when at one time John, the successor of our Cyril, said that he had delivered a similar sermon, in which he had discoursed on all the dogmas, Jerome, out of ignorance of this custom, and not without a certain harshness of biting style, attacked him with the accusation either of levity and negligence in handling the dogmas, or of vain ostentation. A These, however, were the words of John in the letter to Theophilus of Alexandria, of which Jerome represents some fragments in letter 61 to Pammachius (in the new edition, 38), by which he refutes those letters of John: "When we also, some days before him," he means Saint Epiphanius, "had spoken, and the present reading had provoked it, in his hearing and that of the whole Church, we spoke these things concerning the faith and all ecclesiastical dogmas, which we also always by the grace of God teach unceasingly in the Church and in the catecheses." But what those things were of which he had spoken before, Jerome repeats from his writing in these words: "That one, not being very eloquent, should discourse in a single ecclesiastical treatise on all the dogmas, and on the Trinity, on the assumption of the Lord's body, on the cross, on the underworld, on the nature of angels, on the state of souls, on the resurrection of the Savior and our own, and among these things which perhaps he forgot to write." You see almost all the arguments of this catechesis, if you chance to except the article On the nature of angels, which John, being more addicted to Origen, may have been able to add to the customary heads. B That this sermon, however, was delivered in Lent for the sake of those to be baptized, other words of John, by which he renders the reason for his disputation on all the dogmas, sufficiently signify in my opinion: "The custom among us is of such a kind that for those who are to be baptized we publicly teach for forty days the holy and adorable Trinity."
IV. From whom this custom originated is uncertain. But it is probable that Cyril was its author. For when, in number 3 of this discourse, he explains the reason which induced him to deliver a compendious exposition of dogmas of this kind, he does not trace it, as John did, to the custom of his church, but signifies that it was his own personal decision, speaking thus: "But before the tradition of the Faith, that is, of the Creed, it seems excellently to me," etc., καλῶς ἔχειν μοι δοκεῖ. Moreover, what Jerome says was difficult for John because of his inexperience and immaturity, our author performed with such ease and brevity and abundance that there is nothing in the whole work of the Catecheses that I admire more, nor could anything perhaps be found in which the power of genius and the prompt facility of extemporaneous speaking might shine more brightly: so pressingly and concisely, yet at the same time fully and copiously, he discourses on the most weighty heads of our faith.
V. This catechesis has a general title, which contains the argument of the whole, and peculiar titles proper to individual sections, both being very ancient. For Theodoret, a hundred years after these catecheses were written, citing its section which treats of the Incarnation, no. 9, reports it as taken from the fourth catechetical sermon, On the ten dogmas, with a special title attached, On the generation from the Virgin. C But in both sets of titles there is some difficulty; so that it is evident that we are indebted to the judgment of the notaries and scribes who copied the Catecheses, and not to Cyril, who spoke continuously, as they were positioned.
VI. In the beginning, in the version of Grodecius, the editions of Morellus and Prevotius, and the Bodleian, Colbertine, and Ottobonian codices, it is inscribed, as in Theodoret, On the ten dogmas. Other codices, however, namely the Coislinian, and those of Roe and Casaubon, bear On the eleven dogmas. But if the articles treated in this discourse are recounted, not ten or eleven, but fourteen, or even many more will be numbered. Moreover, there is not the same rationale for all the codices in inscribing the different titles; some, like the Memmian codex, which was edited in 1564 by William Morellus, and the Colbertine, have no such titles. The printed editions prefer fourteen, having enumerated in them the title On the divine Scriptures; and they omit the title On clothing: the old codex agrees with these, whose variants are noted in the margin in the book of St. Genevieve. The Coislinian codex exhibits only twelve, the title of the Scriptures being included; with these omitted: On God, On the assumption, On the future judgment; and one added which is not in the printed editions, On clothing. The Ottobonian contains fifteen inscriptions, with there being added to the inscriptions of the editors one on the bath at the end of the article On the general resurrection, while the title On clothing is omitted. The codices of Roe and Casaubon have only six titles noted, namely On God, On burial, On the future judgment, On the Holy Spirit, On the constitution of man (in which argument are comprehended those things which in the printed books are comprehended under the titles On the soul, on the body and on foods), and On clothing. The Bodleian codex acknowledges only two titles, On God and On the future judgment. D
VII. It is added that the same titles are not expressed in all codices. The title On the future judgment in the Ottobonian codex is inscribed περὶ παρουσίας, supp. δευτέρας, On the second coming, namely of Christ. In place of the title On the soul, the Coislinian, Roe, and Casaubon codices bear the one noted above, On the constitution of man. The Coislinian just mentioned, in place of On the resurrection of Christ, has, "that he is risen." It is a defect of the same codex that, in place of the title On the birth from the Virgin, it has written On the soul. In the placement of the titles, too, there is some diversity; for the Coislinian and Ottobonian codices put the title On the body not in the same place as the printed ones, but after several lines, and the title On foods several lines before the printed ones.
VIII. All these variations have caused me to believe that in assigning the dogmas and placing the titles, I had some right, just as the scribes who first thought it up. And first, the greater title On the ten dogmas pleased me, as it is fortified by the authority of more manuscripts and the most ancient and weighty Theodoret, who recites it. O1
A Yet, so that I might concede something to the other inscription, On the eleven dogmas, I have numbered the dogmas in such a way that the article on Holy Scripture is taken out of their number; Cyril, in number 32, distinguishes it at the beginning from the dogmas in such a way that it seems to be not so much a dogma itself, as the font of the preceding dogmas. If anyone likes to count it among the dogmas, he may number eleven, for all I care.
IX. Since, however, there are more titles than ten, I have preserved all that I found in the manuscripts, subjecting the minor titles to the major ones to which they are recalled, and I have taken care to mark both with a different kind of character. I have assigned the major ones, which contain ten or eleven dogmas, as follows: First is On God; second, On Christ; third, On the generation from the Virgin, cited by Theodoret under a proper and peculiar inscription; fourth, On the cross and burial, which are explained by Cyril in cat. 13 as one instruction, and in the Coislin manuscript are comprised under one title; fifth B is On the resurrection and the assumption, which the author likewise joins together in cat. 14; sixth, On the future judgment; seventh, On the Holy Spirit; eighth, On the soul; ninth, On the body, simultaneously comprehending the related titles On foods and clothing; tenth, On the general resurrection; so that the eleventh title contains Scripture, either as the eleventh dogma or as the font of the dogmas.
We have corrected this discourse based on the authority of the editions of G. Morel, Prévot, and subsequent ones, as well as the manuscripts Coislin, Ottobonian, Colbertine, Roe, Casaubon, and Bodleian, also consulting the variants of the old manuscript affixed to the margin of the book in the St. Geneviève edition of Morel. We have added more frequent and sometimes more prolix annotations, which seemed necessary for the aid of readers who are perhaps less experienced, and I hope nothing will be seen to wander outside the purpose.
CATECHESIS IV OF THE ILLUMINANDI
Pronounced extemporaneously in Jerusalem, On the ten dogmas. And a reading from the Epistle to the Colossians: "See that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world," and so forth.1. Vice imitates virtue, and the tare struggles to be taken for wheat; in appearance indeed it is assimilated to the wheat, but it is detected by those experienced in discerning by its taste. And the devil transforms himself into an angel of light, not that he may return to where he was (for, possessing a heart like an anvil, inflexible, he has a mind set on an unrepentant state for the future); but that he may [lead astray] those who...
but in order that he may envelop those who live a life like the angels in a darkness of blindness and a pestilential state of unbelief. Many wolves walk about wrapped in sheep’s clothing, possessing indeed the fleece of sheep, but not also their claws and teeth; but, being covered with a gentle pelt, and by their appearance deceiving the simple, they pour forth from their teeth the lethal venom of impiety. We have need, therefore, of divine grace, and of a sober A mind, and of watchful eyes; that we may not eat cockle as wheat, and suffer harm through ignorance; nor, having mistaken the wolf for a sheep, be hunted down; nor, having suspected the destroyer devil to be a beneficent angel, be devoured. For he goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, according to the Scripture. For this cause the Church admonishes, for this cause the present instructions, for this cause the readings are held.
II. For the method of true religion consists of these two things: pious dogmas and good works; and neither are dogmas acceptable to God without good works, nor does God receive works performed without pious dogmas. For what is the profit of knowing the dogmas concerning God well, and yet living filthily? And again, what is the profit of living well, and yet blasphemously holding impious opinions? The knowledge of dogmas is, therefore, a most precious possession, and there is need of a sober soul, since there are many who carry souls away as booty through philosophy and vain deceit. And the Greeks, indeed, lead men astray B by their eloquence: For honey drips from the lips of a harlot. Those from the circumcision, through the divine Scriptures, which they interpret wrongly, deceive those who approach; studying from childhood until old age, and growing old in ignorance. But the children of heretics, through their smooth speech and eloquence, deceive the hearts of the innocent; concealing the poisonous darts of their impious dogmas with the name of Christ, as it were with honey; of whom all together the Lord says: C Beware lest any man lead you astray. For this cause the instruction of faith is also—D
CATECHESIS IV. ON THE TEN DOGMAS
III. But before I deliver the things pertaining to the faith, it seems good to me now to make use of a brief summary of the necessary dogmas; lest the multitude of the things to be said, and the intervening space of the days of the entire holy Quadragesima, cause forgetfulness in the minds of those among you who are simpler. But that by sowing them now as in a summary, we may not become forgetful, when they are cultivated more broadly hereafter. Let those of the present company who are more perfect in habit of mind, and who already have their senses exercised for the discernment of good and evil, bear patiently with us as they hear these tender beginnings and milk-like introduction: so that at the same time both those who are in need of the catechesis may receive benefit, and those who possess knowledge may rejoice to have the memory of what they already know rekindled.
ON GOD [DOGMA I]
IV. Let the dogma concerning God be first of all established as a foundation in your soul, that God is one alone, unbegotten, without beginning, unchangeable, and immutable; neither begotten by another, nor having another as successor to his life; and that he neither began to live in time, nor will ever come to an end; and that he himself is good and just; so that if you ever hear a heretic saying that one is just and another is good, you may be immediately warned, and recognize the venomous dart of the heresy. For some have dared in their impiety to divide the one God in their discourse; and some have said that the creator and master of the soul is one, and another is the creator of the bodies, uttering what is at once foolish and impious.
For how can a man be a servant of A two masters, since the Lord says in the Gospels: "No man can serve two masters" (Matth. VI, 24)? There is, therefore, only one God, who is the maker of both souls and bodies; one is the creator of heaven and earth, and the maker of angels and archangels. He is the craftsman of many things, but the Father of one only before all ages—of one only, His only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom He made all things, visible and invisible (Coloss. I, 16).
V. This Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is not circumscribed in any place, nor is He smaller than heaven; but the heavens are the works of His fingers (Psal. VIII, 4), and the whole earth is held in His palm (Isa. XL, 12); He is in all things, and outside of all things. Do not imagine B the sun to be brighter than He, or equal to Him; for He who fashioned the sun beforehand must, without comparison, be much greater and brighter. He is the foreknower of things to come, and more powerful than all; knowing all things and doing as He wills; not subject to successions of events, nor to birth, nor to chance, nor to fate. Perfect in all things, and possessing every form of virtue in equal measure; neither decreasing nor increasing, but always existing in the same way and in the same manner; having prepared punishment for the sinful, and a crown for the just.
VI. Since, therefore, many have wandered in various ways C from the one God; and some have deified the sun, that,
A as they supposed, they might remain without God in the time of night; others the moon, that they might have no God in the day; others the remaining parts of the world; others the arts; others food; others pleasures. And some, being mad for women, having set up the image of a naked woman on high, and calling it Aphrodite, B worshipped through the visible form the passion of their soul; others, struck with amazement at the brightness of gold, made it and the remaining materials their gods. But if anyone shall establish in his heart the doctrine concerning the monarchy of God, and be persuaded by this, he cuts off at once the whole course and impulse of the sins of idolatry and the error of the heretics. This, therefore, first dogma of piety do thou establish in thy soul as a foundation, through faith.
CONCERNING CHRIST
VII. Believe also in the Son of God, the one and only, our Lord Jesus Christ, begotten of God as God, begotten of life as life, begotten of light as light, like in all things to Him who begat Him. Who did not receive being in time, C but before all ages was eternally and incomprehensibly begotten of the Father, being in all things like to Him who begat Him.
(7) Alii lunam, ut diei temporibus non haberent Deum; alii cæteras mundi partes; alteri artes, hi cibos, isti voluptates; aliqui vero mulierum amoribus insanientes, nudæ mulieris simulacrum in sublimi collocatum Veneris nomine nuncupantes, sub visibili specie animi sui vitium affectumque adoravere; alii ad auri fulgorem attoniti, cum ipsum, tum reliquas materias deos fecere: si quis vero doctrinam de monarchia [seu unico principatu] Dei in corde defixerit, eique ex animo crediderit, omnem simul tam idololatriæ vitiorum, quam hæreticorum erroris cursum impetumque præciderit. Hoc idcirco primum tibi pietatis dogma per fidem in animo pro fundamento constitue.
DE CHRISTO [DOGMA II]
VII. Crede autem etiam in Filium Dei, unum et solum, Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Deum de Deo genitum, vitam ex vita genitum, lucem de luce genitum, similem per omnia genitori. Qui non in temporibus ut esset accepit, sed ante omnia. D [Reliqua pars paginae 462 ex interpretatione et notis Migne constat, quae hoc loco omittitur.]
A And he is begotten of the Father, before all ages, eternally and incomprehensibly. He is the wisdom of God and the power, and the substantial justice. He is the one who sits at the right hand of the Father before all ages. For not, as some have supposed, was he crowned by God after his passion as if he received the throne at the right hand for his endurance; rather, from the very time he IS (and he is eternally begotten), he possesses the royal dignity, sitting together with the Father, being God and wisdom and power, as it has been said: reigning together with the Father, and creator of all things through the Father. But he is not lacking in the dignity of his divinity, and he knows the one who begat him, just as he is known by the one who begat him. And that we may speak concisely, remember what is written in the Gospels: "No one knows the Son, except the Father; and no one knows the Father, except the Son." B If, therefore, they think that even before he became man and endured the cross he was not Lord and King, but that he then began to be Lord, let them know that they are again clearly uttering the words of the Samosatene. For he did not attain the throne by advancement, but from the time that he is (and he is eternally begotten), he sits together with the Father.
C D [alt-version omitted]
A VIII. And neither alienate the Son from the Father, nor make a coalition of the two, believing in "Son-Fatherhood." But believe that he is the one Son of God, the only-begotten, who is before all ages, God the Word; not a Word spoken and dissipated into the air, nor assimilated to words lacking substance; but the Word, the Son of the Creator of all rational beings, the Word who hears the Father and himself speaks. And concerning these matters, if God grants, we shall speak more broadly in due time; for we do not forget the proposal, that we are now making only the essential points of the faith.
CONCERNING THE BIRTH FROM THE VIRGIN
B IX. Believe also that this only-begotten Son of God, for our sins, descended from heaven to earth, having taken upon himself this human nature, which is subject to the same sufferings as we are, and was born of the holy Virgin and the holy Spirit; and this took place not in opinion and fantasy, but in truth; nor as if...
he had passed through the Virgin as through a conduit, but was truly incarnate A from her, and truly nourished on milk from her; eating as we do in truth, and drinking as we do in truth. For if the incarnation were a fantasy, the salvation would also be a fantasy. Christ was double: man in what was seen, and God in what was not seen; eating as a man in truth, as we do (for he had the same susceptibility of flesh as we have), yet feeding the five thousand from five loaves as God; dying as a man in truth, yet raising the four-day-dead as God; truly sleeping in the boat as a man, and walking upon the waters as God.
OF THE CROSS [DOGMA IV]
B 1. This one was crucified for our sins in truth. And even if you should wish to deny it, the place itself will convict you, this blessed Golgotha, in which we are now assembled on account of him who was crucified therein.
And from the wood of the cross, the whole world has henceforth been filled part by part. He was crucified, however, not for His own sins, but in order that we might be liberated from our own sins. And He was looked upon with contempt at that time by men, and slapped as a man; but He was recognized by creation as God; for the sun, seeing the Master being dishonored, retreated in trembling, being unable to endure the spectacle. A
Concerning the Burial
XI. He was truly laid in a sepulcher of stone as a man; but the rocks were rent asunder by fear for His sake. He descended into the lower regions, in order that He might redeem the just from there also. For tell me, did you wish the living to enjoy the grace, and that when most of them are not even holy, B while those who had been shut away for a long time since Adam should not, after all, attain to freedom? Isaiah the prophet proclaimed so many things about Him in a loud voice; did you not wish that the King, by descending, should redeem His herald? David was there, and Samuel, and all the prophets, as well as John himself, who said through those who were sent: "Art thou he who is to come, or are we to look for another?" Did you not wish that He should descend and redeem such men as these?
Concerning the Resurrection
XII. But He who descended into the lower regions, ascended again; and Jesus, who had been buried, truly rose again on the third day. And if the Jews should ever mock you, quickly reply, asking them in this manner: Did not Jonah emerge from the sea-monster after three days, and has Christ not been raised C from the earth after three days? A dead man, having touched the bones of Elisha, was raised; and will not the Maker of men, by the power of the Father, be raised even more easily? He has therefore truly risen, and having risen, He was seen again by the disciples; and His witnesses
A twelve disciples, who testified not with words composed for grace, but struggled even to the point of torments and deaths for the true resurrection. Then, “in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand,” according to Scripture; but twelve testify to the resurrection of Christ, and are you still incredulous regarding the resurrection?
On the Ascension
XIII. When Jesus had finished the course of His endurance, and had redeemed men from their sins, He ascended again into the heavens, a cloud having received Him; and angels indeed stood by B as He ascended, and the apostles looked on. But if anyone disbelieves what is said by us, let him believe by the very power of the things now seen. All kings, when they die, lose their power along with their life; but Christ, having been crucified, is worshipped by the whole world. We proclaim the Crucified, and the demons tremble. Many have been crucified at various times; but whose invocation of another who was crucified ever drove away demons?
XIV. Let us not, therefore, be ashamed of the cross of Christ; but even if another should hide it, do you openly seal it upon your forehead, C that the demons, seeing the royal sign, may flee far away trembling. And do this sign when you are eating and drinking, sitting, lying down, rising, speaking, walking; in a word, in every action. For He who was crucified here is up above in the heavens. For if, having been crucified and buried, He had remained in the tomb, we might perhaps have had reason to be ashamed; but now He who was crucified on this Golgotha has ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives, which is to the east. For from there, having descended into Hades D and having come back to us again, He departed from us once more into heaven, the Father speaking to Him and saying: “Sit at my right hand, until I make thy enemies the footstool of thy feet.”
ON THE FUTURE JUDGMENT
XV. This Jesus Christ who ascended, comes again from the heavens, not from the earth; and I said, not from the earth, because many antichrists are about to come from the earth at this time. For already, as you saw, many say [index: entries preserved]
A “I am Christ,” and the abomination of desolation is already beginning to come, falsely applying to himself the title of Christ. B But you, look for the true Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, who will no longer come from the earth, but from the heavens, to be seen by all, shining more brightly than any lightning or radiance of light, escorted by a host of angels; so that he may judge the living and the dead and rule C with a heavenly, eternal, and unending kingdom. Be on your guard in this matter, for there are many who say that Christ’s kingdom has an end.
CONCERNING THE HOLY SPIRIT
XVI. Believe also in the Holy Spirit, and have the same opinion concerning Him as you have received concerning the Father and the Son, and do not follow those who teach blasphemies concerning Him. But learn that this Holy Spirit is one, indivisible, and multipotent; D indeed, He works many things, but He is not divided. He who knows
A all things and searches even the deep things of God, who descended upon the Lord Jesus Christ in the form of a dove, who worked in the Law and the Prophets; who also now seals your soul at the time of baptism—whose holiness every intelligible nature needs; against whom if anyone dares to utter a blasphemous word, he has no forgiveness, neither in this age nor in the coming one. He is honored with the Father and the Son in the glory of the Godhead; He of whom even thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, have need. For there is one God, the Father of Christ; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the only God; and one Holy Spirit, the sanctifier and deifier of all, who has spoken in the Law and the Prophets, in the Old and the New Testament.
XVII. Keep this seal B always in your mind; it has now been summed up for you briefly C as a summary. But if the Lord grants, it shall be spoken of later, according to our ability, with the proof from the Scriptures. For regarding the divine and holy mysteries of the faith, not even the most ordinary thing should be set forth without the divine Scriptures, nor should you be led astray by mere plausibility and the construction of words.
Do not even trust me, who says these things to you, if you do not receive the proof of the things being announced from the divine Scriptures. For this salvation of our faith A is not derived from clever reasoning, but from the demonstration of the divine Scriptures.
ON THE SOUL
B XVIII. After the knowledge of this venerable, glorious, and most holy faith, know yourself—that is, who you are. For you have been established as a dual human being, composed of soul and body; and, as was said a short time ago, the same God is the creator of both the soul and the body. And know that you have a soul that is self-determining, the most excellent work of God, created in the image of its maker; C immortal, because of God who bestows immortality upon it. A rational animal, incorruptible, because of Him who granted these things; having the power to do what it wills. For you do not sin by nature, nor... D
as some rave, does the conjunction of the stars compel you against your will to indulge in licentiousness. Why, while shirking the confession of your own evils, do you ascribe the cause to the innocent stars? Do not attend to astrologers after this; for of them the divine Scripture says: "Let the astrologers of the heaven stand and save you"; and subsequently: "Behold, all as stubble on fire shall be burned, and they shall not deliver their soul from the flame." A
XIX. Learn also this, that before the soul came into this world, it sinned not; but having come sinless, we now sin by free choice. Do not listen to anyone who explains to me in an evil way that, "If I do what I will not," but remember Him who says: "If you will and shall listen to me, you shall eat the good things of the earth; but if you will not, B and will not listen to me, the sword shall devour you," and the rest; and again: "As you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, so now present your members as servants to righteousness unto sanctification." And remember the Scripture saying: "As they did not approve of having God in their knowledge"; and that, "The known of God is manifest in them"; and that they "shut their eyes"; C and of God again rebuking and saying: "I, indeed, planted you a fruitful vine, all true; how then were you turned into bitterness, a strange vine?"
XX. The soul is immortal; and all D souls are alike by creation, yet they do not partake of life itself, as the sacred letters testify, but are destined to be living animals.
A souls of men and women are the same; for the members of the body alone are distinguished. There is no order of souls 4 that sin by nature, and an order of souls that do B righteous acts by nature; but both proceed from the will, while the substance of the soul is one and the same in all. I know, indeed, that I am saying much 2, and that the time is already far spent; but what is more precious than salvation? Do you not wish to take up, though it be a toil, provisions for yourself against the heretics? Do you not wish to know the byways of the path, that you may not, through ignorance, be carried down a precipice? If teachers count it no small gain for them that you should learn these things, ought you, who are the learner, not to accept with willingness the multitude of the things said?
B XXI. The soul is free, and self-governed; and while the devil can suggest, he has not the power to compel one against their will. He injects into you a thought of fornication; if you wish, you accept it; if you do not wish, you do not accept it. For if you were to commit fornication by necessity, why then did God prepare 3 hell? If you performed righteous acts by nature, and not by choice, why did God prepare C ineffable crowns? The sheep is gentle, but it was never crowned for its gentleness; because its gentleness does not belong to it from its own will, but from its nature. D 4 Non est ordo animarum, etc. This error was overturned [Cat. 7, 12]. The Valentinians were those who, as Irenæus is the author, *Lib. 1, cap. 7, n. 5*, distinguished three orders of men: spiritual, animal, and material; but two of souls, of which some were by nature good, others evil. Saturninus, earlier, had distinguished two races of men created by angels, the one indeed wicked, the other good, from Irenæus, *Lib. 1, cap. 24, n. 2*. Valentinus and Basilides admitted that the natures of men were so lost that they could in no way be saved, while others were so saved that they could in no way perish, from Origen, *Lib. VIII in Epist. Rom., et lib. in Princip., cap. 10*. You may see the words of each recorded by Clem. Alex., *Lib. IV, Strom., p. 509*. Origen imputes this same heresy to Marcion, *Lib. II in Ep. Rom.* The Manichæans seem to be referred to here by Milles, a view to which I cannot assent; for they said that soul and body proceeded from different creators, but they deduced all souls from one principle—namely, the good one—in such a way that they were all of one kind, to such a degree that they asserted that one soul in all was a part of the divine substance, as witnessed by Greg. Nyssen, *De anima, tom. II, p. 103*, and Nemesius, *De natura hominis, cap. 2*. The African or Italian Manichæans indeed admitted two souls in man: one proper to the flesh, from the race of darkness, and another good one, which was a part of God, as Augustine relates, *Lib. Retract., cap. 15, n. 1*; but this error seems to have been known neither to Cyril nor generally to the Greeks; at any rate, they maintained that those souls, both good and bad, in all men, were of one kind, not different in different men—which is the only error Cyril refutes here.
A XXII. You have learned, beloved, as much as is sufficient for the present concerning the soul; now receive also, to the best of your ability, the teaching concerning your body. Do not endure any of those who say that this body is alien to God. For those who believe that the body is alien to God, and who believe that the soul dwells in it as in an alien vessel, are for that very reason prone to use it for acts of fornication. But what is it that they blame in this admirable body? What is lacking in it regarding decorum and symmetry? What in its very structure is not artfully fashioned? Ought they not to have considered the most radiant constitution of the eyes; how the ears, lying obliquely, receive hearing without obstruction; and how the sense of smell is discerning of vapors and receptive to exhalations? B Or how the tongue is a servant of two things, possessing the faculty of taste and the function of speech; how the lung, lying in hidden places, has a ceaseless respiration of air? Who placed in it the pulse of the heart, which beats without intermission? Who divided it into so many veins and arteries? Who wisely wove the bones into the nerves? Who, giving one part of food for the support of nature, distinguished another part for decent excretion, and concealed the shameful parts in more modest places? Who made the human nature, which is destined to fail, perennial through a light and easy union?
XXIII. Do not tell me that the body is the cause of sin; for if the body is the cause of sin, why
a dead person sin? Apply a sword to the right hand of a man who has just died, and no murder occurs; let all kinds of beauty pass before a youth who has recently died, and no desire for fornication arises. Why? Because the body does not sin by itself, but the soul sins through the body. The body is a tool, and like a garment and covering for the soul; if it is surrendered by the soul to fornication, it becomes unclean; but if it dwells with a holy soul, it becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit. I do not say these things, but Paul the Apostle has said: Do you not know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you? Spare therefore the body, as one that is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not defile your flesh with fornications, do not stain this most beautiful garment of yours; but if you have stained it, wash it off now through repentance; B wash it while there is time.
XXIV. And let the order of monks and virgins, who practice the angelic life in the world, listen C primarily to the discourse concerning chastity D [and subsequently the rest of the Church’s people]. A great crown is laid up for you, brethren; do not exchange great dignity for a small pleasure, listen to the Apostle saying: "Let no..."
fornicator or profane person be like Esau, who for one meal sold his birthright A." Having been enrolled in the angelic books on account of the purpose of temperance, see that you are not blotted out again on account of the work of fornication.
XXV. But do not, on the other hand, while achieving temperance, become puffed up against those who have entered into the marriage state. For marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled, as the Apostle says. And you who possess the purity of virginity, were you not born of people who were married? Do not, therefore, because you possess the acquisition of gold, reject silver; but let those also who lawfully use marriage be full of good hope; let them be those who have prepared a lawful bond of marriage, and not one that is wanton due to immoderate license; who know the times for abstinence B, in order that they may give themselves to prayer; who bring bodies clean C along with their garments into the assemblies in the Church; who have come to marriage for the sake of procreating children, and not for the sake of enjoying pleasure.
XXVI. And do not let those who are content with a single marriage reject those who have voluntarily betaken themselves to a second marriage; for while continence is a fair and admirable thing, it is also pardonable to approach a second marriage, so that they may not commit fornication.
A Yet let all other things be banished far away: fornication, adultery, and every kind of debauchery. Let the body be kept pure for the Lord, that the Lord may also have regard for the body. Let the body be nourished with food so that it may live and serve without hindrance, yet not that it may be surrendered to luxuries.
On foods
B XXVII. And let these be your tenets concerning nourishment; because many also stumble regarding foods. For some approach things sacrificed to idols without discrimination; others practice asceticism, but condemn those who eat; and thus, in the matter of food, the souls of some are polluted, as they are ignorant of the profitable reasons for both taking and refraining from food. For we fast, abstaining from wine and meat, not as if abhorring them as abominations, but expecting a reward; C that, having despised sensible things, we may enjoy a spiritual and intelligible table; and that having now sown in tears, we may reap in joy in the world to come. Do not, therefore, despise those who eat and who partake of food because of bodily weakness; nor blame those who use a little wine for the sake of the stomach and frequent D infirmities; and do not condemn them as sinners. Nor should you hate meats as things alien, for the Apostle knows of certain persons of this kind, saying: "Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving by the faithful." Abstaining, therefore, from these things, do not abstain as if they were abominable, since then you have no reward; but disregard them as good things, because of the intelligible things set before you that are far better.
A XXVIII. Take heed to your soul, that you never eat anything that has been offered to idols; for concerning these foods, it was a matter of concern and care not only to me at this time, but already to the apostles themselves, and to James, the bishop of this Church of old. For the apostles and elders wrote a general epistle to all the nations, to abstain primarily from things offered to idols, and then also from blood and things strangled. For many of the human race, being of a beastly nature and living like dogs, lap up blood, imitating the way of the most savage beasts; and they eat things strangled without restraint. But you, who are a servant of Christ, when you eat, observe to eat with piety and religion. And so much for food.
Concerning clothing
.B XXIX. Let your clothing be simple, not for adornment, but for necessary covering; not that you may be pampered in luxury, but that you may be kept warm in winter, and may cover the indecency of your body; and do not, under the pretext of covering indecency, fall into another indecency by overly curious robes.
CONCERNING THE RESURRECTION
.XXX. Spare, I pray, this body of yours, and know that you shall be raised from the dead, to be judged with this body. But if any thought of unbelief enters your mind, as if the thing were impossible, judge from the things concerning yourself, even from those that do not appear. For you yourself, tell me, consider where you were a hundred or more years ago; from what utterly small and worthless substance did you come to such a stature of C height and such a dignity of form! And then, can He who brought what was not into being not be able to raise up again what already is and has fallen? Does He who raises up the seed sown for our sake, which dies and rots away each year, not have power to raise up us ourselves, for whose sake He fashioned the grain?
A Do you see how the trees now, for so many months, stand without fruit and without leaves? Yet, when the winter has passed, B they all come to life again as if from the dead. Shall we not live again, much more easily and surely? The staff of Moses was transformed by the will of God into the nature of a serpent, which is foreign to it; and shall man, who has fallen into death, not be restored to himself again?
XXXI. Do not pay attention to those who say that this body does not rise again; for it does rise. And Isaiah is a witness to this, saying: "The dead shall rise, and those who are in the monuments shall be awakened;" and, "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake," according to Daniel; "these to life eternal, and these to everlasting shame." C But although the resurrection is for all mankind, the resurrection is not the same for all. For we all indeed receive eternal bodies, but we do not all receive the same bodies. The righteous receive them so that, by living eternally, they may join the choir of angels; but sinners receive them so that they may endure the punishment of their sins for eternity.
De lavacro.
XXXII. For this reason, the Lord, in His love for mankind, previously granted the laver of repentance, so that we might cast off the greater part—or rather, the whole burden—of our sins, and, having received the seal through the Holy Spirit, might become heirs of eternal life. But since we have already spoken sufficiently about the laver, let us now proceed to the remaining heads of the introductory teachings.
CONCERNING THE DIVINE SCRIPTURES
XXXIII. These things are taught to us by the divinely inspired D
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. For there is one God of both Testaments, who in the New Testament made manifest the Christ who was foretold in the Old; who through the Law and the prophets led us as a tutor to Christ. For before faith came, we were kept under the law, and: The law was our tutor unto Christ. And if at any time you hear any of the heretics maligning the Law or the prophets, use that salutary word to answer them, saying: Jesus did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. Learn also with diligence, and from the Church, which are the books of the Old Testament, and which of the New; and do not read any of the apocryphal books to me. For if you do not know the books which are acknowledged by all, why do you trouble yourself in vain about those which are disputed? Read the divine Scriptures, these twenty-two books of the Old Testament which have been translated B by the seventy-two interpreters.
A
XXXIV. For after Alexander, king of the Macedonians, had died, and his kingdom had been divided into four principalities—namely, Babylonia, Macedonia, Asia, and Egypt—one of the kings of Egypt, Ptolemy Philadelphus, a prince most studious of literature, while gathering books from everywhere, heard from Demetrius Phalereus, the curator of his library, about the divine Scriptures of the Law and the Prophets. And judging that it was much better not to procure books by force from those unwilling, but rather to win over their possessors with gifts and friendship—knowing that what is extorted by force is often corrupted, being given against one's will, while what is offered voluntarily is given with all sincerity—he sent very many gifts to the high priest at that time, Eleazar, to the temple in Jerusalem, and requested him to send to him six men from each of the twelve tribes of Israel for the purpose of translation. B And afterwards, to make trial of whether the books were divine or not, and fearing that those who were sent might collude with one another, he assigned to each of the interpreters a separate house in the place called Pharos, situated near Alexandria, and commanded each one to translate all the Scriptures. When they had finished the work in seventy-two days, he brought together the translations of all of them, which they had made in different houses without having access to one another, and he found that they agreed not only in their thoughts but even in their very words. For the work that was taking place was not one of clever inventions and the fabrication of human sophistries; C rather, the translation of the divine Scriptures, which had been spoken by the Holy Spirit, was being accomplished by the Holy Spirit.
XXXV. Read these twenty-two books, and have nothing to do with those which are apocryphal. Meditate earnestly only on these, which we read in the Church with full confidence. The apostles and the ancient bishops, the leaders of the Church, who delivered these, were much wiser and more devout than you; therefore, since you are a son of the Church, do not unsettle the established laws. And of the Old Testament, as has been said, study the twenty-two books. D
A, which, if you are eager to learn, make an effort to remember by name, as I recite them. For the first five books are of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Next, Joshua the son of Nun, and the book of Judges, numbered as the seventh along with Ruth. Of the remaining historical books, the first and second of Kings are one book among the Hebrews; and the third and fourth are likewise one. Similarly, with them, the first and second of Chronicles are one book; and the first and second of Ezra are counted as one. The twelfth book is Esther. And these are the historical books. The poetic books B are five: Job, the book of Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs, the seventeenth book. Following these are the five prophetic books: the twelve prophets are one book, and Isaiah is one, and Jeremiah is one, along with Baruch, the Lamentations, and the Epistle; then Ezekiel, and the book of Daniel, the twenty-second book of the Old Testament.
XXXVI. Of the New Testament, there are only four Gospels; for the rest are falsely inscribed and harmful. The Manichaeans also wrote a Gospel according to Thomas, which, being colored by the fragrance of an evangelical title C, corrupts the souls of the simpler-minded. Receive also the Acts of the twelve apostles; and in addition to these, the seven Catholic Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude; and as a seal upon all, and the final work of the disciples, the fourteen Epistles of Paul. But let all the rest be placed outside D in the second rank; and whatsoever is
not read in the churches, do not read even by yourself, as you have heard. And concerning these matters, let this suffice.
CATECHESIS IV. ON THE TEN DOGMAS.
B XXXVII. Flee also every diabolical operation, and do not trust the apostate dragon, who from a good nature was changed of his own choice and will; who is able indeed to persuade those who desire it, but has power to compel no one. And pay no heed to astrology, or augury, or omens, nor to the fabulous divinations of the Greeks; do not even admit into your ears the practice of witchcraft, or incantation, or the most lawless deeds of necromancy. Depart from every form of intemperance; do not be a glutton, or a lover of pleasures, and be superior to all covetousness and usury. Do not take part in the assemblies of the Gentiles for the sake of spectacles, nor ever use amulets in times of sickness. Avoid also all the vulgarity and filth of frequenting taverns. And do not fall into Samaritanism or Judaism; for Jesus Christ has henceforth redeemed you. Depart from all observance of Sabbaths, and from calling any of the indifferent meats common or unclean. But especially hate all the assemblies of lawless heretics; and in every way secure your own soul with fasts.
by these means fortify your own soul with fastings, alms, and the reading of divine oracles; so that in temperance and the observance of pious dogmas, living the remainder of your time in the flesh, you may enjoy that one salvation which is given through the laver: and being thus enrolled in the heavenly hosts by the Father and God, you may be deemed worthy of the heavenly crowns: in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
CATECHESIS V. ON FAITH AND THE SYMBOL. PROLOGUS.
I. Having prepared the minds of the hearers in the preceding catechesis by a general outline of the dogmas of our faith, he now proceeds to explain its individual heads, as contained in the Symbol, in distinct discourses. In this catechesis, therefore, where he delivers the Symbol to be held in memory, to be given back at its own proper time—namely, on Holy Saturday—he commends the force, dignity, necessity, and efficacy of the faith whose confession it contains; and thus explains the first word of the Symbol, "I believe," or "We believe," in this speech.
II. He repeats the dignity of faith (num. 1) from the participation of the divine appellation which it shares with us; its force, from the contempt of earthly things which it inspires (n. 2); the contemplation of divine things and of God Himself, to which it raises us; the victory against the devil which it confers (n. 4 and 11); and things beyond human condition (n. 4), which it works by the merit of the believer not only in the believer himself (n. 7), but also in others (n. 8 and 9). He proves the necessity of faith, partly (n. 3) from the whole custom of life, which is bound and consists by faith; and partly (n. 5 and 6) from the manner and reason of our justification, which is perfected after the example of Abraham through faith in the mysteries of Christ. Finally, he distinguishes the species of faith (n. 10 and 11): of which the one consists in the assent to dogmas; the other, which is the reward and perfection of this one, consists in the working of miracles. After this proem, being about to deliver the Symbol (n. 12), he shows its great power and necessity in a brief complex of words; and prescribes its diligent meditation and faithful custody, lest it ever be changed or corrupted: which, once delivered, he inculcates more diligently and severely (n. 13). Especially to be noted is what he teaches concerning the faith of miracles desired and to be merited from God; and what he hands down concerning the necessity of receiving the Symbol from the Church, and of firmly retaining and believing it by those who cannot read the Scriptures.
III. This catechesis, which in all manuscripts and editions is inscribed only *On Faith*, we have called *On Faith and the Symbol*, since the author treats of both under one and the same ambiguous name of "faith," and constantly uses the name "faith" for the virtue of faith from the beginning to number 12: but from that place to the end, he uses it for the "Symbol." However, as often as he signifies the Symbol, we have prefixed a capital letter for distinction. The series of this speech is interrupted by the tradition and pronunciation of the Symbol made by Cyril, for number 12 speaks of the Symbol as being delivered; but number 13, of the same as having been delivered. The place of interruption is not entirely certain, nor was it noted by those who first transcribed the Catecheses. For since it was a religious duty in the first times to commit the Symbol to writing, and Cyril strictly forbids this in this catechesis, number 12, those who received the speech from his mouth transcribed everything continuously; and thus the Jerusalem Symbol would have perished.
except in the titles of the catecheses, and in the various sentiments of Cyril, lying scattered and as if in fragments, it were found wanting. In some manuscripts, however, after the words which make up number 12, the Nicene Creed is found described in full; from which it has come to pass that we have assigned this place to the communicated Creed and the interpretation of Cyril, although, to confess the truth, the final period of number 13, "Videte itaque," etc., seems to me to pertain to the communicated Creed.
VI. From the words of the previous catechesis, number 13, in which the author says he is about to set forth an exposition of the Creed during the whole long space of Lent, it is certain that this oration was delivered either in the final days of the first week of Lent, or in the first days of the second; and such was the singular custom of the Church of Jerusalem, that the Creed previously communicated was explained over forty days; which we have heard John, Cyril’s successor, testify in the evidence cited above in the Preface to the fourth catechesis, number 3. But in all other churches, both of the West and of the East, of which records indeed survive, the Creed was communicated to those being baptized only in the final times of Lent: nor was it, as at Jerusalem, customary to explain it in many sermons, but in only one, or at most in one or two. There is no doubt, however, that the custom of the Church of Jerusalem was much more useful, to which we must surely attribute this precious work of the Cyrillian Catecheses.
V. We have compared this oration with the codices Coislin, Roe, Casaub., and Ottobon. We have attached to it the Jerusalem Creed, collected from Cyril himself. Concerning which matter we shall speak in a peculiar observation.
CATECHESIS V OF THE ILLUMINATED
Delivered extemporaneously at Jerusalem, concerning Faith; and a reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews: "Faith is the substance (1) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report," and the rest.
A I. How great a dignity the Lord bestows upon you, transferring you from the order of catechumens to the order of the faithful, the apostle Paul represented, saying: "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ." For since God is called faithful, you too receive the same appellation, being increased in great dignity. For just as God is called good, and just, and omnipotent, and Creator of all things, so also is He called faithful. Consider, therefore, to what dignity you are ascending, about to become a partaker of the divine appellation.
B II. Here, then, it is sought that some one of you should be found faithful according to his inmost conscience. For "to find a faithful man is a great work," says the Scripture. Not that you should show your conscience to me (for you are not to be judged under human day)
A but so that you may show to God the sincerity of your faith, who searches the kidneys and hearts, and who knows the thoughts of men. A faithful man is a great thing, being richer than any rich man. For the whole world of riches belongs to the faithful man, in that he despises and tramples upon them. For those who are rich according to appearance, and possess many things, are poor in soul; for the more they gather, the more they are consumed by the desire for what is lacking. But the faithful man, which is most paradoxical, is rich in poverty; for knowing that it is necessary to have only clothing and food, and being content with these, he has trampled upon wealth.
III. And it is not among us alone, who bear the name of Christ, that faith has great merit; but truly all things that are done in the world, and even those done by people outside the Church, are accomplished by faith. By faith, nuptial laws join even those who are strangers, and a man who is a stranger to others in body and fortune becomes, by means of the trust in marriage contracts, a partner. Agriculture also consists in faith: for he who does not believe that he will receive a harvest does not endure the labors. Men cross the sea by faith, trusting in a tiny piece of wood, B exchanging the uncertain surge of the waves for the most stable element, the earth, abandoning themselves to uncertain hopes, and using faith as an anchor safer than any other. Therefore, most human affairs consist in faith; and this is believed not only among us, but also, as has been said, among those who are outsiders C to us. [alt-version omitted] D
Even if they do not accept the Scriptures, because they bring forward certain doctrines of their own, they accept these too by faith.
D IV. Today’s reading calls you to the true faith, pointing out to you the way by which you also ought to please God; for it says that without faith it is impossible to please God 59. For when will a man resolve to serve God, if he does not believe that He is a rewarder? When will a young girl choose virginity, or a young man chastity, if he does not believe that there is an unfading crown of purity? Faith is an eye that illuminates every conscience and begets understanding; for the prophet says: “And if you do not believe, you shall not understand” 62. Faith shuts the mouths of lions, according to Daniel 64; for the Scripture says concerning him, that Daniel was brought up out of the den, and no injury was found in him, because he believed in his God 64. Is there anything more terrible than the devil? Yet we have no other weapon against him than faith 65: an incorporeal shield against an invisible enemy. For he sends forth manifold arrows, and in the dark of night he shoots at those who are not watchful; but, because the enemy is not seen, we have faith as a mighty covering, according to the Apostle, who says: “In all things taking up the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil one” 67. A fiery arrow of shameful desire and pleasure is often sent by the devil; but faith, depicting the judgment and cooling the mind, extinguishes the arrow.
C V. The discourse concerning faith is long, and the whole time of the day would not suffice for us to tell it. Meanwhile, from ancient... [index: entries preserved]
A types of the Law, let one Abraham suffice for us, since we too have become his sons through faith. He was justified not only by works, but also by faith. For he accomplished many deeds, yet he was never called the friend of God until he believed; and every work of his was finished by faith. He left his parents because of faith; he left his country, and his region, and his home because of faith. Therefore, just as he was justified, be you also justified. He was already dead in body regarding the procreation of children; for he was an old man, and he had an old woman as his wife, Sarah, and no hope was left for offspring. God promised offspring to the old man; and Abraham, not weakened in faith, and considering his own body already dead, did not look to the weakness of the body, but to the power of the One who promised, counting Him faithful who had promised; just as, from bodies as though dead, he paradoxically obtained the child. And after obtaining him, being commanded to offer his Son (although he had heard the words, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called"), he offered his only-begotten son to God, believing that God B is able to raise even from the dead; and having bound his son and placed him upon the wood, he offered him indeed by his intent, but by the goodness of God he received his son alive, God having provided a lamb for him in place of the child. Upon these things, being faithful, he was sealed into righteousness, and received circumcision, a seal of the faith which he had in uncircumcision, having received the promise that he would be the father of many nations.
VI. Let us now see how Abraham is the father of many nations. For he is of the Jews C
according to the succession of the flesh. But if we attend to the succession of the flesh, we shall be forced to call the oracle false; for he is no longer the father of us all according to the flesh, but the pattern of his faith makes us all children of Abraham. How and in what manner? It is incredible among men that anyone should rise from the dead; just as it is likewise incredible that offspring should be born from dead, elderly people. But when Christ is proclaimed, crucified upon the wood, and dead and risen, we believe. Therefore, by the likeness of faith, we come into the adoption of Abraham. And then after faith, similarly to him, we receive the spiritual seal, being circumcised by the Holy Spirit through the laver, not in the foreskin of the body, but of the heart, according to Jeremiah, who says: "And be circumcised B to God, the foreskin of your heart," and according to the Apostle: "In the circumcision of Christ, being buried with him in baptism," and the rest.
VII. If we keep this faith, we shall be blameless, and we shall be adorned with every kind of virtue. For faith has such power that it can even lift up men walking upon the sea. Peter was a man like us, composed of blood and flesh, and sustained by similar food. But when Jesus said, "Come," having believed, he walked upon the waters, having on the waters a foundation firmer than any base; and his heavy body was lifted up by the lightness of faith. But as long as he believed, he had a solid footing upon the water; but when he doubted, then he C began to sink; for as his faith was relaxed little by little, the body also was dragged downward. And Jesus, perceiving his distress, He who corrects the passions of souls, said: "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And again, being strengthened by Him who held his right hand, from the moment he believed again, being led by the hand by the Master, he resumed the same walk upon the waters. For the Gospel signifies this obliquely, saying, "And when they had ascended into the boat." For it did not say that Peter climbed up by swimming, but it lets us understand that as much distance as he had covered in going toward Jesus, he measured the same distance again D while returning, and ascended into the boat.
A VIII. Faith has such great power that not only is the one who believes saved, but others are saved through the faith of others. The paralytic in Capharnaum was not a believer; but they who carried him and lowered him through the tiles did believe; for the soul of the afflicted man was in sympathy with his body. And do not think that I speak against him in vain; the Gospel itself has said: Jesus seeing, not his faith, but the faith of them, says to the paralytic: Arise. Those who carried him believed, and the paralytic enjoyed the healing.
IX. Do you wish to see more surely that others are saved by the faith of others? Lazarus had died; one, and a second, and a third day had passed; his nerves had dissolved, and putrefaction was already consuming the body. How could a corpse of four days believe, and entreat the Savior on its own behalf? But that which was lacking in the deceased was supplied through his true sisters. For when the Lord came, the sister fell at His feet, and when He said, Where have you laid him?, she answered, Lord, he already stinks; for he is of four days. B The Lord says: If you believe, you shall see the glory of God; as if to say: You fulfill what is lacking in faith for the dead man. And the faith of the sisters was so strong that it called the dead man back from the gates of the underworld. Furthermore, if others, believing on behalf of others, had the power to raise the dead, will you not be much more benefited if you believe sincerely on your own behalf? But even if you have no faith, or small faith, the Lord is loving toward mankind and accommodates Himself to you as you repent; only you also say ingenuously and from the heart: I believe, Lord; help my unbelief. C But if you consider yourself to be a believer,
A you have not yet attained perfection of faith; you also have need, as the apostles did, to say: Lord, increase our faith. For you have something from yourself, but you receive much more from Him.
X. For the name of faith is one in designation, but it is divided into two kinds. B There is one kind of faith that pertains to dogmas, which includes the assent and approval of the soul regarding a certain thing; and it pertains to the benefit of the soul, just as the Lord says: He who hears my words, and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment; and again: He who believes in the Son is not judged, but has passed from death to life. O the great kindness of God toward men! For the righteous have pleased God through the labor of many years; but that which they gained having accomplished it through the perseverance of many years, Jesus now grants to you in the span of a single hour. For if you believe C that Jesus is Lord, and that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved, and you shall be transferred into paradise by Him who brought the thief into paradise. And do not disbelieve whether it is possible; for He who saved the thief who believed for a single hour in this holy Golgotha, the same will save also you if you believe.
XI. There is a second kind of faith, which is bestowed in the nature of grace from Christ. For to one, through the Spirit, is given the word of wisdom; to another, the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another, faith in the same Spirit; to another, D gifts of healings. This, therefore, is the faith granted according to grace from the Spirit...
which is not only dogmatic, but also effective of things surpassing human powers. For whoever has this faith will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move. For when one says this according to faith, believing that it happens, and does not doubt in his heart, then he receives the grace. And it was said concerning this faith: "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed." For just as the grain of mustard seed is small in size, but endowed with fiery effectiveness; and, though sown in a small area, produces large branches—which, when grown, can even shelter the birds—so also faith, in a very swift moment, accomplishes the greatest things in the soul. For it imagines God, and beholds God as much as is possible, being illuminated by faith; it travels around the ends of the world, and even before the consummation of this age it already sees the judgment and the reward of the promises. Have then from yourself the faith which is towards Him, that you may also receive from Him that which is effective of things surpassing human powers.
XII. Acquire and keep only such faith in instruction and profession as is now being handed down to you by the Church, and is fortified out of all Scripture. For since not all can read the Scriptures, but some are hindered from knowledge by illiteracy, C and others by lack of time; that the soul may not perish through ignorance, we comprise the whole doctrine of faith in a few lines.
A And I desire that you should remember these very words, and rehearse them among yourselves with all diligence, not committing them to paper, but engraving them by memory in your heart; and take care, while you are meditating upon them, that no catechumen overhears the things which have been delivered to you. Have this also as a provision for all the time of your life, and never accept any other besides this; not even if we ourselves, having changed our minds, should contradict the things now taught; nor even if an evil angel, transformed into an angel of light, should wish to lead you astray. For though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you anything beyond that which you have now received, let it be anathema to you. For the present, therefore, since you are hearing the words, commit the faith to memory; but await the proof of each of the articles B from the divine Scriptures at the appropriate time. For the articles of the faith were not composed according to the opinions of men; but the most important points were collected from all the Scriptures to complete the one doctrine of the faith. And just as the mustard seed in a small grain contains many branches,
and thus this faith, in a few words, embraces the whole knowledge of piety contained in both the Old and New Testaments. A See to it, therefore, brethren, and hold fast to the traditions which you now receive, and inscribe them on the breadth of your heart.
XIII. Observe with reverence, B lest at any time the enemy should despoil any who have grown sluggish, or lest some heretic should pervert any of the things delivered to you. For faith is like putting silver onto the table, which we have now performed; but God requires of you an account of the deposit. I charge you, as the Apostle says, "before God who gives life to all things, and Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate," to keep this faith which has been delivered to you without spot, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. The treasure of life has now been delivered to you, and at His appearing the Master will seek His deposit—"Which in His own times He will show, the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who only has immortality, dwelling in light C which no man can approach; whom no man has seen, nor can see. To Him be glory, honor, and power for ever and ever. Amen."
OBSERVATION ON THE FOLLOWING JERUSALEM CREED
I. The Jerusalem Creed was not set down in the Catecheses of Cyril. The ancient Creed which the Church of Jerusalem used in the middle of the fourth century, and which Cyril explains in the following catecheses, we represent below as collected from those same catecheses. Although Cyril did deliver that Creed at the end of the preceding catechesis, it is not found set down in that place in any manuscripts; which we can attribute to no other cause than the old law of the Church, also commended by Cyril, that the Creed should not be committed to writing. But after, the whole world having been converted, that law ceased from exposing our faith to the mockery of the Gentiles...
at the same time, the ancient custom of writing the Creed also passed away. Meanwhile, as the Creeds of all private Churches became obsolete, the one Creed of the Nicene or Constantinopolitan Council was retained throughout the East for the use of baptism. Wherefore, in some manuscripts of Cyril, in place of the Jerusalem Creed, at Catechesis 5, number 13, the Nicene Creed is inserted or appended at the end; namely, in a pure form, free from the additions of the Constantinopolitan Council. Nor was this done recently, but it can be proven to have obtained from at least the ninth century by Theophanes, who may perhaps have happened upon a similar copy of the Catecheses when he says in his *Chronographia*, page 34, for the year 335, that Cyril recited the Nicene faith verbatim in his Catecheses: 'O μακάριος Κύριλλος τὴν ἐν Νικαίᾳ πίστιν κατὰ λέξιν ἀναπτύξας. But if he had perused the Catecheses with a more diligent hand, he would have found in them a Creed far different from the one explained at Nicaea.
II. Whence it was collected by us.
We provide this Creed just as we have expressed it both from the titles of the Catecheses and from the very words of Cyril, by which he recites the individual articles on each given occasion. We have stated in the second Dissertation that those titles are of the same age as Cyril, nor can their authority be despised, but B we have preferred the words of Cyril when there was a discrepancy from the words of the titles. Furthermore, we have changed some things in the titles and in the words of Cyril on the authority of the manuscripts, the reasons for which we give in their proper places. Therefore, let no one wonder if we present the Jerusalem Creed a little differently than some who have represented it solely from the titles of the Catecheses, and those edited just as they were at that time. But it is entirely different from that which a Sorbonne doctor, otherwise known for learned studies, published in French in his vernacular translation of Cyril’s Catecheses, in the note to the fifth catechesis. For I cannot guess whence he collected that Creed. It must be noted, however, that in earlier editions, there was a discrepancy of reading not only between the words of the Creed mentioned in the titles and those recited by Cyril in the Catecheses, but also among the various places of the same Cyril where he recites the articles of the Creed. We have removed almost all of this by correcting the text from the manuscripts; yet so that some slight difference still remains between the titles and Cyril’s statements. There is no other reason for all of this than that the Creed was learned by heart; wherefore it was difficult to ensure that, while speaking or writing, a few words were not sometimes changed due to a wavering memory. Moreover, those who transcribed our manuscripts of the Catecheses, being accustomed to the Nicene or Constantinopolitan Creed, substituted certain words from one or the other for the words of the Jerusalem Creed. We provide the Jerusalem Creed as pure as possible, with the variations added at the end. We have divided it into twelve articles according to our custom and the opinion of Cyril himself.
III. It was in use by the Church of Jerusalem.
We have called that the Creed of the Jerusalem Church; for I do not think that anyone will doubt that in Cyril’s time that Creed alone was in use in that Church; nor do I fear that anyone might think it was composed by Cyril as its author. For, to pass over the fact that it was not permitted for Cyril, being only a presbyter, to establish or change a matter of such importance by his own authority, he himself indicates everywhere that the Creed is proposed not by himself but by the Church. For he says thus, cat. 5, num. 12: Embrace and keep that faith alone in learning and professing C (or, if you prefer, in learning and handing on to others), which is now delivered to you by the Church: Τὴν ὑπὸ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας νυνί σοι παραδιδομένην. And he so denies to himself the authority to change it that he commands anathema to be pronounced upon himself if he should ever teach anything to the contrary. Everywhere, while he recites the articles of the Creed, he testifies that the Church delivers it. Thus, cat. 17, num. 3: “The Catholic Church has delivered in the confession of faith that you believe in one holy Spirit, etc.”; cat. 18, num. 1, dealing with the resurrection: “Great is the precept and instruction of the holy Catholic Church concerning the faith in the resurrection of the dead.” Cyril, therefore, was proposing the public Creed of his Church, from which it was sacrilege for him to depart. Let no one, therefore, complain to him as to why he did not explain the Nicene Creed to the candidates for baptism. Every Church had its own Creed from the beginning, as is evident to anyone who even slightly inspects our collection of Creeds. Although the faith of the Nicene Council was received by almost all Churches with incredible applause, and in subsequent times was used in baptism throughout the entire East in place of the unique Creeds of each Church, yet this was not done immediately upon the promulgation of the Nicene Council: even in the middle of the fifth century, the Church of Antioch, as can be conjectured from many others, used its own Creed. But the Western Church never adopted the Nicene Creed to the extent of abandoning its own apostolic one. But in the East, the Nicene profession was adopted into use so cautiously and gradually that, as a result, the Churches first derived some of their own unique words into their own Creed, until eventually they admitted that complete one, and then its Constantinopolitan counterpart, in place of their ancient Creed: a matter which we have explained to the best of our ability in our critical and historical Dissertation on the Creed. There is no doubt that St. Macarius of Jerusalem, one of the principal Fathers of the Nicene Council, signified the faith of this synod to his Church and took care that it be received by it: and that Church, too, must have held dear the memory of that council in which the privileges of its see had been confirmed by a noble decree. Yet, for all that, it did not lay aside its old Creed. One may only conjecture that certain words from the Nicene Creed were inserted into the second article of the Jerusalem Creed for the declaration of the divinity of the Word: these, for example, Θεὸν ἀληθινόν, “true God,” by which the primary impiety of Arius was struck.
IV. What the designation of the Creed is in Cyril.
The Creed is called by various names by Cyril: first and more commonly, simply, Faith; as, for instance, in cat. 5, num. 12 and 13; and also elsewhere; cat. 4, num. 3: “Before I deliver the instruction of the faith,” πρὸ τῆς εἰς τὴν πίστιν παραδόσεως. Cat. 2, num. 1: “The preliminary faith,” etc.; and as it is known that in that age the name was attributed to the common Creed, so that he wished to designate various Creeds, contrary to the force of grammar.
A 2° Cyril calls the Creed more explicitly the faith confessed and pronounced by us (cat. 18, n. 22, πίστις ἀπαγγελλομένη), or, as he says in cat. 15, num. 2, ἐπαγγελλομένη; elsewhere, the holy and apostolic faith delivered for confession (cat. 18, n. 32, παραδοθεῖσα εἰς ἐπαγγελίαν ἁγία καὶ ἀποστολικὴ πίστις). Which inscription we, as being more complete, have prefixed to the Creed. 3° He calls it the confession of faith (ἐπαγγελία τῆς πίστεως), as in cat. 11, n. 1 and 23; cat. 17, n. 3; cat. 18, n. 21 and 28; or, the doctrine of the faith (πίστεως διδασκαλία), cat. 5, n. 12; cat. 14, n. 24. But he never calls it "Symbolum" [Creed]: which word, although it is Greek, is nevertheless repeated as having been used earlier among the Latins than among the Greeks for a common formula of confessing the faith, nor was it, in that age when Cyril was writing these things, sufficiently in use among the Greeks.
V. Whether Cyril considered the Creed to have been composed by the apostles.
It is worth inquiring, in Cyril's judgment, who the author of the Creed is. For since the common opinion holds that the apostles composed the Creed at Jerusalem after the Lord’s ascension, no small strength would accrue to it if it were found that Cyril had thought so: just as it is greatly weakened if an ancient author, who was certainly most knowledgeable about the affairs of his own Church, was ignorant that that composition of the Creed was made by the apostles. Certainly, if the memory of this fact had been preserved by tradition, it ought to have been most of all in that very place. And yet those words of Cyril, by which in cat. 18, n. 32, he calls the Creed "the holy and apostolic faith," seem to support this opinion. But on the other hand, there are many things in Cyril which prove that he was very far removed from this opinion: 1° for when he commends the Creed, he never derives its authority from the apostles, but from the Church alone. We recalled the testimonies for this from Cyril above, num. 3. But if he had known that the Creed was composed by the apostles at Jerusalem, he would not have omitted that commendation of his Church, he who everywhere, according to the occasion of his city, is wont to zealously enumerate its prerogatives, because all the mysteries flowed from there. 2° He seems to attribute the composition of the Creed to the prelates of the Church, when he speaks thus (cat. 5, n. 12): “In a few verses we comprehend the whole doctrine of the faith.” A little later he says that the Creed was not composed as it pleased men: *Οὐχ ὡς ἔδοξεν ἀνθρώποις συνετέθη τῆς πίστεως*, as if common men had composed it without any inspiration, but that the main points from the entirety of both the Old and New Testament were collected into one. Would there not have been enough authority in the apostles themselves to deliver the Creed to the Churches by their own right, without that labor of compiling the Scriptures? 3° That Cyril says the Creed was fortified and fashioned from selected thoughts of the entire Scripture cannot stand with the opinion that makes the apostles its authors; who never assembled together after the books of the New Testament were written; and many passed from this life even before most of those books were written: although some Fathers have held both, that the Creed was composed from compiled Scriptures, and that the authors of this compilation were the apostles. But certainly in the Jerusalem Creed there are many articles expressed word-for-word from Scripture itself; e.g., those words in the first and second article, “one God the Father” and “one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things were made,” seem expressed from the words of Paul, 1 Cor. VIII, 5, 6, and Coloss. I, 16, which Cyril cites in cat. 10, n. 10 and cat. 11, n. 21. The words “true God” said of the Son are from 1 John v, 20. In the third article, the expression “Who came in the flesh” is judged to be formed from the words of 1 John IV, 2, 3, and Heb. IX, 11. In the seventh, the words “Of whose kingdom there shall be no end” are clearly taken from Luke I, 32. In the eighth, the word “Paraclete” is not ascribed [to the Spirit] except after the Gospel of John was written, which before that is attributed to the Holy Spirit in no books of the New Testament. In the ninth, those words “baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” are taken from the Gospels of Mark I, 4, and Luke III, 3, or from the words of Peter in Acts II, 38. The same can be said of most of the other articles. And in order to obey Cyril, we have indicated in the edition of the Creed the places in Scripture from which the individual words are drawn. 4° He either expressly teaches or tacitly insinuates that many things were added to the Creed after the apostles on account of heretics. Thus, cat. 9, n. 4, he hints that on account of heretics who distinguished the Father of Jesus Christ from the Creator, it was provided that it should be said in the Creed, “the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” He says the same cat. 10, n. 4, concerning the word “one,” added in the second article to the profession concerning Jesus Christ, on the occasion of heretics who numbered many Sons. Lest also, on account of the various appellations of the Holy Spirit which are had in the Scriptures, we should be led into error by heretics distinguishing the Spirit from the Paraclete, he says that it was provided by the Church (cat. 17, n. 3) that “one Holy Spirit” should be said in the Creed. In Catechesis 18, n. 26 also, because of heretics calling their conventicles by the name of Church, he says it was enacted that “one and catholic” Church should be said in the confession of faith. And it is certain from all these things, and also from elsewhere, that many things were introduced into the Jerusalem Creed as time went on: which, although it is far simpler than many others of this age, nevertheless departs much from the simplicity of the apostolic and Roman Creeds of those times: so that if, as I cannot entirely cast out of my mind, the Creed was first informed by the apostles, at least at Jerusalem, as throughout the whole East, it seems to have been subsequently increased by many accessions. B
VI. Concerning in what [regards] the Jerusalem Creed agrees or disagrees with the Nicene and Constantinopolitan.
The Jerusalem Creed agrees in some things with the Nicene; and one and the C same is the...
first article; the second of the Jerusalem Creed is much shorter and more concise than the Nicene: there is almost the same simplicity in the following articles, but in the Nicene, all the articles after the Holy Spirit are missing; and that which pertained to the Holy Spirit in the Jerusalem Creed has more words which are missing in the Nicene, wherefore the Jerusalem Creed has enough affinity with the Creed of Constantinople, yet so that in many things it is diverse from it: which differences I shall not pursue, as they are easily obvious to one looking at both and comparing them with each other. Wherefore I cannot marvel enough at the negligence of Isaac Vossius, who, in his first Dissertation on the three Creeds, in the last chapter, holds the latter part of the Jerusalem Creed as suspect, in which are contained four articles which are omitted in the Nicene Creed. For since he has persuaded himself that they were introduced into the Creed by the Council of Constantinople alone, and judges them to be held in the Jerusalem Creed as in that of Constantinople, he concludes that they were added to the pristine and ancient Creed either by John, the successor of Cyril, or by Cyril himself after the Council of Constantinople. Vossius is mistaken in both; for the final articles of both Creeds are not the same, whether you consider the order of the sentiments, or the words, or indeed the sentiments themselves: nor were they first added to the Creed in the Council of Constantinople, which we read in almost all from this age, and even in earlier versions of the Creed.
VII. What is the authority of the Jerusalem Creed.
No one who has looked at these things can deny that the authority of the Jerusalem Creed is preeminent: 1st, that this church is the mother of all others; there is the fountain of ecclesiastical tradition, and the cradles of the Christian religion; 2nd, that ancient tradition was constantly recalled to memory there by the present monuments of Christ and the apostles; 3rd, that the gathering of all pilgrims from the whole world brought about something similar to what Irenaeus (1) observes was done in Rome, so that the offshoots of new opinions against tradition could not easily grow there: for they would have been detected and corrected more quickly; 4th, that there was a continuous succession of holy prelates in that city until this age: besides this, ancient and solitary rites have been most constantly retained; 5th, lastly, if, as can scarcely be doubted, the Creed was composed or at least informed by the apostles before they departed to preach, there would be no other place where the true apostolic Creed would be more rightly sought: which, even if it be granted to have been increased by some additions, yet it cannot be said to be diverse from the apostolic faith and doctrine. Wherefore, let it be held for certain that nothing more opportune could be brought forward for refuting the Arians and enemies of the Trinity of our time.
VIII. How long the old Creed was in use in Jerusalem.
It remains to inquire how long that Creed persisted in use in the Church of Jerusalem. For, having excluded, with the passage of time, all the Creeds of private churches, the Nicene or Constantinopolitan finally prevailed throughout the entire East for the use of baptism. And in some places later, in others sooner: but that this occurred in almost all the Churches of the East by the time of the Council of Chalcedon, is made certain both by the monuments of this synod, and most especially by the letters of the Eastern bishops written to Leo Augustus, ten years after that council, in the 3rd part of the Council of Chalcedon, in which almost all affirm that the Nicene Creed had long been received for the use of baptism alone in their Churches. But, to mention something proper to the Church of Jerusalem, the monks of the diocese of Jerusalem, writing around the year 512 to Emperor Anastasius, a letter which is kept in the Life of S. Sabas edited by Cotelerius in the monuments of the Greek Church, no. 57, say that the holy Fathers of the Council of Chalcedon, in which Juvenal of Jerusalem held one of the primary places, confirmed the Nicene faith, and baptized everyone in it: “The holy Fathers, who confirmed through all things the apostolic faith which was defined and delivered to us through the holy Fathers who met in Nicaea, and enlightened all by it” — one must read, as Cotelerius advises, “enlightening” or “having enlightened”; this they judged without doubt from their own present use, and one already strengthened by some antiquity. John of Jerusalem, in a letter written around the year 519 to John of Constantinople, which is read in the fifth session of the Council of Constantinople under Menas, page 189, says of the Nicene Fathers that they set forth the Creed, into which one had both received and conferred baptism: into which we were baptized. The same adds that the Creed was confirmed by the Councils of Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon. In the seventh century, Sophronius of Jerusalem, in a synodical letter to Sergius of Constantinople, which was read in the sixth council, in the eleventh session, page 887, declares that he recognizes no other Creed than that which was pronounced by the Nicene Council, which the subsequent Council of Constantinople confirmed, and which the EPhesine and Chalcedonian councils held as valid: “I know one and only one definition of faith and instruction; I know one Creed, which the all-wise and blessed multitude of the God-bearing Fathers of Nicaea uttered from the Holy Spirit; which also the assembly of the 150 God-inspired Fathers in Constantinople confirmed, etc.” I know one and only one definition and document of faith: I also know one Creed, which the most wise and blessed venerable multitude of the three hundred and eighteen Fathers of Nicaea pronounced out of the Holy Spirit; which also the assembly of one hundred and fifty divinely inspired Fathers confirmed at Constantinople, etc. By these marks we recognize the Creed of Constantinople, which in the age of Sophronius was alone used in the Church of Jerusalem. In the eighth century, John of Damascus, a presbyter of this Church, in book 1 De fide orthodoxa, reciting the articles of the Faith, has them as they are in the Creed, and not as they are in the Jerusalem [Creed]; and in his book against the Nestorians, no. 35 and 41, he describes it almost entirely, as the unique Creed, so that there is no doubt that the former Creed had long since been abrogated.
IX. When the Nicene or Constantinopolitan Creed took the place of the old Creed in Jerusalem.
But before the Constantinopolitan Creed was accepted in Jerusalem, I believe the pure Nicene had been accepted: for [that] the Churches arrived at such a degree of the Creed, is confirmed by various monuments, which we refer to in the historical Dissertation on the Creed. That this was so in Jerusalem could be bolstered by those Cyrillian codes of Catecheses, in which the pure Nicene Creed, distinct from the Constantinopolitan, is appended at the end or near the end of the fifth catechesis: for the librarians indeed
from whom that first proceeded would have brought forth the Nicene in place of the Hierosolymitan creed, unless, with the former having long since become obsolete, they saw fit to substitute the one which was used in their own time? I believe that the Nicene Creed was introduced into the Church of Jerusalem by Juvenal of Jerusalem, who was a great part of that council, after the decree of the Council of Ephesus, by which it is enjoined that no other Creed be admitted for the use of baptism; but the Constantinopolitan [Creed was introduced] after the Henoticon of Zeno was accepted by the patriarchs of that Church; for in it, it is severely decreed against those who use another Creed.
B X. Whether anything from the old creed was retained at Jerusalem.
Although the Hierosolymitan Creed eventually gave way in this Church to the Constantinopolitan, I would not for that reason suppose that no traces of it remained, at least for some time, in the very Constantinopolitan Creed which it used. For I judge that from that primitive one, the word "one" (*unum*) was retained in the article concerning the Holy Spirit; which, with that addition, appears to have been recited at Jerusalem long ago, just as it is even now at Antioch among the Jacobite Syrians. I gather this from various monuments. The clergy of Jerusalem and Antioch, in an epistle to the Emperor Justin, among the epistles of Pope Hormisdas (Concil. Labb. vol. IV, p. 1543), say: "We, having also been baptized from the beginning into the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and believing, adore the essence of God in three substances; according to the Creed of the Holy Fathers, believing in one God the Father Almighty; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten God the Word; similarly [and] in one Holy Spirit." The Creed of the Holy Fathers is without doubt the Nicene, or the Constantinopolitan, by which they imply that they were baptized; they do not report its words themselves precisely; but it matters little. Certainly, we can rightly conclude that they had the word "one" before the words "Holy Spirit" in the Creed, especially if the following authorities are considered. Sophronius, in the synodical letters already cited, while dealing with the Holy Spirit, p. 855: "I believe," he says, "in one Holy Spirit who proceeds from God the Father: Πιστεύω . . . εἰς ἓν Πνεῦμα ἅγιον τὸ ἐκ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον." Theodore also, a prelate of the same see, in his synodica, recited in the third session of the Second Council of Nicaea, p. 174, has in his profession of faith that he believes in one Holy Spirit: Καὶ εἰς ἓν Πνεῦμα ἅγιον, τὸ ἀϊδίως, etc. The same is observed in the profession of Michael Syncellus of Jerusalem, edited in the Coislin Library, at cod. 34, p. 90. John Damascene, a presbyter of the same Church, in his *De Fide Orthodoxa*, book 1, ch. 8, edits the profession of the Trinity from the words of the Constantinopolitan Creed; but speaking of the Holy Spirit: Πιστεύομεν καὶ εἰς ἓν Πνεῦμα ἅγιον τὸ κύριον καὶ ζωοποιόν· τὸ ἐκ Πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον καὶ ἐν Υἱῷ ἀναπαυόμενον· τὸ τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ συμπροσκυνούμενον καὶ συνδοξαζόμενον. "We believe also in one Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and rests in the Son (these last words he added to the Constantinopolitan Creed of his own accord), who with the Father and the Son is worshipped together and glorified together"; in his book against the Nestorians, num. 41, however, he omits that word. This constant custom of the authors of Jerusalem of adding "one" to their professions concerning the Holy Spirit suggests to us a legitimate conjecture that they had indeed recited it so in their Creed, and had retained it from the old creed of this Church. Hence it can also be thought that it came about that the same Damascene, in the *Exposition of the Faith*, which Father Le Quien rendered into Latin from the Arabic idiom, vol. I, has at num. 11, p. 670: "I confess furthermore one baptism for repentance"; for those words "for repentance" are found in almost no other Creed except the Hierosolymitan. C
XI. On the more concise Creed.
Besides the Creed which was handed down to those being baptized in the Church of Jerusalem in the time of Cyril, I have subjoined another, more concise one, which those soon to be baptized in the same Church professed, immediately after the renunciations made by them in the vestibule of the baptistery, before the stripping of their garments and the anointing with the oil of the catechumens. And furthermore, when they were about to be plunged into the font itself, they gave a confession concerning the Trinity upon the interrogation of the minister; a custom singular to this Church: whereas in almost all other places the renunciations were recited at the font itself by those already stripped, and they confessed the faith of the Trinity, or of all the articles of the Creed, by a single profession expressed through the interrogation of the ministers.
THE JERUSALEM CREED, Collected from various parts of Cyril’s Catecheses.
A The holy and apostolic faith, delivered to those being enlightened.
I. We believe in one God, Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
II. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, who was begotten of the Father, true God before all ages; by whom all things were made.
III. Who came in the flesh, and was made man [of the Virgin and the Holy Spirit].
IV. Who was crucified and buried.
V. Who rose again the third day.
VI. And ascended into the heavens, and sat at the right hand of the Father.
B VII. And shall come in glory, to judge the living and the dead; of whose kingdom there shall be no end.
VIII. And in one Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who spoke in the prophets.
IX. And in one baptism of repentance, for the remission of sins.
X. And in one holy catholic Church.
XI. And in the resurrection of the flesh.
XII. And in life everlasting.
C D
85 THE SAME SYMBOL, MORE CONCISE, to be professed by the one being baptized after the renunciations: from Catech. XIX, n. 9.
I believe in the Father, A I believe in the Father, And in the Son, And in the Son, And in the Holy Spirit: And in the Holy Spirit, And in one baptism of repentance. And in one baptism of repentance.
Furthermore, the one to be baptized, being questioned by the minister, rendered a confession of the Trinity: concerning which Cyril speaks as follows in Cat. 20, num. 4: "And each one was questioned, whether he believes in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; and you confessed the saving confession." And each one was questioned whether he believed in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and you confessed the saving confession. Then, the one to be baptized went down immediately into the font.
CATECHESIS SIXTH
ON THE ONE GOD.
PREFACE.
I. In this discourse, Cyril explains the first words of the Symbol, in which we profess faith in one God, by first setting forth the Catholic view, and afterwards by indicating and refuting the opposed errors of pagans and heretics.
Ac primum (num. 1), after celebrating the common glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, and having prefaced that the comprehension of the divine nature is known—as is proper—only to the Trinity, and is denied to humans, to angels, and to any creatures whatsoever, he forbids us to inquire into it too curiously, so that we may nonetheless celebrate and recount it according to our measure (num. 2, 3, et seqq.). Then, briefly reviewing the highest praises of the divine nature, he lapses into recounting the errors—or rather the monstrosities of errors—of those men who have rashly presumed to scrutinize the divine nature (num. 7 and 9); and having noted the dogma of the Anthropomorphites (num. 8), he stupendously deplores the blindness of the pagans in fashioning ridiculous and wicked spirits for themselves instead of the true God (num. 10 and 11). Thence he proceeds to the heretics who alienate God from created things (num. 12 and 13): and, having incidentally refuted the twofold and mutually opposed divinity of the Manichaeans, he weaves a compendious history of the ancient heresies (num. 14 and 15). Having briefly exposed the heresy and history of Simon Magus, and indicated the errors of Cerinthus, Menander, Carpocrates, Marcion (of whom he reports a little more), and Basilides (num. 16), he lingers a little longer in explaining and refuting the insane syntagma of Valentinus concerning the Aeons (num. 17, 18, and 19). And at length, coming to the heresy of the Manichaeans, which is posterior to all of these, he mentions its first authors; the origin of Manes, his conflict with Archelaus, and finally his execution (num. 20, 21, 22, and 23). He reports their ridiculous, blasphemous, and in every way impure and sordid dogmas more diligently for the caution of the hearers (num. 31 et seqq.); and he concludes the discourse with an established comparison of the Catholic Church with the impure sect of the Manichaeans (num. 35 and 36).
II. This catechesis is entitled "On the Monarchy of God" and "On Heresies"; and indeed the first title has authority from Cyril himself, who, in number 36 of this catechesis and in number 1 of the following, reports that he has spoken in this discourse "Of the Monarchy of God"; the second can also be confirmed from the same place: for, when the place of the seventh catechesis is cited, he lists that more diligent description of heretical opinions as the other part of his discourse. Yet that division does not accurately distribute the discourse; for the "Monarchy of God" is general and is an argument of the catechesis spread throughout the whole discourse, under which is contained the refutation of the errors contrary to that truth; and besides the tenets of the heretics, the author also reviews the insane opinions of the pagans concerning divinity.
III. By the name "Monarchy of God," our ancient writers, as is known to all, understand the one principate of the one true God over all things, of which He is the one principle and author. For the word *arche* (ἀρχή), encompassing a twofold understanding, signifies both principate and principle. Both, however, apply to God in one and the same way. Since the reason for principate and dominion belongs to Him from creation and from the principle placed in things, as our author often inculcates, and he assumes it everywhere as the principle. Nevertheless, the principate and empire of God over all things is [discussed] in the eighth catechesis...
in all things, of which there is one principle and author, and sovereignty. For the word ἄρχη contains a double meaning, sounding both as sovereignty and as principle. B Both, however, come together in God for one and the same reason. For although the concept of sovereignty and dominion is derived from creation and the principle implanted in things, yet our author everywhere implies it in preference to the principle; and by expounding the sovereignty and empire of God over all in the eighth catechesis, and in the ninth the dignity of the Creator of all, he proposes in this one especially that the majesty, unity, and singularity of the divine nature be considered.
IV. There are many things in this discourse worthy of the attention of the learned: in the first place, those pertaining to the history of heresies. The statue of Simon Magus, and his fall at the prayer of the apostles, receive no small confirmation from our author. In recounting the errors of the Valentinians, he departs much from the truth, or at least from Irenæus: whether he took them from the books of other Valentinians, or, having accepted them from Irenæus, confused them while speaking extemporaneously with a wavering memory; which is not surprising that it should have happened to him in referring to an hypothesis of so many chapters, and miraculously absurd and discordant: since it was a poorly compacted farrago of various heresies dissonant in different ways, to which it was permitted to any of its followers to add or truncate individually. Yet I have noted that the same author recounted the same things about them as Cyril did. He is much more accurate in recounting the history and dogmas of the Manichæans: which he had taken partly from Archelaus, a most faithful and contemporary historian (although perhaps some error adhered to the disputation of Cyril with Manes, translated into Greek from the Syriac language), partly from a diligent examination of the Manichæan books, which labor he states he undertook in cat. 6, num. 34, and partly perhaps from the confession of some who were converted from the Manichæans; for he had among his hearers some returning from the Manichæan heresy, as he relates, cat. 15, num. 3. Truly, Cyril has preserved for us a precious fragment of the collation of Archelaus with Manes, cat. 6, num. 27 and 28, which is not read in the published copies of Archelaus; but as has been done by us, it must not be extended beyond num. 28.
V. This catechesis was delivered on the day preceding the following one, from cat. 7, num. 1, and since the sixth, seventh, and eighth, and perhaps the ninth, were delivered in the same week, it follows that this one was delivered at the beginning of the second or third week of Lent. We have amended this according to the faith of the mss. Coislin., Ottobon., Bodl., Roe, Casaub., Colb., and also the edition of the Memmian codex by Guill. Morel in the year 1564, to which in the copy of Saint Geneviève variant readings from an old ms. are added in the margin, which codex we cite for brevity by the name Genovefan. May the kind reader excuse our sometimes overly long notes in weighing various readings, the force of Greek words, and assigning the sense of the author, in elucidating the chapters of heretical history in which the credit of Cyril labors.
CATECHESIS VI OF THE ILLUMINATED
Delivered extemporaneously at Jerusalem, concerning the monarchy of God [or concerning the sovereignty of one God] on that sentence: I believe in one God, and concerning heresies. And the reading is from Isaiah: Be renewed unto me, ye islands. Israel is saved by the Lord with an eternal salvation: they shall not be put to shame, nor shall they be confounded until the age, and what follows.
I. A Blessed be God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; blessed also is His only-begotten Son. For at the same time that God is thought of, D let also be thought of
A the Father, so that the glorification of the Father and of the Son [with the Holy Spirit] may be accomplished indivisibly. For the Father does not have one glory, and the Son another; but one and the same [with the Holy Spirit]. Since the Son is the only-begotten of the Father, when the Father is glorified, the Son also partakes of the glory. Since the glory of the Son is from the honor of His Father, and, in turn, when the Son is glorified, the Father of such great goodness is magnificently honored.
II. Now the mind perceives B most swiftly; but the tongue has need of words and of much narration in the intervening speeches. For the eye at one moment comprehends the wide choir of the stars; but when one wishes to describe each thing individually—what Phosphorus is, what Hesperus is, and what each single thing is—he has need of many words. Again, in the same way, the mind comprehends the earth and the sea and all the boundaries of the world in the swiftest moment; but what it cogitates in an instant, it explains only in prolix speeches. Great indeed is the example set before us, but it is still weak and feeble. For we do not say what we ought about God (for these things are known to Him alone), but as much as human nature has contained, and as much as our weakness is able to bear. For we do not declare what God is, but that we do not know what is accurate concerning Him, with gratitude
A we confess it; for in those things which concern God, it is great knowledge to confess ignorance. Magnify therefore the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together; B all of us in common, for one is not sufficient; nay, rather, even if we were all to come together, we should still not do what is fitting. I do not say you who are present only, but even if all the alumni of the universal Church, both those who are now and those who are to come, were to assemble, they would not be able to praise the Shepherd according to His dignity.
III. C Abraham was great and honorable, but he was great toward men; yet when he drew near to God, then he said, genuinely confessing the truth: "I am earth and ashes" [Gen. xviii, 27]. He did not say, "earth," and then kept silent, lest he should seem to call himself a great element; but he added, "and ashes," so that he might show forth his own easily dissolved and fragile condition. Is there anything, he says, smaller or finer than ash? For take, he says, the comparison of ash to a house, and of a house to a city, and of a city to a province, and of a province to the Roman territory, and of the Roman territory to the whole earth and all its boundaries; and the whole earth to the heaven which encloses it in its bosom—which has such a proportion to the heaven as the center of a wheel wheel has to its whole circumference (for such is the comparison of the earth to the heaven)—and understand that this first heaven which we see is smaller than the second, and the second than the third; for up to
A these, Scripture has named them: not that there are only these many, but that it is expedient for us to know only so many. And when you perceive in your mind all the heavens, not even then will the heavens be able to praise God as He truly is, not even if they should sound with a voice louder than thunder. But if such vast capacities of the heavens cannot hymn God according to His worth, when then shall the earth and the ashes, the very smallest thing, and the least of all things that exist, be able to send up a worthy hymn to God, or to speak worthily of God, who holds the circle of the earth, and has the inhabitants upon it as grasshoppers? B
IV. If anyone attempts to speak of things that pertain to God, let him first explain the limits of the earth. You inhabit the earth, and you do not know the end of your own house—the earth—and how will you be able to conceive of the Creator worthily? You behold C the stars, but you do not behold the Maker. First number those which are visible to you, and then declare the One who is invisible: the One who numbers the multitudes of stars and calls them all by name. Rains of thick drops have recently fallen and nearly destroyed us—number the drops of this city alone; and I do not say of the city, but number the drops falling upon your own roof in the space of one hour, if you are able. But you cannot: acknowledge your own weakness; and from this learn the power of God. For the drops of rain are numbered by Him, D which have been poured out over the whole world, not only now, but always. The sun is a work of God, great indeed, yet the smallest in comparison to the whole heaven; look first at the sun, and then investigate the Master. Seek not things deeper than yourself, and do not inves-
investigate what has been commanded you; meditate upon these things.
[V] E. But someone will say: If the divine substance is incomprehensible, why do you discourse on these matters? Truly, if I am unable to drink up the whole river, may I not take even what is convenient for me in moderation? Since I am unable to encompass the whole sun with the capacity of my eyes, shall I not be permitted to look upon it for my own need? Or, since I have entered a great garden and cannot eat all the substance of the fruits, do you wish me to depart entirely hungry? I praise and glorify Him who made us; for the command is divine which says: Let every breath praise the Lord. I undertake now to praise the Lord, but not to explain Him; knowing, indeed, that I shall fall short of the dignity required to praise Him, yet considering it a work of piety even to make the attempt at all. For my Lord Jesus consoles my weakness, saying: No one has ever seen God.
[VI] VI. What then? someone will say, is it not written: The angels of the little ones always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven? But the angels behold, not as God is, but insofar as they themselves are able to take Him in. For it is Jesus himself who says: Not that anyone has seen the Father, except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. The angels, therefore, behold, insofar as they are able to take Him in. B Indeed, I am far from glorifying Him in a manner befitting the subject; but I consider it a work of piety to attempt it in any way whatsoever. For the Lord Jesus consoles my weakness, when He says: No one has ever seen God.
VI. What then, someone will say, is it not written: The angels of the little ones always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven? But the angels behold, not as God is, but insofar as they themselves are able to take Him in. For it is Jesus himself who says: Not that anyone has seen the Father, except him who is from God: he has seen the Father. The angels, therefore, behold, insofar as they are able to take Him in.
A and the archangels, [as they are able;] but the thrones and dominions, more excellently than the former, yet far inferior to the dignity of the reality. For the Holy Spirit alone can behold [Him] as it is fitting, together with the Son. For He searches everything, and knows even the depths of God; just as also the only-begotten Son knows, as it is fitting, together with the Holy Spirit, the Father (for "No one knows the Father," He says, "except the Son, and he to whom the Son may reveal Him"). He beholds B as it is fitting, and reveals together with the Spirit, and through the Spirit, according to how each can take Him in, the God; since indeed the only-begotten Son is a participant in the paternal divinity together with the Holy Spirit, He who was begotten impassibly before the eternal ages knows the Begetter, and the Begetter knows the Begotten. Since, therefore, the angels do not know (for the Only-begotten reveals to each according to their own strength, with the Spirit, through the Holy Spirit, as we have said), let no one of men be ashamed to confess his ignorance. I speak now, as do all in [their] time; but the "how" we are unable to express in words. How then can I explain Him who gave [us] the power to speak? I, who have a soul and am unable to declare its character or marks, how shall I be able to explain the Giver C of the soul?
VII. It is sufficient for us for piety to know this alone: that we have God; one God, a God who exists, who always exists; who is always like Himself; whose Father... D
A there is no other; than whom there is no one stronger; whom no successor can drive from His kingdom; who is adorned with many names, who is all-powerful, and uniform in His substance. For it is not because He is called good, and just, and all-powerful, and Sabaoth, that He is therefore various and diverse; but being one and the same, He sends forth ten thousand operations of His divinity. He does not have more in one part and less in another, but is in all things like unto Himself. He is not great in loving-kindness alone and small in wisdom, but possesses wisdom and loving-kindness of equal power. He does not see in part and find Himself deprived of sight in another part, but is all eye, and all hearing, and all mind; not as we, who understand in part and do not understand in part; for such a statement is blasphemous and unworthy of the divine substance. He is the foreknower of all things that are, and holy, and all-powerful, and above all more good, and above all greater, and above all wiser; whose beginning, nor form, nor shape we shall ever be able to declare. For you have never heard His voice, nor have you seen His shape, says the holy Scripture. B And therefore Moses also says to the Israelites: And take good heed for your souls, that you saw no likeness. For if it is altogether impossible to imagine a likeness, will then the mind be anywhere near to His substance?
VIII. Many have imagined many things, and all have wandered. Some have thought that God is fire, and that He is altogether ignorant of matter, and matter ignorant of Him. Therefore, having a partial power of vision in Him—there is not another; than whom none is stronger, whom no one succeeding Him casts out of the kingdom; the multi-named, and all-powerful, and uniform in substance. For it is not because He is called good, and just, and all-powerful, and Sabaoth, that for this reason He is C different and other; but being one and the same, He sends forth the myriads of the energies of the Godhead; not having more in part and being diminished in part, but in all things being like unto Himself; not great in philanthropy alone, and small in wisdom, but having wisdom and philanthropy of equal power; not seeing in part, and in part deprived of the power of seeing; but being all eye, and all hearing, and all mind; not as we, understanding in part and not knowing in part; for the statement is blasphemous, and unworthy of the divine substance. He is the foreknower of things that are, and holy, and all-powerful, and better than all, and greater than all, and wiser than all; whose beginning, or form, or shape we shall not be able to declare. For neither have you ever heard His voice, nor have you seen His shape, says the holy Scripture; therefore also Moses says to the Israelites: And take good heed to your souls, because you saw no likeness. D For if it is altogether impossible to imagine the likeness, will the mind be near to the substance?
VIII. Many have imagined many things, and all have wandered.
A Some have supposed that God is fire; others, that He is winged, after the manner of a man, because it is written, though rightly said but wrongly understood: *In the shelter of thy wings thou wilt protect me*. They have forgotten our Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten, who says likewise of Himself to Jerusalem: *How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not?* For since His protecting power is signified under the name of wings, these men, not understanding this, have fallen into human thoughts and have supposed the Inscrutable One to be after the manner of men. Others have dared to say that He has seven eyes, because it is written: *The seven eyes of the Lord looking upon all the earth*. For if He were possessed of seven eyes only, as if in part, His seeing would be partial and not perfect; which to say of God is blasphemous and insulting. For one must believe that God is perfect in all things, according to that word of the Saviour: *Your heavenly Father is perfect*: perfect in seeing, perfect in power, perfect in magnitude, perfect in foreknowledge, perfect in goodness, perfect in justice, perfect in kindness; not limited to a place, but the Maker of places; existing in all things, and circumscribed by none. His throne is heaven, yet He who sits upon it transcends it. And the earth is His footstool, yet His power reaches even to the subterranean realms. B
IX. He is one, present everywhere, seeing all things, knowing all things, creating all things through Christ. C D
A For "all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made." He is the greatest and inexhaustible fountain of every good, a river of benefits, a light eternal, shining without cease, a power unconquerable, accommodating itself to our infirmities; for we cannot bear even to hear His name. "Will you find the vestige of the Lord," says Job, "or have you reached the uttermost things that the Omnipotent has made?" If the last and least of His works cannot be comprehended, shall He who made all things be comprehended? "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for them that love Him." If the things which God has prepared exceed the grasp of our minds, can we then grasp in our understanding He who prepared them? "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!" says the Apostle. If His judgments and ways are incomprehensible, shall He Himself be grasped?
B X. Since God is so great, and even greater—for not even if I were to transform my whole substance into a tongue could I speak as His dignity demands; nay, not even if all the angels were to gather could they speak as is worthy—since God is so good and great, man has dared to carve a stone, and call to the stone, "Thou art my God." O great blindness, that has fallen from such majesty to such indignity and abasement! The wood which God caused to grow, and the rain made tall, and which later, consumed by fire, becomes ash—this is proclaimed to be God, while the true God is held in contempt. The perversity of idolatry has abounded; and the cat, C and the dog, and the wolf, were worshipped instead of God; and the man-eating lion was worshipped in place of the most philanthropic God. The serpent and the dragon, mimics of him who cast us out of paradise, were worshipped, while He who planted the paradise was despised. And I am ashamed to say it, but yet I will speak: even onions have already been worshipped by some. Wine, that it may gladden
the heart of man, was given; and Dionysus was worshipped instead of God. God fashioned the grain by saying: "Let the earth bring forth grass, yielding seed according to its kind and likeness," that bread might strengthen the heart of man; and from whence was Ceres worshipped? Fire proceeds from the clashing of stones even to this day; and from whence is Hephaestus, the maker of fire?
XI. Whence the polytheistic error of the Greeks? God is incorporeal; from whence then are the debaucheries and adulteries imputed to those who are called gods by them? I pass over the transformations of Zeus into a swan; I am ashamed to mention his transformations into a bull; for such whisperings are unworthy of God. An adulterer is found in the god of the Greeks, and they are not ashamed; for if he is an adulterer, let him not be called God. B And they tell of the deaths, and falls, and thunderings of the gods they worship. Do you see from what a height they have fallen? Did the Son of God then descend from heaven in vain, that He might heal such a wound? Did the Son come in vain, that the Father might be known? Recognize what moved the Only-Begotten to descend from the throne at the right hand. The Father was being despised. It was necessary for the Son to correct the error; for it was necessary for Him, through whom all things were made, to offer all things to the Lord of all. The wound had to be healed. For what in this disease was worse, that a stone should be worshipped instead of God?
ON HERESIES
XII. And the devil did not contend in these things only among the Gentiles; but now even many of those who are falsely called Christians, and are badly labeled by the most fragrant name of Christ, have dared to wickedly alienate God from His own works. I speak of the children of the heretics, those of ill omen and most godless, C who pretend to be lovers of Christ, but are utterly haters of Christ; for he who reviles the Father of Christ is an enemy of the Son.
A They dared to say that there are two divinities, one good and one evil. Oh, how great a blindness! If it is a divinity, it is surely also good; but if it is not good, why is it called a divinity? For goodness belongs to God. Since, therefore, it is fitting for God to be benevolent, beneficent, and omnipotent, only one of two things remains: either they should call it God, joining the title with the reality and the operation; or if they intend to deprive it of the operations, let them not call it so by the name alone. B
XIII.
The heretics have not feared to speak of two gods, and two sources of good and evil, and that these are unbegotten. If both are unbegotten, it is surely the case that they are also equal and both powerful; how then does the light destroy the darkness? And whether are they together at any time, or are they set apart? For they cannot be together. "For what partnership has light with darkness?" says the Apostle (II Cor. vi, 14). But if they are far from one another, it is surely the case that they also possess their own places. If they possess their own places, we are surely somewhere within the domain of the one God, and surely we worship one; for it is necessary that we should conclude in this way, even if we humor their madness, that one God ought to be worshipped. Let us now examine them, and what they say concerning the good God. Is he powerful, or powerless? If he is powerful, how did the evil come into being against his will? And how does the wicked substance intrude itself, not being willed by him? If, indeed, he knows how to forbid...he is accused of impotence; but if he is able but does not forbid, they accuse him of betrayal. And observe the senselessness of these people: at one time they say that the wicked one has nothing in common with the good God in the creation of the world; at another time they say that he has only the fourth part. And they say that the good one is the Father of Christ, but that Christ—the sun—is this one. If, therefore, the world according to them was made by the wicked one, and the sun is in the world, how does the Son of the good one serve against his will in the things of the wicked one? We are wallowing in mire by saying these things, but it is necessary, so that none of those present might fall into the mire of the heretics through ignorance. I know that I am defiling my own mouth and the ears of those who hear; but it is beneficial. For it is much better to hear of the absurd opinions of others in refutations than to fall into these things out of ignorance; it is much better to know the mire and to hate it than, not knowing it, to fall into it. The account of the impiety of the heresies is manifold; for when one falls away from the one straight path, he often falls into precipices. A For if he knows but cannot forbid, they accuse him of inability B if he is able but does not forbid, they accuse him of betrayal. And observe their madness: at one time they say that the wicked one (4) has nothing in common with the good God in the creation of the world; at other times they say that he has only the fourth part. And they say that the good one is the Father of Christ; but they call this sun Christ. If, therefore, the world, according to them, was created by the wicked one, and the sun is in the world, how does the Son of the good one serve unwillingly in the things of the wicked one? We are besmirched by saying these things; but this is done so that none of those present may fall into the mire of the heretics through ignorance. I know that I am defiling my mouth and the ears of those who hear; but it is beneficial. For it is much better to hear the absurd things of others in refutations than to fall into these same things through ignorance; it is much better to know the mire and to hate it than to fall into it through ignorance. The account of the atheism of the heresies is manifold; for when anyone turns away from the one path of righteousness (5), he falls many times into precipices.
A XIV. And the inventor of every heresy was Simon Magus. It is the Simon who is in the Acts of the Apostles, who, having hoped to purchase with money the unpurchasable grace of the Spirit, heard: "You have neither part nor lot in this matter," and what follows. Concerning whom it is written: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us." This man, having come to Rome after having been cast out by the apostles, and taking with him a certain harlot named Helen, was the first to dare, with blasphemous mouth, to say that he himself was the One who appeared as the Father on Mount Sinai, and later among the Jews—not in flesh, but in appearance—he had appeared as Jesus Christ; and after these things, as the Holy Spirit, which had been promised by Christ to be sent as the Paraclete. And he so deceived the city of the Romans B that Claudius set up a statue of him, inscribing it in the Roman language, SIMONI DEO SANCTO, which being interpreted signifies, "To Simon the Holy God."
XV. But as the error spread more widely, a noble pair of men, Peter and Paul, the leaders of the Church, arrived and corrected this fault; and the chief herald of the Church,
A showing the one who was thought to be God, Simon, to be a corpse, they immediately exposed him. For when Simon had promised to be lifted up into the heavens, and was being carried through the air upon a vehicle of demons, the servants of God fell upon their knees and demonstrated the concord, of which Jesus had spoken: "If two of you agree, concerning any matter whatsoever that they might ask, it shall be granted to them;" and having sent the arrow of concord through prayer against the Magician, they cast him down to the earth. And let this not seem a marvel to you, even though it is indeed a wonder: for it was Peter, who carried the keys of the heavens. And it is not worthy of wonder: for it was Paul, who was caught up into the third heaven and into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not permitted for a man to utter. These men brought down to earth from the air the one B who was thought to be God, at the point of being brought down to the underworld. This one was the first dragon of wickedness; but when one head was chopped off, the root of wickedness was again found to be many-headed.
XVI. For Cerinthus devastated the Church, and Menander, and Carpocrates, and the Ebionites, and Marcion, that mouth of godlessness. For he who proclaims different gods, one good and another just, speaks in opposition to the Son who says: "O righteous Father." And he who again says that the Father is one, and another is the creator of the world, opposes the Son who says: "If God so clothes the grass of the field, which exists today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven," and, "Who makes His sun rise upon the evil C and the good, and rains upon the just and the unjust." Here again, the inventor of a second wickedness was Marcion. Who, since he had recounted the circumstances of the history in the cited passages. For some record that Peter and Paul together achieved that victory, as our Cyril, Sulpitius Severus, *Hist. sacra* lib. 2, Maximus of Turin, hom. 5, *De SS. apostolis*, the author of the 202nd sermon in the Appendix to Augustine, tom. V, n. 2, etc. Others mention only Peter, as the *Constit. apostol.* lib. vi, cap. 9, Arnobius, lib. ii, p. 50; Philastrius, heresy 1 of the second class; Ambrose, lib. iv *Hexaem.*, cap. 8, n. 33; Augustine, heresy 1, etc. Others attribute this triumph to prayers alone, as Cyril and Arnobius; others add fasting to prayers, as those whose opinion Augustine reports, *epist.* 36, n. 21; Cassianus, *De institutis coenobiorum*, lib. iii, cap. 10, etc. Others assert that Simon broke his legs, while others claim he was crushed in his whole body. But these variations are not of such importance that they could undermine the faith of the history, if it were confirmed by certain monuments from elsewhere. See Cotelier in the notes to *Constitut. apostol.* lib. vi, c. 9. D
A Marcion, again, was the author of another wickedness, and a second one. For being refuted by the testimonies which are taken from the Old Testament in the New Testament, he was the first who dared to cut out the testimonies, and to leave the proclaimed word of the faith without witness, having abandoned God B; and as if there were no preachers, he wished to make the faith of the Church unsound.
XVII. Another again succeeded him, Basilides, of ill-omened name, most crafty in his ways, a herald of licentiousness C. Another helper in malice joined in, Valentinus, the asserter of thirty gods. The Gentiles count fewer; but this man, who was called—or rather, was not—a Christian, extended his error to thirty in all. And he says that Bythus (for it was fitting for him, being himself a depth of malice, to begin his teaching from a depth D) begat Silence, and from Silence...
he procreated the Logos [or Word]. He is worse than the Jove of the pagans, who was joined with his sister; for Silence was said to be the daughter of Bythus. Do you see an absurdity cloaked in the guise of Christianity? Wait a little while, and you will hate the impiety; for he says that eight Aeons [or ages] were born from this one, and from them ten, and from them another twelve, male and female. And whence the composition of these? Look at the drivel of the thirty Aeons. Where do you get the proof from the thirty years, if he was baptized at thirty years of age? And what kind of proof is this from the thirty years? Is it because he broke five loaves among five thousand, that there are therefore five gods? Or because he had twelve disciples, that there ought therefore to be twelve gods?
XVIII. On the Only God.
B XVIII. But these things are still small, if they are compared with his other impieties. For he says that the last of the gods—being, as he dares to say, male and female—is Wisdom. C D
O the impiety! For Christ is the wisdom of God, the only-begotten Son. A Yet they, subjecting the Wisdom of God to a feminine condition, and to the place of the thirtieth element, and the final fabrication, bring it down with their word. And they say that Wisdom attempted to see the first God; and not being able to bear the brilliance, fell from the heavens, and was cast out of the number of thirty; then, sobbing, she gave birth to the devil from her sighs; and that, weeping over her own downfall, she created the sea. Do you see the impiety? For how is the devil generated from wisdom, or evil from understanding, or darkness from light? And they say that the devil gave birth to others, from whom some fabricated the world; and that Christ descended to turn men away from the creator of the world.
XIX. Hear also whom they say Jesus Christ is B, so that you may hate them even more. For they teach,
CATECHESIS VI. ON ONE GOD
O the impiety! For Christ is the wisdom of God, the only-begotten Son. But they, subjecting the Wisdom of God to a feminine condition, and to the place of the thirtieth element and the final production, lower it with their account: and they add that Wisdom, having attempted to behold the first God, and being unable to endure the force of the radiance, fell from the heavens, and was cast out from the number of thirty: then, that she groaned, and from her sighs brought forth the devil; and that by weeping over her fall she caused the sea. Do you see the impiety? For in what way is the devil generated from wisdom, or malice from prudence, or darkness from light? They add that the devil gave birth to others, from whom some have fabricated the world; and that Christ descended in order to call men away from the world’s author.
XIX. But hear who they say Jesus Christ is, so that you may pursue them with C greater hatred. For they teach, [alt-version omitted]
A that when Wisdom had fallen, so that the number of the thirty might not remain incomplete, the twenty-nine 4 Aeons, each contributing a very little, fashioned the Christ; and they say further that this one is male-female. Is there anything more impious than this? Is there anything more wretched? I explain to you their error, so that you may conceive a greater hatred for them. Flee, therefore, from impiety, and do not say "rejoice" to such a person, so that you may not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness; and do not be excessively curious, nor desire to enter into speech with them.
XX. And you must hate all heretics, but especially B him who is named from madness and fury, who not long ago under the emperor Probus had his beginning; 2 for the error emerged not quite seventy years ago, and there are still men until this very day who have seen him with their own eyes. Yet do not hate him just because he lived a short time ago, but because of his 7 impious dogmas, hate the worker of wickedness, the receptacle of every filth, the one who took upon himself the mire of every heresy. For he was ambitious 8 to be outstanding in evils, having taken the [evils] of all... he was the final pit of destruction, having gathered the evils of all heresies together, having collected the evils of all heretics at once, a single heresy full of blasphemies.
A And having established every kind of lawlessness, he ravages the Church—or rather those who are outside the Church—as a lion walking about and devouring. Do not attend to their fair speech B nor to their supposed humility; for they are serpents, a brood of vipers. Judas also said, "Hail, Rabbi," and betrayed Him. Do not attend to the kisses, but beware of the venom.
XXI. And that we may not seem to accuse him in vain, let us say briefly who this Manes is, and what he teaches in part; for the whole of his mire C not even the whole of time would be able to recount worthily. But let these things be kept in mind by you for timely aid—those things which have been said to those before you, and which will be said to those who are now present, so that those who are ignorant may learn, and those who know may be reminded. D It is not from...
A Christians that Manes derives, heaven forbid! Nor was he cast out of the Church like Simon Magus; neither he, nor the teachers who preceded him. For he is a thief of the evils of others, which he claimed as his own. But in what manner and how, listen now.
101 XXII. There was a certain Scythian in Egypt, a Saracen by race, having nothing in common either with Christianity or with Judaism. He lived in Alexandria, and imitating the Aristotelian life, he composed four books: one, which he called the Gospel, not containing the deeds of Christ, but merely the name; and another which he called Chapters; and a third, of Mysteries; and a fourth B.
[Regarding verse/lines 101-end:]
XXII. There was a certain Scythian in Egypt, a Saracen by race, possessing nothing in common either with Judaism or with Christianity. He, having resided in Alexandria and imitated the Aristotelian life, drew up four books: one, called the Gospel, not containing the deeds of Christ, but merely the name; and another, called of Chapters; and a third, of Mysteries. C
[Regarding the remainder of the text provided in the columns:]
[alt-version omitted] D
A His disciple was one named Terebinthus. But when the aforementioned Scythianus had arrived in Judea and was infecting the region, the Lord, by inflicting death upon the man through a sickness, put an end to the pestilential state of affairs.
XXIII. Now Terebinthus, that disciple of wickedness, heir of the gold, and of the books, and of the heresy, having arrived in Palestine and being recognized and condemned in Judea, B decided to move to Persia. But so that he might not be recognized even there by his name, he changed his name and called himself Buddas. But he had adversaries there as well, the ministers of Mithras, and having been C afflicted with much...
[Regarding the Latin commentary column:] The disciple was named Terebinthus. But when the aforementioned Scythianus had arrived in Judea and was infecting the region, the Lord, by inflicting death upon the man through a sickness, suppressed the growing corruption.
XXIII. Terebinthus, however, disciple of perversity, heir of the gold, of the books, and of the heresy, when he was present in Palestine and had been recognized and condemned in Judea, decided to cross over into Persia. But so that he might not be recognized there also by his name, he changed his name and called himself Buddas. But he had adversaries there as well, the [ministers] of Mithras, and...
[The remaining Latin text provides a critical discussion of the historical variations regarding Scythianus's death and Terebinthus's movements, noting that while some sources suggest Scythianus died in Judea, others dispute the details of his demise and the timing of Terebinthus's subsequent activities.] D
A His arguments and disputations having been refuted, and he, driven to the limits of his endurance, fled to a certain widow. Afterwards, he climbed to the upper part of the house, and, having invoked the aerial demons B whom the Manichaeans to this very day invoke over their abominable dried fig, he was struck by divine power and thrown down from the roof; he gave up his spirit, and in this manner the second beast was cut off.
XXIV. However, the writings containing his impiety remained; and the widow was the heir both to the books and to the wealth. As she had neither kin nor any other person, she decided to use the money to purchase a boy named Cubricus; and having taken him for adoption, she trained him in the sciences of the Persians as if he were her own son, and sharpened a deadly arrow against humanity. And Cubricus, the wicked servant, flourished among the philosophers; and after the widow died, he inherited both the books and the money. Then, so that the name of slavery might not be reproachful to him, instead of Cubricus he named himself Manes, which in the Persian tongue signifies a discourse. For because he seemed to be a kind of dialectician, he named himself Manes, as if he were a supreme master of discourses. But while he sought to gain a reputation for himself by that name according to the Persian language, the providence of God brought it to pass that he became involuntarily his own accuser; so that while he thought to gain honor for himself in Persia, among the Greeks he proclaimed himself, by his name, as one of madness.
XXV. He dared to say that he was the Paraclete.
A And it is written: "Whoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness" (Marc. iii, 29). He blasphemed, then, by calling himself the Holy Spirit; let him who associates with such people see with whom he is joining himself. This servant stirred up the world, for "by three things the earth is shaken, and the fourth it cannot endure, if a servant should reign" (Prov. xxx, 21, 22). And coming into the midst, he proceeded to promise things beyond human scope. B The son of the king of the Persians was ill, and a multitude of physicians was present; but Manes promised that he would perform a cure by prayer, as if he were a pious man. The physicians withdrew, and simultaneously the life of the boy departed; the impiety of the man was exposed. That so-called philosopher was bound and put in prison, not because he had rebuked the king for the sake of the truth, nor because he had destroyed idols, but because he had promised to save and had lied; or rather, C as it is written, it has no forgiveness.
For Scythianus dared to call himself "Father"; and Buddas [called himself] the Son of God and the Father, and claimed to have been born of a virgin and reared in the mountains; whence the Antichrist of error also sent forth twelve disciples as heralds. D He promised by prayer, as if he were a pious man, to perform a cure. He promised to save by prayer, so that they might be accused of being pious men, and certain kinds of medicinal [remedies].
[alt-version omitted]
But if one must speak the truth, it was because he committed murder. For when he drove away the physicians, he murdered the man who could have been saved by the help of medicine, having caused his death through neglect.
XXVI. And since I am recounting many evils of that man, remember thirdly his blasphemy, and secondly his servitude—not that to serve is a reproach, but because it is evil for one who is a slave to feign freedom. Thirdly, [remember] the lie of his promise, and fourthly, the murder of the boy, and fifthly, the shame of the prison. And it was not only the shame of the prison, but also the flight from the prison. For he who called himself the Paraclete and the champion of the truth fled; he was not a successor of Jesus, who went readily and eagerly to the cross, but this man was the opposite, a fugitive. Then the king of the Persians ordered the prison guards to be led away to execution B. Manes was the cause of death for the boy through his arrogance, and the cause of death for the guards through his flight. Is he, then, the accessory to death, to be worshipped? Should he not have imitated Jesus and said: "If you seek me, let these go"? Should he not have said, according to Jonah: "Take me and cast me into the sea; for because of me is this tempest"?
XXVII. He flees from the prison, and comes to Mesopotamia; but the shield of righteousness C, Bishop Archelaus, meets him. And before the philosophers
arguing from the judges, having assembled a Gentile audience, so that the judges might not seem to be showing favor if Christians were judging—"Come, tell me," says Archelaus to Manes, "what you preach." B And he, having a mouth like an open [(1)] sepulcher, began first with blasphemy against the Creator of all things, saying: "The God of the Old Testament is the inventor of evils," saying concerning himself: "I am a consuming fire [(2)]." But the wise Archelaus dissolved this blasphemy, saying: "If the God of the Old Testament, according to your word, calls himself fire, whose son is he who says: 'I came to cast fire upon the earth'? If you blame him who says: 'The Lord puts to death and makes alive [(3)],' why do you honor Peter, who raised Tabitha from the dead [(4)], but put Sapphira to death [(5)]? And if you also blame him because he prepared fire, why do you not blame him who says: 'Go away from me [(6)] into the eternal fire'? If you blame him who says: 'I am the God who makes peace, and creates evils [(7)],' explain how Jesus says: 'I did not come to bring peace, but a sword [(8)].' Since both say the same things, one of two things follows: either both are good because of the similarity of their speaking; or if Jesus is blameless in saying these things, why do you reproach the one who speaks similar things in the Old Testament?"
B XXVIII. Then Manes says to him: "And what kind of God blinds? For it is Paul who says: 'In whom the God of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers, so that the illumination of the Gospel might not shine upon them [(9)].'" C But Archelaus, having well rebuked him, says: "Read a little before it: 'But if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled in those who are perishing [(10)].' Do you see that it is veiled in those who are perishing? For one ought not to give holy things to the dogs [(11)]. Then, did only the God of the Old Testament blind the thoughts of the unbelievers? And did Jesus himself not say: 'For this reason I speak to them in parables, that seeing they may not see [(12)]'?"
[alt-version omitted]
'?" A Or did he wish that they should not see because of their own unworthiness, since they had closed their own eyes? For where there is voluntary wickedness, there also is the withdrawal of grace: B "For to him who has will be given, but from him who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken away." C XXIX. (If, however, as some also interpret, this must be said [for the saying is not trivial]: even if he blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers, he blinded them for a good purpose, so that they might recover their sight for the sake of good things. For he did not say, "He blind D ed their soul," but "the thoughts of the unbelievers." And the point being made is of such a nature...)
Blind the fornicator's thoughts of fornication, and the man is saved. Blind the robber's instinct for plundering and thieving, and the man is saved. But do you not wish to understand it in this way? There is also another explanation B. The sun also blinds those with weak eyesight, and those with ailing eyes are blinded, being injured by the light; not because the sun is blinding, but because the structure of the eyes cannot see. Thus also the unbelievers, ailing in their hearts, cannot look into the rays of the Godhead. And he did not say: "He blinded the thoughts, so that they might not hear the Gospel"; but, "so that the illumination of the glory of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ might not shine through." For hearing the Gospel is permitted to all, but the glory of the Gospel is reserved for the genuine disciples of Christ alone. Therefore, the Lord spoke in parables to those who were unable to hear; but to the disciples, he explained the parables in private. For the brightening of the glory is for the illuminated; the blindness is for the unbelievers. These mysteries, which the Church now reveals to you who have transferred from the rank of the catechumens, it is not the custom to reveal to the Gentiles. For we do not declare the mysteries concerning the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to a Gentile, nor do we speak openly to the catechumens about the mysteries; but we often speak much in a veiled manner, so that the faithful who know may understand, and those who do not know may not be harmed.
C XXX. By such [arguments] and many others, the dragon was overthrown; with such complications, Archelaus wrestled Manes to the ground. He flees again from there, he who had also escaped from prison:
and having evaded his adversary, he comes to a most lowly village, just like the serpent who in paradise left Adam behind and approached Eve. But the good shepherd Archelaus, providing for his sheep, having heard of his flight, immediately hastened in pursuit to find the wolf. Manes, however, seeing his adversary suddenly A present, sprang up and fled; and he fled his final flight. For the King of the Persians’ bodyguards, searching everywhere, catch the fugitive; and the sentence which he ought to have received before Archelaus, this the King’s bodyguards inflict upon him. Manes is seized—he whom his own disciples worship—and is led before the King. The King reproached him for his deceit and his flight, mocked his servile condition, avenged the slaughter of the boy, and condemned him also for the murder of the prison guards; he ordered Manes to be flayed according to Persian custom. And his body was indeed delivered as food for wild beasts; but the vessel of that most evil mind, the skin, was hung up B before the gates in the manner of a sack. He who called himself the Paraclete, and possessed the knowledge of future things, was hung up before the gates. The one who called himself the Paraclete, and knew future things, C D [alt-version omitted]
did not know his own flight and capture.
A XXXI. His disciples were three: Thomas, Baddas, and Hermas. Let no one read the Gospel according to Thomas; for it is not by one of the twelve apostles, but by one of the three wicked disciples of Manes. Let no one offer himself to the soul-corrupting Manichaeans.
C Neither let any man read the Heptalogus of Agapius, nor the collection of epistles, nor any book whatsoever put forth by these impious ones, for the injury of many and the ruin of their own souls. For every book of theirs, as containing impious doctrines and full of every blasphemy, and every prayer so-called by them—or rather, enchantment—our holy, catholic, and apostolic Church has anathematized, along with those who set them forth, as the inventors of many and great evils and guides to destruction. She has also anathematized all those who are taught by them. Therefore, let no one offer himself D to the soul-corrupting Manichaeans, nor [follow] those waters of chaff…
A who feign the austerity of fasting; who slander the Maker of foods, yet gorge themselves on the most exquisite foods; who teach that he who plucks this or that herb is transformed into it. For if he who cuts herbs or any vegetable is transformed into it, into how many [forms] will husbandmen and the children of gardeners be transformed? Upon how many crops has the gardener brought his sickle? As we look, into what things, pray, is he transformed? The teachings are truly laughable, and full of condemnation and shame. The same man, being a shepherd of sheep, killed a sheep and slew a wolf: into which of these is he transformed? Many men have netted fish and ensnared birds; into what kind are they transformed?
XXXII. Let the Manichaeans, those offspring of idleness B, who do no work and consume the resources of those who labor, answer! Who receive those who bring them food with smiling faces, and return curses instead of blessings. For when some foolish person offers them something, "Stand a little ways off," one says, "and I will bless you." Then, having taken the bread into his hands (as those who have repented from among them have confessed), "I did not make you," says the Manichaean to the bread; and he sends curses C upon the Most High, and curses the Creator, and thus he eats the thing that has been made. If you hate what supports life, why...
do you look with a festive countenance upon him who has brought it to you? If you are grateful to the one who has brought it, why do you repay the Author and Creator, God, with blasphemy? And again, he says: “I did not sow you; let him be sown who sowed you. I did not reap you with a sickle; let him be reaped who reaped you. I did not roast you with fire; let him be roasted who roasted you.” Indeed, a noble recompense for merits!
A XXXIII. Those are great evils, indeed, but small by comparison with others. I do not dare to describe their washing before men and women. I fear to say into what they dip the fig, which they offer to the wretched; let it be disclosed by signs alone. Let the men consider what happens in dreams, and the women what happens during the time of their impurity. We truly pollute our mouths by saying these things.
B Are the pagans more detestable than these? Are the Samaritans more miserable? Are the Jews more impious? Are fornicators more impure than these? For one who has committed fornication fulfills the act for one hour out of desire; but, condemning the action, he knows that he, as one defiled, has need of a bath, and he knows C of the defilement of his action. But the Manichaean, in the midst of the sanctuary, where he thinks D [the rest of the column is omitted].
A he is offering these things, defiles both his mouth and his tongue. Would you, O man, receive instruction from such a mouth? Would you meet this man at all and greet him with a kiss? Do you not, aside from the rest of his impiety, avoid the defiled one, and those who are worse than the profligate, and more loathsome than any public brothel?
XXXIV. The Church B proclaims and teaches these things, and she touches upon the filth so that you might not be befouled; she identifies the wounds so that you might not be wounded. It suffices for you, however, to know this alone; but refrain from experiencing it by practice. God thunders, and we all tremble; but those men break forth into blasphemous words. God lightnings, and we all bow down to the earth; but they have tongues that speak blasphemies regarding the heavens. Jesus says concerning His Father: “Who makes His sun rise on the just and the unjust, and rains on the wicked and the good.” C But those men state that the rains come from amorous passion; and they dare to say that there is a certain beautiful virgin in heaven with a beautiful youth, and that when the season of the camels or wolves comes, they have their own seasons of foul desire; and that in the winter season, he rushes in a mad frenzy upon the virgin, and they say she flees while he pursues, and then, in his pursuit, he sweats; and that from his sweat the rain is produced. These things are written in the books of the Manichaeans. We have read these things, D while being unwilling to put faith in those who tell them; for we have inquired more carefully into their ruin, for the sake of your own safety.
A XXXV. May the Lord defend us from such error; and may there be granted to you enmity against the dragon, so that just as they observe the heel, so you too may trample their head. Remember the things being said. What harmony is there between our things and theirs? What has light in common with darkness? What has the gravity and holiness of the Church in common with the abominable institutions of the Manichaeans? Here is order, here is discipline, here is gravity, here is chastity; here even to look upon a woman with lust is a sin. Here is most holy matrimony; here is the endurance of continence [that is, widowhood]; here is the dignity of virginity vying with the angels; here is the partaking of food with thanksgiving; here is gratitude toward the Creator of all things. Here the Father of Christ is worshipped; here the fear and trembling of Him who sends rain is taught; here we send up glory and honor to Him who thunders and lightens.
XXXVI. Gather yourself among the sheep; flee the wolves; do not depart from the Church. Hate even those who have ever labored under suspicion of such things; and if by the passage of time you should discover their repentance, do not rashly entrust yourself to them. The truth of the monarchy has been delivered to you; recognize the herbs of the teachings. Become a tried money-changer, holding fast to what is good, abstaining from every form of evil. And if you have ever become such a one, hate
abstaining from every form of evil. But if you have been such as this, hate the error you have acknowledged. For it is a way of salvation to vomit forth the vomit, if you hate it from the heart; if you withdraw yourself from them, not with your lips only, but with your soul; if you worship the Father of Christ, the God of the Law and the Prophets; if you acknowledge the good and just, as being one and the same God. May He preserve you all, protecting you from every fall and stumbling block, stable in the faith, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. A
CATECHESIS SEVENTH. ON THE FATHER.
PREFACE.
I. The doctrine of the one God having been delivered in the previous instruction, in this one his paternal name and dignity are discussed, in the faith of which we are separated from the Jews (n. 2). He teaches, therefore, that God is the Father of his own Son, Jesus Christ, properly and truly, by an eternal generation subject to no defect (n. 5 et 6), but that he is the father of men improperly and by mere title (n. 7); in which sense the name "father" is accustomed to be attributed in Scripture for many reasons (n. 9 et 10). Then, having briefly commemorated the signs of the divine majesty (n. 11), he deplores the blindness of those who, having abandoned God, have taken as father for men wood, stones, and Satan himself (n. 12); and with a moral exhortation to lead a life worthy of divine adoption (n. 13), and to honor with all dutifulness, by which God is not offended, the parents of our body, he brings the prayer to an end (n. 14 et 15). B
II. In this oration, he first attacks the Jews (n. 2), who teach that God is solitary and devoid of a natural son; then the Gnostics (n. 6, etc.), who held the father of Jesus Christ to be other than the Creator; then also the Arians (n. 5), for whom the Word was not a Son by nature, but only by adoption. Incidentally, he also refutes the heretics (n. 7) who had taught that Christ was born of Joseph or was a common man (n. 7). Many splendid things regarding the true and eternal fatherhood of God against the Arians, concerning the freedom of the will against the Valentinians, concerning the duties of children toward their parents, etc., are contained here.
III. This catechesis was delivered the day following the previous one, as the author signifies from its very opening. We have amended this according to the codices of Roe, Casaubon, Coislin, and Ottobon.
CATECHESIS VII TO THE ILLUMINANDI
Delivered extempore in Jerusalem regarding this word of the Creed, "the Father." And the reading from the Epistle to the Ephesians: "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named," and so forth.A I. Concerning the monarchy of God, enough was said to you by us yesterday; and I say "enough," not as though it reached the dignity of the subject (for it is entirely impossible for mortal nature to attain to this), but as much as our weakness allowed. We have also traversed the deviations of the manifold error of the godless heretics. Having shaken off their mire and the soul-poisoning venom, and keeping their tenets in mind—not for our own harm, but so that we may hate them the more deeply—let us now return to ourselves and embrace the saving dogmas of the true faith, joined to the dignity of the monarchy the paternal prerogative, and believing in one God the Father. For we must not believe merely in one God, but also piously embrace that He is the Father B of the Only-begotten, our Lord Jesus Christ.
II. For in this way we may think more highly than the Jews, who indeed accept the doctrine that there is one God (for why should they not, even if they often denied even this through their worship of idols?), yet they do not admit that He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this they hold opinions contrary to their own prophets, who say in the divine Scriptures: "The Lord said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee." And even to this day they rage, and gather together
convene against the Lord and against His Christ, A thinking that they can attain the friendship of the Father without piety toward the Son; while they are ignorant that "no man comes to the Father, but by the Son," who says, "I am the door," and, "I am the way." He, therefore, who rejects the way that leads to the Father, and who denies the gate, how will he be thought worthy of entry unto God? They even raise objections to what is written in the eighty-eighth Psalm: "He shall call unto me, Thou art my Father, my God, and the protector of my salvation. And I will make him my firstborn, high above the kings of the earth." For if they contend that these things were spoken to David, or Solomon, or some one of those who followed, let them show how the throne of him who is prophesied among them is "as the days of heaven," and as "the sun in the sight of God," and "perfect as the moon forever." B How, also, are they not ashamed by that which is written: "From the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten thee," and, "He shall remain with the sun and before the moon, for generations of generations"? To refer these things to a man is full and replete with the utmost ingratitude.
III. But let the Jews persist in their accustomed incredulity, both in these sayings and in similar sentences of Scripture, since such is their desire. As for us, let us embrace the piety which the faith teaches, worshipping one God, the Father of Christ. For to defraud of such a dignity Him who imparts to all the power of generation would be impious indeed. C And let us believe in one God the Father, so that even before the instruction we are to provide concerning Christ—which will teach more fully—the faith concerning the Only-Begotten may be implanted in the souls of the hearers, not in the least bit separated because of the discourses interposed concerning the Father.
IV. For the name of Father, by the very word of its designation, provides at the same time knowledge of the Son; just as, in the same way, whoever has named the Son has immediately embraced the Father in thought as well. For if He is Father, He is absolutely the Father of the Son; and if He is Son, He is absolutely the Son of the Father. D In order, therefore, that from our saying "In one God, Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible," no one might draw a wrong conclusion...
and suppose that the Only-begotten is in rank and order after the heaven and the earth, we for this reason called God "Father" before naming those things, so that as soon as we think of the Father, we may also think of the Son; for between the Son and the Father there exists nothing of those things which are.
V. God is, then, in many ways a Father in a loose sense, but of one only, the Only-begotten Son and our Lord Jesus Christ, He is Father by nature and in truth; not having acquired the title of Father in time, but being always B the Father of the Only-begotten. For he did not become a Father later, having changed his mind, after having been childless before this; but before every substance and before every perception, before times and before all ages, God possesses the paternal dignity, glorying in this more than in all His other titles. And He did not become a Father through passion, nor by conjunction, nor through ignorance, nor by flowing away, nor by being diminished, nor by being altered. For "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or shadow of variation." A perfect Father, having generated a perfect Son, having delivered all things to the One begotten: "All things were delivered to Me by My Father," says He, "and being honored by the Only-begotten, I honor the Father."
παρεδόθη. A For all things were delivered to me, he says, by my Father, and the Father is honored by the Unigenite: For I honor the Father, says the Son; and again, As I have kept the commandments of my Father, and abide in his love. We too, therefore, say in a similar way with the Apostle: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort; and: We bow B our knees to the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named; glorifying him together with the Unigenite (For he who denies the Father, denies the Son also; and again, He who confesses the Son has the Father also), knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ is to the glory of God the Father.
VI. We worship, therefore, the Father of Christ, the maker of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; in whose honor the temple which is here C opposite us was formerly built. For we shall not endure the heretics who strip the Old Testament from the New; but we shall be persuaded by Christ, who says concerning the temple: Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house? and again: Take these things away from here, and do not make the house of my Father a house of trade; by which words he most clearly confessed that the former temple in Jerusalem was his Father's house. D But if, on account of unbelief, anyone wishes to receive more proofs that the Father of Christ is the same as the Creator of the world, let him hear him saying to them again: Are not two sparrows sold for a penny, and one of them will not fall to the ground without my Father who is in heaven? and: Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor do they reap, nor do they gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feeds them; and that: My Father works until now, and I am working.
VII. ON THE FATHER
VII. But lest any one, out of simplicity or malicious craft, should suppose Christ to be of equal dignity with just men, from the fact that He says: A *I ascend to my Father, and your Father* (Joan. xx, 17), it were best to premise this: that Father is indeed one name, but the power of its operation is manifold. Knowing this himself, He safely said: *I go to my Father, and your Father*; not saying, "to our Father," but distinguishing, and stating first what is proper to Himself: *to my Father*, which was by nature; then adding: *and your Father*, which was by adoption. For although we have been granted permission in prayers especially to say: *Our Father, who art in heaven* (Matth. VI, 9), yet this gift is by benevolence. For it is not as those naturally begotten of the Father who is in heaven that we call Him B Father; but, having been transferred from slavery into adoption by the grace of the Father, through the Son and the Holy Spirit, we are deemed worthy to say this by His ineffable kindness.VIII. But if any one wishes to learn how we call God Father, let him hear the excellent pedagogue Moses, saying: *Is not he himself thy Father that hath possessed thee, and made thee, and created thee?* (Deut. xxxii, 6). And the prophet Isaiah: *And now, O Lord, thou art our Father; but we are clay, and all we are the works of thy hands* (Isa. lxiv, 8); for the prophetic grace most clearly declared that we call Him Father, not by nature, but by the grace and adoption of God.
IX. And that thou mayest know more accurately that the natural father is not the only one called "father" in the divine Scriptures, hear Paul C saying: *For if*
you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel* A. Not because he had begotten them according to the flesh, but because he had taught them and regenerated them according to the Spirit, Paul was the father of the Corinthians. Hear also Job saying: *I was a father of the weak*; for he called himself a father, not because he had begotten everyone, but because he had undertaken their care B. And even the only-begotten Son of God himself, when he was nailed to the wood according to the flesh at the time of the crucifixion, seeing Mary, his mother according to the flesh, and John, the most beloved of the disciples, said to him: *Behold thy mother*; and to Mary: *Behold thy son*; teaching the duty of love that was owed, and indirectly resolving that which is said in Luke: *And his father and his mother were wondering*; which the children of heretics snatch at, saying that he was begotten of a man and a woman. For in the same manner as Mary is called the mother of John due to love, not due to having borne him; so too was Joseph called the father of Christ, not due to generation (*For he knew her not*, according to the Gospel, *until she had brought forth her firstborn son*), but due to the guardianship that had been brought about regarding his upbringing C. X. Let this, therefore, be said to you now by way of digression, as an admonition. But let us also add another testimony to demonstrate that God is called the father of men improperly. For since it is said in Isaiah to God: *For thou art our father, because Abraham has not known us, and Sara has not travailed with us*; is there any need to inquire further about this? Or if the Psalmist says: *Let them be troubled from his face, the father of orphans and judge of the widows*; is it not manifest to all that, when God is called the father of orphans who have recently lost their own fathers, he is named so not because he begat them from himself, but because he undertakes their care and protection? Thus, as has been said, he is improperly called the father of men; but the God of Christ alone is his father.
God is Father not by adoption, but by nature; and he is Father of men in time, but of Christ before all time, as he himself says: "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."
[IA] XI. We believe, therefore, in one God the Father, the unsearchable and ineffable: whom no man has ever seen, but the Only-Begotten alone has declared. For he who is from God, he has seen God; whose face the angels in the heavens always behold; and they behold, each according to the measure of its own order. But the pure contuition of the Father’s splendor is reserved, properly and sincerely, for the Son together with the Holy Spirit.
[IB] XII. Coming to this point in the discourse, and being reminded of what was said a little while ago—that God was called the Father of men—I am greatly astonished at the ingratitude of men. For God, in his ineffable philanthropy, deigned to be called the Father of men: he who is in the heavens, of those who are on earth; the maker of the ages, of those who exist in time; and he who holds the earth in his hand, of those who are on earth like locusts. But man, abandoning the heavenly Father, said to the wood: "Thou art my father"; and to the stone: "Thou broughtest me forth." And it seems to me that for this reason the Psalmist says to humanity: "And forget thy people, and thy father's house," whom thou hast chosen as father, whom thou hast drawn unto thy destruction.
[IG] XIII. And not only wood and stones, but some have even chosen Satan himself as father, the destroyer of souls, in p-
Aarticular those whom the Lord rebuked when He said: *Ye do the deeds of your father*; B meaning the devil, who is the father of men, not by nature, but by deception. For in the same way as Paul was called the father of the Corinthians through his pious teaching, so also is the devil called the father of those who run with him by their own free choice. For we shall not endure those who wrongly interpret that saying: *By this we know the children of God and the children of the devil*; as if there were some among men who were by nature either saved or lost. For we do not come to such a holy adoption by necessity, but by free choice; nor was the traitor Judas by nature a son of the devil and of perdition; for then he would never have cast out demons in the name of Christ at the beginning, for Satan does not cast out Satan; nor, in turn, would Paul have changed from a persecutor into a herald. But adoption is subject to our own authority, just as John says: *But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become children of God, to them that believe in his name*. For it was not before faith, but from faith, that they were deemed worthy to become children of God by their own free power.
XIV. Knowing this, therefore, let us live spiritually, that we may be deemed worthy of the adoption of God. *For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God*. For it will profit us nothing to have acquired the name of Christians C if works do not follow, lest that word be spoken against us: *If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham*. For if we call upon Him as Father, who judges without respect of persons according to each one's work, let us live in fear during the time of our sojourn, not loving the world, nor the things D that are in the world. For if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
A Hence, beloved children, let us offer glory to the Father in heaven through our works, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven. Let us cast all our care upon Him, for our Father knows what things we have need of.
15. B While honoring the heavenly Father, let us also honor those who are our fathers in the flesh; since the Lord Himself clearly established this in the Law and the Prophets, saying: "Honor thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." And let those present, especially those who have fathers and mothers, listen to this command. "Children, obey your parents in all things; for this is well-pleasing to the Lord." For the Lord did not say: "He who loves father or mother is not worthy of me," lest you, through ignorance, wrongly interpret what was well written; but He added, "more than me." C For when fathers existing on earth think things contrary to the Father who is in heaven, then one must follow this saying. But when, while they offer us no impediment to piety, we are carried away by ingratitude, and, forgetful of the benefits bestowed upon us by them, hold them in contempt, then there is a place for that judgment which says: "He that curseth his father or his mother, let him die the death."
16. The first duty of Christian piety is to honor our progenitors, to repay the labors of those who gave us birth, and with all our strength to provide them with whatever pertains to their rest; for even if we should render back the greatest things to them, we shall never be able to give them birth in return. Indeed, D that they themselves, enjoying the respite provided by us, may establish us with the blessings which Jacob the supplanter prudently snatched away; and may our heavenly Father, accepting our good intention, deem us worthy to shine as the sun with the just, in the kingdom of our Father: to whom be glory, with the Only-begotten and Savior Jesus Christ, with the holy and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and for ages of ages. Amen.
CATECHESIS EIGHTH. On the omnipotence, or the providence of God pertaining to all things.
ADMONITION.
I. In this oration, the author explains that gift of God which is called among the Greeks *pantokrator* [the Almighty], that is, holding all things under His command and governing them according to His will; which word the Latins are accustomed to render with the word *Omnipotent* in the Symbol [Creed], although this conveys a different meaning to the mind than that which corresponds to the Greek word (no. 1). Therefore, against the Gentiles, Jews, and all heretics who acknowledge a dual principle, especially the Manichaeans, he defends the providence, dominion, and power of God A pertaining to all things (no. 2 and 3); celestial, terrestrial; soul, body; idolaters, heretics, and the devil himself; whose malice, which He tolerates, He turns to the fulfillment of His own counsels and the promotion of the utility of men (no. 4). Indeed, to the Trinity, which alone is free from servitude, all created things serve; sinners, whom God bears with in His patience, will eventually be punished by Him (no. 5). He is the Arbiter and Lord of kingdoms and wealth; and on that occasion, refuting the Manichaeans—who attribute riches to the devil as their author and assault God the Creator with blasphemous words—with a most weighty oration, Cyril completes his sermon (no. 6, 7, and 8).
II. In this oration, after having refuted the Gentiles in a few points, he attacks the Manichaeans most of all throughout the whole oration: those who sinned against the divine power in many ways: 1° by subtracting bodies from it, the author of which they imagined to be different from the creator of souls; 2° by excepting the devil also from the divine works, admitting him as a power contrary to God, co-eternal, and highly dominant in his own empire; 3° by accusing the government of the universe, in which they falsely claimed that a supreme perturbation of order could be found which was alien to a good God; as can be seen in Titus of Bostra, *Against the Manichaeans*, book II. Wherefore Cyril strives to commend the patience of God in bearing with evils; 4° finally, by contending that riches and wealth have the devil as their author and giver. Against the Arians, he clearly defends the common empire B and dignity of the three persons of the Holy Trinity. He also discourses excellently on the use of riches, and prudently on the power left to the devil over things of this world.
III. Moreover, following the custom of the Latins, we have been unwilling to change the word "Omnipotent," consecrated by the use of all Symbols; warning, however, that the Greek word signifies something else, and is explained in this catechesis, than what the Latin word denotes. For *omnipotens* signifies Him who is able to do all things, to whom nothing is impossible to be done; and in this sense Augustine and almost all other Latin Fathers explain this word of the Symbol. But for the Greeks, there is another word for declaring the omnipotence of God, namely *pantodynamos*. That word, however, *pantokrator* signifies God holding and moderating all things under His command: thus Cyril himself renders the force of this word in no. 3: *Pantokrator estin, ho panton kraton, ho panton exousiazon* [The Almighty is He who rules all, who has authority over all]; which word would be sufficiently rendered by "all-taming" [omnitenens], if it were Latin. Rufinus saw this very well, who, adorning his explanation of the Symbol from the Greeks, and most of all from Cyril, while retaining the Latin word which was in use, accommodated its meaning and etymology to the force of the Greek word, saying that God is called Omnipotent because He holds the power [potentatum] over all. Tertullian had preceded this exposition, saying of the Son against Praxeas (ch. 17): "By His own right, God is omnipotent, as the Word of the omnipotent God, and as He has received power over all things." Relying on these examples, we have been reluctant to change the customary word.
IV. This catechesis was delivered the C next day after the preceding one, as Cyril himself signifies at its beginning, when he mentions that he had delivered a sermon on the Father on the previous day. It has been edited by us according to the Coislin, Ottobonian, Colbertine, Roe, Casaubon, and Bodleian codices, with the variant readings of the ancient manuscript noted in the book of Saint Geneviève attached.
CATECHESIS VIII. ON THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. CATECHESIS VIII TO THE ILLUMINANDI.
Delivered at Jerusalem, on the spur of the moment, on the phrase, "the Omnipotent" [that is, holding all things under His sway]. And the reading from Jeremiah: *"God the great and the strong Lord; great in counsel, and mighty in works, the Omnipotent, the Lord of great name,"* and so forth.
A I. By belief in one God, we cut off every godless error, using this as a weapon against the Gentiles and every opposing power of the heretics; but by adding "in one God the Father," we fight against those of the circumcision who deny the only-begotten Son of God. For as it was said yesterday, even before we explained the things that concern our Lord Jesus Christ, by the very word "Father," we already indicated that He is a Father of a Son; so that just as we understand that He is God, we may also understand that He has a Son. We further add to those, that He is also "Omnipotent"; and we declare this for the sake of both the Gentiles and the Jews alike and all heretics.
B II. For some of the Gentiles have said that God is the soul of the world; and others, that His authority reaches only as far as heaven, but no longer to the earth. And some [have said that all things] have been constituted by a fortuitous flux.
A Misled together with them, and wrongly misusing that text which says, *And thy truth even unto the clouds* (Ps. xxxv, 6), they dared to limit the providence of God even unto the clouds and the heaven, but to alienate from God the things upon the earth. They forgot the Psalm which says: *If I ascend into heaven, thou art there; if I descend into hell, thou art present* (Ps. cxxxviii, 8). For if there is nothing higher than heaven, and hell is deeper than the earth, He who holds the lower regions touches also the earth.
122 III. Heretics, again, as was said before, do not know one omnipotent God. For the Omnipotent is He who rules over all, He who has authority over all. But they who say that one is the lord of the soul, and another is the lord of the body, affirm that neither of them is perfect, B because each of them is lacking in the other’s domain. For he who has authority over the soul, but does not have authority over the body, how is he omnipotent? And he who rules over bodies, but does not have authority over spirits, how is he omnipotent? But the Lord refutes them, saying in the opposite sense: *Fear rather him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell* (Matth. x, 28). For if He does not have authority over both, how does the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ subject both to the punishment? For how would He be able, having taken the body belonging to another, to cast it into hell, unless He first bound the strong man, and plundered his vessels (Matth. xii, 29)? C
IV. But the divine Scripture and the dogmas of the truth know one God, who indeed holds all things subject to the empire of His own power, but endures many things because He chooses to. For He holds even the idolaters under His power, but endures them because of His goodness; He holds even the heretics who deny Him under His power, but endures them because of His long-suffering; He holds even the devil under His power, but endures him because of His long-suffering; for He does not endure because He is powerless.
A. He is, as it were, the beginning of the Lord’s formation, created to be mocked—not by Him (for he is unworthy), but by the angels who were created by Him. He B allowed him even to live, for two reasons: that he himself, in being conquered, might be put to greater shame, and that men might be crowned. O C all-wise providence of God! which takes that evil intent and turns it into a cause for the salvation of the faithful. For just as He took the brother-hating intent of the brothers of Joseph and used it as an instrument of His own dispensation, and by allowing them to sell their brother, He took the occasion to make him king whom He wished; so He allowed the devil to struggle D, that those who conquer might be crowned, and that, once the victory was won, he might be put to greater shame, being conquered by those inferior to him, while men might be greatly glorified for having conquered him who was once an archangel.
V. Nothing, therefore, is excluded from the power of God; for of Him the Scripture says: "For all things are Thy servants" (Ps. CXVII, 91). All things, indeed, are His servants; but His one and only Son, and His one Holy Spirit, are placed outside of all these; and all those things that are servants, through the one Son in the Holy Spirit, serve the Master A. God, therefore, rules over all things, and He endures both murderers, and thieves, and fornicators because of His long-suffering, having appointed a set time, at which He will render to each according to his merits; so that, having received a long-lasting respite, yet having a heart that will not repent, they may be condemned more severely. There are kings of men, those who reign on earth, but not without the authority from above; and Nebuchadnezzar once learned this by experience B, saying: "For His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His power is unto all generation and generation" (Dan. IV, 32).
A VI. Wealth, gold, and silver are not of the devil, as some imagine. For the world of riches belongs entirely to the faithful man, but to the infidel not even an obol belongs; yet there is nothing more faithless than the devil. And God says clearly through the prophet: "Mine is the gold and mine is the silver, and to whom I will, I give it" (Haggai II, 9). You have only to make use of it well, and the silver is no more to be blamed; but when you yourself make bad use of good things, then, not wishing to blame your own management, you impiously shift the blame onto the Creator. A man may even attain righteousness through money. "I was hungry, and you gave me to eat" (Matth. XXV, 35)—beyond a doubt, by means of money. "I was naked, and you clothed me" (ibid. 36)—undoubtedly by the intervention of money. And do you wish to know that money can become a gate of the kingdom of heaven? "Sell," He says, "what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven" (Matth. XIX, 21). B
A VII. These things, however, have been said by me on account of the heretics who anathematize possessions, money, and bodies. For I do not wish you to be a slave to riches, nor again to regard as inimical those things which have been given to you by God for your assistance. Do not, therefore, ever say that money belongs to the devil; for even if he says, "All these things I will give to you, for they have been delivered to me," one can both refuse his word, since it is not right to believe a liar. B Perhaps, too, being compelled by the power of Him who was present, he spoke the truth; for he did not say, "All these things I will give to you, for they are mine," but, "for they have been delivered to me." For he did not usurp dominion, but confessed that it had been entrusted to him and that he administered it for a time. Let it be inquired into in due season by those who interpret Scripture, whether he is lying or speaking the truth.
VIII. There is, therefore, one God, the Father, the Almighty, whom the children of the heretics have dared to revile. For they dared to revile the Lord Sabaoth, who sits upon the cherubim. They dared to blaspheme the Lord Adonai; they dared to blaspheme the God who is almighty over the prophets. C But you, worship one almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Flee the error of many gods; flee every heresy, and say according to Job: "But I will call upon the Lord Almighty, who does great and unsearchable things, glorious and excellent, of which there is no number" (Job V, 8, 9). And for all these things, honor from the Almighty—
honored by the Almighty. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
CATECHESIS NONA
On God, the Creator of All Things
PREFACE
I. In this catechesis, he demonstrates that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the maker and effector of all things, and that the universe is a work worthy of divine wisdom. First, he affirms that God is neither visible to the eyes of the flesh nor has ever been seen by any mortal (n. 1), and that He is known from His works, even though He can be fully comprehended by no one (n. 2, 3). Then, against the heretics who distinguish the Father of Christ from the Creator of the world (n. 4), and who disparage the craftsmanship of this universe, he sets forth its beauty and order with admirable skill; he describes, briefly but elegantly, the nature and use of the heavens, the sun, and the stars; as well as the established cycles of night, day, and the four seasons of the year (n. 5, 6, and 8); incidentally refuting the Manichaeans, who attribute light and darkness to different creators (n. 7). He runs through the marvels and varieties of what we call meteors, of earth and sea, and of the manifold animals (n. 9, 10, etc.). Finally, having moved on to explain the fabric of the human body—into which it would be unjust and calumnious to cast the causes of our sins—he concludes the discourse with a pleasing celebration of the Creator's praises (n. 16).
II. One may marvel at the elegant and compendious description of the parts of the whole world in this catechesis, which, in terms of both richness and elegance, yields to no works of the Fathers undertaken on this subject, and, one might say, surpasses them all in brevity and conciseness. Here, as almost everywhere else, he targets the Manichaeans, who spoke most wickedly of all creatures and their Author; but from the beginning of the discourse up to number 5 (exclusive), he attacks the Gnostics, and with sound reasoning, so that the entire discourse might then flow more freely. For since they declared the God of the Old Testament and creator of the world to be one, and the Father of the New Testament another; they took as their argument that the God of the ancient covenant was known and seen by the eyes, as it is reported in these Scriptures: whereas the other is invisible and incomprehensible, from that saying of the Gospel, S. Paul, and the evangelist John, "No one has ever seen God"; and other texts in which it is said that the Father of Christ is known to no one except the Son. Irenaeus (lib. iv, cap. 6 and 20) and Didymus (in 1 John, Epist. ad cap. iv, 12, etc.) make us certain that this was the Gnostic argumentation. Before, therefore, Cyril set out to demonstrate that the fabric of the world is worthy of its Author, he had first to dismantle the objection of these heretics. Therefore, he establishes against them, and indeed from the Old Testament: first, that God cannot be seen by the eyes of the flesh; 2nd, that He cannot be seen by any living man, nor was anything other than a likeness of divine glory seen by Ezekiel himself, which Irenaeus also clearly demonstrates (lib. iv, cap. 20, n. 10); 3rd, that God can be known from His creatures, yet through a certain proportion informed by the mind, which is said against their claim of an all-encompassing ignorance of God the Father; 4th, that He can, however, be comprehended by no one; against their audacity in asserting that the God of the Old Testament was clearly and fully perceived. This is the reasoning behind the beginning of this Cyrillian discourse, which may seem to those who do not consider it sufficiently to be torn away and foreign to the rest of the sermon.
III. This discourse exists in the manuscripts of the works of S. Basil under the name of a homily by the same Father on the subject that "God is incomprehensible," but with some things changed, adapted, and added to the theme, especially at the end. It has long since appeared interpolated with these changes under Basil's name. For Metaphrastes, while forming the 24 discourses which are printed in the 3rd volume of his works from various places in Basil, cites a long fragment of this discourse in discourse 15, as if it were from the homily of Basil "that God is incomprehensible"; to omit that it is also found under his name in manuscripts of 700 or 800 years of age. Our D. Bernard de Montfaucon consulted and transcribed two such codices from the library of the R.R.P. Basiliani in Rome, whose labor I have used in this catechesis. I have observed some of these variations in the notes, but I judged that the entire final part, which is interpolated with significant variations and additions, should be published at the end.
CATECHESIS IX. ON THE CREATOR OF ALL THINGS
IV. No record remains of the day on which this catechesis was delivered by Cyril. I could easily believe that this and the following one were pronounced during the third week of Lent. The codices which we used in editing it, beyond two Basilian ones, are three English—Roe, Casaub., Bodl.—and three Gallican—Coisl., Colb., and the one whose variants are noted in the book of Saint Genevieve—and finally, one Ottobonian codex.
CATECHESIS IX OF THE ILLUMINATED
Delivered extempore at Jerusalem, on the words: "Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible." And the reading from Job: "Who is this that conceals from me his counsel, and holds words in his heart, but thinks to hide them from me?" and what follows.A. It is impossible for human eyes to behold God; for that which is incorporeal cannot fall under the gaze of the flesh, and the only-begotten Son of God himself has testified to this, saying: "No one has ever seen God." Even if someone, according to what is written in Ezekiel, interprets that Ezekiel saw Him—yet what does Scripture say? "He saw a likeness of the glory of the Lord," not the Lord himself, but a likeness of the glory, and not the glory itself as it truly is. And having seen only the likeness of the glory, and not the glory itself, he fell to the ground out of fear. But if the likeness of the glory, when seen, brought fear and terror upon the prophets, if anyone should attempt to behold God himself, he would certainly be deprived of life, according to the saying: "No one shall see my face and live." For this reason, in His great love for mankind, God spread out the heaven as a veil for His own divinity, so that we might not perish. B This is not my own discourse, but the prophet has said: If you open the heavens,
A tremor shall seize the mountains from you, and they shall melt. And why do you wonder if Ezechiel fell down upon seeing the likeness of the glory? Since to Daniel, Gabriel, being a servant of the Lord, appeared, and he was immediately terrified and fell upon his face; and until the angel forced himself into the resemblance of a son of man, the prophet did not dare to answer. But if Gabriel, when he appeared, struck fear into the prophets, if God Himself had appeared as He is, would not all have perished?
II. It is therefore impossible to see the divine nature with the eyes of the flesh; but from the divine works it is possible to attain to a conception of His power, according to Solomon who says: For from the greatness and beauty of created things, the creator of them is proportionally perceived. B For he did not say that the creator is perceived from the creatures, but he added, "proportionally." For God appears greater to each person in proportion to the magnitude of the contemplation of creation that man is able to grasp; and when he is elevated in heart through greater contemplation, he receives a greater conception concerning God as well.
III. And do you wish to know that it is impossible to comprehend the nature of God? The three children in the furnace of fire, praising God, say: Blessed are You who look upon the abysses, sitting upon the C cherubim. Tell me, I pray, what is the nature of the cherubim, and then contemplate Him who sits upon them. And yet Ezechiel the prophet expressed their description, as far as it was possible, saying, that there were four faces to the one: the first indeed of a man, the second of a lion, the third of an eagle, the last of a calf; and that there were six wings to the one, and eyes were upon them on all sides; and that beneath each was a four-part wheel placed D underneath. And yet, even with the prophet providing the description, we who read it are not yet able to comprehend it. But if we are unable to comprehend the throne which he described,
and the God who sits upon it, who is invisible and ineffable, how shall we be able to grasp A Him? It is impossible to scrutinize the nature of God, but to offer up doxologies to Him for His visible works is possible.
IV. These things are said to you for the sake of the sequence of the faith, and because we say: “We believe in one God, Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.” We say this so that we may remember that He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that He is the One who made the heaven and the earth; and so that we may secure B ourselves against the deviations of godless heretics, who have dared to speak evil of the all-wise Architect of this whole world; those who see with the eyes of the flesh, but are blinded in the eyes of their understanding.
V. For what have they to complain of in the greatest masterpiece of God? They who ought to have been struck with wonder when they beheld the vastness of the heavens! They who ought to have worshipped Him who set up the heaven like a vault! He who, out of the fluid nature of waters, made the unfailing substance of the heaven. For God said: “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water.” God said it once; C D
A and it stands, and does not fall. Heaven is water, and the things in it are of a fiery nature: the sun, the moon, and the stars. And how do fiery things run in the water? But if anyone is in doubt because of the contrary natures of fire and water, let him remember the fire which in the time of Moses was blazing in the hail in Egypt, and let him behold the all-wise creation of God. For since there was need of water, as the earth was to be cultivated, He fashioned the heaven as watery on high, so that when the region of the earth should be in need of irrigation by rain, the heaven might be ready for this by its nature.
VI. What then? Is it not a matter for wonder to look upon the structure of the sun? For appearing in the form of a small vessel, it contains a huge power; appearing from the east, and sending forth its light unto the west. B Describing whose morning risings, the Psalmist said: “And he himself as a bridegroom coming forth from his chamber.” For he was describing the bright and temperate character of its first appearance as it begins to shine upon men. For we often flee as he traverses the meridian, because of the excessive heat, but at his rising he is pleasant to all, as he is seen like a bridegroom. And behold his management—or rather, not his, but that of Him who ordained his course by commandment—how, becoming higher in summer, he makes the days longer, giving opportunity for work to men; but in winter he shortens his course, not so that C the time of cold might be longer, but so that the nights, becoming longer, might contribute to the relief of men, and might also contribute to the earth for the yielding of its produce. Observe also how the days yield to one another in appropriate order: in summer they increase, in winter they are shortened; but in spring and autumn they maintain the equality of their intervals to one another.
A And the nights, in turn, accomplish similar things: so that the Psalmist even says concerning them: "Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge." For they almost cry out to those heretics who do not have ears, and by their orderly arrangement they say that there is no other God than the Creator and Lawgiver, who appointed all things.
VII. But let no one endure those who say that the creator of light is one, and the creator of darkness another; for let them remember Isaiah, who says: "I am God, who made light and created darkness." Why are you vexed at this, O man? Why do you take it hard that a time has been given you for rest? A servant would not have received rest from his masters, if the darkness had not necessarily brought about the boundary of a respite. And how often do we, who are weary in the day, find renewal in the nights? And he who was in labors yesterday, becomes robust and lively in the morning because of the relaxation of the night? And what is more useful for wisdom than the night? For in it we often contemplate things that relate to God; and in it we perform the reading and contemplation of the divine oracles. And when is our mind better B disposed toward psalmody and prayer? Is it not at night? And when do we often come to the recollection of our own sins? Is it not at night? Let us not, therefore, admit foolishly that there is another creator of darkness; for experience demonstrates that this too is both good and most useful.
VIII. But they ought not to have been struck with wonder and amazement merely at the construction of the sun and moon; but rather also at the orderly dances of the stars, and their unimpeded courses, and the timely rising of each; and how some are signs of summer, and others of winter; and how some indicate the season of sowing, while others signify the beginning of sailing; and a man sitting on a ship, and C looking at the stars D steers his vessel upon the boundless surges.
A, looking to the stars. For it is of these things that Scripture well says: "And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for years," not for astrology and myths of birth-astrology. But observe also how He graciously gave us the light of day in a gradual manner; for we do not see the sun rising all at once; but a little light runs ahead, so that the eye, having been practiced beforehand, may be able to see the greater force of the ray; and in the same way, how He comforted the darkness of night with the moon's beams.
IX. "Who is the father of rain? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?" Who is it that has thickened the air into clouds, and commanded them to carry the waters of the rains; and sometimes brings from the north clouds shining with gold, and at other times changes them into one form, and again transfers them into various shapes of circles and other figures? B Who is able to number the clouds in wisdom? Concerning whom it is said in Job: "And he knows the discernings of the clouds," and "He bowed the heaven to the earth," and "Who numbers the clouds in wisdom," and "A cloud has not been rent beneath him." For such are the measures of waters upon the clouds, and they are not rent; but with all order they descend upon the earth. Who is it that brings forth the winds from his treasuries? Who is it, as we said before, who has begotten the drops of dew? And from whose womb does the ice emerge? For its substance is watery, but its property is stony. And sometimes the water becomes snow like wool; at other times it serves Him who scatters the mist like ashes; and at other times it is changed into a stony substance; because He steers the water as He wills. Its nature is one, and its C operation is manifold. The water is wine indeed in the vines, gladdening the heart of man; and oil in the olives, making the face of man shine; and it is also changed into bread, which strengthens man's heart, and into every kind of fruit that is produced.
A X. For these things, what ought to be done? Should the Creator be blasphemed, or rather worshipped? And as yet I do not speak of the hidden things of His wisdom. Behold the spring for me, and the flowers of every kind, distinguished in their similarity: the redness of the rose, and the exceeding whiteness of the lily. For from one rain and one earth these things come forth; who is it that distinguishes them? Who is the Creator? Behold for me the precision: from one substance of a tree, one part is for shade, another is distributed into various fruits; and the artificer is one. Of one vine, one part goes to burning, another into shoots, another into a forest of leaves, another into tendrils, another into the cluster. Be astonished also at the very dense encirclement of the knots of the reed, which the artificer has made. From the one earth, reptiles come forth, and wild beasts, and cattle, and wood, and food; and gold, and silver, and copper, and iron, and stone. B One is the nature of the waters, and from it comes the existence of swimming creatures and of birds; so that just as those swim in the waters, so also the birds fly in the air.
XI. This sea is great and wide, wherein are reptiles without number. Who is able to recount the beauty of the fishes that are in it? Who is able to recount the magnitudes of the sea-monsters, and the nature of amphibious animals, how they dwell both on dry land and in the waters? Who is able to recount the depth and breadth of the sea, or the onsets of the immeasurable waves? C Yet it stands within its own boundaries because of Him who said: "Hitherto thou shalt come, and shalt not go beyond; but in thyself thy waves shall be broken." And this indeed clearly declares the law of the commandment imposed upon it; for as it runs out, through the waves it leaves behind a certain clear line on the shores, as if signifying to those who see it that it has not transgressed the appointed boundaries.
XII. Who is able to contemplate the nature of the airy birds? How some carry around a tongue skilled in singing, while others are variegated with every painting in their feathers.
A And some, having flown up into the midst of the air, stand motionless, like the hawk: for by the divine mandate B, the hawk, having spread out its wings, stands motionless, gazing toward the south. Who of men can contemplate the eagle lifted up? But if you cannot understand the most irrational of birds when it is lifted up, how do you wish to understand the Maker of all?
A XIII. Who among men knows the names of all the wild beasts; or who is able to examine the physiology of each? But if we do not even know the names of the beasts alone, how shall we grasp their Maker? One was the command of God, which said: "Let the earth bring forth wild beasts and cattle and reptiles according to their kind"; B and various natures were born from one fountain by a single command: the most gentle sheep and the carnivorous lion; and the varied motions of irrational animals, which have imitations of different human dispositions; so that the fox might reveal the craftiness in men; the serpent, those who strike friends with poisonous darts; the horse that neighs, the lustful adolescents. The ant, however, is most active, [compared for this purpose], that it might stimulate the lazy and the slothful: C for when anyone spends his youth in idleness and inactivity, then he is instructed by animals devoid of reason, rebuked by the divine Scripture, which says: "Go to the ant, O sluggard, and emulate seeing her ways, and become wiser than she." For when you see her gathering food for herself at the opportune time, imitate her; and yourself gather up the fruits of good works into the future ages, as if into a treasury. And again: "Go to the bee, D and learn how industrious she is: how, by running around flowers of every kind, she fashions honey for you for your benefit, so that you too, by going around the divine Scriptures, might seize your own salvation, and being filled with these, might say: "How sweet are your words to my throat! More than honey and the honeycomb to my mouth."
XIV. Is the Creator, therefore, not worthy of greater glorification? For what if, even if you do not know the nature of all things,
A can you comprehend the forces of all herbs? Or can you learn every utility that proceeds from every animal? Already, antidotes for the salvation of humanity have proceeded even from poisonous vipers. But you will say to me: "The snake is terrible." Fear the Lord, and it will not be able to harm you. "The scorpion is stinging." Fear the Lord, and it will not strike you. "The lion is ravenous for blood." Fear the Lord, and it will sit beside you, as it did for Daniel. B It is truly wonderful to consider the energy of animals: how some, like the scorpion, have their sharpness in stingers; to others, the power resides in their teeth; others fight with claws; and for the basilisk, the power is in its gaze. From the varied creation, therefore, understand the energy of the Creator.
XV. On the nature of man.
133 XV. But perhaps these things are not known to you, and you have nothing in common with the animals placed outside of yourself; it remains for you to enter into yourself, and from your own nature, know the Artificer. What in your body has been created as worthy of reproach? Control yourself, and nothing vile will exist from all your members. From the beginning, Adam was naked with Eve in paradise, but he was not worthy of rejection because of his members. C Therefore, members are not the cause of sin, but those who use their members badly; the Maker of the members, however, is wise. Who prepared the cavities of the womb for the procreation of children? Who gave life to the inanimate fetus within it? Who bound us with nerves and bones, clothing us with skin and flesh, and as soon as the infant is born, brings forth fountains of milk from the breasts? How does the infant grow into a child, and this into a youth, then into a man, and then the same person is transformed into an elder, with no one perceiving the daily precision of this change? How does food divide, part into blood, part being secreted as excrement, and part transformed into flesh? Who is it that moves the heart with an indeficient motion? Who has so wisely fortified the tenderness of the eyes with the embrace of the eyelids? For concerning the varied and wonderful construction of the eyes, the multi-volume books of the physicians barely explain it. Who [breathes] the one breath into the whole body? Who will recount the substance of the Worker? But further down, D consider the Artificer; consider your own, and indeed the rich and magnificently good Artificer of all, the Worker.
admirably structured eyes, of which great physicians' books can scarcely speak at length. Who distributed a single cycle of respiration to the whole body? You see, O man, the artist; you see the wise Creator.
XVI. This discourse of mine has now explained these things to you more fully, omitting many other innumerable matters, especially those that are incorporeal and invisible, so that you may hold in hatred those who insult the wise and good artist; and [so that] from these things which have been said and read, and whatever you yourself might be able to discover or conceive, you may behold the author of creatures by their magnitude and beauty, observing their proportions; and reverently bending the knee before the maker of all things—I mean of sensible and intelligible, visible and invisible—with a grateful and mindful tongue, and lips that do not cease, and with all your heart you may praise God, saying: "How admirable are your works, O Lord! in wisdom you have made them all." For to you honor, glory, and majesty are fitting, now and to the ages of ages. Amen.
APPENDIX TO THIS CATECHESIS
In those manuscripts in which this discourse is contained under the name of the Homily of Saint Basil *On the Incomprehensible God*, some things have been changed to suit that subject; but the ending, in particular, is distinguished by a large addition and variation, which it is worthwhile to represent here. Thus, in the place of the words in number 15, "and so forth," it is written in the aforementioned manuscripts as follows:
What is to be blamed in your body that has been fashioned? Come forward and say it. Moderate the judgment of your mind, and nothing evil arises from any of your members; for each of these has been made of necessity for our use. Train your reasoning toward piety, and be obedient to the divine commandments; and none of these things sins, but they perform and serve the purposes for which they were created. If you are not willing, the eye does not see evil; the ear does not hear what is not fitting; the hand is not extended toward wicked gain; the foot does not walk toward injustice; you do not lust after what belongs to another; you do not commit fornication, you do not covet your neighbor's wife. Suppress evil things from your heart; know how you were fashioned by God, and you will rather give thanks to Him who formed you. From the beginning, Adam was naked in paradise, living in delight; and having received the commandment, yet not having kept it, and having stretched out his hand wickedly (not that the hand
willed it, yet the mind’s desire extended the hand to where it ought not) A because of disobedience, fell from the good things it possessed. In the same way, the members are not the cause of sin to those who use them, but the evil impulse of the mind, as the Lord says: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, fornications, adulteries, homicides,” and such like. In whatever matters thou desirest, in these thy members serve thee. These were well made for the service of the soul; these were constructed to be subject to the reason. Steer them well with the impulse of piety; curb them with the fear of God; bring them into slavery with the desire for temperance and fasting, and they will never rise up B against thee, exercising tyranny over thee; rather, they will guard thee, bringing about for thee a greater victory against the devil, awaiting also the incorrupt and eternal crown of victory. Who is it that opens the womb’s dwellings? Who, etc.
Toward the end of this section, after the wise Creator, it stands thus: Glorify Him in His unsearchable works, and do not curiously scrutinize Him, whom thou art not able to comprehend as to who He is in His essence. It is better for thee to be silent and to worship by faith, according to the divine voice, than to audaciously search into things which thou canst neither reach C nor has Scripture delivered to thee. These things I have now discussed with thee at greater length, so that thou mightest detest those who disparage the wise and good Artificer, so that thou mightest rather say thyself: “How wonderful are Thy works, O Lord! In wisdom hast Thou made them all.” To Thee be the glory, and the power, and the worship, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for the ages of ages. Amen.
CATECHESIS TEN
ON ONE LORD JESUS CHRIST
ADMONITION
1. He interprets the article of the Symbol concerning one Lord Jesus Christ. And first, indeed, proving against the Jews the necessity of acknowledging the Son of God, he provides a reason for why He is called “one”; namely, to counter the frauds of heretics who, because of the diverse appellations of one and the same Christ, have dared to split Him into diverse (persons) (num. 1). Thence, he proves His true and eternal dominion, appropriate to Him from the title of Creator even before the incarnation, from the ancient Scriptures: to which dominion all created things, even the angels, are subject (n. 2 et seqq.). Then, passing on (n. 10) to the two names of our Savior, Jesus and Christ, bearing expressions of His kingship and priesthood, he pursues the twofold etymology of the word Jesus from the property of the Hebrew and Greek language: according to which the same Savior is the physician both of bodies and of souls. He derives the appellation of Christ, however, from anointing, through which he says Christ was constituted priest by the Father from all eternity, and demonstrates that He was known by this name by all the prophets and by the demons themselves, although impiously rejected by the Jews.
and shows it. He marvels that Christ, because of the poured-out goodness of His divinity, communicated His own appellation to men (n. 16): and having defended the name of Christian from the envy of novelty, he commends the power and authority of Christ, based on the proclamation of the Apostles, and especially of Paul, once an enemy and persecutor (n. 17 and 18). And having gathered together testimonies of every kind concerning the virtue, glory, and present power of Christ, he closes his sermon with a brief exhortation toward faith and a life worthy of the Christian name (n. 19).
II. Most worthy of note are the things taught in this oration concerning the various names of Christ; His eternal priesthood; His present and efficacious power against demons, who, at the invocation of His name, are expelled by the faithful; in bodily diseases, healed in the same manner; and in the minds of men, whom, though previously unknown and hostile, He drew to His religion. He proves Christ’s existence before the incarnation by many authorities from the Old Testament (n. 6, 7, 8), which, although they were used by all the ancient Fathers, seem to have little weight now when weighed by the force of the Hebrew text. He supposes—according to the ancient theologians of the Church (n. 7 and 8)—that Christ was seen by the prophets, and that He Himself spoke to Moses having assumed a form; which, as to the angel speaking in the name of God, the crowd of Latin theologians has long been accustomed to compare to Augustine. He asserts the eternal name and priesthood of Christ, which it is already acknowledged is proper to the humanity He assumed. But we have treated this matter specifically in the dissertations prior to this work. He dwells at length on proving Christ’s existence and dominion before the incarnation: which he does partly on account of the Jews, partly against the Gnostics, who wished to see the Father in the Old Testament; and also, as I suspect, against Marcellus of Ancyra, whom the bishops of this age were accustomed to accuse for having said—after Paul of Samosata—that the Word was not the Son of God, Christ, and Lord until after the incarnation; nor was Marcellus mistaken in the second count.
III. In this catechesis, n. 14, he cites a homily delivered by himself at the Sunday assembly preceding, in the reading of the Creed taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews, on which occasion he had disputed concerning the eternal priesthood of Christ. And since catecheses XI and XII were delivered on the following days, it follows that this one must have been finished either on Monday or on the first days of the third or fourth week. It has been examined by us according to the codices Coislin., Colb., Ottob., Roe, Casaub., Bodl., and an MS codex whose variants are written in the margin of the book of Saint Geneviève. It should be noted that in the codices Bodl., Colb., and in the edition of G. Morell, there is a huge lacuna from the words in n. 10: "For then the devil departed," etc., up to these words in n. 19, "the sun now shining," but this lacuna in the Morellian book of Saint Geneviève has been supplied at the end by a certain learned man, from a manuscript distinct from the old codex, whose variants he annotated in the margin.
CATECHESIS X OF THE ILLUMINATED
In Jerusalem, drafted on: "And in one Lord Jesus Christ." And a reading from the first Epistle to the Corinthians: "For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth—but to us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through Him," and what follows.
I. A Those who have been taught [A'] to believe in one God the Father Almighty, must also believe in the Only-begotten Son. For he who denies the Son, has not the Father either. "I am the door," says Jesus; no one comes to the Father, except by me. For if you deny the door...
the knowledge leading to the Father is closed to you. "No one knows the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him"; for if you deny him who reveals, you remain in ignorance. The decision in the Gospels says: "He who does not believe in the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God remains upon him." For the Father is indignant when his only-begotten Son is denied his honor. It is a grave matter indeed for a king if even a common soldier is treated with contumely; but when one of his more distinguished attendants or friends is treated unseemly, a greater wrath is kindled; if, however, someone should insult the king's only son himself, who will appease the Father as he is moved to wrath on behalf of his only-begotten son?
B II. If, therefore, anyone wishes to be pious towards God, let him worship the Son, since the Father does not accept his worship otherwise. The Father proclaimed from heaven, saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The Father was well pleased in the Son; unless you also are well pleased, you shall not have life. Do not be led astray with the Jews, who cunningly say, "God is one alone"; but along with the knowledge that God is one, recognize also that there is an only-begotten Son of God. I was not the first to say this, but the Psalmist, in the person of the Son, says: "The Lord said to me, You are my Son." Do not, therefore, pay heed to what the Jews say, but to what the prophets say. Are you surprised if those who stoned and slew the prophets reject the words of the prophets?
C III. You, believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God. We say one Lord Jesus Christ, so that the sonship may be unique; we say one, so that you may not suspect we are speaking of another, and we say it so that you may not improperly diffuse the manifold nature of his operation into many sons. It is said...
A for instance, that he is a door, yet do not think of this appellation as being of wood, but as a rational, living door, capable of discerning those who enter. He is called a way, not one trodden by feet, but one that leads to the Father in heaven. He is called a sheep, not an irrational one, but one who through his own precious blood cleanses the world of its sins; who is led before the shearer, and knows when it is fitting to be silent. This sheep is in turn called a shepherd, he who says: "I am the good shepherd;" he is a sheep on account of his humanity, and a shepherd on account of the loving-kindness of his divinity. And do you wish to know that his sheep are rational? The Savior says to his apostles: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves." Again, he is called a lion, not as a man-eater, but as if setting forth B by this appellation the royal and steadfast and confident nature of his subsistence. He is called a lion in opposition to the roaring lion, the adversary who devours those who have been deceived; for the Savior came, not by changing the gentleness of his own nature, but as a mighty lion from the tribe of Judah, saving those who believe and trampling upon the adversary. He is called a stone, not an inanimate one hewn by human hands, but a corner-stone, in whom he who has believed will not be put to shame.
IV. Christ is called, C not as one anointed with human hands, but as one eternally anointed by the Father for the priesthood that is above man. He is called dead; not as one remaining among the dead, as all are in Hades, but as the only one free among the dead. He is called the Son of man, not as holding his birth from the earth as each of us does, but as coming upon the clouds to judge the living and the dead. He is called Lord, not improperly as those who are among men, but D as one having a natural and eternal dominion, possessing the status of lordship by nature, not having snatched the mastery, but having received it naturally from the One who chooses of his own will.
Jesus is called by a name of significance, A having the appellation from salvific healing. He is called Son, not advanced by way of adoption, but naturally begotten. There are many appellations of our Savior. In order, therefore, that the multiple naming of the appellation may not lead you to think there are many sons; and because of the errors of the heretics, who say that Christ is one, and Jesus another, and the gate another, and so on; Faith secures you, saying rightly: "Into one Lord Jesus Christ." For even if the appellations are many, the underlying subject is one.
B V. To each one, the Savior becomes various kinds of things according to what is profitable. For to those who have need of joy, He becomes the vine; to those who have need to enter, He stands as the door; and to those who have need of offering up prayers, He stands as the mediator and high priest. Again, to those who have sins, He becomes a sheep, so that He might be sacrificed on their behalf. To all men He becomes all things, remaining Himself by nature what He is. For remaining and possessing the truly immutable status of sonship, the most excellent Physician, as it were, and sympathetic Teacher, He accommodates Himself to our infirmities. Being C Lord in truth, not having received his lordship through advancement, but possessing the dignity of lordship by nature—divinely begotten by nature from God—so that... D [alt-version omitted]
he is not Lord by way of abuse, as we are, but Lord in truth, since by the nod of the Father he is Lord of his own handiwork. A For we possess the right of lordship over men who are our equals in honor and subject to the same passions, and often even our elders; and a young master not infrequently commands older servants. But in our Lord Jesus Christ, the arrangement of such lordship is not of this kind. For he is first the Maker [and Author], then Lord: he first made all things by the will of the Father, and then became Lord over the things created by him.
VI. Christ the Lord is he who was born in the city of David. Do you wish to learn that Christ is Lord together with the Father and even before the incarnation, that you may not only receive what is said by faith, but also have proof from the Old Testament? Approach the first book, which is Genesis; God says: *Let us make man*, not *in my image*, but *in our image*. B And after Adam was made, he says: *And God made man, in the image of God he made him*. For he did not restrict the dignity of divinity to the Father alone, but included the Son, so that it might be shown that man is not the work of God only, but also of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is himself true God. This same Lord, who is joined with the Father, also cooperated regarding Sodom, according to the scripture’s...
C ...the same, ch. 2, p. 37, and lib. 1 *De eccl. theol.*, ch. 18, p. 81 and 82, the Word before the incarnation seems to be explicitly denied to have been the Son. Photinus, however, denied that Christ was Christ before he was born of Mary; saying that he began to be when he was born from her, from Hilary, lib. x *De Trin.*, n. 50, and Epiph., *haeres.* LXXI, n. 1, that he was indeed the Word latent in the Father and indistinct from him; and that he was not the Son before he came forth from Mary, but was only so called by anticipation in the ancient Scriptures; Epiph., *ibid.*, n. 2, which opinion Athan. refutes at length, *orat.* 4, n. 13, 14 and 15, and the Eastern bishops in the Council of Sirmium in the year 351, apud Athan., *De synod.*, n. 27. D
A And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven. This Lord appeared to Moses [(1)] again as he was able to see. For the Lord is a lover of mankind, always accommodating Himself to our weaknesses.
VII. And that you may know that this is He who appeared to Moses, accept the testimony of Paul, who says: For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and the Rock was Christ. And again: By faith Moses left Egypt; and after a few words he says: Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. This Moses says to Him: B Show me Thyself. You see that [(2)] even the prophets then saw Christ, but according as each was able to contain Him. "Show me Thyself, that I may see Thee knowledgeably." But He says: No one shall see my face, and live. Therefore, since [(3)] no one could see the face of the Godhead while living, He assumed the face of humanity, that by seeing this we might live. And yet, when He willed C to show even this with a little dignity—for His face shone as the sun—the disciples fell down struck with fear. If then the face of the body shining, not as He who was working [(4)] was able [to shine], but as the disciples were able to contain, terrified them, and yet they could not endure [it], how could anyone be able to gaze upon the dignity of the Godhead? Great, says the Lord, is that which you desire, O Moses; and I accept your insatiable desire, and I will do this word for you; but according D as you can contain. Behold, I place you in the cleft of the rock; for, as you are small, you shall remain in a small compass.
VIII. Here then for my sake, for the sake of the Jews, safely observe what shall be said; for our purpose [(5)] is to demonstrate that the Lord Jesus Christ was with the Father.
A The Lord therefore says to Moses: "I will pass by before you with my glory, and I will call by the name of the Lord before you." Being the Lord, what Lord does He call upon? You see how He covertly taught the pious doctrine concerning the Father and the Son. And again, in what follows, it is written word for word: "And the Lord descended in a cloud, and stood there with him, and called by the name of the Lord; and the Lord passed before his face, and called: 'The Lord, the Lord, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in mercy and true, and keeping righteousness, and showing mercy unto thousands, taking away iniquities and unrighteousnesses and sins.'" Then immediately after, Moses bowed down and worshipped before the Lord who was calling upon the Father, and said: "Let the Lord go with us."
B IX. You have this first demonstration; receive also a second, which is evident. "The Lord said unto my Lord: Sit at my right hand." The Lord says these things to the Lord, not to a servant; but to the Lord of all, and to His own Son, to whom He has subjected all things. But when He says that all things are subjected to Him, it is clear that it is except for Him who subjected all things to Him, and what follows: "That God may be all in all." The only-begotten Son is Lord of all; but the Son is obedient to the Father, not having usurped the lordship, but having received it by the Father’s own free will.
Neither has the Son usurped it, nor has the Father grudged the transmission. He is the one who says: "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father"; they were handed over to Me, not as though I did not possess them before; and I keep them well, not depriving the One who gave them.
C X. The Son of God is therefore Lord; the Lord born in Bethlehem of Judea, according to the words of the angel to the shepherds: "I bring you good news of a great joy, for there is born to you today in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Of whom one of the apostles says elsewhere: "The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ: He is Lord of all." And when he says "of all," exclude nothing from His lordship. For whether they be angels, or archangels, or principalities, or powers, or anything that is named as created by the apostles, everything comes under the lordship of the Son. He is Lord of the angels, as you have it in the Gospels: "Then D the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to Him." For he did not say that they were helping Him, but "ministering to Him," which is the way of a servant. When He was about to be born of the Virgin, Gabriel then served, receiving as his own dignity this service to Him. When He was about to go into Egypt, so that He might destroy the handmade idols of Egypt, again an angel appears in a dream to Joseph. After He was crucified and had risen, the angel gave the good news, and says to the women like a good servant: "Go, tell His disciples that He has risen, and He goes before you into Galilee; behold, I have told you"—as if to say: I have not failed in my mandate: this I testify [to you] that I have said to you.
A Saying this: "I have not transgressed the commandment," I testify to you that if you neglect it, the blame shall not be mine, but that of those who have neglected it. This, then, is the one Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the reading now also speaks: "For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth," and so forth, "to us there is one God the Father, from whom are all things and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and we through Him."
B XI. But Jesus Christ is called by a double name: Jesus because He gives salvation, Christ because He exercises the priesthood. And the divine prophet Moses, knowing this full well, bestowed these two appellations upon two men who were the most select of all: he changed the name of his own successor in leadership, giving him the name Jesus; and he gave to his own brother, Aaron, the name Christ; so that, through two distinguished men, he might represent both the high-priestly and the royal power of the one Jesus Christ who was to come. For Christ is the High Priest according to Aaron, since "He did not glorify Himself to become high priest," but He who said to Him: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." And Jesus, the son of Nave, bore a type of Him in many respects. For, beginning to rule the people, he started from the Jordan; from where also Christ, having been baptized, began to preach the Gospel. And he who was the son of Nave appointed twelve to divide the inheritance; and Jesus sends the twelve apostles, the heralds of truth, into all the inhabited world. C The typical Jesus saved Rahab the harlot, who believed; but the true Jesus says: "Behold, the tax collectors and the harlots go before you into the kingdom of God." By a shout alone the walls of Jericho fell under that typical Jesus; and because Jesus said, "There shall not be left here one stone upon another," there has fallen the opposing...
A Jewish temple. Not that this sentence was the cause of its falling, but that the sin of the transgressors became the cause of its falling.
XII. There is one Lord Jesus Christ, a name wonderful, which was obscurely proclaimed beforehand by the prophets; for the prophet Isaiah says: "Behold, your Savior comes to you, having his reward." Now "Jesus" is interpreted in Hebrew as "Savior"; for the prophetic grace, foreseeing the "Lord-slaying" B of the Jews, veiled the name, so that if it had been clearly known beforehand, they would have plotted more readily. But he was called Jesus manifestly, not by men, but by an angel; who came not by his own authority, but was sent by the power of God, to him who said to Joseph: "Do not fear to take Mary your wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus." And immediately rendering the cause of the name, he says: "For he himself will save his people from their sins." If he is not yet born, how does he have a people? Perceive, unless he was before he was born. And this the prophet says in his person: "From my mother’s womb he called my name"; because the angel foretold that he should be called Jesus. And again, concerning the plot of Herod C, he says: "And under the shadow of his hand he hid me."
XIII. Jesus, therefore, according to the Hebrews, D means "Savior," but in the Greek language, "he who heals." Since he is a physician of souls and bodies, and a healer of spirits; healing those who are blind to sensible objects, but bringing light to their minds; a physician of those who appear lame, and a guide of sinners to repentance, saying to the paralytic: "Sin no more"; and, "Take up your pallet and walk." For because through the sin of the soul the body had been paralyzed, he first healed the soul, so that he might afterward bring healing to the body. If, therefore, anyone suffers in his soul with sins, he has the physician; and if anyone here is of little faith, let him say to him: "Help my unbelief." If anyone is also surrounded by bodily
A infirmities, let him not be discouraged, but let him approach (for he heals these things too), and let him know that Jesus is the Christ.
XIV. For the Jews of their own accord concede that he is Jesus, but that he is also the Christ, this they no longer concede. Therefore the Apostle says: "Who is the liar, but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?" But Christ is a high priest, having an unchangeable priesthood; neither beginning his priesthood in time, nor having another successor to his high priesthood; as you heard when we were discoursing on the Lord's day in the assembly, on the text: "After the order of Melchizedek." He did not receive the high priesthood from a succession of bodies, nor was he anointed with prepared oil, but [was anointed] by the Father before the ages; and he is so much more excellent than others, B in that he is a priest with an oath. For some are priests without an oath, but he [is a priest] with an oath, through him who says: "The Lord swore and will not repent." The will of the Father alone was indeed sufficient for security; but the mode of security is doubled, through the accession of an oath to the will: "That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible..." [alt-version omitted]
for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation,” we who receive Christ Jesus as the Son of God. A
XV. When this Christ came, the Jews denied Him, but the demons confessed Him. Yet the patriarch David was not ignorant of Him, when he said: “I have prepared a lamp for my Christ” (Ps. cxxxi, 17). Some have interpreted the “lamp” to be the brilliance of prophecy; others have understood the lamp to be the flesh taken from the Virgin, according to that which is in the Apostle: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels” (II Cor. iv, 7). The prophet was not ignorant of Him when he said: “And announcing his Christ to men” (Amos iv, 13). B Moses knew Him, Isaiah knew Him, Jeremiah knew Him; not one of the prophets was ignorant of Him. Even the demons themselves recognized Him; for He rebuked them, and it is added that they knew Him to be the Christ (Luc. iv, 41). The chief priests were ignorant, yet the demons confessed; the chief priests were ignorant, but the Samaritan woman preached, saying: “Come, see a man who told me all things that I ever did. Is not this the Christ?” (Joan. iv, 29).
XVI. This is Jesus Christ, who has come as a high priest of the good things to come (Heb. ix, 11), who, on account of the munificence of His divinity, has communicated His own appellation to us all. C For human kings have a royal title which is not shared by other men; but Jesus Christ, being the Son of God, has deigned to let us be called by the name of Christians. But someone will say: “The name of Christians is new, and before this it was not in use.” And things that are made common are often contradicted because of their strangeness. The prophet anticipated this, saying: “But to those who serve me a new name shall be given, which shall be blessed upon the earth” (Isa. lxv, 13, 16). Let us examine the Jews: Do you serve the Lord or not? Show me your new name. For you were called Jews and Israelites in the time of Moses and the other prophets, and after the return from Babylon, and even to this present day; where, then, is the new name? But we, since we serve the Lord, have the new name; it is new indeed, but a name which shall be blessed upon the earth. D This name has taken hold of the whole world; for the Jews reached only to a certain land, but the Christians…
have spread even to the ends of the earth; for the name of the Only-begotten Son of God is proclaimed A.
XVII. Do you wish to know that the apostles knew the name of Christ and preached it, or rather that they even had Christ Himself within them? Paul says to those who hear him: "Do you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me?" Paul proclaims Christ, saying: "For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake". Who then is this? He who formerly persecuted Him. O great miracle! He who was once a persecutor, himself proclaims Christ. For what reason? Was he persuaded by money? But there was no one to persuade him in this way. Or was it because he saw Him present on earth, and was moved by reverence and shame? He had already been taken up into heaven. He went out to persecute, and after three days he is a herald in Damascus, he who was a persecutor. By what power? Others call their own kin as witnesses for their own; but I have set before you as a witness one who was formerly an enemy; do you still doubt? For the testimony of Peter and John B is indeed great, yet it might appear somewhat suspect, for they were His own kin. But when he who was formerly an enemy, and afterwards died for the same cause, [so testifies], who is there that still doubts the truth?
XVIII. While the discourse is occupied with these things, I justly admire the prudent counsel of the Holy Spirit; how He limited the epistles of the others to a small number, but granted to Paul, the former persecutor, to write fourteen. For it was not because Peter or John was inferior that He restrained the grace: far from it! But that He might assert the indubitable authority of the doctrine, He granted to him who had formerly been an enemy and persecutor to write more, that by that means we might all conceive a certain faith. For everyone was astonished C at Paul, and said: "Is not this he who formerly persecuted? Did he not come here that he might lead us bound to Jerusalem?" Do not wonder, says Paul: I know that it is hard for me to kick against the goads; I know that I am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God; but I did it in ignorance. For I thought that the preaching of Christ was the subversion of the Law; but I did not know that He Himself came to fulfill the Law, and not to destroy it; "but the grace of God has superabounded in me" D.
A XIX. Many, beloved, are the true testimonies concerning Christ. The Father testifies from heaven concerning the Son; the Holy Spirit testifies, descending bodily in the form of a dove; Gabriel the archangel testifies, bringing the good news to Mary; the Virgin Theotokos testifies; the blessed place of the manger testifies; Egypt testifies, which received the Lord while he was still a young infant in body; Simeon testifies, who received Him in his arms and said: "Now dismiss your servant, O Master, according to your word, in peace; because my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared before the face of all the peoples." And Anna the prophetess, a very continent and religious woman, and an ascetic, gives testimony concerning Him; John the Baptist testifies, the greatest among the prophets and the leader of the New Testament, and in a way connecting both Testaments in himself, the Old and the New; B the Jordan testifies among rivers; the Sea of Tiberias testifies among seas; the blind testify, the lame testify, the dead who were raised to life testify; demons bear witness, saying: "What is there between us and you, Jesus? We know who you are: the Holy One of God." Winds testify, being commanded and muzzled; five loaves testify, having been multiplied to five thousand men. The holy wood of the cross testifies, visible among us to this day, and through those who have believed by means of it, seeing until this day
A how it has almost entirely filled the whole world. The palm tree situated in the valley testifies, which provided branches to the children who formerly praised Christ 41. Gethsemane testifies, still pointing out Judas, as it were, to those who understand. This holy Golgotha, which stands above the rest, testifies by being visible; the tomb B of holiness testifies, as does the stone which lies there to this day. The sun, currently shining, testifies, which then, at the time of the saving passion, suffered an eclipse; the darkness testifies, which happened at that time from the sixth until the ninth hour; the light testifies, which shone forth from the ninth hour until evening. The holy Mount of Olives testifies, from which he ascended 47 to the Father; and the rain-bearing clouds testify, which received the Master; and the heavenly gates testify, which received the Master, concerning whom the Psalmist said: "Lift up your gates, O you princes, and be lifted up, O eternal gates, and the King of glory shall enter in 49." Those who were formerly enemies testify, of whom the blessed Paul is one, who for a short time 4 showed hostility, but for a long time served. Twelve apostles testify, who preached the truth not only by words, but also by their own torments and deaths; the shadow of Peter testifies, having healed the sick in the name of Christ 50; the napkins and kerchiefs testify, performing healings in like manner then through Paul 51 by the power of Christ. Persians and Goths, and all those from the nations, testify, dying for him whom they did not behold with the eyes of the flesh 5; the demons, being driven out by the ministry of the faithful to this very day, testify.
XX. So many, and various, and even more are the witnesses; is faith then to be denied to Christ, who is thus testified to? If therefore there is any one who heretofore has not believed, let him believe now; but if he was a believer before, let him receive a greater increase of faith, believing in our Lord Jesus Christ, and let him know whose name he bears. You have been called a Christian; spare this name; let not our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, be blasphemed because of you; but rather let your good works shine before men, that the men who see them may glorify in Christ Jesus our Lord the Father who is in heaven; to whom be the glory both now and forever and ever. Amen.
CATECHESIS ELEVENTH
CONCERNING THE ONLY-BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD, BORN OF THE FATHER BEFORE ALL AGES, GOD TRUE, THROUGH WHOM ALL THINGS WERE MADE
148 PREFACE
I. He here explains the remaining words of the Creed pertaining to the article of the Son of God, namely those by which the only-begotten Son of God is asserted to be born of the Father, God true, before all ages: through whom all things were made. Having prefixed a preamble concerning the excellence of Christ the Lord over other christs (num. 1), he demonstrates that He is that Son of God from the testimony of God Himself; furthermore, that He is the natural, only-begotten and first-born Son, separated by a long distinction from those who are adopted, who according to a dual nature have two fathers, David according to the flesh, and God according to the deity (num. 2-5). Then he commands that all defects of human generation and filiation be removed from the divine generation—passion, lapse of time, imperfection, ignorance, grace (num. 7-9). And he teaches that not only are the vices of corporeal generation absent here; but even that defect of the mind generating its own word, whereby it produces that which is evanescent and destitute of solid subsistence (num. 10); whereas the divine Word is a subsistent essence, ascending and descending, speaking, and endowed with power (num. 11-13). But the mystery of this generation, hidden from earth, heaven, angels, and all creatures, is known to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit alone; for in this birth it is not to be thought that the Father is changed or diminished, nor that the Son is imperfect and confused with the Father, although He is born from eternity (num. 14-16). He proves that the Son is true God, so remaining in the Father, and existing as one with Him in divinity, kingdom, will, and works; yet so that He is neither confused with the Father nor alienated from Him in the manner of a creature, but is most similar in all things, and entirely separated from creatures (num. 17-19). Afterward, he proves the eternity of the Son and His generation from the Scriptures (num. 20, 21). Finally, that all things whatsoever were created by the Son, under the nod of the Father who prescribed to Him the will and pattern of things to be made; so that the Son, together with the Father, is King and Creator of all things, whether visible or invisible, and of the ages themselves (num. 21 et seq.).
II. Very many things in this discourse are worthy of diligent observation: primarily the eternity of the divine generation, and the true divinity of Christ, and His exemption from created things, asserted and proven clearly and copiously, and frequently inculcated and repeated; though the terms consecrated by the Nicene Council, "consubstantial," and "from the essence and hypostasis of the Father," are omitted. He refutes all the impious slogans of the Arians; and he pursues their cavils and the perverse interpretations of scriptural testimonies, yet without naming them. He also diligently and intrepidly refutes the Sabellian heresy: whether forestalling the calumny of the Arians who object it to the Catholics, or holding the strenuous defenders of the consubstantial, not sufficiently known to himself, as suspect from the complaints of the Arians. He laboriously notes the distinction of natures in Christ (num. 5 and 20). He attributes the creation of all things to the Son in such a way that the Father [left] no other [part] in creating...
CATECHESIS XI OF THE ILLUMINANDI
Delivered at Jerusalem, on the text: "The only-begotten Son of God, who is born of the Father, very God before all ages; by whom all things were made." And the reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son," etc.
I. That we believe in Jesus Christ has been sufficiently said, according to our ability, by what was delivered to you yesterday. But we must not believe in Christ Jesus simply, nor should he be received as if he were one of many, who are called christs in a metaphorical sense. For those were typical christs, but this is the true Christ; not one who rose from the number of men to the priesthood by merit, but one who possesses the dignity of the priesthood from the Father from everlasting. And therefore, the faith, providing against our suspecting him to be one of the common christs, adds to the confession of faith that we believe "in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten."
II. B When you hear "Son" again, do not think of an adopted son, but a natural Son, an only-begotten Son, who has no other brother. For he is called "Only-begotten" for this reason, that in the dignity of godhead and in his birth from the Father, he has no brother. We call him the Son of God, not of ourselves, but because the Father himself C
A matched it with the name Christ, having called him the Son of God; and it is a true designation, that which is imposed by fathers upon their children.
III. Our Lord Jesus Christ once put on human nature, but he was ignored by many. Wishing, however, to teach that which was unknown, he gathered his disciples and asked: "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" B not seeking empty glory, but wishing to show them the truth; so that, while living with the only-begotten Son of God, they might not despise him as some mere man. When they said: "Some say Elias, and others Jeremias," he said to them: "Those indeed who do not know are worthy of pardon; but you, my apostles, who in my name cleanse lepers, and cast out demons, and raise the dead, you ought not to be ignorant of him through whom you perform these miracles." When everyone kept silent (for the lesson was beyond human capacity), C Peter, the foremost of the apostles and the chief herald of the Church, using no invention of his own, nor persuaded by human reasoning, but having his mind enlightened by the Father, says to him: "You are the Christ," not simply, but "the Son of the living God." And a declaration of blessedness follows upon this statement (for it was truly beyond human grasp), and as a seal upon what was said, a declaration that it was the Father who had revealed it; for the Savior says: "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven." Whoever, therefore, acknowledges our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, D participates in blessedness; but he who denies the Son of God is miserable and wretched.
IV. Again, when you hear "Son," do not think it is spoken merely in a catachrestic sense; but [understand him to be] Son truly, Son naturally, without a beginning; not one who came from slavery to the rank of adoption, but a Son always begotten without idle questioning.
A
Similarly, when you hear "firstborn," do not imagine [it to be] as it is among men. For among men, there are firstborns who also have other brothers; and it is written somewhere: "Israel is my firstborn son." But, as with Reuben [(2)], Israel was a firstborn who had fallen [from his rank]. For that one ascended his father’s bed, while Israel cast the Son of the Father out of the vineyard, and crucified Him. And regarding others, the Scripture says: "You are [sons] of the Lord your God" [(3)]; and elsewhere: "I said: You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High." I said it, I did not beget them. Those, by the [mere] speaking of God, received an adoption which they did not formerly possess; but this One, being not one thing and then begotten as another, is rather the Son of the Father [(4)] begotten from the beginning, happening to be above every beginning and above the ages; B the Son of the Father, in all things like to the One who begat Him; eternal from an eternal Father, life begotten of life, and light of light, and truth of truth, and wisdom of wisdom, and king of king, and God of God, and power of power.
V. If, then, you hear the Gospel saying: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham," understand it according to the flesh. For He is indeed the Son of David at the consummation of the ages, but the Son of God before all the ages, beginningless [(5)]. And that [sonship of David] He assumed, which He did not [previously] have; but this [Sonship of God], which He possesses, He possesses eternally, having been begotten of the Father. He has two fathers: one, David, according to the flesh, and another, God the Father, according to divinity [(6)]. But that which is according to David is both subject to time, and is touched, and is traced by genealogy; C whereas that which is according to the divinity is neither subject to time nor does it [end of page]
A have a lineage that can be recounted: for who shall declare His generation? B God is spirit; as being spirit, He begat spiritually, as incorporeal, by an unsearchable and incomprehensible generation. The Son Himself says concerning the Father: The Lord said unto Me: Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. But the "today" C is not recent, but eternal; the "today" is timeless, before all the ages: From the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten Thee.
VI.
Believe, therefore, in Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, and the only-begotten Son, according to the Gospel which says: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. And again: He that believeth on the Son is not condemned, but is passed from death unto life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth upon him, because he hath not believed in the only-begotten Son of God. Concerning whom John, bearing witness, said: And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth; whom the demons, trembling, addressed, saying: Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of the living God?VII.
The Son of God, therefore, is by nature, and not by adoption, begotten of the Father. And he who loves the One who begat...loves also A Him who is begotten of Him. But he who despises the One who is begotten, transfers his insult to the One who begat. When, however, you hear of God begetting, do not fall into corporeal concepts, do not suspect a corruptible birth, lest you be impious. God is Spirit; spiritual is His generation. For bodies beget bodies; and in the begetting of bodies, it is necessary for an interval of time to intervene. But there is no interval B of time for the generation of the Son from the Father. And here, that which is begotten is begotten imperfect; but the Son of God was begotten perfect. For what He is now, that He was also from the beginning, begotten without a beginning. We are born, transitioning from childish ignorance to the use of reason; your birth, O man, is imperfect; for improvement comes by process of growth. But do not think of anything like that there, nor accuse the One who begat of any infirmity. For if He begevot Him imperfect, and this later C attained perfection with the passage of time, you accuse the One who begat of infirmity; if, indeed, that which time granted later, the Begetter did not grant from the beginning according to your view.
VIII. Do not, therefore, consider this generation to be human, nor like that by which Abraham begat Isaac. For Abraham begat Isaac, but not whom he willed, but whom another granted to him. But when God and Father begets, there is neither ignorance nor deliberation in between. For to say D that He was ignorant of what He begat, is greatest impiety; and to say that He deliberated for times, and later became a Father, is of the same impiety. For God was not previously childless, and later in time became a Father; but He always has the Son, having begotten Him, not as men beget men, but as He alone knows, who begat Him before all ages as true God.
IX. For since the Father is true God, He begat a Son like Himself, true God. Not as teachers beget disciples, nor as Paul says to some: For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel. For here, since he who is not a son by nature,
A but by discipline is made a son; there, he is a natural son, a true son. Not as you, who are now being illuminated, are becoming sons of God; for you also are becoming sons, but by adoption through grace, as it is written: As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And we indeed are born of water and the Spirit; but Christ was not so born from the Father. For at the time of the baptism, proclaiming and saying, This is my Son, he did not say, This has now become my Son, but, This is my Son; in order to declare that he was a Son even before the efficacy of baptism.
X. B The Father begat the Son, not as the mind in men begets a word. For indeed the mind in us is subsistent; but the word, when spoken and poured out into the air, perishes. We, however, know that Christ was begotten as the Word, not a proferititious word, but a subsistent and living Word; not spoken by lips and poured out, but begotten of the Father eternally and ineffably, and in a hypostasis. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, sitting at the right hand. The Word understanding the will of the Father, and creating all things by his nod; the Word that descended and ascended; for a proferititious word, when spoken, neither descends nor ascends; the Word speaking and saying: What I have seen at my Father, these things I speak; a Word possessing power, and reigning over all things; for the Father has delivered all things to the Son.
XI. The Father, therefore, begat him, C not as—
any human being might conceive, but as He alone knows. We do not promise A to say *how* he begat, but we assert *not* in this way. Nor are we the only ones ignorant of the generation of the Son from the Father, but so too is every created nature. Declare it, O earth (4), if it tells thee! And even if thou shouldst examine all things that are upon the earth, they will not be able to say. For the earth is not able to state the substance of its own potter and fashioner. And not only does the earth not know, but neither does the sun; for the sun was created on the fourth day, not knowing the things that were made in the three days before it; and he who does not know the things made in the three days before him will not be able to declare the Creator Himself. Heaven will not recount this; for at the nod of the Father, by Christ, even the heaven was established like smoke. Neither shall the heavens of the heavens recount it, nor shall the waters that are above the heavens recount this. Why then art thou despondent, O man, in being ignorant of that which even the heavens are ignorant? And not only do the heavens not know the generation, but so too does every angelic nature. For if some one (if it were possible) should ascend into the first heaven, and having beheld the station of the angels there, were to draw near and ask, B "How did God beget His own Son?" they would perhaps say: "We have above us others who are greater and higher; ask them." Ascend to the second heaven, and reach the third, if thou canst, to the thrones and lordships (5), C and powers. And if thou shouldst reach even those, yet they too will not be able to tell thee *how* God begat the Son; for the whole generation is beyond understanding. For this cause, give over thy curiosity; for thou art but a human being, and thou art not able to comprehend things that are higher than the heavens. For "who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?" (Rom. XI, 34). Do not seek after *how* He begat, but confess that He is begotten. God, in begetting, did not work after the manner of men; but He is the Father, and Christ is the Son. And the Son is the begotten of the Father, and not created. If thou inquirest *how*, thou dost not believe that He exists; if thou believest that He exists, do not inquire *how*. For the tongue of man cannot tell of the generation of the Son, nor can even the tongue of angels. Everything that has been generated by the Father through the Son D is a sanctification of all rational beings, both of angels and of men. Capable of understanding heavenly things, and the angelic positions, and the lordly establishments; every generated nature will not recount or express it.
B XII. And I have always wondered at the temerity of those who, through an assumed piety, fall headlong into impiety. For, while they know nothing of the thrones and lordships, the handiwork of Christ, nor of the principalities and powers, they attempt to pry curiously into the Creator himself. Tell me first, O most audacious one, what difference there is between a throne and a lordship, and then curiously investigate those things which concern Christ. Tell me what a principality is, what a power, what a strength, and what an angel, and then pry into the Creator; for all things were made through Him. But you do not wish, or perhaps are not able, to question the thrones or the lordships. What else knows the depths of God, save only the Holy Spirit, who spoke through the divine Scriptures? But not even the Holy Spirit Himself has spoken in the Scriptures concerning the generation of the Son from the Father. Why, then, do you pry into things which the Holy Spirit did not write in the Scriptures? Do you, who do not know the things that are written, pry into those that are not written? There are many questions in the divine Scriptures; if we do not grasp what is written, why do we wear ourselves out with what is not written? It is sufficient for us to know that God begat one only Son.
C XIII. Do not be ashamed to confess your ignorance, since your ignorance is shared with the angels. He who begat alone knows Him whom He begat; and He who was begotten of Him knows the Begetter. He who begat knows what He begat; and the Holy Spirit of God attests in the Scriptures that He who was begotten is God without beginning. For who among men knows the things of a man, save the spirit of a man which is in him? Even so, none knows the things of God, save the Spirit of God. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has given to the Son also to have life in Himself; and, "That all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father"; and, "Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also"
the Son gives life to whom He wills. Neither was the Begetter diminished by anything, nor is anything lacking to the Begotten A (I know that I have often said these things, but I have often repeated them for the sake of your security); neither has He who begat a father, nor has He who was begotten a brother; neither was He who begat changed into a Son, nor did He who was begotten become a Father. From one Father alone, one only-begotten Son. There are not two unbegotten, nor two only-begotten; but there is one Father unbegotten (for He is unbegotten who has no father); and there is one Son, eternally begotten of the Father; not begotten in times, but begotten before the ages; not increased by progress, but begotten to be that which He now is.
XIV. We believe [A 14], therefore, in the Son of God, the only-begotten, the true God begotten of the Father. For the true God does not beget what is false, as has been said. Nor did He beget after deliberation; but He begat eternally, and far more quickly than our words or thoughts. For we, speaking in time, consume time; but with the divine power, the generation is timeless. And, as has been said often, He did not bring the Son into being from nothing, nor did He bring into adoption one who was not; but, the Father being eternal, He eternally and ineffably begat one only Son, who has no brother. There are not two sources; but the Father is the head of the Son, they are one source. For the Father begat the Son, the true God, called Emmanuel; and Emmanuel is interpreted, "God with us."
A XV. Do you wish to know that He who was born of the Father and afterwards became man is God? Hear the prophet saying: "This is our God; no other shall be accounted in comparison of him. He found out all the way of knowledge, and gave it to Jacob his servant, and to Israel his beloved. After this he was seen upon earth, and conversed with men." Do you perceive God becoming man after the giving of the law by Moses? Receive also a second testimony of the divinity of Christ, that which has just been read: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever." For lest, because of the presence here in the flesh which occurred, one might think that after these things He came to a progress of divinity, he says clearly: "Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil B of gladness above thy fellows." Do you see Christ as God, anointed by God the Father?
XVI. Do you wish that a third testimony to Christ's divinity be given to you? Hear Isaiah saying: "Egypt hath labored, and the merchandise of the Ethiopians." And after a few words: "And they shall pray to thee, for God is in thee, and there is no God besides thee. For thou art God, and we knew it not, the God of Israel, the savior." Do you see the Son as God, having within Himself God the Father, almost saying the very thing which He said in the Gospels: "The Father is in me, and I in the Father"? He did not say, "I am the Father," but, "The Father is in me, and I in the Father." And again, He did not say, "I and the Father am one," but, "I and the Father are one"; so that we may neither alienate C them nor create a blending of Son and Father. One, on account of the dignity of the divinity; forasmuch as God begat God. One, on account of
the kingship; for the Father does not rule over one set of subjects and the Son over another, like Absalom rising up against his father; but over those whom the Father rules, the Son also rules. One, on account of there being no discord or division; for the wills of the Father are not one thing, and those of the Son another. One, on account of there not being one set of works belonging to Christ, and another to the Father; for there is one creation of all things, the Father having made them through the Son: "For He spoke, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created," says the Psalmist. For he who speaks, speaks to one who hears; and he who commands, commands one who is present A.
XVII. The Son, therefore, is true God, having the Father in himself, not changed into the Father; for the Father did not become man, but the Son. Let the truth be spoken freely. The Father did not suffer for us, but the Father sent Him who suffered for us. Let us never say, "There was a time when the Son was not," nor let us accept "Son-Fatherhood" (viopatoria). But let us walk in the royal road, let us not turn aside to the left or to the right. Let us not, through thinking to honor the Son, proclaim Him Father; nor, through thinking to honor the Father, suspect the Son to be one of the creatures. But let one Father be worshipped through one Son, and let not the worship be divided. Let one Son be proclaimed, sitting at the right hand of the Father before the ages, not having received this sitting with the Father in time after the passion by way of advancement, but possessing it eternally B.
XVIII. "He who has seen the Son has seen the Father." They divide the creatures and the creation, and they assign some things as the work of the Father, and others as the works of the Son to the one who is present.
Note on the Heresies
They maintained, as we saw in note 5, page 155, that the kingdom was given to the Son after the cross by way of reward, or that it was enlarged due to the advancement of his will; and they were at least suspected of the opinion of Paul of Samosata. According to Athanasius (Orat. 1, nn. 37 and 38), they admitted that the will of the Son was mutable, according to the same (n. 35). They likewise concluded that the will of the Father and the Son was different from the words, "Not my will, but thine be done" (at Epiph., haer. LXIX, n. 58). Finally, they divided the creatures, attributing one work of creation to the Father, but other works to the Son, at Athan. (Orat. 2, n. 25), when they indeed granted the creation of the Son to the Father alone, and the creation of the rest of things to the Son C.He attacks the proposed heresies of the Sabellians and the Arians. Those whom the Latins called Patripassians, the Greeks called Sabellians, as the Eastern bishops declare in Athanasius (De synod., n. 26). But among the Latins, the Patripassians were Praxeas, who, as Tertullian testifies in his book against him (cap. 1), crucified the Father; and Hermogenes, as Augustine testifies (haer. XLI). Among the Greeks, they were Noetus, about whom Saint Hippolytus wrote in his book *Against the Heresies* (published only against Noetus), and Epiphanius (haer. LVII, n. 4); then Sabellius, who, however, as Hilary says (lib. 1, De Trin., n. 11), divided the union at the Virgin, while distinguishing the Father and the Son by names at least, when the Son was incarnate. See Hilary (lib. 1, De Trin., n. 16, and De synodis, n. 45) and Epiphanius (haer. LXII, n. 1). Furthermore, the heresy of Sabellius was imputed to Marcellus of Ancyra by Eusebius; and Catholics, while defending Marcellus, were vilified by the Council of Philippopolis as if they were defenders of the Sabellian error (at Hilary, fragm. 3, n. 23). But while Cyril proceeds to attack the error of Sabellius—with this preface, "Let the truth be spoken freely," as if he feared men—he looks not so much to the Sabellians themselves, who never existed as formidable, not even under Constantius, as to the hidden Sabellians lurking in the Church, of whom he speaks (cat. 15, n. 9), whom I would not deem to be different from the defenders of the consubstantiality themselves, who were, here and there, defamed with this crime by the Arians (from Socrates, lib. 2, Hist., cap. 24). At this time, the frauds of the Arians against Athanasius were not yet sufficiently known to Cyril. But he marks the Arians later, though he spares their name. Yet their impious words were unknown to no one: "There was when He was not," etc.; the honor impiously held by them toward the Father, while the Son is degraded to the order of creatures; the glory of the Father and Son divided, and consequently the worship; the Father and Son unlike in essence and in all respects. All of which are held in the words of Arius reported by Alexander of Alexandria in his encyclical letter (n. 2); by Athanasius (De synodis, num. 15 and 16, and Orat. cont. Arian., num. 5 and 6) D.
A For the Son is like in all things to Him who begat Him: life begotten of life, and light of light, power of power, God of God. And the characters of the divinity are undifferentiated in the Son; and he who is counted worthy to see the divinity of the Son, comes to the enjoyment of Him who begat Him. The word is not mine, but the only-begotten Son’s: "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." And, that I may speak more briefly, let us neither separate them, nor cause a confusion; and never say that the Son is alien to the Father, nor admit those who say that the Father is at one time Father, and at another time Son: for these things are alien and impious, and not the doctrines of the Church; but the Father, having begotten the Son, remained Father, and has not changed. He begat Wisdom, but He did not Himself become deprived of wisdom; and having begotten Power, He did not become weak; having begotten God, He was not Himself deprived B of divinity; and neither did He Himself lose anything by being diminished or changed, nor does He who was begotten have anything lacking. Perfect is He who begat, perfect is that which is begotten; God is He who begat, God is He who is begotten; God indeed of all, but He inscribes the Father as His own God. For He is not ashamed to say: "I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God."
XIX. But that you may not think that He is the Father of the Son and of creatures in the same way, He distinguished in what follows. For He did not say: I ascend unto our Father, lest there be a community of the creatures C with the Only-Begotten; but, "My Father and your Father," He said; in one way mine according to nature, and in another way yours according to adoption: and again, "unto my God and your God," in one way mine, as of a true and only-begotten Son, and in another way yours, as of creatures. The Son of God, therefore, is true God, begotten ineffably before all ages; for I say the same thing to you often, that it may be impressed upon your mind. And that God has a Son, this D signifies, that He is universal and secret from creatures, and as much true God as His Father is. In the same way, Saint Hilary, in book XI *De Trinitate*, n. 11, says that the Father is called the God of the Son by reason of His generation, examining this very passage: and thus he concludes: "These things have been so demonstrated, that the birth both confessed the God of its substitution, and the substitution did not conceal the consciousness of its nature: the Son of God confesses that the Father is God, while He is born from Him; but as to that which He is God, He possesses entirely the natural [divinity] which God is; and in book IV, n. 53: Therefore He is His God, because He is born of Him into God."
A Believe, but do not curiously inquire into the "how," for searching, you will not find it. Do not exalt yourself, lest you fall. "Meditate only upon those things which have been commanded you." Tell me first who it is that begat, and then learn what He begat; but if you cannot grasp by thought the nature of the Begetter, do not anxiously pry into the manner of the Begotten.
XX. It is sufficient for you for piety to know, as we have said, that God has but one only Son, one naturally begotten; who did not begin to be when He was born in Bethlehem, but [exists] before all ages. For hear the prophet Micah saying: "And thou, Bethlehem, house of Ephrata, art not the least that thou shouldest be in the thousands of Juda: for out of thee shall come forth unto me a leader, that shall feed my people Israel; and His goings forth B are from the beginning, from the days of eternity." Do not, therefore, give heed to Him who is now out of Bethlehem, but adore Him who was eternally begotten of the Father. Do not suffer anyone to say that the Son has a beginning in time; but recognize a beginning without time.
A For the Father is an ageless, incomprehensible starting point, without beginning—the Father, who is the fountain of the river of righteousness, the fountain of the Only-Begotten. The Father is He who begat Him, as He alone knows. And do you wish to know that our Lord Jesus Christ is also an eternal King? Hear Him again saying: "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he might see my day; and he saw it, and was glad." Then, since the Jews received this harshly, He says to them something even harsher: "Before Abraham was, I am." And again He says to the Father: "And now, O Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." For He has clearly stated that, before the world was, He possessed the glory that is with Thee. And again: "For Thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world," saying, He clearly says, that I have the glory with Thee from eternity. B
XXI. Let us believe, therefore, in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-Begotten, who was begotten of the Father, true God before all ages, by whom all things were made. For whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were made by Him, and nothing of created things is exempt from His authority. Let every heresy be silenced that introduces various creators and makers of the world; let the tongue that blasphemes Christ the Son of God be silenced; let those be silenced who say that the sun is Christ—for He is the Creator of the sun, not this sun which is seen. Let those be silenced who say that the world is a work of angels, those who wish to usurp the prerogative of the Only-Begotten. For whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or whatever name may be named, all things were made through Christ. He reigns over those things which were made by Him, not seizing alien captives, C but reigning over His own handiwork, just as the evangelist John has said: "All things were made by Him."
A And without Him was not anything made; all things were made by Him, the Father working through the Son.
XXII. I would indeed wish to offer a kind of example of the things being said, but I know that it is weak; for what, among visible things, can be an accurate example of the divine and invisible power? Nevertheless, let it be said as something weak, by the weak to the weak. For just as if some king, having a son who is also a king, and wishing to build a city, were to submit to his son, who reigns with him, the plan for building the city; and he, taking the example, brings the thought-out work to completion; so, when the Father wished for all things to be created, the Son wrought all things by the Father’s nod, in order that the nod might preserve for the Father the authoritative power, and the Son, in turn, might possess power over His own creations; and so that neither the Father should be alienated from the lordship of His own creations, nor the Son reign over things created by another, but over those created by Him. For angels, as it has been said, did not create the world, but the Only-Begotten Son, begotten before all ages, as it has been said: "through whom all things were made," with nothing excepted from the making by Him. And let these things be said by us for the time being, by the grace of Christ.
XXIII. But returning to the confession of faith, let us conclude our discourse for the present. Christ made all things, whether you speak of angels, or archangels, or lordships, or thrones. Not that the Father lacked the power sufficient to create by Himself; but because He willed the Son to reign over the things which He had made, Himself providing for C Him the design of the things to be created. For the Only-Begotten, honoring His own Father...
says: "The Son can do nothing of himself, unless he sees the Father doing it; for whatever he does, these things the Son also does in like manner." And again: "My Father works until now, and I am working," there being in those who work no contrariety. "For all that is mine is yours, and yours is mine," says the Lord in the Gospels. And this is to be known clearly from the Old and New Testaments. For he who says, "Let us make man according to our image and likeness," was surely speaking to someone present. But most clearly has the Psalmist said: "He himself spoke, and they were made; he himself commanded, and they were created," as if the Father were commanding and speaking, and the Son were creating all things by His nod. And this Job also said mystically: "Who stretched out the heaven alone, and walks upon the sea as upon solid ground," signifying to those who understand that He who, during His presence, walked upon the sea, was the One who before this was the Maker of the heavens. And again the Lord says: "Or have you, taking clay from the earth, fashioned a living creature, and placed it upon the earth with the power of speech?" then B further on: "But do the gates of death open to you from fear, and have the janitors of Hades trembled seeing you?" signifying that He who descended into Hades for the sake of philanthropy, is the same who from the beginning fashioned man out of clay.
XXIV. The Creator of the World
XXIV. Christ, therefore, is the Only-Begotten Son of God and the Maker of the world. "For he was in the world, and the world was made through him; and he came to his own," as the Gospel teaches us. And Christ is the Maker, by the nod of the Father, not only of things which are seen, C but also of those which are not seen. For "in him were all things created," according to the Apostle, "those in the heavens and those upon the earth, things visible and invisible; whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things have been created through him and for him. And he is before all, and all things consist in him." And if you speak of the aeons themselves, of these too, by the nod of the Father, is Jesus Christ the Maker.
for in these days he hath spoken to us in his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. To whom be glory, honor, and power, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
CATECHESIS TWELFTH.
ON CHRIST INCARNATE.
PREFATORY NOTE.
162 I. In this discourse, [the author] defends the truth of the Incarnation against Jews and heretics: he inquires into its causes; he describes the signs of the coming Christ foretold by the prophets; he very diligently pursues the circumstances of the time, the place, the lineage, and the manner in which Christ was born, from both Testaments.
II. Having first expounded the necessity of confessing both the humanity and the divinity in Christ (no. 1), and having incidentally refuted the obstinacy of the Jews (no. 2), he commemorates various errors of heretics concerning Christ incarnate, and opposes to them the faith of the Church (no. 3). Then, in order to refute the contradictions of various people, he discloses the causes of the Incarnation, which were very numerous; first of all, the restoration of the human race. While he treats this subject, he runs through the prophecies foretelling the coming of the Lord (nos. 5-9); and he clearly demonstrates that it all fell to Jesus, who, sitting on an ass, rode into Jerusalem, stood upon the Mount of Olives, worked miracles, and was judged by his subjects (nos. 10-12). Then he recounts other reasons for the Lord's coming: namely, that we might be able to comprehend God; that he might sanctify the waters (nos. 13 and 14); that it might be permitted to us to adore God made subject to the senses; that Christ might defeat the devil by the instrument of flesh, by the same means through which he had cast us down (nos. 15, 16). Afterward, he proves to the Jews that the Incarnation is possible; and he defines the time of this coming of God to earth from the prophecies of the patriarch Jacob, of David, and of Daniel, in the reign of Herod and of the Jewish princes (nos. 17-19). He proves Bethlehem to be the place of Christ's birth from David and Micah (no. 20). Next he shows that Jesus was born of a virgin and from the lineage of David, as it had been promised (no. 21 et seq.). He shows that a birth from a virgin is possible to Gentiles from their own fables, and to Jews from the testimony of the Scriptures (no. 27 et seq.); and he proves against the heretics that the assumption of a human body is neither unworthy nor disgraceful to God (nos. 25, 26-32). Finally, he concludes the discourse with an excellent commendation of chastity and the virginal state (nos. 33, 34).
III. There are various matters in this discourse worthy of singular note: the accurate confession of the divinity and humanity of Christ; the explanation of the prophecies of Jacob and Daniel; the excellent testimony to the continence of priests; the encomia of virginity and the monastic state.
IV. It was delivered the day after the preceding one, as is declared by the author at the beginning (no. 4). It has been emended by us according to the authority of the Coislin, Ottoboni, Roe, Casaubon, and Royal codices numbered 2503, in which it is found together with the three following catecheses: it is from about the twelfth or thirteenth century.
CATECHESIS XII: ON CHRIST INCARNATE
CATECHESIS XII FOR THE ILLUMINANDI
Delivered at Jerusalem, in time, on the [clause]: "Who was incarnate and made man." And the reading from Isaiah: "And the Lord spoke further to Ahaz, saying: Ask for thyself a sign;" and below: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel," and what follows.
A Companions of purity and disciples of chastity, let us celebrate with lips full of purity Him who was born of the Virgin. Since we are held worthy to partake of the flesh of the intelligent Lamb, let us partake of the head along with the feet—the head being understood as the Godhead, and the feet being accepted as the humanity. You who are hearers of the holy Gospels, let us be persuaded by John the Theologian; for he who said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," later added, saying, "And the Word was made flesh." B For it is not permitted to worship a mere man, nor to call Him God only without the flesh.
A Nor is it pious to call Him God alone without the humanity. For if Christ is God, as indeed He is, and did not assume humanity, we have been made strangers to salvation. Let Him be worshiped as God, B but let it be believed that He also became man. For it is neither beneficial to call Him man without divinity, nor is it salvific not to acknowledge humanity along with divinity. Let us acknowledge the presence of the King and Physician. For the King, Jesus, about to bring medicine, girding Himself with the towel of humanity, healed that which was sick; the perfect teacher of infants became an infant with the infants, that He might make the foolish wise; the heavenly bread descended to the earth, that He might feed those who were starving.
B II. But the children of the Jews, rejecting Him who has come, and expecting him who is to come unluckily; they indeed rejected the true Christ, but they themselves, led into error, will receive an impostor: so that in this also the sentence of the Savior may be found true, who said: "I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive me; if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive." But it would be excellent to pose this interrogation to the Jews: Is the prophet Isaiah truthful, when he says that Emmanuel shall be born of a virgin, or is he a liar? For if they accuse him as a liar, it is not at all C surprising; for it is their custom not only to slander prophets as liars, but even to stone them; but if the prophet is truthful, show us the Emmanuel. And which is it, is he who is to come, whom you expect, to be born of a virgin, or not? For if he is not born of a virgin, you accuse the prophet falsely; but if you expect this in a future matter, why do you reject that which has already happened?
III. But let the Jews be led into error, since they so desire; but let the Church of God be glorified. For we accept God the Word having become human in truth: not by the will of man and woman, as the heretics say, D but having become human from a Virgin and the Holy Spirit, according to the Gospel, not in appearance, but in truth. And that He truly became human from a Virgin, expect the time of the instruction.
CATECHESIS XII. ON CHRIST INCARNATE.
You wish to see [these things], and you shall receive the demonstrations of this matter; for manifold is the error of the heretics. For some have said that He was not born of a Virgin at all; others [have said] that He was indeed born, but not of a Virgin, but of a woman who had lived with a husband. A Others say that the Christ of God did not become human, but that a certain man was deified. For they have dared to say that it was not the Word who existed beforehand who became human, but that a certain man, having progressed, was crowned.
IV. But do you remember what was said yesterday concerning the Divinity. Believe that He Himself, the only-begotten Son of God, is He who was born again from a Virgin. Believe the Evangelist John, who says: *And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us* (Joan. I, 14). For the Word is indeed eternal, begotten of the Father B before all ages; but He took on flesh recently for our sake. But many contradict, and say: "What was the cause so great that God should descend to human nature? And is it even possible for the nature of God to converse with men? And if it is possible, for a virgin to give birth without a man?" Since there is much contradiction and a multiform battle, come, by the grace of Christ, and by the prayers of those here present, let us dissolve each point.
V. And first of all, let us inquire for what reason Jesus descended. And do not pay attention to my own reasonings; for it is possible C to be deceived by sophistry; but unless you receive the testimony of the prophets concerning each matter, do not believe what is said; if you do not learn of the Virgin, and of the place, and of the time, and of the manner from the divine Scriptures, do not accept testimony from man. For it is possible for him who is present and teaching to be suspected; but as for him who prophesied a thousand and more years ago (Baruch III, 38; Joan. V, 34), who with sound mind would suspect him? If, therefore, you seek D
A the cause of Christ’s coming, run back to the first book of the Scriptures. God made the world in six days; but the world exists for the sake of man. For the sun shines with most brilliant rays, but it was made for the sake of shining upon man; and all the animals were established to serve us; herbs and trees were created for our enjoyment. All the works of creation are good, but none of them is the image of God, except man alone. The sun exists by a command alone, but man was fashioned by divine hands: *Let us make man according to our image and likeness.* A wooden image of an earthly king is honored; how much more the rational image of God? But the greatest of these created B things, having been dancing in paradise, was cast out by the envy of the devil. The enemy rejoiced at the fall of him who had been envied; for would you have had the enemy remain rejoicing? He, not daring to approach the man because of his strength, approached the woman as being weaker, while she was still a virgin; for after the fall from paradise, then did Adam know Eve his wife.
VI. There followed as successors of the human generation Cain and Abel, and Cain was the first homicide. Afterward the deluge was poured out because of the great wickedness of men; fire came down from heaven upon the Sodomites because of their transgression. After a time God chose Israel; but even this people was perverted, and the chosen race was wounded. For Moses was standing in the mount before God, and instead of God, a calf was worshiped by the people. Under the lawgiver Moses who had said, *Thou shalt not commit adultery*, a man entered a brothel and dared to commit fornication. Prophets were sent after Moses to heal Israel; but they, while applying the medicine, were overcome by the force of the disease and lamented, so that one of them says: *Woe is me, for the godly man has perished from the earth, and there is none who does uprightly among men*; and again: *All have turned aside*. C
together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one*; and again: *Cursing, and theft, and adultery, and murder A has been poured out upon the earth*. Their sons and their daughters they sacrificed to demons. They used auguries, and practiced sorcery, and observed omens. And again: *Binding their garments with cords, they made curtains adjoining the altar*.
VII. The wound of humanity was most grave; from the feet even to the head there was no soundness in it; there was no place to apply a poultice, nor oil, nor bandages. Then the prophets, lamenting and growing weary, said: *Who will give salvation from Sion*? And again: *Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, and upon the Son of man whom you strengthened for yourself; and we will not depart from you*. And another of the prophets implored, saying: *O Lord, bow the heavens and come down*. The wounds of humanity exceed our medicine. They killed your prophets, and tore down your altars. The evil is uncorrectable for us; it needs you as the corrector.
VIII. The Lord hearkened to the prayer of the prophets. The Father did not overlook our race perishing; he sent his Son, the Lord, from heaven as a physician; and one of the prophets says: *The Lord whom you seek is coming, and he shall suddenly come*. Whither? *Into his own temple*, the Lord, where you stoned him. Then, upon hearing this, another of the prophets C says to him: "Speaking of God’s salvation, do you speak in silence? Announcing the presence of God for salvation, do you speak in secret? *Go up onto a high mountain, you who bring good tidings to Sion; say to the cities of Judah*: What shall I say? *Behold our God, behold the Lord comes with strength*." The Lord himself again has said: *Behold I am coming, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord, and many nations shall take refuge in the Lord*. The Israelites rejected the salvation through me; I come to gather all nations and tongues; for he came unto his own, and his own received him not. You are coming, and what do you bestow upon the nations? I come to gather all nations, and I will leave a sign upon them.
A For from my struggle upon the cross, I give to each of my soldiers a royal seal to bear upon their forehead. And another of the prophets said: "And he bowed the heavens and descended, and darkness was under his feet," for his descent from heaven was unknown to men.
IX. Then Solomon, hearing his father David saying these things, and having built a wonderful house, and looking forward to Him who was to come into it, marvels and says: "Will God in very truth dwell with men upon the earth?" Yes, says David, anticipating this question in the psalm which is inscribed to Solomon, in which it is said: "He shall descend like rain upon a fleece." Rain, indeed, because of His heavenly origin; upon the fleece, however, because of His humanity. B For the rain that descends upon the fleece descends silently, so that, the mystery of the birth being unknown, the Magi might say: "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" and Herod, being troubled, might inquire concerning Him who was born, and say: "Where is Christ to be born?"
X. Who is this who descends? He says in the following: "And He shall remain with the sun and before the moon, for generations of generations." And again another of the prophets says: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; proclaim, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee, just and saving." There are many kings; of whom speakest thou, O prophet? Give us a sign which other kings have not. If C thou sayest a king clothed in purple, the dignity of the attire is already anticipated; if thou sayest one escorted by soldiers and sitting in golden chariots, this mark also has been preoccupation by others. Give us a sign proper to the king whose appearance thou announcest. The prophet replies and says: "Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, just and saving; He is meek, and riding upon a beast of burden and a young foal," not upon chariots. Thou hast D a unique and singular sign of the King who comes.
A Jesus alone of kings sat upon a foal, entering Jerusalem amid acclamations as king. And what does this King do when He has come? "And thou, in the blood of the covenant, hast sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water."
XI. A Yet it was possible for Him to sit upon a foal; but give us rather a sign, where shall the entering King take His stand? And let not the sign be far from the city, that we may not be ignorant; but give us the sign near at hand and obvious to the eyes, that even while in the city we may behold the place. The prophet answers again, saying: "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east." Does not one standing within the city see the place?
XII. B We have two signs, and a third we desire to learn. Tell us, what does the Lord do when He has come? Another prophet says: "Behold, our God;" and further on: "He Himself will come and save us. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall hear. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be clear." Let another testimony also be told to us. You say, O prophet, that the Lord is coming, and that He will work signs such as have never been wrought: what other clear sign do you mention? "The Lord Himself comes to judgment with the elders of the people and with the princes thereof." A singular sign: the Lord judged by the elders, who are His servants, and enduring it.
XIII. C Reading these things, the Jews do not hear; for they have stopped the ears of their heart, that they might not hear. But let us believe in Jesus Christ, who came in the flesh and was made man; for otherwise we could not have shared in Him. For since we, like Him, could not look upon or enjoy [God’s true nature], He became [what we are]...
A that we might be deemed worthy so to enjoy Him. For if we are unable to look fully upon the sun, which was created on the fourth day, shall we then be able to look upon God, its Creator? B The Lord descended in fire upon Mount Sinai; and the people could not bear it, but said to Moses, "Speak you to us, and we will hear; and let not God speak to us, lest we die" (Exod. XX, 19). And again: "For what is all flesh that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, and shall live?" (Deut. V, 26). If to hear the voice of the speaking God is a cause of death, how must seeing God Himself not be a cause of death? And why do you marvel? Even Moses himself says, "I am terrified and trembling" (Hebr. XII, 21).
XIV. What, then, would you have? That He who came for salvation should become the cause of destruction because mortals could not bear Him? Or would you rather that He tempered His grace to our measure? Daniel could not bear the sight of an angel, and would you have borne the sight of the Lord of angels? Gabriel appeared, and Daniel fell down. And what kind of being was he who appeared, or in what form? His face was as lightning—not as the sun. And his eyes were like lamps of fire—not like a furnace of fire. And the voice of his words was like the voice of a multitude—not like that of twelve C legions of angels. And yet the prophet fell. And the angel approaches and says, "Fear not, Daniel; arise; be of good courage, your words have been heard" (Dan. X, 12, 19). And Daniel says, "I arose trembling"; and yet he did not even then answer, until a likeness of a man’s hand touched him. And when the one who appeared was transformed into the vision of a man, then Daniel begins to speak. And what does he say? "Lord, in your vision my inward parts have been turned within me, and no strength will stand in me, and breath has not remained in me" (Dan. X, 16-17). If an angel appearing took away the voice and strength of the prophet, would the apparition of God Himself allow breath to remain? And until, says the Scripture, D there touched me as it were the likeness of a man...
Experiencing therefore that our weakness was shown, the Lord assumed that which man sought for; since man sought to hear A from one of like appearance, the Savior took on the nature of like passions, so that men might be more easily instructed.
XV. Receive also another reason. Christ came that He might be baptized and might sanctify baptism; He came that He might work miracles, walking upon the waters of the sea. Since, therefore, before His coming in the flesh, the sea saw and fled, and the Jordan turned backward, the Lord assumed a body B so that, seeing Him, the sea might hold its ground and the Jordan might receive Him without fear. This is indeed one reason; but there is also a second. Through the virgin Eve came death; it was necessary through a virgin, or rather from a virgin, that Life should appear; so that just as the serpent deceived the former, so Gabriel might bring glad tidings to the latter. Men, having abandoned God, fashioned images in human form. Since, therefore, the figure of human form was being mendaciously worshipped as God, God truly became man, so that the falsehood might be dispelled. The devil used the flesh as an instrument against us. And knowing this, Paul says: "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity," and so forth. By the very weapons, therefore, with which the devil overcame us, by these same ones we were saved. The Lord assumed that which is like us from us, so that He might save humanity; He assumed the one like us, so that He might give greater grace to what was lacking, so that sinful humanity might become a partaker C of God. "For where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." It was necessary for the Lord to suffer for our sake, but the devil would not have dared to approach if he had known Him; "For had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." The body, therefore, became bait for death, so that the dragon, hoping to devour it, might vomit forth also those whom he had already swallowed. For death, having prevailed, devoured; and again: "God shall remove every tear from every face." D
A XVI. Has Christ then been made man in vain? Is our doctrine a mere invention of words and a deception of human ingenuity? Are not the divine Scriptures our salvation? Are not the predictions of the prophets ours? Keep therefore this deposit for me unshaken, and let no one move you from it: believe that God was made man. Now, that it was possible for Him to be made man has been demonstrated; but if the Jews refuse to believe it further, let us confront them thus: What strange thing do we proclaim when we say that God was made man, when you yourselves say that Abraham received the Lord into his home? What insolent thing do we preach, when Jacob says: "For I have seen God face to face, and my soul was preserved"? The Lord who ate at Abraham’s house, ate also among us. What strange thing then do we proclaim? But we produce also two witnesses, those who stood by the Lord on Mount Sinai: Moses was in the cleft of the rock, and Elijah was then in the cleft of the rock. These, having been present at His transfiguration on Mount Tabor, spake to the disciples of the departure which He was about to fulfill in Jerusalem. But that it was possible for Him to be made man has been demonstrated, as I said before; and let the rest of the proofs be left for the studious to gather.
B XVII. Furthermore, our discourse had promised to find both the time and the place of the Saviour’s advent, and we must not depart having been convicted of a false promise, but rather let us send away the newcomers of the Church strengthened by a suitable support. Let us, therefore, inquire into the time when the Lord came; seeing that His presence is recent, and is gainsaid; and seeing that Christ Jesus is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever. Moses therefore the prophet says: "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thy brethren, like unto me"; but let the "like unto me" be held in reserve for the time being, to be examined in its proper places. But then the prophet... C D
A says: "Run back to the things written by me; inquire into the prophecy spoken to Judah by Jacob: 'Judah, thy brethren shall praise thee,' and what follows, so that we may not recite everything. 'A prince shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until he comes for whom it is reserved; and he is,' not the expectation of the Jews, but the expectation of the nations." B He therefore gave a sign of Christ’s coming: the cessation of the rule of the Jews. If they are not now subject to the Romans, then Christ has not yet come; if they have a prince from the race of Judah and David, the expected one has not yet come. For I am ashamed to speak of their recent practices concerning those who are now called patriarchs among them, and what their lineage is, and who their mother—things I leave to those who know. But as for this Coming One, the expectation of the nations, what other sign does he have? He says in the following: "Binding his foal to the vine." You see that foal, which was clearly proclaimed beforehand by Zechariah.
A XVIII. But again you ask for another testimony of the time. The Lord said to me: "You are my son; today I have begotten you." And after a few words: "You shall rule them with a rod of iron." It has been said to me before, that the iron rod is clearly called the Roman empire; concerning which, let us recall what remains from Daniel. For, in explaining and comparing to Nebuchadnezzar the image of the statue, he also describes to him the whole vision concerning the statue; and the stone cut from the mountain without hands, not produced by human workmanship, he declares will prevail over the whole world; and he speaks most openly in this manner: "And in the days of those kingdoms, the God of heaven will raise up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and its kingdom shall not be left to another people."
B XIX. But we still seek a clearer demonstration of the times of his coming. For man is difficult to bring to belief, unless he also has the years themselves clearly calculated; he does not believe what is said. What then is the season, and what is the time? It is when, the kings who arose from Judah having failed, the foreigner Herod finally reigns. Therefore the angel speaking to Daniel says (and you, mark well for me now what is said): "And you shall know and understand. From the going forth of the word for an answer to be given, and for Jerusalem to be built, until Christ the leader, are seven weeks and sixty-two weeks." Sixty-nine weeks of years, therefore, amount to four hundred and eighty-three years. He said, therefore, that after the building C is finished, the times of the seventy weeks, which are not to be passed over cursorily in this explanation of the weeks of Daniel by Cyril. First, he defines the time of the coming of Christ as leading up to the weeks, reserving the seventieth week either for the preaching of Christ with Eusebius, lib. VIII *Demonst.*, p. 400, or to the times of the Antichrist, as Saint Hippolytus, *De Antichristo*, p. 59: Apollinaris, cited by Jerome in Daniel chapter IX, arming himself with the authority of Africanus, and others: the foundation of all of whom is the abomination of desolation predicted in the middle of the seventieth week, which Cyril, cat. 15, num. 9 and 20, and the mentioned authors understand concerning the Antichrist. Second, he begins the weeks from the edict to build the city of Jerusalem; but he wrongly attributes to Darius that edict which proceeded from Artaxerxes Longimanus in the twentieth year of his reign, I Esdras II, 1, 8; for Darius did not give an order concerning the building of the city, but only of the temple, I Esdras VI, 5; nor was the city built at that time, unless perhaps some structures around the temple, but only the temple was built. I omit the fact that he preposterously calls this Darius a Mede, who was the son of Hystaspes. But he who is called Darius the Mede in the Scriptures is the uncle of Cyrus the Great, Dan. V, 31, and VI, 28. He perhaps attributes the decree to him for this reason, that this prophecy of Daniel was made in the first year of his reign, Dan. IX, 1. Third, the beginning of the weeks neither takes its start from the year of the edict given by Darius, and the building begun; which was the second year of Darius, in which the building of the temple, interrupted under the previous D reigns, was resumed, I Esdr. IV, 24; but from the building itself, finished and completed. Which was perfected in the sixth year of Darius, I Esdr. VI, 15. He assigns it to the sixty-sixth Olympiad first: and both in this assignment of the beginning of the weeks, and in the computation of the years, he follows the method of computing of Eusebius in the *Chronicon*, according to the interpretation of Jerome; for in the Greek Eusebius, by the carelessness of the printer I believe, the sixth year of Darius is the fourth of the Olympiad. Yet this same Eusebius, lib. VIII *Demonst.*, cap. 2, p. 396, composing [the dates] according to the second year of Darius with the 66th Olympiad, begins the weeks from it. Fourth, he terminates the weeks in the reign of Herod, so that he may compose the prophecies of Jacob and Daniel into one goal. He follows Eusebius in the *Chronicon*, both in the place cited, and at Olympiad 186, p. 197, and in lib. VIII *Demonst.*, p. 400. Whether the Cyrillian explanation of the weeks and the calculation of the years has some discrepancy, is not to be debated in this place. He himself admits later that other reasons for interpreting them might be brought forward. Many are commemorated by Jerome; and from those times many others have been added, both by the ancients and by the more recent.
A four hundred eighty-three years having passed, and the rulers having failed, then there comes a certain alien king, under whom Christ is born. Darius then, the Mede, built [it] in the sixth year of his own reign, and in the first year of the sixty-sixth Olympiad of the Greeks. Now, among the Greeks, an "Olympiad" is called the contest completed every four years, because of the day which, in the Sun’s four-year courses, is made up from the three hours remaining each year. Herod, indeed, reigns in the one hundred eighty-sixth Olympiad, in the fourth year thereof. From the sixty-sixth, therefore, to the one hundred eighty-sixth, there occur between them one hundred and twenty Olympiads, and a little something more. There are gathered, therefore, from the one hundred twenty Olympiads, four hundred eighty [years]; for the other B three years [which are] left over are perhaps taken up in the interval between the first and the fourth. And you have the proof according to the Scripture which says: "From the going forth of the word, for answer to be made, and for Jerusalem to be built, unto Christ the leader, shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks." You have, then, for the time being, this proof concerning the years, although there are other different interpretations concerning the aforementioned weeks of years in Daniel.
XX. Hear now, furthermore, the place of the promise, Micah saying: "And thou, Bethlehem, house of Ephrath, art not the least, to be among the thousands of Judah; C out of thee D shall come forth to me a leader to be for a ruler in Israel."
A Moreover, regarding the places, being a Jerusalemite, you already know beforehand what is written in the one-hundred and thirty-first Psalm: "Lo, we heard of it in Ephrathah, we found it in the plains of the wood." For only a few years ago the place was wooded. You heard again of Habakkuk saying to the Lord: "As the years draw near, you shall be recognized; when the time is present, you shall be revealed." And what is the sign, O prophet, of the coming Lord? He says further B: "In the midst of two lives you shall be known." By this, he clearly addresses the Lord, that being present in the flesh, you live and die, and rising from the dead, you live again. And from which part of the region around Jerusalem does he come? From the east or the west, the north or the south? Tell us accurately. But he answers very clearly and says: "God shall come from Teman (and Teman is interpreted as 'south'), and the Holy One from the shaded, wooded mount of Paran," which the Psalmist said accordingly: "We found it in the plains of the wood." C [Micah saying: "And thou..."]—He himself also announces the "And," "Announcements" also, and "in the midst of two lives." For this reason, He who is known in the midst of the two lives mediates between these two lives. D
A XXI. Next, we ask from whom He comes and how He comes? And Isaiah tells us this: *Behold the virgin shall take in the womb, and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel.* And the Jews contradict these things; for it is an ancient custom of theirs to fight against the truth. And they say that B the text does not say "the virgin," but "the maiden." But I, indulging in their own term, find the truth even so. For one must ask them: When a virgin is subjected to violence, when does she cry out—before the violence is inflicted, or after she has been corrupted, calling for helpers? If, therefore, the Scripture says elsewhere, *The maiden cried out, and there was no one to help her*, does it not then speak of a virgin? But that you may learn more clearly that in the divine Scripture a virgin is also called a "maiden," hear the book of Kingdoms speaking of Abisag the Shunammite: *And the maiden was very fair;* for it is acknowledged that she was chosen as a virgin and brought to David. C XXII. But the Jews say again: "This was said to Achaz concerning Ezechias." Let us, therefore, read the Scripture: *Ask for thyself a sign from the Lord thy God, into the depth or into the height.* And truly a sign ought to be something marvelous and beyond expectation. For a sign was the water from the rock, the splitting of the sea, the turning back of the sun, and the like. But what I am about to say has an even clearer refutation against the Jews. (I know that I am speaking at great length, and that the hearers are weary; but endure the length of the discourse, since these things are said for the sake of Christ, and it is not a matter of trivial words.) Since, therefore, Isaiah said this while Achaz was reigning, and Achaz reigned only sixteen years, D within which time the prophecy was spoken to him; the succeeding king Ezechias, the son of Achaz, refutes the contradiction of the Jews, for he was twenty-five years old when he came to the throne. For since the time of the prophecy is comprised within sixteen years, he had been born of Achaz nine years before the prophecy. What need, therefore, was there to speak a prophecy concerning one who was already born, and even born before the kingdom of his father Achaz? For He did not say, "He has taken," but, "The virgin *shall* take [in the womb]," employing the mode of prediction.
A XXIII. But that the Lord is born of a virgin, we have clearly understood. It remains to be shown from what lineage the virgin was descended. "The Lord swore truth unto David, and He will not set it aside: Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne." And again: "I will establish his seed unto eternity of eternity, and his throne as the days of heaven." And further: "Once have I sworn in my holy place, that I will not lie unto David: his seed shall remain for eternity, and his throne as the sun before me, and as the moon established for eternity." You see that the discourse is concerning Christ, and not concerning Solomon. For the throne of the latter did not remain as the sun. But if anyone opposes this, on the ground that Christ did not sit upon the wooden throne of David, let us bring forward that saying: "The Scribes and the Pharisees sat in Moses' seat." B For it does not signify the wooden chair, but the authority of the teaching. Thus, therefore, seek also the throne of David from me, not the wooden throne, but the kingdom itself. And take as witnesses for me the children who cried out: "Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is the King of Israel." And the blind also say: "Son of David, have mercy on us." And Gabriel testifies clearly to Mary, saying: "And the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David." And Paul says: "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my gospel." And at the beginning of the Epistle to the Romans, he says: "Who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh." Accept, therefore, Him who is born of David, being persuaded by the prophecy which says: "And in that day there shall be the root of Jesse, C and he that ariseth to rule over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles hope."
XXIV. But the Jews are vehemently tormented because of these things. Isaiah had foreseen this also, saying: "And they shall desire, even if they were burnt with fire; because a child was born to us (for it was not for them), a son, and he was given to us." Observe, moreover, that He was first the Son of God, and then He was given to us. And after a few words he says: "And of his peace there is no limit." The Romans have limits; the kingdom of the Son of God has no limit. The Persians and the Medes have their boundaries, but the Son has no boundary. Then it follows: "Upon the throne of David, and upon D
his reign, to establish it. A From David, therefore, was the holy Virgin.
XXV. For it was fitting that He who is most pure, and the master of purity, should come forth from pure chambers. For if he who B performs the priesthood well for Jesus abstains from a woman, how was Jesus Himself to come from a man and a woman? For, "Thou art He," it says in the Psalms, "who drew me out of the womb" (Ps. XXI, 10). Attend carefully to the words, "who drew me out of the womb," which signify that He was drawn out and born of the virginal womb and flesh without the agency of a man; for the manner of those who are born by the nuptial process is different.
XXVI. And He who is the shaper of these very members is not ashamed to assume flesh from such members. And who, pray, tells us this? The Lord says to Jeremiah: "Before I formed thee, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee" (Jer. I, 5). He who in forming humans touches them and is not ashamed—would He, in the forming of the holy flesh, that veil of His divinity, be ashamed on His own account? God is the one who, in the womb, and even to this day, fashions infants, as it is written in Job: "Didst Thou not pour me out like milk, and curdle me like cheese? Thou didst clothe me with skin and flesh, and hast knit me together with bones and nerves" (Job X, 10, 11). There is nothing abominable in the human structure, unless one defiles it with adulteries and lasciviousness. He who fashioned Adam fashioned Eve also; and by divine hands both male and female were fashioned. None of the members in the body is abominable, having been formed from the beginning. Let all heretics who accuse the bodies, or rather Him who fashioned them, be put to silence. But let us call to mind Paul’s sentiment: "Know ye not that your bodies are the temple... C D
of the Holy Spirit which is in you?" And again, the prophet has foretold on behalf of Jesus: "My flesh from them," and elsewhere it is written: "Therefore will He give them up until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth." And what is the sign? He says in the sequel: "She shall bring forth, and the remnant of their brethren shall return." And what are the betrothals of the Virgin, the holy bride? "And I will betroth thee unto myself in faithfulness." And Elizabeth, speaking to her, says in like manner: "And blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord."
B XXVII. But both Greeks and Jews harass us, saying that it was impossible for Christ to be born of a virgin. Let us stop the mouths of the Greeks with their own fables. For you who say that stones thrown [by men] are transformed into men, how can you say that it is impossible for a virgin to bring forth? You who fable that a daughter was born from a brain, how can you affirm that it is impossible for a son to be born from a virginal womb? You who falsely assert that Dionysus was carried in the thigh of your Zeus, as though in a pregnant womb, how can you reject our truth? I know that I am speaking things unworthy of the present hearing; but we have brought these things forward that you may opportunely reproach the Greeks, refuting them by their own fables.
C XXVIII. But as for those who are of the circumcision, answer them by asking thus: Which is more difficult; for a barren woman, whose natural courses have already ceased, to bear, or for a virgin in the flower of her youth to give birth? Sarah was barren, and after her natural faculties had ceased, she brought forth against nature. Therefore, if it is against nature for a barren woman to bear, it is also [against nature] for a virgin to become a mother; therefore, either reject both, or admit both. For it is the same God who did the one and contrived the other; nor will you dare to say that it was possible for God in the one case, and impossible in the other. Again: What is this order of nature, that a man’s hand should be transformed in one hour into another species, and then restored? How, therefore, was the hand of Moses whitened like snow, and again in an instant restored? But you say D that God, having willed it, transformed it. If God is able to transform it there when He wills, is He then unable to do so here? And that sign pertained only to the Egyptians, but this sign was given as a gift to the whole world. O Jews, which is more difficult: for a virgin to give birth, or for a rod to be endued with life and become a living creature? Confess that in the time of Moses,
the rod which became snake-like was terrible to him who cast it down; and he who held the rod before this fled from it as from a dragon; for it was a dragon in truth, and he who held it fled, not fearing what he held, but struck with dread of Him who had transformed it A; the rod had teeth, and the eyes of a dragon. If, then, from a rod eyes capable of sight grow, and from a virgin's womb a child is not born, when God wills it? I forbear to mention that Aaron's rod, too, produced in a single night that which other trees produce over the course of many years. For who does not know that a rod stripped of its bark, even if it were planted in the midst of rivers, would never by nature germinate? But since God does not follow the natures of trees, but is the Creator of their natures B, the fruitless, dry, and barkless rod blossomed, budded, and brought forth nuts. He, therefore, who for the sake of the typical high priest granted the rod to bring forth fruit beyond nature, would He not for the sake of the true High Priest grant the Virgin to give birth?
XXIX.
These are excellent reminders for our discourse. But the Jews contradict and are not persuaded by the arguments concerning the rod, unless they are convinced by other similar wonders and births contrary to nature. Question them, therefore, in this manner: Of whom was Eve born at the beginning? What mother conceived her, the motherless one? The Scripture says that she came from the rib of Adam. If, therefore, Eve was born from the rib of a man without a mother C, is it then impossible for a child to be born from a virgin's womb without a man? The female sex was indebted to men for the favor. For Eve was born from Adam, and, having been conceived not from a mother, was brought forth as if from a man alone. Mary, therefore, paid the debt of this favor, when, not from a man, but from herself alone, she gave birth in purity, by the Holy Spirit, through the power of God.XXX.
Let us take something even greater than this. For that bodies should be born from bodies, while it is paradoxical, is nevertheless possible; but that the dust of the earth should become a man, this is more wonderful. That confused mire should take on the tunics of the eyes and flashes of light D, this is more wonderful. That from earth of a single uniform kind should be born the firmness of bones, and the lung--A-softness, and the rest of the varied forms of the limbs; this is worthy of admiration. That clay, become animated, should go about the world with self-generated motion, and build; this is wonderful. That clay should teach, and speak, and practice the crafts, and govern a kingdom; this is wonderful. B Why then, most ignorant Jews, whence did Adam come? Did not God, taking dust from the earth, fashion this wonderful creature? If so, clay is changed into an eye, and shall a virgin not give birth to a son? If that which is impossible among men happens all the more easily, does that which is within our reach therefore not happen?
XXXI. Let us be mindful of these things, brethren. Let us use these as defensive weapons. Let us not tolerate the heretics who teach the coming [of Christ] as being by mere appearance and opinion. Let us also spit upon those who say that the birth of the Savior was from a man and a woman, who have dared to say that he was from Joseph and Mary, because it is written: "And he took his wife." For let us remember Jacob, who, before he took Rachel, said to Laban: "Give me my wife." For just as she, before the nuptial state, merely by the promise that had intervened, was called Jacob's wife; so too Mary, by the betrothal, was called the wife of Joseph. And observe the accurate manner of speaking of the Gospel, when it says: "In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph," and so on. And again, when the enrollment was happening, and Joseph went up to be enrolled, what does Scripture say? "And Joseph also went up from Galilee, to be enrolled with Mary, who was betrothed to him as his wife, being with child." For she was indeed with child. But it did not say, "with his wife," but "with her who was betrothed to him." C D
For God, Paul says, sent forth his Son, not born of a man and a woman, but born of a woman only, that is, of a virgin. We have already demonstrated that a woman A can be called a virgin. For he was born of a virgin, he who makes souls virginal.
XXXII. But you marvel at what took place; she who gave birth also marveled at it. For she says to Gabriel: "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" And he says: "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you; therefore also that which is born shall be holy 1, and shall be called the Son of God." His birth is undefiled and pure. For where the Holy Spirit breathes, every stain is removed. The birth of the Only-begotten from the Virgin in the flesh is pure. B And if heretics contradict the truth, the Holy Spirit will convict them; the power of the Most High that overshadowed the virgin will be indignant; Gabriel will stand in opposition in the day of judgment with a hostile countenance; the site of the manger that received the Lord will put them to shame. The shepherds will bear witness, they who were then told the good news; and the host of the angels praising and hymning and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men of good will." The temple, into which he was then brought on the fortieth day; the pairs of turtledoves that were offered for him; and Simeon, who then embraced him in his arms; and the prophetess Anna, who was present.
C XXXIII. Since God therefore bears witness, and the Holy Spirit bears witness together, and Christ says: "Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth?" let the heretics be silenced who contradict his humanity; for they contradict him who says D
"Touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see me have." A Let the Lord who was born of the Virgin be adored; let the virgins recognize the crown of their own order; let the order of monks also recognize the gloriousness of purity, for we are not deprived of the dignity of integrity. For in the womb of the Virgin the nine-month period of the Savior took place; but the Lord was a man for thirty-three years; so that if a virgin glories in the nine-month period, we glory much more because of the multitude of years.
XXXIV. But let us all run the race of chastity by the grace of God, young men and virgins, old men with the younger; not following lasciviousness, but praising the name of Christ. Let us not be ignorant of the glory of purity; for this crown is angelic, and the accomplishment is above man. Let us spare our bodies, which one day shall shine like the sun B. Let us not pollute such a great and notable body for the sake of a fleeting pleasure. For sin is a small thing and lasts but for an hour; but the shame of it is long-lasting and eternal. Those who pursue purity are angels walking upon the earth; virgins have their share with the Virgin Mary. Let every studied adornment be banished, and every harmful glance, and every mincing walk, and every robe, and every enticing scent of pleasure. But let prayer be the incense of sweet odor in all things, and the fruit of good works, and the sanctification of bodies; so that the Lord who was born of the Virgin—
A should speak also of us, both of the men who keep their own purity, and of the women who are crowned: "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
CATECHESIS THIRTEENTH
ON CHRIST CRUCIFIED AND BURIED
ADMONITION
I. This discourse deals with the crucifixion and burial of Christ, but primarily with the former; it sets forth the fruit, the truth, and all the circumstances thereof, by reconciling the ancient Scriptures with the Gospel history.
II. And first of all, it commands Christians to place their supreme glory in the cross, both on account of the admirable power of the cross, by which all men who were dead in sins were raised to life and liberty, and by which demons are put to flight (n. 1, 2, 3); and on account of the innocence of Christ, attested by many inescapable proofs, who suffered death not through any merit of his own, nor by any necessity imposed by the power of men, but purely of his own will out of love for us and for our sins (n. 4 and 5). It then asserts the truth of Christ’s death and passion against the heretics (n. 6). And against the Jews, it sets out to prove that not only this, but all its accompanying circumstances, were prefigured in the ancient prophets (n. 7, 8). Therefore, it follows the individual circumstances of the passion: the betrayal of Judas, the return by him of the price of the betrayal out of the conscience of a wicked deed; the bonds placed upon Christ, the stripes inflicted upon him, the leading about from Caiaphas to Pilate, and thence to Herod, the trial endured under those most iniquitous judges, the mockery and the punishment of the crown of thorns, the crucifixion, the emission of water and blood from the side of the dead body: all of which it explains and adorns with wondrous art through moral, allegorical, and mystical observations (n. 9, 10, etc.). Then it discusses from the prophets the place, hour, time, and day of the passion (n. 23, 24, 25). It treats piously and elegantly the partitioning of the garments, the thirst endured on the cross, the drink offered to him, the pardon given to the pious thief, who was brought into paradise before the patriarchs themselves, the death of Christ, and the cause of death (n. 26 et seqq.); finally, it narrates from the prophets the mode and manner of the burial and the tomb (n. 35). And from all these things, it concludes not only that we should not be ashamed of the cross, but rather that we should openly profess it; and that we should use its sign, impressed upon our foreheads for all our actions, for protection and for the terror of demons (n. 36). Then, having gathered together testimonies of every kind regarding the truth and efficacy of the cross, it refutes the Jews, pagans, and heretics who assert that the cross was endured in opinion only; and with a most grave invitation to adore the Crucified and to place one’s glory in the cross, it brings the discourse to its conclusion (n. 37 et seqq.).
B III. The chief points worthy of note in this discourse are those which it discusses concerning the general sin of Adam in all men, the redemption of the dead through Christ, and the superabundant satisfaction of Christ, n. 1, 2, 3, 33. Concerning the divine dignity of the Crucified, and the adoration due to him, n. 2, 3, 6, 33; concerning his power over demons and the souls of men, num. 3 and 40; concerning the power and use of the sign of the cross, n. 22, 36, 40; concerning the salvation of the thief through faith alone, yet joined with the sincere will of performing works, if it were allowed, num. 31 and 32.
IV. This discourse was delivered some days before the following one, out of Catechesis 14, num. 1; and since the subsequent catechesis was pronounced on the second feria shortly after the vernal equinox, it is clear that this one was delivered around the beginning or middle of the preceding week, about the twentieth day of March. In it, he mentions in n. 9 a sermon he had delivered on Psalm LVIII, perhaps on the preceding Sunday. Rufinus transcribed almost the whole of this into his Exposition of the Symbol; three places of it are found cited in the catenae of the Fathers.
V. We have corrected it according to the Coislin, Ottobonian, Roe, Casaubon, and Royal 2503 codices. We have also used the Colbertine parchment codex of about the eleventh century, which contains various homilies of the Fathers; among them is this catechesis with this inscription: C *The Discourse of our holy Father Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, on Holy Friday, and on the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.* From which it may be gathered that this discourse was formerly read in the Church on the day of the Parasceve.
CATECHESIS XIII OF THE ILLUMINANDI
Extemporaneously delivered in Jerusalem, on the text: "Crucified and buried." And the reading from Isaiah: *Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?* and following: *He was led as a sheep to the slaughter,* and what follows.
A I. Every action of Christ is indeed a boast of the Catholic Church; but the boast of boasts is the Cross. Paul, knowing this well, says: *But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of Christ* (Gal. vi, 14). It was, indeed, marvelous that the man born blind should receive his sight in Siloam; but what is that to those who are blind throughout the whole world? It was great and beyond nature that Lazarus should rise B after four days; but the grace reached only that one man; and what of those who were dead in their sins throughout the entire world? It was a miracle that five loaves should furnish food, like a fountain, for the five thousand; but what is that to those who were famishing with ignorance across the entire world? It was admirable indeed that the woman, bound by Satan for eighteen years, should be set free; but what is this if you look to all of us, who were C bound by the chains of our own sins? But the crown—or glory—of the Cross has enlightened those who were blind through ignorance, has set free all those held under sin, and has redeemed the whole world of men.
CATECHESIS XIII. ON CHRIST CRUCIFIED AND BURIED.
B II. And do not wonder that the whole world was redeemed. For it was not a mere man, but the Only-begotten Son of God who died in our stead. For although the sin of one man, Adam, was able to bring death to the world, if by the transgression of one, death reigned over the world, how shall not life much more reign through the righteousness of one? And if then, through the wood of the eating, they were cast out of paradise, is it not the case that, through the wood of Jesus, those who believe now go into paradise more easily? If the first-formed man brought a universal death from the earth, shall He who fashioned him from the earth not bring eternal life, being Himself the Life? If Phinehas, when he became zealous and slew the evildoer, stayed the wrath of God, shall Jesus, who slew no other but gave Himself as a ransom, not dissolve the wrath which is against men?
C III. Let us not, therefore, be ashamed of the Cross of the Savior, but rather let us glory in it. For the word of the Cross is to the Jews indeed a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles foolishness, but to us it is salvation. And to those who are perishing it is foolishness; but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For He who died for us was not, as has been said, a mere man, but the Son of God, God made man. Furthermore, if the lamb in the time of Moses drove the destroyer far away, shall the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, not much rather deliver us from sins? And if the blood of an irrational sheep provided salvation, shall the blood of the Only-begotten not much rather save? If any man believes not in the power of Him who was crucified, let him ask the demons; if any man believes not in words, let him believe in what is manifest. Many have been crucified throughout the world, but the demons shudder at none of them; but the demons shudder at Christ, who was crucified for our sake, even when they see only the sign of the Cross.
A For those [in the parable] died because of their own sins, but He died for the sins of others. For He committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth (1 Pet. II, 22). It was not Peter who was saying this, for there might have been a suspicion that he wished to flatter the Master; but it is Isaiah who says it (Isa. LIII, 9), who, though not present in the body, yet in his spirit foresaw the incarnation. And why should I produce only a prophet as a witness now? Take as a witness Pilate himself, who passed sentence upon Him, saying: I find no cause in this man (Luc. XXIII, 14). And when he delivered Him up, having washed his hands, he said: I am innocent of the blood of this just man (Matth. XXVII, 24). There is also another witness to the sinlessness of Jesus, the thief who was the first to enter Paradise, rebuking his companion and saying: We receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing amiss (Luc. XXIII, 41). For I and you were present at the judgment.
IV. Jesus then suffered in truth for all men. For the Cross is no phantasm; otherwise, the redemption would also be a phantasm. Death does not consist of appearance and mere opinion, otherwise the salvation also would be fabulous. If death were only an appearance, truthful were those who said: We have remembered that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive: After three days I will rise again (Matth. XXVII, 63). B Therefore the passion was true; for He was truly crucified, and we are not ashamed; He was crucified, and we do not deny it; rather, I even glory in saying it. For even if I were to deny it now, this Golgotha, in whose proximity we are all now present, would refute me; the wood of the Cross will refute me, which has gradually C been distributed from here to the whole world. I confess
A the Cross, because I know the resurrection; for if he had remained crucified, perhaps I would not have confessed it, for I would have hidden it along with my Master. But since the resurrection has followed the Cross, I am not ashamed to tell of it.
V. B He was therefore crucified, being likewise possessed of flesh; but not on account of similar sins. For He was not led to death for the sake of the love of money; for He was a teacher of dispossession. Nor was He condemned for the sake of carnal desire; for He says clearly: *Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart.* He did not strike or beat anyone through petulance; for He turned the other cheek also to the one striking Him. He did not despise the law; for He was the fulfiller of the law. He did not revile a prophet; for He was the One who was being proclaimed by the prophets. He did not withhold a reward; for He healed them effortlessly and gratuitously. He did not sin in words, nor in deeds, nor in thoughts; *who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth; who, when He was reviled, did not revile again; when He suffered, He did not threaten;* He who came to the passion not unwillingly, but willingly; and if anyone, seeking to dissuade Him, even now says, *Be it far from Thee, Lord,* He will say again: *Get behind me, Satan.*
VI. C And do you wish to be persuaded that He came to the passion willingly? The rest of men die unwillingly, who are ignorant of their fate; but this One spoke beforehand D concerning the passion;
A for He said, "Behold, the Son of man is being betrayed to be crucified." Do you know why the Lover of mankind did not flee from death? It was so that the world, having been entirely lost to its sins, might not be destroyed. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be betrayed and crucified." And again, "He set His face to go to Jerusalem." And you wish to know clearly that the cross is glory to Jesus? Listen to Him saying it, and not to me. Judas was betraying Him, having become ungrateful toward his Master; having just gone out from the table and drunk the cup of blessing, instead of the cup of salvation, he wanted to pour out righteous blood. "He who ate my bread, has magnified his supplanting against me." Just before, his hands were receiving the blessings, and just before, because of the silver of the betrayal, he was contriving death. And when he was convicted, and having heard the words, "You have said it," he went out again. Then Jesus said, "The hour has come that the Son of man should be glorified." Do you see how He knows the cross to be His own glory? Then, seeing that Isaiah was sawn asunder B and is not ashamed, shall Christ, dying for the world, be ashamed? "Now is the Son of man glorified." Not that He lacked glory before; for He was glorified with the glory that He had before the foundation of the world; but He was indeed glorified as God always, but now He was being glorified, having put on the crown of patience. He did not yield up His life under compulsion, nor was He slain by violent force; but He did so willingly. Listen to what He says: "I have power to lay down my soul, and I have power to take it again." I concede it to my enemies because I will it; for if I did not will it, it would not have happened. He came, therefore, of His own free choice to the passion, rejoicing in the noble work, smiling at the crown, delighted at the salvation of men; not ashamed of the cross, for He was saving the inhabited world. For He who was suffering was not a common man, but God made man, and competing for the prize of patience.
VII. But the Jews contradict, C always ready for contradiction and sluggish toward faith, such as
A for this reason the prophet now read says: "Lord, who has believed our report?" The Persians believe, and the Hebrews do not believe; "They shall see to whom it was not announced concerning him; and they who have not heard, shall understand; and those who ponder shall reject what they ponder." They speak against us, B and they say this: "Does the Lord truly suffer? For human hands were stronger than the Lordship." Read the Lamentations: for while lamenting you, Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations things worthy of lamentation. He saw your destruction; he contemplated the fall; he lamented the Jerusalem of that time: for that which now is will not be lamented. For that one crucified, but this one now worships Christ. Lamenting, therefore, he says: "Christ the Lord, the spirit of our face, was caught in our corruptions." Shall I then use subtle arguments? Behold, he testifies that Christ the Lord was caught by humans. And what will result from this? Tell me, O prophet. And he says: "Whose, we said, in his shadow we shall live among the nations." For he hints that the grace of life is to be lived no longer in Israel, but among the nations.
VIII. But since much contradiction is raised by them, come, helped by your prayers, as far as the brevity of time allows, let us bring forward a few testimonies concerning the passion, by the grace of the Lord: for all things concerning Christ are written; and nothing is doubtful; for nothing is without witness; C all things are written on prophetic columns; not on stone tablets, but clearly written by the Holy Spirit. Since, therefore, you have heard the Gospel relating things done by Judas, ought you not then to accept the testimony? You have heard that he was pierced in the side with a spear; ought you not to see if this also
A is written? You have heard that he was sold for thirty pieces of silver; ought you not to learn the prophet who said this? You have heard that he was given vinegar to drink; learn also where this is written. You have heard that the body was laid in a rock, and a stone was set over it; ought you not to receive this testimony also from the prophet? You have heard that he was crucified with robbers; ought you not to see if this also is written? You have heard that he was buried; ought you not to see if the things concerning the burial are recorded safely somewhere? You have heard that he rose again; ought you not to see if we are mocking you by teaching these things? For our word and our preaching are not in persuasive words of human wisdom. B No sophistic crafts are introduced now, since they are dissolved; words do not overcome words, since they are rendered powerless; but we preach Christ crucified, he who was already proclaimed beforehand by the prophets. But do you, having received the testimonies, seal them in your heart. And since they are many, and the time of the hour is already restricted to a little, hear now a few, as is possible, which have more weight. But having taken the starting points, become diligent, and search for those left behind. For let not your hand be stretched out only to receive, but also be ready C to work. God grants all things. For if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask from God who gives, and he shall receive. May He, in answer to your prayers, grant also to us who speak the ability to speak, and to you who hear the ability to believe.
IX. Let us therefore seek the testimonies concerning the passion of Christ; for we have come together not to produce a purely contemplative exposition of the Scriptures now, but rather to be confirmed in those things which we have believed.
A You have first received the testimonies concerning the presence of Jesus; and as for His walking upon the sea, it is written, *For in the sea is Thy way* (Ps. LXXVI, 20), [walking upon the sea as upon dry land], and you have elsewhere received testimony concerning various healings. I begin, therefore, from where the Passion began. Judas was the traitor, who came from the opposite side and stood, speaking peacefully while he was devising hostile things. The Psalmist says therefore concerning this: *My friends and my neighbors drew near against me and stood* (Ps. XXXVII, 12); and again: *Their words were smoother than oil, and yet they are javelins* (Ps. LIV, 22). Hail, Rabbi! B And he was delivering the Master to death. He did not blush at the reminder of Him who said: *Judas, betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?* (Luc. XXII, 48). For He was almost speaking to him with these words: "Remember thy own name; Judas denotes confession; thou hast agreed, thou hast received the money, confess quickly." *O God, keep not silence from my praise, because the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceitful one is opened upon me; they spoke against me with a deceitful tongue, and with words of hatred they compassed me about* (Ps. CVIII, 1-3). But that some even from the chief priests were present, and that the bonds were [applied] before the gates of the city, you have heard recently, if indeed you remember the explanation of the one who spoke of the time and the place of the Psalm, how *they returned at evening, and suffered hunger like dogs, and compassed the city* (Ps. LVIII, 7, 15).
C Hear also concerning the thirty pieces of silver. And I will say to them: *If it be good in your eyes, give me my price, or refuse it* (Zach. XI, 12), and what follows. Another price is owed to Me by you, namely for the healing of the blind and the lame; and what I receive instead is: for thanksgiving, dishonor; and for adoration, injury. Do you see how Scripture foresaw these future events? *And they weighed out My price, thirty pieces of silver* (Zach. XI, 12). O prophetic exactness! O the great understanding of the unerring holy Spirit! For He did not say ten, nor D twenty.
but thirty, precisely and strictly, as many as they were. Tell us also, O prophet, whither this price goes: does he who received it keep it, or is he to return it? And after he returns it, whither does it go? The prophet therefore says: *And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and I cast them into the house of the Lord, into the conflatorium* (Zach. XI, 13). Compare the Gospel with the prophecy. For Judas, it says, being led by repentance, and having cast down the silver in the temple, withdrew (Matth. XXVII, 5).
B XI. But here a solution to a seeming ambiguity is sought by me. For those who contemn the prophets say that the prophet declares: *And I cast them into the house of the Lord, into the conflatorium*; but the Gospel says: *They gave them for the potter's field* (Matth. XXVII, 7). Hear, therefore, how both speak the truth. For those supposedly religious Jews, the high priests of that time, seeing Judas repentant and saying, *I have sinned in betraying innocent blood* (Matth. XXVII, 4), they say: *What is that to us? See thou to it* (ibid. verse 4). Is it nothing to you who are crucifying Him? But the one who took and returned the price of slaughter shall see to it, and will you who are committing the slaughter not see to it? Then they say among themselves: *It is not lawful to cast them into the corbona (treasury), because it is the price of blood* (Matth. XXVII, 6). Out of your own mouth your condemnation proceeds; if the price is abominable, the deed is also abominable. But if you fulfill justice by crucifying Christ, why do you not accept the price? But the question sought is this: How do they not disagree, the Gospel saying one thing, the potter’s field, and the prophet another, the conflatorium? But not only do goldsmiths have a conflatorium, nor is a conflatorium reserved only to copper-smiths; but potters also have conflatoria for clay. C For by filtering the fine, rich, and useful part of the earth from the gravel, and separating away the abundance of the drossy material, they first fuse (conflant) the clay with water, so that they may set about the works to be fashioned from it without hindrance. Why, then, do you marvel if the Gospel spoke more openly of the potter's field, while the prophet proposed the prophecy in an enigma, since prophecy is for the most part hidden under an enigma?
XII. *They bound Jesus, and led Him away into the hall of the high priest* (Luc. XXII, 54). Do you wish to know and see that this also has been written? Isaiah says: Woe to their soul...
because they have A devised an evil counsel against themselves, saying: Let us bind the just, because he is displeasing to us (Isa. III, 9, 10). And truly, Woe to their soul; and let us see. Isaiah was indeed sawn asunder, and the people were healed after that. Jeremiah was cast into a miry pit, but the wound of the Jews was cured; for it was smaller, since it was regarding a man. But since the Jews sinned not against a man, but against God become man, Woe to their soul.—Let us bind the just. Would some say, could He not have freed Himself, He who loosed Lazarus from the bonds of death after four days, and delivered Peter from the iron chains of prison (Act. XII, 7)? Angels stood ready, saying: Let us burst their bonds (Psal. II, 3); but they are restrained, because the Lord willed to endure this. Again, He was led before the elders into judgment. You already have the testimony: The Lord Himself B will come into judgment with the elders of the people, and with the princes thereof (Isa. III, 14).
XIII. But the high priest, having asked and heard the truth, is indignant. And the minister of evils, an evil man, gives a blow; and that face, which had once shone as the sun (Matth. XVII, 2), endured to be struck by lawless hands. And others coming spit upon the face of Him who by spittle had healed the man born blind. Is this how you recompense the Lord? This is a foolish people, and not wise (Deut. XXXII, 6). And the prophet, struck with wonder, says: Lord, who hath believed our report? (Isa. LIII, 1). For the thing is incredible, that God, the Son of God, and the arm of the Lord, should endure these things. C But that those who are being saved might not disbelieve, the Holy Spirit foretells it from the person of Christ, who says (for He who was then speaking these things was also later present): I have given my back to the scourges (Isa. L, 6); for Pilate, when he had scourged Him, delivered Him to be crucified (Marc. XV, 15); and my cheeks to blows; and my face I have not turned away from the shame of spittings (Isa. L, 6); as if to say: Foreseeing that they were going to strike, I did not even slightly turn aside my cheek. For how was I to strengthen the disciples for death on account of the truth, if I myself were to fear this? I said: He that loveth his soul shall lose it (Joan. XII, 25); if I had been a lover of life, how could I teach, not doing what I taught? First, therefore, He Himself, being God, D endured to suffer these things from men, that we mortals
A hereafter, suffering such things for Him, might not be ashamed. You see that the prophets also clearly wrote these things beforehand. But we pass over many testimonies of the Scriptures because of the shortness of time, as I said before. For if anyone were to search out everything accurately, nothing of the events of Christ would be left without testimony.
XIV. Bound, He came from Caiaphas to Pilate. Is this also written? "And they bound Him and carried Him as a present to king Jarim." But one of those who are sharp listeners objects: Pilate was not a king (that we may for the present pass over the many B questions regarding this)! How, then, binding Him, did they carry Him as a present to the king? But read the Gospel: "Pilate, hearing that He was from Galilee, sent Him to Herod." Herod, however, was at that time king, and was present in Jerusalem. And look at the accuracy of the prophet: he says that He was sent as a gift. For Pilate and Herod became friends on that very day with one another; for they were previously in enmity. For it was fitting that He who was about to reconcile heaven and earth should first reconcile those very people who were condemning Him; for the Lord Himself was present, He who reconciles the hearts of the princes of the earth. Hold the C certain faith of the prophets, and the true testimony.
XV. Marvel at the Lord being judged. He endured to be led and brought by soldiers. Pilate sat judging, and He who sits on the right hand of the Father was standing, being judged. The people who were delivered by Him from the land of Egypt and from elsewhere many times, cried out against Him: "Take away, take away, crucify Him." For what reason, O Jews? Because He healed your blind? Or because He made your lame to walk, and provided the rest of D your benefits? So that the prophet, being amazed at this.
A dicat: "Upon whom have you opened your mouth, and upon whom have you let loose your tongue?" And the Lord Himself says in the prophets: "My heritage has become to Me as a lion in the forest; it has given forth its voice against Me: therefore I have hated it." It is not I who have rejected it, but they themselves who have rejected Me; therefore I consistently say: "I have forsaken My house."
XVI. When judged, He was silent, so that Pilate might suffer for His sake, and say: "Do you not hear what these men testify against you?" Not because he knew Him who was being judged, but because he feared the dream of his own wife B which had been sent to him. And Jesus was silent. The Psalmist says: "And I became as a man who does not hear, and who has no refutations in his mouth." And again: "But I, as a deaf man, did not hear, and as a mute, not opening his mouth." You have heard the things concerning this before, if you remember well.
XVII. But the soldiers, surrounding Him, mock Him; and the Lord becomes a laughingstock to them, and the Master is derided: "They saw Me, and C shook their heads." And the type of the kingdom is fulfilled; for they mock Him, yet they kneel. And they crucify Him, having first clothed Him in a purple robe, and they place a crown upon His head; for what is it, even if it is of thorns? Every king is proclaimed by soldiers; it was necessary that Jesus, too, should be crowned in a D type by soldiers; even as for this reason the Scripture says in the Canticles: "Go forth, and see, O daughters of Jerusalem, in king Solomon, in the crown with which His mother crowned Him." Yet there was also a mystery in that crown; for it was a dissolution of sins, a release from the sentence of condemnation.
XVIII. Adam received a condemnation: "Cursed is the ground in your works; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you." For this reason Jesus takes the thorns, that He may loose the condemnation; and for this reason He was buried in the earth, that the earth which had been cursed might, instead of a curse, receive the blessing. At the time of the sin, they covered themselves with fig leaves; for this reason Jesus also made the fig tree the end of His signs. For being about to go to His passion, He curses the fig tree; not every fig tree, but that one alone for the sake of the type, saying: "Let no one any longer eat fruit from you; let the condemnation be dissolved." And since at that time they covered themselves with fig leaves,
A at that time He came when food is not to be found. Who is ignorant that in the winter season the fig tree brings forth no fruit, but is merely covered with leaves? Did Jesus, though, not know that which everyone knew? But being aware, He came as if to seek; not ignorant that He would find nothing, but performing the type of the curse only as far as the leaves.
XIX. And since we have touched upon matters regarding Paradise, I truly admire the truth of the types. In Paradise was the fall, and in a garden was the salvation; from a tree was the sin, and even until the tree the sin. B In the evening the Lord was walking, and they hid themselves; and in the evening, by the Lord, the thief is introduced into Paradise. But someone will say to me: "You are inventing these things; show me the tree of the Cross from a prophet; if you do not provide me testimony from a prophet, I will not be persuaded." Hear therefore from Jeremiah, and be convinced. "I as an innocent lamb led to be sacrificed; I knew not?" (For so read it by way of interrogation, as I said. For He who says: "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is delivered up to be crucified;" did He not know?) "I as an innocent lamb led to be sacrificed; I knew not?" (What kind of lamb? Let John the Baptist interpret, saying: "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.") "Against me they devised a wicked plan, saying" (He who knows thoughts, did He not know the outcome? And what did they say?): "Come, and let us cast a tree into his bread." If the Lord deems you worthy, you shall know hereafter that His body, according to the Gospel, bore the type of bread. Come therefore, let us cast a tree into his bread, and let us destroy him from the land of the living; (Life is not destroyed, why do you labor in vain?) and let his name be remembered no more. C Vain is your plan: for before the sun His name in
A the Church endures. And that indeed it was Life that was suspended on the tree, Moses says, lamenting: "And your life shall be hanging before your eyes; and you shall fear day and night, and will not believe your life." And what was read just now: "Lord, who has believed our report?"
XX. Moses performed this type by crucifying the serpent, so that he who was bitten by the living serpent, and looking at the bronze serpent, might be saved, having believed. Then, does a crucified bronze serpent save, but the Son of God, having become flesh, when crucified, not save? Life is always through a tree. For in the time of Noah, salvation was through a wooden ark; and the sea, in the time of Moses, seeing the type of the rod, was struck with awe by the one who struck it. Then, does the rod of Moses have power, and the Cross of the Savior lack it? I omit many of the types for the sake of brevity. B The wood in the time of Moses made water sweet; and from the side of Jesus, water flowed on the wood.
XXI. The beginning of the signs in the time of Moses was blood and water, and the very last of all the signs of Jesus was the same. First, Moses turned the river into blood; and Jesus, at the end, brought forth water from His side with blood. Perhaps this was for two sayings, that of the one judging, and of those crying out; or for the believers and the unbelievers. For Pilate said, "I am innocent," and washed his hands with water; but those crying out said, "His blood be upon us." Thus the two came forth from the side: the water, perhaps, for the judge, and the blood for those crying out. C And again it should be understood in another way: to the Jews, the blood; to the Christians, the water; for to the former, as to plotters, the condemnation from the blood; but to you who now believe, the salvation through water. For nothing has happened in vain. Our explanatory Fathers also gave another cause for the matter. For since there is a certain double power of saving baptism in the Gospels—one given to those who are being enlightened through water, and a second D that on the account of the martyrs—the Savior accepted both, making the beginning of the witness with blood and water.
In the illumination A and in the times of martyrdom, it confirms the grace. There is also another reason regarding His side. Woman was the source of sin, she who was fashioned from the side; but Jesus, having come to grant pardon to men and women alike, had His side pierced for women, that He might undo the sin. B
XXII. And if anyone should inquire further, he will find other reasons. But let these things said suffice, both because of the shortness of time and to avoid burdening the hearing of the listeners. Yet one can never grow tired of hearing about the crowns C of the Lord, especially in this thrice-holy Golgotha. For others merely hear, but we both see and touch. Let no one grow weary. Take up the arms for the cross itself against the adversaries: set up the faith of the cross as a trophy against those who contradict. For when you are about to debate with unbelievers concerning the cross of Christ, first make the sign of the cross of Christ with your hand, and the one who contradicts will be silenced. Do not be ashamed to confess the cross; for the angels glory in it, saying: We know who you are seeking: Jesus the crucified. Could you not have said, O angel: I know whom you seek, my Lord? But, "I," he says with confidence, "know the crucified." For the cross is a crown, not an ignominy.
XXIII. But let us return to the demonstration proposed from the prophets. The Lord has been crucified; you have received the testimonies. You see the place of Golgotha. You cry out with acclamation as one who assents: see that you do not at some time deny it in a time of persecution. Let the cross not be a joy to you only in a time of peace: but have the same faith also in a time of persecution, lest you be a friend of Jesus in a time of peace and an enemy in a time of war. You are now receiving the remission of your sins, and the munificent gifts of the spiritual donative of your King: when war comes, fight valiantly for Him.
A Jesus was crucified for you, He who was sinless, and will you not be crucified for Him who was crucified for you? You are not giving a grace; for you have already received one. Rather, you are returning a grace, paying the debt to Him who was crucified on Golgotha for your sake. And Golgotha is translated "Place of a Skull." Who, then, were those who prophetically named this place Golgotha, where the true Head, Christ, underwent the cross? As the Apostle says: "Who is the image of the invisible God," and after a few words: "And He is the head of the body of the Church." And again: "The head of every man is Christ." And again: "Who is the head of all principality and power." The Head suffered in the place of the Skull. O great and prophetic title! It almost admonishes you by the name itself, saying: "Do not regard as a mere man Him who was crucified." He is the head of all principality and power. The Head that was crucified B is indeed the head of all power; yet it has the Father as its Head. For "the head of man is Christ, and the head of Christ is God."
XXIV. Christ, therefore, was crucified for our sake, He who was judged by night, when it was cold, and for this reason a fire of coals was placed nearby. He was crucified at the third hour. C But from the sixth hour there was darkness until the ninth; and from the ninth hour, light again. Is this also written? Let us inquire. Zechariah says: "And it shall be in that day, there shall not be light, and it shall be cold and frost for one day," (the cold, because of which Peter was warming himself,) "and that day shall be known to the Lord" (what then? Does He not know the other days? There are many days; but that day is the day of the Lord's patience, which the Lord made.) "And that day shall be known to the Lord; and it shall not be day, nor night." What is the enigma the prophet tells? That day is neither day, nor night. What then shall we call it? The Gospel interprets it, relating the matter. It was not day; for the sun did not shine from the east to the west as usual; but from the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness occurred in the middle of the day. Darkness was interposed; and God called the darkness night. For this reason it was neither day nor night. For the D full light was not there, for it to be called day; nor was the full darkness there, for it to be called night; but, after the...
nor were those who were with Him like the day of sorrow. For on the day of unleavened bread and the feast B their women were beating their breasts and weeping, while the apostles, having hidden themselves, were consumed with grief; thus, the prophecy is wondrous.
XXVI. But some one may say: Give me also another sign; what other certain indication is there of the event that took place? Jesus was crucified; He wore one tunic and one mantle. But the soldiers divided the mantle, having torn it into four parts; the tunic, however, was not torn, for it would have been of no use if torn; and over it C a lot was cast among the soldiers. They divide the mantle, they cast lots for the tunic: is even this written? The diligent psalmists of the Church know this, D who imitate the angelic hosts.
A And they who are counted worthy to sing at this holy Golgotha always celebrate God with praises, saying: "They divided my garments among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." And that lot was a casting of lots.
XXVII. Again, being judged under Pilate, he wore red: for there they put a scarlet cloak about him. Is this written also? Isaiah says: "Who is this that cometh from Edom? The redness of his garments is from Bosor" (what is this, that he wears red garments in dishonor? For Bosor has this sort of meaning among the Hebrews). "Why are thy garments red, and thy apparel as from one that treadeth in the winepress?" And he answers and says: "All the day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people." B
XXVIII. He stretched out his hands on the cross, that he might embrace the ends of the world; for this Golgotha is the center of the earth. This is not my word, but the Prophet’s, who says: "Thou hast wrought salvation in the midst of the earth." He who with his intelligible hands established the heaven stretched out human hands; and they were pierced with nails, that the humanity, which was nailed to the tree, which bore the sins of men, and which died, might have sin die with it, and we might rise in righteousness. For since by one man came death, and by one man came life; by one man, the Savior, who died of his own will. For remember what was said: "I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again."
XXIX. C But he indeed endured these things, having come for the salvation of all; but the people rendered him an evil recompense. Jesus says: "I thirst," he who brought forth waters for them out of the hard rock; and he seeks the fruits of the vine which he planted. But what is this vine? It is one that, according to nature, is from the holy fathers, but according to its own choice, is from Sodom ("For their vine is from Sodom, and their branch from Gomorrah"). To the Lord who thirsts, they bring vinegar, having filled a sponge and put it upon a reed; and they gave D
A me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Do you see the clarity of the prophets’ foretelling? But what is this gall they gave into my mouth? “They gave him,” it says, “wine mingled with myrrh”; and myrrh is gall-like and very bitter. Do you return these things to the Lord? Are these what you offer, O vine, to the Master? Rightly did Isaiah lament for you beforehand, saying: “A vineyard was made for my beloved on a horn, in a fertile place,” and not to mention everything, “I waited,” he says, “for it to bring forth grapes, I thirsted for it to give wine; but it brought forth thorns.” For you see the crown with which I am encircled. What then do I proclaim hereafter? “I will command the clouds not to rain rain upon it.” For the clouds, the prophets, have been taken up from them; and the prophets are now in the Church, as Paul says: “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge”; and again: “God has given in the Church first apostles, second prophets.” A prophet was Agabus, he who bound his own feet and hands.
XXX. Concerning the thieves who were crucified with him, it has been said: “And he was reckoned with the lawless.” And both were lawless before this, but one was so no longer. For the one was lawless unto the end, unyielding unto salvation, with hands indeed fastened, and striking with his tongue through blasphemies. The Jews, passing by, wagged their heads, mocking the crucified one, fulfilling what was written: “They saw me, they wagged their heads.” And he indeed blasphemed with them; but the other rebuked the one who was blaspheming; and there was for him an end of life and a beginning of correction, a yielding up of the soul and a seizing of salvation. And after that rebuke to the other, he says: “Remember me, O Lord; for to you my discourse is directed; leave this man, for the eyes of his understanding are blinded; but remember me. I do not say,” he continues, “'Remember my works,' for I fear them. Every man is disposed B toward his fellow-traveler; I travel with you toward the
A 60 death; remember me, your fellow-traveler. But I do not say, 'Now remember me,' but, 'When you come into your kingdom.'”
XXXI. What power has enlightened you, O robber? Who taught you to worship the despised and crucified one with you? O eternal light, which illuminates those lying in darkness! Therefore, he also rightly heard: *Confide* [Be of good courage]; not that your works deserve confidence, but because the King is present who shows you favor. The petition was for a remote time, but the grace is most swift: *Amen I say to you, this day you shall be with me in paradise*; since today you heard my voice, and did not harden your heart. Most swiftly I pronounced sentence against Adam, most B swiftly I grant you grace. To him it was said, “In whatever day you eat, you shall die the death”; but you today have obeyed the faith; today is salvation for you. He fell through the tree, and you are introduced into paradise through the tree. Do not fear the serpent; he will not cast you out, for he has fallen from the heavens. And I do not say to you, “Today you shall depart,” but, “Today you shall be with me.” Take courage, you shall not be cast out. Do not fear the flaming sword; it is abashed before the Lord. O great and ineffable grace! Not yet has Abraham C the faithful entered, and the robber enters; not yet Moses and the prophets, and the iniquitous robber enters. Paul also marveled before you, saying, “Where sin abounded, grace did superabound.” They who bore the heat of the day have not yet entered, and he who came at the eleventh hour has entered. Let no one murmur against the householder, for he says, “Friend, I do you no wrong. Do I not have the power to do what I wish with my own things?” The robber wishes to perform just works, but death prevents him; I do not wait for the work alone, but I have accepted the faith as well. I have come, who feed among the lilies; I have come D to feed in the gardens.
I have found the lost sheep; but I take it upon my shoulders. For he believes, since he himself also said: I have gone astray like a lost sheep. A Remember me, O Lord, when you come into your kingdom.
XXXII. Concerning this garden in the Canticles I previously sang to my bride, and I said these things to her: I entered my garden, my sister, my bride (and the place where he was crucified was a garden). And what do you take from there? I have gathered my myrrh, having drunk myrrh-mixed wine and vinegar; and having received these, he said: It is finished. For the mystery has been completed; the things that were written have been fulfilled; sins have been put away. For Christ B having come as a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands (that is, not of this world), nor by the blood of goats and calves; but by his own blood he entered once into the holy places, having found eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ash of a heifer sprinkling those who are defiled, hallows for the purification of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ? And again: Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter C into the holy places in the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is, his flesh. And because his flesh, the veil, was dishonored, for this reason the figurative veil of the temple was torn, as it is written: And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; for not even a little of it was left. For because the Master said, Behold, your house is left unto you desolate, the house was torn asunder.
XXXIII. The Savior endured these things, having made peace D through the blood of the cross for things in heaven and things on earth. For we were enemies of God because of sin, and God determined that the sinner must die. It was necessary, therefore, that one of two things should happen: that God, being consistent, should destroy all, or, being philanthropic, should annul the sentence.
A But observe the wisdom of God: He preserved both the truth of the sentence and the effectiveness of His philanthropy. Christ took our sins in His body upon the tree, that we, having died to sins through His death, might live to righteousness. He who was dying for us was not of little account; He was not a sentient sheep, He was not a mere man, He was not an angel only, but God become man. The wickedness of sinners was not so great as the righteousness of Him who was dying for us; we did not sin as much as He who laid down His life for us performed righteously—He who laid it down when He willed, and took it back again when He willed. And do you wish to know that He did not lay down His life by violence, nor did He deliver up His spirit reluctantly? He called out to the Father, saying: "Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit" (2); I commend it, so that I may take it back again. And having said these things, He gave up the spirit; but not for a long time, for quickly He rose again from the dead.
XXXIV. The sun failed because of the Sun of righteousness; rocks were rent because of the intelligible Rock; graves were opened and the dead rose because of Him who was free among the dead; He sent forth His prisoners from a pit that had no water. Do not, therefore, be ashamed of the Crucified, but be confident, and say also yourself: "He bears our sins and suffers for us, and by His stripe we are healed"; let us not be ungrateful to our Benefactor. And again: "For the wickedness of my people He was led to death; and I will give the wicked instead of His burial, and the rich for His death." For this reason Paul says clearly: "That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He has been raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."
XXXV. We seek, moreover, to know clearly where He was buried. Is the tomb made by hands? Does it rise above the earth after the manner of kings' tombs? Has the monument been made of joined stones? And what is set upon it? Tell us, O prophets, both the precision of the tomb, where it is placed, and where we shall seek Him. And they say: "Look into the solid rock, which you have hewn;" look and D
A see (2). You have in the Gospels: "In a tomb hewn out, which was cut from the rock." And what happens? What kind of opening did the tomb have? Again, another prophet says: "They have put my life to death in a pit, and have placed a stone over me" (3). The stone is the cornerstone, the elect, the precious one, placed deep within the rock for a little while; a stone of stumbling to the Jews, and salvation to those who believe. The wood of life was therefore planted in the earth, so that the cursed earth might partake of the blessing, and that the dead might be delivered.
XXXVI. Let us not, therefore, be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Let the seal be made by the fingers upon the forehead with boldness, and over everything: let it be upon the bread we eat, and the cups we drink; in our comings in and goings out; before sleep, when we lie down and when we rise; when we are walking and when we are resting. Great is that safeguard; it is free, for the sake of the poor; it requires no labor, for the sake of the weak; since it is a grace from God, a sign for the faithful and a terror to demons. For He triumphed over them in it, B making a show of them openly. For when they see the cross, they are reminded of the Crucified; they fear Him who crushed the heads of the dragon. Do not despise the seal because it is given free; rather, for that very reason, honor your Benefactor more.
XXXVII. And if ever you fall into a debate, and lack the words of proof, let faith remain unshaken within you. Or rather, by becoming well-learned, put the Jews to silence from the prophets, and the Greeks from their own fables. They worship even those struck by lightning; but lightning coming from the heavens does not fall without judgment. If they are not ashamed to worship those C struck by lightning who were hateful to God, will you be ashamed to worship the God-beloved and Son of God, who was crucified for your sake? I am ashamed to mention the vices of their so-called gods, and I pass them over because of the shortness of the hour; but let those who know, speak. Let all heretics also be put to silence. If any man says (5) that the cross is a matter of opinion, turn away; hate those who say that He was crucified in phantasy. For if He was crucified in phantasy, from the cross D comes the salvation; and if the salvation is a phantasy, then...
the resurrection is also a phantasy. But if Christ has not been raised, we are still in our sins. If the cross is a phantasy, the ascension is also a phantasy; and if the ascension is a phantasy, then the second coming is also a phantasy, and everything thereafter has no foundation.
A XXXVIII. Take, therefore, first the cross as an unshakable foundation, and build upon it the rest of the faith. Do not deny the Crucified; for if you deny Him, you have many who will convict you. Judas will convict you first, the traitor; for he who betrayed Him knows that He was condemned to death by the chief priests and elders. The thirty pieces of silver testify; Gethsemane, where the betrayal took place, testifies. I do not even mention the Mount of Olives, on which they were praying, being present in the night. The moon which shone in the night testifies; the day testifies, and the sun which failed; for it could not bear to look upon the transgression B of those who plotted against Him. The fire will convict you, by which Peter stood and warmed himself; if you deny the cross, the eternal fire will await you; I speak severely, so that you may not experience severe things. Remember the swords that came upon Him in Gethsemane, so that you may not suffer the eternal sword. The house of Caiaphas will convict you, demonstrating by its present desolation the power of the One who was judged there at that time. Caiaphas himself will rise up against you in the day of judgment; the servant who gave the blow to Jesus will also rise up against you, C and those who bound Him, and those who led Him away. Herod and Pilate will also rise up against you, saying as it were: "Why do you deny Him who was accused before us by the Jews, whom we ourselves knew had committed no sin? For I, Pilate, washed my hands at that time." The false witnesses will stand against you; and the soldiers who wrapped Him in the purple garment, and placed the crown of thorns upon Him.
and cast lots for His tunic, will prove you guilty. Simon the Cyrenian will prove you guilty, who carried the cross behind Jesus.
B XXXIX. Let the heavens prove you guilty, for the sun suffered an eclipse; let earthly things prove you, the wine mingled with myrrh; let the reeds, the reed itself; let the herbs, the hyssop; let things of the sea, the sponge; let the trees, the wood of the cross. The soldiers, as has been said, who fastened Him with nails, and cast lots for His garments; the soldier who opened His side with a lance; the women who were present at that time; the veil of the temple which was then rent; the Praetorium of Pilate, which by the power of Him who was then crucified is now desolate; this holy Golgotha, which rises high and remains visible to this day, and shows even now how the rocks were then rent on account of Christ; C the tomb nearby, where He was laid; and the stone which was placed at the door, which lies near the tomb to this day; the angels who were then present; the women who offered worship after the resurrection; Peter and John, who ran to the tomb; and Thomas, who put his hand to His side and his fingers into the prints of the nails. For that man carefully touched them for our sake; and that which you, who were not present then, would have sought, he being present sought on our behalf by a divine dispensation.
XL. You have twelve apostles as witnesses of the cross; and the whole inhabited world, and the world of mankind believing in the Crucified. This very fact, that you are present here now, D let it persuade you to believe in the Crucified, who suffered for the salvation of the whole world of those who are being saved.
A For who has gathered you now? What soldiers? By what chains have you been constrained? What judicial sentence has now pressed upon you? But the salutary trophy of Jesus, the Cross, has gathered everyone together. This has brought the Persians into subjection and has tamed the Scythians; this has bestowed upon the Egyptians, in place of cats and dogs and manifold error, the knowledge of God; this, to this very day, heals diseases; this, to this very day, drives away demons and overthrows the impostures of drugs and incantations.
XLI. This is the sign that shall appear with Jesus from heaven. B For the trophy of the King shall go before Him; so that, seeing the One whom they pierced, and recognizing from the Cross the One whom they treated with ignominy, the Jews may repent—though they shall lament tribe by tribe, for they shall repent at that time when there is no longer a time of repentance for them—but we shall boast, exulting in the Cross, worshipping the Lord who was sent and who was crucified for us, worshipping also the Father who sent Him, God, with the Holy Spirit, C to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
CATECHESIS XIV
On the Resurrection of Christ, His Ascension into the heavens, and His sitting at the right hand of the Father.
PREFACE
I. The author joins these three decrees of the Creed in one address, and confirms them against the Jews and the heretics by the authority of the Scriptures; yet, touching but lightly in the end upon the two final articles, he seems to consume almost the entire catechesis in proving the resurrection and explaining its circumstances.
II. And first, having exhorted them to seize the joy of the resurrection of the dead Christ (n. 1), he proposes all its circumstances to be proved by Scriptures (n. 2). Afterward, having brought forward certain testimonies concerning the burial, he gathers many things concerning the resurrection which declare both its time and place (n. 3); the place, indeed, which was both a garden and a cave, and which was even later called by the prophets by a name proper to his martyrdom; the time, truly, which was both in the morning and at the spring season of the year, in which the world itself was created. Then he discourses about the women, and specifically Mary Magdalene, carrying spices to anoint him and carefully seeking him who was alive again (n. 11): he compares the strength of their faith with the foolish counsel of the Jews, who were attempting to hide the resurrection of Christ. Then, from domestic witnesses, he proves to the Jews the truth of the resurrection, and from their own Scriptures—and especially from the example of Jonah—persuades them that it was neither impossible nor difficult for God (n. 15). On that occasion, he commemorates Christ’s descent into the underworld and the benefit bestowed upon all the saints detained there. Finally, as to the Manichaeans, who assert that the resurrection consists only in opinion, he overcomes them by its truth drawn from the New Testament and a dense gathering of testimonies of all kinds, and especially by the visible monuments of it in Jerusalem.
III. Hence he passes over to the article concerning the ascension (n. 24): having explained this in the synaxis on the previous day, which was the Lord’s day, he felt it sufficient to recall to the minds of the hearers some places and examples of Scripture by which he had asserted it.
IV. A few things also concerning the Son’s sitting at the right hand of the Father he adds on account of the shortness of time (n. 27), constructing this from various Scriptures: and repeating this above all, that this prerogative of sitting was not given to Christ in time after the ascension, but belongs to him from all eternity. These things having been set forth, he brings the discourse to an end with a fortunate wish and a brief exhortation (n. 30).
V. Here, most especially, should be noted what he hands down concerning the ornaments of the holy Sepulcher and the church of the Resurrection: concerning James, the first bishop of Jerusalem, and his Hebrew successors: concerning Paul’s rapture into the third heaven and into paradise.
VI. This catechesis was delivered in the month Xanthicus, at its beginning, a few days after the vernal equinox (n. 10), on the second feria, or day of the Moon (from n. 24), but of which week it is not easy to divine. He says in n. 24 that he had disputed on the preceding day in the synaxis of the Lord’s day concerning the Ascension of the Lord, taking the argument from the reading appointed for that day according to the order of the year; yet it is not known from any monuments from what book of the Scripture it was taken, nor what order of readings was observed in the Church of Jerusalem in the times of Cyril. Zacagni produced the work of Euthalius Sulcensis on the Epistles of St. Paul, in which he assigns the beginning of the reading for the fifth Sunday of Lent to verse 11, chapter IX of the Epistle to the Hebrews: *Christ being come an high priest*, etc., page 680, column 1; which reading the Greeks, just like the Latin Church, read on that day even now. The same person also produced another very ancient lectionary of the Church of Alexandria, in which the reading for the same Sunday is assigned to verse 19, chapter X: *Having therefore, brethren, boldness*, etc. Both could have provided a convenient opportunity for Cyril to discourse on the ascension, since it concerns Christ’s entry into the heavens; but nothing certain can be determined about this matter. We do not doubt that this catechesis was delivered either on the second feria after Palm Sunday, or after the Sunday of the Passion: if the catecheses were delivered in the year 348, this was not pronounced on the second feria after the fifth Sunday, which in that year fell on the twentieth of March, before the equinox and the month Xanthicus; if they were delivered in the year 347, the Sunday of the Passion was March 29, and everything fully coheres; if in the year 345, the same Sunday was March 24, but not in the month Xanthicus. We discuss these things more fully in the second Dissertation.
VII. This oration has been emended by us according to the manuscript codices of the Ottobonian, Coislinian, Royal, Roe, and Casaubon libraries.
CATECHESIS XIV. OF THE ILLUMINANDI
Delivered at Jerusalem, extemporaneously, on the clause: "And He rose again from the dead on the third day; and ascended into the heavens, and sat down at the right hand of the Father." Lesson from the First Epistle to the Corinthians: "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you," etc. "That He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures," and what follows.
A I. Rejoice, Jerusalem, and keep festival, all you who love Jesus; for He is risen. Rejoice, all you who formerly mourned, having heard of the daring deeds and transgressions of the Jews; for He who was insulted by them in these places has been raised back to life again. And just as the hearing concerning the cross brought a certain sadness, so let the good tidings concerning the resurrection gladden those who are present. Let mourning be turned into joy, and wailing into gladness; and let our mouth be filled with joy and gladness, because of Him who, after the resurrection, said: "Rejoice." For I know the sadness of the lovers of Christ during the past days; since, as our discourse had ended with the death and burial, and had not yet announced the resurrection, the mind was held in suspense, longing to hear that which it desired. He has risen, therefore, that Dead One, who is free among the dead, and the liberator of the dead; He who, for the sake of reproach, was crowned B with the crown of thorns through patience, He, having risen, has bound about Himself the diadem of victory over death.
II. But just as we set forth the testimonies concerning His cross, come, let us also now confirm our faith with proofs concerning the resurrection; since the Apostle who is before us says: "He was buried, and He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." Since, therefore, the Apostle sends us back to the testimonies of the Scriptures, it is good for us to recognize the hope of our salvation; and to learn first whether the divine Scriptures announce to us the certain time of His resurrection—whether it happens in summer, or in autumn, or after winter—and from what places the Savior has risen, and what is the name of the place of the resurrection proclaimed among the wonderful prophets, and if the women who C
sought Him and did not find Him, yet finding Him again, rejoice, so that when the Gospels are read, the accounts of the holy Gospels might not be considered myths or rhapsodies A or inept collages of events.
III. That the Savior, therefore, was buried, you have clearly heard in the previous sermon, with Isaiah saying: *His burial shall be in peace*; for by His burial He brought peace to heaven and earth, bringing sinners to God; and, *From the face of iniquity the righteous is taken away*; and, *His burial shall be in peace*; and, *I will give the wicked in place of His burial*. And the prophecy of Jacob says in the Scriptures: *He couched and lay down as a lion, and as a whelp; who shall rouse him up?* And a testimony similar to this in Numbers: *He lay down, he couched as a lion, and as a whelp*. You have also heard often the Psalm saying: *And Thou hast brought me into the dust of death*. We have indeed noted the place in this statement: *Look to the rock which you have hewn*; B and next we shall subjoin the testimonies concerning His very resurrection.
IV. First, therefore, he says in the eleventh Psalm: *For the misery of the needy and the sighing of the poor, now will I arise, saith the Lord*. But this testimony remains among some still in doubt; for often He also rises up in wrath to take vengeance upon enemies. Come, therefore, to the fifteenth Psalm, which says clearly: *Preserve me, O Lord, for I have hoped in Thee*; and after this: *I will not assemble their assemblies with blood, nor will I make mention of their names with my lips*, since, rejecting me, they inscribed Caesar as their own king; and in what follows: *I foresaw the Lord always before my face, that He is at my right hand, that I should not be moved*. And after a little: *Yea, even until night my reins have instructed me*. And after this, most manifestsly he says: C *For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to hell, neither wilt Thou give Thy Holy One to see corruption*. He did not say, "neither wilt Thou give Thy Holy One to see death," otherwise He would not have died; but, corruption, he says, I do not see, but in death I shall not remain. Thou hast made known to me the paths of life.
Behold, clearly after death life is proclaimed. Come also to the twenty-ninth Psalm: A "I will exalt Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast taken me up, and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me." What has happened? Hast Thou been delivered from enemies, or, being about to be smitten, hast Thou been released? He Himself says most clearly: "O Lord, Thou hast brought up my soul from Hades." There, he says, "Thou shalt not leave," prophetically; here, however, he speaks of what is to happen as if it had happened, for "Thou hast brought up. Thou hast saved me from those who go down into the pit." At what time will that which is to be happen? "In the evening weeping shall tarry, and in the morning, gladness." For late was the mourning of the disciples; but in the morning, the joy of the resurrection.
V. Do you wish to know also the place? He says again in the Canticles: "I went down into the garden of the nut-tree," B for it was a garden where He was crucified. For even if it has now been adorned most of all by imperial gifts, it was a garden before, and its symbols remain, and its traces. "A garden enclosed, a fountain sealed," by the Jews who said, "We remember, that that deceiver said, while He was yet alive, 'After three days I will rise again': command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure," and so forth. But they, having gone, made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone with the guard. Against whom, one having well directed his address, said: "And in rest Thou shalt judge them." But who is the sealed fountain, or who is interpreted as the fountain of the well of living water? He Himself is the Saviour, of whom it is written: "For with Thee is the fountain of life."
VI. But what does Sophonias say to the disciples in the person of Christ? "Prepare thyself, arise early; C all the grape-gleaning of them is destroyed"; of the Jews, clearly, among whom there is no cluster of salvation left, but
A even the grape-gleaning is cut off; for their vine is destroyed. Observe how He speaks to the disciples: "Prepare thyself, arise early; at early dawn look for the resurrection." And afterward, according to the same sequence of the Scripture, He says: "Therefore await me, saith the Lord, for the day of my resurrection into a testimony." You see that the prophet also foresaw the place of the resurrection, that it would be called the "Martyrium." For by what reasoning is this place of Golgotha and of the resurrection called not an "ecclesia" or church, after the manner of the other churches, but a "Martyrium"? But perhaps it is on account of the prophet who said: "Into the day of my resurrection into a testimony."
VII. And who is this person, and what is the sign of him who rises again? Clearly, in what follows, in the same sequence of the prophet, he says: "For then I will turn to the peoples a language"; because, after the resurrection, the Holy Spirit having been sent, the gift of tongues was given, so that they might serve the Lord under one yoke. And what other symbol is set forth in the same prophet, of serving the Lord under one yoke? "From the ends of the rivers of Ethiopia they shall bring me sacrifices." You know what is written in the Acts, when the Ethiopian eunuch came from the ends of the rivers of Ethiopia. When, therefore, the Scriptures declare the circumstance of the time, and the proper characters of the place, and the signs which followed the resurrection, then firmly grasp the faith of the resurrection, and let no one unsettle you from confessing that Christ has been raised from the dead.
VIII. Receive also another testimony in the eighty-seventh Psalm, Christ speaking in the prophets—for He Himself who was then speaking, B afterward was present:
A “O Lord, the God of my salvation, I have cried by day and in the night before Thee,” and after a little: “I was counted with them that go down into the pit; I was made as a man without help, free among the dead.” He did not say, “I was made a man without help,” but “as a man without help.” For He was crucified not out of weakness, but voluntarily; and His death did not proceed from an involuntary infirmity. “I was counted with them that go down into the pit.” And what is the sign? “Thou hast put mine acquaintance far from me” (for the disciples have fled). “Wilt Thou work wonders to the dead?” then after a little: “And I, O Lord, have cried unto Thee, and in the morning shall my prayer prevent Thee.” Do you see how they declare both the timing of the hour, and of the passion, and of the resurrection?
IX. And from whence is the Savior raised? He says in the Song of Songs: “Arise, come, my neighbor”; and in what follows: “In the shelter of the rock.” B By the shelter of the rock He meant the shelter that was then before the door of the Savior’s tomb, and which had been hollowed out from the rock itself, as was customary to be done there before the tombs. For now it is not visible, because, for the sake of the present embellishment, the outer shelter was long ago removed; for before this monument of royal magnificence was constructed, there was a shelter before the rock. But where is the rock that has the shelter? Does it lie about the middle of the city, or about the walls and the outskirts? And is it within the ancient walls or in the later outer defenses? He says, therefore, in the Songs: “In the shelter C of the rock, near the outer wall.”
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X. At what time does the Savior rise? Is it at the time of summer or another? In the same Canticles, immediately before those things which have just now been read, he says: “Winter is past, the rain is past for itself, and has gone; the flowers have appeared on the earth; the time of pruning has arrived.” Is not the earth now full of flowers, and are they not pruning the vines? You see how he has spoken of winter as now having passed. For as this month of Xanthicus is present, spring is now here. And this is the time, the first month among the Hebrews, in which the feast of the Passover is celebrated, typological and figurative formerly, but now the true one. This is the time of the creation of the world: for then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass, yielding seed according to its kind and according to likeness,” B and now, as you see, every herb now yields seed. And just as then God, having made the sun and the moon, granted to them equinoctial courses; so also it was the season of the equinox a few days ago. Then God said, “Let us make man according to our image and likeness.” And indeed, he received the “according to image,” but the “according to likeness,” because C of the Second breathing, this—since the first was obscured through voluntary sins—was conferred by the breathing of the Holy Spirit. For, dealing in Catechesis 17, n. 12, with the grace of the Holy Spirit given by Christ to the apostles after the resurrection by breathing upon them, he says that this second breathing was done because the prior one had been obscured by voluntary sins. Where you see him using the same words concerning the obscuration of the breathing by which he expresses here the obscuration of the likeness. D
The same circumstance of time, therefore, in which he lost it, is the same in which the restoration occurred. When the created man, through disobedience, was cast out of paradise, at that same time he who believed, through obedience, was brought in. Thus, salvation occurred at the time when the lapse occurred—when the flowers were seen, and the time of pruning had arrived.
XI. The garden was the place of the burial, and the vine that was planted there; *I am the vine*, he said. It was planted, B therefore, in the earth, so that the curse which had come to pass because of Adam might be rooted out. The earth had been condemned to [bring forth] thorns and thistles; from the earth sprang forth the true vine, that the saying might be fulfilled: *Truth has sprung from the earth, and justice has looked down from heaven.* And what is he who is buried in the garden about to say? *I have gathered my myrrh with my spices*; and again, *Myrrh and aloes with all the chief spices.* These are symbols of the burial; and it is said in the Gospels: C *The women came to the monument, carrying the spices which they had prepared*, and Nicodemus *bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes.* Consequently, it is written: *I ate my bread with my honey*; the bitter before the passion, and the sweet after the resurrection. Then, having risen, he entered through closed doors; but they were unbelieving, for they thought they saw a spirit. But he says, *Handle me and see; cast your fingers into the mark of the nails*, as he sought—
A Thomas. And while they were still disbelieving for joy, and marvelling, he said to them: "Have you here anything to eat?" And they gave him part of a broiled fish, and a honeycomb. You see how that which is written is fulfilled: "I have eaten my bread with my honey."
XII. But before he entered through the doors when they were shut B, the Bridegroom and healer of souls was sought by those excellent and courageous women. These blessed ones came to the sepulchre, and were seeking him who had already risen; and tears were still flowing from their eyes, when they ought rather to have rejoiced and danced for the Risen One. Mary came seeking, as it is in the Gospel, and she did not find him; and after these things she heard from the angels, and later C she saw Christ. Are these things also written? It says, therefore, in the Song of Songs: "On my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth." At what time? "On my bed in the nights I sought him whom my soul loveth" (Mary, it says, came while it was still dark). "On my bed I sought him in the nights; I sought him, and I did not find him." And in the Gospels, Mary says: "They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him." But the angels, being present then, dispel her ignorance; for they said: "Why seek ye the living among the dead?" He not only rose, but he rose having the dead with him. She, however, did not know, and she spoke D out of her own person the Song of Songs toward the angels: "Have you seen him whom my soul loveth?" A little, when I had passed from them (that is, from the two angels), until I found him whom my soul loveth; I held him, and I did not let him go.
XIII. For after the vision of the angels, Jesus himself came, announcing himself, and the Gospel says: "And behold, Jesus met them, saying, Rejoice." But they, coming up, took hold of his feet. They took hold of him, that that might be fulfilled: "I will hold him and I will not let him go." Weak indeed was the woman's body, but valiant was the mind. Much water did not quench love, nor did rivers wash it away.
A The one who was sought was dead, yet the hope of the resurrection was not quenched. And the angel again says to them: "Do not be afraid, you." I do not say to the soldiers, "Do not be afraid," but to you. Let them be afraid, that having learned by experience they may bear witness and say: "Truly he was the Son of God"; but as for you, you need not fear, for perfect love casts out fear. Go, tell his disciples that he has risen, and what follows. And they withdraw with joy, filled with fear. Does this also stand written? The second psalm, which proclaims the passion of Christ, says: "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice in him with trembling." Rejoice, indeed, because of the Lord who has risen; but in trembling because of the earthquake and the angel who appeared like lightning.
XIV. The chief priests and Pharisees did, then, seal the tomb through B Pilate, but the women saw Him who had risen. And Isaiah, knowing the worthlessness of the chief priests and the firm faith of the women, says: "Women coming from the vision, come: for it is not a people having understanding." The chief priests are without understanding, but the women see with their own eyes. And when the soldiers had come to them into the city, and had reported all that had happened, they said to them: "Say that his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were sleeping." Well, then, did Isaiah also predict this as if from them: "But say to us, and announce to us another error." He who was dead has risen, and by giving money they persuade the soldiers; C but they do not persuade the sovereigns of today. The soldiers of that time betrayed the truth for money, but the sovereigns of today, for the sake of piety, have adorned with silver and gold this holy church in which we are present, commemorating the Resurrection of the Savior God. [alt-version omitted] D
And if this be heard by the governor, we shall persuade him. But if you persuade those, yet fail to persuade the inhabited world, why is that? For just as when Peter came out of the prison the guards were condemned, how is it that those who were guarding Jesus Christ were not condemned? But upon those, the condemnation fell from Herod, for they could find no excuse on the grounds of ignorance; these men, however, having seen the truth and hiding it for the sake of money, were protected by the chief priests. But few of the Jews were persuaded at that time, yet the world obeyed. Those who hid the truth were themselves hidden, and those who received it appeared, B by the power of the Savior, who not only rose from the dead but also raised the dead with himself; in whose person the prophet Hosea clearly says: He will restore us to health after two days; on the third day we shall rise again, and we shall live in his sight.
XV. Since, however, the divine Scriptures do not persuade the disobedient Jews, and they, forgetting all that is written, contradict the resurrection of Jesus, it would be well to address them thus: By what reasoning, while you claim that Elisha and Elijah raised the dead, do you contradict the resurrection of our Savior? Is it because we have now no living witnesses of the things that happened then? But you, too, produce witnesses of the events of that time! C Yet that is written? And this also is written. Why then do you accept the one, but reject the other? The Hebrews wrote those things; and all the apostles were Hebrews. Why then do you disbelieve the Jews? Matthew, who wrote the Gospel, wrote it in the Hebrew language; and Paul, the preacher, was a Hebrew of the Hebrews; and the twelve apostles were of the Hebrews. Then fifteen bishops of Jerusalem, of the Hebrews, were established in continuous succession. By what reasoning, therefore, do you accept D the one, but reject our own, and this even though it is written by the Hebrews among you?
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XVI. But, someone may say, it is impossible for the dead to rise. And yet Elisha raised the dead twice, once while living and once after he had died. Are we then to believe that a corpse, having been thrown in and touching the dead Elisha, rose again, and yet that Christ has not been raised from the dead? But in the case of Elisha, the dead man who touched him arose, while the one who had raised him remained dead just the same. Here, however, both our dead One has risen, and many dead who did not even touch Him have risen. For many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose, and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city—it is clear that this refers to the one in which we now are—and appeared to many. Elisha, then, raised a dead man, but he did not subdue the world; Elijah raised a dead man, but demons are not cast out in the name of Elijah. We do not speak ill of the prophets, but we praise their Master more highly. For we do not slander those to exalt our own; for those are also our own. Rather, we confirm our own by means of what is written by them. B
XVII. But again they say: "The dead man who had died recently was indeed raised by the living man; but show us that it is possible for a dead man of three days to rise, and that a man who has been buried can rise again after three days." To those who seek testimony about such matters, the Lord Jesus Himself provides this in the Gospels, saying: "For just as Jonah was in the belly of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights." Now, when we diligently examine the history of Jonah, there is a great power and efficacy in the resemblance. Jesus was sent to preach repentance, and Jonah was sent. But the one fled, ignorant of what was to come, whereas the other came voluntarily to grant repentance for salvation. Jonah was sleeping in the ship and snoring while the sea was being tossed by a storm; while Jesus was also sleeping, the sea was stirred up by divine dispensation, so that the power of the One sleeping might be known afterwards. To that one they said: "Why do you snore? Arise, call upon your God, that God may save us." Here, however, they say to the Lord: "Lord, save us." C D
A And there, indeed, he says: "Take me up and throw me into the sea, and the sea shall be calm for you." Here, however, he himself rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And that one was cast into the belly of a whale: this one descended voluntarily into where the intelligible whale of death was. He descended voluntarily, that he might vomit forth those who had been swallowed by death, according to that which is written: "I will redeem them from the hand of Hades, and from the hand of death I will ransom them."
XVIII. Having arrived at this part of the discourse, let us consider which is more difficult: for a man buried in the earth to rise again, or for a man in the belly of a whale, and cast into such great heat of the living animal, not to be dissolved and suffer corruption? Who among men is ignorant that there is such great heat in the bellies, that even bones, when swallowed, are dissolved? How then did Jonah, having remained B in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, not suffer corruption or decay? And further, since it is the nature of all men, without this respiration in the air, not to be able to live, how did he live for three days without breathing this air? But the Jews answer and say: "The power of God descended with Jonah as he was being tossed about in Hades." Then, if the Lord sends down his power to his servant, and grants him life, is he not able to grant it to himself? If that is credible, then this is also credible; if this is incredible, then that is also incredible; but to me both are equally credible. For I believe that Jonah was also preserved; for "all things are possible with God." I believe that Christ also has risen from the dead; for I have C many testimonies concerning this, both from the divine Scriptures and from the efficacy of him who rose, even to this day—who indeed descended alone into Hades, but returned thence accompanied by many. For he descended into death, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised through him.
XIX. Death was terrified, having caught sight of a new one descending into Hades, not held by the bonds of that place. For what reason, O gatekeepers of Hades, did you tremble when you saw him? What unusual fear took possession of you? Death fled, and that flight proved his cowardice. The holy prophets ran to him, and Moses the lawgiver, and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob; David also and Samuel, and Isaiah and John the Baptist, who says D and testifies: "Are you he who comes..."
or do we look for another?" All the just whom death had swallowed were being redeemed; for it was necessary that the King who had been proclaimed should become the redeemer of these excellent heralds. Then each of the just said: "O death, where is your victory? O grave, where is your sting?" A For the author of victory had delivered us.
XX. The prophet Jonah, praying from the belly of the whale and saying, "I cried in my affliction," and so forth, "out of the belly of the grave," bore the figure of this our Savior. And yet he was in the whale; but while being in the whale, he says that he is in the grave, for he was a figure of Christ, who was about to descend into the grave. And after a little, he says in the person of Christ, prophesying most clearly: B "My head went down to the clefts of the mountains." And yet he was in the belly of the whale; what mountains, then, hold you? "But I know," he says, "that I bear the figure of Him who is about to be placed in the rock-hewn sepulcher." And Jonah, while in the sea, says: "I went down to the earth," since he bore the figure of Christ who "descended into the heart of the earth." And foreseeing concerning the Jews, who were persuading the soldiers to lie, and saying, "Say that they stole him," he says: "Watching after vain and false things, they abandoned their own mercy." For He who was showing them mercy came, and was crucified, and rose, having given His own precious blood for the Jews and for the nations; but they say, "Say that they stole him," watching after vain and false things. C And concerning His resurrection, Isaiah also says: "He who brought up from the earth the great shepherd of the sheep"; he added "the great," so that He might not be thought to be of equal honor to the preceding shepherds.
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XXI. Since, therefore, we have the prophecies, let our faith stand firm. Let those who fall, fall through unbelief if they so choose; but you have stood firm upon the rock of the faith regarding the resurrection: do not let any heretic at any time persuade you to slander the resurrection. For to this very day the Manichaeans say that the resurrection of the Savior was phantasmal and not true, ignoring Paul, who writes: "Who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh," and again, continuing, says: "From the resurrection of the dead of Jesus Christ our Lord." And again he extends [the argument] toward them and says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who shall ascend into heaven?' or 'Who shall descend into the abyss?'—that is, to bring up Christ from the dead." B And similarly, protecting us elsewhere, he wrote again: "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead." And again: "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain. We are found even to be false witnesses of God, because we have testified against God, that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up." But he continues: "But now Christ has risen from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. And He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. For if you do not believe the one witness, you have twelve witnesses." Then He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at once. If they do not believe the twelve, let them accept the five hundred. Then He appeared to James, His own brother, and the first bishop of this parish C (or city) (1). Since, therefore, such...
[Notes section] (1) *Paroecia* is a term derived from dwelling together, used in various ways by ecclesiastical authors. It was sometimes given to a huge tract of territory, such as all of Italy and Gaul, by Basil, epistle 70, p. 113. Commonly, it is attributed to the bishoprics of cities, in which nearby small towns and villages are included. Thus the Apostolic Constitutions, book II, ch. 1, VI, ch. 46; Eusebius, book 1 of the History, ch. 1, and then throughout, as Basil, epistle 75, p. and 220. Sometimes [it refers] even to villages and towns deprived of their own bishop, as was the Mareotic *paroecia* in Athanasius, *Apol. cont. Arian.*, no. 76. Cyril here has understood either the city of Jerusalem alone, or has joined to it the cities and villages which were many in the Jerusalem bishopric, as is approved by other monuments and also *cat.* 17, no. He mentions the Jerusalem *paroecia* again in *cat.* 16, no. 22, and from a comparison of that location with another similar one in *cat.* 6, no. 3, it is evident that there he signified by the name of *paroecia* the city alone, with nothing else added. But here, in whatever way you understand *paroecia*, it matters nothing, and by the name of "city" you shall have fittingly rendered the word *paroecia*. It should be noted that whether in this place where Cyril most highly extols the authority and dignity of the holy James, or in *cat.* 4, no. 28, the episcopal dignity alone is attributed to him, and never the apostolic: indeed, he seems on both occasions to separate him from the apostles.
(2) "Who shall ascend into heaven," etc. [These words] I have written from the Coislin and Regius codices. In the edited versions, "etc." is held. D
(3) "Remember," etc. Reg. "Remember," is held in the context of the Apostle speaking only to Timothy. But the same Reg. and Coisl. codices place this passage higher, at line 10, after "our Lord," adding at the beginning these words, "and also," and at the end after "from the dead," they add the subsequent words of the Apostle: "of the seed of David, according to my gospel." For the expression "our faith," it is held in the Roe and Casaubon codices as "your faith," as in the Greek and Latin text of the New Testament. But many copies also carry "our," among others Rufinus in the *Exposition of the Symbol* regarding the article of the resurrection of the flesh, reads "our faith."
(4) "To the twelve." I have written "twelve" from the Coisl., Ottob., Reg., Roe, and Casaubon codices, in accordance with the Greek text of the Apostle; for the Vulgate translation reports "eleven," with which many manuscript codices of the Bible and several citations of the holy Fathers agree. But that Cyril read "twelve," the following words prove, in which he openly recounts these very things: "To the twelve who were unbelieving," etc., and those in *cat.* 4, no. 12: "The witnesses of His resurrection are the twelve disciples."
A Since such a bishop 1 principally saw the resurrected Christ Jesus, you who are his disciple 87 must not deny the faith. But you will say perhaps that James the brother testified for favor's sake. Then, he was seen also by me, Paul, the enemy 88. But what testimony from an enemy who proclaims is doubted? I who was formerly a persecutor, now announce the resurrection 89.
XXII. Many are the witnesses of the Savior's resurrection. The night and the light of the full moon; for it was the sixteenth night 90. The rock of the monument which received Him, and the stone will stand against the face of the Jews; for it itself saw the Lord 91, and the stone which was then rolled away 92 itself bears witness 2 to the resurrection, lying there to this very day. The angels of God who were present bore witness to the resurrection of the Only-Begotten. B Peter and John, and Thomas, and all the rest of the apostles; some indeed who ran to the monument 94, and saw the linen cloths of the burial, in which He was previously wrapped, lying there after the resurrection 95; others who touched His hands and feet, and contemplated the marks of the nails 96; and all together who enjoyed the life-giving breathing of the Savior, and who were deemed worthy of the power of the Holy Spirit to forgive sins 97. The women who held His feet; and those who saw the magnitude of the earthquake and the brightness of the angel who was present 98; and the linen cloths 4 which He put aside when He arose. C
Hesychius, presbyter of the Jerusalem Church, read it thus at the beginning of the sixth century, as is manifest from his *Questions on the New Testament* edited by Cotelier, *Monum. Eccl. gr.*, Vol. III, quest. 57. It was read constantly toward the end of that century, as Anastasius Sinaita testifies in *Hodegus*, cap. 22, and many Latins also hold the same reading. More suspect of emendation is the reading which says "eleven"; because at the time of Christ's resurrection the apostolic senate consisted of only eleven men, yet John in his *Gospel*, chap. xx, 24, attributes the name of the "twelve" to that same senate at that time. D
...presiding in the figure and place of God. I have nevertheless judged that the customary reading should be retained, and I have translated *principaliter* (principally); for the Greeks frequently use that word loosely to signify that which in any matter is primary, excellent, and chief. Thus James saw Christ redivivus *principaliter* (principally); because of the singular privilege granted to him, whereby Christ appeared to him separately, not in the crowd of the twelve apostles or the five hundred brethren gathered together, which apparition, made also to James, was reported as distinct with singular circumstances, which Jerome records from the *Gospel according to the Hebrews* in his *Catalog of Ecclesiastical Writers* speaking of James; namely, that James had sworn he would not eat bread from that hour in which he had drunk the cup of the Lord, until he saw Him rising from the dead: therefore Christ appeared to him immediately, and commanded that he should eat. He saw also *principally*, so that he might bear witness in the very places in which the thing was done.
The place itself is still visible; and this house of the holy Church, built by the emperor Constantine of happy memory out of his devoted love for Christ, is, as you see, so adorned.
XXIII. Tabitha also, who was raised from the dead in his name, bears witness to the resurrection of Jesus. For how shall Christ’s resurrection be disbelieved, when his name has even raised the dead? The sea also bears witness to the resurrection of Jesus, as you have heard before; the catch of fish bears witness, and the burning coals that were laid, and the fish placed upon them. Peter also bears witness, who had previously denied him A three times, but afterward confessed him three times, and was commanded to feed his rational sheep. The Mount of Olives stands to this day, showing, as it were, up to the present day to the eyes of the faithful the one who ascended upon a cloud, and the heavenly gate of his entry. For he descended from heaven into Bethlehem, but from the Mount of Olives he ascended into heaven; from there he had started his struggle among men, but here he was crowned for his struggles. You have, therefore, many witnesses; you have this very place of the resurrection; you have also our place of the ascension to the East; you have as witnesses the angels who bore witness there, and the cloud B upon which he stepped, and the disciples who descended from there.
XXIV. Now the sequence of the teaching of the faith might have prompted me to speak also concerning the assumption; but the grace of God has arranged that you should hear of it most fully, according to our weakness, yesterday, on Sunday, by the dispensation of divine grace, in the assembly on the occasion of the reading of the scriptures which contained the account of our Saviour's ascent into heaven. What was said was spoken, indeed, for all, and for the whole multitude of the faithful gathered together, but especially for you; and it is a question whether you paid attention to what was said. For you know that the tenor of the faith teaches you to believe in the one who rose on the third day; and having ascended...
of the faith teaches you to believe in Him who rose on the third day, and ascended into heaven, and sat at the right hand of the Father. And indeed, I think you should remember the explanation; yet, in passing, I also now remind you of what was said. Remember what is plainly written in the Psalms: "God has gone up with a shout" (Ps. XLVI, 6). Remember that the divine powers also said to one another: "Lift up your gates, you princes," etc. (Ps. XXIII, 7). Let there come to mind the psalm that says: "He ascended on high, He led captivity captive" (Ps. LXVII, 19; Ephes. IV, 8). Remember the prophet saying: "He who builds His ascent into heaven" (Amos IX, 6), and the other things which were said yesterday because of the contradictions of the Jews.
B XXV. For when they oppose the ascension of the Savior as if it were impossible, remember those things which were said concerning the translation of Habakkuk (Dan. XIV, 35). For if Habakkuk was translated by an angel, being carried by the hair of his head, much more was the Lord of both prophets and angels, stepping upon a cloud from the Mount of Olives, more capable of providing for Himself an ascent into heaven by His own power. And remember similar miracles, but reserve the preeminence for the Lord, the worker of wonders; for they indeed were carried, but He carries all things (Hebr. I, 3). Remember that Enoch was translated, but Jesus ascended. Remember the things concerning Elias that were said yesterday: that Elias was taken up in a chariot of fire (IV Reg. II, 11); but Christ's chariot was ten thousand times ten thousand of those praising Him; and that Elias was taken up to the east of the Jordan, but Christ ascended toward the east of the torrent of Cedron; and that he went as if into heaven, but Jesus into heaven; and that the former said that a double portion of the Holy Spirit would be given to his disciple, C but Christ provided such an enjoyment of the grace of the Holy Spirit to His own disciples, that they not only had it in themselves, but also...
A by the laying on of their hands, they could impart its communion to those who believe.
XXVI. And when you have thus struggled against the Jews, and when you have defeated them by these comparisons, move on then to the preeminence of the Savior’s glory; for they were indeed servants, but He is the Son of God. And so you shall recall this preeminence by considering that Christ’s servant B was snatched up to the third heaven. For if Elijah reached up to the first heaven, but Paul reached up to the third heaven, he attained a more honorable dignity. Do not be ashamed of your apostles; they are not inferior to Moses, nor second to the prophets, but they are good among the good, and better than the good. For Elijah was indeed taken up into heaven, but Peter holds the keys of the kingdom of heaven, having heard: "Whatever you shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in the heavens." Elijah went only into heaven, but Paul went both into heaven and into paradise C (for it was fitting that the disciples of Jesus should receive a multiplied grace); he heard ineffable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. But Paul descended again from above, not that he was unworthy of dwelling in the third heaven, but so that, having enjoyed benefits surpassing the human condition, and having descended with added honor, and having preached Christ and endured death for Him, he might also receive the crown of martyrdom. The rest of this argument, which I discussed yesterday at the Lord’s Day assembly, I have passed over, for to wise hearers, a mere reminder is sufficient for instruction.
XXVII. Remember also what has been said by me many times D concerning the Son’s sitting at the right hand of the Father, because the sequence of the faith holds this: "Who also ascended into the heavens, and sat at the right hand of the Father."
A Let us not, however, be over-inquisitive regarding the nature of this seat, for it exceeds our comprehension. Nor let us tolerate those who perversely assert that it was only after the Cross, the Resurrection, and the ascent into heaven that the Son began to sit at the right hand of the Father. For He did not obtain this seat through advancement; but from the time that He is (and He is begotten from eternity), He sits together with the Father. And this throne, before the advent of the Savior in the flesh, the prophet Isaiah beheld, and he says: "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up," and the rest. For no one has ever seen the Father, but He who then appeared to the prophet was the Son. And the Psalmist says: "Thy throne is prepared from of old; Thou art from everlasting." Since there are many testimonies concerning this matter, let these suffice, on account of the lateness of the hour.
XXVIII. B Now, however, we must bring back to your memory a few of the many things that have been said in the Scriptures concerning this argument, that the Son sits at the right hand of the Father. For the one hundred and ninth Psalm clearly says: "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." The Savior, confirming what is said in the Gospels, says that David spoke these things not of himself, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, saying: "How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand," and the rest? And in the Acts of the Apostles, on the day of Pentecost, Peter stood with the eleven and, discoursing to the Israelites, made mention of this testimony from the one hundred and ninth Psalm in its very words.
XXIX. C We must also bring to mind a few other such testimonies concerning the Son’s sitting at the right hand of the Father. For in the Gospel according to Matthew, it is written: "Nevertheless, I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power," and the rest; in accordance with which the apostle Peter also speaks, writing: "By the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven." The apostle Paul, writing to the Romans, says: "Christ who died, yea rather who also is risen, who is even at the right hand of God." And writing to the Ephesians, he declares thus: "According to the working of the might of His power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him D from the dead, and set Him at His right hand," and
he taught those in Colossae thus: "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father." And in the Epistle to the Hebrews he says: A "When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." And again: "To which of the angels has He ever said: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?" And again: "But He, having offered one sacrifice for all for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies should be made a footstool for His feet." And again: "Looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, B and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
XXX. And while there are many other testimonies concerning the session of the Only-Begotten at the right hand of God, these suffice for us for the present; while we repeat to you the same warning again, that it was not after His coming in the flesh that He acquired the dignity of this session; but rather, even before all ages, the Only-Begotten Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, holds that throne at the right hand of the Father eternally. May God Himself, the God of all and Father of Christ, C and our Lord Jesus Christ, who descended and ascended, and sits with the Father, guard your souls; may He keep your hope, which is in Him who rose again, unshaken and immutable; may He raise you up together from your dead sins, unto His heavenly gift; may He count you worthy to be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, in the fitting time; and until that time arrives of His glorious second coming, may He write the names of you all in the book of the living, and having written them, may He never D blot them out (for the names of many who fall away are blotted out). May He grant to you all conviction...
may He grant to you all A to believe in Him who rose again, and to await Him who ascended and will come again (and He will come not from the earth—for protect yourself, O man, against the impostors who are to come), who sits on high, and is present here with us, beholding the order of each one and the B firmness of faith. For do not because He is now absent in the flesh, conclude from this that He is also absent in Spirit. He is present here in the midst, hearing what is said concerning Him, and seeing what you contemplate within yourself, and searching the reins and hearts. Who even now is ready to lead those who approach unto baptism, and all of you, in the Holy Spirit, to the Father, and to say: Behold, I and the children which God hath given me; to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
CATECHESIS FIFTEENTH
On the second coming of Christ, the final judgment, and His kingdom that shall never end.
ADMONITION
I. This discourse has three parts, the greater part of which is occupied in expounding the second coming of Christ and distinguishing the characteristics of both Advents. At the beginning, it establishes the twofold coming of Christ and the differences between each from the New and Old Testament (n. 1 and 2): warning that the end and restoration of the world will take place at that second coming (n. 3). The time of this, however, lying hidden in the mysteries of God, will be announced by many preceding signs (n. 4). These signs are many: impostors assuming the name of Christ (n. 5), wars throughout the whole world, pestilences, earthquakes, terrible signs from heaven (n. 6), dissensions and schisms in the Church, the Gospel already preached throughout the whole world, the falling away from the faith (n. 7 and 9), as a prelude to the coming of Antichrist, preparing the way for him (n. 10); all of which he observes to have almost come to pass in his own time. Then he states that Antichrist is to be raised up by the devil (n. 11 and seq.), a man who, taking the occasion to deceive men from the expectation of all, and especially the Jews, for the coming of Christ, will seize the Roman Empire, which will then be divided into ten kings, by magical arts; and, having humbled three of those kings, and having subjected the other seven to his own power, he will rule alone in their place: first seducing by magical frauds and feigned humanity, afterwards exercising every kind of cruelty, especially against Christians. Sitting in the temple of Jerusalem, which he will promise to rebuild, he will command himself to be worshipped as God in the place of all idols; and after he has reigned for three years and a half, he will be slain by Christ coming from heaven and delivered to the fire of Gehenna. These things Cyril endeavors to prove from the Scriptures, especially from Daniel and Paul. II. Then he describes the final judgment to be conducted by Christ, who is to come from the heavens with the luminous cross going before Him, its preparation, its severity, and its consequences, whether rewards or punishments (n. 19); and he declares the ways by which we ought to prepare ourselves for it. III. Then he proves the eternity of Christ's kingdom, which is determined by no end, against the heresy recently born in Galatia (n. 27, etc.); and by refuting its vain arguments, he brings the discourse to a close with a moral exhortation.
A IV. There are certain things in this catechetical instruction that must not be lightly passed over. First, he observes that he considered the coming of Christ to be near, and that he had observed in his own time the signs foretelling the Antichrist. This was the fear of nearly everyone in all times since the ascension of Christ; nor will you find any Father who did not draw the wars and calamities of his own time into the account of the Antichrist who was to come shortly. Thomas Malvenda has brought down a long list of them through the ages (lib. I, *De Antichristo*, p. 55).
B V. Secondly, those things which he possesses concerning the Antichrist who was to come at the end of the Roman Empire, who was to subdue ten kings, and who was to sit in the temple at Jerusalem, etc., are partly uncertain and have been proven false by the very event. Yet you should not immediately accuse Cyril of vanity or foolish credulity. He did not invent these things himself, nor did he believe them rashly from apocryphal sources, for he even held those things said on the matter in the Apocalypse to be suspect; rather, he relates that he gathered them from the Scriptures (num. 13 and 16). Nor did he interpret the Scriptures by his own arbitrary will; he simply followed the meaning which the ancients had handed down through the testimonies of Daniel and Paul, in such a way that he cut away and omitted many things that had been handed down by them based on uncertain conjectures concerning the origin, name, and deeds of the Antichrist.
C VI. Thirdly, what he touches upon regarding the dissensions of the Church in his own time must be diligently observed. He speaks clearly about the cause of St. Athanasius and the bishops joined to him who were vexed by the Arians. He recounts these things, however, as if he were not more addicted to one party than the other, but rather held both to be suspect and believed that in both there lay a cause of scandal and fraternal hatred. Indeed, he signifies that it came about through these factions that the Church was filled with hidden heretics sinning through errors that were entirely contrary; while some taught a confusion of the divine persons, others believed the Son to be a creature produced from non-existence. And primarily it is gathered from this that Cyril was joined in no communion of faction or party with the Orientals; indeed, that he condemned their contentions and held their doctrine in suspicion. D That he was not sufficiently equitable to the cause of Athanasius and the others is to be attributed to the confusion and calamity of the times. For such atrocious slanders were advanced against them with such confidence that it seems it was nearly a matter of praise to have refrained from giving them assent. Furthermore, the support attributed to Marcellus of Ancyra made the cause of the Catholics invidious; Cyril did not doubt that he was guilty of a most grave heresy, after he had condemned him by his own judgment in the council of Jerusalem, as Socrates bears witness. Nor did Hilary hesitate to confess that there were many who seemed to preach the *Homousion* more impiously than piously (*De syn.*, num. 67). A formula had been edited in the name of the Council of Sardica, perhaps coming from some of the Fathers of the council, which Athanasius with others was forced to condemn at the Council of Antioch; in it, the assertors of three different and separate hypostases are most gravely censured, and at the same time the term *one hypostasis* is decreed as something to be believed according to the Catholic faith, which the Orientals everywhere argued differed in no way from Sabellianism. On the other hand, the Arians, or rather the Eusebians, although they gave specimens of their heresy time and again, nevertheless craftily hid its virus by lurking under Catholic professions, joined to the communion of the whole Church before the Sardican council. Not all who participated in those Arian councils were partners in the fraud of the leaders and the faction; they had also drawn many holy bishops into their parties, ignorant of the deceits and the fraud. These are the things that made both parties suspect to Cyril. Nor must it be thought that he revealed his own mind here. This was the state of the Church of Jerusalem at that time under the primate Maximos. For after he had departed from the Council of Tyre, being warned of Arian fraud, he abstained from the other councils of the Orientals; yet for that reason he did not enter the party of Athanasius: for he did not join himself to him until, being instructed about the iniquity of that whole cause by him upon his return from Gaul while he was passing through Palestine, he firmly embraced his communion.
VII. There is no note in the Catecheses as to what day these things were delivered. We have corrected it according to the Coislin, Regius, Ottobonian, Colbertine, Bodleian, Roe, and Casaubon codices, and the variant readings of the Genevan volume.
CATECHESIS XV. ON THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. CATECHESIS XV FOR THE ILLUMINANDI.
Delivered extemporaneously at Jerusalem, on the text: “And He shall come in glory A to judge the living and the dead; of whose kingdom there shall be no end.” And concerning the Antichrist. The reading is from Daniel: “I beheld until thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days sat.” And in the following: “I beheld in the vision of the night, and, lo, with the clouds of heaven, one like unto the Son of man coming,” and what follows.
I. We proclaim the coming of Christ, not one only, but a second also, far more glorious than the first. The first bore the sign of patience, but the second bears the crown of a divine kingdom. For in most things concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, all things are twofold: a twofold birth, one from God before the ages, and one from the Virgin at the end of the ages; a twofold descent, one obscure, like rain upon a fleece, and a second, glorious and yet to come. In the first coming A He was swaddled in a manger; in the second, He is clothed with light as with a garment. In the first, He endured the cross, despising shame; in the second, He comes escorted by an army of angels, glorified. We do not rest, therefore, upon the first coming only, but we also look forward to the second. And as we said at the first, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,” so will we say the same again at the second; that meeting the Master with the angels B and adoring Him, we may say: “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” The Savior comes, not to be judged again, but to judge those who judged Him. He who previously was silent during His trial will then remind the lawless, those who dared to commit such great crimes upon the cross, saying: “These things you did, and I kept silent.” At that time He came for the sake of the divine dispensation, teaching men by persuasion; but at that time they shall of necessity be subjected to His kingdom, even if they do not desire it.C
B And concerning these two comings, the prophet Malachi says: "And suddenly the Lord will come to His temple, whom you seek." Behold one coming. And again, concerning the second coming, he says: "And the messenger of the covenant, whom you seek. Behold, the Lord Almighty comes, and who shall endure the day of His entrance? Or who shall stand in His sight? For He enters as a refiner's fire, and as the soap of laundrymen; and He shall sit refining and purifying." And immediately after, the Saviour Himself says: "And I will draw near to you in judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against those who swear by My name falsely," and so on. For this reason, Paul, desiring to make us secure, says: "If anyone builds upon this foundation, gold and silver and precious stones, wood, hay, straw; each man’s work shall be made manifest; for the day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire." Paul also signifies these two comings, writing to Titus and saying: "The grace of God our Saviour has appeared to all men, training us that, renouncing impiety and worldly desires, we should live temperately, righteously, and piously in the present age; awaiting the blessed hope and the appearance of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Do you see how he spoke of the first, for which He gives thanks, and of the second, which we await? For this reason also, the terms of the faith which is currently being proclaimed by us were delivered in this manner: to believe in Him who was crucified and buried, and rose again on the third day, and ascended into the heavens, and sat down at the right hand of the Father. And who is coming in glory to judge the living and the dead. Of whose kingdom there shall be no end.
III. Therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ will come from the heavens. He will come, moreover, about the end of this world with glory on the last day. For the end of this world shall come, and this created world shall...
A be renewed again. For since corruption, and theft, and adultery, and every kind of sin have been poured out upon the earth, and blood has been mingled with blood in the world, that this wondrous dwelling may not remain filled with iniquity, this world passes away, that a fairer one may be revealed. And do you wish to receive the proof from the Scriptures? Hear Isaiah the prophet saying: "And the heaven shall be rolled up like a scroll, and all the stars shall fall as leaves from a vine, and as leaves fall from a fig tree" (Isa. xxxiv, 4). And the Gospel says: "The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven" (Matt. xxiv, 29). Let us not be grieved as if we alone die; for the stars also die, B but perhaps they will rise again. The Lord rolls up the heavens, not that He may destroy them, but that He may raise them up again more beautiful. Hear David the prophet saying: "Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the works of Thy hands are the heavens; they shall perish, but Thou remainest" (Ps. ci, 26, 27). But someone will say, "See, it says clearly that they shall perish." Hear how it says "they shall perish": it is evident from what follows: "And all shall wax old as a garment; and as a vesture shalt Thou fold them, and they shall be changed" (Ps. ci, 26, 28). For just as the "perishing" of a man is spoken of, according to the saying: "Behold how the righteous has perished, and no man layeth it to heart" (Isa. lvii, 1); and this, while a resurrection is expected: so we C likewise look for a resurrection of the heavens. "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood" (Joel ii, 31; Acts ii, 20). Let those who have turned back from the Manichaeans be instructed, and let them no longer deify the luminaries; nor let them impiously deem this sun, which is to be darkened, to be Christ. D Again, hear the Lord saying: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matt. xxiv, 35).
for the works are not of equal honor with the words of the Master. B
IV. Visible things, therefore, pass away, and those that are expected come—things better than these; but let no one curiously inquire about the time. "For it is not for you," he says (Acts i, 7), "to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power." And do not dare to define when these things happen; nor, on the other hand, fall into a supine slumber. "Watch, therefore," he says, "for at an hour when you do not expect it, the Son of man comes" (Matt. xxiv, 42, 44). But because it was necessary for us to know the signs of the consummation, and because we expect Christ—lest we should perish by being deceived, and be led astray by the false Antichrist—moved by divine providence, the apostles, according to the divine plan, come to the true teacher and say: "Tell us, when will these things be, and what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matt. xxiv, 3). We expect you to come again, but Satan is being transformed into an angel of light (II Cor. xi, 14). Therefore, secure us, so that we may not worship another instead of you. And he, opening his divine and blessed mouth, says: "Take heed that no man lead you astray" (Matt. xxiv, 4). And you, C O hearers, now looking as if upon him with the eyes of the mind, hear the same things being said to you: "Take heed that no man lead you astray." And the Word exhorts all of you to give attention to what is being said; for this is not a history of past events, but a prophecy of things to come, and which shall certainly occur; not that we are prophesying (for we are unworthy of that), but the things written are being brought into the middle, and the signs are being declared. You yourself see which of these have already happened, which are still lacking, and secure yourself.
V. "Take heed that no man lead you astray: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall lead many astray" (Matt. xxiv, 4, 5). These things have happened in part; for already Simon Magus has said this D and Menander, and others.
A They shall say it in our times, or others after us.
VI. The second sign: "But you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars" (Matt. xxiv, 6). Is there then currently, in present times, a war of the Persians against the Romans regarding Mesopotamia, or not? Is nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, or not? "And there shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes in various places" (Matt. xxiv, 7). These things have already happened. And again: "There shall be terrors from heaven, and great tempests" (Luc. xxi, 11). "Watch therefore," he says, "for you do not know on what day our Lord comes" (Matt. xxiv, 42).
VII. But we, the ecclesiastical men, look for an ecclesiastical sign of the presence. B But the Savior says: "And then many will be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another" (Matt. xxiv, 10). If you hear that bishops are rising up against bishops, and clergy against clergy, and peoples against peoples, even to the point of bloodshed, do not be troubled.
in peoples, even to the shedding of blood, do not be troubled; for it was predicted beforehand in the Scriptures; do not attend to those things which are happening now, but to those things which are written. Nor, even if I who teach you should perish, should you perish along with me; but it is proper for the hearer to become better than the teacher, and for the one who comes last to become first; since the Master receives even those who come about the eleventh hour. A If treachery was found among the apostles, do you marvel if fraternal hatred is found even among bishops? But this sign pertains not only to rulers, but also to the peoples; for He says: "And because of the multiplication of iniquity, the charity of many shall grow cold." Will any of those present boast that he has sincere friendship toward his neighbor? Do not his lips often kiss, and his face smile, and his eyes appear glad, while his heart fashions deceit, and he who speaks peaceful things B prepares evil?
VIII. You have also this sign: "And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a testimony to all nations; and then shall the end come." And almost, as we see, the entire world is filled with the teaching about Christ.
IX. And what shall happen after this? He says in the following: "When therefore you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place; he that reads let him understand: and again, Then if any man shall say to you, Lo here is Christ, or, Lo there, believe it not." Fraternal hatred now gives place to the Antichrist. For the devil is preparing the schisms of the peoples, so that the one who is coming may be readily received. But God forbid that any of those here, or indeed any of the servants of Christ elsewhere, should run to the enemy. Writing about this, the apostle Paul gave a clear sign, saying: "That if the falling away do not come first, and the man of sin be revealed..." C D
the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." A Thus far Paul.
But now there is the falling away B; for men have fallen away from the true faith, and some preach that the Son is the Father, while others dare to say that Christ was brought into being from that which is not. And formerly the heretics were manifest; but now the Church is filled with hidden heretics. For men have fallen away from the truth, and have itching ears. Is there a persuasive word? Everyone listens gladly. Is there a word of conversion? Everyone turns away. Most C have fallen away from right words, and prefer the evil rather than choosing the good. This, therefore, is the falling away, and the enemy is to be looked for; and now he has begun to send his forerunners in part, that he himself may come ready for the spoil. D
A Watch yourself, therefore, O man, and secure your soul. The Church now testifies to you in the presence of the living God, and declares to you the things concerning Antichrist before they come to pass. Whether they will happen in your time, we do not know, or whether they will happen after you, we do not know; but it is good that, knowing these things, you are secured beforehand.
X. The true Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, is no longer to come from the earth. If any one comes in the deserts, displaying false appearances, do not go out. If they say, "Lo, here is Christ," or "Lo, there," do not believe it. Do not look down to the earth any longer; for the Lord descends from the heavens, not alone as before, but with a great B company, encompassed by myriads of angels. Nor does He come secretly, as rain upon a fleece, but as lightning shining forth clearly. For He Himself said: "As the lightning comes from the east and shines to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be." And again: "And they shall see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet," and what follows.
XI. But just as, before His first presence, when He was about to take on humanity, God was expected to be born from a Virgin, the devil calumniated the event in advance, craftily inventing in the midst of idolatry stories of false gods, who were born and who begat children from women; so that, the falsehood having arrived first—as he imagined—the truth might be disbelieved. In the same way, as the true Christ is about to come a second time, the adversary—taking the expectation C of the simple, and especially of those from the circumcision, as an opportunity—brings forward a certain man, a magician, skilled in the deceitful art of sorceries and incantations.
A, who shall usurp the dominion of the Roman empire, and shall falsely style himself Christ. And through this appellation of Christ, he shall deceive the Jews, who are in expectation of the Anointed, and shall seduce the Gentiles with the phantasms of his magic.
XII. This aforementioned Antichrist B shall come when the times of the Roman empire shall be fulfilled, and the consummation of the world shall now be at hand. Ten kings of the Romans shall rise together, in different places, perhaps, but reigning at one and the same time; and after these, an eleventh, the Antichrist, shall by his magical craft seize the Roman power. He shall humble three of those who reigned before him, and have the remaining seven subject to his will. At first, indeed, he will counterfeit a mildness, as if he were a learned and prudent man, feigning sobriety and benevolence; and by signs and wonders, which are false through magical deceit, he shall deceive the Jews, as if he were the expected Christ; but later on, C he shall be branded with all kinds of wicked acts of inhumanity and lawlessness, so as to surpass all those unjust and impious men who have been before him, bearing a mind murderous, most cutting, merciless, and manifold, against all men, but especially against us Christians. For three years and six months only will he dare such things, when he shall be destroyed by the second glorious appearing from heaven of the only-begotten Son of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus, the true Christ; who, having slain the Antichrist with the breath of his mouth, shall deliver him to the fire of Gehenna. D
XIII. These things we teach, not by our own invention, but having learned them from the divine Scriptures read in the Church, and especially from the prophecy of Daniel just now read,
A as Gabriel the archangel also interpreted, saying thus: "The fourth beast, the fourth kingdom shall be on the earth, which shall excel all kingdoms." And ecclesiastical interpreters have handed down that this is the Roman one. For the first notable kingdom having been that of the Assyrians, and the second that of the Medes and Persians together, and after these the third, that of the Macedonians, the fourth kingdom is now that of the Romans. B Then, Gabriel interprets further and says: "Its ten horns, ten kings shall arise; and after them shall arise another king, who shall excel in wickedness all those that were before him." He says not only those ten, but all those who have preceded them. "And he shall humble three kings": this is clear also from the ten former ones. And from these ten, by humbling three, he will certainly reign as the eighth. And, he says, "he shall speak words against the Most High": the man is a blasphemer and lawless, not having received the kingdom from his fathers, but having snatched the rule by magical arts.
XIV. But who is this, or from what operation does he come? Explain, O Paul. Whose coming, he says, is "according to the operation of Satan in all power and signs and lying wonders." C Hinting by this that Satan will use him as an instrument, operating in his own person through him. For, knowing that no rest or mercy will be left to him in the judgment, he no longer fights through his ministers as usual, but henceforth wars more openly by himself. And in all signs
and lying wonders; for the father of lies will display the works of lies through deceptive outward appearances, so that the masses might think they see a dead man being raised—who is not being raised—and the lame walking, and the blind receiving sight, when no such healing has taken place.
XV. And again he says: *Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped* (II Thess. II, 4). *Above all God*—for Antichrist will indeed hate idols—*so that he sitteth in the Temple of God* (II Thess. II, 4). What manner of Temple, then? He means the one among the Jews that has been destroyed; for God forbid it should be the one in which we are. Why do we say this? Lest we be thought to be favoring ourselves. For if, as Christ, he comes to the Jews and wishes to be worshipped by the Jews, in order to deceive them the more, he will make the Temple an object of great concern, giving the impression that he himself is from the seed of David, who is about to rebuild the Temple constructed by Solomon. B Antichrist comes, therefore, when there shall not be left in the Temple of the Jews one stone upon another, according to the declaration of the Savior (Matth. XXIV, 2). For when, whether through age or by the pretext of rebuilding, or for some other reason, the stones are all torn down—I do not mean the outer court, but the interior part of the building where the cherubim were—then he will come. C D
A in all signs and lying wonders, exalting himself against all idols, at first feigning humaneness, but later demonstrating his ferocity, and especially against the saints of God. For he says: "I was looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints." And again in another place: "There will be a time of affliction, such as has not been from the time that a nation existed on the earth until that time." The beast is terrible, a great dragon, invincible to men, ready to devour; and although we have much to say about him from the divine Scriptures, we are content for now with these, for the sake of proportion.
XVI. Therefore, the Lord, knowing the magnitude of the adversary, grants pardon to the pious, saying: "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." If anyone, however, knows himself to be very firm, so as to wrestle against Satan, let him stand (for I do not despair of the sinews of the Church), and let him say: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" and the following. But let us who are timid secure ourselves; and let those who are courageous take their stand. For there will be at that time great affliction, such as has not been from the beginning of creation until now, nor shall ever be. B But thanks be to God, who has circumscribed the magnitude of the affliction to a few days. For He says: "But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened." And the Antichrist will reign for only three years and a half. We do not say this from apocryphal books, but from Daniel. For he says: "And it will be given into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time." A "time" is one year, in which his presence gradually gains strength; "times" are the remaining two years of iniquity, which together sum up to three years; and "half a time" is the six months. And again in another place Daniel says the same thing: "And he swore by Him who lives forever, that it is for a time, and times C and half a time." Perhaps some have also applied to this
A in this sense what follows: "Days one thousand two hundred ninety; and this also: Blessed is he who endures, and arrives at the days one thousand three hundred thirty-five." For this reason it is necessary to be hidden and to flee; for perhaps we shall not have finished the cities of Israel, until the Son of man comes.
XVII. Who then is that blessed one, who at that time shall with piety bear martyrdom for Christ? For I say that the martyrs of that time are above all martyrs. For those who lived before these times struggled with men only. But those who live under Antichrist will struggle with Satan himself in person B, and those kings who formerly exercised persecution only inflicted death, but did not pretend to raise the dead, nor did they show the appearance of signs and wonders. But here is an incitement joined with both terror and deception, so that if it were possible, the elect might be led astray. Lest at any time this thought occur to the heart of any of those who shall then be: "What more did Christ do? For by what power does this man work these things?" If God had not willed it, He would not have permitted it. The Apostle makes you cautious and predicts: "Therefore God sends to them a working of error" C (but "sends" is put for "permits to happen"), not that they might be excused, but that they might be condemned. Wherefore? Because they did not believe the truth, that is, the true Christ, but took pleasure in unrighteousness, that is, in the Antichrist. God permits these things both in the persecutions which arise at various times and at that time, not because He is unable to forbid them, but because, according to His custom, He wishes to crown His own athletes through patience, in the same manner as His prophets and apostles, so that having labored for a short time, they might inherit the eternal kingdom of the heavens, D just as Daniel says: "And at that time your people shall be saved, everyone who is written in the book" (it is manifest, that of life). "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; these to
eternal life, and these to reproach and eternal shame. And those who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and of the many righteous, as the stars forever and ever." A
XVIII. Therefore, fortify yourself, O man! You have the signs of Antichrist; do not remember them only yourself, but share them bountifully with everyone. If you have a child according to the flesh, admonish him of this already; and if you have begotten someone through catechesis, fortify him too, so that he may not receive the false one as the true one. For the mystery of iniquity is already at work. The wars of the nations frighten me, the schisms of the Churches frighten me, the hatred of the brothers for one another B frightens me. And let these things be said; but may it never come to pass that they be fulfilled in our time. Nevertheless, let us be fortified. And so much for Antichrist.
XIX. But let us look for and expect the Lord coming from the heavens upon the clouds. Angelic trumpets will sound at that time; those who have died in Christ will rise first; the pious who live will be caught up in the clouds, receiving the reward for their labors, to be honored beyond human measure, because they also struggled beyond human measure; just as the apostle Paul, writing, says: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and they who are dead in Christ shall rise first; then we who live, who are left behind, C shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."
XX. The Ecclesiastes knew this coming of the Lord and the consummation of the world, saying:
Rejoice, young man, in your youth
.And what follows: And remove anger from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh, and remember your Creator, before the days of evil come; before the sun is darkened, and the light, and the moon, and the stars; and they that look A from the openings shall be darkened (signifying the faculty of sight); before the silver cord is loosened (teaching the weaving together of the stars, for their aspect is silver-like), and the golden anthemis is broken (thus alluding to the sun, which is golden; for anthemis is a well-known herb, having many radiation-like leaf-growths around it). And they shall stand up at the voice of the sparrow, and even from the heights they shall look; and there shall be terrors in the way. What shall they look upon? Then they shall see the Son of man coming upon the clouds of heaven, and the tribes shall wail tribe by tribe. And what becomes of things when the Lord has come? The almond shall blossom, and the locust shall grow fat, and the caper shall be dissipated. But as the interpreters say, the blossoming almond signifies that winter has passed. And at that time, after the winter, our bodies are to blossom with a heavenly flower. And the locust grows fat (the winged soul, clothing itself with the body). And the caper shall be dissipated (let the thorny transgressors be scattered).
XXI. Do you see how all things foretell the presence B of the Lord; do you see how they know the voice of the sparrow? Let us see what voice it is. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. An archangel calls out and says to all: Arise C to meet the Lord. And the descent of the Master is terrible. David says: God will come manifestly, our God; and He will not keep silence. Fire will burn before Him, and round about Him a great storm. D
He comes to the Father, according to the Scripture just now read, the Son of man upon the clouds of heaven, with a river of fire drawing along, to test mankind. If one has works that are gold, he becomes more brilliant; if any have a work as of reeds and unstable, he is burned up by the fire. And the Father sits, having His garment white like snow; and the hair of His head like pure wool. This is said in human terms; for why? Because He is King of those who have not been defiled by sins. For He says: I will make your sins white as snow and as wool; which is a sign of the forgiveness of sins, or even of sinlessness. And the Lord comes from the heavens upon the clouds, He who ascended upon the clouds; for He Himself has said: And they shall see the Son of man, coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
B XXII. But what is the sign of His coming, lest perhaps an opposing power dare to imitate it? And then, He says, shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. Now the true and proper sign of Christ is the Cross. A sign of a luminous cross precedes the King, demonstrating Him who was crucified before, in order that the Jews who before pierced Him and plotted against Him may see, and tribe by tribe may wail, saying: This is He who was struck with palms; this is He whose face they spat upon; this is He whom they wrapped in bonds; this is He whom they previously crucified and treated with contempt. Where shall we flee from the face of Thy wrath? they will say; with angelic hosts surrounding Him, they will nowhere be able to flee. The sign of the Cross will be a terror to the enemies; but joy C to His friends who have believed in Him, or preached Him, or suffered for His sake. Who is that man happy then, who is found a friend of Christ?
A Such a glorious King, who is attended by the retinue of the angels, and who sits with the Father, will not despise His own servants. For, that the elect may not be mingled with the enemies, He sends His angels with a great trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds (Matt. xxiv. 31). He did not despise Lot, who was but one; how then shall He despise many righteous? "Come, ye blessed of My Father," He shall say to those who have then been gathered, riding upon cloud-borne chariots and collected by the angels.
B XXIII. But someone of those who are present will say: "I am poor, and perhaps at that time I shall be found infirm upon my bed; or I, a woman, shall be found at the mill (Luke xvii. 34); shall we therefore be despised?" Take heart, O man; the Judge is no respecter of persons. He will not judge according to glory, nor will He reprove according to eloquence; He does not prefer the learned to the unlearned, nor the rich to the poor. Even if you are in the field, the angels shall take you; do not think that He takes the lords of the land, while He leaves you, the husbandman. Even if you are a slave, even if you are poor, do not be anxious; He who took the form of a servant (Phil. ii. 7) does not despise servants. Even if you are lying sick upon a bed, it is written: "Two shall be in one bed; one is taken, and one is left" (Luke xvii. 34). Even if you are delivered by necessity to the mill, whether man or woman; even if you have children and attend to the mill, He who "brought forth the prisoners with might" (Psal. lxvii. 7) will not pass you by. He who brought Joseph from servitude and prison to the kingdom, will also bring you forth from your afflictions into the kingdom of heaven. Only take heart, only work, only struggle eagerly; for nothing is lost. Every prayer and psalmody of yours is recorded; every alms-deed is recorded; every fast is recorded; every marriage kept well and chastely is recorded; continence endured for God’s sake is recorded. C But virginity and purity hold the first prize in these records, and you shall shine as an angel. But just as you have heard the good things with pleasure, so listen again without flinching to the contrary; all your covetousness is recorded; your D
every perjury is recorded, every blasphemy, every witchcraft, every theft, and every murder. All these things are recorded A for the future, if now you do the same things after being baptized; for the former are wiped away.
XXIV. But when, he says, the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him (Matth. xxv, 31). See, O man, before how many witnesses you are entering into judgment; the whole human race will be present then. Consider, therefore, how great is the Roman nation; reckon how many are the barbarian nations now living, and how many died before a hundred years ago; reckon how many have been buried before a thousand years. Consider those B from Adam until the present day; the multitude is great, but still small; for the angels are more numerous. Those are the ninety-nine sheep; but humanity is the one alone. For according to the magnitude of any places, the number of the inhabitants must be estimated. The whole earth is like a point in the midst of one heaven; and the heaven that surrounds it contains as great a multitude of inhabitants as it has breadth; and the heavens of the heavens have an uncountable number; for it is written: Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand C stood before him (Dan. vii, 10); not that the multitude is finished by that number alone, but that the prophet was not able to express more than these. God, the Father of all, is therefore present at the judgment then, with Jesus Christ sitting beside him (5), and with the Holy Spirit present, D
An angelic trumpet will call us all, bearing what we have done. Ought we not to be anxious and fearful even from this moment? Do not think, O man, that the punishment is small, or that it is a trivial matter, without retribution, to be condemned before so many. Would we not often prefer to die, or to be condemned by friends, rather than to suffer this punishment with so many witnesses?
B XXV. Let us therefore be anxious, brethren, lest God condemn us; he who has no need of investigation or proofs for the sake of condemnation. Do not say, "I committed fornication by night," or "I practiced magic," or "I did some other thing, and no human being was there." You will be judged by your own conscience, in the midst of thoughts accusing or even defending you, in the day when God judges the hidden things of men. The terrible face of the judge will force you to tell the truth; or rather, even if you do not say it, he will convict you. For you will be raised up clothed in your own sins, or rather, your righteous deeds; and this the judge himself made clear, saying: (For it is Christ C who judges. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, not depriving himself of the authority, but judging through the Son. Therefore, the Son judges by the nod of the Father. For the nods of the Father and the Son are not different, but one and the same.) What then does the judge say regarding whether you are to bear your own deeds, or not? "And all the nations will be gathered before him." For it is necessary that every knee should bow before Christ, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth. "And he will separate them from one another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." How does the shepherd separate? Is it by inquiring from a book, which one is a sheep and which is a goat, or does he judge from visible things? Is not the sheep declared by its wool, the hairy and rough skin...
A which denotes the goat? Thus, if you have been cleansed just now from your sins, you have your actions henceforth like clean wool; and your garment remains unpolluted, and you say always, "I have put off my tunic; how shall I put it on?" B By your clothing you are recognized as a sheep. But if you are found to be hairy, like Esau, who was rough with hair and corrupt in mind; he who lost his birthright for the sake of food, and sold his dignity; you will be numbered among those on the left. But God forbid that any of those present should be cast out from grace, nor that, through vile deeds, they should be found in the ranks of the sinners on the left.
XXVI. Tremendous indeed is the judgment, and there is true cause for fear regarding those things which are proclaimed. The kingdom of heaven is set before us, and eternal fire has been prepared. How, then, will one say, shall we flee the fire? And how shall we enter into the kingdom? "I was hungry," he says, "and you gave me to eat." Learn the way; there is no need now for allegory, but for the accomplishment of what is said. "I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you gathered me in; I was naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me." If you do these things, you will reign with him; but if you do not do them, you will be condemned. C Therefore, begin now to practice these things, and persevere in the faith; lest, like the foolish virgins, being about to buy oil, you be shut out. Do not be confident just because you hold the lamp, but keep it burning. Let your light of good works shine before men, and let Christ not be blasphemed because of you. Wear the garment of incorruption, shining in good works; and whatever business you have received from God to administer with stewardship, administer it usefully. Have you been entrusted with money? Administer it well. Have you been entrusted with the word of teaching? Administer it well. Can you add to the souls of those who hear? Do this D diligently. There are many doors of good stewardship. Let no one of us, having been only blamed, be...
cast out, so that we may meet with boldness the eternal King Christ, who reigns unto the ages. For He reigns unto the ages, He who judges the living and the dead, having died for the sake of the living and the dead. And as Paul says: "For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might have dominion both over the dead and the living."
XXVII. On the Kingdom of Christ
B XXVII. But if you should ever hear anyone saying that the kingdom of Christ has an end, hate that heresy; it is another head of the dragon, recently sprung up around Galatia. Someone dared to say that after the end of the world, Christ will no longer reign; and he dared to say that the Word, having gone forth from the Father, will be dissolved back into the Father and will no longer exist, vomiting forth such blasphemies to his own destruction. For he did not hear the Lord saying: "The Son abides forever." He did not hear Gabriel saying: "And He will reign over the house of Jacob unto the ages, and of His kingdom there will be no end." Consider what is said: now heretical men teach against Christ, while Gabriel the archangel taught regarding the eternal permanence of the Savior. C To whom, therefore, do you give more credence? Is it not to Gabriel? Hear the testimony of Daniel here present: "I was watching in the vision of the night, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like the Son of man coming, and He arrived at the Ancient of Days. And to Him was given honor, and authority, and a kingdom; and all peoples, tribes, and languages shall serve Him. His authority is an eternal authority, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed." Hold to these things all the more, believe these things; but reject far away the things which that heresy utters.
his kingdom shall not be destroyed. Hold fast to these things, believe these things; but drive away the things of the heresy, for you have heard most clearly about the unending kingdom of Christ. B
XXVIII. You have something similar in the explanation of the stone cut from the mountain without hands, which is Christ according to the flesh: "And his kingdom shall not be left to another people." And David says at one time: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever"; and at another: "Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundations of the earth," and what follows. "They shall perish, but thou remainest," and what follows. "Thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail." Which things Paul interpreted as referring to the Son.
XXIX. Now do you wish to know from where those who teach the opposite arrived at such a madness? They read well that which was written by the Apostle, but they understand it badly: "For he must reign until he hath put all his enemies under his feet"; and they say: "When the enemies have been placed under his feet, he no longer reigns." They say this perversely and foolishly. For if he reigns before he has overcome his enemies, how should he not reign all the more after the enemies have been mastered?
XXX. They have dared C to say also this, that the written passage: "When all things shall be subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected unto him that did subject all things unto him," signifies that the Son is to be resolved into the Father. But come now, O most impious of all, you being the creations of Christ, you shall remain, but Christ, through whom both you and all things were made, shall perish utterly? It is surely a blasphemous statement. And how shall all things be subjected to him? Are they to perish, or to remain? Then, the other things that are subjected to the Son remain; but the Son, being subjected to the Father, shall not remain? He will be subjected, not as if he then begins to obey the Father (for he always does the things that are pleasing to him), D but rather he remains.
But because he obeys even then, not having a compelled obedience, but a voluntary willingness. For he is not a slave, that he should be subjected by necessity; but he is the Son, that he might be persuaded by choice and affection.
A LA'. Let us examine them: This "until" (ἄχρις οὗ), or "until" (μέχρις οὗ), what kind of word is it? For I, by joining battle with the very word itself, will attempt to overturn their error. Since they have dared to say that the phrase, "Until he shall have put his enemies under his feet," signifies his end; and they have dared to circumscribe the eternal kingdom of Christ, and in their discourse to bring to a halt his unending power; come then, let us read similar passages in the Apostle: "But death reigned from Adam until Moses" (Rom. v, 14). Did men die only until that time, and has no one died after Moses? Or has there been no death of men since the Law? But you see that the word "until" is not a limit of time; rather, Paul indicated by this that, although Moses was a righteous and admirable man, nevertheless the death sentence passed upon Adam reached even to him and to those who followed; and this, even though they had not sinned in the same manner as Adam, by tasting of the tree through disobedience.
B LB'. Receive again another similar scriptural passage: "For until this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies upon their heart" (II Cor. iii, 14). Does "until this day" mean only until Paul? Does it not mean until the present, and until the consummation? And if Paul says to the Corinthians, "For we reached even as far as you in the Gospel of Christ, having hope, as your faith increases, to preach the Gospel in the regions beyond you" (II Cor. x, 14, 15); you see clearly that the word "until" is not an end, but has something following it. How, then, should you remember the phrase, "Until he shall have put his enemies"? Just as the same Paul says elsewhere: "And exhort yourselves day by day, as long as it is called today" (Hebr. iii, 13); clearly meaning: always. For just as it is not right to speak of a beginning to the days of Christ, so neither should you suffer anyone to speak of an end to his kingdom. For his kingdom is an eternal kingdom, as it is written (Dan. vii, 14).
C LΓ'. And having other, more numerous testimonies from the divine Scriptures...
of the divine Scriptures concerning the endless kingdom of Christ to come, I will content myself for the present with what has already been said, because of the lateness of the hour. Do you, however, O hearer, worship Him as the only King, avoiding all heretical error. And if the grace of God should grant it, the remaining points pertaining to the faith shall be explained to you in due time. May the God of all guard you all, mindful of the signs of the consummation of the world, and remaining invincible against the Antichrist. You have heard the signs of the deceiver who is to come; you have received the proofs of the true Christ, who clearly descends from the heavens. Flee from the former, the false one; await the latter, the true one. You have been taught the way, so that when you are judged, you may be found on the right hand. Keep the deposit A regarding Christ, distinguishing yourself in good works, so that you may inherit the kingdom of heaven if you stand with boldness before the Judge; through whom, and with whom, be glory to God, with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
CATECHESIS SIXTEEN
Concerning the Holy Spirit I
MONITUM
I. Because of the dignity of the subject and the abundance of things to be said, Cyril explained the Article of the Creed concerning the Holy Spirit in two catecheses. In this one, having set forth the summary of the Catholic faith concerning the Holy Spirit and having mentioned the errors of the heretics on this subject, he explains the two names of the Holy Spirit, namely, Spirit and Paraclete; then he discusses His operations and testimonies in the Old Testament, reserving for the other catechesis those operations and testimonies which are gathered from the New.
II. At the beginning (n. 1 and 2), having pointed out the danger that hangs over those who think wrongly concerning the Holy Spirit, and having demonstrated the necessity of His help in order to speak or hear rightly about Him, he summarizes (n. 3-7) what the Catholic Church teaches concerning His unity, solid subsistence, and common glory and divinity with the other two persons. Then he enumerates various sins of heretics against the Holy Spirit (n. 8-12), especially those who dared to call themselves the Holy Spirit; such as Simon Magus; Montanus, whose insanity and wicked mysteries he recounts; and Manes, whom he declares to be worse than Simon himself (n. 13, 14). Opposing these with the authority of the Scriptures, he shows that the Holy Spirit is not undeservedly designated in them under the name and symbol of water, because of His diverse operations. In order to remove the ambiguity in the word "spirit," attributed to many disparate things, and having asserted in passing the solidity of His hypostasis, he describes the various effects of the unclean and holy Spirit: teaching that by the latter the mind is illuminated, hidden things are revealed, pious thoughts are infused, and demons are burned and put to flight through exorcisms (n. 15-18). He records that He is called Paraclete, or Comforter, on account of the help provided to human infirmity, the power of testimony given to the martyrs, and the production of whatever is good among men throughout the whole world (n. 20-22). Then, looking toward the angelic nature, he commands us to contemplate the Holy Spirit, the moderator, teacher, and sanctifier of this nature, separated from it by an infinite interval, who receives from the Son.
Thereafter, having lightly touched upon the operations and testimonies of the Holy Spirit in various ways from the order of the sacred books, he concludes this lecture with the promise of the following catechesis and a favorable prayer for the gifts of the Holy Spirit (n. 25-32).
III. This oration contains many memorable points, primarily a clear profession of the one God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (n. 3), and a precise and express distinction between the Holy Spirit and created things (n. 23); there are also extraordinary testimonies to His omnipotence, immensity, eternity, and efficacy in the hearts of men (n. 24); he clearly asserts His procession from the Son, and magnificently describes the power of His prevenient grace, as the efficient principle of every good (n. 19). What is reported by other authors concerning the triple deity impugned by Marcion, and the bloody mysteries of the Montanists, gains no small authority from Cyril (n. 7 and 8).
IV. It was delivered either on the day preceding or the one following, or at most a few days before. But the following catechesis was delivered at the instant of the Passover festival, as he himself attests in n. 20. It is therefore credible that this was delivered during the Holy Week. We have corrected it according to the Coislinian, Roe, Casaubon, and Ottobonian codices. In the Coislinian codex there is a longer addition at the end, which we have placed at the foot of the page.
CATECHESIS XVI TO THE ILLUMINANDI
Delivered at Jerusalem, on the text: "And in one Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who spoke in the prophets." And a reading from the epistle to the Corinthians: "Concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant," and what follows: "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit," and the rest.
A I. Truly, there is need of spiritual grace, that we may discourse concerning the Holy Spirit; not that we might speak according to His dignity—for that is impossible—but that, by speaking what has been drawn from the divine Scriptures, we may proceed safely. For a truly great fear is written in the Gospels, Christ having clearly said: "Whosoever speaks a word against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come." And there is often fear, lest someone might—
sive ex ignorance, sive ex supposed piety, something which is not fitting to be said concerning him, and thereby brings upon himself condemnation. Jesus Christ, Judge of the living and the dead, has declared that he has no forgiveness; if, therefore, anyone should sin, what hope has he?
II. It would, therefore, be the task of the grace of Jesus Christ itself to grant that we may speak without failing, and that you may listen with understanding; for there is need of understanding not only for those who speak, but also for those who listen, in order that they may not, by hearing one thing, mistakenly conceive another in their minds. Let there be said by us, therefore, concerning the Holy Spirit only those things which are written; but if anything is not written, let us not be overly curious. The Holy Spirit Himself has spoken the Scriptures; He Himself also has said concerning Himself whatever He wished, or whatever we were able to receive. Let us say, therefore, what He has said; for what He has not said, we do not dare.
III. There is one and only one Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. And just as there is one God the Father, and there is no second Father; and just as there is one only-begotten Son and Word of God, and He has no brother: so there is one only Holy Spirit, and there is no B second Spirit equal in honor to Him. The Holy Spirit is, therefore, a most great power, a divine and inscrutable thing. For He lives, and is rational, the sanctifier of all things produced by God through Christ. He illuminates the souls of the just; He is in the prophets, and He is in the apostles in the New Testament. Let those be held in detestation who dare to separate the operation of the Holy Spirit. One God, the Father, the Lord of the Old and New Testament; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, who was prophesied in the Old and came in the New; C and one Holy Spirit, who preached concerning Christ through the prophets, and after the coming of Christ descended, and demonstrated Him.
IV. Let no one, therefore, separate the Old from the
New Testament. Let no one say that the Spirit A there is one, and another here; for he who says this offends against the Holy Spirit himself, who is honored with the Father and the Son, and who in the time of holy baptism is comprehended together in the Holy Trinity. For the only-begotten Son of God said plainly to the apostles: "Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Our hope is in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We do not announce three gods; let the Marcionists be silenced; but with the Holy Spirit, through the one Son, we announce one God. The faith is indivisible; the piety is inseparable. We do not divide the Holy Trinity, B as some do, nor do we perform a confusion, as Sabellius does. But we piously know one Father, who sent to us the Savior, the Son. We know one Son, who promised that he would send the Paraclete from the Father. We know one Holy Spirit, who spoke concerning Christ through the prophets, and who, after the coming of Christ, descended and demonstrated Him. For just as the Father, in sending the Son, did not bestow His gifts alone, but rather the Son substantially; so too the Son, having sent the Holy Spirit, did not send gifts alone, C but sent the Spirit Himself, who is subsistent and operative. And as for the notions of those who say that the substances of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit are alienated, and separated, and distinct, and without participation in one another—which Arius uttered—that their substances and glories are infinitely dissimilar to one another; and that the Trinity is not of equal glory; and that the hypostases are mixed with no society, the one more glorious than the other with glories infinitely diverse: this constitutes a doctrine of impiety concerning the Holy Spirit, regarding which we shall D further discuss.
A the Father, the Paraclete who promised to send Him. We know the Holy Spirit, who spoke in the prophets; and who, at Pentecost, descended upon the apostles in the form of fiery tongues, here in Jerusalem, in the upper Church of the apostles. For with us are the prerogatives of all things. Here Christ descended from the heavens; here the Holy Spirit descended from the heavens. And it was truly most fitting, just as we speak of the things concerning Christ and the place of Golgotha in this very Golgotha, so also to speak of the Holy Spirit in the upper Church. But since the glory of Him who was crucified here is shared by Him who descended there, we speak here also of the things concerning Him who descended there; for piety is indivisible.
V. It is our purpose, then, to say something concerning the Holy Spirit: not indeed to declare His substance B and nature accurately—for that is an impossible task—but to note the various aberrations of certain persons concerning Him, lest we be swept away by their ignorance; and to cut off the paths of error, so that we may walk the one royal road. And if, for the sake of caution, we recount now what has been said by the heresies, let all this recoil upon their own heads; so that we may be blameless, both we who speak and you who listen.
VI. For those most impious heretics, in all matters, have whetted their tongues even against the Holy Spirit C.
and dared to utter unholy things, just as Irenæus, the interpreter, wrote in his books against the heresies. Some dared to say that they themselves were the Holy Spirit; the first of whom was Simon, that Magus in the Acts of the Apostles; for, having been rejected, he dared to teach such things. But those called Gnostics, and those impious ones, uttered other things against the Spirit; whereas the lawless Valentinians said yet others. But the miserable Manes dared to say that he was the Paraclete sent by Christ. Others invented that there was one Spirit in the prophets and another in the New Testament. And great is their error, or rather their blasphemy. Therefore, hate such men, and flee from those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and who have no forgiveness. What fellowship can you have with those who are devoid of all hope, you who are now to be baptized into the Holy Spirit? B If he who associates with a thief and runs with him is subject to punishment, what hope will he have who insults the Holy Spirit?
VII. Let there be hatred also for the Marcionists, who removed the words of the Old Testament from the New.
A Marcion, a man most alienated from God, who was the first to assert three gods; when he saw that the testimonies of the prophets concerning Christ were inserted into the New Testament, he cut away those testimonies from the Old Testament, so that the King might remain without witnesses. Let the aforementioned people be held in hatred, Gnostics—that is, "knowers"—in name, but filled with ignorance; who dared to say such things about the Holy Spirit, which I would not dare to repeat.
VIII. On the Cataphrygians
VIII. Let there be hatred for the Cataphrygians and for Montanus, the author of their evils, and for both his prophetesses, namely, Maximilla and Priscilla. For this Montanus, being truly deranged and maniacal (for he would not have said such things, had he not been insane), dared to proclaim himself to be the Holy Spirit—he, a most wretched man, covered in all impurity and lasciviousness. B
And since he had occupied Pepuza, a tiny village in Phrygia, and falsely given it the name "Jerusalem," and under the pretext of what they call their mysteries was slaughtering the most miserable infant children of women and chopping them up for forbidden food—a thing which, until recently during the persecution, we were suspected of doing, because those Montanists, as they are called, were also falsely but synonymously named Christians—he himself, full of every impiety and inhumanity, having an inexcusable condemnation, dared to proclaim himself to be the Holy Spirit.
[IX.] To him succeeded, as was said before, the most impious Manes, who gathered together the evils of all the heresies. Being himself the final abyss of perdition, and having embraced the ravings of all the heretics together, he concocted and taught a more recent error. He even dared to say that he was the Paraclete whom Christ promised to send. But the Savior, in making the promise, said to the apostles: "But stay you in the city of Jerusalem, until you be endued with power from on high." What then? Were the apostles, dead for two hundred years, waiting for Manes until they should be endued with power? And will anyone dare to say that they were not full of the Holy Spirit from that time on? And yet it is written: "Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost." Was not this done long before Manes and many years before him, after the Holy Spirit had descended on the day of Pentecost?
[X.] Wherefore was Simon Magus condemned? Was it not because he approached the apostles and said: "Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I shall lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost"? For he did not say, "Give me also the participation of the Holy Spirit," but "power," so that he might sell to others the gift that could not be sold, which he himself did not possess.
A And he brought money to those who had no possessions, and this while he saw those who were offering the prices of things being sold and laying them at the apostles' feet; and he did not reason that those who were trampling with their feet the wealth brought for the nourishment of the poor would never give the power of the Holy Spirit for money. But what do they say to Simon? "Your silver perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be obtained with money"; for you are a second Judas, who hoped to sell the grace of the Spirit for silver. If, therefore, Simon, wishing to receive the authority for a price, is delivered to perdition, how great is the impiety of Manes, who said that he himself was the Holy Spirit? Let us hate those who are worthy of hatred; let us turn away from those whom God turns away. Let us also say with all confidence to God concerning all heretics: "Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord, and am I not grieved by your enemies?" B For there is also a commendable enmity, as it is written: "And I will put enmity between you and between her seed." For friendship with the serpent produces enmity with God and death.
XI. Let these things then have been said by us concerning those rejected ones. But henceforth let us return to the divine Scriptures, and let us drink waters from our vessels [the holy Fathers], and from the fountain of our wells. Let us drink of the living water which leaps up into eternal life. The Savior said this concerning the Spirit, which those who believe in him were to receive. For see what he says: "He who believes in me, not simply and perfunctorily, but, as the Scripture said (leading you to the Old Testament), C rivers of living water shall flow out of his belly." Not rivers subject to the senses, irrigating the earth that bears thorns and wood in a simple and vulgar sense; but those that infuse light into souls. And elsewhere he says: "But the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water leaping up into eternal life." A new kind of water which lives and leaps; and it leaps upon those who are worthy.
XII. But what is the reason that the spiritual grace D
A has entitled itself by the name of water? Because by water all things consist; because water is the producer of herbs and of living creatures; because the water of the rains descends from the heavens; because it descends in one form, but works in many forms. For one fountain waters the whole paradise; and one and the same rain descends upon the whole world, and becomes white in the lily, and red in the rose, and purple in the violets and hyacinths, and is various and multiform in every kind of thing; and it is one thing in the palm, and another in the vine, and all things in all, being one in nature, and not being one thing and another of itself. For the rain does not change itself, becoming one thing and another; but adapting itself to the structure of those who receive it, it becomes to each what is fitting. In the same way the Holy Spirit, also, being one and B indivisible, divides His grace to each as He wills. And as the dry wood, having partaken of water, puts forth shoots, so also the soul in sins, having been deemed worthy of the Holy Spirit through repentance, brings forth clusters of righteousness. And while He is one in nature, He works many virtues by the command of God and in the name of Christ. For of one, He uses the tongue for wisdom; the soul of another He illuminates with prophecy; to another He gives the power to drive away demons; to another He gives to interpret the divine Scriptures. Of another He strengthens the temperance [or chastity], another He teaches things pertaining to mercy [or alms], another He teaches to fast and to endure the exercises of the ascetic life, another He teaches to contemn the things of the body, another He prepares for martyrdom; one thing in some, and another in others, while He is not different from Himself, as it is written: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for that which is profitable.”
CATECHESIS XVI. ON THE HOLY SPIRIT I.
C For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom. D As to the common agreement of both—namely that Paul did many miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit, by the command of the Father, and in the name of Christ—there is nothing insulting to the Holy Spirit that He should work by the command of the Father, any more than that the Son should have created the world by the same command, as Cyril asserts in Catechesis XI, and elsewhere. And what prevents the Spirit from working in the name of Christ, whom Christ Himself teaches will be sent in His own name? (John XIV, 26). That the action of the Holy Spirit is one and common with the Father and the Son, is a constant doctrine of Cyril in many places, primarily in Cat. VII; Cat. XVI; Cat. XVII, n. 5; and Cat. XVIII, n. 29.
A ...and to another the word of wisdom, by the same Spirit; to another faith, in the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing, in the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another diverse kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
XIII. But because A much and diverse, and that simply under the name of "spirit," is written in the holy Scriptures, and there is fear lest anyone through ignorance should fall into confusion, not knowing to what kind of spirit that which is written refers, it is well now to secure ourselves as to what the Scripture calls the Holy Spirit. For just as Christ B is called "anointed," and David, and Saul, and others are called "christs," while only He is the true Christ; so too, the name "spirit" being used for different things, it is good to see what it is that is specifically called the Holy Spirit. For many spirits are mentioned. For an angel is called a spirit; our soul is called a spirit; and this wind which blows is called a spirit; and great virtue is called a spirit; and an unclean act is called a spirit; and an opposing demon is called a spirit. Take care, therefore, when you hear these, not to suppose from the homonymy that one thing is another. C For regarding our soul, the Scripture says: His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth. And regarding the same soul it says again: He that formeth the spirit of man in him. Regarding the angels, it says in the Psalms: Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. Regarding the wind, it says: In a violent spirit (wind) thou shalt break the ships of Tharsis. And:
Fire, hail, snow, ice, spirit of tempest. Regarding good doctrine, the Lord Himself says: The words that I have spoken unto you, they are spirit, and they are life; meaning, they are spiritual. But the Holy Spirit is not spoken through a tongue; rather, He is living, granting the ability to speak wisely, being Himself the One who speaks and converses.
[XIV] And dost thou wish to know that He speaks and converses? Philip, by the revelation of an angel, went down into the street that leads to Gaza, when the eunuch was coming; and the Spirit said to Philip: Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. Dost thou see the Spirit speaking to the one who hears? And Ezekiel says thus: The Spirit of the Lord was upon me, and He said to me: Thus saith the Lord; and again: The Holy Spirit said to the apostles who were in Antioch: Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. B Dost thou see a living Spirit, separating, and calling, and authoritatively sending? And Paul said: Save that the Holy Spirit witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. For this good sanctifier of the Church, and helper, and teacher, is the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, concerning whom the Savior said: He shall teach you all things; He did not say, He shall teach only, but, He shall also bring to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you; for the doctrines of Christ are not one thing and those of the Holy Spirit another, but they are the same; He testified beforehand to Paul concerning the things that should happen, so that he might be the more encouraged by having known them beforehand. These things have been said to you because of the text: The words that I have spoken unto you, they are spirit; that thou mightest not think this to be an utterance of the lips, but good doctrine.
[XV] Now sin is also called spirit in this place, as we have said; but it is so in another and contrary manner, as when it says: They have been led astray in the spirit of fornication. The devil is also called a spirit, an unclean spirit; but
A this epithet is added, so that each may signify its own proper condition. If it speaks of the human soul, it says spirit with the addition of "human"; if it speaks of the wind, it calls it a spirit of storm; if it notes sin, it calls it a spirit of fornication; if it signifies the devil, it calls it an unclean spirit: so that we may know which spirit the account concerns, and that you may not think it is about this Holy Spirit; heaven forbid! For this name of "spirit" is a medium and a common term; and everything that does not possess a thick body is universally called a spirit. Since, therefore, the demons do not have such bodies, they are called spirits; but there is a great difference. For when an unclean demon comes upon the soul of a man (may the Lord deliver every soul of those who hear this, and of those who are not present, from this evil), it comes like a bloodthirsty wolf prepared for prey against a sheep; its arrival is most savage, the perception of it is most grievous, and the mind becomes darkened; and its attack is unjust, and it is a robbery of another's possession; for it violently forces itself to use a stranger's body as if it were its own, and a stranger's instrument. It casts down him who is standing (for it is akin to him who fell from heaven), it turns the tongue aside, it twists the lips; instead of words, it forces out foam: the man is plunged into darkness; the eye is open, and through it the soul does not see; and the wretched man B trembles and quakes before death. Demons are truly enemies of men, using them shamelessly and mercilessly.
XVI.
The Holy Spirit is not of this kind: heaven forbid! On the contrary, matters are ordered toward what is good and saving. For first, His arrival is gentle, His perception is fragrant, and His burden is most light. Rays of light and knowledge C shine forth beforehand upon everyone when He comes into the soul of man. DA He comes to save, to heal, to teach, to admonish, to strengthen, to comfort, to enlighten the mind, first of him who receives Him, and then through him, of others also. And just as a person who was once in darkness, then suddenly seeing the sun, has the sight of his eyes enlightened and clearly perceives what he did not see before, so also he who is deemed worthy of the Holy Spirit is enlightened in his soul, and above human capacity sees things he did not know. His body is upon the earth, and his soul mirrors the heavens. He sees, as Isaiah did, the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up; he sees, as Ezekiel did, Him who is upon the cherubim; he sees, as Daniel did, myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands; and the small man sees the beginning of the world and the end of the world, and the interval of time, and knows the successions of kings, things he had not learned. For the true Guide of light is present. The man is within walls, B but the power of knowledge reaches afar, and he sees even what is done by others.
XVII. Peter was not present when Ananias and Sapphira sold their possessions, but through the Spirit he was present. Why, he says, did Satan fill your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? There was no accuser; there was no witness; how did he know what had happened? Was it not yours while it remained, and after it was sold was it in your own power? Why have you put this thing in your heart? The unlettered Peter, through the grace of the Spirit, learned things that not even the wise men of the Greeks knew. You have a similar example also in the case of Elisha. For when he had healed the leprosy of Naaman C freely, Gehazi took the reward, intercepting the reward for another man’s achievement; and he takes the money from Naaman and puts it in a dark place. But the darkness is not darkened by the saints; and when he returned, Elisha questioned him; and just as Peter said to the man, "Tell me, did you sell the field for so much?" so he likewise asks, "Whence, Gehazi?" not ignorant of the "wherefrom," but mourning he brought forward that question, "Whence?" From darkness you came, and into D darkness you shall go. You have sold
A the healing of the leper, and you shall inherit the leprosy. "I fulfilled," he says, "the command of Him who said to me: 'Freely you received, freely give'; but you sold grace; accept the price of the sale." But what does Elisha say to him? "Did not my heart go with you?" I was here enclosed in the body; but the Spirit, given to me by God, saw even things far away, and clearly showed me things happening elsewhere. You see, how He not only removes ignorance, but also imparts knowledge; you see how the Holy Spirit illuminates souls.
XVIII. Isaiah was nearly a thousand years ago, and he saw Zion as a tent; the city was still standing, adorned with marketplaces, and arrayed in dignity. Yet he says: "Zion shall be plowed as a field"; B predicting what has been fulfilled in our own times. And see the accurate truth of the prophecy; for he said: "The daughter of Zion shall be left as a tent in a vineyard, and as a lodge of keepers in a cucumber field"; and the place is now filled with cucumber fields. Do you see how the Holy Spirit illuminates the saints? Do not, therefore, be driven away to other things by the similarity of a name, but keep to the exact truth.
XIX. If at any time, when you are sitting, a thought concerning purity or virginity enters your mind, that is His instruction. Often, does not a girl, already C betrothed for the bridal chambers, flee, as He teaches her about virginity? D [alt-version omitted]
A Does not a man, often distinguished in palaces, spit upon wealth and dignity, having been taught by the Holy Spirit? Does not a young man, often seeing beauty, shutter his eyes and turn away from seeing, and escape the defilement? Do you ask whence this happened? The Holy Spirit taught the soul of the young man. There are so many greedinesses in the world, and yet Christians possess nothing. For what reason? Because of the promise [note: (1)] of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is truly precious; He is the Good. Rightly are we baptized into the Father, and into the Son [note: (2)], and into the Holy Spirit. A man still bearing a body struggles B with many most savage demons; and often the demon, which could not be held by many with iron chains, was restrained by him through the power of the Holy Spirit [note: (5)] within him; and the simple insufflation [note: (3)] of the one exorcising becomes fire to that which is not seen. Therefore, we have a great protector, a great teacher of the Church, a great champion [note: (4)] for us. Let us not fear the demons, nor even the devil; for our champion is greater. Only let us open the doors to Him; for He goes about seeking the worthy, and seeking to whom He may grant the gifts.
A XX. He is also called Paraclete [or Comforter], because He comforts and encourages, and helps our infirmity. For, "what we should pray for as we ought, we know not; but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Rom. VIII, 26); it is manifest, that is, to God. Often, when someone has been insulted for Christ’s sake, and has been unjustly held in dishonor, martyrdom impends; tortures are on every side, and fire, and swords, and beasts, and the abyss. But the Holy Spirit speaks within, saying: "Wait for the Lord, O man" (Ps. XXVII, 14); small are the things which happen, great are those which shall be given; having endured labor for a short time, you shall exist eternally with the angels. "For the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. VIII, 18). He depicts for the man the kingdom of heaven; He shows him also the paradise of delight (Gen. II, 15). And the martyrs, while necessarily keeping the features of their body toward the judges, by their power were already remaining in paradise, spitting upon those bitter things that are seen.
XXI. Do you wish to know, then, that it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that martyrs bear witness? The Savior says to the disciples: "But when they bring you before the synagogues, and rulers and authorities, do not be anxious how you shall answer or what you shall say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say" (Luc. XII, 11, 12). For it is impossible to bear witness for Christ’s sake, unless one bears witness through the Holy Spirit. For if "no one can say that Jesus is the Lord, except in the Holy Spirit" (I Cor. XII, 3), how shall any one give his own life for Jesus, unless in the Holy Spirit?
C XXII. Great, and omnipotent in gifts, and admirable, is the Holy Spirit. Consider how many are sitting here now, how many souls are present. He works appropriately for each one; and standing in the midst, He sees the character of each; He sees also the reasoning and the conscience, and what we say and what we think. Great indeed is that which I have just said, but as yet it is small. For consider, having been illuminated in your mind by Him, how many Christians there are of this whole parish, and how many of all the province of Palestine. And D
extend your mind from this province to the entire Roman empire; and from this, cast your view over the whole world: the races of the Persians and the nations of the Indians, the Goths and the Sauromatae, the Gauls and the Spaniards, the Moors and the Libyans, and the Ethiopians, and the rest whose names are unknown to us—for many of the nations have not even come to our knowledge by name. Behold for me, in every nation, the bishops, presbyters, deacons, monks, virgins, and the rest of the laity; and behold the great protector and giver of gifts; how, in all the world, He bestows upon one purity, upon another perpetual virginity, upon another B mercy, upon another voluntary poverty, upon another the driving away of opposing spirits. And just as the light, by a single ray’s approach, illuminates everything, so also the Holy Spirit illuminates those who have eyes; for if anyone, being blind, is not counted worthy of the grace, let him not blame the Spirit, but his own unbelief.
XXIII. You have seen His power, which is exercised in the whole world. Be not, therefore, fixed upon the earth any longer, but ascend [in spirit] also to things above; ascend in your thought even to the first heaven, and behold for me the so many, there, myriads of angels, numberless. Ascend in your reasoning, if you are able, even higher; behold for me also archangels, behold for me also spirits; behold powers, behold principalities, behold authorities, behold thrones, C behold lordships. You have seen the power of Him who is the superintendent D of all these.
A a superintendent from God, and a teacher, and a sanctifier, the Paraclete. A Elias, and Eliseus, and Isaias, of the order of men, have need of Him; B Michael and Gabriel, of the order of angels, have need of Him. Nothing of generated creatures is equal in honor to Him; for the races of angels, and all the armies of them collected together, do not possess parity or equality with the Holy Spirit; the all-good power of the Paraclete covers all these. And the former are sent for ministry, but the latter searches even the deep things of God, as the Apostle says: *For the Spirit searches all things, even* C *the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man, saving the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God no one knows, except the Spirit of God.* (1)
XXIV. This One He preached in the prophets concerning Christ; this One He worked in the apostles; this One, even to this day, seals the souls in Baptism. B And the Father indeed gives to the Son, and the Son imparts to the Holy Spirit. For it is Jesus Himself who says, not I: *All things have been delivered unto me by my Father.* D
A And concerning the Holy Spirit he says: *When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, and the rest, he shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall announce it unto you.* The Father, through the Son, together with the Holy Spirit, grants all things. The gifts of the Father are not different from those of the Son, and those of the Holy Spirit; for the salvation is one, the power is one, the faith is one. There is one God, the Father; one Lord, His only-begotten Son; one Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. And it is sufficient for us to know these things; but do not curiously inquire into nature or B substance. For if it had been written, we would say it; what is not written, let us not dare to touch. It is sufficient for us to know for salvation that there is Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit.
XXV. This Spirit descended upon the seventy elders in the time of Moses (yet, beloved, let not the length of the discourse cause you weariness. May He concerning whom we speak grant power to each one, both to us who speak and to you who listen). This Spirit descended, as I said, upon the seventy elders who were under Moses. I tell you these things, so that I may now demonstrate that He knows all things and works as He wills. The seventy elders were chosen; and the Lord descended in a cloud, and took of the Spirit that was upon Moses, and placed it upon the seventy men who were elders: not that the Spirit was divided, but the grace was divided according to the vessels and the power of those receiving it. C But sixty-eight were present, and they prophesied; Eldad, however, and Modad were absent. In order, therefore, that it might be declared, not solely by the presence of the number of men, that the Spirit is not divided, but that the grace is distributed according to the measure of the vessel and of faith, and that it might be shown that He knows those who are away and that He works as He wills, D even those who were absent, though a long distance away, partook of the grace; for the Spirit is present everywhere, and the distance of the body does not hinder the action of the Spirit.
A Eldad and Modad were not present. In order, therefore, to show that it was not Moses who was the bestower, but the Spirit who was working, Eldad and Modad, who had been called but had not yet arrived, began to prophesy.
XXVI. Joshua the son of Nun, the successor of Moses, was astonished and, approaching Moses, said: Did you hear that Eldad and Modad are prophesying? They were called, and they did not arrive. My lord Moses, forbid them. I cannot forbid them, he says, for the grace is heavenly; and I am so far from forbidding them that I myself also, according to grace, possess it. But I do not think that you said this moved by envy. May you not be jealous for my sake, B because they have prophesied, and you do not yet prophesy. Wait for the time: "And would that all the Lord's people were prophets, when the Lord shall give His Spirit upon them?" Speaking this also prophetically: "When the Lord shall give." For now, it seems, He did not yet give; you, therefore, do not yet have it. Did Abraham, then, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph not have it? Did those before him not have it? But the, "When the Lord shall give," clearly signifies the one given to all. For now the grace is partial; then the gift will be abundant. He was hinting at that which was to happen at Pentecost among us; for it also descended into our midst. But it had descended upon many even before; for it is written: "And Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom," C for Moses laid his hands upon him. You see everywhere the same pattern in the Old and New Covenants. Under Moses, the Spirit was given through the laying on of hands; and Peter, through the laying on of hands, bestows the Spirit; and the grace is about to reach even you who are to be baptized; but how, I do not say, for I will not anticipate the time.
A XXVII. This also came upon all the just and the prophets: I say Enos, Enoch, Noe, and the rest; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. For that Joseph also had the Spirit of God in him, Pharao himself had already discovered. Concerning Moses, and the wondrous deeds performed by him through the Spirit, you have heard often. This also the most valiant Job had, and all the saints, even if we do not go through all their names. This also, being sent forth in the construction of the tabernacle, filled Beseleel and those with him who were wise in artistry with wisdom.
B XXVIII. In the power of this Spirit, as we have it in the Book of Judges, Othoniel judged, Gedeon was strengthened, Jephtae won the victory, Debbora the woman fought; and Samson, while he was still practicing righteousness and not grieving Him, performed deeds beyond human strength. For concerning Samuel and David, we have it clearly in the Books of Kings, how they prophesied in the Holy Spirit, and were leaders of the prophets. And Samuel was called the Seer; and David says clearly, "The Spirit of the Lord spoke in me"; and in the Psalms: "And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me"; and again: "Thy good Spirit shall lead me in the right way." And as
we have in Paralipomenon, they were endowed with the Holy Spirit: Azarias under King Asaph, and Oziel under King Josaphat, and again another Azarias who was stoned. A And Esdras says: "And Thou gavest Thy good Spirit to instruct them." But concerning Elias, who was taken up, and Eliseus, who were Spirit-bearers and wonder-workers, it is clear to us, even if we were silent, that they were full of the Holy Spirit.
XXIX. If anyone should examine all the books of the twelve and the other prophets, he will find very many testimonies concerning the Holy Spirit. Micheas indeed says, in the person of God: "Unless I shall fill up the power in the Spirit of the Lord." And Joel cries out: "And it shall be after these things, says God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh," and the rest. And Aggaeus declares: "Because I am with you, says the Lord Almighty, and my Spirit is present in the midst of you." And Zacharias likewise: "But receive my words and my statutes, as many as I command in my Spirit to my servants the prophets," and other things. B
XXX. And Isaias, that most vocal herald, says: "And the Spirit of God shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety; and He shall fill Him with the spirit of the fear of God," showing indeed that this is one and indivisible, yet that its operations are diverse; and again: "Jacob my servant," and later: "I have put my Spirit upon Him"; [and again: "I will put my Spirit"] upon thy seed; and again: "And now the Lord Almighty has sent me, and His Spirit"; and again: "This is the covenant from me to them, says the Lord: My Spirit that is upon thee"; C and again: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the sake of which He has anointed me," and the rest; and again in those things which He says against the Jews: "But they were disobedient, and provoked His Holy Spirit"; and: "Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them?" Thou hast also in Ezechiel (if at least thou art already alert in listening to the things previously said): "And the Spirit fell upon me, and He said to me..."
Thus saith the Lord." A This "fell upon me" should be well understood, for it suggests affection; just as Jacob, having found Joseph, fell upon his neck; and as in the Gospels the most loving father, seeing the son who had returned from his journey abroad, was moved with compassion, and running, fell upon his neck, and kissed him; and again in Ezechiel: "And He brought me to the land of the Chaldeans, into the captivity, in a vision in the Spirit of God." For thou hast heard other things previously in the *Treatises on Baptism*: "And I will sprinkle upon you clean water," and the rest; "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit will I give within you"; and straightway: "And My Spirit I will give within you"; B and again: "And the hand of the Lord came upon me, and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord."
XXXI. The same (Spirit) made the soul of Daniel wise, that the young man might be the judge of the elders. The chaste Susanna was condemned as unchaste. There was no defender; for who would have rescued her from the princes? She was being led away to death; she was, by this time, in the hands of the executioners. But the Helper was present, the Paraclete, the Spirit who sanctifies every intelligent nature. "Come hither," He says to Daniel, "O young man, rebuke the elders who have sickened with the sins of youth"; for it is written: "God raised up the Holy Spirit upon a young lad." And yet, that we may pass through this briefly, by the sentence of Daniel, the chaste woman was saved. C We bring these things forward for the sake of testimony; for this is not the time for exposition. Nabuchodonosor also knew that the Holy Spirit was in Daniel; for he says to him: "Baltasar, prince of the enchanters, I have known this, that the holy Spirit of God is in thee." He spoke one truth, and one falsehood. For that he had the Holy Spirit was true; but he was not the prince of the enchanters; for he was not a magician, but wise from the Spirit. And before this D
A he had explained to him the vision of the image, which he who had seen it did not know. Tell me, he says, the vision which I who saw it do not know. You see the power of the Holy Spirit; that they who see do not know, while they who have not seen understand and interpret.
XXXII. And it would indeed be truly possible to collect very many testimonies from the Old Testament, and to explain more broadly the matters concerning the Holy Spirit; but the time is short, and one must have regard also for the measure of the hearing. Wherefore, being for the present satisfied with these which we have brought forward from the Old Testament, we shall, if God wills, proceed again to the remaining treatment from the New Testament in the following Catechesis. May the God of peace, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, B count you all worthy of spiritual and heavenly gifts. To whom be glory and power unto the ages of the ages. Amen.
ADDITION TO THIS CATECHESIS
(APPENDIX TO THIS CATECHESIS)
"Towards the end of no. 3, after the words 'and having shown him,' we find in the Coislin codex these things, which we present in this place. We have corrected the errors of the codex from Greg. Nyss., and the numbers from conjecture."
I. And just as when we heard C of the Word of God, we did not think that the Word was a thing lacking substance, nor that it came to be through learning, nor that it vanished by its own dissolution after it was uttered; nor that it was subject to any other defects which are observed in our speech, but that it subsists substantially, being endowed with the power of choosing and being omnipotent: so also, when we have learned of the Spirit of God, who is joined to the Word and makes manifest its operation, we do not understand it as a breath of respiration (for thus the magnitude of the divine power would be cast down to a most lowly state, if the Spirit which is in it were conceived according to the likeness of our own), but as a substantial power, D seen in its own distinct hypostasis; which can neither be separated from God, in whom it is, nor from the Word of God, to whom it adheres as a companion; nor is it diffused such that it ceases to be. But according to the likeness of the Word of God, existing in hypostasis, endowed with its own free will, moving itself by its own force, operative, always choosing what is good; and which has power concurrent and equal with its will for everything it intends.
B 2. For the Spirit of God is good. David says: "And thy good Spirit shall lead me in the way of uprightness." This, therefore, is the Spirit of God: the unchangeable, the unalterable, the ineffable; the One who sways and reigns over all created substance, both visible and invisible natures. The One who is Lord of angels and archangels, of powers, principalities, dominions, and thrones; the Creator of all substance; the sharer of the same throne with the glory of the Father and the Son; the One who reigns without beginning and without end, together with the Father and the Son, while the created substances are present. The One who sanctifies the ministering spirits sent forth to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation; the One who descended upon the holy and blessed Virgin Mary, from whom Christ was born according to the flesh, and upon the Lord Himself B in the bodily form of a dove at the river Jordan; the One who came upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost in the form of fiery tongues; the One who is the giver and provider of all spiritual gifts in the Church; the One who proceeds from the Father; the One who exists from the divinity of the Father and the Son; the One who is consubstantial with the Father and the Son, indivisible, and inseparable. Let no one, etc.
CATECHESIS SEVENTEENTH
CONCERNING THE HOLY SPIRIT II
PREFACE
I. Whereas in the previous catechesis he was compelled by the narrowness of time to recite only the testimonies of the Old Testament concerning the healing works of the Holy Spirit for the human race, in this one, he follows up by providing the testimonies of the New Testament concerning the Holy Spirit.
II. First, he gives a warning (nos. 1, 2) that no one should think the Holy Spirit is divided on account of the division of the catecheses; but they should know for certain that He is one, though called by various names, which he briefly runs through here, and that He is endowed with a solid hypostasis (nos. 4, 5). He then mentions His operations in Mary, the Mother of the Lord, whom He sanctified that she might conceive the Creator; in Elizabeth; in Zachariah; and in John, the son of both (nos. 6, 7, 8). Then, having added some mystical points concerning the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ at the time of His baptism, he recites various sayings of the Savior concerning the Holy Spirit (nos. 9, 10, 11).
CATECHESIS XVII OF THE ILLUMINATED.
Spoken extemporaneously at Jerusalem; completing what remained to be said concerning the Holy Spirit. And the reading is from the First Epistle to the Corinthians: *“To one, for instance, there is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom,”* and what follows.
I. In the preceding catechetical instruction, we laid before the ears of your charity, to the best of our ability, a small portion of the testimonies pertaining to the Holy Spirit. A In the present instruction, God willing, we shall touch upon those that remain, drawn from the New Testament, as much as is permitted. For at that time, lest we should exceed the proper measure in our discourse, we restrained our eager zeal (for the subject of the Holy Spirit is inexhaustible); but now, we shall recite another small part of what remains. For we honestly confess, even now, that our weakness is overwhelmed by the multitude of things to be gathered from the Scriptures. On this day, as well, we shall not employ human reasonings and inventions (for that is inexpedient), but we shall recall those things which come from the divine Scriptures, for it is most secure, according to the
A blessed apostle Paul, who says: "Which things also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." B We do indeed act in a way similar to those journeying or sailing, who, though they have one single goal for their extremely long journey—striving toward it by design—yet, because of human frailty, are accustomed to put in at various cities or harbors.
II. C For even if the discourses to be held concerning the Holy Spirit are divided, He Himself remains indivisible, being one and the same. For just as when we spoke concerning the Father, at one time our instruction was about His monarchy; at another, how He is called Father or Almighty; at another, how He is the Creator of all things; yet this division of the catecheses did not imply a division of the faith, for the goal of piety was and is one. And just as when we discoursed concerning the only-begotten Son of God, at one time we taught the things concerning His divinity, and at another the things concerning His humanity, dividing the words concerning our Lord Jesus Christ into many discourses while proclaiming the faith in Him as indivisible; so too now, while the catecheses concerning the Holy Spirit are divided, we proclaim the faith in Him as indivisible. For there is one and the same Spirit, who divides His gifts to each one individually as He wills, while He Himself remains indivisible. For the Paraclete is not one other than the Holy Spirit, but it is one and the same, signified by various appellations: living, and subsisting, and speaking, and acting; and He is the sanctifier of all things endowed with reason that have been made by God through Christ, both of angels and of men.
III. D Needing, however, to ensure C that, on account of the various appellations of the Holy Spirit, some might not, through ignorance, suppose these to be different spirits and not one and the same, which indeed He alone is, the Catholic Church—
A having delivered in the confession of faith that we should believe "in one holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who has spoken in the prophets"—was wishing that you might know that, while the appellations are many, the Holy Spirit is but one. Concerning which appellations, we shall now speak to you of a few, taken from many.
IV. He is indeed called *Spirit*, according to what has just been read: "For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom." He is also called the *Spirit of truth*, as the Savior says: "But when He, the Spirit of truth, has come." He is also called *Paraclete*, as He has said: "For if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you." That one and the same reality is referred to by these various appellations is clearly shown by these passages. B For as regards the idea that the Holy Spirit and the Paraclete are the same, it has been said: "But the Paraclete is the Holy Spirit." And regarding the fact that the Paraclete and the Spirit of truth are the same, it is said: "And I will give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth"; and again: "But when the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth." He is also called the *Spirit of God*, as it is written: "And I saw the Spirit of God descending"; and again: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." He is also called the *Spirit of the Father*, as the Savior says: "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you"; and again the Apostle Paul: "For this cause I bow my knees to the Father"; and in what follows: "That He may grant to you to be strengthened through His Spirit." He is also called the C *Spirit of the Lord*, as Peter said: "Why is it that you have conspired together to test the Spirit of the Lord?" He is also called the *Spirit of God and of Christ*, as Paul writes: "But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." He is also called the *Spirit of the Son of God*, as it is said: "Because, however—"
you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son." He is also called the *Spirit of Christ*, as it is written: "In whom or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them signifying"; and again: "Through your prayer, and the bounty of the Spirit of Jesus Christ."
V. Furthermore, you will find many other appellations of the Holy Spirit. For He is called the *Spirit of sanctification*, as it is written: "According to the Spirit of sanctification." He is also called the *Spirit of adoption*, as Paul says: "For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." He is also called the *Spirit of revelation*, as it is written: "May He give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him." He is also called the *Spirit of promise*, as the same [Apostle] says: "In whom also after that you believed, you were sealed B with that Holy Spirit of promise." He is also called the *Spirit of grace*, as when he says again: "And has done despite unto the Spirit of grace." He is designated by many other such appellations. You have heard clearly, even in the preceding catechesis, that in the Psalms He is sometimes named *good*, and sometimes *princely*; and in Isaiah He was referred to as *of wisdom, and of understanding, and of counsel, and of might, and of knowledge, and of piety, and of the fear of God*. From all of which, both those things mentioned before and those mentioned now, it is established that while the appellations are diverse, the Holy Spirit C Himself is one and the same; living and subsistent, and always present with the Father and the Son; not brought forth by speaking from the mouth and lips of the Father or the Son, nor breathed out, nor dispersed into the air.
A But it subsists of itself, speaking itself, and acting, and dispensing, and sanctifying; for the dispensation of our salvation is indivisible, harmonious, and one, coming from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, as we have also said before. Since I wish you to remember those things recently spoken, and to know clearly that it is not one thing in the Law and the Prophets, and another in the Gospels and the Apostles; but it is one and the same Holy Spirit, who spoke the divine Scriptures in the Old and New Testaments.
VI. This Holy Spirit is He who came upon the holy Virgin Mary. For since Christ was the Only-Begotten, who was being born, the power of the Most High overshadowed her, and the Holy Spirit coming upon her B sanctified her, to the end that she might be able to receive Him through whom all things were made. I have no need of many words for you to learn that the birth was undefiled and pure; for you have learned this. It is Gabriel who says to her: "I am a herald of the things that are to come, but not a partner in the work; for even if I am an archangel, yet I know my rank." And I indeed announce to you the greeting; but how you shall bring forth, not of my grace, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you; wherefore also the Holy One who is born shall be called the Son of God." C D [alt-version omitted] [index: entries preserved]
A VII. This Holy Spirit proved His efficacy in Elisabeth. For He knows not only virgins, but He recognizes also those who are married, if the marriage be according to law. And Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied; and the noble handmaid says concerning her (1) Lord: "And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" For Elisabeth was pronouncing herself blessed. Filled with this same Holy Spirit, Zacharias also, the father of John, prophesied, telling of how many good things the Only-Begotten is the author, and that John would be His forerunner through baptism. Admonished by this same Holy Spirit, Simeon the Righteous also, having received the word that he should not see death before he saw the Lord's Christ, took Him into his arms in the temple and openly testified concerning Him.
VIII. And John, who was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb, was for this reason sanctified, that he might baptize the Lord; not bestowing the Spirit, but announcing Him who bestows the Spirit. For he says: "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but He that cometh after me," and so forth, "He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Why with fire? Because the descent of the Holy Spirit took place in fiery tongues. Concerning this, the Lord says rejoicing: "I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?"
IX. This Holy Spirit descended when the Lord was being baptized, in order that the dignity of Him who was being baptized might not be hidden, B just as John says: "But He who sent me to baptize with water, He said to me: Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit." C D
A Indeed, see what the Gospel says: "The heavens were opened," and they were opened because of the dignity of Him who descended. For, he says, "The heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him"—descending, that is, by His own impulse and movement. For it was necessary, as some have explained, that the first fruits and the primary gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are bestowed upon those who are baptized, be provided to the humanity of the Savior, who grants such grace. And He descended, perhaps in the form of a dove, as some say, being pure and innocent and guileless, and working together with the prayers for those being born [as children] and for the forgiveness of sins, as a type and illustration B of what was enigmatically foretold regarding Christ, so that it might be shown forth visibly as follows:
A For in the Song of Songs, concerning the Bridegroom, [the Bride] calls out and says: *Thy eyes are as doves upon the fullness of the waters.*
X. According to some, that dove of which we read in the history of Noah bore in part a type of this [dove]. For just as in his time, through wood and water, salvation was brought to those men, and the beginning of a new generation, and the dove returned to him toward evening, bearing an olive leaf; so, they say, the Holy Spirit descended upon the true Noah, the author of the second generation, who gathers together the wills and characters of diverse kinds into one; of the diversity of whose characters the different natures of the animals enclosed in the ark bore a type. B After He arrived, spiritual wolves pasture together with lambs, just as the Church has the calf, and the bull, and the lion feeding together, as even to this day we see, with worldly rulers being led and taught by those of the Church. Therefore, as some interpret, the intelligible dove descended in the time of the baptism, that He might show that He is the same who, through the wood of the cross, grants salvation to those who believe, and who was to bestow C salvation toward evening through His own death.
XI. And regarding these matters, perhaps one might discourse in another way as well. But now it is better to hear the very words of the Savior Himself concerning the Holy Spirit. For He says: *Unless one be born of water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of God;* and that this grace is from the Father, He says: *How much more shall the Father who is from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!* And that God must be worshipped in spirit, He says: *But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father also seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.* And again: *But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons;* and immediately in what follows: *Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whosoever shall speak* a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever shall speak a word against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this D age...
nor in the one to come. A And again He says: “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete, that He may be with you for ever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, because He dwells with you and shall be in you.” And again He says: “These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I have said to you.” And again He says: “But when the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness concerning Me.” And again the Saviour says: “For if I do not depart, the Paraclete will not come to you. But when He comes, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” And in the subsequent passage again: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all the truth. For He shall not speak from Himself; but whatsoever He hears He shall speak, and He shall declare to you the things that are to come. He shall glorify Me, for He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said to you that He shall take of Mine, and shall declare it to you.” B I have now read to you the words of the Only-Begotten Himself, that you may not give heed to human sayings.
XII. He imparted the communion of this Holy Spirit to the apostles; for it is written: “And when He had said this, He breathed, and says to them: Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.” This is the second breathing, since the first had been obscured by voluntary sins, so that what was written might be fulfilled: “He ascended breathing upon thy face, and delivering thee from affliction.” But whence did He ascend? From Hades; for thus the Gospel relates, that it was after the resurrection that He then breathed upon them. But He indeed gives grace at this time, yet He bestows it more abundantly; and He says to them:
A I am ready to give it even now, but the vessel does not yet hold it. For the time being, therefore, receive the grace that you can hold; but await a fuller measure. Do you, however, sit in the city of Jerusalem, until you be clothed with power from on high (Luke xxiv, 49). Now you receive it in part; then you shall wear it in its completeness. For he who receives, often possesses what is given only in part; but he who is clothed is encompassed on all sides by the garment. Do not fear, He says, the weapons of the devil and his arrows; for you shall wear the power of the Holy Spirit (and be mindful of what was said a moment ago, that the Spirit is not divided, but it is the grace given by Him that is).
XIII. Jesus therefore ascended into the heavens, and fulfilled the promise; for He had said to them: I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete (John xiv, 16). They sat expecting the advent of the Holy Spirit: And when the day of Pentecost was fully come (Acts ii, 2), here, in this city of Jerusalem—for this prerogative also is ours; and we speak not of those things which happened among others, but of the goods granted to us—it being then Pentecost, they were sitting, and the Paraclete was descending from heaven. The guardian and sanctifier of the Church, the moderator of souls, the pilot of those who are tossed by waves and storms, the light-bringer of the wandering, the arbiter of the combatants, and the crowner of the victorious.
XIV. He descended, that He might clothe them with power and that He might baptize the apostles. For the Lord says: You shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence (Acts i, 5). This is not a partial grace, but a power infused in its entirety and from the whole. For just as he who is immersed in the waters and baptized is encompassed by the waters on all sides, so too were they B perfectly baptized, and as it were wrapped about, by the Spirit. But the water is poured on the outside to the body, whereas the Spirit baptizes the soul within, and that, too, without fail. And why do you marvel? Take a bodily example, small indeed and trivial, but useful for the simpler-minded. If fire, passing through the thickness of iron, becomes fire throughout within, and the cold metal becomes hot, and that which was black and dark becomes radiant; if fire, being a body, insinuating itself into the body of iron, works in such an unimpeded manner; why then do you marvel if the Holy Spirit enters into the innermost parts of the soul?
XV. But that the magnitude of such grace, as it descended, might not be ignored, a trumpet, as it were celestial, sounded. For there occurred suddenly from heaven a sound, C D
A as of a rushing, violent wind, signifying the arrival of Him who grants to men the power to capture with violence the kingdom of God: so that both the eyes might behold the tongues of fire, and the ears might hear the sound. And it filled the whole house where they were sitting. The house became a receptacle of the intelligible water; the disciples were sitting within, and the whole house was filled. They were therefore baptized in full, according to the promise; they were clothed in soul and body with a divine and saving garment. B And there appeared unto them tongues as of fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. They partook of fire, not consuming, but saving fire, which indeed destroys the thorns of sins, but illumines the soul. This is now about to come upon you also, and to take away and consume your thorny sins, but to illumine yet more the precious possession of your soul, C and to give you grace; for He gave it then also to the apostles. And in the form of fiery tongues it sat upon them, that they might be crowned with newer, spiritual diadems by means of fiery tongues upon their heads. A flaming sword previously barred the entrance to paradise; a fiery tongue, the conciliator of salvation, has restored that grace.
XVI. D "And they began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Peter was a Galilean, and Andrew; or perhaps one spoke Persian, another Median. John and the remaining apostles spoke every language to those who were from the nations; for it was not only now that the multitude of foreign nations began to gather here from all parts, but already from those times. What teacher is found so great as to infuse instantly a doctrine that those listening have not learned? So many years are consumed that, through grammar and other arts, one learns only to speak Greek correctly; and not even all speak alike. But the rhetor perhaps succeeds in speaking beautifully, yet the grammarian sometimes does not; and one skilled in grammar is ignorant of philosophical disciplines. But the Holy Spirit at once taught many languages, which those men during their whole lifetime [would not have known]. This is truly great wisdom; this is divine power. What comparison is there to the ignorance of that long period?
A XVII. There was a confusion among the multitude of those who heard, a second confusion, contrary to that first evil one at Babylon. For in that confusion of languages, there was a division of purpose, because the thought was hostile to God; but here there was a restoration and union of minds, because what was being pursued was pious. Throughout the things by which the fall occurred, by these same things the return took place. Hence they were marveling, saying: *How do we hear them speaking?* It is nothing wonderful if you are ignorant, for Nicodemus also was ignorant of the coming of the Spirit; and it was said to him: *The Spirit breathes where it wills, and you hear its voice, but you do not know from where it comes and where it goes.* B But if, even when I hear its voice, I do not know from where it comes, how can I be able to explain what it is in its substance?
XVIII. But others, mocking, said: *They are filled with new wine.* They spoke truly, but jestingly. For it was indeed new wine, the grace of the New Testament; but this new wine was from an intelligible vine, which had often already borne fruit in the prophets, and had sprouted in the New Testament. For just as in the sensible example, the vine always remains the same, yet throughout the seasons it brings forth new fruits; so also the same Spirit, remaining what it is, and having often manifested its power in the prophets, now showed forth something new and admirable. For the grace reached even to the Fathers, but C here it was with superabundance: for there they received a participation of the Holy Spirit, but here they were entirely and fully baptized.
XIX. But Peter, who had the Holy Spirit and knew what he had, says: *Men of Israel*, you who preach Joel and do not know what the Scriptures contain, these men are not drunk as you suppose. For they are drunk, not as you suppose, but as it is written: *They shall be inebriated with the fatness of your house, and you will give them to drink of the torrent of your delights.* They are drunk with a sober drunkenness, which destroys sin and makes the heart alive, a drunkenness contrary to the corporal one. For the latter produces even forgetfulness of things we know, but this one [produces knowledge] of things previously unknown.
They are drunk, having drunk the wine of the intelligible vine, which says: *I am the vine, and you are the branches.* A And if you do not believe me, understand what is said from the very circumstance of the time. For it is the third hour of the day. For he who was crucified at the third hour, as Mark says, has now sent the grace at the third hour. For the grace of that time is not different from the grace of this one; but He who was then crucified, and who promised, has fulfilled what He promised.
But if you also wish to receive testimony, hear what is said: *But this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: And it shall be in the last days*, says God, *I will pour out of my Spirit*. And the [word] "I will pour out" signifies a rich gift; for *God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.* And He has given Him the power even to bestow the grace of the most Holy Spirit upon whomsoever He wills. *I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; and in the following: And indeed upon my menservants and upon my handmaids in those days I will pour out of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.* The Holy Spirit is B no respecter of persons; for He seeks not dignities, but the piety of the soul. Let neither the rich be puffed up, nor the poor be cast down; but let each one prepare himself for the reception of the heavenly grace.
XX. Many things have indeed been said by us today, and perhaps the audience is fatigued; but more remains, and there is truly need for teachings concerning the Holy Spirit, and for a third and even more catecheses. But grant us pardon for both. For since the holy feast of Pascha is now at hand, our discourse was extended today; and it was not possible to bring into the midst all the testimonies from the New Testament that it was necessary to bring. For much escapes us from the Acts of the Apostles, in which the grace of the Holy Spirit worked effectively in Peter and in all the apostles together. Much also remains from the Catholic [Epistles], and from the fourteen Epistles of Paul: from which now a few [things], as if from a great meadow,
we shall endeavor to cull for the sake of mere remembrance.
A XXI. For in the power of the Holy Spirit, by the will of the Father and the Son, Peter stood with the eleven, and lifting up his voice (according to that which was said: "Exalt your voice in strength, you who bring good tidings to Jerusalem"), he caught about three thousand souls in the spiritual net of his words; such great grace working in all the apostles simultaneously, that among the Jews—those very ones who had crucified Christ—so many should believe, and be baptized in the name of Christ, and persevere in the doctrine of the apostles and in prayers. In the same power of the Holy Spirit again, when Peter and John had gone up into the temple at the ninth hour of prayer, and had healed in the name of Jesus him who was lame from his mother's womb and was forty years of age (that that which was written might be fulfilled: "Then shall the lame man leap as an hart"), they caught in the spiritual seine of their teaching five thousand who believed at once; and they confounded the leaders of the people and the high priests who had been led into error—and not by their own wisdom (for they were unlettered and private men), but through the B efficacy of the Spirit; for it is written: "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them." And such was the grace of the Holy Spirit that worked in those who believed, through the twelve apostles, that they all had one heart and one soul, and theirs was a common enjoyment of possessions: for the owners would piously offer the prices of their property, and there was no one in need among them; while Ananias and Sapphira, because they attempted to lie to the Holy Spirit, sustained the retribution that was fitting.
C XXII. Through the hands of the apostles, many signs and wonders were done among the people; and such spiritual grace was poured around the apostles that, although they were gentle, they were nevertheless a source of terror (for no one of the rest dared to join himself to them, but the people magnified them); and great multitudes of men and women added themselves as believers to the Lord; and the streets were filled with the infirm, who were placed on beds and mats, so that as Peter came, even his shadow might overshadow some of them; and in addition the multitude of the neighboring cities would gather into this holy Jerusalem, bringing D infirm and those vexed by unclean spirits, all of whom were healed in this power of the Holy Spirit.
XXIII. Again, the twelve apostles, on account of their preaching of Christ, having been cast into prison by the high priests, and having been miraculously delivered therefrom by an angel in the night, and having been brought to the council from the temple to them
they used their censures A fearlessly in the things which they said to them concerning Christ; and they added this, that God also gave the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him; and having been scourged, they went on their way rejoicing, and ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
XXIV. Nor was the grace of the Holy Spirit efficacious only in the twelve apostles; but also in the firstborn children of this Church, which was once barren, I mean in the seven deacons. For these too were chosen, as it is written, “full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.” B Of whom he who was worthily named for the crown, Stephen, the first-fruits of the martyrs, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, did wonders and great signs among the people, and overcame those who debated with him: “For they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.” And being attacked by false accusations and brought into court, he shone with angelic radiance. (For all who sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.) But after he had confuted, by his wise apology, the stiff-necked Jews, uncircumcised in heart and ears, who always resist the Holy Spirit, he beheld the heavens opened, and saw the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God; and he saw this not by his own power, but as the divine Scripture says: “But being full of the Holy Spirit, he looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God.”
XXV. In this same power of the Holy Spirit, Philip also, in the name of Christ, sometimes in the city of Samaria cast out C unclean spirits, which cried with a loud voice; and he healed paralytics and the lame, and added many of those who believed to Christ. To whom, when Peter and John had come down, they imparted the participation of the Holy Spirit through prayer and the imposition of hands; from which Simon Magus alone was justly declared to be alien. And at another time, the same man, having been called by an angel of the Lord on the road, on account of that most devout Ethiopian eunuch, heard clearly from the Spirit Himself: Draw near, and
A join yourself to this chariot; and having instructed the Ethiopian, and baptized him, he sent him to Ethiopia as a herald of Christ, according to what is written: "Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God" (Ps. LXVII, 32); and having been caught up by the angel, he preached the Gospel to the cities in order following.
XXVI. Paul also was filled with this same Holy Spirit B after his calling by our Lord Jesus Christ. And let Ananias, that devout man who was at Damascus, come as a witness to us of these words, saying to him: "The Lord Jesus, who appeared to thee in the way where thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost" (Acts IX, 17). This, having immediately taken effect, changed the blindness of Paul’s eyes into the recovery of sight; and having bestowed the seal upon his soul, He made him B a chosen vessel, to bear the name of the Lord who appeared to him before kings and the children of Israel; and him who was once a persecutor, He rendered a herald and a good servant; who from Jerusalem and even unto Illyricum had fulfilled the Gospel, and was to instruct the royal city of Rome, and to extend the eagerness of his preaching even unto Spain; having endured ten thousand struggles, and having performed signs and wonders; concerning whom this is for the present sufficient.
XXVII. In the power, then, of the same Holy Spirit, Peter, the prince of the apostles and the bearer of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, C at Lydda, which is now called Diospolis, healed in the name of Christ the paralytic Æneas; and in Joppe, he raised the charitable Tabitha from the dead. And being on the housetop, in an ecstasy he saw heaven opened, and through the vessel let down as a sheet, full of various and manifold animals, he learned clearly that no man should be called common or unclean, even if he be from the Greeks; and through Cornelius...
A being summoned, he heard clearly from the Holy Spirit himself: "Behold, men are seeking you; but arise, go down, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them." And that this might be shown clearly, that also they who believe from the nations become partakers of the grace of the Holy Spirit; when Peter had arrived at Caesarea and was teaching the things concerning Christ, the Scripture says regarding Cornelius and those present: "While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were hearing the word; so that those of the circumcision who had come with Peter were astonished and amazed, saying: 'That even upon the Gentiles the gift of the Holy Spirit has been poured out.'"
XXVIII. And in Antioch, most noble city of Syria, as the preaching of Christ was working wonders, Barnabas, a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and faith, was sent from Jerusalem as a helper in good works to Antioch. B He, seeing a great harvest of those believing in Christ, brought Paul as a fellow-worker from Tarsus to Antioch. And when a great multitude by them had been instructed and gathered in the Church, it happened that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch; the Holy Spirit, I believe, imposing the new name foretold by the Lord upon those who believe. And as a greater abundance of spiritual grace was being poured out by God in Antioch, there were prophets there and teachers, among whom was also Agabus. While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said: "Separate to me Barnabas and Paul C for the work to which I have called them." And when hands had been laid upon them, they were sent out by the Holy Spirit. It is evident from this that the Spirit who speaks and sends is living and subsistent and operating with efficacy, as we have said.
XXIX. This same Holy Spirit, who by the consent of the Father and the Son established the New Testament in the Catholic Church, has liberated us from the difficult-to-bear burdens of the Law—I speak of those things regarding the common and the unclean, and foods, and Sabbaths and New Moons, and circumcision, and sprinklings, and sacrifices—which, having been given according to the needs of the time, D held the shadow of future goods; but with the arrival of the truth, they were justly withdrawn. For because of the
A Regarding the question at Antioch, brought by those who said that it was necessary to be circumcised and to observe the customs of Moses, when Paul and Barnabas had been sent, the apostles who were there in Jerusalem liberated the whole world from all the observances of the Law and the types through a written epistle. Yet they did not attribute the authority for such a matter to themselves; but they acknowledge it in writing, testifying: "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication." By what they wrote B they clearly indicated this: that even if the writing came through the apostles as men, yet the decree was from the Holy Spirit, pertaining to the whole world; which those around Barnabas and Paul, having received, confirmed throughout the whole world.
XXX. C Having reached this point in my discourse, I ask for indulgence from your love, or rather from the Holy Spirit who dwells in Paul, if I am unable to go through everything, both because of my own weakness and the fatigue of you who are listening. For when shall I be able to explain, in a manner worthy of it, his wonderful deeds accomplished in the name of Christ by the operation of the Holy Spirit? Such as those in Cyprus regarding Elymas the sorcerer, and those in Lystra concerning the healing of the lame man; and those in Cilicia, and Phrygia, and Galatia, and Mysia, and Macedonia; or those things in Philippi—I mean his preaching, and the casting out D of the Pythonic spirit in the name of Christ; and the salvation of the jailer with his whole house through baptism by night, after the earthquake; or those in Thessalonica, and his speech in the midst of the Athenians on the Areopagus; or his teachings in Corinth and in all of Achaia? And how shall I be able to explain as they deserve the operations through Paul at Ephesus by the Holy Spirit? Which the people there, who had previously been ignorant of them, came to acknowledge through the
teaching of Paul; and after Paul had laid his hands upon them, and the Holy Spirit had come upon them, they spoke with tongues and prophesied. A And such was the spiritual grace upon him [(2)], that not only did he heal by his own touch; for even the handkerchiefs and aprons brought from his skin healed diseases, and drove away the spirits of the wicked. Indeed, those who had practiced curious arts also brought their books and burned them before all.
B XXXI. I pass over what happened at Troas regarding Eutychus [(3)], who, weighed down by sleep, fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead, but was restored to safety by Paul. I pass over also the prophecy [(4)] toward the elders of Ephesus who had been called to Miletus, to whom he said plainly: "That the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city, saying," that—and the rest. For by saying "in every city," Paul showed that the wonders wrought by him in each city were by the operation of the Holy Spirit, by the will of God, and in the name of Christ who spoke within him. From the power of this Holy Spirit, the same Paul hastened to this holy city of Jerusalem, C even when Agabus [(6)] was prophesying by the Spirit the things that were to befall him; and he spoke out in public, telling of the things concerning Christ with confidence. And having been brought to Caesarea, and placed in the middle of the judgment seats—at one time before Felix, at another before Festus the governor, and Agrippa the king—Paul had such a victorious grace in wisdom from the Holy Spirit, that he made even the king of the Jews himself D [say]: "In a little time you persuade me to become a Christian." The same saintly...
A Spirit granted to Paul, both that he should take no harm from the bite of the viper on the island of Melita, and that he should perform various cures upon the sick. This Holy Spirit also led him, formerly a persecutor, as far as the royal city of Rome, as a herald of Christ; and he persuaded many of the Jews there to believe in Christ, and to those who opposed him, he would say clearly: "Well did the Holy Spirit speak through Isaiah the prophet, saying to your fathers," and the rest.
XXXII. That Paul was full of the Holy Spirit, and all the apostles similar to him, and those who after them believe in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit [consubstantial], hear him speaking clearly in his epistles: "And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, B but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power"; and again: "Now He who has established us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the earnest of the Spirit"; and again: "He who raised up Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies, through His Spirit that dwells in you"; and again, writing to Timothy: "Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
XXXIII. That the Holy Spirit subsists, and lives, and speaks, and foretells, has been said by us many times in what has gone before; but Paul writes clearly to Timothy: "Now the C Spirit speaks expressly, that in latter times some will depart from the faith"; which things we see not only in those who were before us, but also in the schisms of our own time, the error of the heretics being manifold and various. And the same [apostle] says again: "Which in other generations was not D known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to His holy apostles..."
and prophets in the Spirit," and the rest. And again: "Wherefore, as the Holy Spirit saith." And again: "And the Holy Spirit also beareth witness to us." And again, he addresses the soldiers of righteousness, saying: "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, by all A prayer and supplication." And again: "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." And again: "The grace of the Lord Jesus, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
XXXIV. From all these, and from many others that have been passed over, there is established for those who understand the subsistent, sanctifying, and effectively operative power of the Holy Spirit. B For time would fail me to recount it, if I wished to mention the things remaining concerning the Holy Spirit from the fourteen Epistles of Paul, in which he taught in various ways, completely, and reverently. It would be the task of the power of the Holy Spirit Himself to grant pardon to us for whatever we neglect, due to the shortness of the days; and to instill in you, the hearers, a more perfect knowledge of the remaining points; for those among you who are diligent learn these things from the more frequent reading of the divine Scriptures, and by now, also from these present catechetical lectures, and from what we have said before, have a firmer faith: "In one God the Father almighty; and in our Lord Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son; and in the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete." C But since this word and designation, "Spirit," is used promiscuously in the Scriptures (for it is said of the Father, "God is a Spirit," as is written in the Gospel according to John; and of the Son, "The Spirit before our face is Christ our Lord," as the prophet Jeremiah D
A; and concerning the Holy Spirit, "The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit," as has been said. And while the order in the faith is piously understood, it also puts away the error of Sabellius; towards the things which now press upon us and are advantageous for you, let our discourse return.
XXXV. Beware, lest at any time you approach the ministers of baptism after the example of Simon B, while dissembling, and your heart does not seek the truth. It is ours to testify, but yours to take heed. If you stand in the faith, you are blessed; if you have fallen through unbelief, cast off that unbelief from this day, and be fully persuaded. For about the time of baptism, when you come before bishops, or presbyters, or deacons (for the grace is everywhere, both in villages and in cities; and among the unlearned and the learned, and among bond and free: since this grace is not from men, but is a gift bestowed by God through men); you must approach the one who is baptizing; but approach not looking at the face of the visible man, but keep in mind this Holy Spirit of whom we now speak. For He is ready to seal your soul; and He gives a seal at which demons tremble, a heavenly and divine one, as it is written: "In whom also having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise."
XXXVI. But He tests the soul, and does not cast pearls before swine. If you dissemble, now indeed men baptize you, but the Spirit will not baptize you. But if you approach in faith, men indeed minister to that which is visible, but the Holy Spirit gives that which is not visible. You are coming to a great examination, to a great enlistment, in the space of one hour; if you suffer that hour to be lost to you, the evil is irremediable; but if you are counted worthy of the grace, your soul is enlightened, C and it gives to you...
[The remainder of the text is occupied with apparatus and scholarly notes; see facsimile.]
power that you did not possess. You shall take up weapons A terrible to the demons, which if you do not cast away, and you have that seal upon your soul, no demon shall approach; for he trembles; and indeed by the Spirit of God the demons are cast out. B
XXXVII. If you believe, you shall not only receive remission of sins, but you shall also perform things beyond the powers of man; and may you be worthy even of the gift of prophecy. For you receive so much of the grace as you can hold, and not merely as much as I mention. For it is possible for me to speak of small things, while you receive greater ones; because faith is a broad commerce. The Guardian, the Paraclete, shall remain with you forever; he shall be solicitous for you, as for his own soldier; concerning your goings in, and your goings out, and concerning those who lie in wait for you; and he shall give you gifts of grace of every kind, if you do not grieve him through sin; for it is written: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption" (Ephes. IV, 30). What then is it, beloved, to preserve the grace? Be ready to receive the grace, and once you have received it, do not cast it away.
XXXVIII. May God himself, the God of all, who spoke in the Holy Spirit through the prophets, who sent Him upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost in these our places, may He now also send Him forth upon you; and through Him may He preserve us also, imparting to us all a common beneficence: that we may at all times render the fruits of the Holy Spirit; charity, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (Gal. V, 22, 23), in Christ Jesus our Lord; through whom and with whom, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory to the Father, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
CATECHESIS XVIII. ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE FLESH, ETC.
CATECHESIS EIGHTEENTH. On the general Resurrection, the Catholic Church, and life everlasting.
MONITUM
I. In this catechesis, the author completes the final parts of the Creed which remained to be explained for those preparing for baptism. First, he speaks of the resurrection of the flesh; which he defends as the primary doctrine of the Catholic Church against the Gentiles, Samaritans, and heretics (nos. 1-4). He refutes the objections of the Gentiles, derived from the difficulty of the matter itself, with invincible arguments drawn from the omnipotence and justice of God, the innate consciousness of resurrection in each person, various examples from nature, and the formation of man himself (nos. 5-11). He confutes the Samaritans from the books of Moses, which were the only ones they acknowledged (nos. 12, 13). Finally, he convicts the heretics who used the prophets and the New Testament with various testimonies and examples from these books (nos. 14-17). Then, having explained the difference between the bodies of the resurrected among the just and the impious, he concludes this argument with an exhortation, born from the matter, to treat our body with honor (nos. 18-20).
II. From here, the request having been made of the auditors for the recitation of the Creed, he explains the article on the Church: whence the name of the Church originated, and when it was first heard in the Scriptures, when God constituted Aaron as priest; why it is called "Catholic" (nos. 21-24); how the Christian Church succeeded the rejected Church of the Jews, how one ought to remain steadfast in the Church which is called "Catholic"; and how it is adorned by God with gifts, virtues, patience, and honor (nos. 25-27).
III. Lastly, he discourses on life everlasting, which is proposed to those in the Catholic Church who are learned and live rightly (nos. 28, 29); briefly describing the manifold ways for attaining it, which God in His kindness has bestowed upon us (nos. 30, 31).
IV. With the exposition of the Creed completed, he promises the auditors a brief explanation of the mysteries they are soon to receive, along with the exposition (no. 32); and thereafter, more widely, through the entire Paschal week, their declaration in five or six mystagogical catecheses (no. 33): and he concludes that one with a certain joy, because of the blessings of baptism soon to be received (nos. 34 and 35).
V. Many things in this oration are worthy of note: first, the thoroughly accurate dispute concerning the resurrection and the qualities of the resurrected bodies (no. 18); the eternity of the punishments of hell (no. 19); the stains of sins adhering to the soul and body, abolished by the power of baptism alone (no. 20); the power inherent in the bodies of the saints, showing itself through signs (no. 16). The holiness of the Catholic Church, segregated from the conventicles of heretics, its breadth defined by no boundaries, and its preaching without defect (nos. 21 and 17). The recitation of the Creed at the morning hours of Holy Saturday, the vigil from Good Friday into Holy Saturday, and the continued fast of both days (nos. 27-30); the instructions given to those about to be baptized, when they were about to be baptized, in the actual Paschal night; and finally the promise of the following catecheses. It was held at the approach of the Paschal feast, when those whom he was preparing were about to be baptized, with the days of Lent already passed, from no. 32, and since they had already taken upon themselves a great labor from the extension of the fast of Good Friday and from the vigil (no. 17); and thus on Holy Saturday, and in the morning hours, toward the end of the sacred vigil.
VI. It will perhaps be surprising that the author says more about the resurrection of the flesh than about the Church, since in the Jerusalem Creed, as it is recited by him in no. 22, the article of the Church precedes the article of the resurrection. I confess that no sufficiently suitable reason for this occurs to me, unless it be that there is none other than the dignity and copiousness of the argument, which truly occupies the greatest part of the catechesis. For we cannot accuse him of any perturbation of order in the catechesis itself, since the author in no. 22, beginning to speak about the Church, acknowledges that he has already spoken about the resurrection of the flesh; and the dispute concerning life everlasting in no. 28 is entirely connected, and joined by a bond of transition with the dispute concerning the Church. The oration has in a certain way three conclusions, two ending with the desire for eternal life (nos. 20 and 31), and the third, which alone is the true conclusion, through the glorification of the Trinity.
VII. Vossius, in his first dissertation on the three Creeds, holds this catechesis as suspect on account of the exposition of the articles of the Creed which follow the mention of the Holy Spirit: for these, as he thinks, were not added to the Creed until after the Council of Constantinople; for which reason he considers that Cyril of Jerusalem could have appended these to the Creed of his own Church at the end of his life, and interpreted them; or rather that John the patriarch, or another bishop of Jerusalem, added these things from the Constantinopolitan Creed, to have them with their interpretation as well, so that the Jerusalem Church might henceforth have a fuller and clearer catechesis. And this scruple, which...
so great a man stumbled upon, was not worthy. Cyril does not explain the Nicene Creed, which in truth received additions only after the Council of Constantinople, but the Jerusalemite Creed; which, like almost all other Church creeds, contained four articles after the Holy Spirit. The Council of Constantinople did not judge that these were invented by itself, but that, taken from common usage, they should be added to the Nicene Creed: though they are listed in the Constantinopolitan Creed in very different words and in a different order than in the Jerusalemite. By the same argument, Vossius would bring into doubt the 16th and 17th catecheses, in which these words are expounded at the article on the Holy Spirit: *Who spoke through the prophets*, which likewise did not appear in the Nicene Creed until the time of the Council of Constantinople. Likewise part of the 15th catechesis, from number 17 to the end, and catechesis 4, number 15, in which are expounded the words, *Of whose kingdom there shall be no end*, likewise omitted in the Nicene Creed. But the end of the 17th catechesis has nothing that demonstrates it is the end of the catecheses for the baptized. The warnings contained therein for them are not the extreme ones which should proceed from a catechist, since so many other things are indicated to them in this catechesis from number 32: but they are born from the catechesis itself; for since it contained the promise of the Holy Spirit and of the goods to be conferred in baptism in number 15, they had to be warned by what ways they could deserve and preserve these. Moreover, there is nothing in this catechesis that departs from the style of the others; on the contrary, the same propriety of speech, the same manner of arguing, proving, and confuting. What he discusses concerning the resurrection of the flesh is a compendium of what was discussed more briefly on that subject in catechesis 4, numbers 30 and 31; and what he had promised in number 3 that he would explain more fully in subsequent catecheses, not to mention that this catechesis is cited under the name of Cyril.
IX. Rivet thinks it is clearer than meridian light that the things contained in numbers 32 and 33, because of the promise of the mystagogical catecheses, which he does not want to be Cyril's at all, are interpolated. But he neither cites any manuscript in which these are omitted, nor indeed could he cite one as testimony. His whole argument is this: at the end of number 31 there is the catechist's vow for eternal life, which in natural order should be followed not by what is in numbers 32 and 33, but by what is contained in number 34. By the same argument, he could have undermined not only what he wishes to remove, but the whole part of the speech that deals with the Church and eternal life: for in the same way, at number 20, it concludes with a vow for eternal life, which can be connected most aptly with number 31. Moreover, there is nothing in numbers 32 and 33 that is not highly relevant, and which it would not be most appropriate for the candidates for baptism to hear. What the author says he will warn them about before they approach baptism is confirmed by the examples of other Churches. The same form of speech is observed as in the other catecheses and in Cyril's works, and the same locutions are used. The observation on the mysteries of the Eucharist having proceeded from Jerusalem in number 33 argues, by similar observations of the author scattered throughout the body of the Catecheses, and by the twin mention of the place of the resurrection in number 33, that he is speaking in Jerusalem; so that nothing seems to me more insipid than the levity of Rivet.
X. This catechesis has been amended according to the Coislinian, the two Ottobonian, the Roe, Casaubon, Colbertine, Bodleian manuscripts, Morell’s edition, and the various readings of the Genevan book. But the Coislinian manuscript, being mutilated at the beginning of this catechesis, does not represent this speech except from these words in number 12 in the middle: *τηρήσῃ θεὸς, ἐν ξύλῳ* etc. This catechesis is cited, though with Cyril's name suppressed, by Rufinus, and by Saint Nilus, Elias of Crete, and others; and under his name by Antonius Melissa.
CATECHESIS XVIII. ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE FLESH, ETC.
CATECHESIS XVIII TO THE ILLUMINANDI
Pronounced at Jerusalem, in due time, on the passage: "And in one holy, catholic Church: and in the resurrection of the flesh: and in the life everlasting." And the reading from Ezekiel: "And the hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me in the midst of the plain; and it was full of men's bones," and the rest.
A 1. The root of all good works is the hope of the resurrection. For the expectation of the recompense fortifies the soul for the undertaking of good works. For every laborer is prepared to endure toils if he foresees the reward for his toils; but for those who labor without reward, the soul falls away along with the body. A soldier looking for the rewards of his combat is ready for war; but no one who is serving a judge who is indifferent—who does not provide prizes for labors—is ready to die for him. So, too, every soul which believes in the resurrection rightly spares itself; but that which does not believe in the resurrection gives itself up to perdition. B He who believes that the body remains for the resurrection spares this garment and clothing, and does not defile it with fornications; but he who does not believe in the resurrection gives himself over to fornications, misusing his own body as if it were another’s. Great, therefore, is the command and teaching of the holy Catholic Church concerning the faith of the resurrection of the dead; great, I say, and most necessary, being contradicted by many, but fully confirmed by the truth. Greeks contradict, Samaritans disbelieve, heretics carp. The contradiction is of many kinds, but the truth is of one kind.
B II. And the Greeks, together with the Samaritans, say to us: The man who has died has fallen, and has rotted, and has been totally resolved into worms, and the worms themselves have perished. Such putrefaction and destruction has overtaken the body; how then is it raised? Fishes have devoured those who have suffered shipwreck, and they themselves have been eaten in turn; bears and lions have consumed those who fought with beasts, even crushing their very bones; vultures and crows, having eaten the flesh of corpses cast upon the ground, have flown away into all the world: from whence is the body gathered together? For it is possible that of the birds which ate it, one died in India, another in Persia, and another in Gothia. And as for others who have been consumed by fire, rain or wind has scattered even their ashes: from whence is the body gathered together?
B III. To you, a tiny and weak little man, the land of India is far from Gothia, and Spain from Persia. But to God, who holds the whole earth in the hollow of his hand (Isa. XL, 12), all things are near. Do not, therefore, accuse God of weakness because of your own infirmity; but pay attention rather to his power. Furthermore, the sun, though it is a small work of God, warms the whole world with a single casting of its rays; and man, whom God created, contains all things in the world. And is God, who is himself the creator of both the sun and the air, perhaps far from the world? Suppose, I pray, that various seeds of grains were mixed together (for I am speaking to you with simple examples, as you are weak regarding the faith), and that those diverse seeds were held in one of your hands. Is it a great matter for you, a human being, or is it easy, to separate them, and to distinguish each of the grains contained in your hand, and C to return them to their own nature, and restore them to their kind? Then, if you, a man, are able to do this, is it hard for God, who maintains all things in his grasp, to do it?
P. Le Quien, in his notes to his edition of St. John of Damascus, *De Haeresibus*, n. 9, remarks that the present-day Samaritans, as is gathered from their own authors, deny the resurrection of bodies, but believe that the soul is immortal, and indeed pray for the departed. St. Cyril, however, says that heretics "subvert" the resurrection, which signifies that they either oppose it with arguments and mockery, or elude it with false interpretations, or finally, acknowledge it in part and destroy it in part. Although many heretics denied the resurrection, there were few who did not retain the name itself, applying it to the soul: as Tertullian testifies, *De Resurr. Carnis*, cap. 2; for they acknowledge only half a resurrection, that of the soul alone. Wherefore he calls them partakers of the opinion of the Sadducees. D First, Hymenaeus and Philetus (II Tim. II, 18) said that the resurrection had already taken place, namely, as I think, in the conversion of the world from the worship of idols. Thus Menander said that his disciples receive the resurrection through the baptism which was into him, and that they could no longer die, but would persevere, never aging and remaining immortal, as in Irenaeus, *lib. I*, cap. 23, num. 5. The Seleucians, according to Philastrius, *Heresy* 59, did not acknowledge any other resurrection than the perpetuity of the human race preserved by propagation. Others admitted a resurrection in the future age, but of the soul alone: thus all the Gnostics, according to Irenaeus, *lib. I*, cap. 22, num. 1, and *lib. V*, cap. 6; and Tertullian in the place indicated. This is certain of Simon Magus from the author of the *Clementines*, *Hom.* 2, num. 22; of Basilides, from Irenaeus, *lib. I*, cap. 24, num. 5; of Saturninus, from the author of the appendix to Tertullian, *De Praescript.*, cap. 46; of Carpocrates, from Epiphanius, *Indicul.*, *lib. I*, *tom. II*, num. 7; of Valentinus, *ibid.*, num. 11; of Marcus and Colorbasus, from the appendix to Tertullian, cap. 50; of the Severians, from Epiphanius, *Indicul.*, *tom. III*, *lib. 1*, num. 12; of the Caiani, *ibid.*, num. 5; of the Ophites, from the appendix to Tertullian, cap. 47; of Cerdo, from the *Indiculus* of Epiphanius, cited num. 8; of Marcion, from Irenaeus, *lib. 1*, cap. 27, num. 3; of Apelles, from the appendix to Tertullian, cap. 47; of Bardesanes, from Epiphanius, *Heresy* 56, num. 2; of the Archontics, from the same *Indiculus* cited, num. 7; of Hierax, from Epiphanius, *Heresy* 67, num. 1; and finally, the fact is certain concerning the Manichaeans from Epiphanius, *Heresy* 66, num. 86. I omit that all those heretics, while asserting the salvation and resurrection of the soul alone, restricted it to the just only, that is, their own adherents; which they accumulated with new fables, as may be seen concerning Carpocrates in Irenaeus, *lib. I*, cap. 25, n. 4. Others, finally, while admitting the resurrection, denied that the same flesh, or the same form of man, would rise; which was the heresy imputed to Origen, and defended by some Origenists.
A to gather them according to their own nature, and to restore them to their kind? Furthermore, you are able to distinguish the things held in your own hand, but is God then unable to distinguish the things contained in His own hand, and to restore them? B Understand what is said, unless this denial is impious.
IV. Pay attention also to the very principle of justice, and return to yourself. You have various servants; but some happen to be good, and others evil; you therefore honor the good, and you strike the evil. And if you happen to be a judge, you praise the good, and you punish the lawless. If, then, justice is preserved by you, being a mortal man, is there no principle of just retribution with God, the King of all, who has no successor? But this denial is impious; for consider what is said. Many murderers have died in their beds unpunished; where, then, is the justice of God? And often a murderer, C subject to the penalty for fifty murders, has his head cut off but once; where, then, will he pay the penalty for the forty-nine? Unless there is judgment and retribution after this world, you are accusing God of injustice. But do not marvel at the postponement of the judgment. Every contender, after the contest has passed, is either crowned or put to shame; and the judge of the contest never crowns those who are still struggling, but awaits the end of all the contestants; so that, having judged hereafter, he may confer the prizes and the crowns. Thus also God, while the contest in this world is still continuing, helps the just partially for the time being, but afterwards He pays them their rewards fully.
V. But if there is no resurrection of the dead according to you, why do you condemn the violators of tombs? For if the body has perished completely, and the resurrection is a thing without hope, why does the violator of tombs undergo punishment? You see that even if you deny it with your lips, the awareness of the resurrection remains firm within you.
VI. Then, too, a tree D that has been cut down, blooms again; man—
A and things that are sown, even when they are reaped, remain to be gathered into the threshing-floor. But man, when he is reaped from this world, shall he not remain for the threshing-floor? And the branches of the vine, and the boughs of other trees, when they are cut away and transplanted, receive life and bear fruit. But man, for whose sake these things exist, when he falls into the earth, shall he not rise again? And in consideration of the labors, which is greater: to fashion from the beginning a man who did not exist, or to refashion into the same form one who has fallen? If God has made us from nothing, shall He be unable to raise up again those who already exist and have fallen? But if you, being a Greek, do not believe what is written concerning the resurrection, look at B the nature of things that exist, and understand from what is seen to this day. Wheat is sown, if it so happens, or some other kind of seed; the seed falling dies and rots, and it is henceforth useless for food. But that which has rotted rises up green; and though it fell small, it rises most beautiful. Now the wheat was made for our sake; for the wheat and the seeds were made for our use, not for their own sake. Since, then, things that were made for our sake, even when they have died, are given life, shall we not be raised, we for whose sake these things were made, even if we have died? VII. The season is winter, as you see; the trees are now standing as if dead. For where are the leaves of the fig tree? Where are the clusters of the vine? But in winter these are dead, C and in spring they are green; and when the season arrives, then, just as if from death, the life-giving process is restored. For God, knowing your unbelief, has brought about a resurrection annually in these visible things; so that, seeing what happens in inanimate things, you may D believe concerning the resurrection of the animate and rational-minded beings. Then, too, flies and bees frequently…
often suffocated in water rise again after an hour; and the various kinds of dormice, remaining motionless in winter, rise again in summer (for, to one who understands, simple and familiar examples are given). Does He who provides life to irrational and despised creatures, and that in a way surpassing nature, not provide it also to us, for whose sake He even made them?
[H] VIII. But the Greeks still demand a manifest resurrection of the dead; and they say that, even if these things arise, they do not utterly rot away; and they seek to see clearly an animal that is totally putrefied and then rises again. God knew this stubbornness of men in believing, and He fashioned a bird for this purpose, called a phoenix. This bird, as Clement writes and many others recount, being of its own race unique, and coming into the region of the Egyptians at periods of five hundred years, exhibits the resurrection; not in desert places, so that the mystery might not remain unknown, but by coming into a conspicuous city, so that that which is disbelieved might be felt by the hand. For having made for itself a nest of frankincense and myrrh and other spices, and having entered into this at the completion of the years, it dies openly and rots. Then, from the putrefied flesh of the dead bird, a worm is born, and this, having grown, is fashioned into a bird (do not disbelieve this; for indeed you see the offspring of bees fashioned in this way from maggots, and from most liquid eggs you have observed the wings and bones and nerves of birds emerging). Then, having grown wings, the aforementioned phoenix—and being perfect, like as the former was—becomes a phoenix, and it rises B such into the air as it was when it had died; a most clear resurrection of the dead provided for men C.
The phoenix is indeed a wondrous bird; but it is a bird devoid of reason, and it never sang psalms to God. It flies about the air, but it does not know who the only-begotten Son of God is. And so, if to an irrational creature and one that knows not the Creator A a resurrection of the dead has been granted, shall there not be given a resurrection to us, who glorify God and keep His commandments?
IX. But because the sign of the phoenix is something distant and rare, and men do not yet believe, take from those things which you see daily another proof, once again. A hundred or even two hundred years ago, where were we all—both those who speak and those who hear? Are we ignorant of the foundations of the composition of our bodies? Do you not know how we are generated from weak, formless, and uniform substances? Yet from that uniform and weak principle a living man is formed; and that infirm and weak thing, compacted into flesh, is transformed into the firmness of nerves, and into the clarity of the eyes, and the power of the nose to smell, and the hearing of the ears, and a tongue that speaks, and a heart that beats, and the industry of the hands, and the swiftness of the feet, and every form of limb. And that weak thing becomes a shipwright and a builder of houses, and an architect, and a worker of every craft, and a soldier, and a ruler, and a B legislator, and a king. God, who made us from imperfect beginnings, is He unable to raise up those who have fallen? He who thus gave a body to the most vile thing, is He unable to raise up a dead body? He who made that which was not to be that which is, does He not raise up that which is and has fallen?
X. Take also for yourself a manifest argument of the resurrection of the dead in heaven and in the luminaries, witnessed every month. For the lunar body, failing completely so that nothing of it is any longer seen, is filled up again anew, and is restored to that which it was before. And for a perfect demonstration of this same matter, after the revolutions of years, the moon having suffered eclipse and having been clearly turned into blood, again recovers its light-bearing body: God having C provided for this, so that you too, man, who are composed of blood, might not derogate from faith in the resurrection of the dead; and that what you see in the moon, you might also believe will happen in yourself. With these words, therefore, use them against the Greeks: for with those who do not accept the Scriptures, you must use unwritten arguments—unwritten, D unassailable arguments drawn from unwritten sources.
A
XI. Pass on now, I beg you, to the Samaritans, who accept only the Law and do not admit the Prophets; to whom, therefore, the present reading from Ezekiel seems ineffective, since, as I have said, they do not accept the Prophets. How then shall we convince even the Samaritans? Let us come to the writings of the Law. God says, therefore, to Moses: “I am the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob” — surely the God of those who are and exist. For if Abraham has perished, and Isaac, and Jacob, then He is the God of those who do not exist. When has a king ever said that he is the king of soldiers whom he does not have? When has anyone ever displayed riches he did not possess? It is necessary, therefore, that Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob subsist, so that God may be the God of those who are. For He did not say, “I was their God,” but, “I am.” And that there is a judgment, Abraham says to the Lord: “He who judges the whole earth, shall He not execute judgment?”
B XII. But against this, the foolish Samaritans argue again, saying that while it is possible for the souls of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob to remain, the bodies cannot rise again. Then, was it possible for the rod of the just Moses to become a serpent, but the bodies of the just cannot live and rise again? And did the former happen contrary to nature, while the latter, being a restoration according to nature, will not occur? The rod of Aaron, too, once cut off and dead, blossomed without the scent of water; and this, while it was kept under a roof, and yet it put forth shoots that love to grow in fields; lying in dry places, it yielded in one night, along with fruits, that which irrigated trees produce after many years. C If the rod of Aaron rose as it were from the dead, shall Aaron himself not rise? And just so that God might preserve his high priesthood, did He perform a miracle on wood, but for Aaron himself will He not grant the resurrection? And if a woman contrary to nature becomes salt, and flesh is transformed into salt, shall flesh not be restored into flesh? And if the wife of Lot became a pillar of salt, shall the wife of Abraham not rise? And by what power was the hand of Moses D changed, which in one hour became as snow and then was restored again? It was surely by the divine power
Is that power, once effective, now no longer effective in its strength? A
XIII. As for the question of how man was generated at all from the beginning, you most foolish of all men, Samaritans, come to the first book of Scripture, which even you accept: "And God fashioned man, dust from the earth." Does dust turn into flesh, and does not flesh turn back into flesh? We must ask you: whence came the heavens, and the earth, and the seas? Whence came the sun, and the moon, and the stars? How did the birds and the swimming creatures come from the waters? And how did all animals come from the earth? So many myriads were brought from non-existence into being; and shall we humans, who possess the [divine] image, not rise again? Truly, the matter is full of unbelief, and great is the condemnation of those who disbelieve: when Abraham says to the Lord, "He who judges all the earth," and yet those who learn the law disbelieve; when it is written that man is from the earth, and yet those who read it disbelieve. B
XIV. So much, then, for those unbelievers; but the arguments from the prophets are for us who believe. Since, however, some who use the prophets disbelieve what is written and bring forward to us that text, "The ungodly shall not rise in judgment"; and that one, "For if a man goes down to Hades, shall he no more come up?"; and [that one], "The dead shall not praise you, O Lord" (for they use what is well written badly); it is good, in passing and as the present opportunity allows, to meet them. For if it is said that "the ungodly shall not rise in judgment," this denotes that they shall rise not in judgment, but in condemnation. C There is no need for much examination on God's part, but as soon as the ungodly are raised, the elements of punishment follow immediately. D
[CATECHESIS XVIII. DE CARNIS RESURRECTIONE, ETC.]
If it be said, "The dead shall not praise thee, O Lord," this signifies that since the time for repentance and remission is limited to this life only, those who enjoy it praise thee; but after death, it is no longer permitted for those who have departed in sin to praise—as those who have received a benefit—but only to lament. For praise is the act of those giving thanks, whereas lamentation is the lot of those being scourged. The righteous, therefore, will praise then; but those who have departed in sins will no longer have time for confession.
[XV.] Regarding that context, B "If a man descend into hell, he shall no longer ascend." Look at the sequence; for it is written: "He shall no longer ascend, nor return to his own house." For since the whole world is to pass away, and every house to be destroyed, how shall he return to his own house, when a new earth is henceforth coming into being? But they ought to have heard Job saying: "For there is hope for a tree; for if it be cut down, it shall blossom again; and its tiny branch shall not fail. If its root grow old in the earth, and its trunk die in the rock, yet at the scent of water it will blossom, and make a harvest like a plant newly set. But a man having died, is gone; and a mortal having fallen, is he no longer?" C For he uses this not merely to persuade, but to rebuke—for thus must one read that [phrase], "Is he no longer?"—as if he were saying, "For if a tree falls and rises again, does not man himself, for whose sake the trees were made, rise also?" And that you may not think me to be forcing the text, read what follows.
A asking in an interrogative tone, "If a man dies, shall he live?" and he immediately says, "I will wait until I shall be again." And elsewhere again, "He who is about to raise my skin upon the earth, which endures these labors." And Isaiah the prophet says, "The dead shall rise, and they who are in the tombs shall be awakened." But most clearly the prophet Ezekiel, who is here present, says, "Behold, I will open your tombs, and I will bring you up out of your tombs." And Daniel says, "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall arise; some to eternal life, and some to eternal shame."
XVI. Many Scriptures also testify to the resurrection of the dead; for there are other, more numerous passages regarding this. But as if by way of mere reminder, B we now pass over the four-day resurrection of Lazarus; we pass over, because of the shortness of the time, the widow's son who was raised. And for the sake of reminder only, let the daughter of the leader of the synagogue be mentioned now; and let it be said that the rocks were rent, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, the tombs being opened. But let it be mentioned, above all, that Christ has risen from the dead. I have passed over Elijah and the widow’s son who was raised by him, and Elisha, who raised [the dead] twice, both while he lived and after he had died. For while alive he performed the resurrection through his own soul; C but so that not only the souls of the just might be honored, but it might also be believed that power resides within the bodies of the just, the dead man who was thrown into the tomb of Elisha, when he touched D the dead body of the prophet, was brought back to life. And even the body of the prophet...
accomplished a work of the soul; for that which was dead and lying there bestowed life upon the one who had died, and while it bestowed life, it itself remained, likewise, among the dead. For what reason? So that, with Elisha having been resurrected, the event might not be attributed to his soul alone; but that it might be demonstrated that, even when the soul is absent, a certain power resides in the body of the saints, because of the righteous soul which for so many years had inhabited it and whose instrument it had become. And let us not be faithless, O naive ones, as if this had not occurred. For if A handkerchiefs and aprons, which are outward things, when they touched the bodies of those who were sick, raised up the infirm, how much more did the body of the prophet himself raise up the dead man? B
XVII. Although it would be possible to say many things regarding this, if we were to explain the wonder of what occurred in every detail, yet, because of the fatigue that you have previously endured—from the superposition of the Friday fast and from the vigil—let these things be said, for the time being, in passing, scattered in a few words; so that you, like the best soil having received the seed, might bear fruit by expanding upon it. Let it also be remembered that the apostles, too, raised the dead. Peter, in Joppa, Tabitha; Paul, Eutychus in Troas; and all the other apostles, even if not everything which was miraculously performed by each one has been written down. And remember all the things stated in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, which Paul wrote to those who said: "How are the dead raised? And with what body do they come?" And that, "If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised"; and that he called those who do not believe "fools"; and remember all the teaching given there concerning the resurrection of the dead; and that he wrote to the Thessalonians: "But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope," and all that follows; C but especially the words: "And the dead in Christ shall rise first."
XVII. And yet, there would be many other things to be said on this subject, if we were to pursue the marvel of such deeds according to the individual circumstances; but because of the labor which you have endured, both from the superposition of the Friday fast and from the vigil, let these things be said for now as though in passing. These few seeds have been cast, so that you, like good soil receiving the seed, may bear fruit by expanding and explaining it. Let memory be kept of the fact that the apostles also raised the dead: Peter raised Tabitha in Joppa, Paul raised Eutychus in Troas, and all the rest of the apostles; although not all the things that were miraculously performed by each one have been consigned to writing. Remember, moreover, all the things that were said in the former Epistle to the Corinthians, which Paul wrote against those who said: "How are the dead raised, and with what sort of body do they come?" And that which he also says: "If the dead do not rise, neither has Christ risen"; and that he called those who do not believe fools; and all the doctrine exposed in that place concerning the resurrection of the dead; and that in this manner he wrote to the Thessalonians: "But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, that you may not grieve as do others who have no hope," and all that follows; but especially this saying: "And the dead in Christ shall rise first." D
A XVIII. You should note this especially, for Paul, as if pointing with his finger, says: "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." For this very body will rise—not remaining frail as it is, but it will rise the very same. Being endued with incorruption, it will be transformed, just as iron brought near to fire becomes fire, or rather, as the Lord who raises it up knows. Therefore, this body of ours will indeed rise, but it will not remain such; it will remain eternal. It will no longer have need of such food for life, nor of ladders for climbing; for it becomes spiritual, something wonderful, and such that we do not have [words] to declare its dignity. "Then," he says, "the righteous will shine like the sun and the moon, and like the brightness of the firmament." And God, foreknowing the unbelief of men, has given to the smallest worms in the summer B to emit bright rays from their bodies, so that from the things that are seen, that which is awaited might be believed. For He who has bestowed the part is able to bestow the whole; and He who has made a worm shine with light will much more make the righteous man shine.
XIX. We shall rise, therefore, all possessing eternal bodies, but not all possessing similar ones. For if someone is righteous, he receives a heavenly body, so that he may be able to dwell worthily with the angels. But if one is a sinner, he receives an eternal body, capable of enduring the punishment of sins, so that by being burned eternally in fire, he is never consumed. And God justly provides this for both orders; for nothing is performed by us without the body. We blaspheme with the mouth, we pray C with the mouth; we commit fornication with the body, we practice purity with the body; we steal with the hand, we give alms with the hand; and the rest similarly. Since, therefore, the body has served in all things, it participates also in the lot that is to come.
A 205 XX. Let us spare, therefore, brethren, our bodies, and let us not abuse them as though they were not our own. Let us not say, with the heretics, that the garment of the body is something foreign; but let us spare it as our own. For we must render an account to the Lord for all things that have been done through the body. Do not say: "No one sees me," nor imagine that there is no witness of what is done. For while a man is often not present, our Creator, an unerring witness, remains faithful in heaven, and sees what is happening; and the stains of sins also remain on the body. For just as, when a wound has progressed in the body, even if some healing occurs, the scar nevertheless remains: so also sin wounds the soul and the body, and the marks of the scars remain on all; but they are removed only from those who receive the laver. God does indeed heal the past wounds of soul and body through baptism, but let us for the future secure ourselves together, all of us; so that, having kept this garment of the body clean, and not losing our celestial salvation through some slight fornication and indulgence, or the practice of some other sin; but that we may inherit the eternal kingdom of God, of which may God by His own grace make you all worthy.
D 295 XXI. And let these things suffice for the demonstration of the resurrection of the dead. But as for the profession of the faith, which has been spoken to you again by us, let it be recited and committed to memory by you with all diligence in its very words.
A XXII. Since the proclaimed Faith contains in its sequence the following: *And in one baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; And in one holy catholic Church; And in the resurrection of the flesh; And in life everlasting*; we have already spoken about baptism and repentance in our preceding 296 catechetical lectures. And what has now been said concerning the resurrection of the dead has also been spoken on account of the phrase, *And in the resurrection of the flesh*. Let us now speak, then, of what remains for the time being, on account of the phrase, *And in one holy catholic Church*; concerning which, although it were possible to speak much, we shall speak briefly.
XXIII. It is called catholic, then B [or universal], because it is spread over the whole world from one end of the earth to the other; and because it teaches universally and without omission all the dogmas that ought to come to the knowledge of men, concerning things both visible and invisible, heavenly and earthly; and also because it subjects to true worship the whole race of mankind, governors and governed, learned and unlearned; and finally, because it generally heals and cures every kind of sin which is perpetrated by soul and body, and possesses in itself every form of virtue named, whether in deeds or in words, and in spiritual gifts of every kind.
XXIV. But it is most aptly called Church [or convocation], because it calls together and assembles all men, just as the Lord says in Leviticus: *And assemble all the congregation*, ἐκκλησίασον, *before the door of the tabernacle of the testimony*. It is, furthermore, worth noting that the word ἐκκλησίασον, C
ἐκκλησίασον, A which is now used in the Scriptures, was first employed at the time when the Lord established Aaron in the high priesthood. And in Deuteronomy, God says to Moses: *Assemble the people unto me, and let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me*. He makes mention of the name of the Church again when speaking of the tablets: *And on them were written all the words which the Lord spoke to you in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the Church*; as if he were saying more clearly: "In the day in which you were called and gathered by God." And the Psalmist says: *I will confess to thee, O Lord, in a great church; I will praise thee in a heavy people*. B
XXV. The Psalmist had previously sung: *In the churches bless ye God the Lord, from the fountains of Israel*. But since, because of the plots formed against the Savior, the Jews were cast out from grace, the Savior built a second Church out of the nations, our holy Church of the Christians, regarding which He said to Peter: *And upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it*. Regarding both of these David was clearly prophesying. Concerning the first, which was cast out, he said: *I have hated the church of the malignant*. Concerning the second, which was built up, he says in the same psalm: *O Lord, I have loved the beauty of thy house*; and immediately afterwards: C *In the churches will I bless thee, O Lord*. For once that one in Judea was cast out, Christ’s Churches have henceforth multiplied throughout the whole world, concerning which it is said in the Psalms: *Sing to the Lord a new canticle; let his praise be in the church of the saints*. Consonant with these, the prophet said to the Jews: *I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord almighty*; and immediately afterwards: *For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is glorified among the Gentiles*. Regarding this holy D catholic Church, Paul writes to Timothy: *That thou mayest know how thou oughtest*
to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. A
XXVI. Since, however, the name of "church" is applied to various things—as also it is used regarding the crowd in the theater of the Ephesians, of which it is written, *And when he had said these things, he dismissed the church* [or assembly]—and since one might also properly and truly call the assemblies of evil men—I refer to the Marcionites, and B Manichæans, and the rest—by the name of church; for this reason, the Faith has now safely delivered to you that you should hold [the belief] *in one holy catholic Church*; so that, fleeing their abominable cliques, you may always adhere to the holy catholic Church, in which you were also reborn. And if ever you are staying in cities, do not inquire simply where the *Kyriakon* [the Lord's house] is (for the various sects of the impious also attempt to call their own dens *kyriaka*), C nor merely where "the Church" is, but where the catholic Church is. For this is the proper name of this holy body, the mother of us all, which is the bride of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God (for it is written: *As Christ also loved the Church, and delivered himself up for it*, and all that follows), and which bears the image and semblance of the Jerusalem above, which is free, and is the mother of all of us; which, though once barren, is now the parent of a numerous offspring.
XXVII. For since the former has been rejected, D in the second, the catholic Church, as Paul says, *God has set some, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues*, and every form of every virtue—I mean wisdom and understanding, temperance and justice, mercy and humanity, and invincible patience in persecutions. Which, *by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honour and dishonour*, having formerly—in persecutions and an-
A in distress, He crowned the holy martyrs with the varied and multi-flowered chaplets of patience; but now, in times of peace, by the grace of God, it receives the honors due from kings and from men conspicuous in the sublimity of their dignities, and, in short, from every kind and class of men. And while kings of the nations in their respective regions have limits to their power, the holy Catholic Church alone enjoys indeterminate power throughout the whole world. For God, as it is written, has set peace as her border. B If I were to wish to speak of all this, it would require many hours of discourse.
XXVIII. Instructed in this holy Catholic Church, and conducting ourselves well, we shall possess the kingdom of heaven, and we shall inherit eternal life; for which we also endure all things, so that we may obtain it from the Lord. For our goal does not stop at small things, but our contention is for eternal life. Therefore, in the confession of the faith, we are taught, after that [clause], "And in the resurrection of the flesh," that is, of the dead, C about which we have discoursed, "to believe also in eternal life," for which we Christians have our struggle.
XXIX. Now the life that is truly and in reality life, is the Father, who through the Son in the Holy Spirit pours forth heavenly gifts as from a fountain; but through His kindness, the goods of eternal life have been truthfully promised to us men as well. And one must not disbelieve that this is possible. For we must believe, looking not to our own weakness, but to His power; for "all things are possible with God." And that this is indeed possible, and that we expect eternal life, Daniel says: "And of D the many righteous, like the stars unto the ages, and further." And Paul says: "And thus shall we always be with the Lord."
A For to always be with the Lord signifies eternal life. The Savior also very clearly says in the Gospels: "And these shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
XXX. And there are many proofs concerning eternal life. But since we desire to attain this eternal life, the divine Scriptures set forth the modes of its acquisition; from which we shall now, on account of the length of this discourse, set forth a few testimonies, leaving the rest for the studious to search out. At one time, they say that it is obtained through faith; for it is written: "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life," B and the rest; and again He Himself says: "Amen, amen I say unto you, that he who heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath eternal life," and the rest. At another time, that it is through the preaching of the Gospel; for it says: "And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto eternal life." At another time, that it is through martyrdom and confession in Christ; for it says: "And he that hateth his soul in this world, shall keep it unto eternal life." And again, that it is by preferring Christ to money and kinship; "And every one that hath left brothers or sisters," and the rest, "shall inherit eternal life." And by the keeping of the commandments: C "Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill," and the remaining consequences; as He answered him who came and said: "Good Master, what shall I do that I may have eternal life?" Furthermore, also by departing from evil deeds and henceforth serving God; for the Apostle says: "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life."
XXXI. There is, moreover, a manifold way of finding eternal life, which I passed over because of the great abundance. For since the Lord is a lover of men, He has not opened one or even a second, but many D gates of entry into eternal life.
These things have been said by us for the present in due proportion concerning the eternal life, which is the final teaching and the end of those things promised in the Faith. May it be granted to us all, both those who teach and those who hear, to enjoy it, through the grace of God!
XXXII. Catechesis XVIII. On the Resurrection of the Flesh, etc.
Furthermore, beloved brothers, the word of instruction urges you all to prepare the soul for the reception of B the heavenly gifts. Regarding the holy and apostolic faith handed down to you for confession, we have spoken as many catechetical instructions as time allowed, through the grace of the Lord, during these past days of Lent; not that these were the only ones that ought to be spoken—for many things were left out, and perhaps things that might be comprehended more profoundly by better teachers. But with the holy day of C Pascha now at hand, and your charity in Christ being illuminated through the laver of regeneration, you shall be taught again the things that are appropriate, God willing: with how much piety and order it is necessary for those called to enter; for what reason each of the holy mysteries of baptism is performed; and with how much reverence and order it is necessary to proceed from baptism to the holy altar of God, and to enjoy the spiritual and heavenly mysteries D distributed there, so that your soul, having been enlightened first through the word of teaching, may perceive through each individual part those spiritual, heavenly, uncontaminated, life-giving, and fearful mysteries of Christ to partake of, for the sanctification of souls and bodies, for the remission of sins, and for the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven.
A ...of [your] soul through the word of teaching being enlightened, the magnitude of the gifts bestowed upon you from God may be recognized in each one.
XXXIII. But after the holy and salutary day of Pascha, beginning from the second day of the week, immediately, on each of the following days of the week, entering after the synaxis into the holy place of the Resurrection, you shall hear other catecheses, God willing; in which you shall again be taught the reasons for each of the things that have taken place, and will receive the proofs from the Old and New Testaments: B first, concerning the things that occurred immediately before baptism; then, how you were cleansed of sins by the Lord through the laver of water in the word; and how you have become partakers of the appellation of Christ in the manner of the priesthood, and how the seal of the communion of the Holy Spirit was given to you; and concerning the mysteries on the altar of the New Testament, which take their beginning from thence: what the divine Scriptures have handed down, what is the power of these, and how it is fitting to approach them, and when, and how they should be held. But at the end of all, how it behooves you in the time to come, both by deeds and words, to conduct and live your lives worthily of the grace received, that you may all be able to enjoy eternal life. And these things, if God will, shall be spoken of.
XXXIV. As for the rest, brethren, rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice: C for your redemption has drawn near, and the heavenly host of angels awaits your salvation. And the voice is already heard of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord.
A But the prophet cries out: "You who thirst, come to the water"; and immediately following: "Hear me, and eat what is good, and your soul shall delight in good things"; and not long after, you shall hear the good reading saying: "Be enlightened, be enlightened, O new Jerusalem; for your light has come." Regarding this Jerusalem, the prophet has said: "And after these things you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful metropolis of Zion," because of the law that went forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, which from thence rained down upon the whole inhabited world. To her also, the prophet says concerning you: "Lift up your eyes round about, and see your children gathered together." She answers, saying: "Who are these that fly as clouds, and as doves with their young ones unto me?" Clouds, because of their spiritual elevation and lightness; and doves, because of their simplicity. And again: "Who has heard such things, or who has seen thus? If the earth has travailed in one day, and a nation been born at once; for Zion has travailed and brought forth her children." And all things shall be filled with ineffable joy, because of the Lord who says: "Behold, I make Jerusalem an exultation, and my people a joy."
B XXXV. And may it also be permitted to say of you even now: "Rejoice, O heavens, and let the earth exult," and the rest, "because God has had mercy on his people, and has comforted the humble of his people." These things shall be because of the loving-kindness of God, who says to you: "Behold, I will blot out your iniquities as a cloud, and your sins as darkness." And you, having been deemed worthy of the name of the faithful (of whom it is written: "To those who serve me, a new name shall be called, which shall be blessed upon the earth"), will say with joy: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; in whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us," and the rest; and again: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, quickened us together with Christ," and the rest. And again, in the same manner, praise the Lord, the author of good things, saying: "When the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Savior towards man... C
A likewise praise the Lord of all good things, saying: Glory, honor, and power through our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto all the endless ages of ages. Amen.
For when the kindness and the love of God our Savior appeared—not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us—through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Lord, that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to hope of eternal life. B May God Himself and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your mind enlightened; and may He keep you at all times in good deeds, words, and thoughts. To Him be glory, honor, and dominion through our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto all the infinite ages of ages. Amen.
FIVE MYSTAGOGICAL CATECHESES
CATECHESIS NINETEENTH
MYSTAGOGICAL I.
CONCERNING THE CEREMONIES PRELIMINARY TO BAPTISM.
PREFACE
I. There follow five catecheses of a new argument. For since in the previous ones he had imbued those to be baptized with the precepts of Christian doctrine, in these he instructs the baptized regarding the three sacraments which were simultaneously received in antiquity, namely, Baptism, holy Chrism or Confirmation, and the Eucharist. And the first indeed deals with the ceremonies employed in the porch of the baptistery before the actual baptism, namely, the abjurations and the confession of faith; the second, concerning the anointing with exorcized oil, and the act of baptism itself; the third, concerning the anointing of the sacred Chrism; the fourth, concerning the Eucharist; the fifth, concerning the sacred liturgy and communion. It was not permitted to disclose these mysteries to those not yet initiated. However, lest they be entirely ignorant of them, during the paschal vigil itself, briefly and summarily, as much as the account of time allowed, the force and reason of each of them was disclosed; but full and accurate information regarding them was deferred to the paschal days, at which time, beginning from the second feria, Cyril delivered these discourses after the synaxis. All these things he commemorates in cat. 18, num. 32 and 33. The custom of the other Churches was almost the same, out of which arose discourses of similar argument to these Cyrillian ones: those of Gaudentius to the Neophytes, the book of Ambrose *De mysteriis*, and another by an uncertain author *De sacramentis*, composed from their discourses; and the sermons of S. Augustine and others *Ad infantes*.
II. That these catecheses, no less than the former, are truly those of our Cyril, and have reached us entire and not interpolated with additions, we hope we have clearly proven in our second dissertation, by Cyril’s own testimony, by the similarity of language, doctrine, and method, and by the authorities of the most ancient writers; nor is it obscure that either the opinion of Rivet or the doubt of Albertini proceeded from nothing other than hatred for the Catholic dogma contained in them: for if they had thought they had found therein some things conformable to their own tenets, they would assuredly have extolled the antiquity and excellence of the author and the work with the highest praises. They are called mystagogical catecheses,
A as if they were explanations of the holier mysteries; or simply mystagogies: a name attributed to them by Eustratius, an author of the sixth century, and by the one who wrote the unpublished book in the Royal Library, *On the Divine Mysteries*. Cyril himself, in cat. 19, no. 11, and cat. 20, no. 1, so refers to them. Yet he calls them catecheses in cat. 18, no. 33, and Anastasius Sinaita, along with others, does the same. Manuscript codices present them inscribed under the name of "Mystagogical Catecheses."
III. In these, he briefly and clearly explains the ceremonies of the three sacraments and of the liturgy, and he declares and fortifies them by the testimonies of the Scriptures, as far as that could be done. One should not, however, think that he commemorated every single sacred rite and ceremony. For in the first, he speaks nothing of exorcisms, the imposition of hands, and the various prayers which were in use either before or after the renunciations; in the second, he says nothing of the blessing of the fonts, the imposition of the white garment, the carrying of a taper, etc.; in the third, nothing of the imposition of hands joined with chrismation, nor of the prayers and the formula of words which accompanied both; in the fifth, he reports nothing of many liturgical actions, having omitted everything which preceded the washing of the hands and the kiss of peace. But just as it is certain that some rites which are passed over by Cyril were observed at Jerusalem, so we do not doubt that the sacred actions in that age were simpler than in succeeding times.
IV. These catecheses are much shorter than the preceding ones: either because the nature of the feast days on which the synaxis was performed did not allow for a sermon to be drawn out too long after the synaxis; or because so great a mass of arguments and Scriptural testimonies was not necessary in matters which, for the most part, proceeded from secret tradition without the Scriptures; or, finally, because, since they had already been instructed in these matters on the paschal vigil and had made a certain profession of our faith in baptism, it was not necessary to accumulate so many arguments to produce faith. They were delivered not in the middle of the synaxis, but after it was completed; and not in the major church, but in the very cave of the Lord’s Resurrection (from cat. 18, no. 22), which, having been amplified by the magnificent works of Constantine, could easily hold the people for hearing the sermons.
V. In previous editions, these catecheses constitute a different order and class from the preceding ones, and are not numbered with them; in this matter, the editors have followed the authority of all the manuscripts. We, attending to the convenience of citation, have judged that these should be called by numbers continuous with the preceding ones: and we count this first mystagogical [catechesis] as the nineteenth, and the rest thereafter in order; keeping in the Greek inscriptions and the Latin translations that old method of numbering, B which we attach to our Latin inscriptions.
VI. Furthermore, in this first of the mystagogical [catecheses], Cyril—having reserved the ceremonies of baptism which were performed in the baptistery itself for another oration—explains those which were accustomed to be observed in the vestibule of the baptistery: namely, the renunciations of Satan himself, his works, his pomp, and all his service; the force of which he explains most accurately and clearly; then, the pact with Christ entered into by the person being baptized through a brief promise of faith. Whatever he discourses upon regarding the force and manner of the renunciations, the same is read in all those who have written about them.
VII. Moreover, one must observe the singular rites of the Church of Jerusalem in this catechesis. First, at Jerusalem, the renunciations were performed in the vestibule of the baptistery; which is sufficiently in accordance with the custom of the Greek Churches, in which the renunciations were performed either in the church or elsewhere outside the font, as is evident from the Euchologion and from the author of the book *On the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy*, cap. 2, part 2, no. 6; and the author of the *Questions to the Orthodox*, in the name of Justin, quest. 137; and the same was the custom of the Roman Church, as is evident from Roman orders and rituals. But in the Apamean Church, they took place in the baptistery itself, from the letter of the clergy of Apamea in the council under Menas, page 229, tom. V. In the Gallican Church, they were performed at the font itself, which appears in the ancient Gallican Missal and Sacramentary edited by Thomasius and Mabillon; to say nothing of the ecclesiastical authors who testify to the same, such as Salvian, lib. vi, *De gubern. Dei*, Bib. PP. Lugd. tom. VII, page 364; the author of the three sermons in the Augustinian appendix, tom. VI, page 289; and Faustus of Riez, preface to *De Spiritu sancto*, under the name of Paschasius. The same custom of the Church of Milan is confirmed by Ambrose, *De myst.*, c. 2, n. 5, and that of another church near it, from lib. 1, *De sacram.*, c. 2, n. 5; that of the African [Church] can be concluded from Optatus, lib. v, num. 7; and that of the Spanish [Church] is gathered from Hildefonsus, *De ord. baptismi*, c. 110 and 111, Baluz. Miscell. tom. VII. Second, at Jerusalem, the renunciations were performed before the blessing of the font. Similarly in the Greek Churches, as is evident from the *Constit. Apost.*, lib. vii, cap. 41, 42, 43, from the author of the *Ecclesiastical Hierarchy* cited above, the order of baptism of Severus of Antioch, and the modern Euchologion. The same is the custom of the Roman [Church]: the opposite of the Gallican and Spanish, from Hildef. cap. 109. The anointing of the one to be baptized preceded the renunciations in the church, [according to] the author of lib. *De sacram.*, lib. 1, cap. 2, num. 4, but [in Jerusalem] the renunciations [preceded] the blessing of the font. Third, Cyril signifies that they renounced while clothed, contrary to the custom of the other Greek Churches, as is evident from the Euchologion, page 338, Elias of Crete on the fourth oration of Nazianzen, num. 24, page 448; the epistle of the clergy of Apamea in the council of Constantinople under Menas, page [missing], perhaps they had taken off their garments beforehand. The author of the *Ecclesiastical Hierarchy* teaches that the girdle was loosened and some part of the garments was removed. Fourth, the renunciations in the Latin and Greek Churches generally took place by way of a response to an interrogation of the minister saying: "Do you renounce Satan?" etc. At Jerusalem, the minister commanded: "Renounce," etc., which is also conformable to the author of the *Ecclesiastical Hierarchy* and the order of Severus. The same must be said of the profession of faith following the renunciations, which elsewhere was expressed by interrogating, but at Jerusalem and Antioch by commanding.
VIII. Fifth, the renunciations at Jerusalem were performed with the hand extended toward the West, cat. 19, num. 2: C a similar gesture [according to] the author of the *Ecclesiastical Hierarchy*, who says the one renouncing turns the hands away and throws them toward the West. But in the Constantinopolitan Church, whose rite was afterward received in the whole East, the renunciation was performed with hands held upright; as is evident from Nicetas in the oration of Gregory Nazianzen, num. 57, and Elias of Crete in the fourth oration of the same, num. 24, page 448, as well as the modern Euchologion, page 333. Sixth, the often-cited author of the *Ecclesiastical Hierarchy* orders that the renunciations...
A be preceded by the words commanding the candidate to blow upon the devil three times. The Euchologion prescribes the same; or, after the same have been pronounced, that this be done once, and further commands that the devil be spat upon. Nazianzen, orat. 4, num. 24, page 121, seems to refer to a double insufflation: some by which he was blown upon, others by which the one being baptized blew, *insufflations and counter-insufflations* [φυσήσεις τε καὶ ἀντιφυσήσεις]. St. Ephrem also mentions insufflations in the act of renunciation in *On the Second Coming*, Gr., page 349, and Chrysostom in *On the Sinful Woman* [In peccatric.], among the works of St. Ephrem, Lat., page 719. Whether this rite flourished in Jerusalem is uncertain. St. Cyril does not mention it.
Seventh, after the words of renunciation, there followed in all Greek Churches a B formula of the pact entered into with Christ: *I unite myself to Christ* [Συντάσσομαι τῷ Χριστῷ], or *to you, Christ*; or, *I pass into your camp*, by those turned toward the East before the formula of faith was to be pronounced, and sometimes joined with an adoption, as in the cited passage of St. Ephrem *On the Second Coming*: *We have united ourselves to Christ, worshipping him* [τῷ Χριστῷ συνεταξάμεθα, προσκυνήσαντες αὐτῷ]. We have aggregated ourselves to Christ, worshipping him himself. Cyril does not mention this; however, he seems to indicate it with these words, num. 8: *After the renunciation of Satan, and the union with Christ* [μετὰ τὴν ἀπόταξιν τοῦ Σατανᾶ, καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Χριστὸν σύνταξιν]. But in Latin Churches, the Creed was pronounced immediately after the renunciations. This is clear regarding Africa, from Optatus, lib. v, num. 5; regarding Gaul, from Salvian, lib. VI *De gubernat. Dei*, Bib. PP. Lugd. tom. VII, page 364. In the Roman Church, however, the renunciations were separated from the interrogation of faith by anointing and the blessing of the font.
Eighth, after the renunciations in Jerusalem, a C shorter Symbol was pronounced: elsewhere, usually the whole Symbol. This is proven regarding the Antiochene Church, from the order of Severus and the author of the book *On the Celestial Hierarchy*; regarding the Constantinopolitan Church, from the Euchologion, page 338; regarding the Alexandrian, from Cyril of Alexandria *Glaphyr. in Levit.*, page 367, and Cosmas Indicopleustes lib. v, page 208; regarding the Churches of Syria, from *Const. apost.* lib. VII, cap. 41; regarding the Gallican Church, from the aforementioned Salvian; regarding the African, from Augustine, serm. 58, num. 13. But in Rome, the Symbol was more contracted; in the Milanese Church, the confession of the Trinity alone was employed, as also in Spain, from Ildefonsus, cap. 110 and 111, which was sometimes done in Gaul, and that the same was used in the Churches of Cappadocia can be gathered from Gregory Nazianzen and Basil.
Ninth, finally, in Jerusalem, besides this brief confession of faith after the renunciations, another confession was made by the one being baptized concerning the Trinity at the interrogation of the minister before he was plunged into the font, cat. 20, num. 3. I recall having seen no other example of this double profession before baptism.
IX. This oration was delivered on Monday of Easter week. We have reviewed it according to the authority of the Coislin codices, two Ottoboniani, the Roe and Casaubon codices, the Greek edition of William Morell, and the variant readings inscribed in the margin of the Genevan volume. D
CATECHESIS XIX. MYSTAGOGICA I. FIVE CATECHETICAL ORATIONS OF THE SAME TO THE NEWLY BAPTIZED. MYSTAGOGICAL CATECHESIS I.
To those who have been newly illuminated. And the reading from the first Catholic Epistle of Peter, from these words: "Be sober, be vigilant;" unto the end of the Epistle. 1 Petr. v, 8.
A I. I have long desired, O genuine and dearly beloved children of the Church, to discourse to you concerning these spiritual and heavenly mysteries. But because I knew clearly that the testimony of the eyes is much more trustworthy than the testimony of the ears, I awaited the present time, that, taking you after you had been made more tractable toward the things being said through this experience, I might lead you into the more luminous and more fragrant meadow of this paradise. For truly, you have already been made capable of the more divine mysteries, having been deemed worthy of the divine and life-giving laver. Since, therefore, it is time that the table of the more perfect teachings should be set, come, let us instruct you in these things more accurately, so that you may know the depth of the
A impression which took place with regard to you on that evening of the baptism.
II. You first entered the vestibule of the baptistery, and standing toward the west, you heard, and you were commanded to stretch out your hand, and as if he were present, you renounced Satan. You ought, however, to know that this type is contained in ancient history. For when Pharaoh, that most bitter and cruel tyrant, was oppressing the free and noble people of the Hebrews, God sent Moses to lead them out of the wretched slavery of the Egyptians. And by the blood of a lamb, the doorposts were anointed, so that the destroyer might pass over the houses marked with the sign of the blood; and the people of the Hebrews were delivered in a truly miraculous way. But when the enemy pursued them after their deliverance, and saw the sea dividing for them in a miraculous way, he still pressed on, following in their footsteps; and straightway he was plunged beneath the water, sinking into the Red Sea.
III. B Now, move with me from the ancient things to the new, from the type to the truth. There, Moses is sent into Egypt by God; here, Christ is sent from the Father into the world. There, to lead a suffering people out of Egypt; here, Christ, to deliver those who are suffering in the world under the burden of sin. There, the blood of a lamb was a protection against the destroyer; here, the blood of the spotless Lamb, Jesus Christ, has become a place of refuge that puts demons to flight. That tyrant pursued that ancient people as far as the sea; the shameless and primordial demon, this tempter, followed you even to the very waters of salvation. C That one was engulfed in the sea; this one disappears in the saving water.
IV. But yet, you hear, you are told with outstretched hand, as if to one present, to say: "I renounce you, Satan." I wish D
A also to tell you why you stand towards the west; for it is necessary. Since the west is the place of visible darkness, and he, being darkness, has his dominion in darkness, therefore, looking symbolically toward the west, you renounce that dark and gloomy prince. What then did each one of you standing there say? "I renounce you, Satan, you wicked and most cruel tyrant." No longer, you say, do I fear your power. For Christ has destroyed this, having become a partaker of my blood and flesh, that through these he might abolish death by death, so that I might not remain a slave forever. "I renounce you, the crafty and most wicked serpent. I renounce you as a plotter, who under a pretence of friendship practiced every iniquity, and inspired our first parents with apostasy. I renounce you, Satan, the author and accomplice of all evil."
V. Then in the second phrase you learn to say: "And all your works." The works of Satan B are all sin, which it is necessary to renounce; just as if one having fled from a tyrant has by all means fled from his weapons also. Every species of sin, therefore, is counted among the works of the devil. But know this, that whatever you say, especially in that most fearful hour, is written in the books of God. When, therefore, you do anything contrary to these, you shall be judged as a covenant-breaker. You renounce, therefore, the works of Satan, that is to say, all deeds and thoughts which are contrary to reason.
VI. Then you say: "And all his pomp." The pomp of the devil is the madness of the theaters, and horse-races, hunting, and all such vanity; from which the saint, praying to be delivered, says to God: "Turn away my eyes lest they behold vanity" (Ps. CXVIII, 37). Let not the madness of the theater be a target of your zeal, where you behold the petulance of mimes, C teeming with all insults and indecency, and the frenzied dances of effeminate men; nor those of men in the hunting shows who deliver themselves to wild beasts
A so that they may flatter a miserable belly; or rather, that their bellies—being themselves truly the food of untamed beasts—may be nourished. Or, to speak more justly, on behalf of their own god, the belly, they cast their own lives into the precipice of single combat. Shun also the horse races, that frenzied sight which unhinges the soul; for all these things are a pomp of the devil.
VII. But furthermore, those things which are accustomed to be hung up at the festivals of idols—whether meats, or loaves, or other things of this kind that have been defiled by the invocation of those most abominable demons—are joined to the pomp of the devil. For just as the bread and wine of the Eucharist, before the holy invocation of the adorable Trinity, are mere bread and wine, but after the invocation has taken place, the bread becomes the Body of Christ and the wine the Blood of Christ; in the same way, such foods pertaining to the pomp of Satan, while by their own nature they are common and mere, become defiled by the invocation of demons. B
VIII. After this you say: "And all his worship." The worship of the devil is the prayer offered in the idol temples: those things done for the honor of soulless idols; the lighting of lamps or the burning of incense beside springs or rivers, as some who have been deceived by dreams or by demons have approached these, believing they would find a cure for their bodily infirmities; C or any such things D
A do not then meddle with them. Augury, divination, omens, or amulets, or inscriptions on metal plates, magic, or other ill-favored arts, and all that is like to these, are the worship of the devil. Flee, therefore, from these. For if you should succumb to these after your renunciation of Satan and your commitment to Christ, you will be tempted by a more bitter tyrant; who perhaps once treated you as a familiar, and relaxed his bitter servitude toward you, but now, being greatly angered by you, and having been deprived of you by Christ, you will be tempted by him as well. Have you not heard B the ancient history that tells us about Lot and his daughters? Was he not himself saved with his daughters, because he had reached the mountain; while his wife became a pillar of salt, standing as a monument for all time, holding the memory of a wicked choice and a turning back? Watch yourself, therefore, and do not turn back again, having set your hand to the plow, and returning again to the bitter practice of this life; but flee to the mountain, to Jesus Christ, the stone cut without hands, who has filled the whole world. C
IX. When, therefore, you renounce Satan, having thoroughly broken every compact with him, and the old agreements with hell, the paradise of God is opened to you, which He planted in the East, from which our first forefather was expelled because of his transgression. And a symbol of this is your turning from the West to the East, the region of light. Then you were commanded to say: "I believe in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit, and in one baptism of repentance." Regarding these, as the grace of God has granted, we have discoursed at length D in the previous catecheses.
X. Fortified therefore by these words, be vigilant. For our adversary, the devil, as has just been read, walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. But in the times before this, death prevailed and devoured; A however, in the holy laver of regeneration, God has taken away every tear from...
tear from every face. For you will no longer mourn, having put off the old man; but you will keep festival, having put on the garment of salvation, Jesus Christ. [XI] And these things, indeed, were done in the outer chamber. But God willing, when in the following Mystagogies we shall enter into the Holy of Holies, there we shall know the symbols of those things which are performed therein. To God the Father, therefore, be glory, power, and majesty, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
CATECHESIS TWENTIETH
MYSTAGOGICA II. ON THE RITES OF BAPTISM.
MONITUM
I. The author explains the power and secret meaning of the rites performed in the inner chamber of the baptistery, after the renunciations and the profession of faith have been uttered in its vestibule. He treats, namely, of the laying aside of the tunic (num. 2), which alone seemed to remain on those to be baptized; and of the baring of the body, imitating the nakedness of innocent Adam, and of Christ hanging on the cross. He mentions afterward the anointing with exorcized oil over the whole body of those to be baptized (num. 3); by which, he teaches, the richness of Christ is communicated to us, the traces of sins are burned away, and demons are driven off. Then he records the questioning of the faith, and the subsequent threefold immersion and emersion in the baptismal pool (num. 4); by which he says the three-day burial of Christ and his resurrection are so expressed by us that, to us who suffer nothing, the fellowship and fruit of the true sufferings and death of Christ are attributed.
II. To be noted in this entire catechesis: the nakedness of the candidates for baptism, after the example of Christ hanging on the cross; the power of the exorcized oil; the threefold effect of Christian baptism: remission of sins, the gift of adoption and of the Holy Spirit, and the imitation of the sufferings of Christ; whereas the baptism of John was single, merely a forgiveness of sins (num. 2 and 3).
There now occur the peculiar rites of the Church of Jerusalem. For the anointing of the whole body with oil was common to all the Greek Churches, as is evident concerning the Antiochene Church from the 6th homily of Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Colossians, as cited by the Church historian in book 2, part 2, num. 6; and concerning the Emperor Severus of Antioch on the order of baptism; and concerning the Church of Constantinople, from the Euchologion, page 354. But in the Latin Churches only certain parts were anointed; in the Roman, the chest and the space between the shoulders, from the Gelasian Sacramentary and the Roman Orders and Rituals; in the Gallican Churches, the ears and the nose, from the sermon to the Neophytes, Appendix vol. VI, pages 288, 289, and also the chest from the Gallican Sacramentary and the Bobbio ms. edited by Mabillon; in Spain, the ears and the mouth, but before the tradition of the Creed, from Ildefonsus, *On the Order of Baptism*, chapter 19, and Isidore.
Concerning the threefold immersion, the matter is too well known for it to be necessary to say anything about a practice that proceeded from the apostles and was at that time in use in the whole Church. Concerning the questioning of the faith preceding baptism, I have already noted in the introduction to the previous catechesis that at Jerusalem a double profession was made after the renunciations, whereas elsewhere it was a single one, either immediately after the renunciations, as in most Latin and Greek Churches, or before the immersion into the font, as in the Roman. Here, however, I note only two things. First (num. 4), the singular formula of this second profession, which is gathered from Cyril to have been as follows: "I believe in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"; elsewhere it was said: "in the Father and the Son," etc. Even so, certain testimonies of St. Gregory Nazianzen, oration 15, page 212, signify that it was pronounced in the same manner as at Jerusalem: "This our great mystery desires; this is the faith and regeneration in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the common name."
that this is what the great mystery signifies; it is faith and regeneration in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and their common name. A similar passage is found in Orat. 26, p. 442, where he says that we are confessed and baptized, not into the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit simply, but also into their common name. Secondly, in Jerusalem this interrogation happened only once, whereas in many churches there was a triple repetition, either of the Creed or of the profession of faith. Regarding the Alexandrian Church, this is certain from Cyril, the primate of this Church, in *Joann.*, cap. XXI, p. [1119]; regarding the Constantinopolitan [Church], from the *Euchologion*; regarding the Church whose customs pseudo-Dionysius represents, which I suspect to be the Antiochene or one bordering on it, from the book *De ecclesiast. hierar.*, cap. 2, part 11, num. 7. The Order of Severus of Antioch seems to enjoin the same.
III. This mystagogy was held on A the day following the previous one, according to num. 1, and thus on Easter Tuesday. It has also been emended from the same books as the former.
CATECHESIS MYSTAGOGICA II.
On Baptism
: And a reading from the Epistle to the Romans, from that place: “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death?” until the words: “For you are not under law, but under grace.”I. Useful to us are the daily mystagogies, and the teachings B that are newer, as they are announcers of newer things; and especially to you, who have been renewed from oldness into newness. For this reason, I must necessarily set before you the following parts of yesterday’s mystagogy, that you may learn of what things those deeds, which were performed by you in the inner chamber, were symbols.
II. Immediately, therefore, upon entering, you cast off your tunic. And this was an image of putting off the old man with his deeds. Being stripped, you were naked, imitating in this also Christ, who was stripped on the cross; and by His nakedness, He despoiled the principalities and powers, and made a public spectacle of them on the tree. Since, therefore, the adverse powers were dwelling C in your members, it is no longer permitted for you to wear that old tunic. I do not mean this sensible one at all, but the old man, who is being corrupted in the desires of deceit. May it not be that any soul, having once put him off, should ever put him on again; but rather let it say according to her who speaks in the Song of Songs of Christ: “I have put off my garment; how shall I put it on?”
A O marvelous thing! You were naked in the sight of all, and were not ashamed. Truly, you bore the image of the first-created Adam, who was naked in Paradise, and was not ashamed.
III. Then having stripped, you were anointed with the exorcised oil, from the very hairs of the head to the feet, and you became partakers of the good olive tree, Jesus Christ. For having been cut off from the wild olive, you were grafted into the good olive tree, and became sharers in the fatness of the truly good olive. The exorcised oil, therefore, was a symbol of the communion of the fatness of Christ, serving as a means to put to flight every vestige of adverse power. B For just as the breathings of the saints and the invocation of the name of God, like a most vehement flame, burn and put to flight demons: so also this exorcised oil, by the invocation of God and prayer, takes on such power that it not only purges the traces of sins by burning, but also puts to flight all the invisible powers of the wicked one.
IV. After this, you were led to the holy pool of divine baptism, just as Christ was led from the cross to the tomb prepared before him. And each one was asked whether he believed in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And you confessed the saving confession, and were submerged three times into the water, and rose up again; and here, by a symbol, you signified the three-day burial of Christ. C For just as our Savior passed three days and three nights in the belly of the earth, so you also in the first emergence imitated the first day of Christ in the earth, and in the submersion the night. For just as he who is in the night no longer sees, but he who is in the day lives in the light: so in the submersion, as in the night, you saw nothing; but in the emergence again, you were as if in the day. And in the selfsame moment you died and were born; and that saving water was to you both a tomb and a mother. And what Solomon said about other things D may most fittingly apply to you: he said: Time
A to be born and a time to die; but for you, the reverse: a time to die and a time to be born. And one and the same time is productive of both of these; and your birth was concurrent with your death.
V. O new and unheard-of thing! We did not truly die, nor were we truly buried, nor were we truly crucified and raised again; but the imitation is in an image, while the salvation is in truth. Christ was truly crucified, and truly buried, and truly rose again; and all these things have been graciously granted to us, so that by sharing in B the imitation of his sufferings, we might attain salvation in truth. O exuberant love for humanity! Christ accepted nails in his undefiled hands and feet, and suffered pain; and to me, without pain and without labor, through the communion of suffering, He grants salvation.
VI. Let no one, therefore, imagine that Baptism consists only in the remission of sins and in the grace of adoption, as was the case with the baptism of John, which offered only the remission of sins. But let us know accurately that, just as it is a purgative for sins, and a mediator of the gift of the Holy Spirit, C so it is also the antitype of the sufferings of Christ. For this reason, Paul also recently cried out and said: Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death. Hæc ad eos dicebat, qui in D
They had turned their mind to the belief that baptism indeed conveys the remission of sins and adoption, but that it does not also involve a participation in the true sufferings of Christ, even by way of a certain imitation. B
VII. In order, therefore, that we may learn that all the things which Christ endured, he endured for our sake and for our salvation in truth and not in appearance, and that we also become partakers of his sufferings, Paul cried out with the utmost precision: "For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall also be [partakers] of his resurrection." He used the word "united" well; for since the true vine has been planted here, we also, through the communion of the baptism of his death, have been united with him. But apply your mind with great attention to the words of the Apostle. He did not say: "If we have been united with him in death," but, "in the likeness of his death." For the death of Christ was real, C for the soul was truly separated from the body; and the burial was real, for his holy body was wrapped in a clean shroud; and all things happened to him in reality. But in your case, there is a likeness of death and sufferings, but of salvation there is not a likeness, but the reality.
VIII. Being sufficiently instructed in these things, endeavor, I pray, to retain them in your memory, so that I, though unworthy, may say of you what is written: "I love you, because you always remember me, and keep the traditions which I delivered to you." God is able, having presented you as living from the dead, to grant you to walk in newness of life; for to him D be the glory and the power, now and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
CATECHESIS TWENTY-FIRST. MYSTAGOGICA III. ON THE SACRED CHRISM. ADMONITION.
I. The sacrament of Chrism or Confirmation, which was conferred upon the baptized immediately upon their ascending from the font, is expounded in this discourse by the author, who reveals its origin, power, rite, figures, and efficacy. He teaches that we are anointed with the sensible chrism, the antitype or symbol of the Holy Spirit (nn. 1 and 2), in imitation of Christ who, after his baptism, was anointed with the visible descent of the Holy Spirit, so that we might be rendered similar to Him and partakers of Him. He teaches that this chrism, through the blessing of the ecclesiastical prayers, effects the Holy Spirit within us, and as it is applied to the forehead, ears, nostrils, and chest, becomes the instrument of manifold grace, and especially of strengthening (nn. 3 and 4); and that by the fruit of this sacrament we are rendered truly worthy of the name of Christians (n. 5). Then, having lightly touched upon certain figures of this mystery in the Old Law and commended its efficacy for our protection in soul and body, he concludes the discourse with a moral exhortation (n. 6). A
II. Memorable things are related here concerning the blessing and efficacy of the chrism. The author describes the rite of the Church of Jerusalem in conferring confirmation, yet he observes the religion of silence regarding the words usually said when signing the neophyte; although in Cat. 18, n. 33, he intimates they were these: Σφραγὶς κοινωνίας τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, “The seal of the communion of the Holy Spirit.” He does not mention the imposition of hands and the prayer accompanying it; yet he clearly intimates that the imposition of hands was employed in the sacrament of chrism in Catech. 16, n. 26. At Jerusalem, the forehead, ears, nostrils, and chest were anointed. B The principal unction, however, was that of the forehead, which he alone commemorates in Cat. 22, n. 7, when reviewing this sacrament. That alone was anointed in Latin Churches by the confirming bishop; while the presbyter anointed only the crown of the head, although in some places they anointed the forehead itself. But in the Greek Churches, other members besides the forehead were smeared with chrism. In the canon 7 of the Council of Constantinople, it is reported that the forehead, eyes, nostrils, and mouth are signed with chrism. Indeed, concerning the eyes, Greg. Naz., *Orat.* xix, p. 362, says: βλεφάρων μυστικῶς σφραγισθέντων. In the *Euchologium*, p. 356, the forehead, ears, nostrils, eyes, and feet are anointed; however, in another Order, p. 360, the unction of the feet is omitted; conversely, in the third, p. 392, the forehead, eyes, nostrils, ears, the palms of the hands, and the place of the heart are reported to be anointed. C In the Order of Severus of Antioch, the forehead is signed three times, and finally all members are signed. Although Cyril does not mention that the unctions were made in the form of a cross, the most ancient custom of all the Churches does not allow us to doubt that it was done thus at Jerusalem: which would be confirmed by the testimony of Cyril, Cat. 12, n. 8, if it were certain that mention was made there of the chrism, and not merely of the sign of the cross. The chrism at Jerusalem was, as is common among the Greeks, a composition of the most fragrant ointment, whence it itself derives the name *myron*, but Cyril intimates that it consisted mostly of oil, when in Cat. 22, n. 7, he applies to that sacrament the Davidic verse: "You anointed my head with oil" (Ps. xxii, 5). D
III. It is inscribed, *On the Chrism*. For what we designate among the Latins by the name of Confirmation, the Greeks have been accustomed to call *Chrisma*, or *Myron*, which means "ointment"; for they have always viewed the unction in this sacrament as its principal part; whereas the Latins in antiquity seem to have held the imposition of hands in a higher place. This discourse was delivered on the Wednesday of Easter; and it has been reviewed by us according to the same codices as the two preceding. Stanislaus Hosius recites a slight fragment of this from the Scirletian codex, when he deals with the sacrament of Confirmation: the variants of which codex we have noted.
CATECHESIS MYSTAGOGICA III.
Of the Chrism; and a reading from the first Catholic Epistle of John, from the words: *"And you have an unction from the Lord, and know all things,"* down to: *"And let us not be ashamed before him at his coming."*
A I. Having been baptized into Christ and put on Christ, you have been made conformable to the Son of God. For God, having predetermined us unto adoption, has made us conformable to the glorious body of Christ. Having therefore become partakers of Christ, you are rightly called Christs; and concerning you God said: *"Touch not my Christs."* And you became Christs by receiving the antitype of the Holy Spirit; and all things have been performed in you in an image, since you are images of Christ. And He indeed, having been washed in the river Jordan, and having imparted the fragrance of His divinity to the waters, ascended from them; and the substantial indwelling of the Holy Spirit came upon Him, B like resting upon like. And to you also, in the same way, having ascended from the pool of sacred waters, the unction was given, which is the antitype of that with which Christ was anointed. And this is the Holy Spirit, of whom the blessed Isaiah, in his prophecy concerning Him, said in the person of the Lord: *"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad tidings to the poor."* For Christ was not anointed by men with oil or aromatic ointment, but the Father, having before appointed Him to be the Savior of the whole world, anointed Him with the Holy Spirit; as Peter says: *"Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit."* And the prophet David the king cried out, saying: *"Thy name is as ointment poured forth; therefore have the virgins loved thee."* C And see that you do not think this is mere ointment. For just as the Bread of the Eucharist after the invocation of the Holy Spirit is simple bread no longer, but the Body of Christ, so also this holy ointment is no longer simple ointment, nor, so to speak, common, after the invocation, but it is the gift of Christ and of the Holy Spirit, made efficacious by the presence of His divinity. It is symbolically applied to your forehead and your other senses; and while the body is anointed with the visible ointment, the soul is sanctified by the Holy and life-giving Spirit. D You were first washed in the waters, cleansed of your sins; then, at the opening of the senses, you are anointed, that you may be, as it were, Christ, having put on the coat of salvation which is Christ the Lord. And you are anointed with the Holy Spirit, who is the chrism of the spiritual sweetness of God, who prepares for you the grace of the spiritual and heavenly gifts.
A Likewise, as the like rests upon the like, so for you also, after you had ascended from the pool of the sacred waters, a chrism was given, the antitype of that with which Christ was anointed. And this is none other than the Holy Spirit, concerning whom the blessed Isaiah also, in the prophecy regarding him, said in the person of the Lord: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to evangelize the poor." (Is. LXI, 1)
II. For Christ was not anointed by men with physical oil or ointment, but the Father, having appointed him the Savior of the whole world, anointed him with the Holy Spirit, as Peter says: "Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit;" B and the prophet David cried out, saying: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a rod of uprightness is the rod of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." (Ps. XLIV, 7, 8) And just as Christ was truly crucified, and buried, and rose again, and to you in baptism, by a certain likeness, it is granted by divine favor to be crucified, and buried, and to rise again together with him: so also does it occur in the matter of the chrism. He was anointed with an intelligible oil of gladness, that is, with the Holy Spirit, who is called oil of gladness for the reason that he is himself the author of spiritual gladness; but you were anointed with ointment, having become partakers and fellows of Christ.
III. But see that you do not suppose this ointment to be mere and trivial. C For just as the bread of the Eucharist, after the invocation of the holy Spirit, is no longer simple bread, but the body of Christ; so also this holy ointment is no longer simple or, as one might say, common ointment, after the invocation, but the gift of Christ and the Holy Spirit, which becomes effective through the presence of his divinity, breathing forth fragrance.
This is applied symbolically to your forehead and your other senses. And while the body is anointed with visible ointment, the soul is sanctified by the holy and life-giving Spirit.
D IV. And first, you were anointed on the forehead, that you might be delivered from the shame which the first transgressor, man, carried about everywhere; and that with unveiled face you might reflect the glory of the Lord as in a mirror. Then upon the ears, that you might receive ears capable of hearing in the divine mysteries, regarding which Isaiah spoke: And the Lord gave me an ear to hear; and the Lord Jesus says in the Gospels: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Then upon the sense of smell, that, receiving the divine ointment, you may say: We are the fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved. After this, upon the chest, so that, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, you may stand against the wiles of the devil. For just as Christ, after B his baptism and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon him, went forth and vanquished the adversary; so you, too, after the holy baptism and the mystical anointing, having put on the whole armor of the Holy Spirit, stand against the opposing power and vanquish it, saying: I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.
C V. Being judged worthy of this holy chrism, you are called Christians, becoming true to the name through your regeneration. For before you were judged worthy of this grace, you were not strictly worthy of this appellation, but were journeying forward toward being Christians.
[VI.] It is necessary for you to know that the symbol of this chrism exists in the Old Scripture. For when Moses communicated the divine mandate to his brother, establishing him as high priest, after he had washed in water, he anointed him; and he was called Christ, from the figurative chrism. Thus also the high priest, when leading Solomon forward to be king, anointed him after he had washed in Gihon. But these things happened to them typically; to you, however, not typically but truly; since you were truly anointed by the Holy Spirit. Christ is the beginning of your salvation; for he is truly the first-fruits, and you are the dough; and if the first-fruits are holy, clearly the holiness will pass over to the dough.
[VII.] Keep this chrism unspotted; for it will be instructive about all things if it remains in you, just as you recently heard the blessed John saying, and philosophizing much about this chrism. For this holy chrism is a spiritual guardian of the body and a savior of the soul. Concerning this, the blessed Isaiah prophesied long ago: *And the Lord will make for all nations upon this mountain*—he calls the Church a mountain, as also in other places, as when he says: *And it shall be in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall be conspicuous*—they shall drink wine, they shall drink gladness, they shall be anointed with ointment. And in order to reassure you, listen to what he says about this ointment as something mystical: *Hand these things over to all the nations; for the counsel of the Lord is upon all the nations.* Being anointed, therefore, with this holy ointment, keep it unspotted and blameless within you, advancing through good works and becoming acceptable to the Author of your salvation, Christ Jesus, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
TWENTY-SECOND CATECHESIS
MYSTAGOGICA IV. ON THE BODY AND BLOOD OF THE LORD.PREFACE
1. The third sacrament which was to be conferred in order was the Eucharist; Cyril describes its power, nature, effect, types, and commendations in the Old Testament most gravely and lucidly. In almost the entire discourse, he strives to prove to his listeners that the Eucharistic bread and wine, although the senses may report otherwise, have been changed into the body and blood of Christ. To remove any doubt regarding this matter, he confirms the truth of this conversion by the authority of St. Paul, by the clear assertion of Jesus Christ, and by other miracles effected by Christ (num. 1, 2, 3). From the fruit and effect of this sacrament noted in the ancient Scriptures, he commends the excellence of the Christian law over that of the Old Testament and over the profane religion of idols; and with a brief exhortation to receive it with certain faith and good hope, he places a limit upon his sermon (n. 4, 5).
II. Scarcely anything more lucid or clearer than this can be found in all antiquity to prove the Catholic faith concerning the real presence and transubstantiation of Christ's body in the Eucharist. He takes pains to explain to the neophytes, still uninstructed in our affairs, in simple and chosen words, before the very sepulcher of the Lord, and with the witnesses as it were removed, what they ought to believe regarding our mysteries: there is no place there for allegory, metaphor, exaggeration, or dissimulation. The frivolous objections of Rivet, Albertin, and Milles, by which they try to elude the force of these testimonies, we refute in the third dissertation in a special article. Here, however, in the notes, we have touched only upon those things which pertain to clarifying the author's meaning and to laying bare the full force of his sentiments and arguments.
III. This discourse was delivered on the Thursday of Passover. We have reviewed it against the Coislin, Roe, Casaubon, Ottobon, and Genevieve codices. Furthermore, we have compared it with the Greek texts of the Scirletian codex represented by Stanislaus Hosius; who provided this catechism in its entirety from that codex in his defense of the confession of the Synod of Petricow, chapter 59, concerning the sacrament of the Eucharist. Moreover, some fragments of this and the immediately following catechism are referred to in an unpublished booklet [Greek: Περὶ θείων μυστηρίων], *On the Divine Mysteries*, Bibl. Reg. cod. 2428, which book seems to have been written against those who claimed that the gifts proposed on the altar are not in truth, but in type and figure, the body and blood of Christ; and, besides the author's preface, it contains nothing but certain select testimonies of the ancients regarding the sacred mysteries; indeed, from the age of those he cites, none of whom is later than the eighth century, it can be gathered that the author of the booklet is ancient. But since it seemed to Albertin that the truth, or at least the integrity, of these catechisms could be called into question on account of some variations that are observed between the published text of Cyril and the words of Cyril transcribed in this booklet, we have judged it necessary to indicate these with the utmost faithfulness at each point of the catechism, after some preliminary observations. The first of which is that all those collectors of testimonies use the greatest license in citing them—by cutting, adding, changing, skipping over intermediate parts that do not pertain to their purpose, and continuously joining the extremes together: for which reason he acts most imprudently who wishes to amend the text of the Fathers, described in full in the codices containing their Works, to the standard of those citations: which, while observed in the rest of the collectors of *Catenae*, *Pandects*, etc., shines forth remarkably in this booklet; in which not only the testimonies of Cyril, but also those of other authors, differ not insignificantly from their published and manuscript texts. Secondly, that codex is highly corrupted by the ignorance of the copyists, and mutilated; insomuch that not only are the passages of the authors cited therein cited most carelessly, but also the text of the author himself, which, as I have said, is contained in one short preface, is so befouled that in certain places scarcely any sense can be elicited. Finally, whatever the negligence of the author or the copyist may be in reporting the text of Cyril, no other variation exists in those very passages that move Albertin's stomach and that more clearly establish transubstantiation, except for a few words which contribute nothing to the meaning; so that in them is contained entirely the Catholic dogma of the real presence and transubstantiation: which, indeed, are brought forward by the author in this booklet for the very purpose of proving this.
CATECHESIS XXII. MYSTAGOGICA IV.
CATECHESIS MYSTAGOGICA IV.
*On the body and blood of Christ. And a reading from the Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, and what follows.*A I. This instruction of the blessed Paul alone is abundantly sufficient to give you certain faith in the divine mysteries: of which, having been held worthy, you have been made of the same body and blood as Christ. For he was just now crying out: “That in the night in which our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed, having taken bread and given thanks, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat; this is my body. And having taken the cup, and given thanks, he said: Take, drink; this is my blood.” Since, therefore, he himself has pronounced and said of the bread, *This is my body*, who will dare to doubt thereafter? And when he himself has asserted and said, *This is my blood*, who will ever doubt, saying that it is not his blood?
B II. He once changed water into wine, which is akin to blood, in Cana of Galilee; and shall we think him unworthy of our belief, when he changed wine into blood? Called to a bodily wedding, he performed this stupendous miracle: and not
of Galilee He transformed it; and shall we deem him unworthy of belief, when He transformed wine into blood? Being invited to a bodily marriage, He performed this stupendous miracle; and shall we not much more confess that He has deigned to give His own body and blood for the children of the bridal chamber?
[III.] Wherefore with all persuasion let us take the body and blood of Christ as [these things]. For in the figure of bread, the body is given to you, and in the figure of wine, the blood is given to you; so that having received the body and blood of Christ, you may become of the same body and of the same blood as He. For thus we also become Christ-bearers, His body and blood being distributed into our members. Thus, according to the blessed Peter, we become partakers of the divine nature.
[IV.] Once, while Christ was conversing with the Jews, He said: "Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you." But since they did not hear what was spoken spiritually, they were offended and went back, thinking that He was urging them to the eating of flesh.
[V.] There were also in the old covenant loaves of proposition; but those, belonging to the Old Testament, had an end. In the New Testament, however, there is heavenly bread and the cup of salvation, sanctifying soul and body. For just as bread is suited to the body, so also is the Word suited to the soul.
A VI. Do not, therefore, attend to the bread and wine as if they were merely bare and common elements; for they are, according to the Lord’s declaration, the body and blood of Christ. For even if your sense suggests this to you, let faith make you certain. Do not judge the matter by the taste, but be fully assured by faith, without any doubt, that you have been deemed worthy to partake of the body and blood of Christ.
VII. Blessed David will explain the power of this for you, saying: "You have prepared a table before me, in the presence of those who afflict me" (Ps. XXIII, 5). And what he says means this: Before your coming, the demons had prepared a table for men—a defiled, polluted table, filled with diabolical power; but after your coming, O Lord, you have prepared a table before me. When a man says to God, "You have prepared a table before me," what else does he mean but the mystical and intelligible table which God has prepared for us B in opposition to, and in the place of, the table of the demons? And very rightly so; for that one had communion with demons, but this one has communion with God. "You anointed my head with oil." He anointed your head with oil on your forehead, through the seal which you have from God, so that you might become C an impression of the seal, the holy signet of God. And your cup, which inebriates me, is as excellent! You see here the cup…
of which Jesus, having taken it into his hands and given thanks, said, "This is my blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
VIII. Therefore, Solomon also, alluding to this grace, says in Ecclesiastes, "Come, eat your bread in joy" (the spiritual bread; he calls the saving and blessed calling "come"), "and drink your wine in a good heart" (the spiritual wine), "and let oil be poured out upon your head" (do you see him pointing to the mystical chrism?), "and let your garments always be white, because the Lord has been pleased with your works." For before you approached the grace, your works were vanity of vanities. But having put off the old garments, and having put on those which are spiritually white, it is fitting for you to be arrayed in white always. We do not say this meaning that you must always wear white garments, but that you must be clothed in those that are truly white and shining B (and spiritual), so that you may say with blessed Isaiah, "My soul shall rejoice in the Lord; for He has clothed me with a garment of salvation, and He has covered me with a robe of gladness."
IX. Instructed in these things, and imbued with the most certain faith that what appears to be bread is not bread, even if it is sensible to the taste, but the body of Christ; and that what appears to be wine is not wine, even if the taste wills it so, but the blood of Christ; and that regarding this, David long ago sang in the Psalms: "And bread strengthens man's heart, to make his face cheerful with oil" (Ps. CIII, 15): "Strengthen" your heart by partaking of it as spiritual, and "make cheerful" the countenance of your soul. C Would that, having your countenance unveiled in a pure conscience, you might contemplate the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, D rendering an impression of the seal, and should the soul of a man, which on its forehead or indeed in its soul must offer a likeness of the imprint, render it in its character: that just as a plate exhibited the words, "Holy to the Lord," so the soul, consecrated with a certain priestly holiness, might prove itself to God by worthy character.
...from glory to glory, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be honor and power, and glory forever and ever. Amen.
CATECHESIS XXIII. MYSTAGOGICA V. ON THE SACRED LITURGY AND COMMUNION. ADMONITION.
I. In this final instruction, Cyril sets forth the individual parts of the unbloody sacrifice, which he illustrates with brief and clear expositions, as well as the procedure for partaking. Setting aside those portions pertaining to the beginning of the liturgy, he recounts only those things which, once all those who had no right to be present for the sacred rites were dismissed, were proper to the action or Mass of the faithful.
II. He begins with the washing of hands by the priest and the presbyters, performed by the deacon; he teaches that this is a symbol of the purity of souls (no. 2). Next, he speaks of the kiss of peace, the sign of the reconciliation of souls (no. 3). He explains with piety the priest’s exhortation to lift up the hearts and render thanks to God, and the people’s consenting response (nos. 4 and 5). He then mentions the prayer offered by the priest to render thanks to God for all good things: in which there is a recounting of the nine angelic orders (no. 6). Then, the trisagion hymn sung by the whole people: and finally the invocation of the Holy Spirit to transform the bread into the body of Christ, and the wine into the same’s blood (no. 8). When the unbloody sacrifice is finished, there are made over the holy host of propitiation, first, intercessions for all the needs of everyone; then, the remembrance of the deceased: in which God is asked to accept our prayer through the petitions of the saints; and the mercy of God is invoked for the rest of the deceased for their relief (no. 9). A Incidentally, he defends the utility of prayers for the dead against many who, doubting this matter, questioned it, and clarifies it by a cited example (no. 10). Afterward, he proceeds to explain the Lord’s Prayer, the individual parts of which he interprets with an admirable brevity and ease (nos. 11-18). He explains the fourth petition, which concerns the supersubstantial bread, as being about the Eucharist (no. 15). He relates the voice of the priest, *Sancta sanctis* ("Holy things to the holy"), and the words the people respond, B and the cantor’s invitation to partake of communion through a psalm verse (no. 19). He prescribes the demeanor of body and soul (no. 20) with which one should approach the sacred mysteries; and that the body of Christ should be received in the hand, and then brought to the eyes and mouth; and that the blood of Christ should be adored with prostrate body and received from the chalice. Finally, having commended the keeping of his precepts, and the participation of the sacred mysteries not to be interrupted, he concludes the catechesis with a prayer for favor (nos. 21 and 22). It was delivered, as we suppose, C on the Friday after Easter.
III. This catechesis is one of the preeminent monuments of ecclesiastical antiquity; nor is there any work of that age in which more rites of the ancient liturgy and sacred communion are learned of, asserted, and explained. However, certain observations regarding the liturgy as explained by Saint Cyril must be premised by us. First, although I do not deny—indeed, it must be confessed—that the action of the liturgy in these times was much shorter and simpler, and that it grew as time went on D through the addition of new prayers, ceremonies, and rites; yet it is not to be thought that all the ceremonies, prayers, and actions of the sacrifice mentioned by Cyril were those alone. For he says nothing here of the frequent salutations of the bishop to the people; nothing of the offering of the gifts at the altar and the prayers by which they are offered to God; nothing of the recitation of the evangelical supper and the sacred words; nothing of the signs of the cross made over the gifts to be consecrated or already consecrated; nothing of the elevation and fraction of the host; nothing of the prayers before communion and the formula for administering communion; or other rites which, from the monuments of this age and earlier, we cannot doubt were in use at this time in the action of the sacrifice.
IV. Secondly, the liturgy which he recounts here was without doubt that of the Church of Jerusalem. Furthermore, that which we now have under the name of Saint James, and which is asserted as such by the Council in Trullo, canon 32, was in use locally in this Church for a long time; and it was constantly in use in the times of Charlemagne, King of the Franks, and for many centuries afterward; until the Patriarch of Constantinople compelled his own liturgy, and then all the other Churches of Greek rite, partly by persuasion and partly by force, to be accepted. But our liturgy of Saint James disagrees in many points with the Cyrillian; although such differences are either of things passed over by Cyril, or added...
either in words or in rites, which have been joined to the sacred action since the time of Cyril; or finally of the sacred formulas, which are reported in other words by Cyril than in the liturgy of Saint James: some of which we have noted in our observations. Otherwise, they agree completely; so that you may observe the same body of the liturgy throughout; although, as usually happens in such matters, it has been changed by some increments and variations. Yet one must admit that there are very few things in Cyril that are so characteristic of the liturgy of Saint James that they are not found in the same way in other Greek liturgies. The reason is that Cyril has pursued only the main parts of the liturgy, which were common in all churches, at least in the Greek ones.
V. Thirdly, many things in the Cyrillian liturgy are common with that liturgy which is described in full in the *Apostolic Constitutions*, book ii, chapter 57, and book viii, chapters 5 and 6 and following: if indeed it is one and the same that is found in the second book and in the eighth; for some variety can be discerned between those different places. It has already been observed by many before us that the *Apostolic Constitutions* were expressed to a great extent for the use of the Palestinian and Jerusalemite Church: which, if there were place for this matter, we could illustrate by new observations. Certainly in some places the similarity of the Cyrillian liturgy is greater with that of the *Apostolic Constitutions* than with the liturgy of Saint James; but in other parts, conversely, the Cyrillian approaches the latter more than the former. That will seem no wonder to him who remembers that the *Apostolic Constitutions* were not expressed from the customs of one Church, but of many. We have often compared those three liturgies in our notes.
VI. Fourthly, concerning the rites of communion, few things are to be observed by us. For the fact that the body of Christ and the blood from the chalice are offered separately, although it is contrary to the current custom of the Greeks, who have for a long time—since the eleventh century—presented the sacred bread dipped in the blood on a spoon, this was the ancient custom of the Greek and Latin Church in those times: a custom which Cardinal Humbert, writing against the slanders of the Greeks, congratulates the Jerusalemites for having constantly retained in the middle of the eleventh century (*Bib. PP. Lugd.*, vol. XVIII, p. 397). That the body of Christ was given into the hands was also the common practice of all the churches. But as for Cyril’s instruction that the hands be so shaped that the left hand supports the right hand to receive the sacred body: this is what the Greeks intend when they command the hands to be composed in the shape of a cross. Thus the Trullan Council, canon 101, and John of Damascus, *De fide*, book iv, chapter 13: A *Let us draw near shaping our palms in the form of a cross.* I will also say nothing about the communicant’s response, *Amen*, to the old and simple formula of distributing communion, *The Body of Christ, and the Blood of Christ*; by which the communicant assents to the truth of the real presence of the Body and Blood of Christ given to him. But the fact that Cyril orders that before the sacred bread is taken into the mouth, it should be brought to the eyes; and after the blood of Christ has been drunk from the chalice, the moisture adhering to the lips gathered by the fingers should be applied to the eyes, the forehead, and the senses; since this might perhaps seem singular, it is to be confirmed by the examples of other authors.
VII. And first, John of Damascus, in the place already praised, orders that not only the eyes but also the lips through a kiss, and the forehead, be brought to the body of Christ: B *Let us receive the body of the Crucified; and applying our eyes and lips and foreheads, let us partake of the divine coal.* Let us receive the body of the Crucified; and applying [it to] our eyes, lips, and forehead, let us receive the divine coal. Theodoret, *in Cant.* 1, 1: *Let him consider how in the time of the mysteries we kiss the members of the Bridegroom as we receive them, and embrace them and place them upon our eyes.* A witness of this ancient custom is Theodore Phurnes in Allatius, book iii, *De consensu, etc.*, chapter 15. Regarding the other custom, of applying the moisture collected from the lips after the consumption of the chalice to the eyes, the forehead, and the other senses; some monuments persuade us that this was not a singular rite at Jerusalem. For Cyril of Alexandria, in his second book of *Glaphyra on Exodus*, pages 270 and 271, explaining the figure of the blood of the lamb being smeared on the doorposts of houses as the blood of Christ taken by the faithful, says that our doors, that is, our senses, are smeared with the blood of Christ; C *But by doors understand the senses within us... through which the devil invades, unless they are smeared with the blood of Christ; for they were not smeared with the blood of Christ.* Theodore Balsamon seems to have truly had this place before his eyes when, in his letter *On Fasting* (no. 14, Coteler, *Monum.*, vol. II, p. 505), he wrote: *Anointing and sanctifying the gates of our senses with the blood and body of Christ.* Theodore the Studite seems to have referred to this custom when he says in sermon 46: *Nor let the eyes, cleansed by the august blood, behold base things.* I also believe that Apollinaris, or whoever is the author of the *Tragedy of Christ Suffering*, printed in Nazianzen, vol. II, 325, page 272, had this before his eyes, saying that the centurion who pierced the side of Christ and called out, *This was the Son of God*, collected the blood flowing from the side of Christ with his hands and applied it to his eyes.
D *He draws from the fountain with his hands, and anointed his pupils,* *As it seems, that he might have a cleansing.* From the fountain he draws with his hands, and anointed his eyes, As was fitting, seeking holiness from it.
There is nothing in this, unless one translates it as superstitious and contrary to the Scriptures, which Rivetus accuses in Cyril, that it is a commendable custom. By the same right, let him accuse Gorgonia, the sister of Gregory Nazianzen, who applied particles of the Body and Blood of Christ, mixed with her own tears, to her aching limbs by way of medicine: let him accuse [Gregory] also.
VIII. We have compared this catechesis with the manuscripts noted above, from which number the Coislinian must be removed, which on its last page, perhaps through the weariness of the scribe, contains only the title of this oration. Moreover, we have compared it with fragments cited by Nicon the monk in his *Pandects*, by Eustratius, and by the author of the little book. It lacks a title and argument in all the codices. We have fashioned the one that the very nature of the subject matter demanded. The reader will excuse the frequency and length of the notes on account of the dignity and richness of the subject treated. There is one thing which we have relegated to the third dissertation, namely that which pertains to the invocation of the Holy Spirit, which is customary in the Greek Churches at the consecration.
CATECHESIS MYSTAGOGICA V.
From the Catholic Epistle of Peter: *Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and all evil speakings, and so forth.*
A I. By the loving-kindness of God, in the preceding synaxes, you have heard sufficiently concerning baptism, and chrism, and the participation of the Body and Blood of Christ; now it is necessary to pass on to what follows, today about to place the finishing touch upon the spiritual building of your instruction.
B II. You have therefore seen the deacon presenting water for the washing of hands to the priest, and to the presbyters who surround the altar of God. He did not give it at all on account of bodily dirt; that is not the case. For we did not enter the church in the first place bearing bodily dirt. But the washing is a symbol that you ought to be clean from all sins and transgressions. For since the hands are a symbol of action, by washing them, we signify the purity of our deeds and their immunity from all blame. Have you not heard the blessed David revealing this very mystery to us, and saying: *I will wash my hands among the innocent, and will encompass thine altar, O Lord* (Ps. XXVI, 6)? C Therefore, the washing of hands is a symbol of being blameless from sins.
A III. Then the deacon cries out: "Receive one another, and let us kiss one another." Do not suppose that this kiss is such as that which is common among friends in the marketplace. This kiss is not of that kind; for it unites and mingles souls together, and promises them an oblivion of all injuries. This kiss, therefore, is a sign that souls are mingled together with one another, and that all memory of injuries is banished. Therefore Christ said: "If you offer your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you; leave your gift at the altar, and go first and be reconciled to your brother, and then coming back, offer your gift" (Matt. v, 23, 24). Therefore the kiss is a reconciliation, and for this reason it is holy; as somewhere the blessed Paul cried out saying: "Greet one another with a holy kiss" (1 Cor. xvi, 20); and Peter: "With a kiss of charity" (1 Pet. v, 14).
IV. After this, the priest cries out: "Lift up your hearts" (2). For truly, in that most awesome hour, one ought to have the heart lifted up to God, and not downwards toward the earth and earthly things. It is therefore the same as if the priest were to command that at that hour all should lay aside the cares of this life and domestic anxieties, and have their hearts lifted up in heaven to the merciful God. Then you answer: "We lift them up unto the Lord"; agreeing to this command by the confession which you pronounce. Let no one, therefore, be present in such a state that, while saying with his mouth, "We lift them up unto the Lord," B his mind is occupied with worldly matters. Always, indeed, one ought to have the remembrance of God...
C Facies quoque ante communionem abluebatur ex Chrysost. et Augustino. (1) *Vos invicem suscipite*, etc. This is how we translate *ἀπολάβετε*, which can signify either "take hold of with a gesture of the body and an embrace," or "receive with gratified souls, as companions and brothers, with strangers now dismissed." In the liturgy of St. James, after the dismissal of the catechumens, the deacon commands that the faithful should recognize one another, *ἀλλήλους ἐπίγνωτε*. And again, after the burning of incense, the chanting of the cherubic hymn, the offering of the gifts on the altar, and the recitation of the creed, the deacon heralds the kiss of peace with these words: *Ἀγαπήσωμεν ἀλλήλους ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ* — Amemus nos mutuo in Spiritu sancto. A single admonition from Cyril fulfills the place of both; and perhaps both of these arose in the Jerusalem liturgy from the division of that one. In Constit. Apost., lib. viii, cap. 11, there is one admonition: *Ἀσπάσασθε ἀλλήλους ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ* — Salutate vos mutuo in osculo sancto. This, however, precedes—it does not follow, as it does with Cyril—the washing of hands, unless something has been disturbed; for otherwise [the sequence] of prayers and rites is not entirely the same in lib. ii, c. 57, and lib. viii, cap. 9, 10, 11, 12. In all Greek churches, and in almost all Latin ones except for the African and Roman, and those which followed the Roman rites, the kiss of peace was given before the consecration; whereas in the African and Roman [liturgies] it followed the Lord's Prayer.
(2) *Sursum corda*. St. Euthymius, who lived in the Jerusalem region in the fifth century, said: *Ἄνω σχῶμεν τὸν νοῦν καὶ τὰς καρδίας* — Attollamus mentem et corda. This is related in the account of his life by our Bernard de Montfaucon in *Analecta Græca*, page 62. The formula of the liturgy of St. James is the same. But in *Constit. apost.*, lib. viii, cap. 12, it is written thus: *Ἄνω τὸν νοῦν*, Sursum mentem. Preceding this exclamation in almost all Greek liturgies, and in the *Constit. apostolicis*, is the salutation of the priest to the people: "The grace of God Almighty, and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all"; with the people's response: "And with your spirit." This salutation, indeed, which is ancient and dates from the times of Chrysostom, is passed over in silence by Cyril.
(3) *Οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο τοιοῦτον· ἀλλὰ τοῦτο τὸ φίλημα ἀνακίρνησι*, etc.: *Non est hoc ejusdem modi, verum hoc osculum*, etc. Below, instead of *μνηστεύεται*, some editions have *μνημονεύεται*, "it recalls to memory."
(4) *Καὶ διαλλάγηθι*. [The word] *καὶ* is absent in the manuscripts, Roe, and Cas. [They separate] the standard text, which separates *πρῶτον* from *ὕπαγε*, and joins it to *διαλλάγηθι*. From this observation of Cyril, it can be gathered that the kiss of peace was given before the gifts were moved to the altar; [as is] testified by old custom in Justin, *apol. 2*, page 97, *Constit. Apost.*, lib. viii, cap. 12, Council of Laodicea, can. 19, etc. Conversely, in the liturgy of St. James, the gifts are offered at the altar before the kiss of peace. The custom of the churches on this matter was varied.
(5) *Καὶ Πέτρος*, etc. Roe and Cas. add *ἀσπάσασθε ἀλλήλους* before *ἐν φιλήματι*, as in Peter.
(6) *Προστάττει*. In Prevotius and the following editions, it is read incorrectly as *προτάττει*.
(7) *Θεόν*. We have inscribed this noun [as found] in the manuscripts of Roe, Cas., and Grod., although in section 10, in a similar phrase, it is omitted in many copies, so that one sees the God addressed by this title, *ὁ φιλάνθρωπος*.
φιλάνθρωπος*. A Let [the mind] have concern regarding the cares of this life. B Yet it is necessary that we be mindful of God at all times; but if this is impossible on account of human weakness, then one must be most ambitious in this at that hour.
V. Then the priest says: "Let us give thanks to the Lord." For truly we ought to give thanks, because, being unworthy, He has called us to such great grace; because, being enemies, He has reconciled us; because He has deemed us worthy of the Spirit of adoption. Then you say: "It is meet and just." For in giving thanks, we do a meet and just deed; but He, doing not just things, but things beyond what is just, has benefited us, and has deemed us worthy of such great goods.
VI. After these things, we make mention of heaven, and earth, and sea; of the sun and moon; of the stars, and of all creation, rational and irrational, visible and invisible; of angels, archangels, powers, lordships, principalities, authorities, thrones, of the cherubim of many faces; C saying in power that of David: "Magnify the Lord with me" (Ps. xxxiii, 4). We make mention also of the seraphim, whom Isaiah saw in the Holy Spirit, standing round about the throne of God; and with two wings covering the face, and with two the feet, and with two flying, and saying: "Holy, holy, holy Lord Sabaoth" (Isa. vi, 2, 3). For this reason we recite this theology handed down to us from the seraphim, so that we may become partakers of the hymnody with the supercelestial hosts.
VII. Then, having sanctified ourselves through these spiritual hymns, we call upon D the benevolent God, to send forth the holy Spirit upon [the gifts]
that He may make the bread the body of Christ, and the wine the blood of Christ. For whatever the holy Spirit touches, that is sanctified and transformed.
VIII. But after the spiritual sacrifice is completed, the unbloody service, over that propitiatory victim we beseech God for the common peace of the Churches; for the stability of the world; for emperors; for soldiers and allies; for those who labor in infirmities; for those who are weighed down by afflictions; and, to express it simply, we all pray for all who stand in need of help, and we offer this sacrifice.
IX. Then we make memorial also of those who have fallen asleep: first patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs; that by their prayers and intercessions God may receive our petition. Then also for the holy Fathers and bishops who have fallen asleep, and in simple terms for all who have fallen asleep among us; believing that it will be the greatest benefit B to the souls for whom the petition is offered, while the holy and most tremendous sacrifice lies in view.
X. And I wish to persuade you of this by an example; for I know many who say: What does it profit a soul C departing from this world with sins, or not with sins, if it is remembered in the prayer? D
For if any king were to send into exile those who had offended him, and then those who are related to them, having plaited a crown, were to offer it to the king on behalf of those who are in punishment, would he not grant them a relaxation of their penalties? In the same way, we, offering prayers to God for the departed, even if they be sinners, do not plait a crown, but offer B Christ, sacrificed for our sins, seeking to propitiate the merciful God both for them and for ourselves.
XI. Then, after this, we recite that prayer which the Savior delivered to His own disciples, calling God "Father" with a pure conscience, and saying: "Our Father, who art in the heavens." O the exceeding greatness of God's love toward man! To those who had fallen away from Him and ended up in the uttermost evils, He has granted such oblivion of their wrongs and such participation in His grace C that they may even call Him "Father." "Our Father, who art in the heavens." Yet those, too, might be heavens who bear the image of the heavenly, in whom God dwells and walks.
XII. "Hallowed be thy name." The name of God is holy by nature, whether we say it or whether we do not say it. But since it is sometimes profaned among those who sin, according to the text, "Because of you my name is continually blasphemed D among the Gentiles," we pray that in us it may be hallowed...
not that it comes from being not holy A to being holy, but because it becomes holy in us, when we become holy and do things worthy of holiness.
XIII.
Thy kingdom come.
It belongs to a pure soul to say with confidence: "Thy kingdom come." For he who has heard Paul saying, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body," and has purified himself in action, in thought, and in word, will say to God: "Thy kingdom come."XIV.
Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
The divine and blessed angels of God do the will of God, as David said while singing: "Bless the Lord, all his angels, mighty in strength, who do his commands." Therefore, praying with power, B you say this: "As Thy will is done in the angels, so may it come to pass for me on earth, O Master."XV.
Give us this day our daily bread.
This common bread is not daily. But this holy bread is daily; that is to say, it is appointed for the substance of the soul. This bread does not pass into the belly and is not cast out into the draught; but it is distributed into your whole constitution, for the benefit of body and soul. And "this day" is said for "daily," just as Paul also said: "As long as it is called today."XVI.
And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
For we have many C sins. We offend both in word and in thought, and we do many things worthy of condemnation. And if we say that we have no sin, we lie, as John says. And we make a compact with God, beseeching him to forgive us our sins, as we also forgive our neighbors their debts. Considering, therefore, from what things and for what things we receive, let us not delay, nor D imagine that mutual offenses...are small, and trivial, and easily solvable; while those committed by us against God are great, and in need of His A benignity alone. Beware, therefore, lest, on account of small and trivial sins against you, you shut against yourself the remission of the most grievous sins from God.
XVII. And lead us not into temptation, O Lord. Does the Lord teach us to pray that we should not be tempted at all? And how is it said elsewhere, “A man not tempted is not approved”? And again, “Count it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various temptations.” But perhaps to enter into temptation is to be submerged by the temptation? For temptation is like a torrent, difficult to cross. Those, therefore, who are not submerged in temptations cross over, becoming like expert swimmers, and are not carried away by them at all; but those who are not such, upon entering, are submerged. For example, as an illustration, Judas having entered into the temptation of avarice, did not swim across, B but being submerged, was suffocated both bodily and spiritually. Peter entered into the temptation of the denial, but having entered, he was not submerged; but, swimming across bravely, he was delivered from the temptation. Hear again, elsewhere, the choir of the saints, whole and entire, giving thanks for having been delivered from temptation: “You have tested us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined; You brought us into the snare; You laid afflictions upon our back; You have set men over our heads. We went through fire and water, and You brought us into a place of refreshment.” See you them exulting with confidence that they have crossed over, and have not been pierced? And lead us out—
he says, into a place of refreshment; for to come into a place of refreshment is to be rescued from temptation.
A XVIII. But deliver us from evil. If the phrase, “Lead us not into temptation,” implied that we were not to be tempted at all, He would not have added, “But deliver us from evil.” Now, the wicked one is the opposing demon, from whom we pray to be delivered. Then, when the prayer is completed, you say, “Amen,” sealing by this “Amen”—which means, “So be it”—everything that is contained in this prayer taught by God.
B XIX. After this, the priest says, “Holy things to the holy.” Holy are the things which lie before us, having received the visitation of the Holy Spirit. Holy are you also, having been deemed worthy of the Holy Spirit. The holy things, therefore, correspond to the holy. Then you say, “One is holy, one is Lord, Jesus Christ.” For truly He is one and holy, holy by nature; and we are also holy, but not by nature, but by participation, and by exercise, and by prayer.
XX. After this, you hear the chanter, who with a divine-sounding melody invites you to the communion of the holy mysteries, saying, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” C Do not permit the judgment of this matter to the physical palate; no, but to faith that is free from hesitation. For when they taste, they are not told to taste bread and wine, but the antitype [or symbol and sacrament] of the body and blood of Christ.
XXI. Approaching, therefore, not with the palms of your hands stretched out, nor with your fingers spread, but making your left hand a throne for your right, as for a king, and hollowing your palm, receive the Body of Christ, saying after receiving it, “Amen.”