Calling on One's Father

Τῆς γὰρ πονηρᾶς πράξεως, ὁ ἀγαθὸς κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν, πατὴρ γενέσθαι φύσιν οὐκ ἔχει· οὔτε τοῦ κατὰ τὸν βιον βεβληλωθέντος, ὁ ἅγιος· οὔτε τοῦ περιτρεπομένου, ὁ ἀναλλοίωτος· οὔτε τοῦ νεκρωθέντος ἐξ ἁμαρτίας, ὁ πατὴρ τῆς ζωῆς· οὔτε τῶν ἐν τοῖς πάθεσι τῆς ἀτιμίας ἀσχημονούντων, ὁ καθαρὸς καὶ ἀκὴρατος· οὔτε τοῦ πλεονέκτου, ὁ εὐεργέτης· οὔτε ὅλως τῶν ἔν τινι κακῷ εὑρισκομένων, ὁ ἐν παντὶ ἀγαθῷ θεωρούμενος. Εἰ γάρ τις πρὸς ἐαυτὸν βλέπων ἔτι καθαρσίου δεόμενος, καὶ μοχθηρὰν ἑαυτοῦ συνείδησιν ἐπιγινώσςων πλὴρη κηλίδων καὶ πονηρῶν ἐγκαυμἀτων, πρὶν καθαρθῆναι τῶν τοιούτων τε καὶ τοσούτων κακῶν, πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ συγγένειαν ἑαυτὸν εἰσποιοῖ, καὶ λέγοι, Πὰτερ, τῳ δικαίῳ ὁ ἄδικος, τῷ καθαρῷ ὁ ἀκάθαρτος· ὑβρις ἄντικρυς ἄν εἴη καὶ λοιδορία τὰ ῥήματα. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης , Ἐις Την Προσυεκην, Λογος Β'

It is impossible that He who is good by essence should be the father of an evil will, nor the Holy One of a life impure. No more can He who is changeless be the Father of a man ever changing, nor can the Father of life have as a son someone whom sin has slain. He who is wholly pure cannot be the father of those who have degraded themselves by ugly passions, nor can He who pours out blessings be Father of the self seeking. In short, He who is seen to be pure Goodness cannot be father of those who are wholly involved in evil. If then a man examines himself and find that he needs to be purified because his conscience is beset by vile stains and sores, he cannot join to the family of God until he has been cleansed from these evils. The unjust and impure man cannot say 'Father' to One who is just and pure, since this would mean calling God Father of his own evil, and such speech would be utterly prideful and insulting. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On the Lord's Prayer, Second Oration