Understanding Virginity

Συνέσεως γὰρ ἡμῖν χρεία πολλῆς, δι' ἧς ἔστι γνῶναι τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς χάριτος ταύτης, ἤτις συνεπινεοῖται μὲν τῷ ἀφθάρτῳ Πατρί· ὅ δὴ καὶ παράδοχον, ἐν Πατρὶ παρθενίαν εὑρίσκεσθαι, τῷ τε Υἱον ἔχοντι, καὶ δίχα πάθους γεννήσαντι· τῷ δὲ Μονογενεῖ Θεῷ τῷ τῆς ἀφθαρσίας χορηγῷ συγκαταλαμβάνεται, ὁμοῦ τῷ καθαρῷ καὶ ἀπαθεῖ τῆς γυννήσεως αὐτοῦ συνεκλάμψασα. Πάλιν τὸ ἴσον παράδοξον, Υἱὸς διὰ παρθενίας νοούμενος. Ἐνθεωπεῖται δε ὠσαύτως καὶ τῇ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος φυσικῇ καὶ ἀφθάρτῳ καθαρότητι. Τὸ γὰρ καθαρὸν καὶ ἄφθαρτον ὀνομάσας, ἄλλῳ ὀνόματι τὴν παρθενίαν ἐσήμανας. Πάσῃ δὲ τῇ ὑπερκοσμίῳ φύσει συμπολιτεύεται, διὰ τῆς ἀπαθείας συμπαροῦσα ταῖς ὑπερεχούσαις δυνάμεσιν, οὔτε τινὸς τῶν θείων χωριζομένη, καὶ οὐδενὸς τῶν ἐναντίων προσαπτομένη. Πάντα γὰρ ὅσα καὶ φύσει προαιρέσει πρὸς ἀρετὴν νένευκεν, τῷ καθαρῷ πάντως ἐνωραῖζεται τῆς ἀφθαρσίας· καὶ ὅσα πάντα εἰς τὴν ἐναντίαν ἀποκέκριται τάξιν, τῇ ἀποπτώσει τῆς καθαρότητος τοιαῦτα ἑστι καὶ ὀνομάζεται. Τίς οὖν ἐξαρκέσει δύναμις λόγων τῇ τοσαύτῃ χάριτι παρισωθῆναι; Ἥ πῶς οὐ φοβεῖσθαι χρὴ, μὴ διὰ τῆς τῶν ἐπαίνων σπουδῆς λυμήνηται τις τὸ μεγαλεῖον τοῦ ἀξιώματος, ἐλάττω τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ δόξαν τῆς προειλημμένης τοῖς ἀκροαταῖς ἐμποιήσαη; Οὐκοῠν καλῶς ἔχει, τοὺς μὲν ἐγκωμιαστικοὺς λόγους ἐπὶ ταύτης ἑᾷν, ὡς ἀμήχανον ταῖς ὑπερβολαῖς τῆς ὑποθέσεως συνεπᾶραι τὸν λόγον· ὡς καὶ ἔστι δυνατὸν ἀεὶ μεμνῆσθαι τοῦ θείου χαρίματος, καὶ ἐπὶ γλώττης ἔχειν το ἀγαθὸν, ὅπερ ἴδιον μὲν τῆς ἀσθμάτου φύσεως ἐστι καὶ ἐξαίρετον· ὑπὸ φιλανθρωπίας δὲ Θεοῦ, καὶ τοῖς διὰ σαρκὸς καὶ αἵματος λαχοῦσι τὴν ζωὴν ἐχαρίσθη, ἴνα καταβληθεῖσαν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν ὑπὸ τῆς ἐμπαθοῦς διαθέσεως, ὥσπερ τινὰ χεῖρα τὴν τῆς καθαρότητος μετουσίαν ὀρέξασα, πάλιν ὀρθώσῃ, καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἄνω βλέπειν χειραγωγήσῃ. Διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ οἶμαι καὶ τὴν πηγὴν τῆς ἀφθαρσίας, αὐτὸν τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν, μὴ διὰ γάμου εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ἴνα ἐνδείξηται διὰ τοῦ τρόπου τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τὸ μέγα τοῦτο μυστήριον, ὅτι Θεοῦ παρουσίαν καὶ εἴσοδον μόνη καθαρότης ἰκανή ἐστι δείξασθαι· ἥν ἄλλως οὐκ ἔστι πρὸς ἀκρίβειαν πᾶσαν κατορθωθῆναι, εἰ μὴ παντελῶς τις ἑαυτὸν τῶν σαρκικῶν παθημάτων ἀλλοτριὼσειεν. Ὅπερ γὰρ ἐν τῇ ἀμιάτῳ Μαρίᾳ γέγονε σωματικῶς, τοῦ πληρώματος τῆς θεότητος ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ διὰ τῆς Παρθένου ἐκλάμψαντος· τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ πάσης ψυχῆς κατὰ λόγον παρθενευούσης γίνεται. Οὐκέτι σωματικὴν ποιουμένου τοῦ Κυρίου τὴν παρουσίαν· οὐ γὰρ γινώσκομεν ἔτι, φησὶ, κατὰ σάρκα Χριστόν· ἀλλὰ πνευματικῶς εἰσοικοζομένου, καὶ τὸν Πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ συνεισάγοντος, καθώς φησί που τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον. Ἐπεὶ οὖν τοσαύτη ἐστὶ τῆς παρθενίας ἡ δύναμις, ὡς καὶ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς παρὰ τῷ Πατρὶ τῶν πνευμάτων μένειν, καὶ μετὰ τῶν ὑπερκοσμίων χορεύειν δυνάμεων καὶ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης σωτηρίας ἐφάπτεσθαι· τὸν μὲν Θεὸν δι' ἑαυτῆς πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου βίου κοινωνίαν κατάγουσα, τὸν δὲ ἄνθρωπον ἐν ἑαυτῇ πρὸς τὴν τῶν οὐρανίων ἐπιθυμίαν πτεροῦσα, καὶ οἰονεὶ σύνδεσμός τις γινομένη τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν οἰκειώσεως, τὰ τοσοῦον ἀλλήλοις ἀφεστῶτα τῇ φύσει, τῇ παρ' ἑαυτῆς μεσιτείᾳ εῑς συμφωνίαν ἀνάγουσα, τίς ἄν εὑρεθείη δύναμις λόγων συνανιοῦσα τῷ θαύματι; Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἄτοπον παντελῶς ἀφώνοις ἢ ἀναισθήτοις ὅμοιον φαίνεσθαι, καὶ τῶν δύο τὸ ἕτερον, ἢ μὴ ἐπεγνωκέναι δοκεῖν τὰ τῆς παρθενίας καλὰ, ἢ  ἄπληκτον καὶ ἀκίνητον πρὸς τὴν τῶν καλῶν αἴσθησιν ἐπιδειχθῆναι· βραχέα τινὰ περὶ αῡτῆς εἰπεῖν, διὰ τὸ δεῖν ἐπὶ πᾶσι πείθεσθαι τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ τοῦ ἐπιτάξαντος ἡμῖν, προευθυμήθημεν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Περι Παρθενιας. Κεφ Β'

It is necessary for us to take to great thought to understand the surpassing excellence of this grace, and it may be comprehended in the idea of the incorrupt Father, and yet already here is a paradox, that virginity is to be found in the Father, in Him who has a Son and yet without passion has begotten Him, and it also of this Only-begotten God, Who joined in this chorus of incorruption, it shining forth likewise in His pure and passionless generation. Again there is a paradox, that the Son is known by virginity. And in like manner it is in the inherent and incorruptible purity of the Holy Spirit. For when you have named the pure and incorruptible you have indicated the name of virginity. And it is a fellow citizen of the whole supernal nature because, on account of its passionless state, it is always present with the powers above, never separated from anything Divine and never touching that which is opposite to it. Everyone, then, who by nature or inclination has chosen the virtue is beautified with the perfect purity of incorruption and all who are judged to be in the opposite class of character by their fall from purity are named what they are. What power of words will satisfy such a grace? How can there be no cause of fear lest the greatness of its value be disgraced by the efforts of man's eloquence, the glory of it which he proposes being less than that which audience held before? It will be well, then, to be done with all laudatory words here, since we are unable to lift up speech to the height of the theme, and yet it is possible to be ever mindful of this gift of God and on our tongue to have the good, that though it is the property of incorporeal nature and singular excellence, by the love of God on those who have received life from flesh and from blood it has been bestowed, that, when human nature has been cast down by passionate afflictions, like a hand it stretches out its offer of purity again to set it upright, and it leads by the hand to look at things above. This, I think, is why the fountain of incorruption our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, did not enter into the world by wedlock, that He show by the manner of His Incarnation this great mystery, that purity alone is able to reveal the presence of God and His advent, which otherwise no one truly grasps firmly, unless utterly estranged from the passions of the flesh. For as happened in the immaculate Mary when the fullness of the Godhead which was in Christ shone out through the Virgin, so for every soul that adopts by rule the virgin life. No longer indeed is the advent of the Lord with the body; for, he says 'we know Christ no longer according to the flesh, ' 1 but spiritually He dwells within and brings with Him His Father, as the Gospel somewhere says. 2 Since, then, such is the power of virginity, that while it remains in Heaven with the Father of spirits and moves in the dance of the higher powers, it reaches out for the salvation of man; that by it God is brought down for sharing of man's life, in itself giving wings for man's desires to rise to things of heaven, and is like some friendly bond of union between the Divine and human, such things so different by its mediation being brought into harmony, what words are to be found powerful enough to accompany this wonder? But since it appear unseemly to be like a thing without voice and sense, and if we do we must choose one of two things, either to appear never to have known the beauty of virginity, or to reveal ourselves as immune and unmoved by the beauty of it, thus to speak briefly about this, according to the wish of the one who assigned this to us and whom in all things we must obey, we have consented. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity,  Chap 2 1 2 Cor 5:16 2 cf Jn 14. 6-10