Disputes And The Trinity

Nam quod arguat Pater, arguat Filius, arguat Spiritus sanctus ita probandum est. In Psalmo quodragesimo nono legitur: Peccatori autem dcit Deus: Quare tu enarras justitiam meam, et assumis testamentum meum per os tuum? Et infra: Arguam te, et statuam contra faciem tuam. David similiter orans dicit ad Christum: Domine, ne in ira tua arguas me; quia ipse venturus est arguere omnem carnem. Quid vero de Spiritu sancto Salvator in Evangelio dicit? Cum venerit, inquit, Paraclitus, ille arget mundum de peccato, et de justitia, et de judicio. Hoc praevidens David clamabat ad Dominum: Quo ibo a Spiritu tuo, et a facie tua quo fugiam? Nam et quod bonus sit Pater, bonus Filius, bonus Spiritus Sanctus, sic probatur. Dicit propheta: Bonus es tu, Domine, et in bonitate tua doce me justificationes tuas. De se autem ipse Unigentius: Ego sum pastor bonus. De Spiritu aeque sancto David in psalmo dicit ad Dominum: Spiritus tuus bonus deducet me in terram rectam. Victor Vitensis, Historia Persecutionis Africae Provinciae, Liber III, Professio Fidei Catholicorum Episcoporum Hunerico Regi Oblata Source: Migne PL 58.230b-c

For what the Father disputes, the Son disputes, and the Holy Spirit disputes, thus must be proved. In the forty ninth Psalm we read: 'God said to the sinner: Why do you tell of my righteousness and take up my testament in your mouth?'1 And further on: 'I shall dispute with you and I shall stand against your face.' 2 Similarly David prays, saying to Christ: 'O Lord, do not dispute with me in your anger,' 3 because He is coming to dispute with all flesh. And what does it say of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel? 'When the Paraclete comes,' He says, 'He shall dispute with the world concerning sin and righteousness and concerning judgement.' 4 Foreseeing this David cried out to the Lord: 'Where shall I go from your spirit, and where shall I fly from your face?' 5 For as the Father is good, the Son is good and the Holy Spirit is good, so it is proved. The Prophet says, 'You are good, Lord, and in your kindness teach me your justifications.' 6 And concerning Himself the Only Begotten says, 'I am the good shepherd.' 7 And concerning the equality of the Holy Spirit, David in the Psalm says to the Lord: 'Your good spirit shall lead me into the righteous land.' 8 Victor Vitensis, History of the Persecution of the African Province, Book 3, from the Profession of Faith of the Catholic Bishops to King Huneric 1 Ps 49.16 2 Ps 49.21 3 Ps 6.2 4 Jn 16.8 5 Ps 138.7 6 Ps 118.68 7 Jn 10.11 8 Ps 142.11

Things Of The Father And Of The Son

Ego pro eis rogo, non pro mundo rogo, sed pro his, quos dedisti mihi, quia tui sunt: et mea omnia tua sunt, et tua mea sunt: et clarificatus sum in eis. Qui tui sunt. Neque enim quia Pater eos Filio dedit, amisit ipse quos dedit, cum adhuc Filius sequatur ac dicat: Et mea omnia tua sunt, et tua mea. Ubi satis apparet quomodo unigeniti Filii sint omnia quae sunt Patris; per hoc utique quod etiam ipse Deus est, et de Patre Patri natus aequalis. Hoc enim dictum est de sancta et rationabili creatura, quam eligit Deus, et quae subdita est Patri et Filio, et aequaliter est Patris et Filii. Haec ergo cum sit Dei Patris, non simul esset et Filii, nisi Patri Filius aequlais. Nec fas est ut sancti, de quibus haec locutus est, cujusquam sint, nisi ejus a quo creati et santificati sunt. Ergo cum et Patris et Filii sunt, aequales esse demonstrant, quorum aequaliter sunt. Et clarificatus sum, inquit, in eis. Nunc suam clarificationem tanquam facta sit dicit, cum adhuc esset futura. 'Clarificatus sum in eis,' id est, per eorum praedicationem clarificatus sum in toto mundo. Et quia praedestinatum est ut fieret, certum voluit esse quod futurum erat. Ideo praeteriti temporis verbo usus est. Alcuinus, Commentariorum in Joannem, Lib VII, XXXIX Source: Migne PL 100.963c-d

For them I pray, not for the world, but for these whom you have given to me. For they are yours. All mine is yours, and yours is mine, and I am glorified in them. 1 'They who are yours.' For it is not that the Father gives them to the Son, and He is deprived of those He gives, since the Son continues and says: 'All mine is yours, and yours is mine.' Where it appears abundantly how everything of the only begotten Son is of the Father, by which indeed He is God, and being from the Father is equal to the Father. And this is said regarding holy and rational creatures, whom God chooses, and which are subject to the Father and the Son, and equally to the Father and the Son. These things then which are of God the Father would not be of the Son, unless the Son is equal to the Father. Is it not right that holy men, concerning which this is spoken, belong to anyone but Him by whom they are created and sanctified. Therefore, when they are of the Father and of the Son, they are revealed as equal, of whom the belongings are equal. 'And I am glorified.' He says, 'in them.' Now He speaks of His glorification as something done, when yet it is in the future. 'I am glorified in them,' that is, when by their preaching I am glorified in the whole world. And because it is predestined that it should be, certainly He wished that it was in the future. Therefore He used the past tense. 2 Alcuin of York, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint John, Book 7, Chapter 39 1  Jn 17.9-10 2 Adapted from Augustine's Tractate 107.2 on The Gospel of St John

Christ's Dwelling

In interiore homine Christum habitare per fidem in cordibus vestris. In eo petit eos magis firmari, ut non ambigant, sed magis credant Christum habitare in se, quem non vident his oculis; ut Spiritus datus hoc eis per Dei donum infundat, ut certi sint de Christo quod vivit, et Filius Dei est, et habitat per fidem in cordibus nostris, ipsum habere videamur. Quod eo proficit, ut securi simus de auxiliis ejus; quia non deserit nos, sed semper adest propter fidem suam, quam videt in nobis: quippe cum ideo Spiritus ejus, qui et Dei Patris est, detur nobis; ut vice ejus tutos praestet nos, si ei assentiamus, ut et occulta revelet; per quem utique ipsum in nobis habitare ambigere non debemus. Est enim hic alius paraclitus, inter quos personarum disantia est, non naturae; quia et de eo accipit, et a Deo procedit. In quibus enim naturae unitas est, invicem sui sunt; unde dicit Dominus: Omnia Patris mea sunt, et mea omnia Patris. Ambrosiaster, In Epistolam ad Ephesios, Caput III Source: Migne PL 17.384a-b

'To have Christ dwelling in the interior man by faith in your hearts.' 1  By this he seeks their greater firmness, that they not doubt but rather that they more believe that they have Christ dwelling in them, whom they do not see with these eyes, and as the Spirit is poured into them by the gift of God, so that they be certain that Christ lives and is the Son of God, and He dwells by faith in their hearts, let us also appear to have Him. Which profits because by that we are made confident of His help, since He does not abandon us, but He is always near on account of His faith, which He sees in us, for when His Spirit, who is of God the Father, is given to us, so His protection of us excels, if we assent to Him, so that He reveals hidden things, by which we will no longer doubt that He dwells in us. For there is another comforter, among them distinct in person and not by nature, since from God he is given who from God proceeds. 2 In which is the unity of nature of each one of them, whence the Lord says, 'Everything that is my Father's is mine, and what is mine is my Father's' 3 Ambrosiaster, Commentary On The Epistle of Saint Paul To The Ephesians, Chapter 3 1 Ephes 3.17 2 Jn 15.26 3 Jn 16.15

The Siring Of The Apostles And The Church

Jacob autem genuit Judam et fratres ejus. Et noster Jacob genuit duodecim apostolos in spiritu, non in carne: verbo, non sanguine. Nam sicut ille cum suis duodecim descendit in Aegyptum, ut multiplicaretur: sic et Christus cum suis duodecim apostolis descendit in mundum, et multiplicatus est per totum mundum, sicut res ipsa testatur. Item sicut ille descendit, ut medullam Aegypti manducaret, id est, acquireret sibi. Medualla enim hujus mundi sunt homines sancti. Sicut medulla quamdiu in arbore fuerit sana, semper floret; cum autem percomesta fuerit, tota paulatim marcescendo siccatur: et sic quamdiu sunt fideles, stat iste mundus. Nam sicut egredientibus Israelitis de Aegypto, exterminata est Aegyptus: sic et sancti cum de isto mundo defecerint, casurus est iste mundus. Judas autem interpretatur confessor, quoniam Christi imago, qui confessor Patris erat futurus, dicens, Confitebor tibi, Pater, Domine caeli et terrae. Quia sicut Judas meretici conjunctus est, et dedit illi virgam et annulum; sic et Christus ecclesiae meretrici ex gentibus se conjunxit, et dedit illi pro mercede conjunctionis virgam crucis, an annulum Spiritus sancti per baptismum, quasi signaculum fidei praecedentis, quem etiam alibi lascivo filio revertenti dari praecepit pater benignus. Et ideo forsitan Thamar, uxor ejus, interpretatur immutata, vel exacerbatio: quia et in ipsa habet intellectum conventientem et in Ecclesia. In ipsa quidem, quia cum esset casta, in meretricem se immutavit, et facta est exacerbatio Judae in ira, sicut Genesis liber testatur. In Ecclesia autem, quia fuerat eccelsia meretrix, et exacerbatio Dei, postmodum autem immutata per fidem Christi facta est casta. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia Prima Source: Migne PG 56.614

Jacob sired Judah and his brothers. Our Jacob sired the twelve Apostles in the spirit, not in the flesh, with the word, not with blood. For as Jacob with his twelve went down into Egypt that they be multiplied, so even Christ with his twelve Apostles descended into the world and they were multiplied through the whole world, as the thing itself bears witness. And similarly as He went down that he eat the marrow of Egypt, that is, that he gain it for himself, so the marrow of this world are holy men. As while the pith in the tree is healthy it flourishes, and when sick, in a short while it dries up in withering, so while the faithful exist, the world stands. For as with the going out of the Israelites from Egypt the Egyptians were exterminated, so when those who are holy diminish in the world, so falls the world. Now Judah is interpreted confessor, because he is an image of Christ, He who was to be the future confessor of the Father, saying 'I confess to you Father, Lord of heaven and earth.' 1 And because Judah was joined to a whore, and he gave to her a staff and a ring, 2 so even Christ is joined to the meretricious Church drawn from the Gentiles, and for payment for the union He gave to her the wood of the cross and the ring of the Holy Spirit through baptism, a ring of surpassing faith, which indeed in another place, a kind father commanded to be given to a lascivious son who returned. 3 And so perhaps Tamar, his wife, is to be interpreted 'changeless' or 'exaberation', because she has a similar meaning as the Church. Tamar, because she was chaste and changed herself into a whore, became an exaberation to Judah to anger, as the book of Genesis says. But the Church because she was whoreish, and an exasperation to God, yet later by the changeless faith of Christ was made chaste. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from The First Homily 1 Lk 10.21 2. Gen 38.18 3 Lk 15.22

Catching The Spirit

Εἴ τις δυνηθείη κατὰ ψυχὴν ὀσφρανθῆναι τῆς τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος εὐωδίας, ἀναζωπυρωθήσεται τὴν ἔξιν ὥσπερ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἐγερθεὶς, καὶ ἀποθαυμάσεται, ἐκ ποίας καταστάσεως εἰς ποίαν μετετέθη, καὶ τὸ τοῦ Ἐζεκίου ἀναφωνήσει· Ἐξήγειράς μου τὴν ζωὴν, καὶ παρακληθεὶς ἔζησα, καὶ ἀπέῥῥιψας ὀπίσω μου πἀσας τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου, ὅπως μηκέτι φαντάζωμαι τὰ τῶν πταισμάτων εἴδωλα, καθαρὰν καρδίαν κτησάμενος τοῦ λοιποῦ. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΟΕ' Φιλαργριῳ Ἀναγνωστῃ Source: Migne PG 79.152a-b

If someone is able to catch the fragrance of the Holy Spirit in his soul, he is revived in his ways, as one raised from the dead, and he is astonished at himself, at the change from the condition that he was in, as Isaiah exclaimed: 'You have restored my life, and comforted I live, and I have cast behind me all my iniquities, 1 as one no more deluded by the idols of errors, but fashioned with a pure heart for the future. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 175, To Philargrius The Lector 1 Isaiah 38.17

Law And Spirit

Ὄν τρόπον τὰ τοῦ νόμου προοίμια φόβου ἐδεῖτο, πρὸς φυλακὴν τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐπιστρέφοντος τοὺς ἀκούοντας, καὶ ἐκ μέσου τοῦ πυρὸς ὁ Θεὸς ἐχρημάτιζεν· οὕτω καὶ μετὰ τὴν τοῦ Δεσπότου καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀνάστασιν, ἐν πυρὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ἑδιδοτο, βιαίας πνοῆς προηγουμένης, ἵνα εἰς Θεὸς ἐν ἀμφοτέραις ταῖς Διαθήκαις γνωσθῇ, εἰ καὶ πολὺ τῆς δευτέρας τὸ πρὸς τὴν προτέραν διάφορον. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ τυπικοῖς ἐχρῆτο προστάγμασιν, ἡ δὲ τοῖς ἀληθέσιν ἔλαμψε πράγμασί τε καὶ δόγμασινι. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΥϟΔ' Τιμοθεῳ Ἀναγνωστῃ Source: Migne PG 78.452a

As the first law required fear that the hearers would turn to the keeping of the commandments, and from the midst of fire God spoke his oracles, so after the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, the Holy Spirit was given as a fire, with a strong wind coming before it, that the one God in the two Testaments be recognised, even if there is great difference between what came first and what came after. For the former made use of the commandments of types, and the latter blazed forth with true deeds and teachings. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 494, To Timothy the Lector

Light And Apostles

Ἔλεγεν οὖν ἑαυτὸν εἶναι φῶς τοῦ κόσμου· καὶ τὰ παρακείμενα ταύτῃ τῇ ὀνομασίᾳ συνεκπιαστέον, δόξαντα ἂν τισιν οὐχὶ παρακείμενα μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ τυγχάνειν. Ἔστι δὲ τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν καὶ φῶς ἐθνῶν· φῶς μὲν ἀνθρώπων ἐν τῇ τοῦ προκειμένου εὐαγγελίου ἀρχῇ· Ὃ γέγονε, γάρ φησιν, έν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων· καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβε· φῶς δὲ ἀληθινὸν ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς τῆς αὐτῆς γραφῆς ἐπιγέγραπται· Ἦν τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν, ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον, ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον, φῶς δὲ ἐθνῶν, ἐν τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ, ὡς προείπομεν παρατιθέμενοι τὸ Ἰδοὺ τέθεικά σε εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν, τοῦ εἶναί σε εἰς σωτηρίαν ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς. Φῶς δὴ κόσμου αἰσθητὸν ὁ ἥλιός ἐστιν, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον οὐκ ἀπᾳδόντως ἡ σελήνη καὶ οἱ ἀστέρες τώ αὐτῷ ὀνόματι προσαγορευθήσονται. Ἀλλὰ φῶς μὲν αἐσθητὸν τυγχάνοντες οἱ γεγονέναι παρὰ Μωσεῖ λεγόμενοι τῇ τετάρτῃ ἡμέρα, καθὸ φωτίζουσι τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς, οὐκ εἰσὶ φῶς ἀληθινόν. Ὁ δὲ σωτὴρ ἐλλάμπων τοῖς λογικοῖς καὶ ἡγεμονικοῖς, ἵνα αὐτῶν ὁ νοῦς τὰ ἴδια ὁρατὰ βλέπῃ, τοῦ νοητοῦ κόσμου ἐστὶ φῶς· λέγω δὲ τῶν λογικῶν ψυχῶν τῶν ἐν τῷ αἰσθητικῷ κόσμῳ καὶ εἴ τι παρὰ ταῦτα συμπληροῖ τὸν κόσμον, ἀφ’ οὗ ὁ σωτὴρ εἶναι ἡμᾶς διδάσκει, τάχα μέρος αὐτοῦ τὸ κυριώτατον καὶ διαφέρον τυγχάνων καί, ὡς ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ἥλιος ἡμέρας μεγάλης Kυρίου ποιητής. Δι’ ἣν ἡμέραν φησὶ τοῖς τοῦ φωτὸς αὐτοῦ μεταλαμβάνουσιν· Ἐργάζεσθε ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν· ἔρχεται νὺξ ὅτε οὐκέτι οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐργάζεσθαι. Ὅταν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ὡ, φῶς εἰμι τοῦ κόσμου, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς φησιν· Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου καὶ Λαμψάτω τὸ φῶς ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθε τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Tὸ δ’ ἀνάλογον σελήνῃ καὶ ἄστροις ὑπολαμβάνομεν εἶναι περὶ τὴν νύμφην ἐκκλησίαν καὶ τοὺς μαθητάς, ἔχοντας οἰκεῖον φῶς ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ ἡλίου ἐπίκτητον, ἵνα φωτίσωσι μὴ δεδυνημένους πηγὴν ἐν αὑτοῖς κατασκευάσαι φωτός. Ὠριγένης, Των Εῑς Το Κατά Ιὠάννην Εὐαγγέλιον Εξηγητικόν, Τομός Α', Κεφ Κ' Source: Migne PG 14.65d-68c

He called Himself, then, the light of the world, 1 and this title must be considered with those which are parallel to it, and which, indeed, are thought by some to be not merely parallel, but identical. He is the light of men, and the true light, and the light of the Gentiles. He is the light of men in the beginning of the Gospel before us: 'That which was made,' it says, 'was life in Him, and the life was the light of men; and the light shone in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.' 2 And He is the true light a little further on in the same passage: 'The true light which enlightens every man was coming into the world.' 3 And He is the light of the Gentiles in Isaiah, as we said before: 'Behold, I have set you as a light of the nations, that You should be salvation to the ends of the earth.' 4 Now the sensible light of the world is the sun, and after, not without its worth, is the moon, and the same title may be given to the stars. But those material lights of the world are said by Moses to have been made on the fourth day, 5 and as they give light to the things on the earth, they are not the true light. For the Saviour shines on rational creatures which are guided by intellect, that their minds may behold their proper objects of vision. So He is the light of the intellectual world, by which I mean, of rational souls in the sensible world, and if there be anything beyond these in the world, by which He teaches that He is our Saviour and the most noble and distinguished part, and, as one may say, the sun which makes the great day of the Lord. Concerning which day He says to those who share in His light: 'Work while it is day; the night comes when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.' Then He says to His disciples, 'You are the light of the world,' and 'Let your light shine before men.' 6 Thus we understand that the Church, the bride, is analogous to the moon and stars, and that the disciples have their light, or it is acquired from the true sun, so that they might illuminate those who have no source of light in themselves. Origen, from the Commentary on The Gospel Of Saint John, Book 1, Chap 20 1 Jn 8.12 2 Jn 1.3-5 3 Jn 1.9 4 Isaiah 49.6 5 Gen 1.16-19 6 Jn 9.4-5

Light And Lights

Vos estis lux mundi... Lux utique ideo sunt vocati, quia, veritatis lucem percipientes, in Christi corpore per gratiam sunt assumpti. Ex quo et Apostolus: Fuistis enim aliquando tenebrae, nunc autem lux in Domino. Luminis enim natura est, quocunque inferatur, ut tenebras foras mittat: ita Apostoli, lux in Domino effecti, quia mundus extra cognitionem Dei positus tenebris ignorantiae caecabatur, positi sunt per eos omnes illuminentur. Hinc quoque Propheta de Christo vel ex persona quorumlibet signantur ait, Posui te in lucem gentium, ut sit salus mea usque ad extremum terrae. In lucem itaque sunt cum ad illuminationem fidei diriguntur, salus vero cum ad sanitatem. Et ideo sal eos esse supra commemorat, ut eorum sapientia corrupta sanentur. Siquidem per illuminationem gratiae lux dicuntur, ut illorum illustratione ab humanis cordibus tenebrae pellantur. Quod et Propheta de Domino: Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber III Source:Migne PL 120.233b-c

You are the light of the world...1 They are called light because they perceive the light of truth, receiving it in the body of Christ through grace. Whence the Apostle says, 'You were once in darkness, but now in the light of the Lord.' 2 For it is the nature of light, that wherever it is brought, it drives out darkness, and so the Apostles are made light in the Lord, and since the world is set outside the knowledge of God, blind in the ignorance of its darkness, so they are placed there that all be illuminated through them. So also the Prophet says concerning Christ, or signifying them by His person: 'I have placed you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.' 3 Thus they are in the light when they are directed to the illumination of faith, and saved when brought to health. And therefore they are previously named salt, for their wisdom restores corruption. Indeed they are named light by the illumination of grace, that by their light darkness be expelled from human hearts. Whence the Prophet says concerning the Lord: 'Lord, my light and my salvation.' 4 Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 3 1 Mt 5.14 2 Ephes 5.8 3 Mt 5.13 4 Ps 26.1

Easter And Pentecost

Nosse vos credo, fratres, quae sit ratio quod venerabilem hanc Pentecostes diem non minore laetitia celebremus quam sanctum Pascha curavimus, et quod eadem devotione hujus solemnitatis observantiam decurrimus, sicut illius obsequia festivitatis implevimus. Tunc enim, sicut modo fecerimus, jejunamus sabbato, vigilias celebravimus, orationibus pernoctanter institimus; unde necesse est similis observantia similem laetitiam subsequatur. Est laetitia plane consimilis; tunc enim ab inferis resurgentem suscepimus Salvatorem, modo autem Spiritum sanctum exspectamus de coelis: tunc anxii vel solliciti praedicabamus adventum; modo trepidi, vel jejuni Paracleti desideramus adventum; in omnibus enim Deus saluti providit humanae; tunc enim nobis ad resurgendum tartara Salvator aperuit; modo nobis ad regnandum Paracletus coelestia reseravit; et quibusdam quasi profectuum gradibus, tunc de morte ad vitam didicimus remeare; modo autem de terris ad coelos meditamur ascendere. Haec autem omnia operatur in nobis Christus Dominus, qui priusquam rediret ad coelos promisit discipulis suis, dicens: Cum autem ascendero, rogabo Patrem meum, et mittet vobis alium Paracletum, qui vobiscum sit in aeternum, Spiritum veritatis. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia LXII, De Solemnitate Sanctae Pentecostes Source: Migne PL 57.375a-b

I think you should know, brothers, the reason why we celebrate this venerable day of the Pentecost with no less joy than Easter, and with the same devotion have attended to the observance of this solemnity, just as we fulfilled the rites of the prior feast. For then, just as we have done, we fasted on the Sabbath, and we celebrated the vigil and we took to prayer through the night, whence it is necessary that from similar observance follow similar joy. And most evident is the similarity of the joy, for then we looked for the resurrection of the Saviour from the dead, and now we hope for the Holy Spirit from heaven; then with worry and care we preached the coming, now with fear and hunger we desire the advent of the Paraclete, for in everything God forsees man's salvation. For then indeed the rising Saviour broke open hell for us, and now the Paraclete has opened the heavenly kingdom for us, and like rising steps, as then we learnt of the return from death to to life, now we consider the ascent from earth to heaven. And all of this is the work of Christ in us, He who before He returned to heaven promised His disciples: 'When I have ascended I shall ask my Father, and He shall send to you another comforter, He who shall be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth.' 1 Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 62, On The Feast Of Pentecost 1 Jn 14.16-17

Peace And The Spirit

Εἰρήνη ἐστὶ τῶν παθῶν ἀπαλλαγή· αὐτὴ δὲ, ὡς λέγει ὁ ἅγιος Ἀπόστολος ἐκτὸς ἐνεργείας τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος οὐχ εὑρίσκεται. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ Source: Migne PG 65.928d

Peace is liberation from the passions. And, as the holy Apostle says, it cannot be found without the work of the Holy Spirit. 1 Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law. 1 Cor 12.11

Avoiding Snares

Quisquis ergo in procintu caelestis militiae positus ad supernae patriae municipium properet, studeat male blandientis mundi promissa respuere, abhorreat se sub qualibet specie actionum saecularium laqueis irretire. Habet deputatum sibi propriae servitutis officium: sufficere sibi credat, si indictae sibi obedientiae praescriptum munus possit implere. Illud ad memoriam revocet quo scriptum est: Cave ne in multis sint actus tui. Saecularibus relinquatur saecularia jura componere. Satis sit servis Dei perituro huic mundo se mortuos exhibere. Sicut enim absurdum est, bonis mall praeferre; ita etiam fatuum, optimum bono inferius judicare. Maria, quia optimam partem elegit, sufficere sibi credidit; nec se ad bona Marthae, frequens videlicet ministerium, reclinavit. Moyses, quia ab humana conversatione remotus, his quadragenerio dierum numero jejunavit, his etiam legem Domini digito scriptam suscipere meruit; Aaron autem, qui ad custodiam populi derelictus est, cognoscitur idola fabricatus. Sic nimirum, sic plerumque contingit, ut qui propria non contentus, alienae progreditur saluti consulere, sui potius cogatur periculum sustinere; cumque alii, velut inter procellosa naufragria palpanti, manum porrigit, ipsum quoque praecipitem vorax fluctus involvit. Tutius ergo est sub hujus vitae nocturna caligine, nos in litttore positos naufragantibus lumen ingerere, quam ad eos compassionis gratia cum propriae vitae periculo pernatare; quatenus ipsi per nos dato recti cursus indicio, sinum tuti portus attingant, non autem nos ad eos transfretantes vorago spumosi maris absorbeat. Sanctus Peter Damianus, De Contemptu Saeculi,Caput XXVII Source: Migne PL 145.280a-c

Whoever, therefore, placed in the battle ready heavenly army would hasten to the city of the heavenly fatherland, let him be eager to scorn the promises of this wickedly charming world, and let it be abhorrent to him to be snared in its traps in whatever type of deed. He who has been appointed to his own office of service, let him trust it to be sufficient for himself if he is able to fulfill the gift of obedience that has been given to him. Let him recall to his mind what has been written: 'Beware, lest your deeds be in many things.' 1 Be done with worldly affairs, as with worldly vows. Enough it is for the servants of God to exhibit themselves as dead to this perishing world. As it is absurd to prefer evils to goods, so indeed it is foolish to judge the best inferior to some other good. Mary, who chose the best part, believed it enough for herself, and did not turn to the good of Martha who was busy serving. 2 Moses, because he was remote from human affairs, fasted for forty days, and so was worthy to receive the law written by the finger of the Lord. 3 Aaron, however, who was left to guard the people, is known for the making of an idol.4 So without doubt, so most often it happens, that he who is not content with his own things, having taken counsel to go off to other goods, is driven rather to suffer perils other than his own; as when one offers a hand to others who are being buffeted on a storm tossed wreck, and by that one is embroiled in the same descent into the devouring waves. Therefore it is safer in the dark night of this life to bear a light to the shipwrecked while standing on the shore, than by the grace of compassion, to swim with our own life through the dangers to them, since by the former they are given a sign by us of the right way that they might attain the haven of safety, and we are not, while swimming out to them, dragged down into the depths of the foaming seas. Saint Peter Damian, On Contempt For The World, Chapter 27 1 Sirach 11.10 2 Lk 10.38-42 3 Exod 24 4 Exod 32

Truth And Deeds

Λαλῶν ἀλήθειαν ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ, ὃς οὐκ ἐδόλωσεν ἐν γλώσσῃ αὐτοῦ. Πάλιν καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχει κοινωνίαν πρὸς ἄλληλα τὸ λαλεῖν ἀλήθειαν ἐν καρδίᾳ καὶ τὸ μὴ δολοῦν ἐν γλώσσῃ αὐτοῦ· ὁποίαν εἶχε τὸ εἶναι ἄμωμον πρὸς τὸ ἐργάζεσθαι δικαιοσύνην. Ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖ καὶ τὸν ἐν κρυπτῷ τέλειον, καὶ τὸν ἐν τῷ πρακτικῷ εὐοδούμενον ὁ λόγος παρίστησιν, οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα, ἐπειδὴ τὸ λαλούμενον ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύματός ἐστι τῆς καρδίας, οἷον ἀπὸ πηγῆς τῆς ἔνδον διαθέσεως τοῦ λόγου ῥέοντος, πρότερον εἴπε τὴν ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀλήθειαν, εἶτα τὸ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ ἄδολον τῷ διὰ τῆς γλώσσηςσ ἐνεργουμένῳ. Δύο δὲ τὰ σημαινόμενα τῆς ἀληθείας εὑρήσομεν· ἕν μὲν τὴν περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων τῶν ἐπὶ τὸν μακάριον βίον φερόντων κατάληψιν, ἕτερον δὲ τὴν περὶ οἱουδήποτε τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον εἴδησιν ὑγιῆ. Ἐκείνην μὲν οὖν τὴν ἁλήθειαν, τὴν συνεργὸν τῆς σωτηρίας ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ οὖσαν τοῦ τελείου, χρὴ ἀδόλως ἐν πᾶσι τῷ πλησίον παραδιδόναι· ἐν δὲ τοῖς κατὰ τὸν βίον πράγμασιν, ἐάν που καὶ διαπίπτῃ τῆς ἀληθείας ὁ σπουδαῖος, οὐδεν ἐμπόδιον αὐτῷ εἰς τὰ προκείμενα ἔσται. Πόσοι γὰρ στάδιοι γῆς ἤ θαλάσσης, καὶ πόσοι κινοῦνται τῶν ἀστέρων, καὶ πόσον ἕτερος τοῦ ἑτέρου προέχει τῷ τάχει, ἐὰν μὴ εἰδῶμεν τὴν ἐν τούτοις ἀλήθειαν, οὐδὲν ἡμῖν ἐμποδίσει πρὸς τὸ ἐπιτυχεῖν τῆς ἐν ἐπαγγελίαις μακαριότητος. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΙΔ' Ψαλμον  Source: Migne PG 29.256b-c

He who speaks the truth in his heart, and does not deceive with his tongue. 1 Again here it says that the one who speaks truth in his heart and does not deceive with his tongue has similarity with him who is among the immaculate and works righteousness. 2 For as there Scripture reveals hidden perfection and then the doing well in deeds, so even here, because that which we speak comes from the abundance of the heart, 3 the word flowing forth as from a well within, so he says that first truth is in the heart, and then the tongue gives voice to the honest word. And we find that truth has two meanings: one is an understanding of deeds conductive to the blessed life, another a knowledge touching on the healthy life of a thing. The former truth therefore, is a handmaid of salvation, which is firmly planted in the heart of the perfect man, which without deceit is thus revealed in everything to another. And in the affairs of life, if a good man is somehow cut off from the truth there, however he is not impeded in what he has. For as many are the miles of the world, or the sea, as many as the movements of the stars, and as much as one another outstrips, if in these things a man is ignorant of the truth, it does not prevent him obtaining the promised blessings of the Gospel. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 14 1 Ps 14.3 2 Ps 14.1-2 3 Mt 12.24

Food And The Heart

Oὐ νοεῖτε ὅτι πᾶν τὸ εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς τὸ στόμα εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν χωρεῖ καὶ εἰς ἀφεδρῶνα ἐκβάλλεται;  Τοὺς μαθητὰς γοῦν ἀσυνέτους ὁ Κύριός φησι περὶ τὸ σῶμα στρεφομένους, ὥσπερ οἱ Φαραισαῖοι, καὶ μηδέπω διαβαίνοντας ἐπὶ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον. Βρώματα οὖν, φησὶ, σώματος ἔχει πλήρωσιν, καρδίας δε οὐχ ἅπεται. Τὸ δὲ καρδίας μή ἔφαπτόμενον, οὐ δύναται κοινῶσαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν ἀληθινὸν, ἤ μὴ καθαρὸν ἀπεργάσασθαι. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον Source:  Migne PG 72.421a-b

Do you not see that everything which goes into the mouth, goes to the stomach and is cast out into the sewer? 1 The disciples not yet understanding, the Lord speaks of the surrounding body, like the Pharisees, not yet passing on to the interior man. Therefore He says that the body has satisfaction by food but the heart is untouched. And with the heart untouched it is not possible to communicate with the true man, nor make him clean. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt 15.17

Knowing The Unknown

Τρία δέ ἐστιν ἀδύνατά μοι νοῆσαι καὶ τὸ τέταρτον οὐκ ἐπιγινώσκω, ἴχνη ἀετοῦ πετομένου Τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν ἀνάληψιν. Kαὶ ὁδοὺς ὄφεως ἐπὶ πέτρας. Ὁ διάβολος οὐχ εὗρεν ἴχνος ἁμαρτίας ἐν τῷ σώματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Kαὶ τρίβους νηὸς ποντοπορούσης Τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὡς ἐν πελάγει τῷ βίῷ τούτῳ, τῇ εἰς Χριστὸν ἐλπίδι διὰ τοῦ σταυροῦ κυβερνωμένης. Kαὶ ὁδοὺς ἀνδρὸς ἐν νεότητι. Τοῦ ἐκ Πνεύματος ἁγίου καὶ τῆς Παρθένου γεγεννημένου· ἰδοὺ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀνὴρ, Ἀνατολὴ ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ἅγιος Ἱππόλυτος Ρώμης, Εἰς Τας Παροιμίας Source: Migne PG 10.624a-b

Three things I cannot understand, and the fourth I do not know: the path of an eagle flying...' . 1 Christ's ascension. 'And the ways of a serpent on a rock...' The devil did not find a trace of sin in the body of Christ. 'And the ways of a ship crossing the sea...' The Church, which in this life is as in a sea, directed by hope in Christ through the cross. 'And the ways of a man in his youth...' Of Him born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin. For behold, it says, a man whose name is the Dawn. 2 Saint Hippolytus of Rome, Fragment On Proverbs 1 Prov 30.18-19 2 Zech 6.12

Numerous Gospels

Notum enim vobis facio, fratres, Evangelium quod evangelizatum est a me: quia non est secundem hominem, neque enim ego ab homine accepi illud, neque didici; sed per revelationem Jesu Christi. Nec putemus in verbis Scripturarum esse Evangelium, sed in sensu: non in superficie, sed in medulla; non in sermonum foliis, sed in radice rationis. Dicitur in propheta de Deo: Sermones ejus boni sunt cum eo. Tunc Scriptura utilis est audientibus, cum absque Christo non dicitur, cum absque patre non profertur, cum sine Spiritu non eam insinuat ille qui praedicat. Alioquin et diabolus qui loquitur de Scripturis, et omnes haereses, secundum Ezechielem, inde sibi consuunt cervicalia, quae ponant sub cubito universae aetatis. Ego quoque ipse qui loquor, si Christum in me habeo, non habeo Evangelium hominis; si autem peccator sum, dicitur mihi: Peccatori dixit Deus: Quare tu enarras justitias meas: et assumis in labiis tuis Testamentum meum? Tu autem odisti disciplinam, et projectisti verba mea post te, et caetera quae sequuntur. Grande periculum est in Ecclesia loqui, ne forte interpretatione perversa, de Evangelio Christi, hominis fiat Evangelium: aut quod pejus est, diaboli. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum in Epistolam ad Galatas, Liber I Source: Migne PL 26.322c-d

For I would have you know, brothers, that the Gospel I preached is not from man. Indeed I neither received it nor learnt it from a man, but through the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 We should not think that the Gospel is in the words of Scripture, but in the actual meaning, not on the surface but in the innermost parts, not in the leaves of speech but in the root of reason. The Prophet says of God: 'His words are good to him.' 2 Scripture is useful to its hearers when it is spoken with Christ, when it is proclaimed with the Father, and when he who preaches imbues it with the Spirit. Even the devil speaks about Scripture, 3 and from it, according to Ezekiel, all the heresies stitch together pillows which they place under the elbow of every age. 4 As for me, if I have Christ in me as I speak, I do not have the gospel of man. But if I am a sinner, it is said to me: 'To the sinner God has said, Why do you speak of my commandments and take my covenant on your lips? You hate discipline and you have cast my words behind you,' 5 and what follows. Most dangerous it is to the Church when by some perverse interpretation of the Gospel of Christ it becomes the gospel of man, or, what is worse, the gospel of the devil. Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Letter to the Galatians, Book 1 1 Galat 1.11-12 2 Mich 2.7 3 cf Mt 4.1-11, Lk 4.1-13 4 Ezek 13.18 5 Ps 49.16-17

Standing Before Kings

Τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς βασιλεῦσιν, οἱ μεν ἄοπλοὶ τινες, καὶ γυμνοὶ, οἱ δὲ ῥάβδους κατέχοντες, οἱ δε θυρεοὺς, οἱ δὲ μαχαίρας παρίστανται· πολλὴ δὲ τις ἡ διαφορὰτῶν πρωτευόντων παρὰ τοὺς ἐσχάτους καὶ ἀσύγκριτος. Οὕτοι γὰρ καὶ συγγενεῖς κυρίως, καὶ οἱκεῖοι τοῦ βασιλέως εἶναι πεφύκασι. Καὶ ταυτᾶ μὲν ἐν τούτοις· φέρε δὴ λοιπὸν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἴδωμεν πῶς τὴν ἡμετέραν παράστασιν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ βασιλέα ποιούμεθα, ἕν τε ταῖς ἑσπεριναῖς, καὶ ἡμεριναῖς, καὶ νυκρεριναῖς παραστάσεσι καὶ εὐχαῖς. Τινὲς μεν γὰρ ὲν᾽τῇ ἑσπερινῇ διανυκτερεύσει ἄϋλοι, καὶ γυμνοὶ πάσης φροντίδος, ἐπὶ προσευχὴν τὰς χεῖρας ἐκτείνουσιν· ἕτεροι δὲ, μετὰ ψαλμιῳδίας ἐν ταύταις παρίστανται· ἀλλοι, τῇ ἀναγνώσει μάλλον προσκαρτεροῦσι· τινὲς δὲ, διὰ τοῦ ἔργου τῶν χειρῶν ἐξ ἀσθενείας ἀνδρείως τῷ ὕπνῳ μάχονται· ἄλλοι, τῇ τοῦ θανάτου ἐννοίᾳ προσασχολοὺμενοι, διὰ ταύτης κατά νυξιν προσλαβέσθαι βούλονται. Τούτων πάντων οἱ πρῶτοι καὶ ἔσχατοι θεοφιλεῖ προσκαρτερουσῖ διανυκτερεύσει· οἱ δὲ δεύτεροι, μοναχικῇ· οἱ δὲ τρίτοι ἐσχατωτέραν βαδίζουσιν ὁδόν· πλὴν κατὰ τὸν λογισμὸν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν ὁ Θεὸς τὰ δῶρα δέχεται καὶ λογίζεται. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος, Λόγος K', ἡ Κλίμαξ Source: Migne PG 88.940c-d

Among those who stand before kings of the earth, some are without arms, and some hold staves, and some shields, and some swords. The first are much superior to the latter, and do not mix, for they are usually personal relations of the king and members of the royal household. So it is with them. Now let us see how we stand before God our King, when we stand at our prayers in the evening, or during the day and night. For some at their evening all-night vigil stretch out their hands in prayer as if they were stripped of all care. Others stand at that time singing psalms. Others are occupied in reading. And some out of weakness courageously fight against sleep by working with their hands. Others attend to the thought of death, hoping thus to advance through the night. And of all these, the first and the last take to all-night vigil for the love of God; the second do what befits a monk; while the third walk the lowest way. Yet God accepts and values the offerings of each according to their intention and power. Saint John Climacus, from Step 20, The Ladder

A Good Father

Εἴπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ψενθαῖσιος καὶ ὁ ἀββὰς Σοῦρος καὶ Ψώῖος, ὅτι Ἀκούοντες τῶν λόγων τοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν τοῦ ἀββᾶ Παχωμίου μεγάλως ὠφελούμεθα, εἰς ζῆλον ἀγαθῶν ἔργων διεγειρόμενοι. Ὁρῶντες δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ σιωπῶντος τὴν πρᾶξιν λόγον οὖσαν, ἐθαυμάζομεν, πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγοντες, ὅτι Ἐνομίζομεν πάντας τοὺς ἁγίους οὕτως πεποιεῐσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς αὐτῶν ἁγίους καὶ ἀτρέπτους, καὶ οὐχὶ αὐτεξουσίους· καὶ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς μὴ δυναμένους ζῆν εὐσεβῶς, διὰ τὸ οὕτως κτισθῆναι αὐτούς. Ἄτρι δὲ βλέπομεν τὴν ἀγαθότητα τοῦ Θεοῦ φανερῶς ἐπὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν τούτο· ὅτι ἐξ Ἑλλήνων γονέων ὤν, τοσοῦτον θεοσεβὴς γέγονε, καὶ πάσας τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐνδεδυμένος ἐστὶν. Οὐκοῦν καὶ ἡμεῖς δυνάμεθα καὶ πάντες ἀκολουθῆναι αὐτῷ, ἀνθ' ὤν ἀκολουθεῖ τοῖς ἁγίοις· Ἅρα τὸ γεγραμμένον τοῦτό ἐστι· Δεῦτε πρὸς μὲ, πάντες οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι, κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς. Συναποθάνωμεν οὖν καὶ συζήσωμεν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τούτῳ, ὅτι ὀρθῶς ὁδηγεῖ ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν. Ἄποφθέγματα των Αγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Ελενουπόλεως Source: Migne PG 65.436d-437a

Abba Psenthaisius, Abba Suras and Abba Psoius said: 'By listening to the words of our Father, Abba Pachomius, we were greatly helped and roused to zeal for good works. And seeing that even the act of his silence was a lesson, we were amazed and said to one other: 'We thought that all the holy ones were created so by God and never changed from the womb of their mother, not by their own will, and that sinners could not live devoutly, because they had been made so. But now we see the goodness of God manifest in our father, for he is of pagan parents and he has become so pious, and he is endowed with all the commandments of God. Thus even we can follow him as he followed the holy ones. Truly it is written: 'Come to me, all you who labour and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.' 1 Let us die and let us live with this man, then, because he has led us to God in the right way.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia 1 Matt. 11.28

Going To The Father

Kαὶ μεθ' ἕτερα· ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐγὼ εἶπον ὑμῖν· ὑπάγω καὶ ἔρχομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς. εἰ ἠγαπᾶτέ με, ἐχάρητε ἂν ὅτι πορεύομαι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα· καὶ πάλιν μεθ' ἕτερα· νῦν δὲ ὑπάγω πρὸς τὸν πέμψαντά με, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐρωτᾷ με· ποῦ ὑπάγεις; Eἰ γὰρ ταῦτα τοπικῶς ἐκδεκτέον, δῆλον ὅτι καὶ τὸ  ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ἐάν τις ἀγαπᾷ με, τὸν λόγον μου τηρήσει, καὶ ὁ πατήρ μου ἀγαπήσει αὐτὸν, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐλευσόμεθα καὶ μονὴν παρ' αὐτῷ ποιησόμεθα. Oὐχὶ δέ γε ταῦτα τοπικῆς μεταβάσεως νοουμένης περὶ τὸν Πατέρα καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν πρὸς τὸν ἀγαπῶντα τὸν λόγον τοῦ Ἰησοῦ γίνεται, οὐδ' ἄρα τοπικῶς ταῦτα ἐκδεκτέον· ἀλλ' ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ, ἡμῖν συγκαταβαίνων καὶ ὡς πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν ἀξίαν, ὅτε παρὰ ἀνθρώποις ἐστὶ, ταπεινούμενος, μεταβαίνειν λέγεται ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, ὅπως καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐκεῖθι τέλειον αὐτὸν θεασώμεθα, ἀπὸ τῆς παρ' ἡμῖν κενότητος, ἣν ἐκένωσεν ἑαυτὸν, ἐπὶ τὸ ἴδιον πλήρωμα παλινδρομοῦντα· ἔνθα καὶ ἡμεῖς, αὐτῷ ὁδηγῷ χρώμενοι, πληρωθέντες πάσης κενότητος ἀπαλλαγησόμεθα. Ἀπιέτω τοίνυν πρὸς τὸν πέμψαντα αὐτὸν ἀφεὶς τὸν κόσμον ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, καὶ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα πορευέσθω. Kαὶ τὸ ἐπὶ τέλει δὲ τοῦ κατὰ Ἰωάννην εὐαγγελίου· μή μου ἅπτου· οὔπω γὰρ ἀναβέβηκα πρὸς τὸν πατέρα μου, μυστικώτερον νοῆσαι ζητήσωμεν· τῆς ἀναβάσεως πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα τοῦ Υἱοῦ θεοπρεπέστερον μετὰ ἁγίας τρανότητος ἡμῖν νοουμένης, ἥντινα ἀνάβασιν νοῦς μᾶλλον ἀναβαίνει σώματος. Tαῦτα ἡγοῦμαι συνεξητακέναι τῷ Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ὑπὲρ τοῦ ταπεινὴν περὶ θεοῦ ὑπόληψιν τῶν νομιζόντων αὐτὸν εἶναι τοπικῶς ἐν οὐρανοῖς περιελεῖν καὶ μὴ ἐᾶν τινα ἐν σωματικῷ τόπῳ εἶναι τὸν θεὸν, ἐπεὶ τούτῳ ἀκόλουθόν ἐστι καὶ σῶμα αὐτὸν εἶναι λέγειν, ᾧ ἕπεται δόγματα ἀσεβέστατα, τὸ διαιρετὸν καὶ ὑλικὸν καὶ φθαρτὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι ὑπολαμβάνειν· πᾶν γὰρ σῶμα διαιρετόν ἐστι καὶ ὑλικὸν καὶ φθαρτόν. Ὠριγένης, Περὶ Εὐχὴς Source: Migne PG 11.488a

And later: 'You heard that I said to you: I return and come to you. If you loved me you would have rejoiced that I go to the Father.' 1 And again later: 'Now I return to Him that sent me and none of you ask me: Where do you return?' 2 And if these things are to be understood spacially, so also plainly is: 'Jesus answered and said to them, 'If any one love me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we shall come to him and make abode with him.' 3 But surely these words should not be thought of as a movement in space of the Father and the Son to the lover of the word of Jesus, and so should not be taken spacially. Rather the Word of God, in condescension for us, and according to His own worth, when among men in humble state, is said to pass from this world to the Father so that we also may behold Him perfectly there in His return to His proper fullness from the emptiness among us whereby He emptied himself, where we also, by His guidance, being filled, shall be freed from all emptiness. To such an end, then, the Word of God leaves the world and departs to Him who sent Him, and goes to the Father. And concerning that passage near the end of the Gospel according to John: 'Do not touch me, for I have not yet gone to my Father,'; 4 let us seek to think of it in a more spiritual sense; let ours be a more reverent conception of the ascension of the Son to the Father with sanctified insight, more an ascension of the soul than the body. I have linked these things to the clause 'Our Father who art in heaven' for the sake of doing away with the low conception of God of those who think that He is in heaven spacially, and lest anyone say God is in material space, since from that it follows that He also is physical and leads to opinions which are most impious, to thinking that He is divisible and material and corruptible. For every body is divisible and every material thing is corruptible. Origen, On Prayer 1 Jn 14.28 2 Jn 16.5 3 Jn 14.23 4 Jn 20.17

Appearance And Instruction

Οἱ δὲ ἕνδεκα μαθηταὶ ἐπορεύθησαν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν καὶ οἱ μὲν προσεκύνησαν, οἱ δὲ αὐτὸν ἐδίστασαν. Αὕτη μοι δοκεῖ ἐσχάτη ὅψις εἴναι ἐν τῇ Γαλιλαίᾳ, ὅτε αὐτοὺς ἐξέπεμπε βαπτίσοντας. Εἰ δὲ ἐδίστασάν τινες, κάντεῦθεν πάλιν θαύμασον αὐτῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, πῶς οὐδὲ τὰ μέχρις ἐσχάτης ἡμέρας ἐλαττώματα αὐτῶν ἀποκρύπτονατι. Ἀλλ' ὅμως και οὕτοι διὰ τῆς ὅψεως ἐβεβαυώθηαν. Τί οὐν φησιν ἰδῶν αὐτούς; Ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἑξουσία ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς. Πάλιν ἀνθρωπινώτερον αὐτοῖς διαλέγεται· οὐδέπω γὰρ ἧσαν τὸ Πνεῦμα εἰληφότες τὸ δυνάμενον ὑψηλοὺς αὐτοὺς ποιῆται. Πορευθέντες μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ τοῦ Υἱου, καὶ τοῦ ἅγια Πνεύματος, διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμεν ὑμῖν· τὸ μὲν περὶ δογμάτων, τὸ δὲ περὶ ἐντολῶν παραγέλλων. Και Ἰουδαίων μὲν οὐδὲν μέμμνηται, ουδὲ εἰς μέσον φέρει τὰ γεγενημένα, οὐδὲ ὀνειδίζει Πέτρῳ τὴν ἂρνησιν, οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων οὐδενὶ τὴν φυγὴν· κελεύει δὲ εἰς τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐκχυθῆναι πᾶσαν, σύντομον διδασκαλίαν ἐγχειρίσας, τὴν διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος. Εἴτα ἐπειδὴ μεγάλα αὐτοῖς ἐπέταξεν, ἐπαίρων αὐτῶν τὰ φρονήματα, φησίν· Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος. Εἴδες αὐθεντίαν πάλιν; εἴδες πῶς καὶ ἐκεῖνα συγκαταβάσεως ἕνεκεν εἴρηται; Οὐ μετ' ἐκείνων δὲ μόνον εἴπεν ἔσεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετ' πάντων τῶν μετ' ἐκείνους πιστευόντων. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος οἱ ἀπόστολοι μένειν ἔμελλον· ἀλλ' ὡς ἐνὶ σώματι διαλέγεται τοῖς πιστοῖς. Μὴ γὰρ μοι τὴν δυσκολίαν, φησὶν, εἴπητε τῶν πραγμάτων· ἐγώ γάρ εἰμι μεθ' ὑμῶν, ὁ πάντα ποιῶν εὕκολα. Τοῦτο καὶ τοῖς προφήταις ἔλεγεν ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ συνεχῶς, καὶ τῷ Ἰερεμίᾳ νεότητα προβαλλομένῳ, καὶ τῷ Μωύσῇ καὶ τῷ Ἰεζεκιήλ ἀναδυομένοι· Ἐγὼ μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰμι τοῦτο καὶ ἐνταῦθα τούτοις. Σκόπει δέ μοι κάναταῦθα τὴν τούτων διαφοράν. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ εἰς ἐν ἔθνος ἀποστελλόμενοι, πολλάκις παρῇτοῦντο· οὗτοι δὲ οὐδὲν τοιοὺτον ἐφθέγξαντο, εἰς τὴν οἰκουμένην πεμπόμενοι. Ἀναμιμνήσκει δὲ αὐτοὺς καὶ τῆς συντελείας, ἵνα μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς ἐφελκύσηται, καὶ μὴ τὰ παρόντα ὀρῶσι μόνον δεινὰ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα ἀγαθὰ τὰ ἀπέεραντα. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ λυπηρὰ, φησὶν, ἂπερ ὑποστήσεσθε, τῷ παρόντι βίῳ συγκαταλύεται, ὅπου γὲ καὶ αὐτοὺς ὁ αἰων οὕτος εἰς συντέλειαν ἤξει· τὰ δὲ χρηστὰ, ὧν ἀπολαύσεσθε, ἀθάνατα μένει, καθάπερ πολλάκις ἔμπροσθεν εἴπον. Οὔτος ἀλείψας καὶ ἐγείρας αὐτῶν τὰ φρονὴματε καὶ τῇ μνήμῃ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης, ἐξέπεμψεν. Ἡ γὰρ ἡμέρα ἐκείνη τοῖς ἐν κατορθώμασι ζῶσι ποθεινὴ, ὥσπερ οὖν τοῖς ἐν ἁμαρτήμασι φοβερὰ, καθάπερ τοῖς καταδίκοις. Ἀλλὰ μὴ φοβώμεθα μόνον καὶ φρίττωμεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μεταβαλλώμεθα ἕως ἐστὶ καιρὸς, καὶ ἀνενέγκμωεν ἐκ τῆς πονηρίας· δυνάμεθα γὰρ, ἂν ἰθίλωμεν. Εἰ γὰρ πρὸ τῆς χάριτες πολλοὶ τούτο ἐποίησαν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον μετὰ τὴν χάριν. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος Ὑμομνήμα εἰς τον Ἅγιον Ματθαιον Τον Εὐαγγελιστην, Ὁμίλια ϟ Migne PG 58.789-790

'Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, and some worshiped and some doubted Him.' 1 This seems to me to be the last appearance in Galilee, when He sent them forth to baptize. And if some doubted, here again let us wonder at their truthfulness, how they do not conceal their shortcomings even up to the last day. But even so, these are assured by the sight. What then does He say to them, seeing them? 'All power is given to me in heaven and on earth.' 2 Again He speaks to them in more human fashion, for they had not yet received the Spirit, which was able to raise them on high. 'Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things which I have commanded you;' which bears one charge for teaching, and another concerning commandments. And He makes no mention of the Jews, nor brings forward the things which had been done, nor reproves Peter for his denial, nor any of the others for their flight, but He commands them to pour forth over the whole world, having put into their hands a summary of the doctrine, expressed by baptism. Then, because He had enjoined on them great things, that He might lift up their hearts, He says, 'I am with you always, even to the end of the world.' 3 Do you see His power again? Do you see how those other things also were spoken for condescension? And He did not promise to be with them only, but even with all who believe after. For indeed the Apostles were not to remain here until 'the end of the world,' but He speaks to the believers as to one body. 'For tell me not of difficulty,' He says, 'for I am with you who make all things easy.' This He also continually said to the Prophets in the Old Testament. To Jeremiah protesting his youth, 4 to Moses and Ezekiel who would refuse 'I am with you,' and here also to these men. But note the difference, for the others, when sent to one people, often excused themselves, and these men said nothing of the sort, though sent out to the whole world. And He reminds them also of the consummation, that He may draw them on more, and that they may not look only at present dangers, but also to the good things to come that are without end. 'For the grievous things,' He says, 'you will suffer, finish together with the present life, as even this world will come to an end, but the good things which you shall enjoy are immortal, as I have often told you before.' Thus having anointed and roused their minds by the remembrance of that day, He sent them forth. For that day is to be desired by those who live in good works, even as it is terrible to those in sin, as to the damned. But let us not fear only, and shudder, but let us change too, while there is time, and let us rise out of wickedness; for we can do so, if we wish it. For if before with grace many did this, much more after with grace. Saint John Chrysostom, On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, from Homily 90 1 Mt 28.16-17 2 Mt 28.18 3 Mt 28.20 4 Jerem 1.6, 8

Ascension And Belonging

Sed si solus vadit ad Patrem, quid nobis prodest? Utquid ab Spiritu Sancto de hac iustitia mundus arguitur? Et tamen nisi solus iret ad Patrem, non alio loco diceret: Nemo ascendit in caelum, nisi qui descendit de caelo, Filius hominis qui est in caelo. Sed etiam Paulus apostolus dicit: Nostra enim conversatio in caelis est. Sed quare hoc? Quia item dicit: Si resurrexistis cum Christo, quae sursum sunt quaerite, ubi Christus est in dextera Dei sedens; quae sursum sunt sapite, non quae super terram. Mortui enim estis, et vita vestra abscondita est cum Christo in Deo. Quomodo ergo ille solus? An ideo solus, quia Christus unus est cum omnibus membris suis, tamquam caput cum corpore suo? Quae autem corpus eius, nisi Ecclesia? Sicut dicit idem doctor: Vos autem estis corpus Christi, et membra ex parte. Cum ergo nos ceciderimus, et propter nos ipse descenderit, quid est: Nemo ascendit, nisi qui descendit; nisi quia nemo ascendit, nisi unum cum eo factus, et tamquam membrum compactus in eius corpore qui descendit? Sic et discipulis dicit: Quia sine me nihil potestis facere. Aliter est enim unum cum Patre, et aliter unum nobiscum. Unum cum Patre est, quia una substantia est Patris et Filii; unum cum Patre est, quia cum in forma Dei esset, non rapinam arbitratus est esse aequalis Deo. Unus autem nobiscum factus est, quia semetipsum exinanivit, formam servi accipiens; unus nobiscum factus est, secundum semen Abrahae, in quo benedicentur omnes gentes. Quod cum commemorasset, ait Apostolus: Non dicit: Et seminibus, tamquam in multis; sed tamquam in uno: Et semini tuo, quod est Christus. Et quia et nos ad id pertinemus quod est Christus, nobis simul incorporatis et illi capiti cohaerentibus, unus est Christus; et quia et nobis dicit: Ergo Abrahae semen estis, secundum promissionem heredes. Si enim unum est semen Abrahae, et illud unum semen Abrahae non intellegitur nisi Christus; hoc autem semen Abrahae etiam nos sumus; hoc ergo totum, id est, caput et corpus, unus est Christus. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis,Sermo CXLIV, De Verbis Eiusdem Evangelii Ionannis, 'Ipse arguet mundum de peccato, et de iustitia, et de iudicio.' Source: Migne PL 38.789-790

If He alone goes to the Father, how does it profit us? And why is the world convicted by the Holy Spirit of this righteousness? 1 And yet if He did not alone go to the Father, He would not say in another place, 'No one has ascended to heaven, but He That come down from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven.' 2 But the Apostle Paul also says, 'For our conversation is in heaven.' 3 And why is this? Because he also says, 'If you have risen with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Know the things which are above, not those which are on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.' 4 How then is He alone? Is He therefore alone when Christ with all His members is one, as the head with its body? For what is His body, but the Church? As the same teacher says, 'Now you are the body of Christ, and each a member.' 5 When, then, we had fallen, and He descended for our sakes, what is, 'No man has ascended, but He That descended,' but that no man has ascended, except as made one with Him, and as a member fastened into His Body who descended? So He says to His disciples, 'Without Me you can do nothing.' 6 For in one way He is one with the Father, and in another way one with us. He is one with the Father because the substance of the Father and the Son is one. He is one with the Father, in that, 'When in the form of God, He thought it not robbery to be equal with God.' But He was made one with us, in that 'He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant;' 7 He was made one with us according to the seed of Abraham, 'in whom all nations shall be blessed.' Which the Apostle recalling, then said, 'He says not, 'seeds', as of many; but as of one, 'your seed', which is Christ.' 8 And because we belong to that which is Christ, by our incorporation together and cohering to that head, Christ is one. And so he says to us, 'Therefore you are Abraham's seed, heirs according to the promise.' 9 For if the seed of Abraham is one, and that one seed of Abraham can only be understood as Christ, yet we also are this seed of Abraham; and therefore this whole, that is, the head and the body, is one Christ. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Sermon 144, On words of the Gospel of John: 'He will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement.' 1 Jn 16.8 2. Jn 3.13 3 Phil 3.20 4 Col 3.1-3 5 1 Cor 12.27 6 Jn 15.5 7 Phil 2.6-7 8 Galat 3.16 9 Gal 3.29

The Two Images

Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ εἴπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἀπόδοτε τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι, καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ. Ὑψηλότερον δὲ· Ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὡς ἐν τῇ Γενέσει γέγραπται, κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ γέγονεν. Ὕστερον δὲ διὰ τὴν αὐτου παρακοὴν ἀνέλαβε καὶ εἰκόνα χοῖκήν. Ὥσπωερ δὲ τὸ νόμισμα εἰκόνα ἔχει τοῦ βασιλεύοντος τῶν ἐθνῶν, οὕτως ὁ ποιῶν τὰ ἔργα ποῦ Παντοκράτορος τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ φορεῖ, ἥν παραινεῖ ὁ Σωτὴρ ἀποδιδόναι καὶ ἀποτίθεσθαι, καὶ φορεῖν τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς γενομένην εἰκόνα. Ἀκολούθως τούτοις καὶ ὁ Παῦλος φησιν· Ὡς ἐφορέσαμεν τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ χοῖκνου, οὕτω φορέσωμεν καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐπουρανίου. Τοῦτο οὖν δηλοῖ τό· Ἀπόδοτε τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι, καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λουκαν Ἐπαγγελιον Source : Migne PG 17.369a-b

And answering He said to them: Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, to God what is God's. 1 In a higher sense, man, as it is written in Genesis, was made according to the image of God. And after, by disobedience, he acquired an image of earth. So as the coin has an image of the ruler of men, so he who performs the works of the Almighty bears His image, whence the Saviour exhorts us to return the earthly image and to be rid of it, and to bear that image which was in the beginning. Following this Paul says: 'As we bore the terrestrial image, so let us bear the heavenly image.' 2 Thus is made clear: 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, to God what is God's' Origen, On the Gospel of St Luke, Fragment 1 Lk 20.25 2 1 Cor 15.49

A Trial of Friends

Ζῇ Κύριος, ὅς οὕτω με ἔκρινε Ἔλαβεν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ Ἰὼβ ὁ διάβολος, καὶ ἤτασεν αὐτὸν νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμερας, πρότερον διὰ τῶν ἐκτὸς, ὕστερο δι' αὐτπῖ τοῦ σώματος, μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ διὰ τῶν φίλων. Ὅτε γὰρ αὐτὸ ἐδοκίμασε διὰ τῆς γυναικὸς, καὶ οὐ νενίκηται ὁ Ἰὼβ, τρεῖς φίλους ἤνεγκεν ὁ διάβολος, οὐκ ἐχθροὺς, οὐκ ἐπίβουλα δόγματα ἔχοντας, ἀλλ' ἀληθείας μὲν λόγους, οὐ καλῶς δὲ, οὐδὲ ἐν καιρῷ προφερομένους. Καὶ ἐβουλεύετο ὁ διάβολος διὰ τῶν φίλων τούτων ποιῆσαι τὸν Ἰὼβ φθέγξασθαι τι κατὰ τῆς Προνοίας, ἀσεβῆσαι διὰ τοὺς πόνους, ἐκκακῆσαι διὰ τὰς ἀλγηδόνας. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τον Ιὠβ Source: Migne PG 17.87c-d

The Lord who lives has judged me so... 1 The devil received power against Job, and he struck him day and night, first through exterior things, then through his own body, and after that even through his friends. For when he had tested him by his wife, and Job was unconquered, the devil led in the three friends, not as adversaries, not as men having cunning teachings, but certainly as men with true words, but not good, however, and not spoken at the right time. It was the devil's wish that through these friends he make Job say something against God's providence, and to commit himself, on account of his troubles, to impiety, and to evil on account of grief. Origen, On Job, Fragment 1 Job 27.2

To Whom It Is Given

Οὐ πάντες, φησὶ, χωροῦσι τὸν λόγον τοῦτον, ἀλλ' οἷς δέδοται. Τὸ, δέδοται, ὅταν ἀκούσῃς, μηδὲν αἱρετικὸν πάθῃς, μὴ τὰς φύσεις εἰσαγάγῃς, μὴ τοὺς χοϊκοὺς, καὶ τοὺς πνευματικοὺς, καὶ τοὺς μέσους. Εἰσὶ γὰρ οὕτω τινὲς διακείμενοι κακῶς, ὥστε οἴεσθαι, τοὺς μὲν πάντη ἀπολλυμένης εἶναι φύσεως, τοὺς δὲ σωζομένης, τοὺς δὲ οὕτως ἔχειν, ὅπως ἂν ἡ προαίρεσις ἄγῃ πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον, ἢ βέλτιον. Ἐπιτηδειότητα μὲν γὰρ ἄλλον ἄλλου μᾶλλον, ἢ ἔλαττον ἔχειν, κἀγὼ δέχομαι·οὐκ ἀρκεῖν δὲ μόνην τὴν ἐπιτηδειότητα πρὸς τελείωσιν· λογισμὸν δὲ εἶναι τὸν ταύτην ἐκκαλούμενον, ἵνα ἡ φύσις εἰς ἔργον προέλθῃ, καθάπερ λίθος πυρίτης σιδήρῳ κρουσθεὶς, καὶ οὕτω πῦρ γένηται. Ὅταν ἀκούσῃς, Οἷς δέδοται, πρόσθες, δέδοται μὲν τοῖς καλουμένοις καὶ τοῖς οὕτω νεύουσι. Καὶ γὰρ ὅταν ἀκούσῃς, οὐ τοῦ θέλοντος, οὐδὲ τοῦ τρέχοντος, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἐλεοῦντος Θεοῦ, συμβουλεύω σοι ταυτὸν ὑπολαβεῖν. Ἐπειδὴ γάρ εἰσί τινες οἱ τοσοῦτον μεγαλοφρονοῦντες ἐπὶ τοῖς κατορθώμασιν, ὥστε τὸ πᾶν ἑαυτοῖς διδόναι, καὶ μηδὲν τῷ ποιήσαντι, καὶ σοφίσαντι, καὶ χορηγῷ τῶν καλῶν, διδάσκει τούτους ὁ λόγος, ὅτι καὶ τὸ βούλεσθαι καλῶς, δεῖται τῆς παρὰ Θεοῦ βοηθείας· μᾶλλον δὲ, αὐτὸ τὸ προαιρεῖσθαι τὰ δέοντα, θεῖόν τι καὶ ἐκ Θεοῦ δῶρον φιλανθρωπίας· δεῖ γὰρ, καὶ τὸ ἐφ' ἡμῖν εἶναι, καὶ τὸ ἐκ Θεοῦ σώζεσθαι. Διὰ τοῦτό φησιν· Οὐ τοῦ θέλοντος· τοῦτ' ἔστιν, οὐ μόνον τοῦ θέλοντος, οὐδὲ τοῦ τρέχοντος μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ ἐλεοῦντος Θεοῦ. Εἶτα, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τὸ βούλεσθαι παρὰ Θεοῦ, τὸ πᾶν εἰκότως ἀνέθηκε τῷ Θεῷ. Ὅσον ἂν δράμῃς, ὅσον ἂν ἀγωνίσῃ, χρῄζης τοῦ διδόντος τὸν στέφανον. Ἐὰν μὴ Κύριος οἰκοδομή σῃοἶκον, εἰς μάτην ἐκοπίασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες αὐτόν. Ἐὰν μὴ Κύριος φυλάξῃ πόλιν, εἰς μάτην ἠγρύπνησαν οἱ φυλάσσοντες αὐτήν. Οἶδα, φησὶν, ὅτι οὐ τοῖς κούφοις ὁ δρόμος, οὐδὲ τοῖς δυνατοῖς ὁ πόλεμος, οὐδὲ τῶν μαχομένων ἡ νίκη, οὔτε τῶν εὐπλούντων οἱ λιμένες· ἀλλὰ Θεοῦ, καὶ νίκην ἀπεργάσασθαι, καὶ εἰς λιμένας ἀποσῶσαι τὸ σκάφος. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λογός ΛΖ' Source: Migne PG 35.297b-300a

'Not all,' He says, 'can receive this saying, but they to whom it is given.'1 When you hear this, 'It is given,' do not receive it in a heretical way, and bring in different natures, the earthly and the spiritual and the mixed. For there are those who are so wickedly constituted that they think some people have an utterly ruined nature, and some are saved, and others are of such a disposition as their will may lead them, to better or to worse. For that one man has a certain aptitude more than another, and another less, I do admit, but it does not please that aptitude alone tends to perfection, but rather it is reason which calls to that, that nature may advance to action, just as fire when flint is struck with iron. When you hear 'To whom it is given,' add, 'And it is given to those who are called and to those who incline so.' For when you hear, 'Not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of the mercy of God,' 2 I counsel you to think the same. For since there are some who being proud of their successes attribute it all to themselves and nothing at all to Him that made them, and gave them intellect, and supplied them with good, such folk are taught by this passage that even to wish well needs God's aid, or rather that even to choose things which are right is Divine and a gift of God's charity. For it is necessary that we should be our own masters and also that salvation is from God. This is why He says 'not of him that wills,' that is, not of him that wills only, nor of him that runs only, but also of the mercy of God. And then, since to will is also from God, he has reasonably attributed the whole to God. However much you run, however much you may struggle, yet you have need of Him who gives the crown. 'Unless the Lord build the house, in vain have laboured who build it; unless the Lord guard the city, in vain they have watched who guard it.' 3 'I know,' He says, 'that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,' 4 nor the victory to the fighters, nor the harbours to the good sailors, but to God it belongs both to work victory, and to bring the boat safe to to port. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from Oration 37 1 Mt 19.11 2 Rom 9.16 3 Ps 126.1 4 Eccl 9.11 4 Isaiah 53.8 4 Gen 14

The Comb And The Honey

Ψιλὸν τὸ γράμμα τῆς θεοπνεύστον Γραφῆς, κηρίον ἂν λέγοιτο· ὁ δὲ γε ἐν τῷ γράμματι τεθησαυρισμένος νοῦς, μέλι τροπικῶς ῥηθήσεται. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΞΔ' Καλλιμαχῳ Source: Migne PG 79.180c

The bare word of the Divinely inspired Scriptures may be named the comb, and the hidden treasure of the sense may be figuratively called the honey. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 264, To Callimachos

Reading And Doing

Τῆς Γραφῆς τὰ ῥήματα διὰ πράξεων ἀναγίνωσκε· καὶ μὴ πλατυλόγει ἐπὶ ψιλοῖς τοῖς νοήμασι εἰκῆ φυσιούμενος. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ Source: Migne PG 65.916c

The words of Scripture are read through deeds, lest we babble mindlessly, seeming to be constituted of empty thoughts. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law.