Elijah And Moses

Kαὶ ὤφθη αὐτοῖς Ἠλίας σὺν Μωϋσεῖ, καὶ ἦσαν συλλαλοῦντες τῷ Ἰησοῦ. Ἠλίας καὶ Μωσῆς φαίνονται συλλαλοῦντες, διὰ πολλὰς αἰτίας· δύο δὲ ἀρκοῦσιν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔφησαν οἱ μαθηταὶ, ὅτι οἱ ὄχολοι, οἱ μὲν Ἠλίαν αὐτὸν λέγουσιν, οἱ δὲ, ἕνα τῶν προφητῶν, δείκνυσιν αὐτοῖς τοὺς κορυφαίους τῶν προφητῶν, ἵνα κὰντεῦθεν μάθωσι τὸ μέστον τῶν δούλων καὶ τοῦ Δεσπότου· μία μὲν αὕτη αἰτία. Ἑτέρα δὲ, ἐπειδὴ ἀντίθεον οἱ πολλοὶ αὐτὸν ἐνόμιζον, ὡς λύοντα τὸ Σάββατον, καὶ τὸν νόμον παραβαίνοντα, δείκνυσιν ἐν τῷ ὄρει τοὺς προφήτας· ὦν ὁ μὲν νομοθέτης ἦν, ὁ δὲ ζηλωτής. Οὐκ ἂν οὖν ὡμίλουν οἱ τοιοῦτοι προφῆται τῷ τὸν νόμον λύειν δοκοῦντι, εἰ μὴ ἤρεσκεν αὐτοῖς ἃ λέγει. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατά Μάρκον Εὐαγγέλιον, Κεφ' Θ' Source: Migne PG 123.580c-d

And Elijah and Moses appeared to them, and they spoke with Jesus... 1 Elijah and Moses appeared speaking for many reasons, but let two suffice. Because the disciples reported that people said that Christ might be Elijah, or one of the number of the prophets, 2 He shows to them certain eminent ones among the prophets, that they might learn the great distance between the servant and the Lord. This is certainly one of the reasons. But another is that since many thought He was an opponent of God, and that he would end the Sabbath and that He discounted the Law, He showed the prophets on the mount, one who was a legislator and the other one a zealot. For such prophets would not converse with Him who was seen to make an end of the Law, unless they had been pleased with the things He had said. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Mark, Chapter 9 1 Mk 9.4 2 Mt 16.13-14

The Desert And The Temple of God

Eremum ergo recte incircumscriptum Dei nostri templum dixerim; etenim quem certum est habitare in silentio, credendum est gaudere secreto. Saepius se illic videndum sanctis suis praebuit et conciliante loco congressum non est aspernatus humanum; in deserto quippe Moyses glorificato vulta Deum conspicit, in deserto Helias vultum pavens, ne Deum conspiciat, obvolvit; et quamvis omnia ipse tamquam sua revisitet neque uspiam desit, tamen, ut aestimare licet peculiarius visitationem dignatur eremi et caeli secretum. Sanctus Eucherius Lugdunensis, De Laude Eremi Source: Migne PL 50.702d-703a

Therefore I would rightly say that the boundless temple of our God is the desert. Indeed as it is certain one dwells there in silence, so it must be believed that there one rejoices in secret. More often it must be seen there that He provides for His holy ones and that they are gathered together in a place where there is no opposition of men. In the desert Moses with glorified face saw God, in the desert Elijah was struck with fear and covered his face, lest he look on God. 1 And so though the Lord may visit every single place and there is nowhere where He is absent, it is permissible to think that He especially dignifies the desert with His visitations and with the mysteries of heaven. Saint Eucherius of Lyon, In Praise of the Desert 1 Exod 34.29-35, 3 Kings 19.13

Turned Inward

Et labia earum palmi unius, reflexa intrinsecus per circuitum.... Pensandum vero est valde quod dicitur, quia earumdem mensarum labia interius sunt reflexa. Tunc enim mensarum labia intrinsecus reflectuntur, quando doctores ad conscientiam revocant tacita cogitatione quod dicunt, quando semetipsos subtiliter perscrutantur si faciunt quod loquuntur. Recte autem cum reflexa intrinsecus mensarum labia dicuntur, additur quoque per circuitum, ut non in una qualibet se parte considerent, atque ex alia semetipsos perpendere praetermittant, sed ubique semetipsos inspiciant, et, in quantum praevalent, studeant singula opere implere quae docent, ne si praedicantes facere bona dissimulant, sui vastatores sint cultores alieni. O doctor, ecce jam mensa es, jam vasa portas, jam in vasis fidelibus pondus holocausti et victimae sustines, sed intus reflecte labium, id est ad cor revoca sermonem. Audi quod dicis, operare quod praedicas. Si enim negligis implere quod praedicas, aliis messem seminas, et ipse a frumenti participatione jejunas. Unde scriptum est: Cujus messem famelicus comedet. Messem quippe doctoris qui bona loquitur, sed non operatur, famelicus comedit, quia is qui panem justitiae esurit operatur mandata quae audit, et ipse fructum non habet, qui seminando laboravit. Hinc Salomon ait: Abscondit piger manum suam sub ascella, nec ad os suum porrigit eam. Nemo ita piger est, ut ad os manum vel comedendo reducere laborem putet. Sed piger nec ad os manum suam porrigit, qui nec hoc vult operari quod dicit. Hinc iterum de bene docentibus et male operantibus dicitur: Filii Ephraim intendentes areum, et mittentes sagittas, conversi sunt in die belli. Intendunt arcum, atque sagittas mittunt, qui Scripturae sacrae sententias proponunt, et verbis rectis auditorum vitia feriunt; sed convertuntur in die belli, quia post semetipsos redeunt in tentatione vitiorum, et pectus opponere non volunt, quia in tentationum certamine non resistunt. Hinc iterum dicitur: Avertisti adjutorium gladii ejus, et non es auxiliatus ei in bello. Gladius quippe doctoris est sermo Dei. Unde per Paulum dicitur: Et gladium spiritus, quod est verbum Dei. Omnipotens itaque Deus cum doctorem respicit nolle operari quae dicit, in die belli adjutorii ejus gladium avertit, quia in tentationum certamine non permittit ei esse in adjutorium doctrinae verba quae dedit. Habet igitur gladium, sed hunc in bello non adjuvat, quia cum adversitas tentationis eruperit, verbi obliviscitur quod docebat. Ecce enim de patientia forsitan sermo doctori est, doctrinae suae magisterio dicere cogitur qualiter contra illata damna, contra auditas contumelias patientia servetur. Sed cum ipse vel damno, vel contumelia fuerit lacessitus, oblitus quod docuerat, vel in laesione proximi, vel in reddenda gravius contumelia excedit. Inter haec itaque cogitet quia mensa Dei est, labium intus reflectat, servet quod praedicat. Scriptum quippe est: In patientia vestra possidebitis animas vestras. Et rursum scriptum est: Doctrina viri per patientiam noscitur. Si itaque index doctrinae patientia est, tanto quisque doctus ostenditur, quanto patiens fuerit. Hinc est enim quod bonus ille discipulus qui magistrum tolli in aera videbat, per magnae charitatis affectum clamabat, dicens: Pater mi, pater mi, currus Israel et auriga ejus. Quid est, fratres charissimi, quod Elias currus Israel et auriga dicitur, nisi quia auriga agitat, currus portat? Doctor ergo qui mores populi et per patientiam sustinet, et sacri eloquii verbis docet, et currus dicitur et auriga. Currus, quia tolerando portat; auriga, quia exhortando agitat. Currus, quia mala sustinet; auriga, quia populum bonis admonitionibus exercet. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Secundus, Homilia IX Source: Migne PL 76.1051b-1052c

And their borders were of one handbreadth, turned inwards all around... 1 One must think carefully on what is said here, that the borders of the tables are turned inwards. For then the borders of the tables are turned inwards, when teachers in silent thought refer what they say to their conscience, when they scrutinise themselves carefully, if they do what they teach. And rightly when the borders of the tables are said to be turned inwards it is added 'all around,' so that they do not consider themselves in just one part only, and pass over thinking on everything else, but they inspect themselves all over, and in much as is possible they strive to fulfill everything they have taught, lest if preaching the good they lie, being ruinous cultivators of their own estrangement. O teacher, behold that you are a table, behold that you bear a vase, behold in the faithful vases you hold up the weight of the holocaust and the sacrifices, but reflect within the borders, that is, recall your speech to your heart. Listen to what you say, and do what you preach. For if you neglect to fulfill what you preach, you sow a harvest for others while you fast from partaking of the wheat. Whence it is written. 'Whose harvest the hungry shall eat.' 2 Certainly the hungry man eats the harvest of the teacher when he who speaks good things does not do them, because he who hungers for the bread of righteousness works the commandments he hears, and thus he who laboured to sow it does not have the fruit of it. So Solomon says, 'The lazy man leaves his hand in the dish and does not bring it to his mouth.' 3 Therefore no one is lazy who thinks to move his hand to his mouth for eating. But the lazy man who does not put his hand to his mouth is he who does not wish to do what he says. Whence again concerning good teaching and bad action, it is said: 'The sons of Ephraim bend the bow and send forth arrows, and they are overthrown on the day of war.' 4 They bend the bow and send forth arrows, who propound the words of Sacred Scripture and strike at vices with right words for their audience. But they are overthown on the day of war because when they come back to themselves, in the trials of the vices, they care not set the heart to oppose them, because in the struggle of temptation they do not resist. Thus again it is said: 'You have taken away the aid of his sword, and you did not help him on the day of war.' 5 Certainly the sword of the teacher is the word of God. So it is said by Paul: 'And the sword is the spirit, which is the word of God.' 6 Thus almighty God, when He looks on a teacher who does not wish to do what he says, He removes the aid of his sword on the day of war, because in the struggle of temptation He does not allow him the help of the words of the teaching which he gave. Therefore he has a sword but it is of no help to him in battle, because when the adversity of trial bursts forth, he forgets the words which he has taught. Perhaps the word of the teacher is about patience, and he is driven by the duty of teaching to tell how patience guards against loses inflicted and against the abuse one hears. But when he suffers a wound by loss or insolence, he forgets what he has taught and he falls to returning a wound to a neighbour, or to returning abuse more vehemently. Concerning these things, then, let it be thought that because the table is God's, and the borders are turned inward, that it guards what is preached. For it is written: 'In your suffering you will find your souls.' 7 And again it is written: 'The teaching of a man is known through suffering.' 8 If then the measure of teaching is patience, he shows himself more educated the more he suffers. Thus that good disciple who saw the teacher caught up in the air, cried out in the passion of great love, 'My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and his charioteer.' 8 Why is this, dearest brothers, that he calls Elijah the chariot of Israel and the charioteer, unless the charioteer stirs up and the chariot bears? Therefore a teacher who endures the ways of the people with patience, and teaches the words of sacred speech, he is called the chariot and the charioteer. The chariot, because he bears with endurance, the charioteer because he stirs up with exhortation. The chariot, because he endures evil, the charioteer, because he exhorts the people with good instruction. Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 2, from Homily 9 1 Ezek 40.43 2 Job 5.5 3 Prov 19.24 4 Ps 78.9 5 Ps 87.44 6 Ephes 6.17 7 Lk 21.19 8 Prov 19.11 9 4 Kings 2.12

Queries On The Achievements Of Clergy

Quis eorum mori exoptans mundo et vivere Christo luxuriosos gentium convivas laudantes deos suos, id est, sensus, extollentes divitias, ut apostolus et avaritia, inquit, quae est simulacrorum servitus, concussis duabus virtute bracchiorum columnis, quae intelleguntur in voluptatibus nequam animae carnisque, quibus domus humanae omnis nequitiae quodammodo pangitur ac fulcimentatur, tam innumerabiles, ut Sampson, prostravit? Quis orationibus holocaustoque lactantis agni Philistinorum metum depellens insperatas tonitruorum voces nubium imbres concitans absque adulatione regem constituens, eundum Deo non placentem abiciens, uncto pro illo meliore in regno, ut Samuel, valedicturus populo astabit hoc modo dicens: Ecce praesto sum, loquimini coram Domino et christo eius, utrum bovem cuiusquam tulerim an asinum, si quempiam calumniatus sum, si oppressi aliquem, si de manu cuiusquam munus accepi? cui a populo responsum est dicente: non es calumniatus nos neque oppressisti neque tulisti de manu alicuius quippiam. Quis eorum igne caelesti centum superbos exurens, quinquaginta humiles servans et absque adulationis fuco, non Deum per prophetas, sed idolum Accaron consulenti, mortem immimentem iniquo regi annuntians, omnes prophetas simulacri Baal, qui interpretati accipiuntur sensus humani invidiae avaritiae, ut iam diximus, semper intenti, mucrone corusco, hoc est verbo Dei, ut Helias egregius vates, prostravit et zelo Dei commotus, iniquorum terrae imbres adimens aetherales, ac si fortissimo penurii clustello tribus annis sexque mensibus obseratos, fame siti moribundus in deserto conquestus est: Domine, inquiens, prophetas tuos occiderunt et altaria tua suffoderunt et ego relictus sum solus et quaerunt animam meam? Quis eorum carissimum discipulum terrenis extra solitum ponderibus oneratum, quae ante ea a se magnopere licet rogato ut acciperet despecta fuissent, etsi non perpetua lepra, ut Helisaeus, saltim expulsione multavit? Et quis ex illis puero in vitae desperatione aestuanti atque inproviso super bellico hostium apparatu civitatem, in qua erant, obsidentium tremefacto inter nos, ut ille, animae visus, ferventi exoratione ad Deum facta, ita ut intueri poterit auxiiiarium caelestis exercitus, armatorum curruum ceu equitum ignito vultu fulgentium montem plenum, patefecit, et credere quin fortior fortior esset ad salvandum quam inimici ad pugnandum? Et quis eorum corporis tactu mortui scilicet mundo, viventis autem Deo, alii diverso funcre occubanti procul dubio mortuo Deo, vitiis vero viventi quasi supra dictus proficiet, ita ut statim prosiliens Christo grates pro sanitate agat cunctorum paene mortalium ore desperata? Cuius eorum, carbone ignito de altari forcipe Cherubin advecto, ut peccata sua delerentur humilitate confessionis, labia, ut Esaiae, mundata sunt et efficaci oratione sibi adiuncta pii regis Ezechiae, supplantatione centum octoginta quinque milia exercitus Assyriorum nullo apparente vulneris vestigio angeli manu, ut supra dicti, prostrata sunt ? Quis eorum ob praecepta Dei et minas caelitus datas veritatemque vel non audientibus proferendam squalores pedoresque carcerum, ut momentaneas mortes, ut beatus Ieremias excepit ? Et ne multa: quis eorum, ut magister gentium dixit, errare hi montibus et in speluncis, et in cavernis terrae, lapidari secari, totius mortis genere pro nomine Domini attemptari, sicut sancti prophetae, perpessus est? Sanctus Gildas Sapiens, De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae Source: Migne PL 69.371c-372d

Who among them, longing to die to the world and live for Christ, has cast down, like Samson, such a wealth of feasters praising their gods and extolling their riches, that is, the senses, for as the Apostle says, 'avarice which is the service of idols,' 1 and with the power of two arms has smashed and brought down the two columns, which are understood as the vile pleasures of the soul and the flesh by which the house of every human wickedness in a certain manner is fixed and established? 2 Who among them by prayers and the burnt offering of a suckling lamb, driving away the fear of the Philistines, has, like Samuel, brought on sudden thunder and rain from the clouds, and without flattery set up a new king, and cast away the same when he did not please God, having anointed a better man for the kingdom, he who then coming to bid farewell to the people, standing before them, did so in this way, saying: 'Behold, here I am; speak before the Lord and His anointed: if I have taken anyone's ox or ass, if I have calumniated anyone, if I have oppressed anyone, if I have taken a bribe from anyone's hand.' To which the people gave reply, saying, 'You have not calumniated us, nor oppressed us, nor have you taken a bribe from any hand.' 3 Who among them, burning a hundred proud men by fire from heaven, and protecting fifty humble ones, like Elijah the prophet, without the pretence of flattery, have announced an imminent death to an unrighteous king when he was taking counsel, not of God through His prophet, but of the idol Accaron? He who overthrew with a gleaming sword, that is, the word of God, all the prophets of the idol Baal, who, being interpreted, are understood to be the human passions, as we have already said, ever intent on envy and avarice. He who moved by zeal for God, deprived the land of the wicked of heaven's rain, as if were shut up in a stronghold of want, for three years and six months, and about to die of hunger and thirst in the waste, made lament, saying: 'Lord, they have slain your prophets and thrown down your altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life.' 4 Who among them punished a beloved disciple, burdened beyond his need by the weight of earthly things which he had previously despised, though earnestly entreated to accept them, not by perpetual leprosy, it is true, yet by dismissal, as Elisha? Who among them, in despair of life, excited and trembling at the sudden warlike preparations of the enemies for a city's besieging, has given vision to the soul of a serving boy, so that he could see the mountain full of the heavenly army of allies, and of armed chariots or horsemen flashing with fiery countenances, and believe that God was stronger to save than enemies to fight? Who among them, like him, when dead to the world and yet living to God, has profited another laying in that different death, which is doubtless death to God but living for vice, by bodily contact, so that he should swiftly leap up and give thanks to Christ for a healing despaired of in the reckoning of almost all men? 5 Whom among them, with a fiery coal carried from the altar in the tongs of Cherubim, so that his sins should be blotted out, by humble confession, as Isaiah, have had lips purified, which with the aid of the efficacious prayer of the pious king Hezekiah, utterly overthrew that one hundred and eighty five thousand of the Assyrian army, like the men mentioned above, with no trace of wound, by the hand of the angel? 6 Who among them, like the blessed Jeremiah, because of the commands of God and threats given from heaven, for the offering of truth to men who heard not, suffered the squalor and filth of prisons, as heavy as death? 7 And lest we go on too long, who among them, as the teacher of the Gentiles said, has endured wandering on mountains, in caves and holes of the earth, stoning, cutting, and trial by every kind of death for the Lord's name, like the holy prophets ? 8 Saint Gildas The Wise, On The Destruction and Ruin of Britain 1 Colos 3.5 2 Judges 16.23-30 3 1 Kings 7.8-11, 9.15-10.1, 15.22-16.13, 12.1-5 4 4 Kings 1.9-17, 3 Kings 17.36-40, 1-2, 3 Kings 19.10 5 3 Kings 5, 4 Kings 6.8-18,4.32-37 6 Isaiah 6.6, 37 7 Jerem 201-2, 37.15, 26.1-15 8 Hebr 9.36-3

The Feast Of All Saints

Kalendis Novembris solemnitas omnium sanctorum. Ecce, venerande pater Arne, habes designatam solemnitatem omnium sanctorum, sicut diximus. Quam continue in mente retineas et semper anniversario tempore colere non desistas; adtendens illud et intente considerans, quoniam, si Helias, unus ex illis in vetere testamento, oratione sua, dum voluit, claudere caelum potuit praevaricatoribus et aperire conversis, quanto magis omnes sancti in novo testamento? ubi eis specialiter et patenter claves regni caelestis commissae sunt, et claudere caelum possunt incredulis et aperire credentibus, si intima dilectione honorificantur a fidelibus et coluntur glorificatione eis condigna. Quod ut fieri digne possit a nobis, lumen verum, quod inluminat omnem hominem, Christus Iesus inluminet corda nostra, et pax Dei, quae exsuperat omnem sensum, per intercessionem omnium sanctorum eius, custodiat ea usque in diem aeternitatis. Hanc solemnitatem sanctissimam tribus diebus ieiunando, orando, missas canendo, et elimosinas dando pro invicem sincera devotione precedamus. Alcuinus, Epistola XCII,  Ad Arnonem Archiepiscopum Source: Migne PL 100 296a-b

The Kalends of November is the solemnity of All Saints. See, venerable father Arno, that you have a solemnity established for all the saints, as we have said. Keep it ever in mind and never cease to celebrate it on that date every year; attending to it and intently considering it, seeing that if Elijah, one of those of the Old Testament, with his prayer, as long as he wished, could shut heaven to sinners, and open it to the converted, 1 how much more can all the saints in the New Testament? For to them specially and manifestly have been entrusted the keys of the heavenly kingdom, and they can shut the heavens to unbelievers and open them to believers, if they are honoured with inward devotion by the faithful and are revered with the glorification appropriate to them. And that we may become worthy that this may be done appropriately by us, may the true light that illuminates every man, 2 Jesus Christ, illuminate our hearts, and may the peace of God, which exceeds all understanding, 3 through the intercession of all His saints, guard it until the last day. Let us precede this most holy solemnity by fasting for three days, praying, singing Masses, and giving alms for one another with sincere devotion. Alcuin of York, from Letter 92, To Arno The Archbishop 1 3 Kings 17 2 Jn 1.9 3 Phillip 4.7

Repentance And Perisistance

Achab, rex impiissimus, vineam Nabuthae cruore possedit: et eum Jezabel non tam conjugio sibi, quam crudelitate conjuncta, Eliae increpatione corripitur: 'Haec dicit Dominus: Occidisti et possedisti. Et iterum: In loco in quo linxerunt canes sanguinem Nabuthae, ibi longent sanguinem tuum: et Jezabel canes comedent ante muros Jezrael. Quod cum audisset Achab, scidit vestimenta sua, et posuit saccum super carnem suam, jejunavitque et dormivit in cilicio. Factusque est sermo Domini ad Eliam, dicens: Quoniam reveritus est Achab faciem meam, non inducam malum in diebus ejus. Unum scelus Achab et Jezabel, tamen converso ad poenitentiam Achab, poena differtur in posteros; et Jezabel in scelere perserverans, praesenti judicio condemnatur. Sanctus Hieronymus, ex Epistula CXXII Ad Rusticum Migne PL 22 1043

Ahab, a most impious king, who by blood took possession of the vineyard of Naboth, 1 and Jezebel, who was not so much his yoke-fellow as bound by cruelty, were severely rebuked by Elijah, 'Thus says the Lord, you have killed and you have possessed.' And again: 'In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick up your blood.' 1 And: 'The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.' 2 Which Ahab hearing, rent his garments, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and slept in a hair-shirt. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah saying, 'Because Ahab has turned back to my face, I will not bring on evil in his days.' 3 The sin of Ahab and Jezebel was the same, yet because Ahab turned to penance, his punishment was postponed until his sons, while Jezebel, persevering in her wickedness, received the judgement of condemnation in her days. St Jerome, from Letter 122, To Rusticus 1 3 Kings 21.19 2 3 Kings 21.23 3 3 Kings 21.27-29

Strengthening the Disciples

Λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν ἀληθῶς, εἰσίν τινες τῶν αὐτοῦ ἑστηκότων οἳ οὐ μὴ γεύσωνται θανάτου ἕως ἂν ἴδωσιν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ.  Οὔπω τὴν ἐξ ὕψους δύναμιν ἐσχηκότας τοὺς μαθητὰς εἰκὸς ἦν τάχα που καὶ ἀνθρωπίναις περιπεσεῖν ἀσθενείαις καί τι τοιοῦτον καθ' ἑαυτοὺς ἐννενοηκότας εἰπεῖν· Πῶς ἀρνήσεταί τις ἑαυτόν; ἢ πῶς ἀπολέσας τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν εὑρήσει πάλιν αὐτήν; τί δὲ τοῖς τοῦτο παθοῦσι τὸ ἰσοστατοῦν ἔσται γέρας; ἢ καὶ ποίων ἔσται χαρισμάτων μέτοχος; ἵνα τοίνυν τῶν τοιούτων αὐτοὺς ἀποστήσῃ λογισμῶν καὶ οἷον μεταχαλκεύσῃ πρὸς εὐανδρίαν τῆς ἐσομένης αὐτοῖς εὐκλείας ἐπιθυμίαν ἐντεκών φησι· Λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν· εἰσί τινες τῶν αὐτοῦ ἑστηκότων, οἳ οὐ μὴ γεύσωνται θανάτου ἕως ἂν ἴδωσι τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ. βασιλείαν δὲ θεοῦ λέγει αὐτὴν τὴν θέαν τῆς δόξης, ἐν ᾗ καὶ αὐτὸς ὀφθήσεται κατ' ἐκεῖνο τοῦ καιροῦ, καθ' ὃν ἐπιλάμψει τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς· ἥξει γὰρ ἐν δόξῃ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς καὶ οὐκ ἔν γε μᾶλλον σμικροπρεπείᾳ τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς. πῶς οὖν ἄρα θεωροὺς ἐποιεῖτο τοῦ θαύματος τοὺς λαβόντας τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν; ἄνεισιν ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος τρεῖς ἀπ' αὐτῶν τοὺς ἀπολέκτους ἔχων. Εἶτα μεταπλάττεται πρὸς ἐξαίρετόν τινα καὶ θεοπρεπῆ λαμπρότητα ὥστε καὶ τὸν ἱματισμὸν αὐτοῦ τῇ τοῦ φωτὸς προσβολῇ διαλάμψαι καὶ οἷον ἀπαστράψαι δοκεῖν. Πλὴν Μωυσῆς καὶ Ἠλίας περιεστηκότες τὸν Ἰησοῦν προσελάλουν, φησίν, ἀλλήλοις τὴν ἔξοδον αὐτοῦ, ἣν ἔμελλε πληροῦν ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ, τουτέστι τῆς μετὰ σαρκὸς οἰκονομίας τὸ μυστήριον καὶ τὸ σωτήριον πάθος, τὸ ἐπί γέ φημι τῷ τιμίῳ σταυρῷ· δόξαν γὰρ αὐτὸ καλοῦσιν ἀεί. Καὶ γάρ ἐστιν ἀληθὲς ὅτι ὁ διὰ Μωυσέως νόμος καὶ τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν ὁ λόγος τὸ Χριστοῦ μυστήριον προανέδειξαν, ὁ μὲν ἐν τύποις καὶ σκιαῖς, μονονουχὶ καθάπερ ἐν πίνακι καταγράφων αὐτό, οἱ δὲ πολυτρόπως προηγορευκότες ὡς καὶ ὀφθήσεται κατὰ καιροὺς ἐν εἴδει τῷ καθ' ἡμᾶς καὶ ὅτι τῆς πάντων ἕνεκα σωτηρίας καὶ ζωῆς οὐ παραιτήσεται τὸ παθεῖν τὸν ἐπὶ ξύλου θάνατον. Οὐκοῦν ἡ Μωυσέως καὶ Ἠλίου παράστασις καὶ τὸ προσλαλεῖν ἀλλήλοις αὐτοὺς οἰκονομία τις ἦν εὖ μάλα καταδεικνύουσα δορυφορούμενον μὲν ὑπὸ νόμου καὶ προφητῶν τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ὡς καὶ νόμου καὶ προφητῶν δεσπότην, προκαταδειχθέντα δὲ παρ' αὐτῶν, δι' ὧν ἀλλήλοις συνῳδὰ προεκήρυξαν. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Λούκαν Εὐάγγελιον, Κεφ. Θ'

'Truly I say to you that some standing here will not taste death until they have seen the kingdom of God.' 1 As the disciples had not yet obtained virtue from on high, it was likely that they also stumbled in human weaknesses, and pondering in themselves the sayings they had heard may have said 'How does a man deny himself?' or 'How having lost himself does he find himself again?' And 'What reward will be worthy of those who suffer so? Or 'Of what gifts will they be made partakers?' To rescue them therefore from such unstable thoughts, and, so to speak, to forge them into fortitude by begetting in them a desire for the glory to come, He says, 'I say to you, there are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they have seen the kingdom of God.'  And by the kingdom of God He means the sight of the glory in which He will appear at that time when he shines on those on earth, for He will come in the glory of God the Father, and not in low state as was to us. How, then, did He make those who had received the promise spectators of such a wonder? Going up the mountain He takes with Him three chosen ones, and He is transformed with so surpassing and godlike a brightness, that His garments shine with such light that it seems like  flashes of lightning. And then Moses and Elijah stood at the side of Jesus and spoke with one another about His departure, which He was about to fulfill at Jerusalem, that is, the mystery of the dispensation of the flesh and the passion of salvation, and indeed, I say, about the precious cross which will always be called glorious. For it is indeed true that the law of Moses and the word of the holy Prophets prefigured the mystery of Christ; the first by types and shadows, as in the painting of a picture, while the rest in many ways declared before the events that both in time He would appear in our likeness and for the sake of the salvation and life of all he would not refuse to suffer death on the tree. Therefore the standing of Moses and Elijah beside Him and their talking with one another was a sort of arrangement which well represented our Lord Jesus Christ as being guarded by the Law and the Prophets, and Him as master of the Law and Prophets, foreshown by them by those things which in agreement with one another they had proclaimed. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 9 1 Lk 9.27

Light and Vision

Ὅτι πρὸς σὲ προσεύξομαι Κύριε τὸ πρωὶ εἰσακούσῃ τῆς φωνῆς μου, τὸ πρωὶ παραστήσομαί σοι καὶ ἐπόψομαι. Κατὰ θεωρίαν δέ· ῳ ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης η λιος ἀνέτειλεν ἐν ἀρχῇ νοητῆς ἡμέρας γεγονώς, χαριστήριον αἶνον προφέρων τῷ αἰτίῳ τοῦ φωτισμοῦ Τὸ πρωΐ, ε φη, εἰσακούσῃ τῆς φωνῆς μου· τίνι γὰρ ε δει χάριν ὁμολογῆσαι ὑπὲρ τηλικούτου ἀγαθοῦ η σοί, ω δέσποτα, τῷ ἀνατείλαντί μοι φῶς αι τιόν μοι μεγίστης θεωρίας ὑπάρχον; ἀεὶ γοῦν ε ρως εἰσέρχεται πρὸς ταῖς ὑπαρξάσαις θεωρίαις καὶ ε τι θέλειν βλέπειν τὰ κάλλη τῆς ἀληθείας. παρίσταται τοῦτο καὶ ἐκ τοῦ Καὶ ἐπόψομαι. ὡς γὰρ τὸ ἐπέρχομαι ἀκατάπαυστον πρόσοδον δηλοῖ, ου τω τὸ ̓Επόψομαι συνεχῶς προστιθεμένην κατανόησιν ἐμφαίνει· πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἀεὶ βλέπει ὁ ἐπαγγελίας τυχὼν τῆς Εσται σοι κύριος φῶς αἰώνιον, καὶ Φῶς δικαίοις διὰ παντός; Εστιν δὲ καὶ ἑτέρα γραφὴ ἐχουσα Παραστήσομαί σοι καὶ ἐπόψομαι, ὅπερ οὐ παντὸς λέγειν ἀλλὰ τῶν κατὰ τὸν μέγαν ̓Ηλίαν διὰ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς πολιτείας παρρησίαν λέγειν θαρρούντων Ζῇ Κύριος ῳ παρέστην ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ σήμερον. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος Ε᾽

Because to you I shall pray, O Lord ,in the morning, and you will hear my voice, in the morning I shall stand beside you and I shall see.' 1 On account of contemplation this one to whom the sun of righteousness rises appears in the beginning of the spiritual day, giving thanks to the Creator of light. 'In the morning,' he says,' you will hear my voice,' for to whom should be thanks to have such a good, unless to you, Lord who bring light to me, cause of my great enlightenment? Always therefore He desires to come to those beginning in contemplation and who wish for knowledge of the beauty of truth. This is shown by the use of the words, 'I shall see', for as the use of 'I shall come' exhibits inquietude to approach, so 'I shall see' always means the act of understanding. And why does he not always see, who is worthy of the promise, 'He shall be to you God a light eternal and a righteous light forever'? 2 Another passage may be understood, 'I shall be beside you and I shall see,' which is not given to everyone to speak but he who is like the great Elijah, who by reason of his life and deeds, dared to have the confidence to say, 'The Lord lives, in whose sight today I stand.' 3 Didymus the Blind, Commentary on Psalms, from Psalm 5 1 Ps 5 4-5 2 Is 60.19 3 3 Kings 17.1

Ambiguity and Simplicity

Nolo verborum ambiguitates: nolo mihi dici, quod et aliter possit intelligi. Revelata facie gloriam Domini contemplemur. Claudicabat quondam et Israeliticus populus in utroque pede. Sed Elias, qui interpretatur, fortis Domini: 'Usque quo ait, claudicatis in utroque vestigio? Si Dominus est Deus, ambulate post eum: si autem Baal, sequimini eum.' Et ipse Dominus de Judaeis: 'Filii alieni mentiti sunt mihi: filii alieni inveteraverunt, et claudicaverunt a semitis suis.' Certe si haereseos nulla suspicio est, ut cupio et credo, cur non verbis meis meum sensum loquitur? Quam ille simplicitatem vocat, ego malitiam interpretor. Persuadere mihi vult, quod pure credat; pure ergo et loquatur. Et si quidem unum verbum, vel unus sensus esset ambiguus, si duo, si tres, ignorantiae veniam tribuerem; nec ea quae aut obscura vel dubia sunt, de certis et perspicuius aestimarem. Nunc vero quae ista simplicitas est, quasi super ova et aristas inter theatrales praestigias pendenti gradu incedere: ubique dubium, ubique suspectum. Sanctus Hieronymous, Contra Ioannem Hierosolymitanum, ad Pammachium

I dislike ambiguity in words, I dislike to be told that something is able to  be understood in another way. With face uncovered let us contemplate the glory of the Lord. Once the people of Israel halted between two opinions. But Elijah, whose name interpreted means 'strong one of the Lord,' said, 'How long halt  between two ways? If the Lord be God, go after Him; but if it be Baal, follow him.' 1 And the Lord himself says concerning the Jews, 'The strange children lied to me; the strange children became feeble, and they limped out of their paths.' 2 Certainly if there is no suspicion of heresy, which I desire and believe, why does he not speak out my opinion with my words? He calls it simplicity, I interpret it as cunning. He wishes to persuade me that his belief is pure, let him then speak purely. And indeed if one word or meaning be ambiguous, or two or three, I could grant forgiveness on account of ignorance, nor would I judge things obscure or doubtful by the standard of what is certain and clear. But now this simplicity is like what happens with performers who walk on tiptoe over eggs or standing grain; everywhere there is doubt, everywhere suspicion. Saint Jerome, To Pammachius, Against John of Jerusalem 1 1 Ki 18.21 2 Ps 17.46

Transfiguration and Resurrection

Ἡ ἐν τῷ ὅρει μεταμόρφωσις τοῦ Δεσπότου ὑμῶν καὶ Σωτῆρος, τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἐξανάστασιν ἡμῶν προεδήλου, ἦντινα καὶ φυλάττειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς οἱ θεατι προσετάτοντο μέχρι τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀναστάσεως, ὡς τότε πιστὴν φανησομένην, οἶα τῷ ἔργῳ ὁρωμένην. Ἡ δὲ Μωσέως καὶ Ἡλίου παρουσία, τὴν ζώτων καὶ νεκρῶν ἐμαρτύρησεν αὐτῷ δεσποτείαν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΣΛΘ', Αλφιῳ Πρεσβυτερῳ

The transfiguration of our Lord and Saviour on the mount is a foreshowing of our resurrection from the dead, which those who saw were to keep within themselves until his resurrection, so that the revelation of faith be in such a work seen. And the presence of Moses and Elijah bore witness to the Lord of the living and the dead. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 239, to the Priest Alphius