Monks Warned

Πολλὰς ἐνηχούμενοι περὶ ὑμων καταβοήσεις, πολλας ὑμῖν ἀπαντλοῠμεν καθ' ἡμέραν τὰς παρακλήσεις. Ἄνδρες Νινευῗται ἀναστήσονται ἐν τῇ κρίσει μετὰ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης, καὶ κατακρινοῠσιν αὐτὴν, εἴπεν ὁ Κύριος. Ὅτι οἱ μὲν ἀνήκοοι τοῦ νόμου γεγονότες, τὴν τοῦ προφήτου ἀπειλὴν κατεπλάγησαν, καὶ τύπον καὶ σκιὰν τῆς Δεσποτικῆς ταφῆς ἀκηκοότες, ἔδεισαν πρὸς τὸ τοῦ συμβάντος παράδοξον. Ἡμεῖς δὲ αὐτὸν ἰδόντες τὸν προφητευθέντα, καὶ ψηλαφήσαντες, αγνίομονες μένομεν πρὸς αὐτὸν, καὶ ἀνένδοτοι πρὸς μετάγνωσιν. Μὴ τοίνυν, ἀδελφοὶ, καὶ ἐθνῶν φανῶμεν ἀπιστότεροι, καὶ ὄν ἐκεῖνοι ἔφυγον ὄλεθρον επισπώμενοι. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΝΔ’, Πηλουσιωταις Εἰς Το Κοινοβιον Source: Migne PG 78.285c

It is because many complaints about you have come to us that we daily exhort you with the warning, 'The men of Nineveh will rise up in judgement against this generation and condemn it,' as the Lord says. 1 For they who had hardly even heard of the law were shaken by the threat of the prophet, and having heard of a type and shadow of the Lord's sepulchre they were fearful because of a troubling future. But we who have seen and touched the one prophesised 2 remain opposed to Him, and are inflexible against correction. Do not, brothers, be surpassed by pagans and the faithless who fled destruction. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 154, to the Coenobites of Pelusium 1 Mt 12.41 2 1 Jn 1.1

The Son And The Sun

Habentes ergo tantae spei fiduciam, dilectissimi, in fide qua fundati estis stabiles permanete, ne idem ille temptator, cuius iam a vobis dominationem christus exclusit, aliquibus vos iterum seducat insidiis, et haec ipsa praesentis diei gaudia fallaciae suae arte corrumpat, inludens simplicioribus animis de quorumdam persuasione pestifera, quibus hic dies sollemnitatis nostrae, non tam de nativitate Christi, quam de novi, ut dicunt, solis ortu videatur honorabilis. Quorum corda vastis tenebris obvoluta, et ab omni incremento verae lucis aliena sunt. Trahuntur enim adhuc stultissimis gentilitatis erroribus, et quia supra id quod carnali intuentur aspectu, nequeunt aciem mentis erigere, ministra mundi luminaria divino honore venerantur. Absit ab animis christianis impia superstitio prodigiosum que mendacium. Ultra omnem modum distant a sempiterno temporalia, ab incorporeo corporea, a dominatore subiecta, quae etsi mirandam habent pulchritudinem, adorandam tamen non habent deitatem. Illa ergo virtus, illa sapientia, illa est colenda maiestas, quae universitatem mundi creavit ex nihilo, et in quas voluit formas atque mensuras terrenam caelestem que substantiam omnipotenti ratione produxit. Sol, luna et sidera sint commoda utentibus, sint speciosa cernentibus, sed ita ut de illis gratiae referantur auctori, et adoretur Deus, qui condidit, non creatura, quae servit. Laudate igitur Deum, dilectissimi, in omnibus operibus eius atque iudiciis. Sit in vobis indubitata credulitas virgineae integritatis et partus. Reformationis humanae sacrum divinum que mysterium sancto atque sincero honorate famulatu. Amplectimini Christum in nostra carne nascentem, ut eumdem Deum gloriae videre mereamini in sua maiestate regnantem, qui cum Patre et cum Spiritu Sancto manet in unitate deitatis in saecula saeculorum. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XXII, In Nativitate Domini Source: Migne PL 54.198b-199a

Having therefore so confident a hope, dearly beloved, remain firm in the faith in which you have been established, lest that same tempter whose domination over you Christ has already cast out, seduce you again with any of his wiles and corrupt even the joys of the present day by his deceitful art, misleading simpler souls with the pestilential idea of some to whom this day of our solemnity seems to derive its honour, not so much from the nativity of Christ, but, as they say, from the rising of the new sun. Such hearts are wrapped in great darkness and are estranged from any increase in the perception of the true light. For they are still drawn away by the most foolish errors of paganism, and because they cannot lift the acuity of the mind above that which they see with carnal sight, they venerate with divine honours the luminaries that minister to the world. May wicked superstitions and egregious lies be far from Christian souls. Temporal things are separated from the Eternal by all measure, and likewise corporeal things from the incorporeal, and things governed from Him who governs, which even if they may possess an admirable beauty, yet have no divinity to be adored. That power, then, that wisdom, that majesty, is to be adored which created everything out of nothing and by His almighty reason made into what forms and dimensions He willed the substance of the earth and sky. The sun and the moon and the stars may be useful to us, they may be most fair to look on, but only if we give thanks to their Maker for them and worship God who made them, not the created thing which serves. Thus praise God, dearly beloved, in all His works and judgments. May there be in you an undoubting belief in the Virgin's integrity and the birth. Honour the sacred and Divine mystery of man's restoration with holy and sincere service. Embrace Christ born in our flesh, that you may merit to see the same God of glory reigning in His majesty, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit remains in the unity of the Godhead for ever and ever. Amen. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 22, On The Nativity Of The Lord

Winter's End

Ἀποκρίνεται, φησίν, ὁ ἀδελφιδός μου καὶ λέγει μοι· Ἀνάστα, ἐλθέ, ἡ πλησίον μου, καλή μου, περιστερά μου, ὅτι ἰδοὺ ὁ χειμὼν παρῆλθεν, ὁ ὑετὸς ἀπῆλθεν, ἐπορεύθη ἑαυτῷ, τὰ ἄνθη ὤφθη ἐν τῇ γῇ, ὁ καιρὸς τῆς τομῆς ἔφθακεν, φωνὴ τοῦ τρυγόνος ἠκούσθη ἐν τῇ γῇ ἡμῶν, ἡ συκῆ ἐξήνεγκε τοὺς ὀλύνθους αὐτῆς, αἱ ἄμπελοι κυπρίζουσιν, ἔδωκαν ὀσμήν. Ὢ πῶς γλαφυρῶς ἡμῖν ὑπογράφει τὴν τοῦ ἔαρος χάριν ὁ πλάστης τοῦ ἔαρος, πρὸς ὅν φησιν ὁ Δαβὶδ ὅτι Θέρος καὶ ἔαρ σὺ ἔπλασας αὐτά. Λύει τὴν τοῦ χειμῶνος κατήφειαν παρεληλυθέναι λέγων τὴν χειμερινὴν σκυθρωπότητα καὶ τὴν τῶν ὑετῶν ἀηδίαν· λειμῶνας δείκνυσι βρύοντας καὶ ὡραϊζομένους τοῖς ἄνθεσιν, τὰ δὲ ἄνθη ἐν ἀκμῇ εἶναι λέγει καὶ πρὸς τομὴν ἐπιτηδείως ἔχειν, ὡς εἰς στεφάνου πλοκὴν ἢ μύρου κατασκευὴν ἀναιρεῖσθαι πάντως τοὺς ἀνθολόγους. Ἡδύνει δὲ τὸν καιρὸν ὁ λόγος καὶ ταῖς τῶν ὀρνίθων ᾠδαῖς κατὰ τὰ ἄλση περιηχούμενον τῆς ἡδείας τῶν τρυγόνων φωνῆς ταῖς ἀκοαῖς προσηχούσης, συκῆν δὲ λέγει καὶ ἄμπελον τὴν ἀπ' αὐτῶν γενησομένην τρυφὴν τοῖς φαινομένοις προοιμιάζεσθαι, τὴν μὲν τοὺς ὀλύνθους ἐκφέρουσαν, τὴν δὲ τῷ ἄνθει κυπρίζουσαν, ὡς κατατρυφᾶν τῆς εὐωδίας τὴν ὄσφρησιν. Oὕτω μὲν οὖν ἁβρύνεται τῇ ὑπογραφῇ τῆς ἐαρινῆς ὥρας ὁ λόγος τό τε σκυθρωπὸν ἀποβάλλων καὶ τοῖς γλυκυτέροις ἐμφιλοχωρῶν διηγήμασιν. Χρὴ δέ, οἶμαι, μὴ παραμεῖναι τὴν διάνοιαν τῇ τῶν γλαφυρῶν τούτων ὑπογραφῇ, ἀλλὰ δι' αὐτῶν ὁδηγηθῆναι πρὸς τὰ δηλούμενα διὰ τῶν λογίων τούτων μυστήρια, ὥστε ἀνακαλυφθῆναι τὸν θησαυρὸν τῶν νοημάτων τὸν ἐγκεκρυμμένον τοῖς ῥήμασιν. Tί οὖν ἐστιν ὅ φαμεν; πεπήγει ποτὲ τῷ τῆς εἰδωλολατρίας κρυμῷ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον τῆς εὐκινήτου φύσεως τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀκινήτων σεβασμάτων φύσιν μεταβληθείσης· Ὅμοιοι γάρ φησιν αὐτοῖς γένοιντο οἱ ποιοῦντες αὐτὰ καὶ πάντες οἱ πεποιθότες ἐπ' αὐτοῖς. Kαὶ τὸ εἰκὸς ἐν τοῖς γινομένοις ἦν· ὥσπερ γὰρ οἱ πρὸς τὴν ἀληθινὴν θεότητα βλέποντες ἐφ' ἑαυτῶν δέχονται τὰ τῆς θείας φύσεως ἰδιώματα, οὕτως ὁ τῇ ματαιότητι τῶν εἰδώλων προσανέχων μετεστοιχειοῦτο πρὸς τὸ βλεπόμενον λίθος ἐξ ἀνθρώπου γινόμενος. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἀπολιθωθεῖσα διὰ τῆς τῶν εἰδώλων λατρείας ἀκίνητος ἦν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἡ φύσις ἐμπεπηγυῖα τῷ τῆς εἰδωλολατρίας κρυμῷ, τούτου χάριν ἐπανατέλλει τῷ χαλεπῷ τούτῳ χειμῶνι ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιος καὶ ἔαρ ποιεῖ τοῦ μεσημβρινοῦ πνεύματος, τοῦ τὴν τοιαύτην διαλύοντος πῆξιν, ἅμα τῇ ἀνατολῇ τῶν ἀκτίνων συνεπιθάλποντος ἅπαν τὸ ὑποκείμενον, ἵνα διαθερμανθεὶς τῷ πνεύματι ὁ διὰ τοῦ κρύους λιθωθεὶς ἄνθρωπος καὶ ὑποθαλφθεὶς τῇ ἀκτῖνι τοῦ λόγου πάλιν γένηται ὕδωρ ἁλλόμενον εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον· Πνεύσεται γὰρ τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ῥυήσεται ὕδατα. Στρεφομένης τῆς πέτρας εἰς λίμνας ὑδάτων καὶ τῆς ἀκροτόμου εἰς πηγὰς ὑδάτων. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων Ὁμιλία E' Source: Migne PG 44.864d-65a

My love answered and said to me: 'Rise up, come, my dear , my fair one, my dove, behold, the winter has passed, the rains have gone and departed, the flowers appear on the earth, and the time of cutting has come, the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land, the fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines blossom, giving off their scents.' 1 How elegantly the Creator of spring describes to us the grace of spring, concerning which David says. 'Summer and spring, you had shaped them.' 2 The gloom of winter passes away, meaning that the troubles of winter have passed away and the vexations of the rains. He reveals the meadows teeming and adorned with flowers, and he speaks of flowers at their fairest, which are now most suitable for cutting, to be taken and arranged for a garland or for the making of scents. This passage delights in the season, the birds singing in groves, and the sweet voice of the turtle dove resounding in the ears, and the figs, he says, and the vines, which from themselves birth the signs of future delights, for one puts forth little figs, the other buds with flowers, and the nose perceives the fair aromas. Thus the passage delights in describing spring time, and casts away grief with the telling of sweet joys. But I think we must not linger on the thought of these delightful descriptions, but by them be led to those mysteries which this speech signifies, that the treasury of the understanding be opened for what is hidden by these words. What is it, then, that we should say about this? When the chill of idolatry froze the human race, the lively nature of man was turned to the cult of immobile things. As it says 'They shall be like those things which they make and all who trust in them.' 3 And it was fitting that this be so. For as the true Divinity is seen by those who have received the qualities of the Divine nature, so he who attended to the vanity of idols was transformed into what he saw, as a stone from a man. Since, then, he was petrified by the worship of idols, the immobile nature froze the better in the frigidity of idolatry. Because of this, in the bitterness of this winter, the sun of righteousness arose, and spring was fashioned, the southern wind melted the ice, and with its rising whatever was cast down was warmed up by the rays of the word, so that man who was frozen like a stone was warmed by the spirit, and again the waters leaped up to eternal life. 4 It says: 'He breathed out His spirit and the waters flowed,' 5 and 'Who turned the stone into a lake of water, and the rock into a spring of water.' 6 Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 5 1 Song 2.10-13 2 Ps 73.17 3 Ps 113.8 4 Jn 4.14 5 Ps 147.18 6 Ps 113.8

A Tale Of Two Dogs

Λέγεις ἀκηκοέναι Ἕλλνος ἁμαρτωλοῦ εἰπόντος, ὅτι Οὐδεαν μου διαφέρεις κἂν Χριστιανὸς ᾖς, ἁμαρτψωλὸς γὰρ καὶ σύ. Εἰπὲ τοίνυν πρὸς αὐτὸν τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην· Δύο κύνας τις οἰκοδεσπότης ἐκέκτητο, καὶ τὸν μὲν λυττήσαντα καὶ τὸν δεσπότην αὐτὸν σπαράξαι τολμήσαντα, ἀποτυμαπανισθῆναι προσέταξεν, τὸν δὲ ἀγαπῶντα, τὸν κύριον, καὶ περιγλίχοντα τῇ στοργῇ τοὺς πόδας τοῦ δεσπότου διὰ παντὸς, περιποιεῖται, καὶ τρέφει, καὶ εκσώζει. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡϟΗ' Τρυφωνι Ἀρχιτεκτονι Source: Migne PG 79.157a

You say that you've heard a Gentile sinner say, 'There is no difference between me and you when you are a sinner, even if you a Christian.' Tell him this parable: A master of a house once had two dogs, one was wild and was always trying to bite his master, and he commanded that this one be destroyed, the other loved his master and ever in affection followed at his feet through all things, and this one the master kept safe and fed and preserved. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 198 To Trypho the Architect

The Camel And The Rich Man

Dic mihi, quid est hoc quod dixit Dominus in Evangelio: Facilius est camelum per foramen acus transire, quam divitem in regnum Dei introire? Respondit: Quid per camelum, nisi gentiles homines significat? Quia antequam Christus veniret, tortuosi, et gembrosi erant, idola adorando, vel colendo. Quid per illud foramen, nisi incarnato Christi in utero sanctae Mariae describitur? Quid per illum divitem, nisi Judaei, qui de legis littera se divites sperabant? Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, De Veteri et Novo Testamento Quaestiones, Quaestio XXXVI Source: Migne PL 83.206a-b

Tell me, what is this which the Lord said in the Gospel: 'Easier it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven?' 1 Answer: Why a camel, unless it signifies the Gentiles? Because before Christ came they were twisted and deformed, adoring and worshipping idols. And why through that 'eye' unless it is the incarnation of Christ in the womb of Mary that is described? And why that rich man, unless the Jews, who by the letter of the law hoped to make themselves wealthy? Saint Isidore of Seville, Questions on the Old and New Testaments, from Question 36 1 Mt 19.24, Mk 10.25, Lk 18.25

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

Refusing The Eucharist

Auxit autem procellam huiusce perturbationis etiam mors Sabercti regis Orientalium Saxonum, qui ubi regna perennia petens tres suos filios, qui pagani perduraverant, regni temporalis heredes reliquit, coeperunt illi mox idolatriae, quam, vivente eo, aliquantulum intermisisse videbantur, palam servire, subiectisque populis idola colendi liberam dare licentiam. Cumque viderent pontificem, celebratis in ecclesia missarum sollemniis, eucharistiam populo dare, dicebant, ut vulgo fertur, ad eum barbara inflati stultitia: Quare non et nobis porrigis panem nitidum, quem et patri nostro Saba, sic namque eum appellare consuerant, dabas, et populo adhuc dare in ecclesia non desistis? Quibus ille respondebat: Si vultis ablui fonte illo salutari, quo pater vester ablutus est, potestis etiam panis sancti, cui ille participabat, esse participes; sin autem lavacrum vitae contemnitis, nullatenus valetis panem vitae percipere. At illi: Nolumus, inquiunt, fontem illum intrare, quia nec opus illo nos habere novimus, sed tamen pane illo refici volumus. Cumque diligenter ac saepe ab illo essent admoniti nequaquam ita fieri posse, ut absque purgatione sacrosancta quis oblationi sacrosanctae communicaret, ad ultimum furore commoti aiebant: Si non vis adsentire nobis in tam facili causa, quam petimus, non poteris iam in nostra provincia demorari. Et expulerunt eum, ac de suo regno cum suis abire iusserunt. Sancta Beda, Historiam Ecclesiasticam Gentis Anglorum, Liber II, Cap V Source: Migne PL 95.90b-c

The storm of this disturbance grew with the death of Sabert, king of the East Saxons, who seeking the eternal kingdom left to his three sons, still pagans, the inheritance of his temporal kingdom, and they immediately began openly to give themselves up to idolatry, which while he lived they had seemed somewhat to abandon, and they granted free licence to their subjects to serve idols. And when they saw the bishop, while he was celebrating Mass in the church, give the Eucharist to the people, puffed up with barbarous folly as they were, they said to him, as it is commonly reported, 'Why do you not give to us also that white bread, which you used to give to our father Saba,' for so they were accustomed to call him, 'and which you do not stop giving to the people in the church?' To which he answered, 'If you will be washed in that font of salvation, in which your father was washed, you may also have the holy Bread of which he partook; but if you scorn the water of life, you can in no way receive the bread of life.' They said to him, 'We will not enter into that font, because we know that we have no need of it, and yet we wish to be refreshed by that bread.' And when they were earnestly and frequently admonished by him that this could by no means be done, that no one without holy cleansing could receive the sacred oblation, at last, shaking with rage they said, 'If you will not agree with us in so trivial a matter concerning what we want, you shall not stay in our province any longer.' And they drove him out and commanded him and his associates to leave their kingdom. Saint Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book 2, Chap 5

Healing And Salvation

Succedit deinde in hoc puero post paralysis sanitatem curationi populi de monte descendentis, salus gentium. Jacebat enim puer dissolutus in domo humili, corruptibili, et ingressu ejus cujus tamen egens erat, Salvatoris indigna. Et tribunus scit puerum verbo posse sanarit quia salus gentium omnis ex fide est, et in praeceptis Domini vita est universorum. Igitur jacentes in saeculo, et peccatorum morbis dissolutae gentes existimandae sunt: omnibus undique artibus fluidis, et ad consistendi officium ingrediendique corruptis. Quarum salutis sacramentum in tribuni puero expletur, non tamen ingressuro domum Christo. Licet enim in saeculo demoratus sit, vitia tamen saeculi et peccata non adiit. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, In Evangelium Matthaei Commentarius, Cap VII Source: Migne PG 9.955b-c

Then after coming down from the mount there occurs the curing of the paralytic servant, 1 the salvation of the nations. For the servant was lying in a base and corrupted house and so unworthy of the entry of the Saviour of which he was so much in need. But the tribune knows that the servant will be healed by a word because the salvation of all the nations is by faith, and life for all peoples is found in the teaching of the Lord. Thus should the nations should be reckoned as those lying in the world and undone with the sickness of sin, all their limbs feeble and incapable of entering into and standing fast in what they should. The mystery of their salvation is fulfilled in the servant of the tribune, even though Christ does not go into the house. For although He sojourned in this world, He did not enter into worldly vices and sins.   Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7 1 Mt 8.5-6

Poets And Heaven

Καὶ ποιηταὶ μὲν καὶ φιλὸσοφοι οὐκ ἔδοξαν ἄθεοι, ἐπιστήσαντες περὶ Θεοῦ. Ὁ μεν Εὐριπίδης ἑπὶ μὲν τῶν κατὰ κοινὴν πρόληψιν ἀνεπιστημόνως ὀνομαζομένων Θεῶν διαπορῶν· Ὤφειλε δ' εἴπερ ἔστ' ἐν οὐρανῳ Ζεὺς, μὴ τὸν αὐτὸν δυστυχῆ καθιστάναι. Ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ κατ' ἐπιστήμην νοητοῦ, ὡς ἐκεῖνος δογματίζων· Ὀρας τὸν ὑψοῦ τόνδ ἄπειρον αἰθέρα, Καὶ γῆν πέριξ ἔχονθ' ὑγραῖς ἐν ἀγκάλαις; Τοῦτον νόμιζε Ζῆνα, τόνδ' ἡγου θεόν. Τῶν μὲν γὰρ οὕτε τὰς οὐσίας, αἵς ἐπικατηγορεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνημα συμβέβηκεν, ὑποκειμένας ἑώρα. Ζῆνα γὰρ ὅστις ἐστὶ Ζεὺς, οὐκ οἴδα πλὴν λόγῳ. οὔτε τὰ ὀνοματα καθ' ὑποκειμένων κατηγορεῖσθαι πραγμάτων· ὦν γὰρ αἱ οὐσίαι οὐχ ὑπόκεινται, τί πλέον αὐτοῖς τῶν ὀνομάτων; Τὸν δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων ὄψει τῶν ἀδήλων νοῶν  τὰ φαινόμενα, ἀέρος, αἰθέρος, γῆς. Οὖ οὖν τὰ ποιήματα, καὶ ὑφ οὖ τῷ πνεύματι ἡνιοχεῖται, τοῦτον κατελαμβάνετο εἶναι Θεὸν, συνᾴδοντος τούτῳ καὶ Σοφοκλέους, Εἰς ταῖς ἀληθείαισιν, εἶς ἐστιν Θεὸς. Ὅς οὐρανόν τ' ἔτευξε καὶ γαῖαν μακρὰν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ φύσιν τοῦ κάλλους τοῦ ἐκείνου πληρουμένην, ἐκάτερα, καὶ ποῦ δεῖ εἶναι τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ὅτι ἕνα δεῖ εἶναι διδάσκων. Ἄθηναγορος Πρεσβεια Περὶ Χριστιανων Source: Migne PG 6.900a-901a

And neither poets nor philosophers have been deemed atheists for wondering about God. Euripides, speaking of those who, according to popular preconception, are ignorantly called gods, expresses this doubt:    'But Zeus, although he is in heaven,    Should not impose ill on him.' But speaking of Him who is apprehended by the understanding, the same poet determines:   'See Him on high who boundless air And earth embraces with moist arms? Think Him Zeus and hold him as God.' For he did not see the substance of these beings, to which the name is usually given. 'Who Zeus is I know not, but by report.' Nor were the names given to realities that actually exist, for what use are names for things which have no existence? But through His works he saw Him, considering things unseen by the things which are manifest in air, in ether, and on earth. Thus he grasped as God Him from whom are all things made, and by whose Spirit they are governed, with which Sophocles agrees: 'There is but one God in truth Who made heaven and the broad earth,' Which refers to the nature of God, the beauty of which fills both, and how God must be, and that He must be One. Athenagoras, Plea For The Christians

Bad Books

Τίς σε οὐ κωμῳδήσει; τίς σε οὐκ ἐλεήσει, ἐν γαλήνῃ φιλοσοφίας τῶν τοῦ Κυρίου μαθητῶν καθεζόμενον, καὶ θόρυβον καὶ βρασμὸν Ἑλληνικῶν  συγγραφέων καὶ ποιητῶν ἐφελκόμενον; Τί γὰρ, εἰπε μοι, παρ' ἐκείνοις τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς προτισμότερον; Τί δὲ οὐ ψεύδους γέμει καὶ γέλωτος, ὦν ἐκεινοι σπουδάζουσιν; Οὐχ αἱ θεότητες ἐκ παθῶν; Οὐχ αἱ ανδρεῖαι ὑπὲρ παθῶν; Οὐχ οἱ ἀγῶνες ὑπὲρ παθῶν; Φεῦγε τοίνυν καὶ τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν τῆς αἰσχρότητος. Δεινῶς γὰρ οἶδεν ἀναστομοῦν τοὺς τῶν τραυμάτων συνουλώσαντας μώλωπας· μήποτε ὑποστρεψῃ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πονηρίας σφοδρότερον, καὶ χείρονά σοι τὴν ἥτταν τῆς προτέρας ἀγνοίας ἤ ῥᾳθυμίας ἐργάσηται. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΞΓ' Θαλελαιῳ Μονακῳ Source: Migne PG 78.224c

Who will not mark you as a comic figure? Who will not have you as a subject of tragedy, you who may sit in the peace of a disciple of the philosophy of Christ, yet you drag yourself off into the clamour and tumults of pagan tales and poetry? Why, tell me, do you prefer them to our works? Because there is no deceit and laughter on which they are so keen? Do Divine things come from depraved passions? Does fortitude over passion? Do struggles over passion? Since fearfully over the open wound the hard scab has already formed, flee your shameful reading, lest with greater vehemence the wicked spirit bear down on you, and on account of your prior ignorance and neglect, you be set to work on something worse and more wicked. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 63, To Thalelaios the Monk

Prayer and Direction

Εἰ δὲ ἡ φωνὴ καὶ ἡ λεξις τῆς νοήσεως χάριν δέδονται ἡμϊν, πῶς οὐχὶ αὐτῆς τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τοῦ νοῦ ἐπακούει ὁ Θεὸς, ὅπου γε ἥδη ψυχὴ ψυχῆς, καὶ νοῦς νοὸς ἐπαῖει; Ὅθεν τὰς πολυφώνους γλώσσας οὐκ ἀναμένει ὁ Θεὸς, καθάπερ οἱ παρὰ ἀνθρώπων ἑρμηνεῖς, ἀλλ' ἀπαξαπλῶς ἀπάντων γνωρίζει τὰς νοήσεις· καὶ ὅπερ ἡμῖν ἡ φωνὴ συμαίνει, τοῦτο τῷ Θεῷ ἡ ἔννοια ἡμῶν λαλεῖ, ἥν καὶ πρὸ τῆς δημιουργίας εἰς νόησιν ἤξουσαν ἠπίστατο. Ἔξεστιν οὖν μηδὲ φωνῇ τὴν εὐχὴν παραπέμπειν, συντείνοντα, μόνον δ' ἔνδοθεν τὸ πνευματικὸν πᾶν εἰς φωνὴν τὴν νοητὴν, κατὰ τὴν ἀπερίσπαστον πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐπιστροφήν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ γενεθλίου ἡμέρας εἰκὼν ἡ ἀνατολὴ, κὰκεῖθεν τὸ φῶς αὔξεται ἐκ σκότους λάμψαν τὸ πρῶτον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοϊς ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ καλινδουμένοις ἀνέτειλε γνώσεως ἀληθείας ἡμέρα κατὰ λόγον τοῦ ἡλίου, πρὸς τὴν ἑωθινὴν ἀνατολὴν αἱ εὐχαί. Ὅθεν καὶ τὰ παλαίτατα τῶν ἱερῶν πρὸς δύσιν ἔβλεπεν· ἵνα οἱ ἀπαντιπρόσωπον τῶν ἀγαλμάτων ἱστάμενοι πρὸς ἀνατολὴν τρέπεσθαι διδάσκωνται. Κατευθυνθήτω ἡ προσευχή μου ὡς θυμίαμα ἐνώπιόν σου· ἔπαρσις τῶν χειρῶν μου θυσια ἑσπερινὴ, οἱ Ψαλμοὶ λέγουσι. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Στρωματεων, Λόγος Ἑβδομος, Κεφ Ζ'

If voice and expression for the sake of understanding are given us, how can God not hear the soul itself, and the mind, since assuredly soul hears soul, and mind, mind? Whence God does not wait for loquacious tongues, as interpreters among men do, but He has knowledge of the thoughts of all, and what the voice intimates to us our thought speaks to God, which even before creation He knew would come into our mind. Prayer, then, may be sent forth without the voice, by focusing the whole spiritual nature within on the voice of the mind for undisturbed turning towards God. And since the dawn is an image of the day of birth, and from there the light which has shone at first from the darkness grows, there has also dawned on those wallowing in ignorance a day of the knowledge of truth, for by reason of the sun, prayers are made looking towards the dawn in the east. Whence also the most ancient temples' entrances looked towards the west, that people might be taught to turn to the east when facing the images. 'Let my prayer be directed before You as incense, the uplifting of my hands as the evening sacrifice,' say the Psalms. 1 Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, Book 7, Ch 7 1 Ps 140.2

The Old and the New

Τὰς Ἐλλήνων Θεοποιίας, καὶ ἂς καλοῦσι θεογονίας, Ὀρφεύς τε καὶ Ὅμηερος καὶ Ἡσίοδος, καὶ ὅσοι κατ' ἐκείνους ἐδίδαξαν, πολλὰς καὶ βίβλους καὶ δόξας συνείραντες, Τὴν ἡμετέραν δὲ θρησκείαν δύο πυκταὶ διδάξουσιν, ἂς ἐπέμψαμεν, ὦν ἡ μὲν Πρεσβυτέρα, ἡ δὲ Νέα Διαθήκη προσαγορεύεται. Εἰ δὲ ἀληθεύουσιν αὖται μᾶλλον ἐκείνων καὶ τοῖς ὀνόμασι καὶ τοῖς πράγμασιν, εὑρήσειας, πέπεισμαι, καὶ κρατήσειας τί ἄμεινον. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΚΑ', Ἀμμωνιῳ Σκολαστικῳ

Of the deeds of the Gods of the the Gentiles and those things which they call theogonies, Orpheus and Homer and Hesiod and many others like them have spoken, in many books and collections of compact sayings. Our religion has two books of teachings, which we send to you, one which is named the Old and the other the New Testament. Whether these with names and deeds incline more to truth you may discover. I am persuaded that you'll hold fast to what is better. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 21, to the Scholar Ammonius

A Useful Infidel

Πᾶσαι αἱ θεῖαι Βίβλοι τῆς Παλαιᾶς Διαθήκης τῇ Ἐβραίων γλώττῃ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἧσαν συντεθειμέναι, καὶ τοῦτο πάντες ἄν ἡμῖν συνομολογήσαιεν. Οὐ πρὸ πολλῶν δὲ ἐτῶν τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας βασιλεύς τις Πτολεμαῖος περὶ τὴν τῶν βιβλίων συναγωγὴν πολλήν τινα σπουδὴν ποινσάμενος, καὶ ταύτας τὰς βίβλους συναγαγεῖν. Μεταπεμψάμενος οὖν τινας τῶν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις Ἰουδαίωμ, μεταβαλεῖν εἰς τὴν Ἡλλάδα γλῶτταν προσέταξε· καὶ δὴ τοῦτο εἰς ἔργον αὐτῷ ἐξενήνεχται. Ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ τοῦτο τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκονομίας ἔργον, ὥστε μὴ μόνον τοὺς τὴν Ἑβραίων γλῶτταν ἠσκημένους, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντας τοὺς τὴν οἰκουμένην οἰκοῦντας τὴν ἐξ αὐτῶν ὠφέλειαν καρπώσασθαι. καὶ τὸ δὴ θαυμαστὸν καὶ παράδοξον, ὁτι οὐ τῶν τὰ Ἰουδαῖκὰ φρονούντων τις τὴν σπουδὴν ταύτην ἐποιήσατο, ἀλλ' ἀνὴρ τοῖς εἰδώλοις προστετηκὼ, καὶ ἀπεναντίας τῇ θρησκείᾳ διακείμενος. Τοιαῦτα γάρ ἐστιν ἄπαντα τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ Δεσπότου τοῦ ἡμετέρου οἰκονομούμενα· αἐὶ διὰ τῶν ἐναντίων αὔξει τὰ τῆς ἀληθείας προστὰγματα. Ὁμῖλία Δ'  Εἰς Την Γενεσιν, Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος

All the Divine Books of the Old Testament were from the beginning composed in the Hebrew tongue, and to this everyone agrees. Now not many years before advent of Christ a certain King Ptolemy was an eager collector of books, having many diverse volumes and he thought that these books also were worthy collecting. And so he sent to the Jews of Jerusalem that they translate them into the Greek tongue and it was done and completed. And this is a work of the Divine Dispensation, that not only those skilled in the Hebrew tongue but even all the inhabitants of the earth may read these texts. And how wonderful and glorious it is that he who did so was not of the religion of the Jews but a follower of the cult of the idols and opposed to them in thought. But all things have been disposed by our Lord so that even through opposition the teaching of truth grows. From The Fourth Homily on Genesis, Saint John Chrysostom

Against Astrology

Sed quolibet modo superstitionis haec ab hominibus nuncupentur, sunt tamen sidera quae Deus in mundi principio condidit, ac certo motu distinguere tempora ordinavit. Horum igitur signorum observationes, vel geneses, vel cetera superstitiosa, quae se ad cognitionem siderum coniungunt, id est ad notitiam fatorum, et fidei nostrae sine dubitatione contraria sunt, sic ignorari debent a Christianis, ut nec scripta esse videantur. Sed nonnulli siderum pulcritudine et claritate perlecti in lapsus stellarum caecatis mentibus conruerunt, ita ut per subputationes noxias, quae mathesis dicitur, eventus rerum praescire posse conentur: quos non solum Christianae religionis doctores, sed etiam gentilium Plato, Aristoteles, atque alii rerum veritate conmoti concordi sententia damnaverunt, dicentes confusionem rerum potius de tali persuasione generari. Nam sicut genus humanum ad varios actus nascendi necessitate premerentur, cur aut laudem mereantur boni aut mali legum percipiant ultionem? Et quamvis ipsi non fuerint caelesti sapientiae dediti, veritatis tamen testimonio errores eorum merito perculerunt. Sanctus Isidorus Hispalensis, Etymologiae, Liber III, Caput LXXI Source: Migne PL 82.182c-184a

But by whatever type of superstition the stars were named by men, they were established by God in the beginning of the world, and He ordained that their particular motion distinguish the seasons. Therefore observation of the constellations, or horoscopes, or other superstitions that are attached to the study of the stars, that is, for the knowledge of fate, are without doubt contrary to our faith and should be ignored by Christians, indeed as if it were that they had never been written about. Yet some lured by the beauty and brightness of the constellations, with minds so blinded, have raced into error about the stars, so that through noxious computations, which is called astrology, they try to foresee events. And not only those learned in the Christian religion but even the pagan Plato and Aristotle and others, in harmony of thought, were moved by the truth of things to condemn this, saying that such an idea caused a confusion of things. For if the human species is compelled to various acts by the necessities of birth, then why should the good merit praise and why should the wicked receive the punishment of the laws? Thus though those pagan wise men were not devoted to heavenly matters, they rightly threw down these errors by their testimony of truth. Saint Isidore of Seville, The Etymologies, Book 3, Chapter 71