The King And The Star

Kαὶ πέμψας αὐτοὺς εἰς Βηθλέεμ εἶπεν, πορευθέντες ἐξετάσατε ἀκριβῶς περὶ τοῦ παιδίου Οὐκ εἶπε περὶ τοῦ βασιλέως, ἀλλὰ περὶ τοῦ παιδίου· οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ ὄνομα ἀνέχεται· ὅθεν δεικνύει ὅτι μαίνεται κατ' αὐτοῦ. Ἐπὰν δὲ εὕρητε ἀπαγγείλατέ μοι, ὅπως κἀγὼ ἐλθὼν προσκυνήσω αὐτῷ. Oἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπορεύθησαν. Ἂδολι γὰρ ὄντες αὐτοὶ, ἐνόμιζον κάκεῖνον ἀδόλως λέγειν. Kαὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ ἀστὴρ ὃν εἶδον ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ προῆγεν αὐτοὺς... Ἀπεκρύβη πρὸς μικρὸν ὁ αστὴρ οἰκονομικῶς, ἵνα ἐρωτήσωσιν αὐτοὶ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους, καὶ ταραχθῇ ὁ Ἠρώδης, καὶ οὕτω περιφανεστέρα γένηται ἡ ἀλήθεια. Ἐξελθοῦσαι δὲ αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰερουσαλὴμ, πάλιν ἑφάνη, χειραγωγῶν αὐτούς. Ὅθεν δῆλον ὅτι θεία δύναμις ἤν ὁ ἀστήρ. Ἕως ἐλθὼν ἐστάθη ἐπάνω οὗ ἦν τὸ παιδίον. Καὶ τοῦτο ξένον. Κατέβη γὰρ ὁ ἀστὴρ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕψους, καὶ προσγειστερος γενόμενος, ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς τὸν τόπον. Εἰ γὰρ ἐξ ὕψους αὐτοῖς ἐφαίνετο, πῶς ἂν ἔμελλον ἰδικῶς γνωρίσαι τὸν τόπον ἔνθα ἤν ὁ Χριστός; Οἱ γὰρ ἀστέρες πολὺν τόπον περιλαμβάνουσιν. Ὅθεν καὶ σὺ ἐπάνω τῆς σῆς οἰκίας βλέπεις τὴν σελήνην τυχὸν, κὰγὼ δοκῶ ταύτην ἀνωτέρω εἷναι τῆς ἐμῆς οἰκίας μόνης. Καὶ πάντες ἁπλῶς, δοκοῦσιν ἔκαστος ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ μόνου ἴστασθαι τὴν σελήνην ἢ ἄλλον ἀστέρα. Κὰκεῖνος οὖν ὁ ἀστὴρ οὐκ ἂν ἔδειξε τὸν Χριστὸν, εἰ μὴ συγκατέβη, καὶ μονοουχὶ ἐπάνω τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ παιδίου ἔστη. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ B' Source: Migne PG 123.165a-c

And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, 'Go and carefully enquire about the child.' 1 He did not say 'about the king,' for he was not able suffer the name, but 'about the child,' showing how greatly he was maddened against Him. 'And when you find him, announce it to me, so that even I may go and adore him.' And having heard the king they went off. They who were without cunning, thought he spoke without cunning. And behold the star which they had seen in the east, went before them... It was hidden for a little while by a singular dispensation, so that they would question the Jews and trouble Herod, and thus the truth was made more manifest. Then when they left Jerusalem, again it appeared and led them. Whence it is manifest that the star was a Divine work. ...until it came and stood over the place where the child was. And this is unique. For the star descended from its height and came nearer the earth, and showed a place to them. If it had shown from its height, how could they have been certain of the place where Christ was? They knew much of the ways of the stars. Whence you may perhaps see the moon over your house, and I will see the same moon over my house, and that moon and the other stars appear to stand only over the house of each one of us. Whence that star would not have shown Christ unless it came down, and all but on the head of the child. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 2 1 Mt 2.8

A Strange Star

Τὸ ἐν τῇ θείᾳ πτυκτῇ περὶ τοῦ ἀστέρος φερόμενον, Ἐλθὼν ἔστη ἐπάνω οὗ ἦν τὸ παιδίον, ἐμφανέστερον ὑποδείξει σοι, οὐ τὴν συνήθη τῶν ἄστρων πορείαν ποιησάμενον τὸν εὐαγγελιστὴν τοῦ θείου τόκου ἀστέρα, οὐδε γὰρ ἡ τοῦ ὕψους διάστασις, εὐχερῆ, ἐποίει τοῦ ζητουμένου τὴν εὕρεσινὶ, ἀλλ' ἑτέραν τινὰ καινοτέραν ἐκείνης, ὡς δακτύλῳ τῷ ἐξηλλαγμένῳ δρόμῳ μηνύουσαν, τό τε ἅγιον ἄντρον, καὶ τὴν ἐν αὐτῷ Κυριοφόρον καὶ σεβάσμιον φάτνην. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΤΟΖ' Ὀλυμπιῳ Κομητι Source: Migne PG 78.396c

That which is set forth in the Divine book, 'Coming, it stopped above the place the child was,' 1 shows most openly to you that this which bore the message of the joyful birth had not the usual and customary way of the stars, for it did not maintain its height, but so that what was sought was able to be found, with a truly new and unusual course, as if a finger, it pointed out that cave and the Lord bearing and venerable manager which was in it. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 378, to Count Olympius 1 Mt 2.9

New And Strange

Καὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ ἀστὴρ ὄν εἴδον ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ προῆγεν αὐτοὺς... Ἀκίνητος ἧν ὁ ἀστὴρ καὶ ἐστηκὼς, ἀλλ' οὐ τὸν οὐρανὸν καταλιπὼν πλησίον τῆς γῆς ἐπορεύετο· οὔτ' ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκίας ἐστήρικτο· οὐ γὰρ τὴν αὐτὴν κίνησιν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἄστροις ἐποιεῖτο, ἀλλὰ ξένην τινὰ καὶ ἀλλόκοτον. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Ἐξὴγησις Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον Source: Migne PG 72.368a

And behold the star which they saw in the east, going before them... 1 The star was immovable and fixed, for it did not leave the heavens and come nearer to the earth, 2 nor was it set in some house. 3 For this had not the same motion as rest of the stars, but it was something new and strange. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Fragment 1 Mt 2.9 2 As a shooting star would 3 An astrological house

Those Called Stars

Sed post praedictionem sanati cordis, etiam id ad praeconium divinae bonitatis adjectum est: Numerans multitudinem stellarum, et omnibus his nomina vocans. Si laus Deo ab aedificatam corporaliter Jerusalem defertur; quid hic numerus stellarum et omnibus his nomina tamquam ad praecipuam divini operis laudationem proferuntur? Aut numquid laudabilius Deo est numerasse et nuncupasse stellas, quam creasse; cum creatio et numerum fecerit, et nomina imposuerit, et vocabulis nomina numerumque discreverit? Sed numerantur hic stellae, quas Abraham contuitus in coelo est, quas Isaac accepti in semine, quas Paulus discrevit in gloria. Quod autem nominibus suis vocentur, audiamus eum qui vocaturus. Dicit enim in Evangeliis: Nolite mirari ista; quoniam venit hora, in qua omnes qui sunt in monumentis, audient vocem ejus et procedent. Vocantur ergo, et prodient. Adeo autem numerantur per Deum, ut capilli quoque, qui in singulis nobis innumerabiles esse existimantur, in numero sint, eodem Domino dicente: Nonne et capilli capitis vestri numerati sunt? Hoc Domino potius dignuim, hoc in misericordia ejus praeferendum, ut eos, quos contritos corde sanaverit, quorum alligaverit contritiones, nominibus vocet, proprietate numeret, coelesti luce clarificet. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXLVI Source: Migne PL 9.871a-c

But after speaking of the healing of hearts, 1 he adds the proclamation of the Divine benevolence: the numbering of the multitude of the stars and the calling of each one by its name. 2 If praise is given to God because He corporeally builds up Jerusalem, 3 why is it announced here that the number of the stars and the names of every one of them is some especial praise of the Divine work? Or is it more praiseworthy for God to have numbered and named the stars which He created, when He created and numbered them and gave them names, and with words and number distinguished them? Rather here are numbered the stars which Abraham saw in heaven, which Issac received in his seed, which Paul distinguished in glory. 4 And how they shall be called by their own names, let us listen to Him who shall call. For He says in the Gospel: 'Do not wonder at these things, because the hour shall come when all who are in their tombs shall hear his voice and come forth.' 5 Thus they are called and they go forth. So they are numbered by God, as the hairs which on each of us are too innumerable to be estimated in their number, with the same Lord saying, 'Can you count the hairs on your head?' 6 This is more worthy of the Lord, this is more appropriate for His mercy, that those contrite ones He has healed in heart, those whose wounds He has bound up, 6 He shall call by their names, and number each one, as He shines forth with heavenly light. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 146 1 Ps 147.3 2 Ps 146.4 3 Ps 147.2 4 Gen 15.5, Gen 26.41 Cor 15.14 5 n 5.28 6 Lk 12.7

Stars And Names

Ὁ ἀριθμῶν πλήθη ἄστρων, καὶ πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς ὀνόματα καλῶν. Διὰ πάντων τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν δύναμιν κηρύττει. Ὁ ἀριθμῶν δὲ ἐνταῦθα τὴν γνῶσιν ἐκάλεσε, καὶ ἄστρων δὲ ὀνόματα τὰς τῶν ἀστέτων διαφορὰς, καὶ τὴν τούτων θέσιν τε καὶ διάταξιν, καὶ τὴν πρὸς ἄλληλα σχέσιν. Οὐ γὰρ ὀνόμασι κεχρημένος ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς τοὺς ἀστέρας καλεῖ· ἄψυχα γὰρ ταῦτα, καὶ λόγου ἐστερημένα. Ἄνθρωποι δὲ, ἀσεβεῖ γνώμῃ χρησάμενοι, ἀπὸ μύθων ὑπ' αὐτῶν πεπλασμένων ἔθεσαν τοῖς ἄστροις ὀνόματα. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΡΜϚ' Source: Migne PG 80.1980c

He who numbers the multitude of the stars and gives to every one its name. 1 He speaks of the power of God in all things. 'He who numbers' he gives for knowledge, and 'the names of the stars' for discrimination of them, their positions and order and the arrangement among themselves. For the God of all things has no use for the calling of the stars by names, since they are soulless and without reason. But men, by use of impious minds, from fables they themselves concocted, have imposed names on the stars. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Interpretation of the Psalms, from Psalm 146 1 Ps 146.4

The Star Interrupted

Et ecce stella, quam viderant in oriente, praecedebat eos, usque dum venit et stetit super caput pueri. Ex hoc ostenditur loco, quia cum aliquantulum stella adduxisset magos prope Jeruslaem, absconita est ab eis, ut relicti a stella cogerentur in Jerusalem interrogate de Christo, simul et manifestare de illo propter duas causa. Primum, ad confusionem Judaeorum: quoniam quidem gentiles stellae tantummodo visione confirmati Christum etiam per alienas provincias requirebant: et Judaei ab infantia prophetias legentes de Christo, et in suis finibus natum, non susceperunt. Deinde, ut interrogati sacerdotes, unde nascerentur Christus, ad praejudicium suum responderent de Bethelehem: quia qui Herodem docuerant de Christo, ipsi ignorabant de illo. Si enim jugiter apparuisset, in Bethlehem eos fuerat deductura, et ideo non fuissent coacti interrogando nuntiare de illo. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia Secunda Source: Migne PG 56.641

And behold the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over the child. 1 From this passage it appears that the star, having led them for a time near to Jesualem, was lost to them, and abandoned by it they were forced to ask about Christ in Jerusalem, at the same time giving revelation about Him for two reasons. First, to the confusion of the Jews, because certain Gentiles by the mere sight of a star were emboldened to seek the Christ through foreign lands, but the Jews, readers of the infant prophecies regarding Christ and the location of His birth, did not attend to it. Second, when the priests were questioned about where Christ would be born, with their judgement they answered that it was Bethlehem, because those who had taught Herod concerning Christ were ignorant about Him. Therefore if the star had appeared to them without interruption, it would have led them straight on into Bethlehem, and so they would not have been obliged by question to give announcement of Him. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from The Second Homily 1 Mt 2.9

Seven Stars

Et habebat in dextera sua stellas septem. In dextera ejus stellas septem dixit: quia Spiritus sanctus septiformis virtutis datus est in potestate ejus a Patre. Sicut Petrus ad Judeous exclamavit: 'Dextera Dei exultatus acceptum a Patre Spiritum effudit hunc quem videtis et auditis. Sed et Joannes Baptista anticipaverat, discipulis suis dicendo: Non enim ad mensuram dat Spiritum Deus. Pater, inquit amat Filium, et omnia dedit in manu ejus.' Istae septem stellae sunt septem ecclesiae quas nominat in vocabulis suis, et vocat eas ad quas fecit epistolas. Non quia ipsae solae sunt Ecclesiae, aut principes: sed quod uni dicit, omnibus dicit. Nihil enim differunt, ut ex illa ratione quis paucorum similium majori numero anteponat. In toto orbe septennatim ecclesias omnes, septem esse nominatas, et unam esse catholicam Paulus docuit. Et primum quidem ut servaret et ipse typum septem Ecclesiarum, non excessit numerum. Sed scripsit ad Romanoas, ad Corinthios, ad Galatas, ad Ephesios, ad Thessalonicenses, ad Philippenses, ad Colossenses. Postea singularibus personis scripsit, ne excederet numerum septem ecclesiarum. Et in brevi contrahens praedicationem suam, ad Timotheum sic ait: ' Ut scias qualiter debeas conversari in Ecclesia Dei vivi  Hunc typum et ab Spiritu sancto per Esaiam praedicare legimus: 'De septem mulieribus quae apprehenderunt hominem unum.' Unus homo Christus est, non ex semine natus: septem vero mulieres septem ecclesiae sunt, panem accipientes suum, et tunicis suis velatae, quae poscunt auferri improperium suum, tantum ut nomen illius vocetur super illas. Panem Spiritum sanctum, qui nutrit in vitam aeternam, sibi videlicit per credulitatem promissam. Tunicae vero suae, quibus cooperiri se optant, immortalitatis est gloria, de qua Paulus apostolus ait: ' Oportet ergo corruptibile hoc induere in corruptionem, et mortale hoc induere immortalitatem.' Auferri vero improperium suum poscunt, hoc est emundari se a peccatis: improperium enim est peccatum pristinum, quod aufertur in baptismo, et incipiunt vocari homines christiani; quod est, 'invocetur nomen tuum super nos.' Victorinus Petavionensis, Scoli in Apocalypsin Beati Joannis Source: Migne PL 5.319d-320c

'And He had in His right hand seven stars.' 1 He said that in His right hand He had seven stars, because the Holy Spirit of sevenfold virtue was given into His power by the Father. As Peter cried out to the Jews: 'Being exalted at the right hand of God, He has poured forth the Spirit received from the Father, which you see and hear.' 2 Moreover, John the Baptist had also anticipated this, by saying to his disciples: 'It is not by measure God gives the Spirit. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hands.' 3 Those seven stars are the seven churches, which he names in his addresses by name, and calls them to whom he wrote epistles. Not that they are themselves the only, or even the principal, churches, but what he says to one, he says to all. For they are no different, that one should prefer them to the larger number of similar small ones. In the whole world Paul taught that all the churches are arranged by sevens, that they are called seven, and that the Catholic Church is one. And first of all, indeed, that he himself also might maintain the type of seven churches, he did not exceed that number. But he wrote to the Romans, to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Thessalonians, to the Philippians, and to the Colossians. After he wrote to individual persons, so as not to exceed the number of seven churches. And in a short space drawing together his teaching, he says to Timothy: 'That you might know how you should conduct yourself in the Church of the living God.' 4 We read of this type announced by the Holy Spirit through Isaiah: 'Of seven women who took hold of one man.' 5 The one man is Christ, not born of seed; the seven women, however, are the seven churches, receiving His bread, and clothed with his apparel, who ask that their reproach should be taken away, and that they should be called by His name only. The bread is the Holy Spirit, which nourishes to eternal life, promised to them, that is, by faith. And His garments with which they desire to be clothed are the glory of immortality, of which the Apostle Paul says: 'For this corruption must put on incorruption, and this mortality must put on immortality.' 6 Moreover, they ask that their reproach may be taken away, that is, that they may be cleansed from their sins: for the reproach is the original sin, which is taken away in baptism, and they begin to be called Christians, which is: 'Let us be called by your name.' Victorinus of Pettau, Commentary on the Apocalypse of St John 1 Apoc 1.16 2 Acts 2.33 3 Jn 3.34-35 4 1 Tim 3.15 5 Isaiah 4.1 6 1 Cor 15.53

The Mole And The Faithless

Ἀσπάλαξ ὑπὸ γῆν ἕρπων τυφλος ὤν, ἀστέρας ἰδεῖν οὐ δύναται· καὶ ὁ μὴ πιστεύων περὶ προσκαίρων οὔτε περὶ τῶν αἰωνίων πιστεύειν δύναται. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65 941

The mole crawling blindly beneath the earth is unable to see the stars; and he who has no faith in God concerning transient things, cannot have faith concerning eternal things. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works.

Contemplating The Heavens

Ὅτι ὄψομαι τοὺς οὐρανούς ἔργα τῶν δακτύλων σου, σελήνην καὶ ἀστέρας ἃ σὺ ἐθεμελίωσας, τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ὅτι μιμνῄσκῃ αὐτοῦ ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ αὐτόν. Ἔστι δὲ τοῖς ἀκριβῶς κατανοοῦσι προσδοκία τοῦ δύνασθαι μαθεῖν τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς τίνα τρόπον τεθεμελίωται πρὸς οὐσίαν ἐλθόντα. Λέγοις δ' ἂν καὶ οὐρανοὺς τοὺς τὰ ἄνω φρονοῦντας, καὶ οὐ τὰ πρόσκαιρα· οὖτοι γὰρ οἱ οὐρανοὶ διηγοῦνται δόξαν Θεοῦ· σελήνην δὲ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν· καὶ ἀστέρας τοὺς ἀκούσαντας, Ὑμεις τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου· ὡς εἶναι τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ χειρῶν· Ἔργα γὰρ, φησὶ, τῶν χειρῶν σου εἰσὶν οἱ οὐρανοί. Εἰ μή τις λέγει τὰ μεγαλοφυέστερα τῶν κτισμάτων Θεοῦ γενέσθαι χερσὶν, τὰ δ' ἄλλα δακτύλοις αὐτοῦ. Σαφηνίζων δὲ ὡς κατὰ τὸ σῶμα τὸν ἄνθρώπου ἔλαβεν, ἐπάγει τὸ ἤ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου. Κατὰ σῶμα γὰρ, οὐ κατὰ ψυχὴν, υἱὸς τις ἀνθρώπου ἐστιν. Μεθ' ὄν δεικνὺς τὴν λογικὴν οὐσίαν, ταύτης τὸ μέγεθος ἐπιφέρει. Οὐκ εἶπε δὲ ὅτι, Ἔπλασας αὐτὸν, οὐ γὰρ περὶ δημιουργίας, ἀλλὰ προνοίας νῦν διαλέγεται. Ἐκτραγῳδεῖ δὲ πολλάλις ἡ Γραγὴ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην εὐτέλειαν· Ἄνθρωπος γὰρ φησὶν ματαιότητι ὡμοιώθη· αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ ὡς σκιαὶ παράγουσι· καὶ πάλιν· Ἄνθρωπος, ὡσει χόρτος αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ· ὡσει ἄνθος τοῦ ἀγροῦ, οὕτως ἐξανθήσει· ὅτι πνεῦμα διῆλθεν ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ οὐχ ὑπάρξει, καὶ οὐκ ἐπιγνώσεται ἔτι τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος Η' Migne PG 39.1185

'For I look at the heavens, work of your fingers, at the moon and the stars, which you have established; what is man that you are mindful of him, or a son of man, that you should look upon him?' 1 It is those who carefully contemplate who may have expectation of being able to know the heavens and the things of them and how they were established in the beginning. One may even say that the heavens are they who think of high things and not transient things, for these truly are 'the heavens telling of the glory of God.' 2 The moon you may understand as the Church, the stars those who have heard, 'You are the light of the world,' 3 as being from the hands of God, 'For the work of your hands,' it is said, 'are the heavens.' 4 If it may not be said more grandly of created things that they are from the hands of God, and the rest from His fingers. And let it be clear that concerning the body this is understood, and so he continues, 'the son of man', for according to the body not the soul is any 'son of man'. And so after referring to rational substance, he brings in something greater. But he does not say, 'You formed him,' for now he speaks not of creation but of providence. Scripture often deplores human vileness, for it says, ' A man is a vain thing, his days pass like a shadow,' 5 and again 'A man's days are like grass, like flower of the field he passes, because the spirit which is in him will not remain, and his place is not known anymore.' 6 Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 8 1 Psa 8. 4-5 2 Ps 18.2 3 Mt 5.14 4 Ps 101.26 5 Ps 143.4 6 Ps 102 15-16

A Star Shone Forth

Καὶ ἔλαθεν τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἡ παρθενία Μαρίας καὶ ὁ τοκετὸς αὐτῆς, ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ θάνατος τοῦ Κυρίου· τρία μυστήρια κραυγῆς, ἅτινα ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ θεοῦ ἐπράχθη. Πῶς οὖν ἐφανερώθη τοῖς αἰῶσιν; Ἀστὴρ ἐν οὐρανῷ ἔλαμψεν ὑπὲρ πάντας τοὺς ἀστέρας, καὶ τὸ φῶς αὐτοῦ ἀνεκλάλητον ἦν καὶ ξενισμὸν παρεῖχεν ἡ καινότης αὐτοῦ, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ πάντα ἄστρα ἅμα ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ χορὸς ἐγένετο τῷ ἀστέρι, αὐτὸς δὲ ἦν ὑπερβάλλων τὸ φῶς αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ´πάντα· ταραχή τε ἦν,  πόθεν ἡ καινότης ἡ ἀνόμοιος αὐτοῖς. Ὅθεν ἐλύετο πᾶσα μαγεία καὶ´πᾶς δεσμὸς ἠφανίζετο κακίας· ἄγνοια καθῃρεῖτο, παλαιὰ βασιλεία διεφθείρετο θεοῦ ἀνθρωπίνως φανερουμένου εἰς καινότητα ἀϊδίου ζωῆς· ἀρχὴν δὲ ἐλάμβανεν τὸ παρὰ θεῷ ἀπηρτισμένον.  Ἅγιος Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας, Ἐπιστολή Προς Ἐφεσιους

And hidden from the prince of this world was the virginity of Mary, and her child, and the death of the Lord; three loud crying mysteries, in silence wrought by God. How, then, was He manifested to the world? A star shone forth in heaven brighter than all the other stars, the light of which was inexpressible, and its strangeness and its novelty. And all the rest of the stars, with the sun and moon, formed a chorus to this star, and its light was greater than them all. And there was agitation as to whence this new and unfamiliar thing came. Hence every kind of bewitchment was destroyed and every bond of wickedness disappeared; ignorance was washed away and the old kingdom ruined, God being manifested as man for the renewal of eternal life, and now that took a beginning which by God had been prepared. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians

The Great Lights

Et fecit Deus duo luminaria magna: luminare majus in principatum diei, et luminare minus in pincipatum noctis, et stella. Et posuit ea Deus in firmamento caeli, ut luceant super terram et potestatem habeant diei et noctis, et dividant inter medium lucis et inter medium tenebrarum. Et vidit quia bonum est: et factum est vespere et factum est mane dies quarta.   Sicut sol et luna magna luminaria dicta sunt esse in firmamento coeli; ita et in nobis Christus et Ecclesia. Sed quoniam etiam stellas in firmamento posuit Deus, videamus quae sunt etiam in nobis stellae, id est, in cordis nostri coelo. Moyses stella est in nobis, quae lucet et illuminat nos aetibus suis. Et Abraham, Isaac et Jacob et Isaias, et Jeremias, et Ezechiel, et David, et Daniel: et omnes quibus Scriptura sancta testimonium dedit, quia placuerint Deo. Sicut enim 'stella ab stella differt in claritate ita et a Christo atque Ecclesia illuminatur mentes nostrae. Ita tamen illuminamur, si non simus mentibus caeci. Nam sicut sol et luna corporalibus oculis caecos quamvis illustrent, illi tamen recipere lumen non possunt; ita et Christus lucem suam praestat mentibus nostris, sed ita demum nos illuminabit, si nequaquam caecitas mentis impediat. Quod etiam si accidat primo, oportet eos qui caeci sunt sequi Christum, dicentes et clamantes: Misere nobis, fili David,'  ut etiam visum ab ipso recipientes, possint deinceps et lucis ejus splendore radiari. Verum non aequaliter omnes qui vident illuminantur a Christo, sed singuli secundum eam mensuram illuminantur, qua vim luminis recipere valent. Et sicut non aequaliter oculi corporis nostri illuminantur a sole, sed quanto quis in loca altiora conscenderit, et ortum ejus editioris speculae intuitione fuerit contemplatus, tanto amplius et splendoris ejus vim percipiet et caloris: ita etiam mens nostra quanto altius et excelsius appropinquaverit Christo, ac se viciniorem splendori lucis ejus objecerit, tanto magnificentius et clarius ejus lumine radiabitur, sicut et ipse ait per prophetam; Approprinquate mihi et appropinquabo vobis dicit Dominus. Et iterum dicit, Deus approximans ego sum, et non Deus de longe' Non similiter tamen venimus ad eum omnes sed unusquisue secundum propriam suam virtutem. Aut enim cum turbis venimus ad eum, et per parabolas nos reficit, ad hoc tantummodo ne multis jejuniis deficiamus in via: aut certe semper et indesinenter ejus pedibus assidemus, vacantes ad hoc solum ut audiamus verbum ejus, nequaquam perturbati erga multum ministerium, sed optimam partem eligentes, quae non auferetur a nobis. Et utique qui sic accedunt ad eum, multo amplius ex ejus lumine consequuntur. Si vero sicut apostoli nusquam omnino moveamur ab eo, sed semper cum eo permaneamus in omnibus tribulationibus ejus, tunc nobis secreto ea, quae ad turbas locutus fuerat, exponit, atque dissolvit, et multo clarius illuminat nos. Si vero etiam talis quis fuerit, ut possit et in montem ascendere cum eo sicut Petrus et jacobus et Joannes, iste non solum Christi lumine, sed etiam Patris ipsius illuminabitur voce. Origenes, Homilia I In Genesim, Interprete Rufino Aquileiense

'And God made two great lights, the great light to rule the day and a lesser light to rule the night, and the stars. And God placed them in the firmament of Heaven that they shine on all the earth and that they have power over the day and the night, and they divided between the middle of the light and between the middle of the darkness. And He saw that it was good and there was an evening and a morning, the fourth day .' 1 Like the sun and moon  there are said to be great lights in the firmament of heaven, that is, in us Christ and the Church. But because God placed stars in heaven, we see that there are also stars in us, that is, in our heavenly heart. Moses is a star in us, which shines and illuminates us with his age. And Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and David and Daniel, and all of whom Scripture testifies as being holy, because they were pleasing to God. For as star and star differs in brightness, 2 so even by Christ and the Church our minds are illuminated. That is, we are illuminated if we are not blind in our minds. For as the sun and moon are to our corporeal eyes, that though they shine we may not able to see their light, so even Christ offers his light to our eyes, but we are only illuminated if we have no blindness of mind. And if that blindness should happen, first we should follow those blind men who followed Christ, crying out, ' Be merciful to us, son of David' 3 that receiving sight  from Him, we may then be able to be lit up by the splendour of his light. Certainly all are not equal who receive light from Christ, but each is illuminated according to his measure, that is, by the power of the light that he is able to receive. And as our corporeal eyes are not lit equally by the sun, but much more is he  who has risen to a higher place where he may contemplate His rising by thought on the mirror which shows Him, and there so much more shall a man perceive His splendour and heat to be. So even our minds the more they rise and are higher, having neared Christ, being closer as He throws down the splendour of his light, so much more magnificently and brightly are they lit up by His light, as even He says through the Prophet, Draw near to me and I shall draw near to you, says the Lord 4. And again He says, 'I am God who is near not a God who is far off.' 5 Not in identical fashion do we come to Him, but everyone comes according to his own virtue. For either we come with the crowds to Him, and by parables he refreshes us, lest by being little used to fasting we weary on the way. Or we sit at length near His feet, attending only to this: that we hear His word, not all disturbed by many distractions, but choosing the better part, which will not be taken from us. 6 And he who approaches Him in this way obtains much more of His light. Truly if we be as the Apostles and never move away from Him, but always remain with him in His troubles, then to us is expounded the mystery of what he has spoken to the crowd who have been dismissed. And yet with much more light He may illuminate us. And if indeed someone would have that, let him be able to climb up the mountain like Peter and James and John, 7 there not only to be illuminated by Christ, but even to be illuminated by the voice of the Father. Origen, First Homily on Genesis, Translated by Rufinus of Aquileia. 1 Gen 1.16 2 2 Cor 15.41 3 Mt 9.27  4 Zach 1.3  5 Jer 23.23  6 Lk 10. 39-42  7 Lk 9.28

Stars And Generations

Καὶ εἶπεν αυτῷ· Ἀνάβλεψον εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἀρίθμησον τοὺς ἀστέρας, εἰ δυνήσῃ ἐξασιθμῆσαι αὐτούς· οὑτως ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα σου.   Τὰ γὰρ γεννήματα φημι τῆς ψυχῆς τοῦ ἁγίου, καὶ πλήθει καὶ λαμπρότητι, ἅτε Θεοῦ συνεργήσαντος, τοσαῦτα καὶ τοιαῦτα γενεσθαι. Αὐτὰ παρίστησι τὴν θείαν εὐλογίαν. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Την Γενεσιν, Ἐκλογαι

And God said to him, 'Look at the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to number them; so will be your seed.' 1 I say this is the offspring of the holy soul, a great number of celebrated ones, so many of such a kind working in harmony with God. So God exhibited the Divine Blessing. Origen, On Genesis, Fragment  1 Gen 15.15

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