Книга четвертая

Chapter 1 (74). About what happened after the resurrection After the resurrection from the dead, Christ removed all passions from Himself; I mean: decay, both hunger and thirst, sleep and fatigue and the like. For, although He ate food after the resurrection (see Luke 24:43), but not by virtue of the law of nature, for He was not hungry; and by virtue of the purpose of the Economy, giving assurance of the truth of His resurrection, [affirming] that it is flesh that suffered and rose again; from the parts of nature He did not remove from Himself any: neither body nor soul, but has both body and soul, endowed with both reason and mind, both the ability of desire and the ability to act, and thus sits at the right hand of the Father, both Divinely and humanly desiring our salvation and performing, Divinely - both providence for all things, and preservation, and management, humanly - remembering His occupations that were at earth, and seeing and knowing that every rational creature worships Him. For His holy soul knows that it is hypostatically united with God the Word and that together with Him it meets worship as the soul of God, and not as just a soul. And the ascension from earth to heaven and the descent back are the actions of the body, which is described, for He will come to us again, says the Scripture, in the same way you see Him going to heaven (Acts 1:11). Chapter 2 (75). About sitting at the right hand of the Father Further, we affirm that Christ sat bodily at the right hand of God and the Father, but we are not talking about the right hand of the Father in the local sense. For how could the Indescribable have a right hand limited by space? For the right hand and the left belong to that which is limited. But by the right hand of the Father we mean the glory and honor of the Divinity, in which the Son of God, as God and as one in essence with the Father, being before the ages, having become incarnate in the last days, remains in a bodily form, since His flesh is glorified with Him; for He, together with His flesh, is welcomed with one worship on the part of every creature. Chapter 3 (76). Against those who say that if Christ is two natures, then you either serve creatures by worshiping the created nature, or you call one nature worthy of worship and the other not worthy of it We worship the Son of God together with the Father and the Holy Spirit: incorporeal before His incarnation, and now Himself - incarnate and becoming a man, and at the same time remaining God. However, His flesh, by its nature, if you, through subtle thoughts, separate what is visible from what is understood only by the mind, is unworthy of worship as created; but, united with God the Word, she meets worship through Him and in Him. For in what way the king is worshiped both naked and clothed, and the scarlet robe, like a simple scarlet robe, is trampled under foot and thrown away, but having become a royal robe, it is revered and respected, and whenever someone indecently touches it, he is condemned, in most cases, to death; just as a simple tree is not inaccessible to the touch, but one that was with fire and became coal becomes inaccessible, not because of itself, but because of the fire combined with it, and it is not the nature of the tree that is inaccessible, but coal, that is, burnt wood; so the flesh, by its nature, is unworthy of worship, but is worshiped in God the Word incarnate, not for its own sake, but because of God the Word hypostatically united with it; and we do not say that we worship mere flesh, but the flesh of God or God incarnate. Chapter 4 (77). Why did the Son of God become man, and not the Father and not the Spirit, and what did He succeed in becoming man? The Father is the Father and not the Son; The Son is the Son and not the Father; The Holy Spirit is Spirit and is not the Father, nor is it the Son. For the property is motionless. Otherwise, how could a property remain in force if it moved and passed from one state to another? Therefore, the Son of God becomes the Son of man, so that the property remains motionless. For, being the Son of God, He became the Son of man, being incarnate from the Holy Virgin and not deprived of the filial property. The Son of God became man in order to give him again what He created man for; for He created him in His image - rational and free, and in likeness, that is, perfect in every kind of virtue, to the extent that it is accessible to human nature. For these are, as it were, signs of the Divine nature: freedom from worries and anxiety, purity, goodness, wisdom, righteousness, freedom from all vice. So, having placed man in communion with Himself, for He created this into incorruption (Wisdom 2:23), through communion with Himself He can raise him to incorruption. And since, through the transgression of the commandment, we darkened the features of the Divine image, and destroyed, and, finding ourselves in sin, were deprived of Divine communion: what communion is there between light and darkness? (2 Cor. 6:14), and, finding themselves outside of life, fell into the corruption of death; then He, because He gave us the best, and we did not preserve it, accepts the worst - I mean our nature - in order, through Himself and in Himself, to restore what was in the image and likeness, and also to teach us a virtuous life, through Himself making this easily accessible to us, and in order, through communication with life, to free us from corruption, becoming the Firstfruits of our resurrection, and in order to renew a vessel that has become unusable and broken, in order to deliver us from the tyranny of the devil, calling us to the knowledge of God, and in order to strengthen and teach us to overcome the tyrant through patience and humiliation. So, the worship of demons has ceased, the creation has been sanctified by Divine blood, the altars and churches of idols have been overthrown, the knowledge of God has been planted, the Trinity is consubstantial, the uncreated Divinity is the subject of service - the one God, the true Creator of everything without exception and the Lord; virtues rule, the hope of resurrection is given through the resurrection of Christ, demons tremble before people who from time immemorial were in their power; and what is surprising is that all this was accomplished through the Cross, suffering and death; The Gospel of the knowledge of God was proclaimed throughout the whole earth, putting to flight opponents not through war, weapons and troops, but a few people - naked, poor and ignorant, persecuted, dishonored by bodily beatings, slain, proclaiming Him Crucified in the Flesh and Dead, prevailed over the wise and strong; for the almighty power of the Crucified One was with them. Death, once very terrible, has been defeated, and the anciently hated and disgusting death is now preferred to life. These are the excellent acts of the coming of Christ; these are signs of His power. For not just as through Moses He saved one people from Egypt and from the slavery of Pharaoh by dividing the sea (see Ex. 14, 16, 21), but, on the contrary, He delivered all humanity from the corruption of death and the cruel tyrant - sin; not forcibly leading to virtue, not covering them with earth, and not burning them with fire, and not commanding the stoning of those who sin, but by meekness and long-suffering, convincing people to choose virtue for themselves and to enter into competitions for it through labor and find sweetness in it. For, although those who sinned were once disgraced, they continued to hold fast to sin, and sin was considered to be God. Now, for the sake of piety and virtue, people prefer reproach, torture and death. Wonderful, O Christ, is God’s Word and Wisdom and Power and God Almighty! How can we, the poor, repay You for all this? For everything without exception is Yours, and You do not require anything from us except that we be saved, You Yourself granting this, and, out of Your ineffable goodness, having favor with those who receive [salvation]. To you - gratitude, who gave existence and bestowed a beautiful existence, and those who fell away from this, who returned to it by virtue of His ineffable condescension. Chapter 5 (78). To those who ask: is the Hypostasis of Christ created or uncreated? The hypostasis of God the Word before the incarnation was simple, and uncomplicated, and incorporeal, and uncreated; and having become incarnate, She became a Hypostasis for the flesh, and appeared complex: from the Divinity that She always had, and from the flesh that she received; and bears the properties of two natures, being cognizable in two natures. Therefore, one and the same Hypostasis is both uncreated because of Divinity and created because of humanity, visible and invisible; for otherwise we are forced either to divide the one Christ, speaking of two Hypostases, or to deny the difference of natures and introduce transformation and fusion. Chapter 6 (79). When was Christ named? The mind was united with God the Word not before the incarnation from the Virgin and not from that time was called Christ, as some falsely say. This is the absurdity of the empty speeches of Origen, who introduced the dogma of the pre-existence of souls. We affirm that the Son and Word of God became Christ from the moment he dwelt in the womb of the Holy Ever-Virgin and, without changing, became flesh, and the flesh was anointed by the Divine. For this is the anointing of humanity, as Gregory the Theologian says. And also His Holiness Cyril of Alexandria, writing to King Theodosius, said the following: “For I, for my part, affirm that neither the Word, which was born of God without humanity, nor, in turn, the church, born of a woman, should be called Christ Jesus, if it is not united with the Word. For the Word, which is from God, having mysteriously communicated with humanity in accordance with the union determined by the purposes of the economy, is thought to be Christ.” And to the queens he [wrote]: “Some say that the name Christ befits even taken separately and separately, the Word that is thought and existing in Himself, begotten of God the Father. We are not taught to think or speak like that; for when the Word became flesh, then, we say, He was called Christ Jesus. For since He was anointed by God the Father with the oil of joy (Heb. 1:9) or with the Spirit, therefore, of course, He is called Christ. And that the anointing was accomplished in humanity, none of those who are accustomed to thinking correctly could doubt.” And also the all-glorious Athanasius, in the Word about the saving coming of [Christ], speaks almost like this: “God, who existed before, before coming in the flesh, was not a man, but was God with God, being invisible and impassive; when He became man, because of the flesh He took upon Himself the name Christ, since this name is accompanied by passion and also death.” And if the Divine Scripture says: for this reason the anointing of Thee, O God, Thy God, with the oil of joy (Ps. 44:8), then one should know that the Divine Scripture often uses the past tense instead of the future, which is [for example] this saying: therefore He appeared on earth and lived with men (Bar. 3:38). For when this was said, God had not yet appeared and entered into union with people. And the saying: on the rivers of Babylon there is a gray horse and a mourner (Ps. 136:1). For this has not yet happened [before these words were uttered]. Chapter 7 (80). To those who ask: did the Holy Mother of God give birth to two natures and were there two natures hanging on the Cross? Αγένητον and γενητόν, when written through one letter: “ν”, are properties of nature, which exactly denotes the uncreated and the created; but αγέννητον and γεννητόν, - what exactly is pronounced through two letters: “νν” - that is, born and unborn, are properties not of nature, but of hypostasis. The divine nature, of course, is not created or uncreated, but everything that exists besides the divine nature is created or produced. So, in the Divine and uncreated nature is contemplated: ungeneracy is in the Father, for He was not begotten, generation is in the Son, for He is eternally begotten of the Father, and procession is in the Holy Spirit. The creatures, in time, the first of each type of living beings, are ungenerated (αγέννητα), but not uncreated (αγέννητα), but not uncreated (αγένετα), for they were produced by the Creator, and were not born from similar ones. For γένεσις [origin] is creation; and γέννησις [birth], in relation to God, is the origin of the consubstantial Son from the Father alone; in relation to bodies - the origin of the consubstantial hypostasis, which occurs from the union of a man and a woman. How do we know that birth is not a property of nature, but of hypostasis. For if it were a property of nature, then the born and the unborn would not be contemplated in the same nature. So, the Holy Mother of God gave birth to a Hypostasis, cognizable in two natures - according to Divinity, of course, born without flight from the Father, and in the last days, at a [certain] time, incarnated from Her and born carnally. If the questioners began to darkly say that He who was born of the Holy Virgin has two natures, then we will say: yes, with two natures; for one and the same is God and man. In a similar way - and regarding the crucifixion on the Cross, and the resurrection, and the ascension. For this constitutes a property not of nature, but of the Hypostasis. So, Christ, being in two natures, suffered and was crucified on the Cross with that nature that was capable of suffering; for He hung on the Cross in flesh, and not in Divinity. For otherwise would they answer [in the affirmative] if we asked: did the two natures die? No, we say. So, it was not two natures that were crucified. But Christ was born, that is, the Divine Word, Who became man, was born in the flesh, was crucified in the flesh, suffered in the flesh, died in the flesh, while His Divinity remained impassive. Chapter 8 (81). How is the Only Begotten Son of God called the First Born? Firstborn is the one who was born first, or the only begotten, or the eldest of the other brothers. So, if the Son of God were called Firstborn, but not called Only Begotten, then we would come to the suspicion that He is the Firstborn of creatures, since He Himself was a creature. And since He is called both the First-Born and the Only-Begotten, it is necessary to preserve both in relation to Him. We say that He is the firstborn of all creation (Col. 1:15), since although He Himself is from God, also the creation is from God, He Himself, Alone, born without flight from the essence of God and the Father, will naturally be called the Only Begotten Son, the Firstborn, and not the first created. For creation is not from the essence of the Father, but by His will is brought from non-existence into being. He is called the firstborn of many brethren (Rom. 8:29) because, being the only begotten of the Mother, He, like us, partook of blood and flesh (Heb. 2:14), and became man, and through Him we became sons of God, having been adopted as sons through Baptism, Himself by nature the Son of God, He became the firstborn among us, who by adoption and grace became sons of God and were called His brothers. Therefore He said: I will ascend to my Father and your Father (John 20:17). He did not say: To our Father, but: To my Father, without a doubt, by nature, and: To your Father, by grace. And: To my God, and to your God (John 20:17). And he did not say: to our God, but: to my God, if you, with the help of subtle thoughts, separate what is visible from what is understood by the mind; and: to your God, as Creator and Lord. Chapter 9 (82). About faith and baptism Let us confess one baptism for the remission of sins and eternal life. For Baptism signifies the death of the Lord (Rom. 6:3). After all, through baptism we are buried in the Lord, as the divine Apostle says (Col. 2:12). Therefore, just as the death of the Lord took place once, therefore one must be baptized once; but to be baptized, according to the word of the Lord, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19), with which words we learn to confess the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if those who are baptized in [the name of] the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and are taught that in the three Persons there is one nature of the Divinity, then are rebaptized, then they again crucify Christ, as the divine apostle says. It is impossible for those who are enlightened by one... to be renewed into repentance, secondly those who crucify the Son of God to themselves and reprove (Heb. 6:4,6). And those who are not baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity should be rebaptized. For although the divine apostle says that we are baptized into Christ... and into His death (Rom. 6:3), however, does not say that the invocation at Baptism should consist of such words, but that Baptism is an image of the death of Christ. For through three immersions Baptism marks the three days of the Holy Sepulcher. So, to be baptized into Christ means to be immersed in water with faith in Him. But it is impossible for those who have not been taught the confession, which has as its subject the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, to believe in Christ. For Christ is the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16), whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit (see Acts 10:38), just as the divine David says: for this reason for the anointing of You, O God, Your God, I am more than your partaker with the oil of joy (Ps. 44:8). And Isaiah on behalf of the Lord: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for the sake of anointing me (Isaiah 61:1). Indeed, the Lord, teaching His disciples to call, said: baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). For, since God created us into incorruption, and condemned those who transgressed His saving commandment to the corruption of death, so that evil would not be immortal, then, condescending to the slaves as a good-hearted one, and becoming like us, He, through His passion, delivered us from corruption; from His holy and immaculate side He poured out for us a source (see John 19:34) for the remission of sins: water for rebirth and washing of both sin and corruption, and blood as a drink that brings eternal life. And He gave us commandments: to be reborn by water and the Spirit (see John 3:5), when the Holy Spirit, through prayer and invocation, comes to the water. For since man is twofold: from the soul and from the body, He gave us twofold purification: on the one hand, with water, on the other, with the Spirit. The Spirit, which restores what was in us in the image and likeness, and water, which, with the help of the grace of the Spirit, cleanses the body from sin and liberates it from corruption, also water, which expresses the image of death, and the Spirit, which provides the guarantee of life. For from the beginning the Spirit of God was carried on top of the waters (Gen. 1, 2). And Scripture has long testified in favor of water that it has the power of purification (see Lev. 15:10). During the time of Noah, God drowned the world's sin with water (see Gen. 6:17). According to the law, everyone who is unclean is cleansed by water, when even their clothes are washed with water. Elijah, having ignited the burnt offering with water, showed the grace of the Spirit united with water (see 1 Kings 18:32). And almost everything, without exception, according to the law, is purified with water; for visible things are signs of those which are perceived by the mind. Rebirth, of course, occurs in the soul, for faith, with the help of the Spirit, knows how to adopt [us to God], although we are creatures, and leads to initial bliss. So, although remission of sins is given through Baptism to everyone equally, the grace of the Spirit is communicated according to the measure of faith and preliminary cleansing. So, now through Baptism we receive the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit, and rebirth becomes for us the beginning of another life, and a seal, and protection, and sanctification. But we must, with all our might, firmly keep ourselves clean from evil deeds, so that we do not again make ourselves slaves of sin, returning back, like a dog to his vomit (2 Pet. 2:22). For faith without works is dead (see James 2:26), and so are works without faith. For true faith is assessed through works. And we are baptized into the Holy Trinity because that very thing that receives Baptism needs the Holy Trinity both for its structure and for its preservation, and it is impossible for the three Hypostases not to be one with the other; for the Holy Trinity is indivisible. The first baptism was a flood to destroy sin. The second baptism is by sea and cloud, for the cloud is a symbol of the Spirit, and the sea is a symbol of water (see 1 Cor. 10: 1-2). The third was legal, for everyone who was unclean washed himself with water and washed his clothes, and thus entered the camp (see Lev. 16:26). The fourth is John’s, which was introductory and led those who were baptized to repentance, so that they would believe in Christ. He said: for I baptize you, he says, with water for repentance: He who comes after me... is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11). So, John, through water, prepares for [the reception of] the Spirit. Fifth is the Baptism of the Lord, with which He Himself was baptized. But He is baptized not because He Himself has a need for cleansing, but by assimilating to Himself my cleansing, in order to erase the heads of the serpents in the water (Ps. 73:13), in order to wash away sin and bury all the old Adam in water, in order to sanctify the Baptist, in order to fulfill the law, in order to reveal the sacrament of the Trinity, in order to become for us an Image and Example for Baptism. We too are baptized with the perfect Baptism of the Lord - both with water and with the Spirit. Further, they say that Christ baptized with fire; for He poured out the grace of the Spirit on the holy apostles in the form of tongues of fire, just as the Lord Himself says that John baptized with water, but you must be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, not because of the many of these days (Acts 1:5) or because of Baptism, which punishes with future fire. The sixth baptism is through repentance and tears, truly difficult. The seventh baptism is by blood and martyrdom, with which Christ Himself was baptized for our sake (see Luke 12:50), as very sacred and blessed, which is not desecrated by later impurities. The eighth is the last, [the Last Judgment] not saving, but destroying vice, for vice and sin will no longer live; the punishment is endless. Further, the Holy Spirit descended on the Lord in bodily form, like a dove, showing the firstfruits of our Baptism and honoring the body; since this, that is, the body, was God as a result of deification. And besides, of course, initially the dove learned to preach the good news about the end of the flood (see Gen. 8, 8–12). The Holy Spirit descends on the holy apostles in the form of fire (see Acts 2:2-3). For He is God, and God consumes fire (Deut. 4:24). At Baptism, oil is taken, signifying our anointing, and making us anointed, and proclaiming to us God's mercy through the Holy Spirit, just as the dove brought a branch of olive oil to those who were saved from the flood (Gen. 8:11). John was baptized by laying his hand on the Divine Head of the Lord; also with your blood. Baptism should not be delayed, whenever the faith of those who come is evidenced by deeds. For anyone who approaches Baptism insidiously will be condemned rather than benefit. Faith, of course, is twofold: because there is faith by hearing (see Rom. 10:17). For by listening to the Divine Scriptures, we believe the teaching of the Holy Spirit. This same faith is accomplished through everything that was laid down by Christ: believing by deed, living piously and fulfilling the commandments of Him who renewed us. For anyone who does not believe in accordance with the tradition of the Catholic Church or who through shameful deeds has fellowship with the devil is unfaithful. There is, on the other hand, faith - the announcement of things hoped for, the revelation of things unseen (Heb. 11:1) or unwavering and untesting hope both for what is promised to us by God and for the happy success of our petitions. The first faith, of course, belongs to our will, while the second belongs to the gifts of the Spirit. One must know that through Baptism we take off all the veil that was on us from birth, that is, sin, and accept the name of spiritual Israelites and the people of God. Chapter 11 (84). About the Cross, where also about faith The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved the power of God is (1 Cor. 1:18). For a spiritual person strives for everything... a spiritual person does not accept anything other than the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:15, 14). For this is madness for those who do not accept with faith and do not think about the goodness and omnipotence of God, but investigate Divine affairs through human and natural reasoning, for everything that belongs to God is above nature, reason and thought. For if anyone begins to weigh how God brought everything from non-existence into existence and for what purpose, and if he wanted to comprehend this through natural reasoning, then he will not comprehend. For this knowledge is spiritual and demonic. If someone, guided by faith, takes into account that the Divine is good, and omnipotent, and true, and wise, and righteous, then he will find everything smooth and even and the path straight. For without faith it is impossible to be saved (see Heb. 11:6); because everything: both human and spiritual is based on faith. For without faith no farmer cuts the furrows of the earth; no merchant on a small tree entrusts his soul to the raging abyss of the sea; Neither marriages nor anything else that happens in life occurs. By faith we understand that everything is brought from non-existence into existence by the power of God; By faith we do all things correctly - both Divine and human. Faith, further, is not curious approval. Every act and miracle-working of Christ, of course, is very great, and Divine, and amazing; but most amazing of all is His Honest Cross. For death has been overthrown, ancestral sin has been destroyed, hell has been plundered, resurrection has been granted, we have been given the power to despise the present and even death itself, a return to original bliss has been arranged, the gates of paradise have been opened, our nature has sat at the right hand of God, we have become children of God and heirs through no other means, if not through the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. For all this was arranged through the cross: for as many as we were baptized into Christ, says the apostle, we were baptized into His death (Rom. 6:3). The little ones were baptized into Christ, and put on Christ (Gal. 3:27). Christ, further, is God's power and God's wisdom (1 Cor. 1:24). The death of Christ or the Cross clothed us with the hypostatic Wisdom and Power of God. The power of God is the word of the cross, either because through it the power of God was revealed to us, that is, victory over death, or because, just as the four ends of the Cross, with the help of the middle center, are firmly held and firmly connected, so through the power of God the height, and the depth, and the length, and the width, that is, all both visible and invisible creation, is contained. He [i.e. The cross] was given to us as a sign on our foreheads, just as circumcision was given to Israel. For through him we, the faithful, are distinguished from the unbelievers and are known. He is a shield, and a weapon, and a monument to victory over the devil. He is a seal so that the Destroyer will not touch us, as Scripture says (see Ex. 12, 12, 29). He is the rebellion of those who lie down, the support of those who stand, the staff of the weak, the rod of the shepherd, the returning guide, the successful bringing to perfection, the salvation of souls and bodies, the turning away from all evils, the author of all good things, the destruction of sin, the plant of resurrection, the tree of eternal life. So, the tree itself, truly precious and venerable, on which Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, as consecrated by the touch of both the holy body and the holy blood, should naturally be worshiped; in the same way to the nails, the spear, the garments and His holy dwellings, which are: the manger, the den, Golgotha, the saving, life-giving tomb, Zion - the head of the Churches and the like, as the Godfather David says: let us enter into his villages, let us worship in the place where his nose stood (Ps. 131:7). And what he means by the cross shows what follows: rise, O Lord, into your rest (Ps. 131:8). For the Cross is followed by resurrection. For if the house, bed and clothing of those whom we love are desirable, how much more is that which belongs to God and the Savior, through which we are saved? We also worship the image of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross, even if it were made of a different substance; We worship, honoring not the substance (let it not be!), but the image, as a symbol of Christ. For He, making a testament to His disciples, said: then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven (Matthew 24:30), meaning the Cross. Therefore, the Angel of the Resurrection said to the wives: You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, crucified (Mark 16:6). And the Apostle: We preach Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23). Although there are many Christs and Jesuses, but One is crucified. He did not say: pierced with a spear, but: crucified. Therefore the sign of Christ must be worshiped. For where the sign is, there He Himself will be. The substance from which the image of the Cross consists, even if it were gold or precious stones, should not be worshiped after the destruction of the image, if that happened. So, we worship everything that is dedicated to God, paying respect to Him Himself. The Tree of Life, planted by God in Paradise, prefigured this Honest Cross. For since death [entered] through the tree (Gen. 2:3), it was necessary that life and resurrection should be given through the tree. The first Jacob, bowing to the end of Joseph's rod (Gen. 47, 31; Heb. 11, 21), designated the Cross by means of an image, and, blessing his sons with alternating hands (Gen. 48, 14), he very clearly inscribed the sign of the cross. [The same was meant] by the rod of Moses, which struck the sea in a cross shape and saved Israel, and drowned Pharaoh (see Ex. 14:16); hands stretched out crosswise and putting Amalek to flight (see Ex. 17:11); bitter water sweetened by a tree (see Exod. 15:25), and a rock torn and pouring out springs (see Exodus 13:6); the rod that gives Aaron the dignity of a priesthood (see Numbers 17:8,9); a serpent on a tree, lifted up in the form of a trophy, as if it had been put to death (see Numbers 21:9), when the tree healed those who looked with faith at the dead enemy, just as Christ, with flesh that knew no sin, was nailed for sin. The great Moses, calling [says]: you will see your belly hanging on a tree before your eyes (see Deut. 28:66). Isaiah: I have stretched my hands all day long to people who disobey and speak against words (Isaiah 65:2). Oh that we who worship him [i.e. cross], received their inheritance in Christ, Who was crucified! Amen. Chapter 12 (85). About worship to the east We worship to the east not simply or by chance. But since we are made up of both visible and invisible, that is, spiritual and sensory nature, we offer twofold worship of the Creator, just as we sing with our minds and with our bodily lips, and we are baptized both with water and with the Spirit, and in a twofold way we unite with the Lord, having participation in the Sacraments and in the grace of the Spirit. So, because God is spiritual light (see 1 John 1:5), and Christ in the Scriptures is called the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2) and the East (Zech. 3:8; Luke 1:78), the east must be dedicated to worship Him. For everything that is beautiful must be dedicated to God, by whom every good thing is considered good. The divine David also says: sing to God of the kingdoms of the earth, sing praises to the Lord, who has ascended to heaven in the east (Ps. 67:33-34). And also the Scripture also says: the Lord God planted paradise in Eden on the east, and brought there the man he created (Gen. 2:8); He, who had sinned, drove him out, and brought the sweetness of paradise (Gen. 3:24), no doubt, to the west. So, we, looking for the ancient fatherland and looking intently towards it, worship God. And also the tabernacle of Moses in the east had a veil and an atonement (see Lev. 16:14). And the tribe of Judah, as the more respected one, camped on the east (see Numbers 2:3). And also in the glorious temple of Solomon, the gates of the Lord were to the east. But, of course, the Lord, who was crucified, looked to the west, and thus we worship, looking intently at Him. And as He ascended, He rose towards the east, and in this way the apostles worshiped Him, and He will come in the same way, in the same way they saw Him going to heaven (Acts 1:11); just as the Lord Himself said: just as lightning comes from the east and appears to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be (Matthew 24:27). So, waiting for Him, we worship towards the east. This is the unwritten tradition of the apostles. For they conveyed much to us without putting it in writing. Chapter 13 (86). About the Holy and [Most] Pure Mysteries of the Lord The good, and all-good, and all-good God, Who is all goodness, due to the abundant riches of His goodness, did not tolerate goodness existing alone, that is, His nature, in which nothing would take part, but for this purpose, firstly, He created heavenly powers, comprehended only by the mind; then - the visible and sensory world; then - man, consisting of what is comprehended only by the mind, and of what is comprehended by the senses. Of course, everything that comes from Him, insofar as it exists, participates in His goodness. For He Himself is being for everything, since in Him is what exists (see Rom. 11:36), not only because He Himself brought it from non-existence into being, but because His power protects and contains what came from Him; and especially living beings. For they have fellowship in goodness both because they exist and because they participate in life. And rational beings have communication in good and according to what was said above; however, also because of reason; and these beings - to a greater extent, for they are in some way more related to Him, although, in any case, He is without comparison above [everything]. Man, having emerged rational and free, of course, received the opportunity, with the assistance of his own will, to constantly unite with God, if he remains in goodness, that is, in obedience to the Creator. Therefore, since he found himself in transgression of the commandment of the One who created him and fell under the power of death and corruption, the Creator and Creator of our race, in His mercy, became like us, becoming human in all respects except sin, and united with our nature (see Heb. 2:17). For since He gave us His own image and His own breath, but we did not preserve it, He Himself takes part in our poor and weak nature in order to cleanse us and make us incorruptible and again make us participants in His Divinity. But it was necessary that not only the firstfruits of our nature should be in partnership with the best, but that every willing person should be born a second birth, and be nourished with new food corresponding to the birth, and thus achieve a measure of perfection. Therefore, through His birth or incarnation, also baptism, suffering and resurrection, He freed nature from the sin of the progenitor, from death and corruption, and became the Firstfruits of the resurrection, and presented Himself as a way, and an image, and an example, so that we, following in His footsteps, would become by adoption what He is by nature: sons and heirs of God and joint heirs with Him (see Rom. 8, 17). So, He gave us, as I said, a second birth, so that, just as, having been born of Adam, we would become like him, inheriting curse and corruption, so by being born of Him, we would become like Him and inherit both incorruptibility and blessing and His glory. And since this Adam is spiritual, it was necessary that birth be spiritual, as well as food. But, since we are in some way dual and complex, then birth must be dual, and food must also be complex. Therefore, we have been given birth: through water and the Spirit, that is, through holy baptism (see John 3:5); and food is the very bread of life, our Lord Jesus Christ, who came down from heaven (John 6:48, 51). For, intending to accept voluntary death for us, on the night on which He gave Himself, He bequeathed the New Testament to His saints, disciples and apostles, and through them to all who believe in Him. Therefore, in the upper room of holy and glorious Zion, having eaten the old Passover with His disciples and fulfilled the Old Testament, He washed the disciples’ feet (John 13:1 et seq.), showing the sign of Holy Baptism. Then, having broken the bread, He passed it on to them, saying: Take, eat: this is my body, which was broken for you for the remission of sins (Matt. 26:26; 1 Cor. 11:24). In the same way, He also took a cup of wine and water, and gave it to them, saying: drink of it, all of you: this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many; for the remission of sins, do this in remembrance of Me. As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, proclaim the death of the Son of Man and confess His resurrection, until Matthew comes. 26, 27, 28. - Onion. 22, 20. – Mark 14:24. – 1 Cor. 11, 25, 26. – 1 Cor. 11, 24. Therefore, if the word of God is living and active (Heb. 4:12) and whatever the Lord wills, do (Ps. 134:6); if He said: let there be light. And there was... let the firmament be... and there was (Gen. 1, 3, 6); if by the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the spirit of his mouth all their strength (Ps. 32:6); if heaven, and earth, and water, and fire, and air, and all their decoration was accomplished by the word of the Lord, also this, of course, glorious living being: man; if God the Word Himself, having willed, became man, and from the pure and immaculate blood of the Holy Ever-Virgin, seedlessly created flesh for Himself; then really He cannot make bread His Body and wine and water His Blood? He said at the beginning: let the earth produce its former herbs (Gen. 1:11), and even to this day, every time it rains, it produces its growth, prompted and strengthened by the Divine command. God said: this is My body; and: this is My blood; and: do this in remembrance of Me; and, in consequence of His omnipotent command, this continues until He comes; for so [the Scripture] said: until he comes; and through invocation the rain appears for this new agriculture: the overshadowing power of the Holy Spirit. For, just as everything that God created, He created through the action of the Holy Spirit, so now the action of the Spirit accomplishes that which exceeds nature, which [nothing] except faith alone can contain. How will this be for me, says the Holy Virgin, where I don’t know a husband? (Luke 1:34). Archangel Gabriel answers: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you (Luke 1:35). And now you ask how bread is made by the Body of Christ and wine and water by the Blood of Christ! And I tell you: the Holy Spirit comes and does this thing that surpasses reason and thought. And bread and wine are taken because God knows human weakness, for in most cases it turns away with annoyance from what is done not in accordance with custom. Therefore, showing His usual condescension, He, through what is close to nature, accomplishes what is above nature. And just as in Baptism, because people have the custom of washing themselves with water and rubbing their bodies with oil, He combined the grace of the Spirit with oil and water and made it [i.e. Baptism] by the bath of rebirth; so also because it is the custom among people to eat bread and drink water and wine, He combined His Divinity with them and made them His Body and Blood, so that through what is usual and in accordance with nature, we found ourselves among that which is above nature. The body was truly united with the Divinity, the body born of the Holy Virgin, not because the ascended body descends from heaven, but because the very bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of God. If you are looking for that image of how this happens, then it is enough for you to hear that with the help of the Holy Spirit, just as with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the Lord for Himself and in Himself realized the flesh from the Holy Mother of God; and we know nothing more, except that the word of God is true and effective and omnipotent, and the image is unsearchable. But it is no worse to say that, just as, in accordance with the laws of nature, bread through eating and wine and water through drinking change into the body and blood of the one who eats and drinks, and does not become another body in comparison with his former body; so also the showbread and wine and water, through the invocation and coming of the Holy Spirit, are prenaturally changed into the Body of Christ and Blood, and are not two, but one and the same. Therefore, for those who accept it with faith and worthily, it is for the remission of sins and eternal life, and for the protection of both soul and body; for those who receive communion with unbelief and unworthiness, it comes as punishment and punishment, just as the death of the Lord for believers became life and incorruptibility, leading to the enjoyment of eternal bliss, and for unbelievers and those who killed the Lord, leading to punishment and eternal punishment. Bread and wine are not an image of the Body and Blood of Christ (let it not be!), but the very Body of the Lord, deified, since the Lord Himself said: this is Mine, not the image of the body, but the body; and not an image of blood, but blood. And first of all, to the Jews, that unless you have eaten the flesh of the Son of Man and drunk His blood, you have not life within you. For My flesh is truly meat, and My blood is truly beer. And again: he who poisons Me will live (John 6:53, 55, 57). Therefore, let us approach with all fear and a clear conscience, and faith beyond doubt, and it will be just as beneficial for us as we believe without doubt. Let us honor him [i.e. Sacrament] with all purity, both mental and physical; for it is twofold. Let us approach him with burning love, and, folding our hands in the shape of a cross, let us accept into ourselves the body of the Crucified One! And having fixed our eyes and lips and foreheads, let us partake of the Divine coal, so that the fire of the love that is in us, having received the ignition that comes from the coal, burns our sins and illuminates our hearts, and so that, as a result of communication with the Divine fire, we are ignited and deified. Isaiah saw coal (see Isaiah 6:6); but coal is not a simple tree, but connected with fire; so the bread of fellowship is not simple bread, but united with the Divine; the body united with the Divinity is not one nature, but one, of course, belongs to the body, the other to the Divinity united with it. Therefore, both together are not one nature, but two. Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God, greeted Abraham with bread and wine as he returned after the defeat of the foreigners (see Gen. 14:18). That meal typified this mystical meal, just as that priest was the image and likeness of the true high priest of Christ. For You, says Scripture, are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 109:4). The showbread represented this bread. This is a pure sacrifice, without a doubt, and bloodless, which, the Lord said through the prophet, is offered to Him from the east of the sun to the west (Mal. 1:11). The Body and Blood of Christ pass into the composition of both our soul and our body, without being exhausted, without being destroyed, penetrating not into the lower passage (let it not be!), but into our essence, and becoming a guard, a protective agent from all kinds of harm, cleansing from all impurity; if they notice unrefined gold, they purify it through the examining test of fire, so that in the next century we will not be condemned along with the world. For they cleanse through illnesses and all kinds of threatening incidents, just as the divine apostle says: even if they had reasoned with themselves, they would not have been condemned. If we judge, we are punished by the Lord, lest we be condemned with the world (1 Cor. 11:31-32). And this means what he says: therefore, the one who partakes of the Body and Blood of the Lord unworthily eats and drinks judgment for himself (1 Cor. 11:29). Purifying ourselves through this, we unite with the body of the Lord and His spirit, and become the body of Christ. This bread is the firstfruits of the future bread, which is our daily bread (ο επιούσιος). For the word: το επιούσιος means either the future, that is, the bread of the next century, or the bread received for the preservation of our being. Therefore, one way or another [we understand daily bread, it] will properly be called the body of the Lord; for the flesh of the Lord is a life-giving spirit (John 6:63), because it was conceived by the life-giving Spirit; for that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6). I say this without destroying the nature of the body, but wanting to show the life-giving and Divine nature of it. If some called bread and wine images (αντίτυπα) of the Body and Blood of the Lord, just as the God-bearing Basil said, then they spoke [about bread and wine] not after their consecration, but before consecration, calling the offering itself that way. Communion is called [the Sacrament] because through it we partake of the Divinity of Jesus. And it is called communion, and truly is, due to the fact that through it we enter into communion with Christ and take part in His both flesh and Divinity; on the other hand, through it we enter into communication and connect with each other. For since we partake of the one bread, we all become one Body of Christ and one Blood, and members of one another, being one body with Christ. Therefore, let us be careful with all our might not to accept Communion from heretics or give it to them. For do not give the holy dog, says the Lord, nor cast your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6), lest we become participants in perverse teaching and their condemnation. For if there is undoubtedly union with Christ and with each other, then we are undoubtedly united by choice with all those who partake with us. For this connection occurs voluntarily, not without our consent. For we are all one body, because we partake of one bread (1 Cor. 10:17), as the divine apostle says. The images (αντίτυπα) of the future [bread and wine] are called not because they are not truly the Body and Blood of Christ, but because now, of course, through them we become participants in the Divinity of Christ, and then in a spiritual way - through vision alone. Chapter 14 (87). About the genealogy of the Lord and about the Holy Mother of God In the previous discussions, having said a little about the Holy and Glorified Ever-Virgin and Mother of God Mary and proving what was most opportune, that She in the proper sense and truly is the Mother of God, and is called so, now we want to fill in the unfinished. For She, predestined by the eternal and foreknowing counsel of God and through the Holy Spirit, both represented and foreshadowed by various images and words of the prophets, at the appointed time vegetated from the tribe of David, due to the promises that were made towards him. For, says the Scripture, the Lord swore to David in truth, and will not repudiate it; I will plant from the fruit of your womb on your throne (Ps. 131:11). And again: I have sworn one oath on My Holy One, lest I lie to David; his seed will endure forever, and his throne is like the sun before Me, and like the moon is perfect forever: and a faithful witness in heaven (Ps. 88:36-38). And Isaiah: a rod will come out of the [root] of Jesse, and a flower will arise from the root (Is. 11:1). That Joseph comes from the Davidic tribe, of course, was clearly shown by Matthew and Luke, the most sacred evangelists; but Matthew produces Joseph from David through Solomon, and Luke through Nathan. Both of them kept silent about the birth of the Holy Virgin. Therefore, it should be known that it was not customary either among the Jews or in the Divine Scripture for the genealogy of women to be compiled; but there was a law that one tribe should not take wives from another tribe (see Numbers 36:6). Joseph, coming from the Davidic tribe and being righteous (for the Divine Gospel testifies to his praise), would not have illegally taken the holy Virgin as his wife, if he had not descended from the same scepter [i.e. tribe]. Therefore, having shown the origin of Joseph, [the evangelists] were satisfied. You should also know that there was a law that if a husband died childless, his brother would marry the wife of the deceased and raise a seed for his brother (see Deut. 25:5). Therefore, what was born, by nature, of course, belonged to the second, that is, to the one who gave birth; by law it belonged to the deceased. So Levi, born of the branch of Nathan the son of David, begat Melchi and Panthir; Panfir gave birth to Varpanfir, who was so named. This Varpanfir gave birth to Joachim; Joachim gave birth to the Holy Mother of God (see Lk. 3:24). From the branch of Solomon, the son of David, Matthan married a woman, from whom he fathered Jacob (Matthew 1:6,15). And after Matthan died, Melchi, who came from the tribe of Nathan, the son of Levi, and the brother of Panthir, married the wife of Matthan, the mother of Jacob, and by her he fathered Elijah. So, Jacob and Eli turned out to be brothers who had the same mother: Jacob was from the tribe of Solomon, and Eli was from the tribe of Nathan. Further, Eli, who came from the tribe of Nathan, died childless; and Jacob his brother, who was of the tribe of Solomon, took his wife, and raised seed to his brother, and begat Joseph. So, Joseph by nature is the son of Jacob, from the house of Solomon, and by law - Elijah, descended from Nathan. So Joachim married Anna, holy and praiseworthy. But, just as the ancient Anna, who was barren, with the assistance of prayer and vow, gave birth to Samuel (see 1 Samuel 1), so this one, through prayer and promise, receives from God the Mother of God, so that in this she would not be inferior to any of the glorious women. So, grace (for this means in translation the word: Anna) gives birth to the Lady (for this means the name of Mary, because She truly became the Lady of all creatures, becoming the Mother of the Creator). She is born in the house of Joachim, which was located at the Sheep Gate, and is brought to the church. Then, in the house of God, planted and fattened with the Spirit, like an olive tree rich in fruit (Ps. 51:10), She became the dwelling place of all virtue, turning Her mind away from all worldly and carnal lust and thus preserving the virgin soul along with the body, as befitted One who was to conceive God in Her womb; for He, being Holy, rests in the saints. In this way, therefore, She strives for holiness and is a holy and amazing Church worthy of the highest God. And since the enemy of our salvation watched the virgins because of the prophecy of Isaiah, who said: behold, a virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel, as it can be said: God is with us (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14); then in order for the Wise One to catch in their deceit (Cor. 3:19; Job 5:13) the one who has always prided himself on wisdom, this Virgin is betrothed to the priests of Joseph, [like] a new scroll to the leader of the Scriptures (Is. 29:11). The betrothal was both the protection of the Virgin and the deception of the one who watched the virgins. When the fullness of time came, an Angel of the Lord was sent to Her, who preached the good news of the conception [from Her] of the Lord. And thus She conceived the Son of God, the hypostatic Power of the Father, neither from carnal lust, nor from male lust (John 1:13), that is, not as a result of copulation and seed, but as a result of the good will of the Father and the assistance of the Holy Spirit. She assisted the Creator in being created, and the Creator in being created, and the Son of God and God in being incarnate and becoming human from Her pure and undefiled: both flesh and blood - she assisted by paying off the ancestral debt. For, just as that [i.e. the foremother] was created from [the rib] of Adam without copulation, so This One produced the New Adam, born in accordance with the law of bearing in the womb and above the natural laws of birth. For without a father, He is born of a Woman, who is born of a Father without a mother. And the fact that He is born from a Woman is in accordance with the law of conception, and that without a father is above the natural laws of birth; and that in ordinary times (for He is born after the completion of nine months and the tenth) this is in accordance with the law of bearing in the womb; and what is painless is above the law of birth; for it was not preceded by pleasure and the pain of childbirth [then] did not follow, in accordance with what the prophet said: before you give birth to Her, give birth (Isa. 66:7). And again: before the labor of stomach pain comes, you will avoid and give birth to the male sex (Isa. 66:7). So, from Her was born the Son of God - incarnate, not a God-bearing man, but God - incarnate; not as a prophet, anointed by action, but by the presence of the whole Anointing One, so that what was anointed became man, and what was anointed became God; not due to a change in nature, but due to a hypostatic union. For one and the same was both the Anointing One and the Anointed One: as God - anointing Himself - as a man. So, how is it not the Mother of God who gave birth to God incarnate from Her? Indeed, in the proper sense and truly the Mother of God and Mistress, and sovereign over all creatures, she became the slave and Mother of the Creator. And just as He who was conceived preserved the Virgin who conceived, so being born, He preserved Her virginity intact, only by passing through Her and keeping Her imprisoned (Ezek. 44:2). The conception occurred, of course, through hearing, and the birth through the usual place for the exit of those who are born, although some say fabulously that He was born through the side of the Mother of God. For it was not impossible for Him to pass through the gates without breaking their seals. Consequently, even after giving birth, the Ever-Virgin remains a Virgin, who in no way entered into communication with her husband until death. For, if it is written: and without knowing Her, she gave birth to her first-born son (Matthew 1:25), then it should be known that the first-born is the one who was born first, even if he were the only begotten. For the word: firstborn means that someone was born first, but at the same time it does not necessarily indicate the birth of others. The word: dondezhe shows a predetermined period of a certain time, but does not reject what is to come after that. For the Lord says: and lo, I am with you all the days, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20), not as intending to be separated after the end of the age. Indeed, the divine apostle says: and so we will always be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17), that is, after the general resurrection. For how could She who gave birth to God and, through acquaintance with what followed, recognized the miracle, allow union with her husband? Away with [unholy opinion]! To think such a thing, let alone do it, is unusual for a sane mind. But this blessed one, honored with prenatural gifts, endured during the suffering of [the Lord] those torments that occur during childbirth, which She avoided when giving birth to Him - she endured, as a result of maternal compassion, enduring the torment of Her heart, and, like a sword, was cut by reflections, seeing that He, Whom through birth She recognized as God, was being killed as a villain. And this is what the words mean: and a weapon will pierce your very soul (Luke 2:35). But the joy of the resurrection, which proclaims that He who died in the flesh is God, changes sorrow. Chapter 15 (88). On the honoring of saints and their relics We must honor the saints as friends of Christ, as children and heirs of God, just as the Evangelist John the Theologian says: And when the little ones received Him, He gave them the power to become children of God (John 1:12). The same is already borne by a slave, but a son (Gal. 4:7). And also children, and heirs: heirs to God, but heirs to Christ (Rom. 8:17). And the Lord in the Holy Gospel says to the apostles: you are naturally my friends (John 15:14). To whom I say you are servants, for a servant does not know what his Lord is doing (John 15:15). If the Creator of all things and the Lord is called the King of kings, and the Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16), and the God of gods (Ps. 49:1), then undoubtedly the saints are both gods and rulers and kings. Their God is, and is called God and Lord and King. For, He says to Moses, I am... the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob (Ex. 3:6). And God made Moses the god of Pharaoh (see Exodus 7:1). I call them gods, also kings and rulers, not by nature, but because they reigned and dominated over the passions, and the likeness of the Divine image, in which they were created, was preserved intact (for the image of a king is also called a king); and also because they united with God of their own free will and accepted Him as the dweller of their hearts and, as a result of participation in Him, became by grace what He is by nature. Therefore, why should we not honor those who have received the name of servants, and friends, and sons of God? For honor towards the prudent of fellow servants has proof of affection towards the common Lord. These became the inner dwellings of God and His pure abodes, for, says God, I will dwell in them and walk, and I will be their God (2 Cor. 6:16; Lev. 26:12). Divine Scripture says that the souls of the righteous are, of course, in the hand of God, and death will not touch them (Wisdom 3:1). For the death of saints is more a dream than death. For he has labored forever, and he will live to the end (Ps. 48:9-10). And: honorable before the Lord is the death of his saints (Ps. 115:6). So, what is more precious than being in the hand of God? For God is life and light, and those who are in the hand of God are in life and light. And that through the mind God also dwelt in their bodies, says the apostle: or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit living in you? (1 Cor. 6:19) The Lord is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). And: if anyone corrupts God’s church, God will corrupt him (1 Cor. 3:17). Therefore, why should we not honor the animate churches of God, the animate bodily dwellings of God? They, being alive, stand before God with boldness. The Lord Christ gave us saving sources: the relics of saints, pouring out blessings in a variety of ways, exuding myrrh incense. And let no one doubt it! For if water flowed from a rocky and solid rock in the desert (see Ex. 17:6), when God desired it, and from the jaw of a donkey for the thirsty Sampson (see Judges 15:18-19), then is it really incredible that fragrant myrrh flowed abundantly from the relics of martyrdom? In no way, at least for those who know about the power of God and His honoring of the saints. According to the law, anyone who touched the dead was called unclean (see Numbers 19:11), but these are not dead. For after He who is life itself, the Author of life, has been counted among the dead, we do not call those who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection and with faith in Him dead. For how can a dead body work miracles? So, how is it through them that demons are put to flight, illnesses are driven away, the weak are healed, the blind receive their sight, lepers are cleansed, temptations and sorrows cease, every good gift... from the Father of lights (James 1:17) comes down through them for those who ask with faith beyond doubt? How hard would you work to find an intercessor who would bring you to a mortal king and speak before him in your defense? So, shouldn’t we honor intercessors for the whole race, who make their prayers to God for us? Yes, of course, we must honor by erecting churches to God in honor of their name, bringing gifts, glorifying [the days of] their memory and during them having fun in a spiritual way, so that this joy is in accordance with those who convene [us], so that, trying to please, we, on the contrary, do not irritate them. For by what people please God, His servants will find pleasure in it; and as a result of which God is angry, as a result of this His shield-bearers will also be angry. Let us, the faithful, honor the saints with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19), and contrition of heart, and mercy towards those in need, with which God is honored most of all. Let us begin to erect monuments and images for them that are visible, and let us ourselves become animated monuments and images of them through imitation of their virtues. Let us honor the Mother of God as the Mother of God in the proper sense and truly. the Prophet John as the Forerunner, and the Baptist, and the apostle, and the martyr, for, as the Lord said, the pain of John did not rise in those born of wives (Matthew 11:11); and he himself became the first preacher of the Kingdom. The apostles, as brothers of the Lord and witnesses of themselves, and servants of His sufferings, whom God the Father foreknew, (those) and ordained to be conformed [to be] in the image of his Son (Rom. 8:29), first of all the apostles, second of the prophets, third of shepherds and teachers (1 Cor. 12:28). And the martyrs of the Lord, chosen from the entire rank, as soldiers of Christ and who drank His cup, then baptized with the baptism of His life-giving death, as sharers of His suffering and glory, whose leader is the Archdeacon of Christ, and the Apostle, and the First Martyr Stephen. And our holy fathers, God-bearing ascetics, who endured a very long and very painful martyrdom of conscience, which happened in sheepskins and in goatskins, deprivation, sorrow, embitterment: the world is not worthy of them (Heb. 11, 37, 38). The prophets who lived before [the coming of] grace, the patriarchs, the righteous, who foretold the coming of the Lord. Looking at the end of the lives of all these, let us imitate faith (Heb. 13:7), love, hope, zeal, life, steadfast endurance of suffering, patience even to the point of bleeding, so that together with them we may receive crowns of glory. And since some blame us for worshiping and honoring both the image of our Savior and Lady, and, moreover, the rest of the saints and servants of Christ, let them hear that God from the beginning created man in His image (Gen. 1:26-27). So, why do we worship each other if not because we are created in the image of God? For, as Basil, who speaks God and is strong in the interpretation of Divine objects, says, the honor given to the image goes to the prototype. And the prototype is that whose image is imprinted, that from which the photograph is obtained. Why did the people of Moses worship the tabernacle on all sides (see Exodus 33:10), which had the image and appearance of heavenly things, and most importantly of all creation? Indeed, God says to Moses: see, and create everything in the image shown to you on the mountain (Heb. 8:5). And also the Cherubim, who overshadowed the purification, were not the works of human hands (see Ex. 25:18)? And what about the glorious church that was in Jerusalem? Was it not made by hand and was it not built by the art of men (1 Kings 6)? Divine Scripture condemns those who worship objects carved on metal or stone, as well as those who make sacrifices to demons. The Hellenes, of course, made sacrifices, and the Jews also made sacrifices; but the Greeks - to demons, and the Jews - to God. And the sacrifice of the Hellenes was, of course, rejected and condemned, but the sacrifice of the righteous was completely pleasing to God. For Noah offered a sacrifice, and God smelled the aroma (Gen. 8:21), approving the aroma of good will and disposition towards Him. Thus, Hellenic carvings, because they were images of demons, were both rejected and prohibited. And beyond this, who can make for himself the likeness of the invisible, and incorporeal, and indescribable, and formless God? Therefore, depicting the Divine is a matter of extreme madness and wickedness. Therefore, the use of icons was not practiced in the Old Testament. And since God, in His mercy, truly became man for the sake of our salvation, not as He appeared to Abraham in the form of a man and not as the prophets, but in essence truly became man and lived on earth, and entered into unity with people (see Bar. 3:38), worked miracles, suffered, was crucified, resurrected, ascended, and all this happened truly and was visible to people, it was written down to remind us and instruct those who were then It was not that we, not by seeing, but by hearing and believing, achieved the bliss of the Lord; but since not everyone knows how to read and write and not everyone has free time to read, the fathers saw that this, like some feats, should be depicted on icons, for a short reminder. Without any doubt, often not having in mind the suffering of the Lord, having seen the image of the crucifixion of Christ, having come to the memory of the saving suffering, having fallen, we worship not the substance, but the One who is depicted, just as we worship not the substance of the Gospel, and not the substance of the cross, but that which is depicted through it. For [otherwise] what is the difference between a cross that does not have the image of the Lord and one that does? In the same way [one should think] about the Mother of God. For the honor given to Her is attributed to Him Who was incarnate from Her. In like manner, the valiant deeds of holy men excite us to courage and emulation, and to imitate their virtue, and to glorify God. For, as we said, honor in relation to the prudent of fellow servants has proof of disposition towards the common Lord, and the honor given to the image passes on to the archetype. This is also a tradition not written down in the Holy Scriptures, just as it concerns the worship of the east and the worship of the cross, and many other things similar to this. A certain story is also told that when Abgar, who reigned in the city of Edessa, sent a painter to draw a similar image of the Lord, and when the painter was unable to because of the shining brilliance of His face, the Lord Himself, applying a piece of matter to His Divine and life-giving face, imprinted His image on a piece of matter, and under such circumstances sent it to Abgar, who strongly desired. And that the apostles also conveyed very much without writing it down, writes Paul, the apostle, speaking: Therefore, brethren, stand steadfast and hold fast to the traditions which you have learned either by word or by our epistle (2 Thess. 2:15). And to the Corinthians: I praise you, brethren, because you remember all my things, and keep the traditions that I gave you (1 Cor. 11:2). One is God, proclaimed by the Old Testament and the New, glorified and glorified in the Trinity, since the Lord said: He did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). For He Himself accomplished our salvation, for the sake of which all Scripture and all the sacrament were [opened]. And again: try the Scriptures... and that is the essence that testifies about me (John 5:39). And since the apostle said: God spoke in many parts and in many ways in ancient times to our father as a prophet, in these last days he spoke to us in the Son (Heb. 1:1-2), therefore the law and the prophets, the evangelists and the apostles, the shepherds and teachers spoke through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, all Scripture is inspired by God, undoubtedly and useful (2 Tim. 3:16). Therefore, studying the Divine Scriptures is a most beautiful and soul-healthy thing. For, just as a tree is planted with flowing waters (Ps. 1:3), so the soul, watered by Divine Scripture, becomes fat and gives timely fruit - the Orthodox faith and is decorated with ever-blooming leaves, that is, godly deeds. For we are guided both to virtuous action and to pure contemplation by the Holy Scriptures. For in them we find a call to all virtue and a rejection of all evil. So, if we are inquisitive, we will also be knowledgeable; for by diligence and labor and the grace of the giving God, all things are done rightly. For whoever asks receives it, and whoever seeks finds it, and it will be opened to the one who asks (Luke 11:10). Therefore, let us knock on the most beautiful paradise of the Scriptures, fragrant, sweet, very blooming, resounding around our ears with all kinds of cries of spiritual God-bearing birds, touching our heart and comforting the sorrowful, calming the angry and filling with eternal joy; placing our mind on the shining golden ramen of the Divine Dove (see Ps. 67:14), with its brightest and most brilliant wings lifting upward to the Only Begotten Son and Heir of the Husbandman of the spiritual vineyard (see Matt. 21:38), and through Him leading to the Father of lights (James 1:17). But let us not knock carelessly, but on the contrary, zealously and patiently; Let us not become exhausted by knocking! For under such conditions the paradise of the Scriptures will be opened to us. If we read once and twice and do not recognize what we are reading, then let us not fall into despondency, but let us remain firm, let us continually speak, let us inquire! For, says Scripture, ask your father, and your elders will tell you, and they will tell you (Deut. 32:7). For not everyone has understanding (1 Cor. 8:7). Let us draw for ourselves from the source of paradise inexhaustible and pure waters flowing into the eternal belly (John 4:14). Let us find pleasure in this, let us rejoice immeasurably, for the Scriptures contain inexhaustible grace! If we could obtain something useful for ourselves from external scriptures, then this too does not belong to the list of forbidden things. Let us become commendable merchants, collecting genuine and pure gold and avoiding counterfeit gold! Let us accept the most beautiful words, and let us throw gods worthy of laughter and obscene fables away from us to the dogs! For from the former we could obtain for ourselves very great strength against the latter. You should know that there are twenty-two books of the Old Testament, corresponding to the letters of the Hebrew language. For the Hebrews have twenty-two letters, of which five are doubled, so that there are twenty-seven of them. For the double letters are Κάφ (Kaf), also Μέμ (Mem), and Νουν (Nun), and Πέ (Pe), and Σαδί (Tsade). Therefore, although twenty-two books are considered this image, it turns out there are twenty-seven books due to the fact that five of them are double. For the book of Ruth is connected with the book of Judges, and among the Jews both are considered one book; 1st and 2nd Kings are one book; the third and fourth Kings are one book; 1st and 2nd Chronicles are one book; First and Second Esdras are one book. In this way, therefore, the books are united in the four pentateuchs and [still] two other books remain, so that the canonical books exist in this form: five concerning the law: the book of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. This is the first Pentateuch, also called the law. Then - another pentateuch, the so-called Γραφεια, and for some called Αγιόραφα (Scripture), which are of this kind: the book of Jesus, the son of Nun, Judges together with Ruth, the first Kings together with the second - one book, the third together with the fourth - one book, and the two books of Chronicles - one book. This is the second Pentateuch. The Third Pentateuch is a book written in verse: Job, Psalms, Proverbs of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. The fourth pentateuch is prophetic: the book of the Twelve Prophets is one book, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. Then two books of Ezra, combined into one book, and Esther. Πανάρετος [treasury of all virtues], that is, the book of the Wisdom of Solomon and the book of the Wisdom of Jesus, which the father of Sirach set out in Hebrew, and his grandson Jesus, the son of Sirach, translated into Hellenic. Although they are excellent and beautiful, they are not among the [canonical] ones and were not in the ark. The New Testament [books are the following]: four Gospels: the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John; The Acts of the Holy Apostles, set forth by the Evangelist Luke; seven Council Epistles: one of James, two of Peter, three of John, one of Jude. Fourteen Epistles of the Apostle Paul; Apocalypse of the Evangelist John; Rules of the Holy Apostles [collected] by Clement. Chapter 18 (91). What is said about Christ Four generic images of what is said about Christ, for one will befit Him even before His incarnation, the other - in the union itself, the third - after the union, the fourth - after the resurrection. And that which precedes the incarnation is six images. For one of these explains the union of nature and consubstantiality with the Father, such as, for example, this saying: I and the Father are one (John 10:30), and this: He who saw Me in the form of the Father (John 14:9), and this: Who is in the image of God (Phil. 2:6), and the like. Others show the perfection of the Hypostasis, such as, for example, this saying: the Son of God and the image of his hypostasis (Heb. 1:2-3), and this: great is the advice of the Angel, Wonderful, Counselor (Is. 9:6) and the like. The third shows the mutual penetration of the Hypostases, such as, for example, this saying: I am in the Father, and the Father in me (John 14:10); and immovable abiding, such as: word, and wisdom, and strength, and radiance. For the word is in the mind (I mean the word independently), and wisdom in the same way, and strength in the powerful, radiance in the light are unshakable, pouring out from them. The fourth shows that He is from the Father, as the Author, as, for example: My sick Father is not Me (John 14:28); for from Him He has both being and all that He has; being - by birth, and not by creation, in what kind is the saying: I breathed out from the Father and came back (John 16:28); and I live for the Father's sake (John 6:57). And all that He has, He has not through allotment and not through teaching, but as from the Author, in which kind of saying: the Son cannot do anything for Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it in this way (John 5:19). If there is no Father, then there is no Son, for the Son is from the Father and in the Father, and together with the Father, and not after the Father. In the same way, what He does, He does at His inspiration and together with Him; for one and the same; not similar, but one and the same will, and activity, and power of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The fifth shows that through His activity the Father's desire is fulfilled, and not as through an instrument or a slave, but as through His independent and hypostatic Word, and wisdom, and power, due to the fact that a single movement is contemplated in the Father and the Son; in what way is this saying: all things came to pass (John 1:3), and this: I sent Your word, and I healed (Ps. 106:20), and this: that they may have faith, because You sent Me (John 11:42). The sixth is spoken prophetically. And from this one thing is spoken of as about the future, as for example: it will come (Ps. 49:3); and the saying of Zechariah: Behold, your King is coming to you (Zechariah 9:9). And what Micah said: behold, the Lord comes forth from His place, and will descend and tread on the heights of the earth (Micah 1:3). About another, the future, it is spoken of as about the past, in what manner is this saying: This is our God... Therefore He appeared on earth and lived with men (Bar. 3:36, 38); and this: the Lord made me the beginning of His ways for His works (Prov. 8:22); and this: for this sake of the anointing of Thee, O God, Thy God is more than Thy partaker with the oil of joy (Ps. 44:8) and the like. Of course, what precedes the union will be said regarding Him after the union; and what follows the connection is in no way [inapplicable in relation to Him] before the connection, unless prophetically, just as we said. There are three images of the same thing that is in connection. For when we speak in accordance with the best part of Him, we speak about the deification of the flesh, and the union with the eternal Word, and its exaltation, and about the like, showing the wealth that has come to the flesh as a result of both the union and its close connection with the highest God the Word. When we speak, meaning the worst part of Him, we speak about the incarnation of God the Word, becoming man, deprivation, poverty, humiliation. For this and the like are attributed to the Word and to God due to His union with humanity. And every time we speak on the basis of both parts together, we speak about union, communication, anointing, close connection, conformity (Rom. 8:29) and the like. So, because of this third method, the two methods that were mentioned before are also proposed. For through the connection it is shown that both received as a result of connection with that which is with it, and penetration [of one into the other]. For it is said that due to the hypostatic union the flesh was deified and became God and partaker of the same Divinity as the Word; and that God the Word became incarnate and became man, and was called creation and called by a new name (Isa. 62:2); not because two natures changed into one complex nature, for it is impossible for opposite natural properties to simultaneously appear in one nature; but because the two natures are hypostatically united and have an unfused and unchanging penetration into each other. The penetration did not come from the side of the flesh, but from the side of the Divine; for it is impossible for the flesh to penetrate the Divinity; but the Divine nature, once penetrating through the flesh, granted the flesh an ineffable penetration in relation to it, which, of course, we call union. One must know that in the first and second images of what happens in union, reciprocity is contemplated; for when we talk about the flesh, we talk about deification, and union with the eternal Word, and exaltation, and anointing. For this comes from the Godhead, but is contemplated in relation to the flesh. When we talk about the Word, we talk about deprivation, incarnation, incarnation, humiliation and the like, which, as we said, is transferred from the flesh to both the Word and God, for He Himself voluntarily suffered this. The same thing that followed the connection, three images. The first, by which the Divine nature is explained, in what manner this saying is: I am in the Father, and the Father in me (John 14:10); and: I and the Father are one (John 10:30). And everything that is attributed to Him before His incarnation will be attributed to Him after His incarnation, except that He [then] did not take on flesh and its natural properties. The second, which explains human nature, in what kind of saying this is: that you seek to kill Me, the Man who told you the truth (John 7:19; 8:40); and this: in this way it becomes the Son of Man to be exalted (John 3:14), and similar ones. The same thing that is said and written about Christ the Savior in a manner befitting a person, whether it was said or done by Him, six images. For one of these was done and said naturally for the purposes of economy, such as, for example, the virgin birth, both increase and prosperity in accordance with age, hunger, thirst, fatigue, tears, sleep, manifestation of nails, death, and the like, which are natural and immaculate passions. For, although in all this there is a union of the Divine nature with the human, it is nevertheless believed that this truly belongs to the body, since the Divine nature did not tolerate any of this, but through this arranges our salvation. Something else was done and said for show, as, for example, when He asked: where do you put Lazarus? (John 11:34), when He walked to the fig tree (see Matt. 21:19), when he shied away or retreated imperceptibly (see John 8:59), when he prayed (see John 11:41), when what was happening went further (Luke 24:28). For in this and the like He had no need, either as God or as man; however, he took on the form that is appropriate for a person, where exactly the need and benefit required, as, for example, he prayed, in order to show that He is not an opponent of God, and in order to honor the Father as His Cause. He asked not because He did not know, but in order to show that He, being God, at the same time truly is a man. He retreated imperceptibly in order to teach us not to recklessly expose ourselves to danger and not to leave ourselves to our own devices. The third thing was done and was said by appropriation and in relation to what kind of saying this is: My God, my God, where have you forsaken Me? (Matthew 27:46), and this: he who knows no sin, commit sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21); and this: there was an oath against us (Gal. 3:13); and this: the Son Himself will submit to Him who submits all things to Him (1 Cor. 15:28). For neither as God nor as man was He ever abandoned by the Father; no sin or curse occurred, and He has no need to be subject to the Father. For since He is God, He is equal to the Father, and is not hostile, and is not subordinate to Him; and since He is a man, He never became disobedient to the Parent so that He needed submission. Consequently, He said this, taking upon Himself our person and placing Himself along with us. For we were fallen under sin and the curse, as rebellious and disobedient, and for this reason abandoned. Fourth, because of the division that took place in thought. For if you separate by thought that which is in reality inseparable, that is, the flesh from the Word, then He is called both a slave and lacking knowledge; for he was with a slave nature and not possessing knowledge, and the flesh, if it was not united with God the Word, was slave and not possessing knowledge; but, due to the hypostatic union with God the Word, she was not slave and did not possess ignorance. As a result, He even called the Father His God. Fifth, in order to both reveal Himself to us and strengthen our faith, for example. In what way is this saying: glorify Me, O Father, with glory, since before You there was no peace (John 17:5). For He Himself, of course, was glorified then and is now glorified, but His glory was not revealed and verified to us. [For this is related] to what the apostle said: the called Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, from the resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4). For through miracles, and the resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, it was revealed to the world and confirmed that He was the Son of God. [This also applies] to this saying: “Abounding in wisdom... and grace” (Luke 2:52). He said the sixth thing because of the appropriation of the identity of the Jews, considering Himself together with the Jews, just as He said to the Samaritan woman: you bow down, whom you do not know: we bow down, whom we know: for there is salvation from the Jews (John 4:22). The third image is the one that explains the one Hypostasis and shows both natures together; such as, for example, this saying: I live for the Father’s sake: and he who eats Me, and that one will live for My sake (John 6:57); and this: I go to My Father, and you do not see me (John 16:10); and this: before the Lord of glory was crucified (1 Cor. 2:8); and this: no one has ascended into heaven except the Son of Man who came down from heaven, who is in heaven (John 3:13) and the like. And of what followed the resurrection, one thing befits a deity, in what kind is this saying: baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19): in the name of the Son, without a doubt, as God; and this: behold, I am with you all the days to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20) and the like. For, as God, He is with us. Another thing befits humanity, in what manner is this saying: eat his nose (Matthew 28:9); and this: they see me too (Matthew 28:10) and the like. There are different images of what followed the resurrection and befits humanity. For one thing happened, of course, truly, but not in a natural way, but in accordance with the purpose of the economy to ensure that the very body that suffered, such as wounds, food and drink, was resurrected after He was resurrected. Other things happened truly and in accordance with natural laws, such as passing places after places without difficulty and entering through locked doors. Third - for the sake of appearance, in what kind it is: what is happening goes further (Luke 24:28). The fourth befits both natures together, in what manner is this saying: I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God (John 20:17); and this: the King of glory will come in (Ps. 23:7); and this: sitting at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:3). The fifth befits the Lord as placing Himself alongside us through separation [i.e. Divine from human], which took place in just one thought, in what kind of saying this is: to my God and your God. Therefore, the sublime must be attributed to the Divine nature and standing above the passions and body; and the base - to human; and what is common to the complex nature, that is, to the one Christ, Who is God and man; and we must also know that both belong to the one and the same Lord Jesus Christ. For, knowing what belongs to each, and seeing that both are accomplished on the part of One, we will believe correctly and will not fall into error. From all this we recognize the difference between united natures and the fact that both Divinity and humanity, as the most divine Cyril says, in relation to natural quality are not the same. However, with all this, one is the Son, and Christ, and Lord; and since He is one, His Face is also one, because the hypostatic union is in no way divided due to the fact that the difference of natures is recognized. Chapter 19 (92). About the fact that God is not the culprit of evil You should know that Divine Scripture usually calls God's permission His action, just as when the Apostle says in the Epistle to the Romans: Or should the wretch in the earth not have the power, from the same confusion to create a vessel for honor, or not for honor? (Rom. 9:21). Because He Himself, of course, does both this and that, for He Himself alone is the Creator of everything without exception; however, it is not He Himself who arranges what is precious or disrespected, but each one’s own will. And this is clear from the fact that the same apostle says in the second letter to Timothy: in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also wood and clay: and these are for honor, and these are not for honor. If anyone cleanses himself of these, the vessel will be an honor, sanctified and useful to the Master, prepared for every good work (2 Tim. 2:20-21). It is clear that cleansing occurs voluntarily. For if anyone, says the Apostle, cleanses himself... There is a similar correspondence to [this]: for if he does not cleanse, he will be a vessel not in honor, useless to the Master, worthy of crushing. So, the saying to be discussed is also this: God shut everyone up in rebellion (Rom. 11:32), and this: God give them the spirit of compunction, eyes not to see and ears not to hear (Rom. 11:8); all of these should be understood not in the way that God did it, but in the way that God allowed it, due to the fact that the beautiful is independent and free from coercion. Consequently, Divine Scripture usually speaks of His permission as His action and work; but, of course, even when it says that God is the creator of evil (Isa. 45:7) and that there is no evil in a city unless the Lord creates (Am. 3:6), it does not show that God is the author of evil; but since the name of evil is ambiguous, i.e. has two meanings: for sometimes it means evil by nature, that which is hostile to virtue and the will of God; and sometimes that which is evil and painful for our feelings, that is, disasters and inflicted misfortunes, for they, being painful, are evil in appearance, but in reality they are good, because for those who understand they are the culprits of conversion and salvation; then Scripture says about these that they happen through God. You should know that we are also the culprits of this. For involuntary evil is the fruit of voluntary evils. But one must also know what Scripture usually speaks of as being in a causal relationship, about what should be understood in the sense of following each other, in what kind of saying this is: To You alone have I sinned, and to You have I created evil: so that You may be justified in Your words, and overcome, never judge You (Ps. 50:6). For the one who sinned did not sin for the purpose of allowing God to win; for God did not need our sin in order to appear as a Victor as a result of it. For He has superiority beyond all comparison over everyone, even over those who do not sin, since He is the Creator and incomprehensible and uncreated, and has a natural glory, not borrowed. But [this is said] because when we sin, He is not unrighteous, expressing anger (see Ps. 7:12), and, forgiving those who repent, He is the Conqueror of our evil. However, we sin not for this purpose, but because this is how things happen. Just as if someone is sitting working on something, and if any friend appears, he says that the friend has come so that I do not get busy today. Of course, his friend didn’t come so that he wouldn’t get down to business, but that’s what happened. For, while he is engaged in respectfully receiving his friend, he does not commit that deed. And these are called accidents because that is how things happen. God, further, does not want only to be righteous, but that everyone, as far as possible, should become like Him. Chapter 20 (93). About the fact that there are not two beginnings That there are not two principles: one good and one evil, we learn from here. For good and evil are hostile to each other and destructive to each other, and do not exist in each other or with each other. So each of them will be in a part of the universe. And, firstly, they, of course, will be limited, each of them - not only by the universe, but also by a part of the universe. Then, who will assign each one his area? For they will not say that they entered into an agreement with each other and were reconciled, since evil leading the world and uniting with good through an alliance will not be evil, and good, friendly to evil, will not be good. If the other is the one who demarcated for each of them their characteristic location, then it will most likely be God. And also one of two things will be necessary, so that they either come into contact and destroy each other, or that there is some middle place in which there will be neither good nor evil, as if there were some kind of partition separating both from each other. And there will be not two, but three beginnings. But it is also necessary that one of these two provisions be true: either that they [i.e. good and evil] preserve the world, which is exactly what evil is not able to do, for evil is not what lives in the world; or they wage war, which is precisely what good cannot do, for what wages war is not good at all; or that evil wages war, and good does not fight, but is destroyed by evil or is always sad and oppressed, which is precisely not a sign of good. So, one beginning, free from all evil. But if this is so, they say, then where does the evil come from? For it is impossible for evil to have its origin in good. Therefore we say that evil is nothing other than the deprivation of good and the rapid transition from what is in accordance with nature to what is unnatural; for nothing is evil by nature. For everything that God created, in the form in which it happened, is very beautiful (see Gen. 1:31). Therefore, remaining in the form in which it was created, it is very beautiful; and by voluntarily moving away from what is in accordance with nature and falling into what is unnatural, it finds itself in evil. Of course, everything is by nature subordinate and obedient to the Creator. Therefore, whenever any of the creatures voluntarily rebels and becomes disobedient to the One who created it, it produces evil in itself. For evil is not some kind of essence and not a property of essence, but something accidental, that is, a voluntary deviation from what is in accordance with nature into what is unnatural, which is precisely sin. So where does sin come from? He is the invention of the free will of the devil. Therefore, the devil is evil? Of course, since he was created, he is not evil, but good, for by the Creator he was created by a bright and very brilliant Angel, and, like a reasonable one, free. But he voluntarily withdrew from virtue consistent with nature, and found himself in the darkness of evil, moving away from God, Who alone is Good, and Life-Giving, and Creator of Light; for every good thing receives its goodness from Him, and, since it moves away from Him by will, but not by place, it turns out to be evil. Chapter 21 (94). Why did God, knowing in advance, create those who sin and not repent? God, by goodness, brings from non-existence into existence what happens, and knows the future in advance. So, if they did not have to exist in the future, then they would not have been evil in the future, and would not have been foreknown. For in relation to what exists there is knowledge, and in relation to what will certainly be there is foreknowledge. For first is being, and then the being of the beautiful or the bad. If those who had to exist in the future because of the goodness of God, the circumstance that they had to turn out to be evil by their own will, would prevent them from happening, then evil would defeat God's goodness. Therefore, God, without exception, does everything that He does good; but everyone, according to his own will, becomes both beautiful and evil. Therefore, if the Lord said: it would have been kinder for that man if he had not been born (Mark 14:21), then He spoke without blaming His own creation, but blaming the depravity that arose in His creature as a result of its own will and frivolity. For the carelessness of her own will made the good deed of the Creator useless for her; just as if someone to whom wealth and power were entrusted by the king behaves tyrannically towards a benefactor, then the king, having restrained him, will worthily punish him if he sees that he remains faithful to tyranny to the end. Chapter 22 (95). About the law of God and the law of sin The Divinity is good and most good, and so is His will; for what God wills is good. The Law is a commandment that teaches this, so that we, holding firmly to it, may be in the light (see 1 John 1:7), which commandment violation is sin. It occurs through the suggestion of the devil and our spontaneous and voluntary acceptance. But also this one [i.e. sin is called law (see Rom. 7:23). So, the law of God, entering our mind, attracts it to itself and excites our conscience. But you also call our conscience the law of our mind. And, on the other hand, the suggestion of the evil one, that is, the law of sin, entering into the members of our flesh, attacks us through it. For having once voluntarily transgressed the law of God and approved of the advice of the evil one, we provided him [i.e. council] entrance, being ourselves sold to sin. Therefore, our body is easily drawn to him. Therefore, the smell and sensation of sin in our body, that is, lust and pleasure of the body, is also called the law in the destiny of our flesh. The law of my mind, that is, conscience, of course, rejoices in the law of God (see Rom. 7:22), that is, the commandments, and desires it. The law of sin, that is, suggestion through the law that is in the soul or through bodily lust, and inclination, and movement, and the unreasonable part of the soul, fights against the law of my mind, that is, conscience, and, although I desire the law of God and love it, and do not desire sin, it captivates me (Rom. 7:23) because of confusion [with all the members of my body]; and through the pleasantness of pleasure, and through bodily lust, and the unreasonable part of the soul, as I said, it seduces and convinces one to become a slave to sin. But the weakness of the law in him is weaker than the law through the flesh, God sending His Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin (Rom. 8:3); for He took on flesh and sin in no way; Condemn sin in the flesh, so that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:3-4). For the Spirit helps in our weaknesses (Rom. 8:26), and gives strength to the law of our mind against the law that is in our minds. For [this meaning has] this: for what let us pray, as we should, we do not know, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered (Rom. 8:26), that is, teaches us what we should pray. Therefore, it is impossible to fulfill the commandments of the Lord, except through patience and prayer. Глава 23 (96). Against the Jews, about the Sabbath The seventh day is called Saturday; it means peace. For during it, as the Divine Scripture says, God rested from all his works (Gen. 2:2). Therefore, the number of days, increasing to seven, is repeated again and begins from the first day. This number is respected by the Jews, since God commanded that it be revered, commanded not by chance, but even in conjunction with very severe punishments for violation (see Ex. 13:6; Num. 15:35). He commanded this not simply, but for some reasons, mysteriously understood by both spiritual and discerning people. As far as I understand, at least I, an ignorant person (so that I can start from the lower and coarser), God, knowing both rudeness and devotion to carnal pleasures, and in general the inclination of the Israeli people to substance, and at the same time unreasonableness, [gave this law]: firstly, let the slave and the ass rest (Deut. 5:14), as it is written; since a righteous man has mercy on the souls of his cattle (Proverbs 12:10); and also together so that, enjoying the peace of caring for matter, they enter into union with God, spending the entire seventh day in psalms and singing and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19), and studying the divine Scriptures, and resting in God. For when there was no law, there was no inspired Scripture, then the Sabbath was not dedicated to God. When the inspired Scripture was given through Moses, the Sabbath was dedicated to God, so that during it they would think and do this [i.e. Scripture] those who do not devote their entire lives to God, who do not serve the Lord as a Father out of love, but as ungrateful slaves; so that they separate at least a small and insignificant part of their life for God, and this because of the fear of punishment and reproach that occurs for violation. For there is no law for the righteous, but for the unrighteous (1 Tim. 1:9). For first of all, Moses, having fasted continuously with God for forty days and again for another forty (see Ex. 24:18; 34:28), undoubtedly exhausted himself with fasting on the Sabbath, although the law commanded not to exhaust ourselves on the Sabbath. If they said that this was before the law, then what will they say about Elijah the Tishbite, who, having once tasted food, traveled for forty days (see 1 Kings 19:8)? For he, having exhausted himself not only by fasting, but also by traveling on the Sabbaths of these forty days, violated the Sabbath; and God, who gave the law, was not angry with him, but even, as if as a reward for his feat of virtue, appeared to him at Horeb. What will they say about Daniel? Didn’t he spend three weeks without food (see Dan. 10:2-3)? And what about all Israel, does it not circumcise the baby on the Sabbath, if it happens on the eighth day [after the birth of the last one] (see Lev. 12:3)? And also, don’t they observe Great Lent, regarding which the law was given to them, if it happens on the Sabbath (see Lev. 23:27)? And also, do not the priests and Levites profane the Sabbath by deeds at the tabernacle, and are they not innocent (Matthew 12:5)? But even if livestock falls into the ditch on Saturday, the one who removed it is not guilty, but the one who did not take care is worthy of condemnation. Well, all of Israel, didn’t they go around the walls of Jericho, carrying the ark of God around them for seven days, including the Sabbath (see Josh. 6)? So, as I said, in order to spend time with God, so that they would devote at least a very small part to Him and calm down - both slave and cattle, the observance of the Sabbath was invented for those who were young, and for those enslaved under the elements of the world (see Gal. 4: 3) for those who were carnal and could not understand anything above the body and the letter. When the end of the summer had come, God sent His Only Begotten Son, born of a woman in the form of a man, to be under the law, so that he might redeem those under the law, so that we might receive sonship (Gal. 4:4-5). For to us who received Him he gave the realm to become children of God, who believe in His name (John 1:12); so that we are no longer slaves, but sons (see Gal. 4:7), no longer under the law, but under grace, we no longer serve the Lord in part only out of fear, but we must devote all the time of our lives to Him, and we always give rest from sin to the servant, that is, anger and lust, and we command to devote our leisure time to God, always extending every desire to God, and arming our anger against the enemies of God; and the jugular animal, that is, the body, in a similar way, on the one hand, calming us from slavery to sin, and on the other, forcing us to zealously serve the Divine commandments. The spiritual law of Christ commands us to do this, and those who keep it become superior to the Mosaic law. For when that which was perfect came, it was abolished in part (1 Cor. 13:10), and when the veil of the law or the veil was torn through the crucifixion of the Savior, and when the Spirit shone forth with tongues of fire, then the letter was rejected, the corporeal ceased, and the law of slavery ended, and the law of freedom was given to us. And we celebrate the perfect tranquility of human nature; I speak of the day of resurrection, on which the Lord Jesus, the Author of life and the Savior, introduced us into the possession of the inheritance promised to those who serve God spiritually, into which He Himself entered as our Forerunner, after He rose from the dead, and after the heavenly gates were opened to Him, He sat down bodily at the right hand of the Father, where those who keep the spiritual law will also enter. Therefore, to us, who walk in the spirit and not in the letter, belongs all putting aside the physical and spiritual service, and union with God. For circumcision is the putting aside of bodily pleasure and superfluous and unnecessary things. For the foreskin is nothing other than the excess skin of the member in which pleasure is aroused. Any pleasure that does not come from God and not in God is an excess of pleasure, the image of which is the foreskin. Saturday is a rest from sin. Therefore, both are one, and thus both are observed together by those who walk in the Spirit, and they do not commit even the slightest iniquity. You should also know that the number seven denotes the entire present time, as the wise Solomon says: give a portion to the seven, and even to the seven (Eccl. 11:2). And the God-speaking David, singing about osmom (Ps. 6:1), sang about the future state - after the resurrection from the dead. Therefore, the law, commanding on the seventh day to observe rest from bodily affairs and engage in spiritual ones, mysteriously showed true Israel and those who have a mind that sees God, so that he would always approach God and become above the physical. Carnal people blaspheme virginity and those devoted to pleasure refer to this passage as evidence: cursed is everyone who does not raise a seed in Israel (Deut. 25:9). We say, relying on God the Word incarnate from the Virgin, that virginity was implanted in the nature of people from above and from time immemorial. For man was created from virgin soil. Eve was created from Adam alone. Virginity flourished in paradise. Indeed, Divine Scripture says that both Adam and Eve were naked, and not ashamed (Gen. 2:25). When they sinned, they found out that they were naked, and, being ashamed, they sewed girdles for themselves (Gen. 3:7). And after the crime, when man heard: you are earth, and you go to earth (Gen. 3:19), when death entered the world through sin, then Adam knew Eve his wife, and conceived (Gen. 4:1). Therefore, marriage was invented so that the human race would not be wiped off the face of the earth and destroyed by death, so that through procreation the human race would be preserved intact. But perhaps they will say: so, what does he want to [clarify] the saying: husband and wife... (Gen. 1:27); and this: grow and multiply (Gen. 1:28)? To this we will say that the saying: grow and multiply does not necessarily mean multiplication through marriage. For God could have multiplied the race of people in another way, if they had kept the commandment intact to the end. But God, who, as a result of His foreknowledge, knew everything before their existence (Dan. 13:42), knowing that they would end up in crime and be condemned, created husband and wife in advance and commanded them to grow and multiply. Therefore, we wish to return to the path and want to see the ornaments of virginity; and the same thing can be said about chastity. Noah, who was commanded to enter the ark and was entrusted with preserving the seed of the world, is given the following command: You will come, says God, and your sons, and your wife, and your sons’ wives (Gen. 6:18; cf. 7). He separated them from their wives so that they would leave the sea and that worldwide shipwreck, maintaining chastity. But after the end of the flood, He says: go out, you, and your wife, and your sons, and your sons’ wives (Gen. 8:16). Here again marriage is allowed for the sake of reproduction [of the human race]. Then, fire-breathing Elijah, riding a chariot and walking in the sky (see 2 Kings 2:11), did not he love celibacy and was not glorified by an exaltation that exceeded human conditions (see 1 Kings 17:6)? Who closed heaven? Who raised the dead (see 1 Kings 17:19–22)? Who cut the Jordan (see 2 Kings 2:8)? Isn't Elijah a virgin? And Elisha, his disciple, was it not because he asked for the grace of the Spirit in double number that he received it (see 2 Kings 2:9) because he showed equal virtue? What about three youths? Was it not because they turned out to be stronger than fire because they labored in virginity, and through virginity they achieved that their bodies became invincible with fire (see Dan. 3:20, 92, 94)? Why am I not talking about Daniel, into whose body, strengthened by virginity, the teeth of beasts were not able to pierce (see Dan. 6:22)? God, intending to appear to the Israelites, did not he command that the body be kept pure (see Ex. 19:15; Numbers 6:2–8)? Did not the priests thus purify themselves enter the inner sanctuary and offer sacrifices? Is not the law of chastity called the great vow? So the command of the law must be understood in a more spiritual way. For there is a spiritual seed, with the assistance of the love and fear of God, conceived in the womb of the soul, suffering from pain during childbirth and giving birth to the spirit of salvation. In the same way, the saying should be understood: blessed is he who has a tribe in Zion and Yuzhiks / relatives - electr. Ed/ in Jerusalem (Isa. 31:9). For why is he blessed, even if he were an adulterer, or a drunkard, or an idolater, if he only has a tribe in Zion and tribes in Jerusalem? Nobody sane will say this. Virginity is an angelic way of life, a feature of every incorporeal nature. We say this without blaming marriage, let it not be! but knowing that virginity is better than a beautiful marriage [in itself]. For among virtues there are strengthenings and weakenings, and similarly between vices. We know that all mortals come from marriage, with the exception of the culprits of our family. For they are a branch of virginity, and not a product of marriage. But celibacy, as we said, is an imitation of the Angels. Therefore, as much as an Angel is more excellent than a man, so much more precious is virginity than marriage. But why do I say: Angel? Christ Himself is the glory of virginity, not only because He was born of the Father without beginning, without flow and without union, but because, having become a man like us, He was incarnated above us from the Virgin without [marital] union, and He Himself showed true and perfect virginity. Therefore, although He did not ordain this for us [i.e. virginity] by the law, for not everyone can comprehend this word (Matthew 19:11), as He Himself said; but in action he instructed us and gave us strength for it. For who does not understand that virginity now lives among people? Of course, procreation, which is produced by marriage, is wonderful, and marriage for the sake of fornication is wonderful (1 Cor. 7:2), which suppresses this and, with the help of legal intercourse, does not allow the fury of lust to ignite into lawless acts. Marriage is wonderful for those who do not have abstinence, but virginity is better, increasing the fertility of the soul and bringing God timely fruit - prayer. Marriage is honorable, and the bed is undefiled: but God judges the fornicator and the adulterer (Heb. 13:4). Chapter 25 (98). About circumcision Circumcision was given to Abraham before the law, after the blessings, after the promise, as a sign that completely separated him, and his children, and his household from the nations with whom he came in contact (see Gen. 12:3; 15:5; 17:10). And it is clear: for when Israel spent forty years in the desert separately - on its own, without mixing with other people, those who were born in the desert were not circumcised. When Jesus brought them across the Jordan, they were circumcised, and the second law of circumcision appeared. For under Abraham the law of circumcision was given, then it ceased to operate in the wilderness for forty years. And again for the second time God gave Jesus the law of circumcision, after crossing the Jordan, as it is written in the book of Joshua the son of Nun: at this time the Lord said to Joshua: make for yourself stone knives from a sharp stone, and now circumcise the children of Israel the second time (Joshua 5:2). And after a few words: Israel walked for fourty and two years in the desert of Mavdaritida; and for this reason, do not circumcise many of them from those warriors who came out of the land of Egypt, who did not obey the commandments of the Lord, and the Lord determined that they should not see the happy land themselves, by which the Lord swore by their father, to give them a land boiling with honey and milk. Instead of these, put their sons, whom Jesus circumcised, because they were born on the way and were not circumcised (Joshua 5:6-7). Therefore, circumcision was a sign that separated Israel from the nations with whom he dealt. But it was an image of Baptism. For just as circumcision does not cut off a useful member of the body, but a useless excess, so through Holy Baptism our sin is circumcised. It is clear that sin is an excess of desire, and not a useful desire. For it is impossible for anyone to be completely devoid of desire or completely unfamiliar with pleasure. But the uselessness of pleasure, that is, the uselessness of both desire and pleasure, is a sin that cuts off Holy Baptism, giving us as a sign an honest cross on the forehead, which does not separate us from the nations, for all nations have received Baptism and are sealed with the sign of the cross, but in each nation it completely separates the faithful from the unfaithful. And therefore, after the truth has appeared, the image is useless, and so is the shadow. Therefore, circumcision is now unnecessary and contrary to Holy Baptism. For he who is circumcised must eat the whole law (Gal. 5:3). The Lord was circumcised in order that He might fulfill the law, and He also kept the whole law and the Sabbath, in order that He might fulfill and strengthen the law (see Matt. 5:17). And from the time He received Baptism, and the Holy Spirit appeared to people, descending on Him in the form of a dove, from that time spiritual service and way of life, and the Kingdom of Heaven began to be proclaimed. Chapter 26 (99). About the Antichrist One must know that the Antichrist is about to come. Of course, anyone who does not confess that the Son of God came in the flesh and that He is perfect God and became perfect man, while at the same time remaining God, is the Antichrist (see 1 John 4:3). However, in a special way and primarily the Antichrist is called the one who will come at the end of the world. So, first of all, the Gospel must be proclaimed among all nations, as the Lord says (see Matt. 24:14), and then he will come to expose the ungodly Jews. For the Lord said to them: I came in the name of My Father, and you do not receive Me: another will come in his name, him you will receive (John 5:43). And the apostle: for love of the truth they did not accept, so that they could be saved. And for this reason, God will send them the power of flattery, because they believe lies: so that all who did not believe the truth, but were pleased with unrighteousness, will receive judgment (2 Thess. 2:10-12). Consequently, the Jews did not accept the One who was the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ and God, but they will accept the deceiver who calls himself God. For that He will directly call himself God, the Angel, instructing Daniel, says this: about the gods of his fathers he does not understand (Dan. 11:37). And the Apostle: Let no one deceive you in any way: for if the apostasy does not come first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, the adversary, and exalt himself more than any spoken god or worshipper, as if he should sit in the church of God, I will show myself that there is a God (2 Thess. 2:3-4). In the church of God - not ours, but the ancient one - the Jewish one. For he will not come to us, but to the Jews; not for Christ and not for those who are Christ’s; that is why he is called the Antichrist. Therefore, the Gospel must first be proclaimed among all nations, see Matt. 24, 14). And then the lawless one will appear, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the spirit of His mouth, and will abolish by the appearance of His coming, who is coming after the work of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, with all the deceit of unrighteousness among those who are perishing (2 Thess. 2:8-10). Consequently, it is not the devil himself who becomes a man, like the incarnation of the Lord, let it not be!, but a man is born from fornication and takes upon himself all the actions of Satan. For God, knowing in advance the impudence of his future will, allows the devil to dwell in him. So, as we said, he is born from fornication and raised in secret, and suddenly rebels, and rebels, and reigns. And at the beginning of his reign, or rather tyranny, he feignedly assumed the appearance of holiness; when he becomes victorious, he will persecute the Church of God and show all his malice. He will come with signs and false wonders (2 Thess. 2:9), fictitious and not true, and will deceive those who have a weak and unstrengthened foundation of the mind, and will turn them away from the Living God, so that, if possible, the elect will be tempted (Matthew 24:24). Enoch and Elijah the Tishbite will be sent, and they will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children (see Mal. 4:6), that is, the synagogue - to our Lord Jesus Christ and to the preaching of the apostles, and they will be killed by him (see Rev. 11:7). And the Lord will come from heaven, in the same way the holy apostles saw Him going into heaven (Acts 1:11): perfect God and perfect man, with glory and power, and will kill the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction, with the spirit of his mouth (2 Thess. 2:3, 8). Therefore, let no one wait for the Lord from earth, but from heaven, as He Himself guaranteed this. Chapter 27 (100). About resurrection We also believe in the resurrection of the dead. For it will truly be, there will be a resurrection of the dead. But when we talk about resurrection, we imagine the resurrection of bodies. For resurrection is the second raising of the fallen; souls, being immortal, how will they be resurrected? For if death is defined as the separation of the soul from the body, then resurrection is, of course, a secondary union of soul and body, and a secondary exaltation of a resolved and dead living being. 2 So, the body itself, decaying and resolving, will itself rise incorruptible. For He who in the beginning brought it forth from the dust of the earth can raise it again, after it has again, according to the saying of the Creator, been resolved and returned back to the earth from which it was taken. For if there is no resurrection, then let us eat and drink (Isa. 22:13; 1 Cor. 15:32), let us strive for a life of pleasure and full of pleasures! If there is no resurrection, then how do we differ from dumb creatures? If there is no resurrection, then let us consider the beasts of the field happy, having a carefree life! If there is no resurrection, then there is no God, there is no Providence, but everything is controlled and moves by chance. For now we see that very many righteous people suffer need and suffer insults, and in this life they do not receive any help, and that sinners and unrighteous people have an abundance of wealth and all kinds of luxury. And who, sane, would consider this to be a matter of righteous judgment or wise Providence? So there will be, there will be a resurrection. For God is righteous and is a Rewarder to those who trust in Him. Of course, if only the soul has practiced deeds of virtue, then it alone will be crowned. And if she alone was constantly in pleasure, then in fairness she alone would be punished. But since the soul did not strive for either virtue or vice separately from the body, then in fairness both will receive rewards together. And also Divine Scripture testifies that there will be a resurrection of bodies. Indeed, God says to Noah after the flood: like a herbal potion I have given you everything. Don't eat the meat in the blood of your soul. And the blood of your souls I will require from the hand of every beast; and from the hand of every man I will require it from his brother. If you shed the blood of a man, it will be shed in his place: for in the image of God I created man (Gen. 9:3-6). How will He obtain the blood of man from the hand of all kinds of beasts, unless by resurrecting the bodies of people who are dying? For animals will not die instead of humans. And again - to Moses: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Ex. 3:6; Matt. 22:32). God is not the God of the dead (Matthew 22:32), those who have died and will no longer exist, but of the living (Matthew 22:32), whose souls live in His hand (Wisdom 3:1), and whose bodies will live again after the resurrection. And Godfather David says to God: take away their spirit, and they will disappear and return to their dust (Ps. 103:29). Here's a word about bodies. Then he adds: send Thy Spirit, and they will be created, and renew the face of the earth (Ps. 103:30). And also Isaiah: the dead will rise again and those in their graves will rise (Is. 26:19). It is clear that it is not souls that are placed in coffins, but bodies. And also blessed Ezekiel says: and there came a voice to prophesy against me, and behold, I was a coward, and I copulated bones, bone to bone, each one to its own composition. And I saw, and behold, they had veins, and their flesh stretched, and they ascended, and their skin stretched out on top (Ezek. 37:7-8). Then he teaches how, after it was commanded, the spirit of life returned to her (Ezek. 37:9,10). And also the divine Daniel says: and at that time Michael, the great prince, will rise up for the sons of your people: and there will be a time of sorrow, a sorrow such as there was no longer, even before the time of that time, that language was created on earth: and at that time all your people who are found inscribed in the book will be saved, and many from those sleeping in the dust of the earth will arise, these will come to life eternal, and they are for reproach and eternal shame. And those who understand will be enlightened like the brightness of the firmament, and from the righteous many like the stars will shine forever and ever (Dan. 12:1-3). It is clear that when he says: many will arise from those who sleep in the dust of the earth, he indicates the resurrection of bodies; for, of course, no one could say that souls sleep in the dust of the earth. But, however, the Lord in the Holy Gospel conveyed quite clearly about the resurrection of bodies: for, He says, those who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God, and they will come out having done good things for the resurrection of life, and having done evil things for the resurrection of judgment (John 5:28-29). And that souls are in coffins, no sane person could ever say. But the Lord announced the resurrection of bodies not only in word, but also in deed. First of all, when he raised Lazarus, four days old and already given over to corruption and stinking (John 11:39-44). For He resurrected not the soul deprived of the body, but also the body together with the soul; and not another, but the same one that gave itself over to decay. For how could one know or believe the resurrection of a dead person if characteristics did not prove it? But He resurrected Lazarus, of course, in order to prove His own Divinity and to assure Lazarus, who had to return again to the state of death, in the resurrection of both His and ours. The Lord Himself became the Firstfruits of a resurrection that was perfect and no longer subject to the power of death. Therefore, it was the divine Apostle Paul who said: if the dead do not rise, then neither does Christ rise; if Christ does not rise, then, therefore, our faith is in vain; therefore, we are still in our sins (1 Cor. 15:16-17). And: since Christ has risen, the firstfruits have come to those who died (1 Cor. 15:20). And: firstborn from the dead (Col. 1:18). And again: if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so God will also bring with him those who died in Jesus (1 Thess. 4:14). Thus, he said, how the Lord has risen. And that the resurrection of the Lord was the union of the body, which had already become incorruptible, and the soul (since they were separated), it is clear; for He said: Destroy this church, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19). The Holy Gospel is a reliable witness to what He said about His body (see John 2:21). Touch Me and see, says the Lord to His disciples, who thought that they see the spirit, as I am, and have not changed, for the spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see Me has (Luke 24, 37, 39). And having said this, He showed them his hand (Luke 24:40) and offered a rib to Thomas for touching (John 20:27). Isn't this enough to ensure the resurrection of the body? Again the divine apostle says: it is fitting for this corruptible to put on incorruption, and for this dead thing to put on immortality (1 Cor. 15:53). And again: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption: it is not sown in honor, it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power: a spiritual body is sown, that is, gross and mortal, a spiritual body is raised (1 Cor. 15:42-44), unchangeable, impassive, subtle, what was the body of the Lord after the resurrection, passing through locked doors, not tired and not in need of food, sleep or drink. For, says the Lord, they will be like the angels of God (Mark 12:25). There will be no more marriage, no more childbearing. Indeed, the divine apostle says: since our life is in heaven, from there we wait for our Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humility, so that he may be conformed to the body of his glory (Phil. 3:20-21), meaning not transformation into another image - no! -, but better: a change from corruption to incorruption. But someone says: How will the dead rise? (Cor. 15:35). O disbelief! Oh madness! The One who changed dust into a body with just one desire, Who commanded a small drop of seed to grow in the womb and create this diverse and diverse bodily organism, will he not even more so, only by desiring, resurrect again what has happened and disappeared? In what body will they come? (Cor. 15:35). Foolish (1 Cor. 15:36), if bitterness does not allow you to believe the words of God, then at least believe the works. For if you sow, it will not live unless it dies: and if you sow, it is not the body of the future that is sown, but a bare grain, if it happens, wheat or something else from the rest: God gives it a body as He pleases, and to every seed its own body (1 Cor. 25:36-38). So, consider the seeds buried in furrows, as if in graves. Who is it that provides them with roots, stems and leaves, and ears of grain, and the thinnest sharp needles on the ear? Isn't he the Creator of all things? Is it not the command of the One who built everything? In this way, therefore, believe that the resurrection of the dead will take place according to the Divine desire and wave. For His desire is accompanied by power. So, we will be resurrected, since souls are again united with bodies that become immortal and strip away corruption, and we will appear at the terrible judgment seat of Christ; and the devil, and his demons, and his man, that is, the Antichrist, and wicked people, and sinners will be betrayed into eternal fire, not material, like the fire that is with us, but such as God can know about. And having created good things, like the sun, they will shine together with the Angels in eternal life, together with our Lord Jesus Christ, always looking at Him and being visible by Him, and enjoying the continuous joy flowing from Him, glorifying Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to the endless ages of ages. Amen.