Oration XXXVIII. On the Theophany, or Birthday of Christ.

 I.  Christ is born, glorify ye Him.  Christ from heaven, go ye out to meet Him.  Christ on earth be ye exalted.  Sing unto the Lord all the whole ear

 II.  Again the darkness is past again Light is made again Egypt is punished with darkness again Israel is enlightened by a pillar.   The people tha

 III.  Of these on a future occasion for the present the Festival is the Theophany or Birth-day, for it is called both, two titles being given to the

 IV.  This is our present Festival it is this which we are celebrating to-day, the Coming of God to Man, that we might go forth, or rather (for this i

 V.  And how shall this be?  Let us not adorn our porches, nor arrange dances, nor decorate the streets let us not feast the eye, nor enchant the ear

 VI.  Let us leave all these to the Greeks and to the pomps and festivals of the Greeks, who call by the name of gods beings who rejoice in the reek of

 VII.  God always was, and always is, and always will be.  Or rather, God always Is.  For Was and Will be are fragments of our time, and of changeable

 VIII.  And when Infinity is considered from two points of view, beginning and end (for that which is beyond these and not limited by them is Infinity)

 IX.  But since this movement of self-contemplation alone could not satisfy Goodness, but Good must be poured out and go forth beyond Itself to multipl

 X.  Thus, then, and for these reasons, He gave being to the world of thought, as far as I can reason upon these matters, and estimate great things in

 XI.  Mind, then, and sense, thus distinguished from each other, had remained within their own boundaries, and bore in themselves the magnificence of t

 XII.  This being He placed in Paradise, whatever the Paradise may have been, having honoured him with the gift of Free Will (in order that God might b

 XIII.  And having been first chastened by many means (because his sins were many, whose root of evil sprang up through divers causes and at sundry tim

 XIV.  To this what have those cavillers to say, those bitter reasoners about Godhead, those detractors of all that is praiseworthy, those darkeners of

 XV.  He was sent, but as man, for He was of a twofold Nature for He was wearied, and hungered, and was thirsty, and was in an agony, and shed tears,

 XVI.  A little later on you will see Jesus submitting to be purified in the River Jordan for my Purification, or rather, sanctifying the waters by His

 XVII.  Now then I pray you accept His Conception, and leap before Him if not like John from the womb, yet like David, because of the resting of the A

 XVIII.  One thing connected with the Birth of Christ I would have you hate…the murder of the infants by Herod.   Or rather you must venerate this too,

Oration XXXVIII. On the Theophany, or Birthday of Christ.

TheTitle of this Oration has given rise to a doubt whether it was preached on Dec. 25, 380, or on Jan. 6, 381.  The word Theophania is well known as a name for the Epiphany; which, however, according to Schaff,1    H. E., Nic. Per., p. 399.was originally a celebration both of the Nativity and the Baptism of our Lord.  The two words seem both to have been used in the simplest sense of the Manifestation of God, and certainly were applied to Christmas Day.  Thus Suidas, “The Epiphany is the Incarnation of the Saviour;” and Epiphanius (Hær., 53), “The Day of the Epiphany is the day on which Christ was born according to the flesh.”  But S. Jerome applies the word to the Baptism of Christ; “The day of the Epiphany is still venerable; not, as some think, on account of His Birth in the flesh; for then He was hidden, not manifested; but it agrees with the time at which it was said, This is My beloved Son (In Ezech. I.).  There is also a Sermon, attributed to S. Chrysostom, “On the Baptism of Christ,” in which it is expressly denied that the name Theophany applies to Christmas.  The Oration itself, however, contains evidence to shew that the Festival of our Lord’s Birth was kept at the earlier date; for in c. 16 the Preacher says, “A little later you shall see Jesus submitting to be purified in the river Jordan for my purification.”  And another piece of evidence occurs in the oration In Sancta Lumina, c. 14, “At His Birth we duly kept festival, both I the leader of the feast, and you.  Now we are come to another action of Christ and another Mystery.”

ΛΟΓΟΣ ΛΗʹ.Εἰς τὰ Θεοφάνια, εἴτουν Γενέθλια τοῦ Σωτῆρος.