2

in his heart, bearing his soul to nothing vain nor preparing any deceit against his neighbor. The prize of this ascent is the blessing; to this one the Lord gives the mercy that is laid up, This is the generation of those who seek him, of those who ascend to the height through virtue and who seek the face of the God of Jacob. But what follows in the psalmody is perhaps even loftier than the evangelical teaching itself; for the gospel narrated the Lord's sojourn and conduct on earth, but this lofty prophet, having gone out of himself, as if not to be weighed down by the appendage of the body, and having mingled himself with the super-cosmic powers, recounts their voices to us, when, preceding the Master on his descent, they command the entrances of the terrestrial angels, those entrusted with human life, to be lifted up, saying: 9.326 Lift up your gates, you rulers, and be lifted up, you everlasting gates, and the King of glory shall come in.

And since he who contains all things in himself makes himself commensurate to the one who receives him wherever he may be (for not only does he become man among men, but consequently, by all means, becoming also among angels, he condescends to their nature), for this reason the gatekeepers need one to point him out: Who is this King of glory? For whose sake they point out to them the one who is mighty and powerful in battle, the one who is about to grapple with the one who took human nature captive and to destroy him who has the power of death, so that when the last enemy has been destroyed, humanity might be recalled to freedom and peace. Again he recounts the same voices (for the mystery of death has already been fulfilled and the victory over the enemies has been achieved and the trophy against them, the cross, has been raised up, and again He who leads captivity captive has ascended on high, who gave life and the kingdom, these good gifts, to men) and again the gates above must be opened for him. Our guardians in turn take up the procession and command the gates above to be opened for him, so that he may again be glorified in them; but he is not recognized who is clothed in the soiled garment of our life, whose redness of garments is from the winepress of human evils.

For this reason this questioning voice comes from them to those who go before: Who is this King of glory? Then their response is no longer: The Mighty and powerful in battle, but: The Lord 9.327 of hosts, he who holds the power of the universe, who has summed up all things in himself, who is pre-eminent in all things, who has restored all things to the first creation, He is the King of glory. You see how David has made the festival sweeter for us, having mixed his own grace with the gladness of the church. Therefore, let us also imitate the prophet, in those things in which it is possible to achieve the imitation, in love for God, in meekness of life, in long-suffering toward those who hate us, so that the prophet's teaching may become a guide to a life according to God in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory for ever and ever, amen.

2

καρδίᾳ πρὸς οὐδὲν μάταιον τὴν ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ φέρων μηδέ τινα δόλον τῷ πλησίον ἐξαρτυόμενος. ταύτης τῆς ἀναβάσεως ἔπαθλόν ἐστιν ἡ εὐλογία, τούτῳ δίδωσι τὴν ἀποκειμένην ἐλεημοσύνην ὁ κύριος, Αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ τῶν ζητούντων αὐτὸν γενεὰ τῶν δι' ἀρετῆς πρὸς ὕψος ἀναβαινόντων καὶ Ζητούντων τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ θεοῦ Ἰακώβ. τὸ δὲ ἐφεξῆς τῆς ψαλμῳδίας καὶ αὐτῆς τάχα τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς διδασκαλίας ἐστὶν ὑψηλότερον· τὸ μὲν γὰρ εὐαγγέλιον τὴν ἐπὶ γῆς τοῦ κυρίου διαγωγὴν καὶ τὴν ἀναστροφὴν διηγήσατο, ὁ δὲ ὑψηλὸς οὗτος προφήτης ἐκβὰς αὐτὸς ἑαυτόν, ὡς ἂν μὴ βαρύνοιτο τῷ ἐφολκίῳ τοῦ σώματος, καὶ ταῖς ὑπερκοσμίοις δυνάμεσιν ἑαυτὸν καταμίξας τὰς ἐκείνων ἡμῖν φωνὰς διεξέρχεται, ὅτε προπομπεύουσαι τοῦ δεσπότου ἐπὶ τὴν κάθοδον ἐπαρθῆναι κελεύουσι τῶν περιγείων ἀγγέλων τῶν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ζωὴν πεπιστευμένων τὰς εἰσόδους λέγουσαι· 9.326 Ἄρατε πύλας οἱ ἄρχοντες ὑμῶν καὶ ἐπάρθητε πύλαι αἰώνιοι καὶ εἰσελεύσεται ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης.

Καὶ ἐπειδὴ εἰς ὃ ἂν γένηται ὁ τὸ πᾶν ἐν ἑαυτῷ περιέχων σύμμετρον ἑαυτὸν τῷ δεχομένῳ ποιεῖ (οὐ γὰρ μόνον ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἄνθρωπος γίνεται, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ ἀκόλουθον πάντως καὶ ἐν ἀγγέλοις γινόμενος πρὸς τὴν ἐκείνων φύσιν ἑαυτὸν συγκατάγει), διὰ τοῦτο χρῄζουσιν οἱ πυλωροὶ τοῦ δεικνύντος· Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης; οὗ χάριν τὸν κραταιὸν αὐτοῖς καὶ δυνατὸν ἐν πολέμῳ ὑποδεικνύουσι, τὸν μέλλοντα πρὸς τὸν αἰχμαλωτίσαντα τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν συμπλέκεσθαι καὶ καταλύειν τὸν ἔχοντα τοῦ θανάτου τὸ κράτος, ἵνα τοῦ ἐσχάτου ἐχθροῦ ἀφανισθέντος, εἰς ἐλευθερίαν τε καὶ εἰρήνην ἀνακληθῇ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον. πάλιν διεξέρχεται τὰς ὁμοίας φωνάς (πεπλήρωται γὰρ ἤδη τὸ τοῦ θανάτου μυστήριον καὶ κατώρθωται κατὰ τῶν πολεμίων ἡ νίκη καὶ ἐγήγερται τὸ κατ' αὐτῶν τρόπαιον ὁ σταυρὸς καὶ πάλιν Ἀνέβη εἰς ὕψος ὁ αἰχμαλωτεύων τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν, ὁ δοὺς τὴν ζωήν τε καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν τὰ ἀγαθὰ ταῦτα δόματα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις) καὶ δεῖ πάλιν ἀνοιχθῆναι τὰς ὑπερκειμένας πύλας αὐτῷ. ἀντιμεταλαμβάνουσι τὴν προπομπὴν οἱ ἡμέτεροι φύλακες καὶ ἀνοιχθῆναι αὐτῷ τὰς ὑπερκειμένας πύλας παρακελεύονται, ἵνα πάλιν ἐν αὐταῖς δοξασθῇ· ἀλλ' ἀγνοεῖται ὁ τὴν ῥυπαρὰν στολὴν τοῦ ἡμετέρου βίου περιβαλλόμενος, οὗ τὸ ἐρύθημα τῶν ἱματίων ἐκ τῆς ληνοῦ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων κακῶν.

∆ιὰ τοῦτο παρ' ἐκείνων ἡ ἐρωτηματικὴ αὕτη φωνὴ πρὸς τοὺς προπομπεύοντας γίνεται· Τίς ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης; εἶτα ἡ τούτων ἀπόκρισις οὐκέτι· ὁ Κραταιὸς καὶ δυνατὸς ἐν πολέμῳ, ἀλλά· Κύριος 9.327 τῶν δυνάμεων ὁ τοῦ παντὸς ἐξημμένος τὸ κράτος, ὁ ἀνακεφαλαιώσας τὰ πάντα ἐν ἑαυτῷ, ὁ ἐν πᾶσι πρωτεύων, ὁ εἰς τὴν πρώτην κτίσιν ἀποκαταστήσας τὰ πάντα Αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης. ὁρᾶτε, ὅπως ἡμῖν γλυκυτέραν τὴν ἑορτὴν ὁ ∆αβὶδ ἀπειργάσατο τὴν ἰδίαν χάριν τῇ φαιδρότητι τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐγκαταμίξας. οὐκοῦν μιμησώμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸν προφήτην, ἐν οἷς δυνατόν ἐστι κατορθῶσαι τὴν μίμησιν, ἐν τῇ πρὸς θεὸν ἀγάπῃ, ἐν τῇ τοῦ βίου πρᾳότητι, ἐν τῇ πρὸς τοὺς μισοῦντας μακροθυμίᾳ, ἵνα γένηται ἡ τοῦ προφήτου διδασκαλία τῆς κατὰ θεὸν πολιτείας χειραγωγία ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, ἀμήν.