He took on the seed of Abraham, the Word being God, and in the form and equality of the Father. Why then do they slander the truth? Why do they refuse the Son to be what he is, on account of his love for us?

X. But the Christ-fighters, collecting for themselves from every quarter their cunningly devised inventions for assistance, also slander the divine scriptures themselves; and indeed they say that the blessed Paul called Jesus apostle and high priest; but apostleship, they say, and priesthood are modes of service; and so the disciples were sent, and Aaron and his sons served as priests; and if, they say, the measure of the Son is in these things, how can he be consubstantial with God the Father? O much perversity! They pretend not to know the truth, and their aim is to think or say nothing sound. For though confessing with us that the Son, although existing in the form of God the Father, willingly emptied himself, they do not praise the mystery of the economy in the flesh, but hearing the apostle say "High Priest and Apostle, Jesus;" they do not receive in their mind that467 the Only-begotten having become as we are, was then also named Jesus by the voice of the angel; then he was designated both apostle and high priest. Therefore let them either clearly deny that the Word became flesh, that is, man, having taken an ensouled and intelligent body, and then let them twist all the things written about him to their own purpose; or if they are afraid to deny the mystery, let them wonder with us at him who for our sake became in our likeness, but yet so remained God; for then, by investigating the measure of the emptying, they will find him to be both an apostle in a human manner, and divinely proclaimed by those who were sent. For whom did the blessed disciples proclaim to the nations, and this as true God? Was it not our Lord Jesus Christ? not an apostle on account of his humanity? not he himself being God, because he was the Word of the Father? How shall we consider him to have become a high priest? Was it according to Aaron? Was it according to the law of Moses, slaughtering for God the lambs from the flock? Was it offering turtle-doves and pigeons and fine flour mixed with oil? And yet Emmanuel has done none of such things; for he serves as priest beyond the law; he himself was the victim, the true lamb, the same spotless and guileless high priest, not ministering for his own transgressions, for he was superior to sin as God, but that he might take away the sin of the world; therefore he himself became the minister of his own offering; for it was not fitting for a common man to offer the sacrifice for the life of the world. But otherwise what does the blessed Paul say, let us examine more closely "Consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, that is, the word of faith which we proclaim;" what then does he minister to himself and to the Father? 468 "For we believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible, and in one Lord Jesus Christ his Son." Therefore let those who say that he became a priest, and are scandalized because of this, teach us what priest performs the sacred rite for himself, offers the sacrifice to himself? What priest appears in equal rank and in glory with the one from whom he receives the ministry? But although the Son became high priest on account of his humanity, he has offered to himself, and through himself to the Father, our confession, and is seen on the thrones of divinity; and Paul will confirm this, writing "Now the main point of what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister of the holy things, and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man." Therefore he serves as priest in a human manner because he became man, but he sits in council divinely because he remained the Word.

XI. He says, however, that Christ is the living God, from which dogmas of the truth some, leaping away, do not in every respect and in every way depart; but what does his own say

σπέρματος ̔Αβραὰμ ἐπελάβετο, Θεὸς ων ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ἐν μορφῇ καὶ ἰσότητι τοῦ Πατρός· τί τοίνυν συκοφαντοῦσι τὴν ἀλήθειαν; τί παραιτοῦνται τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ειναι ο ἐστι, διὰ τὴν εἰς ἡμᾶς ἀγάπην;

X. ̓Αλλὰ γὰρ οἱ χριστομάχοι τὰ ἐκ πανουργίας εὑρήματα πανταχόθεν ἑαυτοῖς συλλέγοντες εἰς ἐπικουρίαν, καὶ αὐτὰς τὰς θείας συκοφαντοῦσι γραφάς· καὶ δὴ φασὶ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον, ἀπόστολον καὶ ἀρχιερέα καλέσαι τὸν ̓Ιησοῦν· ἀποστολὴ δὲ, φασὶ, καὶ ἱερωσύνη λειτουργίας εἰσὶ τρόποι· καὶ γοῦν ἀπεστάλησαν μὲν οἱ μαθηταὶ, ἱεράτευσε δὲ ̓Ααρὼν καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ· καὶ ειπερ ἐν τούτοις ἐστί φασι τὸ τοῦ Υἱοῦ μέτρον, πῶς ὁμοούσιος ειναι δύναται τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρί; ω πολλῆς δυστροπίας· ἀποπροσποιοῦνται τὸ εἰδέναι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ σκοπὸς αὐτοῖς μηδὲν ὑγιὲς φρονεῖν ηλέγειν· ὁμολογοῦντες γὰρ μεθ' ἡμῶν, οτι καίπερ ὑπάρχων ἐν μορφῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς ὁ Υἱὸς, κεκένωκεν ἑαυτὸν ἑκὼν, οὐκ ἐπαινοῦσι τῆς μετὰ σαρκὸς οἰκονομίας τὸ μυστήριον, ἀκούοντες δὲ τοῦ ἀποστόλου λέγοντος " ̓Αρχιερέα καὶ ἀπόστολον ̓Ιησοῦν·" οὐκ εἰσδέχονται κατὰ νοῦν οτι467 γεγονὼς καθ' ἡμᾶς ὁ Μονογενὴς, ὠνόμασται τότε καὶ ̓Ιησοῦς διὰ τῆς τοῦ ἀγγέλου φωνῆς· τότε κεχρημάτικε καὶ ἀπόστολος καὶ ἀρχιερεύς. οὐκοῦν η ἀρνείσθωσαν ἐναργῶς οτι γέγονε σὰρξ ὁ Λόγος, τουτέστιν ανθρωπος, ἐμψυχωμένον τε καὶ εννουν σῶμα λαβὼν, καὶ τότε πάντα τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ γεγραμμένα περιαγέτωσαν εἰς τὸν οἰκεῖον σκοπόν· η εἰ φοβοῦνται τὸ ἀρνεῖσθαι τὸ μυστήριον, θαυμαζέτωσαν μεθ' ἡμῶν τὸν δι' ἡμᾶς ἐν τοῖς καθ' ἡμᾶς γεγονότα, μεμενηκότα δὲ καὶ ουτω Θεόν· τότε γὰρ τὸ τῆς κενώσεως πολυπραγμονοῦντες μέτρον, τὸν αὐτὸν εὑρήσουσι καὶ ἀπόστολον ἀνθρωπίνως, καὶ κηρυσσόμενον θεϊκῶς παρὰ τῶν ἀπεσταλμένων· τίνα γὰρ ἐκήρυττον τοῖς εθνεσιν οἱ μακάριοι μαθηταὶ, καὶ τοῦτο ὡς Θεὸν ἀληθινόν; αρ'οὐχὶ τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν ̓Ιησοῦν τὸν Χριστόν; οὐκ ἀπόστολον διὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον; οὐκ αὐτὸν οντα Θεὸν, οτι Λόγος ην τοῦ Πατρός; πῶς αὐτὸν ἀρχιερέα γεγονότα θεωρήσομεν; αρα κατὰ τὸν ̓Ααρών; αρα κατὰ τὸν Μωσέως νόμον, τοὺς ἐξ ἀγέλης ἀμνοὺς καταθύοντα τῷ Θεῷ; αρα τρυγόνας προσάγοντα καὶ περιστερὰς καὶ σεμίδαλιν ἐλαιοβραχῆ; καίτοι τῶν τοιούτων οὐδὲν πέπραχεν ὁ ̓Εμμανουήλ· ἱερατεύει γὰρ ὑπὲρ νόμον· αὐτὸς ην τὸ θῦμα, ὁ ἀμνὸς ὁ ἀληθινὸς, ὁ αὐτὸς ὁ αμωμός τε καὶ ακακος ἀρχιερεὺς, οὐχ ὑπὲρ ἰδίων πλημμελημάτων ἱερουργῶν, κρείσσων γὰρ ην ἁμαρτίας ὡς Θεὸς, ἀλλ' ινα λύσῃ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου· γέγονε τοίνυν αὐτὸς τῆς ἰδίας προσφορᾶς ἱερουργός· οὐ γὰρ εδει κοινὸν ανθρωπον τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου ζωῆς θυσίαν προσενεγκεῖν. Αλλως δὲ τί φησιν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος, δοκιμάσωμεν ἀκριβέστερον "Κατανοήσατε τὸν ἀπόστολον καὶ ἀρχιερέα "τῆς ὁμολογίας ἡμῶν, τουτέστι τὸ ῥῆμα τῆς πίστεως ο"κηρύσσομεν·" τί τοίνυν ἱερουργεῖ ἑαυτῷ καὶ τῷ Πατρί; 468 "Πιστεύομεν γὰρ εἰς ενα Θεὸν Πατέρα παντοκράτορα, πάν"των ὁρατῶν τε καὶ ἀοράτων ποιητὴν καὶ εἰς ενα κύριον " ̓Ιησοῦν Χριστὸν τὸν αὐτοῦ Υἱόν." οὐκοῦν οἱ λέγοντες οτι γέγονεν ἱερεὺς, διά τε τοῦτο σκανδαλιζόμενοι, διδασκέτωσαν ἡμᾶς ποῖος ἱερεὺς ἑαυτῷ ποιεῖται τὴν ἱερουργίαν, ἑαυτῷ προσφέρει τὴν θυσίαν; ποῖος ἱερεὺς ἐν ισῃ τάξει καὶ ἐν δόξῃ φαίνεται τῷ παρ' αὐτοῦ δεχομένῳ τὴν λειτουργίαν; ἀλλὰ καίτοι γεγονὼς ἀρχιερεὺς ὁ Υἱὸς διὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, ἑαυτῷ προσκεκόμικε, καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ τῷ Πατρὶ τὴν ὁμολογίαν ἡμῶν, καὶ ἐν τοῖς τῆς θεότητος ὁρᾶται θρόνοις· καὶ πιστώσεται γράφων ὁ Παῦλος "Κεφάλαιον δὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς εἰρημένοις, "τοιοῦτον εχομεν ἀρχιερέα ος ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ θρόνου "τῆς μεγαλωσύνης ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, τῶν ἁγίων λειτουργὸς, "καὶ τῆς σκηνῆς τῆς ἀληθινῆς ην επηξεν ὁ Κύριος καὶ οὐκ "ανθρωπος." οὐκοῦν ἱερατεύει μὲν ἀνθρωπίνως οτι γέγονεν ανθρωπος, συνεδρεύει δὲ θεϊκῶς οτι μεμένηκε Λόγος.

XI. Θεὸν μέντοι ζῶντά φησι τὸν Χριστὸν, ου πάντη τε καὶ πάντως ἀφίστανται τῶν τῆς ἀληθείας δογμάτων ἀποπηδῶντές τινες· ἀλλὰ τί φησιν ὁ αὐτοῦ