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to the one holding death and having called visibly to the one being held, performed the great sign of his own power, revealing the pledge of the universal resurrection. For this reason he reclined with him who had been made, rejoicing, as having confirmed through his works that he himself is “our life and resurrection”; for this too had been proclaimed somewhere beforehand by him through the prophet: “I will rejoice in doing good to them.”

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At this miracle and at their own feast the honorable disciples of the Savior and sisters of the resurrected one were serving, one offering things of reception, the other things of love for God. For Martha was somehow hospitable like Abraham, and a lover of the poor like Job, and a lover of Christ in her confession like Peter, having the loving door of hospitality open to everyone who came; whence not secretly, nor in ignorance, as Lot of old, did she entertain angels, but with good knowledge and disposition she received the creator and lord of angels under her roof. And Martha was of such a kind and so great and in such great things.

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And her sister Mary, she too, “taking a pound of very costly ointment of pure [nard], anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.” The holy women, breathing an ointment of piety, filled the house with the fragrance of the ointment, Martha through her confession, and Mary [through] her work. Martha is a second Peter; for grace breathed also on her and for this reason she rained down the faith of the chief apostle.

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She heard: “he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,” she recognized the giver of life and using a straight-shooting voice she cried out: “I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” For it was necessary for the female nature to recognize and confess the creator and God. First Peter, taught by God, confesses, second Martha, initiated by God, proclaims, third John in his writings, with divine wisdom and in a unique way, theologizes. Peter and Martha: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God;” John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

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Pay attention, beloved, to the light of truth, flee the darkness of error. “You are,” she says, “the Christ”; not a mere man Christ, but the Son of the living God, the Word who became flesh unchangeably for us, the only Son of the living God, the Word who became flesh; not one of the Judaic christs, not one of the Judaic and spurious christs, but you according to Paul, “the one Lord, who is over all, blessed forever and ever, amen;” you alone are Christ and the only-begotten Son of the living God; “we have seen,” says the evangelist, “his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth;”

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you are the first-born and the only-begotten and alone with the Holy Spirit consubstantial and of equal honor and of equal power with the one who begot you, without beginning and co-eternal with God the Father; you are the Christ, not one of your created invisible and ministering powers, but by nature the Son of the living God. “For not an envoy nor an angel, but the Lord himself,” he says, as Isaiah said, “saved us, saved them;” so the angels are not christs; you are the Christ, that is, not a man Christ, but God Christ, God having become man, not a man deified, but anointing your own and voluntary incarnation with your own divinity on account of which it is also said: “your name is ointment poured out,” and “we will run after the fragrance of your ointments;” you are the Christ worshipped by all creation, as one Lord and God, as one Son, as one Master with the Father [and] the Holy Spirit.

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Let us again bring back the discourse to the most beautiful sisterhood of the pious and faithful sisters. O the harmony of genuine friends and servants

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κατέχοντι θανάτῳ καὶ φωνήσας ὁρατῶς τῷ κατεχομένῳ, τὸ μέγα τῆς οἰκείας δυνάμεως ἀπεποίησε σημεῖον, τῆς καθόλου ἀναστάσεως ἐμφανίσας τὸν ἀρραβῶνα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο συνανεκλίθη τῷ ποιηθέντι εὐφραινόμενος, ὡς πιστοποιήσας διὰ τῶν ἔργων ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν «ἡ ζωὴ καὶ ἡ ἀνάστασις ἡμῶν»· προαναπεφώνητο γάρ που παρ' αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦτο διὰ τοῦ προφήτου· «εὐφρανθήσομαι ἐν τῷ ἀγαθοποιεῖν με αὐτοῖς.»

11 Τῷδε τῷ θαύματι καὶ τῇ ἑαυτῶν ἑορτῇ αἱ τίμιαι μαθή τριαι τοῦ Σωτῆρος καὶ τοῦ ἀναστάντος ἀδελφαὶ διηκόνουν, ἡ μὲν τὰ τῆς ὑποδοχῆς, ἡ δὲ τὰ τῆς φιλοθεΐας προσκομίζουσαι. Ἦν γάρ πως ἡ Μάρθα φιλόξενος μὲν ὡς ἀβραμιαία, φιλόπτωχος δὲ ὡς ὁ Ἰὼβ, καὶ φιλόχριστος τὴν ὁμολογίαν ὡς Πέτρος, ἠνεῳγμένην ἔχουσα τὴν τῆς φιλοξενίας ἀγαπητικὴν θύραν παντὶ ἐρχομένῳ· ὅθεν οὐ λεληθότως, οὐδὲ ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ, ὡς πάλαι ὁ Λὼτ, ἀγγέλους ἐξένισεν, ἀλλ' ἐν εἰδήσει ἀγαθῇ καὶ διαθέσει τὸν τῶν ἀγγέλων δημιουργὸν καὶ κύριον ὑπὸ τὴν ὀροφὴν εἰσεδέξατο. Καὶ ἡ μὲν Μάρθα τοιαύτη καὶ τηλικαύτη καὶ ἐν τηλικούτοις.

12 Ἡ δὲ ταύτης ἀδελφὴ Μαρία καὶ αὐτὴ «λαβοῦσα λίτραν μύρου [νάρδου] πιστικῆς πολυτίμου ἤλειψεν τοὺς πόδας τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ ταῖς θριξὶν αὐτῆς ἀπέμαξεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς πόδας, ἡ δὲ οἰκία ἐπλήσθη ἐκ τῆς ὀσμῆς τοῦ μύρου.» Μύρον εὐσεβείας πνέουσαι αἱ ἅγιαι, μύρου εὐωδίας καὶ τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπλήρωσαν, ἡ μὲν Μάρθα διὰ τῆς ὁμολογίας, ἡ δὲ Μαρία [διὰ] τῆς ἐργασίας. ∆εύτερος Πέτρος ἡ Μάρθα· ἐπέπνευσε γὰρ καὶ ταύτῃ ἡ χάρις καὶ διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὴ τὴν τοῦ κορυφαίου ἀνώμβρησε πίστιν.

13 Ἤκουσεν· «ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ κἂν ἀποθάνῃ, ζήσεται», ἐπέγνω τὸν τῆς ζωῆς χορηγὸν καὶ εὐθυβόλῳ χρησαμένη φωνῇ ἀνέκραγεν· «ἐγὼ πεπίστευκα ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐρχόμενος.» Ἔδει γὰρ τὴν γυναικείαν φύσιν ἐπιγνῶναι καὶ ὁμολογῆσαι τὸν κτίστην καὶ θεόν. Πρῶτον Πέτρος θεοδιδάκτως ὁμολογεῖ, δεύτερον Μάρθα θεομυήτως ἀναφωνεῖ, τρίτον Ἰωάννης ἐν δέλτοις θεοφρόνως καὶ μονογενῶς θεολογεῖ. Πέτρος καὶ Μάρθα· «σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος·» Ἰωάννης· «ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος. Καὶ ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν.»

14 Πρόσεχε, ἀγαπητὲ, τῷ φωτισμῷ τῆς ἀληθείας, φεῦγε τὸ σκότος τῆς πλάνης. «Σὺ εἶ, φησὶν, ὁ Χριστός»· οὐ ψιλὸς Χριστὸς ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ' υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος, ὁ Λόγος ὁ γενόμενος σὰρξ ἄτρεπτος δι' ἡμᾶς, ὁ μόνος υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος, ὁ Λόγος ὁ γενόμενος σάρξ· οὐχ εἷς τῶν Ἰουδαϊκῶν χριστῶν, οὐχ εἷς τῶν Ἰουδαϊκῶν καὶ παρεγγράπτων χριστῶν, ἀλλὰ σὺ κατὰ Παυλὸν, «ὁ εἷς Κύριος, ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων εὐλογητὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, ἀμήν·» σὺ εἶ μόνος Χριστὸς καὶ υἱὸς μονογενὴς τοῦ θεοῦ, τοῦ ζῶντος· «ἐθεασάμεθα, φησὶν ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς, τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ Πατρὸς, πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας·»

15 σὺ εἶ ὁ πρωτότοκος καὶ ὁ μονογενὴς καὶ μόνος σὺν ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι ὁμοούσιός τε καὶ ὁμότιμος καὶ ἰσοδύναμος τῷ γεγεννηκότι, ἄναρχός τε καὶ συναΐδιος θεῷ Πατρί· σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς, οὐχ εἷς τῶν ὑπό σου κτισθέντων ἀοράτων καὶ λειτουργικῶν σου δυνάμεων, ἀλλὰ φυσικῶς υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος. «Οὐ πρέσβυς γὰρ οὐδὲ ἄγγελος, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος, φησὶν, ὡς εἶπεν Ἡσαΐας, ἔσωσεν ἡμᾶς, ἔσωσεν αὐτούς·» ὥστε οὐκ εἰσὶν οἱ ἄγγελοι χριστοί· σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦτ' ἔστιν οὐκ ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς, ἀλλὰ θεὸς Χριστὸς, θεὸς ἐνανθρωπήσας, οὐκ ἄνθρωπος ἀποθεωθεὶς, ἀλλὰ χρίσας τὴν οἰκείαν καὶ ἑκούσιον σάρκωσιν τῇ οἰκείᾳ θεότητι δι' ὃ καὶ εἴρηται· «μῦρον ἐκκενωθὲν ὄνομά σου,» καὶ «εἰς ὀσμὴν μύρων σου ἐκδραμούμεθα·» σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ παρὰ πάσης κτίσεως προσκυνούμενος, ὡς εἷς Κύριος καὶ θεὸς, ὡς εἷς Υἱὸς, ὡς εἷς ∆εσπότης σὺν Πατρὶ [καὶ] τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι.

16 Πάλιν ἐπανάξωμεν τὸν λόγον ἐπὶ τὴν καλλίστην ἀδελφότητα τῶν εὐσεβῶν καὶ πιστῶν ἀδελφῶν. Ὦ συμπνοίας τῶν φίλων καὶ θεραπόντων γνησίων