3

First, I do not even recognize the occasion. For what is the chaff to the wheat? And what is the indulgence of the flesh to the struggles of martyrs? Those things belong to the theaters, these to my congregations; those to the dissolute, these to the self-controlled; those to the lovers of the flesh, these to those who are being released from the body. Then I wish to say something even bolder, but I refrain from the blasphemy out of respect for the day; however, the martyrs do not demand these things from 35.840 us; for to speak thus is more moderate. 2. Let us not then, brothers, celebrate the holy things unworthily, nor the lofty things in a lowly manner, nor the honorable things without honor, nor, to speak concisely, the things of the spirit in an earthly way. A Jew also celebrates a festival, but according to the letter; a Greek also keeps a feast, but as is pleasing to the demons. But for us, as all things are spiritual—action, motion, will, word, even to our gait and clothing, even to a nod, since the Word reaches to all things and regulates the man who lives according to God—so also is our celebrating and our making merry. For I do not forbid relaxation, but I punish excess. If we understand thus, and thus celebrate, it is a great thing that we ourselves shall also attain to the same contests, so to speak, and shall inherit the same glory; for what eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has the mind of man ever conceived, fashioning blessedness at will, these things we believe are laid up for those who have been purified through blood and have imitated the sacrifice of Christ. But at least we shall see the splendor of the holy martyrs—for not even this is a small thing, according to my word—and we shall enter into the joy of the same Lord, and by the light of the blessed and sovereign Trinity, I know well, we shall be illumined more clearly and more purely, in whom we have believed, and whom we worship, and whom we confess before God and men, fearing nothing, being ashamed of nothing, neither the enemies from without, nor the false christs and enemies of the Spirit among ourselves. And may we confess until our last breath with great boldness the good deposit of the holy Fathers, of those nearer to Christ and to the first faith, the confession that was nurtured with us from childhood, which we first uttered, and with which we may at last depart, carrying away from here this, if nothing else, our piety.

7. But the God of peace, who reconciled us to himself through the cross, when we had been made enemies through sin; who preached peace to those who are near and to those who are far, both to those under the law and to those outside the law; 35.841 the father of love, who is love; for in these names he rejoices to be called above all others, that he might legislate brotherly love even by his names, who gave the new commandment to love one another as much as we also have been loved; who gave power both to rule well, and to be ruled through fear, and to withdraw with reason, and to be bold again for the sake of the Word; who both orders great flocks and makes small ones great through grace, may he himself, according to the multitude of his goodness, comfort us with great comfort, and lead us onward, shepherding and preserving the flock with us; and may he perfect you in every good work, and persuade you to celebrate spiritually with the martyrs, and deem you worthy of the delight that is there, where the dwelling of all who rejoice is, and, when you have appeared in righteousness, may he satisfy you with his glory, which has been revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory and the power, the honor and the worship for ever and ever. Amen.

3

πρῶτον μὲν οὐδὲ τὸν καιρὸν ἐπιγινώσκω. Τί γὰρ τὰ ἄχυρα πρὸς τὸν σῖτον; Τί δὲ θρύψις σαρκὸς πρὸς μαρτύρων παλαίσμα τα; Ἐκεῖνα τῶν θεάτρων, ταῦτα τῶν ἐμῶν συλλό γων· ἐκεῖνα τῶν ἀκολάστων, ταῦτα τῶν σωφρονούν των· ἐκεῖνα τῶν φιλοσάρκων, ταῦτα τῶν λυομένων ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος. Ἔπειτα βούλομαι μὲν εἰπεῖν τι καὶ τολμηρότερον, φείδομαι δὲ τῆς βλασφημίας αἰδοῖ τῆς ἡμέρας· πλὴν οὐ ταῦτα ἀπαιτοῦσι παρ' 35.840 ἡμῶν οἱ μάρτυρες· οὕτω γὰρ εἰπεῖν μετριώ τερον. ʹ. Μὴ τοίνυν ἀνάγνως τελῶμεν, ἀδελφοὶ, τὰ ἅγια, μηδὲ τὰ ὑψηλὰ ταπεινῶς, μηδ' ἀτίμως τὰ τίμια, μηδὲ, συνελόντα εἰπεῖν, χοϊκῶς τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος. Πανηγυρίζει καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ γράμμα· ἑορτάζει καὶ Ἕλλην, ἀλλ' ὡς ἀρέσκει τοῖς δαίμοσιν. Ἡμῖν δὲ, ὡς πάντα πνευματικὰ, πρᾶξις, κίνημα, βούλημα, λόγος, ἄχρι καὶ βαδίσματος καὶ ἐνδύματος, ἄχρι καὶ νεύματος, εἰς πάντα τοῦ λόγου φθάνοντος καὶ ῥυθμίζοντος τὸν κατὰ Θεὸν ἄνθρωπον· οὕτω καὶ τὸ πανηγυρίζειν, καὶ τὸ φαιδρύνεσθαι. Οὐ γὰρ κωλύω τὴν ἄνεσιν, ἀλλὰ κολάζω τὴν ἀμετρίαν. Ἂν οὕτω συνιῶμεν, καὶ οὕτω πανηγυρίζωμεν, μέγα μὲν, ὅτι καὶ αὐτοὶ τευξόμεθα τῶν αὐτῶν ἄθλων, εἰπεῖν, καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς δόξης κληρονομήσομεν· ἃ γὰρ οὔτε ὀφθαλμὸς εἶδεν, οὔτε οὖς ἤκουσεν, οὔτε ἀνθρώπινός ποτε νοῦς ἀνετυπώσατο, κατ' ἐξουσίαν πλάττων μακαριότητα, ταῦτα νομίζομεν ἀποκεῖσθαι τοῖς καθῃραμένοις δι' αἵματος, καὶ τὴν Χριστοῦ θυσίαν μιμησαμένοις· ἀλλὰ τήν γε λαμπρότητα τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων ὀψόμεθα, οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῦτο μικρὸν, ὡς ὁ ἐμὸς λόγος, καὶ εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ αὐτοῦ Κυρίου εἰσελευσόμεθα, καὶ τῷ φωτὶ τῆς μακαρίας καὶ ἀρχικῆς Τριάδος, εὖ οἶδ', ὅτι ἐλλαμφθησόμεθα τρανότερόν τε καὶ καθαρώτερον, εἰς ἣν πεπιστεύκαμεν, καὶ ᾗ λατρεύομεν, καὶ ἣν ὁμολογοῦμεν ἔμπροσθεν Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, μηδὲν δεδοικότες, μηδὲν αἰσχυνόμενοι, μὴ τοὺς ἔξωθεν ἐχθροὺς, μὴ τοὺς ἐν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς ψευδοχρίστους καὶ πολεμίους τοῦ Πνεύματος. Καὶ ὁμολογοίημεν μέχρι τῆς ἐσχάτης ἀναπνοῆς ἐν πολλῇ παῤῥησίᾳ τὴν καλὴν παρακαταθήκην τῶν ἁγίων Πατέρων, τῶν ἐγγυτέρω Χριστοῦ, καὶ τῆς πρώτης πίστεως, τὴν σύντροφον ἡμῖν ἐκ παίδων ὁμολογίαν, ἣν πρώτην ἐφθεγξάμεθα, καὶ ᾗ τελευταῖον συναπέλθοιμεν, τοῦτο, εἰ μή τι ἄλλο, ἐντεῦθεν ἀποφερόμενοι, τὴν εὐσέβειαν.

Ζʹ. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης, ὁ καταλλάξας ἡμᾶς ἑαυτῷ διὰ τοῦ σταυροῦ, διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας πολεμωθέντας· ὁ εὐαγγελισάμενος εἰρήνην τοῖς ἐγγὺς, καὶ τοῖς μακρὰν, τοῖς τε ὑπὸ νόμον καὶ τοῖς ἔξω νόμου· 35.841 ὁ τῆς ἀγάπης πατὴρ, ἡ ἀγάπη· ταῦτα γὰρ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων χαίρει καλούμενος, ἵνα νομοθετήσῃ καὶ τοῖς ὀνόμασι τὸ φιλάδελφον, ὁ τὴν καινὴν ἐντολὴν δοὺς ἐν τῷ τοσοῦτον ἀγαπᾷν ἀλλήλους, ὅσον καὶ ἠγαπήμεθα· ὁ δοὺς καὶ τυραννεῖν καλῶς, καὶ τυραννεῖσθαι διὰ τὸν φόβον, καὶ ἀναδύεσθαι σὺν λόγῳ, καὶ θαῤῥεῖν πάλιν διὰ τὸν λόγον· ὁ καὶ τὰ μεγάλα ποίμνια καταρτίζων, καὶ τὰ μικρὰ μεγαλύνων διὰ τῆς χάριτος, αὐτὸς, κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς ἑαυτοῦ χρηστότητος, ἡμᾶς μὲν παρακαλέσαι παρακλήσει πολλῇ, καὶ εἰς τὰ ἔμπροσθεν ἄγοι συμποιμαίνων καὶ διασώζων τὸ ποίμνιον· ὑμᾶς δὲ καταρτίσειεν εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν, καὶ πνευματικῶς πανηγυρίζειν τοῖς μάρτυσι πείσειε, καὶ τῆς ἐκεῖθεν τρυφῆς καταξιώσειεν, ἔνθα πάντων εὐφραινομένων ἡ κατοικία, καὶ ὀφθέντας ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ δόξης κορέσειεν, ἐποφθείσης ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, ἡ τιμὴ καὶ ἡ προσκύνησις εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.