Epiphanius of Salamis, Homily on Palm Sunday

of him. The tribes that were once became beloved of God, and the lawless have become lawful, and the lawful, lawless. So be it, you did not respect the prophets, you killed priests, you distorted the Scriptures, you abolished the law, you sawed the righteous in two, you rejected Moses, you slaughtered the sons, you defiled the temple, you disobeyed God, you did not believe in Christ, you insulted the divine signs, you disbelieved concerning Lazarus, you did not believe the blind who regained their sight; then what do you say about these children? what law do you make concerning the hymn of the nursing infants? who, tell me, enlightened them? who taught43.437 them? or who roused them? who made them wise? who suddenly gave speech to the speechless, if not Christ the pre-eternal Word? Now the young, children and infants alike, with one hand holding the breast, and with a voice chanting an angelic hymn; with one hand holding the breast, and with the other hand waving palm branches to Christ; the speechless nature, having become a theologian; immediately offering the prophetic word to God, a hymn of the bodiless ones as gifts, and at the same time crying out, Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, God is the Lord, and has appeared to us.

To which I, having taken courage, ask in return these sacred children most joyfully and festally; What do you say, O children of God, O praiseworthy children? From where did you get this harmony, you who cry out the cherubic hymn? And how, seeing Christ on a colt in a manner befitting a man; do you cry out "Hosanna in the highest" in a manner befitting God? Yes, say the God-inspired children to us, Christ is seated upon a perceptible colt, but he is in no way separated from the Father's bosom; and he is seated on the colt of a donkey, but he does not abandon the cherubic throne. But he himself who is below with flesh among mortals without ceasing, he himself is also thus above with the Father, unerring and true God, he himself is the almighty, and ruler of the world, and ruler of nations, and true God, and provider, and creator, and guide, and Savior of all.

He enters the Jerusalem below, and is not separated from the one above; this is the creator of the ages, both from the ages, and unto the ages; he is the one who alone stretched out the heaven; this is he who walks upon the sea as upon dry land; this one swaddled the sea with mist; this one set bars for men; this one divided the boundaries for the seas; this one, having spread out the earth, hung it upon nothing; this one mixed the combinations of the elements with all wisdom; this one adorned the beauties of the plants; this one stretched out the heaven like a garment; this one adorned it with bright luminaries.

At him the cherubim shudder, and the seraphim tremble, him the sun hymns, him the moon glorifies, him the stars praise, to him the springs are subject, at him the abysses shudder, him the depths of Tartarus fear, to him the sea-monsters yield, at him the dragons tremble, to him the rains are subject, him the winds revere; this one established natures, this one constituted creations, this one arranged the orders, this is the creator of the creations above and below, God our Lord; and to him be the glory and the power unto the ages of ages. Amen.

αὐτοῦ. Τὰ ποτὲ φῦλα θεόφιλα γέγονε, καὶ οἱ ἄνομοι γεγόνασιν ἔννομοι, καὶ οἱ ἔννομοι παράνομοι. Ἔστω, τοὺς προφήτας οὐκ ᾐδέσθης, ἱερεῖς ἀπέκτεινας, τὰς Γραφὰς διέστρεψας, τὸν νόμον κατέλυσας, δικαίους κατέπρισας, Μωσῆν ἠθέτησας, τοὺς υἱοὺς κατέσφαξας, τὸν ναὸν ἐμίανας, τοῦ Θεοῦ παρήκουσας, Χριστῷ οὐκ ἐπίστευσας, τὰς θεοσημαίας ἐνύβρισας, περὶ Λαζάρου ἠπίστησας, τοῖς τυφλοῖς οὐκ ἐπίστευσας ἀναβλέψασιν· εἶτα τί περὶ τῶν παίδων τούτων λέγεις; τί περὶ ὕμνου τῶν θηλαζόντων νομοθετεῖς; τίς, εἰπέ μοι, τούτους ἐφώτισε; τίς ἐδί43.437 δαξεν; ἢ τίς ἐξήγειρεν; τίς ἐσόφισε; τίς ἐξαίφνης ἀπειρολόγοις δέδωκε λόγον, εἰ μὴ Χριστὸς ὁ προαιώνιος Λόγος; Νῦν οἱ νέοι, παῖδες ὁμοῦ τε καὶ νήπια χειρὶ μιᾷ μαζὸν κατέχοντα, καὶ φωνῇ ὕμνον ἀγγελικὸν ἀναμέλποντα· χειρὶ μιᾷ μαζὸν κατέχοντα, καὶ ἄλλῃ χειρὶ Χριστῷ βαΐα ἐπισείοντα· ἡ ἀπειρολόγος, θεολόγος γεγενημένη φύσις· εὐθὺς τὸν προφητικὸν λόγον Θεῷ τῶν ἀσωμάτων ὕμνον ὡς δῶρα προσάγοντα, ὁμοῦ τε καὶ κράζοντα, Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου, Θεὸς Κύριος, καὶ ἐπέφανεν ἡμῖν.

Πρὸς ἃ ἐγὼ περιχάριστα ὁμοῦ τε καὶ ἐφεόρτια ἀντεπερωτῶ τοὺς ἱεροὺς τούτους παῖδας θαρσήσας· Τί φατὲ, ὦ παῖδες Θεοῦ, παῖδες ἀνυμνήτορες; Πόθεν ὑμῖν ὁ ἰσόῤῥοπος οὗτος, τὸν χερουβικὸν ὕμνον ἀνακράζοντες; Πῶς δὲ ἐπὶ πώλου Χριστὸν ὁρῶντες ἀνθρωποπρεπῶς· Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις, βοᾶτε θεοπρεπῶς; Ναὶ, φασὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς οἱ θεορήτορες παῖδες, καὶ ἐπὶ πώλου αἰσθητοῦ Χριστὸς καθέζεται, ἀλλὰ τοῦ κόλπου τοῦ πατρικοῦ οὐδαμοῦ χωρίζεται· καὶ ἐπὶ πώλου ὄνου καθέζεται, ἀλλὰ τοῦ θρόνου τοῦ χερουβικοῦ οὐκ ἀπολιμπάνεται. Ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ὁ κάτω μετὰ σαρκὸς βροτοῖς ἀνελλιπῶς, αὐτὸς οὕτως καὶ ἄνω μετὰ Πατρὸς Θεὸς ἀψευδὴς, καὶ ἀληθινὸς, αὐτὸς ὁ παντοκράτωρ, καὶ κοσμοκράτωρ, καὶ ἐθνοκράτωρ, καὶ ἀληθὴς Θεὸς, καὶ χορηγὸς, καὶ φυτουργὸς, καὶ ὁδηγὸς, καὶ Σωτὴρ πάντων.

Αὐτὸς εἰς τὴν κάτω Ἱερουσαλὴμ εἰσέρχεται, καὶ τῆς ἄνω οὐ χωρίζεται· οὗτος ὁ ποιητὴς τῶν αἰώνων καὶ ἐξ αἰώνων, καὶ εἰς αἰῶνας· αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ τανύσας τὸν οὐρανὸν μόνος· οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ περιπατῶν ἐπὶ θαλάσσης ὡς ἐπὶ ἐδάφους· οὗτος ὁμίχλῃ τὴν θάλασσαν ἐσπαργάνωσεν· οὗτος τὰ κλεῖθρα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις περιέθηκεν· οὗτος ὅρους ταῖς θαλάσσαις ἐμέρισεν· οὗτος ἁπλώσας γαῖαν ἐπ' οὐδενὶ ἐκρέμασεν· οὗτος στοιχείων τὰς κράσεις πανσόφως ἐκέρασεν· οὗτος τὰ κάλλη τῶν φυτῶν κατεκόσμησεν· οὗτος οὐρανὸν ὡς ἱμάτιον ἐξέτεινεν· οὗτος αὐτὸν φωστῆρσι λαμπροῖς κατεκόσμησε.

Τοῦτον φρίττουσι χερουβὶμ, καὶ τρέμουσι σεραφὶμ, τοῦτον ὑμνεῖ ἥλιος, τοῦτον δοξολογεῖ σελήνη, τοῦτον αἰνοῦσι τὰ ἄστρα, τούτῳ δουλεύουσιν αἱ πηγαὶ, τοῦτον φρίττουσιν ἄβυσσοι, τοῦτον δεδοίκασι τάρταροι, τούτῳ ὑπείκει τὰ κήτη, τοῦτον τρέμουσι δράκοντες, τούτῳ δουλεύουσιν ὄμβροι, τοῦτον εὐλαβοῦνται πνεύματα· οὗτος ὑπέστησε φύσεις, οὗτος κατέστησε κτίσεις, οὗτος κατέταξε τάξεις, οὗτος ὁ τῶν ἄνω καὶ τῶν κάτω κτίσεων ποιητὴς Θεὸς Κύριος ἡμῶν· καὶ αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.