choice, may it grant me rational perception. At the table of the beasts was set the heavenly bread [alt. was added the bread of life], so that to the beast-like among humans He might grant participation in a mystical food. And there was no room for them in the inn. He had no room, He who by the word fashioned heaven and earth; since, though He was rich, for our sakes He became poor, choosing [alt. taking upon himself] extreme humility, for the salvation of our nature, through His innate goodness towards us. He who filled all the administration [alt. righteousness] of the economy of the ineffable mysteries [alt. with the ineffable mystery] in heaven in the bosom of the Father, and in the cave in the arms of His mother, rested in the manger. Angelic choirs encircled him, proclaiming glory in heaven, and on earth peace. In heaven He sat at the right hand of the Father; and in the manger He rested as upon the cherubim. 10.1156 Truly this is also a cherubic throne; a royal throne; Holy of holies, glorious alone upon the earth, holier than the saints; in which Christ our God rested. To whom be glory, honor, and power, with the immaculate Father, and the all-holy and life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Of the same, our Father among the saints, Gregory, bishop of

Neocaesarea in Pontus, the Wonderworker, encomium on the Annunciation of the all-holy Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary,

discourse 2. We ought to offer all feasts and hymns like sacrifices to God; but first [alt. first] of all, the Annunciation of the holy Theotokos, the "Hail, full of grace," which came to her from the angel; since also as the first of all wisdom [alt. before all wisdom] and saving teaching in the new covenant, the "Hail, full of grace" was sent to us from the Father of lights. And in saying "full of grace," he included the whole nature of humankind. Hail, full of grace, on account of the holy conception and the glorious birth. I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people. Again, when the Lord was coming to His saving passion, He said: I will see you, and you will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. And after the resurrection, again through the holy women, He first brings us the good news of "hail" [alt. "rejoice"]. Again, the Apostle cries out things similar to these: Rejoice always, he says; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks. See, therefore, beloved, how the Lord has granted us everywhere, indivisibly, a joy beyond understanding and everlasting. For since the holy Mary, while in the flesh, possessed an incorruptible way of life, having lived in all sorts of virtues, and having lived better than a human; for this reason, the Word from God the Father deigned to take on flesh, and a perfect human nature from her; so that through the flesh by which sin entered into the world, and through sin, death, through the same flesh sin might be condemned in the flesh, and the tempter of sin might be conquered, in the burial [alt. in the touch] of the holy body; and the beginning of the resurrection might be revealed at the same time, and eternal life might be lived in the world, and communion with God the Father might come to men. And what shall we say, or what shall we omit? Or who will explain the incomprehensible nature of the mystery? But now let us return to the subject at hand. To a pure Virgin Gabriel was sent; the bodiless one to her who in the body pursued the incorruptible way of life, having lived in purity and in virtues. And coming to 10.1157 her, first the "Hail,"

προαίρεσιν, λογικῆς με ταδώσῃ αἰσθήσεως. Ἐν τῇ τραπέζῃ τῶν κτηνῶν προε τέθη ὁ οὐράνιος ἄρτος [ἄλ. προσετέθη ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς], ἵνα τοῖς κτηνώδεσιν τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις μυστικῆς βρώ σεως χορηγήσῃ μετάληψιν. Καὶ οὐδὲ τόπος ἦν αὐτοῖς ἐν τῷ καταλύματι. Τόπον οὐκ εἶχεν, ὁ οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν τῷ λόγῳ κατασκευάσας· ἐπειδὴ, πλούσιος ὢν, δι' ἡμᾶς ἐπτώχευσεν, ταπείνωσιν ἄκραν ἑλόμε νος [ἄλ. ἀνελόμενος], διὰ τὴν σωτηρίαν τῆς ἡμετέρας φύσεως, τῆς ἐμφύτου αὐτοῦ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀγαθότητος. Ὁ ἀποῤῥήτων μυστηρίων [ἄλ. ἀποῤῥήτῳ μυστηρίῳ] τῆς οἰκονομίας πληρώσας πᾶσαν διοίκησιν [ἄλ. δι καιοσύνην] ἐν οὐρανῷ ἐν κόλπῳ τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ ἐν σπηλαίῳ ἐν ἀγκάλαις μητρὸς, ἀνεπαύσατο ἐν τῇ φάτνῃ. Ἀγγελικαὶ χορεῖαι περιεκύκλωσαν αὐτὸν, ἐν οὐρανῷ δοξολογίαν, καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνην καταμη νύοντες. Ἐν οὐρανῷ ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκαθέζετο· καὶ ἐν τῇ φάτνῃ ὡς ἐπὶ τῶν χερουβὶμ ἀνεπαύσατο. 10.1156 Θρόνος ἀληθῶς καὶ οὗτος χερουβικός· θρόνος βασιλι κός· Ἅγιος ἁγίων, ἔνδοξος μόνος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τῶν ἁγίων ἁγιώτερος· ἐν ᾧ ἀνεπαύσατο Χριστὸς ὁ Θεὸς ἠμῶν. Ὧι ἡ δόξα, τιμὴ, καὶ τὸ κράτος, σὺν τῷ Πατρὶ ἀχράντῳ, καὶ τῷ παναγίῳ καὶ ζωοποιῷ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐν ἁγίοις Πατρὸς ἡμῶν Γρηγορίου ἐπισκόπου τῆς

Νεοκαισαρείας Πόντου, τοῦ Θαυματουργοῦ, ἐγκώμιον εἰς τὸν Εὐαγγελισμὸν τῆς παναγίας θεοτόκου καὶ ἀεὶ παρθένου τῆς Μαρίας,

λόγος βʹ. Ἑορτὰς μὲν ἁπάσας καὶ ὑμνῳδίας, δέον ἡμᾶς θυσιῶν δίκην προσφέρειν τῷ

Θεῷ· πρώτην δὲ [ἄλ. πρῶτον δὲ] πάντων, τὸν Εὐαγγελισμὸν τῆς ἁγίας Θεοτόκου, τὸ, Χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμένη, τὸν παρὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου πρὸς αὐτὴν γεγονότα· ἐπειδὴ καὶ πρώτη πάσης σοφίας [ἄλ. πρὸ τῆς σοφίας πάσης] καὶ σωτηρίου διδασκαλίας ἐπὶ τῆς νέας διαθήκης, τὸ Χαῖρε κεχαριτωμένη, παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς τῶν φώτων ἡμῖν ἀπεστάλη. Κεχαριτωμένη δὲ εἰπὼν, πᾶσαν τὴν φύσιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων συμπεριέλαβεν. Χαῖρε, κεχα ριτωμένη, ἐπὶ τῇ ἁγίᾳ συλλήψει καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ ἐνδόξῳ κυήσει Εὐαγγελίζομαι ὑμῖν χαρὰν μεγάλην, ἥτις ἔσται παντὶ τῷ λαῷ. Πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸ σωτήριον πάθος ὁ Κύριος ἐρχόμενος, ἔλεγεν· Ὄψομαι ὑμᾶς, καὶ χαρίσεσθε, καὶ τὴν χαρὰν ὑμῶν οὐδεὶς αἱρεῖ ἀφ' ὑμῶν. Καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἀναστῆναι, πάλιν διὰ τῶν ἁγίων γυναικῶν, πρῶτον τὸ χαῖρε [ἄλ. χαίρετε] ἡμῖν εὐαγ γελίζεται. Πάλιν παραπλήσια τούτοις ὁ Ἀπόστολος κέκραγεν· Πάντοτε, λέγων, χαίρετε· ἀδιαλείπτως προσεύχεσθε· ἐν παντὶ εὐχαριστεῖτε. Ὁρᾶτε τοί νυν, ὦ ἀγαπητοὶ, πῶς τὴν ὑπὲρ ἔννοιαν καὶ ἀένναον χαρὰν, ἀδιαιρέτως πανταχοῦ ἡμῖν ὁ Κύριος ἐδωρή σατο. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἡ ἁγία Μαρία ἐν σαρκὶ οὖσα, τὴν ἄφθαρτον πολιτείαν ἐκέκτητο, ἀρεταῖς τε παν τοίαις πολιτευσαμένη, καὶ βιώσασα κρεῖττον ἢ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον· διὰ τοῦτο, ὁ ἐκ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς Λόγος σάρκα ἀναλαβεῖν, καὶ τέλειον ἀνθρώπινον ἐξ αὐτῆς κατη ξίωσεν· ἴνα δι' ἧς σαρκὸς ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν, καὶ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ θάνατος, διὰ τῆς αὐτῆς σαρκὸς κατακριθῇ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ, καὶ νικηθῇ ὁ τῆς ἁμαρτίας πειραστὴς, ἐν τῇ ταφῇ [ἄλ. ἐν τῆ ἀφῇ] τοῦ ἁγίου σώματος· καὶ ἀρχὴ ἀνα στάσεως ἅμα ἀποδεχθῇ, καὶ ζωὴ αἰώνιος ἐν κόσμῳ πολιτευθῇ, καὶ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἀνθρώποις γένηται κοι νωνία. Καὶ τί εἴπωμεν, ἢ τί παραλείπωμεν; ἢ τίς ἐξηγήσεται τοῦ μυστηρίου τὸ ἀκατάληπτον; Ἀλλὰ νῦν ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἐπανέλθωμεν. Πρὸς Παρθένον ἁγνὴν Γαβριὴλ ἀπέσταλται· ὁ ἀσώματος πρὸς τὴν ἐν σώματι μετελθοῦσαν τὴν πολιτείαν τὴν ἄφθαρτον, ἐν ἁγνείᾳ, καὶ ἐν ἀρεταῖς βιώσασαν. Καὶ ἐλθὼν πρὸς 10.1157 αὐτὴν, πρῶτον τὸ, Χαῖρε,