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as from some sling of the Church's mouth, sent forth to the heavens, it dealt a mortal wound to the heart of Herod, and rescued the chief from his hands! Oh, the apostolic grace and the substantial and true hope, through which, having the divine favor, he was snatched from the very snares of death! But if someone, objecting, should be perplexed, why ever did the Teacher not make the apostle snatched away from the hands of the Jews [f. 162 vo] before he was arrested, but allowed him to be encompassed by bonds and prison and the passing of days and affliction, let him know that a divine intervention to prevent his arrest would not have driven his enemies to such perplexity and wonder, as for them to have taken him in their hands, bound him with chains, and secured him with guards, and for him to be rescued from the midst of these inescapable and unyielding nets.

20 For in the former case, being easily captured by his arresters, he might perhaps have seemed to have worked some illusory trick, by being far from capture, and the apostle's miracles would have been a matter of mockery. But here, both bound with chains, and guarded by four quaternions of soldiers, and sleeping between two soldiers, with nothing lacking of all that is known to drive a condemned man to death, thus was he deemed worthy of help from above, and obtained a wondrous deliverance; by so much is this more marvelous and wondrous than that, by how much being saved from the midst of dangers is more extraordinary and more awesome than not even coming to the trial of them. But even after such a powerful miracle and angelic exhortation, he did not know that what was happening through the angel was real [f. 163 ro]; but he thought he was seeing a vision. For the weakness of human nature was still being tested, and that which happened supernaturally and ineffably, being measured by the standard of natural sequence, was judged to be an unsubstantial vision. What then did the angel who appeared do? Since he saw him still tossed by the storm of disbelief, and not suspecting that any of the things accomplished by him had happened miraculously, he passed with him through the first and second guard of soldiers so silently, that the guards did not even perceive his passage, since by some divine nod sleep had bound their eyelids so that they would not comprehend what had happened.

21 And when they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, it opened to them of its own accord, God working a miracle here too, and little by little removing the apostle's fear and showing him to be ready for what was to follow.

22 And when they had gone out and passed through one street, the angel departed and was unseen; but he, coming to a realization of the miracle, and considering the miracles previously performed for him in the prison, "and the things now supernaturally wrought" and comparing and contrasting these with those and having been assured [f. 163 vo] of the truth and certainty of the vision, and that what was seen was not an illusion but the clear outcome of a real event, he uttered such a voice with thanksgiving: "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."

23 What do you say, O greatest of apostles? Now you know? Now you have believed? Now you rejoice in the miracle? Where has the truthfulness of your hopes flown away? How have the words of that fervent confession flowed away. And the keys of the kingdom of heaven and being named the foundation of the church, where are they? And where is that intense and fiery longing, and that indissoluble union and connection even unto death. Has so great a faith come to nothing? Have your such great hopes been dissolved into thin air? Did you perceive the miracles performed by the Teacher? Have you forgotten the storm on the sea, and how with his right hand he saved you as you were sinking? No longer sounding

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τινος σφενδόνης τοῦ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας στόματος ἐκπεμφθεῖσα πρὸς οὐρανοὺς, τὴν μὲν Ἡρώδου καρδίαν και ρίως κατέτρωσε, τὸν δὲ κορυφαῖον τῶν αὐτοῦ χειρῶν διεσώσατο! Βαβαὶ χάριτος ἀποστολικῆς καὶ ἐλπίδος ἐνυποστάτου καὶ ἀληθοῦς, δι' ὧν τὸ θεῖον ἔχων εὐήκοον, ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν τοῦ θανάτου βρόχων ἀφήρπαστο! Εἰ δέ τις ἀντεπάγων διαποροίη, τί δήποτε μὴ πρὸς αὐτὸ τὸ συλληφθῆναι γενόμενον τὸν ἀπόστολον ἀνάρπαστον τῶν ἰουδαϊκῶν χειρῶν [φ. 162 ῃο] ὁ διδάσκαλος ἐποιήσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ δεσμοῖς καὶ φυλακῇ καὶ ἡμερῶν παραδρομῇ καὶ κακώσει περισχεθῆναι συγκεχώρηκεν, ἴστω ὡς οὐχ οὕτως εἰς ἀπορίαν καὶ θαῦμα τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἡ τοῦ συλληφθῆναι αὐτὸν θεόθεν συμμαχία συνήλαυνεν, ὡς τὸ ἐν χερσὶν τοῦτον ἑλόντας, καὶ ἁλύσεσι πεδήσαντας καὶ φρουροῖς ἀσφαλισαμένους, ἐκ μέσου τῶν ἀφύκτων τούτων καὶ ἀδράστων ἀρκύων ἀνασώσασθαι.

20 Ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ τοῖς συλλαβοῦσιν εὐχείρωτος ὢν τάχα ἂν ἔδοξε φαντασιώδη τινὰ τέχνην ἐνηργηκέναι, τῷ πόρρῳ γενέσθαι συλλήψεως, καὶ ἦν ἐν χλεύῃ τὰ τοῦ ἀποστόλου θαυματουργήματα. Ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ δεδεμένος ἁλύσεσι, καὶ τέσσαρσι τετραδίοις στρατιωτῶν φυλασσόμενος, καὶ μεταξὺ δύο κοιμώμενος στρατιωτῶν, καὶ μηδενὸς ἐλλείποντος τῶν ὅσα πρὸς θάνατον συνελαύνειν οἶδε τὸν κατάκριτον, οὕτω τῆς ἄνωθεν βοηθείας ἠξίωται, καὶ παραδόξου τυγχάνει ἀπολυτρώσεως· ὅσῳ τοῦτο ἐκείνου θαυμαστότερον καὶ παραδοξότερον, ὅσῳ τὸ ἐκ μέσων ἀνασωθῆναι τῶν δεινῶν τοῦ μηδὲ πρὸς πεῖραν αὐτῶν ἐλθεῖν ἐξαισιώτερόν τε καὶ φρικωδέστερον. Ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ τοσαύτην θαυματουργίας δύναμιν καὶ προτροπὴν ἀγγελικὴν οὐκ ᾔδει ὅτι ἀληθὲς ἦν τὸ γινόμενον διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου [φ. 163 ρο]· ἀλλ' ἐδόκει ὅραμα βλέπειν. Ἠλέγχετο γὰρ ἔτι τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως ἡ ἀσθένεια, καὶ τὸ ὑπὲρ φύσιν καὶ ἀφράστως γινόμενον τῇ φυσικῇ ἀκολουθίᾳ παραμετρούμενον, εἰς ἀνυπόστατον ὅραμα διεκρίνετο. Τί οὖν ὁ φανεὶς ἄγγελος; Ἐπείπερ αὐτὸν εἶδεν ἔτι τῷ τῆς ἀπιστίας χειμαζόμενον κλύδωνι, καὶ μηδὲν τῶν ὑπ' αὐτῷ τελεσθέντων παραδόξως γενέσθαι ὑποτοπάζοντα, τὴν μὲν πρώτην καὶ δευτέραν φυλακὴν τῶν στρατιωτῶν οὕτω σὺν αὐτῷ διῆλθεν ἀψοφητὶ, ὡς μηδ' αἰσθέσθαι τοὺς φυλάσσοντας τῆς τούτου διαβάσεως, θείῳ τινὶ νεύματι τοῦ ὕπνου τὰ ἐκείνου πεδήσαντος βλέφαρα πρὸς τὸ μὴ συνιέναι τὸ γεγονός.

21 Ὡς δὲ πρὸς τὴν σιδηρᾶν ἀφίκοντο πύλην τὴν εἰς τὴν πόλιν φέρουσαν, ἣ μὲν αὐτομάτη τούτοις ἠνοίχθη, τοῦ Θεοῦ κἀνταῦθα θαυματουργήσαντος καὶ τὸ τοῦ ἀποστόλου περιδεὲς κατὰ μικρὸν ὑπεξαίροντος καὶ πρόθυμον ἀποδεικνύντος πρὸς τὸ ἑξῆς.

22 Καὶ ἐπειδήπερ ἐξελθόντες προῆλθον ῥύμην μίαν, ὁ μὲν ἄγγελος ἀποστὰς ἦν ἀφανής· ὁ δὲ τοῦ θαύματος ἐν συναισθήσει γενόμενος, καὶ λογισάμενος τά τε πρότερον περὶ αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ τελεσθέντα θαύματα, «τά τε νῦν ὑπερφυῶς τερατουργηθέντα» καὶ ταῦτα ἐκείνοις συμβάλλων καὶ ἀντεξετάζων καὶ πιστωθείς [φ. 163 ῃο] τὸ τῆς ὀπτασίας ἀληθὲς καὶ βέβαιον καὶ ὡς οὐ φαντασία ἦν τὸ ὁρώμενον, ἀλλὰ πράγματος ἔκβασις ἐναργὴς, τοιάνδε μετ' εὐχαριστίας ἠφίει φωνήν· «Νῦν οἶδα ἀληθῶς ὅτι ἐξαπέστειλε Κύριος τὸν ἄγγελον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξείλετό με ἐκ χειρὸς Ἡρώδου καὶ πάσης τῆς προσδοκίας τοῦ λαοῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων».

23 Τί φὴς ἀποστόλων ὑπέρτερε; Νῦν οἶδας; Νῦν πεπίστευκας; Νῦν ἐπιχαίρεις τῷ θαύματι; Ποῦ σοι τὸ ἀψευδὲς τῶν ἐλπίδων ἀπέπτη; Πῶς τὰ τῆς θερμῆς ἐκείνης ὁμολογίας διερρύη. Αἱ δὲ κλεῖς τῆς οὐρανῶν βασιλείας καὶ τὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας χρηματίζειν ἔρεισμα, ποῦ; Ποῦ δὲ ὁ διακαὴς καὶ διάπυρος ἐκεῖνος πόθος, καὶ ἡ μέχρι θανάτου ἀδιάζευκτος ἕνωσις καὶ συνάφεια. Ἆρ' εἰς κενὸν τὰ τῆς τοσαύ της κατήντησε πίστεως; Ἆρ' εἰς αὔρας αἱ τηλικαῦται σου ἐλπίδες διελύθησαν. Ἆρ' ᾔσθου τῶν παρὰ τοῦ διδασκάλου τελεσθέντων τερατουργημάτων; Ἐπελάθου δὲ τοῦ ἐν θαλάσσῃ κλύδωνος, καὶ ὅπως τῇ δεξιᾷ σε βυθιζόμενον διεσώσατο; Οὐκ ἐνήχους ἔτι