the glory of His unseen divine kingdom. But immediately those bearing a hunting tongue will say: And if the divine glory of God the Word is unseen, how did He show it to the apostles? For if it is visible, it is not unseen; but if it is unseen, it is not visible. Therefore listen with understanding. Here the Lord Christ showed to His own disciples the glory of His unseen kingdom and did not show it, on the one hand giving full assurance, and on the other hand sparing them. For, giving full assurance, He showed them the divine glory of the unseen kingdom, not how great it was, but as much as they who bore physical eyes were able to bear; but sparing them and not envying them, He did not show them the entire glory of His unseen divine kingdom, lest with the sight they also lose their life. And a witness to this is the God of all, saying to Moses who desired to see Him, as the divine oracle says: Then Moses, answering God, said: If I have found grace in your sight, reveal yourself to me so that I may see you plainly face to face. What then did God say to him? You are mistaken, Moses, in asking these things; I do not begrudge you the sight, but I spare you for your salvation. No man shall see God and live. Here then He both showed and did not show, on the one hand giving full assurance, and on the other hand sparing them. And that it was not about His second glorious coming but about the transfiguration on the mountain, and not about John alone but also Peter and James—for He did not speak in the singular but in the plural: 'There are some standing here'; He did not say 'someone', but 'some'—listen to what follows. For it is necessary to remind you, not to teach you. And after six days Jesus takes with him Peter and James and John his brother, and brings them up to a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light; and behold, a voice saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him. Do you see that He spoke not about His second glorious coming but about the transfiguration on the mountain? What then of the Lord? Let us proceed in order, so that by your prayers we may not fall away from the things set before us. And after six days He takes Peter and James and John. But someone might say: And why did the Lord Christ not take His twelve disciples with Him and bring them up to the mountain, but Peter and James and John? Why? Because Judas was not worthy to behold with the eyes of his will so great a glory of the Lord. But some will immediately say: And if this was the reason, why did He not leave Judas alone below, and bring up the eleven with Him? But we are not wiser than the Lord Christ. For if it had happened that Judas was left alone below, and the other eleven, having gone up the mountain, had enjoyed the same sight, it is likely some would say that for this reason Judas, as if having been slighted, came to the betrayal and the selling of the Lord. So that nothing of the sort might be said by us, nor be used as a pretext by him, for this reason He leaves him below with eight others, so that the three, having been fully assured by sight, might be glorified, and the nine, having believed by hearing, might be blessed. Wherefore also the Lord, blessing those who believe by hearing, said: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. And otherwise, He brought up only the three, Peter and James and John, so that the saying might be fulfilled: By two and three witnesses every word shall be established. Three, namely Peter and James and John, the threefold cord of unwavering piety, and two, namely Moses and Elijah, the unbending pillars of the law. For you just heard the evangelist saying: And there appeared to them on the mountain Moses and Elijah talking with him. For what reason then

ἀθεάτου θεϊκῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας τὴν δόξαν. Ἀλλ' εὐθὺς ἐροῦσιν οἱ θηρευτικὴν περιφέροντες γλῶτταν· Καὶ εἰ ἀθέατος ἡ θεϊκὴ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου δόξα, πῶς ἐπέδειξεν αὐτὴν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις; Εἰ γὰρ ὁρατή, οὐκ ἀθέα τος· εἰ δὲ ἀθέατος, οὐχ ὁρατή. ∆ιὸ ἄκουε συνετῶς. Ἐνταῦθα ὁ δεσπότης Χριστὸς τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς ἐπέδειξε τῆς ἀθεάτου αὐτοῦ βασιλείας τὴν δόξαν καὶ οὐκ ἐπέδειξεν, τὸ μὲν πληροφορῶν, τὸ δὲ φειδόμενος. Πληροφορῶν γὰρ ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς τῆς ἀθεάτου βασιλείας τὴν θεϊκὴν δόξαν, οὐχ ὅση τις ἦν, ἀλλ' ὅσον ἠδύναντο φέρειν οἱ σωματικοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς περιφέροντες· φειδόμενος δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ οὐχὶ φθονῶν, οὐκ ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς τῆς ἀθεάτου θεϊκῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ τὴν πᾶσαν δόξαν , ἵνα μὴ σὺν τῇ ὁράσει καὶ τὴν ζωὴν ἀπολέσωσιν. Καὶ τούτου μάρτυς ὁ τῶν ὅλων θεὸς λέγων πρὸς Μωϋσῆν ποθοῦντα αὐτὸν θεάσασθαι, καθά φησι τὸ θεῖον λόγιον· Τότε Μωϋσῆς ἀποκριθεὶς πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἔφη· Εἰ εὗρον χάριν ἐνώπιόν σου , ἐμφάνισόν μοι σεαυτὸν ὅπως ἴδω σε γνωστῶς πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον. Τί οὖν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς αὐτόν; Σφάλλῃ, Μωϋσῆ, ταῦτα ζητῶν· οὐ φθονῶ σοι τῆς ὁράσεως , φείδομαι δέ σου τῆς σωτηρίας. Οὐδεὶς ἀνθρώπων θεὸν ἰδὼν ζήσεται. Ἐνταῦθα οὖν καὶ ἐπέδειξε καὶ οὐκ ἐπέδειξεν, τὸ μὲν πληροφορῶν, τὸ δὲ φειδόμενος. Καὶ ὅτι οὐ περὶ τῆς δευτέρας αὐτοῦ ἐνδόξου παρουσίας ἀλλὰ περὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ ὄρει μεταμορφώσεως, καὶ οὐ περὶ Ἰωάννου μόνου ἀλλὰ καὶ Πέτρου καὶ Ἰακώβουοὐ γὰρ μοναδικῶς ἀλλὰ πληθυντικῶς ἐξεφώνησεν· Εἰσί τινες τῶν ὧδε ἑστώτων· οὐκ εἶπέ τις, ἀλλά τινες, ἄκουε τῶν ἑξῆς· δεῖ γὰρ ὑμᾶς ὑπομνῆσαι, οὐ διδάξαι. Καὶ μεθ' ἡμέρας ἓξ παραλαμβάνει ὁ Ἰησοῦς Πέτρον καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀνέρχεται εἰς ὄρος ὑψηλὸν κατ' ἰδίαν, καὶ μετεμορφώθη ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν, καὶ ἔλαμψε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος, τὰ δὲ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο λευκὰ ὡς τὸ φῶς· καὶ ἰδοὺ φωνὴ λέγουσα· Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἐν ᾧ ηὐδόκησα· αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οὐ περὶ τῆς δευτέρας αὐτοῦ ἐνδόξου παρουσίας ἀλλὰ περὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ ὄρει μεταμορφώσεως εἶπεν; Τί οὖν ὁ κύριος; Ἀκολουθίᾳ προβῶμεν, ὅπως ταῖς ὑμετέραις εὐχαῖς τῶν προκειμένων μὴ ἐκπέσωμεν. Καὶ μεθ' ἡμέρας ἓξ παραλαμβάνει Πέτρον καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην. Ἀλλ' ἔστιν εἰπεῖν τινα· Καὶ διὰ τί τοὺς δώδεκα μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ ὁ δεσπότης Χριστὸς οὐ παρέλαβε μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἀνήνεγκεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος, ἀλλὰ Πέτρον καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην; ∆ιὰ τί; Ὅτι οὐκ ἦν ἄξιος ὁ Ἰούδας τοῖς τῆς προαιρέσεωςὀφθαλμοῖς θεάσασθαι τὴν τοσαύτην τοῦ κυρίου δόξαν. Ἀλλ' εὐθέως ἐροῦσί τινες· Καὶ εἰ τοῦτο ἦν τὸ αἴτιον, διὰ τί τὸν Ἰούδαν οὐ κατέλιπε μόνον κάτω, καὶ τοὺς ἕνδεκα σὺν αὐτῷ ἀνήνεγκεν; Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐσμὲν σοφώτεροι τοῦ δεσπότου Χριστοῦ. Εἰ γὰρ συνέβη τὸν Ἰούδαν καταλειφθῆναι μόνον κάτω, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ἕνδεκα ἀνελθόντας ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῆς αὐτῆς θέας ἀπολαῦσαι, εἰκὸς λέγειν τινὰς ὅτι τούτου χάριν ὁ Ἰούδας ὡς παραπονηθεὶς ἐπὶ τὴν προδοσίαν καὶ κυριοπρασίαν ἔφθασεν. Ἵνα οὖν μηδὲν τοιοῦτον μηδὲ παρ' ἡμῶν λεχθῇ, μηδὲ παρ' ἐκείνου προφασισθῇ, τούτου χάριν ἔνατον αὐτὸν καταλιμπάνει κάτω, ἵνα οἱ μὲν τρεῖς ὄψει πληροφορηθέντες δοξασθῶσιν, οἱ δὲ ἐννέα ἀκοῇ πιστεύσαντες μακαρισθῶσιν. Ὅθεν καὶ ὁ κύριος τοὺς ἀκοῇ πιστεύσαντας μακαρίζων ἔλεγεν· Μακάριοι οἱ μὴ ἰδόντες καὶ πιστεύσαντες. Ἄλλως δέ, τοὺς τρεῖς μόνους ἀνήνεγκεν, Πέτρον καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην, ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ φάσκον ῥητόν· Ἐπὶ δύο καὶ τριῶν μαρτύρων σταθήσεται πᾶν ῥῆμα. Τριῶν μὲν Πέτρου καὶ Ἰακώβου καὶ Ἰωάννου τῆς ἀδιαστάτου τῆς εὐσεβείας τριπλόκου σειρᾶς, δύο δὲ Μωϋσῆ καὶ Ἡλία τῶν ἀκλινῶν τοῦ νόμου στύλων. Ἤκουες γὰρ ἀρτίως τοῦ εὐαγγελιστοῦ λέγοντος· Καὶ ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς ἐν τῷ ὄρει Μωϋσῆς καὶ Ἡλίας συλλαλοῦντες αὐτῷ. Τίνος οὖν χάριν