The nearby powers, having heard, say: The Lord is strong and mighty, the Lord is mighty in battle. For there are orders even among the incorporeal beings and many successions among them; and not all are angels, not all are thrones, not all are dominions, but there are also transcendent orders and transcendent powers.

Since therefore the higher powers received an answer to the question, they say: We know who this king of glory is. For since they learned who it is who is ascending, they no longer have need of interpretation, they no longer have need of long speeches, but they say: The Lord of powers, he is the king of glory. Up to this point I have followed the master, having the wing of my mind powerless toward those things. Would that, if I had the power, I could also ascend with him to the mountain of the divine vision, that I might see Jesus, since he who is joined to the Lord, it says, is one spirit, and God has revealed it to us through his spirit. Let us ascend, therefore, with Christ to heaven, brothers; let us not remain on earth, let us not again think earthly things, not again concerning desire, not again concerning seizures, not again concerning 137love of money; be not lifted up, since you too fall from heaven like lightning. But may it not happen that the one who follows Christ should suffer this. For we are persuaded of better things concerning you, beloved, and have salvation, even if we speak thus.

But we say these things for your security, as the apostle says: To say this is not tedious for me, but for you it is safe. May it be that we all follow Christ blamelessly and attain his kingdom; to him be the glory for ages of ages. Amen. From a homily by the same, delivered in the church of Cyrinus, on the thirteenth of the month Phamenoth according to the Egyptians, in which he interprets the saying of Isaiah which states: Death has swallowed up being strong and again God has taken away every tear from every face.

For the God of all, being as he is life and life-giving, wished for man to be an incorruptible creature on earth, even if <καὶ> he is of a corruptible nature. But he, since he was wicked and envious, plotted against the race, set himself against the will of the creator, craftily brought it to disobedience, knowing that through it he would fall into death.

ἀκούσασαι αἱ ἐγγὺς δυνάμεις λέγουσι· Κύριος κραταιὸς καὶ δυνατός, Κύριος δυνατὸς ἐν πολέμῳ. Τάξεις γάρ εἰσιν καὶ ἐν ἀσωμάτοις καὶ ἀκολουθίαι ἐν αὐταῖς πολλαί· καὶ οὐ πάντες ἄγγελοι, οὐ πάντες θρόνοι, οὐ πάντες κυριότητες, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπερβεβηκότα ἐστι τάγματα καὶ ὑπερβεβηκυῖαι δυνάμεις.

Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀνταπόκρισιν τῆς ἐρωτήσεως ἔλαβον αἱ ἀνώτεραι δυνάμεις φασίν· Ἔγνωμεν τίς ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔμαθον τίς ὁ ἀναβαίνων οὐκέτι χρείαν ἔχουσιν ἑρμηνείας, οὐκέτι λόγων χρείαν ἔχουσι μακρῶν, ἀλλὰ λέγουσιν· Κύριος τῶν δυνάμεων, αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς δόξης. Μέχρις ἐνταῦθα συνηκολούθησα τῷ δεσπότῃ ἄτονον ἔχων πρὸς τὰ ἐκεῖνα τὸ πτερὸν τῆς διανοίας. Εἴθε δέ, εἰ ἦν δύναμίς μοι, καὶ εἰς τὸ ὅρος αὐτῷ συνανελθεῖν τῆς θείας ὀπτασίας, ἵνα ἴδω τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ἐπειδὴ ὁ κολλώμενος τῷ Κυρίῳ, φησίν, ἓν πνεῦμά ἐστιν, καὶ ἡμῖν δὲ ἀπεκάλυψεν ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτοῦ. Συνανέλθωμεν τοίνυν τῷ Χριστῷ εἰς οὐρανὸν, ἀδελφοί· μὴ μείνωμεν ἐπὶ γῆς, μὴ πάλιν γεώδη φρονήσωμεν, μὴ πάλιν περὶ ἐπιθυμίας, μὴ πάλιν περὶ ἁρπαγάς, μὴ πάλιν περὶ 137φιλοχρηματείας· μὴ ἐπαρθῇς, ἐπεὶ καὶ σὺ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ πίπτεις ὡς ἡ ἀστραπή. Μὴ γένοιτο δὲ τοῦτο παθεῖν τὸν τῷ Χριστῷ ἀκολουθοῦντα. Πεπείσμεθα γὰρ περὶ ὑμῶν, ἀγαπητοί, τὰ κρείττονα καὶ ἔχομεν σωτηρίας, εἰ καὶ οὕτω λαλοῦμεν.

Ταῦτα δὲ λέγομεν πρὸς τὴν ὑμῶν ἀσφάλειαν, καθὼς λέγει ὁ ἀπόστολος· Ἐμοὶ μὲν τὸ λέγειν οὐκ ὀκνηρόν, ὑμῖν δὲ τὸ ἀσφαλές. Γένοιτο δὲ πάντας ἡμᾶς ἀμέμπτως ἀκολουθῆσαι τῷ Χριστῷ καὶ τυχεῖν τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ· αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐξ ὁμιλίας ῥηθείσης ἐν τῇ Κυρίνου ἐκκλησίᾳ, τρισκαιδεκάτῃ τοῦ φαμενὼθ μηνὸς κατ' Αἰγυπτίους, ἐν ᾗ τὸ τοῦ Ἠσαΐου ῥητὸν ἑρμηνεύει τὸ φάσκον· Κατέπιεν ὁ θάνατος ἰσχύσας καὶ πάλιν ἀφεῖλεν ὁ θεὸς πᾶν δάκρυον ἀπὸ παντὸς προσώπου.

Ὁ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ὅλων θεός, ἅτε δὴ ζωὴ καὶ ζωοποιὸς ὑπάρχων, ἄφθαρτον ἐπὶ γῆς ζῷον ἠθέλησεν εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, εἰ <καὶ> φύσεώς ἐστι φθαρτῆς. Ὁ δέ, ἐπείπερ ἦν πονηρὸς καὶ βάσκανος, ἐπεβούλευσε τῷ γένει, ἀντετάττετο τῇ βουλήσει τοῦ δημιουργοῦ, κατεκόμισε πανούργως εἰς παρακοήν, εἰδὼς ὅτι πεσεῖται δι' αὐτῆς εἰς θάνατον.