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we know to have been offered in place of the humanity sanctified for him through faith; and all the more so, inasmuch as we do not see all of humanity as superior to and superabundant beyond the one who gave himself as a ransom for many, according to the principle of sanctity (just as in the shadow of the law the firstborn are found in excess of the Levites), but left behind him in great multitude, inasmuch as without any contradiction the one being blessed is established as less than the one blessing. And at that time, the dignity of the Levitical priesthood was proclaimed for the nation of Israel alone, and the Levites are testified to be the ransom only for their firstborn; but Christ, who became high priest of good things to come, as the all-wise Paul says, and not according to the order of Aaron, but according to the order of Melchizedek, as the divine oracle prophesied, by the change of the priesthood, through his being from another tribe (for it is evident that our Lord Jesus Christ has sprung from Judah), he also brought about a change of the law, transferring us from the shadow according to the law to the Gospel of the kingdom of heaven, just as the dignity of the priesthood was transferred from the Levitical to the royal tribe; and by his likeness to the order of Melchizedek, he offered himself to the Father as a ransom not for Israel alone, but for all the nations, and has become high priest of the confession of all men, since Melchizedek is also known to be from the portion of the gentiles, and is found to be of the race of Abraham. The valuation according to the law of five didrachmas for each of the firstborn is known to show enigmatically, that each of us must sanctify every sense to God, and in these things, offer to the creator what is pure and foreign to all unseemly pleasure, like a holy and lawful ransom. Today we celebrate the commemoration of this sacred rite, this spiritual unfolding of the mystery has convened for us the present holy festival; on which the Savior was legally offered according to appearance, but intellectually and spiritually, having offered the first-fruits of our substance to the Father, he showed the whole of it to be sacred, and fit for a divine offering. For the law long travailed with this, and to this looked both the legislation concerning the firstborn and the exchange of the Levites and the valuation of the didrachmas. Thus the grace of the Spirit has brought us across through the sea of the holy Scriptures. But let us see also the conclusion and proof from the opposites. Now indeed, the whole legislation concerning the Levites and the firstborn has already become clear to us above, but just as the great Moses, encouraging the people, assured them that they would no longer see the Egyptians; so I too am now led to evangelize the chosen people of God, that we shall no longer see the corporeal host of the shadowy worship. For where, after the manifestation of the great High Priest, is the sacred ministry of the Levites? Where, after the purifying ransom of the world, is the valuation of the firstborn? Where is the rest of the precision of the legal rite? Do you not see that as long as the night of ignorance held the universe, the worship according to the law provided a certain faint and measured light, like stars; but when the sun of righteousness arose, and the dayspring from on high appeared, and the day of salvation shone forth, the torchlight of the legal ordinances became invisible, overcome by the surpassing light of grace? Has not that renowned temple been razed, like the captains and the chariots, and all the magnanimity and arrogance of the high priests over it? Has not all their legal order been inundated and confined? Has not the precision of the customs among the Jews been utterly destroyed? For where could they offer the sacrifices for women who have recently given birth, since the chosen place has fallen, and it was clearly appointed that it was not permitted for the sacrifices to be offered by them anywhere else? Where is the priestly vestment and

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προσενηνέχθαι γινώσκομεν ἀντὶ τῆς καθαγιασθείσης αὐτῷ διὰ πίστεως ἀνθρωπότητος· καὶ το σούτῳ μᾶλλον, ὅσῳπερ οὐδὲ ὑπερτεροῦσαν καὶ ὑπερ πλεονάζουσαν παρὰ τὸν ἑαυτὸν δεδωκότα λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν ὅλην ὁρῶμεν τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα, κατὰ τὸν τῆς ἁγιότητος λόγον (καθάπερ ἐν τῇ σκιᾷ τοῦ νόμου ἐν πλεονασμῷ παρὰ τοὺς Λευΐτας τὰ πρωτότοκα εὕρηνται), ἀλλὰ κατόπιν αὐτοῦ παμπληθὲς ἀπειλειμμένην, καθόσον χωρὶς πάσης ἀντιλογίας τὸ εὐλογούμενον ἔλαττον τοῦ εὐλογοῦντος καθέστηκε. Καὶ τότε μὲν εἰς μόνον τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ τὸ ἔθνος τὸ τῆς Λευϊτικῆς ἱερωσύνης ἀξίωμα ἐχρημάτιζε, καὶ μόνον τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς πρωτοτόκων λύτρα εἶναι οἱ Λευῗται μεμαρτύρηνται· Χριστὸς δὲ ὁ παραγενόμενος ἀρχιερεὺς τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, ὡς ὁ πάνσοφος Παῦλός φησιν, καὶ οὐ κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Ἀαρὼν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Μελχισεδὲκ, καθὼς τὸ θεῖον προεχρησμῴδησε λόγιον, τῇ μὲν μεταθέσει τῆς ἱερωσύνης τῷ ἐξ ἑτέρας αὐτὸν εἶναι φυλῆς (πρόδηλον γὰρ ὅτι ἐξ Ἰούδα ἀνατέταλκεν ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς) καὶ τὴν τοῦ νόμου μετάθεσιν ἀπειργάσατο, ἀπὸ τῆς κατὰ νόμον σκιᾶς ἐπὶ τὸ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐ ρανῶν μεταθέμενος ἡμᾶς Εὐαγγέλιον, καθάπερ ἀπὸ τῆς Λευϊτικῆς ἐπὶ τὴν βασιλικὴν φυλὴν τὸ τῆς ἱερω σύνης ἀξίωμα· τῇ δὲ κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Μελχισεδὲκ ἀφομοιώσει οὐχ ὑπὲρ μόνου τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν λύτρον ἑαυτὸν τῷ Πατρὶ προσηγάγετο, καὶ τῆς πάντων ἀνθρώπων ὁμολογίας ἀρχιερεὺς καθέστηκεν, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ Μελχισεδὲκ ἐκ τῆς ἐθνικῆς μοίρας εἶναι γνωρίζεται, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ γένους εὑρίσκεται. Ἡ δὲ κατὰ νόμον τῶν πέντε διδραχμά 46.1168 των ὑπὲρ ἑκάστου τῶν πρωτοτόκων συντίμησις ἐμ φαίνειν οἶδεν αἰνιγματωδῶς, ὡς χρὴ ἕκαστον ἡμῶν πᾶσαν αἴσθησιν ἁγιάζειν Θεῷ, καὶ τὰ ἐν τούτοις, καθαρὸν καὶ ἡδονῆς πάσης ἀτόπου ἀλλότριον προσ άγειν τῷ κτίσαντι καθάπερ τι λύτρον εὐαγές τε καὶ ἔννομον. Ταύτης ἡμεῖς σήμερον τῆς ἱερᾶς τελετῆς τὴν ἀνάμνησιν ἑορτάζομεν, αὕτη ἡμῖν ἡ πνευματικὴ τοῦ μυστηρίου ἀνάπτυξις τὴν παροῦσαν συνεκρότησεν ἁγίαν πανήγυριν· καθ' ἣν νομικῶς μὲν προσήγετο ὁ Σωτὴρ κατὰ τὸ φαινόμενον, νοητῶς δὲ καὶ πνευματικῶς τὴν ἀπαρχὴν τοῦ ἡμετέρου φυράματος τῷ Πατρὶ προσαγαγὼν, ὅλον αὐτὸ ἱερὸν ἀπεδείκνυε, καὶ πρὸς θείαν προσαγωγὴν ἐπιτήδειον. Τοῦτο γὰρ πάλαι ὁ νόμος ὤδινε, καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο ἑώρα ἥ τε περὶ τῶν πρωτοτόκων νομοθεσία καὶ τῆς τῶν Λευϊτῶν ἀντιδόσεως καὶ τῆς τῶν διδραχμάτων συντιμήσεως. Οὕτως ἡμᾶς διεβίβασε διὰ τῆς θαλάττης τῶν ἁγίων Γραφῶν ἡ χάρις τοῦ Πνεύματος. Ἀλλ' εἴδωμεν καὶ τὴν τῶν ἐναντίων σύγκλεισίν τε καὶ ἀπόδειξιν. Ἤδη μὲν οὖν ἀνωτέρω κατάδηλος ἡμῖν ἡ περὶ τῶν Λευϊτῶν τε καὶ πρωτοτόκων πᾶσα νομοθεσία γεγένηται, ἀλλὰ κα θὼς ὁ μέγας Μωϋσῆς παραθαρσύνων τὸν λαὸν μηκέτι ὄψεσθαι τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους διεβεβαιώσατο· οὕτω κἀγὼ νῦν προάγομαι τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ περιούσιον λαὸν εὐαγγελίζεσθαι, ὡς οὐκέτι τῆς σκιώδους λατρείας τὸ σωματικὸν στρατόπεδον θεασόμεθα. Ποῦ γὰρ μετὰ τὴν φανέρωσιν τοῦ μεγάλου Ἀρχιερέως ἡ τῶν Λευϊτῶν ἱερουργία; Ποῦ μετὰ τὸ τοῦ κόσμου καθάρσιον λύτρον ἡ τῶν πρωτοτόκων συντίμησις; Ποῦ ἡ λοιπὴ τῆς νομικῆς τελετῆς ἀκρίβεια; Οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅτι ἕως ὅτε ἡ νὺξ τῆς ἀγνοίας κατεῖχε τὰ σύμπαντα, ἀστέρων δίκην ἀμυδράν τινα καὶ σύμμετρον αὐγὴν ἡ κατὰ νόμον παρεῖχε λατρεία· ὅτε δὲ ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἀνέτειλεν ἥλιος, καὶ ἡ ἐξ ὕψους ἀνατολὴ ἐπέφανε, καὶ τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμέρα ἐπέλαμψεν, ἀφανὴς ἡ τῶν νομικῶν διατάξεων δᾳδουχία ἐγένετο, τῷ ὑπερλάμποντι φωτὶ νικωμένη τῆς χάριτος; Οὐκ ἠδάφισται, καθάπερ οἱ τριστάται καὶ τὰ ἅρματα, ὁ περιώνυμος ἐκεῖνος ναὸς, καὶ πᾶσα ἡ τῶν ἀρχιερέων ἐπ' αὐτῷ μεγαλοφροσύνη καὶ ἔπαρσις; Οὐ πᾶσα κατεκλύσθη αὐτῶν καὶ συνεχέθη ἡ νομικὴ εὐταξία; Οὐκ ἄρδην ἀπόλωλε τῶν παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις ἐθῶν ἡ ἀκρίβεια; Ποῦ γὰρ τὰς θυσίας τὰς ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀρτιτόκων γυναικῶν προσαγάγοιεν, τοῦ ἐκλελεγμένου τόπου διαπεπτωκότος, καὶ σαφῶς διορισθέντος, μὴ ἐξεῖναι ἑτέρωθί που παρ' αὐτῶν τὰς θυσίας προσάγεσθαι; Ποῦ ἡ ἱερατικὴ στολή τε