John Chrysostom, On Consubstantiality

But the lesser, if he should ever say something great about himself, will not escape accusation; for it is arrogance. For this reason, we all praise the exalted one when he says humble things about himself; but no one will praise the humble one if he ever says something great about himself. So if the Son were much inferior to the Father, as you say, he should not have spoken words by which he showed himself to be equal to the one who begot him; for this would have been arrogance. However, for one who is equal to the one who begot him to say some humble and lowly things, there is no blame, nor accusation; for this is praise and the greatest wonder. And so that what has been said may become clearer, and that you all may learn that we are not guessing about the divine Scriptures, come now, let us take up the first of these aforementioned reasons, and let us show where, on account of the covering of the flesh, he clearly utters words inferior to his own substance; and, if you please, let us bring forward that very prayer which he prayed to the Father. But pay close attention to us; for I wish to recount the whole matter to you from a little earlier. A supper once took place on that sacred night, on which he was about to be betrayed; for I call it sacred, since the countless good things that came to be throughout the world took their beginning from there. Then, therefore, the betrayer was reclining with the eleven disciples, and while they were eating, Christ says, "One of you will betray me." Remember these words for me, so that when we come to the prayer, we may see for what reason he prays in this way. And consider for me the Master's solicitude; he did not say, 48.763 that Judas will betray me, so as not to make him more shameless by the public exposure of his reproofs; but when that one, being pricked by his conscience, says, "Is it I, Lord?" he says to him, "You have said it"; and not even then did he bring himself to accuse him, but made him his own accuser; but nevertheless, he did not become better even so, but taking the morsel, he went out. When, therefore, he had gone out, Jesus, taking the disciples, says: You will all be offended because of me; and when Peter contradicted and said, Though all will be offended, yet I will never be offended, Jesus says again, Truly I say to you, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. And when he again contradicted, he let him be for the future. You are not persuaded, he says, by words, but you contradict; you will be persuaded by the events themselves, that one must not contradict the Master. And remember these words for me again; for the memory of them will be useful to us as we examine the prayer. He spoke of the betrayer, he foretold the flight of all, and his own death; I will strike, he says, the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; he foretold the one who was going to deny him, and when and how many times, and everything with precision. And after all these things, having given sufficient proof of his foreknowledge of the future, he comes to a certain place and prays; and they say that the prayer is of his divinity, but we say that it is of the economy. Judge therefore, and for the sake of the glory of the Only-begotten himself, cast a vote that shows favor to no one. For even if I am judged among friends now, still I implore and beseech that the judgment be incorruptible, and neither for my sake, nor out of enmity toward them. For in the first place, it is clear from this very fact that the prayer is not of his divinity; for God does not pray, for it is God's to be worshipped; it is God's to receive prayer, not to offer prayer; but nevertheless, since they are shameless, I will try to make it clear to you from the very words of the prayer that the whole thing is of the economy, and of the weakness according to the flesh. For when Christ utters something humble, he utters it so humbly and lowly, that the excess of the humility of the things said is able to persuade even the most contentious, that the words fall far short of that ineffable and unutterable substance. Let us go, then, to the very words of the prayer: Father, if

ὁ δὲ μικρὸς, εἰ μέγα τι περὶ ἑαυτοῦ εἴποι ποτὲ, οὐ διαφεύξεται κατηγορίαν· ἀλαζονεία γάρ ἐστι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τὸν μὲν ὑψηλὸν ἅπαντες ἐπαινοῦμεν, ὅταν περὶ ἑαυτοῦ ταπεινὰ λέγῃ· τὸν δὲ ταπεινὸν οὐδεὶς ἐπαινέσεται, εἴ ποτέ τι μέγα περὶ ἑαυτοῦ εἴποι. Ὥστε εἰ πολλῷ καταδεέστερος ἦν τοῦ Πατρὸς ὁ Υἱὸς, ὡς ὑμεῖς φατε, οὐκ ἔδει ῥήματα αὐτὸν λέγειν, δι' ὧν ἐδείκνυ τῷ γεγεννηκότι ἴσον ὄντα ἑαυτόν· ἀλαζονεία γὰρ τοῦτο ἦν· τὸ μέντοι ἴσον ὄντα τοῦ γεγεννηκότος λέγειν τινὰ ταπεινὰ καὶ εὐτελῆ, οὐδεμία μέμψις, οὐδὲ αἰτία· ἔπαινος γὰρ τοῦτό ἐστι καὶ θαῦμα μέγιστον. Καὶ ἵνα σαφέστερα γένηται τὰ εἰρημένα, καὶ μάθητε πάντες ὑμεῖς, ὅτι οὐ καταστοχαζόμεθα τῶν θείων Γραφῶν, φέρε δὴ τῶν εἰρημένων αἰτιῶν τούτων τὴν πρώτην μεταχειρισώμεθα νῦν, καὶ δείξωμεν ποῦ διὰ τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς περιβολὴν φανερῶς καταδεέστερα τῆς οὐσίας τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ῥήματα φθέγγεται· καὶ, εἰ δοκεῖ, τὴν εὐχὴν αὐτὴν εἰς μέσον ἀγάγωμεν, ἣν ηὔξατο τῷ Πατρί. Ἀλλὰ προσέχετε μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἡμῖν· μικρὸν γὰρ ἄνωθεν ὑμῖν τὸ πᾶν διηγήσασθαι βούλομαι. ∆εῖπνον ἐγένετό ποτε κατὰ τὴν ἱερὰν νύκτα ἐκείνην, καθ' ἣν παραδίδοσθαι ἔμελλεν· ἱερὰν γὰρ αὐτὴν ἐγὼ καλῶ, ἐπειδὴ τὰ μυρία ἀγαθὰ, ἃ κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐγένετο, τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐκεῖθεν ἐλάμβανε. Τότε τοίνυν καὶ ὁ προδότης μετὰ τῶν ἕνδεκα ἀνέκειτο μαθητῶν, καὶ δειπνούντων αὐτῶν, φησὶν ὁ Χριστὸς, Εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν παραδώσει με. Τούτων μνημονεύετέ μοι τῶν ῥημάτων, ἵνα ὅταν ἐπὶ τὴν εὐχὴν ἔλθωμεν, ἴδωμεν τίνος ἕνεκεν οὕτως εὔχεται. Καὶ σκόπει μοι κηδεμονίαν ∆εσπότου· οὐκ εἶπεν, 48.763 ὅτι ὁ Ἰούδας παραδώσει με, ὥστε μὴ τῇ περιφανεία τῶν ἐλέγχων ἀναισχυντότερον αὐτὸν ἐργάσασθαι· ὡς δὲ ἐκεῖνος ὑπὸ τοῦ συνειδότος κεντούμενός φησι, Μή τι ἐγώ εἰμι, Κύριε; λέγει αὐτῷ, Σὺ εἶπας· καὶ οὐδὲ τότε αὐτοῦ κατηγορῆσαι ἠνέσχετο, ἀλλ' αὐτὸν ἑαυτοῦ κατέστησεν ἔλεγχον· ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐδὲ οὕτως ἐγένετο βελτίων, ἀλλὰ λαβὼν τὸ ψωμίον ἐξῆλθεν. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἐξῆλθε, λαβὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοὺς μαθητάς φησι· Πάντες ὑμεῖς σκανδαλισθήσεσθε ἐν ἐμοί· τοῦ Πέτρου δὲ ἀντιλέγοντος καὶ λέγοντος, Κἂν πάντες σκανδαλισθήσωνται, ἀλλ' ἐγὼ οὐδέποτε σκανδαλισθήσομαι, πάλιν ὁ Ἰησοῦς φησιν, Ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, πρὶν ἀλέκτορα φωνῆσαι, τρὶς ἀπαρνήσῃ με. Ὡς δὲ πάλιν ἀντέλεγεν, εἴασεν αὐτὸν λοιπόν. Οὐ πείθῃ, φησὶ, διὰ τῶν ῥημάτων, ἀλλ' ἀντιλέγεις· πεισθήσῃ διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῶν, ὅτι ∆εσπότῃ ἀντιλέγειν οὐ χρή. Καὶ τούτων μοι μέμνησθε τῶν ῥημάτων πάλιν· χρήσιμος γὰρ αὐτῶν ἡμῖν ἡ μνήμη τὴν εὐχὴν ἐξετάζουσιν ἔσται. Εἶπε τὸν προδότην, προεῖπε τὴν πάντων φυγὴν, καὶ τὸν αὐτοῦ θάνατον· Πατάξω, φησὶ, τὸν ποιμένα, καὶ διασκορπισθήσεται τὰ πρόβατα· προεῖπε τὸν μέλλοντα αὐτὸν ἀρνήσασθαι, καὶ πότε καὶ ποσάκις, καὶ μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἅπαντα. Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα πάντα ἱκανὴν αὐτοῦ τῆς προγνώσεως τῶν μελλόντων ἀπόδειξιν δοὺς, ἐλθὼν ἐπί τι χωρίον εὔχεται· καὶ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν λέγουσιν, ὅτι τῆς θεότητός ἐστιν ἡ εὐχὴ, ἡμεῖς δὲ λέγομεν, ὅτι τῆς οἰκονομίας. ∆ικάσατε τοίνυν, καὶ πρὸς αὐτῆς τῆς τοῦ Μονογενοῦς δόξης μηδενὶ κεχαρισμένην τὴν ψῆφον ἐνέγκητε. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἐν φίλοις δικάζομαι νῦν, ἀλλ' ἀντιβολῶ καὶ δέομαι, ἀδέκαστον γενέσθαι τὴν κρίσιν, καὶ μήτε πρὸς ἐμὴν χάριν, μήτε πρὸς ἐκείνων ἀπέχθειαν. Μάλιστα μὲν γὰρ καὶ αὐτόθεν δῆλον, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι τῆς θεότητος ἡ εὐχή· Θεὸς γὰρ οὐκ εὔχεται, Θεοῦ γὰρ τὸ προσκυνεῖσθαί ἐστι· Θεοῦ τὸ εὐχὴν δέχεσθαι, οὐ τὸ εὐχὴν ἀναφέρειν· ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐπειδὴ ἀναισχυντοῦσιν, ἀπ' αὐτῶν τῶν ῥημάτων τῆς εὐχῆς ὑμῖν ποιῆσαι πειράσομαι φανερὸν, ὅτι τὸ ὅλον τῆς οἰκονομίας ἐστὶ, καὶ τῆς κατὰ τὴν σάρκα ἀσθενείας. Ὅταν γὰρ φθέγγηταί τι ταπεινὸν ὁ Χριστὸς, οὕτω φθέγγεται ταπεινὸν καὶ εὐτελὲς, ὡς τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς ταπεινότητος τῶν λεγομένων καὶ τοὺς σφόδρα φιλονεικοῦντας δυνηθῆναι πεῖσαι, ὅτι πολὺ τῆς ἀποῤῥήτου καὶ ἀφράστου οὐσίας ἐκείνης ἀποδεῖ τὰ ῥήματα. Ἴωμεν τοίνυν ἐπ' αὐτὰ τὰ ῥήματα τῆς εὐχῆς· Πάτερ, εἰ