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he was eager to build tabernacles on the mountain, shunning the bloodthirsty impulse of the Jews. Was it not the same man who at the time of the passion also promised to die with Jesus? And with the sword had cut off the slayer's ear? In all things showing the boiling and fiery nature of his faith? Lest he be carried away to excessive harshness and mercilessness, was he not permitted to fall into denial, and to atone for the sin with weeping? And what else? I pass over the cowardice, the flight, the unbelief, the entrance into the tomb itself, the good news of the myrrh-bearing women to him, the Savior's special appearance to him, the miracle-working at the Sea of Tiberias, and the other things, both as many as before the passion and after the resurrection were worked and accomplished for him, both disbelieving and believing; which things were not permitted in vain, but insofar as it came to human comprehension. Sometimes restoring the apostle's vanity and weakness; and at other times rebuking the harshness and boldness of his mind, and through both teaching neither to make promises greater than human weakness, nor to fall down and be amazed [f. 167 v0] and to fear; when it is necessary to share in the passion with the teacher, and to show the servant-like quality of discipleship, but to remain within the bounds of moderation, so as to refrain from unexamined zeal and faint-hearted humility.

35 And I will not hesitate to say this also about him, that he is known as a witness, as he himself says, of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker of the glory that is to be revealed; that also to the Jews who had believed in the dispersion, he set forth fitting spiritual exhortations through letters, by which he showed them love and a strengthening of the faith in Christ, and hinted that they should by all means hope for His coming, in which he also foretells his departure from this tabernacle and recalls this only for the sake of zeal for and observance of the divine commandments; and he makes them fearful and terrified by the example of the flood and by the condemnation and casting into Tartarus of the angels who sinned, in addition to which he also reminds them of the second coming, in which he says the heavens will pass away, and the elements, being burned up, will be dissolved.

36 Him the Only-Begotten Son of God called blessed and [f. 168 r0] his God and Father crowned and the kindred and Paraclete Spirit showed to be sanctified as a God-inspired instrument. Him the ranks of the noetic angels acclaimed. Him the choir of the apostles greatly loved and embraced as their own mouth and praised in song. Those who have believed in Christ, having him as a guide and teacher, do not stumble on the stumbling blocks of unbelief. Him we also name a pillar reaching to heaven and brightly shining for the noetic Israel and a helmsman of souls tempest-tossed in a sea of false belief. Him we also exceedingly honor as one who has cast aside the shadow of the law and we praise in song as one who has moved over to the light of truth. Truly this man is the foundation of the apostles, the mystagogue of heavenly things, the guide to secret things, the support of those who are shaken, the restorer of those who are falling, the preserver of those who are firmly established, the most zealous guide of repentance, Peter the great wonder of the whole world, the boast of the church, the pride of the disciples, the beauty of the orthodox, the ornament of theologians, the mouth of Christ, the heavenly mind, the most pure tabernacle of the Trinity, the reconciler of those who have stumbled, the guide of those who live piously, the defender of those who run well, worthy of all heavenly and earthly praise and of all acclamation.

37 His shadows and handkerchiefs were means of putting diseases to flight. And the chains that touched his precious body, the closer they happened to come to touching him, the more abundantly they partook of the working of miracles;

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σκηνὰς ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄρους οἰκοδομεῖν προτεθύμητο, τὴν Ἰουδαίων μιαιφόνον ἐκκλίνων ὁρμήν. Ἆρ' οὐχ ὁ αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ τοῦ πάθους καιρῷ καὶ συντεθνάναι τῷ Ἰησοῦ ὑπισχνεῖτο; καὶ τῇ μαχαίρᾳ τὸ τοῦ φονέως οὖς ἀφῃρήκει; ἐν πᾶσι τὸ ζέον δεικνὺς καὶ διάπυρον τῆς πίστεως; Ἆρ' ἵνα μὴ δὲ πρὸς τὸ λίαν ἀσυμπαθὲς καὶ ἄσπλαγχνον ἀποφέροιτο, οὐκ ἀρνήσει περιπεσεῖν συγκεχώρητο, καὶ κλαυθμῷ τὸ ἁμάρτημα ἐξιάσασθαι; Τί τ' ἄλλα; Ἐῶ τὴν δειλίαν, τὴν φυγήν, τὴν ἀπιστίαν, τὴν εἰς αὐτὸν τὸν τάφον εἰσέλευσιν, τὰ τῶν μυροφόρων πρὸς αὐτὸν εὐαγγέλια, τὴν ἰδιαζόντως τοῦ Σωτῆρος πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐμφάνειαν, τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς Τιβεριάδος θαυματουργίαν, τά τε ἄλλα καὶ ὅσα καὶ πρὸ τοῦ πάθους καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἀπιστοῦντί τε καὶ πιστεύοντι ἐνηργήθη καὶ διεπράχθη· ἅπερ οὐ μάτην συνεχωροῦντο, ἀλλ' ὅσον εἰς ἀνθρωπίνην ἧκεν κατάληψιν. Ἔσθ' ὅτε μὲν ἀνακτώμενα τὸ χαῦνον τοῦ ἀποστόλου καὶ ἀσθενές· ἔσθ' ὅτε δὲ τὸ αὐστηρὸν καὶ θρασὺ τῆς ἐκείνου γνώμης ἀπορραπίζοντα καὶ δι' ἑκατέρων διδάσκοντα μήτε μείζους τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἀσθενείας ποιεῖσθαι τὰς ὑποσχέσεις, μήτε κατα πίπτειν καὶ τεθηπέναι [φ. 167 ῃ0] καὶ ὀρρωδεῖν· ὅτε δέον συγκοινωνεῖν τοῦ πάθους τῷ διδασκάλῳ, καὶ τὸ τῆς μαθητείας ὑποφαίνειν δουλοπρεπές, ἀλλ' ἐν ὅροις μένειν μεσότητος, ὅσου ἀπέχειν θερμότητος ἀνεπισκέπτου καὶ ταπεινότητος μικροψύχου.

35 Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο λέγειν οὐκ ὀκνήσω περὶ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι καὶ μάρτυς, ὡς αὐτός φησι, τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ παθημάτων γνωρίζεται, καὶ τῆς μελλούσης ἀποκαλύπτεσθαι δόξης κοινωνός· ὅτι καὶ τοῖς ἐν τῇ διασπορᾷ πιστεύσασιν Ἰουδαίοις, ἁρμοζούσας τὰς πνευματικὰς δι' ἐπιστολῶν ὑπέθετο παραινέσεις, δι' ὧν ἀγάπην αὐτοῖς καὶ στηριγμὸν τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ πίστεως καθυπέφηνε, καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ παρουσίαν ἐκ παντὸς ἐσομένην ἐλπίζειν ᾐνίξατο, ἐν αἷς καὶ τὴν ἐκ τοῦδε τοῦ σκήνους μετάθεσιν προσημαίνει καὶ ταύτην μόνον πρὸς ζῆλον καὶ φυλακὴν τῶν θείων ἐντολῶν ἀναμιμνήσκει· ἐμφόβους τε καὶ περιδεεῖς ἐργάζεται τῷ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ παραδείγματι καὶ τῇ τῶν ἁμαρτησάντων ἀγγέλων κατακρίσει καὶ ταρταρώσει, πρὸς οἷς καὶ τῆς δευτέρας παρουσίας ὑπομιμνήσκει, ἐν ἧ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς μὲν παρελεύσεσθαί φησι, στοιχεῖα δὲ καυσούμενα διαλυθήσεσθαι.

36 Τοῦτον καὶ ὁ Μονογενὴς Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐμακάρισε καὶ [φ. 168 ρο] ὁ τούτου Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ ἐστεφάνωσε καὶ τὸ συγγενὲς καὶ Παράκλητον Πνεῦμα καθαγιάσαι θεόπνουν ὄργανον ἀπέδειξε. Τοῦτον αἱ τῶν νοερῶν ἀγγέλων ἐπευφήμησαν τάξεις. Τοῦτον ὁ τῶν ἀποστόλων ὑπερηγάσθη χορὸς καὶ ὡς ἑαυτῶν στόμα περιεπτύξαντό τε καὶ ἀνύμνησαν. Τοῦτον οἱ τῷ Χριστῷ πεπιστευκότες ὁδηγὸν καὶ διδάσκαλον ἔχοντες, τοῖς τῆς ἀπιστίας προσκόμμασιν οὐ προσπταίουσι. Τοῦτον καὶ οὐρανομήκη καὶ πολύφωτον στῦλον τοῦ νοητοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ὀνομάζομεν καὶ κυβερνήτην τῶν ἐν πελάγει κακοπιστίας χειμαζομένων ψυχῶν. Τοῦτον καὶ ὡς τοῦ νόμου παρωσάμενον τὸ σκιῶδες ὑπερτιμῶμεν καὶ πρὸς τὸ τῆς ἀληθείας φέγγος μεταταξάμενον ἀνυμνοῦμεν. Ὄντως οὗτός ἐστιν ἡ τῶν ἀποστόλων κρηπὶς, ὁ τῶν οὐρανίων μυσταγωγὸς, ὁ τῶν ἀποῤῥήτων ὑφυγητὴς, ὁ τῶν σαλευομένων στηριγμὸς, ὁ τῶν καταπιπτόντων ἀνορθωτὴς, ὁ τῶν ἐστηριγμένων συντηρητὴς, ὁ τῆς μετανοίας θερμότατος ὁδηγὸς, Πέτρος τὸ μέγα θαῦμα τοῦ κόσμου παντὸς, τὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας καύχημα, τὸ τῶν μαθητῶν σεμνολόγημα, τὸ τῶν ὀρθοδόξων ὡράϊσμα, τὸ τῶν θεολόγων ἐγκαλλώπισμα, τὸ στόμα Χριστοῦ, ὁ νοῦς ὁ οὐράνιος, τὸ τῆς Τριάδος καθαρώτατον σκήνωμα, ὁ τῶν προσκεκρουκότων διαλλακτὴς, ὁ τῶν σεμνῶς βιούντων χειραγωγὸς, ὁ τῶν καλῶς τρεχόντων ὑπασπιστὴς, ὁ παντὸς οὐρανίου καὶ ἐπιγείου ἐπαίνου καὶ πάσης εὐφημίας ἐπάξιος.

37 Τούτου αἱ μὲν σκιαὶ καὶ τὰ σουδάρια νόσων ὑπῆρχον φυγαδευτήρια. Αἱ δὲ τοῦ τιμίου σώματος προσψαύσασθαι ἁλύσεις ὅσῳ πλησιεστέρας ἔτυχον τῆς προσψαύσεως, τοσοῦτον ἀφθονοτέρας τῆς τῶν θαυμάτων μετέσχον ἐνεργείας·