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He founded the earth by a word upon the waters, making this dense and heavy nature to be borne upon that most porous and flowing one; and the sea, unbearable in its violence, that which has so many waves, He walled in on all sides by a word with a weak wall, the sand. He, therefore, who by a word made firm the heaven, founded the earth, fenced in the sea, why do you marvel, if He again walled in the Church, more precious than heaven and earth and sea, by this word?

2. But since the building is thus unshakable, the wall thus unbreakable, let us see how the apostles laid the foundations, how much depth they dug, so that the building would become unshakable. They did not dig a depth, they did not need so much labor. Why? They found an old and ancient foundation, that of the prophets. For just as a person about to build a very large house, when he finds an old and strong and unbreakable foundation, does not pry up the foundation, does not move the stones, but leaving it to stand unmoved, thus places the new and recent building on it; so also the apostles, about to build this great edifice, the Church established throughout the world, did not dig a depth, but finding an old foundation, that of the prophets, they did not pry it up, they did not move the building and the teaching, but letting it remain unmoved, thus they placed on it their own teaching, this new faith of the Church. And that you may learn that they did not move the old foundation, but built upon it, hear the wise master-builder Paul himself telling us the precision of the building; for he is the wise master-builder. "For as a wise master-builder," he says, "I have laid a foundation." But let us see how he has laid the foundation. "Upon," he says, "another old foundation, that of the prophets." From where is this clear? "You are no longer strangers," he says, "but fellow-citizens of the saints, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets." You saw a foundation and a foundation, the one of the prophets, and the other of the apostles lying above it. And the wonderful thing is that the apostles did not come immediately after the prophets, but a long time intervened. Why so? Because the best builders do this: when they lay a foundation, they do not immediately place the building on it, lest the work of the foundation, being too soft and fresh, be unable to bear the weight of the walls. For this reason, leaving the stones to set for a long time, when they see that they are firmly compacted, then they also place the weight of the walls on them. So also Christ did: letting the foundation of the prophets set in the souls of the hearers, and the teaching become firm, when He saw that the building was unshakable, when the sacred doctrines had been fixed, so that 51.80 they might be able to bear the new philosophy, then He sent the apostles to raise the walls of the Church upon the foundation of the prophets. For this reason He did not say, "Built on the foundation of the prophets," but "Built upon," built on top of. But let us see how they were built upon. How then shall we know? And from where else, but from the book of the Acts, about which we also discoursed to you in the previous days? For perhaps we owe you some small debt from there, which it is necessary to pay today. What then is the debt? Let us be zealous to interpret the very inscription of the book. For it is not some bare and clear thing, as many think, but also requires examination. What then is the inscription of the book? The Acts of the Apostles. Does it not seem to be clear? Does it not seem to be known and evident to all? But if you follow what is said, you will see how great the depth of this inscription is. For why did he not say, "The Miracles of the Apostles"? Why did he not inscribe, "The Signs of the Apostles," or "The Powers and Wonders of the Apostles," but "The Acts of the Apostles"? For "acts" and "signs" are not the same thing, "acts" and

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τὴν γῆν ῥήματι ἐθεμελίωσεν ἐπὶ τῶν ὑδάτων, τὴν πυκνὴν ταύτην καὶ βαρεῖαν φύσιν ἐπὶ τῆς χαυνοτάτης ἐκείνης καὶ διαῤῥεούσης ποιήσας φέρεσθαι· καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν τὴν ἀφόρητον ταῖς βίαις, ἐκείνην τὴν τοσαῦτα ἔχουσαν κύματα, ἀσθενεῖ τειχίῳ τῇ ψάμμῳ πανταχόθεν ἐτείχισε διὰ ῥήματος. Ὁ τοίνυν διὰ ῥήματος τὸν οὐρανὸν στερεώσας, τὴν γῆν θεμελιώσας, τὴν θάλασσαν περιφράξας, τί θαυμάζεις, εἰ τὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς καὶ θαλάσσης τιμιωτέραν Ἐκκλησίαν διὰ τοῦ ῥήματος τούτου πάλιν ἐτείχισεν;

βʹ. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ οὕτως ἡ οἰκοδομὴ ἄσειστος, οὕτω τὸ τεῖχος ἀῤῥαγὲς, ἴδωμεν πῶς κατεβάλλοντο οἱ ἀπόστολοι τοὺς θεμελίους, πόσον βάθος ἔσκαψαν, ὥστε ἄσειστον γενέσθαι τὴν οἰκοδομήν. Οὐκ ἔσκαψαν βάθος, οὐκ ἐδεήθησαν πόνου τοσούτου. ∆ιὰ τί; Παλαιὸν εὗρον θεμέλιον καὶ ἀρχαῖον, τὸν τῶν προφητῶν. Καθάπερ οὖν ἄνθρωπος μέλλων οἰκίαν μεγίστην οἰκοδομεῖν, ἐπειδὰν εὕρῃ θεμέλιον παλαιὸν καὶ ἰσχυρὸν καὶ ἀῤῥαγῆ, οὐκ ἀναμοχλεύει τὸν θεμέλιον, οὐ κινεῖ τοὺς λίθους, ἀλλ' ἀφεὶς ἑστάναι ἀκίνητον, οὕτως ἐπιτίθησι τὴν νέαν καὶ πρόσφατον οἰκοδομήν· οὕτω καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι μέλλοντες τὸ μέγα τοῦτο οἰκοδόμημα οἰκοδομεῖν, τὴν πανταχοῦ τῆς οἰκουμένης Ἐκκλησίαν ἱδρυμένην, οὐ διέσκαψαν βάθος, ἀλλ' εὑρόντες παλαιὸν θεμέλιον, τὸν τῶν προφητῶν, οὐκ ἀνεμόχλευσαν ἐκεῖνον, οὐκ ἐκίνησαν τὴν οἰκοδομὴν καὶ τὴν διδασκαλίαν, ἀλλ' ἀφέντες αὐτὴν μένειν ἀκίνητον, οὕτως ἐπέθηκαν τὴν παρ' ἑαυτῶν διδασκαλίαν, τὴν νέαν ταύτην τῆς Ἐκκλησίας πίστιν. Καὶ ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι οὐκ ἐκίνησαν τὸν παλαιὸν θεμέλιον, ἀλλ' ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ ᾠκοδόμησαν, ἄκουσον αὐτοῦ τοῦ σοφοῦ ἀρχιτέκτονος Παύλου λέγοντος ἡμῖν τῆς οἰκοδομῆς τὴν ἀκρίβειαν· αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ σοφὸς ἀρχιτέκτων. Ὡς σοφὸς γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀρχιτέκτων θεμέλιον τέθεικα. Ἀλλ' ἴδωμεν πῶς αὐτὸν τέθεικε τὸν θεμέλιον. Ἐπάνω, φησὶν, ἑτέρου θεμελίου παλαιοῦ, τοῦ τῶν προφητῶν. Πόθεν τοῦτο δῆλον; Οὐκ ἔτι ἐστὲ ξένοι, φησὶν, ἀλλὰ συμπολῖται τῶν ἁγίων, ἐποικοδομηθέντες ἐπὶ τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν. Εἶδες θεμέλιον καὶ θεμέλιον, τὸν μὲν τῶν προφητῶν, τὸν δὲ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἀνωτέρω κείμενον. Καὶ τὸ δὴ θαυμαστὸν, οὐκ εὐθέως μετὰ τοὺς προφήτας ἦλθον οἱ ἀπόστολοι, ἀλλὰ πολὺς μεταξὺ παρεγένετο χρόνος. Τί δήποτε; Ὅτι οἱ ἄριστοι τῶν οἰκοδόμων τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν· ἐπειδὰν καταβάλλωνται θεμέλιον, οὐκ εὐθέως ἐπιτιθέασι τὴν οἰκοδομὴν, ἵνα μὴ ἁπαλωτέρα καὶ πρόσφατος οὖσα τοῦ θεμελίου ἡ ἐργασία, ἀδυνατήσῃ τῶν τειχῶν ἐνεγκεῖν τὸ βάρος. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἀφέντες χρόνῳ πολλῷ παγῆναι τοὺς λίθους, ἐπειδὰν ἴδωσιν ἀκριβῶς σφιγέντας, τότε ἐπιτιθέασι καὶ τῶν τοίχων τὸ βάρος. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἐποίησεν· ἀφεὶς παγῆναι τὸν θεμέλιον τῶν προφητῶν ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἀκουσάντων ψυχαῖς, καὶ γενέσθαι βεβαίαν τὴν διδασκαλίαν, ὅτε εἶδεν ἄσειστον οὖσαν τὴν οἰκοδομὴν, ὅτε παγέντα τὰ δόγματα τὰ ἱερὰ, ὥστε 51.80 δυνηθῆναι τὴν κατὰ τὴν καινὴν φιλοσοφίαν ἐνεγκεῖν, τότε ἀπέστειλε τοὺς ἀποστόλους, ἐπὶ τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν προφητῶν τοὺς τοίχους τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀναστήσοντας. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐκ εἶπεν, Οἰκοδομηθέντες ἐπὶ τῷ θεμελίῳ τῶν προφητῶν, ἀλλ' Ἐποικοδομηθέντες, ἐπάνω οἰκοδομηθέντες. Ἀλλ' ἴδωμεν πῶς ᾠκοδομήθησαν. Πόθεν οὖν εἰσόμεθα; Πόθεν δὲ ἄλλοθεν, ἀλλ' ἢ ἀπὸ τῆς βίβλου τῶν Πράξεων, περὶ ἧς καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἔμπροσθεν ὑμῖν ἡμέραις διελέχθημεν; Τάχα γάρ τι καὶ μικρὸν ἐκεῖθεν ὑμῖν ὀφείλομεν χρέος, ὅπερ ἀνάγκη καταθεῖναι σήμερον. Τί οὖν ἐστι τὸ χρέος; Αὐτὴν τοῦ βιβλίου τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν ἑρμηνεῦσαι σπουδάσωμεν. Οὐ γὰρ ψιλή τίς ἐστι καὶ σαφὴς, καθὼς πολλοὶ νομίζουσιν, ἀλλὰ δεῖται καὶ ἐξετάσεως. Τίς οὖν ἡ ἐπιγραφὴ τοῦ βιβλίου; Πράξεις ἀποστόλων. Οὐ δοκεῖ σαφὲς εἶναι; οὐ δοκεῖ γνώριμον, καὶ δῆλον ἅπασιν; Ἀλλ' ἂν παρακολουθῆτε τοῖς λεγομένοις, ὄψεσθε ὅσον τὸ βάθος τῆς ἐπιγραφῆς ταύτης. ∆ιὰ τί γὰρ οὐκ εἶπε, Θαύματα ἀποστόλων; διὰ τί οὐκ ἐπέγραψε, Σημεῖα ἀποστόλων, ἢ ∆υνάμεις καὶ τέρατα ἀποστόλων· ἀλλὰ Πράξεις ἀποστόλων; Οὐ γὰρ τὸ αὐτό ἐστι πράξεις καὶ σημεῖα, οὐ τὸ αὐτὸ πράξεις καὶ