Lecture II.

On Repentance and Remission of Sins, and Concerning the Adversary.

Ezekiel xviii. 20–23

The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the wicked will turn from all his sins, &c.

1. A fearful thing is sin, and the sorest disease of the soul is transgression, secretly cutting its sinews, and becoming also the cause of eternal fire; an evil of a man’s own choosing, an offspring of the will.  1  For references to Cyril’s doctrine of Free-will, see Index, “Soul.” For that we sin of our own free will the Prophet says plainly in a certain place:  Yet I planted thee a fruitful vine, wholly true: how art thou turned to bitterness, (and become) the strange vine  2  Jer. ii. 21. ? The planting was good, the fruit coming from the will is evil; and therefore the planter is blameless, but the vine shall be burnt with fire since it was planted for good, and bore fruit unto evil of its own will.  For God , according to the Preacher,  made man upright, and they have themselves sought out many inventions  3  Eccles. vii. 29. .  For we are His workmanship , says the Apostle,  created unto good works, which God afore prepared, that we should walk in them  4  Eph. ii. 10. . So then the Creator, being good, created for good works; but the creature turned of its own free will to wickedness. Sin then is, as we have said, a fearful evil, but not incurable; fearful for him who clings to it, but easy of cure for him who by repentance puts it from him. For suppose that a man is holding fire in his hand; as long as he holds fast the live coal he is sure to be burned, but should he put away the coal, he would have cast away the flame also with it. If however any one thinks that he is not being burned when sinning, to him the Scripture saith,  Shall a man wrap up fire in his bosom, and not burn his clothes  5  Prov. vi. 27. ? For sin burns the sinews of the soul, [and breaks the spiritual bones of the mind, and darkens the light of the heart  6  Milles and the Benedictine Editor omit these clauses, but the more recent editions of Reischl and Alexandrides insert them on the authority of Munich, Jerusalem, and other good mss. ].

2. But some one will say, What can sin be? Is it a living thing? Is it an angel? Is it a demon? What is this which works within us? It is not an enemy, O man, that assails thee from without, but an evil shoot growing up out of thyself.  Look right on with thine eyes  7  Prov. iv. 25. , and there is no lust. [Keep thine own, and  8  Omitted by recent editors with the best mss. ] seize not the things of others, and robbery has ceased  9  Gr. κεκοίμηται “has fallen asleep.” . Remember the Judgment, and neither fornication, nor adultery, nor murder, nor any transgression of the law shall prevail with thee. But whenever thou forgettest God, forthwith thou beginnest to devise wickedness and to commit iniquity.

3. Yet thou art not the sole author of the evil, but there is also another most wicked prompter, the devil. He indeed suggests, but does not get the mastery by force over those who do not consent. Therefore saith the Preacher,  If the spirit of him that hath power rise up against thee, quit not thy place  10  Eccles. x. 4. Compare Eph. iv. 27: “Neither give place to the devil.” . Shut thy door, and put him far from thee, and he shall not hurt thee. But if thou indifferently admit the thought of lust, it strikes root in thee by its suggestions, and enthrals thy mind, and drags thee down into a pit of evils.

But perhaps thou sayest, I am a believer, and lust does not gain the ascendant over me, even if I think upon it frequently. Knowest thou not that a root breaks even a rock by long persistence? Admit not the seed, since it will rend thy faith asunder: tear out the evil by the root before it blossom, lest from being careless at the beginning thou have afterwards to seek for axes and fire. When thine eyes begin to be diseased, get them cured in good time, lest thou become blind, and then have to seek the physician.

4. The devil then is the first author of sin, and the father of the wicked: and this is the Lord’s saying, not mine,  that the devil sinneth  from the beginning  11  1 John iii. 8; John viii. 44. : none sinned before him. But he sinned, not as having received necessarily from nature the propensity to sin, since then the cause of sin is traced back again to Him that made him so; but having been created good, he has of his own free will become a devil, and received that name from his action. For being an Archangel  12  On Cyril’s doctrine of the Angels, see Index, “Angels.” he was afterwards called a devil from his slandering: from being a good servant of God he has become rightly named Satan; for “Satan” is interpreted  the adversary  13  1 Kings v. 4, &c. . And this is not my teaching, but that of the inspired prophet Ezekiel: for he takes up a lamentation over him and says,  Thou wast a seal of likeness, and a crown of beauty; in the Paradise of God wast thou born  14  Ezek. xxviii. 12–17, an obscure passage, addressed to the Prince of Tyre, and meaning that he was “the perfect pattern” of earthly glory, set in a condition like that of Adam in Paradise, and, seemingly, blameless as Adam before his fall. Cyril seems to regard the Prince of Tyre as an embodiment of Satan, because he was deified as the object of national worship: v. 1, “Thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God.” : and soon after,  Thou wast born blameless in thy days, from the day in which thou wast created, until thine iniquities were found in thee. Very rightly hath he said,  were found in thee ; for they were not brought in from without, but thou didst thyself beget the evil. The cause also he mentions forthwith:  Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty: for the multitude of thy sins wast thou wounded, and I did cast thee to the ground  . In agreement with this the Lord says again in the Gospels:  I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven  15  Luke x. 18. . Thou seest the harmony of the Old Testament with the New. He when cast out drew many away with him. It is he that puts lusts into them that listen to him: from him come adultery, fornication, and every kind of evil. Through him our forefather Adam was cast out for disobedience, and exchanged a Paradise bringing forth wondrous fruits of its own accord for the ground which bringeth forth thorns.

5. What then? some one will say. We have been beguiled and are lost. Is there then no salvation left? We have fallen: Is it not possible to rise again? We have been blinded: May we not recover our sight? We have become crippled: Can we never walk upright? In a word, we are dead: May we not rise again? He that woke Lazarus who was four days dead and already stank, shall He not, O man, much more easily raise thee who art alive? He who shed His precious blood for us, shall Himself deliver us from sin. Let us not despair of ourselves, brethren; let us not abandon ourselves to a hopeless condition. For it is a fearful thing not to believe in a hope of repentance. For he that looks not for salvation spares not to add evil to evil: but to him that hopes for cure, it is henceforth easy to be careful over himself. The robber who looks not for pardon grows desperate; but, if he hopes for forgiveness, often comes to repentance. What then, does the serpent cast its slough  16  Literally, “its old age” (τὸ γῆρας). Compare iii. 7, and Dict. Chr. Biogr., Macarius, p. 770 a. , and shall not we cast off our sin? Thorny ground also, if cultivated well, is turned into fruitful; and is salvation to us irrecoverable? Nay rather, our nature admits of salvation, but the will also is required.

6. God is loving to man, and loving in no small measure. For say not, I have committed fornication and adultery: I have done dreadful things, and not once only, but often: will He forgive? Will He grant pardon? Hear what the Psalmist says:  How great is the multitude of Thy goodness, O Lord  17  Ps. xxxi. 20. ! Thine accumulated offences surpass not the multitude of God’s mercies: thy wounds surpass not the great Physician’s skill. Only give thyself up in faith: tell the Physician thine ailment: say thou also, like David:  I said, I will confess me my sin unto the Lord: and the same shall be done in thy case, which he says forthwith:  And thou forgavest the wickedness of my heart  18  Ps. xxxii. 5. .

7. Wouldest thou see the loving-kindness of God, O thou that art lately come to the catechising? Wouldest thou see the loving-kindness of God, and the abundance of His long-suffering? Hear about Adam. Adam, God’s first-formed man, transgressed: could He not at once have brought death upon him? But see what the Lord does, in His great love towards man. He casts him out from Paradise, for because of sin he was unworthy to live there; but He  puts him to dwell over against Paradise  19  This is the reading of the Septuagint instead of—“He placed at the east of the garden of Eden.” : that seeing whence he had fallen, and from what and into what a state he was brought down, he might afterwards be saved by repentance. Cain the first-born man became his brother’s murderer, the inventor of evils, the first author of murders, and the first envious man. Yet after slaying his brother to what is he condemned?  Groaning and trembling shalt thou be upon the earth  20  Gen. iv. 12: “A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be upon the earth.” . How great the offence, the sentence how light!

8. Even this then was truly loving-kindness in God, but little as yet in comparison with what follows. For consider what happened in the days of Noe. The giants sinned, and much wickedness was then spread over the earth, and because of this the flood was to come upon them: and in the five hundredth year God utters His threatening; but in the six hundredth He brought the flood upon the earth. Seest thou the breadth of God’s loving-kindness extending to a hundred years? Could He not have done immediately what He did then after the hundred years? But He extended (the time) on purpose, granting a respite for repentance. Seest thou God’s goodness? And if the men of that time had repented, they would not have missed the loving-kindness of God.

9. Come with me now to the other class, those who were saved by repentance. But perhaps even among women some one will say, I have committed fornication, and adultery, I have defiled my body by excesses of all kinds: is there salvation for me? Turn thine eyes, O woman, upon Rahab, and look thou also for salvation; for if she who had been openly and publicly a harlot was saved by repentance, is not she who on some one occasion before receiving grace committed fornication to be saved by repentance and fasting? For inquire how she was saved: this only she said:  For your God is God in heaven and upon earth  21  Josh. ii. 11. .  Your God; for her own she did not dare to say, because of her wanton life. And if you wish to receive Scriptural testimony of her having been saved, you have it written in the Psalms:  I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon among them that know me   22  Ps. lxxxvii. 4. “Rahab” is there a poetical name of Egypt, and the passage has nothing to do with Rahab the harlot. The Benedictine Editor rightly disregards S. Jerome’s suggestion, that Rahab is, like Egypt, a type of the Gentile Church. . O the greatness of God’s loving-kindness, making mention even of harlots in the Scriptures: nay, not simply  I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon , but with the addition,  among them that know me . There is then in the case both of men and of women alike the salvation which is ushered in by repentance.

10. Nay more, if a whole people sin, this surpasses not the loving-kindness of God. The people made a calf, yet God ceased not from His loving-kindness. Men denied God, but God denied not Himself  23  2 Tim. ii. 13. .  These be thy gods, O Israel  24  Ex. xxxii. 4. , they said: yet again, as He was wont, the God of Israel became their Saviour. And not only the people sinned, but also Aaron the High Priest. For it is Moses that says:  And the anger of the Lord came upon Aaron: and I prayed for him , saith he,  and God forgave him  25  Deut. ix. 20. . What then, did Moses praying for a High Priest that sinned prevail with God, and shall not Jesus, His Only-begotten, prevail with God when He prays for us? And if He did not hinder Aaron, because of his offence, from entering upon the High Priesthood, will He hinder thee, who art come out from the Gentiles, from entering into salvation? Only, O man, repent thou also in like manner, and grace is not forbidden thee. Render thy way of life henceforth unblameable; for God is truly loving unto man, nor can all time  26  For “all time,” the reading of the best mss., the Benedictine text has “all mankind.” worthily tell out His loving kindness; nay, not if all the tongues of men unite together will they be able even so to declare any considerable part of His loving-kindness. For we tell some part of what is written concerning His loving-kindness to men, but how much He forgave the Angels we know not: for them also He forgives, since One alone is without sin, even Jesus who purgeth our sins. And of them we have said enough.

11. But if concerning us men thou wilt have other examples also set before thee  27  The Benedictine has, “But if thou wilt I will set before thee other examples also of our state? Come on to the blessed David.” , come on to the blessed David, and take him for an example of repentance. Great as he was, he fell: after his sleep, walking in the eventide on the housetop, he cast a careless look, and felt a human passion. His sin was completed, but there died not with it his candour concerning the confession of his fault. Nathan the Prophet came, a swift accuser, and a healer of the wound.  The Lord is wroth , he says,  and thou hast sinned  28  2 Sam. xii. . So spake the subject to the reigning king. But David the king  29  Bened. “The king, the wearer of the purple.” was not indignant, for he regarded not the speaker, but God who had sent him. He was not puffed up  30  Bened. “blinded.” by the array of soldiers standing round: for he had seen in thought the angel-host of the Lord, and he trembled  as seeing Him who is invisible  31  Heb. xi. 27. ; and to the messenger, or rather by him in answer to God who sent him, he said,  I have sinned against the Lord  32  2 Sam. xii. 13. . Seest thou the humility of the king? Seest thou his confession? For had he been convicted by any one? Were many privy to the matter? The deed was quickly done, and straightway the Prophet appeared as accuser, and the offender confesses the fault. And because he candidly confessed, he received a most speedy cure. For Nathan the Prophet who had uttered the threat, said immediately,  The Lord also hath put away thy sin . Thou seest the swift relenting of a merciful God. He says, however,  Thou hast greatly provoked the enemies of the  Lord . Though thou hadst many enemies because of thy righteousness, thy self-control protected thee; but now that thou hast surrendered thy strongest armour, thine enemies are risen up, and stand ready against thee.

12. Thus then did the Prophet comfort him, but the blessed David, for all he heard it said,  The Lord hath put away thy sin , did not cease from repentance, king though he was, but put on sackcloth instead of purple, and instead of a golden throne, he sat, a king, in ashes on the ground; nay, not only sat in ashes, but also had ashes for his food, even as he saith himself,  I have eaten ashes as it were bread  33  Ps. cii. 10. . His lustful eye he wasted away with tears saying,  Every night will I wash my couch, and water my bed with my tears  34  Ib. vii. 7. . When his officers besought him to eat bread he would not listen. He prolonged his fast unto seven whole days. If a king thus made confession oughtest not thou, a private person, to confess? Again, after Absalom’s insurrection, though there were many roads for him to escape, he chose to flee by the Mount of Olives, in thought, as it were, invoking the Redeemer who was to go up thence into the heavens  35  2 Sam. xvi. 10, 11. . And when Shimei cursed him bitterly, he said,  Let him alone , for he knew that “to him that forgiveth it shall be forgiven  36  Resch. (Agrapha, p. 137) quotes various forms of this saying from early writers, and regards it as a fragment of an extracanonical Gospel. But see Lightfoot, Clem. Rom. c. xiii. .”

13. Thou seest that it is good to make confession. Thou seest that there is salvation for them that repent. Solomon also fell but what saith he?  Afterwards I repented  37  Prov. xxiv. 32, Sept. Heb. “Set my heart.” The passage has no reference to repentance: it means, “I considered the field of the slothful.” Hilary, Ps. lii.; Ambrose, Apolog. 1, Prophetæ David, c. iii. and other Fathers affirm the repentance of Solomon. Augustine (c. Faustum, Lib. xxii. c. 88) maintains that Scripture says nothing of his repentance or forgiveness. See Dante, Paradiso, Canto x. 109. . Ahab, too, the King of Samaria, became a most wicked idolater, an outrageous man, the murderer of the Prophets  38  1 Kings xviii. 4. , a stranger to godliness, a coveter of other men’s fields and vineyards. Yet when by Jezebel’s means he had slain Naboth, and the Prophet Elias came and merely threatened him, he rent his garments, and put on sackcloth. And what saith the merciful God to Elias?  Hast than seen how Ahab is pricked in the heart before Me  39  Ib. xxi. 29. ? as if almost He would persuade the fiery zeal of the Prophet to condescend to the penitent. For He saith,  I will not bring the evil in his days . And though after this forgiveness he was sure not to depart from his wickedness, nevertheless the forgiving God forgave him, not as being ignorant of the future, but as granting a forgiveness corresponding to his present season of repentance. For it is the part of a righteous judge to give sentence according to each case that has occurred.

14. Again, Jeroboam was standing at the altar sacrificing to the idols: his hand became withered, because he commanded the Prophet who reproved him to be seized: but having by experience learned the power of the man before him, he says,  Entreat the face of the Lord thy God  40  1 Kings xiii. 6. ; and because of this saying his hand was restored again. If the Prophet healed Jeroboam, is Christ not able to heal and deliver thee from thy sins? Manasses also was utterly wicked, who sawed Isaiah asunder  41  Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, § 120 charges the Jews with having cut out a passage referring to the death of Isaiah. Theophylact commenting on Heb. xi. 37, says: “They were sawn asunder, as Isaiah by Manasses: and they say that he was sawn with a wooden saw, that his punishment might be the more painful to him from being prolonged.” Jerome on Is. i. 10, says that he was slain because of his calling the Jews “princes of Sodom and people of Gomorra,” and because he said, “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.” , and was defiled with all kinds of idolatries, and  filled Jerusalem with innocent blood  42  2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 13. ; but having been led captive to Babylon he used his experience of misfortune for a healing course of repentance: for the Scripture saith that Manasses  humbled himself before the Lord, and prayed, and the Lord heard him, and brought him back to his kingdom . If He who sawed the Prophet asunder was saved by repentance, shall not thou then, having done no such great wickedness, be saved?

15. Take heed lest without reason thou mistrust the power of repentance. Wouldst thou know what power repentance has? Wouldst thou know the strong weapon of salvation, and learn what the force of confession is? Hezekiah by means of confession routed a hundred and fourscore and five thousand of his enemies. A great thing verily was this, but still small in comparison with what remains to be told: the same king by repentance obtained the recall of a divine sentence which had already gone forth. For when he had fallen sick, Esaias said to him,  Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live  43  2 Kings xx. 1. . What expectation remained, what hope of recovery, when the Prophet said,  for thou shalt die ? Yet Hezekiah did not desist from repentance; but remembering what is written,  When thou shalt turn and lament, then shalt thou be saved  44  Is. xxx. 15. , he turned to the wall, and from his bed lifting his mind to heaven (for thickness of walls is no hindrance to prayers sent up with devotion), he said, “Remember me, O Lord, for it is sufficient for my healing that Thou remember me. Thou art not subject to times, but art Thyself the giver of the law of life. For our life depends not on a nativity, nor on a conjunction of stars, as some idly talk; but both of life and its duration. Then art Thyself the Lawgiver according to Thy Will.” And he, who could not hope to live because of the prophetic sentence, had fifteen years added to his life, and for the sign the sun ran backward in his course. Well then, for Ezekias’ sake the sun turned back but for Christ the sun was eclipsed, not retracing his steps, but suffering eclipse  45  Isaiah xxxviii. 8. , and therefore shewing the difference between them, I mean between Ezekias and Jesus. The former prevailed to the cancelling of God’s decree, and cannot Jesus grant remission of sins? Turn and bewail thyself, shut thy door, and pray to be forgiven, pray that He may remove from thee the burning flames. For confession has power to quench even fire, power to tame even lions  46  From this point the mss. differ so widely that the Benedictine Editor gives two complete recensions of the whole Lecture. The Codd. Coislin, Ottob. 2, and Grodec, with the editions of Prevot and Milles, forming as it were one family of mss., constitute the received text. On the other hand the older Munich Codex, with Codd. Roe and Casaubon, exhibit a recension of the Lecture differing from the editions. Reischl wishing to retain the received text unaltered, though preferring the other in particular passages, intended to append the other recension complete, but having left his work half finished, failed to do so. The chief variations are given in the following notes. .

16. But if thou disbelieve, consider what befel Ananias and his companions. What streams did they pour out  47  Roe and Casaubon (R.C.) add: “into the furnace of fire.” ? How many vessels  48  R.C. “What measure.” of water could quench the flame that rose up forty-nine cubits high  49  Song of the Three Children, v. 24. ? Nay, but where the flame mounted up a little  50  R.C. “Much.” too high, faith was there poured out as a river, and there spake they the spell against all ills  51  R.C. “A great stream of repentance was poured forth, when they said, For Thou art righteous,” &c. :  Righteous art Thou, O Lord, in all the things that Thou hast done to us: for we have sinned, and transgressed Thy law  52  Song of the Three Children, v. 4. . And their repentance quelled the flames  53  R.C. “Did then repentance quench the flames of the furnace, and dost thou disbelieve that it is able also to quench the fire of hell?” . If thou believest not that repentance is able to quench the fire of hell, learn it from what happened in regard to Ananias  54  The Gospel only says, “There was darkness over all the land.” An eclipse of the sun was impossible at the time of the Paschal full moon. . But some keen hearer will say, Those men God rescued justly in that case: because they refused to commit idolatry, God gave them that power. And since this thought has occurred, I come next to a different example of penitence  55  R.C. “That the narrative is not appropriate to those who are here present. For it was because Ananias and his companions refused to worship the idol, that God gave them that marvellous power. Adapting myself, therefore, to such a hearer, and looking to the profusion of instances, I come next to a different example of repentance.” .

17. What thinkest thou of Nabuchodonosor? Hast thou not heard out of the Scriptures that he was bloodthirsty, fierce  56  R.C. “most impious, and most fierce in temper.” , lion-like in disposition? Hast thou not heard that he brought out the bones of the kings from their graves into the light  57  Jer. viii. 1; Baruch ii. 25. ? Hast thou not heard  58  “Knowest thou not…” that he carried the people away captive? Hast thou not heard that he put out the eyes of the king, after he had already seen his children slain  59  2 Kings xxv. 7. ? Hast thou not heard that he brake in pieces  60  R.C. “carried off.” the Cherubim? I do not mean the invisible  61  νοητά. R.C. add “and heavenly.” beings;—away with such a thought, O man  62  Omitted by R.C. ,—but the sculptured images, and the mercy-seat, in the midst of which God spake with His voice  63  R.C. “But those which had been constructed in the Temple, which were over the mercy-seat of the Ark.” Besides the two Cherubim of solid gold which Moses placed on the two ends of the Mercy-seat (Ex. xxxvii. 7 ff.), Solomon set “within the oracle” two Cherubim of olive wood overlaid with gold, ten feet high with outstretched wings overshadowing the Ark (1 Kings vi. 23–26; viii. 6, 7). All these were either carried off or destroyed, when Nebuchadnezzar took away “all the treasures of the house of the Lord” and “cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon, King of Israel, had made in the Temple of the Lord” (2 Kings xxiv. 13; 1 Esdras i. 54; 2 Esdras x. 22). The Benedictine editor is concerned because Cyril has paid no attention to the strange fiction in 2 Maccabees ii. 4 that Jeremy the Prophet “commanded the Tabernacle and the Ark to go with him” to Mount Horeb, and there hid them, with the Altar of Incense, in a hollow cave, to remain “unknown until the time that God gathers His people again together.” . The veil of the Sanctuary  64  The Greek word rendered “Sanctuary” is ἡ ἁγιωσύνη, literally “the holiness.” he trampled under foot: the altar of incense he took and carried away to an idol-temple  65  2 Chron. xxxvi. 7. : all the offerings he took away: the Temple he burned from the foundations  66  R.C. “The veil of the Sanctuary he tore down, he overturned the altar, and took all the vessels and carried them away to an idol temple. The Temple itself he burned.” . How great punishments did he deserve, for slaying kings, for setting fire to the Sanctuary, for taking the people captive, for setting the sacred vessels in the house of idols? Did he not deserve ten thousand deaths?

18. Thou hast seen the greatness of his evil deeds: come now to God’s loving-kindness. He was turned into a wild beast  67  R.C. Afterwards he was turned into a wild beast: “he who was like a wild beast and most cruel in disposition; but he was turned into a wild beast, not that he might perish, but that by repentance he might be saved.” , he abode in the wilderness, he was scourged, that he might be saved. He had claws as a lion  68  R.C. “of birds.” See Dan. iv. 33. ; for he was a ravager of the Sanctuary. He had a lion’s mane: for he was a ravening and a roaring lion. He ate grass like an ox: for a brute beast he was, not knowing Him who had given him the kingdom. His body was wet from the dew; because after seeing the fire quenched by the dew he believed not  69  R.C. “after the midst of the furnace had become to Ananias and his companions as the tinkling breath of rain, he saw and believed not.” . And what happened  70  R.C. “But afterwards he came to his senses and repented, as he says himself.” ?  After this , saith he,  I, Nabuchodonosor, lifted up  mine eyes unto heaven, and I blessed the Most High, and to Him that liveth for ever I gave praise and glory  71  Dan. iv. 34. . When, therefore, he recognised the Most High  72  R.C. “And after he had been scourged many years, he gave praise to Him that liveth for ever, and acknowledged Him that had given him the kingdom, and recognised the King of kings. And though he had often sinned in deeds, on making confession only in words, he received the benefit of God’s unspeakable loving kindness. He who was of all men most wicked, by the Divine judgment and loving-kindness of God who chastised him, crowned himself again with the royal diadem, and recovered his imperial throne.” , and sent up these words of thankfulness to God, and repented himself for what he had done, and recognised his own weakness, then God gave back to him the honour of the kingdom.

19. What then  73  R.C. “If then there is present among you any from among the Heathen who has ever spoken evil against Christians, or in times of persecution plotted against the Holy Churches, let him take Nabuchodonsor as an example of salvation: let him confess in like manner, that he may also find the like forgiveness. If any has been defiled by lust and passions, let him take up the repentance of the blessed David: if any has denied like Peter, let him die like him for the sake of the Lord Jesus. For He who to his tears begrudged not the Apostleship, will not refuse thee the gospel mysteries. And for women let Rahab be a pattern unto salvation, and for men the manifold examples mentioned of the men of old times. ? When Nabuchodonosor, after having done such deeds, had made confession, did God give him pardon and the kingdom, and when thou repentest shall He not give thee the remission of sins, and the kingdom of heaven, if thou live a worthy life? The Lord is loving unto man, and swift to pardon, but slow to punish. Let no man therefore despair of his own salvation. Peter, the chiefest and foremost of the Apostles, denied the Lord thrice before a little maid: but he repented himself, and wept bitterly. Now weeping shews the repentance of the heart: and therefore he not only received forgiveness for his denial, but also held his Apostolic dignity unforfeited.

20. Having therefore, brethren, many examples of those who have sinned and repented and been saved, do ye also heartily make confession unto the Lord, that ye may both receive the forgiveness of your former sins, and be counted worthy of the heavenly gift, and inherit the heavenly kingdom with all the saints in Christ Jesus; to Whom is the glory for ever and ever. Amen  74  R.C. “And be ye all of good hope, having regard to the lovingkindness of God; not that we may fall back into the same sins, but that having had the benefit of redemption, and lived in a manner worthy of His grace, we may be able to blot out the handwriting that is against us by good works; in the power of the Only-begotten, the Son of God, and our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father, with the Holy Ghost, both now and ever, and unto all the ages of eternity. Amen.” .

[2]  ΚΑΤΗΧΗΣΙΣ Β. ΦΩΤΙΖΟΜΕΝΩΝ, Ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις σχεδιασθεῖσα ΠΕΡΙ ΜΕΤΑΝΟΙΑΣ, καὶ ἀφέσεως ἁμαρτιῶν, καὶ περὶ Ἀντικειμένου. Καὶ ἀνάγνωσις ἐκ τοῦ Ἰεζεκιήλ: Δικαιοσύνη δικαίῳ ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἔσται, καὶ ἀνομία ἀνόμῳ ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἔσται. Καὶ ὁ ἄνομος ἐὰν ἐπιστρέψῃ ἐκ πασῶν τῶν ἀνομιῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. 

Δεινὸν ἡ ἁμαρτία, καὶ νόσος χαλεπωτάτη ψυχῆς ἡ παρανομία: ὑποτέμνουσα μὲν αὐτῆς τὰ νεῦρα, καὶ πυρὸς δὲ αἰωνίου γιγνομένη παραίτιος. Κακὸν αὐτεξούσιον, βλάστημα προαιρέσεως: καὶ ὅτι γε αὐτοπροαιρέτως ἁμαρτάνομεν, λέγει που σαφῶς ὁ προφήτης: Ἐγὼ δ' ἐφύτευσά σε ἄμπελον καρποφόρον πᾶσαν ἀληθίνην, πῶς ἐστράφης εἰς πικρίαν ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀλλοτρία; Ἡ φυτεία καλὴ, ὁ δὲ καρπὸς ἐκ προαιρέσεως κακός: καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὁ φυτουργὸς ἀναίτιος, ἡ δὲ ἄμπελος κατακαυθήσεται πυρὶ, ἐπειδὴ εἰς ἀγαθὸν ἐφυτεύθη, καὶ εἰς κακὸν ἐκαρποφόρησεν ἐκ προαιρέσεως. Ἐποίησε γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον εὐθῆ, κατὰ τὸν Ἐκκλησιαστὴν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐζήτησαν λογισμοὺς πολλούς. Αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν ποίημα, κτισθέντες ἐπὶ ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς, φησὶν ὁ Ἀπόστολος. Ὁ μὲν οὖν κτίστης, ἀγαθὸς ὢν, ἐπ' ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς ἔκτισεν: τὸ δὲ κτισθὲν, ἐξ οἰκείας προαιρέσεως εἰς πονηρίαν ἐτράπη. Δεινὸν μὲν οὖν κακὸν, ὡς εἴρηται, ἡ ἁμαρτία, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀθεράπευτον: δεινὸν τῷ κατέχοντι: εὐίατον δὲ τῷ διὰ μετανοίας ἀποτιθεμένῳ. Ὑπόθου γάρ μοι κατέχειν ἐν χειρί τινα τὸ πῦρ: ἕως ὅτου κατέχει τὸν ἄνδρακα, φλέγεται πάντως. Εἰ δὲ ἀπόθοιτο τὸν ἄνθρακα, συναπέβαλε ἂν καὶ τὸ φλέγον: εἰ δέ τις νομίζει μὴ κατακαίεσθαι ἁμαρτάνων, τούτῳ λέγει ἡ γραφή: Ἀποδήσει τις πῦρ ἐν κόλπῳ, τὰ δὲ ἱμάτια οὐ κατακαύσει; Καίει γὰρ ἡ ἁμαρτία: τὰ νεῦρα τῆς ψυχῆς [ὑποτέμνεται καὶ συντρίβει τὰ νοητὰ τῆς διανοίας ὀστέα: καὶ σκοτοῖ τὸ φωτεινὸν τῆς καρδίας].

Ἀλλ' ἐρεῖ τις, τί ποτε ἄρα ἐστὶν ἡ ἁμαρτία; ζῶόν ἐστιν; ἄγγελός ἐστι, δαίμων ἐστί; τί ἐστι, τοῦτο τὸ ἐνεργοῦν; Οὐκ ἔστιν ἐχθρὸς ἔξωθεν, ἄνθρωπε, καταγωνιζόμενος, ἀλλὰ βλάστημα κακὸν αὐτοπροαιρέτως αὐξάνον ἀπὸ σοῦ. Ὀρθοῖς βλέπε τοῖς ὄμμασί σου, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπιθυμία. Μὴ ἅρπαζε τὰ ἀλλότρια: καὶ ἁρπαγὴ κεκοίμηται: μνημόνευε τῆς κρίσεως: καὶ οὔτε πορνεία, οὔτε μοιχεία, οὔτε φόνος, οὐδέ τι τῶν παρανομημάτων ἰσχύσει παρὰ σοί. Ὅταν δὲ ἐπιλάθῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τότε λοιπὸν ἄρχῃ λογίζεσθαι πονηρὰ, καὶ συντελεῖν παράνομα.

Οὐ μόνος δὲ σὺ καθέστηκας τοῦ πράγματος ἀρχηγός: ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλος τίς ἐστι κάκιστος ὑποβολεὺς, ὁ διάβολος. Ὑποβάλλει μὲν οὖν ἐκεῖνος, οὐ μὴν βίᾳ ἐπικρατεῖ τῶν μὴ πειθομένων. Διὰ τοῦτο λέγει ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστής: Ἐὰν πνεῦμα τοῦ ἐξουσιάζοντος ἀναβῇ ἐπὶ σὲ, τόπον σου μὴ ἀφῇς. Ἐὰν ἀποκλείσῃς τὴν θύραν σου, καὶ μάκρον σοῦ τυγχάνων οὐ βλάψει σε. Ἐὰν δὲ ἀδιαφόρως δέξῃ τὴν ἐνθύμησιν ἐπιθυμίας, διὰ τῶν λογισμῶν ῥίζας ἐν σοὶ καταβάλλεται, καὶ καταδεσμεῖ σου τὴν διάνοιαν, καὶ κατασπᾷ σε εἰς βόθρον κακῶν. Ἀλλ' ἴσως λέγεις, Πιστός εἰμι, καὶ οὐ περιγίνεταί μου ἐπιθυμία, κἂν ἐνθυμήσω πυκνότερον. Ἀγνοεῖς ὅτι καὶ πέτραν ἔῤῥηξε ῥίζα παραμένουσα πολλάκις; Μὴ δέξῃ τὸν σπόρον, ἐπεὶ διαῤῥήξει σου τὴν πίστιν: πρὶν [ἢ] ἀνθήσῃ, πρόῤῥιζον ἔξελε τὸ κακόν: μὴ ῥαθυμήσας ἐξ ἀρχῆς, πέλυκας ὕστερον, καὶ πῦρ πολυπραγμονήσῃς: ἀρχόμενος ὀφθαλμιᾷν, θεραπεύου κατὰ καιρόν: ἵνα μὴ τυφλωθεὶς, τότε ζητήσῃς τὸν ἰατρόν.

Ἀρχηγὸς μὲν οὖν ἁμαρτίας ὁ διάβολος, καὶ γεννήτωρ τῶν κακῶν: τοῦτο δὲ ὁ Κύριος εἴρηκεν, οὐκ ἐγώ: ὅτι ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ὁ διάβολος ἁμαρτάνει: πρὸ αὐτοῦ ἥμαρτεν οὐδείς. Ἥμαρτε δὲ, οὐκ ἐκ φύσεως ἐπάναγκες τὸ ἁμαρτητικὸν λαβών: ἐπεὶ πάλιν ἀνατρέχει ἡ τῆς ἁμαρτίας πρόφασις εἰς τὸν οὕτω κατασκευάσαντα: ἀλλ' ἀγαθὸς κατασκευασθεὶς, διάβολος γέγονεν ἐξ οἰκείας προαιρέσεως, ἐκ τῆς πράξεως λαβὼν τὴν προσηγορίαν. Ἀρχάγγελος γὰρ ὢν, διάβολος ὕστερον ἐκλήθη, ἀπὸ τοῦ διαβάλλειν: καὶ ἀγαθὸς ὢν ὑπηρέτης Θεοῦ, γέγονε Σατανᾶς φερωνύμως: ὁ γὰρ Σατανᾶς εἰς τὸν ἀντικείμενον διάβολον ἑρμηνεύεται. Ἐστὶ δὲ οὐκ ἐμὼ ταῦτα τὰ διδάγματα, ἀλλ' Ἰεζεκιὴλ τοῦ πνευματοφόρου προφήτου. Ἐκεῖνος γὰρ λαβὼν θρῆνον ἐπ' αὐτὸν, λέγει: Σὺ ἀποσφράγισμα ὁμοιώσεως, καὶ στέφανος κάλλους ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐγεννήθης: καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα: Ἐγεννήθης ἄμωμος ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις σου, ἀφ' ἧς ἡμέρας σὺ ἐκτίσθης, ἕως οὗ εὑρέθη τὰ ἀδικήματα ἐν σοί. Πάνυ καλῶς τὸ, εὑρέθη ἐν σοί. Οὐ γὰρ ἔξωθεν ἐπεισηνέχθη, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ἐγέννησας τὸ κακόν. Καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἑξῆς εἴρηκεν: Ὑψώθη ἡ καρδία σου ἐπὶ τῷ κάλλει σου: διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν σου, καὶ διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου ἐτραυματίσθης καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἔῤῥιψά σε. Ὁ Κύριος τούτῳ συμφώνως πάλιν ἐν εὐαγγελίοις λέγει: Ἐθεώρουν τὸν Σατανᾶν ὡς ἀστραπὴν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πεσόντα. Βλέπεις παλαιᾶς διαθηκῆς πρὸς καινὴν συμφωνίαν. Οὗτος ἐκπεσὼν συναπέστησε πολλούς: οὗτος ἐμβάλλει τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τοῖς πειθομένοις: ἐκ τούτου μοιχεία, πορνεία, καὶ πᾶν εἴ τι κακόν. Διὰ τοῦτον ὁ προπάτωρ ἡμῶν Ἀδὰμ ἐκ παρακοῆς ἐξεβλήθη: καὶ ἀντὶ παραδείσου αὐτομάτως θαυμασίους φέροντος καρποὺς, τὴν ἀκανθοφόρον ἀντικατηλλάξατο γῆν.

Τί οὖν; ἐρεῖ τις, ἀπολώλαμεν ἀπατηθέντες: ἆρ' οὐκ ἔστι λοιπὸν σωτηρία; πεπτώκαμεν: ἆρ' οὐκ ἔστιν ἀναστῆναι; ἐτυφλώθημεν: ἆρ' οὐκ ἔστιν ἀναβλέψαι; χωλοὶ γεγόναμεν: ἆρ' οὐκ ἔστιν ἀρτιποδῆσαι; ἵνα δὲ συντόμως εἴπωμεν, ἀπεθάνομεν: ἆρ' οὐκ ἔστιν ἀναστῆναι; Ἆρ' ὁ τὸν Λάζαρον τὸν τετραήμερον ἐγείρας, ἄνθρωπε, τὸν ὀδωδότα: ἆρα τὸν ζῶντά σε μᾶλλον οὐκ εὐκοπώτερον ἀναστήσει; Ὁ τὸ τίμιον αἷμα ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐκχέας, αὐτὸς ἡμᾶς ῥύσεται τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Μὴ ἀπογνῶμεν ἑαυτοὺς, ἀδελφοί: μὴ ἀποῤῥίψωμεν ἑαυτοὺς εἰς ἀνέλπιστον κατάστασιν. Δεινὸν γάρ ἐστι τὸ μὴ πιστεύειν εἰς μετανοίας ἐλπίδα. Ὁ μὴ προσδοκῶν γὰρ τὴν σωτηρίαν, ἀφειδῶς προστίθησι τὰ κακά: ὁ δὲ τὴν ἰατρείαν ἐλπίσας, εὐμαρῶς τὸ λοιπὸν ἑαυτοῦ φείδεται. Ὁ γὰρ λῃστὴς ὁ μὴ δωρεὰν προσδοκῶν, εἰς ἀπόνοιαν χωρεῖ: ἐλπίσας δὲ τὴν ἄφεσιν, εἰς μετάνοιαν ἔρχεται πολλάκις. Εἶτα, ὄφις μὲν ἀποτίθεται τὸ γῆρας: ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐκ ἀποθησόμεθα τὴν ἁμαρτίαν; Καὶ ἀκανθώδης γῆ γεωργηθεῖσα καλῶς εἰς καρποφόρον μετεβλήθη: ἡμῖν δὲ ἀδιόρθωτος ἡ σωτηρία; Ἡ μὲν οὖν φύσις ἐπιδέχεται τὴν σωτηρίαν, ζητεῖται δὲ λοιπὸν ἡ προαίρεσις.

Φιλάνθρωπος ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ φιλάνθρωπος οὐκ ὀλίγον. Μὴ γὰρ εἴπῃς, Ἐπόρνευσα, ἐμοίχευσα: τὰ δεινά μοι πέπρακται, καὶ οὐχ ἅπαξ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλάκις: ἆρα συγχωρήσει; ἆρα παρέξει τὴν ἀμνηστίαν; Ἄκουε, τί λέγει ὁ ψαλμωδός: Ὡς πολὺ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς χρηστότητός σου Κύριε. Οὐ νικᾷ σου τὰ συναχθέντα ἁμαρτήματα, τὸ πλῆθος τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ: οὐ νικᾷ σου τὰ τραύματα τὴν ἀρχιατρικὴν ἐμπειρίαν. Δὸς μόνον σεαυτὸν μετὰ πίστεως: λέγε τῷ ἰατρῷ τὸ πάθος: εἰπὲ καὶ αὐτὸς κατὰ τὸν Δαβίδ. Εἶπα, ἐξαγορεύσω κατ' ἐμοῦ τὴν ἀνομίαν μου τῷ Κυρίῳ: καὶ γενήσεται ἐπὶ σοῦ τὸ παραπλήσιον, τὸ ἑξῆς εἰρημένον: Καὶ σὺ ἀφῆκας τὴν ἀσέβειαν τῆς καρδίας μου.

Θέλεις ἰδεῖν Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν, σὺ ὁ νεωστὶ εἰς τὴν κατήχησιν ἐληλυθώς; θέλεις ἰδεῖν Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν, καὶ τῆς μακροθυμίας τὸ πλῆθος; Ἄκουσον περὶ τοῦ Ἀδάμ. Παρήκουσεν Ἀδάμ, ὁ πρωτόπλαστος τοῦ Θεοῦ: ἆρ' οὐκ ἐδύνατο τὸν θάνατον εὐθὺς ἐπαγαγεῖν; ἀλλ' ὅρα τί ποιεῖ ὁ φιλανθρωπότατος Κύριος. Ἐκβάλλει μὲν αὐτὸν τοῦ παραδείσου: [τῆς γὰρ ἐκεῖ διατριβῆς ἀνάξιος ἦν διὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν] κατοικίζει δὲ τοῦ παραδείσου κατέναντι, ἵνα βλέπων ὅθεν ἐξέπεσε, καὶ ἐξ οἵων, εἰς οἷα κατηνέχθη, λοιπὸν ἐκ μετανοίας σωθῇ. Καῒν ὁ πρωτότοκος ἄνθρωπος, ἀδελφοκτόνος γέγονεν εὑρετὴς τῶν κακῶν, καὶ ἀρχηγὸς τῶν φόνων, καὶ βάσκανος πρῶτος, ἀλλ' ἀνελὼν τὸν ἀδελφὸν, τί κατακρίνεται; Στένων καὶ τρέμων ἔσῃ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς: μέγα τὸ ἁμάρτημα, καὶ μικρὰ ἡ καταδίκη.

Φιλανθρωπία μὲν οὖν ἀληθῶς καὶ αὕτη Θεοῦ, ἀλλ' ἔτι μικρὰ πρὸς τὰ ἐπιφερόμενα. Λόγισαι [γάρ] μοι τὰ ἐπὶ Νῶε. Ἥμαρτον οἱ γίγαντες, καὶ παρανομία πολλὴ τότε τῆς γῆς κατεχύθη, καὶ διὰ ταύτην κατακλυσμὸς ἔμελλεν ἐπέρχεσθαι: καὶ τῷ πεντακοσιοστῷ μὲν ἔτει τὴν ἀπειλὴν ἐκφέρει ὁ Θεὸς, τῷ δὲ ἑξακοσιοστῷ τὸν κατακλυσμὸν ἐπήγαγεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν. Βλέπεις φιλανθρωπίας Θεοῦ πλάτος, εἰς ἑκατὸν παρατεινομένης χρόνους; Ἆρα, ὅπερ ἐποίησε τότε μετὰ τὴν ἑκατονταετίαν, οὐκ ἠδύνατο καὶ παραχρῆμα ποιῆσαι; Ἀλλ' ἐπίτηδες παρέτεινεν, διδοὺς ἔνδομα τῆς μετανοίας. Βλέπεις Θεοῦ ἀγαθότητα; καὶ εἴγε μετενόησαν οἱ τότε, οὐκ ἂν ἀπέτυχον τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας.

Ἐλθέ μοι λοιπὸν καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄλλους, τοὺς ἐκ μετανοίας σωθέντας. Ἀλλ' ἴσως καὶ ἐν γυναιξὶν ἐρεῖ τις: ἐπόρνευσα, ἐμοίχευσα, ἐμόλυνα τὸ σῶμα παντοίαις ἀκολασίαις: ἆρ' ἔστι σωτηρία; Ἀπόβλεψον, ὦ γύναι, εἰς τὴν Ῥαάβ, καὶ προσδόκα καὶ σὺ τὴν σωτηρίαν: εἰ γὰρ ἡ φανερῶς καὶ δημοσίᾳ πορνεύσασα, διὰ μετανοίας ἐσώθη: ἆρα ἡ ἅπαξ ποτὲ πορνεύσασα πρὸ τῆς χάριτος, διὰ μετανοίας καὶ νηστείας οὐ σώζεται; πῶς γὰρ ἐσώθη ἐκείνη, ζήτησον: τοῦτο μόνον εἶπεν, Ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῶν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῶν: ἑαυτῆς γὰρ, οὐκ ἐτόλμησεν εἰπεῖν διὰ τὴν ἀσέλγειαν: καὶ εἰ θέλεις δέξασθαι τοῦ σωθῆναι ταύτην, μαρτυρίαν ἔγγραφον, ἔχεις ἀνάγραπτον, ἐν ψαλμοῖς: Μνησθήσομαι Ῥαὰβ καὶ Βαβυλῶνος, τοῖς γινώσκουσί με: ὦ μεγάλης τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας, καὶ πορνῶν μνημονευούσης ἐν γραφαῖς: ἀλλ' οὐχ ἁπλῶς. Μνησθήσομαι Ῥαὰβ καὶ Βαβυλῶνος, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τοῦ: Τοῖς γινώσκουσί με. Ἔστιν οὖν καὶ ἐπὶ ἀνδρῶν σωτηρία καὶ ἐπὶ γυναικῶν ὁμοίως, ἡ διὰ μετανοίας προξενουμένη.

Κἂν ὁλόκληρος δὲ λαὸς ἁμάρτῃ, οὐ νικᾷ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν. Ἐμοσχοποίησεν ὁ λαὸς, καὶ οὐκ ἀπέστη ὁ Θεὸς τῆς φιλανθρωπίας: ἠρνήσαντο οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὸν Θεὸν, ἀλλ' ὁ Θεὸς ἑαυτὸν οὐκ ἠρνήσατο. Οὗτοι οἱ θεοί σου Ἰσραὴλ, εἰρήκασιν: καὶ πάλιν συνήθως ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, σωτὴρ αὐτῶν ἐγένετο. Καὶ οὐ μόνος δ' ὁ λαὸς ἥμαρτε, ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἀαρὼν ὁ ἀρχιερεύς. Μωϋσῆς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ λέγων, Καὶ ἐπ' Ἀαρὼν ἐγένετο ὀργὴ Κυρίου: καὶ ἐδεήθην, φησὶν, ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, καὶ συνεχώρησεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός. Εἶτα Μωϋσῆς μὲν αἰτῶν ὑπὲρ ἀρχιερέως ἁμαρτάνοντος, ἐδυσώπει τὸν Κύριον: Ἰησοῦς δὲ ὁ μονογενὴς, αἰτῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν οὐ δυσωπεῖ τὸν Θεόν; Κἀκεῖνον μὲν διὰ τὸ πταισθὲν οὐκ ἐκώλυσεν ἐλθεῖν εἰς ἀρχιερωσύνην: σὲ δὲ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐλθόντα, κεκώλυκεν εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν σωτηρίαν; Μετανόησον, ἄνθρωπε, λοιπὸν καὶ αὐτὸς ὁμοίως, καὶ οὐ κεκώλυταί σοι ἡ χάρις. Ἀνεπίληπτόν σου παράστησον εἰς τὸ ἑξῆς τὸν τρόπον: φιλάνθρωπος γὰρ ἀληθῶς ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ οὐ δυνήσεται ὁ πᾶς χρόνος κατ' ἀξίαν ἐξειπεῖν αὐτοῦ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν: οὐδ' ἂν πᾶσαι αἱ γλῶσσαι συνέλθωσιν ἀνθρώπων ὁμοῦ, οὐδ' οὕτως μέρος τι τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας διηγήσασθαι δυνήσονται. Ἡμεῖς γὰρ λέγομεν μέρος τι τῶν γεγραμμένων περὶ τῆς εἰς ἀνθρώπους αὐτοῦ φιλανθρωπίας: ἀλλ' οὐκ οἴδαμεν ὅσα καὶ ἀγγέλοις συνεχώρησεν. Συγχωρεῖ γὰρ κἀκείνοις, ἐπειδὴ εἷς μόνος ἀναμάρτητος. ὁ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν καθαρίζων Ἰησοῦς. Καὶ περὶ μὲν ἐκείνων αὐτάρκως.

Εἰ δὲ βούλει, σοὶ περὶ ἡμῶν καὶ ἄλλους τύπους παραστῆναι, ἐλθὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν Δαβὶδ τὸν μακάριον, καὶ τύπον αὐτὸν λάβε τῆς μετανοίας. Ἐσφάλη ὁ μέγας: μετὰ κοίτην, τὸ δειλινὸν, περιπατῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ δώματος, ἴδεν ἀδιαφόρως, καὶ ἔπαθέν τι ἀνθρώπινον. Ἐτελέσθη ἡ ἁμαρτία, ἀλλ' οὐ συναπέθανεν ἡ περὶ τὴν ὁμολογίαν τοῦ πταίσματος εὐγνωμοσύνη. Ἦλθε Ναθὰν ὁ προφήτης, ἔλεγχος ταχὺς, ἰατρὸς τοῦ τραύματος. Ὠργίσθη, φησὶν, ὁ Κύριος, καὶ ἥμαρτες, τῷ βασιλεύοντι ὁ ἰδιώτης ἔλεγεν. Ἀλλὰ Δαβὶδ ὁ βασιλεύς [ὁ πορφυροφόρος] οὐκ ἠγανάκτησεν: οὐ γὰρ προσεῖχε τῷ λαλοῦντι, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἀποστείλαντι. Οὐκ ἐτύφωσεν αὐτὸν τὸ περιεστὸς τῶν στρατιωτῶν στίφος: ἐνενόει γὰρ τὸν ἀγγελικὸν τοῦ Κυρίου στρατὸν, καὶ τὸν ἀόρατον ὡς ὁρῶν ἠγωνίασε. Καί φησι τῷ ἐλθόντι, μᾶλλον δὲ δι' ἐκείνου τῷ ἀποστείλαντι, ἀποκρινάμενος: Ἡμάρτηκα τῷ Κυρίῳ. Βλέπεις τοῦ βασιλέως ταπεινοφροσύνην, βλέπεις ἐξομολόγησιν. Μὴ γὰρ ἦν ἐλεγχθεὶς ὑπό τινος; μὴ πολλοὶ συνῄδεισαν τῷ πράγματι; Ὀξέως ἐπράχθη τὸ πρᾶγμα, καὶ ὁ προφήτης εὐθὺς παρῆν κατήγορος, καὶ ὁ πταίσας ὁμολογεῖ τὸ κακὸν, καὶ ἐπειδὴ εὐγνωμόνως ὡμολόγησεν, ὀξυτάτην ἔσχε τὴν ἰατρείαν. Ὁ γὰρ ἀπειλήσας προφήτης Ναθὰν, φησὶν εὐθέως: Καὶ Κύριος παρεβίβασε τὴν ἁμαρτίαν σου. Βλέπεις ὀξυτάτην Θεοῦ φιλανθρώπου μεταβολήν. Πλήν φησι: Παροξύνων παρώξυνας τοὺς ἐχθροὺς Κυρίου: πολλοὺς μὲν διὰ τὴν δικαιοσύνην εἶχες ἐχθροὺς, ἀλλ' ἐφρούρει σε ἡ σωφροσύνη: προδοὺς δὲ τὸ μέγιστον ὅπλον, ἑτοίμους ἑστῶτας ἔχεις κατὰ σοῦ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἐπαναστάντας.

Ὁ μὲν οὖν προφήτης οὕτως αὐτὸν παρεμυθήσατο, ὁ δὲ μακάριος Δαβὶδ, εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα ἤκουσεν, ὅτι Κύριος παρεβίβασε τὸ ἁμάρτημά σου, οὐκ ἀπέστη τῆς μετανοίας ὁ βασιλεύς: ἀλλὰ περιεβάλετο μὲν σάκκον ἀντὶ πορφύρας, ἀντὶ δὲ χρυσοκολλήτων θρόνων, ἐπὶ σποδοῦ καὶ γῆς ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκαθέζετο. Καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ σποδοῦ μόνον ἐκάθητο, ἀλλὰ καὶ σποδὸν εἶχε τὴν βρῶσιν, καθὼς καὶ αὐτός φησιν: Ὅτι σποδὸν ὡσεὶ ἄρτον ἔφαγον [καὶ τὸ πόμα μου μετὰ κλαυθμοῦ ἐκίρνων]. Ἐξέτηξε δάκρυσι τὸν ἐπιθυμητὴν ὀφθαλμόν: Λούσω καθ' ἑκάστην νύκτα τὴν κλίνην μου, λέγων, ἐν δάκρυσί μου τὴν στρωμνήν μου βρέξω. Ἀρχόντων παρακαλούντων φαγεῖν ἄρτον, οὐκ ἐπείθετο: εἰς ἑβδόμην ὁλόκληρον ἡμέραν παρέτεινε τὴν νηστείαν. Εἰ βασιλεὺς οὕτως ἐξωμολογεῖτο, σὺ ὁ ἰδιώτης οὐκ ὀφείλεις ἐξομολογήσασθαι; Καὶ μετὰ τὴν τοῦ Ἀβσαλὼμ ἐπανάστασιν, πολλῶν οὐσῶν ὁδῶν αὐτῷ τῆς φυγῆς, διὰ τοῦ ὄρους τῶν Ἐλαιῶν φεύγειν εἵλατο, μονονουχὶ τῇ διανοίᾳ τὸν ἀναβησόμενον εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ἐκεῖθεν λυτρωτὴν ἐπικαλούμενος: καὶ καταρωμένου πικρῶς αὐτὸν τοῦ Σεμεῒ λέγει, Ἄφετε αὐτόν: ᾔδει γὰρ, ὅτι τῷ ἀφιέντι ἀφεθήσεται.

Βλέπεις ὅτι καλὸν τὸ ἐξομολογήσασθαι. Βλέπεις ὅτι τοῖς μετανοοῦσίν ἐστι σωτηρία. Καὶ Σαλομὼν ἐκπέπτωκεν: ἀλλὰ τί φησιν; Ὕστερον ἐγὼ μετενόησα. Καὶ ὁ Ἀχαὰβ ὁ τῆς Σαμαρείας βασιλεὺς, γέγονε παρανομώτατος εἰδωλολάτρης, ἐξαίσιος, ὁ προφητοκτόνος, ὁ ἀλλότριος τῆς εὐσεβείας, ἀγρῶν ἐπιθυμητὴς καὶ ἀμπελώνων ἀλλοτρίων: ἀλλ' ὅτε τὸν Ναβουθαὶ διὰ τῆς Ἰεσαβὲλ ἀπέκτεινεν, ἐλθόντος Ἡλίου τοῦ προφήτου καὶ μόνον ἐπαπειλήσαντος, διέῤῥηξε τὰ ἱματία, καὶ περιεβάλλετο σάκκον. Καὶ τί φησιν ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Θεὸς πρὸς τὸν Ἡλίαν; Ἑώρακας πῶς κατενύγη Ἀχαὰβ ἀπὸ προσώπου μου; μονονουχὶ πείθων τὸ διάπυρον τοῦ προφήτου, συγκαταβῆναι τῷ μετανοοῦντι. Οὐκ ἐπάξω, [γάρ φησι] τὴν κακίαν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ: καὶ ὅμως, μέλλοντος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τὴν συγχώρησιν οὐκ ἀφίστασθαι τῆς πονηρίας, συγχωρεῖ ὁ συγχωρῶν: οὐκ ἀγνοῶν τὸ μέλλον, ἀλλὰ τῷ παρόντι τῆς μετανοίας καιρῷ κατάλληλον τὴν συγχώρησιν δωρούμενος. Δικαίου γὰρ δικαστοῦ ἐστι, πρὸς ἕκαστον τῶν γεγεννημένων προσφόρως ἀποκρίνασθαι.

Πάλιν Ἱεροβοὰμ εἱστήκει θύων τοῖς εἰδώλοις ἐπὶ τῷ βωμῷ. Ξηρὰ γέγονεν αὐτοῦ ἡ χεὶρ, ἐπειδὴ ἐκέλευσε συλληφθῆναι τὸν ἐλέγχοντα προφήτην: ἀλλὰ τῇ πείρᾳ γνοὺς τὴν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ παρόντος, λέγει: Δεήθητι τοῦ Κυρίου ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὸ ῥῆμα πάλιν ἀπεκατέστη ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ. Εἰ τὸν Ἱεροβοὰμ ἰάσατο ὁ προφήτης, σὲ Χριστὸς ἆρα οὐ δύναται τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἰασάμενος ἐλευθερῶσαι; Γέγονε καὶ Μανασσῆς παρανομώτατος, ὁ τὸν Ἡσαΐαν πρίσας, καὶ ἐν παντοίαις εἰδωλολατρείαις μιανθεὶς, καὶ πλήσας αἱμάτων ἀθώων τὴν Ἱερουσαλήμ: ἀλλὰ αἰχμάλωτος ἀχθεὶς εἰς Βαβυλῶνα, τῇ πείρᾳ τῶν κακῶν εἰς μετανοίας ἰατρείαν συνεχρήσατο. Λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφὴ, ὅτι ἐταπεινώθη Μανασσῆς ἐνώπιον Κυρίου, καὶ προσηύξατο, καὶ εἰσήκουσε Κύριος, καὶ ἐπανήγαγεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ. Εἰ ὁ τὸν προφήτην πρίσας, διὰ μετανοίας ἐσώθη: σὺ δὲ, μηδὲν τοσοῦτον ἐργασάμενος οὐ σωθήσῃ; βλέπε μὴ τῇ δυνάμει τῆς μετανοίας μάτην ἀπιστήσῃς.

Βούλει γνῶναι πόσον ἰσχύει μετάνοια; θέλεις γνῶναι τὸ καρτερὸν τῆς σωτηρίας ὅπλον, καὶ μαθεῖν πόσον ἐξομολόγησις ἰσχύει; Ἑκατὸν ὀγδοήκοντα πέντε χιλιάδας ἐχθρῶν Ἐζεκίας δι' ἐξομολογήσεως ἐτρέψατο: μέγα μὲν ἀληθῶς καὶ τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ ἔτι μικρὸν πρὸς τὸ ῥηθησόμενον. Ἀπόφασιν θείαν ἐξενεχθεῖσαν ἀνεκαλέσατο διὰ μετανοίας ὁ αὐτός. Νοσήσαντι γὰρ αὐτῷ φησιν ὁ Ἡσαΐας: Τάξαι περὶ τοῦ οἴκου σου: ἀποθνήσκεις γὰρ σὺ, καὶ οὐ ζήσῃ. Ποία λοιπὸν προσδοκία; ποία ἐλπὶς εἰς σωτηρίαν τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος: ἀποθνήσκεις γὰρ σύ; Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπέστη τῆς μετανοίας Ἐζεκίας, μεμνημένος δὲ τοῦ γεγραμμένου: Ὅταν ἀποστραφεὶς στενάξῃς, τότε σωθήσῃ. Ἀπεστράφη πρὸς τὸν τοῖχον, καὶ τείνας τὴν διάνοιαν ἀπὸ τῆς στρωμνῆς εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, (οὐ γὰρ ἐμποδίζει παχύτης τῶν τοίχων προσευχαῖς μετ' εὐλαβείας ἀναπεμπομέναις) φησὶ, Κύριε μνήσθητί μου: αὔταρκες γὰρ εἰς ἰατρείαν τὸ, σὲ μνησθῆναί μου: οὐκ ὑποβέβλησαι χρόνοις, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς εἶ τῆς ζωῆς ὁ νομοθέτης: οὐ γὰρ κατὰ γένεσιν, καὶ πλοκὴν ἄστρων, ὥς τινες ματαιολογοῦσιν, ζῶμεν. Ἀλλ' αὐτὸς καὶ τοῦ ζῇν, καὶ ὅτε δεῖ ζῇν, ὡς βούλει νομοθέτης τυγχάνεις. Καὶ ᾧ τὸ ζῇν ἀνέλπιστον διὰ τὴν προφητικὴν ἀπόφασιν, τούτῳ πεντεκαιδεκαετὴς προσετίθετο χρόνος ζωῆς, ἡλίου παλίνδρομον διὰ τὸ σημεῖον ποιησαμένου τὴν πορείαν. Εἶτα, διὰ μὲν τὸν Ἐζεκίαν ἥλιος ὑπέστρεψεν, διὰ δὲ τὸν Χριστὸν ἥλιος ἐξέλιπεν: οὐκ ἀναποδίσας, ἀλλ' ἐκλείπων, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο δείξας τὴν διαφορὰν ἑκατέρων, Ἐζεκίου λέγω καὶ Ἰησοῦ. Καὶ ὁ μὲν ἴσχυσεν ἀπόφασιν Θεοῦ λῦσαι: Ἰησοῦς δὲ οὐ χαρίζεται ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν; ἀπόστρεψον καὶ στέναξον σεαυτὸν, ἀπόκλεισον τὴν θύραν καὶ πρόσευξαι, ἵνα σοι ἀφεθῇ, ἵνα σου περιέλῃ τὰς φλόγας τὰς καυστικάς: ἰσχύει γὰρ ἐξομολόγησις σβέσαι καὶ πῦρ, ἰσχύει καὶ λέοντας ἡμερῶσαι.

Εἰ δὲ ἀπιστῇς, ἐννόησον τί συγκατέβη τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ἀνανίαν: ποίας ἐξέχεαν πηγάς; πόσοι ξέσται ὕδατος, τὴν ἐπὶ τεσσαράκοντα ἐννέα πήχεις ἀνερχομένην φλόγα σβέσαι ἠδύναντο; Ἀλλ' ὅπου ὀλίγον ὑπερανέβη ἡ φλὸξ, ἐκεῖ ποταμηδὸν ἐξεχύθη ἡ πίστις, καὶ ἐκεῖ ἔλεγον τὸ ἀντιφάρμακον τῶν κακῶν: Δίκαιος εἶ, Κύριε, ἐπὶ πᾶσιν οἷς ἐποίησας ἡμῖν: ἡμάρτομεν γὰρ καὶ ἠνομήσαμεν: καὶ ἡ μετάνοια ἔλυσε τὰς φλόγας. Εἰ ἀπιστεῖς ὅτι δύναται σβέσαι τὸ τῆς γεέννης πῦρ ἡ μετάνοια, ἐκ τῶν περὶ τὸν Ἀνανίαν γεγενημένων μάθε. Ἀλλ' ἐρεῖ τις τῶν ὀξέως ἀκροωμένων: ἐκείνους ὁ Θεὸς δικαίως ἐῤῥύσατο τότε, διὰ τὸ μὴ θελῆσαι εἰδωλολατρῆσαι, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Θεὸς τὴν δύναμιν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τοῦτο παρέστη, ἔρχομαι λοιπὸν ἐφ' ἕτερον τύπον μετανοίας.

Τίνα ὑπόνοιαν ἔχεις περὶ Ναβουχοδονόσορ; Οὐκ ἤκουσας ἀπὸ τῶν γραφῶν, ὅτι αἱμοβόρος, ἀγριώδης, λεοντώδη τὴν προαίρεσιν ἔχων; Οὐκ ἤκουσας ὅτι τὰ ὀστέα τῶν βασιλέων ἐκ τῶν τάφων ἐξήνεγκεν εἰς τὸ φῶς; Οὐκ ἤκουσας ὅτι τὸν λαὸν ἐξῃχμαλώτευσεν; Οὐκ ἤκουσας ὅτι τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ βασιλέως ἐξετύφλωσε, προϊδόντος τὰ τέκνα ἐσφαγμένα; Οὐκ ἤκουσας ὅτι τὰ Χερουβὶμ συνέτριψεν; οὐ λέγω τὰ νοητὰ, ἄπαγε, μὴ τοῦτο ὑπολάβῃς ἄνθρωπε, ἀλλὰ τὰ γλυπτά: ἀλλὰ τὸ ἱλαστήριον, οὗ ἀνὰ μέσον ἐλάλει ὁ Θεὸς φωνῇ: τὸ καταπέτασμα τῆς ἁγιωσύνης κατεπάτησεν: τὸ θυμιατήριον λαβὼν, ἐπὶ εἰδωλεῖον ἀπήνεγκε: πάντα τὰ προσφερόμενα περιεῖλε: τὸν ναὸν ἐκ θεμελίων ἐνεπύρισε: πόσων τιμωριῶν ἄξιος ἦν, ἐπὶ τῷ ἀνελεῖν βασιλέας, ἐπὶ τῷ ἐμπρῆσαι τὰ ἅγια, ἐπὶ τῷ αἰχμαλωτῆσαι τὸν λαὸν, ἐπὶ τῷ τὰ ἱερὰ σκεύη ἔνδον εἰδώλων θέσθαι; ἆρ' οὖν οὐκ ἦν θανάτων μυρίων ἄξιος;

Εἶδες τὸ μέγεθος τῶν κακῶν: ἐλθὲ λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίαν. Ἐπεθηριώθη, ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ διέτριβεν, ἐμαστιγοῦτο ἵνα σωθῇ: εἶχεν ὄνυχας ὡς λέων: ἁρπακτικὸς γὰρ ἦν τῶν ἁγίων: εἶχε τρίχας λεόντων: λέων γὰρ ἦν ἁρπάζων καὶ ὠρυόμενος: χόρτον ὡς βοῦς ἤσθιε: κτῆνος γὰρ ἦν, οὐκ εἰδὼς τὸν δεδωκότα τὴν βασιλείαν: ἐβάφη τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς δρόσου: ἐπειδὴ προϊδὼν κατασβεσθὲν ὑπὸ τῆς δρόσου τὸ πῦρ, οὐκ ἐπίστευσε. Καὶ τί γίνεται; Μετὰ ταῦτα, φησὶν, ἐγὼ Ναβουχοδονόσορ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνέλαβον, καὶ τὸν ὕψιστον ηὐλόγησα, καὶ τῷ ζῶντι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας ᾔνεσα καὶ ἐδόξασα. Ὅτι τοίνυν ἐπέγνω τὸν ὕψιστον, καὶ τὰς εὐχαριστηρίους φωνὰς ἀνέπεμψε τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς μεταμέλειαν ὧν διεπράξατο, καὶ ἐπέγνω τὴν οἰκείαν ἀσθένειαν: τότε ὁ Θεὸς ἀποδίδωσιν αὐτῷ τὴν τιμὴν τῆς βασιλείας.

Τί οὖν; τῷ μὲν Ναβουχοδονόσορ τοιαῦτα διαπραξαμένῳ, καὶ ἐξομολογησαμένῳ, δέδωκε τὴν συγχώρησιν καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν: σοὶ δὲ μετανοοῦντι, οὐ δίδωσι τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, καὶ τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν, ἐὰν ἐπαξίως πολιτεύσῃ; Φιλάνθρωπος ὁ Κύριος καὶ ταχὺς εἰς συγχώρησιν, βραδὺς δὲ εἰς τιμωρίαν. Μηδεὶς οὖν ἀπελπίσῃ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ σωτηρίας. Πέτρος ὁ κορυφαιότατος καὶ πρωτοστάτης τῶν ἀποστόλων, ἐπὶ παιδισκαρίου ἠρνήσατο τρὶς τὸν Κύριον: ἀλλὰ μεταμεληθεὶς, ἔκλαυσε πικρῶς. Τὸ δὲ κλαῦσαι, τὴν μετάνοιαν τὴν ἐγκάρδιον παρίστησιν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο, οὐ μόνον ἔλαβε τὴν ἄφεσιν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀρνήσει, ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ τὸ ἀποστολικὸν ἀξίωμα ἔσχεν ἀναφαίρετον.

Ἔχοντες οὖν, ἀδελφοὶ, πολλοὺς τύπους τῶν ἁμαρτησάντων, καὶ μετανοησάντων, καὶ σωθέντων, προθύμως καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐξομολογήσασθε τῷ Κυρίῳ: ἵνα καὶ τὴν συγχώρησιν λάβητε τῶν προγεγενημένων ἁμαρτημάτων, καὶ τῆς ἐπουρανίου δωρεᾶς καταξιωθῆτε, καὶ τὴν ἐπουράνιον κληρονομήσητε βασιλείαν μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων: ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ᾧ ἐστιν ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.