Lecture VII.

The Father.

Ephesians iii. 14, 15

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father,…of whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named, &c.

1. Of God as the sole Principle we have said enough to you yesterday  1  See Lecture VI. 1, and 5. : by “enough” I mean, not what is worthy of the subject, (for to reach that is utterly impossible to mortal nature), but as much as was granted to our infirmity. I traversed also the bye-paths of the manifold error of the godless heretics: but now let us shake off their foul and soul-poisoning doctrine, and remembering what relates to them, not to our own hurt, but to our greater detestation of them, let us come back to ourselves, and receive the saving doctrines of the true Faith, connecting the dignity of Fatherhood with that of the Unity, and believing In One God the Father: for we must not only believe in one God; but this also let us devoutly receive, that He is the Father of the Only-begotten, our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. For thus shall we raise our thoughts higher than the Jews  2  “In Athanasius, Quæstio i. ad Antiochum, tom. II. p. 331, Monarchia is opposed to Polytheism: ‘If we worship One God, it is manifest that we agree with the Jews in believing in a Monarchia: but if we worship three gods, it is evident that we follow the Greeks by introducing Polytheism, instead of piously worshipping One Only God.’” (Suicer, Thesaurus, Μοναρχία.) , who admit indeed by their doctrines that there is One God, (for what if they often denied even this by their idolatries?); but that He is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, they admit not; being of a contrary mind to their own Prophets, who in the Divine Scriptures affirm,  The Lord said unto me, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten thee   3  Ps. ii. 7. . And to this day they  rage and gather themselves together against the Lord, and against His Anointed   4  Ib. ii. 2. , thinking that it is possible to be made friends of the Father apart from devotion towards the Son, being ignorant that  no man cometh unto the Father but by   5  John xiv. 6. the Son, who saith,  I am the Door, and I am the Way   6  Ib. x. 9. . He therefore that refuseth the Way which leadeth to the Father, and he that denieth the Door, how shall he be deemed worthy of entrance unto God? They contradict also what is written in the eighty-eighth Psalm,  He shall call Me, Thou art my Father, my God, and the helper of my salvation. And I will make him my first-born, high among the kings of the earth   7  Ps. lxxxix. 26, 27. . For if they should insist that these things are said of David or Solomon or any of their successors, let them shew how  the throne of him, who is in their judgment described in the prophecy, is  as the days of heaven, and as the sun before God, and as the moon established for ever   8  vv. 29, 36, 37. . And how is it also that they are not abashed at that which is written,  From the womb before the morning-star have I begotten thee   9  Ps. cx. 3: “From the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth” (R.V.). : also this,  He shall endure with the sun, and before the moon, from generation to generation   10  Ps. lxxii. 5. . To refer these passages to a man is a proof of utter and extreme insensibility.

3. Let the Jews, however, since they so will, suffer their usual disorder of unbelief, both in these and the like statements. But let us adopt the godly doctrine of our Faith, worshipping one God the Father of the Christ, (for to deprive Him, who grants to all the gift of generation, of the like dignity would be impious): and let us Believe in One God the Father, in order that, before we touch upon our teaching concerning Christ, the faith concerning the Only-begotten may be implanted in the soul of the hearers, without being at all interrupted by the intervening doctrines concerning the Father.

4. For the name of the Father, with the very utterance of the title, suggests the thought of the Son: as in like manner one who names the Son thinks straightway of the Father also  11  Compare Athanasius (de Sententiâ Dionyssi, § 17): “Each of the names I have mentioned is inseparable and indivisible from that next to it. I spoke of the Father, and before bringing in the Son, I designated Him also in the Father. I brought in the Son, and even if I had not previously mentioned the Father, in any wise He would have been presupposed in the Son.” . For if a Father, He is certainly the Father of a Son; and if a Son, certainly the Son of a Father. Lest therefore from our speaking thus, In One God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of All Things Visible and Invisible, and from our then adding this also, And in One Lord Jesus Christ, any one should irreverently suppose that the Only-begotten is second in rank to heaven and earth,—for this reason before naming them we named God the Father, that in thinking of the Father we might at the same time think also of the Son: for between the Son and the Father no being whatever comes.

5. God then is in an improper sense  12  καταχρηστικῶς. A technical term in Grammar, applied to the use of a word in a derived or metaphorical sense. See Aristotle’s description of the various kinds of metaphor, Poet. § xxi. 7–16. The opposite to καταχρηστικῶς is κυρίως, as used in a parallel passage by Athanasius, Oratio i. contra Arianos, § 21 fin. “It belongs to the Godhead alone, that the Father is properly (κυρίως) Father, and the Son properly Son.” the Father of many, but by nature and in truth of One only, the Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; not having attained in course of time to being a Father, but being ever the Father of the Only-begotten  13  “And in Them, and Them only, does it hold, that the Father is ever Father, and the Son ever Son.” (Athan., as above.) . Not that being without a Son before, He has since by change of purpose become a Father: but before every substance and every intelligence, before times and all ages, God hath the dignity of Father, magnifying Himself in this more than in His other dignities; and having become a Father, not by passion  14  Compare vi. 6: ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἀπαθῶς. The importance attached to the assertion of a “passionless generation” arose from the objections offered by Eusebius of Nicomedia and others to the word ὁμοούσιος when proposed by Constantine at Nicæa. We learn from Eusebius of Cæsarea (Epist ad suæ parœciæ homines, § 4) that the Emperor himself explained that the word was used “not in the sense of the affections (πάθη) of bodies,” because “the immaterial, and intellectual, and incorporeal nature could not be the subject of any corporeal affection.” Again, in § 7, Eusebius admits that “there are grounds for saying that the Son is ‘one in essence’ with the Father, not in the way of bodies, nor like mortal beings, for He is not such by division of essence, or by severance, no, nor by any affection, or alteration, or changing of the Father’s essence and power.” (See the next note.) , or union, not in ignorance, not by effluence  15  Athanasius (Expos. Fidei, § 1): “Word not pronounced nor mental, nor an effluence of the Perfect, nor a dividing of the passionless nature.” Also (de Decretis, § 11): “God being without parts is Father of the Son without partition or passion; for there is neither effluence of the Immaterial, nor influx from without, as among men.” , not by diminution, not by alteration,  for every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow of turning   16  James i. 17. . Perfect Father, He begat a perfect Son, and delivered all things to Him who is begotten: (for  all things , He saith,  are delivered unto Me of My Father   17  Matt. xi. 27. :) and is honoured by the Only-begotten: for,  I honour My Father   18  John viii. 49. , saith the Son; and again,  Even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love   19  John xv. 10. . Therefore we also say like the Apostle,  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all consolation   20  2 Cor. i. 3. : and,  We bow our knees unto the Father from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named   21  Eph. iii. 14, 15. : glorifying Him with the Only-begotten: for  he that denieth the Father, denieth the Son also   22  1 John ii. 22: “This is the Antichrist, even he that denieth the Father and the Son” (R.V.). : and again,  He that confesseth the Son, hath the Father also   23  v. 23, bracketed in the A.V. as spurious, but rightly restored in R.V. ; knowing that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father  24  Phil. ii. 11. .

6. We worship, therefore, as the Father of Christ, the Maker of heaven and earth,  the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob   25  Ex. iii. 6. ; to whose honour the former temple also, over against us here, was built. For we shall not tolerate the heretics who sever the Old Testament from the New  26  Compare Lect. iv. 33. , but shall believe Christ, who says concerning the temple,  Wist ye not that I must be in My Father’s house   27  Luke ii. 49. ? and again,  Take these things hence, and make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise   28  John ii. 16. , whereby He most clearly confessed that the former temple in Jerusalem was His own Father’s house. But if any one from unbelief wishes to receive yet more proofs as to the Father of Christ being the same as the Maker of the world, let him hear Him say again,  Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing, and not one of them shall fall on the ground without My Father which is in heaven   29  Matt. x. 29. S. Cyril instead of “your Father” writes “my Father which is in heaven:” so Origen and Athanasius. ; this also,  Behold the fowls of the heaven that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them   30  Matt. vi. 26. ; and this,  My Father worketh hitherto, and I work   31  John v. 17. .

7. But lest any one from simplicity or perverse ingenuity should suppose that Christ is but equal in honour to righteous men, from His saying,  I ascend to My Father, and your   32  John xx. 17. On this text, quoted again in Cat. xi. 19, see the three Sermons of Bishop Andrewes On the Resurrection.  Father , it is well to make this distinction beforehand, that the name of the Father is one, but the power of His operation  33  ἐνεργεία, meaning here, the operation of God, by nature in begetting His Son, by adoption in making many sons. manifold. And Christ Himself knowing this has spoken unerringly,  I go to My Father, and your Father: not saying ‘to our Father,’ but distinguishing, and saying first what was proper to Himself,  to My Father , which was by nature; then adding,  and your Father , which was by adoption. For however high the privilege we have received of saying in our prayers,  Our Father ,  which art in heaven , yet the gift is of loving-kindness. For we call Him Father, not as having been by nature begotten of Our Father which is in heaven; but having been transferred from servitude to sonship by the grace of the Father, through the Son and Holy Spirit, we are permitted so to speak by ineffable loving-kindness.

8. But if any one wishes to learn how we call God “Father,” let him hear Moses, the excellent schoolmaster, saying,  Did not this thy Father Himself buy thee, and make thee, and create thee   34  Deut. xxxii. 6. ? Also Esaias the Prophet,  And now, O Lord. Thou art our Father: and we all are clay, the works of Thine hands   35  Is. lxiv. 8. . For most clearly has the prophetic gift declared that not according to nature, but according to God’s grace, and by adoption, we call Him Father.

9. And that thou mayest learn more exactly that in the Divine Scriptures it is not by any means the natural father only that is called father, hear what Paul says:—  For though ye should have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I begat you through the Gospel   36  1 Cor. iv. 15. . For Paul was father of the Corinthians, not by having begotten them after the flesh, but by having taught and begotten them again after the Spirit. Hear Job also saying,  I was a father of the needy   37  Job xxix. 16. : for he called himself a father, not as having begotten them all, but as caring for them. And God’s Only-begotten Son Himself, when nailed in His flesh to the tree at the time of crucifixion, on seeing Mary, His own Mother according to the flesh, and John, the most beloved of His disciples, said to him,  Behold! thy mother , and to her,  Behold! thy Son   38  John xix. 26, 27. : teaching her the parental affection due to him  39  φιλοστοργία might be applied to the mutual affection of mother and son, but the context shews that it refers here to parental love only; see Polybius, V. § 74, 5; Xenoph. Cyrop. I. § 3, 2. , and indirectly explaining that which is said in Luke, and  His father and His mother marvelled at Him   40  Luke ii. 33. : words which the tribe of heretics snatch up, saying that He was begotten of a man and a woman. For like as Mary was called the mother of John, because of her parental affection, not from having given him birth, so Joseph also was called the father of Christ, not from having begotten Him (for  he knew her not , as the Gospel says,  until she had brought forth her first-born Son   41  Matt. i. 25. ), but because of the care bestowed on His nurture.

10. Thus much then at present, in the way of a digression, to put you in remembrance. Let me, however, add yet another testimony in proof that God is called the Father of men in an improper sense. For when in Esaias God is addressed thus,  For Thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us   42  Is. lxiii. 16. , and  Sarah travailed not with us   43  Ib. li. 2. , need we inquire further on this point? And if the Psalmist says,  Let them be troubled from His countenance, the Father of the fatherless, and Judge of the widows   44  Ps. lxviii. 5. Cyril quotes as usual from the Septuagint (Ps. lxvii. 6), where the clause ταραχθήσονται ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ, answering to nothing in the Hebrew, is evidently an interpolation, and may have crept in from a marginal quotation of Is. lxiv. 2. , is it not manifest to all, that when God is called the Father of orphans who have lately lost their own fathers, He is so named not as begetting them of Himself, but as caring for them and shielding them. But whereas God, as we have said, is in an improper sense the Father of men, of Christ alone He is the Father by nature, not by adoption: and the Father of men in time, but of Christ before all time, as He saith,  And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was   45  John xvii. 5. .

11. We believe then In One God the Father the Unsearchable and Ineffable,  Whom no man hath seen   46  1 Tim. ii. 16. ,  but the Only-begotten alone hath declared Him   47  John i. 18. .  For He which is of God, He hath seen God   48  John vi. 46: He hath seen the Father. The weight of authority is against the reading (τὸν θεόν) which Cyril follows. : whose face the Angels do alway behold in heaven  49  Matt. xviii. 10. , behold, however, each according to the measure of his own rank. But the undimmed vision of the Father is reserved in its purity for the Son with the Holy Ghost.

12. Having reached this point of my discourse, and being reminded of the passages just before mentioned, in which God was addressed as the Father of men, I am greatly amazed at men’s insensibility. For God with unspeakable loving-kindness deigned to be called the Father of men,—He in heaven, they on earth,—and He the Maker of Eternity, they made in time,—He  who holdeth the earth in the hollow of His hand , they upon the earth as grasshoppers  50  Is. xl. 12 and 22. . Yet man forsook his heavenly Father, and said to the stock,  Thou art my father, and to the stone, Thou hast begotten me   51  Jer. ii. 27. . And for this reason, methinks, the Psalmist says to mankind,  Forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house   52  Ps. xlv. 10. , whom thou hast chosen for a father, whom thou hast drawn upon thyself to thy destruction.

13. And not only stocks and stones, but even Satan himself, the destroyer of souls, have some ere now chosen for a father; to whom the Lord said as a rebuke,  Ye do the deeds of your father   53  John viii. 41. , that is of the devil, he being the father of men not by nature, but by fraud. For like as Paul by his godly teaching came to be called the father of the Corinthians, so the devil is called the father of those who of their own will  consent unto him   54  Ps. l. 18. .

For we shall not tolerate those who give a wrong meaning to that saying,  Hereby know we the children of God, and the children of the devil   55  1 John iii. 10. , as if there were by nature some men to be saved, and some to be lost. Whereas we come into such holy sonship not of necessity but by choice: nor was the traitor Judas by nature a son of the devil and of perdition; for certainly he would never have cast out devils at all in the name of Christ:  for Satan casteth not out Satan   56  Mark iii. 23. . Nor on the other hand would Paul have turned from persecuting to preaching. But the adoption is in our own power, as John saith,  But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the children of God, even to them that believe in His name   57  John i. 12. . For not before their believing, but from their believing they were counted worthy to become of their own choice the children of God.

14. Knowing this, therefore, let us walk spiritually, that we may be counted worthy of God’s adoption.  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God   58  Rom. viii. 14. . For it profiteth us nothing to have gained the title of Christians, unless the works also follow; lest to us also it be said,  If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham   59  John viii. 39. .  For if we call on Him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, let us pass the time of our sojourning here in fear   60  1 Pet. i. 17. ,  loving not the world, neither the things that are in the world: for if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him   61  1 John ii. 15. . Wherefore, my beloved children, let us by our works offer glory to  our Father which is in heaven, that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven   62  Matt. v. 16. .  Let us cast all our care upon Him, for our Father knoweth what things we have need of   63  1 Pet. v. 7; Matt. vi. 8. .

15. But while honouring our heavenly Father let us honour also  the fathers of our flesh   64  Heb. xii. 9. : since the Lord Himself hath evidently so appointed in the Law and the Prophets, saying,  Honour thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee, and thy days shall be long in the land   65  Deut. v. 16. . And let this commandment be especially observed by those here present who have fathers and mothers.  Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing to the Lord   66  Col. iii. 20. . For the Lord said not,  He that loveth father or mother is not worthy of Me , lest thou from ignorance shouldest perversely mistake what was rightly written, but He added,  more than Me   67  Matt. x. 37. . For when our fathers on earth are of a contrary mind to our Father in heaven, then we must obey Christ’s word. But when they put no obstacle to godliness in our way, if we are ever carried away by ingratitude, and, forgetting their benefits to us, hold them in contempt, then the oracle will have place which says,  He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death   68  Ex. xxi. 17; Lev. xx. 9; Matt. xv. 4. .

16. The first virtue of godliness in Christians is to honour their parents, to requite the troubles of those who begat them  69  Compare for the thought Euripides, Medea, 1029–1035. , and with all their might to confer on them what tends to their comfort (for if we should repay them ever so much, yet we shall never be able to return their gift of life  70  ἀντιγεννῆσαι. Jeremy Taylor (Ductor Dubitantium, Book III. cap. ii. §17) mentions several stories in which a parent is nourished from a daughter’s breast, who thus ‘saves the life she cannot give.’ ), that they also may enjoy the comfort provided by us, and may confirm us in those blessings which Jacob the supplanter shrewdly seized; and that our Father in heaven may accept  71  On the change of Moods, see Jelf, Greek Grammar, § 809. The second verb (καταξίωσειεν) expresses a wish and a consequence which might follow, if the first (στηρίξωσιν) wish be realized, as it probably may be. Cf. Herod. ix. 51. our good purpose, and judge us worthy  to shine amid righteous as the sun in the kingdom of our Father   72  Matt. xiii. 43. : To whom be the glory, with the Only-begotten our Saviour Jesus Christ, and with the Holy and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, to all eternity. Amen.

[7]  ΚΑΤΗΧΗΣΙΣ Ζʹ ΦΩΤΙΖΟΜΕΝΩΝ, Ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις σχεδιασθεῖσα, εἰς τὸν ΠΑΤΕΡΑ. Καὶ ἀνάγνωσις ἐκ τῆς πρὸς Ἐφεσίους: Τούτου χάριν κάμπτω τὰ γόνατά μου πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατρία ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. 

Περὶ μὲν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ μοναρχίας, αὐτάρκως ἡμῖν ἐν τῇ χθὲς ἡμέρᾳ πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἴρηται. Αὐτάρκως δὲ λέγω, οὐ τὸ πρὸς ἀξίαν: (τούτου γὰρ ἐφικέσθαι θνητῇ φύσει παντελῶς ἀδύνατον), ἀλλ' ὅσον ἧκεν εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀσθένειαν. Καὶ τῆς τῶν ἀθέων αἱρεσιωτῶν πολυσχιδοῦς πλάνης τὰς ἐκτροπὰς διῆλθον. Ὧν τὸ βορβορῶδες καὶ τὸ τῶν ψυχῶν ἰοβόλον ἀποσεισάμενοι, καὶ τὰ κατ' ἐκείνους μνημονεύσαντες, οὐχ ἵνα βλαβῶμεν, ἀλλ' ἵνα μειζόνως αὐτοὺς μισήσωμεν, πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς λοιπὸν ἐπανέλθωμεν: καὶ τὰ σωτηριώδη τῆς ἀληθοῦς Πίστεως καταδεξώμεθα, τῷ τῆς μοναρχίας ἀξιώματι τὸ πατρικὸν συνάπτοντες, καὶ πιστεύοντες ΕΙΣ ἙΝΑ ΘΕΟΝ ΠΑΤΕΡΑ. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον ΕΙΣ ἙΝΑ ΘΕΟΝ δεῖ πιστεύειν: ἀλλὰ καὶ [τὸ] ΠΑΤΕΡΑ τοῦτον εἶναι τοῦ μονογενοῦς, Κυρίου δὲ ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μετ' εὐσεβείας καταδεχώμεθα.

Ταύτῃ γὰρ ἂν τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἀνώτερα φρονοίημεν, οἳ τὸ μὲν εἶναι ἙΝΑ ΘΕΟΝ καταδέχονται τοῖς δόγμασι: (τί γὰρ, εἰ καὶ τοῦτο διὰ τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας πολλάκις ἠρνήσαντο;) τὸ δὲ καὶ ΠΑΤΕΡΑ εἶναι τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦτον, οὐ παραδέχονται: τοῖς οἰκείοις προφήταις ἐναντία φρονοῦντες, οἵ φασιν ἐν ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς: Κύριος εἶπε πρός με, Υἱός μου εἶ σὺ, ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε. Καὶ μέχρι σήμερον φρυαττόμενοι καὶ συναγόμενοι κατὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ κατὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ: νομίζοντες ὅτι δυνατόν ἐστι Πατρὶ φιλιωθῆναι, χωρὶς τῆς εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν εὐσεβείας: ἀγνοοῦντες ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, εἰ μὴ διὰ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, τοῦ λέγοντος, Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα: καὶ, Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδός. Ὁ τοίνυν τὴν ὁδὸν παραιτούμενος τὴν ἀπάγουσαν πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ ὁ τὴν θύραν ἀρνούμενος, πῶς τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν εἰσόδου καταξιωθήσεται; ἀντιλέγοντες δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἐν ὀγδοηκοστῷ ὀγδόῳ ψαλμῷ γεγραμμένοις, τὸ, Αὐτὸς ἐπικαλέσεταί με, Πατήρ μου εἶ σὺ, Θεός μου καὶ ἀντιλήπτωρ τῆς σωτηρίας μου. Κἀγὼ πρωτότοκον θήσομαι αὐτὸν, ὑψηλὸν παρὰ τοῖς βασιλεῦσι τῆς γῆς. Εἰ γὰρ ταῦτα πρὸς τὸν Δαβὶδ ἢ Σολομῶντα, ἢ καί τινα τῶν καθεξῆς εἰρῆσθαι βιάζοιντο, δειξάτωσαν, πῶς ὁ θρόνος τούτου τοῦ προφητευομένου παρ' αὐτοῖς, ἔστιν ὡς αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος ἐναντίον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὡς ἡ σελήνη κατηρτισμένη εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Πῶς δὲ καὶ οὐ δυσωποῦνται τὸ γεγραμμένον, Ἐκ γαστρὸς πρὸ ἑωσφόρου ἐγέννησά σε; καὶ τὸ, Συμπαραμενεῖ τῷ ἡλίῳ καὶ πρὸ τῆς σελήνης, γενεὰς γενεῶν; ἅπερ ἐπ' ἄνθρωπον ἀναφέρειν, πάσης ἀγνωμοσύνης ἀνάπλεων καὶ μεστόν.

Ἀλλ' Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν τὰ συνήθη τῆς ἀπιστίας, ἔν τε τοῖς ῥητοῖς τούτοις καὶ ἐν τοῖς παραπλησίοις, ἐπειδὴ βούλονται, νοσείτωσαν. Ἡμεῖς δὲ τὸ τῆς Πίστεως εὐσεβὲς ἀναλαμβάνομεν, Θεὸν ἕνα τὸν Πατέρα τοῦ Χριστοῦ προσκυνοῦντες: [τὸν γὰρ τοῖς πᾶσι τὸ γεννᾷν χαριζόμενον, τοῦτον τῆς τοιαύτης ἀξίας ἀποστερεῖν ἀνόσιον:] καὶ πιστεύομεν ΕΙΣ ἙΝΑ ΘΕΟΝ ΠΑΤΕΡΑ, ἵνα καὶ πρὸ τῶν περὶ Χριστοῦ κινηθησομένων ἡμῖν διδασκαλικῶν λόγων, ἡ περὶ τοῦ μονογενοῦς πίστις ἐγκαταβάλληται τῇ ψυχῇ τῶν ἀκουόντων, ἐκ τῶν μεταξὺ λόγων τῶν περὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς κατὰ μηδοτιοῦν ἀποσχοινιζομένη.

Τὸ γὰρ τοῦ Πατρὸς ὄνομα ἅμα τῷ τῆς ὀνομασίας προσρήματι, νοεῖν παρέχει καὶ τὸν Υἱόν: ὥσπερ ὁμοίως Υἱόν τις ὀνομάσας, εὐθὺς ἐνόησε καὶ τὸν Πατέρα. Εἰ γὰρ πατὴρ, πάντως ὅτι πατὴρ υἱοῦ: καὶ εἰ υἱὸς, πάντως ὅτι πατρὸς υἱός. Ἵν' οὖν μὴ ἐκ τοῦ λέγειν οὕτως, ΕΙΣ ἙΝΑ ΘΕΟΝ, ΠΑΤΕΡΑ ΠΑΝΤΟΚΡΑΤΟΡΑ, ΠΟΙΗΤΗΝ ΟΥΡΑΝΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΓΗΣ, ὉΡΑΤΩΝ ΤΕ ΠΑΝΤΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΑΟΡΑΤΩΝ: εἶτα ἐπαγόντων ἡμῶν καὶ τὸ, ΕΙΣ ἙΝΑ ΚΥΡΙΟΝ ΙΗΣΟΥΝ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΝ: ὑπολάβοι τις οὐχ ὁσίως, οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς δευτερεύειν τῇ τάξει τὸν μονογενῆ: διὰ τοῦτο, πρὸ τῆς ἐκείνων ὀνομασίας, Πατέρα τὸν Θεὸν ὠνομάσαμεν, ἵνα ἅμα τῷ νοεῖν Πατέρα, νοήσωμεν καὶ τὸν Υἱόν: υἱοῦ γὰρ καὶ πατρὸς οὐδέν ἐστι μεταξὺ τῶν ὄντων.

Ἔστι τοίνυν ὁ Θεὸς, πολλῶν μὲν καταχρηστικῶς πατήρ: ἑνὸς δὲ μόνου φύσει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ τοῦ μονογενοῦς Υἱοῦ, Κυρίου δὲ ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, Πατήρ: οὐ χρόνοις τὸ πατὴρ εἶναι κτησάμενος, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ Πατὴρ τοῦ μονογενοῦς τυγχάνων. Οὐ γὰρ ἄπαις ὢν πρὸ τούτου, πατὴρ γέγονεν, ὕστερον μεταβουλευσάμενος: ἀλλὰ πρὸ πάσης ὑποστάσεως καὶ πρὸ πάσης αἰσθήσεως, πρὸ χρόνων τε καὶ πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων, τὸ πατρικὸν ἀξίωμα ἔχει ὁ Θεός: τούτῳ μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἀξιώμασι σεμνυνόμενος. Καὶ οὐ πάθει πατὴρ γενόμενος, οὐκ ἐκ συμπλοκῆς, οὐ κατ' ἄγνοιαν, οὐκ ἀποῤῥεύσας, οὐ μειωθεὶς, οὐκ ἀλλοιωθείς: (πᾶν γὰρ δώρημα τέλειον ἄνωθέν ἐστι, καταβαῖνον ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν φώτων, παρ' ᾧ οὐκ ἔνι παραλλαγὴ ἢ τροπῆς ἀποσκίασμα). Πατὴρ τέλειος, τέλειον Υἱὸν γεννήσας: πάντα παραδοὺς τῷ γεγεννημένῳ: πάντα γάρ μοι παρεδόθη, φησὶν, ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρός μου. Καὶ τιμώμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ μονογενοῦς: Ἐγὼ γὰρ τιμῶ τὸν Πατέρα, φησὶν ὁ Υἱός: καὶ πάλιν: Καθὼς ἐγὼ τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Πατρός μου τετήρηκα, καὶ μένω αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ. Λέγομεν τοίνυν καὶ ἡμεῖς παραπλησίως τῷ Ἀποστόλῳ: Εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ πατὴρ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν, καὶ Θεὸς πάσης παρακλήσεως: καὶ, Κάμπτομεν τὰ γόνατα πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, ἐξ οὗ πᾶσα πατριὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ὀνομάζεται: δοξάζοντες αὐτὸν σὺν τῷ μονογενεῖ: ὁ γὰρ ἀρνούμενος τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν ἀρνεῖται: καὶ πάλιν: Ὁ ὁμολογῶν τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ τὸν Πατέρα ἔχει: γινώσκοντες, ὅτι Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ Πατρός.

Προσκυνοῦμεν τοίνυν τὸν Πατέρα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τὸν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ποιητὴν, τὸν Θεὸν Ἀβραὰμ, Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακώβ: οὗ πρὸς τιμὴν καὶ ὁ πρότερος ἀντικρὺς ἡμῶν ἐνταῦθα ναὸς ᾠκοδόμητο. Οὐ γὰρ ἀνεξόμεθα τῶν αἱρετικῶν τῶν τὴν παλαιὰν τῆς καινῆς διαθήκης ἀποσχιζόντων: ἀλλὰ τῷ Χριστῷ πεισθησόμεθα, τῷ λέγοντι περὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ: Οὐκ ᾔδειτε, ὅτι ἐν τοῖς τοῦ Πατρός μου δεῖ με εἶναι; καὶ πάλιν: Ἄρατε ταῦτα ἐντεῦθεν, καὶ μὴ ποιεῖτε τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Πατρός μου οἶκον ἐμπορίου. Δι' ὧν σαφέστατα τὸν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις πρότερον ναὸν, οἶκον εἶναι τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ Πατρὸς ὡμολόγει. Εἰ δέ τις ἐξ ἀπιστίας ἀποδείξεις ἔτι πλείονας λαβεῖν βούλεται, περὶ τοῦ, τὸν Πατέρα τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι καὶ κόσμου ποιητήν: ἀκουσάτω πάλιν αὐτοῦ λέγοντος: Οὐχὶ δύο στρουθία ἀσσαρίου πωλεῖται; καὶ ἓν ἐξ αὐτῶν οὐ πεσεῖται ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἄνευ τοῦ Πατρός μου τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς. Καὶ τὸ, Ἐμβλέψατε εἰς τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ὅτι οὐ σπείρουσιν, οὐδὲ θερίζουσιν, οὐδὲ συνάγουσιν εἰς ἀποθήκας: καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τρέφει αὐτά. Καὶ τὸ, Ὁ Πατήρ μου ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται, κἀγὼ ἐργάζομαι.

Ἀλλ' ἵνα μή τις ἐξ ἀφελείας ἢ κακεντρεχείας, ἀνθρώποις δικαίοις ἰσότιμον εἶναι τὸν Χριστὸν ὑπολάβῃ, ἐκ τοῦ λέγειν αὐτὸν, Ἀναβαίνω πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα μου, καὶ πατέρα ὑμῶν: καλὸν ἐκεῖνο προδιαστείλασθαι, ὅτι τὸ μὲν τοῦ πατρὸς ἕν ἐστιν ὄνομα, ποικίλη δὲ τῆς ἐνεργείας ἡ δύναμις. Καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ γινώσκων εἴρηκεν ἀσφαλῶς: Πορεύομαι πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα μου, καὶ πατέρα ὑμῶν. Οὐκ εἰπὼν, πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα ἡμῶν: ἀλλὰ διελὼν, καὶ εἰπὼν πρῶτον τὸ οἰκεῖον, πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα μου, ὅπερ ἦν κατὰ φύσιν: εἶτ' ἐπαγαγὼν, καὶ πατέρα ὑμῶν, ὅπερ ἦν κατὰ θέσιν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ μάλιστα λέγειν ἐν προσευχαῖς κατηξιώθημεν, Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ἀλλὰ κατὰ φιλανθρωπίαν ἡ δόσις. Οὐ γὰρ κατὰ φύσιν ἐκ τοῦ ἐν οὐρανοῖς πατρὸς γεννηθέντες, πατέρα καλοῦμεν αὐτόν: ἀλλ' ἐκ δουλείας εἰς υἱοθεσίαν πατρικῇ χάριτι, διὰ Υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος μετενεχθέντες, ἀφάτῳ φιλανθρωπίᾳ λέγειν τοῦτο καταξιούμεθα.

Εἰ δέ τις βούλεται μαθεῖν, ὅπως ἡμεῖς τὸν Θεὸν πατέρα καλοῦμεν, ἀκουέτω τοῦ καλοῦ παιδαγωγοῦ Μωσέως λέγοντος: Οὐκ αὐτὸς οὗτός σου πατὴρ ἐκτήσατό σε, καὶ ἐποίησέ σε, καὶ ἔκτισέ σε; καὶ Ἡσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου: Καὶ νῦν Κύριε, πατὴρ ἡμῶν σύ: ἡμεῖς δὲ πηλὸς, ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν σου πάντες. Σαφέστατα γὰρ ἐδήλωσεν ἡ προφητικὴ χάρις, ὅτι μὴ κατὰ φύσιν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ Θεοῦ χάριν καὶ θέσει, πατέρα καλοῦμεν.

Καὶ ἵνα γνῷς ἀκριβέστερον, ὅτι μὴ πάντως ἐν ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς ὁ κατὰ φύσιν πατὴρ μόνον καλεῖται πατὴρ, ἄκουε Παύλου λέγοντος: Ἐὰν γὰρ μυρίους παιδαγωγοὺς ἔχητε ἐν Χριστῷ, ἀλλ' οὐ πολλοὺς πατέρας: ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς ἐγέννησα. Οὐ γὰρ τῷ γεννῆσαι κατὰ σάρκα, ἀλλὰ τῷ διδάξαι καὶ ἀναγεννῆσαι κατὰ πνεῦμα, Παῦλος ἦν Κορινθίων πατήρ. Ἄκουε δὲ καὶ τοῦ Ἰὼβ λέγοντος: Ἐγὼ ἤμην πατὴρ ἀδυνάτων. Πατέρα γὰρ ἑαυτὸν, οὐ τῷ γεννῆσαι πάντας, ἀλλὰ τῷ κηδεμονεῖν, ὠνόμασεν. Αὐτός τε ὁ μονογενὴς Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῷ ξύλῳ κατὰ τὸν τοῦ σταυροῦ καιρὸν τὴν σάρκα προσηλωμένος, ἰδὼν τὴν Μαριὰμ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ κατὰ σάρκα μητέρα, καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην τὸν τῶν μαθητῶν προσφιλέστατόν, φησι πρὸς ἐκεῖνον μὲν, Ἰδοὺ ἡ μήτηρ σου: πρὸς δὲ τὴν Μαριὰμ, Ἰδοὺ ὁ υἱός σου: τὴν ὀφειλομένην φιλοστοργίαν ἐκδιδάσκων: καὶ τὸ παρὰ τῷ Λουκᾷ εἰρημένον πλαγίως ἐπιλύων, τὸ, Καὶ ἦν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ θαυμάζοντες: ὅπερ ἁρπάζουσιν αἱρεσιωτῶν παῖδες, ἐξ ἀνδρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ γυναικὸς γεγεννῆσθαι λέγοντες. Ὅνπερ γὰρ τρόπον ἡ Μαρία μήτηρ Ἰωάννου διὰ τὴν φιλοστοργίαν, οὐ διὰ τὸ γεννῆσαι: οὕτω καὶ Ἰωσὴφ πατὴρ ἐκαλεῖτο τοῦ Χριστοῦ, οὐ διὰ τὸ γεννῆσαι: (οὐ γὰρ ἔγνω αὐτὴν, κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, ἕως οὗ ἔτεκε τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτότοκον) ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν περὶ τὴν ἀνατροφὴν κηδεμονίαν γεγενημένην.

Τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ὑμῖν ἐν παρεκβάσει νῦν ὡς ἐν ὑπομνήσει λελέχθω. Προσθῶμεν δὲ καὶ μαρτυρίαν ἑτέραν ἀποδεικτικὴν τοῦ, καταχρηστικῶς ἀνθρώπων τὸν Θεὸν καλεῖσθαι πατέρα. Ὅταν γὰρ ἐν Ἡσαΐᾳ λέγηται πρὸς τὸν Θεόν: Σὺ γὰρ εἶ πατὴρ ἡμῶν, ὅτι Ἀβραὰμ οὐκ ἔγνω ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἡ Σάῤῥα οὐκ ὠδίνησεν ἡμᾶς: ἆρα ἔτι περὶ τούτου ζητεῖν χρή; Κἂν ὁ ψαλμῳδὸς λέγῃ: Ταραχθήτωσαν ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ, τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν ὀρφανῶν καὶ κριτοῦ τῶν χηρῶν: ἆρα οὐ πᾶσι πρόδηλον, ὅτι τῶν νεωστὶ τοὺς οἰκείους πατέρας ἀποβεβληκότων ὀρφανῶν πατὴρ ὁ Θεὸς καλούμενος, οὐ διὰ τὸ γεννᾷν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ κηδεμονεῖν καὶ ὑπερασπίζειν, ὠνόμασται; Ἀλλὰ τῶν μὲν ἀνθρώπων, καθὼς εἴρηται, καταχρηστικῶς ἐστι πατήρ: Χριστοῦ δὲ μόνου κατὰ φύσιν ἐστὶ Πατὴρ ὁ Θεὸς, οὐ κατὰ θέσιν: καὶ τῶν μὲν ἀνθρώπων ἐν χρόνοις, Χριστοῦ δὲ πρὸ χρόνων, καθὼς αὐτός φησι, Καὶ νῦν δόξασόν με σὺ, Πάτερ, [παρὰ σεαυτῷ] τῇ δόξῃ ᾗ εἶχον, πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι, παρὰ σοί.

Πιστεύομεν τοίνυν ΕΙΣ ἙΝΑ ΘΕΟΝ ΠΑΤΕΡΑ, τὸν ἀνεξιχνίαστον καὶ ἀνεκδιήγητον: ὃν ἀνθρώπων μὲν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακεν, ὁ μονογενὴς δὲ μόνος ἐξηγήσατο. Ὁ γὰρ ὢν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, αὐτὸς ἑώρακε τὸν Θεόν. Οὗ τὸ πρόσωπον οἱ ἄγγελοι διαπαντὸς βλέπουσιν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς: βλέπουσι δὲ, κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς οἰκείας τάξεως ἕκαστος: τὸ δὲ ἀκραιφνὲς τῆς τοῦ Πατρὸς θεωρίας εἰλικρινῶς Υἱῷ σὺν ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι τετήρηται.

Ἐνταῦθα τοῦ λόγου γενόμενος, καὶ τῶν πρὸ βραχέως εἰρημένων ὑπομνησθεὶς, ἐν οἷς ὁ Θεὸς πατὴρ ἀνθρώπων ἀνηγορεύετο: μεγάλως πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀγνωμοσύνην ἐξίσταμαι. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ Θεὸς ἀφάτῳ φιλανθρωπίᾳ πατὴρ ἀνθρώπων καλεῖσθαι κατηξίωσεν: ὁ ἐν οὐρανοῖς, τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς: καὶ ὁ τῶν αἰώνων ποιητὴς, τῶν ἐν χρόνοις: καὶ ὁ τὴν γῆν κατέχων [ἐν] δρακὶ, τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ὄντων ὡς ἀκρίδων. Ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος καταλιπὼν τὸν ἐπουράνιον πατέρα, τῷ ξύλῳ εἶπε, Πατήρ μου εἶ σύ: καὶ τῷ λίθῳ, Σὺ ἐγέννησάς με. Καί μοι δοκεῖ διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα λέγειν ὁ ψαλμός: Καὶ ἐπιλάθου τοῦ λαοῦ σου, καὶ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός σου, ὃν εἵλου πατέρα, ὃν ἐπεσπάσω πρὸς τὴν ἀπώλειαν.

Οὐ μόνον δὲ ξύλα καὶ λίθους, ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ τὸν Σατανᾶν αὐτὸν ἤδη εἵλοντο πατέρα, τὸν ψυχοφθόρον. Πρὸς οὓς ἐλεγκτικῶς ἔλεγεν ὁ Κύριος: Ὑμεῖς τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν ποιεῖτε: [τοῦ διαβόλου] πατρὸς ὄντος ἀνθρώπων, οὐ κατὰ φύσιν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἀπάτην. Ὃν γὰρ τρόπον, διὰ τῆς εὐσεβοῦς διδασκαλίας, Παῦλος Κορινθίων πατὴρ ἐκαλεῖτο, οὕτω καὶ ὁ διάβολος τῶν ἐκ προαιρέσεως αὐτῷ συντρεχόντων καλεῖται πατήρ. Οὐ γὰρ ἀνεξόμεθα τῶν κακῶς ἐκλαμβανόντων τὸ εἰρημένον ἐκεῖνο, τό, Ἐκ τούτου γινώσκομεν τὰ τέκνα τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ διαβόλου: ὡς ὄντων φύσει τινῶν, καὶ σωζομένων καὶ ἀπολλυμένων, ἐν ἀνθρώποις. Οὔτε γὰρ ἐπάναγκες, ἀλλ' ἐκ προαιρέσεως εἰς τὴν τοιαύτην ἁγίαν υἱοθεσίαν ἐρχόμεθα. Οὔτε ἐκ φύσεως ὁ προδότης Ἰούδας υἱὸς ἦν διαβόλου καὶ τῆς ἀπωλείας: ἢ γὰρ ἂν οὔθ' ὅλως ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐν ὀνόματι Χριστοῦ δαίμονας ἀπήλασε, Σατανᾶς γὰρ Σατανᾶν οὐκ ἐκβάλλει: οὐδ' ἂν πάλιν ὁ Παῦλος ἐκ τοῦ διώκειν εἰς τὸ κηρύττειν μετέβαινεν. Ἀλλ' αὐτεξούσιος ἡ υἱοθεσία, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἰωάννης: Ὅσοι δὲ ἔλαβον αὐτὸν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ. Οὐ γὰρ πρὸ τῆς πίστεως, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς πίστεως τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαι κατηξιώθησαν αὐτεξουσίως.

Τοῦτο τοίνυν γινώσκοντες, πνευματικῶς ἀναστρέψωμεν, ἵνα τῆς υἱοθεσίας τοῦ Θεοῦ καταξιωθῶμεν. Ὅσοι γὰρ πνεύματι Θεοῦ ἄγονται, οὗτοι υἱοὶ Θεοῦ εἰσιν. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ὄφελος ἡμῖν τὴν Χριστιανῶν κεκτῆσθαι προσηγορίαν, μὴ καὶ τῶν ἔργων ἐπακολουθούντων: μή ποτε καὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ῥηθῇ τὸ, Εἰ τέκνα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ἦτε, τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ἐποιεῖτε. Εἰ γὰρ πατέρα ἐπικαλούμεθα, τὸν ἀπροσωπολήπτως κρίνοντα κατὰ τὸ ἑκάστου ἔργον, ἐν φόβῳ τὸν τῆς παροικίας ἡμῶν χρόνον ἀναστραφῶμεν: μὴ ἀγαπῶντες τὸν κόσμον, μηδὲ τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. Ἐὰν γάρ τις ἀγαπᾷ τὸν κόσμον, οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐν αὐτῷ. Ὥστε, τέκνα ἀγαπητὰ, δόξαν τῷ ἐν οὐρανοῖς πατρὶ διὰ τῶν ἔργων προσενέγκωμεν: ὅπως ἴδωσιν ἡμῶν τὰ καλὰ ἔργα, καὶ δοξάσωσι τὸν πατέρα ἡμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Πᾶσαν τὴν μέριμναν ἡμῶν ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἐπιῤῥίψωμεν: οἶδε γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν ὧν χρείαν ἔχομεν.

Τιμῶντες δὲ τὸν ἐπουράνιον πατέρα, καὶ τοὺς τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν πατέρας τιμήσωμεν: ἐπειδὴ σαφῶς ἐν νόμῳ καὶ προφήταις αὐτὸς ὥρισεν ὁ Κύριος, λέγων: Τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου, ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται, καὶ ἔσῃ μακροχρόνιος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Καὶ τοῦ παραγγέλματος τούτου ἀκουέτωσαν μάλιστα τῶν παρόντων οἱ πατέρας καὶ μητέρας κεκτημένοι. Τὰ τέκνα ὑπακούετε τοῖς γονεῦσιν ὑμῶν κατὰ πάντα: τοῦτο γὰρ εὐάρεστόν ἐστι τῷ Κυρίῳ. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος: Ὁ φιλῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα, οὐκ ἔστι μου ἄξιος, μὴ τὸ καλῶς γεγραμμένον αὐτὸς ἐξ ἀγνοίας ἐκλάβῃς κακῶς: ἀλλὰ τὸ, ὑπὲρ ἐμὲ, προσέθηκεν. Ὅταν γὰρ οἱ ἐπὶ γῆς πατέρες τῷ ἐν οὐρανοῖς πατρὶ φρονῶσιν ἐναντία, τότε δεῖ τῷ ῥήματι ἐπακολουθεῖν. Ὅταν δὲ μηδὲν ἡμῖν εἰς εὐσέβειαν αὐτῶν ἐμποδιζόντων, ἀγνωμοσύνῃ φερόμενοι, καὶ τῶν εἰς ἡμᾶς αὐτῶν εὐεργεσιῶν ἀμνημονοῦντες καταφρονῶμεν: τότε χώραν ἕξει τὸ λόγιον, τὸ λέγον: Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα, θανάτῳ τελευτάτω.

Χριστιανῶν εὐσέβεια ἐνάρετος πρώτη, τὸ τιμᾷν τοὺς γεννήτορας, τὸ τοὺς πόνους ἀμείψασθαι τῶν φύντων, καὶ πάσῃ δυνάμει τὰ πρὸς ἀνάπαυσιν αὐτοῖς ἐπενεγκεῖν: κἂν γὰρ τὰ πλεῖστα τούτοις ἀποδῶμεν, ἀλλ' ἀντιγεννῆσαι τούτους οὐδέποτε δυνησόμεθα. Ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ τῆς παρ' ἡμῶν ἀναπαύσεως ἀπολαύσαντες, εὐλογίαις ἡμᾶς στηρίξωσιν, ἃς ὁ πτερνιστὴς Ἰακὼβ ἐμφρόνως ἥρπασε: καὶ τὴν ἀγαθὴν ἡμῶν προαίρεσιν ὁ ἐν οὐρανοῖς πατὴρ ἀποδεξάμενος, καταξιώσειεν ἡμᾶς μετὰ τῶν δικαίων λάμπειν ὡς ὁ ἥλιος, ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν: ᾧ ἡ δόξα, σὺν τῷ μονογενεῖ καὶ σωτῆρι Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ, σὺν τῷ ἁγίῳ καὶ ζωοποιῷ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.