John Chrysostom, On the Obscurity of Prophecies

with the bond of love we implore God to give us the things we ask. And I say these things not simply, nor for myself alone, but so that you may always hasten to the assemblies, so that you may not say: "What then, can I not pray in my house?" You can indeed pray, but the prayer does not have as much power as when 56.182 it is made with one's own members, as when the whole body of the Church with one accord sends up the supplication with one voice, with priests present, and offering up the prayers of the common multitude. 5. Do you wish to learn how great is the power of a prayer made in the church? Peter was once bound in prison, and was laid in many chains; But earnest prayer was made for him by the Church, and it immediately delivered him from the prison. What then could be more powerful than this prayer, which benefited the pillars and towers of the Church? For Paul and Peter are towers and pillars of the Church; and it loosed the bonds of the one, and opened the mouth of the other. And that we may demonstrate its twofold power, not only from what happened then, but also from what is performed each day, let us remind you of the prayer made by the people. And yet if someone were to command one of you many to pray by himself for the salvation of the bishop, each one would decline, as the burden being greater than his own power; but when all in common hear the deacon commanding this and saying, "Let us pray for the bishop, and for his old age, and for his help, and that he may rightly divide the word of truth, and for those here, and for those everywhere," you do not decline to do the command, but with earnestness you offer up the prayer, knowing the power of your assembly. Those who have been initiated know what is said; for this has not yet been permitted in the prayer of the catechumens, since they have not yet attained to this confidence; but you are exhorted to make supplications both for the whole world, and for the Church which is extended to the ends of the earth, and for all the bishops who govern it by him who ministers these prayers, and you obey with readiness, testifying by deed that great is the power of the prayer that is offered up in church in unison by the people. But let us return to the subject before us, that of old there was one voice. Whence then is it clear, that there was one voice? "And all the earth," he says, "was one lip." What is said is unclear. Does the earth have a lip? By no means. What then does it say, and about what? He is not speaking of this senseless, immovable earth; but he thus called the common race of men, reminding them of their own nature, bringing to remembrance the mother from whence they came. For this living being is twofold, I mean man, composed of two substances, the one sensible, the other intelligible, of soul, I say, and body, and having kinship both in heaven and on earth. For through the intelligible substance he communes with the powers above, but through the sensible he is joined to the things of the earth, being a kind of precise bond of either creation. Therefore when he does something of those things that seem good to God, he is called spiritual, and is named not even from the soul, but from another greater honor, from the working of the Spirit. For not even the soul is sufficient for us for right actions, unless we enjoy that help. And that you may learn that not even the soul is sufficient for us for right actions; and 56.183 what am I saying, for right actions? not even to be able to understand the things that are said; "The natural man," it says, "does not receive the things of the Spirit." For just as it calls carnal him who serves the flesh, so it calls natural him who entrusts matters to human reasonings, and does not receive the working of the Spirit. But as I was saying, when we do right we are called spiritual; but when we sin and are tripped up and do something unworthy of

συνδέσμου τῆς ἀγάπης δυσωποῦμεν τὸν Θεὸν δοῦναι ἡμῖν τὰ αἰτούμενα. Ταῦτα δὲ οὐχ ἁπλῶς λέγω, οὐδὲ δι' ἐμαυτὸν μόνον, ἀλλ' ἵνα ἀεὶ σπεύδητε εἰς τὰς συνάξεις, ἵνα μὴ λέγητε· Τί γὰρ, ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ οὐ δύναμαι εὔξασθαι; ∆ύνασαι μὲν εὔξασθαι, οὐ τοσαύτην δὲ δύναμιν ἔχει ἡ εὐχὴ, ὡς ὅταν 56.182 μετὰ τῶν μελῶν τῶν οἰκείων γίνηται, ὡς ὅταν ὁλόκληρον τὸ σῶμα τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἀναπέμπῃ τὴν δέησιν μιᾷ φωνῇ, ἱερέων παρόντων, καὶ τὰς εὐχὰς τοῦ κοινοῦ πλήθους ἀναφερόντων. εʹ. Βούλει μαθεῖν πόση ἐστὶν ἡ δύναμις τῆς εὐχῆς ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ γινομένης; Ἐδέδετο ὁ Πέτρος ποτὲ ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ, καὶ ἁλύσεις περιέκειτο πολλάς· Προσευχὴ δὲ ἦν ἐκτενὴς ὑπὸ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας περὶ αὐτοῦ γινομένη, καὶ εὐθέως αὐτὸν ἀπήλλαξε τοῦ δεσμωτηρίου. Τί τοίνυν δυνατώτερον ταύτης γένοιτ' ἂν τῆς εὐχῆς, ἣ τοὺς στύλους καὶ πύργους τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὠφέλησε; Παῦλος γὰρ καὶ Πέτρος πύργοι καὶ στῦλοι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας· καὶ τοῦ μὲν τὰ δεσμὰ ἔλυσε, τοῦ δὲ τὸ στόμα ἀνέῳξεν. Ἵνα δὲ μὴ μόνον ἀπὸ τῶν τότε συμβάντων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν καθ' ἑκάστην τελουμένων τὴν ἡμέραν, διπλῆν τὴν δύναμιν ἐπιδείξωμεν, αὐτῆς τῆς ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου γινομένης εὐχῆς ὑμᾶς ἀναμνήσωμεν. Καίτοι γε εἴ τις τῶν πολλῶν ὑμῶν ἐπιτάξειεν εὔχεσθαι καθ' ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ ἐπισκόπου σωτηρίας, ἕκαστος ἂν παραιτήσαιτο, ὡς μεῖζον τὸ φορτίον τῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως ὅν· κοινῇ δὲ πάντες ἀκούοντες τοῦ διακόνου τοῦτο κελεύοντος καὶ λέγοντος, ∆εηθῶμεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου, καὶ τοῦ γήρως, καὶ τῆς ἀντιλήψεως, καὶ ἵνα ὀρθοτομῇ τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐνταῦθα, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁπανταχοῦ, οὐ παραιτεῖσθε ποιεῖν τὸ ἐπίταγμα, ἀλλὰ μετ' ἐκτενείας ἀναφέρετε τὴν εὐχὴν, εἰδότες τῆς ὑμετέρας συνόδου τὴν δύναμιν. Ἴσασιν οἱ μεμυημένοι τὰ λεγόμενα· τῇ γὰρ εὐχῇ τῶν κατηχουμένων οὐδέπω τοῦτο ἐπιτέτραπται, ἐπειδὴ οὐδέπω πρὸς τὴν παῤῥησίαν ἔφθασαν ταύτην· ὑμῖν δὲ καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς οἰκουμένης, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῆς μέχρι περάτων τῆς γῆς ἐκτεταμένης, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν διοικούντων αὐτὴν ἐπισκόπων ἁπάντων παρακελεύεται ποιεῖσθαι τὰς δεήσεις ὁ ταύταις διακονῶν, καὶ ὑπακούετε μετὰ προθυμίας, ἔργῳ μαρτυροῦντες, ὅτι μεγάλη τῆς εὐχῆς ἡ δύναμις τῆς ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ ἀπὸ τοῦ δήμου συμφώνως ἀναφερομένης ἐστίν. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἐπανίωμεν, ὅτι μία φωνὴ ἦν τὸ παλαιόν. Πόθεν οὖν δῆλον, ὅτι μία φωνὴ ἦν; Καὶ ἦν πᾶσα ἡ γῆ, φησὶ, χεῖλος ἕν. Ἀσαφὲς τὸ εἰρημένον. Ἡ γῆ χεῖλος ἔχει; Οὐδαμῶς. Τί οὖν φησι, καὶ περὶ τίνος; Οὐ περὶ ταύτης λέγει τῆς γῆς τῆς ἀναισθήτου, τῆς ἀκινήτου· ἀλλὰ τὸ κοινὸν τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος οὕτως ἐκάλεσε, τῆς οἰκείας αὐτοὺς ἀναμιμνήσκων φύσεως, τῆς μητρὸς εἰς ὑπόμνησιν ἄγων, ὅθεν ἐγένοντο. ∆ιπλοῦν γὰρ τοῦτο τὸ ζῶον, ὁ ἄνθρωπος, λέγω, ἐκ δύο συγκείμενος οὐσιῶν, τῆς μὲν αἰσθητῆς, τῆς δὲ νοητῆς, ψυχῆς, λέγω, καὶ σώματος, καὶ ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐν γῇ συγγένειαν ἔχων. ∆ιὰ μὲν γὰρ τῆς νοητῆς οὐσίας κοινωνεῖ ταῖς ἄνω δυνάμεσι, διὰ δὲ τῆς αἰσθητῆς τοῖς τῆς γῆς συνῆπται πράγμασι, σύνδεσμός τις ὢν ἀκριβὴς ἑκατέρας τῆς κτίσεως. Ὅταν μὲν οὖν πράττῃ τι τῶν τῷ Θεῷ δοκούντων, πνευματικὸς λέγεται, καὶ οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ὀνομάζεται, ἀλλ' ἀφ' ἑτέρας μείζονος τιμῆς, ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐνεργείας. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀρκεῖ ἡ ψυχὴ ἡμῖν εἰς κατορθώματα, ἐὰν μὴ ἀπολαύσωμεν τῆς βοηθείας ἐκείνης. Καὶ ἵνα μάθητε, ὅτι, οὐδὲ ἡ ψυχὴ ἀρκεῖ ἡμῖν εἰς κατορθώματα· καὶ 56.183 τί λέγω, εἰς κατορθώματα; οὐδὲ εἰς τὸ δυνηθῆναι συνιέναι τῶν λεγομένων· Ψυχικὸς, φησὶν, ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται τὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος. Ὥσπερ γὰρ σαρκικὸν καλεῖ τὸν τῇ σαρκὶ δουλεύοντα, οὕτω ψυχικὸν καλεῖ τὸν τοῖς λογισμοῖς τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις τὰ πράγματα ἐπιτρέποντα, καὶ μὴ δεχόμενον τοῦ Πνεύματος τὴν ἐνέργειαν. Ἀλλ' ὅπερ ἔλεγον, ὅτι κατορθοῦντες μὲν πνευματικοὶ λεγόμεθα· ὅταν δὲ ἁμάρτωμεν καὶ ὑποσκελισθῶμεν καὶ πράξωμέν τι ἀνάξιον τῆς