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he deified the flesh through the unconfused perichoresis of his divinity and of his flesh into one another, truly we have been sanctified. And since the Son of God and God, being impassible in his divinity, suffered in that which he assumed and paid our debt, pouring out for us a worthy and admirable ransom (for the blood of a son is persuasive and venerable to a father), truly we have been set free. And since, having descended into Hades, he preached release to the souls who from eternity had been bound as captives, sight to the blind, and having bound the strong one by the superiority of his power, he rose, having made incorruptible the little flesh from us that was assumed by him, truly we have been made incorruptible. And since we have been born through water and spirit, truly we have been adopted as sons and have become heirs of God. Hence Paul calls the faithful saints. Hence we do not mourn, but celebrate the death of the saints. Hence “we are not under law, but under grace,” “having been justified by faith” and knowing only the one true God—“but law is not laid down for the just”—, we are not enslaved under the elements of the law like infants, but having been perfected into a mature man, we are fed with solid food, not that which leads to idolatry. The law is good as a lamp shining in a dark place, but only until the day dawns; but now the morning star has risen in our hearts and the living water of the knowledge of God has covered the seas of the nations and we all have known the Lord. “The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” For the divine apostle says to Peter, the chief summit of the apostles: “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as a Jew, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?”, and to the Galatians he writes: “I testify to every man who is circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.” Formerly, therefore, when we did not know God, we served those which by nature are not gods, but now after we have known God, or rather are known by God, how shall we turn again to the weak and beggarly elements? I have seen the human form of God, “and my soul was saved.” I behold an image of God, as Jacob saw, though in different ways; for he saw with the immaterial eyes of the mind an immaterial thing, prefiguring what was to come, but I see a rekindling of the memory of him who was seen in the flesh. The shadow of the apostles, their handkerchiefs and aprons drove away diseases, cast out demons; and how shall the shadow and the image of the saints not be glorified? Either do away with the veneration of all matter or do not innovate, “nor remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set.” They handed down the ecclesiastical ordinances not only in writings, but also in certain unwritten traditions. For the divine Basil says in the twenty-seventh of the thirty chapters of his work On the Holy Spirit to Amphilochius, in these very words: “Of the dogmas and preachings preserved in the Church, some we have from written teaching, and others we have received, delivered to us in a mystery, from the tradition of the apostles, both of which have the same force for piety. And no one will contradict these, at least no one who has even a little experience of the ordinances of the church; for if we should attempt to reject the unwritten customs as not having great authority, we would unwittingly injure the Gospel in its very vitals.” These are the words of the great Basil. For whence do we know the holy place of the skull, the tomb of life? Is it not that children have received it from their father unwritten? For it is written that the Lord was crucified in the place of a skull and was buried in a tomb which Joseph hewed out of the rock; but that these are the places now venerated, we know from unwritten tradition, and very many other similar things. Whence the threefold baptism? Whence praying towards the east? Whence the tradition of the mysteries? Therefore, the divine apostle Paul also says: “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth, or

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σάρκα ἐθέωσε διὰ τῆς ἐν ἀλλήλαις τῆς αὐτοῦ θεότητος καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ σαρκὸς ἀσυγχύτου περιχωρήσεως, ὄντως ἡγιάσμεθα. Καὶ ἀφ' οὗ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ θεὸς ὁ ἀπαθὴς ὢν τῇ θεότητι τῷ προσλήμματι πέπονθε καὶ τὸ ἡμέτερον ἀπέτισεν ὄφλημα λύτρον ἐκχέας ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀξιόχρεών τε καὶ ἀξιάγαστον (δυσωπητικὸν γὰρ πατρὶ καὶ αἰδέσιμον αἷμα υἱοῦ), ὄντως ἠλευθερώμεθα. Καὶ ἀφ' οὗ κατελθὼν εἰς ᾅδην ταῖς ἀπ' αἰῶνος πεπεδημέναις ψυχαῖς ὡς αἰχμαλώτοις ἐκήρυξεν ἄφεσιν, ὡς τυφλοῖς ἀνάβλεψιν, καὶ δήσας τὸν ἰσχυρὸν τῷ ὑπερέχοντι τῆς δυνάμεως ἀνέστη τὸ ἐξ ἡμῶν αὐτῷ προσληφθὲν ἀφθαρ τίσας σαρκίον, ὄντως ἠφθαρτίσμεθα. Ἀφ' οὗ τε δι' ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος γεγεννήμεθα, ὄντως υἱοθετήμεθα καὶ κληρονόμοι θεοῦ γεγενήμεθα. Ἐντεῦθεν τοὺς πιστοὺς ἁγίους ὁ Παῦλος καλεῖ. Ἐντεῦθεν τὸν τῶν ἁγίων οὐ πενθοῦμεν, ἀλλ' ἑορτάζομεν θάνατον. Ἐντεῦθεν «οὐχ ὑπὸ νόμον, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ χάριν ἐσμέν», «δικαιωθέντες διὰ τῆς πίστεως» καὶ θεὸν μόνον εἰδότες τὸν ἀληθινόν-»δικαίῳ δὲ νόμος οὐ κεῖται»-, οὐχ ὑπὸ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ νόμου ἐσμὲν δεδουλωμένοι ὡς νήπιοι, ἀλλ' εἰς ἄνδρα καταρτισθέντες τέλειον στερεὰν τροφὴν τρεφόμεθα, οὐ τὴν πρὸς εἰδωλολατρείαν. Καλὸς ὁ νόμος ὡς λύχνος φαίνων ἐν αὐχμηρῷ τόπῳ, ἀλλ' ἕως οὗ ἡ ἡμέρα διαυγάσῃ· ἤδη δὲ ἀνέτειλε φωσφόρος ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν καὶ ὕδωρ ζῶν τῆς θεογνωσίας θαλάσσας ἐθνῶν ἐπεκάλυψε καὶ πάντες τὸν κύριον ἔγνωμεν. «Παρῆλθε τὰ παλαιά, ἰδοὺ γέγονε τὰ πάντα καινά.» Φησὶν γοῦν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος πρὸς Πέτρον, τὴν κορυφαίαν ἀκρότητα τῶν ἀποστόλων· «Εἰ σὺ Ἰουδαῖος ὢν ἐθνικῶς ζῇς καὶ οὐκ Ἰουδαϊκῶς, πῶς τὰ ἔθνη ἀναγκάζεις ἰουδαΐζειν», καὶ πρὸς Γαλάτας γράφει· «Μαρτύρομαι παντὶ ἀνθρώπῳ περιτεμνομένῳ, ὅτι ὀφειλέτης ἐστὶν ὅλον τὸν νόμον πληρῶσαι.» Πάλαι μὲν οὖν μὴ εἰδότες θεὸν ἐδουλεύομεν τοῖς μὴ φύσει οὖσι θεοῖς, νῦν δὲ γνόντες θεόν, μᾶλλον δὲ γνωσθέντες ὑπὸ θεοῦ πῶς ἐπιστρέψομεν πάλιν ἐπὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ καὶ πτωχὰ στοιχεῖα; Εἶδον εἶδος θεοῦ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, «καὶ ἐσώθη μου ἡ ψυχή.» Θεωρῶ εἰκόνα θεοῦ, ὡς εἶδεν Ἰακώβ, εἰ καὶ ἄλλως καὶ ἄλλως· ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ ἄυλον, τὸ ἐσόμενον προμηνύουσαν ἀύλοις νοὸς ὀφθαλμοῖς, ἐγὼ δὲ τοῦ σαρκὶ ὁραθέντος μνήμης ἐμπύρευμα. Ἡ τῶν ἀποστόλων σκιὰ τὰ σουδάριά τε καὶ σιμικίνθια νόσους ἀπήλαυνε, δαίμονας ἐφυγάδευε· καὶ πῶς ἡ σκιὰ καὶ ἡ εἰκὼν τῶν ἁγίων οὐ δοξασθήσεται; Ἢ πάσης ὕλης προσκύνησιν ἄνελε ἢ μὴ καινοτόμει «μηδὲ μέταιρε ὅρια αἰώνια, ἃ ἔθεντο οἱ πατέρες σου.» Οὐ μόνον γράμμασι τὴν ἐκκλησιαστικὴν θεσμοθεσίαν παρέδωκαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀγράφοις τισὶ παραδόσεσι. Φησὶ γοῦν ὁ θεῖος Βασίλειος ἐν εἰκοστῷ ἑβδόμῳ τῶν πρὸς Ἀμφιλόχιον περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος τριάκοντα κεφαλαίων ἐπὶ λέξεως οὕτως· «Τῶν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ πεφυλαγμένων δογμάτων καὶ κηρυγμάτων τὰ μὲν ἐκ τῆς ἐγγράφου διδασκαλίας ἔχομεν, τὰ δὲ ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἀποστόλων παραδόσεως διαδοθέντα ἡμῖν ἐν μυστηρίῳ παρεδεξάμεθα, ἅπερ ἀμφότερα τὴν αὐτὴν ἰσχὺν ἔχει πρὸς τὴν εὐσέβειαν. Καὶ τούτοις οὐδεὶς ἀντερεῖ οὐκοῦν, ὅστις γε κἂν μικρὸν γοῦν θεσμῶν ἐκκλησίας πεπείραται· εἰ γὰρ ἐπιχειρήσαιμεν τὰ ἄγραφα τῶν ἐθῶν ὡς μὴ μεγάλην ἔχοντα τὴν δύναμιν παραιτεῖσθαι, λάθοιμεν ἂν εἰς αὐτὰ τὰ καίρια ζημιοῦντες τὸ εὐαγγέλιον.» Ταῦτα τοῦ μεγάλου Βασιλείου τὰ ῥήματα. Πόθεν γὰρ ἴσμεν τὸν κρανίου τόπον τὸν ἅγιον, τὸ μνῆμα τῆς ζωῆς; Οὐ παῖδες παρὰ πατρὸς ἀγράφως παρειληφότες; Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἐν τόπῳ κρανίου ἐσταυρῶσθαι τὸν κύριον γέγραπται καὶ τετάφθαι ἐν μνημείῳ, ὃ ἐλατόμησεν Ἰωσὴφ ἐν τῇ πέτρᾳ· ὅτι δὲ ταῦτά ἐστι τὰ νῦν προσκυνούμενα, ἐξ ἀγράφου παραδόσεως ἴσμεν καὶ πλεῖστα τούτοις παρόμοια. Πόθεν τὸ τρὶς βαπτίζειν; Πόθεν τὸ κατ' ἀνατολὰς εὔχεσθαι; Πόθεν ἡ τῶν μυστηρίων παράδοσις; ∆ιὸ καὶ ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος Παῦλός φησιν· «Ἄρα οὖν, ἀδελφοί, στήκετε καὶ κρατεῖτε τὰς παραδόσεις, ἃς ἐδιδάχθητε εἴτε διὰ λόγου, εἴτε