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preach another gospel to you than that which you have received, let him be accursed. And again I say: If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed." But he said that tradition was not to be transgressed, his aforementioned divine command, not that of the Arians, and Eunomians, and Macedonians, who inherited this name from those whose opinion they followed, and despising the divine proclamations, made a law of their idle talk, not even hearing the others. Whatever counsels of the immortal God appear, These you, being mortal, hold very securely; Nor, having been deceived in mind by guileful men, will you draw upon yourself the unrestrainable wrath of the immortal one.
Chap. 13. Concerning those who, to the disparagement of the Spirit, adduce the text, Unless
one be born of water and of the Spirit. But these word-hunters, who diminish the things concerning the Holy Spirit to their own detriment, say: Is not then the water of equal power and glorified together with the Holy 39.689 Spirit; since it is written: "Unless one be born of water and of the Spirit." But this is to accuse themselves, as if censuring Christ who spoke these things well, and to slander what not even Momus will be able to slander; though it is not a characteristic of Christians. For the water was not mentioned in the way the Holy Trinity is ranked together; but as the discourse rendered it, and as elsewhere mortal things were mentioned together with the immortal God. For it is written: "I have sinned against heaven, and before thee;" and again: "And the people believed God, and his servant Moses;" and again: "All the people feared God and Samuel;" and again: "And there was a sword for the Lord and for Gideon;" and the consideration to be interwoven with these is timely and worthy of the right faith. For if, according to Paul, we are baptized "into the death of Christ and into Christ," the water was rightly mentioned together with the Spirit. For from the side of the Savior water and blood flowed together, as the lance, and the soldier, are not ignorant. In addition to this, if, as Paul wrote, to the Corinthians: "All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them: and that rock was Christ;" and again: "And were all made to drink into one Spirit;" and to the Hebrews: "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God" and the Holy Spirit was proclaimed the word of God the Father; Christ and the Holy Spirit are fittingly in the water, and never with anyone are Christ and the Holy Spirit without the baptismal water. Wherefore the divine mystery has been established, as of the Son of God, so also of the divine Spirit, and both the blessed and perfect hypostases bore equal witness; how are these not also an abundance of proofs concerning their consubstantiality? I think, therefore, that for this reason also He changed the water into wine, and better than wine, and provided gladness to the wedding feast; wishing to teach without display that He also transferred the water to the immortal use of baptism, and through baptism He filled up what was lacking in the faith of men, with the divine Spirit, in harmony with God the Father. For the righteous, having labored much, scarcely attained even the shadow of this divine 39.692 baptism, which was given to us by the manifestation of the Son and of the Spirit of God for the knowledge of these pure hypostases. For the font of the Trinity is a workshop for the salvation of all faithful men; and it frees those washed in it from the bite of the serpent, and becomes the mother of all, while remaining a Virgin by the Holy Spirit. For in it, as has been said, we receive all the gifts of the distribution, and there of paradise
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ἄλλως εὐαγγελίσηται, παρ' ὃ εὐαγγελίσθητε, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. Καὶ πάλιν λέγω· Εἴ τις ὑμᾶς εὐαγγελίσηται, παρ' ὃ παρελάβετε, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω." Παράδοσιν δὲ μὴ παραβαίνεσθαι, τὴν προλεχθεῖσαν αὐτοῦ εἶπε θεϊκὴν ἐντολὴν, οὐ τὴν Ἀρειανῶν, καὶ Εὐνομιανῶν, καὶ Μακεδονιανῶν, τῶν τὴν προσηγορίαν ταύτην κληρωσαμένων ἀπ' ἐκείνων, ὧν τῇ δοκήσει ἐξηκολούθησαν, καὶ τῶν θείων κηρυγμάτων καταφρονήσαντες, νόμον τὴν ἐκείνων ἀδολεσχίαν ἐποιήσαντο, οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἀκούοντες. Ὅσσα κεν ἀθανάτοιο Θεοῦ βουλεύματα φαίνει, Ταῦτα σὺ, θνητὸς ἐὼν, ἴσχε μάλ' ἀσφαλέως· Μηδὲ νόον δολίοισιν ὑπ' ἀνθρώποισι δολωθεὶς, Ἄσχετον ἀθανάτου μῆνιν ἐπισπάσεαι.
ΚΕΦ. ΙΓʹ. Περὶ τῶν πρὸς εὐτέλειαν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐπιφε ρόντων τὸ, Ἐὰν μή
τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ Πνεύματος. Οὗτοι δὲ λεξιθηροῦντες, καὶ τὰ περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος καθ' ἑαυτῶν σμικρύνοντες, φασίν· Οὐκοῦν ἰσοδύναμον καὶ συνδοξαζόμενον τὸ ὕδωρ τῷ ἁγίῳ 39.689 Πνεύματί ἐστιν· ἐπειδὴ γράφει· "Ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ Πνεύματος." Τοῦτο δὲ κατηγορῆσαί ἐστιν ἑαυτῶν, ὡς ἐπιλαμβανομένων τοῦ καλῶς φθεγξαμένου αὐτὰ Χριστοῦ, καὶ διαβαλεῖν, ἃ μηδ' ὁ Μῶμος διαβαλεῖν δυνήσεται· οὐ μὴν ἴδιον Χριστιανῶν. Οὐχ ὡς συντάττεται γὰρ ἡ ἁγία Τριὰς ἐμνημονεύθη καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ· ἀλλ' ὡς ὁ λόγος ἀπέδωκε, καὶ ὡς ἑτέρωθι ἅμα τῷ ἀθανάτῳ Θεῷ θνητὰ συνεμνημονεύθη. Γέγραπται γάρ· "Ἥμαρτον εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ εἰς σέ·" καὶ πάλιν· "Ἐπίστευσεν ὁ λαὸς τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Μωϋσεῖ τῷ θεράποντι αὐτοῦ·" καὶ πάλιν· "Πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἐφοβεῖτο τὸν Θεὸν καὶ Σαμουήλ·" καὶ πάλιν· "Καὶ ἦν ῥομφαία τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ τῷ Γεδεών·" καὶ τὸ προσυφανθησόμενον δὲ τούτοις θεώρημα καίριον καὶ ἐπάξιον τῆς ὀρθῆς πίστεώς ἐστιν Εἰ γὰρ κατὰ τὸν Παῦλον, "εἰς τὸν θάνατον τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ εἰς Χριστὸν" βαπτιζόμεθα, ὀρθῶς συνεφράσθη τῷ Πνεύματι τὸ ὕδωρ. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς πλευρᾶς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ὕδωρ καὶ αἷμα ὁμοῦ ἔῤῥευσεν, ὡς οὐκ ἀγνοεῖ ἡ λόγχη, καὶ ὁ στρατιώτης. Πρὸς τούτῳ, εἰ, ὡς Παῦλος ἔγραψε, Κορινθίοις μέν· "Πάντες βρῶμα τὸ πνευματικὸν ἔφαγον, καὶ πάντες τὸ αὐτὸ πνευματικὸν ἔπινον πόμα. Ἔπινον γὰρ ἐκ πνευματικῆς ἀκολουθούσης πέτρας· ἡ δὲ πέτρα ἦν ὁ Χριστός·" αὖθίς τε· "Καὶ πάντες ἓν Πνεῦμα ἐποτίσθησαν·" Ἑβραίοις δέ· "Ἀδύνατον γὰρ τοὺς ἅπαξ φωτισθέντας, γευσαμένους τε τῆς δωρεᾶς τῆς ἐπουρανίου, καὶ μετόχους γενηθέντας Πνεύματος ἁγίου, καὶ καλὸν γευσαμένους Θεοῦ ῥῆμα" τὸ δὲ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, ῥῆμα τοῦ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἀνευφημήθη· ἀραρότως ἐν τῷ ὕδατι ὁ Χριστὸς καὶ τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, καὶ οὐδέποτε παρ' οὐδενὶ ἄνευ τοῦ βαπτιστικοῦ ὕδατος ὁ Χριστὸς καὶ τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα. Ὅπου οὖν τὸ θεῖον μυστήριον, ὡς τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὕτω καὶ τοῦ θεϊκοῦ Πνεύματος τεθεσμοθέτηται, καὶ τὴν ἴσην μαρτυρίαν ἀπηνέγκαντο ἄμφω αἱ μακάριαι καὶ αὐτοτελεῖς ὑποστάσεις· πῶς οὐκ ἀφθονία καὶ ταῦτα δι' ἀποδείξεων περὶ τῆς ὁμοουσιότητος αὐτῶν ἐστιν; Ἐγὼ οὖν οἶμαι, ὡς καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἰς οἶνον, καὶ κρείττονα οἴνου, τὸ ὕδωρ μετέβαλε, καὶ εὐφροσύνην τῷ γαμικῷ δείπνῳ παρέσχετο· ἀσυμφανῶς διδάξαι βουληθεὶς, ὅτι καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ εἰς ἀθάνατον χρῆσιν τοῦ βαπτίσματος μετέθηκε, καὶ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος τὸ λεῖπον τῆς πίστεως ἀνθρώποις ἀνεπλήρωσε, μετὰ τοῦ θεϊκοῦ Πνεύματος, συμφωνίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρός. Καὶ τῆς σκιᾶς γὰρ τοῦ θείου 39.692 τούτου βαπτίσματος, τοῦ ἡμῖν δωρηθέντος ἐπιφανείᾳ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ Θεοῦ διὰ τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τὴν εἰς τὰς ἀκηράτους ὑποστάσεις ταύτας, πολλὰ καμόντες οἱ δίκαιοι μόλις ἔτυχον. Ἔστι γὰρ ἡ κολυμβήθρα τῆς Τριάδος, ἐργαστήριον πρὸς σωτηρίαν πιστῶν πάντων ἀνθρώπων· καὶ τοὺς λουομένους ἐν αὐτῇ, τοῦ δήγματος ἀπαλλάττει τοῦ ὄφεως, καὶ μήτηρ πάντων γίνεται, τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι μένουσα Παρθένος. Ἐν αὐτῇ γὰρ, ὡς εἴρηται, πάντα ὑποδεχόμεθα τῆς διανομῆς τὰ χαρίσματα, καὶ ἐκεῖσε τοῦ παραδείσου