multiplying, it was borne to a fall. But it is possible to say sacredly concerning the heavenly hierarchy, that purification for the inferior beings is the illumination from God of things previously unknown, leading them to a more perfect knowledge of the divine cognitions and purifying them from the ignorance of things of which they did not yet have the knowledge, being led up through the first and more divine beings to the higher and brighter flashes of the divine visions. Thus there are also orders that are illuminated and perfected and are purificatory and illuminative and perfective according to the heavenly hierarchy, as the highest and more divine beings purify the inferior sacred and heavenly orders from all ignorance in the ranks and analogies of the heavenly hierarchies, and fill them with the most divine illuminations and perfect them in the all-holy knowledge of the divine conceptions. For it has already been said by us and divinely declared in the oracles that not all heavenly orders are the same in all the sacred knowledges of the divine illuminations, but the first receive the brightest rays of the divine beam immediately from God, and through them, in turn, the inferior are analogously illuminated from God. <VII.> <1> These things having been determined, it is necessary, I think, to speak also of the rites performed sacredly by us for the departed. For this too is not common to the sacred and the profane, but just as there is a different kind of life for each, so also when they approach death, those who have had a sacred life, looking to the true promises of the Godhead, as having beheld their truth in the resurrection itself, with firm and true hope, in divine joy, go to the end of death, as to the end of sacred contests, knowing that their affairs will surely be in perfect and unending life and salvation through their future total resurrection. For the sacred souls, which in this life are able to fall into a turn for the worse, will in the regeneration have a most godlike transference to the immutable. And the pure bodies, yoked with and companions to the sacred souls, having been enrolled with them and having struggled with them according to their divine labors, in the immutable establishment of the souls in the divine life, will receive their own resurrection with them. For having been united to the sacred souls with which they were united in this life, having become members of Christ, they will receive a godlike and incorruptible, immortal and blessed lot. In these things, therefore, is the sleep of the sacred, in joy and unshaken hopes, arriving at the end of the divine contests. <2> But of the profane, some irrationally think they go into non-existence, while others think that the bodily union is once and for all severed from their own souls as unfitting for them in a godlike life and blessed lots, not having understood nor having been sufficiently initiated in divine knowledge into the most godlike life which has already begun for us in Christ. Others assign unions with other bodies to the souls, doing injustice, as I think, in their case to those who have labored with the divine souls, and impiously depriving of the sacred rewards those who have come to the end of the most divine races. And others, having inclined I know not how toward materialistic notions, have said that the most holy and blessed lot promised to the holy is of the same kind as this life, and have lawlessly cast away for those equal to angels the foods proper to a changeable life. But none of the most holy men will ever fall into such errors, but knowing that they will receive in their entirety the Christ-like lot, when they come to the end of this life, they see more clearly their path to incorruptibility as having already drawn nearer, and they hymn the gifts of the Godhead and are filled with divine pleasure, no longer fearing the turn for the worse, but knowing well that they will possess the good things they have acquired firmly and eternally. But those who are full of defilements and profane stains, if indeed they have attained some sacred initiation but have themselves ruinously cast it from their own mind and deserted to corrupting desires, when they come to the end of this life, the divine legislation of the oracles will no longer appear to them equally contemptible,

πληθύων ἐφέρετο πτῶσιν. Ἀλλ' ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ἱερῶς ἐπὶ τῆς οὐρανίας ἱεραρχίας, ὅτι κάθαρσίς ἐστι ταῖς ὑφειμέναις οὐσίαις ἡ παρὰ θεοῦ τῶν τέως ἀγνοουμένων ἔλλαμψις ἐπὶ τελεωτέραν αὐτὰς ἐπιστήμην ἄγουσα τῶν θεαρχικῶν γνώσεων καὶ τῆς ἀγνοίας, ὧν οὔπω τὴν ἐπιστήμην εἶχον, ἀποκαθαίρουσα διὰ τῶν πρώτων καὶ θειοτέρων οὐσιῶν ἀναγομένας εἰς τὰς ὑπερτέρας τῶν θεοπτιῶν καὶ φανοτέρας μαρμαρυγάς. Oὕτω καὶ φωτιζόμεναι τάξεις εἰσὶ καὶ τελούμεναι καὶ καθαρτικαὶ καὶ φωτιστικαὶ καὶ τελεστικαὶ κατὰ τὴν οὐρανίαν ἱεραρχίαν ὡς τῶν ὑπερτάτων καὶ θειοτέρων οὐσιῶν τὰς ὑφειμένας ἱερὰς καὶ οὐρανίας διακοσμήσεις ἀγνοίας μὲν ἁπάσης ἀποκαθαιρουσῶν ἐν τάξεσι καὶ ἀναλογίαις τῶν οὐρανιῶν ἱεραρχιῶν, πληρουσῶν δὲ αὐτὰς τῶν θειοτάτων ἐλλάμψεων καὶ τελειουσῶν ἐν τῇ παναγεστάτῃ τῶν θεαρχικῶν νοήσεων ἐπιστήμῃ. Καὶ γὰρ ἤδη πρὸς ἡμῶν εἴρηται καὶ τοῖς λογίοις θειωδῶς διηγόρευται τὸ μὴ ταὐτὰς εἶναι πάσας τὰς οὐρανίας διακοσμήσεις ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἱεραῖς τῶν θεοπτικῶν ἐλλάμψεων ἐπιστήμαις, ἀλλ' ἐκ θεοῦ μὲν ἀμέσως τὰς πρώτας, δι' ἐκείνων δὲ πάλιν ἐκ θεοῦ τὰς ὑφειμένας ἀναλόγως αὐταῖς ἐλλάμπεσθαι τὰς φανοτάτας τῆς θεαρχικῆς ἀκτῖνος αὐγάς. <VII.> <1> Τούτων δὲ διωρισμένων ἀναγκαῖον εἰπεῖν ὡς οἶμαι καὶ τὰ πρὸς ἡμῶν ἱερῶς ἐπὶ τῶν κεκοιμημένων τελούμενα. Καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ τοῦτο κοινόν ἐστι τοῖς ἱεροῖς τε καὶ ἀνιέροις, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἀλλοῖον εἶδός ἐστι τῆς ἑκατέρων ζωῆς, οὕτω καὶ πρὸς θάνατον ἰόντες οἱ μὲν ἱερὰν ἐσχηκότες ζωὴν εἰς τὰς ἀληθεῖς ἐπαγγελίας τῆς θεαρχίας ἀποσκοποῦντες ὡς τὴν ἀλήθειαν αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ κατ' αὐτὴν ἀναστάσει τεθεαμένοι μετὰ βεβαίας καὶ ἀληθοῦς ἐλπίδος ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ θείᾳ πρὸς τὸ τοῦ θανάτου πέρας ἴασιν ὡς ἐπὶ τέλος ἱερῶν ἀγώνων ἐν παντελεῖ καὶ ἀτελευτήτῳ ζωῇ καὶ σωτηρίᾳ τὰ κατ' αὐτοὺς ἔσεσθαι πάντως εἰδότες διὰ τῆς ἐσομένης αὐτῶν ὁλικῆς ἀναστάσεως. Aἱ μὲν γὰρ ἱεραὶ ψυχαὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ χείρω κατὰ τὸν τῇδε βίον δυνάμεναι καταπίπτειν τροπὴν ἐν τῇ παλιγγενεσίᾳ τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ ἄτρεπτον ἕξουσι θεοειδεστάτην μετάταξιν. Τὰ δὲ καθαρὰ τῶν ἱερῶν ψυχῶν ὁμόζυγα καὶ ὁμοπόρευτα σώματα συναπογραφέντα καὶ συναθλήσαντα κατὰ τοὺς θείους αὐτῶν ἱδρῶτας ἐν τῇ τῶν ψυχῶν ἀτρέπτῳ κατὰ τὴν θείαν ζωὴν ἱδρύσει συναπολήψεται τὴν οἰκείαν ἀνάστασιν. Ἑνωθέντα γὰρ αἷς ἥνωντο κατὰ τὸν τῇδε βίον ἱεραῖς ψυχαῖς, ὡς μέλη Χριστοῦ γεγονότα τὴν θεοειδῆ καὶ ἄφθαρτον ἀθάνατόν τε καὶ μακαρίαν ἀπολήψεται λῆξιν. Ἐν τούτοις μὲν οὖν ἡ τῶν ἱερῶν ἐστι κοίμησις ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ καὶ ἀσαλεύτοις ἐλπίσιν εἰς τὸ τῶν θείων ἀγώνων ἀφικνουμένη πέρας. <2> Τῶν δὲ ἀνιέρων οἱ μὲν εἰς ἀνυπαρξίαν ἀλόγως οἴονται χωρεῖν, οἱ δὲ τὴν σωματικὴν εἰσάπαξ ἀπορρήγνυσθαι τῶν οἰκείων ψυχῶν συζυγίαν ὡς ἀνάρμοστον αὐταῖς ἐν θεοειδεῖ ζωῇ καὶ μακαρίαις λήξεσιν οὐκ ἐννοήσαντες οὐδὲ ἱκανῶς ἐν ἐπιστήμῃ θείᾳ μυηθέντες ἀρχθεῖσαν ἤδη τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐν Χριστῷ θεοειδεστάτην ζωήν. Ἄλλοι δὲ σωμάτων ἄλλων ἀπονέμουσι ταῖς ψυχαῖς συζυγίας ἀδικοῦντες τὸ ἐπ' αὐτοῖς ὡς οἶμαι τὰ συμπονήσαντα ταῖς θείαις ψυχαῖς καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀντιδόσεων οὐκ εὐαγῶς ἀποστεροῦντες τὰ πρὸς τὸ πέρας ἐλθόντα τῶν θειοτάτων δρόμων. Ἄλλοι δὲ οὐκ οἶδ' ὅπως ἐπὶ προσύλους ἐννοίας ἀποκλιθέντες εἰρήκασιν ὁμοειδῆ τοῦ τῇδε βίου τὴν τοῖς ὁσίοις ἐπηγγελμένην ἁγιωτάτην καὶ μακαριστὴν λῆξιν καὶ τροφὰς οἰκείας ἀλλοιωτῷ βίῳ τοῖς ἰσαγγέλοις ἀθεμίτως ἀπέρριψαν. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀποπεσεῖταί τίς ποτε τῶν ἱερωτάτων ἀνδρῶν εἰς τὰς τοιάσδε πλανήσεις, ἀλλ' ὅλους αὐτοὺς ἀπολήψεσθαι τὴν Χριστοειδῆ λῆξιν εἰδότες, ὅταν ἐπὶ τὸ πέρας ἔλθωσι τοῦ τῇδε βίου, τὴν εἰς ἀφθαρσίαν αὐτῶν ὁδὸν ὡς ἐγγυτέραν ἤδη γεγενημένην ἐμφανέστερον ὁρῶσι καὶ τὰς δωρεὰς τῆς θεαρχίας ὑμνοῦσι καὶ θείας ἡδονῆς ἀποπληροῦνται τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ χείρω τροπὴν οὐκέτι δεδοικότες, ἀλλ' εὖ εἰδότες, ὅτι τὰ κτηθέντα καλὰ βεβαίως καὶ αἰωνίως ἕξουσιν. Oἱ δὲ μολυσμῶν ἀνάπλεοι καὶ ἀνιέρων κηλίδων, εἴπερ ἱερᾶς τινος τετυχήκασι μυήσεως αὐτοὶ δὲ ταύτην ἐκ τοῦ οἰκείου νοὸς ὀλεθρίως ἀπορραπίσαντες ἐπὶ τὰς φθοροποιοὺς ηὐτομόλησαν ἐπιθυμίας, ὅταν ἐπὶ τὸ τέλος ἔρχωνται τῆς ἐνθάδε ζωῆς, οὐκέτι ὁμοίως αὐτοῖς εὐκαταφρόνητος φανεῖται τῶν λογίων ἡ θεία θεσμοθεσία,