25

shall I worship and honor him through the honor and worship of his icon? Abraham saw not the nature of God ('for no one has ever seen God'), but an icon of God, and falling down, he worshipped. Joshua son of Nun saw not the nature of an angel, but an icon (for the nature of an angel is not seen with bodily eyes), and falling down, he worshipped, likewise also Daniel (but an angel is not God, but a creature and servant of God and an attendant), but he worshipped not as God, but as an attendant and minister of God. And shall I not make an icon of the friends of Christ and not worship, not as gods, but as icons of the friends of God? For neither Joshua nor Daniel worshipped the angels they saw as gods, nor do I worship the icon as God, but through the icon and the saints I offer worship and honor to God, for whose sake I also revere his friends and hold them in veneration. God was not united to the nature of angels, but was united to the nature of men. God did not become an angel, but God became by nature and in truth a man. 'For surely he does not help angels, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.' The nature of angels did not become Son of God by hypostasis, but the nature of man became Son of God by hypostasis. Angels did not partake nor did they become partakers of the divine nature, but of energy and grace, but men partake and become partakers of the divine nature, as many as receive the holy body of Christ and drink his precious blood; for it is united to divinity by hypostasis, and two natures in the body of Christ received by us are united by hypostasis inseparably, and we partake of the two natures, of the body bodily, of the divinity spiritually, or rather of both in both ways, not being identified by hypostasis (for we exist first and then are united), but by the co-mingling of the body and blood. And how are not those who preserve the union sincere through the keeping of the commandments greater than angels? Our nature indeed is made a little lower than the angels because of death and the denseness of the body, but by the good pleasure and conjunction of God it has become greater than angels; for angels stand by it with fear and trembling as it sits on the throne of glory in Christ and will stand by terrified at the judgment; they were not said by scripture to be co-rulers or partakers of the divine glory ('for are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation') nor that they will reign together, nor that they will be glorified together, nor that they will sit at the table of the Father, but the saints are sons of God, sons of the kingdom and heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. Therefore I honor the saints and I glorify together the servants and friends and co-heirs of Christ, servants by nature and friends by choice and sons and heirs by divine grace, as the Lord says to the Father. Having spoken, therefore, concerning the icon, let us speak also concerning worship, and first, what is worship. Concerning worship, what is worship? Worship, therefore, is a sign of submission, that is, of subjection and humiliation. And there are very many modes of worship. How many modes of worship? The first mode of worship is that of adoration, which we offer only to God who is by nature to be worshipped, and this in different ways. First, that of servitude; for all created things worship him as servants a master, 'for all things,' it says, 'are your servants,' and some willingly, others unwillingly. Some with knowledge worship willingly, like the pious, but others who know and are unwilling worship unwillingly, like the demons; others, not knowing the God by nature, worship unwillingly the one they do not know. A second mode is that of wonder and longing, according to which we worship God because of his natural glory; for he alone is

25

προσκυνήσω καὶ τιμήσω αὐτὸν διὰ τῆς εἰς τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ τιμῆς καὶ προσκυνήσεως; Εἶδεν Ἀβραὰμ οὐ φύσιν θεοῦ («θεὸν γὰρ οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε»), ἀλλ' εἰκόνα θεοῦ καὶ πεσὼν προσεκύνησεν. Εἶδεν Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ναυῆ οὐ φύσιν ἀγγέλου, ἀλλ' εἰκόνα (φύσις γὰρ ἀγγέλου σωματικοῖς οὐχ ὁρᾶται ὀφθαλμοῖς) καὶ πεσὼν προσεκύνησεν, ὁμοίως καὶ ∆ανιήλ (ἄγγελος δὲ οὐ θεός, ἀλλὰ κτίσμα καὶ δοῦλος θεοῦ καὶ παραστάτης), προσεκύνησε δὲ οὐχ ὡς θεῷ, ἀλλ' ὡς θεοῦ παραστάτῃ καὶ λειτουργῷ. Κἀγὼ μὴ ποιήσω εἰκόνα τῶν φίλων τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ μὴ προσκυνήσω οὐχ ὡς θεοῖς, ἀλλ' ὡς εἰκόσι φίλων θεοῦ; Οὔτε γὰρ Ἰησοῦς οὔτε ∆ανιὴλ ὡς θεοῖς προσεκύνησαν τοῖς ὀφθεῖσιν ἀγγέλοις, οὐδὲ ἐγὼ ὡς θεῷ προσκυνῶ τῇ εἰκόνι, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς εἰκόνος καὶ τῶν ἁγίων τῷ θεῷ προσάγω τὴν προσκύνησιν καὶ τὴν τιμήν, δι' ὃν καὶ τοὺς αὐτοῦ φίλους σέβω καὶ δι' αἰδοῦς ἄγω. Οὐχ ἡνώθη φύσει ἀγγέ λων ὁ θεός, ἡνώθη δὲ φύσει ἀνθρώπων. Οὐκ ἐγένετο ὁ θεὸς ἄγγελος, ἐγένετο δὲ ὁ θεὸς φύσει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ ἄνθρωπος. «Οὐ γὰρ δή που ἀγγέλων ἐπιλαμβάνεται, ἀλλὰ σπέρματος Ἀβραὰμ ἐπιλαμβάνεται.» Οὐκ ἐγένετο φύσις ἀγγέλων υἱὸς θεοῦ καθ' ὑπόστασιν, ἐγένετο δὲ φύσις ἀνθρώπου υἱὸς θεοῦ καθ' ὑπόστασιν. Οὐ μετέσχον ἄγγελοι οὐδὲ ἐγένοντο θείας κοινωνοὶ φύσεως, ἀλλ' ἐνεργείας καὶ χάριτος, ἄνθρωποι δὲ μετέχουσι καὶ κοινωνοὶ θείας φύσεως γίνονται, ὅσοι μεταλαμβάνουσι τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸ ἅγιον καὶ πίνουσι τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ τὸ τίμιον· θεότητι γὰρ καθ' ὑπόστασιν ἥνωται καὶ δύο φύσεις ἐν τῷ μεταλαμβανομένῳ ὑφ' ἡμῶν σώματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡνωμέναι καθ' ὑπόστασίν εἰσιν ἀδιασπάστως καὶ τῶν δύο φύσεων μετέχομεν, τοῦ σώματος σωματικῶς, τῆς θεότητος πνευματικῶς, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀμφοῖν κατ' ἄμφω, οὐ καθ' ὑπόστασιν ταυτιζόμενοι (ὑφιστάμεθα γὰρ πρῶτον καὶ τότε ἑνούμεθα), ἀλλὰ κατὰ συνανάκρασιν τοῦ σώματος καὶ αἵματος. Καὶ πῶς οὐ μείζονες ἀγγέλων οἱ φυλάττοντες διὰ τῆς τηρήσεως τῶν ἐντολῶν εἰλικρινῆ τὴν ἕνωσιν; Ἡ μὲν φύσις ἡμῶν βραχύ τι παρ' ἀγγέλους ἠλαττωμένη διὰ τὸν θάνατον καὶ τὴν τοῦ σώματος παχύτητα, ἀλλ' εὐδοκίᾳ καὶ συναφείᾳ θεοῦ γέγονεν ἀγγέλων μείζων· παρίστανται γὰρ αὐτῇ μετὰ φόβου καὶ τρόμου ἄγγελοι καθημένῃ ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου τῆς δόξης ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ καὶ παραστήσονται ἔντρομοι ἐν τῇ κρίσει· οὐ συγκαθεύδοντες οὐδὲ κοινωνοὶ τῆς θείας δόξης ὑπὸ τῆς γραφῆς ἐρρήθησαν («εἰσὶ γὰρ πάντες λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα, εἰς διακονίαν ἀποστελλόμενα διὰ τοὺς μέλλοντας κληρονομεῖν σωτηρίαν») οὐδ' ὅτι συμβασιλεύσουσιν οὐδ' ὅτι συνδοξασθήσονται οὐδ' ὅτι ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης τοῦ πατρὸς καθίσουσιν, οἱ δὲ ἅγιοι υἱοὶ θεοῦ, υἱοὶ τῆς βασιλείας καὶ κληρονόμοι θεοῦ καὶ συγκληρονόμοι Χριστοῦ. Τιμῶ οὖν τοὺς ἁγίους καὶ συνδοξάζω τοὺς δούλους καὶ φίλους καὶ συγκληρονόμους Χριστοῦ, τοὺς δούλους ἐκ φύσεως καὶ φίλους ἐκ προαιρέσεως καὶ υἱοὺς καὶ κληρονόμους ἐκ θείας χάριτος, ὥς φησιν ὁ κύριος πρὸς τὸν πατέρα. Εἰπόντες τοίνυν περὶ εἰκόνος εἴπωμεν καὶ περὶ προσκυνήσεως, καὶ πρῶτον, τί ἐστι προσκύνησις. Περὶ προσκυνήσεως, τί ἐστι προσκύνησις; Προσκύνησις τοίνυν ἐστὶ σημεῖον ὑποπτώσεως, τουτέστιν ὑποβάσεως καὶ ταπεινώσεως. Τρόποι δὲ προσκυνήσεώς εἰσι πλεῖστοι. Πόσοι τρόποι προσκυνήσεως; Πρῶτος τρόπος προσκυνήσεως ὁ κατὰ λατρείαν, ἣν προσάγομεν μόνῳ τῷ φύσει προσκυνητῷ θεῷ, καὶ οὗτος κατὰ διαφόρους τρόπους. Πρῶτον μὲν κατὰ τὸν τῆς δουλείας· προσκυνοῦσι γὰρ αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ κτίσματα ὡς δοῦλοι δεσπότῃ, «ὅτι τὰ σύμπαντα» γάρ, φησί, «δοῦλα σά», καὶ οἱ μὲν ἑκουσίως, οἱ δὲ ἀκουσίως. Οἱ μὲν γνώσει ἑκουσίως προσκυνοῦσιν ὡς οἱ εὐσεβεῖς, οἱ δὲ ἐπιγινώσκοντες καὶ μὴ θέλοντες ἀκουσίως προσκυνοῦσιν ὡς οἱ δαίμονες· ἄλλοι μὴ εἰδότες τὸν φύσει θεὸν προσκυνοῦσιν ἀκουσίως, ὃν ἀγνοοῦσιν. ∆εύτερος τρόπος ὁ κατὰ θαῦμα καὶ πόθον, καθ' ὃν προσκυνοῦμεν τῷ θεῷ διὰ τὴν φυσικὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ· μόνος γάρ ἐστι