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glorified, not having glory from any other, but being himself the cause of all glory and of every good thing; incomprehensible light, incomparable sweetness, inconceivable beauty, abyss of goodness, unsearchable wisdom, infinitely powerful power, alone worthy to be marveled at, worshipped, glorified, and desired for his own sake. The third mode is that of thanksgiving for the good things that have come to us; for all beings owe thanks to God and to offer perpetual worship, because from him all things have their being and in him they consist, and he imparts his own gifts to all abundantly even without being asked, and wills all to be saved and to partake of his own goodness, and is long-suffering with us when we sin, and makes his sun rise on the just and the unjust and sends rain on the evil and the good, and because the Son of God for our sake became as we are and made us partakers of the divine nature, for "we shall be like him," as John the Theologian says in his catholic epistle. The fourth mode is that of need and hope for benefits, in which, recognizing that we can do nothing or have any good thing apart from him, we worship, each asking from him what he feels he lacks and what he desires, both to be delivered from evils and to obtain good things. The fifth mode is that of repentance and confession; for when we sin we worship and fall down before God, praying that our offenses be forgiven, as grateful servants. And this mode is threefold: for one is either grieved out of love, or so as not to fail to receive God's benefits, or in fear of punishments. And the first is from gratitude and longing for God himself and of a filial disposition, the second of a hired servant's, and the third of a slave's. How many things to be worshipped do we find in Scripture and in how many ways do we offer worship to created things? First, those in whom God, who alone is holy and "who rests in the saints," has rested, such as the holy Theotokos and all the saints. These are they who have been made like God as far as is possible, both by their own choice and by God's indwelling and cooperation, who are also truly called gods, not by nature, but by adoption, just as red-hot iron is called fire, not by nature, but by adoption and participation in fire; for He says: "You shall be holy, for I am holy." This first, choice. Then, for everyone who chooses the good, God cooperates for the good, then "I will dwell in them and walk among them," and "we are temples of God and the Spirit of God dwells in us," then "he gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction," and "whatever I do, you also will do, and greater things than these you will do," then "'As I live,' says the Lord, 'I will glorify those who glorify me'," and "if we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him," and "God has stood in the assembly of the gods; in the midst he judges gods." Just as, therefore, they are truly gods, not by nature, but as partakers of the God by nature, so also are they to be worshipped, not by nature, but as having within themselves him who is by nature to be worshipped, just as red-hot iron is not by nature unapproachable to the touch and caustic, but as partaking of that which is caustic by nature. They are worshipped, therefore, as having been glorified by God, as having been made by God fearsome to their adversaries and benefactors to those who approach in faith, not as gods and benefactors by nature, but as servants and ministers of God and as having obtained boldness toward him out of love. We worship them, therefore, because the king is honored when he sees his beloved servant being worshipped, not as king, but as an obedient minister and a benevolent friend. And those who approach in faith receive their requests, whether the servant asks this from the king, or the king accepts the honor and the faith of the one asking through the servant

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δεδοξασμένος οὐκ ἔκ τινος ἔχων τὴν δόξαν, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ὢν πάσης δόξης αἴτιος καὶ παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ φῶς ἀκατάληπτον, γλυκασμὸς ἀνείκαστος, κάλλος ἀμήχανον, ἀγαθότητος ἄβυσσος, σοφία ἀνεξιχνίαστος, ἀπειροδύναμος δύναμις, μόνος ἄξιος δι' ἑαυτὸν θαυμάζεσθαι προσκυνεῖσθαί τε καὶ δοξάζεσθαι καὶ ποθεῖσθαι. Τρίτος τρόπος ὁ τῆς εὐχαριστίας ὑπὲρ τῶν γεγονότων εἰς ἡμᾶς ἀγαθῶν· πάντα γὰρ τὰ ὄντα χρεωστεῖ εὐχαριστεῖν τῷ θεῷ καὶ προσφέρειν ἀένναον προσκύνησιν, ὅτι τε ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἔχει τὸ εἶναι τὰ πάντα καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ συνίσταται καὶ πᾶσι μεταδίδωσιν ἀφθόνως τῶν ἑαυτοῦ δωρεῶν καὶ δίχα αἰτήσεως καὶ θέλει πάντας σωθῆναι καὶ μετέχειν τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἀγαθότητος καὶ μακροθυμεῖ ἐφ' ἡμῖν ἁμαρτάνουσι καὶ ἀνατέλλει τὸν ἥλιον ἐπὶ δικαίους καὶ ἀδίκους καὶ βρέχει ἐπὶ πονηροὺς καὶ ἀγαθοὺς καὶ ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ δι' ἡμᾶς καθ' ἡμᾶς γέγονε καὶ θείας κοινωνοὺς φύσεως ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς, ὅτι «ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα», ὥς φησιν Ἰωάννης ὁ θεολόγος ἐν τῇ καθολικῇ ἐπιστολῇ. Τέταρτος τρόπος ὁ κατ' ἔνδειαν καὶ ἐλπίδα εὐεργεσιῶν, καθ' ἃς ἐπιγινώσκοντες, ὡς οὐ δυνάμεθα ἐκτὸς αὐτοῦ ποιεῖν οὐδὲν ἢ ἔχειν ἀγαθόν, προσκυνοῦμεν αἰτοῦντες παρ' αὐτοῦ ἕκαστος, οὗ αἰσθάνεται ἐνδεῶς ἔχειν καὶ ὃ ποθεῖ, ῥυσθῆναί τε κακῶν καὶ τυχεῖν ἀγαθῶν. Πέμπτος τρόπος ὁ τῆς μετανοίας καὶ τῆς ἐξομολογήσεως· ἁμαρτάνοντες γὰρ προσκυνοῦμεν καὶ προσπίπτομεν τῷ θεῷ δεόμενοι συγχωρηθῆναι τὰ πταίσματα ὡς δοῦλοι εὐγνώμονες. Καὶ οὗτος ὁ τρόπος τρισσός ἐστιν· ἢ γὰρ κατ' ἀγάπην λυπεῖταί τις ἢ ὡς μὴ ἀποτύχῃ τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ εὐεργεσιῶν ἢ δεδιὼς τὰς κολάσεις. Καὶ ἔστιν ὁ μὲν πρῶτος ἐξ εὐγνωμοσύνης καὶ πόθου αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ υἱϊκῆς διαθέσεως, ὁ δεύτερος μισθωτικῆς, ὁ δὲ τρίτος δουλικῆς. Πόσα τὰ προσκυνούμενα εὑρίσκομεν ἐν τῇ γραφῇ καὶ κατὰ πόσους τρόπους προσάγομεν προσκύνησιν κτίσμασι; Πρῶτον μέν, ἐφ' οἷς ἀναπέπαυται ὁ θεὸς ὁ μόνος ἅγιος καὶ «ἐν ἁγίοις ἀναπαυόμενος» ὡς τῇ ἁγίᾳ θεοτόκῳ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ἁγίοις. Οὗτοι δέ εἰσιν οἱ κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ὁμοιωθέντες θεῷ ἔκ τε τῆς ἑαυτῶν προαιρέσεως καὶ τῆς θεοῦ ἐνοικήσεως καὶ συνεργίας, οἵτινες καὶ θεοὶ λέγονται ἀληθῶς, οὐ φύσει, ἀλλὰ θέσει, ὡς πῦρ λέγεται ὁ πεπυρακτωμένος σίδηρος, οὐ φύσει, ἀλλὰ θέσει καὶ μεθέξει πυρός· φησὶ γάρ· «Ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, ὅτι ἐγὼ ἅγιός εἰμι.» Τοῦτο πρῶτον, ἡ προαίρεσις. Εἶτα παντὶ τῷ προαιρουμένῳ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ὁ θεὸς συνεργεῖ εἰς τὸ ἀγαθόν, εἶτα «ἐνοικήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω», καὶ «ναοί ἐσμεν θεοῦ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ οἰκεῖ ἐν ἡμῖν», εἶτα «ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν κατὰ πνευμάτων ἀκαθάρτων, ὥστε ἐκβάλλειν αὐτὰ καὶ θεραπεύειν πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ πᾶσαν μαλακίαν», καὶ «ὅσα ποιῶ, καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιήσετε καὶ μείζονα τούτων ποιήσετε», εἶτα «ζῶ ἐγώ», λέγει κύριος, «ἀλλ' ἢ τοὺς δοξάζοντάς με δοξάσω», καὶ «εἴπερ συμπάσχομεν, ἵνα καὶ συνδοξασθῶμεν», καὶ «ὁ θεὸς ἔστη ἐν συναγωγῇ θεῶν· ἐν μέσῳ δὲ θεοὺς διακρινεῖ.» Ὥσπερ τοίνυν ἀληθῶς εἰσι θεοὶ οὐ φύσει, ἀλλ' ὡς τοῦ φύσει θεοῦ μέτοχοι, οὕτως εἰσὶ προσκυνητοί, οὐχὶ φύσει, ἀλλ' ὡς τὸν φύσει προσκυνητὸν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἔχοντες, ὥσπερ ὁ πεπυρακτωμένος σίδηρος οὐ φύσει ἐστὶν ἀπρόσιτος ἁφῇ καὶ καυστικός, ἀλλ' ὡς μετέχων τοῦ φύσει καυστικοῦ. Προσκυνοῦνται οὖν ὡς δεδοξασμένοι ὑπὸ θεοῦ, ὡς ὑπὸ θεοῦ γενόμενοι τοῖς ὑπεναντίοις φοβεροὶ καὶ εὐεργέται τοῖς πίστει προσιοῦσιν οὐχ ὡς φύσει θεοῖς καὶ εὐεργέταις, ἀλλ' ὡς θεράπουσι καὶ λειτουργοῖς θεοῦ καὶ τὴν ἐξ ἀγάπης πρὸς αὐτὸν εὐμοιρήσασι παρρησίαν. Προσκυνοῦμεν οὖν αὐτοῖς, ἐπειδὴ θεραπεύεται ὁ βασιλεὺς θεωρῶν προσκυνούμενον τὸν ἠγαπημένον αὐτῷ θεράποντα οὐχ ὡς βασιλέα, ἀλλ' ὡς λειτουργὸν ὑπήκοον καὶ εὐνοϊκὸν φίλον. Καὶ λαμβάνουσι τὰς αἰτήσεις οἱ προσιόντες πίστει, εἴτε τοῦ θεράποντος αἰτοῦντος τοῦτο παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως, εἴτε τοῦ βασιλέως ἀποδεχομένου τὴν τιμὴν καὶ τὴν πίστιν τοῦ ζητοῦντος παρὰ τοῦ θεράποντος