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a certain universal one, and having shone upon the whole world, when “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”; for “He was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” However, one must know that he also visited before, even if not bodily, in each of the saints, and after this visible visitation of his, he again visits us. And if you wish to receive proof of these things, pay attention to “the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: Hear” and what follows. For who is “the word that came from the Lord” whether to Jeremiah or to Isaiah or to Ezekiel or to whomever <or> he who was “in the beginning” “with God”? I know no other Word of the Lord than this one, about whom the evangelist said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And we must know these things, that for each of those who can especially benefit, there is a visitation of the Word. For what benefit is it to me, if the Word has visited the world, but I do not have him? And on the contrary, even if he has not yet visited the whole world, grant that I have become like the prophets, I have the Word. And I would say that the Christ came to Moses, to Jeremiah, to Isaiah, to each of the righteous, and what was said by him to the disciples, “Behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age,” was in effect preserved and came to be even before his visitation; for he was with Moses and he was with Isaiah and with each of the saints; how could they have spoken a word of God if the Word of God had not visited them? And it is especially necessary for these things to be known by us churchmen, who wish God of the law and of the gospel to be the same, the Christ to be the same both then and now <and> for all ages; but there will be those who separate the divinity that is older than the visitation of the Savior, as far as it is in their own opinion, from the divinity announced by Jesus Christ, but we know one God both then and now, one Christ both then and now. These things because of “the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying”; what then should we also hear? “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” We are men of Judah through Christ; “for it is evident that our Lord has sprung from Judah,” and if I present the name of Judah according to the scripture as referring to Christ, the Jews who disbelieve in Christ will not be men of Judah, but we who believe in Christ. “Judah, let your brothers praise you; your hands are on the back of your enemies”; “let them praise you”; that Judah, the son of Jacob, his brothers did not praise, but this Judah the brothers will praise, since this Judah says: “I will declare your name to my brothers, in the midst of the church I will sing your praise.” It is not said to that Judah, “Your hands are on the back of your enemies.” Where is that Judah found placing his hands on the back of his enemies? History has recorded no such thing about him; but if you understand the visitation of the Lord Jesus “destroying” the devil, “disarming the principalities and powers and making a public example of them, triumphing over them on the cross,” you see how the prophecy that says, “Your hands are on the back of your enemies,” has been fulfilled in this Judah. If this is so, and the Word now speaks “to the men of Judah,” to whom would it speak if not to us who believe in Christ, who is in a way also called Judah because of the tribe of Judah? 9.2 “To the men of Judah” the word is spoken “and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” This is the church; for the church is “the city of God,” the Vision of Peace, in it is the peace which he brought to us, if indeed we are children of peace, it is multiplied and is seen. “Hear” therefore “the words of the

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καθολική τις καὶ ἐπιλάμψασα ὅλῳ τῷ κόσμῳ, ὅτε «ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν»· «Ἦν» γὰρ «τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμε νον εἰς τὸν κόσμον· ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἦν, καὶ ὁ κόσμος δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ ὁ κόσμος αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔγνω· εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἦλθεν, καὶ οἱ ἴδιοι αὐτὸν οὐ παρέλαβον.» Χρὴ μέντοιγε εἰδέναι ὅτι καὶ πρότερον ἐπεδήμει, εἰ καὶ μὴ σωματικῶς, ἐν ἑκάστῳ τῶν ἁγίων, καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἐπιδημίαν αὐτοῦ ταύτην τὴν βλεπομένην πάλιν ἡμῖν ἐπιδημεῖ. Καὶ εἰ βούλει τούτων ἀπόδειξιν λαβεῖν, πρόσεχε τῷ «ὁ λόγος ὁ γενόμενος πρὸς Ἱερεμίαν παρὰ κυρίου λέγων· ἀκούσατε» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Τίς γάρ ἐστιν «ὁ λόγος ὁ γενόμενος παρὰ κυρίου» εἴτε πρὸς Ἱερεμίαν εἴτε πρὸς Ἡσαΐαν εἴτε πρὸς Ἰεζεκιὴλ εἴτε πρὸςὁνδήποτε <ἢ> ὁ «ἐν ἀρχῇ» «πρὸς τὸν θεόν»; Ἐγὼ οὐκ οἶδα ἄλλον λόγον κυρίου ἢ τοῦτον, περὶ οὗ εἴρηκεν ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς τὸ «ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος». Καὶ ταῦτα δὲ ἡμᾶς εἰδέναι χρή, ὅτι οὓς μάλιστα ἔστιν ὄνασθαι, πρὸς ἕκαστον ἐπιδημία ἐστὶν τοῦ λόγου. Τί γάρ μοι ὄφελος, εἰ ἐπιδεδήμηκεν ὁ λόγος τῷ κόσμῳ, ἐγὼ δὲ αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔχω; Ἐκ δὲ τοῦ ἐναντίου, εἰ καὶ μηδέπω ὅλῳ τῷ κόσμῳ ἐπιδεδήμηκεν, δὸς δέ με γεγονέναι κατὰ τοὺς προ φήτας, ἐγὼ ἔχω τὸν λόγον. Καὶ εἴποιμι ἂν ὅτι ὁ Χριστὸς γέγονε πρὸς Μωσέα, πρὸς Ἱερεμίαν, πρὸς Ἡσαΐαν, πρὸς ἕκαστον τῶν δικαίων, καὶ τὸ εἰρημένον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητάς· «Ἰδού, ἐγώ εἰμι μεθ' ὑμῶν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος», ἔργῳ ἐσῴζετο καὶ ἐγίνετο καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἐπιδημίας αὐτοῦ· ἦν γὰρ μετὰ Μωσέως καὶ ἦν μετὰ Ἡσαΐου καὶ μετὰ ἑκάστου τῶν ἁγίων· πῶς δύνανται ἐκεῖνοι λόγον θεοῦ λελαληκέναι τοῦ λόγου τοῦ θεοῦ μὴ ἐπιδημήσαντος αὐτοῖς; Ταῦτα δὲ μάλιστα καθ' ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἐκκλησιαστικοὺς ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστιν γινώσκεσθαι, οἵτινες θέλομεν τὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι θεὸν νόμου καὶ εὐαγγελίου, τὸν αὐτὸν Χριστὸν καὶ τότε καὶ νῦν <καὶ> εἰς πάντας τοὺς αἰῶνας· ἔσονται δὲ οἱ διακόπτοντες τὴν θεότητα τὴν πρεσ βυτέραν τῆς ἐπιδημίας τοῦ σωτῆρος, ὅσον ἐπὶ τῇ ἑαυ τῶν ὑπολήψει, ἀπὸ τῆς θεότητος τῆς ἀπαγγελλομένης ὑπὸ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἕνα οἴδαμεν θεὸν καὶ τότε καὶ νῦν, ἕνα Χριστὸν καὶ τότε καὶ νῦν. Ταῦτα διὰ τὸ «ὁ λόγος ὁ γενόμενος πρὸς Ἱερεμίαν παρὰ κυρίου λέγων»· τί οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀκούσωμεν; «Ἀκού σατε τοὺς λόγους τῆς διαθήκης ταύτης, καὶ λαλήσατε πρὸς ἄνδρας Ἰούδα καὶ πρὸς τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Ἱερουσαλήμ.» Ἄνδρες Ἰούδα ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν διὰ τὸν Χριστόν· «πρόδηλον γὰρ ὅτι ἐξ Ἰούδα ἀνατέταλκεν ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν», καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Ἰούδα ἐὰν παραστήσω κατὰ τὴν γραφὴν ἐπὶ τὸν Χριστὸν ἀναφερόμενον, ἄνδρες Ἰούδα οἱ ἀπιστοῦντες τῷ Χριστῷ Ἰουδαῖοι οὐκ ἔσονται, ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς ὅσοι πιστεύο μεν ἐπὶ τὸν Χριστόν. «Ἰούδα, σὲ αἰνέσαισαν οἱ ἀδελφοί σου· αἱ χεῖρές σου ἐπὶ νώτου τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου»· «σὲ αἰνέσαισαν»· οὐκ ἐκεῖνον τὸν Ἰούδαν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Ἰακὼβ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ ᾔνεσαν, τοῦτον δὲ τὸν Ἰούδαν αἰνέσουσιν οἱ ἀδελφοί, ἐπεί φησιν οὗτος ὁ Ἰούδας· «∆ιηγήσομαι τὸ ὄνομά σου τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου, ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας ὑμνήσω σε.» Οὐ λέγεται πρὸς ἐκεῖνον τὸν Ἰούδαν· «Αἱ χεῖρές σου ἐπὶ νώτου τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου.» Ποῦ εὑρίσκεται ἐπὶ νώτου τῶν ἐχθρῶν τὰς χεῖρας ἐκεῖνος ὁ Ἰούδας ἐπιτιθείς; Ἡ ἱστορία οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον ἀνέγραψεν περὶ αὐτοῦ· ἐὰν δὲ νοήσῃς τὴν ἐπιδημίαν τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ «καταργοῦντος» τὸν διάβολον, «ἀπεκδυομένου τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς ἐξουσίας καὶ δειγματίζοντος καὶ θριαμβεύοντος ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ», ὁρᾷς πῶς ἐπὶ τοῦτον τὸν Ἰούδαν πεπλήρωται ἡ λέγουσα προφητεία· «Αἱ χεῖρές σου ἐπὶ νώτου τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου.» Εἰ τοῦθ' οὕτως ἔχει, λέγει δὲ ὁ λόγος νῦν «πρὸς ἄνδρας Ἰούδα», πρὸς τίνας ἂν λέγοι ἢ πρὸς ἡμᾶς τοὺς πιστεύοντας ἐπὶ τὸν Χριστόν, διὰ τὴν φυλὴν Ἰούδα λεγόμενόν πως καὶ Ἰούδαν; 9.2 «Πρὸς ἄνδρας Ἰούδα» λέγεται ὁ λόγος «καὶ πρὸς τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Ἱερουσαλήμ». Αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐκκλησία· ἔστιν γὰρ «ἡ πόλις τοῦ θεοῦ» ἡ ἐκκλησία, ἡ Ὅρασις τῆς εἰρήνης, ἐν αὐτῇ ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη ἣν ἤγαγεν ἡμῖν, εἴγε ἐσμὲν τέκνα εἰρήνης, πληθύνεται καὶ ὁρᾶται. «Ἀκούσατε» οὖν «τοὺς λόγους τῆς