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We know that she is called Christ's and bride, as Paul, her bridgeroom's attendant, exclaims: "I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ," and the divine David: "The queen stood at your right hand, clothed in gold-woven apparel, adorned." For even if they say this was spoken of the Theotokos alone (80), yet it is very fitting indeed also for the Church of her Son and God, as the following will show more clearly: "Virginal souls," he says, "will be brought to the king after her; the souls near her will be brought to you; they will be brought with gladness and rejoicing, they will be led into the temple of the king." What then do you suppose this temple to be? Do you think the temple is one house and the king another besides this? By no means. For just as Christ is the head of the Church and God, so also He himself becomes a temple for her, just as again the Church herself has become His temple and a beautiful adornment, as what I have said above makes clear, which must be repeated and said again for a more accurate demonstration.

What are these things? What Christ Himself, the God, said to his own Father concerning the faithful and his very apostles: "I do not ask for these only, but also for all who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one." How one? "Just as you, Father, are in me, that they also may be one in us." Did you see how He Himself has become both king and temple of all who are saved? Learn, therefore, also how again all the faithful, that is, the queen Church and those who have followed after her, will become a temple and an adornment of God and king. And this you will learn first from Christ the king Himself; for He says: "I in them and you, Father, in me, that they may be made perfect in one." And what of Paul his disciple? "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that His Holy Spirit dwells in you?" . Do you see the Apostle's sayings agreeing with the Lord's words with all accuracy, proving the Church to be a temple of the king God and (81) a city and an adornment? Know that it was He who was in the prophets and apostles, and it is He who is speaking in both of these even now.

8. That unless all the predestined throughout the generations are born until

the last day and are fulfilled, the world above will not be filled. ((81) Since the Church is the body of Christ and the bride of Christ and the world above and the temple of God,

the Church is, and all the saints have been established as members of his body, and not yet have all been brought forth or been well-pleasing, neither, clearly, is the body of Christ whole, nor has the world above been filled, this very one of the Church of God, I mean, but many unbelievers are in the world today who will also believe in Christ, many sinners and profligates who will also be changed after repenting, many disobedient who will also be persuaded, many are still even now to be born and will be well-pleasing to God until the last trumpet, all those who were foreknown must be born and brought forth and the world above the world of the Church of the firstborn of Jerusalem in the heavenly places must be filled; and then the end and the fullness of the body of Christ will be filled by those predestined by God to become conformed to the image of His Son; and they are the sons of light and of his day.

All these, therefore, are predestined and enrolled and numbered, who are also to be added and joined to the body of Christ; and then having become, as it were, whole, lacking no member, it will be filled, that is, perfected, just as in truth (82) it seems also to Paul the apostle, who says thus:

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οἴδαμεν καλεῖσθαι Χριστοῦ καί νύμφην, ὡς Παῦλος ὁ ταύτης νυμφαγωγός ἀνακράζει· "Ἡρμοσάμην ὑμᾶς ἑνί ἀνδρί παρθένον ἁγνήν παραστῆσαι τῷ Χριστῷ", καί ∆αβίδ ὁ θεῖος· "Παρέστη ἡ βασίλισσα ἐκ δεξιῶν σου ἐν ἱματισμῷ διαχρύσῳ περιβεβλημένη, πεποικιλμένη". Εἰ γάρ καί περί τῆς Θεοτόκου μόνης (80) τοῦτό φασιν εἰρῆσθαι, ἀλλ᾿ οἰκείως μάλα δή ἔχει καί πρός τήν Ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτῆς καί Θεοῦ, ὡς δηλώσει τρανότερον τά ἑπόμενα· "Ἀπενεχθήσονται, φησί, τῷ βασιλεῖ παρθένοι ψυχαί ὀπίσω αὐτῆς· αἱ πλησίον αὐτῆς ψυχαί ἀπενεχθήσονταί σοι· ἀπενεχθήσονται ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ καί ἀγαλλιάσει, ἀχθήσονται εἰς ναόν βασιλέως". Τίνα οὖν τόν ναόν τοῦτον ὑπολαμβάνεις εἶναι; Ἆρα γε ἕτερόν τινα οἶκον ἐννοεῖς εἶναι τόν ναόν καί ἕτερον παρά τοῦτον τόν βασιλέα; Οὐδαμῶς δή. Ὥσπερ γάρ κεφαλή τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὁ Χριστός ἐστι καί Θεός, οὕτω καί ναός αὐτός ταύτῃ γίνεται, καθά δή πάλιν καί ἡ Ἐκκλησία αὐτή ναός ἐκείνου καί κόσμος ὡραῖος καθέστηκεν, ὡς τά ἀνωτέρω εἰρημένα μοι διατρανοῖ, ἅ καί χρή πάλιν ἐπαναλαβεῖν καί εἰπεῖν εἰς περισσοτέραν ἀκριβείας ἀπόδειξιν.

Ποῖα δή ταῦτα; Ἅ Χριστός αὐτός ὁ Θεός πρός τόν ἑαυτοῦ Πατέρα περί τῶν πιστῶν καί αὐτῶν ἔφη τῶν ἀποστόλων αὐτοῦ· "Οὐ περί τούτων δέ ἐρωτῶ μόνον, ἀλλά καί περί πάντων τῶν πιστευόντων διά τοῦ λόγου αὐτῶν εἰς ἐμέ, ἵνα πάντες ἕν ὦσι". Πῶς ἕν; "Καθώς σύ, πάτερ, ἐν ἐμοί, ἵνα καί αὐτοί ἐν ἡμῖν ἕν ὦσιν". Εἶδες πῶς καί βασιλεύς καί ναός πάντων αὐτός τῶν σῳζομένων καθέστηκε; Μάθε τοιγαροῦν καί ὅπως πάλιν οἱ πιστοί πάντες, ἤτοι ἡ βασίλισσα Ἐκκλησία καί αἱ ὀπίσω αὐτῆς ἀκολουθήσασαι, ναός καί κόσμος τοῦ Θεοῦ καί βασιλέως γενήσονται. Καί τοῦτο πρῶτον ἐξ αὐτοῦ μαθήσῃ τοῦ βασιλέως Χριστοῦ· φησί γάρ· "Ἐγώ ἐν αὐτοῖς καί σύ, πάτερ, ἐν ἐμοί, ἵνα ὦσι τετελειωμένοι εἰς ἕν". Τί δέ ὁ Παῦλος ὁ αὐτοῦ μαθητής; "Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ναός Θεοῦ ἐστε καί τό Πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ τό Ἅγιον οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν;" . Ὁρᾷς συνᾴδοντα τοῖς δεσποτικοῖς ῥήμασι μετά ἀκριβείας ἁπάσης τά τοῦ Ἀποστόλου ῥητά, ναόν τοῦ βασιλέως Θεοῦ καί (81) πόλιν καί κόσμον τήν Ἐκκλησίαν ἀποδεικνύοντα; Γνῶθι ὅτι αὐτός ἦν ὁ ἐν προφήταις καί ἀποστόλοις, καί αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐν ἀμφοτέροις τούτοις λαλῶν καί τά νῦν.

η΄. Ὅτι εἰ μή πάντες οἱ προωρισμένοι κατά γενεάς καί γενεάς τεχθήσονται ἕως

ἐσχάτης ἡμέρας καί πληρωθήσονται, ὁ ἄνω κόσμος οὐ πληρωθήσεται. ((81) Ἐπεί δέ σῶμα Χριστοῦ καί νύμφη Χριστοῦ καί κόσμος ὁ ἄνω καί ναός Θεοῦ ἡ

Ἐκκλησία ἐστί, τά δέ μέλη τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ οἱ ἅγιοι καθεστήκασι πάντες, οὔπω δέ οἱ πάντες παρήχθησαν ἤ εὐηρέστησαν, οὐδέ τό σῶμα δηλονότι ὁλόκληρόν ἐστι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, οὐδέ ὁ ἄνω κόσμος πεπλήρωται, αὐτός οὗτος τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίας φημί, ἀλλά πολλοί μέν εἰσιν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ σήμερον ἄπιστοι οἵ καί πιστεύσουσι τῷ Χριστῷ, πολλοί ἁμαρτωλοί καί ἄσωτοι οἵ καί μεταμεληθήσονται μετανοήσαντες, πολλοί ἀπειθεῖς οἵ καί πεισθήσονται, πολλοί ἔτι καί ἀκμήν τεχθήσονται καί εὐαρεστήσουσιν ἕως τῆς ἐσχάτης σάλπιγγος τῷ Θεῷ, τεχθῆναι δεῖ πάντας τούς προεγνωσμένους καί παραχθῆναι καί πληρωθῆναι τόν ὑπεράνω τοῦ κόσμου κόσμον τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῶν πρωτοτόκων Ἱερουσαλήμ ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις· καί τηνικαῦτα τό τέλος καί τό πλήρωμα τοῦ σώματος Χριστοῦ πληρωθήσεται ὑπό τῶν προωρισμένων Θεῷ εἰς τό συμμόρφους γενέσθαι τῆς εἰκόνος τοῦ Υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ· εἰσί δέ οἱ τοῦ φωτός υἱοί καί τῆς ἡμέρας αὐτοῦ.

Οὗτοι οὖν πάντες προωρισμένοι εἰσί καί ἀπογεγραμμένοι καί ἠριθμημένοι, οἵ καί προστεθῆναι καί κολληθῆναι μέλλουσι τῷ σώματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ· καί τηνικαῦτα ὁλόκληρον οἱονεί γενόμενον, μηδενός μέλους λειπόμενον, πληρωθήσεται ἤγουν τελειωθήσεται, καθά τῇ ἀληθείᾳ (82) δοκεῖ καί Παύλῳ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ οὕτω λέγοντι·