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in truth. For that the serpent was slain on the tree above while the world was watching, this is the wondrous thing. For what did the devil not do, so that He might die unnoticed? Hear Pilate saying: Take him yourselves, and crucify him; for I find no fault in him. And again the Jews said to him, If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. Therefore, since He received a mortal blow, and did not come down, for this reason He was also given over to burial; since it was possible to rise immediately, but it was so that the matter might be believed. And yet in the deaths of private persons it is possible to allege faintheartedness; but here, not even this. For the soldiers did not break his legs, as they did those of the others, so that it might be manifest that he had died. And those who buried the body are manifest; for this reason the Jews themselves seal the stone with the soldiers. For this was the thing most earnestly sought of all, that it not be obscured. And the witnesses, from the enemies, from the Jews. Hear them saying to Pilate: That deceiver said while still living: After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the tomb be guarded by the soldiers. And when they sealed it, this came to pass. But hear them saying this also afterwards to the apostles: You wish to bring this man's blood upon us. The manner of his cross he did not allow to be shamed. For since the angels have suffered nothing of the sort, for this reason he does all things on this behalf, showing that death has accomplished a great thing; for it has become like a single combat. Death struck Christ, but Christ, having been struck, afterwards destroyed him; with a dead body was destroyed he who seemed to be immortal; and this the inhabited world saw. And the wondrous thing indeed is, he did not permit this to another; but another handwriting has been made again, not such as the former one. δʹ. See then that we not be caught by this after saying: I renounce you, Satan, and I unite myself to you, O Christ. Rather, this would not be called a handwriting, but a covenant. For a handwriting is when someone is held liable for debts; but this is a covenant; it does not have a penalty, nor does it say: If this, or not this. Moses, sprinkling the blood of the covenant, spoke thus, and God promised eternal life. All these things are a covenant. There a slave to a master, here a friend to a friend; there, In whatsoever day you eat, he says, you shall die; immediately a threat; but here, nothing of the sort. Here nakedness, and there nakedness; but there, having sinned he was stripped naked, because he had sinned; but here, in order to be set free, he is stripped naked. Then he was stripped of the glory which he had; now this one puts off the old man, and before stepping in, he puts it off as easily as his garments. He is anointed, like athletes about to enter the stadium. For he is born at once, and not like that first one, little by little, but immediately; not like the priests of old on the head only, but rather more so. For that one, the head, the right ear, the hand, so as to rouse him to obedience and good works; but this one, the whole. For he does not come only to be taught, but also to contend and to be trained, he is led up into another creation. For when he confesses unto eternal life, he has confessed another creation. He took dust from the earth, and formed man; but henceforth no longer dust, but Holy Spirit; by this he is formed, by this he is fashioned, just as He himself was in the womb of the Virgin. He did not say, in paradise, but, in heaven. For do not, because earth lies beneath, think it is on earth; he has been translated there to heaven; there these things happen among angels; God takes your soul above, he refashions it above, he places you beside the royal throne. He is formed in the water, but receives a spirit in place of a soul. And after being formed he does not bring beasts to him, but

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τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. Τὸ γὰρ τοῦ κόσμου ὁρῶντος ἄνω ἐν τῷ ξύλῳ τὸν ὄφιν σφαγιασθῆναι, τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ θαυμαστόν. Καὶ τί γὰρ οὐκ ἐποίησεν ὁ διάβολος, ὥστε λαθόντα αὐτὸν ἀποθανεῖν; Ἄκουε τοῦ Πιλάτου λέγοντος· Ἄρατε αὐτὸν ὑμεῖς, καὶ σταυρώσατε· ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐδεμίαν αἰτίαν ἐν αὐτῷ εὑρίσκω. Καὶ πάλιν Ἰουδαῖοι ἔλεγον αὐτῷ, Εἰ Υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, κατάβηθι ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ. Λοιπὸν οὖν ἐπειδὴ καιρίαν ἔλαβε, καὶ οὐ κατέβη, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ταφῇ παρεδόθη· ἐπεὶ δυνατὸν ἦν εὐθέως ἀναστῆναι, ἀλλ' ἵνα πιστευθῇ τὸ πρᾶγμα. Καίτοι ἐν μὲν ταῖς ἰδιωτικαῖς τελευταῖς ἔνεστιν ὀλιγοψυχίαν αἰτιάσασθαι· ἐνταῦθα δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτο. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ οἱ στρατιῶται οὐ κατέαξαν αὐτοῦ τὰ σκέλη, καθάπερ τῶν ἄλλων, ἵνα φανερωθῇ ὅτι τέθνηκε. Καὶ φανεροί εἰσιν οἱ τὸ σῶμα θάψαντες· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ αὐτοὶ σφραγίζονται οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι τὸν λίθον μετὰ τῶν στρατιωτῶν. Τὸ γὰρ μάλιστα πάντων σπουδαζόμενον τοῦτο ἦν, τὸ μὴ συσκιασθῆναι. Καὶ οἱ μάρτυρες, παρὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν, παρὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων. Ἄκουε αὐτῶν λεγόντων τῷ Πιλάτῳ· Εἶπεν ὁ πλάνος ἐκεῖνος ἔτι ζῶν· Μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἐγείρομαι. Κέλευσον οὖν παρὰ τῶν στρατιωτῶν φυλαχθῆναι τὸν τάφον. Κἀκείνων σφραγιζομένων τοῦτο ἐγένετο. Ἄκουε δὲ αὐτῶν τοῦτο καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα λεγόντων τοῖς ἀποστόλοις· Βούλεσθε ἐπαγαγεῖν ἐφ' ἡμᾶς τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τούτου. Τὸν τρόπον αὐτοῦ τοῦ σταυροῦ οὐκ ἀφῆκεν αἰσχύνεσθαι. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οἱ ἄγγελοι οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον πεπόνθασι, διὰ τοῦτο ὑπὲρ τούτου πάντα ποιεῖ, δεικνὺς ὅτι μέγα κατώρθωσεν ὁ θάνατος· ὥσπερ γὰρ μονομαχεῖον γέγονεν. Ἔπληξε τὸν Χριστὸν ὁ θάνατος, ἀλλ' ὁ Χριστὸς πληγεὶς, ὕστερον αὐτὸν ἀνεῖλε· νεκρῷ σώματι κατελύετο ὁ δοκῶν ἀθάνατος εἶναι· καὶ τοῦτο ἡ οἰκουμένη ἑώρα. Καὶ τὸ δὴ θαυμαστὸν, οὐκ ἐπέτρεψεν ἑτέρῳ τοῦτο· ἀλλὰ γέγονεν ἕτερον χειρόγραφον πάλιν, οὐ τοιοῦτον, οἷον τὸ πρότερον. δʹ. Ὁρᾶτε οὖν μὴ τούτῳ ἁλῶμεν μετὰ τὸ εἰπεῖν· Ἀποτάσσομαι τῷ Σατανᾷ, καὶ συντάσσομαι σοὶ, Χριστέ. Μᾶλλον δὲ οὐκ ἂν κληθῇ τοῦτο χειρόγραφον, ἀλλὰ συνθήκη. Χειρόγραφον γάρ ἐστιν, ὅταν τις ὀφλημάτων ὑπεύθυνος κατέχηται· τοῦτο δὲ συνθήκη ἐστίν· οὐκ ἔχει τιμωρίαν, οὐδὲ λέγει· Ἐὰν τόδε, ἢ μὴ τόδε. Ὁ τὸ αἷμα τῆς διαθήκης ῥαντίζων Μωϋσῆς εἶπεν οὕτω, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἐπηγγείλατο. Ταῦτα πάντα συνθήκη ἐστίν. Ἐκεῖ δοῦλος πρὸς δεσπότην, ἐνταῦθα φίλος πρὸς φίλον· ἐκεῖ, Ἧ ἂν ἡμέρᾳ φάγῃ, φησὶν, ἀποθανῇ· εὐθέως ἀπειλή· ἐνταῦθα δὲ οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον. Ἐνταῦθα γυμνότης, κἀκεῖ γυμνότης· ἀλλ' ἐκεῖ μὲν ἁμαρτήσας ἐγυμνώθη, ἐπειδὴ ἥμαρτεν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ, ἵνα ἀπαλλαγῇ, γυμνοῦται. Ἀπεδύσατο τότε τὴν δόξαν, ἣν εἶχεν ἐκεῖνος· ἀποδύεται νῦν τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον οὗτος, καὶ πρὶν ἢ ἐπιβῆναι, οὕτως εὐκόλως ἀποδύεται, ὥσπερ τὰ ἱμάτια. Ἀλείφεται, ὥσπερ οἱ ἀθληταὶ εἰς στάδιον ἐμβησόμενοι. Ἅμα γὰρ τίκτεται, καὶ οὐ καθάπερ ἐκεῖνος ὁ πρῶτος κατὰ μικρὸν, ἀλλ' εὐθέως· οὐ καθάπερ οἱ ἱερεῖς τὸ παλαιὸν τὴν κεφαλὴν μόνον, μᾶλλον δὲ μειζόνως. Ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ τὴν κεφαλὴν, τὸ οὖς τὸ δεξιὸν, τὴν χεῖρα, ἵνα καὶ πρὸς ὑπακοὴν καὶ ἔργα ἀγαθὰ αὐτὸν διεγείρῃ· οὗτος δὲ τὸ πᾶν. Οὐ γὰρ διδαχθησόμενος ἔρχεται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀθλήσων καὶ γυμνασθησόμενος εἰς ἑτέραν ἀνάγεται κτίσιν. Ὅταν γὰρ ὁμολογῇ εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον, ὡμολόγησεν ἑτέραν κτίσιν. Ἔλαβε χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἔπλασε τὸν ἄνθρωπον· λοιπὸν δὲ οὐκέτι χοῦν, ἀλλὰ Πνεῦμα ἅγιον· τούτῳ πλάττεται, τούτῳ ῥυθμίζεται, καθάπερ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τῇ μήτρᾳ τῆς Παρθένου. Οὐκ εἶπεν, ἐν παραδείσῳ, ἀλλ', ἐν οὐρανῷ. Μὴ γὰρ, ἐπειδὴ γῆ ὑπόκειται, νομίσῃς εἶναι ἐν γῇ· μετέστη ἐκεῖ πρὸς τὸν οὐρανόν· ἐκεῖ ταῦτα γίνεται μεταξὺ ἀγγέλων· ἄνω σου λαμβάνει τὴν ψυχὴν ὁ Θεὸς, ἄνω μεταῤῥυθμίζει, παρὰ τὸν θρόνον ἱστᾷ σε τὸν βασιλικόν. Πλάττεται ἐν τῷ ὕδατι, λαμβάνει δὲ ἀντίψυχον πνεῦμα. Μετὰ δὲ τὸ πλασθῆναι οὐκ ἄγει πρὸς αὐτὸν θηρία, ἀλλὰ