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his own Father and God? For whom else has He made the wedding, if not for His only-begotten Son and God, our Lord Jesus Christ? With what king, then, or of what sort, did the master and lord of all (84) deign to make the marriage contract? For each of us men, wishing to take a bride for his own son, hastens to take the daughter of a more illustrious and more glorious and more wealthy man as a bride. God, then, whom will He find even equal to Himself, that He might take a bride from him for Himself? For the prophet says of Him: "He who holds in His hand the circle of the earth and those who dwell in it as grasshoppers." And another: "The eternal God who has prepared the ends of the earth" and founded its pillars upon nothing. And David: "He who looks upon the earth and makes it tremble." Let us consider, then, whose daughter such a one and so great a one took as a bride and made a wedding for his son. Do you wish to learn whose? But the greatness of the condescension astounds my thought, and while I wish to speak, I shudder; but taking courage in His goodness, we will speak thus. He took for Himself as a bride the daughter of one who had offended Him and had committed adultery and murder, that is to say, of an adulterous murderer.

Have you seen an incomparable and ineffable goodness and condescension? Have you seen an excess of love for mankind? Have you seen the greatness of love and kindness? Learn then from this, everyone who thinks great things of himself, to be humble and modest and never to be arrogant toward anyone, even if you are the most kingly of all kings, or the most illustrious of rulers, or the wealthiest of all the wealthy, seeing the master and lord of all, the holy of holies, the blessed God and only Potentate, who dwells in unapproachable and ineffable light, thus condescending and taking a bride for Himself from one who had offended Him for His only-begotten Son, the invisible, (85) the incomprehensible, the unsearchable, the maker and creator of all things, for you and for your salvation. Who then is the one who committed the murder and the adultery, whose daughter God chose for Himself as a bride? David the son of Jesse, who both killed Uriah and committed adultery with his wife. Therefore, He took his daughter, I mean Mary the most blameless, the most holy and pure virgin, as a bride. But I call her most holy and most blameless in relation to us and the people of that time, comparing her to them and to us her servants, but in relation to her own bridegroom and His Father, a human being, yet holy and most holy and purer and more immaculate than all people of all generations. Her, then, He took and made a wedding for His son. In what manner? Listen attentively.

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, sending forth one of His servants, Gabriel, I mean, the archangel, from His holy height, announces to the Virgin the "hail;" who, having descended, ministers the mystery to the Virgin and says to her: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you." And with the word, the hypostatic and consubstantial and co-eternal Word of God and the Father entered whole into the womb of the maiden and by the coming upon and cooperation of His consubstantial Spirit He took on flesh, endowed with mind and soul, from her pure blood and became man. This, therefore, is the ineffable union and such is the mystical marriage of God and thus the contract of God with men came to be, the one beyond nature and beyond substance being united without confusion to our corruptible and poor substance and nature. The Virgin, therefore, conceived and brought forth from two natures paradoxically, divinity, I say, (86) and humanity, one son, perfect God and perfect man, our Lord Jesus Christ, neither destroying her virginity, nor being separated from the paternal bosom.

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ἑαυτοῦ Πατέρα καί Θεόν; Τίνι δέ ἑτέρῳ τούς γάμους πεποίηκεν, εἰ μή αὐτῷ τῷ μονογενεῖ αὐτοῦ Υἱῷ καί Θεῷ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ τῷ Χριστῷ; Μετά τίνος δέ ἄρα ἤ ποίου βασιλέως ὁ τῶν ἁπάντων δεσπότης καί κύριος τό (84) τῆς μνηστείας κατεδέξατο ποιῆσαι συνάλλαγμα; Ἕκαστος γάρ ἡμῶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων νύμφην τῷ ἑαυτοῦ Υἱῷ ἀγαγέσθαι βουλόμενος σπεύδει περιφανεστέρου καί ἐνδοξοτέρου καί πλουσιωτέρου θυγατέρα νύμφην λαβεῖν. Ὁ οὖν Θεός τίνα κἄν ἴσον εὑρήσει ἑαυτοῦ, ἵνα νύμφην ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἀγάγοιτο ἑαυτῷ; Φησί γάρ περί αὐτοῦ ὁ προφήτης· "Ὁ κατέχων ἐν τῇ χειρί αὐτοῦ τόν γῦρον τῆς γῆς καί τούς κατοικοῦντας ἐν αὐτῇ ὡς ἀκρίδας". Καί ἄλλος· "Ὁ Θεός ὁ αἰώνιος ὁ κατασκεύασας τά ἄκρα τῆς γῆς" καί θεμελιώσας ἐπ᾿ οὐδενός τούς στύλους αὐτῆς. Καί ὁ ∆αβίδ· "Ὁ ἐπιβλέπων ἐπί τήν γῆν καί ποιῶν αὐτήν τρέμειν". Ὁ γοῦν τοιοῦτος καί τηλικοῦτος τίνος ἄρα σκοπήσωμεν θυγατέρα νύμφην ἠγάγεο καί τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ γάμους πεποίηκεν. Βούλεσθε μαθεῖν τίνος; Ἀλλ᾿ ἐξιστᾷ μου τόν λογισμόν τό τῆς συγκαταβάσεως μέγεθος καί βούλομαι μέν εἰπεῖν, φρίττω δε· εἰς δέ τήν αὐτοῦ θαρρήσαντες ἀγαθότητα ἐροῦμεν ὦδε. Θυγατέρα προσκεκρουκότος αὐτῷ καί μοιχείαν καί φόνον πεποιηκότος, οἷον εἰπεῖν μοιχοῦ φονέως, νύμφην ἠγάγετο ἑαυτῷ.

Εἶδες ἀσύγκριτον καί ἄφατον ἀγαθότητά τε καί συγκατάβασιν; Εἶδες φιλανθρωπίας ὑπερβολήν; Εἶδες ἀγάπης καί χρηστότητος μέγεθος; Μάθε μοι τοίνυν ἐντεῦθεν, πᾶς ὁ μεγάλα περί ἑαυτοῦ οἰόμενος, ταπεινοῦσθαι καί μετριοφρονεῖν καί μηδέποτέ τινος κατεπαίρεσθαι, κἄν βασιλέων πάντων βασιλικώτατος, κἄν ἀρχόντων περιφανέστερος, κἄν πλουσίων ἁπάντων πλουσιώτερος ᾖς, τόν δεσπότην βλέπων καί κύριον τῶν ἁπάντων, τόν ἅγιον τῶν ἁγίων, τόν μακάριον Θεόν καί μόνον δυνάστην, τόν ἐνοικοῦντα ἐν ἀπροσίτῳ καί ὑπεραρρήτῳ φωτί, οὕτω συγκαταβαίνοντα καί ἐκ προσκεκρουκότος νύμφην ἑαυτῷ ἀγόμενον εἰς τόν μονογενῆ αὐτοῦ Υἱόν, τόν ἀόρατον, (85) τόν ἀκατάληπτον, τόν ἀνεξιχνίαστον, τόν ποιητήν καί δημιουργόν τῶν ἁπάντων, διά σέ καί τήν σήν σωτηρίαν. Τίς οὖν ἐστιν ὁ τόν φόνον καί τήν μοιχείαν πεποιηκώς, οὗ τήν θυγατέρα εἰς νύμφην ὁ Θεός ἑαυτῷ ἐξελέξατο; ∆αβίδ ὁ τοῦ Ἰεσσαί, ὅς καί τόν Οὐρίαν ἀπέκτεινε καί τήν τούτου γυναῖκα ἐμοίχευσε. Τούτου τοιγαροῦν τήν θυγατέρα, Μαρίαν φημί τήν ὑπεράμωμον, τήν ὑπέραγνον καί ἁγνήν παρθένον, νύμφην ἠγάγετο. Ὑπεράγνον δέ λέγω καί ὑπεράμωμον ταύτην ὡς πρός ἡμᾶς καί τούς τότε ἀνθρώπους, συγκρίνων αὐτήν ἐκείνοις τε καί ἡμῖν τοῖς δούλοις αὐτῆς, ὡς δέ πρός τόν ἑαυτῆς νυμφίον καί τόν ἐκείνου Πατέρα, ἄνθρωπον μέν, ἁγίαν δέ καί ὑπεραγίαν καί ὑπέρ ἅπαντας ἀνθρώπους πασῶν τῶν γενεῶν καθαρωτάτην καί ἄχραντον. Ταύτην οὖν ἠγάγετο καί γάμους ἐποίησε τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ. Τίνα τρόπον; Ἄκουε νουνεχῶς.

Ὁ Θεός καί Πατήρ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἕνα τῶν αὐτοῦ δούλων, Γαβριήλ, φημί, τόν ἀρχάγγελον, ἐξαποστείλας ἐξ ὕψους ἁγίου αὐτοῦ μηνύει τῇ Παρθένῳ τό χαῖρε· ὅς καί κατελθών διακονεῖ τό μυστήριον τῇ Παρθένῳ καί λέγει αὐτῇ· "Χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμένη, ὁ Κύριος μετά σοῦ". Καί σύν τῷ λόγῳ συνεισῆλθεν ὁ ἐνυπόστατος καί ὁμοούσιος καί συναΐδιος Λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Πατρός ὅλος ἐν τῇ τῆς κόρης γαστρί καί ἐπελεύσει καί συνεργείᾳ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου αὐτοῦ Πνεύματος ἀνελάβετο σάρκα ἔννουν καί ἐψυχωμένην ἐξ ἁγνῶν αἱμάτων αὐτῆς καί ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος. Αὕτη τοιγαροῦν ἡ ἄφραστος συνουσία καί τοιοῦτος ὁ γάμος ὁ μυστικός τοῦ Θεοῦ καί οὕτω γέγονε τό συνάλλαγμα Θεοῦ πρός ἀνθρώπους, ἑνωθείς ἀσυγχύτως τῇ φθαρτῇ καί πτωχῇ ἡμῶν οὐσίᾳ καί φύσει ὁ ὑπέρ φύσιν καί ὑπερούσιος. Συνέλαβεν οὖν ἡ Παρθένος καί ἔτεκεν ἐκ δύο φύσεων παραδόξως, θεότητος, λέγω, (86) καί ἀνθρωπότητος, ἕνα υἱόν, Θεόν τέλειον καί τέλειον ἄνθρωπον, τόν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν τόν Χριστόν, μήτε τήν παρθενίαν αὐτῆς διαφθείραντα, μήτε τοῦ κόλπου χωρισθέντα τοῦ πατρικοῦ.