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who thought that he could purchase with money the grace of the Holy Spirit which is not for sale; and through the book of the apostolic Acts they hear: "For you have no part or lot in this matter."

CHAP. 26. For truly, since there is no fellowship of darkness with light,

and of those deprived of divine knowledge with those who are illumined by it; it is fittingly written concerning those of evil opinion: "They did not know the Spirit, nor did they understand; they walk in darkness." And rightly do they write concerning them, John, that "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions. These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit;" and Paul, to Timothy: "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared;" and to the Hebrews: "Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?" and to the Ephesians: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." And the Master in Matthew, for one who is caught in blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, as having sinned inexcusably, extends the punishment, not until the present age, but also to the one to come; so that we might strongly guard against sinning in such a way, even out of ignorance, saying: "Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven them. 39.752 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." But what other word is there against the Holy Spirit, or what other blasphemy is conceived concerning it, than not to confess it God, consubstantial and co-eternal with the Father and the Son? For to blaspheme is said specifically in reference to God. And He ordained that the blasphemy against the Son of Man be forgiven, but that concerning the Holy Spirit not be forgiven; showing this: that to the one who has not believed, even though late, that it proceeds consubstantially from God the Father; for to the one who recognizes it, it is forgiven. For he says: Concerning the Son they have at least an occasion, even if not a reasonable one, in the humble words regarding the ineffable incarnation; but concerning the Holy Spirit, they have no excuse. Wherefore also Wisdom, speaking of the divine Spirit as God, and by it threatening those who blaspheme it, says: "For the spirit of wisdom is a lover of mankind, and it will not acquit a blasphemer of the charge of his lips, for God is a witness of his inmost feelings, and a true overseer of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue. Because the Spirit of the Lord has filled the world, and that which holds all things together has knowledge of what is said." For those who disbelieve in its divinity, as the Apostle writes to Timothy in his first Epistle, having become like Hymenaeus and Alexander, "have made shipwreck of their faith, and were handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme." Rightly so; for they were unwilling for the Holy Spirit to breathe favorably upon them, and they rejected its illumination, which is more secure than any anchor, and they did not endure to have the perfect guidance of it and of Christ, having deprived themselves of the God-befitting and co-equal glory. For as it is said by Eli in the first book of Kings, "If a man sins against a man, they will pray for him to the Lord; but if he sins against the Lord, who will pray for him?" But "the Lord is the Spirit," as Paul wrote.

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νομίσαντος ἀργυρίων δύνασθαι τὴν ἄπρατον ἐξαγοράσασθαι τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος χάριν· καὶ διὰ τῆς βίβλου τῶν ἀποστολικῶν Πράξεων ἀκούουσιν· "Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ὑμῖν μερὶς, οὐδὲ κλῆρος ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ."

ΚΕΦ. Κςʹ. Ὡς ἀληθῶς γὰρ, ἐπειδὴ μὴ ἔστιν κοινωνία τῷ σκότει πρὸς τὸ φῶς,

καὶ τοῖς ἐστερημένοις τῆς θείας γνώσεως πρὸς τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτῆς καταυγαζομένους· εἰκότως γέγραπται περὶ τῶν κακοδόξων· "Τὸ Πνεῦμα οὐκ ἔγνωσαν, οὐδὲ συνῆκαν· ἐν σκότει διαπορεύονται." ∆ικαίως δὲ καὶ ἐπιστέλλουσι περὶ αὐτῶν, ὁ μὲν Ἰωάννης, ὅτι "Ἐπ' ἐσχάτου τοῦ χρόνου ἐλεύσονται ἐμπαῖκται, κατὰ τὰς ἑαυτῶν ἐπιθυμίας πορευόμενοι τῶν ἀσεβειῶν. Οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἀποδιορίζοντες, ψυχικοὶ, Πνεῦμα μὴ ἔχοντες·" ὁ δὲ Παῦλος, πρὸς μὲν Τιμόθεον· "Τὸ δὲ Πνεῦμα ῥητῶς λέγει, ὅτι ἐν ὑστέροις καιροῖς ἀποστήσονταί τινες τῆς πίστεως, προσέχοντες πνεύμασι πλάνοις, καὶ διδασκαλίαις δαιμονίων, ἐν ὑποκρίσει· ψευδολόγων κεκαυτηριασμένων τὴν ἰδίαν συνείδησιν·" πρὸς Ἑβραίους δέ· "Ἀθετήσας τις νόμον Μωϋσέως, χωρὶς οἰκτιρμῶν ἐπὶ δυσὶν ἢ τρισὶ μάρτυσιν ἀποθνήσκει· πόσῳ, δοκεῖ, τὶς χείρονος ἀξιωθήσεται τιμωρίας, ὁ τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ καταπατήσας, καὶ τὸ αἷμα τῆς ∆ιαθήκης κοινὸν ἡγησάμενος, ἐν ᾧ ἡγιάσθη, καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς χάριτος ἐνυβρίσας;" Ἐφεσίοις δέ· "Μὴ λυπεῖτε τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐν ᾧ ἐσφραγίσθητε εἰς ἡμέραν ἀπολυτρώσεως." Καὶ ὁ ∆εσπότης δὲ ἐν Ματθαίῳ, τῷ ἁλόντι ἐπὶ βλασφημίᾳ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, ὡς ἀναπολόγητα πταίσαντι, παρατείνει τὴν κόλασιν, οὐχ ἕως τοῦ παρόντος αἰῶνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος· ἵνα σφόδρα φυλαττώμεθα τοιοῦτο μηδὲ κατὰ ἄγνοιαν ἁμαρτῆσαι, λέγων· "Πᾶσα ἁμαρτία καὶ βλασφημία ἀφεθήσεται τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἡ δὲ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα βλασφημία οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται αὐτοῖς· 39.752 καὶ ὃς ἂν εἴπῃ λόγον κατὰ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ· ὃς δ' ἂν εἴπῃ κατὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου, οὐκ ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ, οὔτε ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, οὔτε ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι." Ἄλλος δὲ ποῖός ἐστι λόγος κατὰ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, ἢ ἄλλη ποία νοεῖται περὶ αὐτοῦ βλασφημία, ἢ τὸ μὴ ὁμολογεῖν αὐτὸ Θεὸν ὁμοούσιον καὶ συνάναρχον τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ Υἱῷ; Ἰδικῶς γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ βλασφημεῖν εἴρηται. Ὥρισεν δὲ ἀφίεσθαι μὲν τὴν κατὰ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου βλασφημίαν, τὴν δὲ περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος μὴ ἀφίεσθαι· ἐκεῖνο δηλῶν, ὅτι τῷ κἂν γοῦν ὀψέ ποτε μὴ πιστεύσαντι ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ὁμοουσίως αὐτὸ ἐκπεπορεῦσθαι· τῷ γὰρ ἐπιγνόντι ἀφίεται. Φησὶν γάρ· Ἐπὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ ἀφορμὴν γοῦν, εἰ καὶ μὴ εὔλογον, ἔχουσι τὰ περὶ τῆς ἀφράστου ἐνανθρωπήσεως μικροπρεπῆ ῥήματα· περὶ δὲ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, οὐδεμίαν ἔχουσι σκῆψιν. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἡ Σοφία θεολογοῦσα τὸ θεϊκὸν Πνεῦμα, καὶ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἀπειλοῦσα τοῖς βλασφημοῦσιν αὐτὸ, λέγει· "Φιλάνθρωπον γὰρ Πνεῦμα σοφίας, καὶ οὐκ ἀθοώσει βλάσφημον ἀπὸ χειλέων αὐτοῦ, ὅτι τῶν νεφρῶν αὐτοῦ μάρτυς ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ ἐπίσκοπος ἀληθὴς, καὶ τῆς γλώσσης ἀκουστής· ὅτι Πνεῦμα Κυρίου πεπλήρωκε τὴν οἰκουμένην, καὶ τὸ συνέχον τὰ πάντα, γνῶσιν ἔχει φωνῆς." Οἱ γὰρ τῇ θεότητι αὐτοῦ ἀπιστοῦντες, καθὰ ὁ Ἀπόστολος Τιμοθέῳ ἐν τῇ αʹ γράφει Ἐπιστολῇ, ἀφομοιωθέντες Ὑμεναίῳ καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ, "περὶ τὴν πίστιν ἐναυάγησαν, καὶ παρεδόθησαν τῷ Σατανᾷ ἵνα παιδευθῶσι μὴ βλασφημεῖν." Εἰκότως· αἴσιον γὰρ αὐτοῖς τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα πνεῖν οὐκ ἠθέλησαν, καὶ τὴν πάσης ἀγκύρας βεβαιοτέραν ἐπίλαμψιν αὐτοῦ ἠθέτησαν, καὶ ἔχειν αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τελείαν τὴν κυβέρνησιν οὐκ ἠνέσχοντο, τῆς θεοπρεποῦς καὶ ἰσοτίμου δόξης ἑαυτοὺς στερήσαντες. Καὶ γὰρ, ὡς ἐν τῇ αʹ τῶν Βασιλειῶν εἴρηται παρὰ τοῦ Εἰλὶ, "Ἐὰν ἁμάρτῃ ἀνὴρ εἰς ἄνδρα, καὶ προσεύξονται περὶ αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν Κύριον· ἐὰν δὲ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἁμάρτῃ, τίς προσεύξεται περὶ αὐτοῦ;" Ὁ δὲ "Κύριος τὸ Πνεῦμά ἐστιν," ὡς ἔγραψε Παῦλος.