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he took him up from their eyes. And as they were gazing into heaven as he was going. He teaches of the Savior’s unseen and hidden abiding, which he still even now makes with men after the ascension, saying: And he made darkness his hiding place, his tent around him, dark water in the clouds of the air. For it is not hidden from all how he is with us according to what was said by him: Behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age. By his tent he means none other than his holy Church; in which he promised to dwell, saying: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them. And since the prophecies concerning him are also spoken obscurely and hiddenly, it is fittingly said next: Dark water in clouds of the air. From the brightness before him the clouds passed, hail and coals of fire. For that the divine Spirit is accustomed to call the prophets "clouds," and the rain brought forth from them, that is, the prophetic words, Isaiah will teach, allegorically calling the people a vineyard, as has been said, and the clouds no longer bringing rain upon it. And the Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High gave his voice. In the πα 23.173 present passage the word teaches the things accomplished by his power after the Savior’s ascension, and it clearly presented his ascent through the preceding words, saying: And he thundered from heaven. And how did he who above bowed the heavens and came down thunder, if he had not surely ascended? which was indicated through this: And he mounted upon the cherubim and flew, he flew upon the wings of the winds. Therefore it has been shown that he descended, then ascended with the cherubim; then thundering from heaven, and next doing the things written against his enemies. First, from his brightness before him his clouds passed, hail and coals of fire. For as it is said concerning Egypt during the seventh plague: But the Lord gave a voice and hail, and the fire, it says, ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained upon the land of Egypt. And the hail and the fire were flaming in the hail. And the hail struck in all the land of Egypt; and all these things happened so that the people of God might be able to obtain freedom from the slavery under the Egyptians. In the same way also here, freeing the Churches from the nations and the souls of men from their subjection under godless idolatry and wicked demons, the Lord who flew upon the cherubim sent hail and coals of fire against the spiritual Egyptians. And I think that the punitive powers against the impious are called hail and coals of fire. Therefore, punitive and avenging powers, invisibly ministering to the will of the Lord against the demons who were working the polytheistic error, drove them all out. For this reason almost all their oracles have ceased, and the divinations have been abolished; and their temples have become desolate; their dedicated offerings have been plundered by an invisible and unseen power; the Lord having accomplished all these things after his ascent into heaven. And he sent forth arrows and scattered them, and he multiplied lightnings and threw them into confusion. And the springs of the waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were uncovered; at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your anger. You will understand "foundations of the world" to be the powers of the wisdom of God, through which also of old the entire creation was founded, and after these things the world was established, which will not be shaken. But if you also wish to understand the world as the Church of God; and its foundation first of all the unbreakable and solid rock, on which it was built according to this: On this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And the rock was Christ; or according to the

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ἀνέλαβεν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτῶν. Καὶ ὡς ἀτενίζοντες ἦσαν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν πορευομένου αὐτοῦ. Τὴν ἀφανῆ καὶ λανθάνουσαν τοῦ Σωτῆρος διατριβὴν, ἣν σὺν ἀνθρώποις εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν ποιεῖται μετὰ τὴν ἀνάληψιν, διδάσκει λέγων· Καὶ ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν αὐτοῦ, κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ ἡ σκηνὴ αὐτοῦ, σκοτεινὸν ὕδωρ ἐν νεφέλαις ἀέρων. Οὐ λανθάνει γὰρ τοὺς πάντας ὅπως σύνεστιν ἡμῖν κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ· Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος. Σκηνὴν δὲ αὐτοῦ σημαίνει οὐχ ἑτέραν ἢ τὴν ἁγίαν Ἐκκλησίαν αὐτοῦ· ἐν ᾗ κατασκηνῶσαι ἐπηγγείλατο, εἰπών· Ὅπου δύο ἢ τρεῖς συνηγμένοι εἰσὶν εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα, ἐκεῖ εἰμι ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ αἱ περὶ αὐτοῦ προφητεῖαι σκοτεινῶς εἴρηνται καὶ ἐπικεκρυμμένως, εἰκότως ἑξῆς λέγεται· Σκοτεινὸν ὕδωρ ἐν νεφέλαις ἀέρων. Ἀπὸ τῆς τηλαυγήσεως ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ αἱ νεφέλαι διῆλθον, χάλαζα καὶ ἄνθρακες πυρός. Ὅτι γὰρ νεφέλας τοὺς προφήτας, καὶ τὸν ἐξ αὐτῶν φερόμενον ὑετὸν, δηλαδὴ τοὺς προφητικοὺς λόγους, τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ θεῖον εἴωθεν ὀνομάζειν, διδάξει Ἡσαΐας, ἀλληγορικῶς τὸν λαὸν ἀμπελῶνα προσειπὼν, καθὰ εἴρηται, καὶ νεφέλας μηκέτι εἰς αὐτὸν ὑετὸν φερούσας. Καὶ ἐβρόντησεν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ Κύριος, καὶ ὁ Ὕψιστος ἔδωκε φωνὴν αὐτοῦ. ∆ιδάσκει ἐν τῷ πα 23.173 ρόντι ὁ λόγος τὰ μετὰ τὴν ἀνάληψιν τοῦ Σωτῆρος διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως καταπραχθέντα, σαφῶς δὲ τὴν ἄνοδον αὐτοῦ παρέστησε διὰ τῶν προκειμένων εἰπών· Καὶ ἐβρόντησεν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ. Πῶς δὲ ἐβρόντησεν ὁ ἀνωτέρω κλίνας τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ καταβὰς, εἰ μὴ πάντως ἀνεληλύθει; ὅπερ ἐδηλοῦτο διὰ τοῦ· Καὶ ἐπέβη ἐπὶ χερουβὶμ καὶ ἐπετάσθη, ἐπετάσθη ἐπὶ πτερύγων ἀνέμων. Οὐκοῦν ἀποδέδεικται κατεληλυθὼς, εἶτα μετὰ τοῦ χερουβὶμ ἀνεληλυθώς· εἶτ' ἐξ οὐρανοῦ βροντῶν, καὶ ἑξῆς τὰ ἀναγεγραμμένα πράττων κατὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν αὐτοῦ. Πρῶτον μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς τηλαυγήσεως αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ αἱ νεφέλαι αὐτοῦ διῆλθον, χάλαζα καὶ ἄνθρακες πυρός. Ὡς γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς Αἰγύπτου κατὰ τὴν ἑβδόμην πληγὴν εἴρηται· Κύριος δὲ ἔδωκε φωνὴν καὶ χάλαζαν, καὶ διέτρεχε, φησὶ, τὸ πῦρ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· καὶ ἔβρεξεν Κύριος ἐπὶ γῆν Αἰγύπτου. Ἦν δὲ ἡ χάλαζα καὶ τὸ πῦρ φλογίζον ἐν τῇ χαλάζῃ. Ἐπάταξε δὲ ἡ χάλαζα ἐν πάσῃ γῇ Αἰγύπτου· καὶ ταῦτα πάντα ἐγένετο ἵνα ὁ λαὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐλευθερίας τῆς ὑπ' Αἰγυπτίοις δουλείας τυχεῖν δυνηθῇ. Τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὰς ἐξ ἐθνῶν Ἐκκλησίας καὶ τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχὰς τῆς ὑπὸ τὴν ἄθεον εἰδωλολατρείαν καὶ τοὺς πονηροὺς δαίμονας ὑποταγῆς ἐλευθερῶν, κατὰ τῶν νοητῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἠφίει χάλαζαν καὶ ἄνθρακας πυρὸς ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ χερουβὶμ ἀναπτὰς Κύριος. Οἶμαι δὲ τὰς κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν τιμωρητικὰς δυνάμεις χάλαζαν καὶ ἄνθρακας πυρὸς ὀνομάζεσθαι. ∆υνάμεις τοίνυν τιμωροὶ καὶ κολαστικαὶ, τῷ βουλήματι τοῦ Κυρίου ἀφανῶς ἐξυπηρετούμεναι κατὰ τῶν δαιμόνων τῶν τὴν πολύθεον πλάνην ἐνεργούντων, πάντας αὐτοὺς ἤλαυνον. ∆ιὸ σχεδὸν πάντα αὐτῶν ἐκλέλοιπε τὰ χρηστήρια, καὶ αἱ μαντεῖαι κατελύθησαν· ἔρημοί τε αὐτῶν κατέστησαν οἱ ναοί· σεσύληται τὰ ἀφιερώματα ἀοράτῳ καὶ ἀφανεῖ δυνάμει· τοῦ Κυρίου ταῦτα πάντα μετὰ τὴν εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἄνοδον διαπραξαμένου. Καὶ ἐξαπέστειλε βέλη καὶ ἐσκόρπισεν αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἀστραπὰς ἐπλήθυνε καὶ συνετάραξεν αὐτούς. Καὶ ὤφθησαν αἱ πηγαὶ τῶν ὑδάτων, καὶ ἀπεκαλύφθη τὰ θεμέλια τῆς οἰκουμένης· ἀπὸ ἐπιτιμήσεώς σου, Κύριε, ἀπὸ ἐμπνεύσεως πνεύματος ὀργῆς σου. Θεμέλια οἰκουμένης νοήσεις τὰς τῆς σοφίας τοῦ Θεοῦ δυνάμεις, δι' ὧν καὶ πάλαι ἡ σύμπασα κτίσις τεθεμελίωτο, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐστερεώθη ἡ οἰκουμένη, ἥτις οὐ σαλευθήσεται. Εἰ δὲ καὶ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐθέλοις νοεῖν· θεμέλιον δὲ αὐτῆς πρῶτον μὲν τὴν ἀῤῥαγῆ καὶ στερεὰν πέτραν, ἐφ' ᾗ ᾠκοδόμηται κατὰ τό· Ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ πύλαι ᾅδου οὐ κατισχύσουσιν αὐτῆς. Ἡ πέτρα δὲ ἦν ὁ Χριστός· ἢ κατὰ τὸν