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a basin; For just as, whenever royal images and icons are sent down to and brought into a city, rulers and peoples meet them with praise and fear, not honoring the wooden panel, nor the wax-painted image, but the image of the emperor, so also creation. From Severian of Gabala, On the Cross, fourth discourse: "Moses struck the rock both once and twice." But why once and twice? If it obeys by the power of God, what need is there of a second strike? But if he strikes apart from the power of God, not a second, not a tenth, nor a hundredth strike will be able to impose a fertile nature upon a barren nature. If, therefore, the work were God's simply and without the mystery of the cross, once would have been sufficient, even a nod alone would have been sufficient, even a word would have been sufficient. But so that he might prefigure the image of the cross, this happens. "Moses struck," it says, "both once and twice," not in the same manner, but making the sign of the cross, so that even inanimate nature might revere the symbol of the cross. For if in the absence of the emperor an image fills the emperor's place and rulers prostrate themselves and sacred months are celebrated and rulers meet it and peoples prostrate themselves, not looking at the wooden panel, but at the image of the emperor who is not seen in his nature but is shown in the image, how much more can the image of the immortal king not only break a rock, but also the heaven and the whole inhabited world. From the Chronography of Isidore the deacon: Theophilus sinned by slandering John Chrysostom to the empress Eudoxia, saying that he held the views of the heresy of Origen; the Augusta was hostile to the aforementioned John on the pretext of the widow's vineyard, and on account of this sin Theophilus was not able to give up his soul, until the icon of Chrysostom came; and having venerated it, he gave up his spirit. From Jerome, presbyter of Jerusalem: Since your scripture nowhere permits you to venerate the cross, for what reason then do you venerate it? Tell us, the Jews and Greeks and all the nations who question you. Reply: For this reason, O foolish and shameless of heart, perhaps God allowed every nation that reveres God to venerate something on earth that is the work of man, so that they might no longer be able to accuse Christians concerning the veneration of the cross and of icons. Just as, therefore, the Jew venerated the ark of the covenant and the two cherubim, molten and golden, and the two tablets which Moses carved, though nowhere permitted by God to venerate or kiss these things, so also we Christians do not kiss the cross as a god, but showing the genuine disposition of our soul toward the Crucified One. From the great Symeon of the wondrous mountain, concerning icons: Perhaps some contentious unbeliever will dispute, saying, that we also, by venerating icons in the churches, will be reckoned as praying to lifeless idols. May it not be that we do this; for the things of Christians are a matter of faith and our unfailing God works the powers. For not to the pigments, but in remembrance of the corresponding image, seeing the invisible one through the visible image, we glorify him as present, not believing in God as if he did not exist, but as one who truly exists, nor in the saints as if they did not exist, but as being and living with God, and their spirits being holy and by the power of God helping the worthy who ask of them. From Anastasius, archbishop of Antioch, to Symeon, bishop of Bostra, concerning the Sabbath: For just as when the emperor is absent his icon is venerated, but when he is present it is then superfluous to abandon the prototype and venerate the icon; however, because it is not venerated due to the presence of the one, on account of

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νιπτῆρα· Ὥσπερ γάρ, ὅταν βασιλικοὶ χαρακτῆρες καὶ εἰκόνες εἰς πόλιν καταπέμπωνται καὶ εἰσφέρωνται, ὑπαντῶσιν ἄρχοντες καὶ δῆμοι μετ' εὐφημίας καὶ φόβου, οὐ σανίδα τιμῶντες, οὐ τὴν κηρόχυτον γραφήν, ἀλλὰ τὸν χαρακτῆρα τοῦ βασιλέως, οὕτως καὶ ἡ κτίσις. Σευηριανοῦ Γαβάλων εἰς τὸν σταυρόν, λόγου τετάρτου· «Ἐπάταξε Μωσῆς τὴν πέτραν καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δίς.» ∆ιὰ τί δὲ ἅπαξ καὶ δίς; Εἰ δυνάμει θεοῦ ὑπακούει, τίς χρεία δευτέρας πληγῆς; Εἰ δὲ ἐκτὸς δυνάμεως θεοῦ τύπτει, οὐ δευτέρα, οὐ δεκάτη οὐδὲ ἑκατοστὴ πληγὴ δυνήσεται ἐπιθεῖναι τῇ ἀγόνῳ φύσει γόνιμον φύσιν. Εἰ μὲν οὖν θεοῦ τὸ ἔργον ἁπλῶς καὶ ἄνευ μυστηρίου σταυροῦ, ἤρκει τὸ ἅπαξ, ἤρκει καὶ νεῦμα μόνον, ἤρκει καὶ λόγος. Ἀλλ' ἵνα τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ σταυροῦ προτυπώσῃ, τοῦτο γίνεται. «Ἐπάταξε», φησί, «Μωσῆς καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δίς», οὐ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ σχῆμα, ἀλλὰ σταυροτύπως γράφων, ἵνα καὶ ἡ ἄψυχος φύσις αἰδεσθῇ τοῦ σταυροῦ τὸ σύμβολον. Εἰ γὰρ βασιλέως ἀπόντος εἰκὼν ἀναπληροῖ χώραν βασιλέως καὶ προσκυνοῦσιν ἄρχοντες καὶ ἱερομηνίαι ἐπιτελοῦνται καὶ ἄρχοντες ὑπαντῶσι καὶ δῆμοι προσκυνοῦσιν οὐ πρὸς τὴν σανίδα βλέποντες, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸν χαρακτῆρα τοῦ βασιλέως οὐκ ἐν τῇ φύσει θεωρουμένου, ἀλλ' ἐν γραφῇ παραδεικνυμένου, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἀθανάτου βασιλέως εἰκὼν δύναται οὐ πέτραν ῥῆξαι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην. Ἐκ τῆς Χρονογραφίας Ἰσιδώρου διακόνου· Ἥμαρτε Θεόφιλος λοιδορήσας Ἰωάννην τὸν Χρυσόστομον πρὸς Εὐδοξίαν τὴν βασίλισσαν, ὅτι τὰ τῆς Ὠριγένους αἱρέσεως φρονεῖ· ἐχθραινομένη ἡ αὐγούστα πρὸς Ἰωάννην τὸν εἰρημένον προφάσει τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος τῆς χήρας, καὶ διὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην οὐκ ἐδυνήθη ὁ Θεόφιλος παραδοῦναι τὴν ψυχήν, ἄχρις οὗ ἦλθεν ἡ εἰκὼν τοῦ Χρυσοστόμου· καὶ προσκυνήσας αὐτὴν παρέδωκε τὸ πνεῦμα. Ἱερωνύμου, πρεσβυτέρου Ἱεροσολύμων· Τῆς γραφῆς ὑμῶν μηδαμοῦ ἐπιτρεπούσης ὑμῖν προσκυνεῖν τὸν σταυρόν, τίνος χάριν λοιπὸν αὐτὸν προσκυνεῖτε; Εἴπατε ἡμῖν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις καὶ Ἕλλησι καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ἐπερωτῶσιν ὑμᾶς ἔθνεσι. Ἀπόκρισις· ∆ιὰ τοῦτο, ὦ ἀνόητοι καὶ ἀναιδεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ, τάχα συνεχώρησεν ὁ θεὸς παντὶ ἔθνει σεβομένῳ τὸν θεὸν πάντως προσκυνεῖν τι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔργον ἀνθρώπου ὑπάρχον, ἵνα μηκέτι δύνωνται ἐγκαλεῖν τοῖς χριστιανοῖς περὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ καὶ τῆς τῶν εἰκόνων προσκυνήσεως. Ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ Ἰουδαῖος προσεκύνει τὴν κιβωτὸν τῆς διαθήκης καὶ τὰ δύο χερουβὶμ τὰ χωνευτὰ καὶ χρυσᾶ καὶ τὰς δύο πλάκας, ἃς ἐλάξευσε Μωσῆς, μηδαμοῦ ἐπιτραπεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ταῦτα προσκυνεῖν ἢ ἀσπάζεσθαι, οὕτως καὶ οἱ χριστιανοὶ οὐχ ὡς θεὸν τὸν σταυρὸν ἀσπαζόμεθα, ἀλλὰ δεικνύντες τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν γνησίαν πρὸς τὸν σταυρωθέντα διάθεσιν. Τοῦ μεγάλου Συμεὼν τοῦ θαυμαστοῦ ὄρους περὶ εἰκόνων· Ἴσως δέ τις τῶν ἀπίστων φιλόνεικος ὢν ἀμφισβητήσει λέγων, ὅτι καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις εἰκόνας προσκυνοῦντες ὡς ἀψύχοις προσευχόμενοι εἰδώλοις λογισθησόμεθα. Μὴ οὖν γένοιτο ἡμᾶς τοῦτο ποιεῖν· τὰ γὰρ τῶν χριστιανῶν πίστις ἐστὶ καὶ ὁ ἀψευδὴς ἡμῶν θεὸς ἐνεργεῖ τὰς δυνάμεις. Οὐ γὰρ τοῖς χροϊδίοις, ἀλλὰ ἐν ὑπομνήσει τοῦ ἀντιτύπου γράμματος ὁρῶντες τὸν ἀόρατον διὰ τῆς ὁρωμένης γραφῆς ὡς παρόντα δοξάζομεν, οὐχ ὡς μὴ ὄντι θεῷ πιστεύοντες, ἀλλ' ὡς ὄντι ἀληθῶς, οὔτε τοῖς ἁγίοις ὡς μὴ οὖσιν, ἀλλ' ὡς οὖσι καὶ ζῶσι παρὰ τῷ θεῷ, καὶ τῶν πνευμάτων αὐτῶν ἁγίων ὄντων καὶ δυνάμει θεοῦ βοηθούντων τοῖς ἀξίοις ὡς δεομένοις αὐτῶν. Ἀναστασίου, ἀρχιεπισκόπου Ἀντιοχείας, πρὸς Συμεών, ἐπίσκοπον Βόστρων, περὶ τοῦ σαββάτου· Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἀπόντος μὲν βασιλέως ἡ εἰκὼν αὐτοῦ προσκυνεῖται, παρόντος δὲ λοιπὸν περιττὸν καταλιπόντα τὸν πρωτότυπον προσκυνεῖν τῇ εἰκόνι· οὐ μήν, ἐπεὶ οὐ προσκυνεῖται διὰ τὸ παρεῖναι τόν, δι'