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again the Lord as a murderer and a criminal, bound and dragged, and as one of the insignificant ones, standing before Pilate, accepting a slap from a slave, being thrown into prison and cast out of prison, being led by soldiers with rods, being handed over to the people by Pilate, who said, "Take him yourselves and crucify him." Consider then how he was given over into their midst, he who is above all the heavens and (138) holds all things in his hand, being pushed, pushed back, punched, slapped, mocked, scourged, being led into the praetorium, he who is unseen by all creation and by the Seraphim themselves, being stripped, being bound to the pillar, receiving forty full lashes, signifying the death sentence. Then what? Being clothed mockingly in a scarlet robe, being struck on the head and asked, "Who is it that struck you?" being crowned with thorns, worshipped and mocked, being spat upon and hearing ironically, "Behold, the King of the Jews," being clothed again in his own garments, his neck bound with a rope and being led away to death, then thus being burdened with his own cross and arriving at the place and seeing it being set up, and being abandoned alone by his friends and disciples, after these things being stripped again, being hung up, his hands and feet being nailed by the soldiers and being left to hang, being given gall to drink, being pierced by a lance, being blasphemed by a robber, being reviled and hearing: "You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross," and again: "If he is the Son of God, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him," and so after suffering all these things, giving thanks and praying for those who murdered him and commending his soul into the hands of his Father.

(139) Are all these things not enough for you for imitation, brother, but you are ashamed to suffer these things thus? Through what other works or how will you be glorified with him? "For whoever," he says, "is ashamed of me and my words, I also will be ashamed of him before my Father, who is in heaven." Wherefore Paul also says: "If we suffer with him, we will also be glorified with him." But if we are ashamed to imitate and suffer his sufferings, which he underwent for our sake, as he suffered, it is clear that neither shall we become partakers of his glory; for we are, being in such a state, believers not in deed but in word only; and since works are not present, our faith is dead.

For this reason, therefore, I say and will not cease saying, that those who have not imitated the passions of Christ through repentance and obedience and become partakers of his death, as we have shown in detail above, will neither become partakers of his spiritual resurrection, nor will they receive the Holy Spirit. For through the Holy Spirit the resurrection of all takes place; and I do not mean the resurrection of bodies at the end of time - for then the angel will sound the trumpet and the dead bodies will be raised, but the spiritual rebirth and resurrection which takes place spiritually for dead souls every day, which he who once died and was raised and is raised through all and for all (140) who live worthily, and raises up with himself the souls that have died with him in intention and in faith, gives through his All-Holy Spirit, bestowing upon them from this moment on the kingdom of heaven, which may we all attain by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is due all glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.

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πάλιν ὡς φονέα καί κακοῦργον δεδεμένον συρόμενον τόν Κύριον καί ὡς ἕνα τῶν εὐτελῶν παριστάμενον τῷ Πιλάτῳ, ῥάπισμα καταδεχόμενον ὑπό δούλου, εἰς φυλακήν ἐμβαλλόμενον καί ἀπό φυλακῆς ἐκβαλλόμενον, ὑπό στρατιωτῶν ῥαβδούχων ἀγόμενον, τῷ λαῷ ὑπό Πιλάτου παραδιδόμενον, "Λάβετε αὐτον" φάσκοντος "ὑμεῖς καί σταυρώσατε". Ἐννόησον οὖν πῶς ἦν ἀποδοθείς μέσον αὐτῶν, ὁ ὑπεράνω πάντων τῶν οὐρανῶν καί τά (138) πάντα διακρατῶν τῇ χειρί αὐτοῦ, ὠθούμενος, ἀντωθούμενος, πυγμιζόμενος, ῥαπιζόμενος, ἐγγελώμενος, φραγγελόμενος, εἰς τό πραιτώριον εἰσαγόμενος, ὁ πάσῃ κτίσει καί αὐτοῖς τοῖς Σεραφείμ ἀθεώρητος, ἐκδυόμενος, τῷ κίονι προσδεσμούμενος, τεσσαράκοντα πλήρεις λαμβάνων πληγάς, τήν ἐπιθάνατον δηλούσας ἀπόφασιν. Εἶτα τί; Πορφύραν κοκκίνην παικτικῶς ἐνδυόμενον, κατά κεφαλῆς ῥαπιζόμενον καί "Τίς ἐστιν ὁ πταίσας σε;"ἐρωτώμενον ἀκάνθαις στεφανούμενον, προσκυνούμενόν τε καί ἐμπαιζόμενον, ἐμπτυόμενον καί εἰρωνικῶς ἀκούοντα· "Ἴδε ὁ βασιλεύς τῶν Ἰουδαίων", ἐνδυόμενον πάλιν τά ἑαυτοῦ ἱμάτια, τόν τράχηλον σχοινίῳ δεσμούμενον καί ἐπί τόν θάνατον ἀπαγόμενον, εἶθ᾿ οὕτω τόν ἑαυτοῦ σταυρόν ἐπιφορτιζόμενον καί ἐπί τοῦ τόπου γινόμενον καί τοῦτον ὁρῶντα πηγνύμενον καί μόνον ὑπό τῶν φίλων καί μαθητῶν ἐγκαταλειπόμενον, μετά ταῦτα πάλιν ἀποδυόμενον, ἀναρτώμενον, τάς χεῖρας καί τούς πόδας ὑπό τῶν στρατιωτῶν καθηλούμενον καί κρέμασθαι ἀφιέμενον, χολήν ποτιζόμενον, λόγχῃ νυττόμενον, ὑπό ληστοῦ βλασφημούμενον, χλευαζόμενον καί ἀκούοντα· "Ὁ καταλύων τόν ναόν καί ἐν τρισίν ἡμέραις ἐγείρων, σῶσον σεαυτόν καί κατάβηθι ἀπό τοῦ σταυροῦ", καί αὖθις· "Εἰ Υἱός ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ, καταβάτω νῦν ἀπό τοῦ σταυροῦ καί πιστεύσομεν εἰς αὐτόν", καί οὕτω μετά τό ταῦτα πάντα παθεῖν, εὐχαριστοῦντα καί εὐχόμενον ὑπέρ τῶν φονευσάντων αὐτόν καί τήν ψυχήν εἰς χεῖρας παρατιθέντα τοῦ Πατρός αὐτοῦ.

(139) Οὐκ ἀρκοῦσι ταῦτά σοι πάντα εἰς μίμησιν, ἀδελφέ, ἀλλ᾿ αἰσχύνῃ οὕτω ταῦτα παθεῖν; ∆ιά ποίων δέ ἄλλων ἔργων ἤ πῶς συνδοξασθήσῃ αὐτῷ; "Ὅστις γάρ, φησίν, ἐπαισχυνθῇ με καί τούς ἐμούς λόγους, ἐπαισχυνθήσομαι κἀγώ αὐτόν ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Πατρός μου, τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς". ∆ιό καί ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· "Εἰ συμπάσχομεν καί συνδοξασθησόμεθα". Εἰ δέ τά παθήματα αὐτοῦ, ἅ ὑπέστη ὑπέρ ἡμῶν, αἰσχυνόμεθα μιμήσασθαι καί παθεῖν, ὡς ἐκεῖνος ἔπαθεν, εὔδηλον ὅτι οὐδέ τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ συμμέτοχοι γενησόμεθα· οὐ γάρ ἔργῳ ἀλλά λόγῳ μόνῳ ἐσμέν, οὕτως ἔχοντες, πιστοί· ἔργων δέ μή προσόντως, νεκρά ὑπάρχει ἡ πίστις ἡμῶν.

∆ιά τοῦτο τοιγαροῦν λέγω καί λέγων οὐ παύσομαι, ὅτι οἱ μή τά πάθη Χριστοῦ διά μετανοίας καί ὑπακοῆς μιμησάμενοι καί τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ μέτοχοι γεγονότες, καθώς ἀνωτέρω λεπτομερῶς ἐδηλώσαμεν, οὔτε τῆς πνευματικῆς αὐτοῦ ἀναστάσεως συμμέτοχοι γενήσωνται, οὔτε Πνεῦμα λάβωσιν Ἅγιον. ∆ιά γάρ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἡ ἀνάστασις πάντων γίνεται· καί οὐ λέγω τήν ἐπί συντελείᾳ τῶν σωμάτων ἀνάστασιν - σαλπίσει γάρ τότε ὁ ἄγγελος καί τά νεκρά σώματα ἀναστήσονται , ἀλλά τήν καθ᾿ ἑκάστην γινομένην τῶν νεκρῶν ψυχῶν πνευματικῶς πνευματικήν ἀναγέννησιν καί ἀνάστασιν, ἥν ὁ ἅπαξ ἀποθανών καί ἐγερθείς καί διά πάντων καί εἰς πάντας (140) τούς ἀξίως βιοῦντας ἀνιστάμενος καί τάς συναποθανούσας αὐτῷ τῇ προθέσει καί τῇ πίστει ψυχάς συνεγείρων, δίδωσι διά τοῦ Παναγίου αὐτοῦ Πνεύματος, δωρούμενος αὐταῖς ἀπεντεῦθεν ἤδη τήν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἧς γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν χάριτι τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ πρέπει πᾶσα δόξα εἰς τούς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.