Response. Just as the Lord did not walk upon the sea by a transformation of the body into spirit, but by his divine power made the impassable sea passable for walking, not only for his own body but also for Peter's, so by his own divine power he also came out of the tomb while the stone was still upon the tomb, and he entered to the disciples while the doors were shut. For the removal of the stone from the tomb did not happen for the sake of his rising, but so that the resurrection might be revealed to those who saw; for to see his burial cloths in the tomb, but not to see him, became a most clear sign of his resurrection. And we must understand that equivalent things have the same credibility when they are granted and the same credibility when they are denied; for to walk upon the sea in an unchanged body is equivalent to entering to the apostles in an unchanged body while the doors were shut. And that for things that happen supernaturally in nature according to the divine power, it is impossible to provide a demonstration according to the law of nature, for which reason, when the disciples were terrified at such an entrance, he allowed them to touch the places of his body that had suffered, because he made his entrance to them not by a transformation of the body into spirit, but in a solid body, by his divine power that works things beyond nature. Question 118. If God, having made all things according to the cycle of nature, is established as Lord of the universe, for which reason David also commands us to bless the Lord in every place of the Lord’s dominion, and likewise the apostle also instructs us to lift up holy hands to God in every place, why, considering the direction of the sun to be a holy work and a divine habitation, do we, looking towards it, send up our hymns and prayers to God? And who are they who taught this custom to the Christians? Response. Since from among the things we have, we set apart the more honorable things for the honor of God, and according to human opinion the east is more honorable than the other parts of creation, for this reason, at the time of prayer, we all turn towards the east. Just as with the right hand we seal in the name of Christ those who need this seal, because it is considered more honorable than the left, although it differs from it by position and not by nature, so also the east, as a more honorable part of creation, has been set apart for the worship of God. But it is not contrary to the prophetic and apostolic voice for us to make our prayers towards the east. For in every place the east exists for those who pray; and since we worship in that direction in which we have our sense of sight, and it is impossible at the time of prayer toward the four parts of the

Ἀπόκρισις. Ὥσπερ οὐ κατὰ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ σώματος εἰς τὸ πνεῦμα τρο πὴν περιεπάτησεν ὁ κύριος ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν, ἀλλὰ τῇ θείᾳ αὑτοῦ δυνάμει βατὴν ἐποίησε τὴν εἰς περιπάτησιν ἄβατον θάλασσαν οὐ μόνον τῷ ἑαυτοῦ σώματι ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ τοῦ Πέτρου, οὕτως τῇ ἑαυτοῦ θείᾳ δυνάμει καὶ τοῦ μνήματος ἐξῆλθε τοῦ λίθου ἐπικειμένου τῷ μνήματι, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς εἰσῆλθε τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων. Oὐ γὰρ διὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ ἔγερσιν τοῦ λίθου ἐκ τοῦ μνήματος ἐγένετο ἡ ἀφαίρεσις, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ δη λωθῆναι τοῖς ὁρῶσι τὴν ἀνάστασιν· τὸ γὰρ ἐν τῷ μνήματι τὰ μὲν τοῦ ἐνταφιασμοῦ αὐτοῦ ὁρᾶν ἱμάτια, αὐτὸν δὲ μὴ ὁρᾶν, δεῖγμα τῆς αὐτοῦ ἐναργέστατον γέγονεν ἀναστάσεως. Χρὴ δὲ ἡμᾶς ἐννοῆσαι ὅτι τὰ ἰσοδύναμα τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχει πίστιν συγχω ρουμένων αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχει πίστιν ἀναιρουμένων αὐτῶν· ἰσοδυναμεῖ δὲ τὸ περιπατεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν ἐν ἀτρέπτῳ σώματι τῷ εἰσελθεῖν πρὸς τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἐν ἀτρέπτῳ σώματι τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων. Καὶ ὅτι τὰ ὑπὲρ φύσιν ἐν τῇ φύσει γιγνόμενα κατὰ τὴν θείαν δύναμιν ἀδύνατον κατὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς φύσεως ποιήσασθαι τὴν παράστασιν, διὸ πτοηθέντων τῶν μαθητῶν ἐπὶ τῇ τοιαύτῃ εἰσόδῳ ἐπέτρεψεν αὐτοῖς ψηλαφᾶν τοὺς πεπονθότας τόπους τοῦ σώματος αὑτοῦ, ὅτι οὐ κατὰ τροπὴν τοῦ σώματος εἰς τὸ πνεῦμα ἐποίησεν εἰς αὐτοὺς τὴν εἴσοδον, ἀλλὰ ἐν παχυμερεῖ σώματι τῇ θείᾳ αὑ τοῦ δυνάμει ποιητικῇ τῶν ὑπὲρ φύσιν. Ἐρώτησις ριη. Eἰ πάντα ὁ θεὸς ποιήσας κατὰ κύκλον τῆς φύσεως τοῦ παντὸς δεσπότης καθέστηκε, διὸ καὶ ∆αυῒδ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ τῆς τοῦ κυρίου δεσποτείας εὐλογεῖν ἡμῖν τὸν κύριον ἐγκελεύε ται, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ ἐπαίρειν ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ὁσίους χεῖρας ἐντέλλεται, διὰ τί, ὡς σεμνὸν ἔργον τε καὶ οἰκητήριον θεῖον τὸ πρὸς τὸ ἡλιακὸν κλίμα νομί ζοντες, ἐν αὐτῷ ἀφορῶντες τοὺς ὕμνους καὶ τὰς προσευχὰς τῷ θεῷ ἀναπέμπομεν; Τίνες δὲ καὶ οἱ ταύτην τὴν συνήθειαν τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς ἐκδιδάξαντες; Ἀπόκρισις. Ἐπειδὴ τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν τὰ τιμιώτερα εἰς τιμὴν τοῦ θεοῦ ἀφορίζομεν, κατὰ δὲ τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑπόληψιν τιμιωτέρα ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνατολὴ τῶν ἄλλων μερῶν τῆς κτίσεως, διὰ τοῦτο ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς προσευχῆς νεύομεν πρὸς ἀνατολὴν πάντες. Κα θάπερ τῇ δεξιᾷ χειρὶ ἐν ὀνόματι Χριστοῦ κατασφραγίζομεν τοὺς τῆς σφραγῖδος ταύτης δεομένους, ἐπειδὴ τιμιωτέρα νενό μισται τῆς ἀριστερᾶς, καίτοι θέσει καὶ οὐ φύσει διαφέρουσα ταύτης ὑπάρχει, οὕτως καὶ ἡ ἀνατολή, ὡς τιμιώτερον μέρος τῆς κτίσεως, εἰς προσκύνησιν θεοῦ ἀφώρισται. Oὐκ ἐναντιοῦ ται δὲ τῇ προφητικῇ τε καὶ ἀποστολικῇ φωνῇ τὸ πρὸς τὴν ἀνατολὴν ποιεῖν ἡμᾶς τὰς εὐχάς. Ἐν παντὶ γὰρ τόπῳ ὑπάρχει ἡ ἀνατολὴ τοῖς εὐχομένοις· καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἐφ' ὃ μέρος τὴν ὁρατὴν αἴσθησιν κεκτήμεθα κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος προσκυνοῦμεν, ἀδύ νατον δὲ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς προσευχῆς εἰς τὰ τέσσαρα μέρη τῆς