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The Lord will show himself no longer affirmed from the position of beings, but by theology according to negation showing the inaccessible secret of the Godhead.

The fact that one of the evangelists says "the Son of man coming in his glory," and the other "until they see the kingdom of God come in power," signifies this: since according to his divinity he is the Son of God, but according to his humanity he became for our sake the Son of man, inasmuch as he is the Son of God, he always possesses the glory, but inasmuch as he became the Son of man, he is said to come in his glory. For thus he glorified the humanity that was assumed so that just as, being in a passible body, he was seen transfigured on the mountain, so we too in the resurrection, receiving an incorruptible body, shall be. For to say "come in power" signified that the hoped-for incorruptible and eternal kingdom of the saints is not yet present in actuality.

QUESTION 191 "And it happened after six days that Jesus takes Peter and

James and John and leads them up to a high mountain by themselves and was transfigured before them and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as the light."

RESPONSE The "after six days" signifies that since in six days God brought the visible

creation into being, those who by an abundance of virtues and of knowledge have passed beyond all phenomena, these ascend with the Logos to the mountain of theology (14Α_266>. But since Luke mentioned eight days and seems to show a contradiction among the evangelists, I think the difficulty in these things receives its solution and the history concurs fittingly with the contemplation. For just as, according to the history, he who said "six days" spoke of those in between, but he who said "eight" signified both the beginning in which the Lord spoke and the end in which the Transfiguration happened, so also according to the contemplation. For since man through transgression slipped into what is contrary to nature, it is necessary for one who wishes to ascend with the Logos to the mountain of theology first, as if for one day, to pass through what is contrary to nature, and, as if for six days, to pass through nature and come to be in what is above nature, which is the eighth. For this is beyond time and characterizes the future state.

And why does he "take Peter and James and John" alone by themselves? As the Logos always avoids the tumultuous state full of confusion. And since Peter, according to his first name of Simon, is interpreted as 'obedience', but as Peter, he signifies immutability, and through these is signified the immutable and unshakeable faith in God through obedience to the commandments. And James is interpreted as 'supplanter,' and through this is signified hope. For unless one hopes to obtain the untrodden and incorruptible things instead of these passing and corruptible things, he would not be able to supplant the devil who always has his deceit in sensible things. And John is interpreted as 'dove,' and through this is signified love, since meekness is nothing other than the immobility of the irascible and concupiscible powers toward things contrary to nature, and he who comes to anger neither through desires nor through the failure (14Α_268> of what he desires manifestly loves all. Therefore, the Logos ascends to the mountain of theology with those who have acquired faith, hope, and love, and is transfigured before them, no longer being affirmed by being called God and holy and king and such things, but being negated according to what is beyond-God and beyond-holy and all things said by way of transcendence.

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ὁ Κύριος παραδείξει ἑαυτὸν μηκέτι καταφασκόμενον ἐκ τῆς τῶν ὄντων θέσεως, ἀλλὰ τῇ κατὰ ἀπόφασιν θεολογίᾳ παραδεικνὺς τὸ ἀπρόσιτον τῆς θεότητος κρύφιον.

Τὸ δὲ λέγειν τὸν μὲν ἕνα τῶν εὐαγγελιστῶν "ἐρχόμενον τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ", τὸν δὲ ἕτερον "ἕως ἂν ἴδωσιν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐληλυθυῖαν ἐν δυνάμει", τοῦτο σημαίνει· ἐπειδὴ κατὰ μὲν τὴν θεότητα ἔστιν Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, κατὰ δὲ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον γέγονεν δι᾽ ἡμᾶς Υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, καθ᾽ ὃ μὲν οὖν ἐστιν Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀεὶ τὴν δόξαν κέκτηται, κατὰ δὲ τὸ γενέσθαι Υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου λέγεται ἔρχεσθαι ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ. Οὕτως γὰρ ἐδόξασεν τὴν προσληφθεῖσαν ἀνθρωπότητα ὅτι ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ παθητῷ σώματι ὢν ὤφθη ἐν τῷ ὄρει μεταμορφωθείς, οὕτως ἡμεῖς ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει ἄφθαρτον ἀπολαμβάνοντες σῶμα ἐσόμεθα· τὸ γὰρ εἰπεῖν ἐληλυθυῖαν ἐν δυνάμει ἐσήμανεν ὡς οὔπω ἐνεργείᾳ πάρεστιν ἡ ἐλπιζομένη τῶν ἁγίων ἄφθαρτος καὶ αἰώνιος βασιλεία.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ 191 «Καὶ ἐγένετο μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας ἓξ παραλαμβάνει ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὸν Πέτρον καὶ

Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην καὶ ἀναφέρει αὐτοὺς εἰς ὄρος ὑψηλὸν κατ᾽ ἰδίαν καὶ μετεμορφώθη ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν καὶ ἔλαμψεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος, τὰ δὲ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο λευκὰ ὡς τὸ φῶς».

ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Τὸ μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας ἓξ σημαίνει ὅτι ἐπειδὴ ἐν ἓξ ἡμέραις ὁ Θεὸς τὴν φαινομένην

κτίσιν εἰς τὸ εἶναι παρήγαγεν, οἵτινες τῇ περιουσίᾳ τῶν ἀρετῶν καὶ τῆς γνώσεως τὰ φαινόμενα πάντα διέβησαν, οὗτοι τῷ Λόγῳ συναναβαίνουσιν ἐν τῷ τῆς θεολογίας (14Α_266> ὄρει. Ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ ὁ Λουκᾶς ὀκτὼ ἡμερῶν ἐμνημόνευσεν καὶ δοκεῖ ἐναντιότητα τῶν εὐαγγελιστῶν δεικνύειν, τὸ ἄπορον ἐν τούτοις οἶμαι τὴν ἐπίλυσιν δέχεσθαι καὶ συντρέχειν τὴν ἱστορίαν ἁρμοδίως τῇ θεωρίᾳ· ὥσπερ γὰρ κατὰ τὴν ἱστορίαν ὁ τὰς ἓξ ἡμέρας εἰπὼν τὰς ἐν τῷ μέσῳ εἶπεν, ὁ δὲ τὰς ὀκτὼ εἰπὼν καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐν ᾗ εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος καὶ τὸ τέλος ἐν ᾗ ἡ Μεταμόρφωσις γέγονεν ἐσήμανεν, οὕτως καὶ κατὰ τὴν θεωρίαν· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ ἄνθρωπος διὰ τῆς παραβάσεως εἰς τὸ παρὰ φύσιν ἐξωλίσθησεν, δεῖ τὸν θέλοντα συναναβῆναι τῷ Λόγῳ εἰς τὸ τῆς θεολογίας ὄρος πρῶτον μὲν καθάπερ μίαν ἡμέραν περᾶσαι τὰ παρὰ φύσιν καὶ καθάπερ ἓξ ἡμέρας περᾶσαι τὴν φύσιν καὶ γενέσθαι ἐν τῇ ὑπὲρ φύσιν, ἥτις ἐστὶν ὀγδόη· ὑπερθετικὴ γὰρ τοῦ χρόνου αὕτη καὶ τὴν μέλλουσαν χαρακτηρίζει κατάστασιν.

∆ιατί δὲ «παραλαμβάνει Πέτρον καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην» μόνους κατ᾽ ἰδίαν; Ὡς ἀεὶ τοῦ Λόγου τὴν ὀχλώδη καὶ ταραχῆς ἀνάμεστον ἐκνεύοντος κατάστασιν, καὶ ἐπειδὴ ὁ Πέτρος κατὰ τὸ πρῶτον τοῦ Σίμωνος ὄνομα 'ὑπακοὴ' ἑρμηνεύεται, κατὰ δὲ τὸ Πέτρος δηλοῖ τὴν ἀτρεψίαν, σημαίνεται δὲ διὰ τούτων ἡ κατὰ τῶν τῆς ὑπακοῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν ἄτρεπτος καὶ ἀμετακίνητος εἰς Θεὸν πίστις, ὁ δὲ Ἰάκωβος ἑρμηνεύεται 'πτερνιστής,' δηλοῦται δὲ διὰ τούτου ἡ ἐλπίς εἰ μὴ γάρ τις ἐλπίσῃ τῶν παρερχομένων τούτων καὶ φθαρτῶν ἀντιλαμβάνειν τὰ ἀπαρόδευτα καὶ ἄφθαρτα, οὐκ ἂν τὸν τὴν ἀπάτην ἀεὶ ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ἔχοντα διάβολον πτερνίσαι δύναται , ὁ δὲ Ιωάννης ἑρμηνεύεται 'περιστερά,' δηλοῦται δὲ διὰ τούτου ἡ ἀγάπη, ἐπειδὴ ἡ πραότης οὐδὲν ἕτερόν ἐστιν ἢ θυμοῦ καὶ ἐπιθυμίας εἰς τὰ παρὰ φύσιν ἀκινησία, ὁ δὲ μήτε δι᾽ ἐπιθυμιῶν μήτε δι᾽ ἀποτυχίαν (14Α_268> ὧν ἐπιθυμεῖ εἰς θυμὸν ἐρχόμενος προδήλως πάντας ἀγαπᾷ, τοῖς οὖν κτησαμένοις πίστιν, ἐλπίδα τε καὶ ἀγάπην συναναβαίνει ὁ Λόγος εἰς τὸ τῆς θεολογίας ὄρος καὶ μεταμορφοῦται ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν, οὐκέτι τῷ Θεὸς λέγεσθαι καὶ ἅγιος καὶ βασιλεὺς καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα καταφασκόμενος, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ ὑπέρθεος καὶ ὑπεράγιος καὶ πάντα τὰ καθ᾽ ὑπεροχὴν λεγόμενα ἀποφασκόμενος.