69

For the passion is false if the one suffering does not exist. And that the divine Scripture clearly proclaims the passion of the body, it is easy for one who wishes to unfold the four holy Gospels, and to learn from them how Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; and how Pilate ordered the body of Jesus to be given, and how Joseph took down the body of Jesus from the cross, and how he wrapped the body of Jesus in the linen cloth, and how he laid it in the new tomb. These things the four evangelists wrote, mentioning the body many times. But if they bring forward the words spoken by the angel to the women with Mary: 'Come, see where the Lord lay,' let them hear the history of the Acts which says that 'Devout men buried Stephen,' and let them consider how it was not the soul of the victorious Stephen, but his body that they deemed worthy of the customary rites. And up to the present day, when we enter the shrines of the triumphant martyrs, we are accustomed to ask who is named in the tomb; and those who know the truth answer, either Julian the martyr, perhaps, or Romanus, or Timothy; and yet often not even complete bodies lie there, but the smallest of relics; but nevertheless we also address the body by the common name. Thus the angel of the Lord called the body 'Lord,' since it was the body of the Lord of all. And the Lord himself also promised to give not his invisible nature, but his body for the life of the world: 'For the bread,' he says, 'that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.' And in the tradition of the divine mysteries, taking the symbol he said: 'This is my body, which is given for you,' or 'broken,' according to the Apostle. And nowhere when speaking about the passion did he mention the impassible divinity. But before all other things, those who attempt to contradict ought to be asked if they agree that the human nature was assumed complete by God the Word, and if they say that the union occurred without confusion. For if these things were to be agreed upon, the other things will also proceed in order, and the passion will be assigned to the passible nature. These things I have now dictated in summary and I have exceeded the measure of a letter. And I have also sent what I formerly wrote, having been urged by the most God-loving and most holy man of God, the lord ... a brief teaching, which is itself sufficient to teach the truth of the apostolic doctrines. And if I find a calligrapher, I will send to your holiness also what I have written in dialogue form, that is, by question and answer, both expanding the argument and fortifying our positions with the teachings of the Fathers. And I have now also sent a few selections from the ancient teachers, which are sufficient to show the aim of their teaching. Deign, therefore, most God-loving one, to give us in return the aid of your prayers, that we may cross the difficult surge and reach the fair harbors of the Savior. 132 TO LONGINUS, ARCHIMANDRITE OF DOLICHE. Your godliness has shown both your zeal for piety and your love for your neighbor. For both are joined together in the present case. For we are warred against on behalf of the apostolic doctrines, since we do not surrender our ancestral inheritance, but rather choose to suffer anything whatsoever, than to overlook a single tittle of the evangelical faith being plundered. You have therefore shared in our sufferings, both by refreshing our souls through letters, and by sending to us the most honorable and most devout deacons Matthew and Isaac; and, I know well, you will hear from the just Judge: 'In

69

ψευδὲς γὰρ τὸ πάθος οὐκ ὄντος τοῦ πάσχον τος. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ ἡ θεία Γραφὴ προφανῶς τοῦ σώματος κηρύτ τει τὸ πάθος, ῥᾴδιον τῷ βουλομένῳ τῶν ἱερῶν Εὐαγγελίων ἀναπτύξαι τὴν τετρακτύν, καὶ μαθεῖν ἐκεῖθεν, ὅπως Ἰωσὴφ ὁ ἀπὸ Ἀριμαθίας προσῆλθε τῷ Πιλάτῳ, καὶ ᾔτησε τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ· καὶ ὡς ὁ Πιλάτος προσέταξε δοθῆναι τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ ὡς ὁ Ἰωσὴφ καθεῖλεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ ὡς ἐνείλησε τῇ σινδόνι τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ ὡς τοῦτο κατέθηκεν ἐν τῷ καινῷ μνημείῳ. Ταῦτα οἱ τέσσαρες εὐαγγελισταὶ συνέγραψαν, πολλάκις τοῦ σώματος μνημονεύ σαντες. Εἰ δὲ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου πρὸς τὰς περὶ Μαρίαν εἰρημένα προφέρουσι· ∆εῦτε βλέπετε ὅπου ἔκειτο ὁ Κύριος , ἀκουσάτωσαν τῆς τῶν Πράξεων ἱστορίας λεγούσης, ὅτι Συνεκόμισαν τὸν Στέφανον ἄνδρες εὐλαβεῖς , καὶ σκοπείτωσαν, ὡς οὐ τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ νικηφόρου Στεφάνου, ἀλλὰ τὸ σῶμα τῶν νομιζομένων ἠξίωσαν. Καὶ μέχρι δὲ τοῦ παρόντος, ἐν τοῖς τῶν καλλινίκων μαρτύρων εἰσιόντες σηκοῖς, ἐρωτᾶν εἰώθαμεν τίς ὁ ἐν τῇ θήκῃ καλεῖται· οἱ δὲ τἀληθὲς εἰδότες ἀποκρίνονται, ἢ Ἰουλιανὸν τυχὸν τὸν μάρτυρα, ἢ Ῥωμανόν, ἢ Τιμόθεον· καίτοι πολλάκις οὐδὲ τελείων τῶν σωμάτων κειμένων, ἀλλὰ σμικροτάτων λειψάνων· ἀλλ' ὅμως τῷ κοινῷ ὀνόματι καὶ τὸ σῶμα προσαγορεύομεν. Οὕτως ὁ ἄγγελος τοῦ Κυρίου τὸ σῶμα Κύριον προσηγόρευσεν, ἐπειδὴ σῶμα ἦν τοῦ τῶν ὅλων Κυρίου. Καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Κύριος, οὐ τὴν ἀόρατον φύσιν, ἀλλὰ τὸ σῶμα δώσειν ὑπέσχετο ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου ζωῆς· Ὁ γὰρ ἄρτος , φησίν, ὃν ἐγὼ δώσω, ἡ σάρξ μου ἐστίν, ἣν ἐγὼ δώσω ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου ζωῆς . Κἀν τῇ τῶν θείων μυστηρίων παραδόσει λαβὼν τὸ σύμβολον ἔφη· Τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ σῶμά μου, τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν διδόμενον, ἢ κλώμενον , κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον. Καὶ οὐδαμοῦ περὶ πάθους διαλεχθεὶς τῆς ἀπαθοῦς ἐμνήσθη θεότητος. Χρὴ δὲ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων τοὺς ἀντιλέγειν ἐπιχει ροῦντας ἐρωτᾶσθαι, εἰ συνομολογοῦσι τελείαν ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου προσειλῆφθαι τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν φύσιν, καὶ εἰ τὴν ἕνωσιν ἀσύγχυτον γεγενῆσθαί φασιν. Εἰ γὰρ ταῦτα συνομολογηθείη, καὶ τἄλλα κατὰ τάξιν προβήσεται, καὶ τὸ πάθος τῇ παθητῇ προσαρμοσθήσεται φύσει. Ταῦτα ἐν κεφαλαίῳ νῦν ὑπηγόρευσα καὶ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς ὑπερέβην τὸ μέτρον. Ἀπέστειλα δὲ καὶ ἣν πρώην ἔγραψα, προτραπεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοφιλεστάτου καὶ ἁγιω τάτου ἀνθρώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ... σύντομον διδασκαλίαν, ἱκανὴν οὖσαν καὶ αὐτὴν διδάξαι τὴν τῶν ἀποστολικῶν δογμά των ἀλήθειαν. Εἰ δὲ εὕροιμι καλλιγράφον, πέμψω σου τῇ ὁσιότητι καὶ ἃ διαλογικῶς συνέγραψα, τοὐτέστι κατ' ἐρώτησιν καὶ ἀπόκρισιν, καὶ τὸν λόγον εὐρύνας, καὶ ὀχυρώσας τὰ ἡμέ τερα ταῖς τῶν Πατέρων διδασκαλίαις. Ἀπέστειλα δὲ νῦν καὶ ὀλΐγας τῶν ἀρχαίων διδασκάλων χρήσεις, ἱκανὰς οὔσας δεῖξαι τὸν τῆς ἐκείνων διδασκαλίας σκοπόν. Ἀντιδοῦναι τοίνυν ἡμῖν, θεοφιλέστατε, καταξίωσον τὴν ἐπικουρίαν τῶν προσευχῶν, ἵνα τὸν χαλεπὸν διαπεράσωμεν κλύδωνα καὶ τῶν εὐστόμων τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐπιτύχωμεν λιμένων. 132 ΛΟΓΓΙΝΩ ΑΡΧΙΜΑΝ∆ΡΙΤΗ ∆ΟΛΙΧΗΣ. Καὶ τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας ζῆλον καὶ τὴν περὶ τὸν πέλας ἀγάπην ἔδειξεν ὑμῶν ἡ θεοσέβεια. Ἀμφότερα γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος συνέζευκται. Ὑπὲρ γὰρ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν πολεμού μεθα δογμάτων, ἐπειδὴ τὸν πατρῷον οὐ προϊέμεθα κλῆρον, ἀλλὰ πᾶν ὁτιοῦν παθεῖν αἱρούμεθα μᾶλλον, ἢ μίαν κεραίαν ἐκ τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πίστεως παριδεῖν συλουμένην. Κεκοινωνή κατε τοίνυν ἡμῖν τῶν παθημάτων, καὶ διὰ γραμμάτων ψυχα γωγήσαντες, καὶ πέμψαντες πρὸς ἡμᾶς τοὺς τιμιωτάτους καὶ εὐλαβεστάτους Ματθαῖον καὶ Ἰσαάκην τοὺς διακόνους· καὶ, εὖ οἶδα, ἀκούσεσθε παρὰ τοῦ δικαίου Κριτοῦ· Ἐν