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suffers with the body; but the divinity, being impassible, did not suffer with the body. But it must be known that we say that God suffered in the flesh, but in no way that the divinity suffered in the flesh or that God suffered through the flesh. For just as when the sun shines on a tree, if an axe should cut the tree, the sun remains uncut and impassible, much more does the impassible divinity of the Logos, united hypostatically to the flesh, remain impassible while the flesh suffers. And just as, if someone were to pour water on red-hot iron, the one is by nature subject to suffering from the water (I mean the fire, for it is quenched), but the iron remains unharmed (for it is not its nature to be destroyed by water), much more, while the flesh was suffering, the alone impassible divinity did not admit the suffering, while remaining inseparable from it; for it is not necessary that the examples be completely and faultlessly alike. For in examples, it is necessary to consider both what is similar and what is different, since it would not be an example; for that which is similar in all respects would be the same thing and not an example, and especially in divine matters. For it is impossible to find an example similar in all respects, both in theology and in the economy.

71 Concerning the divinity of the Logos remaining inseparable from the soul and the

body even in the death of the Lord, and one hypostasis remaining Our Lord Jesus Christ, being sinless—“for He committed no sin,” “who takes away the sin of the world,” “nor was deceit found in his mouth”—was not subject to death, since it was through sin that death entered into the world. He dies, therefore, undergoing death on our behalf and offers Himself as a sacrifice to the Father for us; for we had sinned against Him, and it was necessary for Him to receive the ransom for us, and that we thus be freed from condemnation; for may it never be that the blood of the Master be offered to the tyrant. Death, therefore, approaches and, swallowing the bait of the body, is pierced by the hook of the divinity, and having tasted the sinless and life-giving body, is destroyed and brings up all whom it had long ago swallowed. For just as darkness vanishes at the introduction of light, so corruption is driven away by the assault of life, and life comes to all, but corruption to the corruptor. Therefore, although He died as a man and His holy soul was separated from His undefiled body, yet the divinity remained inseparable from both, I mean from the soul and from the body, and not even so was the one hypostasis divided into two hypostases; for both the body and the soul had their existence from the beginning in the hypostasis of the Logos, and in death, though separated from each other, each of them remained possessing the one hypostasis of the Logos. So that the one hypostasis of the Logos was the hypostasis of the Logos and of the soul and of the body; for never did either the soul or the body have its own hypostasis apart from the hypostasis of the Logos; but the hypostasis of the Logos is always one and never two. So the hypostasis of Christ is always one. Therefore, although the soul was separated from the body locally, yet hypostatically it was united through the Logos. 72 Concerning corruption and destruction The name of corruption has two meanings. For it signifies these human passions: hunger, thirst, weariness, the piercing of the nails, death, that is, the separation of the soul from the body, and such things. According to this meaning, we say the body of the Lord was corruptible; for He voluntarily took all these things upon Himself. But corruption also signifies the complete dissolution of the body into the elements of which it was composed, and its disappearance; which is more often called and named destruction by many. The Lord's body did not experience this, as the prophet David says: “For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will you let your Holy One see destruction.” Therefore, to say that the body of Christ was incorruptible before the resurrection, according to the first meaning of corruption, as the foolish Julian and Gaianus do, is impious. For if it were incorruptible, it would not be consubstantial with us, but in appearance and

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συμπάσχει τῷ σώματι· ἡ δὲ θεότης ἀπαθὴς οὖσα, οὐ συνέπασχε τῷ σώματι. Ἰστέον δέ, ὅτι θεὸν μὲν σαρκὶ παθόντα φαμέν, θεότητα δὲ σαρκὶ παθοῦσαν ἢ θεὸν διὰ σαρκὸς παθόντα οὐδαμῶς. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡλίου δένδρῳ ἐπιλάμποντος εἰ ἀξίνη τέμνοι τὸ δένδρον, ἄτμητος καὶ ἀπαθὴς διαμένει ὁ ἥλιος, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡ ἀπαθὴς τοῦ λόγου θεότης καθ' ὑπόστασιν ἡνωμένη τῇ σαρκὶ τῆς σαρκὸς πασχούσης διαμένει ἀπαθής. Καὶ ὥσπερ, εἴ τις πεπυρακτωμένῳ σιδήρῳ ἐπιχέοι ὕδωρ, τὸ μὲν πέφυκε πάσχειν ὑπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος (τὸ πῦρ λέγω, σβέννυται γάρ), ἀβλαβὴς δὲ διαμένει ὁ σίδηρος (οὐ πέφυκε γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος διαφθείρεσθαι), πολλῷ πλέον τῆς σαρκὸς πασχούσης ἡ μόνη ἀπαθὴς θεότης τὸ πάθος οὐ προσήκατο καὶ ἀχώριστος αὐτῆς διαμένουσα· οὐκ ἀνάγκη γὰρ παντελῶς καὶ ἀνελλιπῶς ἐοικέναι τὰ παραδείγματα. Ἀνάγκη γὰρ ἐν τοῖς παραδείγμασι καὶ τὸ ὅμοιον θεωρεῖσθαι καὶ τὸ παρηλλαγμένον, ἐπεὶ οὐ παράδειγμα· τὸ γὰρ ἐν πᾶσιν ὅμοιον ταὐτὸν ἂν εἴη καὶ οὐ παράδειγμα, καὶ μάλιστα ἐπὶ τῶν θείων. Ἀδύνατον γὰρ ἐν πᾶσιν ὅμοιον εὑρεῖν παράδειγμα, ἐπί τε τῆς θεολογίας, ἐπί τε τῆς οἰκονομίας.

71 Περὶ τοῦ ἀχώριστον διαμεῖναι τὴν τοῦ λόγου θεότητα τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τοῦ

σώματος καὶ ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ μίαν διαμεῖναι ὑπόστασιν Ἀναμάρτητος ὢν ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός-»ἁμαρτίαν γὰρ οὐκ ἐποίησεν» «ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου» «οὐδὲ εὑρέθη δόλος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ»-οὐχ ὑπέκειτο θανάτῳ, εἴπερ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν ὁ θάνατος. Θνῄσκει τοίνυν τὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν θάνατον ἀναδεχόμενος καὶ ἑαυτὸν τῷ πατρὶ προσφέρει θυσίαν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν· αὐτῷ γὰρ πεπλημμελήκαμεν, καὶ αὐτὸν ἔδει τὸ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν λύτρον δέξασθαι καὶ οὕτως ἡμᾶς λυθῆναι τῆς κατακρίσεως· μὴ γὰρ γένοιτο τῷ τυράννῳ τὸ τοῦ δεσπότου προσενεχθῆναι αἷμα. Πρόσεισι τοίνυν ὁ θάνατος καὶ καταπιὼν τὸ τοῦ σώματος δέλεαρ τῷ τῆς θεότητος ἀγκίστρῳ περιπείρεται, καὶ ἀναμαρτήτου καὶ ζωοποιοῦ γευσάμενος σώματος διαφθείρεται καὶ πάντας ἀνάγει, οὓς πάλαι κατέπιεν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ σκότος τῇ τοῦ φωτὸς ἐπεισαγωγῇ ἐξαφανίζεται, οὕτως ἡ φθορὰ τῇ τῆς ζωῆς προσβολῇ ἀπελαύνεται, καὶ γίνεται πᾶσι ζωή, φθορὰ δὲ τῷ φθείροντι. Εἰ καὶ τέθνηκε τοιγαροῦν ὡς ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἡ ἁγία αὐτοῦ ψυχὴ τοῦ ἀχράντου διῃρέθη σώματος, ἀλλ' ἡ θεότης ἀχώριστος ἀμφοτέρων διέμεινε, τῆς τε ψυχῆς φημι καὶ τοῦ σώματος, καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως ἡ μία ὑπόστασις εἰς δύο ὑποστάσεις διῃρέθη· τό τε γὰρ σῶμα καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐν τῇ τοῦ λόγου ὑποστάσει ἔσχον τὴν ὕπαρξιν καὶ ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ ἀλλήλων διαιρεθέντα ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ἔμεινε τὴν μίαν ὑπόστασιν τοῦ λόγου ἔχοντα. Ὥστε ἡ μία τοῦ λόγου ὑπόστασις τοῦ τε λόγου καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τοῦ σώματος ὑπῆρχεν ὑπόστασις· οὐδέποτε γὰρ οὔτε ἡ ψυχή, οὐδὲ τὸ σῶμα ἰδίαν ἔσχον ὑπόστασιν παρὰ τὴν τοῦ λόγου ὑπόστασιν· μία δὲ ἀεὶ ἡ τοῦ λόγου ὑπόστασις καὶ οὐδέποτε δύο. Ὥστε μία ἀεὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ ὑπόστασις. Ὥστε, εἰ καὶ τοπικῶς ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ σώματος κεχώριστο, ἀλλ' ὑποστατικῶς διὰ τοῦ λόγου ἥνωτο. 72 Περὶ φθορᾶς καὶ διαφθορᾶσ Τὸ τῆς φθορᾶς ὄνομα δύο σημαίνει. Σημαίνει γὰρ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα ταῦτα πάθη· πεῖναν, δίψαν, κόπον, τὴν τῶν ἥλων διάτρησιν, θάνατον ἤτοι χωρισμὸν τῆς ψυχῆς ἐκ τοῦ σώματος καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα. Κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ σημαινόμενον φθαρτὸν τὸ τοῦ κυρίου σῶμά φαμεν· πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα ἑκουσίως ἀνέλαβε. Σημαίνει δὲ ἡ φθορὰ καὶ τὴν τελείαν τοῦ σώματος εἰς τά, ἐξ ὧν συνετέθη, στοιχεῖα διάλυσιν καὶ ἀφανισμόν· ἥτις μᾶλλον ὑπὸ πολλῶν διαφθορὰ λέγεταί τε καὶ ὀνομάζεται. Ταύτης πεῖραν τὸ τοῦ κυρίου σῶμα οὐκ ἔσχεν, ὥς φησιν ὁ προφήτης ∆αυίδ· «Ὅτι οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψεις τὴν ψυχήν μου εἰς ᾅδου οὐδὲ δώσεις τὸν ὅσιόν σου ἰδεῖν διαφθοράν». Ἄφθαρτον μὲν οὖν κατὰ τὸν ἄφρονα Ἰουλιανὸν καὶ Γαϊανὸν τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγειν κατὰ τὸ πρῶτον τῆς φθορᾶς σημαινόμενον πρὸ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἀσεβές. Εἰ γὰρ ἄφθαρτον, οὐχ ὁμοούσιον ἡμῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ δοκήσει καὶ