72

bread not from the earth, but from heaven, the true one." By saying the one from heaven is true, he showed that the one from the earth is false, profiting nothing.

And to make this clearer: "For the bread," he says, "of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." Again, "he who comes down," he says, and again, "he who gives life." What is this? So that you may suspect nothing physical nor think anything earthly, but that you may see with intellectual eyes even the small bread, the little portion made divine, and having become wholly like the bread that comes down from heaven, who is true God and bread and drink of immortal life, lest, remaining in unbelief and in the bread only seen through all the senses, you eat bread not the heavenly, but the earthly only, and be deprived of life, as one not having eaten the heavenly bread spiritually, as Christ himself says: "It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh profits nothing." Whom, then, does it not profit? Those who say and affirm that this one is a mere man and not God. Therefore, if you yourself, a believer, partake of only bread and not of a deified body, as receiving that whole Christ himself, (169) how do you hope to receive life from it and have it perceptibly in yourself, when the Lord says: "He who eats the bread that comes down from heaven will live forever," and again: "The flesh profits nothing; it is the Spirit that gives life"? Truly the Spirit is the true food and drink; the Spirit is what transforms the bread into the body of the Lord; truly the Spirit is what cleanses us and makes us worthy to partake of the body of the Lord. For those who partake of it unworthily, as the Apostle says, "eat and drink judgment to themselves, not discerning the Lord's body."

But come, therefore, as many as are faithful, as many as know the spoken and declared power of the mysteries, as many as have eaten the heavenly bread, as many as have acquired eternal life from him and through him and in him and with him, and in that true life let us also be caught up to the third heaven in the Spirit, or rather spiritually into the very heaven of the Holy Trinity, so that, having seen and heard together all the things spoken and the things that remained unspoken, and having tasted and smelled and handled them well with the hands of the soul, we may send up a hymn of thanksgiving to the man-loving God, saying thus: "Glory to you, who appeared and deigned to be revealed and seen by us." And let us say also to all our brothers in common. O fathers, O brothers, monastics together and those in the worldly life, rich, poor, slaves, free, young and old, every age and every race, hear. Is God a liar? Or is he not a liar, but powerless, and will he not be able to do what he has promised? Will he delay to visit all the nations? Will anyone be able to hide from his eyes? Will a man be able to endure the revelation of his glory? (170) By no means. For how, when the heavens are dissolved with a rushing noise and the elements shall perish being burned up, as the Apostle says, will a man then endure the day of the coming of the unapproachable God who dwells in unapproachable light, who, coming in him and with him into the world, is about to be seen by all flesh? Great fear and trembling indeed will then seize the sinners and there will be no comparison for their affliction and pain and punishment.

But those who believe these things and long to be saved, hear what the Holy Spirit says: "Turn each of you from his evil way; learn to do good and deliver the oppressed; seek the Lord and your soul shall live; turn away from evil and do good." You kings, desire to wear moderation, justice, mercy, truth, and pious faith rather than the diadem and the purple. The patriarchs, if

72

ἄρτον οὐχί ἐκ τῆς γῆς, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, τόν ἀληθινόν". Εἰπών τόν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἀληθινόν, ἐδήλωσεν ὅτι ψευδής ὁ ἀπό τῆς γῆς, ὠφελῶν οὐδέν.

Καί ἵνα τοῦτο ποιήσῃ σαφέστερον· Ὁ γάρ ἄρτος, φησί, τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν ὁ καταβαίνων ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καί διδούς τῷ κόσμῳ ζωήν". Πάλιν, ὁ καταβαίνων, φησί, καί πάλιν, ζωήν ὁ διδούς. Τί τοῦτο; Ἵνα μηδέν σωματικόν ὑποπτεύσῃς μήτε τι γήϊνον ἐννοήσῃς, ἀλλά καί αὐτόν τόν μικρόν ἄρτον, τήν ὀλίγην μερίδα θεοποιηθεῖσαν, τοῖς νοεροῖς ὁρᾷς ὄμμασι καί γενομένην ὅλην ὁμοίαν τῷ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβαίνοντος ἄρτῳ, ὅς ἐστι Θεός ἀληθής καί ἄρτος καί πόμα ζωῆς ἀθανάτου, ὡς ἄν μή, ἐναπομένων τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ καί τῷ ὁρωμένῳ μόνῳ ἄρτῳ διά πασῶν τῶν αἰσθήσεων, ἄρτον φάγῃς οὐ τόν οὐράνιον, ἀλλά τόν ἐπίγειον μόνον, καί στερηθῇς τῆς ζωῆς, ὡς τόν οὐράνιον ἄρτον πνευματικῶς μή φαγών, καθώς αὐτός φησιν ὁ Χριστός· "Τό πνεῦμά ἐστι τό ζωοποιοῦν, ἡ σάρξ οὐκ ὠφελεῖ οὐδεν". Τίνας ἄρα οὐκ ὠφελεῖ; Τούς ἄνθρωπον ψιλόν εἶναι τοῦτόν φησι φάσκοντας καί οὐ Θεόν. Τοίνυν, εἰ καί σύ αὐτός ὁ πιστός ἄρτου μόνου καί οὐ σώματος τεθεωμένου, ὡς αὐτόν ἐκεῖνον ὅλον τόν Χριστόν δεχόμενος, μεταλαμβάνεις, (169) ζωήν πῶς ἐλπίζεις λαβεῖν ἐξ αὐτοῦ καί ἔχειν εὐαισθήτως ἐν ἑαυτῶ, τοῦ Κυρίου λέγοντος· "Ὁ τρώγων τόν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβαίνοντα ἄρτον ζήσεται εἰς τόν αἰῶνα", καί πάλιν· "Ἡ σάρξ οὐκ ὠφελεῖ οὐδέν· τό Πνεῦμά ἐστι τό ζωοποιοῦν"; Ὄντως τό Πνεῦμά ἐστιν ἡ ἀληθής βρῶσις καί πόσις· τό Πνεῦμά ἐστι τό μεταποιοῦν τόν ἄρτον εἰς σῶμα τοῦ Κυρίου· ὄντως τό Πνεῦμά ἐστι τό καθαῖρον ἡμᾶς καί ἀξίως ποιοῦν μεταλαμβάνειν τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Κυρίου. Οἱ γάρ ἀναξίως τούτου μεταλαμβάνοντες, ὥς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, "κρῖμα ἑαυτοῖς ἐσθίουσι καί πίνουσι, μή διακρίνοντες τό σῶμα τοῦ Κυρίου".

Ἀλλά δεῦτε τοιγαροῦν ὅσοι πιστοί, ὅσοι τῶν μυστηρίων τήν εἰρημένην καί λαλουμένην ἐπίστασθε δύναμιν, ὅσοι τόν οὐράνιον ἄρτον ἐφάγετε, ὅσοι τήν ἐξ αὐτοῦ καί δι᾿ αὐτοῦ καί ἐν αὐτῷ καί σύν αὐτῷ αἰωνίαν τήν ζωήν ἐκτήσασθε, καί ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ζωῇ τῇ ἀληθινῇ εἰς τρίτον οὐρανόν καί ἡμεῖς ἁρπαγῶμεν ἐν Πνεύματι, μᾶλλον δέ εἰς αὐτόν πνευματικῶς τῆς Ἁγίας Τριάδος τόν οὐρανόν, ἵνα πάντα τά ῥηθέντα καί τά διαμείναντα ἄρρητα κατιδόντες ὁμοῦ καί ἀκούσαντες, γευσάμενοί τε καί ὀσφρανθέντες καί ταῖς χερσί τῆς ψυχῆς καλῶς ψηλαφίσαντες, εὐχαριστήριον αἶνον τῷ φιλανθρώπῳ Θεῷ ἀναπέμψωμεν οὕτω λέγοντες· "∆όξα σοι, ὁ ἐπιφανείς καί ἀποκαλυφθῆναι καί ὁραθῆναι καταξιώσας ἡμῖν". Εἴπωμεν δέ καί πρός πάντας ἡμῶν κοινῶς τούς ἀδελφούς. Ὦ πατέρες, ὦ ἀδελφοί, μονάζοντες ὁμοῦ καί οἱ ἐν τῷ βίῳ τῷ κοσμικῷ, πλούσιοι, πένητες, δοῦλοι, ἐλεύθεροι, νέοι καί γέροντες, πᾶσα ἡλικία καί γένος ἅπαν, ἀκούσατε. Μή ὁ Θεός ψεύστης ἐστίν; Ἤ ψεύστης μέν οὐκ ἔστιν, ἀδύνατος δέ, καί οὐ μή δυνηθῇ ποιῆσαι ἅ ἐπηγγείλατο; Μή βραδύνῃ τοῦ ἐπισκέψασθαι πάντα τά ἔθνη; Μή ἰσχύσει τις κρυβῆναι ἐξ ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ; μή ὑπενέγκαι ἰσχύσει ἄνθρωπος τήν ἀποκάλυψιν τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ; (170) Οὔμενουν. Πῶς γάρ, ὅταν οὐρανοί ῥοιζηδόν λύωνται καί τά στοιχεῖα καυσούμενα ἀπολοῦνται, καθά φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ἄνθρωπος τότε ἡμέραν εἰσόδου ὑπομενεῖ τοῦ ἀπροσίτου Θεοῦ καί ἀπροσίτῳ ἐνοικοῦντος φωτί, ὅς ἐν αὐτῷ καί σύν αὐτῷ ἐρχόμενος εἰς τόν κόσμον ὀφθῆναι μέλλει πάσῃ σαρκί; Μέγας φόβος καί τρόμος ὄντως λήψεται τότε τούς ἁμαρτωλούς καί σύγκρισις οὐκ ἔσται τῆς θλίψεως καί ὀδύνης καί τιμωρίας αὐτῶν.

Ἀλλ΄ οἱ ταῦτα πιστεύοντες καί ἐπιποθοῦντες σωθῆναι, τάδε λέγει, ἀκούσατε, τό Πνεῦμα τό Ἅγιον· "Ἀποστρέψατε ἕκαστος ὑμῶν ἀπό τῆς ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ τῆς πονηρᾶς· μάθετε καλόν ποιεῖν καί ῥύσασθε ἀδικούμενον· ἐκζητήσατε τόν Κύριον καί ζήσεται ἡ ψυχή ὑμῶν· ἐκκλίνατε ἀπό κακοῦ καί ποιήσατε ἀγαθόν". Οἱ βασιλεῖς τήν σωφροσύνην, τήν δικαιοσύνην, τήν ἐλεημοσύνην, τήν ἀλήθειαν καί τήν εὐσεβῆ πίστιν μᾶλλον ἤ τό διάδημα και΄τήν ἁλουργίδα φορεῖν ποθήσατε. Οἱ πατριάρχαι, εἰ