Chapter I. That the Son is by Nature God, even though we find Him calling the Father His God.

xx. 17. But go unto My brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.

For reasons which we have given, Christ suffers not Mary to touch Him, though, in her love of God, she greatly yearned for this boon; but still rewards her for her watchful care, and doubly requites her for her passionate faith and love for Him, showing that those who are diligent in His service meet with a recompence. And, what was even yet more glorious, she achieved the deliverance of woman from the frailties of old; for in her first----I mean in Mary----all womankind, so to speak, are crowned with a double honour. For though at first she thus lamented, and made Christ an occasion for weeping, she turned her mourning into joy when she was told to forbear from tears by Him, Who, by His own sentence of old, had made woman easy to be overcome by the attacks of sorrow. For God had said to the woman: In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children; but just as He once made her subject unto sorrow in Paradise, when she hearkened to the voice of the serpent, and ministered to the devil's wiles, so now again in a garden He bids her refrain from weeping. Releasing her from that curse which bound her unto sorrow, He bids her be the first messenger of tidings of great joy, and proclaim to the disciples His journey heavenward; that as the first woman, the mother of all mankind, was condemned for listening to the devil's voice, and through her the whole race of women, so also this woman, in that she had hearkened to our Saviour's words, and announced tidings fraught with life eternal, might deliver the entire race of women from the charge of old. The Lord, therefore, grants unto Mary that, besides being delivered from tears, and from a heart ever prone to sorrow, her feet also should be beautiful. For, as the Prophet exclaims: How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things! while the feet of that woman of old time were not beautiful, for no good tidings did she bring when she enticed our forefather to transgress the Divine command. That Mary is worthy our admiration we may infer, from the fact that she was deemed worthy of mention in prophecy. For what said the Prophet concerning her, and the women with her, who announced unto the holy disciples the Resurrection of the Saviour? Ye women, who come from the sight, come hither; for it is a people that hath not understanding. For this Divine prophecy bids these women, true lovers of Christ, come, as it were, with quickened steps, that they may tell what they themselves have seen, and condemns the insensibility of the Jews in that they laughed to scorn the words of our Saviour Christ Himself concerning the Resurrection.

And though there were also other women there (for this the other Evangelists are pleased to record), and the wise John made mention only of Mary, we shall yet find no discrepancy in the accounts of these holy men. For it is probable that John made mention only of Mary Magdalene, because her love for Christ was more impassioned, and she outran the others, so that she first saw the tomb, and was in the garden, and visited every place that was nigh unto the sepulchre, to search for the Body; for she thought, in fact, that the Lord had been taken away. For results are always ascribed to those who take the lead in counsel and action, though there may be others who co-operate in both.

Therefore, to her honour and glory and perpetual renown, the Saviour vouchsafed unto Mary the duty of proclaiming to the brethren the tidings contained in His words: I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and My God and your God; and do thou for thy part accept this great and profound mystery, not suffering thine heart to vault over the measure of the truth of the Divine doctrines. Observe how the Only-begotten Word of God came among us, that we also might be even as He is, so far as is possible for our nature to attain thereto, and so far as relates unto our new creation by grace. For He humbled Himself that He might exalt that which was by nature lowly to His own high station; and wore the form of a servant, though He was by Nature Lord and Son of God, that He might uplift that which was by nature enslaved to the dignity of Sonship, in conformity with His own Likeness, and in His Image. How, and in what sense, then, He, becoming one of us as Man, in order that we also might be like Him, that is, Gods and Sons, receives our attributes into Himself, and gives back unto us His own, you may well be anxious to inquire. I will explain, then, as far as I am able: In the first place, then, though we are servants by rank and nature (for creatures are subject to their Creator), He calls us His brethren, and designates God the common Father of Himself and us; and, making humanity His own, by taking our likeness upon Him, He calls our God His God, though He is His Son by Nature; that, as we mount up to His exceeding great dignity of station by likeness to Him (for it is not because we are by nature sons of God that we are so called, for He cries in our hearts by His own Spirit, Abba, Father), so also He, since He took our form----for He became Man, according to the Scriptures----might have God for His God, though He was truly God by Nature, and proceeded from Him. Be not, therefore, offended, though you hear Him calling God His God, but rather contemplate His words in a teachable spirit, and attentively consider their true meaning. For He says that God is both His Father and our God; and both sayings are true. For, in very truth, the God of the universe is Christ's Father, but not ours by nature; but rather our God as our Creator and Sovereign Lord. But the Son, as it were, blending Himself with us, vouchsafes to our nature the dignity that is in a special and peculiar sense His own, calling Him That begat Him the common Father of us all; while, on the other hand, He receives into Himself, by taking upon Him our likeness, that which belonged to our nature. For He calls His Father His God, being unwilling, through His inherent love and mercy toward mankind, to dishonour our likeness that He had taken upon Himself. If, then, you choose in ignorance to cavil at this saying, and it seem intolerable to you that the Lord should say that God the Father was His God, you will then, in your perversity, be bringing a charge against the scheme for your own redemption; and when you ought to be offering up thanksgiving you will be dishonouring your Benefactor, and be foolishly objecting to the manner in which He manifested His love towards you. For if He humbled Himself, despising shame, and became a Man for your sake, on your head is the charge of humiliation, and to Him Who chose to undergo this for your sake, exceeding great is the honour due. And I am amazed that you have ears merely for the eclipse of glory (for He humbled Himself for our sake), and consider not its restoration, and, regarding only the degradation, reflect not upon the exaltation. For how was He humiliated, if you do not regard Him as perfect, as being God? And in what sense was He degraded, if you do not take into account the lofty attributes of His ineffable Nature? Therefore, when He was perfect and all-sufficient as God, He humbled Himself for your sake, transforming Himself to your likeness; and though He was high exalted as the Son of God, and of the very Essence of the Father, He degraded Himself, being mulcted of the attributes of Divine glory, so far as His Nature admitted. As therefore, now, He is at the same time God and Man, being high exalted because of His parentage (for He is God of God and truly Begotten of His Father), and also made lowly for our sake (for He became Man for us); be of a tranquil mind when you hear Him saying: I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and My God and your God. For it was very meet and right that, as being by Nature God and Son of God, He should call Him That begat Him His Father; and that, as being Man, even as we are men. He should call God His God.

18  Mary Magdalene cometh and telleth the disciples that she had seen the Lord; and how that He had said these things unto her.

That race which is specially subject to weakness----I mean the race of women----is restored by the loving-kindness of our Saviour, Who, in a manner, rolled up in one the source and origin of our infirmities, and ameliorated them for the future. For Mary announced that she had seen the Lord, Who had escaped from the bonds of death, and had heard His Voice, and brought to the disciples the words of life, and the firstfruits of the Divine Gospel.

19, 20  When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He had said this, He showed unto them His Hands and His Side.

On the selfsame day on which He had appeared unto Mary, and discoursed with her, He also showed Himself to the holy disciples, who dreaded the intolerable attacks of the impious Jews, and were, on that account, collected together in a certain house. For it was not likely that they who had been so instructed, and had often been bidden to make haste to escape from the wrath of their would-be murderers, would be found lacking in proper prudence. Christ miraculously appears unto them. For while the doors were shut, as the Apostle says, Christ unexpectedly stood in the midst, by His ineffable Divine power rising superior to the chain of cause and effect, and showing Himself able to dispense with the design and method appropriate to His action. For let no man say, "How did the Lord, Whose Body was of solid Flesh, enter without let or hindrance, though the doors were shut?" but rather let him reflect that the Evangelist is not here speaking of one of ourselves, but rather of Him Who is enthroned by the side of God the Father, and Who easily doth whatsoever He will. For He that was by Nature the true God, was of necessity not subject unto the sequences of cause and effect, as are the creatures that owe their being to Him; but rather does He exercise Lordship over necessity itself, and due and appropriate methods of performance. For how did He make the sea afford a footing unto His Feet, and walk thereon as upon dry land, though we are not so framed that we can tread upon the paths of the sea? And how did He perform the rest of His marvellous works with God-like power? All these things, you will say, surpass man's understanding. Put this miracle of Christ side by side with the rest, and do not, following the opinion of certain men, who, in the folly of their hearts, have been led astray to judge falsely, imagine on account of this very occurrence that Christ rose again without His human Body, wholly bereft thereof, and severed from the Temple that He had taken on Himself. For if thou canst not understand the working of God's ineffable Nature, why dost thou not rather cry out against the infirmity of man's reason ----for that would be the wiser course----and then silently acquiesce in the limit prescribed to you by the Creator? For in rejecting the conclusion of wisdom, thou doest wrong to the great mystery of the Resurrection, on which all our reliance is fixed. For remember the exclamation of Paul: If the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain, and ye are yet in your sins. And again: Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that He raised up Christ: Whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised. For what can be raised up save that which is fallen? or what restored to life, save that which is bowed down in death? And how shall we expect to rise again, if so be that Christ raised not up His own Temple, making Himself, for us, the Firstfruits of them which are asleep, and the Firstborn from the dead? Or how shall this mortal put on immortality, if, as some think, it be lost in total annihilation? For how shall it escape this fate if it have no hope of a new life? Do not, then, swerve from orthodoxy in the faith, because a miracle was accomplished; but rather be wise, and add this to the other marvellous works that Christ did.

For observe how, by unexpectedly entering when the doors were shut, Christ showed, once more, that He was by Nature God, and no other than He Who had erewhile dwelt among them; and also, by laying bare the wounded Side of His Body, and by showing the print of the nails, He gave us complete satisfaction that He had raised that Temple of His Body which had hung upon the Cross, and had restored to life that Body which He had worn, thereby subduing death, which is due to all flesh, inasmuch as He was by Nature Life and God. What need, then, was there for Him to show them His Hands and Side, if, as some perversely think, He did not rise again with His Body? And, if He wished His disciples not to entertain this idea concerning Him, why did He not rather appear in another form, and, disdaining the likeness of flesh, conjure up other thoughts in their minds'? But, as it is, He thought it of so great importance that they should be convinced of the Resurrection of His Body, that, when the time even seemed to call Him to change His Body into some form of ineffable and surpassing Majesty, He resolved in His Providence to appear once more as He had been of old, that He might not be thought to be wearing any other form than that in which also He had suffered crucifixion. For that our eyes could not have endured the glory of the holy Body, if Christ had chosen to reveal it unto the disciples before He ascended to the Father, is easily to be inferred, when we reflect upon His transfiguration on the Mount before the holy disciples. For the blessed Matthew the Evangelist writes, that Jesus took Peter, and James, and John, and went up into the mountain, and was transfigured before them: and His Face did shine as lightning, and His garments became white as snow, and they could not endure the sight, but fell on their faces. Very appropriately, then, our Lord Jesus Christ, as He had not yet transformed the Temple of His Body into its due and proper majesty, still appeared in His original shape, not wishing the belief in the Resurrection to be transferred to another form or body than that which He had received from the Holy Virgin, in which also He was crucified, and died, according to the Scripture, the power of death extending only over Flesh, from which also it was driven forth. For if His Body, after death, did not rise again, what sort of death was vanquished, and in what way was the power of corruption weakened? For it could not be by the death of a single rational being, or soul, or angel, or even the very Word of God. When, then, the power of death has reference only to that which is doomed by nature to corruption, with this it is that the power of the Resurrection is concerned, and with this alone, in order that the dominion of the lord of this world might be taken away. The entry of our Lord through the closed doors must be classed, by men of wisdom, with the other miracles that He wrought. He then greeted His holy disciples. Peace be unto you, He says; meaning by peace, Himself. For while Christ is present among men it follows that the tranquillity of their minds is assured unto them. Paul also declared that this boon is granted to those who believe on Him, when he says: The peace of Christ, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts; meaning by the peace of Christ which passeth all understanding nothing else than His Spirit, of Which if any man partake he shall be filled with everything that is good.

20 The disciples, therefore, were glad when they saw the Lord.

Hereby, also, the blessed Evangelist testifies to the truth of our Saviour's Words, when he says that the disciples were full of peace and joy of heart when they saw Jesus. For we remember the mysterious utterance that He spake unto them concerning His precious Cross and Resurrection from the dead, saying: A little while, and ye behold Me no more; and again a little while, and ye shall see Me; and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one talceth away from you. The Jews, indeed, whose minds were transported by a frenzy of fury, rejoiced when they saw Jesus nailed to the Cross, while the heart of the holy disciples was heavy laden with an intolerable burthen of sorrow. But as He is by Nature Life, He overcame the power of death, and rose again, and the joy of the Jews was extinguished, while the heaviness of the holy disciples was turned into joy, and nothing could rob or deprive them of their soul's delight. Christ, having died once for all to put away sin, dieth no more, as is written. For He is alive for evermore, and of a surety He will preserve those whose hope is in Him, in joy without ceasing. He once more greets them with the oft-repeated assurance: Peace be unto you; laying down, as it were, this law for the children of the Church. Therefore, also, more especially in the assembling and gathering of ourselves together in holy places, at the very commencement of the blessed mystery of the Eucharist, we repeat this saying to one another. For our being at peace with each other and with God must be accounted a fountain and source of all good. Therefore, also, Paul, when he prays that those who are called may enjoy the highest of all blessings, says: Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; and also, when he invites those who have not yet believed to make their peace with God, he says: We are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled to God. None the less, also, the Prophet Isaiah exhorts us, crying out: Let us make peace with Him, let us make peace who come. The meaning of the saying well befits the Dispenser of Peace, or rather the Peace of all men; that is, Christ, for He is our peace, according to the Scripture.

21 Then said He to them again, Peace be unto you: as the living Father sent Me, even so send I you.

Hereby our Lord Jesus Christ ordained the disciples to be guides and teachers of the world, and to be ministers of His Divine mysteries, and also bade them, for the time was now come, like lights to illuminate and enlighten, not merely the country of Judaea, according to the limit of the commandment of the Law, which extended from Dan even unto Beersheba, according to the Scripture, but rather also all under the sun, and men scattered throughout all lands, wheresoever they dwelt. The saying of Paul, therefore, is true: No man taketh the honour unto himself, but he that is called of God. For our Lord Jesus Christ called into His most glorious apostleship, before all others, His own disciples, and firmly fixed the whole earth, which was well-nigh tottering and in the act of falling, pointing out, as God, men to be props thereof who were well able to support it. Therefore, also, He thus spake by the mouth of the Psalmist, concerning the earth and the Apostles: I have fixed the pillars of it; for the blessed disciples were as the pillars and ground of the truth, whom also He says that He sent forth, even as the Father had sent Him; showing at the same time the dignity of their apostle-ship, and the incomparable honour of the power vouchsafed unto them, and also in all likelihood suggesting the method of life the Apostles were to follow. For if He thought it meet that He should send forth His own disciples, even as the Father had sent Him, was it not necessary for those who were destined to imitate His mission to ascertain what the Father sent forth the Son for to do? In divers ways, then, expounding unto us the character of His own mission, He said in one place: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance; and again: They that are whole have no need of a physician; but they that are sick: and again, in another place: For I am come down from heaven, not to do Mine own Will, but the Will of Him That sent Me; and yet once more: For God sent not His Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through Him. Summing up, therefore, in a few words the character of their mission, He says that He sent them even as the Father had sent Him, that they might know thereby that they were bound to call sinners to repentance, and to minister to those who were in evil plight, whether of body or soul, and in all their dealings upon earth, not in any wise to follow their own will, but the Will of Him That sent them, and to save the world by their teaching, so far as was possible. And in truth we shall find the holy disciples eager to show the utmost zeal in performing all these things; and it is not difficult for any one to satisfy himself of this, who has once turned his attention to the Acts of the Apostles, and the words of the holy Paul.

22, 23  And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whosesoever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.

After dignifying the holy Apostles with the glorious distinction of the apostleship, and appointing them ministers and priests of the Divine Altar, as I have just said, He at once sanctifies them by vouchsafing His Spirit unto them, through the outward sign of His Breath, that we might be firmly convinced that the Holy Spirit is not alien to the Son, but Consubstantial with Him, and through Him proceeding from the Father; He shows that the gift of the Spirit necessarily attends those who are ordained by Him to be Apostles of God. And why? Because they could have done nothing pleasing unto God, and could not have triumphed over the snares of sin, if they had not been clothed with power from on high, and been transformed into something other than they were before. Therefore, also, it was said to one of old time: The Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt be turned into another man; and the Prophet Isaiah also declared that those who waited upon the Lord should renew their strength. The wise Paul, too, when he says that he surpassed some in his labours, that is, in the deeds of an Apostle, adds at once: Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Besides, we say this, that the disciples would never at all have understood the mystery that is in Christ, nor have been true guides in this knowledge, if they had not advanced in the light of the Spirit to a revelation of things which surpass man's reason and understanding, a revelation which is able to point out to them the heights to which they were bound to ascend; for no man can say Jesus is Lord, as Paul says, but in the Holy Spirit. As, then, they were destined to proclaim that Jesus was the Lord, that is, to preach that He was God and Lord of necessity, therefore they received the grace of the Holy Spirit in immediate connexion with the office of apostleship, Christ granting Him unto them, not ministering to the desires of another, but rather vouchsafing Him of Himself; for the Spirit could only come down unto us from the Father through the Son. The old and written Law, however, which contained shadows and types of the reality, ordained that the appointment of priests should be performed in a more physical way, so to say, and that their appointment should be attended with more outward display. For the blessed Moses, by God's command, bade Aaron and the Levites wash themselves with water: then he slew the ram of consecration and anointed w ith the blood the tip of Aaron's right ear, as is written, and also put of the blood upon the thumb of the right hand, and upon the big toe of the right foot, giving an outline and type, as in a picture, of the mystery concerning Christ. For in the presence here of water and blood, the instruments of sanctification, how can there be any question that in an obscure type an outline was given of the fair beauty of the reality? Our Lord Jesus Christ, transforming into the power of truth the figure of the Law, consecrates through Himself the ministers of the Divine Altar. For He is the Lamb of consecration, and He consecrates by actual sanctification, making men partakers in His Nature, through participation in the Spirit, and in some sort strengthening the nature of man into a power and glory that is superhuman.

And there can be no doubt that the explanation I have here given can be proved not to err from the truth. But, perhaps, someone will come and say as follows, with a praiseworthy desire for knowledge, it may be, putting to us the question, "Where then, and when, did the Saviour's disciples receive the grace of the Spirit? When the Saviour appeared unto them in the house, immediately after the Resurrection, and breathed upon them, saying: Receive ye the Holy Ghost; or in the days of the holy Pentecost, when, as they were again assembled together in one place, suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind. And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them. And they began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gavethem utterance?" For either, such an one will say, we must suppose that a double grace was given unto them, or we must remain in ignorance of the occasion on which they, in fact, became partakers in the Holy Spirit; if indeed our Saviour's saying, and that which is written in the Acts of the holy Apostles, is found to be true. And, indeed, the question may well excite our perplexity, especially as Christ Himself said: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away the Comforter cannot come unto you; but when I depart, I will send Him unto you; for the inquirer will perhaps go on to say, "The Truth, that is, Christ, cannot lie. When, then, He said in plain words that the Comforter would not come unto the disciples unless He were taken up unto the Father, but of a surety He would send Him then, when He was in heaven at His side; how, then, can He be supposed to grant the gift of the Spirit, though His journey from hence was not yet accomplished? " Still, though the inquiry is very obscure, and very likely to cause perplexity, it yet allows of an appropriate solution, when we remember our faith that Christ is not as one of ourselves, but rather is God, and of God, and so exercises dominion over His own Words, and moulds them to suit His purposes.

For He proclaimed that He would send down to us from heaven the Comforter, when He was ascended to God the Father; and this, indeed, He did, when He had gone away to the Father, and vouchsafed to shed forth the Spirit abundantly upon all who were willing to receive it. For any man could receive it, through faith, that is, and Holy Baptism; and then was fulfilled that which was spoken by the voice of the Prophet: I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh. But it was necessary that the Son should appear as co-operating with the Father in granting the Spirit; it was necessary that those who believed on Him should understand that He is the Power of the Father, That has created this whole world, and called man out of nothing into being. For God the Father, at the beginning, by His own Word, took of the dust of the ground, as is written, and fashioned the animal, that is man, and endowed him with a soul, according to His Will, and illuminated him with a share of His own Spirit; for He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, as is written. And when it came to pass that through disobedience man fell under the power of death, and lost his ancient honour, God the Father built him up and restored him to newness of life, through the Son, as at the beginning. And how did the Son restore him? By the death of His own Flesh He slew death, and brought the race of man back again into incorruption; for Christ rose again for us. In order, then, that we might learn that He it was Who at the beginning created our nature, and sealed us with the Holy Spirit, our Saviour again grants the Spirit, through the outward sign of His Breath, to the holy disciples, as being the firstfruits of renewed nature. For Moses writes concerning our creation of old, that God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life. As, then, at the beginning, man was formed and came into being, so likewise is he renewed; and as he was then formed in the Image of his Creator, so likewise now, by participation in the Spirit, is he transformed into the Likeness of his Maker. For that the Spirit impresses the Saviour's Image on the hearts of those who receive Him surely does not admit of question; for Paul plainly exhorteth those who had fallen through weakness into observance of the Law, in the words: My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you. For he says that Christ will not be formed in them save by partaking of the Holy Spirit, and living according to the law of the Gospel. Therefore, as in the firstfruits of creation, which is made regenerate into incorruption and glory and into the Image of God, Christ establishes anew His own Spirit in His disciples. For it was necessary that we should also perceive this truth, namely, that He brings down and grants the Spirit unto us. Therefore, also, He said: All things, whatsoever the Father hath, are Mine. And as the Father hath, of Himself and in Himself, His own Spirit, so also the Son hath the Spirit in Himself, because He is Consubstantial with Him, and essentially proceeded from Him, having by Nature in Himself all the attributes of His Father.

From the following fact we can prove that, many as were the actions that He repeatedly promised us that He would perform in due season, He even in part anticipated the appointed time in the performance of them, for our edification, that we might be fully convinced that whatsoever He has spoken will assuredly come to pass. He declared that He would raise up the dead, and bring back again to life those who are lying in the earth and in tombs. The hour cometh, He says, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done ill, unto the resurrection of judgment. And, desiring to satisfy us that He could readily accomplish this, He taught, saying: I am the Resurrection and the Life. But, inasmuch as the vastness of the miracle made it difficult of belief that the dead could ever be restored to life, He anticipated to our profit the time of the Resurrection, and gave us a sign by raising Lazarus and the widow's son and the daughter of Jairus. And what else besides? As He said that full of glory would be the resurrection of the Saints, for then, He says, shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father, in order that here again He might be believed to speak truth, He granted the sight thereof before the time to the disciples. For He took Peter and James and John, and went up into the mountain, and was transfigured before them: and His Face did shine as lightning, and His garments became white as snow. Just as, then, although He promised to accomplish these things in their season, yet He performed the works in part and with a limited scope even out of due time, as an earnest and foretaste of that which was expected to come to pass and to affect the whole world, so doing in order that faith in Him might not be shaken; even so, likewise, after having said that He would send the Comforter to us when He went away to the Father, and having fixed this occasion for granting this grace universally, He performed in the persons of His disciples the first instalment, as it were, of the promise, for the many just and sufficient reasons we have previously given.

They, therefore, partook of the Holy Spirit when He breathed on them, saying, Receive ye the Holy Ghost; for it were impossible for Christ to lie, and He would never have said "Receive" without giving; but in the days of Holy Pentecost, when God more openly proclaimed His grace, and manifested the stablishment of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, there appeared unto them tongues through flame, not signifying the beginning of the gift of the Spirit in their hearts, but rather having reference to the time when they were first endowed with the gift of languages. It is written, indeed, that they began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Note, that they began to speak, not to receive sanctification, and that the gift of divers tongues came down upon them; and this was the working of the Spirit that was in them. For just as the Father spake from heaven, and bare witness to His Son, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; and did this to satisfy the minds of those who heard, uttering, or causing to be uttered, a sound as of some instrument which fell upon the ear; even so, also, in the case of the holy disciples He made the manifestation of the grace given them more public, sending down upon them tongues as of fire, and causing the descent of the Holy Spirit to resemble the sound of the rushing of a mighty wind. And that this very portent was given unto the Jews by way of a sign, you will readily see, if you listen to God, the Lord of all, saying by the mouth of the Prophet: By men of strange tongues, and by the lips of strangers, will I speak unto this people, and yet will they not believe. And to the intent that we might believe that the blessed disciples did, in fact, partake of the Holy Spirit, and were from henceforth honoured with the grace of Christ from above, and that they were able to expound the truth, and that the glory of their apostleship was worthy all admiration, witness being borne thereto by the gift from on high, therefore it was that fire came down in the form of tongues.

I think, indeed, that I have here said enough to accurately explain the meaning of the passage; but, inasmuch as we are bound to take every precaution in our treatise, that no stumblingblock spring up to offend the brethren through the carping spirit of any amongst us, let us make this addition to what we have said, and refute the vain talk that we may expect will be started. We shall find, then, in the passage that follows, the words: Thomas, called Didymus, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. How, then, someone may not unreasonably inquire, if he were away, was he in fact made partaker in the Holy Spirit when the Saviour appeared unto the disciples and breathed on them, saying: Receive ye the Holy Ghost? We reply that the power of the Spirit pervaded every man who received grace, and fulfilled the aim of the Lord Who gave Him unto them; and Christ gave the Spirit not to some only but to all the disciples. Therefore, if any were absent, they also received Him, the munificence of the Giver not being confined to those only who were present, but extending to the entire company of the holy Apostles. And that this interpretation is not strained, or our idea extravagant, we may convince you from Holy Writ itself, bringing forward as a proof a passage in the Books of Moses. The Lord God commanded the all-wise Moses to select elders, to the number of seventy, from the assembly of the Jews, and plainly declared: I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee and will put it upon them. Moses, as he was bidden, brought them together, and fulfilled the Divine decree. Two only of the men who were included in the number of the seventy elders were left behind, and remained in the assembly, to wit, Eldad and Medad. Then when God put upon them all the Divine Spirit, as He had promised, those whom Moses had collected together immediately received grace, and prophesied; but none the less also the two who were in the assembly prophesied, and, in fact, the grace from above came upon them first. Nay, further, Joshua, that was called the son of Nun, who was the constant attendant of Moses, not understanding at once the meaning of the mystery, but thinking that after the manner of Dathan and Abiram they were rivals in the art of prophecy to those whom Moses had brought together, said unto him: Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp; my lord Moses, forbid them. And what answered that truly wise and great man, seeing in his wisdom the working of the grace given unto them, and the power of the Spirit? Enviest thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them! Observe how he rebukes the saying of Joshua, who knew not what had been done. Would that, he says, the Spirit were given to all the people! Nay, this will indeed come to pass in due season, when the Lord, that is, Christ, will grant unto them His Spirit; breathing upon His holy Apostles as upon the firstfruits of those whose due it is to receive Him, and saying: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Then, if Thomas were absent, he was not cut off from receiving the Spirit, for the Spirit pervaded all whose due it was to receive Him, and who were included among the number of His honoured disciples.

Christ, when He gave the Spirit unto them, said: Whosesoever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained; though only the living God is able and powerful to grant unto sinners remission of sins; for whom could it befit to pardon the transgressions that sinners have committed against the Divine Law, save the Lawgiver Himself? You may, if you choose, see the meaning of the saying from the analogy of human affairs. Who has authority to meddle with the decrees of earthly monarchs, and who tries to undo that which has been ordained by the will and judgment of rulers, save only someone who is invested with regal honour and dignity? Therefore, wise was the saying, Insolent is he who saith unto the king, Thou breakest the law. In what way, then, and in what sense did the Saviour invest His disciples with the dignity which befits the Nature of God alone? The Word that is in the Father cannot err; and this He did, and whatsoever He doeth, He doeth well. For He thought it meet that they who have once been endued with the Spirit of Him Who is God and Lord, should have power also to remit or retain the sins of whomsoever they would, the Holy Spirit That dwelt in them remitting or retaining them according to His Will, though the deed were done through human instrumentality.

They who have the Spirit of God remit or retain sins in two ways, as I think. For they invite to Baptism those to whom this sacrament is already due from the purity of their lives, and their tried adherence to the faith; and they hinder and exclude others who are not as yet worthy of the Divine grace. And in another sense, also, they remit and retain sins, by. rebuking erring children of the Church, and granting pardon to those who repent; just as, also, Paul gave up him that had committed fornication at Corinth, for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved, and admitted him again into fellowship, that he might not be swallowed up with his overmuch sorrow, as he says in his letter. When, then, the Spirit of Christ dwelling in our hearts doeth things which befit God alone, surely He is the living God, invested with the glorious dignity of the Divine Nature, and having power over sacred laws.  

24, 25  But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in His Hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His Side, I will not believe.

The greatest marvels are always attended by incredulity, and any action which seems to exceed the measure of probability is ill-received by those who hear of it. But the sight of the eyes succeeds in banishing these doubts, and, as it were, compels a man by force to assent to the evidence before him. This was the state of mind of the wise Thomas, who did not readily accept the true testimony of the other disciples to our Saviour's Resurrection, although, according to the Mosaic Law, in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established. I think, however, that it was not so much that the disciple discredited what was told him, but rather that he was distracted with the utmost grief, because he had not been thought worthy to see our Saviour with his own eyes. For he, perhaps, thought that he would never receive that blessing. He knew that the Lord was by Nature Life, and that He was able to escape death itself, and to destroy the power of corruption; for surely He "Who released others from its trammels could deliver His own Flesh. In his exceeding great joy he affected incredulity, and though he well-nigh leapt in his ecstasy of delight, he longed to see Him before his very sight, and to be perfectly satisfied that He had risen again to life according to His promise. For our Saviour said: Children, a little while and ye behold Me no more; and again a little while, and ye shall see Me, and your heart shall rejoice. I think that the disciple's want of faith was extremely opportune and well-timed, in order that, through the satisfaction of his mind, we also who come after him might be unshaken in our faith that the very Body that hung upon the Cross and suffered death was quickened by the Father through the Son. Therefore, also, Paul saith: Because if thou shalt say with thy mouth, Jesus is Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For since it was not the nature of flesh itself which brought back life, but the deed was rather accomplished by the working of the ineffable Nature of God, in which naturally abides a quickening power, the Father through the Son manifested His power upon the Temple of Christ's Body; not as though the Word was powerless to raise His own Body, but because the Father doeth whatsoever He doeth through the Son, for He is His Power, and whatsoever the Son bringeth to effect proceedeth also of a surety from the Father. We, therefore, are taught, through the slight want of faith shown by the blessed Thomas, that the mystery of the Resurrection is effected upon our earthly bodies, and in Christ as the Firstfruits of the race; and that He was no phantom or ghost, fashioned in human shape, and simulating the features of humanity, nor yet, as others have foolishly surmised, a spiritual body that is compounded of a subtle and ethereal substance different from the flesh. For some attach this meaning to the expression "spiritual body." For since all our expectation and the significance of our irrefutable faith, after the confession of the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity, centres in the mystery concerning the flesh, the blessed Evangelist has very pertinently put this saying of Thomas side by side with the summary of what preceded. For observe that Thomas does not desire simply to see the Lord, but looks for the marks of the nails, that is, the wounds upon His Body. For he affirmed that then, indeed, he would believe and agree with the rest that Christ had indeed risen again, and risen again in the flesh. For that which is dead may rightly be said to return to life, and the Resurrection surely was concerned with that which was subject unto death.

26, 27 And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and see My Hands; and reach hither thy hand, and put it into My Side: and be not faithless, but believing.

Christ appeared once more unto His disciples miraculously by His Divine power. For He did not, like unto us, bid them open the doors for Him to enter in, but disdaining, as it were, the natural sequence of events, passed within the doors, and unexpectedly appeared in the middle of the room, presenting the same kind of miracle before the sight of the blessed Thomas as He had performed on the former occasion. For he that was most deficient in faith had need of healing medicine. He made use of the greeting so often on His Lips, and solemnly gave them the blessed assurance of peace, as a pattern unto us, as we have said before. One may well be amazed at the minuteness of detail shown in this passage. For such was the extreme accuracy that the compiler of this book took pains to observe, that he is not content with simply saying that Christ manifested Himself to the holy disciples, but explains that it was after eight days, and that they were gathered together. For what else can their being all brought together in one house mean? We say this to point out the diligent care that the Apostle so admirably displays, and because Christ hereby has made clear unto us the occasion of our assembling, and gathering ourselves together on His account. For He visits, and in some sort dwells with, those assembled together for His sake, especially on the eighth day, that is, the Lord's day. Let us reckon it up, if you so please: On the one occasion He appeared unto the other disciples; on the other, He manifested Himself to them, when Thomas was also present. It is written in the preceding passage: When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut, He stood in the midst. Note, that it was on the first day of the week, that is, the Lord's day, when the disciples were gathered together, that He was seen of them, and that likewise also He appeared unto them on the eighth day following. And we must not, because he says eight days after, suppose that he means the ninth day, but that when he says this he includes the eighth day itself, on which He appeared, in the number given.

With good reason, then, are we accustomed to have sacred meetings in churches on the eighth day. And, to adopt the language of allegory, as the idea necessarily demands, we indeed close the doors, but yet Christ visits us and appears unto us all, both invisibly and also visibly; invisibly as God, but also visibly in the Body. He suffers us to touch His holy Flesh, and gives us thereof. For through the grace of God we are admitted to partake of the blessed Eucharist, receiving Christ into our hands, to the intent that we may firmly believe that He did in truth raise up the Temple of His Body. For that the partaking of the blessed Eucharist is a confession of the Resurrection of Christ is clearly proved by His own Words, which He spake when He Himself performed the type of the mystery; for He brake bread, as it is written, and gave it to them, saying: This is My Body, which is given for you unto remission of sins: this do in remembrance of Me. Participation, then, in the Divine mysteries, in addition to filling us with Divine blessedness, is a true confession and memorial of Christ's dying and rising again for us and for our sake. Let us, therefore, after touching Christ's Body, shrink back from unbelief in Him as utter ruin, and rather be found well grounded in the full assurance of faith.

Let the attentive reader call to mind that our Lord repulsed Mary Magdalene from touching Him, saying plainly: Touch Me not, for I am not yet ascended unto the Father. Yet He allows Thomas to touch His Side, and to feel with his fingers the print of the nails. We have already explained why our Lord did this, but none the less will we call back to mind the reason, briefly recapitulating what we said. For not yet had the time arrived for Mary to touch Him, because she had not yet been sanctified by the grace of the Holy Spirit; for while Christ was yet in our midst, and had not yet ascended to the Father in heaven, it was impossible to see the descent of the Comforter fully accomplished among men. It was meet, however, for Thomas to touch Him, as he, as well as the rest, had been enriched with the Spirit. For, as we said before, he was not on account of his absence without his share in the Spirit. For the munificence of the Giver reached unto him also, when the boon was granted to the entire company of the holy disciples.

I think we ought also to investigate the following question. Thomas felt our Saviour's Side, and found the wounds made by the soldier's spear, and saw the print of the nails. Then how was it, someone may inquire, that the marks of corruption were apparent in an incorruptible Body? For the abiding trace of the holes bored through the Hands and Side, and the marks of wounds and punctures made by steel, affords proof of physical corruption, though the true and incontrovertible fact that Christ's Body was transformed into incorrup-tion points to a necessary discarding of all the results of corruption, together with corruption itself. For will any man who is lame, at the Resurrection have a maimed foot or limb? And if any man have lost the sight of his eyes in this life, will he be raised again blind? How then, someone may say, can we have shaken off the yoke of corruption, if its results still remain and rule over our members? It is essential, I think, to inquire into this question; and this we say, with reference to the difficulties raised by the passage. We are as far as possible anxious to assent to the contention that at the time of the resurrection there will be no remnant of adventitious corruption left in us, but, as the wise Paul said concerning this body of ours, that which is sown in weakness is raised in power, and that which is sown in dishonour is raised in glory. And what can we expect the resurrection of this body in power and glory to be, if it does not imply that it will cast off all the weakness and dishonour of corruption and disease, and return to its original purity? For the human body was not made for death and corruption. But, inasmuch as Thomas required this proof for his perfect satisfaction, our Lord Jesus Christ, of necessity, therefore, in order to leave no excuse for our want of faith, appears even as he sought to see Him; for even when He ascended into heaven itself, and made known the meaning of the mystery concerning Himself to the rulers, principalities, and powers above, and to those who commanded the legions of angels, He appeared also unto them in this same guise that they might believe that in very truth the Word That was of the Father, and in the Father, became Man for our sake, and that they might know that such was His care for His creatures that He died for our salvation. And, in order to make the meaning of my explanation clearer to my hearers, I will add the very words spoken by the mouth of Isaiah on this subject. He saith: Who is This That cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra? They who raise this shout, I mean the cry: Who is This That cometh from Edom? that is, from the earth, are angels and rational powers, for they are marvelling at the Lord ascending into heaven. And, seeing Him almost, as it were, dyed in His own Blood, they say unto Him, not yet apprehending the mystery: Why is Thy apparel red, and why are Thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-vats? For they compare the colour of the blood to new wine, lately trodden in the press. And what saith Christ unto them? First, in order that He may be known to be the living God, He saith: I speak righteousness; using the word speak, instead of "teach." And most assuredly. He that teacheth righteousness must be a Lawgiver, and if a Lawgiver, surely also God. Then say the angels unto Him, as Christ showeth them the marks of the nails: What are these wounds in Thy Hands? and the Lord answereth: Those with which I was wounded in the house of My beloved. For Israel was the house that the Lord loved, and Israel smote Him with nails and spear. For the outrages of the soldiers may justly be ascribed unto the Jews, for they brought the Lord to His death. Therefore, when He wished to satisfy the holy angels that He was, in fact, a Man, and that He had undergone the Cross for us, and that He was risen again to life from the dead, Christ was not content with mere words, but showed unto them the marks of His suffering. What is there to astonish us in the fact, that when He desired to rid the blessed Thomas of his unbelief He showed the print of the nails, appearing unto him, contrary to expectation, for the advantage of all men, and to the intent that we might believe without question that the mystery of the Resurrection was actually accomplished, no other body being raised but that which suffered death?

28 Thomas answered Him, and saith unto Him, My Lord and my God.

He that had shortly before been slack in the duty of faith was now eager to profess it. and in a short time his fault was wholly cured. For after an interval of only eight days the hindrances to his faith were removed by Christ, Who showed unto him the print of the nails and His wounded Side. But, perhaps, someone will ask the question: "Tell me why did the minds of the holy disciples carry out so rigid an inquiry, and so careful a scrutiny? For would not the sight of the Lord's Body, the features of His Face, and the measure of His Stature, have sufficed to prove that He had indeed risen from the dead, and to secure His recognition?" What do we reply? The inspired disciples were not free from doubt, although they had seen the Lord. For. they thought that He was not in very truth the same as He Who of old had lived and dwelt among them, and had hung upon the Cross, but rather that He was a Spirit, cunningly fashioned like unto our Saviour's Image, and simulating the features of the form which they knew. For they fell into this delusion not without some apparent excuse, as He miraculously entered when the doors were closed; in spite of the fact that a body of coarse earthy mould requires a hole through which it can pass, and necessitates the aperture of the door to correspond in width with the size of the body. For this cause our Lord Jesus Christ, greatly to our profit, laid bare His Side to Thomas, and exposed the wounds on His Person, through his agency giving adequate proof to all. For though of Thomas alone is recorded the saying: Except I shall put my hands and see the prints of the nails, and put my hand into His Side, I will not believe, yet was the charge of lack of faith common to them all; and we shall find that the minds of the other disciples were not free from perplexity, though they said unto the holy Thomas: We have seen the Lord. And that what we say does not err from the truth we may easily perceive by what the Divine Luke tells us: As they spake these things, He stood in the midst of them, that is, of course, Christ, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit. And He said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and wherefore do reasonings arise in your hearts? See My Hands and My Feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold Me having. And when He had said this, He showed them His Hands and His Feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, Have ye here anything toeat? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And He took it, and did eat before them. You see how the thought of unbelief is found lurking, not in the blessed Thomas alone, but that the minds of the other disciples were afflicted with a kindred disease. For, lo and behold! seeing that their faith wavered even after the sight of the wounds upon the Cross, He thought it right to convince them by another act, in nowise suited to a spirit, but specially appropriate to earthly bodies and the nature of flesh. For He ate the fish that was brought unto Him, or the portion of one. For when no mark at all of corruption any longer remained after the Resurrection of His holy Flesh, because He lived again to incorruption, and when it was incredible that His Body stood in need of food as heretofore, He yet showed unto them the print of the nails, and did not refuse to partake of food, in order that He might establish the great mystery of the Resurrection, and cause faith in it to spring up in the souls of us all. He does acts wholly alien to the nature of spirits. For how, and in what way, could the prints of nails, and the traces of wounds, and participation in bodily food, be found to exist in a naked spirit unconnected with flesh, to which all these things are suitable by the law of its being and the conditions under which it exists? In order, then, that none might think that Christ rose again a mere spirit, or an impalpable body, shadowy and ethereal, to which some give the name of spiritual, but that the selfsame body that was sown in corruption, as Paul saith, might be believed to have risen again, He openly did acts suitable to a palpable human form. What we said at first, however, namely, that the blessed disciple did not so much lack faith owing to infirmity of judgment, but rather was affected in this way by excess of joy, will not be wide of the mark. For we have heard the saying of the blessed Luke concerning all the others: And while they disbelieved for joy and wondered. It was wonder, therefore, that made the disciples slow to be convinced. But as henceforward there was no excuse for unbelief, as they saw with their own eyes, the blessed Thomas accordingly unflinchingly confessed his faith in Him, saying: My Lord and my God. For we must all confess that it follows of a surety that He That is Lord by Nature and Ruler over all is also God, just as also universal dominion and the glory of sovereignty is clearly seen to appertain to the living God.

Observe, too, that when he says My Lord and my God, he uses the article to show that there was One Lord and One God. For he does not say without the qualification of the article, My Lord and my God, to prevent any one from imagining that he called Him Lord or God as he might have done one of ourselves or of the holy angels. For there are gods many and lords many, in this sense, in heaven and on earth, as the wise Paul has taught us; but rather he recognises Him as, in a special sense, the One Lord and God, as begotten of the Father, Who is by Nature Lord and God, when he says, My Lord and my God; and, what is a still greater indication of the truth, the Saviour heard His disciple saying this, and saw that he rested in the firm conviction that He was, in fact, the Lord and God, and thought it not right to rebuke him. Christ, then, approved his faith, and with justice. And you may easily see that what I say is true. For to him that was possessed of this faith He says, at the end of the Gospel, as unto the rest: Go ye and make disciples of all the nations. And if He bids him who was thus minded teach all nations, and appointed him to instruct the world in His mysteries, He wishes us to have a like faith. For He is, in fact, Lord and God by Nature, even when Incarnate Man. For observe that the disciple, when he had touched His Hands, and Feet, and Side, made unto Him this confession of faith, not severing Emmanuel into a duality of Sons, but recognising Him as one and the same in the Flesh, for Jesus Christ is One Lord, according to the Scripture.  

29 Jesus saith unto him, Because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.

This saying of the Saviour is very pertinent and we may derive the greatest profit therefrom. For hereby He showed His great care for our souls; for He is good, and willeth that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, according to the Scripture. What is here said may not unlikely excite surprise. It was, indeed, necessary for Him to be long-suffering, as was His wont, with Thomas, who uttered that saying, and also with the other disciples with him, who thought that He was a spirit or apparition; and also to exhibit, as He very readily did for universal satisfaction, the print of the nails and His pierced Side; and also, contrary to use and need, to partake of food, that no plea for their unbelief might be left to those who sought to gain the benefits of His death. But it was also essential to have regard to the security of our faith. It was necessary also to have another end in view, namely, that those who should come at the last times should not easily be drawn into unbelief. For it was likely that some should err from the straight path, and from ignorance, practising a spurious kind of caution, refuse to accept the resurrection of the dead, and put themselves forward, and say unto us, like that unbelieving disciple: Except I shall see in His Hands the print of the nails, and put my hand into His Side, I will not believe. What sufficient means of satisfying them would there have been, Christ being no longer on earth but having ascended into heaven? And would they not have been, at times, thought to be justified in thus speaking, when they appeared to be imitating therein the disciple of the Saviour, and, considering it a noble thing not to believe off-hand, but rather to require more for their complete assurance, claimed for themselves the sight that was shown to the holy disciples? Christ, therefore, restrains men from such an inclination, and keeps them from falling. For being truly God, He knew well the malicious designs of the devil and his practice to deceive. And, therefore, He declares that blessed are they who believe without seeing, for they are surely worthy of admiration. And why? Because unquestioning belief is due to what lies before our eyes, for there is nothing at all to raise doubt in us. But if a man accept what he has not seen, and believe that to be true which the words of his instructor in mysteries have brought to his ears, then he honours with praiseworthy faith Him that is preached. Blessed, therefore, shall be the lot of every man that believeth through the voice of the holy Apostles, which were eye-witnesses of Christ's actions, and ministers of the Word, as Luke says. To them must we hearken if we are enamoured of life eternal, and cherish in our hearts the desire to abide in the mansions above.

30, 31 Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye may have eternal life in His Name.

He sums up the book in a manner, and makes plain to His hearers the object of the preaching of the Gospel. For, he says, this book was composed that ye may believe, and believing might have eternal life. He says that the signs were many, and does not limit the actions and marvellous works of our Saviour to those which were accurately known by him personally, and recorded by him, and leaves the other disciples to publish, if they chose, whatever was vividly impressed on their memory. For all the signs, he says, are not written in this book, but those only have been inserted by me which I thought best able to convince my hearers that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  

This is what the inspired Evangelist says; and I think, too, that it may be of use to make the following observation: For if the whole meaning of the record is directed to producing in us this faith, and is well calculated to make us steadfast in the conviction that the Child of the Holy Virgin, Who was called Jesus by the voice of the angel, is the very Christ Whose coming was proclaimed by Holy Writ; and if He be, indeed, very Christ and none other----not merely a son but the Son of God in a unique and special sense; what then, I ask, can they who, through ignorance, are in doubt about the faith, and who, furthermore, strive to teach others to believe that there are two Christs----what can they do or say in their defence, and what will be the sentence passed upon them when the great day shall come? For they divide Christ into two separate Beings, Man and God the Word, even after His union with man, and His ineffable and wholly incomprehensible Incarnation. Therefore are they in error, and have wandered far astray from the truth, and denied the Master that bought them. For if we examine into the definition of the being of Christ, and form a conception of Him, we find that the flesh is different from God the Word, Which is in the Father, and proceedeth from Him; but if we consider the meaning of 'the Incarnation, and strive to fathom so far as we are able this exceeding great mystery, we conceive of the Word as One with His own Flesh, though not converted into flesh. God forbid that we should so say, for the Nature of the Word is inconvertible and unchangeable, and admits of no shadow of turning. Rather do we maintain, according to our Holy and inspired Scriptures, that the Messiah, conceived of as attaining to the perfect definition of manhood through the Temple of flesh that enshrined His Godhead, is One only----Jesus, the Christ and the Son of God. Consider that the selfsame truth is found to have existence in the nature of ourselves who are men. For we are combined into one man composed of soul and body; the body and the soul that it contains being distinct, but nevertheless coinciding to form one perfect animal, and wholly incapable of separation after combination with each other.

xxi.1-6 After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and He manifested Himself on this wise. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of His disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also come with thee. They went forth, and entered into the boat; and that night they took nothing. But when day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach: howbeit the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye ought to eat? They answered Him, No. And He said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and ye shall find. And they said, We toiled all night and took nothing: but at Thy word we will cast down the net. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

Our Lord Jesus Christ once more gladdens His disciples with the enjoyment of the sight of Himself, Whom they so greatly longed to see, and vouchsafes unto them a third visit, in addition to the other two, in order that He might confirm their minds, and render them unchangeably steadfast in faith towards Him. For how after they had seen Him not once, but now for the third time, could they fail to have their minds released from all wavering in the faith, and to become faithful instructors of the rest of mankind in the doctrines of the religion of Christ? Peter then goes forth with the others a fishing. For when he was bound on this errand they hurried with him, and doubtless our Saviour Christ is here seen working for their good. For He once said to them, when He put upon them the yoke of their discipleship, and called them to the dignity of apostleship: Come ye after Me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. In order, then, that He might convince them by a palpable sign that every Word that He had spoken would surely come to pass, and that His promise would result in complete fulfilment, He draws a convincing proof from the trade at which they were at work. For the blessed disciples were practising their art, and were fishing, but yet had they caught nothing, though they had toiled all the night. And when it was already early morning, and the dawn was beginning to break, and the sun's rays to appear, Jesus stood on the beach. And they knew not that it was Jesus. And when He questioned them whether they had any fish fit for the table in their nets, they said they had taken nothing at all. Then He bids them cast down the net on the right side of the boat. And they, although all the night they had spent their toil in vain, replied: "At Thy word we will cast down the net." And when this was done, the weight of the fish that were caught overpowered the strength of the fishermen who were hauling it up.

Such is the narrative of the inspired Evangelist. As we have just observed, the Saviour, by the actual performance of a palpable miracle, satisfied the holy disciples that they were destined to be, as He had said, fishers of men. Come, then, let us convert, so far as in us lies, that which was fulfilled in type into the truth of which it is symbolical; and let us bear witness to the truth of the Saviour's Words, and, according to our ability, unfolding the meaning of everything that took place, let us put before those who may light on these pages what may serve in some measure, I think, to start a spiritual train of thought. For give instruction to a wise man, and, he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. I think, then, that the fact of the disciples fishing all the night, and taking nothing, but spending their labour in vain, signifies that no one, as we shall find, or very few, would be wholly won over by the teaching of the first instructors of old, and caught into their net to do God's pleasure in all things. We may regard what is very small in amount as equivalent to nothing, especially when it is taken out of a great multitude. And, surely, we must regard the number of mankind scattered throughout the whole world as exceedingly great. What hindrance, then, or obstacle was there in the way which rendered the labour of the pioneers of the faith fruitless? And why did their preaching fail to bear fruit? There was still night and darkness, and a kind of mental mist and devilish deceit brooding over the eyes of the mind, not suffering men to perceive the true light of God. For there was no man that doeth good, as said the Psalmist; yea, not one; but all had gone astray and become abominable. And though the Israelites had been, in a manner, caught in the net by Moses, yet were they as though they had not been caught at all, and were devoted to the worship of types and shadows, and had no instruction in the law that bringeth to perfection. For that we shall find that the worship of types was abominable, and displeasing to God, it is easy to see, from His rejection of bloody sacrifices, and every kind of earthly and physical offering. To what purpose, He says, bring ye to Me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto Me.

This we say not wishing to disparage the first commandment given of old, nor with the intent to accuse the Law, but rather desiring to suggest to our hearers that as God the Lord of all hath regard only to the beauty of the Gospel life, even those who were caught in the net by the Law, and brought to the barren worship of shadows and types, were but on a par with those who had not been caught at all until the time of reformation dawned, Christ saying clearly, when He became Man, I am the Truth. And if it be necessary to add any further words, I shall not shrink from doing so, if it be for our profit. They who were called by Moses to learn the Law, spurned the Law given unto them, and, as it were, opened their mouth wide and gaped upon the holy ordinance, and made the precepts of men their code of instruction, and relapsed into such stubbornness and perversity of heart that even the word of the holy prophets lost its power. Therefore, also, they cried: Lord, who hath believed our report? Jeremiah also exclaims: Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth: I have not helped any man, nor hath any man helped me. My strength hath failed me because of them that curse me. Surely, then, one is constrained to admit that the disobedient and unruly Israelites were on a par with those who had not been caught at all, when they trampled under foot even the Law that Moses had laid down. And it needs no demonstration to show that the great multitude of the Gentiles was still uncaptured, and remained altogether outside the net. Darkness, then, and devilish night was in their hearts, driving out the light of true knowledge of God. Therefore they toiled, so to say, during the whole night, and still had their spiritual net barren of fish before Christ's coming; but when early morning came, that is, when the mist of the devil was dispersed, and the true light dawned, that is, Christ, and when Christ inquired of the toilers, Have you anything within your nets which may serve as food for God, Who thirsts, as it were, for the salvation of us all (for the Scripture called the conversion of the Samaritans His food), and when they gave His question the plain answer that they had nothing, then Christ bade them cast down the net again on the right side of the boat. For the blessed Moses also let down the line of instruction, that is, by the letter of the Law; but this was fishing on the left side, the commandment of Christ unto us being on the right. For incomparably greater, then, and far exceeding in honour and glory the commandments of the Law, is the teaching of Christ; for the reality greatly surpasses the type, and the Master the servant, and the grace of the Spirit, which justifies, surpasses the letter, which condemneth. Christ's teaching, therefore, is placed on the right, the right hand signifying to us its superiority over the Law and the prophets.

The inspired disciples, then, without hesitation, obeyed the bidding of our Saviour, and let down the net. And the meaning of this is, that they did not seize fpr themselves the grace of apostleship, but at His bidding went forth to capture the souls of men. Go ye, He said, and make disciples of all the nations. The disciples themselves say, that at the Word of Christ they let down the net. For they fish for men only by the Saviour's Words and commandments in the Gospels. And great was the, multitude of fish within the net, so that the disciples, were no longer able to haul it up. For they who have been caught, and believed, are innumerable, and the marvel thereof seems in truth to surpass, and be out of all proportion to the strength of the holy Apostles. For it is the working of Christ, Who gathereth by His own power the multitude of the saved into the Church on earth, as into the net of the Apostles.

7-14  That disciple therefore, whom Jesus loved, saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his coat about him (for he was naked), and cast himself into the sea. But the. other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits off), dragging the net full of fishes. So when they got out upon the land, they see a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. And Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now taken. Simon Peter therefore went up, and drew the net to land, full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, the net was not rent. Jesus saith unto them, Come and break your fast. And none of the disciples durst inquire of Him, Who art Thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus cometh, and taketh the bread,and giveth them, and the fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to His disciples, after that He was risen from the dead.

Again, in this passage, the writer of this book calls himself the beloved disciple----and he would seem to have been thus well beloved on account of his great discernment and purity of mind, and the keenness of his mental vision, and a disposition which enabled him readily to grasp the truth. And, in fact, he seized the meaning of the sign before the rest, and perceived Christ's Presence, and told the rest, entertaining not a shadow of doubt, but crying out to them with a very confident voice, It is the Lord. The inspired Peter leapt into the sea, thinking that to go by the ship would cause delay, for he was always fervent in zeal, and easily stirred up to confidence and love of Christ. The rest followed his lead, with the ship, dragging the net. Then they see a fire of coals, for the Saviour had kindled a fire miraculously, and put a fish upon it that He had caught by His ineffable power; and this too He had done of design. For it was not the hand of the holy Apostles, or the preaching of these spiritual fishermen among men, but the power of the Saviour that started the work. For He first caught one as the firstfruits of those who were to come (not that we mean one precisely, for by one is signified a small number), then afterwards the disciples caught the multitude in their nets, being enabled by His Divine bidding to take something of what they sought. Peter then hauls up the net; by which it was to be understood, that the labour of the holy Apostles would not be without its effect. For they put the mass of captured fish before Him Who had commanded them to be caught; and the quantity of the fish is indicated by the number 153. The number 100, to the best of my judgment, signifies the complement of the nations, for the number 100 is a very perfect number, being compounded of 10 times 10; and for this reason our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in one place, speaks in the parable of having 100 sheep belonging to Him, signifying the complete sum of rational creatures, and in another place declares that the best ground will bring forth a hundredfold, meaning thereby the perfect fertility of the righteous soul. The number 50, on the other hand, betokens the elect remnant of the Israelites, saved by grace; for 50 is half 100, and falls short of the perfect number in amount. And by the three, reference is made to the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity, the number alone showing this; for to the glory and ceaseless praise of the Trinity the life of those who have been taken captive through faith is consecrated, and implies connexion with the Godhead. For God is in all those who believe in Him, and keeps nigh unto Him, by means of sanctification, those who have been won over by the teaching of the Gospel. And when the net had been drawn up, our Lord said again to the holy disciples: Come and break your fast; thereby teaching them, that after their pain and tribulation in gathering in those who were called and saved, they should sit down with Him, as the Saviour Himself said, and their table would be spread with food such as no tongue can name, the spiritual, that is, and Divine, and that passeth man's understanding. Christ also wishes to imply that which is said by the Psalmist: Thou shalt eat the fruit of the labours of thy hands. They did not take food for themselves, and eat thereof, but Christ gave to them of it; that we might learn, as in a type, that on that day Christ will Himself provide us with Divine blessings, and apportion unto us those things which may be profitable unto us as our Lord.

15, 16, 17  So when they had broken their fast, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jona, lovest thou Me more than these? He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee. He saith unto him, Feed My lambs. He saith unto him again, a second time, Simon, son of Jona, lovest thouMe? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee. He saith unto him, Tend My sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jona, lovest thou Me? Peter was grieved because He said unto him the third time, Lovest thou Me? And he said unto Him, Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love Thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed My sheep.

Peter started to reach Jesus before the rest, disdaining, as it appears, to go by boat, because of the incomparable fervour and admirable zeal of his love towards Christ. Therefore He comes first to land, and draws up the net; for he was always an impressionable man, easily excited to enthusiasm both in speech and action. Therefore, also, he first made confession of faith when the Saviour put to them the inquiry in the parts of Caesarea Philippi, saying: Who do men say that I the Son of Man am? And of the other disciples some said Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. But when Christ put the further question to them: But Who say ye that I am? Peter took the lead, and becoming spokesman for the rest, hastened to reply: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Moreover, when the band of soldiers came, together with the officers of the Jews, to take Jesus away to the rulers, the rest all left Him and fled, but Peter struck off Malchus' ear with a sword. For he thought it right by every means in his power to defend his Master, though the attack that he made was in fact altogether displeasing to Him. As, therefore, he came more impetuously than the rest, Christ puts to him the question whether he loved Him more than they, and repeated it three times; and Peter answers in the affirmative, and confesses his love for Him, saying that Christ Himself was a witness to his state of mind. And, after each confession, he heard Christ telling him in different words to take thought of His sheep, as He calls mankind in the parable.

And I think (for I say that we ought to search out the hidden meaning that is here implied) that these words were not written without a purpose, but the saying is pregnant with meaning, and the sense of the passage contains something more than meets the eye. May not someone reasonably ask, Why is it that Christ only asks Simon, though the other disciples were present? And what is the meaning of the words, Feed My lambs, and the like? We reply, that the inspired Peter had indeed already been elected, together with the other disciples, to be an Apostle of God (for our Lord Jesus Christ Himself named them Apostles, according to the Scripture), but, when the events connected with the plot of the Jews against Him came to pass, his fall came betwixt; for the inspired Peter was seized with uncontrollable fear, and thrice denied the Lord. Christ succours His erring disciple, and elicits by divers questions his thrice-repeated confession, counterbalancing, as it were, his error thereby, and making his recovery as signal as his fall. For a transgression which was verbal, and only in mere words supplied ground of accusation against him, could surely be wiped out in the same fashion as it was committed. He requires him to say whether he loved Him more than the rest. For in truth, as he had enjoyed a greater measure of forgiveness, and received from a more bountiful Hand the remission of his transgression, surely he would be likely to feel greater love than the rest, and requite his Benefactor with the extremity of affection. For although all the holy disciples alike betook themselves to flight, the inhumanity of the Jews inspiring them with a terror that they could not overcome, and the ferocity of the soldiers threatening them with cruel death when they came to take Jesus, still Peter's transgression by his thrice-repeated denial was special and peculiar to him.

Therefore, as he had received a greater measure of forgiveness than the rest, he is asked to tell Christ whether he loved Him more; for, as the Saviour Himself said, he to whom most is forgiven will also love much. Herein, also, is a type given to the. Churches, that they ought thrice to ask for a confession of Christ from those who have chosen to love Him by coming to Him in Holy Baptism. And, by dwelling on this passage, instructors in religion may arrive at the knowledge that they cannot please the Chief Shepherd, that is Christ, unless they take thought for the health of the sheep of His fold, and their continuance in well-being. Such was the inspired Paul, who shared the infirmities of his weak brethren, and called those who through him believed, and chose to gain repute by the glory of their deeds, the boast, and joy, and crown of his apostleship. For he knew that this was the visible fruit of love for Christ. And this, if he reason well and justly, any one may perceive. For if He died for us, surely He must esteem the salvation and life of us all as deserving of all care. And if they who sin against the brethren, and wound their conscience when it is weak, in truth sin against Christ; surely it is true to say, that they are doing the Lord Himself service who take, as it were, by the hand the mind of those who have been admitted to the faith, and who are expected to be called to perfection therein, and are eager to stablish them firmly in the faith, by every help that they can offer. Therefore, by his thrice-repeated confession the thrice-repeated denial of the blessed Peter was done away, and by the saying of our Lord, "Feed my lambs," we must understand a renewal as it were of the apostleship, already given unto him, washing away the disgrace of his fall that came betwixt, and obliterating his faint-heartedness, that arose from human infirmity.

18, 19  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and others shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. Now this He spake, signifying by whatmanner of death He should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, He saith unto him, Follow Me.

With great kindness and tenderness our Lord Jesus Christ testifies to the fervour of the love which His disciple bore unto Him, and the high honour of his piety and endurance, tried to the uttermost. For He tells him clearly what would be the issue of his apostleship, and what would be the end of his life. For He foretold unto him, that one would take him to a place whither he would not go; that is, in which his persecutors, or those who condemned him to the penalty of death, had fixed the cross. He says, that the place of his crucifixion would be a place whither Peter would not go. For no one of the Saints suffers death of his own free choice. But though death be bitter, and though it come upon them sorely against their will, yet do they who yearn for the glory that God gives disdain earthly life. Therefore Christ foretold, that the blessed Peter would be taken to a place to die in, sore displeasing and hateful unto him. But he would never have attained to so glorious a death, nor have been crucified for Christ, had he not followed His injunction to take charge of the sheep of His fold, and, having the power of the love of Christ firmly rooted in his heart, called to obedience those who have been ensnared into error by the wiles of the devil. For they who ventured on this crime, and slew the blessed Peter, had no other accusation to charge him withal, save only his zeal in Christ's service. We may see then hereby, that our Lord Jesus Christ well, and of necessity, foretold Peter's end, that by the doom that he was destined to suffer he might in a manner put the seal of truth upon the words he spake unto Him: Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee. For that he met his death at all on account of preaching the Gospel was surely a plain and incontrovertible proof of affection, and showed that he was in no way lacking in perfect love towards Christ. Christ, then, adds to what He had said, the words "Follow Me," which bear the signification they so commonly have of following Him as a disciple, and also hinting darkly, as I think, at something else; or meaning, Tread in the track of the perils through which I have passed, and walk in the same path, by deed and word succouring the souls of those who are called, and hesitate not to encounter death itself upon the cross, which, Christ says, will be your lot when you reach old age; not suffering Peter to be alarmed before the time, but deferring for a long season the approach of the king of terrors.

20-23  Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned back on His Breast at the supper, and said unto Him, Lord, who is he that betrayeth Thee? Peter therefore seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou Me. This saying therefore went forth among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him that he should not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?

The inspired Evangelist points to himself obscurely, but still sufficiently to indicate who is meant. For he it was who was the beloved disciple, and who leaned upon Christ's Breast at the last Supper, and asked who it was that should betray Him. Peter, then, observing him, longed for information, and sought to know in what perils he would be involved in the time to come, and in what way his life would end. But the question seemed unseemly, and it appeared to savour rather of a meddlesome and inquisitive spirit, that, after having learnt what was to happen unto himself, he should seek to know the future fate of others. For this cause, then, I think the Lord makes no direct reply to his question or inquiry, but, diverting the aim of the questioner, does not say that John will not die, but, If I will that hetarry till I come, what is that to thee? That is to say, Thou hast heard, O Peter, the things concerning thyself, what need is there for thee to ask questions about others, and to seek to fathom out of season the knowledge of the Divine decrees. For if he never die at all, He says, what consolation will this be to thy heart? The man who is wise and prudent, then, if he is doomed to die, will not trouble himself as to whether another will be saved alive or not; for it will be enough for him to suffer his own doom, and he will receive no comfort at all from the misfortune or good cheer of another. The passage is fraught with some such meaning as this. Peter's speech here seems to imply that the blessed Peter anxiously desired to know what was destined to be John's fate, as he would have considered it a consolation in his own sufferings if John were surely fated to, die by torture, either of the same or of some other kind. And do not be amazed at this, but rather take the following thought into consideration. It is common to us, however profitless it be, to like at times not to be seen to be the only ones who are suffering, or who are destined to undergo some dreadful fate, but to prefer to hear that others have either suffered it already or are expected to suffer it in the future.

24 This is the disciple which also beareth witness of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his witness is true.

I think no wise man will doubt that the Lord would not have loved John if he had not been specially remarkable for virtue, and apt and perfectly equipped for every good work. For God can never be found to be inclined by any irrational leanings to those unworthy of His love, for such affections are more worthy of men. And He that was wholly proof against every assault and inroad of passion, and trod firmly in the path of every virtue, nay rather, was Virtue itself in all its forms, most assuredly would act in this, too, with judgment, and have His inclination free from all reproach----I mean, the inclination which led Him to deem him to whom this boon was due worthy of His love. After this admirable preface, then, and after having said that he was beloved, he modestly and with great humility says that he testified of these things; well and admirably inviting his hearers, as a necessary consequence, to assent to the things which he had written, and of which he had testified; for the preacher of truth cannot lie. Therefore, also, he says: We know that His witness is true. Dangerous, then, and awful is it assuredly, to lie at all; for man knoweth not how to bridle his tongue, and the Truth cannot love him that sinneth against truth.

25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

Very great, then, says the Apostle, will the number of the miracles that God hath wrought, and altogether without number will the list of His deeds be seen to be, and out of many thousands have these that are recorded been taken, as not being inadequate to profit to the uttermost those who read them. And let no one who is of a teachable spirit and loveth instruction, S. John implies, blame him that wrote this book because he has not recorded the rest. For if the things that He did had been written every one, without any omission, then would the immeasurable number of the books have filled the world. We maintain that, even as it is, the power of the Word has been displayed more than abundantly. For it is open to every one to observe, that a thousand miracles were performed by the power of our Saviour. The preachers of the Gospels, however,, have recorded the more remarkable of them, in all probability, and such that their hearers could best be confirmed by them in incorruptible faith, and receive instruction in morality and doctrine; so that, conspicuous for the orthodoxy of their faith, and glorified by manifold works that make for righteousness, they might meet at the very gates of the city above, and being joined unto the Church of the firstborn in the faith, might at length attain unto the Kingdom of Heaven in Christ; through Whom and with Whom be glory to God the Father, with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

The End.

Thanks be to Christ.

ΚΕΦΑΛΗ Α.
« Ὅτι κατὰ φύσιν Θεός ἐστιν ὁ Υἱὸς, κἂν εὑρίσκηται δι' ἡμᾶς Θεὸν ἑαυτοῦ τὸν Πατέρα καλῶν. »
« Πορεύου δὲ πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφούς μου, καὶ εἰπὲ αὐτοῖς Ἀναβαίνω πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα μου καὶ πατέρα ὑμῶν καὶ Θεόν μου καὶ Θεὸν ὑμῶν. » ΔΙ' αἰτίας μὲν ἃς ἤδη προείπαμεν, οὐκ ἐφίησι θιγεῖν τῆς ἑαυτοῦ σαρκὸς καίτοι σφόδρα διψήσασαν τούτου τυχεῖν ἐκ φιλοθεΐας τὴν Μαριάμ: ἀμείβεται δὲ τῆς προσεδρείας αὐτὴν, καὶ τῆς οὕτως ἐντόνου πίστεως καὶ ἀγάπης διπλοῦν ἀπένειμε τὸν μισθὸν, οὐκ ἄκαρπον τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύουσιν ἀποδεικνὺς τὴν εἰς ἑαυτὸν εὐσέβειαν. καὶ τό γε τούτων ἔτι λαμπρότερον, ἐν αὐτῇ γὰρ καὶ πρώτῃ, φημὶ δὴ τῇ Μαριὰμ, σύμπαν ὡς εἰπεῖν τὸ θηλειῶν γένος διττῇ στεφανοῦται τιμῇ, καὶ τῶν ἀρχαίων ἀῤῥωστημάτων ἐκομίζετο τὴν διάλυσιν. πρώτη γὰρ οὕτω θρηνήσασα, καὶ τῶν δακρύων τὴν πρόφασιν λαβοῦσα Χριστὸν, μεθίστη τὸ πένθος εἰς θυμηδίαν, μὴ χρῆναι κλαίειν ἀκούσασα παρὰ τοῦ καὶ πάλαι καταδικάσαντος καὶ ταῖς τῆς λύπης ἐφόδοις εὐκαταγώνιστον ἀποφήναντος. εἴρητο γάρ που πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα παρὰ Θεοῦ “Ἐν λύπαις τέξῃ ” τέκνα.“ ἀλλ' ὥσπερ αὐτὴν ὑπετίθει ταῖς λύπαις κατὰ τὸν παράδεισόν ποτε, ταῖς τοῦ ὄφεως διακονησαμένην φωναῖς, καὶ ταῖς τοῦ διαβόλου κακουργίαις ὑπηρετήσασαν, οὕτω δὴ πάλιν ἐν κήπῳ κελεύει μηκέτι κλαίειν αὐτήν. ἀπολύων δὲ καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀρᾶς ἐφ' ᾗ λυπεῖσθαι προστέτακτο, τῶν μεγάλων ἀγαθῶν κελεύει γενέσθαι πρωτάγγελον, καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸ ἄνω βάδισιν εὐαγγελίζεσθαι τοῖς μαθηταῖς: ἵν' ὥσπερ ἡ πρώτη καὶ πασῶν ἀρχαιοτάτη γυνὴ ταῖς τοῦ διαβόλου φωναῖς ὑπουργήσασα κατεκρίθη, καὶ δι' ἐκείνης σύμπαν τὸ θηλειῶν γένος, οὕτω καὶ αὐτὴ τοῖς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ὑπηρετήσασα λόγοις, καὶ τὰ εἰς ζωὴν ἀναφέροντα τὴν αἰώνιον ἀπαγγείλασα, σύμπαν τῆς αἰτίας τὸ θηλειῶν ἀπαλλάξῃ γένος. χαρίζεται τοίνυν τῇ Μαριὰμ πρὸς τὸ μηκέτι κλαίειν μηδὲ εἰς λύπας εὔκολον τὴν καρδίαν ἔχειν ὁ Κύριος, καὶ τὸ ὡραίους κεκτῆσθαι τοὺς πόδας. κατὰ γὰρ τὴν τοῦ προφήτου φωνήν ” Ὡς ὡραῖοι οἱ πόδες τῶν εὐαγγελιζομένων “τὰ ἀγαθά:” καίτοι τῆς πρώτης ἐκείνης οὐχ ὡραίους ἐχούσης τοὺς πόδας, οὐ γάρ τι τῶν ἀγαθῶν εὐηγγελίζετο, τὰ πρὸς παράβασιν τῆς θείας ἐντολῆς τῷ προπάτορι συμβουλεύσασα. ὅτι δὲ ἀξιάγαστος ἡ Μαριὰμ, κἀντεῦθεν συνήσεις: μνήμης γὰρ ἠξιώθη προφητικῆς. τί γὰρ ἔφη περὶ αὐτῆς καὶ τῶν σὺν αὐτῇ γυναικῶν, αἳ τὴν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἀνάστασιν τοῖς ἁγίοις εὐηγγελίζοντο μαθηταῖς; “Γυναῖκες ” ἐρχόμεναι ἀπὸ θέας δεῦτε: οὐ γὰρ λαός ἐστιν ἔχων “σύνεσιν.” τὰς μὲν γὰρ φιλοχρίστους ἀληθῶς ταυτασὶ γυναῖκας, μονονουχὶ καὶ ὀξυτέρῳ φέρεσθαι δρόμῳ τὸ θεῖον ἐν τούτοις διακελεύεται λόγιον, ἵν' ὧν γεγόνασι θεωροὶ, ταῦτα καὶ ἀπαγγείλειαν: καταδικάζει δὲ τῆς Ἰουδαίων ἀσυνεσίας, ἅτε δὴ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν περὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Χριστοῦ διαγελώντων λόγον. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἑτέρων οὐσῶν γυναικῶν: δοκεῖ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο τοῖς ἑτέροις εὐαγγελισταῖς: ὁ σοφὸς Ἰωάννης μόνης ἐποιήσατο μνήμην τῆς Μαριὰμ, οὐκ ἀλλήλοις ἐναντίους εὑρήσομεν τῶν ἁγίων τοὺς λόγους. εἰκὸς γὰρ ὅτι μόνης ἐπεμνήσθη τῆς Μαριὰμ τῆς Μαγδαληνῆς Ἰωάννης, ἅτε δὴ καὶ θερμότερον ἐχούσης τὸ κίνημα πρὸς ἀγάπην τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν, καὶ προπηδώσης τῶν ἄλλων, εἴς γε τὸ ἰδεῖν τὸ μνημεῖον καὶ τὸ ἐν τῷ κήπῳ γενέσθαι, καὶ πάντα τόπον περινοστεῖν τῷ μνημείῳ γείτονα πρὸς τὴν τοῦ σώματος ζήτησιν. ᾤετο γὰρ ἀληθῶς μετατεθεῖσθαι τὸν Κύριον. ἐπιγράφεται δέ πως ἀεὶ τοῖς ἡγουμένοις μάλιστα καὶ βουλῆς καὶ πράγματος τὰ τῶν ἐκβάσεων τέλη, κἂν ἕτεροί τινες εἶεν οἱ συσκεπτόμενοι καὶ συμπράττοντες. Οὐκοῦν εἰς τιμὴν καὶ δόξαν καὶ εἰς καύχημα διηνεκὲς ἐχαρίζετο τῇ Μαριὰμ ὁ Σωτὴρ τὸ εὐαγγελίσασθαι τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ὅτι ἀναβαίνω πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα μου καὶ Πατέρα ὑμῶν καὶ Θεόν μου καὶ Θεὸν ὑμῶν: σὺ δέ μοι πάλιν τὸ βαθὺ δὴ τοῦτο καὶ μέγα δέχου μυστήριον, τῆς τῶν θείων δογμάτων ὀρθότητος τὸν κανόνα διαπηδᾶν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ καρδίαν οὐκ ἐφιείς. ἀκούεις ὅπως γέγονε καθ' ἡμᾶς ὁ Μονογενὴς τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος, ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς κατ' αὐτὸν, κατά γε τὸ ἐφικτὸν τῇ φύσει καὶ ὅσον ἧκεν εἰπεῖν εἰς τὸν διὰ τῆς χάριτος ἀνακαινισμόν; τεταπείνωκε γὰρ ἑαυτὸν, ἵνα πρὸς τὸ ἴδιον ὕψος ἀναγάγῃ τὸ ταπεινὸν κατὰ φύσιν, καὶ τὴν τοῦ δούλου μορφὴν πεφόρεκε, καίτοι κατὰ φύσιν Κύριός τε ὑπάρχων καὶ Υἱὸς, ἵνα τὸ τῇ φύσει δοῦλον εἰς τὴν τῆς υἱοθεσίας μετακομίσῃ δόξαν, καθ' ὁμοιότητα τὴν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ὡς πρὸς αὐτόν. ὡς οὖν καθ' ἡμᾶς γεγονὼς, τουτέστιν ἄνθρωπος, ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς κατ' αὐτὸν, φημὶ δὴ θεοὶ καὶ υἱοὶ, δέχεται μὲν εἰς ἑαυτὸν τὰ ἡμῶν ἰδικῶς, ἀντιδίδωσι δὲ ἡμῖν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ, πῶς ἢ τίνα τρόπον, ἐρέσθαι δὴ πάντως θελήσεις εὐλόγως. οὐκοῦν ἐρῶ κατὰ δύναμιν. πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ ἐν οἰκετῶν ὄντας τάξει τε καὶ φύσει: δοῦλα γὰρ τοῦ ποιητοῦ τὰ ποιήματα: καλεῖ μὲν ἰδίους ἀδελφοὺς, Πατέρα δὲ κοινὸν ἑαυτοῦ τε καὶ ἡμῶν ὀνομάζει τὸν Θεὸν, οἰκειούμενος δὲ διὰ τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁμοίωσιν τὰ ἀνθρώπινα, Θεὸν ἑαυτοῦ τὸν ἡμῶν ἐκάλεσε Θεὸν, καίπερ ὢν Υἱὸς κατὰ φύσιν, ἵν' ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς εἰς τὸ ὑπὲρ φύσιν ἀξίωμα διὰ τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁμοιώσεως ἀναβαίνομεν: οὐ γὰρ ὄντες υἱοὶ κατὰ φύσιν υἱοὶ κεκλήμεθα Θεοῦ, κράζει γὰρ ἐν ἡμῖν διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου Πνεύματος “Ἀββᾶ ὁ πατήρ:” οὕτω καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπείπερ τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐδέξατο μόρφωσιν, γέγονε γὰρ ἄνθρωπος κατὰ τὰς γραφὰς, Θεὸν ἔχῃ τὸν Θεὸν, καίτοι Θεὸς ὑπάρχων ἐκ Θεοῦ κατὰ φύσιν καὶ ἀληθινός. μὴ τοίνυν σκανδαλισθῇς, κἂν ἀκούσῃς ὅτι Θεὸν ἑαυτοῦ τὸν Θεὸν ἀποκαλεῖ, περιάθρει δὲ μᾶλλον ὡς φιλομαθὴς, καὶ περισκέπτου φρονίμως τοῦ λόγου τὴν ἀκρίβειαν. ἑαυτοῦ μὲν γὰρ Πατέρα φησὶν εἶναι τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ἡμῶν δὲ Θεὸν, πρᾶγμα λέγων καθ' ἑκάτερον ἀληθές. φύσει μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ Πατήρ ἐστι τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς, ἡμῶν δὲ οὐκέτι κατὰ φύσιν Πατὴρ, Θεὸς δὲ μᾶλλον, ὡς ποιητὴς καὶ Κύριος: ἀλλ' ἑαυτὸν ἡμῖν οἱονεί πως ἀνακιρνὰς ὁ Υἱὸς, τὸ μὲν ἑαυτῷ κυρίως τε καὶ ἰδικῶς ὑπάρχον ἀξίωμα τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ χαρίζεται φύσει, Πατέρα κοινὸν ὀνομάζων τὸν ἑαυτοῦ γεννήτορα: τὸ δὲ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ φύσει προσπεφυκὸς δέχεται πάλιν εἰς ἑαυτὸν, διὰ τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁμοίωσιν. Θεὸν γὰρ ἑαυτοῦ τὸν ἴδιον ὀνομάζει Πατέρα, οὐ θελήσας ἀτιμάσαι τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁμοίωσιν διὰ τὴν ἐνοῦσαν αὐτῷ φιλανθρωπίαν τε καὶ ἡμερότητα. ἂν τοίνυν ἐξ ἀμαθίας ἐγκαλεῖν ἐθελήσῃς τῇ τοιαύτῃ φωνῇ, καὶ ἀφόρητόν πως εἶναί σοι δοκῇ τὸ φάναι τὸν Κύριον Θεὸν ἑαυτοῦ τὸν Πατέρα καὶ Θεὸν, αἰτιάσῃ παραφρόνως τὴν διὰ σὲ γενομένην οἰκονομίαν, καὶ δέον εὐχαριστεῖν, ἀτιμάσεις τὸν εὐεργέτην, καὶ τῆς ἀγαπήσεως τῆς εἰς ἡμᾶς γενομένης τὸν τρόπον ἀσυνέτως διαβαλεῖς. εἰ γὰρ τεταπείνωκεν ἑαυτὸν αἰσχύνης καταφρονήσας καὶ διὰ σὲ γενόμενος ἄνθρωπος, τῆς σῆς, ὦ οὗτος, ἐστὶ τὸ ἔγκλημα ταπεινότητος: τῷ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο παθεῖν ἑλομένῳ διὰ σὲ, μέγα τε καὶ ἐξαίσιον ὀφείλεται θαῦμα. καταπλήττομαι δὲ, ὅτι κένωσιν ὅλως ἀκούων: κεκένωκε γὰρ ἑαυτὸν δι' ἡμᾶς: οὐ λογίζῃ τὴν πλήρωσιν, καὶ ταπείνωσιν βλέπων τὸ ὕψος οὐκ ἐννοεῖς. κεκένωται γὰρ πῶς, εἰ μὴ τέλειον ἐννοεῖς ὑπάρχειν, ὡς Θεόν; τεταπείνωται δὲ κατὰ τίνα τρόπον, εἰ μὴ τῆς ἀῤῥήτου φύσεως αὐτοῦ λογίζῃ τὰ ὑψώματα; οὐκοῦν πλήρης ὑπάρχων καὶ παντέλειος ὡς Θεὸς κεκένωται διὰ σὲ, πρὸς τὴν σὴν ἑαυτὸν κατακομίσας ὁμοίωσιν, καὶ ὑψηλὸς ὑπάρχων ὡς Υἱὸς καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Πατρὸς, τεταπείνωκεν ἑαυτὸν, ἐπείπερ γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, ὁ τῶν ὑψωμάτων τῆς θείας δόξης τοσοῦτον ἡττώμενος, ὅσον οἶδεν ἡ φύσις. ὅτε τοίνυν ἐν ταὐτῷ τέ ἐστι Θεὸς καὶ ἄνθρωπος, ὑψηλὸς μὲν διὰ τὸν φύσαντα: Θεὸς γάρ ἐστιν ἐκ Θεοῦ καὶ Υἱὸς ἐκ Πατρὸς ἀληθῶς: ταπεινὸς δὲ δι' ἡμᾶς, ἄνθρωπος γὰρ καθ' ἡμᾶς γέγονε δι' ἡμᾶς: ἀτάραχον ἔχε τὸν νοῦν, ὅταν ἀκούσῃς λέγοντος Ἀναβαίνω πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα μου καὶ Πατέρα ὑμῶν καὶ Θεόν μου καὶ Θεὸν ὑμῶν. πρέποι γὰρ ἂν καὶ μάλα εἰκότως, ὡς Θεῷ μὲν καὶ Υἱῷ κατὰ φύσιν Πατέρα καλεῖν τὸν γεννήτορα, ὡς δὲ ἀνθρώπῳ καθ' ἡμᾶς, Θεὸν ἑαυτοῦ τὸν Θεὸν ὀνομάζειν.
« Ἔρχεται Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ ἀπαγγέλλουσα τοῖς μαθηταῖς ὅτι ἑώρακε τὸν Κύριον καὶ ταῦτα εἶπεν αὐτῇ. » Θεραπεύεται τὸ νενοσηκὸς μάλιστα γένος, φημὶ δὴ τὸ θηλειῶν, διὰ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν φιλανθρωπίας ἀνακεφαλαιουμένου τρόπον τινὰ τὴν τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἀῤῥωστημάτων ἀρχὴν, καὶ μετατιθέντος τοῖς δευτέροις ἐπὶ τὸ ἄμεινον. ἀπαγγέλλει γὰρ ἡ Μαριὰμ, ὅτι καὶ θεάσοιτο τὰ τοῦ θανάτου δεσμὰ διαφυγόντα τὸν Κύριον, καὶ τίνα λέγοντος ἤκουσε, διεκόμισέ τε τοῖς μαθηταῖς τοὺς τῆς ζωῆς λόγους καὶ τῶν θείων εὐαγγελίων τὰς ἀπαρχάς.
« Οὔσης οὖν ὀψίας τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων, καὶ τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων ὅπου ἦσαν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ συνη γμένοι διὰ τὸν φόβον τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἦλθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ ἔστη εἰς τὸ μέσον καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς Εἰρήνη ὑμῖν. καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τὴν πλευρὰν αὐτοῦ. » Κατ' αὐτὴν ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν καθ' ἣν ὤφθη τε καὶ διείλεκται τῇ Μαριὰμ, καὶ αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐπέλαμψε μαθηταῖς, τὰς τῶν ἀνοσίων Ἰουδαίων ἀφορήτους καταδρομὰς καταπεφρικόσι, καὶ εἰς οἶκόν τινα διὰ τοῦτο συγκεκομισμένοις. οὐ γὰρ ἦν εἰκὸς ἀμοιρῆσαί ποτε τοῦ πρέποντος λογισμοῦ τοὺς οὕτω πεπαιδευμένους, καὶ τὰς τῶν φονώντων ὀργὰς διαδιδράσκειν ἐπείγεσθαι κεκελευσμένους πολλάκις. ἐπιφαίνεται δὲ παραδόξως αὐτοῖς. κεκλεισμένων γὰρ, ὥς φησι, τῶν θυρῶν, ἀδοκήτως εἰς μέσον ἔστη Χριστὸς, ἀφάτῳ τινὶ δυνάμει καὶ θεοπρεπεῖ καὶ τὰς τῶν πραγμάτων ἀκολουθίας ὑπεριπτάμενος, καὶ τοῦ τοῖς δρωμένοις πρέποντος λογισμοῦ τε καὶ σχήματος ἀμείνων ἀναδεικνύμενος. μὴ γὰρ δή τις λεγέτω Πῶς ἐν σώματι τῷ παχεῖ τυγχάνων ὁ Κύριος ἀδιακωλύτως εἰσήλασε, καίτοι τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων: ἐννοείτω δὲ μᾶλλον, ὡς οὐ περί τινος τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς τὰ τοιαῦτά φησιν ὁ θεσπέσιος Εὐαγγελιστής: περὶ αὐτοῦ δὲ μᾶλλον τοῦ συνεδρεύοντος τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρὶ, καὶ πάντα δρῶντος εὐκόλως ὅσαπερ ἂν βούλοιτο. ἔδει γὰρ ἔδει Θεὸν ὄντα κατὰ φύσιν καὶ ἀληθινὸν μὴ ταῖς τῶν πραγμάτων ἀκολουθίαις ὑποκεῖσθαι, καθάπερ ἀμέλει καὶ τὰ παρ' αὐτοῦ γεγονότα, κατεξουσιάζειν δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ ἀνάγκης αὐτῆς καὶ λογισμοῦ τοῦ καθήκοντος καὶ πρεπωδεστάτου τῶν τελουμένων ἑκάστῳ. ἐπεὶ κατὰ τίνα τρόπον θάλασσαν μὲν τοῖς ἰδίοις ὑπετίθει ποσὶ, διέθει δὲ καθάπερ ἐπὶ ξηρᾶς τοῦ κύματος, καίτοι τῶν ἡμετέρων σωμάτων τὴν ἐφ' ὕδασιν ὁδὸν οὐκ ἐχόντων ὑπεστρωμένην; ἢ πῶς τὰς ἑτέρας ἐπλήρου θαυματουργίας ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ θεοπρεπεῖ; ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνα δὴ πάντως ἐρεῖς ὑπὲρ λόγον. οὐκοῦν τίθει μετ' ἐκείνων καὶ τοῦτο, καὶ μὴ καθάπερ ἔδοξέ τισιν ἐκ τῆς ἐνούσης αὐτοῖς ἐλαφρίας συνηρπασμένοις ἐπὶ τὸ βούλεσθαι φρονεῖν ἅπερ ἥκιστα χρῆν, οἰηθῇς διὰ τοῦτο μὴ μετὰ τοῦδε τοῦ σώματος ἐγηγέρθαι τὸν Κύριον, γυμνὸν δὲ σαρκὸς καὶ ἀσύμπλοκον παντελῶς τοῦ ληφθέντος ναοῦ. εἰ γὰρ μὴ δύνασαι νοεῖν τῆς ἀῤῥήτου φύσεως τὴν ἐνέργειαν, τί μὴ μᾶλλον τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἀσθενείας καταβοᾷς; τοῦτο γὰρ εἶναί φημι καὶ σοφώτερον: εἶτα στέργεις σιωπῇ τὸ διορισθέν σοι μέτρον παρὰ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ, ἀποσειόμενος δὲ ὥσπερ τὸν σώφρονα λογισμὸν, ἀδικεῖς τὸ μέγα τῆς ἀναστάσεως μυστήριον, ἐφ' ᾧ πᾶσαν ἔχομεν τὴν ἐλπίδα. διαμεμνήσθω γάρ τις βοῶντος τοῦ Παύλου “Εἰ νεκροὶ οὐκ ἐγείρονται, οὐδὲ Χριστὸς ἐγή” γερται: εἰ δὲ Χριστὸς οὐκ ἐγήγερται, ματαία ἡ πίστις “ὑμῶν καὶ ἔτι ἐστὲ ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν,” εἶτα πάλιν “Εὑρισκόμεθα δὲ καὶ ψευδομάρτυρες τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅτι ἐμαρτυ” ρήσαμεν κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὅτι ἤγειρε τὸν Χριστὸν, ὃν οὐκ “ἤγειρεν εἴπερ ἄρα νεκροὶ οὐκ ἐγείρονται.” τί γὰρ ὅλως τὸ ἐγερθὲν εἰ μὴ τὸ πεσὸν, ἢ τί τὸ ἀναστὰν εἰ μὴ τὸ κεκλιμένον εἰς θάνατον; πῶς δὲ ἡμεῖς προσδοκήσομεν τὴν ἀνάστασιν, εἰ μὴ τὸν οἰκεῖον ἤγειρε ναὸν ὁ Χριστὸς, ἀπαρχὴν τῶν κεκοιμημένων, καὶ πρωτότοκον ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν καθιστάς. ἢ πῶς ἐνδύσεται τὸ φθαρτὸν τοῦτο τὴν ἀφθαρσίαν, εἰ καθάπερ οἴονταί τινες εἰς ἀπώλειαν παντελῆ κατοιχήσεται; πῶς γὰρ οὐ τοῦτο πείσεται, μηδεμίαν ἔχον εἰς ἀναβίωσιν τὴν ἐλπίδα; μὴ τοίνυν τὴν ἐν τῷ πιστεύειν ὀρθότητα ζημιωθῇς διὰ τὸ παραδόξως τετελεσμένον, προστίθει δὲ τοῖς ἑτέροις θαύμασι καὶ τοῦτο σωφρόνως. Ἄθρει γὰρ ὅπως διὰ μὲν τοῦ παραδόξως εἰσελάσαι κεκλεισμένων τῶν θυρῶν, δέδειχε πάλιν ὅτι Θεός ἐστι κατὰ φύσιν, καὶ οὐχ ἕτερος παρ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν αὐτοῖς καὶ πάλαι συνδιαιτώμενον: διὰ δὲ τοῦ καὶ αὐτὴν ἀπογυμνῶσαι τοῦ σώματος τὴν πλευρὰν καὶ τοὺς τύπους ἐπιδεῖξαι τῶν ἥλων, πεπληροφόρηκεν ἐμφανῶς ὅτι τὸν ἐπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ σταυροῦ κεκρεμασμένον ἤγειρε ναὸν, καὶ ὅπερ πεφόρεκε σῶμα, τοῦτο πάλιν ἀνέστησε, καταργήσας δηλονότι τὸν τῇ σαρκὶ πρέποντα θάνατον, ἐπείπερ ἐστὶ κατὰ φύσιν ζωὴ καὶ Θεός. ἐπεὶ τίς ἡ χρεία τῆς τῶν χειρῶν καὶ τῆς πλευρᾶς ἐπιδείξεως, εἴπερ ὅλως κατὰ τήν τινων ἀβελτερίαν οὐ μετὰ τῆς ἰδίας ἐγήγερται σαρκός; εἰ γὰρ ἕτερόν τι περὶ αὐτοῦ φρονεῖν ἠθέλησε τοὺς μαθητὰς, τί μὴ μᾶλλον αὐτοῖς ἐν ἑτέρῳ διεφαίνετο σχήματι, καὶ τὸ τῆς σαρκὸς ἀτιμάσας εἶδος, πρὸς ἑτεροίας αὐτοὺς ἐννοίας ἐκάλει; νυνὶ δὲ τοσοῦτον ὁρᾶται πεφροντικὼς τοῦ χρῆναι πιστεύειν ἔσεσθαι τῆς σαρκὸς τὴν ἀνάστασιν, ὥστε καὶ καιροῦ καλοῦντος ἤδη μετασκευάζειν εἰς δόξαν ἄῤῥητόν τινα καὶ ὑπερφυᾶ τὸ ἴδιον σῶμα, φαίνεσθαι πάλιν ὅπερ ἦν συγκεχώρηκεν οἰκονομικῶς, ἵνα μὴ ἕτερον ἔχων παρ' ἐκεῖνο νομίζηται ἐν ᾧ καὶ πέπονθε τὸν ἐπὶ τῷ σταυρῷ θάνατον. ὅτι γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ἐγένετο φορητὴ τοῖς ἡμετέροις ὄμμασιν ἡ τοῦ ἁγίου σώματος δόξα, εἴπερ αὐτὴν ἐξαπλοῦν ἠβουλήθη Χριστὸς καὶ πρὶν ἀναβῆναι πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, συνήσεις εὐκόλως, τὸν ἐν τῷ ὄρει ποτὲ παραδειχθέντα τοῖς ἁγίοις μαθηταῖς μετασχηματισμὸν ἐνθυμούμενος. γράφει γὰρ ὁ μακάριος Ματθαῖος ὁ Εὐαγγελιστὴς, ὅτι παραλαβών ποτε “Πέτρον καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην, ” ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος, καὶ μετεμορφώθη ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν, “καὶ ἔλαμψε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ἀστραπὴ, τὰ δὲ ” ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο λευκὰ ὡσεὶ χιὼν,“ οἱ δὲ τὴν θέαν οὐκ ἐνεγκόντες πεπτώκασιν. οἰκονομικώτατα τοίνυν ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς, οὔπω πρὸς δόξαν τὴν αὐτῷ χρεωστουμένην καὶ πρέπουσαν τὸν οἰκεῖον μεταστοιχειώσας ναὸν, ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις ἔτι διεφαίνετο σχήμασι, τὴν τῆς ἀναστάσεως πίστιν οὐκ ἐφ' ἕτερόν τι σχῆμα καὶ σῶμα μετακομίζεσθαι θέλων ἢ εἰς ὅπερ ἔλαβεν ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου, ἐν ᾧ καὶ σταυρωθεὶς ἀπέθανε κατὰ τὰς γραφὰς, τῆς τοῦ θανάτου δυνάμεως κατὰ μόνης τρεχούσης τῆς σαρκὸς, ἐξ ἧς καὶ ἀπελήλαται. εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἀνέστη τὸ τεθνηκὸς αὐτοῦ σῶμα, ποῖος νενίκηται θάνατος, ποῦ δὲ ἠτόνησε τὸ τῆς φθορᾶς κράτος; οὐ δι' ἑνὸς ἀποθανόντος τῶν λογικῶν κτισμάτων, οὐ ψυχῆς, οὐκ ἀγγέλου, μήτι γε καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγου; ὅτε τοίνυν περὶ μόνον τὸ φθείρεσθαι πεφυκὸς τὸ τοῦ θανάτου γίνεται κράτος, περὶ αὐτὸ δὴ πάντως καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀναστάσεως δύναμις νοοῖτ' ἂν εἰκότως, ἵνα καὶ ἡ τοῦ τυραννήσαντος παραλύηται δύναμις. τὸ δὲ εἰσελθεῖν τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων τὸν Κύριον, τοῖς ἄλλοις αὐτοῦ σημείοις συντετάξεται παρά γε τοῖς σώφροσι. κατασπάζεται δὲ τοὺς ἁγίους μαθητάς. εἰρήνη γὰρ ὑμῖν φησιν, ἑαυτὸν εἶναι λέγων τὴν εἰρήνην. οἷς γὰρ ἂν παρείη Χριστὸς, τούτοις ἕψεται δὴ πάντως καὶ τὸ ἐν ἀταράχῳ διατηρεῖσθαι πνεύματι. ὃ δὴ καὶ Παῦλος ὑπάρξαι παρὰ Θεοῦ τοῖς εἰς αὐτὸν πιστεύουσιν ἐπηύχετο λέγων ” Ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ ὑπερέχουσα “πάντα νοῦν φρουρήσει τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ νοήματα ” ὑμῶν:“ εἰρήνην Χριστοῦ τὴν ἐπέκεινα νοῦ παντὸς, οὐχ ἑτέραν εἶναι λέγων παρὰ τὸ Πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ, οὗπερ εἴ τις μετάσχοι, παντὸς ἀνάπλεως ἔσται καλοῦ.
« Ἐχάρησαν οὖν οἱ μαθηταὶ ἰδόντες τὸν Κύριον. » Τοῖς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ῥήμασιν ἐπιμαρτυρεῖ τὴν ἀλήθειαν κἀν τούτῳ δὴ πάλιν ὁ μακάριος Εὐαγγελιστὴς, θυμηδίας καὶ χαρᾶς ἀναπεπλῆσθαι λέγων τοὺς μαθητὰς, ἐπείπερ εἶδον τὸν Ἰησοῦν. μεμνήμεθα γὰρ ὅτι πρὸς αὐτοὺς αἰνιγματωδῶς τοὺς περὶ τοῦ τιμίου σταυροῦ καὶ τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστάσεως ἐξυφαίνων λόγους ” Μικρὸν ἔφη, καὶ οὐκέτι θεωρεῖτέ με, καὶ “πάλιν μικρὸν καὶ ὄψεσθέ με, καὶ χαρήσεται ὑμῶν ἡ ” καρδία, καὶ τὴν χαρὰν ὑμῶν οὐδεὶς ἀρεῖ ἀφ' ὑμῶν.“ ἔχαιρον μὲν γὰρ οἱ πάσης ἀποπληξίας τὸν νοῦν ἀνάμεστον ἔχοντες Ἰουδαῖοι, σταυρῷ προσηλούμενον βλέποντες τὸν Ἰησοῦν: λύπῃ δὲ ἀκράτῳ καὶ δυσαχθεστάτῃ κατεφορτίζετο τῶν ἁγίων μαθητῶν ἡ καρδία. ἀλλ' ἐπείπερ ἐστὶ κατὰ φύσιν ζωὴ, καταλύσας τοῦ θανάτου τὸ κράτος ἀνεβίω πάλιν, καὶ ἡ μὲν τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἀπέσβη χαρὰ, τοῖς γεμὴν ἁγίοις ἀποστόλοις μετακεχώρηκε μὲν ὁ κοπετὸς εἰς χαρὰν, ἀναπόβλητος δὲ παντελῶς καὶ ἀναφαίρετος ἀνεβλάστησε θυμηδία. τεθνήξεται γὰρ οὐκέτι Χριστὸς ἅπαξ ἀποθανὼν ” εἰς ἀθέτησιν “ἁμαρτίας,” καθὰ γέγραπται. ζῶν γὰρ ἀεὶ καὶ ὑπάρχων, ἀτελεύτητον δῆλον ὅτι τοῖς ἐλπίζουσιν ἐπ' αὐτῷ διατηρήσει τὸ χαίρειν. κατασπάζεται δὲ πάλιν, τὸ σύνηθες ἐκεῖνο λέγων, τουτέστιν Εἰρήνη ὑμῖν, νόμον ὥσπερ τινὰ καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ τούτῳ τιθεὶς τοῖς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τέκνοις. τοιγάρτοι καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἁγίαις μάλιστα συνόδοις ἤτοι συνάξεσι παρ' αὐτὰς τοῦ μυστηρίου τὰς ἀρχὰς, τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀλλήλοις φαμέν. τὸ γὰρ εἰρηνεύειν ἡμᾶς πρός τε ἀλλήλους καὶ Θεὸν, πηγή τις ὥσπερ καὶ ἀρχὴ παντὸς ἂν ὑπάρχειν νοοῖτο καλοῦ. τοιγάρτοι καὶ Παῦλος τὰ πάντων ὑπάρξαι κάλλιστα τοῖς κεκλημένοις ἐπευχόμενος “Χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη φησὶν ἀπὸ ” Θεοῦ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,“ προτρέπων δὲ πάλιν εἰς εἰρήνην τὴν ὡς πρὸς Θεὸν τοὺς οὔπω πιστεύσαντας ” Ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ, φησὶ, πρεσβεύομεν, ὡς τοῦ “Θεοῦ παρακαλοῦντος δι' ἡμῶν: δεόμεθα ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ, ” καταλλάγητε τῷ Θεῷ:“ παραθήγει δὲ οὐδὲν ἧττον ἡμᾶς καὶ ὁ προφήτης Ἡσαΐας βοῶν ” Ποιήσωμεν εἰρήνην αὐτῷ, “ποιήσωμεν εἰρήνην οἱ ἐρχόμενοι.” πρέπουσα τοίνυν ἡ τοῦ λόγου δύναμις τῷ τὴν εἰρήνην βραβεύοντι, μᾶλλον δὲ τῇ πάντων εἰρήνῃ, τουτέστι Χριστῷ: “Αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ” εἰρήνη ἡμῶν,“ κατὰ τὰς γραφάς.
« Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς πάλιν Εἰρήνη ὑμῖν: καθὼς ἀπέστειλέ με ὁ ζῶν Πατὴρ κἀγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς. » Κεχειροτόνηκε μὲν ἐν τούτοις ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς τοὺς τῆς οἰκουμένης καθηγητάς τε καὶ διδασκάλους καὶ τῶν θείων αὐτοῦ μυστηρίων οἰκονόμους, οὓς καὶ φωστήρων δίκην ἀναλάμψαι τε ἤδη καὶ καταυγάσαι κελεύει οὐχὶ μόνην τῶν Ἰουδαίων τὴν χώραν, κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς νομικῆς ἐντολῆς διηκούσης ” ἀπὸ Δὰν καὶ ἕως Βηρσαβεὲ,“ κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, μᾶλλον δὲ τὴν ὑφ' ἡλίῳ σύμπασαν καὶ τοὺς πανταχόσε κατεσπαρμένους καὶ κατῳκηκότας. ἀληθὴς οὖν ἄρα λέγων ὁ Παῦλος, ὡς ” οὐχ ἑαυτῷ τις λαμβάνει τὴν “τιμὴν, ἀλλ' ὁ καλούμενος παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ.” κέκληκε γὰρ εἰς εὐκλεεστάτην ἀποστολὴν ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ μαθητὰς, καὶ μονονουχὶ σειομένην καὶ πίπτουσαν ὅλην ἔπηξε τὴν γῆν, ἀναδείξας ὡς Θεὸς τὰ ὑποστηρίγματα αὐτῆς καὶ τοὺς ἀντερείδειν ἰσχύοντας. τοιγάρτοι καὶ ἔφη διὰ τῆς τοῦ ψάλλοντος φωνῆς περί τε τῆς γῆς καὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων ὅτι “ἐγὼ ” ἐστερέωσα τοὺς στύλους αὐτῆς:“ στύλοι γὰρ ὥσπερ καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας οἱ μακάριοι γεγόνασι μαθηταὶ, οὓς δὴ καὶ ἀποστεῖλαί φησιν, ὥσπερ αὐτὸν ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Πατὴρ, ὁμοῦ μὲν τῆς ἀποστολῆς τὸ ἀξίωμα δεικνὺς, καὶ τῆς δοθείσης αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίας τὴν ἀσύγκριτον δόξαν: ἐν ταὐτῷ δὲ ὡς εἰκὸς καὶ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ὑποφαίνων τὴν ὁδόν. εἰ γὰρ οὕτως ἀποστέλλειν ᾤετο δεῖν αὐτὸς τοὺς οἰκείους μαθητὰς, ὥσπερ οὖν αὐτὸν ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Πατὴρ, πῶς οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον ἰδεῖν τοὺς, οἵ γε τῶν ἴσων ἔμελλον ἔσεσθαι μιμηταὶ, τί δὴ καὶ δράσοντα τὸν Υἱὸν ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Πατήρ; Οὐκοῦν τῆς ἰδίας ἀποστολῆς τὸν τρόπον διαφόρως ἡμῖν ἐξηγούμενος, ποτὲ μὲν ἔφασκεν ” Οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δι“καίους, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλοὺς εἰς μετάνοιαν,” καὶ πάλιν “Οὐ ” χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ὑγιαίνοντες ἰατροῦ, ἀλλ' οἱ κακῶς “ἔχοντες:” καὶ ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις ποτὲ μέν “Ὅτι καταβέ” βηκα ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ οὐχ ἵνα ποιῶ τὸ θέλημα τὸ ἐμὸν “ἀλλὰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με,” ποτὲ δὲ πάλιν “Οὐ ” γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα “κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ' ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι' αὐτοῦ.” ἐν ὀλίγοις τοιγαροῦν τοῖς ῥήμασι τὰ τῆς ἀποστολῆς ἐπιτηδεύματα συνελὼν, οὕτως ἀποστεῖλαί φησιν αὐτοὺς, καθάπερ αὐτὸν ὁ Πατὴρ, ἵν' εἰδεῖεν ἐντεῦθεν, ὡς καλεῖν ὀφείλουσιν ἁμαρτωλοὺς εἰς μετάνοιαν, θεραπεύειν δὲ τοὺς κακῶς ἔχοντας, σωματικῶς τε καὶ πνευματικῶς, ἐν δὲ ταῖς τῶν πραγμάτων οἰκονομίαις τὸ ἴδιον οὐχὶ πάντως θέλημα ζητεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὸ τοῦ ἀποστείλαντος, σώζειν τε καθόσον ἐνδέχεται ταῖς διδασκαλίαις τὸν κόσμον. καὶ γοῦν διὰ τούτων ἁπάντων διαπρέπειν σπουδάζοντας καὶ αὐτοὺς εὑρήσομεν τοὺς ἁγίους μαθητὰς, καὶ ὁ τῆς πληροφορίας πόνος οὐ πολὺς τῷ γε ἅπαξ ἐγκύψαντι τῇ τῶν πράξεων συγγραφῇ καὶ ταῖς τοῦ ἁγίου Παύλου φωναῖς.
« Καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν ἐνεφύσησε καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς Λάβετε Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον. ἄν τινων ἀφῆτε τὰς ἁμαρτίας, ἀφίενται αὐτοῖς: ἄν τινων κρατῆτε, κεκράτηνται. » Λαμπροὺς ἀποφήνας τῷ μεγάλῳ τῆς ἀποστολῆς ἀξιώματι, καὶ τῶν θείων θυσιαστηρίων, καθάπερ ἔφην ἀρτίως, οἰκονόμους τε καὶ ἱερουργοὺς ἀναδείξας, ἁγιάζει παραχρῆμα τὸ ἴδιον αὐτοῖς Πνεῦμα διδοὺς δι' ἐμφανοῦς ἐμφυσήματος, ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀραρότως πιστεύωμεν ὡς οὐκ ἀλλότριον τοῦ Υἱοῦ τὸ Ἅγιον Πνεῦμά ἐστιν, ἀλλ' ὁμοούσιον αὐτῷ, καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ προϊὸν τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός. ἔδειξε δὲ ὅτι τοῖς εἰς θείαν ἀποστολὴν δι' αὐτοῦ προχειριζομένοις ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος δόσις ἀναγκαίως ἀκολουθεῖ. καὶ διὰ ποίαν αἰτίαν; οὐ γὰρ ἄν τι δράσειαν τῶν ἀρεσκόντων Θεῷ, ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἂν τῶν τῆς ἁμαρτίας κατανεανιεύσαιντο βρόχων, μὴ τὴν ἐξ ὕψους πρότερον ἐνδυσάμενοι δύναμιν, καὶ εἰς ἕτερόν τι παρ' ὅπερ ἦσαν μεταστοιχειούμενοι. διὸ καὶ πρός τινα τῶν ἀρχαιοτέρων ἐλέγετο, ὅτι “ἁλεῖται ἐπὶ σὲ Πνεῦμα Κυρίου, καὶ στραφήσῃ ” εἰς ἄνδρα ἄλλον,“ ἀλλάξειν δὲ ἰσχὺν τοὺς ὑπομένοντας τὸν Θεὸν καὶ ὁ προφήτης ἡμῖν Ἡσαΐας ἐπηγγέλλετο: Παῦλος δὲ ὁ σοφώτατος κεκοπιακέναι φάσκων ὑπέρ τινας, ἐν τοῖς ἀποστολικοῖς δηλονότι κατορθώμασιν, ἐπήνεγκεν εὐθὺς, ὅτι ” Οὐκ ἐγὼ δὲ, ἀλλ' ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ σὺν “ἐμοί.” πρὸς δέ γε τούτῳ κἀκεῖνό φαμεν, ὡς οὐκ ἂν ὅλως συνῆκαν τὸ ἐπὶ Χριστῷ μυστήριον, οὐδ' ἂν ἀκριβεῖς ἐγένοντο μυσταγωγοὶ, εἰ μὴ διὰ τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος δᾳδουχίας ἰόντες εἰς ἀποκάλυψιν τῶν ὑπὲρ νοῦν καὶ λόγον, πρὸς τὸ διδάσκειν οὕτως ἃ χρῆν ἀναβαίνειν ἰσχύουσαν: λέγει γάρ “Οὐδεὶς δύναται εἰπεῖν Κύριος Ἰησοῦς,” κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Παύλου φωνὴν, “εἰ μὴ ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ.” ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἔμελλον ἐρεῖν ὅτι Κύριος Ἰησοῦς, τουτέστιν, ἀνακηρύττειν αὐτὸν ὡς Θεὸν καὶ Κύριον, ἀναγκαίως ἤδη λοιπὸν τῷ τῆς ἀποστολῆς ἀξιώματι παρεζευγμένην δέχονται τὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριν, διδόντος αὐτὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ οὐχ ὡς ταῖς ἑτέρου φιλοτιμίαις διακονουμένου τυχὸν, χορηγοῦντος δὲ μᾶλλον ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ: διήκοι γὰρ ἂν οὐχ ἑτέρως εἰς ἡμᾶς παρὰ Πατρὸς εἰ μὴ δι' Υἱοῦ. ὁ μὲν οὖν ἀρχαῖος καὶ ἐν γράμμασι νόμος, σκιὰς ἔχων καὶ τύπους τῶν ἀληθινῶν, σωματικωτέραν, ἵν' οὕτως εἴπω, καὶ ἐν παχυτέροις ὁρωμένην πράγμασι τὴν τῶν ἱερῶν ἀνάῤῥησιν τελεῖσθαι προσέταττεν. ὁ γάρ τοι μακάριος Μωυσῆς, Θεοῦ πάλιν αὐτῷ προστάττοντος, ὕδασι μὲν ἀπονίζεσθαι τόν τε Ἀαρὼν αὐτὸν καὶ τοὺς Λευΐτας ἐκέλευεν: εἶτα τὸν τῆς τελειώσεως κατασφάξας κριὸν κατέχρισεν ἐκ “τοῦ αἵματος τὸν λοβὸν τοῦ ὠτὸς τοῦ δεξιοῦ,” καθὰ γέγραπται, ἐπέθηκε δὲ καὶ “ἐπὶ τὸ ἄκρον τῆς χειρὸς ” τῆς δεξιᾶς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἄκρον τοῦ ποδὸς τοῦ δεξιοῦ,“ τοῦ κατὰ Χριστὸν μυστηρίου τὸν τύπον ὡς ἐν εἰκόνι ζωγραφῶν. ἔνθα γὰρ ὕδωρ καὶ αἷμά ἐστι, τὰ δι' ὧν ὁ ἁγιασμὸς, πῶς ἢ πόθεν ἀμφίβολον, ὅτι τῆς ἀληθείας τὸ κάλλος ἐν ἀφανεστέροις ἔτι διεπλάττετο τύποις; ὁ δὲ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς, εἰς ἀληθείας δύναμιν τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ νόμου μεταθεὶς, τοὺς τῶν θείων θυσιαστηρίων ἱερουργοὺς τελειοῖ δι' ἑαυτοῦ. καὶ γάρ ἐστιν αὐτὸς ὁ τῆς τελειώσεως κριός. τελειοῖ δὲ δι' ἁγιασμοῦ τοῦ κατὰ ἀλήθειαν, τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως κοινωνοὺς διὰ τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος μετουσίας ἀναδεικνὺς, καὶ μεταχαλκεύων τρόπον τινὰ τὴν ἀνθρώπου φύσιν εἰς τὴν ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον δύναμίν τε καὶ δόξαν. Ἀλλ' ὅτι μὲν τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἔξω που φανεῖται καὶ ὁ περὶ τούτων ἡμῖν γεγονὼς λόγος, οὐκ ἀμφίβολον. πλὴν ἐκεῖνό τις λέγων ἀφίξεται τυχὸν καὶ φιλοπευστήσει χρηστομαθῶς, ἐρεῖ δὲ ἴσως Ποῖ δὴ ἄρα καὶ πότε τὴν διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριν οἱ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐκομίσαντο μαθηταί; ὅτε κατ' οἶκον αὐτοῖς ἐπέλαμψεν ὁ Σωτὴρ εὐθὺς μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν, ἐνεφύσησέ τε λέγων Λάβετε Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον: ἢ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς ἁγίας πεντηκοστῆς, ὅτε δὴ πάλιν εἰς ἕνα συναχθέντων τόπον ” Ἐγένετο ἄφνω ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ “ἦχος ὥσπερ φερομένης πνοῆς βιαίας, καὶ ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς ” διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρὸς, καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐφ' ἕνα “ἕκαστον αὐτῶν, καὶ ἤρξαντο λαλεῖν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις ” καθὼς τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐδίδου ἀποφθέγγεσθαι αὐτοῖς.“ ἢ γὰρ, φησὶ, διττὴν δεδόσθαι τὴν χάριν αὐτοῖς οἰησόμεθα, ἤγουν τὸν καιρὸν ἀγνοήσομεν, καθ' ὃν ἀληθῶς γεγόνασι μέτοχοι τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος, εἴπερ ἀληθὴς καὶ ὁ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν εὑρίσκοιτο λόγος καὶ τὸ ἐν ταῖς πράξεσι γεγραμμένον περὶ τῶν ἁγίων μαθητῶν. ἀλλ' ἐνδοιασμοῦ μὲν ἄξιον τὸ χρῆμά ἐστι, μάλισθ' ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ἔφη που Χριστός ” Συμφέρει ὑμῖν ἵνα ἐγὼ ἀπέλθω: ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ ἀπέλθω, ὁ “παράκλητος οὐ μὴ ἔλθῃ πρὸς ὑμᾶς: ὅταν δὲ ἀπέλθω, ” πέμψω αὐτὸν πρὸς ὑμᾶς.“ ἐρεῖ γὰρ ἴσως ὁ ἐκεῖνα ζητῶν Ψευδομυθεῖν οὐκ οἶδεν ἡ ἀλήθεια, τουτέστι Χριστός: ὅτε τοίνυν ἔφη σαφῶς, ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἔλθοι πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὁ Παράκλητος, οὐκ ἀναληφθέντος αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, πέμψειν δὲ τότε καὶ ἀραρότως, ὅταν ἄνω γένηται παρ' αὐτῷ, πῶς εὑρίσκεται τὸ Πνεῦμα διδοὺς, καίτοι τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἀποδημίαν οὔπω στειλάμενος; πλὴν εἰ καὶ λίαν ἀσυμφανὲς τὸ ζητούμενον καὶ περισκελὴς ὁ λόγος, ἐκταράξαι τε καὶ σφόδρα ἱκανὸς, ἀλλ' ἔχει τὴν λύσιν τὴν αὐτῷ πρεπωδεστάτην, ὅταν μὴ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ὑπάρχειν ἕνα πιστεύωμεν τὸν Χριστὸν, Θεὸν δὲ μᾶλλον ὡς ἐκ Θεοῦ καὶ τῶν ἰδίων κατεξουσιάζοντα λόγων διὰ τὴν τοῖς πράγμασι πρεπωδεστάτην οἰκονομίαν. Ἐπηγγείλατο μὲν γὰρ καταπέμψειν ἡμῖν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ τὸν Παράκλητον, ὅταν ἄνω γένηται παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρὶ, ὃ δὴ καὶ πέπραχεν ἀποδημήσας πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ δαψιλεστάτην τοῖς ἐθέλουσιν ἑλεῖν τὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἔκχυσιν ἐπιδούς: ἕλοι δ' ἄν τις αὐτὸ διὰ πίστεως δηλονότι τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν, καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου βαπτίσματος: ἐπληροῦτο δὲ τότε τὸ διὰ τῆς τοῦ προφήτου φωνῆς εἰρημένον, ὅτι ” ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ “Πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα.” ἀλλ' ἔδει τοῦ Πνεύματος χορηγὸν καὶ τῷ Πατρὶ συνδοτῆρα φαίνεσθαι τὸν Υἱὸν, ἔδει συνιέναι τοὺς πιστεύοντας εἰς αὐτὸν, ὅτι περ αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ τοῦ Πατρὸς δύναμις, ἡ τόδε τὸ σύμπαν δημιουργήσασα, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι παρενεγκοῦσα τὸν ἄνθρωπον. ἦν μὲν γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου Λόγου τὸ ἐν ἀρχαῖς χοῦν μὲν λαβὼν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καθὰ γέγραπται, διαπλάσας δὲ τὸ ζῷον, φημὶ δὴ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ψυχώσας τε καθὼς οἶδεν αὐτὸς καὶ τῇ τοῦ ἰδίου Πνεύματος μετουσίᾳ καταφαιδρύνας αὐτόν: “ἐνεφύσησε γὰρ εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον ” αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς,“ καθὰ γέγραπται. ἐπειδὴ δὲ συνέβη πεσεῖν ἐκ παρακοῆς εἰς τὸν θάνατον, καὶ τῆς ἀρχαίας ἐκείνης διολισθῆσαι τιμῆς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀνέκτισεν πάλιν αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ καὶ εἰς καινότητα ζωῆς ἀνεκόμισε δι' Υἱοῦ, καθάπερ ἐν ἀρχῇ: ἀνεκόμισε δὲ πῶς ὁ Υἱός; τῷ θανάτῳ τῆς ἁγίας σαρκὸς νεκρώσας τὸν θάνατον, καὶ εἰς ἀναδρομὴν ἀφθαρσίας τὸ ἀνθρώπινον γένος ἀνενεγκών: ἐγήγερται γὰρ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ὁ Χριστός. ἵνα τοίνυν αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον ὄντα μανθάνωμεν τὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τῆς ἡμετέρας φύσεως γεγονότα δημιουργὸν, καὶ τῷ Ἁγίῳ δὲ ἡμᾶς κατασφραγίσαντα Πνεύματι, πάλιν ἡμῖν ὁ Σωτὴρ ὡς ἐν ἀπαρχῇ τῆς ἀνακαινιζομένης φύσεως τοῖς ἁγίοις μαθηταῖς δι' ἐμφυσήματος ἐναργοῦς τὸ Πνεῦμα χαρίζεται. γράφει γὰρ ὁ Μωυσῆς περὶ τῆς ἀρχαίας ἡμῶν δημιουργίας, ὅτι ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς. ὡς οὖν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐπλάσθη καὶ γέγονεν, οὕτω καὶ ἀνακαινίζεται, καὶ ὥσπερ ἐμορφώθη τότε κατ' εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος, οὕτω καὶ νῦν τῇ τοῦ Πνεύματος μετουσίᾳ πρὸς ἐμφέρειαν μεταπλάττεται τοῦ ἰδίου ποιητοῦ. ὅτι γὰρ τοῦ Σωτῆρος τὴν μόρφωσιν ἐνθλίβει τὸ Πνεῦμα ταῖς τῶν δεχομένων αὐτὸ ψυχαῖς, πῶς οὐκ ἀναμφίλογον τοῖς εἰς νομικὴν ἐπιτήρησιν διωλισθηκόσιν ἐκ ῥᾳθυμίας ἐπιστέλλοντος τοῦ Παύλου σαφῶς ” Τεκνία μου, οὓς πάλιν “ὠδίνω, ἄχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν.” οὐχ ἑτέρως γὰρ ἐν αὐτοῖς μορφωθήσεσθαι λέγει Χριστὸν, ἢ διὰ τοῦ μετασχεῖν Ἁγίου Πνεύματος, πολιτεύεσθαί τε κατὰ νόμον τὸν εὐαγγελικόν. οὐκοῦν, ὡς ἐν ἀπαρχῇ τῆς ἀνανεουμένης κτίσεως εἰς ἀφθαρσίαν τε καὶ δόξαν καὶ εἰς εἰκόνα τὴν θεοειδῆ κατοικίζει πάλιν τὸ ἴδιον πνεῦμα Χριστὸς ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς. ἔδει γὰρ ἔδει κἀκεῖνο πρὸς τούτῳ νοεῖν, ὅτι τοῦ Πνεύματός ἐστι χορηγὸς καὶ δοτήρ. τοιγάρτοι καὶ ἔφασκεν, ὅτι “πάντα ὅσα ἔχει ὁ Πατὴρ ἐμά ἐστιν.” ἔχει δὲ ὁ Πατὴρ ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ τε καὶ ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸ ἴδιον Πνεῦμα, ἔχει τοῦτο ἐν ἑαυτῷ καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς, ἐπείπερ ἐστὶν ὁμοούσιος αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ πέφηνεν οὐσιωδῶς, πάντα τὰ τοῦ γεννήσαντος ἴδια φυσικῶς ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ. Ὅτι δὲ καίτοι πολλὰ πολλάκις καὶ ἐν καιρῷ τῷ πρέποντι δράσειν ὑπισχνούμενος, ἔδρασεν ὅμως καὶ πρὸ καιροῦ τοῦ διωρισμένου πρὸς πληροφορίαν ἡμετέραν, ἵνα πιστεύωμεν ἀληθῶς ὅτι δὴ πάντως ἐκβήσεται τὰ εἰρημένα παρ' αὐτοῦ, δείξομεν ἐντεῦθεν. ἐπηγγέλλετο τοὺς νεκροὺς ἐγείρειν καὶ ἀνακομίσειν αὖθις εἰς ζωὴν τοὺς ἐν γῇ κειμένους καὶ χώματι. “Ἔρχεται γὰρ ὥρα, φησὶ, καθ' ἣν οἱ νεκροὶ ἀκούσουσι τῆς ” φωνῆς τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἐξελεύσονται, οἱ μὲν τὰ “ἀγαθὰ ποιήσαντες εἰς ἀνάστασιν ζωῆς, οἱ δὲ τὰ φαῦλα ” πράξαντες εἰς ἀνάστασιν κρίσεως.“ ὅτι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο κατορθώσει ῥᾳδίως πληροφορεῖν ἐπειγόμενος, ἐδίδασκε μὲν λέγων ” Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή.“ ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ τοῦ πράγματος ὑπερβολὴ τὸ ἀναβιώσεσθαί ποτε τοὺς νεκροὺς ἄπιστόν πως ἐτίθει, φθάνει χρησίμως τὸν τῆς ἀναστάσεως καιρὸν, καὶ δεικνύει τὸ σημεῖον ἐγείρων τὸν Λάζαρον καὶ τὸν τῆς χήρας υἱὸν καὶ τὸ Ἰαείρου κόριον. καὶ τί πρὸς τούτοις ἕτερον; ἐπιδοξοτάτην τινὰ λέγων ἔσεσθαι τὴν τῶν ἁγίων ἀνάστασιν ” Τότε, γάρ φησιν, οἱ δίκαιοι ἐκλάμψουσιν “ὡς ὁ ἥλιος ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν,” ἵνα πάλιν ὡς ἀληθῆ λέγων πιστεύηται, πρόωρον τοῖς μαθηταῖς καὶ τὴν τούτου θέαν ἐχαρίζετο. “παραλαβὼν γὰρ Πέτρον καὶ Ἰά” κωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος καὶ μετεμορφώθη “ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν, καὶ ἔλαμψε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ” ἀστραπὴ, τὰ δὲ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο λευκὰ ὡσεὶ χιών.“ ὥσπερ οὖν καίτοι κατὰ καιροὺς ἰδίους τὰ τοιαῦτα δράσειν ὑπισχνούμενος καθάπερ τινὰς ἀῤῥαβῶνας τοῦ κατὰ πάντων ἔσεσθαι προσδοκωμένου καὶ γενικωτάτου πράγματος, τὰ κατὰ μέρος εἰργάζετο καὶ πρὸ καιροῦ τοῦ δέοντος, ἵνα καὶ ἀνενδοιάστως πιστεύηται: κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν οἶμαι τρόπον πέμψειν εἰς ἡμᾶς τὸν Παράκλητον εἰπὼν, ὅταν ἀπέλθῃ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ καιρὸν τῇ κατὰ πάντων καὶ ἐπὶ πάντας χάριτι τοῦτον διορισάμενος, ἀπαρχὴν ὥσπερ τινὰ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἐν τοῖς μαθηταῖς εἰργάζετο, διὰ πολλὰς εὐλόγους τε καὶ ἀναγκαίας ἀφορμὰς ἃς προείπομεν. Οὐκοῦν δέχονται μὲν τὴν τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος μέθεξιν, ὅτε καὶ ἐνεφύσησεν αὐτοῖς λέγων Λάβετε Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον: οὐδὲ γὰρ ἦν διαψεύσασθαι λέγοντα τὸν Χριστὸν, οὐδ' ἂν ἔφη Λάβετε, μὴ διδούς: ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς ἁγίας πεντηκοστῆς ἐμφανεστέραν τῆς χάριτος τὴν ἀνάῤῥησιν καὶ τὴν φανέρωσιν τοῦ ἐνοικισθέντος αὐτοῖς Ἁγίου Πνεύματος τιθέντος Θεοῦ, ὤφθησαν αἱ γλῶσσαι διὰ πυρὸς, οὐκ ἀρχὴν ἐν αὐτοῖς τῆς δωρεᾶς σημαίνουσαι, εἰς ἀρχὴν δὲ μᾶλλον ἀναφέρουσαι τοῦ λόγου. γέγραπται γοῦν ὅτι ” ἤρξαντο λαλεῖν ἑτέραις “γλώσσαις καθὼς τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐδίδου ἀποφθέγγεσθαι αὐ” τοῖς.“ ἀκούεις ὅπως ἤρξαντο λαλεῖν, οὐ τοῦ ἁγιάζεσθαι, καὶ ὅτι γλωσσῶν διανομὴ καταπεφοίτηκεν ἐπ' αὐτοὺς, τοῦ ἐν αὐτοῖς ὄντος Πνεύματος ἐνεργοῦντος καὶ τοῦτο; ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ πεφώνηκεν ὁ Πατὴρ ἐπιμαρτυρήσας τῷ ἰδίῳ γεννήματι καὶ λέγων ” Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητὸς “ἐν ᾧ ηὐδόκησα,” καὶ δέδρακε τοῦτο πρὸς πληροφορίαν τῶν ἀκροωμένων, ὀργανικὴν ὥσπερ τινὰ καὶ τοῖς ἡμετέροις ὠσὶν ἐμπίπτουσαν καταῤῥήξας φωνὴν, ἤτοι γενέσθαι ποιήσας, οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων ἐμφανεστέραν ἐτίθει τῆς χάριτος τὴν ἀνάδειξιν, ἐν εἴδει πυρὸς τὰς γλώσσας αὐτοῖς ἐπαφεὶς, καὶ τῆς “φερομένης βιαίας πνοῆς” τὸν ἦχον τὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος κάθοδον ἀπομιμεῖσθαι παρασκευάσας. ὅτι δὲ καθάπερ ἐν τάξει σημείου καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἐδόθη, συνήσεις εὐκόλως, ὅταν ἀκούσῃς τοῦ πάντων δεσπότου Θεοῦ διὰ τῆς τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος φωνῆς “Ὅτι ἐν ” ἑτερογλώσσοις καὶ ἐν χείλεσιν ἑτέρων λαλήσω τῷ λαῷ “τούτῳ,” καὶ οὐ μὴ πιστεύσωσιν. οὐκοῦν ἵνα πιστεύωμεν, ὅτι περ ἀληθῶς μέτοχοι τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματός εἰσιν οἱ μακάριοι μαθηταὶ, καὶ ἄνωθεν τῇ παρὰ Χριστοῦ κατεστεμμένοι χάριτι λοιπόν εἰσι, καὶ ἱκανοὶ πρὸς τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας ἐξήγησιν, καὶ ἀξιοζήλωτον ἔχουσι τῆς ἰδίας ἀποστολῆς τὸ καύχημα, τῇ ἐξ ὕψους μεμαρτυρημένοι δωρεᾷ, καταπεφοίτηκε τὸ πῦρ ἐν εἴδει γλωσσῶν. Διαρκῶς μὲν οὖν ὑπολαμβάνω ταυτὶ παρ' ἡμῶν εἰρῆσθαι νυνὶ πρὸς παράστασιν ἀκριβῆ τῆς τῶν προκειμένων θεωρίας: ἐπειδὴ δὲ πᾶσαν ἡμᾶς τοῦ λόγου ποιεῖσθαι προσήκει πρόνοιαν, ὡς ἂν μή τι τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ἀναφύοι τὸ σκάνδαλον διὰ τῆς τινων συκοφαντίας, φέρε τοῖς εἰρημένοις προσθέντες καὶ τοῦτο, καὶ τὰς ἔσεσθαι προσδοκωμένας παρά του τυχὸν ἀθυρογλωττίας διακρουσώμεθα. εὑρήσομεν τοίνυν ἐν τοῖς ἐφεξῆς γεγραμμένον, ὅτι “Θωμᾶς ὁ λεγόμενος Δίδυμος οὐκ ” ἦν μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν ὅτε ἦλθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς.“ πῶς οὖν, ἐρεῖ τις καὶ μάλα δικαίως, εἴπερ ἀπῆν, ἀληθῶς τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἀνεδείχθη μέτοχος, ὅτε τοῖς μαθηταῖς ἐπέλαμψεν ὁ Σωτὴρ, ἐνεφύσησέ τε λέγων Λάβετε Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον; φαμὲν οὖν, ὅτι κατὰ παντὸς ἐχώρει τοῦ λαβόντος τὴν χάριν ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος δύναμις, καὶ τὸν τοῦ διδόντος ἐπλήρου σκοπόν. δέδωκε δὲ ὁ Χριστὸς οὔ τισιν ἀνὰ μέρος, ἀλλ' ὅλοις τοῖς μαθηταῖς. οὐκοῦν δέχονται καὶ εἰ μὴ παρῆσάν τινες, τῆς τοῦ διδόντος φιλοτιμίας οὐκ εἰς μόνους τοὺς παρόντας συστελλομένης, ἀλλ' εἰς ἅπαντα διηκούσης τὸν τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων χορόν. ὅτι δὲ βίαιον οὐδὲν πεφρονήκαμεν ἐν τούτοις, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἀναίσχυντος ἡμῖν ὁ τοιοῦτος φανεῖται λόγος, ἐξ αὐτῶν σε τῶν ἱερῶν γραμμάτων πιστώσομαι, παραθεὶς εἰς ἀπόδειξιν τὰ τοῖς Μωυσαϊκοῖς ἐγκείμενα βιβλίοις. οὐκοῦν ἐκέλευέ ποτε τῷ πανσόφῳ Μωυσῇ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἄνδρας πρεσβυτέρους ἐκ τῆς τῶν Ἰουδαίων συναγωγῆς ἐπιλέξασθαι τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἑβδομήκοντα, ἐπηγγέλλετό τε σαφῶς ὅτι ” ἀφελῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἐπὶ σοὶ καὶ “ἐπιθήσω αὐτοῖς.” καὶ δὴ συνεκόμισεν ὁ Μωυσῆς καὶ τὸ θεῖον ἐπλήρου θέσπισμα. δύο γεμὴν ἀπελείφθησαν μόνοι τῶν ἐντεταγμένων τῷ ἀριθμῷ τῶν ἑβδομήκοντα πρεσβυτέρων, καὶ ἀπέμειναν ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ Ἐλδὰδ καὶ Μωδάδ. εἶτα τὸ θεῖον ἅπασιν ἐπιθέντος πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἤδη δοθεῖσαν ὑπόσχεσιν, προεφήτευον μὲν παραχρῆμα λαβόντες τὴν χάριν, οἱ συνενεχθέντες διὰ Μωυσέως: προεφήτευον δὲ οὐδὲν ἧττον καὶ οἱ δύο πάλιν οἱ ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ, φθανούσης καὶ ἐπ' αὐτοὺς τῆς ἄνωθεν χάριτος. καὶ γοῦν Ἰησοῦς ὁ καλούμενος τοῦ Ναυῆ, Μωυσῇ προσεδρεύων ἀεὶ, καὶ τὴν τοῦ μυστηρίου δύναμιν ἀγνοήσας παραχρῆμα, οἰηθεὶς δὲ ὅτι κατὰ μίμησιν Δαθάν τε καὶ Ἀβειρὼν ἀντιπροφητεύουσι καὶ οὗτοι τοῖς συνενεχθεῖσι διὰ Μωυσέως, ἔφη πρὸς αὐτόν “Ἐλδὰδ καὶ Μωδὰδ προφητεύουσιν ἐν τῇ παρ” εμβολῇ, κύριέ μου Μωυσῆ κώλυσον αὐτούς.“ καὶ τί πρὸς ταῦτά φησιν ὁ σοφὸς ὄντως ἐκεῖνος καὶ μέγας, τῆς δοθείσης αὐτοῖς χάριτος τὴν ἐνέργειαν καὶ τὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος δύναμιν ἐννοήσας, ὡς σοφός ” Μὴ ζηλοῖς σὺ ἐμοί; τίς γὰρ “δοίη τῷ λαῷ Κυρίου προφήτας, ὅταν δῷ Κύριος τὸ ” Πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ ἐπ' αὐτούς;“ ὁρᾷς ὅπως ἐπιλαμβάνεται τῶν Ἰησοῦ ῥημάτων οὐκ εἰδότος τὸ τετελεσμένον; εἴθε γὰρ εἴθε, φησὶν, ἐδόθη τὸ Πνεῦμα παντὶ τῷ λαῷ, ἀλλ' ἔσται τοῦτο κατὰ καιροὺς, ὅταν αὐτοῖς ὁ πάντων Δεσπότης, τουτέστι Χριστὸς, τὸ ἴδιον αὐτοῖς χαρίσηται Πνεῦμα, καθάπερ ἐν ἀπαρχῇ τῶν ὀφειλόντων λαβεῖν τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀποστόλοις ἐμφυσήσας καὶ λέγων Λάβετε Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον. οὐκοῦν εἰ καὶ ἀπελείφθη Θωμᾶς, οὐκ ἐξέπεσε τοῦ λαβεῖν, κατὰ παντὸς τοῦ λαβεῖν ὀφείλοντος καὶ ἐντεταγμένου τῷ ἀριθμῷ τῶν τετιμημένων τοῦ Πνεύματος τρέχοντος. Δοὺς δὲ τὸ Πνεῦμα Χριστός Ἄν τινων ἀφῆτε τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἀφέωνταί φησιν: ἄν τινων κρατῆτε, κεκράτηνται, καίτοι μόνου τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν ὄντος Θεοῦ δυναμένου τε καὶ ἐξουσίαν ἔχοντος ἀπολύειν ἁμαρτίας τοὺς ἡμαρτηκότας: τίνι γὰρ ἂν καὶ προσήκοι τὸ χαρίζεσθαί τισι τὰ ἐφ' οἷσπερ ἂν ἁλοῖεν εἰς τὸν θεῖον πλημμελήσαντες νόμον, εἰ μὴ τῷ τὸν νόμον ὁρίσαντι; ἐξ αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ἀθρητέον, εἰ δοκεῖ, τοῦ λόγου τὴν δύναμιν: τίς τοῖς θεσπίσμασι τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς βασιλέων ἐξουσιαστικῶς ἐπιφύεται, καὶ παραλύειν ἐπιχειρεῖ τὰ διὰ τῆς τῶν κρατούντων συντεταγμένα ψήφου τε καὶ γνώμης, εἰ μὴ ἄρα τις εἴη τυχὸν τῶν τὴν βασιλίδα περικειμένων τιμήν τε καὶ δόξαν; τόπον γὰρ ἐν ἐκείνοις οὐκ ἔχει τῆς παρανομίας τὰ ἐγκλήματα. τοιγάρτοι καὶ σοφὸν ἔφη λόγιον ” Ἀσεβὴς ὁ λέγων βασιλεῖ Παρανομεῖς.“ κατὰ τίνα τοιγαροῦν ἄρα τρόπον τε καὶ λόγον, τὸ μόνῃ πρέπον ἀξίωμα τῇ θείᾳ φύσει τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς περιέθηκεν ὁ Σωτήρ; ἀλλ' οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοι τοῦ πρέποντος ὁ ἐν Πατρὶ Λόγος, ἔδρα δὲ τοῦτο καὶ σφόδρα καλῶς. ᾤετο γὰρ δεῖν τοὺς τὸ θεῖόν τε καὶ δεσποτικὸν ἔχοντας ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἤδη Πνεῦμα, καὶ τοῦ διαφεῖναι τάς τινων ἁμαρτίας εἶναι κυρίους, καὶ ὧνπερ ἂν βούλωνται κρατεῖν, τοῦ ἐνοικισθέντος αὐτοῖς Ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἀφιέντος τε καὶ κρατοῦντος κατὰ βούλησιν οἰκείαν, κἂν δι' ἀνθρώπων τελῆται τὸ πρᾶγμα τυχόν. Ἀφιᾶσι γεμὴν ἁμαρτίας ἤτοι κατέχουσιν οἱ πνευματοφόροι κατὰ δύο τρόπους, κατά γε διάνοιαν ἐμήν. ἢ γὰρ καλοῦσιν ἐπὶ τὸ βάπτισμα τοὺς οἷς ἂν ἤδη καὶ τούτου τυχεῖν ὠφείλετο διὰ τὴν τοῦ βίου σεμνότητα καὶ τὸ δεδοκιμασμένον εἰς πίστιν, ἢ διακωλύουσί τινας καὶ τῆς θείας χάριτος ἐξείργουσιν ἔτι οὔπω τέως γεγονότας ἀξίους: ἢ καὶ καθ' ἕτερον τρόπον ἀφιᾶσί τε καὶ κρατοῦσιν ἁμαρτίας, ἐπιτιμῶντες μὲν ἁμαρτάνουσι τοῖς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τέκνοις, μετανοοῦσι δὲ συγγινώσκοντες, καθάπερ ἀμέλει καὶ Παῦλος τὸν ἐν Κορίνθῳ πορνεύσαντα παρεδίδου μὲν ” εἰς ὄλεθρον “τῆς σαρκὸς, ἵνα τὸ πνεῦμα σωθῇ,” προσίετο δὲ αὖθις, ἵνα μὴ “τῇ περισσοτέρᾳ λύπῃ καταποθῇ,” καθάπερ αὐτὸς ἐπιστέλλων φησί. ὅτε τοίνυν τὸ Πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ γεγονὸς ἐν ἡμῖν τὰ μόνῳ Θεῷ πρέποντα πληροῖ, πῶς οὐκ ἂν εἴη κατὰ φύσιν Θεὸς, τὸ τῆς θείας φύσεως λαμπρὸν ἀξίωμα περικείμενον φυσικῶς, καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν κατεξουσιάζον νόμων;
« Θωμᾶς δὲ εἷς ἐκ τῶν δώδεκα, ὁ λεγόμενος δίδυμος, οὐκ ἦν μετ' αὐτῶν ὅτε ἦλθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς. ἔλεγον οὖν αὐτῷ οἱ ἄλλοι μαθηταί Ἑωράκαμεν τὸν Κύριον. ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ἐὰν μὴ ἴδω ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτοῦ τὸν τύπον τῶν ἥλων καὶ βάλω τὸν δάκτυλόν μου εἰς τὸν τύπον τῶν ἥλων καὶ βάλω τὴν χεῖρά μου εἰς τὴν πλευρὰν αὐτοῦ, οὐ μὴ πιστεύσω. » Τὰ ὑπερφερῆ τῶν θαυμάτων ἀεί πως ἔχει παρεπομένην τὴν ἀπιστίαν, καὶ ὅπερ ἂν τῶν δρωμένων τὸν τοῦ καθήκοντος ὑπερτρέχῃ λόγον οὐ λίαν ἐστὶ τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις εὐπρόσδεκτον: δυσωπεῖ δέ γε μόλις ἡ θέα πρὸς τοῦτο, καθάπερ ἐξ ἀνάγκης καὶ βίας ἕλκουσα πρὸς συναίνεσιν. τοιοῦτόν τι πεπονθὼς καὶ ὁ σοφώτατος Θωμᾶς, ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀναστάσει τὴν τῶν ἑτέρων μαθητῶν ἀληθῆ μαρτυρίαν εὐχερῶς οὐ προσίεται, καίτοι τοῦ κατὰ Μωυσέα διειπόντος νόμου, δύο καὶ τριῶν ἐπὶ στόματος μαρτύρων ἅπαν σταθήσεται ῥῆμα. δοκεῖ δέ μοι μᾶλλον οὐ τοσοῦτον ἀπιστῆσαι τοῖς εἰρημένοις ὁ μαθητὴς, ὅσον τῆς λύπης ἐλάσαι πρὸς αὐτὸ τὸ ἀκρότατον, ὅτι μὴ καὶ αὐτὸς τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἠξιώθη θέας. ᾠήθη γὰρ ἴσως ἀμοιρήσειν αὐτῆς παντελῶς. οἶδε γὰρ ζωὴν ὄντα κατὰ φύσιν τὸν Κύριον, καὶ οὐκ ἀνικάνως ἔχοντα πρὸς τὸ καὶ αὐτὸν διαδρᾶναι τὸν θάνατον, καὶ τὸ τῆς φθορᾶς καταλῦσαι κράτος: ὃς γὰρ ἑτέρων τοῦτον ἐξήλασε, πῶς οὐκ ἂν μᾶλλον ἀπέστησε τῆς ἰδίας σαρκός; ἐκ πολλῆς δὲ ἄγαν τῆς περιχαρείας, ἐγγὺς ἀπιστίας γίνεται, καὶ μονονουχὶ γοργόν τι καὶ μέγα πηδήσας, ἰδεῖν τε ἤδη παρόντα ποθεῖ, καὶ πληροφορεῖσθαι τελείως ὅτι περ ἀνεβίω πάλιν, κατὰ τὴν παρ' αὐτοῦ γενομένην ὑπόσχεσιν. “Τεκνία” γὰρ, ἔφασκεν ὁ Σωτὴρ, “μικρὸν καὶ οὐκέτι θεωρεῖτέ με, καὶ ” πάλιν μικρὸν καὶ ὄψεσθέ με, καὶ χαρήσεται ὑμῶν ἡ καρ“δία.” οἶμαι δὲ δὴ πάλιν οἰκονομικώτατα σφόδρα τὴν τοῦ μαθητοῦ γεγονέναι πρὸς καιρὸν ὀλιγοπιστίαν, ἵνα διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ πληροφορίας καὶ ἡμεῖς οἱ μετ' αὐτὸν ἀνενδοιάστως πιστεύωμεν ὅτι τὴν σάρκα τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ ξύλου κρεμαμένην καὶ παθοῦσαν τὸν θάνατον ἐζωοποίησεν ὁ Πατὴρ δι' Υἱοῦ. διὸ καὶ Παῦλός φησιν “Ὅτι ἐὰν εἴπῃς ἐν τῷ στόματί σου ὅτι ” Κύριος Ἰησοῦς, καὶ πιστεύσῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς “αὐτὸν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν, σωθήσῃ.” ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οὐχ ἡ τῆς σαρκὸς φύσις αὕτη γέγονε πρόξενος τῆς ζωῆς, ἐνεργείᾳ δὲ μᾶλλον τῆς θείας τε καὶ ἀῤῥήτου φύσεως τὸ πρᾶγμα τετέλεσται, ᾗ καὶ τὸ δύνασθαι τὰ πάντα ζωογονεῖν ἐνυπάρχει φυσικῶς: ἐνεργὸς ὁ Πατὴρ δι' Υἱοῦ καὶ εἰς τὸν θεῖον ἐκεῖνον γέγονε ναὸν, οὐχ ὡς ἀσθενοῦντος τοῦ Λόγου τὸ ἴδιον ἀναστῆσαι σῶμα, ἀλλ' ὅτι πᾶν ὅπερ ἂν ἐργάσηται τυχὸν ὁ Πατὴρ, ἐργάσεται δι' Υἱοῦ: δύναμις γάρ ἐστιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὅπερ ἂν ὁ Υἱὸς ἐπιτελῇ, τοῦτο δὴ πάντως ἐστὶ παρὰ τοῦ Πατρός. παιδευόμεθα τοίνυν, ὀλιγοπιστήσαντος ἠρέμα τοῦ μακαρίου Θωμᾶ, ὅτι τὸ τῆς ἀναστάσεως μυστήριον περὶ τὸ γήϊνον ἡμῶν ἐνεργεῖται σῶμα καὶ ὡς ἐν ἀπαρχῇ τοῦ γένους ἐν Χριστῷ, καὶ οὔτε φάσμα ἦν ἢ σκιὰ κατά τινας, τὸ ἀνθρώπινον πλαττομένη σχῆμα, καὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἰδέας ψευδομένη τοὺς χαρακτῆρας, οὔτε μὴν, ὡς ἑτέροις ἔδοξεν ἀσυνέτως εἰπεῖν, σῶμα πνευματικὸν, τουτέστι λεπτομερές τε καὶ ἀερῶδες καὶ ἕτερόν τι παρὰ τὴν σάρκα. δοκεῖ γὰρ οὕτω τισὶ νοεῖν τε καὶ δέχεσθαι τὸ πνευματικόν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὅλος ἡμῶν τῆς ἐλπίδος ὁ λόγος καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀνεγκλήτου πίστεως δύναμις μετὰ τὴν ὁμολογίαν τῆς ἁγίας καὶ ὁμοουσίου Τριάδος εἰς τὸ περὶ τῆς σαρκὸς μυστήριον τέτραπταί τε καὶ βλέπει, χρησιμώτατα λίαν καὶ αὐτὸ δὴ τουτὶ τοῖς ὀπίσω κεφαλαίοις συντέταχεν ὁ μακάριος Εὐαγγελιστής. θέα γὰρ ὅπως οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἰδεῖν ἐπιθυμεῖ τὸν Κύριον ὁ Θωμᾶς, ζητεῖ δὲ τοὺς τύπους τῶν ἥλων, τουτέστι, τὰ περὶ τὴν σάρκα γεγονότα τραύματα. πιστεύσειν γὰρ οὕτως εὖ μάλα διισχυρίζεται καὶ συναινέσειν τοῖς ἄλλοις, ὅτιπερ ἀληθῶς ἀνεβίω Χριστός: ἀνεβίω δὲ δηλονότι κατὰ τὴν σάρκα. τὸ γάρ τοι τεθνηκὸς παλινδρομεῖν ἂν εἰκότως νοοῖτο πρὸς ζωὴν, καὶ περὶ ὃ γέγονεν ὁ θάνατος, περὶ ἐκεῖνο δὴ πάντως καὶ ἡ ἀνάστασις.
« Καὶ μεθ' ἡμέρας ὀκτὼ πάλιν ἔσω ἦσαν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ Θωμᾶς μετ' αὐτῶν: ἔρχεται ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῶν θυρῶν κεκλει σμένων, καὶ ἔστη εἰς τὸ μέσον καὶ εἶπεν Εἰρήνη ὑμῖν. εἶτα λέγει τῷ Θωμᾷ Φέρε τὸν δάκτυλόν σου ὧδε καὶ ἴδε τὰς χεῖράς μου, καὶ φέρε τὴν χεῖρά σου καὶ βάλε εἰς τὴν πλευράν μου, καὶ μὴ γίνου ἄπιστος ἀλλὰ πιστός. » Ἐπέλαμψε πάλιν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς παραδόξως ὡς Θεός. οὐ γὰρ δὴ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἀνοιγνύναι τὰς θύρας αὐτῷ διεκελεύσατο πρὸς τὸ ἔσω βαδίζοντι, τὸν δὲ τῇ τοῦ πράγματος φύσει πρέποντα μονονουχὶ καὶ ἀτιμάσας λόγον, εἴσω τε γέγονε τῶν θυρῶν καὶ κατὰ μέσην ἀδοκήτως ἀναφαίνεται τὴν ἑστίαν, τὸν ἴσον ὡς ἔοικε τοῦ θαύματος τρόπον καὶ αὐτῷ δωρούμενος τῷ μακαρίῳ Θωμᾷ. ἔδει γὰρ ἔδει φαρμάκου τῷ μάλιστα πεπονθότι καὶ βραχυτέρῳ περὶ τὴν πίστιν. κέχρηται δὲ λόγῳ τῷ διὰ γλώττης αὐτῷ καὶ συνήθει πάλιν, καὶ τὸ τῆς εἰρήνης ἀγαθὸν σεμνὴν ἐποιήσατο πρόσρησιν εἰς τύπον ἡμέτερον, καθάπερ ἤδη προείπομεν. καταπλαγείη δ' ἄν τις εἰκότως καὶ τὴν ἐν τούτοις ἀκρίβειαν, φημὶ δὴ τοῖς προκειμένοις. ἀκριβὴς γὰρ οὕτω γέγονεν ἡ ἐπιτήρησις τῷ τὸ βιβλίον συντεθεικότι, καὶ σπουδαιοτάτην οὕτως ἐποιήσατο τὴν ἐπιτήρησιν, ὡς μὴ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν ὅτι πεφανέρωκεν ἑαυτὸν ὁ Χριστὸς, τοῖς ἁγίοις δὲ δηλονότι μαθηταῖς, ἀλλ' ὅτι μεθ' ἡμέρας ὀκτὼ, καὶ τοῦτο συνηγμένοις. τὸ γὰρ εἰς οἶκον ἕνα συγκεκομίσθαι τοὺς πάντας, τί ἂν εἴη ἕτερον παρὰ τοῦτο; οὐκοῦν ἐκεῖνό φαμεν διὰ τὴν ἀκριβῆ ταύτην καὶ ἀξιάγαστον ἐπιτήρησιν, ὅτι τῶν συνελεύσεων, ἤτοι συνάξεων, τῶν ἐφ' ἑαυτῷ τὸν καιρὸν φανερὸν ἡμῖν ἐτίθει καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Χριστός. ἐπιφοιτᾷ γὰρ πάντως καὶ τρόπον τινὰ συναυλίζεται τοῖς δι' αὐτὸν συνηγμένοις, κατὰ τὴν ὀγδόην μάλιστα, τουτέστι τὴν κυριακήν: ἀναλογισώμεθα γὰρ, εἰ δοκεῖ: ποτὲ μὲν ὤφθη τοῖς ἑτέροις μαθηταῖς, ποτὲ δὲ αὖ πάλιν αὐτοῖς ἐπιφαίνεται παρόντος Θωμᾶ. γέγραπται τοίνυν ἐν τοῖς ὀπίσω βραχύ “Οὔσης οὖν ὀψίας τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων, ” καὶ τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων, ἔστη εἰς τὸ μέσον.“ σύνες δὴ οὖν ὅπως τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων, τουτέστι, τῇ τῶν σαββάτων κυριακῇ συνηγμένοις ἐφάνη τοῖς μαθηταῖς, καὶ πάλιν οὐδὲν ἧττον κατὰ τὴν ἑξῆς ὀγδόην ἐπιλάμψας ὁρᾶται. οὐ γὰρ ἐπειδήπερ εἴρηκε μεθ' ἡμέρας ὀκτὼ, τὴν ἐννάτην αὐτὸν σημαίνειν ὑποληψόμεθα, συμπεριλαβὼν δὲ τῷ ἀριθμῷ καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν ὀγδόην, καθ' ἣν ἐπεφάνη, τὰ τοιαῦτά φησιν. Εὐλογώτατα τοιγαροῦν τὰς ἁγίας συνόδους ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις ποιούμεθα κατὰ τὴν ὀγδόην. καὶ εἰ χρή τι καὶ μυστικώτερον εἰπεῖν, διὰ τὴν τῶν νοημάτων ἀπαραίτητον χρείαν, ἀποκλείομεν μὲν τὰς θύρας, ἐπιφοιτᾷ δὲ καὶ ἐπιφαίνεται πᾶσιν ἡμῖν ὁ Χριστὸς, ἀοράτως τε καὶ ὁρατῶς: ἀοράτως μὲν ὡς Θεὸς, ὁρατῶς δὲ πάλιν ἐν σώματι. ἐπιτρέπει δὲ καὶ δίδωσι τῆς ἁγίας αὐτοῦ σαρκὸς ἀποθίγειν. πρόσιμεν γὰρ κατὰ χάριν Θεοῦ τῇ μεθέξει τῆς μυστικῆς εὐλογίας, εἰς χεῖρας δεχόμενοι τὸν Χριστὸν, ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀραρότως πιστεύσωμεν ὅτι τὸν ἴδιον ἀληθῶς ἤγειρε ναόν. ὅτι γὰρ ἡ κοινωνία τῆς μυστικῆς εὐλογίας ὁμολογία τίς ἐστι τῆς ἀναστάσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ, σαφὲς ἂν γένοιτο, καὶ μάλα ῥᾳδίως, δι' ὧν αὐτὸς ἔφη τὸν τοῦ μυστηρίου τύπον ἐπιτελέσας δι' ἑαυτοῦ: διακλάσας γὰρ τὸν ἄρτον, καθὰ γέγραπται, διεδίδου, λέγων ” Τοῦτό μου ἐστὶ τὸ σῶμα τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν διδόμενον “εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν: τοῦτο ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνη” σιν.“ ἔστι τοίνυν ὁμολογία τις ἀληθὴς καὶ ἀνάμνησις τοῦ τεθνάναι τε καὶ ἀναβιῶναι δι' ἡμᾶς καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὸν Κύριον, τῶν ἁγίων μυστηρίων ἡ μέθεξις πρὸς τὸ καὶ θείας ἡμᾶς εὐλογίας ἀναπίμπλασθαι διὰ τοῦτο. παραιτώμεθα τοίνυν ὡς ὀλέθριόν τι χρῆμα τὴν ἀπιστίαν καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἅψασθαι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, πιστότατοι δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ βέβαιον ἔχοντες εὑρισκώμεθα φρόνημα. Διαμεμνήσθω δὲ πάλιν ὁ φιλομαθὴς, ὅτι Μαρίαν μὲν τὴν Μαγδαληνὴν ἀπεῖργε τῆς ἁφῆς, σαφέστατα λέγων ” Μή μου ἅπτου, οὔπω γὰρ ἀναβέβηκα πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα:“ Θωμᾷ γεμὴν ἐπιτρέπει καὶ τὴν πλευρὰν ψηλαφῆσαι, καὶ τοὺς τύπους τῶν ἥλων δακτύλῳ περιεργάζεσθαι. καὶ διὰ ποίαν αἰτίαν, εἴρηται μὲν ἤδη σαφῶς, ἀναμνήσω δὲ οὐδὲν ἧττον, τὸ μῆκος τῶν λόγων ἐπιτεμών. τῇ μὲν γὰρ οὔπω καιρὸς ἐδίδου τὸ ἅψασθαι, διὰ τὸ μήπω τῇ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡγιάσθαι χάριτι: σὺν ἡμῖν γὰρ ὄντος ἔτι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ οὔπω πρὸς τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἀναβεβηκότος Πατέρα, τὴν τοῦ παρακλήτου κάθοδον οὐκ ἦν ἐν ἀνθρώποις τετελειωμένην ἰδεῖν: τῷ δὲ ἦν ἤδη καὶ τοῦτο πρέπον, ὡς ὁμοῦ τοῖς ἄλλοις τὸ Πνεῦμα πλουτήσαντι. ὡς γὰρ ἤδη φθάσαντες εἴπομεν, οὐκ ἐπείπερ ἀπελείφθη, διὰ τοῦτο τοῦ Πνεύματος ἀμέτοχος ἦν. ἐξετείνετο γὰρ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἡ τοῦ διδόντος φιλοτιμία, ὅλῳ τῷ πληρώματι τῶν ἁγίων μαθητῶν ἀπονεμηθείσης τῆς δωρεᾶς. Οἶμαι δὲ δεῖν ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐρευνῆσαι κἀκεῖνο. ἐψηλάφησεν ὁ Θωμᾶς τὴν τοῦ Σωτῆρος πλευρὰν, καὶ τὰ ἐκ τῆς λόγχης τῆς στρατιωτικῆς ἐζήτησε τραύματα: εἶδε τοὺς τύπους τῶν ἥλων. εἶτα πῶς, ἐρεῖ τις τυχὸν, ἐν τῷ ἀφθάρτῳ σώματι τὰ τῆς φθορᾶς διεφαίνετο σημεῖα; φθορᾶς γὰρ σωματικῆς ἀπόδειξιν ἔχει, καὶ χειρῶν καὶ πλευρᾶς ἔτι μένουσά τε καὶ σωζομένη διάτρησις, καὶ τραυμάτων ἰδέαι καὶ ἀποκεντήσεων τῶν διὰ σιδήρου γεγενημένων, καίτοι τοῦ πρὸς ἀφθαρσίαν ἀναπλασθέντος σώματος ὁ ἀληθής τε καὶ ἀνυπαίτιος λόγος εἰς τὸ χρῆναι βλέπει συναποδύσασθαι τῇ φθορᾷ καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐξ αὐτῆς. ἆρα γὰρ εἴ τις χωλεύοι τυχὸν ἀναβιώσεται πάλιν τὴν τοῦ ποδὸς ἤτοι τοῦ σκέλους πήρωσιν ἔχων; εἰ δὲ καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀπολωλεκώς τις εἴη κατὰ τόνδε τὸν βίον, ἆρα τοῦ βλέπειν ἔρημος ἐγερθήσεται; πῶς οὖν ἔτι, φαίη τις ἂν, ἀπεσεισάμεθα τὴν φθορὰν, εἰ τὰ ἐξ αὐτῆς ἔτι σώζεται πάθη, καὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων κατακρατεῖ σωμάτων; καὶ ζητήσεως μὲν ἀναγκαίας ἀμοιρεῖν οὐκ οἶμαι τὸν ἐπὶ τούτῳ λόγον, πλὴν ἐκεῖνό φαμεν ταῖς τῶν προκειμένων ἀπορίαις, καθόσον ἐνδέχεται, συνειπεῖν σπουδάζοντες, ὅτι κατὰ τὸν τῆς ἀναστάσεως καιρὸν οὐδὲν ἐν ἡμῖν περιλειφθήσεται φθορᾶς τῆς ἐπεισάκτου λείψανον, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ὁ σοφὸς ἔφη Παῦλος περὶ τοῦδε τοῦ σώματος, τὸ ἐσπαρμένον ” ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ ἐγείρεται ἐν δυνά“μει,” καὶ τὸ ἐσπαρμένον “ἐν ἀτιμίᾳ ἐγείρεται ἐν δόξῃ.” τί δ' ἂν ἕτερον εἴη τυχὸν τὸ ἐν δυνάμει καὶ δόξῃ τὴν τοῦδε τοῦ σώματος ἀνάστασιν ἔσεσθαι προσδοκᾶν, εἰ μὴ ὅτι πᾶσαν ἀποβεβληκὸς ἀσθένειάν τε καὶ ἀτιμίαν τὴν ἀπὸ φθορᾶς καὶ παθῶν, εἰς τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀναδραμεῖται ποίησιν; πεποίηται γὰρ οὐκ ἐπὶ θανάτῳ καὶ φθορᾷ. ἐπειδὴ δὲ πρὸς πληροφορίαν σαφῆ καὶ τοῦτο ἐξῄτησεν ὁ Θωμᾶς, ἀναγκαίως ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς πρόφασιν οὐδεμίαν ταῖς ἡμετέραις ὀλιγοπιστίαις ἐνδιδοὺς, ὡς ἐζήτησεν ἰδεῖν, οὕτω καὶ φαίνεται, ἐπείτοι καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἀναβαίνων τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ γνωρίζων ταῖς ἄνω δυνάμεσιν, ἀρχαῖς τε καὶ ἐξουσίαις, καὶ τοῖς τῶν ἀγγελικῶν ταγμάτων προεστηκόσι καὶ προεδρεύουσι, τοῦ καθ' ἑαυτὸν μυστηρίου τὴν δύναμιν, ἐν αὐτῷ δὴ τούτῳ διεφαίνετο πάλιν τῷ σχήματι, ἵνα δὴ καὶ ὄντως ἄνθρωπόν τε γενέσθαι δι' ἡμᾶς πιστεύσειαν τὸν ἐκ Πατρός τε καὶ ἐν Πατρὶ Λόγον, καὶ εἰδεῖεν ὅτι τοσαύτην ποιεῖται τῶν ἰδίων κτισμάτων τὴν πρόνοιαν, ὡς καὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας προτεθνάναι ζωῆς. ὑπὲρ δὲ τοῦ σαφεστέραν γενέσθαι τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις τοῦ λόγου τὴν δύναμιν, αὐτὰ παραθήσω τὰ διὰ φωνῆς Ἡσαΐου περὶ τούτων αὐτῶν εἰρημένα. λέγει τοιγαροῦν “Τίς οὗτος ὁ παραγινόμενος ἐξ Ἐδὼμ, ἐρύθημα ἱματίων ” αὐτοῦ ἐκ Βοσόρ;“ ἀλλ' οἱ ταῦτα βοῶντες καὶ λέγοντες, φημὶ δὴ τό Τίς οὗτος ὁ παραγινόμενος ἐξ Ἐδὼμ, τουτέστιν ἐκ γῆς, ἄγγελοι καὶ δυνάμεις εἰσὶ λογικαί: ἀναβαίνοντα γὰρ θαυμάζουσιν εἰς οὐρανοὺς τὸν Κύριον. μόνον δὲ οὐχὶ τῷ ἰδίῳ πεφοινιγμένον αἵματι βλέποντες, λέγουσι πρὸς αὐτὸν, οὔπω συνέντες τὸ μυστήριον ” Διατί σου ἐρυθρὰ τὰ ἱμάτια, “καὶ τὰ ἐνδύματά σου ὡς ἀπὸ πατητοῦ ληνοῦ;” οἴνῳ γὰρ μάλιστα τῷ νέῳ καὶ ἄρτι πεπατημένῳ τὴν τοῦ αἵματος εὔχροιαν παραβάλλουσι. καὶ τί πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁ Χριστός; πρῶτον μὲν ἵνα νοῆται κατὰ φύσιν ὑπάρχων Θεός “Ἐγὼ,” φησὶ, “διαλέγομαι δικαιοσύνην,” τό Διαλέγομαι πάλιν, ἀντὶ τοῦ διδάσκω τιθείς. ὁ δὲ διδάσκων δικαιοσύνην, πῶς οὐκ ἂν νοοῖτο νομοθέτης ὁμολογουμένως: εἰ δὲ νομοθέτης, πῶς οὐχὶ πάντως καὶ Θεός; εἶτα πρὸς αὐτὸν οἱ ἄγγελοι λέγουσι, τοὺς τύπους τῶν ἥλων καὶ αὐτοῖς ὥσπερ ἐπιδεικνύντος Χριστοῦ “Τί αὗται αἱ πληγαὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν χειρῶν σου;” πρὸς αὐτοὺς δὲ ὁ Κύριος “Ἃς ἐπλήγην ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ μου.” οἶκος γὰρ ὢν ἀγαπητὸς ὁ Ἰσραὴλ ἔπληξεν ἥλοις καὶ λόγχῃ τὸν Κύριον. τὰ γὰρ τῶν στρατιωτῶν τολμήματα ταῖς Ἰουδαίων κεφαλαῖς εἰκότως ἂν ἐπιγράφοιτο. προσήγαγον γὰρ αὐτοὶ τῷ παθεῖν τὸν Κύριον. ὅτε τοίνυν καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐθελήσας πληροφορῆσαι Χριστὸς τοὺς ἁγίους ἀγγέλους, ὅτι καὶ ἄνθρωπος γέγονεν ἀληθῶς, καὶ ὅτι τὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ὑπέμεινε σταυρὸν, ἐγήγερται καὶ ἀνεβίω πάλιν ἐκ νεκρῶν, οὐχὶ μόνοις ἠρκέσθη λόγοις, ἀλλὰ τὰ τοῦ πάθους ἔδειξε σημεῖα: τί τὸ θαυμαστὸν ἢ ξένον, εἰ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν μακάριον ἀπαλλάξαι τῆς ἀπιστίας θελήσας Θωμᾶν, τοὺς τύπους ἔδειξε τῶν ἥλων, καὶ παρ' αὐτὸ τὸ εἰκὸς ὀφθεὶς διὰ τὸ πᾶσι συμφέρον, καὶ ἵνα τὸ τῆς ἀναστάσεως πεπράχθαι μυστήριον ἀναμφιλόγως πιστεύωμεν, οὐχ ἑτέρου τινὸς ἐγηγερμένου σώματος, ἀλλὰ τοῦ παθόντος τὸν θάνατον;
« Ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ Θωμᾶς καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ Ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ Θεός μου. » Ὀξὺς εἰς ὁμολογίαν ὁ ἄρτι βραδὺς περὶ τὸ χρῆναι πιστεύειν αὐτῷ, ἐν ὀλίγῳ δὲ παντελῶς τεθεράπευται καιρῷ. ὀκτὼ γὰρ ἡμέραι διαγεγόνασι μόναι, καὶ τὰ τῆς ὀλιγοπίστιας διακωλύματα κατηργήθη παρὰ Χριστοῦ, τούς τε τῶν ἥλων τύπους καὶ αὐτὴν ἐπιδείξαντος τὴν πλευράν. ἀλλ' ἴσως τις πρὸς τοῦτο ἐρεῖ Τί γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, διὰ τῆς οὕτω λεπτῆς ζητήσεως καὶ ἀκριβεστάτης ἐρεύνης ὁ τῶν ἁγίων μαθητῶν ἔρχεται νοῦς; οὐ γὰρ ἐξήρκεσεν ἂν εἰς ἀπόδειξιν τοῦ ἐγηγέρθαι τε κατ' ἀλήθειαν ἐκ νεκρῶν, καὶ ἐπιγνωσθῆναι τὸν Κύριον, ἡ τοῦ σώματος ὄψις, ὁ τοῦ προσώπου χαρακτὴρ, τῆς ἡλικίας τὸ μέτρον; καὶ τί πρὸς τοῦτό φαμεν; οὐκ ἐλευθέραν ἐνδοιασμοῦ τὴν διάνοιαν εἶχον οἱ θεσπέσιοι μαθηταὶ, καίτοι τεθεαμένοι τὸν Κύριον. ᾤοντο μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἐκεῖνον αὐτὸν ὑπάρχειν κατὰ ἀλήθειαν τὸν πάλαι συνόντα τε αὐτοῖς καὶ συνδιαιτώμενον, καὶ ἐπὶ ξύλου κεκρεμασμένον, πνεῦμα δὲ μᾶλλον πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Σωτῆρος εἰκόνα διαπεπλασμένον ἀστείως, καὶ μορφῆς ἧς ᾔδεσαν τὰ ἴχνη ψευδόμενον. κατώλισθον γεμὴν εἰς τὸ οὕτω φρονεῖν, οὐκ ἀφορμῆς τινος δίχα τῆς εἰς τοῦτο καλούσης εὐλόγως. ἐπειδὴ δὲ τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων παραδόξως εἰσήλασε, τοῦ γεώδους καὶ παχυτέρου σώματος τὴν ἀποχρῶσαν αὐτῷ ζητοῦντος εἴσοδον, καὶ τὸ τοσοῦτον ἀνευρύνεσθαι τὰς τῶν δωματίων εἰσβολὰς ἀναγκάζοντος, ὅσον τὸ ἑκάστου μέγεθος ἔχει: τοιγαροῦν καὶ σφόδρα χρησίμως ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς, ἀπεγύμνωσε μὲν τῷ Θωμᾷ τὴν πλευρὰν, τὰ δὲ ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ τραύματα καθίστη διαφανῆ, πάντας δι' ἐκείνου πληροφορῶν. μόνου μὲν γὰρ τοῦ ἁγίου Θωμᾶ φέρεται λόγος “Ἐὰν μὴ ” βάλω τὰς χεῖράς μου καὶ ἴδω τοὺς τύπους τῶν ἥλων, καὶ “βάλω τὴν χεῖρά μου εἰς τὴν πλευρὰν αὐτοῦ, οὐ μὴ πι” στεύσω,“ ἀλλ' ἦν πως ἅπασι κοινὰ τὰ τῆς ὀλιγοπιστίας ἐγκλήματα, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων μαθητῶν οὐκ ἔξω θορύβου τὸν νοῦν εὑρήσομεν, καίτοι καὶ αὐτῶν λεγόντων τῷ ἁγίῳ Θωμᾷ ” Ἑωράκαμεν τὸν Κύριον.“ ὅτι δὲ τῆς ἀληθείας ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος οὐκ ἐξοίχεται, χαλεπὸν οὐδὲν ἐκμαθεῖν δι' ὧν ἔφη περὶ τούτων ὁ θεῖος ἡμῖν Λουκᾶς ” Ταῦτα γὰρ αὐτῶν λα“λούντων, φησὶν, ἔστη ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν:” αὐτὸς δὲ δηλονότι Χριστός: “καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς Εἰρήνη ὑμῖν. πτοηθέντες δὲ ” καὶ ἔμφοβοι γενόμενοι ἐδόκουν πνεῦμα θεωρεῖν. καὶ εἶπεν “αὐτοῖς Τί τεταραγμένοι ἐστὲ, καὶ διὰ τί διαλογισμοὶ ” ἀναβαίνουσιν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν; ἴδετε τὰς χεῖράς μου “καὶ τοὺς πόδας μου, ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι αὐτός. ψηλαφήσατέ με ” καὶ ἴδετε, ὅτι πνεῦμα σάρκα καὶ ὀστέα οὐκ ἔχει καθὼς ἐμὲ “θεωρεῖτε ἔχοντα. καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς τὰς ” χεῖρας καὶ τοὺς πόδας. ἔτι δὲ ἀπιστούντων αὐτῶν καὶ “θαυμαζόντων ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ἔχετέ τι βρώ” σιμον ἐνθάδε; οἱ δὲ ἐπέδωκαν αὐτῷ, φησὶν, ἰχθύος ὀπτοῦ “μέρος καὶ ἀπὸ μελισσίου κηρίου, καὶ λαβὼν ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν ” ἔφαγεν.“ ὁρᾷς ὅπως ὁ τῆς ἀπιστίας ἐνδομυχεῖ λογισμὸς, οὐκ ἐν μόνῳ τῷ μακαρίῳ Θωμᾷ, νοσεῖ δὲ τὸ πάθος καὶ τῶν ἑτέρων μαθητῶν ὁ νοῦς; ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἰδοὺ καὶ μετὰ τὴν θέαν τῶν ἐπὶ τῷ σταυρῷ τραυμάτων ὀλιγοπιστοῦντας ὁρῶν, ἀναπείθειν ᾤετο δεῖν καὶ δι' ἑτέρου πράγματος, κατ' οὐδένα μὲν τρόπον πνεύματι πρέποντος, ἀνήκοντος δὲ μᾶλλον ἰδικῶς τοῖς ἀπὸ γῆς σώμασι καὶ τῇ τῶν σαρκῶν φύσει. κατεδήδοκε γὰρ τὸ προκομισθὲν ἰχθύδιον, ἤτοι τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ μέρος. ἀνάγκης δὲ ὥσπερ ἔργον ἑκάτερον εἶναι δώσομεν. φθορᾶς γὰρ ὅλως σωζομένης οὐκέτι μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν τῆς ἁγίας μάλιστα σαρκὸς, ἐπείπερ ἀνεβίω πρὸς ἀφθαρσίαν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τροφῆς τῆς συνήθους δεδεῆσθαι πεπιστευμένης, καθάπερ καὶ πρότερον, τύπους ἥλων ἐπέδειξε, καὶ τροφῆς μεταλαχεῖν οὐκ ἀνένευσεν, ἵνα τὸ μέγα τῆς ἀναστάσεως ῥιζώσῃ μυστήριον, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τούτῳ πίστιν ταῖς ἁπάντων ἡμῶν ἐμφυτεύσῃ ψυχαῖς. ἐργάζεται δὲ τὰ τῆς τῶν πνευμάτων φύσεως παντελῶς ἀλλότρια. τύποι γὰρ ἥλων, καὶ τραυμάτων ἴχνη, καὶ τροφῆς μέθεξις σωματικῆς, πόθεν ἂν ἢ πῶς ἐνυπάρχοι πνεύματι γυμνῷ τε παντάπασι καὶ ἀσυμπλόκῳ σαρκὶ, ᾗπερ ἂν πρέποι κατά γε τὸν λόγον τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως καὶ τὸ ἐν τούτοις γίνεσθαι φιλεῖν; οὐκοῦν ἵνα μὴ πνεῦμα λεπτὸν οἴωνταί τινες ἐγηγέρθαι τὸν Κύριον, μήτε μὴν ἀνέπαφον σῶμα, σκιοειδές τε καὶ ἀέριον, ὅπερ ἔθος τισὶν ὀνομάζειν πνευματικὸν, ἀλλ' αὐτὸ δὴ τοῦτο τὸ ἐσπαρμένον ἐν φθορᾷ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Παύλου φωνὴν διαναστὰν πιστεύηται, τὰ σώματι πρέποντα τῷ παχεῖ δέδρακέ τε καὶ δέδειχεν. ἀποδημήσει γεμὴν οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ πρέποντος λογισμοῦ τὸ εἰπεῖν ἐν ἀρχαῖς, οὐ τοσοῦτον ἀπιστῆσαι διὰ γνώμης ἀσθένειαν τὸν μακάριον μαθητὴν, ὅσον ἐκ περιχαρείας τῆς ἄγαν τοῦτο παθεῖν. ἀκηκόαμεν γὰρ τοῦ μακαρίου φάσκοντος Λουκᾶ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων ὅτι ” ἀπιστούντων αὐτῶν καὶ “θαυμαζόντων ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς.” οὐκοῦν τὸ θαυμάσαι, τὸ ἐπὶ τῇ πίστει βράδος τοῖς μαθηταῖς ἐνειργάζετο. ἐπειδὴ δὲ λοιπὸν ἀπροφάσιστος ἦν τοῖς ὁρῶσιν ἡ ἀπιστία, ἀκολούθως ὁ μακάριος Θωμᾶς ὀρθοτάτην ἐπ' αὐτῷ τὴν ὁμολογίαν ἐποιεῖτο λέγων Ὁ Κύριός μου καὶ ὁ Θεός μου. τῷ γὰρ κατὰ φύσιν Κυρίῳ καὶ τὸ κατὰ πάντων ἔχοντι κράτος παρέποιτο ἂν ἀληθῶς τε καὶ ὁμολογουμένως καὶ τὸ εἶναι Θεῷ ὥσπερ οὖν ἀμέλει καὶ τῷ κατὰ φύσιν Θεῷ προσὸν ὁρῷτο δὴ παντελῶς καὶ τὸ τῶν ὅλων δύνασθαι κρατεῖν, καὶ τὴν τῆς κυριότητος ἀμπέχεσθαι δόξαν. Ἐπιτηρητέον δὲ ὅτι μοναδικῶς καὶ συνάρθρως Ὁ Κύριός μου φησὶ καὶ ὁ Θεός μου. οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς ἔφη Κύριός μου καὶ Θεός μου, ἵνα μή τις οἴηται καθ' ὁμοιότητα τὴν ἡμετέραν ἤγουν τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων κύριον αὐτὸν εἰρῆσθαι καὶ Θεόν: πολλοὶ γὰρ ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς κύριοί τε καὶ θεοὶ, καθάπερ ὁ σοφὸς ἡμᾶς ἐδίδαξε Παῦλος: ἀλλ' ἕνα Κύριον αὐτὸν ἰδικῶς καὶ Θεὸν, ὡς ἐκ τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν Κυρίου καὶ Θεοῦ γεννηθέντα Πατρός Ὁ Κύριός μου καὶ ὁ Θεός μου φησὶ, καὶ τὸ ἔτι μεῖζον εἰς παράστασιν ἀληθείας, ἀκήκοε τοῦτο λέγοντος ὁ Σωτὴρ τοῦ ἰδίου μαθητοῦ, διακειμένου τε καὶ πεπιστευκότος ὅτι δὴ κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ὁ Κύριός τε αὐτὸς ὑπάρχοι καὶ ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλ' ἐπιτιμᾶν οὐκ ᾤετο δεῖν. οὐκοῦν ἐπῄνει πεπιστευκότα, καὶ λίαν ὀρθῶς. ἴδοις δ' ἂν τοῦτο ὑπάρχον ἀληθὲς, καὶ μάλα ῥᾳδίως. πρὸς γὰρ τὸν οὕτω πεπιστευκότα καὶ διακείμενον, ἐπὶ τέλει τοῦ εὐαγγελίου φησί “Πορευθέντες μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη.” εἰ δὲ οὕτως ἔχοντα γνώμης πάντα τὰ ἔθνη διδάσκειν κελεύει, καὶ μυσταγωγὸν αὐτὸν ἀνέδειξεν οἰκουμενικὸν, οὐχ ἑτέραν ἡμᾶς ἔχειν βούλεται τὴν πίστιν. Κύριος γὰρ ὄντως ἐστὶ κατὰ φύσιν καὶ Θεὸς καὶ ὅτε γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος. κατανόει γὰρ ὅτι χεῖράς τε καὶ πόδας καὶ πλευρὰν ψηλαφήσας ὁ μαθητὴς προσκεκόμικεν αὐτῷ τὴν ὁμολογίαν, οὐκ εἰς υἱῶν δυάδα διατεμὼν τὸν Ἐμμανουὴλ, ἀλλ' ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ἐπιγινώσκων μετὰ σαρκός: εἷς γὰρ Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς κατὰ τὰς γραφάς.
« Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Ὅτι ἑώρακάς με, πεπίστευκας: μακάριοι οἱ μὴ ἰδόντες καὶ πιστεύσαντες. » Οἰκονομικώτατος σφόδρα τοῦ Σωτῆρος ὁ λόγος, καὶ πλείστην ὅσην ἡμῖν τὴν ὄνησιν ἐμποιεῖν ἱκανός. προενόησε γὰρ οὐ μετρίως κἂν τούτῳ τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν, ἐπείπερ ἐστὶν ἀγαθὸς καὶ “πάντας ἀνθρώπους θέλει σωθῆναι καὶ ” εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν,“ κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον. τὸ δέ γε τοῦ θαύματος αἴτιον ἐκεῖνό ἐστιν. ἔδει μὲν γὰρ ἀνεξικακῆσαι συνήθως ἐκεῖνο λέγοντι τῷ Θωμᾷ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἑτέροις σὺν αὐτῷ μαθηταῖς, οἰηθεῖσιν ὅτι πνεῦμά ἐστι καὶ φάντασμα, ἐπιδεῖξαί τε καὶ μάλα προθύμως εἰς πληροφορίαν οἰκουμενικὴν καὶ τύπους τῶν ἥλων καὶ τῆς πλευρᾶς τὴν διάτρησιν, οὐδὲν δὲ ἧττον καὶ παρὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς αὐτὸ, καὶ τὴν χρείαν καὶ τροφῆς μεταλαχεῖν, ἵνα μηδεμία παντελῶς περιλείπηται πρόφασις καλοῦσα πρὸς ἀπιστίαν τοὺς διὰ τῶν τοιούτων ὠφελεῖσθαι ζητήσαντας. ἀλλ' ἦν ἀναγκαῖον οὐ μικροῦ τινος ἀξιῶσαι λόγου καὶ τὴν εἰς ἡμᾶς ἀσφάλειαν. ἔδει πρὸς ἐκείνῳ καὶ τὸ ἕτερον ἰδεῖν, φημὶ δὴ τὸ μηδαμόθεν εὐκόλως κατασύρεσθαι πρὸς ἀπιστίαν τοὺς ἐν τοῖς ἐφεξῆς ἐσομένους καιροῖς. ἦν γὰρ δή τινας εἰκὸς ἔξω τῆς εὐθείας ἰόντας ὁδοῦ, καὶ νόθην εὐλάβειαν ἐξ ἀμαθίας ἐπιτηδεύοντας ἀποπέμπεσθαι τὴν πίστιν, οὐ προσίεσθαι τῶν νεκρῶν τὴν ἀνάστασιν, ἥκειν τε εἰς μέσον κατ' ἐκεῖνον ἡμῖν ἐροῦντας τὸν ἀπιστήσαντα μαθητήν ” Ἐὰν μὴ ἴδω ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτοῦ “τὸν τύπον τῶν ἥλων, καὶ βάλω τὴν χεῖρά μου εἰς τὴν ” πλευρὰν αὐτοῦ, οὐ μὴ πιστεύσω.“ εἶτα τίς ἂν αὐτοῖς πληροφορίας ἔτι διαρκὴς ἐγένετο τρόπος, οὐκ ὄντος μὲν ἐπὶ γῆς σωματικῶς ἔτι Χριστοῦ, ἀναβεβηκότος δὲ μᾶλλον εἰς οὐρανούς; πῶς δὲ οὐκ ἂν ὑπωπτεύθησαν ἔσθ' ὅτε τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγειν ὀρθῶς, ὅτε ζηλοῦντες ἐφαίνοντο τοῦ Σωτῆρος τὸν μαθητὴν, καὶ ὡς ἄριστόν τι χρῆμα τὸ μὴ πιστεῦσαι προχείρως ἐπιλεξάμενοι, ἐξαιτεῖν δὲ μᾶλλον πρὸς πληροφορίαν ἀσφαλῆ διετείνοντο τὰ καὶ αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐπιδειχθέντα μαθηταῖς; ἀνασειράζει τοιγαροῦν ὁ Χριστὸς καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἐσομένην ἔσθ' ὅτε καταδρομὴν, καὶ περιστέλλει τὸν ὄλισθον. ᾔδει γὰρ ᾔδει Θεὸς ὑπάρχων ἀληθινὸς τὴν τοῦ διαβόλου φιλοκακοῦργον γνώμην, καὶ τὸ εἰς ἀπάτην εὐμήχανον. διὸ μακαρίους ἀποφαίνει τοὺς καὶ δίχα τοῦ ἰδεῖν πιστεύοντας: θαυμάσιοι γὰρ ὄντως. καὶ διὰ ποίαν αἰτίαν; τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἐν ὄψει κειμένοις οὐδαμόθεν ἀμφίλογος ὀφείλεται πίστις: τὸ γὰρ ἐνδοιάζειν ὅλως ἀναπεῖθον οὐδέν. ὃ δὲ μὴ τεθέαταί τις εἰ παραδέξαιτο, καὶ ἀληθὲς εἶναι πιστεύσειεν ὅπερ ἂν εἰς ὦτα διακομίσειαν τοῦ μυσταγωγοῦντος οἱ λόγοι, ἀξιολογωτάτῃ τετίμηκε πίστει τὸν κηρυττόμενον. ἕψεται τοίνυν ὁ μακαρισμὸς παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι διὰ τῆς τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων φωνῆς, οἳ καὶ αὐτόπται καὶ θεωροὶ τῶν κατορθωμάτων γεγόνασι καὶ ὑπηρέται τοῦ λόγου, καθά φησιν ὁ Λουκᾶς: οἷς καὶ προσέχειν ἡμᾶς ἀναγκαῖον, εἰ τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς καθεστήκαμεν ἐρασταὶ, καὶ τὸ ἐν ταῖς ἄνω μοναῖς αὐλίζεσθαι περὶ πολλοῦ ποιεῖσθαι σπουδάζομεν.
« Πολλὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλα σημεῖα ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐνώπιον τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ, ἃ οὐκ ἔστι γεγραμμένα ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ. ταῦτα δὲ γέγραπται ἵνα πιστεύσητε ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἵνα πιστεύοντες ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἔχητε ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ. » Ἀνακεφαλαιοῦται τρόπον τινὰ τὴν ἰδίαν συγγραφὴν, ἐμφανῆ τε τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις τὸν τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν κηρυγμάτων σκοπὸν ἐργάζεται. ἵνα γὰρ πιστεύσητέ φησι καὶ πιστεύσαντες ἔχητε τὴν αἰώνιον ζωὴν, συνετέθη ταυτί: πολλὰ δὲ εἶναί φησι τὰ σημεῖα, καὶ οὐ μέχρι τῶν αὐτῷ καὶ μόνῳ διεγνωσμένων τε καὶ εἰρημένων τὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἵστησι κατορθώματα καὶ τὰς παραδόξους ἐνεργείας, ἀπονέμει δὲ ὥσπερ καὶ τοῖς ἑτέροις εὐαγγελισταῖς ἅπερ ἂν αὐτοῖς διὰ μνήμης ἴοι τῆς ἀκριβοῦς παρακομίζειν, εἰ βούλοιντο. γέγραπται γὰρ οὐ πάντα, φησὶν, ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ, ταυτὶ δὲ καὶ μόνα διὰ τῆς ἐμῆς ἐνετέθη φωνῆς, ἅπερ ἦν εἰκὸς ἐξαρκέσειν οὐ μετρίως πρὸς τὸ ἀναπεῖσαι δύνασθαι τοὺς ἀκροωμένους ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ταυτὶ μὲν οὖν ὁ θεσπέσιος Εὐαγγελιστής: ἐγὼ δὲ δὴ πάλιν οἰήσομαι δεῖν ἐκεῖνο φάναι χρησίμως. εἰ γὰρ ὅλη τῶν γεγραμμένων ἡ δύναμις τοιαύτην ἡμῖν ἐνεργάζεται πίστιν, διακεῖσθαί τε καὶ σφόδρα καλῶς ἀναπείθει, ὡς ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου, ὃς καὶ ἐπεκλήθη Ἰησοῦς διὰ τῆς τοῦ ἀγγέλου φωνῆς, αὐτὸς οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ διὰ τῆς θεοπνεύστου γραφῆς κηρυττόμενος Χριστός: αὐτὸς δέ ἐστιν οὗτος, καὶ οὐχ ἕτερος, οὐχ ἁπλῶς υἱὸς, ἀλλ' Ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ μοναδικῶς τε καὶ ἰδικῶς, τί δράσαιεν ἄρα, τί δὲ καὶ φθέγξαιντο, καὶ ποῖον ἕξουσι κρῖμα, κατὰ τὸν τῆς μεγάλης ἡμέρας καιρὸν, οἱ ἐξ ἀμαθίας διακρινόμενοι περὶ τὴν πίστιν, καὶ πρὸς τούτῳ διδάσκειν ἑτέρους ἐπιχειρήσαντες δύο νομίζειν εἶναι χριστούς; κατατέμνουσι γὰρ εἰς ἄνθρωπον ἰδικῶς καὶ εἰς Θεὸν Λόγον ἰδικῶς καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν καὶ τὴν ἄφραστόν τε καὶ ἀπερινόητον παντελῶς πρὸς τὸ σῶμα σύνοδον. τοιγάρτοι πεπλάνηνται, καὶ πόῤῥω που τῆς ἀληθείας ἐρχόμενοι τὸν ἀγοράσαντα αὐτοὺς Δεσπότην ἠρνήσαντο. τὸν μὲν γὰρ τῆς φύσεως ἐξετάζοντες λόγον, ὅταν τι νοῶμεν περὶ Χριστοῦ, ἑτέραν οὖσαν τὴν σάρκα παρὰ τὸν ἐκ Πατρός τε καὶ ἐν Πατρὶ Θεὸν Λόγον εὑρίσκωμεν: τὴν δὲ τῆς συνόδου τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν κατασκεπτόμενοι δύναμιν, βασανίζοντές τε κατὰ τὸ ἐγχωροῦν τὸ ἐξαίσιον τουτὶ καὶ ὑπὲρ νοῦν μυστήριον, ὡς ἕν τι μετὰ τῆς ἰδίας σαρκὸς νοοῦμεν τὸν Λόγον, οὐκ εἰς σάρκα μεταβεβλημένον: οὐ γὰρ τοῦτό φαμεν, ἔστι γὰρ ἄτρεπτός τε καὶ ἀναλλοίωτος καὶ τροπῆς ἁπάσης ἀνεπίδεκτος παντελῶς ἡ τοῦ Λόγου φύσις: ἀλλ' ὅτι κατὰ τὴν ἁγίαν ἡμῶν καὶ θεόπνευστον γραφὴν, ἔκ τε τοῦ θείου ναοῦ ὁλόκληρον ἔχοντος τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος τὸν ὅρον, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ζῶντος Λόγου νοούμενος, εἷς ἐστι λοιπὸν ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ Χριστὸς καὶ Υἱός. νοῆσαι δ' ἂν τοῦτο αὐτὸ καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν ἀληθές τε ὑπάρχον καὶ οὕτως ἔχον τῇ φύσει. συγκείμεθα γὰρ εἰς ἕνα ἄνθρωπον τὸν ἐκ ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος, ἑτέρου μὲν ὄντος τοῦ σώματος, ἑτέρας δὲ αὖ τῆς ἐν τῷ σώματι ψυχῆς, κατά γε τὸν ἐφ' ἑκατέρῳ λόγον, πλὴν εἰς ἑνὸς ζῴου συνθεόντων ἀνάδειξιν, καὶ διαιρεῖσθαι τὸ παράπαν οὐκ ἀνεχομένων μετὰ τὴν εἰς ἄλληλα συμπλοκήν.
« Μετὰ ταῦτα ἐφανέρωσεν ἑαυτὸν πάλιν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοῖς μαθηταῖς ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης τῆς Τιβεριάδος, ἐφανέρωσε δὲ οὕτως. ἦσαν ὁμοῦ Σίμων Πέτρος καὶ Θωμᾶς ὁ λεγόμενος δίδυμος καὶ Ναθαναὴλ ὁ ἀπὸ Κανᾶ τῆς Γαλιλαίας καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ Ζεβεδαίου καὶ ἄλλοι ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ δύο. λέγει αὐτοῖς Σίμων Πέτρος Ὑπάγω ἁλιεύειν: λέγουσιν αὐτῷ Ἐρχόμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς σὺν σοί. ἐξῆλθον καὶ ἀνέβησαν εἰς τὸ πλοῖον καὶ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ νυκτὶ ἐπίασαν οὐδέν. πρωΐας δὲ ἤδη γενομένης ἔστη Ἰησοῦς ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγιαλὸν, οὐ μέντοι ἔγνωσαν οἱ μαθηταὶ ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστι. λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς Παιδία, μή τι προσφάγιον ἔχετε; ἀπεκρίθησαν αὐτῷ Οὔ. ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Βάλετε εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ μέρη τοῦ πλοίου τὸ δίκτυον, καὶ εὑρήσετε. οἱ δὲ εἶπον Δι' ὅλης τῆς νυκτὸς κοπιάσαντες οὐδὲν ἐλάβομεν, ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ σῷ ὀνόματι βαλοῦμεν. ἔβαλον οὖν, καὶ οὐκέτι αὐτὸ ἑλκύσαι ἴσχυον ἀπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν ἰχθύων. » Ἐπιδαψιλεύεται πάλιν ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς τῆς ἑαυτοῦ πολυεύκτου θέας τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν, καὶ τρίτην αὐτοῖς ἐφ' ἑτέραις ἤδη δυσὶ δωρεῖται τὴν ἐπιφοίτησιν, ἵνα δηλονότι βέβαιόν τε καὶ ἐν πίστει τῇ εἰς αὐτὸν ἀκλινῶς ἱδρυμένον ἐνεργάσηται φρόνημα. οἱ γὰρ οὐχ ἅπαξ, ἄλλ' ἤδη καὶ τρίτον τεθεαμένοι, πῶς οὐκ ὀλιγοπιστίας ἁπάσης τὸν οἰκεῖον ἀπαλλάξαντες νοῦν, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν ἀκριβεῖς ἂν ἐγένοντο μυσταγωγοὶ τῶν τῆς εὐσεβείας δογμάτων; ἔξεισι τοίνυν ὁ Πέτρος ἁλιεύων τοῖς ἄλλοις ὁμοῦ: συνθέουσι γὰρ καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο βαδίζοντι, τάχα τι καὶ διὰ τούτων οἰκονομοῦντος χρήσιμον τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Χριστοῦ. ἔφη μὲν γάρ που πρὸς αὐτοὺς, ὅτε τὸν τῆς μαθητείας ἐπετίθει ζυγὸν καὶ πρὸς τὴν τῆς ἀποστολῆς ἀξίαν ἐκάλει ” Δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς γενέσθαι ἁλιεῖς “ἀνθρώπων.” ἵνα δὲ πάλιν αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐν τύπῳ πληροφορήσῃ παχεῖ, ὅτι δὴ πάντως τὸ εἰρημένον ἐκβήσεται, καὶ εἰς τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας ἐκτελευτήσει δύναμιν ἡ ὑπόσχεσις, ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ μετὰ χεῖρας ὄντος ἐπιτηδεύματος ἀναπείθει σαφῶς. οἱ μὲν γὰρ μακάριοι μαθηταὶ τὰ ἐκ τῆς οἰκείας ἐνεργήσαντες τέχνης, ἰχθυοθῆραι δὲ ἦσαν, ἐπίασαν οὐδὲν, καίτοι δι' ὅλης κεκοπιακότες τῆς νυκτός. πρωΐας δὲ ἤδη γενομένης, ἀρξαμένου δὲ ἤδη διαχεῖσθαι φωτὸς καὶ τῆς ἡλίου βολῆς, ἔστη Ἰησοῦς ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγιαλόν. οἱ δὲ οὐκ ᾔδεσαν μὲν, ὅτι περ αὐτός ἐστι. διερωτῶντι γεμὴν καὶ λέγοντι μὴ ἆρά τι τῶν εἰς τραπέζης τελούντων χρείαν εἴσω γέγονε δικτύων αὐτοῖς, οὐδὲν τὸ παράπαν εἰληφέναι φασίν. εἶτα κελεύει καθεῖναι τὸ δίκτυον εἰς μέρη τοῦ πλοίου τὰ δεξιά: οἱ δέ Καίτοι διὰ νυκτὸς ὅλης εἰκαίους τε καὶ ἀνονήτους δαπανήσαντες πόνους, ἐπὶ τῷ σῷ ῥήματι σαγηνεύσομεν, φασίν. οὗ δὴ δρωμένου, τὴν τῶν ἀνελκόντων ἰσχὺν ἐβιάζετο λοιπὸν τῶν τεθηραμένων τὸ βαρός. Ταυτὶ μὲν οὖν ἡμῖν ὁ θεσπέσιος Εὐαγγελιστὴς ἐξηγήσατο: ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀρτίως ἐλέγομεν, ὡς διὰ πράγματος ἐναργεστάτου τε λίαν καὶ τετελεσμένου κατὰ ἀλήθειαν πεπληροφόρηκεν ὁ Σωτὴρ τοὺς ἁγίους ἀποστόλους ὅτι δὴ μέλλοιεν ἔσεσθαι κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ φωνὴν ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων, φέρε μεθιστάντες, ὡς ἔνι, καλῶς εἰς ἀληθείας δήλωσιν τὰ ὡς ἐν τύπῳ πεπληρωμένα, τοῖς τοῦ Σωτῆρος λόγοις μαρτυρήσωμεν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἕκαστα δὲ τῶν γεγονότων κατά γε τὸ ἐγχωροῦν διαπτύξαντες, παραθῶμεν τοῖς ἐντευξομένοις θεωρίας πνευματικῆς οὐ μετρίας, ὡς ἐγῷμαι, τὰς ἀφορμάς: “Δίδου γὰρ σοφῷ ἀφορμὴν, καὶ σοφώτερος ἔσται: γνώ” ριζε δικαίῳ, καὶ προσθήσει τοῦ δέχεσθαι.“ οἶμαι τοίνυν ὅτι τὸ διὰ νυκτὸς μὲν ὅλης ἁλιεῦσαι τοὺς μαθητὰς, μὴ μὴν ἑλεῖν τι παντελῶς, εἰκαίους δὲ ἀνατλῆσαι πόνους, σημαίνει τι τοιοῦτον, ὅτι τοῖς τῶν ἀρχαιοτέρων διδασκάλων κηρύγμασιν οὐδένα τὸ παράπαν ἀναπεπεισμένον εὑρήσομεν, καὶ εἰς τὸ τελείως ἀρέσκον τῷ Θεῷ σεσαγηνευμένον, ἢ ὀλίγους κομιδῆ. ἐν ἴσῳ δὲ τῷ μηδενὶ τὸ σφόδρα βραχὺ, ὅταν ἐκ πολλοῦ μάλιστα λαμβάνηται. πολὺς δὲ δὴ λίαν ὁ κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἄνθρωπος νοεῖται πρεπόντως. τί οὖν ἄρα τὸ διακωλῦσαν καὶ ἐμποδὼν εὑρεθὲν, ὃ καὶ τῶν ἀρχαιοτέρων τὸν πόνον εἰκαῖον ἐτίθει; τί δὲ καὶ ἄκαρπον ὥσπερ αὐτοῖς ἀπετέλει τὸ κήρυγμα; νὺξ ἦν καὶ σκότος ἔτι καὶ νοητή τις ἀχλὺς καὶ δαιμονιώδης ἀπάτη τοῖς τῆς διανοίας ὀφθαλμοῖς ἐνιζάνουσα, καὶ τὸ θεῖον ὄντως καὶ ἀληθὲς ἰδεῖν οὐκ ἐφιεῖσα φῶς. οὐ γὰρ ἦν ὁ ποιῶν χρηστότητα, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ψάλλοντος φωνὴν, οὐκ ἦν ἕως ἑνὸς, ἀλλὰ πάντες ἐξέκλιναν, ἅμα ἠχρειώθησαν. εἰ δὲ καὶ τεθήρευτό πως διὰ Μωυσέως ὁ Ἰσραὴλ, ἀλλ' ἦν ἐν ἴσῳ τοῖς οὐδ' ὅλως τεθηρευμένοις, τὴν ἐν σκιαῖς καὶ τύποις ἐπιτηδεύων λατρείαν, καὶ τῷ τελειοῦντι μηδὲν παιδαγωγούμενος νόμῳ. ὅτι γὰρ ἀχρειοτάτην ὥσπερ καὶ ἀπῳδὸν τῷ Θεῷ τὴν ἐν τύποις λατρείαν εὑρήσομεν, εὔκολον ἰδεῖν ἐξ ὧν τὰς δι' αἱμάτων παρωθεῖται θυσίας καὶ πᾶν εἶδος προσαγωγῆς γεώδους τε καὶ σωματικῆς ” Ἵνα τί γάρ μοι, φησὶ, λίβανον ἐκ σαβᾶ φέρετε καὶ κιννά“μωμον ἐκ γῆς μακρόθεν; τὰ ὁλοκαυτώματα ὑμῶν οὐκ ” εἰσὶ δεκτὰ, καὶ αἱ θυσίαι ὑμῶν οὐχ ἥδυνάν με.“ Καὶ ταῦτά φαμεν, οὐ τὴν πρώτην καὶ πάλαι δοθεῖσαν ἀτιμάζοντες ἐντολὴν, οὔτε μὴν τοῦ νόμου κατηγορεῖν ἐγνωκότες, ἐκεῖνο δὲ μᾶλλον τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις ἐθέλοντες ὑποδηλοῦν, ὅτι τοῦ πάντων Δεσπότου Θεοῦ πρὸς μόνον ὁρῶντος τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς πολιτείας τὸ κάλλος, καὶ οἱ διὰ νόμου τεθηρευμένοι πρὸς τὴν ἐν σκιαῖς καὶ τύποις ἀνόνητον λατρείαν ἐν ἴσῳ πως τέθειντο τοῖς οὔπω τεθηρευμένοις, ἄχρις ἂν ὁ τῆς διορθώσεως ἐπιλάμψῃ καιρὸς, λέγοντος ἐναργῶς τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅτε γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος ” Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ “ἀλήθεια.” εἰ δὲ δεῖ τούτοις καὶ ἕτερόν τι ἐπειπεῖν, οὐκ ὀκνήσω διὰ τὸ χρήσιμον. οἱ πρὸς τὴν ἐκ νόμου μάθησιν κεκλημένοι διὰ Μωυσέως, καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν δοθέντα διαπτύσαντες νόμον καὶ μονονουχὶ πλατὺ γελῶντες κατὰ τῆς ἁγίας ἐντολῆς, ἐτράποντο πρὸς διδασκαλίας ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων: κατώλισθον δὲ πρὸς τοῦτο σκληρᾶς καὶ ἀτέγκτου βουλῆς, ὡς καὶ τὸν τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν ἀτονῆσαι λόγον. τοιγάρτοι καὶ ἔκραζον “Κύριε, τίς ἐπίστευσε τῇ ἀκοῇ ἡμῶν;” Ἱερεμίας δὲ πάλιν “Οἴμοι ἐγὼ, μῆτερ, ὡς τινά με ἔτεκες ἄν” δρα δικαζόμενον καὶ δικαρινόμενον ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ, οὔτε “ὠφέλησα, οὔτε ὠφέλησέ με οὐδείς: ἡ ἰσχύς μου ἐξέλιπεν ” ἐν τοῖς καταρωμένοις με.“ πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἐν ἴσῳ τεθεῖσθαι δοίη τις ἂν τοῖς μηδόλως τεθηρευμένοις τὸν ἀπειθῆ καὶ δυσήνιον Ἰσραὴλ, ὅτε καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν διορισθέντα διὰ Μωυσέως πεπάτηκε νόμον; ὅτι δὲ καὶ αὐτὴ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἡ πληθὺς ἀσαγήνευτός τε ἦν ἔτι, καὶ τῆς τῶν θείων μαθημάτων περιβολῆς ἔξω μένουσα παντελῶς, οὐδενὸς ἂν ἡμῖν πρὸς ἀπόδειξιν δεήσαι λόγου. ἐκείνοις οὖν ἄρα σκότος ἦν ἐν καρδίᾳ καὶ νὺξ διαβολικὴ, τὸ τῆς ἀληθοῦς θεογνωσίας ἐξείργουσα φῶς. οὐκοῦν δι' ὅλης ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν κοπιάσαντες τῆς νυκτὸς, ἰχθύων ἔτι χηρεύουσαν τὴν σαγήνην εἶχον τὴν νοητὴν οἱ πρὸ τῆς ἐπιδημίας: πρωΐας δὲ γενομένης, τουτέστι, διαλελυμένης ἤδη τῆς διαβολικῆς ἀχλύος καὶ ἀνίσχοντος τοῦ φωτὸς τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ, δῆλον δὲ ὅτι Χριστοῦ, πυθομένου τε παρὰ τῶν κεκοπιακότων Μὴ ἄρα τι τῶν λίνων ἔχουσιν ἐντὸς, ὅπερ ἂν γένοιτο τροφὴ τῷ τὴν ἁπάντων ἡμῶν σωτηρίαν οἱονεὶ πεινῶντι Θεῷ: βρῶσιν γὰρ οἰκείαν ὠνόμασεν ἡ γραφὴ τὴν Σαμαρειτῶν ἐπιστροφήν: ἐναργῶς τε τῶν ἐρωτωμένων διωμολογηκότων ὡς οὐδὲν τὸ παράπαν ἐστὶν αὐτοῖς, καθεῖναι πάλιν ἐπιτάττει τὸ δίκτυον εἰς τὰ τοῦ πλοίου δεξιά. καθῆκε μὲν γὰρ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Μωυσῆς τὸ τῆς ὑφηγήσεως λίνον, διὰ νομικοῦ δὲ δηλονότι γράμματος: ἀλλ' ἐγένετό πως ἐν εὐωνύμοις ἡ θήρα, νοουμένης ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐντολῆς. μείζων γὰρ ἀσυγκρίτως καὶ ἀμείνων κατὰ πολὺ κατά τε τιμὴν καὶ δόξαν τῶν νομικῶν ἐνταλμάτων ἡ διὰ Χριστοῦ νοεῖται παίδευσις, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν τύπων προκείσεται πάντως ἡ ἀλήθεια, καὶ οἰκέτου Δεσπότης, καὶ τοῦ κατακρίνοντος γράμματος ἡ δικαιοῦσα τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρις. ἐν δεξιοῖς οὖν ἄρα στήσεται τὰ διὰ Χριστοῦ, τὴν ὑπεροχὴν ἡμῖν τὴν κατὰ νόμου καὶ προφητῶν τοῦ δεξιοῦ σημαίνοντος. Ἀμελλητὶ τοιγαροῦν τοῖς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν διατάγμασιν ἀναπεπεισμένοι χαλῶσι τὸ δίκτυον οἱ θεσπέσιοι μαθηταί. σημαίνει δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἡμῖν ὡς οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς τὴν τῆς ἀποστολῆς ἥρπασαν χάριν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς αὐτοῦ διατάγμασιν ἐπὶ τὴν θήραν ἐξῆλθον τὴν πνευματικήν: ” Πορευθέντες γάρ φησι “μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη:” καὶ αὐτοὶ δέ φασιν, ὡς ἐπὶ τῷ ῥήματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ χαλῶσι τὸ δίκτυον. σαγηνεύουσι γὰρ οὐχ ἑτέρως ἢ τοῖς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ῥήμασι καὶ εὐαγγελικοῖς προστάγμασι. τῶν γεμὴν εἴσω δικτύων γεγονότων ἰχθύων πολύ τι τὸ πλῆθος ἦν, ὡς καὶ ἀνέλκειν αὐτὸ μηκέτι ῥᾳδίως δύνασθαι τοὺς μαθητάς. ἀναρίθμητοι γὰρ οἱ σεσαγηνευμένοι καὶ πιστεύσαντες, καὶ τῆς τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων ἰσχύος μεῖζόν τε ἤδη καὶ ὑπερτεροῦν ἀληθῶς τὸ ἐπὶ τούτῳ θαῦμα φαίνεται. Χριστοῦ γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἐνέργεια, τὴν τῶν σωζομένων πληθὺν ἰδίᾳ δυνάμει συλλέγοντος καθάπερ εἰς λίνον ἀποστολικὸν τὴν ἐπὶ γῆς Ἐκκλησίαν.
« Λέγει οὖν ὁ μαθητὴς ἐκεῖνος ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῷ Πέτρῳ Ὁ κύριός ἐστι. Σίμων οὖν Πέτρος ἀκούσας ὅτι ὁ Κύριός ἐστι, τὸν ἐπενδύτην διεζώσατο, ἦν γὰρ γυμνὸς, καὶ ἔβαλεν ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν: οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι μαθηταὶ τῷ πλοιαρίῳ ἦλθον, οὐ γὰρ ἦσαν μακρὰν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, ἀλλ' ὡς ἀπὸ πήχεων διακο σίων, σύροντες τὸ δίκτυον τῶν ἰχθύων. ὡς οὖν ἐπέβησαν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν βλέπουσιν ἀνθρακιὰν κειμένην καὶ ὀψάριον ἐπικεί μενον καὶ ἄρτον: καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς Ἐνέγκατε ἀπὸ τῶν ὀψαρίων ὧν ἐπιάσατε νῦν. ἀνέβη οὖν Σίμων Πέτρος καὶ εἵλκυσε τὸ δίκτυον εἰς τὴν γῆν, μεστὸν ἰχθύων μεγάλων ἑκατὸν πεντηκοντατριῶν: καὶ τοσούτων ὄντων οὐκ ἐσχίσθη τὸ δίκτυον: λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς Δεῦτε ἀριστήσατε. οὐδεὶς δὲ ἐτόλμα τῶν μαθητῶν ἐξετάσαι αὐτόν Σὺ τίς εἶ, εἰδότες ὅτι ὁ Κύριός ἐστιν. ἔρχεται ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ λαμβάνει τὸν ἄρτον καὶ δίδωσιν αὐτοῖς, καὶ τὸ ὀψάριον ὁμοίως. τοῦτο ἤδη τρίτον ἐφανερώθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ἐγερθεὶς ἐκ νεκρῶν. » Ἑαυτὸν εἶναι πάλιν κἀνθάδε φησὶ τὸν ἀγαπώμενον μαθητὴν ὁ τόδε συνθεὶς τὸ βιβλίον. ἠγαπᾶτο δὲ λίαν, διὰ πλείστην ὡς ἐοικὸς ἀγχίνοιαν καὶ νοῦ καθαρότητα καὶ ὀφθαλμῶν καρδίας ὀξύτητα, ἐπιτηδείως τε ἔχειν εὖ μάλα πρὸς τὸ δύνασθαί τι συνιέναι γοργῶς. καὶ γοῦν προαρπάσας τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων τοῦ σημείου τὴν αἴσθησιν, ἔγνω παρόντα Χριστὸν, καὶ τοῖς ἑτέροις διαμεμήνυκεν, οὐδὲν ἐνδοιάσας ὅλως, ἀναφωνήσας δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ σφόδρα τεθαῤῥηκότως Ὁ Κύριός ἐστι. καὶ προεξάλλεται μὲν ὁ θεσπέσιος Πέτρος βραδυτέραν ἔσεσθαί πως καὶ τὴν διὰ σκάφους ἐννοήσας ἄφιξιν: θερμὸς γὰρ εἰς προθυμίας ἀεὶ, καὶ κεκινημένος πρὸς εὐτολμίαν καὶ ἀγάπην τὴν ἐπὶ Χριστῷ: ἕπονται δὲ καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ τῷ προὔχοντι ὁμοῦ τῷ πλοίῳ τὸ δίκτυον ἄγοντες. εἶτα θεωροῦσιν ἀνθρακιὰν κειμένην, παραδόξως καὶ πυρὰν ἀνακαύσαντος τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ὀψάριον ἐνθέντος τῇ ἀῤῥήτῳ δυνάμει δηλονότι τεθηρευμένον, οἰκονομικῶς τε καὶ τοῦτο. οὐ γὰρ ἡ τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων ἤρξατο χεὶρ, ἤτοι τὸ κήρυγμα τῆς ἐφ' ἡμῶν νοουμένης ἄγρας πνευματικῆς, ἀλλ' ἡ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἰσχύς. ἐσαγήνευσε γὰρ πρῶτος, ὡς ἐν ἀπαρχῇ τῶν μελλόντων ἕνα, καὶ οὐχὶ δὴ πάντως ἕνα φαμὲν, διὰ δὲ τοῦ ἑνὸς τὸ μὴ σφόδρα πολλοὺς σημαίνεται: εἶτα μετὰ τοῦτο σαγηνεύουσιν οἱ μαθηταὶ τὸ πλῆθος, τοῖς αὐτοῦ πάλιν θεοπρεπεστάτοις νεύμασι καὶ εἰς τὸ δύνασθαί τι λαβεῖν τῶν ζητουμένων νευρούμενοι. ἀνέλκει γεμὴν τὴν σαγήνην ὁ Πέτρος, δι' οὗ πάλιν ἔξεστι νοεῖν, τὸ μὴ ἀτέλεστον ἔσεσθαι τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων τὸν πόνον. παρέστησαν γὰρ τῷ θηρᾶσθαι διατεταχότι τῶν τεθηρευμένων τὸν ὄχλον, ὃς καὶ ἐν ἰχθῦσι σημαίνεται τὸν ἀριθμὸν ρνγʹ: τοῦ μὲν ἑκατὸν, ὥς γε μοι φαίνεται καὶ δοκεῖ καλῶς ἔχειν, τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν ἐθνῶν σημαίνοντος: πληρέστατος γὰρ ὁ ἑκατὸν ἀριθμὸς ἐκ δεκάδων δέκα συγκείμενος, τοιγάρτοι καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοὺς ὁ Χριστὸς, ποτὲ μὲν ἑκατὸν εἶναί φησι τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτῷ πρόβατα, τὸ τελείως ἔχειν ἐν ἀριθμῷ τὰ λογικὰ κτίσματα διὰ τούτου δηλῶν, ποτὲ δὲ γῆν τὴν ἀρίστην ρʹ καρποφορήσειν διισχυρίσατο, τὸ τέλειον εἰς εὐκαρποφορίαν τῆς ὁσίας ψυχῆς διὰ τούτου σημαίνων: τοῦ δέ γε πεντήκοντα παρατιθέντος εἰς νόησιν οἱονεὶ τὸ κατ' ἐκλογὴν λεῖμμα χάριτος τῶν ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ, ἐν ἡμίσει γὰρ τῶν ἑκατὸν τὰ πεντήκοντα, καὶ λείπεται τοῦ τελείου πρὸς ἀριθμόν: τῶν δέ γε τριῶν εἰσκομίζειν δυναμένων τῆς ἁγίας τε καὶ ὁμοουσίου Τριάδος ὡς ἐν ἀριθμῷ μόνῳ τὴν δήλωσιν, ἧς εἰς δόξαν καὶ ἀκατάληκτον εὐφημίαν, ἡ τῶν διὰ πίστεως τεθηρευμένων ἀναγράφεται ζωὴ καὶ νοεῖται συνεζευγμένως. Θεὸς γὰρ ἐν ὅλοις ἐστὶ τοῖς πιστεύουσιν ἐγγὺς ἔχων, κατά γε τὸν ἐν ἁγιασμῷ νοούμενον τρόπον, τοὺς τοῖς εὐαγγελικοῖς ἀναπεπεισμένους κηρύγμασιν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ ἀνειλκύσθη τὸ δίκτυον, ἔφη πάλιν ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν τοῖς ἁγίοις μαθηταῖς Δεῦτε ἀριστήσατε, καὶ διὰ τούτου δὲ δηλονότι δικάσκων, ὅτι μετὰ πόνους καὶ ἱδρῶτας τοὺς ἐπὶ τοῖς κεκλημένοις τε καὶ ἀνασεσωσμένοις, συνανακλιθήσονται πάλιν αὐτῷ, κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ Σωτῆρος φωνὴν, καὶ συνέσονται διὰ παντὸς, παρακειμένης αὐτοῖς τῆς ἀῤῥήτου τρυφῆς, πνευματικῆς δῆλον ὅτι θείας τε καὶ ὑπὲρ νοῦν τὸν ἡμέτερον. μόνον δὲ οὐχὶ κατασημᾶναι βούλεται Χριστὸς τὸ ἐν ψαλμοῖς εἰρημένον ὅτι “Τοὺς καρποὺς τῶν πόνων σου ” φάγεσαι.“ οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς δὲ λαβόντες ἐσθίουσι, διαδίδωσι δὲ μᾶλλον αὐτοῖς ὁ Χριστὸς, ἵνα δὴ πάλιν ὡς ἐν τύπῳ μανθάνωμεν, ὅτι περ ἔσται καὶ κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ πάλιν αὐτὸς ὁ Χριστὸς τῶν θείων ἡμῖν χαρισμάτων ὁ χορηγὸς, καὶ τῶν ὠφελεῖν εἰωθότων διανομεὺς, ὡς Κύριος.
« Ὅτε οὖν ἠρίστησαν, λέγει τῷ Σίμωνι Πέτρῳ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Σίμων Ἰωνᾶ, ἀγαπᾷς με πλέον τούτων; λέγει αὐτῷ Ναὶ Κύριε, σὺ οἶδας ὅτι φιλῶ σε: λέγει αὐτῷ Βόσκε τὰ ἀρνία μου. λέγει αὐτῷ πάλιν δεύτερον Σίμων Ἰωνᾶ, ἀγαπᾷς με; λέγει αὐτῷ Ναὶ Κύριε, σὺ οἶδας ὅτι φιλῶ σε: λέγει αὐτῷ Ποίμαινε τὰ πρόβατά μου. λέγει αὐτῷ τρίτον Σίμων Ἰωνᾶ, φιλεῖς με; ἐλυπήθη ὁ Πέτρος ὅτι εἶπεν αὐτῷ τὸ τρίτον Φιλεῖς με: καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Σὺ οἶδας Κύριε πάντα: σὺ γινώσκεις ὅτι φιλῶ σε: λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Βόσκε τὰ πρόβατά μου. » Προενήρξατο τῶν ἄλλων ὁ Πέτρος καὶ πρὸς αὐτὴν, ὡς ἐοικὸς, τὴν διὰ τοῦ σκάφους ὀλιγωρήσας ἄφιξιν, διὰ τὸ τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν ἀγάπης ἀσυγκρίτως θερμὸν καὶ ἀξιοζήλωτον. διὸ καὶ πρῶτος ἄνεισι καὶ ἕλκει τὸ δίκτυον: εὐπερίστροφος γὰρ ἀεί πως ἦν ἄνθρωπος, κεκεντρωμένος οὐ μετρίως εἰς τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ δρᾶσαί τε καὶ εἰπεῖν προθυμίαν. διὸ δὴ καὶ πρῶτος ὡμολόγει τὴν πίστιν, ὅτε δὴ πεῦσιν αὐτοῖς προσκεκόμικεν ὁ Σωτὴρ περὶ ” τὰ μέρη τῆς Φιλίππου Καισαρείας εἰπών Τίνα “με λέγουσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου;” εἰρηκότων γὰρ τῶν ἑτέρων, οἱ μὲν Ἡλίαν, οἱ δὲ “Ἱερεμίαν ἢ ” ἕνα τῶν προφητῶν:“ προσερωτῶντος δὲ πάλιν καὶ λέγοντος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ” Ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνα με λέγετε,“ προεξάλλεται πάλιν τῶν ἄλλων ὁ κορυφαῖος καὶ τῶν ἄλλων προτεταγμένος, καί φησι ” Σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ “ζῶντος.” καὶ μὴν καὶ ὅτε τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἡ σπεῖρα παρῆν τοῖς Ἰουδαίων ὑπηρέταις ἀναμὶξ πρὸς τὸ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ἀποκομίσαι τὸν Ἰησοῦν, οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι “πάντες ἀφέντες ” αὐτὸν ἔφυγον,“ κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, Πέτρος δὲ τῇ μαχαίρᾳ τὸ τοῦ Μάλχου διέκοψεν ὠτίον. ᾤετο γὰρ δεῖν διὰ παντὸς ἐπαμύνειν τρόπου τῷ οἰκείῳ διδασκάλῳ, εἰ καὶ ἀπᾴδουσαν αὐτῷ παντελῶς ἐποιεῖτο τὴν ἐγχείρησιν. ἀφικομένῳ τοιγαροῦν τῶν ἄλλων γοργότερον προσάγει τὴν πεῦσιν, εἰ πλεῖον αὐτῶν ἀγαπᾷ, καὶ τοῦτο εἰς τρίτον γέγονε. συγκατανεύει δὲ Πέτρος καὶ ἀγαπᾶν ὁμολογεῖ, τῆς ἐνυπαρχούσης αὐτῷ διαθέσεως αὐτὸν εἶναι λέγων τὸν μάρτυρα: ἐφ' ἑκάστῃ δὲ τῶν ὁμολογιῶν διαφόρως ἀκούει τῆς τῶν λογικῶν προβάτων ἔχεσθαι φροντίδος. Οἶμαι δὲ ἔγωγε: χρῆναι γὰρ ὄντως φημὶ καὶ τὴν κεκρυμμένην ἐν τούτοις διερευνῆσαι διάνοιαν: οὐκ εἰκῇ γεγράφθαι καὶ ταῦτα, ὠδίνει δέ τι πάλιν ὁ λόγος, καὶ τῶν προκειμένων ὁ νοῦς ἔχει τι πάντως τὸ ἐνδομυχοῦν: ἢ γὰρ οὐκ ἐρεῖ τις εὐλόγως Μόνον ἐρωτᾷ τὸν Σίμωνα, καίτοι τῶν ἄλλων παρεστώτων μαθητῶν, διὰ ποίαν αἰτίαν; τί δ' ἂν βούλοιτο δηλοῦν τό Βόσκε τὰ ἀρνία μου, καὶ τὰ τούτοις ἀδελφά; φαμὲν οὖν ὅτι κεχειροτόνητο μὲν ἤδη πρὸς τὴν θείαν ἀποστολὴν ὁμοῦ τοῖς ἑτέροις μαθηταῖς ὁ θεσπέσιος Πέτρος: αὐτὸς γὰρ αὐτοὺς ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς ἀποστόλους ὠνόμασε κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον: ἐπειδὴ δὲ πραχθῆναι συμβέβηκε τὰ τῆς Ἰουδαίων ἐπιβουλῆς, καί τι μεταξὺ διεπταίσθη καὶ γέγονεν: ἀκράτῳ γὰρ δείματι καταληφθεὶς ὁ θεσπέσιος Πέτρος ἠρνήσατο τρὶς τὸν Κύριον: θεραπεύει τὸ πεπονθὸς, καὶ ἀνταπαιτεῖ ποικίλως τὴν εἰς τρίτον ὁμολογίαν, ἀντίσταθμον ὥσπερ ἐκείνῳ τοῦτο τιθεὶς καὶ ἀντίῤῥοπον τοῖς πταίσμασιν ἐξαρτύων τὴν ἐπανόρθωσιν. τὸ γὰρ λόγῳ διαπταισθὲν καὶ ἐν ψιλοῖς ἔχον ῥήμασι τῶν ἐγκλημάτων τὴν δύναμιν, κατὰ τὸν ἴσον δοίη τις ἂν ἀπολύεσθαι τρόπον. ἐξαιτεῖ δὲ εἰπεῖν, εἰ καὶ πλέον τῶν ἄλλων ἀγαπᾷ. καὶ γάρ τοι κατὰ ἀλήθειαν, ἅτε δὴ καὶ μείζονος ἀπολελαυκὼς ἀνεξικακίας, καὶ οἱονεὶ πλουσιωτέρᾳ χειρὶ τὴν τοῦ πλημμελήματος κομισάμενος ἄφεσιν, τῆς τῶν ἄλλων ἀγάπης μείζονα πῶς οὐκ ἂν εἰκότως συλλέξας ἐν ἑαυτῷ, ταῖς εἰς ἄκρον ἡκούσαις εὐνοίαις τὸν εὐεργέτην ἠμείψατο; κοινὸν μὲν γὰρ ἅπασι τοῖς ἁγίοις μαθηταῖς τὸ τετράφθαι πρὸς φυγὴν, τῆς Ἰουδαίων ἀπανθρωπίας ἀφόρητον αὐτοῖς ἐντιθείσης τὸ δεῖμα, καὶ τῆς τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἀγριότητος τὸν ὠμὸν ἀπειλούσης θάνατον, ὅτε συλληψόμενοι παρῆσαν τὸν Ἰησοῦν: ἰδιαζόντως γεμὴν πρὸς τούτῳ συνέβη τὸ τοῦ Πέτρου πλημμέλημα, τὸ διὰ τῆς εἰς τὸ τρίτον ἀρνήσεως. Οὐκοῦν, ὡς πλείονα τῶν ἄλλων τὴν ἄφεσιν κομισάμενος, ἐξαιτεῖται λέγειν εἰ καὶ πλεῖον ἀγαπᾷ: κατὰ γὰρ τὴν τοῦ Σωτῆρος φωνὴν, ᾧ πολὺ ἀφίεται, πολὺ καὶ ἀγαπήσει. τύπος δὲ πάλιν ταῖς μὲν ἐκκλησίαις ἐντεῦθεν εἰς τὸ χρῆναι τρίτον διερωτᾶν τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν ὁμολογίαν τοὺς ἀγαπᾶν αὐτὸν ἑλομένους, διὰ τοῦ καὶ προσελθεῖν τῷ ἁγίῳ βαπτίσματι. διδασκάλοις δὲ γνῶσις διὰ τῆς τῶν προκειμένων εἰσβέβηκε θεωρίας, ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἑτέρως εὐαρεστήσαιεν τῷ πάντων ἀρχιποιμένι, τουτέστι Χριστῷ, εἰ μὴ τῆς τῶν λογικῶν προβάτων εὐρωστίας καὶ τῆς εἰς τὸ εὖ εἶναι διαμονῆς ποιοῖντο φροντίδα. τοιοῦτός τις ἦν ὁ θεσπέσιος Παῦλος, τοῖς ἀσθενοῦσι συνασθενῶν, καύχημα δὲ τῆς ἰδίας ἀποστολῆς καὶ χαρὰν καὶ στέφανον ὀνομάζων τοὺς δι' αὐτοῦ πιστεύσαντας, καὶ διὰ τῆς τῶν ἔργων λαμπρότητος εὐδοκιμεῖν ἑλομένους. ᾔδει γὰρ ᾔδει τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν τελείας ἀγάπης καρπὸν εἶναι τοῦτον ἐμφανῆ. λογισμῷ δὲ τοῦτο καλῷ τε καὶ ἀγαθῷ θεωρήσαι τις ἄν. εἰ γὰρ ἀπέθανεν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, πῶς οὐκ ἂν ἁπάσης ἠξίωσε φροντίδος τὴν ἁπάντων ἡμῶν σωτηρίαν καὶ ζωήν; καὶ εἴπερ ἀληθῶς εἰς Χριστὸν ἁμαρτάνουσιν οἱ ” ἁμαρτάνοντες “εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τύπτοντες αὐτῶν ἀσθενοῦσαν τὴν ” συνείδησιν,“ πῶς οὐκ ἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν ὅτι περ εἰς αὐτὸν εὐσεβοῦσι τὸν Κύριον οἱ τῶν ἤδη πεπιστευκότων καὶ τῶν εἰς τοῦτο καλεῖσθαι προσδοκωμένων χειραγωγοῦντες τὸν νοῦν, καὶ διὰ πάσης αὐτοῖς ὠφελείας τὸ βέβαιον ἐν πίστει περιποιεῖν σπουδάζοντες; οὐκοῦν διὰ μὲν τῆς εἰς τρίτον ὁμολογίας τοῦ μακαρίου Πέτρου τὸ ἐν τριπλῷ γεγονὸς εἰς ἀπάρνησιν κατηργήθη πλημμέλημα: διὰ δὲ τοῦ φάναι τὸν Κύριον Βόσκε τὰ ἀρνία μου, ἀνανέωσις ὥσπερ τις τῆς ἤδη δοθείσης ἀποστολῆς αὐτῷ γενέσθαι νοεῖται, τὸν μεταξὺ λύουσα τῶν πταισμάτων ὀνειδισμὸν, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἀσθενείας μικροψυχίαν ἐξαφανίζουσα.
« Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, ὅτε ᾖς νεώτερος, ἐζώννυες σεαυτὸν καὶ περιεπάτεις ὅπου ἤθελες: ὅταν δὲ γηράσῃς, ἐκτενεῖς τὰς χεῖράς σου, καὶ ἄλλοι ζώσουσί σε καὶ ἀποίσουσί σε ὅπου οὐ θέλεις: τοῦτο δὲ εἶπε σημαίνων ποίῳ θανάτῳ δοξάσει τὸν Θεόν. καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν λέγει αὐτῷ Ἀκολούθει μοι. » Χαριέντως δὴ σφόδρα καὶ λίαν ἀστείως ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς τῷ οἰκείῳ μεμαρτύρηκε μαθητῇ τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν ἀγάπης τὸ γνήσιον, καὶ τῆς εἰς ἄκρον ἡκούσης εὐσεβείας τε καὶ ὑπομονῆς τὸ καύχημα. εἰς τί γὰρ αὐτῷ τὰ τῆς ἀποστολῆς ἐκτελευτήσει ποτὲ διαγορεύει σαφῶς, καὶ ποῖον αὐτὸν τοῦ βίου διαδέξεται τέλος. προμεμήνυκε γὰρ ὅτι τις αὐτὸν καὶ εἰς ἀνεθέλητόν τινα χώραν ἀποκομιεῖ, τουτέστι, τὸν ἐν ᾧ κατέπηξαν τὸν σταυρὸν οἱ διώκοντες, ἤτοι τὴν εἰς αἷμα τιμωρίαν ἐπιθέντες αὐτῷ. ἀνεθέλητον δὲ τῷ Πέτρῳ τὸν τοῦ σταυροῦ τόπον εἶναί φησι. πάσχει γὰρ οὐδεὶς τῶν ἁγίων ἑκών. ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ πικρὸς ὁ θάνατος, ἔπεισί τε καὶ λίαν ἀνεθελήτως αὐτοῖς, ἀλλά γε τῆς δόξης τῆς παρὰ Θεοῦ γλιχόμενοι καὶ τῆς ἐπιγείου καταφρονοῦσι ζωῆς. ἀποκομισθήσεσθαι τοιγαροῦν τὸν μακάριον Πέτρον προανεφώνησεν ὁ Χριστὸς εἰς ἀπᾴδοντά τε καὶ μεμισημένον τοῦ θανάτου τόπον. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἂν εἰς τοῦτο κατέληξε δόξης, οὐδ' ἂν ἐσταυρώθη διὰ Χριστὸν, εἰ μὴ τῆς τῶν λογικῶν προβάτων ἐπιμελείας ἠκολούθει τὰ ἐγκλήματα, καὶ τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν ἀγάπης ἐῤῥιζωμένην ἔχων τὴν δύναμιν ἐκάλει πρὸς εὐπείθειαν τοὺς ταῖς διαβολικαῖς ἀπάταις σεσαγηνευμένους πρὸς πλάνησιν. ἀπεκτόνασι γὰρ τὸν μακάριον Πέτρον οἱ καὶ τοῦτο δρᾶσαι τολμήσαντες, οὐχ ἑτέρας αἰτίας ἐπιγράφειν ἔχοντες αὐτῷ, μόνην δὲ τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν ἐγκαλοῦντες εὐσέβειαν. ἔστι τοίνυν καὶ διὰ τούτων ἰδεῖν, ὅτι χρησίμως τε καὶ ἀναγκαίως ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς προανεφώνησε τοῦ Πέτρου τὴν τελευτὴν, ἵνα δι' ὧν ἔμελλε παθεῖν κατασφραγίσῃ τρόπον τινὰ καὶ ἀληθὲς ἐπιδείξῃ τὸ πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰρημένον ” Ναὶ, Κύριε, σὺ οἶδας ὅτι φιλῶ σε.“ τὸ γὰρ ὅλως τελευτῆσαι διὰ τὸ κήρυγμα, πῶς οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο σαφής τε καὶ ἀναμφίλογος τοῦ φιλεῖν ἀπόδειξις, καὶ ὅτι τῆς τελείας ἀγάπης, φημὶ δὴ τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν, κατ' οὐδένα τρόπον ἀπελιμπάνετο; ἐπιλέγει γεμὴν οἷς ἔφη Χριστὸς τῷ Πέτρῳ τό Ἀκολούθει μοι, δήλωσιν μὲν ἔχον, ὡς ἐν διανοίᾳ κοινῇ τῆς κατὰ μαθητείαν νοουμένης ἀκολουθήσεως, αἰνιγματωδῶς δὲ πάλιν ὑπεμφαῖνον κατά γε τὸ εἰκὸς ἕτερον οὐδὲν, ἢ ὅτι Κατ' ἴχνος ἔρχου κινδύνων τῶν ἐμῶν, καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν οἱονεὶ βαδίζων ὁδὸν, ἔργῳ τε καὶ λόγῳ τὰς τῶν κεκλημένων ὠφελήσας ψυχὰς, καὶ ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἰέναι κατόκνει μηδαμῶς τὸν ἐπὶ ξύλου θάνατον, ὃν καὶ συμβῆναί φησιν ὅταν εἰς γῆρας ἐλάσῃ, πρόωρον αὐτῷ γενέσθαι τὴν πτοίαν οὐκ ἐφιεὶς, ἀλλ' εἰς μακροὺς ἀνατείνων χρόνους τοῦ φόβου τὴν ἔφοδον.
« Ἐπιστραφεὶς δὲ ὁ Πέτρος βλέπει τὸν μαθητὴν ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀκολουθοῦντα, ὃς καὶ ἀνέπεσεν ἐν τῷ δείπνῳ ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Κύριε, τίς ἐστιν ὁ παραδιδούς σε; τοῦτον οὖν ἰδὼν ὁ Πέτρος λέγει τῷ Ἰησοῦ Κύριε, οὗτος δὲ τί; λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Ἐὰν αὐτὸν θέλω μένειν ἕως ἔρχομαι, τί πρὸς σέ; σύ μοι ἀκολούθει. ἐξῆλθεν οὖν οὗτος ὁ λόγος εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ὅτι ὁ μαθητὴς ἐκεῖνος οὐκ ἀπο θνήσκει: οὐκ εἶπε δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι οὐκ ἀποθνήσκει, ἀλλ' Ἐὰν αὐτὸν θέλω μένειν ἕως ἔρχομαι, τί πρὸς σέ; » Ἑαυτὸν δὴ πάλιν ἀφανέστερον μὲν, κατασημαίνει δ' οὖν ὅμως ὁ θεσπέσιος Εὐαγγελιστής. καὶ αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἀγαπώμενος καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος ἀναπεπτωκὼς τοῦ Χριστοῦ κατὰ τὸν τοῦ δείπνου καιρὸν, ἤρετό τε τίς ὁ παραδώσων αὐτόν. τοῦτον τοιγαροῦν τεθεαμένος ὁ Πέτρος, φιλοπευστεῖν ἐπειρᾶτο καὶ μαθεῖν ἠξίου, ποίοις ἄρα καὶ τίσιν ὁμιλήσει καὶ αὐτὸς τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα κινδύνοις, ἢ καὶ εἰς τί καταλήξει τυχὸν καὶ αὐτῷ τοῦ βίου τὸ πέρας. ἀλλ' ἔξω λόγου τοῦ πρέποντος ἡ πεῦσις ἐφαίνετο, καὶ περιεργίας μᾶλλον ἢ χρηστομαθείας ἔργον ἦν, τῶν καθ' ἑαυτὸν λαβόντα τὴν εἴδησιν τὰ ἐφ' ἑτέροις ἐσόμενα ζητεῖν. διὰ οὖν ταύτην οἶμαι τὴν αἰτίαν ὁ Κύριος ἀπεκρίνατο μέν τι, πλὴν οὐκ εὐθὺ τῶν ἐρωτωμένων, ἤτοι τῶν ζητουμένων, ἀποκομίζων δέ πως εἰς ἕτερα τοῦ διερωτῶντος τὸν σκοπὸν, οὐκ ἀθάνατον ἔσεσθαι τὸν Ἰωάννην φησίν: ἀλλ' εἰ βουλοίμην αὐτὸν διαζῆν ἕως ἔρχομαι, τί ἄρα τοῦτο πρὸς σέ; τουτέστιν Ἀκήκοας, ὦ Πέτρε, τὰ κατὰ σαυτὸν, τί σοι τὰ ἑτέρων φιλοπευστεῖν, καὶ τῶν θείων κριμάτων ἀνορύττειν ὥσπερ οὐκ ἐν καιρῷ τὴν εἴδησιν; εἰ γὰρ καὶ μηδόλως τελευτῴη, φησὶν, ἄρα τί τοῦτο τὴν σὴν φροντίδα παραμυθήσεται; ἀδιαφορήσει τοιγαροῦν ὁ σοφός τε καὶ ἔμφρων, εἴπερ τι καὶ μέλλοι παθεῖν, εἴτε σώζοιτό τις ἕτερος, εἴτε καὶ μή: κείσεται γὰρ αὐτῷ τὰ οἰκεῖα παθεῖν, οὐδὲν τὸ παράπαν ἐκ τῆς ἑτέρου συμφορᾶς ἤγουν εὐθυμίας εἰς παραψυχὴν δεχομένῳ. ταυτί πως ἡ τῶν προκειμένων ὠδίνει δύναμις. ὑποσημαίνει δὲ ἡμῖν ὁ περὶ τούτων λόγος, ὅτι ὡς πάντη τε καὶ πάντως, ἢ κατὰ τὸν ἴσον τρόπον, ἢ καθ' ἕτερόν τινα τυχὸν καὶ αὐτοῦ κινδυνεύειν μέλλοντος Ἰωάννου ποτὲ, οἱονεὶ πρὸς παραμυθίαν τῶν καθ' ἑαυτὸν ὁ μακάριος Πέτρος καὶ τὰ αὐτῷ συμβήσεσθαι μέλλοντα φιλαγρύπνως περιειργάζετο. καὶ μή τοι θαυμάσῃς, ἐννόει δὲ μᾶλλον ἐκεῖνο. κοινὸν γάρ πως ἐν ἡμῖν καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν, εἰ καὶ παντελῶς ἀνόνητον, τὸ φιλεῖν ἔσθ' ὅτε μὴ μόνους ὁρᾶσθαι πάσχοντας, ἤγουν τι τῶν ἀπευκτῶν ὑπομένειν μέλλοντας, ἀκροᾶσθαι δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ τὰ ἑτέρων, ἢ τῶν ἤδη πεπονθότων, ἤγουν εἰς τοῦτο πεσεῖσθαι προσδοκωμένων.
« Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ μαθητὴς ὁ καὶ μαρτυρῶν περὶ τούτων, ὁ καὶ γρά ψας ταῦτα, καὶ οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀληθής ἐστιν αὐτοῦ ἡ μαρτυρία. » Ἐνδοιάσειν οἶμαι μηδένα τῶν νουνεχεστέρων, ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἠγάπησε τὸν Ἰωάννην ὁ Κύριος, εἰ μή τις ἦν λίαν ἐξαίρετος καὶ περιφανὴς εἰς ἀρετὴν, καὶ εἰς πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ἀγαθὸν ἐπιτηδείως τε ἔχων καὶ τελείως ἀπηρτισμένος. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν ἁλοίη Θεὸς ἀλόγοις τισὶ προσκεκλιμένος ῥοπαῖς τοῖς οὐκ ἀξίοις ἀγάπης τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ, ἀνθρωποπρεπῆ γὰρ μᾶλλόν ἐστι τὰ τοιαῦτα πάθη: ὁ δὲ τῆς ἐκ παθῶν ἐφόδου καὶ καταδρομῆς παντελῶς ἀπείρατος ὢν, ἑδραιότατα δὲ βεβηκὼς εἰς πᾶν εἶδος ἀρετῆς, μᾶλλον δὲ αὐτὸς πᾶν εἶδος ὑπάρχων ἀρετῆς, πῶς οὐκ ἂν δρῴη κεκριμένως καὶ τοῦτο, καὶ ἀλοιδόρητον παντελῶς ἐποιήσατο τὴν ῥοπὴν, τὴν εἰς τὸ χρῆναί φημι τῆς ἀγάπης ἀξιοῦν τὸν τούτου τυχεῖν ὀφείλοντα; προεξηγησάμενος τοίνυν εὖ μάλα καὶ ἠγαπῆσθαι προειρηκὼς, ἀκόμπως τε καὶ ἀφιλοδόξως κομιδῇ μεμαρτυρηκέναι φησὶ περὶ τούτων, ἀξιαγάστως ἤδη καὶ καλῶς τὸ συννεῦσαι τοὺς ἀκροωμένους οἷς γέγραφέ τε καὶ μεμαρτύρηκεν, ὡς ἐξ ἀνάγκης αἰτῶν: οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐψεύσατο τῆς ἀληθείας ὁ κῆρυξ. διὰ τοῦτο καί φησιν οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀληθής ἐστιν ἡ μαρτυρία αὐτοῦ. σφαλερὸν οὖν ἄρα καὶ πάνδεινον ἀληθῶς ψευδομυθεῖν τὸ παράπαν, οὐκ εἰδότος ἀνδρὸς μὴ προΐεσθαι φωνήν: οὐ γὰρ ἂν αὐτὸν ἠγάπησεν ἡ ἀλήθεια παραλύοντα τὴν ἀλήθειαν.
« Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ἃ ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ἅτινα ἐὰν γρά φηται καθ' ἓν, οὐδὲ αὐτὸν οἶμαι τὸν κόσμον χωρῆσαι τὰ γραφόμενα βιβλία, ἀμήν. » Πολλὴ μὲν ἄγαν, φησὶν, ἡ τῆς θεοσημίας πληθὺς, καὶ ἀναρίθμητος παντελῶς ὁ τῶν κατορθωμάτων φανεῖται κατάλογος, καὶ ἐκ μυρίων ὅσων ἐλήφθη ταυτὶ, πληρεστάτην ἐμποιῆσαι τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις τὴν ὄνησιν οὐκ ἀνικάνως ἔχοντα. τὸν δὲ συγγεγραφότα τὴν βίβλον μὴ καταιτιάσθω, φησὶν, ὁ φιλακροάμων καὶ χρηστομαθὴς, εἰ καὶ μὴ τῶν ἑτέρων ἐμνήσθη. καὶ γὰρ τὸ καθ' ἓν εἰ γέγραπται τῶν τετελεσμένων, παραλειφθέντος οὐδενὸς, ἐπλήρωσεν ἂν τὴν οἰκουμένην ὁ τῶν βιβλίων ἀχώρητος ὄχλος. ὑπερβολικῶς δὲ καὶ νῦν τὴν τοῦ λόγου δύναμιν πεποιῆσθαί φαμεν. μυρία γὰρ ὄντως ἐννοήσαι τις ἂν διὰ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἰσχύος πεπληρῶσθαι θαύματα. γεγράφασι γεμὴν τῶν εὐαγγελίων οἱ κήρυκες τὰ ἐν τοῖς γεγονόσι λαμπρότερα, κατά γε τὸ εἰκὸς, καὶ δι' ὧν ἦν μάλιστα τοὺς ἀκροωμένους δύνασθαι βεβαιοῦσθαι πρὸς πίστιν τὴν ἀπαράφθορον, καὶ παίδευσιν ἔχειν ἠθικήν τε καὶ δογματικὴν, ἵνα πίστει μὲν ὀρθῇ διαπρέποντες, ἔργοις δὲ τοῖς εἰς εὐσέβειαν βλέπουσι πολυτρόπως ἠγλαϊσμένοι, καὶ εἰς αὐτὴν καταντήσαντες τὴν ἄνω πόλιν, καὶ τῇ τῶν πρωτοτόκων Ἐκκλησίᾳ συναπτόμενοι, καὶ εἰς αὐτὴν εἰσελάσειαν τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν ἐν Χριστῷ, δι' οὗ καὶ μεθ' οὗ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρὶ ἡ δόξα σὺν Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, Ἀμήν.