Theodoret of Cyrus, Eranistes

these things having been examined, that too will be resolved; and consider it this way. Having heard James called the brother of the Lord, did you say that the kinship pertained not to the divinity, but to the flesh? {ERAN.} So I said. {ORTH.} Here then, having heard of the passion of the cross, apply this to the flesh. {ERAN.} The apostle Paul called the crucified one the Lord of glory. 226 {ORTH.} And the same apostle called the Lord the brother of James. And the same one is Lord both here and there. If, then, you rightly applied the kinship there to the flesh, then the passion must surely be applied to it here. For it is most absurd to understand the kinship by division, but to apply the passion without division. {ERAN.} I am persuaded by the apostle who calls the crucified one the Lord of glory. {ORTH.} And I too am persuaded and believe that he is the Lord of glory; for it was not the body of some common man, but the body of the Lord of glory that was nailed to the wood. One must know, however, that the union makes the names common. But consider it this way. Do you say that the flesh of the Lord came down from the heavens? {ERAN.} Not at all. {ORTH.} But that it was formed in the womb of the virgin? {ERAN.} So I say. {ORTH.} How then does the Lord say, "What if you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?" and again, "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven." {ERAN.} He speaks not concerning the flesh, but concerning the divinity. {ORTH.} But the divinity is from God the Father. How then does he call him Son of man? {ERAN.} The properties of the natures have become common to the person. For the same one, on account of the union, is both Son of man and Son of God, both eternal and recent, both son of David and Lord of David, and the other similar things likewise. {ORTH.} Very rightly. However, one must also know this, that the commonality of names did not work a confusion of the natures. For on account of this we seek to distinguish how he is Son of God, and how again the same one is Son of man, and how the same is yesterday and today and forever; and by the pious distinction of reason we find the opposites to be in harmony. {ERAN.} You have spoken rightly. {ORTH.} Just as, then, you said that the 227 divine nature descended from the heavens, and you said that it was called Son of man on account of the union, so it is fitting to say that the flesh was nailed to the wood, and to confess that the divine nature was inseparable from it, both on the cross and in the tomb, receiving no passion from it, since it is not by nature able to suffer, nor indeed to die, but has an immortal and impassible essence. For this reason also he named the crucified one the Lord of glory, assigning the name of the impassible nature to the passible one, since it became his body. But let us also examine this. The divine apostle said, "For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." They crucified, therefore, the nature which they knew, not that which they were completely ignorant of. And if they had known that of which they were ignorant, they would not have crucified that which they knew. But since they were ignorant of the divine nature, they crucified the human one. Or have you not heard them saying, "It is not for a good work that we are stoning you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God?" And through these things they show that they recognized the nature which they saw, but were completely ignorant of the invisible one. And if they had recognized that one, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. {ERAN.} These things somehow have the appearance of truth. But the teaching of the faith of the fathers who assembled at Nicaea says that the Only-begotten himself, the true God, the one of the same substance with the Father, suffered and was crucified. {ORTH.} You seem to have forgotten the things often confessed. {ERAN.} What things? {ORTH.} That after the union, the divine scripture applies both the high and the lowly things to the one person. And perhaps you were ignorant of that too, that the all-praised fathers, having first said "was incarnate," "was made man," then added

ἐξητασμένων κἀκεῖνο λυθήσεται· καὶ σκόπησον οὑτωσί. Τοῦ κυρίου ἀδελφὸν τὸν Ἰάκωβον ἀκούσας, οὐ τῇ θεότητι προσήκειν, ἀλλὰ τῇ σαρκὶ τὴν συγγένειαν εἴρηκας; {ΕΡΑΝ.} Οὕτως ἔφην. {ΟΡΘ.} Κἀνταῦθα τοίνυν τοῦ σταυροῦ τὸ πάθος ἀκούσας, τῇ σαρκὶ τοῦτο προσάρμοσον. {ΕΡΑΝ.} Ὁ ἀπόστολος Παῦλος κύριον τῆς δόξης τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον ἐκάλεσεν. 226 {ΟΡΘ.} Καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς ἀπόστολος ἀδελφὸν τοῦ Ἰακώβου τὸν κύριον προσηγόρευσεν. Ὁ αὐτὸς δὲ κύριος κἀνταῦθα κἀκεῖ. Εἰ τοίνυν ὀρθῶς ἐκεῖ τὴν συγγένειαν προσήρμοσας τῇ σαρκί, καὶ τὸ πάθος δήπουθεν ταύτῃ προσαρμοστέον. Τῶν γὰρ ἀτοπωτάτων τὴν μὲν συγγένειαν κατὰ διαίρεσιν ἐννοεῖν, τὸ δὲ πάθος ἀδιαιρέτως προσάπτειν. {ΕΡΑΝ.} Ἐγὼ πείθομαι τῷ ἀποστόλῳ κύριον τῆς δόξης τὸν ἐσταυ ρωμένον προσαγορεύοντι. {ΟΡΘ.} Καὶ ἐγώ γε πείθομαι καὶ πιστεύω κύριον εἶναι δόξης· οὐ γὰρ ἀνθρώπου τινὸς κοινοῦ, ἀλλὰ τοῦ κυρίου τῆς δόξης σῶμα ἦν τὸ τῷ ξύλῳ προσηλωθέν. Χρὴ μέντοι εἰδέναι, ὡς ἡ ἕνωσις κοινὰ ποιεῖ τὰ ὀνόματα. Σκόπησον δὲ οὑτωσί. Τὴν σάρκα τοῦ κυρίου ἐκ τῶν οὐρα νῶν κατεληλυθέναι λέγεις; {ΕΡΑΝ.} Οὐ δῆτα. {ΟΡΘ.} Ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ μήτρᾳ τῆς παρθένου διαπλασθῆναι; {ΕΡΑΝ.} Οὕτω φημί. {ΟΡΘ.} Πῶς οὖν ὁ κύριος λέγει· "Ἐὰν οὖν ἴδητε τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώ που ἀναβαίνοντα ὅπου ἦν τὸ πρότερον;" καὶ πάλιν· "Οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβη κεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ." {ΕΡΑΝ.} Οὐ περὶ τῆς σαρκός, ἀλλὰ περὶ τῆς θεότητος λέγει. {ΟΡΘ.} Ἀλλ' ἡ θεότης ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρός. Πῶς οὖν αὐτὸν υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου καλεῖ; {ΕΡΑΝ.} Κοινὰ τοῦ προσώπου γέγονε τὰ τῶν φύσεων ἴδια. Ὁ γὰρ αὐτὸς διὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν, καὶ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου καὶ υἱὸς θεοῦ, καὶ αἰώνιος καὶ πρόσφατος, καὶ υἱὸς ∆αβὶδ καὶ κύριος ∆αβίδ, καὶ τ' ἄλλα τὰ τοιάδε ὁμοίως. {ΟΡΘ.} Μάλα ὀρθῶς. Εἰδέναι μέντοι κἀκεῖνο χρή, ὡς οὐ σύγχυσιν εἰργάσατο τῶν φύσεων ἡ κοινότης τῶν ὀνομάτων. ∆ιὰ γάρ τοι τοῦτο καὶ διαγνῶναι ζητοῦμεν, πῶς μὲν υἱὸς θεοῦ, πῶς δὲ πάλιν ὁ αὐτὸς υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, καὶ πῶς ὁ αὐτὸς χθὲς καὶ σήμερον καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας· καὶ τῇ εὐσεβεῖ διακρίσει τοῦ λόγου σύμφωνα τἀναντία εὑρίσκομεν. {ΕΡΑΝ.} Ὀρθῶς εἴρηκας. {ΟΡΘ.} Ὥσπερ τοίνυν καταβεβηκέναι μὲν ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν τὴν 227 θείαν ἔφησθα φύσιν, υἱὸν δέ γε ἀνθρώπου κληθῆναι αὐτὴν διὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν εἴρηκας, οὕτω προσηλωθῆναι μὲν τῷ ξύλῳ τὴν σάρκα προσήκει λέγειν, ἀχώριστον δὲ ταύτης εἶναι τὴν θείαν φύσιν ὁμολογεῖν, κἀν τῷ σταυρῷ, κἀν τῷ τάφῳ, πάθος ἐκεῖθεν οὐ δεχομένην, ἐπειδὴ πάσχειν οὐ πέφυκεν, οὐδέ γε θνῄσκειν, ἀλλ' ἀθάνατον ἔχει καὶ ἀπαθῆ τὴν οὐσίαν. Ταύτῃ τοι καὶ κύριον τῆς δόξης τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον ὠνόμασε, τὸ τῆς ἀπαθοῦς φύσεως ὄνομα τῇ παθητῇ προσνείμας, ἐπειδήπερ αὐτῆς ἐχρημάτισε σῶμα. Προσεξετάσωμεν δὲ καὶ τοῦτο. Ὁ θεῖος εἶπεν ἀπόστολος· "Εἰ γὰρ ἔγνωσαν, οὐκ ἂν τὸν κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐσταύρωσαν." Ἐσταύρωσαν τοίνυν ἣν ἔγνωσαν φύσιν, οὐχ ἣν πάμπαν ἠγνόησαν. Εἰ δὲ ἔγνωσαν ἣν ἠγνόησαν, οὐκ ἂν ἐσταύρωσαν ἥνπερ ἔγνωσαν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὴν θείαν ἠγνόησαν, τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν ἐσταύρω σαν. Ἢ οὐκ ἀκήκοας αὐτῶν λεγόντων· "Περὶ καλοῦ ἔργου οὐ λιθάζο μέν σε, ἀλλὰ περὶ βλασφημίας, ὅτι ἄνθρωπος ὢν ποιεῖς σεαυτὸν θεόν;" ∆ιὰ δὲ τούτων δηλοῦσιν, ὡς ἣν μὲν ἑώρων ἐπεγίνωσκον φύσιν, τὴν δέ γε ἀόρατον παντάπασιν ἠγνόουν. Εἰ δὲ κἀκείνην ἐπέγνωσαν, οὐκ ἂν τὸν κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐσταύρωσαν. {ΕΡΑΝ.} Ταῦτα μὲν ἁμηγέπη τὸ εἰκὸς ἔχει. Ἡ δὲ τῶν πατέρων τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνεληλυθότων διδασκαλία τῆς πίστεως αὐτὸν τὸν μονο γενῆ, τὸν ἀληθινὸν θεόν, τὸν ὁμοούσιον τῷ πατρί, παθεῖν καὶ σταυρω θῆναί φησι. {ΟΡΘ.} Τῶν πολλάκις ὁμολογηθέντων ὡς ἔοικεν ἐπιλέλησαι. {ΕΡΑΝ.} Ποίων; {ΟΡΘ.} Ὅτι μετὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν τῷ ἑνὶ προσώπῳ καὶ τὰ ὑψηλὰ καὶ τὰ ταπεινὰ προσάπτει ἡ θεία γραφή. Ἴσως δὲ κἀκεῖνο ἠγνόησας, ὡς εἰρηκότες πρότερον οἱ πανεύφημοι πατέρες σαρκωθέντα, ἐνανθρωπή σαντα, τότε ἐπήγαγον