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the prophet who says: "Before she was in labor, she gave birth," and again: "Before the time of her labor pains came, she escaped and gave birth to a male child." Therefore, from her was born the Son of God and God incarnate, not a God-bearing man, but God incarnate, not anointed by an energy as a prophet, but by the presence of the whole anointer, so that the anointer became man and the anointed became God, not by a change of nature, but by the union according to hypostasis. For he was the same, both the anointer and the anointed, anointing himself as God, as man. How then is she not Theotokos who gave birth from herself to God incarnate? Truly, properly and in truth, she is Theotokos and Lady, and mistress of all created things, having become the servant and mother of the Creator. And just as when conceived he kept her who conceived a virgin, so also when born he preserved her virginity unharmed, alone passing through her and keeping her closed; the conception was through hearing, but the birth was through the usual exit of those who are born, even if some mythologize that he was born through the side of the God-bearer. For it was not impossible for him both to pass through the gate and not to damage its seals. Therefore, the ever-virgin remains a virgin even after childbirth, in no way having intercourse with a man until death. For although it is written: "And he knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son," it should be known that firstborn is the one born first, even if he be only-begotten; for it indicates being born first, but does not in every case also imply the birth of others. The word "until" signifies the limit of a specified time, but it does not deny what comes after; for the Lord says: "And behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age," not as if he will be separated after the end of the age. Indeed, the divine apostle says: "And so shall we ever be with the Lord," speaking of after the general resurrection. For how could she who had given birth to God and had known the miracle from the experience of what had followed have accepted union with a man? Far from it. It is not of a sound mind to think such things, let alone to do them. But she, the blessed one, who was deemed worthy of gifts beyond nature, endured at the time of the passion the birth-pangs which she had escaped in giving birth, bearing the tearing of her bowels out of motherly compassion and, seeing him whom she knew to be God through his birth being slain as a criminal, she was torn apart in her thoughts as by a sword; and this is: "And a sword shall pierce through your own soul also." But the joy of the resurrection changes the sorrow, proclaiming as God the one who died in the flesh.

88 Concerning the saints and the veneration of their relics. The saints are to be honored

as friends of Christ, as children and heirs of God, as says the theologian and evangelist: "But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the children of God." "Wherefore they are no more servants, but sons; and if sons, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." And the Lord in the holy gospels says to the apostles: "You are my friends. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his lord does." And if the creator and lord of all is called "king of kings and lord of lords" and "God of gods," then certainly the saints are gods and lords and kings. Of these, God is and is called God and Lord and King. "For I am," he says to Moses, "the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." And God made Moses a god to Pharaoh. But I call them gods and kings and lords not by nature, but as having reigned over and ruled the passions, and having preserved undefaced the likeness of the divine image according to which they were also made (for the image of the king is also called king) and having been united to God by choice and having received him as an indweller and by participation in him having become by grace that which he is by nature. How then are not to be honored those

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προφήτην τὸν λέγοντα· «Πρὶν ὠδίνησεν, ἔτεκε», καὶ πάλιν· «Πρὶν ἐλθεῖν τὸν καιρὸν τῶν ὠδίνων, ἐξέφυγε καὶ ἔτεκεν ἄρσεν». Γεγέννηται τοίνυν ἐξ αὐτῆς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ θεὸς σεσαρκωμένος, οὐ θεοφόρος ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλὰ θεὸς σεσαρκωμένος, οὐχ ὡς προφήτης ἐνεργείᾳ χριόμενος, παρουσίᾳ δὲ ὅλου τοῦ χρίοντος, ὥστε ἄνθρωπον μὲν γενέσθαι τὸ χρῖσαν καὶ θεὸν τὸ χριόμενον, οὐ μεταβολῇ φύσεως, ἀλλ' ἑνώσει τῇ καθ' ὑπόστασιν. Ὁ αὐτὸς γὰρ ἦν, ὅ τε χρίων καὶ ὁ χριόμενος, χρίων ὡς θεὸς ἑαυτὸν ὡς ἄνθρωπον. Πῶς οὖν οὐ θεοτόκος ἡ θεὸν σεσαρκωμένον ἐξ αὐτῆς γεννήσασα; Ὄντως κυρίως καὶ ἀληθῶς θεοτόκος καὶ κυρία, καὶ πάντων κτισμάτων δεσπόζουσα, δούλη καὶ μήτηρ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ χρηματίσασα. Ὥσπερ δὲ συλληφθεὶς παρθένον τὴν συλλαβοῦσαν ἐτήρησεν, οὕτω καὶ τεχθεὶς τὴν αὐτῆς παρθενίαν ἐφύλαξεν ἄτρωτον μόνος διελθὼν δι' αὐτῆς καὶ κεκλεισμένην τηρήσας αὐτήν· δι' ἀκοῆς μὲν ἡ σύλληψις, ἡ δὲ γέννησις διὰ τῆς συνήθους τῶν τικτομένων ἐξόδου, εἰ καί τινες μυθολογοῦσι διὰ τῆς πλευρᾶς αὐτὸν τεχθῆναι τῆς θεομήτορος. Οὐ γὰρ ἀδύνατος ἦν καὶ διὰ τῆς πύλης διελθεῖν καὶ ταύτης μὴ παραβλάψαι τὰ σήμαντρα. Μένει τοίνυν καὶ μετὰ τόκον παρθένος ἡ ἀειπάρθενος οὐδαμῶς ἀνδρὶ μέχρι θανάτου προσομιλήσασα. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ γέγραπται· «Καὶ οὐκ ἔγνω αὐτήν, ἕως οὗ ἔτεκε τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτότοκον», ἰστέον ὅτι πρωτότοκός ἐστιν ὁ πρῶτος γεννηθείς, εἰ καὶ μονογενὴς εἴη· τὸ μὲν γὰρ πρῶτον γεννηθῆναι δηλοῖ, οὐ πάντως δὲ καὶ ἑτέρων συνεμφαίνει γέννησιν. Τὸ δὲ «ἕως» τὴν μὲν τοῦ ὡρισμένου χρόνου προθεσμίαν σημαίνει, οὐκ ἀποφάσκει δὲ τὸ μετὰ ταῦτα· φησὶ γὰρ ὁ κύριος· «Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος», οὐχ ὡς μετὰ τὴν τοῦ αἰῶνος συντέλειαν χωρισθησόμενος. Φησὶ γοῦν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος· «Καὶ οὕτως πάντοτε σὺν κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα», μετὰ τὴν κοινὴν ἀνάστασιν λέγων. Πῶς γὰρ ἂν θεὸν γεννήσασα καὶ ἐκ τῆς τῶν παρηκολουθηκότων πείρας τὸ θαῦμα γνωρίσασα ἀνδρὸς συνάφειαν κατεδέξατο; Ἄπαγε. Οὐ σωφρονοῦντος λογισμοῦ τὰ τοιαῦτα νοεῖν, μὴ ὅτι καὶ πράττειν. Ἀλλ' αὕτη ἡ μακαρία καὶ τῶν ὑπὲρ φύσιν δωρεῶν ἀξιωθεῖσα τὰς ὠδῖνας, ἃς διέφυγε τίκτουσα, ταύτας ἐν τῷ τοῦ πάθους καιρῷ ὑπέμεινε ὑπὸ τῆς μητρικῆς συμπαθείας τῶν σπλάγχνων τὸν σπαραγμὸν ἀνατλᾶσα καί, ὃν θεὸν ἔγνω διὰ γεννήσεως, τοῦτον ὡς κακοῦργον ἀναιρούμενον βλέπουσα ὡς ῥομφαίᾳ τοῖς λογισμοῖς ἐσπαράττετο· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστι· «Καὶ σοῦ δὲ αὐτῆς τὴν ψυχὴν διελεύσεται ῥομφαία». Ἀλλὰ μεταβάλλει τὴν λύπην ἡ χαρὰ τῆς ἀναστάσεως θεὸν τὸν σαρκὶ θανόντα κηρύττουσα.

88 Περὶ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ τῆς τῶν λειψάνων αὐτῶν τιμῆσ Τιμητέον τοὺς ἁγίους

ὡς φίλους Χριστοῦ, ὡς τέκνα καὶ κληρονόμους θεοῦ, ὥς φησιν ὁ θεολόγος εὐαγγελιστής· «Ὅσοι δὲ ἔλαβον αὐτόν, ἔδω κεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γενέσθαι». «Ὥστε οὐκέτι εἰσὶν δοῦλοι, ἀλλ' υἱοί· εἰ δὲ υἱοί, καὶ κληρονόμοι, κληρονόμοι μὲν θεοῦ, συγκληρονόμοι δὲ Χριστοῦ». Καὶ ὁ κύριος ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς εὐαγγελίοις τοῖς ἀποστόλοις φησίν· «Ὑμεῖς φίλοι μού ἐστε. Οὐκέτι ὑμᾶς καλῶ δούλους· ὁ γὰρ δοῦλος οὐκ οἶδε, τί ποιεῖ αὐτοῦ ὁ κύριος». Εἰ δὲ καὶ «βασιλεὺς βασιλέων καὶ κύριος κυριευόντων» καὶ «θεὸς θεῶν» ὁ δημιουργὸς τῶν ἁπάντων καὶ κύριος λέγεται, πάντως οἱ ἅγιοι θεοί τε καὶ κύριοι καὶ βασιλεῖς. Τούτων θεὸς ὁ θεὸς καὶ κύριος καὶ βασιλεύς ἐστι καὶ λέγεται. «Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι», φησὶ τῷ Μωσεῖ, «θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ καὶ θεὸς Ἰακώβ». Καὶ θεὸν Φαραὼ τὸν Μωσῆν ὁ θεὸς ἐποίησεν. Θεοὺς δὲ λέγω καὶ βασιλεῖς καὶ κυρίους οὐ φύσει, ἀλλ' ὡς τῶν παθῶν βασιλεύσαντας καὶ κυριεύσαντας καὶ τὴν τῆς θείας εἰκόνος ὁμοίωσιν, καθ' ἣν καὶ γεγένηνται, ἀπαραχάρακτον φυλάξαντας (βασιλεὺς γὰρ λέγεται καὶ ἡ τοῦ βασιλέως εἰκών) καὶ ἑνωθέντας θεῷ κατὰ προαίρεσιν καὶ τοῦτον δεξαμένους ἔνοικον καὶ τῇ τούτου μεθέξει γεγονότας χάριτι, ὅπερ αὐτός ἐστι φύσει. Πῶς οὖν οὐ τιμητέον τοὺς