84

is hidden, but its fulfillment is death for Christ and His commandments, so that just as He fulfilled the entire law, and gave Himself up for the whole world, enduring the cross and death, praying also for those who crucified Him and saying: "Forgive them, Father, this sin; for they know not what they do," so we too for His sake and His commandments, and indeed also for the salvation of our brothers (196) ought to carry about in ourselves the sentence of death, "that we might not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead." For even if it does not befall us to depart this life by a violent death, yet by our resolve, as having already suffered and endured this in deed, it will be reckoned to us by our man-loving God and awarder of the prize according to the saint who says: "By your love, I die daily." Not as having suffered this many times in experience, but in intention, he says, and again: "I press on if I might also take hold, for which I was also taken hold of." Furthermore, we ought also to pray for all who for whatever reason grieve or revile us and for those who are ever hostilely disposed toward us from an evil intention, but also for all the faithful and unfaithful, so that they might be delivered from error and come to the true faith.

These things no man ever was able to conceive of himself, or to speak, or to receive by hearing, much less to accomplish them in deed, unless the love of God was first poured out richly in his heart and through it he had as an indweller the One who said: "Without Me you can do nothing." But no one has obtained such grace and gift, unless he first denied himself, as the Savior commanded and as we have explained in more detail, that is, by eagerly serving and loving the Lord with his whole heart. But if he has not received this inalienably, let no one deceive himself, but let him know this, that he has not been deemed worthy, nor will he ever be deemed worthy, of the union with God which comes about in spiritual perception and knowledge and contemplation. For the men who have been designated perfect in the participation of the grace of God (197) and have acquired a perfect spiritual stature in the aforesaid measure become wholly with God, seeing Him just as they themselves are also seen by Him. For God abides knowably in them and they knowably abide in God, inseparably and without distance.

And when, having been perfected well, they are in this state, then also their heavenly Father gives what belongs to Him into their hands. And by "hands" you should understand that which is secure and fully assured; and His belongings are these: the immortal, the incorruptible, the immutable, the unchangeable, the eternal, the incomparable beauty of the glory which the Son had with God the Father before the world came to be, as the Logos Himself and Son of the Father says: "Glorify Me, Father, with the glory which I had with You before the world was," and again: "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as You, Father, are in Me and I in them." From which flows the light which is unapproachable to all sinners, but which, dawning within them, is approachable and becomes for them an inexpressible joy, a peace surpassing all understanding, delight and enjoyment and gladness in insatiable satiety now and unto the endless ages. And to speak concisely, or rather, being unable to speak, so I too, being astounded—the firstfruits of all those good things, the beauty of which an eye clouded by the passions has not seen, nor an ear stopped up by ignorance has heard, nor has it entered into the impure heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him—the true and faithful One gives as pledges from this time forth to the faithful.

84

ἀποκεκρυμμένη ἐστί, πλήρωμα δέ ταύτης ὁ ὑπέρ Χριστοῦ καί τῶν ἐντολῶν αὐτοῦ θάνατος, ἵνα ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνος ἅπαντα μέν τόν νόμον ἐτέλεσεν, ὑπέρ παντός δέ τοῦ κόσμου παρέδωκεν ἑαυτόν, σταυρόν καί θάνατον ὑπομείνας, εὐχόμενος καί ὑπέρ τῶν σταυρωσάντων αὐτόν καί λέγων" "Ἄφες αὐτοῖς, πάτερ, τήν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην· οὐ γάρ οἴδασι τί ποιοῦσιν", οὕτω καί ἡμεῖς ὑπέρ ἐκείνου καί τῶν αὐτοῦ ἐντολῶν, ἀλλά μήν καί ὑπέρ τῆς σωτηρίας τῶν ἀδελφῶν (196) ἡμῶν τό ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ὀφείλομεν περιφέρειν, "ἵνα μή ὦμεν πεποιθότες ἐφ᾿ ἑαυτοῖς, ἀλλ᾿ ἐπί τῷ Θεῷ τῷ ἐγείροντι τούς νεκρούς". Εἰ γάρ καί μή συναντήσει τοῦτο ἡμῖν τό βιαίῳ θανάτῳ τόν βίον ὑπεξελθεῖν, ἀλλά τῇ προαιρέσει, ὡς ἔργῳ τοῦτο ἤδη παθόντες καί ὑπομείναντες, λογισθήσεται ἡμῖν ὑπό τοῦ φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ ἡμῶν καί ἀγωνοθέτου κατά τόν λέγοντα ἅγιον· "Νή τήν ὑμετέραν ἀγάπην, καθ᾿ ἡμέραν ἀποθνῄσκω". Οὐχ ὡς τῇ πείρᾳ τοῦτο πολλάκις παθών, ἀλλά τῇ προθέσει, φησί, καί πάλιν· "∆ιώκω εἰ καί καταλάβω, ἐφ᾿ ᾧ καί κατελήφθην". Ἔτι δέ καί ὑπέρ πάντων ὀφείλομεν τῶν δι᾿ ἥντινα αἰτίαν λυπούντων ἤ λοιδορούντων ἡμᾶς καί ὑπέρ τῶν ἐχθρωδῶς πρός ἡμᾶς ἐκ πονηρᾶς προθέσεως διακειμένων ἀεί, ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ τῶν πιστῶν ἁπάντων καί ἀπίστων προσεύχεσθαι, ὡς ἄν οἱ τῆς πλάνης ἀπαλλαγῶσι καί τῇ ἀληθινῇ πίστει προσέλθωσι.

Ταῦτα οὐδείς ποτε ἀνθρώπων ἐννοῆσαι ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ ἤ εἰπεῖν ἤ ἀκοῇ παραδέξασθαι, μἠ ὅτι γε ἔργῳ αὐτά διαπράξασθαι ἠδυνήθη, εἰ μή ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ πρότερον ἐξεχύθη πλουσίως ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ καί ἔνοικον ἔσχε δι᾿ αὐτῆς τόν εἰπόντα· "Οὐ δύνασθε χωρίς ἐμοῦ ποιεῖν οὐδέν". Ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ τῆς τοιαύτης χάριτος καί δωρεᾶς ἔτυχέ τις, εἰ μή πρότερον ἑαυτόν ἀπηρνήσατο, καθώς ἐνετείλατο ὁ Σωτήρ καί ἡμεῖς λεπτότερον ἐδηλώσαμεν, τῷ Κυρίῳ δηλονότι ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ εὐπροθύμως δουλεύσας καί ἀγαπήσας αὐτόν. Εἰ δέ μή ταύτην ἀναφαίρετον εἴληφε, μηδείς ἑαυτόν ἀπατάτω, γινωσκέτω δέ τοῦτο, ὡς οὐδέ τῆς μετά Θεοῦ ἑνώσεως τῆς ἐν νοερᾷ αἰσθήσει καί γνώσει καί θεωρίᾳ γινομένης κατηξιώθη ἤ καταξιωθήσεται πώποτε. Οἱ γάρ χρηματίσαντες ἄνδρες τέλειοι ἐν τῇ μεθέξει τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτος (197) καί τήν πνευματικήν ἡλικίαν ἐν τῷ ῥηθέντι μέτρῳ τελείαν κτησάμενοι ὅλοι γίνονται μετά τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁρῶντες αὐτόν τοσοῦτον ὅσον ὁρῶνται καί αὐτοί ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Μένει γάρ γνωστῶς ὁ Θεός ἐν αὐτοῖς καί αὐτοί γνωστῶς ἐν τῷ Θεῷ μένουσιν ἀχωρίστως καί ἀδιαστάτως.

Ὁπηνίκα δέ οὕτως ἕξουσι τελειωθέντες καλῶς, τηνικαῦτα καί ὁ Πατήρ αὐτῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τά ὑπάρχοντα αὐτῷ δίδωσιν εἰς τάς χεῖρας αὐτῶν. Χεῖρας δέ τό ἀσφαλές καί πεπληροφορημένον νοήσεις· ὑπάρχοντα δέ αὐτοῦ ταῦτά εἰσιν· τό ἀθάνατον, τό ἄφθαρτον, τό ἄτρεπτον, τό ἀναλλοίωτον, τό ἀΐδιον, τό ἀμήχανον κάλλος τῆς δόξης ἧς εἶχεν ὁ Υἱός πρό τοῦ τόν κόσμον γενέσθαι παρά τῷ Θεῷ καί Πατρί, καθώς φησιν αὐτός ὁ Λόγος καί Υἱός τοῦ Πατρός· "∆όξασόν με σύ, πάτερ, τῇ δόξῃ ᾗ εἶχον πρό τοῦ τόν κόσμον εἶναι παρά σοι", καί πάλιν· "Τήν δόξαν ἥν δέδωκάς μοι δέδωκα αὐτοῖς, ἵνα ἕν ὦσι, καθώς σύ, Πάτερ, ἐν ἐμοί κἀγώ ἐν αὐτοῖς". Ἐξ οὗ πηγάζει τό φῶς τό ἀπρόσιτον μέν τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς ἅπασι, προσιτόν δέ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἀνατέλλον καί γινόμενον τούτοις χαρά ἀνεκλάλητος, εἰρήνη πάντα νοῦν ὑπερέχουσα, τρυφή καί ἀπόλαυσις καί εὐφροσύνη ἐν ἀκορέστῶ κόρῳ νῦν καί εἰς τούς ἀτελευτήτους αἰῶνας. Καί ἵνα συνελών εἴπω, μᾶλλον δέ εἰπεῖν μή δυνάμενος, οὕτω πως κἀγώ ἐκπληττόμενος, τάς ἀπαρχάς τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐκείνων ἁπάντων, ὧν ὀφθαλμός τεθολωμένος τοῖς πάθεσι τό κάλλος οὐκ εἶδεν, οὐδέ οὖς βεβυσμένον τῇ ἀγνωσίᾳ ἤκουσεν, οὐδέ ἐπί καρδίαν ἀκάθαρτον ἀνέβη ἀνθρώπου, ἅ ὁ Θεός ἡτοίμασε τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν, ὡς ἀρραβῶνας ἀπ᾿ ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη τοῖς πιστοῖς ὁ ἀψευδής καί πιστός δίδωσι.