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to read the divine Scripture, just as I urged from the beginning, but with fitting zeal and order, so that divine grace, accepting our purpose, may become our co-worker in being able to know the mighty deeds of God. To him be glory for ever. Amen. Farewell, Christians, in the Lord. 10.t DISCOURSE 10 Testimonies of the Fathers 10.1 Some of those who are accustomed to be contentious, having read the book and being at a loss to look in the face of such great testimony from the divine Scriptures produced by us in this book, said such things to us as these: You and your fathers interpret the divine Scripture in another way according to what suits you; for nothing of the sort is found in it concerning figures and places, as you say. But our fathers, who ought to know the purpose of the divine Scripture precisely, in their exegesis handed down nothing of the sort to us. For while Scripture says, "God has appointed in the Church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers," you seem, according to your interpretation, to touch upon the apostles and prophets, but you do not touch at all upon the teachers who have explained the true purpose of the divine Scripture, but you travel a strange road known to no one, except to you and yours. 10.2 For this reason, therefore, we were compelled once again to make their contentiousness manifest to all, by setting forth in this discourse testimonies of the fathers who are proclaimed among them, whether in pretense or in truth, so that they may have the refutation from their own side that our treatise is well-founded and attested by all, apostles and prophets and teachers. Let the great Athanasius come forth first, proclaiming the same things as we do. From the second Festal Letter of Athanasius 10.3 And may it be fittingly done by us, at all times, but especially in the days of the festival, that we become not only hearers but also doers of the Savior's commandments, so that by imitating the way of the saints we may enter into the joy of the Lord that is unending and truly abides in the heavens. From the fifth Festal Letter of the same And who is sufficient for these things? For he freed the world by the blood of the Savior; and again, he granted that Hades be trampled by the death of the Savior, providing an unimpeded path for those ascending by the heavenly gates. From the tenth Festal Letter of the same And thus having celebrated the feast, may we be able to enter into the joy of the Lord in the kingdom of the heavens. From the twenty-second Festal Letter of the same 10.4 So that our Lord Jesus Christ, who undertook death for all not on some earth below, but stretched out his hands in the air itself, in order that the salvation through the cross might be shown to all everywhere, casting down the devil who is active in the air, might inaugurate for us an ascent to heaven and make it free. From the twenty-fourth Festal Letter of the same And then, as they were going out and crossing out of Egypt, their enemies became a wreckage of the sea; but now, as we are crossing from earth to heaven, Satan himself henceforth falls from heaven like lightning. From the twenty-eighth Festal Letter of the same 10.5 So that he himself might become a sacrifice for all, and we, being nourished by the words of truth and partaking of his living teaching, might be able, with the saints, to receive the heavenly joy. For there the Word calls us with them to the divine and truly incorruptible feast, just as he called the disciples to the upper room; here suffering for us, but there preparing the heavenly mansions for those who have most readily obeyed the call and have followed without giving up and according to the purpose "for the prize of the upward call," where both a crown and incorruptible gladness are laid up for those who come to the supper and strive against those who hinder them. For even if the labor of such a road towards the heavens is great, yet the Savior himself has made it both light and good. From the ... of the same

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θείαν Γραφὴν ἀναγινώσκειν, καθὰ καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς παρεκάλεσα, ἀλλὰ μετὰ σπουδῆς καὶ τάξεως τῆς προσηκούσης, ἵνα καὶ ἡ θεία χάρις τὴν προαίρεσιν ἡμῶν ἀποδεξαμένη συνεργὸς ἡμῶν γένηται εἰς τὸ δύνασθαι γινώσκειν τὰ μεγαλεῖα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν. Ἔρρωσθε, Χριστιανοί, ἐν Κυρίῳ. 10.τ ΛΟΓΟΣ Ιʹ Χρήσεις Πατέρων 10.1 Τινὲς τῶν φιλονεικεῖν εἰωθότων, ἀναγνόντες τὴν βίβλον καὶ μὴ εὐποροῦντες ἀντοφθαλμεῖν πρὸς τὴν τοσαύτην μαρτυρίαν τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν παρ' ἡμῶν ἐν τῇδε τῇ βίβλῳ γενομένην, τοιάδε πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἔφασαν ὅτι· Ὑμεῖς καὶ οἱ ὑμέτεροι πατέρες ἄλλως πως κατὰ τὸ ὑμῖν συμβαλλόμενον ἑρμηνεύετε τὴν θείαν Γραφήν· οὐ γάρ τι τοιοῦτο φέρεται παρ' αὐτῇ περὶ σχημάτων καὶ τόπων, καθὼς ὑμεῖς φατε· ἀλλ' οἱ ἡμέτεροι πατέρες, οἱ καὶ τὸν σκοπὸν τῆς θείας Γραφῆς ἀκριβῶς ὀφείλοντες εἰδέναι, ἐξηγησάμενοι οὐδὲν τοιοῦτο ἡμῖν παρέδοσαν· τῆς γὰρ Γραφῆς λεγούσης "ἔθετο ὁ Θεὸς ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ πρῶτον ἀποστόλους, δεύτερον προφήτας, τρίτον διδασκάλους", τῶν μὲν ἀποστόλων καὶ προφητῶν δοκεῖτε κατὰ τὴν ὑμετέραν ἑρμηνείαν ἐφάπτεσθαι, τῶν δὲ διδασκάλων τῶν καὶ τὸν ἀληθῆ σκοπὸν τῆς θείας Γραφῆς ἐξηγησαμένων οὐδ' ὅλως ἐφάπτεσθε, ἀλλὰ ξένην ὁδὸν ὁδεύετε μηδενὶ ἐγνωσμένην, εἰ μή γε ὑμῖν καὶ τοῖς καθ' ὑμᾶς. 10.2 Τούτου οὖν ἕνεκα ἠναγκάσθημεν πάλιν ἔκδηλον αὐτῶν τὴν φιλονεικίαν πᾶσι καταστῆσαι, παραθέμενοι ἐν τούτῳ τῷ λόγῳ μαρτυρίας πατέρων τῶν καὶ παρ' αὐτοῖς, εἴτε προφάσει εἴτε ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, καταγγελομένων, ἵν' οἴκοθεν ἔχωσι τὸν ἔλεγχον ὡς καλῶς καὶ μεμαρτυρημένως παρὰ πάντων ἀποστόλων τε καὶ προφητῶν καὶ διδασκάλων κεῖσθαι τὴν ἡμετέραν συγγραφήν. Παρίτω δὲ εἰς μέσον πρῶτος ὁ μέγας Ἀθανάσιος τὰ αὐτὰ ἡμῖν κηρύττων. Ἀθανασίου ἐκ τῆς βʹ ἑορταστικῆσ 10.3 Γένοιτο δ' ἂν καὶ παρ' ἡμῶν πρεπόντως εἰς ἑκάστοτε μέν, μάλιστα δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς ἑορτῆς, μὴ μόνον ἀκροαταί, ἀλλὰ καὶ ποιηταὶ τῶν τοῦ Σωτῆρος προσταγμάτων γενοίμεθα, ἵνα καὶ τὸν τῶν ἁγίων τρόπον μιμησάμενοι συνεισέλθωμεν εἰς τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου ἄπαυστόν τε καὶ ὄντως μένουσαν ἐν οὐρανοῖς χαράν. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς εʹ ἑορταστικῆσ Καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα τίς ἱκανός; Τὸν μὲν γὰρ κόσμον τῷ αἵματι τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἠλευθέρωσε· τὸν ᾅδην πάλιν τῷ τοῦ Σωτῆρος θανάτῳ πατεῖσθαι δέδωκε, κατὰ τὰς οὐρανίους πύλας ἀνεμπόδιστον τοῖς ἀνερχομένοις τὴν ὁδὸν παρασχών. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς ʹ ἑορταστικῆσ Καὶ οὕτως ἑορτάσαντες δυνηθῶμεν εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου χαρὰν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς κβʹ ἑορταστικῆσ 10.4 Ἵν' ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστός, ὁ τὸν ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀναδεξάμενος θάνατον οὐκ ἐν γῇ τινι κάτω, ἀλλ' ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ ἀέρι τὰς χεῖρας ἥπλωσεν, ἵνα πάντων τῶν ἁπανταχοῦ τὸ διὰ τοῦ σταυροῦ σωτήριον εἶναι δειχθῇ, τὸν μὲν ἐν τῷ ἀέρι ἐνεργοῦντα διάβολον καθελών, τὴν δὲ εἰς οὐρανὸν ἡμῖν ἄνοδον ἐγκαινίσῃ καὶ ἐλευθέραν κατασκευάσῃ. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς κδʹ ἑορταστικῆσ Καὶ τότε μὲν ἐξιόντων καὶ περώντων αὐτῶν τὴν Αἴγυπτον, οἱ ἐχθροὶ θαλάττης ἐγένοντο θρύλημα, ἄρτι δὲ ἡμῶν ἀπὸ γῆς εἰς οὐρανὸν περώντων, αὐτὸς ὁ Σατανᾶς ὡς ἀστραπὴ λοιπὸν ἀπ' οὐρανοῦ καταπίπτει. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς κηʹ ἑορταστικῆσ 10.5 Ἵν' αὐτὸς μὲν ὑπὲρ πάντων θυσία γένηται, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐντρεφόμενοι τοῖς λόγοις τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τῆς ζώσης αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίας μεταλαμβάνοντες δυνηθῶμεν μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων καὶ τὴν ἐπουράνιον ἀπολαβεῖν χαράν. Ἐκεῖ γὰρ ἡμᾶς, ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ ἀνάγαιον τοὺς μαθητάς, ἐπὶ τὴν θείαν καὶ ἄφθαρτον ὄντως ἑστίασιν ὁ Λόγος καλεῖ μετ' αὐτῶν· ἐνταῦθα μὲν παθὼν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ἐκεῖ δὲ τὰς οὐρανίους σκηνὰς ἑτοιμάζων τοῖς μάλιστα προθύμως ὑπακούσασι πρὸς τὴν κλῆσιν καὶ ἀνενδότως καὶ κατὰ σκοπὸν ἀκολουθήσασιν "εἰς τὸ βραβεῖον τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως", ἔνθα τοῖς ἐπὶ τὸ δεῖπνον ἐρχομένοις τε καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἐμποδίζοντας ἀγωνιζομένοις ἀπόκειται καὶ στέφανος καὶ ἡ ἄφθαρτος εὐφροσύνη. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ πολὺς ὡς πρὸς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ὁ κάματος τῆς τοιαύτης ἐστὶν ὁδοῦ, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ὁ Σωτὴρ καὶ ταύτην ἐλαφράν τε καὶ χρηστὴν κατεσκεύασεν. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς