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your Master Christ and God. See, therefore, this one who is now with you and conversing with you, the one who is above all the heavens. Behold, you two are journeying together; someone met you on the path of life, gave your Master a blow, and likewise gave one to you. The Master does not speak against it, and you resist? Yes, he says, for he said to the one who struck him: "If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness to the wrong; but if well, why do you strike me?" This he did not say in contradiction, as you have supposed, but because he committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth; and for another reason also, that it might not be thought that the one who said to him, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" struck him justly, as one who had committed a sin, for this reason, declaring himself blameless, he uttered this. But we are certainly not such, we who are liable for many sins. For later, having endured much worse than this, he is found to have said nothing at all, but rather is shown even to be praying for those who crucified him. He is mocked and is not indignant, and you are vexed? He endures spitting and blows and scourgings, and you do not deign even to accept a harsh word? He accepts the cross and a dishonorable death and the pains from the nails, and you do not deign to perform the most menial services? And how can you become a sharer in his glory, not deigning to? Truly in vain you left (354) your wealth, not willing to take up the cross, as he commanded, with the word of truth; "Sell your possessions and give to the poor," Christ commanded the young man and us with him, "and take up your cross and come, follow me! ". But you scattered your wealth, yet not deigning to take up the cross, as has been said, which is to bear eagerly the assault of all temptations, you were left behind on the path of life and were unfortunately separated from your sweetest Master and God!

But I exhort you, fathers and brothers, let us keep all the commandments of Christ, let us endure the temptations that come upon us, even unto death, for the desire of the kingdom of the heavens, that we may become partakers of the glory of Jesus and sharers in eternal life and heirs of the enjoyment of the ineffable good things in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory unto the ages. Amen.

On the life-giving mortification that comes from the Spirit to those who struggle, even before death. And that those who are in grace, above the law

having become, consciously receive within themselves the grace of the divine light; for those who have not already received this light in the present life, nor

see it, are still under the shadow of the law and will be judged by it. And of what sort the leader and the priest must be, the one who has received from above the authority to bind and to loose. And that to the one who truly performs sacred rites and

is illuminated by the divine light, all are manifest, both those who walk in the Spirit of God and those who have not yet put off the earthly

man.

Discourse 28. (355)

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∆εσπότην σου Χριστόν καί Θεόν. Βλέπε τοιγαροῦν ἄρτι συνόντα σοι τοῦτον καί συναναστρεφόμενον μετά σοῦ, τόν ὑπεράνω πάντων τῶν οὐρανῶν. Ἰδού ὁδεύετε οἱ δύο ὁμοῦ· συνήντησέ τις ὑμῖν ἐν τῇ τοῦ βίου ὁδῷ, δέδωκε τῷ ∆εσπότῃ σου ῥάπισμα, δέδωκε ὁμοίως καί σοί. Ὁ ∆εσπότης οὐκ ἀντιλέγει καί σύ ἀντιπίπτεις; Ναί, φησίν, εἶπε γάρ τῷ ῥαπίσαντι· " Ἐάν κακῶς ἐλάλησα, μαρτύρησον περί τοῦ κακοῦ· εἰ δέ καλῶς, τί με δέρεις;" Τοῦτο οὐχ ὡς ἀντιλέγων εἶπεν, ὥσπερ ὑπέλαβες, ἀλλ᾿ ἐπειδή ἐκεῖνος ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ ἐποίησεν, οὐδέ εὑρέθη δόλος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ· ἄλλως τε δέ καί ἵνα μή νομισθῇ ὅτι ὡς ἁμαρτίαν πεποιηκότα δικαίως αὐτόν ἔτυψεν ὁ εἰπών αὐτῷ· "Οὕτως ἀποκρίνῃ τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ", τούτου χάριν ἀνεύθυνον ἑαυτόν ἀποφαίνων τοῦτο ἐφθέγξατο. Ἀλλ᾿ οὐχί πάντως καί ἡμεῖς τοιοῦτοι οἱ πολλαῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑπεύθυνοι. Καί γάρ ὕστερον πολλῷ χείρονα τούτου ὑποστάς οὐδέν οὐδαμῶς λαλήσας εὑρίσκεται, μᾶλλον μέν οὖν καί ὑπέρ τῶν σταυρωσάντων αὐτόν εὐχόμενος δείκνυται. Ἐκεῖνος παιζόμενος οὐκ ἀγανακτεῖ καί σύ δυσχεραίνεις; Ἐκεῖνος ἐμπτύσματα καί κολαφίσματα καί φραγγελώσεις ὑφίσταται καί σύ οὐδέ λόγον ἀνέχῃ σκληρόν καταδέξασθαι; Ἐκεῖνος σταυρόν καί θάνατον ἄτιμον καί τάς ἐκ τῶν ἥλων ὀδύνας δέχεται καί σύ τάς ἀτιμοτάτας διακονίας οὐ καταδέχῃ ποιεῖν; Καί πῶς τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ συγκοινωνός γενέσθαι μή καταδεχόμενος; Ὄντως εἰς μάτην τόν (354) πλοῦτον κατέλιπες, τόν σταυρόν ἆραι, ὡς ἐκεῖνος ἐκέλευσε, μετά τοῦ λόγου τῆς ἀληθείας μή βουληθείς· "Πώλησόν σου τά ὑπάρχοντα καί δός πτωχοῖς", τῷ νεανίσκῳ καί ἡμῖν ὁ Χριστός ἐνετείλατο σύν αὐτῷ, "καί ἆρον τόν σταυρόν σου καί δεῦρο ἀκολούθει μοι! ". Σύ δέ τόν πλοῦτον ἐσκόρπισας, ἆραι δέ τόν σταυρόν μή καταδεξάμενος, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, ὅπερ ἐστί τό τήν πάντων ὑπενεγκεῖν τῶν πειρασμῶν ἐκθύμως ἐπιφοράν, ἐναπειλείφθης ἐν τῇ τοῦ βίου ὁδῷ καί ἐχωρίσθης δυστυχῶς τοῦ γλυκυτάτου ∆εσπότου σου καί Θεοῦ!

Ἀλλά παρακαλῶ, πατέρες καί ἀδελφοί, φυλάξωμεν πάσας τάς ἐντολάς τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὑπομείνωμεν τούς ἐπερχομένους ἡμῖν πειρασμούς μέχρι θανάτου διά τόν πόθον τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἵνα καί τῆς δόξης τοῦ Ἰησοῦ κοινωνοί καί τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς μέτοχοι καί τῆς ἀπολαύσεως τῶν ἀπορρήτων ἀγαθῶν κληρονόμοι γενώμεθα ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τούς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν.

Περί τῆς ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐγγινομένης τοῖς ἀγωνιζομένοις καί πρό τοῦ θανάτου ζωοποιοῦ νεκρώσεως. Καί ὅτι οἱ ἐν τῇ χάριτι ὑπέρ τόν νόμον

γενόμενοι τήν τοῦ θείου φωτός χάριν γνωστῶς ἐν ἑαυτοῖς λαμβάνουσιν· οἱ γάρ μή λαβόντες ἤδη τοῦτο τό φῶς κατά τήν παροῦσαν ζωήν, μηδέ

καθορῶντες αὐτό, ἔτι ὑπό τήν σκιάν τοῦ νόμου εἰσί καί κριθήσονται ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Καί ὁποῖον δεῖ εἶναι τόν τε προηγούμενον καί τόν ἱερέα, τόν δεσμεῖν καί λύειν ἄνωθεν λαβόντα τήν ἐξουσίαν. Καί ὅτι τῷ ἀληθῶς ἱερουργοῦντι καί

ὑπό τοῦ θείου καταλαμπομένῳ φωτός πάντες κατάδηλοι, αὐτοί τε οἱ Πνεύματι περιπατοῦντες Θεοῦ καί οἱ μήπω τόν χοϊκόν ἐκδυσάμενοι

ἄνθρωπον.

Λόγος ΚΗ΄. (355)