153

Or rather, these too are light mingled with light, and they illuminate with light both the soul itself and the body, and they truly shine first for the one who possesses them, and then for all the rest who are in the darkness of this life; enlighten them, O Christ, in the Holy Spirit, and make them heirs of the kingdom of heaven, with all your saints, now and forever. Amen.

34.

That the union of the Holy Spirit with purified souls occurs in clear perception, that is, in full knowledge, and, in those souls in whom it occurs, it makes them luminous like itself and makes them light. (273)

The invisible is surely distinct from the visible, and the one who first fashioned creation from created things, and the incorruptible from the corruptible, and darkness from light, and a mixture of these occurred when God descended. For then my Savior united the things that were divided, but the blind did not see the union, and the dead say they have had no perception of it at all, and they think they are alive and see—O, utmost madness! And disbelieving, they say: "No one has known this by experience or suffered it, no one has seen it by perception, but it comes about by hearing and the teaching of words alone." But, O my Christ, teach me what to say to these things, and how to snatch them from their great ignorance and disbelief, and grant them to see you, the light of the world! Hear and understand, fathers, the divine words, and you will know that the union occurs in knowledge and in every way in perception and experience and vision. God is invisible, but we are in every way visible; if, therefore, he is united by his will to visible beings, then a union of both occurs in knowledge. But if you should say this happens unknowingly and without perception, (274) it is in every way a union of the dead and not of life with the living. God is the creator of creatures, and we likewise are created; if, therefore, God the creator should condescend to his creation and be united with it and the creation becomes like the creator, they would truly receive a perception of true contemplation, that the created was ineffably united to the creator. But if we do not grant this, faith is lost and the hope of things to come has completely vanished, there will be no resurrection nor any judgment at all. Since also created things, as you say, we are united to the maker without perception, understanding nothing with knowledge, and God is in danger, according to you, of not existing

153

μᾶλλον δ᾿ εἰσί καί αὗται φῶς φωτί συγκεκραμέναι, περιαυγάζουσί τε φῶς ψυχήν αὐτήν καί σῶμα καί λάμπουσί γε ἀληθῶς πρῶτον τῷ κεκτημένῳ καί τότε πᾶσι τοῖς λοιποῖς τοῖς ἐν σκότει τοῦ βίου˙ οὕς φώτισον ἐν Πνεύματι, Χριστέ, τῷ Παναγίῳ καί κληρονόμους ποίησον οὐρανῶν βασιλείας μετά πάντων ἁγίων σου, νῦν καί εἰς τούς αἰῶνας˙ ἀμήν.

Λ∆'.

Ὅτι ἡ τοῦ Παναγίου Πνεύματος ἕνωσις πρός κεκαθαρμένας ψυχάς ἐν αἰσθήσει τρανῇ, ἤγουν ἐν ἐπιγνώσει γίνεται καί, ἐν αἷς ἄν γένηται, φωτοειδεῖς ὁμοίας ἑαυτόῦ καί φῶς αὐτάς ἀπεργάζεται. (273)

∆ιΐσταται τῶν ὁρατῶν ὁ ἀόρατος πάντως καί τῶν κτισμάτων ὁ αὐτά πρῶτον κατασκευάσας καί τῶν φθαρτῶν ὁ ἄφθαρτος, τό σκότος τοῦ φωτός τε, καί μίξις τούτων γέγονε, ὅτε Θεός κατῆλθε. Τά διεστῶτα τότε γάρ ἥνωσεν ὁ Σωτήρ μου, ἀλλ᾿ οἱ τυφλοί τήν ἕνωσιν οὐκ εἶδον, οἱ νεκροί δέ λέγουσι ταύτης αἴσθησιν μηδ᾿ ὅλως ἐσχηκέναι, καί ζῆν καί βλέπειν οἴονται, ὤ μανίας ἐσχάτης, καί ἀπιστοῦντες λέγουσιν˙ Οὐδείς τῇ πείρᾳ τοῦτο ἔγνωκεν ἤ ἔπαθεν, οὐκ εἶδεν ἐν αἰσθήσει, ἀλλ᾿ ἀκοῇ καί διδαχῇ λόγων γίνεται μόνων. Ἀλλ᾿ ὦ Χριστέ μου, δίδαξον εἰπεῖν με τί πρός ταῦτα καί τῆς ἀγνοίας τῆς πολλῆς καί ἀπιστίας τούτους ἐκσπᾶσαι καί χαρίσασθαι ἰδεῖν σε, φῶς τοῦ κόσμου! Ἀκούσατε καί σύνετε, πατέρες, θείους λόγους καί γνώσεσθε τήν ἕνωσιν ἐν γνώσει γινομένην καί ἐν αἰσθήσει ἐκ παντός καί πείρᾳ καί ὁράσει. Θεός ἐστιν ἀόρατος, ὁρατοί δ᾿ ἡμεῖς πάντως˙ εἰ οὖν αὐτός τοῖς ὁρατοῖς θελήματι ἑνοῦται, ἕνωσις ἄρα γίνεται ἀμφοτέρων ἐν γνώσει. Εἰ δέ ἀγνώστως εἴποιας τοῦτο καί ἀναισθήτως, (274) πάντως νεκρῶν ἡ ἕνωσις καί οὐ ζωῆς πρός ζῶντας. Κτισμάτων κτίστης ὁ Θεός, κτιστοί δ᾿ ἡμεῖς ὡσαύτως˙ εἰ οὖν τῷ κτίσματι Θεός ὁ κτίσας συγκατέλθῃ καί ἑνωθῇ καί γίνηται ὡς ὁ κτίστης τό κτίσμα, αἴσθησιν ὄντως λάβοιεν ἀληθοῦς θεωρίας, ὅτι τῷ κτίστῃ τό κτιστόν ἀπορρήτως ἡνώθη. Εἰ δέ μή τοῦτο δώσομεν, ἀπόλωλεν ἡ πίστις καί ἡ ἐλπίς ἠφάνισται τῶν μελλόντων εἰς ἅπαν, ἀνάστασις οὐκ ἔσεται οὐδ᾿ ἡ καθόλου κρίσις. Ἐπειδή καί τά κτίσματα, ὡς λέγεις, ἀναισθήτως τῷ ποιητῇ ἑνούμεθα μηδέν γνωστῶς νοοῦντες, καί κινδυνεύει γε Θεός κατά σέ, ὡς οὐκ ἔστι