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will be mystically and genuinely united to God and will be inseparable from participation in Him; but how or in what way will those who have departed separated from His light then be united, I wish to learn from you, or rather to teach you. God became man, and was united to men, partook of humanity and imparted participation in His divinity to all who believe in Him and show their faith by their works. Therefore He said that only those are saved who have partaken of His divinity, just as He, the creator of all, partook of our nature, as Paul testifies that the church of Christ will become one masterly and divine body, unstained, unblemished, without any wrinkle; (315) who would be the faithful, and Christ the head. If, then, this will be so, as indeed it is, who that is defiled will then dare to touch Him or who being unworthy will cleave to Him? For if even now sinners are cast out of the church and are utterly prevented from partaking, and indeed those who are not holy are deprived of the vision of divine things, how, alas, will they then, being stained, be united to the all-blameless body of God and become members of Christ? This is not so, brothers, it will not happen at all! But those who are separated from the divine body, that is the church and the choir of the elect, say, where then will they go, to what kingdom, to what place, tell me, do they hope to dwell? For assuredly paradise, and the bosom of Abraham, and every place of repose is for the saved; and the saved are all assuredly holy, as all divine scripture testifies and teaches. For there are also many mansions, but within the bridal chamber; for just as there is one heaven and in it stars differing from one another in honor and glory, so also there is one bridal chamber and one kingdom, but indeed also paradise and the holy city and every place of repose is God alone. For as a man has no repose in life, who does not abide in God and God in him, so also after death outside of Him alone, I think, there will be no repose, no place without grief, nor groaning, nor completely free from affliction. Let us strive therefore, brothers, let us strive before the end (316) to cleave to God, to the creator of all, who for our miserable sakes came down to earth, who bowed the heavens and escaped the notice of angels

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μυστικῶς συναφθήσονται τῷ Θεῷ καί γνησίως καί τῆς αὐτοῦ ὑπάρξουσι μετουσίας ἀχώριστοι˙ οἱ δ᾿ ἀπελθόντες τοῦ φωτός αὐτοῦ κεχωρισμένοι πῶς τότε ἑνωθήσονται ἤ κατά ποῖον τρόπον, μαθεῖν παρ᾿ ὑμῶν βούλομαι, εἴτε ὑμᾶς διδάξαι˙ Θεός γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, ἡνώθη τε ἀνθρώποις, μετέσχεν ἀνθρωπότητος καί μετέδωκε πᾶσι τοῖς εἰς αὐτόν πιστεύουσι καί τήν πίστιν ἐξ ἔργων δεικνύουσι θεότητος αὐτοῦ τῇ μετουσίᾳ. Τούτους οὖν εἶπε σῴζεσθαι μόνους τούς μετασχόντας ἐκείνου τῆς θεότητος, καθώς αὐτός μετέσχε τῆς ἡμετέρας φύσεως, ὁ ποιητής τῶν πάντων, Παῦλος ὡς μαρτύρεται Χριστοῦ τήν ἐκκλησίαν ἕν γενήσεσθαι σῶμά γε δεσποτικόν καί θεῖον, ἄσπιλον, ἄμωμον ὁμοῦ, ῥυτίδος πάσης δίχα˙ (315) οἵτινες ἄν εἶεν οἱ πιστοί, κεφαλή ὁ Χριστός δέ. Εἰ τοῦτο τοίνυν ἔσεται οὕτως, ὥσπερ καί ἔστι, τίς ἄρα τότε τολμήσει ῥυπαρός αὐτοῦ προσψαῦσαι ἤ τίς προσκολληθήσεται ἀνάξιος τυγχάνων; Εἰ γάρ καί νῦν ἐκβάλλονται τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἔξω καί μετασχεῖν κωλύονται ἁμαρτωλοί εἰς ἅπαν, μᾶλλον δέ καί τῆς τῶν θείων θέας ἀποστεροῦνται οἱ μή πέλοντες ἅγιοι, πῶς οἴμοι τότε ἄρα τῷ παναμώμῳ σώματι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἑνωθῶσι καί μέλη γένωνται Χριστοῦ ἐσπιλωμένοι ὄντες; Οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο, ἀδελφοί, οὐ γενήσεται ὅλως! Οἱ δέ τοῦ θείου σώματος ἤγουν τῆς ἀκκλησίας καί τοῦ χοροῦ τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν χωριζόμενοι, λέγε, ποῦ ἄρα ἀπελεύσονται, εἰς ποίαν βασιλείαν, εἰς ποῖον τόπον, φράσον μοι, ἐλπίζουσι σκηνῶσαι; Πάντως γάρ καί παράδεισος, ὁ Ἀβραάμ τε κόλπος καί πᾶς τόπος ἀνέσεως τῶν σῳζομένων ἔστιν˙ οἱ δέ σῳζόμενοί εἰσιν ἅγιοι πάντως πάντες, ὡς πᾶσα θεία μαρτυρεῖ γραφή καί ἐκδιδάσκει. Πολλαί γάρ καί μοναί εἰσιν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐντός τοῦ νυμφῶνος˙ καθάπερ γάρ εἷς οὐρανός καί ἐν αὐτῷ ἀστέρες ἀλλήλων διαφέροντες ἐν τιμῇ τε καί δόξῃ, οὕτω καί εἷς νυμφών ἐστι καί μία βασιλεία, ἀλλά γάρ καί παράδεισος καί πόλις ἡ ἁγία καί πᾶς τόπος ἀνέσεως ὁ Θεός ἐστι μόνος. Ὡς γάρ οὐκ ἔχει ἄνεσιν ἄνθρωπος ἐν τῷ βίῳ, ὁ μή μένων ἐν τῷ Θεῷ καί Θεός ἐν αὐτῷ δέ, οὕτω καί μετά θάνατον ἐκτός ἐκείνου μόνου, οἴμαι, οὐκ ἔσται ἄνεσις, οὐ τόπος ἄνευ λύπης, οὐ στεναγμοῦ, οὐ θλίψεως ὅλως ἀπηλλαγμένος. Σπουδάσωμεν οὖν, ἀδελφοί, σπουδάσωμεν πρό τέλους (316) προσκολληθῆναι τῷ Θεῷ, τῷ ποιητῇ τῶν πάντων, τῷ κατελθόντι δι᾿ ἡμᾶς ἐπί γῆς τούς ἀθλίους, τῷ κλίναντι τούς οὐρανούς καί λαθόντι ἀγγέλους