214

Symmachus. But you did not overlook us, O Master; and you will make propitiation for our impieties, having sent down to us the propitiation, through which you became merciful to us, passing over our impieties. What the propitiation is, the Apostle teaches, speaking about the Savior: "Whom God set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood;" and again: "He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." "Blessed is he whom you have chosen and taken to yourself, he will dwell in your courts." Those who turned from all the nations, having confessed their own impieties, and as they were deemed worthy of the propitiation, show progress, and much benefit of soul, teaching that they have received knowledge of the truly blessed one. For of old, knowing only mortal existence and transient life, they surely considered blessed those who enjoyed it, defining the goal as pleasure, and riches, and the luxury of the body; but now, when they have obtained the propitiation, and have cleansed themselves of their impieties, they have received knowledge of the truly blessed one; and they say this is the one chosen by God and deemed worthy to be received by him; for this reason they say: All of us who were formerly of the flesh have been deemed worthy of the call; but we know that many are called, but few are chosen. Rightly, therefore, do we bless the chosen one as something rare. Who is this but the one set apart from the many and taken up by God? And how is such a one not truly blessed, when, having obtained these two things, I mean the election and the reception by God, he will be deemed worthy of another, better thing? for he will dwell in the courts of God. And having found, then, this dwelling and rest, he will be established there; enjoying this good end, which another prophet also prayed to attain, saying: "My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord." The courts of the Lord are the heavenly mansions, concerning which it is said in the Gospel: "Many mansions 23.632 are with the Father." Therefore, he from the nations who was formerly flesh, but changed and became a man of God, blesses the exceptional and already chosen one; as one received by God and taken up into the courts of the heavenly Jerusalem. "We shall be satisfied with the good things of your house; holy is your temple, wonderful in righteousness." The aforementioned, praying to attain also for themselves the heavenly good things, of which the aforesaid blessed one was deemed worthy, say: "We shall be satisfied with the good things of your house." For they have known the heavenly house of God, in whose courts the already chosen one has been appointed. Therefore they beseech that at some time they too may attain the heavenly good things. And if the house of God is also His Church, according to the Apostle who said: "That you may know how one ought to behave in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth;" they rightly say that the blessed one has already obtained his election from you; but we, who are not yet such, but are still clothed, love from this point on to enjoy the good things in your house, that is, the divine words and the lessons of wisdom and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, with which the house of God is adorned; "For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge, to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing, to another various kinds of tongues," and as many other things as the divine Apostle enumerated. In these things, therefore, those who aspire to better things prepare themselves. Then, since they mentioned the house of God, they accordingly teach what kind of house this is, saying: "Holy is your temple, wonderful in righteousness." For this was the house of God, his holy temple. But understand the holy temple of God not as a building of walls and roofs, but as that which is already composed of chosen souls. The living stones

214

Σύμμαχον· σὺ δ' οὐχ ὑπερεῖδες ἡμᾶς, ∆έσποτα· ἱλάσω δὲ τὰς ἀσεβείας ἡμῶν, καταπέμψας ἡμῖν τὸν ἱλασμὸν, δι' οὗ κατέστης ἡμῖν ἵλεως, ὑπερβὰς ἡμῶν τὰς ἀσεβείας. Τίς δέ ἐστιν ὁ ἱλασμὸς, διδάσκει λέγων ὁ Ἀπόστολος περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος· «Ὃν προέθετο ὁ Θεὸς ἱλαστήριον διὰ πίστεως ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι·» καὶ πάλιν· «Αὐτὸς ἱλασμός ἐστιν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν· οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἡμετέρων δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὲρ ὅλου τοῦ κόσμου.» «Μακάριος ὃν ἐξελέξω καὶ προσελάβου, κατοικήσει ἐν ταῖς αὐλαῖς σου.» Οἱ ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐπιστρέψαντες, τὰς ἑαυτῶν ἀσεβείας ἐξομολογησάμενοι, καὶ ὡς κατηξιώθησαν τοῦ ἱλασμοῦ, προκοπὴν ἐπιδείκνυνται, καὶ ψυχῆς ὠφέλειαν πολλὴν, γνῶσιν ἀνειληφέναι διδάσκοντες τοῦ ἀληθῶς μακαρίου. Πάλαι μὲν γὰρ τὸν θνητὸν βίον καὶ τὴν πρόσκαιρον ζωὴν μόνην εἰδότες, πάντως που ἐμακάριζον τοὺς ταύτης ἀπολαύοντας, τέλος ἡδονὴν ὁριζόμενοι, καὶ πλούτους, καὶ τὴν ἐν σώματι τρυφήν· νῦν δ' ὅτε τετυχήκασι τοῦ ἱλασμοῦ, καὶ τὰς ἑαυτῶν ἀσεβείας ἀπεκαθήραντο, γνῶσιν ἀνειλήφασι τοῦ ἀληθῶς μακαρίου· καὶ τοῦτον εἶναί φασι τὸν ὑπὸ Θεοῦ ἐκλεγόμενον καὶ τῆς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ προσλήψεως κατηξιωμένον· διό φασι· Πάντες ἡμεῖς τῆς κλήσεως κατηξιώμεθα οἱ πάλαι ὄντες σάρξ· ἀλλ' ἴσμεν, ὅτι πολλοὶ μὲν κλητοὶ, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοί. Εἰκότως οὖν ὡς ἂν σπάνιον μακαρίζομεν τὸν ἐκλεκτόν. Τίς δέ ἐστιν οὗτος ἀλλ' ἢ ὁ ἀφορισθεὶς τῶν πολλῶν καὶ ἀναληφθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ; Καὶ πῶς γὰρ οὐ μακάριος ἀληθῶς ὁ τοιοῦτος, ὁπότε, τῶν δύο τούτων τυχὼν, λέγω δὲ τῆς ἐκλογῆς καὶ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ προσλήψεως, ἑτέρου κρείττονος καταξιωθήσεται; κατοικήσει γὰρ ἐν ταῖς αὐλαῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ ταύτην λοιπὸν τὴν μονὴν εὑρὼν καὶ τὴν ἀνάπαυλαν, ἐνταῦθα στηριχθήσεται· τὸ τέλος ἀγαθὸν τοῦτο ἀπολαύων, οὗ τυχεῖν καὶ ἄλλος ηὔχετο προφήτης ὁ εἰπών· «Ἐπιποθεῖ καὶ ἐκλείπει ἡ ψυχή μου εἰς τὰς αὐλὰς τοῦ Κυρίου.» Αὐλαὶ δὲ τοῦ Κυρίου εἰσὶν αἱ κατ' οὐρανὸν μοναὶ, περὶ ὧν εἴρηται ἐν Εὐαγγελίῳ· «Πολλαὶ μοναὶ 23.632 παρὰ τῷ Πατρί.» Ὁ τοίνυν ἐξ ἐθνῶν πάλαι μὲν ὢν σὰρξ, μεταβαλὼν δὲ καὶ γενόμενος Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος, μακαρίζει τὸν ἐξαίρετον καὶ ἤδη ἐκλεκτόν· ὡς ἂν προσληφθέντα ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ παραληφθέντα εἰς τὰς αὐλὰς τῆς ἐπουρανίου Ἱερουσαλήμ. «Πλησθησόμεθα ἐν τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς τοῦ οἴκου σου· ἅγιος ὁ ναός σου, θαυμαστὸς ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ.» Οἱ προλεχθέντες, τυχεῖν εὐχόμενοι καὶ αὐτοὶ τῶν ἐπουρανίων ἀγαθῶν, ὧν ἠξίωται ὁ προειρημένος μακάριος, φασίν· «Πλησθησόμεθα ἐν τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς τοῦ οἴκου σου.» Ἔγνωσαν γὰρ τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν ἐπουράνιον, οὗ ἐν ταῖς αὐλαῖς ὁ ἤδη ἐκλεκτὸς κατατέτακται. ∆ιὸ ἱκετεύουσι καιρῷ ποτε καὶ αὐτοὶ τυχεῖν τῶν ἐπουρανίων ἀγαθῶν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ οἶκος Θεοῦ ἡ Ἐκκλησία αὐτοῦ ἐστι κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον φήσαντα· «Ἵνα ἴδῃς πῶς δεῖ ἐν οἴκῳ Θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, ἥτις ἐστὶν Ἐκκλησία Θεοῦ ζῶντος, στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας·» εἰκότως φασὶν, ὅτι Ὁ μὲν μακάριος ἤδη τῆς παρὰ σοὶ τετύχηκεν ἐκλογῆς· ἡμεῖς δὲ οἱ μηδέπω τοιοῦτοι, ἔτι δὲ περιβεβλημένοι ἀγαπῶμεν ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη τῶν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου ἀγαθῶν ἀπολαύοντες, λόγων δηλαδὴ θείων καὶ τῶν τῆς σοφίας μαθημάτων τε καὶ χαρισμάτων τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, οἷς κεκόσμηται ὁ οἶκος τοῦ Θεοῦ· «Ὧ μὲν γὰρ διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος δίδοται λόγος σοφίας, ἄλλῳ δὲ λόγος γνώσεως, ἑτέρῳ δὲ πίστις ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ Πνεύματι· ἄλλῳ χαρίσματα ἰαμάτων, ἑτέρῳ δὲ γένη γλωσσῶν,» καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα κατέλεξεν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος. Ἐν τούτοις οὖν ἑαυτοὺς παρασκευάζουσιν οἱ τῶν κρειττόνων ἐφιέμενοι. Εἶτ' ἐπειδὴ περὶ οἴκου Θεοῦ ἐμνημόνευσαν, ἀκολούθως ὁποῖος οὗτος τυγχάνει διδάσκουσι λέγοντες· «Ἅγιος ὁ ναός σου, θαυμαστὸς ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ.» Οὗτος γὰρ ἦν ὁ οἶκος τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ ἅγιος αὐτοῦ νεώς. Νεὼν δὲ ἄκουε τοῦ Θεοῦ ἅγιον οὐ τοίχων καὶ ὀρόφων οἰκοδομήματα, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἐκ ψυχῶν ἐκλεκτῶν συνεστῶτα ἤδη. Λίθοι ζῶντες οἱ