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of the power of God. or, signifying the innate authority present in him, according to which he rules and holds dominion (and this is the day of power) not among ordinary things but in the splendors of the saints, in which they will be, being enlightened and made brilliant by the true light, so that one might say, Let the splendor of the Lord our God be upon us. But if by "dominion" he means "those who are ruled," according to which meaning it has been said, God, who prevails over every dominion, and His dominion was upon his shoulder, and so you will say, with those ruled by him in the day of his power, which he, being the sun of righteousness, illuminates. For he himself says to the Father concerning those over whom he rules, I desire that where I am, they also may be with me, so that they may see my glory. 1040 Ps 109,3c All the ecclesiastics, not just formerly but always, say that the preceding saying was spoken by the Father, connected to the beginning of the psalm thus: The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet'; from the womb before the morning star I have begotten you, —the other half-verses being spoken in between. And it seems that the apostle, following this thought, has said, For to which of the angels has he ever said, 'Sit at my right hand'? as if to say: "To none of the created beings, but to his only-begotten Son alone did he say, 'Sit at my right hand'," since he alone, being only-begotten, is in the bosom of the Father. But let us see what the expression itself means. And it must be said that God is indeed simple and uncompounded; and yet, though he is so, the divine word, if it wishes to present him genuinely as creator, speaking from what we know, says that the heavens and the rest of creation are the works of his hands. So also when we speak of genuine parents, we name the womb. For since some are sons in the proper sense, while others are adopted and appointed, when we mean not the appointed but those who are properly so, we say they are offspring of the womb of those who bore them. And so God, wishing to present the Son as genuine and from himself, the only-begotten, makes mention of the womb. But just as we understand his making with hands in a manner worthy of God, so also let us understand the begetting from the womb. But the works of the hands are many, while the only-begotten offspring of the womb is one; whence one must not say that creating and begetting are the same in God's case, as some suppose. For all things have come to be through the Word and in wisdom, but wisdom and the Word have not been begotten through something, but from God. Therefore, begetting is not the same as making; for if there were no difference, nothing would have prevented him from saying, "My hands made you," and "the heavens are the works of my womb." But just as the expression has much variation, so also do the things signified by it. But the Father says these things not to a Son who is ignorant, but so that we might know the intimacy of the Father to the Son and of the Son to the Father, these things were written down. Just as also that which was said by the only-begotten Wisdom herself, Before all the hills he begets me, for which reason here too it is said that he was begotten before the morning star—the morning star being light, not only perceptible but also intelligible. And if before the intelligible things, it is very clear that he is also before all creation, according to what is said, And he is before all things. 1041 Ps 109,4 Just as for us the Savior defines an oath to be "Yes, yes" and "No, no," so much more, indeed far more, God in telling the truth is said to swear, not by using some oath of denial or confirmation. The Lord, therefore, has sworn and will not change his mind, since the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable; and the greatest calling is that of the Savior to the priesthood and an irrevocable gift, the priesthood not according to the order of Aaron but of Melchizedek forever. For that of Aaron, which was imposed until the time of reformation, was changed, of which Paul says, When the priesthood is changed, there is of necessity a change of law as well. But the covenant made with the Savior, being eternal, has an unchangeable priesthood, since this priest is able to save completely those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives

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δυνάμεως θεοῦ. η σημαίνων τὴν προσοῦσαν αὐτῷ σύμφυτον ἀρχήν, καθ' ην κρατεῖ καὶ δυναστεύει (αυτη δὲ ἡ τῆς δυνάμεως ἡμέρα) οὐκ ἐν τοῖς τυχοῦσιν ἀλλ' ἐν ταῖς λαμπρότησι τῶν ἁγίων καθ' ας εξουσιν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ φωτὸς φωτιζόμενοι καὶ λαμπρυνόμενοι ωστ' αν εἰπεῖν Εστω ἡ λαμπρότης κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἐφ' ἡμᾶς. ̓Εὰν δὲ ἀρχὴν τοὺς ἀρχομένους λέγῃ, καθ' ο σημαινόμενον ειρηται ̔Ο θεὸς πάσης ἀρχῆς ἐπικρατῶν, καὶ τὸ ̓Εγενήθη ἡ ἀρχὴ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ ωμου αὐτοῦ, καὶ ουτως ἐρεῖς μετὰ τοῦ ειναι τοὺς ἀρχομένους ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ η καταυγάζει ηλιος δικαιοσύνης ων. λέγει γοῦν αὐτὸς περὶ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ βασιλευομένων πρὸς τὸν πατέρα Θέλω ινα οπου εἰμὶ ἐγὼ καὶ αὐτοί εἰσι μετ' ἐμοῦ, ινα θεωρῶσι τὴν δόξαν τὴν ἐμήν. 1040 Ps 109,3c Πάντες οἱ ἐκκλησιαστικοὶ οὐ νῦν πρότερον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀεὶ πρὸς τοῦ πατρὸς τὴν προκειμένην λέγουσι φωνὴν εἰρῆσθαι συναπτομένην τῇ ἀρχῇ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ ουτως· Ειπεν ὁ κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, εως αν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου· ἐκ γαστρὸς πρὸ ἑωσφόρου ἐγέννησά σε, -τῶν αλλων ἡμιστίχων διὰ μέσου εἰρημένων. καὶ εοικέ γε καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος ταύτῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ ἠκολουθηκὼς εἰρηκέναι Τίνι γὰρ τῶν ἀγγέλων ειρηκέ ποτε Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου; μονονουχὶ λέγων· Οὐδενὶ τῶν γεννητῶν ἀλλὰ τῷ μονογενεῖ υἱῷ ἑαυτοῦ μόνῳ ειπε Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, ἐπεὶ καὶ μόνος αὐτός ἐστι μονογενὴς ων ἐν κόλποις τοῦ πατρός. Ιδωμεν δὲ καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν λέξιν τί βούλεται. καὶ ῥητέον γε οτι ὁ θεὸς ἁπλοῦς μὲν καὶ ἀσύνθετός ἐστι· καὶ ομως ουτως αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχοντος, ὁ θεῖος λόγος, ἐὰν δημιουργὸν αὐτὸν γνησίως παραστῆσαι βούλεται, ἀφ' ων ισμεν, ὁμιλῶν τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ λέγει εργα ειναι τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ τὴν αλλην κτίσιν. ουτω καὶ γνησίας γονεῖς, οταν λόγον ποιώμεθα, γαστέρα ὀνομάζομεν. ἐπεὶ γάρ εἰσι κυρίως τινῶν υἱοί, αλλοι δὲ εἰσποιητοὶ καὶ θετοί, οταν μὴ τοὺς θετοὺς ἀλλὰ τοὺς κυρίως σημαίνωμεν, λέγομεν γεννήματα γαστρὸς αὐτοὺς τῶν τεκόντων. καὶ θεὸς ουν γνήσιον υἱὸν καὶ ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ παραστῆσαι θέλων γαστρὸς μνημονεύει. ἀλλ' ωσπερ τὸ ποιεῖν αὐτὸν χερσὶ θεοπρεπῶς, ουτω καὶ τὸ γεγεννηκέναι ἐκ γαστρὸς ἀκούωμεν. ̓Αλλὰ πολλὰ μὲν τὰ χειρῶν εργα, εν δὲ τὸ μονογενὲς γέννημα γαστρός· οθεν οὐ ταὐτὸν τὸ κτίζειν καὶ τὸ γεννᾶν ἐπὶ θεοῦ ῥητέον, ὡς οιονταί τινες. πάντα μὲν γὰρ διὰ τοῦ λόγου καὶ ἐν σοφίᾳ γεγένηται, ἡ σοφία δὲ καὶ ὁ λόγος οὐ διά τινος ἀλλ' ἐκ θεοῦ γεγέννηται. διὸ οὐ ταὐτὸν τὸ γεννᾶν τῷ ποιεῖν· εἰ γὰρ μὴ ειχε διαφοράν, οὐδὲν ἐκώλυεν εἰπεῖν· Αἱ χεῖρές μου ἐποίησάν σε, καὶ γαστρός μου εργα οἱ οὐρανοί. ἀλλ' ωσπερ ἡ λέξις πολλὴν εχει παραλλαγήν, ουτω καὶ τὰ σημαινόμενα ὑπ' αὐτῆς. ̓Αλλ' οὐκ ἀγνοοῦντι τῷ υἱῷ ταῦθ' ὁ πατὴρ λέγει, ἀλλ' ιν' ἡμεῖς γνῶμεν τὴν οἰκειότητα τοῦ πατρὸς πρὸς τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, ἀνεγράφη ταῦτα. Ωσπερ καὶ τὸ ὑπ' αὐτῆς τῆς μονογενοῦς σοφίας εἰρημένον Πρὸ δὲ πάντων βουνῶν γεννᾷ με, διὸ καὶ ἐνταῦθα πρὸ ἑωσφόρου γεγεννῆσθαι λέγεται, ἑωσφόρου δὲ φωτός, οὐκ αἰσθητοῦ μόνου ἀλλὰ καὶ νοητοῦ. εἰ δὲ καὶ τῶν νοητῶν, πρόδηλον οτι καὶ πάσης τῆς κτίσεως κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον Καὶ αὐτός ἐστι πρὸ πάντων. 1041 Ps 109,4 Ωσπερ ἡμῖν ὁ σωτὴρ ορκον ὁρίζει ειναι τὸ Ναὶ ναὶ καὶ τὸ Ου ου, ουτω μᾶλλον δὲ πολλῷ πλέον θεὸς ἀληθεύων ὀμνύναι λέγεται, οὐ ἀπωμοτικῷ η κατωμοτικῷ τινι χρησάμενος. ωμοσε τοίνυν ὁ κύριος καὶ οὐ μεταμελήσεται, ἐπείπερ ἀμεταμέλητα τὰ χαρίσματα καὶ ἡ κλῆσις τοῦ θεοῦ· κλῆσις δὲ μεγίστη ἡ τοῦ σωτῆρος εἰς ἱερωσύνην καὶ ἀμεταμέλητον χάρισμα, ἡ ἱερωσύνη οὐ κατὰ τὴν τάξιν ̓Ααρὼν ἀλλὰ τοῦ Μελχισεδὲκ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. ἡ γὰρ τοῦ ̓Ααρὼν μέχρι καιροῦ διορθώσεως ἐπικειμένη μετετέθη, ῃ φησιν ὁ Παῦλος Μετατιθεμένης τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἀνάγκῃ καὶ νόμου μετάθεσις γίνεται. ἡ δὲ πρὸς τὸν σωτῆρα γεναμένη διαθήκη αἰώνιος ἀπαράβατον εχει τὴν ἱερωσύνην, σῴζειν εἰς τὸ παντελὲς δυναμένου τούτου τοῦ ἱερέως τοὺς δι' αὐτοῦ προσερχομένους τῷ θεῷ ζῶν πάντοτε