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The saying of Chrysostom, "our Christ is not circumscribed by walls," when he was eulogizing Saint Romanos, must not be taken simply, but one must know to whom he was speaking when he said it, since in dialogues one must observe time, person, and manner; time, because the same laws were not given to those of old as to those in grace; person, because a heretic is one thing and an orthodox person is another; manner, because it is not the same thing to speak dogmatically and to propose the word more simply. To whom then was Chrysostom speaking? Was it to an orthodox person setting up an icon of Christ? Not at all; but to some Hellene, who characterizes the cause that is above all things even from the last of the things that exist, as the divine Dionysius says, and who says it in no way surpasses the godless and multiform shapes fashioned by him. Well then and very rightly did the father say, "our Christ is not circumscribed by walls"; one must mentally add "in his divine nature", since that man's gods are established in walls and are limited there and have no other meaning beyond what is seen by those who look at them. They have eyes, and see not; ears, and hear not; hands, and handle not; feet, and walk not; nostrils, and smell not, as they are prophetically accused. But our Christ is not only properly and truly a man in what is seen, since he was made like us in all things, and embodied and ensouled and of a certain age and all other things known to human nature except sin alone, but also God by nature and in truth, and the same person is both. I mean something like this, as the same Chrysostom says somewhere, below he toils and above he holds the elements together, below he hungers and from above he provides rains, below he is afraid and above he thunders, below he stands before a tribunal and from above he beholds all things. In this sense, therefore, he said to the Hellene, "our Christ is not circumscribed by walls"; and he did not think it necessary to be precise about the statement because of the heresy that is now raging. But it is clear that the saint knew for certain that he who toils and hungers, is afraid and stands before a tribunal, is circumscribed by the character of a body, whether on a wall in colors or on a panel. And in obvious matters there was no need for him to explain; for if he said he saw the bodiless angel in an icon, does he not see the embodied Christ depicted? It is foolish, then, to assume such a thing about the saint. If, therefore, they have him as a witness for their wicked dogma, why do they reject this same man, not accepting that an angel be depicted nor, for that matter, any of the God-bearers, when Chrysostom says somewhere again as follows: what you have done in names, this you have also done in the case of his icon (that is, of the holy Meletius); for many have engraved that holy icon on the bezels of rings and on cups and bowls and on the walls of bedrooms and everywhere. But nevertheless they do not endure to listen to him. Concerning the story of Saint Pancratius, that it does not show by whom it was written, what of it? Nearly all the martyrologies are without author's name; but nevertheless they are reliable, and from them the teachers set out to compose the encomia of those who have been martyred. Saint Pancratius is honored in Sicily with a very great church, in which they say signs have also occurred. He who does not accept the story has obviously rejected the martyr along with it. These things, then, in brief. But you, my child, be well and be saved and stay far away from Gregory, lest he destroy you out of carelessness. 387 {1To an Anchoress}1 I have read the letter of your piety. But what is this praise you have given us, who are strangers to every good thing? And what is this request for a teacher's word from those who do not have it to make their own, let alone to water others with its streams? Nevertheless, since it is written, "give to everyone who asks of you," accept some brief word from our poverty. Of those who live in the common life, the eye of the mind could not be so purified as to gaze unimpeded upon the beauty of the

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τὸ εἰρηκέναι τὸν Χρυσόστομον ὁ ἡμέτερος Χριστὸς τοίχοις οὐ περιγράφεται, ἐγκωμιάζοντα τὸν Ἅγιον Ῥωμανόν, οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐκλαμβάνειν δεῖ, ἀλλὰ γνῶναι τίνι διαλεγόμενος εἴρηκεν, ἐπειδὴ ἐν ταῖς διαλέξεσιν παρατηρητέον καὶ χρόνον καὶ πρόσωπον καὶ τρόπον· χρόνον, διὰ τὸ μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ νενομοθετῆσθαι τοῖς πάλαι πρὸς τοὺς ἐν τῇ χάριτι· πρόσωπον, ὅτι ἄλλο αἱρετικὸν καὶ ἕτερον ὀρθοδόξου· τρόπον, ἐπειδὴ οὐ ταὐτόν ἐστι δογματικῶς διαλέγεσθαι καὶ ἁπλοϊκώτερον προτείνειν τὸν λόγον. τίνι οὖν διελέλεκτο ὁ Χρυσόστομος; ἆρά γε ὀρθοδόξῳ ἀναστηλοῦντι τὴν εἰκόνα Χριστοῦ; οὐδαμῶς· ἀλλά τινι Ἕλληνι, ὃς τὴν πάντων ὑπερκειμένην αἰτίαν καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ἐσχάτων χαρακτηρίζει, ὥς φησιν ὁ θεῖος ∆ιονύσιος, καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτὴν ὑπερέχειν φῆ τῶν πλαττομένων αὐτῷ ἀθέων καὶ πολυειδῶν μορφωμάτων. καλῶς οὖν καὶ πάνυ εἰκότως ἔφη ὁ πατήρ, ὁ ἡμέτερος Χριστὸς τοίχοις οὐ περιγράφεται· προσυπακουστέον "4τῇ τῆς θεότητος φύσει"5, ὡς τῶν ἐκείνου θεῶν ἐν τοίχοις ἱδρυμένων κἀκεῖ περιωρισμένων καὶ οὐκ ἐχόντων τι ἄλλο νοούμενον παρ' ὃ βλέπονται τοῖς ὁρῶσιν. ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῖς καὶ οὐ βλέπουσιν, ὦτα καὶ οὐκ ἀκούουσιν, χεῖρες καὶ οὐ ψηλαφῶσιν, πόδες καὶ οὐ περιπατοῦσιν, ῥῖνες καὶ οὐκ ὀσφραίνονται, καθὰ προφητικῶς κατηγοροῦνται. Ὁ δὲ ἡμέτερος Χριστὸς οὐ κατὰ τὸ ὁρώμενον μόνον ἄνθρωπος κυρίως καὶ ἀληθῶς, ἐπείπερ ὅμοιος ἡμῖν κατὰ πάντα χρηματίσας, καὶ ἐνσώματος καὶ ἔμπνους καὶ ἐνῆλιξ καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα γνώριμα τῇ ἀνθρωπείᾳ φύσει πλὴν μόνης ἁμαρτίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ θεὸς φύσει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς ἀμφότερα. οἷόν τι λέγω, ὥς φησί που ὁ αὐτὸς Χρυσόστομος, κάτω κοπιᾷ καὶ ἄνω συγκροτεῖ τὰ στοιχεῖα, κάτω πεινᾷ καὶ ἄνωθεν ὑετοὺς χορηγεῖ, κάτω δειλιᾷ καὶ ἄνω βροντᾷ, κάτω δικαστηρίῳ παρίσταται καὶ ἄνωθεν πάντα θεωρεῖ. κατὰ τοῦτο οὖν εἴρηται αὐτῷ πρὸς τὸν Ἕλληνα, ὁ ἡμέτερος Χριστὸς τοίχοις οὐ περιγράφεται· καὶ οὐχ ἡγεῖτο χρῆναι ἀκριβολογεῖσθαι περὶ τὴν ἀπόφασιν εἵνεκα τῆς νυνὶ λυττώσης αἱρέσεως. δῆλον δὲ ὅτι τὸν κοπιῶντα καὶ πεινῶντα, δειλιῶντά τε καὶ παριστάμενον κριτηρίῳ οἶδεν ἀσφαλῶς ὁ ἅγιος σώματος χαρακτῆρι περιγράφεσθαι εἴτε ἐν τοίχῳ χρώμασιν εἴτε ἐν πίνακι. καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐναργέσιν οὐκ ἦν λόγος αὐτῷ διασαφήσεως· εἰ γὰρ τὸν ἀσώματον ἄγγελον ἰδεῖν ἔφη ἐν εἰκόνι, τὸν ἐνσώματον Χριστὸν οὐ βλέπει εἰκονιζόμενον; ἠλίθιον οὖν τοιοῦτόν τι περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου ὑπολαμβάνειν. εἰ οὖν εἰς μαρτυρίαν αὐτὸν ἔχουσι τοῦ πονηροῦ αὐτῶν δόγματος, τί τὸν αὐτὸν ἀποβάλλονται, μὴ δεχόμενοι ἄγγελον εἰκονίζεσθαι μηδ' αὖ τινα τῶν θεοφόρων, λέγοντος ὧδέ που πάλιν τοῦ Χρυσοστόμου· ὅπερ γοῦν ἐν ὀνόμασιν ἐποιήσατε, τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς εἰκόνος ἐπράξατε τῆς ἐκείνου (ἤγουν Μελετίου τοῦ ἁγίου)· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐν δακτυλίων σφενδόναις καὶ ἐν ἐκπώμασι καὶ φιάλαις καὶ ἐν θαλάμων τοίχοις καὶ πανταχοῦ τὴν εἰκόνα τὴν ἁγίαν ἐκείνην διεχάραξαν πολλοί. ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐδὲ ἀκοῦσαι αὐτοῦ ἀνέχονται. Περὶ τῆς ἱστορίας τοῦ Ἁγίου Παγκρατίου, ὅτι οὐ δηλοῖ πρὸς τίνος συνεγράφη, τί τοῦτο; σχεδὸν πάντα τὰ μαρτυρογράφια ἀνεπίγραφά εἰσιν· ἀλλ' ὅμως βέβαιά εἰσιν, κἀκεῖθεν οἱ διδάσκαλοι ἀφορμίζονται ποιεῖν τὰ τῶν μαρτυρησάντων ἐγκώμια. ὁ Ἅγιος Παγκράτιος ἐν Σικελίᾳ τιμᾶται ναῷ μεγίστῳ, ἐν ᾧ φασι καὶ σημεῖα γεγενῆσθαι. ὁ οὖν μὴ δεχόμενος τὴν ἱστορίαν συναπεβάλετο τὸν μάρτυρα δῆλον ὅτι. Ταῦτα μὲν ὡς ἐν ὀλίγοις. σὺ δέ, τέκνον, ὑγίαινέ τε καὶ σῴζοιο καὶ τοῦ Γρηγορίου μακρὰν ἀπόστηθι, μή σε ὀλέσῃ ἐξ ἀπροσεξίας. 387 {1Ἐγκλειστῇ}1 Ἀνέγνων σου τὸ γράμμα τῆς εὐλαβείας. ἀλλὰ τίς ὁ ἔπαινος, ὃν ἐποίησας ἡμῖν, ξένοις οὖσι παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ; τίς δὲ καὶ ἡ ἐπιζήτησις τοῦ διδασκαλικοῦ λόγου μὴ ἔχουσιν οἰκειοποτεῖν, οὐχ ὅτι γε καὶ ἑτέροις ἄρδειν νάματα; ὅμως ἐπειδὴ γέγραπται παντὶ τῷ αἰτοῦντί σε δίδου, δέξαιο βραχυλογίαν τινὰ τῆς πενιχρότητος ἡμῶν. τῶν ἐν τῷ κοινῷ βίῳ ἀναστρεφομένων οὐχ οὕτως δύναιτ' ἂν ὁ τῆς διανοίας ὀφθαλμὸς κεκαθάρθαι, ὡς ἐνατενίζειν ἀπαραποδίστως τῷ κάλλει τῆς