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21. From that time on, He began to perform perfect divine signs at the time of His preaching, “for this first sign,” it says, “Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee,” not before His baptism, as I have often said, but when He returned from the temptation, on the third day after the two which the two disciples of John, who heard and followed Him, stayed with Him; as immediately after the two days they spent with Him, he adds, saying, “and He went out to Galilee and, having found Philip, said, ‘Follow Me.’” Then immediately on the third day, a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee. For it was necessary for Him, having departed, to be immediately invited to the celebration of the wedding, in their honor, for the blessing of the marriage. And it says, “On the third day a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. And both Jesus and His disciples who were with Him were invited to the wedding;” “And when the wine ran out,” it says, “the mother of Jesus says, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus says to her, ‘What have I to do with you, woman? My hour has not yet come.’” * After He had come from the desert, following the sequence of the temptation, and was taken to Jerusalem and stood on the pinnacle of the temple, and from Jerusalem was taken up to a very high mountain, which is said by many to be Mount Tabor, which is translated as Itabyrion; and this is in Galilee. For Matthew proposed this sequence, who says, “But when Jesus heard that John had been delivered up, He went to Galilee.” But Luke, having precisely declared the departure from the mountain, first speaking about the mountain and the kingdoms which the devil showed the 2.280 Lord, later speaks about the pinnacle and Jerusalem, and how He returned to Galilee and Nazareth. And Matthew also says in agreement, “Leaving Nazareth, He came to Capernaum.” For He came to Nazareth and from there to the Jordan to John, and after crossing through the Jordan, He again made His way to His own home where He had been brought up, to His mother in Nazareth, and having remained there two days, when Andrew and his companions stayed with Him, He was then eager for the sake of the salvation of men to begin His preaching; and He remained two days because He had come after a time, having with Him the disciples He had already taken, and having dismissed the two who had followed Him, He immediately went out to Galilee for the preaching and for the work of the divine sign performed at the wedding. For see how the account confirms for us, as John the Baptist testifies, saying after the event had already passed, that “I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending in the form of a dove, this is He.’” For the Father, sending John to baptize, granted him this sign, so that when he saw, he would recognize the Savior sent from above to the world and the benefactor of our souls. Therefore, such heretics are overturned from the truth of the divine Scriptures and from accuracy, especially from the harmony of the four Gospels. For no one of sound mind 2.281 would reject the things precisely worked out in every way by the Holy Spirit through the divine Gospels. For even if they say that Matthew, Mark, and Luke the evangelists related concerning the Savior that after the baptism He was led up into the desert and spent forty days being tempted, and after the temptation, hearing that John had been delivered up, He came and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, but John lies in not speaking about these things, but immediately from the first, when the Savior came to John, and the other things which † he says He did, they will be shown to be ignorant in all things concerning the accuracy of the Gospels. For John the Evangelist signifies that the Lord, before John the Baptist was delivered up, with

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21. Ἀπὸ τότε δὲ τὰ τέλεια ἤρξατο ποιεῖν θεοσήμεια ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τοῦ κηρύγματος «τοῦτο γὰρ πρῶτον σημεῖον ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, 2.279 φησίν, ἐν Κανᾷ τῆς Γαλιλαίας», οὐχὶ πρὸ τοῦ βαπτίσματος, ὡς πολλάκις ἔφην, ἀλλ' ὅτε ἀνέκαμψεν ἀπὸ τοῦ πειρασμοῦ, τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ μετὰ τὰς δύο ἃς παρ' αὐτῷ ἔμειναν οἱ δύο μαθηταὶ τοῦ Ἰωάννου, οἱ ἀκούσαντες καὶ ἀκολουθήσαντες αὐτῷ· ὡς εὐθὺς μετὰ τὰς δύο ἡμέρας, ἃς ἐποίησαν παρ' αὐτῷ, ἐπιφέρει λέγων «καὶ ἐξῆλθεν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν καὶ εὑρὼν Φίλιππον εἶπεν· ἀκολούθει μοι». εἶτα εὐθὺς τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ γάμος ἐγένετο ἐν Κανᾷ τῆς Γαλιλαίας. ἔδει γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀπελθόντα εὐθὺς γάμων τελουμένων εἰς τὴν τιμὴν αὐτῶν κληθῆναι, ἐπ' εὐλογίᾳ τοῦ γάμου. καί φησι «γάμος ἐγένετο τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἐν Κανᾷ τῆς Γαλιλαίας καὶ ἦν ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐκεῖ, ἐκλήθη δὲ καὶ Ἰησοῦς καὶ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ οἱ μετ' αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν γάμον»· «καὶ ὑστερήσαντος, φησίν, οἴνου, λέγει ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ· οἶνον οὐκ ἔχουσι. καὶ λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί, γύναι; οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα μου». * μετὰ τὸ ἐλθεῖν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐρήμου κατὰ τὴν ἀκολουθίαν τοῦ πειρασμοῦ καὶ παραληφθῆναι εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ στῆναι ἐπὶ τῷ πτερυγίῳ τοῦ ἱεροῦ καὶ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων ἀνενεχθῆναι εἰς ὄρος ὑψηλὸν λίαν, ὅπερ παρὰ πολλοῖς λέγεται εἶναι τὸ Θαβὼρ ὄρος, ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται Ἰταβύριον· τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ἐν τῇ Γαλιλαίᾳ. ταύτην γὰρ τὴν ἀκολουθίαν ὁ Ματθαῖος ὑπέθετο, ὅς φησιν «ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Ἰωάννης παρεδόθη, ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν». ὁ δὲ Λουκᾶς καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους ὁρμὴν ἀκριβῶς δηλώσας πρῶτον μὲν περὶ τοῦ ὄρους εἰπὼν καὶ τῶν βασιλειῶν ὧν ἔδειξε τῷ 2.280 κυρίῳ ὁ διάβολος, ὕστερον λέγει περὶ τοῦ πτερυγίου καὶ Ἱερουσαλήμ, καὶ ὡς ἀνέκαμψεν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν καὶ Ναζαρέτ. συνῳδὰ δὲ καὶ ὁ Ματθαῖος λέγει «καταλιπὼν τὴν Ναζαρὲτ ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν Καφαρναούμ». ἦλθε γὰρ εἰς Ναζαρὲτ κἀκεῖθεν εἰς τὸν Ἰορδάνην πρὸς τὸν Ἰωάννην, καὶ μετὰ τὸ διελθεῖν διὰ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου πάλιν τὴν ὁρμὴν ἔσχεν ἐπὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα ἔνθα ἀνετέθραπτο, πρὸς τὴν μητέρα ἐν Ναζαρέτ, ἐκεῖ τε παραμείνας δύο ἡμέρας, ὅτε καὶ οἱ περὶ Ἀνδρέαν παρ' αὐτῷ ἔμειναν, λοιπὸν ἠπείγετο τῆς σωτηρίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἕνεκεν τοῦ κηρύγματος ἄρξασθαι· καὶ ἔμεινε μὲν δύο ἡμέρας διὰ τὸ διὰ χρόνου ἡκέναι, ἔχων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ οὓς ἤδη παρείληφε μαθητάς, καὶ ἀπολύσας τοὺς δύο τοὺς ἀκολουθήσαντας αὐτῷ εὐθὺς ἐξῆλθεν ἐπὶ τὴν Γαλιλαίαν διὰ τὸ κήρυγμα καὶ διὰ τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοσημείου τοῦ ἐν τῷ γάμῳ ἐπιτελεσθέντος. βλέπε γὰρ πῶς ἐπασφαλίζεται ἡμᾶς ὁ λόγος, ὡς Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστὴς μαρτυρεῖ λέγων ὡς παρῳχηκότος ἤδη τοῦ ἔργου ὅτι «κἀγὼ οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν, ἀλλ' ὁ πέμψας με βαπτίζειν εἶπέ μοι· ἐφ' ὃν ἂν ἴδῃς τὸ πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον ἐν εἴδει περιστερᾶς, οὗτός ἐστιν». ἀποστέλλων γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ τὸν Ἰωάννην βαπτίζειν τοῦτο αὐτῷ τὸ σημεῖον ἐδωρήσατο, ἵν' ὅταν ἴδῃ, ἐπιγνῷ τὸν ἄνωθεν τῷ κόσμῳ ἀποσταλέντα σωτῆρα καὶ εὐεργέτην τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν. Ἀνατρέπονται τοίνυν οἱ τοιοῦτοι αἱρεσιῶται ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας τῶν θείων γραφῶν καὶ τῆς ἀκριβείας, μάλιστα ἀπὸ τῆς συμφωνίας τῶν τεσσάρων εὐαγγελίων. οὐ γάρ τις τῶν εὖ φρονούντων 2.281 ἀποβάλοιτο τὰ τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι διὰ τῶν θείων εὐαγγελίων ἀκριβῶς πάντῃ πεπραγματευμένα. κἄν τε γὰρ λέγωσιν, ὅτι ὁ μὲν Ματθαῖος καὶ Μάρκος καὶ Λουκᾶς οἱ εὐαγγελισταὶ διηγήσαντο περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος ὅτι μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα ἀνήχθη εἰς τὴν ἔρημον καὶ ἐποίησεν ἡμέρας τεσσαράκοντα πειραζόμενος καὶ μετὰ τὸν πειρασμὸν ἀκούσας ὅτι Ἰωάννης παρεδόθη ἐλθὼν κατῴκησεν εἰς Καφαρναοὺμ τὴν παραθαλάσσιον, ὁ δὲ Ἰωάννης ψεύδεται μὴ εἰπὼν περὶ τούτων, ἀλλ' εὐθὺς ἀπὸ πρώτης, ὅτε ἦλθεν ὁ σωτὴρ πρὸς τὸν Ἰωάννην, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα † λέγει αὐτὸν πεποιηκέναι, φανήσονται κατὰ πάντα κατὰ τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τῶν εὐαγγελίων ἠγνοηκότες. Ἰωάννης γὰρ ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς πρὸ τοῦ παραδοθῆναι τὸν βαπτιστὴν Ἰωάννην σημαίνει τὸν κύριον μετὰ