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gladdened and made joyful, and not only us sinners, but also the angelic powers, since over one man repenting there is joy in heaven according to the sacred words. But blessed is God, who did not allow your honor to be led away until the end by the wicked heresy of the Christ-fighters, but through your good and blessed daughter turned you back to the light of truth. And O the wonder of both the father and the one who was born! O the sincere love of them both, of her who cared at his very last breaths for her father's soul, and of him who divinely inclined his ear and granted to her who asked a good burial gift, the orthodox conversion. The one departed, having along with her own goodness a delightful gift to offer to God, her father's salvation, while the other remained, a pious adornment of a holy daughter and truly a cause of rejoicing for all the orthodox. For what do you know, it says, woman, if you will save your husband? Or what do you know, man, if you will save your wife? But for us it must be slightly altered, that the daughter saved her father. And blessed is that holy woman, and blessed are you too, O thrice-desired one; for I am persuaded that with you, you may bring your whole house, and perhaps even your family, to orthodoxy for the Lord Christ, so that from many persons the grace bestowed on you may be thankfully acknowledged by many on your behalf. Such is the divine offering and your most beautiful confession, which in your letters you confessed before God and men. For thus is the true faith of Christians, according to the dogma of theology, to believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in whom baptism also has its perfection, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit (in one God and not three, perish the thought, since the Godhead is one, not divided among the three hypostases, but seen whole and indivisibly in each person; which is also a paradox, to call each one God and to sum up the confession in one God), and again, according to the economy, to believe that the Word became flesh, that is, the One of the Holy Trinity was born of the all-pure Virgin Mary, remaining what He was, unchangeable God and co-eternal with the Father, but assuming what is ours through the virginal birth in the Holy Spirit. And He is wholly God and wholly man, bearing completely in Himself all the properties of both natures from which He was composed, I mean of divinity and of humanity, in one hypostasis, circumscribed and not circumscribed, the one according to divinity, the other according to humanity. For these are the properties, and by the uncircumscribed He is one of the Holy Trinity, and by the circumscribed He is one of us. And in this He is shown to be the mediator between God and men, as one who joins the extremes to Himself and through Himself has made us partakers of the divine nature and sons of God, a thing wonderful and most praiseworthy both to be conceived and to be spoken of. Therefore he who says that He is not circumscribed in the flesh according to our likeness, denies, my blessed brother, to confess God in the flesh, opposing the gospel of Christ and is equal to the Jews. For where will the saying 'He has become like us in all things' be true, if He were not depicted like us? And where the saying, 'Handle me and see that a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have'? And where the saying, 'Why do you want to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from the Father'? He, therefore, who is not circumscribed is clearly neither like us, nor can He be handled, nor indeed be killed. But indeed He was killed and was handled after the resurrection; therefore He is also circumscribed in being depicted like us. But the iconoclasts became futile in their thinking and their senseless heart was darkened; by denying the icon of Christ along with that of the Theotokos and of all the saints, they deny the saving economy, and while they confess Christ like the demons, they deny him by their works. For Christ is not Christ if He is not circumscribed, nor is He worshipped, if

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εὔφρανεν καὶ ἐχαροποίησεν, καὶ οὐχ ἡμᾶς μόνους τοὺς ἁμαρτωλούς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἀγγελικὰς δυνάμεις, εἴπερ ἐφ' ἑνὶ ἀνθρώπῳ μετανοοῦντι χαρὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς γίνεται κατὰ τὰ ἱερὰ λόγια. ἀλλ' εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεός, ὃς οὐκ εἴασε τὴν τιμιότητά σου ἕως τέλους συναπαχθῆναι τῇ πονηρᾷ αἱρέσει τῶν χριστομάχων, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς καλῆς καὶ μακαρίας θυγατρὸς ἐπέστρεψεν εἰς τὸ φῶς τῆς ἀληθείας. καὶ ὢ τοῦ θαύματος καὶ τοῦ γεννήσαντος καὶ τῆς γεννηθείσης· ὢ τῆς τῶν ἀμφοτέρων εἰλικρινοῦς ἀγάπης, τῆς μὲν φροντισάσης ἐπ' αὐταῖς ταῖς τελευταίαις ἀναπνοαῖς τὸ πατρικὸν σῶσμα, τοῦ δὲ κλίναντος θεοπρεπῶς τὸ οὖς καὶ χαρισαμένου τῇ αἰτησαμένῃ καλὸν ἐντάφιον, τὴν ὀρθόδοξον ἐπιστροφήν. ἀπῆλθεν ἡ μὲν ἔχουσα μετὰ τῆς οἰκείας καλοκἀγαθίας ξένιον τερπνὸν προσοῖσαι τῷ θεῷ, τὸ πατρῷον σωτήριον, ὁ δὲ ἐπέμεινεν θυγατρὸς ἱερᾶς εὐσεβὲς ἐγκαλλώπισμα καὶ πάντων· τῶν ὀρθοδόξων ὡς ἀληθῶς εὐφραντήριον. τί γὰρ οἶδας, φησί, γύναι, εἰ τὸν ἄνδρα σώσεις; ἢ τί οἶδας, ἄνερ, εἰ τὴν γυναῖκα σώσεις; ἡμῖν δὲ μικρὸν ὑπαλλακτέον, ὅτι ἔσωσεν ἡ θυγάτηρ τὸν πατέρα. καὶ μακαρία ἐκείνη ἡ ὁσία, μακάριος καὶ σύ, ὦ τριπόθητε· πείθομαι γὰρ ὅτι σὺν σοὶ καὶ ὅλην οἰκίαν, τάχα δὲ καὶ γένος προσαγάγῃς ὀρθοδοξοῦν τῷ δεσπότῃ Χριστῷ, ἵνα ἐκ πολλῶν προσώπων τὸ εἰς ὑμᾶς χάρισμα διὰ πολλῶν εὐχαριστηθῇ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν. Τοιαύτη ἡ θεία προσφορὰ καὶ καλλίστη σου ἡ ὁμολογία, ἣν ἐν τοῖς γράμμασιν ὡμολόγησας ἐνώπιον θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων. οὕτω γὰρ ἡ ἀληθινὴ πίστις τῶν χριστιανῶν, κατὰ μὲν τὸ τῆς θεολογίας δόγμα πιστεύειν εἰς πατέρα καὶ υἱὸν καὶ Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, ἐν οἷς καὶ τὸ βάπτισμα τὴν τελείωσιν ἔχει, θεὸν τὸν πατέρα, θεὸν τὸν υἱόν, θεὸν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον (εἰς ἕνα θεὸν καὶ οὐ τρεῖς, ἄπαγε, ἐπείπερ μία ἡ θεότης, οὐ διαιρουμένη ταῖς τρισὶν ὑποστάσεσιν, ἀλλ' ὅλη ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ προσώπῳ θεωρουμένη ἀμερίστως· ὃ καὶ παράδοξον, θεὸν λέγειν ἕκαστον καὶ εἰς ἕνα θεὸν ἀνακεφαλαιοῦν τὸ ὁμολόγημα), κατὰ δὲ τὸ τῆς οἰκονομίας πάλιν πιστεύειν ὅτι ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, ἤγουν ὁ εἷς τῆς Ἁγίας Τριάδος ἐγεννήθη ἐκ τῆς παναχράντου παρθένου Μαρίας, μείνας μὲν ὅπερ ἦν, θεὸς ἀναλλοίωτος καὶ τῷ πατρὶ συναΐδιος, προσλαβὼν δὲ τὸ ἡμέτερον διὰ τῆς παρθενικῆς ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ γεννήσεως. καὶ ἔστιν ὅλος θεὸς καὶ ὅλος ἄνθρωπος, ὅλα φέρων ἀνελλιπῶς ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὰ τῶν ἑκατέρων φύσεων ἐξ ὧν συνετέθη, θεότητός τε φημὶ καὶ ἀνθρωπότητος ἐν μιᾷ ὑποστάσει τὰ ἰδιώματα, περιγραπτὸς καὶ οὐ περιγραπτός, τὸ μὲν κατὰ τὴν θεότητα, τὸ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα· ταῦτα γὰρ τὰ ἰδιώματα, καὶ τῷ μὲν ἀπεριγράπτῳ εἷς ὢν τῆς Ἁγίας Τρίαδος, τῷ δὲ περιγραπτῷ εἷς ὢν ἐξ ἡμῶν. κἀν τούτῳ πιστοῦται μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων γενόμενος, ὡς συνάπτων τὰ ἄκρα πρὸς ἑαυτὸν καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ θείας φύσεως κοινωνοὺς καὶ θεοῦ υἱοὺς ἡμᾶς ἀπεργασάμενος, τὸ θαυμαστὸν καὶ ὑπεραινετὸν καὶ νοούμενον καὶ λεγόμενον. ὁ οὖν λέγων αὐτὸν μὴ περιγράφεσθαι ἐν σαρκὶ καθ' ὁμοιότητα ἡμετέραν, ἀρνεῖται, εὐλογημένε μου ἀδελφέ, θεὸν ἐν σαρκὶ φᾶναι, ἀντιτασσόμενος τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἔστιν Ἰουδαίοις ἴσος· ποῦ γὰρ ἀληθεύσει τὸ ὅμοιος ἡμῖν κατὰ πάντα γεγονέναι, εἴπερ μὴ ἐξεικονίζοιτο καθ' ἡμᾶς; ποῦ δὲ τό, ψηλαφήσατέ με καὶ ἴδετε ὅτι πνεῦμα σάρκα καὶ ὀστέα οὐκ ἔχει, καθὼς ἐμὲ θεωρεῖτε ἔχοντα; ποῦ δὲ τό, τί με θέλετε ἀποκτεῖναι, ἄνθρωπον ὃς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὑμῖν λελάληκα, ἣν ἤκουσα παρὰ τοῦ πατρός; ὁ τοίνυν μὴ περιγραφόμενος οὔτε ὅμοιος ἡμῖν δῆλον ὅτι οὔτ' αὖ ψηλαφᾶται οὐδ' οὐ μὴν ἀποκτένεται. ἀλλὰ μὴν ἀπεκτάνθη καὶ ἐψηλαφήθη μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν· οὐκοῦν καὶ περιγραπτὸς τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐξεικονίσει. ἀλλ' ἐματαιώθησαν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς αὐτῶν οἱ εἰκονμάχοι καὶ ἐσκοτίσθη ἡ ἀσύνετος αὐτῶν καρδία, ἐκ τοῦ ἀρνεῖσθαι τὴν εἰκόνα Χριστοῦ σὺν τῆς Θεοτόκου καὶ τῶν ἁπάντων ἁγίων ἀρνούμενοι τὴν σωτήριον οἰκονομίαν, καὶ Χριστὸν μὲν ὁμολογοῦντες ὡς τὰ δαιμόνια, τοῖς δὲ ἔργοις ἀρνούμενοι· οὐ γάρ τοι Χριστὸς ὁ Χριστός, εἰ μὴ περιγράφοιτο, οὐδὲ προσκυνεῖται, εἰ