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the Gospel makes us secure, saying, as the Lord himself said, "What have I to do with you, woman? My hour has not yet come"; for lest some might think from the "woman, what have I to do with you" that the holy virgin was something more, he called her woman, as if prophesying, on account of the schisms and heresies that were going to be on the earth, so that no one, admiring the holy one to excess, should fall into this foolish talk of heresy. 5. For the whole account of the heresy is a mockery and, so to speak, an old wives' tale. What scripture has recounted this? Which of the prophets permitted a human being to be worshipped, let alone a woman? For she is a choice vessel, but a woman, and in no way different in nature, but honored in mind and perception, just like the bodies of the saints; and if I might say something more for doxology, like Elijah, a virgin from his mother and thus remaining forever and being taken up, not having seen death; like John who reclined on the breast 3.480 of the Lord, "whom Jesus loved"; like holy Thecla, and Mary who is yet more honorable than she on account of the dispensation she was deemed worthy of. But neither is Elijah to be worshipped, although he is among the living, nor is John to be worshipped, even though through his own prayer he worked out his own falling asleep in an astonishing way, or rather, having received the grace from God, but neither is Thecla nor any of the saints worshipped. For the ancient error shall not rule over us, of abandoning the living one and worshipping the things made by him. "For they worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator" and "they became fools." For if he does not want angels to be worshipped, how much more the one born of Anna, the one given by Joachim to Anna, the one given to father and mother through prayer and all diligence according to a promise, but in no way born differently from the nature of humans, but as all are, from the seed of a man and the womb of a woman? For even if the history and traditions of Mary hold that it was said to her father Joachim in the desert that 'your wife has conceived,' yet not that this happened without conjugal union, nor that it was without the seed of a man, but the angel who was sent foretold what was going to be, so that there might be no hesitation concerning what truly happened and what was already ordained by God and promised to the righteous one. 6. And everywhere we see the scriptures relating things in the same way. For Isaiah proclaims beforehand concerning the things that were to be fulfilled in the Son of God, saying, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel." And since she who gave birth was a virgin and the one conceived in a woman was God, which is interpreted 'with us,' so that the truth might not become a matter of doubtful conjecture to the prophet, the prophet sees in a vision and, compelled by the holy spirit, relates, and says, "and I went in to the prophetess," relating concerning the evangelical entrance of Gabriel, who was sent by God to recount the entrance of the only-begotten Son of God into the world and his birth from Mary. "and she conceived," he says, "and bore a son. And the Lord said to me: Call his name Spoil quickly, plunder speedily; before the child knows how to call father or mother, he will take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria" and so on. And none of these things had yet been ac3.481complished; but this was going to happen in the Son of God and be fulfilled after one thousand six hundred years, more or less. And the things that were going to happen after so many generations the prophet saw as though they had already happened. Was it then a lie? May it not be. But what was ordained by God was securely proclaimed as already accomplished, so that the truth might not be disbelieved, so that such an amazing and astonishing mystery that was to be might not come into doubt in the prophet's supposition. Or do you not see the very

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εὐαγγέλιον ἐπασφαλίζεται ἡμᾶς λέγον, αὐτοῦ τοῦ κυρίου φήσαντος ὅτι «τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί, γύναι; οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα μου»· ἵνα γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ «γύναι, τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί» μή τινες νομίσωσι περισσότερόν τι εἶναι τὴν ἁγίαν παρθένον, γυναῖκα ταύτην κέκληκεν, ὡς προφητεύων, τῶν μελλόντων ἔσεσθαι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς σχισμάτων τε καὶ αἱρέσεων χάριν, ἵνα μή τινες ὑπερβολῇ θαυμάσαντες τὴν ἁγίαν εἰς τοῦτο ὑποπέσωσι τῆς αἱρέσεως τὸ ληρολόγημα. 5. Χλεύης γάρ ἐστι τὸ πᾶν καὶ γραῶν ὁ μῦθος ὡς εἰπεῖν τῆς αἱρέσεως τὸ διήγημα. ποία δέ τις γραφὴ διηγήσατο περὶ τούτου; ποῖος προφητῶν ἐπέτρεψεν ἄνθρωπον προσκυνεῖσθαι, οὐ μὴν γυναῖκα λέγειν; ἐξαίρετον μὲν γάρ ἐστι τὸ σκεῦος, ἀλλὰ γυνή, καὶ οὐδὲν τὴν φύσιν παρηλλαγμένη, τὴν δὲ γνώμην καὶ τὴν αἴσθησιν ἐν τιμῇ τετιμημένη, ὥσπερ τὰ σώματα τῶν ἁγίων· καὶ εἴ τι περισσότερον πρὸς δοξολογίαν εἴποιμι, ὡς Ἠλίας ἐκ μητρὸς παρθένος καὶ οὕτω μένων εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς καὶ ἀναλαμβανόμενος, θάνατον δὲ οὐχ ἑωρακώς· ὡς ὁ Ἰωάννης ὁ ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος 3.480 τοῦ κυρίου ἀναπεσών, «ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς»· ὡς Θέκλα ἡ ἁγία, καὶ Μαρία ἡ ἔτι ταύτης τιμιωτέρα δι' ἣν κατηξίωται οἰκονομίαν. ἀλλ' οὔτε Ἠλίας προσκυνητός, καίπερ ἐν ζῶσιν ὤν, οὔτε Ἰωάννης προσκυνητός, καίτοι γε διὰ ἰδίας εὐχῆς τὴν κοίμησιν αὑτοῦ ἔκπληκτον ἀπεργασάμενος, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐκ θεοῦ λαβὼν τὴν χάριν, ἀλλ' οὔτε ἡ Θέκλα οὔτε τις τῶν ἁγίων προσκυνεῖται. οὐ γὰρ κυριεύσει ἡμῶν ἡ ἀρχαία πλάνη τοῦ καταλιμπάνειν τὸν ζῶντα καὶ προσκυνεῖν τὰ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γεγονότα. «ἐλάτρευσαν γὰρ καὶ ἐσεβάσθησαν τῇ κτίσει παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα» καὶ «ἐμωράνθησαν». εἰ γὰρ ἀγγέλους προσκυνεῖσθαι οὐ θέλει, πόσῳ μᾶλλον τὴν ἀπὸ Ἄννης γεγεννημένην, τὴν ἐκ τοῦ Ἰωακεὶμ τῇ Ἄννᾳ δεδωρημένην, τὴν δι' εὐχῆς καὶ πάσης ἐπιμελείας κατὰ ἐπαγγελίαν πατρὶ καὶ μητρὶ δοθεῖσαν, οὐ μὴν ἑτέρως γεγεννημένην παρὰ τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσιν, ἀλλὰ καθὼς πάντες ἐκ σπέρματος ἀνδρὸς καὶ μήτρας γυναικός; εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἡ τῆς Μαρίας ἱστορία καὶ παραδόσεις ἔχουσιν ὅτι ἐρρέθη τῷ πατρὶ αὐτῆς Ἰωακεὶμ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ὅτι ἡ γυνή σου συνειληφυῖα, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὅτι ἄνευ συζυγίας τοῦτο ἐγένετο, οὐδὲ ὅτι ἄνευ σπέρματος ἀνδρός, ἀλλὰ τὸ μέλλον ἔσεσθαι προεθέσπιζεν ὁ ἄγγελος ἀποσταλείς, ἵνα μή τις γένηται δισταγμὸς διὰ τὸ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ γεγενημένον καὶ τὸ ἐκ θεοῦ ἤδη τεταγμένον καὶ τῷ δικαίῳ ἐπηγγελμένον. 6. Καὶ πάντη τὰς γραφὰς ὁρῶμεν ὡσαύτως διηγουμένας. Ἠσαΐας γὰρ προκηρύττει περὶ τῶν μελλόντων εἰς τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ πληροῦσθαι, λέγων «ἰδού, ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει καὶ τέξεται υἱὸν καὶ καλέσουσι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἐμμανουήλ». καὶ ἐπειδὴ παρθένος ἦν ἡ γεννήσασα καὶ θεὸς ὁ μεθ' ἡμῶν ἑρμηνευόμενος ὁ ἐν γυναικὶ κυϊσκόμενος, ἵνα μὴ ἐν δισταγμῷ ὑπονοίας τῷ προφήτῃ γένηται ἡ ἀλήθεια, ὁρᾷ ἐν ὁράσει καὶ διηγεῖται ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου ἀναγκαζόμενος ὁ προφήτης, καὶ φησί «καὶ εἰσῆλθε πρὸς τὴν προφῆτιν», διηγούμενος περὶ τῆς τοῦ Γαβριὴλ εὐαγγελικῆς εἰσόδου, ὃς ἀπεστάλη ὑπὸ θεοῦ διηγήσασθαι τὴν τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ εἴσοδον εἰς τὸν κόσμον καὶ γέννησιν ἀπὸ Μαρίας. «καὶ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔλαβε» φησί «καὶ ἔτεκεν υἱόν. καὶ εἶπε κύριος πρός με· κάλεσον τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ταχέως σκύλευσον, ὀξέως προνόμευσον· πρὶν ἢ γνῶναι τὸ παιδίον καλεῖν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα, λήψεται δύναμιν ∆αμασκοῦ καὶ τὰ σκῦλα Σαμαρείας» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. καὶ πάντα ταῦτα οὔπω ἦν τετε3.481 λεσμένα· ἤμελλε δὲ τοῦτο γίνεσθαι ἐν τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πληροῦσθαι μετὰ χίλια ἔτη καὶ ἑξακόσια, πλείω ἐλάσσω. καὶ τὰ μετὰ τοσαύτας γενεὰς μέλλοντα γίνεσθαι ὡς ἤδη γενόμενα ἑώρα ὁ προφήτης. ἆρα ψεῦσμα ἦν; μὴ γένοιτο. ἀλλὰ ἀσφαλῶς τὸ παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ οἰκονομηθὲν ὡς ἤδη τετελειωμένον ἐκηρύττετο, ἵνα μὴ ἀπιστηθῇ ἡ ἀλήθεια, ἵνα μὴ εἰς δισταγμὸν ἔλθῃ ἐν ὑπονοίᾳ τοῦ προφήτου τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔκθαμβον καὶ ἔκπληκτον μυστήριον μέλλον ἔσεσθαι. ἢ οὐχ ὁρᾷς αὐτὸ τὸ