In Zacchaeum

Of Amphilochius bishop of Iconium, a discourse on Zacchaeus.

Nothing so raises the soul to gladness as the fear of God and

abstinence from evils and the course of repentance and the way of confession. Whence also today David blessed those who have obtained the remission of sins, at the same time setting forth the philanthropy of Christ, and at the same time also preparing sinners to run to repentance ... blessed, he says, are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered ... Therefore let any fornicator, tax collector run to the inexhaustible springs of the salvation of Christ.

Without it, it is not possible to receive release from evils nor to obtain the blessing, even if you speak of prophets or apostles or evangelists. For all have drawn from the same spring. Among the prophets, David himself, after his adultery, is still even now a prophet through the grace of the one who forgave. And among the apostles, Peter and Paul; for the one, after his denial, holds the keys of the kingdom, while the other, after the persecution, was made an apostle of the gentiles, having changed his Judaic zeal into an evangelical way. For in the gospels I know not only of Matthew being saved from among the tax collectors, but also two others with him; of whom one, by praying, by beating his breast, the treasure-house of evils, by not daring to lift his hands to the holy things, by bowing down, was not only justified, but also crowned over the Pharisee; but Zacchaeus, having climbed up the tree where he often stood watching lest any of the merchants should pass by unnoticed so that he might not remain without profit, was watching lest the merchant of heaven and earth, the one who brings the inviolable treasure of the kingdom, should pass him by unnoticed.But lest we should confuse the stories of the tax collectors altogether, if it seems good, today let us take Zacchaeus alone as the subject of our treatise and expand the discourse.

Having gone out, he says, Jesus was passing through Jericho, and behold, a man named Zacchaeus, and he was a chief tax collector. The evangelist does not mention Jericho simply, but because he speaks of a tax collector who entertained God at home. And the matter was unbelievable. He sets forth his native city, so that, being reminded of the prostitute Rahab, we might not be astonished at the strange recantation of Zacchaeus. Therefore he mentioned Jericho for this reason, so that, calling to mind Rahab the prostitute, we might compare the manner of salvation of both. For just as Rahab the prostitute, having received Jesus son of Nave as a spy, hid him, so also Zacchaeus the tax collector, having received at home the true Jesus who spies out our thoughts, nourished him. She received Jesus son of Nave, the one who brought the people into the land of promise; this one receives the true Jesus, the one into the kingdom of the heavens... She received Jesus the lacuna septem linearum this one received the true Jesus, the one who razed the temple of the Jews; For, he says, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down. She received Jesus, the one who brought the people through the Jordan into a land flowing with milk and honey; this one received the true Jesus, the one who through baptism brought the faithful to where eye has not seen and ear has not heard and it has not entered into the heart of man. She received Jesus, the one who brought the cluster of grapes on a pole out of the land; this one the

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In Zacchaeum

Ἀμφιλοχίου ἐπισκόπου Ἰκονίου λόγος εἰς τὸν Ζακχαῖον.

Οὐδὲν οὕτως τὴν ψυχὴν πρὸς εὐφροσύνην διανίστησιν ὡς φόβος θεοῦ καὶ

κακῶν ἀποχὴ καὶ μετανοίας δρόμος καὶ ἐξομο λογήσεως τρόπος. Ὅθεν καὶ σήμερον ∆αβὶδ τοὺς τῆς ἀφέσεως τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν τυχόντας ἐμακάριζεν ἅμα μὲν τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ παριστῶν, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς προσδραμεῖν τῇ μετανοίᾳ παρασκευάζων ... μακάριοι, φησίν, ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι καὶ ὧν ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ... τις οὖνη πόρνοςτελώνης εἰς τὰς ἀκενώτους τῆς σωτη ρίας τοῦ Χριστοῦ τρεχέτωπηγάς.

Οὐκ ἔστιν ἄνευ αὐτῆς οὐ κακῶν λύσιν λαβεῖν οὐ τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ τυχεῖν, κἂν προφήτας κἂν ἀποστόλους κἂν εὐαγγελιστὰς εἴπῃς. Πάντες γὰρ ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς ἤντλησαν πηγῆς. Ἐν προφήταις μὲν αὐτὸς ὁ ∆αβὶδ μετὰ μοιχείαν ἔτι καὶ νῦν προφήτης ὢν διὰ τὴν τοῦ συγχωρήσαντος χάριν. Ἐν ἀποστόλοις δὲ Πέτρος καὶ Παῦλος, ὁ μὲν γὰρ μετὰ τὴν ἄρνησιν τὰς κλεῖς τῆς βασιλείας ἔχει, ὁ δὲ μετὰ τὴν δίωξιν τῶν ἐθνῶν κατέστη ἀπόστολος τὸν Ἰουδαϊκὸν ζῆλον εἰς εὐαγγελικὸν μετα θεὶς τρόπον. Ἐν γὰρ τοῖς εὐαγγελίοις οὐ Ματθαῖον μόνον σῳζόμενον ἐκ τελωνῶν οἶδα, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρους σὺν αὐτῷ δύο· ὧν εἷς μὲν προσευχόμενος ἐκ τοῦ τὸ στῆθος τύπτειν, τὸν θησαυρὸν τῶν κακῶν, ἐκ τοῦ μὴ τολμᾶν ἐπᾶραι τὰς χεῖρας εἰς τὰ ἅγια, ἐκ τοῦ κάτω νεύειν οὐ μόνον ἐδικαιώθη, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ φαρισαῖον ἐστεφανώθη· Ζακχαῖος δὲ ἀνελθὼν ἐπὶ τὸ δένδρον ἐν ᾧ πολλά κις ἑστὼς κατεσκόπει μὴ πού τις τῶν ἐμπόρων λαθὼν παρέλθῃ ὅπως μὴ ἀζήμιος μείνῃ, ἐτήρει μὴ λάθῃ αὐτὸν παραδραμὼν ὁ οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ἔμπορος, ὁ τὸν ἄσυλον τῆς βασιλείας ἐπιφερό μενος θησαυρόν.Ἵνα δὲ μὴ ὅλως ὁμοῦ τῶν τελωνῶν συγχέωμεν τὰς ἱστορίας, εἰ δοκεῖ, σήμερον τὸν Ζακχαῖον μόνον λαβόντες εἰς ὑπόθεσιν πραγματείας τὸν λόγον εὐρύνωμεν.

Ἐξελθών, φησίν, ὁ Ἰησοῦς διήρχετο τὴν Ἰεριχὼ καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ ὀνόματι καλούμενος Ζακχαῖος καὶ οὗτος ἦν ἀρχιτελώνης. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς δὲ τῆς Ἰεριχὼ μέμνηται ὁ εὐαγγελιστής, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τελώνην οἴκοι φιλοφρονησάμενον θεὸν λέγει. Ἄπιστον δὲ ἦν τὸ πρᾶγμα. Προτίθησιν αὐτοῦ τὴν πατρί δα, ἵνα τῆς πόρνης ὑπομνησθέντες Ῥαὰβ μὴ ξενισθῶμεν πρὸς τὴν ξένην Ζακχαίου παλινοδίαν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὖν ἐμνήσθη τῆς Ἰεριχώ, ἵνα ἐν νῷ λαβόντες Ῥαὰβ τὴν πόρνην συγκρίνωμεν ἀμφοτέρων τῆς σωτηρίας τὸν τρόπον. Ὥσπερ γὰρ Ῥαὰβ ἡ πόρνη Ἰησοῦν τὸν τοῦ Ναυὴ ὡς κατάσκοπον δεξαμένη ἔκρυψεν, οὕτω καὶ Ζακχαῖος ὁ τελώνης τὸν ἀληθινὸν Ἰησοῦν τὸν κατασκο πεύοντα ἡμῶν τὴν διάνοιαν οἴκοι δεξάμενος ἔθρεψεν. Ἐκείνη Ἰησοῦν τὸν τοῦ Ναυὴ ἐδέξατο τὸν εἰς τὴν γῆν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τὸν λαὸν εἰσαγαγόντα· οὗτος τὸν ἀληθινὸν Ἰησοῦν δέχεται τὸν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶ κατ . Ἐκείνη Ἰησοῦν ἐδέξατο τὸν lacuna septem linearum οὗτος τὸν ἀληθινὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐδέξατο τὸν τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐδαφίσαντα ναόν· Οὐ μὴ γάρ, φησί, μείνῃ ὧδε λίθος ἐπὶ λίθον ὃς οὐ μὴ καταλυθήσεται. Ἐκείνη Ἰησοῦν ἐδέξατο τὸν διὰ τοῦ Ἰορδάνουτὸν λαὸν εἰς γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι εἰσαγαγόντα· οὗτος τὸν ἀληθινὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐδέξατο τὸν διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος εἰσαγαγόντα τοὺς πιστοὺς ὅπου ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδεν καὶ οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσεν καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη. Ἐκείνη Ἰησοῦν ἐδέξατο τὸν τὸν βότρυν ἐπὶ ξύλου ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἐξαγαγόντα· οὗτος τὸν

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