In natalitia domini

Of Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium, on the birthday of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. This spiritual and brilliant meadow, variegated with the beauty of heavenly flowers and fragrant with apostolic and pure emanations, seems to me to have the form of the divine paradise. For in the same way that that sensible and undefiled place is brightened by incorruptible trees and immortal fruits and countless other most brilliant beauties, so indeed also this most godlike company of the most holy church is illumined by intelligible and ineffable mysteries, of which our unbreakable foundation and unshakable base and saving beginning and all-venerable summit is today's festival of the holy birth of Christ our true God; through which the old things were prophesied in types and the new things have been proclaimed expressly to the whole world, through which heaven has been opened and earth has been raised to a divine height, through which paradise has been given back to men and the power of death has been abolished, through which the power of corruption has been trampled and the deadly worship of the devil has ceased, through which human passions have been put to death, a life of angelic dominion has been renewed, through which the error of demons has been driven out, the wisdom of God and his all-holy presence have been revealed. For not an angel, he says, nor an elder, but the Lord himself will come and save them. O unutterable wealth of the divine gospels! O ineffable knowledge of all-wise mysteries! O inextinguishable treasury of divine and unspoken gifts! O innumerable grace of providential love for mankind! For the Lord himself, he says, will come and save us. In what way, O divine prophet, do you proclaim that the Lord will come to us? For I will speak boldly to you in this part, having taken up the persona of the men of old, who did not celebrate these things in the all-praised festival, nor experienced the new and all-holy birth from the undefiled virgin, nor indeed seen the heavenly herald, I mean the most godlike star, nor beheld the leaping of the holy angels, nor heard the divine voices which, praising the newborn Savior, they joyfully announced to the priest-shepherds, nor indeed understood the gifts of the magi and the divine worship; having taken up their persona, I would ask you the manner of his coming. For the saying naturally astounded them greatly and by the magnitude of their awe nearly caused them to be out of their minds. For they could not understand that the immortal God would come to most earthy men, and the intangible to the sensible, the invisible to the visible. For how could they think that God would come, and how will he be seen? To some it seemed previously as he appeared to Abraham through angels, or again as he appeared to Moses through fire in the bush, or in the way he appeared to Isaiah through the seraphim, or to Ezekiel through the cherubim. For in this way they have all testified to having seen God in various ways. Which then of these ways is worthy for seeing God? It is clear that not even one. But from where are we most convinced of this? From the other voice of the prophet saying: After these things he was seen upon the earth and dwelt among men. For those were proofs of a vision and not of dwelling among, while these are proclamations of dwelling among and not of a vision. How then does he say: The Lord himself will come and save us?

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In natalitia domini

Ἀμφιλοχίου ἐπισκόπου Ἰκονίου εἰς τὰ γενέθλια τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ καὶ

σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ὁ μὲν πνευματικὸς οὗτος καὶ λαμπρὸς λειμών, ὁ τῷ τῶν οὐρανίων ἀνθῶν κάλλει πεποικιλμένος καὶ ταῖς ἀποστολικαῖς καὶ ἀχράντοις εὐωδιάζων ἀποφοραῖς, τύπον ἔχειν τοῦ θείου παρα δείσου μοι φαίνεται. Ὃν γὰρ τρόπον ὁ αἰσθητὸς ἐκεῖνος καὶ ἀκήρατος χῶρος δένδρεσιν ἀφθάρτοις καὶ καρποῖς ἀθανάτοις καὶ μυρίοις ἄλλοις ὑπερλάμπροις φαιδρύνεται κάλλεσιν, οὕτω δὴ καὶ οὗτος ὁ θεοειδέστατος τῆς ἱεροπρεπεστάτης ἐκκλησίας θίασος νοητοῖς καὶ ἀρρήτοις καταλαμπρύνεται μυστηρίοις, ὧν κρηπὶς ἡμῖν ἀρραγὴς καὶ θεμέλιος ἀστεμφὴς καὶ ἀρχὴ σωτήριος καὶ κορυφὴ πανσεβάσμιος ἡ σήμερον τῶν ἁγίων Χριστοῦ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν γενεθλίων ἐστὶν ἑορτή· δι' ἣν καὶ τὰ παλαιὰ πεπροφήτευται τυπικῶς καὶ τὰ νέα διαρρήδην εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην κεκήρυκται, δι' ἣν οὐρανὸς ἠνέῳκται καὶ γῆ εἰς θεῖον ὕψος <με>μετεώρισται, δι' ἣν παράδεισος ἀνθρώποις ἀποδέδοται καὶ θανάτου κράτος κατήργηται, δι' ἣν φθορᾶς δύναμις πεπάτηται καὶ διαβόλου σέβας ὀλέθριον πέπαυται, δι' ἣν ἀνθρώπινα πάθη τεθανάτωται, ἀγγελικῆς δεσποτείας βίος ἀνακεκαίνισται, δι' ἣν πλάνη δαιμόνων δεδίωκται, θεοῦ σοφία καὶ πάναγνος παρουσία μεμήνυται. Οὐκ ἄγγελος γάρ, φησίν, οὐδὲ πρέσβυς, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος ἥξει καὶ σώσει αὐτούς. Ὦ θείων εὐαγγελίων πλοῦτος ἀμύθητος! Ὦ πανσόφων μυστηρίων γνῶσις ἀνεκδιήγητος! Ὦ θείων καὶ ἀφράστων δωρεῶν θησαυρὸς ἀνεξάλειπτος! Ὦ προνοητικῆς φιλανθρωπίας χάρις ἀναρίθμητος! Αὐτὸς γάρ, φησίν, ὁ κύριος ἥξει καὶ σώσει ἡμᾶς. Ἥξειν πρὸς ἡμᾶς τίνα τρόπον, ὦ θεῖε προφῆτα, κηρύττεις τὸν κύριον; Παρρησιάσομαι γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ τῷ μέρει πρός σε τὸ τῶν παλαιῶν ἀνδρῶν πρόσωπον ἀνα δεδεγμένος, τῶν ταῦτα εἰς τὴν πανύμνητον μὴ ἑορτασάντων πανήγυριν, μήτε δὲ τοῦ καινοῦ καὶ πανάγνου τοκετοῦ τῆς ἀχράν του παρθένου πεπειραμένων, μήτε μὴν τὸν οὐράνιον θεασαμένων κήρυκα, φημὶ δὴ τὸν θεοειδέστατον ἀστέρα, μήτε τὰ τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων ἑωρακότων σκιρτήματα, μήτε τὰς θείας ἀκηκοότων φωνὰς ἃς πρὸς τοὺς ἱερεῖς ποιμένας ἀνευφημοῦντες τὸν γεγεν νημένον σωτῆρα γεγηθότες ἀπήγγελλον, μήτε μὴν τῶν μάγων τὰ δῶρα συνιέντων καὶ τὴν προσκύνησιν τὴν θεϊκήν· ἐκείνων ἀναδε ξάμενος τὸ πρόσωπον ἐρωτήσαιμί σε τὸν τρόπον τῆς παρουσίας. Κατέπληττεν γὰρ αὐτοὺς εἰκότως λίαν τὸ λόγιον καὶ μικροῦ δεῖν τῷ πλήθει τοῦ δέους ἐξίστασθαι παρεσκεύαζεν τῶν φρενῶν. Οὐ γὰρ εἶχον νοεῖν ὅτι ὁ ἀθάνατος θεὸς πρὸς ἀνθρώπους γεωδεστά τους ἥξει καὶ ὁ ἀψηλάφητος πρὸς τοὺς αἰσθήτους, ὁ ἀθεώρητος πρὸς τοὺς ὁρατούς. Πῶς γὰρ ἂν καὶ ἥξειν τὸν θεὸν ᾠήθησαν, καὶ πῶς ὁραθήσεται; Ἐνίοις μὲν ἐδόκει πρότερον ὡς ὤφθη τῷ Ἀβραὰμ δι' ἀγγέλων, ἢ δ' αὖ πάλιν ὡς ὤφθη τῷ Μωϋσῇ διὰ πυρὸς ἐν τῇ βάτῳ, ἢ καθ' ὃν τρόπον ὤφθη τῷ Ἠσαΐᾳ διὰ τῶν σεραφίμ, ἢ τῷ Ἰεζεκιὴλ διὰ τῶν χερουβίμ. Οὕτω γὰρ πάντες θεὸν ἑωρακέναι διαμφοτέροις τρόποις μεμαρτυρήκασιν. Ποῖος τοίνυν τούτων τῶν τρόπων εἰς θεωρίαν θεοῦ ἐστιν ἄξιος; ∆ῆλον ὅτι οὐδὲ εἷς. Πόθεν δὲ μάλιστα τοῦτο πιστούμεθα; Ἐκ τῆς ἑτέρας τοῦ προφήτου φωνῆς λεγούσης· Μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὤφθη καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συνανεστράφη. Ὀπτασίας μὲν γὰρ ἐκεῖνα καὶ οὐ συναναστροφῆς ὑπῆρχε τεκμήρια, ταῦτα συναναστροφῆς καὶ οὐκ ὀπτασίας τυγχάνει κηρύγματα. Πῶς οὖν φησιν· Αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος ἥξει καὶ σώσει ἡμᾶς;

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