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De virginitate

OF ATHANASIUS THE GREAT, CONCERNING VIRGINITY, THAT IS, CONCERNING THE ASCETIC LIFE.

The beginning of a discourse of salvation to the virgin.

1 First of all, believe in one God, Father Almighty, maker of things visible and invisible; and in his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who is of the substance of the Father, in all things co-equal with the Father, who was before the ages; and in the Holy Spirit, who is in the Father and the Son, sent from the Father, and given through the Son, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, three hypostases, one Godhead, one power, one baptism. For he, our God, the Father of all, in six days made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them. For he adorned the heaven with the sun and moon and all-beautiful stars. And he fittingly founded the earth upon the waters, adorning it with plants and trees of every kind; and at his command go forth honey-flowing rivers and ever-flowing springs. And he commanded the earth and it brought forth flesh, and he made all the beasts of the earth according to their kind and the birds of the heaven according to their kind. He commanded the waters, and they brought forth fish and he made the great sea-monsters. But after all these things he made man and delivered all things to him for his service. For the Lord God said to his Son: "Let us make man in our image and after our likeness; and the Lord God formed man, taking dust from the earth, and placed him in the paradise of delight. And the Lord God cast a trance upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs and filled up flesh in its place, and he built the rib, which he had taken, into a woman, and he brought her to Adam. And Adam said: This is now flesh of my flesh, and bone of my bones, she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of her Man. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh."

2 Hear, O handmaid of Christ, and all who wish to be saved, and give ear to my words; and let your ears receive God-inspired words. "For this mystery," he says, "is great," as the blessed Paul said, that everyone who is joined to a wife, they are both one body. So again, every man or woman who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. For if those who are joined to the world leave father and mother and are joined to mortal men, how much more ought the continent virgin to leave all earthly things and be joined to the Lord alone. And the Apostle himself bears witness to my word, saying: "The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and in spirit; but she who is married cares for the things of the world, how she may please her husband, and is divided." This therefore I say, that every continent virgin or widow, if she has a care in this world, that care is her husband; whether she has possessions or property, this anxiety defiles her mind. For just as the body is defiled through a husband, so also worldly attachments stain the soul and the body of the continent one, and she is not holy in body and in spirit. But she who is careful for the work of God, Christ is her bridegroom. For she who is betrothed to a corruptible man does the will of her husband; for so it is said, that "the wife has not authority over her own body, but the husband does." And again: "as the church

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De virginitate

ΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΠΕΡΙ ΠΑΡΘΕΝΙΑΣ ΗΤΟΙ ΠΕΡΙ ΑΣΚΗΣΕΩΣ.

Ἀρχὴ λόγου σωτηρίας πρὸς τὴν παρθένον.

1 Πρῶτον πάντων πίστευσον εἰς ἕνα θεὸν πατέρα παντοκράτορα, ὁρατῶν καὶ ἀοράτων ποιητήν· καὶ εἰς τὸν μονογενῆ αὐτοῦ υἱὸν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν, τὸν ὄντα ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ πατρός, κατὰ πάντα ἰσοδύναμον τῷ πατρί, τὸν πρὸ αἰώνων ὄντα· καὶ εἰς τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον τὸ ἐν πατρὶ καὶ υἱῷ ὄν, παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀποστελλόμενον, καὶ διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ διδόμενον, πατὴρ καὶ υἱὸς καὶ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις, μία θεό της, μία δύναμις, ἓν βάπτισμα. αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ὁ πατὴρ τῶν ὅλων ἐν ἓξ ἡμέραις ἐποίησε τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς. αὐτὸς γὰρ διεκόσμησε τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐν ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ καὶ ἄστροις παγκάλοις. καὶ τὴν γῆν εὐπρεπῶς ἐθεμελίωσεν ἐπάνω τῶν ὑδάτων, διακοσμήσας αὐτὴν ἐν φυτοῖς καὶ ξύλοις παντοδαποῖς· καὶ τῇ κελεύσει αὐτοῦ ἐκπορεύονται ποταμοὶ μελίῤῥυτοι καὶ πηγαὶ ἀέναοι. καὶ προσέταξε τῇ γῇ καὶ ἐπήγαγε σάρκα καὶ ἐποίησε πάντα τὰ θηρία τῆς γῆς κατὰ γένος καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατὰ γένος. ἐκέλευσε τοῖς ὕδασι, καὶ ἐξήγαγεν ἰχθύας καὶ ἐποίησε τὰ κήτη τὰ μεγάλα. ὕστερον δὲ πάντων ἐποίησε τὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ πάντα παρέδωκεν αὐτῷ εἰς ὑπηρεσίαν. εἶπεν γὰρ κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ· «ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν· καὶ ἔπλασε κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον λαβὼν χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἔθετο αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τῆς τρυφῆς ἔβαλε δὲ κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἔκστασιν, καὶ ὕπνωσε καὶ ἔλαβε μίαν τῶν πλευρῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνεπλή ρωσε σάρκα ἀντ' αὐτῆς, καὶ ᾠκοδόμησε τὴν πλευρὰν, ἣν ἔλαβεν, εἰς γυναῖκα, καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὴν πρὸς τὸν Ἀδὰμ καὶ εἶπεν Ἀδάμ· αὕτη νῦν σὰρξ ἐκ τῆς σαρκός μου, καὶ ὀστοῦν ἐκ τῶν ὀστέων μου, αὕτη κληθήσεται γυνή, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς ἐλήφθη. ἀντὶ τούτου κατα λείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ προσκολληθήσεται τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν.»

2 Ἄκουε, δούλη τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ πάντες, ὅσοι θέλουσι σωθῆναι, καὶ ἐνωτίζου τὰ ῥήματά μου· καὶ καταδεξάσθω τὰ ὦτά σου θεοπνεύστους λόγους. «τὸ μυστήριον γὰρ τοῦτο, φησί, μέγα ἐστί» καθὼς εἶπεν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος, ὅτι πᾶς ὁ κολλώμενος τῇ γυναικὶ ἓν σῶμά εἰσιν ἀμφότεροι. οὕτως πάλιν πᾶς ἀνὴρ ἢ γυνὴ κολλώμενος τῷ κυρίῳ ἓν πνεῦμά ἐστιν. εἰ γὰρ οἱ τῷ κόσμῳ συναπτόμενοι καταλιμπάνουσι τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ συνάπτονται ἀνθρώποις θνητοῖς, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἡ παρθένος ἐγκρατευομένη ὀφείλει καταλιπεῖν τὰ γήϊνα πάντα καὶ τῷ κυρίῳ μόνῳ κολληθῆναι. μαρτυρεῖ δέ μοι τῷ λόγῳ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ ἀπόστολος λέγων· «Ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἄγαμος μεριμνᾷ τὰ τοῦ κυρίου, ἵνα ᾖ ἁγία τῷ σώματι καὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ἡ δὲ γαμήσασα μεριμνᾷ τὰ τοῦ κόσ μου, πῶς ἀρέσει τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς, καὶ μεμέρισται.» τοῦτο οὖν λέγω, ὅτι πᾶσα παρθένος ἢ χήρα ἐγκρατευομένη, ἐὰν ἔχῃ φροντίδα ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ, αὐτὴ ἡ φροντὶς ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς ἐστι· κἂν κτήματα, κἂν ὑπάρχοντα ἔχῃ, αὐτὴ ἡ μέριμνα μολύνει αὐτῆς τὴν διάνοιαν. ὥσπερ γὰρ διὰ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὸ σῶμα μολύνεται, οὕτως καὶ αἱ σχέσεις αἱ κοσμικαὶ τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα τῆς ἐγκρατευομένης μιαίνουσι, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἁγία τῷ σώματι καὶ τῷ πνεύματι. ἡ δὲ φροντίζουσα τὸ ἔργον τοῦ Θεοῦ, νύμφιος αὐτῆς ὁ Χριστός ἐστιν. ἡ γὰρ ἁρμοζομένη ἀνδρὶ φθαρτῷ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς ποιεῖ· οὕτως γὰρ εἴρηται, ὅτι «ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος οὐκ ἐξουσιάζει, ἀλλ' ὁ ἀνήρ.» καὶ πάλιν· «ὥσπερ ἡ ἐκκλησία