Sermo in nativitatem Christi

OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS ATHANASIUS ON THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST.

I see a strange mystery, instead of the sun, the sun of righteousness ineffably contained in the Virgin. And do not ask how; for where God wills, the order of nature is overcome. For He willed, He was able, He came down, He saved. All things run together; today God who is and who was before becomes what He was not; for being God, He becomes man, without ceasing to be God. For He did not become man by an ecstasy of divinity, nor again did He become God by a progression from among men; but being the Word, for this reason He became man impassibly, His nature remaining immutable. And having walked a strange and untrodden path, He came forth from an untilled 28.961 womb, neither did He leave His angels bereft of His governance, nor in His incarnation for us did He depart from His own divinity. But kings came to worship the heavenly king, the one begotten ineffably of the Father, but today born of the Virgin for my sake; but then He was begotten according to nature, and today through His own nature. For, begotten of the Father before the ages as He who begot knows, today He was born of the Virgin beyond nature, as the grace of the Spirit understands. The Ancient of Days has become a child; He who sits on a high throne is placed in a manger; the intangible and bodiless one is wrapped by human hands; He who breaks the bonds of sin is entangled in swaddling clothes; and because He wills this. Whom then did the Virgin bear? The Lord of nature. For even if you are silent, nature cries out. For the Virgin Mary gave birth, as He who was born willed to be born. For He was not turned from nature, but as the Lord of nature He introduced a strange manner of birth. Nevertheless, though having become man, He is not born as a man is. For if He had come from a common marriage, just as I, it would have been considered a falsehood by many. Now for this reason He who is born is born of a Virgin, and He preserves His mother thereafter, and keeps her virginity intact, so that the strange manner of His conception may become for me the cause of great faith. Whence if either a Greek or a Jew asks me, whether Christ became man according to nature, or contrary to his own nature, I will speak, calling as witness to the word the undefiled seal of her virginity; for thus God overcomes the order of nature. And if you wish, ask the blessed Luke the evangelist, and he will answer you concerning His economy in the flesh. For beginning, he says thus: "And in the sixth month of the conception of Elizabeth, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, whose name was Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in to her and said: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. But she, seeing him, was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be, since I know not a man? And the angel answered and said to her: The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."

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Sermo in nativitatem Christi

ΤΟΥ ΕΝ ΑΓΙΟΙΣ ΠΑΤΡΟΣ ΗΜΩΝ ΑΘΑΝΑΣΙΟΥ ΕΙΣ ΤΗΝ ΓΕΝΝΗΣΙΝ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ.

Μυστήριον ξένον βλέπω, ἀντὶ ἡλίου τὸν ἥλιον τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἀπεριγράπτως χωρήσαντα ἐν τῇ Παρθένῳ. Καὶ μὴ ζήτει πῶς· ὅπου γὰρ Θεὸς βούλεται, νικᾶται φύσεως τάξις. Ἠβουλήθη γὰρ, ἠδυνήθη, κατ ῆλθεν, ἔσωσε. Συνδράμετε πάντα· Θεὸς σήμερον ὁ ὢν καὶ προὼν γίνεται ὅπερ οὐκ ἦν· ὢν γὰρ Θεὸς, γίνεται ἄνθρωπος, οὐκ ἐκστὰς τοῦ εἶναι Θεός. Οὔτε γὰρ κατ' ἔκστασιν θεότητος γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, οὔτε πάλιν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων κατὰ προκοπὴν γέγονε Θεός· ἀλλὰ Λόγος ὢν, διὰ τοῦτο ἀπαθὴς γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, ἀμεταβλήτου μενούσης τῆς φύσεως. Καὶ ξένην καὶ ἀτριβῆ βαδίσας ὁδὸν, ἐξ ἀγεωργήτου προῆλθε 28.961 γαστρὸς, οὔτε τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ ἐρήμους τῆς ἐπιστασίας κατέλιπεν, οὔτε τῇ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐνανθρωπήσει, τῆς οἰκείας θεότητος ἐκστάς. Ἀλλὰ βασιλεῖς μὲν τὸν ἐπουράνιον βασιλέα ἦλθον προσκυνῆσαι, τὸν γεννηθέντα ἀῤῥήτως ἐκ Πατρὸς, σήμερον δὲ ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου τικτόμενον δι' ἐμέ· ἀλλὰ τότε μὲν γεννη θεὶς κατὰ τὴν φύσιν, σήμερον δὲ διὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φύ σιν. Πρὸ αἰώνων γὰρ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ὡς ὁ γεννήσας οἶδε, σήμερον ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου ὑπὲρ φύ σιν ἐτέχθη, καθὼς ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐπίσταται χά ρις. Ὁ Παλαιὸς τῶν ἡμερῶν παιδίον γέγονεν· ὁ ἐπὶ θρόνου ὑψήλου καθήμενος ἐν φάτνῃ τίθεται· ὁ ἀν αφὴς καὶ ἀσώματος χερσὶν ἀνθρωπίναις εἱλίσσεται· ὁ τὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας διασπῶν δεσμὰ ἐν σπαργάνοις ἐμπλέκεται· καὶ ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο θέλει. Τίνα οὖν ἔτεκεν ἡ Παρθένος; Τὸν ∆εσπότην τῆς φύσεως. Κἂν γὰρ σὺ σιωπᾷς, ἡ φύσις βοᾷ. Ἔτεκε γὰρ ἡ Παρθένος Μαρία, ὡς ὁ τεχθεὶς τεχθῆναι ἠθέλησεν. Οὐ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς φύσεως ἔστρεπτο, ἀλλ' ὡς ∆εσπότης τῆς φύσεως ξένον γεννήσεως εἰσήγαγε τρόπον. Ὅμως, καὶ ἄνθρωπος γενόμενος, οὐχ ὡς ἄνθρωπος τίκτεται. Εἰ γὰρ ἐκ κοινοῦ γάμου προῆλθε, καθάπερ κἀγὼ, ψεῦδος τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐνομίζετο. Νῦν διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ Παρ θένου τίκτεται ὁ τικτόμενος, καὶ τὴν μητέρα λοιπὸν διατηρεῖ, καὶ τὴν παρθενίαν ἄλυτον διαφυλάττει, ἵνα ὁ ξένος τῆς κυήσεως τρόπος πίστεώς μοι μεγάλης πρόξενος γένηται. Ὅθεν κἂν Ἕλλην, κἂν Ἰουδαῖός με ἐρωτᾷ, εἰ Χριστὸς κατὰ φύσιν γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, ἢ παρὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φύσιν, ἐροῦμαι μάρτυρα τοῦ λόγου τὴν ἄσπιλον τῆς παρθενίας σφραγῖδα καλῶν· οὕτως γὰρ Θεὸς νικῶν τῆς φύσεως τάξιν. Καὶ εἰ βούλῃ, ἐρώτησον τὸν μακάριον Λουκᾶν τὸν εὐαγγελιστὴν, καὶ ἀποκρίνεταί σοι περὶ τῆς ἐν σάρκου αὐτοῦ οἰκονομίας. Ἀρχόμενος γὰρ οὕτως λέγει· «Ἐν δὲ τῷ μηνὶ τῷ ἕκτῳ τῆς συλλήψεως Ἐλισάβετ ἀπεστάλη ὁ ἄγγελος Γαβριὴλ ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς πόλιν τῆς Γαλιλαίας, ᾗ ὄνομα Ναζαρὲτ, πρὸς παρθένον μεμνηστευμένην ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὄνομα Ἰωσὴφ, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς παρθένου Μαριάμ. Καὶ εἰσελθὼν ὁ ἄγγελος πρὸς αὐτὴν εἶπε· Χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμένη, ὁ Κύριος μετὰ σοῦ. Εὐλογημένη σὺ ἐν γυναιξίν. Ἡ δὲ, ἰδοῦσα, διεταράχθη ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ διελογίζετο πο ταπὸς εἴη ὁ ἀσπασμὸς οὗτος. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὁ ἄγ γελος· Μὴ φοβοῦ, Μαριάμ· εὗρες γὰρ χάριν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ ἰδοὺ συλλήψῃ ἐν γαστρὶ, καὶ τέξῃ υἱὸν, καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν. Οὗτος ἔσται μέγας καὶ Υἱὸς Ὑψίστου κληθήσεται, καὶ δώσει αὐ τῷ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὸν θρόνον ∆αυῒδ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐ τοῦ. Καὶ βασιλεύσει ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰακὼβ εἰς τοὺς αἰ ῶνας, καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔσται τέλος. Εἶπε δὲ Μαριὰμ πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον· Πῶς ἔσται μοι τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω; Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ ἄγγελος εἶπεν αὐτῇ· Πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐπελεύσεται ἐπὶ σὲ, καὶ δύναμις Ὑψίστου ἐπισκιάσει σοι.»

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