Sermo major de fide

Of the same Saint Athanasius, archbishop of Alexandria and confessor, from the major discourse on faith

Was the one raised from the dead a man or God? Peter our apostle, knowing better, interprets and says: Having taken him down from the tree, they placed him in a tomb, but God raised him from the dead. Therefore, the dead body of Jesus, which was taken down from the tree and placed in a tomb and buried by Joseph of Arimathea, this the Word raised, saying: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." He who also gives life to all the dead also gave life to the man Christ Jesus from Mary, whom he had assumed: - 2 Of the same, from the same discourse. Life cannot die, but rather gives life to the dead. He is therefore also the source of life by his divinity from the Father, but the one who died was a man, or rather, who was also raised from the dead, who also intercedes for us, the one from the virgin Mary, whom the divinity of the Word assumed for our sake. For what is written, "In the beginning was the Word," plainly declares his divinity, but "the Word became flesh" shows the humanity of the Lord: - 3 Of the same, from the same discourse. The divinity of Jesus, then, is that which lays down and takes up the soul of the man whom he put on. For he assumed the complete man, in order that he might make him complete and with him give life to the dead: - 4 And again. The Lord's man did not die from weakness or unwillingly, but of his own accord he came to the economy of death, being strengthened by the God Word who dwelt in him, who said "No one takes my soul from me; I lay it down of myself; I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again." : - 5 From the same discourse. For he, being powerful and the creator of all things, fashions for himself a temple in the virgin, the body, and makes this his own as an instrument, being known and dwelling in it: - 6 Of the same, from the same discourse. For this reason he takes for himself a body that is able to die, so that this, having partaken of the Word of God, might become a sufficient substitute for all in death, and through the indwelling Word might remain incorruptible: - 7 And after a little. For since the Word of God was above all, he fittingly offered his own temple and bodily instrument as a ransom for all, fulfilling what was owed in death. And being with all through that which was like them, the incorruptible Son of God fittingly clothed all with incorruptibility in the promise of the resurrection. For corruption itself in death no longer has a place against men, because of the Word who dwelt among them through the one body. And just as when a great king enters some great city and dwells in one of the houses in it, such a city is certainly deemed worthy of great honor, and no longer does any enemy or bandit attack and destroy it, but it is deemed worthy of all care because of the king who dwells in one of its houses, so it has also happened with our Savior. For since he came into our domain and dwelt in one body like ours, henceforth every plot against men has ceased: - 8 And again after a little. For he was not enclosed in the body, nor was he in the body but not elsewhere, nor did he move that, while other things were deprived of his providence, but, most paradoxical of all, being the Word, he was not contained by anything, but rather he himself contained all things: - 9 And after a little. But by the presence of the Word in it

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Sermo major de fide

Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἁγίου Ἀθανασίου ἀρχιεπισκόπου Ἀλεξανδρείας καὶ ὁμολογητοῦ ἐκ τοῦ περὶ πίστεως μείζονος λόγου

Τὸ ἐγειρόμενον ἐκ νεκρῶν ἄνθρωπος ἦν ἢ θεός; ἑρμηνεύει Πέτρος ὁ ἀπόστολος ἡμῶν μᾶλλον γινώσκων καὶ λέγει· καθελόντες αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου ἔθηκαν εἰς μνημεῖον, ὁ δὲ θεὸς αὐτὸν ἤγειρεν ἐκ νεκρῶν τὸ γοῦν ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου καθαιρεθὲν σῶμα νεκρὸν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ εἰς μνημεῖον τεθὲν ἐνταφιασθέν τε ὑπὸ Ἰωσὴφ τοῦ ἀπὸ Ἀριμαθείας, αὐτὸ ἤγειρεν ὁ λόγος λέγων· λύσατε τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον καὶ ἐν τρι σὶν ἡμέραις ἐγερῶ αὐτόν. ὁ καὶ πάντας τοὺς νεκροὺς ζωοποιῶν καὶ τὸν ἐκ Μαρίας ἄνθρωπον Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐζωο ποίησεν, ὃν ἀνείληφεν: - 2 Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ λόγου Ζωὴ ἀποθανεῖν οὐ δύναται, μᾶλλον δὲ τοὺς νεκροὺς ζωοποιεῖ. ἔστιν τοίνυν καὶ πηγὴ ζωῆς τῆι ἐκ πατρὸς θεότητι, ἄνθρωπος δὲ ὁ ἀποθανών, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἐγερθεὶς ἐκ νεκρῶν, ὃς καὶ ἐντυγχάνει ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ὁ ἐκ παρθένου Μαρίας, ὃν ἡ τοῦ λόγου θεότης δι' ἡμᾶς ἀνείληφεν. τὸ γοῦν γεγράφθαι ἐν ἀρχῆι ἦν ὁ λόγος φανερῶς τὴν θεότητα δηλοῖ, τὸ δὲ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο τὸ ἀνθρώπινον τοῦ κυρίου δείκνυσιν: - 3 Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ λόγου Ἡ θεότης γοῦν ἐστιν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἡ τιθεῖσα καὶ λαμβάνουσα τὴν ψυχὴν οὗ ἐφόρεσεν ἀνθρώπου. πλήρη γὰρ ἀνείληφε τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἵνα πλήρη αὐτὸν καὶ σὺν αὐτῶι τοὺς νεκροὺς ζωοποιήσηι: - 4 Καὶ πάλιν Ὁ δὲ κυριακὸς ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ἀσθενήσας οὐδὲ ἄκων ἀπέθανεν, ἀλλ' ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ ἧκεν ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ θανάτου οἰκονομίαν, στερεοποιούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐν αὐτῶι ἐνοικήσαντος θεοῦ λόγου τοῦ εἰπόντος οὐδεὶς αἴρει τὴν ψυχήν μου ἀπ' ἐμοῦ· ἀπ' ἐμαυτοῦ αὐτὴν τίθημι· ἐξουσίαν ἔχω θεῖναι αὐτὴν καὶ πάλιν ἐξουσίαν ἔχω λαβεῖν αὐτήν : - 5 Ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ λόγου Αὐτὸς γὰρ δυνατὸς ὢν καὶ δημουργὸς τῶν ὅλων ἐν τῆι παρθένωι κατασκευάζει αὐτῶι ναὸν τὸ σῶμα καὶ ἰδιοποιεῖται τοῦτο ὥσπερ ὄργανον, ἐν αὐτῶι γνωριζόμενος καὶ ἐνοικῶν: - 6 Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ λόγου Τούτου ἵνεκεν τὸ δυνάμενον ἀποθανεῖν ἑαυτῶι λαμβάνει σῶμα, ἵνα τοῦτο τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου μεταλαβὸν ἀντὶ πάντων ἱκανὸν γένη ται τῶι θανάτωι καὶ διὰ τὸν ἐνοικήσαντα λόγον ἄφθαρτον διαμείνηι: - 7 Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα Ὑπὲρ πάντας γὰρ ὢν ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ εἰκότως τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ναὸν καὶ τὸ σωματικὸν ὄργανον προσαγαγὼν ἀντίψυχον ὑπὲρ πάντων, ἐπλήρου τὸ ὀφειλόμενον ἐν τῶι θανάτωι. καὶ ὡς συνὼν δὲ διὰ τοῦ ὁμοίου τοῖς πᾶσιν ὁ ἄφθαρτος τοῦ θεοῦ υἱὸς εἰκότως τοὺς πάντας ἐνέδυσεν ἀφθαρσίαν ἐν τῆι τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἐπαγγελίαι. καὶ αὐτὴ γὰρ ἡ ἐν τῶι θανάτωι φθορὰ κατὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων οὐκέτι χώραν ἔχει διὰ τὸν ἐνοικήσαντα λόγον ἐν τούτοις διὰ τοῦ ἑνὸς σώματος. καὶ ὥσπερ μεγάλου βασιλέως εἰσελθόντος εἴς τινα πόλιν μεγάλην καὶ οἰκήσαντος εἰς μίαν τῶν ἐν αὐτῆι οἰκιῶν πάντως ἡ τοιαύτη πόλις πολλῆς τι μῆς ἀξιοῦται καὶ οὐκέτι τις ἐχθρὸς αὐτὴν ἢ ληιστὴς ἐπιβαίνων καταστρέφει, πάσης δὲ μᾶλλον ἐπιμελείας ἀξιοῦται διὰ τὸν εἰς μίαν αὐτῆς οἰκίαν οἰκήσαντα βασιλέα, οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἡμετέρου σωτῆρος γέγονεν. ἐλθόντος γὰρ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν χώραν καὶ οἰκήσαντος εἰς ἓν τῶν ὁμοίων σωμάτων λοιπὸν πᾶσα κατὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπιβουλὴ πέπαυται: - 8 Καὶ πάλιν μετ' ὀλίγα Οὐ γὰρ περικεκλεισμένος ἦν ἐν τῶι σώματι οὐδὲ ἐν σώματι μὲν ἦν, ἀλλαχόσε δὲ οὐκ ἦν, οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνο μὲν ἐκίνει, ἄλλα δὲ τῆς αὐτοῦ προνοίας ἐστερεῖτο, ἀλλά, τὸ παραδοξότατον, λόγος ὢν οὐ συνείχετο μὲν ὑπό τινος, συνεῖχε δὲ τὰ πάντα μᾶλλον αὐτός: - 9 Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα Τῆι δὲ τοῦ λόγου εἰς αὐτὸ

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