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Oratio funebris in Meletium episcopum

OF GREGORY BISHOP OF NYSSA A FUNERAL ORATION FOR MELETIUS BISHOP OF ANTIOCH

The new apostle has increased for us the number of the apostles, he who was numbered with the apostles; for the saints have drawn to themselves one of like manner, the athletes the athlete, the crown-wearers the crown-wearer, the pure in heart him who is pure in soul, the servants of the word the preacher of the word. But blessed is our father for his apostolic tabernacling and his departure to be with Christ, but we are pitiable; for the untimeliness of our orphanhood does not permit us to count our father's good fortune a blessing. For him it was better to be with Christ through his departure, but for us it is grievous to be separated from our father's protection. For behold, it is a time for counsel, and the one who counsels is silent; war has surrounded us, a 9.442 heretical war, and the general is not here; the common body of the church is weary with sickness, and we do not find the physician. See in what circumstances our affairs are. I wished, if it were somehow possible, having strengthened my weakness, to rise to the magnitude of the calamity and to utter some sound worthy of the suffering, just as these noble men have done, loudly bewailing the calamity concerning our father. But what am I to do? How can I force my tongue into the service of speech, fettered as it is by the calamity as if by some heavy chain?

How shall I open a mouth seized by speechlessness? How shall I utter a voice that from habit slips into suffering and lamentations? How shall I look up with the eyes of the soul, which are covered by the darkness of the calamity? Who, having split for me this deep and dark cloud of grief, will show again from a clear sky the bright ray of peace? And from where will the ray shine forth, when our luminary has set? O evil dark of the moon, that hopes for no rising of a luminary. How contrary are our words in this present place, now and before. Then we danced as at a wedding, now we groan piteously in mourning. Then a wedding song, 9.443 now we sing a funeral dirge. For you remember when we feasted you at the spiritual wedding, uniting the virgin, you, with the good bridegroom, and we brought the wedding gifts of our words according to our ability, rejoicing in turn and being gladdened. But now our joy has been turned to lamentation, and the robe of gladness has become sackcloth. Or perhaps should I have been silent about the suffering and locked the pain within by silence, so that we might not disturb the sons of the bride-chamber, not having the bright wedding garment but being clothed in black in our speech? For since the good bridegroom was taken from us, we were at once blackened with grief, and it is not possible to brighten our speech as usual, since envy has stripped off the robe that adorned us. Full of good things we met you; naked and poor we return from you. We had the lamp held high above our head, shining with rich light; this we bring back extinguished, its radiance dissolved into smoke and dust.

We had the great treasure in an earthen vessel; but the treasure is gone, and the earthen vessel, empty of its wealth, is brought back to those who gave it. What will those who sent us say? What will those who are being asked to give an account 9.444 answer? O evil shipwreck. How have we been shipwrecked in the very midst of the harbor of our hope? How did the cargo-ship carrying ten thousand talents, sinking with its very freight, leave us naked who were once rich? Where is that bright sail that by the holy spirit through

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Oratio funebris in Meletium episcopum

ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΝΥΣΣΗΣ ΕΠΙΤΑΦΙΟΣ ΕΙΣ ΜΕΛΕΤΙΟΝ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΝ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΕΙΑΣ

Ηὔξησεν ἡμῖν τὸν ἀριθμὸν τῶν ἀποστόλων ὁ νέος ἀπόστο λος, ὁ

συγκαταψηφισθεὶς μετὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων· εἵλκυσαν γὰρ οἱ ἅγιοι πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς τὸν ὁμότροπον, τὸν ἀθλητὴν οἱ ἀθληταί, τὸν στεφανίτην οἱ στεφανῖται, τὸν ἁγνὸν τῇ ψυχῇ οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, τὸν κήρυκα τοῦ λόγου οἱ ὑπηρέται τοῦ λόγου. ἀλλὰ μακαριστὸς μὲν ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν τῆς τε ἀποστολικῆς συσκηνίας καὶ τῆς πρὸς τὸν Χριστὸν ἀναλύσεως, ἐλεεινοὶ δὲ ἡμεῖς· οὐ γὰρ ἐᾷ μακαρίζειν ἡμᾶς τοῦ πατρὸς τὴν εὐκληρίαν ἡ ἀωρία τῆς ὀρφανίας. ἐκείνῳ κρεῖττον ἦν τὸ σὺν Χριστῷ εἶναι διὰ τῆς ἀναλύσεως, ἀλλ' ἡμῖν χαλεπὸν τὸ διαζευχθῆναι τῆς πατρικῆς προστασίας. ἰδοὺ γάρ, βουλῆς καιρός, καὶ ὁ συμβουλεύων σιγᾷ· πόλεμος ἡμᾶς περιεστοίχισται, πόλεμος 9.442 αἱρετικός, καὶ ὁ στρατηγῶν οὐκ ἔστιν· κάμνει ταῖς ἀρρωστίαις τὸ κοινὸν σῶμα τῆς ἐκκλησίας, καὶ τὸν ἰατρὸν οὐχ εὑρίσκομεν. ὁρᾶτε ἐν ποταποῖς τὰ ἡμέτερα. ἐβουλόμην, εἴ πως οἷόν τε ἦν, τονώσας ἐμαυτοῦ τὴν ἀσθένειαν συναναβῆναι τῷ ὄγκῳ τῆς συμφορᾶς καί τινα ῥῆξαι φωνὴν κατ' ἀξίαν τοῦ πάθους, καθάπερ οἱ γενναῖοι πεποιήκασιν οὗτοι μεγαλοφώνως τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ πατρὶ συμφορὰν ὀδυρόμενοι. ἀλλὰ τί πάθω; πῶς βιάσωμαι γλῶσσαν εἰς ὑπηρεσίαν τοῦ λόγου καθάπερ τινὶ πέδῃ βαρείᾳ τῇ συμφορᾷ πεδηθεῖσαν;

Πῶς ἀνοίξω στόμα τῇ ἀφασίᾳ κεκρατημένον; πῶς προῶμαι φωνὴν εἰς πάθη καὶ θρήνους ἐκ συνηθείας κατολισθαίνουσαν; πῶς ἀναβλέψω τοῖς τῆς ψυχῆς ὀφθαλμοῖς τῷ τῆς συμφορᾶς γνόφῳ κεκαλυμμένοις; τίς μοι διασχὼν τὴν βαθεῖαν ταύτην καὶ σκοτεινὴν τῆς λύπης νεφέλην πάλιν ἐξ αἰθρίας λαμπρὰν ἀναδείξει τὴν τῆς εἰρήνης ἀκτῖνα; πόθεν δὲ καὶ ἀναλάμψει ἡ ἀκτὶς τοῦ φωστῆρος ἡμῶν καταδύντος; ὢ κακῆς σκοτομήνης ἀνατολὴν φωστῆρος οὐκ ἐλπιζούσης. Ὡς ἀπεναντίον ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ παρόντι τόπῳ νῦν τε καὶ πρώην οἱ λόγοι γίνονται. τότε γαμικῶς ἐχορεύομεν, νῦν ἐλεεινῶς ἐπὶ τῷ πένθει στενάζομεν. τότε ἐπιθαλάμιον, 9.443 νῦν ἐπιτάφιον ᾄδομεν. μέμνησθε γὰρ ὅτε τὸν πνευματικὸν γάμον ὑμᾶς εἱστιάσαμεν τῷ καλῷ νυμφίῳ συνοικίζοντες τὴν παρθένον, ὑμᾶς, καὶ τὰ τῶν λόγων ἕδνα κατὰ δύναμιν ἡμῶν εἰσηνεγκάμεθα εὐφραίνοντες ἐν τῷ μέρει καὶ εὐφραινόμενοι. ἀλλὰ νῦν εἰς θρῆνον ἡμῖν ἡ χαρὰ μεθηρμόσθη καὶ ἡ τῆς εὐφροσύνης περιβολὴ σάκκος ἐγένετο. ἢ τάχα σιωπᾶν ἔδει τὸ πάθος καὶ ἔνδον ἀποκλείειν τῇ σιωπῇ τὴν ἀλγηδόνα, ὡς ἂν μὴ διοχλοίη μεν τοὺς υἱοὺς τοῦ νυμφῶνος οὐκ ἔχοντες τὸ φαιδρὸν τοῦ γάμου ἔνδυμα ἀλλὰ μελανειμονοῦντες τῷ λόγῳ; ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἀπήρθη ἀφ' ἡμῶν ὁ καλὸς νυμφίος, ἀθρόως τῷ πένθει κατεμελάνθημεν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι συνήθως καταφαιδρῦναι τὸν λόγον τὴν κοσμοῦσαν ἡμᾶς στολὴν τοῦ φθόνου ἀποσυλή σαντος. πλήρεις ἀγαθῶν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἀπηντήσαμεν· γυμνοὶ καὶ πένητες ἀφ' ὑμῶν ὑποστρέφομεν. ὀρθὴν εἴχομεν ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς τὴν λαμπάδα πλουσίῳ τῷ φωτὶ καταλάμπουσαν· ταύτην ἐσβεσμένην ἀνακομίζομεν εἰς καπνὸν καὶ κόνιν διαλυ θέντος τοῦ φέγγους.

Εἴχομεν τὸν θησαυρὸν τὸν μέγαν ἐν ὀστρα κίνῳ τῷ σκεύει· ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν θησαυρὸς ἀφανής, τὸ δὲ ὀστράκινον σκεῦος κενὸν τοῦ πλούτου τοῖς δεδωκόσιν ἐπανασῴζεται. τί ἐροῦσιν οἱ ἀποστείλαντες; τί ἀποκρινοῦνται οἱ ἀπαιτούμε 9.444 νοι; ὢ πονηροῦ ναυαγίου. πῶς ἐν μέσῳ τῷ λιμένι τῆς ἐλπίδος ἡμῶν ἐναυαγήσαμεν; πῶς ἡ μυριοφόρος ὁλκὰς αὐτῷ πληρώματι καταδῦσα γυμνοὺς ἡμᾶς τούς ποτε πλουτοῦντας κατέλιπεν; ποῦ τὸ λαμπρὸν ἱστίον ἐκεῖνο τὸ τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι διὰ