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De paenitentia

About repentance.

60.765 Wishing to glorify the heads of those who love to hear with a crown woven with golden-haired flowers, having gathered with fingers most beautiful flowers from the pure meadows of Christ, we ask the angels, commanded by the divine Spirit to assist us. For the people of God, or rather the temple, are worthy to be glorified with such a crown, as many of you as have kept the temple of God spotless and undefiled, having illuminated the souls in darkness with purple mouths and the brilliant pearl, flash forth for them the light of piety. Extend to them hands of love, and as if from the depth of ignorance lead them up to the wondrous light of hope.

But as many of you as through carelessness have corrupted the temple of God with pleasures, do not utterly despair of yourselves, but through repentance renew it again. For just as a prudent man, diligently repairing his house that has become dilapidated and ruined through his own neglect, rebuilds it, so that it is in no way inferior to the house originally built; so also the mind, the inhabitant of our soul, again renews through repentance the soul that has slipped and fallen into sins. For repentance raises up the fallen soul, it makes friendly again the one estranged from God; repentance wards off the gloom that befalls the soul, and drives away deathliness; repentance raises the accursed soul, straightens the one that is lame, heals the one that is shattered, makes whole the one that is wounded. Let us run to repentance, the agent of the kingdom, the effacer of sins, the mother of salvation. Repentance, the persecution of the devil, the tripping up of demons. O repentance, on account of which the prophet Jonah fled from the face of God, having overturned the appointed deadly sentence of God, and shown the herald of death to be a liar; for you, encountering the decision of God's will against the Ninevites, both hindered it, and rained down springs of life abundantly for the Ninevites.

Repentance, falling down before God with tears, granted life instead of death to king Hezekiah. O 60.766 repentance, running up from earth to the heavens, and surpassing the angelic powers, and approaching the throne with the divine Spirit of the Lord, and becoming a companion to God, and as if from its own treasures receiving life from the treasures of God, and granting it with boldness to those who have you. O repentance, healer of the passions, who calms the threats, and extinguishes the fire of anger, and lulls wraths to sleep, and provides inextinguishable lamps of friendship. O repentance, born in the heart of man, and immediately lodging in the heavens; having found you, the blessed David escaped the sentence of eternal punishment for his two sins, I mean murder and adultery. O repentance, dissolving the bonds of sins, and saving souls that were secured. Repentance sending up a groan from the midst of the heart entreats God; repentance, shedding a warm tear from the eyes, makes bright with baptism the souls that have been stained. O repentance, a medicine providing immortality made from mortal man; the soul having you says: I am black, but comely; black because of the sullen grief of sin, comely because of the good light from repentance. O repentance, advocate of Peter, and champion and co-avenger of Paul; if he finds you

1

De paenitentia

Περὶ μετανοίας.

60.765 Στεφάνῳ χρυσοκόμοις ἄνθεσι πεπλεγμένῳ τὰς τῶν φιληκόων κεφαλὰς

δοξάσαι βουλόμενοι, ἐκ τῶν ἀκηράτων λειμώνων Χριστοῦ δακτύλοις ἄνθεα περικαλλῆ τρυγήσαντες, ἀγγέλους ἡμῖν συνεργεῖν Πνεύματι θείῳ προσταχθέντας ἐρωτῶμεν. Ἄξιος γὰρ εἶ ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ λαὸς, μᾶλλον δὲ ναὸς, τοιούτῳ στεφάνῳ δεδοξάσθαι, ὅσοι μάλιστα ἄσπιλον καὶ ἀμόλυντον τὸν ναὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐφυλάξατε, πορφυρέοις στόμασι καὶ τῷ ἐμφεγγεῖ μαργαρίτῃ τὰς ἐν τῷ σκότει ψυχὰς περιλάμψαντες, τούτοις τὸ φέγγος τῆς εὐσεβείας ἀστράψατε. Χαλάσατε αὐτοῖς χεῖρας ἀγάπης, καὶ καθάπερ ἐκ βάθους τῆς ἀγνωσίας ἐπὶ τὸ θαυμαστὸν φῶς τῆς ἐλπίδος αὐτοὺς ἀνάξατε.

Ὅσοι δὲ ἐξ ἀπροσεξίας ταῖς ἡδυπαθείαις τὸν ναὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ διεφθείρατε, μὴ εἰς τέλος ἑαυτοὺς ἀπελπίσατε, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς μετανοίας τοῦτον πάλιν ἀνακαινίσατε. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἀνὴρ φρόνιμος τὸν ἐξ ἀμελείας ἑαυτοῦ οἶκον σαθρωθέντα καὶ διαφθαρέντα σπουδαίως ἐπανορθωσάμενος ἀνακτίζει, ὡς οὐδὲν αὐτὸν ἀπολιμπάνεσθαι τὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀνοικοδομηθέντα οἶκον· ὡσαύτως καὶ ὁ ἔνοικος τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν νοῦς τὴν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις διολισθήσασαν καὶ πεπτωκυῖαν ψυχὴν τῇ μετανοίᾳ πάλιν ἀνακαινίζει. Μετάνοια γὰρ τὴν πεπτωκυῖαν ψυχὴν ἀνιστᾷ, τὴν ἀπαλλοτριωθεῖσαν Θεοῦ πάλιν φίλην καθίστησι· μετάνοια τὴν ἐπισυμβᾶσαν τῇ ψυχῇ σκοτομηνίαν ἀποσοβεῖ, καὶ τὴν νέκρωσιν ἀπελαύνει· μετάνοια τὴν κατηραμένην ψυχὴν ἀνεγείρει, τὴν χωλεύουσαν ἀνορθοῖ, τὴν συντετριμμένην ἰᾶται, τὴν τετραυματισμένην ὑγιάζει. ∆ράμωμεν πρὸς τὴν μετάνοιαν, τὴν τῆς βασιλείας πρόξενον, τὴν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἐξαλειπτήριον, τὴν τῆς σωτηρίας μητέρα. Μετάνοια, διαβόλου διωγμὸς, δαιμόνων σκελισμός. Ὢ μετάνοια, δι' ἣν Ἰωνᾶς ὁ προφήτης ἔφυγεν ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡρισμένην ψῆφον Θεοῦ θανατικὴν ἀνατρέψασα, καὶ τὸν κήρυκα τοῦ θανάτου ψεύστην ἀναδείξασα· σὺ γὰρ ὑπαντήσασα τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ βουλῇ κατὰ τῶν Νινευιτῶν ἀποφάσει, αὐτὴν μὲν ἐνεπόδισας, τοῖς δὲ Νινευίταις πηγὰς ζωῆς ἀφθόνως ἐξώμβρισας.

Μετάνοια μετὰ δακρύων προσπεσοῦσα Θεῷ, Ἐζεκίᾳ τῷ βασιλεῖ ἀντὶ θανάτου ζωὴν ἐχαρίσατο. Ὢ 60.766 μετάνοια ἀπὸ γῆς εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀνατρέχουσα, καὶ ἀγγελικὰς δυνάμεις ὑπερβαίνουσα, καὶ τῷ θείῳ Πνεύματι Κυρίου προσεγγίζουσα θρόνῳ, καὶ Θεῷ συνόμιλος γινομένη, καὶ καθάπερ ἐξ οἰκείων θησαυρῶν τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ θησαυρῶν τὸ ζῇν λαμβάνουσα, καὶ τοῖς ἔχουσί σε μετὰ παῤῥησίας δωρουμένη. Ὢ μετάνοια τῶν παθῶν ἰατρὲ, ἡ τὰς ἀπειλὰς πραΰνουσα, καὶ τὸ πῦρ κατασβεννύουσα τοῦ θυμοῦ, καὶ τὰς ὀργὰς κοιμίζουσα, καὶ φιλίας λαμπάδας ἀσβέστους πρυτανεύουσα. Ὢ μετάνοια ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀνθρώπου τικτομένη, καὶ παραχρῆμα εἰς οὐρανοὺς αὐλιζομένη· σὲ εὑρηκὼς ὁ μακάριος ∆αυῒδ, τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς δυσὶν ἁμαρτήμασι, φόνου λέγω καὶ μοιχείας, αἰωνίας τιμωρίας ἐξέφυγε δίκην. Ὢ μετάνοια, τὰ δεσμὰ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων διαλύουσα, καὶ ἠσφαλισμένας ψυχὰς διασώζουσα. Μετάνοια ἐκ μέσης καρδίας στεναγμὸν ἀναπέμπουσα Θεὸν δυσωπεῖ· μετάνοια δάκρυον θερμὸν ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν δροσίζουσα, τὰς ἐσπιλωμένας ψυχὰς τῷ βαπτίσματι ἐκλαμπρύνει. Ὢ μετάνοια, ἐκ θνητοῦ ἀνθρώπου γενόμενον φάρμακον ἀθανασίας παρεκτικόν· σὲ ἔχουσα ψυχὴ λέγει· Μέλαινά εἰμι, καλὴ δέ· μέλαινα διὰ τὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας πένθος σκυθρωπὸν, καλὴ διὰ τὸ ἐκ τῆς μετανοίας φέγγος ἀγαθόν. Ὢ μετάνοια Πέτρου συνήγορε, καὶ Παύλου ὑπέρμαχε καὶ συνέκδικε· σὲ ἐὰν εὕρῃ ὁ