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Homily delivered in the presence of the emperor

HOMILY 3. 63.473

Of the same. On the following day, when the emperor arrived at the martyrium of the apostle and martyr Thomas, which is situated in Drypia, and had departed before the discourse, the homily was spoken to the multitude after his departure. 1. Blessed be God, how great are the powers of the martyrs! Yesterday they drew the whole city with the empress to us, today the emperor with his army, here with much piety, not by imposing bonds, but the chain of love, a chain that is never broken. For this is the wonderful thing, not that the emperor has come, but that he came with great eagerness, not by necessity, but by his own will, not granting a favor, but receiving a favor; and he who is a benefactor to all throughout the world, has come to enjoy the benefits from these saints, and to reap the greatest goods. For this reason both he himself, the diadem, and all the bodyguards, some having laid aside their shields, others their spears, and letting go of that pomp, they all came with a composed mind, as if entering from earth into heaven, where dignities and prominence and all this stage of honors are out of the way, but a display of life alone shines forth and the fruits of virtue. And if here the power of the martyrs is so great, consider how great it is in the heavens; if in the time of struggles and wrestlings their honors are such, in the time of recompense how great will be the prizes? For our affairs do not end with the present, but we are journeying to another life better than the present, and we are walking towards longer hopes and the enjoyment of immortal goods that have no end.

For God divided our life into these two ages, and He made the present one laborious, but the future one pleasant and pure, so that by laboring a little here, we might enjoy pure crowns there. For He wished even from the beginning to lead us straight to that life, but we did not allow it, through our sloth working a great postponement and through our ingratitude fashioning this long delay. And I will try to make this clear from the things that happened to us from the beginning. For such is God; whenever He is about to grant us something good, even if we appear unworthy of His generosity, He nevertheless shows through all things that He Himself wished it, but it was on account of our sloth that the falling short of what He wished came to be. This indeed He also did from the beginning. For when He formed man, straightway He did not form him with labors, nor with hardship, nor with grief, nor did He make him mortal, but he was for a time beyond despondency and sweat and death. For He would not, if He had allotted these things to him from the beginning, have later condemned him to them in the order of chastisement and punishment after the transgression. Therefore, being without these things, he shone more brightly than the sun, though naked of garments, yet clothed with glory. For this too was the greatest sign of his blessedness, that he needed neither garments, nor shelter, nor any other such covering, but had a body superior to the need for these things. And not only in this was he blessed, but also because before this he enjoyed converse with God, and in the confidence he had toward him 63.474 he delighted. And indeed angels trembled, and the Cherubim and the Seraphim not even

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Homilia dicta praesente imperatore

ΟΜΙΛΙΑ Γʹ. 63.473

Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Τῇ ἐπιούσῃ ἡμέρᾳ, παραγενομένου τοῦ βασιλέως ἐν τῷ μαρτυρίῳ τοῦ ἀποστόλου καὶ μάρτυρος Θωμᾶ τοῦ διακειμένου ἐν τῇ ∆ρυπίᾳ, καὶ ἀναχωρήσαντος πρὸ τῆς διαλέξεως, ἐλέχθη ἡ ὁμιλία μετὰ

τὴν ἀναχώρησιν τὴν ἐκείνου πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος. αʹ. Εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς, ἡλίκαι τῶν μαρτύρων αἱ δυνάμεις· χθὲς ἡμῖν τὴν πόλιν

ὁλόκληρον μετὰ τῆς βασιλίδος, σήμερον τὸν βασιλέα μετὰ τοῦ στρατοπέδου ἐνταῦθα εἵλκυσαν μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς εὐλαβείας, οὐ δεσμὰ περιθέντες, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἀγάπης τὴν ἅλυσιν, ἅλυσιν μηδέποτε διακοπτομένην. Τὸ γὰρ δὴ θαυμαστὸν τοῦτό ἐστιν, οὐχ ὅτι παραγέγονε βασιλεὺς, ἀλλ' ὅτι μετὰ πολλῆς προθυμίας, οὐκ ἀνάγκῃ, ἀλλὰ γνώμῃ, οὐ χάριν διδοὺς, ἀλλὰ χάριν λαμβάνων· καὶ ὁ πάντας εὐεργετῶν τοὺς κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην, ἦλθεν εὐεργεσίας ἀπολαύσων παρὰ τῶν ἁγίων τούτων, καὶ τὰ μέγιστα καρπωσόμενος ἀγαθά. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο καὶ αὐτὸς τὸ διάδημα, καὶ οἱ δορυφόροι πάντες, οἱ μὲν τὰς ἀσπίδας, οἱ δὲ τὰ δόρατα ἀποθέμενοι, καὶ τὴν φαντασίαν ἐκείνην ἀφέντες, μετὰ κατεσταλμένης παρεγένοντο διανοίας ἅπαντες, ὡς ἀπὸ γῆς εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰσιόντες, ἔνθα ἀξιώματα καὶ περιφάνεια καὶ πᾶσα αὕτη ἡ σκηνὴ τῶν ἀξιωμάτων ἐκποδὼν, βίου δὲ ἐπίδειξις διαλάμπει μόνον καὶ ἀρετῆς καρποί. Εἰ δὲ ἐνταῦθα τοσαύτη τῶν μαρτύρων ἡ δύναμις, ἐννόησον ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἡλίκη· εἰ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῶν ἀγώνων καὶ τῶν παλαισμάτων τοιαῦται αὐτῶν αἱ τιμαὶ, ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἀντιδόσεως ἡλίκα ἔσται τὰ βραβεῖα; Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὰ ἡμέτερα οὐ μέχρι τοῦ παρόντος καταλύει, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἑτέραν ἀμείνω ζωὴν τῆς παρούσης ὁδεύομεν, καὶ πρὸς μακροτέρας βαδίζομεν ἐλπίδας καὶ ἀγαθῶν ἀπόλαυσιν ἀθάνατον οὐκ ἐχόντων τέλος.

Εἰς δύο γὰρ τούτους αἰῶνας τὴν ζωὴν ἡμῶν διεῖλεν ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ τὸν μὲν παρόντα ἐπίπονον ἐποίησε, τὸν δὲ μέλλοντα ἡδὺν καὶ ἀκήρατον, ἵνα ὀλίγα πονήσαντες ἐνταῦθα, τῶν ἀκηράτων ἀπολαύσωμεν ἐκεῖ στεφάνων. Ἐβούλετο μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἐκ προοιμίων εὐθέως ἐπ' ἐκείνην ἡμᾶς ἀγαγεῖν τὴν ζωὴν, ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς οὐκ εἰάσαμεν, τῇ ῥᾳθυμίᾳ πολλὴν ἐργασάμενοι τὴν ἀναβολὴν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀγνωμοσύνης κατασκευάσαντες τὴν μέλλησιν ταύτην τὴν μακράν. Καὶ τοῦτο ἐκ τῶν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἡμῖν γενομένων πειράσομαι ποιῆσαι δῆλον. Καὶ γὰρ τοιοῦτος ὁ Θεός· ὅταν μέλλῃ τι παρέχειν ἡμῖν χρηστὸν, κἂν ἀνάξιοι φαινώμεθα τῆς αὐτοῦ φιλοτιμίας, ὅμως ἐνδείκνυται διὰ πάντων ὅτι αὐτὸς μὲν ἐβούλετο, παρὰ δὲ τὴν ἡμετέραν ῥᾳθυμίαν τὸ ἐκπεσεῖν ὧν ἐβούλετο γέγονε. Τοῦτο δὴ καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐποίησε. Πλάττων γὰρ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, εὐθέως οὐ μετὰ πόνων, οὐ μετὰ ταλαιπωρίας, οὐ μετὰ λύπης αὐτὸν ἔπλασεν, οὐ θνητὸν εἰργάσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀθυμίας καὶ ἱδρώτων καὶ θανάτου τέως ἐκτὸς ἦν. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν, εἴπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς αὐτῷ ταῦτα συνεκλήρωσεν, ὕστερον μετὰ τὴν παράβασιν ἐν τάξει κολάσεως καὶ τιμωρίας τούτοις ἂν αὐτὸν κατεδίκασε. Γενόμενος τοίνυν τούτων χωρὶς, ὑπὲρ τὸν ἥλιον αὐτὸν ἔλαμπε, γυμνὸς μὲν ἱματίων ὢν, δόξῃ δὲ περιβεβλημένος. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο τῆς μακαριότητος αὐτοῦ μέγιστον ἦν σημεῖον, τὸ μήτε ἱματίων δεῖσθαι, μὴ σκέπης, μὴ ἄλλης τινὸς τοιαύτης περιβολῆς, ἀλλ' ἔχειν σῶμα τῆς χρείας τῆς ἀπὸ τούτων ἀνώτερον. Οὐ ταύτῃ δὲ μόνον μακάριος ἦν, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ πρὸ τούτου τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν ἀπέλαυεν ὁμιλίας, καὶ τῇ παῤῥησίᾳ τῇ πρὸς αὐτὸν 63.474 ἐνετρύφα. Καὶ ἄγγελοι μὲν ἔτρεμον, καὶ τὰ Χερουβεὶμ καὶ τὰ Σεραφεὶμ οὐδὲ