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On the Annunciation of the God-bearer

On the Annunciation of the Theotokos, and against the impious Arius.

62.763 On the previous Sunday, the mystic and interpreter of the uncreated Trinity, the great Basil, called this orthodox Church a heavenly choir; the divinely-taught orator, the advocate of truth, the noble accuser of falsehood, who triumphed, as was fitting, over the madness of the Arian fury; who spoke by his life before his tongue, and cried out by his word along with his conduct; the most famous ornament of this city, the star of the Church, who, like a noble soldier, drew himself up in battle array against the enemies of piety, as against wolves, and used his tongue, as a sling, against the impious; the sleepless guardian of this flock, and the all-wise wall-builder of the holy fold.

And just as the dove in the time of Noah, keeping the branch of the olive ever-green in its mouth, brought it to us full of fruit; so also this man on that previous Sunday lent his tongue to the Spirit, and with his divine words shot down Arius, whose blasphemy belongs to the teaching of the devil. He showed the wolf in the midst of the sheep, covered like a lamb with the fleece of Christianity; and stripping off its garment of hypocrisy, he exposed him as a ravenous wolf, and what was thought to be a sheep, he stoned the beast, using prophetic and apostolic words as stones. And just as 62.764 David, having struck down Goliath, found his sword useful for the slaughter of the enemy; so also the new David of our battle line stabbed Arius with the weapons of Arius. He outlined in his discourse how God the Father was the timeless Father of the Word; how the Son is co-eternal with the Father; how He is consubstantial, not of a different substance; how a co-worker, but not a subordinate; how a maker, but not a thing made; how a Master, not a slave; how the radiance of the Father's glory and the express image of His substance; how In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; how the Word became flesh without being changed, became flesh without being altered, became flesh without being modified, and dwelt among us, having fashioned our nature for himself as a tabernacle inseparable from his own divinity. Thus, then, this herald of the truth preached; for he had Christ himself speaking through him, but blasphemed by the Arians. For this reason the angels from heaven invisibly praised him, as one who rightly extolled on earth the consubstantial Trinity worshipped by them, and taught that it should be glorified; and you below, leaping up with just applause, rejoiced, and proclaimed the imitator of the apostles worthy of the apostles, as one pouring forth from his tongue the blessed confession of Peter, 62.765 as one kindling with his lips the zeal of Paul; and you rightly called the Church blessed for possessing such a treasure; for she is truly blessed to have such a treasure.

These things, then, happened on that day. But today I wish to open for you the gates of the incarnation of the only-begotten Son of God, so that you may behold how God the Word, being consubstantial with the Father, taking our substance, willed to become consubstantial also with his servants; how the high one bowed himself from heaven to our humility; how the rich one put on the poor first-fruits of our nature; how he who is in need of nothing took what he had fashioned, not

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In annuntiationem deiparae

Εἰς τὸν εὐαγγελισμὸν τῆς Θεοτόκου, καὶ κατὰ Ἀρείου δυσσεβοῦς.

62.763 Τῇ προτέρᾳ Κυριακῇ τὴν ὀρθόδοξον ταύτην Ἐκκλησίαν οὐράνιον χορείαν ἐκάλεσεν ὁ τῆς ἀκτίστου Τριάδος μύστης καὶ ἐξηγητὴς, ὁ μέγας Βασίλειος, ὁ θεοδίδακτος ῥήτωρ, ὁ τῆς ἀληθείας συνήγορος, ὁ γενναῖος τοῦ ψεύδους κατήγορος, ὁ τῆς Ἀρειανικῆς μανίας τὴν λύσσαν θριαμβεύσας, ὡς ἔπρεπεν, ὁ τῷ βίῳ πρὸ τῆς γλώσσης λαλῶν, καὶ τῷ λόγῳ μετὰ τῆς πολιτείας βοῶν, ὁ τῆς πόλεως ταύτης γνωριμώτατος κόσμος, ὁ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀστὴρ, ὁ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς τῆς εὐσεβείας, ὥσπερ λύκοις, ὡς γενναῖος στρατιώτης παραταττόμενος, καὶ τῇ γλώττῃ, καθάπερ σφενδόνῃ, χρώμενος κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν· ὁ τῆς ποίμνης ταύτης ἄγρυπνος φύλαξ, καὶ τῆς ἁγίας μάνδρας πάνσοφος τειχιστής.

Καὶ καθάπερ ἡ ἐπὶ τοῦ Νῶε περιστερὰ τὸν κλάδον τῆς ἐλαίας ἐπὶ τοῦ στόματος φυλάξας ἀειθαλῆ, καὶ τοῦτον ἔγκαρπον κομίσας ἡμῖν· οὕτω καὶ οὗτος ἐδάνεισε τῇ πρὸ ταύτης Κυριακῇ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γλῶτταν τῷ πνεύματι, καὶ τοῖς θείοις αὐτοῦ ῥήμασι τὸν Ἄρειον κατετόξευσε, τὴν ἐκείνου βλασφημίαν τῆς τοῦ διαβόλου διδασκαλίας ὑπάρχουσαν. Ἔδειξεν ἐν τῷ μέσῳ τῶν προβάτων τὸν λύκον, ὡς ἀρνίον καλυπτόμενον τῷ κωδίῳ τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ· καὶ περιελὼν αὐτοῦ τὸ ἔνδυμα τῆς ὑποκρίσεως, ὡς λύκον ἅρπαγα τοῦτον ἐστηλίτευσε, καὶ τὸ νομιζόμενον πρόβατον εἶναι, τοῖς προφητικοῖς καὶ ἀποστολικοῖς λόγοις, ὡς λίθοις, χρησάμενος, τὸν θῆρα κατέλευσε. Καὶ καθάπερ 62.764 ∆αυῒδ τὸν Γολιὰθ καταβαλὼν, τὴν ἐκείνου μάχαιραν εὗρε χρησιμεύουσαν αὐτῷ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πολεμίου σφαγήν· οὕτω καὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας παρατάξεως ὁ νέος ∆αυῒδ, τοῖς ὅπλοις τοῦ Ἀρείου τὸν Ἄρειον κατεκέντησεν. Ὑπέγραψε τῷ λόγῳ, πῶς ὁ Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ, ἄχρονος ἦν τοῦ Λόγου Πατήρ· πῶς συναΐδιος ὁ Υἱὸς τῷ Πατρί· πῶς ὁμοούσιος, οὐχ ἑτεροούσιος· πῶς συνεργὸς, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὑπουργός· πῶς ποιητὴς, ἀλλ' οὐχὶ ποίημα· πῶς ∆εσπότης, οὐ δοῦλος· πῶς ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως· πῶς Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος· πῶς ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο μὴ τραπεὶς, σὰρξ ἐγένετο μὴ μεταβληθεὶς, σὰρξ ἐγένετο μὴ ἀλλοιωθεὶς, καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, σκηνὴν ἀχώριστον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ θεότητος τὴν ἡμετέραν φύσιν κατασκευάσας αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ. Οὕτως οὖν οὗτος ὁ κήρυξ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐκήρυξεν· αὐτὸν γὰρ εἶχε τὸν Χριστὸν δι' αὐτοῦ μὲν φθεγγόμενον· παρὰ δὲ τῶν Ἀρειανῶν βλασφημούμενον. Τούτου χάριν οὐρανόθεν μὲν αὐτὸν ἀοράτως εὐφήμουν οἱ ἄγγελοι, ὡς τὴν παρ' αὐτῶν προσκυνουμένην ὁμοούσιον Τριάδα καλῶς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἀνυμνοῦντα, καὶ δοξολογεῖσθαι διδάσκοντα· ὑμεῖς δὲ κάτωθεν τοῖς δικαίοις κρότοις ἐπισκιρτῶντες ἠγάλλεσθε, καὶ τὸν μιμητὴν τῶν ἀποστόλων ἄξιον τῶν ἀποστόλων ἀνηγορεύσατε, ὡς τοῦ Πέτρου τὴν μακαρισθεῖσαν ὁμολογίαν τῇ γλώττῃ πηγά 62.765 ζοντα, ὡς τοῦ Παύλου τὸν ζῆλον τοῖς χείλεσιν ἐκπυρσεύοντα· καὶ μακαρίαν εἰκότως ἀπεκαλεῖτε τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν τοιοῦτον κεκτημένην κειμήλιον· καὶ γάρ ἐστι μακαρία ὄντως τοιοῦτον ἔχουσα θησαυρόν.

Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν κατ' ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν γεγένηται. Ἐγὼ δὲ σήμερον ὑμῖν ὑπανοῖξαι βούλομαι τὰ προπύλαια τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τοῦ μονογενοῦς Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα κατοπτεύσητε, πῶς ὁ Θεὸς Λόγος ὁμοούσιος ὢν τῷ Πατρὶ, λαβὼν τὴν ἡμετέραν οὐσίαν, ὁμοούσιος γενέσθαι καὶ τοῖς δούλοις ἠθέλησε· πῶς ὁ ὑψηλὸς ἐπέκλινεν ἑαυτὸν οὐρανόθεν πρὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν ταπείνωσιν· πῶς ὁ πλούσιος τὴν πτωχὴν ἡμῶν ἀπαρχὴν περιέθετο· πῶς ὁ ἀπροσδεὴς ἔλαβεν ὅπερ ἔπλασεν, οὐ